I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 176 At Least Today
The military-agricultural colonies mentioned by Cao Cao and the equal-field system in Jiangdong are completely different things.

Equal-field system involved distributing land to the people according to population size. Of the land distributed to the people, a portion was perpetual land that could be inherited, essentially private land. The other portion was allotted land per capita, which belonged to the state.

The essence of the equal-field system was the permanent land that first recognized the common people as landowners, making them property owners and thus increasing their enthusiasm for farming.

However, Cao Cao's military-agricultural system never mentioned "private land" at all; it was simply putting a knife to the people's throats and forcing them to cultivate the land for him!

So Liu Miao asked directly and bluntly, "Then surely many of the military households who were stationed there for farming have deserted?"

Cao Cao: “…”

He never expected that Liu Miao could utter such cold words from his warm mouth!

But Cao Cao couldn't refute it! Because what Liu Miao said was indeed true!

Although Cao Cao implemented the Tuntian system in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, a large number of people also fled, so although the Tuntian system achieved some success, it was far less impressive than the Equal Field system in Jiangdong.

So Cao Cao simply took the initiative to ask, "Does Zhongshan have any good strategies?"

"Grant them permanent land!"

"That won't work!"

Cao Cao, slightly drunk, said, "All land under heaven belongs to the emperor! Zhongshan, how could I do such a thing under the emperor's nose? Also, your policy of abolishing the Three Elders and establishing the Three Chiefs has actually caused quite a bit of controversy among the officials!"

Liu Miao scoffed, "The principles in books are just for reading; how can they be put into practice? If all the land under heaven truly belonged to the emperor, where did those landlords and wealthy people get their thousands of acres of fertile land from?"

"Furthermore, regarding the three elders... In Jiangdong, all elderly people over sixty years old are still supported by the government every year, which is not disrespectful! Does telling them not to get involved in affairs mean that it is not respecting the elderly?"

Liu Miao, too lazy to pay attention to these people, went even further and offered his advice to Cao Cao and Liu Bei without any restraint: "Mengde! Xuande! You two are heroes of our time! Why waste your breath on these parasites? In my opinion, after you two return, you should directly remeasure the land and implement the equal distribution system! How could the Han Dynasty not prosper in this way???"

Zhou Tai, Chen Wu, and Sun Ce were all dumbfounded.

What is Liu Miao doing?
How can someone tell others all about their secrets to success and expect them to imitate them?

Was Liu Miao not afraid that Cao Cao and Liu Bei would become stronger as a result, and thus become enemies of Jiangdong?
To everyone's surprise, Liu Bei, who had just been crying and cursing the aristocratic families, now began to hesitate: "Zhongshan, your method is a bit too extreme."

"What extreme!"

Liu Miao, having drunk some wine, was also a bit tipsy. He immediately pushed Liu Bei away, indicating that students with poor grades should not influence students with good grades.

"What are you afraid of? Hmm? What exactly are you afraid of?"

"It is true that talented people are hard to find, but are all those born into aristocratic families truly great talents and heroes?"

"Among the nobles of the six states back then, there were countless people whose knowledge and skills surpassed those of Emperor Gaozu, Xiao He, and Han Xin! Why was it that Emperor Gaozu ultimately won the empire?"

Liu Miao poured the last bit of Ling wine into his cup, and then, ignoring the covetous looks from Cao Cao and Liu Bei, he poured it directly into his mouth.

"Mengde! Xuande! Why are you so afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind? You two both rose to power by suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion! So many people came to kill you, why don't you kill them now that it's time to kill them?"

"Listen to me! If you are truly determined to eliminate the powerful clans and curb land annexation, I, Liu Miao, will follow your lead without question!"

Cao Cao was somewhat dazed as he watched Liu Miao's unrestrained and carefree demeanor.

Liu Bei was half confused and half in pain: "Zhongshan, you're drunk."

Liu Miao's eyes were glazed as he grabbed Zhou Tai's clothes from behind: "Am I drunk?"

