Inside but not outside

Author: Gongsun Wujiu

Cai Ting said at this time: "Since the Xiongnu right moved westward, Ni Mi has been bent on revitalizing the Wusun and establishing a powerful empire belonging to the Wusun people..."

"In the past few years, Ni Mi has been constantly sending people to carry out activities in Wusun, inciting Wusun tribesmen to move westward... In order to achieve this goal, he even sent people to Luntai last year..."

Zhang Huan nodded and continued to ask for advice: "Then what are the benefits of the Parthian Empire?"

Cai Ting continued to explain: "If Wusun falls into chaos, my big man's energy will inevitably be restrained by Wusun... In this way, the pressure faced by the Parthians will be much less!"

"If the Han massacres the Zoroastrian believers during the counter-rebellion, it will just trigger the Zoroastrian hatred of the Han in the Parthian Empire..."

"In this way, the internal conflicts in the Parthian Empire can be transferred to the Han Dynasty, which will greatly make use of the Parthian Empire's rule!"

Zhang Huan suddenly realized after hearing this: "That's it!"

He thought for a while and then said: "Why did Ni Mi send people to Luntai all the way?"

Cai Ting smiled and said: "That Ni Mi now hopes to establish a powerful Wusun Kingdom in the west..."

"He hopes to gain the recognition and support of the Han Dynasty. To achieve this goal, he even promised that his small Wusun country could convert the whole country to "Taoism"!"

Zhang Huan clicked his tongue and said, "I didn't expect that Ni Mi was also a character!"

Cai Ting sighed: "There is a master behind the mud!"

"Don't worry about the mud and rest for now!"

Zhang Yue asked Yang You: "Does the Lord Chu have any news?"

Yang You turned around and worshiped: "The Lord of Chu hopes that the Han Dynasty will send troops to help Wusun quell the rebellion, and he intends to make Prince Wannian the king!"

"Make Liu Wannian the King of Wusun!"

Contrary to what everyone expected, Zhang Yue did not agree immediately, but fell into deep thought.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with making Prince Wannian the king?" Zhang Zhan asked upon seeing this.

Zhang Yue raised his head and looked at Cai Ting: "What do Mr. Cai think?"

Cai Ting twirled his long beard: "There is nothing wrong with Prince Wannian being the king, but he should not be named King Wusun!"

Zhang Yue nodded and said: "Yes, Prince Wannian is a relative of the Liu family. Even if he is a king, he should be the king of the Han Dynasty!"

"Your intention is to change Wusun into a vassal?" Pan Hong's eyes lit up.

"The ruler is wise, if Wusun is a vassal within the Han Dynasty, how will Wusun, the Han Dynasty be separated after a hundred years..."

Zhang Ai said: "It's good to be this way, but I'm afraid it will cause a lot of trouble!"

Zhang Huan heard this and said: "What are you afraid of? If there are people who are unwilling to become Han people, just send them to the little Wusun of Nimi..."

Yang You agreed: "What the gentleman said is true. If they are still unwilling, then send them to see Mr. Taishan..."

"What the gentleman said is true. Both Ni Mi and Li Ling are full of ambition and vitality. They can be used by my big man!"

Cai Ting also smiled and spoke out to support Zhang Huan. Now he is more and more satisfied with Zhang Huan, and he already treats Zhang Huan as Zhang Yue's successor.

Pan Hong also said: "If Wusun becomes a vassal, we will have no worries in the Western Region for a hundred years!"

Zhang Zhan and others also expressed their agreement at this time.

When Zhang Yue heard this, he shook his head and sighed: "I am a big man and my troubles are inside and not outside!"

When he said these words, Zhang Yue couldn't help but think of later generations' evaluation of the Han Dynasty, "The Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties were all destroyed by weakness, but only the Han Dynasty perished by strength!"

Zhang Yue sighed again: "Who among all the countries in the world can compete with me, the Han Dynasty... The troubles of the Han Dynasty are inside and outside!"

Everyone suddenly fell into silence after hearing this.

What most people thought of at this time was the conflict between the emperor and Huo Guang.

