Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 287: The Sultan’s personal soldiers? No, the Chanyu’s personal soldiers!
Pingcheng, military camp.

Inside the big tent, Zhang Yu looked at the thick stack of letters on the desk, and his heart was already pounding. He had not expected that so many people would plead for Wang Hong just for violating the alcohol ban, which was beyond Zhang Yu's expectation.

From the county governor with a salary of two thousand stones to the county lady with a salary of several hundred stones, and even people in the army, there were more than ten people who submitted petitions to plead for Wang Hong.

"Your Majesty!"

Guo Tu handed over the list and said, "Here is the list!"

Zhang Yu looked at the names and saw that Li Song's name was missing, and a smile appeared on his face. It seemed that his brother-in-law and cousin finally understood not to interfere in government affairs and knew to leave everything to him.

Afterwards, Zhang Yu studied the list carefully and couldn't help showing amusement. He wondered what Zhu Yuanzhang would think when he saw this list.

I guess before he unifies the world, he will ignore the people above him and use them to conquer the world for him. After he unifies the world, I'm afraid he will kill the people on the list.

"That's it!"

Although his actions could not be said to be upright, he did not want to follow Zhu Yuanzhang's example of slaughtering his meritorious officials.

Zhang Yu threw the list and the letter into the brazier and let the flames burn them.

"Gongze, Ziheng has offended severely. You should take my letter to Guanzhong and order the prince to pay him a fine of two thousand gold coins, dismiss him from his post as Zuo Fengyi, and transfer him to Jizhou Mu, so that he can return home to recuperate." Zhang Yu said, "Gongze needs to be more tactful and grasp the right measure, so as not to let outsiders criticize him."

"As ordered!"

Guo Tu showed a cunning look on his face, and said with a bow: "I will welcome you with great gifts, and apologize to the prince on your behalf. I must let all the children of the Wang family know."

"good!"

After Guo Tu left the tent, Jia Xu hesitated for a moment and said, "Emperor Wen praised and killed Zhou Bo in the past, and now you want to follow the old strategy."

Zhang Yu stood up from his chair and sighed, "I have no intention of flattering my father, but if I don't treat him with respect, it will cause criticism. I have already told Gongze to find the right measure."

Jia Xu was silent. He understood what Zhang Yu meant. Zhang Yu had no intention of flattering Wang Hong, but if the gift was too light, it would cause criticism. Therefore, the purpose of giving Wang Hong a heavy gift was to show it to outsiders.

As to why it is said that treating Wang Hong with great courtesy is an act of flattery, we need to delve deeper into the root of the problem.

Wang Hong was a man of strong character, but not without talent and virtue, so he was ashamed to be a person who was content with his position and wasted his time. Zhang Yu appointed Wang Hong as Zuo Fengyi, not only because he valued Wang Hong's qualifications, but also because of his talent.

Now Wang Hong violated the prohibition order and was punished, and given his temperament, he should be ashamed. If Zhang Yu asked Guo Tu to welcome Wang Hong with great gifts, or even to serve Wang Hong respectfully, Wang Hong would feel that he was honored because of Zhang Yu, especially after many people knew about his situation, he would feel even more ashamed and put pressure on himself.

Many people died of depression due to excessive shame. Now, if Wang Hong is treated too harshly, he may end up in depression, so Jia Xu thinks it is inappropriate.

Zhang Yu knew that treating Wang Hong with such great gifts would make him feel ashamed, but he still let Guo Tu do it. The reason was that he didn't want others to criticize Zhang Yu if he didn't treat Wang Hong with such great gifts.

Historically, this is the reason why Emperor Wen of Han praised Zhou Bo but killed him. If he did not give Zhou Bo a high position, he would not be able to explain to everyone, after all, Zhou Bo was the first person to get rid of Lü. At the same time, after praising Zhou Bo but killing him, Emperor Wen of Han looked for opportunities to attack Zhou Bo, so that Zhou Bo would voluntarily resign.

Of course, Zhang Yu's situation was different from that of Emperor Wen of Han. He only needed to establish Wang Hong's authority by banning alcohol. Treating Wang Hong with great courtesy was to avoid criticism from outsiders. As for Wang Hong's subsequent shame, Zhang Yu had no intention of going too far and would not continue to do so.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that there is so much content under the flattery, but for smart people, they can understand it almost immediately without having to explain it in detail.

After a pause, Jia Xu said, "Lord Lu's detention of the princes has caused dissatisfaction among many people. Therefore, in order to appease the people, you need to appoint a senior official."

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Next year, we will attack Longyou. We must leave a general in Bingzhou. I will appoint Lü Fan as the acting Lieutenant Colonel General, and concurrently the governor of Shangdang. I will also transfer him to the position of the governor-general of the army, and the governor of Shangdang, Taiyuan, and Hedong. Chang Lin, the former governor of Shangdang, will be transferred to Youfufeng, and Sun Zi will be appointed as Zuofengyi."

