mtlumby2d Chapter 262 Lu Xun was hit by a boomerang?
Chapter 262 Lu Xun was hit by a boomerang?
The ambition of Han Dynasty officials was to become both a general and a prime minister, a general like Han Xin and a prime minister like Xiao He.
Lu Xun was a man of both literary and military talent, a famous general and a wise prime minister. He was well aware of the power of land reform and knew that Guan Xing, the sixth son, would not stop the land reform because of his attack.
Guan Xing will definitely continue land reform while defending against my attack. The power of land reform will increase over time, which means that the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for me.
Given this, Lu Xun must act swiftly and decisively to resolve the conflict with Guan Xing, recover Kuaiji, and then overturn the land reform and restore order.
However, the terrain of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor is too unfriendly to the attackers. It is simply unrealistic to take it quickly by force. If the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor cannot be taken, the land reform cannot be destroyed, and if the land reform cannot be destroyed, the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor cannot be taken. It is a vicious cycle.
That damn Guan Xing, who did he learn the land reform policy from? It's absolutely insane!
As a wise prime minister, Lu Xun naturally saw the significance of land reform and believed it to be a panacea for enriching the country and strengthening the people. He thought that if it could be successfully implemented throughout the country, its impact would be no less than that of Shang Yang's reforms.
Land reform can stabilize public sentiment and expand the tax base to enrich the national treasury. With money in the national treasury, everything becomes easier. But without money, everything becomes difficult. Why did Emperors Huan and Ling sell official positions? Wasn't it because they didn't have money?
So some people might ask, why was there no money before the land reform? Because before the land reform, most of the fertile land was in the hands of the gentry, who were a concentration of clever people. They had the means and connections to legally evade, avoid, or even resist taxes, thus preventing the court from receiving a single penny.
When hundreds of acres of fertile land are scattered among honest and simple people, the imperial court can collect several percent of the tax revenue. If they are unscrupulous, they can collect more than 50 percent. However, if the land falls into the hands of the gentry, it is considered that the emperor is capable if he can collect even 10 percent of the tax revenue.
Officials from aristocratic families not only did not pay taxes, but also used their power to continuously siphon taxes from the people into the national treasury and bring them back to their own homes. If this continued, it would be a miracle if the national treasury did not become impoverished!
There's a saying that goes something like this: the person who wronged you knows better than you how wronged you are. This applies equally to national treasury tax revenue.
Lu Xun, an official from a noble family, knew better than the emperor why the national treasury was empty. Moreover, he was both a beneficiary and a victim of the treasury's lack of funds.
He benefited because he came from a noble family and had a share in the theft of state taxes. He was harmed because he was the acting Grand Commander of Eastern Wu, and he was responsible for leading troops into battle. Battles required money and provisions, but now the noble families of Jiangdong and Jingzhou were finding ways to evade taxes, leaving Sun Quan without money.
Even the Jiangdong gentry, having lost their base and their livelihood, kept complaining to Sun Quan and begging for his support. Sun Quan was so poor that he was almost begging for food, yet he still had to subsidize these people. As a result, how much money would be left for Lu Xun to fight?
Sun Quan's lack of funds meant that Lu Xun only brought two months' worth of provisions for this expedition. If he couldn't defeat Guan Xing and reclaim the Jinqu Basin within two months, Lu Xun would be finished.
In this respect, Lu Xun shot himself in the foot, falling victim to the aristocratic resistance to taxes.
Thinking of his meager provisions, Lu Xun really wanted to follow Guan Xing's example and carry out land reform in Jingzhou as well.
But he knew he couldn't do it; if he did, Sun Quan would definitely punish him first.
Since we cannot do it ourselves, we must not let the enemy do it. We must sabotage Guan Xing's land reform to prevent him from using the power of land reform against us.
At present, Lu Xun only has one way to sabotage the land reform in Guanxing: to let He Qi go back and unite the gentry to sabotage the land reform, and even take back the rear of Shanyin that threatens Guanxing.
He was very confident about this because the He family of Shanyin had a very deep foundation in Kuaiji. The intricate network of relationships that had been cultivated by several generations had made the He family's influence in Shanyin very solid.
Is it possible for Guan Xing to uproot the He family of Shanyin after a hundred years of effort in just a few months?
So Lu Xun looked at He Qi with anticipation, hoping he would immediately nod and accept the task.
