Chinese New Year

Chapter 581 Persuading Surrender and the Imperial Guards

In the early morning drizzle, a carriage drove into the governor's mansion.

Upon hearing the news, Madam Hua was overjoyed and immediately ordered the servants to prepare a family banquet, while Xun Zu chatted with the guests in the courtyard at the backyard.

"Hua Jingheng came just the day before yesterday, and Liang Bo is here again today..." Xun Zu patted his thigh and smiled bitterly.

Hua Ji and Hua Jingheng are his wife's brother.

Liu Dan and Liu Liangbo were from the Liu family of Pei State. Their father Liu Hong and Liu Zhonggu were the uncles of their wife Hua Tiao, and Liu Hong's wife was from the Hua family of Pingyuan, so their relationship was extremely close.

"Tai Zhang, I'm here to save you." Liu Dan said seriously.

Xun Zu was stunned.

"Lord Chen has already gathered his troops and is about to attack Shi Le. Tai Zhang, I just want to ask you one question: can we win this time?"

"Hard to say."

"You actually think so?" Liu Dan said in surprise: "In my opinion, this battle is almost a foregone conclusion, and Shi Le will definitely be defeated."

Xun Zu remained silent.

"Tai Zhang, what are you worried about?" Liu Dan asked from a different angle.

"Liang Bo, why do you support Shao Xun so much?" Xun Zu asked back.

"It's very simple." Liu Dan smiled when he heard the question and said, "My cousin has been the internal historian of Pei for many years. All the orders in the nine counties come from my family. What do you think?"

Xun Zu sighed and said, "So you were bribed."

"The world is bustling with people, all for profit; the world is bustling with people, all for profit." Liu Dan said: "In every chaotic era, there are families that decline and new families that rise. Tai Zhang, the Liu family of Pei State is actually gambling, betting on Lord Chen to win."

"Shao Xun is not a fool. Have you ever thought about why I give you such great power?" asked Xun Zu.

"It's very simple." Liu Dan said, "The counties and kingdoms of Yu and Yan were not conquered by Shao Xun alone. When he first rose to power, he was stationed in Liang County. Later, he fought fiercely with the enemy in Luojing, Luoshui River Valley, and Xiangcheng. In fact, only Luonan and Xiangcheng, a dozen counties, were conquered by him."

"After taking office as the governor of Xuchang, the entire Yuzhou was slowly taken into his possession through marriage or by wooing others."

"The land of Yanzhou was barely taken by supporting Sima Yue's widow and the crown prince. After that, the Battle of Gaoping was fought with the Xiongnu, and the eight counties of Yanzhou were truly stabilized. Shao Xun himself did not capture all the counties of Yanzhou one by one, he just drove away the Xiongnu who came to steal his food."

"So..." At this point, Liu Dan looked at his cousin-in-law and said, "Shao Xun is just the co-leader of Henan."

Liu Dan's words were quite insightful.

Shao Xun seized the favorable opportunity of the rebellion of refugees and the invasion of the Huns, took advantage of the insecurity of the Henan nobles, and drove away his competitors through several brilliant battles.

When the local forces saw that he could meet their needs and was also very strong in military force, they came to join him.

It's actually that simple.

Because most of the counties were taken over peacefully and the local power structure had not changed much, Shao Xun did not have the ability to control every county one by one - his student soldiers went to serve as officials in places where they were unfamiliar with the place, and they had neither connections nor money, food, or soldiers, so it was impossible for them to continue their work.

Therefore, he adopted a strategy of winning over the local clans to prevent them from joining the enemy side.

The Liu family of Pei State seized this opportunity and became the actual masters of the nine counties of Pei State.

They were satisfied, so they supported Shao Xun and were willing to persuade their relatives to surrender for him.

"Liang Bo, you don't understand my true meaning." Xun Zu shook his head and said, "Shao Xun can give you power, but he can also take it back."

"So what?" Liu Dan said indifferently: "The world is in turmoil, and it is not easy to keep the family business. We can talk about the future later."

Xun Zu frowned, seeming to disagree.

Liu Dan sneered and asked, "Tai Zhang, I once served as an official in Chenliu. I want to ask you, what is this county like?"

"It's a gathering place of great culture and many well-dressed people." Xun Zu said.

