The heavy snow in the whole country made the cities under the rule of the princes of various places for a while, and the Central Plains and Hebei, the two places that had just experienced the war, were even more miserable, and the people who starved to death and froze to death could be seen outside the city from time to time.

Unlike the lifeless situation of the princes everywhere. A large number of merchants originally scattered in Luoyang, Chang'an, and Wancheng on Zhang Xiu's side gathered in Chang'an at this time, and then went to Liangzhou from Chang'an to the north and south, and the south road went to Tianshui along the Wei River, and then turned north to Jincheng Xiaowuwei. The north road is through Anding, through Xiao Pass and then to Jincheng, Wuwei. The team was vast, there were old and young, there were large caravans, and there were also small traders, and they all had a common purpose this time, that is, the millions of cattle and sheep in Liangzhou that had frozen to death.

These merchants are also not worried about the spoilage of their cattle and sheep. Such a temperature and weather are colder than the freezer used before Zhang Xiu crossed. How can cattle and sheep spoil? Just eat all the cattle and sheep before the weather warms up and you'll be fine. Businessmen are profitable. This time, millions of cattle and sheep in Liangzhou were frozen to death, and both big businessmen and small traders saw the benefits. It's cold. But after this trip, the profit is better than the whole year. It is important to know that the benefits of eating these frozen beef and mutton are secondary, and the most important thing is that even the fur is there. These furs are stripped off to make clothing, which is extremely profitable.

Merchants from Chang'an, Luoyang, and Wancheng went to the north of Liangzhou, and although there were not as many merchants in Tianshui and Hanzhong as in these three places, they also went out immediately after receiving the news. Although there are a lot of cattle and sheep in this million, they can't withstand the large number of people, especially the caravans organized by big merchants. It was easy to transport thousands of cattle and sheep at a time, so these merchants had to be fast, hoping to make a few more trips.

Almost all the merchants under Zhang Xiu's rule flocked to Liangzhou, and the merchants in Hebei, the Central Plains, Jingzhou, Yizhou and other places naturally knew about this news, and they also moved when they heard the news, but Zhang Xiu had already prepared and ordered the soldiers stationed at the pass to let only some small merchants in the Central Plains, and the rest could not enter the country.

As a result, the world's families are full of complaints, these big caravans are owned by the family, and now Zhang Xiu has stopped them, and the meaning is particularly clear. However, at this time, grain and grass are more precious than any other item, and Zhang Xiu is not to blame for doing so, and their family is not hoarding a large amount of grain and grass.

In addition to the merchants of Kanto and Jingyi who knew the news, the merchants of the Western Regions also received the news, so they immediately went out of the Yumen Pass to collect cattle and sheep. However, these merchants in the Western Regions all know that there are a lot of cattle and sheep in the Western Regions. couldn't afford to sell it for a large price, so after collecting the frozen cattle and sheep, they went straight to Chang'an or turned to Hanzhong, so that these merchants from the Western Regions made a lot of profits.

In addition to the merchants who flocked to Liangzhou frantically, the more than 100,000 defeated soldiers of Guandu who had been collected before were also escorted to Chang'an by Ma, Pang De and Zhuge Jin. After being escorted to Chang'an, Gao Shun presided over it, with Ma and Pang De assisting, first don't get rid of the old and weak, get 100,000 people, and then carry out hair trimming.

Throughout the winter, Zhang Xiu ruled down to the civil and military officials. Even the common people have nothing to spare. After several years, the people under Zhang Lu's rule knew about it. In addition to farming, you can also make money by selling some items outside of farming, and then you can exchange them for better items, and business has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people under Zhang Xiu's rule.

Although the commercial exhibition has brought many benefits, at the same time, the disadvantages of business have gradually begun to become prominent. It seems that defective and fake items are gradually starting to appear. There are good and evil people, and although people in this era pay attention to virtue, there are still many people who are not virtuous. Zhang Xiu noticed these things early on, so he was busy writing the law throughout the winter, except for visiting the places where the car was lowered and practiced from time to time.

Zhang Xiu's strength has gradually stabilized now, and he no longer has so many scruples about the imperial power of the Han Dynasty. In Zhang Xiu's view, the rudimentary laws of the Han Dynasty were extremely flawed, and the Han inherited the Qin system, and many places in the law still retained the harsh punishments of the Qin Dynasty, although these harsh punishments could not be regarded as harsh compared with the Qin period. But in Zhang Xiu's view, these punishments are still too harsh, and the places that need to be revised and added are real

Many.

Of course, Zhang Xiu's revision and addition of laws is not just about closing his ears, for example, when it comes to commerce. Zhen Luo and Mi Zhu will be invited to discuss, and when it comes to civil affairs, they will find Zhong Xuan, Xiao Yanpu and others to discuss. For some severe punishments, such as shaving his nose, cutting off his feet, or tattooing words on his face, Zhang Xiu would also go to the city to consult the opinions of the people.

