Late Han Zhao Tang
Chapter 228: The Law of Peace in the World, the Talents of the Wilderness
Chapter 228: The Law of Peace in the World, the Talents of the Wilderness
"Whoosh!"
The arrow flew through the air and hit the fleeing deer, causing it to fall to the ground. The attendant rode forward quickly and subdued the deer, which still had the strength to struggle.
"Wang Yanyun hunted a roe deer!"
Zhang Yu stopped on the hill and said with a smile: "Yan Yun's archery skills have become more and more sophisticated!"
After returning to Jinyang, Zhang Yu took his men out of the city to hunt when he had some free time.
Wang Ling put away his bow and bowed, saying: "Thanks to my brother-in-law's guidance when I was young, Ling has realized the beauty of riding and shooting. Today, the world is in chaos, Ling practices shooting day and night, and reads military books diligently, and dares not neglect it."
"If I remember correctly, Yanyun is about 20 years old?" Zhang Yu asked.
"Ling is now twenty-one, and next year he will be twenty-two!"
Wang Ling's words showed a strong desire to serve as an official, and he kept emphasizing that he was ready to serve as an official.
Zhang Yu heard his brother-in-law's desire to serve in the government, and said with a smile: "The world is in turmoil today, it is the time for young men to make achievements and establish their careers. Now that the Hezhong Army is being established, if you are interested, you can go and serve as a military officer now."
"Thank you brother-in-law!"
Zhang Yu's expression became serious, and he warned, "There are no relatives in the army. If Yan Yun gets into trouble, don't blame me for enforcing military law strictly."
"I will remember what you said!" Wang Ling restrained his expression and said seriously.
Zhang Yu held the reins and said in a slow tone, "In a few days, you and Bo Ji will go to Shangdang to take up your posts and wait for Xu Gongming's orders."
"promise!"
Niu Fu's old subordinates had 12,000 to 13,000 men. Excluding the more than 2,000 men under Dong Cheng, Zhang Yu had 10,000 surrendered soldiers. In order to select the elite from them, Zhang Yu gave the task to Xu Huang and Lu Fan.
After the two were eliminated, 7,000 infantry and cavalry were selected, 3,000 infantry and cavalry were assigned to Xu Huang's Hezhong Army, Guo Huai was sent out by Zhang Yu to serve as a lieutenant. With the remaining 4,000 infantry and cavalry, Zhang Yu formed the Xihe and Xi'an armies.
The Xihe Army was led by Hao Zhao as acting Zhonglang Jiang, with 2,000 soldiers and horses; the Xi'an Army was led by his old friend Cheng Pu as acting Zhonglang Jiang, with 2,000 soldiers and horses. Hao Zhao rushed back to Taiyuan from Hanoi and led the Xihe Army to station in Yang County; Cheng Pu led the Xi'an Army to station in Qi County, temporarily belonging to the National Protection Army system.
The large-scale division of 10,000 surrendered soldiers into three groups naturally caused concern among the soldiers and generals from Liangzhou. However, Xu Huang was quite capable and personally went to each camp to explain the reasons for the changes. He also offered rewards of money and food, which reassured the soldiers and generals from Liangzhou.
Seeing that he was hired, Wang Ling was satisfied at first, and then thinking of his good friend, he hesitated and asked: "Brother-in-law, Ling wants to recommend someone, I wonder what you think?"
"who?"
"Wang Chang, Wang Wenshu!"
Wang Ling bowed and said, "I have known him since childhood. He is younger than me. Although he is not good at martial arts, he is good at studying classics and military strategy. He is a rare talent in Taiyuan. Brother-in-law may be able to recruit him as an official to observe his talent and learning."
Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, turned to look at Yang Jun who was accompanying him, and asked, "Does Ji Cai know the name of Wang Wenshu?"
Yang Jun bowed and said, "My Lord, I have heard a little bit about him. Although he is young, he is very talented and well-versed in literature and military affairs. His ability is far superior to that of his cousin Wang Ji. In my opinion, if you want to use Wang Wenshu now, it is better to recruit him as a county official and then entrust him with important tasks later."
"Just as Ji Cai said!" Zhang Yu said.
