The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 755: County and Country

At the time, someone in the temple suggested that they should not bring anything with them.

But Cao Mao felt that this was inappropriate. His fundamental purpose in dealing with these people was not to kill them, but to eliminate their local privileges and develop new areas along the way.

Now that these Shu people have arrived in Shazhou, they naturally want to settle down as soon as possible.

The first things they valued were the houses in Dunhuang County that were located in the center of the city.

Now they are unable to build a temporary mansion outside, and they are unwilling to live in the temporary residence provided by the local government. They look down on it. Even if it is just a temporary transitional place, they hope it is the most luxurious and best.

Some people also began to hire local people, buy land in various places, and start building their own houses and mansions.

As a result of their presence, the whole of Dunhuang became lively.

In the governor's mansion.

Liu Song was listening to the report from his subordinates.

"Mr. Liu, the situation is very good. The prices of houses in Dunhuang have been rising continuously these days. Many people have also come from Liangzhou. They all heard that there is an errand here."

The clerk's mouth was almost crooked with laughter.

They have been in Dunhuang for many years, and have only heard of the people in Dunhuang running to Wuwei, but have never heard of the people there running here!

With the arrival of this large family, the value they create is gradually emerging.

The first is that local business began to develop rapidly.

These people have money and strong purchasing power.

This attracted a large number of merchants, who came from Gaochang, Kucha and other places. They gathered in Dunhuang to sell their goods.

These areas are also located in Shazhou, which has driven the economic development of the entire Shazhou.

At the same time, they also needed a large amount of manpower, and Dunhuang immediately ushered in a golden period of development.

At this moment, they all wished that such a big clan would send more waves of people.

Liu Song frowned. "What about the officials in various places? There are so many things going on, and each one has considerable benefits. But are there people who are taking advantage of the opportunity to do evil?"

Looking at the several minor officials in front of him, Liu Shi continued, "I am not a governor, I am a provincial governor."

"My duty is to inform Your Majesty of the local situation, and most importantly, to monitor these officials for Your Majesty."

"From now on, you should keep a close eye on those officials and the newly arrived powerful families, to prevent them from engaging in forced buying and selling again!"

Hearing Liu Song's words, several people nodded in agreement.

After seeing these people off, Liu Song once again looked at the memorials from several distant counties and kingdoms.

Among them, Liu Song took out one letter specifically and read it over and over again, as if thinking about something.

This is the memorial sent by the King of Shanshan.

Liu Song narrowed his eyes.

He immediately wrote a memorial and had it delivered to Liu Shi, the Chief Secretary of the Western Regions.

Shanshan (today's Ruoqiang County) is Loulan, which was renamed Loulan.

Shanshan Kingdom was the most important part of the Loulan Road. During the Western Han Dynasty, the road from Shanshan Kingdom to Wulei City (now Luntai County) was the lifeline to ensure the safety of the Western Regions Protectorate. Therefore, the Western Han Dynasty rectified the road here, built a group of beacon towers facing east and west, and a complete defense system.

By the time of the Later Han Dynasty, the lifeline had become the Yiwu Road from Dunhuang to Yiwu (now Hami). The road planning for the military and merchants changed, and the Loulan Road began to decline.

During the reign of Cao Wei, Cao Wei began to attach importance to Loulan Road again, established the Office of the Chief Secretary in Loulan, and sent troops to engage in farming and to govern the entire Western Regions. As a result, Shanshan and other places were revived again.

The King of Shanshan at that time was called Ma Xili, and he had been on the throne for less than ten years.

But he is steady and knows how to judge the situation.

At this moment, he was sitting in the palace, summoning many princes and nobles to discuss important matters.

"Gaochang has established a prefecture. The merchants from Wulei are no longer coming. They even deliberately came to suppress prices, saying that there's no need to go through Shanshan and Loulan anymore. They told us to fend for ourselves!"

Mashili's face looked very ugly.

Every plan made by the government for Shazhou will have a huge impact.

Because of their small population, most city-states in the Western Regions increased their income through trade.

It was difficult to support the nobles by relying on taxes alone, so they had to engage in more trade. Their financial resources were very diverse. In addition to regular taxes, there were also various types of operating income, contributions, fines, travel expenses, loans, etc.

