When someone said this, other ministers were actually unwilling to accept it. After arriving in Xudu, Cao Cao never came to fight for power. Except for going to court every day, he would only enter the palace when important matters were discussed.
This situation was the most peaceful for them. The powerful princes welcomed the Han Emperor to establish the capital, but they never had any intention of getting involved in the power of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. It was enough to see that he was at least doing something loyal. .
The Manchu ministers gradually forgot to praise this prince. A few people considered him a loyal minister and made friends with him. They also sent all the talents in the family to Cao Cao's command and served in Yuzhou, Yanzhou and Xuzhou.
Cao Cao himself continued to send troops and horses to consolidate the two major counties of Runan and Yingchuan to flank the defenses in the southern part of Xudu.
Now that I have asked others to do so, I think of it...
So, they got stuck again here, and they took the lead in abandoning the idea and continued to discuss.
Liu Xie was obviously exhausted. He thought that after the Han Dynasty established the capital and the princes came to pay tribute, he would be able to settle down. According to the previous organizational system, he would collect taxes every year and appease the officials in various states and counties, and then he would be able to return to the stability of the past. world, the troubled times can end.
Now it seems that everything is in ruins, only money is missing, and the world is still falling apart.
Although the princes paid tribute and were appointed as officials, they still did not come to meet the emperor. They only sent envoys to express their local achievements over the years, and to show that they had no rebellious intentions.
Talking about what happened later, Zhu Jun couldn't help but sigh: "Everyone, now there is not enough money in the national treasury to pay tribute to the five states. However, Jiangdong has not come to court, and there is no movement in Yizhou, Liangzhou, and Bingzhou. The other two states can be ignored, but Yizhou Abundant products and a prosperous population were the foundation for Emperor Gaozu's revival, and Liu Yan was given the position of herdsman. He was originally the emperor's relative, so why did he not respond?"
"Perhaps another edict should be issued to order Yizhou to send tribute to Xudu immediately, which would solve this problem."
Yang Biao's elegant face had a hint of brilliance. He immediately stroked his beard and shook his head solemnly: "Far water cannot quench the near thirst. Now we must first resolve the people's grievances. If these mansions and land are expropriated by force, For fear of causing riots, either let the craftsmen shrink and just build the palace..."
"Oh, under the emperor's feet, the city is not strong. How can the people dare to live in peace? If we only build a palace, Cao Cao will immediately enter the court. Do you want to give it a try?" Fu Wan had thousands of soldiers and horses by his side, but he was unable to do anything else. To recruit more soldiers and horses, because the treasury does not have enough food and grass.
Only when Xudu is completed as soon as possible and announced to the world can we continue to attract people to live and merchants to pass through. The business roads of Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou can be opened. According to hundreds of years of experience, only when the business lines are well connected and the agriculture and mulberry fields are solid can we become rich and prosperous and stable.
If this were not the case, Xudu would only have an imperial palace, but outside it would not have the solidity of a city wall or the magnificence of an imperial city. The people would be disappointed if they saw it. If they wanted to revive the Han Dynasty, they would have to start with construction.
And this construction cannot be a cool construction by Kuding Mofu, it must ensure the stability of the people.
It's difficult for them too. The difficulty lies in the fact that the tax revenue has not been confiscated for several years, and the states and counties that pay tribute will not fully support it. The only one who fully supports it is Cao Mengde, but he still has to raise 100,000 soldiers. horse.
"Everyone loves you, I love you..." At this time, Liu Xie, who was already sitting and listening impatiently, spoke softly: "Why don't you go to Cao Qing's family for help? He is a loyal person to the emperor and the country, and If you rescue me from the thieves, you will definitely give me a helping hand at this time."
Dong Cheng didn't know what to say, so he quickly came back and bowed his hands, saying: "Your Majesty, Cao, General Cao now has 100,000 troops. He has to support the troops and horses of Yanzhou and Xuzhou. I'm afraid the money and food are not enough to build such a large imperial city."
"For the current plan, it would be best to reduce the previous assumptions."
"Reduction, how much reduction? How does it compare to Luoyang?" Liu Xie asked with a grimace.
Dong Cheng secretly glanced at the faces of several ministers, and then said with a smile: "It should be... less than 30% of Luoyang, just enough."
"Your Majesty, Luoyang is a century-old ancient capital. After years of vicissitudes and more than ten generations of management, it has reached unprecedented prosperity. What Dong Zhuo burned down was not a city, but hundreds of years of hard work..." Dong Cheng finished. This means that it is absolutely unrealistic to build a prosperous and vast city like Luoyang in Xudu in just one year.
Now I am afraid that Your Majesty insists on building Luoyang City, which will cause rift with the ministers, which will be troublesome.
"Thirty percent..." Liu Xie pondered for a moment, "Then what about the capital? Even the administrative offices of prefectures and counties and the governor's department are not as good as..."
"Everyone, did you divide and eat all the tribute money to fill the family drain?" Liu Xie asked pitifully.
Yang Biao, Han Rong, Zhu Jun and others all had beards trembling fiercely and their postures were almost unsteady. They looked up in disbelief, then immediately lowered their heads when they realized they were being disrespectful.
