Chapter 54: Winning Over
Chapter 54: Winning Over (Additional Update for Alliance Leader Ruochen)
Early the next morning, Shao Xun and others packed their equipment and bags, planning to leave Kaiyang Gate and return to their base.
Unexpectedly, he met Pei Kuo and Pei Xia at the door.
Shao Xun actually didn't know them, but they knew him...
"Shao Du Bo, Pei Kuo from Zhonglei Camp greets you." Pei Kuo got off the carriage and saluted.
Pei Xia followed suit and bowed.
Shao Xun returned the gift.
He was already the leader of the group, and also served as the lieutenant Sima of the Donghai State. He held the "Shangfang Sword" given by Sima Yue and assisted in the selection and training of soldiers. However, this matter had not been officially implemented, and Pei Kuo and Pei Xia did not know about it.
"In the battle on October 9th last year, Shao Dubo killed Meng Chao in the battle line and scared off the bandits. Even on the top of the city wall, one could feel his bravery." Pei Kuo said with a smile.
This is a man of medium build, appearing to be in his early thirties.
His face is angular, his facial features have a sense of firmness, yet a touch of handsomeness. He is quite attractive and has a masculine beauty.
His beard had obviously been trimmed, neither long nor dense, with each strand standing upright in a ferocious manner.
This boy from an aristocratic family doesn't conform to the public's aesthetic standards.
The other one, named Pei Xia, has a much more gloomy and gentle face. He is thin and frail, but has a casual and suave demeanor.
These two brothers have very different styles. It seems that the environment can really change a person's temperament.
"General Pei, you are too kind." Shao Xun couldn't figure out the second Pei's intentions, so he tried to speak as little as possible based on the principle that too much talk leads to mistakes.
Pei Kuo sensed his guard, but didn't mind. He smiled and asked, "Let's go into the mansion to meet Sikong. Shao Dubo is a smart man..."
After saying that, he blinked and turned away.
Pei Xia also turned and left.
Before leaving, he followed his cousin's line of sight and looked behind Shao Xun.
Dozens of soldiers stood in neat rows.
Someone stroked the hilt of the knife.
Some were leaning on spears.
Someone was holding a bow.
Everyone's eyes were on the two of them, and their bodies were tense, as if at Shao Xun's command, they would rush up, swords and guns, and kill the two on the spot.
It's really crazy!
But even though he complained, Pei Xia was not stupid. He knew very well that if a person wanted to make a career, he couldn't do it without some people of his own.
These soldiers behind Shao Xun feel a bit like “our own people”.
This realization surprised him a little.
It is understandable that princes like the King of Chengdu and the King of Hejian, who have their own troops and are very powerful, have their own trusted and trusted descendants, but how can a small Du Bo also have diehard and desperate followers?
interesting.
After the two left, Shao Xun did not delay and directly asked everyone to leave.
"After you go back, guard the gate carefully and don't think that the battle is over. If you relax at this time, it will be the most dangerous." Shao Xun glanced around and said.
Yang Bao was injured, and the emperor showed mercy by letting the palace physician treat him. Shao Xun asked Li Chong to stay with the two of them to take care of him. Now, all those walking on the street were truly "their own people."
"Du Bo, is this a false surrender?" Chen Yougen was a little surprised and asked.
"After killing so many people, you still pretend to surrender?" Shao Xun was amused. Chen Yougen's thinking was really broad.
"Why? Sima Ying and Sima Yong want to kill all the surrendered soldiers in Luoyang?" Chen Yougen was angry.
"They don't have the ability to kill all the surrendered soldiers in Luoyang." Shao Xun calmed down and explained, "I am worried that someone will settle the score later. In fact, it doesn't matter. Too much debt is not a worry. What difference does it make if there are more or fewer enemies?"
"Because of the killing of Meng Chao?" Huang Biao asked with a frown.
"That's about right." Shao Xun said.
"Why don't you go back and prepare quickly?" Chen Yougen became anxious and raised his voice.
"what to prepare?"
