Chapter 187: The Great Man
Chapter 187: The Great Man (Monthly Ticket Plus 2)
Before the angel arrived, no less than three people had already informed Shao Xun in advance.
"Now you can call me 'Lord'." In the military camp outside Handan City, Lu Zhi saluted with a smile.
Junhou was a respectful title for marquises or noble people in the Han Dynasty, and was inherited in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
For example, Cao Pi once said: "Recently, Nanyang Zong Huishu said that you once had a beautiful jade ring. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this and smiled and laughed at it."
It can be seen.
"Why do you have to do this?" Shao Xun quickly pulled Lu Zhi back, bowed solemnly, and said, "All state affairs are entrusted to you."
"Yes." Lu Zhi responded respectfully.
He knew that "state affairs" did not simply refer to the 1,400 households in the fief.
Luyang had a county magistrate, that is, the county magistrate and the marquis coexisted.
Just like a kingdom is likely to have a governor, that is, the governor and the kingdom's internal historian (prime minister) coexist.
There is a rule in the imperial court that people who are granted titles can only get one third of the rent and taxes from their fiefs.
Shao Xun was granted the title of Marquis of Luyang County, with a fief of 1,400 households. As the marquis's prime minister, Lu Zhi could only manage those 1,400 households and could only collect one third of the rent and taxes - which became one ninth in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The internal historian of the kingdom and the prime minister theoretically had the task of supervising the princes and dukes, because they were officials appointed by the court and had no relationship with the princes and dukes.
But in fact it is not the case.
Judging from the current situation, the Internal Secretary and the Dukes and Marquises have gradually become private persons. This is the result of high-ranking officials usurping the power of the court.
Local governors are often no match for the internal history of the kingdom.
A county magistrate is basically no match for a duke or prime minister.
Lu Zhi's mission is to find a way to deal with the magistrate of Luyang County, force him to submit, and slowly swallow up the entire county of Luyang and turn it into his private domain.
This task was not difficult. He had already thought of a plan that would surely disgust the county magistrate so much that he would eventually submit.
Shao Xun was full of confidence. He now controlled almost half of the county, if Liang and Luyang counties and various manors and forts were counted. Moreover, most of the people in this half of the county were settled by him personally. In terms of resource collection and use, the efficiency was extremely high, even far exceeding that of one county, close to two counties.
In some dynasties, it took twenty households to support one full-time professional soldier.
In some dynasties, five households could support one, and the combat effectiveness was quite good.
The difference is that the former may not be able to collect much rent and taxes, while the latter collects most of the surplus resources and invests them in military construction.
This lord, I also need to take action.
Shao Xun looked at Lu Zhi with satisfaction, and then they smiled at each other. Everything was said without words.
On the first day of September, the Grand Tutor issued a military order, requiring all the soldiers from various counties, the Yamen Army and their subordinates to leave Handan and return to their respective garrisons within ten days.
Of course Shao Xun had to wait until the last day.
By the end of August, he had selected 500 Yamen soldiers and 1,000 strong men to escort a batch of confiscated property and equipment to Liang County. Especially the equipment, he did not give it to anyone. He had more and more private soldiers, and the training losses were great. For example, the bowstrings in stock were almost used up and urgently needed to be replenished.
The second batch of craftsmen, nearly a hundred people, were recruited from Hebei and sent back.
Now there are only ten days left, so he will not let it go. If he doesn't take the opportunity to get more things, will it be worthy of this expedition? Anyway, Hebei has always been known for its wealth, so I will help you "equalize the rich and the poor" with the people of Henan.
On the day of the Double Ninth Festival, an angel arrived in Handan and read out the decree of ennoblement on the spot, and everyone congratulated him.
Shao Xun took the opportunity to inquire about it, and found out that Gou Xi was granted the title of Marquis of Dongping County, General Fujun, and Commander-in-Chief of the Qing and Yan military forces.
Gou Xi won a state in one battle, but I only got a county. Why does Sima Yue trust Gou Xi so much?
Haha, it doesn't matter. Sima Yue's trust can never last long, and he and Gou Xi will definitely fall out.
That day the whole army had a great feast and enjoyed wine and meat.
On the tenth day of September, after collecting the last batch of money and food, the army left Handan and returned to the capital.
******
In the mountains of Bingzhou, Liu Yuan put down the bow in his hand, feeling a little regretful.
This is a horn bow exactly the same as the one Shao Xun used, originally a pair of male and female. He gave one away and kept one for himself. Today, a surrendered person came and mentioned the war in Hebei. Liu Yuan thought a lot.
Those who use bows are gaining momentum.
