Liu Heng came to Chang'an mainly for two things, Liu Qifeng was crowned king, and other affairs in the Southern Kingdom.
Regarding Liu Qi's matter, Liu Heng only had to be a witness, but the matter in Nanguo was not as simple as Liu Chang thought.
"The main problem is the lack of manpower. The Chu State is okay, but the people in Wu, Changsha, and Nanyue are really too few. A commoner of the Liang State can equal the people of these three countries... When I was in the Southern State, I also tried every means to avoid it. We use corporal punishment, encourage childbirth, open medical clinics, promote new crops... but it’s still not enough.”
Liu Heng frowned and said seriously: "And the southerners have bad habits and like to keep slaves. Among them, Bashu, Changsha, Nanyue, Wu and other places are the most important... Wealthy people have hundreds of retainers and slaves, and they have families. Not counting these private slaves, there are more than 100,000 official slaves today..."
"If we talk about the slaves of the princes and officials...then they are countless."
Liu Heng said seriously: "According to Han law, there are two hundred slaves for the lord of Che, two hundred for the princess, one hundred for the marquis of Guannei and his officials... And my Han Dynasty has nearly one hundred thousand officials... How many slaves are there?"
"Coupled with the local wealthy families and thousands of slaves..."
Liu Chang gently stroked his beard and asked, "What does Fourth Brother mean?"
"You can reduce their number step by step, turn them into common people, and let them farm alone... This is the best way to increase the number of people within a period of time. I think your Majesty can give an order and first remove all official slaves. Those who are over fifty years old are granted the title of common people."
"Then clearly stipulate the number of slaves for officials...and finally gradually weaken the local slave-holding trend."
Liu Heng has a very sophisticated idea, which is to deal with the current trend of slavery. Liu Heng believes that although the scale of slavery today is much smaller than before, so many slaves who are not registered in the household registration are simply a waste. On the one hand, it is compassion for these people, and on the other hand, it is the emphasis on human resources.
Doing things for others is different from doing things for yourself.
However, Liu Heng was very cautious. If this kind of thing was not handled well, and the life of those retainers would not be as good as before, and they would even start to miss the feeling of being retainers, then there would be big problems.
Listening to the fourth brother's words, Liu Chang burst out laughing.
"Fourth brother, your idea coincides with mine!"
Hearing Liu Chang's words, Liu Heng curled his lips helplessly. He knew very well what kind of character this younger brother was. Sure enough, seeing Liu Heng's expression, Liu Chang couldn't wait to argue; "Fourth brother, I'm serious." , someone told me about this before you, and what he said was much scarier than yours. He said that there were at least two million subordinates in the Han Dynasty who were not registered. "
"The Qin State registered its ministers in the owner's household, but in the Han Dynasty, there were still ministers who had been completely forgotten by the temple and were not in any household registration."
When Liu Chang said this, Liu Heng just started to believe him.
"Oh? What this person said is quite good, so what was your answer?"
"I thought about it for a long time, and finally came up with a good idea, which is to remove all the subordinates!"
"What?!"
Liu Heng almost jumped up. His eyes widened and he shouted: "No! No! It's too long! No!!"
"Fourth brother, don't worry... This is what I want to do. Create a new registration and register these people separately. If anyone uses them in the future, they have to give them money. They can't kill them at will. They can Appeal... Do you understand what I mean? I also know that temples cannot allow millions of people to work alone. However, as long as they are registered, they can be regarded as common people, and they are only different from farmers in terms of job titles. That's all..."
Liu Chang explained it to Liu Heng very hard, and Liu Heng somewhat understood.
"Are you going to set up a special slave registry?"
"Slave status is too unpleasant to hear. Let's call it slave status."
Liu Chang said seriously: "Fourth brother, think about it, is this method feasible? Today's big men, those retainers can't appeal, can't make friends, can't go out, can't drink, the restrictions in all aspects are not even as good as those of merchants, and even
None of them have their own household. If they have children, they will be other people's retainers for life. If they set up a household, it will be different. No one can kill them. If they save enough money, they can also transfer their household, and their children can enter other households.
Can..."
"It might be a little troublesome, so you shouldn't do it too hastily, but it's still a good idea."
Liu Heng said, and then asked: "Who came up with this?"
"It's me!"
"Who suggested it first?"
