Chapter 217 Fang Guoshou's political gains and losses in the Han Dynasty
However, Li Yan's car did not go directly to Tingzhou where the Beiting Protectorate was located, but to Luntai County under the jurisdiction of Tingzhou.
Cui Tao's mentor Fang Guoshou happened to be inspecting Luntai, so Li Yan summoned Fang Guoshou to accompany him on his inspection tour of Luntai County.
In addition to the escorting [Inner Guard] players, Li Yan also brought along a group of young indigenous officials such as Yang Yan.
It was quite hot in Beiting in summer. Fang Guoshou was a carefree and free-spirited person, so he simply shaved his head.
His bald head stood out among the entourage, and Yang Yan wondered why this bald man could accompany King Jianning so closely if it wasn't widely rumored that King Jianning hated Buddhism.
When Fang Guoshou heard Yang Yan's name, he looked at Yang Yan with piercing eyes, as if he wanted to eat him alive.
This also made Yang Yan shiver. Could it be that this monk is as good as Long Yang?
Fang Guoshou looked at Yang Yan carefully. He was an expert in the study of Sui and Tang history. The most difficult thing to bypass in the study of Sui and Tang history was Yang Yan and his two tax laws.
It can be said that Yang Yan's two-tax law reform was as significant to the Tang Dynasty as Zhang Juzheng's reform in the Ming Dynasty. Historians believe that Yang Yan's two-tax law continued the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years.
There are not many records of Yang Yan's youth in history books. They only say that he was born in a family of swordsmen and pen officials in the Hetao area.
According to normal historical development, Yang Yan had already defected to the emperor at this time.
Unexpectedly, King Jianning, a butterfly flapping its wings, also changed the course of many historical figures.
Yang Yan now defected to King Jianning's Bafu and became a secretary-general of the Bafu.
But Fang Guoshou secretly sighed. At this time, Yang Yan was just a minor official. Although he was very capable, he was not the salt judge who proposed the two tax laws, let alone the prime minister who would be in charge of the Tang Dynasty's financial planning in the future.
Therefore, Fang Guoshou only paid a little attention to Yang Yan and then focused on King Jianning.
Fang Guoshou also wants to earn contribution points.
Yes, Fang Guoshou, an expert on the history of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, absolutely loves this game.
Now he has published several papers in succession, which have caused quite a stir in the industry.
Fang Guoshou is planning to move his laboratory into the game, where he can have a younger body and countless research materials. This is simply a paradise for academic research.
However, if he wants to move the laboratory into the game, Fang Guoshou still needs more testing qualifications.
There are three doctoral students in his research laboratory, and a bunch of graduate students are waiting for accounts.
Nowadays, on the black market, a test qualification has been sold for five figures. Although Fang Guoshou's laboratory has funds, there is no way to explain to the principal why he needs to buy a game test account to study the history of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Therefore, the task of earning an account fell on Fang Guoshou himself.
Only by earning more contribution points can you exchange for test qualifications, so that you can bring both teaching assistants and students into the game.
Li Yan raised his head and looked at a large lake surrounded by poplar trees not far away. He said to Fang Guoshou: "Mr. Fang, let's go sit by the lake. It's too sunny today."
The sun was blazing in the sky, and the accompanying attendants were all sweating profusely. The group came to the edge of the Populus euphratica forest. The lake absorbed a lot of heat, and the cool breeze blowing from the lake brought a cool breeze.
Fang Guoshou pointed to the lake and said: "Your Highness, this Lake Populus euphratica is the largest lake in Luntai County. It has not dried up after thousands of years and has nourished the land of Luntai County."
Yang Yan also looked at this large lake curiously. Luntai County is located on the edge of the vast sea, with deserts nearby. The reason why the Han Dynasty established a county here was because it was a large oasis on the edge of the vast sea.
Surrounding Huyang Lake, Luntai County has the conditions for farming and has become a human settlement.
Li Yan raised his head and looked at a beacon-like building not far away. He asked curiously: "Mr. Fang, what is that?"
Fang Guoshou raised his head and said: "This is the beacon tower site of the Han Dynasty. Starting from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty has been running Luntai County."
I didn't expect that Luntai County has such a long history.
Fang Guoshou added: "The most famous thing about Luntai County is the "Luntai Edict" written by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty."
Li Yan had also heard of the reputation of the Luntai imperial edict, and he asked in surprise: "Did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also come to Luntai?"
Fang Guoshou said with a smile: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had never been to Luntai in his life. The reason why the Luntai imperial edict was called the Luntai imperial edict was because it discussed the issue of garrisoning in Luntai, so it got this name."
"I see. Is this Luntai Edict the sinner's edict of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty?"
On the Internet in later generations, the "Luntai Edict" was also called the "Luntai Sin Ji Edict". It was considered to be Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's reflection on his policies during his reign, and it was also an important edict that changed the foreign policy of the Han Dynasty.
After Emperor Wu, the Han Dynasty shifted from offensive to defensive and gradually stopped its external expansion.
Fang Guoshou said: "The idea that Luntai punished oneself was first proposed by Ban Gu, but I thought that Luntai was just an edict discussing the policy of border troops and farming, and it was not an edict to blame oneself."
"What did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty discuss about the border army and farmland policies?" Li Yan immediately became interested. As for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a talented and strategic emperor, he and his ancestor Li Shimin were both known as famous Mingjuns in history.
