Chapter 53: People
Zhang Xuanning started a rebellion, occupied the entire Kuaiji County, and appointed himself the governor of Wuzhou. This incident immediately became a sensation throughout the world.
However, the four counties of Kuaiji Prefecture, even if the population of this world is slightly larger, the total population is only 28,400 households. Of course, at this time, a household has as few as five or six people, and as many as a dozen or twenty people. But if you extract 10,000 infantry, 3,000 naval forces, and add in craftsmen, the manpower will immediately reach its limit.
In comparison, the population of Jiangdu (Yangzhou) County reached 145,500 households, five times that of Kuaiji County. No wonder Du Fuwei and Li Zitong's troops who started the rebellion in the south tried every means to linger around Jiangdu. Even if we ignore the geographical advantage, taking one county is equivalent to taking five counties of Kuaiji!
The huge expenditure required for the training of generals and soldiers, the salaries of officials, and the settlement of land all require a lot of money.
The Wuzhou General Administration Office built a government affairs hall, but did not appoint a prefect for the time being. Instead, the government affairs of the four counties were directly managed by the government affairs hall. The first left assistant minister of the government affairs hall was of course Li Bo.
"The four counties have been basically pacified, but we can't mobilize much in the first half of this year, at least, as we need to train soldiers, equip weapons, and build ships." Li Bo frowned and reported, "Fortunately, the lord has invested some funds, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to survive until the end of the year."
"Where's the county school?"
"According to the Lord 's wishes, we are recruiting young men between the ages of twelve and fifteen who have just begun to learn to read. The order was issued, but only twenty-eight people responded."
"Twenty-eight people is twenty-eight people. Once our foundation is solid and these young people are trained to serve as lower officials (low-ranking officials), they will naturally be able to attract people." Zhang Xuanning was mentally prepared for this. He sighed and said, "What do we mind about the southern families and nearby counties?"
"Yes, Shen Faxing. His family roots are in Wukang County, Yuhang Prefecture. They have been powerful for generations and have thousands of clans. He is also the governor of Wu Prefecture, which borders our prefecture. He should not be underestimated."
Shen Faxing, Shen Faxing started his rebellion in the 14th year of Sui Dynasty, when Yu Wenhuaji created the Jiangdu Rebellion. In the name of fighting Yu Wenhuaji, he raised an army and got 60,000 elite soldiers. He quickly occupied Yuhang County, Piling County, and Danyang County, and was called the General Manager of Jiangnan Road. The following year, he was called "Tianmen Gong", and soon he was called "Liang Wang", and the reign was called "Yankang". Later, he was defeated by Li Zitong and died in the river.
This person was also a person who was plotting a rebellion with a covetous eye. However, his policy was to hide his troops at home and wait for an opportunity to start the rebellion. His strong character was a good thing, but being too patient and scheming would lead to him going down the wrong path. Once he started the rebellion, he had tens of thousands of soldiers and captured many counties. Of course, this was all due to the previous conspiracies, so once he started the rebellion, everything would come to fruition smoothly.
However, precisely because of this, the soldiers and generals had not actually been tested in war, so even though they had a large number of people, it was of no avail. Instead, they were defeated by Li Zitong, who had started out as a bandit but had fought for many years.
Although the Sui Dynasty is now in decline, most people are still not sure that it will perish. Therefore, as long as they do not attack Yuhang, they do not have to worry about the reaction of Shen Faxing and the Shen family. As the saying goes, those who are good at forbearance can be bullied for their forbearance!
"Then our target can only be Yongjia?" Zhang Xuanning asked.
"That's right. However, during the Yongjia period, there was also internal strife. It was the Miao Haichao tribe. If we suddenly launched an uprising and cut off the connection between Du Fuwei's tribe and him, we could do just that."
"Miao Haichao, who is this person?"
