Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 442 Jane is in the Emperor’s Heart

As Shi Yi established himself in Baozhong City, just as Fa Zheng had predicted, Xu Huang and Ke Bi's armies had just arrived in Chang'an from Hebei and set up camp in Hu County, south of Chang'an.

The reason Xu Huang is now encamped in Hu County is not to deliberately delay the battle, but to wait for news from Shi Yi's troops and supplies.

"General, Shi Yi has sent a message!"

Inside the main tent, Xu Huang was discussing the Shu Road with generals such as Ke Bi and Guo Huai when an attendant rushed in to report the military situation to everyone.

Xu Huang looked up from the map and asked his attendant, "What's the military situation? Has Shi Yi managed to establish a foothold in Hanzhong?"

The attendant said, “General, the situation in Hanzhong is complicated right now. Yangping Pass has been breached, and Sun Ce has sent troops to garrison various passes and besieged Nanzheng. Meanwhile, Shi Yi entered Hanzhong from the Baoxie Road, attacked and captured Baokou and Baocheng, and has now established himself in Hanzhong. However, General Shi Yi is afraid that Sun Ce will send troops to besiege him, so he has led his troops to defend Baocheng.”

Guo Huai located Baocheng on the map and pointed out, "Sun Ce has stationed troops at various passes to prevent our reinforcements from entering Hanzhong. Now that our army has captured Baocheng, Sun Ce will surely lead his troops to attack Baocheng in order to prevent our reinforcements from entering Hanzhong via the Baoxie Road."

As he spoke, Guo Huai looked at Xu Huang and said, “General, General Shi Yi only has three thousand soldiers under his command. Baocheng is a small city with low walls, and it may not be able to hold out for long. Our army needs to get to Hanzhong as soon as possible to relieve General Shi Yi’s urgent needs and then lift the siege of Nanzheng.”

Kirby said, "Now that we want to enter Hanzhong, which route should we take? If we take the Baoxie Road, Sun Ce may be on guard."

Xu Huang pondered for a moment, then looked at Guo Huai and asked, "What are your thoughts, Boji?"

Guo Huai pointed to the various routes through Hanzhong on the map and said, "As General Ke said, Sun Ce will send troops to besiege Baocheng in order to prevent our army from entering Hanzhong through the Baoxie route, and will also ambush the follow-up troops. Therefore, in my opinion, our army should enter Hanzhong through Tangluo or Ziwu to make it difficult for the enemy to predict."

"If our army can reach Hanzhong, we can take advantage of Sun Ce's distraction at Baocheng to contact the troops in Nanzheng. At that time, troops will be needed to block everything, which will be the time for our army to use its strength. Moreover, Your Excellency has ordered General Cheng Pu to come to our aid!"

"What is the condition of the Tangluo Road and the Ziwu Road?" Xu Huang asked, staring at the map.

Guo Huai pointed to the Ziwu Road and said, "The Ziwu Road is over 700 li long, and it is about 900 li from Chang'an to Nanzheng. The road is rugged and there are few houses along the way. The Tangluo Road is different. It is only 600 li from Chang'an to Nanzheng, making it the shortest of all the roads. However, although the Tangluo Road is short, it is more dangerous than the Ziwu Road, and there are many tigers, leopards, wolves and jackals along the way."

"Therefore, the fastest route into Hanzhong is via the Tangluo Road, while the slowest is via the Ziwu Road!"

Kirby pointed to the Ziwu Valley and said, "Although the Tangluo Road is short, it goes directly to Nanzheng. I'm afraid Sun Ce will send more troops there. The Ziwu Road passes through Xicheng, which is the farthest from Sun Ce's troops. If we enter Hanzhong through the Ziwu Valley, we can catch Sun Ce off guard."

Guo Huai frowned and said, "I'm afraid Sun Ce will anticipate our thoughts and send elite troops to defend Ziwu Pass. On the contrary, since Tangkou is close to Nanzheng, Sun Ce may relax his guard."

Seeing that the two had different opinions, Xu Huang frowned and pondered.

After a long pause, Xu Huang slowly said, "Why not use a feint attack? First, send an army south through the Ziwu Valley to create a false impression and divide the Shu army's forces, while I lead my elite troops to sneak out through the Tangluo Road."

