I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 361 Next Year!

Yecheng, Hebei.

In the northwest corner of the forbidden garden, a magnificent platform rises from the ground! The rammed earth base alone is more than nine zhang high, and it is covered with jade, carved with mountains, rivers, birds and beasts, solemn and majestic.

On the high platform sits a pavilion with carved railings and painted beams, standing out abruptly like a jade palace, making one feel a chill at the height.

This must be the place closest to the sky, right?

High up in the pavilion, a round table is placed, and two figures sit there. From a distance, they seem like immortals exchanging toasts, otherworldly.

"Riding on rainbows and crimson clouds, we ascend the Nine Doubts Mountains and pass through the Jade Gate."

"Crossing the Milky Way, reaching Kunlun, they met the Queen Mother of the West and paid homage to the Lord of the East."

"..."

"Though the scenery remains unchanged and one has traveled thousands of miles, may one live as long as the Southern Mountain and never forget one's transgressions!"

Cao Cao's heroic voice rang out from the top of the pavilion. If it weren't for the banners of Yuan, Zhao, and Tude fluttering there, one would really think that Cao Cao had turned the tables and was singing his heart out on this high platform!
Yuan Shao, who was listening to Cao Cao's poem, murmured after hearing the last line, "May you live as long as the Southern Mountain, and never forget your transgressions..."

Is there truly anyone in the world who can live as long as Mount Nanshan?

Cao Cao turned around, holding his wine cup.

Now, Cao Cao wears Fan Kuai's hat and black clothes. Although he is not as rich and powerful as he used to be, whenever Yuan Shao looks at him, he is somewhat dazed, feeling that Cao Cao is still the same as when he served as the Northern Commandant of Luoyang, without aging.

In fact, since arriving in Ye City, Cao Cao has been much more relaxed without having to worry about those tedious matters. Even his headaches have not recurred. He also frequently takes medicine to regulate his body, and his mental state is indeed several times better than when he was in Xuchang!
Cao Cao approached Yuan Shao and greeted him, saying, "Peng Zu lived to be eight hundred years old; he can truly be described as having a lifespan as long as the Southern Mountain!"

"Your Majesty is now the Son of Heaven, and your lifespan can naturally rival that of Mount Nanshan!"

Yuan Shao did not respond, but merely sized up Cao Cao: "Mengde, do you still need to utter these empty words in front of me?"

"I don't dare."

“You know perfectly well that emperors throughout history have not lived long lives.”

"Especially during the Later Han Dynasty, apart from Emperor Guangwu, no one lived past sixty. Is this what is meant by the emperor's longevity being as long as the Southern Mountain?"

Cao Cao knew that any answer he gave at this point would be wrong, so he simply didn't answer.

Yuan Shao did not make things difficult for Cao Cao, but instead took out a silk-wrapped object from his pocket and handed it to Cao Cao.

"What is this?"

Cao Cao opened the silk, only to find a few stalks of rice inside.

"It's only August now, how come there are already rice plants?"

Cao Cao now seemed to have lost all courage to oppose Yuan Shao, and immediately praised Yuan Shao: "The appearance of grain in August is truly an auspicious sign! Heaven blesses the Great Zhao, and may Your Majesty enjoy ten thousand blessings!"

"This was obtained from Liu Miao in the south."

"Forehead……"

Cao Cao cursed inwardly, clearly not expecting Liu Miao to be able to trick him like this!
Fortunately, Yuan Shao didn't mind and continued to introduce the rice plant to Cao Cao.

"When Liu Miao became emperor, Yi Ji, a man from Shanyang, found rice from south of Jiaozhi and named it Champa."

"This rice variety is early-planted, early-maturing, drought-resistant, and has fine grains, making it suitable for high-lying fields..."

Yuan Shao twirled the not-so-full ears of rice.

"The key point is that this rice is early rice, planted in April or May and harvested in mid-July... Mengde should understand what I mean."

Harvest in mid-July?
Cao Cao certainly knew what this meant!
However, Cao Cao could not say it out loud; he could only suppress his excitement and shake his head at Yuan Shao.

"This means that in the south, two rice crops can be planted, doubling the grain yield."

"..."

Cao Cao had actually thought of this as well, but when Yuan Shao actually said it, his pupils shrank to the size of wheat awns!
Grain production doubled.

These four words are terrifying!

It's even more terrifying than being ordained by Heaven!
At the same time, Cao Cao was also a little envious, envious that Liu Miao could have all the good things!
"Mengde, you understand, right?"

Yuan Shao plucked the rice ears from the stalks one by one, rubbed them in his palm, and finally blew on them gently, leaving only the grains in his palm.

"If Liu Miao succeeds, I will be unable to pacify the south for at least ten years."

Cao Cao wanted to flatter Yuan Shao, but the four words "grain production doubled" were like a pair of giant hands, firmly gripping Cao Cao's throat, leaving him speechless.

"Therefore, I must act quickly, lest I leave a disaster for my descendants."

Yuan Shao slammed the grain onto the table, stood up, and gazed into the distance.

From this highest point, one can enjoy panoramic views of Hebei to the east, admire the majestic Taihang Mountains to the west, and see the towering Yanshan Mountains to the north, but only to the south lies a vast expanse of white.

"Liu Miao is a hypocrite, cruel, cunning, and treacherous man. He is too scheming and too lucky. No one in this world can surpass him except me."

"Mengde, why don't you guess how I obtained these rice seeds?"

Cao Cao immediately judged, "This matter should be confidential... Could it be that Your Majesty has spies around Liu Miao?"

