Han officials

Chapter 28: The Plot to Destroy the Nation [4K]

The second year of Zhongyuan, the third month, the Jiyou day.

Looking at the latest report sent by the county government, Wei Zhe's brows furrowed deeper the more he read.

Because Daifang County is too remote, what Wei Zhe saw actually happened more than half a month ago.

"Si Tu Yuan Wei was dismissed?"

When Xi Zhicai heard Wei Zhe tell him this news, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he frowned and said worriedly, "Your Majesty may have regretted granting amnesty to all the party members."

After all, although the Party Imprisonment was a blow, the party members all over the world also gained huge reputation because of it.

Moreover, after the ban on political parties was lifted, the reputation of the Yuan family of Runan suddenly soared, and they became the leaders of the gentry.

The Hongnong Yang family, which was once mentioned together with it, is rarely mentioned in the same breath nowadays.

Wei Zhe was not surprised at all when he heard this.

"The emperor is naturally intelligent and will certainly not allow another Wang Mang to appear in the Han Dynasty."

If the Runan Yuan family really became the leader of the aristocratic families, then even if Yuan Wei's generation had no intention of rebellion, his descendants would probably be ready to do so.

Hearing Wei Zhe say this, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but sigh.

"I hope there won't be another round of Party imprisonment... The world simply can't bear this!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe also agreed deeply.

It's not that he sympathizes with the party members, but if the third party imprisonment occurs, there will probably be a complete political split from the court to the local level. No one can predict what the party members will do when they have no way out.

If the party members all over the world rebelled, the Han Dynasty would probably not even have ten years of national prosperity.

Compared with Yuan Wei's dismissal, the news that Chief Justice Cui Lie succeeded him as Minister of Works was not that important.

Even the Lelang County Gazette wrote directly without hesitation:
Rumors in Luoyang say that Minister Cui secretly sought out the current emperor's wet nurse, Madam Cheng, and offered her five million coins to buy this position. Even so, upon learning of this, the current emperor complained about the wet nurse's loss, saying she could have received ten million coins. The capital is full of rumors that the whole world is disappointed by Lord Cui's ascension to the throne, and critics all despise his greed for money.

After reading this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but jokingly asked, "Why is Cui Situ so unwise?"

Xi Zhicai laughed when he heard this and said, "This is a family tradition!"

"Oh? What do you mean by this?"

Wei Zhe didn't know much about the stories of the many aristocratic families of the Han Dynasty.

Seeing this, Xi Zhicai smiled and explained, "Back when I was studying in Yingyin County, I heard someone from the Xun family say that during the Xin Dynasty, Cui Fa, the ancestor of the Boling Cui family, flattered Wang Mang and thus rose to the position of Grand Marshal."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha~ When did Zhicai become so mischievous?"

But joking aside, after laughing, even Wei Zhe had to admit that Cui Lie was indeed not worthy of his reputation.

Because the court newspaper reported that a month ago, Beigong Boyu attacked the three prefectures and sent General Huangfu Song to suppress him but failed. During the court meeting, Cui Lie actually openly proposed giving up Liang Province.

As soon as these words came out, Fu Xie was so angry that he shouted loudly: "Please execute Situ, and the world will be at peace!"

If the emperor had not interrupted and blurred the issue in time, the Guanxi officials in the hall would probably have been furious.

From this point of view, Cui Lie may not even be capable of being a Prime Minister, let alone a Nine Ministers.

"Alas! Fu Nanrong is still the same Fu Nanrong!" Wei Zhe couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "It's not easy to do something knowing it's impossible."

Xi Zhicai nodded slightly when he heard this.

As the dynasty's greatest quagmire, the Liang Province issue is not so easily resolved. Nor can the conflict between the people of Guanxi and Guandong be resolved with a simple plea for tolerance for the sake of the country. All conflicts, in the final analysis, are nothing more than naked conflicts of interest.

Unless Fu Xie could satisfy the interests of both parties at the same time, it would be of no avail even if he governed Hanyang County well.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe wanted to write a letter to persuade him, but thinking of Fu Xie's temper, he gave up and could only sigh helplessly. After all, if Fu Nanrong could retreat when faced with difficulties, he would not be himself.

……

Not to mention how the situation in the Luoyang court changed.

Daifang County, far away in the horizon, is now full of vitality.

After completely mastering most of the production resources in Daifang County, Wei Zhe began to reclaim land.

Since the county was short of manpower, he transported people from Qingzhou one by one by sea.

With food in hand, all ideas will have a chance to be realized.

Thanks to Qingzhou Governor Jiao He, Qingzhou today is almost the same as it was before the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

There are refugees everywhere, and the powerful families are still as domineering as before.

Jiao He's family life was not very luxurious, but unfortunately he just liked to talk. Although he had great reputation, he had no ability to do practical work. He also liked to tell fortunes when encountering problems and prayed to the gods for protection at every turn. The witch stood beside him almost all day long for consultation.

