Chapter 730 There is only one emperor in the world, isn't it good?
Chengdu County, suburbs.
This is a basin with thousands of acres of Longtian fields.
On the outskirts of Longtian, there are gurgling streams, weeds everywhere, and wild flowers blooming without a care. A group of simple farmers are shirtless, lowering their heads and skillfully digging the soil with hoes to divert water and open channels.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hoofbeats was heard on the official road... Several official servants stopped their horses nearby, turned over and dismounted, and read to the farmers, - "Your Majesty has decreed that the previous taxation and corvee systems will be abolished immediately.
The new tax will be divided into four and six, and one will be drawn from every third. The specific provisions will be posted in each booth! It will be implemented starting from this autumn harvest!"
"What do you mean by a 40-6 tax? A tax of 1 for every third person?"
A farmer asked curiously.
A farmer who had studied for several years sighed with a sigh: "The 46 tax means 40% of the harvest per mu, and 10% for every acre... It is a corvee, and each family of three prime-age laborers must
Recruiting one person... is free of charge, and you have to bring your own dry food!"
"What?"
As this interpretation spread, there was a "pop" sound, and many farmers' farm tools fell to the ground.
"Forty percent? Is this going to kill us?"
You must know that the cultivated land in Bashu does not belong to the people, but to the imperial court.
In addition to these 40% of cultivated land, people also need to pay rent per acre. If they have no cattle or farm tools... then they need to pay more.
In addition to land tax, there are also local taxes such as salt and iron tax, vehicle and vessel tax, tolls, etc... The burden is not easy!
In addition to complaining about the 40-60 tax increase...
Farmers complain more about "three dings and one draw"
...compared to the 40-60 tax, the three-digit tax imposed on a pair of farmers is the heaviest burden.
"Will one of the three men be taken away?" Many farmers lamented: "In the Qin Dynasty, one was drawn out of every ten dings, and in the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, it was drawn out one out of every thirty dings...how come in Jihan, it became one out of three dings!"
"
"Sigh... Your Majesty is going to fight, isn't it? I heard... he plans to go on a Northern Expedition! There are no soldiers, no food... How can we fight this battle?"
"Northern Expedition? How about a Northern Expedition in a place as big as Bashu? Can we beat... can we beat it?"
"Shhh... don't talk nonsense. Go back and prepare dry food. If you are selected in the 'Three Ding Drawing One', you can only blame yourself for being unlucky!"
Just as these farmers worry...
Not to mention the Qin Dynasty who drew one from ten dings, and Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty who drew one from thirty. Even if we look at the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, there has never been more than one from ten dings...Three dings drew one, this is crazy.
!
"well…"
"well…"
Amidst countless sighs, the farmers helplessly picked up their hoes with a look of bitter gourd on their faces...
What can be done? They are taxed and levied. Do they have any room to resist?
"Clang…"
A crisp sound came out... A group of farmers threw their hoes on the ground again in tacit agreement.
"I quit!"
…
…
Li Yan's son Li Fengzheng directed the officials to hang the edict "Taxing taxes for four or six, and drawing one for every three" on the wall beside the city gate.
A large crowd of people gathered around to watch…
Two young men carrying vegetable baskets and chickens also came outside the crowd and poked their heads to take a look.
"Master Li Feng?" a young master shouted.
The other one quickly stopped him and said, "Don't disturb Mr. Li Feng's official business."
He carefully read the letter "Forty-six taxes, three dings and one draw", and whispered: "No wonder there are so many people here! It turns out to be a major tax reform!"
"The previous decree of Prime Minister Zhuge..."
"Today's situation is different. Your Majesty insists on the Northern Expedition... But the Northern Expedition of the Twelve Wei States in Bashu is so disparate in strength, and the food and labor required are huge, so this method can only be adopted."
"Sigh...it's not easy. In the past five years, Prime Minister Zhuge has managed Bashu without picking up any lost items or closing his doors at night, which has turned people's hearts toward the Han. But now...we have the food and labor for the Northern Expedition, but the people's hearts and minds have been lost!"
"Even so...can Bashu defeat Wei?"
"Shh, although there is some wishful thinking, but this kind of words... let's swallow it in our stomachs and don't make any comments!"
"Hmph, I heard from the merchants from the north...the land tax in the Wei Dynasty is only 10%, and the corvee in the Wei Dynasty is 10 cents per thirty..."
"well…"
"well…"
Another sigh came out one after another, and people's hearts turned away!
At the same time, the soldiers guarding the gate outside the government office also began to whisper.
"So many people gathered around?"
"It's not the New Deal that's causing the trouble!"
"I heard from merchants from the north that the emperor in the north also enacted some new policies when he succeeded to the throne, but everyone applauded at that time... There was no one in the twelve states of the Wei Dynasty who did not support it!"
"Ahem, don't talk about this. I also heard that the soldiers in the north are given a big bag of grain as their monthly salary, which is enough to feed five people in the family. In addition, they are also given twenty bolts of cloth every year, and at the end of the year there is
Salary...but here, alas..."
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"Hmph, if you give me a slap, wouldn't it be good if there was only one emperor in the world? We all have a good life..."