"Were there any great clans during the pre-Han period?"

Xun Zu thought about it carefully and it seemed that there was no such thing. Finally, he could only say: "The Li family and the Xu family can be called powerful families."

"What about the Later Han Dynasty?"

"That's too many." Team Xun said, "Yu, Liu, Yang, Dong, Cai, Wu, Bian..."

If you count them quickly, you will find that there are always more than ten or twenty of them, which is in sharp contrast to the lonely two in the Western Han Dynasty.

In fact, this is caused by the different processes of Liu Bang and Liu Xiu in conquering the world.

Liu Xiu relied too much on the powerful, so after the founding of the country, he was unable to get rid of his power. The number of powerful families increased rapidly, and the problem has continued to this day. Not only has it not been alleviated, but it has become more serious.

"After the establishment of Cao Wei, how many of the sixteen Chenliu clans were left?" Liu Dan asked again.

"Mao, Gao, Dian, Ruan, Cai..." Xun Zu counted.

After counting, the number has decreased, and the family changes are close to one-third. It seems that the wars at the end of the Han Dynasty still had an impact on them.

"What about the Zhiguo Dynasty?" Liu Dan continued to ask.

"Too many." Xun Zu was too lazy to count.

But he knew in his heart that the gentry in Chenliu had indeed changed, mainly during the Jin Dynasty and the Wei Dynasty.

He also knew that the Chenliu gentry during the Cao Wei period had only declined but did not disappear. Many of them were still local tyrants, and there were many new nobles.

These upstarts flourished during the fifty years of our dynasty and reached their peak, but began to slowly decline during the reign of the previous emperor, again due to war.

"The world is ever-changing, and family fortunes are unpredictable." Liu Dan said, "My family has made a bet anyway. Even if Shao Xun takes power in the future, I can still serve as an official in the court. The family business in the local area is still there, so why worry?"

"Shao Xun is a humble man, how could he--" Xun Zu still felt a little uncomfortable.

Liu Dan looked at his cousin-in-law and laughed: "Before Zi Yu Gong (Hua Xin), what kind of fame did Pingyuan Hua have?"

Xun Zu shook his head.

"In the past, when He Jin was assisting in the administration, Zi Yu was summoned to Luoyang for his talent and learning and was appointed as a secretary. From then on, the Hua family of Pingyuan became a prominent family," said Liu Dan.

Just as Xun Zu was about to say something, his wife Hua Tiao came over and glared at her cousin Liu Dan, as if she was blaming him for making up stories about the Hua family's ancestors. But she couldn't say anything, after all, the Hua family was not very good in Gaotang at that time. At most, they were considered local tyrants, and their ancestor Hua Xin was just a minor official in the county. Fortunately, the atmosphere of academic research was good at that time, so the ancestor was able to worship famous teachers as a stepping stone to advancement.

Liu Dan was actually not wrong. The world is ever-changing and who can predict for sure?

If the Pei family had not made contributions when their ancestors fought against Li Jue and Guo Si, could they have become a prominent family?

"My husband," Hua Tiao sighed, "I am a woman and should not say anything, but in this situation, sticking to the old ways may not be a good thing. Besides, a servant just reported that He Sui and Liu Chou have returned and are hosting a banquet at their manor outside the city, inviting all the noble families of Pengcheng."

"What?" Xun Zu was shocked.

Both of them were once Sima Yue's staff, one was the chief clerk of the royal palace, and the other was the left chief secretary of the shogunate.

He Sui would have been fine, he was just a descendant of the He family, a small family in Donghai. If he didn't have the identity of a Donghai citizen, he might not have been able to ascend to a high position.

But Liu Chou was born into the Pengcheng Liu family, a local noble family with deep connections. Once he came back, things might change.

"Who were invited?" asked Xun Zu.

Liu Dan also looked at his cousin.

Hua Tiao said: "Invite them all. Especially some powerful people who command the army..."

The Xun team couldn't sit still anymore.

"Tai Zhang, what are you still hesitating about?" Liu Dan's face was full of solemnity. He only heard him say, "In the past, Liu Chou led the Donghai soldiers to guard the palace city. Shao Xun recruited them as soon as he met them. The Donghai soldiers of the Kaocheng Shogunate were originally guarding the queen mother and the heir king. When Shao Xun arrived, they all bowed down. Although Donghai is Donghai and Pengcheng is Pengcheng, they are not related, but after all, they are both counties under Xuzhou. Some things are hard to say."

