He wanted to redistribute Jiangbei's wealth and stabilize the empire's fundamentals.
He also wants the development of Jiangnan.
A policy must have two effects, and a group of people must use it twice. In this way, he is the only winner, and he still wins twice.
But it cannot be said that the people who were used by him twice have no gain at all. As long as they are brave and lucky, the family's reproduction and expansion will be objective gains. The family can also make profits, and the desire to pass it on will also be
can be achieved.
Maybe one branch will flourish in the future?
To be honest, Cao Cao felt that Liu Bei could give everyone some compensation when he had an absolute advantage, which was already considered a kind heart. If this were replaced by a ruthless emperor like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he would really not leave you at all.
of.
If you want to rob, rob, the empire you rob has "domestic household registration halved", Liu Bei is much more kind-hearted than others, although it is still a robbery, but at least he will give you a big pie and give you hope.
If the risks in Jiangnan are high, the imperial court will also provide money and effort to help you create a relatively peaceful and stable environment, and then you will invest and produce, turning the barbaric land into thousands of acres of fertile land. Isn't this a good win-win situation?
You get land and property, and the court gets tax revenue and a place where people can easily live. Isn't this a win-win situation?
What kind of bike do you want?
Cao Cao also truly felt that this was the maximum compromise Liu Bei could make in the current situation. Any more would not be in line with Liu Bei's current military and political strength.
A powerful king who dominates the world is negotiating business with you, so you'd better be grateful.
Because he didn't have to do this.
He could have robbed, he could have relied on the powerful army he controlled to act arbitrarily, but he followed the rules, and he himself was willing to abide by the rules he set.
Then thank you.
So Cao Cao nodded in agreement and thanked Liu Bei for thinking so much for them.
Finally, Liu Bei took Cao Cao's hand and pulled him out of the study.
"You and I have known each other since we were young. I treat you differently from others. You have always supported me and are even willing to make such a big sacrifice. I am very happy in my heart. Meng De, for you, my
Expectations are not limited to a Sizhou governor.
In addition, for Zixiao and Zihe, my expectations for them are not limited to the present. In the future, the Han Dynasty's strategy will go outward. I need many generals to fight for me and open up territories for me. They will definitely
Create even more glorious achievements than now.”
Cao Cao's heart was beating loudly, his face was red, and he was excited.
He himself can feel that his heart is beating faster now, and his expectations for the future are even higher.
Again, Cao Mengde understood deeply that political progress and wealth progress were completely different things for people of his level.
If he wants to have wealth, it will be easy.
Even if full tax is paid, even if full tax is paid on hundreds of thousands of acres of land, his family can still own huge assets, and there may be some losses in land income, but the family heritage is still there, and selling part of the land will be enough.
Can solve problems easily.
But with his current political status and power, it will be difficult for him to advance to the next level.
The high-ranking official position of the Han Dynasty is a carrot and a trap. People have given a lot to Liu Bei, supported a lot, and have a high political consciousness. If he doesn't find another way and overtake in a corner, how can he get Liu Bei to promise him a more wonderful thing?
future?
He has enjoyed enough wealth. He has never been short of money. He doesn't like money at all. He now prefers power and status. He wants to show his political ability on a higher stage.
Therefore, it is really worthwhile to exchange the wealth of the Cao family for a brighter future.
And on this basis, it is extremely gracious to be able to find a way for those tribesmen who do not have official status to find a way to comfort themselves!
After the news of Cao's decision came out, Liu Bei's rule of "replacing land in the north of the Yangtze River with land in the south of the Yangtze River" was also released, and discussions began on a small scale.
To be honest, this news has quite a shock to the core power circle.
Everyone looked at Cao Cao with admiration, and at the same time felt the burning desire for power in Cao Cao's heart, so they also felt some sense of urgency.
This sense of urgency is a kind of promotion and a feeling of competition for the people and families who have decided to go with Liu Bei. They feel that Cao's intentions are really big.
But for families that haven't been determined yet, it's like burning in flames.
As a result, Xia Houyuan and Xia Houdun could no longer continue their warm-hearted ways of doing things, and gave the family an ultimatum.
They promised that if there are any good things in the future, everyone can enjoy them together. They will also use their own money to compensate for the economic losses this time. In the future, everyone can go to Jiangnan to acquire more land and earn back the losses.
But he didn’t agree.
I will definitely not let you have an easy time before I am unlucky, and I will make you my backer even if I die. Do you believe it or not?
Xia Houyuan wore a military uniform and spoke such unabashed threats to the gathered tribesmen, which frightened many people.
