Chapter 423: The founding meeting, the first adjustment [Subscription required]

The lights flicker.

Diao Chan carefully put on the dragon robe for Cao Cao.

The dragon robe of the Wei Dynasty was black in color.

The so-called dark color is actually somewhat different from black.

Dark black is the black formed by the fusion of various colors.

It is not the ink black that is dyed directly.

The Qin Dynasty favored black, and to be more precise, the dragon robe of the First Emperor was also black.

Cao Cao felt that the black dragon robe was much more majestic and domineering than the bright yellow dragon robe of later generations.

It is woven with brocade silk, with yellow and red threads, and embroidered with dragon, phoenix and twelve-chapter patterns.

There are twelve patterns, namely the sun, moon, stars, mountains and rivers, dragons, flowers, birds... with nine dragons as the main body, which are embroidered on the chest, back, shoulders, front and back knees, as well as on the lapels, sleeve ends, and each dragon.

The nine dragons represent the utmost luck, which is taken from the meaning of the Nine-Five Supreme Being and the flying dragon in the sky in the Book of Changes.

Diao Chan was wearing the attire of a royal concubine with a phoenix pattern on it.

But the number of feathers on the phoenix's tail and crown is different, corresponding to the rank of the concubines in the harem.

Only the queen could wear the highest grade phoenix robe.

The emperor's crown did not use the curtain crown that was common during the Han Dynasty.

The emperors of the Han Dynasty wore crowns with hanging pearls, which symbolized the mountains, rivers, sun and moon, and also maintained a sense of mystery so that the emperor's face could not be seen.

Cao Cao tried it, but found the pearl crown too inconvenient, and most importantly, it blocked his view.

He founded his country through military force and changed the crown into a military cap. It was simple to wear; all he had to do was tuck his hair inside and put on a dragon hairpin, which made him look heroic and imposing.

Cao Cao looked at the dragon robe and asked Diao Chan, "Which dragon did you embroider?"

Diao Chan's bright eyes flickered: "How did your Majesty know that this dragon robe was embroidered by me?"

"Sister Qing'er and the others also embroidered, and they all rushed to embroider the dragon on my husband's chest.

I embroidered the little dragon on your husband’s inner collar.”

Why is there a dragon embroidered on the inner lapel?

Because nine is an odd number, it is difficult to achieve symmetry in the layout.

So a dragon was embroidered on the inner lapel.

In this way, the actual number of dragon patterns on the dragon robe is no less than nine, which coincides with the number of the Supreme.

The appearance looks very symmetrical and pursues aesthetics.

Cao Cao opened his collar and saw a little dragon with its feet on the clouds, looking lifelike and vivid.

Diao Chan was originally a female official in the palace, and was an excellent embroidery worker.

Cao Cao: "Diao Chan, after the founding of the country, unlike before, my inner treasury will probably shrink."

Diao Chan was startled and looked up at Cao Cao.

“You are so good at clothing and service, and one difference between a peaceful and chaotic world is that purchasing power will recover quickly.

You go find Qingyu and Xuejin (Bai Ke), and the three of you can start a business that can generate income for the inner treasury.

They are good at collecting information. You open a dyeing and weaving clothing shop in major cities.

The two of them were responsible for linking it with information collection, and through the purchasing power of brocade and cloth in various places, it could be regarded as a supplement to the census of trade in various places.

Some time ago, there was a breakthrough in weaving machinery. It will be promoted throughout the Wei Dynasty and gradually increase the scale of the textile industry.

It’s hard to lose money if you do this business.”

You have to know that in this era, cloth, brocade and gold and silver were worth the same.

For a long time, Shu brocade was used directly as money.

So this is a money grabbing business.

All the noble families were doing it, and the price of exporting it through the Western Regions was sky-high.

Cao Cao had other plans, so he let Diao Chan set up the stall first.

Bian Mei has ready-made manpower.

"I understand." Diao Chan responded happily.

"You go back, I'm leaving."

Cao Cao put on the dragon robe, tied the emperor's jade belt around his waist, and left with the gait of a dragon and a tiger.

Diao Chan watched from behind as Cao Cao put on the dragon robe and looked even more majestic.

As soon as he left the living room, Dian Wei and Xu Chu followed him from both sides of the porch.

These two guys also put on new armor, which was covered with dense patterns and looked extremely majestic.

After leaving the rear hall complex, the main hall of the directors is in front.

