Previously, when the Han and Tang dynasties discussed the details of the peace, Liu Chengyou drove south to Liyang, and after the peace treaty was reached, there was no war in the land of Huainan, just waiting for the handover to be completed, since the beginning of the army in the autumn of last year, the war between the Han and Tang dynasties that lasted for five months could be declared over.

On 15 February, Liu Chengyou traveled north from Liyang, arrived in Chuzhou, and stayed in Qingliu County. Probably the end of the war, the southern expedition strategy was achieved, and the victory was a complete victory, Liu Chengyou was relaxed, and took advantage of the good weather to climb the Qingliu Mountain in the west of the county with Wang Pu and other ministers.

It is the middle of spring, the spring is already strong, and the mountains and forests have been dyed with new green. Qingliu Mountain is not a high risk, but it is tortuous enough, the mouth of the mountain is the place where the Qingliu checkpoint is set up, among the mountains and wilderness, there are many peonies, the spring is in full bloom, although the peony is late, but between the mountains and fields, it is already full of mountain flowers, thousands of purples and thousands of reds.

I found a few mountain farmers as guides, and along the mountain path, from Kannan to Kanbei, you can not only have the effect of mountaineering, but also explore a sneak attack trail.

After passing through a gap, I suddenly opened up, leaned on the mountain rocks, and rested temporarily. Listen closely, in addition to the birdsong, there is also a murmuring stream, which is the sound of flowing water.

"Please flow water under Qingliu Pass, please flow water through Qingliu Mountain." Liu Chengyou came to Shixing, read two sentences in passing, and then regretted it.

Wang Pu and Li Fang drove with them, and they also looked at Liu Chengyou unexpectedly, although the Son of Heaven occasionally has "good nouns", but it is always short and incomplete. At this time, listening to his recitation, it was a vulgar poem, and it came to an abrupt end.

Facing the eyes of the two, Liu Chengyou's face couldn't help but redden, waved his hand, and forced a smile: "That's it, I really have no poetic talent, let the two of you laugh!" ”

Hearing this, Li Fang said: "Poetry is a small way after all, Your Majesty is eloquent, all in governing the country and using soldiers!" ”

Liu Chengyou didn't care about the compliment, chuckled twice, and then his expression narrowed: "What I just chanted is not allowed to be passed on, otherwise, I will not be spared!" ”

In any case, if this kind of limerick comes out, it will still damage the wisdom of his great Han emperor.

"Yes!" Seeing this, the people around him responded together, but the tone was quite relaxed.

"Li Fang!" Liu Chengyou seemed to deliberately divert the topic and asked, "I heard that you are writing an account of the Southern Expedition?" ”

"Exactly!" Li Fang responded: "This time, Your Majesty will go south, take all the fourteen states of Huainan, expand the land for thousands of miles, increase the people by one million, and submit to Jianghuai." The minister is fortunate to be in the campaign, and he has a detailed view of His Majesty's political plan and power change, and the soldiers of the Han Dynasty are fierce and good at fighting. ”

"Not bad!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand and instructed: "After the book is completed, you should present it to me at a glance and see what kind of account of this expedition to the Tang Dynasty is from your pen!" ”

Li Fang was naturally overjoyed: "Yes!" ”

"I'll give this book a name!" Liu Chengyou looked really interested, and said: "It's called "The Story of the Southern Expedition"!" ”

"Yes!"

After resting for a while, Liu Chengyou sent someone to ask how long it would take to get out of the mountain, and the guide replied that there were about twenty miles of mountain roads. Mountaineering, just ask for a mood, look at the artistic conception, the mountain road is too much, but also tired. However, no matter how hard and tiring the path you choose, you have to grit your teeth and go on.

"Back then, I was able to travel hundreds of miles with the army, go over mountains and cross the country, and walk on flat ground, but in just a few years, my hips were full of flesh, and my physical strength was actually exhausted!" Liu Chengyou sighed.

He is like this, and Wang Pu and Li Fang are even more unbearable. Hearing his words, while panting, Wang Pu said: "Your Majesty works hard to protect all the people, and the suffering during this period is better than the lack of the body!" ”

"On weekdays, I work military affairs, take leisure, climb high and look far, and it does have the effect of being open-minded!" Liu Chengyou said.

Turning his head, seeing that Wang Pu was really tired, Liu Chengyou immediately called: "Li Jixun! ”

Soon, a lean general in front of him, stepping on a winding path, came quickly: "What does Your Majesty command?" ”

This time, the escort was accompanied by two hundred Fengchen camp guards, and this kind of thing was very easy for them.

Pointing at Wang Pu, Liu Chengyou instructed: "Find a guard, take turns to carry Wang Shangshu!" ”

"Yes!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Pu smiled bitterly, but he didn't refuse the kindness of the Son of Heaven, but in his old eyes, he was inevitably moved.