Liu Chang had no choice but to call Lu Lu and give him some instructions in a low voice.
Liu Heng was eating tea in the Houde Hall and waited patiently. After waiting for a long time, someone finally arrived. An old man, surrounded by several imperial doctors, walked into the hall with a look of helplessness. This man was
It was Chen Ping. Chen Ping walked into the hall and his eyes fell on Liu Heng. The two looked at each other and quickly looked away. Liu Heng suddenly realized that it was you. No wonder.
Seeing Chen Ping arriving, Liu Chang quickly asked him to sit down and asked about his physical condition.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm fine with you."
The two chatted for a while, and then Liu Changfang remembered something and asked someone to call Liu Jing over.
When these people sat together, the entire wealthy family of Han Dynasty should be trembling.
Liu Chang repeated Liu Heng's proposal again, and also expressed his "own ideas." Faced with this behavior of copying ideas in person, Chen Ping did not express any dissatisfaction. In fact, Liu Chang snatched
Gong, in many cases, protected the ministers. For some suggestions, Liu Chang could think of them. If others thought of them, it would be bad. Of course, Chen Ping didn't actually care about this. Anyway, no one would think of anything he thought of.
I can't think of taking action against him.
Faced with Liu Chang's proposal, Liu Jing was probably the most surprised.
Once this dear friend finds out that there is an opportunity to take action against a wealthy family, he will become excited. Previously, he tried his best to get "common people" to relocate voluntarily, and about 70,000 households were relocated voluntarily. Liu Changsheng was afraid of what he would do.
We even sent people to inquire about these actions, and it turned out that they were all voluntary, and absolutely no one was forced.
"Your Majesty, this is enough!"
"When the Han Dynasty was first established, the people had no food to eat, so they had to sell themselves as slaves to survive. However, once they sold themselves, they were slaves for life, and they were slaves for generations. They never had a chance to stand up. They could not appeal and had to live in the master's house every day.
You can only get very little food for work, let alone enough to eat. In some places, in order to prevent ministers from escaping, they only feed them once every two days... In these places, the cultivated land of the wealthy families is endless, and their families
There are thousands of children and ministers..."
"His Majesty now wants to establish a tributary status. This is also traceable. However, I am afraid that those wealthy families will not be willing to deliberately drive away the tributary ministers and use their lives to persecute the temple!"
"In my opinion, it is best to let me take charge of this matter. I will ask them to cooperate with your majesty's policy..."
What happened to Liu Jing tells us that people must know how to restrain themselves and cannot bully a garrison too much. Otherwise, when the garrison becomes Jiuqing, it will be in serious trouble!!
The big family of Qi who had forced Liu Jing to serve as a garrison and sent him to Longxi was probably filled with regret at the moment.
On the way to Longxi, Liu Jing happened to meet a general from his hometown. He asked the general to inform Liu Bang that he had important matters to interview the emperor. He then persuaded Liu Bang to ask for the capital to be within the pass instead of the capital.
Luo
Yang, proposed the Anguo strategy of grabbing the throat of the world and hitting him on the back. Later, Zhang Liang proposed the same suggestion as him, so Liu Bang immediately obeyed the order and gave Liu Jing the surname Liu.
Stayed with you.
Later, when Liu Bang was about to send troops to attack the Xiongnu, he sent envoys to check. Mao Dun ordered that all the strong and capable soldiers and fat cattle and horses were hidden, and only the old and weak soldiers and thin livestock were exposed to show weakness.
After the ministers came back, they all felt ready to go to war.
Only Liu Jing said to Emperor Gao after seeing it: "When two countries confront each other, they usually use force to intimidate the other side. Now that Mao Dun has taken the initiative to show weakness, he must be deliberately luring us into attacking. If we go there, we will be ambushed."
Emperor Gao was furious and cursed: "Old coward of Qi!"
Then Liu Jing was imprisoned, and Emperor Gao went on an expedition. Needless to say what happened next, fortunately Emperor Gao was not Yuan Shao. He returned defeated, quickly released Liu Jing, made him a marquis, and apologized repeatedly.
Facts have proved that when Liu Heng, Chen Ping, and Liu Jing sat together, Liu Chang could only shout "Yes, yes, yes".
The three of them expressed their thoughts respectively, and made many changes to the original crude proposal of Chen Ping, oh, Liu Chang. They first pardoned the official slaves over forty-five years old as common people, and then gradually passed the new proposal.
