Overlord!

In late summer and early autumn in June, Sun Ce returned to Jiankang City smoothly.

Also brought back to Jiankang were the Chuanguo Jade Seal and Yuan Shao's head.

After being granted the title of Duke of Song Dynasty, Sun Ce had already built the state and held sacrifices. At this time, it was inevitable to take the Han Dynasty and replace it.

Therefore, Yuan Shao's head and Sun Ce's head were not sent to the Han Dynasty. Instead, they were sacrificed in the ancestral temple in Jiankang and announced to the world.

Today, Sun Ce's territory includes Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Jiaozhou, which is even wider than Cao Wei's territory of Jiuzhou.

The number of people to be governed is no less than ten million, and it may even be close to twenty million.

This announcement to the world immediately aroused heated discussions in the world.

First of all, destroy the enemy's country and kill the trespassers. This is a thing worthy of praise.

Zhu Xia has been generous and heroic since ancient times, so in the Central Plains, victory is always the best incentive. As long as you can lead your subordinates to expand territory and continue to win, your prestige will become stronger and stronger.

From the First Emperor to Han Wu, from Tang Zong to Song Zu, everything is like this.

Whoever can lead his subjects to create one glorious victory after another will be able to gain the popularity of the world, win the support of the army and the people, and eventually rule the world.

Sun Ce destroyed the Zhao family and became famous. He also hung Yuan Shao's head in the North Tower of Jiankang, which aroused worldwide discussion.

After all, no matter what, the head of this treasonous traitor should be passed down to Luoyang. As a result, Song Gong was in Jiankangzhao to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth and tell the world what was going on?

Could it be the transfer of artifacts?

Especially at this time, some scholars were even more clamorous.

The most important affairs of the country are sacrifice and military service.

There is no doubt that the Duke of Song is in charge of the military and horse power in the world and is in charge of the Chinese and foreign military affairs.

Now that we have the power of sacrifice, wouldn't it mean that all the major events in the world depend on Song Gong?

What do you want the emperor of the Han Dynasty to do?

Of course, after entering the customs, there were great scholars who argued for me.

Sun Ce promoted education, built so many schools, and educated so many great scholars. Naturally, people began to advocate for Sun Ce.

It is said that Han virtue has declined, the sky tilts to the northwest, and the earth sinks to the southeast. This is destiny.

That is to say, the Purple Star (Emperor Star) in the sky is in the north, while the royal power on the earth moves to the southeast.

However, after all, the time for Sun Ce to become Duke of Song was too short. Due to the slow speed of information transmission in today's era, for more than half a year, many people in the countryside far away from the city did not know that Sun Ce had become Duke of Song. Going to remote areas, some people may not know the news that Yuan Shao has proclaimed himself emperor, and even many people who fled to the mountains and swamps thought that Emperor Ling was still alive.

These people include not only the heroes of the green forest, but also many children of the gentry. They support the old and the weak in the mountains and dense forests of Youzhou, Hanoi and other places. They have thousands of families and are promoted to leaders because of their fame and talent.

These people were hiding in the deep mountains and forests and were slow to understand the outside situation. The news that Sun Ce was calling the Duke of Song had not spread yet. At this time, Sun Ce had rashly proclaimed himself emperor. I am afraid that the news these people got was that the Han Dynasty was still there, and suddenly an unknown person A general from a barbaric land became emperor!

People's hearts will inevitably be in turmoil.

Therefore, Sun Ce was not as eager to proclaim himself emperor as Yuan Shao.

Now he has ten states in the world, the jade seal of the country, and more importantly, he also controls hundreds of thousands of elite troops. As long as he does not put all his efforts into overthrowing the empire, ascending to the throne is already within reach.

Therefore, after he returned to Jiankang, his focus turned to stabilizing people's hearts and promoting education.

Moreover, he was also very stable and did not further call him King of Song Dynasty. It was already at this time. Calling him king was purely unnecessary and unnecessary.

