sweeping the world

Chapter 968 What to do, what not to do
There is no absolute fairness in the world, especially when parents treat their children.

Even if it is not a royal family, as long as there are more than two children in an ordinary family, even though the parents firmly believe that they treat the two children with the same love, in fact, it is just an illusion of the parents, and it can even be said that it is the parents' will. Self-deceiving, they actually have a relative preference for one child.

Liu Yan is destined to focus more on the heirs of the empire, but if he shows more love for a prince other than Liu Shen, it will definitely cause a series of follow-ups.

If her son is liked by the emperor, the biological mother will more or less think about whether her son has a chance and whether he can compete for the only throne based on the emperor's favor.It may be difficult for her to do anything else, so the best way is to constantly set up traps for her son's competitors.

If the prince is liked by the emperor, the courtiers will have an idea of ​​being able to stand in line, and they will gather under the prince's command to challenge the heir to the empire in name.

As a result, countless disputes naturally occurred, the harem continued to intrigue, and obvious factions would form in the court.

In this way, there will be constant incidents in the harem, and constant quarrels in the court. No matter how powerful the emperor is, it will inevitably be dragged down. The unstable situation will inevitably cause the country to lose its desire to expand outward.

Liu Yan was very satisfied with the current situation of the harem. At the same time, although he knew that the court had long been divided into factions, he extremely did not want to see a minister fighting in the name of his son.

The last time Sang Yu showed signs of it, Liu Yan noticed it and immediately issued a warning, forcing Sang Yu to express his willingness to be Liu Shen's master.

Naturally, Liu Yan didn't let Sang Yu become Liu Shen's master. Fame can restrict Sang Yu, but it can also make it easier for Sang Yu to do something when he wants to do something.

Sang Yu has calmed down since he was warned that time, and even the number of times he went to the palace to see his sister fell precipitously.He is like this, and the rest of the people who originally thought about it, how can they not know that it is better to be honest and loyal to the present day, and don't think about other messy things.

In fact, this is the case. Liu Yan is only in his thirties. He can still sit in the position of ruler of the world for at least 20 years. Even Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty has been in the position for more than 50 years. Even if you want to take sides, it is too early. up.

"Your Majesty is out of the palace?" Ji Chang was not on duty today, someone came to report while he was reading at home, thought for a while and ordered: "Get off the carriage, I will go there too."

It wasn't that Ji Chang specially sent people to watch the gates of each palace, but there was a square around the palace city, and Liu Yan's actions were so big that when people outside the family heard the news, no matter what the purpose was, they would inform the patriarch.

The news of Liu Yan leaving the palace also spread. Those who thought they were qualified had no one on duty. After thinking about it, they all did the same thing as Ji Chang.

There was a scene in the east of the city. At least one carriage was pulled in front of each mansion. The heads of each family walked out of their houses in regular clothes, either alone or with their valued children and nephews. , the car went straight to the Temple of Heaven Square on the concrete path.

Chang'an's current resident population has reached 140 million.This number does not include slaves and various construction workers. Apart from various high-ranking officials and dignitaries, they are civilians with or without titles.

If slaves are included, Chang'an's population will increase by at least 60.

The reason for this is not that there are too many slaves in the homes of high-ranking officials. On the contrary, even if the high-ranking officials have a lot of slaves, they will not be placed in Chang'an, but will be placed in their own fiefdoms as labor force.

There were about 60 slaves, and every noble household owned at least one slave.Citizens living in Chang'an, as long as they are adult males, most of them also have noble titles. Because their titles are not high enough to obtain fiefdoms, slaves are naturally sent to work at home.

Although various projects in Chang'an have been basically completed, there are also many projects that have not yet been completed. The slave construction group affiliated to the Shaofu is carrying out various finishing projects, and there are more than [-] official slaves still working. Ten thousand.

Counting various identities, Chang'an's population is nearly 250 million, surpassing Jiankang, the largest city in the south, but losing to Jiankang in terms of prosperity.

As the imperial capital, Chang'an was less prosperous than Jiankang because Jiankang was a commercial city.

