With the support of Guo Jia and Jia Xu, Liu Xie finally made up his mind to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and announced the matter at the court meeting early the next morning.
And everything happened just as Guo Jia and the others had expected.
Even though Liu Xie did not take the initiative to hint, Cui Yan, Yang Xiu, Dong Zhong and other representatives of aristocratic families actively expressed their willingness to fund the emperor's eastern tour and to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
It is understandable that they are so enthusiastic.
After all, as long as you spend this money, you can leave a mark in history books and gain a lot of political resources for the family. Why not do it?
And even if we don’t consider it from the perspective of family interests, being able to pay this money is an unparalleled honor!
You should know that the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai is the highest achievement of an emperor. Only three emperors in history have achieved it, which is extremely rare.
As for the reason, just count the achievements of the emperors who performed Fengshan at Mount Tai and you will know.
Although the official Han Dynasty called the First Emperor a tyrant, his achievements in unification are real and his title of the First Emperor is also recognized.
Emperor Wu defeated the Huns, made the Han Dynasty famous, allowed the Han people, who had been depressed for a century, to be proud of themselves, and made other ethnic groups lose their temper at the mention of the Han cavalry.
Emperor Guangwu rebuilt the Han Dynasty and restored the Han Dynasty. This alone was enough.
This shows how harsh the conditions were for the emperor to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
Both civil and military affairs must be complete.
The achievements of our current emperor are even greater than those of Emperor Guangwu. Not only did he restore the Han Dynasty, but he also restored the national strength of the Han Dynasty in just ten years.
Today's Han Dynasty is as prosperous as the reign of Emperor Wu, with light taxes and levies and clear politics as in the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing. It can be said to be an unprecedented prosperous era.
But such an emperor is rare once in a hundred years. If you miss this time, who knows when the next one will come in a few hundred years?
By that time, there will be no chance to come up with the money!
As for the other court officials, although they were surprised that the emperor wanted to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, no one raised any objection.
After all, the emperor was able to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai, and they, the ministers, were also honored because it showed that the emperor they served was a wise ruler throughout history, and they also contributed to the prosperous era created by the emperor.
In this way, the plan to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods was successfully confirmed and announced to the court and the public through the Da Han Min Bao.
Da Han Min Bao was a newspaper founded by Liu Xie one year after the invention of the new papermaking technology and movable type printing technology.
In fact, the imperial court had already had a similar business, namely the official newspaper.
The Dibao, also known as "Dichao", "Chaobao", "Tiaobao", "Zabao", etc., is a news copy specially used by the court to convey documents and political intelligence on state affairs.
The court bulletins were usually only circulated among officials’ families, and the subscribers were all officials. They were not intended for ordinary people.
But the Da Han Min Bao was different. Ordinary people could also buy it at a low price. It recorded the latest decrees issued by the court and national affairs.
After so many years of development, Dahan Minbao has already been widely circulated among the people and accepted by the people.
“Is there anyone who would like to go with me to Mount Tai to watch the ceremony?
"Very good! That's exactly what I meant!"
"Good! Take one with me and I will go with you!"
"How can I miss such a grand event? I will go with you!"
"How wonderful!"
…
I don't know how many people, after hearing about this, began to call their friends and planned to rush to Mount Tai in advance so that they could witness the Fengshan ceremony of the current emperor with their own eyes on the day!
This shows Liu Xie's prestige in the hearts of people all over the world.
If one is unpopular or has mediocre achievements, then declaring that one wants to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth will only lead to ridicule.
However, after the news that Liu Xie was going to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth spread, there were only voices of recognition and support!
At the same time, the imperial court also began to prepare intensively, and everyone from top to bottom was busy.
The emperor only needs to make the decision to offer sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai, but his ministers will have a lot of headaches to deal with.