Weapons of criticism cannot replace weapons of criticism. After Xia Houyuan criticized them with weapons in hand, they deeply realized their mistakes and decided to make the right choice.
So on the third day after Cao Cao made a petition, Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun jointly signed a petition to express to Liu Bei the Xiahou family's intention to follow him.
You are our only sun.
We will never abandon you.
The Xiahou family has made the right choice. They will fully accept Liu Bei's request for land use, and a considerable number of the family members have the idea of selling excess land to the imperial court.
They hope to control their land quota within a certain range. If it exceeds the range, they hope that the court can abide by its promise and purchase it at market price.
Liu Bei was very happy. He summoned Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun, held their hands intimately, drank a pot of wine with them, and looked forward to the future together. He also discussed with them the Xiahou family's sending people south to open up wasteland.
This made Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun very happy.
The Zhen family is actually the most anxious, because Zhen Yan has always regarded himself as Liu Bei's number one follower, and now the Cao family and the Xiahou family are actually chasing him. How can he swallow this sigh of relief?
He followed Liu Bei earlier than Cao!
Only a few veterans from Youzhou can compete with him in terms of qualifications!
But now both Cao and Xiahou are walking in front of him!
He has been communicating about family matters for half a month, and most people have been convinced by him. There are still a small number of people who are unwilling, feeling that the compensation he gives is not enough and that he has paid too much.
What they mean is that you didn’t have to pay so much tax before, but now you have to pay it. It’s not a one-time payment, it’s a permanent payment every year. And you only give us a one-time compensation. Isn’t it a bit too generous?
Zhen Yan has already given everything he can to exchange for the support and cooperation of the tribesmen. His gesture is very satisfactory, but some people are still dissatisfied.
Zhen Yan couldn't bear it any longer and directly reported to Liu Bei, saying that the Zhen family had decided to fully follow Liu Bei's path and would never abandon or fall behind. No matter what problems there were, the Zhen family would be able to solve them.
Ask Liu Bei to send people to cultivate the fields.
At the same time, Zhen Yan sent someone back to tell his family that he had made a decision to follow Liu Bei's policy. If anyone in the Zhen family disobeyed, the consequences would be very serious.
He will use coercion.
They will be regarded by Zhen Yan as unscrupulous people who do not value family interests but only value personal interests. They will be punished by family laws, expelled from the clan, and expelled from the Zhen family, leaving them alone and wandering ghosts, never to be seen again.
Unable to get any care from Zhen.
Zhen Yan is not interested in how the Zhen family reacts to this ultimatum. He only knows that he has power within the Zhen family, and his power can help him forcefully fulfill his demands. Even if someone in the clan is dissatisfied with him, then
It doesn't matter.
He is the person with the highest power in the clan, and even family laws and clan rules are like Schrödinger to him.
Those sanctimonious clan elders each have their own agendas and ideas. If they only care about immediate interests and do not pay attention to the family's long-term development plan, Zhen Yan will not mind using coercive force to help the family "change the dynasty."
Even the Han Dynasty can "change dynasties", so what can't the Zhen family do?
Don't push me too hard. If you push me too hard, none of you can expect a good ending. I don't have a good life, and you can't even think of living a better life than me!
The power Zhen Yan held in his hands and his connections in Jizhou were enough to make the insects within a family kneel down and sing conquest to him. The opposition within the Zhen family was suppressed and the family will was unified.
As a result, the problems of the three eldest and troubled families, Cao, Xiahou, and Zhen, were solved. They did not throw the problem to Liu Bei, but used their own means and methods to solve their own problems, leaving them with
Liu Bei's memorial shows that three problems have been solved.
and transaction requests for more than 200,000 acres of land.
There is no way, there is too much land, the taxes are too heavy, there are so many labor costs, warehousing costs, logistics costs, the land must be maintained to a certain extent, and we must pray that we will not encounter any natural disasters or man-made disasters.
Among them, the sudden increase in labor costs is a major factor. Originally, the labor costs of family servants were well controlled, but now that there are no domestic servants as the main labor force, labor needs to be hired from the market to carry out agricultural production. The labor costs
Greatly increased.
Based on this calculation, when the family owns so much land, it is difficult to say that it will not lose money after paying the tax. Once it loses money, there is no need to hold so much land.
So each of the three families used their elites to conduct a large-scale actuarial calculation to calculate the various costs and expected income required to maintain land holdings, as well as the expected taxes to be paid.
According to calculations, if you continue to maintain such a large amount of land, you will definitely lose money, and the family will need to lose money to farm the land. If this continues, sooner or later the family's foundation will be ruined.
