Spoiling History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

For the villagers around Luoyang, they are all too familiar with war.

Ever since the first year of Chuping (190), when Dong Zhuo burned the place to ashes with a fire that stretched for 200 miles, this beautiful place that was once known as "a city surrounded by four fortresses and a city with eight passes" has never been peaceful again.

Troops come and go, and nobles go.

The characters embroidered on the flags held by the soldiers changed one after another, but no one ever stopped for this former Kyoto.

Six years after Dong Zhuo set the fire, the emperor came back, but it is said that he sighed deeply when he looked at the ruins of Luoyang City, and was invited to Xuchang by Cao Gong.

Then the people of Luoyang, who had finally survived through all the tribulations, knew one thing: this place was no longer even Kyoto.

Either way, it shouldn't be. After all, the name of Kyoto cannot be used as wheat to satisfy hunger. I just hope that since the emperor is back, the world will have rules and life will be easier, right?

Therefore, it is rare for the people of Luoyang here to see officials in official uniforms coming here.

It's just that they are obviously ministers of the emperor, but they say that they are here to farm under the orders of Duke Cao.

At this moment, a simple and clean camp has been built next to Luoyang City. An old farmer with a wrinkled face who was specially found couldn't help but said angrily:

"This city of Luoyang is useless to Mr. Cao."

"But I am waiting for this body of bones, and our ten thousand acres of fertile land in Luoyang, Mr. Cao is very concerned about it!"

Liu Bei, Kong Ming and others were facing the old farmer at this time, and they couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this:

It seems that life in the field is probably not easy.

Liu Bei stood up with his knees up and took another look at the ruins from a distance. He couldn't help but sigh to Kong Ming:

"When I was studying here in the past, the scenery of Kyoto... I will never forget it in this life."

Kong Ming sighed and recited the scene of Luoyang from "Ode to Two Capitals" written by the classmate:

"Fan Weiwei, show your wings. The light of Han Dynasty is in all Xia, and it is the most powerful in all directions."

"The palace is bright, the palace is divine, luxury cannot be exceeded, and frugality cannot be extravagant."

"The fields are used as gardens, the springs are filled in to become swamps, the algae are grown to hide fish, the grass in the garden is used to trap animals, the system is the same as Liang Zou, and the friendship is in line with the spirit."

Pang Tong also stood up and stared for a moment, then asked:

"When the class members were writing poems about Liangdu, they once praised the school here like a forest with its gates full of doors, praised the gentle and breathy atmosphere, and praised Luoyang for being so prosperous in this world."

"I wonder what you feel when you see these rubbles and ruins?"

Pang Tong's rhetorical question made everyone feel uncomfortable for a moment. After all, everyone had been mentally prepared before coming. Who knew about the bad things Dong Zhuo had done?

And some plans were actually made before coming.

"Then it takes more than one year to rebuild."

"That's right. We can clean up the area around Waiguo first this year. After all, we still need to find a place for the people to stay."

"That's true. Nowadays, all the people live in Gucheng. How can we repair the old capital after being dozens of miles away? If we want to repair it, we still need people to live here."

Liu Bei and others were talking openly and without hesitation, and the meaning behind them made the old farmer so shocked that he spread the wrinkles on his face:

"My lord...the emperor's uncle is talking about renovating Luoyang?"

"It must be repaired." Liu Bei said seriously. These words made the light in the old farmer's eyes dim immediately.

It's reasonable to think, after all, it's just an abandoned city, why bother spending so much time on it?

Then he heard Uncle Liu Huang say with a smile:

“It’s about rebuilding.”

In the eyes of the people of Luoyang, this Uncle Liu Huang was indeed very different from the generals they had seen before.

After all, Uncle Liu and Duke Cao are now at war. According to the practices of the generals who came and went here, they should be recruited into the army at this time, and the strong ones should be recruited into the army. He was killed, and the bystanders took care of the baggage, and in the name of justice in the world, they snatched the last bite of food from everyone's house, and then hurriedly went to find Duke Cao for a decisive battle to win the reputation of being famous in the world.

This is what the nobles they are familiar with do, but Uncle Liu Huang doesn't do it.

He measured the land, taught farming and mulberry farming, and began to mobilize people to clean up the ruins of peripheral streets at the old site of Luoyang, and took the initiative to build a shelter for them.

Even the taxes were specially called over to discuss in detail, and the tax laws that exempted the tax for the first year and then increased by 10% year by year until the upper limit of 40% were clearly explained.

40% capped! This is particularly shocking to this group of miserable people.

After all, let alone 40% when I was a villager, the 50% promised ten years ago was already a piece of paper. A tax of 60% or 10% was just ordinary.

As for the mulberry farming method that Uncle Liu Huang has been sparing no effort to promote, they also clearly see that if they follow the new method, the fields will definitely produce more than what they currently produce.

Then wait three or two years. Compared with now, the fields will produce more and the taxes will be less. How can we not look forward to such a day?

So in mid-July, the wrinkled old farmer who had told Liu Bei and others the history of Luoyang came to visit again.

"Ask me why I didn't kill Cao?"

Liu Bei thought about this problem for a while, and felt a sense of absurdity in his heart.

The old farmer looked embarrassed. Hearing this, he quickly explained:

"We are not dissatisfied with the emperor's uncle, but..."

"I understand." Liu Bei smiled and took the initiative to ease the old farmer's uneasiness:

"It's just that we are afraid that once Cao Jun's army arrives, we will retreat back to Guanzhong, so all the things we said now have come to nothing..."

The old farmer smiled awkwardly when he heard this. The meaning was clear: they were indeed so worried.

"Don't worry."

Liu Bei tried to comfort him:

"Now Mengjin Pass and Yique Pass in the north and south of Luoyang are guarded by fierce generals, and there are also large troops stationed near Taigu Pass and Huanyuan Pass that have not been captured."

"At the latest in August, when you can be self-sufficient, I will definitely lead the army to Yingchuan to attack Cao!"

After sending the old farmer away, Liu Bei smiled with satisfaction.

In fact, this Eastern Expedition can indeed not stop in Luoyang, and directly split into two routes.

One route enters Yingchuan, and joins forces with Jingbei to fight against Cao's army on the battlefield, and step by step nibbles at the fertile land of Yuzhou.

One route enters Henei to force Weijun, and as long as Ma Chao of the northern army succeeds in Shangdang, they can start to connect and force Yecheng.

But neither Liu Bei nor Kong Ming, nor even Pang Tong, who was always radical in his strategy, did much persuasion, but honestly worked together to formulate a plan to gradually rebuild Luoyang City.

The people of Luoyang City were now flattered, but in fact, Liu Bei felt that they were just responding to the "Chushi Biao" recorded in later history books in a way that people in this world could not understand.

Conquer the Central Plains in the north, eliminate the traitors, restore the Han Dynasty, and return to the old capital.

This was what Prime Minister Zhuge had been thinking about, how could they dare to forget?