Although there were episodes like Chen Chong's secret suggestion, generally speaking, the emperor's reputation continued to rise. When he raised the issue of relocation to the court, even though many courtiers complained about wasting the people and wasting money, few dared to deny it. . On the contrary, Zhou Buyi, Zhuge Liang and other important ministers in Taiwan had doubts and believed that the relocation of people was too large and might damage the foundation of the imperial court.
After reviewing the household registration and calculating the cost, Taige finally decided to adopt the strategy of "retaining one person from four families, two from six families, and three from eight families" to gather immigrants in Kansai, and then divide the immigrants. There are eight batches, and the immigration is planned to be completed within four years. But even so, it is expected that the court will spend an additional 20 million yuan each year, but military expenditures will not decrease at all, which will undoubtedly put great pressure on the finances. For this reason, Liu Xie called on all officials to have their official salaries halved, except for low-level county officials, and this was actually implemented.
By mid-December of the fourth year of Long'an, the matter had been announced to the county and county levels, and the matter was urgently urged. After all, if it were delayed for a while, the people might move to Huaibei and miss the time for spring plowing. The officials also knew the emperor's temperament and did not dare to be careless in the slightest. They immediately took the documents and ropes and went to the countryside to recruit people. They coaxed and deceived and finally gathered 100,000 people before the new year. Then Jiang Xu led three thousand soldiers and horses and was responsible for escorting these people to Xuzhou.
Because the incident happened suddenly, many immigrants were unprepared and had no desire to move. So when they were being escorted, many people had their hands tied together with ropes, cried and said goodbye to their families, and then walked on the snowy road away from home. Passers-by felt sad when they saw it, and said to each other: "How can such a scene happen under the rule of a holy king? This is the sign of a country's subjugation!"
Under such circumstances, there were a lot of chaos in the townships and counties, and many people fled into the mountains and forests, which led to the birth of many mountain bandits, which made county officials very worried. So much so that Zhuge Liang, the captain of Sili School, volunteered, temporarily put down other chores, and went to Sanfu to handle the matter in person. Zhuge Liang widely advertised that those who returned home first would not relocate the people. He also searched the countryside and inspected the wild areas, and personally persuaded the fleeing people to return to their hometowns, one by one, so that the situation did not worsen.
But it is far from enough to reassure the people in Guanzhong and support continued relocation in the future. In March of the fifth year of Long'an, Zhuge Liang wrote to the emperor, hoping to invite Chen Chong to patrol Guanzhong again on the grounds that the prime minister Chen Chong had governed Guanzhong for a long time and the people of the three auxiliaries thought of his kindness. Claiming that as long as Chen Chong is responsible for relocating the people, Kansai will definitely be restored.
Liu Xie had no choice but to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion again to talk secretly with Chen Chong. But to his surprise, Chen Chong had no intention of coming out. He said to Liu Xie: "Since your Majesty believes that this is a rare event in ancient and modern times, you should personally take action and go to Guanzhong to mobilize."
"really?"
Seeing Liu Xie's doubtful expression, Chen Chong couldn't help but sigh and said softly: "Your Majesty, the great governance of Guanzhong is not my fault alone, it is also the hard work of the late emperor. When the capital was moved, the people of Guanzhong surrounded the streets to see each other off. , you also know it. It can be seen that the people all regard the late emperor as their parents, and they also regard your majesty as a brother. As long as your majesty comes to show your kindness, it will definitely succeed."
These words were very sincere, and Liu Xie was very moved after hearing them. He thought to himself, although there have been some troubles in the court over the years, my uncle has always been supportive of me. If he has any opinions, he only advises me secretly. This is no more than a close relative. Then he felt ashamed for his suspicion and caution over the years, and couldn't help but apologize to Chen Chong.
Chen Chong was naturally pleased with this. He often reflected on the fact that he and Liu Xie parted ways. Although there were various reasons, it must be said that it was probably because he held power too tightly. So after taking charge again, he almost completely delegated power. Although it was not all smooth sailing, the results were still not satisfactory.
When sending the emperor out of the mansion, Liu Xie saw that many people in Chen Chong's mansion were packing their luggage, and two carriages were parked in front of the door. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Is your uncle going on a long trip?"
Chen Chong said with a smile: "Your uncle Yide lives in Jinyang. He has not seen me for three years, so he asked me to come over this year to catch up with old times. It will be in these few days. If your Majesty wants to invite me to Guanzhong, I will have to break the contract." Yes. So I keep pushing back, and I hope you will bear with me."
Liu Xie said "Where, where", but he felt a hint of envy in his heart. He thought that there was no utilitarianism in his uncle's words, and Liu Hou was probably nothing more than that.
After the separation, Liu Xie and the Taige officials discussed it and immediately went to Xijing Chang'an after the Lantern Festival. Chen Chong also left Luoyang with his family the next day. Different from the previous grand scenes when the emperor traveled, there was no one to see Chen Chong off during his long trip. But Chen Chong also felt comfortable and at ease. It was a drizzle in early spring and the breeze was blowing on his face. He and his wife and children were riding an ox cart slowly on the official road. When he stretched out his hands, he felt a touching coolness, reminding him that his body was still warm. After covering up a willow branch, the thin green leaves formed a sharp contrast with the wrinkles on his arms. This made Chen Chong couldn't help but wonder, how long does he have to live? Naturally no one answered this question.