The hall is vast, with eighteen pillars made of huge wood on both sides of the main entrance, which require three or four people to hug together.

Below the pillar is a bronze base that is over seven feet high and has a carved dragon pattern on it.

The main hall is built with mortise and tenon structure.

There are stone carvings of auspicious animals on the eaves, which are gorgeous and solemn.

When Cao Cao came in, all the officials had already entered the hall a quarter of an hour earlier.

Civil and military officials lined up, waiting respectfully.

When the country was first established, Cao Cao adjusted some systems.

But there is no rush for success.

The central government still used the previous official system, and did not pursue a more streamlined and efficient system, such as the three-province and six-department system of later generations.

For some things, you need to proceed step by step, and the most suitable one at the moment is the best.

Cao Cao took a seat in the main seat, and the people below shouted "Long live Cao Cao" three times.

Then we entered the morning class.

The ministers took turns to report on the matters for which they were responsible.

The most important topic at the first court meeting after the founding of the country was the promulgation of a new system.

This was the three-leader system that was first proposed by Cao Cao based on the experience of later generations and enriched and improved by several people in the core layer.

What is the three-leader system?
The so-called three chiefs means that every five households form a neighborhood and each has a neighborhood chief.

Five neighborhoods form a village, with a village chief.

Every five miles forms a party, with one party leader.

The three-chief system and the equal-field system are best implemented together.

But this requires subsequent reforms, and we have to do it step by step in the early stages.

Let’s first talk about the three-chief system, whose duties were to check household registration, collect rent and taxes, and conscript military service and corvée labor.

In other words, Cao Wei's previous strict population census was taken a step further and implemented more specifically.

The three-chief system was implemented, with the three chiefs directly under the prefectures and counties.

Farmers who were originally dependent on the gentry and powerful will become official registered households of the country.

Its purpose is to eliminate the situation where local gentry and powerful families are everywhere.

Those who were hidden and used for private purposes were all recorded in the register.

This is a system that fundamentally curbs local power and strengthens central power.

You have to know that the aristocratic families have many clans, tribes, and even private soldiers in the local area.

There were often hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of peasants who were dependent on them, all of whom were their private owners. These powerful nobles were local tycoons, like local emperors.

Their existence provides the best soil for local separatism.

They can even influence the appointment and dismissal of local officials.

If officials from the imperial court went to the counties where they were located, they had to visit them first and gain their approval before they could effectively perform their duties.

The people who depended on them were the dependents of their families, and could also be understood as private slaves.

The relationship between the gentry and the households under their care was that of master and tenant.

The chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty had a lot to do with the widespread existence of powerful aristocratic families.

In order to stabilize its rule and facilitate the collection of labor service and taxes, the central government adopted a compromising policy, recognizing the control and enslavement of the gentry over the households under the protection of their parents, which led to class differentiation and increasingly intensified contradictions.

Eventually it will lead to the collapse of the entire social system.

If legislation cannot be passed, the private occupation of population by the gentry can be effectively curbed at the root and brought back into public ownership.

When Cao Cao was around, perhaps all the unrest could be suppressed and there wouldn't be any problems.

But in the future, the gentry would remain dormant, and the day would come when the troubles of the late Han Dynasty would be repeated.

In fact, this kind of trouble among the aristocratic families will break out again in the future.

The disasters it caused during the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties were extremely serious.

In history, Cao Cao failed to unify the country, so he did not implement his population census method throughout the country and form legislation, which limited the effect on curbing the gentry.

The three-chief system in history did not appear until more than two hundred years later.

However, now that the Wei Dynasty is unified, it is the most appropriate time to implement the three-chief system.

It is also the most appropriate system for the current social conditions.

Compared with the old system, after the implementation of the three-chief system, the number of self-cultivating farmers directly controlled by the central government will increase significantly.

National taxes will increase accordingly, while farmers' tax burden will be reduced.

This is the tax reduction and exemption that Cao Cao, Xun Yu and others have mentioned repeatedly recently.

This cannot be achieved by simply collecting less taxes, but involves the adjustment of the entire system.

Historically, this system was not promoted until the late Northern Wei Dynasty, which led to a significant recovery and development of the social economy.

It is very suitable for returning to the original state and rebuilding after a chaotic period, and for returning local power to the central government.

The Three-Chief System of the Northern Wei Dynasty also laid a solid foundation for the later Sui and Tang dynasties.