The route of the Eastern Tour, the ceremonial guard, the accompanying team, the escort team, the logistical supplies, and the sacrifices needed for the Fengshan ceremony after arriving at Mount Tai, all require detailed planning and arrangements.
Of course, there is the most important point.
The emperor needs to lead all officials to Mount Tai, and the round trip will take at least four to five months. During this period, someone must stay in Chang'an to manage the government.
The question is who will stay.
…
Weiyang Palace, a side hall of the Cabinet.
Sima Yi, Yang Xiu, Zhuge Liang, Lu Su and Fa Zheng gathered around a table, staring at a bamboo tube on the table.
There are several bamboo sticks inside the bamboo tube.
Looks ordinary.
Sima Yi's eyes swept across the faces of the other four people, and then he asked in a deep voice: "Are you all ready?"
"Hmm x4!"
Zhuge Liang, Yang Xiu, Lu Su, and Fa Zheng all responded. Each of them had a very solemn expression, but at the same time, their eyes were filled with eagerness to try.
"I'll go first!"
Yang Xiu was the first one who couldn't help himself and reached out to grab a bamboo stick, but was held down by Sima Yi.
Stunned, he looked at Sima Yi with dissatisfaction and asked, "Sima Zhongshu, what are you doing?"
Sima Yi glanced at him and said calmly, "Why rush? The rules have been set in advance. Whoever catches the bamboo stick with the word 'stay' written on it will stay in Chang'an to manage government affairs."
"You only have one chance, no one is allowed to cheat!"
Originally, the responsibility of staying in Chang'an should have fallen on Guo Jia, after all, he was the prime minister.
However, Guo Jia has not recovered from his serious illness and Jia Xu is in semi-retirement, so the candidate to stay can only be chosen from the remaining five cabinet ministers.
The Fengshan Ceremony was a rare event that only happened once in the ages and no one wanted to miss it, so in order to be fair, the five of them planned to draw lots to decide who would stay in Chang'an, while the others could follow the emperor to Mount Tai to participate in the Fengshan Ceremony.
Hearing Sima Yi's words, Yang Xiu raised his eyebrows and said, "Sima Zhongshu really underestimates us. Are we the kind of people who break our promises?"
"Besides, it's still uncertain who will draw the lottery to stay behind. What if it's Sima Zhongshu himself who draws it?"
Sima Yi snorted coldly upon hearing this: "So what if I got the lottery number to stay behind? Staying in Chang'an for Your Majesty is also a great honor, I couldn't ask for more!"
Yang Xiu rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily, "In that case, why don't we just draw lots? Sima Zhongshu, why don't you just stay here?"
Sima Yi was silent for a moment, his eyes wandering.
Zhuge Liang couldn't help laughing when he saw this, and said, "Okay, let's draw lots quickly. I'll go first."
After saying that, he grabbed a bamboo stick from the bamboo tube.
Afterwards, Yang Xiu, Fa Zheng, Lu Su and Sima Yi also took out a bamboo stick one after another, but they all held it tightly in their palms and no one dared to look.
"Brother Zijing, what lot did you draw?"
Fa Zheng looked curiously at the bamboo stick in Lu Su's hand, and asked curiously.
Lu Su hid the bamboo stick in his sleeve and said with a smile, "I'm not in a hurry, I'll see later... Xiaozhi, what stick did you catch?"
Fa Zheng also hid the bamboo stick in his sleeves when he saw this, and said with a chuckle, "Then I'm not in a hurry, I'll watch it later."
No one wants to reveal the answer first.
Yang Xiu was the first one who couldn't help it. He grabbed the bottom of the bamboo stick, covered it with his palm, and carefully pulled it out.
Soon, he saw the words written on the bottom of the bamboo stick, which was the word "go"!
"Hahaha! I don't have to stay! I don't have to stay!"
Yang Xiu was overjoyed. He stood up holding the bamboo stick and showed it off to the others, dancing with joy.
Sima Yi and the others' expressions froze slightly when they saw this.