Liu Xie's words resounded through the hall again and drifted slowly: "The people present include famous families who have been ministers for generations, and relatives of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. When they were trapped in Chang'an, they only felt worried about the country and had no ability to save the country."
In his mind, he recalled what he had discussed after being rescued by Zhang Han, forcing him to keep him as his guard, and walking along the way. Zhang Han didn't like talking about people behind their backs, but he still told the truth.
The princes of Guandong were expanding their territories, and even Yuan Shao and others once recommended Liu Yu to ascend the throne in the east instead of the emperor of Chang'an.
At that time, they advocated one Han in the east and one Han in the west.
Now that I have returned to the east, can the things I advocated at the beginning be different? I'm afraid it's still the same.
Yuan Shao didn't like to follow the imperial edict.
On the way back east, they had indeed received imperial edicts and paid tribute to express their submission, but what about their hearts? You should not pay any attention to me, the young emperor who was kidnapped by Dong Zhuo when he was young.
But these ministers, because of their reputation and family background, kept asking Yuan Shao to welcome him, and decided to transfer their capital to Yecheng, Wei County...
Neither did he take that Duke Cao seriously, nor did he regard me as the ignorant young man he was at the beginning.
His face suddenly turned cold: "I only treat you as saints who follow Confucianism and Taoism, learn to govern the country with your talents, are not good at using soldiers, and do not like to form factions. I also hope that when you truly manage the country, you can It has brought my great Han Dynasty back to prosperity, but it doesn’t seem to be the case now, but I don’t understand what Duke Cao did wrong. He didn’t compete with other Dukes for positions, so you really took them all?”
"Did Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu come to help when they returned from the east?"
When Dong Cheng heard this, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, nodded and said: "Come, come! Your Majesty, you don't know something. At that time, Duke Yuan received the tribute and immediately sent General Qu Yi from Wei Commandery with 30,000 troops. We built grain roads along the way and ordered the people to prepare drinks and food along the way before we came to welcome him."
"I can't even save my life, but he is slowly preparing to eat along the way. Don't you understand what his intentions are!"
Liu Xie cursed directly and pointed at Dong Cheng's nose like a dark Guangxiu. The guards outside the door heard the movement and all looked over. Two commanders had already entered the palace with axes and axes, ready to protect him at any time.
These guards are all descendants of the Fu family, and they are one of the few who are loyal to Liu Xie, because Queen Fu's family is very large. Although they are not known as princes outside, they have the resources of money, food and people. No less.
"Your Majesty, forgive me!"
Dong Cheng was sweating profusely and quickly knelt down on the ground.
The Taiwei, Taifu, Taipu and Da Sinong standing next to him did not dare to say anything. They had never seen such an angry Liu Xie, and this anger was also full of resentment and disappointment.
I don't know how long this scene was in a stalemate. After Fu finished several times, he raised his head to persuade, but when he saw Liu Xie's eyes, he lowered his head again.
As a general, he now understands a hidden danger.
If they disappoint the emperor, then this noble sage who still has the status of an emperor will turn his attention to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will not let go of this opportunity, and will definitely take the opportunity to take control of the court, and he will do so according to the emperor's wishes.
"Your Majesty," Fu Wan immediately handed over his hand, "Although we are discussing, we must listen to Your Majesty's decision. As for what to do, please give me your instructions."
Liu Xiedao: "From each family, support the court."
He looked at Yang Biao, Fu Wan and others, and added: "I understand that you are all loyal ministers of our great Han Dynasty, with strong family backgrounds and a century-old heritage. At this time, you are not allowed to invest in the imperial court. What dynasty will you serve in the future?" Woolen cloth?"
The big man is done playing, whose noble family are you?
"this……"
Several people looked at each other with embarrassment. Over the years, the family's assets were constantly being consumed, and they were divided to support various princes. On the contrary, there was not much left for the Han court. After all, they were all in Chang'an at that time. Who would use it to support them? Where is Li Jue and Guo Si?
Liu Xie's words put them all in a dilemma.
Instead of funding Cao Cao now, it would be better... to let Cao Cao take on this responsibility.
Yang Biao sighed, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, even this is just a waste of money and food. The foundation of each family is now the most important thing to accumulate for your Majesty's death. Why not ask Duke Cao for help."
"The position of Sikong can be given to Duke Cao, and he can be ordered to use the country's treasury to finance construction. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
In the New Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, Sikong was placed along it, with a rank of ten thousand stones, gold seal and purple ribbon.
There was no such official in the early Han Dynasty. In the first year of Emperor Suihe's reign, he changed his name to Da Sikong. In the second year of Jianping of Emperor Ai, he was renamed Da Sikong. In the second year of Yuan Shou, he was renamed Da Sikong. Remove the word "big" and change it to "Sikong" to control water and local affairs.
Liu Xie breathed a long sigh of relief, nodded and said: "I think it should be so."
Several people discussed it for a long time and finally came to this choice.
When he walked out of the hall and went down the stairs, Yang Biao was still thinking about the abnormality of the emperor today. In the past, he would not be like this. He always listened to the discussions of several important ministers and obeyed the decisions. Why did he turn to Cao Cao now?
