Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 154

Liu Bei handed the whip to Dian Wei, bowed in return and said with a smile: "I am here to meet the gentlemen of Xuzhou."

When the scholars saw him, they all bowed and saluted repeatedly.

"Envoy, let me introduce you to the wise men." As the person in charge of welcoming Liu Bei into Xuzhou, Mi Zhu was the only one who could introduce the various noble families in Xuzhou.

"Sir, this is the King of Donghai, a relative of the Han royal family." Mi Zhu introduced to Liu Qi who was wearing a crown.

Liu Qi was thin, with a long beard and a pale face. When he heard Mi Beijia introduce him, he immediately stepped forward. He didn't act like a prince, but bowed and said tactfully, "I'm honored to meet Lord Xuande."

He knew very well that if Liu Xuande had not recaptured Luoyang, his situation might have been even worse than it was now, and no one would take the Han princes seriously.

"Meet the King of Donghai." Liu Bei also responded with a smile.

There were seven Liu clan princes under his rule, and if Xuzhou was included, there were eleven in total.

These relatives of the Eastern Han Dynasty indulged in pleasure in the royal palace and collected taxes from their fiefdoms in peace. If it were not for the chaotic times, Liu Bei would hardly even have the opportunity to meet them.

"The Wang family of Tan County has produced many officials who have compiled and annotated Confucian classics. The family has famous scholars such as Wang Lang and Wang Jingxing, who first served as officials in Xuzhou and are now the prefects of Yangzhou and Kuaiji counties." Mi Zhu then introduced the head of the Wang family who was from the same hometown.

Hearing Wang Lang's name, Liu Bei asked with great interest, "Is this Wang Jingxing the Wang Si... Lord Wang, who has lived on the shores of the East China Sea for generations and entered the government as a filial and honest official?"

"Does Lord Xuande know Jingxing?" The Wang clan leader sounded a little excited as he cautiously probed.

Liu Bei thought for a moment, then suppressed his laughter and said, "I have heard that Your Excellency is an unparalleled eloquence expert."

He was not familiar with Wang Jingxing, but was extremely familiar with Wang Situ.

After the Wang clan leader bowed and left, he was a little confused. It was obvious that Wang Lang, a clan member, was well-read and became a famous scholar for annotating Confucian classics. How did Lord Xuande hear about his unparalleled eloquence, yet he, as the clan leader, didn't even know about it.

Mi Zhu then introduced the next person and said to Liu Bei, "Sir, the Lanling Xiao family is the descendant of Xiao Xiang of the early Han Dynasty, and one of their sons served as the Xiang of Langya."

"Greetings, Lord Xuande." The Xiao clan leader saluted respectfully.

Liu Bei quickly returned the gift.

But in his heart he was sighing: "The Lanling Xiao family is also a famous and prestigious family in later generations."

"Envoy, these are the Liu family of Pengcheng County, descendants of King Yuan of Chu." Mi Zhu introduced the distant relatives of the Liu family.

These people are descendants of Emperor Gaozu's half-brother Liu Jiao. They have lived in Pengcheng County for generations. Over the past hundreds of years, their branches have spread out throughout Pengcheng County. Now they have come specially to pay a visit to Liu Bei.

"We pay our respects to Lord Xuande." The Liu family members bowed and saluted.

They are also relatives of the Han family, but their relationship is too distant. If we want to talk about kinship, we have to start from Liu Taigong.

Although they are distant relatives, they are still members of the clan. Seeing Lord Xuande rising up, they had to come and pay a visit.

"Descendants of King Liu Jiao of Chu. Maybe there may be ancestors of Liu Yu among this group of people." Liu Bei returned the greeting and couldn't help thinking in his heart.

Then Mi Zhu introduced the Luqiu family of Pengcheng, whose family heirlooms included "The Book of Rites", "The Spring and Autumn Annals of Yanshi" and "The Book of Xiao Xiahou".

Another person came forward, and Mi Zhu said with a smile: "This is an outstanding son of the Chen family in Xia Pi, Chen Deng, Chen Yuanlong, who served as the commander of agriculture. His father, Chen Hanyu, is currently the prime minister of Pei State in Yuzhou."

"Chen Yuanlong pays his respects to Lord Xuande." Chen Deng, wearing a Confucian cap and exuding an elegant demeanor, respectfully stepped forward and bowed to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei helped him up and said with a chuckle, "When I was coming here, I passed by Pei County. Your father, Lord Chen, put aside his official duties and rode in a carriage to Xiaopei to greet me. I was very touched."

"Your Excellency came from a humble background, but you have pacified the disturbances in the world. You must be a man of outstanding character and the strategy of a king or a tyrant. The Chen family of Xia Pi has heard of you for a long time. Even if you come thousands of miles to meet me, what's the big deal? It's a pity that your father-in-law is old, and Deng has important matters to attend to, otherwise I would definitely go to Luoyang to meet you, Your Excellency." Chen Deng bowed and said sincerely.

