Xuande

Chapter 889 The Future of the Third Reich ([-])
Take Luoyang as an example. The citizen class in Luoyang continues to grow, which makes citizens widely pursue the taste of food. And because of the special status of the capital of the Luoyang Empire, people and goods traveling from south to north often pass through Luoyang, so Many outsiders will choose to open restaurants in Luoyang.

Therefore, many flavors from other regions can be eaten here. Many outsiders come to Luoyang and feel homesick, so they go to local restaurants to have a bite of local flavors, which is quite satisfying.

Due to the development of sea fishing in the coastal areas, there has been a wave of eating and cooking seafood, which has created a taste that emphasizes light and fresh taste.

In the mainland, due to the development of agriculture and livestock breeding, there has been a wave of eating fried vegetables and rice. Liu Bei's favorite rice, rice, was only grown in a few areas in the past. Now the planting area has expanded and the output has increased. More and more people are starting to eat rice as their staple food.

People began to pursue a variety of tastes, and the empire's diet was diverse and blooming in all directions. This reflected that the empire's material life had entered a relatively sufficient state.

This is something that people could not have imagined more than ten years ago, but in recent years it has been developing more and more in this direction, and the trend is getting stronger.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang believes that although Chen Lin is a bit flattering and likes to pursue Liu Bei's opinion on everything and follow Liu Bei's orders, in some matters because of Liu Bei's excellent qualities, his flattery does not seem so flattering.

The emperor is so good that he actually makes the existence of licking dogs reasonable. This is not a good phenomenon.

Zhuge Liang thought so.

But Liu Bei didn't care about this. He served as emperor for 15 years, created this huge empire with his own hands, and accumulated a lot of savings for this country, making this country a unique superpower in the world today, with influence spreading far overseas. .

This is enough for Liu Bei. If he wants to lie down, it is not difficult.

However, he doesn't want to be Li Longji, nor does he want to be the person who plays music and dances, so he still has to complete one last thing.

"Kong Ming, it's time to start the enfeoffment strategy."

Zhuge Liang stopped and looked at Liu Bei in surprise.

"Your Majesty, didn't you say before that it would be best to wait until the 20th year of Zhenguan?"

"Time waits for no one, we have to start when it's time to start. The big man is already very strong, and the speed of development is beyond my imagination. And I don't know how long I can live. If you can arrange it as soon as possible, you must arrange it as soon as possible. With me as a father As an elder brother, it is better than letting Shen make arrangements as an elder brother."

Zhuge Liang was silent for a while and sighed: "You really think a lot about future generations."

"What I want is stability, inheritance, and continuation, not a flash in the pan."

Liu Bei turned around and looked at Zhuge Liang and said with a smile: "So, I set up the position of cabinet minister and let you come back and join the cabinet. This is the idea. After the enfeoffment policy is completed and I see the results, I will abdicate. By that time, I was already very tired, and I wanted to live for a few more years. If I continued to be the emperor, I was afraid that I would not survive for ten years."

"Your Majesty, you..."

"Kong Ming, I believe you."

Liu Bei patted Zhuge Liang on the shoulder, smiled, and continued walking forward.

In the 15th year of Zhenguan, Liu Bei counted the days and calculated that this year should be AD [-]. In another timeline, this year was the second year after the Battle of Chibi. This year, the world was not peaceful.

As the place of the Fourth War, Jingzhou was still raging with war. Sun Quan took the initiative to start the first Battle of Hefei and tried to go north to Hefei. The attack was frustrated and the battle situation was unfavorable, which kicked off Sun Shiwan's reputation.

In order to avenge the defeat in the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao once again led his troops south to Ruxukou and confronted Sun Quan across the river. Because of Cao Ren's failure in Jiangling, he had no choice but to abandon the eastern front battlefield and chose to retreat.

Cao Cao failed to take revenge, and Sun Quan did not continue to open up the situation. The only person who expanded his power was Uncle Liu Huang who was struggling to grow.

It can be said that this year is the year when Uncle Liu's career flourishes for the third time, and it is also the beginning of his journey to the top. At present, in this timeline, Liu Bei has successfully built an unprecedented super empire.