Although Yang Jun had been in charge of personnel for a short time, Zhang Yu was quite satisfied with his overall performance. Zhang Yu would often listen to Yang Jun's opinions on non-critical personnel recruitment. After all, only by seeing the performance of those recommended by Yang Jun could we know whether Yang Jun had the ability to select officials.
"Sir, following your orders, Jun has persuaded Sima Lang, Sima Zhi and Zhao Zi to return home. They first arrived in Jinyang yesterday. I wonder when you want to meet them?" Yang Jun said.
Zhang Yu looked at the bow in his hand and felt helpless. He was afraid that he would have less and less time for hunting in the future.
"Go back to the city for the meeting in the afternoon!" Zhang Yu said.
"promise!"
Because he was busy going back to the city to meet the three people, Zhang Yu hurriedly shot more than ten arrows, and then led his men back to Jinyang. When he returned to the prefecture, it was already afternoon. After lunch, Zhang Yu summoned Sima Lang, Sima Zhi, and Zhao Zi.
Zhang Yu's persistence in evaluating talents is related to his leadership style. Zhang Yu knows that he has no time to take care of many things, so he is often willing to delegate power to reliable civil and military officials. However, in order to ensure his control over his subordinates, Zhang Yu will firmly grasp the power of personnel.
Of course, the monarch's primary responsibility is to govern people and make decisions, not to compete with his subordinates for power. Otherwise, the responsibilities of the monarch and his subjects will be reversed, and power struggles will occur, which will lead to chaos.
Zhang Yu first met Sima Zhi. Sima Zhi was a pragmatic person. Due to his poor family background, he was good at farming and his political ideas were more inclined to the Legalists. In particular, Zhang Yu admired Sima Zhi's idea of suppressing the powerful and supporting the poor.
After an assessment, Zhang Yu appointed Sima Zhiping as the city chief and took over Yang Zan's position. Yang Zan was appointed as the prefect of Yanmen County by Zhang Yu, acting on behalf of Zhong Yao in military and political affairs of Yanmen County.
Sima Zhi stepped down, and soon it was the turn of Sima Lang, who left his name in later generations.
"Your servant Sima Boda greets you, Your Excellency!" Sima Lang bowed.
"Sit down!" Looking at Sima Lang who was neither humble nor arrogant, Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said, "Henei was in turmoil due to war, and Boda was able to see the general situation and led his people to migrate south for refuge. He was very wise. Now I wonder what Boda's ability is?"
Sima Lang said: "My lord, I have little knowledge. I have been taught by my father and have read the Han Shu thoroughly. I am proficient in the classics. If you want me to study the classics, I am afraid that I am not qualified because of my lack of knowledge."
Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The world is in chaos, bandits are rising up, it's time for a man to make achievements, why would I use you to study?"
Then Zhang Yu asked, "You said you like to read the Book of Han. I have a question for you. I wonder if you can answer it?"
"Please ask a question, sir?" Sima Lang asked seriously.
Zhang Yu gathered his thoughts and asked, "Why do you think the world is falling apart?"
Hearing this, Sima Lang pondered for a long time and said, "I think the world is still in chaos because Qin abolished the five-rank system, and the army of the counties and states was loose and unprepared, so they could not subdue bandits at home, nor defend against the barbarians abroad. In addition, the land of the counties and states was annexed, and the well-field system was abolished, so the people could not live in misery, and bandits rose up all over the world."
"In my humble opinion, if we want to bring peace to the world, we need to restore the five-rank nobility system, let the counties and states lead the troops again, and subdue the lawless people inside and outside the country. Moreover, the world is in chaos, the people are scattered, and the land has no owner. All land is public land. We can restore the well-field system now."
Zhang Yu looked suspicious. How could Sima Lang's view be similar to what the Western Jin Dynasty did? The Western Jin Dynasty restored the five-rank system and let the county and state troops lead the army. However, the result of its implementation can be seen from the Eight Kings Rebellion. It is really too abstract.
There is no need to say much about the well-field system. Sima Lang's original intention was to prohibit the circulation of land and ensure that everyone had land to cultivate, which was a good thing, but restoring the ancient well-field system was too sci-fi.
