Great Han Empire

Chapter 997 Chapter [-]
Li Hong woke up suddenly.

The big tent was very quiet, except for the occasional crackling sound of the charcoal burning in the brazier.Li Hong smelled the faint fragrance of charcoal, and a warm feeling gradually flowed through his body, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Father..." Li Xiu cried out in surprise, "Father..." When she called again, Li Xiu was already in tears, choked up and unable to speak.

"General..." The little emperor hurried over and called repeatedly.

Jia Xu, Fu Gan, Jiang Ji and others also hurriedly surrounded him.Huang Da was startled by the imperial physician, he waved his hands again and again, "Don't make noise, don't make noise, be quiet, be quiet..."

Li Hong's eyes moved slowly from the faces of Li Xiu, Xiao Tianzi and others, and finally fell on Jia Xu's face, "Ziyu..."

"Your Majesty has issued an order to worship Lord Yan as the commander-in-chief of the army. The general is rest assured to recuperate from his wounds. We have won the battle in the West Sea." Jia Xu was a little excited, his voice trembling slightly.

Li Hong let out a sigh of relief, and slowly closed his eyes, "March into...Tianjun Mountain..."

"The Qiang people set fire to the prisoner's camp and fled at night. Master Yan is leading his army to besiege and kill them." Fu Gan said in a low voice, "It will take a day for the army to advance to Tianjun Mountain."

Li Hong remained expressionless for a long time before gradually revealing a hint of pain, "Immediately... March into... Tianjun Mountain..." His tone was extremely firm and unquestionable.

=

In the morning of the next day, Yan Rou, the Great General of Zhenbei, ordered Pang De, the general who conquered the west, Ma Chao, the general who protected the Qiang, and Nie Xiao, the king of Qiang in Huangzhong, to lead five thousand elite cavalry into Tianjun Mountain.

On the same day, the Son of Heaven wrote to Chang'an that Xihai was a great victory.

On the same day, the Son of Heaven presided over a simple funeral ceremony, burying all the mid- and low-level military officials and soldiers who died in battle by the Wild Bull River, and will choose an appropriate time to move their remains back to Chang'an in the future.

On the third day, the emperor presided over the funeral ceremony of the fallen generals. (The big burial is the coffin, which is a very important part of the funeral.) Qu Yi, the general of chariots, Jie Wu, the general of Huben Zhonglang, Chen Wei, the general of Zhonglang Yueqi, Cao Anyan, the governor of the general's mansion, Cheng Yin, the general of Xiliang, Liang Xing, Jiang Feng, Jiang Jiong, Zhang Ming and other seventeen generals who died in battle were enshrined.

The general also participated, and he was carried to the spiritual tent by the guards.

There is a lot of red tape at a funeral, but now it's kept simple.The little emperor, Yan Rou, Yu Shi, Wei Jun, Jiang Wu, Ji Feng, Fu Gan and other seven monarchs lifted Qu Yi's body and put it in the coffin.

Li Hong lowered his head and remained motionless. "Father, the coffin is about to be built." Li Xiu wiped away tears and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to go and see?"

Li Hong nodded.Yan Ba, Pang Hui, Li Xin, and Zhao Tong helped Li Hong up and walked slowly to the side of the coffin.

Qu Yi was wearing brand-new armor, lying quietly with his sword in his hands.

"Let's go, brother..." Li Hong stretched out his hand and patted Qu Yi's chest lightly, "You said that if you take down Xihai, you will stay in Longqi (qi) and be with the brothers who died in Longqi. Together, we will guard the western border for the great man. I promise you, I will keep you in Longqi and let you guard the territory for the great man." Li Hong looked calm and spoke flatly, "I'm leaving, I'm going to the northern border, If I die, I will stay in Lulongsai, and together with my brothers in Lulongsai, I will guard the territory for the great man. We are separated by thousands of miles, and we will never see each other again. Saying goodbye today, we will meet each other from now on See you indefinitely, take care."

Cover the coffin.

Li Hong knelt down slowly, and caressed the cold coffin. Suddenly, his heart felt like a knife was piercing, and he was distraught. He could no longer control his emotions, and wept bitterly.