Xun Zu stood there in a daze for a long time, unable to utter the word "surrender".

"Husband!" Hua Tiao looked at him worriedly.

"Tai Zhang, don't hesitate!" Liu Dan advised, "Shao Xun only has a few soldiers and officials. He can't govern all the counties. Doesn't the world still depend on us to support him? Cao Mengde was so powerful in the past. After his great cause was accomplished, 70% of the people around him were from the old Han clan. There is still a chance."

After hearing this, Xun Zu sighed and said, "Forget it, send someone to contact Xi Daohui."

Liu Dan breathed a sigh of relief.

He had undoubtedly contributed to the surrender of Pengcheng. He might have to share it with others, but it was a credit.

When I have free time later, I will write a letter to Mr. Chen.

******
At the former site of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Xuchang, Shao Xun had just finished inspecting Xia Bo when he received a letter delivered by express horse from Xuzhou.

"Xun Taizhang is old, go home and rest." After reading the letter, he handed it to the Left Chief Clerk Pei Kang and said.

Pei Kang was also old, and had just experienced a serious illness, so his energy and spirit were far less than before. After reading the letter, he sighed: "A single thought can lead to this."

Shao Xun looked up at the soldiers who were marching not far away.

There were 3,600 soldiers from Gaoping Prefecture, 1,200 soldiers from Dongping Prefecture, 1,200 soldiers from Puyang Prefecture, and 2,400 soldiers from Luonan and Xiangcheng Prefectures, totaling 8,400 warriors.

If we count the soldiers each of them brings with them, there are nearly 17,000 of them.

"Is this army strong?" Shao Xun asked.

Pei Kang squinted his eyes and looked at it.

These soldiers actually look very messy.

The reason for the disorder is that the weapons and armor are not the same. It does not look like a regular army, but more like bandits. A typical feature of bandits is that their uniforms are different, their weapons are varied and messy.

But they are definitely not bandits, Pei Kang has some vision.

The soldiers of Gaoping Prefecture were old subordinates of Mr. Chen, most of them were officers of the Yamen Army and had been through many battles.

The soldiers of Dongping and Puyang Prefectures were mainly hereditary soldiers from Xuchang. They had fought against the Huns, but their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the soldiers of Gaoping Prefecture.

The most powerful were the Luonan soldiers. No matter what weapons they used, each of them carried a heavy sword and a crossbow.

This is a real veteran who has been fighting for ten years and his combat power is quite strong.

"These soldiers..." Pei Kang hadn't finished his words when dozens of riders came running towards him.

These people dismounted thirty steps away, then walked forward, prostrated themselves on the ground, and shouted in unison: "Greetings, sir."

Shao Xun stepped forward and said, "Everyone, get up."

"Yes, sir." Everyone stood up.

The commander of the corps stood in front, and the general, chief secretary, and Sima of other corps stood behind.

A total of seven officers from the Longxiang Prefecture (also known as the Seven Governors) were all here.

"Xu Meng." Shao Xun pointed at a burly man wearing a Diao Chan crown and shouted.

"I am here!" Xu Meng, the commander of the Yingqiao Longxiang Prefecture, responded loudly, with some excitement on his face.

Back then, it was Mr. Chen who personally handed him the official seal, turning him from a down-and-out bandit into a legitimate official.

"Are you a soldier from Xiangcheng Prefecture?" Shao Xun asked.

"My home is in Yingqiaofang, Xiangcheng County, Xiangcheng Prefecture."

"Oh, between Xiangcheng and Yingchuan." Shao Xun smiled and asked, "What do you do on weekdays?"

"I help my family with farm work during the busy farming season. I hone my skills in my spare time."

"How are you doing?"

"I can have enough food and mutton to eat."

Shao Xun laughed and asked, "Did anyone bully you?"

"No." Xu Meng replied: "Even if there was, they were chased away."

"Oh? Did they really fight?" Shao Xun asked in surprise.

Of course, the Ryujo Shogunate would not report to him such trivial matters as rural fights.

