Chapter 37 Agency
When they returned to Chang'an to surrender the order, there were several more people in Zhang Xuanning's team. Two of them were Zheng Dan and Guo Posuo. The others were selected from the bandits. They were under the age of fifteen, had killed people, and had their backgrounds investigated. In fact, they were gangsters who had little to do with Wang An.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were countless young heroes, and many of them rebelled in their teens. Li Shimin’s Tian Ce Palace was full of masters and strategists, but until the Li family proclaimed themselves emperor, the average age was less than 30 years old!
What an astonishing number!
Therefore, Zhang Xuanning intended to select a group of bandits. It was true that Wang An could not be detained, but he could still take in a few children under the age of fifteen. Having said that, when the conditions were determined, only a dozen of the thousands of people met the requirements. Moreover, after killing a few teenagers who were too rebellious and refused to even surrender, only eight children met the requirements.
Fifty riders and an ox cart, led by Zhang Xuanning, entered Chang'an. They had made some preparations in advance, so they arrived at a small street. When they saw the cavalry coming, they hid in the street. It didn't take long for them to arrive at a relatively remote house.
Zhang Xuanning got off the horse and entered the house. Seeing the spacious house, he couldn't help but praise: "Mr. Zheng, you did a good job and solved this problem."
Zheng Dan said without any pride: "This is just a trivial matter. If I don't even have this ability, Master Shi won't need me."
Zhang Xuanning nodded and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zheng. Since you don't want to join the army, you can train a few personal soldiers for my Shi family. After a year or two, when the storm has passed and there is amnesty, you can return home safely."
Zheng Dan said with a wry smile: "I hope so."
He was forced by Wang An to be a military advisor, which tarnished his reputation and accused him of being an accomplice to a thief. Although his family protected him, he naturally could not go back like this. However, this person was also unwilling to recognize Zhang Xuanning as his master. Therefore, Zhang Xuanning took the opportunity to buy a house in Chang'an and accommodated a soldier who was injured and disabled and had no family.
"Captain, from now on I am a member of the Shi family." After entering the room, the old soldier who was still limping and wrapped in cloth stepped forward, ignoring the pain, and knelt on the ground. He kowtowed three times and nine times. After getting up, he no longer addressed himself as "master" but "master". In fact, in this battle, fifty cavalrymen charged into the enemy camp of thousands, and more than a dozen people were killed. After treatment, half of them survived, but he was the only one who met Zhang Xuanning's conditions.
The fifty people around were just watching, all with solemn looks in their eyes.
"Since you are entering my family, I will give you the surname Shi, and you will be called Shi Qun. You are not old yet, so you should marry a wife. You will be my housekeeper and take care of the household affairs, Zhang San!"
Zhang San stepped forward immediately without saying anything.
"Just help me take care of these kids at the back. This is my Shimen's sword technique and internal power skills. You can teach them one by one on my behalf. And Mr. Zheng, you can be a teacher here and teach them to read and recognize a few words. How about that?" Zhang Xuanning said in a softer voice.
"Well, I'll just stay in Chang'an for a while!" Zheng Dan said with a bitter smile: "Don't worry, I will supervise them."
This was a blatant training of personal soldiers, but no one thought it was strange. The reason was simple. At that time, it was common to have soldiers from aristocratic families. Moreover, Zhang Xuanning was so brave that it would be a quick thing for him to be promoted to the commander of a brigade of 100 people or even a captain.
The establishment of personal guards can be expanded in the future, and they should be trained.
As long as it is not a large number of people, hundreds or thousands of people are trained, it is natural and reasonable.
"You guys go up and pay your respects to the master!" Shi Qun immediately acted like the Shi family's steward and stepped forward and said.
The eight children were all sensible and stepped forward and knelt on the ground: "Greetings, Master."
"You were originally rebels, but I saved you. You must serve my Shi family well. Now you are called Shi Yilang, Shi Erlang, and Shi Sanlang. You are members of my family. When you have mastered martial arts and join my personal army, I will give you real names." Zhang Xuanning accepted the gift calmly.
