Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 422

"Brother, you can rest in peace now!" Liu Daogui buried Liu Yu south of Emperor Wu of Han's Maoling Mausoleum, with Zhongnan Mountain behind him and Jiuzong Mountain to the north.

Except for the fact that the mausoleum was not large enough, all the other burials were carried out according to imperial rites.

All the Tiger Guards wore mourning clothes, and orders were issued for major cities and towns such as Chang'an, Yecheng, Luoyang, Xuchang, Pengcheng, Jiankang, Xiangyang, and Chengdu to wear white mourning clothes for them.

We'll discuss the titles and posthumous names after we return to Jiankang.

Liu Yu's wish before his death was to become a king or an emperor, and Liu Daogui tried his best to fulfill that wish.

Without him defending the south against the rebels and controlling the court, Liu Daogui's rise to power would have been at least twice as difficult.

There is a high probability that they will be restrained by various forces within the imperial court and thus unable to launch a northern expedition.

Liu Daogui drank alone in front of the grave, recalling his early years of struggling to survive, suffering from hunger and cold, as if it were a lifetime ago.

Feng Kai said, "General, you have achieved great success in defeating the Northern Wei, destroying the Yao Qin, and recovering Guanzhong. The court has not yet rewarded you for such a great achievement. We must not take it lightly."

"Whether they bestow rewards or not is no longer up to them. The Northern Expedition has been a great victory, and the righteous cause and the hearts of the people are on my side." Liu Daogui's mindset has changed.

Compared to the vast lands of the North, Jiangdong is but a small corner of the country.

No matter how much trouble they cause or how much deceit they engage in, it won't affect the overall situation.

"Your subordinate dares to humbly request that the Great General ascend the throne as soon as possible to reassure the people and bring order back to the empire!" Feng Kai knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with emotion.

The surrounding guards and officers were all eager.

This is everyone's long-cherished wish.

Liu Daogui gazed at Maoling to the north, where withered grass grew and the emperor's majesty was reduced to a hill. "This matter is not urgent. There are more important things to do than ascending the throne."

Feng Kai was taken aback. "This subordinate is ignorant. Please enlighten me, General."

"Move the capital." Liu Daogui poured a cup of strong liquor in front of Liu Yu's shrine.

Jiankang is a good place, a place of strategic importance, with the Yangtze River as a natural barrier, but it is also limited by the river.

Most importantly, from top to bottom, from the imperial court to the local level, the tentacles of the aristocratic families permeated every aspect of life. When the emperor proclaimed himself emperor in Jiankang and made Jiankang his capital, he had to compromise with the aristocratic families.

"One who stays near ink gets stained black, and one who stays near vermilion gets stained red." If you don't compromise, you will gradually be infiltrated by them.

This is the greatest strength of the aristocratic families. Huan Wen was a hero in his time; if he hadn't gotten involved in the intrigue and scheming with these families, he would have conquered the land long ago...

Only by moving the capital can the foundation of the aristocratic families be severed.

Although another group may rise again, it will still be better than the deeply entrenched Jiangzuo.

"Where does the General intend to move the capital?" Feng Kai seemed to have expected this, and his face showed little surprise.

Liu Daogui slowly read: "At the end of the Han and Wei dynasties, people migrated and half of them died. The Liu family, after five generations, established their lineage. By the year of Jiawu, they returned to China, established a hegemony in Chang'an, brought great joy to the Qin region, and made the six barbarian tribes submit."

"The Golden Knife Prophecy?" Mao Dezhu and Zhu Lingshi were both astonished.

Feng Kai said urgently, "Guanzhong has suffered from severe drought for years, the land is barren, and the Hu people are everywhere. How can it be a place to build a capital? Luoyang, the eastern capital, is also protected by mountains and rivers. It is backed by the Central Plains and looks north towards Bing and Ji. It is truly an excellent place."

Liu Daogui raised his wine cup and offered a distant sacrifice to Maoling, saying, "The severe drought over the years is merely a natural disaster. We only need to build water conservancy projects to restore the fertile lands of thousands of miles. With the barbarians everywhere, we need an emperor to guard the country's gates. Guanzhong is the head, Guandong is the heart, and Jiangzuo, Jingxiang, and Shuzhong are the limbs. Without Guanzhong, there is no world!"