Liu Bei felt that he was more capable, more successful, or luckier than Uncle Liu Huang, but Uncle Liu, who was indomitable in that timeline, was still the source of strength in his heart.

Therefore, he decided to launch a feudal country plan in this decisive year to lay the foundation for the national structure of the Third Reich of the Han Dynasty for the next 300 years.

Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei's back, said nothing, pursed his lips, and followed quickly.

He has been an official for nine years. It only took him three years to go from being a collective farm representative to a county official, a county official, and then a county magistrate.

At the age of 22, he became the magistrate of a county, and at the age of 24, he was transferred back to Luoyang to serve as a cabinet minister. He was the fastest to complete this path among the first imperial examination candidates.

And the answer sheet he handed over was the most eye-catching among all the Jinshi.

At the age of 25, Zhuge Liang was appointed as the fifth-rank official, becoming one of the five most capable and promising officials in the cabinet.

When he was 27 years old, that is, last year, in the 14th year of Zhenguan, Liu Bei reformed the cabinet and established a system of cabinet ministers and subordinate ministers of the third grade.

After the reform, the cabinet is still essentially the emperor's personal attendant and advisory department. However, after any official enters the cabinet and becomes a cabinet assistant, he has the authority to receive the emperor's orders and appoint personnel from the court service departments to form a working group to handle specialized affairs.

Once the court has a particularly important or urgent matter that needs to be handled jointly by multiple departments, at this time, suitable candidates will be selected from among the cabinet ministers to take the lead, and suitable officials from various departments of the court will be selected to join the working group. They will specialize in the task and enjoy special privileges. authority to act.

During the disposal period, the court service department, no matter how high the rank, must comply with the order of the leader of the working group and must not disobey it until the matter is completely over, then the working group will be disbanded and everything will return to the way it was before.

This system was understood by the court as Liu Bei's characteristic system of chief ministers and assistant ministers, and it was also his measure to further strengthen the imperial power. However, regardless of other things, after that, the 27-year-old Zhuge Liang became one of the five ministers in the cabinet and the youngest one. .

And he almost immediately took over the construction of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Grand Canal, established his own Grand Canal Office, and became the first [Zaifu] with Liu Bei's characteristics to enjoy special authority to handle special affairs.

The Grand Canal starts from Luoyang and ends at Wu County in the east of the Yangtze River. Its goal is to connect the north and the south and build water transportation to facilitate comprehensive communication between the south and the north. However, after deeper consideration, Liu Bei explained to the officials because he believed An unprecedented cold wave is sweeping across China.

He believes that for a long period of time in the future, the climate will become colder and colder, and the food output of the entire northern land will face the risk of reduction. At this time, only the areas south of the Yangtze River and Lingnan can provide food to the north of the Yangtze River. Plenty of food.

The Grand Canal was built to help the Han Empire resist the invasion of this Little Ice Age. Although the project was huge, once it was completed, the benefits would be huge.

The conception and construction draft of the entire project began in the second year of Zhenguan. By now, all construction conditions have been mature, so the execution of this mature plan was entrusted to Zhuge Liang by Liu Bei.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is Liu Bei giving Zhuge Liang a great contribution. As long as he seizes this contribution, his future career will be easy. There are envious people and jealous people, but Zhuge Liang always treats it indifferently.

Sometimes he went out on business trips and sometimes returned to Luoyang to report on his work. He determined the entire construction cycle to be five years and made a detailed material expenditure plan. The expenditure plan for each month of each year was very detailed, how to deploy personnel, and where. How to cooperate, etc., were highly praised by Liu Bei.

Therefore, it is generally believed that Liu Bei focused on cultivating Zhuge Liang in order to leave an administrative master with stronger ability to handle government affairs to his son Liu Shen, so that Zhuge Liang could continue to serve the next emperor. Such an arrangement is also how much Treatment that no one can even imagine.

In fact, it's true. Liu Bei did arrange it this way. There is an age gap of 20 years between him and Zhuge Liang, almost two generations. It would be a waste not to leave Zhuge Liang to his son.

