The second year of Jingyao's reign in the Han Dynasty.
The outskirts of Chang'an.
At the time of spring, the suburbs of Chang'an are full of people, and more and more carriages of men and women are traveling.
The outskirts of Chang'an were also full of people welcoming and sending them off. Some people left, and naturally some people came.
Now is the third year since the Han Dynasty destroyed Wu.
In the year when the Han Dynasty destroyed Wu, Emperor Liu Chan issued an edict to change the Yuan Dynasty to Jingyao in the coming year to celebrate the prosperous era of great unification.
At the same time, Liu Chan issued an edict to conduct the second imperial examination after the autumn harvest in the second year of Jingyao to seek talents for the country.
Nowadays, the largest number of people coming and going outside Chang'an City, apart from the merchants who came after the initial decision of the world, are the students who come to Chang'an to take the exam.
In the Shili Pavilion on the outskirts of Chang'an, there were four old men drinking tea while watching the scenes of people being welcomed and sent off.
To put it bluntly, Zhang Xi actually resisted the feeling of sitting with these three old guys, making him look a few years older for nothing.
But... there is no way. Every time these three old guys discuss things, they have to bring themselves with them, and they can't push them away.
Zhang Xi is also annoyed.
"I want to write again and ask for permission from the emperor to verify the world's acres of land and count the world's population." One of the old men spoke.
Look, it’s such a troublesome thing to start with. How can Zhang Xi not be annoyed?
"Yuan Zhi, think twice. This matter is of great importance. We will make a decision today to prevent another incident!!!" Another old man quickly warned.
Well, let's see, it doesn't take a few words to start arguing again.
"Shi Yuan's words are unreasonable. It is precisely because the world has been settled at this time that this can be done. If it is delayed for a long time, all the famous families will hide their actions, and it will be difficult to find out!!!"
"Yuanzhi, I am not protecting the family, but it is actually the family's benefit and contribution to the country. The family's shortcomings cannot be eliminated overnight. If you act rashly, the world will change."
"As a descendant of a noble family, Shi Yuan only wants to show his support for the noble family. This matter is what I tell the emperor himself."
"Why did Yuan Zhi say this?! It's just a matter of fact. Why did you mention my family background?!"
"you"
"I"
Look, look, there's a quarrel again, people in their sixties, it's not too shabby to have a quarrel in the street.
"Why didn't Yuan Chang say a word?!"
"Yuan Chang has always been well aware of the shortcomings of the family. Now that the land decrees in the court come from the hands of Yuan Chang, why don't you speak out?!"
Okay, why is the fire still burning on myself? !
Zhang Xi silently glanced at Xu Shu and Pang Tong who were arguing, shook his head slightly, and ignored the two old guys.
Why do I feel like these two are becoming more and more childish as they get older? ! !
Zhang Xi said that he did not want to talk to childish ghosts.
At this time, Zhuge Liang finally stood up and spoke.
"Yuanzhi, Shiyuan, don't hurt your harmony. You must do this, but you can't rush it. Why not calm down and discuss the plan together?!" Zhuge Liang persuaded with a smile.
Xu Shu and Pang Tong looked at each other, dissatisfied with each other, but sat down anyway.
However, not long after sitting down, Xu Shu couldn't help but turned his head, looked at Zhuge Liang, and said, "Kong Ming is free, I'm afraid I'm just waiting for your manor to be built so that I can move in and live out my life!!!"
Let's talk about this, it is the biggest topic of conversation in Chang'an recently - Zhuge Liang wrote a letter requesting to retire and return to his hometown.
In fact, this has been happening since the first year of Jingyao. Zhuge Liang wrote three times in a row asking to resign. According to ancient etiquette, if he resigned three times, Zhuge Liang could resign and return home no matter how the emperor tried to persuade him to stay.
So, Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang finally talked and reached a compromise.
Liu Chan agreed to Zhuge Liang's resignation, but Zhuge Liang refused to return home. On the outskirts of Chang'an, Liu Chan allocated a piece of land to Zhuge Liang to build a manor for Zhuge Liang and his family to live.
By the way, Liu Chan made Zhuge Liang the Marquis of Wu, with a settlement of 50,000 households and an additional ten tins. Liu Chan eventually found out about this, but Liu Chan made an exception for Zhuge Liang without any hesitation and gave him ten tins.
Now Zhuge Liang is waiting for retirement, so Xu Shu is particularly dissatisfied.
