On how to deal with the war between the Sassanid Dynasty of Persia and Byzantium, the cabinet formed two opinions after nearly a month of deliberation. The two opinions could not be unified for a while, and finally reported to Liu Ziqiu and asked him to make a decision.
When he first established the cabinet, Liu Ziqiu considered that the emperor had too much power and everything must be decided by the emperor. However, the emperor's wisdom and energy were limited after all, and mistakes would inevitably occur. And once the emperor's decision was wrong, even
It would drag the entire country into the abyss. After all, Liu Ziqiu came from later generations and knew the repeated changes of many dynasties in history, so he could resist the temptation brought by absolute power and want to give away a large part of his power.
He even wanted to learn from the early Western constitutional monarchy, but his ideas were temporarily difficult to accept by the ministers.
In fact, Liu Ziqiu has been working hard to transfer power to the cabinet. He also has an ulterior purpose. He has always wanted to be a hands-off cabinet. Although the emperor kept his word, it was also very hard, especially being a diligent person.
It was even harder for the emperor, who had to review piles of memorials every day. Of course, as a special soldier, Liu Ziqiu never had the word "fear of hardship" in his dictionary. He just didn't want to be trapped in the small world of the palace for a long time.
That's all.
Of course, although the intention is good, there are many difficulties in realizing it. Liu Ziqiu must continue to face the various memorials that are sent to his desk like a snowflake every day, and must also deal with those matters that are difficult for the cabinet to decide.
Looking at the cabinet bachelors sitting in front of him, Liu Ziqiu waved his hands and said: "Before listening to your opinions, I just want to emphasize one point. Otherwise, no matter how we deal with it, we must put the interests of the Han Dynasty first!"
Just now, Liu Ziqiu has clarified the possible impact of the war between Persia and Byzantium on the Han Dynasty. Now he wants to give the bachelors a chance to re-judge. The improvement of the cabinet's ability to handle affairs is essential for him to realize his wishes.
vital.
Li Jing cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I think that the fight between Persia and Byzantium is a good opportunity for our big man. We can take advantage of the situation when both sides are hurt, and send out heavy troops to capture it in one fell swoop!"
For military generals, the temptation to expand territory and leave a name for eternity is an irresistible temptation.
Yu Shinan shook his head and said: "General Li's words are wrong. We, a great Han, have always built our country with benevolence and righteousness, how can we do such an unjust thing!"
Wei Zheng stroked his beard and smiled and said: "From what I can see, General Li's words are very good. However, Persia and Byzantium are too far away from the Central Plains. The so-called out of reach means that even if we can seize their territory, it will be difficult to rule it for a long time. It is better to divide it and divide it.
Of!"
What Li Jing and Wei Zheng proposed were two different opinions. Li Jing meant to directly send troops to capture Byzantium in Persia and incorporate it into the territory of the Han Dynasty. Wei Zheng also agreed to send troops, but after defeating these two armies, he did not occupy the territory.
Its land only split these two formerly powerful empires into several small countries. After hearing the influence explained by Liu Ziqiu, the two still insisted on their opinions. Of course, those in the cabinet who insisted on benevolence and righteousness like Yu Shinan, but
He alone cannot be considered mainstream.
But Liu Ziqiu laughed: "Everyone's words are reasonable. However, I think that resorting to force is not a good policy. Although I, a big man, have never relaxed my military preparedness, I do not want to use troops at will. Therefore, my eldest brother's opinion is,
I don’t agree with you. Mr. Wei’s opinion is very good, but he doesn’t understand that if we divide for a long time, we will unite, and if we unite for a long time, we will divide. Although we can take the opportunity to divide them into several small countries, one country will eventually become stronger and annex other small countries. Over time,
, frequent wars will eventually affect our Han Dynasty’s trade routes.”
Yu Shinan couldn't help but feel proud: "What your Majesty said is true. I think we don't need to do anything, we just need to wait and see what happens!"
Liu Ziqiu shook his head and said: "I don't want to send troops, but I just don't want my good men to spill their blood on the battlefield, but that doesn't mean we can do nothing! I believe that the war between the two countries should be based on mediation. As long as the two countries cease the war, the people will
Life can gradually become peaceful. Peace on the border is beneficial to me as a man, and it saves me from having to go on an expedition, so why not?"
Actually, there is one thing Liu Ziqiu didn't say. If this battle continues, the winner will be determined soon. The winning side will often be in extreme excitement, get carried away, and will most likely move eastward.
.After all, people will inevitably have greed. If there was no greed, there would be no such war. Greed together often leads to loss of reason. And the richness of the Han Dynasty will naturally attract the jealousy of the victorious side. Although the Han Dynasty has military strength
If you are strong, you are not afraid of the enemy, but it is not a good thing if the war is coming to your doorstep. Only by keeping both countries strong enough and maintaining a delicate balance can the Han Dynasty be safer.
