The next day, when the emperor and the ministers were arguing to return to Luoyang, Liu Bei excused himself on the grounds that the Yellow River was about to freeze and the prisoners must be transported away as soon as possible. Ten days later, the carriage mobilized by Liu Bei rushed to Hangu Pass, and the emperor and his entourage boarded the carriage and marched to Luoyang by land.

On the ninth day of October in the second year of Xingping (on November 27, 195 A.D.), the emperor returned to Luoyang and returned to the imperial capital after a four-year absence. The emperor had mixed feelings and couldn't cry, and the ministers were relatively weeping.

When the emperor entered the city, he was warmly welcomed, and the people along the way saw the emperor coming, and kept shouting "long live" from the mountain, and even Lu Zhi was surprised by the enthusiasm: "How can this be? After the winter, the construction workers in Luoyang had all returned to their hometowns, and when I left, only the city guards and some farmers around Luoyang were left in the city. How could so many people suddenly appear? ”

Liu Bei replied disapprenously: "The nature of businessmen is to chase profits, and now that the emperor has returned to the imperial capital, there must be a lot of expenses, and the New Year is approaching, and the businessmen want to make more money, and by the way, meet Your Majesty, so as to boast to future generations." ”

Liu Bei shook his horsewhip and said to himself: "The people of the four states of Qingdao, Hebei, He, and Youzhou, walking on the streets of the imperial capital so proudly is also a grand event, and thousands of years later, the scenery and glory of this moment will be celebrated." How can the people let go of this immersive opportunity? ”

Huangfu Song walked not far from Liu Bei, and when he heard Liu Bei's words, he couldn't help but be excited, and when he was sighing, he heard Liu Bei mutter: "Father God is above, I hope we are not beating gongs and drums to welcome our own destroyer." ”

Huangfu Song was stunned in his heart, and looked at Liu Bei with a side face, the figure on the horse was so plain and calm. The sight fell to him, and he felt that everything he had just heard seemed to be a hallucination.

"No, definitely not an illusion." , Huangfu Song secretly admonished himself: "His sitting posture, his calm expression, his cold eyes, are all full of heavy worry and concern, the hand holding the handle of the knife shook gently, silently revealing such a meaning: We have been betrayed too many times!" ”

The emperor did not feel all this, and did not even raise the curtains of the chariots and horses in response to the cheers of the people, perhaps, the emperor was only in a mood at the moment......

The carriage and horses rushed all the way to the palace, and it was not until in front of the palace gate that the emperor lifted the curtain and got out of the car to carefully examine the surrounding environment.

In front of the palace is a huge square, paved with bluestone slabs, smooth and level. Looking back at the palace, the palace walls are not as tall as before, only more than two meters, and the thin walls seem to be like the courtyard walls of ordinary people's homes.

In the middle of the gods, a rough voice remembered: "Greetings, Jizhou Guangping Road garrison Gao Ran led the Jizhou Tempest Legion to pay tribute to our emperor, tonight, there will be us to guard the palace and protect the safety of Your Majesty." ”

The emperor ignored it, and with Lu Zhi's guidance, he stepped into the palace gate. Looking around left and right, I was immediately disappointed - this palace is not big, the original palace occupies one-third of Luoyang City, and the current palace is just a slightly larger courtyard. From the palace gate, a wide gallop road leads directly to a three-storey building in the distance, the gallop road is lined with pairs of fruit trees, behind the fruit trees is a large lawn, the stars on the lawn are dotted with several ancient trees, under the ancient trees there are swing frames, rattan chairs and other things, the scenery is extremely monotonous.

