The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 518 Volume King Yong!

Compared with the grand court meetings in previous years, the grand court meeting in the ninth year of Jian'an was undoubtedly not solemn.

Now Guandong has been basically pacified. Although Sun Quan in Jiangdong is still an unstable factor, the time has finally come to divide the cake.

Establish a state and build a nation!

As long as this matter is established as national policy, the Han Dynasty will be able to produce princes continuously in the future!

The only thing that the ministers are worried about now is the gold mine discovered in the Hehuang Valley.

If the emperor wanted to seize things by force, the ministers would probably lose a lot of enthusiasm for establishing states...

Liu Xie rode into the Xuanshi Hall on a jade carriage and took in everyone's expressions.

"Sure enough, once money is involved, the officials' trust in the Emperor of the Han Dynasty plummets..."

On the surface, everything remained calm, and all etiquette and systems were carried out according to the original rules.

First, the ministers paid their respects and then the envoys came to the court.

Envoys came from Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Wa.

The rulers of Shan and Pyu were also among them.

The other envoys from the Western Regions also came to the audience.

Compared with others, these envoys from the Western Regions looked more uneasy, obviously disturbed by recent events.

The governor of Jiaozhi, Shi Xie, and the Marquis of Wu, Sun Quan, also sent envoys.

Unlike the last time when Shi Xie sent the famous scholar Xu Jing, this time Shi Xie directly sent his eldest son Shi Hui, and it was obvious that he also had the intention of sending a hostage.

After Shi Hui saluted the emperor, the emperor asked kindly, "How is your father?"

"Your Majesty, my father is still in good health."

"Still strong?"

Liu Xie immediately praised: "It seems that the land of Jiaozhou is really good for people!"

"The former Nanhai Commandery Commandant Zhao Tuo lived to be 103 years old, and Shi Xie is also of the same age today. This is truly a blessed land!"

It was clearly a compliment, but Shi Hui was sweating profusely after hearing it!
"My father has always been loyal to the Han Dynasty, and he is not like the rebellious people like Zhao Tuo, the lieutenant of Nanhai County!"

Shi Hui immediately expressed his feelings to Liu Xie: "My father is already very old, and I also want to return home with my bones. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission!"

Liu Xie naturally couldn't take this seriously...

Shi Xie had long been a true vassal in Jiaozhou, and all the county governors in Jiaozhou were from his clansmen.

Even if the court sent a governor of Jiaozhi to replace Shi Xie, he would be a commander without any troops and would not be able to do anything. It might even damage the harmony.

As for what Liu Xie just said... Heaven and Earth are conscientious! Liu Xie really thinks that Jiaozhou is a place that can support people! Once it is developed and utilized in the future, the profits that can be generated there will definitely far exceed the imagination of the Han officials!
"No need to do so. I believe in Wei Yan's (Shi Xie's courtesy name) intentions. When you go back, tell your father and just focus on defending the land."

It would be difficult to restore effective rule in Jiaozhou unless Jiangdong was taken over.

In this case, it would be better to let Shi Xie be content with being the local emperor, maintain the stability of Jiaozhou, and at the same time do his best to develop Jiaozhou.

Shi Hui was relieved when he heard the emperor's words of comfort and hurried to thank him. However, he also reminded the emperor, "I have already bought a job in Chang'an and will stay in Chang'an to serve Your Majesty. I am afraid I cannot return to Jiaozhou for the time being."

"Ok?"

Liu Xie remembered that Shi Hui seemed to have bought a casual official position.

And the quality is not low! I am afraid it must have cost tens of thousands of taels of gold!
This was undoubtedly another way for Shi Xie to show goodwill to the court.

Liu Xie immediately teased again: "How could Jiaozhou be so rich?"

This frightened Shi Hui and he started to explain himself again -

"Everything is thanks to your Majesty!"

"In the sixth year of Jian'an, Your Majesty ordered Yi Ji to preside over the trade between Jingnan and Jiaozhou. With the opening of trade routes, Jiaozhou has indeed become much richer in recent years."

"The melons, fruits, ivory, gold and silver from the south were all shipped to Jingzhou, and the books, ironware and pottery from Jingzhou were all shipped to Jiaozhou. The two sides exchanged what they had and what they needed, so Jiaozhou gradually became prosperous."

"Moreover, not long ago, a ship from the Annan Protectorate lost its way and arrived in the southern part of Jiaozhou. This shows that there is a road on the sea that can connect Jiaozhou and the Annan Protectorate!"

!

All the ministers were suddenly shocked!
The Annan Protectorate could actually reach Jiaozhou?

What is this world like?
However, Shi Hui did not dare to only report the good news without reporting the bad news, otherwise he would inevitably get into trouble, so he reported another matter to the emperor:

"In Xianglin County, south of Jiaozhou, there is a man named Qu Lian who killed the county magistrate and proclaimed himself the King of Linyi. He often harasses the southern border of Jiaozhou. Your Majesty, please make a decision!"

Linyi Kingdom?
Upon hearing that someone dared to establish a country privately, the Han officials frowned again!
Liu Xie did not expect that Shi Hui would actually write a letter about this matter at the court meeting, and he fell into deep thought.

"How many troops does Linyi have?"

"There are three thousand soldiers ready to fight."

"Can Wei Yan send troops to conquer?"

Hearing the emperor's question, Shi Hui immediately assured the emperor: "If your majesty has an order, I will do my duty!" "Okay!"

With Shi Xie's strength, it would certainly not be difficult to destroy the Linyi Kingdom.

But since it is an achievement, if we want to do it, we must let the emperor know!
Otherwise, if this is clearly a righteous act to fight against the Han traitors but no reward is received, then wouldn’t this achievement be in vain?
And what if someone put the blame on Shi Xie, saying that he was arbitrarily mobilizing troops and had the intention of rebellion?
It has to be said that although Shi Xie was far away from the central government, he knew some rules of officialdom better than many central officials.

