Ting Weizheng and Li Xiang had to stand up and object: "Now the world has just calmed down, and Yizhou, Yangzhou and Jingzhou are also in devastation and need to recuperate. We must not collect taxes at this time, and such heavy taxes."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty said displeased: "Why is it a heavy tax? I will cancel the national oral tax and calculate the tax for one year, so that the people's burden will be lightened. The wars in Yizhou, Yangzhou and Jingzhou are less severe. Wouldn't it be better to use some money to subsidize other states?
?Is it because your family has too much land in Jingzhou and you don’t want to pay so much?"
Li Xiang is from Linju County, Xiangyang, Jingzhou. His family is a wealthy local. With countless fields in Linju, he has no choice but to stand up and be the first to speak out. There is no other way. In the court, Yizhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou
There are not many high-ranking officials in the three places, and there are only three among the Sangong and Jiuqing.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yuzhou and Sili were one of the main sources of court officials. Among the three princes and nine ministers, Sikong Zhang Wen, Situ Yuan Wei, and General He Jin were from Yuzhou. Taiwei Deng Sheng, and nine ministers Zhongguang Luxun and Liu Kuan were from Yuzhou.
, Tai servant Yang Ci was from Hongnong, Sili.
Among the nine ministers belonging to the three states of Yiyang and Jingzhou, only Weiwei Xu Xu was from Wujun in Yangzhou, Shaofu Huang Wan, and Zongzheng Liu Yan were from Jiangxia in Jingzhou. Among these three, Xu Xu had no status in the court, and Huang Wan was a person.
With integrity, Liu Yan did not dare to offend the emperor.
Therefore, only some middle-level officials from the three states were actually forced to come forward.
Soon the attendant Dong Fu, the one who advised Liu Yan to go to Yizhou and become a shepherd in Yizhou, also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, although the wars in Yizhou, Yangzhou, and Jingzhou are slightly better than Yuzhou and Jizhou, they are not much better.
, we must not add any more exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.”
"Yes, Your Majesty, now people all over the country are in ruins and need to recuperate. At this time, it is time to reduce taxes and rest with the people. How can we increase the burden on the people? Please take back your order."
"If you rashly increase taxes, it will be difficult for the people to make a living. I'm afraid the world will be in chaos again, and chaos is coming. Your Majesty, please think twice, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, please think again."
Dozens of officials from the three places stood up and opposed it.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty looked at it coldly, and asked Zhang Wen, Yuan Wei, Deng Sheng and others with a sneer: "What do the three princes think? Is my use of the rich three states to subsidize the poor three states a way to cause chaos?"
Zhang Wen smiled and said: "Your Majesty, how can this be a way to cause chaos? The three places are in ruins and need funding from the court. Now the court has no money. The Yellow Turbans in the three states of Yiyang and Jing have not caused much turmoil at all. The wealth is hidden in
The people, it is the time when the land tax is collected. After taking the money, they can support more people. This is what Xunzi said: take it and give it to the people, use it and give it to the people."
"good."
Deng Sheng also nodded: "If the emperor cancels oral and calculated taxes, the taxes paid by the people will be less. This is not a way to create chaos, but is clearly a good strategy for governing the country."
"I think there is no problem with this method."
"I second the proposal."
"I also second the proposal."
Including Liu Kuan, Yang Ci, Cui Lie, Cao Song and others among the nine ministers, all agreed.
Not only them, but officials from other places such as Jizhou and Yuzhou also stood up to express their agreement. Hundreds of people cheered, and their momentum was much greater than the dozens of people from Yiyang and Jingzhou.
There was no way. In terms of literary power during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Hongnong, Ying, Sichuan and Runan were the most prosperous. There were also many officials in these three real estates. In terms of quantity, the three states of Yiyang and Jing could not compete with them.
Moreover, the officials in the three places would agree with this idea proposed by Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. Anyway, they are not from the three states of Yiyang and Jing, and they have no land and property there. They can just collect taxes. It has nothing to do with themselves.
rise.
What's more, the taxes collected are subsidized to their own states, and no fool would be willing to do so.
As for offending the ministers from the other three states in the DPRK?