"Our lord is definitely drunk!"

I don't think I'm drunk!

"My lord, you're truly drunk..."

To be honest, this Lingjiu (a type of Chinese liquor) has a really strong aftereffect!

Before Liu Miao could reply, he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and slowly he lost consciousness, falling asleep in Zhou Tai's arms.

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao walked towards Liu Miao.

"Ok?"

Zhou Tai immediately became alert, but to his surprise, Cao Cao simply took off his red fur robe and covered Liu Miao with it.

"It's getting cold. Give Zhongshan an extra layer of clothing so he doesn't catch a cold."

Cao Cao scrutinized Liu Miao's face, then returned to his seat. He exchanged a glance with Liu Bei, but neither of them spoke again.

Both of them were pondering Liu Miao's questioning of them—

What are they afraid of?
……

Evening clouds emerged from the gaps in the green peaks, gradually seeping through the crimson gauze curtains hanging from the banquet.

As the setting sun gradually disappeared, a gust of wind blew through the treetops, carrying the clear sound of chimes, startling Liu Miao, who had been sound asleep for half a day, awake!

"it's wired!"

Just now, Liu Miao dreamed that he was having a banquet with Cao Cao and Liu Bei!

Thankfully it was just a dream... Huh?

Liu Miao looked around in confusion and asked hesitantly, "Could it be that I'm really having a banquet with Cao Cao and Liu Bei right now?"

"Zhongshan, are you sober now?"

Liu Miao touched his slightly aching head and nodded blankly, "He should be awake!"

As he struggled to his feet, Liu Miao immediately noticed the ugly red cloth covering him and quickly threw it away.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei were both standing on the railing of the high platform. Seeing that Liu Miao had sobered up, they immediately called out, "Zhongshan, you've sobered up just in time! Why don't you come and take a look!"

Liu Miao stepped forward, leaned against the railing, and it took him a long time to focus his gaze.

The stars hang low over the fields, and the Huai River floats in the sky.

Looking into the distance, the Huai River surges eastward like an inky ribbon, but what truly stands out are the thousands of lanterns glittering along its north and south banks.

"How can there be so many people?" "Zhongshan, are you asking a question you already know the answer to?"

Liu Bei helped Liu Miao up, while Cao Cao put his arm around Liu Miao's waist on the other side: "Such a grand occasion, what else could it be but the people of Lianghuai celebrating Zhongshan's pacification of Yuan Shu?"

Liu Miao stared wide-eyed as he saw the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens. The riverbanks, once ablaze with the flames of war, were now covered with the glowing embers of bonfires and fishing boats.

Han women, with flowing sleeves billowing like clouds, sang and danced along the embankment, their jade pendants jingling melodiously; an old fisherman stood barefoot on the gunwale, scattering silver fish from his net into tiny moon-like specks; young children chased and laughed with peach wood puppets in hand, startling night herons that soared into the sky, their wings brushing against the lanterns on the high platform, shimmering and sparkling.

All three saw the Milky Way in their eyes. Cao Cao even saw an old man with white hair and beard playing barefoot by the river like a child. He was immediately inspired to write a poem:

"Can Zhongshan compose Yuefu poems?"

Liu Miao was about to say no, but then he remembered that he had apparently written a poem for Cao Cao, so he immediately changed his mind and said, "Of course!"

Cao Cao excitedly suggested, "This scene deserves to be celebrated with poems and prose!"

Liu Bei nodded in approval: "I will play music for you two right away!"

After saying this, Liu Bei actually sat down in front of an ancient zither, plucked the strings, and began to play music!

"No, are you serious?"

Liu Miao was jolted awake and quickly searched his memory for any Yuefu poems he knew.

The Ballad of Mulan?
"The Peacock Flies Southeast"?
I can't memorize it myself!
Cao Zhi's poems?

The teacher never taught that!
After much deliberation, Liu Miao decided to continue using Cao Cao's poem.

