Chinese New Year

Chapter 664: Nursing
Shao Xun arrived in Guanggu via Laiwu Valley in late June.

On June 28th, the three Silver Spear Battalions lined up for a military parade in the north of Guanggu City.

For a moment, flags covered the sky, armors shone brightly, the murderous atmosphere was overwhelming, and the deterrent power reached all over the place.

Unlike the last time when he surrendered with a sheep, Cao Yi, who was under house arrest, asked someone to find a rope, tied himself up and walked out of the city, kowtowed and apologized.

Shao Xun personally stepped forward, untied the rope for Cao Yi, and said gently: "Why did you do this?"

"I was ignorant of the general situation and resisted the will of heaven. As a person who has committed serious crimes, I dare not have much extravagant expectations. Now I only hope that the crime will be limited to myself, and I will not ask any questions about the rest of those who followed me under duress." Cao Yi knelt on the ground and said.

"Please stand up quickly." Shao Xun helped Cao Yi up and said, "You have been in charge of Qingzhou for several years. You have always been calm and have never done anything to harm the people. I will need your help in the future. Don't give up on yourself."

At this point, Cao Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In front of so many people, Lord Liang personally promised to use him again. He shouldn't settle the score with him later, right?
After standing up quickly, he followed Shao Xun closely and introduced to him the Qingzhou generals and officers who had surrendered.

When he reached Feng Pi, Shao Xun paused and praised him, "Feng Pi has a talent for debate, and I really love him. Well, the West Pavilion Chief of Longxiong Shogunate has just returned home to mourn, I wonder if Feng Jun is willing to help me?"

"Your Excellency is wise and intelligent. Who in the world would not be willing to serve you? It is exactly what I want." Feng Pi was secretly delighted and bowed to the ground.

Shao Xun helped him up again and said with a smile: "I am not happy to get Qingzhou, but I am happy to meet you."

Although he knew it was just a polite remark, Feng Pi still felt extremely satisfied and choked up as he said, "Your Excellency's demeanor is so impressive that it makes people feel moved. From now on, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I am willing to die for you."

"What do you mean by life or death?" Shao Xun said unhappily, then he took Feng Pi's hand and said, "I still want to share wealth and honor with Feng Jun, why should I talk about death?"

Feng Pi wiped his tears with the sleeve of his robe, and followed Shao Xun with his head held high.

When the Qingzhou generals and officers and scholars from various counties who had surrendered saw this, they felt greatly relieved.

Pardoning Cao Yi and possibly even giving him an official position meant that the Qingzhou shogunate would be safe.

He praised Feng Pi highly and appointed him as the chief priest of the Western Pavilion of General Longxiang, which showed that Lord Liang valued the scholars of Qingzhou. In the future, everyone would have a way to advance.

From being an official and aristocrat under a separatist regime that was doomed to fail, he suddenly became an official under Lord Liang, the most powerful man in the world. Such a transformation made everyone extremely excited.

Considering the hints Wang Xuan gave when he summoned everyone before, and considering Liang Gong’s identity as a native of Xuzhou, it’s settled!
It’s time for the Qingxu scholars to rise up.

Lord Liang is the heaven of the Qingxu scholars. If we work hard for him in the future, we may be able to snatch opportunities from the Yanyu scholars.

"What do you think of these soldiers?" After meeting with the surrendered people one by one, Shao Xun led everyone to the platform and asked with a smile.

"Extraordinary." Cao Yi stared at it for a while and sighed, "Someone in the palace advised me in the past that Qingzhou people were not used to fighting and could not stop the strong troops from Henan. I didn't think so at first, but now I know that it was a futile resistance."

"The orders are strictly enforced, the military is in high spirits, and even in the scorching sun, frost and snow, they remain unmoved. This is one of the strongest armies in the world." Feng Pi praised, "With this army, we can command the four directions, conquer those who do not obey, and achieve hegemony."

"If you don't see the heavenly soldiers, you won't know the power of heaven. Living in Donglai for several years, my horizons have narrowed." Liu Ba, the former governor of Donglai, said with emotion: "Fortunately, there are such powerful soldiers to restore the old mountains and rivers. I am ignorant and only wish to hold the horse and stirrup for you, even if I die, I will not regret it."

