Eight Hills in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Liu Muzhi's eyes were shining with light, and his voice was sonorous and powerful. He looked directly at Tao Yuanming: "Mr. Tao, you'd better put away the lofty argument you made about how it is impossible to govern without the powerful landowners and the children of the aristocratic families. To put it bluntly, if these people weren’t causing trouble and holding us back, if we didn’t compromise and instead sent troops to the countryside, whoever caused trouble would be destroyed. Let’s see if we, the eight brothers from Beijing, could be able to rule the world!”

Tao Yuanming's goatee was trembling slightly, and he gritted his teeth: "Sending troops to suppress the countryside and killing people who don't obey. How is this different from barbarians like the Hulu in the north? This is what Jiehu Shihu did, going militarily and killing people like this. Damn, he hung the severed heads of the people on the city wall as a deterrent, but what was the result? Within twenty years, his country was destroyed. Our ancestors have an ancient saying, if benevolence and righteousness are not applied, the offensive and defensive momentum will be different! Are you really going to do this to destroy the Jin Dynasty?"

Liu Muzhi shook his head disdainfully: "The difference between us and the Huru is that the Huru plunder the wealth of our Han people and provide them with extravagance and luxury, while we increase taxes, firstly, within the range that the people can bear. Secondly, this move is to regain the lost territory and restore the Central Plains. It is just because powerful landowners interfered and took the opportunity to collect money and food several times the court tax. We investigate and deal with these vampires, which is a move that will greatly please the people. If they take more money from the people and return it to the people, who would object?"

Tao Yuanming said bitterly: "These powerful landlords are all over the world. They are also the people of the Jin Dynasty. Since the Spring and Autumn Period of the pre-Qin Dynasty, they have controlled the local areas and rural areas. No matter who is in the world, they have to rely on cooperation with them to rule. Even if Even if Qin Shihuang unified the country, he could not seal the Qin army soldiers to Wu to rule them all. Liu Muzhi, don't overestimate your own strength. The Beifu army only has tens of thousands of people. Even if everyone has meritorious service and gets a title, it will not be the same. How can we support the entire countryside of Jin Dynasty? If the powerful landlords and scholars are unwilling to cooperate with the court, who do you expect the people to pay taxes obediently? "

Liu Muzhi smiled slightly: "I will never overestimate my own strength, but I will never underestimate it. The biggest reason why Qin Shihuang did not let the soldiers return to their hometowns as officials after destroying the six kingdoms was because of the illusion. Cooperating with the old aristocrats and small landowners of the Six Kingdoms can stabilize the world, and the Qin Kingdom will fall. There are so many people in this world who want to be officials, even the Hulu in the north, especially the Shihu you mentioned. , ferocious and barbaric, but does the Shi Zhao regime lack people to serve as officials? There is no one to collect taxes and ding for Shi Zhao, even the palace maids, Shi Hu can collect them at once? Tens of thousands of people were sent to Yecheng, and Shi Hu’s Jiehu army was not even used to do it. There were powerful Han landlords such as the Wubao Lords working for him!”

"The demise of Shi Zhao was due to the greed and ignorance of the Shi clan and even the Jiehu nobles. It was because they fought for the throne and exhausted their military strength in the civil war. This was the same as the Eight Kings Rebellion in the Western Dynasties. . Could it be that the fall of the Western Dynasty was due to the imperial court offending the local powerful people and the noble families not cooperating with the clan princes? Mr. Tao, your sophistry is specious. You can deceive others, but in this case, It doesn’t work here.”

Tao Yuanming gritted his teeth: "The noble families and the powerful clans that rely on them are a powerful overall alliance. They have been formed for more than a hundred years in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. A single move can affect the whole body. If you want them to completely surrender, they will definitely come together. If you resist, at least in the short term, you will not have enough manpower to control the countryside, and it may even trigger a civil war. Yu Gong, will your family be so obediently controlled by others? "

There was a trace of embarrassment on Yu Yue's face: "Well, well, we must obey the court and obey the orders of the emperor and Marshal Liu. However, this order must also take into account our actual situation, just like Those local village leaders who took the opportunity to raise taxes and enrich their own pockets, we, we will still clean up within the family. Once the soldiers and horses of the imperial court come to clean up, then, that will inevitably trigger a popular uprising, brother Mu, It’s not that I have any disobedience, it’s really, I alone don’t count. As you know, the heads of our aristocratic families haven’t been to the countryside for decades, and we all rely on the people below. Hold on, sometimes we can’t control them.”

Having said this, he licked his lips: "And these matters have always been based on the Xie family's leadership. Madam Xie, Queen Wang and others naturally stand with Marshal Liu and brother Mu, but the same cannot be said for others. Just like the tax increase you mentioned, it was also done by Xie Hun, Xi Sengshi and others. Our bosses in Jiankang can't control things in their hometown. Brother Mu, I think. This matter should be discussed in the long term. Give us some time and we will restrain the people below. However, the imperial court has been fighting for these years. If the demon thieves are put down this time, it is better to rest for a few years and recuperate. Give it to the soldiers and give it to us. The aristocratic family can give the common people a breather."

Liu Muzhi smiled slightly: "It seems that neither party can be offended by Yu Gong. Look for Shu Yuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com. However, I see that your actions don't seem like you want to take a breather. The imperial court has not raised taxes and conscripted troops, but you yourself are doing it for Yu." The manors across the family have once again gathered people to collect food. This time, thousands of people have gathered together to prepare for a second western expedition. Don't be afraid. Someone will report you for a bad plan just like Sun Tai was killed last time. ?"

Yu Yue laughed: "I won't hide it from you in front of Brother Mu. Yes, I once again recruited soldiers and collected grain to form an army to serve the king. But I didn't increase taxes this time, and I also strictly restrained the subordinates. "

"This time when I formed the army, I really wanted to make a great contribution, because this time I snatched the army from someone else and it was really embarrassing. If I can't make a great contribution and restore the reputation of our Yu family, I'm afraid we won't be able to gain a foothold in the family in the future. , Brother Mu, I am here to contribute to the Western Expedition to eliminate the bandits, and secondly, I am also here to recover the losses of our Yu family, and I have absolutely no evil intentions.”

Liu Muzhi nodded: "Of course I believe in Duke Yu on this point, but it's better to lend your army to the court for use first, and not to use it as your Yu family's private soldiers. We will definitely arrange it effectively." General, when the time comes for victory, credit and title will be indispensable to your family. If everyone is like you, why should we fail to accomplish great things?" ()