The Golden Knife Prophecy is not just a simple prophecy, but rather a work of profound observation.

"What the General says is very true. Only by establishing the capital in Guanzhong can we keep the surrounding barbarians in check. Otherwise, as soon as we leave, chaos will ensue. To the west, there are the Hu Xia, the Northern and Southern Liang, and the Western Qin, all of whom are eyeing us covetously."

Mao Dezhu was the first to agree.

Liu Daogui nodded, “If a nomadic dynasty were to rise in Guanzhong, it would be a catastrophic disaster for China. The Fu clan was just one branch of the Di people back then. Fu Hong, Fu Jian, and Fu Xiong went through countless hardships to fight their way back to Guanzhong, but in less than twenty years, the Di-Qin dynasty rose to power and swept across the east of the pass. This shows the potential of Guanzhong. Guanzhong is the ancestral burial ground of the Han people, and I must protect it!”

Before Fu Jian, there were the Qin and Han dynasties, both of which conquered the world from a corner of Guanzhong.

With the capital established in Guanzhong, Liangzhou and Bingzhou came under his control. The chaos of the Five Barbarian Invasions began in Liangzhou and Bingzhou.

With changes occurring in the Guandong region, the infantry, cavalry, and naval forces sailed downstream and pacified the area within a short period.

The advantages of having Chang'an as the capital are numerous.

"The General is indeed far-sighted." Feng Kai no longer insisted on his own opinion.

At this moment, Zhu Lingshi said, "It is certainly not wrong for us to follow the General to move to Chang'an, but the ancestral homes of our clans in the Northern and Western Prefectures are all in the Jianghuai region. It is difficult to leave our homeland, I'm afraid..."

"The people of Beifu are immigrants from various northern prefectures who have migrated south. Since they can move to Jiangzuo, why can't they move to Guanzhong? Anyone who moves to Guanzhong will be promoted one rank in military merit, and each household will have an additional 100 mu of military land on top of their original land. They will also be given priority in official promotions. Civilians who move to Guanzhong will be promoted to good households, and slaves who move to Guanzhong will be promoted to civilian households!"

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Moving the capital to Guanzhong would be in the best interest of the soldiers, ensuring they would have plenty of battles to fight.

When Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, started his career in Pei County, his soldiers followed him first to Hanzhong and finally settled in Guanzhong.

These days, population migration is all too common. Take Sichuan as an example: after Qin conquered the states of Ba and Shu, more than 40,000 people migrated to Sichuan. During the Three Kingdoms period, when Liu Bei entered Shu, more than 100,000 people migrated from Jingchu to Sichuan.

After Jin conquered Shu, it relocated hundreds of thousands of people from Shu to fill the various prefectures of Yong and Bing.

As long as the incentives are sufficient, there's no need to worry about attracting customers.

Migration is something that only requires a strong monarch.

"This matter is settled. This is a national policy. Everyone should work together to relocate people to populate Guanzhong in batches after the spring of next year." With Liu Daogui's current prestige and authority, it is not difficult for him to accomplish this.

As long as it benefits China, we can do it boldly.

"We obey!" No one objected.

Back to Chang'an.

Everyone started getting busy, from top to bottom.

Yao Xing surrendered at the last moment, and the Qin official system was still intact and could continue to function normally.

Liu Daogui reinstated a group of people with both integrity and ability, and dismissed a group of mediocre people.

The infighting among officials in Qin was not as intense as in Jiangdong. Scholars faced a huge survival crisis, and mediocre people found it difficult to gain a foothold. There were also not many powerful families, so the overall quality of the people was quite good.

Wang Shang was the most outstanding among them.

During his tenure as the governor of Liangzhou, he pacified the remaining people and guided them with trust and righteousness. All the tribes in Hexi were grateful for his benevolent influence and readily submitted to him. The various Xianbei tribes even sent envoys to pay tribute to Qin.

