Chapter 13: Alone Securing Hebei, Reforming the Land to Right the World

Although everyone had long anticipated this, the entire imperial court was still deeply shaken when they heard the news from Liu Xiu himself.

One must know that the current imperial court is primarily dominated by the Hebei clans and the Nanyang clans.

Even though Liu Xiu, after unifying the world, successively promoted many Guanzhong clans to thoroughly balance the situation in the court.

These newcomers, however, have always found it difficult to shake the foundations of the Hebei and Nanyang factions at the core level of power in the court.

The reason for this is that both the Hebei and Nanyang clans established "dragon-supporting" merits by assisting Liu Xiu in achieving his imperial cause.

This merit is inherently superior to others.

Furthermore, they have operated within Liu Xiu's sphere of influence for many years, and their roots are already deeply intertwined; how could they be easily shaken?

Especially the Hebei clans.

Because Liu Yang never rebelled, the interior of the current Hebei clans has not suffered any purges, and the interests of all parties are deeply entangled.

Especially after Liu Qiang was established as the Crown Prince.

These people have already become his supporters, and this group occupies the majority in the imperial court.

Now that they see Liu Xiu actually intends to depose Guo Shengtong.

This group naturally must take action.

Almost on that very day, an overwhelming number of memorials of opposition were submitted before Liu Xiu.

But Liu Xiu simply could not be bothered to pay any attention to these people.

He gave the most direct response.

That was to directly strip the titles from several of Guo Shengtong's brothers.

The era has changed; the current Liu Xiu is no longer the emperor who could only rely on the Hebei clans.

After many years of unification and multiple thunderous measures, he has long since firmly grasped imperial power.

With Gu Xiao having already headed to Hebei, Liu Xiu does not fear any threats at all.

Sure enough, once this measure was taken, the entire imperial court instantly fell silent.

No matter how unwilling these people were, when facing an emperor with such real power as Liu Xiu, they could only hold their noses and accept it.

Although they all wanted to seize profit.

They did not dare to go against the wind.

They could only use the excuse that "at least the Crown Prince has not been deposed yet" to console themselves.

Jizhou, Julu.

Gu Xiao's fief is precisely in this land of Julu, including Julu, Yingtao, Ren County, Pingxiang, and other places.

Unlike those great clans of the world with long-standing heritage.

Although the current Gu family has become a hot new noble, it faces the predicament of having few family members.

And Gu Xiao is stationed in Luoyang all year round.

Many affairs of the Hebei fief can only be left to his younger brother, Gu Chen, to manage.

It is worth mentioning that Gu Yi did not use Gu Xiao's status to seek any official position for Gu Chen, and even politely declined Liu Xiu's kind intention to bestow an official title upon Gu Chen.

As for the reason, it is also very simple.

—Gu Chen's attribute panel is simply too mediocre.

And the most critical point is that he has no real opinions of his own.

If he were to become an official, as Gu Xiao's own brother, he would very likely be used by people with ulterior motives, thereby indirectly damaging the reputation of the entire Gu family.

In this era, reputation is vital to the rise and fall of a family.

The Gu family is currently at a critical stage of starting out and cannot afford the slightest mistake.

It is precisely because of this that Gu Yi simply let Gu Chen return to this Hebei land first, and also had him marry a woman from a great clan in Hebei.

It must be said that this was indeed a wise decision.

Although these Hebei clans all had their own purposes in helping the Gu family, for the current Gu family, their help indeed played a major role.

In just a few short years.

It can be considered that they have thoroughly taken root in the land of Hebei.

Because he was worried about Gu Xiao's health, Gu Yi did not let Gu Xiao rush on his journey.

When he arrived at Julu, the Hebei officials and people from the major clans who had already received the news were waiting there.

These people all came specifically to welcome Gu Xiao.

And the person at the head;

—it was none other than the Prince of Zhending, Liu Yang!

Actually, logically speaking, the Prince of Zhending belongs to the vassal kings.

Not to mention real power, at least in terms of status, he is above Gu Xiao.

But in the current Jianwu reign.

Facing Gu Xiao, this most favored first meritorious official, no one would dare to put on airs.

