The matter of Dutian is actually quite interesting.
Liu Bei knew that many people's evaluation of Liu Xiu was that he failed to conquer the fields and was almost driven off the throne, but the actual situation was not like this.
Liu Xiu's campaign to conquer the land cannot be considered a failure. It should be said that the imperial power and local forces regained a certain balance after the wars in the late Xinmang years.
However, Dutian was not completely successful. Liu Xiu did not completely solve the problem. He only used political and military means to make some improvements, thus delaying the outbreak of the problem.
It was not that Liu Xiu did not work hard to conquer the land, and it was not that Liu Xiu could not see the problems caused by the high concentration of land. Therefore, in the early days of establishing the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, who had built his empire with the support of the powerful powers of Hebei and Nanyang, did not attack the powerful powers.
Over a long period of time, he patiently retired nobles, built a chancery, revived Imperial College, supported Zuo's Spring and Autumn School, and abolished prefectural and national soldiers. Step by step, he demonstrated imperial power and reduced the power of nobles and local governments to achieve the goal of centralization.
It was not until the fifteenth year after he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor that he firmly secured his throne, stabilized the world, and consolidated his power. Then he turned his back on the powerful and powerful with the determination to win and implemented the policy of exchanging land.
As soon as the local officials colluded with the local powerful forces and responded to his requests in vain, he ruthlessly killed more than a dozen county guards and brutally killed a group of officials, thereby forcing the officials to deal with the powerful landlords.
The local officials were afraid of being killed by Liu Xiu, so they had no choice but to carry out the order and attack the powerful landowners, which caused a strong backlash from the powerful landowners and raised troops to resist the land transfer policy.
However, at the central level, Liu Xiu achieved centralization of power through the Shangshutai, and at the local level, he strengthened the cadres and weakened the branches by abolishing the prefectural and state soldiers. As a result, the resistance of the local prefectures and states was greatly weakened, and they could not really threaten Liu Xiu's rule.
However, the social conditions during the Eastern Han Dynasty were completely different from those during the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to strengthen the unification and centralization of power to an extreme degree and treat no one with pretense, but Liu Xiu did not have such a basis.
The powerful local military and powerful clans and the powerful political power of the gentry at the central level effectively restricted the monarchy, making it impossible for Liu Xiu, the founding emperor, to achieve complete monarchy through farming.
Despite this, by killing and relocating powerful families to settle elsewhere, Liu Xiu achieved certain results in conquering the fields. He wrested part of the political and economic interests from the powerful families, allowing the imperial power and local forces to regain their balance. some kind of balance.
It is conceivable that in the process of the imperial power and local forces killing each other and confronting each other, Liu Xiu and the local forces found that they had reached a certain balance, and neither side was willing to continue killing to avoid causing larger-scale social unrest. So everyone compromised with each other.
The Eastern Han Empire was the continuation of the Western Han Empire. The establishment of the Eastern Han Empire was not the establishment of a new rule on the ruins, but a battle between a group of vested interests of the old dynasty to restore the old order.
The motivation for establishing the Eastern Han Empire was not for innovation, but for restoration, so there was no need to kill you to death.
Perhaps the underlying theme of the land transfer policy has never been radical change, but a kind of modified and mutual compromise.
Liu Xiu wanted to reach a compromise between the central and local governments through Dutian, so that the structure of the Eastern Han Dynasty would not develop in the direction of rapid collapse.
Therefore, the policy of transferring land has always been continued. After Liu Xiu's death, the policy of transferring land continued. Several generations of emperors in the Eastern Han Dynasty maintained the results of the policy of transferring land. From time to time, they dealt heavy blows to some people who came forward to show their degree of control. The power of land policy.
So this balance is well maintained.
The central imperial power and local centrifugal forces repeatedly saw each other within the framework of the land transfer policy, always maintaining a certain sense of balance.
The time when this balance was broken should be in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty. Years of internal and external wars represented by the Han-Qiang War greatly consumed the power of the Eastern Han Central Committee, and it was very painful to be consumed by the war.