The road is very long, about 500 kilometers or so, the emperor stopped and stopped, came to the front of the pavilion, silently counted the number of steps, the steps are divided into three layers, each floor is nine steps, a total of only twenty-seven steps. The emperor was faintly dissatisfied in his heart - the respect of the ninety-five, how about the steps are divided into five layers, each floor is nine steps, and only three layers have been repaired, which is obviously cutting corners. The emperor frowned, pointed to the stairs and said: "Liu Aiqing, the Book of Changes once said: 'If the master does not ascend, ascending will cause the people to be displaced'. ”

Liu Bei laughed dryly and replied: "Enlightening the saint, what I Ching said is pure nonsense. Since the Yellow Turban disaster, the emperor has ascended, and the people have been displaced. The minister is from Izumo in western Liaoning, the land is cold in western Liaoning, the local aborigines are all high-rise buildings, downstairs herding horses and daily activities, sleeping upstairs, and their tribal leaders climb high every day, and they do not see their tribesmen displaced.

Ascending or not ascending is purely personal living habits, folk customs, and has nothing to do with the gossip of the five elements and the suffering of the people. The minister also lives in a high-rise building in Qingzhou, and for more than ten years, the people of Qingzhou have become rich day by day, and have never been displaced. The so-called "the lord ascends the building, the lord and the people are upside down", the minister thinks that it is the person who wrote the Book of Changes is jealous in his heart, and he can't live in a tall building, so he says nonsense that "the lord ascends the building, and the lord people go upside down".

The minister thinks that the five elements of the Book of Changes, but the primitive fetishism - worship can chop the axe of wood, so he thinks that Jin Kemu, need to use sacrifice to express the reverence for the axe, the times change, the metals found at present are copper, iron, tin, lead, gold, silver, Chen believes that in the future we can find more metals, gold and wood, all gold can be wood? I don't think so.

Also, the minister thought that the person who wrote the I Ching was an arrogant maniac, who had never seen a giant fish in the sea, but pretended to know everything, so he said nonsense, 'When the giant fish comes out, the lord and the king die'. Your Majesty, since the establishment of my Han Dynasty, there are only more than 100 kings in the feudal domain, and the people of Qingzhou have caught thousands of giant fish (whales and sharks) in the sea in the past three years.

The minister thinks that the five elements of the Book of Changes are all the faint and gibberish of the primitive ignorant people, my emperor Shengming, don't believe those nonsense. ”

Liu Bei took a step forward and pointed to the pavilion and said: "This pavilion is designed by the ministers themselves, the whole house is built of stone and concrete except for the windows, and the side windows are made of floor-to-ceiling windows, and the house is bright and abnormal during the day, and there is no need to light it at all." The main hall is a large-span courtyard that leads directly to the roof, the top of the courtyard is inlaid with glass, and there are stairs on both sides of the courtyard to go up step by step, leading directly to the second floor and the third floor, which is the residence of the emperor. On the second and third floors, there are two small meeting rooms, which allow the emperor to receive his ministers and discuss political affairs, and there is also a floor below the ground of the courtyard, half of which is a storehouse for storing food, and the other half is a kitchen and a servant's quarters. The wall behind the pavilion also has a small door that leads to the backyard, where there is a pond and garden for His Majesty to enjoy. ”

The emperor's face was slightly gloomy, he raised his legs and walked to the pavilion, entered the building, turned around the east, turned around the west, and looked curiously at the strange building in front of him, this is a pavilion integrating residence and office, the past emperor's several palaces were gathered together, the long building is more than 70 meters wide, more than 210 meters long, this hall took three years to build.

The emperor was most satisfied with the fact that the house was as bright as day, and there was no need to light the lights during the day, and he said with relief: "Liu Aiqing, this place is very good, I love it very much, Zhongqing has just entered Luoyang, you can also help the ministers settle down."

Liu Bei nodded without hesitation: "The houses of the ministers are donated by my Qingzhou Xiangguo Gaotanglong, and more than 100 houses have been built in Buguangli, on a first-come, first-served basis, and the ministers can choose by themselves."

