Three Kingdoms

In Li's Wubao near Yecheng, a small banquet was being held in the flower hall.

This time it was just a family banquet, there were no outsiders participating at all, and there was no bustle and bustle like a gathering of prominent people. There were only two people present.

One is Li Pan and the other is Li Cheng.

The two of them are Jizhou personnel and can be regarded as part of the Qingliu gentry. Although they do not hold any prominent positions under Yuan Shao, they have a good reputation and have good relationships with other gentry children in Jizhou. Therefore, compared with those " Tian Feng, who was addicted to official career, seemed to be more noble and could be called the virtuous man of Jizhou. Therefore, this time Yuan Shao fell, the Li family seemed not only not to be affected much, but even lost his status because of it. There is improvement.

After all, both the Tian family and the Shen family were important ministers under Yuan Shao. It is said that a big ship cannot be turned around. Therefore, after Cao Cao takes control of Jizhou, it is the Li family who does not embrace Yuan Shao's thighs. Of course, they will become popular.

Those who had said bad things about Cao Cao before and were hostile to Cao Cao naturally hid in their homes and were in panic all day long. However, people like the Li family were filled with guests and kept coming and going. Many people thought that this Once upon a time, Mr. Li was really foresighted, and he saw early on that Mr. Yuan was not going to last long, and then he survived until now, ushering in a new situation.

However, strictly speaking, the two Li brothers are not biological brothers, but clan brothers. However, they know in their hearts that it was not because the Li family was too arrogant to kneel down and lick Yuan Shao, but because the Li family did not have the skills of the Tian family and others. Okay, I couldn’t lick it in place, and then I didn’t grab the position...

Of course, the Li brothers would never admit these things.

The furnishings of this banquet are very simple, with one person sitting alone. Apart from drinks and dried fruits, there are no seven bowls or eight dishes, and there is no room full of singing and dancing girls. Anyway, the two brothers are not thinking about the banquet. Li Pan sat behind the table with a calm face, not drinking any alcohol, but frowning in thought, while Li Cheng held a wine glass and sipped lightly.

"The wine is too cold to drink..." Li Cheng said slowly.

Li Pan glanced at Li Cheng. He didn't really think that Li Cheng was complaining about the temperature of the wine, but knew that Li Cheng was referring to it, so he sighed slightly and said: "The wine can be heated when it is cold, but After it’s hot, you have to drink it quickly. It’s difficult to keep it warm or cold as you like..."

Li Cheng snorted and said it more straightforwardly, "Now the only one in the world who can talk about it is Fei Cao. But now that I see the Cao family taking over Jizhou, if I don't have the courage to do my duty, I'm afraid it will just be nothing!" 』

"I'm afraid..." Li Pan muttered, "If in the future... the Cao family will be like the Yuan family..."

"Nowadays, the court is in chaos and the country is in trouble," Li Cheng said, cupping his hands towards the south, "The emperor doesn't know the future yet, so what can we do even if we are worried?" It’s better to take care of the present first! Having said that, if it is true... at worst, no matter how much you are like the Shen family, you will still have some leisure time and wealth..."

They are all brothers within the clan, so they speak straightforwardly. Speaking from a grown-up perspective, as a Han nobleman, he wants to do something. Of course, party struggles are inevitable, and it is natural to increase benefits for his family. Otherwise, how can we call it "family world"?

Jizhou and Yuzhou can be said to be the biggest victims of the party's scourge, but they are also beneficiaries. The two emperors, Emperor Xiaoheng of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xiaoling of the Han Dynasty, also wanted to become powerful emperors who wanted to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty, but...

Up to now, although the gentry children have indeed completely defeated the eunuchs and relatives, they have also defeated the Han Dynasty. Especially after the Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan brothers who originally represented the interests of the gentry and scholar-bureaucrats fell one after another, the Han Dynasty has obviously become Hemiplegia, even moving towards total paralysis.

The nobles thought that the big man's other two walking sticks were in the way, and after trying every means to cripple him, they suddenly found that they were also alone...

And now, many people are at a loss.

