Liu Muzhi's eyes were shining with light, and his voice was sonorous and powerful. He looked directly at Tao Yuanming: "Mr. Tao, you'd better put away the lofty argument you made about how it is impossible to govern without the powerful landowners and the children of the aristocratic families.
To put it bluntly, if these people were not causing trouble and holding us back, if we did not compromise, but sent troops to the countryside, and destroyed whoever caused trouble, see if we, the eight brothers from Beijing, could be able to rule the world!"
Tao Yuanming's goatee was trembling slightly, and he gritted his teeth: "Sending troops to suppress the countryside and killing those who don't obey. How is this different from barbarians like the Hulu in the north? That's what Jiehu Shihu did, resorting to violence and killing people like this.
Ma, he hung the severed heads of people all over the city wall as a deterrent, but what was the result? In less than twenty years, his country perished. Our ancestors have ancient sayings, if benevolence and righteousness are not applied, the offensive and defensive momentum will be different!
Are you really going to do this to destroy the Jin Dynasty?"
Liu Muzhi shook his head disdainfully: "The difference between us and the Huru is that the Huru are plundering the wealth of our Han people for their arrogance and extravagance, while we increase taxes, firstly, within the limits that the people can bear.
Secondly, this move is to regain the lost territory and restore the Central Plains, but it is only because powerful landowners are obstructing it and taking the opportunity to collect money and food several times the court tax. We investigate and deal with these vampires, which is a move that will greatly please the people.
If they take more money from the people and return it to the people, who would object?"
Tao Yuanming said bitterly: "These powerful landlords are all over the world. They are also the people of the Jin Dynasty. Since the Spring and Autumn Period of the pre-Qin Dynasty, they have controlled the local areas and rural areas. No matter who is in the world, they have to rely on cooperation with them to rule. Even if
Even if Qin Shihuang unified the country, he could not seal the Qin army soldiers to Wu to rule them all. Liu Muzhi, don't overestimate your own strength. The Beifu army only has tens of thousands of people. Even if everyone has meritorious service and gets a title, there will be no one.
How can it be possible to support the entire countryside of Jin Dynasty? If powerful landowners and noble scholars are unwilling to cooperate with the court, how do you expect the people to pay taxes obediently and consciously? Who do you expect to collect them? "
Liu Muzhi smiled slightly: "I will never overestimate my own strength, but I will never underestimate it. The biggest reason why Qin Shihuang did not let the soldiers return to their hometowns as officials after destroying the six kingdoms was because of the illusion.
Cooperating with the old aristocrats and small landowners of the Six Kingdoms can stabilize the world, and the Qin Kingdom will fall. There are so many people in this world who want to be officials, even the Hulu in the north, especially the Shihu you mentioned.
, ferocious and barbaric, but does the Shi Zhao regime lack people to serve as officials? Is there no one to collect taxes and draw ding for Shi Zhao? Not to mention the grain tax and the ding mouth, even the palace maids, Shi Hu can collect them at once
Tens of thousands of people were sent to Yecheng, and Shi Hu’s Jiehu army was not even used to do it. There were powerful Han landlords such as the Wubao Masters working for him!”
"The demise of Shi Zhao was due to the greed and ignorance of the Shi clan and even the Jiehu nobles. It was because they fought for the throne and exhausted their military strength in the civil war. This was the same as the Eight Kings Rebellion in the Western Dynasty.
. Could it be that the fall of the Western Dynasty was due to the imperial court at that time offending local powerful people and the noble families not cooperating with the clan princes? Mr. Tao, your sophistry is specious. You can deceive others, but in this world
It won’t work here.”
Tao Yuanming gritted his teeth: "The noble families and the powerful families that rely on them are a powerful overall alliance. They have been formed for more than a hundred years in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. A single move can affect the whole body. If you want them to completely surrender, they will definitely come together in groups.
If you resist, at least in the short term, you will not have enough manpower and military power to control the countryside, and it may even trigger a civil war. Yu Gong, will your family be so obediently controlled by others?"
There was a trace of embarrassment on Yu Yue's face: "Well, well, we must obey the court and obey the orders of the emperor and Marshal Liu. However, this order must also take into account our actual situation, just like
Those local village leaders who took the opportunity to raise taxes and enrich their own pockets, we, we will still clean up within the family. Once the soldiers and horses of the imperial court come to clean up, then, it will inevitably trigger a civil uprising. Brother Mu,
It’s not that I have any disobedience, it’s really, I alone have no say, and as you know, the heads of our aristocratic families haven’t been to the countryside for decades, and we all rely on the people below.
Just hold on, sometimes we can't control them."
Having said this, he licked his lips: "And these matters have always been based on the Xie family's leadership. Madam Xie, Queen Wang and others naturally stand with Marshal Liu and brother Mu, but the same cannot be said for others.
Just like the tax increase you mentioned, it was also done by people like Xie Hun, Xi Sengshi and others. Our bosses in Jiankang can't control things in their hometown. Brother Mu, I think
This matter should be discussed in the long run. Give us some time and we will restrain the people below. However, the imperial court has been fighting for these years. If the demon thieves are put down this time, it is better to rest for a few years and recuperate. Give it to the soldiers and give it to us.
The aristocratic family can give the common people a breather."
Liu Muzhi smiled slightly: "Young Master Yu can't offend either party, but I see that your actions don't seem like you want to take a breather. The imperial court did not increase taxes to recruit troops, but you yourself gathered people at the Yu family's manor to collect troops again."
We have enough food, and this time we have gathered thousands of troops to prepare for the second Western Expedition. Aren't you afraid that someone will report you for a sinister plot like Sun Tai was killed last time?"
Yu Yue laughed: "I won't hide it from you in front of Brother Mu. Yes, I once again recruited soldiers and collected grain to form an army to serve the king. But I didn't increase taxes this time, and I also strictly restrained the subordinates.
People, and I was exempted from land rent and grain tax for a few years in return, but I didn’t take the opportunity to exploit the dealers. I also know that it’s not easy for everyone. This time, I used the grain stored in my Yu family.”
"This time when I formed the army, I really wanted to make a great contribution, because this time I snatched the army from someone else, which was really embarrassing. If I can't make a great contribution and restore the reputation of my Yu family, I'm afraid we won't be able to gain a foothold in the family in the future.
, Brother Mu, I am here to contribute to the Western Expedition to eliminate the bandits, and secondly, I am also here to recover the losses suffered by our Yu family, and I have absolutely no evil intentions."
Liu Muzhi nodded: "Of course I believe in Duke Yu on this point, but it's best to lend your army to the court for use first, rather than use it as your Yu family's private army. We will definitely arrange it effectively."
Generals, whoever wins the victory, your family will be indispensable for the credit and title. If everyone is like you, why worry about failing to accomplish great things?" ()
This chapter has been completed!