He said he would return to Beijing immediately, but Liu Xie still had to make some arrangements to deal with the devastated Huaibei. For now, the main problem in Xuzhou is the lack of population and the land is abandoned. But this is not a problem in Xuzhou alone. Under the perennial tug of war between the East and the West, more than a million fields and ridges in Henan and Hebei have been reduced to white land? It’s just that this is especially true in Xuzhou. But as a base for future expansion into Huainan and even Jiangzuo, Xuzhou's problem must be solved.
After careful consideration, Liu Xie decided to relocate a large number of people. Looking around the country, although Guanlong also experienced war, after Chen Chong's twenty years of hard work, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and Hu merchants came to trade from far away, and it has become the richest place in the country. Last year, Zhuge Liang checked the population of Sizhou and found that after the population growth over the years, there were actually 4.26 million people in Sizhou. In terms of prosperity, it was even more than during the Guanghe period. After all, Guanlong's territory was so small that it couldn't support a larger population, so Liu Xie decided to move residents from Guanlong.
To this end, he first mobilized personnel, appointing Jia Kui as the governor of Xuzhou, Pei Qian as the prefect of Langya, Song Xiu as the prefect of Pengcheng, Fa Miao as the prefect of Xiapi, and Li Qiu as the prefect of Donghai. These people are all from Guanlong, so when they are asked to take charge of related matters, they will always take care of their fellow villagers. But how many people should be moved? Liu Xie has not yet made a final decision. But in his opinion, Huaibei was in such a state of decline that the number of immigrants would have to be no less than one million.
Such a large-scale relocation project was unprecedented, which quickly aroused Liu Xie's ambition. He also thought that there were hundreds of thousands of Mi sect believers in Hanzhong, which was a hidden danger, so it was better to take the opportunity to move to Hebei to prepare for the final Pingliao. On the way back to Beijing, he had been discussing this matter with his cronies.
When he arrived in Luoyang, it was mid-November. Zhuge Liang, the captain of Sili School, led all the officials out of the city to greet him and congratulate the emperor at the same time. In the past few years, Liu Xie often congratulated others, but this was the first time he congratulated himself, so he was very happy. He drank wine for the first time, and smiled at Zhuge Liang and others at the banquet and said: "You guys will live up to me. I will live up to you and will create a prosperous and great cause for a generation."
The banquet was held for several hours. By the time the officials dispersed and Liu Xie returned to the palace, it was already midnight. The palace is brightly lit, but there are very few people. Except for the two serving female officials, only Queen Zhong is sitting in front of the couch, weaving brocade in her hands. Sobering soup has been placed on the table, and a pot of hot water has been placed beside it. There was water and a basin of charcoal fire, and a change of clothes was hung on the shelf next to it.
Seeing his wife's slim and familiar figure, Liu Xie's drunkenness dissipated a little. He wiped his face with a steaming wet wipe, then hugged Mr. Zhong's waist and said with a smile: "We have been on the war for half a year. After reading all the splendors of Jianghuai, none of them are even half as beautiful as Guang Ji." Although Liu Xie had quite a disagreement with his father-in-law Zhong Yao in the political affairs, he had always had a good relationship with his wife Zhong, and because of Chen Chong's advice, he did not stay in the harem. There are no other wives or concubines. Even many veterans who don't like Liu Xie's style have to admit that in terms of harmony between husband and wife, Liu Xie is also a rare role model among the emperors of the Han Dynasty.
However, the queen had no intention of teasing the emperor at this time. She put down the things in her hands and patted Liu Xie's hand. Liu Xie then noticed that his wife's expression was solemn. Before he could think about it, Mrs. Zhong handed him the sobering soup, and then slowly said to her husband: "Ajian, please be quiet first. I have something important to tell you. "
Liu Xie was greatly surprised by these words. He thought that although his wife had her own opinion, she was also considerate and considerate in her actions. This was the first time since they got married that she spoke to him so carefully. Liu Xie thought to himself, could it be that his father-in-law was in deep thought again?