"Miao Haichao was from Xiapi. In the ninth year of Daye, he gathered people to revolt. In the tenth year of Daye, Du Fuwei arrived in Huaibei. At that time, the peasant uprising army led by Miao Haichao was in Xiapi. Du Fuwei persuaded Miao Haichao to surrender through Fu Gongju. Miao Haichao knew that his troops were weak, so he agreed to merge and obeyed Du Fuwei's command. Du Fuwei's troops were greatly shocked. Jiangdu Tongshou sent Lieutenant Song Hao to lead troops to suppress them. They were led into the reed marsh by Du Fuwei, and then set on fire from the upper wind, winning a great victory." Li Bo was very familiar with the situation in the south, and said: "It was just last year that Li Zitong's troops also moved to Huainan and joined Du Fuwei. Soon, Li Zitong attempted to annex Du Fuwei's troops and launched a surprise attack on Du's troops, which seriously injured Du Fuwei. The Sui army took the opportunity to attack, and Du's troops were defeated. Du Fuwei fought to the death and escaped. After breaking out, Du Fuwei gathered the remaining troops and used Liuhe County as a base, while Miao Haichao's troops actually broke away and moved to Yongjia County."
"So that's how it is. Sir, send someone to contact him and tell him to surrender to him. What do you think?" Ever since he called him lord, Li Bo has refused to be called uncle. After several times, Zhang Xuanning still did not call him by his official title, but called him "Sir" to show respect.
"Yes, but with our current momentum, we may not be able to surrender to him." Li Bo said cautiously.
"That's fine. Once the initial training is completed in mid-May, our army will attack Yongjia County directly from the sea to fight." Zhang Xuanning knew very well that time was pressing and it was impossible to train the troops for several years, nor was it necessary. Besides, if the soldiers were only trained without being tested on the battlefield, they would still be new recruits and would not be of much use. Of course, the most important thing was that only through war could the problems in the camp be exposed, and Shen Faxing's problems must not be repeated in the future.
"My Lord, it seems inappropriate to raise an army so soon. It would be more appropriate to wait until autumn."
"What's wrong with that? Kuaiji County has a small population, and Yongjia County has an even smaller population, with only four counties and 15,000 households. Even if there are more soldiers in the county, there are only 5,000. With 5,000 soldiers, we can easily capture it, not to mention the internal strife of Miao Haichao." Zhang Xuanning said with a smile: "At this time, the emperor is preparing to move to Jiangdu, and Du Fuwei has suffered a heavy blow. At this time, as long as I leave 5,000 soldiers, there will be no problem. If I don't take this opportunity, when will I wait?"
"Since the Lord has made up his mind, I will not say much. However, at this time, there is a shortage of talents in the county. Even if we take Yongjia, we will find it difficult to appoint people. Since your father's old subordinates cannot be publicly announced, few people come to surrender."
"In fact, this is still a question of prestige and power. Otherwise, the original officials in the county would probably surrender one after another!" Zhang Xuanning nodded and said, "I estimate that if you can control five counties and have more than 50,000 elite soldiers, they will come to surrender one after another, regardless of the lack of manpower."
After a pause, he continued, "Zhu Li, the county magistrate, was promoted to county magistrate. How is he doing in Juzhang County?"
"This is an old official who has been in government affairs for a long time. He can manage a county, not to mention a whole county, in an orderly manner. However, there are too few people like him who come to us."
Zhang Xuanning laughed and said, "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have hoped to hire those young officials. I'm also waiting for a few years to place them in the county."
"What about Jiang Feng? He is the Magistrate of Juzhang County. I want him to learn more about government affairs. How is he?"
"It is said that when you go to the county, you can learn more and talk less, and you can be successful."
"Well, that's already very good. I hope he can grow up in the future." At this point, he remembered something and said, "There is a man in Jingling named Xu Xingzhi, who is thirty years old and is probably working as a clerk at this time. He can be used. You can send someone to summon him and appoint him as the governor of a county first!"
In memory, Xu Xing was a second-rate master, but he was proficient in strategy and was an excellent candidate for military strategist. In the original world, Jingling was working in Duba Villa, but in fact, Duba Villa was not established until after the death of Emperor Yang of Sui, so he could be recruited at this time.
Although this person's background is somewhat problematic, he can be used now.
Li Bo listened, and without asking why he knew this person, he nodded and said, "I'll do it right away. It will take about a month to get the result."
Zhang Xuanning nodded and smiled, then said, "Sir, is there anyone who can recommend it to you?"