“Sun Ce has left troops at Tangkou. When our army is close to the pass, Sun Ce will surely notice.” Kirby pondered for a moment and said, “At that time, Sun Ce will probably lead his troops to meet us. At that time, the enemy is many and we are few, which will be disadvantageous to our army.”

"Our army has fought countless battles; in terms of elite and fierce fighting, how can the Shu army compare with us?"

Xu Huang gripped his sword hilt tightly and said in a deep voice, "The Shu army has divided its forces to defend Baocheng, Nanzheng, and Ziwu Pass. Sun Ce wants to lead his army to attack us, so how can he send out his entire camp? When the battle begins, what is there to fear?"

"Then who will emerge from the Meridian Path?" Guo Huai asked.

After a moment of silence, Linghu Yan, the deputy general of the Xianyang army, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "If the general does not despise my crudeness, I am willing to lead the old, weak, and laborers along the Ziwu Valley Road to Hanzhong to draw away the Shu army."

"good!"

Xu Huang nodded and said with satisfaction, "In that case, you shall lead two thousand infantry and cavalry out of the Ziwu Valley, raise many flags, and broadcast the news to make sure that Sun Ce reinforces his troops at the entrance of the Ziwu Valley."

"As ordered!"

Linghu Yan was a Han general who surrendered when Zhang Yu captured Taiyuan. His official position had stagnated for the past few years, but now, in order to make a name for himself, Linghu Yan had to seize the opportunity to achieve merit.

With the marching route secured, Xu Huang no longer hesitated and decisively said, "After General Linghu leads his troops out, the rest of the troops will follow me out of the Tangluo Road. The road is six hundred li long, and we need to reach Hanzhong within ten days."

"Yes, sir!" the crowd solemnly accepted the order.

While Xu Huang was rushing to relieve Hanzhong, Zhang Yu, on his way back, made a special trip through Luoyang.

On the banks of the Luo River, Zhang Yu climbed to a high place and looked into the distance. As far as the eye could see, there was only desolation. The dilapidated villages were deserted, and the abandoned fields were overgrown with weeds.

Zhang Yu sighed to his attendants, saying, “When I lived in Luoyang, the fields were full of rice and wheat, and the sound of looms filled the air. Merchants from all over the world gathered here. Luoyang was the center of the world, with a population of hundreds of thousands. But alas, in just ten short years, Luoyang has become an abandoned city, with no one for hundreds of miles and no market for thousands of miles.”

During times of war, Luoyang, due to its strategic location, was easily ravaged by armies. Since the late Han Dynasty, Luoyang has experienced several major upheavals, including Dong Zhuo's relocation of the capital, the warlord campaigns against Dong Zhuo, and the coup d'état by the two Yuan brothers, which led to Luoyang's current state of desolation and ruin.

Of course, it wasn't just Luoyang that was desolate in Henan Province; the counties west of Hulao Pass were also in ruins. There were hardly any people in each county. Today's Henan Province may only have a few thousand households, a far cry from the Henan Province with a population of one million back then.

Jia Xu, moved by the scene, sighed, "I served as an official in Luoyang, residing in a secluded neighborhood outside the city. Now, it has been burned to the ground, reduced to ashes. I wonder when I will see Luoyang's former glory again." Xun You said, "My lord, Yuan Shao is now dead, Hebei has submitted, and apart from Yuan Shu, there are no other powerful enemies in the Central Plains. In my opinion, you should appoint officials, recruit refugees, and rebuild Henan."

That's my opinion!

Zhang Yu pointed to the overgrown, abandoned fields and said, "The fields in Luoyang are mostly top-quality fertile land, numbering in the tens of thousands of hectares. If we don't attract displaced people to cultivate them, wouldn't that be a waste of resources?"

Zhang Yu's detour back to Luoyang was not a pointless errand, but a deliberate attempt to investigate the area that nominally belonged to him but which he did not control.

After Liu Xie was moved away by Yuan Shu, Luoyang, or rather the Henan Yin region, nominally belonged to Zhang Yu because it was adjacent to Hongnong Commandery. However, due to the lack of personnel within its jurisdiction and being busy fighting against Yuan Shao, Zhang Yu did not send any officials.

