In the end, Emperor Liu didn't drink the tea in the Privy Council, and left without any regrets. However, when he left, Emperor Liu had a little sadness in his brows, his eyes were deep and the meaning of his eyes was unclear. This was because he had something on his mind.
Performance.
In the military machine room, in addition to inquiring about some military and political matters, Emperor Liu also had a discussion with Shi and Cao on future border defense issues in the northern border.
Emperor Liu admired Cao Bin's cautious sense of urgency. As he said, he launched the Northern Expedition and captured all of Monan and the south of Yinshan Mountain, which became the territory of the Han Dynasty. The territory expanded hundreds of miles to the north. The prosperity of martial arts was due to
This is obvious.
But this also brought about a problem. The difficulty of the court's defense has also greatly increased. The future northern border defense system of the Han Dynasty will also withstand more severe tests. In the past, in the northwest and in Shanyang, the court set up many frontier troops to garrison
The fort has already consumed a lot of national power, so much so that Zhengshitang once proposed reducing the number of border troops to reduce the financial burden on the court.
Nowadays, Shanyang expands northward and adds Liaodong. The subsequent construction of military defenses, whether it is building cities, forts, inns, or roads, will continue to devour the country's finances. This is something that even Emperor Liu is beginning to feel the pressure on.
.
However, it has to be done. The land has been occupied. Is there any reason to give it up and give it to the aliens on the grassland? It is obviously impossible. Otherwise, Emperor Liu mobilized troops and wasted people and money. This move seemed inappropriate and would harm the people.
The prestige of the country is also detrimental to the prestige of the monarch.
Regarding the policy towards the grassland tribal forces, Emperor Liu had some considerations in mind. It was inevitable to continue the Northern Expedition and attack the forces of the Liao Kingdom. But after the destruction of the Liao Kingdom, he was also thinking about the order of the grasslands in the future.
Emperor Liu no longer had the idea of marching into Mobei and occupying the entire grassland. He was afraid that he would really push the Han to death. After all, the difficulty and cost of ruling were too high.
Emperor Liu's tendency was, of course, to maintain a divided situation. The Han court, as an arbiter, divided the tribes, supported those who were close, attacked those who were alienated, aided the weak, and suppressed the strong.
As for Cao Bin's idea of coming up with a set of policies that would provide long-term peace and stability once and for all, Emperor Liu did not have that confidence. The so-called long-term peace and stability also had a time limit.
Therefore, regarding the issue of border troubles, Emperor Liu's attitude was very clear. As long as the Han Dynasty itself was strong and prosperous, nothing would be a problem. The key was to leave a set of sustainable policies that were beneficial to the court.
In contrast, the Han Dynasty's own problems were the most critical and worthy of Emperor Liu's deep thought. And it must be said that for the first time in so many years, Emperor Liu was worried about the Han Dynasty occupying too much land.
Being greedy for the big and seeking perfection is often accompanied by various negative effects, and the difficulty in digestion and consolidation is even more serious.
Since Emperor Liu took the throne and worked hard to govern, the Han Dynasty has embarked on a path of expansion. In fifteen years, it has gradually wiped out the separatist regimes and regained Guanshan. If unification of the world is the general trend, obeying the will of God and responding to the people's will, then entering the Kaibao Year
After that, all the military actions of the Han Dynasty did not seem so rational.
Starting from the first year of Kaibao, we took Hexi in the west, settled Annan in the south, expanded Tubo, conquered Liuqiu, destroyed Dali, and attacked Khitan in the north. Although without exception, they all achieved victory, but they were too fast, swallowing jujubes, and eventually choked.
to oneself.
It can be said that Emperor Liu only spent twenty-three years to complete a series of great achievements that will go down in history and shine through the ages. However, viewed rationally, such a prosperous martial arts era seems to have a weak foundation, giving people a feeling of a castle in the air.
a feeling of.
The unification war in the fifteen years of Qianyou was profitable for the court, and it was beneficial from a political, economic and military perspective. After the Kaibao Year, every war can be said to be
At a loss, the imperial court paid a large number of casualties, mobilized millions of people, spent huge amounts of money and food, and indeed obtained a large amount of land, but then what?
The imperial court needed to dispatch officials, station garrison troops, consider traditional power relationships in various places, and require continuous administrative costs to consolidate its rule over these newly occupied lands. However, what about the benefits? It can be said that there is almost none!
Hexi and Liaodong are related to the strategic security of the Han Dynasty and have extremely high military value. No matter how large the investment is, it is worth it. But in comparison, the southwest region seems a bit useless. It is difficult to even be self-sufficient with the annual tax, let alone the return.
Feed the imperial court.
Emperor Liu was not optimistic about how loyal these lands and tribes that had been conquered by the Han Dynasty in a short period of time were to the Han Dynasty and whether they truly surrendered to the imperial court.
Nowadays, the Han Dynasty is powerful, its military is sharp, and it is invincible. It has swept across East Asia without any rivals. Even if all the forces and tribes are dissatisfied, they can only lie in respectful dormancy, bow down and surrender, and be good ministers and obedient people of the Han Dynasty.
But in the long run, once something goes wrong with the Han Dynasty, and once the Han Dynasty's rule over these places is difficult to maintain, will they take the opportunity to betray and rebel? To this, Emperor Liu naturally has an answer in his mind, although this answer is a bit confusing.
It's just hard to accept.