Li Bo thought for a moment and said, "There is a wise man named Yu Chuo, whose courtesy name is Shi Yu. He is from Yuyao, Kuaiji. He is eight feet tall, with a very majestic appearance, erudite and talented, and is especially good at cursive script. Although he is better at poetry than politics, he can be a good civil official or the magistrate of a county or a prefecture. He used to be arrogant because of his talent, but because he was friends with your father Yang Xuangan, he was convicted, his family property was confiscated, and his prostitutes and concubines were taken into the palace. He sneaked across the river alone, changed his name, and called himself Wu Zhuo. He is now at the home of Xin Dade, the county magistrate of Anling County, Dongyang County. Xin Dade is also very talented. He can kill bandits and is very popular with the people. I am sure that he will be summoned with a letter."
Zhang Xuanning's eyes flashed with cold light, and he said with a smile: "Well, he is already a fugitive, and he has a great hatred with the emperor. I think he will come as soon as he is summoned. After the life and death, this person should also be a little arrogant, just in time to use him. If he comes, I will definitely offer him the position of a county governor. If Xin Dade is willing to come, you can choose the position of a county magistrate."
After thinking for a while, Zhang Xuanning remembered something and said, "In Nanhai County, there is a Chen family. They have been engaged in maritime trade for generations, and they mostly do business with Persians and Arabs. Shen Faxing conspired to rebel and secretly gathered his strength, so he secretly seized their property. The Chen family seems to be among them. You can send someone to them. You don't have to help them through the difficulties, but hope that they will turn to me when their family is broken and their people are dead. This family has 2,000 soldiers who are good at water warfare, and many of them are skilled shipbuilders. If we can capture them, our navy will be greatly strengthened and can be used. Well, there is a man named Chen Changlin among them, you can pay more attention to him."
In the original world, the Chen family was destroyed, and later they surrendered to Wang Shichong, and finally switched to the Young Marshal's army. Now of course they can't waste time like this, and it would be better to make plans early.
"Yes, I will do it right away. Does my lord have any other instructions?" Li Bo asked.
"Well, how is the situation in Yangzhou?"
"Yin Kaishan is indeed a great man. When he heard about our uprising, he apologized on the one hand, but on the other hand he ordered the headquarters to be relocated. At that time, Yu Wenzhi was still unable to take down the Bamboo Flower Gang in one fell swoop, so he was forced to withdraw most of the troops." Li Bo said, "As for Shi Long, he was also alert and closed the Taoist temple in the city. His disciples gathered around him and lived outside the city. It was obvious that he could escape if he saw something bad was going to happen."
In the past, he could not change the general situation, but once he took over the entire Kuaiji County, many things would change. He smiled and said, "Keep watching. Also, now that there is nothing to do, you can go and do your own thing."
"Yes, my lord, I will take my leave."
After finishing his government affairs, Zhang Xuanning entered the door and saw a muscular young man coming up. He half-knelt respectfully. This man was Zhang Zhongyi, the leader of the personal guards: "The lord is here."
Zhang Xuanning paid special attention to his personal soldiers. Over the past six months, he had lived and eaten with the soldiers in the army and paid attention to observing those who were brave and loyal to him. He selected 300 soldiers for him and organized them into 30 teams, also five teams in a group. However, the personal soldiers were not called "tun" but "su", with five teams and fifty people in one su. The head of the six su personal soldiers was promoted from his close confidants, and all of them were given the surname Zhang. The current commander-in-chief was a personal soldier who had followed him for a long time, and now he changed his name to Zhang Zhongyi.
Although it is said that in this world, if one practices martial arts after the age of fifteen, it will be impossible for one to reach the first-rate realm in one's lifetime, but there is no need for them to do so. Therefore, each of these three hundred people practiced swordsmanship and internal energy, and carried out military training. Although they complained a lot, they did create a group of elite and death-defying warriors.
The camp of the personal guards was just outside the mansion. Each of the six quarters had a row of brick houses, which were arranged in an orderly manner in front. These 300 people, whether they were married or not, had their families live with them in the city. Not only did they have delicious food and fish every month, but they also received a monthly salary of five taels of silver. Everyone was happy and submissive, and their loyalty to Zhang Xuanning was cultivated.