Liu Xie couldn't think of the result for a moment, but his face didn't show it at all. He listened to his wife's words, drank the soup in one gulp, and then turned his hands to warm himself over the fire, pretending to be listening attentively.
The queen was quite amused when she saw this, and her expression quickly softened. She took her husband's hand and said cautiously: "Ajian, don't take it lightly, I'm talking about Uncle Ting Jian."
Hearing that it was about Chen Chong, Liu Xie was stunned for a moment, then immediately straightened his posture and asked in detail: "When did it happen?"
Mrs. Zhong said slowly: "As for what happened last month, after Uncle Ting Jian heard the news about the great victory in Huaibei, he went to the palace to talk to his mother that day, saying that we had important matters to discuss. At that time, I thought it was just an old man catching up on old times. , congratulations. Unexpectedly, two days later, Uncle Ting Jian came into the palace again and talked with the queen mother for a long time. "
Liu Xie felt dizzy and confused after hearing this, and asked hurriedly: "What on earth were they talking about?"
Mrs. Zhong looked at Liu Xie's expression, knowing that he was anxious, and finally said: "My mother came to talk to me the day before yesterday, and she said it was about running the army. Uncle Ting Jian is extremely dissatisfied with your indulgence in military discipline. I hope you can review your mistakes and punish them severely." Sima Zhongda."
Speaking of this, the atmosphere in the palace was extremely depressing. Liu Xie remained silent, only frowning as he fiddled with the coals in the brazier. Knowing that the emperor was displeased, the queen immediately waved the other maids out, and then persuaded: "Uncle Ting Jian also knew that you might not be able to accept it, so he told the queen mother that if you were free, he would come to the palace to discuss it with you..."
Unexpectedly, Liu Xie slowly shook his head and sighed: "How can I bother my uncle to come over? I should be the one to come over." Speaking of this, he couldn't help laughing at himself and said: "I just didn't expect that I have worked so hard to build a great cause in the past few years. If you are not careful, you will become a king of Jie and Zhou in the eyes of your uncle." This is of course an exaggerated complaint, but it cannot conceal the loneliness in Liu Xie's heart. He was not in the mood to talk anymore that night, but went to bed early.
At the court meeting on the second day, Liu Xie was also absent-minded and quickly passed by in a hurry. The two matters of reward and relocation that he had been thinking about along the way were also postponed. After the morning court was over and the officials dispersed, he greeted the Chancellor's desk and immediately ordered him to leave the palace lightly, taking only dozens of palace guards with him, and went to pay a visit to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
What is worth pondering is that Liu Xie said he was visiting, but did not say hello to Chen Chong in advance. When the car arrived in front of the door, the guards in front of the palace were caught off guard and bowed to the emperor one after another. The leader reported: "It's a coincidence that your Majesty is here. The marshal is also here today and is eating and drinking with the prime minister. It's not even half an hour!"
Hearing these words, Liu Xie's heart suddenly became as clear as a mirror. He originally thought that since most of the generals were his own, and Pang Tong, Yang Fu and others had to avoid suspicion, who would inform Chen Chong of the details of the frontline disposition at the beginning of October. Now it seemed that the answer was self-evident. Thinking of this, he felt a little sad, thinking: In front of his two uncles, I am probably still a child, not an emperor who has been in power for many years.
He didn't wait for anyone to notify him, but went straight inside. Soon he walked to the hall and vaguely heard Guan Yu and Chen Chong talking and laughing behind the door. Liu Xie suddenly felt that this kind of talking and laughter seemed far away from him, reminding him of the past when his father was still alive, so he did not want to listen carefully, but knocked on the door and asked to see him.
