"You have repeatedly mentioned what is going on in Huazhou and your hometown of Xiagua County. Obviously, you have a deep understanding of the local situation and have conducted detailed visits and investigations!" After calming down a little and regaining his composure, Emperor Liu looked at Kou Zhun asked, "Tell me, who are the most active land annexers in your Huazhou state?"
This actually requires Kou Zhun to continue to betray his "fathers" in his hometown by name. However, Kou Zhun obviously does not have too much moral burden on such matters, otherwise he would not use Huazhou as an example to point out to Emperor Liu. .
After thinking about it, Kou Zhun reported: "Your Majesty, there are some powerful county officials in Huazhou, some officials at all levels with small powers, successful businessmen, and those who have returned home from the army with honorary titles. In addition, , the job fields run by the state and county governments are also gradually expanding.”
Hearing what Kou Zhun said, Emperor Liu was not too surprised. He even sighed: "Officials, businessmen, and powerful men, you can't escape from these three!"
He quickly realized it belatedly, stared at Kou Zhun and said, "By the retirement honors you mentioned, do you mean the retired officers and soldiers who were appointed by the imperial court to serve in government offices and villages in various places?"
"Yes!" Kou Zhun nodded.
When Emperor Liu heard this, he was stunned for a while, and then laughed a few times, with sarcasm in his words: "It's useless to work! It's useless to work! You take it for granted! You think too highly of yourself!"
Emperor Liu was talking nonsense there, making Kou Zhun and Yantuo who was waiting nearby look at each other, but the level of caution in their hearts was raised to the highest level. Although Emperor Liu was smiling, his expression did not look like he was happy.
You must know that Emperor Liu placed those low-level officers and meritorious soldiers who had retired from the army in the countryside in order to use these people to balance the original powerful clan forces.
In the early days, these groups of retired soldiers who had certain management capabilities, were grateful to the emperor and the army, and highly recognized the court and the country did play a significant positive role in maintaining the rule of the Han Dynasty.
During that period, it was precisely because of the existence of these people that the court's ability to control the countryside was greatly enhanced. Whether it was tax collection or the collection and distribution of labor and military service, everything was very smooth.
However, as time passes and people continue to change, the shortcomings of what Emperor Liu thought was a clever move earlier were gradually exposed.
Most of the retired soldiers who were placed as officials at the grassroots level in the countryside were assimilated and colluded with the old clans and powerful men. They even directly replaced them and became the local emperors in the countryside.
They have seen the big world, and those who can be arranged as officials basically have military merits and honors. Moreover, due to their military background, their style is often tough and rough, and they have a strong desire to control.
Once the energy of these people bursts out, the impact on the local grassroots can be imagined. Some of their misbehaviors are more normal, but can the local government stop them? Obviously it is difficult. Groups like soldiers are also easy to cling to. With such an identity, they are shrouded in a halo, and they are not easy to bully.
In fact, as early as the Qianyou period, the issue of retired military officers and soldiers being violent and domineering, committing crimes and violating laws and disciplines had already begun to surface. At that time, Emperor Liu was very angry and used severe measures to deal with it. A group of people. However, the reliance on them has not changed at all.
At least, these grassroots officials who were highly identified with the country did help Emperor Liu centralize power and help the government control local areas. At least, it is indeed much more convenient to collect taxes and corvee. Regardless of whether it is the central court or local officials, these two points are the most important.
In the past, the imperial court relied on powerful and prominent local families. In addition to being unable to control them, this aspect was also an important factor.
As for the development trend of those grassroots officials who were veterans, Emperor Liu had actually noticed it for a long time. He was not a fool. Even if he couldn't react at the moment, he had not known anything about it in the past few decades. He was just an old man. I just don’t know.
However, when Kou Zhun exposed these things that Emperor Liu had deliberately ignored, Emperor Liu naturally had mixed feelings in his heart.
How much did Emperor Liu hate the powerful? In fact, it depends on the needs of governance and the national conditions. When the Han Dynasty was first founded, there were separate states outside, many vassal towns inside, and the central authority was weak. Under such circumstances, how could Emperor Liu have a good impression of those local tyrants? He wished he could clear them all out and take back all the lost governance powers. Imperial government.
But the development of things is in motion. Today, in the 23rd year of Kaibao, Emperor Liu is still so harsh when it comes to being powerful, but he has already compromised in his heart.
From the perspective of the Liu family, it is necessary for these powerful people to exist. For the rulers, it is best for those people in Guizhou to be bound to the land forever and be at ease as obedient subjects of the empire. Exploitation.
