Chapter 24: Why did Your Majesty rebel?
There is no doubt that Su Che is the mainstay of Taiping Dao. His face looked normal, and others were no longer panicked when they saw him.
Su Che said calmly, "I understand."
"General Tian Gong, are we going to do something big?" Guo Ping asked seriously.
At this time, someone else reported: "Great and wise teacher, Youzhou governor Liu Yu wants to see you!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone's faces changed again.
The governor is the highest leader of a state. At this critical moment, the governor asks for a meeting?
What does it mean?
Although Youzhou Mu Liu Yu and Su Che had a good relationship, they did not take this relationship seriously. They were both people who were bent on rebellion, so how could they get too close to such a real royal relative?
Su Che smiled and said, "Bo An is here? Come with me to greet him!"
Having said this, Su Che led everyone outside.
"Brother Bo'an, long time no see." Su Che saluted Liu Yu with a smile.
"Great and wise teacher, you are in big trouble. The county governors and county magistrates have signed a letter in blood to sue you!" Liu Yu said with a serious face.
As soon as these words were spoken, the people behind Su Che looked at each other, none of them knowing what Liu Yu meant.
"Brother Bo'an, don't be anxious, come in and talk." Su Che smiled and took Liu Yu's hand.
Who said that a rebel couldn't have good relations with the royal family? Su Che and Liu Yu had a very good relationship and regarded each other as close friends. That was why Liu Yu rushed over as soon as he got the news.
"The knife is already at my neck, how can I not be anxious?" Liu Yu was stunned.
"No rush, let's have a cup of tea first." Su Che said with a smile.
Liu Yu was dressed very simply. As a royal relative and the governor of a state, he spent almost all his family wealth on disaster relief. He usually ate simple meals, and never saw any meat during the festival. Because he was meeting a friend, he wore his only blue shirt without patches... This shirt was given to him by Su Che.
After Liu Yu sat down in the house, everyone under Su Che's command had very subtle expressions, and only Yu Ji still had a smiling face.
Yu Ji was amazed at Su Che's ability to make friends.
Once, Su Che discussed with him and said something that shocked him : "Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This question is the primary issue for us to start an uprising."
This statement is simple and straightforward, but it is extremely difficult to actually do it. Who are the enemies and who are the friends?
Su Che also said: "If we want to rebel, are the Liu royal family really our enemies? Can't they be our friends?"
These words made Yu Ji doubt his own ears, and even wondered if Su Che had lost his mind - you want to rebel, to overthrow the Han Dynasty, do you want to be friends with the Liu royal family?
That's so funny!
But Su Che was not joking. His rebellion was completely different from what Yu Ji understood. What he wanted to overthrow was the hopelessly corrupt Han Dynasty, not the royal family with the surname Liu.
It is obviously hasty to put the Liu royal family completely in the position of enemies.
In Yu Ji's view, if he wanted to change the world and realize a harmonious world, he had to completely overthrow the corrupt Han Dynasty, including the Liu royal family. Otherwise, how could he achieve the goal of "destruction before construction"?
But in Su Che's opinion, the reason why the Han Dynasty became as corrupt as it was now had little . The current emperor, Liu Hong, was indeed incompetent and liked to indulge in pleasure, putting state affairs aside and handing over power to eunuchs.
But the problem is, if Liu Hong really worked hard to govern the country, he would probably have died long ago!
Even if he doesn't die, can he change all this?
The answer is obviously no.
When land annexation reaches its extreme, the lower-class peasants have no survival security at all. For a feudal dynasty, destruction is their unavoidable and irreversible fate. This is the social law of the feudal dynasty.
This is a cycle.
This is "destiny".
Su Che realized this clearly. He wanted to defy fate and change his destiny, to change the world and make it a harmonious place. To do so, he had to unite all the people he could unite with, even if that person was from the royal family of Liu!
In the first week, Su Che's Yellow Turban Army rebelled. In the battles, Su Che got to know his opponent Liu Yu and got to know his style and character.
So in the second week, Su Che directly became friends with him and discussed with him how to "save the country"!
That night, after a long conversation, Su Che convinced Liu Yu and they became close friends. The smooth progress of Youzhou affairs was also due to Liu Yu's intelligence.
As a member of the royal family with the surname Liu, Liu Yu stood from the perspective of the country, which was completely opposite to the aristocratic families.
Su Che's Taiping Dao actions of beating the gentry and dividing the land touched upon the interests of the aristocratic families and the officials, not the interests of the Han Dynasty!
Therefore, even though Liu Yu, as the governor of the state, was on good terms with Su Che, he was unable to stop the county governors and county magistrates from signing a letter in blood and appealing to the court, labeling the Taiping Dao as traitors.