"Shh!"
…
…
Bashu, Prime Minister's Mansion.
Although his face was haggard, Zhuge Liang was staring at the map in front of him...his hand kept crossing the Golden Ox Road, the Lychee Road, and the Rice Cang Road.
He looked in pain, sometimes closing his eyes to meditate, and sometimes...opening his eyes wide.
"Cao Ziyu, Cao Ziyu, is your goal the Golden Bull Road? The Lychee Road? The Rice Cang Road? Or..."
Finally... Zhuge Liang's hand rowed down these Shu roads... to Zitong, to Bazhong, to Yiling... and finally to Chengdu.
He seemed to suddenly realize something... "...is it Chengdu?"
Just mentioned here...
The guard outside the door loudly reported: "Prime Minister, General Wei Yan, Ma Su has joined the army..."
As soon as I finished speaking...
Ma Su and Wei Yan have already stepped in.
"Prime Minister!"
The two saluted Zhuge Liang...
Zhuge Liang waved his hand gently, his eyes already fixed on this place in Chengdu.
Considering that Cao Ziyu is best at attacking the mind, the strategic deployments seen in front of him are mostly superficial, but on a deeper level, the place where he can attack the mind may be Chengdu...
He will definitely choose to disintegrate from within.
Is it to drive a wedge between the king and his ministers?
Or something else?
Zhuge Liang thought of this, and Wei Yan's voice came out: "Prime Minister, your Majesty has made Huang Quan the prefect of Shu County, and granted Li Yan Shangfang a horse-killing sword. The army can be deployed first and then report it. I think the Prime Minister... is about to be ignored by your Majesty!"
"Wei Yan..." Zhuge Liang's eyes were deep, as if he had thought of something, he raised his eyes and shouted: "You are trying to sow discord between the king and his ministers!"
Wei Yan knelt down with a "click" sound, "The general will not dare!"
He continued: "Prime Minister, there are rumors circulating in the court that your Majesty wants Li Yan to replace the Prime Minister!"
"Wei Yan!" Zhuge Liang stood up suddenly and said angrily: "Why do you always hear these nonsense rumors? Wei Yan, do you know what Cao Yu is best at? It is attacking the heart! To internally disintegrate the enemy without fighting.
The trust in the camp is his consistent planning style!"
Zhuge Liang's tone increased, "Wei Yan, your general was ordered by His Majesty. In addition to serving His Majesty loyally, you should not have any other unreasonable assumptions... Let Cao Yu have an opportunity to take advantage of. Take ten thousand steps back.
He said, even if His Majesty promotes Li Yan as Prime Minister, that is not a bad idea. We are in Sichuan and Shu, so we should rely on the talents in Sichuan!"
"Prime Minister..." Seeing the grim atmosphere here, Ma Su quickly explained: "General Wei is also worried about the Prime Minister!"
"Youchang!" Zhuge Liang raised his eyes, and while covering his forehead, he said calmly: "Now...the decisive battle is imminent. Even if your Majesty and I have differences in strategy, Your Majesty is Your Majesty. With His Majesty's order,
We should obey unconditionally. If we are resentful, we will definitely be exploited by Cao Yu. What he is best at is using this... You Chang... you draw up a memorial for me and write, 'I apologize to your majesty'!
"
Ah...please excuse me?
Ma Su quickly asked: "What is the prime minister's crime?"
"You can just say that your Majesty's attack on Wei was an act of obedience to heaven and rebellion. It was the determination and persistence of 'the Han and the traitors are not at odds with each other, and the king's business is not at peace'. I was stupid for a moment and failed to understand your Majesty's intentions. I have repeatedly tried to dissuade you. I have no regrets."
And...please resign as prime minister!"
Zhuge Liang's words made Wei Yan startled...
"Prime Minister, no!"
Ma Su, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and said, "I know, I'll go and ask for my orders now!"
Wei Yan still wanted to persuade him, but was stopped by Ma Su, and the two of them walked out together.
Go to the door...
Wei Yan shook off Ma Su's arm, "Youchang, why don't you let me persuade you?"
Ma Su took Wei Yan's arm again and pulled him to a deserted place. "Prime Minister, this is to avoid internal fighting in the Shu Han court. Over the years, I have studied every decision, strategy, and deployment of Cao Yu before, and I have tried to attack him."
He also has some understanding of the method. The "Soldiers that subjugate the enemy without fighting" mentioned in "The Art of War" is what Cao Yu most admires...and to achieve the goal of "subjugating the enemy without fighting", he must adopt
The method of attacking people's hearts is to use public opinion and momentum... to induce Bashu to attack each other. Isn't this exactly his purpose?"
"Oh..." Wei Yan nodded in understanding.
Ma Su continued: "The prime minister's brilliance is this edict of apology. With this edict, we, the kings and ministers of the Shu Han Dynasty, were harmonious, and Cao Yu's conspiracy was aborted! It is even more impossible for your majesty to remove the prime minister.
!”
At this time, Wei Yan scratched his head, and he seemed to understand... "You mean, the Prime Minister is retreating in order to advance!"
