Chapter 869 Students

Chapter 869 Students

Chapter 869 Students

Liu Han lived in the mountains throughout the first month of the year.

By the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people came to visit him one after another.

"Why did Master Liu stay in the mountains?" Mao Xiu asked softly.

Liu Han did not answer directly, but took his student to the outside of the courtyard, pointed at the scenery in the distance, and asked: "What's wrong with this?"

Mao Xiu was only twelve years old. He looked around and thought that it was just an ordinary mountain scenery. What was so good about it? It was not as prosperous as a city.

"The rich live in the city, but I love the mountains and forests." Liu Han said with a smile: "I have a thatched cottage in the north, a wheat field in the south, fruits and vegetables in the east slope, and a bamboo spring in the west garden."

"When I woke up in the morning, I opened the east window and looked at the morning mist brought by the secluded courtyard. Suddenly, I felt my mind was in a state of trance."

"In the morning, I watered the garden to cultivate my body and mind. When the fruits and vegetables were ripe, I invited three or five friends to come and taste them."

"I was studying at my desk in the afternoon, and when I opened the west window and looked down at the gurgling stream in the west garden, I felt my fatigue disappear."

"In the evening, wandering in the fields, looking at the green wheat seedlings, I understand how difficult people's lives are and how many hardships they face."

"At dusk, I fell asleep peacefully with the sound of birds singing in the woods as my pillow, and had no dreams all night."

"This is what I really want. Isn't it better than doing this? If I can teach one or two more outstanding disciples and bring benefits to the people, I will die without regrets."

As the two talked, they walked along the hillside for a long distance.

There were more than ten families living nearby. They were all guests and servants brought by Liu from Yan County. They had all become naturalized citizens of the county and usually farmed and herded sheep in the mountains, working from sunrise to sunset. From time to time, they would send some farm produce from the mountains to this courtyard.

When Liu Han was teaching in Pingyang, he often sent his students to teach the disciples from more than ten families how to read and write. It was a mutually beneficial relationship for both sides and they were very content.

"The master's aspirations are noble and lofty, which is truly moving," Mao Xiu sighed.

"You are only twelve years old, what can you feel?" Liu Han said with a smile: "Is your father coming back from Gaoyang?"

"We have to finish this year." Mao Xiu said, "The king has ordered to set up a Longxiang Prefecture in each of the six counties of Changshan, Zhongshan, Gaoyang, Hejian, Boling, and Zhangwu. This is an urgent matter this year, and I am afraid I will not be able to return."

The six counties were divided into six Longxiang Prefectures, namely Huolu, Yangcheng, Lukou, Shun'an, Renqiu and Pinglu. Three thousand six hundred personnel were drawn from the imperial guards, 1,200 each from the hereditary soldiers of Xuchang and Yanzhou, and 1,200 men were recruited from the able-bodied men of Xiangcheng, Luonan, Yiyang and Yingchuan, totaling 7,200.

The troops were composed of Bianliang's labor households, prisoners captured in Pingcheng last year, and rebel people from Qiao and Pei.

As for why there are not more, the first reason is that we need to do what we can, as resettlement requires a large investment, and the second reason is that there are not enough troops.

Among the six counties in the northern part of Jizhou, Changshan and Zhongshan are uninhabited, Boling has a slightly larger population, and the other three counties have also suffered from floods and epidemics. There are not many people left, which is not much better than Baidi. There are only a few wealthy families, so Longxiang Prefecture was added to ensure actual control.

At this point, among all the states in the country, Yanzhou Prefecture had the largest number of soldiers, scattered in the four counties of Chenliu, Puyang, Dongping, and Gaoping, with a total of about 2.28 people;

Bingzhou Prefecture had a large number of soldiers, scattered in the three counties of Taiyuan, Xinxing, and Yanmen, totaling 1.44.

The third Sizhou is scattered in Pingyang and Luonan areas, with about 6600 people;
Qingzhou is fourth, Jibei County has two Longxiang Prefectures with 2400 people;
There was a Longxiang Prefecture with 1200 people in Xiangcheng and Yingchuan in Yuzhou;
After the six counties of Jizhou set up local troops, they will surpass Sizhou and jump to third place, with a total of 7200 people.

The total number of soldiers in the country is more than 50,000, but their equipment and combat effectiveness vary.

The strongest Luonan soldiers are considered elite and are no worse than the Silver Spear Army. The worst are only slightly stronger than the peasant soldiers - but have much more room for improvement than the peasant soldiers.

The establishment of the government soldiers has almost reached a stage node.

In the future, only a few will be set up on a small scale and scattered. It will not be common to set up five or six Longxiong Mansions at once. This decision is made based on many considerations.

"Your father did a good job in Gaoyang, recruiting refugees and settling them, and was praised by people far and near." Liu Han said, "Even many Wuhuan, Dingling, and Xianbei people came with their families to seek refuge. Your father registered their households and granted them land, which consolidated the foundation of the king. After this year, if nothing goes wrong, you will be able to enter the court next year."

"Not necessarily." Mao Xiu smiled bitterly, "My father said that he has been the governor of Youzhou and Jizhou, and he may go to Bingzhou for a few more years."

"Is there a suitable place in Bingzhou?" Liu Han frowned and thought.

People like Mao Bang, who do not come from a noble family, cannot become the governor of any place.

At that time, Yan had not yet been abolished as a country, and Mao Bang was the internal historian. At that time, various affairs could only be carried out because of his presence and greetings, but in fact, he was still a bit superficial.

He did not truly gain control of the county's affairs until he went to Gaoyang, which was separated by a river.

To put it bluntly, without three years of floods and one year of an epidemic - the epidemic was particularly severe in the areas hit hardest by the disaster, and the death toll was particularly high - he might not have been able to do a very good job in Gaoyang.