The second most prosperous city in the Han Empire was still not Chang'an, but Linzi, located in the eastern part of the empire.

The prosperity of the dignified imperial capital is only ranked third in the country?It would be unacceptable for other emperors, but it is acceptable for Liu Yan.

In Liu Yan's view, the capital of a country does not necessarily have to be the most prosperous place, just being the capital is destined to become a political city.

"Your Majesty, the dynasties are all strong at the bottom." Xie An was wearing ordinary clothes, and even carried a package in his hand that he didn't know what it contained.He just met Liu Yan and his group by chance, and he didn't deliberately pretend to meet: "Naturally, the local government is not allowed to be stronger than the central government."

Xie An is right. In any of the above dynasties, until the end of the dynasty, no ruler will allow the local area to be stronger than the central government.

"Oh? Did An Shi agree with Zishen's play?" Liu Yan didn't think too much about whether Xie An met him deliberately. He saw Xie An taking his three-year-old son shopping on the street, and thought about inviting him to go. Temple of Heaven Square: "Relocate local wealthy households to Beijing?"

Xie An said without hesitation: "There is an ancient conclusion that it is good governance to relocate wealthy households to enrich the central government."

Very early on, dating back as far as the Shang Dynasty, the rulers all migrated local wealthy households under their own noses.

The most efficient one was the Western Han Dynasty. From Liu Bang to Liu Jin, every emperor moved the rich households from the local area to the central government every few years.The name they use is to enrich the "ling", and the "ling" is of course the mausoleum, that is, the place where the dead are buried.

Of course, the wealthy households who migrated were not brought to be buried with them. In fact, they were placed near the mausoleum under construction, and the gathered population became one of the sub-cities of Chang'an.

The Eastern Han Dynasty did not relocate local wealthy households to the central government. The result is extremely obvious. The local tyrants are everywhere, and the emperor often becomes a puppet. It is difficult to have a strong emperor.

Liu Yan looked at the tidy streets, and then at the passers-by walking on the streets.

If you want to observe a country, the most direct thing is not to see the army, let alone the most prosperous city, but to go to every place to see the living standards of the people in this country.

Usually, the capital of a country and the citizens living in the capital also have great reference value.

Although Liu Yan didn't go out of the palace often, every time he went out, he would definitely take a look at the citizens to see if their faces were rosy and what they were wearing.

In snowy weather, not many citizens go out to hang out, even if they go out and walk on the street, they will be in a hurry.

As Liu Yan saw with his own eyes, every citizen he saw had flushed faces, but he didn't feel too proud. The weather was cold and he went out to the wind, unless he was blue from the cold, or someone's face Won't it be red and fluttering?
It can only be observed from the clothes. In the cold winter weather, if you want to go out, you must keep warm. Citizens have one layer and one layer of clothes. They are either fur coats or thick woolen coats. .

Liu Yan originally wanted to go directly to the Temple of Heaven Square, but he changed his mind halfway after getting off the car and decided to go to the market in the south of the city.

Since it is a temporary change of location, it is definitely not to leave immediately after a decision is made. It is still necessary to give the relevant defense personnel time to make arrangements.

"Jiankang has the convenience of waterways." Liu Yan also thought about relocating the world's rich households to the central government, but many times he gave up when he wanted to order: "Outreach to other countries makes it easier to sell goods."

Jiankang is connected to the Yangtze River, and the Yangtze River has an outlet to the sea. In such an era without air transportation, the cost of land transportation is too high, and water transportation is the best way to save transportation costs.

The price of the same product will inevitably increase due to the cost of transportation, and the price of buying a product must be lower. It is because of the convenience of water transportation that Jiankang has gathered merchants from all over the world and attracted buyers.

The gathered merchants will gradually open their workshops around Jiankang, forming a natural cycle, and Jiankang has become the most prosperous city in the Han Empire.

The situation of Linzi is no different from that of Jiankang. There is also a river next to the city, and that river directly has an outlet to the sea. Relying on the convenience of water transportation, it has become the second most prosperous city in the Han Empire.