Yang Xiu successfully escaped, which meant that the one who stayed behind was among them, and they had one less chance to leave.
At this time, Zhuge Liang looked down at the bamboo stick, then smiled slightly and placed it gently on the table.
"It seems I don't need to stay."
There was also a word "go" on his bamboo stick.
Sima Yi, Fa Zheng and Lu Su suddenly became nervous and held the bamboo sticks tighter.
"Brother Zijing, let's open it together."
Fa Zheng swallowed and spoke to Lu Su nervously.
Lu Su nodded slowly.
Then they both took out all the bamboo sticks, put them together, and turned them over at the same time.
The word "go" was written on both bamboo sticks.
For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Sima Yi, and Sima Yi's expression became extremely ugly.
Yang Xiu laughed and said, "Sima Zhongshu, it seems that this important task of guarding Chang'an belongs to you!"
Sima Yi said nothing when he heard this. He just stood up and walked out of the side hall without saying a word.
"Why……"
Yang Xiu was also stunned when he saw this. He was just joking casually, but he didn't expect Sima Yi to be so unable to take a joke.
Zhuge Liang stood up and said, "I will go and persuade Zhongda."
After saying that, he also stood up and walked out of the side hall.
Seeing the two figures disappear at the door of the cabinet, Fa Zheng said to Yang Xiu helplessly: "Dezu, you have such a big mouth."
Yang Xiu's face turned red and he was speechless.
…
After leaving the side hall, Sima Yi went directly to the cabinet office, returned to his seat, picked up the brush and began to review memorials.
Zhuge Liang followed all the way and saw Sima Yi concentrating on handling government affairs. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why did you prepare five identical lots?"
Sima Yi's hand holding the brush paused slightly. He looked up at Zhuge Liang and frowned, "How did you know?"
Zhuge Liang smiled faintly and said, "When you left, you took the bamboo stick with you, so I guessed it."
"Why did you do that?"
Sima Yi was not the type of person who would hesitate. He should have turned it over as soon as he got the bamboo stick, but he kept procrastinating until the very end.
Combined with the fact that he took the bamboo sticks away at the end, Zhuge Liang had such a guess.
There are five bamboo sticks, each with the word "go" written on it.
Sima Yi retracted his gaze and said calmly: "Someone has to stay. I don't want you to feel that you owe me."
"Although I also want to attend His Majesty's Fengshan Ceremony, the opportunity to stay in Chang'an and preside over the government affairs of the Cabinet is rare, so I must train myself well."
"Only in this way can I be better qualified for the position of Prime Minister in the future."
Although Guo Jia's illness has been cured, his health is still not good, and retirement is inevitable. As a result, the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet remains vacant.
Sima Yi's goal was to become the prime minister.
Ever since he failed in the election for vice-president, he has been working towards the position of prime minister. He must make himself worthy of this position.
Zhuge Liang looked at Sima Yi for a long time, then said: "You have really changed a lot and grown a lot."
"That's natural."
Sima Yi said without even looking up, "You rely too much on His Majesty's favor. If you continue to be so careless, it will only be a matter of time before I surpass you."
“Don’t let me down.”
Faced with Sima Yi's plain yet confident words, Zhuge Liang remained silent, then sighed softly and turned away.
"Don't worry."
…
After three full months of preparation, the Eastern Tour finally began in early June.
Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang stayed in Chang'an to take charge of state affairs, while the rest of the cabinet ministers and many civil and military officials followed the emperor to Mount Tai.
The team for this eastern tour was very luxurious, with thousands of servants alone, as well as generals such as Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Zhang He, and Zhang Liao, who led 20,000 elite guards.
The logistics of the Eastern Tour team were taken in turn by the major families along the way. Starting from Chang'an, they passed through Hongnong, Luoyang, Henei, Yecheng, and finally arrived at Taishan County.
This will be a long journey lasting several months.