Now Chang'an is the world's largest city, and the grand scale makes the population of Chang'an City more than 200,000, and it is increasing. Counting the army, I am afraid that there are nearly 400,000 people, but this is far from reaching the limit of Chang'an City. And since Zhang Xiu entered the main pass, the people's food and clothing have been guaranteed. After the opening of the trade route in the Western Regions, the living standards of the people were improved. As a result, the number of children born has also increased.

This has to be praised, Zhang Xiu and Ma Jun made up the Quyuan plow. Many people may underestimate the Quyuan plow, but in history, the Quyuan plough appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and before the appearance of the Quyuan plow, the grain yield was extremely low. After the advent of the curved plow, the grain output increased greatly. Of course, there were also important factors in the progress of farming technology and the development of Jiangnan, but there is no doubt that the improvement of tools did lead to a significant increase in grain production.

The appearance of Zhang Xiu made Quyuan Plough born early, and indirectly saved hundreds of thousands of people. It must be known that there were too many people who died at the end of the Han Dynasty in history, but most of them were not directly caused by war, but frozen to death and starved to death.

Historically, this situation did not improve until Cao Cao unified the north more than seven years later, so that the situation in the north stabilized, but in these seven years or so, plus the ten years since the discussion of Dong, the number of deaths of the people is too large to be calculated.

However, the arrival of Zhang Xiu has changed a lot, and now Zhang Zhen has obviously taken the lead. At the end of the Han Dynasty, when the heroes were divided, they fought for one city and one city. A single plot may turn the tide completely. But when the weak princes were annexed. It is no longer possible to completely reverse the situation by the gains and losses of one city or one place, or the victory of a momentary scheme. The remaining princes ultimately competed with the power of the country.

Including the competition of population, food, military supplies and other aspects. Just like the battle of Yuan Cao Guandu, although Yuan Shao was defeated and a little injured, he was not powerless to fight back. In terms of troops, small grain and grass, Yuan Shao after the defeat of Guandu was still better than Cao Cao, if Yuan Shao was willing to recuperate for several years at this time. If he makes a comeback south, the outcome of Yuan Cao's battle is unknown, but if he is eager to gather forces for revenge, then the situation will be worrying.

The larger the territory, the more prominent the national strength is, and the temporary victory or defeat can no longer explain everything. Just like in history, Shu Han attacked Cao Wei, but in the end, it was hollowed out with fierce power. Cao Wei suffered a lot of losses, but with national strength, the production of grain and grass has increased greatly day by day, and there is no shortage of military supplies such as war horses and iron tools, and the most difficult to accumulate population has also begun to improve due to the stability of the people's lives. Compared with Yuan Cao Shuangxiong, who was still in the Kwantung War, Zhang Xiu had already taken a step ahead, Zhang Xiu could actually directly participate in the war in Hebei, but why did he seize Hanoi or give up the northeast, he just didn't want to get a country full of holes after reunification. Zhang Xiu wants to learn more about the Sui Dynasty in history, after the unification, the people are extremely rich, of course, this is difficult.

Far away, Zhang Xiu was busy with the law all winter, and only got a first draft before the Chinese New Year, but this first draft was much more perfect than the previous Han law, and the severe punishment was also eliminated. Instead, he went to work as a coolie.

Throughout the winter, the merchants under Zhang Xiu's rule were busy dealing with the millions of cattle and sheep, which made more loopholes and loopholes in the transaction. As a result, the people began to accumulate a lot of resentment, and there were more people who came directly to the Sili Captain's Mansion to find Zhong Xuan or to the Mule Cavalry General's Mansion to find Zhang Xiu.

In view of this situation, Zhang Xiu decided not to wait for the law to be revised, and directly promulgated the first draft of the law during the Chinese New Year, and all the two counties of Liangzhou and Sili under his rule, the two counties of Nanyang and Hanzhong, as well as the newly occupied part of Ba County, adopted the new law. In Zhang Xiu's view, there are still many loopholes in this new law, but at least it can solve the new problems that have arisen due to the rapid development of commerce, and it is much more perfect than the old Han law.

All the government offices under Zhang Xiu's rule adopted this new law. Zhang Xiu was also worried that the people would not know, so he arranged some small officials to explain regularly in each county office, and naturally arranged more people in the three big cities of Chang'an, Luoyang and Wancheng. In addition to the fact that this new law was closely related to the people under Zhang Xiu's rule, there were also regulations for merchants who came to trade in the Western Regions, Kanto, Jingyi and other places.

The promulgation of new laws can be described as a follow-up. As soon as this law came out, the people under Zhang Xiu's rule were very popular, and there was finally a law to suppress those profiteers. The people in the government are not worried about wrongful convictions. However, the expressions on the faces of the princes everywhere when they received this news were wonderful, and everyone's first thought was that Zhang Xiu's ambition was fully revealed.

