Liu Bei was also very happy to see how happy he was under his rule.
He had suffered from discord in his administration.
When he was in Xuzhou, Cao Bao was also nominally part of his army.
As a result, Cao Bao turned to Lü Bu because of a disagreement with Zhang Fei, and Lü Bu finally occupied Xuzhou.
Therefore, after learning from that lesson, Liu Bei paid great attention to the unity of his subordinates, and even if there were differences, they would always be dealt with appropriately.
Therefore, although Zhuge Liang's family became the dominant one in the Shu Han Dynasty later, due to Zhuge Liang's own ability and few internal differences, the Shu Han Dynasty was quite stable even after Liu Bei's death.
At this moment, seeing everyone in harmony, Liu Bei smiled and said: "It would be best if you all can work together as one, Xiaoqing, Kongming, now that I have won the land of Yizhou, I have almost won the second place in the world, what should I do now?" "
Zhuge Liang asked: "What do you want, my lord?"
Liu Bei said in a deep voice: "Cao Mengde has also occupied the north. The population under his rule is more than ten million. If it grows bigger, I am afraid he will have millions of soldiers. I want to take advantage of his unstable foothold to capture Henan."
In the early morning, Zhuge Liang, Fazheng and the other three looked at each other and shook their heads slightly. Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Zhuge Liang stood up and said, "No, my lord."
"Why?"
Liu Bei asked: "It has been my lifelong wish to expedition to the Central Plains and revive the Han Dynasty. Now that the opportunity has come, why not?"
Shen Chen said: "At this time, both sides will suffer losses in the Northern Expedition. Sun Quan, Han Sui and Ma Teng will surely take advantage of the opportunity. Didn't your lord see what happened between Han Zilu and Dong Guo?"
Liu Bei smiled and said: "I am not Han Zilu, and Cao Cao is not Dongguo Qu. I am the strong Qin and the strong Jin. Even if the two fight against each other and the winner cannot be determined immediately, I am afraid that Geng, Huo, and Yu will be destroyed. Guo and other countries."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "The current situation is definitely not that of the Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Quan, Han Sui and Ma Teng are not small countries. My lord still cannot underestimate them. We should first pacify Jiangdong or Guanzhong, maintain a stalemate with Cao Cao from the north to the south, and eliminate internal worries before we can make the northern expedition to foreign aggression." .”
"Takanao, do you think so too?"
Liu Bei looked at Fazheng.
This time, he made the greatest contribution to the pacification of Yizhou Fazheng, which made him trust Fazheng very much.
Fazheng nodded and said: "Yes, my lord, it is really not appropriate to have a direct conflict with Cao Cao at this time. We should resolve the internal disputes before heading north to the Central Plains."
"Um."
Seeing that the three important people under him all held objections, Liu Bei nodded and sighed: "I don't know how difficult it is to compete with Cao Cao. However, people have already reached their destiny. I don't know how long there is left, so I am a little impatient."
Shen Chen advised: "My lord, don't be anxious. Gaozu only started his army when he was forty-eight years old, and it only took him seven years to pacify the world. My lord's situation at this time is already much better than that of Gaozu."
"good."
Zhuge Liang also said: "The general trend in the future is divided into north and south. Cao Cao's land is mostly plains and there is no danger to defend. Our army takes the initiative and can send troops from Guanzhong, Nanyang, and Jianghuai at any time, making Cao Cao exhausted. As long as we can make Jingzhou and Yizhou If it is strong and strong, it will be necessary to recruit more elite soldiers and generals, and Cao Cao can control millions of people, which is not a big concern."
Liu Bei asked: "What should I do now?"
Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang looked at each other, and then Shen Chen took out a booklet from his pocket, walked to Liu Bei, presented it with both hands, and said: "Don't worry, my lord, my brother and I have already discussed the countermeasures and wrote "Xinguo Shu" One portion, dedicated to the lord."
"oh?"
Liu Bei quickly stood up and took the booklet. When he turned to the first page, he saw several big words written on it - King at home and tyrant at outside!
"King inside and overlord outside?"
Liu Bei couldn't help but read these words.
Shen Chen said: "Yes, he is the internal king and the external tyrant. He practices kingship internally and hegemony externally."