However, Liu Xie was quite looking forward to this eastern tour, because he had not left Chang'an for ten years since the last time he led the army in person.
It was not that he did not want to follow Emperor Wu's example and tour the counties throughout the country, but at that time the country had just been stabilized and many matters depended on the decision of him as the emperor.
So he was trapped in the palace year after year.
Therefore, this eastern tour was a rare opportunity for him to break free from all kinds of constraints and travel around the beautiful mountains and rivers.
Although there are a lot of people around me, it is still more comfortable than staying in the palace.
"Jue'er, look, there is farmland over there."
"Agriculture and sericulture are the foundation of a country. National affairs should be centered on agriculture and sericulture, because only in this way can the people not starve and the army have food to eat."
"The second thing is to pay attention to the development of technology. With the improvement of technology, the grain output will be higher and the combat effectiveness of the army will be stronger."
In the emperor's carriage, Liu Xie pointed to the farmlands on both sides of the road and gave earnest instructions to Liu Jue beside him.
The reason why he wanted to bring Liu Jue with him on this eastern tour was that he wanted to take this opportunity to let his son, who had rarely left the palace, have a good look at what the Han Dynasty was like.
The country and the people should not exist only in books and words.
Liu Jue looked at everything outside with curiosity, and couldn't help but look up and ask: "Father, doesn't our Han Dynasty now have sweet potatoes that produce more than 30 dan per mu? With this, will the people still go hungry?"
Liu Xie touched his head and said, "Sweet potatoes are good, but they can only fill the stomachs of the people."
"Jue'er, you have to remember that what the emperor has to do is not just to fill the people's stomachs, but also to make people's lives better."
"And to achieve this, you still need to learn slowly. I, the great man, still have a long way to go."
After hearing what Liu Xie said, Liu Jue nodded as if he understood.
Seeing this, Liu Xie stopped preaching. After all, if he said too much, Liu Jue would not be able to fully understand it.
If you want to cultivate an outstanding emperor, it is not something that can be done overnight.
The team continued to move forward, heading into the distance along the official road.
And everything happened just as Guo Jia and the others had expected.
Even though Liu Xie did not take the initiative to hint, Cui Yan, Yang Xiu, Dong Zhong and other representatives of aristocratic families actively expressed their willingness to fund the emperor's eastern tour and to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
It is understandable that they are so enthusiastic.
After all, as long as you spend this money, you can leave a mark in history books and gain a lot of political resources for the family. Why not do it?
And even if we don’t consider it from the perspective of family interests, being able to pay this money is an unparalleled honor!
You should know that the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai is the highest achievement of an emperor. Only three emperors in history have achieved it, which is extremely rare.
As for the reason, just count the achievements of the emperors who performed Fengshan at Mount Tai and you will know.
Although the official Han Dynasty called the First Emperor a tyrant, his achievements in unification are real and his title of the First Emperor is also recognized.
Emperor Wu defeated the Huns, made the Han Dynasty famous, allowed the Han people, who had been depressed for a century, to be proud of themselves, and made other ethnic groups lose their temper at the mention of the Han cavalry.
Emperor Guangwu rebuilt the Han Dynasty and restored the Han Dynasty. This alone was enough.
This shows how harsh the conditions were for the emperor to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
Both civil and military affairs must be complete.
The achievements of our current emperor are even greater than those of Emperor Guangwu. Not only did he restore the Han Dynasty, but he also restored the national strength of the Han Dynasty in just ten years.
Today's Han Dynasty is as prosperous as the reign of Emperor Wu, with light taxes and levies and clear politics as in the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing. It can be said to be an unprecedented prosperous era.
But such an emperor is rare once in a hundred years. If you miss this time, who knows when the next one will come in a few hundred years?
By that time, there will be no chance to come up with the money!
As for the other court officials, although they were surprised that the emperor wanted to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, no one raised any objection.