The Protector-General is different from the Governor-General and the Governor-General. The Governor-General and the Governor-General have the right to command the troops of the generals, while the Protector-General does not have the right to directly command the generals, but to coordinate the generals and listen to their opinions.

Why didn't Zhang Yu give Lü Fan the power of commander-in-chief? It wasn't because Lü Fan was not loyal enough, but because Lü Fan's ability to lead troops was not good enough. Zhang Yu didn't dare to give him the power. Moreover, Hedong, Taiyuan, and Shangdang were all Zhang Yu's bases, so it was not convenient for one person to lead the military alone. "Your Excellency is wise!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu was rewarded appropriately, Jia Xu praised him.

After resolving the issues in Guanzhong, Zhang Yu then turned his attention to border affairs.

"Where are Zirun and Gongtan?" Zhang Yu asked.

"I've been waiting outside the tent for a long time!" Zhao Yun said with a bow.

"Hurry and get them both into the tent!"

"promise!"

After a while, Yan Rou and Yang Zan walked into the tent and paid great respects to Zhang Yu.

"Pu Rou, Zan pays respect to the Lord!"

"You two have been waiting outside for a long time!"

Zhang Yu motioned for the two to sit down and asked, "A few months ago, although I led troops from Daishuo, I was unable to concentrate on fighting the Hu because of the march. So now that the army is returning, I am thinking of the affairs of the northern border and came here to inspect. You two have lived in the border for many years and have had many interactions with the Hu people. Do you have any matters to report?"

Yang Zan pondered for a while and spoke first: "Since you set up the General's Office in Mayi, all conflicts between Han and Hu have been settled in Mayi, and the disputes in the northern border have been temporarily resolved. In addition, in order to recruit Hu people for your own use, you ordered each tribe to select warriors and wise men to serve as officials. With the help of the Hu people, the conflicts between the government and the Hu tribes have gradually decreased."

"However, despite this, there are still conflicts on the border. The Hu people who are promoted for personal gain conspire with the Hu people in their own tribe, or collude with the Hu people in other tribes, so it is not easy to control the Hu tribe. Moreover, although you have recruited Hu people to join the Yunzhong Army, there are not many Hu people among them. A large number of evil Hu people are entrenched in the border, so you cannot use them."

Zhang Yu thought for a while and did not give a reply. Instead, he looked at Yan Rou and asked, "Does Ziyuan have anything to report?"

Yan Rou shook his head and said, "I am new to Dai County and I don't know about its bad policies. I just saw your past policies to govern the Hu people and I have some mean opinions. I would like to report them to you now."

"please!"

Yan Rou said, "Please forgive me for speaking frankly. I think your Excellency has the intention to control the Hu people and has tried to establish a rough rule. For example, you want to select talents from the Hu tribe to serve as officials, just like the Han people selected filial and honest people. Although this is effective, it is difficult to say that you have thoroughly governed the Hu people. Your Excellency wants to find talents who understand the customs of the Han and Hu people. Why don't you learn from my experience, accept young Hu people under your rule, teach them Chinese studies, and treat them like confidants?"

"When I was young, I was captured by the Hu people. I was taught by the Hu people. Since I can remember, I have worked for the Hu people, interacted with the Han people for them, and sold goods for the Hu people. Therefore, if you don't promote me, I will probably end up as a barbarian. If you can get a few thousand barbarian barbarians, they can not only fight for you, but also pacify the Hu people for you. This is the best of both worlds."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu looked thoughtful as he considered the strategy proposed by Yan Rou.

Yan Rou was a mixed Han and Hu child, and there were few people like Yan Rou in the world. He had previously asked the Hu tribe to select talents, essentially hoping to get a mixed person like Yan Rou to help him govern the Hu people on the border. However, as Yan Rou said, the loyalty of the selected talents could not be guaranteed, and their degree of dependence was weaker.

If Yan Rou's personal experience is used to train bastards, it is highly likely that a "Mangosteen person" (black skin and white heart) will be trained. And if Zhang Yu remembers correctly, in order to control the colonies in modern Western European colonial countries, they would absorb teenagers from the colonies from a young age, train them for a long time, and then send them to the colonies, where they would become compradors.

So to put it bluntly, Yan Rou himself was a "Mangzhu man" accidentally cultivated by the Hu people. It was only because the Han people's customs and culture were too powerful that Yan Rou gradually awakened after he grew up.

If Zhang Yu followed Yan Rou's strategy, he would recruit young men from various Hu tribes, throw them into Bingzhou for training, teach them Chinese studies and martial arts, and change their surnames from an early age. When they grew up, they would certainly be able to be used by Zhang Yu. Wouldn't these young men be Zhang Yu's Hu slaves?

Hu Nu?

This seems similar to the Ottoman Sultan's personal guards, who selected young men from Christian families and then converted them to Islam. They were influenced by the Sultan's slave mentality from an early age and became the Ottomans' right-hand men in ruling Christian areas.

Why couldn't he imitate the Sultan's personal soldiers and recruit the Chanyu's personal soldiers, use the Mangkhut people to control the Hu people, and control the Mangkhut people himself?

(End of this chapter)