He could have ascended the throne directly from the position of Duke, like Wang Mang and Yang Jian.

Power has always come from below, not from above.

A false name will not bring any prestige to Sun Ce. The respect and attachment of people in the world to him is what he relies on to replace the Han Dynasty.

So Sun Ce issued a decree, specifically emphasizing: "The punishments of the Han Dynasty are harsh, and the hearts of the people are shattered, and there is no solid ambition. Since I have been alone, I have assisted in the government, recorded the affairs of the ministers, and supervised all the military affairs at home and abroad. I should pay great attention to the administration of benefits, make the laws clear and concise, and be respectful." Live frugally to bring peace to the world!"

And the decrees implemented by Sun Ce are undoubtedly more popular among the people than those of the Han Dynasty.

The abolition of the poll tax immediately lightened the burden on the people's shoulders. In the bitter cold areas of the Central Plains, Hebei and even Youzhou, the evil custom of infant washing in autumn was immediately alleviated.

And those powerful and wealthy people who fled to the deep mountains and dense forests also came down from the mountains to restore the barren fields. Without the establishment of a land system, the ropes hanging around the necks of the powerful were much loosened, and the amount of fertile farmland cultivated in various places increased rapidly.

What makes people all over the world even more grateful is that Sun Ce ordered that corvee service and taxes be lightened throughout this year, and all taxes be cancelled. Even industrial and commercial taxes were exempted for one year.

This made even those nobles and heroes who had criticisms against Sun Ce less slanderous and more scrupulous in public occasions such as banquets.

Sun Ce's ambition to take over the Han Dynasty was obvious from the moment he hanged Yuan Shao's head to build Kangbei Palace.

Not to mention Sima Zhao's intention, everyone on the road knows it. That is also an open secret both inside and outside the Central Plains.

Even Xianbei sent envoys to the Central Plains, but they did not go to Luoyang, but came to Jiankang.

The reason why Xianbei was willing to send envoys to the Central Plains was also related to the situation in Youzhou.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, Qiang and Hu invaded the Central Plains and caused chaos.

Among them, the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei tribes are the most powerful in the north.

The attitudes and closeness of these three tribes towards the Central Plains vary depending on their distance.

The Xiongnu grazing land was the farthest to the south, so it was the most deeply involved in the struggle for hegemony among the princes at the end of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, it had the lowest status and chose to surrender directly to the princes of Hebei. Both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao could easily force them to obey their orders and ennoble them as chanyus.

There is no way, the Xiongnu tribes are in Hedong, Hexi, Taiyuan and even Shangdang area. High officials can send tens of thousands of soldiers into their territory. The Xiongnu really have no ability to resist.

Besides the Xiongnu, there was the Wuhuan. Because they were in the north of Youzhou and Bingzhou and not yet bordering Yuan Shao, the two sides adopted a friendly attitude.

Yuan Shao attracted and supported a group of famous Wuhuan kings, so the relationship between the Zhao family and Wuhuan was the closest.

As a result, Wuhuan gradually became more prosperous and controlled large tracts of pasture inside and outside the Great Wall.

Because of this, Xianbei was isolated outside the northernmost wall and could hardly participate in the wars in the Central Plains. His natural attitude was different from that of the Xiongnu and Wuhuan who were close to the Zhao family.

If they wanted to compete for pasture, carry out mutual trade, and develop ethnic groups, they had no choice but to get close to the Song Dynasty.

The one who sent envoys to the Central Plains this time was Bu Dugen, the left Xianbei tribe among the three Xianbei tribes, who was relatively close to the Central Plains.

