In late spring, Shanglin Garden is thriving and full of life.
Lying on the hillside of a royal palace in Shanglin Garden, Liu Che was in a very good mood.
Not only because of the good spring and beautiful scenery, but also because of the smooth national affairs.
Just a few days ago, the kings of more than ten major kingdoms in southwestern Yi jointly submitted petitions to visit Chang'an.
This means that the problem of the southwestern barbarians will be solved without spending a single soldier.
These ancient mountains that both the Ba and Chu people once coveted, this land that has always been outside the circle of Zhuxia civilization, will become the territory of China for the first time.
This will not change in the foreseeable future.
Of course, it will take decades or even hundreds of years of education, rule and assimilation to fully digest it and allow people of all ethnic groups in the southwest to recognize and identify with their Zhuxia identity.
After all, this area is surrounded by mountains and has dangerous roads. It is too expensive to send officials from China to manage it.
Otherwise, the Yunnan-Guizhou area would not have been dominated by the chieftains in the Republic of China.
In this BC era, it was necessary to establish a stable and effective rule in this area.
It is impossible to do this simply by sending officials from Chang'an.
It is impossible for Chang'an to throw too many resources and talents into the mountains of the southwest.
Therefore, in fact, the only option left was to train local pro-Han nobles to manage it on their behalf.
At least, in the past ten years, Liu Che could only send some envoys and representatives to the southwest region to urge various countries to implement the Chinese system, use Chinese characters, etiquette, and clothing.
Liu Che is not afraid of the southwestern countries playing tricks on them, and in the worst case, they will close their doors and let the capitalists go.
Liu Che believed that the southwestern countries, which had suffered enough from merchants, would not dare to do it again.
At the very least, the terrifying impression left by the Cheng, Zheng, and Zhuo clans to other countries will frighten them for decades.
In a few decades, the entire world will be completely different and may even enter a new era.
By that time, even if something happens to the southwestern barbarians, they can still defeat them.
Therefore, Liu Che was very happy.
If the southwest is established and Mitsukoshi is at peace, there will be no war in the south. The Han family can put all their attention on the north, the west, the south of the curtain, the north of the curtain, and the western regions.
As for Mu Nan, things were going smoothly.
The Han army almost went from one victory to another.
In the south of Munan, the Han army, under the command of Zhidu, divided into three groups, one going through Yanchi and approaching the Hanhai area, the other going out of Shunde and going through the Fugoyang Gorge to deter the Punu River area.
Zhidu himself commanded five thousand elite cavalry and roamed in the depths of the grassland.
Keep looking for traces of the Makunan clan and attack them if you find them.
As of today, all the Qianli grasslands south of Punu River, southwest of Gonglu River, and east of Junji Mountain have surrendered.
A large number of chiefs and nobles from the southern part of the country were crying and shouting, eating pots of pulp to welcome the king's troops.
Only a few stubborn tribes are still resisting under the cover of the Great Gobi Desert.
But their stubborn resistance could not last long.
Judging from the reports from Zhidu, people are fleeing south every day, and these tribes are constantly weakening.
Even the most stubborn so-called Creeps are fleeing south.
This made Feihu Army and Juzhu Army very happy.
Both of them have sent out new troops led by some elite officers to the Munan grassland, intending to train with the dying Hu people.
For this reason, Zhidu has refused to accept the surrender of any Hu nobles.
The purpose is to force these people to fight.
Cruel enough, but this is the right decision!
The Han family needs a piece of evidence that can tell everyone, to tell the various tribes in Munan: fighting against Wang Shi is a dead end!
And these barbarians who were driven to the edge of the Great Gobi are the best physical evidence!
The worse their fate, the more stable the Han Dynasty's future rule in the Mounan region will be.
This will make the nobles of nomadic tribes in Munan or elsewhere have to think twice before rebelling from now on.
You must have the belief that if you don’t succeed, your whole family will die!
As for the eastern grassland, Chen Xu's troops were even more scornful.
After pacifying the Linhu tribe, Chen Xu's troops penetrated more than a thousand miles within a month. Without any fierce fighting, dozens of tribes, large and small, knelt down and asked to surrender.
The vanguard of his troops may even have crossed the Halaha River and entered the Nomenkan area in later generations.
Of course, this force quickly retreated south.
Because this place is so deserted, it doesn't look like there are humans living there at all.
With the big sticks of Zhidu and Chen Xu, the Munan problem can be basically solved within the year.
At least, the Han Dynasty now effectively controls most of the strategic lake areas and water sources in Munan.