Even Liu Yang would not.

Liu Yang is truly not young anymore; several years have passed since their last meeting, and he is already full of white hair.

But that temperament of a superior has become increasingly intense.

As soon as Gu Xiao stepped down from the carriage, he laughed twice and said in a loud voice:

"It has been a long time since we last met; the Champion Marquis's demeanor remains the same, and his heroic spirit is even better than before!"

The two exchanged some pleasantries.

Gu Yi had been silently observing all of this; although the Prince of Zhending had a smile on his face, from the depths of his eyes, Gu Yi still clearly felt Liu Yang's anger at Gu Xiao's appearance in Hebei.

It is true that the news of Liu Xiu deposing the Empress had not yet arrived.

But for these old foxes, from the moment Gu Xiao appeared in Hebei, the result was already self-evident.

He naturally felt anger toward Gu Xiao.

But since he did not choose to take action directly, it already indicated Liu Yang's current attitude.

Gu Yi did not intervene, but silently watched all of this.

Sure enough, when the wine had gone around three times, Liu Yang invited all the people from the great clans out, leaving only himself to face Gu Xiao and reveal the thoughts in his heart.

"Grand Marshal, the Empress once wrote to me, saying that she had sent people to visit the Grand Marshal many times, but they were all turned away by the Grand Marshal."

"I truly do not understand, why is the Grand Marshal unwilling to help the Empress?"

"The Grand Marshal's fief is in Hebei; when the Grand Marshal's brother came to Hebei, this King also extended a helping hand more than once, so why must the Grand Marshal be like this?"

"What good can it do the Grand Marshal for the Nanyang Yin clan to gain power?"

Co-opting?

Gu Yi instantly guessed Liu Yang's thoughts.

This is also the method that clans of this era are best at using; clans in various places are bound together by interests and are extremely exclusionary.

What Liu Yang is saying is:

Since the Gu family is already going to establish itself in the land of Hebei, why not help Guo Shengtong?

Regarding this question, Gu Yi could not even be bothered to respond.

Arrogance—

is one of the common ailments of almost all great clans in the world today.

This Liu Yang is clearly very certain that if the Gu family wants to establish itself in Hebei, it cannot avoid his help.

Yet he does not know that the Gu family's true trump cards for establishing itself are only Gu Xiao and Liu Xiu!

As long as these two are still here.

No one can shake the Gu family's current status.

Seeing that Gu Xiao had no intention of speaking, Liu Yang was not discouraged; after sighing softly, he spoke again: "Champion Marquis."

"I can make a promise on behalf of the Empress."

"If the Champion Marquis can say a few good words for the Empress before His Majesty."

"In time, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne."

"No matter how the world changes, the Gu family's status will never change!"

Still an inducement of profit!

It is just that this time it is a bit more direct.

This time, Gu Yi could no longer remain silent; he immediately controlled Gu Xiao to give a response.

A faint smile.

"Gu Xiao!"

This faint smile seemed to have pricked a certain nerve in Liu Yang; he immediately frowned and slammed the table: "This King came here to wait for you in person, which is already giving you enough face."

"Are you looking down on this King?"

"Do you really think this King would be afraid of you, this so-called Champion Marquis?"

Facing the furious Liu Yang, Gu Yi only felt it was noisy.

If this Liu Yang had really rebelled or sent someone to assassinate Gu Xiao, Gu Yi might have even thought more highly of him.

But now?

Gu Xiao arrived in Hebei, and he came to wait in person.

This already explained his attitude.

People grow old.

Not to mention rebellion, he didn't even dare to harbor any thoughts of expressing dissatisfaction directly to Liu Xiu.

He could only fall back on the temptation of profit.

If one were to truly speak of the temptation of profit.

Liu Xiu could directly offer the Gu family a marriage alliance with the imperial clan, but what could you offer?

Gu Yi directly controlled Gu Xiao to wave his hand, as if to suppress Liu Yang's anger, and then immediately spoke: "Your Majesty."

"I have a word of advice."

"The world today is already different."

"Whatever the Emperor wishes to do, no one can stop him."

