Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 346: The virtuous should be supported, the unvirtuous should be dismissed

In March, a large-scale political performance show "Jitian" was being staged on the flat fields beside the Sushui River.

Zhang Yu had been in charge of the prefecture for many years, and he had often advised his subordinates to do more farming, but this year was the first time he led the people to plough the fields. The political purpose was obvious, which was to promote production this year in order to store more military rations.

Now, under the leadership of Zhang Yu, the meat-eaters under the General's Mansion have humbled themselves and worked in the fields themselves, encouraging the people to work harder by tilling the fields themselves.

It was impossible for the accompanying civil and military officials to say that they were willing to do so, especially the clerks from prominent families. If Zhang Yu had not led the way, they would probably not have been willing to go to the fields.

In the paddy field, Zhang Yu rolled up his sleeves. His trouser legs were already stained with wet and sticky mud. He wiped the sweat from his cheeks and started planting rice seriously again.

"Pfft!"

Because the muddy water in the field was sticky, and there was a strange force pulling people, Xun You stumbled and fell into the muddy field. The people around him hurriedly helped Xun You up, and saw that Xun You's face and hair were covered with mud, so they took a cloth to wipe it for Xun You.

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu looked over and saw Xun You in a state of disarray. He could not help but laugh and said, "Gongda had a good plan in mind and could defeat the enemy in a moment with ease. But now he is having trouble with farming. This is what we call people have their strengths and things have their weaknesses."

Although Xun You felt embarrassed, he was able to laugh at himself calmly with his good character: "Fan Chi's question is not what You is good at. If you want to learn it, you need to study more and practice more, and maybe you can understand it thoroughly."

Seeing this, Zhang Shi, an official, complained to his attendants in a low voice: "Your Excellency is about to conquer Hebei, but now you are not busy training the troops, but leading the people to farm. I am afraid that this is a waste of time."

Ji Mao glanced at Zhang Shi who was complaining, did not respond, and continued to work.

Although there were many children of wealthy families among the officials under Zhang Yu's rule, there were also many children of small and medium-sized noble families. Due to the turmoil at the end of the Han Dynasty, the small and medium-sized noble families gradually became poorer, so in order to support themselves, many of them would go to the fields to farm, and they were not particularly averse to farming.

Zhang Yu looked around and saw that many people were working very carefully. He smiled and said, "In times of chaos, the most important thing is food and grass. We have been fighting for years and many acres of land have gone to waste. Now we are competing with Yuan Shao, which will take a long time. If we cultivate one more acre and produce two more stones of grain, we can feed the soldiers for one more month."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu pointed to the area that Xu Chu was in charge of and said with a smile, "Zhongkang has been in the army for many years, but he still remembers farming. That's great!"

Xu Chu grinned, continued to bend over and work in the field, and soon planted the seedlings.

"Everyone, please take a rest first!"

After planting the seedlings, Zhang Yu saw that it was noon, so he asked everyone to rest.

"Your Majesty!"

The attendant came forward enthusiastically, wanting to lend a hand to support Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu waved his hand and said, "Go and see Mr. Jia!"

"promise!"

Not long after Zhang Yu sat on the ridge of the field, he saw Zhong Yao coming from the city to look for him.

"Yuan Chang, what's the matter?" Zhang Yu asked after taking a sip of water.

Zhong Yao looked around and said, "Sir, an envoy from Youzhou has come to us, saying that Liu He is willing to send troops to help our army. However, from what I have heard from the envoy, it seems that he wants to form an alliance with you, such as asking about the marriage of the eldest son."

"How old is Liu He's eldest daughter?" Zhang Yu asked.

"According to the envoy, he is seven years old, one year older than the eldest prince. I wonder what your Excellency thinks?" Zhong Yao asked.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Marriage is feasible, what do you think, Yuan Chang?"

Zhong Yao said, "My Lord, Liu He is the ruler of Youzhou. If we marry him now, it will benefit both the Liu and Zhang families. Moreover, the Liu family of Donghai is the descendant of Prince Gong of Donghai. They are from a prominent family and are descendants of the royal family. They will not be inferior to the Zhang family."

