Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 242 He can be replaced! (Bonus chapter! Requesting monthly votes!)

The selection process for the central army was quite swift. The cavalrymen who followed Lü Bu in his campaigns of conquest did not need to undergo any further brutal competition to enter the central army after passing the most basic physical fitness and horsemanship tests, including the two thousand Liangzhou cavalrymen.

His Highness the Crown Prince thoughtfully considered the living conditions of these two thousand Liangzhou cavalrymen, providing them and their immediate family members with a Beijing household registration, transferring their place of origin from Liangzhou to Luoyang, and providing them with accommodation. He also granted them land in the Sanhe region, which had been awarded for their military achievements.

From then on, they were noble people of the capital, no longer the smelly outsiders begging in the capital!
These fields were mostly unclaimed land, or rather, their owners were the imperial court and His Highness the Crown Prince, who warmed the hearts of every soldier like the sun!
As for the original owners of the land, there were rebels who colluded with the Taiping Dao during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, eunuchs who were executed, the emperor's wet nurse, Lady Cheng, and Zhao Rao and their relatives, as well as families involved in the Yuan family's treason case in Runan.

Rather than watching these fertile lands be quietly embezzled by powerful families, it would be better to reward the meritorious soldiers!

What, you dare to lay a hand on these meritorious soldiers?

They were all soldiers who had come from the battlefield, fierce and ruthless men with at least one life on their hands. Each pavilion had anywhere from a hundred to a thousand households.

A hundred ruthless warriors, each with at least one life on their hands, have gathered together, even bringing their own weapons, bows and arrows, and warhorses. Are you scared yet?
Even if a hundred-man squad of this fighting strength were to be quelled, it would require the county to send troops to eliminate it; a mere two or three hundred county soldiers would not be confident of victory.

If it is a pavilion of a thousand households, then it is not something that the prefecture can handle. The imperial court must send the central army or gather troops from at least two prefectures to have a chance of winning.

In return for the fertile farmland and houses bestowed upon these soldiers by the Sanhe region, they were required to practice military skills with the men in their families in their spare time. They were not allowed to miss the annual provincial examination for young men aged 23, which was held annually for any reason other than force majeure. During the provincial examination, they would receive military training and formal military instruction from the county for a period of one year.

From a certain perspective, this model, in which those who received land were required to consciously engage in military drills and undergo formal military training according to the Han system, was already very close to the Fubing system of later generations.

Regardless of the type of military service system from ancient times to the present, land and rewards are the most important factors in determining whether a particular military service system can be maintained.

Of course, Liu Bian never expected that the system he created or reformed could last for hundreds of years. The devil is always one step ahead of the saint, and the imperial power will eventually fall into the wrong hands and become corrupt. Even the common people who were once supported by the imperial power and were no longer bullied will change their identities and become new perpetrators.

When imperial power fails to restrain perpetrators, and even becomes a perpetrator against the people, all systems that benefit the country and its people will be corrupted and eventually abolished, brewing an ultimate disaster.

But that's beyond his control; another emperor, whose name is unknown, will use the countless heads of the perpetrators to change everything.

After the selection process for the central army was completed, the officers registered the selected men of good family backgrounds by their place of origin and name. Then the army was disbanded on the spot, and the men of good family backgrounds returned to their long-lost homes.

After fighting away from home for more than half a year, I naturally miss my parents, wife and children very much. What could be more important than reuniting with my family?
Of course, this also depends on the Crown Prince's good reputation; otherwise, who would be willing to return home if they couldn't get the reward?
Almost all of the Crown Prince's sons and attendants were dispatched to every county in the Three Rivers region. The sons of good families went to the county government office to receive their due rewards from the Crown Prince's sons and attendants.

As for those who are disabled or killed in action and are unable to go to the county government office to receive rewards and pensions, a special person will deliver them to their homes.

As for whether anyone would dare to embezzle the rewards and pensions for these disabled and fallen soldiers, they are all respectable people from the Sanhe region, and they all know each other. It's possible that some of their friends or fellow villagers have passed the selection process for the central army. If someone were to complain to His Highness the Crown Prince...

