Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1097 Four Strategies to Conquer the West
The papermaking workshop has always been in the hands of Liu He himself. Under the joint management of Zhen, Zhang and Su families in recent years, the technology has become more and more perfect, and the number of skilled workers has increased rapidly. The daily output of white paper for writing alone has reached tens of thousands of kilograms. As for other materials such as rice paper for calligraphy, drawing paper, and even the most luxurious straw paper used for toilets today, the output is also not low.

It is precisely because of this that, starting this year, officials who submit memorials to the court have officially begun to use a special kind of paper. This is spotlessly white, extremely thick, and particularly comfortable to write on. This has indirectly increased the enthusiasm of officials to write memorials carefully.

This joint memorial from Shi Tao and Zhen Yan was written on a type of longer paper. When the folded memorial was unfolded, it was almost as long as Liu He's outstretched arms, which shows that the content contained in it was quite a lot.

The more Liu He read on the memorial, the happier he became.

"Well, Guangyuan and Zizhong have lived up to their mission. Not only have they successfully visited the four countries of Pulei, Houcheshi, Weixu, and Qiemi, and arrived at the Wusun Kingdom, they have also studied the customs and habits of each country on the way and formulated these four strategies for pacifying the west. These four strategies are incisive and profound, and they are truly the spirit of a patriot."

Looking at the jubilant Liu He, Xun Yu and Meng Jian were also very curious.

"I wonder what these four strategies are that make Your Majesty so happy?"

They both knew very well that ever since the decisive battle at Hulao Pass, when Cheng Liang was killed, and then on the third day after Liu Zheng returned to the palace, the empress dowager passed away. Under these successive blows, His Majesty has not been so happy for several months. All the ministers were looking forward to the birth of a new prince or princess in the arms of the empress, which would make His Majesty happy again. But now a memorial had brought forward this wish. How could they not make them curious?

Liu He smiled and threw the memorial to Xun Yu: "Guangyuan proposed that, first, Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass should be rebuilt, and cities should be built around the two passes. With these two cities as starting points, official roads leading to Zhangye should be built respectively, so that people can go to Luoyang from the existing official roads in Zhangye."

Xun Yu nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "This is a very good plan. Yumen Pass and Yangguan were the important passes connecting the Central Plains to the Western Regions. They are only a hundred miles apart and are both offensive and defensive, enough to control a thousand miles of the Western Regions. There are also streams formed by glacier snow nearby, forming oases. However, in the past hundred years or so, the Central Plains has been weak and lost control of the Western Regions, so they have fallen into disrepair. If they can be rebuilt into a city, it will not only provide accommodation for traveling caravans and envoys, but also demonstrate our Han Dynasty's confidence in consolidating long-term peace and stability in the Western Regions."

"Secondly..." Liu He walked down the jade steps. "Starting from these two passes, according to the terrain, starting from Yumen Pass, build an official road of 300 miles to the northwest, and starting from Yangguan, build an official road of 400 miles to the southwest. Within this distance, the terrain is relatively flat, and there are many rivers and oases. If you go deeper, you will enter the desert and it will be difficult to build a road. On this official road, there will be a small post every 50 miles, with 50 post soldiers, and a large post every 100 miles, with 100 post soldiers. The guards of Yumen Pass and Yangguan will patrol every day to maintain the order of traffic and show the power of the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions."

"Well, this plan is also brilliant. Three or four hundred miles, it has almost reached the borders of Pulei, Cheshi, Shanshan and other countries. Our army patrols every day. This is a necessary means to subdue the Western Regions. If my prediction is correct, this third one should be a strategy of surrendering with kindness, right?"

Liu He clapped his hands and laughed: "Wen Ruo is indeed a brilliant man. That's right, the third of the four strategies proposed by Guangyuan is to trade with the countries in the Western Regions, rather than simply demanding tribute. The merchant caravans of the Western Regions must follow these two official roads, enter the cities where Yumen Pass and Yangguan are located, register at the customs, and pay customs duties before they can enter the Han Dynasty to trade. The same applies to our Han merchant caravans going to the Western Regions."

Meng Jian raised a question: "Since it is a gift of grace, the tariff rate must not be too high. However, the commercial tax of our Great Han is higher than the land tax and other taxes. If the tariff for trade with the Western Regions is lower than that of our country, wouldn't it give people a reason to criticize us and be detrimental to the development of trade in our Great Han."

Liu He looked at Meng Jian with satisfaction, "Gong Wei can think of this, which shows that he is broad-minded and has the vision that a senior official should have."

"Your Majesty, I am humbled and unworthy of your praise. I rely entirely on your support and guidance." Meng Jian said humbly.

Not long ago, Liu He transferred Guanglu Xun Meng Jian to the position of Chief Censor.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Inspector of the Capital Region, the Chief Censor, and the Minister of the Chancellery were the three officials who held actual power over the government and could be described as invisible prime ministers. Before the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the three officials and occasionally the generals usually recorded the affairs of the Chancellery. After Liu He ascended the throne, the three officials were quickly sidelined, and the positions of the three officials were successively held by Xun Yu, Xun You, Cui Jun, Qian Li, Meng Jian and others.

Now Xun You was demoted to be the governor of Yuzhou, while Cui Jun followed Zhang Liao and Zhuge Liang's army into Sichuan and became the governor of Yizhou. Zhang Song was appointed as the deputy governor of Yizhou, Huang Quan as the chief secretary, and Fa Zheng as the military advisor and general to pacify the Yizhou area.