Liu Yu came here at this moment, not to pretend to be nice, nor to gather intelligence, but because he was truly worried about Su Che's safety.
"Oh, what should I do..." Liu Yu said helplessly.
Su Che smiled and said, "Brother Bo'an, I have already reported the situation to the court, so you can rest assured! Besides, for justice, I will not hesitate to die! Why should I fear death?"
Luoyang.
The Imperial Palace.
The eunuch Zhang Rang brought his subordinates, carrying a huge mirror and several account books to the Gui Palace north of the Weiyang Palace.
At this moment, the Han Emperor Liu Hong was playing and frolicking with dozens of young women dressed in gauze.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Rang requests an audience!" A palace maid delivered the message.
"Hurry up and ask him to come over!" Liu Hong, who was a little fat, waved his hand and said to the concubines on his left and right with a smile, "I wonder what good things Zhang Rang will bring me next?"
Soon, Zhang Rang came before the emperor and said respectfully: "Your servant ..."
Before he could finish, Liu Hong interrupted him : "No need to be polite! What good things have you brought for me?"
"Your Majesty, this is a large bronze mirror." Zhang Rang said with a smile, and his men immediately placed the huge mirror on the ground.
"Bronze mirror? What good thing is this?" Liu Hong said with some disdain.
"Your Majesty will know it at a glance!" Zhang Rang said quickly.
Liu Hong approached and directly pulled open the silk covering it. He immediately saw the mirror inside and said in surprise: "How can it be so clear?"
No matter how well an ordinary bronze mirror is polished, it is still a bronze mirror after all and cannot be compared with a mirror.
"Your Majesty, this is a treasure presented by Zhang Jiao of Youzhou Taipingdao!" Zhang Rang said hurriedly.
"It's indeed him. I know him and he often gives me good things!" Liu Hong nodded.
"What you've sent this time is called the Guangjian Mirror. It's made of the best copper, with transparent gems on top, and dotted with countless gems. It's a unique treasure in the world. There's nothing else like it!" Zhang Rang said hurriedly.
"Indeed, this is the first time I have seen such a rare mirror!" Liu Hong was overjoyed: "If I put this thing in front of the beauty, won't I be able to see more? This thing is really good!"
Zhang Rang: “…”
"Anything else? If not, then step back!" Liu Hong was eager to experiment with the mirror.
Zhang Rang said: "Now the countryside of Youzhou has been completely occupied by the Taiping Dao."
"What? Zhang Jiao wants to rebel?" Liu Hong was shocked.
"No, Zhang Jiao is a Taoist priest. He is a hermit and has no interest in power. He occupies rural fields just so that the court can collect more taxes!" Zhang Rang said hurriedly.
"What do you mean?" Liu Hong was a little unconvinced.
"These are the accounts of money and grain, land and people from all over Youzhou." Zhang Rang took out the account books and handed them to the emperor.
Liu Hong took it and flipped through it. He felt his head was as big as a bucket, so he quickly closed it and asked, "What does this mean?"
Zhang Rang said seriously, "Your Majesty, the gentry and nobles in Youzhou took advantage of the natural disaster to annex land and conceal the farmers. They also colluded with each other through their connections. This time, the Taiping Dao investigated the villages and found a total of 6 million acres of hidden farmland! There are 1.9 million farmers hiding, and these are all head taxes that cannot be collected!"
Even Liu Hong, who seldom asked about state affairs, widened his eyes when he heard this number and said in disbelief: "How can such a huge number be possible?!"
Zhang Rang said seriously, "This is absolutely true. I dare not speak nonsense. There are account books to check. From now on, Youzhou will probably become the state that pays the most money and grain in the world."
"In addition, Youzhou has handed over 1.5 million dan of grain and 9.8 million coins this time!"
"This is just to confiscate the money and grain of the gentry and nobles, not this year's taxes!"
Liu Hong was shocked by this number. He was silent for a long time, then clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Good! Good!! Zhang Jiao is truly the most loyal minister in the world. Reward! He must be rewarded!"
"How to reward?" Zhang Rang asked hurriedly.
"Grant him the title of marquis and confer him the title of Youhou!" Liu Hong waved his hand.
As for the belated blood letter, Liu Hong tore it up in one swoop: "These treacherous officials and villains! Don't you think I don't know what they are thinking?"
Soon, when these two pieces of news reached Youzhou at full speed.
All the county governors and magistrates of Youzhou were dumbfounded, and they cried out in pain: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is not good at judging people! How can such a traitor be made Marquis of Youzhou?"
"Your Majesty, I want to see His Majesty!"
"This is definitely a trick by a traitor!"
"Why did your majesty rebel?"