Zhang Xuanning went in for the night and saw dozens of his personal soldiers, who, although not on duty, lined up for drill. Each of them stood and concentrated on practicing martial arts, with great joy in his heart. In fact, these people usually practiced martial arts and learned literacy. Once sent out, they could immediately become a garrison leader and lead fifty people, thus becoming a general of the government army.
In terms of martial arts, they were not yet qualified, but in terms of being junior officers, they were more than qualified. Therefore, even their personal soldiers were treated as sergeants, and as for the others, they were all one level higher.
In the future, the real personal soldiers were selected from the families of relatively reliable junior officers, especially from their brothers and sons. They were teenagers under the age of fifteen and began to be taught martial arts. After about three to five years, they could be truly considered as personal By that time, with the help of powerful weapons such as crossbows and heavy armor, any master who dared to attack would have only one way to die.
When the personal soldiers in the Suzhong saw Zhang Xuanning coming, led by the head of the Suzhong, they knelt and saluted. Since they were personal soldiers, most of them wore light armor, especially those above the rank of squad leader, who wore heavy armor that made clanking sounds as they walked, and they knelt in front of Zhang Xuanning.
When Zhang Xuanning saw this, he no longer felt that they were working hard. Instead, he thought it was natural for them to take off their armor to talk. He smiled faintly and ordered his personal soldiers to stand up, but he did not allow them to take off their armor to talk.
As personal soldiers, they must always wear armor to serve the lord and defend against foreign enemies. Zhang Xuanning knew that wearing heavy armor and not wearing heavy armor were two completely different things. He said, "Well, it looks good. You must obey the military orders and follow them. If I find out that you have violated military discipline, dismissal from office would be the least of your punishment!"
All the personal soldiers obeyed orders silently and dared not disobey. In fact, a few of them once disobeyed the orders and were beaten to death on the spot. In front of everyone, everyone knew that military orders were hard to disobey.
According to Zhang Xuanning's thinking, the personal soldiers will be the emperor's closest troops in the future, and their number should be at least one-tenth of his total army, so that they can serve as the real capital to maintain his lord and the throne. However, Kuaiji County is short of manpower now, so it doesn't matter. The proportion can be adjusted after occupying more counties in the future.
Liu Su looked at it and was relatively satisfied. Zhang Xuanning knew that this group of talents were the main force for him to move Yang Gong's treasure, so not only would they be given priority in treatment, but their families would also be under his control as a big bargaining chip. As personal soldiers, whether or not they made mistakes was not a matter for one person, but for the whole family.
I feel that the law of punishing nine generations of a family is truly commendable.
Seeing that the army was taking shape, he gave an order and led a team of personal soldiers forward. According to the newly established etiquette, when the lord leaves the palace, if he is in the city, he must bring at least one team of personal soldiers. If he goes out of the city, he must bring at least one team of personal soldiers for the night. This is the current custom. In the future, the higher the status and the larger the territory, of course it will be greatly expanded accordingly.
However, at this time, a team of personal soldiers was enough. When they arrived in the city, they saw that a month had passed and there was no trace of the coup. The city was still quite lively, and the streets along the river looked a bit like Suzhou. Spring has come, and the "spring willows on the street embankment" is indeed a scene, especially the travelers coming and going, who also came in droves. For a time, there was a lot of noise, and the travelers and merchants on the street were like ants, and the small merchants on both sides shouted at them.
“Dried tofu—who wants it?”
“Fried chicken – crispy and tender!”
"Pig's head, pig's head!"
All these things made the scene very lively. Zhang Xuanning was overjoyed when he saw this. He secretly praised Li Bo for having his own way of governing the county. He had settled the politics of the county in a short period of time and restored its prosperity.
Arriving at a restaurant, the personal soldier went forward and saw how noisy and bustling the downstairs was. He immediately told the waiter about it. Although the waiter had never seen him before, he knew that he was extraordinary by the appearance. He smiled and said, "There is a private room upstairs, facing the lake and with a window. You can enjoy the view. Please come forward."
Zhang Xuanning followed the waiter upstairs and saw a private room separated by a screen.
After a quick look, he ordered a few dishes. His personal soldiers stood by, waiting for the food and wine to be served. Zhang Xuanning would never say such words as "Everyone sits together". He sat down by himself and just looked down.
I suddenly felt like I could take a day off from my busy life.
