Chinese New Year

Chapter 563 Cutting Sausages

By the end of February, pastures and farmlands for the newly arrived Hu people in Guanzhong had basically been distributed.

This matter was mainly handled by Zheng Long, a Zhonglang official in the Longxiang General's office, and Yang Hui, the Protector General.

The former was a student of Shao Xun, and the latter was from the Yi Yang Yang family, a branch of the Hongnong Yang family, and was actually the son of a commander of a fortress.

Each tribe divided its territory.

The area where Juqu Chong's 5,000 people lived was redesignated as Desheng Township.

According to the system set by Shao Xun, 100 households make a village, 5 villages make a township, 4 households make a neighborhood, and 4 neighborhoods make a village. This does not mean that a township has only 500 households. In fact, this is the minimum standard. Juqu Chong's tribe was divided into a township as a whole.

The village had a headman, and Juqu Chong was the headman. If he made meritorious contributions in the future, he could be promoted to the county or even to the shogunate.

The village head also has two assistants. These two positions are filled by two unranked servants sent by the Chenjun Mansion to assist the village head in managing various affairs.

There are ten villages under the township, with the leaders of six clans (equivalent to blood clans) as village heads, and four new village heads are promoted, all of whom are relatively famous warriors in the tribe.

The people below the rank of Baozhang are elected by themselves.

In addition, Zhang Jiao's old fort was given to Juqu Chong to be used as his office and as a place for young men to exercise and train during the slack season.

"Zheng Long, what do you think of doing this?" Shao Xun asked.

"It's enough. Any more would not be appropriate. We can take it step by step." Zheng Long replied.

"Cao Mengde only achieved the first step, becoming an official." Shao Xun said: "In fact, with his strength back then, he might have been able to go further, but he didn't dare to do so."

The Xiongnu were divided into five tribes, each managed by officials, and the people below them were autonomous and completely left to their own devices.

But even these five commanders were often concurrently held by the Huns themselves.

To put it bluntly, this is called controlled rule.

Why didn't Cao Cao register the common people? The reason is unknown. It may be to follow tradition, after all, the Eastern Han court also ruled by restraint. It may also be to save trouble and use them to deal with foreign enemies.

Cao Cao selected the Wuhuan people from three counties as the famous cavalrymen in the world. How much merit did these people make for him in his conquests? Their fighting power should be very strong, and he should be afraid of them.

The same is true for the Xiongnu, who are even more difficult to deal with than the Wuhuan.

If Cao Cao was willing to be ruthless and risk internal rebellion, he could have done something by force, but in the end he chose not to do so.

Shao Xun is cruel enough.

He was mentally prepared for the lured Hu people from Guanzhong to rebel again, otherwise he would not have brought the Silver Spear and Yicong armies with him.

I dare to slaughter you all, do you dare to rebel?

This is a game where whoever blinks first loses. He doesn't care about your cavalry and is willing to lose them. At worst, the worst that can happen is that I can go back and lick Liu Ye, treat her nicely and coax her. What can you do to me?

If they want to truly control and even assimilate them, registering them as equals to the people is a necessary step. Even if the grassroots management positions are still held by their own people, it is crucial to establish this system.

Many people like qualitative changes but not quantitative changes. In fact, quantitative changes of different levels will produce very different impacts.

When the quantitative change is sufficient, qualitative change will occur.

This is a long-term undertaking and impatience is unacceptable.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Shao Xun looked at the student and asked.

Zheng Long once worked in Sanwu, Yiyang. Later he became a county official, then a county magistrate, and was recruited into the shogunate again. He can be said to have gained many years of experience - the young boy back then is now almost 30 years old.

"If we attack Shi Le this year, we can mobilize his troops to go to war, and the leaders of various tribes will be promoted and leave after they have made meritorious deeds," Zheng Long suggested.

Shao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "I'm a little impatient. Let's wait two or three years."

"Yes, I am impatient." Zheng Long said, "We still have to establish the prestige of the shogunate first, so that the village head, the head of the village, and even the warriors can recognize the shogunate and no longer only see the headman. Then we can slowly make plans."

"Just know how to take it step by step." Shao Xun said with relief.

It is very dangerous to try to do everything in one go. The correct approach is to cut the sausages first and boil the frog in warm water.

Shao Xun did not even take action against the generals of various towns, but instead used the newly arrived Hu people from Guanzhong as a pilot, because they were relatively low-spirited and easier to manipulate, and there would not be much resistance to registering them as citizens.

Moreover, although he established a system of household registration for all citizens, officials at all levels were still Hu people, so the backlash was relatively small because it seemed that they were still in charge of themselves.

Even people with a bit of common sense like Juqu Chong may not realize the problem.

Take it slow and let them adapt to the current system and rhythm first. Over time, changes will gradually occur.

Training hawks, training horses, training cattle, and flirting with women are all based on the same principle.

"Master Shao, in the future, the commanders of all the towns in Hebei will..." Zheng Long had just said half of his words when Juqu Chong came over with two township assistants, ten village heads, and dozens of village chiefs to express his gratitude, so he decisively shut up.

