Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 461 Liu Bei: There are always people who take risks

"Zilong, why are you looking so solemn when you are enjoying such a beautiful view?"

Liu Bei and Bu Zhi were talking about the Xianbei affairs. By chance, they saw Zhao Yun standing next to them with a frown on his face, so they couldn't help but ask with a curious smile.

When they were climbing, Zhao Yun didn't frown like this, but why was he doing that now? Liu Bei saw Zhao Yun looking towards the south from time to time, and he suddenly understood. So that's why.

He then stopped, raised his hand and pointed to the south, and asked with a smile: "Zilong, do you miss Changshan Zhending?"

"Your Majesty..." Zhao Yun was a little embarrassed to speak, but he finally gritted his teeth and told the truth, clasping his hands and bowing, "Your Majesty, two days ago, Changshan Governor Zhang Yan wrote to me privately, saying that the Zhao family of Zhending has been buying up pond fields from nearby wealthy families in recent years, and has purchased farmland in various counties and towns in Changshan County at low prices, in order to secretly make friends with the wealthy families."

"Now the Zhao family of Zhending owns more than a thousand hectares of fertile land, which they rent out to the people of Heishan, using thousands of families as labor."

When Zhao Yun saw Zhang Yan's letter, he was in disbelief at first. He didn't expect that the head of the Zhao family in Zhending was so bold that he dared to make friends with the nobles of Changshan without telling him.

In recent years, he has been staying in the Yunyang Palace with the emperor and has almost no time to return to Changshan to worship his ancestors. He always asks his eldest son Zhao Tong to return to Zhending County to worship on his behalf.

Every time the eldest son came back, he would ask whether the Zhao family of Zhending was arrogant and treacherous, and whether they were doing whatever they wanted in Changshan County in the name of General Wei?
But Zhao Tong always shook his head and said no.

But now he discovered that the Zhao family was actually cheating and using his name, Zhao Yun, to make friends with the wealthy and powerful and seize their land. If Zhang Yan had not said in the letter that the Zhao family of Zhending had not failed to pay taxes to the court, he would have told Zhang Yan not to worry about his face and to come directly to measure the land.

The news came so suddenly that Zhao Yun was unable to figure out for a moment whether Zhao Tong was also deceived by the clan, or whether his eldest son and the clan leader were in cahoots to deceive him.

I heard Zhao Yun speak frankly about how the Zhao family of Zhending used the method of purchasing farmland to privately make friends with the wealthy families.

Not only was Liu Bei slightly stunned, but even Bu Zhi next to him also changed his expression slightly. This was a very serious matter.

Nowadays, all parts of the country are measuring the land and collecting taxes, gathering their soldiers and servants, and allowing the poor people who married off their wives and sold their children to return home. Those who suffered from famine or were captured by bandits and made slaves or maids will all be set free.

The various decrees of the imperial court were aimed at getting the common people to go back to farming and have the government distribute arable land.

Your Majesty has tried every possible means to make slaves and servants become commoners in order to weaken the power of the noble families and prevent the recurrence of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Under the preferential treatment of the Han government, many slaves wanted to become commoners again.

What's even more terrible is that when the Censorate and officials such as Zhang Yan encountered powerful families enslaving the people, they did not report to the Secretariat, but instead wrote privately to General Zhao Yun.

That is to say, Zhao Yun is honest and can say it directly, but what about others?

How many powerful people have begun to annex land at this moment?
Bu Zhi couldn't help but feel a shock in his heart, and horrible guesses lingered in his mind.

His palms clenched subconsciously as he began to sweat, and he prayed in his heart that the descendants of the Huaiyin Bu family would not think that just because the Bu daughter had entered the harem and had given birth to a son, they would think that they had been favored by the emperor and could become arrogant in Xuzhou Xiapi County.

"I have endured many years of hardship in Youzhou and finally became a governor of 2,000 stones. Please don't let me suffer with you."

Thinking of this, Bu Zhi's heart couldn't help but beat violently.

After the world has been stable for a few years, some people will gradually become bolder.

Have you forgotten how Guangwu and Xiaoming of the Western Han Dynasty cracked down on the powerful and wealthy?