This is the grandson of Tanshihuai, the famous chanyu of Xianbei. During Tanshihuai's period, Xianbei unified the outside world, established a royal court in Danhan Mountain, plundered the Han Dynasty to the south, resisted Dingling to the north, repulsed Fuyu to the east, and advanced to the west. Wusun completely occupied the Xiongnu's homeland and once attacked the Japanese country, covering more than 14,000 miles from east to west and more than 7,000 miles from north to south. He has repeatedly attacked the "Nine Border Counties" of the Han Dynasty and the Liaodong vassal state. Rejected Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty's "king of the throne and marriage".

However, the Hulu were not lucky for a hundred years. As soon as Tan Shihuai died, his son Helian was shot to death in the Han Dynasty's Beidi County because he was stupid and arrogant and attacked the Han Dynasty himself. As a result, Xianbei fell into a split. He Lian's son Bu Dugen inherited the left Xianbei and huddled in the Yunzhong and Yanmen areas.

Kebi Neng, another talented and resourceful leader of a small tribe, quickly rose to prominence in the central region.

Finally, a group of small tribal alliances in the east are scattered outside Liaoxi, Youbeiping and Yuyang Fortress.

No one in the Song Dynasty cares about the distribution of power in Xianbei now, and there is no need to pay more attention to it.

Because this is currently not the range that the Song Army's power can radiate.

There is only one reason why Bu Dugen is relatively close to the Central Plains. Their power is closest to the Central Plains.

If he does not adopt a friendly attitude, if the Central Plains feels like a cold light on his back and sends troops to the north, his tribe will suffer heavy losses.

The barbarians, Di, and Hulu have always been fearful of power but not virtuous. This is nothing better than this.

Therefore, after Sun Ce heard that the Xianbei envoy requested an audience, he deliberately transferred Zhang Liao back from the front line.

The envoy from Xianbei was named Daihu Alangni, an adult of the Budugen tribe.

After he paid homage to Sun Ce, Sun Ce said to him, "Have you heard that there is an emperor of Zhao in Hebei?"

Dai Hua Lang Ni replied: "I heard it."

So Sun Ce ordered Dai Hu A Lang Ni and more than 20 envoys to go to Zhang Liao and said: "This is the person who has captured the emperor of Zhao. Let's hang his head in Beique."

Zhang Liao looked at him sternly, Xianbei was frightened and did not dare to look up!

Zhang Liao was so majestic that Sun Ce praised him very much and said: "The power of Shen Guo was spread over thousands of miles, the dynasty was reduced to a corner, and the people of Yi and Di were all in trouble. It took hundreds of years for Kou Xun to clear things up. This is the merit of the public." "

Sun Ce ordered Zhang Liao to be promoted to Zhenbei General, to increase the number of 1,000 households in the city, and to grant 8,000 pieces of silk. At the same time, I also asked the ministers about their attitude towards Xianbei pilgrimage.

Zhang Zhao's ascension to the position of prime minister is now widely expected, but Sun Ce cannot allow the prime minister to threaten his monarchy, so Sun Ce intends to elevate Zhang Hong to the position of Shangshu Ling to compete with him.

After Sun Ce planned to proclaim himself emperor, he would order Chen Qun to preside over the compilation of "Official Rituals of the Song Dynasty" to redefine the official positions and salaries of the Song Dynasty.

In one fell swoop, he abolished the prime minister, three ministers and other systems, replaced them with ministers and servants as prime ministers, and implemented a system of group prime ministers to reward these civil and military ministers who had followed him since the troubled times.

Otherwise, the direct transition to a cabinet system will not be enough to inspire people, and it will easily make ministers feel discouraged.

They have been helping you loyally for so long, but they don’t even have the right to make decisions? Otherwise, let important ministers like Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong serve as humble and powerful assistant ministers in the cabinet?

So Sun Ce planned to make them all prime ministers, at least the left and right prime ministers.

Then slowly advance the cabinet reorganization.

No reform can be accomplished overnight. He, Sun Ce, still needs ministers to support him in ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor, so it is impossible to immediately weaken the power of his ministers.

With this demand, Sun Ce often asked Zhang Hong for advice, and this time Xianbei paid tribute as well.