Later, Tufa Rutan presented Yao Xing with three thousand horses and thirty thousand sheep. Yao Xing, in a moment of folly, considered Tufa Rutan a loyal minister and appointed him as the governor of Liangzhou in place of Wang Shang. From then on, Liangzhou no longer belonged to Yao Qin.

Below Wang Shang were a group of scholars including Zong Chang, Zhang Mu, Bian Xian, and Hu Wei.

It is these people who have enabled Yao Qin to persevere to this day.

Liu Daogui recruited Wang Shang, Zong Chang, Zhang Mu, Bian Xian, and others into the General's staff, promoting Wang Shang to Prefect of Jingzhao, and Zong Chang, Zhang Mu, and Bian Xian to be Sima and Changshi respectively, responsible for pacifying the various Hu tribes in Guanzhong.

These people were indeed quite capable. As soon as they took office, peace was restored both inside and outside the country, and the fleeing soldiers and refugees returned to their homeland one after another.

Organize them and start clearing land ahead of time.

Even some Xianbei and Xiongnu people came to join him.

In terms of governance capabilities, we still need to rely on these scholars.

"Your subject has three strategies for governing Qin, and I request Your Majesty to make a decision." Wang Shang was grateful for Liu Daogui's recognition and directly referred to himself as "your subject."

Liu Daogui said, "Wang Yin, please speak quickly."

"The Qiang and Di people have lived in Guanzhong for hundreds of years and have long been assimilated. There are quite a few who have the heart of China. We should guard against them, but we can also use them. If we make them all slaves, we will be turning them away. We should select the loyal and brave as good households, the diligent as common households, and the cunning as slaves and lowly people."

There were also many Qiang people among the Han army.

So many years have passed, and the Qiang people are not much different from the Jin people. When Guanzhong was in great turmoil, the Qiang and Jin people banded together for warmth, which gave rise to the Yao Qin dynasty.

“Okay!” Liu Daogui nodded in agreement.

"Secondly, Buddhism is flourishing in Guanzhong, and it is taking over fertile land and hiding the population. We should suppress Buddhism and make it report the population and land ownership, and pay taxes to the government."

Not only was Yao Xing a Buddhist believer, but Emperor Xiaowu, Sima Daozi, Wang Gong, and Wang Mi were also Buddhist followers. This shows the great influence of Buddhism, which had long been an invisible high-ranking sect. Servants cultivated the land for them, while high-ranking officials and nobles offered them gold and silver as "worship" to the Buddha.

With money, people, and power, this kind of development will inevitably shake the foundation of the government.

"I will send three thousand elite cavalry to your command. Advance in an orderly manner and do not let Guanzhong become chaotic. But if anything goes wrong, I will be here. Go ahead and do it." Liu Daogui naturally understood the difficulties involved.

Wang Shang looked grateful. "Rest assured, my lord, I know how to do it."

He had served as the governor of Liangzhou, a place where Buddhism flourished, and he was well aware of the potential dangers that might arise from the growth of Buddhism.

These days, it's not just the Celestial Masters sect that causes trouble; monks can rebel too.

In the fifteenth year of the Taiyuan era (390 AD), Wu Zhu, a man from Beiping County, gathered a thousand men and supported the monk Fachang as emperor. They then captured Beiping County, attacked Guangdu, and stormed into Bailang City.

"What is the other plan?"

Wang Shang cupped his hands and said, "When you were in the Central Plains, you often implemented policies to benefit the people, reducing taxes and levies, which calmed the hearts of the people. Why have you been so silent since entering Guanzhong?"

"You're right, it was my oversight. Issue an order that the people of Guanzhong be exempt from taxes for three years." I had been so busy with military affairs and the relocation of the capital that I forgot about this.

To conquer the world, one cannot rely solely on swords and spears; one must also consider the hearts and minds of the people.

During Yao Xing's reign, he promoted Buddhism and waged war year after year, eager to make up for his disastrous defeat at Chai Bi, which caused widespread resentment among the people of Guanzhong.

Since the decision has been made to include the Qiang people, we should win their hearts and minds.

(End of this chapter)