He recognized that his eldest son Liu Shen had very good talents. A few years ago, he consciously took Liu Shen with him and asked him to learn to handle government affairs, learn to handle military affairs, learn to understand interpersonal relationships in the officialdom, and taught him He learned a lot of knowledge that can only be taught between emperors.

However, as the saying goes, a hero has three gangs and a fence has three stakes. Zhuge Liang is the person who is actually recognized by Liu Bei as the successor. Making him an important supporting force for Liu Shen is the best situation envisioned by Liu Bei.

In addition, for the sake of the inheritance and stability of the empire and to avoid falling into the dilemma of involution prematurely, all Liu Bei can do is to complete the feudal plan.

In July of the 15th year of Zhenguan, Liu Bei called his second son Liu Ze, who had been serving in the Northwest Military Region since graduating from the military academy, back to Luoyang and informed him of his plan to seal the country.

Speaking of which, this is not the first time Liu Ze has heard of this plan.

He knew a long time ago that Liu Bei wanted to send him out of the Han Dynasty and establish an independent country in the future, so he arranged for him to enter the Royal Military Academy of the Han Dynasty from Sili Academy, and then served in the Northwest Military Region, participating in many campaigns against the remnants of the Kushan Empire. The war between the forces and the resistance forces of the Parthian Empire.

Liu Ze did not reject this matter, but when it came to the matter, he still hesitated.

"Father, can I really become the king of a feudal country? Do I really have the ability?"

"If I thought you didn't have this ability, would I design this plan for you? Or do you want to stay in the Han Dynasty, and after I die, become an idle king under the arrangement of your brother? If you want this , I can promise you too.”

Liu Bei looked at Liu Ze with a smile: "But I think that the reason why you work so hard to learn knowledge is not to become an idle prince, right?"

"Indeed, if I were an idle prince, I would be bored to death."

Liu Ze smiled and shook his head and said: "It's better to go out. Although it's a bit harder, at least I can use everything I have learned. It may be quite thrilling, so I should be very happy...but..."

"It's just that you are not the eldest son after all. If you are the eldest son, you can stay in Luoyang and take over the huge empire I left behind, right?"

Liu Bei took a sip of tea from the tea bowl, looked at Liu Ze, and spoke out what was in his heart.

Liu Ze was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and said nothing.

Liu Bei sighed.

"I know it's normal for you to have such thoughts. I can understand it, but I also told you that the eldest son inheritance system is the most effective system that our predecessors have explored after experiencing many bloody storms. , the inheritance system with the lowest cost, this is a reality.

I know you have some ideas, but I can't satisfy you no matter what. You may think it's not fair, but there is never absolute fairness in the world. If you think it's unfair, then those children from poor backgrounds will envy you even more. became my son.

We are all human beings, so why are some people born as princes, while others have to crawl around in the mud?This is also an injustice, but who can say that this injustice can be changed?So, Ze, you are already standing in a place that many people would never dare to think about. "

Liu Ze was speechless after hearing this. "This is the best way I can think of for you and your brothers. Ze, you are lucky to be born in the royal family, but in a sense, it is also your misfortune, because you and I The same goes for your brother, we don’t have a choice.”

"Father……"

"I have cared about you very much since you were a child. As a father, I think I am not a failure."

Liu Bei stood up, walked up to Liu Ze, and patted his shoulder: "You have grown up, you are 25 years old. In the next few days, it is time for you to do something for the entire Han Dynasty. , there are many crises, but if my son Liu Bei doesn’t take the lead, who will dare to follow?”

Liu Ze said nothing more, nodded and accepted the reality.

To say that the Han Empire still had a strong foundation and strong national strength, Liu Bei was also very concerned about the enfeoffment plan, and what he came up with was richer than Liu Ze had ever expected at the beginning.

Liu Bei has prepared troops, officials, money, grain, and even a series of manual and technical talents needed to build the country for Liu Ze.

Relying on higher wages and more development prospects than those in the Han Dynasty, after some publicity, they successfully recruited enough manpower to create a small and medium-sized feudal state.

