Liu Bei hosted a banquet for Mr. Pang De and Sima Hui. They had a great conversation and wanted to invite them to serve as officials, but they declined.
Neither of them agreed to the imperial court to take back Jingzhou because they were greedy for high-ranking officials and generous salaries.
At their level, all they care about is knowledge and ideals. Chen Mu can provide these, so they are naturally willing to help Chen Mu.
Many things are mutual. Some people are greedy for money, some are greedy for power, and some just want to realize their ambitions.
Life is limited, but learning is unlimited. Chen Mu’s many remarks and knowledge have benefited the two of them a lot and made them feel a lot.
So they are also willing to take a look at the brand new world that Chen Mu mentioned with a hint of longing!
As the New Year approaches, Luoyang becomes more and more prosperous, with countless people coming in and out of the city every day.
After Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, Luoyang's population dropped sharply. Before and after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the total population of Luoyang and surrounding counties reached more than two million.
Later, Dong Zhuo moved the capital, causing countless casualties and displacing the people. According to records, there were 100,000 households who fled from Wuguan to Jingzhou alone.
Note that it is 100,000 households, not 100,000 people. Even if each household is calculated as a minimum family of three, there are still as many as 300,000 people.
Later, Luoyang gradually regained its vitality and its population was enriched. Over the past twenty years, the imperial court encouraged childbirth, and those born before and after the Yellow Turban Rebellion have now grown up.
Now the entire population of Luoyang has slowly reached one million. The cost of food, clothing and people's livelihood management for such a large number of people is a big problem.
Fortunately, the canal project was launched, which created a large number of jobs. The promotion of crops also lowered food prices.
When the New Year comes, people who have money can buy grain and even have money to buy meat.
Liu Bei held a New Year's conference as usual at the end of the year.
All officials of the seventh rank and above in Luoyang participated in the meeting and held a gathering in the Chongde Hall to summarize and give speeches on the year's work.
The three ministers, nine ministers, cabinet councils, and various newly established departments, thousands of officials dressed in the official uniforms newly issued by the imperial court, lined up and sat cross-legged.
A piece of information is placed in front of each official, which is the future policy direction of the court.
Among these officials, some came from aristocratic families, as well as from Taishan Academy. Most of them were officials of the Cao Wei Group in history.
The cabinet also appointed a new batch of third-level ministers of affairs, more than 30 of them, who were the best among the officials in the country last year. Among them was Guo Huai, the eldest son of the Guo family in Taiyuan.
Nowadays, the imperial court is full of talents. Many people who were unknown in history are now showing their prominence. Even Guo Huai only ranked fifth in last year's assessment, and there were four people ahead of him who rated him higher.
This is the inevitability and universality of education promotion. The original education in the Eastern Han Dynasty was elite education, and only a few aristocratic families could stand out and be promoted as filial and honest or as talented as officials.
It is too difficult for ordinary people to want to be noble. There is no opportunity, and the price and hardship they must pay must be ten times or even a hundred times more than those who come from aristocratic families.
Qingzhou vigorously develops compulsory education, and the best students are selected into Taishan Academy and Taishan Academy. Not only tuition and miscellaneous fees are exempted, but board and lodging are also free, and there are scholarships.
With a huge base and a suitable education system, the number of talents is bound to continue to grow explosively in the face of the waves.
For example, among one hundred children of aristocratic families, one hundred people become officials because of the family's power.
So of the 200,000 civilian students who can study because of compulsory education, one percent of them will enter the academy.
This one percent is 2,000 people, and there are another 10 percent who are the best. After graduating from the academy, they go to local officials and start from the grassroots level. They have excellent political performance and are promoted step by step. There are still 20 people.
Compared to a hundred aristocratic families with mixed results, the twenty who were eliminated from the two hundred thousand people were the top talents.
It's true that your family has been a bureaucracy for generations, but I am talented and smart, plus I work ten times harder, why am I worse than you?
This is exactly the case, so even Guo Huai, the great general of Cao Wei in history, can only be ranked fifth.
At the New Year meeting, both Liu Bei and Chen Mu gave a part of the explanation.
In fact, in a feudal society with relatively backward productivity, it was very difficult to accomplish something within five years.
But five years is just a planning process. If it is not completed within five years, it will continue in the next five years until it is completed.
Regardless of whether it is a person or a country, it is necessary to set a goal and move in the direction of this goal.
This is also to prevent future situations where people and government will cease to exist.
At the same time, in order to prevent the system from becoming rigid and some people safeguarding their own interests on the grounds that ancestral laws are immutable, Chen Mu also proposed a meeting system at the conference.
Each department is encouraged to hold more meetings and discuss more, and sometimes deal with special matters. As long as it does not violate the principles, the system cannot be changed after asking the higher-level department for instructions.
In the new year, Chen Mu also proposed that there will be three major tasks in the next five years.
The first task is to regain the entire territory of the Han Dynasty as soon as possible, the second task is to promote crops, and the third task is to dig canals.
