My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 368 Expedient Measures
From this perspective, nomadic civilization does have its imperfections.

The word "nomadic" and the harsh ecological environment of the grassland mean that this civilization is bound to be in turmoil for a long time.

The lack of language and writing, especially writing, meant that they were unable to record history or reflect on the past.

Therefore, the change of dynasties on the grasslands always means tearing down a building and rebuilding it;
The change of dynasties in agricultural civilization is often just a change of owner of a building, and the building will continue to be built upwards.

The worst case scenario is that the building will not be built upwards for the time being, but it will never be demolished.

In other words: nomadic civilization cannot last long and is doomed to fail, which is inevitable.

——Agricultural civilization actually doesn't need to do anything. It can outlast a powerful nomadic civilization with just the word "endure".

But the vast majority of Chinese dynasties in history did not choose this option.

The reason is that it takes a long time to outlast a nomadic regime.

Maybe thirty years, maybe fifty years, or maybe one hundred and eighty years.

Even if we count based on fifty years, considering that the political lifespan of Chinese emperors generally did not exceed fifteen years, this is at least three generations.

Are we going to spend three generations enduring humiliation and making compromises to wait for the enemy to collapse on its own?

If one has the ability, who would be willing to endure for so long?
Even if they don't have the strength, no one is willing to just sit and wait. Instead, they will accumulate strength in a low-key manner like the Han Dynasty is doing now.

When the strength is accumulated enough, whether the enemy collapses or not - it doesn't matter - the grievances of these years must be settled, and the hatred and humiliation must be avenged.

Coincidentally, these two events were vaguely intertwined in the two giants, the Han and the Huns.

——During Liu Rong's reign, the Han Dynasty had basically completed the accumulation of strength and was ready to "settle the accounts"!

At the same time, the Xiongnu people had reached their peak of prosperity and were on the downward path of a unified nomadic civilization.

As one side gains, the other loses, and the final result is clear at a glance...

"Rumor~"

"Just ignore him."

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.

Having just moved back to the main hall from the greenhouse hall next door, the remaining coolness of spring made Liu Rong obediently put on a thin blanket.

Hearing the report from Zhou Ren, the doctor-in-chief or the embroidered official, Liu Rong lowered his head to read the memorials on state affairs, while occasionally pulling up the thin blanket on his body and tightening it at the collar.

But he didn't forget to say something.

"The mouth of defending the people is better than defending Sichuan."

"The consequences of blocking the channels of speech and blocking rivers are just as serious, or even more serious."

"——My ancestor Emperor Taizong Xiaowen once said: I will not punish my arms and the foundation of my country because of the words of ignorant farmers."

"I deeply agree with you."

After saying this, Liu Rong raised his hand and waved it gently, but he was not asking Zhou Ren to leave, but to let Zhou Ren end the topic.

This made Zhou Ren frown slightly, and he began to think quietly.

This matter is not a big deal, but it is definitely not a small matter either.

After all, it was information that could be collected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, reported to Zhou Ren, and finally delivered to Liu Rong's desk;
The fact that Zhou Ren could refine and report it to Liu Rong meant that there was a certain necessity for reporting it.

As for what exactly happened, it wasn't that complicated.

——After the Xiongnu delegation arrived, the tough stance of the Chang'an court, especially Emperor Liu Rong, spread to the streets and alleys, and public opinion exploded as expected.

Some people are happy, some feel relieved;
Some people are excited, while others feel it is not enough.

It is precisely in this positive public opinion that is almost "universal celebration" that a voice appears, which seems normal but is actually obviously somewhat disharmonious.

About three days ago, a rumor suddenly appeared on the streets.

Although it seems to be consistent with mainstream public opinion, and it keeps saying things like "the power of the Han family is far beyond the reach of the barbarians", there is an obviously radical statement mixed in.

——Some unidentified people believed that since the Han Dynasty had become so powerful, from now on there would be no need to have any form of contact with the Xiongnu through diplomatic channels.

Anyone who dislikes the Huns should be punished!
When this statement first appeared, Zhou Ren didn't take it too seriously.

But soon, this statement spread rapidly and accurately to Shangguanli, and gained the support of a considerable number of meritorious officials and nobles, and even generals in the army.

--yes!
——My Han family is so powerful, there is no point in talking to the Huns!

--beat!

——Fight every year, fight every month, and it’s best to fight day and night, every moment!

After discovering that everyone in Shangguan was "speaking with one voice" and "facing the outside world in unison", Zhou Ren realized that something was wrong and quickly reported it to Liu Rong.

