Generally speaking, Liu Xie agreed with Zhuge Liang's opinion.
Reaching an agreement quickly seems to help achieve peace in the world, but it is only a superficial peace. The Shandong rich families will not receive the lessons they deserve, and will inevitably become a hindrance to the implementation of the New Deal in the future.
If the imperial court cannot achieve effective control over Shandong, it will be impossible to use Shandong's financial resources to supplement Liangzhou's insufficient output, and there will be no realistic basis for long-term peace and stability. The opposition between Shandong and Shanxi will still exist, and the consciousness of a cultural community will not be formed.
Therefore, he prefers to be slower and more steady.
But the situation is not controlled by anyone, and when everyone desires peace, it is absolutely politically incorrect to hinder the realization of peace.
Especially for those who are deeply influenced by Confucianism and are very likely to go to extremes.
Once someone incites and incites another group incident, it will not look good on their face.
Therefore, even though he clearly didn't want to talk, he could only talk. All he could do was try his best to control the rhythm and shift the responsibility to Yuan Shao.
I hope Yuan Shao can be tougher and not kneel down easily.
The focus of discussion between Liu Xie and Zhuge Liang was to revitalize Guanzhong.
Guanzhong was once a land and sea, and the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan laid the material foundation for Qin to unify the world. However, while the reflection on Qin's politics in the early days of the Han Empire achieved fruitful results, it also left some serious sequelae, especially the rise of Confucianism.
after.
Scholars' reflections on Qin's politics mostly focus on the moral level, but do not do enough detailed research on the economic and military levels, as if Qin's unification of the world was just cruelty.
This is obviously a one-sided statement.
No regime can unify the world by relying solely on brutality, including the later Mongols and Jurchens. There must be more complex reasons behind the victory. If you cannot conduct research realistically and only criticize from a moral level, the conclusions drawn will be difficult to achieve.
guiding role.
Liu Xie hoped that Zhuge Liang and others would sort out Qin's politics, learn from each other's strong points, and truly learn from history.
After Chimei destroyed Guanzhong, nearly two hundred years passed. The environmental damage caused by too many household registrations and excessive land reclamation gradually recovered, and Guanzhong once again had the material foundation to become a capital.
After Liu Xie arrived in Guanzhong, someone mentioned that the emperor could build his capital in Guanzhong without returning to Luoyang.
Liu Xie did not give an immediate reply and took advantage of the opportunity to conduct in-depth research and re-test the previous results of field studies.
He didn't trust Situ Zhao Wen very much.
Zhao Wen is old and no longer has the boldness and courage he had when he was young. He does many things perfunctorily. The consequences are not small.
This is a common problem among veterans: they are too cautious and not enough to develop.
He dismissed Zhang Yi, the chief minister, and promoted Liu Ba, a young man, in the hope of being touched.
"The number of households in Guanzhong that can be supported is limited." Zhuge Liang put forward his own point of view after listing a series of figures. "The Qinling Mountains block it in the south, and the cost of transporting Yizhou's money and grain to Guanzhong is too high. There are dangers in the east of the mainstay, and Shandong's
It is also difficult to transport money and food to the west. In the long run, Guanzhong can only be used as a companion capital, not a national capital."
Liu Xie nodded and said: "But the disadvantages of making Luoyang the capital are also obvious. It is too comfortable, and the mentality of the courtiers will change sooner or later."
Zhuge Liang agreed.
This is a dilemma with no perfect answer.
But for now, the household registration in Guanzhong is far from reaching the upper limit that can be tolerated. This problem has not yet been faced, and they can study it slowly.
A doctor came to report, "Your Majesty, Liu Ba, the chief minister, wants to see you."
"Invite him in." Liu Xie said, thought for a while, and then said: "Kong Ming, go and greet him."
"Wei." Zhuge Liang responded and walked out quickly.
After a while, Zhuge Liang and Liu Ba walked in side by side, talking and laughing. Liu Ba came to Liu Xie, bowed and saluted, and said directly: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask Kong Ming to be your prime minister."
Liu Xie smiled slightly. "You are indeed too presumptuous."
Liu Ba also laughed. "I know I am presumptuous, but I have to give it a try. There are too few young people who are so smart and pragmatic. Although Cheng Yi, the former chief agricultural officer, was pragmatic, he was not smart enough. He only focused on farming.
I don’t know how to tolerate when things happen, and I just resist. Although I’m right, after all, I’m delaying my business.”
Liu Xie raised his eyebrows slightly, secretly praising Liu Ba for his ability to recognize people.
Zhuge Liang's brilliance lies not only in his IQ, but also in his emotional intelligence. He can make those who deal with him have no complaints and admire him greatly. Even a proud man like Guan Yu is made to smile by stroking his hair.
This is something that many people cannot do.
"I can let him be an apprentice, but I can't let him be the chief minister."
"A traineeship is fine. Why don't we let him be the Minister of Hu Cao? I will hand over all my future official duties to him."
Liu Xie couldn't laugh or cry.
Young people are energetic, but also extremely confident, and do not regard themselves as outsiders at all.
How do I arrange the people around me? Do you still want to make irresponsible remarks?
Zhuge Liang is indeed very suitable to be Hu Cao Shangshu, but he can be more than just Hu Cao Shangshu. I have higher expectations for him. Besides, the current Hu Cao Shangshu is also doing a good job. I can't withdraw just because I am dissatisfied with you.
Alright.
Liu Xie motioned for a seat and asked Liu Ba to sit down and talk.
Liu Ba thanked him, and then took out some account books and began to report on various affairs in Guanzhong at present, mainly farming, including water conservancy, mulberry fields, animal husbandry, fishery, transportation, and many other things.
The account book was prepared for Liu Xie, so Liu Ba didn't even have to look at it. A large number of figures came right out of his mouth. Liu Xie didn't even have time to turn them over, so he had to interrupt Liu Ba many times to ask him to slow down.
While Liu Ba was reporting on his work, Langguan kept coming to report that there were people asking to see him. By the time Liu Ba finished speaking, there were already about ten groups of people waiting outside the hall.
Liu Ba turned a blind eye and calmly said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, if there is anything you don't understand, I will answer it all."
Liu Xie nodded and closed the account book in his hand. "I will arrange for someone to verify the specific figures and discuss it with you tomorrow. First, please tell me what happened to the silk from Jingzhou and how you plan to deal with it."
"Wei." Liu Ba took out a roll of paper from his other sleeve and handed it to Liu Xie. "This is the grade and quantity of Jingzhou merchants and silk fabrics that have come from Wuguan in recent months. I have ordered them to be seized.
Prepare to make unified purchases to prevent them from fighting independently and disturbing prices."
Liu Xie took the scroll, glanced at it quickly, and then frowned.
More than half of the list is from large households in Nanyang, and the remaining half is from large households in Nanjun, mainly those around Xiangyang. Apart from these two items, there are only a few here and there, and the number is also very limited.
"Nanyang is the largest county in Jingzhou, accounting for half of Nanyang's household registrations. It is normal for there to be many merchants. There has been no war in Nanyang in the past two years, and things are prosperous and the people are prosperous."
Liu Xie immediately heard the implication of Liu Ba's words. "Since Nanyang has been prosperous in the past two years, why are the taxes paid to the court so pitiful?"
Liu Ba smiled. "Nanyang is the hometown of the emperor, and since there are many meritorious officials, there is no need to pay taxes. Therefore, I plan to take this opportunity to collect some business taxes."