Not only that, because Liu Ze had served in the Northwest Military Region and had military experience, Liu Bei made all of Liu Ze's subordinates and partners in the army his subordinates with a wave of his hand, allowing them to join Liu Ze. Go and start a career.

The seat of the feudal state is the original hometown of Kangju. According to the results of the negotiation between Liu Bei and Liu Ze, after they have established a foothold in Kangju's hometown, they can further develop to the northwest of Kangju, where there are still a relatively large number of nomadic groups. , which allows them to forge ahead.

The Han Empire will provide them with financial support for at least ten years. Within ten years, they need to establish a financial system sufficient to support the country and the army. If they cannot do this, Liu Bei will be very disappointed.

Moreover, Liu Bei also announced that he would connect the bureaucracy of the Han Empire with the bureaucracy of the newly established satellite states. The results of the imperial examinations of the Han Empire were officially recognized by the satellite states. Jinshi who had participated in the imperial examinations could choose satellite states as officials. place.

As for the name of this new country, Liu Bei also thought about it.

Western Qin.

At the end of July of the 15th year of Zhenguan, Liu Ze was officially granted the title of King of the Western Qin Dynasty in Luoyang and received the title of king. He officially became the first king in the Third Empire to receive a feudal state and actual fiefdom. He will lead a semi-independent team to build Create a satellite state to protect the Han Empire.

As the starting point of the enfeoffment plan, Liu Ze's actions attracted worldwide attention, and people did not know whether his path forward would be victory or death.

But Zhuge Liang, who had handled some things, knew it clearly.

Liu Ze will definitely succeed, he will definitely succeed. Even if he doesn't succeed, Liu Bei will use the power of the Han Empire to force him to succeed.

Liu Bei has said before that with the further growth of the population of the Han Empire and the continuous improvement of the quality of the country's population, the concerns of some conservative officials in the past ten years have gradually become a reality.

There are more and more people in the new generation of citizens who do not want to be farmers all their lives. There are also more and more people who want to pursue various possibilities. There are also more and more people who are pursuing a better life. In the past, there were more and more people who wanted to live in a field and a house for a lifetime. Many young people no longer want to live this life.

They have read books, had study tour experiences, opened their eyes to the world, and are full of yearning for the outside world. Their desires are different from those of their parents.

Therefore, Liu Bei predicted that the Han Empire would inevitably undergo more and more changes in the future. He must build more reservoirs and moats for the Han Empire to ensure the basic stability of the country.

The foreign feudal country is a good reservoir and moat-like existence.

The conditions are difficult but the returns are high, and the risks are high. As long as you are willing to take the risks, you can get high returns.

And it has always been within the planning control of the Han Empire.

Human beings are different. Some people like to live a plain life and don't like high risks. Some people like an exciting life and like to experience unusual new worlds.

Then Liu Bei gave them two choices, instead of imitating ancient China and forcing people to have only one choice. He wished he could tie a group of people to the same place for their whole lives and become old scalpers.

Therefore, the plan to enclose the country outside the territory is bound to succeed, no matter the cost, it will definitely succeed.

There are many more things that Zhuge Liang does not dare to imagine, but only in this matter, Zhuge Liang believes that he can definitely succeed.

On the way back to the palace after bidding farewell to Liu Ze, Liu Bei felt a little emotional.

"Kong Ming, do you think I am right or wrong in letting the children go out to build the feudal country? Some people have raised concerns with me, saying that they are worried that in the future, if the trunk is weak and the branches are lush, there will be a danger of small sects replacing large ones. , in order to oppose the plan of enclosing the country outside the territory, do you think this is possible?"

"It's impossible for at least a hundred years."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "To create a feudal country from scratch, no matter how fast it is, it will still take a hundred years. A hundred years to establish a country is considered fast. As for what will happen in a hundred years, who can say for sure?"

"Yes, that's what I mean too."

Liu Bei smiled and said: "And I also told them, don't forget, I am also Xiao Zong who ascended the throne instead of Da Zong. What's wrong with that? If you don't have the ability and majesty to be a monarch, don't be a monarch. The monarch has a lot of responsibilities. It is an extremely important mission, if you can’t bear it, then don’t bear it.”