"Heroes from all over the world have come to join me. I am overwhelmed with joy." He calmed down and looked at Liu Xuan and others.
The system of the Han Dynasty at that time was a bit "against the trend".
The country's prime minister, chief censor and grand marshal were the heads of all officials. These were the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty, which was very different from the system in which the Secretariat held core power during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty was Liu Xuan, the Right Wise King, the Grand Marshal was Liu Hong, the Left Yulu King, and the position of Chief Censor was originally given to Liu Yuan's former teacher Cui You, but he "firmly refused the position". Later, the position was given to the Xiongnu noble Huyan Yi (Liu Yuan's father-in-law).
"Your Majesty, if Le makes merit as soon as he arrives, he may be made king," replied Prime Minister Liu Xuan.
In fact, it had already been discussed privately, and this was just a formality.
Shi Le, who was standing nearby, was so grateful that he knelt down and said, "The King of Han has given me such a generous reward, I would rather die in return!"
At the same time, he thought to himself that the Han State was generous.
Liu Yuanhai has not yet become emperor, he is just the "King of Han", but he is willing to make me king. Why is that?
Of course, he has made some contributions.
Not to mention the hundreds of cavalry brought from Hebei, when passing through Shangdang, he used the old relationships established by his grandfather Ye Yi Yu and his father Zhou He Zhu to persuade Tribe Da Zhang Du, Feng Motu and others to surrender - the head of a tribe is commonly known as "Tribe Da".
This is the influence left by our ancestors.
Just like the so-called poor families in the Central Plains, some of them are so poor that they can't even afford to eat, but they may know important people and have old relationships passed down from their fathers and ancestors, which is something that many wealthy and powerful people envy.
"Then confer him the title of General Assisting Han and King of Pingjin." Liu Yuan said happily: "The governor can be a pro-Han king, and Mo suddenly appointed him as the governor of the army."
"I bow to thank the king for his great grace." Shi Le, Zhang Du and Feng Motu shouted in unison.
Two princes and a governor, how generous of them indeed.
"Du Zhang, Feng Motu, your two troops are under the command of Prince Pingjin, and you must not make any mistakes." Liu Yuan looked at the two of them and said again.
"As you wish." The two agreed.
Shi Le was very happy.
He had only persuaded the two to surrender to the Han Kingdom before, but he was not their superior, at most he was a fellow traveler. Now with the will of the King of Han, he could use hundreds of old brothers as the backbone to lead these thousands of Jie people.
"Zhang Fulidu of the Wuhuan has 2,000 men and is camped in Leping. I have called on him many times but failed to bring him in." Liu Yuan then said to Shi Le, "If you can persuade him to surrender, you will also be able to lead his men."
"I obey your order." Shi Le responded confidently.
After being beaten like a stray dog by Gou Xi in Hebei, he fled to the King of Han in a panic, but his luck turned? He got several thousand troops all at once, including a considerable number of cavalry. This trip was worth it.
Of course, Liu Yuan didn't suffer any loss.
Zhang Du and Feng Motu had been in Shangdang before, and were part of the Hu tribe of Jin, so they had nothing to do with him. They came because of the oppression of Jin officials and the growing power of Han, but Shi Le's contribution should not be ignored.
Zhang Fulidu of the Wuhuan was even more unwilling to surrender to the Han Dynasty. If Shi Le could persuade him to surrender, that would be his ability.
This is how the Han Dynasty was, high-ranking officials were given to those who were capable.
Whoever can attract troops can become an official, and a high-ranking official.
If Shao Xun could bring his troops to surrender, what would be the problem if he was given the title of "King of Assisting Han" or "King of Loyal Han"?
"Get up." Liu Yuan said, holding up his hands.
Shi Le and others hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully.
Liu Yuan walked forward and wandered in the river valley filled with fallen leaves.
In the distance are rolling mountains, echoing the distant and desolate pastoral songs.
He sighed. After all, this country was still dominated by the Huns, who were barbaric, ignorant, and cruel.
He had thought about changing.
The Xiongnu general Qiao Xi attacked Xihe County and captured Jiexiu magistrate Jia Hun.
Jia Hun was unwilling to surrender and cursed: "I am the governor of Jin, but I cannot save the country. How can I live to serve the enemy? How can I face the world?"
Xi was furious and was about to kill him.
Xi Jiang Yin Song advised him not to kill people, but to persuade him slowly. In the past, the Han Dynasty conquered all directions and captured many Jin officials. Some of them were unwilling to surrender at first, but after being imprisoned for a long time, some of them changed their minds.
Talent is rare.
Xi refused to listen and killed him. Then he saw Hun's beautiful wife Zong and wanted to marry her, but Zong scolded him and killed him again.