"In the past, I recruited soldiers from Changguang Township to train them, and I thought that most armies in the world were like this. Now that I see the appearance of the Silver Spear Army, I know that I am ignorant." The Changguang tyrant Lu Pi bowed his head and said, "I am a warrior, and now I am willing to lead my family and soldiers to join your tent, destroy the enemy and the enemy, and never turn back even if I die a hundred times."

Shao Xu, Gao Jiang, Liu Mi, Liu Xia, Duan Pidi, Duan Wenyang and others who were standing on the reviewing platform were also shocked when they saw this.

Some of them had seen the Silver Spear Army, but had never seen the three battalions on the left, center and right lined up in armor.

There were tens of thousands of soldiers, and it was endless. So many silver spears and strong soldiers arrayed in the wild, the visual impact was very strong.

Before he knew it, Lord Liang already had so many soldiers wearing three kinds of weapons and well-equipped armor. Who would still want to rebel? Who would dare to rebel?

Before the war among the kings, the central army of Luoyang had more than 100,000 soldiers. However, most of these soldiers were not equipped with three weapons and were not proficient in various skills. Archers were archers, spearmen were spearmen, and swordsmen were swordsmen. They had only one skill, and that was it.

But in the past two or three decades, the world situation has changed dramatically.

During the Wannian Rebellion of Qi, the Hu cavalry still used single-sided stirrups, but now they use double-sided stirrups.

When Zhao Wanglun usurped the throne, the Xianbei people did not have many armored cavalry, but now the Duan tribe can gather two thousand.

When Sima Yue was in power, the Hu cavalry still mainly relied on horseback archery, supplemented by hand-to-hand combat, but now their counter-attacks are beginning to take shape.

The Hu cavalry has been improving and their combat effectiveness is increasing day by day. Even if the Luoyang Central Army from more than ten years ago were to be resurrected, it would be very difficult to resist it now.

The elite soldiers with silver spears trained by Duke Liang are all capable of archery and close combat. They have high morale and are extremely brave. Their combat power is far superior to that of the elite infantry since the Han Dynasty. They are just the right match for the Hu cavalry, whose combat power has increased dramatically since the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people to make extraordinary changes.

At least from the perspective of military reform, Lord Liang was decisive and deserved to be the ruler of the world.

Seeing the results of the reform today, I am convinced.

******
After the military parade, Shao Xun moved into Guanggu City.

Within ten days, he had been meeting with local officials and scholars from Qingzhou, and even people from Xuzhou came to pay him a visit.

On the eighth day of the seventh month, he led people to inspect the villages around Guanggu.

After the war, all the soldiers who had been recruited by Cao Wei returned home and farmed. The entire Qingzhou land once again returned to its former tranquility.

In the evening, as the sun was setting, it was very cool under the lush and shady mulberry trees. Shao Xun and the Qingzhou scholars who accompanied him sat on the ground and took a rest.

"Although Qingzhou is peaceful, there are still major issues." After the soldiers had prepared tea, Shao Xun distributed it to everyone and said, "Your Excellency is busy with many things every day, and the affairs are complicated and laborious. Qingzhou is a small state, and we are willing to help you with some minor issues." After Feng Pi took the tea bowl, he immediately expressed his loyalty.

Shao Xun smiled when he heard this, his eyes fell on Wang Pei behind Feng Pi, and said: "Lord Wang is a great man in Qi, can you teach me?"

Wang Pei cupped his hands and said, "What you wish for is nothing more than opening up farmland, equalizing household registration, and paying taxes and labor service."

"The prince knows me." Shao Xun praised.

Wang Pei was born into the Wang family of Chengyang and lived in Yingling - this county originally belonged to Chengyang, and later to Dongguan, and then to Beihai.

His grandfather Wang Xiu (Wang Xiu) was a famous scholar in Cao Wei. His father Wang Yi was once Sima Zhao's Sima. After he was killed, he never served in the Jin State for the rest of his life. He studied and taught students in Yingling Township and was very famous.

Of course, Wang Pei was not the kind of person who only studied hard. In fact, he was very adaptable.

He once had a student who was forced to work in the county and was suffering terribly, so he asked him to intercede on his behalf.

Wang Pei said that your knowledge was not yet at the level to be exempted from military service, and he was unwilling to write a letter to seek backdoor treatment. But when the time for military service came, he personally carried food, and his son brought salt, soybeans, and straw sandals, and more than a thousand disciples followed to see this student off.

