Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 498 Professional People Do Professional Work
Zhou Chang almost sold his family property, pieced things together, and went to find those old friends one by one. However, those friends who used to pat their chests and said that they could die for the king, all changed their faces at this moment, either avoiding them, or Crying for the poor and crying for injustice, in short, these friends lent him six cows in total.

Zhou Chang sat alone in the courtyard, looked at the six borrowed cows in front of him, and chuckled lightly.

"Sell the house as well. Contact Jian Jianhou, he is the only one who can gather so many cattle. Sell it, sell it all."

Zhou Chang tightly held the edict left by Emperor Gao in his arms. He no longer had the usual demeanor, and his face was very decadent. At this time, only those retainers had not left, and the warriors with bruised noses and swollen faces stood beside him. They took out all the rewards that Zhou Chang bestowed on weekdays, and even sold their property to collect more than 50 cows.
A samurai said with a straight face, "My lord, the mansion cannot be sold. If not, then I will go."

"No... Luan Bu is just waiting for us to break the law. If we rob cattle tomorrow, we will not send the cattle there, but send my head there."

After waking up from the wine, Zhou Chang really saw it quite clearly.

"As long as the title is still there, these can be redeemed sooner or later, no problem, let's go and collect it first. Sigh, Qianniuhou, Qianniuhou, even if it was said to be Bainiuhou at the beginning?"

Zhou Chang sold almost everything, plus the cattle he had previously raised outside the Great Wall, the number exceeded a thousand. Zhou Chang sent his confidants to send these cattle to the Neishi Mansion, while he himself was Getting ready to go to the palace, the emperor sent someone to ask him to go to the palace to meet him.

To be honest, Zhou Chang was very scared. At this moment, his hands were shaking.

He knows best what kind of person the emperor is.

He was a first-class villain in the world. In front of the emperor, what was Luan Bu, and what was he, and if he wanted to kill himself, who could stop him?Queen Mother?

Regarding the Empress Dowager, Zhou Chang really did not lie, because his father was an old man in Pei County, and he had been with Liu Bang for a long time, so he was an old acquaintance with Empress Lu, and they had a good relationship. When he was young, He also met the queen mother several times with his father, and the queen mother gave him toys and so on. However, after he grew up, he hadn't seen the queen mother for a long time.

The queen mother may not be on her side, but she should still be able to spare her life, right?
Zhou Chang was terrified, but he didn't dare not go.

After thinking for a long time, he still took the bamboo slips of Emperor Gao, got into the car, and drove towards the palace. Zhou Changping recovered his breathing, resisted the great fear in his heart, and shivered. Is the title under him going to be broken in his own hands?
Finally, the palace arrived.

Zhou Chang got out of the car tremblingly, and wanted to lead others in together, but his warriors were all stopped, and he could only be allowed to enter by himself. After entering the palace, Zhou Chang was not afraid anymore, but Looking around, he hadn't been here for a long time, and the change was quite big, and he calmed down inexplicably, and was led all the way to Liu Chang.

Liu Chang looked at the stupid Chehou in front of him, a little surprised.

This fellow is not afraid of himself?
"You are Kuai Chenghou? Zhou Chang, does your father have enmity with the Marquis of Fenyin?"

Zhou Chang only felt his legs go limp, and he couldn't exert any strength. He lowered his head, and his words trembled a little, "Your Majesty, I'm the Marquis of Kuai Cheng. When I was born, my father and Marquis of Fenyin didn't know each other. Therefore."

In fact, there were still a lot of people with the same name in the early Han Dynasty. There were some common names, such as Ying, Zuoche, Bu, Qubing, Quji, Buyi, Buhuo, Buhuo, etc. These were relatively common. name.

Liu Chang laughed, "Why are you shivering?"

"The minister made a mistake and the minister bought the cow earlier. His Majesty bought the cow"

This guy couldn't even speak well, and his words didn't match the words. It can be seen that he was indeed frightened by Liu Chang. Looking at Zhou Chang who was about to cry in front of him, Liu Chang didn't say much. , waved his hand, let him sit beside him, Zhou Chang walked up to Liu Chang with difficulty, and knelt down again.

