Chapter 422: Southern Kingdom’s Confession of Sins
The next day, all the ministers entered the palace.
From the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, the generals of the military and other imperial guards, as well as the thirty-five marquises currently on duty in Chang'an City, the three princes, and most of the envoys of the Liu princes, almost all the people in the Han court who could influence national policies were present.
Emperor Liu Jin sat in the hall with a pale face, looking at the dignitaries in front of him. Almost every one of them had a gloomy face, and even tears seemed to be dripping out of his eyes.
The Huns were defeated by the Han Dynasty!
A mere group of Southwestern Yi had caused the Han Dynasty to suffer an unprecedented defeat. This was something that no one could accept.
The failure of foreign wars not only harmed the world and the emperor, but also caused huge losses to these people. Every defeat hurt their interests.
It’s because of the emperor in front of him!
This incompetent emperor!
This was the thought lingering in everyone's mind. Liu Jin looked at the expressions of his ministers and his face turned increasingly pale.
Liu Jin slowly said, "My dear ministers, I have summoned you to the palace today to discuss matters after the defeat of the Southern Kingdom. If you have anything to say, I will consider it."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the general immediately said: "Your Majesty, the barbarians in the southwest are like beasts. They only fear swords. The Han Dynasty gave them land to live on and built water conservancy projects and roads for them, but they betrayed the Han Dynasty and did not understand gratitude. This is unforgivable.
They thought that a single failure would make the Han Dynasty retreat, which was simply wishful thinking. The Han Dynasty still had tens of millions of people who could still fight and dared to fight.
I suggest that we immediately send out another army to conquer the barbarians in the southwest. You are the emperor. Is it possible in this world to disobey the emperor and still be at peace?
We cannot allow such a trend to continue. Only by using swords and fire to completely wipe out the barbarians in the southwest can the border be peaceful forever."
As the biggest hawk in the Han Dynasty, the general's attitude has always been clear: fight!
The emperor sighed and said, "General, what you said makes sense. Do the other ministers have any other ideas?"
Except for the top few marquis families, the rest of the marquisates mainly rely on military merit to survive. Without military merit, once they commit crimes several times, their titles and kingdoms will be stripped away, which is unacceptable.
Since Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, began to make great contributions to the frontier, the marquises have returned to the glorious days of the founding of the country. Now they will never allow the court's major policies to change. Everyone looked at each other and said in unison: "Your Majesty, I second the motion!"
The prime minister narrowed his eyes slightly, and combined with the emperor's attitude towards the memorial to send troops again, he guessed that the emperor was determined not to fight again. He was about to speak, but Sang Hongyang said first: "Your Majesty, if you want to raise troops, I have a way to raise military funds."
Emperor Liu Jin was indecisive. Luo Wuji wrote in a letter that the treasury was empty and that it was not necessary to raise troops for the time being. As a result, Sang Hongyang said that he had a way to raise military funds. Liu Jin hesitated and said, "Grand Minister of Agriculture, please tell me in detail."
Sang Hongyang smiled and said confidently: "Your Majesty, although the treasury of the court is empty now, it is not the case for the Han Dynasty. The rich are as numerous as the sand on the beach. The money and grain are ten or a hundred times more than that of the court. We can increase the power of the state-run salt and iron, as well as the monopoly of liquor.
Taxes can be levied on every mouth of the people to support border wars. To the people, this money is like a drop of water in the ocean, but to the court it is a huge military expenditure that accumulates over time.
By doing so, the imperial army will be able to go to war with sufficient food and gold. Can the Southwestern Yi defeat the Han army twice?"
Emperor Liu Jin's face changed when he heard this. He looked at Sang Hongyang deeply and said, "The light tax is a manifestation of the kindness of the Han Dynasty. It is the grace that distinguishes the Han Dynasty from the Qin Dynasty. Can it be destroyed at will?
Increasing the head tax will make the old, weak and lonely people suffer even more. This will frighten and tire the people of the world, instead of treating the people with kindness. This is not what a benevolent emperor should do, so how can I bear to do it?"
Sang Hongyang was stunned when he heard this. He glanced at the emperor, then returned to the queue with some disappointment and shook his head.