With such a governor in place, officials in Qingzhou naturally became more and more dissolute.

If the Yellow Turban Rebellion had not just subsided, which greatly increased the power of the Luoyang court, the refugees from Qingzhou would probably have gathered in the mountains and plundered everywhere.

This is also the reason why Wei Zhe can pick up people one after another so smoothly.

It is said that Wei Zhe spent a lot of money to purchase the two thousand Yellow Turban captives.

However, as more and more refugees roamed around the counties and prefectures of Qingzhou, county officials now contacted him without him having to pay for anything.

Wei Zhe regarded these refugees as treasures, but the local officials in Qingzhou regarded them as poisonous scorpions.

There was no way out. The land had been annexed by the wealthy and powerful, and they had no place to accommodate the refugees even if they wanted to.

Even powerful people would recruit young and strong refugees, but the number of people they could absorb was limited.

In the eyes of Qingzhou officials, these refugees are simply a cesspool that could erupt at any time.

It's not that no one knows that the border counties need refugees, but at present only Wei Zhe has this convenience. Not only does he hold the power of a county and can resettle refugees at will, but he also has a father-in-law who is a wealthy sea merchant.

Of course, everything should be done in moderation. If you don't know how to control yourself, it can easily lead to bad things.

For example, now, when Wei Zhe was inspecting the newly opened fields, Kushoufu followed him with a bitter face.

"Sir, we really can't accept any more refugees. We're running out of food," the treasurer Ji Hong said earnestly. "Wheat won't be harvested until June, and we'll have to rely on the grain in the warehouse until then. If we accept any more refugees, we'll have to harvest the wheat in June on an empty stomach."

It’s no wonder that Kushoufu is stingy. It’s because Wei Zhe has brought in nearly 20,000 refugees in the past two weeks.

Twenty thousand more refugees means twenty thousand more mouths to feed, so food consumption will naturally skyrocket.

Even with the support of the Tian and Zhang families, it is still nearly four months before the harvest.

In other words, until new crops were harvested, these people would have to rely entirely on Daifang County for support. Of course, Wei Zhe wasn't supporting them in vain. The old lands of Haiming, Changcen, and Zhaoming counties had essentially been filled with the Fifty-Two Town settlements, and now nearly every area was bustling with activity.

Daifang County is undoubtedly ranked first among the nine counties in Lelang in terms of revenue this year.

"food……"

While listening to Kusev's complaints, Wei Zhe couldn't help but frown slightly.

He also understood the reasoning behind this, but if he didn't save them, these people would probably starve to death if they stayed in Qingzhou.

Although Wei Zhe's abilities are limited, he still wants to do his best to save more lives.

In fact, this is also the biggest problem for all states and counties.

If you want to resettle the refugees, it is not enough to just feed them once; they have to be kept fed until the new grain is harvested.

After a moment, Wei Zhe finally made a decision.

He looked at Kushoufu Jihong seriously and asked, "How long can you hold out?"

Ji Hong said without hesitation, "If we tighten our belts and stop accepting refugees, we can only hold out until the end of June at best."

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe nodded immediately.

However, just when Ji Hong's face lit up with joy, thinking that Wei Zhe was finally going to stop accepting refugees, he unexpectedly said, "The pace of accepting refugees can be slowed down, but it can't stop. As for the food problem... I'll find a way!"

After sending away Ji Hong, who had a bitter look on his face, Wei Zhe led his men directly back to the city.

……

A moment later, at the camp east of the city.

Looking at the square iron coins that filled the entire warehouse, Wei Zhe nodded with satisfaction.

Then he asked, "How have Guan Xiu and Yuan Jun been doing lately?"

Zhong Hu, who was standing by, immediately reported, "Since there are no permanent officials to handle, Guan Xiu has spent the past two weeks familiarizing himself with the information on the various Dongyi tribes. He has also traveled around the county to learn about the customs of the Three Han peoples, and has basically mastered their dialects."

Speaking of this, Zhong Hu couldn't help but show an expression of amazement.

Although the dialects of the Three Kingdoms of Korea are similar, it is indeed admirable that one can learn a barbarian language so quickly.

Wei Zhe nodded slightly upon hearing this, and then asked, "What about Yuan Jun? Is he up to any tricks?"

"I've never seen that." Zhong Hu explained everything in detail. "Since he took over as stablemaster, the county's horse management has improved significantly. Sick horses are now almost non-existent. Our war horses have also benefited greatly from his help, and are now much stronger."

In short, both of them are trying hard to stand out.

Wei Zhe was naturally satisfied with this result, so the observation period between the two finally ended.

After pacing back and forth outside the warehouse for a while, Wei Zhe finally said, "Bring these two here!"

