Chapter 26 Dog Official
[Emperor Liu Hong was very dissatisfied when he heard this. Just as he was about to get angry, another person stepped forward. It was Minister Yang Ci.]
[Yang Ci said: Your Majesty, I have also heard that after the Taiping Dao rebels occupied the countryside of Youzhou, they imposed heavy taxes on farmers, collecting 30% of the grain tax. The farmers are suffering terribly, the people are living in misery, and there are starving people everywhere. I request Your Majesty to use thundering means to wipe them out completely! ]
[Then another person came forward. This person was even more important. He was Liu Kuan, the fifteenth-generation grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han, the son of Minister of the Interior Liu Qi, and the Grand Commandant, who was ranked first among the Three Dukes.]
【Liu Kuan stepped forward and said: Your Majesty, I have also heard that the thieves set up their own punishments and tried the gentry who were known for their virtue. These were all innocent people, but they died tragically at their hands. Their injustice is as vast as the sea, and there is no place to appeal. I am willing to lead the troops to wipe out all these evildoers! 】
【Several others then stepped forward to begin playing.】
[When these people finished speaking, all the ministers in the court bowed and shouted in unison: Your Majesty, we ask that the thief be executed! ]
[All the officials in the court knew that Zhang Jiao had colluded with the eunuchs and offered many benefits to obtain the title of Marquis You. He was definitely not so easy to deal with. They could only stick together and make joint suggestions to kill this traitor! ]
[Faced with the joint pressure from all officials, even the emperor had to give in.]
[Liu Hong's face looked very ugly. He hadn't even said a word yet, but this group of officials was forcing him to make a decision!]
[Liu Hong raised his head and glanced at the eunuch Wang Fu, who immediately released a dog.]
[This is a hunting dog, which has been carefully dressed up, wearing a Jinxian crown, court robes, and a sash, and it sways to the court. ]
【Liu Hong saw this and laughed: "You bastard official, what a bastard official!"】
[After hearing this, the ministers subconsciously looked up, and when they saw the dog, they all showed a look of astonishment.]
[The hound recognized its master, and when it saw Liu Hong, it ran over, wagging its tail and barking.]
【Liu Hong said angrily: You dog official, what are you barking like a dog! 】
[The hound fell to the ground, lying beside Liu Hong.]
[After being humiliated in this way, all the civil and military officials in the court felt extremely ashamed and humiliated, but they dared not speak out.]
[Liu Hong patted the hound's head and said loudly: What a Taiping Dao rebellion! Are you guys not going to give me a say? Are you trying to force me to make a decision?]
[All the ministers said they dared not.]
【Liu Hong was furious: "Don't dare?" I think you dare to do anything! The Taiping Dao are loyal and virtuous. They found 6 million mu of hidden farmland and 1.9 million hidden households. This number shocked me. They also paid 1.5 million shi of grain and 9.8 million coins. From now on, Youzhou will pay taxes normally and become the state with the highest tax revenue! Such loyal and patriotic people, you actually regard them as traitors?"
[When the ministers heard this, they were all horrified and could not believe it. The Taiping Dao was clearly a rebel, but they were paying taxes normally? There were tens of thousands of rebels in the world, but this was the first time that a rebel paid taxes to the court! ]
【Liu Hong said again: I also know that the tax burden of the imperial court is very low, 15% tax, or even 130% tax, and the tax on food is even heavier. You said that the Taiping Dao collected 30% of the grain tax and used heavy taxes to squeeze the farmers. This is really treating me like a child. If this is true, then why do the farmers in Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou all yearn for Youzhou, even if they have to leave their homes, to go there? Is it because they yearn for the heavy taxes?】
[Situ Yangci's face changed drastically, and he immediately knelt on the ground: Your Majesty, please forgive me! ]
【Liu Hong laughed: I have decided to order the Taiping Dao to investigate all hidden farms and farmers across the country! We must make them all pay taxes normally! What do you think?】
[As soon as this was said, all the ministers in the court kowtowed in opposition, and several of them even threatened to die in order to persuade him: Your Majesty, this is a move that will lead to the destruction of the country! You must not touch the foundation of the country for the sake of petty gains, you must not do this! ]
【Liu Hong said: Let’s both take a step back.】
[The court officials looked at each other in bewilderment, all speechless.]
【Liu Hong laughed loudly. This was the first time he had defeated this group of ministers. He felt extremely happy, even happier than playing with dozens of concubines.】
【Liu Hongdao: Since there is no objection, then let’s withdraw from the court! 】
When Su Che learned what happened in the court, he couldn't help but be amused by this foolish emperor.
What a good trick!
What a shitty official!
It feels so good to curse!
It's really wonderful.
Liu Hong was Emperor Ling of Han.
In Zhuge Liang's "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital", there is a sentence that goes like this: "Be close to virtuous ministers and stay away from villains. This is why the early Han Dynasty prospered; be close to villains and stay away from virtuous ministers. This is why the later Han Dynasty declined." When the late emperor was alive, he always sighed and hated Huan and Ling whenever he discussed this with me.
His posthumous title was Emperor Ling, which means absurd and mischievous.
This was how the civil officials evaluated him after his death.
But the affairs of the world have never been decided by the emperor alone.
Power seems to be from top to bottom, and the higher one stands, the more powerful he is.
But in reality it is completely the opposite. Power is from the bottom up, and only those who control the people below can have enough say.
This was the case with Liu Hong. Although he was the emperor of the Han Dynasty and seemed noble, it was difficult for his power to extend beyond Luoyang.
He wants to work hard to govern the country ? Then he can only die.
In Su Che's parallel world, Liu Hong enjoyed his life until he was 32 years old and realized that he could not continue his absurd life.
He forged four "Zhongxing Swords" and held a grand military parade, preparing to work hard to revive the Han Dynasty, bring peace , and stabilize the Liu family's rule.
Then when he was thirty-three years old, Liu Hong suddenly died of illness in the palace.
This is the cruel reality.
After obtaining the title of "Marquis of You", Su Che began to join forces with Liu Yu and extended his hand to those county towns and prefecture towns. Not satisfied with the countryside, he began to gradually invade and soon controlled the entire Youzhou.
After those officials struggled twice in vain, they surrendered spinelessly when Su Che threw out some small benefits.
When all the officials surrendered, the aristocratic families, landlords and gentry became even less important.
Su Che showed no mercy at all, and he would try those who should be tried and kill those who should be killed. Apart from that, he would not harm ordinary people in the slightest. This also won the welcome of the people in all the counties of Youzhou.
These lower-class people did not think that the Taiping Dao was rebellious, but instead regarded them as the orthodoxy of the imperial court!
Under the rule of the Taiping Dao, Youzhou was thriving, and Su Che also fulfilled his promise to pay full taxes to the court, becoming the top tax-paying state in the world!
There is no doubt that this further slapped the faces of those upright scholars.
After learning about the actions of the Taiping Dao, many scholars began to doubt their lives and their worldviews were shattered. Who was the treacherous minister? Who was the traitor? Who was the loyal minister?
Is rebellion so rampant these days?
