"I never thought that the Tang Kingdom would be so poor. When I came to the Tang Kingdom and saw the skinny people, I shed tears."
Liu Chang shed tears, thinking about how to reply to Liu Hou at night, but he was ready to wipe away his tears.
"Your Majesty! Don't rub your eyes!"
Standing aside were a few honest Tang people. Seven or eight of them were looking at their king with smiles. The men standing in front, although not tall, were very strong, with fleshy faces and heavy arms.
There should be no problem with the five Zhao people. Liu Chang has traveled to so many countries, but he has never seen a farmer who can raise fat. There is no way, there are many pastures in the Tang Dynasty, and meat is not hard to find here.
Zhang Cang has a system called the domestic pig system. What is the domestic pig system? Every household must be able to raise a few pigs. The cultivated land in the Tang Dynasty is not too small, and there is a lot of land that can be developed, but the precipitation is not as good as in the Central Plains.
But the Tang State had an advantage. The Tang State had pastures that could develop animal husbandry. Moreover, the Tang State was so large that every household could build a mixed vassal and raise a few pigs, which would in turn become natural fertilizers.
In fact, at the end of the Warring States Period, Qin and Zhao already had precedents for using this type of fertilizer. The Tang State had the largest number of livestock among the Han Dynasty. Therefore, people who were dissatisfied with the Tang State always secretly called the Tang State a country of beasts. The Tang State had a large number of cattle.
, horses, sheep, dolphins, dogs, chickens, and even began to promote the "fishing" that was only used by the nobles to the homes of common people.
The northern region of the Tang Dynasty would become very difficult in winter, and livestock could not only provide food, but their fur could also be used to keep out the cold. Because the Tang Dynasty had many deep mountains and many wild beasts, the Tang Dynasty hunted wild beasts crazily and captured wild beast cubs to raise.
, some even want to catch tiger cubs and raise them into domestic animals, which is said to be used to protect the house.
In other places, ferocious beasts are a huge disaster, but if you ask about the past of these people in the Tang Dynasty, they were either bandits in the deep mountains and old forests, followed Chen Xi, followed the Yingbo rebellion, and were relocated from various places.
The returning criminals were a greater disaster to the Tang people than the ferocious beasts.
Apart from the man, even the woman standing behind him looks much bigger. It should be no problem to hit one or two Zhao people, but there is nothing that can be done. The Zhao people are still chewing the bark, but the Tang people can already eat it.
Meat...the physical fitness of both parties is completely different.
Liu Chang stuck out his tongue and had tears in his eyes.
The man smiled and said, "Don't use too much of this pepper... This is brought by the Yuezhi people... Your Majesty will get used to it if you eat it more!"
Liu Chang said with a smile: "It's true, there are a lot of good things in the west!"
"Yes... but now the roads over there are occupied by the Huns."
Mr. Liu had a meal, then rewarded the farmer and continued on his journey.
"I never thought that the Tang Dynasty was really so poor. When I saw the empty granaries, I was speechless. There were dozens of granaries in front of me. They were empty, not a single grain of millet. Even a mouse could be thrown into it.
, they will all starve to death."
Liu Chang stroked his chin and looked at the tall granaries in front of him. He went in and looked at the scale. The granaries were very spacious, although there was not a grain of millet in them. "This is the latest granary built?"
The official in charge of the granary hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, the original granary is not enough, so Prime Minister Zhang built a large number of granaries in our Hengzi County to store grain. Currently, the grain is still on the way, and these granaries probably cannot hold it.
, we have to continue to build it.”
"Hengzi County?? Isn't this called Changzi County?"
"How dare you use the name of a king in a small county?"
"The good king knows that... in the Tang Dynasty, even the eldest son in the family is called the eldest son!"
Zhao Ping's face twitched and he took a deep breath, the emperor must avoid taboos!!
But Liu Chang was very happy. He said with a smile: "It doesn't have to be like this. It doesn't matter. It's not that my name cannot be used. Changzi County is called Changzi County. This county has a connection with the widow. Maybe it can be given to me in the future.
My son! As for the eldest son, you can use him if you want. I am a virtuous king, and I will never question him on such a trivial matter!"
"Your Majesty is wise!!"
Liu Chang smiled and nodded. During these days, he has been traveling around to check the situation in Tang State. Shangdang currently has fourteen counties, and Shangdang County is currently the second largest grain-producing area in Tang State, with a population
Second only to Taiyuan, but because of its excellent geographical location, it became the area with the most frequent business activities and the richest people in the Tang Dynasty.
