Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 491 Moving the Capital
Xiang Zhuang's desire to move the capital is becoming stronger and stronger.

The reason why Xiangzhuang decided to move the capital was not because Ziling's layout was too small. In fact, Ziling was surrounded by mountains and surrounded by mountains. It is huge, and there is a lot of land around it for expansion, even if it adds another 50 people, it can afford it.

But Ziling has a fatal flaw, that is, it is too partial to the southeast corner.

If the Chu State still only has the four Jiangdong counties, then naturally there is no problem, but as Jiujiang County, Jingxiang Four Counties, Bashu Two Counties, and Liangdi Five Counties were successively incorporated into Chu State, especially Han State ceded Sanchuan County to Chu After the Kingdom of Chu, the disadvantages of Ziling as the capital of Chu State became more and more obvious.

The biggest disadvantage is that it is too far away from the Central Plains. If there is a sudden change in the Central Plains, such as the Han army sending troops to Hangu, or the king of Qi proclaiming the emperor, the reaction of the Chu State will inevitably be delayed by half a beat due to the distance. The Chu army passed by from Ziling, maybe the daylilies were already cold, and it was easy to miss the opportunity.

Why did Zhu Di, the famous Ming Chengzu in Chinese history, move the capital of the Ming Empire from Nanjing to Beijing?Doesn't he miss the prosperity and smoke of Nanjing?Does he really prefer the wind and sand in Beijing?Of course not, the reason why Emperor Zhu Di decided to move the capital was because Nanjing was too far away from the Nine Borders, and the imperial court could not respond in time when the Northern Yuan invaded the border.

Xiang Zhuang did not dare to compare himself with Ming Chengzu, but he also knew the necessity of moving the capital of Chu State from Ziling to the Central Plains. This can be said to be the trend of the times, and it cannot be reversed by manpower.

Moreover, there is another great advantage of moving the capital from Ziling to the Central Plains, that is, it can greatly promote the development of the Central Plains, especially the five groups in Liangdi. Both King Peng Yue of Shangliang and King Han Xin of Qi were not good at governing the country, which led to a sharp decline in the population of the entire Liang area and the confusion of all industries.

During Qin Shihuang's period, the population of the five counties of Liangdi used to be close to ten million, accounting for almost one-third of the total population of the Qin Empire. However, now, the population of the five counties of Liangdi is even less than 50. The land of the original Central Plains is now a scene of the end of the world, "there are bones on the road, but no rooster crows for thousands of miles".

Liang is so dilapidated that relying solely on the encouragement and guidance of the imperial court, it is impossible to promote the migration of densely populated areas such as Jiangdong and Bashu to Liang. The local people would rather open mountains and reclaim wasteland than take risks to fill the Central Plains.

If ordinary people are like this, those rich and powerful families don’t have to count on it. They would rather spend a lot of money to buy large tracts of newly cultivated bad land in Jiangdong and Bashu than spend a small amount of money to buy land in the Central Plains. The key point is that there are no people there. If you can’t hire tenants, even if you don’t have the best tenants, the land will have to be idle. Isn’t that a waste of money?
If no extraordinary measures are taken, it may take 50 years or even longer for Liangdi to recover.

However, if the national capital is moved to the Central Plains, the situation will be different immediately. Once the national capital is moved to the Central Plains, the entire state apparatus will also be moved there, which means that the Government Office, Taicang, Taixue and other institutions will all be moved to the Central Plains , It also means that a large number of Forbidden Army soldiers, honored relatives and nobles will move their families to the Central Plains.

Who is the richest class in the current state of Chu?They are not scholars from Taixue, not owners of workshops, or even businessmen, but officers and soldiers of the imperial army with outstanding military exploits, as well as honored relatives and nobles. , Millions of taels of gold were distributed at one time!
Dukes like Bi Shu, Gao Chu, Pang Yu, and Meng Ji, Xiang Zhuang rewarded tens of thousands of taels of gold in one go.

Honorable relatives and nobles are really rich. For example, Wei Guogong Gaochu owns tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and ten manors in the eastern suburbs of Ziling alone!The rest of the princes did not give up too much. Of course, the personal wealth and land property of the soldiers of the imperial army were not as good as those of their relatives and nobles, but there were so many of them. With [-] imperial troops added up, how big was that?
According to the decree of the Chu State, all relatives above the marquis must stay in the capital. Although Gao Chu and Pang Yu are not in the capital, their mansions and family members are. That is to say, once Xiang Zhuang moves the capital from Ziling to the Central Plains, It also means that hundreds of Hou Ye in Ziling City must also move to the Central Plains with their families.

Hundreds of Marquis and [-] imperial troops went to the Central Plains, and the workshops and merchants who depended on them for a living naturally had to follow. A large number of workshops and merchants moved to the Central Plains, so someone must cultivate land to provide rations, right?In this way, farming in the five counties of Liangdi immediately became profitable, and the poor families in Jiangdong and Bashu would no longer stick to their homeland.

In short, moving the capital can greatly promote the development of Liangdi, and it can also deal with various situations nearby.

However, Xiang Zhuang was still a little hesitant about whether to move the capital to Daliang or Luoyang.