But speaking of it, Guan Yu was originally going to go with Chen Chong, but when Guan Xing fell seriously ill, he couldn't leave for a while and had to give up. Before leaving, he specially took a long sword and a few bottles of wine from home and asked Chen Chong to give them to Zhang Fei. Chen Chong naturally agreed, but when he thought about it on the way, he still found it a bit funny. When we met back then, our conversations were all about national affairs. His words were all over the world and he disdained to talk about small family affairs. But as we got older, they were still vulgar. .
Thinking of this, Chen Chong couldn't help but remember a poem by Tao Qian and said:
"I used to hear the words of the elders, and I was not happy. However, fifty years later, I suddenly got married.
Please pray for me to be happy in my prime years, and I have no intention of returning to you. If you go and go quickly, this life will no longer be worth it.
Spending all the time having fun, the years are passing by. If you have a son and don’t leave money behind, why use it after death?”
Can anyone really stay the same? Chen Chong sighed silently, in this life, there is no control over whether one comes or goes. It is really difficult to keep oneself unchanged. Tao Qian said that life is short, it is better to indulge in joy for a while, this is what he meant.
Chen Chong originally wanted to enter Shangdang directly from Tianjing Pass, but the ox cart could not go through such a winding mountain road, so he had to change his plan and go to Weijun via Hanoi and enter Shanxi from Huguan in Sheguo. Passing through Baquan Gorge on the way, you can see the torrent rolling in the river valley. The turbid floodwater rolled down the slope, carrying withered grass washed along the road.
There were a small number of Han troops setting up checkpoints here, and the guard was a veteran of the merging army. After he saw Chen Chong's identity, he hurriedly offered words to persuade him to stay, hoping to entertain the prime minister and his party in person. They knew that Chen Chong had always been a simple man, so although they took care of it, they only killed two chickens and took some vinegar, celery and pickled bamboo shoots. Chen Chong was really happy to eat.
Chen Chong asked the veteran that Guanxi has been busy relocating people recently, and Bingzhou is no exception. Is there any trouble? The veteran replied that the people of Bingzhou had followed the late emperor and the prime minister for so many years, and they had nothing to fear even if they went to mountains of swords and seas of fire. How could there be trouble? It's just that there were too many disabled people left behind after the war, and I wished I could do more for the court. These words made Chen Chong moved and ashamed. When parting, the veteran gave Chen Chong a wooden Buddha, which he carved with his own hands, and Chen Chong gave him a jade stone in return.
After passing Baquanshan and entering Huguan, Chen Chong is very familiar with the road behind. He crossed the Yangtou Mountain from Nie County to Zhaoyu Ze, and then went north along the Fen River. By the end of February, he finally arrived in Jinyang. Along the way, Chen Chong would often feel in a trance, and then see his past self and friends running among them. It was really a long journey, but I walked so fast at that time. I reached this age in a blink of an eye, and there were indeed very few friends left to accompany me.
When we arrived in Jinyang, the gloomy weather gradually disappeared and was replaced by clear skies. When Chen Chong got out of the car, he looked around and saw familiar mountains like raging waves and fields dotted between the mountains.
He ordered his guards to go to Cheqi Mansion to report the news first, while he rested at the post station at the foot of Longshan Mountain. The next day, Zhang Fei came to greet him. The group was very large and powerful. Zhang Fei himself is still the same as before. Except for his gray hair on the temples, he is dressed in a military uniform and has two knives on his waist. Matching Kong Wu's powerful figure, he is dressed as before. Just as he walked and looked around, Zhang Fei's nobility became more and more compelling. When Chen Chong first looked at him, he could hardly recognize him.
Of course, maybe because he had made many friends with scribes, Zhang Fei had a little more literary flair. When they met, he said to Chen Chong in a formal manner: "If you go over the other cypress boats, you will also go over the currents. If you are sleepy, if you have any hidden worries. Brother After several years of separation, I thought I had forgotten about my brother!"
Chen Chong laughed at this and replied: "Xuande asked me to assist the government. How dare I refuse? Your Majesty has taken the right path in the past two years, so I can feel relieved." Then he recited: "Green and silky, women are beautiful." Treat me. I miss the ancients, so I can’t help myself." The two pretended to be cool for a while, then they both laughed, hugged each other, and then walked together.
Among the veterans, Zhang Fei is the only one who still has some real power. After Wei Yan was demoted to Longshang, Liu Xie thought twice and transferred Zhang Fei back to Beifu. Although he no longer took charge of military and political personnel, he still had control over all military matters, and he was still nominally the head of Bingzhou. Zhang Fei himself was not frugal. As he walked, hundreds of guards cleared the way, making him look very grand.
At the dinner that night, he called all the younger members of his family out to meet with Chen Chong. There were no less than ten people, men and women, making it very lively, and the food and drinks were quite extravagant. There are three or four delicacies on each person's table, including rare items such as deer antlers and bear paws. The scene once made Chen Chong feel embarrassed. This was very different from the simple style of the brothers in their early years, but he did not get angry and instead gave Guan Yu's home-brewed wine to Zhang Fei. Fortunately, Zhang Fei was still very happy. He said with a smile: "Brother makes wine, you can't exchange it for a thousand pieces of gold." Then he distributed it to the juniors to drink together, and that was the end.
