Han Dynasty Achievements

Chapter 97 The Big Plan

The sixth year of Zhongping, early July.

Jingfu Hall, study.

Xun You, Zhong Yao, Tang Mao, He Yong, and one Han Bin.

Han Bin was originally a Shangshu Lang. Due to a series of changes in the court and the restructuring of the Shangshutai, he was unemployed for nearly two months on the grounds of "waiting for a new position".

He has high brow bones, a high nose bridge, a thin face, very prominent facial features, and eyes like lightning. At first glance, he looks like a decisive and swift person.

The five people knelt opposite Liu Bian, and on the small table in front of them was a pile of documents and pens.

Xun You looked gloomy and said, "Your Majesty, the Sili governs six prefectures and eighty-six counties. Taxes are collected by the county, then go to the county, then to the Sili, and finally to the national treasury. The process is very complicated. If it is transferred from the counties, there will inevitably be many contradictions and delays. If it is collected from the counties, it will be uncontrollable and most of the taxes will be lost..."

Zhong Yao, Tang Mao and others all looked thoughtful.

The issue of taxation has always been extremely sensitive and is kept very strictly under the jurisdiction of the local governments. It is extremely difficult to intervene even in times of peace, not to mention that the imperial court is weak at present and power is actually controlled by the counties.

Seeing that no one was saying anything, Han Bin looked at Liu Bian and said, "Your Majesty, you can send troops to collect the taxes."

Liu Bian raised his eyebrows. This guy is really bold.

Not to mention whether the imperial court has so many soldiers, even if it does, if a war breaks out with the local authorities, how will you cope?

Zhong Yao also shook his head and said, "It is best not to provoke a backlash from the counties."

Tang Mao suddenly raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, how about replacing the people in each county?"

Liu Bian did not comment.

This is not a problem of people. The fundamental reason is that a four-hundred-year-old operating mechanism has become rotten, and changing people will not solve the problem.

Xun You said at this time: "Without sufficient strength, the counties will definitely not take it seriously, so we still need soldiers, but we must know when to stop them. At the same time, we must have people from the court in the counties, and we can stop the counties from making any moves and transfer all the taxes to the treasury."

He Yong glanced at him, lowered his head and remained silent.

Liu Bian looked at Xun You, his heart moved, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Tang Mao quickly asked, "Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"

Liu Bian sat down, thought about it seriously, and said, "Let me tell you, you listen, and then we can discuss it again."

The five of them sat down immediately, all their eyes on Liu Bian.

Liu Bian looked around at them and said, "Xun Qing is right. We must have troops, but we cannot provoke a strong backlash from the locals. Therefore, these troops cannot be obviously targeted at them. I am considering setting up a grain commander in Sili."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and they savored these four words carefully.

A county commander was the second-in-command of a county who controlled the military and assisted the prefect. However, such county commanders were often set up in border areas such as Bingzhou and Youzhou, and were almost never set up in inland areas.

The title of Zhisu can be traced back to "Zhisu Nei Shi", which is the predecessor of Da Si Nong.

Han Bin listened and said, "Your Majesty is wise. First, establish a military commander on the grounds of defense. If he controls a certain amount of troops, the local government will definitely not be on guard. When the time comes to transport money and grain, it is only natural for the military commanders of each county to assist!"

Liu Bian looked at the others and asked, "What do you think?"

As the Minister of Civil Affairs, He Yong was most concerned about money and grain. He asked, "Your Majesty, how many officials and soldiers are appropriate for a county commander?"

Liu Bian didn't care and said, "This will be approved by the Shangshutai."

Liu Bian had no energy to research such details. The number of soldiers and horses under the command of a county commander was determined by the county's geographical location, population, public security conditions, etc., and was different in different counties.

Xun You thought about it for a while, glanced at Liu Bian with a twinkle in his eyes, and said, "I think it's okay."

He guessed that Liu Bian was not only going to set up the Grain Control Commandery in Sili, but was probably going to set it up throughout the country!

In this way, not only can taxes be collected, but the real power of local governors can also be divided, thus strengthening the court's control over the local areas!

Xun You even felt that the latter was Liu Bian’s purpose!

"I second the motion." Han Bin and Zhong Yao followed suit.

Tang Mao was a little hesitant. As the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, he had no military power, so he was waiting here.

This was a deprivation of his power, but he seemed to sense the gaze of the people around him and said quickly, "I second the motion."

Liu Bian nodded and said, "As for the integration of the inside and the outside, I think that the power and responsibility in the counties are not clear enough. It would be better to set up six departments in the counties, similar to the Shangshutai, and each department has its own responsibilities. The power and responsibility are assigned to the right people, and there is no misunderstanding."

The five people looked at Liu Bian with eyes filled with surprise, admiration, and disbelief.

The five people couldn't help but look at each other. Han Bin said with a little excitement: "Your Majesty, I agree. In this way, the six ministries will be vertically connected, and the situation of the counties will be difficult to hide from the court. With the county commander next to them, the entire Sili will be in the hands of the court!"

Zhong Yao said: "Your Majesty, I think that the rank of county and prefectural magistrates is too low and their duties are unclear. It would be better to raise them appropriately."

Liu Bian looked at him, his mind turned, and he smiled and said, "What Lord Zhong said makes sense. Well, the rank is second only to the chief official of 300 stones, in charge of criminal justice, pacifying the people, arresting thieves, and rectifying lawlessness. For the rest, the nobles shall discuss and report to the emperor."

"We obey your command." Everyone bowed together.

"It's really comforting to have someone to help me."

Liu Bian looked at the crowd, picked up the teacup, and said with a smile, "No need to be polite."