His discussion on border policy can certainly inspire Li Yan.
Fang Guoshou said: "The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and it was the imperial guard system of a large army like the Qin Dynasty."
"The Imperial Guards of the Han Dynasty were all from the good families of Gyeonggi, Sanfu and Fufeng. Every time the Han Dynasty recruited soldiers, the population had to be drawn from here."
"The imperial guard system has many benefits. It is loyal enough to the empire, has better military discipline than the border army, and has more powerful combat effectiveness. Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty achieved great results in his war against the Xiongnu."
Li Yan nodded. The most powerful army in the Tang Dynasty was once the imperial army of the two capitals and Gyeonggi Province. The forbidden troops of the North and South Yamen were also the main force of the Tang Dynasty's foreign campaigns.
However, during the Wu and Zhou Dynasties, the imperial army system was destroyed, and the imperial guard system of the Tang Dynasty, which emphasized internal and external importance, also gradually collapsed.
By the time of the Anshi Rebellion, none of the Guards had the courage to fight the Anlushan rebels, so they had to mobilize troops from border towns to put down the rebellion.
Fang Guoshou changed the subject and said: "But there is a disadvantage of using the Imperial Guards to fight. These Imperial Guards are common people near the capital. They will be homesick for long-term operations. The long-term foreign operations during Emperor Wu's period also placed an extremely serious burden on the people.
, and also placed a huge burden on the empire’s finances.”
Li Yan nodded. Raising soldiers is very expensive, but compared with fighting a war, the money spent on raising soldiers is nothing.
When soldiers go on an expedition, their horses need to be replenished, their weapons need to be repaired, their people need to eat, and their horses need to graze. And sending these supplies to the front line requires countless manpower.
In this era when there are no motorcycles or cars for logistical support, it is common for the number of civilians to be twice that of the regular army.
Li Yan asked: "How did the Han Dynasty solve the problem of border troubles?"
Yang Yan pricked up his ears. This kind of reply is very valuable. A summary of the history of previous dynasties cannot be summarized by non-academics.
Seeing that Fang Guoshou was not very young, but his insights were so profound, Yang Yan was sure that King Jianning had many talents under his command!
Fang Guoshou said: "Two ministers in the early Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo and Jia Yi, proposed a plan."
Chao Cuo, Jia Yi?
Li Yan only knew that Chao Cuo was a minister during the period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. The slogan of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion was "Kill Chao Cuo and clear the emperor's side." He was a minister who advocated the elimination of vassals.
And Jia Yi wrote a poem from his student days, "Qu Jia Yi in Changsha". Other than that, Li Yan didn't know much about these two people.
Fang Guoshou said: "Chao Cuo and Jia Yi were both famous officials in the early Han Dynasty. They had a great influence on the policies of the Han Dynasty. Let's not talk about this. Their method was to 'use foreigners to control foreigners'."
"Use barbarians to control barbarians?"
"During the period of Emperor Wu, many Hu tribes had been allowed to help the Han Dynasty guard the frontiers. Through the methods of division, win-win and inducement, these Hu tribes were divided, and then they were moved to vassal states of the Han Dynasty, and these foreign tribes were used to
Deal with alien races and stabilize the border situation."
This method is good. Li Yan said: "This method is good, but why do later generations not use this method?"
Yang Yan also pricked up his ears, this was a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity!
He has determined that this Fang Guoshou is a well-educated Confucian and a master of history!
Political history has never been divided into families. Fang Guoshou was able to sort out the political gains and losses of the past dynasties, and he was definitely a great Confucian who founded a sect!
Moreover, the issue he discussed with King Jianning was the country's border policy, which was the most important policy of the imperial court.
The reason why young ministers who are close to the emperor are easily promoted is because they can learn the methodology of handling national policies from the discussions between the emperor and ministers on court policies. This is also one of the reasons why it is easier for ministers who are close to the emperor to be promoted.
Fang Guoshou said: "In addition to the powerful Imperial Guards in the Western Han Dynasty, the local armies also maintained considerable combat effectiveness. The Western Han Dynasty was martial, so they were able to subdue the foreign legions on the border."
"But by the Eastern Han Dynasty, the local military strength was exhausted, and relying on foreigners to defend China turned the people of the Central Plains into lambs to be slaughtered."
"Since Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Qiang rebellion in the northwest continued, eventually exhausting the country's power. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was destroyed."
"Furthermore, using barbarians to control barbarians also left hidden dangers for later generations. These foreign tribes who submitted to the Central Plains still maintained the characteristics of the Hu tribes. The Five Hus in the Jin Dynasty were the rebellion of these Hu tribes who moved inland."
Li Yan asked sincerely: "Since the strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians does not work, how can we pacify border troubles?"
Fang Guoshou also looked at Fang Guoshou, waiting for his answer.
Fang Guoshou did not answer Li Yan's question directly, but said: "The problem of vassal towns in the Tang Dynasty also complemented the border troubles. Border troubles such as Bohai, Goryeo, Tubo, Uighur, and Nanzhao were frequent, so Jiedushi was established to coordinate the military and civilian forces.
But these border towns held their own troops and respected themselves, so there was the Anlushan rebellion."
Fang Guoshou paused and said: "To solve the border troubles and solve the problem of supporting troops and self-respect in the feudal towns, we still have to rely on development!"