In the fifth year of Zhongping (186), early November.
Luoyang, Nude Tour Pavilion.
Emperor Liu Hong leaned against Longtan, Jian Shuo stood aside, and the two palace maids gently held their shoulders.
Emperor Ling liked to swim naked. This nude swimming pavilion was luxuriously decorated and magnificent, and the pool was so big that it could be called a lake. He had green moss collected to cover the steps, and the pool was filled with petals of various colors; he dedicated the Western Regions to
He ordered people to boil the rouge powder into a soup and pour it into a giant pool. It was called the "Flowing Fragrance Pool" and the fragrance filled the entire nude swimming pool.
In the scorching heat of midsummer, Liu Hong went there almost every day, swimming naked in the water with many palace maids, playing with great interest. He personally chose the 15- or 16-year-old palace maidens with fair skin and light bodies to row a boat in the pool while holding a pole.
He rocked the boat and let it sink in the water, just to see the frightened and charming naked palace lady falling into the water. He stroked her jade-like smooth skin in the water, and on a whim, he made love to the palace goddess in the water, with all kinds of tricks and endless spring.
After he was satisfied, he lay down in the cold palace, drank wine, and ordered the palace ladies to play "Seven Words for Merchants" to attract cold air.
Staying up all night, drinking and having fun, Liu Hong once sighed: "If this happens for ten thousand years, he will really be a god in the sky!"
Because he slept with the palace maids all night and drank until he was unconscious, he didn't know when it was dawn, so he often missed the morning court! He also asked the eunuch to learn how to crow a cock. Who could crow louder in a competition? He would be rewarded on the spot! On the north side of the nude swimming hall
A rooster hall was built, in which a large number of roosters were kept. Whenever Liu Hong couldn't wake up from his drunken dream, the eunuchs would imitate the rooster's crow, pretending to be real to wake him up.
Even though it's winter now, it doesn't stop whenever there is time. For example, right now, countless eunuchs and maids are coming in and out, filling the pool with freshly boiled hot water.
After many years of drinking and debauchery, Liu Hong, who is only in his thirties, has become thinner on the cheeks, with protruding bags under the eyes, dark circles under the eyes, and no vitality.
Looking at the rising heat, I suddenly felt a little upset.
In the past two years, the world has been in turmoil. Since the Yellow Turbans, Liangzhou, Xiongnu, Youzhou, etc. have all been causing nuisance, not to mention small rebellions like Jiangxia. There are even weeds growing in spring that cannot be eradicated.
Liu Hong can be said to be the number one emperor in history who made personal money, but he still felt that he could not pay it. He felt that no matter how much internal money he saved, he would always be overwhelmed by endless military expenditures and had to pay it all.
Although he is greedy for money, he still values the throne of the emperor more than anything else. He will kill anyone who rebels or threatens his throne, even if he spends all his money.
He is still very clear-headed about protecting his rights, and he can still distinguish what ministers and eunuchs are doing and whether they have touched their own bottom line.
During the meeting today, Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, wrote a letter saying: "The world is restless, and there are rebellions in all directions, large and small. How can we think that this is because the governor's authority is not enough, he cannot ban, and he has no use for talents, so the people are dissatisfied and riots often increase. I suggest
Your Majesty appointed a shepherd to stabilize China."
At that time, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, changed the governor to the state shepherd, ranked above the county governor, and took charge of the military and political power of a state. This had a lot of impact on the turmoil in the late Western Han Dynasty, and also caused a lot of trouble for Emperor Guangwu to rebuild the Eastern Han Dynasty. One state is equal to one.
In a country where the central government cannot centralize power, it is very unstable for a dynasty.
Liu Hong also had a headache about this. Although he was stupid, it did not mean he was stupid. From the fact that he could quickly dismantle the general Dou Wu, it was clear that Liu Yan's suggestion was reasonable for the political power. The world was uneasy now.
, there are wars all over the country, and enfeoffing the state pastoralists can indeed stabilize the four directions.
But what Liu Hong was worried about was that the tail would not be lost. Liu Yan's intentions were, on the one hand, for the sake of the Han Dynasty, and on the other hand, he was seeking power for himself and wanted to be the shepherd of Yizhou. Moreover, Liu Yan was a descendant of Liu Yu, King Gong of Lu in the Western Han Dynasty. If so,
As he grew bigger, Liu Hong was very worried about a recurrence of the Spring and Autumn Period, when various countries competed for hegemony and the Liu family was cut off...
He rubbed his forehead, looked at Jian Shuo in front of him who was urging the palace people to fill the hot water pool quickly, and suddenly asked: "Jian Shuo, at today's meeting, Yizhou Governor Liu Yan sent a proposal to restore the state pastoral system.
What do you think?"
