A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 146 New System
The moon sets and the stars fade, the dawn breaks.

Zhang Tang returned home.

Looking at his two sons, Zhang He and Zhang Anshi, who had been waiting quietly in the gatehouse all night, Zhang He felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

In the struggle for power, he only needs to wait for Chancellor Gongsun Hong to beg for his remains or die of old age to reach the pinnacle of a subject's power.

From the time of the old prime minister, the Han Dynasty bestowed upon him the title of Marquis. At that time, he had never been on the battlefield, and on his first day of being granted a title, he was already a marquis.

Prime Minister, Marquis, Lingyan Pavilion.

Suddenly, Zhang Tang realized that he had already taken ninety steps out of a hundred steps in life.

Even compared to the imperial family and the old prime minister's country, the Zhang family is truly a family of loving fathers and filial sons. Heaven, how have you been so kind to me?

"Father."

"Father."

Zhang He and Zhang Anshi called out simultaneously, practically flying to Zhang Tang's side. They looked Zhang Tang up and down, left and right, front and back, and saw that his forehead was a little red and swollen with faint traces of blood, but his body was unharmed. They felt both relieved and heartbroken, and were on the verge of tears.

Their father had been a cruel official for many years, with countless lives on his hands. From a young age, they worried that retribution would come. Therefore, they would look very carefully whenever their father came back. Occasionally, when their father was summoned to the palace, the two brothers would stand guard at the gate, regardless of the changing seasons, hoping that their father would return soon.

Zhang Tang accepted his sons' concern, gently patted his youngest son's head, looked into his eldest son's eyes, and smiled, "From now on, your father will be an eternal thief."

No matter how one describes or embellishes the reduction of the power of the princes, it is still an attempt to sow discord among the royal family. The royal family is the model for all affairs, and now it is being alienated by treacherous officials.

As long as filial piety is still praised on this land, his reputation as a "traitorous minister" will never end.

And this is the price we will pay for the gifts we will receive in the near future.

Zhang He was startled and quickly asked, "What does Father mean?"

Zhang Anshi also looked up at his father, not understanding what his father meant.

"You have nothing to worry about now."

Seeing that his two sons still didn't understand, Zhang Tang didn't explain further. He took his eldest son's hand in one hand and his youngest son's hand in the other, and headed into the mansion.

……

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Hall.

Liu Ju did not go to sleep; he simply ate some pastries and then returned to his desk.

Regarding the matter of the Dai region, the plan was devised by the uncle and the generals of the Northern Army; regarding the matter of the imperial clan, Zhang Tang perfected it.

However, there are many government affairs that he still needs to handle personally, especially matters concerning fame and titles, which Liu Ju will not delegate to others in the slightest.

The Prime Minister's office had already screened out ordinary government affairs, and there weren't many memorials presented to Liu Ju.

I. The Awakening of Insects has passed, and farmers in the countryside are leaving their homes and going to their fields. Spring plowing has quietly begun. The imperial court has ordered county officials to go to the countryside to supervise the plowing. In order to pray for favorable weather, the imperial court will hold a "Grand Ceremony for the Start of Plowing".

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, Emperor Xiaowen adopted Jia Yi's suggestion in "Memorial on Accumulating Grain Reserves" and issued an edict on the day of Dinghai in the first month of the second year of the Former Yuan era: "Agriculture is the foundation of the world. Let the imperial fields be opened, and I will personally lead the plowing." On the day of the beginning of spring, he personally led all the officials to plow the imperial fields, thus demonstrating his determination to value agriculture and encourage farming. This later became a custom of the Han Dynasty.

It means choosing a piece of land and having the emperor or monarch of the Han Dynasty personally cultivate it, putting in effort and sincerity, in order to receive the blessings of heaven and a bountiful harvest.

If a poor harvest or even a complete crop failure occurs, it means that the Han emperor was not sincere during the commencement of the planting ceremony, thus incurring the wrath of Heaven.

