Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 237 Hate and Fear

"Li Yuan is in charge of the northwest, and his army is strong. Even if you were at your peak, you would still be nervous if you met him. Moreover, you have been demoted three levels for the sake of the capital's safety, and you can't spare 200,000 men. Even if you gather them all together, there are only a little over 130,000. The heavy cavalry that breaks the enemy's will is 10,000, and there are only 2,300 more. 700 of them will retire this year, leaving only 2,000."

Xia Lin sat next to him and began to brainwash Lao Guo: "Look at the Li family. In the name of guarding the border, they have a strong army. Chang'an and Longcheng each have 150,000 soldiers and horses, and 3,000 black armored heavy cavalry are eyeing them. Look at what the Li family has done now? They are planning businesses and hoarding resources everywhere, and they have exempted taxes in the Western Regions and grasslands. Just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle."

Hearing this, Lao Guo frowned. He turned his head and whispered, "The Li family has received the emperor's grace. Will they really rebel?"

"While His Majesty is still here, his family has no reason to rebel. If they rebel, they will be ungrateful and guilty, betraying His Majesty's kindness. No one else will respond. But let's be honest, if His Majesty is gone one day, we can't be sure. Although the crown prince hasn't been officially appointed yet, everyone knows who the crown prince is, the Prince of Lin'an... Let's talk about this. To be honest, he is not just one level lower than His Majesty. Although I was the one who brought him up, there is no one in the world that His Majesty can trust."

Xia Lin's words really touched Lao Guo's heart. He was indeed loyal, but he was a little hesitant about being asked to be loyal to King Lin'an. The kid was quite clever, and in this respect he was better than his fourth brother, but he was far inferior to his fourth brother in terms of overall view and temperament.

I've heard a long time ago that he plans to gather the heavy cavalry, that is, he doesn't plan to let the border generals be equipped with heavy cavalry. I know he wants to maintain stability, but this idea is like a joke. Those heavy cavalry were trained by them with great effort, and each of them is a die-hard warrior. If he says to recruit them, then recruit them. Li Jing's Shanhai Elite Cavalry, Li Yuan's Black Armor Heavy Cavalry, and Lao Guo's Po Lu Heavy Cavalry, the three foundations of the country, who would be willing to give them up?
"As for reducing the power of the vassal states, the young prince has some ideas. He wants to strengthen the centralization of imperial power and weaken other vassal states. But the problem lies here. The external threat among the internal and external troubles has not been resolved. The grassland is still eyeing it covetously, and Goguryeo is still preparing for war. What is the Western Region doing? The Western Region is integrating tribes and completing unification. At this time, he is going to reduce the power of the vassal states. Isn't that just sending food to others?"

Xia Lin sighed at this point: "It's not wrong. This feudal system does have problems. The cost of rebellion is too low, and it is normal to be under the jurisdiction of the court, but it is not the right time to do it. Now that you do this out of the blue, it is telling the world that I don't trust you."

Old Guo stroked his beard and squinted his eyes as he thought. Xia Lin continued, "Father Guo, think about it from your own perspective. If you were a vassal king, and you suddenly heard that His Majesty wanted to reduce your power, how would you feel? Switching back to the perspective of the new monarch, you see these vassal kings and officials dithering and being reluctant to hand over power. What do you think?"

"Won't that be bad?" Lao Guo slapped his thigh and said, "It's really bad."

"The Li family is the farthest away and has the strongest power. It's no exaggeration to say that they control the entire northwest. As long as his family takes the lead in raising an army and gives a pretext that the new emperor is unjust, the dogs will be abandoned after the rabbit dies. Most of the princes in the world will respond. After all, dynasties come and go, but the aristocratic families remain. Then, won't the Emperor of Wei end up like the Zhou emperor?" Xia Lin crossed his legs and supported his knees with his hands: "Father Guo, I won't say anything empty to you. I can't be said to be loyal to the emperor, but I can't bear to see people suffer and wars everywhere. I may know that the general trend of the world may not be able to resist the human power of people like us, but as the saying goes, do your best and leave the rest to fate. And to be honest, Li Tang will never tolerate me. If his family takes over the world, I will only have two choices. One is to be killed, and the other is to escape to the grassland. If I go to the grassland, I will rule the Central Plains within ten years. But that can't avoid a war, so this is the worst option."

