The corn seedlings are heading, the summer rain is continuous, the grass and trees are withered, and the winter thunder is bursting.
Time goes by, and when everything familiar in the past blooms in front of you again, it will unknowingly remind everyone that a new day has arrived.
Five years of the Xia Dynasty!
Since the third year of the Xia Dynasty, the Xia Dynasty court, which had been silent for three years, began its first major move.
It is said that there are three things that make a new official take office. Wang Mang, the biggest "official" in the Xia Dynasty, waited for three years before finally taking action.
And the goal is extremely clear. If you don't take action, it will be the lifeblood of thousands of people.
Taxes and corvees!
The policy of apportioning one person to another was officially implemented in the third year of the Xia Dynasty!
In the past three years, in order to care for the people who were affected by the war and could not even maintain their livelihood, the Xia Dynasty did not collect taxes and relied entirely on various materials and money donated free of charge by the four countries to support its own financial problems.
But this kind of sit-and-go approach will never last long. Three years is enough for the people to settle down and accept the baptism of the new order again.
The most important thing is that three years is enough to fill the vacancies among officials.
Mo Qiu once said: If a country has many virtuous people, its governance will be strong; if there are few virtuous people, its governance will be weak.
Whether the new officials selected and recruited by the Xia Dynasty were virtuous people could not be just based on their words. They had to do something practical and even have political achievements to prove themselves.
Those who cheat will definitely be exposed in this process!
After implementing the policy of dividing one person into another, the imperial court immediately felt extremely huge resistance!
The world is under heaven, which does not mean that you control the world just by sitting on the throne.
The real world is composed of groups of people who have their own ideas and interests. When their own interests are shaken, there will always be people who want to use various methods to resist.
For example, as soon as this policy was announced, rumors spread among the people that Mo Qiu's death was caused by Emperor Xia. It was he who stole the power of the saint and connected with the rebels within the Mo family, so he had such wolfish ambitions. , I want to dig up everyone’s lifeblood.
This statement is extremely dramatic and eye-catching. The most important thing is that it is secretly consistent with the death of the saint shrouded in clouds and mountains as announced by the court!
If you don’t have some writing skills, it’s really hard to speculate like this.
But Xia Chao's reaction was something they had not expected.
This theory appeared not long ago, and before it had time to spread, the Mohist giant Qin Lisheng led a group of Mohists to investigate the matter in depth, and finally determined that it was the work of a wealthy family with hundreds of hectares of fertile land!
Hundreds of hectares of fertile land is only the number registered in the register, and hidden fields are not included at all. If it were counted, the number would have reached a shocking level.
Before the founding of the Xia Dynasty, not enough was done to clear the territory of Dayue. Only Yangzhou, Yuzhou, and Yuzhou were severely liquidated, which was considered a complete reshuffle.
In other places, those wealthy families who have amassed a large amount of wealth can still live a luxurious and extravagant life by relying on their wealth, and even recruit bullies to look after their homes and homes. The turmoil they suffer is far less than that of the people at the bottom. There are many, and they are much more stable.
The same thing happens to different people, and the risks they can resist are completely different.
Even when the country is in ruins, rich people can live better and safer lives.
They will not even take the initiative to resist. Instead, they will watch the direction of the wind and blow people in which direction. They will even take the initiative to divide the family property and create branches and branches to continuously invest in new forces.
The main thing is that you don’t have to win, but don’t lose.
For example, Xia Zhangsi was sent by the Xia family to covertly support the White Lotus Sect. Even Huang Tianjun had similar people. This was their old tradition.
But this does not mean that they understand current affairs.
When life is threatened, they can reluctantly give up temporary benefits, but if the knife is always inserted, these people will rise up to resist.
If you don't suffer the common people, why do you suffer the rich and wealthy families?
I see you don’t want to be the emperor anymore!
Do you understand what it means that the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats rule the world together?
How many big words can those rural people know and how many truths can they tell?
The people who really control the voice of the people are precisely these aristocratic families. They win over the people through various small favors and favors, and then secretly send people to embezzle the land. There are many plunderers.
Of course, they don't need to do this themselves, there will naturally be subordinates who will handle it all neatly, but no matter what the process is, it is enough to see who gets the final property and benefits.
When real and fundamental interests are involved, these guys will turn into wolves and use whatever means necessary.
But Xia Chao's response was equally violent!
When the policy of apportioning one man to another was actually announced, nearly one-third of the officials within the imperial court immediately opposed it.
And after a few days, there was another group of people who objected. In total, they accounted for nearly half!
After Wang Mang expressed his determination that there was absolutely no possibility of changing or delaying the decision, some people even resigned.
The quantity is still one-third!
After three years of hard work to gather talents, less than half have to leave before they are even used.