Liu Ju was not a fool; he knew that whether or not there was a good harvest had nothing to do with one's wishes, but was purely a matter of fate.

But the common people generally did not think so. They believed that the emperor was the son of heaven, and if heaven was angry, it was the son's fault. If there was a good harvest, they would not praise him, and if there was a bad harvest, they would curse him.

In recent years, in particular, natural disasters and man-made calamities have increased, and poor harvests have occurred frequently in various places, causing widespread discontent among the people.

Liu Ju recalled that it seemed that when he was three years old and able to walk between the ridges of the fields, his emperor father entrusted him with the "important task" of the Ploughing Ceremony.

Every time the local authorities reported a poor harvest, his father would severely scold him and then punish him by not letting him eat for a day.

Looking back now, I realize that my father was truly inhuman.

Unwilling to bear the "punishment from heaven" herself, she made her young son take the blame.

but.

The roles of offense and defense have shifted.

Liu Ju personally wrote an imperial edict: "Now that Your Majesty has gone deep into the countryside to understand the people's conditions, Nanyang is a major agricultural prefecture of our Great Han Dynasty. I request Your Majesty to choose a place in Nanyang to hold the ceremony for the commencement of the plowing season. I earnestly hope that you will be sincere and receive the blessing of Heaven."

The word "sincere" carries a particularly sinister connotation. It is believed that the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who were selecting land for the emperor to cultivate, would understand its profound meaning. They chose a few acres of difficult-to-cultivate land for the emperor to show their sincerity to heaven.

Second, with the Shangsi Festival approaching, it is appropriate to perform a purification ritual.

People would go to the water's edge to bathe and cure diseases, and the practice of soaking orchids in water for bathing was called "orchid bath to ward off evil," also known as "purification ritual."

People would use orchids or willow branches dipped in a medicinal solution infused with orchids to cleanse their bodies, hoping to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings. In the spring of March, when peach blossoms are in full bloom, the Shangsi Festival is also known as the Peach Blossom Festival. This beautiful scenery provided young men and women with an opportunity to meet and fall in love, making it arguably the earliest known Valentine's Day in China.

It was an event that everyone, from the emperor of the Han Dynasty to the common people, had to participate in. Liu Ju remembered that the reason his mother had gained his father's favor was because his father had passed by the Marquis of Pingyang's residence after performing the purification ritual on the Shangsi Festival.

Perhaps in the Emperor's mind now, it is no longer a story, but an accident.

Liu Ju smiled knowingly and decided to hold the Shangsi Festival purification ritual on the banks of the Wei River. After the orchid-scented water warded off evil, the ritual could be performed directly in the Northern Army to send off the soldiers of the Northern and Southern armies in the Battle of Dai.

Third, Colonel Zhang Cigong has entered the territory of the Nanyue Kingdom with Prince Zhao Yingqi of the Nanyue Kingdom, and will arrive at the capital of the Nanyue Kingdom soon.

The army led by Lu Bode, the Commandant of the Crossbowmen, and the troops of the State Army led by the princes and crown princes also arrived in Guilin County.

Ignoring the protests of the princes and crown princes, Lu Bode forcibly incorporated the soldiers of the princes' kingdoms into the army, leaving the princes without even a guard. Without their own troops, the princes were reduced to mere mascots and were "hung up" by Lu Bode.

In short, the imperial court's established plan for the southern campaign is progressing smoothly.

The imperial rescript in reply was simple: "Act according to the plan."

The major task is accomplished, and the minor tasks are settled.

Liu Ju rested for a while, and when he woke up again, it was past noon. He ate some fruits and vegetables and returned to his desk.

With such understanding ministers as Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang, he did not do much. He quietly promoted reforms in all aspects of the Han Dynasty. He issued decrees, but the system could not be entirely created by him, so that there would be room for reversal.

Liu Ju was determined to be a model of a wise and virtuous ruler and not allow any filth to splash on him. Therefore, most of the new policies of the Han Dynasty came from the Prime Minister's Office, and the imperfect system of the imperial clan would later be developed by the Imperial Library.

