Han Dao world

The public debate is over, and it's time for bargaining between the different factions.

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Liu Xie returned to the back hall and took off his court clothes.

Zhuge Liang greeted him, put away the court clothes, handed over the regular clothes, and waited for Liu Xie to put them on.

"Kong Ming, you didn't say anything just now."

"Your official career is still young, and you don't know the situation in the court. Some ministers are meeting for the first time, so you shouldn't speak nonsense." Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, and said again: "I believe that Your Majesty will make a clear decision."

"Now there is no minister by your side, you might as well talk about your thoughts."

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment. "I agree with His Majesty's opinion. Peace can be negotiated, but there can be no chaos. You can't leave it to Yuan Shao, the court must control the situation."

Liu Xie nodded and signaled Zhuge Liang to continue.

"Emperor Guangwu respected Confucianism and treated ministers leniently. Stability. Times have changed, and it is inevitable that things will get worse and cause more disasters.”

"Well, go on."

"Guanzhong Dutian has achieved initial results. With the supplement of silk business, the Guanzhong clan can barely accept it, and there will be no drastic changes. But if the Shandong clan also wants to get a piece of the pie, the price of silk will fall and the profits will be diluted. It is hard to say. Yes. At that time, the big clans in Shandong didn’t get what they wanted, and the big clans in Guanzhong suffered losses, so they would have resentment. I heard Da Si Nong mentioned that after the silk from Jingzhou entered Guanzhong, the Hu merchants were already a little picky. So refreshing."

"Is there such a thing?" Liu Xie was slightly stunned, and then remembered that the profiteer Anthony hadn't come to see him for a long time.

"Da Sinong is counting the numbers, and it is estimated that there will be a plan soon."

Liu Xie nodded.He was at ease about Liu Ba's business methods.

"So even if we want to talk about it, we must punish the big clan in Shandong, especially the Jizhou people who are attached to Yuan Shao, and they can't be too kind. If it wasn't like this, would there be any difference between loyalty and traitor?"

Liu Xie didn't speak, but thought for a while.

From Zhuge Liang's words, he heard the sign of regional disputes.

Zhuge Liang may not have done it on purpose, but this unconscious regional concept is more harmful.

Shandong people dislike each other, how can they treat Liangzhou people equally?Not to mention the Xianbei and Wuhuan people who will integrate into the Chinese nation in the future.

For others, he can relax some requirements, but for Zhuge Liang, he must remind him in time.

"Kong Ming, it's not just people from Jizhou who are attached to Yuan Shao, and not all Jizhou people are attached to Yuan Shao. Zhao Zilong is from Jizhou, but he not only travels in person, but also invites friends and companions, introducing many talents from Jizhou to the court."

Zhuge Liang blushed, bowed and said: "Your Majesty's words are very true, and the minister's words are unscrupulous."

"It's fine to say something unscrupulously. If you make a mistake, you can correct it. I'm afraid that the prejudice in your heart will be hard to get rid of." Liu Xie twisted his mouth. "According to some people, your fiancée is Jiang Xia's barbarian, can you agree?"

Zhuge Liang smiled awkwardly. "Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty, I will definitely pay attention in the future."

"Well, should they be here?"

"According to the time, it should have arrived, probably delayed on the road. As soon as they arrive, I will lead them to see you."

Liu Xie nodded. "There is one more thing. It is a good habit for you not to be confused by morality and to seek truth from facts. However, the habits of veteran officials in the court are hard to change. I am afraid that they will not listen to your words. It is inevitable that you should be a good teacher. In front of the public, don't say a few words , is also good. The limelight is too strong, and it is inevitable to be taboo."

Zhuge Liang's heart warmed.

He was not an impulsive person, so he didn't say a word during the court meeting.But the emperor specially reminded him that even when he needed support, he didn't want him to conflict with the veterans prematurely. It can be seen that his love for him is not empty words, but from the heart.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Chapter 631

In general, Liu Xie agreed with Zhuge Liang's opinion.

Reaching an agreement quickly seems to help bring about peace in the world, but that is only a superficial peace.If the big clans in Shandong do not get the lessons they deserve, they will inevitably become obstacles to the implementation of the New Deal in the future.

