Chapter eight hundred and twenty first clan relationship
Liu Xiu changed the state pastoral position back to the governor's position, and his purpose was to limit the powers of state officials. It was terrible to be in charge of the military and political power of a state. It was completely possible to separate one party and fight against the imperial court. Liu Xiu didn't want this to happen.
After the restructuring, not only the local army was greatly reduced, but also county officials, county officials and even state officials were all greatly reduced. Almost 70 to 80% of the officials in a state were reduced.
During the Western Han Dynasty and even during the Wang Mang period, the bloated bureaucracy was restricted and compressed until Liu Xiu came to power, which also greatly reduced the court's expenses.
During Liu Xiu's reign, the Luoyang court actually spent half of its time using troops externally to eliminate local separatist forces.
But the Luoyang court was able to reduce taxes and impose one tax per ten on the people of the country. What did it rely on? The fundamental reason was Liu Xiu's restructuring.
First, it significantly reduced the number of troops stationed, which saved a lot of money and food for the court. Second, it significantly reduced the bloated bureaucracy, which also saved a lot of money and food for the court.
These two points allowed the Luoyang court to maintain normal operations while imposing light taxes, and the national treasury could still have a considerable surplus.
On this day, Prince Zhao’s Mansion.
Liu Liang was enjoying the cool weather at home when a servant came in and reported: "King Zhao, Prefect Liu wants to see you!"
Hearing this, Liu Liang was startled and asked: "Which Prefect Liu?"
"Prefect of Nanyang, Prefect Liu Shun Liu!"
"Oh?" Liu Liang looked confused. Why did Liu Shun suddenly return to the capital? I didn't hear that His Majesty issued an order to summon Liu Shun back to the capital! He pondered for a moment and said: "Invite him in!"
"Yes!" the servant agreed and stepped back.
Not long after, the servant led Liu Shun in quickly. Seeing Liu Liang, Liu Shun bowed to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, Liu Shun, pays homage to King Zhao!"
Liu Liang laughed, stepped forward and said, "Pingzhong, what kind of wind has brought you here? Please sit down!"
"Thank you, King Zhao!"
Liu Liang and Liu Shun both came from the same village and were both clansmen, so the relationship between them was naturally extremely familiar.
After sitting down, Liu Liang asked people to serve tea. After chatting for a while, Liu Liang asked: "Pingzhong must have something to do when he comes to my Prince Zhao's house this time, right?"
Liu Shun coughed dryly, picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea, and looked around without leaving any trace.
Liu Liang understood, waved to the servants on both sides, and stepped back. After everyone left, Liu Shun approached Liu Liang and whispered: "Father, my nephew came here this time because he has something to do.
"
Liu Liang looked understanding and said with a smile: "Tell me, what is it?"
"My clan father must have heard about Your Majesty's dismissal of local officials, right?" Liu Shun asked mysteriously.
Liu Liang blinked, then frowned and asked, "Your Majesty also dismissed you?"
"No, no, that's not the case!" Liu Shun waved his hands repeatedly. Liu Liang rolled his eyes at him angrily and said dissatisfied: "Since His Majesty has not laid off you, why are you so nervous?"
Liu Shun looked bitter and said: "Although Your Majesty has not laid off my nephew, many officials in the county have been laid off, including Captain Fang Zhai!"
Liu Liang shrugged. If it was a matter involving the Liu clan, he could still intervene. As for Captain Fang Zhai, he had only met each other and there was no friendship between them. How could he take care of it?
Liu Shun whispered: "My nephew and Fang Zhai have always been on good terms. This time he was laid off and there is no good place to go. My nephew can't bear it. I hope my father can say a few kind words for Fang Zhai to your majesty."
"So it's because of this!" Liu Liang frowned and said nothing further.
Liu Shun took out a piece of silk from his sleeve, handed it to Liu Liang, and whispered: "Fang Zhai's matter will not let the clan father help in vain. This is the promise made by Fang Zhai. As long as the matter is fulfilled, this land deed will
, it belongs to you, clan father!"