At this time, Xun Yu unfolded the memorial and read it, and also laughed: "Gongwei, what you thought of, Guangyuan and the others also thought of it. They carefully checked the countries they passed through and found out that the former Xianbei, Xiongnu, and the current Kushan Empire have exploited the countries in the Western Regions very much. The total tax they collected was seven or eight out of ten, which is not light."

"Hiss... These foreign barbarians really don't give us a way to survive. No wonder the countries in the Western Regions are so anxious to send envoys to our Han Dynasty. They are here to seek a way to survive."

Meng Jian was extremely shocked by the tax rate.

"That's right. Therefore, Guangyuan suggests that the Han Dynasty should set the tariff with the Western Regions at 40%. This is much higher than the commercial tax rate in the Han Dynasty, but only half of the tax rate set by the Kushan Empire. The countries in the Western Regions will not feel that the tax is too heavy, but will be grateful and praise the Han Dynasty for its benevolence and righteousness."

Liu He smiled and said, "Not only that, Guangyuan also speculated that the trade goods between our Han Dynasty and the Western Regions are mostly silk, jade, salt, porcelain, lacquerware, jewelry, Hu powder, wine and other items, which are commodities of high value. With this tariff, the court's income can be increased by at least 50% within three years. Moreover, the Western Regions also have many unique and ingenious skills and skilled craftsmen. The exchanges between the two sides can make the Han Dynasty more prosperous, and the Han Dynasty can rely on its culture, which is a hundred times more brilliant than that of the Western Regions, to make the Western Regions closer to the Han Dynasty and difficult to separate. In a few years, the countries in the Western Regions will be proud of speaking Chinese and wearing Hanfu." "Good, good!" Meng Jian was ecstatic: "If this is true, if nothing unexpected happens, a hundred years later, the countries in the Western Regions will completely become the territory of the Han Dynasty. Who knows, the Han Dynasty will have a few more states and counties by then."

"Haha, that's a story for later. Guangyuan submitted a memorial with a fourth strategy. Wenruo, tell us about it."

"According to the order."

Xun Yu refolded the memorial and respectfully placed it back on Liu He's desk.

"The first is to open up the passage and lay the foundation. The second is to subdue them with force, the third is to subdue them with grace, and the fourth is not just focused on the Western Regions."

Meng Jian was somewhat puzzled: "If we don't focus on the Western Regions, where else can we focus on?"

Xun Yu looked at him and said, "How could you forget, Lord Wei, that the Western Regions are bordered by more powerful nations than just the Han Dynasty."

"You mean..." Meng Jian suddenly realized: "Northern Xiongnu and Kushan Kingdom?"

"That's right. Although the Northern Xiongnu is weak, they still harass the Western Regions from time to time. The Kushans have enslaved the Western Regions for decades, making the countries in the Western Regions miserable. These two countries will not only threaten the Han Dynasty's rule over the Western Regions, but in the long run, they may directly conflict with the Han Dynasty. As the saying goes, 'If you don't think about the future, you will worry about the present.' Guangyuan's intention is to use the Western Regions to control the Xiongnu and Kushans. Even if we can't make them fall into chaos, we must make them too busy to take care of other things and be exhausted. After the court marches south and unifies the world, we will go on a conquest again to completely conquer the four barbarians."

"Well... it's a good plan, but how to control it? Although I have never seen the Kushan Empire, it has been able to enslave more than 20 countries in the Western Regions for decades, so its national strength must be strong. How can the Western Regions resist it alone?"

"Hey, Gong Wei is really smart all his life but stupid for a moment."

Liu He smiled and said, "The countries in the Western Regions are small states. Whether they want to be strong or weak, to be supported or suppressed, isn't it all up to the will of the Han Dynasty?"

"Issue an order that after Shi Tao and his companions return from their visit to the Western Regions, they do not need to return to the capital, but shall be appointed as the Governor of Liangzhou and concurrently the Chief of the Western Regions. Zhen Yan shall be appointed as the Deputy Governor of Liangzhou, and Du Xian shall return from Yizhou to Liangzhou, and he and Wu Qin shall serve as the Guards of Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass respectively. The construction of these two passes and the city shall begin immediately after the beginning of spring, without delay. In addition, transfer 15,000 imperial guards and 3,000 halberd cavalry from the capital to Liangzhou, and hand them over to Du, Wu, and Shi respectively."

Liu He was in high spirits when Gong Saner came over again with a pile of memorials. Xun Yu hurried forward to take them.

"Who sent so many memorials?" Liu He was a little surprised.

Almost all the memorials on daily official business from various states and counties, as well as the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, have already been placed on Liu He's desk. Although many officials often have some extra affairs and need to submit memorials temporarily, it is impossible that so many officials have such "extra affairs" at the same time, right?

Xun Yu placed no less than sixty or seventy memorials on Liu He's desk and began to sort them out with Meng Jian.

But as they were sorting out their thoughts, their faces, which had been very happy just now, gradually became heavy, which made Liu He realize that something was wrong.

"What, something happened?"

Xun Yu looked at Liu He and said with a worried tone: "Your Majesty, the thing you have been worried about has finally happened..."

Liu He's pupils shrank at first, and then he suddenly sneered: "Humph, they really can't help it? I have been waiting for a long time. Come if you want, I am the true emperor, why should I be afraid of a few villains? Take this opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop, wouldn't it be great?"

(End of this chapter)