Chapter 279 I said he had it, so he had it
Sell, keep selling!
Even though the war in the southwest was won, the emperor’s plan to sell official positions to raise money was not affected in the slightest. He continued to implement it with a firmness that was beyond Liu Ju’s expectations.

It was the beginning of summer and the sun was at its hottest near noon. Perhaps it was because of the sunburn or the heavy news they had heard, but the ministers who had just come out of the Xuanshi Hall all looked solemn. The discussions in groups of three or two became quiet, and the Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang looked particularly bitter and resentful.

Even the crown prince and the generals who were walking side by side were no exception.

At the previous court meeting.

When Li Ling and Guo Chang returned to Beijing, they reported the results of the war. They only mentioned the small tribes such as Qiongdu and Jucheng, and only mentioned Dian Kingdom a few more words.

When the Han army arrived at the city, the King of Dian surrendered without a fight and went to the capital.

That’s all.

Among the enemies of the Han Dynasty, the Huns were in the first tier, followed by the Qiang people, Korea, and the Yue people, and the southwestern barbarians were the next tier.

The lower the level, the greater the discount on military merit.

Although Li and Guo had the merit of destroying countries, the value of those “countries” was too low, so they were only rewarded with a thousand gold coins for this battle, but no titles were given.

But with this experience and achievements, he will most likely be able to rise rapidly in officialdom in the future, which is another invisible reward.

Let’s talk.

The King of Dian, who came to Beijing with the two generals to meet the emperor, was the main target of this southwest campaign. The ruler of Dian Kingdom formally submitted to the Emperor of Han.

The emperor bestowed the seal of the King of Dian and established Yizhou County on the former territory of Dian.

Other.

Yuexi County was established in the former Qiongdu State area, and Shenli County was established in other barbarian areas, and all of them were incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty.

All of the above were agreed upon by the court officials after the victory report was sent back and before the two generals returned to the battlefield. It was also the main purpose of the court in launching the war in the southwest.

however.

Today’s court meeting announced some expected matters, but also some unexpected situations, situations that even the ministers could not have anticipated…

“After the war, it was surprising enough that the sale of official positions continued. Who would have thought that my father would actually reinstate the order to report the corruption?”

On the palace road, Liu Ju walked with a sword in his hand, his tone sighing.

He sighed, Wei Qing was the same, and even Huo Qubing, who had never been involved in government affairs, was a little hesitant about the emperor’s actions.

“Before the Southwest War, Your Majesty took urgent measures to ease the pressure on the national treasury. It is understandable, but why did Your Majesty not relax after the war ended…”

“It’s getting worse?”

Selling official positions would lead to the corruption of government administration, and the Gao Min Order, which encouraged private reporting to fill the national treasury, could easily cause local unrest.

The reason why Liu Ju presided over the abolition of the Gao Min Order was because of this incident.

“Your Majesty cannot be unaware of the disadvantages of reporting the corruption.” Wei Qing pondered for a while and did not say the rest.

But Liu Ju speaks for himself:

Your Majesty knows everything, but Your Majesty doesn’t care.

He laughed and stopped dwelling on this point. He said, “Father wants to restart the system of declaring fines, and he wants the ministers to discuss it later. It is reasonable and logical for me to file a petition to oppose it. Then…”

Liu Ju looked around and said, “I hope my uncle and cousin can also submit a memorial.”

“us?”

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing looked over in surprise at the same time.

The Grand Marshal was well-known in the court for never speaking except on military matters. Now the General of Cavalry followed suit and practiced the art of keeping silent with his uncle.

The prince has always been tacitly supportive in the past, why is he acting so out of character today?
“Tsk.”

Seeing the suspicious eyes, Liu Ju sighed, patted the hilt of the sword, and said sadly: “To be honest with you, uncle and cousin, I have a very ominous premonition.”

Huo Qubing paused for a moment, then his eyes suddenly became sharp and dangerous, “Is it something ominous about ghosts and gods?”

Wei Qing’s face turned serious, “But is it stained with dirt?”

Ok?
Liu Ju was stunned and blinked for a long time before he realized that the word “ominous” he had used could easily cause misunderstanding in this era when ghost and god worship was prevalent.

“Hey, uncle and cousin, you got it wrong.” On the palace road leading to the East Palace, the poor and heavy sigh of the Crown Prince of Han was heard from afar.

“The dirty guy did meet the dirty guy, but it’s not what you think. I had nothing to do, so I made a summary of my father’s ruling career.”

“Old Liu…”

“His whole life was either spent fighting or preparing for war. Fighting, making money, making money, fighting again.”