"I know this kingly and domineering way, but how should I implement it specifically?"
Liu Bei flipped through the booklet. The content in it cannot be said to be difficult to understand. It can only be said that there are many strategies. Each one needs to be understood one by one. It is better to let Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang explain it in detail.
Shen Chen said: "My Lord also knows the content of the King's Way, which is to unify the forces of Jing and Yi to carry out internal and external reforms. If the country wants to be strong, it must unite all the people to fight against external enemies, and if it wants to unite all the people, It must satisfy the interests of the majority of people.”
Liu Bei closed the pamphlet, put it on the desk and said, "Xiaoqing talked about class before. What we have to do is to help the lowest class. Is that the truth?"
"good."
Shen Chen looked around at the crowd and said: "Everyone, what is class? It is the national wealth occupied by people of different statuses. For example, the emperor is the highest class, followed by the three public servants and nine ministers, and then it decreases downwards. But generally speaking, I Divide the Han class into five levels."
"Which fifth floor?"
Fazheng and Zhang Song were both curious.
Shen Chen actually discussed the understanding of class with Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, Pang Tong, and Ma Hui of Pang De Company.
They were extremely shocked by Shen Chen's profound thoughts. This kind of dialectical thinking was beyond their understanding.
However, under this kind of thinking analysis, many complex issues became extremely simple, giving them a clear understanding of why the situation at the end of the dynasty occurred.
Shen Chen thought for a while and shouted outside: "Here comes someone."
Chen Dao walked in, cupped his hands and said, "General."
"Get a pen and paper."
"only."
Chen Dao went out to get pen and paper.
Shen Chen sketched a pyramid structure on paper.
But it is different from ordinary pyramids. The first layer has a small area, the largest area is the second layer, and then it becomes a normal pyramid as it goes up.
The current structure of the Han Dynasty is very similar to the Indian caste system, with slaves at the bottom, but the number of slaves is far less than that of ordinary people, so the structure is naturally different from the ordinary pyramid.
As a professional architectural designer, the painting of this pyramid was almost perfect, and each layer was marked. Fazheng Zhang Song, including Liu Bei, all joined in.
"Look, everyone."
Shen Chen pointed to the top pyramid and said: "The highest class is the emperor, and I call him the highest ruling class."
"Um."
Fazheng slightly nodded his chin and said, "The emperor does have the greatest power."
Shen Chen pointed to the second level and said: "This is the bureaucratic class, ranging from the three gongs and nine ministers to the county magistrate and county magistrate. Although they have different levels, the same thing is that they all have the power of life and death over the people at the bottom. .”
"The commander of a county can decide the life or death of the people in the county."
Zhang Song sighed: "I have seen this kind of thing countless times, especially in these troubled times. Many counties have no order at all. Whoever has soldiers in their hands is the county magistrate and can kill county citizens at will."
Shen Chen pointed to the third level and said: "This is the powerful class of aristocratic families. These people are often attached to the existence of the second-level bureaucratic class. The bureaucratic class becomes the protective umbrella of the powerful class of aristocratic families. If one person serves as an official, the entire family will become a wealthy citizen of the county." ,Their source of wealth is to rob ordinary people's land."
"Indeed."
Liu Bei also nodded: "Although my father was a county magistrate back then, he was an honest official. After his father died of illness, his family also declined. However, many of my father's colleagues joined forces with local powerful families to plunder and plunder.
They plundered the people wantonly. Because of this, I couldn't stand the officialdom, and I didn't want to join in with them, so I whipped the postal supervisor angrily."
When faced with the extortion of the postal governor, Liu Bei could actually bribe him. Although he had no money, he had power. As a county lieutenant, he was considered the third-in-command in the county. If he wanted to engage in robbery, he still had to resort to force.
It was very easy, but he didn't want to do it, so he whipped the governor and abandoned his post.
There are still some examples of this in the Eastern Han Dynasty, such as Sima Zhi, the governor of Julu, who was unwilling to reach out to the local people when faced with the blackmail of Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong, and eventually committed suicide. He chose to remonstrate with death in the hope that Han Ling Emperor
The emperor turned around.