The three-chief system broke the legitimacy of the powerful protecting the registered permanent residents, and had far-reaching consequences.

With Cao Cao's current prestige, there would be almost no resistance to the implementation of the three-chief system.

He was well-versed in poetry and books, and had the experience of later generations, so he handled political affairs with ease.

Logically speaking, the three-chief system violates the fundamental interests of the gentry, and its implementation would encounter great resistance.

But with Cao Cao pushing the issue forward, who would dare to go against him now?

More than 80% of the people in the court were from aristocratic families, but no one stood up to express different opinions.

The first grand court meeting after the founding of the country went faster than planned and ended in less than two hours.

Before the court was dismissed, Cao Cao said to all the officials: "The founding of our great Wei is a cause for great celebration.

I plan to host a banquet for all of you to thank you for your hard work over the years and for helping me to pacify the world.

Let Sima Xun choose a time when officials of all levels can be present and hold a banquet in the palace."

All the ministers thanked the Lord for his grace and couldn't help but feel relieved.

Yesterday, Cao Cao attracted a real dragon into his body. Everyone saw it, and his ministers were also puzzled.

In the minds of these ministers, Cao Cao also tends to be deified.

Imagine if the person sitting on it was not a human, but a dragon. How intimidating would that be?!

Only Xun Yu and a few others dared to talk to Cao Cao as usual.

His attitude was gentle at this time, and he wanted to host a banquet for all the ministers, which was quite humane and made these ministers feel relieved.

Cao Cao stood up and left the court hall, and the ministers left.

He returned to his new study in the front hall wing.

This study room exudes an air of luxury in its low-keyness. The desk and chairs are all made of thousand-year-old yellow pear or red sandalwood, and are carved with dragon patterns.

Above the desk hang the imperial seal, Chengying sword and Chixiao sword. The light is flowing, and the country's destiny is magnificent.

Xun Yu and several others also followed in and handed Cao Cao a list first.

Above are some people who will be promoted and rewarded after the founding of the country.

Among them were Bao Xin, Zhang Miao and other initial friends.

Bao Xin was now the deputy governor of Yanzhou.

Zhang Miao also received corresponding promotions.

When the country was founded, Cao Cao also conferred the title of marquis on the two men.

Bao Xin was a staunch supporter of Cao Wei, so he was in charge of such an important state as Yanzhou.

Bao Xin's help to Cao Cao back then was a congenial one and the reward was rich.

He also came to participate in the founding ceremony this time.

Cao Cao asked him to stay until after the state banquet before returning to Yanzhou.

"The Three Chiefs System must be implemented quickly. Pay attention to the selection of the Three Chiefs. They cannot have any connection with the nobles. Otherwise, loopholes will be exploited and the system will become an empty shell."

Xi Zhicai quickly agreed.

He is specifically responsible for this matter.

Cao Cao looked down at the list, and Xun You reminded him:

"Your Majesty, we should grant amnesty at the beginning of the country. Even if the death row prisoners are not pardoned, the minor crimes should be pardoned to show that our Great Wei governs the country with leniency and leave a good reputation for future generations."

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "I don't care about this reputation, and you don't need to care too much about other people's opinions, otherwise you will become someone else's inside crotch, and we will have to cover up whatever they say. There is no need."

Several people laughed, knowing that Cao Cao was joking.

They held a small meeting in the study to discuss the implementation of some new policies and how to implement them specifically.

Near noon, the crowd dispersed.

Jia Xu stayed behind and said, "Your Majesty, there is news from the north that the Xianbei people are going to migrate north?"

Move north?

Cao Cao thought for a moment and said, "When we founded the country, the destiny of heaven and earth changed, and the momentum was too great?"

Jia Xu nodded: "Your Majesty is wise."

Cao Cao thought that he had been trying to show off in front of people yesterday and seemed to be too arrogant, so he scared the Xianbei away.

Dealing with the Xianbei is the focus of the next stage of territorial expansion.

The Xianbei wanted to move north.

Cao Cao looked at the giant map hanging on the opposite wall.

While he was pondering, an eunuch came to report: "Zhuge Kongming and Pang Shiyuan asked to see you. They said they have good news. Your Majesty will definitely like it."

Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick are here.

"Let them in."

Ps: At the end of the last chapter, it seemed that four or five pictures were uploaded. Two of the high-definition pictures were too large, so they failed. The rest, including pictures found on the Internet and corresponding to the text descriptions, are in the comment section at the end of the chapter.

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