Sorry, among other high-ranking officials such as Sangong and Jiuqing, you three regions account for such a small proportion. How can you compare with our officials in Henan and Hebei?
"Since most of the officials in the court think it is okay, let's do it. This is the end of today's court meeting, and all the ministers will disperse."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty immediately laughed.
Chen Mu's strategy of dividing the country was really clever, pulling one faction to fight another, giving sweet dates to the officials of the three places, and hammering big sticks to the officials of the other three places. In this way, one party supported the other and the other opposed, and the outcome was determined by the number of people.
If he comes again next year, the land tax in the world can be collected completely, and there is no need to worry about all the officials uniting to deal with him. Since he became the emperor, he has been restrained by the officials again and again. This time he actually defeated them. For the first time, he felt
So cool.
Chen Zigui's people should be national scholars.
Chen Zigui’s policy is truly an unparalleled national policy. I will vigorously train him in the future!
Just when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was extremely happy to receive the tax, Chen Mu stood quietly beside him, overlooking Cao Cao below.
Because Cao Cao also noticed him just now, his eyes were full of doubts.
Maybe he was thinking that this person seemed familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere.
Maybe he had recognized himself, but was just confused as to why he was standing next to Han Ling Emperor.
But no matter what, the two people's eyes met together and they stared at each other for more than twenty seconds. It was like a lightning flashed between them.
The two of them were in a stalemate, in a situation where I looked at you and you looked at me.
After more than 20 seconds, Cao Cao was the first to lower his head. Because the emperor stood up to leave, he had to stand up and give him his hands to see him off.
Chen Mu looked at him bowing his head and cupping his hands, smiled slightly, turned around and left with the emperor.
Cao Mengde, there will still be a long time for us to deal with each other in the future.
Hope you can find your footing.
I hope you won't be dragged too far by me.
I hope you...don't fall under my scheme in advance!
……．
……．
For the people who fled to Luoyang, the eastern capital, this year is the most difficult year.
It was already miserable, but in the middle of winter, it started to snow.
I don’t know how many people will die on this snowy day.
Countless victims in Luoyang are lamenting the injustice of God and the inaction of the court officials.
However, two days later, the refugee camp outside Luoyang suddenly became lively.
A large number of Chengmenwei soldiers stationed in the camp for the victims, began to provide porridge on a large scale, and selected the strongest soldiers, saying that they were hired by the government.
Although they don't know what they are going to do, since they are taking care of the food and paying their wages, no one is willing to do it.
Soon, long queues formed at various recruitment stations, not only young and old, but also old, weak, women and children.
The young and strong can do manual labor, the old and the weak can boil boilers and pour hot water, and women can cook and do some simple menial work.
After all, installing floor heating is not a simple project. The Yutang Palace of Emperor Han Ling is already the smallest palace in the Nangong. To install floor heating, the labor cost alone would cost hundreds of people.
The first step is to dig the floor and renovate the house. It requires the cooperation of hundreds of men to complete such a large area of construction in a short time.
Next is pipe making, which requires dozens of experienced craftsmen to make iron pipes, and finally assemble, splice, and lay the floor.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty required that the project be completed quickly, so it could be completed in just a few days. However, in a short period of time, hundreds of wealthy households in the city had to install floor heating, and it took hundreds of people with installation experience to complete the installation.
As a result, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty took the lead in recruiting people, and soon tens of thousands of laborers were recruited to begin large-scale earthwork renovations throughout the city, and every household began to install floor heating.
And as floor heating becomes more and more popular, it is no longer limited to officials. Rich families will also install it, so from hundreds to thousands of households, to thousands to close to ten thousand households.
Workers have to work every day, the construction site is in full swing, steam is evaporating from every house, and every room is extremely warm. The snow on the roof melts under the action of the heat. Looking at Luoyang from a high altitude, you can see the homes with floor heating and those without floor heating.
The home is black and white with distinct layers, as if it has dispelled the chill in Luoyang.
Under the large-scale construction projects, in addition to the livelihood of the victims outside the city, it also stimulated a large number of ancillary industries. The business of woodcutters and charcoal sellers improved. The supply of timber products in Luoyang market exceeded demand. At the same time, it stimulated the development of other businesses and revitalized them.
affected the entire Luoyang economy.
