Many civil servants gathered together to talk about the world's major events and the recent happenings in the court.
"The Chechi Kingdom requested to establish a Protectorate of the Western Regions, but the emperor rejected it! The emperor abandoned the Western Regions on the grounds that the country's strength was insufficient and the people were suffering!"
"The Huns invaded the border area. Your Majesty decided to give in and move the people to the interior to avoid the Huns' invasion!"
"Ma Wu advocated sending troops to the Xiongnu, but His Majesty refuted it!"
Many ministers gathered together and talked about all the recent events, feeling very depressed. When facing the Xiongnu, the emperor was very conscientious, constantly compromising and giving in. He did not have the domineering power of the founding emperor at all, and seemed very weak.
Suddenly, the courtiers were in an uproar.
The ministers wrote letters one after another, demanding a northern expedition against the Xiongnu and driving out the barbarians.
But the emperor said that the country's strength was insufficient, so he had to fight for it. Victory was easy to say, but defeat would damage the country's foundation.
Finally he refused and severely reprimanded those civil servants.
"Your Majesty, your treatment of the Huns is too weak!"
"Your Majesty is a wise king, but his compromise with the Xiongnu and abandonment of the Western Regions are his stain!"
Many ministers discussed and finally turned into sighs.
The emperor is the founding emperor and has supreme authority. No one can change him except to bite his tongue behind his back.
Suddenly, a civil servant walked in, opened a warrant, and said: "The emperor has issued a decree to realize the land transfer order and clear land across the country!"
As soon as this decree came out, many ministers were in an uproar.
…………
To be a human being, one must be diligent and self-aware.
Liu Xiu issued a land transfer order.
In essence, it is to invade the land and clear out all the local land that has been hidden by wealthy families. From a black household to a sunny household, from tax evasion to a good tax-paying citizen.
In terms of the intensity of reform, it is much inferior to the later generations who attacked local tyrants to divide their land.
Compared with Wang Mang's land reversion to the public, the average land is also much lower grade.
Compared with the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, where the officials and gentry all received their food as one, it was much different.
But in essence, it gave many aristocratic families headaches and resentment.
It’s just that Liu Xiu didn’t intend to compromise. Without taxes, there is no power, and without power, there is no country. The more reasonable and effective the tax collection, the greater the state power; on the contrary, if the country cannot collect taxes, the state power will shrink and it will
Being ignored by the place.
The Song Dynasty benefited from tax collection. Even though it had many drawbacks, it was still able to withstand the Liao and Jin countries; even if it was finally destroyed by the Mongols, Mongolia also paid a huge price and suffered a lot of losses.
However, the Ming Dynasty failed to collect taxes, resulting in insufficient finances, and the central government had no power, so it was easily wiped out by the Manchus.
Tax collection is the key, and it is influenced by the aristocratic family.
He has a soft and kind personality, and is a good old man, but he does not distinguish between right and wrong, importance and severity. Once key interests are involved, he will also go on a killing spree.
The order to transfer the land and clear the land continues, but the results are not satisfactory.
Local officials were afraid of them, and some took bribes, colluded with each other, and lied about land; some not only increased the land measurement for farmers, but also measured houses, courtyards and other land as Tiandi, increasing the number, which brought disaster to farmers.
At this moment, the shameless nature of the bureaucrats was completely exposed. They bullied the weak and feared the strong. They lied about the number of fields and reduced the acres of land for those aristocratic families and big families who threatened them; and increased the number of acres of land for those weak farmers.
"Why is this so?" Liu Xiu asked.
Liu Xiu had always been tolerant towards scholars and heroes, but this time he was angry, very angry.
Ouyang She said: "Nanyang is the place where Your Majesty raised his troops, and most of them are nobles there; Hebei is the place where His Majesty established his foundation, and most of them are meritorious officials there. It's hard to keep track of them all!"
When Liu Xiu heard this, his heart suddenly became cold.
The so-called honorable man, more than half of his subordinates who used to follow him fell into the water.
If we really want to investigate, we must cut off the heads of at least half of the heroes, and all of them will become corrupt criminals.
The only lucky thing is that Deng Yu, the leader of the civil servants, has a relatively high moral integrity and is arrogant, and has not fallen into the water; Wu Han, the leader of the generals, seems to be a boss and a rough man, but he understands the emperor's heart best and has not fallen into the water. On the basic board, there is still
relatively stable.
Those heroes retired early and had no rights. Even if they committed corruption, the amount was relatively small.
"You disappoint me?" Liu Xiu waved his hand and dropped a memorial.
The above describes the process of Ouyang She's corruption. He embezzled 10 million yuan. The amount was huge and staggering. Especially since he was the Grand Sima, equivalent to the prime minister, these actions were equivalent to an open confrontation with Du Tianling.
Looking at these charges, Ouyang She suddenly turned pale.
"But someone wronged you!"
Liu Xiu shouted.
Ouyang She fell silent and said, "Wei Zeng!"
Liu Xiudao: "You were born into a wealthy family, your family has money, and you are not short of money to spend. Why do you want to be a greedy person?"
Very puzzled.
Maybe some poor people have never seen money. As the saying goes, they are afraid of poverty, so they continue to embezzle. Just like a certain farmer's son in the name of the people.
But Ouyang She was different. He was born into a wealthy family and was a second-generation rich man. He was not short of money, so why did he commit corruption?
Ouyang She said: "Your Majesty, I was born into a wealthy family, so I am actually not short of money. But I have many friends in my clan. They give gifts, and I accept them or not. If I don't accept them, it will destroy our relationship, so I accept them; and they
If I don’t help them when they entrust me with their duties, I won’t be able to forgive them!”
Liu Xiu sneered and said: "So, you accepted the money and helped the favor, and you became a good man. It's a pity that you are a fool. Parents who love their children must plan for the long term; similarly, the king
To govern the country well, we must also govern it with an iron fist!”
"Hello, hello, everyone is saying hello. It seems good, but in fact it's not good at all!"
Thinking about these, I thought of South Africa and Mandela.
Once upon a time, Mandela was praised by the world and had almost a saint-level reputation. But that was all. Everyone praised him, but no one tried to imitate him. Whoever is stupid would imitate him.
It is very difficult to build a developing country into another developed country. But if you want to bring down a developed country, cripple it and regress it into a developing country, all it takes is one Mandela.
enough.
A president who is criticized by everyone is not necessarily a bad president; but a president who is praised by everyone is definitely the worst president.
"You have a good reputation, but because of your reputation, the interests of the country have been damaged, the people have suffered, and your tribe and students will also suffer!" Liu Xiu sneered: "You are just a fool. I will give you a gift.
In other words, a true gentleman must not only be rich and noble but not be immoral, mighty and powerful, and be poor and lowly, he must not be forced to do so by virtue, and not be forced by blood or tears!”
"It's a pity that you can do the first three points, but not the last two!"