In mid-April of the fourth year of Zhang Wu, Chen Mu arrived in Luoyang.
When Liu Bei learned that his fourth brother had returned, he was overjoyed and went to Yangting in the east of Luoyang City to greet him.
Outside the Yangting Pavilion, beside the ancient road, the green grass reaches the sky. The fields are fertile, and the shepherd boys sleep under the bamboos. Deer are seen in the deep forest, which is a good time in late spring.
On both sides of the official road, there are roads and fields. The sweet potatoes, potatoes and corns that have been planted since this spring have sprouted.
Chen Mu's motorcade had already stopped at the intersection outside Yangting. When he heard that the emperor was coming to greet him, he quickly got out of the car.
After getting out of the car, I saw from a distance that the area around Yangting, a mile away, was densely packed with people. It was surrounded by a dense crowd, including officials of all sizes from the imperial court, as well as guards from the Yulin Army.
Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, no emperor has ever welcomed a prime minister. Even if it is a courtesy, it is usually just for the prime minister to stand up and show respect when he goes to the palace to see him.
So from this point of view, we can know how much Liu Bei misses his brother. He is closer than a real brother, making him miss him day and night.
In fact, after Guan Yu pacified Guanzhong last year, due to frequent threats to Zhang Lu, he did not have time to come to Luoyang. He waited until the situation was a little better at the end of the year and came back.
Although Zhang Fei did not come back at the end of the new year, he secretly made a trip back from Jiguan Road in Wangwushan on the pretext of going back to Hedong to supervise the transportation of grain and grass at the beginning of the year. Because the distance was relatively close, it only took a few days to go back and forth, and he drank with his elder brother.
We had a drink and went back quickly.
Only Chen Mu, although he has often exchanged letters in the past few months, is in the land of Jiangdong and Shandong and is too far away to go back. Now that Chen Mu is finally back, Liu Bei is overjoyed and hurriedly leads all the civil and military officials to greet him.
.
However, although they are as close as brothers, the etiquette in front of officials cannot be broken. Chen Mu got off the carriage a mile away and prepared to walk over. In addition to the protected Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry, he was accompanied by his own student Lu Yi.
From a distance, he saw Chen Mu getting off the carriage and walking slowly. Liu Bei was so anxious that he put up a pergola and looked out: "What's the matter with my fourth brother? When he got here, he got off the carriage and started walking."
Wang Zhi, the Zhongchang attendant next to him, said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, the emperor is here to greet you. Naturally, the prime minister does not dare to get out of the car in front of you. He comes on foot to show respect to your majesty."
Liu Bei was about to conquer the world, and he immediately smiled and said: "Fourth brother, you really don't care about these red tapes. Go and let him come in a carriage."
"only."
Wang Zhi didn't dare to say anything else, so he quickly sent someone on horseback to report.
After staying with Liu Bei for a long time, the eunuchs and maids in the palace also knew that they must not speak ill of his three brothers in front of Liu Bei.
Some time ago, when Zhang Fei came back without authorization, the ministers of the DPRK and Central Government impeached him, saying that General Hussar's absence from duty without authorization was a capital crime.
As a result, Liu Bei immediately scolded him and went back, saying that the Hussar General came back to see him after obeying his imperial edict. What is your intention in driving a wedge between the Emperor and the Hussar General?
Then the high ranking official of the third rank of the DPRK was quickly beaten to the bottom. Although he was not killed, his background was thoroughly investigated by the Military Intelligence Department.
The emperor was furious, and the Military Intelligence Department quickly found out that his family had used his power to occupy local fields and oppress the people in the fish and meat village. As a result, not only did his family suffer, but he himself is now in prison, waiting for trial by the Supreme Court.
From then on, the ministers in the DPRK and the Central Government kept silent about the three generals Guan, Zhang and Chen. As long as the three of them did not do something evil and want to wipe out all the famous families, no one would care about their affairs anymore.
After receiving the order, Chen Mu had no choice but to get on the carriage again. The wheels turned gurglingly, and he soon arrived in front of the emperor's carriage.
After he got off the carriage, Liu Bei immediately jumped off the carriage, went up and hugged Chen Mu, and laughed loudly: "Fourth brother!"
"His Majesty."
In public, the emperor could call Chen Mu his fourth brother, but Chen Mu could not call him his eldest brother.
"Prime Minister!"
The ministers came up and bowed their hands.
Chen Mu cupped his hands and returned the greeting: "My colleagues, please be polite."
Liu Bei hugged Chen Mu and said with a smile: "Let's go back to the palace and prepare a banquet for you."
Under his embrace, Chen Mu was forced to get into Liu Bei's emperor's carriage and drive back to the palace.
