The officials did not find anything wrong with the emperor exempting the Han Dynasty from three years of agricultural taxes.
With the prosperity of the Han Dynasty's economy, the main source of revenue for the imperial court has shifted from land to commercial taxes, factories, and trade.
Not collecting agricultural taxes simply means collecting less grain; the imperial court has enough money to purchase it.
What the officials cared about most was the future prince.
In particular, officials in their prime are starting to consider whether they should practice playing a smaller version of the trumpet.
After all, this future prince is undoubtedly the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and his position is secure.
If one's own child could grow up alongside the prince, they would have an advantage and be able to get closer to him.
If they were lucky enough to have a daughter, wouldn't she be able to rise to prominence like the Song family after marrying into the family?
That night, the officials returned home and, contrary to their usual behavior, pushed their concubines aside, pulled their wives aside, and began to plan for the future.
Liu Hong neither cared about nor bothered to care about the thoughts of his officials.
Inside Weiyang Palace.
Liu Hong lay on his side on the bed, his ear pressed against Song Yue's lower abdomen, listening intently, a happy smile playing on his lips.
Having lived two lives, I have experienced far too much. Loneliness is my friend, and solitude is my shadow.
Now he has two loving mothers above him, a virtuous and understanding wife below him, and soon he will have his own son.
Liu Hong is very content with all of this.
Song Yue looked at her husband with a happy expression.
"Your Majesty, did you hear that?"
Seeing that Liu Hong hadn't gotten up for a long time, Song Yue couldn't help but tease him.
Liu Hong raised his head and smiled. "Of course I heard it. He was telling me to conquer a vast territory for him, and then he would lead the people of the Han Dynasty to spread the glory of the Han Dynasty to every piece of land!"
Upon hearing this, Song Yue covered her mouth and chuckled: "Really? Your Majesty must be joking, right? The baby is still in my belly, how could it possibly talk?"
"Of course it's true!!"
Liu Hong's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Whether he can speak well or not is not important. What is important is that he will do that in the future."
I will dedicate my entire life to building an unimaginable foundation for him, and then hand it over to him so that he can realize my ideals...
Because he came into this world with this mission.
"His Majesty……"
Looking at her serious-looking husband, Song Yue was momentarily captivated.
"Alright, Your Majesty, it's getting late, you should rest!"
Liu Hong smiled, then pulled Song Yue into his arms and slowly lay down.
In his dream, he seemed to see the mighty Han Dynasty, under the leadership of himself and his son, standing at the pinnacle of the world, a glorious sight that would never fall.
Although it is a dream, it is also Liu Hong's lifelong vision.
The next morning, after washing up, Liu Hong arrived at Deyang Palace and began to handle government affairs.
Now that the cabinet and the six ministries have become more mature, most of the matters that need to be handled personally are reports from the border and the intelligence bureau.
The first thing that caught Liu Hong's eye was the report from Tuo Lü and Chen Qing.
In his report, Tuolü gave Liu Hong a detailed account of their experiences on the grasslands and their current situation, and inquired about the future plans for the Red Ribbon Army.
After reading the report, Liu Hong also began to ponder.
The Red Ribbon Army was a force composed entirely of Xianbei herdsmen. The reason it was able to expand rapidly in a short period of time was simply because of the pressures of life.
It is unrealistic to expect them to defeat Tan Shihuai in a short period of time.
Subsequently, Liu Hong approved Tuolü's report, requesting that the number of Red Ridge Army soldiers be reduced to 20,000, and that while training them, ideological education of the Xianbei soldiers should also be strengthened.
After the approval was completed, Liu Hong issued another order to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, requiring the two ministries to start arranging manpower to go to the Zhangbei grassland to set up government offices and schools to manage the Xianbei herdsmen who had submitted and to teach them Chinese characters and the culture of the Han Dynasty.
According to Liu Hong's vision, the future Han Dynasty would be a multi-ethnic empire with Han people as the main ethnic group.
People may differ in race and skin color, but they must be consistent in terms of culture, lifestyle, and thought.
Only culture can truly endure for eternity. As long as civilization exists, the spirit of the Han Dynasty will never disappear, regardless of whether dynasties change.
After dealing with the report on the delay in handling the case, Liu Hong picked up another report from Huangfu Song.
In the report, in addition to gathering and settling the women sent by the Northern Wuhuan, the matter of the Youliao defense line was also mentioned.
Now that the Murong tribe has been destroyed, the Northern Wuhuan have also suffered heavy losses after a bloody battle, with their population now less than 80,000, and they can be annexed at any time.
There is no longer any threat in the eastern part of the grasslands, and the military towns in Youzhou and Liaozhou have become virtually useless.
Following Huangfu Song's suggestion, the Liaozhou garrison should rely on the Youliao defense line and move west of Zhangbei Grassland to establish a new military town.
The Yuyang Camp and the troops guarding the Great Wall of Youzhou should also be moved to Dai County to build a new defensive line and gradually erode the grassland forces.
Judging from the past, Huangfu Song's suggestion would have been nothing short of a pipe dream.
But things are different now. The Han Dynasty now possesses concrete and is fully capable of building several cement roads on the grasslands to ensure the supply of military towns.
After careful consideration, Liu Hong agreed to Huangfu Song's suggestion and also gave Lu Zhi and Yang Biao orders to construct a new defense line between You and Liao.
After dealing with this matter, Liu Hong picked up a report from Xun You, the governor of Dunhuang.
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