Liu Bei helped him up again, looked at him carefully, and said, "I have often heard in Qing and Yan that Chen Yuanlong of Xuzhou is a man of extraordinary strategy and a talented person in the world. Unfortunately, the distance is too far to meet him. Today, I finally get to meet him in person."

"I am a man of limited talent and wisdom, and I dare not be a man of strategy. I am just a man who is loyal to his job and content with his lot."

Chen Deng answered modestly.

When Liu Bei saw Chen Deng bowing, he happened to reveal the scroll hidden in his sleeve, which caused Dian Wei to draw his sword instantly. "With a clang!" Everyone present changed color.

Liu He also drew his sword, and the soldiers from the Ruichong Camp behind him quickly surrounded him.

The incident happened so suddenly that even Mi Zhu, who was standing next to him introducing the event, was so frightened that he was speechless.

Liu Bei waved his hand to let Dian Wei and Liu He put away their swords first, and then asked Chen Deng with a smile: "What is Yuanlong hiding in his sleeves? Don't you feel it's heavy to put the bamboo slips in your sleeves?"

Chen Deng was stared at by Dian Wei in a stern manner. Although he did not change his expression on the surface, he felt fear in his heart.

If the envoy had not reacted in time and grabbed the fierce and fierce warrior with a bushy chin and a thick beard beside him, he would have drawn his sword and chopped off the man's head in an instant.

He didn't expect that Chen Yuanlong almost died here, and he couldn't help but feel scared.

Chen Deng quickly shook out the bamboo slips from his sleeves, held them up with both hands and said, "Your Excellency, the former governor of the state, Lord Tao, appointed Deng as the captain of agriculture, and he encouraged the people to engage in agriculture and properly plant grains and beans to fill the people's stomachs and reduce the famine caused by war. Now there are 62 counties in Xuzhou, and 325,384 hectares of cultivated land. This year, 3,231,323 hu of corn and beans were harvested. I hope Your Excellency will take a look."

Liu Bei took the bamboo slips and looked at them carefully, then said with a smile: "A nine-story tower is built by piling up earth. Yuanlong is loyal to his duties and is indeed worthy of the title of a talented person."

After seeing the number of cultivated fields, Liu Bei knew that Xuzhou had to be measured. In the second year of Yuanshi in the Western Han Dynasty, when Wang Mang usurped the throne, the Book of Han stated that the total amount of cultivated land in the world was 8,275,360 hectares, and various states and counties were also constantly reclaiming wasteland.

At present, the only arable land that can be counted in Xuzhou is 325,384 hectares. Over the past two hundred years, the powerful and wealthy have encroached on the arable land, especially during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling. How much land have the wealthy and powerful families hidden and not paid taxes on? The number of wealthy and powerful families in Xuzhou is even more outrageous than that in Yanzhou.

Could it be that the farther away from Sili one is, the braver one becomes? !
Liu Bei held the document in his hand and guessed in his heart that this was the attitude of the Chen family of Xia Pi towards his entry into Xuzhou.

It was clear that they wanted to stand on his side and support the land measurement in Xuzhou.

Seeing that the scholars were far away and could not hear the conversation, Chen Deng cupped his hands and said, "Xuzhou is a rich place, but it is difficult for you and the people to own it. If you want to govern Xuzhou, you must reorganize the administration, measure the cultivated land and collect taxes. You must first transfer heavy troops to the counties to prevent riots."

After a brief pause, he continued, "If you use Danyang soldiers to station in various places, you must be more cautious. Since the death of Lord Tao, the soldiers here have become more greedy and rebellious. They may be easily bribed by outsiders."

Liu Bei smiled and said, "Thank you Yuanlong for your reminder. Although the Danyang soldiers under Tao Gongzu are good, they are not as reassuring as the elite and brave soldiers under my command."

Holding the bamboo slips and thinking about the farming in Xuzhou, he could not help but recall that when Emperor Guangwu of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han measured the land, the situation in Qing, Xu, You and Ji states was particularly serious, and the opposition to the "land measurement" was the strongest. Almost everywhere, powerful people rose up and killed court officials.

Now Qingzhou had been plowed all over by the Yellow Turban Army. He measured the fields and suppressed the local tyrants in various counties before he finally got some land back.

Apart from Qingzhou, Youzhou was under the rule of Gongsun Zan, and Jizhou was still in the hands of Yuan Shao.

Only Xuzhou fell into his hands by chance.

Liu Bei sighed in his heart: "It seems that the powerful are making a comeback!"

He then handed the document to Liu He, and while Chen Deng was puzzled, he clapped his hands and said with a smile: "The golden monkey raised his thousand-pound stick, and the jade sky cleared the dust for thousands of miles."

Look carefully, you were the first to take action.

(End of this chapter)