In the third year of Yuanfeng, an urgent report came from Shuofang County: "Hu cavalry was found at the foot of Yin Mountain. It seems that Hu people have entered Henan."
Although no battle report came, the imperial court took action immediately. The Han court never took the Hu people in the north lightly.
And based on years of observation, the barbarians on the grasslands are indeed gradually becoming more prosperous again.
Emperor Xiaoding Liu Jin's fifteen years of repeated defeats gave many tribes on the grassland a chance to breathe. Liu Dan did not use troops on the grassland in the early stage, but he won too many victories in the later period. All the powerful enemies around him were defeated by him, so many This time he ordered the general to patrol the border, show off the Han court's martial arts, and frighten the barbarians on the grassland.
This kind of border patrol cannot be said to be useless, it can only be said that there is something wrong with the brain.
The Han Dynasty could defeat the Xiongnu, but it could not defeat the grassland. The grassland was there and extended in all directions. If one tribal group failed, a new tribal group would rise.
Not to mention that it is extremely difficult to eliminate a country like the Xiongnu with a relatively complete system.
Usually, countries on the grasslands perished, either due to civil strife or being annexed by other countries on the grasslands. Only rarely were they directly defeated by the Central Plains dynasty.
There is a very interesting thing when reading history, that is, after several decades, the Central Plains is still the same dynasty, but the enemy countries on the grassland have changed several times.
When Liu Bing received the news from Shuofang County, he knew that his first real test had come.
He did a very good job in the political struggle and civil affairs in the country, but foreign war is a completely different dimension.
War can quickly gather prestige. When Liu Che and Liu Dan succeeded to the throne as princes and kings, they both gained a foothold through victory in war.
Liu Bing already needed to take this step, but he knew very well that the current big man had only just recovered a little.
We can't start a national war like Emperor Xiaowu did. If we did, the big man would be the first to explode.
Moreover, the current Hu people are not qualified to start a war with the Han Dynasty.
Even after experiencing these disasters, he is still invincible!
So an edict was issued, "I have received military information about Shuofang County. The barbarians who once ravaged the border appeared at the foot of Yinshan Mountain. They are trying to enter the Henan land of my Han Dynasty again.
This is the territory that Emperor Xiaowu left for the Han Dynasty. Even people like Emperor Ru did not lose it. How can it be lost in my hands?
well.
This means we have to go to war with the barbarians.
But now the Han Dynasty still has many problems. If he starts the war easily, he may follow in the footsteps of Emperor Xiaoding.
This is what I don't want to see.
I inherited the throne with my shallow virtues and have never experienced a war. My prestige is not enough to intimidate the generals who go to war, and it is not enough to convince the soldiers and the people.
If the top and bottom are not united, it may be difficult to win.
When King Wen of Gaohou was regent, he once said that the status of the emperor should be promoted. If the status of the emperor is prosperous, the world will be stable and the people will fight for the emperor.
Therefore, according to the proposal of Shouguang Hou, the official positions of the imperial court and the county were re-determined, and it was clarified that the rank of the county governor was higher than that of the prime minister, and the world calmed down.
Now that a hundred years have passed, I think the world has changed. There are some bad controversies among the people, which complicates public opinion. What good does it do to the world?
Now we are about to go to war with the barbarians, but there are many people saying that they are not willing to fight. I am very worried, and I am not willing to follow the example of Emperor Ru, who did not let the people speak.
I know that Guandong is still in a state of exhaustion, so for this war I will recruit the children of Guanzhong and Sanhe, because they are closer to me.
Now it has been decided to divide it into three auxiliary areas according to the original Sanqin. The chiefs of the three auxiliaries will be like Jiuqing, making them noble.
The Sanhe area was once the place where the holy kings established their capitals, and the land of Heluo was the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty for thousands of years, because it was in the middle of the world, where the Jiuding was born and where the king dominated everything.
There are two capitals in the Zhou Dynasty, and the emperor's six armies exchange defenses in Haojing and Luoyi. I want to follow suit.
Now that the salary of the governor of the Sanhe area has been raised to a higher level, making the Sanhe area the location of my villa, and receiving all kinds of rewards like those in Guanzhong, the children of Sanhe will surely have the courage to join the army and serve the imperial court.
During the reign of Emperor Wu, he was aggressive in military affairs and the people were displaced. He even used criminals and gangsters as soldiers. As a result, the Han army lost its glory and bravery. I did not want to use these people, so I wanted to abandon them.
Now I want to imitate my meritorious ancestors and select good sons from the six counties in Guanzhong to strengthen the Forbidden Army. I also hope to recruit knights who are good at fighting from the Three Rivers Land and also fill them into the Forbidden Army.
I will grant rewards such as freedom from corvee and reduced taxes, and reward every year, just as I did during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu. "
Taking advantage of the possibility of conquering the Hu people, the children of Guanzhong and Sanhe areas were allowed to serve in the military, thereby legally raising the status of the central court.
The professional term is to emphasize the internal and neglect the external, expand the basic market, and incorporate the Sanhe area into the standing system.
During the period of Emperor Ru, due to a large number of foreign campaigns, the number of good men in Guanzhong dropped significantly, and they had to use prisoners. Now Liu Bing has decided to recruit high-quality soldiers from the Sanhe area.
