In the end, Emperor Liu didn't drink the tea in the Privy Council, and left without any regrets. However, when he left, Emperor Liu had a little sadness in his eyebrows, his eyes were deep, and the meaning of his eyes was unclear. This was because he had something on his mind. Performance.
In the military machine room, in addition to inquiring about some military and political matters, Emperor Liu had a discussion with Shi and Cao on future border defense issues in the northern border.
Emperor Liu admired Cao Bin's sense of caution and worry. As he said, Kaibao's Northern Expedition took all Monan and south of Yinshan Mountain as Han territory. The territory expanded hundreds of miles to the north. The prosperity of martial arts was due to This is obvious.
But this also brought about a problem. The difficulty of defending the imperial court has also greatly increased. The Han Dynasty's future northern Xinjiang defense system will also withstand more severe tests. In the past, in the northwest and in Shanyang, the many border troops and forts set up by the imperial court had consumed a lot of national power, so much so that the Zhengshitang once proposed reducing the number of border troops to reduce the financial burden of the imperial court.
Nowadays, Shanyang expands northward and adds Liaodong. The subsequent construction of military defenses, whether it is building cities, forts, inns, or roads, will continue to devour the country's finances. This is something that even Emperor Liu is beginning to feel the pressure on. .
However, it has to be done. The land has been occupied. Is there any reason to give up and give it to the aliens on the grassland? It is obviously impossible. Otherwise, Emperor Liu mobilized troops and mobilized people, wasting people and money. This move seemed inappropriate, which would damage both the national prestige and the monarch's power.
Regarding the policy towards the grassland tribal forces, Emperor Liu had some considerations in mind. It was inevitable to continue the Northern Expedition and attack the forces of the Liao Kingdom. But after the destruction of the Liao Kingdom, he was also thinking about the order of the grasslands in the future.
Emperor Liu no longer thought about marching into Mobei and occupying the entire grassland. He was afraid that he would really push the Han to death. After all, the difficulty and cost of ruling were too high.
Emperor Liu's tendency was, of course, to maintain a divided situation. The Han court, as an arbiter, divided the tribes, supported those who were close, attacked those who were alienated, aided the weak, and suppressed the strong.
As for what Cao Bin thought, Emperor Liu did not have the confidence to come up with a set of policies that would provide long-term peace and stability once and for all. The so-called long-term peace and stability also had a time limit.
Therefore, regarding the issue of border troubles, Emperor Liu's attitude was very clear. As long as the Han Dynasty itself was strong and prosperous, nothing would be a problem. The key was to leave a set of sustainable policies that were beneficial to the court.
In contrast, the Han Dynasty's own problems were the most critical and worthy of Emperor Liu's deep thought. And it has to be said that for the first time in so many years, Emperor Liu was worried about the Han Dynasty occupying too much land.
Being greedy for the big and seeking perfection is often accompanied by various negative effects, and the difficulty in digestion and consolidation is even more serious.
Since Emperor Liu took the throne and worked hard to govern, the Han Dynasty embarked on a path of expansion. In fifteen years, it gradually wiped out the separatist regime and regained Guanshan. If unification of the world is the general trend, obeying the will of God and responding to the people's will, then after entering the Kaibao Year, all the military actions of the Han Dynasty do not appear to be so rational.
Starting from the first year of Kaibao, we took Hexi in the west, settled Annan in the south, expanded Tubo, conquered Liuqiu, destroyed Dali, and conquered Khitan in the north. Although without exception, they all achieved victory, but they were too fast, swallowing jujube, and eventually choked. to itself.
It can be said that Emperor Liu only spent twenty-three years to complete a series of great achievements that will go down in history and shine through the ages. However, viewed rationally, such a prosperous martial arts era seems to have a weak foundation, giving people the feeling of a castle in the air.
The unification war in the fifteen years of Qianyou was profitable for the court, and it was beneficial from a political, economic, and military perspective. After the Kaibao Year, every war could be said to be a loss. The imperial court paid a large number of casualties, mobilized millions of civilians, spent huge amounts of money and food, and indeed obtained a large amount of land. However, Then what?
The imperial court needed to dispatch officials, keep garrison troops, consider traditional power relationships in various places, and incur continuous administrative costs to consolidate its rule over these newly occupied lands. But what about the benefits? It can be said that almost none!
Hexi and Liaodong are related to the strategic security of the Han Dynasty and have extremely high military value. No matter how large the investment is, it is worth it. But in comparison, the southwest region seems a bit useless. The annual tax revenue makes it difficult to be self-sufficient, let alone return money to the court.
Emperor Liu was not optimistic about how loyal these lands and tribes that had been conquered by the Han Dynasty in a short period of time were to the Han Dynasty, and whether they truly surrendered to the imperial court.
Nowadays, the Han Dynasty is powerful, its military is sharp, and it is invincible. It sweeps across East Asia without any rivals. Even if all the forces and tribes are dissatisfied, they can only lie in respectful dormancy, bow down and surrender, and be good ministers and obedient people of the Han Dynasty.
But in the long run, if something goes wrong with the Han Dynasty, and if the Han Dynasty cannot maintain its rule over these places, will they take advantage of the opportunity to betray and rebel? Emperor Liu naturally had an answer to this, although this answer was a bit hard to accept.
