Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 244 Ripples After the War

In January of the 6th year of the Tongzheng calendar, internally, Zhen Hao and others urged Zhao Cheng to ascend the throne; externally, Xuan Chong forced Zhao Cheng to acknowledge Da Yao as the legitimate ruler during the oath-taking ceremony. Zhao Cheng was forced to take the throne and accepted Da Yao's title of Duke Zhao.

Zhao Cheng's original plan for "Daihao" was to wait until he achieved a minor victory against Zheng before proceeding.

In other words, as long as Zhao Cheng, while still in his position as "Hao Chen," demonstrates the ability to secure victory, he can seize the initiative in the subsequent usurpation of the throne.

However, in this battle, Zhao Cheng did not achieve any results that could be called a "victory" from Xuan Chong.

He has now been forced into power. And after he took office, many powerful families in Haoguo, such as Zhenhao, are also preparing to "advance." This scene is just like the division of Jin into three states.

If Zhi Bo had been able to consolidate his power through victories like the Tian family of Qi, he could have directly usurped the throne of Jin. However, he failed to demonstrate the qualities of a true king, comparable to the other "hostage" families, and thus ultimately died, his state collapsed, and Jin was divided among the three families.

Zhao Cheng is in the same boat. Right now, he lacks the prestige to unite the internal forces. Once he does unite, he will suffer the same fate as Zhi Bo.

Apart from the three states of Yuhua, the other territories he controlled were merely his military allies, obeying military orders but keeping the grain and taxes for their own use.

For these small factions that now worship Zhao Cheng as their overlord, it means that if they are attacked, Zhao Cheng will have military obligations, but it is unacceptable for Zhao Cheng to interfere in their personnel and taxation.

Furthermore, for the sake of legitimacy, Zhao Cheng still needed the Great Yao Dynasty to bestow a title upon him. However, the current Emperor Tongzheng was in Wu Hengyu's hands, and Wu Hengyu was unlikely to grant his wish. Therefore, Zhao Cheng had to immediately engage in a battle with Wu Hengyu.

…System: The mission to destroy Hao has been completed…

Currently, the thatched cottages where local gentry and learned scholars once gathered are no longer as prosperous as they were ten years ago. This is because, apart from the Kingdom of Zhen, the entire world is now ravaged by natural disasters amidst chaos.

In the southeast of Chenzhou, in the most famous thatched cottage, the once-renowned sages have been reduced to a few scattered individuals. This is not merely a matter of food, but also of order; as local militias spring up in the villages, the fighting among the villagers intensifies.

Nowadays, every prefecture in the world that has fought against the Kingdom of Zhen is scrambling for a single grain of food.

In the past, powerful clans in the countryside used moral suppression. During years of famine, they would forcibly label some local prodigal sons as "scourges" and some widows as disgraceful, and then let them starve to death.

Things are different now. Militia officers break into homes, collect grain, and redistribute it. In the past, respected family elders in aristocratic families could only let these officers do as they pleased after being slapped.

Prodigal sons joined local militias and became scoundrels, while widows, shameless as ever, flocked to capable men, selling their beauty to survive.

The power of discourse has shifted from the "moral helmsman" to the "knife handle." In this transformation, because "desire can run rampant," the entire order within the great hexagram begins to collapse.

While morality may be hypocritical, the premise for such "hypocrisy" is that everyone wants to honestly farm and produce, and that a nominally just entity is needed to make judgments.

Now everyone is wielding knives, and the old ways of life are gone. As the villagers say, "The people are no longer simple and honest, and they have become bandits in the mountains."

Specifically, because Xuan Chong had exhausted the top-level military forces in the participating states, and Xuan Chong had not taken over these places, a power vacuum was created.

These areas have now become the places where the militia groups have the loudest voices. Lacking a supreme authority to maintain order, local plundering has led to the abandonment of farmland.

The people dared not cultivate land they couldn't control. Without any security, their fields would be looted even after cultivation, so it was better to leave them fallow, at least they could catch some insects and eat some grass roots. As for the worse situation, even some powerful clans in the villages dared not cultivate the land, because their oxen would be robbed as soon as they came out to work.