Among what Sima Lang said above, only the idea of leading troops from the counties and kingdoms is more reliable. After all, the country is in chaos and we urgently need to use troops to conquer.
As expected, Yang Jun had a good eye for people, and his evaluation of the three was reasonable. Among the three, the one with the strongest governance ability was the pragmatic Sima Zhi, while Sima Lang was a typical idealist.
"It would be good to restore the well-field system, but after more than a hundred years of peace, the population has grown rapidly and there is not enough land to distribute. What should we do then?" Zhang Yu asked.
Sima Lang pondered for a moment and said, "During the reign of Emperor Shizong, the ownerless people were relocated to fill the ownerless land. If the population grows in the future, the landless people can be relocated south or north and the land can be divided up."
Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "If the migration of population had worked, the Former Han Dynasty would not have perished, and there would not be the Yellow Turban Rebellion today!"
Sima Lang was speechless for a moment, then asked, "May I ask which method is better, Your Excellency?"
Zhang Yu said: "In the past, Zhou used feudalism to bring peace to the world, and Han used counties and kingdoms to rule the world. In the world, there is no permanent method, only appropriate methods. Now, if we want to bring peace to the world, counties and kingdoms lead the army and exert pressure on the four seas. The second is to build the capital and feudalize the wilderness."
"As for granting land?"
"The land is limited but the population is unlimited. It is not easy to relocate the people and let everyone get their own land!" Zhang Yu said helplessly.
"Reading history can help us understand the rise and fall of nations, and looking in the mirror can help us correct our appearance. However, the world's situation is like the surging waters of a river, and the old system is like the river flowing eastward. Therefore, we can learn from it, but we cannot imitate it. The only way to govern the country is to bring forth something new out of the old." Zhang Yu said meaningfully.
Sima Lang was silent for a while, then he bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"
Seeing this, Zhang Yu knew that he had failed to persuade Sima Lang. After all, sometimes you just can’t convince an idealist.
Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "I see that Boda has the heart to help the country. I would like to appoint you as the magistrate of Pingyang. What do you think?"
"Thank you for your kindness!"
Thinking of Sima Yi, Zhang Yu looked amiable and asked, "Boda has a good opinion. I wonder if there are any brothers as outstanding as you?"
"Your Excellency, although I have several younger brothers, they are all young. My second brother Sima Yi is only fifteen years old. He is not yet old enough to take up an official position. I am afraid that he will let you down!" Sima Lang said.
Zhang Yu asked Sima Lang about his well-being, drawing on his previous experience of working together with Sima Fang in Luoyang, and then let Sima Lang leave.
Soon, Zhao Zi stepped into the hall and bowed to Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu exchanged a few pleasantries with him, and then asked, "I heard Ji Cai say that you have military talent. I wonder what you think of the world today? Where should I use military force?"
Zhao Zi weighed his words carefully and said, "My Lord, the world is in constant strife. In Guandong, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are the leaders. The heroes have crossed states and counties, annexed territories, and fought for supremacy in the Central Plains. Therefore, if you want to achieve extraordinary feats, you should not be deeply involved in the Central Plains. You should go west to occupy Guanzhong, store up food, train your troops, and watch the two tigers fight."
"When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured. Wait until the two Yuans are exhausted and your army is strong and the food is abundant. Then you can march eastward, first take Hebei, then the Central Plains, and sweep across Jing and Yang. Then the world will be settled!"
Hearing this, Zhang Yu looked at Zhao Zi, who had an ordinary appearance, again. He did not expect that this unknown scholar in history had such insight.
The plan that Zhao Zi mentioned was basically what Zhang Yu had been thinking about in the past few days. If he occupied Guanzhong next year, then Zhang Yu's next military plan would be either in Bashu or Hebei. After all, Hebei was the richest place in the world. If he occupied Hebei, Henan would be within reach.
"color!"
Zhang Yu showed an expression of approval and said, "Since you have a strategic vision, I will now appoint you as a military officer to assist me in military affairs."
"Thank you for your appreciation!" Zhao Zi bowed with joy.
(End of this chapter)
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