When the county magistrate saw this, he felt quite ashamed, and the whole county thought it was a disgrace, so they exempted the disciple from labor.

The way celebrities do things is so good that it can even be cited as a good story.

I'm not the kind of person who has become stupid because of reading too much!

After Shao Xun learned about Wang Pei's fame and status, he recommended him as the prefect of Chengyang.

Wang Pei was determined not to be a minister of Jin and declined the offer politely.

So he was appointed as the Censor of Liang State, inspecting Chengyang and Beihai counties. Wang Pei thought about it again and again, and after being persuaded by his disciples, he was inclined to agree.

Shao Xun knew this very well, and he was also willing to use Wang Pei.

This person, like Liu Han of Yan State, was a scholar with high reputation in the state, with many followers and great influence. Gaining their recognition was crucial to stabilizing the local situation.

Moreover, Wang Pei had a very bad impression of the Jin Dynasty.

His grandfather was a famous scholar and loyal minister of Cao Wei. His father was killed for no reason by Sima Zhao after the Battle of Dongguan. He was summoned three times and exiled seven times by the Jin Dynasty in his life, but he refused and vowed not to be a minister of Jin.

To some extent, this was a local celebrity who would be very happy to see the demise of the Jin Dynasty.

How can we not use such a person?

"Cao Yi has been in charge of Qingzhou for several years, and there are many errors and omissions in the registered records. Your disciples are spread across various counties and kingdoms. Would you be willing to clean up the registered records for me?" Shao Xun brought up the old matter again and asked.

Wang Pei was silent for a while, then bowed and said, "That is what I really want, but I dare not ask for it."

Shao Xun was overjoyed. He stood up and helped Wang Pei to his feet, saying, "Your Excellency, you can supervise the censor and inspect the two counties of Chengyang and Beihai. After these two counties, you can inspect the three counties of Changguang, Donglai, and Qi. When all matters are settled, the position of Liang State Censor-in-Chief will be vacant."

The Liang State originally had a Chief Censor (Cui Yu), and Shao Xun planned to add another one, called "Left Censor" or "Right Censor", and serve as the deputy of the Chief Censor.

Qingzhou was a small state. According to the population census during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there were only 50,000 households, which is simply laughable.

Cao Qi said that he had "more than 100,000 soldiers." This is both right and wrong.

The inaccuracy is that most of these hundreds of thousands of soldiers were farmers temporarily conscripted, but the correct thing is that he was indeed able to conscript hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men.

If there are only 50,000 households registered, what kind of supernatural power can produce hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men?

If Shao Xun left it alone and allowed Qingzhou officials and scholars to compile their own household registration, he could probably only be able to register 30,000 households, most of which would be registered under the names of powerful aristocratic families.

So he needed to re-check the household registration, but he did not have the resources or manpower to do so. After all, things have to be done by people.

After much thought, the only option is to win over some local tyrants in Qingzhou and promise them benefits so that they will not be too biased towards the local areas when compiling the household registration and conceal too many household registrations.

His bottom line is 100,000 households.

If the number you report is still the 50,000 households during the reign of Emperor Wu, don't blame him for being ruthless.

Of course, the actual number of households in Qingzhou would not exceed 200,000.

This is a small state after all, and for some reason, some places have little development and there are many barren lands.

For example, the two counties of Donglai and Changguang had a large population in the Han Dynasty, but now they are sparsely populated, far less than before. Even during the Tianbao period of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the population of Jiaodong was less than half of that of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is very strange.

Of course, Nanyang was also sparsely populated during the Tianbao period, so a large number of Turks were settled there. Those Hu people could even make a living by hunting in Nanyang, which shows the extent of the vast land and sparse population. However, Nanyang was the most densely populated place in the country during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

It is really hard to describe how the world changes.

But Shao Xun wanted to take over the two counties of Donglai and Changguang directly.

He also wanted to directly take control of the two counties of Jinan and Le'an, which had experienced many wars and been repeatedly plundered.

The military students who will graduate at the end of this year are destined to go to these four counties in large numbers. They will start by settling the refugees, and then gradually build up their connections and prestige in the local area. When the time is right, they can slowly climb up and finally lay a solid foundation for him to completely control these four counties.

If you come to Qingzhou, you must get some benefits.

(End of this chapter)