In Huazhou, many people looked at the Xiazhou military reclamation land on the south bank of the Jiahe River with silent envy; the bandits never dared to cross the Jiahe River, because if they did, the Xiazhou army would come and kill them, and it would often result in "the entire population within a fifty-mile radius of the incident site being relocated to the southern border."

The few remaining strategists in the thatched hut sadly discussed the current spiraling downwards.

Scholar 1: "We have all misjudged this country!"

Scholar 2: "Could it be that you, brother, intend to go?"

Scholar 1: "Me? I can't bear to leave my homeland."

Note: It wasn't that they didn't want to go, but there were no positions available. These scholars were all familiar with Xuan Chong's talent selection system; it was a ruthless and merciless screening machine. Even those who wanted to emulate the scholar-official system of seeking refuge with a wise ruler didn't have a single place to recommend them to Xuan Chong.

Only those who pass the two major examinations in spring and autumn can enter the interview stage of Xuan Chong. As for these virtuous scholars, they still hope that someone will come to visit them with respect and courtesy.

Just as the old men and their descendants in the thatched hut began to lament, a commotion arose outside. The servants cried out to stop them: "You can't do this! We are members of the X family!"

Soldier: "The General's Mansion is conscripting you; you must answer the call!"

Then a group of burly men barged in. The leader overturned the tea table and held a knife handle to the shoulders of the scholars. Then he clasped his hands in a fist and invited the scholars to take up official positions.

The scholar trembled with rage: "Are you bandits? You just kidnap people like this?"

To everyone's surprise, the soldiers burst into laughter: "Scholar, you guessed right! We used to be heroes of Erlong Mountain, and now, thanks to the General's kindness, we've come down the mountain to live off the emperor's salary!"

Even as the scholars were chained and imprisoned, they continued to mutter to themselves, "How is this any different from the 'violent extermination by burning bamboo'?"

However, a fellow "commoner" who had also been conscripted mocked these young masters: "Where in the Kingdom of Zhen can you even get food? What use is your so-called peaceful world, other than driving us to chop wood, reel silk, farm, and support your morals?"

The person who uttered these words in Chenzhou was clearly not an "ordinary commoner," but a scholar who had returned from the State of Zhen; however, after returning and speaking up for the State of Zhen, he was expelled from the scholar's register.

The world develops in a spiral. When the whole world discovered that the Zhen Kingdom, which was collectively opposed by the scions of noble families, was not destined to perish, but instead won the war to establish itself, the world was gradually transformed.

Many heroes concluded that one could achieve great things without the support of a powerful family!
Therefore, in the current world, some powerful people have begun to follow suit. From small-time warlords with a few hundred men to powerful forces like Zhenhao who control large armies, they are all thinking: "Should we listen to the aristocratic families' reasoning? Or can we directly use swords to force the aristocratic families to reason on our behalf?"

…The transition between the old and the new can create confusion because some imitators don't understand the new terminology and only know "if he can do it, so can I"...

Xuan Chong's influence had a profound impact on the entire world, but many brutes only learned the basics. The state of Zhen did not rely on powerful families. It was Xuan Chong who conducted decades of investigation and practice, thoroughly understanding the two pillars of powerful families: rural economy and official system and personnel management.

Xuan Chong found two new legs and reattached them before sawing off the old man's legs.

1. Film merchants replaced the economic control of powerful families in local areas; 2. The official system, relying on the militia and their ranks, ensured the implementation of the law. (Without these two prerequisites, the path to power would have been paved.)
During Zhao's replacement of Hao, not only the commoner kings, but even the proper military strategists couldn't understand the underlying principles. (The Lord of Change most admires this kind of ignorant yet daringly clever person.)
When waves of soldiers arrived in the countryside and seized the manors, slaves, and property of the aristocratic families, how should they be distributed?

Upon returning and witnessing the chaos, Zhao Cheng remained silent. He couldn't help but reminisce about his lord from before his transmigration. "Sealing the treasury, leaving women and valuables untouched"—at this moment, very few could actually do that!