Of course, these people are talents supported by aristocratic families.
They themselves represent the interests of the aristocratic families.
It was precisely because those aristocratic families saw the gap in the court that they sent people to seize the fat. Unexpectedly, before the fat reached the stomach, the knife was about to reach the heart.
If that's the case, then just show off your strength in this way, almost tearing your skin apart.
Wang Mang's response to this was.
As long as you resign, everyone will nod.
When the resignation crisis subsides, Jin Yiwei will immediately put them all in jail on various charges and conduct a thorough investigation of their net worth!
If there is anything wrong at all, there will be strict interrogation.
Countless people were involved.
And this is just the first round of collision.
If this is a huge fire, this can only be regarded as a flame.
After Wang Mang showed his unshakable determination, there were all kinds of rumors.
The Mo family also appeared at this time.
The promotion of Moqiu in the past few years has achieved real results.
Love the house and the bird, the Mohist school founded by the saint, even if there is no saint leader, there should still be some glory left, right?
Although everyone's words can make a fortune come true, but the person who had always praised him suddenly became the villain in the story. There is no way the wind can change so fast.
What Wang Mang did best was to move like thunder and leave no room for anything.
Three years of dormancy is like a tiger lying on a hill, with its lurking minions enduring it.
After cleaning up all those who had no good intentions and joined the imperial court, Wang Mang had another national policy to implement together with the work of spreading people into their families.
All the people of the Xia Dynasty must truthfully report all their land. Those who conceal or fail to report can be confirmed by others. After confirmation, the whistleblower will take half and the country will take half!
This is the real bottom line!
You like playing Hidden Field, right?
You like to hide it and not report it, right?
If you don’t repay it, then don’t ask for it!
And what if no one reports it?
It doesn't matter, the government will send people to check regularly.
It was discovered that the unregistered hidden fields were directly nationalized!
Oh, there is a good field here, and food is grown here!
Look at the brochure again, oh, it’s not there!
How can such a good field be used if no one wants it?
Isn’t it a waste of natural resources? Then return home!
In addition to these policies, it is not just the officials of the imperial court who can truly guarantee the policies.
And the Grandmaster!
The four countries admired the five masters sent by the Xia Dynasty, who played a role like a needle in the sea.
Among them, in Yingzhou, which was far away from the imperial capital and had not been affected too deeply by previous wars. Even in Yingzhou, which was far away from the emperor, a fire broke out and burned all the officials sent by the imperial court to verify the land as soon as they arrived at the hotel.
Yingzhou, which was lucky enough not to be affected too much by the war, was about to test the power of the Xia Dynasty when it encountered a catastrophic disaster.
When the news came back, Wang Mang was furious.
The Mo family likes to talk about morality, so the grandmaster is here to teach you about martial arts!
The three masters went to Yingzhou in person and captured everyone involved in this matter. The eggs were shaken to pieces, and the earthworms were chopped up. They killed a man whose blood flowed into a river, and nearly ten thousand people were destroyed. For this reason, Countless people have been implicated, and for decades to come in England, it will be the grandfather who does not care for the grandma who does not love them. This is a story for another day.
The Grandmaster who once suffered from the obstruction of Qi and Blood, tortured people even more than the Punishment Department.
When other people's true energy is swimming in the body, and sharp objects smaller than a cow's hair are cutting into the body, how many people in the world can bear it?
If you can withstand all of this, you can praise him for his mental ability, and then choose a better one to put three incense sticks on his grave.
Don't ask if this is torture, just say it doesn't work!
Not enough officials?
Come with force!
Wang Mang does not stick to the means of power.
He is very clear about how he came to power. What he gained was the trust of Gu Dan, the most powerful person in the world.
What he wants to do is to make the people of the world live a better life, not to make himself the holy king and wise master in the mouth of the wealthy family and then make the people miserable.
And this is definitely not a whim to prove himself quickly. After the founding of the Xia Dynasty, Wang Mang has been directing the few officials to conduct thorough inspections of the land. In three years, he has actually counted 7788 .
This time the picture is so poor that the real edge is revealed.
With unparalleled determination and will, the national policy of dividing the land into an equal share was carried out unstoppably.
Even with such a tough attitude, Wang Mang wouldn't care at all if his iron-blooded tactics caused countless rumors.
When the Xia Dynasty was founded, he was no less insulted and slandered than he is now.
Isn't it just to be scolded?
How can you be an emperor without being scolded!
In two years' time, the policy of sharing every acre into every acre has been truly implemented.
When the tax is collected for the first time, the people will find that the tax collected is actually less than before - the small part has been taken from other wealthy families.
Lands are divided into equal parts, and the quantity must also be divided into equal parts.