If it were Zhou Yu, Lü Meng, or other former Grand Commanders, they would have immediately issued an order: "Whether you agree or not, try disagreeing!"
But Lu Xun didn't have that kind of prestige, so he could only coax He Qi into doing it in a gentle and soft voice.
Han Dang, Pan Zhang, and the others also knew the significance of disrupting Guan Xing's land reform. They all looked at He Qi with anticipation, while pondering how to persuade him to agree if he refused.
After struggling for a moment, He Qi gritted his teeth and said, "I will do this. I will definitely teach Guan Xing an unforgettable lesson in Shanyin."
He agreed for two reasons. First, he was filled with hatred for Guan Xing, who had robbed his family of their wealth and divided their land. He wished he could grab Guan Xing, skin him alive, and throw him into the sea to feed the fish.
Secondly, he had confidence in the strength of the Shanyin He family. He did not believe that the family's centuries of hard work could be uprooted by Guan Xing in just a few months. If that were the case, what would be the point of their efforts as a gentry family? Would it be a joke?
Therefore, he must return to Shanyin to let Guan Xing know how utterly insignificant his so-called efforts are in the face of the aristocratic family's deep-rooted foundation.
Lu Xun smiled with satisfaction: "Then I'll have to trouble General He. Pack your things and set off, but you can't go through the Huangwu Mountains. If I'm not mistaken, Guan Xing has definitely set up checkpoints at various intersections in the Huangwu Mountains. You won't be able to get through with your small number of men, so you can only take a detour north to find Cao Ren to ask for passage. Cao Ren won't make things difficult for you, after all, our two families now have a common enemy."
The Huangwu Mountains are too vast, and Guan Xing could not possibly guard all the passes. The problem is that you don't know which places Guan Xing is guarding, so there is no way to avoid them in advance. If you really enter the Huangwu Mountains, you not only need to take a detour to avoid the Han army, but there is also the risk of being surrounded by the Han army. In comparison, although going through Cao Ren's route is a long detour, it is safer.
As for whether Cao Ren would agree to let He Qi pass through, there's no need to worry. Lu Xun would definitely not agree to let Cao Ren pass through with tens of thousands of troops, but if it's just He Qi and his hundred or so personal guards, Cao Ren has no reason to refuse.
He Qi clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Rest assured, Governor, I will set off to return to Shanyin immediately."
After saying that, he turned and left, but halfway there he suddenly remembered something, spun around and returned to Lu Xun's side and asked, "Commander, some time ago Jianye sent back news that Zhou Xun has been appointed by Guan Yu as the naval commander and has gone to Kuaiji Bay to establish a navy. After I return to Shanyin, should I contact Zhou Xun?"
Time is the most powerful weapon in the world; it can reveal many things.
After receiving the wedding invitation from Guan Yu and Xiao Qiao to Guan Xing and Sun Luyu, Sun Quan sent a secret agent to Jianye to investigate. The agent quickly found out the real reason why Xiao Qiao married Guan Yu. When he learned that it was Sun Luban who was behind it, he was so angry that he almost died. While smashing things in the study, he shouted "unfilial daughter" countless times.
Sun Quan was truly heartbroken. Sun Luban was his most beloved eldest daughter, and he had granted her every wish since she was a child. He never dreamed that his most beloved eldest daughter would betray him at a crucial moment. Sun Quan was so angry that he even cursed, "Raising a daughter is worse than raising a dog."
Damn Sun Luban, look at your aunt Sun Shangxiang and then look at yourself. You are both legitimate daughters of the Sun family, so why is there such a big difference?
While Sun Quan was investigating Xiao Qiao, he also found out about Guan Yu's appointment of Zhou Xun, since Xiao Qiao's remarriage directly affected the relationship between the Guan and Zhou families.
Lu Xun thus learned that Zhou Xun had been appointed as the naval commander. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but be tempted. After all, Zhou Xun was Zhou Yu's eldest son and Sun Quan's son-in-law, so the possibility of winning him over was quite high.
Moreover, Zhou Xun currently commands troops, and if he were to turn over a new leaf and return to the Sun family, it would be a great help to He Qi.
The temptation was great, and Lu Xun struggled for a full quarter of an hour before shaking his head and refusing, saying, "No, one must be wary of others. Zhou Xun can no longer be trusted. You are alone in Shanyin and face constant danger to your life. You must be extremely cautious and never trust anyone. So, do not contact Zhou Xun before you have achieved results and taken control of the overall situation."