In the car, we reminisced about old times and soon arrived at the palace.
First, they went to the West Palace, where Queen Li brought her eldest son Liu Feng, second son Liu Hou, and several other children of concubines to meet.
After the family members saw him, they held a banquet in the Quefei Hall, and all the officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital came to attend.
For a time, the palace was very lively. Hundreds of senior officials gathered in the spacious hall, including the three ministers and nine ministers, the cabinet bachelor of Yuntai Palace, the deputies of the ministers, and the heads of various departments.
Chen Mu was tired from the journey and was not in the mood for the banquet, but he still said something. He encouraged the ministers and Manchu officials to do their jobs well, and reiterated that the responsibility of officials is to "serve the people" and "work for the welfare of the people."
Waiting for quotations.
In fact, among all the princes in the Three Kingdoms in the late Han Dynasty, Liu Bei was the one who cared most about the people.
Therefore, Chen Mu advocated Mencius's view that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important concept, which he very much agreed with.
That's why I strongly support Chen Mu's establishment of a people's court so that officials can listen to the voices of the people, thereby achieving the purpose of using the people to supervise officials.
After a speech, Liu Bei took the lead in applauding, and the applause was thunderous.
After the banquet is over.
It was already evening, dark clouds were gathering, and a late spring heavy rain was about to hit.
The officials dispersed. The Prime Minister's residence was actually not that far away. After exiting the palace gate, turn right on Zhuque Street and head toward Nanyuan, about three or four miles away. It was right outside the bus door.
But when Liu Bei sent Chen Mu out of Quefei Palace, he saw lightning and thunder in the sky, and he immediately said with joy: "Fourth brother, if the sky is not beautiful, you will stay in the palace. We brothers have not held candlelight talks for a long time, and tonight is the right time."
Let’s chat.”
Chen Mu is actually quite tired now and doesn't really want to talk to Liu Bei, but after thinking about it he still said: "Then just listen to big brother."
The two of them took a car to Chengfu Hall.
The Chengfu Hall is located inside the Bus Gate, which is one of the three south gates of Luoyang Nangong. Among them, the Zhuque Gate is the main entrance, connecting the Shiqufei Hall, Chongde Hall and other court halls.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! To the west is the bus door, which is connected to the Yuntai Hall, Mingguang Hall, Chengfu Hall and other ministerial desks, cabinets, and Jiuqing's offices.
To the east is Nantunmen, which is connected to Shizhonglu, Golden Horse Hall, Bronze Horse Hall and other places where the emperor worshiped, rested, and met with middle and low-level officials.
As for the emperor himself, he lived in the West Palace. The Luoyang Palace was originally huge. The overall area was seven times that of the Forbidden City. The internal area of the palace was five times that of the Forbidden City. The three ministers, nine ministers and cabinet ministers had to take turns in the palace, so they lived in the front palace.
It's also a common thing.
Just like the cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty also worked in the Wenyuan Pavilion in the palace, the only difference was that the Luoyang Palace of the Han Dynasty was so big that one had to take a carriage to walk inside the palace, and it took half an hour to walk to the destination.
The sky was getting darker and darker. When they arrived at the Chengfu Hall, there was a roar in the sky and heavy rain began to fall in an instant. The two people hurriedly entered the house surrounded by the chamberlains.
The patter of rain hit the eaves, and soon covered the eyes like a bead curtain. The two brothers entered the room and looked at each other, like drowned rats, and smiled at each other.
The reason why I chose Chengfu Hall is because there is no one on duty at Chengfu Hall.
For example, Yuntai Hall is the duty office of the cabinet. Today, Xun Yu, the second assistant to the cabinet, is on duty in Yuntai Hall. He handles government affairs during the day and sleeps here at night. If an emergency suddenly occurs, he will handle it.
The Xuanshi Palace is the duty office of the three gongs and nine ministers. They do not deal with government affairs, but they have their own duties and will leave people on duty.
Mingguang Hall is the office of Shangshutai, and Jia Xu often sleeps there.
Liu Bei just wanted to chat quietly with his fourth brother and did not want others to disturb him, so he did not summon other ministers, and naturally he would not go to other palaces to disturb them.
After entering the Chengfu Hall, the palace staff quickly heated up hot water in the back room of the hall. The two brothers each took a bath, changed their clothes and came out to meet in the inner hall.
A palace in the Han Dynasty was so huge that the outer hall was nearly twice the size of the Hall of Supreme Harmony where the emperor of the Ming Dynasty held court meetings.
The inner hall is also very large, and the two brothers sit together, facing each other.
The raindrops pattering outside were hitting the roof, the corridor in the outer hall, and even the screen windows, making a gentle tapping sound.
