Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 97 Dragon Slaying Technique (4k, available at night)
Li Daoyuan said: "Originally, this system was a decree to supplement and reward soldiers during the southern expedition. However, after the Battle of Zhongli, the offensive in the south turned into defensive, and the soldiers in the southern expedition gained less. Emperor Xuanwu fixed this policy to supplement the army's needs."

Now Su Ze understood where the original southern goods on the market came from.

Before the reform by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the army had no pay and officials had no salaries.

At that time, officials relied on gray income related to their official positions, or embezzled public funds from the office to lend to merchants to do business, in order to pay the salaries of the entire office.

It is even simpler for military generals. They either rob their own people or rob their enemies.

An important part of Emperor Xiaowen's Taihe Reform was to "dismiss merchants and set salaries according to different levels", that is, to prohibit government agencies from engaging in business, improve the treatment of officials and soldiers, and give them fixed salaries so that they can support themselves without plundering from the people.

However, the court during Emperor Xiaowen's reign had limited management capabilities. It was already difficult to pay the salaries of officials alone. Add to that the hundreds of thousands of imperial guards that Emperor Xiaowen brought to Luoyang, and the court could not afford to support them.

Therefore, a transitional policy was adopted for the imperial guards at that time. On the one hand, they were granted land to cultivate, and on the other hand, they were allowed to sell battlefield spoils for subsidies and rewards, and then their salaries were gradually paid.

Selling southern goods was a special treatment for the Northern Wei army, and was considered a subsidy for the inadequate treatment of the imperial guards.

Li Daoyuan said: "Since the Battle of Fushan Weir, the two countries have temporarily stopped fighting, and the imperial army has not gone out to fight, but the southern goods in the market have increased day by day. Someone in the court once wrote a letter to cancel the regulations that the families of the imperial army soldiers can sell southern goods, but it was abandoned due to resistance from the army."

Su Ze understood what Li Daoyuan meant. The original order was just to let the soldiers sell the spoils they had obtained from the Southern Dynasty, but it gradually changed during its implementation.

They were clearly just selling off spoils of war, so how come they were also selling gold, silver, jewelry, and books? Which Southern Dynasty soldier would bring these things with him to battle?
Even the brocade clothes that had just become popular in the Southern Dynasties would appear in the markets of Luoyang a few months later, and then in the banquets of officials.

The sale of southern goods was no longer just a subsidy policy for selling spoils of war, but had become a policy cover for the imperial army's systematic smuggling from the south.

However, this bonus should only be available to the imperial guards who may go on an expedition. Su Ze had always been in the defense force guarding the palace gate, so he had never been able to enjoy this bonus.

Su Ze suddenly thought of something, looked at Li Daoyuan and asked, "But what about the extra southern goods on the market?"

Li Daoyuan shook his head and said, "It stands to reason that the Imperial Army has been selling southern goods for so many years that they have already established a fixed channel. It is impossible for them to suddenly increase the goods. I will send someone to check the market."

Li Daoyuan also felt that the increase in southern goods on the market was not a good thing. The goods sold by the Southern Dynasty to the Northern Wei were basically luxury goods that made money. This money would also be remitted to the Southern Dynasty and become funds for the Southern Dynasty's Northern Expedition.

After the Battle of Fushan Weir, although the Southern Liang Dynasty stopped its movements, the knowledgeable people in the court did not believe that Bodhisattva Xiao would give up.

Li Daoyuan had also coordinated the logistics of the army on the southern front and had some understanding of the Southern Dynasty's combat effectiveness.

After finishing the business, Su Ze mentioned Gao Huan's plan to open a horse shop. Li Daoyuan nodded slightly and asked Gao Huan to go to the Tongshishisi in Henan Prefecture to handle it tomorrow.

Gao Huan was naturally grateful. Just as Su Ze was about to leave the government office, Li Daoyuan suddenly said, "Su Ze, Ling Chuo, follow me to the back hall."

Su Ze and Su Chao looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

Li Daoyuan was a man who clearly distinguished between public and private affairs. He only discussed official business and court affairs in the Mingtang where he worked, and he also only met guests in the Mingtang.

During the time Su Cho was in Henan Prefecture, he never went to the back hall.

The two followed Li Daoyuan to the back hall, where Li Daoyuan lived.

Compared with the magnificent office hall in front, the back hall is much more elegant and simple. Moreover, Li Daoyuan himself does not like too gorgeous decorations, so there is only a row of huge bookshelves in the whole room.

Li Daoyuan asked the two to sit down, took out an ancient bamboo slip from the bookshelf, and asked them, "Do you know why I want to annotate the Water Classic?"

Su Ze is a little down. Why did Li Daoyuan write "Water Classic"? This question is the same as why Li Bai wrote poems and why Su Shi wrote lyrics. Li Daoyuan and "Water Classic" are already part of the genes of Chinese culture. Is there any other reason?