If the imperial court cannot achieve effective control over Shandong, it will be impossible to use Shandong’s financial resources to supplement Liangzhou’s insufficient output, and there will be no realistic basis for long-term peace and stability. The confrontation between Shandong and Shanxi will still exist, and the consciousness of a cultural community will not be formed.

Therefore, he hopes to be slower and more stable.

But the situation cannot be controlled by anyone. When everyone desires peace, it is absolutely politically incorrect to obstruct the realization of peace.

Especially for scholars who are deeply influenced by Confucianism and are very easy to go to extremes.

Once someone confuses and incites it, and there is another mass incident of writing a letter, it will not look good on the face.

Therefore, he obviously didn't want to talk about it, so he could only talk about it. All he could do was try his best to grasp the rhythm and shift the responsibility to Yuan Shao's side.

I hope Yuan Shao can be tougher and don't kneel easily.

The focus of the discussion between Liu Xie and Zhuge Liang was to revitalize Guanzhong.

Guanzhong used to be land and sea, and Qinchuan, eight hundred miles away, laid the material foundation for Qin to unify the world.However, while the reflection on the Qin government in the early days of the Han Empire achieved fruitful results, it also left some serious sequelae, especially after the great prosperity of Confucianism.

Scholars' reflections on the Qin government mostly focus on the moral level, but they have not done enough detailed research on the economic and military levels, as if Qin's unification of the world was just brutal.

This is obviously a one-sided statement.

No regime can unify the world solely by brutality, including the later Mongols and Jurchens. There must be more complicated reasons behind the victory.If the research cannot be carried out in a realistic manner and only criticizes from the moral level, the conclusions obtained will hardly play a guiding role.

Liu Xie hopes that Zhuge Liang and others will sort out the Qin government, learn from each other's strengths, and truly learn from history.

After Chimei destroyed Guanzhong, nearly 200 years later, due to too many household registrations, the environmental damage caused by excessive land reclamation gradually recovered, and Guanzhong had the material foundation to become a capital again.

After Liu Xie arrived in Guanzhong, someone mentioned that the emperor does not need to return to Luoyang, but can build his capital in Guanzhong.

Liu Xie did not give an answer immediately, and took advantage of the opportunity to conduct in-depth research and re-examine the previous results of field surveys.

He didn't trust Situ Zhao Wen very much.

Zhao Wen is old, no longer heroic and courageous when he was young, and he does many things very perfunctorily.There is no small trouble.

This is a common problem among old ministers, who are more than cautious and not enough to develop.

The dismissal of the chief minister Zhang Yi and the leapfrog promotion of the young and strong faction Liu Ba are all in the hope of being touched.

"The households that can be supported in Guanzhong are limited." After Zhuge Liang listed a series of numbers, he put forward his own point of view. "With the Qinling Mountains in the south, the cost of transporting Yizhou's money and grain to Guanzhong is too high. There is a danger in the east, and it is difficult to transport Shandong's money and grain to the west. In the long run, Guanzhong can only be used as a companion capital, not a national capital. "

Liu Xie nodded, and said again: "But the disadvantages of making Luoyang the capital are also obvious. It is too comfortable, and the mentality of the courtiers will change sooner or later."

Zhuge Liang agreed.

This is a dilemma with no perfect answer.

But as far as the current situation is concerned, the hukou in Guanzhong is far from reaching the upper limit that can be tolerated. This problem has not yet reached the time when they have to face it. They can study it slowly.

A doctor came to report. "Your Majesty, Da Sinong Liu Ba is asking to see you."

"Please come in." Liu Xie said, after thinking for a while, he said, "Kong Ming, go and meet him."

"Wei." Zhuge Liang agreed, and walked out quickly.

After a while, Zhuge Liang and Liu Ba came in side by side, talking and laughing.Liu Ba came in front of Liu Xie, bowed and saluted, and said directly: "Your Majesty, I take the liberty to ask Kong Ming to be your prime minister."

Liu Xie smiled slightly. "You are indeed too presumptuous."