Liu Bei looked at his thirty-seven-year-old fourth brother, who was slightly in a trance. He suddenly remembered that it was that spring twenty years ago. At that time, his seventeen-year-old fourth brother was full of high spirits, and although his face was a little immature,
But he put his confidence on his face.
Unconsciously, so much time has passed, and I couldn't help but sigh: "Fourth brother."
"Um?"
"I just took a closer look at you today, and I discovered that you have changed so much."
"oh?"
Chen Mu asked curiously: "Have I changed a lot?"
"It's big."
"What has changed?"
"Everything has changed."
Liu Bei glanced at his face and said slightly sadly: "There are a few wrinkles between the eyebrows, and there are a few strands of white hair on the temples."
Chen Mu subconsciously touched the goat's beard on his chin, and then said with a wry smile: "He also has a very long beard."
Liu Bei sighed: "We are all old, and one day we will die."
"Birth, old age, illness and death are the normal conditions of human beings."
Chen Mu sighed: "So making unlimited possibilities in a limited life is what people should pursue and yearn for."
After hearing his words, Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then he cheered up and laughed: "Yes, what the fourth brother said is true, but I am a little unfounded for my brother's worries."
Chen Mu said with a smile: "My eldest brother has the universe in mind. Now that he has restored most of the Han Dynasty, the universe is in order, it is time for him to make great achievements."
Liu Bei nodded and said, "Yes, fourth brother, what are your plans for the future?"
Chen Mu pondered: "Liu Biao, Zhang Lu, Han Sui, Lu Bu and others are no longer enough evidence. I plan to officially implement my first five-year plan."
"The First Five-Year Plan?"
Liu Bei said: "You said this many years ago."
Chen Mu said: "It was just an idea before, and now we are preparing to officially promote it. The previous country never had a plan or a future path, and the future was confused. If we don't set goals, the Han before Wang Mang will be the same as the Han after today."
Liu Bei sighed: "Even the great ancestors can't guarantee their inheritance for eternity. My fourth brother once said in the early years that the cycle of dynasties starts with a cycle of at most three hundred years. Is there really no long-term path?"
Chen Mu thought for a moment and said, "How should I put it? To be honest, my eldest brother might not like to hear it."
Liu Bei said hurriedly: "I want to know."
Chen Mu then said: "The imperial system cannot last forever. If it continues in the era of agricultural production, the change of dynasties in three hundred years will be an inevitable trend."
"Why?"
"Because in the past two to three hundred years, the system has solidified, interest groups have emerged, reforms have been difficult, and grassroots families have powerfully controlled the land. The final result is that the government forces the people to rebel, until a new dynasty emerges, breaks the original order, and redistributes the land
until."
“What interest groups?”
"Aren't most of the Manchu ministers from aristocratic families? They are all vested interests. Which family does not occupy hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in various counties and counties, even concealing the population and land, and does not pay taxes. And it is not just them, for decades
Later, my descendants, the descendants of my second and third brothers, and the descendants of Liang Bizi Long Ziyi are all members of this interest group."
"...."
Liu Bei was silent.
Chen Mu continued: "They are all nobles, enjoying the inheritance left by their ancestors. In the early Han Dynasty, weren't there a large number of such nobles and countless descendants of the Liu surname? The Han Dynasty won the title of gold and the title, coupled with the order of favor,
It’s just to eliminate the big nobles, but there are still countless small nobles lying on the empire sucking blood, and the country’s poverty is caused by them.”
Liu Bei couldn't help but said: "What should we do?"
Chen Mu smiled and said: "The method is very simple. Increase productivity, free up the labor force, and increase food production. For example, I have a population of 50 million. Originally, the food in the field can only feed 50 million, but now it can feed 100 million. Then it only takes two
Fifteen million people can feed everyone by engaging in agriculture, so land annexation is naturally meaningless. When there are fewer and fewer people working in agriculture and the land becomes less and less valuable, those landowners will naturally be eliminated."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Then what do those who don't work in farming do?"
Liu Bei was surprised.
Chen Mu said: "In handicrafts, commerce, and manufacturing, hasn't the spinning machine been revolutionized? Then clear the grassland, vigorously breed sheep, and then use the wool to engage in the textile industry. There are also road construction, canal digging, and construction.
If the country has money, it must spend it. By letting goods and money circulate and people having money, the country can collect taxes from the circulation of goods and continue to develop."
Before the start of the Industrial Revolution, sheep cannibalism occurred in the UK. The wool textile industry was the result of early capital operations, and the consequence of the government's lack of control was the enclosure movement, which turned countless farmers into homeless wanderers.
, and eventually went to urban factories and became slaves of capitalists.
