Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 881 Xia Guo
summer country.

The sky is gray, the wild is vast, and the wind blows and the grass looks down on the robbers.

This is the most appropriate description of Xia Guo. Since leaving Dai Guo, crossing the Great Wall, and entering the territory of Xia Guo, the situation has become a little different. It is difficult to distinguish directions here, and there are grasslands with no end in sight. , even if it is a road sign that has just been erected, it is either blown down by the wind or submerged in weeds, and cannot play its true role at all. The road sign was pulled out, stood aside again, looked at the text on it, and said helplessly: "There are still nearly three days to go."

Everyone was silent.

Even Liu Ci, who has always been active, didn't say much at this moment.

Starting from Chang'an, they experienced many prefectures and states, but no matter where they went, the picture was the same, with cultivated land, people, roads, and everyone talking and laughing, until they crossed the Great Wall, the situation suddenly changed.

Walking out of the Great Wall, all you can see is the vast grassland. Looking around, there is no cultivated land, no roads, and no pedestrians. There are only endless grasslands, as if you have come to another world.When everyone left Chang'an, they had heard about the local situation many times. They all said that the country of Xia was remote and poor, and that it was the most impoverished place for the big men, but they never had a specific idea in their hearts. Perhaps in their minds, the legendary Xia Kingdom is similar to the suburban countryside of Chang'an.

But when they really came here, they began to understand those words.

They walked for several days, during which time they encountered several wolves, and were twice attacked by bandits, but otherwise they encountered nothing.

There is no road under their feet, and the city cannot be seen from a distance. If the guide hadn't walked in the front, they would not know whether they would be able to reach the royal city. According to the guide, the royal city is still very close to the Great Wall. , Xia Guo is very vast, and there are many places that are much more remote than here.

Everyone just looked around quietly, without speaking.

Liu Ci suddenly laughed, and he said: "Here, you can ride your horse at will, with almost no barriers. At the beginning, we all praised our driving skills. Another day, we can find a place to ride the horse and see who is the most skilled. ability!"

It was only then that everyone was moved by him, and they were not timid, and they all expressed that they could have a showdown.

Liu Ci took out the water bag, took a big gulp, and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

He looked into the distance with great interest, "This is the place where us people can display our talents. Think about it, with this piece of land, there will definitely be a wide and flat road in the future, and merchants will come and go. Xia Houci can best demonstrate the talents of us people! From now on, you will wipe out all the thieves in this area! This is all military merit!"

Xia Houci laughed loudly, "It's a deal!"

Tu Tang said with some displeasure: "How can this be designated? Whoever has the ability can let him go! I have decided on this military merit!"

"Then let's try first and see who kills more!"

Everyone said, and then they found a high ground and prepared to spend the night here. They lit a bonfire and got ready. Two or three sat together, eating meat, and chatting.Liu Ci sat in the middle, and Dong Zhongshu sat beside him.

Dong Zhongshu looked at the people around him, and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, we thought it was too easy to govern Xia."

Liu Ci just looked at the bonfire in front of him, lost in thought, without saying a word.

Dong Zhongshu frowned, "These people who came with you are the bravest and most loyal to you, but people like them have become a little silent after seeing the situation in Xia Guo , there are a few people who obviously regret that even they are like this, let alone others?"

Zheng Qi couldn't help but said: "You can't be so pessimistic that big men are not all people who are greedy for enjoyment. I think that only such a situation can keep those true sages who are not afraid of hardships. Those who are afraid of hardships, even if they stay in Xia Kingdom , what use can it be? Your Majesty, don't worry, Xia Guo actually doesn't need so many officials, we are enough. I see the situation here, and I have a lot of thoughts in my heart. Our tribes are scattered in various places. places, too far from each other, and governance is not easy."

"We should work hard on the road from the Great Wall to the King's City. We should set up some villages here, reclaim arable land, and relocate some people because there are almost no nomadic people here. We should set up a square city here to receive those Zhao, Tang, I think it is the most suitable for merchants from other places."

Zheng Qi directly talked about his thoughts.

Liu Ci glanced at him, and a smile appeared on his face just now, "You are right, you should think about this matter carefully, and discuss it with him when you see the Prime Minister of the State."

Zheng Qi nodded, and then went to find someone else to continue chatting.

Dong Zhongshu glanced at him, and said just now: "Zheng Qi can do practical things. However, my lord, there are many means of governance, but there can only be one core of governance. In the case of Xia, what is most needed is a reasonable one. In the past, the governance plan was mainly based on enlightenment. I think there is nothing wrong with this. However, enlightenment needs support from other aspects. The people are very practical. It is useless to just tell them the truth of the saint. We have to let them live a prosperous life and live a good life, and their lives will improve, so that they will enshrine the principles of saints."

"I dare not say that Fu Xiang is wrong. If it weren't for him, the Xia Kingdom would not have been established at all. His comfort and enlightenment are also right, but that is only from the perspective of the past. Now, with There is something wrong with education as the core. No matter how many Confucian scholars come to explain the truth to the herdsmen every day, it will not have any real effect. It is better for us to change our strategy and find a way to make these herdsmen live a better life. Help them solve their problems, solve their real problems."