It's just that there are still too few examples like Sima Zhi and Liu Bei. Facing exploitation from the upper levels, most officials have no money and dare not engage with those wealthy families with stronger backings than them, so they can only extend their hands to the people, so that even if they
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion was put down, uprisings continued, and the country became riddled with holes.
"The last two classes are divided into the common people and the slave class. The interest groups composed of the bureaucratic class and the powerful class occupied the people's fields and used the people's labor force to acquire a large amount of wealth. Back then,
Cao Cao's father, Cao Teng, paid 100 million yuan to Emperor Ling in order to become the Third Duke, which shows how wealthy these people are."
Shen Chen finally pointed to the fourth and fifth floors: "And their wealth is based on robbing the common people and the slave class. They turned the people's land into their own land, and turned the people's population into
Your own slaves do not have to pay taxes to the court, and all land income goes to them. The final result is that they become rich and the people become poor, cannot afford to eat, and eventually choose to rebel."
This is the basis of feudal land annexation.
In fact, it's not that ancient people didn't know these things, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many reforms in the past dynasties. It's just that their understanding was more general. Unlike Shen Chen, who had experienced modern education in later generations, any junior high school or high school history book would have an understanding of ancient society.
The analysis is extremely profound.
Therefore, after the explanation is clear, everyone will understand it at a glance.
After listening to this, Fazheng felt that many of his doubts had been solved. He immediately said in awe, "Xiaoqing's words are so inspiring."
Zhang Song also sighed: "When I read "Historical Records" and "Hanshu" before, I had some thoughts like this, but couldn't figure out the key. Now after listening to Xiaoqing's analysis, I understand the reasons for these principles."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "It's not that everyone doesn't understand these principles, it's just that no one has discovered them or found them. I just summarized based on the experience of predecessors. For example, in the late Han Dynasty, Minister Shi Dan once advocated "limiting farmland"
"Restricting slaves", but in the end it could not be realized because it offended the bureaucrats and powerful interest groups of aristocratic families."
Liu Bei hurriedly asked: "Is there a way to solve it?"
Fazheng, Zhang Song, and Liu Bei all looked at him, but Zhuge Liang's expression did not change at all, because he had discussed this issue with Shen Chen countless times.
"It's a pity."
Shen Chen shook his head: "This problem has no solution, and there is no solution."
"No solution?"
Liu Bei murmured to himself: "But Kong Mingxiaoqing, you told me that the division of Jingyi officials would solve many problems."
"It's just an initial relief, but it can't be eradicated."
"My lord, think about it. Strictly speaking, the emperor and the people should stand on the same side. Because the people are the foundation of the emperor's rule. Without the people, the Han Dynasty is just a loft in the sky, which will inevitably collapse. Mencius has long said that "the people are the most valuable, and the country is the most important." "It is easy for you to take it lightly." This shows that the sages have already seen clearly."
"But this does not mean that every emperor can have this understanding. His Majesty Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing know it, and Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling know it? Once the emperor lacks such understanding, it is easy for the emperor to issue decrees that harm all people, and Emperor Ling With an order, officials and people all over the world must pay money to build the palace, and pay ten coins for each field, plus countless exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, which will eventually overwhelm all the people."
Shen Chen explained: "Besides the emperor, every generation of courtiers has selfish motives and wants to accumulate wealth for the family. In this way, one generation of three gongs and nine ministers can create more than a dozen powerful families. If it is passed down from generation to generation, how many families can be created? For example The fourth and third sons of the Yuan family have disciples and former officials all over the world, and their family property and wealth exceed tens of billions?"
Fazheng pondered and said: "Yes, the honorable ministers who followed Gaozu and Guangwu to conquer the world, as the first generation of aristocratic family dignitaries at the founding of the country, will spawn a large number of top wealthy families. Although times have changed, in every dynasty and every generation there are always people who have fallen into disgrace, such as Deng The family has declined for decades, but there will always be new wealthy families to fill the vacancies."
"Exactly."
Shen Chen nodded, pointed at Zhuge Liang, then pointed at himself, and said seriously: "It's not just them. In the future, if we follow the Lord to pacify the world and revive the Han Dynasty, our descendants will also become a wealthy family. For the sake of our family's The interests began to encroach on the interests of the people, eating away at the national wealth like moths, so there is no solution to this problem at all. As long as there is a bureaucratic class, it will definitely give rise to wealthy families."