For a time, everything in Luoyang seemed to be developing in a good direction as the new year was approaching.
And all of this should have been a bigger disaster.
Chen Mu, who chose to save the common people instead of killing countless people in a single thought, was not following Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty in the palace at this time. He was in a family.
"Congratulations to my brother for stepping out of prison and taking another step forward. I'm very happy to congratulate you."
Chen Mu held the wine glass and took a sip.
Zhao Lin smiled bitterly and said: "Thanks to Zigui for running this time, otherwise..."
"I have to thank Brother Xiangheng for this."
Chen Mu pointed at Wang Jun, the word "Wang Jun" is "Xian Heng".
Wang Jun smiled and said nothing, but silently raised his glass.
Zhao Lin immediately offered him a toast and drank it all in one gulp.
As a subordinate officer of Guang Luxun, logically speaking, Zhao Lin should not be captured. After all, he does not belong to the Northern Army system and is not a member of the army.
But who let him have no background?
After the emperor issued an edict, all the officials of the Northern Army, big and small, were arrested and taken to prison. Only Liu Guanzhang was rescued by Chen Mu.
It's not that Chen Mu doesn't want to save him, but the system is different.
It took Zhang Rang a million dollars to rescue Liu Guan and Zhang because everyone knew that the four of them were sworn brothers. People in the Han Dynasty believed in filial piety and loyalty, so there was nothing wrong with saving their brothers.
However, Chen Mu and Zhao Lin had no apparent relationship. As Zhao Lin was an official of Guang Luxun, it was Liu Kuan who wanted to rescue him. He had no qualifications or right to speak.
If you spend money to save Zhao Lin, you will definitely make people suspect that there is some ulterior relationship between them.
Once the reselling of ordnance was discovered, not only Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen would be unlucky, but Lu Zhi, Zhao Lin and several quartermasters who took bribes would also have to be added.
Therefore, Chen Mu could only wait until now, and gradually gain the trust of the emperor and Zhang Rang, before he could let Wang Jun fish the person out.
Zhao Lin was also a blessing in disguise. After she was released from prison, she was promoted to Guanglu Pushe by Liu Kuan.
Still six hundred stones.
But in fact, before Zhao Lin went to the Northern Army, she was just an assistant doctor of Guangluxun with a rank of 300 stones, and was responsible for the transmission of some documents up and down the Guangluxun system.
Being sent to be the chief clerk in the Northern Army was a business trip, and he received a false position with a high salary of 600 shi. After the war, he was still a young doctor when he came back.
After being promoted to Guanglu Pushe, he has a full-time job of six hundred stones. He is directly subordinate to Guanglu Cheng and is responsible for the connection between Guangluxun and other departments. He has some considerable power.
After the three of them had a drink, Chen Mu put down his glass and looked around.
This is the house Zhao Lin rented in the outer city of Luoyang. The house is quite spacious and has two entrances and exits. But in fact, it is very close to He'anli in the south, seven or eight kilometers away from the inner city. It is considered a slum for Luoyang residents.
, so the rent is very cheap.
Zhao Lin goes to work every day. If she doesn't ride a horse, she would spend an hour on the road every day. It's a bit like buying a house in Hebei and going to work in the capital.
It's hard to imagine an official living in such a place.
But when he saw a twelve or thirteen year old girl playing with two three or four year old children in the yard, Chen Mu probably understood the reason.
As she guessed at the beginning, Zhao Lin now has a family of seven, including a younger brother, a younger sister, a mother, a wife and a pair of children.
Zhao Lin's younger brother is sixteen years old this year and has found a job outside to barely support the family.
His father fell ill and died during the drought in Guanzhong the year before last. It was difficult for the family to support Zhao Lin's education. The source of income was suddenly cut off, and her life was at a loss.
In desperation, after the period of mourning was over, Zhao Lin sold her original Weibo property and moved her family to Luoyang to make a living. Before, she was only a small official with a salary of 300 shi, and her salary was very small, so naturally she could only live in a house in the suburbs.
Zhao Lin is actually only 27 years old this year, but the mountain weighing on him is so heavy that he looks like he is in his 30s. His mother is only in her 40s, but she has white hair and looks like an old lady in her 60s.
.