=

In mid-December, the Han army occupied Tianjun Mountain and captured more than 5 households of the Qiang people such as Shaodang and Dianna.

The emperor ordered Huangfu Li, the governor of Liangzhou, to rush to Jincheng County to discuss with Nie Xiao, King of the Qiang in Huangzhong, the matter of relocating the Qiang people from Xihai to Hehuang.

The emperor made a decree to worship Jiang Wu as the general of Zhenxi, lead five thousand cavalry, guard the West Sea, and be responsible for suppressing the Qiang people in the surrounding areas of the West Sea and stabilizing the situation in the West Sea.

The emperor decreed that Ma Chao, the general protecting the Qiang, led the army to build a camp in Hehuang to guard Jincheng and Longxi counties.

The emperor decreed that Pang De, the general who conquered the west, led the army to build a camp in Wuwei to guard the four counties in Hexi.

On December [-], the expeditionary army moved triumphantly.

=

December, Chang'an.

The news of the great victory in the West Sea spread to Kyoto, and the whole city celebrated.

In the name of the Son of Heaven, the eldest princess issued an edict to the world, and issued an order to reward the frontline soldiers and give compensation to the fallen soldiers.

=

December 24, Liyang.

Grand Sima Xu Rong and Shang Shu ordered Tian Chou to rush to Liyang Palace to report the New Year ceremony and sacrificial matters to the eldest princess.

"After the New Year, Your Majesty and the General led the army to cross the Yellow River to the north, inspected the counties in the west of Hexi, and discussed with Bu Dugeng, king of Xianbei in the west, and Tuobatao, king of Xianbei in the north, about countering the rebellion in the desert, so..." Grand Sima Xu Rong hesitated for a moment , continued, "Because His Majesty will not come back, and the army will not return to Beijing, the imperial court decided to cancel the ceremony to celebrate the pacification of Western Xinjiang."

"Why?" the eldest princess asked in surprise, "The great victory in the West Sea and the pacification of the western borders. Your Majesty and the soldiers of the Western Expedition have made great achievements for the great Han. Even if they don't come back, the court should hold a grand ceremony to celebrate it. Take a step back and say, This is also a consolation to the fallen chariot general Qu Yi and the [-] fallen soldiers." She looked at Xu Rong and Tian Chou, who looked ashamed, and softened her tone a little, "Is it because the court has no money? "

"Your Majesty and the General will lead an expedition to the desert next year, and the imperial court's wealth is indeed very tight." Tian Chou said cautiously, "The situation in the south is not very good. We must be prepared for war, and the imperial court will inevitably be a bit stretched."

"This year's great victory in the West Sea, and next spring, His Majesty and the General will go to the northern border in person. At this time, Fuluohan, Shelong and others dare to openly confront the big man?" Is the big man an enemy? I don’t think Fu Luohan and the others are so stupid, right? As for the south, haven’t the special envoys of Cao Cao and Sun Quan already arrived in Chang’an? Just give them some benefits to stabilize them. This kind of rebellion is not enough For fear, there is General Lu Bu who sits in Yanzhou. Forgive them for not taking the initiative to send troops. Some time ago, Yuan Tan seized the Lujiang River and became brothers with Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, which posed a great threat to Cao Cao. You can take advantage of this contradiction and support Cao Cao to fight Yuan Tan, let's fight Jiangdong.

Xu Rong and Tian Chou bowed to promise.

"It's a little troublesome in Xiangyang, but Master Zhong Yao is working hard. With the close relationship between the scholars of Ru and Xiangyang, even if we can't negotiate a peace, we can guarantee that there will be no war for the time being. That's it. I think Liu Biao is still there. Don't you rush to die?" The eldest princess put the memorial on the table heavily, looked at the two dissatisfied, and then said, "Now that Longxi and Wudu counties have been recovered, the imperial court has suppressed the rebellion in Shu The strategy was also realized. Although Liu Bei killed Yang Song and occupied Hanzhong, he was not strong enough to pose a threat to the imperial court going south to attack Yizhou in the short term. The imperial court bears inescapable responsibility for Liu Bei’s occupation of Hanzhong. As early as At the beginning of the year, Yang Song was already willing to submit to the imperial court. If you handle it properly, you can get Hanzhong before Liu Bei, but the result? The result is too disappointing."

