This chapter is extremely short.
Liu Chengyou's first day as the crown prince in charge of the country was very busy and fulfilling. Even if he had already served as Prime Minister before, but his status changed and the relationship between monarch and minister was established, the impact and experience would be completely different. After leaving the Concierge Courtyard and arriving at the Political Affairs Hall, before taking a break, the officials reported that the envoy of the King of Yan, Lu Long, came in to ask for an audience.
Liu Chengyou naturally paid special attention to people coming from Youzhou and summoned them without thinking. The visitor was the judge of Youzhou Jiedu, who came with the mission of Zhao Yanshou. Liu Chengyou greeted him warmly, treated him kindly, consulted him about side affairs, and discussed secretly for half an hour, all the sorrow of Chen Youyan.
Listening to his description in person, Youyan's situation is very bad, even worse than previously reported. In this cold winter, more than 2,000 people died of hunger because Gu You failed to do so. And with the arrival of the new year, the region is experiencing a period of drought, lack of food and clothing, and extreme shortage of supplies. Zhuo and Yi prefectures have begun to prepare for farming, but the people are exhausted, there is little food, and the Khitan cavalry is ready to move, with repeated signs of raiding south. As for the army, due to the losses caused by previous fierce battles, the armaments and equipment have not yet been replenished.
Liu Chengyou basically understood that Zhao Yanshou sent envoys to complain about suffering, poverty and misery. Sure enough, he asked for food, weapons, cloth, iron tools, medicinal materials... Basically, if you are not picky about food, the court can ask for everything.
In response to this, Liu Chengyou naturally comforted him with gentle words: "King Yan and the soldiers and civilians of Youyan, thank you for your hard work! Let me reply to King Yan, the imperial court is the backing of Youzhou and will not be in vain."
After a brief pause, he put on a righteous and awe-inspiring look and said, "Even if the country is in difficulty and the palace is empty, the imperial court should show its support. Later, I discussed with the ministers to allocate some ordnance, food, ironware, and farming to support Youzhou!”
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The envoy burst into tears of gratitude.
Due to the Youzhou incident, Liu Chengyou thought of the Youyan refugees. Last year, he asked Du to return to the court. Liu Zhiyuan had issued an edict to the northern Xinjiang County to take them in, but there was no detailed report yet.
After returning to the center, Liu Chengyou gave instructions to Li Tao, the assistant minister of Zhongshu: "Send a letter to Zhang Yanwei in Chengde Jiedao, asking him about the resettlement situation of the Youyan refugees. Spring is about to begin. Let him and Li Gu make arrangements for the distribution." Acres of fields, supply grain seeds, prepare for spring plowing in advance!”
Immediately afterwards, Liu Chengyou summoned Yang Bin, Wang Zhang, Su Fengji, and Dou Zhengu to hold a "joint meeting" to discuss supporting Youzhou's grain and equipment.
Yang Fang clearly opposed it because the country's resources were insufficient and he was unable to support foreign lands. There was no need for Liu Chengyou to speak in person. Su Fengji retorted at the right time: "Youyan is also the land of my Han Dynasty, and its soldiers and people are also the people of my Han Dynasty. How dare you call it a foreign land? Is Yang Xiangyu a thief who ceded the land?"
The two questions made Yang Fu look ugly, and he said forcefully: "In everything, we should act within our capabilities. The crisis in Guanzhong has already involved a lot of energy from the imperial court. How can there be any spare energy to support Youzhou?"
"If there is no army and people of Youyan to stop the Khitan forces, how can the imperial court fully deal with the threat of the Shu army? If Youzhou is lost and the Hu cavalry disturbs Hebei, so what then? Will the imperial court have the energy to take care of both sides?" Su Fengji immediately refuted it. road.
Yang Bing blurted out: "Zhao Yanshou is a man with both ends, he cannot be trusted!"
"Prime Minister Yang!" Liu Chengyou finally spoke, looking at Yang Bin calmly: "In the past six months, everyone has seen how Yan King Shuai You Yan's army and people resisted the Khitan invasion. There were many casualties, and the fields were filled with blood. Such things are not conducive to unity. Don't say anything you say, otherwise, the news will spread and chill the hearts of righteous people!"
