Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 129 Xun Yu: I figured it out
After listening to Xun Yu's complaints, Liu Bei was speechless.

Unlike other princes who exploited the poor people, he chose to target the wealthy and powerful, and tried every means to make money from the gentry and powerful families.

The money used to suppress the various powerful families was spent on disaster relief in the later period, and the huge amount of gold and silver seized during the suppression of the Yellow Turbans was also spent.

Natural disasters occurred frequently since the beginning of the Ping Dynasty, and expenditures were not enough to cover expenses. Unless the treasury could save money by watching the people eat each other's children, the princes could turn a blind eye to it, but Liu Xuande could not.

All the people in the world are Han people. Others can abuse the common people, but the Liu family cannot do so.

Among the royal family members in the late Han Dynasty, none of Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, and Liu Yu were famous for their heavy taxes and extortion. In contrast, Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao were never lenient towards the people.

In history, Cao Mengde also encountered the same dilemma as Liu Bei, but first Cheng Yu supplied military rations, and later he was inspired by Dong Zhuo and appointed Fa Qiu Zhonglang Jiang and Mo Jin Xiaowei to borrow money from the ancients.

Liu Bei secretly thought that he could not emulate Meng De's path to wealth.

As a merchant, porcelain should be popular among the nobles, but unfortunately, since they haven't found the right soil, it will be difficult to make it in a short time.

Now is not the time to deal with the gentry, so we can only let the wealthy families in Taishan County suffer.

Liu Bei comforted Xun Yu and said, "Wenruo, the money and grain taxes cannot support the government treasury, so we should start the land survey in Yanzhou as early as possible, starting with Taishan County. This place is remote, and even if there is a rebellion, it will not affect the transportation of grain."

"Xuzhou's grain and fodder will be sent from south to north through Yuzhou's Pei County and the auxiliary soldiers and soldiers stationed in Shanyang County will be dispatched to transport grain to prevent looting."

Xun Yu nodded, and suddenly remembered that the envoy had dispatched troops to Mount Tai in March to prepare for the land survey. Could it be that he had already thought of how to make up for the expenses and specifically targeted the wealthy families?

When Liu Bei saw Xun Yu's strange expression, he immediately understood his worries. If the powerful families were hit too hard, the scholars would inevitably feel grief over their loss.

Patting him on the shoulder, he said earnestly: "Wen Ruo, when you do things, you must build a path through the mountains and build bridges over the water. You must be perseverant and face dangers as if they were nothing."

"I always yearn for the reigns of Emperors Wen, Jing, Xiao and Xuan, and miss the grand occasion of the Qilin Pavilion and Yuntai Pavilion painting portraits of the meritorious officials. When things are prosperous, strict laws are indispensable!"

"The grace of a gentleman is cut off after five generations. There are powerful families who oppress the people in the village and bully the common people, acting tyrannically and without regard for the law.

If we don’t deal with these people, even if we have the prosperity of the Yao and Shun eras, with these rats hiding in the world, it will bring shame to the emperor and his ministers, and leave a stain on the history books.”

Xun Yu could not help but praise him, saying that what the envoy said was reasonable and well-founded.

Everyone wants to leave a good reputation during his lifetime and after his death. Lord Xuande vaguely used Qilin Pavilion and Yuntai Pavilion to encourage him, and Xun Yu could still hear it.

People in the world pursue fame, wealth and power, and Xun Yu is no exception. If he can assist a wise ruler and accomplish outstanding achievements, perhaps the posthumous reputation that so many ministers dream of will not be out of reach.

The land measurement issue has been implemented since the founding of the country, but the intensity has been sometimes strong and sometimes weak. If you, the emperor, do not assist us, the officials, in clearing out the rats in the granary, how can the world turn danger into safety and prosper again?

Xun Yu understood instantly that if any powerful and aristocratic family was found to have violated the law, they should be killed as a warning to the rest.

This will prevent anyone from taking risks and violating the law again, and will undoubtedly save more scholars.

Xun Yu thought of the many gentry in Yuzhou who wrote to him, and asked implicitly about Lord Xuande's attitude towards the gentry.

They heard that Qingzhou had established a Youth Martial Arts Hall and an Agricultural Official School, adopting children and teenagers to train them as minor officials. Was it similar to the Hongdumen School?
Xun Yu replied, "The Wu Hall raises orphans of soldiers who died in battle and makes them military officers and clerks. The Agricultural School is run by Lu Gong, who is the doctor and the chief priest. It also selects orphans from the common people and branches of the nobles to raise them and make them small officials in the countryside in the future."

