Chapter 28 The proposal to move the government
Historically, the reason why Liu Bei lost Xuzhou was that Chen Deng was entrusted with an important task by him and was sent to serve in Donghai County to check and balance Chang Xi, the prefect of Donghai County. .
If Chen Deng stayed in Xiapi instead of going to Tancheng to take office, with Chen Yuanlong's strategy and Zhang Fei's belief in him. It is difficult for Lu Bu to have a chance to successfully attack Xuzhou, and even Cao Bao is unlikely to have a falling out with Zhang Fei.
It's just that history is impossible. Liu Bei only has a few trustworthy cronies, and even fewer are talented. If he doesn't let Chen Deng check and balance Chang Xi, then the entire Donghai County will be lost.
By that time, Liu Bei would really become the Prime Minister of Xiapi named Xuzhou Mu.
Liu Bei invited him, and Chen Deng naturally agreed.
After arriving at the door, accompanied by Guan, Zhang, Tian and Zhao Zuo, everyone had a feast and had fun.
Chen Deng did not behave like a scholar at all during the banquet. Instead, he acted casually, drank until the glass was dry, and showed no airs, which made all the generals very upset.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, and everyone was a little tipsy, Liu Bei said to Chen Deng: "Yuanlong, I invite you here today to show you a treasure."< br>
Liu Bei had communicated with Liu Feng a long time ago. Things like Quyuanli cannot be hidden, and there is no need to hide it.
Rather than hiding it and letting local scholars pirate it in the future, it is better to share it with them directly and increase production in exchange for their active taxation and service.
Liu Bei was already very fond of Chen Deng, so he was naturally willing to share this good thing with Chen Deng.
It's just because of Liu Feng's opinion that this thing was made by Liu Feng. If he insisted on telling Chen Deng arrogantly, it would hurt his son's heart and he would be heartbroken.
Fortunately, Liu Feng agreed immediately and did not put him in a dilemma.
Liu Feng just told Liu Bei to exchange this for more benefits, but don't let Chen Yuanlong fool you into giving it away in vain.
Even if Chen Yuanlong is cheaper, it will at least make other powerful nobles pay more taxes.
Liu Feng finally reminded Liu Bei that the warehouses of the state capital in Tancheng County were too poor to run away with rats.
Now that Xuzhou is poor and destitute, Liu Bei also feels that life is really difficult.
If there is a chance to change, he will be very happy.
Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Xuzhou's annual output was about 200 million shi. According to the Han Dynasty's field tax system of thirty to one tax, the government could collect about 7 million shi of grain.
But after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, various places were affected to varying degrees.
When Cao Cao entered Xu, he defeated Pengcheng Kingdom and almost turned it into a white ground.
There are five counties in Xuzhou, and Langya County is in the hands of Zang Ba. Since the Tao Qian era, Zang Ba's Langya County has not only stopped sending money and food to the state capital, but has also asked the state government to subsidize military expenditures.
Guangling County was in the hands of Zhang Chao and Zhang Menggao from Dongping Shouzhang.
Although he is not in Guangling County now, he went to Yanzhou with his troops to help his brother Zhang Miao rebel against Cao Cao.
However, Yuan Sui, who was appointed by Zhang Chao to act as county official, took a neutral attitude and did not recognize Liu Bei. So far, he has not taken the initiative to show kindness to Liu Bei.
As for Pengcheng Kingdom, it was in ruins after being burned, killed, and plundered by Cao Cao's Yanzhou army.
In the end, only the two counties of Donghai County and Xiapi County were left.
The west side of Donghai County was also destroyed and could not harvest food at all. The counties in the north were represented by Tao Qian, the governor of Donghai County, a local warlord in Xuzhou, and Zang Ba’s ally Chang. It is occupied by Xi, while the counties to the east are the private land of the Mi family. Those who can receive taxes are probably only a few counties in the south, and those who hope that the Mi family will be willing to give some face and pay some money and food.
The only major tax collector is Xiapi State, which has experienced relatively few wars and is relatively well-preserved. It is the most populous county in Xuzhou, with 16 counties under its jurisdiction, twice that of Pengcheng State.
The population is also as high as more than 600,000, originally second only to Donghai County, which has not experienced war.
Now, it is undoubtedly the largest county in Xuzhou, and it still has a lot of tax potential.
Chen Deng is from Huaipu, Xiapi, and the Chen family is the head of the Xiapi gentry. This is no longer a local snake, but a local leader.
As long as he is willing to coordinate, there will be no problems with Xiapi's taxation.
This is also the fundamental reason why Liu Bei wanted to move the state capital from Tancheng County to Xiapi County as soon as he took over Xuzhou from Tao Qian.
Therefore, Liu Bei's true intention is to have Chen Deng come forward and try his best to convince the local nobles to pay more taxes. Otherwise, the grain collected by the state capital this year will not even feed his own troops. If you don't live, the fun will be great.
Regarding Liu Bei's request, Chen Deng agreed without saying a word and without any conditions at all.
What moved Liu Bei even more was that Chen Deng not only agreed to collect the money and food from Xiapi for Liu Bei, but also gave Liu Bei reassurance.
"Ming Gong need not worry. The scholars and people of Xiapi are all loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and the taxes will not be delayed. I boldly guarantee that this year's autumn harvest in Xiapi will be able to send at least 300,000 yuan to the state capital. Shi Liang. But please rest assured, if there is anything wrong with this matter, just ask.”
Liu Bei was overjoyed and was so moved that he couldn't help but walk up to Chen Deng and hold his hand: "Yuanlong, how grateful I am for this."
When Xuzhou was at peace, the government could earn 7 million a year. Stone grain, but after deducting the salaries of officials at all levels in prefectures, counties, townships, and pavilions, and the administrative expenses, what can really be saved and imported to the central government is actually only about 1.5 million.
Based on the current situation in Xuzhou, if Xiapi State can supply the state capital with 200,000 shi of grain, it is already loyal to Liu Bei.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yuanlong dared to make a guarantee and asked for 300,000 shi to be given to the state capital. This made Liu Bei overjoyed.
With these 300,000 shi of grain alone, Liu Bei was enough to raise his troops, which meant that his position as the governor of Xuzhou was truly secure.
This made him burst into tears of gratitude to Chen Deng.
"Why should Ming Gong say thank you? This matter is a matter within the lower official's duties and does not deserve such a commendation from Ming Gong."
Chen Deng was impassioned: "Xiapi scholars and people all regard it as such. Ming Gong is like a parent, so he will do his best to serve the state capital, which shows that the people of Xiapi have high hopes for Ming Gong. "
"A few days ago, Deng gave advice to Ming Gong, persuading Ming Gong to be the general. The state capital is moved to Xiapi, which can save the cost of transportation and gain the strength of Xiapi scholars and people. This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. I wonder what Duke Ming thought about it?"
Chen Although Deng is a famous scholar in Xuzhou, he is also from Xiapi. Of course, he hopes Liu Bei can move the state government to Xiapi.
After all, Xiapi has always been the second largest city in Xuzhou for thousands of years, Donghai County is the capital of the state, and the famous families in Donghai are the leaders in Xuzhou.
The Chen family was able to compete with the Donghai County nobles only because the Chen family produced a famous captain, Chen Qiu, who was not only knowledgeable, but also sacrificed on the front line of eradicating eunuchs.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was the greatest political correctness, which added too many points to the Chen family.
(End of this chapter)