However, the size of the British country is inherently small. When the sheep cannibalism incident occurred from the 15th to the 18th century, the total population was only a few million people. The internal resources and internal demand were not enough to form a large-scale
.
The Han Dynasty is a super empire with vast land. The operation of the textile industry is first for the domestic people, and there is no foreign trade for the time being.
There is no need for foreign trade.
Because currently, except for the Roman Empire in Europe, the rest of the world is full of savages.
If you sell something to a savage, the savage must have money to buy it.
Therefore, Dahan's development path is very simple. Start light industry and light manufacturing in various industries and solve domestic demand first.
And then drive the overall economy.
In economic knowledge, inflation will only appear in the era of credit money. If precious metals are used as currency, inflation will be almost impossible.
Therefore, when the Han Dynasty lacked gold, silver and copper mines, steam engines were used to excavate the first pot of gold, and mining began all over the world to send it back to the Han Dynasty.
In this way, the country will always have money, and with money, it can do many things.
It is equivalent to the United States printing U.S. dollars wantonly in later generations, printing trillions of U.S. dollars each time, dragging the whole world into trouble.
The only difference is that the United States uses the U.S. dollar system to tie up with the world's finances, forcing the whole world to pay for it.
Dahan, on the other hand, digs mines all over the world, uses the characteristics of precious metal currency that is difficult to cause inflation to maintain Dahan's monetary system, and allows it to assume the function of a credit currency.
For example, when the Han Dynasty went to America to dig gold, silver, and copper mines, the gold, silver, and copper mines in the treasury were piled up in mountains, but they were only stored but not circulated.
If there is a currency shortage among the people and the supply of goods exceeds demand, it means that people have no money.
So the country can carry out some major projects, or provide low-interest or even interest-free loans from banks, circulate the money in hand, and then reduce commercial taxes, reduce commodity prices, and stimulate the economy. People who have money in their hands can buy commodities.
purchase.
If there is too much money among the people and the supply of goods exceeds demand, it means that the people are extremely rich and the value of precious metals may decline.
Then the country can increase bank interest rates, increase loan interest, and increase commodity taxes. In this way, people will deposit money in banks, or stop taking out loans, and spend more when buying goods, and collect the gold, silver, and copper coins in the hands of the people.
Come back and put it in the treasury for further reserves.
The more precious metals are stored, the more stable the business environment and economic environment will be. To a certain extent, the United States is nothing compared to the economy of the Han Dynasty. Because the United States does not really dare to print U.S. dollars without restrictions.
India, that would cause a financial crisis.
And Dahan can really mine without limit. It is not something on paper like US dollars, but an actual precious metal item, which has its own circulation value. Unlike US dollars, once the credit system goes bankrupt, it will be a piece of waste paper.
Zhang is useless.
Therefore, if Chen Mu officially started the Industrial Revolution in the Han Dynasty, the dividends and development advantages that the entire Han Dynasty would enjoy would be unimaginable, because he was plundering the entire world to supplement the Han Dynasty's economy.
He can mine at will in the Americas and Africa, and he can produce goods and sell them in Europe and Central Asia, concentrating all the precious metals in the world into the Han Dynasty, allowing the Han Dynasty's economy to take off directly.
But in that case, it is possible that when the beast of the landlord class is eliminated, another hungry tiger will be born - the capitalists.
Therefore, Chen Mu had to use many means to strangle the capitalists in the cradle and hang them on the street lamps!
But all this may happen many years later.
Nowadays, steam engines cannot be mass-produced, and the country has not yet recovered, so we must return to reality after imagining the future.
Liu Bei said: "The grassland is not easy to fight now. Even the Bingzhou has not been recovered yet."
Chen Mu smiled and said: "So this is also part of the First Five-Year Plan."
"You want to go north and capture Bingzhou?"
Liu Bei asked.
Chen Mu nodded: "It's time to force Lu Bu to make a choice. If he wants to die, let him die. If he doesn't want to die, just surrender honestly, or I will let him die without a burial place."
"Tell me what the First Five-Year Plan is all about?"
Liu Bei asked curiously.
Although he knew that tomorrow Chen Mu would hold a meeting of the cabinet and the three ministers.
At that time, the cabinet members, the Three Independents, the Three Gongs and the Nine Ministers, and all officials of second rank and above will participate to discuss the contents of the First Five-Year Plan.
But Liu Bei still wanted to make it worth it in advance.
Chen Mu smiled and told everything about his thoughts and ideas.
The rain outside the window is still falling.
The two brothers chatted until midnight, discussing specific matters.
After Liu Bei learned about Chen Mu's many whimsical ideas, he also put forward his own opinions.
Both of them gained something.
That night, the two brothers rested together and fell asleep contentedly.
On the second day, the First Five-Year Plan Conference was officially held.