Han Shizu

Not to mention Luoyang Prefecture, the three counties of Zheng, Xu and Cai are also in the hinterland of the Central Plains. They are densely populated and economically developed. Townships and villages are dotted here and there, and markets and markets can be seen everywhere.Although many problems have arisen in the Han Dynasty, the prosperity among the people at this time is also real.

However, the old emperor did not have much interest in the prosperity along the way. Even if the journey was slow, he was not willing to stop and pay attention except for the necessary rest.Even if they stopped, they would only meet with the military and political chiefs of various states. Other subordinates and lower-level officials were not qualified to meet the saints. The conversation would only be empty rhetoric, with little mention of political affairs and people's livelihood.

Of course, the old emperor also had his reasons. During the flood last year, only Zhengzhou was affected among the three states, but it was extremely limited. Zhengzhou's water conservancy facilities can be said to be the most complete and solid along the Yellow River.

Judging from the growth of crops in Xu and Caizhou, this year should be a good year, and the upcoming summer harvest will be quite impressive.To be honest, such a scene is worth stopping to take a look at, at least it is excellent material for gaining fame and reputation.

However, today's old emperor is still slack on governing the country, so where can he find the mood and energy to do superficial things.Until arriving in Xinyang, the old emperor finally walked out of the camp and entered the local city for the first time. After the completion of Taikang Palace, Shenzhou's power had to account for one-third. For this reason, he also had to express his greetings.

Shenzhou Zhizhou was still a clan member with a really high status, Liu Jiqian, the third son of King Xu Liu Chengyun.The development of the Han Dynasty royal family to this day can be roughly divided into five lines. One is the main line of the old emperor, followed by the line of King Yong Liu Chengxun, then King Liu Chengxun of Wei (basically in name only), and then King Liu Chengyun of Xu.

The remaining lineage of Liu Chong, King of Taiyuan, although they had long been lifted out of the ban by the old emperor, due to historical reasons, they have always been in a state of repression. Now Liu Chong's descendants are also scattered throughout the Han Dynasty. Although they have the name of clan, they have actually been reduced to For an ordinary political family.

Compared with the miserable Liu Chong lineage, the treatment of Xu Wang Liu Chengyun is very different, which can be seen from the title alone.Although he was only the eldest son of the great ancestor Liu Zhiyuan, and although he was born to Liu Chong, he had not achieved much in the past few decades, nor had he made many well-known contributions to the empire.

However, Liu Chengyun had a very good relationship with the old emperor, he was extremely loyal to his ministers, and he always gained the old emperor's trust. This was his great ability.The old emperor was even suspicious of King Yong Liu Chengxun and Prince Liu Yang, but he had never been suspicious of Liu Chengyun and never thought that he could do any harm to him.
It is conceivable that Xu Wang Liu Chengyun held a special position in the Han Empire. In many cases, the head of the clan itself was a manifestation of supreme honor and fame.As the third son of Prince Xu, Liu Jiqian has another special feature, that is, he is not Liu Chengyun's biological child.

This has to go back to the old accounts in the history of the Han Dynasty. In the early years, the emperor's uncle Liu Xin was corrupt and tyrannical in Xuzhou. When the old emperor was helping the great ancestor to be buried, he was taken to justice and charged with guarding the mausoleum. The confinement was only lifted after the child was trapped to death.

Liu Xin and his son left, but left behind two grandchildren, a boy and a girl. He felt sorry for his loneliness. King Xu couldn't bear it. After asking the old emperor for instructions, he took him into his house and raised him. Liu Jiqian was that boy.

Nowadays, Liu Jiqian is still young. Compared with many political stars who have emerged in the political arena of the Han Dynasty in recent years, he is much more low-key. Everything is done step by step, and there is even deliberate suppression from King Xu. The reason is that he is afraid of arousing the suspicion of the old emperor. Old accounts.