Liu Ba also laughed. "I know I'm taking the liberty, but I have to give it a try. There are too few young people who are so smart and practical. Although Cheng Yi, the former chief secretary of agriculture, was pragmatic, he was not smart enough. He only cared about farming. Blindly resisting. Although it is true, after all, it has delayed the business."

Liu Xie raised his eyebrows lightly, secretly praising Liu Ba for his knowledge of people.

Zhuge Liang's brilliance is not only in IQ, but also in EQ.He can make those who have been dealt with by him have no complaints, and those who oppose him have a lot of admiration.Even if he is as proud as Guan Yu, he can make his eyebrows smile when he strokes his hair. This is something that many people can't do.

"I can let him be a trainee, but I can't let him be the prime minister of agriculture."

"A trainee is also fine, why don't you let him be the householder Cao Shangshu, and I will hand over the official duties to him in the future."

Liu Xie couldn't laugh or cry.

The young and strong faction is energetic, but also very confident, and does not regard itself as an outsider at all.

How do I arrange the people around me, and you still need to make irresponsible remarks?

Zhuge Liang is indeed very suitable to be Hu Cao Shangshu, but he is not only able to be Hu Cao Shangshu, I have higher expectations for him.Besides, the current Hu Cao Shangshu has done a good job, so you can't withdraw just because you are dissatisfied with your wishes.

Liu Xie motioned for a seat and asked Liu Ba to sit down and talk.

Liu Ba thanked him, then took out some account books, and began to report on various affairs in Guanzhong, mainly farming, including water conservancy, mulberry fields, animal husbandry, fishery, transportation, and so on.

The ledger was prepared for Liu Xie, and Liu Ba didn't need to look at it at all. A large number of numbers came out of his mouth. Liu Xie didn't even have time to turn them over, so he had to interrupt Liu Ba many times to slow him down.

When Liu Ba was reporting on his work, Lang Guan kept coming to report that someone asked to see him.When Liu Ba finished speaking, there were already a dozen groups of people waiting outside the hall.

Liu Ba turned a blind eye, and said to Liu Xie calmly: "If there is anything you don't understand, please answer it together."

Liu Xie nodded and closed the ledger in his hand. "I will arrange someone to verify the specific figures, and I will discuss with you tomorrow. First, tell me what happened to the silk from Jingzhou, and how you plan to deal with it."

"Wei." Liu Ba took out a roll of paper from the other sleeve and handed it to Liu Xie. "This is the grade and quantity of Jingzhou merchants and silk fabrics that have come from Wuguan in recent months. I have ordered people to seize them all and prepare to purchase them in a unified manner, lest they fight on their own and disturb the price."

Liu Xie took the scroll, glanced at it quickly, and then frowned.

More than half of the list are big families in Nanyang, and the remaining half are big families in Nanjun, mainly around Xiangyang.Other than these two items, there are only a few here and there, and the quantity is very limited.

"Is this a merchant from Jingzhou?"

"Nanyang is the largest county in Jingzhou. Its household registration accounts for half of Nanyang's population. It is normal that there are many merchants. There has been no war in Nanyang in the past two years, and things are abundant and people are prosperous."

Liu Xie immediately understood the implication of Liu Ba's words. "Since Nanyang has been rich in wealth and wealth in the past two years, why is there so little tax paid to the court?"

Liu Ba smiled. "Nanyang is the hometown of the emperor, and there are many heroes who don't have to pay taxes. Therefore, I plan to take this opportunity to collect some business taxes."

Chapter 632

Liu Xie was very unhappy and disappointed with Ding Chong.

Ding Chong has been in charge of Nanyang for the past two years. He has maintained the stability of Nanyang, successfully suppressed Zhang Ji and his Xiliang soldiers, and kept them from causing trouble. He also has a good reputation among the people.

But now it seems that Ding Chong's good reputation has a lot to do with his appeasement policy towards the big clan.

Nanyang is peaceful, Zhang Ji is living comfortably, Nanyang's big family is also living comfortably, Ding Chong himself is living more comfortably, but the court has not received any benefits, and has been struggling on the line of food and clothing.

