A month later, Qing, Xu, Yan, Yu, Bin, You, and Ji were all settled. The separatist regime formed by Dong Zhuo's rebellion finally ended, and the Han Dynasty was reunited. The captured soldiers of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were deported back to their places of origin after registering. The people who fled into the mountains to escape the war also returned to their homes one after another, and the northern states regained their popularity.
In order to find out the family status of the northern states, officials sent to counties and counties carried out various registration tasks, covering almost all aspects related to people's livelihood, from official property to population registration and land ownership. Although the final registration result has not yet come out, the information returned surprised Liu Xin.
Land annexation in the north is much more serious than in the south, and more than 90% of the land is in the hands of the gentry. Excluding Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and their civil and military lands, the northern gentry still controlled 70% of the land.
Population is also a big problem. It is estimated that the population of the whole country is about 45 million, which is a decrease of more than 10 million compared to 56 million in the time of the Ling Emperor. In fact, if it hadn't been for Liu Xin's unification of the country so quickly, the population would have dropped sharply. In history, when the Three Kingdoms returned to Shanxi, the population of the whole country was only 26 million, less than half of the end of Han Dynasty, so Sima Yan had to introduce policies to encourage people from the south to move to the north.
Most people did not die directly from the war, but from the side effects of the war. . Famine and plague. However, Liu Xin was well prepared.
Although Liu Xin emphasized the development of commerce, he knew better that food was the first priority for the people, and agricultural production did not dare to relax for a moment. Since the year before last, Liu Xin has organized manpower to reclaim many new paddy fields in Jiangnan, using the excellent rice seeds provided by the research institute, and planting a large amount of rice. In the past two years, he has obtained a bumper harvest and accumulated sufficient food. Now that the food has been shipped to the northern states, it can be guaranteed that no one will die of famine until the autumn harvest next year.
The medical school has also trained a large number of highly skilled doctors in recent years. Every time Liu Xin occupies a city, he will select doctors to set up medical centers in the city, and at the same time allocate medicines from various places. With these doctors who save lives and heal the wounded, there is no need to worry about causing a plague epidemic.
These matters did not require Liu Xin to work on himself. The Cabinet and the Sixth Ministry had already made proper arrangements in accordance with their respective responsibilities. Liu Xin was worried about the large amount of land controlled by the northern gentry. How to solve this problem, Liu Xin handed over to the cabinet.
The influence of the northern gentry far exceeds that of the southern gentry. If they also forcibly expropriate their land as they did against the southern gentry, it will inevitably cause a strong backlash from them and bring turmoil to the entire society. The north that has just calmed down will become chaotic again. Liu Xin didn't want to see it, and Jushou and others also knew it very well.
After several discussions, the cabinet finally came up with a compromise plan for the northern gentry to take out half of their land. However, these lands were not contributed to the imperial court in vain, and the imperial court would pay according to the market price.
Although 35 percent of the land in the northern seven states is a huge figure, it is still quite cost-effective for the court to buy it at this time. Because of years of war and chaos, the price of land as a real property that cannot be taken away has plummeted, and the burden on the court will be much reduced. Moreover, Kuai Yue also figured out a way. The imperial court only paid half of the payment, and the other half was deducted from the tax for the next three years. Liu Xin was not really satisfied with this compromise, but he could only make compromises.
After another few days, the city of Chang'an began to get busy. A large number of captives from the grassland tribes were taken back. These people were men, women and children, and were family members of the leaders of the tribes, including Xianbei, Wuhuan, and others. Some other small tribes. Liu Xinjun and his officials gathered in the Taimiao to hold a ceremony of offering prisoners, an unprecedented grand occasion.
The Taimiao in Chang'an City was destroyed by war as early as the beginning of the rebellion. The Taimiao in Luoyang City was also torched by Dong Zhuo. The current Taimiao was rebuilt by Liu Xin. What is different from the past is that although this Taimiao occupies a large area, it is not as magnificent as before. It is simple, but it is also very solemn.
The entire Taimiao consists of three halls. The middle hall is naturally dedicated to the tablets and portraits of the emperors of the Han Dynasty, while the left hall is dedicated to the portraits of the heroes and famous generals of the dynasties since the founding of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xin named this hall Heroic Pavilion. This was established by Liu Xin inspired by the twenty-four heroes of Tang Taizong's Lingyan Pavilion. The slight difference is that, no matter what kind of hero, their portraits are only eligible to hang in this hall after their deaths.
Liu Xin listed all the heroes and heroes since the founding of the Han Dynasty in order to create an atmosphere that will last forever and inspire people to work in this direction. Everyone wants to go down in history and is admired by thousands of people. However, Liu Xin stipulated that the living should not be listed, which reminded those ministers to maintain self-discipline at all times, otherwise, if the evening festival is not guaranteed, there will be no chance.