As for dividing these two countries into several small countries, it seems safer, but it is not. Because these countries are not the Western Regions, nor are they Mobei. There are not many conflicts within their nations. After being forcibly divided by the Han, it is inevitable that they will feel sad
Resentment. Some narrow-minded nationalists might do something extraordinary, such as attacking the Han's caravans or assassinating important officials of the imperial court. These operations hidden in the dark are often difficult to guard against. Therefore, Liu Ziqiu did not want to
He has made too many enemies. Unless he can be ruthless and kill all these foreigners, and then move the Han people there.
Li Jing frowned and said, "I'm afraid they are already jealous and unwilling to listen to His Majesty's mediation."
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter. If anyone refuses to listen to mediation, I, the big man, will make a name for himself. When the time comes, I, the big man, will send an expeditionary force to assist the other side to completely annihilate him!"
Weak countries have no diplomacy. With the current national strength of the Han Dynasty, it is not difficult to annex these two countries in one fell swoop. It is just that it is a little difficult to maintain local rule after annexation. I believe that whether it is Persia or Byzantium, I am afraid that
Neither of them are willing to face such a powerful enemy right now.
…
This time, Liu Ziqiu's plan to let the cabinet solve a major problem went bankrupt again, and he finally made the decision. It's not that Li Jing, Wei Zheng and others are not smart enough. In fact, when it comes to figuring out people's hearts and using power and tactics,
Any bachelor in the cabinet is much better than Liu Ziqiu. It's just that Liu Ziqiu has thousands of years of experience than them and sees problems more profoundly.
Of course, things turned out as Liu Ziqiu expected. Neither Persia nor Byzantium were willing to give up easily at first. After all, the two sides had been fighting fiercely for many years, and their hatred was growing. However, when the Han envoys showed that they were about to intervene with force,
Under the circumstances, both countries chose to be soft and agreed to accept the mediation of the Han Dynasty.
A month later, the envoys of the three countries held talks in Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Han Dynasty, and signed an armistice treaty, known in history as the Treaty of Luoyang. The treaty stipulated that the border between the two countries returned to the state at the beginning of the war, and each side retreated hundreds of miles from the border, leaving behind
The next long strip of space. Of course, the Han envoys did not forget to fight for the interests of their dynasty. From then on, the Han caravans passed through the two countries, and enjoyed the same tariff treatment as the people of the two countries. This is an extraordinary situation.
Treaty of equality, it was not until five years later that the caravans of the Han Dynasty almost controlled the entire Silk Road. Liu Ziqiu made a special decree to allow the caravans of the two countries to enjoy the same tariff treatment as the nationals of the Han Dynasty in the Han Dynasty. But by that time,
The caravans of the Han Dynasty have controlled the economic lifeline of the two countries, and even the coins are entrusted to the merchants of the Han Dynasty. The implementation of this equal treatment no longer makes much sense.
…
After this incident, Liu Ziqiu completely made up his mind to imitate the early systems of later Western countries and implement a constitutional monarchy. At this time, after more than ten years of development in the Han Dynasty, some of Liu Ziqiu's new ideas had been widely spread in the country. In some countries
Some societies have emerged in economically developed areas, and industry associations have also become widespread. Moreover, with the development of county schools, in the subsequent imperial examinations, the number of children from aristocratic families who passed the examinations became smaller and smaller, and their influence
It was further weakened, which created excellent conditions for Liu Ziqiu to implement the new system.
In the fifteenth year of Daxing, two congresses were finally established. One was the aristocratic congress, which was composed of the founding fathers and aristocratic families, and the other was the people's congress, which was composed of representatives of ordinary people from all walks of life. The prime minister of the cabinet was composed of these two representatives.
The assembly was elected among the cabinet's bachelors, and was directly appointed by Liu Ziqiu.
This year, Liu Ziqiu also completely handed over power, announcing that he only had symbolic power, and that all power belonged to the two congresses and the cabinet.
However, in this year's cabinet prime minister election, something unexpected happened. The winner turned out to be Li Shimin. This was a result that no one expected.
After winning second place in the second imperial examination, Li Shimin entered the Imperial College. A few years later, he also entered the cabinet as he wished. Time can erase people's memories. In the past ten years, Li Shimin was humble and diligent.
, gradually won the recognition of both the government and the public. During this period, he was also very respectful to Liu Ziqiu, as if he had really given up his ambition and was willing to be a courteous minister. For this reason, he was gradually accepted by the representatives.
He stood out among the cabinet ministers and was elected prime minister with a high vote, only waiting for Liu Ziqiu's appointment.
Although Liu Ziqiu's appointment was only symbolic, he was still the supreme king in the hearts of the Han Dynasty. Without his letter of appointment, no results would be accepted by the people of the world.
However, some old people who followed Liu Ziqiu to conquer the world still remembered some old things. They went to the palace one after another to pay homage to Liu Ziqiu and advised: "Your Majesty, you know people and faces but don't know your heart. You must not entrust the political commissar of the government to Li Shimin!"