Even if you have forgotten, have you also forgotten the six questions asked by the censors in the imperial edict issued in the first year of Jianxing?
As long as you touch something you shouldn't touch, even if the censors don't come to you, as long as the emperor takes it seriously, he can punish you and put you in jail at any time.

A shining knife is placed on the neck. When to cut it off does not depend on the nobles and the rich, but on the time when His Majesty settles the accounts.

Zhao Yun and Bu Zhi both had worries in their eyes, except Dian Wei at the edge who was still grinning, looking comfortable and light-hearted.

His family had been directly dispersed by the Yellow Turbans during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It was impossible for him to use his name to make friends with the powerful families, unless Naokina was resurrected. Liu Bei used his peripheral vision to calmly observe the crowd and the reactions of other officials nearby.

He helped Zhao Yun up with his hands, laughed and said: "Zilong, why do you have to do this? It was the Zhending Zhao family who made friends with the powerful families, and General Wei is General Wei."

"Zilong was a meritorious official who assisted the Han Dynasty. How can I use the guilt of others to blame the meritorious officials of the Han Dynasty?"

"I already knew about the Zhao clan leader's purchase of land. It has nothing to do with Zilong."

"After I have inspected all the counties in Youzhou and passed through Jizhou, I will handle this matter according to the law."

Liu Bei pulled Zhao Yun out of the matter of the Zhao family in Zhending having private relations with the powerful families.

He also made his attitude clear to everyone: clans are clans, heroes are heroes, and even those who are guilty will be dealt with separately, so everyone doesn't have to worry.

Those who do evil will eventually perish. He has given many people opportunities. If they still refuse to repent, don't blame him for issuing an order to relocate the tombs in the future and relocate the nobles and gentry from all over the country to Sili.

Since Dong Zang rebelled against the Han Dynasty, the mausoleums in Chang'an and Luoyang have been looted and burned. In order to prevent this from happening again in the future, this is unforgivable.

The only thing they could do was to relocate the clans and noble families who had received salaries from the Han Dynasty for 400 years to the vicinity of the mausoleums of successive emperors of the Han Dynasty to guard the tombs of all the emperors.

All future emperors must follow this order. Once they begin building a mausoleum, they must prepare to relocate the noble families.

Of course, the court would naturally pay compensation for this kind of relocation, and also use money to buy the land from the wealthy families' original hometowns.

For clan role models who actively cooperate, they can be conferred the title of Tinghou or Dutinghou, and several of their sons can be selected for important positions.

If anyone refuses to go, then the loyalty and filial piety of this clan must be thoroughly interrogated.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety. Their ancestors had enjoyed the Han Dynasty's salary for a long time. If their descendants did not think of repaying the Han Dynasty, they would be disloyal and unfilial.

As for the migration to Sili, the ancestor worship of each clan will be done by the remaining branch. If they are worried, they can send people to the ancestral hometown to participate in the worship every year.

"Gentlemen, governing a country must be based on the rule of law. If the law exists, the country will be safe. If the law is gone, the country will be in danger. It is more important to establish the law than to enforce it. If the law is established but not enforced, it is just empty words."

"Since the first year of Jianxing, the Censorate has traveled throughout the country, examining officials with six questions. The first question is whether there are any wealthy and noble families who use their strength to bully the weak, or use their numbers to bully the few."

"Second, check whether there are any officials who do not obey the imperial edicts and do not follow the rules and regulations, but only seek personal gain and favoritism."

"The three inspectors do not know how to judge cases, but only use harsh punishments and abuse the law to kill people."

"Fourth, investigate officials and clans who obstruct the imperial examinations, as well as those who abuse their power for personal gain and commit fraud."

"Five people are investigated for gathering people to spread rumors and instigate people to violate laws and decrees."

"Six inspections of officials who were appointed to office were in collusion with local clans, taking bribes, undermining government orders, and encroaching on the people's farmland."

"The Han dynasty governs the country in a round way without losing the rules, in a square way without losing the rules, in a fundamental way without losing the end, and in a way without losing the way of governing. If anyone violates the law, no matter how powerful he is behind him, the law will punish him."

"Being an official is hard, don't be unprepared, or you will be exiled to Jiaozhi or the Western Regions."

Liu Bei, with a half-smile, tapped the Dai county officials present.

(End of this chapter)