These three are the top priority. For an official, being able to do any of them well is a very good political achievement and capital for future promotion.
Therefore, as long as officials want to make a difference in the future, they must make outstanding contributions in these three major events before they can be promoted quickly.
This can be regarded as a pie drawn by Chen Mu in order to motivate the lower-level officials.
After the New Year, starting from February, the imperial army began to mobilize frequently. The river in Nanyang had not been dug yet, so grain could not be transported, so it was still necessary to take the land route.
Zhao Yun first led 30,000 people from Yingchuan to the south to join Zhang Xiu and stationed troops in Wancheng, eyeing Jingzhou with eager eyes.
In March, Taishi Ci and Huang Zhong from Jiangdong led the navy upstream along the Yangtze River and passed Penglize to garrison Chaisang. This was also the route used by Sun Quan to attack Jingzhou in history.
There is a turmoil in Jingzhou. The last time Chen Mu went south, it had already caused turmoil in the family.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! With the departure of Pang Degong, the Pang family, one of the seven aristocratic families in Jingzhou, moved, and his sons and nephews went to Qingzhou Taishan Academy one after another. The remaining major families also have their own
thought.
News from aristocratic families is always much faster than that from ordinary people. Comparing the current strength of the imperial court and Liu Xian's current situation, one can naturally tell the difference.
Therefore, the other major families began to waver, especially when Pang Degong's letters were placed on the desks of these patriarchs.
Yicheng, Nanjun, Jingzhou, is less than a hundred miles from Yicheng to Xiangyang. Along the way, there are thick bamboo leaves and flowing rivers.
Looking from a distance along the Han River, one can see gorgeous manors standing tall and towers connected together.
The road is paved with bluestones, the countryside stretches as far as the eye can see, the Zhuxuan is brilliant, the canopies stretch continuously, there are countless wealthy businessmen and powerful families, there are countless carriages and horses in the courtyards, and the green mountains of Taishan Mountain in the distance are so beautiful.
This place is called "Guangeli" by the locals. Not only is it prosperous, but also dozens of officials whose ancestors have given birth to two thousand kilograms have settled here.
Among them, several of the seven major aristocratic families in Jingzhou, including Pang, Huang, Cai, Kuai, Ma, Xi and Yang, live here.
In addition, there are the Xianglang family, Yinguan family, Zhang Ti family, etc.
Originally, the Liao Hua family was considered a prominent family living here, because Zhonglu County was just in the middle area from Yicheng to Xiangyang, and this area was the residence of prominent families.
It's just that when Chen Mu attacked Nanyang in the early years, Liao Hua, whose family was already in decline, made a decisive decision and chose to join Liu, so he is no longer here.
Therefore, to a certain extent, along the hundreds of miles from Yicheng to Zhonglu and then to Xiangyang, among the countless wealthy compounds, there lived wealthy families who could influence the situation in Jingzhou as a whole.
It was March in spring, and a hazy drizzle was falling in the south of the Yangtze River. The misty rain enveloped the entire Xiangyang, and the pattering raindrops penetrated the forest leaves and drifted into the courtyards of these wealthy families.
In a courtyard outside Yicheng, a young scholar was reading a letter. There were four other people sitting next to him. The five people had some similarities in their eyebrows, but one of them was a young man about seventeen or eighteen years old.
The eyebrows are actually white, which is amazing.
These five people are the Wuchangs of the Ma family. The eldest Ma Bochang has taken care of the family business since his father's death. He is the eldest son of the family. The others are Ma Zhongchang, the second eldest, Ma Shuchang, the third eldest, Ma Jichang, the fourth eldest, and Ma Youchang, the fifth eldest.
"The recent changes in the imperial court must be to send more troops to Nanyang. It is expected that Jingzhou will be attacked this year. As early as two or three months, as early as April or May, there will be a war."
Ma Bochang looked around and said to his four younger brothers: "Now Mr. Pang Degong and Mr. De Cao both believe that the imperial court will definitely win. They want to persuade us, the big families in Jingzhou, to move closer to the imperial court. Second brother, third brother, fourth brother and fifth brother, what do you think?"
Ma Zhongchang, the second oldest, thought for a while and said: "It is a general trend to move closer to the imperial court. I believe other big families in Jingzhou should also know this. Why don't we write a letter to persuade them to welcome Master Wang together?"
"I heard that Liu Biao was ill a few days ago. If he dies, how can Liu Qi and Liu Cong defend Jingzhou? The people of Jingzhou will be dispersed by then. How about persuading the Cai and Kuai tribes to surrender?"
Ma Shuchang also said: "I believe that Cai Mao and Kuai Yue do not understand these principles. If we can persuade them to surrender without fighting, wouldn't it be a great achievement?"
Now that the storm is about to come, hundreds of thousands of troops from the imperial court are marching south. Zhang Xiu's tens of thousands of horses and horses are already in Nanyang, and Zhao Yun's 30,000 are obviously the vanguard. The follow-up grain and grass are being transported. If Liu Bei personally marches, the army alone will have
More than 100,000 people.
