Liu Chengyou asked some more questions about the court's policies. The results were both expected and reasonable. Basically, the policies he had previously introduced to benefit the people have not been implemented. The inaction of the government is one aspect, and the inability of the government to act is also another aspect.
Soon, Liu Chengyou ended his sluggish and difficult conversation with the old farmer. He learned almost everything he needed to know and wanted to know. After visiting a few more households in the village, I found that the people here were in similar situations. Even the farmer's family on the left side of the village was still a barely "rich" family. After all, the family's labor force was still sufficient.
In terms of restoring people's livelihood, apart from setting some positive policies from the macro perspective, Liu Chengyou cannot do anything too detailed and effective. More, it has to rely on long-term self-regulation by the people.
However, it is impossible to recuperate, treat by doing nothing, and let things go their own way. Everything Liu Chengyou has done since he succeeded to the throne, rather than reassuring the people and raising households, is more precisely to consolidate his position and establish his authority, so as to maintain his rule over the country he inherited.
This is the most fundamental and core thing. There may be love for the people, but so far, Liu Chengyou's "people-benefiting" policies are more superficial, expressing an attitude to the world.
According to Zhuang Min, from a side perspective, the local officials in Neihuang did a pretty good job. It is said that they were the county magistrates promoted and appointed by Gao Xingzhou. Others can be ignored for the time being, but they are still very attentive in attracting people, determining land, and cultivating farmers. When disaster struck, active responses and proactive measures were taken to minimize the losses of people within the territory.
This manor, which was built less than two years ago, was severely disturbed by Liu Chengyou's inspection. After the 300 tall horses and elite troops left, and after the thin dust and smoke raised on the dirt road between the manor subsided, the households in the manor Dare to poke your head a little to see what's going on.
After asking each other, they found that all the houses in the village were not damaged at all, the houses were not destroyed, the property and livestock were not lost, and a tent house that was originally damaged at the entrance of the village had been repaired. I am a little surprised. With the current state of the Han Dynasty, although under the rule of Gao Xingzhou, although the army will not be as strong as the firewood, it is still surprising that the army has no offense like this.
Several households visited by Liu Chengyou were still confused and did not know why. Even the old farmers had no idea of the identity of the heavily guarded young man who questioned them. It was the mayor of the village who made the inquiry. He was shocked when he heard the words "Your Majesty" and quickly led the villagers present to bow to the west.
The emperor is the emperor after all. In such an era of chaos and uncertainty, it is not easy to survive, but having the opportunity to feel the majesty of the emperor so close is also a blessing for these ignorant people.
The person who feels the most pity belongs to the head of the township here. When the Forbidden Army entered the village, they wanted to test it out with great discernment. Unfortunately, before they could get close, they were severely rejected by the Forbidden Army guards.
After leaving this small village, Liu Chengyou showed no emotion or anger on his face, looking deep and calm. On the other hand, Miss Zhe, who was accompanying her, sighed in a pitiful tone: "I only knew that disasters in Hebei continued and the common people were poor, but I never imagined that poverty could reach such a state!"
"This is my dereliction of duty as an emperor!" Hearing this, Liu Chengyou said smoothly.
Seeing this, Xiaoniang Zhe shook her head quickly several times, causing a strand of hair to fall down, and explained to Liu Chengyou: "I don't mean this."
Feeling the nervous tone of Madam Zhe, Liu Chengyou relaxed and asked with relief, "Fuzhou is located in Beisai, while Neihuang is the hinterland of Hebei. The people here are poor. How does it compare to Fuzhou?"
Upon hearing this, Xiaoniang Zhe blinked her bright eyes a few times, thought for a while, and said a little proudly: "Although we are not rich, our family has a lot of money and a surplus of food."
"Every family has something to earn, and every household has a surplus of food!" Liu Chengyou repeated clearly and clearly, with firmness and grace: "This is my future policy goal!"
Talking about ideals and goals has become Liu Chengyou's special skill.
After saying this, he raised his imperial whip and gave it a sharp blow, as if to vent the sullenness in his heart. The horse at his hip neighed, raised its hooves and galloped away along the dirt road.