So far, the rule of the Han Dynasty over the vast southwestern region is actually only in a situation where it is only maintained in a reluctant manner. Each has its own difficulties and troubles, whether it is Dali or Annan, or it is being included in the Han system. Some Tubo tribes continued to riot and resist. Although they were suppressed, it also showed the weakness of the Han's dominance over these areas.
Wang Rengan of Yunnan and Tian Qinzuo of Annan have become butchers in recent years. In order to maintain the rule of the imperial court, they and their officers and soldiers have become executioners whose hands are stained with the blood of the local people.
The chieftain system has basically spread in the southwest region. The generous treatment and sufficient power and interests have indeed attracted a large number of tribes and local old forces. But this is not a magic medicine that can cure all diseases. It cannot be comprehensive and satisfy everyone's interests. Those who are dissatisfied will inevitably fight with force.
Even under the leadership of Wang Renfan, he led the chieftains who were close to the imperial court to suppress those who disobeyed, which ultimately had a serious negative impact on the government's rule and destroyed the local public security order. Blood and killing often breed hatred and uneasiness and encourage hostility, but they have to be done.
Tian Qinzuo of Annan was even tougher. He was a ruthless person, and he was even more ruthless in his actions. The local forces in Annan were simply not treated as human beings by him. They dared to disobey and killed at every turn.
Over the past few years, the situation in Yunnan and Annan has indeed gradually improved, and there have been fewer forces that dare to directly oppose the imperial rule. However, this also means that the resisters have only temporarily hidden themselves, and the dissatisfied have bowed their heads and surrendered, but there is a contradiction. The hatred and hatred still exist, and the anger may be accumulating, just waiting to explode one day.
For remote places like the Southwest, with high mountains and far roads, deep forests and dangerous forests, it is also very difficult to communicate with the court. Normal exchanges of military and political orders are troublesome, time-consuming, and extremely inefficient. Under such circumstances, if you want to protect the local area, Ruling and consolidating the authority of the imperial court is definitely a big test.
As for overseas territories like Liuqiu, let alone mentioning it. If it hadn't been for the envoys who have come to the court every year to bring gifts and report political affairs, I am afraid that no one in the court would have thought of such a place. There were officials and garrison soldiers from the Han Dynasty above.
That is to say, in recent years, the Han Dynasty's maritime transportation has developed, the Maritime Silk Road has flourished, and commercial trade has become frequent, which has deepened the connection between Liuqiu and the southeastern coastal states. Even so, Liuqiu is an object that has been ignored for many years.
In recent years, the Han Dynasty's border defense pressure has not only been in the north, but also in the southwest, especially Yunnan and Annan. Although it is difficult to compare with the long northern border defense, there are still nearly 30,000 garrison troops left on both sides. Well, considering the transportation difficulties, military expenditures are not a small sum.
Emperor Liu had not considered these situations before, but after the Northern Expedition, when the Privy Council re-drafted the northern military defense system, he began to think deeply about it.
The more I think about it, the more my head hurts and my sense of worry becomes deeper. Since ancient times, due to huge military expenditures and excessive border defense pressure, it is not uncommon for the imperial court to be overburdened and the country to fall into misery, leading to turmoil and danger.
Although Emperor Liu himself did not want to think that way, he also knew that if the current situation of the Han Dynasty continued, it would be difficult to ensure temporary peace, but it would be difficult to take complete measures. Not to mention a hundred years from now, it will be thirty to fifty years. Even closer, even if he is emperor for another twenty years, there is no guarantee that the empire will truly be peaceful and peaceful during his reign.
It is difficult to conquer a country, but even harder to defend it. Emperor Liu also had a deeper understanding of this.
Perhaps many people cannot imagine that under the surface of Han Dynasty's current prosperity, there are huge hidden dangers and shortcomings, or the impact of too rapid expansion and a weak foundation. Nowadays, the big man's stall is too big and it is difficult to clean it up. No matter which aspect of the problem occurs, it may cause a chain reaction and even lead to irreparable consequences.
In the past, nourished by constant victories, Emperor Liu did not seriously think about these issues, but now, he had to worry about it.
Even so, the Han's military operations will not stop. Like the Khitan Liao Kingdom, it was difficult to resolve the blood feud. No matter what aspects were considered, there was no possibility of indulging Qiu Yu. Emperor Liu would not be at ease unless it was destroyed.
As for the Western Regions, Emperor Liu may not have such an urgent desire to conquer, but the current situation forced him to send troops westward due to personal feelings.
In fact, so far, Emperor Liu doesn't have many thoughts about continuing to expand. The Han Dynasty has already overheated its expansion, but there is a feeling that it can't stop.
Take the hostility with the Black Khanate as an example. It was a confrontation under duress. Even if Emperor Liu no longer wanted war in his heart, there was no reason to talk about peace. How could the Han Dynasty break up with a mere Black Khan? Emperor Liu How can they be the kind of people who are gentle and conciliatory?
Moreover, even if a peace is negotiated with them and both sides stop fighting and demarcate territory to defend themselves, will that allow the other side to gain further advantage? Looking back suddenly, it seemed that the big man's chariot was really difficult to stop and could only continue to move forward. But where does it end?
As the helmsman, Emperor Liu did not think that his worries were unfounded, and he increasingly felt the risks. Twenty-three years later, he had built an extremely large and powerful empire, surpassing the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties. He should have enjoyed the achievements of the prosperous age, but he found that new crises and new challenges were already in front of him, blocking the progress of the Han Dynasty. Center of the road.
This undoubtedly made Emperor Liu feel heavy!