Liu Bei frowned and said, "What would happen if the power of officials were restricted and the status of the common people was higher than that of officials?"
Shen Chen shook his head: "There are too many constraints from officials, and those officials who are interested in benefiting the people will have no room to display their power. If the power is too small, and the status of the people is higher than that of the officials, how can they govern the people? If the authority of the law cannot be exerted, it will inevitably cause more problems. confusion. "
"Unless every generation of emperors carries out a reform and allows those wealthy families to hand over their lands, there is really no way to solve this problem."
Zhuge Liang also said: "The people, officials, and country are in conflict with each other and dependent on each other. If the law is lax, the officials and the people will disorder the law. If the law is harsh, the country will harm the people. Confucius once said, "Luxury is used to help the fierce, and fierceness is used to be lenient. "The sages have long understood how to govern the country. It's just that Xiaoqing said that rulers often do things according to their own wishes. If a wise emperor comes out, the country will prosper. If a wise emperor comes out, the country will decline."
"yes."
Shen Chen sighed: "This is why dynasties often last only two or three hundred years. Fortunately, there was Guangwu at the end of the former Han Dynasty, and there was a lord at the end of the current dynasty. If not, I am afraid that when Cao Cao and the traitors dominate the world, a new dynasty will replace the Han Dynasty." time. And as time goes by in the future, the old dynasty will always be replaced by the new dynasty. This is a rule."
"The reason for this pattern is that the land is increasingly occupied by aristocratic families, while the land occupied by ordinary people is getting less and less."
Fa Zheng was extremely smart and immediately said: "When the dynasty was first established, the land annexation was broken due to wars. There were many ownerless lands, but as time went by, for a hundred or two hundred years, generations of bureaucrats worked behind their backs. The family usurped the land, and the people's land became less and less. In the end, they had no land and had to pay taxes. They couldn't survive, and they had no choice but to revolt."
Shen Chen said: "Yes, Kuang Heng stole everything when he was a child. When he grew up, the emperor gave him 310,000 acres of land, and he also stole more than 40,000 acres of land in the next county. You can see the greed of these people. As time goes by, Any dynasty that loses too many people will end up in its final years, and this is the case in the former Han Dynasty and today."
Liu Bei's face became very serious. After a long time, he said: "Xiaoqing's profound understanding of this makes me ashamed. According to Xiaoqing's intention, even if I regain the Han Dynasty, I can only continue the Han Dynasty for two to three hundred years." Year?"
"Under normal circumstances, it is like this. Even if you are almost unlucky, if you encounter the hidden danger of the Seven Kings Rebellion that was laid down by His Excellency Emperor Jing in the early Han Dynasty, you will be destroyed in two or three hundred years. After all, even with His Excellency Jing Emperor's wisdom and martial arts , and still managed to put down the Seven Kings Rebellion. If another incompetent emperor were replaced and the Eight Kings Rebellion broke out, it would be a disaster for the country."
Shen Chen thought of the Jin Dynasty of the Sima family.
In fact, strictly speaking, the strength of the Jin Dynasty was not weak, and it was easy to defeat the nomads in the north.
But it was the internal fighting of the Eight Kings Rebellion that severely depleted the strength of the Han people.
Under this situation, the Eight Kings even recruited northern nomads to enter the Central Plains to fight for them. As a result, the game became bigger and bigger, causing millions of nomads to go south. As a result, the Five Husbands devastated China, and the Western Jin Dynasty only existed for 51 years. It will perish.
"Is there really no solution?"
Liu Bei was dejected.
Although after death, it doesn’t matter how floods flood the sky.
However, the ancestral empire cannot last forever, which also makes his sense of mission extremely frustrated.
Shen Chen said: "It can't be solved forever, but there are ways to extend the life of the dynasty, and that's what we have to do."
"Xiaoqing, tell me quickly."
Liu Bei cheered up and said, "It's good to be able to make the country last longer."
Shen Chen said: "What we need to solve now is the increasingly acute land conflict. We must start to attack the powerful families in Jingzhou and Yizhou. Although it will be painful at the beginning and even cause a lot of civil strife, but just like people Just like a poisoned arrow, the arrowhead is poisonous and the poison penetrates into the bone. It is better to break the arm and scrape the bone to remove the poison. Although breaking the arm is painful, it is better than being poisoned to death."