Seeing this, Miss Zhe's beautiful face tightened, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and she followed closely. This attracted Gao Huaide and Zhao Yanjin to rush to guard with their men in panic.
In fact, it is impossible for Liu Chengyou to say that he was not touched by Murano and his party. However, he also knew in his heart that he, the emperor and the court, also had part of the "credit" for the poverty of the local people.
In the past two years, although some unreasonable taxes have been abolished, they are basically exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and public expenditures and apportionments are provided. However, in terms of regular taxes, every penny and grain must be indispensable. Moreover, in this regard, the court's supervision is not effective. Although Liu Chengyou, the external supervision system, is struggling to rebuild, this requires a process. In this process, the central government has no control over how local officials perform.
In fact, what made Liu Chengyou most unhappy and uncomfortable since he came to power was not his caution towards the army, not the old arrogance and reliance on power of the Yuan ministers, and not the poverty and hardship of the country. But the implementation and execution of policies have always been a difficult problem.
The capital, the court, and the army are basically under his stable control. But what about outside Gyeonggi Province? Whenever there is a policy, it often spreads out of Tokyo and affects Kinki, and then it is difficult to get timely feedback further away.
Every time he thinks about this, Liu Chengyou's heart is filled with a surging sense of urgency and crisis. He, as the emperor, has too little control over this country. Even though this is a problem that all Central Plains monarchs and regimes have to face since the Later Liang Dynasty.
This is also the reason why Liu Chengyou put a lot of effort and thought into rebuilding the system, rearranging rituals, and promoting talents, but it was just because the time was not long enough and the results have not yet appeared.
Today, there are quite a few prefectures and towns under the direct control of the central government, including the east and west regions, more than half of the Central Plains, most of the Guanzhong region, and the Heyang and Hezhong regions. However, it is very difficult to support the huge Tokyo bureaucracy and army with only these geographical territories, and the support of local states and towns is absolutely indispensable.
In the past two years, Shannan, Jingdong, Hedong, and even Fangzhen in Hebei have paid considerable tribute to Tokyo. Taking Wei Bo as an example, apart from the fact that Du Chongwei was destroyed two years ago and the states suffered serious damage, and the imperial court exempted him from taxes, there has been no such thing since.
After Liu Chengyou came to power, even when Wei Bo suffered the most serious disaster, Liu Chengyou only issued an order to the Daming Prefecture to relieve the victims and reduce tribute. In short, a central idea can be reduced or reduced, but it cannot be avoided. According to the imperial edict at the beginning of the succession, even if the state capital received only one copper in tax revenue, it would have to be broken in half and provided to Tokyo.
Of course, doing so will have certain negative impacts. For example, there are issues such as the reputation of his emperor, whether the states and towns are convinced, the opacity of local finance and taxation, and the people suffering from exploitation, public resentment, and civil unrest, etc.
However, nothing can compare with the money and food sent to Tokyo twice a year. Although it is said that those who win the hearts and minds of the people win the world, for now, the people of the world are not the water that holds the ship of the Han Dynasty. The army, bureaucrats, and people in Tokyo are. They are the foundation for Liu Chengyou, the helmsman, to cut through the waves.
The water may boil at times, but as long as it slows down, it will eventually calm down. This can be seen from the behavior of the foolish people in the village. Moreover, the most difficult time for the big man to breathe has passed. Next, what else can defeat Liu Chengyou.
The problem he faced was how to bring peace to the world, how to govern the world, and how to bring peace to the world. From the time he decided on the strategy of "first south, then north", he has already embarked on this road that will become wider and wider.
Facing the biting cold wind, he galloped for several miles before stopping. After the strenuous exercise, Liu Chengyou's body became hot and the anger forced him to sweat.
Zhe Xiaoniang, who followed closely behind, was also panting, her face was red, but her breathing was even.
Liu Chengyou's spirit seemed a little uplifted. He stared at Madam Zhe's face with such strong eyes that Madam Xian Fei turned her head away in embarrassment and shyness...
