Chapter 106 Yiyang

Chapter 106 Yiyang

Chapter 106 Yiyang
Before the end of the first month of the second year of Yongning (305), Shao Xun led his troops westward.

Mi Huang could not bear the urgency any longer, so he finally took his eldest son Mi Zhi and two hundred Mi clan members and headed west.

With Luoyang as the center, the east-west roads are roughly divided into "Chenggao Road" (east) and "Qiaohan Road" (west).

The former is a riverside avenue located at the northern foot of Mangshan Mountain (Mangshan Mountain) and the southern bank of the Yellow River. It is characterized by flat terrain, fast and convenient transportation, and it is very easy to go to Xingyang and other places.

Chenggao is the most dangerous place on this road. Passes have been built nearby in all dynasties, such as Chenggao Pass, Hulao Pass, Sishui Pass, etc. The locations of the passes may be different, but the core of them are all built on the mountains and rivers, relying on the remaining branches of Songshan Mountain and the Yellow River.

The Xiaohan Road is much more dangerous. After all, it is located in the mountainous area of ​​western Henan and is not easy to travel on.

To be precise, Xiaohan Road is a general term, which can be further divided into the Xiaoshan Road in the east and the Hangu Road in the west, with Shan County as the dividing point.

The Xiaoshan Road can also be divided into two roads, north and south.

The southern route has the best travel conditions. It goes along the Luoshui River Valley and goes directly to Yiyang, so it is also called "Yiyang Road".

"Since the Zhou Dynasty, the post road between Chang'an and Luoyang has not changed much." Mi Huang said to Shao Xun as he walked, and from time to time he turned his head to look at his eldest son Mi Zhi behind him to see if he was listening.

Mi Zhi came to the mountainous area in western Henan from the coastal plain. He was a little curious at first and stared at the mountains and rivers too often. He had been taught a lesson by Mi Huang several times.

Shao Xun was actually equally interested.

The first time he left Luoyang City and headed west, he felt the pleasure of opening a new map.

"The mountains and rivers are like this. Even if we want to change their course, we can't." Shao Xun said, "I heard that in the 211th year of Jian'an (), Cao Mengde opened the northern road of Xiaoshan Mountain to attack Guanzhong. Now there are only these two roads, one north and one south, right?"

"Yeah." Mi Huang nodded.

Shao Xun thought about it. He always felt that there was a third way. He had seen it in a book in later generations. It seemed that it was along the south bank of the Yellow River, making a big circle, passing through the "mainstay" area, and directly reaching Shan County. However, it should be very difficult to travel. There was no hope for vehicles, and it would be very dangerous for people and horses.

"Yiyang has actually always been under the control of Luoyang." In the quiet valley, besides the sound of the troops marching, there was only Mi Huang's signature hoarse voice: "Every time the Western troops attacked Luoyang, Yiyang would have a big battle. When Sima Yi was in power, Huangfu Shang fought several battles with Zhang Fang here."

Yiyang is the easternmost county in Hongnong County. As the entire southern road of Mount Xiao is within its territory, it is extremely important and battles were fought one after another, all of which were extremely brutal.

So much so that officials were unwilling to serve here. If they could refuse, they would refuse. If they couldn't, they would resign and leave. Their lives were more important.

"How many people are there in Yiyang?" Shao Xun looked at the clear and wide Luo River and the river valley plains on both sides, and said, "There is no one along the way. There are some people who see us and run away as fast as they can as if they were avoiding the plague."

"I don't know either." Mi Huang sighed, "Let's go, Yiyang City is just ahead."

Shao Xun nodded, picked up the piece of silk covered with tiny handwriting, and put it in his arms.

This was the "cheat sheet" prepared for him by Concubine Pei, which recorded in detail everything about Yi Yang extracted from classics such as "Strategies of the Warring States" and "Records of the Grand Historian" - from the Han city in the Warring States Period, to King Wu of Qin sending Gan Mao to attack Han, and even to the Nanshan Mountain in Yi Yang where the hermit Sun Deng of this dynasty lived.

