The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 119: Training Dong Zhuo
There is a shortage of grain in Guanzhong and a shortage of salt in Guandong...

If trade is possible, it will be a good thing for both parties.

But will Yuan Shao and Cao Cao really agree?
Liu Xie pondered for a while, and he already had the answer in his mind -

Will do!

It is true that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are both enemies of the current imperial court.

But at the same time, they are also the two most heroic people in the world.

Although he was scolded harshly in public, he was still able to do the business he was supposed to do in private.

Given their courage, they will surely not refuse.

However, this kind of thing is obviously impossible to do officially.

Moreover, in order to open up trade with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, the abandoned salt administration in Hedong must be picked up again first.

This means that the court needs someone with sufficient political level and the ability to be versatile and balance relationships with all parties to go to Hedong to preside over the salt administration and trade with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Such talents who can stand on their own are rare in the entire court.

But what a coincidence...

Liu Xie looked at Zhong Yao and said, "Since Yuan Chang has made this proposal, are you willing to go to Hedong, take charge of the salt administration, and contact Jizhou and Yanzhou?"

In history books, Cao Cao once praised Zhong Yao as having "the same merits as Xiao He."

During the Battle of Guandu, Zhong Yao managed to squeeze out a group of war horses to support Cao Cao even though Guanzhong was already in ruins. He also persuaded Ma Teng and Han Sui to go to Hedong to fight against Gao Gan, the governor of Bingzhou under Yuan Shao.

Familiar with government affairs and understanding of personnel matters.

Apart from Zhong Yao, Liu Xie himself didn't know who else could take this position.

"Since Your Majesty has given the order, I am naturally willing to go to Hedong to govern."

"only……"

Zhong Yao seemed to be hesitant, but finally said: "I would like to ask Your Majesty for a seal to command the generals in Hedong!"

After Dong Zhuo returned from the campaign, he left Li Jue and Guo Si in Hedong.

When Zhong Yao went to Hedong to govern, he was bound to come into conflict with Li Jue and Guo Si on certain matters.

What if Li Jue and Guo Si looked down on Zhong Yao and refused to obey his orders, thus disrupting the political affairs of Hedong?
Even if they did not trade with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Guanzhong was in urgent need of salt from Hedong. Therefore, there could be no chaos in the government affairs of Hedong.

But even so.

Liu Xie still felt that Zhong Yao’s appetite was too big!
Although Zhong Yao was a member of the Imperial Academy who was selected as a filial and incorruptible official, he was still only a Huangmen Shilang with a salary of 600 dan.

Besides, he is not a direct descendant of Xiliang.

Now he wanted the court to grant him the power to command the generals in Hedong, which was undoubtedly a bit too much.

But then again.

Zhong Yao went to Hedong to take charge of government affairs, not to just play around.

If Zhong Yao was not given this power, how could he suppress Li Jue and Guo Si and make those Xiliang generals cooperate with him to carry out his official duties?

Perhaps, it was because Zhong Yao realized that he was powerless and had little influence that he wanted to use the sword of "Chijie" to intimidate those arrogant and powerful generals.

"What Yuan Chang said makes sense."

“It’s not just about salt administration.”

"Hedong also needs to distribute land equally and establish a military system. It is a time when everything needs to be rebuilt. If there is no strong intervention, I am afraid that Hedong will not be able to fully implement the imperial decree."

In Guanzhong, Liu Xie had nothing to worry about as he had the Secretariat and Jia Xu watching over him.

However, the imperial court's rule over Hedong was completely poor.

Even if it is only for the sake of the soundness of the court's laws, the officials in charge of Hedong must be given absolute power to restore the people's livelihood in Hedong as soon as possible.

"But the matter of keeping the imperial seal is of great importance after all, I still need to discuss it with the Grand Master first."

After all, this matter involves military affairs, and Dong Zhuo will eventually have to give in.

Because of the hot weather, Dong Zhuo completely collapsed in his residence, unwilling to come out to face the test of the scorching sun.

In addition, after the task entrusted to Dong Bai was accomplished, Dong Zhuo became even more reluctant to see Liu Xie, which made Liu Xie puzzled.

It was you, Grand Master, who entrusted my granddaughter to me. Why are you unhappy now that it's over?

Thinking that he had not seen Dong Zhuo for several days, Liu Xie took the initiative to go to Dong Zhuo's residence to find out what he was thinking.

……

But after meeting Dong Zhuo and mentioning this matter, Dong Zhuo looked suspicious.

"Why did Your Majesty go to buy food specifically to treat the victims?"

"Hasn't the court already done everything it should do? Why is it taking so much trouble to deal with both salt administration and trade?"

It can be heard that Dong Zhuo's ideas on people's livelihood are different from those of Liu Xie and others.