"To be honest, I originally wanted to chop off your head."

"Pfft."

Zhou Chang fell to the ground and hurriedly got up again.

"If you had plundered again yesterday and collected enough [-] cows, you would have hung your head on the city wall by now, but it's okay, you didn't do this kind of thing again. Compared with other dignitaries, Your mistakes are even relatively minor."

"I want to deprive you of a thousand households and use it to compensate those people who lost their cattle. What do you think?"

"It should be so!!"

If a thousand households are cut off, he still has a thousand households, as long as the heads are not beheaded.

Liu Chang laughed suddenly, "Nowadays, the big man is really rich. I govern the big man very effectively. In the early days, my father couldn't get together four horses of the same color. The officials had to hold a banquet. Kill pigs and eat meat, use donkey carts when going out, and eat dry hard wheat rice to make ends meet. But look at the fact that the big man is extremely powerful now, with countless arable land, and the grain production has skyrocketed. Last year's grain production reached [-] million shi ! Do you know what this number is? It is more than twenty times higher than that of my father!"

"Your Majesty is wise!! Great achievements! No one can match! Yao and Shun pale in comparison!!"

Zhou Chang called out hastily.

A smile appeared on Liu Chang's face, and he quickly said: "But the problem is that extravagance is prevalent, and the courtiers are fine, they all know what to do and what not to do, but after your meritorious deeds, it is difficult to travel. You must have horses of the same color, eat cows every now and then, what kind of feast of ten cows is held, there are still rich people who kill sheep and only eat the tenderloin, and the rest are discarded except in Wu country. To enjoy."

"I have even issued an order to strictly prohibit rich burials, and there are still people who secretly prepare huge funeral objects for themselves at the risk of beheading."

"The minister is guilty!!!"

Liu Chang gently stroked his beard and said, "I am going to appoint you."

"what??"

Zhou Chang raised his head in a daze. When he was young, his father always stayed in the palace and couldn't spare time to accompany him. This made Zhou Chang unable to succeed in literature and martial arts when he grew up. I can't draw a bow, I haven't read any books, and being an official is basically a fantasy. Fortunately, I have a title, and I can live a good life even if I don't be an official. But now Your Majesty is planning to use himself as an official ?Are you material for being an official?
"His Majesty is ready"

Liu Chang grinned, "I'm going to take care of the extravagance of temples and places, especially cattle farming. The big man is very good at it. These people do evil, obsessed with enjoyment, and plunder. How about it, I will appoint you as a thousand Niu Yushi, six hundred stones, belongs to the Yushi, and is mainly responsible for punishing such extravagance and waste, as well as the behavior of forced buying, from temples to places, you can control it."

Zhou Chang was still at a loss, "Your Majesty, I don't understand."

"I want you to catch people like you!"

"Oh, I understand!"

"From Chehou to princes and kings, and then to local big clans, you can arrest them casually! If there is no manpower, contact Ting Wei!"

"How many people are there in that minister?"

"There is no mansion, no one, you can handle it yourself. You don't have to go to the censor to report, just follow my orders."

"only!!"

Liu Chang left him alone, "Since I'm using you, you have to do things well. If you can't do it well, I won't be merciful."

At this moment, Zhou Chang also calmed down, and he no longer had the fear just now. He patted his chest and said seriously: "Your Majesty, please rest assured! If I can handle these matters well, the first thing I should do is to arrest the Prime Minister of Beidi County! "

"This person helps the nobles, and by taking advantage of his position, he often helps buy cattle, sheep and horses from the people's homes at a low price, and sometimes steals the livestock of the Yuezhi people in the name of tax collection, and then gives them to many dignitaries. He doesn't take money, he just wants to use these powerful people to climb up, this person has committed a heinous crime, he should be arrested first!!"

Zhou Chang said solemnly.

Liu Chang asked suspiciously: "How do you know?"

"Of course I know! I have always heard people talk about him every time, and I have a lot of evidence of his crimes."

"Okay, report on the censor, take it down!"

"The rich and powerful, you know a lot, right? If you are afraid of things and show mercy to them, I will show no mercy to you. If you do a good job, then you can make up for the food you lost. You know what to do? How should I do it?"