An emperor who was limited by personal morality and burdened by his reputation was not the wise ruler he expected. If Emperor Wu were still alive, Sang Hongyang believed that he would definitely be valued.
Now everyone reacted, and the general immediately said in a hurry: "Your Majesty, do you really want to surrender to the Southwestern Yi?
Even a powerful enemy like the Huns could not defeat the Han Dynasty.
Those Southwestern Yi are like monkeys in the mountains. They don’t even have human clothes and speak bird language that is completely incomprehensible. Can the great world of Zhuxia coexist with them?
Two hundred thousand soldiers shed blood in the South. How can we not avenge them?
Is that in line with the teachings of saints?
Is that what the emperor of the various states of China should do?
Emperor Suwang once said that the Chinese and the barbarians cannot coexist, and the kingly way cannot be limited to a certain area without being implemented throughout the country. Do you want to go against the will of Emperor Suwang?
That's what a dictator would do!
I am worried about you."
As soon as the general said this, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn and the prime minister also shut his mouth. This was a topic that could not be touched at all.
Liu Jin's heart trembled. This was what he was worried about. Seeing that the dukes wanted to speak, he raised his hand to stop everyone, and then slowly said: "My dear ministers,
I do not intend to violate the will of the Emperor Su Wang, nor do I intend to coexist with those barbarians. I hereby swear to you all that I will wash away the shame of this defeat.
But I have something to say.
When the late emperor defeated the Huns, the treasury was as empty as it is now. With the assistance of the great general Marquis Changping Wulie, we were able to recover the treasury in just a few years to the point where we could fight a war. As a result, there was no need to levy extra taxes on the people, and the court got the money and food for the war.
The South was defeated.
I ordered the county governors in the southwest to provide food for the army, but some weak soldiers still starved to death on the road because the mountain roads in the southwest were too difficult to travel and the food could not arrive.
The barbarians in the southwest also cast curses on the water sources in the forests and mountains. This may be a sign from heaven, but I was not wise enough and ignored it. Soldiers in the southwest fell ill one after another, and the army was weakened and destroyed. This was my fault.
You can't do this anymore.
I am determined to restore the country's strength in the next ten years, train soldiers who are good at mountain warfare in the southwest, spy on the intelligence of the barbarians, and send virtuous generals. In this way, I believe there will be no victory that cannot be achieved.
Prime Minister, what I said today, please make an imperial edict. After I seal it, send it to all counties and prefectures in the world, so that all the dukes, ministers, princes, and officials of the court will know it.
Now the imperial court wants to change the continuous wars, restore farming, and make Guanzhong prosperous again.
No longer need to recruit hundreds of thousands of troops, and let the people who are doing corvée and military service return home to enrich their assets, and only keep the standing army.
What Liu Jin said left even the general speechless. The court here was naturally free to speak freely, but the emperor actually wanted to send his words to the world. This was quite unusual. It would really change the main theme of the Han Dynasty's continuous outward expansion since Emperor Wu.
The most crucial thing is that Liu Jin has been learning from Emperor Wu in every way since he became emperor. As a result, now he wants to completely deny his previous ideas on governing the country and turn to the path of Emperor Wen.
This is equivalent to admitting to the world that you were wrong in the first place.
The emperor of this time and space does not have the sacred sense that he cannot make mistakes, but who is willing to admit his mistakes?
Admitting mistakes is a very difficult thing. Even an ordinary person would be stubborn and unwilling to admit mistakes, let alone an emperor at the pinnacle of power. This requires great courage.
At this point, it was necessary to give the emperor a chance to correct his mistakes. The prime minister bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I obey your order."
The emperor said tiredly: "My dear ministers, please go back. I am tired."
"I will take my leave."
After all the ministers bowed, they left the meeting hall one after another. Liu Jin was left alone, looking at the lonely hall. He laughed miserably twice, and the feeling of depression in his heart became more serious.
————
The "Southern Kingdom's Edict of Criticism" was the first edict of Criticism issued by the emperor himself in history. There is a very far-reaching meaning behind it. From an official level, it represents that the emperor has the concept of responsibility rather than unlimited power.
Although I am reluctant to admit that this is actually the product of the Han Dynasty's decline, the fact is irrefutable! - "History of the Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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