Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 183 Ding Yuan: Lord Dong, I really want to join the ministry!

As night fell as dark as ink, Dong Zhuo's leopard-like eyes widened, his thick eyebrows stood on end, and his roar was like a thunderclap. As he raised his arm and shouted, the soldiers around him also shouted in unison, and the battle cries swept over like a surging tide.

Cutting off one head of Xubuguduhou is better than cutting off the more than 50,000 heads of the Xiongnu people here!

Although, in terms of the overall situation, the death of Xubu Guduhou was far less impactful than the deaths of the more than 50,000 Xiongnu rebels, since the Southern Xiongnu rebels numbered over 100,000, the death of Xubu Guduhou would not prevent the emergence of another "Xubu Guduhou".

But who can argue that beheading the enemy chieftain is more politically significant?

Its symbolic significance and public opinion value far exceed those of a simple military victory.

Ultimately, military affairs are nothing more than a means to serve politics.

The soldiers roared and charged toward Xubuguduhou like wolves spotting a fat sheep, their eyes blazing.

Night vision capability is the most basic requirement for night combat.

Often it's not that generals don't understand night raids or how to defend against them, but rather that the primary condition for a night raid is assembling a force capable of seeing in the dark.

What defines a "good family son"? It means not only having a respectable profession, but also possessing a certain amount of family wealth.

Although a decent family might not be wealthy enough to eat meat at every meal, they could at least eat meat once every three to five days. As for the cheaper animal offal, it was even more popular among the common people.

The custom of eating animal offal has existed since ancient times, and it gradually flourished in the late Warring States period. During the Qin and Han dynasties, it was even more prevalent, with even powerful and wealthy families enjoying eating animal offal.

Lamb stomach, which is blanched in boiling water and then marinated with seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorns and ginger, is considered a delicacy and is elegantly called "Wan".

Of course, the main reason why the custom of using animal offal is popular among the people is because of its low price.

Even the most expensive cow stomach cost only ten coins per pound before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, while beef cost seventeen coins per pound. If it was cow intestines, liver, or other offal or cow blood, it cost only three or four coins per pound. These cheap animal offal could satisfy their nutritional needs to a certain extent and also allow them to taste the flavor of meat.

If stomach is preserved with salt, it has a longer shelf life than dried meat, and the army also stockpiles large quantities of it as a side dish for soldiers.

Coincidentally, animal organs contain components that enable people to see at night, which is why the tribes on the grasslands often have excellent night vision. However, the night vision of these good people is in no way inferior to that of the Huns.

This is also the source of Dong Zhuo's confidence to fight at night!
Seeing that the Han army was closing in, Xubu Gudu Hou hurriedly threw his red cloak on the ground.

It must be said that Xubuguduhou was quite lucky. The Xiongnu people all shaved their heads, leaving only two small tufts of hair at their temples. They all had thick beards, and their physical characteristics were not very different from each other.

Without that red robe, even Dong Zhuo, who recognized his appearance, could not distinguish him from the other in the dark, so there was no scene of him cutting off his beard.

At least when the Xiongnu corpses were counted at dawn, Dong Zhuo did not see Xubu Guduhou's body, which suggests that he had successfully escaped.

On the city wall of Jinyang, Ding Yuan stayed up all night watching the battlefield. Although he could only vaguely see the outline of the battlefield by the scattered firelight, the scene of the Han army's red banner closely chasing the Xiongnu banner was clearly visible.

As dawn broke, seeing the corpses of the Xiongnu scattered on the ground, the Han army began to systematically clear the battlefield. Ding Yuan's tense face finally broke into a smile. He immediately waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to remove the earth and stones blocking the city gate. At the same time, he arranged for people to cook sheep and slaughter cattle to reward the soldiers who had fought fiercely outside the city all night. He also ordered Zhang Yang, the military officer of Bingzhou, to go and welcome the imperial army, while he himself went to arrange the city defenses and appease the people.

In the prefectural government office, Ding Yuan, who had just finished calming the people, rushed back to the prefectural government office. When he saw the strong, ox-like figure on the main seat, he was slightly taken aback. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He quickly took a few steps, bowed respectfully, and said, "I didn't expect it to be Lord Dong himself!"

When Dong Zhuo saw the figure in front of him, whose body was wrapped in bandages with faint traces of blood, a rare smile appeared on his fierce face. He said, "It's Jianyang. He's quite brave this time."

Ding Yuan had been serving as the governor of Taiyuan for more than two years, while the governor of Bingzhou at that time was Dong Zhuo. Although Dong Zhuo was serving as the governor of Hedong Commandery and held the position of governor of Bingzhou remotely, he had not fully taken over the affairs of Bingzhou. However, Dong Zhuo had visited Bingzhou several times, and Jinyang, as the capital of the province, was naturally the place he visited most often.

Over time, Dong Zhuo developed a good impression of the Taiyuan prefect, who was skilled in martial arts and archery.

