I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 60: The Sublimation of Yuan Shu

After a series of events, Lu Zhi was convinced by Yuan Shu and was willing to be his second-in-command.

He is well aware that he is not good at adapting and cannot survive in this world. He is better at getting things done than making decisions. He is a natural worker.

And Yuan Shu’s decisions are always right.

Therefore, whenever there was something that required thinking and decision-making, he would discuss it with Yuan Shu. He had no intention of taking advantage of Yuan Shu's three-year mourning period to sideline Yuan Shu and make him the boss of Yi Xin Society.

It was precisely because of Yuan Shu's understanding of Lu Zhi that he felt comfortable letting Lu Zhi be his deputy, the second-in-command of the Yi Xin Society, and his official spokesperson during the three years of mourning.

However, military and national affairs were approaching, and this was obviously not the time to continue guarding the tomb as a hermit. Yuan Shu also knew that the situation was urgent, and after hearing the news, he did not delay and quickly ran to the Maoling County Government.

After arriving at the county government, Yuan Shu discovered that the place was already noisy and chaotic.

Lu Zhi, the Thirteen Guardians, the county magistrate Han Jin, and the county officials were arguing loudly. Those who knew knew that this was a government office, while those who didn't thought it was a street vegetable market, and everyone was bargaining passionately.

The moment Yuan Shu arrived at the door, someone saw Yuan Shu and shouted "Yuan Jun is here", which immediately attracted everyone's attention. Everyone turned their eyes to Yuan Shu standing at the door, and then the tense atmosphere that was visible to the naked eye disappeared.

No one was arguing anymore, no one was crying, no one looked tense as if their parents were critically ill, and some people even had smiles on their faces again. They excitedly came forward to greet Yuan Shu, took the initiative to greet him, and welcomed him to the main seat.

Among this group of people was the county magistrate Han Jin.

When he saw Yuan Shu coming, he was as happy and enthusiastic as if he had seen his own father. He rushed over and shook Yuan Shu's hand, and gave up the main seat to Yuan Shu without hesitation.

"Mr. Yuan, you're finally here. This place is a mess and no one can make sense of it. We need people like you who keep their word!"

This sentence made Yuan Shu very depressed.

Are you the county magistrate or am I the county magistrate?

Yuan Shu didn't know what to say for a moment to this guy who loved to play badly and didn't care about the authority of the county magistrate at all.

But it was obvious that what he said was also what everyone here thought, including Lu Zhi.

As soon as Yuan Shu sat in the main seat, Lu Zhi handed him a scroll of bamboo slips.

"Mr. Yuan, take a look."

Yuan Shu took the bamboo slips handed to him by Lu Zhi, opened it and took a look.

While watching, everyone kept their mouths shut and didn't say a word. Apart from the occasional farts and burps, the entire county government was as quiet as a morgue.

Yuan Shu also quickly understood the situation.

Qiang cavalry invaded the border and headed straight for Xu County and Yunyang County north of the Jing River.

Currently, Xuxu County is being surrounded, and Yunyang County has been breached. The people have suffered heavy casualties, and a large amount of supplies have been looted. In addition, the Qiang cavalry that breached Yunyang County is showing signs of continuing to move southward.

The three auxiliary areas are shaking.

This time the Qiang people invaded the Zuo Fengyi area. The entire Zuo Fengyi was indeed like a sieve with leaks everywhere. The Qiang cavalry attacked the two major county governments as if they were in an empty space, and successfully captured one of them, gaining a lot of benefits.

Zhao Qian, the Left Governor of Fengyi, responded poorly, allowing the Qiang to march straight in. Seeing Chang'an and the imperial mausoleums being shaken, and Maoling also under the attack of the Qiang troops, everyone was frightened.

Yuan Shu put down the bamboo slips and looked around. He remembered that when he came in just now, he saw some people in a panic, covering their faces and crying. When he entered the county town, he also saw some people fleeing eastward with their families, as if the end of the world was coming and the best thing to do was to run away.

Feeling that everyone's eyes were on him, Yuan Shu was a little dazed for a moment.

You guys really don't care about my age at all and treat me as your backbone?

Perhaps it was because of my decisive actions and good handling of the previous food crisis that made them believe in my ability, so they ignored other conditions and regarded me as a savior...

