Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 163: Stalemate, Wang Mang's Reforms

Xu Zhong also nodded. This was indeed a possibility, but to be on the safe side, he decided to ignore it for now and stop making blind guesses.

Although during these days of investigation Li Yang had come into contact with those Liu clan members, there was a chance that he could find out the identity of the true dragon emperor, and then deliberately support him and help him grow.

But fate is a fickle thing, and it is easy to make things worse. If you make a mistake and make yourself the enemy of the emperor, you will end up losing more than you gain.

The situation that was favorable to him turned into one that was unfavorable for him. He was originally following the will of heaven, but now he has to go against it.

It's too dangerous, so I might as well wait and see for now and invest more in some Liu clan members. Anyway, I was supposed to support the Liu family, and now I feel more at ease.

"Well, do we need to take back Yuzhou? Yanzhou is quite radical."

Xu Zhong then asked about state affairs. It would take at least seven or eight years for the True Dragon Emperor to rise to power, so there was no need to pay too much attention to it.

The most urgent task is to quickly destroy the Xin Mang Dynasty. Then the real chaos will begin. Now the court can restrain the local governors and military leaders, mainly because there is a unified enemy, and there is a basic base of the Northwest Army, Youzhou Army and Jingzhou Army.

No one dared to disobey. Once the Xin Mang Dynasty was overthrown, these military leaders would inevitably fight for power and get a piece of the pie.

It will be difficult for the Xu family to control them, and the emperor will take advantage of the situation at that time!

"The Xinmang Dynasty has just expanded its territory and won a great victory, so the Mang bandits will certainly increase their troops on a large scale, firstly to consolidate their victory, and secondly to intimidate our court."

"If it is taken back like this, I am afraid that Wang Mang will become the laughing stock of the whole world."

"There is no hope in the short term. Unless we bring in more Northwestern troops and pay a huge price, it will be impossible."

As the final decision maker, Xu Hua directly rejected the suggestion. He knew it was Xu Yuan's idea, and given Xu Min's steady character, he would never act rashly.

The Grand Commander was relatively radical in comparison, but since he proposed it, he was absolutely sure about it, and it was just a matter of casualties.

"Well... I'll go and explain it to him." Xu Zhong nodded and said:

"Currently, the occupation of Yanzhou is becoming more stable. We each occupy half. Although there is rebellion in Xuzhou, the overall situation is becoming more and more stable. There is no need to worry too much. We were about to enter a stalemate, but the incident in Ruyin happened."

"The world is unpredictable, fate plays tricks on us, it's all destiny."

Xu Hua also agreed: "Yes, at least before there are changes within the Xinmang, it will be difficult for us to achieve major results."

Now, the war in Yanzhou is about to end, and basically no one can move the place forward. The best option is to stop the war and divide Yanzhou.

In addition to getting the fat piece of meat of Yuzhou, Wang Mang must be satisfied.

But it's good to calm down.

Wang Mang would use the strong prestige of the Battle of Ruyin to launch his own reforms in the country! That is, retro reforms, which later generations believed to be progressive new era ideas.

But in fact, the so-called land recovery and nationalization was the well-field system, which was adopted by the Zhou Dynasty.

The thought of this new ancestor is not only not advanced, but also a step backwards in history! He attempts to reorganize the current corruption of the country through the system of the ancient Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.

He believes that the reason why a series of reasons such as land annexation occurred is that the current system is not suitable enough. The well-field system lasted throughout the 800-year history of the Zhou Dynasty and was not eliminated until later.

Wang Mang felt that this was what the country should use, but he did not take into account the changes in national conditions and environment.

That set of things was eliminated because it was no longer suitable. How could he possibly get anything good by taking it out?

Therefore, the best way to attack Han is not to attack, or even to show weakness.

This is why Xu Hua was not panicked when he learned that Runan had fallen, but just felt it was a pity, because this would make the outside world think that he had the upper hand, and thus he could boldly initiate reforms!

The country's life officially entered the countdown.

Therefore, the imperial court must hold its troops in place and wait until the grassroots collapse before taking advantage of the situation! A large-scale attack in advance will only make the enemy internally united.

The people's resentment towards the reforms was dispersed by the war.

Therefore, the best choice is to wait and see!
.........

Changan.

Taibao Wang Yi defeated the main force of the Han army of over 100,000 in Ruyin, and captured Runan, which was originally impossible to take, in one battle, shocking the whole world.

Wang Yi's status and prestige also rose! Now he has become the second most important person after Wang Mang! He had been stationed in Runan to intimidate the Han court.

Today is the day he returns to the capital.