"I don't know much about the agricultural student, so why not ask Lord Lu in a letter? I think he will know more."

The nobles were speechless. Everyone knew Lu Zhi's temper and knew that he was writing the letter just to ask for trouble.

Xun Yu knew it very well. Ever since the envoy obtained the two states, many nobles could not sit still. They found their connections and wrote letters to him, hoping to find out something.

Some scholars were very enthusiastic, some were neutral, and some were skeptical about the Liu family's revival.

After all, it was still being spread privately: The one who replaced the Han Dynasty was Dangtu Gao. Liu Xuande might just be lucky. When Yuan Benchu ​​destroyed Gongsun Zan and Yuan Gonglu occupied Yangzhou and Xuzhou, the situation would suddenly change.

The world will eventually be ruled by the nobles.

The Liu family has enjoyed the Mandate of Heaven for four hundred years and has already declined, and this cannot be changed.

Mencius said: Every five hundred years a king will surely rise, and during that time there will surely be someone famous.

From the reign of Zhao to now, it is almost complete.

……

In mid-May, the red Han flags covered the sky. Liu Bei bid farewell to all the officials, his wife, concubines and young son who came to see him off.

Liu Bei climbed onto the horse, held the whip and bowed, then gently stepped on the horse's belly and rode away.

The soldiers raised flags and banners, and the flags and war drums were connected in front and behind. The cavalry led the way, and the Wugang chariots walked on both sides of the soldiers to be on guard and act as barriers.

The team marched forward in parallel, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see, and the horses' hooves kicked up dust on the road.

During the march, the soldiers put their armor and weapons on the baggage carts and had the auxiliary soldiers nearby transport them. Once the scouts brought news that the enemy was approaching, the auxiliary soldiers would quickly put on armor for them. They had already mastered the movements during training.

This time the troops advanced past Puyang in Dongjun, passed Bai Ma and stopped at Yan County to rest for a few days.

The reason was that Chenliu Prefect Zhang Miao was staying there with a group of nobles and wealthy families. He brought enough supplies to reward the army and came to visit Lord Xuande specially.

It was the first time for many people to meet him, and everyone with a little fame in Chenliu County came.

Liu Bei didn't want to disappoint them, and since the long march required a few days of rest, he agreed to Zhang Miao's request.

After the army had a short rest, they first took Chaoge to block the enemy in the north, and then led the army to attack Jixian, Gongxian, Huojia, and Xiuwu. They crossed the river from the ferry in Wude County and surrounded Huai County, the capital of the county.

Henei and Henan were the Sili area that guarded the capital Luoyang. Over the past two hundred years, thirty-eight cities of various sizes were built, which gave Liu Bei a slight headache.

He also received news from the front that the governor Zhang Yang had fortified his city walls and cleared the fields, gathering the Liangzhou soldiers inside the city and had no intention of engaging him in a field battle, which shattered his idea of ​​defeating the enemy in the field.

Liu Bei sighed, "Next time I go out to fight, I must not boast too much about my army. I should learn from Sun Bin's strategy of reducing the number of stoves and only count the combat troops so that the enemy will dare to fight."

It would undoubtedly take too much time to take down each city one by one.

Apart from Zhang Yang's reaction, the Xiongnu also changed. Most of their troops went to Hedong County to graze, causing Liu Bei to hold the documents and angrily curse: "Heluo Sili has become a place for the Xiongnu to graze. They can come and rob as they please."

Xun You pondered and said, "The Xiongnu bully the weak and fear the strong. Although they have a grudge against Qingzhou, we are now armed with sharp weapons. Even if they want to take revenge, they will not fight us.

Perhaps when Zhang Yang uses the city wall to destroy our army's spirit, the Xiongnu will suddenly attack and cut off the food supply, and then use the advantage of cavalry to encircle us. This is the Xiongnu's unchanging tactic for hundreds of years."

Liu Bei said: "Because the Xiongnu have many cavalry, I took the trouble to bring hundreds of chariots from Qingzhou to Henei. How can the Han Dynasty defeat the Xiongnu without using Wugang chariots?"

"Let the Xiongnu heal the pain of the battle in the desert north. Their ancestors were powerless with the Wugang chariots, and the same is true today."

"Let them know that it is not just the Xiongnu who can ride horses to plunder, the Han army can also kill their tribes. What the Xiongnu do, we will do as well. Anyone who dares to ride horses to commit crimes in Han territory will be killed without mercy!"

Liu Bei rarely showed a cold expression and spoke neatly.

　Do you have any tips for curing insomnia caused by excessive stress? Insomnia is so uncomfortable!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)