Hey, guess which is harder, His Highness the Crown Prince's knife or your whole family's necks?
Furthermore, the Crown Prince's sons and attendants would randomly visit some villages and towns to conduct spot checks and verify whether the rewards and compensations had been fully implemented for every disabled soldier and the family of the fallen soldier. They would also investigate whether the local county government had treated the disabled soldiers and the family of the fallen soldier in accordance with the compensation policy formulated by the Crown Prince.

The rewards for the army in Liangzhou have not yet been fully distributed; those that have not yet been distributed are the good families in the Sanfu region.

The Three Auxiliary Regions were much closer to Liangzhou than the Three Rivers Region. After Huangfu Song personally ordered the construction of several Jingguan (a mound of human statues) to warn the Qiang and Hu tribes, he led more than 30,000 good men from the Three Rivers Region to withdraw.

The remaining 16,000 men from good families in the Three Auxiliary Regions were placed under the command of Zhu Jun, who distributed the remaining military merits of Liangzhou to this hardworking governor of Liangzhou.

However, the generals of the Han Dynasty seemed to be somewhat bloodthirsty. Huangfu Song was particularly fond of building Jingguan (a type of mound of corpses), and he built seven or eight Jingguan in one go.

Zhu Jun was not that cruel, and he was also worried about the spread of disease and was unwilling to build a Jingguan (a mound of corpses). However, he was quite happy to slaughter the Qiang and Hu people who surrendered voluntarily, including the two Liangzhou rebels, Song Jian and Wang Guo, who surrendered. Anyway, burning the corpses was much more convenient than burning the Jingguan. However, he was still impeached for this.

Because the military merits of the good families in the Three Auxiliary Regions have not yet been fully accounted for, the rewards have not yet been issued. They will be distributed after Zhu Jun's great sweep is completely over.

When generals such as Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo, as well as officials of the Crown Prince's court such as Xun Yu, Xun You, Wei Kai, and Shen Pei, finally returned to the long-lost capital Luoyang, they received the most grand welcome from the Crown Prince.

The route for everyone's return to the capital was set by the Crown Prince. They went out to the northern suburbs and returned to the northern suburbs. The Crown Prince personally went ten miles out of the city to welcome the victorious civil and military officials at Wanshou Pavilion, Lü Bu's fiefdom.

Thanks to the advance publicity and promotion by the Sanhe Gazette, the people of Luoyang, and even many respectable men who had already returned to their hometowns, spontaneously gathered at Wanshou Pavilion to witness the majesty of Huangfu Song, Dong Zhuo, and others.

The crowd lined up neatly, performed the obeisance, and said in unison, "Your subjects pay their respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Liu Bian, dressed in the crown prince's robes, stepped forward happily, helped up Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo at the front, and said with a smile, "General Zuo, your majesty is growing stronger every day!"

Huangfu Song replied with a smile, "What majesty do I possess? Perhaps it's not murderous intent, but rather Your Highness's rebuke regarding my construction of the Jingguan (a mound of corpses)?"

Liu Bian punched Huangfu Song in the chest in annoyance, saying, "You scoundrel, you killed people, so why did you build so many Jingguan? Zhu Gongwei has complained to me many times, and it took a lot of effort to burn the Jingguan to prevent the spread of disease."

Even the usually composed Huangfu Song couldn't help but grin and say, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong!"

"You are to be punished by drinking to your heart's content at the Lantai banquet tonight. You must not leave until you are completely drunk!" After teasing Huangfu Song, Liu Bian turned his gaze to Dong Zhuo, patted Dong Zhuo's belly rather lightly, and laughed: "Hey, Zhongying's belly seems to have gotten a bit rounder. Are the cattle and sheep in Bingzhou so nourishing?"

Dong Zhuo didn't think the Crown Prince's behavior was rude or frivolous at all.

For an ordinary person to do this would be considered impolite. Dong Zhuo would hold a sword to his neck and ask him, "Do you want to test the sharpness of my sword?"

But for the supreme ruler of the Han Empire to do this could only be a sign of showing favoritism and respect for the virtuous.