The laws stipulate the creation of new citizenships, and then find ways to provide living security for those who voluntarily leave or change their citizenships. Of course, there are also laws on what to do against disobedient wealthy families.
The three of them agreed that this matter should be done from top to bottom, starting with the emperor, in order to convince the rest. As for the officials, the problem is not big. Everything can be made according to the title. Reasonable regulations
, isn’t that what the title is for?
Liu Chang nodded excitedly. If the fourth brother is the right prime minister, Chen Ping is the left prime minister, Liu Jing is the censor, and the master is the Taiwei, the strength of these three princes will probably explode.
Liu Chang really had the idea of keeping his fourth brother, but the south also lacked a shrewd and capable prince. That old man Zhao Tuo was not easy to deal with. Just like Ruyi, he could be played to death. What's more, there were four kingdoms in the south.
Well, I am planning to continue going south in the future. It is definitely more appropriate for my fourth brother to be based in the south.
As for Chen Ping, it is better to take good care of his health. A big man cannot live without Chen Ping. If there is no Chen Ping, who will take the blame in the future?
After discussing for more than half an hour, Liu Changfang asked them to go back and rest.
"Father!"
"Father!!"
As soon as Liu Chang walked out of Houde Hall, he saw Liu An who was extremely excited. When Liu An saw his father coming out, he immediately stepped forward, grabbed his sleeves, and pulled him out hard. However, Liu Chang just
Still motionless, Liu An tried to pull his father away, but he was afraid he would have to wait for...many years. As soon as Liu Chang exerted force, Liu An was pulled to his side. Liu Chang squatted down and stared at him.
's eyes.
"the fat is in the fire?"
"No!"
"Father, come with me and have a look! I have something to show you!"
Liu Chang had never seen his son so excited. He looked at Liu An suspiciously and said, "If you are going to show me any books again... I won't go."
"It's not a book! It's definitely not a book! My father will be very surprised if he reads it!"
Liu Chang had no choice but to rub his belly, and decided to follow this man to take a look. When they arrived at the entrance of the palace, Chen Tao was waiting here. Liu Chang was also stunned, and said with a smile: "My minister
Here, you are the only one who hates coming to see me, I almost forgot that I have a minister like you!"
Chen Taoxing bowed to see him and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, and I have nothing important to do, so how dare you disturb me?"
"Hahaha, you are right!"
Liu An said with a smile: "My father is really a great talent, a sage of the Mohist family... My father's ability to recognize people is as good as my father's. With such a talented person, how did my father discover and reuse him in the first place?"
"Well... the main thing is to rely on the woodcutters around Chang'an. Okay, don't ask anymore about my lord's matters. Did you call me here just to see Chen Tao?"
"woodcutter??"
Liu An looked at Chen Tao curiously and said, "It turns out that Father Zhong made his fortune as a woodcutter. It's really an elegant thing."
Chen Tao cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, it's not an elegant matter. Your Majesty, I invite you here this time to show you something. This thing was developed by the prince himself..."
The three of them were sitting on the carriage. Chen Tao originally wanted to tell him in more detail, but Liu An refused. He insisted on asking his father to see it by himself. Chen Tao had no choice but to see that Liu Chang had no objection, so he didn't say much.
What to say, they just walked all the way... to Shang Fang's old place, beside a water stream. Looking at the familiar house, Liu Chang was a little lost, and looked at Liu An with complicated eyes.
It can be seen that this is not Liu An's first time here.
After getting off the carriage, he took a deep breath and felt the fragrance, "Father, every time I come here, I feel refreshed both physically and mentally..."
"But I don't like it here...just because I came here once, I got into a lot of trouble..."
"My father has been here before?"
"Hehe... tell me, what do you want to show me?"
Liu An took his father all the way to the river. Liu Chang raised his head and saw the huge machine placed in front of him. Seeing this machine, Liu Chang was stunned, and then he quickly stepped forward and looked at A
His father was about to walk into the water, and Liu An also wanted to remind his father to pay attention to safety. Unexpectedly, Liu Chang walked directly into the water, and the water did not reach his waist...Liu Chang did not move at all.
Fumbling with the machine in front of him.
"This is the spinning wheel I made...Is it modified into a hydraulic one???"