Although today's Han Dynasty has completed the unification of the world, there are still many problems and many things have not been resolved. The power of the aristocratic family is still strong, affecting all aspects of this Han Dynasty.
As a child from a poor family, Xu Shu was very aware of the shortcomings in this. Therefore, Xu Shu felt that it was time to take advantage of this time, when the Han Dynasty was strong in force, and use military power as a guarantee to promote reforms. As a result, Zhuge Liang gave up his son first.
There are only a few core courtiers who have the right to speak in the court. Li Yan is basically taking care of the affairs of the Chancellor. As a vested interest, it is impossible for you to expect him to change the status quo. Pang Tong is from a noble family, so let him It is also impossible to accept reforms that are unfavorable to aristocratic families.
Xu Shu had no choice but to hope to win the support of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi.
It's all right now, one of them has given up, and the other has failed. Can Xu Shu not be anxious? ! !
Therefore, at this gathering, it was not so much that Xu Shu wanted to quarrel with Pang Tong, but that Xu Shu wanted to take the opportunity to persuade Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi to support his reform plan.
But this is it. It’s not that Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi don’t support it, it’s mainly that Xu Shu’s idea is a bit too radical.
The investigation of Dingkou should indeed be done. It would release enough labor force, which would be very beneficial to the Han Dynasty. Moreover, most of the taxes and fees incurred by the investigation of Dingkou would not affect the interests of the aristocratic families, and the aristocratic families would not be too opposed to it. .
But when it comes to checking the land, we really can't be too anxious.
During the process from the current chaos to the initial peace of the world, the aristocratic families are in a sensitive period, and land is their lifeblood. If the land is rashly inventoried, it will easily lead to the second "field transfer incident".
Therefore, according to Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang's ideas, this matter must be done slowly. Only warm water can boil the frog. Xu Shu's fire was full of fire as soon as he came up. Of course, these two people could not support it.
Of course, Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang would not fail to respond to Xu Shu's ideas. There must be such a person who jumps out and insists on a more radical approach, so that the courtiers who come from aristocratic families can feel the pressure and accept it. Improvements that are more acceptable.
Yes, Zhang Xi has the same idea as Zhuge Liang in this regard. What the big man needs now is only improvement, not reform.
Reform must be done, but it cannot be done now. It needs time to accumulate.
And even with reforms, some things, according to Zhang Xi's ideas, cannot be changed. For example, the issue of land annexation.
In the feudal era, productivity could not increase and the people's food and clothing problems could not be solved. How could we solve the problem of land annexation? !
When agriculture was the primary productive force, it was impossible for the privileged families to give up annexing land to ensure their family interests and family survival.
Just look at replacing agricultural taxes with commercial taxes. To achieve this, it will take at least one year and seven hundred years to develop productivity. At the same time, you need a "contemporary Shennong", otherwise it will not be possible at all.
So, on this point, Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang actually have the same position. Xu Shu can make trouble, but they will not support Xu Shu's reform plan.
The purpose of finding Xu Shu and Pang Tong today is to explain this matter, and by the way, to give them some relief.
They were all good friends. During this time, the two of them had quarreled more than once over this matter, and the words became more and more intense each time. It was really hard to stand it anymore.
We are all smart people, and everyone understands something we have said.
But Xu Shu still couldn't accept it. After all, at the beginning of the founding of the country, it was really a good time to eliminate the shortcomings.
Xu Shu could understand Zhuge Liang and others' long-term plan, but Xu Shu was afraid that due to the increase in family power and the decline of military power, the long-term plan would become indefinite. By then, everything would be too late.
In response to this, Zhuge Liang did not answer directly, but turned his head and looked at Zhang Xi, please explain.
Zhang Xi nodded helplessly and said to Xu Shu, "Brother Yuanzhi, do you know who has the most people entering and exiting Chang'an City now?!"
Xu Shu was slightly startled and said, "People?!"
Zhang Xi shook his head slightly and said, "It's a student! A student who came to take the imperial examination!!"
Xu Shu was silent for a long time before he nodded silently.
"Our era may have come to an end. The only thing we can do now is to help pave the way for these powerful future ministers and generals."
"Even if this is the case, we should try our best to do it. The calculation of Dingkou must not be abandoned."
"That's fine!!!"
Indeed, since we are going to pave the road, let’s move the stones away first! ! !
The future definitely belongs to them.
But now, just do as much as you can! ! !
(End of chapter)