Liu Bei's eyes rolled, and he started again: "Your Majesty returned to the palace, the utensils of each class are not in order, there are still some businessmen outside the palace who intend to donate, and the people are full of love, Your Majesty summons them to comfort them, how about it?" ”

The emperor looked at the empty hall and his heart moved, although the merchants were lowly, and when they were so poor, it was always good for someone to give them something: "Then let's see." ”

Liu Bei beckoned to the guards and ordered: "Go outside the palace gate and first beckon five bed-sitting merchants." ”

Five bed-sitting merchants entered the palace and respectfully bowed to the emperor, for a while, the emperor didn't know how to deal with this lowly businessman, Liu Bei interjected and asked: "How many of you have brought how many beds?" How many are there? How many short ones? ”

Sitting on the bed is Qingzhou's name for the sofa. The so-called long bed is the couch, and the short bed is the single sofa.

The merchants scrambled to Liu Bei to hold the number and price, boasting about their goods, Liu Bei cut them off and said: "Give you the exclusive qualification of the royal family and hang the signs, how much are you willing to pay for it?" ”

After a period of bidding, Liu Bei pointed out the highest bidder: "It's you, at the end of this year, you can still sell a batch of goods before the holiday, so this year's concessions are all converted into beds, long and short, how much should be moved in as soon as possible." ”

The merchant agreed repeatedly, looking at the emperor with a blank eye, Lu Zhi was not surprised, and bowed down to ask for instructions: "Your Majesty, please write a holy decree, purchase a certain number of beds from Qingzhou merchants in a certain year, a certain month, and a certain day, and authorize the beds to be used exclusively for the royal family for a period of three years." ”

Under the emperor's ignorance, he sleepwalked on the silk handed by the guards, and wrote word by word according to Lu Zhi's description, and the ministers looked at all this in amazement, the emperor used to eat for nothing, but now someone actually makes a deal to the emperor's head, what's wrong with the world? However, this seems to be better, the emperor also took it for nothing, and the people not only did not resent, but voluntarily paid the emperor, and at this moment the common sense of the ministers was subverted.

The merchants went in and out one after another, and in a blink of an eye, the emperor received a mountain of goods, and not only did he not pay a penny, but he received a whole box of silver coins from the happy merchants. In the end, Liu Bei clapped his hands and said with relief: "The four prefectures of Qing, Hebei, and You, this year's tribute will still be able to be collected in one month, and Your Majesty has this box of silver coins, and the expenses within one month are enough." ”

A box of silver and shiny coins was placed in front of him, dazzling flowers, although the emperor and the ministers heard the meaning of Liu Bei's words that the emperor would also need to spend money to buy things in the future, but since there was such an ingenious method, wouldn't it be possible to come to the money every day in the future, and eat for nothing.

What the emperor did not expect was that the so-called royal concession was only allowed to be granted to one person of each commodity. There are some necessities that cannot be sold for concessions, such as grain. In addition, without Liu Bei as a notary, no one dared to buy the emperor's concession even if he wanted to sell it. The merchants who obtained the concession were all Qingzhou businessmen, and the businessmen of other counties wanted to buy the concession repeatedly, but they all took into account Liu Bei's viciousness, and they were particularly protective of their shortcomings, in case of trouble, he would not hesitate to fight a lawsuit and use force.

The emperor acquiesced in the practice of spending money to buy things, and since then, the emperors of the Han Dynasty have gotten rid of their identity as robbers and dare not openly rob the property of the people. A few years later, someone asked the emperor what he regretted the most, and the emperor replied very depressedly: one of the things he regretted the most was that after returning to the palace, he received money and things from Qingzhou merchants.

At noon, Liu Bei and the ministers sat on a new chair in the small living room on the second floor of the emperor, and on the newly placed table, they ate a hearty meal with new plates and new bowls, said goodbye to the emperor with satisfaction, and walked out of the palace.

Under the guidance of Lu Zhi, the ministers rushed to Buguangli and seized the house, and Liu Bei patted Cao Cao on the shoulder and stopped his feet.

"Brother Meng De, where are your guards?"

Cao Cao waved his hand suspiciously and beckoned his attendants, and Liu Bei said in a low voice, "Come with me." Then he pulled Cao Cao to a carriage next to the palace gate.