It is worth mentioning that the expenditures of these small countries are quite arbitrary. The finances are completely controlled by the kings and nobles. They hardly care about the income and expenditure list. If the treasury is empty, they will borrow from other countries. If they can't pay back, they will cede land.
Shanshan had the most bankruptcies among all the countries during this period.

The king has once again sensed the crisis of bankruptcy.

The merchants who came and went maintained the finances of Shanshan State, but now, this foundation seemed to be destroyed.

Ma Xili looked at everyone and said seriously, "With the establishment of Gaochang as a prefecture and the prosperity of Dunhuang, merchants from all over the country will go there, and the number of merchants coming here will decrease. If this continues, we will be no different from the Qiemo Kingdom (now Qiemo County)."

Because Qiemo was more remote and did not have the bonus of the Chief Secretary's Office, it had always been at a disadvantage in trade, and the princes and nobles lived in poverty.

The princes and nobles began to discuss.

They need to find a solution to make their lives better.

As everyone was making a commotion, the King of Shanshan suddenly said, "I have an idea."

Everyone immediately looked at him.

The King of Shanshan said, "Although the Office of the Chief Secretary was previously located in our country, the original Chief Secretary focused more on military farming and less on government affairs."

"The establishment of Shazhou by the imperial court this time clearly shows that they are going to govern all regions. Gaochang was established as a prefecture, so why can't we also establish a prefecture?"

"The Chief Secretary's Mansion is right here. If we take the initiative to request the establishment of a county, we can become officials of the Great Wei and receive salaries from the Great Wei."

One of the ministers frowned, "Your Majesty, if they want to replace us and let someone else take the position of prefect, what should we do?"

The King of Shanshan smiled and said, "I heard that the Chief Secretary has the idea of establishing counties in various places. If we were the first to ask, how could the Chief Secretary treat us unfairly? Moreover, if we continue as we are now, the treasury will be empty. How can we maintain our current status? Will anyone still be willing to give us money?"

"Even if they want to replace us, we can still get the title then!"

"How could there be poverty in a country as rich as the Great Wei?"

After hearing the question from the King of Shanshan, everyone was somewhat shaken.

The King of Shanshan had done his homework. He said, "I've heard that in Bingzhou and other places, many Xiongnu people have been granted titles, and their descendants can even study in the Imperial Academy and become officials. If they can do it, why can't we?"

"If Dunhuang prospers, the number of merchants here will decrease. By then, won't we be back to the time when there was no Changshi Mansion?"

"Instead of suffering here, I'd rather go to the Central Plains and enjoy life! Actually, I'd rather not be a county governor. It's not easy to govern this place well. I might even be blamed."

"I've also heard that the current emperor has many wives and concubines, and has even snatched the wives of his enemies in the past!"

"I have many daughters. If I can offer them to him, why would I worry about being treated unfairly?"

Hearing this, everyone nodded.

That’s the truth!

After getting everyone's consent, the King of Shanshan immediately ordered his men to prepare carriages and horses to go and meet Liu Shi.

At this moment, Liu Shi was looking at the documents sent from the Governor's Mansion in confusion.

Liu Shi still thought the situation in Shazhou was too simple.

There are currently many small countries in Shazhou, which are standard counties and kingdoms running parallel to each other, just like the Central Plains. But the difference is that these small countries do not have officials sent by the temple, such as prime ministers.

Liu Shi’s current idea is to turn Shazhou into a real state.

There can be a country within a state, but the country should be governed directly by the temple like in the Central Plains, and the king can just be a mascot.

If you have free time, go and gather some literati to write poetry.

However, there are still some obstacles in implementing these ideas in Shazhou. The countries in Shazhou have long surrendered, accepted the imperial canonization, paid tribute all year round, and obeyed the governance of the Changshi Mansion. This is different from the Xianbei and Goguryeo. If Liu Shi dares to lead troops to attack these small countries like Yang Hu did, it would be like a county magistrate attacking the county under his jurisdiction. This is a fucking rebellion!

The document sent by Liu Song described this matter and asked him to make the best use of the opportunity.

But he didn't say what the opportunity was.

Just as Liu Shi was looking at this strange memorial in confusion, an official suddenly reported that the King of Shanshan came to ask for an audience.

Liu Shi seemed to understand something and quickly stood up, "Let him in!"

"only!!"

(End of this chapter)