After Liu Xie understood Shi Xie's intention, he immediately returned the favor: "I will give you ten pieces of armor, a sword, and a bow. I hope Shi Xie can recover the old territory and put down the rebellion!"

Shi Hui was delighted to hear this!
Where is this armor? Is it a sword? Is it a bow?
This is clearly Shi Xie’s golden medal of immunity from death!
As long as the emperor bestows these things, it can be said that as long as Shi Xie does not rebel in the future, the emperor and the Han Dynasty can let Shi Xie live out his retirement in peace!
"I thank you, Your Majesty!"

Liu Xie nodded, but then he remembered something, so he told Shi Hui: "According to the theory of Lun Heng, the further south you go, the better the rice grows."

"If you can conquer Linyi, you must ask your father to look for rice in the south to verify this."

"Here!"

Shi Hui retreated.

Liang Yu, the envoy of Sun Quan, Marquis of Wu, came to see the emperor.

Compared with Shi Hui, the emperor's attitude towards Liang Yu was almost visibly cold.

After asking a few casual questions, the emperor dismissed Liang Yu, giving Sun Quan every opportunity to lick his boots.

After the envoys from various countries had exchanged greetings, it was time for the “year-end evaluation”.

There had been no major disasters in the Han Dynasty over the past two years, so the finances of most counties were very healthy.

There were a few counties that suffered from poor harvests due to natural factors, but the emperor did not blame them too much. Instead, he asked the surrounding counties to provide more support.

However, after listening to the "year-end evaluation", many officials were able to keenly perceive the problem.

That is the commercial tax of the Han Dynasty, which is rising at a terrifying speed almost visible to the naked eye!
Just from trade with the grassland, the Han Dynasty can earn hundreds of thousands of taels of gold every year!
Trade with the Western Regions could also earn a profit of more than 100,000 taels of gold.

There is also trade with Annan Protectorate and trade with Liaozhou...

Although the commercial tax of the Han Dynasty was still far less than the agricultural tax and the head tax, it had already reached one-third!
What is foreseeable is that... as the Han Dynasty returns to the Western Regions and establishes states, the Han Dynasty's commercial taxes will probably continue to rise!
This inevitably caused some officials to worry.

If everyone goes into business, who will cultivate the land?
But if no one cultivates the land, what will happen to the food?
However, some officials recalled what the emperor had just said to Shi Hui: the further south you go, the better the rice seems to grow?
that……

But even though there were doubts in their hearts, the ministers were generally in a very happy mood!
Without him!

Judging from the “year-end assessment”, today’s Han people are simply too rich!
And the emperor is not the kind of person who would put all the small change in the national treasury into his own pocket, so these small changes will definitely go to where they belong!

Whether it is building water conservancy projects or opening up roads, it is beneficial to the country and the people.

Who knows... maybe the court will increase my salary?
As the "year-end assessment" came to an end, everyone's palms were covered with sweat.

Because they know that the highlight of this year's grand court meeting is finally coming!
"Your Majesty."

The emperor spoke, and all officials were in awe!

"A few days ago, Dong Huang wrote to me, asking me to commend the Grand Tutor for his contributions."

"Do you think Dong Huang's words make sense?"

Have!
must have!
The "year-end assessment" just now has proved how powerful the Han people are today.

As the Han Dynasty became more powerful, Dong Zhuo's achievements became greater!

Even though Dong Zhuo did some unspeakable things back then... But politics! Naturally, these things are selectively forgotten.

After all, the bigwigs in the court today are still the backbone of the Xiliang Army.

There was no need for the emperor or the empress to come forward. Just the presence of the Minister of the Central Secretariat Jia Xu, the General of Chariots and Cavalry Niu Fu, the General of Horse Cavalry Lu Bu, and those few pillars of the country were enough to make people dare not to come forward to refute at this time.

So several officials immediately stepped forward and agreed to Dong Huang's request.

"good."

Liu Xie didn't even bother to act, he just went along with it and took responsibility for the matter.

"In the past, Duke Zhou put an end to the rebellion in the first year, conquered Yin in the second year, conquered Yan in the third year, established Marquis Wei in the fourth year, built Cheng Zhou in the fifth year, established rituals and music in the sixth year, and handed over the government to King Cheng in the seventh year."

"Grand Master first defended the country at the border, and then quelled the rebellion in the Central Plains. In times of crisis, he supported the Han Dynasty, saved the empire from collapse, restored order, abolished the policies of He Jin and He Shi, and in accordance with the will of the late emperor, he made me the emperor. This is a great virtue and great achievement!"

"Later, the Han thief Yuan Shao and other Han thieves in Guandong raised an army to attack and besiege the city. He retreated to Guanzhong, moved the capital to Chang'an, preserved the country, implemented benevolent policies, established a government army, created laws and regulations, quelled the Qiang invasion, settled Liangzhou, recovered Hanzhong, quelled Bashu, saved the city from natural disasters, beheaded the Chanyu, and abolished the Toad... The achievements of the Grand Master are comparable to those of Shudan."

……

"Therefore..."

The emperor announced the final decision -

"I want to posthumously confer the title of Prince of Yong on the Grand Master, and have his son Liu Wansheng inherit the title and go to the Hehuang Valley to establish a kingdom!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Jia Xu, Xun Yu and others, who had known the emperor's decision long ago, all looked at the emperor in disbelief.

Did they hear it correctly?

The one who was conferred the title by the emperor was not the Duke of Yong, but... the King of Yong?
　I made some changes to the end of yesterday's chapter. I personally felt that firearms appeared a little too early, so I made some changes~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)