"Here they come." Shao Xun turned around, looked at everyone, and clapped his hands.

The bodyguards pulled over the carriage, which was filled with various cloths.

From Juqu Chong onwards, everyone stared at the silk with their eyes wide open.

It's not their fault.

They had horses to ride, meat to eat, milk to drink, and furs to wear, but they didn't necessarily have much silk. To them, this was a considerable fortune.

Yang Hui, the supervisor of the Longxiang General's shogunate, came over, saluted Shao Xun, then looked at the Hu people, cleared his throat, and said, "After the grass turns green again, you must prepare your troops and equipment and go with the army. Lord Chen thinks of your hard work and has given you rewards. Now, those whose names are called will come forward one by one to receive their rewards."

Juqu Chong was stunned.

Shouldn't the silk be given to him first, and then he should distribute the rewards? This was the practice from the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

The clan leaders (village heads) and village chiefs (tribal warriors) all turned their attention to Juqu Chong.

Liu Ling quietly took two steps forward and stood behind Shao Xun. More than 900 personal soldiers wearing Mingguang armor stood in awe with weapons in hand, silently looking at the group of Hu.

Juqu Chong said nothing in the end.

Yang Hui secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to the clerk beside him.

"The village chief, Juqu Chong, gave me forty pieces of silk," the clerk sang.

"Thank you, Lord Minggong, for your kindness." Juqu Chongshang fell to the ground and said loudly.

"The village assistant Shuiqiu Xian is given twenty pieces of silk." The clerk sang again.

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Ming." Shui Qiuxian replied.

He was born in Chenliu, and was a noble family in the Han Dynasty, but now he had fallen into the status of a local tyrant. Chen Gong promoted him to assist Hu Shuai in managing the villagers. In fact, it was a rare opportunity, and he had no complaints, so he simply accepted it.

"Village Assistant Cai Ze..."

"The village head Tiefushi gave me ten pieces of silk..."

After the clerk called out the names one by one, hundreds of pieces of silk had been distributed.

"Thank you, Lord Ming, for your kindness." Everyone bowed to the ground and shouted.

Shao Xun didn't say anything, but put his hands behind his back and walked past everyone one by one.

He walked very slowly, sometimes stopping for a short while, and the pause was especially long in front of Juqu Chong.

Juqu Chong almost put his forehead to the ground, feeling very uneasy.

Some of the village heads and village chiefs stole a glance at Juqu Chong, while others stole a glance at Shao Xun, each of them seeming to be thinking about something.

Every time Shao Xun approached a person, that person would lower his head into the dust, just like Juqu Chong.

Now they have a more intuitive impression: compared with the chieftain Juqu Chong, Chen Gong is greater.

Moreover, the rewards received by everyone were also issued by Lord Chen, not by the chief minister Juqu Chong, and they were not even obtained by him through bargaining with the shogunate.

The principle that “grace comes from above” is universal regardless of time, place, or country.

In their past lives, there was no Chen Gong, but now he exists and has permeated every aspect of their lives.

This is just the beginning, the beginning of the fight for influence, and there is still a long way to go.

"Get up." Shao Xun said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

"When the grass turns green again, everything is busy. You guys go and do your work with all your heart. Those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. There are fixed rules for this. Let's go." Shao Xun said again.

"Yes, sir." Everyone responded and then scattered.

Liu Ling followed Shao Xun closely, full of admiration.

Mr. Chen didn't say anything, but with the power of silence, he made the Hu people feel uneasy and trembling. This deep impression will probably be unforgettable for a long time.

Zhang Bin was also observing quietly.

Lord Chen has many ways to control the Hu people.

I am so happy to be able to eat my favorite dishes with you.

I can go hunting with you.

I can talk, laugh and drink with you.

But he also had a majestic side and established systems.

The system is like a ring around a bull’s nose. It’s very difficult to get used to it at first, and you’ll feel uncomfortable and even lose your temper. But after you get used to it, it doesn’t seem so unacceptable anymore.

This is a step further than the governance of the Hu people by Cao Wei and the Guo Dynasty.

Since the Later Han Dynasty, the horses of the Hu people have basically been "let loose", but now they are going to be turned into stable horses.

He was very interested and wanted to see what the effect would be.

Zhang Bin also thought of Shi Le. He could only sigh slightly.

After all, there are differences between people.

Shi Le was even busier than Chen Gong on weekdays. He lived a simple life, did not like women, was ambitious and unyielding.

Although Mr. Chen's life was not luxurious, it was definitely not simple, and he liked to play with women. But when it comes to military strategy and tactics, he was superior.

Of course, the biggest difference between the two is their vision.

Mr. Chen's gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the fog of history and get to the essence of things. This was the biggest difference between the two.

The winner is decided.

……

From the end of February to the end of March, Shao Xun had been wandering around Zhaojun. It took him more than a month to roughly settle the surrendered Hu people in Guanzhong and set rules.

Next, it was the tedious and meticulous work of polishing the wood, and he no longer participated in it personally.

On the third day of April, he led his army back to Yecheng to see off the army heading south to Xuzhou.

(End of this chapter)