Su Cho, who was always able to see the big picture from the small details, also shook his head. Although Shui Jing was also called a classic, it was not a classic handed down by ancient sages, and it was not even a Confucian classic. It was just a book introducing river geography.

It is actually quite strange to think that Li Daoyuan spent his entire academic career annotating this Water Classic.

Normal Confucian scholars also annotate the Four Books and Five Classics, and at the very least they should annotate the "Zuo Zhuan", right?

In fact, the reason why Li Daoyuan's "Annotations to the Classic of Waterways" is famous is mainly due to his extremely high literary accomplishment, which enabled him to write a geographical work so vividly and with such gorgeous words and sentences.

Li Daoyuan unfolded the ancient Water Classic in his hand and continued:

"The highest good is like water. Laozi used water to talk about morality, but I think that the highest good is all about water."

"Do you know why all the great wars in history took place near water?"

"The Battle of the Backwaters, the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Battle of Feishui, including the Battle of Zhongli."

Su Chao had never been exposed to military affairs, and he began to think.

Su Ze gave the answer directly: "Because of the food supply."

Li Daoyuan looked at Su Ze in surprise, and only heard him say:
"The food and fodder must be sent before the troops move. The most important thing for a large army to fight is to have a smooth food supply route. If the food supply route is cut off when commanding a huge army, there is no way to fight. As long as the enemy army sits and sieges, our army will inevitably collapse on its own."

Li Daoyuan clapped his hands and said, "What a good saying, 'Before the troops move, the food and grass must go first'. These eight words are the essence of the art of war! Su Ze, please continue!"

“But the cost of transporting grain overland is simply too high.”

"It is written in the Art of War that to transport food a hundred miles, one regular soldier must recruit three civilians, and vehicles and horses must be used up. If a war of national scale is fought by transporting food and fodder over land, then there is no point in fighting the war. The transportation and supply of food and fodder alone would eat up all the food in the country."

Su Chao also followed his train of thought and said, "So the food and fodder for the war must be transported by water? So the army needs to march along the river, and in order to block the food supply route, the final decisive battle often takes place by the water?"

Li Daoyuan nodded in satisfaction. He looked at Su Ze and asked, "Have you read military books?"

Su Ze said honestly: "It was passed down by our fathers."

Li Daoyuan was even more satisfied: "Very good! Please continue."

Su Ze added: "We can use ships to transport food on the water. Ships on the water do not lose as much food as carts on land. A ship can transport a hundred times more food than a cart. Moreover, ships do not need livestock to sail, only water power and wind power are needed. Therefore, water is the most important thing for marching and fighting."

Su Ze looked at Li Daoyuan, and suddenly realized something and said, "So that's why Li Gong wanted to revise the Water Classic?"

Li Daoyuan finally smiled and said, "This boy is teachable!"

He looked at the two of them and said, "Would you two be willing to take me as your master and learn my water science?" Take me as your master!

Although teacher is ranked last among the three categories of heaven, earth, emperor, parents and teachers, the teacher-student relationship is one of the strongest relationships at this time, no less than the father-son relationship.

The system of disciples and former officials since the Eastern Han Dynasty still had a profound influence in the court of the Northern Wei Dynasty. For example, Cui Guang, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, did not participate in court affairs, but yet could maintain a huge influence in the court. It was because his disciples and former officials were spread throughout the Ministry of Shangshu.

Going further back, the Yuan family, which had three generations of officials, was able to rise so quickly during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period when Yuan Shao was in power because the Yuan family had many students and former officials all over the world.

Becoming Li Daoyuan's disciple means that Su Ze has Li Daoyuan as his backer.

Su Chao bowed down without hesitation and said, "Greetings, Master!"

Li Daoyuan looked at Su Ze, and Su Ze also bowed and said, "Greetings, Master."

Li Daoyuan said, "Etiquette cannot be abolished. You can make up the tuition another day, but I will only follow the ancient etiquette and accept ten pieces of dried meat. If you want more, don't give me any more."

Preserved meat is dried meat. This was the rule Confucius set when accepting disciples, which meant that ten pieces of dried meat were required as tuition.

However, these were the prices hundreds of years ago. The apprenticeship ceremonies commonly used in the Northern Wei Dynasty were thousands of times more extravagant.

Li Daoyuan did not like the extravagant lifestyle of the Northern Wei upper class, so he insisted on using ancient customs and only accepted ten pieces of dried meat.

He looked at Su Ze again and said, "Su Ze, you don't have a courtesy name yet."

Su Ze immediately said, "Master, please give me a word."

"Rain can benefit all people, so let's call him Zilin."

"Thank you, Master, for the calligraphy."

Li Daoyuan continued, "From now on, every three days, you will come to the back hall of Henan government office at night and follow me to study Shui Jing. However, what you will learn is not only the contents of Shui Jing Zhu, but also the knowledge about mountains, rivers and water veins in the world that I have collected over the years."