The five men stood up and waited for Liu Bian to finish his tea. Xun You said, "Your Majesty, the summer grain is coming soon. You should make an appointment immediately and then go to the counties to make an open and secret investigation and wait for the right time."

Liu Bian put down his teacup and said, "Pan Yin, go tell Wang Qing to appoint Han Bin as the commander of the grain department and place him under the Shangshutai."

The Commandant of Grain Administration was both an imperial envoy and a local official, which was somewhat special in nature.

"I obey your order!" Han Bin said seriously.

Pan Yin responded and turned to go out.

Liu Bian looked at the five people with a sharp gaze and said in a deep voice: "My fellow ministers, this time, we can only succeed and not fail!"

This was Liu Bian's first attempt at local reform, which concerned national treasury revenue and his many future plans. No matter how great the difficulties were, they had to be overcome!

The five people looked stern and bowed again, saying, "We obey your orders!"

Liu Bian hummed, then pondered and said, "As for the troops..."

The number of soldiers and horses under Sili was limited, and they were either drawn from the Three Auxiliary Forces or the Yulin Army, or recruited by themselves.

Liu Bian would naturally not allow himself to recruit. After thinking it over, he said, "I will figure out a way to deal with this matter. You all should prepare first."

Everyone nodded without thinking too much.

Zhong Yao paused for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if the princes of the counties have different ideas about the appointment of the six ministries, what should we do?"

The Shangshu Tai is now a one-man show with only Wang Yun in charge. He has been racking his brains to fill vacancies recently. He has recommended many people and arranged quite a few people.

Liu Bian said: "You should discuss with Wang Qing's family first and try to reach a consensus. If there are individual differences of opinion, I will make the decision."

"Yes." Zhong Yao said.

Xun You was most concerned about the salt administration. Seeing that Liu Bian did not ask any questions, he did not mention it and said, "Your Majesty, Changsha Governor Sun Jian has received the imperial edict, but how should we arrange it when he arrives in Beijing?"

"The prefect of Hanzhong." Liu Bian said without hesitation.

The reason why he summoned Sun Jian to Beijing was not only because of his bravery, but also because Sun Jian had no roots in the north and was easier to control than Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan and others.

Xun You was thinking about the location of Hanzhong and pondering in his mind.

Hanzhong is located in the southwest of Sanfu. It is the only way to enter Yizhou and it is also a key point to contain Liangzhou. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

"Your Majesty, this is the memorial from Governor Lu of Bingzhou." A eunuch came in and handed Liu Bian a memorial.

Liu Bian's expression did not change, but he could not help but feel uneasy. He took it and opened it to read. After a quick glance, his face was immediately full of smiles. He clapped his hands and looked at Xun You, Zhong Yao and others, saying, "The Lu family has lived up to my expectations and has successfully removed half of Dong Zhuo's military power. The remaining Niu Fu has retreated to Anding County."

Zhong Yao's expression suddenly became serious, and he said, "Your Majesty, if this is the case, I will go to the Three Qiang tribes again to persuade them not to act rashly. The imperial court will send troops to wipe out Niu Fu and completely eliminate this threat!"

Liu Bian shook his head and said, "It's just a Niu Fu. This is the responsibility of Lu Qing's family. Let's not meddle in other people's business. We should focus on the tax reform of the court."

Xun You, Zhong Yao and others thought about Lu Zhi's ability and did not doubt it. Instead, they thought of another concern of the court.

Bingzhou is to the west of Sili, and to the east is Yanzhou.

Yanzhou was originally a place of chaos. The Yellow Turban rebels had ravaged it time and again, and the aristocratic families had fought over it in various names. It had already become a ruined place with various forces intertwined.

It must be pacified, otherwise Sili will be in danger at any time!

At the same time, Yanzhou is also a barrier for the Yellow Turban rebels in Qingzhou to advance westward, and it cannot be lost!

Liu Bian also thought of it and looked up towards the east outside the door.

Huangfu Song, Ding Yuan and others have not reported for several days, so they don't know what the current situation in Yanzhou is.

……

Xu County.

It wasn't far from here to Yanzhou, and Dong Zhuo went into the woods on the pretext of going to the toilet.

The military officer next to Zuo Li was a little worried and said, "Sir, aren't you worried that Dong Zhuo will run away? Many of his subordinates were originally bandits, so it would be easy to find some bandits."

Zuo Li sat on his horse with a gloomy look on his face. He had already lost points in Liu Bian's heart. 'Escorting' Dong Zhuo was his most important means to regain his favor, so how could he be careless?

He smiled coldly and said nothing.

There were only Dong Zhuo and Li Su in the woods.

Dong Zhuo sat naked on a rock, his dark face looking exhausted. He stared fiercely at Li Su not far away and asked, "Why haven't they come yet?"

Li Su suppressed the strange smell and whispered, "Mr. Dong, there is no reply from Bingzhou yet. The bandits here said that they need to collect money first, ten times the amount."

Dong Zhuo's stomach growled, and he said fiercely, "That eunuch must have drugged me. I will skin him alive sooner or later! Tell them that if they take me back to Bingzhou, I will give them a hundred times the money!"

Li Su glanced in the direction of Zuo Li, and instinctively felt that it was possible to pierce his back. He was shocked and said, "I will find a way to contact him again."

Dong Zhuo's eyes were red. Just as he was about to speak, there was another thump. He almost fell off his seat. He gritted his teeth and said with great force, "What are you afraid of?"

Li Su trembled and said quickly, "I'm afraid those bandits won't keep their word."

Dong Zhuo showed murderous intent on his face and said, "They are afraid that I will not keep my word! If you try to contact me again, I will definitely return to Bingzhou!"

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