So the three families unanimously made the decision to sell part of the land to the court, and based on precise calculations, each came up with the sales amount that would maximize the family's interests.
From now on, although there will be less land, we will still make some money and not lose money, so that's it.
Liu Bei was satisfied with this and praised Cao, Xiahou and Zhen.
It was only then that Xun Yu realized that the situation he was in was already quite dangerous and embarrassing.
Even the Cao family, the Xiahou family and the Zhen family, which have always been in trouble, have already dealt a cruel blow to themselves and solved all the things that need to be solved. So what else can the Xun family say next?
A super rich man like the Cao family is willing to accept farmland, pay taxes, and persuade the family to sell so much land for the sake of political future. The Xun family's family property is far less than that of the Cao family, so why can't they still make a decision?
What do you mean by Xunshi?
Xun Yu felt that a huge crisis was approaching, so he quickly made serious representations to the acting patriarch Xun Su, asking him to make an immediate decision without any further delay!
After Xun Shuang died of illness, the Xun family was leaderless, so they had to push out Xun Su, the only one of the eight dragons who was still alive, and make Xun Su the patriarch of the family.
However, Xun Su believed that he did not have such talent and was unwilling to say anything. He refused several times and even left the family to travel far away in order to resist.
Finally, in a critical situation, the Xun family needed a leader to move forward together. However, after losing Xun Shuang, the newcomers had not yet emerged, the old man had no energy, and only Xun Su was left who could barely hold up the facade.
After all, it is the last "dragon" among Xun's eight dragons.
However, Xun Su still has a clear understanding of himself. He believes that he can temporarily take over the responsibilities of the family patriarch, but when there is a better candidate, he will step down and abdicate to make way for others. He will not be the patriarch, only act as deputy.
.
But is it easy to be the acting patriarch?
With such a large family, so many clansmen, so much land and property, and so many differences of opinion, Xun Su, a mediocre person, really couldn't control it.
Therefore, although Xun Yu repeatedly asked Xun Su to make a decision and analyze the pros and cons, Xun Su still could not make up his mind.
He has never been a person good at making decisions.
When Xun Shuang was still there, he was responsible for giving opinions, and Xun Shuang was responsible for making decisions. He knew what making decisions meant to a family, but he was not a person who liked to take responsibility. He would make suggestions but not make decisions.
.
But now that Xun Shuang is gone, no one can help him with advice.
So Xun Su kept procrastinating until both the Cao family, the Xiahou family and the Zhen family made a decision.
Xun Yu couldn't bear it anymore, so he found Xun Su and told him his interests and dangers.
"If a decision cannot be made and the matter cannot be resolved before His Majesty's request, His Majesty's opinion of the Xun family will be even worse. At that time, even with Gongda and I, the Xun family's situation will be very bad. This will be very difficult for the Xun family."
Say, it’s already a life-or-death moment!”
Xun Su was still hesitant.
"Wen Ruo, I know what you said is right, but...but I can't ignore the demands of so many clansmen. The Xun clan has no clansmen at all. Without the support of the clansmen, how can the Xun clan be regarded as Xun clan?
Where's the family?
Moreover, they have a lot of land. They didn't pay taxes in the past, but now they pay taxes. I almost understand the numbers. It's too much. It's normal for the tribesmen to not accept it. Otherwise... Wen Ruo, you go and talk to me again.
Your Majesty, please discuss it and see if you can grant some immunity?"
Xun Yu closed his eyes in pain.
"Uncle, the Cao family, the Xiahou family and the Zhen family have agreed to His Majesty's request. Their respective families have solved this problem and have decided to accept the imperial court's land transfer. Even the Cao family can accept the land transfer and is willing to pay such a fee.
If you think about the large amount of taxes, might your Majesty grant an exemption to the Xun family?"
Xun Su lowered his head and stopped talking, his face full of hesitation.
"What should I do?"
Xun Yu looked at the hesitant Xun Su and remembered Xun You's warning.
Xun, is there really no hope?
But he...
After all, they are still descendants of the Xun family!
When things came to a close, Xun Yu had no choice but to give up his illusions about Xun Su. He persuaded each family, and each family stated their interests and risks, explaining the current situation clearly, Liu Bei's iron-fisted methods and the tragic stories of the Cao family, Xiahou family and other families who cut off their tails to survive.
Measures.
They have all done this, and Xunshi can no longer have any hope of squeamishness. Any hope is destined to fail. The only way to survive is to cut off the tail.