Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 48: Judging People by Their Appearance
At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, provincial governors did not have the power to lead troops. However, as local rebellions increased, local counties found it difficult to resolve the situation on their own and the central army was unable to be dispatched far away, so the provincial governors were given corresponding military power.

When Wang Yun first arrived in Yuzhou, he had no other soldiers available except those led by Zhang Yu.

Although Yin Xiu transferred a thousand soldiers to Wang Yun, the Yingchuan County had just been pacified after a great rebellion, and soldiers were needed to garrison the county. In order to have a group of reliable soldiers, Wang Yun, at the suggestion of Zhang Yu, ordered people to recruit soldiers.

After arriving in Yingyin, Zhang Yu led his troops to station in the south of the outer city, where he practiced riding and archery.

Zhang Yu concurrently served as the commander-in-chief and, under Wang Yun's instructions, supervised the recruitment of new soldiers in Yuzhou.

In the south of the city, a large number of able-bodied men gathered from the countryside, for no other reason than to prepare to join the army.

If you look from a distance, you can see that most of the men who want to join the army are ragged, pale and thin, and they hardly look strong and sturdy. It is obvious that these people join the army mainly for the military rations.

In South City, two rangers, one tall and one short, were standing in a corner, seemingly arguing about something.

"Boan, are you really planning to join the army?" the tall ranger hesitated.

The dwarf ranger said, "Yuanzhi, my parents were massacred by the Yellow Turbans, and I am left alone with no ties. Now I am joining the army and fighting on the battlefield, maybe I can earn a living."

Xu Fu opened his mouth and said worriedly: "Joining the army to fight is different from fighting as a knight. Although you are good at using a long sword, most people in the army use spears. If you charge in formation, you will die if you are not careful."

Meng Ningzhi sighed and said, "I escaped from the Yellow Turban Army. If I don't join the army, how will the villagers look at me after I return home?"

"You have an old mother at home who needs to be taken care of. I don't ask you to follow me into the army!"

Meng Ningzhi was really unlucky. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, he joined the army alone for the sake of speculation. After the main force of the Yellow Turbans was defeated, he fled the army. After returning home, he found that his parents were killed by the Yellow Turbans.

Now Meng Ning has no worries, and he realizes that he has done something stupid, so he decides to join the army and make a fortune with his martial arts.

Xu Fu was a little sad and said, "From now on, you and I will be separated. I am afraid I don't know when we will meet again."

Meng Ningzhi put his arm around Xu Fu's shoulders, laughed and said, "When I become rich and powerful, I will return home in glory and share my wealth with Yuan Zhi."

"gone!"

Because Meng Ningzhi was short, he could not carry the long sword on his waist, so he had to carry the long sword on his back.

Xu Fu looked at his friend's back and sighed sadly. He was unwilling to join the army with his friend, not only because his mother was still alive, but also because he felt that being a soldier would not change his life, let alone make a great career.

At the military gate of the camp, Meng Ningzhi followed the crowd into the camp. Due to his short stature, he was lost in the crowd.

After entering the military gate, Meng Ningzhi lined up with the others in a long queue under the urging of the soldiers. In order to better recruit soldiers, the Han army officers ordered eleven people to come forward in batches for inspection to see if they could be recruited into the army.

Soon, it was Meng Ningzhi's turn to step forward and be inspected by the Han army officials.

The Han army officials were led by scholars, who were holding bamboo slips and were obviously responsible for registering names. The one responsible for checking Meng Ning's body was a sturdy soldier.

The soldiers gave them a rough check and found that they were healthy and had no physical disabilities, so they allowed eleven of them to join the army.

The scholar wrote down the names of the eleven people, observed their figures, and wanted to designate one of them as the leader.

Meng Ningzhi saw the scholar's intention, plucked up his courage, and said loudly: "I am a knight-errant, good at using a long sword, please make me a sergeant."