Only those with outstanding martial prowess and virtue, such as the Marquis of Champion who fought in Hexi and Wei Qing who planned for the Dai region, would have their deeds clearly recorded in the national history as being appointed by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty.

On the throne.

Liu looked at the summary from all aspects.

The first reform was to outline a general framework for the Han Dynasty and to address urgent issues such as the land system and slavery.

The effect was good; in a short period of time after the land ban was lifted, an additional 100,000 hectares of farmland appeared within the territory of the Han Dynasty.

The number of wealthy family servants who wished to renounce their status reached as many as one million.

Human and agricultural resources are being released in an endless stream, as the national strength depleted by the emperor's massive construction projects and years of war is being rapidly replenished.

However, Liu Ju was well aware that the national strength that could be restored was ultimately not the same as the national strength that had been lost before, and the harm done to the people was also irreparable.

The next second transformation was to straighten out the intricate relationships between the Han Dynasty's people's livelihood, national economy, power paradigm, and folk customs, much like the fundamental conditioning of the human body.

Liu Ju outlined five key objectives for the second phase of reform.

Firstly, the Han Dynasty was vast and sparsely populated, with much of its land lying fallow. It needed to continue to release the people's labor force, and even absorb the labor force of other ethnic groups.

As an empire, the Han Dynasty had a very large population and land area. However, the population of tens of millions of people was only a small fraction of the land area, which increased to tens of millions of square kilometers after the conquest of Nanyue and the suppression of the Xiongnu.

Even if the Han Empire ceases its external expansion, its ideal population should be more than ten times its current size.

Moreover, with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing around, the Han Dynasty had no reason to stop its conquests.

The Han Dynasty needs many, many people!

All the people and servants hidden by powerful families in the country must be recorded in the household register.

Then, let the world witness China's "mobilization capabilities".

Liu Ju planned to double the population of the Han Dynasty within ten years and triple it within twenty years, breaking through the 100 million mark and reaching a total of one billion.

Of course, this requires an environment suitable for the lives of the Han people. In a harsh environment, living things will first and foremost reduce their reproduction.

After establishing the Han people's population advantage, Liu Ju did not mind having the strength of other ethnic groups contribute to the Han Empire.

The tens of thousands of Xiongnu captives who had surrendered and were well-fed by the emperor in the new city performed remarkably well after going to Kunming Lake to dig sand, and they will be useful for the infrastructure construction of the Han Dynasty in the future.

Secondly, the unified system of government offices governing the entire country, with the coexistence of autonomous fiefdoms, autonomous territories, and counties directly under the central government, led to civil chaos and the dispersion of national power. Liu Ju wanted to establish a power paradigm for governing every inch of the country, reclaim the power of all officials to appoint low-ranking officials, subdivide the power of the central government into six levels: state, prefecture, county, township, pavilion, and village, abolish all autonomous fiefdoms and territories, and concentrate all power in the central government.

Thirdly, we must change customs and habits. People at that time were crude and dirty, and there were mountains of filth within the empire, which caused many diseases among the common people. We must ensure that everything plays its proper role and goes where it should go.

At the same time, marriage laws were standardized, allowing people to marry at the age of seventeen and establish their own households, and eliminating the bad habit of eating cold food and the chronic diseases of dirt and disorder.

Fourth, establish and unify new weights and measures to prevent merchants from defrauding farmers and officials from harming them. The imperial court cast legally mandated measures such as dou, chi, and cheng, which were publicly displayed in all county governments, and all taxes and transactions were subject to the same standards.

The imperial court's taxation was open and transparent, and all industries—agriculture, industry, commerce, and manufacturing—competed fairly and operated with integrity.

Officials should not exploit the people for personal gain, and merchants should not cheat the people out of their hard-earned money.

Fifth, establish a new military merit system.

(End of this chapter)