After saying that, Wei Zhe sat in the pavilion in the courtyard and pondered silently.

Upon seeing this, Zhong Hu gently waved his hand and asked his personal guards to go and pass on the message. Then he personally stood guard outside the door to prevent anyone from disturbing Wei Zhe's meditation.

……

A moment later, inside the pavilion.

When Yuan Jun and Guan Xiu heard this plan, they were stunned.

But then both Yuan Jun and Guan Xiu couldn't help but blush with excitement.

You know, this is a matter of destroying a country!
Even though Wei Zhe is the leader, it is a great honor for them to be able to participate in it.

Yuan Jun swore to Wei Zhe on the spot, "Please rest assured, my lord, I will not let Fu Jiezi take the cake!"

At this moment, Yuan Jun had really made up his mind to keep his mouth shut even if it meant his death.

There is no way around it. Han envoys have been like this since the Western Han Dynasty.

As for Guan Xiu, his thoughts were a little deeper. In fact, after listening to Wei Zhe's plan, he felt inexplicably familiar, and then he quickly realized that this was exactly the method used by his ancestors.

Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Lu was famous for its thin silk, known as "Lu silk." Guan Zhong, then prime minister of Qi, suggested that Duke Huan of Qi and his ministers all wear Lu silk. Within a short time, Lu silk became a popular item throughout Qi, and officials of all ranks were proud to wear it.

He then issued an order prohibiting the people of Qi from weaving silk, requiring all clothing fabric to be imported from Lu. As a result, Lu silk began to be in short supply, causing its price to rise. Seeing the profitability of weaving silk, the people of Lu abandoned farming and devoted themselves to making "Lu silk."

Finally, Guan Zhong issued an order to offer heavy rewards to merchants from Lu who sold Lu silk: if they sold 1,000 pieces of silk, they would be rewarded with 300 gold coins; if they sold 10,000 pieces of silk, they would be rewarded with 3,000 gold coins.

With the implementation of Guan Zhong's "Three Strategies of Lightness and Heaviness", a craze for producing Lu silk soon swept across the state of Lu from top to bottom, and fertile fields began to become barren.

However, several months later, as the people of Lu eagerly awaited the arrival of the Qi people, Guan Zhong suddenly ordered a halt to the import of Lu silk. Lu's economy collapsed, and the country was in chaos. A large backlog of Lu silk accumulated, leading to an extreme food shortage. The people of Lu had no choice but to purchase grain from Qi, but Guan Zhong immediately drove up the price. The rulers and officials of Lu had no choice but to submit to Qi and join its side.

Later, Guan Zhong used almost the same method to target the swords of Hengshan State and the deer of Chu State, manipulating the markets of both.

The result was that the entire Hengshan Kingdom surrendered to Qi and became a county.

As a result, the Chu State was in economic chaos and domestic depression, and was forced to submit to Duke Huan of Qi, allowing Qi to successfully hold the "Alliance of Zhaoling".

Once the Alliance of Zhaoling was formed, Qi's hegemony was officially established.

It can be said that Guan Zhong was the originator of economic warfare, and he was using these tactics three thousand years ago.

Guan Xiu, a descendant of Guan Zhong, never expected that the art of weighing and weighing, which Guan Yiwu failed to learn, was mastered by an outsider.

Fortunately, Wei Zhe has now become Guan's son-in-law, leaving Guan with a fig leaf. Otherwise, these Guan family members would really have no face to call themselves descendants of Guan Zhong.

However, despite his lament, Guan Xiu quickly grasped the key point. He straightened his face and said, "Please allow me to ask a few questions. I wonder what the county lord wants to buy with these square iron coins?"

If Wei Zhe wanted to manipulate the value of an item like his ancestor Guan Zhong, Guan Xiu was not sure he could do it well.

After all, even the State of Lu hundreds of years ago was much more advanced than the Three Han States today.

With so many tribes and no national market to attack, even his ancestor Guan Zhong would have a headache. It can only be said that being backward has its advantages.

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe immediately looked at him with admiration: "Not bad, you are worthy of being the descendant of Guan Yiwu!"

After praising him for a few times, Wei Zhe finally explained, "Don't worry, I'm not going to follow Guan Yiwu's example and make decisions based on the severity of the situation."

At this point, Wei Zhe turned to look at Yuan Jun standing beside him and said, "Ziliang will be in charge of the various tribes of Xianbei. The supplies he will purchase will mainly be furs, pigs, horses, cattle, and sheep."

"As for Huai'an..." Wei Zhe looked at Guan Xiu with a serious expression and said, "The Three Kingdoms of Korea also have the custom of farming, so your trip will mainly focus on food. All other matters are up to you."

As soon as these words came out, Guan Xiu's heart was suddenly filled with emotion.

At this moment he had only one thought:
A gentleman will die for his friend!!!

(End of this chapter)