"Now when we talk about the Xia Kingdom, everyone talks about cultivating land, building roads, and building counties, but they all ignore the real problems in the local area. The Xia Kingdom is dominated by herdsmen. Cultivated land, roads, and counties are really important to the herdsmen. Is it useful? My idea is that we should support the local animal husbandry, help those herdsmen promote the knowledge of healing livestock, sell them special products, provide them with heating, ensure their medical care, and let them live a good life from the practical point of view. Some, only when you really feel the change, those great truths will no longer be empty talk.”

"To say ten thousand words that the people of the Xia Kingdom should support the emperor is not as good as sending someone to heal a horse in a herdsman's house."

Dong Zhongshu said seriously, and then looked at Zheng Qi in the distance, "His idea is very good, but from the perspective of Xia Guo temple, His Majesty once said that the country is made up of the people, so the governance The focus should be on the people."

"What does your Majesty think?"

Liu Ci's eyes widened at this moment, staring at Dong Zhongshu who was beside him, Dong Zhongshu felt terrified at the sight of him.

"If Your Majesty disagrees, I can discuss this with the Prime Minister in person. Don't look at me like that."

Liu Ci shook his head, "No, I thought you were just knowledgeable, but I didn't expect to be able to say these words. I think what you said is very reasonable, it's so reasonable!"

"Education can't be empty talk, it is to make people feel the change. Governing the Xia Kingdom is not purely enlightenment, but also practical governance. You are right!"

Dong Zhongshu understood what he meant, "Your Majesty doesn't believe that I can govern the country, no wonder he didn't want to take me with him at the beginning."

"No, I thought you were just good at empty talk, hahaha, blame me, blame me, I will punish myself!"

Liu Ci substituted water for wine and punished himself with a few sips.

Dong Zhongshu looked at the people in front of him, and said seriously to Liu Ci: "Your Majesty, don't underestimate the people here. These people who came with you are all talented and capable of doing things. Listen to them more. Thoughts, there may be unexpected surprises.”

Liu Ci took it for granted.

They didn't rest well that night, and they were attacked by thieves in the middle of the night.

The problem of thieves in Xia State is very serious, but the thieves in Xia State are not local herdsmen, they are mainly criminals within the Great Wall. After these people commit crimes, they have nowhere to hide in the local area, so they fled to the grassland. It is not easy here Those who were caught, after coming here, started to rob houses, and occasionally attacked some small tribes, which made the local people miserable. Liu Ci has realized how serious this problem is.

Xia's defense line is too long, and it is impossible to check the personnel entering and leaving as seriously as other countries.

"A patrol team must be set up, every place must be set up! The pavilion leader is unrealistic, it is too big, but the patrol team can, just like the border guards in the Central Plains!"

Liu Ci yelled loudly, and this suggestion was offered by Tu Tang for him.

"My lord, when the Xiongnu Shanyu acquired these places, the country was full of thieves. He immediately set up a patrol team, mainly recruiting warriors from various tribes to form a patrol team. He divided each area for a period of one year and let them patrol. , this move allowed the various ministries to communicate with each other, deepened their ties, and effectively curbed the situation of thieves.”

Tutang is still very familiar with things on the grassland, after all, he is from the Yue family.

As the old enemies of the Huns in the past, the Yuezhi knew their enemies very well, and he uncovered many systems of the Huns in the past.

After hearing these thoughts, Liu Ci became more certain in his heart. If he wanted to govern the Xia Kingdom, the big man was not good at it, and he had to do the Xiongnu's way!
They walked for another two days before meeting the Prime Minister who came to greet them.

Flying dust billowed in the distance, and the ground trembled slightly. At first glance, a large-scale cavalry was approaching. Liu Ci and everyone were ready to kill the enemy, but they saw Xia Guo's flag slowly appearing in the distance.

Fu Qing rode an old white horse and walked at the front of the team. He seemed to have had a lot of vicissitudes, but his face was very kind, with a smile on his face, and behind him were countless knights Ladies and gentlemen, the dresses of these knights are very weird, there is no uniform attire. It's so fierce that people dare not look directly at them, and their formation is not very neat, but there is a fierce aura all over their bodies.

Seeing this cavalry, Liu Ci's eyes lit up.

Because Xia Guo is a nomadic vassal state, all the cavalry, the cavalry with the most superb cavalry skills of the Han Dynasty are basically here, and the only flaw is logistics. As long as they can solve the logistics problem for them, give them a powerful force With the support of the national power, the iron cavalry of the Xia Kingdom is really all the way, and can reproduce the strength of the Xiongnu back then. Even surpassed the peak Xiongnu.After seeing the king, Fu Qing got off the horse with the others one after another. Fu Qing looked at the young princes and kings in front of him, and walked forward to pay respects with a smile.

"I pay homage to the king!"

