Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 262: The King Does Not Appear to Attend the Court Early, He Selects Generals to Guard Guanzhong

October, Mount Li.

As the weather grew colder, Zhang Yu could no longer resist Zou Qi's request and finally gave in. He sent people to Mount Li to repair the Li Palace. Later, when he had free time, he took Zou Qi and Yin Wen to Mount Li for a vacation to enjoy the natural hot springs.

In the hot spring pool, water vapor evaporates, making the surroundings warm.

Zhang Yu rested his head on the stone pillow, spread his hands on the edge of the pool, squinted his eyes and enjoyed the soak in the hot spring.

"Your Majesty!"

Zou Qi's voice was tender as she came closer to Zhang Yu, only to see that she was wearing a thin gauze robe that had been soaked by warm water. The see-through gauze robe was close to her skin, but various patterns were embroidered on her secret parts, covering up her important parts. It was looming, revealing yet concealing, really wanting people to find out!
Of course, not only Zou Qi bathed together, but Yin Wen also bathed together. It was just that Yin Wen was a little shy and kept a distance from Zhang Yu. Although she had been married, she was from a noble family and it was difficult for her to accept sharing a husband with others. However, she could not resist Zhang Yu's persuasion and finally went into the hot spring.

The hot springs, combined with the white waves, are particularly eye-catching.

Zou Qi leaned on Zhang Yu's broad left arm, massaging Zhang Yu and whispering to him, appearing particularly well-behaved.

Zhang Yu closed his eyes and enjoyed the gentle warmth. Compared with the warmth in his left arm, his right arm suddenly felt empty, so he patted the wall of the pool with his hand and said nonchalantly, "Where is Yaji now?"

"At this!"

Yin Wen saw that Zhang Yu was accompanied by Zou Qi, and the two were acting in an ambiguous manner. It was really difficult for him to lose face, so he responded in a low voice.

"come over!"

Zhang Yu said with a slightly heavier tone.

Yin Wen's face was blushing, she bit her lips, and she was conflicted inside!

"Can I ask my younger sister to treat my older sister?"

Zou Qi said coquettishly, "Confucius said, 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher.' How can you not walk with me, sister?"

"Snapped!"

Zhang Yu patted Zou Qi's thigh and said with a smile: "If the saint knew that you were talking nonsense, I'm afraid he would punish you!"

"Now that the saint is not here, would you like to punish me on his behalf?" Zou Qi said with a wink.

Seeing Zhang and Zou playing and flirting, Yin Wen let go of his reserve and touched Zhang Yu's right chest.

Zhang Yu held the beauty in his arms and leaned against the wall of the pool, enjoying the nourishment of the hot spring and the beauty's service, and couldn't help but be intoxicated by it.

"The spring night is short and the sun is rising. From now on, the king will not go to court early!"

Zhang Yu couldn't help but sigh and said, "I finally know what this feels like!"

Don’t blame Li Longji for being bright at first and dim later, it’s because this kind of enjoyment was too intoxicating, especially with the blessing of a beautiful woman!

When he conquered Jinyang, Zhang Yu enjoyed the treatment of being the center of attention; now that he has conquered Guanzhong, Zhang Yu is enjoying the taste of luxury in the world. If he gets the whole world in the future, who knows what will happen to him?

"Whee!"

Zou Qi understood the psychology of men and said with a smile: "When we go to Youzhou next year, you must not be careless and lose to Gongsun. Otherwise, not only will you not be able to enjoy the hot springs, but you might even lose my sister and I."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu regained his consciousness and said with a smile, "Don't talk nonsense. I am sending troops to Youzhou today. How can I underestimate Gongsun Zan? I will go all out. You and Yaji are both my dearest, how can I fail to protect you two?"

"Luo Ji and I are the apples of my husband's eye. I wonder what the relationship between Madam and Madam Li is?" Yin Wen said with a smile.

"Although our statuses are different, they are both my dearest ones!" Zhang Yu said against his will.

"That husband has so many beloved ones. He has to care about the world, but he also has to remember his wives and concubines at home!" Zou Qi said in a teasing tone.

Zhang Yu's hands began to become restless, and he said with a smile: "I can accommodate the common people of the world, so why can't I accommodate you and others?"