"You may not be able to use this knowledge now, but I believe you will be able to carry it forward."

Li Daoyuan said with some sadness:

"You have never seen the collapse of the Fushan Dam. The sound was like thunder, and the entire downstream village was swept into the water, and the fertile land for thousands of miles became a swamp."

"The purpose of building the Fushan Weir in the Southern Liang Dynasty was not for irrigation, but to flood Shouyang."

"The ancient wise men studied hydrology so that the people could build water conservancy projects and irrigate farmland. But now we study water conservancy projects so that we can fight wars and attack cities."

"I hope that one day I can see the true 'highest good is like water', so that future generations can study the Water Classic and benefit the world like Li Bing and Zheng Guo did."

Li Bing built the Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Zheng Guo built the Zhengguo Canal, both of which are famous water conservancy projects that will benefit the world for generations to come. Su Ze looked at Li Daoyuan and finally felt the expectations of this famous official of the Northern Wei Dynasty when he gave him a courtesy name.

He bowed down with all his heart and said: "I, as a disciple, will devote my whole life to carry forward Master's great wish!"

Li Daoyuan helped Su Ze up with satisfaction, then began to flip through the bamboo slips and began to speak:
"Today is the first lesson. Let's talk about the Yellow River first."

"The Yellow River is the mother of all waters. It is the general outline of the entire northern geographical mountain and river system, and it is also the most important river in our Great Wei."

"Today, I will talk about why, in the pre-Qin period, Qin was able to dominate the world and fight against the six kingdoms with one country after it annexed Guanzhong. The most important thing was the Guanzhong water system. Let's talk about the Sanmenxia of the Great River first. These are the three gates of 'people', 'gods', and 'ghosts'. Qin controlled the three gates, and all of them belonged to Guanzhong."

“The Sanmen Gorge is dangerous and cannot be navigated by boats. Therefore, when the six states wanted to attack Qin, they had to change their boats into carts and set up food routes through the mountains when they arrived at Sanmen Gorge.”

"The Qin built Hangu Pass in Sanmenxia, ​​which was located on the plateau in the west, facing the steep ravine in the east, connected to the Qinling Mountains in the south, and blocked by the Yellow River in the north. It was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it blocked the entrance to Luoyang and could be supplied through the Yellow River."

"So when Qin was strong, it attacked the six states through Hangu Pass, and when it was weak, it retreated to Hangu Pass. Finally, Qin unified the world."

Su Ze and Su Cho listened with great interest. Li Daoyuan explained geography not from a purely geographical perspective, but in combination with the management of this place by successive dynasties and the major battles that took place nearby in ancient times, explaining a water vein and the dangerous places of a region.

In the words of later generations, this is no longer just simple geography, but a "dragon slaying technique" that includes military geography and geostrategy.

Li Daoyuan spoke seriously, and Su Ze and Su Chao also listened attentively. When the gong sounded outside the government office, Li Daoyuan discovered that the water in the copper clepsydra timer had drained out.

"You guys go back and rest, come back in three days. It's getting late, Zilin, just stay in the mansion for now, and go to the military camp tomorrow morning."

"only!"
-
In the next few days, Su Ze stayed in the Tunqi Camp and trained with the soldiers of the Tunqi Camp.

But in the next few system refreshes, the store did not produce any useful followers or items. The best thing was a piece of purple-quality [Shu Brocade].

Su Ze simply used those blue and green items as rewards for small military exercises, or as gifts for the Han Yulin who followed him.

Su Ze summed it up and it seems that it is easier to get high-quality followers and items when completing system tasks?

But looking at the Luoyang map that is divided like traffic lights, where can I trigger the task?

Since there were no followers who could be trained as cavalrymen, Su Ze could only ask his father-in-law to train the Tunqi Battalion in riding skills. However, Su Ze soon discovered another problem: the Tunqi Battalion had no horses.

Li Tong said to Su Ze: "A cavalry charge requires good quality horses. A complete cavalry charge requires both men and horses to be armored. The horses in the cavalry camp now cannot bear the weight of armored knights, let alone a charge with armored knights."

"Got it, Father, let's start with the training on horseback."

Li Tong thought for a moment and said, "You can first use archery to build up your strength, and then use swordsmanship to train your movements, but if you want to become a skilled rider again, you still need a horse."

Li Tong added: "According to the standards of the Cavalry Camp at that time, a knight needed to be equipped with two horses, and a knight also needed a lightly armored escort."

"Father, I will find a way to complete it."

The crazy woman Princess Chenliu suddenly popped up in Su Ze's mind. He quickly shook his head to drive the thought out of his mind.

There is no reason in this world to sacrifice one's beauty to train soldiers for the imperial court.

(End of this chapter)