Fortunately, besides the "Short Song Ballad" he wrote for Cao Cao, Liu Miao also knew a poem called "Though the Tortoise Lives Long," which was enough to make him a suitable candidate!
Cao Cao seemed to have been preparing for this for some time, and immediately began to sing along with Liu Bei's zither music—

"Though the divine tortoise lives a long life, it too has its end!"

"..."

no? ? ?

Liu Miao glared at Cao Cao and said, "You, Cao Mengde, not only have you plagiarized my policies, but you've also plagiarized my poems!"

What? This poem was originally by Cao Cao?
that's not important!

The important question is, what will Liu Miao do now?
What should have been an extremely lengthy poem, "Though the Tortoise Lives Long," was instead recited by Cao Cao in a very light and cheerful manner!
When the last line, "How fortunate we are! Let us sing to express our aspirations," was recited, only one word remained on the high platform—

"color!"

"color!"

"Master Sikong is a genius!"

"..."

Cao Cao stared intently at Liu Miao.

Cao Cao considered this poem to be extremely well-written!
If Cao Cao hadn't witnessed Liu Miao's rather unrestrained demeanor just now, he felt he probably would never have been able to compose such a poem in his entire life!
The old man is brave and has great ambitions!
Who dares to say that Liu Miao was definitely right, and Cao Cao was definitely wrong?
Even though Cao Cao was much older than Liu Miao, Cao Cao still believed that he would be the final winner!

Whether it's writing poetry or anything else!
Liu Miao, who had been racking his brains trying to figure out which Yuefu poem he could recite, finally found the answer.

He raised his head and gave Cao Cao a bright smile, instantly shattering Cao Cao's confidence.

"Mengde's poem is excellent!"

Since you dared to plagiarize, then you can't blame me!
Liu Miao stood up, took off his military cap, his hair flowing freely, exuding a carefree air.

"In that case... Xuande! Compose the music of 'Bring in the Wine' for me!"

"Have you not seen how the waters of the Huai River come from the sky, rushing to the sea never to return!"

"Have you not seen the white hair in the mirror in the hall, which was black in the morning and turned to white in the evening?"

Just two sentences were enough to make Cao Cao's expression change drastically!
Liu Miao originally wanted to continue drinking Ling wine, but found that his cup was already empty.

However, this did not stump Liu Miao. Instead, he went to Cao Cao's table, picked up his cup of wine, and drank it himself.

"You must be happy in life, and don't let the golden bottle face the moon."

"I was born with talents that will be useful, even if I lose all my money, I will get it back."

"Let's cook lamb and slaughter cattle for a feast, and drink three hundred cups of wine in one go!"

Liu Miao drank Cao Cao's wine in one gulp!

Still not satisfied, Liu Miao brought over Liu Bei's wine as well, then pulled Liu Bei back to the railing, putting his arm around Liu Bei's and Cao Cao's shoulders—

"Lord Cao, Lord Xuande! Let's drink! Don't stop drinking!"

"I'll sing you a song, please lend me your ear!"

"Bells and drums, delicacies and jade are not worth treasuring; I only wish to be drunk forever and never wake up!"

"All the sages and worthies of the past are dead, only the drinkers have left their mark!"

“In the past, the Holy Minister held a banquet at Ping Le, where he drank ten thousand cups of wine and indulged in merriment.”

"Why do you say you have little money, host? Just buy some more to drink with me."

"A dappled horse, a thousand pieces of gold, call the boy to exchange them for fine wine, to dispel with you our eternal sorrows!"

Liu Miao finished the last bit of Ling wine, spilling some on the two of them.

However, neither of them seemed to care, as they were completely absorbed in this famous poem.

Regardless of the past or the future.

At least for today, all the distinguished guests will completely forget their troubles and sorrows.

In this chaotic world, amidst the turmoil and the struggle for supremacy among warlords... tonight we should all drown our sorrows and get drunk, never to sober up again!
(End of this chapter)