When Chen Cheng became Duke of Wei, the civil and military ministers under his command also received various rewards. Under the duke, there were marquis, earls, viscounts, barons, etc., all of whom were given out a lot. However, most of the people who received the titles were military personnel, and they could not be awarded except for military merit.
This article about Jue was picked up by the current court again.
Among the provincial officials, apart from those who had served in the military, only Yan Zhong, Jia Xu, and Xu Chao were able to obtain titles. A new class of military aristocrats has emerged.
, and united closely around Chen Cheng.
Among these people, most of them thought that Chen Cheng could take one step further... no, two steps forward and ascend directly to the throne of the emperor. Then they would all be the founding heroes of the country.
!But Chen Cheng didn’t mean this. Now that he has become the Duke of Wei, he is almost done.
In the third year of Jian'an, General Chen Cheng led his army eastward out of Tongguan, first destroying Cao Cao, and then Yuan Shao. In just half a year, the two most powerful princes in the world were wiped out. Although there were still many in Hebei, Yanzhou and other places
thieves, but those are just trivial details.
This terrifying strength made all the princes hold their breath and carefully watch what kind of actions the court would take next. However, Chen Cheng did not continue to use troops. After fighting for half a year, coupled with the post-war reconstruction work,
All the wealth accumulated in the past few years has been completely consumed.
There was a lot of food left, but the problem was that the court had no money. After the war, almost every soldier who went on the expedition received a reward. Even the civilians who participated in the transportation of grain and grass received one or two guan of money. Chen Cheng usually
It was so easy to spend money at this time, but it was like letting out a flood, which made Xu Chao come over and quarrel with him several times.
As his prestige gradually increased, few people dared to speak loudly to Chen Cheng, and only Xu Chao dared to contradict him face to face. However, Chen Cheng promised Xu Chao that he would not take the initiative again in the next few years.
Initiating a war can calm down the bleeding heart of Shangshu Ling.
When they learned that the imperial court had given out so much reward money, all the princes were secretly dumbfounded and indignant. Who wouldn't know how to give away money? Give me so much money, I can do it! But many times, really
Not everyone can do it. If a relatively efficient bureaucracy and military system had not been re-established, even if there were millions of dollars, not many would be able to implement it.
Moreover, if it weren't for cheating, Chen Cheng would not have been able to accumulate so much wealth in eight years. In eight years, the Anti-Japanese War was over. Chen Cheng had just pacified the Central Plains and Hebei, and had just conquered the Four Countries.
One-third of the world was included in the territory.
This speed is really slow enough. If Liu Bang had replaced him, such a long time would have been enough for him to destroy Qin and overthrow Xiang Yu. When Chen Cheng thought about it, he felt that he had only done something insignificant, and other people's
Don't take any flattery seriously.
After winter came, the imperial court finally made new moves. But unlike what most people thought, the imperial court did not crusade against any new rebellion. Instead, it issued the "General Peaceful Order", ordering the world to
The princes are not allowed to attack other states and counties, otherwise, the imperial court will send troops to conquer.
After the "General Peaceful Order" was issued, everyone was dumbfounded. The weak princes, such as Zhang Lu, Zhang Yan, Shi Xie and others, breathed a sigh of relief after being dumbfounded, so they didn't have to worry about being killed.
Annexed. At least for the time being, there is no need to worry. Even if the court eventually turns its back, it will be a few years later, right?
For a prince like Liu Biao who was powerful but not very ambitious, the new decree issued by the imperial court was exactly what he wanted. For Sun Ce, this was more frustrating. In other words, he did not have to think about how to fight.
Jiang Xia. If he dares to take action, the imperial court will side with Huang Zu and Liu Biao.
The princes from all walks of life, whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied, whether they are sincerely convinced or have evil intentions, have temporarily stopped foreign wars and are ready to wait and see. Anyway, it will be winter soon, and it is just a good time to take a breath and recover some blood. If things go wrong next year
Just continue to endure it. If Thief Chen...if the general is struck to death by lightning, then continue to do it.
What kind of bike do you want, just do it, Ollie will give it to you!
In fact, the most fierce opposition to the "General Peace Order" was not from all the princes in the world, but from the military aristocrats under Chen Cheng. They had just made a lot of profits from their external expansion, and they were promoted to officials and nobles.
You can make a fortune just when you are full of enthusiasm for war, but suddenly you say that you will not be allowed to fight in the future?
Now that we are no longer fighting, how can we all make progress? Are we going to go back to the old days of struggling for qualifications?
In one battle, three state shepherds, one governor, and hundreds of Guan Neihou were killed. Everyone was jealous. If there were no more wars, how would everyone survive? No wonder the general refused to expand the number of tooth soldiers.
, this has been planned for a long time. But Chen Cheng's prestige is too high now, and even if the soldiers below are dissatisfied, they can only obey and complain.
