Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 831
"Father please give me a strong crossbow."

Liu Liang knelt down in front of Liu Chang and expressed his appeal.

Liu Chang looked at his son in astonishment, and then asked, "Who bullied you?"

"No one ever bullied me."

"Then what are you going to do with the crossbow?"

"Assist the Northland for my father."

"I asked you to go to the North to reward the officials, not to let you hunt and kill the officials! This is the first time I heard that rewarding the officials has to go with a strong crossbow!"

Liu Liang hurriedly explained, "Father, it's like this. I asked the sages in Chang'an for advice, and the sages told me that no matter what you want to accomplish, you must have force enough to persuade others. Force is confidence. No matter what kind of moral gentleman you are, if you don’t have the protection of force, you can’t accomplish your goals. If you want to do something, you can’t do it with moral writing alone. I am young and weak, so I want to borrow a crossbow from my father.”

Liu Chang was furious, "Which old dog said this? It's just nonsense!"

"It's Tang Confucian king Tongyun."

"Oh, what the prince said makes sense."

Liu Chang pulled Liu Liang to his side, and said seriously: "But you didn't understand what he said. This so-called force is not pure martial arts. It doesn't mean that anyone who can fight can listen to whoever he is. This narration The most important thing is strength. Take your elder brother as an example. Your elder brother's martial arts is not good, but his knowledge is very strong, and he has gathered countless talents around him. This is also one of his strengths. There is no problem with what he said, but this It's not a question of a crossbow."

Liu Liang was thoughtful, "Then how can I become powerful?"

"You are my son, you are very powerful from birth, as long as you know how to use this identity, this identity can be compared to a million crossbows."

Liu Chang patted his head, "Okay, go back and think about it slowly!"

Although Liu Liang didn't get the strong crossbow, he seemed to have some different feelings and left Houde Hall in a daze.

Dou Guangguo stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to do it now?"

Liu Chang sneered, "There's no rush. Let's wait until the time is right."

Dou Guangguo took the order and stepped aside.

When Liu Liang was meditating on everything and walked out of the palace, he was taken aback. Outside the palace, there were many people standing, most of them were old men with white hair and beard, and many of them were walking on crutches. , looking in the direction of the gate, waiting quietly.Liu Liang chose to avoid this place, and asked the soldier behind him, "What's going on here?"

"Back to Your Majesty, these people are here to persuade His Majesty."

"Ah? What are you admonishing?"

"These are the three elders of Jingfu. They said that after the new tax order was issued, it seriously harmed the local people. They came to advise His Majesty, hoping to continue to adopt the past tax law and not to collect so many taxes. They said yesterday So I came, first went to the minister of the Ministry of Commerce and blocked the door of the people. Those ministers were powerless against these elderly people, and they dared not send soldiers to expel them. They injured several people, even Jia Gong was injured by stones head, and finally closed the door to dare not see them"

Liu Liang said with some surprise: "Yu Shigong is too much, even if the political opinions are different, the elderly should not be allowed to act like this."

The soldier smiled, but did not answer.

When Liu Liang left from here, a carriage hurried past them and entered the palace.

Liu Heng got out of the car with a serious face, and hurriedly walked towards Houde Hall under the leadership of his attendants.

When Liu Heng walked into Houde Hall, Liu Chang was squinting his eyes, sitting on the upper seat, and there was a person beside him telling a story to him, Liu Chang listened very comfortably.

"You go back."

Liu Heng dismissed the storyteller, Liu Chang hurriedly opened his eyes, and said with some reluctance: "I'm almost finished listening, I'm almost there."

Liu Heng sat directly beside Liu Chang and looked at him seriously, "Chang, I didn't find these people."

"I know you are King Wu and not King Zhao. How could you do such a stupid thing?"

Liu Chang cheered up and said with a sneer: "When Jia Yi said that he would reform the tax law, I was hesitant and didn't know the effect. Now that I see these people coming to my door, I know that I was right to support Jia Yi! "

"The fact that they dare to do things like this can only explain one thing. Jia Yi's restructuring has indeed shaken their interests. The original taxation was simple and straightforward. They said that they treated people equally, but in fact the same treatment is the biggest injustice to the poor. Now this The tax law does not leave room for them to take advantage of loopholes. Since it was implemented last year, the state treasury has been unmatched in the past. This is the financial resources that a big man should have."

"Now these people are jumping up and down, talking about competing for profits with the people, expropriating and oppressing the people, and so on. They are almost saying that I am Qin Shihuang and Jia Yi is Li Si. But speaking of it, Jia Yi is really with Li Si. It's from the same door!"

Seeing that his younger brother changed the topic to a strange direction while talking, Liu Heng was quite helpless.

"You can see that this kind of thing has never happened since the founding of the Han Dynasty. The three elders knocked on the sky. If this matter is not handled properly, it will cause great trouble. They all came here with the slogan of pleading for the people. , and the common people may not know the essence of the tax law. They only know that they did not have to pay agricultural tax in the past, but now there are many types of taxes. Many people really think that they are here to plead for the people. People like Jia Yi, Can't compete with them head-on. You."