King Xu also knew the old emperor too well. He might not be able to connect his nerves one day, and any kind of abnormal psychology that might occur would be normal.If Liu Jiqian was promoted too quickly and attracted the attention of the old emperor, it would not be a good thing. On the contrary, it is like this now. A 40-year-old Zhongzhou magistrate is quite satisfactory.
However, life has been a bit difficult for Liu Jiqian. Since he has taken an official career, he naturally has certain ambitions and pursuits in politics. However, his political future is always cast a shadow, and he still has a feeling of idealism. It is conceivable how big Liu Jiqian's psychological shadow is.

Liu Jiqian was in his early thirties before he became the county magistrate of a large county. He served for five years and served in Shenzhou for exactly three years.It was during these three years that Liu Jiqian found a way to break (take) the situation (please) the old emperor by building the Jigong Mountain Palace.

In the past two and a half years, there is no doubt that Liu Jiqian has devoted his entire mind to supporting the construction of the palace. He has mobilized people and financial resources at his disposal. In fact, the entire Shenzhou people have been "kidnapped" by him, and the palace project has been destroyed at all costs. Do it well.

In other states and counties, there may be some unclean hands and feet in this matter. While contributing to the palace, they also put some in their arms.But Liu Jiqian had no interest in corruption and devoted himself to fulfilling his destiny.

When it comes to which civilian family suffered the most serious casualties during the construction of the Jigong Mountain Palace, there is no doubt that it was Shenzhou as the "landlord".

Liu Jiqian has been working hard for two and a half years from the construction of the palace to the royal tour to the south. Now with the arrival of Luan Jia, it is time to test the results.

Liu Jiqian's heart was filled with joy and anxiety, but when he was notified by the old emperor that Xing Xinyang would stay in the city for the night, he felt great pressure and at the same time he breathed a sigh of relief. He had already found out what Luan Jia had passed along the way. There is no stopping to visit the city.Now that the decision is made, the specialness of Shenzhou is suddenly reflected.

Shenzhou's city walls have been repaired and are neat and tidy with no moss on them; the water in the moat is crystal clear and has just been completely replaced; the roads are neat and almost spotless; the alleys and buildings are also carefully decorated, with embroidered ribbons flying everywhere. colorful
Everything looks so beautiful, harmonious, and prosperous. However, the people of Shenzhou, who should be the most lively and lively people, seem so lifeless.

Liu Jiqian personally led the officials and people of Shenzhou to pay homage to the Holy Emperor, and the atmosphere was naturally enthusiastic. After getting to know Liu Jiqian in advance, the old emperor really remembered the "old stories of the emperor's uncle."

However, maybe it was because it had been too long, or maybe it was to give King Xu face, or maybe it was his contribution in the construction of the palace that really impressed the old emperor.

The old emperor had a very kind attitude towards Liu Jiqian and Shenzhou officials, and allowed Liu Jiqian to ride a horse and accompany him as an attendant as a show of favor.

The camp brigade was naturally stationed outside the city. Of course, some ordinary accompanying ministers had begun to check in under the guidance of Shenzhou officials.The Shenzhou government built a lakeside garden on the bank of Nanwan Lake in the southwest of Xinyang, with rows of buildings and houses that blended in with the surrounding lakes and mountains, creating an excellent environment.The houses there were naturally prepared for the accompanying ministers. The Jigong Mountain Palace was a royal palace and not a place for ordinary ministers to live.When selecting the site for the summer resort, Nanwan Lake, the "Pearl of Southern Henan", was also an important factor to weigh.

The completion of a palace is not just the palace buildings in the mountains. In addition to the garden area of ​​Nanwan Lake, it also provides a series of supporting facilities including military camps, horse farms, and hunting grounds.To complete these, relying solely on the efforts of the three counties of Shenzhou is obviously far from enough.

Similarly, even if Shenzhou only undertakes a part of such a large-scale construction project, it will be a heavy burden for Shenzhou.

