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 among the palace roads, heading towards the Chui Gong Hall with steady steps, her white beard fluttering.
In contrast to the surrounding snow, his figure was still tall and straight, but his expression was a little serious. When he went to see Emperor Liu, he could not tolerate the slightest frivolity. He had already adjusted his mood before arriving at the palace.
It was freezing 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 unwilling to even step out of the palace door. He was so indifferent to the severe cold.
The weather is getting more and more scary.
Arriving in front of the palace, he asked for an audience. After being notified, he soon received a response from Emperor Liu. In the palace, Emperor Liu was studying the map, the entire imperial map, not just the Han Dynasty, but also the surrounding tribes, including Nanyang, Tianzhu, Dashi, etc.
Overseas national forces have their marks.
The mission of King Yong and his entourage is still very meaningful. It is more comprehensive and systematically improves 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 on two areas, one was Nanyang, the other was Central Asia, and the other was Chinese food.
, one is an object of direct conflict.
From Emperor Liu's point of view, this map is still very rough. For example, the outlines of the large islands in Southeast Asia are a bit abstract. But based on the current cartography technology and conditions, this is the pinnacle of cartography in this era.
There may be many errors and omissions in the details, but at least the main countries and forces at the moment have been identified. And from this picture, you can intuitively feel what a behemoth the current Han Dynasty is and how influential it is.
Extensive and far-reaching, this is an achievement that makes people proud and makes people feel excited, and Emperor Liu is no exception.
However, every time I look at this picture, after a short period of excitement, all that is left is confusion and doubt. The former is that he drew his sword and looked around, but there was no opponent. Although Anxi started fighting, Emperor Liu really didn't pay much attention to him.
inside.
The latter was due to a question that had troubled Emperor Liu for many years: Is the bigger the country, the better? Emperor Liu had already awakened to this question as early as after the Kaibao Northern Expedition. Considering the current organizational and execution capabilities of the imperial court,
With difficult transportation, backward communication conditions, and insistence on centralization, 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 lot of blood or collapse. After the Northern Expedition, Emperor Liu temporarily stopped his ambition to expand and stopped expanding.
If you want to cultivate and recuperate and implement a contraction strategy, that is also 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 Golden Age".
However, in recent years, the situation has obviously changed, either proactively or passively, with constant chaos and tossing. The Yulin Rebellion, overseas expansion, the Black Khan War, riots on all sides, and the results of ten years of rest and recuperation have all been exhausted, not to mention that they have been exhausted.
That's almost it.
If it had not recovered a lot of blood from the unlimited plunder overseas, the problems faced by the imperial court would be even more serious. And overseas development is not cost-free, including naval construction, ship construction, weapons development, personnel salaries, and training.
Voyages, small-scale conflicts and wars, etc., are the main expenses.
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 at the end of the road.
Sometimes, Emperor Liu even panicked when he thought of this. Emperor Liu had been making policy adjustments, but he often did not do it thoroughly. The ship would turn around in a big way, and if there was a slight disturbance, he would go back to the original track, as if
There seems to be some kind of will at the controls.
During this year, the turmoil caused by the clean-up of officials was so great, and the determination was so firm, as if 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, but it was also Emperor Liu's damn sense of crisis.
If you don't move, you will only see the disadvantages getting worse and contradictions agglomerate. Don't move too harshly, and it will be easy to break if you are too strong. Although a big man is strong, he really can't be tossed around casually. Of course, this can only be felt by a promising man.
I arrived distressed.
"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 back from his meditation again. He was probably too fascinated and his expression could not recover for a while. He glanced at Pan Mei coldly, waved to him, and said to him stiffly: "Come on.
It just so happens that you are here to take a look at the entire map of the Imperial Palace!"
"Yes!" Pan Mei heard the words, crept forward, 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, abundant resources, and abundant population are certainly worthy of joy, but how to protect 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 we achieve long-term peace and stability like this?" Emperor Liu murmured in a low voice, with a stern expression, a worried brow, and eyes as deep as a philosopher...
If it were another civil servant, listening to what Emperor Liu said, he would probably have to quote scriptures, talk about the way of saints, and discuss the strategy of peace and stability. But Pan Mei did not speak rashly, and would not do anything about something that he himself could not understand.
Nonsense.
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 bother you, the prime minister, to come and retaliate in person?"
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 group 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 still 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, King 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, he just expressed his opinion a little afterwards. However, Emperor Liu could understand Liu Min's considerations to some extent. If it were him, he might also choose to take the risk. After all, behind Liu Min's move, he obviously regarded Anxi as
It is his own territory to run.
Otherwise, how difficult would it be to defend a Broken Leaf City with Anxi's strength? Just wait for the imperial 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 troops 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 the next spring. 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 the ministers who carried out the plan.
"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. She quickly calculated and handed over her hand 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 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 didn't plan to fight in Anxi anymore. 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 thought of carving up the world and enfeoffing the country would keep coming to his mind, and he would cut it off and never extinguish it.
There is no need to elaborate on 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 into four 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 a matter of the future. Needless to say, as an autocratic emperor for decades, he no longer regards the world as the world for everyone, and the world under the family is the world under the family. This is not
The soul's cognition is influenced only by human nature.
For Emperor Liu, his sons and brothers were 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, my eyes fell on the corners and corners around the big man...