Only Xu Chao was the most satisfied with this. He said to Chen Cheng in the main hall: "My lord is wise, in fact we don't need to send troops to occupy those places, as long as the goods can be sold there."
Although Xu Chao didn't know much about the principles of economics, he had vaguely felt the power of business through long-term practice. The textile industry in Guanzhong and Liangzhou provided the court with a large amount of money.
Xiang's annual income is enough to support an army of one hundred thousand.
The price of cloth produced in Guanzhong is far lower than that in other places. As long as other states and counties can accept "free trade", the princes everywhere can be defeated without the use of force.
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Wherever trade goes, the flag follows. What Shangshu Ling said is what I think. The military wants to fight, but we ourselves need to know what is the most cost-effective way to do it. We
It is prospering, and the princes, even if they are not declining, are still standing still. After ten or eight years, they will naturally surrender without us fighting. "
Yan Zhong was still a little unwilling, "We already have such a huge advantage, shouldn't we take advantage of the fact that the princes have not developed artillery and send troops to destroy them all?"
Chen Cheng said with a smile: "Bo Dao doesn't know. Once industrialization starts, the products will only be plentiful and cheap. It will be very difficult for other places to learn from us. As long as we don't cause trouble ourselves, they can even think about it."
Even if you chase you, you won’t be able to catch up.”
Yan Zhong said angrily: "It's an advantage for them!"
He looked at Chen Cheng, then at everyone in the palace, then changed the topic and said: "Since the Lord has decided not to use troops, shouldn't it be time to determine the heir apparent?"
Chen Cheng thought to himself: Where do these go? Is there any relationship between the two?
However, this proposal was approved by everyone. Chen Cheng knew what they meant, so he said: "We will wait until Princess Wannian and the others come to Luoyang next year."
The children are still young, and the weather is already very cold, so Wannian Princess Liu Qian, Zi Jia'er, Diao Chan, Cai Yan and others will not come until next spring.
He knocked on the table and said: "Let's not talk about my personal family matters for now. Our focus next year is to complete the land surveying and population registration work in Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Jizhou. Many of you here are from Liangzhou.
There are also many people who work with me who joined later, but no matter what they are, they should know the difficulty of clearing land inspection.
That is not a simple administrative issue, it is almost like a war in essence. As long as we do this well, the world will be able to stabilize. Even if there are still some variables, it is just a small matter. If we don't do it well, we won't be able to say anything about it in the future.
There are still many battles to fight.”
Yan Zhong snorted and said: "Those who dare to jump out now can just throw them to the Western Regions. There is no need to be polite to them."
Xu Chao said: "My lord, now that the world has been settled, should we start to regulate the rivers in Xuzhou? The year before last, Cao Cao dug up the Si River, but it flooded a lot of fields. There is also the Yellow River, which should also be cleaned up.
There have been wars in the past few years, and no one has taken care of the river. If the Yellow River bursts, the harm will be much greater than if the Surabaya River is dug up."
Chen Cheng immediately felt a headache when he heard Xu Chao mention his ever-increasing plan to "manage the Yellow River". He quickly stopped Xu Chao who was about to speak at length and said: "Shang Shuling also knows that there is no money in the treasury now.
, for this kind of matter, we should first order the local officials to fix it. After a few years, when the court has money, we will then consider these things."
Xu Chao said resolutely: "It has been more than eight years since I was in Liangzhou. I said it for eight years, and my lord also refused for eight years. How many eight years can there be in a person's life? If this continues,
Things will never get done!"
When everyone around saw it, they all snickered secretly. They had all been promoted by Xu Chao to the plan of "regulating the Yellow River", and everyone thought that the plan was excellent. If it was completed, there would definitely be considerable profits.
But the problem is that before you can see the benefits, you have to invest a lot of money first.
Although it is said that the world is almost stable, it almost means that it is not yet. In this case, how can the lord agree? Besides, the fields obtained through the "clearing the fields and inspecting the land" are enough to be distributed to the people. For the time being,
There is no need to cultivate more fields.
Chen Cheng said to everyone in the hall: "Okay, today's discussion will end here first. Everyone should go back and rest first."
After saying that, he immediately got up and walked back to avoid being entangled by Xu Chao again. Xu Chao trotted up and said, "If you don't have long-term worries, you will have immediate worries. The current land is enough to arrange, but
After the world is at peace and the population grows rapidly, what will we do in ten or twenty years?"
Chen Cheng kept walking and said, "There will naturally be a solution in ten or twenty years."
Xu Chao reached out and grabbed Chen Cheng's sleeve, but Chen Cheng didn't stop. As a result, there was a "stab" sound and the sleeve was torn off.
Hearing the sound of tearing silk, everyone around him was stunned. Chen Cheng held up his torn sleeves, sighed, shook his head and continued walking back. Pang De stopped in front of Xu Chao,
Said: "Shang Shuling, please come back!"
Xu Chao held half of his sleeve and was stunned for a long time.