“According to this logic, in the first year of Yuanfeng, the Xiongnu were attacked in the north and Korea was conquered, and then the liquor was sold by the government; this year, the Southwestern Yi were conquered, and then the sale of official positions and the reporting of the tax came one after another.”

“It’s a cycle of fighting and making money.”

“Now that my father is trying his best to make money, isn’t it obvious what he is going to do next?”

The emperor still wants to fight!

Moreover, the time is in the near future and it will definitely not be delayed for too long, otherwise there will be no need to increase the financial burden.

To be honest, Liu Ju’s reasoning logic is actually very simple. He was able to think things through earlier than his uncle Wei Qing, only because Wei Qing was speculating about the emperor from a bottom-up perspective, which was inevitably limited and constrained.

Liu Ju became much more calm.

Then, he saw at a glance what his emperor father was planning, and then Wei Qing and Huo Qubing both changed color.

It is true that the two of them are the top warriors in the world, but they also uphold the same philosophy:
Good at fighting, not warlike!

The current financially stretched situation of the imperial court is like a chariot speeding along at high speed. Its axles, wheels, and carriages are all issuing sharp and piercing warning sounds. It has reached its limit and is overwhelmed. It should stop and take a break.

But the emperor who was driving the horse kept whipping his horse without stopping for a moment.

Therefore.

Liu Ju then asked Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to submit a memorial, not one opposing the resumption of the tax, but one in favor of delaying the war…

In the following days, the atmosphere in the court became visibly dull, and the situation became more serious as the ministers met more and more frequently in the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Especially the Grand Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang, who had the words “Your Majesty, you are forcing me to death” written all over his face!
obviously.

The ministers realized it later and understood the emperor’s plan.

Now that money is being made, can war be far behind? But one war has just ended, and another is about to begin?

Sang Hongyang was really under great pressure. In a fit of rage, he also “became emotional and reasonable” and angrily submitted a petition to oppose the restart of the accusation of money! This money is not good, and it must not be accepted!

In a sense.

The ministers in charge of the national finances were against the national policy of increasing taxes. They were either helpless or had given up…

……

“Your Majesty, this is the third memorial submitted by the Minister of Agriculture. Do you see it?”

Ganquan Palace, main hall.

Shortly after the beginning of summer, the emperor moved to Ganquan Palace to escape the summer heat, and also handled government affairs here.

In the past, the emperor would refer such memorials of opposition to the crown prince for handling, but this time he did not, because the crown prince also submitted a memorial of opposition.

“Suppress it, don’t approve it.”

After saying these four short words, just like before, the emperor stared at a large geomancy map and asked casually, “Anyone else has objections?”

Hear the words.

The Minister of the Central Secretariat who was kneeling beside him…

In February of the second year of Yuanfeng, the emperor changed the regulations of the inner court and established the post of Zhongshu Yezheling, abbreviated as Zhongshu Ling, who was in charge of documents and memorials from ministers and was held by eunuchs.

The first Zhongshu Ling in history was Sima Qian, who was castrated. But now things have changed, and the title of the first one has unfortunately been taken by someone else…

Shen Fa, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Shen Fa.

Hearing the emperor’s question, Zhongshu Ling Shen Fa pulled out several memorials from a pile and reported, “Your Majesty, the Grand Marshal and the General of the Cavalry also submitted memorials.”

“They did not mention opposing the report of the money, but they all said that… a country may be great, but if it forgets war, it will be in danger, and if it loves war, it will perish.”

The voice just fell.

The emperor, who was leaning on the couch, snorted coldly, and it was unclear who he was venting his anger to. Anyway, the Minister of the Central Secretariat shuddered with fear and quickly lowered his head.

The eunuch who was carrying the geomancy map to the emperor glanced at his colleagues, and there was a subtle hint of wariness and coldness in his peripheral vision.

The emperor did not look at the scared Zhongshu Ling, but looked at the geomancy map in front of him again, “All the objection memorials will be suppressed, and the others will be sent to the crown prince’s palace.”

“Here.”

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and when the Minister of the Central Secretariat left with the memorial, the hall continued to be in silence for a long time.

The emperor held a red brush in his hand, and sometimes painted on the geomancy map, and sometimes stopped, as if he was appreciating a rare masterpiece of painting.

“Ever since the prince invented paper, I have been fond of practicing calligraphy and drawing mountains and rivers, but I have been drawing and drawing and never got the hang of it.”

“I just found out today.”

Liu Che pointed to the geomancy map in front of him and said with satisfaction: “To draw mountains and rivers, you can only get the essentials by drawing on the Han Dynasty’s territory!”