Liu Liang calmly took the silk and unfolded it. It turned out to be fifty acres of good land near Wancheng. After reading the land deed, Liu Liang's eyes suddenly flashed and he said, "Pingzhong, what is this?"
Liu Shun said: "Father, Fang Zhai's character and abilities are not bad. It's just terrible that he just caught up with His Majesty's dismissal order just after he became the captain of Nanyang. The world is so big and there are so many counties. With Fang Zhai's talent, he can do this."
A county magistrate is more than enough, I hope my father can speak a few words to your majesty for Fang Zhai."
Liu Liang raised his eyebrows, shook the land deed in his hand, and asked, "He only wants to be a county magistrate?"
"Exactly!"
As long as he is a county magistrate, he is willing to give out fifty acres of fertile land near Wancheng as a reward. It is really a generous sum! Liu Liang said slowly: "This Fang Zhai has a lot of wealth!"
Liu Shun grinned and said, "His family is indeed well off!"
Liu Liang said: "Your Majesty issued the abolition order this time. Many people have been dismissed from office, and many people want to find another job."
Liu Shun said with a smile on his face: "That's why Fang Zhai was willing to take out this land deed and give it to the clan father!"
Liu Liang pondered for a moment and said, "I can mention this to Your Majesty, but I can't guarantee whether it will happen or not."
"This..." Liu Shun hesitated for a moment, then said with a dry smile: "As long as the clan father speaks to His Majesty, Your Majesty will definitely agree!"
"Hey!" Liu Liang waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty has always had his own opinion. He didn't listen to me before, and he won't listen to me now. Therefore, I really can't guarantee whether things will work out."
Liu Shun thought about it for a moment, then calmed down and said, "My father will try his best. No matter whether he succeeds or not, my nephew will never take back this land deed."
After hearing this, the smile on Liu Liang's face deepened a bit. As the two of them were talking, the servant came in, saluted Liu Liang and Liu Shun each, and then said to Liu Liang: "King Zhao,
Mr. Li came to visit."
When Liu Liang heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said with a smile: "I'd like to invite you soon!"
This Mr. Li is an old acquaintance of Liu Liang.
His name was Li Zichun. He came from a powerful family and had a close friendship with Liu Liang. Liu Shun did not know Li Zichun. He looked at Liu Liang in confusion and asked: "Father of the clan, who is this Mr. Li?"
"Ah, Mr. Li's name is Li Zichun, and he is an old friend of mine."
While he was talking, a servant brought in a middle-aged man from outside. The middle-aged man was of medium build and handsome. He was wearing a gorgeous brocade robe and had several crystal clear jade pendants hanging around his waist. He jingled as he walked.
Sound. It can be said that the sound arrives before the person arrives.yyls
When the middle-aged man came in, he was still holding a brocade box in his arms. When he entered the hall and saw Liu Liang and Liu Shun, he was a little startled, bowed and saluted, and said: "Zichun, a common man, pays homage to King Zhao!"
After a pause, he turned his eyes and asked, "I wonder who this is?"
Liu Liang laughed loudly and said, "Zichun, this is the governor of Nanyang, Marquis Chengwu!"
Li Zichun looked surprised and quickly bowed and saluted, saying: "I don't know if you are Marquis Cheng Wu, the common people are disrespectful and disrespectful!"
Even though he was a commoner, Liu Shun did not dare to look down upon him as Liu Liang's guest. He stood up, returned the courtesy, and said with a smile: "Mr. Li, you're welcome."
The two exchanged pleasantries and sat down. Liu Liang looked at the brocade box he held in his arms and asked, "Zichun, what are you holding?"
Li Zichun smiled and said: "King Zhao, this is a jade vase that Zichun received a few days ago. I brought it here specially for Wang Zhao to help Zichun take a look at it."
