Han Dao world

In order to prove his point of view, Zhuge Liang cited two examples.

One is King Zhao Wuling.In order to defeat Qin, he handed over the state affairs to the prince, and concentrated his energy on military preparations.His later failure was not because of this decision, but because he did not deal with the relationship between the eldest son and the prince, which led to internal strife.

If he clearly passed the throne to the prince, and then took the eldest son to attack Qin, there would be no tragedy of father and son killing each other.

One is Alexander, the legendary hero of the Western Regions.Because he was too young and had no suitable heir, he died and the country was ruined.

Liu Xie is very satisfied.

Zhuge Liang's talent is really high. He can not only learn from successful experiences in history, but also learn from failures without sticking to moral judgments. Such scholars are the elites he needs.

"What do you think of Xing Yong?"

"Although it is a bit pedantic, it is a useful talent. Arguing is useless. It is better to entrust a county with the task so that it knows the difficulty of governance."

Liu Xie agreed with Zhuge Liang's opinion and decided to take the time to meet Xing Yong.If Xing Yong can change his attitude and support Du Tian, ​​he will be arranged to serve in Jizhou.If he is still stubborn and resolutely opposes Du Tian, ​​then arrange for him to go to the Central Plains.

Of course, the premise is that he must match his words with his deeds, and support the real principle of democracy, rather than lip service.

-

The next day, Liu Xie summoned Tian Chou and asked Xing Yong about his intention and attitude.

Tian Chou had been prepared for a long time, and introduced in detail how he met Xing Yong, and finally said with certainty that Xing Yong, like Mao Jie, is a real gentleman, not a hypocrite.His problem is that he is limited by prejudice and does not understand the New Deal. He thinks that saving the land is the same as suing the people, and they are robbing the people of their wealth.

After he and Liu He's explanation, coupled with the changes he saw with his own eyes, Xing Yong's attitude has changed.He may still have some criticisms of Du Tian's methods, but he no longer doubts His Majesty's true heart.

The man is available, and practice will allow him to further change his perspective.

With Tian Chou's guarantee, Liu Xie immediately summoned Xing Yong.

He has seen Tian Chou's own change, and he can believe it.

Speaking carefully, people from northern Xinjiang—including people from Youzhou such as Liu Bei and Tian Chou, and people from northern Hebei such as Zhao Yun and Bei Zhan—are more pragmatic and not as self-righteous as people from the Central Plains.

Waiting for Xing Yong to enter the account, Liu Xie sat still, watching Xing Yong bow and salute.

Xing Yong was meticulous, prostrating himself to the ground with the courtesy of commoner clothes.

The etiquette of the Han Dynasty was not as complicated as that of later generations, and it was not as grand as kneeling three times and knocking nine times.But worshiping the gods is like a god. As a moral gentleman, Xing Yong has a very serious attitude, which even makes Liu Xie feel that he is a little deliberate, as if he wants to show the demeanor of a Confucian scholar who knows the etiquette and abides by the etiquette. He is worthy of his title of "virtuous conduct".

"Xing Jun is flat." Liu Xie also put on the posture of the emperor and said majesticly.

Since you want to show off, I'll show off with you and see who can beat others.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xing Yong didn't dare to be careless, and thanked him respectfully. Then he straightened up, but he didn't dare to look directly at Liu Xie.

Tian Chou on the side heard this, and couldn't help but put away his smile, and looked serious.

"I heard from Zitai that you once avoided chaos in Beiping?"

"Yes."

"The world is turbulent, and the people are hanging upside down. Since you are familiar with poetry and books, and cultivate yourself and manage your family, why don't you rise up and relieve the people from the fire and water, instead of leaving?"

Xing Yong's heart tightened.The emperor didn't give him a seat, so he knew that meeting him this time would not be too easy, but he didn't expect the emperor to be so direct and shameless.

He thought about it, bowed his hands and bowed again. "The minister, this student, has no ability to help the world, but can only take care of himself alone."

