Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 105 Cleaning the House and Removing Dust

The first year of Xingping, August 20th.

The rain in Qingzhou gradually became lighter, which made the powerful people feel relieved. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. The notice from Pingyuan County to Qi County, Beihai County and Donglai County was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples.

The provincial government notified all counties that the turmoil in Qingzhou had long been quelled, and now the rivers and seas were peaceful and tranquil. They should reduce the use of swords, spears, lances, axes, and melt the iron to make farm tools.

The number of well-trained soldiers in each family could not exceed 300 people, and they could not privately carry more than 10 crossbows. Those who carried more than 10 crossbows would be registered with the military office and incorporated into the outer court soldiers to serve as auxiliary soldiers in the fields, while their crossbows would be kept in the armory.

For every crossbow that was paid for each person, the prefecture and the government would pay in cash and fine silk.

At the same time, the Xuanfeng Battalion, which was carefully selected from the auxiliary soldiers, was stationed in Beihai County with Guan Hai as the acting captain and Yu Jin as the commander.

Liu Bei also transferred Ran's Chaiying over there so that they could cooperate with each other.

In addition, Liu Bei used the seal and ribbon to recruit auxiliary soldiers from the military headquarters of each county to prevent rebellion. He recruited auxiliary soldiers from Beihai to Qi County, transferred auxiliary soldiers from Qi County to Donglai, and summoned auxiliary soldiers from Donglai to Beihai, specifically to suppress rebellions in different places.

Outsiders will not be lenient towards the local nobles. If any rebels are killed, the spoils will be far more than what they would seize on the battlefield. The auxiliary soldiers are eager to fight and sign up enthusiastically.

In order to prevent various forces from getting involved, Liu Bei had people escort the great Confucian scholars Zheng Xuan, Guan Ning and others from Beihai to Pingyuan.

Even the Yellow Turban Army respected Zheng Xuan, so how could Liu Bei offend him? If some powerful person used the name of a great scholar to confront him in Beihai, it would easily put his reputation in a passive position.

Therefore, he asked his teacher Lu Zhi to invite them personally, and the Confucian scholars could not refuse, so they came to Pingyuan one after another as guests.

Measuring the land in the three counties and finding out the land properties and hidden population of each ethnic group is only the first step.

The second step was to separate their troops. Otherwise, there were hundreds or even thousands of powerful tribes in various places, which made Liu Bei uneasy. He could not bear to see soldiers beyond his control in his own territory.

If most of the powerful people in the three counties rebel one day, they can mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers at any time.

Perhaps Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were born into aristocratic families and were accustomed to having subordinates in their clans, so they could take it lightly, but Liu Bei could not do that.

The drought has almost consumed all the food stored by the wealthy families. If we don't kill the pigs and meat now and wait until they have recovered, the impact will be even greater.

The soldiers in various counties had long been abolished and the soldiers were under the management of the military government. Both the inner and outer governments had only management power but not the power to mobilize troops. Only Liu Bei's seal as governor of the province had the sole power to mobilize troops.

Military officials often spread the message that anyone who dared to mobilize troops without the emperor's personal seal would be killed, and anyone who dared to follow the emperor would be killed. This view had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers.

Liu Bei abolished the county troops and placed them under the command of the military government. This was not only to make it easier to mobilize troops, but also because there were already counterexamples.

In the early years of the Later Han Dynasty, the wealthy and powerful families used their influence in the local area to recruit soldiers through the county conscription system to establish their own regimes.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu reduced the number of local officials, abolished the county and state armies, and suppressed the local powerful families because of the decreasing population and the excessive number of officials and heavy labor.

At the same time as the county soldiers were dismissed, garrison troops were formed in Luoyang. After the county soldiers completed their rotation, they were disbanded and returned home to farm, and the garrison troops became regular troops to guard Luoyang.

Now that the imperial court has lost its authority, the powerful families in the world are taking advantage of the situation again. Liu Bei cannot control other states and counties, but there can only be one voice in Qingzhou.

In the study of Pingyuan Mansion, Lu Zhi and Liu Bei sat opposite each other on the couch, and Lu Zhi seemed to be hesitating to speak.

Liu Bei happened to see this after finishing his tea and chuckled, "Teacher, just tell me what you want to say."