The eunuch bowed slightly and said with a flattering smile: “I am a stupid servant, but I don’t know what is the key to make Your Majesty so happy?”

“what!”

Liu Che put down his red brush, took the new version of the Great Han River and Mountains Map, admired it for a while, and then laughed and scolded: “What do you know, eunuch? Expanding the territory and achieving hegemony are what I pursue!”

“Your Majesty is mighty.” The old eunuch immediately agreed with a smile.

“Okay, stop flattering me.” The emperor waved his hand, and while taking a closer look at the newly opened southwestern counties of the Han Dynasty, he ordered, “Go to the Grand Marshal’s Mansion tonight.”

The eunuch immediately straightened his face and pretended to listen attentively.

“Go tell the Grand Marshal and the General of the Cavalry that I know that those who love war will perish, but the opportunity for war is fleeting, and we must not hesitate.”

“If we don’t do more while Mobei is busy, once the situation on the grassland becomes clear, the Han Dynasty will be completely bound by the Xiongnu.”

That’s all I have to say.

The emperor’s face showed a stern expression, “I am indeed going to raise troops again, so they don’t need to persuade me. I know my limits in this matter.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The eunuch was awestruck and responded respectfully.

“One more thing!” The emperor turned his head and looked at the old eunuch, “You should also tell the prince that he has already helped the prime minister once in the matter of exploiting the royal family, which has already demonstrated his benevolence and friendship.”

“He’s done enough.”

“As the crown prince, it is good to be benevolent, but he can be warm on the outside, but his heart must be cold!”

The emperor’s eyes were dim and his words were cold. It was obvious that he wanted the eunuch to convey this sentence to the prince, but when the eunuch heard it, his heart trembled and his face turned pale.

She knelt down hurriedly and said in horror: “I will remember this!”

There was silence in the hall.

After an unknown amount of time, the emperor’s deep voice slowly rang out, “Get up and bring the red brush.”

“Yes, yes.” The eunuch hurriedly stood up, presented the pen to His Majesty, took the feng shui map and held it up, suppressing all the waves in his heart.

After beating the old eunuch, Liu Che turned his gaze back to the map, and the place he fixed on was still the southwest region.

After the battle between Li Ling and Guo Chang, the Han Dynasty expanded its territory by three new counties. When the initial battle report was delivered, the emperor was indeed very happy. After all, he won, and it was an easy victory.

Before the war.

The ultimate goal he set for Li Ling and the other two was to fight all the way to the Kingdom of Dian. However, who knew that the biggest imaginary enemy in this war would be the Kingdom of Dian.

Surrendered without a fight.

When the army had already begun to return to the capital, Liu Che suddenly had a thought in his mind, “Oh! I was conservative!”

It’s really too late to regret!

If he had known that the barbarians in the southwest were so vulnerable, he would have let Li Ling and Guo Chang fight all the way to the end…

of course.

This thought only flashed through Liu Che’s mind. Even if he regretted it to death, he would never show it.

Furthermore, it is one thing that the enemy is vulnerable, but it is another thing that the Han army continues to march at a high intensity, its combat effectiveness gradually decreases, and the probability of accidents gradually increases.

There is nothing wrong with withdrawing troops at the right time.

Although this was not perfect, the emperor also sensed the weakness of the Southwestern Yi.

They are very weak.

How dare such a weak man like him to hang around under the nose of such a powerful me? Do you think they are guilty of original sin?
No need to answer, I said he has it, so he has it!

beep.

The emperor took the pen and poked hard at the lower left corner of the geomancy map, leaving a red mark. If you look closely, you will find that this place is located in the southwest of the newly expanded three counties. It reads:

Kunming.

“I want to attack this place, what do you think?” The emperor stared at the word Kunming for a while and asked casually.

“Your Majesty, you are asking me?” The eunuch said with a shy face, “How dare I interrupt the war? How about calling the general and others to discuss it?”

The emperor glanced at him and didn’t respond to the general’s question. “You don’t speak when I tell you to, but you talk a lot when I don’t tell you to.”

“How about I summon the Minister of the Central Secretariat?”

“Don’t!”

The old eunuch straightened up all of a sudden, his face no longer modest, and he didn’t care that His Majesty was scolding him again. He glanced at the geomancy map and immediately said:

“Your Majesty, we must have a good reason to go out on a mission this time?”

“Just like before, the Honglu Temple will send envoys and ask them to find a solution.”

“Then when should we mobilize the troops and from where?” the eunuch asked again. Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. He had listened to countless pre-war discussions and knew the basic military knowledge.

