Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 296: Rewarding Official Titles and Governing Household Registration

In October, Ma Teng joined forces with Xu Fan, a general under Liu Yan, to raid the counties of Wudu. Man Chong was stationed at the strategic point of Xiabian to resist Ma Teng. Zhang Liao was ordered to lead the two generals Xu Huang and Zhang Xiu to march south along Chencang Road to relieve the siege of Xiabian.

Before leaving, Zhang Yu recommended Xu Huang as General Po Lu and Marquis Du Ting for his contribution in defeating Gongsun Zan. Zhang Liao was promoted from General Zheng Xi to General Zheng Xi for his contribution in guarding Guanzhong and passing Zhang Yu's assessment.

The political status of the General of the Western Expedition was different in different periods. For example, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, in order to suppress military generals, many generals who commanded troops were mostly General of the Central Army. Above the General of the Central Army and below the General of the Four Directions (General of the Important Title), a series of general titles were all General of the Miscellaneous Title.

The well-known general titles such as Four Expeditions, Four Towns, Four Peaces, and Four Safeguards, like Zhang Yu's previous title of General of Du Liao, were all generals of miscellaneous titles. However, it should be understood that generals of miscellaneous titles were not miscellaneous titles, but general titles born out of temporary combat needs, and their status was the same as that of county governors.

As wars broke out, the status of military men rose. Not only did their salaries have to keep up, but official positions also became more numerous. The starting rank of General of Important Titles was General of Four Directions, which was too demanding. In order to meet the demand for generals and cope with the increasingly large command system, it was necessary to downgrade the rank of General of Important Titles and divide the ranks of General of Miscellaneous Titles into different levels. This is how the names of the Sixteen Generals of Conquering Ping'an came about.

Since the troops were sent to Henei, they successively went to Hedong, broke through Guanzhong, and attacked Gongsun. Wars were extremely frequent. The same phenomenon occurred under Zhang Yu's command. Therefore, when Zhang Yu returned to Anyi this time, he slightly adjusted the official positions of the generals based on their performance from the beginning of the uprising to the present, in order to clarify the ranking of the general titles.

The General of Zhenzheng is higher than the four generals, and the General of Du Liao has the same rank as the four generals. Therefore, according to the newly released general rankings, Zhang Liao is the General of Zhengxi, Zhang Yang is the General of Zhengdong, and Li Song is the General of Du Liao.

All the military commanders who had enough experience or military merit were promoted to generals. For example, Hao Zhao was promoted to General of Bandit Suppression, Shi Yi was promoted to General of the Broad Fields, and Ke Bi was promoted to General of the Eagle and the Wing. Meng Ningzhi and Zhang Shan were promoted to General of the Central Army, the same rank as Cheng Pu, the commander of the Xi'an Army. Xu Chu, Gao Shun, Zhao Yun and other generals under the command of the National Defense Army were promoted to Bi generals, which means deputy generals, similar to the rank of General of the Central Army.

"Do the generals have any objections to this reward?"

The weather in Hedong was already cold in November. Zhang Yu, Guo Tu and Xun You gathered in a side hall, playing the Chupu game.

Guo Tu held five dice in his hand and said, "The list of official positions has been published. Most of the generals are happy because they have all been promoted. The only objection is that they feel that they have a lot of experience and have made great achievements, so they should not be on the same level as those who are new to the position."

"Throw the five-wood first!"

Zhang Yu urged him, saying, "Even if the official position is the same, the title should not be the same. The requirements for being a marquis are too high. One cannot be awarded the title unless he kills a general or defeats an army."

Xun You rode his horse to drive Guo Tu's horse back home, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency has accumulated old merits and examined his military experience. This is as fair as possible. How difficult it is to make everyone obey you!"

Zhang Yu sighed and said, "To be honest, although I hold the title of public official, I can't help but feel compassion and occasionally show favoritism. But when it comes to titles, I dare not be partial. I will distinguish the rank of fiefdom based on military merit."

It is a lie to say that he was not partial in bestowing official titles. For example, Zhang Yu bestowed the title of General Du Liao, which was his early title, on Li Song. Zhang Yang, as his uncle, had hardly fought in any battles, but he received many official titles and awards, from General Zhonglang without any merit to General Zhengdong. Zhang Yu himself did not believe that there was no nepotism involved.