"Exactly!" Ma Su was quite confident.
Wei Yan raised his hand and patted his shoulder, "I originally thought that only Zhao Zilong would be able to guard Lychee Road, but now it seems that with your help, Lychee Road will be safe!"
"Haha..." Ma Su said with a smile: "I have been familiar with the art of war since I was a child, and I am the Prime Minister's personal disciple. I guard the Litchi Way... It will be like the Prime Minister personally guarding it, and I will be safe!"
Hey…
Wei Yan raised his eyes and looked at Ma Su. Speaking of which... Wei Yan prided himself on being quite arrogant. Except for the prime minister, he never paid attention to outsiders.
But when I look at it today, Ma Su is even more proud... He dares to compare with the Prime Minister!
However, he does have the capital to be proud.
There are not many people in this world that Prime Minister Zhuge can accept as his disciple!
What is "Ma's five constants, white eyebrows are the most common", haha... it should be "Ma's five constants, young and old are the longest!"
…
…
It was originally planned to establish a "wartime headquarters" in Chang'an City...
Because considering the danger of Qishan Mountain, the information cannot be delivered as soon as possible...
Therefore, Lu Yu was a little bolder and simply established a wartime headquarters in Hanzhong, which was closer to Bashu.
The government office in Hanzhong was vacated...
The two floors outside the government office are heavily guarded. One team of Longxiao Battalion and Huben Army is responsible for the interior, and the other team is responsible for the exterior...Everyone who enters must be strictly judged.
When these guards saw Lu Yu, they all knelt down on one knee and moved neatly, but said nothing.
Lu Yu's originally calm smile gradually faded here, becoming lighter and more solemn as he strode in.
Sima Yi, Ma Teng, Ma Chao, Guo Huai, Hao Zhao are among them...
In addition to them, there are some people Lu Yu doesn't know...
However, these are all talents selected through martial arts examinations in the past five years. After repeated "political review", they are absolutely trustworthy talents!
And they are the "Litchi Road" sent by Lu Yu...
The sand table map has been laid out... Everyone is looking at the map and constantly discussing what should be done.
When Lu Yu appeared, everyone turned around and bowed their hands.
"His Majesty!"
Lu Yu suddenly raised his head and looked at the civil and military officials. His eyes became sharp, "Zhongda, you are the coach. Tell me...how do you plan to fight this battle?"
"The student plans..." Sima Yi pointed to the detailed map of Lychee Road on the sand table and opened his mouth: "Litchi Road is a long and narrow road. Li Yan's first expedition to the north starts from here. This is a test... Li Yan is eager to survive, and he will definitely
Zhao Yun, Wang Ping, and Ma Di are asked to attack quickly to win the first victory...The first victory is too important to the Shu Han, so...the students plan to set up an ambush in a strategic position to wait for work!"
Sima Yi explained his plan...
Unexpectedly, Lu Yu waved his hand directly, "You can think of it, Ma Di can think of it too! This guy... is also good at attacking the mind. If you ambush him and arouse his suspicion, he will attack steadily... So..."
"So Your Majesty wants students to take the initiative?" Sima Yi frowned slightly.
In fact, his theory is correct...
Liu Bei wanted to attack Wei, and he had been holding back for five years... The Shu Han army had also been holding back for five years. They must have been eager to win... It was not difficult to use this heart to win their first victory.
only…
Sima Yi didn’t know Ma Su very well…
But Sima Yi didn't understand it, but Lu Yu understood it too well.
When fighting with Ma Su, you can't fight over theoretical things, you must fight about practical things that are not in the books.
"Here... station here to confront Zhao Yun and Ma Di's troops!"
Lu Yu pointed to a place in the sand table. This was a three-way intersection. There were two paths to choose from in the Northern Expedition, but there was only one path in the Southern Expedition.
"Here?" Sima Yi was startled...
Among the art of war that he was familiar with, whether it was the terrain chapter of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" or other descriptions of terrain in Taoist strategies, here... it is beneficial to the enemy's army but not to our own's?
"Your Majesty, there is a saying in Sun Tzu's Art of War - there are terrains that are open, there are obstacles, there are branches, there are narrow places, there are dangers, and there are distances. I can go there, and that person can come. It is called a pass. Those who pass the shape, first
Living in Gaoyang, we can benefit from the grain road and fight. It is possible to go there, but it is difficult to return, so it is called hanging."
Sima Yi pointed to the fork in the road, "If our army is stationed here, the enemy can send a group of soldiers and horses to garrison in a dangerous position to resist our army's advance, and send another group of soldiers and horses to bypass it from the other way... to attack from both front and back.
, our army's food road is cut off. This road is the road that is 'possible to go' but 'difficult to turn back' mentioned in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu! This is a taboo for marching and garrisoning!"
Sima Yi's analysis is reasonable and well-founded.
But...he ignored a huge problem.
Those are...the two huge variables in this battle.
One - Zhao Yun!
Second - Ma Su!
Lu Yu's core idea is that along the way...you must give the other party a chance. If you don't give them a chance, it will be difficult to continue the show!