Liu Chang's eyes widened. He quickly understood the function and structure of this machine, and Liu An was not surprised. He said proudly: "My father once said that immortals can combine wind, water, fire,
Thunder can be used by oneself...is this the magical technique that my father said?"
Liu Chang looked at him in disbelief, "Did you do this?"
Liu An glanced at Chen Tao, hesitated for a while, and said, "Shang Fang did it..."
"Of course, the prince helped me a lot... If it weren't for the prince, this machine wouldn't have been built."
Chen Tao said with a smile.
"Okay! Okay! I really despise Shang Fang and you guys too much!!"
Liu Chang said happily, if it weren't for this thing, he would really give up on Shang Fang. Over the years, he has continued to improve his status as a craftsman, but Shang Fang did not give him many surprises, and Liu Chang was busy on weekdays.
, and gradually gave up on trying new things, but today's surprise made Liu Chang have confidence in Shang Fang again.
"Very good, let's do this... In the future, you can tell me what you want to do and how much money you need. I will not be stingy. All the craftsmen who participated in the research and development and production of this machine will be rewarded with a hundred gold coins and promoted to two titles.
!”
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!!"
Chen Tao bowed to him, Liu Chang helped him up with a smile, but Liu An hurriedly stepped forward, "Father? What about me? Can I also be promoted to two titles?"
"You are the prince, why should you be promoted to a noble title?!"
"If you advance one level, you will be the emperor, and if you advance one level, you will be the emperor..."
"I'll beat you to death..."
Liu Chang took off his shoes, and Liu An avoided it with a smile.
Chen Tao carefully introduced the function of this machine to Liu Chang. This machine was modified according to Liu Chang's spinning wheel. In the early Han Dynasty, there were already many crude hydraulic devices, such as those in the late Han Dynasty.
Craftsmen made water-powered toys to flatter the emperor. Water buckets, water drains, and water mills have all appeared... The development is not as backward as later generations thought.
As water power replaced manpower, the efficiency increased many times. This made Liu Chang very satisfied and he couldn't help but nod his head.
"Father, from now on, we will control fire and water... This is the true magic of the gods!"
"Oh, controlling fire and water at the same time is the true magic of the gods."
As Liu Chang spoke, Chen Tao kept saying good things about the prince. Over the years, Liu An became closer and closer to Shang Fang's ministers, and even participated in the design and development of many machines many times. Although this was the only one
Taiwan succeeded, but the others failed, but Chen Tao believed that the prince's research on Mohist culture had surpassed that of Qi Moh.
Looking at Liu An who was cheering for joy, Liu Chang frowned. This guy will become the emperor in the future. Will he be obsessed with this all day long and not handle government affairs well?
Liu Chang returned to the palace, formally issued a reward order to the craftsmen, and quickly summoned Liu Heng, preparing for his fourth brother to come and see this new machine. There are fewer people in the south, so this thing is more useful in the south than in the north.
Big.
Liu Heng walked quickly towards Houde Hall. When he turned around at Changxin Hall, he almost bumped into a valet.
The attendant couldn't dodge and fell to the ground. He was frightened and hurriedly apologized.
Liu Heng didn't want to show off to the waiter, so he waved his hand and asked him to leave. Just when the waiter turned around and prepared to go around, Liu Heng discovered that there was a big hole in this guy's back, revealing the snow-white
Liu Heng stopped him. The waiter lowered his head and did not dare to look at Liu Heng.
This servant had pretty features and was very attractive, and his fearful look was even more touching. Liu Heng looked at him carefully for a long time and asked, "What's your name?"
"Huangtou Lang Deng Tong pays homage to the King of Wu."
"Oh...Tong, that's a nice name."
........
"So, Fourth Brother, you had a dream. You dreamed that you were traveling in the sky on a boat, and a yellow-headed man pushed you up to the sky. There was a hole in the clothes of the man in the dream... and then you were in the palace. I saw a yellow-headed man with a hole in his clothes, his name is Deng Tong. For the omen in the dream, you want to take him away, right?"
Seeing Liu Chang's complicated eyes, Liu Heng blushed, but kept a straight face and nodded, "Yes, that's it."
"Ha...Have Fourth Brother ever thought about writing a book?"
ps: Hahaha, I have always felt that the so-called dream about Deng Tong in history was an excuse made up by the fourth brother out of curiosity.