In ancient times, the concept of family was so powerful that any instigator of an uprising, clan members, and villagers were all core backbones. Especially in some incidents, the whole family would be implicated at any time, and it was impossible for them to be disloyal - they were all grasshoppers on the same rope, and if something happened to their master, they could not escape at all.
Therefore, adopting someone as a family member, or even as an adopted son, is the only way to maintain cohesion. Zhu Yuanzhang was very good at this. In this era, no matter what the reason, those who betray their master and father will not have a good end.
"Yes, sir." The eight of them knelt on the ground, and from then on their fate was tied to Zhang Xuanning.
"Well, since this is your first day in my sect, I will not treat you unfairly. Shi Qun, you and I will enter the inner room. I have something to tell you."
"Yes, master!" Shi Qun followed him into the inner room.
Everyone understood that this was to explain family affairs, and perhaps there was some money left at home. However, this was still a very common thing. After a while, they came out of the room again, and Shi Qun seemed a little surprised.
"Shi Qun, here is some silver, you take care of it, I will go to the military camp to report." Zhang Xuanning said: "I want to go to the military camp, hand in the order, and then I will have wine and food to eat."
"Yes, sir!" Everyone shouted in unison, including the newly recruited Guo Posuo and several militiamen. At this time, they were not formal soldiers yet and still had to go through a procedure to get approval from their higher-ups.
Of course, personal soldiers are not necessary, but there is nothing to add at this time.
"Killed four hundred and sixty-one people, captured two thousand one hundred and forty-one, and beheaded the rebel Wang An." Captain Xiang looked at Zhang Xuanning, who was still kneeling below but appeared calm and composed, and knew that the general was right and that this was indeed different.
"He is good at strategy, calm and composed, and can kill with one blow, like an eagle catching a rabbit." This is the overall evaluation: "And he is also a good person!"
The specific circumstances would naturally be reported in detail by his subordinates. This was a matter of course. He had not been the chief officer for long, so it was impossible for him to keep everything secret. Therefore, he knew the situation very clearly - one-fifth of the spoils were given to the county magistrate and the county lieutenant, another one-fifth were given to his subordinates, and he and the general each received one-fifth of the gifts, and he took the fifth himself.
Although the general didn't care about these things at all, it was a token of his sincerity and an expression of his obedience. The general was very happy to see this.
"You have made great contributions this time. So, the general has ordered that you be promoted to deputy brigade commander and concurrently hold the position of captain of the original brigade, with an official rank of eighth rank!" After calming down, Captain Xiang said, "The relevant people will be rewarded according to the rules. Today, each of them will be rewarded with a portion of wine and meat."
In his heart, he wondered if he had been promoted too quickly. But then he changed his mind and thought that there were many rebels in the world now, and it was reasonable for those who could fight to be promoted quickly, so he relaxed a little.
Zhang Xuanning said, "Yes, thank you, Captain and General, for the promotion."
Although he did not have many soldiers, he was promoted in rank. Now his personal guards could be expanded to one fire, which means ten people, equivalent to a brigade commander.
I didn't expect that the personal soldiers I had prepared would have to be used now.
"What else do you want?"
"I have lost more than ten men under my command and need to recruit them. I have several brave militiamen named Guo Posuo who have made military achievements and are very brave. Can they join the team and become squad leaders? "
"Okay, report your name and I'll naturally reward you based on your merits. Also, other vacancies will be filled. You can rest in the city for a month."
At this moment, a personal soldier came in and whispered something to Captain Xiang. Captain Xiang raised his eyebrows and said, "The general has an order. Three days later, after replenishing the personnel, you will lead the team to Anchuan County and serve as the acting county magistrate!"
Looking at Zhang Xuanning who was a little puzzled, Xiang Duwei said, "The magistrate of Anchuan County was stabbed and is too seriously injured to manage the affairs. You will serve as the acting magistrate until the court sends an official."