"I know!"

Zhou Chang left Houde Hall with a smile.

Lu Lu watched him leave, then looked at Liu Chang, "Your Majesty, let him go like this?"

"It's not a heinous crime, but it has some uses."

"I don't see the use of such a man."

"Hahaha, then you will know soon"

Liu Chang didn't say much, he said seriously: "Luan Bu's performance is actually very reasonable. Luan Bu said that if you can't control the rich, no matter how much food you have, it's useless. I have to find a way to check and balance it." .”

"Your Majesty, the king of Wu set an example and implemented the style of diligence and thrift in the state of Wu, which made the state of Wu more diligent and thrifty. Your majesty may be able to follow suit."

"No, it's not easy to persuade them to give up their extravagant life. It's better to order Zhang Shizhi directly! I want to discuss some new laws with him!!"

"only!!"

When Zhou Chang walked out of the palace, he still had a smug smile on his face. The warriors were all ready to cry and mourn. When they saw their lord come out, they were both surprised and happy. They wiped away their tears. They all congratulated and asked about the affairs in the palace.

Zhou Chang raised his head proudly.

"Your Majesty didn't kill me, but gave me an official position!"

"From now on, I will be Chehou with an official status!!"

"Great, my lord, do you want to have a banquet to celebrate?"

"Celebrate ass! Do you think it's too much of a hindrance for me to live?!"

"Drive, let's go!"

"where are we going??"

"Go to Marquis Changwu's house!"

The warriors escorted him towards Changwuhou's house. Zhou Chang hummed a song, feeling extremely happy. The warriors didn't know what his family was going to do with Changwuhou. Changwuhou was also a thorough Hou, this is of course not the first generation, but the second generation. The first generation Chang Wuhou, called Dan Ning, is the same as Zhou Chang's father. He is the confidant of Emperor Gao. He was once the doctor of Emperor Gao. He was awarded Marquis Wu of Changchang for his military exploits, and after his death he was given the posthumous title of Jingxin.

One sheren, one doctor, in fact, the relationship between the two Chehous of the first generation was still very good, but in the second generation, the relationship between the two parties deteriorated rapidly.

The second generation of Marquis Changwu is called Ruyi, yes, his name is Shan Ruyi.

Zhou Chang had some grudges against him on weekdays, so the warriors all thought that their lord was going to show off after gaining power.

When Zhou Chang came to Changwu Mansion, he could smell the smell of meat just by smelling it, and he grinned.

Shan Ruyi looked at Zhou Chang in front of her with disdain in her eyes.

He was sitting in the top position, and he also had a large group of guests under his command.

He is very similar to Zhou Chang, neither of them is an official, and they both like to entertain everyone with banquets.

Zhou Chang swaggered and sat in front of him, bowing his hands casually as a salute.

"Oh, Zhou Chang, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, I just finished the ten-ox feast yesterday. I was too full to eat. I went out for a walk. I heard that you have a lot of fun here. Let's come and see."

Zhou Chang wiped his mouth with a proud face.

"Oh, I heard that you even sold your property, so you won't be able to afford it in the future."

"Who said, my title is still there, and I still have more food than you. Besides, even if I can't eat in the future, I used to eat more than you. Let me tell you the truth, what you eat now, I used to feed it to dogs, hahaha~~~"

Zhou Chang laughed wildly.

Shan Ruyi's complexion changed drastically, and she said angrily, "What are you so arrogant about at the Ten Bull Feast? I slaughtered a total of [-] sheep last month, and only took the tenderloin, and fed the rest to the dogs!"

"That's right, you can only eat mutton. I eat sheep, and I always get the fat from the tail of the sheep. What are a hundred sheep, and a villain like you is a treasure."

Zhou Chang looked at him with disdain in his eyes.

"Heh, who can't afford cows? I have more than 300 cows in Shangjun, but I haven't told anyone about it. Let alone a feast of ten cows, I can hold a feast of a hundred cows!"

Shan Ruyi said angrily, "I use wheat and millet to wash pots at home!"

"All the fire burns are rosewood and brocade!!"