But judging from Liu Rong's reaction just now...

How to say it;

Did Liu Rong not realize the seriousness of the situation?
Or in Liu Rong's opinion, this matter itself is not that serious?

According to past habits and the daily communication practices between Zhou Ren and the previous emperor Liu Qi and the current emperor Liu Rong - the two generations of Han emperors, the emperor clearly indicated that "there is no need to talk about it anymore", so Zhou Ren should skip this topic.

But for some reason, after a brief thought, Zhou Ren finally decided to rebel for a while.

Zhou Ren frowned slightly, looking up and lowering his head again and again, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Seeing that Liu Rong was always devoted to the government affairs in front of him, he finally had to take the initiative to speak.

"His Majesty."

"I believe that if this matter is not properly handled, it may cause a turmoil that cannot be underestimated in the future."

“——Indeed, these remarks seem to be a statement of national prosperity and national strength.”

"It's fine for the peasants, but even the Shangguanli and even the soldiers in the army believe in this theory..."

As he spoke, Zhou Ren stopped talking at the appropriate point as usual, leaving Liu Rong ample space.

In Zhou Ren's opinion, even if Liu Rong had not realized the seriousness of the problem before, he should have "woke up" after being reminded so tactfully by him;

Or maybe Liu Rong really didn't think the matter was serious. In that case, after his reminder, Liu Rong should explain why the matter was "not serious".

As expected by Zhou Ren, Liu Rong's brush fell back onto the inkstone almost as soon as Zhou Ren finished speaking. His eyes, which had always been on the bamboo slips and documents, finally turned to Zhou Ren who was standing on the side of the imperial couch.

But Liu Rong was not in a hurry to speak.

He just stared at Zhou Ren silently, and even looked him up and down.

Zhou Ren felt inexplicably guilty watching this, and Liu Rong finally turned around, picked up the bowl of hot tea, took a sip, and let out a long sigh of comfort.

"Ha~~~"

"Even though it's spring, it's still a little chilly today..."

After saying this seemingly casual remark, Liu Rong glanced at Zhou Ren sideways, and then, ignoring Zhou Ren's blank look, he lowered his head again and devoted himself to handling government affairs.

As for the implied meaning of his "casual remarks", Liu Rong believed that Zhou Ren could understand it.

——From the time when Emperor Taizu Gao established the Han Dynasty to the time when Liu Rong came to the throne and launched the Chaona Campaign and the Hetao-Mayi Campaign, only a short fifty years had passed.

During these fifty years, everything in the Han family has been basically thriving and making great strides towards a better direction.

Economy, military affairs, civil service, public security, national finance, centralization - each and every one of them are more than three or five levels better than when the country was founded and during the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao.

Economic level: During the reign of Emperor Taizu, rice cost 8,000 coins, and the people bartered for food, even their children;

During Liu Rong's reign, the price of millet and wheat was no more than fifty coins per stone. Although the people could not be said to have enough food and clothing, they at least had food to eat and clothes to wear.

Military level - During the reign of Emperor Taizu, in order to cope with the continuous rebellions of princes of different surnames when the economy was on the verge of collapse and the central finances were stretched thin, Prime Minister Xiao He had no choice but to reduce and cut again the various maintenance costs of the Han army.

In those years, the troops from Guanzhong who followed Emperor Taizu Gao to quell the rebellion, except for the sons of nobles or the direct descendants of the imperial guards of the Northern and Southern armies, were mostly ordinary soldiers, wearing thin military robes and carrying a standard long sword.

Then it was gone.

Some wore cloth shoes, some wore straw sandals. They all wore whatever they wanted, whatever they could afford, and the central court didn't care.

The court could not even afford the long strip of cloth needed to bind the legs, and had to let the conscripted soldiers raise the money themselves.

Looking at the present?

——Food, clothing and other daily necessities were the logistical supplies that the Han army least had to worry about.

Eat, eat pasta, plus meat every now and then;

They wore fine military robes produced by the Western Weaving Room of the Shaofu, and although the quality varied, a considerable amount of armor was supplied!
The weapons are even more varied - swords, halberds, spears, halberds, bows, crossbows, as long as it is a weapon you can think of and can use skillfully, it can basically be distributed to you.

As for the administration of officials, public security, national finance, and centralization of power, there is no need to elaborate.

In terms of official administration, although the Han dynasty did not fight corruption too firmly, the overall quality of the bureaucracy steadily improved as society became more stable;
In terms of public security, it can be seen from the fact that during the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, the 'Captain of Preparing for Bandits', who was in charge of all matters related to catching bandits in Guanzhong, was downgraded to a rank of less than a thousand stones and was affiliated with the Lieutenant's office under the Secretary of the Interior.