"Raise the flag of rebellion!" Chen Yougen was very "revolutionary" and shouted directly on the street.
"There are still nearly 30,000 troops in the Luoyang Central Army, and no less than 30,000 other miscellaneous troops. How can they rebel?"
Chen Yougen choked up and lowered his voice a lot, muttering: "Then run away and become a refugee soldier."
"Let me ask you, has there been an army of refugees in the Great Jin Dynasty that has been able to gain a foothold so far?" Shao Xun asked seriously.
Chen Yougen opened his mouth wide.
He wanted to refute, but he didn't know the actual situation of the refugee armies in various places.
"I tell you, there is only one army in Shuzhong, but they can't be considered a real refugee army." Shao Xun said, "Zhang Chang in Jingzhou is so powerful, but what about now? Once the imperial army encircles and suppresses them, they will be dead. No, the government army has won and lost against them, but what really killed them was actually the private soldiers of the aristocratic families. When the imperial order came, the aristocratic families brought their soldiers to fight for the imperial court, accumulating merits, and at the same time training their private soldiers and improving their combat effectiveness."
"If the aristocratic families occupied the prefectures and counties, wouldn't it be worse for the court?" Chen Yougen said unconvinced.
"Indeed. But that is a matter for the future. The imperial court now only wants to kill the rebels. As for who will have local power, the imperial court can't do much about it. Anyway, those aristocratic families still respect the imperial court on the surface, and will symbolically pay part of the taxes. Their children will even come to Luoyang to serve as officials." Shao Xun said.
"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, what should I do?" Chen Yougen was a little angry.
He was not angry with Shao Xun, but with the world, and he wanted to smash it to pieces with one punch.
"Let's talk about it later." Shao Xun patted his shoulder, then turned his head to look at the lifeless buildings on both sides of the street, and said with a wry smile: "I wanted to take you to visit Luoyang before leaving, but the current situation, haha, there is not even a ghost on the street, it's not interesting. Come again next time."
"Luoyang is really not good." Chen Yougen also looked around and sighed: "It was not like this when I came to sell goods last time."
"Aren't you a bandit? What are you selling?" Huang Biao asked curiously.
Chen Yougen was speechless. Huang Biao, although not tall or strong, was actually a very vicious person, with a bit of a mean vile vibe. Chen Yougen didn't want to fight him.
"This is the worst year for Luoyang in the past ten years, but perhaps it will be the best year in the next ten years." Shao Xun suddenly said this, and Chen Yougen, Huang Biao and others were stunned.
"Du Bo, can Luoyang be any worse?" Chen Yougen couldn't help but ask.
Shao Xun did not answer him directly, but asked: "What kind of life do you want to live?"
Chen Yougen grinned and said, "I want to have enough food, and preferably wine and meat. Oh, yes, I also want to marry a wife. It would be even better if I could have one or two concubines."
"If you need to fight in battles to live this kind of life, are you willing?" Shao Xun asked.
"Du Bo is joking." Chen Yougen said, "Now I also fight, but I just want to make a living. Too many people fight and fight, and they can't live like this. If there is such a thing, I will think about how to kill people when I go to the toilet."
"Huang Biao, how much wealth do you think is needed to live a life like this?" Shao Xun asked again.
"If it's in the countryside, it would have to be at least a hundred acres of land." Huang Biao guessed, not quite sure.
Shao Xun nodded and said, "You are all my own people, so I won't hide anything from you. I have too many enemies, and even if I can govern a region in the future, I probably won't be able to get a good place. If I go to a prefecture that has been turned into a wasteland, I will give you land. Not only you, but all the soldiers who follow me will get land. More than 100 acres per person, okay?"
"Du Bo, does this land belong to the imperial court, or can it be passed down to descendants?" Chen Yougen asked.
"Don't worry, we won't let you farm. We are all brothers who have fought together, so why do we have to do this?" Shao Xun said with a smile: "The land can be passed on to your descendants, and your family will be exempted from one adult household tax and corvée labor."
"So good?" Chen Yougen was shocked.