"After Zhao Yun and Lord Yan Liang returned to Beijing, they brought Pang Yi, Wei Duan, Guan Yu and others to see me. At that time, Pang Yi said that under the current circumstances, it would cost a lot to attack Yizhou. He suggested that the imperial court send people Enter Shu, recruit Liu Bei and Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang can be the king of Shu, and Liu Bei can also be the king of Hanzhong, but the condition is that the army must be handed over, and the counties must be handed over. You can use this condition to send someone to talk. Xihai Great Victory , Western Xinjiang is pacified, isn’t the Han army strong enough? Can’t the emperor and the imperial court pacify the world? Tell them to open their eyes and clear their minds. If they are really for the great Han society and the people of the world, they should surrender The imperial court should return peace and stability to the people of the world."

"Next year, if the imperial court takes proper measures, there will be no wars in the south, and the imperial court can do everything possible to stabilize the northern border. As I just said about the northern border, there will be a general in charge, and there will be no major battles. Hussar General Xian Yufu Your Excellency once had a memorial, and he said repeatedly that we should try our best to stir up conflicts among the Hu tribes and let them fight themselves. When the Hu tribes in Damo and Liaodong are both defeated, we can benefit from it. If we win without fighting, northern Xinjiang will be stable."

The eldest princess tapped on the case table lightly, signaling the two ministers who were listening to them to raise their heads, "I disagree with your memorial, this celebration must be held, and it must be held on a grand scale, the more grand the better, this It can show the majesty of the big man and me, and it can deter the rebels in the south and the barbarians in the north. If this celebration can destroy their confidence and shake their belief, it is equivalent to winning a battle and achieving unexpected results. In the future, we may get twice the result with half the effort and achieve astonishing results in the counter-insurgency war.”

Xu Rong and Tian Chou looked at each other and didn't speak, but the expressions on their faces were clear. They insisted on their memorial, and what the eldest princess said just now was in vain.

"Is the imperial court really so poor?" A gleam of anger flashed across the beautiful face of the Eldest Princess, "I have decreed to invite high-ranking officials from various states and counties, as well as powerful families and rich men to Beijing to participate in the celebration. You want me to break my promise? The world? Where is the prime minister? What is he busy with? I haven’t seen him for more than a month. He reviewed the plans of the states and counties for three consecutive months. The final result is that you tell me that the court has no money to hold this grand ceremony? "

The Eldest Princess spoke very harshly, obviously very dissatisfied with Li Wei.

"When Mr. Cai Yong was prime minister, I could still see Shangji. Now? Now I have nothing to do with Shangji. I haven't seen a memorial about Shangji's review. It's unreasonable." The more the eldest princess spoke, the more angry she became, her fair face flushed red, her chest heaved violently, and she couldn't contain her anger.

The plan was originally a matter for the prime minister, but since Emperor Xiaowu took power at the Shangshutai, especially during the time of Emperor Guangwu, the review of the plan was basically the matter of the emperor. The emperor's dynasty was changed to Situ) instead, it became a decoration, and Xiangquan took more than half of the emperor's monk's desk.The eldest princess has been in power for ten years, and this year is the first time that she has been excluded from the above calculations. She knows nothing about the specific conditions of rents, punishments, prisons, and elections in various states and counties.

=

"Your Highness, you have misunderstood the Prime Minister." Xu Rong smiled wryly, bowed and explained, "There is a big problem in this year's plan..."

"What? What did you say?" The eldest princess was shocked, she sat up straight involuntarily, and quickly interrupted Xu Rong, "What's wrong? Mansions, especially the Taichang Mansion, Dasinong Mansion and Shaofu Mansion still more or less mentioned the above plan. They all said that the weather and weather in various states and counties this year have been good and the wealth has grown extremely fast, and there is no mention of any abnormalities. What's the matter?"

The eldest princess was extremely nervous, even a little frightened.The last year's scheme caused a mutiny in Chang'an, so it won't cause any trouble this year, right?As long as the general is not in the capital, there will always be problems one after another in the court, which makes people shudder to think about it.