The more people there are, the more taxes they need to pay.
Once Wang Mang starts doing something, he leaves no room for anything.
You like farming, right?
Okay, if the amount exceeds the amount stipulated by the court, I will let you make ends meet!
For those who dare to resist or hide, just send a grandmaster over to explain to them what martial arts is.
The five masters who defected to the Xia Dynasty from other countries completely became the swords in Wang Mang's hands.
As for the Mohist family?
Such cruel and immoral things are certainly none of the Mohist family's business.
The Mohists were mainly responsible for exploring hidden fields and receiving reports from the people. After all, the credibility of the Mohists was well known to every household, and they even gained more trust from the people than the government, which exploited the people.
A two-pronged approach!
Gong Shangguo, on the other hand, holds the position of Shangshu and mobilizes officials at all levels.
Wang Mang is grasping the general direction, but he needs to take care of the implementation.
Fortunately, this kind of thing is familiar to everyone. After all, he was in charge of the Mo family when Mo Qiu had no time.
Compared with Qin Lisheng, Gong Shangguo is not the kind of person who can't tolerate sand in his eyes, but he is never sloppy in doing things.
I have experienced unforgettable despair, so I know better how to grasp the truth of the moment.
Three people join hands, plus the Grandmaster, I want all the rights, morality, and martial arts!
After two years of vigorous reforms, with much bloodshed during the period, they finally achieved results.
At least Wang Mang could pat his chest and say that he had accomplished the task assigned to him by Gu Dan five years ago.
The people of Xia Dynasty will definitely live a better life because of this move.
But this is by no means the end, but a new beginning.
Five years later, the Xia Dynasty still relied on Dayue's old system in many places. How could this be possible?
There will inevitably be a series of changes in the Xia Dynasty next, which will fundamentally distinguish the Xia Dynasty from Dayue. From then on, no one will miss Dayue in the Xia Dynasty - the gentry and landlords, except for the aristocratic families.
In Wang Mang's heart, these guys were not considered human beings. Killing one family after another might be unjust, but if only 90% of them were killed, there would definitely be some fish that slipped through the net.
The next time is to keep using the knife on those guys.
What Xia didn't have time to do before the founding of the country, who said he couldn't do it while he was in power?
Apart from making up some lies, what else can those guys do to him?
wealth?
The four kingdoms are still supporting the Xia Dynasty.
right?
He is the emperor!
force?
Sorry, all the grandmasters in the Xia Dynasty are now under the control of Wang Mang, and the only one above the grandmaster has a sworn relationship with him.
When being slaughtered, it is natural to squeal twice. Animals will also squeal when they are killed. This does not prevent their meat from being delicious at all.
After finishing another busy day of government affairs and seeing this year's taxes, Wang Mang had a heartfelt smile on his face.
When it was implemented in the first year, the situation was still not clear enough. Even if it was as powerful as thunder, there were still bastards who dared to struggle and resist, deceiving the superiors and deceiving the inferiors. The effect could only be said to be unsatisfactory, but not enough to show.
Until this year, it has achieved good results, at least it is the political achievement that Wang Mang thinks can be achieved.
With the reported documents, Wang Mang took off his dragon robe, put on his casual clothes, asked the kitchen staff to prepare a food box filled with good wine and food, and quietly slipped out of the palace at night.
Brother Gu, today, it’s time to give you an answer to the task you assigned me five years ago!
Push open the door of the familiar courtyard.
The courtyard was empty.
Usually when it gets dark, Xu Zhian likes to lie on the deck chair and rest.
Cang would hang around him and listen to stories. If Xiaoying came back, she would take out a lantern and embroider under the tree.
And if Gu Danruo was there, he would also hold the scripture and study it silently.
But no matter what, there should be someone in the yard.
Wang Mang's heart skipped a beat, and the joy in his mind felt like it had been cut with a knife.
The golden phoenix did not move but the cicada realized first. In the past few years as the emperor, he had already developed the ability to see the subtle things.
In the change of external appearance, he noticed something wrong.
He quickly walked in and walked to the house that was still lit by candlelight.
When I opened the door, I saw a lot of people.
Gu Dan is here, Xun Ke is here, Cang is here, and Xiaoying is here.
And on the bed, there was a person lying quietly.
Xu Zhian.
He is very old.
Even the eyebrows are white, the skin is not too thin and sagging, and there are some overlapping wrinkles on the face. The breathing is long and weak, and it is difficult to hear it without listening carefully.
He closed his eyes on the bed, as if he had entered a wonderful sleep. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, people would even think that he would never wake up again.
"Crack."
With a loud sound, the food box and wine bottle in Wang Mang's hands fell to the ground.
He stood there, opening and closing his lips, and thousands of words seemed to be stuck in his throat, "Uncle Xu Xu?!"