The administrative level of the departments responsible for public security has been continuously reduced, from national-level cadres to municipal-level cadres;

Do you think public security is good?
The rest of the national finances and centralization - in terms of national finances, the Han Dynasty had been so strapped for cash since the reign of Emperor Taizu that it had to issue official counterfeit coins to maintain itself. Now, during the reign of Emperor Liu Rong, the treasury was so full that it didn't know how to spend the money;

In terms of centralization, during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Han Dynasty, there were many princes of different surnames in Guandong, and even the princes of clan relatives were needed to check and balance the princes of different surnames. Now, all the princes of different surnames have passed away, and the princes of clan relatives have also been cut off from their minions.

It can be said that the current Han Dynasty is superior in almost every aspect compared to the early days of the country.

Except for the founding period, when there was a group of brave men who could be counted as the best in the five thousand years of history, in every other aspect, the Han Dynasty was on a steady and upward path.

But in fact, in addition to the inexhaustible and outstanding team of talents, the Han Dynasty during Taizu's reign was actually stronger than the current Han Dynasty in one aspect.

——National confidence.

To be precise, it is the spirit and vigor of the nation.

Back then, Maodun, the Huns' Chanyu, teamed up with Han Wangxin to brazenly invade the border wall of the Han Dynasty.

When the news spread, all the Han people were filled with indignation, and countless of them volunteered to join the army, determined to go to the north wall and teach the Huns a lesson.

——You must know that the army at that time was not the same as the army of the Han Dynasty today!

Although there are pensions for fallen soldiers, the rewards given to those who have made military contributions are pitifully small.

The disabled are even worse off - they are unable to receive any level of care and can only return home, becoming a burden and unable to take care of themselves, left to fend for themselves.

Despite the dire overall national situation, the people still chose to join the army without hesitation and go north to guard the border.

why?
Because in their view, the mere northern barbarians of the Xiongnu actually dared to shit on the necks of the Chinese nobles. This was something that only their uncles could tolerate, but their aunts could not!

Even though China was poor at that time, it still had to take action to tell those uncivilized savages: Your Chinese father is not someone that anyone can cheat on!

What now?
The Battle of Chaona and the Battle of Hetao-Mayi really excited people all over the world, and they kept saying "our Han family has also stood up."

But in this process - from the founding of the country by Emperor Taizu to the reign of Liu Rong, in just fifty years, the national confidence of the Han people was gradually eroded over time.

If we say that during the time of Emperor Taizu Gao, the Xiongnu were just "barbarians";
When Emperor Xiaohui, or Empress Dowager Lü, was in power, the Xiongnu were 'rude northern barbarians';
By the time of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, the Xiongnu had become a nomadic people who were "barbaric but also extremely powerful."

Then, during the reign of Emperor Xiaojing and the enthronement of the current Emperor Liu Rong, in the perception of the Han people, the "strength" and "invincibility" of the Huns were constantly increasing.

To sum it up more concisely, life is getting better day by day, and the country is getting stronger little by little;

However, the people's determination to resist and hate the enemy was gradually worn away, and eventually turned into blind worship of the enemy and blind contempt for themselves.

The two wars indeed allowed the Han people from top to bottom to taste the victory and experience the wonderful feeling of being the victor.

However, these two wars were far from enough to make most people in the Han Dynasty realize their own strength and the objective reality that the Huns were "not invincible".

——In the past few years, the Han Dynasty has pursued a national policy of enduring humiliation and recuperating, the purpose of which is naturally to accumulate strength.

But the common people at the bottom have had their backs bent and their heads lowered by the humiliation they have endured over the years.

This time, when the Chang'an liaison said, "My Han family is so strong that we can fight whenever we want and stop whenever we want. There is no need to negotiate with the Huns at all," Liu Rong could naturally understand.

——Young soldiers are eager to establish meritorious service!
But what really made Liu Rong happy was that this statement could help the grassroots people rebuild their self-confidence.

Although it was not to the point where everyone believed that the Han Dynasty was truly so powerful that it was invincible and no longer needed to have any diplomatic negotiations with the Xiongnu;
But they would think: Since even such remarks have appeared, then our Han family should have become stronger, right?

If you aim for the best, you will get the middle; if you aim for the middle, you will get the worst. It is nothing more than this.

For the current Han family - for Liu Rong, such an expedient measure can be regarded as an unexpected surprise...

(End of this chapter)