"This is Gao Tanglong, the prime minister of Qingzhou." , Liu Bei pulled a black and thin man and introduced: "I waited for more than ten days in Hangu Pass, just to wait for Gao Tang Xiangguo to rush to Luoyang, these carriages are my taxes in the four states this year, I will hand it over to you in advance, tomorrow the court, I recommend you as the prime minister, you sing the rest of the play yourself, the day after tomorrow, I Qingzhou began to withdraw troops."

"Really go?" Cao Cao was suspicious, Liu Bei put on an aggressive posture, which made the ministers and the emperor weak and chilling, I thought he also had the ambition of Dong Zhuo, but I didn't expect him to really walk away without any doubts.

"Brother, won't you bake me on the stove this time?" Cao Cao vaguely smelled a hint of conspiracy, but he couldn't catch the inspiration: "Slow, Xuande Gong, I only brought a few guards with me when I came to the court, and I am afraid I can't see so much gold and silver." How about Xuan Degong send some people to escort it all the way to my resting place? ”

Liu Bei pulled Gao Tanglong and said in a relaxed tone: "Opposite the palace, the location of the Yong'an Palace in the past is the Prime Minister's Mansion, and Brother Meng De can go there to rest." There is my emblem on the carriage, most of the people who come and go in Luoyang are Qingzhou businessmen, if you are in danger, roar, there will be many people jumping out and desperately, brother just go, no one dares to stop these carriages. ”

After that, Liu Bei and Gao Tanglong turned their heads and left, and only after a few steps, a businessman greeted them and called out repeatedly: "Lord, don't you remember me?" I am a veteran of Zhuo County, followed the lord to Qingzhou, retired as a meritorious citizen, and now Luoyang has opened a small hotel, the shop is close to Luoshui, there is a wharf, the lord will come to my store tonight to rest. ”

Liu Bei stopped and looked the man up and down: "Zhuojun veteran? I remember, your name is Li Fu, you live near Zhang Yide Manor, I remember that after you retired, you arranged in Guangrao City, there is still a grange in Donglai County, it's almost the New Year, why are you still running around? ”

The veteran smiled "hehe", and another Qingzhou veteran who was waiting in the square hurriedly interjected: "Lord, the Qingzhou trading company has arranged accommodation for the lord, and General Gao Shun has brought people to live in, the trading company's house is large, and the guards are easy, so the lord should go to the trading house to rest." ”

Liu Bei shook his head: "The veterans of Zhuo County have been fighting with me for many years, and there are not many who have survived, so it is easy to meet one, just to recount the old days." Shengping (Gao Tanglong), you go to the trading house to rest, tell Zhang Fei that there is a fellow here, and ask him to come over for a drink. ”

Liu Bei followed Li Fu, Cao Cao listened to all this, looked at Liu Bei's distant back, his eyes were deep, and he nodded secretly.

On the second day, above the court, Liu Bei really mentioned the recommendation of the prime minister as promised, and Cao Liu joined the army, but the courtiers couldn't help but agree. In the end, an official system was established with Cao Cao as the prime minister, Huangfu Song as Situ (internal affairs), Lu Zhi as Sikong (newly designated as criminal law and justice), Yang Biao as Taiwei (military), and Gongsun Zan as the Jinwu. In this, Lu Zhi received strong support from Liu Bei, and Wang Lie was transferred from Qingzhou as an assistant, and a complete system of judicial officials was quickly established.

The emperor returned to the eastern capital of Luoyang, according to the ancestral system to change the year name to Jian'an, at the insistence of Liu Bei, the year name changed from the second year, the year was called Xingping two years, and at the same time the use of double chronology, with numbers to record the calendar, the year is the Han calendar 401 years.

On the court, the issue of changing the law was also discussed, and the law of Qingzhou was partially adopted......

PS: Vote more VIP votes and participate in reader surveys, thank you!

The latest and fastest chapters, please log in, reading is a pleasure, it is recommended that you collect it.