"Last year, the Yingshui River was not abundant, making it difficult to irrigate the fields. Some people from Yingyin came to steal water, but our men put on their armor and weapons and simply drove them away," Xu Meng said proudly.

He is really proud.

Yingyin is the Xun family's old nest. Even the local tyrants in the county are inseparable from the Xun family.

In the past, who could have won over the Xun family in a dispute over water? But the government soldiers gathered together and drove them away. This was definitely a sensational news in Xiangcheng and Yingyin counties.

An organized and combat-capable armed force emerged in the local area. They were experienced in fighting, well-equipped, well-coordinated, and many of them even had war horses. Some farmhands were no match for them.

"Brilliant!" Shao Xun praised.

"This is all thanks to you, sir." Xu Meng said.

I really mean this.

Recently, the shogunate took into account that most of the soldiers had married and had children, and that the land measurement was quite effective, so it allocated some land to them and set the upper limit at 200 acres as a permanent rule.

In other words, currently a household of government soldiers has 200 acres of land and is allowed to have a maximum of three households of soldiers.

In the eyes of the soldiers, Mr. Chen kept giving them benefits and was like their second parent, so they were bound to be grateful.

Shao Xun came to another person, thought for a long time, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Shi Xian, the Sima of the separate department of Xia Lou Long Xiang Mansion." The man said loudly.

These were the soldiers from Fan County of Gaoping Commandery (formerly a county under the jurisdiction of Rencheng State).

"From the old Yamen Army?" Shao Xun asked.

"Exactly."

"Have you been to Liang County?"

"I moved from Liang County to Gaoping."

"I'm an old man now." Shao Xun patted his shoulder happily and said, "Didn't you expect this day to come?"

"Mingsir." Shi Xian looked at Shao Xun excitedly and said, "My life belongs to you. When my son grows up, he will also fight for you."

"Okay, okay." Shao Xun smiled happily.

"How's life in the country?" he asked.

"I have no worries about food and drink, and all I think about all day is how to fight for you," Shi Xian replied.

Shao Xun nodded.

He remembered that there had been riots in Fan County, Gaoping two months ago.

The He family, a poor and small aristocratic family, refused to pay food and fodder, and accused the prefect Yu Hao of taking revenge on them and making their family pay more money and food, so they rebelled in anger.

At the critical moment, the prefectural governor's office mobilized 5,000 able-bodied men and assembled 4,800 soldiers (including retainers) from two governors and eight defense offices to besiege He's manor, which was captured in seven days.

He didn't want to care whether Yu Hua had any grudge against the He family or not. He just said that the Gaoping Prefecture soldiers did play the role of a stabilizing force.

According to the report from the Longxiang General's Office, most of the 5,000 men recruited by Yu Hua were from the farmhands of the scholars and powerful people in Gaoping counties. They were originally feeling sad for the death of the rabbit and were reluctant to go to the battlefield. But after the Longxiang Shogunate issued an order to assemble the soldiers, they all became timid and finally went out to besiege the He family's manor and destroy the family.

In this matter, if the government soldiers were absent, the whole county might have been in turmoil.

As one of the four Simas of Xialou Longxiang Prefecture in Fan County, Shi Xian should have participated in this battle.

He said he would fight for Shao Xun, and he actually did it.

Everyone underestimated the role of the government soldiers.

Among the twenty-one counties and kingdoms in the two states of Yu and Yan, only Puyang, Dongping and Gaoping have deployed local soldiers on a large scale, accounting for three quarters of the total number of local soldiers. The rest are mostly scattered in the counties of Luonan, Xiangcheng County and the western part of Yingchuan County.

The biggest difficulty encountered in placing the government soldiers was the insufficient number of troops.

This matter can only be done slowly.

After Shao Xun made a round of inspection and talked with more than ten people, he ordered them to disperse and went back to lead the troops on their journey.

He returned to the place where he and Pei Kang had just stood.

Pei Laodeng looked at him with a complicated expression.

Shao Xun seemed unaware.

The Pei family's assets were mostly in Hedong County, and they had friendships with the local gentry in Henan, but their interests were not closely connected. As a member of a noble family, Pei Kang might have some opinions, but that was it, after all, the knife had not yet been cut on the Pei family.

With such an army of 17,000 soldiers heading to Luoyang, who could hurt him in the slightest?

(End of this chapter)