Lin Yu's simple yet cruel and true verse deeply shocked Zhao Yun.
"Whether the dynasty prospers or declines, it is always the common people at the bottom who suffer." Indeed, regardless of whether the dynasty is thriving or in decline, it is always the ordinary people at the bottom who endure hardships.
"Brother, you have the common people of the world in your heart. Zilong truly admires you." Zhao Yun sighed sincerely.
Lin Yu just smiled bitterly and cast his eyes on Cao Cao who was at the front of the army.
Originally, he had planned to slack off and muddle through life, just living an ordinary life without any ambitions. However, the scenes of war and chaos he witnessed along the way made him feel quite uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was the will of heaven that sent him back to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, hoping that he could put an end to this chaotic era.
Thinking of this, Lin Yu secretly made up his mind that he must wholeheartedly assist Cao Cao, help him develop as soon as possible, and unify the whole country.
After another day's march, Cao Cao finally led his troops to Puyang County, the administrative seat of Dongjun.
Only a few minor officials were standing at the city gate. When they saw Cao Cao approaching, they quickly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Prefect Cao!"
As the highest official of the prefecture, Cao Cao was arriving for his first day of office. Ordinarily, not only the officials of various ranks in the prefecture but also the local aristocratic clans should have sent people to welcome him. But there were only these few people at the city gate.
Cao Cao couldn't help frowning and asked coldly, "Where are the others?"
"Replying to the Prefect, they are all occupied with official duties and really can't spare the time..." A minor official stammered in reply.
"What do you mean by being occupied with official duties? Clearly, they don't take the Prefect seriously!" Xiahou Dun, who had always been hot-tempered, immediately reprimanded upon hearing this. "I think you guys are getting tired of living!"
"General, please calm down. I... I can't do anything about it!" The man said with a bitter smile.
Cao Cao's expression was uncertain. He knew in his heart that these people were deliberately trying to give him a hard time. But since he had just arrived, it wasn't the time to lose his temper.
So he said coldly, "Let's enter the city!"
After entering the city, Cao Cao first settled the troops properly and then led Dian Wei, Xiahou Dun and others straight to the county yamen.
Inside the county yamen.
Cao Cao entered the main hall without a word, followed by his men. After sitting down, he said in a deep voice, "Summon all the officials here!"
Before long, all the officials in the county yamen gathered together.
"Greetings, Prefect!" they saluted in unison.
Cao Cao slowly swept his eyes over the officials and asked casually, "Where is the Prefectural Assistant?"
"Replying to the Prefect, your subordinate is here!" An emaciated old man stepped forward from the crowd, cupping his hands in salute.
"Bring me the account books regarding the population, land, and taxes of the prefecture in recent years. Do it quickly!" Cao Cao ordered.
After all, land, population, and taxes were the foundation of Dongjun, determining whether Cao Cao could establish a firm foothold here. That's why he wanted to check the accounts as soon as he arrived.
The Prefectural Assistant didn't dare to hesitate. He immediately ordered someone to fetch the account books of the prefecture in recent years and presented them to Cao Cao.
However, after flipping through them for a while, Cao Cao's face changed instantly.
Before choosing Dongjun as his base, he had already learned about the situation of Dongjun. Although Dongjun had experienced several wars, it was still relatively prosperous with a large population.
But the population, land, and tax amounts recorded in the account books were less than one-third of the figures reported to the imperial court in previous years.
Given this situation, not to mention developing his forces, Cao Cao's five thousand troops might starve to death first.
"Are you sure there are no problems with these accounts?" Cao Cao stared coldly at the Prefectural Assistant in front of him and questioned.
Although the Prefectural Assistant was scared in his heart, he still summoned up the courage to reply, "Replying to the Prefect, when Prefect Qiao was in office, the account books were like this."
Cao Cao stared at him for a while longer before waving his hand and saying, "All of you, leave!"
After all the officials had left, Cao Cao was so angry that he pounded on the table, shouting, "These bastards! How dare they deceive me? They deserve to be killed!"
Dian Wei and the others saw Cao Cao's rage but didn't know how to relieve his worries.
After calming down for a while, Cao Cao suddenly remembered that he had Lin Yu as his advisor. He quickly said, "Go and find Mr. Lin Yu for me!"
Xiahou Dun accepted the order and left.
However, after a long while, he came back with a bitter smile and said, "Prefect, we don't know where Mr. Lin Yu has gone. We couldn't find him."
"Got it!" Cao Cao's face turned livid as he sat there fuming.
No one knew how long they waited until it got dark that they saw Lin Yu and Zhao Yun strolling into the main hall.
"Greetings, Prefect!" Lin Yu cupped his hands in salute.
"You finally know to come back! What have you been doing all afternoon?" Cao Cao asked angrily.
He was so angry in the county yamen, while Lin Yu seemed to have gone off to enjoy himself.
Lin Yu just chuckled and instead of answering directly, asked in return, "What does the Prefect want me for?"
"Well, I've already looked at the accounts of the prefecture..." Cao Cao briefly explained the situation and then handed the account books of the prefecture to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu looked through them once and nodded slightly, saying, "So that's how it is."
Seeing that he didn't seem surprised, Cao Cao couldn't help asking, "Did you already know about this, sir?"
"The Prefect doesn't know. Actually, I wasn't out enjoying myself this afternoon. Instead, I was trying to relieve your worries, Prefect." Lin Yu explained with a smile.
"Relieve my worries?" Cao Cao looked at Lin Yu blankly.
"I've already got a pretty good understanding of the situation in Puyang County." Lin Yu said, "The account books provided by the Prefectural Assistant are actually fine."
"How could that be?" Cao Cao was full of disbelief.
Dongjun had always been a prosperous place. How could there be only so little land and population?
"Actually, most of the land and population are in the hands of the aristocratic clans." Lin Yu said slowly.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperors were incompetent and the imperial court was in chaos. The situation of land annexation became more and more serious.
Those aristocratic clans with privileges seized land from the common people by various means.
More and more peasants lost their land and even had no land to cultivate.
In order to survive, they could only seek refuge with the aristocratic clans and become tenant farmers.
And the aristocratic clans could enjoy tax exemptions and corvee exemptions by virtue of their status.
As a result, the taxes collected by the government became less and less each year.
"To maintain the army, the former Prefect Qiao Mao had no choice but to build good relationships with the aristocratic clans."
"The food and supplies for his army were provided by the aristocratic clans. In exchange, most of the clan members' sons served as officials in the prefecture."
"It's more accurate to say that Dongjun was actually controlled by the aristocratic clans rather than being under the jurisdiction of the imperial court!"
"This kind of situation doesn't only exist in Dongjun. Similar situations can be seen everywhere in the thirteen prefectures of the whole country!"
"Precisely because of this, more and more peasants couldn't make a living, which led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion before and caused chaos throughout the country!" Lin Yu sighed deeply.
These aristocratic clans were like bloodsuckers, clinging to the huge Han Empire and sucking its blood voraciously.
The fatter they grew, the more the common people of the world suffered.
This was also the reason why Cao Cao wanted to suppress the aristocratic clans in history.
After all, if the aristocratic clans became too powerful, it would shake the foundation of the country's rule....