After talking to the emperor, the emperor quickly fell asleep again, but when Chen rushed out of the palace, he was worried. In this conversation with the emperor, although the emperor did not say anything, Chen Chong could already see that something was wrong: the emperor's heart disease was more serious than he thought. This was not just the blow caused by the loss of his wife and defeat, but more likely , the problem lies within the palace curtain. But this is the most difficult thing for Chen Chong to comment on. Even though he is Liu Bei's sworn brother and the Queen Mother's sworn brother, his surname is not Liu after all. Since the emperor and his ministers are different, he cannot participate in it.
But Chen Chong felt that he could not stay out of the matter. Liu Xie was seriously ill and there was no crown prince. If there was a conspiracy brewing in the palace, it would most likely lead to tragic disasters for both the country and the monarch when the country was defeated. As the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty and Xuande's best friend, he must find ways to put an end to this incident in advance.
It's just that the Tai Pavilion has been sparse for a long time, and Chen Chong doesn't like to inquire about information. There are so many things at the moment that he doesn't know where to start.
Fortunately, after Zhuge Liang received the transfer order, he had not immediately arrived in Huainan to take up his post, so Chen Chong planned to discuss the matter with him. In the evening of the same day, Chen Chong rode to Sili's mansion in the name of saying goodbye to his disciple. At this time, Zhuge Liang was collecting documents. There were three carriages loaded with goods parked at the door. However, unlike most officials, there was not much gold and silver in them. Except for a change of clothes and luggage, they were all filled with documents. There are also some hammer and chisel carpenters. When others saw it, they all said that Captain Sili was really a weirdo. Could wood be better than gold and silver? Zhuge Liang naturally smiled at this.
Kong Ming was very happy to see Chen Chong visiting. He has only been away from Beijing for a few days. This trip to Huainan obviously took a long time, and he doesn't know how many years it will take to return to the Central Government. Therefore, he specially asked his wife Huang to buy a lamb and cook it to make soup with the teacher. But after taking a few bites, he found that Chen Chong was not satisfied with the taste and seemed to hesitate to speak.
Kong Ming thought for a while and then asked Chen Chong: "Teacher, are you worried about the war on the front line in Huainan? Teacher, you can rest assured. I am originally from Langya. When my uncle Zhuge Xuan was still alive, he also traveled to Huainan. I am familiar with the local geography." Favors must never be lost.”
Chen Chong hesitated for a while, shook his head and said, "You are a genius in the world. When you go to Huainan, you will definitely be able to protect the people. I am very relieved." After a pause, he slowly said: "I came here this time to ask you a question. One thing, you are in Taige and in charge of the cardinal. When the Queen Mother issued an edict to His Majesty and ordered him to return to Beijing, did she pass through Taige? "
When Kong Ming heard this, he immediately looked solemn. After looking around, he said after careful consideration: "Teacher, the Queen Mother did send someone to Taige, but after discussing with Huan Shangshu, we both thought that the war was urgent and it was not appropriate to inform Your Majesty about this matter. The Queen Mother then There is no further content. I thought that the matter was over, but your Majesty still knew about it. It can be seen that the Queen Mother crossed the Taiwan Pavilion and sent people to Jiangnan privately. "
Chen Chong was shocked when he heard this and asked anxiously: "Who is the Queen Mother looking for?"
"I checked afterwards and it should be Henan Yin Yangdan."
After Chen Chong learned about it, he felt dizzy. The scope of this matter was getting bigger and bigger, and even Yang Dan was involved! Speaking of which, Yang Dan's second brother Yang Di is still his brother-in-law, and Yang Dan can be regarded as a confidant promoted by the emperor. How could he do such a stupid thing? And Liu Jia was so confused that he did such a big thing without telling himself. What on earth were they thinking? What are the benefits of doing this! In the silence, Chen Chong almost felt that there was an invisible network that had quietly taken shape during his recuperation.
But Zhuge Liang was very cautious in his opinion. He advised Chen Chong: "Teacher, now that the country is in misfortune and we have lost troops and generals, we must not make any assumptions when we are united and united. It is only human nature for the Queen Mother to order Her Majesty to return to the capital. There is no blame to be blamed. If the teacher guesses wrong, causing his superiors to have different intentions, and his internal and external morality, wouldn't it be that Sun Quan has been advantaged in vain? If the teacher has not guessed wrong, he must be more cautious. There are too many relationships involved, so we can only think about it in the long term."
Chen Chong agreed with Kong Ming. From the overall situation, this moment was not a good opportunity for political struggle, but just because he thought so did not mean that others would think so. And it is very likely that the other party will seize this fragile opportunity and directly make the final decision, and he must be prepared no matter what. But on the other hand, he comforted himself by saying: None of the subjects in the court are his old friends, and the development of the situation may not be as bad as he imagined.
Thinking this way, Chen Chong temporarily covered up all these worries and turned to talk to Zhuge Liang about the current war. After the failure of the Battle of Jianye, it is still impossible to calculate the specific losses until now. We only know that all the naval vessels were destroyed and a large number of soldiers were killed and captured. But even based on the most conservative estimates, the losses may have exceeded 100,000 people. At least 12 divisions of the Five Prefectures' armies were completely destroyed, and there was no hope of reconstruction. In terms of impact and damage alone, this battle may have surpassed the Battle of Bohai.