Emperor Ling trusted the eunuchs very much and often asked about important affairs of the government. Jian Shuo was not surprised. He thought for a while and replied slowly: "The current situation is difficult. It is beneficial to the great man and your majesty to change the governor to the position of shepherd.
"
"Years ago, there was the Yellow Turban Disaster and the Liangzhou Rebellion. The imperial court mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops, and they just put it down. They spent hundreds of millions of money and food. Now in Bingzhou, Youzhou, Ding Yuan and Gongsun Zan fought every day, and they were barely defeated.
The Southern Xiongnu and the rebel Zhang Ju."
"These generals with foreign surnames repeatedly asked for money and food, and continued to fight, but they could not quickly quell the war. Because only military achievements could give them wealth and honor, they did not think of good strategies to stabilize one side. They needed to support war with war to gain greater credit."
"Your Majesty's many years of savings have been exhausted in a few battles, so that the two of them have to eat on the spot! Eat on the spot. This is the way to bring disaster to the country, and it is not a long-term solution."
"Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, and Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, both advocated surrender and appeasement, and they were mostly successful. This shows that only people in the clan can understand the hardships of His Majesty and do not act greedy for merit."
"Liu Yan entered Yizhou, and Yizhou gradually became peaceful; Liu Yu entered Youzhou, and Wuhuan was rebellious and wanted to surrender; among the generals with foreign surnames, only Zhu Kui could be considerate of your majesty, and he put down the chaos quickly, never slacking off, delaying, and vainly
It’s a waste of money and food.”
"Your Majesty knows in his heart that Huangfu Song is greedy for fame in his old age, let alone mentioning it. Gongsun Zan is young and energetic, greedy for merit and seeking war, regardless of the emptiness of the country. This is the way to perish. It should not be used in emergencies."
Jian Shuo bowed his waist, as if he was distressed, and respectfully suggested that he was an outlier among the eunuchs. He was someone who really thought about Liu Hong. Liu Hong knew that, if Zhang Rang and others were cultivated to balance the party members,
His confidant, Jian Shuo is a trusted minister of Tuogu.
Ling Emperor Liu Hong nodded slightly and said, "So, do you agree with the state animal husbandry measures?"
"If you want the country to be stable, it is imperative to have a state pastor. However, your Majesty must be careful when choosing a state pastor, otherwise the situation in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period will reappear in China!" Jian Shuo admonished again.
Ling Emperor Liu Hong sighed: "Zhou Mu... Spring and Autumn Period! Warring States Period! Eastern Zhou, Western Zhou! Hao Jing, Cheng Zhou!"
Ling Emperor Liu Hong's vision could only see past history, but he could not see into the future. In Ling Emperor Liu Hong's eyes, the greatest tragedy of the Han Dynasty was that Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, or it could be like the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty and the situation of princes fighting for hegemony.
.
Ling Emperor Liu Hong thought for a while and then said: "What if Duke Zhuang of Zheng shoots and injures King Huan of Zhou?"
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, when King Huan of Zhou attacked the state of Zheng, Duke Zheng Zhuang fought with him and shot and wounded King Huan of Zhou. Duke Zhuang of Zheng was also a member of Ji Zhou's clan. King Huan of Zhou was defeated in his attack on Zheng, which directly led to the formation of the hegemony of the princes in the Spring and Autumn Period.
What Ling Emperor Liu Hong said was this: What would happen if the clans of Liu Yan and others were like Zheng Zhuanggong and occupied their own territory?
Jian Shuo knelt on the ground and admonished: "Your Majesty, you must know that 'the one who destroyed the Zhou Dynasty was Qin, not the Ji family; the one who destroyed the Qin Dynasty was the Han family, not the Ying family'. Why should your Majesty worry about Liu Yan! We are all great ancestors."
Bloodline, at worst it will be the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms, but it will not be settled in the end, the world will be the Liu family's, so that's all."
Ling Emperor Liu Hong's eyes suddenly lit up, he got up and walked quickly in the room for a moment, then stopped and said, "Yes, since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, there has never been anyone with the same surname to represent the country. When a country is strong, it reduces vassals to centralize power, and when a country is weak, it establishes vassals."
To protect.”
"As a son of the Liu family, I should first focus on the Liu family's empire. My empire was not passed down to me by my father, but by my uncle Hengdi. Why should I care so much about whether my children and grandchildren can win over my uncle?"
It is the Liu family that controls the world, so that after I die, I will have a face to meet the previous emperors."
Thinking of it, Liu Hong had made up his mind to let his cousins guard his side.
The next day, Emperor Ling Liu Hong was extremely powerful. Regardless of the objections of the three ministers, nine ministers, Zhang Rang and others, he directly issued an order at the court meeting. Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, was appointed as the pastor of Yizhou, and Liu Yu, Zongzheng, was appointed as the pastor of Youzhou. Only two people were replaced.
,
I want to give it a try and see if I can improve the situation.