Without having time to think too much, Yuan Shu's brain worked rapidly and he immediately thought of a few key points.

"Whether the Qiang people will continue to move south to attack the Wuling area or not, we must be prepared. Maoling County does not have many soldiers, let alone cavalry. It is a pipe dream to expect to fight against the Qiang cavalry. The only way is to rely on the city walls to fortify the city and wait for reinforcements.

Therefore, we have a lot to do right now. Zhao Jun, Su Jun, Ma Jun, you three should lead the members of the General Affairs Department to quickly move all the self-cultivating farmers in Maoling County to the county seat. Don't let them scatter outside, and don't lose even one person. "

Yuan Shu first gave the order to Zhao Jun, director of the General Affairs Department, and deputy directors Su Chu and Ma Ran.

The three of them took the order together.

"Here!"

Then, Yuan Shu gave orders to the director of the logistics department Dai Hua, and deputy directors Luo Yi and Huang Zhi.

"The logistics department must also keep up. Dai Jun, Luo Jun, Huang Jun, you lead the logistics department members to organize all available vehicles and livestock, assist the general affairs department, and help farmers move their food and property. Bring as much as you can, and be quick!"

The three of them took the order together.

"Here!"

Then, Yuan Shu gave orders to the Director of the Personnel Department Wei Jia and Deputy Directors Dou Yun and Yu Chou.

"Mr. Wei, Mr. Dou, and Mr. Yu, the three of you take the remaining men and inform the major nobles to take care of their own farms and properties. Don't neglect the necessary defenses. Don't come to the county government to complain and say that the county government doesn't care about them."

The three of them also obeyed the order.

"Here!"

Yuan Shu then turned his attention to two of the three heads of the Audit Department - Zhang Jie and Deng Ying.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Deng, you two take the audit department to count how many supplies are available in our warehouse and the county government warehouse. You need to be quick and accurate in your calculations."

The two nodded and accepted the order.

"Here!"

Yuan Shu turned his gaze to Lu Zhi and two other tall scholars - Lian Da and Shao Yuan.

"Mr. Lu, Mr. Lian, Mr. Shao, as the saying goes, it takes a thousand days to raise an army and only a moment to deploy it. Previously, I arranged for you to teach military knowledge and organize strong men to engage in military training. Now it seems that they are just in time for you to be used. You must gather 300 people to form a militia in the shortest possible time, climb up the city wall, inspect the defenses, and begin preparations for defending the city."

Lu Zhi, Lian Da and Shao Yuan nodded together.

"Here!"

Yuan Shu looked at Han Jin and the useless people lying behind him.

"Han County Magistrate, please follow Lord Lu and your subordinates to handle the city defense affairs. These matters involve military affairs and require your and your subordinates' full assistance. Please be cautious and quick. The lives of all the people in the city depend on this!"

Han Jin touched the dense beads of sweat on his forehead and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay... I understand! Yuan Jun, I'll do it right away!"

"Gentlemen, this is a serious matter. Human lives are at stake. The Qiang people do not understand benevolence, justice, etiquette, and will not discuss classics with us. They only know the steel knives and crossbows in our hands. We must unite to survive, for others and for ourselves. Tree, please!"

Yuan Shu bowed and saluted everyone present.

After a brief silence, everyone present greeted Yuan Shu in a strangely solemn manner.

"Here!"

After that, everyone dispersed and went about their business. In the specific process, Yi Xin Hui really played the role of the backbone.

The General Affairs Department and the Logistics Department were mobilized on a large scale to go to the major self-cultivating peasant villages and inform them that the Qiang people who ate human flesh and drank human blood were coming to kill them, and that they should quickly flee back to the county town to hide. Men, women, old and young should all leave, taking their belongings with them, and clearing the fields to defend themselves, leaving nothing behind for the Qiang people.

The Audit Department counted the number of materials everywhere. Zhang Jie and Deng Ying were particularly foresighted and searched everywhere for vacant warehouses and houses to make statistics, preparing to provide temporary accommodation for a large number of farmers after they entered the city, so that they would not be exposed to the wind and rain and at least have a place to live.

The Human Resources Department also scattered and went to the homes of the major powerful landlords to inform them of the matter and let them manage their own affairs.