"Sir Commander, I am only the deputy brigade commander now, and my rank is only eighth grade. How can I act as the county magistrate?" Zhang Xuanning asked curiously.
This is very unreasonable, because the county magistrate is of the seventh rank, and the county magistrate, chief clerk, and officials below him are all of the seventh and eighth ranks. How can he manage those above him? Besides, the Sui Dynasty would not have ruled the country by using the military, right?
"Anchuan County, when His Majesty was conquering Goryeo, bandits broke into the city. There were heavy casualties in the county government, and few people survived. This time, you were temporarily appointed as the county magistrate, but something happened and you were unable to manage the affairs. So you took over as the acting magistrate. You are the highest official rank, which must be a good thing. The general was very happy to hear your victory report, so he will give you more credit!" Captain Xiang explained patiently.
The general was very happy? Zhang Xuanning thought about it, but immediately responded, "Yes, I will obey your order."
"Although you are a cavalry, it will take you ten days to reach Anchuan County. However, the general has given the order. How about this? I will give you three days off. You don't have to report for duty. You can make your own arrangements. However, you must go out in three days. All the supplies will be arranged by the army."
"Yes, thank you, Commander-in-Chief."
Government offices start working at the Mao hour (5 to 7 a.m.). When officials check the number of people, it is called "Dianmao". The same is true in the military, but of course it is more strict. If you are late for the roll call, you will be punished with a military stick. If you are late for the roll call many times, you will be beheaded. Therefore, if you are exempted from the roll call, it means you have a day off.
Although Zhang Xuanning felt strange as to why he was sent out to fight again as soon as he came back, after all, in the era of cold weapons, the frequency of wars was not high. Generally speaking, after a battle, there would be casualties in the army. If someone was injured, the wound would not heal quickly. Basically, there should be a recuperation period of half a month or even longer. Frequent fighting would only lead to a sharp drop in the actual number of combatants in the army.
I still say this. In the era of cold weapons, there may be a saying that one should not leave the front line even if they are only slightly injured, because pulling the trigger does not require much physical strength. However, in the era of hot weapons, if the wound is cut and a lot of blood is lost, then engaging in heavy physical combat is definitely not an option. You will not do this unless it is absolutely necessary.
But since I had received the order, I had to obey it, so I responded immediately and then left at the signal of my boss.
After returning to the tent, Zhang Xuanning called everyone to participate. There were five fire chiefs who came, and his personal soldiers Zhang Yi and Zhang Er also followed. After the ceremony, everyone sat still, waiting for Zhang Xuanning to speak.
These days, they all acknowledged this martial arts master as their leader.
Zhang Xuanning didn't say anything else, and directly said: "The general has ordered that we rush to Anchuan County in three days. Is there anyone from Anchuan County in our team?"
After hearing this, the five people below immediately started to discuss. After a while, a fire chief came forward and said, "I have a sergeant named Meng Hu, who is from Anchuan County."
"You go and call him over. Although he has left Anchuan County for a long time, he still must have work this time. After all, he is a fellow villager. Also, let's look at the map. According to the information, Anchuan County is located on the edge of Guanzhong. It is relatively remote and has mountains. It is not an easy place to control!" Zhang Xuanning said.
"Yes, there are fifty of us, which is obviously not enough to control a county, right?" said a fire chief.
"So when we get to the county, we must rebuild the yamen soldiers. According to the court's laws, we can establish a 300-man local army. I am the acting county magistrate, so of course I have this authority, but it is not easy to organize these 300 people. We have no food and no money!"
After being looted, the county must be left with no food or military equipment. It gives me a headache .
"Can't the military prepare for us?"
"It's already a great honor for the army to provide rations for fifty of us. Let's forget about the rest." Zhang Xuanning said with a sigh.
At this time, Meng Hu had already arrived. Seeing that the adults were discussing, he finally said, "My lord, although the city in the county has been destroyed, the tribes in the county have not been destroyed. You can ask them for some food and supplies."