"Indeed, it has been ten years since the imperial court implemented the new policy. If you count from the time His Highness opened the government, it will be a full 14 years. In the past 14 years, the growth rate of wealth has been faster every year, and good news has been reported frequently in various states and counties. Everywhere there is a scene that the prosperity of the past is about to be restored, which is completely different from our original expectations, no one would have thought that the New Deal would have such a huge effect, allowing the big man to stand up from the ruins quickly..." Xu Rong Talking about it later, I was a little excited, "If old ministers like Zhang Wen, Ma Rixun, and Cui Lie can live up to now and see their hard work become a reality, maybe they..."

"What's the problem?" The eldest princess interrupted Xu Rong again.

=

"Your Highness, the grain price is too low." Tian Chou said softly.

The eldest princess was stunned, "The price of grain is too low? Is it also a problem?" She looked at the two worried ministers in disbelief, "Don't you know how much the court has spent to stabilize the price of grain over the years?" How many methods have been thought of? Implement the new land system, reduce or exempt land taxes, relieve the victims, open canals to irrigate the fields, encourage the people to plant mulberry and hemp farming, promote and use new field tools and new farming methods, and now build official warehouses in various states and counties. All these measures to prevent famines are aimed at increasing grain production. Only when grain production increases can grain prices be guaranteed and the people live a better life. In my opinion, grain prices are not low enough, but not low enough. Now grain prices The price is seventy renminbi a dendrobium, the imperial court should find ways to produce more grain and reduce the price of grain to fifty renminbi a dendrobium, or even thirty renminbi a dendrobium.”

"Your Highness, the price of grain is too low, and it will do too much harm to the farmers." Xu Rong sighed, "The Prime Minister begged His Highness to recall the Governor of the Five States at the beginning of this month just to inquire about this matter."

Hearing that the low price of grain had seriously hurt the farmers, the Eldest Princess immediately became extremely dignified.Farming is the foundation of the country's founding and power. If the farmers are seriously injured, the day of national chaos will not be far away.

Tian Chou followed Xu Rong's words and explained.

Generally speaking, a household has an average of five members. If one hundred mu of land is cultivated, and other income is not counted, about one hundred grains of millet will be harvested each year.A family of five eats more than half of their meals a year.The rest has to pay the land rent and calculate the tax, and hire people to serve as servants. The price is to hire someone to do it for you.) In this way, the farmer’s annual harvest is very little, or even nothing left.Other expenses such as seeds, farm animals, farm tools, etc., as well as four-season clothing, salt, miscellaneous expenses, etc., will depend on the amount of other income such as planting mulberry and hemp breeding.

Now that there are many wars, cattle, horses, ironware, cloth, and salt are all in short supply and expensive, while the price of grain is very stable and very cheap due to the forcible interference of the imperial court. The prices of the two are extremely unbalanced.Farmers sell grain at low prices and buy farm animals, farm tools, and other necessities at high prices, causing great losses. Especially during the harvest season, local governments and merchants deliberately suppress grain prices, which makes the people miserable.

Farmers’ income comes from the grains and millets obtained from cultivating the land. If the price of grains and millets is low, their income will be low, and they will be very poor. Although they will not die of starvation, they will be poor enough to make ends meet and cannot withstand any blows. But people eat whole grains, Who is not sick?People live in this world, whether they are born or die, come and go, and they all need money. What is even more frightening is that once a famine hits the field and the harvest is reduced or there is no harvest, what will the farm do?
=

Farmers work hard all year round, without a single day of rest. In addition to the income they earn for their own use, they have to pay land rent and taxes, and have to conquer corvee, which they can bear.In the event of floods and droughts, they have relief from the imperial court and can survive hard.But once the government is in a hurry and tyrannical, and even some officials know the law and break the law, take money and break the law, and extort money, the farmers will have no way to survive, so some people have to borrow at high interest rates, have to sell their children and daughters, and have to sell their land and houses at a low price.

Farmers want to survive, eat, and support their parents, wives, and children. When the land is sold, there is only one way to do it, and that is to attach themselves to the buyers of the land, that is, the rich and powerful from all over the world.

