Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 189: Four Imperial Decrees, Mayi Commandery
Zhang Yu recommended Guo Huai as a filial and incorruptible official. In addition to repaying Guo Yu's kindness in recommending him as a filial and incorruptible official, he also wanted to recruit Guo Huai to serve as his subordinate.

Guo Huai's ability is beyond words, and history has proven his outstanding military talent. If he is recruited and trained, he will surely be able to relieve Zhang Yu's worries in the future. In addition, taking Guo Huai under his command also means keeping him as a hostage.

Of course, since Zhang Yu learned that in addition to Guo Huai himself, Guo Huai had three brothers, he immediately gave up the idea of keeping him as a hostage.

At the same time, Zhang Yu had to admire Guo Wei, who used his own actions to explain to everyone that if one wants a family to prosper, one must have many descendants.

Considering that he had few children, including Mu Mo, Zhang Yu doted on Li Suyi, Hu Yanyu and Alahai during the hunting trip in Mayi, in an effort to make them pregnant.

During their stay in Mayi, Zhang Yu and Guo Wei refined the relationship between Yanmen and the Du Liao Military Headquarters.

For example, in terms of taxation, Guo Yu supported the use of the rent and tax system to collect taxes in kind from the people in order to maintain consistency with the Du Liao Military Office; in terms of military affairs, the Yanmen soldiers were self-supported by Guo Yu and had to obey the orders of the Du Liao General's Office.

In terms of personnel, Zhang Yu would not interfere with Guo Yu's employment, but Guo Yu could not prevent Zhang Yu from promoting people from Yanmen County; in terms of finance, Guo Yu would pay taxes to Jinyang every year, but the proportion paid would be less than that of Shangdang County.

In addition to the above, there are many other minor aspects involved. After all the trouble, it is clear that Yanmen is subordinate to the Du Liao Military Office, but Yanmen County is more independent, which is different from Shangdang, Xihe, and Dingxiang, which are completely subject to Zhang Yu's orders.

After getting a satisfactory result in Mayi, Zhang Yu decided to go north to Pingcheng to hold a meeting with the Hu tribes of the two counties. At Zhang Yu's invitation, Guo Yu led a thousand infantry and cavalry to the north to participate in the Pingcheng meeting.

It was three or four hundred miles from Mayi to Pingcheng. Zhang Yu led three thousand infantry and cavalry north and arrived at Pingcheng on February 28th.

When he arrived in Pingcheng, Zhang Yu met Pingcheng Mayor Yang Zan again after many years.

Now Yang Zan was suffering from the cold winds on the frontier, and he almost cried when he saw Zhang Yu. At first, he believed Zhang Yu's lies and refused the promotion and transfer, hoping to be promoted to a small county governor. As a result, the war broke out in the Central Plains, and his dream of returning to the Central Plains was shattered.

"Zan greets His Majesty!" Yang Zan said excitedly.

Zhang Yu comforted Yang Zan and said, "Pingcheng is close to the border and is easily attacked by the Hu people. Gong Tan is really troubled!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at the sparsely populated Pingcheng and asked, "I wonder how Pingcheng is doing after I left?"

Yang Zan sighed and said, "Since you left Pingcheng, Pingcheng prospered for a while thanks to the mutual trade. But as the situation in the Central Plains deteriorated, the number of Han merchants gradually decreased, and it naturally declined. In order to obtain property, the Hu people occasionally robbed the people, and the people did not dare to travel far without gathering together."

Zhang Yu said to his attendants: "The Hu people are not good at farming and live wherever there is water and grass, so their lives are full of suffering. Trade with them will benefit the people of the Hu tribe. If we encounter evil Hu people who rob and disrupt the law, we should severely punish them, and they will not dare to rob."

Zhang Yu had a lot of dealings with the Hu people, and he knew that the Hu people's looting behavior was not because they were born robbers. He even said that because of resource issues, the Hu people not only looted the Han people, but also looted themselves.

The nomadic economy was particularly fragile, and its productivity lagged behind that of agriculture. If the people in agricultural societies were poor, the people in nomadic tribes were even poorer than the people in Han areas. Because of the lack of resources, the Hu people would often plunder.