Being stared at by Liu Chengyou, everyone could feel the lesson in that flat tone. His face couldn't help but tremble, he turned away, muffled, and responded. Seeing his performance, Liu Chengyou didn't get angry, but he couldn't help but feel secretly in his heart. No wonder Liu Chengxun once said that Yang Yan didn't understand the general situation.
"What do you think, sir?" Liu Chengyou turned to the others.
There are no really stupid people here, and they can basically feel Liu Chengyou's attitude. Looking at Wang Zhang, who was in charge of the Third Division, Yang Bin also looked at this fellow.
If Wang Zhang's true intention was to avoid wasting money and food, probably all the officials in charge of finance in the past dynasties did not want to spend money at will, and wished they could lock the door of the warehouse where money was stored. Especially Wang Zhang, who has worked hard to raise funds for national, political and military purposes since he was in charge of a country's taxation.
The Han Dynasty had just been established, and wars were spreading. Production had not yet recovered. The entire country was impoverished, and local states and counties did not have much resources to support the central government. In order to collect wealth, Wang Zhang tried every means and enacted many "harsh policies" to amass excessive wealth, which caused widespread resentment among the people.
However, under Liu Chengyou's gaze, Wang Zhang sighed and said: "Youyan's army and people have done a great job in blocking the northern frontier. They should have some support, but it is also a fact that the country's money is empty."
After a pause, Wang Zhang continued: "I propose that part of the troops should be sent from Tokyo, and the rest should be made up by Chengde and Henghai Jiedu. It is said that the official and civilian villages presided over by Hengshen Ji Zhao in the next year have already been As a result, the state capital should not be too strapped for use. As long as Youyan can wait for another half year, until the summer harvest, the new national taxes will be put into the treasury, and the imperial court will have some room to help and respond more calmly. "
Wang Zhang, this is already a confession. After hearing his suggestion, Liu Chengyou made a decision directly: "As Wang Qing has agreed, we will handle it accordingly."
"In the Central Plains states, the imperial court must also start preparations for spring plowing, so as not to be in a hurry!"
Soon, the topic turned to spring farming.
In this matter, Yang Bin had the right to speak, and said with a cold face: "The imperial court is currently issuing an edict to all states to encourage them to teach farming and mulberry farming. His Highness the King of Wei's advocacy of farming in Zhengzhou has also been effective. I suggest, The states in the Central Plains should follow the example of Zhengzhou and carry out farm work. The imperial court can also set up field envoys in each state to gather refugees, distribute land, and encourage reclamation!"
"As agreed by Prime Minister Yang, the farming matter should be fully implemented in the Central Plains!" Liu Chengyou said calmly.
However, I already have some disdain for Yang Bin in my heart. When talking about farming, he still looks around and emphasizes the late Liu Chengxun. Do you want to disgust yourself?
"Your Highness, there are still a large number of bandits raging in every state in the world. If they rob, it will affect the spring plowing in various places and delay the farming work!" Dou Zhengu, the servant of the disciple, reminded at this time.
Liu Chengyou was obviously concerned about this matter: "Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, bandits have appeared in various places, and they have been banned, which has had a very bad impact on the stability of the country. Previously, the court could not take care of it. Now, it is time to start cleaning up. !”
After hearing this, Su Fengji immediately suggested excitedly: "Your Highness, most of the thieves in the world are involved with their own families. The people and thieves collude with each other and are evil to the countryside, so it is difficult to stop them. We can draft an edict and send it to all the prefectures and counties. All thieves will be punished by their own family and neighbors. If this happens, the people will be afraid of them and will not dare to be thieves again!"
After Su Fengji finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment, everyone looked at him in astonishment. The same goes for Liu Chengyou. He twitched the corner of his mouth. He must be joking. But seeing Su Fengji's murderous look, Liu Chengyou knew in his heart that this man was serious...