"If Your Majesty can follow orders, I believe you will be able to enjoy your later years in peace, which can also be considered as looking out for your descendants."

"But if Your Majesty truly harbors other thoughts... I can only advise Your Majesty to remain calm."

It must be said that Gu Xiao was truly a pure martial man.

When the words Gu Yi wanted to say were spoken by Gu Xiao, it was as if he were saying, "You had better be obedient; if you aren't, I will beat you to death."

In fact, Gu Yi's state of mind was very calm; at least for now, a mere Liu Yang was truly not held in his regard.

Let alone the version of him that was already old.

In the original history, even that Liu Yang who dared to rebel didn't require Liu Xiu to take action personally; he was killed directly by Geng Chun.

Let alone the current situation.

Hearing this, Liu Yang's expression became increasingly ugly.

But it was also within Gu Yi's expectations.

The current Liu Yang truly had no spirit left; even when facing Gu Xiao instead of Liu Xiu, he did not dare to vent all his anger.

He merely let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeves as he left!

"Order people to spread the news of what just happened."

After Liu Yang walked out, Gu Yi immediately made arrangements.

The news of Liu Xiu deposing the Empress should arrive very soon; these people all had their own connections in Luoyang and would certainly know everything.

Coupled with everything that had just happened.

Gu Yi did not believe these people would still dare to have other thoughts.

The clans of Hebei needed to choose their side again!

Subsequently, Gu Yi again controlled Gu Xiao to write a letter and had someone send it to Liu Xiu.

He had to tell Liu Xiu about today's events.

With him there, the land of Hebei could not fall into chaos!

Luoyang.

Quefei Hall.

"Your Majesty, with the Grand Marshal's ability, it is only logical that he could pacify Hebei single-handedly."

At this very moment, Deng Yu, having just finished reading the letter from Gu Xiao, was expressing his thoughts to Liu Xiu.

Since Gu Xiao left the capital, he naturally became the person closest to Liu Xiu.

Actually, logically speaking, compared to the time Gu Xiao had followed Liu Xiu, Deng Yu, a childhood friend who had known Liu Xiu since they were young, was clearly closer.

But for some reason, Liu Xiu just liked Gu Xiao more.

"I know."

A trace of gratification appeared on Liu Xiu's face, and he smiled disdainfully, "I still overestimated the Prince of Zhending."

"Facing the Grand Marshal, he didn't even have the courage to show anger."

"Is such a person worthy of being a King of my Great Han?"

Although he had long expected that Gu Xiao could pacify Hebei, Liu Xiu was still a bit angry when he saw Liu Yang's performance.

This person was bringing shame to the Liu family!

Deng Yu lowered his head, not daring to say more.

He was not a reckless man like Gu Xiao.

Although he was Liu Xiu's childhood friend, from the moment Liu Xiu ascended the throne, it was naturally impossible for their relationship to remain as it had been in the beginning.

It was also impossible for Deng Yu to be as casual in front of Liu Xiu as he once was.

The hall suddenly fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Liu Xiu finally put down the letter, his expression returning to normal.

"With Hebei pacified, my heart is at ease."

He seemed to be speaking to Deng Yu, yet also seemed to be talking to himself, sighing: "The world has been exhausted until now."

"Since I unified the world, I have successively rectified the administration, dismissed officials, reduced the army, freed slaves, and repaired water conservancy; all these measures were intended to allow the world to recover quickly."

"Yet today, disasters continue unabated, the people are terrified, and no one can protect themselves."

As he spoke, Liu Xiu's tone paused, and he looked at Deng Yu, "Zhonghua, your talent is extraordinary; do you have any strategy to save the people of my Great Han from fire and water?"

Deng Yu had been listening carefully to every word Liu Xiu said and had his own guesses in his heart, but when he heard the final question, his expression could not help but change slightly.

All policies had been mentioned... only one was missing.

Land Measurement!

This was the answer Deng Yu determined instantly, yet for some reason, he found it hard to speak.

What is Land Measurement?

Land Measurement is the surveying of land and the auditing of the population.

Although Liu Xiu's various previous measures had weakened the power of the great clans, compared to Land Measurement, the intensity was far less.