Therefore, opening up the mutual trade and exchanging living resources through commercial trade can reduce the number of looting by the Hu people. The remaining looting incidents need to be dealt with by the border troops, and a policy of both kindness and severity can be used to avoid such a situation.

"Your Excellency is absolutely right!"

Yang Zan said with a smile: "Now your Excellency is so powerful that he can hold a meeting of leaders in Pingcheng and reiterate the issue of mutual trade. Pingcheng will surely be revived soon."

"Lai En, I have convened a meeting in Pingcheng. I wonder how many people from the Yanbei Xianbei and Wuhuan Hu tribes can come?" Zhang Yu asked.

"My lord, the three Wuhuan tribes of Yanmen and the two Xianbei tribes have all responded to your orders and will surely come to pay homage to you," said Kirby.

Zhang Yu turned to look at Li Song and asked, "What about the Dingxiang Hu tribe and the Xiongnu tribes?"

"Since you set out from Mayi, the Xianbei and Xiongnu tribes have also set out, and are now on their way to Pingcheng!" Li Song replied.

"good!"

Zhang Yu nodded in satisfaction and joked, "I thought the leaders of the tribes were unwilling to obey the imperial edict, so I led 3,000 infantry and cavalry to Pingcheng. Judging from the current situation, 3,000 soldiers and horses are not needed."

"Your Excellency has an illustrious reputation. Now that you have returned to the northern border, the Hu people dare not disobey your orders!" Kirby flattered.

Even though three years had passed since Zhang Yu's fame in Yanbei, some Hu tribes still remembered him. After all, the fact that he had captured Kebineng was a deep memory for everyone. In addition, when the news of the killing of the Xiongnu Chanyu reached Yanbei, the Hu people in the two counties were all shocked.

Moreover, Li Song had been operating in the northern border for many years, and had two tribes of Xiongnu as his minions. He also gradually controlled the salt of the Hu tribe in the two counties through the salt trade. Not to mention that Zhang Yu was more powerful than before, and the Hu tribes in the two counties were not fools, so how could they dare not come to the Pingcheng meeting?

The strategy of using salt ponds to control the Hu people was suggested by Li Song to Zhang Yu in his early years, and was implemented by him. After all, in the border counties, cattle and sheep were common, but salt was a deadly thing.

For example, in history, Abaoji was able to unify the Khitan tribe because his tribe controlled the salt lake, and then used the salt lake to control the eight Khitan tribes.

Seeing Zhang Yu's prestige in the two counties was so prominent, Guo Yu, the governor of Yanmen, was in awe. This was a treatment he had never enjoyed before. Zhang Yu stayed in Pingcheng for six days, and all the Hu people in the two counties, such as Ke Bi and Li Song, reported the same thing and came to attend the meeting.

Due to the distance, the Wuhuan leaders such as Nengchen Di and Wang Kang arrived first, followed by the cheap father-in-law Hu Yanhe and the leaders of the Zuonan tribes. The Xianbei leaders such as Tuoba Jiefen and Xiurongchuan arrived later. Shiyi and Kebi were also considered Xianbei leaders because they had people under their rule and participated in the Pingcheng Conference.

On March 15th, the Pingcheng Conference began.

Inside the big tent, Zhang Yu sat on a tiger-skin chair, while the leaders of various tribes sat in two rows on the left and right according to the size of their tribes and the closeness of their relationship with Zhang Yu.

There were quite a few incidents when the seats were assigned. Because the Hu leaders had no sense of rules, they argued about the order of seats, some pushed and shoved, and some glared at each other. Fortunately, Li Song, Kirby and others came forward to maintain order, and the Hu leaders took their seats accordingly.

Seeing that everyone was present, Zhang Yu said in Hu language: "I have been away from Yanmen for many years. Now I am back in Pingcheng. It is not easy for you to come from afar. I invite you here, in addition to reopening the city of Pingcheng, there are a few other things to discuss with you."

"I have unified the counties of Bingzhou, and the tribes living in the two counties are the people under my rule. Do you want to serve me in the future?"

"I am willing to serve you, my Lord!"