As the ravages of war began to spread to the major households in the villages, and were no longer limited to the smaller clans, poetry gatherings were no longer held in the major clans. Instead, they formed fortified villages for self-preservation.

Self-preservation led to farmland being concentrated in areas of self-preservation, while land originally cultivated during peaceful times was now left undefended and abandoned. This abandonment, in turn, resulted in food shortages and a decline in population.

It should be noted that these aristocratic families were able to maintain the prosperity of their main sect not because of the fields near the main sect.

…The level of chaos is gradually increasing…

At the foot of a hill somewhere in Hexi, Zhenhao was standing by a large pit. Inside the pit, one by one, “corpses” were being sent in. No, these were not corpses, but human bodies with parts of their organs cut off, still wriggling.

Since his return, Zhenhao has become obsessed with the blessings gained through sacrifice. This is a method he found on Zhao Shanhe.

Through sacrifice, he can understand what the various people in his prefectures are thinking (blue); ensure that the farmland outside his territory yields a bountiful harvest every month (green); make the beauties and delicacies around him even more delicious (purple); and keep the soldiers loyal to him loyal and brave (red).
It is worth mentioning that Zhenhao now knows through the blessing that the man beside him, Huicai, is from the west; however, he does not punish this disloyalty because the message Huicai received from the Kingdom of Zhen is to help Zhenhao and stabilize the powerful families in that region.

Zhenhao was also aware that the Zhen Kingdom did not want to engage in further conflict, and for the sake of maintaining power, he tacitly allowed Huicai to remain under his command. Of course, he had tried to corrupt, but all his attempts had failed.

Just as he was performing the sacrifice at the edge of the pit, the door next to him opened, and Huicai stepped forward, cupping his hands and saying, "My lord, Baili Jue, Lord Baili has arrived."

Cypress seemed oblivious to everything wriggling in the pit. But he was prepared to be silenced at any moment.

Zhenhao: "Okay, I got it. I'll go see him."

Half an hour later, Zhenhao, dressed as a scholar, met Baili Jue near Fanqiao with a group of men who appeared to be servants but were actually his personal guards. Both of them had their own thoughts.

While reviewing the previous battles, Zhenhao cursed inwardly, "You've been staying here all day, and you haven't managed to open up the northern sloping path? I wonder if you've managed to open up a passage elsewhere." After heading north, Baili Jue saw the devastation and the empty armory, and thought, "So many siege weapons, and you've lost them all. Now there's no chance to turn the tide."

Both were cursing inwardly, but their expressions remained impassive. They offered forced smiles and compliments on each other's hard work.

Zhenhao: "It's thanks to your composure that I'm here."

Baili Jue: "Not at all, General, you've traveled thousands of miles, you must be exhausted!"

…There's no sincerity, only pretense. …

In the same year, Xuan Chong stayed in Zhenzhou and sent congratulatory messages to various parties.

"Wu Yuanchang should be crowned king!" This time it wasn't the Wu family praising him, but all the parties with "a voice" within the organization suddenly "realized" what they needed to do!
In their narrative, Xuan Chong should be held responsible for the people of this half of the country.

Even some local aristocratic families in the southern border regions have begun to debate scriptures; in the thatched huts of Fenxing City, the aristocratic families of the first batch of immigrants from the Zhen region now feel quite superior as they see that aristocratic families from places like Heluo and Jizhou have also been arrested!

They are veterans who served Xuan Chong since the time of Emperor Xu, and enjoyed the initial benefits of his pioneering work. As a result, with Xuan Chong's tacit approval, they now wield considerable influence within the "Southern Frontier System."

And to this day, Xuan Chong is still strengthening their voice, not because they are a powerful family, but because they are located on the frontier, in the countryside.

Xuan Chong: "If we don't strengthen their voice, the border regions will be treated as colonies by industrial and commercial groups."

The thatched cottage was quite lively. Debater 1 said, "Then, the reason why the lords who control a province rise and fall so quickly is because they lack virtue! Now, the war in Jizhou is a war of annihilation on the part of the Hao army, but Wu Fei has managed to withstand it? What is the reason?"

