After a heavy snowfall, Luoyang became obviously colder. The north wind howled and the cold wave surged, almost freezing people's thoughts. Pan Mei walked along the palace road, heading towards the Chui Gong Hall with steady steps. Her flying white beard contrasted with the surrounding snow. Her posture was still upright, but her expression was a little serious. She could not tolerate any frivolity when she went to see Emperor Liu. , before arriving at the palace, I have already adjusted my mood.
It was icy and snowy outside, but it was still as warm as spring in the palace. Since the midwinter, Emperor Liu had basically stayed in this greenhouse. He rarely went out unless necessary. He was not even willing to step out of the palace door. He was indifferent to the severe cold. The weather is getting more and more scary.
When he arrived at the palace, he asked for an audience. After being notified, he soon received a response from Emperor Liu, who summoned him. In the hall, Emperor Liu was studying the map. The entire map of the imperial map was marked not only by the Han Dynasty, but also by the surrounding tribes and countries, including Nanyang, Tianzhu, Dashi and other overseas countries.
The mission of King Yong and his entourage is still very meaningful. It has more comprehensively and systematically improved the Han's understanding of the exploration of foreign countries. Now, after summarizing and sorting it out, the Shaofu's cartography skills are finally presented in this picture. On the map.
At any time, hanging next to Emperor Liu was always the most authoritative, comprehensive and detailed map of the Han Dynasty. At this time, Emperor Liu's attention was basically focused on two areas, one was Nanyang and the other was Central Asia. One was a meal on the plate, and the other was the object of direct conflict.
From Emperor Liu's perspective, this map was still very rough. For example, the outlines of the large islands in Southeast Asia were a bit abstract. But in terms of current cartography technology and conditions, this is already the pinnacle of cartography in this era.
There may be many errors and omissions in the details, but at least the major countries and forces at the moment have been explored. And from this picture, we can intuitively feel what a behemoth the Han Dynasty is today, and how far-reaching his influence is. This is an achievement that can make the people proud and make people feel excited, and Emperor Liu is no exception. .
However, every time I look at this picture, after the brief excitement, I am left with only confusion and doubt. The former is that when he drew his sword and looked around, he was invincible. Although Anxi started to fight, Emperor Liu really didn't pay much attention to him.
The latter was because of a question that had troubled Emperor Liu for many years: Is the bigger the country, the better? Emperor Liu had already awakened to this problem as early as the Kaibao Northern Expedition. Taking into account the current organizational and execution capabilities of the imperial court, as well as the difficult transportation and backward communication conditions, and the insistence on centralization of power, maintaining this huge empire in this way has become increasingly difficult as time goes by.
It is a feeling of reaching the ceiling and approaching the limit. If you try to force it, you will either end up with a bloody head or collapse into chaos. After launching the Northern Expedition, Emperor Liu temporarily suspended his expansionist ambitions and stopped expanding his borders. He wanted to recuperate and implement a contraction strategy, which was a helpless move.
It achieved certain results, and the Han Dynasty gained almost ten years of peaceful development. There were no wars outside and little chaos at home. It was also the calmest period in the so-called "Kaibao Heyday".
However, in recent years, the situation has obviously changed, either proactively or passively, with constant chaos and endless tossing. The Yulin Rebellion, overseas expansion, the Black Khan War, riots on all sides, and the results of ten years of rest and recuperation were almost exhausted, if not exhausted.
If it weren't for the fact that a lot of blood had not been recovered from the unlimited plunder overseas, the problems facing the court would have been even more serious. And overseas development is not cost-free. The construction of the navy, ship construction, weapons development, personnel salaries, training voyages, small-scale conflicts and wars, etc., are all major expenditures.
Today, the empire is like a high-speed carriage, walking on a road that is both familiar and unfamiliar. The footprints of its predecessors have long been covered, but no one knows what the future holds or what the scenery will be like at the end of the road.
Sometimes, Emperor Liu was even frightened when he thought of these. Emperor Liu had been making policy adjustments, but he often didn't do it thoroughly. The ship was difficult to turn around, but if there was a slight disturbance, it would return to the original track, as if there was some will to control it.
During this year, the turmoil caused by the clean-up of officials was so great, and the determination was so firm. He looked like he wanted to kill all the corrupt officials in the world, but when he saw that the momentum was not right, he did not decisively change his course. It was also Emperor Liu's damn sense of crisis.
If you don't move, you will only see the disadvantages intensified and conflicts arise. But don't move too harshly. If you move too hard, it will be easy to break. Although the big man is strong, he really can't toss it casually. Of course, this is a distress that only a wise man can feel.
"Your Majesty!" Upon entering the palace, Pan Mei saluted respectfully when she saw Emperor Liu, who was slightly hunched over and looking up at the map.
Hearing the sound, Emperor Liu came out of his meditation again. He was probably too fascinated and his expression did not recover for a while. She glanced at Pan Mei coldly, waved her hand at him, and said to him with a stiff face: "You're just in time, you're here to see the whole map of the Imperial Palace!"
"Yes!" Pan Mei heard the words, tiptoed closer, watched carefully for a while, and then sighed: "Magnificence! Such a vast territory, magnificent mountains and rivers, since ancient times, only I, a big man, can do it!"