Although the buying and selling of land is strictly prohibited in this dynasty, the farmers can no longer survive, can they still obey the law?The rich and powerful of the aristocratic families are rich and powerful, and they have inextricably linked with the local officials. If the officials don't report it, how does the court know that there is a land sale between the villages?Even if it is found, the farmer refuses to admit it in order to survive, what can the tracer do?
This dynasty now collects taxes by "mouth". After these people become the "shady households" of the rich and powerful, the taxes will be paid by the rich and powerful, and the corvee will also be hired by them. The days can be passed, but this It seriously violated the laws of the Han Dynasty, and because the rich and powerful families had more fields, more wealth, and greater strength, they posed a serious threat to the court.

The lessons of the Yellow Turban Uprising are vivid.Why did millions of farmers join the Yellow Turban Army back then?One of the suggested causes was famine.In a famine year, there will be no crops, if the government’s relief is unfavorable, if the tycoons and wealthy families who have been hit hard are unable to protect them, these landless farmers will completely lose their chance of survival, they will immediately burn, kill, loot, and immediately rise up. , and the fundamental reason behind it is land sales and land mergers.

Now, this phenomenon of land annexation is beginning to spread in various states and counties.

=

The implementation of the New Deal allowed the country to recover quickly. The low land rent of [-] taxes and [-] tax, the preferential policies to support the development of commerce and trade, the full liberalization of the operation of salt, iron, wine and tea, and the strong control of grain prices by the imperial court made many people who own a large amount of land Get rich in just a few years.

These rich people, in addition to princes and nobles, powerful families, bureaucrats, merchants and wealthy people, also have military meritorious class.

However, the main reason for these people to accumulate a large amount of wealth in such a short period of time is the frequent wars, the construction of a large number of palaces and cities, and the excavation of ditches. These places where the money is astonishingly expensive are also the source of many people's sudden wealth. .

Today, the "trinity" of officials, scholars, and merchants abounds, and some of them have far exceeded the imagination of the imperial court.

When you have money, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?It is to buy land. Only land can preserve the value of wealth. This is a law that has never changed since ancient times.

Land rent is low, grain prices are low, commerce is prosperous, and there are more and more rich and powerful people, and their demand for land is also increasing, and they are becoming more and more greedy, unscrupulous, and reckless. Wang Fa, and the farmer immediately became a victim.They produced food, but were pushed to a desperate situation by the food.

The new policies of the imperial court made some people rich quickly, allowing the majority of farmers and workers to survive, but as time went on, problems came, and they came so fiercely that the imperial court was caught off guard.

The New Deal's policies that are beneficial to farmers are even more beneficial to wealthy families, bureaucrats and rich people. The advantages of the New Deal are being lost, and they are becoming weapons that harm farmers and are destroying the country that has just embarked on the road to rejuvenation.

=

"The Prime Minister decided to increase the price of grain to increase the income of the farmers and improve their ability to survive, but..." Tian Yu looked at the stern-looking princess and said helplessly, "But the fundamental problem is the land. Grain The increase in prices has limited effect on improving farmers’ income, because the farmland is limited, so we must find ways to prevent the aristocratic families and bureaucrats from using various means to annex the farmland, and try to keep the land in their hands and their survival. Bottom line."

"If the problem of annexation of land is not resolved, the higher the price of grain, the more unfavorable it will be to the people. To solve the problem of land annexation, the easiest way is to change the existing national policy and use the power of the imperial court to cut off the aristocratic families, bureaucrats and rich people from expropriation. Wealth, but in this way, it will seriously hit the powerful families and bureaucratic rich people, seriously hurt their interests, and also involve the interests of the military class."

"The prime minister has been working very hard lately..." Xu Rong sighed, "He deals with state affairs during the day, and discusses the restructuring with his staff day and night at night. He is so exhausted that he hardly has time to sleep. He is almost unable to hold on."

The eldest princess was silent.She never expected that the New Deal would be the chief culprit in endangering ZTE's cause. She couldn't accept this fact.

"What is the best plan for the Prime Minister?"

"Focus on agriculture and suppress business, Yantie official management." Tian Chou said slowly but firmly, "This is the only way to solve the problem at present."

The eldest princess changed color in shock.This completely overthrew the foundation of the New Deal and completely negated the fundamental strategy of ZTE.

"I absolutely do not agree." The eldest princess slapped the table with her palm and said angrily, "Never agree."

=

(End of this chapter)