Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 471 His Majesty Saved Confucianism
On February 25th, the rain in various counties gradually subsided. Although there was occasional light breeze and drizzle, the sky was generally clear and the weather was bright.

Farmers and farm women near Xindu were busy shuttling between the fields, sweating as they used hoes to plow the land again and remove the rocks and weeds brought by the flood.

After a busy time, the common people finally planted the wheat seeds, calculating the harvest in half a year, and hoping that the wheat would grow slowly without drought or flooding. Their down-to-earth feelings made people smile.

Liu Bei was standing on a slope in the distance, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw this scene.

Now clans in various places are already preparing for migration, and if they stockpile more food, they can gradually migrate.

The military soldiers and assistants were also consciously patrolling the villages to prevent anyone from becoming desperate and uniting to rebel again.

There are always people who can't make sense of things. Such people will only kneel down and beg for mercy unless a knife is really placed on their necks.

"The prosperity of the world depends on agriculture. If we want to make farming more convenient, we need to let craftsmen study iron farm tools, raise cattle, donkeys and mules, observe the changes in the weather, and build water conservancy channels."

"We are studying whether the land is barren, how to fertilize it, and how to increase the harvest. If we can cultivate high-quality seeds, we will surely feed countless people. By then, a prosperous era will be just around the corner."

Liu Bei raised his hand and pointed to the vast farmland in front of him, and said with emotion to the officials of the Secretariat behind him.

Only by developing agriculture and feeding the people can we do other things, otherwise everything will be in vain.

At this time, the Han Empire could not even cross the sea to destroy Gongsun Du as it pleased, because the harvests of farmland in various states were far from recovered and the stored grain and grass were not enough to go out to sea.

Moreover, even if Lu Su built more than ten large ships in Donglai, he did not dare to order them to immediately sail thousands of miles north along the coast, for fear that they would be defeated by Gongsun Du before they could accomplish their mission.

Liu Bei looked towards the northeast, wanting to conquer Gongsun clan himself, wipe out Goguryeo at the same time, and then go south to take all the 3,000 miles of rivers and mountains into his arms.

However, a good cook cannot cook without rice. Last year's attack on the Huns and the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of herdsmen had already consumed all his food and fodder reserves of the past few years.

Within four or five years, the Han Dynasty would not be able to mobilize tens of thousands of troops to expedition to Liaodong, Goguryeo, and the Three Han in the south.

"We still have to find a way to develop maritime transport. If we can't go to the West, we have to go to the North. It would be best if we could find plants that are drought-resistant, barren-resistant, and high-yielding for the Han Dynasty within a few decades."

"Otherwise, after a while, sailing will be abolished."

Liu Bei looked toward the distant east, thinking silently in his heart.

No one would invest too much in something that would not yield any results, and the same was true for the imperial court.

Now he can still rely on his prestige to push forward various things. When the Han Dynasty is passed to the prince, he will follow his instructions and continue to push forward the plan.

During the reign of the third emperor, the sea voyages to search for treasures would also be stopped.

At that time, the Little Ice Age officially arrived...

Just as Liu Bei was thinking, standing respectfully behind him were Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Zhuge Liang, Cao Ang, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, Sun Quan, as well as Xu Shu, Pang Tong, Dong Yun, Liu Ba, Yi Ji and others who had arrived not long ago.

At this moment, they all stood with their chests puffed out, looking straight ahead, listening to the emperor's instructions. How could anyone dare not take it seriously?

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty took them to visit the countryside to inspect the spring ploughing matters. This was something that many scholars had dreamed of.

Such a scene had been longed for by all the scholars who had read the Confucian classics for a long time. Especially those scholars like Zhuge Liang and Dong Yun who had strict demands on themselves. Seeing that the emperor loved the people so much and was so benevolent to the whole world, their eyes were filled with joy.

Even if His Majesty suddenly asks, "How am I like the Lord?"

They would also immediately reply: "Your Majesty is the ruler of the Han Dynasty's revival."

His answer was definitely more sincere than that of the Minister Yuan Yan back then.