Liu Xie nodded. "Even if you don't have the ability to help the world, it is good to have self-knowledge."

Xing Yong moment did not know how to answer.

"You came to see me, why?"

Xing Yong breathed a sigh of relief. "The guardian of Youyan is carrying out Dutian in Hejian. I think it's inappropriate, so I implore your majesty..."

Liu Xie interrupted Xing Yong straightforwardly. "What's wrong with Youyan protecting Dutian?"

Xing Yong didn't react all of a sudden, he was hesitating, Liu Xie said again: "Or, you think it's inappropriate to save the land?"

Xing Yong hesitated.

His original intention was indeed to feel that Du Tian itself was inappropriate.But yesterday I watched with Tian Chou and listened to Tian Chou and Liu Heng's explanation. I also realized that saving the land is not a warning. It not only allows the people who lost their land to live and work in peace and contentment, but also fundamentally solves the problem of homeless people. It can also stimulate the enthusiasm of the people and increase food production. .

The same land is cultivated by tenants and cultivated by the common people. There is a big difference.

For the court, the impact cannot be underestimated.

Those lands are in the hands of tyrants, and they will not pay taxes according to the regulations. The imperial court's finances are empty, and nothing can be done, even official salaries cannot be paid.

In general, Dutian must have more advantages than disadvantages.

However, it is unjust to use force to forcibly save the fields.

Even though he read a lot of articles about Du Tian, ​​he still insisted on this point.If it cannot be dissuaded, it is almost inevitable that the court will discuss wine and tea in the future, and take back all the salt and iron.

"I think it is feasible to save the land, but you can't force it forward, especially you can't use a large army to overwhelm the border. Urgency is easy to change, and the soldiers are rough. If the war continues, the act of benefiting the people will become a policy that harms the people. Your Majesty's benevolence will also become a policy. the famine."

Liu Xie smiled, and said quietly: "Mr. Xing, is this world ruled by one person? You should share it with the scholar-bureaucrats. Even if something goes wrong, it is not my responsibility alone. The scholars and bureaucrats in the world will share it with me. You He is a scholar-bureaucrat, so isn’t Xun Gongda a scholar-bureaucrat? I didn’t issue an edict to force him to save the land.”

Xing Yong was taken aback for a moment, then raised his head suddenly, and looked at Liu Xie.

Liu Xie was right. Xun You's voluntary behavior in spending the fields in Hejian was not forced by the imperial edict.

Xing Yong plucked up his courage. "May I ask Your Majesty, I am also a scholar-bureaucrat, so can I object to Du Tian?"

"Of course." Liu Xie said frankly: "Don't say you are white, even if you are an official in office, you still have the right to oppose Dutian. But..."

Liu Xie paused, and said word by word: "You have no right to oppose the people's peace and contentment, and you don't have the right to cheer for the rich and unkind."

Chapter 890

Xing Yong suddenly changed his face, and said in protest: "Your Majesty, although I am incompetent, I will not rule the country and bring peace to the world, but I will not be a slave to a tiger."

Liu Xie was very calm, and said lightly: "Really?"

Xing Yong was almost mad with anger, he stood up, King Kong glared. "Please advise, Your Majesty. If there is any injustice, the minister is willing to be punished."

Liu Xie narrowed his eyes slightly, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, with a hint of sarcasm.

Xing Yong became more and more angry, his eyes stared like copper bells.

He is known as "Xing Ziang, who is virtuous and dignified". He has always been morally self-proclaimed, but now he is ridiculed by the emperor as a sycophant of the rich who smacks his lips, how can he bear it.

Tian Chou sat on the side without saying a word, but secretly pleased in his heart.

He knew a little about the means of the emperor, and knew that the emperor had fallen in love with Xing Yong, and wanted to take him for his own use.For him, this is of course a good thing.

Liu Xie and Xing Yong met each other's eyes, and sparks flew for a moment. When Xing Yong's anger was full, he said unhurriedly: "Mr. , but it is not ill-gotten wealth, but accumulated through the hard work of the past dynasties."