Don’t expect the government to interfere in normal times, and don’t expect the government to protect you now. I’m telling you that I have done my best, so just wish you good luck!
The tasks of Lu Zhi, Lian Da and Han Jin are also very important.

Although the scale is not large, once the Qiang people really come, they must go to the front line on the city wall and fight the Qiang people with real swords and guns to ensure that the county will not be lost.

At the critical moment, they really felt that Yuan Shu's series of operations were truly amazing.

Not only does he coordinate the overall situation and serve as the backbone with leadership qualities, he is also quite decisive in assigning tasks, like a natural leader. All arrangements are very appropriate and even very far-sighted.

Lu Zhi originally thought that Yuan Shu introduced military subjects and cultivated military talents in order to allow scholars who were not good at classics to take the path of "bravery and knowledge of military tactics" so that they could have another way to become officials in the future. However, he did not expect that it would come in handy at this time.

Although the time was not long, more than 200 disciples of the Ma family joined this interest group, learning military books from Lu Zhi and practicing martial arts with Lian Da and Shao Yuan.

Lian Da and Shao Yuan are the tallest and strongest among the Thirteen Guardians. Both of them are good at boxing, kicking and fighting with sticks and are quite brave.

Therefore, when Yuan Shu was in some public events, in addition to Xu Chong, he would often bring the two of them to support the occasion, making them feel like the two generals surrounding Yuan Shu.

Especially Lian Da.

Lian Da is a big man, tall and strong, and looks like a macho man at first glance.

His family lived in Jingzhao and had some land and wealth. Although not much, it was enough for food and clothing, and it was not difficult to support a full-time scholar.

What’s more interesting is that his family also passed down a set of sword skills and the ability to use a spear.

It is said that there is a retired old military officer in the family who had fought in the Northwest battlefield. He fought among thousands of troops and lost an arm, but saved his life. He returned home by chance and passed down the life-saving skills from generation to generation.

Lian Da has been practicing sword and spear skills, as well as various battlefield life-saving tricks with his elders since he was a child. He can be described as a combination of a rookie and a veteran, and has the potential to become a military king.

When Yuan Shu decided to set up a military interest group, Lian Da thought that his academic ability was not an advantage. What if the academic path did not go smoothly? Then, wouldn't it be an option to wait until the court needed military talents and announced the recruitment of brave and knowledgeable military officers?
So he signed up to join the military interest group and showed his family skills to Lu Zhi, who appreciated him.

So Lu Zhi was responsible for teaching military books and strategies, while Lian Da became a military training instructor, training military skills to members of more than 200 interest groups, and gradually gained some reputation.

This time when they encountered the Qiang rebellion, it was the perfect time for those of them with military background to show their talents. If they performed well, they might even achieve some military merits.

At this time, becoming a general or a prime minister is still a very aspirational thing. Although the scholars more or less look down on the peasants who can only fight and kill, they are still very willing to do so when it is their turn to go into the battlefield to kill the enemy and make contributions to achieve achievements.

Being both civil and military was the norm in classical empires. For people at that time, it was a very romantic thing for a scholar to give up his pen and take up arms to pursue military merit and then make contributions.

Therefore, Lian Da is very energetic and spirited when doing things.

Together with Lu Zhi, he gathered together more than 200 people from the previous military interest group, and then gathered together the archers from Han Jin County Government, and barely gathered 430 people.

Regardless of their military proficiency, archers and cavalry can be considered technical arms of this era.

Unlike swordsmen and spearmen who fight head-on, those who have not been trained for a year or two cannot be considered entry-level, and those who have not been trained for three to five years cannot be considered elite. It would be very deterrent if every county could have some skilled archers in its armed forces.

Maoling is, after all, an imperial mausoleum. Although its population size and prosperity are not as great as before, it still has to maintain some dignity. Officials dare not take too much of the salary without doing any work, so the county government also has an armed archer to maintain public order.

At present, all the archers were incorporated into Lu Zhi's army. Actually, Maoling was supposed to have a county lieutenant in charge of military affairs, but unfortunately, the previous county lieutenant died of illness and the next one had not yet been appointed.

This means that Maoling County has no highest military commander or military leader.

Therefore, Lu Zhi had to take over temporarily.

This was Lu Zhi's first time commanding a force. Although he had no experience, he was very talented and knew what to do right away.