Guo Tu comforted him, "Your Excellency has made the best use of the talents of all people, and both civil and military officials admire him. But in addition to justice, there is also reason. Sometimes giving rewards is to appease people's hearts!"

Xun You stroked his beard and pondered, saying, "Forgive me for being so bold. Although Xu Huang was originally a Baibo bandit, he has made outstanding contributions since he surrendered to you, my Lord. Now that he is the General who Breaks the Enemy, I am afraid it will be difficult for him to show his achievements!"

Xu Huang joined the army midway, so he could not be considered as a direct descendant of Zhang Yu. However, Xu Huang was strict in military discipline and led the troops in battle. The Hezhong Army under his command gradually became outstanding among the other armies and became a strong support for Zhang Yu.

Whenever there was a tough battle, Zhang Yu would call on Xu Huang, and Xu Huang never complained. Now Xu Huang was one rank short of the Four Expeditions Generals, but slightly higher than the Miscellaneous Generals, so Zhang Yu had no choice but to suppress him.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's see if Gongming is ordered to rescue Wudu this time. Also, pay attention to General Cheng's expedition against the Qiang and Hu in Fengyi."

"promise!"

Seeing that the horse was stuck in the 'trench' and could not win the game, Zhang Yu continued: "Liu Yan controls Yizhou, guards Hanzhong in the north, and controls Yiling in the east, so he can close off Bashu. Now he has contacted Ma Teng and attacked Wudu. His intention is to go north. I want to lead Yuan Shu to the west to attack Yizhou. What do you two think?"

Guo Tu frowned and said, "Yuan Shu has already occupied the three provinces of Yu, Jing, and Yang. His territory is vast and he has hundreds of thousands of soldiers. He is the most powerful among the princes today. If we lead Yuan Shu to the west to attack Yizhou, I am afraid Liu Yan will not be Yuan Shu's opponent."

Zhang Yu said: "If Yizhou is in chaos and the passage to Shu is wide open, our army can send another general to conquer Bashu, and perhaps we can annex Bashu. Even if we cannot annex Bashu, if we can take Hanzhong, it will be helpful for us to march south to Bashu in the future."

Bashu was ruled by Liu Yan, so although it was not a cause for concern, Yizhou was rich. Therefore, Zhang Yu had long been concerned about the wealth of Bashu, but he simply had no time to march south. Or maybe Yizhou and Jizhou had different priorities.

"As you instructed, if we can allow Yuan Shu to control Yizhou, it may be beneficial to you." Xun You said after deep thought.

"good!"

When he had some free time, Zhang Yu thought of the three hundred barbarians, so he looked at Guo Tu and asked, "How are the three hundred barbarians doing?"

Guo Tu was in charge of the Hu'er's settlement. He said, "I have already built a house in Boshan for the Hu'er to live in. Tu will follow your instructions to find someone who knows Hu'er's language and martial arts so that he can teach Hu'er. If you are free, you may take the time to go and inspect." "Okay!"

While the three were playing Chupu and chatting, Zhong Yao took official documents to the side hall to pay a visit to Zhang Yu.

"Yuan Chang, what important matter has brought you here? Would you like to play Chupu with me?" Zhang Yu invited.

Chupu originated in Central Asia, spread into the Han Dynasty from the Silk Road, began to become popular in the late Han Dynasty, and became popular among high-ranking officials and the general public during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Historically, during the Western Jin Dynasty, all the civil and military officials in the court were addicted to Chupu, and Tao Kan repeatedly submitted memorials to denounce the phenomenon of dereliction of duty. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Song, Liu Yu, was an expert at playing Chupu. In order to make a fortune in his early years, Liu Yu was once addicted to Chupu gambling, but eventually lost everything.

As for the gameplay of Chupu, it is not difficult. It can be said that the game content is similar to flying chess, but slightly more complicated than flying chess. The fun lies in hitting the horse and knocking the opponent's chess pieces back home.

The chess pieces are used as horses, and the five pieces of wood are used as dice. There are three types of grids on the chessboard: "pits", "trench" and "passes". Each grid represents a different function, and the horse will be subject to different restrictions when it enters the corresponding grid. When passing through a "pit" or "trench", the horse cannot pass, and needs to bet on a "precious lottery" to pass.