As he spoke, he handed the brocade box to Liu Liang. Liu Liang happily opened the lid of the box, lowered his head and looked inside, and his smile suddenly froze.
He slowly took out a white jade vase from the brocade box. This jade vase was made from a single piece of white jade. It was completely snow-white and crystal clear. What was rare and valuable was that its two ears were blood red.
These two bottle ears are not inlaid, but are integrated with the white jade bottle without any trace of connection.
Liu Liang carefully looked through the white jade bottle. While looking at it, he couldn't help but praise: "Good! Good! Good!" He praised it three times in a row, turning it over and over again and couldn't put it down.
Liu Shun could also see that it was a treasure, and couldn't help but ask: "How much did Mr. Li pay for this jade bottle?"
"Two thousand gold."
Liu Shun was secretly stunned when he heard that, two thousand gold! He bought such a small bottle for two thousand gold. This Li Zichun is really not an ordinary rich man!
When Liu Liang heard this, he was also shocked. He couldn't help but shook his head and said, "Zichun, buying this jade bottle for two thousand gold is not cheap!"
"The mutton-fat white jade is rare in the world. What's even more rare is that there is a piece of blood jade on both sides of this mutton-fat white jade. It is completely natural and can be called a priceless treasure. I can buy it for two thousand gold. I actually have a lot of it.
It’s cheap!”
Liu Liang rolled his eyes at him and said: "With such extravagance and waste, even if you have a lot of gold and silver in your family, you will lose it all one day!"
Li Zichun smiled and said: "If that day comes, Zichun will have no choice but to shamelessly come to Prince Zhao's Mansion and beg for food from Prince Zhao!"
When Liu Liang heard this, he laughed loudly, carefully put the white jade bottle back into the brocade box, pushed it back to Li Zichun, and said, "Take it back quickly. If it breaks in my hands, I can't afford to pay for it!"
Li Zichun smiled and said: "Zichun brought it today to give it to King Zhao."
"oh?"
"I'm going out in two days. It's King Zhao's birthday and Zichun may not be able to come back in time. This white jade bottle is a birthday gift given to King Zhao in advance by Zichun."
"This...how can this be done? It's too valuable. Take it back quickly!"
"Does King Zhao look down on Zichun's gift?" Li Zichun raised his eyebrows with a look of displeasure on his face.
Liu Liang was happy and said: "What did Zichun say? Why should you and I be friends..."
"Friendship is friendship, and gifts are gifts. How can they be confused? King Zhao doesn't accept it because he looks down on my friend Li Zichun."
"Alas!" Liu Liang sighed, patted the brocade box, and said, "Well, since Zichun has said so, I will be disrespectful no matter how pretentious I am."
Hearing this, a smile returned to Li Zichun's face. Liu Shun on the side was secretly stunned. He thought that the gift from Fang Zhai was heavy enough, but compared with Li Zichun's gift, it was nothing.
That's two thousand gold. Even in Nanyang, where land prices have soared, you can buy a large piece of fertile land!
When Li Zichun saw Liu Shun looking at him blankly, he smiled slightly and asked, "Marquis Chengwu returned to Beijing from Nanyang. He must have something to do, right?"
Before Liu Shun could speak, Liu Liang said: "Your Majesty has issued a dismissal order, and Nanyang Captain Fang Zhai has been dismissed. Therefore, I asked Marquis Cheng Wu to come to Beijing to see me. I hope I can put in a few good words to your Majesty and transfer him to a county magistrate."
"
"Oh, that's it!" Li Zichun rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "King Zhao, as far as I know, Magistrate Huai is old and has retired to his hometown. In the past few months, Captain Fang has
If you want to serve as a county magistrate, Magistrate Huai would be a good choice!"
Huai County is the capital of Hanoi County and the largest and most prosperous town in Hanoi. If you can serve as the county magistrate in the county capital, it will be a good job. When Liu Shun heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he hurriedly looked at Liu Liang and said:
