The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Zhao House.

Under the guidance of the two great slaves, Li Hu hurriedly came to the hall of the back house, and before he could take off his shoes, he grabbed the entrance in three steps and said, "Young Master, the big thing is bad!"

Zhao Ran was reclining on the couch to watch the singing and dancing. Seeing Li Hu rushing in sweating profusely, he frowned and said, "What's the panic?"

"Young Master, please remove the Kabuki girls first."

Zhao Ran took Yuruyi and knocked on the case twice, and more than a dozen kabuki girls in the hall and below the hall filed out: "What's the matter? You are so confused."

"Yuzhou Er has just issued an order to dismiss the chief bookkeeper Liang Jun, Gong Cao Wei Jun, Wu Guan Ye Wang Jun, and all Cao Ye and Shi officials who said they were ill!"

Zhao Ran wasn't watching the singing and dancing alone. There were several disciples sitting with him. One of the disciples was shocked when he heard the words, "Ah", got up suddenly, and said incredulously: "Remove all the people who said they were sick and did not go to high value. Government official?"

Li Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Yes, yes!"

"Is Yuzhou'er crazy?"

First, they launched a massacre in the county soldiers, killing almost all the leaders of the county soldiers of Zhao Zhong's family in Afu, and then dismissed dozens of county officials, five officials, meritorious officials, chief clerks, and more than half of the officials. With all of them in it, just thinking about such a ruthless means is shocking. Li Hu sweated all over his face, wiped the sweat again in a heartbeat, and said, "I think he is crazy."

"Yuzhouer dismissed all the officials of the county government who were said to be sick. Isn't he afraid of causing public anger in the county and being attacked? You know, not to mention that he is just trying to guard the prefect of the county, he is the real prefect, once it arouses public outrage , and can't escape being expelled from the county!"

The so-called "trial guard" is a system of appointment of officials in the two Han Dynasties, that is, a trial appointment of a certain official, and the "trial period" of later generations has the same meaning.

This system originated from the Warring States Period and was completed in the Qin Dynasty. It was inherited by the Han Dynasty. There was a Han generation. This system was generally implemented from the central to the local area. Except for a very small number of officials, they all need to go through a year of probation. During the probationary period, their salary is lower than that of the real officials. If they are not qualified, they will be punished both themselves and their leaders. For example, Huang Ba, a famous former Han minister, who made outstanding political achievements in the prefecture of Yingchuan, was promoted to "Shoujing Zhaoyin". , the former Han Dynasty's Jingzhao land belonged to Jifu and was intractable. Since Zhao Guanghan, dozens of people have been replaced and they are all incompetent. Huang Ba was not qualified during the probationary period, so he "returned to the prefect of Yingchuan. He was sent back to Yingchuan to continue serving as the prefect of Yingchuan, and his salary was reduced from 2,000 to 800.

For the officials of the imperial court, as long as they pass the examinations at the age of three, they can become true, but for the prefects and county magistrates, in addition to passing the examinations of the imperial court, they also need to be able to continue serving in the county. Recognized by local aristocrats.

The two Han Dynasty were the prefects and magistrates of the county. If An An Shengsheng's term of office was to expire, the local aristocrats must not offend him.

Local aristocrats have long dominated and monopolized the local politics, culture, economy and even military affairs, or they have served in the imperial court, state or county for generations, or have disciples and disciples all over the county, or have thousands of acres of fertile land and thousands of disciples, or keep dead soldiers and disciples. , with family soldiers, clan soldiers and other private armed forces, if a foreign, lonely county governor or county magistrate offends them, then the fate can be imagined.

Since the former Han Dynasty to the present, there have been many county governors and county magistrates who have been expelled by local aristocrats.

The better, the local aristocrats will give you a face, but they are negative and uncooperative, so you have to take the initiative to resign. The worse, the local aristocrats simply tear up their faces and use force to expel them. Because of this, the imperial court has issued decrees many times, demanding "The prefectures and prefectures shall not coerce to expel the chief officials." It is a pity that the local aristocracy has already established itself, but it has no effect at all.

Li Hu deeply agreed with Zhao Ran's statement that Xun Zhen was "crazy", but he did not take Xun Zhen's words very seriously, saying: Having said that, this county is no different than other counties. There is a riot of thieves in the middle of the county. Yuzhou Er came to take office today not because he went to the county by bicycle, but with thousands of cavalry. It's not easy." After a pause, he said, "This is probably the reason why he dared to remove Liang, Wei, and Wang Zhujun in one go."

"Good Yuzhou son, I heard that he was only in charge of military affairs, not political affairs in Zhao County, and he was very respectful to Zhao Xiang, and I thought that his so-called 'milk tiger' in Yingchuan was a false legend, okay, Good! I didn't expect him to be so cruel." Zhao Ran stood up from the couch, pressed his sword and went down to the hall, sneering while pacing, "He beheaded my confidant in the army, I will endure it. Now that he has dismissed Liang, Wei, and Wang Zhujun again, what's the matter? He really treats my Wei County as a place for him to be aggressive? I'll see how long he can run rampant!"

Li Hu wiped his sweat again and asked, "Young Master, what should we do now?"

"If he doesn't dismiss Liang, Wei, and Wang Zhujun, I must avenge him for killing my confidant. Now he has dismissed Liang, Wei, and Wang Zhujun..." Zhao Ran snorted and turned to look at Li Hu, with a playful smile, said, "I'll just wait and see the show!"

"It's a good show? Is the young master waiting for the Liang, Wei, and Wang families to rise up and attack him? There are thousands of cavalry under his tent, and they are all fighting for a hundred battles, but the Liang, Wei, and Wang families are dissatisfied. I'm afraid I won't dare to do anything to him for a while!"

"The good show I'm talking about is the thousand-foot ride under his account!"

"What do you mean by this, Young Master?"

"The Yellow Turbans were in turmoil last year, and last year, Yu poisoned the county again. There is not much grain left in the county government, and there is even a shortage of supply for the county officers. Besides, he brought three thousand cavalry? Wei and Wang's surnames are all offended, I see how he got the rations!"

Wei County is located in the southernmost part of Jizhou. Although it is less affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion than other counties such as Julu, it has also experienced the disaster of the war. It did not receive much land tax and grain the year before. After the Yellow Turban was pacified, Huangfu Song invited the court. In the middle of the year, Jizhou's tax was reduced or exempted for one year, and then the county was in chaos again. Last year, there was not much field tax and grain. The county government has almost no income for two consecutive years. Many of the daily necessities of the two thousand commanders were supplied by local surnames. Xun Zhen offended Wei, Liang, Wang and other surnames. It is foreseeable that it would be extremely difficult to borrow food from these surnames.

Li Hu suddenly realized, and said in surprise: "What if he can't get the rations?"

Zhao Ran pulled out his sword, wiped the blade with his finger, and said with a sneer, "His three thousand cavalry are his Yingchuan disciples, but that's fine, but the two thousand soldiers in the county are not his personal soldiers. After the food is over, there will be a riot!"

Li Hu's spirit was greatly lifted, and he no longer looked alarmed just now. With a smile on his face, he extended his thumb and praised in unison with the few Zhao family guests in the hall: "Young master's brilliant plan!"

If there is a military chaos due to lack of food, Xun Zhen will be reprimanded and removed from office at light level, and his life will not be guaranteed at worst.

Three days later, Li Hu came to Zhao's house again in a huff.

"Young Master, Yuzhou Er, Yuzhou Er..."

"What's the matter? Take it slow."

"Yuzhou, he brought 30,000 shi of grain from Zhao County!"

"what?"

"I just received a report from the Liangqi County magistrate that 30,000 shi of grain has just entered our Wei County Liangqi territory from Zhao! ."

"Although Yuzhou'er served as Lieutenant Zhao, the new lieutenant of Zhao County has already taken office, so Zhao Prime Minister Liu Heng has also resigned and changed his position to other County. How could Zhao County lend him food?"

"Liang Qiling has inquired. Although Zhao County has a new lieutenant, the lieutenant has not changed. Lieutenant Zhao Xizhong is a township party of Yuzhou Er, and went with him from Yingchuan to Zhao County!"

"There is a new prime minister and a new lieutenant in Zhao County today. How can a small lieutenant be the master to borrow food?"

"Yuzhou Er has been Lieutenant Zhao for two years. Most of the officials in the lieutenant's mansion are his old officials, and they are favored by him, but the lieutenant is the only one who is loyal to the horse. The new lieutenant has just arrived, and I'm afraid they will be coerced by them!"

The word "coercion" was Li Hu's assumption, but the reason why the newly appointed Lieutenant Zhao agreed to Xun Zhen's request to borrow food was indeed persuaded by Xi Zhicai.

"Where's the Prime Minister?"

The lieutenant was only in charge of military affairs, and if he wanted to borrow food from Zhao County, he had to get the approval of the prime minister.

"Liang Qiling also inquired: Zhao Fu Huangzong is from Runan and is in the same state as Yuzhou's son. The two of them have a very good personal relationship. When Yuzhou's son was serving as Lieutenant of Zhao, Liu Bei and the minister's Gong Cao Weichang also had a good personal relationship. Er and most of the county officials in Zhao County also have good personal friendships, such as Zhou Cang, the Zuowei of Handan, Yao Sheng, the commander of the State of Xiang, etc. Moreover, Handan Rong of the Handan family of the Guan family of Zhao County was the lieutenant master of Yuzhou Er when he was the Lieutenant of Zhao. The book is his old official, and if they are mixed up and down, how could the new prime minister not agree to Yuzhou’s request to borrow food!”

Zhao Ran was stunned for a long time, and became angry, kicked a few times to overturn the case, and said angrily: "Dangtang Erqianshi, a lieutenant compared to Erqianshi, was toyed with by his subordinate officials and surnames, without any opinion, incompetent, incompetent. Extreme!"

But he forgot, just three days ago, he was expecting Xun Zhen to be defeated under the uncooperation of Wei Jun's surname.

Li Hu's forehead was dripping with sweat again. Xun Zhen first killed Zhao Ran's confidant in the county army, and then expelled Wu Guanyu and other county officials. If he could not restrain his sharp edge, then the next unlucky one might be It's him. Yes, as the county chief of six hundred stones, he was appointed by the imperial court.

He dragged his sleeves to wipe off the sweat, asked Zhao Ran, and said, "Young Master, Yuzhouer borrowed food, what should we do now?"

"Two thousand commanders plus three thousand righteous followers, a total of five thousand cavalry, people eat horses and chew, daily use is very small, even if he borrowed 30,000 stone grain, how many days can he be used? I don't believe Zhao County will keep borrowing it. Give him food! And wait, when the food is used up, I will see what he can do!"

...

The Prefect of Wei County.

Xun Zhen, Xun You, Liu Bei and others also received news that the grain borrowed from Zhao County had entered the Wei territory.

Liu Bei asked, "Duke Ming, have Yulang, Yunchang, and Zilong arrived?"

First, to prevent thieves from looting, and second, to prevent Zhao Ran and others from secretly attacking, Xun Zhen personally ordered Xin Ai, Guan Yu, and Zhao Yun to lead a 500-foot ride to the border of Wei and Zhao to wait in advance. Ye County.

"It's already here, and within two days, this batch of grain will be delivered to this county."

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately raised his brows with worry, and said worriedly: "Although I borrowed food from Zhao County this time, Zhao County is not rich, so borrowing food cannot be repeated. More than 5,000, the monthly requirement is about 15,000 shi, and 30,000 shi is only enough for two months. If you add the daily needs of the county, you can't even last for two months. It's only February now, and it's just before the summer harvest. There are three months, and the remaining gap of more than one month, I don't know how Ming Gong plans to deal with it?"

Xun Zhen is now not a lieutenant, but a prefect, no longer solely in charge of military affairs. According to the system of the two Han Dynasties, the salaries of the county officials, the cost of postage, the relief to the common people, and the daily finances of the county, including the construction of fortifications, etc. All the expenses come from the county finances, and he has to be responsible for all these things. There is not much grain left in the county government treasury. It can be said that only the 30,000 stone grains can be used. Due to the presence of poison, 30,000 stone grains are far from enough to make the remaining half of the county run normally.

Xun Zhen had no experience as a prefect. When he was in Zhao County, although he had learned some ways of governing the county from Liu Heng, none of those methods could cope with the current situation.

Although there is no way to deal with it, he is not timid. On the surface, he is calm and calm, and said with a calm smile: "Xuande, the immediate urgency is not to think about what to do when the food is used up."

"That is?"

"It should be considered that with these 30,000 stone grains, what can I do!"

"What does Duke Ming mean?"

Outside Xunzhen Wangwang Hall, looking at the blue sky and clouds rising from a distance, he said, "Now there is chaos in the county due to poison, and with these 30,000 stone grains, I can stabilize the county soldiers and my righteous obedience, and I will be able to pacify the chaos."

Liu Bei persuaded him and said: "Ming Gong has just dismissed many county officials~www.wuxiaspot.com~ The county is unstable, and it may not be a good opportunity to use troops at this time."

"Gongda, what do you think?"

Xun You replied: "What Xuande said is very true, and the Duke of Ming also said, 'Those who resist foreigners must first be at peace': now the Duke of Ming has displayed the might of thunder, expelling the officials of the prefecture, and the five officials in the palace are combined with Cao Cao. Most of the posts are vacant, and this is a time when the government is not stable; when the public first arrives, the government officials will be chased, and the county magistrates and prefects will inevitably be shocked. The families of Zhao, Liang, Wei, Wang, who had a grudge against the public peeped on the side, unpredictable, and if they sent troops at this time, they would be between elbows and armpits, and they would regret it."

"What the two of you are afraid of is the fear that my soldiers will leave the county, and without the power to suppress, there will be chaos in the county?"

Liu Bei and Xun You replied, "Exactly."

Xun Zhen first killed Zhao Ran's confidants in the county army, and then expelled Liang, Wei, Wang and other county officials. He sent out a large number of troops, without the suppression of the three thousand cavalry, then Zhao Ran, Li Hu and other people would probably take the opportunity to make trouble, or disguised themselves as thieves and bandits to cause chaos in the county, or simply colluded with poison. Xun You said "changes between elbows and armpits". If this situation occurs, Xun Zhen's situation will be in danger, and he will be punished by the court at light level, and will be dismissed in severe cases.

Of course, Xun Zhen could also not send his righteous followers and instead send the county soldiers to attack the thieves, but he had just arrived and had no control over the county soldiers. Once mutiny, according to the strict military law of the Han family, it is not a question of dismissal, but to be convicted and imprisoned, or be beheaded.

Xun Zhen smiled slightly and said, "What if I could pacify the Poison Rebellion without having to leave the country?"