Zhang Yu thought about it and said worriedly, "I'm afraid that the two families will turn against each other in the future!"

"The eldest son is more noble than the other sons of the lords and marquises. Moreover, the general trend of the world is clear today. How could Liu He not know it?"

Jia Xu smiled and said, "In my opinion, the Han Dynasty is declining and the country will change. If you destroy Yuan Shao and unify Hebei, Youzhou will not be able to survive alone. Therefore, Liu He wants to marry you and intends to entrust Youzhou to you."

After a pause, Jia Xu said: "If you can marry Liu He, you will not only get support from Youzhou, but also win the hearts of the Liu family."

"Why does Wenhe say that?" Zhang Yu asked.

"It is difficult for the Han Dynasty to revive now. The Liu clan must be afraid that the new emperor will dislike the Liu surname, so they are inevitably worried. If you can marry into the Liu family, it will dispel the suspicion of the Liu clan." Jia Xu said.

After four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, the surname Liu was already all over the world, and there were many Liu clans after Liu Bang. Whether the new rulers were willing or not, they had to accept the huge population of Liu. So how to treat the Liu family, or how to treat the Han Dynasty, would be a problem that Zhang Yu would have to face in the future.

If what Jia Xu said is true, Zhang Yuru's marriage with the Liu family will help to appease the Liu clan and the scholars who are loyal to Han to a certain extent. After all, Liu He is the descendant of Liu Qiang, the deposed crown prince of Liu Xiu, so apart from Liu Xie, the bloodline of the Donghai Liu clan is the purest.

Zhang Yu frowned and said, "If I live a hundred years later, I will pass the throne to my eldest son and marry him to a noble lady from the past. I wonder what your attitudes are?"

If he wanted to use other sons for political marriage, Zhang Yu would not think so much and would agree directly. But the eldest son Zhang Luo must be Zhang Yu's first heir if nothing unusual happens. Therefore, if Zhang Luo is married to a noble lady with Han blood, Zhang Yu has to consider several more political influences. Jia Xu and Zhong Yao did not think so far. They were stunned when they heard what Zhang Yu said and fell into deep thought.

Zhong Yao thought for a while and said, "In the past, Emperor Yao's daughters Ehuang and Nvying were promised to Emperor Shun as wives, and they assisted Shun in ruling the world. If your daughter is virtuous, she will obey her husband and assist Zhang. But if she is not virtuous, you should divorce her."

Jia Xu said: "In the past, Emperor Wen married Lady Lü, but later he ascended the throne and replaced her with Lady Dou. In the future, when things get urgent, maybe we can learn from this!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Now we should pacify the world and calm people's hearts first. The rest of the things can be put aside for now."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu stood up from the ridge and said, "Madam, you cherish the eldest son. Let me discuss this with you now."

"promise!"

Zhong Yao was not surprised. After all, after years of getting along with each other, Wang Ji was known to be very controlling in the eyes of the civil and military officials. If Wang Ji was not informed about Zhang Luo's marriage, he might be dissatisfied.

"Yuan Chang, now I am leading the people to farm. What is the reaction of the county officials?" Zhang Yu asked.

Zhong Yao said, "To be honest, I have heard that you value agriculture, and the officials in Hedong are all working hard to encourage farming. Moreover, I have issued an order that all counties should focus on grain harvest this year and not impose corvée without authorization. If there are policies that make farmers suffer, they will be severely punished."

“Hope it will be effective!”

Zhang Yu looked at the paddy fields in front of him and said, "This year, send more officials to inspect the counties and prefectures. If there are any dereliction of duty or slackness, they will be punished according to the law and the law will be strictly enforced."

"As ordered!"

Zhong Yao thought of something else and reported, "Sir, in addition to the marriage, there is another matter in Youzhou that I am afraid I need to let you know."

"What's the matter?"

"The Wuhuan have close relations with Yuan Shao. In order to get external aid, Yuan Shao married his daughter to Tadun, and the two agreed to become relatives by marriage. And according to military reports, Tadun will dispatch 3,000 cavalry south and hand them over to Yuan Shao for command." Zhong Yao said.