If Cao Cao can dominate Hebei as in history, then the Jizhou gentry will naturally have nothing to say. It is natural for them to turn around and throw themselves into Cao Cao's arms, which may not be warm, to seek love and pity. But at the moment, in the political situation of the Han Dynasty, there is not only Cao Cao , and a Fei Qian.

This is more troublesome...

This is the contradiction between Li Pan and Li Cheng.

The emperor Liu Xie cannot be counted on for the time being. Even though he is indeed sitting on the throne of the emperor now, everyone knows that, especially the series of things that happened in the past, many nobles have seen clearly that this emperor is actually He doesn't have any great skills.

Of course, such an emperor is not without benefits. At least such an emperor means that all power will fall on the nobles, and the problem of party supervision will not arise. If the powerful ministers can really control the situation, it will not be possible for the big man to do so. The country's power can still be restored!

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the system that had been running smoothly for three to four hundred years seemed to begin to collapse. In this process, the power of the monarch and the power of the prime minister were also out of balance. Everything needed to be re-established and re-formulated, but in the process of establishment and formulation Among them, interests are involved and entangled, making it become more and more confusing.

After a long while, Li Pan said: "If Cao comes here, will it be possible?" 』

Li Cheng chuckled and said, "Aren't there still you and me?" Now that the Cao family has arrived, it is natural to stabilize people's hearts and look for a thousand-mile horse... When the time comes to appease Jizhou and gain great power, are you afraid that you will not be able to stand under the Sophora Hall in the future? 』

When Cao Cao first arrived in Yecheng, it was the best time for the Li family, and the sudden rush of guests before, wasn't it because many people saw this and came here to ambush first? If Mr. Li continues to stay behind closed doors, then this false prosperity will not be realized, and these "guests" will naturally go to other places soon...

So Li Cheng spoke urgently and straightforwardly. Cao Cao needed to appease the people in Jizhou, so he naturally needed to borrow Jizhou's local power, and special arrangements were needed for military and civil affairs. If he could absorb part of the authority, it would be almost equivalent to the Li family ascending to the throne of the Tian family under Yuan Shao in one fell swoop. status!

After gaining status, to put it more seriously, even if Cao Cao loses to Fei Qian in the future, it is not unreasonable to fall to Fei Qian's side at that time...

Li Pan was still a little hesitant and said: "But the matter of "examination"..."

Li Cheng smiled faintly and said, "'Testing for correctness' means just sticking to the mark, so what's the difficulty?" 』

Although Li Cheng said it lightly, both brothers knew that this matter was difficult to handle.

Regarding the examination, naturally some people are happy and some are worried.

It is difficult to say that all aspects of a system are good or all are bad. Just like Wang Mang's restructuring, the intention is also good...

Those who are truly talented and learned, and sometimes come from a well-known family, naturally have no regard for the exam, and even think that the exam can eliminate those guys who are just pretending to be fake, but for those who only have a family, and then run around in daily life and fight cocks , naturally there are ten thousand unwillingnesses.

For the poor side branch, it is also a mixed blessing. I am happy that I can finally take the exam based on my talent, but I am worried that the result will be "corrected" again...

When Jizhou is initially decided, it must be pacified, otherwise Cao Cao will not come to Yecheng to take charge. Moreover, Jizhou has always been prosperous in humanities and has many nobles. If it cannot be suppressed, chaos will inevitably occur, so Cao Cao wants to If all parties are satisfied, the stolen goods must be divided well. Li Chengcheng wants to be the knife that divides the stolen goods. Even if he can't secretly cut more for himself, will the surface of the knife be stained with some oil and water...

The way to govern is to have a bowl of water. Let’s share the benefits together to avoid any resentment in the future.

Li Pan nodded slightly, then shook his head and said: "However, most of the official positions are held by Henanzi..."

Li Cheng smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this?" Just sit on the wall and watch, let’s see the water is muddy! 』

Li Pan thought for a long time and finally became silent, apparently agreeing.

……（*`ェ′*）d（·｀ω′·）……

In Xu County, above the palace hall, Liu Xie is sitting in the middle and Xun Yu is sitting at the bottom.

