I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 372 Liu Bei, the King of Yan!

Jinling.

Liu Miao and Lu Su sat facing each other, with a chessboard laid out in a grid pattern between them.

"Has Liu Bei really rebelled?"

"It's absolutely true, we should have arrived in Liaodong by now."

"Hmm~"

Liu Miao stared at the chessboard, then silently removed one of Lu Su's pieces and replaced it with his own.

"His Majesty……"

"What? Do you have any opinions?"

"No."

After playing dozens more rounds, Liu Miao stretched comfortably and exclaimed, "I won again! I truly am a genius!"

Lu Su remained silent, but quietly began to tidy up the chess pieces.

"Zijing! Cheer up! It's just a few games of chess you lost!"

"It's not because of that, after all, I'm already used to it..."

Lu Su hesitated for a moment.

"Your Majesty, there is something that is causing quite a stir in Jinling City right now."

"What's the matter?"

“Previously, some merchants traveled to the Kingdom of Linyi, south of Jiaozhi, and exchanged a large amount of gold for just some cloth.”

Liu Miao lay down directly on the couch: "Isn't this a good thing?"

"It's a good thing. But it has also led many people to abandon farming and go into business."

Lu Su's concerns were also those of officials throughout history.

"This trend is not obvious now, but if it continues for a long time, causing a large number of people to abandon farming and resulting in insufficient food, then problems may arise."

Liu Miao kept his eyes closed, refusing to look at Lu Su.

"So, according to Zijing, how should this matter be resolved?"

"Your Majesty should issue an order to prohibit ordinary people from engaging in commerce and to punish merchants, so as not to allow them to seduce the people with money!"

It's time for the nation to take action!

If a large number of people go into commerce or handicrafts, who will cultivate the land? Where will the food come from in the future?
Throughout history, the emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce stemmed from this very concern!
"Humph."

But Lu Su's sincere words only earned him a dismissive snort from Liu Miao.

"His Majesty……"

Liu Miao interrupted Lu Su: "Zijing, why do some people nowadays abandon farming to engage in commerce?"

"This……"

What Lu Su really wanted to say was, wasn't it Liu Miao who seduced her?
The Champa rice and the legend of Zhao Xing, the King of Nanyue, both aroused great interest among the people of Wu in the vast sea to the south.

If Liu Miao hadn't used a story to create unrealistic fantasies about the sea, although some merchants might have risked their lives to travel south, it would never have triggered such a frenzied trend.

As the emperor and monarch, Liu Miao should bear primary responsibility for this matter.

"Is Zijing trying to say that it's all my fault?"

"I did not!"

"You have!"

Liu Miao turned to the side, braced himself on his elbow, and supported his chin with his palm, clicking his tongue twice.

“But I told Zijing that this matter is not my fault.”

"Because the people know that going to Southeast Asia is a sure way to get rich overnight!"

"In the end, what got them to go south wasn't me, it was money."

"The world is bustling, all for profit. A trip to the south could bring you wealth that you couldn't earn in a lifetime of farming! If it were you, would you go?"

Lu Su, however, argued anxiously with Liu Miao: "But if everyone does this, who will engage in farming? What will happen to the rise and fall of the nation? Furthermore! Going to Southeast Asia may bring rich rewards! But does Your Majesty know how many people have not returned?"

"Those merchants who obtained the gold were only one in ten thousand lucky individuals! The vast majority of ordinary people perished at sea! Does Your Majesty intend to ignore this matter?"

Liu Miao suddenly sat up and looked at Zijing intently.

"Zijing said that emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce is for the sake of the country and the people?"

"nature!"

“Zijing, the classics are for deceiving others, not for deceiving yourself.”

Liu Miao neither agreed nor disagreed with Lu Su's words.

"What do you mean by 'for the country'? 'For the people'? Isn't it just those meat-eaters who write books to fool people that panic because no one is farming?"

"As for changing the status quo, isn't that simple too?"

"Since the people envy those who go to sea to become merchants and make money, while they themselves don't have money to farm, why doesn't the government just give them money? When the farmers see that they can earn a lot by farming, they won't go to sea anymore, will they?"

Lu Su was speechless, not expecting Liu Miao to have such an interpretation of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce".

I've only ever heard of government officials taking money from the people, but I've never heard of government officials giving money to the people! Lu Su thought Liu Miao's words were truly shocking!
But Lu Su really couldn't find a reason to refute it!

"But farming... is, after all, fundamental!"

"I know."

Liu Miao said, "That's why I went to the south to search for Champa rice and why I asked Yuan Huan to study green manure."

"Now that we have Champa rice and double-cropping rice, grain production has doubled. Is it possible to double grain production again in the future?"

Lu Su said helplessly, "Your Majesty! The discovery of such an auspicious omen as Champa rice is already a first in thousands of years! How could it possibly appear again in the future?"

"How is it impossible?"

Liu Miao said, "From slash-and-burn agriculture to intensive farming, hasn't grain production doubled in the process?"

"How many such things are recorded in the Book of Fan Shengzhi? Did Zijing not read it?"

Lu Su felt that Liu Miao was arguing unreasonably.

"Your Majesty, contentment brings happiness!"

