Chapter 150 Gift Giving
Chapter 150 Gift Giving (Additional chapter for the leader Dao Zai Fan Ye)
The fighting is over, but the pain continues.
The population of Chang'an was not that large, and more than 10,000 people were killed at once. Every family was in mourning.
Mi Huang presided over the soul-calling ceremony outside the city, and Shao Xun did not interfere, as that was the coach's stage.
He opened the Chang'an treasury and distributed some of the stored grain.
The number is not large, it can only slightly comfort the people who have lost their loved ones.
In addition, the property seized from the Xianbei people was counted one by one and then searched in Chang'an City. If there were any family members still alive, some of them would be returned.
He personally took charge of this matter and it took him several days to distribute the supplies gradually. The people were naturally grateful.
At this time, the Right Guard and the Cavalry Army also arrived outside the city one after another.
As soon as they entered the city, General Pei Kuo of the Right Guard, General Wang Hu of the Cavalry and others were shocked.
Countless human heads were hung under the eaves on both sides of the street, densely packed and stretching into the distance.
After a few days, the heads had already rotted and shriveled. People were collecting them one by one, preparing to take them out and dig a pit to bury them.
"What a courage and what a method." Pei Kuo sighed with a long sigh.
Wang Hu shuddered subconsciously.
He was also a cavalryman, and he really couldn't imagine what would happen if the cavalry was blocked in the city.
Even armored cavalry could not charge at the barricades and could only be hacked to the ground one by one.
As a colleague, Wang Hu felt a little sad and remained silent throughout the whole process.
Every household in Chang'an was preparing for a funeral.
The soldiers who followed Pei and Wang into the city felt sympathy when they saw the heads, and their eyes changed when they looked at them.
The military discipline of the Imperial Guards was average, and they did a lot of things to harass the people, but they had never done such outrageous things as massacre and looting - or they had not had time to do it.
The Xianbei were so bold that they actually came to Chang'an to massacre the city. Fortunately, Governor Mi and General Shao acted decisively, sent troops to quell the rebellion, and killed all the rebels.
Thinking of this, everyone felt happy.
If not for anything else, it was worth killing for the people of Chang'an who were in mourning!
Shao Xun works in Xiaoyao Garden.
When Pei and Wang arrived, their personal soldiers were left outside, and one of them brought in several followers.
There were Silver Spear Army soldiers on duty everywhere along the way.
When the two entered the garden, everyone stared at them.
Pei Kuo burst out laughing.
He knew about the existence of Yunzhongwu, that there were hundreds of private soldiers stationed there, and even knew the origins of these private soldiers.
Shao Xun worked tirelessly, cared for his students, taught them, and brought up those young children, becoming like a father to them.
Then, grown-up young men were appointed as officers, and boatmen, trackers on the river, and coolies at the docks and markets were recruited as soldiers.
An honest coolie with no experience in martial arts can be easily subdued and driven by a young officer with martial arts skills. After a long period of training, he becomes extremely obedient.
The young officers felt a sense of admiration for Shao Xun, who was both their teacher and father. They were united in purpose and worked closely with him.
Finally, the Silver Spear Army was stationed in various places for training, and the people of Wu were governed by military law. In this way, a small force was formed in the chaotic times.
Others first have a fort and residents, and then private soldiers.
Shao Xun first had private soldiers, and then he had a fort and residents.
interesting.
Of course, there are more and more people like Shao Xun now.
A while ago, Chen Yan, the lieutenant of the Ministry of Finance, complained to him. Because of the endless war, many people moved south from Bingzhou and Jizhou, settled on both sides of the river and reclaimed wasteland. Among them, there were brave and strong people who gathered hundreds of confidants around them, driving thousands of refugees to cut wood and tamp earth to build forts.
There are more and more forts around Luoyang.
Among them, the two most famous ones were Zhao Gu and Shangguan Si.
Zhao Gu's origins are unknown, and Chen Yan doesn't even know where he is from or what his family background is.
Shangguan Si was a general of the imperial army. After fleeing Luoyang with some defeated soldiers, he actually gathered refugees from the war, settled them down and reclaimed wasteland, and called himself the Marshal of the Fortress.
The world is in chaos and demons are running rampant!
Several people quickly entered Xiaoyao Garden.
Shao Xun was writing at his desk. When he saw the two of them, he quickly stood up and saluted, saying with a smile, "General Pei, General Wang."
The two men were of higher official rank than Shao Xun, but they both returned the greeting.
"Five thousand cavalrymen were wiped out in one battle. Have you ever thought about the consequences, young master?" The matter was serious and neither of them was in the mood for politeness. Pei Kuo went straight to the point and asked.
"They are just 5,000 bandits. Killing them will make people happy. Sikong will applaud when he hears about it." Shao Xun said.
Pei Kuo looked into his eyes carefully, sighed after a while, and said: "It's good as long as you think it through."
Wang Hu remained silent.
Shao Xun noticed him and laughed, "General Wang, you've come at the right time. Anyone who sees you will have a share, so don't refuse."
After saying that, he picked up a gift list from the table and handed it over.
"This... one thousand horses." Wang Hu subconsciously ignored the other treasures on the gift list and said in surprise.
Pei Kuo was no longer calm.
A thousand horses, what a big deal!