The county town belonged to the imperial court, but the family's fortress belonged to them. Therefore, although it seemed strange that the county town was breached while the fortress was safe, it was actually easy to understand.
Although the family was not as powerful as during the Second Jin Dynasty, once the family was prepared, there were hundreds or thousands of strong men to defend against the enemy together. The reason why a family became a family was that most of them had some martial arts inheritance, so it was normal to maintain safety.
On the contrary, although a county town is large, it often has no soldiers or food to fight, and is easy to attack. This was the reality in ancient times.
"Well, that makes sense. You just follow me for the time being. When we get to the county, I will need you to do some work." Zhang Xuanning thought for a moment and said.
He knew that if he asked those families for some money, he would get some, but it would be probably a few dozen shi or one or two hundred shi. Even if several families in the county were combined, they would only get a few hundred shi. But it was enough. It could not sustain for half a year. If he could think of some other ways, it could still sustain for one or two months.
The reason for such enthusiasm is entirely because Zhang Xuanning has never managed a county. In fact, a county, although called a yamen, is small, but it has all the necessary facilities. In essence, the county-level unit is the same as the imperial court.
Learn to manage a county, then manage a prefecture and a state, and even establish a government and become a duke or a king. All of these are included in it.
At that moment, he felt that the plan was not as fast as the changes, so he decided to let Zheng Dan take the group of young men with him. The county had been destroyed and everything was simple, which was a good opportunity for them to learn to read first, do odd jobs, and learn some skills as minor officials who could do practical work by seeing and hearing.
The ancients said that all worldly affairs originate from the prefectures and counties. The prefecture and county government offices are not only the vane of the rise and fall of the world, but also a panoramic microcosm of the entire official world in ancient times. The daily life and the secret, the grandeur and the dirtiness are displayed most vividly here. Only by understanding these, can you do a lot of worldly affairs. Otherwise, hehe, no matter how wise and powerful you are, you will be played around by those places.
Thinking of this, he had made a decision and chatted and discussed with the fire masters. Although he didn't plan to say much to them, just a few words still made them admire him greatly. Unconsciously, their trust in Zhang Xuanning increased a little bit.
After talking to Ming, he went straight back. It was already midnight.
When they arrived home, Zheng Dan came in not long after. In ancient times, people went to bed very early, so when Zheng Dan came in, he was still sleepy and his clothes were a little messy.
"Master Shi, what do you want me to do so late?" Zheng Dan bowed.
"Mr. Zheng's opportunity has come."
"Oh, why do you say that?" Zheng Dan's eyes suddenly lit up.
Zhang Xuanning just told him the order, and Zheng Dan listened silently, his eyes changing from time to time. When he finished speaking, he sighed and said, "The magistrate of Anchuan County was originally Brother Dai Ketong. I have met him before, but I didn't expect that he died here!"
"Yes, I don't know much about the county's political affairs. Although you can't take up the official position directly, you can act as my agent. If you complete this task, you will have made a contribution to atone for your sin. What do you think? This is an opportunity to avoid wasting time in the future."
Zheng Dan stood up and bowed deeply: "Master Shi is really thoughtful. Don't worry, I will manage all the political affairs for you so that you can succeed as soon as possible."
"Very good, when you go to do your work, just take those guys with you. They can help you get things done by using them as errands. You can also read some books and learn a few words at night." Zhang Xuanning said casually.
And Zheng Dan agreed.
After saying a few more words, he sent Zheng Dan, who seemed a little excited, back. This person's heart is not with me. Zhang Xuanning felt many more emotions. It is too far for him to recruit such talents now. However, the goal is to let these little guys do some errands.
In fact, when it comes down to it, the title of county head is nothing but empty talk. The minor clerks below are the ones who actually do the work and hold the real power. Being able to learn from them, even for a few months, will bring immeasurable benefits to the future.