The princes are all smart people, if Zhang Xiu's reform of the local official system under his rule was still wearing the skin of the Han system, and the princes and families could not help him, this time it is an obvious challenge to the authority of the Han Dynasty and the Son of Heaven. Although the Son of Heaven is nothing in the eyes of the princes, the majesty of the Han family is still there, especially the fall of the puppet emperor Yuan Shu. made the majesty of the Han family recover a lot, even Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. The name is still taken by the Qing monarch, rather than directly claiming the emperor like Yuan Shu.

Now Zhang Xiu is using the new law privately, which is obviously a challenge to the majesty of the Han family. Yuan Shao of Handcheng was overjoyed to receive this news, Zhang Xiu challenged the majesty of the Han family and Cao Cao was defending the reputation of the Son of Heaven, and the alliance between the two sides was probably about to break because of this incident, which was greatly beneficial to Yuan Shao.

Liu Biao and Liu Bei of Jingzhou first felt sad when they received this news, as the clan relatives of the Han family, the majesty of the Han Dynasty was challenged by the princes, and they naturally felt angry, and the glory of the ancestors had fallen to the step of being challenged by the local princes one after another. As a member of the Han family, the first thing I felt was naturally sadness, and then I felt deep anger.

In addition to anger, they also felt powerless, Zhang Xiu's strength was so strong that they couldn't shake it at all, and Liu Biao, who was over half a hundred years old, could only lament. But Liu Bei, who is a hero, feels unwilling. Looking at the sharp table that could only be lamented, the cold light in Liu Bei's eyes couldn't help flickering.

As for Jiangdong Sun Jian, it can be said that this matter basically has nothing to do with him, but he just sent people to inquire and express his concern. It's like a crowd of onlookers. And Liu Zhang, who was cowardly in Yizhou, heard it, and reacted like Sun Jian, saying that the matter had nothing to do with him. The most directly related should be Cao Cao. Receiving this news, Cao Cao once again smashed things in Sikong Mansion for a long time, and used the Qitian Sword to cut down more than a dozen pieces of furniture. Cao Cao began to feel it gradually. Since Zhang Xiu's rise to power, his anger has almost always been related to Zhang Xiu.

Here Cao Cao was furious, Er Xun, Guo Jia, Xi Zhong and others rushed to Sikong Mansion one after another, and all the people who came this time were Wenchen, but at this time Cao Cao's subordinates were no longer a few big cats, and there were no kittens. Chen Qun, Liu Ye, Man Chong, Sima Lang and others were all listed, and the hall of the entire Sikong Mansion was full of people.

Cao Cao came out after smashing things in the back hall and changed his clothes, his face was gloomy as water, and when he saw everyone in the ranks, he immediately asked: "Zhang Xiu openly changed the law under his rule and ignored the prestige of the Son of Heaven, this matter must not be spared!" ”

As soon as Cao Cao came, he made his attitude clear, and when everyone heard it, their faces changed, if it was according to Cao Cao's words. That would be the opposite of Zhang Xiu, which is extremely unfavorable to the current Cao Cao.

Guo Jia heard it, but he stood up. He took out a piece of cloth from his sleeve and handed it to Cao Cao. said: "My lord, let's look at this thing first." ”

Cao Cao asked puzzledly, "What is this?" ”

Guo Jia smiled and said: "The lord will know if he sees it." ”

Cao Cao waved his hand and asked Xu Zhu behind him to come forward and fetch it, and after unfolding it, he watched it carefully. And Guo Jia sat down to drink tea while the old god was there. Er Xun, Xi Zhong, and Cheng Yu, who are familiar with Guo Jia's character, all smiled slightly, picked up the porcelain cup on the table and drank tea while closing their eyes to recuperate. Behind them, Chen Qun, Man Chong, Sima Lang and other people who were not familiar with each other all looked at Cao Cao on the main throne with wide eyes.

Seeing that Cao Cao glanced at the cloth a few times, he couldn't help but glance at Guo Jia, and when he saw that his old god was there, his eyes returned to the cloth, but his brows were still furrowed. However, when Cao Cao looked at it, his brows gradually relaxed, and he picked up the porcelain cup on the table and drank tea while watching.

"Bang"

A muffled sound suddenly sounded in the silent hall. But it was Cao Cao who suddenly slapped the table violently, and everyone was startled, thinking that Cao Cao was going to be angry again. How did you know that Cao Cao had a long laugh, and then praised: "Wonderful! It's wonderful! This law is so well written! It's so much better than the present law. Bong-hyo. Who wrote this? ”

Guo Jiashi put down the porcelain cup and said with a smile: "There are many people who help, so Jia won't talk about it." The person who wrote the main writer was Zhang Xiu, who the lord hated to the bone. After speaking, he looked at Cao Cao with a smile.

Hearing Guo Jia's words, Cao Cao's laughter stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere in the entire Sikong Mansion hall became extremely strange for a while.

Today 3 more