"I heard it from Zhang Zhishu." Dong Zhuo rose from his seat, his robust body like a small mountain, exuding a powerful sense of oppression. He walked straight to Ding Yuan, grabbed Ding Yuan's arm, and helped him to the main seat. Ignoring Ding Yuan's refusals, he forcibly pressed him into the seat and sat down with him. Pointing at Ding Yuan, he laughed to the generals, "This is the 'Geng Wuji' of today!"

Upon hearing this, everyone echoed and praised him, but Ding Yuan quickly rose from his seat, bowed again, and said, "I am but a commoner, how dare I compare myself to Lord Bo Zong!" "As for my achievements, it is all thanks to my time under Lord Dong's command, and the earnest teachings I received from him that I have achieved what I have today!"

"Geng Wuji" and "Bo Zonggong" refer to Geng Gong, the Wuji Colonel during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming. He is the protagonist of the story "Thirteen Soldiers Return to Yumen Pass". He is praised by the world as "Gong's integrity is unparalleled in ancient and modern times" and "his integrity surpasses that of Su Wu".

The fact that Geng Gong praised Ding Yuan shows that Dong Zhuo appreciated Ding Yuan.

While Ding Yuan declined such praise, he did not deny the achievements he had made.

When Dong Zhuo heard Ding Yuan attribute part of the credit to his teachings, his smile grew even wider. He rose from his seat again to personally help Ding Yuan back to his seat, grasped his hand tightly, and solemnly said, "Jianyang has made great contributions this time. I will personally submit a memorial to Your Highness to report your merits."

Ding Yuan's expression remained calm, but he was secretly delighted. His hands trembled slightly in his sleeves, unable to conceal his excitement.

He held the city for over a month under such disadvantageous circumstances, driven not only by his passion and loyalty, but also by his desire for a generous reward!
Moreover, he is now considered a former subordinate of Dong Zhuo!

Former subordinates are like students who have served under someone; they are merely former subordinates, and the former master has no obligation to promote them.

However, those who have achieved results and have a promising future are qualified to become former officials in both directions.

Ding Yuan is a prime example of this, and Dong Zhuo's failure to deny the merit of his "earnest teachings" meant that he acknowledged Ding Yuan as his former subordinate.

As a former subordinate of the Right General, who was a rising star in the imperial court, he must have received incredibly generous rewards from the court!

With his position as the governor of Taiyuan, holding a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), and with Dong Zhuo pleading for his merits and making arrangements for him, his future career path could only be roughly divided into three routes: upper, middle, and lower.

The next best option is to find a large prefecture in the Central Plains and appoint it as its governor.
Those who pass the middle level will be demoted one rank to a position equivalent to a 2,000-stone official and transferred back to the capital to serve as officials in the capital.

The superior man shall succeed as the governor of Bingzhou!

Although being transferred back to the capital was a good thing, his future prospects were not as long as those of serving as the governor of Bingzhou.

With his experience as the governor of Bingzhou, he was transferred back to the capital to serve as a high-ranking official with a salary of at least 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), and he was expected to be promoted to one of the Nine Ministers in the future.

As for the possibility of him taking over as governor of Bingzhou, the situation in Bingzhou is in a state of disarray. Even if the rebellion of the Southern Xiongnu is quelled, the court will inevitably need someone familiar with the situation in Bingzhou to serve as governor of Bingzhou.

In such cases, a prefect of a certain prefecture would often be chosen to take over. As the seat of Bingzhou, Taiyuan Prefecture naturally had a higher priority as its prefect.

Moreover, he has already proven his loyalty and bravery!

Is there anything more important than loyalty?
As for him, a native of Wuling County in Jingzhou, joining the ranks of Dong Zhuo, a native of Liangzhou, what's so shameful about that!

As long as I can get into the department, it's not shameful!
(2602 words)
PS: The earliest written record of consuming animal blood products is found in the "Explanation of Names and Food" by Liu Xi, a scholar of the late Eastern Han Dynasty: "Blood and brain are made from blood."

As for animal offal, one of the eight delicacies of Zhou is dog liver, which was specially prepared for the emperor and was therefore called "dragon liver".

The prices of animal offal are recorded on bamboo slips from the Eastern Han Dynasty at Wuyi Square in Changsha. They roughly correspond to the prices from the reign of Emperor He to Emperor An. For example, "stomach is worth 30 coins per jin," meaning that the price of stomach was 10 coins per jin. At the same time, the price of beef was 17 coins per jin, while offal and blood were 2-5 coins per jin.

P.S.: I don't seem to have found a source for the claim that Ding Yuan was from Taishan County. Could someone please correct me if they know the answer?

In the information I found, only the entry for Ding Yuan on Baidu Baike mentions him as a native of Taishan Commandery. Other historical books such as the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Records of the Three Kingdoms do not mention him as a native of Taishan Commandery.

The reason I wrote that he was from Wuling County in Jingzhou is because Ding Yuan served as a county official in Nanxian County of Wuling County in his early years. County officials were usually locals, in the vast majority of cases, although there are exceptions, but I feel that he was more likely to be from Nanxian County.

(End of this chapter)