Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 296: The Fourth Year of Jian'an
"The great general of Yangzhou... well, he's very famous, and I've also... heard of him a lot. But the Pacifier of Nanzhong is just a position in the general's mansion, right?" Shamoke's brain was still a little confused.
In Yangzhou, everyone knows that the subordinates of the general's mansion are the "superiors" . In name, they are county clerks and county clerks of the Han officials, but their status is actually lower. It is useless to look at their rank.
After all, after the Jian'an period, the decline of the Han Dynasty had become increasingly visible to the naked eye.
In history, after Cao Cao was promoted to Duke of Wei, "Wei" was nominally a vassal of Han before Cao Pi completely replaced Han and established himself. However, in Yecheng, both civil and military officials were proud to be officials of "Wei". Because Cao Cao went to Cao Cao to ask for an official position...
However, in Shamoke's logic, he still thinks that "the imperial court" is more attractive.
After all, the "Han people" nowadays are not "Han people" but "Han people", and the General's Mansion... is just the General's Mansion after all. In Shamoke's logic, it cannot satisfy his vision of becoming a noble among the Han people.
Of course, Shamoke didn't want to get rid of Bai Tu and contact the court on his own. He just wanted Bai Tu to recommend another high-ranking official in the Han court for him!
Chen Gong also shook his head and laughed, "Now Lord Bai's virtue is enjoyed by the whole country, and the military and civilians of Yangzhou are united. The Han Dynasty court has long granted Lord Bai the Nine Gifts and the title of 'Chu'. It's just that Lord Bai is still thinking about the land of Jing and Chu, so he didn't name it Chu and establish a country. When Jingzhou is pacified in the future, today's General's Mansion will also be the future Marquisate of Chu...
It is easy to invite a Han official for the pacification envoy. As a lackey of the general's mansion, I can guarantee to the pacification envoy that I can invite a Zhennan general back... But in the future, the general should understand that the official position in the general's mansion is the most reliable. "
Chen Gong did not forget to instill in the mind of this barbarian king who was somewhat out of touch with the times the impression that "official positions in the Han Dynasty can be decided by a small official like me in the general's office."
Otherwise Shamoke will not be able to distinguish the primary from the secondary in the future!
"Chu State? Is it the Chu State before the Han Dynasty?" Shamoke asked with his eyes sharp.
Chen Gong also didn't know what the concept of "Chu State" was in Shamoke's knowledge.
Just by looking at his expression, one could tell that he was mostly looking forward to it, so Chen Gong nodded and said, "Almost."
"Okay! Then I will be the General of Zhennan, and also the general of the General's Mansion... As for the Barbarian King and the Hu King, Mr. Chen, don't bluff me." Shamoke said with a look of disgust.
Chen Gong's face froze when he heard this.
Chen Gong had never imagined that Shamoke’s values were so different from those of ordinary barbarians. It could no longer be described as a longing for sinicization!
At the beginning, Chen Gong represented the General's Mansion and promised to support Shamoke to rule the Wuxi Barbarians and the Nanzhong Barbarians in the future. However, what he got was Shamoke's cold stare...
Chen Gong could clearly feel that the reason why Shamoke was still willing to be a "barbarian king" for the time being was entirely in order to use the people of Wuxi as tools for him to gain credit and better enjoyment in the future.
Shamoke's greatest ideal should be to become a Han noble...
However, with the cooperation of such a Barbarian King, Chen Gong was also confused about his routine... No, it cannot be said as "cooperation". Every time he heard this word, Shamoke would frown. What he wanted was not cooperation, but to gain merit as a future Han Dynasty!
…
In the fourth year of Jian'an, in the light wind before the storm , fairness quietly slipped away from the hands of every prince and every person.
War is still the main theme in all parts of Han territory - Cao-Liu alliance vs. Yuan Shao, General's Mansion vs. Jingzhou, as well as the daily battles between Shuzhong vs. Hanzhong and the princes of Guanzhong...
However, the core staff of the various lords all understand in their hearts, and everyone will soon know, that this year's "war" is just an appetizer!