In the past, Shenzhou's fiscal inputs included "road tax" in addition to agriculture, mulberry, fishery and animal husbandry.As an important hub connecting the two lakes in Zhongyuan Daozhou, the number of caravan travelers traveling from south to north every year is extremely large. Just doing a good job in the service industry for welcoming and sending people has gained a lot of benefits. Those who have enjoyed convenient transportation since ancient times, Often huge profits are made.

In addition to the industrial advantages of Shenzhou's local specialty green tea (Maojian), in the past few decades, in addition to the taxes paid to the court and Taoist priests, as well as the "profits" of the bureaucrats, Shenzhou officials and people have accumulated an objective sum of money. wealth.

However, all these accumulations were consumed in the Taikang Palace project.In the current era of limited productivity, all achievements are achieved with the blood, sweat and hands of the working people at the bottom.

Those bright and beautiful wonders swallow up the flesh and blood of the common people. It is certainly an honor for Taikang Palace to be located in Shenzhou, but it is also a kind of suffering.As for driving economic development through large-scale construction and bringing welfare to the people of Shenzhou, as the old emperor envisioned, it is just a self-righteous and unacclimated assumption.
The number of people entering the city was not large. The most eye-catching thing was obviously the luxurious and majestic Luanjia. The officials and people of Xinyang stood on both sides of the road in turn. welcome.

The old emperor huddled inside Luan Jia and refused to show his face easily. This was not entirely due to safety considerations, but because he felt that the description in front of him was not easy to show in front of the head of Guizhou. For the ignorant people, the emperor had better ensure a certain degree of safety. mystery.Of course, the fundamental reason is that the old emperor is dissatisfied with his current poor image.

However, even though he was staying in the car, the old emperor felt something strange in his heart. This strangeness made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Something is wrong!
The small window opened, and the bright yellow curtain was lifted, revealing a gap. Through the gap, the old emperor's cloudy and dull eyes silently stared at the scene on the street, observing all the people and things he could see.

There were not many people waiting along the street. Most of them were kneeling in the narrow space on the side of the road, not daring to take a step beyond the boundaries.The officials and people of Shenzhou are humble and respectful, and their obedient attitude even seems a bit weak.

Most of the people had their heads lowered. Occasionally, some people raised their heads carefully, but it was difficult to see a smile on their exposed faces, or even just sadness and numbness.As for respect, they all knelt down. Isn’t that enough respect?

Different from the common people, those bureaucrats, officials, and servants are all in high spirits. Even if they know that His Majesty the Emperor is unlikely to care about them, they still show their best appearance.

As the official in charge of Shenzhou, Liu Jiqian was riding a tall horse, well-dressed, and the angle of his head raised was a little proud, even arrogant.

Seeing this scene, the old emperor suddenly felt an unpleasant feeling in his heart, and he held it in front of his chest in one breath, neither up nor down.

This feeling was so intense that it even felt a little bit overhead. For a moment, his eyes seemed a little hazy, and the scene in front of him seemed to be distorted. The old emperor seemed to be in a magical scene, with such a strong unreality. The feeling even made the old emperor panic.

Vaguely, the old emperor began to recall the past again. At that time, every time the old emperor left the capital, whether it was for patrols or wars, and every time he returned to the capital, he was faced with flowers and cheers from the people of the capital. Many of the waves of cheers were With genuine emotion.

Why are the people of Shenzhou so unenthusiastic?Is it because the emperor's majesty is too terrifying?No matter how confident the old emperor was, he would not dare to think like this, and the strange feeling became even stronger.

What the old emperor didn't know was that the roads Luan Jia passed were all temporarily "cleared". Xinyang's urban layout was narrow, and all buildings, houses, shops and even guise that might hinder Luan Jia's passage had been completely cleared by the government. , just to allow Luan Jia to reach the state government office unimpeded.

At this time, Liu Jiqian, who was riding with him, felt a little excited. Perhaps his five senses were triggered. He didn't dare to look around and subconsciously glanced at Luan Jia, facing the old emperor's exposed eyes.

I was almost scared to pee.
Emperor Liu embarked on the last journey of his life, and the author is also preparing to travel. After the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, he will release a new book when he returns.