"What are you afraid of, brother?"

Liu Chang grinned, "But dozens of old men scare you like this?"

"I'm not afraid of them, I'm afraid of you."

"What are you afraid of me?"

"I'm afraid you'll catch them and kill them."

"The great man governs the world with morality. As the emperor, you must abide by it. At least you can't take action against these people. Otherwise, the impact will be extremely bad."

Liu Heng is very aware of the character of his younger brother. Facing these people who rely on the old to sell the old and coerce the so-called "public opinion" to seek benefits for themselves, others may avoid them, but Liu Chang will never, the more he faces older people, The more excited he was, it was his younger brother's tradition to bully the elders and beat the younger ones, he worried that his younger brother would take the lead and kill these people, which would directly trigger huge public opinion, and the current good situation would be ruined.

Liu Chang didn't speak. After being the emperor for many years, he gradually knew what the emperor's daily life was like.

This so-called governance is actually an uninterrupted struggle.

Fight with foreign enemies, fight with tyrants, fight with big clans, fight with treacherous ministers, fight with profiteers
The meaning of the temple is to keep cleaning up these people and constantly face the troubles they cause. When the temple is powerless to deal with them one day, it will be the time when the temple will perish.

The Great Han is a brand-new empire, so there are many things that the past dynasties have never faced, meritorious families, powerful landlords, these two things have just risen in this land, and they have already brought endless troubles, and the most terrible thing is The thing is, there is no way to completely eliminate these things. Anyway, it is not possible at present. Strictly speaking, Liu Chang is the biggest landlord and powerful in the world, and the Liu family is the biggest meritorious family. As long as they still exist, then this pest will definitely continue to exist .

You can't even kill yourself, can you?
Anyway, it is currently impossible to do this.

Therefore, apart from dealing with these people one after another, the temple really has no way to completely eradicate them. However, in these years, the temple has weakened them a lot through many methods.

Paper, printing, assessment, enlightenment, the combination of these four has broken the monopoly of the big clan on knowledge. Although the big clan is still strong, it is impossible to be as lawless as before, covering the sky with one hand. In addition, these various policies are also a A chain, wrapped around those tyrants, let them put away their tentacles.

That's all the temples can do, lock them up.

Of course, these people are not lambs waiting to be slaughtered. They will not let the temple lock themselves, and always try to struggle. Now that Liu Chang is too strong, they can only struggle with such a soft knife. If the temple is in a weak position, then Their methods will not be so "gentle".

It's just that this soft knife is not easy to stop, and there are still many things to worry about.

Liu Heng frowned, and said helplessly: "Don't think it's just a few dozen old men. Big men have three elders everywhere. If this happens everywhere, block the gates of the government and oppose the implementation of the New Deal. What should I do? This is not something that can be neglected."

"Besides, if you execute these people, there will probably be more opponents everywhere. At this age, if they can benefit their clan, they may not be afraid of being executed. I am worried that they will find ways to anger you instead. , in order to die."

"Fourth brother don't need to say any more, the meaning of fourth brother is to let me not to be tough, right?"

Liu Heng nodded.

"For this matter, it's best for me to come forward and negotiate with them. It will definitely solve this matter well."

Liu Chang hesitated to speak.

But Liu Heng continued: "Don't feel troublesome, this is the best solution, I will talk to them well, I oppose the tax law, everyone in the world knows, they can't make things difficult for me, as long as these things are appeased Let all localities pay attention to these people, and then use newspapers to guide public opinion, this matter can still be suppressed.”

"But."

"There is nothing but, it won't delay for a long time, within three months, this matter will pass peacefully"

"but."

Seeing his younger brother hesitating, Liu Heng couldn't help but ask, "What worries do you have?"

"Fourth brother, what you said is very correct and very good."

"But there is one thing, maybe it's a little late now."

"What do you mean??"

The sun was shining brightly and it was extremely hot.

Many elders stood outside the gate of the palace, facing the scorching sun, only feeling dizzy.

In the beginning, in order to prevent officials from harming the common people, the Great Han established the system of three elders, allowing the common people to select those capable old men who are responsible for connecting with the government. This was considered a measure to protect the common people. However, the three-elder system has gradually changed. Those who used to be the masters of the people have become powerful spokespersons, secretly competing with local officials to compete for grassroots power. Many policies that benefit the people during the Liu Bang period have been developed to some extent. There are few disadvantages.

These three elders gathered here, their faces were full of grief and indignation.

The purpose of their gathering here is very simple, that is to put pressure on the temple and force the temple to back down in the reform of the tax law.

And their power is very strong, as Liu Heng said, there are three elders all over the country.

They dare to come here to make trouble, so naturally they are not afraid of being dealt with. The best way to deal with it will cause a greater sensation. At that time, more three elders will speak up for themselves. The three elders have a great voice at the grassroots level, and they are the emperor. Can't bear such a risk!
Everyone stood here, chatting loudly with each other.