Liu Ci hurriedly helped him up, and said more respectfully: "Don't dare to let Zhongfu do this, I will ask Zhongfu to take care of him in the future."

Seeing that the king is so respectful, the worries on the faces of those who followed Fu Qing disappeared. Fu Qing has great prestige in the local area. The entire Xia Kingdom was almost established by Fu Qing alone. All the tribes He came to win them over, he built the city, and he drew up the policies. To put it bluntly, in the Xia Kingdom, the emperor's edicts may not be effective under Fu Qing's orders. Only an emperor like Liu Chang can do it. Don't worry about letting Fu Qing stay here, if someone else comes, Fu Qing is either under house arrest in Chang'an, or the grave is as tall as a foot.

And most of these people are Fu Qing's cronies, and they have heard many rumors about Liu Ci, saying that he is an arrogant and domineering king, so they are also very worried, worried that this person will die when he comes to Xia Kingdom. Disputes and conflicts with Fu Qing will make the situation in Xia Kingdom very turbulent.

But seeing him being so polite, everyone hid their original worries.

Liu Ci pulled the people behind him to visit Fu Qing again.

Fu Qing himself may not know it, but his name is actually very famous in the Central Plains.

In these years, Fu Qing has received the most favor from the emperor. There is no place in the whole world that he has never been to. He has even been to Pei County. In Xia Kingdom, he finally showed all his talents. Turning a barren land into a vassal state, many Confucian scholars who went there wrote articles about the Prime Minister, and more people regarded him as the No. 1 to educate the barbarians outside the Great Wall, His reputation in the Central Plains is also growing.

And big men do not lack famous officials, but Fu Qing is different from others, because whenever someone comes to brag about his political achievements, he will be narrow-minded and express his anger. Naturally, there will be a bunch of dog legs I hurriedly wrote articles to insult him, and found this person's black material to expose, so many bad things Fu Qing had done were also exposed, but it was because of this that more people liked him, perhaps because he was very fond of him. It's true, or maybe it's because he thinks it's very romantic for his prodigal son to turn back.

Fu Qing met with the crowd, and then introduced the officials in the country to Liu Ci.

In Liu Ci's Xia Kingdom, there were only two heavyweight ministers, one was Fu Qing, and the other was Lu Tazhi.

But Lu Tazhi did not come to see Liu Ci, because at the moment he was packing up some disobedient tribes in the west, so he was unable to come. Except for them, most of the others were exiled, such as those exiled in the near future Ding Kuan, some Confucian scholars in Lu State, and ministers who were exiled in the past, such as Wang Gao, Gong Yangshou, etc., were all driven here by a narrow-minded person.

When Gong Yangshou saw Liu Ci and Dong Zhongshu, he was extremely excited.

I can't wait to tell everyone about their relationship.

Liu Ci met everyone one by one, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Of course, there were also some tribal leaders who came here, and they were also recommended to Liu Ci. What Liu Ci did not expect was that these people were quite proficient in elegant words, and Dong Zhongshu also told the reason because they did not have Language, in the past they all spoke the Hun language, this is because of the results of Maodun's unification of the grasslands, thanks to the help of Maodun, when the big man was ready to educate them, things were very simple, because everyone had a once-in-a-lifetime There are precedents, and there is considerable experience in this matter.

Fu Qing didn't need to say anything, they all knew what to do.

Moreover, the Xiongnu did not treat them well in the past. During the Maodu period, he regarded these tribes as conquered people. The Huns killed these other tribes and were not punished by the law. If other tribes killed the Huns People, then the whole tribe will be slaughtered. Modun fought very well, and even got Han Xin's approval, but the governance of the country is really a mess. It is because of his actions in history that it was not until his son came to power that the grasslands could be thoroughly controlled. Before his son ascended the throne, the situation on the grassland was as if the first emperor had just conquered the six kingdoms.

The Qin people are superior, and the rest of the countries are regarded as conquerors. The rebellion continues, the corvee is frequent, and the various places are in turmoil.

But the officials of the Han Dynasty are obviously not like this, because the Han Dynasty has a clear law, which does not favor any party. Being an official is to have a fair trial. If you dare to kill people indiscriminately, you will be arrested and executed. It cannot be said that the officials treat the local tribes more kindly, but justice is definitely more just than the Huns. Moreover, Fu Qing has an excellent personality and is good at appeasing these people. Under his command, the locals can naturally feel the obvious difference.

Everyone came all the way to the outside of the royal city, saying that the royal city is just a bigger and smaller city.

Finally, I can see the road, merchants coming and going, and officials on patrol.

The city is even more rudimentary, with few houses, no people in the market, and the streets are empty.

From time to time, a gust of wind rises and rolls up the yellow sand.

But Liu Ci's face was full of excitement.

He pulled Fu Qing who was on the side, and said to him seriously: "Within ten years, this place will definitely surpass Handan and become the largest city in the north!"

Xia Houci, who was following behind, nodded, "Yes, if the scale is still not as large as Handan, we will lead our troops to flatten Handan, so that we will become the largest city!"

(End of this chapter)