In the future I will have to hire a few people to study these historical materials.

Historical materials are not just about history. Sometimes they are also related to military affairs. For example, what route did the ancients take and why did they take it that way? Was it easy to walk on this route? What difficulties did they encounter? What was the weather like? A lot of things are all worth referring to.

There is no county magistrate in Yiyang City anymore...

"Welcome, Your Majesty." Qi Shun, the highest-ranking county magistrate of Yi Yang County, bowed and said loudly.

Under his leadership, the officials behind him also stepped forward to salute.

The voices were a little sparse, because there were only a few clerks left.

"Thank you for your hard work." Mi Huang got off his horse and looked at the dilapidated city wall. He said with emotion: "It's not easy to be an official here, right?"

Qi Shun and others looked at each other in bewilderment. How should they respond to this?
Shao Xun laughed and got off the horse.

The army continued to advance towards Yi Yang County.

The kingdom's central army originally had more than 3,300 men, and in the past few months it had been expanded to 3,600 men, with an additional 3,000 auxiliary troops following behind with a baggage convoy.

Six hundred Silver Spear Army soldiers and two hundred training cavalrymen also arrived.

Together with the 3,000 soldiers from the Upper and Lower Armies of the Kingdom Army assigned to them, the total force dispatched this time exceeded 10,000. This might be the last battle before the Kingdom Army was officially reorganized.

"Yi Yang is not small. The county magistrate doesn't even need a salary of 600 dan." Shao Xun said with a smile as he looked at a small piece of reclaimed land outside the county town.

The counties of the imperial court were divided into three levels: county magistrate, chief, and prime minister. The eighth rank was equivalent to Shao Xun’s current position as lieutenant Sima.

The magistrate of each county has a rank of six hundred stones, the seventh grade.

The county magistrates are those with a salary of one thousand stones, which is the sixth rank, equivalent to the general of the palace that Shao Xun is about to take, and the generals of the royal army.

It is unscientific to regard the county magistrate as a minor official.

The famous Chief Clerk of the General of the Central Army who protected the Xiongnu was only equivalent to the magistrate of a county.

The powerful officials in the shogunate and the princesses' husbands were no more than county magistrates.

The fact that they abandoned the county magistrate and ran away is enough to show how fierce the war here is.

According to Concubine Pei's notes, Yi Yang County originally had more than 3,000 households on its household register, which meant it was a standard seventh-rank, 600-shi county magistrate - any county with more than a thousand households was called a magistrate, and those with less than a thousand households were called a chief. If the county happened to be the seat of a state or county, then if it had more than 500 households, it could be called a county magistrate.

There are 3,000 households on the registered register, and the actual number may be more than double that. However, after experiencing the harm done by Zhang Fang, the actual population of Yi Yang County is now only around 1,000 or 2,000 households.

"A magistrate of a hundred miles is essential for being close to the people. He is indispensable." Mi Huang shook his head and said, "I will report to the court and appoint a new magistrate. You can wait for a month or so." In fact, the candidate has already been selected. Huangmen Shilang Pan Tao recommended his cousin Pan Si as the county magistrate. Military Secretary Cao Fu had no objection. Mi Huang also agreed and informed the Minister of Works. The next step is to go through the process. If Wang Yan is not stuck, he can take office in a month at most.

Shao Xun was thinking silently.

The county magistrate has been appointed.

The "senior officials" in the county must have also been divided up and had nothing to do with him, such as the chancellor, lieutenant, and strategic clerk - the county chancellor Qi Shun was already there.

Among them, the magistrates and lieutenants of small and medium-sized counties are both ninth-rank officials.

The Fanglüe Li was not an official and was ranked below the Cheng and Wei. However, the county magistrate had no power to appoint his own and was also considered a senior assistant.

In addition to the superiors, there are also "subordinate officials".

The subordinate officials are divided into three categories: "Gangji", "Menxia" and "Zhucao", and there are dozens of people in total.

These were not officials, but what people at that time commonly called "county officials", most of whom were the private plots of local tyrants - in theory, all official positions in the county were a kind of corvee, with no salary, and they worked for free. As to whether it was really for free, it depended on your ability.