The advantage of moving the capital to Daliang is that it can further promote the development of the Central Plains, because Daliang is the real hinterland of the Central Plains, but the disadvantages of Daliang are also obvious, because Daliang City has completely collapsed. If the capital is moved to Daliang, it is equivalent to rebuilding a royal city. To repair the palace and various government offices, the amount of work is too huge and time-consuming.

The advantage of Luoyang is that the city is complete and the houses are intact. The palace and various government offices can be kept simple. That is to say, Luoyang can be moved there soon. From the perspective of military defense, Luoyang is much safer than Daliang because it has Hangu on the left and Hulao on the right.

But when it comes to the driving effect on Liangdi, Luoyang will be discounted compared to Daliang.

When Xiang Zhuang was struggling to make a choice, a waiter came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the Taiwei, Ling Yin, the military advisor and the senior doctor have arrived."

As a time-traveler, Xiang Zhuang will never be able to grow up to be a diligent monarch. The ten-day court is inevitable, but other than that, Xiang Zhuang seldom goes to court. If there is any important matter that needs to be handled by him personally However, Xiang Zhuang also prefers to call a small number of important ministers to hold an imperial meeting in the upper study room, such as this time about moving the capital.

"Please come in quickly." Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, and the waiter bowed out of the study room, and then Xiang Tuo, Xiang Ta, Wu She and Bai Lixian filed into the upper study room, and went forward to salute Xiang Zhuang again.

"No." Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, and solemnly invited the three ministers to take their seats.

"Let me tell you a good news first." Xiang Zhuang said with a smile, "I just received a letter from Feige from Liaodong. The general has completed the plowing of the Xiongnu! And Baimo sent the Han army hussars Leshan Pass ambushed me, Da Chu Xiaoqi, but was put together by the general, and the Hussars of the Han Army fought fiercely with the Xiongnu, causing heavy casualties, ha ha."

Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, Wu She and Bai Lixian celebrated the festival one after another, which is really good news.

"One more thing." Xiang Zhuang smiled, and said again, "The general not only plowed Shan Yuting at the foot of Langjuxu Mountain, but also destroyed the Iron City at the foot of Yanran Mountain, and also took more than 20 Huns captive The women and children and tens of thousands of craftsmen were taken back, and the general suggested that the two 10,000+ women and children should be left in Liaodong to establish a country in the name of Bei Diao, what do you think?"

The four of Xiang and his expressions moved slightly. The so-called establishment of a country in the name of Bei Diao means to help the Bei Diao tribe to establish a country, but Bei Diao King is just a puppet, just like Wei Wang. In this way, it is equivalent to having more Chu Kingdoms Although Liaodong County is an enclave, it is very beneficial to recruit Donghu people to form cavalry nearby.

When using troops against Han and Zhao in the future, this Eastern Hu cavalry can use the Yan State to directly threaten the backs of Han and Zhao, and even cross Monan and threaten Jiuyuan!

From a grand strategic perspective, this is undoubtedly a brilliant move.

Xiang He said: "Your Majesty, the name of helping Bei Diao to establish the country is ready-made. At the end of Qin Dynasty, Bei Diao King led his troops to participate in the anti-Qin war with Yan King Zang Tu, and Yan Crown Prince Zang Yan led [-] fine horsemen to accompany him. The general went north to the desert, and there were [-] cavalrymen from the Bei Diao tribe, and the king should reward him in the name of Bo Wang, but..."

"Ziyi, are you worried about King Yan Zangtu's reaction? There is no need for that." Xiang Zhuang's tone was flat, but there was an air of disdain for the world in his words.

Xiang Zhuang really didn't care about Zang Tu's reaction. How many people and troops did Yan State have?

If it wasn't for the Zhao country and the river, Xiang Zhuang could strangle Zang Tu to death with just a little finger. At worst, let the Xiao cavalry army station in Liaodong temporarily. Forgive Zang Tu from making small moves.

As for whether the Yan State will turn to the Han State to join the Lianheng Alliance, Xiang Zhuang also doesn't care. The key to the alliance is the Qi State, but the influence of the Yan State is very small, and even if the Tibetan and Tu rebels, the Lianheng The alliance may not dare to accept it. Tibetan tea has always been capricious. What if they turn against each other again at a critical moment?
Of course, this is just the worst outcome, and Zang Tu may not necessarily turn against him.

Although Bei Diao's establishment of a state in Liaodong is not good for Yan State, it also shows that Xiang Zhuang has no intention of proclaiming emperor. As long as Xiang Zhuang does not proclaim emperor, Zang Tu at least has no worries about the throne.

Xiang He said: "Then there is no problem."

"Okay, that's the end of the matter." Xiang Zhuang nodded lightly, and then he got to the point, "The reason why I called you together today is because of a big event." Speaking of this, Xiang Zhuang suddenly Standing up, he strode up to the topographic map hanging on the north wall, patted the map and said, "My dear friends, I have decided to move the capital!"

"Ah, move the capital?"

"This is too sudden."

"My lord, what are you doing well?"

Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo and Wu She looked at each other, only Bai Lixian looked calm. Although Xiang Zhuang had never announced the move of the capital, Bai Lixian had already felt it, and he also fully agreed with the idea of ​​moving the capital. As far as the Great Chu is concerned, moving the capital from Ziling to the Central Plains can be said to be beneficial and harmless.

(End of this chapter)