Here, you can always see caravans from all over the country, people coming and going. The commercial activities here are more developed than in Chang'an. Gaodu County, for example, has become the commercial hub of the Tang Dynasty. The city of Gaodu is
It was demolished to facilitate the entry and exit of merchants. This was the largest livestock trading market in the Han Dynasty. All countries who wanted to buy war horses had to come here. Of course, they not only sold livestock here, but also sold other goods.
There are many good things in the Tang State, especially the things obtained from the Hu people. Almost all of them are not available in the Central Plains and are unique to the Tang State. However, Taiyuan and other places are far away from the Central Plains. Only Shangdang, especially Gaodu County,
Heyang'a County, because it was close to the Central Plains, became the foreign trade center of the Tang Dynasty.
Liu Changzui almost smiled crookedly.
In the evening, he stayed in Gaodu County. Cao Shu had already gone to Jinyang first, but Liu Chang took his family members and ministers of the Tang Dynasty to check on the situation in various places in Shangdang. Liu Chang sat on the top,
Ministers, local officials, Shiren, etc. sat on both sides.
"Master, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty is all due to the efforts of you and your officials!"
Liu Chang spoke loudly. Zhang Cang was originally staring at the maid who came to pour him wine. Hearing Liu Chang's words, he was stunned for a moment, quickly came back to his senses, and said humbly: "It's all thanks to the king!
"
Gai Gong said with some displeasure: "Why should Prime Minister Zhang be so humble? You care about the people of Tang State, especially the orphans and widows. You often visit and treat orphans as sons and widows as wives. In order to increase the population of Tang State, you leave no one behind.
Yu Li, you married more than twenty concubines in just one year, right?"
"How can you be humble with such merit?!"
Liu Chang was dumbfounded and looked at his teacher. He knew that his teacher had defects in this area, but... was it such an exaggeration?
Zhang Cang said seriously with a straight face: "There are many orphans and widowers in the Tang Dynasty. These people have lost their husbands, and the children have lost their father. Life is extremely difficult. I spare no effort to raise them, and I use my meager salary to barely support them."
I can support these people, but I live a very poor life. Some good people use this to attack me, saying that I am lustful and immoral."
"However, if I can help more people, I have no regrets even if I bear such a reputation!"
Zhang Cang's words were so righteous and Lingran made Liu Chang feel a sense of respect in his heart.
"Master is benevolent and righteous! How can I not follow suit!!"
"King!!!"
Zhu Jian couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up hurriedly and said, "Just leave things like this to Prime Minister Zhang. Your Majesty should put state affairs first!!!"
Zhang Cang said seriously: "I will take the king to rescue him someday..."
"Traitor! How dare you do this?!"
Gai Gong interrupted him directly and cursed loudly.
As the ministers watched the quarrel among the ministers, Chao Cuo poked Jia Yi on the side and said, "Our country in the Tang Dynasty is really full of talents!"
Jia Yi was stunned and looked at the few people in front of him: the state minister who was addicted to women and couldn't help himself, the irritable old master Huang Gaigong, Han Xin's remnant Li Zuoche, and Yingbo's state minister Zhu Jian. Well, they are really good. What a talented person!
Fortunately, Liu Chang quickly stopped their fight, and everyone started eating meat and drinking wine.
Liu Chang also smiled and talked about his thoughts.
"Tomorrow, we will rush to Taiyuan. I will also go to visit other counties... Then, just let the people accompany us... After checking the situation in various places, we can start to deal with the Xiongnu."
Li Zuoche shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, now is not the best time to deal with the Huns."
"Modun's soldiers often appear in various places now... He is also thinking of dealing with us."
"The place that needs action most now is Henan. However, the Xiongnu has left a heavy army in Henan. If we want to fight, we must be fully prepared to defeat the Xiongnu with one blow... To regain the lost territory, we can first gather soldiers and carry out Practice, stock up on food supplies, forge weapons, find guides, and prepare the Yueshi and other tribes as vanguards..."
Li Zuoche's idea was very simple. A small fight would not hurt the Xiongnu. If he wanted to fight, just hit him hard.
...
When Liu Chang and others arrived in Taiyuan, it was a different scene.
Taiyuan has more cultivated land than Shangdang, but fewer merchants. The city is tall and strong, and there are many knights coming and going, all of which are here to report the battle situation on the front line. The Tang State has been fighting with the Huns for many years, and the Huns also While thinking about plundering the wealthy Tang State, Tang State was also thinking about plundering the other party's livestock, and the two sides fought back and forth.