…………

Needless to say, in the misty air, there was the sound of lapping water, followed by the enticing gasps of breath.

The pond is filled with spring beauty and cannot be contained, three mandarin ducks are playing in the pool!
After enjoying the hot spring for a while, Zhang Yu left the hot spring pool early because he had something to take care of. With the help of the maid, he changed into clean clothes.

"Your Majesty!"

"No need to be polite. How was your hot spring bath?"

In the side room, Zhang Yu met Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun and Jia Xu who had just finished taking a bath in the outer hot spring pool. He signaled to the three of them not to be restrained and not to get up from the couch.

Zhang Yu did not dare to forget the important matter during this vacation in Mount Li, so he asked the civil and military officials to accompany him. Zhang Yu did not treat the civil and military officials who accompanied him to Mount Li badly. Although they could not enjoy the beauty's company, they could take a bath in the outdoor hot spring pool outside, which was an extra blessing. "Where is Gongda?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Gongda is a reserved person and doesn't like to bathe with others. He soaked in the bath for a while and then wandered around."

It was because the emperor and his ministers were traveling together, and Zhang Yu was more friendly in private, so Jia Xu was not so restrained and spoke frankly.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Gongda looks foolish but is actually smart, gentle on the outside but strong on the inside. Let's go to Mount Li together more often in the future, and you'll get used to it."

"The hot springs of Mount Li are famous throughout history. I heard about them when I lived in Guanzhong. Now I am fortunate to have the grace of my lord, so I can bathe here!" Jia Xu said gratefully.

In ancient times, it was not easy to take a bath in winter. The lower-middle class could only take a bath occasionally in winter, after all, it was not easy to get firewood. Therefore, if you could take a bath regularly in winter, at least your family was well-off. As for hot spring bath, you could not enjoy it just by having money. You not only had to have natural hot springs around you, but also had to have the right to do so.

Zhang Yu invited civil and military officials to Mount Li for a bath, and his treatment far exceeded that of everyone else. Jia Xu understood the preciousness of resources, so he expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you, my lord!"

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu sat on the couch and said with a smile, "You two don't need to thank me, you can thank Wenyuan now."

"Why thank Liao?" Zhang Liao asked puzzledly.

Zhang Yu said with a smile: "I will be going on an expedition to Youzhou, and the military affairs of Guanzhong will be handed over to Wenyuan, so I specially invite Wenyuan to bathe in Mount Li. I am afraid that Wenyuan dare not enjoy it alone, so I want you to bathe here with him!"

"Liao is in panic!" said Zhang Liao.

Zhang Yu returned to the topic and asked, "I want Wenyuan to take charge of Guanzhong now. I wonder what Wenyuan wants to focus on?"

Knowing that Zhang Yu was testing him, Zhang Liao hesitated for a moment and said, "There are both open and hidden enemies in Guanzhong, and there are other minor threats in Guanzhong. Therefore, if I want to stay in Guanzhong, I should eliminate the open enemies, prepare for the hidden enemies, and eliminate the minor threats in Guanzhong."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's interest grew, and he asked, "Would you please elaborate?"

"promise!"

Zhang Liao gathered his thoughts and said, "Our army defeated Li Jue and entered Guanzhong. Now Li Jue has fled to Anding. Although his troops are few, they are quite famous. Liao must follow your previous words and send troops to attack Li Jue. Therefore, Li Jue is an open enemy in Guanzhong."

"Ma Teng, Han Sui, and Song Jian are entrenched in Longshan. Although they have no intention of invading the border, we must guard against them. Therefore, the bandits in Longshan are the hidden enemies of Guanzhong. The minor threat is not in Lianglong, but in the Huyuan area north of Guanzhong. There are many bandits and Qiang and Hu in the valleys along the mountains and rivers, so we must be careful of Qiang and Hu plundering the towns north of Wei."

During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, although the imperial court controlled Hexi, due to the Qiang Hu and Longshang rebels, the western border defense was actually in Chencang, and the northern border defense was contracted to Guanzhong Sanfu. Therefore, although there were no major enemies in Guanzhong, the enemies were numerous and diverse, so Zhang Liao, who was stationed in Guanzhong, had to focus more on the west.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, "Does Wenyuan know the number of households in Guanzhong?"