Dong Zhuo laughed heartily and rubbed his belly, saying, "Absolutely, absolutely! Your Majesty, I have brought quite a few tender and delicious calves and lambs to present to you. I have heard that Attendant Gao has invented stir-frying. I wonder if we can taste the stir-frying dishes prepared by Your Majesty's kitchen tonight?"

Liu Bian waved his hand in agreement and laughed, "You old glutton, am I a stingy person?"

The Crown Prince also walked up to Xun Yu, Xun You, Shen Pei, Wei Kai, Feng Ji, Chen Qun, Liu Dai, Liu Yao, and others, and personally helped them up one by one, regardless of the large number of them.

"Wenruo, you've gotten darker and stronger."

"Gongda is still as taciturn as ever. It's been so long since I've seen you, and you haven't even smiled. I order you to smile, or I'll strip you of three ranks of your title!"

"Zheng Nan, I heard that this purge was your suggestion. You truly deserve to be the military advisor I sent!"

"Bo Yu has lost some of his refined demeanor and gained more of his capable air."

"Yuan Tu is magnanimous and broad-minded, possessing the qualities of an ancient gentleman!"

"Changwen, you now understand the importance of being down-to-earth, right? Your performance this time was also quite good. I am very satisfied with you. But remember to teach your father this principle when you have time."

"Gongshan and Zhengli are both outstanding young talents of the new generation of the imperial clan. Strive for them, for I will entrust you two with important responsibilities!"

His Highness the Crown Prince's enthusiasm was just like that of Emperor Taizu Gaozu. Although he was a frivolous and unrefined ruler, his caring words came from the bottom of his heart and warmed everyone's heart.

No wonder Emperor Gaozu was able to defeat Xiang Yu and establish the Han Dynasty, which lasted for four hundred years!

Even more unusually, even as he was about to be abdicated and ascend the throne as the Son of Heaven, Liu Bian still disregarded etiquette and regulations, insisting that everyone board the Crown Prince's carriage and personally drive them into Luoyang City and the palace.

The Crown Prince excitedly took the riding whips from Dian Wei and Xu Chu, sat in the driver's seat of the Crown Prince's carriage, and said in accordance with etiquette: "Come, all of you, get into my carriage. I will personally drive for you!"

The group looked at each other, realizing that it would be a lie to say they didn't want to go, but going would seem like forgetting their place and even appearing arrogant.

In the end, no one could resist the Crown Prince's enthusiasm, and even the strong and powerful Dong Zhuo was pulled onto the imperial carriage by the Crown Prince's "immense strength".

The imperial carriage slowly traveled along the imperial road, passing pedestrians on both sides of the road.

Today's imperial carriage is not an enclosed carriage; people outside can see His Highness the Crown Prince driving the carriage himself, and they can also see every civil and military official inside.

A handsome boy, though only ten years old, smiled broadly as he led another boy, also ten years old but even more handsome, through the crowd, following the Crown Prince's carriage, all awestruck by the sight before them.

Their gazes fell upon the Crown Prince, who shone as brightly as the sun, and then turned to the spirited and accomplished officials in the carriage.

The more handsome young man, his eyes gleaming with envy, said, "Your Highness's personal presence is truly impressive!"

"Ayu!"

The smiling young man's smile faded, and he called out to the even more handsome young man. Then, his gaze fixed intently on the civil and military officials in the carriage, he said, "He can be replaced!" (Note 1)

For some reason, Liu Bian, who was driving, suddenly turned his head as if he had a premonition, looked at the two handsome young men in the crowd, and revealed a smile that was warmer than the sun.

Looking at that gentle smile, a dream quietly took root in the hearts of the two young men!

(3378 words)
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Note 1: Actually, the author knows that "A real man should be like this" would be more appropriate, but since this is the Little Conqueror of Jiangdong, it feels strange for the Little Conqueror to use the old Liu family's words.

P.S.: The soy milk tasted really good this morning, so I'm adding a short update of 1000 words. I'm begging you readers to shower me with monthly tickets so I can overwhelm you with joy for updating so early in the morning and adding an extra chapter!

(End of this chapter)