Only Cai Ting felt that there was something in Zhang Yue's words.

After thinking for a moment, he asked Zhang Yue: "Are you worried about the rise of powerful people in Guandong?"

Zhang Zhan was stunned when he heard this, "How can Cai Gong, a powerful man from Guandong, be able to sway the Han Dynasty?"

In the eyes of Zhang Zhan and even most Kansai people, the power of Kanto is nothing at all.

"Yes, no matter how powerful the powerful people in Guandong are, they can only influence the counties in Guandong. If they dare to cause chaos, they can suppress it with backhand..."

Even Pan Hong didn't really take Guandong Haoqiang seriously.

Zhang Yue looked around and sighed: "The one who knows me is Cai Gong!"

As soon as Zhang Yue said this, most people were stunned.

Zhang Huan directly asked for advice: "Why do you say this, sir?"

Zhang Yuedao: "You only see the superficial power of the powerful Guandong powers, but you don't see the inner destruction they cause to the Han!"

At this point, Zhang Yue looked at the map on the wall and fell silent.

Pan Hong stood up and worshiped: "Please give me your advice without hesitation!"

Zhang Yue first looked at Pan Hong, and then asked everyone: "Do you know what the foundation of my great Han Dynasty is?"

Zhang Huan first replied: "Your Excellency once said that the foundation of a great Han Dynasty is to be a farmer and a son of a good family!"

Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Huan with satisfaction, then pointed at the map and said:

"The foundation of our Han Dynasty and the Han army are based on the farmers... Nowadays, the local powerful annexation of land has affected the survival of the farmers..."

"During the Tianhan period, since Yousi reported it, the household registration in the world was reduced by half..."

"Although the former emperor was at war with the Xiongnu all the year round, the wars all took place within the territory of the Xiongnu and did not affect the inner counties. Why are the household registrations in the world reduced by half? Please think about it!"

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, he silently poured himself a cup of tea.

He finished the tea and everyone understood.

Pan Hongdao: "I understand that the reason why the world's household registration has been reduced by half is not the death or injury of the people or the decrease in the population, but the bankruptcy of the farmers!"

Zhang Yue nodded and said: "Yes, these homesteaders have to rely on the powerful in order to survive after they go bankrupt..."

"The more powerful the powerful, the more peasants who went bankrupt... The number of people in the Han Dynasty who organized households and unified the people became smaller and smaller..."

"The taxes and military resources of our Han Dynasty all come from the yeoman farmers who have established households and unified the people... If there are not enough yeoman farmers, the Han Dynasty will be in danger!"

Cai Ting also said at this time: "What the Lord said is true. The more bankrupt yeoman farmers there are, the more people the powerful will control...the power of the powerful will become stronger..."

At this time, Yang You thought of the Zhang family and Wang family in Qinghe that were wiped out in the past.

He agreed: "What Junhou and Cai Gong said is true. In the past, the small Qinghe Zhang family controlled as many as 60,000 people..."

"The Wang family is even more afraid. The population under its control is close to one million... If the prince and general had not made the decisive decision at the right time, this person would be the one who destroyed the Han Dynasty."

Zhang Zhan, who once participated in the suppression of the Wang family's rebellion, also sighed:

"Mr. Yang's words are reasonable. Now, under the encouragement of virtuous literature, Chang'an is increasingly relaxing its suppression of powerful people... If this continues, the Han Dynasty will be in danger!"

Zhang Ai sighed: "Why can't the general see this..."

Cai Ting shook his head and said: "How could Huo Guang not see this? He is just powerless!"

Zhang Yue said: "Yes, although Huo Guang seems to have the power of the court, he actually does not have much binding force on the local government..."

"Huo Guang can only act in the name of the emperor... I am afraid that no one after the emperor can truly suppress the powerful people of Guandong..."

At this time, Cai Ting suddenly walked up to Zhang Yue. He arranged his crown and robe and bowed solemnly to Zhang Yue.

"Now the only one who can save the Han Dynasty is the monarch..."
Chapter completed!