It also controlled more than half of the population and more than 70% of the livestock in Munan.
As long as we wait for the follow-up implementation of policies, reform the land, change customs, and establish grassroots political power, we can say that Munan is China.
With Munan established, the solution to the Hexi issue must be put on the agenda.
Thinking of Hexi, Liu Che was a little worried about Ju Meng.
It has been almost two months since Ju Meng was ordered to go to the Heli Mountain area to take charge of the preparation and deployment of the Juyan Campaign.
However, in the past two months, Liu Che only received three memorials from Heli Mountain - and all of them were sent back to Chang'an in the first month.
Since February, Ju Meng has basically had no contact with Chang'an.
If Beidi County hadn't been reporting that there was no movement in Heli Mountain, Liu Che would have suspected that Ju Meng had been tricked.
"Heli Mountain, what happened?" Liu Che was a little confused.
So he clapped his hands, called his attendant, and told him: "Go to the Shaofu and ask the Shaofu to fly the carrier pigeon and contact Heli Mountain. I want to know the situation of Heli Mountain as soon as possible!"
"promise!"
The man immediately took the order and left.
And Liu Che didn't have much time to spare when a eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, the imperial censor is here..."
Liu Che immediately stood up and ordered: "Bring Chao Cuo here to see me..."
Zhou Yafu's political life has entered a countdown.
According to tradition, summer is the season when Chao Cuo is granted the title of Marquis. Once Chao Cuo is granted the title of Marquis, it only takes a few days for him to take over the post of Prime Minister.
But Liu Che had no mercy at all, and tried every means to use this opportunity to sneak in some personal goods before Zhou Yafu stepped down.
This is also the essence of the later American political system that we have learned - when the president arrives, before stepping down, he will suddenly pass several policies and laws, and suddenly amnesty a group of related households.
Taking this opportunity, Liu Che almost forced Zhou Yafu to sign several edicts.
There are some things that Zhou Yafu himself wants to do, but has never been able to do.
For example, taking away the power of governing the country from local princes and kings, and turning the princes and kings from kings into honorary titles.
For this kind of thing, Liu Che and Zhou Yafu cooperated with each other and had a tacit understanding.
First, Liu Che himself said a lot of great truths, and then brought up negative examples such as Wu King Liu Bi and Jibei King Liu Xingju. Zhou Yafu immediately jumped out and asked, "For the sake of the future, it is appropriate to accept the power of the princes and kings."
Liu Che immediately followed suit and agreed.
As a result, all the princes and kings in the world were confused.
They lost the last power they had to compete with the central government. From then on, their kingdom and the palace had nothing to do with them.
They can only be used as mascots in the palace.
Of course, there are exceptions to everything.
Among the princes and kings, such as Liu Che's brothers and Liang Wang Liu Wu's close uncles, they all retained their privileges.
In addition, Liu Che did not want to kill everyone.
Instead, it pointed out a way out for the princes and kings.
Want to continue being a true king? Don’t want to be a mascot?
Can!
Just learn from King Liu Fei of Mongolia and ask for the support of the new land.
The world beyond the Great Wall is so big that all the emperors, uncles and brothers can grab the territory at will.
As soon as this edict was issued, the princes and kings immediately mourned, but no one dared to stand up to oppose it.
In the eyes of the princes and kings, Liu Che's image has been linked to the devil.
Even Empress Lu might not have been as ruthless as Liu Che in dealing with the clan back then!
It had only been eight years since he came to power, but he had already killed a lot of his uncles and even exiled his own brothers.
horrible!
No fool would dare to act opposite Liu Che.
All you emperors, uncles, uncles, brothers, and brothers have to seriously consider choosing a territory outside the Great Wall and become princes and kings again.
The princes were even more frightened and had to make early plans for their future.
So much so that there was a story about His Highness the Prince planning to apply for the martial arts academy and join the army.
Liu Che was naturally very fond of such a role model for the clan. He not only approved his request, but also rewarded him with a hundred gold coins.
As a result, more princes responded.
This is a good thing!
However, there were some things that Zhou Yafu didn't agree with at all, but Liu Che reluctantly agreed after talking about it.
For example, reform the Han Dynasty official hierarchy.
Originally, the ranks of Han officials were actually very vague. For example, the rank of Jiuqing and the governor were both two thousand shi.
The governor of the Duhufu Prefecture is also two thousand dan, and the provincial governor who will be implemented in the future is also 2,000 dan.
Even the imperial censor still paid two thousand dan.