Hu Yanhe and several leaders of the southern left tribe were the first to respond. After someone responded, the other leaders of the tribes responded one after another.

"good!"

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Since you are willing to submit to my jurisdiction, I have four orders for you to obey."

"First, from now on, the tribes are not allowed to attack each other. If there is a dispute, they can go to Mayi to find the military government. Second, each tribe will farm and graze in the two counties. The government will allocate grasslands and fields to each tribe according to the number of population. Without the order of the military government, no one is allowed to graze in other people's pastures without permission."

"Third, the tribes must pay cattle and horses to the military government every year according to the laws and regulations, depending on the size of the pastures and fields. If they encounter a war, the tribes can pay less cattle and horses according to the regulations; fourth, the tribes must recommend capable people to the government according to the size of the population."

"This~"

The leaders looked at each other and whispered to each other, seeming to have doubts about the four edicts issued by Zhang Yu.

Seeing that everyone was expressing their objections, Zhang Yu said in a calm voice, "If you have any objections, please report them in person!"

"Your Excellency, it's not that we are unwilling to obey your orders. It's just that we are not fluent in elegant language. If we leave it to the government to handle, I'm afraid we won't be able to explain many of the matters clearly." Hu Yanhe said.

"This is not difficult!"

Zhang Yu pointed to Li Song who was sitting at the side and said, "From now on, all tribes will be under the jurisdiction of Li Duwei and will not be governed by the Han government. Li Duwei will set up a military office in Mayi, called Mayi Duwei Office. All matters related to laws, taxes, mobilization of troops, and recommendations will be handled by him. If there is a conflict between Han and Hu, the two offices will make the decision."

The Han people and the Hu people have different concepts of thinking, and it is difficult to avoid conflicts when using Han officials to govern the Hu people. Zhang Yu simply singled them out and set up an official office specifically for governing the Hu people, just like the Lieutenant General who protected the Xiongnu in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

But the difference is that because the border barbarians of the two counties were chaotic, Zhang Yu simply integrated the functions and set up a Duwei Mansion in Mayi, which was specifically used to govern the barbarians in the two counties.

The division of pastures, the payment of taxes, and the conscription of Hu soldiers were all operations carried out by Zhang Yu to deeply control the Hu tribe. After all, the three powers of household registration, taxation, and military were concentrated in the military government, and even if the Hu tribe was inherited from generation to generation, it would not affect Zhang Yu's rule.

Of course, in order to win over the hearts of the tribes, Zhang Yu learned from the Han Dynasty's system of conscription and appointment, giving each tribe's outstanding people a way to enter the government, so as to avoid staying in the tribe and causing chaos. As for the effect, Zhang Yu naturally didn't know, and it would take time to test.

"What about the leaders of the various tribes?" Nengchen Di, the leader of the Wuhuan, asked hesitantly.

"The leaders of each tribe are hereditary. The old leaders report their successors to the military government, who will confer titles on them." Zhang Yu said with a smile, "As long as my Zhang family rules Bingzhou, the descendants of the leaders of each tribe will rule the tribe forever."

"Since my tribe is under your command, what can you give us?" Tuoba Jiefen asked boldly.

"good question!"

Zhang Yu praised him highly and said, "All tribes obey my orders. Except for the hereditary succession, all tribes will not be harmed. Moreover, all tribes will follow me to conquer the world. If I defeat Wuhuan, the sons of the tribes will be able to serve as officials and govern Wuhuan; if I subdue the Xiongnu, the sons of the tribes will also govern the Xiongnu."

"If there are talented people, like the two nobles Shi Yi and Kobi, they can serve under me. In addition to salary and fame, if they make military achievements, I will not only reward them with money and food, but also with slaves and beauties."

Everyone looked at Shi Yi and Kobe, who were dressed in gorgeous clothes, and then looked at their own shabby clothes made of fur and linen, and immediately felt the gap.

"We are willing to serve you, my Lord!" Shi Yi and Kobe stepped out to salute.

With the two taking the lead, the Xiongnu tribe was the first to obey, followed by the Wuhuan who had been deeply influenced by Han culture, and the Xianbei tribes were the last to obey.

(End of this chapter)