So far, the rule of the Han Dynasty over the vast southwestern region is actually only in a situation where it is only maintained in a reluctant manner. Each has its own difficulties and troubles, whether it is Dali or Annan, or it is being incorporated into the Han system.
Some Tubo tribes continued to riot and resist. Although they were suppressed, it also showed the weakness of the Han's dominance over these areas.
Wang Rengan of Yunnan and Tian Qinzuo of Annan have become butchers in recent years. In order to maintain the rule of the imperial court, they and their soldiers have become executioners whose hands are stained with the blood of the local people.
The chieftain system has basically spread in the southwest region. The generous treatment and sufficient power and interests have indeed attracted a large number of tribal and local old forces. But this is not a magic medicine that can cure all diseases. It cannot be comprehensive and satisfy everyone.
The interests of everyone, including those who are dissatisfied, will inevitably lead to violent confrontation.
Even under the leadership of Wang Renfan, he led the chieftains who were close to the imperial court to suppress those who disobeyed, which ultimately had a serious negative impact on the government's rule and destroyed the local public security order. Bloodshed and killings also
It often breeds hatred and uneasiness and encourages hostility, but it has to be done.
Tian Qinzuo of Annan is even tougher. He is a ruthless person, and his actions are even more cruel and ruthless. The local forces in Annan are simply not treated as human beings by him. They dare to disobey and kill at every turn.
Over the past few years, the situation in Yunnan and Annan has indeed gradually improved, and there are fewer forces that dare to directly oppose the imperial rule. However, this also means that the resisters are only temporarily hidden, and the dissatisfied are bowing their heads and surrendering. However, there is a contradiction.
The hatred and hatred still exist, and the anger may be accumulating, just waiting to explode one day.
In remote places like the Southwest, with high mountains and long roads, deep and dangerous forests, it is also very difficult to communicate with the court. Normal exchanges of military and political orders are cumbersome, time-consuming, and extremely inefficient. Under such circumstances, if you want to protect the local area,
Ruling and consolidating the authority of the imperial court is definitely a big test.
As for overseas territories like Liuqiu, not to mention, if it hadn't been for the envoys who came to the court every year to bring gifts and report political affairs, I'm afraid the princes in the court would not have thought of such a place.
There were officials and garrison soldiers from the Han Dynasty above.
That is to say, in recent years, the Han Dynasty's maritime transportation has developed, the Maritime Silk Road has prospered, and commercial trade has become frequent, which has deepened the connection between Liuqiu and the southeastern coastal states. Even so, Liuqiu has been ignored for many years.
In recent years, the Han Dynasty's border defense pressure has been not only in the north, but also in the southwest, especially in Yunnan and Annan. Although it is difficult to compare with the long northern border defense, there are still nearly 30,000 garrison troops left on both sides.
Well, considering the transportation difficulties, military expenditures are not a small sum.
Emperor Liu had not considered these situations before, but after the Northern Expedition and the Privy Council's re-draft of the northern military defense system came out, he began to think deeply about it.
The more I think about it, the more my head hurts and my sense of worry becomes deeper. Since ancient times, due to huge military expenditures and excessive border defense pressure, the imperial court has been overburdened and the country has fallen into misery, leading to turmoil and danger. It is not uncommon.
Although Emperor Liu himself did not want to think that way, he also knew that if the current situation of the Han Dynasty continued, it would be difficult to ensure temporary peace, but it would be difficult to fully implement it. Not to mention a hundred years from now, it would be thirty to fifty years later, no matter how close it is.
One point, even if he remains emperor for another twenty years, there is no guarantee that the empire will truly be peaceful and peaceful during his reign.
It is difficult to conquer a country, but it is even harder to defend it. Emperor Liu also had a deeper understanding of this.
Perhaps many people cannot imagine that under the surface of Dahan's current prosperity, there are huge hidden dangers and shortcomings, or the impact of expansion too fast and a weak foundation. Today, Dahan's stall is too big.
It is difficult to clean up. No matter where problems occur, it may cause a chain reaction and even lead to irreversible consequences.
In the past, nourished by constant victories, Emperor Liu did not seriously think about these issues, but now, he has to worry about it.
Even so, the military operations of the Han Dynasty will not stop. Like the Khitan Liao Kingdom, it is difficult to resolve the blood feud. No matter what aspects are considered, there is no possibility of indulging Qiu Yu. If it is not destroyed, Emperor Liu will also be uneasy.
As for the Western Regions, Emperor Liu may not have such an urgent desire to conquer, but the current situation forced him to send troops westward due to personal feelings.
In fact, so far, Emperor Liu doesn't have many thoughts about continuing to expand. The Han Dynasty has already overheated its expansion, but there is a feeling that it can't stop.
Take the hostility with the Black Khanate as an example. It was a confrontation under duress. Even if Emperor Liu no longer wanted war in his heart, there was no reason to talk about peace. How could the Han Dynasty break up with a mere Black Khan? Emperor Liu
How can they be gentle and conciliatory people?
Moreover, even if they negotiate a peace with them and both sides stop fighting and mark the ground to defend themselves, will that allow the other side to advance further? Looking back suddenly, it seems that the Han chariot is really difficult to stop and can only continue to move forward. However, the end is at
Where?
As the helmsman, Emperor Liu did not think that his worries were unfounded, and he increasingly felt the risks. Twenty-three years later, he had built an extremely large and powerful empire, which had surpassed the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties. He should have enjoyed the results of the prosperous age, but found that the new
A new crisis, a new challenge, is already in front of us, blocking the Han's path forward.