Such Ding Chong obviously cannot satisfy Liu Xie.

"How much business tax can Nanyang collect?" Liu Xie suppressed his unhappiness and flipped through the list. "They are not even willing to pay the most basic taxes, but are they still willing to pay business taxes?"

"Nanyang has a large number of households, and the amount of food is not sufficient. Coupled with the previous system, the sudden forced tax collection will inevitably lead to opposition from the big clan, and even a civil uprising. Although the Xiliang soldiers under the command of Hussar General are good at fighting, they are difficult to restrain , accidental injury is unavoidable. Business tax is different, although there are many big families in Nanyang, not every big family is in business, and the scale of business is also very limited. The collection of business tax will affect only a limited number of people."

Liu Ba explained his plan in detail.

The silk fabrics from Nanyang will be purchased in a unified manner, so as to avoid vicious competition, lower prices and disturb the market when they bargain with Hu merchants from the Western Regions.Unified acquisitions, and then taxation based on their turnover, and taxation is graded progressively.

The bigger the business, the bigger the business tax you have to pay.

Doing so will help curb big businessmen and support small businessmen.Shrinking the strike surface also reduces the resistance.

After this policy is implemented, some people will inevitably think of taking the upper-level route, clearing up relationships, and seeking exemption.

In this way, the initiative was transferred to the court.

Liu Xie nodded slightly, agreeing in principle to Liu Ba's plan.

Nanyang is the hometown of the emperor. After more than 100 years, those heroes are no longer the pillars of the country.

When Sun Jian went north to King Qin, the Nanyang clan refused to provide money and food. The Nanyang prefect Zhang Zi was killed, and the Nanyang clan counterattacked and killed the Jiangxia prefect Liu Xiang who was traveling with Sun Jian, as a show of revenge.

Liu Xiang is Liu Ba's father.

For such a big family in Nanyang, the imperial court must rectify it, but there is not enough reason to directly use political means, and the scope of attack is too large, which is likely to cause group opposition.It is a good choice to use the method of collecting business taxes to attack some of the most powerful clans and shake the mountains and shake the tigers.

Business tax is a matter of course. The reason why those people pay less or not is because of collusion between officials and businessmen, using officials in the court as a cover to seek privileges. .

But there are very few officials in Nanyang now, and even fewer people can speak for them, and even if someone wants to speak for them, the final decision is still in the hands of Liu Xie.As long as Liu Xie's ears are not soft, the Nanyang clan has no other options.

"It's not enough just to control Nanyang merchants." Liu Xie made further comments. "Human merchants should also be managed, and they should not be allowed to freely negotiate prices."

Only a monopoly can have excess profits.

As a luxury item, silk fabrics have the highest profit and have little impact on ordinary people, but they are of great significance to the imperial court. It is unreasonable to fatten those Hu merchants.

"The minister has this intention. The minister intends to discuss with Anthony and others, select some merchants who are willing to cooperate, establish a chamber of commerce, connect with the institutions set up by the imperial court, and give priority to supply. It's just that this matter is too involved, and it is not the Dasinong Institute. To be able to bear it, at least the government needs to participate in the coordination.”

Liu Xie's heart skipped a beat.

Liu Ba mentioned the Shaofu, but did not mention the Situ Mansion, which is out of the norm.

According to the system of three gongs and nine ministers, Da Si Nong is directly responsible to Situ.Although the current court has gradually placed Sangong in vain, the Situ Mansion still has to intervene in matters on the scene, even if it does not have the right to make decisions.

When Zhao Wen, Yang Biao and others wanted to promote the restoration of the authority of the three princes, and even wanted the Taiwei to be in charge of the army, Liu Ba deliberately ignored the Situ Mansion. The motive behind it is worth thinking about.

If Liu Ba opposed the restoration of the authority of the San Gong, Liu Xie did not believe it.

According to the current situation, there is a high probability that Situ will be the end of Liu Ba's career in the future.Now that he opposes the restoration of the authority of the Sangong, isn't he controlling himself?

Considering the close cooperation between Liu Ba and Xun Yu, Liu Xie immediately denied this unrealistic idea.