The emperor did not really want him to make plans, but just used the eunuch to help him sort out his thoughts and fill in the gaps.

present.

Liu Che stood up and paced in the hall while saying, “To fight in the southwest, we still need to mobilize the Yizhou troops. Since the last battle just ended, there is no need to mobilize the county troops and call in prisoners for this battle.”

“As for the timing of sending troops, the summer heat in southern Xinjiang is unbearable, so we should wait until… autumn or winter.”

The emperor said this, and the eunuch wrote it down, and at the same time asked, “Your Majesty, who will lead the troops to the battle?”

There is no need to consider Wei Qing, he should not be moved; there is no need to think about Huo Qubing, why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken; Li Guang? He is indeed too old.

“Gongsun Ao?” The emperor thought for a moment and said, “No.”

The eunuch Ling added: “Gongsun He? He has led the army to attack many times and is experienced.”

“Him? Not either.”

“…I heard that the general’s third brother, Wei Guang, has been working in the Grand Marshal’s Mansion recently. He may have one-third of the general’s talent. How about choosing him?”

The emperor looked back at him and paused for a moment, “Is there anyone who is not related to the general who can recommend you?”

The eunuch opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment.

Uh……

After several consecutive foreign military campaigns, the leading generals were always linked to the general, and His Majesty was obviously unhappy.

After thinking for a moment, the old eunuch asked tentatively, “What about Li Gan, the Praetorian Guard?”

Don’t use Wei, use Li yourself.

The emperor thought for a moment, still frowning, and tossed his sleeves, “Li Ling of the Li family just went to war last time, and it’s not appropriate to let Li Gan lead the troops this time.”

The emperor wanted Wei and Li to check and balance each other, not to let them dominate the court. It would not be good to only use them.

The more competition, the better.

But while thinking this in his heart, the emperor said, “Apart from Wei and Li, is there no other general in our Han Dynasty?”

Yes, there are many generals whose surnames are not Wei or Li, but there are very few generals who are not related to Wei or Li and have the ability to lead troops.

The eunuch was speechless and his face looked bitter.

Your Majesty, don’t you know these?

The emperor naturally knew that what he had just said was not a question to the old eunuch, but a way to vent his boredom.

Just ridiculous.

In such a huge court with so many generals from top to bottom, is it so difficult to find one who has no connection with the Wei family?

At this moment, for some reason, the emperor’s mood suddenly became gloomy. He put his hands behind his back, walked slowly in the hall without saying a word. The more he thought about it, the uglier his expression became.

The eunuch followed behind cautiously. It seemed like a speechless silence, but in it were hidden countless storms and waves, which made him not even dare to interrupt.

With lowered eyebrows and eyes.

The old eunuch suddenly stopped because the Emperor in front of him stopped, and the eunuch raised his eyes to take a peek.

It wouldn’t matter if I didn’t look, but once I did, my heart skipped a beat.

But see you.

The emperor was standing in front of a folding screen, staring motionlessly at the person on the fan. She was a beautiful woman with almond-shaped face, rosy cheeks, and charming eyes and eyebrows.

She was once the most beautiful woman in the world.

“We sent troops once in the spring. I heard that the soldiers and civilians in Yizhou are exhausted. Since we are going to attack the southwest, we can send troops from the south instead of the north. What do you think?”

The emperor was asking the eunuchs for orders, but the old eunuch, who had realized something, didn’t want to listen at all, let alone answer.

Damn it!
Your Majesty, please don’t ask about our family!

But the emperor had already asked, and the eunuch was ordered to answer. His mouth twitched, his teeth clenched, and he squeezed out a few words with difficulty, “If your majesty thinks it is feasible, then it is feasible.”

“Well, what you said makes sense. Her brother is in the south, and her family is not on the same route as the Wei family. Just let him lead the troops.” The emperor said to himself.

The eunuch’s eyes widened and his heart trembled.

WTF?

Your Majesty, please don’t wrongly accuse me. When did I agree with that person to lead the army? If this gets to the ears of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, will our family be able to have a good ending in the future! ?

The emperor ignored the eunuch’s order. He had already found the perfect candidate and calculated it in his mind, and was sure of it.

Liu Che turned around, his face more dignified, and instructed the eunuch: “When my wife was seriously ill, she entrusted me with my brothers, and I have never forgotten it.”

“Draft an imperial edict and send it to Lingnan. Do you know what to write?”

hiss–

The old eunuch is heartbroken. Your Majesty, I don’t know what to write!

(End of this chapter)