"Oh?"

Zhang Yu walked along the road beside the field with his hands behind his back. When he heard about the marriage between Yuan Shao and Tadun, he sneered and said, "Tadun has joined forces with Yuan Shao. It seems that we should not only defeat Yuan Shao, but also solve the northern threat for Youzhou."

Zhong Yao followed suit and said, "Youzhou has Wuhuan in the north and Gongsun in the south, and the counties within it are powerful. Liu He's prestige is not high, so from the perspective of the situation, Liu He is in danger of being attacked from both sides!"

Zhang Yu said: "Youzhou has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and can still fight the enemy. Besides, Youzhou now knows that the situation is critical, and everyone must be prepared. I don't need to worry about Youzhou for the time being, unless Youzhou asks for help from my army."

After a pause, Zhang Yu added: "Yan Rou has stationed his troops in northern Yan. I will now order him to wait for Liu He's military orders."

"Your Excellency is wise!"

While Zhang Yu was talking with Zhong Yao, he saw an attendant walking quickly towards him and talking to Guo Tu.

Upon learning the contents, Guo Tu's expression suddenly changed. He hurriedly found Zhang Yu and said, "Sir, there is urgent news from Yanzhou. It concerns Yuan Shao!"

"But Yuan Shao captured Dongwuyang and captured and killed Zang Hong?" Zhang Yu asked in return.

"It's not just that!"

Guo Tu said with a serious expression, "According to the report from the spies, Cao Cao gave Yanzhou to Yuan Shao and appointed Yuan Shao's second son Yuan Xi as the governor of Yanzhou; while Yuan Shao recommended Cao Cao as the governor of Yangzhou and provided him with military supplies. Now Cao Cao is leading his troops south and will take Xiapi together with Gao Gan."

"Cao Cao gave Yanzhou to Yuan Shao?"

Zhang Yu frowned and asked in confusion, "Why did Cao Cao suddenly give Yanzhou to Yuan Shao?"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment and said, "The Cao family has many connections in Jianghuai. Now Yanzhou is in decline and Cao Cao thinks it is difficult to recover the territory, so he went to Huainan to make a living and start a career."

Zhang Yu didn't know how to comment on this matter. He had been afraid of Cao Cao's development in Yanzhou, so he and Yuan Shu had funded Lu Bu many times. In the end, with the joint intervention of various forces, not only did they destroy Yanzhou, but they also restricted Cao Cao's development.

Now, in order to rebuild his foundation, Cao Cao decisively gave up the city he had worked so hard to preserve in Yanzhou, which surprised Zhang Yu. However, Cao Cao's move south to Huainan was not unacceptable to Zhang Yu, as Yuan Shu, who dominated the south, needed someone to contain and weaken him.

"Yuan Shao dominates Yan in the south, and Xu Ruocheng will control four states. The territory and troops under their command will be far greater than ours!" Guo Tu said worriedly.

Zhang Yu exhaled and said, "Even though Yuan Shao controls four states, how can he be stable in the short term based on the situation in Yan and Xu states? Therefore, only Ji and Qing states can send troops to supply food. Their troops are slightly more than ours, but with our elite troops, Yuan Shao will have to fear me!"

Although Yuan Shao claimed to have four states, he was just boasting about his strength. In reality, the only states he could really control were Qing and Ji, which had long been his. Unless Yuan Shao was given a few years to develop, perhaps he could truly control the so-called four states. Now Zhang Yu could not give Yuan Shao time, after all, if they were to compete in development potential, Shanxi would certainly not be as good as Hebei.

"My lord, now that Yan and Xu are owned by Yuan Shao's nephews, Lu Bu may be in a difficult situation!" Zhong Yao said.

Zhang Yu pursed his lips and said, "Lü Bu has Chen Gong as his assistant. If the situation gets bad, he will ask Yuan Shu or me for help. So let's wait and see the situation in Henan."

(End of this chapter)