Thinking of this, Liu Yuan sighed.
He immediately recalled Qiao Xi, stripped him of his military power, demoted him four ranks, and buried Jia Hun and his wife.
But there is more than just one Qiao Xi in the Han Dynasty.
There were some things he couldn't go against everyone.
I can only sigh.
Shi Le stood behind Grand Marshal Liu Hong, Prime Minister Liu Xuan, Imperial Censor Hu Yanyi, Grand Herald Fan Long, Minister of Rites Zhu Ji, Yellow Gate Officer Chen Yuanda, Cui Yizhi, General Jianwu Liu Yao and others, and followed silently, but he didn't know what the King of Han was sighing about.
"Shi Qing." Liu Yuan suddenly turned around and looked at Shi Le.
Everyone immediately made way to the sides, and Shi Le came forward and said, "Your Majesty."
"You come from Hebei, do you know the local situation?" Liu Yuan asked.
"Reply, Your Majesty." Shi Le said calmly, "Hebei has been through several wars and is now very empty. Those who suppressed the rebels were mostly foreign soldiers. However, the foreign soldiers will return, and now is the opportunity."
"Hmm." Liu Yuan was somewhat tempted.
The Han Dynasty was bound to expand its territory after all, but the ministers had different opinions on the direction of the next expansion.
Some people advocated attacking Jinyang.
Someone wants to attack Guanzhong.
Some people want to enter Hebei.
Some people also urged to go south to Luoyang to test whether Jin still had the ability to defend its capital.
Liu Yuan thought about it over and over again, but still couldn't make up his mind.
Hedong is well protected by mountains and rivers, easy to defend but difficult to attack, and can be attacked from all directions. It is indeed difficult to make a hasty decision on which direction to choose.
"Great Chanyu, this cannot be done!" said Taiwei Liu Hong anxiously.
Liu Yuan glanced at him.
Liu Hong quickly changed his words and said, "Your Majesty, this is not possible. Hebei is an important city, how can the Jin court sit idly by? It is better to take all of Bingzhou first, and then discuss other matters."
Liu Yuan nodded slightly.
Yes, how can we attack outside if we haven't cleared the areas around us yet?
This armpit area refers to Pingyang, Hedong and other counties, not Jinyang.
Liu Kun, the governor of Bingzhou, has very few soldiers and is unable to contain the Han army. But if you take the initiative to attack Jinyang, he may recruit Tuoba Xianbei to help.
The Xianbei were fierce and powerful, and the Han had already suffered losses, so it was not advisable to attack Jinyang for the time being.
Anyway, Liu Kun won't take the initiative to attack him, so everyone can just live in peace.
Shi Le was watching silently and carefully analyzing the conversation between the Han monarch and his ministers. Suddenly, he seemed to understand something and said, "Your Majesty, there are many drunkards in the Jin court. Why should you be afraid?"
"Oh?" Liu Yuan looked at him with amusement and said, "In the battles of Dongwuyang and Yangping, you and Ji Sang were badly defeated. In the battle of Feixiang, General Shao Xun captured and killed more than 10,000 people and chased them north. Obviously, the Jin court is not full of good-for-nothings, right?"
Shi Le smiled when he heard this and said, "Gou Xi and Shao Xun are despised by scholars, and I think Sima Yue and Wang Yan are not tolerant of them. Now the two may have returned, and Hebei is a vast expanse of white land, where the Han cavalry can drive and have no rivals. I am not a talented person, but I am willing to lead my troops to the east to Taihang and take the counties of Hebei for the court."
Liu Yuan thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Yes."
Anyway, there are many Jiehu soldiers, so their death is not a pity.
If Shi Le is willing to take them to Hebei, then let them go.
"I obey your order." Shi Le suppressed his inner excitement and responded.
He was like a gambler who had lost all his money, but unexpectedly, within half a month, he would receive a windfall and become rich again.
It’s a good time to go gamble again!
"Shi Qing's taking Hebei can help the court to contain the military strength of Jin." Liu Yuan looked at his ministers and said, "You must not neglect your duties. You should quickly accumulate money, food and weapons. Next year, I will personally lead the expedition to Pingyang."
"I obey your order." All the ministers responded in unison.
Liu Yuan scanned everyone's faces one by one.
The country was just established, there were many vacant positions, and it was difficult to fill all the positions.
For several years, he had been courteous to the wise and humble, but few responded. If he could take over Pingyang and Hedong counties, he would surely be more powerful and more people would come to him.
"Mr. Fan." Liu Yuan said again.
"You should make another trip to the Central Plains." After saying that, Liu Yuan walked up to him and added in a low voice.
(End of this chapter)