Previously, Li Zuoche took advantage of Maodun's expedition to attack the Xiongnu on the left and gained a lot. However, I am afraid that such a feat cannot be repeated again because Maodun has returned. Facing Maodun, Li Zuoche He did not dare to look down upon him. In fact, he praised Mao Dun very much. He believed that Mao Dun was a very powerful opponent. He was strict in running the army, acted decisively, and had a clear strategy. He was indeed a hero!
But hearing his praise, people like Zhu Jian were not very happy. How can you praise your enemy?
This guy has a sworn feud with the Tang Dynasty!
While Liu Chang was wandering around Taiyuan, there were many rumors about him in Chang'an.
The king of Tang rushed to the state of Liang and beat up Lu Chen, the prime minister.
The Tang State rushed to the Zhao State, frightened the Queen Mother Zhao to death and so on.
When the ministers of Chang'an woke up every day, the first thing they did was to ask their left and right officials, had the King of Tang rebelled?
During the court meeting, Liu Ying was sitting in the upper position and was discussing with the officials about the ban on South Vietnam.
After Liu Chang left, Empress Lu handed over some matters to Liu Ying, which made Liu Ying very happy and full of fighting spirit, saying that she would do a good job. Empress Lu no longer came to the court for discussion. In the Jiaofang Hall, while coaxing the children, they looked through the memorials from various places.
Regarding South Vietnam, the ministers' suggestions were very different.
Liu Jing said that this ban cannot be abolished and the development of South Vietnam must continue to be restricted. Otherwise, when it becomes stronger, South Vietnam will become a scourge to the south.
But Zhou Chang felt that since the King of Nanyue came to Chang'an and expressed his sincerity, the ban could be opened appropriately to strengthen the connection between Nanyue and the Han Dynasty.
The two sides started arguing, and Liu Ying pondered for a long time before deciding to adopt Zhou Chang's idea to first lift some of the bans, open the checkpoints, send merchants to conduct normal trade with South Vietnam, open up connections with South Vietnam, and at the same time allow and even encourage
The people of South Vietnam migrated to the Han Dynasty.
After Liu Ying finished talking about these things, she encouraged the ministers to make more useful suggestions to herself, and then ended the court meeting.
The ministers stood up and prepared to leave the temple.
Liu Jing asked: "Is there any news about King Tang?"
"have."
"The King of Tang has returned to Tang Kingdom?"
"I heard that he was going back. When he returned to the Tang Dynasty, he took six horses. They were all white horses of the same color, and the decorations were very arrogant..."
A minister said.
Liu Jing took a deep breath and looked at Zhou Chang aside.
Zhou Chang also looked a little hesitant, "This matter should be reported to the emperor."
"I also heard that after the King of Tang returned to the Tang Kingdom, he immediately ordered his Taiwei Li Zuoche to summon the army and hoard food..."
Shusuntong's face also turned pale.
"What does Prince Tang want to do..."
Seeing the panic of several people, Chen Ping smiled, and while putting on his shoes, he said: "A vassal king, when he returned to a feudal country, he took six chariots, trained his army on a large scale, and hoarded food. What do you think of him?
What do you want to do?”
Shusun Tong asked tremblingly: "But the King of Tang is very close to His Majesty..."
Chen Ping frightened them, got up and left.
The ministers looked at each other in shock.
Shusun Tong returned to the mansion. After hesitating for a long time, he immediately called his confidants, "I want to write a letter to the King of Tang. Please help me send it to Jinyang!"
On this day, I don’t know how many ministers secretly spun the Tang Dynasty flag at home.
........
When Liu Chang came to Taiyuan County, he received a very warm welcome here.
The first people to greet them were not the local officials, but the people here. At this moment, the people had just finished farming and were preparing to go home. When they heard that their king had returned to the country, they came to pay homage to the King of Tang under the leadership of the three elders.
The so-called three elders system is not a product of the Han Dynasty. It can be traced back to the Wei State during the Warring States Period. The Wei State was the first to establish the three elders. The Qin Dynasty later established the township three elders, and the Gao Emperor established the county three elders. In the future,
There will also be three elders of the county, three elders of the country, etc.
And these three elders are not just three old men. The three here refer to the three virtues, one is integrity, the second is strength and restraint, and the third is softness and restraint.