"So, Your Majesty is too calm."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Many people can't look away. They wish that the family business could be passed down for thousands of years and never be cut off."

"I don't think so. I don't attach too much importance to the inheritance of family blood. In the past, the inheritance of family blood still had a little mission of inheriting civilization. It is still meaningful to be obsessed with family inheritance. After all, it is all learned from the family."

Liu Bei sighed: "But now is no longer the era of home schooling. Not to mention state school, county school has been popularized. The school departments are clamoring to implement the county school plan set by Zheng Gong. All knowledge has been popularized. Now, who can’t pass it on?
Don't talk about them. Even for me, the royal family, if one day, the crown prince's direct heir cannot hold the throne and is taken away, then in my opinion, there is nothing worthy of pity. Only the strongest person can do something like the throne. If you do it, you are not strong enough, you will lose the throne, and you will have no place to reason.

Because you, the emperor, do not want to reason with others. What you want is to dominate yourself. Then one day you are killed by others, who can you ask to reason with?So I say, the emperor is so hypocritical, so hypocritical that it makes me want to vomit.

I thought that as long as there is still someone who is the emperor, then this country will not be stable. Unless one day all existences such as emperors and kings are eliminated, this country can usher in a new life. The current Han Dynasty is not my ideal The kingdom of China. "

Zhuge Liang was a little surprised by this.

"Your Majesty, this... doesn't seem to be something I should discuss."

"So it's me who's talking."

Liu Bei smiled and said: "I just said that, and you just listened to it. Anyway, I hate this thing. Normal people will become abnormal people when they sit in this position. If they change slightly, they will not be so determined." People are definitely going to have problems.

This child Ze has a firm will, but he is not calm enough. Shen is not only calm, but also has a firm will. This is the main reason why I chose Shen. Among my sons, only Ze can be a king and an emperor. Deep.

Ze sitting in this position will push the big man to another peak, but he can't control himself well, he will lose control, and in the end it is very likely that what happened to Emperor Wu in his later years will happen again. That is what I don't want to see, deep down Otherwise, he will control himself calmly.

However, Shen is calm and calm, but lacks decisiveness in major matters. He may know how to do many things, but his methods of doing things are not sharp enough. This is his biggest weakness, so Kong Ming, after I abdicate, Shen will You are here to help. "

"Your Majesty, this..."

"That's how I thought about it from the beginning."

Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang and said slowly: "Over the years, I have paid more or less attention to your contemporaries. There are not many who can maintain their original appearance, as you have always maintained. There are fewer ideal people, and you are the best treasure I have discovered in so many years."

Liu Bei reached out and took Zhuge Liang's hand.

"Kong Ming, I am the sunset that is about to set, and you are like the sun in the sky. I have few requirements for you, just two things. This is what I said to you back then, do not do evil for small things, and do not do good for small things. Because, this is the most superficial and profound truth I have realized in my life.

I told Shen this sentence, and I also told you. Shen is the heir to my throne. His biggest mission is to allow the Han Dynasty to continue to stabilize and develop. And you are my ideal successor. Shen will hold the lower limit for the Han Dynasty. , and you, want to break the upper limit for the big man. "

"Your Majesty... my minister..."

Zhuge Liang's expression seemed a little panicked, and he seemed to feel that Liu Bei's instructions were not normal.

So he bowed before Liu Bei.

"I dare not betray His Majesty's kindness. Your Majesty's kindness will be something I will never forget. I can only repay Your Majesty's kindness by doing my best!"

Liu Bei reached out and helped Zhuge Liang up.

"Don't think about repaying me. I don't want you to repay me. I train you and value you for your abilities, so that you can make the Han Dynasty more prosperous and the people of the Han Dynasty happier. This is what I look forward to. If If you thank me, then govern the big man well!"

Zhuge Liang's eyes were slightly red, he pursed his lips and nodded.

"Liang, I will do my best. As long as I have a breath left, I will not cause any harm to the big man!"

Looking at the aging Liu Bei, the 28-year-old Zhuge Liang made a lifelong promise to him.

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PS: Tomorrow will be biographies, which should be about Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei.

(End of this chapter)