The scholar looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Meng Ningzhi's face was full of pits and his skin was dark. He looked really ugly and not tall. He couldn't help but frown.

"You are ugly and short, so you cannot be a leader." The scholar said truthfully.

Hearing this, Meng Ningzhi blushed and became angry. He said angrily, "In the past, Mengchangjun was six feet tall and could still be the prime minister of Qi. But now, to make up for the height, we have to take a fat one. I don't know why."

Having said that, some teammates have already laughed at him.

Meng Ningzhi widened his eyes, looked at the person who laughed at him, and cursed: "Killing you is like killing a chicken or a sheep!"

"quiet!"

Seeing that the situation was not right, two soldiers stepped forward with spears to prevent Meng Ning from suddenly attacking.

The scholar's face darkened and he said, "Today he is only a temporary lieutenant. After entering the barracks, the captain will be re-selected!"

As he spoke, the scholar wanted to appoint other people as leaders.

Meng Ningzhi was not an impatient person without strategy, but said loudly: "In the army, force comes first. I would like to compete with them. Whoever wins will be the leader."

The voice made by Meng Ningzhi attracted Zhang Yu who was patrolling not far away.

When Zhang Yu and his men came over, Meng Ningzhi and everyone else fell silent.

Zhang Yu looked at the scene of the conflict and asked, "What happened to Shao Ran?"

This scholar was named Yu Yi, with the courtesy name Shao Ran, and was from Yanling. His father was Yu Cheng, and although his family was poor, he was appreciated by Guo Linzong and was able to study at the Imperial College. Guo Linzong had known Wang Yun for a long time and had introduced Yu Cheng to Wang Yun.

Now Wang Yun has arrived in Yuzhou to serve as the governor. Out of consideration for taking care of his friend's offspring, he sees that Yu Yi is quite talented and learns, so he recruits him as a state official to be in charge of recruiting soldiers.

Yu Yi hesitated for a moment, then reported the matter to Zhang Yu, saying, "Mr. Zhang, this man wants to be promoted to a certain position, but I have considered his appearance and body shape and decided not to..."

After understanding the whole story, Zhang Yu looked at Meng Ningzhi's face, which was full of dissatisfaction. Even though he had no preference for appearance when hiring people, he felt a little disgusted when he saw Meng Ningzhi's ugly appearance. Not to mention that Meng Ningzhi was short, only about 1.5 meters tall, and was not noticeable in the crowd. It was no wonder that Yu Yi refused Meng Ningzhi to be the head of the platoon.

Although he despised her, Zhang Yu, who always prided himself on employing people based on their merits, quickly adjusted his attitude and said with a smile: "Since you have such bold words, I will allow you to be a fake lieutenant. If you have real skills, you will become a real lieutenant when you are trained by the captain."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang!" Meng Ningzhi said gratefully.

After Meng Ningzhi led his ten men away, Zhang Yu couldn't help but complain, saying, "He is ugly and short, and I can't bear to look at him. Shao Ran acted according to the rules and did nothing wrong."

Selecting officials with outstanding appearance and stature is an unspoken rule among personnel officials. Even in later generations, there are such unspoken rules, and even more stringent requirements for height. Not to mention the more feudal Eastern Han Dynasty, Yu Yi seemed to be excessive, but he was indirectly maintaining the rules.

"In that case, why didn't Mr. Zhang test his military strategy, but directly appointed him as the chief?" Yu Yi asked.

"The army is known for its courage and bravery. Although you are ugly, you dare to ask for an official position. You can't be said to be a coward!" Zhang Yu explained.

"You are thoughtful and Yi was not thoughtful enough!" Yu Yi apologized.

"Those who are interested in joining the army, except for those who want to make a living, may also be those who are determined to establish achievements. Shao Ran is a clerk, so he should pay attention to brave people." Zhang Yu said.

"promise!"

Guo Tu came at some point and said with a smile, "Ji'an is very observant and can see things that ordinary people can hardly see. This is really admirable!"