The Cao-Liu alliance was only deployed in Yanjin, Baima, and the most important Guandu area, and built camps along the Yellow River ferry to prevent Yuan Shao from advancing directly. At the same time, troops were sent from Langya County to Qingzhou in the direction of Xuzhou. It didn't matter whether they won or lost, as it was to cover Cao Cao's flank...
The "coalition forces" have always been unreliable. Cao Cao and Liu Bei, who had participated in the 18-way campaign against Dong Zhuo, were deeply aware of this, so the two sides tried to use their troops separately as much as possible.
Qingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou and Bingzhou, Qingzhou is the only one of Yuan Shao's four states on the south bank of the Yellow River, located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, below the rightmost part of the "几" shape, and most of it is the Shandong Peninsula in later generations...
Yuan Shao appointed his eldest son Yuan Tan as the governor of Qingzhou, to manage the area of Qingzhou. Beihai County, where Kong Rong originally served as the prefect, was in Qingzhou, but he was eventually forced to leave under the pressure of Yuan Tan.
It is true that most of Qingzhou was conquered by Yuan Tan. Considering Yuan Tan's military achievements, his status as the eldest son, and Qingzhou in his hands, under such circumstances, it is indeed very confusing that Yuan Shao would actually have the idea of making his youngest son Yuan Shang his heir...
In history, after Cao Cao won a great victory in the Battle of Guandu, in addition to killing his rival Yuan Shao, his real expansion of power was only to occupy most of Qingzhou, and he still did not set foot in Hebei. Jizhou, the real base camp of the Yuan family, as well as Bingzhou and Youzhou, which served as horse farms, were almost unscathed.
However, the internal strife between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan exhausted the Yuan family's foundation and eventually led to Hebei falling completely into the hands of Cao Cao.
At this time, the mission of the Xuzhou Army was to stop the Yuan Army from coming from Qingzhou...
As for the frontal battlefields in the Bai Ma and Guandu areas, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are still in the preparation stage, and this year's battles are just test battles.
In addition, Guanzhong has been exceptionally lively in the past two years. Although Li Jue and Guo Si were not beheaded by their generals and their heads presented to the court in the fourth year of Jian'an as in history, their power has been exceptionally weak in the past two years. Even after losing the Han emperor and the continued famine in Guanzhong, they no longer have the prestige they had before among the princes of Dong Zhuo's faction.
After the burning of Luoyang, Chang'an also fell under the jurisdiction of the Xiliang vassal states and gradually became a ruined place...
In theory, Guanzhong was not only the birthplace of the Qin State, but was also the focus of development and management during the Western Han Dynasty. In the future, it would also be the foundation of countless dynasties and powerful separatist regimes. However, Li Jue and other Liangzhou warlords made the wrong strategy from the very beginning, treating the people of Guanzhong as disposable consumables. As a result, only one tenth of the population of Guanzhong remains, and there is only a strong army but no strategic foundation.
In the past two years, the "New Liangzhou Faction" headed by Ma Teng and Han Sui has become increasingly prominent in Guanzhong.
When Dong Zhuo was still in Liang Province, Ma Teng and Han Sui were considered "rebel" forces.
Ma Teng claimed to be a descendant of General Ma Yuan, but in fact he was half Qiang and of commoner origin, having made a living by chopping wood since childhood. When a rebellion broke out in Liang Province, Ma Teng joined the army, but soon turned against the rebels.
The main force of the rebellion at that time was the people of Didao County and the Qiang people. However, Emperor Ling was still alive at that time, and the Qiang people were very timid. At the beginning, they led the Kingdom of Didao. After the kingdom was abolished, the Qiang people nominally led the kidnapped Han Sui...
Later, after some operations by Han Sui and Ma Teng, they each gained real power. After Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, they became the actual masters of Liang Province.
In the later period of Dong Zhuo's reign, in order to seek help from Ma Teng and Han Sui, he appointed them as General Zhengxi and General Zhenxi. However, before they could lead their troops to Chang'an, Dong Zhuo was killed by Lu Bu...
