Han: The witchcraft disaster begins, I fight against Emperor Wu of Han

Chapter 93 Mausoleum Town System
The mausoleum town system originated from Emperor Taizu Gao.

At first, Chang'an was in a state of disrepair, and the local tycoons and heroes had great prestige, which made it impossible for the imperial power to effectively control the local areas.

Emperor Taizu Gao followed the advice of a doctor named Liu Jing and moved all these wealthy and powerful people to the Guanzhong area in the name of "protecting the imperial mausoleum and resisting the Huns."

This move can not only suppress the wealthy households in various places and return their "land properties" to the people, but also achieve another effect of "dividing the land".

It can also mobilize real "usable troops" to encourage these wealthy people to invest in building a large army, and it can also form unprecedented unity in resource allocation.

After all, you are at the feet of the emperor, and you can see at a glance whether you are making any effort or not.

On the other hand, these wealthy people, heroes, and high-ranking officials instantly made the area around Chang'an wealthy, and they formed a city around the "Imperial Mausoleum" to protect Chang'an.

It can be described as killing three birds with one stone!
The emperors who followed also indirectly formed this system, which effectively curbed local "land annexation"!
For example, the Anling Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Emperor Xiaohui Liu Ying and Empress Zhang Yan. After the wealthy families from all over the country moved to the vicinity, the framework of a "small city" was quickly built, and it was able to maintain the daily needs of the victims.

Today, Chang'an can quickly restore stability and comfort disaster victims in various places, which is inseparable from this system.

After Liu Che ascended the throne, due to financial needs, he tried his best to strengthen the mausoleum system again, and Chang'an also ushered in an unprecedented grand occasion.

These thoughts flashed through Liu Jing's mind...

Then, looking at Liu Che, who had fallen into silence and anger because of what he had just said, he changed the subject.

"Shanglin Garden was built by the Qin Emperor. The First Emperor relocated 120,000 households and built palaces such as Zhangtai, Yichun, and Afang... Later, the Overlord burned thousands of miles and destroyed it in an instant!"

"Then my great ancestor Emperor Gao established the imperial garden based on this. It remained almost unchanged until the time of my ancestor Emperor Jing. How much land did it occupy at that time?"

"When it came to your majesty, you expanded it several times and built many palaces. Not to mention the abuse of people's power, how much land did you increase?"

"Over the years, Your Majesty has collected farmland from the common people for compensation, and built various landscapes in the garden... south of Sanqiao, north of Shangshan, east of Zhouzhi in Zhongdi County, west of Qujiang Lake."

"Later, Shanglinyuan was further expanded to the east and north: to the north of the Wei River, and to the east of Chan and Ba. How much land was expropriated from the people over such a large area?"

"And this... is just one part of the garden."

At this moment, as Liu Jing finished saying this.

Liu Che's face turned extremely ugly. "You just said that this is a paid requisition! Moreover, Shanglinyuan was originally a place for military training. Without this place, how could the Han Dynasty's mighty soldiers defeat the Xiongnu in succession?"

Liu Jing laughed and said, "May I ask what you mean by paid? Could it be that the officials and wealthy people who annexed the land were not collecting taxes for a fee in the beginning?"

"If your Majesty does this, then the officials below will naturally do the same. Your Majesty can build a garden, so they can also say that they are building a garden. They can even mortgage the land in the name of helping their neighbors. Isn't it just land annexation in the end?"

"However, land is limited, and good farmland is even more limited... This is why Your Majesty has been unable to control the growth of refugees over the years, no matter how much he has expanded his territory!"

“Natural disasters and man-made disasters alone would not have such a big impact.”

Liu Che looked at the Shanglin Garden in front of him, which stretched as far as the eye could see.

Liu Jing’s words also appeared in his mind.

He said again in a tough tone: "You said in the "Vow Returning Memorial" that Your Majesty has been a teacher for more than 30 years, and the population of the country has been reduced by half!"

"According to what you just said, isn't that contradictory?"

"I have already expanded my territory so much, and the barren lands everywhere are in urgent need of population. How can there be a shortage of land?"

"Moreover, what is the mausoleum town system you mentioned earlier? It is to recruit the rich and powerful from all over the world to come to Chang'an, so that they can no longer grow powerful in the local area, and use this to drive the people. Our Han Dynasty has been adhering to this policy for so many years."

Liu Jing interrupted, "Your Majesty, the halving of the population has nothing to do with land annexation. Your Majesty, have you ever heard that... the rich own fields and lanes, while the poor have no place to stand?"

"And I just said that the mausoleum town system is not a complete policy!" In fact, according to what Liu Jing knew.

Throughout the succession of dynasties in China, the Western Han Dynasty was able to take very good precautions against land annexation.

however……

Any system designed will have unexpected loopholes after a period of operation.

Thinking of this, Liu Jing continued:
"Your Majesty, do you think that relocating these wealthy and noble people will curb their power in the local area?"

"But, let's not talk about the old rich leaving, new rich will rise again!"

"More importantly, the devil is always stronger than the righteous. In most cases, the wealthy people below are not fools and will not be willing to give up their property and land."

“So, even though my family has moved away, the family members who stayed behind are still in the area.”

"Because the master family moved to Chang'an, they could effectively communicate with the wealthy families in other regions. As time went by, the communication between the upper class became more and more close, and the networks below were naturally spread out... At this time, the mausoleum system would not only not restrict them, but would instead become a kind of help."

"Of course, more importantly... Chang'an's land is also limited. When the mausoleum town system was first established, it was to rely on the rich and powerful nobles in the world to guard the imperial mausoleum and resist the Xiongnu."

"But over the years, Your Majesty has expanded the Hetao region, recovered the Hexi Corridor, and built the Shuofang Commandery to the north. The Xiongnu have long since lost their way and can no longer reach Chang'an!"

"Therefore, in the foreseeable future, for these wealthy nobles who have already established a foothold in Chang'an, abolishing the mausoleum town system is also foreseeable!"

"What nonsense! Who dares to abolish it?"

When Liu Che heard Liu Jing say this, his eyes widened immediately.

To know.

At present, the Han Dynasty, under his political reform and the Enfeoffment Order, has begun to form a little bit of control over the local areas.

Just a little bit.

But if Liu Jing were to compare himself with later dynasties.

It is just the initial "prototype"!
And according to what Liu Jing knows.

The abolition of the mausoleum town system is not empty talk.

But it will definitely happen afterwards!
After Emperor Liu Che's death, Liu Fuling succeeded to the throne, but the young emperor died soon after growing up. Later, court officials supported Liu He.

However, he was deposed by Huo Guang, and Liu Ju's grandson, Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, was enthroned.

After the Zhaoxuan Restoration.

Emperor Xuan of Han passed the throne to his son Emperor Yuan of Han, and said: "Vulgar scholars are not up to date with the times, preferring the past to the present, making people confused by names and facts, and not knowing what to uphold. How can they be entrusted with important tasks?"

However, Emperor Yuan of Han chose to go his own way and completely abolish the mausoleum town system.

At this point, the mausoleum town system, which was the last means of maintaining land annexation, became a thing of the past.

The wealthy and powerful among the people also started the path of unscrupulous mergers again.

At this point, local tyrants emerged, the number of refugees from the society became uncontrollable and increasing. The people were left with no other options and started to revolt.

Disasters continued to occur in various places, and the central control power declined.

With external relatives interfering in government affairs and Wang Mang usurping the Han Dynasty, the demise of the Western Han Dynasty had already begun!
(End of this chapter)