"Oh?"

Turning around and seeing that it was Guo Tu, Zhang Yu suddenly became interested and asked, "Why do you say that? Could it be that this person really has something unique?"

Guo Tu smiled and said, "I have heard of him. His name is Meng Ningzhi, a knight-errant from Yingchuan. He is brave and courageous. Among the knights-errant in Yingchuan, he is famous for his ugly appearance. In the past, someone insulted his appearance, and he killed him in anger."

"Since you are familiar with the Yingchuan knights, I wonder if you have heard of Xu Yuanzhi?" Zhang Yu asked curiously.

Obviously, compared to the unknown Meng Ningzhi, Zhang Yu was more interested in Xu Shu.

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, "Although there are many knights-errant in Yingchuan, few are famous. In order to avoid being hunted down and killed by relatives, they often use aliases to refer to themselves. I have never heard of the name Xu Yuanzhi."

Although the word "knight" has the word "xia" in its title, most of their actions are similar to the mafia of later times. Knights value friendship and loyalty, and will collect protection fees to make a living. What's worse, some will willingly act as thugs for the rich and powerful in order to rise to the top.

Therefore, in this situation, in order to avoid revenge from enemies and to prevent their families from being implicated, many people will change their names, and very few will meet people using their real names.

Now Zhang Yu directly asked Xu Shu's name. Unless someone was a close friend of Xu Shu, it would be difficult to tell where Xu Shu was.

Zhang Yu felt a little regretful when he could not find out where Xu Shu was. Based on his few memories, Xu Shu was a rare talent in Yingchuan, and he had obvious growth potential.

Seeing Zhang Yu's strange expression, Guo Tu asked, "Does Ji'an have any friendship with Xu Yuanzhi?"

"I've heard people mention in my spare time that Xu Yuanzhi is the most loyal among the Yingchuan rangers." Zhang Yu said casually.

Guo Tu nodded slightly and said, "I will help Ji An pay more attention in the future!"

"Thank you, Gongze!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu suddenly laughed and said, "You are an accountant, how can you have time to come to the military camp?"

Guo Tu pretended to be dissatisfied and said, "Can't I come to visit Ji'an?"

"Of course it works!"

Zhang Yu took Guo Tu's hand and said with a smile, "You have come a long way to meet me, and I am afraid that I am not doing a good job in entertaining you in such a hurry."

Since arriving in Yingyin, Xun Yu and Zhong Yao were either in the county or busy with official duties. Guo Tu had the most time, so Zhang Yu often came into contact with him and had a better relationship with him than Xun and Zhong.

"No need for hospitality!"

Guo Tu took Zhang Yu's hand and said with a smile, "Does Ji'an remember Xun Zhongyu?"

"How could I not remember!"

Zhang Yu looked a little depressed and said, "Xun Zhongyu is away on a long journey, and I can't visit him!"

Ever since Xun Yu recommended his cousin Xun Yue, Zhang Yu had been thinking about him for a long time. He visited him three times in a row but did not see Xun Yue.

Guo Tu smiled and said, "Mr. Zhongyu has already returned home. I heard the news and came to inform Ji'an."

Zhang Yu was overjoyed and said, "Please wait for a moment, so that I can change into my Confucian clothes."

"good!"

"Book of Tang·Biography 14": Meng Ningzhi, courtesy name Bo'an, was from Yingyin, Yingchuan. He was short and stocky, and was chivalrous and brave. When recruiting soldiers, Taizu supervised the recruitment, and the official Yu Yi recruited him. Ningzhi went to Yi and asked to be appointed as a platoon leader of the white soldiers. Yi said to him: "You are ugly and cannot be a platoon leader."

Ning Zhi sighed and said, "In the past, Mengchangjun was six feet tall and served as prime minister of Qi. Now we should choose tall people when we are looking for talents!" Taizu praised his words and approved his appointment as a ten-foot-tall official. ...

(End of this chapter)