After all, the emperor was able to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai, and they, the ministers, were also honored because it showed that the emperor they served was a wise ruler throughout history, and they also contributed to the prosperous era created by the emperor.
In this way, the plan to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods was successfully confirmed and announced to the court and the public through the Da Han Min Bao.
Da Han Min Bao was a newspaper founded by Liu Xie one year after the invention of the new papermaking technology and movable type printing technology.
In fact, the imperial court had already had a similar business, namely the official newspaper.
The Dibao, also known as "Dichao", "Chaobao", "Tiaobao", "Zabao", etc., is a news copy specially used by the court to convey documents and political intelligence on state affairs.
The court bulletins were usually only circulated among officials’ families, and the subscribers were all officials. They were not intended for ordinary people.
But the Da Han Min Bao was different. Ordinary people could also buy it at a low price. It recorded the latest decrees issued by the court and national affairs.
After so many years of development, Dahan Minbao has already been widely circulated among the people and accepted by the people.
“Is there anyone who would like to go with me to Mount Tai to watch the ceremony?
"Very good! That's exactly what I meant!"
"Good! Take one with me and I will go with you!"
"How can I miss such a grand event? I will go with you!"
"How wonderful!"
…
I don't know how many people, after hearing about this, began to call their friends and planned to rush to Mount Tai in advance so that they could witness the Fengshan ceremony of the current emperor with their own eyes on the day!
This shows Liu Xie's prestige in the hearts of people all over the world.
If one is unpopular or has mediocre achievements, then declaring that one wants to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth will only lead to ridicule.
However, after the news that Liu Xie was going to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth spread, there were only voices of recognition and support!
At the same time, the imperial court also began to prepare intensively, and everyone from top to bottom was busy.
The emperor only needs to make the decision to offer sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai, but his ministers will have a lot of headaches to deal with.
The route of the Eastern Tour, the ceremonial guard, the accompanying team, the escort team, the logistical supplies, and the sacrifices needed for the Fengshan ceremony after arriving at Mount Tai, all require detailed planning and arrangements.
Of course, there is the most important point.
The emperor needs to lead all officials to Mount Tai, and the round trip will take at least four to five months. During this period, someone must stay in Chang'an to manage the government.
The question is who will stay.
…
Weiyang Palace, a side hall of the Cabinet.
Sima Yi, Yang Xiu, Zhuge Liang, Lu Su and Fa Zheng gathered around a table, staring at a bamboo tube on the table.
There are several bamboo sticks inside the bamboo tube.
Looks ordinary.
Sima Yi's eyes swept across the faces of the other four people, and then he asked in a deep voice: "Are you all ready?"
"Hmm x4!"
Zhuge Liang, Yang Xiu, Lu Su, and Fa Zheng all responded. Each of them had a very solemn expression, but at the same time, their eyes were filled with eagerness to try.
"I'll go first!"
Yang Xiu was the first one who couldn't help himself and reached out to grab a bamboo stick, but was held down by Sima Yi.
Stunned, he looked at Sima Yi with dissatisfaction and asked, "Sima Zhongshu, what are you doing?"
Sima Yi glanced at him and said calmly, "Why rush? The rules have been set in advance. Whoever catches the bamboo stick with the word 'stay' written on it will stay in Chang'an to manage government affairs."
"You only have one chance, no one is allowed to cheat!"
Originally, the responsibility of staying in Chang'an should have fallen on Guo Jia, after all, he was the prime minister.
However, Guo Jia has not recovered from his serious illness and Jia Xu is in semi-retirement, so the candidate to stay can only be chosen from the remaining five cabinet ministers.
The Fengshan Ceremony was a rare event that only happened once in the ages and no one wanted to miss it, so in order to be fair, the five of them planned to draw lots to decide who would stay in Chang'an, while the others could follow the emperor to Mount Tai to participate in the Fengshan Ceremony.