Lying on a guard, Wang Pu couldn't help it, and talked about state affairs with Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, now that the Han and Tang Dynasties have made peace, the Tang Army in Jiangbei has withdrawn south one after another, and there should be no objections to its movements." I'm also going to take care of the aftermath! ”

"Wang Qing is really, he never forgets his official duties for a moment!" Liu Chengyou sighed and said: "I have been thinking about this for a long time, fighting for martial arts, only half of the victory, seizing the land and defending it, reassuring its people, and resuming its production, we need to invest more energy!" ”

"Your Majesty is victorious but not arrogant, his mind is clear, and the old minister admires him!" Wang Pu said: "In addition, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Huainan and 100,000 people in Huaibei should also be evacuated and released as soon as possible." It's the middle of February, and the agricultural affairs in the Central Plains have been delayed! ”

"This matter can indeed be arranged!" Liu Chengyou nodded: "After returning to the camp, I issued an edict and told all states that all the Huaibei servants who were levied in the southern expedition this time would be exempted from two taxes for one year." Pre-military service, two years. If the servant has meritorious service, he will be rewarded separately; For the casualties, a bereavement pension will be given. The imperial court has to send a commissioner to be responsible for post-war comfort! The Southern Expedition has this victory, not only the work of the soldiers, but also the hard work of these people, and it cannot be erased! ”

Liu Chengyou's proposal will be a lot of expenditure for the Northern Han Dynasty, but he is willing to give it, compared to the people's hearts to clean up and appease, these expenditures are nothing. Compared with the harvest of this southern expedition, it is nothing, and the funds taken from the treasury of the state are already a huge harvest.

In this regard, Wang Pu obviously agreed.

"What does Wang Qing think about the aftermath of the Huainan Prefectures?" Liu Chengyou asked.

Wang Pu obviously looked thoughtful, and when he heard it, he almost didn't think about it, and calmly said: "In the opinion of the ministers, everything should be based on steadily pacifying the hearts of the people of Huainan." Although the expedition to Huai did not last long, the damage to Huainan Prefecture and County was huge, especially in the four prefectures of Shou, Si, Chu and Lu.

Between the states, those who fled from home and took refuge in the mountains and forests are innumerable, and they should be appeased by all of them, and their homes should be restored, and their crops should be restored. Looking at Tang Zheng, for the people of Huainan, there are a lot of miscellaneous taxes, and Your Majesty can do it. The officials and corrupt officials in various places should follow the law of the Han Dynasty.

Stabilize the people's hearts and restore their production, and within three years, with the heritage of Huainan, it can become the important grain tax of the Han Dynasty, so that the imperial court will no longer suffer from constraints. In addition, many of the officials of Huainan died and went to the south, and the imperial court should be from the Central Plains, select good talents to fill the position, and rule the Han Dynasty. For the local area of Huainan, those who are willing to serve His Majesty with sincerity should also be treated preferentially by those who have a good reputation, and they should be allowed to hold official positions......"

Wang Pu said a lot in one breath, Liu Chengyou nodded while walking, listening, and commented: "What Wang Qing discussed, almost coincides with me!" ”

"The fourteen states of Huainan, thousands of miles from east to west, vast land, thousands of things, all things are complicated!" Liu Chengyou sighed.

Wang Pu seemed very natural, and said in a relaxed tone: "The danger of the conquest has been crossed by His Majesty, and now the overall situation has been decided, the people will govern and put things right, although it is also difficult and cumbersome, but Your Majesty only needs to be a good minister and calmly take care of it!" ”

"Wang Qing thinks, who can lead the affairs of the Huainan military and government?" Liu Chengyou asked casually.

Hearing this, Wang Pu opened his mouth, but he held it and said, "Who does Your Majesty want?" ”

Liu Chengyou's expression revealed a little playfulness: "The day before yesterday, Wang Jun asked me for help, saying that Huainan is new, everything is undecided, and he is willing to lead the army and garrison for me to secure the southeast!" ”

"Your Majesty must have not agreed!" Wang Pu asked.

"Not yet!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand.

Seeing this, Wang Pu breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately said with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, Huainan is an important land, and it must not be with people, it should be directly governed by the center, ruled by ministers, and guarded by generals!" ”

The corners of Liu Chengyou's mouth hooked slightly: "What does Wang Qing mean, is he going to be in Huainan and separate the military and the government?" ”

"Exactly!" Wang Pu nodded directly, and got off the back of the guard, walked to Liu Chengyou's side, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, the root of the turbulent times in the Tang Dynasty, the weight of the feudal towns, the difficulty of controlling the imperial court, the weak branches and the strong, in the past three generations, although there have been improvements, since Your Majesty ascended the throne, it has continuously strengthened the central authority, but the number of prefectures and towns in the world is still huge.

If Your Majesty wants to change his course and get rid of the old evils, the land of Huainan will be new, and it can be used for a new system! ”

Wang Pu's meaning, Liu Chengyou heard it, that is, let him treat Huainan as a trial place to completely separate the military from the government.

With a slight smile, Liu Chengyou said: "I do intend to reform the system, divide Huainan into Huaidong and Huaixi, and set up a political envoy to take charge of the government; set up a department of prosecutors to be in charge of a criminal impeachment; In addition, the capital command department is in charge of a military service, which has jurisdiction over the defense of the states, regimental training, and township soldiers, supplemented by the forbidden army. ”

Although Liu Chengyou only briefly mentioned it, it already made Wang Pu's eyes light up.

After a pause, Liu Chengyou continued: "The specific details are still waiting for the ministers to participate in and customize after returning to Beijing. But on Huainan's side, I have already thought about the implementation of the ministers. With Qing as the political envoy of Huaidongdao, he was in charge of political affairs and governed Yangzhou. After returning to the north, the aftermath will all fall on Wang Qing! ”

Hearing this, Wang Pu didn't say much, just a solemn expression of who else would be left to me, and arched his hand: "The minister is ordered!" ”