It has been more than 400 years since the founding of the Great Han, and there are countless heroes and famous generals, but there are very few who can be included in the pavilion of heroes. However, Liu Xin was very tolerant of the veterans who helped him fight the world, and publicly announced that as long as they did not violate the national law, they would have a chance to be listed. For example, the portrait of Kuailiang who died of illness as early as in Xiangyang is now hung in the Pavilion of Heroes. There are also portraits of Shi Huan and Wang Wei who were killed in the battle against Yan Liang.
What is even more surprising is that the names of many small people are displayed in the hall on the right. These little people were sacrificed in previous battles, including soldiers from various legions and Phantom Secret Spy, as well as ordinary people, and even the Huns who served as guides for the Han army. Although these people are insignificant little people, their names are now engraved on stone tablets. Liu Xin just wants to tell everyone that even if you are just a small person, as long as you sacrifice for the benefit of the country and the nation, you will be immortal.
Although the ceremony of offering prisoners can boost people's hearts, morale, and deter ill-behaved young people, Liu Xin chose to proceed in a low-key manner. Only five cabinet bachelors, six shangshus, the commanders and deputy commanders of the major legions, and three patriarchs from the small tribes of the Mobei grassland participated in the ceremony of offering prisoners. The Huns who had already belonged to the Han were invited only by Hu Chuquan. As for ordinary officials, ordinary people, and soldiers from all major legions, none of them participated in this grand ceremony.
Liu Xin's selection of personnel to attend the ceremony of offering prisoners was carefully considered. This time, the gradually divided Han Dynasty was reunited, and the northern grasslands were completely included in the territory of the Han Dynasty. Such an exciting moment, as a group of civil and military achievements, is naturally qualified to witness it with their own eyes. Huchuquan and the patriarchs of those small tribes are all representatives of the nomadic people on the grassland. Letting them witness the power of the Han Dynasty, they can never again dare to rebel.
Originally such a grand ceremony should also invite the heads of the Western Regions as well as the heads of countries such as Dawan, Kangju, and Guishuang to participate. But the big man has just calmed down from the turmoil, and what he needs most is rest and recuperation, which is inseparable from financial support. The wealth of Western trade routes is exactly what is urgently needed to revive the economy of the northern states of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Xin wanted to show the gentle side of the big man to the West, and didn't want to stimulate them by offering a ceremony for prisoners, so he chose to keep a low profile.
But no matter how low-key it is, some basic rituals are still necessary. The three brothers Kuitou, Fuluohan and Budugen, as well as their wives and children, were presented as prisoners to the Taimiao Temple. However, only these three brothers will be beheaded.
The three Xianbei leaders were first taken into the square in front of the main hall. To prevent them from screaming before they died, their mouths were stuffed with walnuts. Originally, they would be executed by Ling Chi, because the new Dahan Law has cancelled this torture, allowing them to escape.
Although there is no need to accept the suffering of Ling Chi, Liu Xin will not give them a good time either. After the three Kuitou brothers were tied to a wooden post, their wives and children were taken in. All women, whether they are adults or minors, and whether they are beautiful or ugly, are tattooed on their faces, and their minor children and grandchildren are tortured. These people will stay in the Taimiao forever and serve as slaves.
The three Kuitou brothers watched their wives and children suffer humiliation in front of them, their eyes widened with anger, but they couldn't even swear a word. Fortunately, Liu Xin didn't plan to torture them. After their wives and children were tortured, he ordered the three of them to be beheaded, and the heads were enshrined in the spiritual thrones of the emperors of the Han Dynasty.
After dealing with the three Kuitou brothers, Liu Xin waved his hand to invite Hu Chuquan and the patriarchs of the three small tribes out, and then ordered Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and their subordinates to be brought up. . Except for Xun Yu, Uncle Xun You, Xun Chen, and Guo Tu who were deported back to Yingchuan, the others have been kept in prison in Chang'an City. Liu Xin neither executed them nor arraigned them, just waiting for this day. The ceremony of offering prisoners. However, after all, this is also an internal matter of the Han nationality, so Liu Xin invited Hu Chuquan and the others out.
Just been escorted into the square and saw three headless bodies tied to wooden posts, Xu You, Feng Ji, and Chen Qun all knelt down quickly, knocked their heads again and again, and said, "Your Majesty, I can’t wait for Yuan Shao. He’s bewitched, I don’t really want to fight against your Majesty. The ministers are willing to submit to your Majesty and serve your Majesty!"
The matchmaker on the side sipped fiercely, and cursed: "The cartilaginous head!"
But Xiahou Dun, Xia Houyuan, and Liu Ye behind Cao Cao sneered again and again, without speaking. Cao Cao, who was walking in the front, had a calm face, Yuan Shao still held his arrogant head, but Liu's face was as gray as death, shaking his head and sighing.