"Exactly." Xing Yong glared at Liu Xie.

"Then is there anyone whose land was obtained by stealing?"

"..." Xing Yong was at a loss for words, and his momentum suddenly weakened by half. After a while, he reluctantly said: "There must be."

"Then when you objected to Du Tian, ​​did you consider how to deal with these people?"

"This……"

Liu Xie waved his hand, and said again: "Probably not. Let me ask again, even if their land is justified, do they pay taxes according to the actual amount of land?"

When Xing Yong heard this, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, according to the imperial court system, taxes follow households, not fields..."

"Is this a court system, or a folk practice?"

Xing Yong didn't dare to make a decision for a while, and turned to look at Tian Chou.

Tian Chou coughed. "Taxes do not flow with the land. There is no clear rule in the imperial court. It is a folk practice. It is intended to save trouble, but it is used by the tyrants to avoid taxes. The people have sold the land, but they have to bear the tax. What's more, they must drink poison to quench their thirst. It won't be long before he becomes a refugee."

Liu Xie nodded and looked at Xing Yong. "Then let's think it's the imperial system. Mr. Xing thinks, is this a benevolent government or an evil one?"

Xing Yong's face became more and more ugly. "Naturally... bad governance."

"Since Mr. Xing also thinks it is a bad government, do you have any suggestions for solving it?"

Xing Yong bit his lips and said nothing.

"During the land is a way of survival for the people. You are dissatisfied and want to stop it. You don't say a word about the real evil government. I am really curious, what kind of moral standard is Xing Jun? You plead for the people, Which people is it for, the wealthy people, or the common people?"

Xing Yong's face was red and white, white and red.

He has always regarded himself as a gentleman and feels that he is not an official. If he were an official, he must be a good official who loves the people.Now he finds out that the people he loves are not common people at all, but rich and powerful people.

The emperor said that he opposed the people's living and working in peace and contentment, and cheered for the rich. How could he be wronged?

Seeing that Xing Yong's words were poor, Liu Xie heaved a sigh of relief and waved his hand.

"If Mr. Xing has no other advice, let's come here today. I still have something to do, so I won't sit and discuss with Mr. Xing. As for Dutian in Hejian, although there is no edict, I support it. Maybe innocent people will be accidentally injured in Dutian. , but instead of saving the land, millions of people were injured. At the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, eight prefectures rose together, and Jizhou was the worst. I don’t want this kind of thing to happen, so this Du Tian..."

Liu Xie paused, his eyelids raised slightly. "It is imperative."

Shocked by the murderous look in his eyes, Xing Yong shivered involuntarily, his heart beating like a drum, and he didn't dare to say another word.

After leaving the big tent, Xing Yong's pounding heart calmed down a little.

He looked at Tian Chou beside him and sighed. "I have brought shame on myself, and I have also brought Zitai into trouble. I am really ashamed."

"It doesn't matter." Tian Chou said lightly: "It was the same when I first met the Son of Heaven."

Xing Yong shook his head. "I tied up my hair and studied, cultivated my morals, and thought that I was worthy of the world, but now I know that those are all false. I am a useless scholar, a self-righteous fool."

"You can think like this, which means you can still save medicine." Tian Chou signaled Xing Yong to walk forward together. "There is nothing wrong with the sage's principles, but we have not applied what we have learned, and we cannot combine knowledge and action. Some principles can only be distinguished when they are used. What comes out is what is made. Instead of sitting and talking all day long and talking big, it's better to get up and do it, and accumulate a few steps to reach a thousand miles."

Xing Yong nodded and thought for a long time. "Then... what should I do to be considered a walker?"

Tian Chou turned his head to look at Xing Yong and smiled slightly. "I have two strategies."

"tell me the story."

"The best policy is to go back to Hejian and find out which lands were purchased normally and which ones were stolen. Which ones were normally paid taxes and which ones were not. For those who did not pay, let them pay back immediately."