"So this is what you're afraid of?" Old Guo raised his eyebrows: "Can you really take over the Central Plains?"

"I'm not bragging, Father Guo. What my sect is best at is surrounding the city with the countryside. As long as there is a little spark left, we will burn it in minutes for you to see." Xia Lin patted his thigh and said, "I am a fifth-rank official here, but I can be a king on the grassland. As long as I am given enough time and space, no matter how high the city wall is, it can't stop me, and no matter how many soldiers and horses are, they can't stop me. I can go all the way from Mobei to Lingnan, then turn back and deal with Goguryeo to recover the three northeastern provinces. I can even think of a way to swallow up all 47 countries in the Western Regions and directly confront the Arabs. If Persia provokes me, I will destroy Persia, and if Rome is awesome, I will fight Rome."

Lao Guo laughed loudly: "What's the use of mules and horses? Why are you making up a country for yourself?"

"That's what I mean." Xia Lin was lying in the grass. "But I'm not the kind of person who cares about the world. I just want to be a peace-loving dog. I touch pretty girls' butts when I have nothing to do and think of ways to develop some delicious food. As for what will happen to the world after I die, I don't care. There will be successors. Anyway, as long as I'm alive, I want to farm peacefully. Whoever doesn't let me farm will be farmed in my fields."

Lao Guo reached out and patted Xia Lin on the head: "Boy, you have great ambitions. I don't care about your things. I am a rough man and I don't have your tricks. But as long as I am alive, the things you worry about will not happen."

"Well, that would be the best." Xia Lin sat up. "So now I am just making money and farming steadily. As for being with Gao Shilian, it was just a casual affair, just for fun, so don't be jealous."

"Why would I be so jealous of that old man? I'm just worried that if you spend too much time with him, you might be infected by him and become another Gao Shilian."

"That's impossible. What has Gao Shilian seen and eaten? How can I become an ignorant old man like him? Is he worthy?" Xia Lin spat, his face full of disdain.

Lao Guo didn't say anything else. The two of them sat there until the evening before they went their separate ways. Xia Lin had nowhere to run now. After all, it was not appropriate to leave the newlywed princess there and wander around the world by himself. But Lao Guo had no constraints. After all, he came here with His Majesty, and the shrew at home couldn't say anything. So he strolled into the foot massage workshop and prepared to have a massage in the midsummer.

As soon as he entered the door, he met Prince Teng who was also walking in. The two of them smiled at each other tacitly, and stood side by side with their hands behind their backs.

"What project are you working on this time?"

"I heard there's a summer salt bath, it's said to remove moisture, I just happen to be itching, so I'm going to give it a try."

After a brief exchange, the two went to take a bath.

At the same time, Emperor Hong Bao was sitting at a roadside stall eating noodles. The noodles here are excellent, and the marinade is all from the Western Regions. The pig's trotters are braised until they are tender and boneless, and the eggs are also very tasty. A pig's trotter, a bowl of noodles and two braised eggs are really more comfortable to eat than a big meal in this midsummer season. There is also the sweet and sour cucumber, with some spicy water pepper sauce on top, which is sour, sweet and spicy, and is a great way to relieve greasiness and go well with rice.

Tian En sat there not daring to eat, but Chai Shao devoured the food in no time.

After finishing the noodles in his bowl, Emperor Hongbao turned around and looked at the people walking on the long street behind him. After watching for a long time, he suddenly said, "Ah, summer is finally here. It's good to have summer. There are rabbits in the mountains and fish in the water. I won't be hungry anymore."

His words were heard by the noodle shop owner, who handed him a bowl of water and said with a smile, "You old man, you are joking. It has been a long time since we heard of anyone going hungry in Fuliang. Unless they are really lazy, even the old, weak, sick and disabled can still have a bite to eat. There is an old man living alone behind my house. His wife died a few years ago, and his son was imprisoned for theft last year. He is a lame old man and would starve to death outside, but the government here still sends him 20 kilograms of grain and half a kilogram of salt every month, and some tofu and vegetables every now and then. He lives better than before."

After listening to this, Emperor Hongbao raised his head slightly, swayed his body back and forth gently, and then sighed: "It would be great if the whole world could be like this." In fact, as an emperor, how could he not know that Fuliang's model could not be developed outward at all? There are too many factors that determine whether a place can develop, but the most crucial one is the attitude of local officials and the attitude of the surrounding elders and clans.