Although Liu Xie re-enabled the old man, this only solved the problem of people's hearts and officials. I am afraid that we will have to wait for Chen Chong to enter the cabinet before making specific decisions on how to administer it. At this time, Chen Chong had already made a rough draft in his mind, covering people's livelihood on the one hand, and the war situation on the other.
From the perspective of people's livelihood, in the past two years, troops have been mobilized one after another, tens of thousands of troops have been recruited at every turn, and tens of thousands of grain and supplies have been transported. The people have been taxed year after year. Although they can still bear it, they can't help but complain. Liu Xie originally planned to make achievements in one battle and then recuperate, but the result was a huge disappointment. After the defeat, the burden on the court and the people further increased. Whether it is to pay for the dead or injured, or to recruit troops, a lot of expenditure is required. After a rough calculation, it can be said that the money accumulated since Long'an has been completely consumed.
Under such circumstances, if we continue to increase taxes on the people, it will not only be unwise, but also undoubtedly unkind. For Chen Chong, the only way to stop the war now is to rest and recuperate. And this is by no means a temporary strategy. In the short term, I am afraid that within five or six years, the imperial court will not take the initiative to provoke war and launch a counterattack against the Wu people. As for many policies in the country, I am afraid they will also need to be adjusted. In Chen Chong's view, there are two main aspects: upper and lower.
Above all, it is indispensable for the rectification of the officialdom. In recent years, the emperor has promoted new people and appeased the old. Although the centralization of power is effective, it has also created many redundant officials, which has increased a lot of expenditures. To the extent that the emperor mobilized the army last year, the emperor had to reduce the salaries of most officials. But the salary reduction is only a temporary measure. If we want to completely improve the finances, we still need to streamline officials, and at the same time strictly investigate corruption and eliminate official style.
Nowadays, policies such as land granting orders and land equalization orders for equalizing wealth and poverty have become outdated at this time. How to enrich the population and encourage births has become the top priority now. Chen Chong plans to issue a tax reduction order based on this. For farmers below the fifth-level military title, tax reductions or even exemptions can be made based on the birth situation: those who have three children will have a tax reduction of 30%, those who have four children will have a half tax reduction, and those who have five children will be exempted from tax. .
But speaking of it, Liu Xie's previous decision to consolidate the people in Huaibei was very costly, but Chen Chong thought it had to be implemented. After all, when Huainan becomes the front line, it is unrealistic to allocate food from Hebei and Kansai every year. Enriching Huaibei to achieve enough food for the military and civilians is obviously a more credible option.
Returning to the overall battle situation, Chen Chong believed that although the pressure on Huainan was great, it was obvious that the Wu people's focus would still be on Xiangyang and the offensive against Bashu. After all, land warfare is not his specialty, and water warfare has advantages. The Wu people obviously will not sacrifice their strengths for their weaknesses. What can be used as evidence is that judging from various collected intelligence, Zhou Yu also holds the strategic concept of confrontation between the north and the south. Therefore, the focus of the Han army's defense must also be adjusted, and the three cities of Xiangyang, Hefei, and Baidi should be in order. First try to establish a defense system in the city. As long as these three cities are not lost, the Wu people will be unable to expand the impact of the Jianye Battle.
But compared to the Wu offensive, Chen Chong was more worried about the north. Once the defense of the south is strengthened, the number of troops in the north will be reduced accordingly. In other words, the deterrence against Yunbei will inevitably be weakened. The various grassland tribes have always believed in subduing the strong. Now that they are known to be defeated, the border defense will be weakened. Those who are determined will be ready to take action. If they are not careful, it may lead to border troubles. How to nip problems in the bud is what Chen Chong has to think about.
Therefore, Chen Chong came up with a plan, which was to imitate the ancient reforms of Wu Qi in Chu State and relocate the noble fiefdoms on a large scale to the borders of Youzhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, etc., allowing them to farm and defend the land. In this way, the country can not only strengthen its control over the border, but also ensure a certain degree of military deterrence. It can be considered as a temporary relief.
Zhuge Liang deeply agreed with Chen Chong's idea, but at the same time he also expressed a lot of worry: "What the teacher said is indeed the right way, but the only problem is that it offends too many people. The country is already full of nobles, and now Your Majesty I am weak and my family is declining, so I am afraid that the arrogance of Xungui will be even stronger. I have been a Sili school captain for many years. Although I have worked hard to govern, I still feel that I am unable to deal with the children of Xungui. If the teacher behaves like this, I am afraid that he will not be able to live in peace. .”
Chen Chong just smiled when he heard this. He pointed at himself and asked Zhuge Liang: "Kong Ming, do you know how old I am?"
"Teacher will be turning sixty next year."
"Yes." Chen Chong looked at his already very rough palms and sighed: "I am fifty-nine years old this year. No one knows how many more years I can live, but now I have to work in Taiwan again. I can't offend you. Sinner, my days are not long and I have nothing to worry about.”
"How can the teacher say that?" Kong Ming poured a cup of tea for Chen Chong, and then encouraged: "If you can be upright and magnanimous, it is not uncommon to be over a hundred years old!"
As they talked, the night passed. When Chen Chong woke up in his house, he remembered the conversation with Kong Ming, and his mood became more and more complicated. Even if he was upright, I am afraid that some things are difficult to face, but life cannot be avoided and cannot be avoided. Don't face it.