Lu Zhi had been in poor health recently and had been recuperating in the courtyard without leaving the house. Apart from the Confucian scholar from Beihai, he had not seen anyone else.

Liu Bei could easily guess the reason for the sudden visit. "Xuan De." Lu Zhi pondered for a moment and said, "The nobles of the three counties have always been respectful to the state. Whether it is measuring the land or fighting against Yuan Benchu's horses, the clans have all helped. Isn't it a bit too much to reduce the troops at this time? It's better to take it slowly."

Liu Bei pointed out the window and said with a smile: "Master Lu, you haven't been to Beihai and Donglai to see for yourself. There are far more forts there than in Pingyuan and Jinan. What's the point of having so many forts to keep Qingzhou stable now?"

"I haven't ordered them to demolish the fort yet, so it's not excessive. Besides, they have money and cloth to exchange for people, so they haven't suffered any loss."

"As for the many powerful people in Donglai County," Liu Bei said with a smile, "Where did Gongsun Du get so many soldiers from? Do you think I don't care?"

"If it weren't for the troops they funded, how could Gongsun Du have tens of thousands of troops?"

"When they saw the enemy was strong, they turned against them and led the Liaodong people, Xianbei people, and Korean people to slaughter their fellow countrymen. When Donglai was first settled, they did not want to kill them, so I put the matter aside."

"How come they forgot it themselves and thought I forgot it too?"

"Besides, how many families came to Pingyuan to complain and actively cooperated with the county officials in recording their land and paying taxes? They all tried every means to hide. When I was fighting Yuan Shao and requisitioning horses, the wealthy families said that they had lost all their horses, but in fact they had even more good horses hidden in their homes. Did they think no one would report it to me?"

Liu Bei said this with a smile, but his murderous intent was growing stronger.

These powerful families usually play tricks on him, so don't blame him for playing real games.

The reason why he held back was that the time was not right, and the letters of denunciation from various counties had already piled up in five baskets.

Lu Zhi was somewhat speechless. Since the Donglai nobles were beyond help, then forget it.

Donglai was not his main purpose for finding disciples.

After a while, Lu Zhi asked again: "Xuan De, the Donglai nobles must not be spared, but Beihai and Qi County..."

After the teacher finished speaking, Liu Bei said: "Qi County and Beihai are indeed better than Donglai, but they are not as good as Pingyuan and Jinan. As a hometown of Confucian scholars, shouldn't they be a model for Qingzhou?
I am just following the old practice of Emperor Guangwu, where Confucian scholars serve their emperor with loyalty. I have been in charge of Qingzhou for the emperor, and I have rewarded the famous scholars and Confucian scholars in Beihai every year. I have built a Confucian academy to treat Confucian scholars of all schools with courtesy. The Confucian scholars in Beihai are resisting. Do they think Emperor Guangwu is wrong?"

Liu Bei was stunned and asked back.

Lu Zhi felt a headache when he saw his disciples confusing him.

Although Confucians respect their ancestors and honor their emperors and teachers, you cannot implement the laws passed by Emperor Guangwu two hundred years ago today.

Confucian scholars also have family businesses. If they are given small favors for personal gain, they will be cut with a planer and a knife. Who among the Confucian scholars would not feel distressed?

Liu Bei said solemnly: "The Han Dynasty can lead all regions only if it has prestige and authority. I dare to say that all lands that shine under the sun and moon belong to the Han Dynasty. Only those who obey will be rewarded, and those who rebel will be punished."

"If there are noble families in Beihai and Qijun who do not obey the Guangwu Law, they can bring their families and build ships to cross the sea to Goguryeo. I will allow them to do so."

"The powerful people often break the law and violate discipline, just because they rely on their power in the village. Master Lu, how can you sweep the world if you can't even sweep your own house?" Liu Bei advised Lu Zhi.

It's such a good opportunity, it will be too late if you don't make up your mind and take action.

The army was recruited and in place, it was just a matter of thought whether to be a wealthy family or a powerful person. Liu Bei didn't care even if those powerful people who had colluded with each other secretly openly rebelled.

The powerful who pretend to obey but actually disobey must eventually be sorted out to make room for the obedient ones.

(End of this chapter)