What Xia Lin did in Fuliang was like cutting meat to feed an eagle in the eyes of Emperor Hongbao. He kept using the money that he should have collected to feed those merchant clans. In this way, people would indeed follow him to do business. However, there is a reason why merchants have a low status. As long as one day Xia Lin can no longer make money for them, these people will abandon Fuliang as soon as possible.

No one knows how to deal with that kid Xia at that time, but Emperor Hongbao has no intention of pouring cold water on him. He just wants to see how far he can go in his lifetime.

It is said that the emperor is worried about his subjects' rebellion, but for some reason Emperor Hongbao has never worried about Xia Lin becoming a traitor. This is a kind of feeling. Emperor Hongbao has avoided countless crises throughout his life by relying on his own feelings, and he will definitely not doubt this last chance when he is old.

Emperor Hongbao has seen too many looks, greedy, disdainful, impatient...but the look he saw in that boy Xia's eyes was different. The boy's excitement, the colorful gaze into the distance, the light of deep love could not deceive anyone.

He would not destroy a place he loved so much.

As he was thinking about this, he saw someone delivering a freshly-made sesame cake to the noodle stall owner not far ahead. As soon as he lifted the cover, a wonderful fragrance came out. The owner put the cake on a plate aside and prepared to sell it, while he took out copper coins to pay the guy who delivered the cake.

This time, Hong Baodi couldn't help it. He picked up a piece of cake and said, "Shopkeeper, I'll take one. Please remember the bill."

"Just eat it, old man. It's not a big deal."

Emperor Hong Bao took the still hot pancake, blew on it a few times and put it into his mouth. The first bite of the pancake tasted crispy and fragrant. There was also sugar inside, and the syrup was hot in his mouth. He had to quickly drink a mouthful of noodle soup.

"Hahaha... I feel relieved." Emperor Hongbao finished a pancake in two or three bites, turned his head and whispered, "Tian En, ask about this pancake, and then find a craftsman who can make pancakes to go to the palace. I really like this."

"Okay, I will go and make arrangements tomorrow morning."

Food, clothing, housing and transportation, these four basic categories of people's livelihood can reflect the basic level of wealth of a region. In a place where all you see are adobe houses, it is impossible to have any delicious food, let alone clothes and carriages. When Emperor Hongbao traveled around the mountains and rivers when he was young, he saw a family sharing a pair of trousers, and whoever went out would wear it.

Everyone else was laughing at him, but he alone could not laugh, because if there was a way, who would be willing to do that? It was just a joke out of poverty.

In Fuliang County, everything seems to be going well. Although the population here is second only to Hongdu Prefecture and has become the second most populous area in Jiangnan Road, everyone seems to have their own way of making a living. Even those who don't have any special skills can earn a living by working hard, pulling a cart or sweeping the floor.

While Emperor Hongbao was sitting there thinking, he suddenly saw an old man walking past him. The more he looked, the more familiar he looked, so he quickly stood up and walked forward to take a closer look.

"Hey? Shi Chang?"

Emperor Hongbao called out, and the old man turned around and looked around carefully: "Hey? Palace Fang?"

Who is this old man? It is none other than the Medicine King Sun Simiao that Dong Niang invited from Mount Zhongnan. He is ten years older than Emperor Hongbao. The two of them knew each other and had a close relationship. After Emperor Hongbao ascended the throne, he gave Sun Simiao the title of Medicine King.

This is not just a title but a real prince. Although he has no fiefdom, he enjoys the treatment of a prince. Last year, Sun Simiao went to the capital to treat Emperor Hongbao. He didn't expect to meet him again in Fuliang County.

"Shi Chang, what are you doing here?"

Sun Simiao bowed to Emperor Hongbao and made way for him. "I came here at the invitation of my nephew to run a medical school. He said this place has beautiful mountains, rivers and scenery, so I came. I didn't expect to meet you here."

Dong Niang tilted her head and looked at Emperor Hong Bao, while Emperor Hong Bao asked Sun Simiao with a smile: "Medical School? Where is it?"

Sun Simiao shook his head at this moment: "I'm not sure. My nephew is not very good at speaking and can't explain it clearly. I plan to ask the county magistrate tomorrow."

"Don't wait until tomorrow. I will catch him today. Just wait."

(End of this chapter)