One might ask, among the great clans of the world today, who does not engage in land annexation and the concealment of population?

If Land Measurement were carried out, the great clans would inevitably be forced to cough up the people and land they had hidden, and their power would regress by decades.

And Deng Yu himself came from a great clan of Nanyang!

In fact, Deng Yu was not a person who craved wealth or power.

On the contrary, over these years, he had even shown a tendency to become a second Gu Xiao, likewise ignoring the struggles of the imperial court.

But perhaps it was truly because of his origin in a great clan that Deng Yu felt an inexplicable resistance toward Land Measurement.

Although he also understood that with the conversion of slaves across the world into commoners, the land that once had no one to till it was clearly no longer sufficient.

Land Measurement would certainly solve this problem.

But he just did not want to say it out loud.

This feeling was very contradictory, perhaps because he did not want the Nanyang Deng clan to bear the reputation of offending people, or perhaps for other reasons.

He just remained silent like this.

Liu Xiu had been watching Deng Yu, and seeing that he did not speak for a long time, he guessed the thoughts in his heart, and a trace of disappointment could not help but flash in his eyes.

This was one of the reasons why he liked Gu Xiao more.

In the current imperial court, only Gu Xiao could achieve true unity of heart with him.

"Thinking back to when Wang Mang threw the country into chaos, land ownership fell into disorder; since I restored the Great Han, I should carry out Land Measurement, which might alleviate the exhaustion of the people."

He suddenly spoke to break the silence, staring intently at Deng Yu, "What does Zhonghua think?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Deng Yu took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "But at this time, the Grand Marshal has just settled in Hebei; I believe that if news from the court were to reach Hebei entirely, it would certainly cause a shock."

"If we carry out Land Measurement at this time, I fear it will provoke opposition from the scholars."

His words were not intended to show a lack of support, but were truly out of concern.

When Liu Xiu spoke the words "Land Measurement," the hesitation in his heart had already dissipated, and he began to consider the aftermath of this matter!

"Hmph!"

Liu Xiu smiled disdainfully, murderous intent surging in his eyes, "I do not wish to raise troops and resort to force again, not because I no longer have the power to wield the sword."

"But for the sake of the people of the world to be able to recover."

"If they are unwilling to give the people a way to survive, then they cannot blame me!"

Liu Xiu's tone was exceptionally cold; he had already had thoughts in this regard for a long time.

But Liu Xiu also understood.

Land Measurement would absolutely provoke opposition from great clans across the world.

Although Liu Xiu did not fear it, he truly did not want to put the people through more turmoil at such a time.

But Gu Xiao's letter this time reminded him.

The world had already changed!

The clans of the world today were no longer the clans of the time when the world was in great chaos; they no longer dared to take up blades as they did back then!

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Deng Yu took a deep breath and bowed to Liu Xiu, "I am willing to support Your Majesty!"

He had already felt Liu Xiu's determination.

"Good!"

A smile immediately appeared on Liu Xiu's face, and he looked at Deng Yu, "Zhonghua, I order you to head to Nanyang immediately after my decree."

"See for me if there is anyone who dares to deceive me!"

Deng Yu lowered his head, not hesitating too much, nodded directly, and bowed in salute:

"As you command!"

——————

"The thirteenth year of Jianwu, autumn.

At that time, disasters and anomalies occurred repeatedly without ceasing; the common people were trapped in this, and the state of exhaustion and fatigue filled the four seas.

The Emperor, feeling pity, said: 'Today, the world suffers from these many hardships, with disasters and anomalies occurring frequently, and the people cannot make a living. I have thought deeply about this; only the matter of measuring fields can be the essential path to save the people and relieve them from their dire straits.'

He then issued an edict to the prefectures and commanderies, ordering them to verify the number of acres and carefully examine the household registers and ages, ensuring everything was accurate and nothing was concealed.

Furthermore, he ordered the investigation of the two-thousand-dan senior officials to see if there were any crooked or unfair actions regarding this matter; if there was any injustice, they would be strictly punished without leniency, so as to rectify the laws and bring peace to the masses."

—— "Book of the Later Han: Annals of Emperor Guangwu"

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(End of this chapter)