Hearing Sima Yi's words, Yang Xiu raised his eyebrows and said, "Sima Zhongshu really underestimates us. Are we the kind of people who break our promises?"
"Besides, it's still uncertain who will draw the lottery to stay behind. What if it's Sima Zhongshu himself who draws it?"
Sima Yi snorted coldly upon hearing this: "So what if I got the lottery number to stay behind? Staying in Chang'an for Your Majesty is also a great honor, I couldn't ask for more!"
Yang Xiu rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily, "In that case, why don't we just draw lots? Sima Zhongshu, why don't you just stay here?"
Sima Yi was silent for a moment, his eyes wandering.
Zhuge Liang couldn't help laughing when he saw this, and said, "Okay, let's draw lots quickly. I'll go first."
After saying that, he grabbed a bamboo stick from the bamboo tube.
Afterwards, Yang Xiu, Fa Zheng, Lu Su and Sima Yi also took out a bamboo stick one after another, but they all held it tightly in their palms and no one dared to look.
"Brother Zijing, what lot did you draw?"
Fa Zheng looked curiously at the bamboo stick in Lu Su's hand, and asked curiously.
Lu Su hid the bamboo stick in his sleeve and said with a smile, "I'm not in a hurry, I'll see later... Xiaozhi, what stick did you catch?"
Fa Zheng also hid the bamboo stick in his sleeves when he saw this, and said with a chuckle, "Then I'm not in a hurry, I'll watch it later."
No one wants to reveal the answer first.
Yang Xiu was the first one who couldn't help it. He grabbed the bottom of the bamboo stick, covered it with his palm, and carefully pulled it out.
Soon, he saw the words written on the bottom of the bamboo stick, which was the word "go"!
"Hahaha! I don't have to stay! I don't have to stay!"
Yang Xiu was overjoyed. He stood up holding the bamboo stick and showed it off to the others, dancing with joy.
Sima Yi and the others' expressions froze slightly when they saw this.
Yang Xiu successfully escaped, which meant that the one who stayed behind was among them, and they had one less chance to leave.
At this time, Zhuge Liang looked down at the bamboo stick, then smiled slightly and placed it gently on the table.
"It seems I don't need to stay."
There was also a word "go" on his bamboo stick.
Sima Yi, Fa Zheng and Lu Su suddenly became nervous and held the bamboo sticks tighter.
"Brother Zijing, let's open it together."
Fa Zheng swallowed and spoke to Lu Su nervously.
Lu Su nodded slowly.
Then they both took out all the bamboo sticks, put them together, and turned them over at the same time.
The word "go" was written on both bamboo sticks.
For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Sima Yi, and Sima Yi's expression became extremely ugly.
Yang Xiu laughed and said, "Sima Zhongshu, it seems that this important task of guarding Chang'an belongs to you!"
Sima Yi said nothing when he heard this. He just stood up and walked out of the side hall without saying a word.
"Why……"
Yang Xiu was also stunned when he saw this. He was just joking casually, but he didn't expect Sima Yi to be so unable to take a joke.
Zhuge Liang stood up and said, "I will go and persuade Zhongda."
After saying that, he also stood up and walked out of the side hall.
Seeing the two figures disappear at the door of the cabinet, Fa Zheng said to Yang Xiu helplessly: "Dezu, you have such a big mouth."
Yang Xiu's face turned red and he was speechless.
…
After leaving the side hall, Sima Yi went directly to the cabinet office, returned to his seat, picked up the brush and began to review memorials.
Zhuge Liang followed all the way and saw Sima Yi concentrating on handling government affairs. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why did you prepare five identical lots?"
Sima Yi's hand holding the brush paused slightly. He looked up at Zhuge Liang and frowned, "How did you know?"
Zhuge Liang smiled faintly and said, "When you left, you took the bamboo stick with you, so I guessed it."
"Why did you do that?"
Sima Yi was not the type of person who would hesitate. He should have turned it over as soon as he got the bamboo stick, but he kept procrastinating until the very end.