Now, all the counties in Gaoyang are in disarray and have been registered as citizens. The few remaining powerful families have also been obedient and cooperated with the government in measuring land and counting household registration.

Only when you control the people and the land, and have others help you do things, can you say that you truly command the entire county.

It seemed that there was no suitable place in Bingzhou. However, he did not think much about it, but took this opportunity to talk about the martial arts students.

"Lu Rong was the magistrate of Zhongmu before he became an immortal. Has he been transferred now?" he asked.

"That's right." Mao Xiu replied, "He went to Henei. County Magistrate Cheng Gong failed to take over and went to Beiping to serve as prefect. Henei was taken over by Lu Fujun."

"Cheng Yuantan is a descendant of the Cheng family of Guangping." Liu Han said, "If he goes to Beiping, he will always be able to find some connections, which is much easier than Lu Rong. When Hanoi was in the hands of the Xiongnu, it was almost a pasture, but now most of the people are migrants, and there is also the Black Sword Army. Lu Rong is a disciple of King Liang, so it is natural for him to take over this place, and he can also do things drastically. How many people have become prefects now?"

It was obvious that Liu Han was asking about martial arts students.

"Henei Governor Lu Rong, Xihe Governor Tian Mao and my father, those are the three people," Mao Xiu replied.

"There are also the Magistrate of Mayi County, Wang Hui, the Chief of the East Pavilion of the Shanyu Palace, Zheng Long, the Chief of the General, Ji Zhen, the Official of the West Division of the Shanyu Palace, and the youngest son of the Cavalry Commander Duan Liang. I can't remember his name at the moment."

"Duan Rong, the household official of the Longxiong shogunate."

"That's the man." Liu Han smiled and said, "Since the opening of the martial arts schools in Liang, Xuchang, and Bianliang, there have been three governors and four shogunate officials. How many commanders are there?"

"My father said that there should be less than thirty people." Mao Xiu said, "The number below the magistrate is unknown."

"It's really surprising that so many people have become successful." Liu Han shook his head and said, "But I don't know what their real talents and knowledge are."

"If the king wants to promote his disciples, they must have reasonable merits." Mao Xiu said, "Otherwise, they can't even be promoted to a county magistrate. These seven people should all be able to lead a county."

Liu Han did not comment.

In his opinion, those people might be able to govern a county or a prefecture, but they still lacked talent and knowledge.

Liang County's martial arts school has been running for the longest time, and all they teach is reading and writing, official document writing, calculation, martial arts and military strategies, etc. It is not the right way, and it feels like quick learning.

How much real ability can you have if you become a master in just five years? Some people study for twenty years and still feel that they are not talented enough.

To be honest, it is an exaggeration to say that seven talented county governors emerged in twenty years. It is likely that King Liang promoted them intentionally.

"Since your father has sent you to my place, you should study hard." Liu Han said, "Perhaps many of your playmates have entered the martial arts school, and after five years, they will go to the fort to manage things, or become the captain or deputy captain in the army, but they are not talented enough. The higher they go, the more they feel powerless and have to go back to study. You are different. You must lay a good foundation from the beginning, starting with calligraphy. If your handwriting is not good, you will not pass the "book" test of the Ministry of Personnel."

"Yes." Mao Xiu bowed deeply and replied.

"Are we going to start learning new martial arts this year?" Liu Han asked as he came to a large bluestone.

Mao Xiu hurried forward, wiped it carefully, and replied: "School will start in March, it is Jinyang Martial Arts School."

Liu Han sat down and sighed, "Martial arts can only train county officials and minor officers, and are not of great use. If the King of Liang is interested, he should still set up an official school."

Theoretically speaking, martial arts is official education, but it is just a crash course. The content taught is very simple and focuses more on the military.

Among students over the years, more have joined the military than entered politics.

Among the grassroots units of the twenty counties of Liang State, the proportion of military students is getting higher every year, and is gradually flooding the county level. Especially in those counties that were once wiped out or repeatedly cleaned up, one does not need a strong background to be competent, and these are places where military students gather in large numbers.

Just as Liu Han said, the abilities of military students are flawed and their shortcomings are quite serious. The vast majority of them cannot be promoted and are ultimately confined to one county.

Those who are not good at running a household business are not even powerful.

Now there is a situation where the first generation is a martial arts student, but the second generation can't even get into martial arts and can only farm at home. However, when a group is large, some people are doing well and some are not, which is normal.

However, Shao Xun recently recruited a large number of nephews and nieces who were martial arts students and were aged fifteen or sixteen, and incorporated them into the Ningshu Palace guards, sharing the defense responsibilities with his fellow villagers from Donghai. Some of them even went to work as menial workers in various departments of the palace. This could be considered a way out, and it was also safe to use them, reducing the possibility of being ambushed.

"I will go to Jinyang in April, so you should review your lessons here." Liu Han said, "If you don't understand something, just ask others. They have been studying for a long time and should be able to answer your questions."

"Yes." Mao Xiu replied.

His father sent him here so that he could learn from famous teachers and study hard. At the same time, he could get in touch with his classmates and build friendships with them, which would be useful in the future.

Mao's hometown is in Henan County. After completing his studies, he can return to Luoyang to participate in gatherings of scholars, ask the county officials to comment on him, and make a name for himself.

Most of the high-ranking officials and generals in the court had old ties with my father, or there was a chance for them to be recruited by him, starting as staff members and then being transferred to local posts.

The path taken by Henan Mao family is the traditional path of scholars who pass down poetry and books from generation to generation, which is different from others. In fact, this was also approved by King Liang, but the reason is unknown.

In fact, this is not a bad idea. How far you can go in the future depends on your own ability.

(End of this chapter)