The key point is that all subordinate officials are appointed by the county magistrate himself.

Shao Xun had his eyes on two positions: the chief officer of the Thief Cao, the Thief Catching Yuan, and the chief officer of the Military Cao, the Military Cao Yuan.

As the name suggests, the thief catcher is responsible for catching thieves.

At this moment, all the fort owners can't get rid of the label of "thief".

Because they would rob passing merchants, civilians who did not join the fort, and even other forts.

The Bingcao Yuan was in charge of "military recruitment and transportation".

In the previous battles in Luoyang, who sent a large number of county soldiers? In fact, it was the county's petty clerks who went to the countryside to recruit soldiers and then sent them to the meat grinder in Luoyang to be consumed.

The Bingcaoyuan had a good relationship with the local tyrants and was well connected, so he could often attract farmhands and soldiers in large numbers. Therefore, this position was not available to ordinary people, and one had to have a strong social network.

But the ecology of Yi Yang County has completely changed.

Many fort owners were originally minor officials in the county. When they saw the fierce fighting, they quit their jobs and returned to their hometowns to gather farmers to farm in order to protect themselves.

Shao Xun didn't need them to help him recruit soldiers, because he had his own soldiers...

"Lieutenant..." Shao Xun came behind Mi Huang and reminded in a low voice.

"Don't worry, even if the county magistrate doesn't come, I'll arrange for you to have thief catchers and military officers." Mi Huang turned his head to look at Shao Xun, and after hesitating for a while, he asked, "The Silver Spear Army fought with Zhang Fang before, and many people in Luoyang know about it. If it suddenly disappears, will it be a bad thing?"

"We can't afford it, so we disbanded it." Shao Xun said carelessly, "We often disband troops these days. It's a common thing."

Mi Huang was amused by his shamelessness and asked, "Which forts do you plan to attack?"

"Don't attack the forts, attack the bandit camps." Shao Xun said: "The bandit camps have fewer people and are not as strong as the forts. Find a few bandit camps with water and farmland, occupy them, and then recruit refugees to settle and cultivate them."

Mi Huang nodded.

Refugees are not a problem. There are already many refugees from Bingzhou around Luoyang, and their number is still increasing.

"But you have to help me subdue those fortress owners, otherwise it will be difficult to raise money and food." Mi Huang said seriously.

"Okay." Shao Xun agreed immediately.

You help me and I help you, that's normal.

Besides, it’s not that the fort owners refuse to pay taxes and levies. In fact, they do pay and are even willing to send troops.

The problem lies in the proportion. Mi Huang wants more, so this needs to be discussed.

As for the refugees recruited by Shao Xun himself, they were mainly used to support the Silver Spear Army.

The soldiers of the Silver Spear Army were half unemployed and half engaged in farming.

In addition, each soldier has five refugee households to provide financial and food support, so as to minimize the time the Silver Spear Army soldiers spend doing farm work and increase the frequency of training.

Considering that the most expensive weapons and armor have been solved, this system can be maintained, provided there is official protection.

To put it bluntly, this was his backup plan in extreme situations. Once the situation changed, he could instantly control the entire Yiyang County, recruit 600 well-trained Silver Spear Army soldiers, and a large number of refugee militias.

To some extent, this is an enhanced version of the beggar army, an army that belongs to him alone.

Before that, he could continue to dig into the corners of Da Jin, using his status as a general in the palace to trade in high-quality weapons and armor that were difficult for the real refugee army to obtain.

In short, Mr. Sikong, you asked me to continue to be a thug and not to be sent out. I accept it, but don’t blame me for preparing a backup plan.

Besides, these days there are many relatives of officials and generals who build forts and keep guests outside. I am not the first, nor the last. Whatever happens, it’s up to them.

After Mi Huang and Shao Xun entered the county government office, they immediately called the county magistrate Qi Shun to inquire about the local situation in detail.

Time is running out, and the cost of deploying the troops is considerable, so we have to fight quickly and decisively.

(End of this chapter)