Then there are the 30,000 to 40,000 men of the Qingzhou Navy imported from the Yangtze River to Jiangxia. In this way, one from the north and one from the east, they attack Jingzhou from both sides. Jingzhou has suffered heavy losses in recent years, and with only the navy left, it will definitely not be able to defend it.
Therefore, these aristocratic families do not need Pound Company's Ma Hui to send letters and lobby, they already know what they have in mind. The only difference is how to make meritorious deeds and climb to the top after considering leading the way.
And when the three brothers were chatting about their plans to lobby other families, even the Cai family and the Kuai family, the fourth brother, Ma Liang, suddenly said: "No, I will die!"
"oh?"
Ma Bochang said in surprise: "Fourth brother, are you saying that defecting to the imperial court is a dead end?"
"no."
Ma Liang shook his head and said, "I'm saying that persuading other families and people Liu Biao relies on to surrender is a dead end."
"Why?"
Several brothers were very surprised. Now the imperial army is moving south, the big families are in turmoil, and Liu Biao is seriously ill. Jingzhou will soon fall into chaos. If we don't surrender now, how long will it take?
Ma Liang pondered: "Liu Biao is quite ambitious. He once offered sacrifices in the suburbs of the city and compared it with the state of the country. How could he be willing to be inferior to others? And it is impossible for the imperial court not to issue an edict to him and ask him to surrender. If he is really seriously ill, considering Liu Qi's
Liu Cong will definitely choose to surrender, so why does the imperial court send troops?"
"What does fourth brother mean?"
Ma Bo often felt creepy and extremely frightened when he thought about it.
Ma Liang nodded and said: "Yes, I think the imperial court must have informed Liu Biao and asked him to surrender. The imperial court would not send troops until he refused or did not express his position. It happened that there was a change in the imperial court at the beginning of the year, and more troops were sent to Nanyang. Not long after, the news came
When the news of Liu Biao's illness came out, people in Jingzhou immediately became confused. If there is no problem here, do you think it is possible, big brother, second brother, and third brother?"
Ma Bochang broke out in a cold sweat and said: "You are saying that Liu Biao is pretending to be ill on purpose to see who in Jingzhou wants to betray him. When those people come to light and join forces with each other to defect to the imperial court,
Will he send out troops to catch them all again?"
"Exactly."
Ma Liang said: "Otherwise, Liu Biao's abnormality cannot be explained."
The three brothers Ma Bochang looked at each other and could see the solemnity in each other's eyes. If this is true, Liu Biao's scheming seems to be very deep.
After a while, Ma Bochang said slowly: "What do you think the fourth brother should do?"
Ma Liang thought for a while and said: "Now, not only can we not connect with other families, we must also write to Liu Biao with great fanfare to urge him to fight to the end, and at the same time persuade him to ask Liu Zhang for help. Only in this way can we explore Liu Biao's true and false situation."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "But, will doing this anger the court?"
Ma Shuchang said: "The imperial court asked Pang Degong and Mr. Shui Jing to write to us because they were looking at the attitudes of the major families in Jingzhou. If we don't obey and follow Liu Biao instead, wouldn't we be asking for death?"
Ma Liang said: "Tai Shigong said: "People are swordsmen, and I am fish and meat." When the imperial army surrounded Xiangyang, we couldn't abandon our homes and fields. We didn't take the opportunity to leave Jingzhou and establish ourselves elsewhere, so we were already a step too late. Now Liu Biao's
The knife has been placed on our necks. If we don't obey, we will definitely die. If we are afraid of offending the court, we can write back to the court to express our concerns."
Several Ma family brothers looked at each other and nodded in agreement with Ma Liang's proposal.
It was five years ago when Chen Mu besieged Xiangyang.
At that time, Xiangyang City was surrounded, and Liu Biao concentrated all his troops in Xiangyang to defend against the enemy. The Pang family, Sima Hui, Liao family and those scholars who had defected to the court at that time lived outside the city, so Chen Mu persuaded them, and they naturally
Can also walk.
The rest of the family, such as the Yang family, the Xi family, the Huang family, the Ma family, the Xiang family, etc., although they all live outside the city, they all have their own concerns and are reluctant to part with their family property and land, so naturally they cannot leave with the court.
For example, Ma Liang was only 13 years old at the time, Ma Su was 10 years old, and Ma Bochang was just in his early 20s when he took over such a huge family business, so it was naturally impossible for him to give it up.
So the opportunity at that time was missed, and there was nothing we could do.
At present, Liu Biao still controls Jingzhou. As long as Liu Biao does not want to surrender and wants to resist stubbornly, then even if they, the wealthy families, want to join forces to rebel, they will face Liu Biao's butcher's knife.
Therefore, we have to consider countermeasures.
Several brothers discussed, but the fifteen-year-old Ma Di had no say and listened silently.
After the discussion was over, Ma Liang slowly walked out of the middle hall, looked at the pattering rain outside, and murmured to himself: "Jingzhou, there will be a big storm soon."