Now that Yuan Shao has been defeated and the Hebei region annexed, the next step is the Central Plains. As the gateway between Guanzhong and Guanxi, Henan Yin cannot be left unattended by Zhang Yu. Instead, officials need to be dispatched to rebuild it and prepare for the subsequent conquest of the Central Plains.

Guo Tu stroked his beard and said, "The wars across the land have not yet ended, and Henan is devastated and devoid of people. Rebuilding Luoyang will not be easy, and only a person skilled in governing the people can govern it!"

Zhang Yu asked with a smile, "What about Guo Yuan?"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Guo Yuan has both literary and military talents and can serve as the Prefect of Henan, but I fear that Guo Yuan's competitive nature will be detrimental to the governance of the capital region."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Being competitive is not necessarily a bad thing. Henan is in decline now, and only those who are determined to make contributions can take up the post. If mediocre officials are appointed as governors, who knows when Luoyang will be able to prosper again."

When employing people, one must consider their personalities. Guo Yuan came from a prominent family; his uncle was Zhong Yao, and he had a familial relationship with Guo Tu. As a proud scion of a noble family, he would certainly want to achieve something. Therefore, appointing Guo Yuan to take over the impoverished Luoyang region would allow him to do everything in his power to rebuild Luoyang. Moreover, his personal connections would be helpful for Guo Yuan to quickly revitalize Luoyang.

Where is Guo Yuan?

Zhang Yu waved his hand, signaling his men to summon Guo Yuan.

"Guo Yuan pays his respects to Your Lordship!"

A short while later, Guo Yuan, the clerk of the Ministry of Justice, came running over and bowed to Zhang Yu.

When Guo Yuan joined Zhang Yu in Bingzhou, he first gained experience in the prefectural government, and then served as a county magistrate or county head in several local counties. Due to his outstanding performance during his tenure, Guo Yuan was recruited by Zhang Yu as a criminal clerk, who planned to give him experience before he was sent to govern a region. Now that Zhang Yu wanted to rebuild the governorship of Henan and was in need of capable people, he immediately thought of Guo Yuan.

"No gift!"

Zhang Yu pointed to the abandoned fields ahead and asked, "Henan is in ruins. I now wish to rebuild Luoyang. I wonder if you would be willing to take on the important task of governing it?"

Guo Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said without hesitation, "Since Your Excellency is willing to entrust me with such an important task, I am willing to accept it."

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu asked with a smile, "The Governor of Henan is an important official in the capital region. I wonder how long you intend to restore Luoyang to its former glory?"

Seeing the expectation on Zhang Yu's face, Guo Yuan gritted his teeth and said in order to leave a good impression on Zhang Yu, "If you can prevent the war from spreading to Luoyang, I can restore some life to Luoyang within three years, restore its livelihood within five years, and enable Luoyang to have 50,000 households within ten years."

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu frowned deeply, while Xun You and Jia Xu suddenly looked at Guo Yuan. None of the three expected that Guo Yuan would dare to make such a big promise to Zhang Yu.

"Ha ha!"

Seeing Guo Yuan's courage, Zhang Yu patted Guo Yuan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "If you can fulfill the ten-year agreement, you can become a high-ranking official!"

"What do you desire?"

Guo Yuan remained composed, cupped his hands, and said, "I would be grateful if Your Excellency would grant me permission to formulate alternative policies in order to attract displaced people and restore the administrative system of the Governor of Henan."

"allow!"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then said, "For the next five years, I will not collect taxes from Henan. From five years to ten years, I will only collect half the taxes. Except for criminal cases and official appointments, all other matters will be decided by you!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's strong support, Guo Yuan bowed deeply and solemnly said, "Your Excellency has entrusted me with such an important matter, and I will repay you with utmost loyalty."

"Mianzhi!"

Guo Yuan was no fool; he knew perfectly well that the key to revitalizing Henan lay in its population. With the world in chaos, if he could secure policy independence for Henan, he could then seize the opportunity to recruit refugees from the three provinces of Yan, Yu, and Jing when the Central Plains descended into chaos.

Zhang Yu, wanting to lend Guo Yuan a hand, proposed to waive taxes for five years and reduce them by half for ten years, so that Guo Yuan would have more room to formulate policies.

(End of this chapter)