Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 422: Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish

After the Huns left, Liu Bei withdrew his gaze from Huochequan.

He couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. It would be much easier to conquer a tribe like the Xiongnu that had an official system than to integrate the Qiang and Hu in the northwest. As long as their upper class was separated, it would be much easier.

Liu Bei pondered and thought: "After Yongliang and Liangzhou are pacified and people's livelihood is initially restored in various places, it seems inevitable that I will go to Jinyang, Bingzhou, to stay for a while and figure out the thoughts of the Xiongnu tribes."

For such a major event as completely conquering the Huns, he had to go there in person to understand the situation clearly so that the officials could govern the country with the right remedy.

Otherwise, if we only look at the memorials submitted by the prefects and county magistrates and formulate a strategy to nibble away at the Huns, there will be a huge deviation, and we may even fail.

Liu Bei looked into the bamboo palace and saw a huge map with all the states of the Han Dynasty and the surrounding barbarians and tribes carved on it.

The most important thing now is to restore agriculture in all provinces and counties across the country. After the four counties in Hexi are pacified, the pace of the expedition will be temporarily stopped.

During the past two or three years, the princes were conquered too quickly. Not only was there a serious shortage of qualified officials, but the Central Plains and Huainan still needed blood transfusions from Xuzhou, and Jizhou also needed food and fodder from Qingzhou.

In addition, the court also mobilized grain and farm tools from Jingzhou, Yanzhou, and Yizhou to rebuild the seven counties of Sili.

Apart from the four Jiangdong counties that have already been sharpening their swords, if You, Bing, Yong, Liang and Jiao rebel again, he will not be able to spare any effort to suppress them.

It was not that the imperial court could not recruit troops, but that there was no extra food and weapons to supply the soldiers.

The world at this moment is just like the six counties of Qingzhou after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, with grief and devastation everywhere.

It took Liu Xuande three to five years of effort to improve the situation, and the farmland in each state would improve slightly, and the people would have surplus food.

Only then could he feel at ease to send troops to destroy the three counties of Wuhuan and his "old friend" Gongsun Du.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. You have to control the temperature. If the fire is too big, it will burn all the people. If the fire is too weak, the recovery effect will be very slow. You can't be careless!"

Liu Bei was filled with emotion.

Things like reclaiming farmland in the south of the Yangtze River and sending troops to garrison in the Western Regions require at least initial recovery in all places and three years of food storage for the people before we can officially start.

Otherwise, the First Emperor of that year would have been a lesson for the past. He built the Great Highway to defend against the Huns in the north, conquered the Baiyue in the south, built the Lingqu Canal, the Great Wall, and the Mausoleum of the First Emperor, leaving no chance for the people of the world to rest.

Otherwise, why would a huge fire be ignited in Daze Township in July of the first year of the Second Emperor's reign, burning away Ying Zheng's dream of eternal life in an instant?

Thinking of this, Liu Bei turned around and asked Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, how are the water wheels and farm tools in Runan, Jiujiang, and Lujiang counties progressing?"

"Regarding the replacement of soybeans with other crops, agricultural officials and agricultural students must inform the people in a patient and persuasive manner."

"Moreover, the soil and water conditions in each place are different, so we cannot implement them all according to the conditions in other states and counties. Immediately write a letter to inform the governors of the three places that the most urgent task at this moment is not to intimidate Jiangdong to measure the land, but to prepare for the spring plowing next year as soon as possible."

"Many situations require the governor and the county magistrate to personally investigate, and agricultural affairs should be managed with the same caution as the military."

"Don't copycat anything. It's best to understand the situation and then adapt it to the local conditions. Otherwise, if the grain harvest fails and the people starve to death, I will hold the county magistrates and governors of all places accountable."

"It also includes Gongcao, Zhubu, Duyou, Zhuji and others."

"When the time comes, you will be dismissed from office and stripped of your title. Don't blame me for being ruthless and not telling you in advance." The emperor's harsh words made Guo Jia smack his lips. Fortunately, he was not the governor of these three places, otherwise he would have been busy in fear.

Guo Jia also understood that the court must never slack off in governing officials. If the court slacked off by an inch, the local officials would dare to slack off by a foot.

It was not aimed at local governors, but at those officials who thought that the emperor was far away and would only stay in the capital, and therefore became negligent.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, 7,378,422 acres of wasteland in the three counties have been reclaimed, more than 20,000 irrigation channels have been dug, and there are a total of 3,538 water wheels. Various types of agricultural tools and iron tools are currently rarely promoted, and wooden tools are the main ones."

"More importantly, there is a lack of oxen in places like Runan due to the war. If we want to speed up reclamation, we will probably need to raise oxen on a large scale. It seems that this will not be achieved overnight."

Guo Jia bowed and said to the emperor.

"It's a pity that the cattle on the grassland are not suitable for farming..." Liu Bei sighed slightly, and then sorted out his thoughts and said, "There are very few livestock for labor in the Central Plains and Huainan. We can buy a large number of donkeys and mules from the Xiongnu tribe to replace some simple farming. It just so happens that the Xiongnu Chanyu and the kings have come to Guanzhong at this time."

"Order Wen Ruo to send someone to the Barbarian Residence to discuss this matter with the Xiongnu. The Han family can buy them with tea and refined salt. This is not a forced sale."

"Does the Luoyang Artisan Office have any convenient agricultural tools? The research on military equipment can be put aside for the time being. Now that all counties are converting from military to agricultural, let them focus more on iron tools and agricultural tools."

"Order people to search for more iron smelting coal mines in the Sili and Hebei areas, and use fire and water to open the mines, so as to dig and transport them."

Coal mines had actually been discovered a long time ago and could be used to burn and smelt iron, but most of them were mined in open-pit mines because of the lack of manpower for large-scale mining and the limitations of transportation.

The selling price was extremely high. Not to mention the common people, even the wealthy families could not afford it.

If you want to use coal for heating in winter, it is cheaper to go to the mountains to chop firewood and logs.

Therefore, Liu Bei did not think about promoting coal because the price was too expensive and long-distance transportation was not worth the cost.

Once a coal mine is found, it can only be mined and used in nearby areas. It can be used to smelt iron, but it cannot be used for heating.

After asking about Huainan and other places, Liu Bei turned his attention to Jiaozhou. There was a plant in this place that was particularly suitable for making sugar.

Introducing this plant to Jingzhou, Yangzhou and other places has opened up a new trade route. Not only can it be sold to the Western Regions and beyond the Great Wall, but it can also be exchanged for some useful things along the Maritime Silk Road.

"Has the messenger sent by the imperial court to Jiaozhou not received any letter yet?"

Liu Bei frowned slightly and asked.

"There has been no news so far, but I think the Jiaozhou nobles would not dare to harm the envoys. It has been half a year since Jingzhou was restored, and the Jiaozhou nobles should have sent people to the north. There should be news reaching Guanzhong by the end of this year. Your Majesty should wait for the time being."

Hearing the emperor's question, Guo Jia was confident and said with a smile.

But soon, he showed a trace of worry, thought for a while, and said with a cupped hand: "Your Majesty, Jia is not worried about Jiaozhou, but the many barbarians in the south of Yizhou. At this time, a large amount of food and grass is being transported from Yizhou to Guanzhong to restore production."

"But this move has placed a burden on the southern counties of Yizhou. Over time, they will surely become dissatisfied. We need to select a good official as a governor to pacify them."

Once chaos occurs in Yizhou, it will affect all matters in Guanzhong. As the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Guo Jia has to give advice to the emperor and think about this matter in advance.

(End of this chapter)