I feel that after His Majesty returned eastward and arrived in Xudu, his character seemed to have changed a little.
I don’t know if this change is a good thing or a bad thing.
…
Not long after the palace servants sent the news to Cao Cao.
Taiwei Yang Biao and Taifu Han Rong came to see him in person and wanted to tell him first that the emperor wanted to worship Sikong.
But Cao Cao sternly refused, feeling that his moral character was not worthy of his position and that he could not worship an official based on merit. He only wanted to be a general to fight for the emperor in all directions. After several pulls, the two left in disgust.
That night, Cao Cao immediately sent someone to invite Zhang Han, Xi Zhong, and Guo Jia, and found that they were all drinking and discussing in Zhang Han's residence. He happened to catch them all at once and asked about the matter.
Cao Cao said suspiciously: "These people want to push me to be Sikong. What do they want?"
"Can you guys make a guess?"
The three of them looked at each other, and Zhang Han said: "Maybe it has something to do with Zixiu's previous purchase of houses and land. He bought too much, so when he wanted to buy a place for resettlement, he would report too many people, which would cause public resentment."
Cao Cao immediately understood the reason and laughed leisurely, "That's right, let's wait for them to be anxious for a while."
"It's such a huge project to build a capital city in a small area of Xudu. Now I'm reminded of you."
Cao Cao was convinced that he would spend a lot of time with them this year.
"Some time ago, it was found out that there were troops and horses in Runan that blocked the way to welcome the emperor back east, but the soldiers and horses they gathered had been dispersed by Xu Ding and Xu Chu. These people were secretly gathered by Yuan Shu , so I have no intention of doing this Sikong, I will wait for the autumn harvest first, then decide on Runan, and then counterattack Yuan Shu, then I can get down to business."
Hearing this, Guo Jia, who had been mastering a huge amount of internal and external intelligence, suddenly moved his eyes, stood up and said with his hands in his hands: "My lord, speaking of Yuan Shu, I do have some information that can be used to make plans for my lord."
"Fengxiao, tell me quickly," Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia with satisfaction. He was extremely satisfied with Fengxiao, because every time he needed information to assist his thinking, he would give it just the right amount. Relevant information.
And there will also be insightful insights. Regardless of whether these whimsical ideas can become strategies in the end, it will be very exciting to discuss.
"In the past, the Taifu and the ministers held the talisman festival to appease the princes of Guandong. When Li Jue was good at governing, he listened to the opinions of the princes and made decisions, including that of Jin Shang who wanted to seize Yanzhou."
"But these people, whether Zhao Chang or Ma Rixi, were detained by Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu also robbed the talismans, recruited talented and righteous people in the name of the emperor, and conscripted troops on a large scale."
"Regards, the envoys who followed at that time were all too angry but dared not speak out. If Jia's guess is correct, almost all those who went to Yangzhou to defect to Yuan Shu were put under house arrest in Huainan. Can my lord give advice to the emperor here?"
Cao Cao's eyes lit up. This was no longer just some information, it was almost a feasible plan. He smiled and nodded, saying: "I will enter the palace immediately."
After saying that, he asked people to prepare official uniforms, and planned to enter the palace immediately to meet the saint.
When he was about to walk out of the house, he glanced at Zhang Han strangely, frowned and asked, "No, why are you drinking at home?"
"As a garrison commander, shouldn't you be patrolling the imperial city with Dian Wei? Sima, a garrison commander, is responsible for guarding the capital. Zhang Bochang, you are absent from your post without permission?"
The corner of Zhang Han's mouth suddenly twitched, "I have already transferred my official position to Chinese nationality, so you can't still deduct it, right?"
He hurriedly said: "My lord, you have wrongly blamed me. The garrison of the imperial city was occupied by General Fu Wan. I just used a false name."
After hearing this, Cao Cao lowered his head and thought for a moment, looked around and said, "This matter can also be recorded. In this case, I need someone to follow me into the palace and help me."
Zhang Han cupped his hands and said, "Look for someone who seems to be loyal, but is good at acting and putting on airs. Who is the best at this?"
When they heard this, they all stared at Zhang Han, including Cao Cao, who was motionless and had firm eyes.
You could hear a pin drop in the entire lobby and it was very quiet.
Zhang Han leaned back slightly and sighed: "Okay, I'll go."
Sorry for the late posting. I was usually used to posting a chapter in the early morning, but then yesterday morning I suddenly felt a palpitation in my heart when I was coding, just like the rhythmic palpitations of "didi beep beep beep beep beep", so I was afraid that I would be forced to return to M78 due to exhaustion of energy. So I went to sleep, and then I fell asleep probably due to a sudden change in the day. I didn't get up until noon, feeling dizzy.
Now that I'm good, I'm going to start updating vigorously. From now on, I will try my best to finish updating during the day and not do it in the early morning. I also advise all readers, don't stay up late, go to bed early and get up early, and try to follow the ancient truth, I sleep when the sky sleeps, and wake up when the sky wakes up.
(End of chapter)