After Dai Hua Langni made the pilgrimage and left Zhaoming Palace, Sun Ce asked Zhang Hong, "How do you think we should reward Xianbei for his pilgrimage?"

Zhang Hong immediately replied: "Although he has not seen his sincerity in his heart, he should still be rewarded heavily, just like buying a horse with a thousand gold coins. If the Duke praises him from afar and praises his king, then the remaining countries will send their sons to the court and send envoys from time to time. This will help to enhance the prestige of Song Gong."

Sun Ce nodded slightly. Now he was in the stage of accumulating fame, winning the hearts of the world, and replacing him with the Han Dynasty.

If envoys from all over the world went to Jiankang to pay homage to Sun Ce, it would naturally help to enhance Sun Ce's reputation. Everyone in the world will think that Sun Ce is more like an emperor.

But how to reward Xianbei is also a very important consideration.

It is definitely not possible to directly give them money, materials, and materials!

Zhang Hong also emphasized this aspect and said: "The Duke of Song has now announced to the world that the world's taxes will be exempted. In addition, during the Northern Expedition, corvees were recruited. In order to save money, he also promised the people that all those who serve in corvees will be exempted from taxes. Doors and taxes for three years!”

"This makes the Jiankang government's treasury unable to make ends meet and has a serious deficit. Money and silk are almost empty, so we can no longer reward the barbarians generously."

Not to mention generous rewards to Yi Di, even the rewards given to Zhang Liao were squeezed out by Sun Ce. There were no gold and silver coins, no tortoiseshell jade, only eight thousand bolts of silk.

This is because, after the Northern Expedition, Jiankang's treasury was almost empty enough for rats to starve to death.

Jiankang's finances have never been sufficient. In addition to supporting an army of 100,000 people, the remaining financial balance of more than 2 million yuan was a little stretched to support scholars.

As for corvees, water conservancy, palaces, etc., don’t even think about them.

In Jiangdong, all the manpower and material resources from all over the world were used to fight this war of annihilation, so much so that among the hundreds of counties in the ten states under Sun Ce's command, not one of them had large-scale water conservancy projects, no roads were built, and no roads were renovated. The development of people's livelihood has almost stagnated.

And it can be expected that the finances will not improve much in the future.

The nearly 200,000 people who participated in the corvee were rewarded with exemption from household and taxation, that is, they did not have to pay household tax and land tax.

Even if a family of five cultivates 100 acres of farmland, this is 20 million acres of fertile land that does not need to be taxed.

Maybe the truth is more than that, and many lower-level families are also involved.

On the other hand, in the newly conquered areas of Hebei and Yanzhou, it seems that the statistics of acres of land cannot be completed, and taxes cannot be collected at all.

So Sun Ce made a big move and exempted the world from taxes for a year in order to win people's hearts.

Sun Ce was able to have the confidence to be exempted from taxes because he also brought back a batch of wealth from Hebei this time.

Yuan Shao had previously emptied the Hebei treasury in order to negotiate peace with Sun Ce.

All the money, silk and silk were all owned by Sun Ce. In addition, Sun Ce also brought back more than 40,000 cattle and horses from Hebei and sold them to counties and counties, which not only relieved people's travel difficulties, but also increased tax revenue for the treasury.

Moreover, opening up new territory means an increase in the treasury for Sun Ce today.

Because the north is bound to need a large amount of Jiangdong Tongbao, the Jiankang Treasury can also mint more currency.

It's just that all this can barely support the financial balance, and there is absolutely no way a large amount of wealth can be used to reward foreign races.

So Sun Ce asked Zhang Hong directly: "What can I do?"

Zhang Hong thought for a moment and said: "We can order the governor of Bingzhou to set up a mutual market in Yanmen. This is what Xianbei wants most urgently for paying tribute this time."

Sun Ce made a slight move and asked Gao Gan and Xianbei to open a mutual trade? (End of chapter)