Probably because they gave up their lives to handle this matter, so they didn't have the slightest fear on their faces. They have reached this age, and they will die when they die. As long as the clan can benefit, what is it?

Besides, with the moral correctness of big men, these elderly people naturally have a protective film, and whoever touches them will suffer huge public opinion pressure.

Just as they were standing here confidently, talking loudly and trying their best to make noise, a young official was walking towards here quickly.

This young official is not tall, that is, at the age of a weak crown, but just looking at his face, he is a bit ordinary and has no characteristics.

And behind him, more than a hundred soldiers followed him neatly, walking towards here.

When this young young man stood in front of many elders, a white-haired elder stepped forward and asked loudly, "When will Your Majesty come to see us?"

The young man looked at them calmly, and said: "Gathering in front of the palace gate for no reason, for more than an hour, will be regarded as treason."

"Please leave, everyone."

The three elders just thought these words were ridiculous. He looked at the young man in front of him coldly, looking down at him, is there no one in the temple?Sending such a little guy with no hair at all to face him?

"Don't scare the old man. The old man is over seventy years old, so there is no need to bring up any charges of treason. I am here to plead for the people. Jia Yi and others are going against the grain and using harsh tax laws to persecute the people. If your majesty can't give Tell us, we will never leave!"

"Jia Yi must be punished! Change back to the original tax law!!"

When everyone heard this, they booed immediately, leaned on the ground with crutches, and loudly expressed their appeals.

The young man just looked at him calmly, and said: "The temple has a channel to submit a letter. If there are officials who endanger the people, or if they behave inappropriately, the elders can write a letter to the emperor by themselves, and they can report to the Yushifu. The letter and the Sangong, the Sangong came forward to explain. But there is no reason to block the gate of the government, or the gate of the palace. It will be an hour soon. You should go back now and submit the letter through legal means. There is no problem."

The three elders did not retreat. They did not come here to listen to the policy explained to them by the Prime Minister. They either got rid of Jia Yi or changed the tax system. How could such a goal be achieved through normal means?

Since the promulgation of this new tax law, their families have to pay taxes to raise those tenants, to pay taxes to raise some servants, to pay taxes to buy other people’s farmland and houses, to pay taxes to do business, and to build a better house You also have to pay taxes, and even if you take a few more concubines, you have to pay taxes. How can there be such a reason?These policies that harm the "people" make it impossible for them to enjoy them with peace of mind. When doing anything, they must first consider how much tax they have to pay. If they write to the Prime Minister of the country, it must be those big reasons. I am not here to listen to the reasons of.

The leader continued: "The officials of the temple must protect Jia Yi, how can they be trusted?"

"We must meet the Emperor."

The younger generation didn't speak any more, just waited.

The three elders also continued to confront each other without moving.

After waiting in silence for a while, the young man finally cleared his throat and said, "It's been an hour."

"you say."

As soon as the leader opened his mouth, he saw the sword in the young man's hand swinging towards him, and immediately opened his mouth on his neck. The three elders clutched their necks and fell down, and the young man cut off his head immediately. Level, raise it to face everyone, "Put these rebels to death!!!"

The soldiers rushed forward immediately, and the three elders were all stunned, shouting and running away one after another.

Although they were ready to die, when the shadow of death really enveloped them, they were still extremely frightened. They begged for mercy loudly and fled everywhere, only to face those heavily armed soldiers. In vain, the soldiers rushed forward, firing their crossbows at full force, the three elders screamed and fell into a pool of blood, but for a moment, none of the many three elders gathered here survived.

The young official wiped his sword, and then gave an order: "The law of the great Han, the clan of the rebels, send people to the clan of these people quickly, and don't let the criminal go."

"only!!"

After receiving the order, the soldiers quickly dispersed and left.

The soldiers guarding the gate of the palace couldn't help but dilate their pupils when they saw the bloody scene in front of them. What kind of ruthless man is this? ?No hesitation at all? ? ?
At this moment, Liu Heng rushed out of the palace gate in a panic. As soon as he went out, he saw corpses all over the floor.

Liu Heng was stunned. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He watched this scene with gritted teeth.

Liu Chang came out from behind him unsteadily, looking at the scene in front of him, but he didn't panic at all.

Seeing the emperor coming out, the young official hurried forward to pay homage to him.

Liu Chang nodded with satisfaction, "Tang, you did a good job. It was indeed the right choice to let you replace your father in the county government. Dispose of all these corpses, punish their clans, and publish them in the newspapers." Tell the world."

Zhang Tang hurriedly took orders, turned around and left here.

Liu Heng looked at this scene in dismay, "You have caused a catastrophe!"

"What is the fourth brother afraid of? As long as you give in once, it will make them even more rampant. If the local elders want to make trouble, then let them make trouble, make trouble with one of my clan, and another of my clan, until they dare not Stop making noise!!!”

Liu Chang glared angrily, "Break into the government house and beat up my servants, I won't let them leave alive!!"

"What kind of tyrant, the only one who can be restrained by Mingjun's reputation is fourth brother you!"

"I was born to be a tyrant!!!"

(End of this chapter)