Emperor Liu didn't react with much joy to Pan Mei's emotion. He thought about it and said, "The vast land, rich resources, and abundant population are certainly worthy of joy, but how to hold it?"
Pan Mei glanced at Emperor Liu out of the corner of her eye. Pan Mei couldn't understand Emperor Liu's thoughts, so she became more cautious. After thinking about it for a while, she said calmly: "Your Majesty, I still need to guard him with good ministers and good generals."
"Is this enough? Can peace be long-lasting like this?" Emperor Liu murmured in a low voice, with a stern expression, a worried brow, and eyes as deep as a philosopher's.
If another civil servant heard what Emperor Liu said, he would probably quote scriptures, talk about the way of saints, and talk about strategies to stabilize the country. But Pan Mei did not speak rashly, and would not talk nonsense about things that he himself could not understand.
Emperor Liu did not continue to be immersed in his emotions. He quickly calmed down, his face returned to normal, and he smiled at Pan Mei and said, "Why do you, the prime minister, come to repay me personally?"
Upon hearing the inquiry, Pan Mei immediately presented a memorial in person and explained: "Your Majesty, Anxi has come to report that most of the YSL bandit army has withdrawn to the west. Suiye City is safe and sound, and the war has subsided for the time being! The Anxi Governor's Mansion is cleaning up the infiltration into the heart. The small band of remnants of the thief army are resting and saving to prepare for the coming war!"
"The battle with Sui Ye Shui must have finally beaten up those traitor soldiers!" Hearing this, Emperor Liu chuckled.
Pan Mei was silent for a while and said: "Our army's losses are not light. The battle with Suiye Shui is too risky. If you are not careful, you will lose everything. We must not only defend the enemy, but also protect the territory. Your Highness the King of Wei Seek the best of both worlds.”
Pan Mei only spoke in general terms, but Emperor Liu had already understood what he meant. It was obvious that Pan Mei, the old commander, had other opinions about the Battle of Broken Leaf Water that happened more than two months ago.
Of course, I just wanted to express my opinions a little bit afterwards. However, Emperor Liu could somewhat understand Liu Min's considerations. If it were him, he might also choose to take risks. After all, behind Liu Min's move, he obviously regarded Anxi as his own territory to operate.
Otherwise, how difficult would it be to defend a Broken Leaf City with Anxi's strength? Just wait for the court's reinforcements to arrive and seize the opportunity to push back and even achieve greater results.
"Where are the reinforcements?" Emperor Liu asked.
Pan Mei replied: "Gaochang Dao has sent 3,000 troops to Anxi. The Privy Council has dispatched 12,000 soldiers and horses from Hexi and Qinlong areas. They have entered the realm of Gaochang. If you want to support Anxi in the war, you have to wait until the beginning of spring next year. The weather After getting warmer!"
Emperor Liu nodded, and finally couldn't help but sigh: "It's still too far! The time to deploy troops and generals is measured in months, back and forth, or even years. Such a war is too expensive and the gains outweigh the losses."
Pan Mei was also silent about this. It was Emperor Liu's decision to fight, and now he was worried about the cost. Then it would be uncomfortable for them, the ministers who implemented it.
"Based on your experience, can Anxi's current strength be able to defend Broken Leaf?" Emperor Liu suddenly said.
Pan Mei was stunned for a moment after hearing this, quickly calculated, and said: "If the enemy's army is only as strong as it has shown so far, with Anxi's current military strength, even if it is difficult to take all aspects into account, there will be no problem in firmly defending and resisting the enemy!"
Feeling Pan Mei's affirmative tone, Emperor Liu pondered for a while and said: "Temporarily stop the large-scale mobilization of the northwest provinces. Over in Anxi, tell Liu Min that I don't care how he fights, but the strategy is to focus on defense first. The Privy Council will then The scheduling arrangements are also based on this!"
"Yes!" Pan Mei was a little surprised, but she responded quickly. He could tell that Emperor Liu was not planning to fight in Anxi. Even so, if he sent a hundred thousand troops to march westward, it would be really difficult to resist.
After Pan Mei retreated, Emperor Liu looked at the map again and was lost in thought. Every time at this time, the idea of carving up the world and carrying out feudal affairs kept coming to his mind, and he kept cutting it and could not extinguish it.
There is no need to say more about the pros and cons of enfeoffment. Even though there were heavy enough historical lessons before him, when it was Emperor Liu's turn, he still couldn't help but have this thought.
Naturally, it is not to give his sons a foundation. This idea is too ridiculous. The real consideration is how to ensure that the empire's foundation can be passed down for a longer time. The clan princes can divide the garrison in all directions and build a strong and reliable line of defense for the court. This has become found a feasible solution.
As for the possible consequences, that is in the future. There is no need to say it implicitly. As an autocratic emperor for decades, he no longer regards the world as the world for all people. The world under the family is the world under the family. This is not affected by the cognition of the soul, but only concerns human nature.
For Emperor Liu, his sons and brothers were always more reliable than those bureaucrats. However, considering the high probability of disasters caused by enfeoffment, Emperor Liu always hesitated. It was impossible to abuse the enfeoffment like that in the Western Jin Dynasty. After thinking about it, his eyes fell on the corners around the Han Dynasty...
(End of chapter)