In fact, for the common people of the Jin Dynasty, the most terrifying thing was not taxes, but corvee labor, which could really lead to the destruction of families and even the death of people.
If I could be exempted from corvee labor, even if it was limited to myself, I would laugh out loud in my dreams.
"You are exempt from corvée labor, but you still have to serve in the military." Shao Xun said, "In fact, it is hereditary military service, but a family has one or two hundred acres of land, which can be passed down to future generations. If you can't farm it, you can recruit a few households to help farm it. If you enjoy these benefits, you must have obligations. If there is a war, you must prepare your own equipment and go to war with the army."
Before Chen Yougen could react, Huang Biao was already thinking silently.
If Du Bo said "one or two hundred acres of land", then let's calculate it as one hundred and fifty acres. Recruit three households to help with farming, with each household having fifty acres. If there are livestock to help and all the farming tools, then it can be handled completely.
The owner only needs to do some work in the fields during the busy farming season, or even not work at all, and the harvest is enough to support the whole family to live a prosperous life.
If you buy some weapons, you will have plenty of time to hone your martial arts throughout the year.
During the slack season, they would gather together for training, identify the sounds of drums, gongs and flags, and practice military formations and tactics. Over time, they would become a strong army.
Oh, by the way, with a family of this kind, it’s not impossible to raise one or two horses, which is even more amazing.
only--
"Du Bo, this will offend people, right?" Huang Biao asked.
Shao Xun nodded, then smiled and said, "In this world, if you want to do something, how can you not offend people? But you should not brag about it. I am still a small Du Bo, and I don't know when I can reach this point."
"Uncle Du, if such a day really comes, I will follow you." Chen Yougen said solemnly, "Damn it, I am going crazy thinking about it."
Shao Xun smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Follow me, there will be such a day. No matter how difficult it is, we must work hard."
In fact, what he said had a bit of a political agenda.
He didn't like the aristocratic politics of the Western Jin Dynasty and wanted to break this system, so he had to come up with an alternative, right?
Only destroying without building, that's what a refugee leader does, not his style.
He hadn't thought about the overall political program yet, but there was a principle that it must be in line with the level of productivity, the spirit of the times and the values. He understood that taking big steps would lead to failure.
The reason why priority was given to distributing land to soldiers was purely because this was a time of chaos and without qualified military force, everything would be in vain.
Moreover, he was not sure how far he could eventually accomplish some things as there were too many unexpected factors and the power of the aristocratic families was too strong.
Perhaps, only those parts of the north that had experienced the ravages of troubled times could give him a chance to realize his ambitions.
That was the main reason, at least one of the reasons, why he didn't go to the South.
Saying this to Huang Biao, Chen Yougen and others today is actually meant to win over people's hearts.
He has a sense of crisis.
At this moment, we must stick together as one and must not allow any chaos to occur.
And when everyone unites around him, even if there are only a thousand people or even a few hundred people, they are a force that cannot be underestimated.
I can kill anyone I tell him to kill.
Without my consent, no one's orders will be effective.
Military orders from the governor? Who is the governor?
An imperial edict? Sorry, I won't obey.
If he could achieve this, the small collective he had painstakingly built would be successful and would have a certain level of advancement, able to compete with various forces and become an important force in troubled times.
"Let's go home." Seeing that the two were still thinking, Shao Xun didn't care and strode forward.
After returning to Biyong, he still had to talk to Mi Huang.
Can Wang Bing be dealt with? And what method should be used to deal with him? We need to work out a plan.
What a pity, I was unable to ask Concubine Pei for advice.
Otherwise, if she whispered something in Sikong's ear, she could persuade Wang Bing to do something, and things would be much easier.
Golden sunlight shines on the ground.
Shao Xun carried a sword and a bow, and walked like a dragon and a tiger.
Huang Biao, Chen Yougen and others followed closely.
The young soldiers held their spears at an angle, lined up in neat rows, and walked with their arms and legs swinging carefully, meticulously.
This army, this group, is starting to take shape.
(End of this chapter)