Combined with the fact that he took the bamboo sticks away at the end, Zhuge Liang had such a guess.
There are five bamboo sticks, each with the word "go" written on it.
Sima Yi retracted his gaze and said calmly: "Someone has to stay. I don't want you to feel that you owe me."
"Although I also want to attend His Majesty's Fengshan Ceremony, the opportunity to stay in Chang'an and preside over the government affairs of the Cabinet is rare, so I must train myself well."
"Only in this way can I be better qualified for the position of Prime Minister in the future."
Although Guo Jia's illness has been cured, his health is still not good, and retirement is inevitable. As a result, the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet remains vacant.
Sima Yi's goal was to become the prime minister.
Ever since he failed in the election for vice-president, he has been working towards the position of prime minister. He must make himself worthy of this position.
Zhuge Liang looked at Sima Yi for a long time, then said: "You have really changed a lot and grown a lot."
"That's natural."
Sima Yi said without even looking up, "You rely too much on His Majesty's favor. If you continue to be so careless, it will only be a matter of time before I surpass you."
“Don’t let me down.”
Faced with Sima Yi's plain yet confident words, Zhuge Liang remained silent, then sighed softly and turned away.
"Don't worry."
…
After three full months of preparation, the Eastern Tour finally began in early June.
Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang stayed in Chang'an to take charge of state affairs, while the rest of the cabinet ministers and many civil and military officials followed the emperor to Mount Tai.
The team for this eastern tour was very luxurious, with thousands of servants alone, as well as generals such as Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Zhang He, and Zhang Liao, who led 20,000 elite guards.
The logistics of the Eastern Tour team were taken in turn by the major families along the way. Starting from Chang'an, they passed through Hongnong, Luoyang, Henei, Yecheng, and finally arrived at Taishan County.
This will be a long journey lasting several months.
However, Liu Xie was quite looking forward to this eastern tour, because he had not left Chang'an for ten years since the last time he led the army in person.
It was not that he did not want to follow Emperor Wu's example and tour the counties throughout the country, but at that time the country had just been stabilized and many matters depended on the decision of him as the emperor.
So he was trapped in the palace year after year.
Therefore, this eastern tour was a rare opportunity for him to break free from all kinds of constraints and travel around the beautiful mountains and rivers.
Although there are a lot of people around me, it is still more comfortable than staying in the palace.
"Jue'er, look, there is farmland over there."
"Agriculture and sericulture are the foundation of a country. National affairs should be centered on agriculture and sericulture, because only in this way can the people not starve and the army have food to eat."
"The second thing is to pay attention to the development of technology. With the improvement of technology, the grain output will be higher and the combat effectiveness of the army will be stronger."
In the emperor's carriage, Liu Xie pointed to the farmlands on both sides of the road and gave earnest instructions to Liu Jue beside him.
The reason why he wanted to bring Liu Jue with him on this eastern tour was that he wanted to take this opportunity to let his son, who had rarely left the palace, have a good look at what the Han Dynasty was like.
The country and the people should not exist only in books and words.
Liu Jue looked at everything outside with curiosity, and couldn't help but look up and ask: "Father, doesn't our Han Dynasty now have sweet potatoes that produce more than 30 dan per mu? With this, will the people still go hungry?"
Liu Xie touched his head and said, "Sweet potatoes are good, but they can only fill the stomachs of the people."
"Jue'er, you have to remember that what the emperor has to do is not just to fill the people's stomachs, but also to make people's lives better."
"And to achieve this, you still need to learn slowly. I, the great man, still have a long way to go."
After hearing what Liu Xie said, Liu Jue nodded as if he understood.
Seeing this, Liu Xie stopped preaching. After all, if he said too much, Liu Jue would not be able to fully understand it.
If you want to cultivate an outstanding emperor, it is not something that can be done overnight.
The team continued to move forward, heading into the distance along the official road.