Later, when Li Jue and Guo Si controlled the government, Zhong Shao and others initially planned to lure Ma Teng and Han Sui to attack Chang'an and rescue the Han emperor, but the plan failed. In the end, it was Jia Xu's alienation that took effect.
Nowadays, there are so many "princes" of all sizes in Guanzhong that they cannot be counted with one’s hands and feet. The system is even more fragmented than the city-state system.
However, they can be roughly divided into three categories: the first is the remnants of Dong Zhuo and the old Liangzhou warlords represented by Li Jue and Guo Si; the second is the new Liangzhou warlords represented by Ma Teng and Han Sui; and the third is the Yellow Turban warlords represented by Yang Feng...
The third party was the part of the White Wave Yellow Turban Army that Dong Zhuo had originally surrendered. Jia Xu mainly alienated these generals. When the Han Emperor returned to the east, most of the generals who responded were from the Yellow Turban faction. To some extent, Liu Xie should really thank the Yellow Turbans (Liu Xie: Get lost!).
Li Jue and others hated this group of people the most, but...if we look at the warlords in Liangzhou from a game perspective, if it is a turn-based game, we can see that each army is in a "food shortage" state. As long as you move a few squares, there will be a prompt that the army is scattered due to food shortage. Therefore, it doesn't matter whether you hate them or not. It will be meaningless to send troops if it is not for the purpose of grabbing food.
The relatively wealthy ones were the warlords of the New Liangzhou faction who had Liangzhou roots. The people of Liangzhou had never thought that there would be a day when they could show off their wealth and grain in Guanzhong...
However, the people of the Yellow Turban faction were not idle either. Historically, Yang Feng defected to Lu Bu in Xuzhou.
Now Lu Bu is no longer in Xuzhou, but Yang Feng is still in Guanzhong and surrounding areas such as Bingzhou and Hetao, acting as a bandit with the identity of a Han official.
And recently... Yang Feng and Zhang Yan have become the leaders.
Zhang Yan was a member of the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, Yang Feng and others were the White Wave Yellow Turbans. The Black Mountain Yellow Turbans were suppressed by Yuan Shao and could only shrink to the areas south of the Taihang Mountains. The White Wave Yellow Turbans had long been torn apart and made a living by "begging" in Guanzhong.
Although both sides, one black and one white, had long thrown the great ideals of the Yellow Turban Army to an unknown corner in their hearts, they were inclined to stick together for warmth because of the "Yellow Turban" sentiment.
…
Bashu and Hanzhong continued to fight from time to time, but neither side could do anything to the other.
However, Zhang Lu's Five Pecks of Rice Sect was doing better and better in Hanzhong. Normally, most of the people in Hanzhong at that time had moved there from Guanzhong, which would have diluted the original believers. However... these turbulent times were the perfect breeding ground for sects.
Not only was the Five Pecks of Rice Sect led by the "officials" of Hanzhong, but it was also easy to join. Zhang Lu himself understood the principle of supporting the people, and he did his best to accept the newly arrived people and use them to reclaim wasteland.
Apart from his beef with Bashu, Zhang Lu never made any unnecessary moves. He treated his people leniently and was cautious in killing and punishing people.
He was able to refrain from unnecessary troubles and ensure that the people of Hanzhong had enough food and clothing, which was far superior to other princes in the chaotic times.
Of course, it is also because Hanzhong is in a good location. As long as Zhang Lu does not mess around, no one else can mess with him...
Because Zhang Lu was both the prefect and the Taoist priest of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, Hanzhong should have the most solid popular base among the princes at that time. Bai Tu was in Yangzhou, and only the Jinling area in the north of Wujun and the Shouchun area in Huainan could have such popular support. The other places were probably slightly inferior.
However, the Jinling General's Mansion can be said to be the biggest winner in the fourth year of Jian'an, the only prince who achieved great results, which made Cao Cao curse Liu Biao for being useless in his heart during the New Year...