Although there are so-called officials with two thousand stones, the real two thousand stones are different from two thousand stones.
However, in fact, the status is relatively vague and difficult to distinguish.
At least, it is difficult for ministers who have climbed two thousand stones to feel that they are any different from others.
How can this be done?
Liu Che knows very well that a large part of people's enterprising spirit and fighting spirit come from ambition, and ambition comes from comparison.
Therefore, taking advantage of the window when Zhou Yafu was about to step down, Liu Che took advantage of the situation and issued a reform edict.
He asked the Prime Minister's Office to take the lead, and to reorganize the official ranks with the Jiuqing.
According to the guidance he gave, the price is less than one thousand dan, which is the same as before.
But above one thousand stone, there are more subdivisions.
From one thousand to ten thousand, it is divided into ten new levels.
The prime minister is the highest, with a salary of 10,000 shi. The Taiwei and the general are at the same level as the prime minister, with a salary of 10,000 shi.
But basically, the Han Dynasty will not create new Taiwei and Generals in the future. At most, they will treat them as honorary titles and posthumously grant them to deceased people.
Under the Prime Minister, there is the imperial censor with nine thousand stones, and the nine ministers are all unified into five thousand stones.
As for the levels between five thousand stone and nine thousand stone, they are prepared for those five thousand stone who are particularly outstanding in their work.
Below five thousand shi and above two thousand shi are the rank ratios of local county governors, governors of prefectures and governors of the Duhu Prefecture.
The benefits of this division are not only to increase the salaries of officials and improve their work efficiency.
It can also effectively weave a set of official hierarchy systems.
Today, Liu Che came to Chao Cuo to discuss this matter.
After all, the specific arrangements and rationing of this matter still had to be made by Chao Cuo.
…………………………
Not long after, Chao Cuo was brought to Liu Che.
This imperial censor of the Han Dynasty is now very proud of his horse's hoofs.
He is very close to the peak of his life. It can even be said that he is already at his peak.
Prime Minister, the ultimate dream of all officials, was only a month away from him.
This made him really excited and even kept him awake at night.
Therefore, when he came to Liu Che, his eyes had dark circles.
"Chao Aiqing still needs to pay attention to rest..." When Liu Che saw it, he couldn't help but be concerned and warned: "I still need your help!"
"Your Majesty is so kind to me, I cannot bear it!" Chao Cuo thanked him quickly: "However, recently, I was appointed as the captain of the Northern Army. It is the first time in my life that I am in charge of the army. I am a bit unfamiliar. I am afraid of injuring my colleagues, so I have no choice but to use more.
achievement……"
Liu Che nodded after hearing this. Last month, Liu Che added another burden to Chao Cuo and appointed him as the captain of the Northern Army.
This was because Chao Cuo had never had military experience before, so Liu Che made it up for him to prevent anyone from using this against him in the future.
It's even more because Liu Che wants to stabilize and continue the tradition of the Han family!
The prime minister must come out of the army!
Before Chao Cuo, all the prime ministers were soldiers!
Even Xiao He was born in the military!
As for Fan Kuai, Guan Ying, and Zhou Bo, they are even more powerful generals!
Liu Che felt that this glorious tradition could not be ruined in his own hands, at least not now.
Even if it is just symbolic, Chao Cuo must be sent to the army and let him hold military power for a period of time, even if he is only a soldier in name for a few days.
Through this, Liu Che can tell the people of the world, especially the vast number of civil servants and officials: Don't think about using your brains to play with the civil government and use the pen to direct the gun.
It’s better to take the military seriously, pay attention to and respect the military!
Otherwise, you will never climb to the position of prime minister.
Because it is impossible for a prime minister to ascend to power without the recognition and support of the military.
In this way, the Han family's militaristic system was implemented and implemented.
It has to be said that Chao Cuo did a good job in the Northern Army. Although he had never been a soldier and had no military experience, his many years of official service and experience made Chao Cuo able to cope with it even if he did not know how to run an army.
Even, some can do it with ease.
This is normal. Chao Cuo was a great writer who wrote "Speeches on Military Affairs" and "Short Stories on Guarding Soldiers and Encouraging Farmers".
He may not be able to lead troops in battle, but he can handle daily management and supervise training with ease.
Liu Che raised his hand, asked Chao Cuo to sit on the grass, and then said to him: "The day before yesterday, I ordered the prime minister to execute the edict issued by Jiu Qingyousi. Have you read it?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have read it..." Chao Cuo quickly bowed: "What are your instructions?"
