After the civil and military officials had taken their positions, Liu Hong, with rosy cheeks and a smile on his face, slowly walked to the front of Deyang Palace.
"Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, pay our respects!"
"My lords, you may rise in formalities!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Sitting on his throne, Liu Hong glanced around at the officials and found that most of them looked radiant and in good spirits. He nodded with satisfaction.
"Hmm! Good... After resting for more than a month, His Majesty has actually gained a lot of weight!!"
Some sharp-eyed ministers noticed Liu Hong's somewhat rounded cheeks and couldn't help but feel relieved and at ease.
Some people genuinely cared about the emperor's health, while others feared that the empress dowager would seize the opportunity to vent her anger again.
"Speak if you have something to say; otherwise, the court is adjourned!"
Zhang Rang shouted, and the hall fell silent for a moment.
"I have something to report!"
Grand Commandant Li Ying was the first to step forward and bow to Liu Hong.
"What matter does the Grand Commandant report?"
Li Ying respectfully reported: "Your Majesty, I received a report from Duan Jiong, the Protector of the Qiang, the day before yesterday. With the spring planting season approaching, our Great Han Dynasty does not have enough money and grain to continue supporting the recently surrendered Qiang tribes of Hanyang. Therefore, Duan Jiong judged that once the food supply is cut off, they will definitely take advantage of the situation to cause trouble. I hope the court will make preparations as soon as possible!"
The scattered Qiang of Hanyang were originally from the defeated Western and Eastern Qiang tribes, as well as the Qiang people who voluntarily surrendered and requested to be incorporated into the country. The total number was about 100,000, and they were temporarily settled in the northwest of Fanting Mountain (Pingliang, Gansu).
Upon hearing Li Ying's report, the officials in the imperial court began to discuss among themselves.
"What are your opinions, gentlemen?"
Upon hearing the emperor's question, the officials immediately fell silent, and everyone began to frown and ponder how to respond.
The newly appointed Prefect of Hongnong, Chen Shi, stepped forward and respectfully said:
"Your Majesty, I believe that instead of feeding those Qiang people in vain, we should conscript them to various parts of the Han Dynasty to carry out water conservancy repairs. As long as we ensure they don't starve to death, that will suffice!"
"Prefect Chen is absolutely right. Making use of waste is a great way to not only divide them but also save the national treasury a lot of money! It's a win-win situation!"
Cao Song's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up to agree.
Liu Hong nodded in satisfaction. "This method is excellent. What do you all think?"
"We second that proposal!"
The officials all chimed in with their agreement.
Furthermore, the benefits of using the Qiang people's cheap labor to help with infrastructure construction for the Han Dynasty are self-evident, so naturally no one would object.
"Your Majesty! I believe that relying solely on these scattered Qiang tribes of Hanyang is insufficient to alleviate the pressure of spring plowing in our Great Han!"
"That's right! In the past, repairing water conservancy projects and digging ditches and canals required a large number of people and laborers, which increased the corvée burden on the people and delayed spring plowing!"
"Besides these scattered Qiang people, we might as well have the local governments in the border counties recruit young men from other ethnic groups. They live such hard lives anyway, they might as well come to the Han Dynasty and do their work, and at least they can get a full meal!"
"Yes, this is a move that achieves multiple benefits. It saves a lot of money and grain, reduces the burden of corvée labor on the people, saves a lot of labor for land reclamation and cultivation, and can also maximize the reduction of their population and limit their development!"
With this beginning, civil and military officials began to offer their opinions, turning their attention to the surrounding barbarian tribes.
Now, after several purges, most of the boastful officials in the court have been removed, and the remaining officials' thinking has gradually changed.
Nowadays, under Liu Hong's deliberate guidance, most people have become pragmatists, abandoning the previous appeasement policy towards barbarians and foreign tribes and the so-called great power demeanor (pretending to be something they're not).
If we can use them, we will; if we can't, we will create the conditions to use them. Only barbarians who can bring us benefits are good barbarians!
"Haha~, very good, very good! You gentlemen are truly rare talents of our Great Han Dynasty, your suggestions are all excellent...!"
Seeing the officials discussing how to exploit the barbarians and foreign tribes, Liu Hong was very pleased.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!"
The officials, who had received praise and recognition from the emperor, were all smiles.
"Your Majesty, this proposal is good! However, with a large influx of foreign barbarians, what if some with ill intentions take the opportunity to cause trouble? Wouldn't that disrupt the stability of our Great Han?"
Just as everyone was overjoyed, Situ Huguang suddenly stood up and looked at Liu Hong with a worried expression.
"Hmm! Situ's concerns are not without merit. I wonder if any of you gentlemen have a solution?"
Liu Hong nodded, then looked at the officials and asked for their advice.
Li Ying thought for a moment and then said, "I believe that the people who are conscripted should not be allowed to carry weapons. They should be temporarily stationed in the three prefectures of Liang, Bing, and You, and then some troops from the border army can be sent to guard them!"
"The Grand Commandant's words are reasonable. I think we can also select some people from the conscripted troops, give them better conditions, and let them help us manage those barbarians."
All we need to do is manage the people we've chosen. Even if conflicts arise later, they'll be internal conflicts, and we can simply replace them with a new batch of managers!
Yuan Feng also stepped forward and proposed a strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians.
Liu Hong glanced at Yuan Feng with surprise. This old guy was indeed no ordinary person!
The supervisor pressured the team leader, the team leader pressured the employees, a conflict broke out between the employees and the team leader, and then the supervisor came out and played the bad cop in front of the employees.
In the end, all the employee got was a new team leader, and the employee was even smug, thinking that he had gotten rid of the person who oppressed him.
This set of factory operations from later generations was thoroughly mastered by Yuan Feng, the head of a powerful family.
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