Wang Mang pushed aside a few people and stepped forward with a blank look in his eyes.
He looked at Gu Dan.
Gu Dan also looked at him quietly without speaking.
Wang Mang came to the Gu family courtyard when he was less than ten years old.
At that time, the Gu family courtyard was called the Mohist martial arts gym.
Wang Mang had known Xu Zhian for a long time, and they had many interactions with him later on, and he was eaten by Xu Zhian many times.
After the founding of the country, whenever he was worried about government affairs, Wang Mang would sit in the small courtyard.
It’s not that he wants to get close to Gu Dan. In fact, in recent years, Gu Dan has not been in the small yard very much. He runs out all day long and works hard to treat diseases and save people.
He came to the small courtyard just because this place was different from other places.
Here, it seems that you can forget the mundane things in the world and enjoy a different time.
And no one will treat him as an emperor, more like a relative and friend, without any interests involved.
When he comes here, Wang Mang usually has a drink with Xu Zhian, talking about the local customs, storytelling, or the few interesting things that happened in the court.
This place is like a haven for him. He can come here to rest when he is tired. Xu Zhian, who is the oldest and has seen the most storms, is the listener in the tree hole.
In Wang Mang's heart, it is no exaggeration to say that this place is a paradise.
So much so that he never thought that big changes would happen here.
After all, Gu Dan is already so powerful. How could something unpleasant happen again on his territory?
But not everything works as expected.
Looking at Xu Zhian lying on the bed, Wang Mang, who had just completed an exciting event, was speechless.
Silence, only long silence.
No one spoke, Cang held Gu Dan's shirt tightly, her little hands turned white when she squeezed it, tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried not to cry.
He is ten years old and has truly understood the meaning of death.
That means that from now on, it will never be seen, heard, or touched again.
It's like I've lost something forever.
And irreversible.
After a long time, Xu Zhian still showed no sign of waking up on the bed.
Wang Mang's throat rolled and he asked in a trembling voice, "When?"
In the past two years, because I have been busy with the reform of taxes and corvee labor, the number of visits to the small courtyard has been much less. Sometimes I am busy for a month or two.
After all, he is already the Emperor of Xia. No matter how good the paradise is, he must first ensure the stability of the Xia Dynasty.
So much so that he missed this quiet change in the small courtyard. If he hadn't come here today, he might still have been kept in the dark.
"Three days ago."
Gu Dan answered like this, with no expression on his face, except that the palms hidden in his sleeves were turning white.
Xu Zhian was not sick.
He's just old, very old.
A body without pain and suffering also has its own limits.
Even the great master is powerless.
He tried his best to treat illnesses and save people, but he couldn't scrape together 50,000 life spans in such a short period of time to improve the Qingmu Transformation Technique - not to mention whether the next stage of the Qingmu Transformation Technique can increase the longevity of others. Still a big unknown.
Gu Dan worked hard for this possibility for a long time, but unfortunately, it was still not enough.
"Why don't you tell me?"
Gu Dan replied: "Uncle Xu said that state affairs are busy, so I don't want to delay you."
Wang Mang felt as if his throat was blocked.
Even he felt so uncomfortable, how should Brother Gu feel?
There was only a long silence.
The night has passed quietly.
Xu Zhian's eyelids began to blink slightly on the bed.
The few people who were paying attention to him even breathed lightly.
After a few breaths, Xu Zhian's eyes finally opened a gap, revealing his already cloudy eyes, looking at the world outside.
The warm light emitted by the lantern was actually a bit dazzling to him, so he tried to avoid it by turning his head.
Gu Dan quickly moved the lantern aside and only relied on the peripheral light to illuminate the room.
After a few more breaths, Xu Zhian finally woke up and opened his eyes. His cloudy eyes looked at the people in front of him. After a moment, the voice that was already living up to his passion began to reprimand as expected.
"You guys don't sleep at night, what are you doing around my bed?"
Xu Zhian scolded dissatisfiedly.
"The weather is not good today. I'm afraid you might be cold at night, so come here and take a look."
Gu Dan stepped forward and said with a reassuring smile on his face.
"Go, go, go! Do you think I am a three-year-old child?"
Xu Zhian rolled his eyes and was about to sit up.
Gu Dan wanted to step forward to help him, but Xu Zhian slapped him away.
Gu Dan could only helplessly put on his clothes.
Xu Zhian ignored him. Instead, he turned to Wang Mang and said, "Are you here too? I have heard what the neighbors said about what you did. You did well, you did well!"
The old man was half leaning on the bed, praising Wang Mang happily.
This old man who had experienced two dynasties finally saw the dawn of a prosperous age after growing old.
(End of chapter)