When Chen Chong opened the door and found him, he was not surprised at all. Instead, he asked Liu Xie to sit down and then greeted him as usual, just like when he was studying in the mansion. Guan Yu also said a few words that were neither soup nor water, but Liu Xie did not reply, which caused the atmosphere in the room to be very delicate for a while. Logically speaking, Liu Xie is the king, and Chen Chong and Guan Yu are ministers. Logically speaking, Liu Xie is his nephew, but Chen Chong and Guan Yu are the elders. Liu Xie had no idea how to grasp this size.
Chen Chong knew this very well, and his original intention was not to embarrass the emperor, so he went straight to the point and said: "Your Majesty is here at my residence. I must have already heard about my advice. I wonder if your Majesty will accept it?"
Liu Xie did not answer directly, but asked Guan Yu: "Uncle Yun Chang thinks that Sima Yi wants to keep the Prime Minister, is there a better way? Acting on the battlefield is a matter of life and death, how can I care about other things? If I use this as an excuse , severely punish meritorious ministers, I’m afraid all ministers and officials will be dissatisfied, right?”
Guan Yu looked at the emperor for a moment and slowly replied: "Your Majesty, a true man may do something or not do something. For the sake of righteousness, even if he goes through fire and water, he is willing to do it. In comparison, his own life and death are nothing more than a trivial matter." The late emperor and his ministers built an army and fought hard. They often sacrificed their lives and still put people's livelihood first, so that they could win the support of all the people. Sima Zhongda broke this military discipline. Although he gained a temporary advantage, it defeated the style of our army and damaged our Jianghuai River. Public opinion really cannot be encouraged.”
Liu Xie was very angry when he heard this and asked directly: "If benevolence and righteousness are so useful, how could the late emperor have suffered the defeat of Bohai? How could the great ancestor be killed at the hands of Yingbu? The head of Guizhou is ignorant, fearing power but not being virtuous. This has been the case since ancient times. So. On the battlefield where my uncle slashed with swords, killing people like hemp, more than a hundred people died? Doesn’t it sound hypocritical to say this?"
Seeing his resistance, Guan Yu couldn't help but feel a little angry, but before he could get angry, Chen Chong stopped him. Chen Chong said to Liu Xie: "What your Majesty said is not unreasonable, but how could the ancient benevolent kings and saints not know these truths? It's just because for thousands of years, it seems that it is easier to kill than to survive. And between heroes and villains, it is easy to kill. The division is nothing more than making things easy for villains and making things difficult for heroes. Your Majesty has always thought about the achievements of thousands of years, but wants to take shortcuts. Isn't this the opposite?"
These words hit Liu Xie's weak spot. He often thinks about his extraordinary achievements and often compares himself with the Holy King. But now he uses ordinary people to do ordinary things. How can he live up to the ideals of the past? He had no words to retort and could only force himself to say: "Even so, I have made a promise to Zhongda. As the emperor, how can I repeat my words?"
Chen Chong patted the table and said slowly: "Dong Xuan was strong in his point. Guangwu could not make him bow down, so he had to retract his preface, but it is now a good talk. Your Majesty, as long as you do things out of justice and correct your mistakes, the world will be better. How can it be slandered because of this?”
Liu Xie was at a loss for words and finally nodded and said: "Then let's do it."
In the court hall the next day, Liu Xie talked about the reward and brought Sima Yi's case to the public eye. He said that although he had accomplished the task of breaking the city to capture the thieves, he also violated military regulations and killed prisoners and abused the people, which hurt people's expectations. After careful consideration, the merits and demerits were balanced, and his faults were not investigated, but the reward and appointment were also canceled. Of course, the most important thing was that it revealed a political trend, and Sima Yi might not be reused in the future.
Afterwards, Liu Xie had another interview with Sima Yi, saying that this was Chen Chong's intention, and advised him to accept it calmly and not to complain. After a hundred years, Chen Chong would be reinstated and he would still be of great use. Sima Yi thanked him repeatedly, and there was no trace of resentment on his face, but no one knew what he was thinking in his heart.