Chen Mu had actually been to his house once before, and had helped support Zhao Lin's family. The old lady knew him and brought out a pot of stew from the back room. She heard that Chen Mu and Wang Jun were coming, so she temporarily gave instructions to her daughter-in-law
Bought with all the money in the family.
"aunt."
"grown ups."
Seeing the old lady coming out, Chen Mu and Wang Jun hurriedly greeted her.
"Book of the Later Han" records that the emperor, princes, noble families, heroes, elders, virtuous people, adults, leaders of ethnic minorities, parents and uncles are all called adults.
When ordinary people go to a friend's house to meet their friend's parents, they can collectively refer to the friend's parents as adults, or they can call them uncle or aunt.
Therefore, the title "adult" does not mean that one refers specifically to one's parents or to all officials like in the Qing Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, as long as someone older than oneself was called, one could also call them that.
The old lady looked kindly and said slightly awkwardly: "You guys sit down, you guys sit down, there are still some dishes, and the reception is not good enough."
"Where, where."
When the old lady entered, they sat down again.
Three people use a large mat on the same table. There is no way, Zhao Lin's family only has this dining table.
Chen Mu looked at Zhao Lin with a sad face and said with a smile: "Brother Boyu, what are your plans as the new year is approaching?"
Zhao Lin sighed and said: "What else can I do? Let's take advantage of the break to find some work with my second brother. This time I was imprisoned, thanks to my brother's help, otherwise...
well."
"Luoyang is a mixed place with fish and dragons, and it is not a long-term place. Brother Boyu, it is better to move his family to Qingzhou to be settled under my brother's rule. This is also for the safety of my brother's family."
Chen Mu persuaded Zhao Lin to move her family to Jinan. In fact, in ancient times, officials rarely brought their parents, wife and children with them. After all, it was too far away from home and they couldn't bear the travel.
Zhao Lin had no choice. There were only a few people in her family and she needed to consider livelihood issues.
After hearing Chen Mu's persuasion, Zhao Lin hesitated. He already had a very good relationship with Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen, so it would be good to entrust his family to them. Moreover, Liu Bei was already the governor of the place, so it was very easy to support his family.
But firstly, the old mother was old, and secondly, she couldn't bear the separation of flesh and blood, so she shook her head and said, "Forget it, thank you for your kindness. Mother is old, so it's better not to travel around."
Chen Mu said with a smile: "The New Year is coming, and Hongdu Palace is on holiday. I just want to go to Jinan to see my elder brother. My elder brother sent someone to pick me up. The total distance is only five or six hundred miles, more than ten days' journey, and there are guards along the way.
Send it off. But it depends on Brother Boyu, if you can’t bear the separation of your family, then forget it, I’m just giving you a suggestion."
"I'll think about it again."
Zhao Lin did not refuse directly. He planned to ask his mother and wife for their opinions tonight.
Wang Jun said thoughtfully: "Zi Gui, I wonder if there is still a shortage of people in Xuande. My useless brother is idle all day long. It turns out that I finally helped him get a county captain. He thinks the official is too small, so I
His parents were very worried about him."
Chen Mu looked at Wang Jun. Wang Jun was a member of Zhao Zhong and was not easy to dig out. However, he and Liu Bei also owed Wang Jun a lot of favors. He thought about it and said, "Qingzhou is in ruins and is in need of a county magistrate everywhere."
As long as Brother Xiang Heng asks Duke Zhao to do some activities, he should be able to transfer to Jinan as a county magistrate."
Wang Jun was overjoyed: "Then it's settled."
Chen Mu smiled and said nothing.
He is now in the planning stage. This time he went to Jinan with the intention of starting to preside over and plan an intelligence organization.
Although communications were underdeveloped in ancient times, the effectiveness and timeliness of information transmission were extremely poor.
For example, if your spies detect that someone is preparing to attack you, by the time the intelligence is passed on, they may have already set out for several days and will soon arrive at your territory, so this kind of information is actually of little significance.
But it is meaningless, which does not mean that all the information is worthless. If Cao Cao did not get the information from Xu You in the Battle of Guandu, would he be able to surprise Wuchao?
So when you look at things, don’t reject them outright. If they can exist, they must exist for a reason.