"Heard a little bit!"

Zhang Liao nodded and said, "Since the Long Qiang rebellion, Guanzhong has suffered many battles, so the current population is not as high as in the previous dynasty. During the Yonghe period, according to household registration, the population of Sanfu should be between 400,000 and 500,000. After that, Dong Zhuo moved millions of people from Henan to Guanzhong, and the population of Guanzhong increased dramatically, at least to a million."

Since the Chimei invaded Guanzhong, the population of Guanzhong has been decreasing rapidly, and it was not until the Eastern Han Dynasty that it recovered. However, it did not take long for the rebellion of the Longqiang to spread to Guanzhong. Guanzhong was affected by war and the trend of population growth was interrupted. Not counting the hidden households of the big families, Guanzhong only had 400,000 to 500,000 registered residents.

Therefore, before Dong Zhuo moved west, some people in the court dissuaded him from moving the capital to Guanzhong on the grounds that Guanzhong was in decline. Dong Zhuo refused to listen and forcibly moved hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people from Henan to Guanzhong.

Therefore, during Dong Zhuo's reign, the population of Guanzhong experienced a large increase. Historically, the Guo-Li Rebellion and Cao Cao's two large-scale wars to seize Guanzhong led to the rapid decline of the population of Guanzhong.

Now that Zhang Yu has defeated Li Jue, although his military affairs caused a lot of unrest, it was soon settled down. Therefore, although there is no feedback on the number of registered households in Guanzhong, which is currently governed by Zhang Yu, it is possible to confirm that the population of the three prefectures in Guanzhong today exceeds that of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and can be regarded as a hidden population, with at least millions of people.

"The population of the three prefectures is rich. If we encourage farming, we will be able to restore their prosperity. By selecting strong and capable people, we can get tens of thousands of soldiers. In addition, there are dangerous places on all sides, so Guanzhong can be the base of the king!"

Zhang Yu said bluntly, "So after I conquered Guanzhong, the court took away my position as the lieutenant of Sili, which meant that they didn't want me to interfere in Guanzhong. I forced the court to split Sili and set up Yongzhou, and the court was dissatisfied, but they had no choice but to agree due to the situation. So if no one was going to conquer Youzhou, why would the court ask me to send troops?"

"After I leave Guanzhong, in addition to Li Jue, Ma Teng, Han Sui and other enemies, Wenyuan needs to pay attention to the troops in the capital. Tongguan needs to be guarded by loyal people, and Wudu needs to send people to inquire about the situation."

Zhang Liao nodded and said solemnly, "I will never forget your words of advice. If I am to guard Guanzhong, I will defend the imperial court in the east, guard Wudu in the south, attack Li Jue in the west, and defend against Qiang and Hu in the north."

"good!"

Zhang Yu was very pleased. He patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and said, "I appointed Wenyuan to guard Guanzhong not because of our close relationship, but because of your military strategy. Jingzhao Yin Dong Zhao is a man of strategy. I have appointed him as the military officer of the Chariot and Cavalry Department. If Wenyuan has any questions, he may consult him."

"As ordered!"

Zhang Yu was quite satisfied with Zhang Liao's questions and answers. Although he had missed the potential threat from the imperial court, he was at least able to recognize most of the dangers and had corresponding solutions.

Zhang Yu had ruled Guanzhong for only half a year, so there was still a lot of potential to be explored. But if we wanted to explore it more deeply, we would have to wait until Zhang Yu returned from Youzhou.

For the sake of the great cause of the country, Zhang Yu stayed in Mount Li for only a few days before returning to Chang'an with Zou Qi and Yin Wen. After returning to Chang'an, Zhang Yu met with Dong Zhao, Sun Zi and Wang Hong to discuss the situation in Guanzhong.

After understanding the governance situation of Sanfu, because Zhong Yao had moved the government seat to Anyi, Zhang Yu left Lu Fan and other generals to lead the troops eastward, while he went ahead to Anyi to meet Zhong Yao and Liu He!
(End of this chapter)