The establishment of Zhongshutai is an important node in Liu Bei's package plan.
This node means that Liu Bei has completed the consolidation of central power and basic base. There are no other political and military groups in the existing area that can shake his foundation.
Therefore, he will end the political state of comprehensive defense and limited aggressiveness in a short period of time and transform it into a state of comprehensive aggressiveness.
The most direct manifestation is to start fighting for power with local officials and regain what the Luoyang court lost.
"Bo Ning, to tell you the truth, Zhongshutai and Junguobing are an indispensable link in my overall plan. The execution of this link will directly determine whether I can achieve a complete victory in Dutian. Back then, Guangwu I want to accomplish what the emperor failed to accomplish!"
Liu Bei held Man Chong's hand and told Man Chong his political goals.
Man Chong was quite shocked by this.
"Your goal is... Dutian?"
"Yes, Du Tian!"
Liu Bei said slowly: "If we can't successfully conquer the fields, then the illusion of prosperity of today's Han Dynasty will be just a castle in the air. Once I die, the situation will be out of control. This is something that cannot be controlled by human power. Therefore, I must complete the task of conquering the fields." !”
Man Chong suddenly looked worried.
"The matter of Dutian is very involved. It is definitely not a good thing to start Dutian rashly without a complete plan. It is good that you have such an ambition, but at present, it seems that there is no great need to Dutian?"
Liu Bei shook his head.
"The crux of the world's problems lies in land annexation. If we don't deal with this problem, we can only solve the immediate problem. Bigger problems will accumulate and eventually erupt in full force, producing incalculable serious consequences.
Bonin, the current situation in the Han Dynasty is stable, not because I am so wise and powerful, nor because of the blessing of any gods, but because of the previous series of chaos, I have actually carried out similar measures to many areas intentionally or unintentionally. the behavior of.
I killed the original landowners and distributed their land to the landless people. After these landless people got land, industries, and food, they would not initiate unrest, and the situation could be stabilized.
Except for borders, the more turbulent the situation, the higher the degree of local land annexation. The more stable the situation, the lower the degree of local land annexation. This is the experience I have summed up for so many years as an official. Therefore, Dutian is It is imperative. "
Man Chong lowered his head and thought for a while without refuting Liu Bei's opinion, but soon he raised a more intuitive question.
"General, the person who owns the most land in the world may be in Luoyang, and may even be your closest person. However, they may not accept the request for land transfer, let alone pay taxes in accordance with the law. Therefore, you Are you really ready?"
"Without this awareness, how can we talk about saving the fields? We might as well just live and die together with those insects."
Liu Bei curled his lips with a look of disdain: "If I were just a person who was greedy for pleasure and afraid of death, I wouldn't do so many things. After becoming a general, I can enjoy it. After I die, I don't care about the floods. ?”
"Insect..."
Man Chong took a deep breath and whispered: "General, this is something that is outrageous in the world. Once it is started, there will be many opponents, and there will be extraordinary numbers, and the attacks on you will be very serious. Violent, even a frenzied assassination attempt on you, but are you willing to accept it despite this?"
"Bo Ning, I once asked you if you regretted that you tortured the prisoner to death, and you said that you would not regret it."
"Yes, if we do it again, Chong will still not change his previous actions. Chong has not regretted his previous actions because he lost his official position. If you do the right thing, you will not regret it."
"Then my choice is the same as yours. After I start Dutian, I will not regret my decision today. I will do the right thing for the people of the world, even if I fail, I will not regret it."
Liu Bei stared deeply at Man Chong, and Man Chong stared deeply at Liu Bei.
Through each other's eyes, the two men became aware of their shared will.
So Man Chong nodded.
"The general has no reservations about his favor, and his affection is deep in his heart. Although he cannot do too much, he can guarantee that the Man family will not confront you on the issue of Du Tian. The Man family will definitely take the lead in handling all the problems. The family property will be reported to you clearly and will not be concealed, and the taxes that should be paid will not be evaded."
"So, very good."
Liu Bei said with a smile: "What I hate the most are those bastards who have a lot of property but are not willing to pay even a single copper coin. It is precisely because of these self-righteous bastards that the world of Han Dynasty has become like this. It’s a smoky mess!”
Through this conversation, the mutual understanding between the two men improved a lot.
Liu Bei further learned about Man Chong's determination, which made Liu Bei think that Man Chong was worthy of trust and could further entrust him with important tasks.
Man Chong also further understood Liu Bei's frankness and trust in his subordinates, which made Man Chong's favorable impression of Liu Bei even higher. He believed that it was truly feasible to work with Liu Bei to achieve great things.
Even if it's something that requires risking one's life.
But Man Chong is such a person. He will move forward bravely if he sees something clearly. No matter how much political risk he takes, he will move forward bravely towards the goal without turning around.
It was precisely because of this that Liu Bei entrusted him with the establishment of Zhongshu Tai and the command of the army.
Later, Liu Bei began to instruct Man Chong in detail on some important matters regarding the formation of Zhongshu Tai and the formation of county soldiers.
"Once the county soldiers are successfully established, the control must be in the hands of Zhongshutai and cannot be taken away by local officials. This is very important. Without this, then we will deal with those thieves who want to do evil in the future. It's very difficult.
The imperial army belongs to the imperial army, but if there is a reliable armed force in the local area, the thieves can be extinguished before or at the beginning of the rebellion. The imperial court can also save a lot of things. After excluding the culprits, the rest will be a mob, and it will be very difficult for them to do so. Easy to deal with.
They are like the officials and disciples of Zhongdu. Although they are not many in number and their force is not strong, in a specific area, their presence is crucial and can have the final say. This is something we must pay attention to. . "
After hearing this, Man Chong nodded slowly.
"Junhou, what you mean is that Zhongshutai will fight for power with the local government, but in this case, there are still some problems."
"What?"
"The expenses required for the Central Book Desk."
Man Chong said in a low voice: "If the local commandery and state soldiers set up in Zhongshutai are not controlled by the local commandery and government, then the Luoyang court will have to pay for the expenses. I am afraid that the local commanderies will not be willing to pay the expenses. Have you considered raising a group of people who will compete with them for power?
The Han Dynasty has one hundred and nine counties. According to your regulations, one county soldier is set up for every three hundred people. The number of county soldiers to be set up in the entire Han Dynasty may not be less than 200,000. Even if each county soldier is The soldiers will be treated according to the minimum standards for officials, which will also be a huge expense. "
"nature."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "I know that money issues are always the top issue, but financial resources are also part of power. Only when financial resources are strong can power be strong.
Only if you are willing to spend money can people be willing to help you do things. Only if you are willing to spend money can you accomplish what you want to do. People who are not willing to spend money have no future. "
Man Chong was silent for a while and nodded seriously.
Or should I say that he is a general and I am just his subordinate?
This structure, this mind, this attitude of treating money like dirt!
If the Han Dynasty had a few more high-ranking officials like this, how could it have reached the point where it fell apart before?
(End of chapter)