"Hoo ho ho..."

At that moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard not far away. The guards of the Ruichong Camp immediately stepped forward to stop the messenger, and then carefully checked whether there were any hidden weapons on him. After confirming that there were no hidden weapons, they let him go. Xu Shu and Sun Quan from the Zhongshutai also walked down the steps quickly to take the documents handed over. The two supervised each other's work. After confirming that the mud seal was intact, they opened the documents to check whether there were any hidden weapons. Then they stepped forward, presented the memorial with both hands, handed it over and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, Pingyuan Taishou Wang Xiu sent a memorial!"

"Hand it over." Liu Bei patted the dirt off his hands, turned around and said.

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu carefully stepped forward and handed over the memorial with both hands, while Sun Quan returned to the team at the Secretariat.

Liu Bei smiled when he saw this, picked up Wang Xiu's memorial and started reading it right there.

When the people of Pingyuan County heard that the emperor had visited Jizhou, Hebei, they were overjoyed and surrounded the prefect's residence, requesting Wang Fujun to write a letter to the emperor to come to Pingyuan County to enjoy fine wine and meat.

Since Your Majesty went to Luoyang, and then marched into Guanzhong to intimidate the three prefectures and recapture Chang'an, you have never returned to Pingyuan County.

If I miss this opportunity, I don’t know how many years it will take for me to pass through Qingzhou next time.

Many old men in their seventies with white hair and beards, leaning on the canes given by Liu Bei, pushed aside the people who were supporting them, and went directly to Wang Xiu, bowed and said: "Lord Wang governed Pingyuan County with clear rewards and punishments, disciplined officials and helped the weak, and won the praise of the people."

"However, we are old and frail, and we are like the sun setting in the west, with each passing day decreasing. We often look up to the sky and sigh that the journey to Guanzhong is so long, and we will never see Your Majesty again in this lifetime."

"I have heard that the emperor is leading his army to inspect the country and has already reached Anping in Jizhou. However, Pingyuan borders on the land of three counties and is only a few hundred miles away from Xindu."

"If you dare to ask Wang Fujun to write a letter to the emperor to come to Qingzhou for inspection, the people will provide fine wine and meat to reward the king's teacher."

"This old man's wish for the rest of his life is to ask you to write a petition on our behalf."

After saying this, he was about to bow down again, which frightened Wang Xiu so much that he quickly helped the leader up.

Not to mention that these old men have the dove staff given by the emperor, so he dare not look down on them.

Even if he didn't have a cane, he didn't dare to let others bow to him because of his old age.

Today, Han officials are different from those in the time of Emperors Huan and Ling. They can use their power to oppress the people at will. Moreover, in Pingyuan County, no one dares to do so.

"Please stand up, old man. I can do the petition, but your Majesty has important matters to attend to in Jizhou. I cannot guarantee whether he will come to Qingzhou or not."

"As a subject, how dare I try to understand the emperor's intentions? I hope you can understand me."

Wang Xiu shook his head and said with a wry smile.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety. The "Book of Filial Piety" was a must-read book for scholars. At the end of each year, the court would ask each county to submit a list of those who were filial, fraternal, honest, and hardworking in the fields to the Secretariat.

Then they distributed fine wine, meat and cloth as rewards.

The head tax for children aged seven to fourteen has been abolished, and mothers who have just given birth will be exempted from tax for three years, and their husbands will be exempted from tax for one year.

This was the Han dynasty's strategy to stimulate commercial taxes and reduce or exempt the arithmetic tax and head tax.

If you govern the country in this way, how can you not be loved by the people?

"Your Majesty has pulled up the shaky Confucianism and prevented it from falling into idle talk!"

Wang Xiu had been studying Confucian classics in Beihai County for a long time. How could he not see that the Confucian scholars were about to fall into trouble?

If the emperor had not taken personal action to help Confucian scholars find the right direction, who could know what the future would be like?
This is also something that many scholars, including Wang Xiu, dare not imagine.

Once people lose their goals and beliefs, they will either give up completely or do anything.

(End of this chapter)