"Xun Aiqing, how much savings do the three divisions have in their treasury now?" Does this newly added "examination and correction" position come with a three-year salary, or is it created by each locality? 』

Because of Queen Cao's relationship, the relationship between Liu Xie and the Cao family seemed to be closer, so Liu Xie also had some slight changes in matters in the court. As Liu Xie's age increases, his situation over the years has made Liu Xie's imperial skills slightly more advanced than other emperors of the Han Dynasty. Although he cannot be said to have reached the level of proficiency, at least he is better than those who don't understand anything. The emperor who couldn't understand anything was much better. Just like the sentence just now, he also hit the point.

Officials, of course, must have a salary. If you get a salary from the court, you may not necessarily speak for the court, let alone those who can't even get a salary from the court...

The dual monarch-minister governance structure of the Han Dynasty resulted in many officials actually serving not Liu Xie, the emperor who represented the Han Dynasty, but local officials who paid him salaries. Therefore, if it is said that the central court is responsible for issuing salaries, it is natural. You can hold the control, but if it is given to the local government, it may lose its original meaning.

Under the Dan level, Xun Yu pondered for a moment. As Cao Cao's chief steward, he naturally had a clear understanding of all the current figures. Liu Xie inquired about it, sorted it out a little, and then respectfully replied: "Although it is the time for planning in winter." At that time, there was chaos in various places, and the calculation of the tributes had not yet arrived... Now only in Sikong's treasury, there are 5.1 million gold, silver, copper coins, silk utensils, etc. However, in winter, it is time to control the flood. , so we want to allocate 800,000 yuan to manage the water canals in various places in Hebei and Henan. There are also soldiers and soldiers' salaries from all walks of life in the capital, which are also waiting to be paid... In addition, there are also more than 2 million yuan needed to be spent on the salaries and allowances of officials, big and small, in Xudu. ...』

If Cao Cao hadn't tricked the Wuhuan people and just paid the mercenary military expenses, Xun Yu would have gone bankrupt on the spot!

Even so, Cao Cao was still in embarrassment under his rule. It seemed that he could still have a few million dollars left, but Xun Yu knew that this value was empty because there were still expenses for the New Year...

After a moment of pause, Xun Yu said again in an upright voice: "As for the post of Kaozheng, it falls under Situ, and the salary he receives is all from Zhong..."

"But Situ..." Liu Xie frowned and said, "I have been hanging for a long time..."

"Your Majesty, Liu Zi is highly virtuous and highly respected, talented and knowledgeable, and qualified for this position..." Xun Yu said.

"Liu Zigao?" Liu Xie pondered.

Liu Hong, whose courtesy name is Zigao, served as Guang Luxun when Dong Zhuo came to Beijing. He also served as Sikong for a short time, but was dismissed by Dong Zhuo on the grounds that he was "unworthy of his moral character."

Liu Xie seemed to remember that this Liu Hong seemed to be from Nanyang.

As a monarch, he has two important rights, one is personnel power and the other is financial power. Unfortunately, Liu Xie has neither of them. He can only ask about it, which is more or less relevant. Therefore, for the Situ proposed by Xun Yu, He did not have much power to suggest or veto the candidates. After a moment of pause, Liu Xie said: "Maybe..."

"Your Majesty is wise. Xun Yu replied without much emotion.

Liu Xie was silent for another moment. No matter what thoughts were running in his heart, the world still belonged to the Liu family. Although he knew that his words were useless, if he didn't even ask, then how could he be called the Liu family? In the world, it would be simpler for the Liu family to directly change their name to the Cao family, so Liu Xie still asked: "... We have been in short supply for many years. I wonder if you have any good ideas?" 』

Everything requires money.

Xun Yu sighed incomprehensibly, and replied with some sadness: "I have failed your majesty's high expectations to manage the country's finances, and I am really guilty..."

This financial problem confused not only Liu Xie, but also Cao Cao and Xun Yu.

Why is it that General Fei Qian's side seems to be prosperous and prosperous, while Jizhou and Yuzhou account for almost half of the population of the Han Dynasty, but the income is not as high as that of Pei Qian...

Liu Xie shook his head and said, "Xun Aiqing doesn't have to blame herself..."

Xun Yu was silent. In fact, he also had some vague understanding, but it was difficult to say it out loud. After all, wherever your butt sits, you have to say something.