Even though Emperor Liu had always insisted on immigrating to the border, he only allowed those grassroots people to find other places to cultivate, and at the same time enriched the border, consolidated national defense, and maintained the rule of the Han Dynasty. As for the people, if we completely let go of restraint and control, I am afraid that the world will not be stable, and social security will also be chaotic.
To be honest, the annexation of local land, the control of ordinary people, and the rule of the imperial court have certain benefits. Many things that the imperial court could not do relied on their help.
Twenty percent of the landless peasants are not that many. Considering the current population of nearly 100 million in Han Dynasty, the number is quite large. However, without these people, who would farm the land owned by so many powerful families and bureaucratic landlords in the Han Dynasty, and who would satisfy their interests? After all, they played the greatest role in maintaining the rule of the Han Empire.
What's more, where so many people go, they are not all reduced to tenants, servants, and servants. There are also people who do business, go to sea, and immigrate to the border areas. Looking at the entire Han Dynasty, after all, there are still so many homesteaders left. Even if the situation is getting worse, for now, no matter how serious it is, it still needs to be viewed rationally.
After thinking about this, Emperor Liu began to consider the purpose of Kou Zhun's remonstrance, and I'm afraid it was not about the issue of immigration.
After a long time of chaotic thoughts in his mind, Emperor Liu regained his composure, glanced at Kou Zhun, and said, "You pointed out these problems to me, and I accept them, but do you have any ideas on how to solve them?"
After hearing the question, Kou Zhun replied somewhat reservedly: "I am shallow and ignorant, so it is not easy to talk nonsense!"
"In front of me, there is no need to be so pretentious!" Emperor Liu said impatiently: "I have said so much before, how can you be happy if I don't finish it?"
Seeing this, Kou Zhun thought for a moment, then held up his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the most important countermeasure is to clarify the administration of officials, restrain the powerful, and prohibit them from colluding with each other, taking advantage of others, and misbehaving! The imperial court should prohibit local powerful people from restricting the people. Personal freedom, those who violate laws and disciplines should be severely punished in accordance with the law."
As soon as Kou Zhun said these words, he had already proved his status. He was a representative of the common landowner class. The countermeasures proposed are also highly compromising, and seeking improvement is not reform.
Emperor Liu was a highly centralized autocratic monarch. The position he sat on had already "corrected" his thinking. The ruler was the ruler, and the exploiting class was the exploiting class. He was willing to do anything that was conducive to his rule, and Everything that is not conducive to his rule must be stopped and banned.
However, when faced with Kou Zhun's statement, Emperor Liu couldn't help but chuckle and said: "What you said is just a cliché! Didn't the imperial court always do this in the past? But why is it still difficult to contain it?"
Without waiting for Kou Zhun to answer, Emperor Liu said coldly: "In the final analysis, the court's work is still not done properly, there are people who are lax in supervising and enforcing the law, and even know the law and violate the law, colluding with the stakeholders, and collaborating!"
Those who speak evil words about Emperor Liu today are just to continue the rule of his empire. As long as the policy on land transactions remains unchanged, mergers and acquisitions are inevitable. Changing the policy is not easy, not to mention that it can easily lead to new problems.
Therefore, the method adopted by Emperor Liu has always been to restrict and improve, treating the symptoms but not the root cause. With the current productivity and social development of the Han Dynasty, it is unrealistic to seek to cure the root cause. Emperor Liu also knew this in his heart that revolution is about his own life.
Land annexation can be done, but if you go too far, you can't look too ugly. Even if those ordinary people depend on you, you have to let them live, and you can't push them to a dead end.
However, most of the exploiting classes in the world do not seem to have this understanding. Instead, they are greedy and habitually do things to the extreme. This situation is what Emperor Liu really wants to attack. These are also the enemies that shake the rule of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, Emperor Liu expressed his approval of Kou Zhun's proposal and said: "It seems that the big men from the government to the local areas need to be cleaned up again! You said that I can make those who rob, bully the good, know the law and break the law, Is it easy for the traitor who dug up the foundation of my great man?"
Emperor Liu spoke very lightly, even gently, but the chill in his tone made people tremble.
Looking at Kou Zhun again, Emperor Liu thought for a while and said: "Kou Zhun has made great achievements in admonishing him, and his words are meaningful. I will worship him as the censor of Guan Nei Road!"
Kou Zhun was a little surprised, was he promoted? But his face remained calm and he said respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
In fact, this is not a promotion, it is just becoming a full-time official and being granted a real position. As a Jinshi who just passed the scientific examination and became an official, it is quite legendary that he can become a full-time official in less than a month. At least among the current big men, it is relatively rare. You know, even the last batch of Jinshi, there are still people who have not decided where to go, and are still observing political training.