"Xun Gongda is saving the fields, is it necessary?" Mentioning Xun You, Xing Yong couldn't hold back his anger.

The emperor did not issue an edict asking him to save the fields, but Xun You forced him to save the fields. Not only did he save the fields, but he also did it very roughly. This is simply using the head of the Hejian people to prove himself.

"If you are willing to go, I can ask the emperor for an edict to temporarily spend the fields in Hejian. If you can go to one county, you can go to the field in one county. If you can go to one county, you can go to the field in one county. Can you Going one state..."

Xing Yong hastily interrupted Tian Chou. "Tell me about your next move."

In other words, it is absolutely impossible to let those tyrants pay back taxes.

Most of those people's land has been in their hands for many years, and the taxes owed will not be repaid even if they empty their families.Except for a very small number of people, who has food reserves that can last for more than ten years?

Besides, taxes cannot be transferred to others, so what is the point of annexing land?

"What's the best way, you go to any county in the Central Plains. It's okay to save the fields, or not to save the fields, as long as you can let the people live and work in peace and contentment." Tian Chou smiled slightly. "The Son of Heaven is not a tyrant, and saving land is not an end, but a means to realize the kingly way. If you can realize the kingly way without saving the land, he will wish for it."

Xing Yong's eyes flashed. "really?"

"This kind of thing can't be a joke."

"But..." Thinking of the aggressive appearance of the emperor just now, Xing Yong really couldn't believe that the emperor would accept Tian Chou's suggestion and let him be a county, and he could not spend time in the field.

"The emperor appreciates you, but he only thinks that you are obstinate, so he is willing to slap you in the face and warn you. If you are really a hypocrite, it will be difficult for you to see him. How can he waste his tongue and talk so much with you?"

Xing Yong was speechless for a moment.

He was hit hard by the emperor just now, and he hasn't recovered yet, making it hard for him to believe what Tian Chou said for a while.

"Don't worry, think about it carefully. Let's go, I'll borrow a few bound editions of the mansion newspaper for you, you can read more when you have time. I don't understand the reason. It's a time of 500 years of change. It's normal to be confused Only by observing the contention of a hundred schools of thought can we get rid of the chaff and keep the essence, get rid of the false and keep the truth, and seek the kingly way.”

Chapter 891

Xing Yong lived on the road, sometimes wandering around with Tian Chou, sometimes staying in the account to read those heatedly debated articles, and sometimes traveling with Tian Chou.

When he was in northern Xinjiang, he had heard of Chang'an's lectures.That incident has been fermenting since the beginning of last year, but the expected conference did not happen. The article in the mansion newspaper replaced the face-to-face debate, which made expectations like the Shiqu Pavilion and Baihuguan debates come to nothing, but the impact was far-reaching.

Compared with compiled monographs such as "Salt and Iron Theory" and "Baihu Tongyi", the articles in the Di newspaper are closer to the original, without a lot of embellishments.The printed text cannot be changed. Whether it is right or wrong, whether it is black or white, is left to future generations to judge.

As Tian Chou said, there is no reason to argue.The debate has changed everyone who refers to it, some people's articles are completely opposite, and the changes are jaw-dropping.

Through reading these articles, Xing Yong felt the confusion, doubt and anxiety of countless scholars.He, like them, oscillates between doubt and enlightenment, anger and joy.

Just when Xing Yong felt the baptism of the ideological storm, the battlefield finally ushered in a substantial change.

First, Liu Bei led his troops to conquer Wei County.

After more than half a month of preparation, with the assistance of the Jiangwu Hall, Liu Bei launched an attack on Wei County.Chen Deng and Zhang Fei each led their headquarters, launched a fierce attack from the east and north, and took Wei County in only half a day.

Maybe it was stimulated by Yuan Shu, Chen Deng was ruthless this time, and the first shot was a thunderous blow, which did not give Wei County defenders a chance to breathe, and crushed Zhang Fei.

But that honor comes at a price.