"Grandmaster, if the court doesn't care about them, many people will die."

"Your Majesty, even if the court intervenes, many people will still die."

Dong Zhuo has his own unique insights on how to govern the people——

"Even if the court spent a lot of effort to treat them, they would not come to thank the court. So why should the court do such a thankless task?"

"Besides, this is a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster."

"Natural disasters cannot be prevented."

"I think the court has done enough. There is really no need to buy grain!"

Cold and ruthless.

Perhaps only when it comes to his family members can one feel Dong Zhuo's warmth.

At other times, Dong Zhuo was still the frontier boy who fought his way up to the highest position step by step from the bottom.

Natural Selection.

Survival of the fittest.

Before, they had promoted planting and built water conservancy projects, and done so many things that benefited the people's livelihood, which made them considered a qualified court.

In this case, I have done my best.

As for the rest, it depends on whether the people themselves can survive this natural disaster.

……

Liu Xie sighed.

Although he had expected that Dong Zhuo would not care much about people's livelihood.

But it is really unbelievable that one doesn't care to this extent.

"Grand Master, the great Confucian scholar Jia Yi of the pre-Han Dynasty once commented on Duke Zhou, saying, 'King Wen had great virtue but his achievements were not complete, King Wu had great achievements but his governance was not complete, Duke Zhou combined great virtue, great achievements and great governance in one person.'"

"Now the Grand Master has quelled the rebellion and defeated the Han thieves, and has become the pillar of the country. These are actually just the Grand Master's achievements."

"If this continues, I'm afraid that the reputation of the Grand Master in the future will be like that of King Wu of Zhou!"

……

If someone had praised Dong Zhuo in the past as being comparable to King Wu of Zhou, I'm afraid Dong Zhuo would have been so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

But now that his target has been set on Duke Zhou, how could Dong Zhuo be content to just be a King Wu?

"What do you mean by 'great virtue', Your Majesty?"

"For a virtuous person, benevolence and righteousness are the first and foremost qualities."

Liu Xie asked Dong Zhuo to think about the equal-field distribution and military service systems that had been promulgated previously.

"The reason why these two decrees can be compared with some of the achievements of Duke Zhou is precisely because of their benevolence and righteousness!"

"Let the soldiers share the land and reduce their taxes. This is exactly how the Grand Tutor shows his sympathy for them!"

"The Grand Master has always been kind to his soldiers, but not to the people. Isn't it strange that he did this?"

What's so strange about that? Dong Zhuo: "Soldiers can protect the country and keep the land from being invaded. Soldiers can also defeat the enemy and win honor for their commander. Isn't it in accordance with the law of nature to cherish soldiers?"

"On the other hand, the common people need to be protected by the soldiers, and are often instigated by the soldiers to insult the soldiers and generals who protect them. Shouldn't we be more critical of them?"

"Rewarding soldiers will make them fight more bravely. But rewarding civilians will not bring any benefit, and sometimes will even lead to complaints. So why should we cherish them?"

Um……?
If Liu Xie had not been sober the whole time, he would have almost been led into a ditch by Dong Zhuo!

Dong Zhuo’s thinking is extremely utilitarian!
But this is normal.

If a general's character is not utilitarian, then he is definitely not a good general.

But when it comes to his view of the people, Dong Zhuo's attitude is a bit too extreme.

This made Liu Xie suddenly realize that it would be extremely difficult to get Dong Zhuo to extend the kindness he showed to his own relatives to every citizen.

It seems that there is still a long way to go before we can train Dong Zhuo to be a wise minister like Duke Zhou!

"Grandmaster, this is wrong."

"Soldiers can certainly defend their country, but aren't the people in the rear providing them with every bite of food and every piece of armor they wear?"

"We value the achievements of the soldiers, but ignore the contributions of the people. Isn't this a bit too biased?"

"As for the fact that the people are not grateful to the court, I think it is actually quite normal."

"Every year, the people are taxed by the court. It is because of the people's support that Chang'an can have the magnificent Weiyang Palace, the palace ladies can wear such beautiful silks and satins, and there can be countless fine wines on the tables for the court officials to enjoy."

"The contributions of the people to the court on a daily basis are actually far greater than the contributions of the court to the people on a daily basis. Because of this, it is not the people who owe the court, but the court that owes the people."

"In this way, when the people are in trouble, the court needs to do its utmost to help them overcome the difficulties. This kind of close relationship is the way for the court and the people to get along!"

"As for the noble families instigating the people...then the Grand Tutor should go and settle accounts with those noble families. Why is he forcing such a crime on ordinary people?"

Liu Xie's words made Jia Xu, Zhong Yao and Xun You's eyes light up.

It’s not that the people owe the court anything.