Yuan Shao shook his head: "It was Liu Miao who openly and honestly sent a letter saying he wanted to buy fertilizer for cultivating Champa rice, and he proactively sent over this rice." "..."

Cao Cao was also helpless: "Liu Miao's actions have always been unconventional and eccentric."

"Do not."

Yuan Shao, however, did not think so.

"It may seem a bit unconventional, but it has a deeper meaning."

"He was certain that I would be anxious about this, so he used rice stalks to provoke me, hoping that I would fight him."

Cao Cao was secretly delighted, but dared not show it on his face.

Although Yuan Shao's side refused to admit defeat in the Battle of Kunyang and even characterized it as a great victory, the loss of his young and strong elite troops was undeniable.

Tens of thousands of elite soldiers!
Even though Hebei is a large and powerful country, losing this force in one fell swoop will inevitably damage its foundation!

Because behind tens of thousands of young and middle-aged men are tens of thousands of households.

Tens of thousands of households lost their breadwinners at the same time, leaving their parents without support, their wives without protection, and their fields without cultivation. One can imagine how much trouble this would cause!
As far as Cao Cao knew, since Yuan Shao returned, there had been more than ten rebellions, large and small, that had broken out in Ji Province, forcing Yuan Shao to expend energy to quell them one by one.

Even so, it was all because Yuan Shao declared himself emperor.

If Yuan Shao hadn't declared himself emperor, rebellions in Ji Province would have occurred even more frequently!

If Yuan Shao had left Hebei at this time to fight Liu Miao, it would have been a complete disaster from the rear!
Therefore, Cao Cao, like Liu Miao, was also eagerly anticipating Yuan Shao's early battle! He even wanted to immediately send out an army of a million to fight Liu Miao!
But to everyone's surprise, Yuan Shao simply said, "Actually, he didn't need to provoke me."

"I have no intention of engaging in a stalemate with him for five, ten, or even longer."

Cao Cao could no longer contain his joy: "Is Your Majesty going to war with Liu Miao this year?"

Yuan Shao shook his head again.

"There are still some matters that I need to attend to, and I cannot leave for the time being."

"next year!"

"After next autumn's harvest, the world will surely be unified! And there will be no more chaos in the world!"

------

Ever since Liu Miao leaked the information about Champa rice, he had been waiting for Yuan Shao.

Seeing that Yuan Shao made no move, Liu Miao also felt regretful: "It seems that Yuan Shao did not fall for the trap in the end."

Although he wasn't fooled, Liu Miao wasn't discouraged and continued to make his preparations step by step.

The improvement and promotion of Champa rice is progressing steadily.

Equipment such as stirrups, saddles, scimitars, heavy arrows, and sickle-hooked spears have begun to be gradually deployed to the army.

Warhorses continued to be transported to the Han Dynasty on a large scale from Liaodong and Guanzhong, bringing the number of warhorses in the Han Dynasty to over 10,000, but not steadily advancing toward the 20,000 mark.

The artisan's school has also been completed. Because it is located next to the White Tiger Gate in the west of the city, it is naturally called the White Tiger Gate School, following the convention of the Hongdu Gate School and the Wenchang Gate School.

Furthermore, with the fiscal surplus, the process of further dividing the counties was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Wu Commandery was divided into Wu Commandery and Yuhang Commandery.

The area of ​​Danyang Commandery, excluding the Danyang Prefect, was divided into Xuancheng Commandery and Shixing Commandery.

Kuaiji was further divided into six prefectures: Kuaiji, Xin'an, Dongyang, Linhai, Yongjia, and Jian'an.

Yuzhang was also divided into five prefectures: Yuzhang, Xunyang, Poyang, Luling, and Luyang.

The original four counties have now become fifteen counties, a fourfold increase in the number of administrative units!
The surge in the number of government positions certainly meant a large expenditure of public funds, but it also meant that the Han regime's control over local areas would be clearer and tighter. At the same time, since most of the positions were filled by promotions from the original three chiefs, it also meant that Liu Miao's base of support would be more solid. These newly appointed officials would be happy to help Liu Miao implement his policies and consolidate the stability of the Han regime.

This is the time when Liu Miao's authority is at its peak. There are no other troublemakers to bother him. Even if there are, they are just a few insignificant figures. Of course, Liu Miao cannot let this period pass by like a window of opportunity.

If we don't do something now, it will be difficult to do anything later when these officials become corrupt or have some vested interests with others!

Liu Miao specifically sought out Lu Kang, Wang Lang, Chen Yu, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Gu Yong, Lu Su, Liu Ye, Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Pang Tong, and even Jia Xu to consult him on governance.

"The laws and regulations of the Later Han Dynasty have always been chaotic."

"Now that the Han Dynasty has been newly established, I intend to revise the laws. What do you all think?"

Laws are a normative system that reflects the ruling will.

Society has never been based on law; that's a Legalist fantasy. On the contrary, law should be based on society.

The Han Dynasty established by Liu Miao and the Han Dynasty established by Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu) are fundamentally different in many ways, except for the shared name. Correspondingly, changes to the laws are also urgently needed.

Heaven received.

The people benefit.

These final presentations should not merely be shown in the official documents of the sacrificial ceremony, but should be presented in the articles of laws and regulations.

It's absurd that Liu Miao acknowledged the legality of private land ownership by ordinary people, yet failed to include it in the law.
Even if it's written in the law, it doesn't necessarily mean it has to be obeyed... but not issuing it would definitely be a scoundrel!
Therefore, since Liu Miao repeatedly claimed that he was acting on behalf of the people, he should use the law to prove that he was indeed keeping his promise to the people!
　There was one missing update yesterday, but I'll make it up today! Don't worry, dear readers!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)