He methodically directed the members of the Isshin Society and the county archers to carry weapons and equipment up to the city wall, and then arranged for some people to go out of the city to dig pits, install chevaux de frise, and carry out some routine preparations for city defense.

Lu Zhi himself also took the lead. He changed out of his Confucian robe, put on a neat short suit, put on armor, and dressed like an officer.

Then he fully displayed his macho figure of Yanzhao.

It took two people to carry a box of arrows up to the city wall, but he carried two boxes of arrows by himself, walking very fast, as if he was an iron man who would never get tired. People who watched him were amazed.

Because they heard that Lu Zhi was Ma Rong's disciple and Yuan Shu's deputy, the county archers were somewhat in awe of Lu Zhi. Now seeing how strong and powerful he was, they did not dare to act rashly and obediently followed Lu Zhi's arrangements to prepare for the city defense.

Everything is running smoothly.

Yuan Shu did not go anywhere. He sat in the county government in simple mourning clothes, summarizing the latest news that kept coming in and conveying the latest instructions to various places. He gave orders meticulously, showing the demeanor of someone who was able to plan and win battles thousands of miles away.

The relatively strict organizational system of the Yi Xin Society after reorganization and construction played a huge role at this time.

The rapid transmission of information and high efficiency of work made the originally chaotic Maoling County quickly put in order. Many different people inside and outside the city followed Yuan Shu's orders to handle what they were supposed to do.

Who comforts the people and quells rumors, who guards the streets, who patrols the city to prevent treacherous people from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos, and who sets up checkpoints at the city gates to verify the identities of people entering and leaving.

Groups of young and strong men in the city were sent out to collect firewood in order to store enough fuel.

The water wells in the county are guarded and protected by special people to prevent them from being seized and polluted by people with ulterior motives, resulting in a lack of water available in the city.

Doctors in the county town were gathered together and guarded, and were not allowed to flee. They went out to collect medicines for storage under the protection of armed personnel. All existing medicinal materials were counted and stored, and medicinal materials related to external injuries were strictly controlled and not allowed to be used at will.

All the blacksmiths and carpenters in the city were summoned, and all those who mastered skills were also gathered together to repair damaged weapons and forge new weapons.

Apart from the existing rations for the people in the city, all food is put under wartime control and is not allowed to be sold at will. It must be controlled by official personnel. Each person is required to purchase a fixed amount of food every day and is not allowed to buy more, nor less.

Those who actively participate in the city defense work can receive an additional allowance for food, so if you want to eat more, you can sign up with the government, receive a name tag, report your relevant skills, and participate in the city defense work.

Whether it is young and strong men with strength, women with sewing and cooking skills, or the elderly, weak women and children who can be responsible for cleaning, all of them are welcome and can participate. As long as they participate, they can get extra city defense allowances and rations.

This was the first time in Yuan Shu’s two lives that he had been engaged in such a complicated job. There were so many things to do that it almost drove him crazy at the beginning.

It is obviously just a small county town, and the registered population of the entire county is only a little over 20,000. It doesn't seem like a lot at all, but there are so many things to deal with that it can get messy if you are not careful.

What’s worse is that there are not many people who can help me.

They all have their own things to do, and only Yuan Shu can take charge of the command. Everyone is only willing to obey Yuan Shu's orders, and others can only assist, follow orders, and report the results.

Yuan Shu became everyone's brain and the central system of the entire Maoling County, using his brain to take on the work of a computer.

In other words, he has a good memory, is good at calculations, and his brain works quickly. If it were someone else, such as Han Jin, he would probably have burned out his brain and died completely before the Qiang people arrived.

Yuan Shu is not bragging in this regard.

After just two days of busy work, Yuan Shu got used to this fast-paced wartime mode and became proficient in everything. He knew what was important, what was not important, what needed to be prioritized, and what could be postponed.

He processed things faster and faster, made decisions in shorter and shorter times, and was more and more efficient in judging the results of his work. It was as if he had upgraded from 3070 to 4090.

Not only the brain is sublimated, but the whole person is also sublimated.

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PS: It’s decided, it will be on the shelves on January 1st, and there will be at least ten updates on the day of the release, no more, no less, it will definitely make you happy to the point of being speechless!
(End of this chapter)