The new ancestor Wang Mang led all the officials and ministers out of the city for ten miles to welcome him. The imperial guards bowed their heads. This was a treatment only enjoyed by Wei Qing, the great general who once defeated the Huns in the north!

At this time, Wang Yi slowly stopped on his tall horse, dismounted, trotted over, and bowed to Wang Mang, who was smiling, and said:

"Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"

"Wang Taibao, please stand up quickly. Please stand up quickly. You are wearing armor, why do you have to do this kneeling ceremony?" Wang Mang helped him up with a smile, patted his shoulder, his face full of satisfaction.

This was one of the few brothers who supported him back then. In a few years, he had grown to this point, breaking the myth of the undefeated Left General Li Yang, and directly knocking him off the altar, dismissing him from office, and making him never to be reborn!

How amazing.

The reason why Li Yang was able to become the Left General, the Governor of Yuzhou, and a frontier official at the age of thirty was because of his outstanding military achievements.

He has never been defeated along the way, and with Xu Hua's deliberate support, he was able to climb to this position.

But as the saying goes, the higher you praise someone, the more annoying it is when he falls! This defeat in Ruyin directly caused the internal dissatisfaction with him to burst out completely.

This is the benefit of seniority. Li Yang’s ancestor Li Guang suffered many defeats, but he did not lose his military position because of this.

"I thank Your Majesty!" Wang Yi did not act pretentiously and stood up. This was his cousin!

Wang Mang laughed and said, "In this battle, you have really shown the power of our Daxin! The whole country is praising you, the military god of our Daxin Dynasty, for defeating the young general of the Han Dynasty."

“It’s exciting.”

This long-awaited victory directly awakened the enthusiasm of the people who were inclined towards the new dynasty.

Wang Yi quickly said modestly: "I dare not take credit for it. It was mainly because of the cooperation between Governor Zhang and me, and Li Yang's underestimation of the enemy that we were able to defeat the enemy."

"If it happens again, I can't guarantee the result. The most likely result is... I will be repelled by Li Yang, but I won't be defeated."

"I am not a vegetarian either!"

He was telling the truth this time. If it happened again, without the support of a traitor or mutiny, he would indeed have no chance of repeating the same mistake again.

After all, Wang Yi's military talent is not as good as Li Yang's.

Luck plays a huge role. If the enemy is not lured deep into our territory, the plan would fail before it even begins.

However, there is no if in everything, the fact is the fact! In the Battle of Fancheng, if there had not been the continuous heavy rain, Guan Erye would not have been able to accumulate strength to break the dam, flood the seven armies, and shock China. How could he have become the martial saint respected by the world in the future?
Luck is also part of strength.

"You are too modest. This is your ability! I only know that you defeated Li Yang and took over the entire Yuzhou for Daxin! If you have made a contribution, I will reward you!"

"You have reached the end of your official rank. The next highest position is Grand Master. You don't think you can compare with King Jingxuan, do you?"

"I dare not, I dare not. I absolutely dare not be compared with King Xuan! He is a real hero!" Wang Yi was immediately frightened by his brother. Isn't this just flattering himself?
Even if I could break into Wancheng, I couldn't be compared with King Xuan! He was the one who helped Emperor Gao conquer the world and defeated Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu who buried the Qin Dynasty in the grave during the Battle of Julu!

If it was Xiang Yu who was guarding Ruyin, Wang Yi's head would have been chopped off by this human-shaped bulldozer long ago.

This is the Overlord of Chu, an invincible being, who can only be compared to the legendary military genius Han Xin.

Seeing his brother and meritorious official frightened, Wang Mang laughed and said, "Don't get excited, don't get excited. I was just joking. You are my new Xu Zhen. It's not too much to praise you like this."

Seeing this, Wang Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, please stop teasing me."

"Yes, let's go into the city. We can talk slowly once we get there."

Wang Mang then ordered the Imperial Guards to clear the way and welcome the great hero into the city.

Wang Taibao was personally welcomed into Chang'an City by the emperor in great glory. The people lined the streets to welcome him, singing and dancing, and offering him food and drink.

At this time, the Xin Dynasty was still popular among the people. The founding ancestor had just ascended the throne, and his previous efforts were still quite useful. He was still the white moonlight and savior in everyone's hearts.

The dream was shattered, and the new dynasty was condemned by everyone until the reforms failed.

Weiyang Palace.

Wang Mang and his ministers sat on the ground for two days, drinking tea from each other, with quite reserved expressions.

Wang Yi's tense mood due to the war was finally relieved. The generals and soldiers had been under great pressure, having to face the enemy's surprise attacks at all times and could not relax at all.