“Zijing, who is content? Who is always happy?” Liu Miao had already stood up by this time.

Confucius often said that contentment brings happiness, and he even wanted to restore the well-field system.

"But have he ever considered that ordinary people also want to live the life of a high-ranking official; ordinary high-ranking officials also want to live the life of a feudal lord; and ordinary feudal lords also want to live the life of an emperor?"

"So what should we do then?"

Lu Su continued to argue: "We can use education to guide and educate people!"

"Educating the people is about helping them understand principles, not about making them accept their fate."

Looking at Lu Su, whose face was flushed, Liu Miao suddenly burst into laughter, stepped forward, and grabbed Lu Su's neck.

"So what if some people want to go into business? Look how arrogant they are! Hahaha!"

"It's nothing! They're just a bunch of unruly peasants who don't want to farm! Our Han Dynasty has plenty of people! If they don't farm, someone else will! Why are you so worried, Zijing?"

"Let's go! The brothel! It's my treat!"

"..."

Lu Su looked at Liu Miao, who was clearly trying to take advantage of the situation, and felt somewhat helpless.

The Han Dynasty of today is completely different from the Former Han and the Later Han.

Perhaps, as some have said, the Great Zhao established by Yuan Shao in the north was actually following the path of the Han Dynasty.

The burly men from the south have inexplicably embarked on a different path.

Whether this road is good or bad, and what lies ahead, makes it hard to feel at ease.

Accustomed to feeling one's way across a river by touching the stones, and naturally inclined towards traditional scholars, the modern Han dynasty has become far too biased.

Seeing that Lu Su was still worried, Liu Miao smiled slightly.

"Zijing, close your eyes."

"Ok?"

"Shut up! I'll take you somewhere!"

Lu Su closed his eyes with some unease. All around him was darkness, and the only thing he could hear was Liu Miao's voice.

"Take my hand!"

To avoid overstepping his bounds, Lu Su only dared to grab Liu Miao's sleeve. It was Liu Miao who went over and firmly grasped Lu Su's hand, making him follow him forward.

"Hold on tight! Follow me!"

When Lu Su grabbed Liu Miao's hand, he felt a sense of security and focused on following Liu Miao forward.

"Keep going! Yes! That's right!"

"There are steps ahead! Be careful to lift your legs!"

"Come and walk around! There's a pillar ahead!"

"..."

Lu Su walked for about fifteen minutes before finally stopping.

"Zijing, guess where we are?"

Based on the route, Lu Su guessed: "Could it be... that we have already arrived at the Forbidden Garden?"

"Okay, open your eyes."

When Lu Su opened his eyes, he saw Liu Miao standing in front of him.

As for the positions of both sides... hmm?

Liu Miao pointed around: "Just now, I only led Zijing on a walk around the palace! It looked like we walked for a long time, but we didn't actually take a single step!"

"Following the path of those who came before may lead to a steady journey, but if you truly want to reach your destination, you must open your eyes wide and stride forward!"

Liu Miao subtly wiped his sweaty hands onto Lu Su's clean official robes.

"Instead of worrying about those trivial matters, we should think about how to make use of Liu Bei's situation!"

Lu Su stared blankly at his feet.

Those feet hadn't moved an inch since fifteen minutes ago.

It was only after a long time that Lu Su could faintly hear Liu Miao's voice.

"Your Majesty, what do you intend to do?"

"Liu Bei has escaped! It would be a disservice to Xuande not to trick Yuan Shao!"

Liu Miao stroked his short beard with a wicked grin: "I knew it! Yuan Shao's decision to take on both Liu Bei and Cao Cao at the same time was a terrible blunder!"

"These two men are both outstanding figures of their time! One is a cunning hero in troubled times, and the other is a ruthless warlord who wants to restore the Han dynasty! Yuan Shao is really asking for trouble by keeping these two around!"

"Now that Xuande has rebelled, we obviously have to add fuel to the fire!"

Lu Su keenly sensed that Liu Miao still refused to argue with him about the matter of agriculture and commerce.

However, the walk Liu Miao had just led Lu Su around had truly shocked Lu Su, and at the same time, it made Lu Su lose the confidence to argue with Liu Miao, and he turned his attention to the facts instead.

"Does Your Majesty intend to send troops to support Liu Bei?"

"How can it be!"

Liu Miao immediately shook his head.

"It's impossible to send troops! After all, we don't have enough warhorses, armor, winter clothes, or provisions yet."

"We want to persuade Yuan Shao to send troops!"

"That awful place in Liaodong is a perfect place to bleed people dry!"

"If Yuan Shao really gets caught up in it, it will undoubtedly be a huge boon to the future war!"

If Yuan Shao were to send troops to Liaodong, Liu Miao would be laughing in his sleep!

With Liu Bei's own military talent and the formidable Guan Yu and Zhang Fei under his command, coupled with Gongsun Du's deep-rooted influence in Liaodong, they were an extremely difficult opponent to overcome!

By relying on this tough nut, we might be able to keep bleeding Yuan Shao dry! We could completely drain his body, which had not yet recovered from the Battle of Kunyang!

"I want..."

"Liu Bei is hereby conferred the title of King of Yan of the Great Han Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)