"Hahaha, so what? Do poor people like you know what enjoyment is?"

Zhou Chang rubbed his nose and said disdainfully: "My family has tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, all of which are in the Shangdang area. I don't even allow them to cultivate food, but let them grow some melons and fruits that I like to eat."

Shan Ruyi almost jumped up.

"The dogs in my family eat beef every day. I have raised more than 20 hounds. The beef they eat in a year is more than what you eat at a banquet!!!"

"I never like the Chinese clothes at home, throw them away when they get dirty!!"

Listening to Shan Ruyi talking angrily, Zhou Chang just listened seriously. When Shan Ruyi finished all the words and was panting from exhaustion, Zhou Chang's expression became serious, and he took out the He made an edict and showed it to Shan Ruyi.

"Marquis Changwu Shan Ruyi! You are extravagant, extravagant, extravagant and extravagant! I will arrest you and bring you to justice!!"

Shan Ruyi stretched out her hand and pointed at Zhou Chang tremblingly.

"You, you, you bitch"

Shan Ruyi didn't finish her sentence, her eyes went dark, and she fainted immediately.

In the days that followed, Zhou Chang visited many people's houses. Fortunately, these extravagant and wasteful behaviors did not reach the level of decapitation. Like Zhou Chang, fine. Since you have so many things in your house and you waste them so much, why not give them to Xitingguo and let them use them!

Luan Bu was still very happy. He didn't expect that these people were so rich. Now, the matter of saving Xiting Kingdom came to an end.

Zhou Chang was also very happy. He had never done anything serious in his life. This was the first time he had done something for the emperor, and it was also the first time he had done something useful.

The scope of his arrest was not limited to Chang'an, he also went to other counties.

"This is my own cattle that died of illness, so what if I eat it? Is it against the law?!"

"Oh? Died of illness? Then tell me, what kind of disease is it?"

"You and I don't know, anyway, he died suddenly or died of old age."

"If the cow is dead, it needs to be reported. Why didn't you report it? Besides, your beef is so strong. It's not the meat of an old cow at all!! Come here, take it away!!"

Relying on his familiarity with various extravagant methods, various reasons for exonerating crimes, and even familiarity with those criminals, Zhou Chang killed all directions, at least in this field, he is a professional, Zhou Chang soon Let the wealthy families everywhere know that there is an official position called Qianniu Yushi, who is responsible for extravagance and waste.

At least in Chang'an, the habit of extravagance and waste has been well improved, and no one dares to risk selling their property to do such things anymore.

But this is not a permanent solution after all.

Inside the Hall of Houde, Liu Chang was thinking about a solution to the root cause with Zhang Shizhi.

How to prevent strong buying and mergers?

The Qin State’s method is simple and rude. The corresponding title has a corresponding amount of cultivated land, and no one can exceed it. This can avoid mergers, but it is not a good thing for the development of agriculture. Is it necessary to limit the amount of cultivated land that a great title can own?What kind of impact will it cause, and what title should be restricted?

Even so, the big clan has a way, if not in their own name, then in the name of relatives.

"Your Majesty, in terms of arable land, taxes can still be used to check and balance."

"There are so many tenants in the world, until the temple issued a tenant tax, the more tenants in the family, the more taxes they paid, so a large number of tenants were avoided."

"Why don't you keep increasing the agricultural tax according to the number of acres of land? The more cultivated land, the more taxes you have to pay until you can't make ends meet and the tax exceeds the grain production of the cultivated land itself. They probably won't dare to merge again. And the treasury can't There are a lot of benefits from that.”

Zhang Buyi said seriously.

"You have a good idea, but if you implement it, it may not be like this. They can always come up with various ways to deal with it."

"Then we'll figure out how to deal with their response."

Liu Dachang laughed, "You go back now, I will think about it again, and if there is a better way, I will let you know."

"only."

Zhang Shizhi left Houde Hall with his head down, while Liu Chang flipped through the books in front of him, pretending to be thinking hard.

After a while, Liu Chang suddenly raised his head and asked, "Have you gone far?"

"Go away"

"Hurry up, hurry up, drive to Qunihou Mansion!!"

(End of this chapter)