But the imperial court has taken too much from the people in the past!

It is hard to imagine that such statements came from the mouth of an emperor!

If everyone in the court could have the same mentality as Your Majesty that "we owe the people", then why would we not be able to love the people? Why would we not be able to revive the Han Dynasty?

But unfortunately, Jia Xu and others who didn't need to understand understood Liu Xie's words, but Dong Zhuo, who really needed to understand, was confused by Liu Xie's words.

Dong Zhuo still didn't understand why the emperor said that the court owed the people.

Liu Xie did not expect that just a few words from him could make Dong Zhuo suddenly realize his mistake and repent.

"Since the Grand Master doesn't like it, I won't say anything more."

"I have nothing to do anyway, so why don't you go out for a walk with me, Grand Master?"

Go out for a walk?

Dong Zhuo wiped the sweat off his face and hugged the ice basin reluctantly, obviously trying to pretend that he had not heard the emperor's words.

"Grandmaster! Have you forgotten that you promised me to lose weight?"

……

Dong Zhuo was helpless and looked at the scorching sun outside with fear: "Does it have to be today?"

"Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there?"

Liu Xie directly pulled Dong Zhuo and said, "Let's go! It just so happens that I haven't left the palace for a long time. Today I will go out with the Grand Master!"

?

What does "accompany the Grand Tutor for a walk" mean?
The Grand Tutor himself doesn’t want to go out at all, okay?
Dong Zhuo was still hesitating, obviously wanting to delay as much as possible.

"Grand Master~"

Liu Xie suddenly leaned close to Dong Zhuo's ear and said, "You don't want Lord Weiyang to know that his grandfather is a man who doesn't keep his word, do you?"

"Your Majesty is threatening me?"

"Someone! Go and call Lord Weiyang!"

"Can't I go?"

Dong Zhuo suddenly felt a little regretful, and felt that he had entrusted his trust to the wrong person...

Dong Zhuo changed into thin and transparent clothes made of gauze very reluctantly, took the ice basin, and walked out of the hall carefully.

"Zi!"

Just then, a drop of water attached to the outer wall of the ice basin fell to the ground.

Just after landing on the ground, a sharp sound of steam was heard!
In less than three breaths of time, there was not a trace on the ground, as if the drop of water had never fallen.

Dong Zhuo's pupils shrank!
"Your Majesty! You can't go out! Have you forgotten the military tactics I taught you before? The most taboo thing in marching and fighting is to march in the scorching heat!"

"It's not like we're asking the Grand Master to go to war, so what is he afraid of? And even if we do go to war, if we encounter scorching hot weather, we can just stay cool in the shade of the dense forest."

"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that the enemy will use fire to attack?"

"..."

In the end, Dong Zhuo was dragged out of the palace by Liu Xie very reluctantly.

But he kept holding the ice basin tightly in his hands, as if it was some kind of life treasure of his and he couldn't live without it.

It is now noon.

The scorching sun slammed heavily from the sky to the ground. The terrifying force almost distorted the space, making everyone's eyes a little blurred.

Traveling in this kind of weather is really a torture!

Dong Zhuo felt more and more resentful towards Liu Xie in his heart.

Why don't you stay indoors to cool off instead of coming out to suffer like this?
"Master! Look!"

Liu Xie pointed at the palace gate and motioned Dong Zhuo to look there.

That was a team of brave soldiers.

Even in such weather, they still wore heavy armor and stood guard here like stone sculptures, guarding the city gate.

……

Dong Zhuo understood what Liu Xie meant.

Dong Zhuo slowly let go of the ice basin that he had just let go of.

"Go and share the ice among the soldiers."

Dong Zhuo handed the ice basin to his servant and never mentioned the heat again.

"Your Majesty, this is exactly why I said you should treat your soldiers well!"

Liu Xie did not comment, but continued to invite Dong Zhuo to go out.

Because there are defensive canals around the Weiyang Palace, which provide a cool environment, the temperature is a few degrees lower than that in Chang'an City.

Chang'an City, where the people actually lived, was much hotter than the Weiyang Palace. However, soon after leaving the palace, one could clearly feel the horrible heat waves.

The group gradually approached Chang'an, the shops where ordinary people gathered, and the streets where ordinary people lived.

After passing a corner, Liu Xie paused and asked Dong Zhuo, who had been silent beside him, "Master, did you see it?"

I saw it.

people.

so many people.

Ordinary people wearing heavy clothes, still running around the streets.

“Standing in the Weiyang Palace and looking at the hustle and bustle of Chang’an, you can really feel the prosperity of Chang’an.”

“But only when you really stand in this hustle and bustle, you will find that the so-called “prosperity” is nothing more than people’s inability to control themselves.”

(End of this chapter)