Xie An knew that there was a dispute in the center about whether Jiankang and Linzi should continue to prosper, and more than half of them believed that Chang'an should be the most prosperous place in the entire empire.

With the intention of doing the best for the country, each of them wrote a letter at least once. The content may be written in different ways, but their views are surprisingly consistent.

The only thing Liu Yan had doubts about was that once the wealthy households in Jiankang and Linzi were forcibly relocated, or if the relocation was completed in a very short period of time, the national economy would definitely suffer an almost devastating turmoil.

Wealthy households are relocated, they will not choose to keep their fixed assets, but will sell them in a panic.So the question is, those who have the money to buy must be on the migration list, who will accept that people and property are separated by thousands of miles?
State acquisition is one way, but the appearance will be unprecedentedly ugly. Who the hell will engage in business in the future?

The result will inevitably be that a large number of industries will be directly abandoned, workshops and factories will close down or close one after another, and exaggerated unemployment will occur.

"This..." Xie An showed a surprised expression after hearing Liu Yan's statement, as if he hadn't thought about it: "Your Majesty has far-sighted plans, and this minister has not been able to."

Liu Yancai didn't believe that Xie An didn't think about it, but because of his background and identity, he didn't dare to say it when he thought about it.

These people who have high titles and are also high-ranking officials in the court, no matter what their previous family backgrounds are, their identities have changed now, and it is impossible for them to live on their salaries.

For people from the north, even if they don't think of investing in Linzi, they will get advice after recruiting retainers.Their identities determine that it is impossible to have no ostentation at all. They don't want to do corruption and get escorted to Caishikou one day. It is inevitable that it involves business.

People from the south have far more background than those from the north. Many of them have huge family properties, and the land is reclaimed for a fee, but some of the original shops and workshops are still in their names.

They have more or less capital in their hands. Everyone can see that Liu Yan supports the development of business. He was the first to participate. After participating, he was not warned, and even made a fortune from legal business. Who Will it be rejected?

Once wealthy households from all over the country are forced to move to Guanzhong, the only ones who will benefit are those who have enough capital to own huge properties thousands of miles away, but do not worry about being expropriated.

This made Liu Yan often have to think too much. How many of those ministers and workers who suggested relocating rich households were thinking of making a fortune?

When I arrived at the Chengnan Market, I stood on the outside and looked in. I could actually see a kind of mist in the air.

Of course it wasn't really foggy, it was because there were too many people gathered, and there were many shops in the market that were cooking things, too much heat made the air appear foggy.

"Your Majesty..." Cui Zong asked cautiously: "The princes and princesses are too young, and the market is chaotic and disorderly. Do you want to wait outside?"

In fact, the bazaar in the south of Chang’an City is relatively standardized, but as a bazaar, it is impossible to be clean. At most, there is no random occupation of stalls, which makes it impossible for people to walk around. It should be dirty. It will still be dirty, and at the same time, there is definitely no such thing as freshness in the air. On the contrary, too many smells gather together to form the turbid air unique to the market.

That is to say, Liu Yan had a map in his mind to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, so he would take a group of his children shopping.You won't encounter assassination, but the air is turbid, and it seems to be crowded with people. It is really not suitable for children to go in.

"Your Majesty." Xie An persuaded: "Your Majesty's body is full of gold, and the whole country belongs to you. It is so chaotic inside, Your Majesty cannot enter."

In fact, it is conceivable that other people have fallen into a state of high tension, and that is the people responsible for protecting the royal family.

If you look carefully, there have been too many tough-looking people here in a short period of time, but they still have to carry out various disguises, making some ordinary people who are aware of it curious.

Liu Yan brought about a dozen children with him, and the children were accompanied by female officials. No matter how they looked at the group, they were very conspicuous, and they were quickly watched by the people around them.

"That's all." Liu Yan is not a stubborn person, he told Cui Zong the names of some products, and ordered: "Go in and buy."

Cui Zong breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Liu Yan didn't go in, everything would be easy to talk about.

The products Liu Yan mentioned are all available to ordinary people. It is necessary for him to understand some market prices to judge the living conditions of Chang'an citizens.

(End of this chapter)