Usually, the local government recommends an old man who has three kinds of virtues and can be admired by everyone. The requirement is that he is over fifty. The three elders are responsible for education, mediating disputes, and helping to collect taxes. Now, come here
Those who greeted Liu Chang were the three rural elders at the grassroots level.
Liu Chang received these Tang people very cordially. The three elders sat aside, very happy, and gave them food and drink to express their respect for the king.
Liu Chang also sat aside with a smile and asked seriously: "Are there any thieves here?"
The third elder said loudly: "Your Majesty! There are absolutely no bandits here! Even in the whole of Taiyuan, there are no bandits!"
"Oh? How can I be so sure?"
"I have been a bandit in the mountains for more than 40 years, and I am very familiar with bandits..."
This highly respected third elder began to talk about his experience in the industry, and he talked eloquently, telling that there was no way for thieves to survive here. Liu Chang nodded with satisfaction, but several of the family members took a deep breath: You said
Very good, but how did you become the third elder?
The old man didn't care at all about openly talking about his past experiences. He didn't care at all.
"Then do you have ferocious beasts here?"
"It used to be there! Then it disappeared..."
A honest and honest farmer who was missing an arm said with a smile: "When we fought with General Chen and were defeated by Fan Hui, we fled here. There was nothing to eat at that time, so we hunted ferocious beasts to eat. Later,
, the ferocious beasts seem to have run away and can never be found again..."
"Yes, your Majesty, don't worry!"
Everyone agreed.
"How is the food produced? Can you eat enough?"
Another farmer with a tattoo on his face said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, our family now has grain reserves! When I was in Zhao State, if I had half of the grain reserves now, I would not kill officials and rob them!"
"yes!"
Many people nodded in agreement again.
"So, are the officials treating you well? Are there any cases of bullying you?"
Immediately someone shouted: "Your Majesty, the officials who are coming to collect food now are all my former superiors. They are familiar with us and never bully us!"
"Oh? Your superior? Where did you work as an official?"
"Huainan Kingdom."
"oh..."
Liu Chang suddenly realized.
Not only Liu Chang, but also those behind him suddenly realized. They finally understood why the old man could become the third elder. Sure enough, looking at it this way, in the Tang Dynasty where there are many outstanding people, it is most suitable for him to be the third elder. After all,
Among these people, he has the least crime, and he is also the most moral, right???
There were even barbarians here, speaking Tang dialect that was not very fluent, and smilingly brought a lamb to Liu Chang.
"Are you from Yuezhi?"
"Your Majesty, I belong to the Xiongnu... My tribe was defeated by the Taiwei, and I was captured... My younger brother fought in the standing army and made great achievements. He redeemed me and gave me land here...
Let me graze in peace."
"Hahaha, it doesn't matter. Since I have returned to the Tang Dynasty, I am from the Tang Dynasty!"
"I can't ask for your sheep for free. What's your brother's name?"
"Chunmiwei."
"Okay, I will use him again after I return to Jinyang!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
Liu Chang asked people to reward them with a lot of things, and then he took the people away from here and continued on their way to Jinyang.
After three or four days of journey, Liu Chang finally returned to Jinyang.
Although the city wall of Jinyang is not as tall as that of Chang'an, it covers a large area. The end of the city wall cannot be seen at a glance. Officials from the entire capital came out to pay their respects. Soldiers cheered at the top of the city, holding flags high.
In various places, long Yamen flags with Tang characters embroidered on them have been erected.
Liu Chang walked into Jinyang amidst the cheers of everyone.
Looking at the neat and symmetrical buildings, the open and flat roads, and the people standing in front of the door and saluting, Liu Chang couldn't help but grin. Jinyang has obviously gone through several expansions, and the architectural style is all Qin style.
That is to say, they are symmetrical and neat, and all the houses are almost the same, forming a huge tic-tac-toe, which brings Qin's architecture to its extreme.
As for why this happened... it was because Qin Mo was responsible for the expansion of the capital. Liu Chang rescued a large number of Qin Mo from prison and sent these people to the Tang Dynasty. Then all aspects of Tang Dynasty's architecture
Then he started running wildly in the direction of Da Qin, and his style of painting became a little strange.
The Mohists also had many insights in architecture, and Qin Mo was the leader among them.
Liu Chang smiled and said loudly: "Compared with Jinyang of Jinyang, King Zhao's Handan is simply a doghouse!"
"I really didn't give Ruyi the wrong name back then!"