At the same time, the central politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty became increasingly chaotic.
There were few adult emperors, but many young and even infant emperors. The political power of eunuchs, relatives, and scholars came to the fore, and the centralized power situation was on the verge of collapse.
In this situation where you sing and I come on stage, it is almost impossible to maintain the long-term implementation of a policy.
After the balance was broken, the illusion of prosperity that the elites of the Eastern Han Empire tried so hard to maintain also began to show signs of collapse. The empire began to collapse from the peasants at the bottom, and finally got out of control.
As a high-ranking official in the central government and the former Shangshu Ling who was actually in charge of the world's government affairs, Lu Zhi knew this very well, so he understood very well the significance of Du Tian to the Eastern Han Dynasty and the significance of Du Tian to local powerful people.
He has studied some files from past eras and has a relatively deep understanding of the implementation of the policy of Dutian.
Therefore, when he proposed to solve the problem by conquering the fields, Liu Bei was not surprised. He even believed that conquering the fields was indeed a clear way for the Eastern Han Empire to redeem itself.
However, with the power and execution strength of the Central Committee of the Eastern Han Dynasty today, whether it can still implement the land transfer policy and implement it at the local level is a question worth exploring.
Anyway, Liu Bei thinks this is almost impossible.
The Luoyang court was already plagued by serious illnesses. Not to mention the Chang'an government during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, even the Luoyang government during Liu Xiu's period was far inferior.
Therefore, the state of world equilibrium that Liu Xiu can achieve is not something that the current Liu Hong government can return to.
Moreover, doing so will inevitably lead to war, which will be far larger than the Yellow Turban Uprising. It will be even more difficult to quell it.
"Teacher, of course the policy of concentrating the fields is a good policy, but for today's big men, does the policy of concentrating the fields really make sense? In other words, is it a good thing or a bad thing for the big men to implement the policy of concentrating the fields now? Woolen cloth?"
Lu Zhi looked at Liu Bei, was silent for a while, and showed a forced smile.
"Xuande, it seems that you know everything."
"It's not like I know everything, but my disciples also know that the strategies that worked at this time and that time may not be feasible now."
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Not to mention other people, which official in the court, including the disciples, does not have a large piece of fertile land? Which family behind the scholars of the Ancient Literature School does not have a large piece of fertile land? The people around your majesty There are powerful eunuchs, but which one doesn’t have a large piece of fertile land?
Everyone who may be your enemy in implementing the strategy of conquering the fields, not to mention those from the Jinwen school, even includes the Lu family of Zhuojun and the Liu family of Zhuojun.
Teachers, including the people around us, are everyone really willing to cooperate with the policy of saving fields? When one's own interests are harmed, who can remain calm and content? "
Lu Zhi took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
"At this moment, at that moment, I also understand this truth. I also know that the current situation in the local area is out of control. Dutian exists in name only and can no longer have an effect. If I force Dutian again, I am afraid that the decree has not been passed to the local area. I will It has been criticized by thousands of people.”
"So, teacher, at least at this time, I will never support you in any way to implement the strategy of saving fields."
Liu Bei said: "There is no chance of success at all. There is no need to do it. It is a wise choice to stay useful and wait for the situation to change."
"at this time?"
Lu Zhi looked at Liu Bei and asked, "Xuande, at least at this time?"
"Yes, teacher and disciples alike think that the strategy of concentrating the fields is an effective strategy."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "My disciple just feels that now is not the time to implement this strategy."
Lu Zhi stroked his beard.
"So, when do you think it's a good time to implement the plan to save the fields?"
"It's a good time when the teacher no longer carries out the plan of conquering the fields with a death wish."
Liu Bei sat upright, bowed respectfully to Lu Zhi and said: "Conquering the fields is not a temporary strategy. There is no need for teachers to rush into it. Otherwise, people will perish and politics will cease, or even people will not perish, politics will cease, and the teacher's ambition will be wasted."
(End of chapter)