Liu Bei worriedly said: "It's just that the powerful families in Jingzhou mostly interact with Xiaoqing, Kongming and Shiyuan."
Zhuge Liang cupped his hands and said: "Xiaoqing and I have convinced several big families that they are willing to give up their land. But if my lord wants to be more gentle to avoid large-scale civil strife in Jingzhou and Yizhou, he still has to make a deal with them. If he can spend Redeem it at a low price, give it to talented children of aristocratic families with official positions in exchange for land, and grant them some benefits if appropriate. It is a good thing for us and them."
"snort."
Fazheng snorted coldly: "Aristocratic families are devouring the country's property. They are just a bunch of cowards in the country. If I were to hold a knife, I would kill all of them and leave them alone. Why do you want to make a deal with them and give them some benefits? Lord, Wan Don’t be too kind.”
Shen Chen said: "Filial piety cannot be rigid, people must learn to be flexible. A powerful family has been accumulated for hundreds of years, and the family heritage is strong. If it causes civil strife, it may damage the foundation. What's more, many of the talents under the lord's command are from these powerful families. Although the powerful families have embezzled The fields are true, but we can’t hurt these people’s hearts.”
Zhuge Liang, the Kuai family, and the Huang family are all related by marriage. There are also the Pang family of the Pang Tong family, the Xi family of the Xi Zhen family, and the Xiang family of the Xiang Lang family. Liu Bei now has many children of aristocratic families under his command. If he really targets them, he will inevitably become alienated.
Fazheng glanced at him and Zhuge Liang and said nothing.
Although he is good at military strategy, he is a bit poor at political strategy. He can only stick to the old ways but not be flexible.
Historically, after Fa Zheng formulated the "Shu Ke", due to the strict rule of law in Shu, local powerful forces were attacked. The powerful powerful forces were very dissatisfied and resisted the Shu Han regime with a negative attitude, which led to Liu Bei's foundation being unstable.
If Zhuge Liang had not turned the tide, changed his policy strategy, and finally managed Bashu well, I am afraid that Jihan would not have lasted for so many years, and would have collapsed due to internal and external troubles.
Liu Bei set the tone and said: "I support Xiaoqing and Kongming on this point. Xiaozhi and Ziqiao will govern Jingzhou in the future. They must not be too harsh."
"only."
Fazheng and Zhang Song should have handed over their hands.
Liu Bei then said: "Leave it to Xiaoqing Kongming to handle matters that benefit them. I will follow your advice on these matters."
"Thank you, lord."
Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang also surrendered.
no way.
They are indeed deeply involved with the major families in Jingzhou.
If it really causes a bloody storm, it is inevitable that many relatives and friends will be killed or injured. It is impossible for people to be completely impartial. Unless relatives and friends have committed crimes, they should try to comfort them as much as possible.
After all, strictly speaking, this is the ruling class represented by Liu Bei, who is taking away the land of the wealthy families and giving it to the landless people.
What is being harmed is the interests of the aristocratic family. If they cannot be appeased, the consequences of civil strife will be unimaginable.
Shen Chen said: "Combating powerful families and returning land to the people is the top priority at the moment. I have written down the specific methods in "Xing Guo Shu". If Xiaozhi and Zi Qiao don't understand the situation in Jingzhou, they can use this book to refer to."
"Thank you, Xiaoqing."
Fazheng and Zhang Song both expressed their gratitude because this "Xingguoshu" would indeed be of great help.
They had just arrived and did not understand the situation in Jingzhou. With "Xingguoshu", it would be much better for them to implement it.
Shen Chen added: "In addition to these, Shuzhong also has some other suggestions, such as selecting talents, improving government efficiency, strengthening centralization, abolishing slavery, etc. But everything must be done step by step, not too hastily, step by step, first Solve the fundamental problems and then gradually improve the system."
"rest assured."
Fazheng said in a deep voice: "I will act carefully."
"It's time to be filial and sincere."
Shen Chen bowed his hands in greeting, and then solemnly said: "Next, let's talk about the foreign tyrants!"