After continuously meeting with the main generals in Hexi and hearing about the local military and political situation, Emperor Liu's life became completely leisurely. It was obviously different from the past. In the past, it was fake leisure, but this time it was real.
When he stayed in Beijing, the running of government affairs and the performance of officials were all under his nose, and he could intervene at any time, so he often stayed on the Diaoyutai and dealt with things indifferently.
But it was different after arriving in Liangzhou. The cold winter, ice and snow, almost isolated Guzang City into an isolated island. Although external communication was not really cut off, some memorials from Luoyang and even Kaifeng could still be presented to the emperor for his review, but as time passed, Emperor Liu began to murmur in his heart.
He couldn't help but wonder, what was the situation in the Luoyang court? Is it really as peaceful as the memorial reported? Is everything really in order? Zhao Pu, Song Qi and other ministers should not disappoint his expectations?
Although he was confident and even arrogant about his control of the empire, due to his personality, Emperor Liu could not help but be a little more suspicious. Even intelligence from all aspects told him that during his tour out of Beijing, the imperial court The situation is stable and people's livelihood is stable...
After all, I am still too free, and I can’t help but think about things when I am free. This was not the longest time Emperor Liu had left the capital, but it was the furthest he had gone. He was "trapped" in Liangzhou again. This was the first time he had such an experience, which made Emperor Liu feel uneasy.
When he was in Beijing, no matter in spring, summer, autumn or winter, Emperor Liu could go out at any time, go hunting, enjoy the scenery, and make secret visits. In Liangzhou, except for Wodong, Emperor Liu really didn't have much interest in walking around.
However, Emperor Liu would not be too lonely after all. Since there was no shortage of concubines and concubines accompanying him, it was winter, but the days were full of spring. Emperor Liu, who was abstinent to maintain his health, relaxed his restraint on himself, and the concubines Gao, Zhe, Guo and Yelu were all favored. Perhaps it was in the in-depth communication between spirit and body that the irritability and uneasiness in Emperor Liu's heart could not be dispelled. few.
In the eighth year of Kaibao's reign, from New Year's Day to Shangyuan, Emperor Liu spent both of the two most important festivals at the beginning of the year in Liangzhou. Although the scene was not as grand as it was in Gyeonggi, it was still lively and unique, and it also gave Emperor Liu and the nobles from the imperial court some novel experiences.
It was the same festival, but different ways of celebrating it. Although he knew that there were government arrangements behind it, Emperor Liu still saw a harmonious scene of people from all ethnic groups celebrating the New Year together.
Promoting traditional Chinese festival culture in Hexi is what Lu Duoxun plans to do. According to local feedback, it was the first time that the officials and people of Guzang celebrated the festival and welcomed the New Year in such a lively manner. This was all due to the emperor's luck.
After the beginning of spring, the climate in Liangzhou has become much milder than the severe winter, but it is still cold. Emperor Liu had been in the Central Plains for more than 20 years, and his living habits had long been that of a Central Plains person, so he was very uncomfortable with Liangzhou. At the same time, he could feel the differences between the two places at any time.
But the same thing is that after the beginning of spring, the people of Liangzhou have already entered into busy work. The plan for the year is spring, and they are even more diligent than the people of the Central Plains.
After all, most people have struggled through the winter. If they cannot seize the farming season and work in time in the new year, they may face severe livelihood problems again.
Emperor Liu could also get a glimpse of the scene in Liangzhou under normal circumstances. On the roads, caravans for east-west exchanges began to appear, batches of them. Although the scale was small, they were early birds.
During the Spring Festival in Hexi towns, a large amount of supplies were consumed during last winter. At this time of year, as long as you sell something, you don't have to worry about the market or not making money.
Among them, Guzang City is the most important, not only because it is the capital of Hexi, but also because the emperor's visit, not to mention other things, can create a large number of markets just by having an extra seven or eight thousand people. need. It has to be said that Emperor Liu's tour is still of positive significance in stimulating consumption. Of course, the premise is that the money and food spent must be fully replenished later. Otherwise, the local government and the people will pay the bill...
There are also earlier ones, those traveling merchants who have started trafficking supplies before spring begins, but these are poor lower-class Guizhou people who make only a small amount of money. Generally speaking, not many people who have some wealth are willing to take that risk and endure that hardship.