The Sanhe area has a long history of elite troops, and they were one of the main forces in the Han Dynasty's foreign campaigns. Now Liu Bing has raised their political status and given them political and economic privileges, which has made the entire Sanhe area excited. .
The heroes of Guandong looked at the edict and could only say in vain: "Guandong is far away, and the emperor's star does not hang down; Guandong is far away, and the emperor's star does not hang down."
In a dynasty like the Han Dynasty, military service was an honorable task, because only through military service could there be room for advancement. In the past, only sons of good families could enter the army, as evidenced by this.
Now the emperor allows the children from the Guanzhong and Sanhe areas to join the army, but does not allow the children from the Kanto area to join the army. This is suppressing the Kanto area.
However, the edict did not contain any suppression of Guandong. It even said very considerately that Guandong was exhausted and was not suitable for participating in the war for the time being.
According to the principle of relativity, if the Guanzhong and Sanhe areas are elevated, other areas will naturally be reduced.
The first move was to reward the feudal lords in Guandong, and the second move was to suppress the political status of Guandong. It seemed very contradictory, but in fact it was an extremely normal method.
There is no contradiction between treating the heroes of Jingnan well and suppressing the Kwantung forces.
Many people have overlooked one thing. The purpose of setting up the garrison princes and enfeoffed kings was to frighten Guandong, not to elevate Guandong.
Every emperor of the Han Dynasty preferred Guanzhong.
But if you think about it carefully, except for Emperor Xiaowen, who was from Guanzhong, the emperors starting from Liu Bang were all from Guandong.
But no matter where an emperor comes from, he will definitely favor Guanzhong in the end, just like the guarding princes were originally nobles from Guanzhong. After staying in Guandong for a long time, they will naturally become Guandong people and will be biased towards Guanzhong.
Why did Wei Ping want to die to remonstrate? He must send grain from Guanzhong to help Guandong, because the princes of Guandong followed the path of the Luo family and relied on the righteousness of the court and their own reputation to stand in Guandong. He raised his arms and the crowd responded.
The difference is that the Luo clan itself has relatively strong military force, while the force of the feudal lords guarding Guandong is not particularly strong. As mentioned before, the soldiers of the counties are in the hands of the county guards. Only in times of war can the feudal lords take over military power with golden orders. , at other times we can only rely on private soldiers.
Just as Los said that day under the Changle Palace, "A country can only have a thousand households, its people can't be more than ten thousand, and its soldiers can't be more than a hundred."
The imperial court granted feudal lords feudal lords, allowing them to enjoy wealth and honor forever, allowing them to repeat failures again and again. Even serious crimes of rebellion would not eliminate the country, but would cut off the land and households, and send the culprits into exile. However, it also gave them great benefits. The restriction is that not even an inch of the land can be granted!
Powerful prefectures and counties can annex land without limit, but if a feudal lord dares to annex an inch outside the lord's kingdom, it will be considered a crime of treason!
The close relationship with the royal family can give the power to recommend officials. The reputation brought by guarding the land for generations is a sharp weapon in the hands of the princes. If the reputation is greatly lost, the power will be cut in half in an instant. If the imperial court takes back the gold seal, it can be directly committed suicide.
Although Liu Bingji drove all the heroes of Jingnan back to Guandong, he increased the number of people recommended by them. The main channels for appointing officials in the imperial court were firstly through imperial students and secondly through recommendation. In addition to requiring the prefecture to recommend one or two people in special circumstances. Except for being virtuous and upright or being a scholar, filial and honest.
The main ones are the princes and ministers who have the right to recommend. Wei Qing quickly entered the eyes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty through Zhou Yafu's recommendation.
Liu Bingji's actions to some extent even severed the connection between the feudal lords of Guandong, the people of Guandong, and the powerful powers of Guandong, because Guandong was damaged, but the lords of Guandong benefited!
People don't suffer from the imbalance of poverty!
This is the truest human heart.
No one knows whether this was Liu Bingji's unintentional move or whether he had planned it for a long time, but it is impossible for the princes of Guandong to rush over and say to the emperor: "Guandong must be treated equally. What you are doing now, are you treating the people of Guandong as equals?" Your people?"
The situation has not reached this point. Moreover, although the Chang'an court was unfair, it did a great job in suppressing the powerful people in Guandong who harmed the people. Especially since Liu Bing had repeatedly investigated the illegal activities of officials and powerful people in Guandong. The status in the hearts of ordinary people is not considered low.
To put it bluntly, those people whose lives are even very difficult only want to have enough food and clothing, but they do not need political status or economic status.
The imperial court raised its butcher's knife against the powerful to protect these most ordinary people. If this was done, the common people would not rise up against the imperial court.
Without the support of millions of common people, without the leadership of famous princes, relying solely on the powerful and scholar-officials of Guandong, it is not possible to make any waves for the time being.
When the edict reached Zhaocheng, Luo Wuji coughed twice and murmured softly: "The barbarians are indeed here. No wonder my health is getting worse and worse."
The author is from Hebei, your hometown. You know, a big plot is about to begin again. It should be two big plots.
(End of chapter)