Now we have finally welcomed the long-awaited peace.

"Your Majesty, our army has won a great victory in this battle! Next, your dream can also be realized, that reform that can change everything!"

He said excitedly that Wang Yi and his brother were definitely like-minded partners who had been working hard for their ambitions and now their hard work had finally paid off.

Hundreds of thousands of new troops were stationed in Runan to intimidate Xinye, the gateway to Nanyang. Liu Xiang did not dare to act rashly, and the war in Yanzhou gradually subsided. After peace talks, both sides were willing to cease fire.

It can be said that the time is ripe and the Han army will not launch a large-scale attack in a short period of time.

The new army also threatened Xinye, while the Han army of 100,000 in the northwest threatened Guanzhong. Everyone maintained a delicate balance, and no one dared to break it rashly.

This means losing the initiative.

Wang Mang also took a sip of tea and said lightly: "You are right. The opportunity I have been waiting for has finally arrived."

"Although it is a little different from what I imagined, it is not bad. It is now being implemented in Guanzhong and Bashu."

"People all over the world will see how corrupt the Han Dynasty was."

Wang Yi clasped his fists and congratulated: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, brother, your dream has come true."

Wang Mang's retro reforms included currency reform, land reform, a major change in the names of officials and places, and the implementation of the Five Equalities, credit loans and six controls.

Credit lending is undoubtedly more advanced. Banks can make huge profits with this service. They can make money out of nothing by lending depositors' money to large enterprises and charging a lot of interest. They have to pay very little, except for the credit issue, but the benefits are huge.

Have a lot of cash flow in hand.

But the times are limited. The dissemination of information in the new dynasty was not convenient. Local wealthy families colluded with officials, deceived their superiors and concealed the truth from their subordinates. In the end, the wealthy class benefited, and the common people did not gain much benefit.

However, reforming the land system to the well-field system, namely the king-field system, offended the landlord class. The salt and iron coinage rights were nationalized, all the land was taken back, slavery was abolished, and land annexation was prohibited!
The original intention is undoubtedly good. It sounds good to fundamentally stop land annexation, eliminate private land ownership, and evenly distribute land to the people for cultivation.

But Wang Mang overlooked one very important thing.

That is, nowadays, all the people who control resources and wealth in the world are landlords. How can it not arouse resistance if their land is forcibly deprived? Even if land reform is to be carried out, it is usually done step by step.

Protect the interests of the rich peasants and isolate the powerful people who hold large amounts of land, leaving them isolated and helpless.

Such a fatal blow can be said to have directly pushed all land owners in the world to the opposite side.

Coupled with other reforms, ordinary people also suffered greatly, and the entire Xinmang power struggle was isolated.

Since the Tianfeng period, natural disasters have continued to hit the world, making the situation even worse.

The land owners whose fundamental interests were violated and the refugees who could not survive stood up in resistance, and uprisings of all sizes continued. The most famous of them were naturally the Green Forest Army, the Red Eyebrow Army and the Bronze Horse Army.

However, the Green Forest Army probably would not exist, or would not be called this name, because the birthplace of the Green Forest Army was in Nanjun, Jingzhou.

This place belongs to the Han Dynasty. Even if an uprising breaks out, it will be quickly put down.

After all, Jingzhou is the base of the Han Dynasty.

In January of the following year, Wang Mang changed the reign title to Tianfeng and began to implement large-scale retro reforms, using ancient place names to replace current place names to demonstrate his determination.

Promote Zhou rituals and govern the country with virtue.

Of course, this is not the most important thing. The highlight, what Wang Mang was most optimistic about was the Wangtian system, which was a disguised well-field system. All the land in the world would be nationalized, including natural resources such as streams and mountains.

He also initiated a currency reform, abolished the previously issued currency in circulation, and began to diverge from Xiang Han.

Other reforms such as credit loans were also introduced.

"Your Majesty... other ministers may not object, but can we... reconsider the royal land system? I'm afraid it will shake the foundation of the country."

In the council hall, a minister said in great embarrassment!

"I second the motion. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

"I second the proposal!"

Many ministers expressed their agreement. After all, they also had land, and this also shook up their piece of the pie.

How could a policy that shakes the fundamental interests of the major power holders across the country have any possibility of being implemented?

On the main seat, Wang Mang said sternly: "I have made up my mind, please stop trying to persuade me."

"Your Majesty, please think twice..."

"enough!"

At this moment, hundreds of neatly dressed royal guards rushed in, holding spears and with cold eyes.

(End of this chapter)