Emperor Liu has always considered himself to be aware of the people's sentiments and caring for the people. Every time he went on a tour, he would inevitably visit people's homes and inquire about their livelihoods. And he also knew that the livelihood of the Han people was not as healthy as reported in the memorial, but in recent years, he had actually become somewhat conceited and complacent in his heart.
In Emperor Liu's view, he had established a peaceful world, brought peace and stability to the people, and had long anticipated the people's pursuit of a better livelihood in the new era, and used this to formulate and implement policies.
Even though the lives of the Han people today are far from prosperous, and they cannot even provide enough food and clothing for everyone, Emperor Liu believes that there is still progress in the lives of the Han people, and they can see the future and feel hope.
During his several tours, every household he visited, even the poorest, could maintain their basic livelihood needs! Many things he saw with his own eyes and were willing to believe gave Emperor Liu a great sense of self-satisfaction.
He knew that in many places, conditions were difficult and the common people had difficulties, but in fact he did not have a clear idea until he traveled to the northwest.
The reason why the northwest is famous for its tough folk customs is because of the harsh and harsh environment, fighting with people and nature, working hard and even fighting for basic food and clothing, in order to hone the reputation of toughness that is famous in the world.
Emperor Liu also had a clearer understanding after his personal inspection. His Han Empire was not as beautiful as it seemed. There were people who had plenty of food and clothing, but also people who were hungry for food...
The inexplicable and even arrogant self-confidence in the past was a bit ridiculous now that he thought about it, which made Emperor Liu feel depressed. At the same time, Emperor Liu had always had hidden worries and fears lingering in his heart about the northwest region.
Before the world was in chaos, Shu was in chaos. However, in addition to facing threats from the Hu people in northern Saibei, the northwest region was the most prone to chaos in the past dynasties. From a historical perspective, the Northwest, with its special geographical conditions and complex ethnic background, naturally carries the risk of unrest...
Now, he also feels that those concerns are correct and not unfounded. The northwest issue still needs to be faced up to and taken seriously.
Originally, Emperor Liu had some thoughts about the northwest, but after a trip, he restrained himself. It is about the supply of garrison soldiers. In order to maintain the stability of the northwest, the imperial court has stationed a total of 100,000 troops in the northwest region. In the past few years, these troops have been mainly supported by the imperial court.
However, over the past few years, a prominent problem has been that the financial pressure is too great to support 100,000 basically out-of-work troops in the vast and remote northwest region.
However, in order to consolidate the northwest territory, we had to persist. If we were in trouble, we wanted to change. The Financial Secretary proposed some reform measures. He made suggestions to Emperor Liu on several occasions to either reduce the northwest garrison, lower the standards, or let the Northwest Fourth Road assume more supply responsibilities.
Regarding the Financial Secretary's proposal, Emperor Liu directly shot the first two proposals, but only the third one had room for maneuver. In the past, in order to strengthen the central court's control over local armies, especially border armies, the supply of soldiers, money and food was uniformly dispatched by the Ministry of War.
This has been implemented in the military system of the Han Dynasty for more than 20 years. However, with the expansion of territory, the number of garrison soldiers also increased, and the supply pressure faced by the court naturally increased.
Up to now, relying entirely on the imperial court for blood supply and transfusion has shown its backwardness, inefficiency, and waste of manpower. There were many wise ministers in the Han Dynasty. Song Qi raised this shortcoming to Emperor Liu when he returned to court. After much thought, Emperor Liu felt that the support of the border troops should be combined between the court and the local government.
Originally, it was planned to pilot reforms from the northwest and formulate a reasonable and balanced supply system. But along the way from Fengzhou to Liangzhou via Lingzhou, Emperor Liu found that this matter should not be rushed, at least not to increase the burden on the northwest Daozhou.
In other words, the scope of the target should be narrowed, and it should be tried out in Guannai Road first, where the political and economic foundations are more solid, and then the effects will be seen in Yulin, Longyou, and Hexi.
Facts have proved that the significance of Emperor Liu's western tour is still obvious. Otherwise, without this personal experience, he would directly try out the new system of feeding the frontier troops in the northwest...