Normally speaking, it is true that the output of Jizhou and Yuzhou will be much higher than that under Fei Qian's rule. Even though Fei Qian used better farming tools and more advanced irrigation technology, the overall Generally speaking, it is not possible to rely on technology to completely level the population gap, especially in a farming society like the Han Dynasty that still relied on manpower.

Therefore, the only problem is that there are fewer "middlemen" in Feiqian...

The "middlemen" on the side of Cavalry General Fei Qian were not without trouble, but Fei Qian was so cruel that he directly attracted a large number of "counting talents" to bypass the rural nobles, and even formed a direct transport fleet. Collect taxes, rent, etc. directly from the place of origin...

Even the nomadic Hu people who had surrendered did not hide away. The Hu people who were educated and needed to "respect teachers and value education" completed the homework assigned by the teacher perfectly. The number of cattle and sheep in the family was clearly reported. They wanted to pretend I don't know how difficult it is to get through the test in a daze...

Therefore, here in Cao Cao's case, on the one hand, the numbers reported by the nobles from various places are already somewhat watered down, and there are not a few who have concealed the encroachment. On the other hand, these nobles are entrusted to collect and pay on their behalf. Naturally, there are also some handling fees, damage fees, transportation fees, etc. , what really got into Xun Yu’s hands was that it was discounted.

So now it is normal that Cao Cao's actual income is not as good as Fei Qian's. Then what Fei Qian can do, can Cao Cao do it now?

can not do this.

Cao Cao was different from Fei Qian from the beginning. Cao Cao relied on the support of the Cao family, the Xiahou family, and the gentry in the Chenliu area, especially the support of Yingchuan Xunyu and others, to survive and develop while moving from north to south and from east to west, so of course it was impossible to abandon these people. .

However, the embarrassing predicament had to force Cao Cao and Xun Yu to have the idea of ​​​​reform. After all, the pressure brought by Fei Qian beside them was too great. If they did not move and did not reform, they would not be able to compete with Fei Qian.

"I heard that there is a new theory on salt and iron in Xijing..." Liu Xie said slowly, "I have also re-read "The Theory of Salt and Iron"... I have heard about the way to govern people, the source of preventing adultery, the principle of widening morality, and suppressing profit. But benevolence and righteousness should not be shown to benefit, then education can be promoted and customs can be changed... When I first read it when I was young, I also felt that virtuous and reasonable, specializing in evil, but now I read it again... but I don't know why, I actually feel that so-called virtuous , is not really virtuous, I wonder what Xun Aiqing thinks? 』

"Lun on Salt and Iron" is Huan Kuan's meeting-style political essay based on the famous "Salt and Iron Conference" in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty. However, Hengkuan's butt is naturally a little crooked. The book describes many times the behavior of government officials. Embarrassed, or silently disagreeing, or getting angry, or feeling ashamed...

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's salt and iron monopoly did indeed make a significant contribution to defeating the Xiongnu, but no policy was perfect or unchangeable for a hundred years. After a period of implementation of the salt and iron policy, problems inevitably appeared in Economically, patented state-owned enterprises led to corruption and inefficiency, while the unchecked power of the government made it impossible to achieve equal competition in the market, further promoting the deterioration of the Han economy. This is indeed an indisputable fact.

We have also seen that these so-called virtuous Han people keep saying that the salt and iron franchise is "competing with the people for profit" and is not beneficial to the country. However, in fact, this "people" are not ordinary people, but "rich people."

Salt and iron, from another perspective, are strategic materials. Controlling strategic materials inhibits the development of local powerful armed forces. Therefore, those "virtuous men" in those days kept worrying about the country and the people, and then proposed the call to abandon the salt and iron monopoly. In fact, it was also the current rise of armed forces in various places. , the basis of one part of the separatist regime.

Of course, more than two hundred years have passed since the salt and iron theory. Even if it were to be reversed now, it would not be of much significance. Therefore, Liu Xie's meaning did not refer to salt and iron, but to something else...

A slight breeze blew from outside the hall, shaking the curtains inside the hall, causing the light and shadow to sway together.

Xun Yu slowly raised his head, his lips showing the first smile since he entered the palace for questioning, like a reflection of light, "Your Majesty, if you read the salt and iron carefully again and again, you will know..."