"I've known for a long time that the Cavalry Corps has no horses." Shao Xun's face straightened and he said, "There are still many escaped Cavalry, Top Cavalry, Huben, Yili, and Tuqi soldiers in the mountains and swamps. They are all veterans and can go into battle if equipped with horses. If the Cavalry Corps is to be expanded in the future, horses will be indispensable." Wang Hu hesitated for a moment and accepted the gift list.
He really couldn't refuse this gift. The Cavalry Army currently had nearly 2,000 soldiers, and when they went out to fight, most of them led horses and walked.
Why? There were only war horses, but no riding horses.
If you don't want to ride a war horse, then you can only lead the horse and walk, mixing with the infantry, right?
If he refused this gift, the whole cavalry would blame him to death.
Being the boss is not easy, you have to take all aspects into consideration.
"Alas, the Cavalry is indeed in need of horses. I am ashamed to accept this gift." Wang Hu bowed and said, "If you have any requests in the future, I will definitely not refuse."
After making the decision, Wang Hu finally had the leisure to look at the other items on the gift list.
Shao Xun gave him ten horses, and the officers of the Cavalry Army also received one to five horses.
In addition, there were a few gold and silver items, with each officer having one or two. They were all items from wealthy families in Chang'an. They were not necessarily made of pure gold or silver, many of them were gilded, but they were also very good.
Pei Kuo also had a gift list.
The Right Guard of the Imperial Army received 500 horses and a number of gold and silver items.
He was very generous and accepted it directly.
Anyway, I didn't steal it myself. It has been passed on twice, and the original owners are all dead, so there is no problem in taking it down.
Besides, he was born in Wenxi Pei family. He took it, so what can he do?
The three of them sat in Xiaoyao Garden for a while, and at noon, they had a meal together.
Wang Hu quickly said goodbye and left, but Pei Kuo stayed for a while as he had something else to say.
"After doing such a big thing, what will you do next, young master?" Pei Kuo asked, "Do you want to seek an official position in Guanzhong?"
Shao Xun shook his head and said, "I can't stay in Guanzhong anymore."
He has been checking the official archives in Chang'an these two days.
Due to frequent wars and improper storage, some information has been lost, but it is still of reference value.
According to historical records, in the first year of Taikang (280), the six counties of Yongzhou had a total of more than households and a registered population of approximately .
The data after Taikang disappeared, and Shao Xun asked a few remaining minor officials and learned that the population peak in Guanzhong should be in the sixth year of Yuankang (296). However, they did not have specific figures, only roughly saying that there were "more than households."
In the sixth year of Yuankang, the Xiongnu invaded Guanzhong and Zhang Sun, the governor of Beidi, was killed.
In August of that year, Qi Wannian of the Di people rebelled.
It was the same year that "there was famine and epidemic in Guanzhong".
The plague continued until the following year (297), when it was compounded by a severe drought, with "famine in Guanzhong, where a hectoliter of rice cost ten thousand coins."
During this process, countless people died of hunger and plague.
When Qi Wannian rebelled, there were 40,000 to 50,000 households that fled from Yong and Qin to Hanzhong and Shuzhong - the population of Qinzhou was originally small, and most of these people were from Guanzhong.
In addition, tens of thousands of people also flowed into Nanyang.
The number flowing into the surrounding areas of Luoyang is almost the same.
If the population losses caused by the war are taken into account, Shao Xun speculated that the registered population in Guanzhong at that time should be less than 70,000 households, which can be estimated from the number of troops sent by Sima Yong.
Even if we include the hidden population of the aristocratic families, it is estimated that there are only about 120,000 to 130,000 households and a population of more than 600,000.
So, what about the Hu people at this time?
In the sixth year of the Yuankang reign (296), the imperial court had a registered population of less than , while the number of Hu people was between and .
During the Wannian Rebellion of Qi, the Hu people suffered some losses. Now the population of Hu and Han is about half and half. There may be slightly more Hu people because people keep migrating in, while the Han people are slowly leaving Guanzhong.
In short, the current population of Guanzhong is probably about one million, with the Hu and Han people accounting for about half each, with the Hu people slightly more numerous.
After the massacre at the end of the Han Dynasty, Chang'an was once home to only a few hundred households.
During the Hundred Years' War of the Three Kingdoms, Chang'an suffered heavy population losses, and now only has about 30,000 to 50,000 people.
In such a complex environment, it is difficult for him, an outsider with little foundation, to gain a foothold.
Furthermore, Sikong would not agree. Court officials, local governors and even aristocratic families would not recognize him.
In short, he has won the hearts of the people, but this is only limited to Chang'an. He has no mass base in other places and cannot make any progress.
To put it bluntly, the Luoyang Basin, which has been repeatedly ravaged by wars, is not as complex as Guanzhong.
Eventually he had to return to Luoyang and Guangchengze.
"So you still plan to return to Luoyang?" Pei Kuo asked, playing with the gift list.
"Yes." Shao Xun nodded and said, "I need to consolidate my foundation next."
"Young master is a sober person. I have nothing to say." Pei Kuo sighed.
If he were Shao Xun, he should have gone back to train his troops and store food, stay at home and wait for the right time - yes, people with insight can see that the world will not be better, but they are just taking one step at a time.
Shao Xun rose too quickly, his foundation was unstable, and his background was insufficient.
This time, after annihilating all 5,000 Xianbei cavalry, more and more people will notice him, and more and more people will study him.
From now on, the situation he will face will be more complicated.
It is right to lay a solid foundation, and this is the only correct path.
(End of this chapter)