Zhong Yao pointed at the document and said, "I am the first to sort out the household registers of the counties of Bingzhou and Yongzhou. If you are busy now, I can report it later!"

"No need!"

Zhang Yu stood up from the couch and said with a smile, "Please gamble for me. I will take care of my business first."

"promise!"

In order to let Guo Tu and Xun You have fun with peace of mind, Zhang Yu led Zhong Yao to sit at the lower seat.

Zhang Yu opened the document and saw that Zhong Yao had listed the populations of Bing and Yong states neatly, and the household registration and tax collection of each county under his jurisdiction were clearly visible.

The four counties of Xihe, Shangdang, Taiyuan and Dingxiang under Bingzhou had a population of about 80,000 households and a population of around 400,000; the two counties of Henei and Hedong had a registered household of about 100,000 households and a population of over 500,000; the three prefectures of Guanzhong, Fufeng, Fengyi and Jingzhao had a registered household of about 160,000 households and a population of nearly 800,000.

Taking the total population of the two rivers and two states as an example, there are about 300,000 registered households under Zhang Yu's rule, and the civilian population is about 1.8 million.

"Is there no population in the four counties of Wudu, Shanggu, Daijun and Anding?" Zhang Yu asked after looking through the documents carefully.

"Yan and Dai counties were just established, so there is no household registration for the time being. Anding County is temporarily a virtual administration, and most of the taxes paid are collected by Yang Qiu himself. Although the population of Wudu is counted, since only Bian City is left, Yao temporarily removed it."

Zhong Yao took out a small piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "Wudu has a population of about 20,000 households and less than 90,000 people."

Paper was already in use at the end of the Han Dynasty. Zhang Yu had previously asked Zhong Yao whether to change official documents from cloth and bamboo slips to paper. Zhong Yao politely rejected Zhang Yu's proposal on the grounds that paper files were easy to lose. However, Zhong Yao did not completely reject the idea, but replaced the reporting documents with paper.

Zhang Yu read the data on the paper and asked, "If I remember correctly, when Man Boning ruled Wudu, he punished the leaders, killed the bandits, and incorporated 20,000 households. Why is the number of households in Wudu now not much different from what he reported?"

Zhong Yao cupped his hands and said, "Because there are many Qiang, Di and Hu tribes in Wudu County, the Han Chinese tribes have formed associations to protect themselves and are unwilling to be supervised by the government, so the people are becoming increasingly scarce. When Man Boning entered Wudu, the Han Chinese tribes in the county were unwilling to submit, let alone the Qiang, Di and Hu tribes."

"When Bo Ning governed Wudu, he first attacked the big clans and fortresses, and then wiped out the evil Qiang, Di and Hu tribes. The Han and Hu people captured a total of 20,000 households. However, Bo Ning was afraid that the Hu people would easily rebel, so he did not join the Han people and only paid livestock and furs as taxes, so he was not included in the list of Han people."

"If we add up the Han and Hu populations in Wudu, there should be more than 30,000 households under the control of the county government, and the total number of households in the county should be no less than 50,000."

Zhang Yu nodded and said with emotion: "Among the counties on the Longshang, the only prosperous county is Wudu. The rest are ruined or occupied by the Hu people. Therefore, if we want to develop Guanzhong, we must stabilize Longyou."

Although the Han-Qiang War, which lasted for more than a hundred years, led to a large population decline in Longyou, the natural environment improved a lot. When Dong Zhuo moved west to Chang'an, he gave the reason that there was a lot of wood in Longyou. The wood used to repair the palaces in the Sui and Tang dynasties also came from Longyou.

Zhong Yao sighed and said, "During the pre-Han Dynasty, the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty was the highest in the Guanxi region. At that time, the population of Longshang was not inferior to that of the prefectures and counties in the Guandong region. But now, in just a few hundred years, the population of Shanxi is less than that of the most prosperous prefecture in the Guandong region. It is easy for you to pacify the prefectures in Shanxi, but it is difficult to govern them!"

"350,000 households, 1.8 million people!"

Zhang Yu seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Given the current household registration situation in Shanxi, it is difficult to support 100,000 soldiers, but it is feasible to support 50,000 elite soldiers!"

(End of this chapter)