Debater 2: "The soldiers fought bravely, the people were united, and the heavens were on their side? The reasons are complicated to explain."

The final result of the debate was that "the ruler is virtuous".

Ultimately, Xuan Chong withheld the congratulatory messages. There was still one last battle to fight, and accepting them would mean he couldn't "slap a smiling face."

Xuan Chong tapped the table: "There should be some more congratulatory messages coming."

…Wu Xiaoque is petty…

The Yin family is one of the most prominent clans in the area. When the head of the Yin family, who had been making connections with outsiders, returned to the secret room of the old house, more than twenty members of the clan were sitting there. They all came to ask, "How did it go? Did you receive the congratulatory letter?"

The head of the Yin family shook his head in the dim light.

Then, the second branch of the family said, "What, what should we do? Could it be that Lord Zhen intends to settle scores with us?"

A bystander rolled his eyes. The second son of the family was known for his virtue, but amidst the chaos of the world, he had joined the Hao army. Now that the Hao army had suffered a defeat in Jizhou, according to reports, this second son of the family had supposedly been captured. Therefore, if anyone was to be punished, it would have to be the second son of the family.

The head of the Yin family said in a deep voice, "Master Chen rewards merits and punishes crimes according to the register of crimes; Xiao Ge (the second son of the family) has always been upright and honest, and will not implicate us. (meaning, the second son of the family should take his own life.)"

The patriarch's words provoked the second son to jump up, but the others all echoed his sentiments. In this day and age, if the second son went out to gamble, he had to bear the consequences.

The head of the Yin family then instructed, "Lord Zhen is not a man who is fond of grand achievements, but there are some gossips among his followers, so we should make more preparations."

Subsequently, the head of the family began to exclude the second branch of the family. The head of the family gathered the heads of the other branches to discuss how to resolve the crisis through new plans such as "donating money" and "sending talents to the southern border."

As everyone knows, once Wu Xiaoque accepts the greeting, she will retract her claws and won't leave everyone pierced and left to dry on the thorns.

…rewards and punishments…

In Xingzhou, Xuan Chong generously rewarded Su Ming and other meritorious officials.

Xuan Chong granted Su Ming an additional fief of ten thousand households, which is almost the entire county. Meanwhile, Cai Baijing also received the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households.

Of course, the system of enfeoffing marquises in the state of Zhen was improved. The sons of marquises of ten thousand households no longer inherited economic privileges such as the local ten thousand households' "fief," but rather the hereditary right to make legal decisions.

The sons of these marquises were to be taught by the Imperial Academy of Criminal Law in Zhenzhou, and only those who graduated and passed the examinations could inherit the title. This depended on which of the marquis's sons achieved the best results.

The stripping of titles was not linked to a tax.

If a local ruling is unjust and continues for two generations, causing dissatisfaction among the local people, and fails to pass the local council and gain the endorsement of the central government, the lord may rescind it.

It is evident that Xuan Chong was likely modernizing the governance under his command, promoting the county system which was conducive to centralization, and establishing "parliaments" within the counties to provide the central government with effective feedback on "policy implementation".
The consultative council (left), representing public opinion, could become a mouthpiece. Meanwhile, the military marquises (right), who were controlled by the central government, served as a megaphone for the central government to suppress local dissent on certain major projects.

In order to gain internal approval, Xuan Chong still used the old title of "Marquis of Ten Thousand Households".

This was incredibly appealing to the vast number of soldiers eager to achieve military merit. As it turned out, the "Marquis" title was fine without the economic privileges of a fiefdom, but as long as it was accompanied by sufficiently "blood-rewarding" rank-based privileges, the title was still incredibly valuable.

Xuan Chong: "As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes, meaning that family matters are difficult to handle using the legal system. (When someone is unwilling to understand the situation and forcibly intervenes by relying on the law, the result is a mess.) Similarly, in an era when communication technology was underdeveloped, the central government had to make some compromises when implementing the prefecture-county system and delegate the power of adjudication to the local governments."

The soldiers said nothing about the reward, and Su Ming was even more speechless; he had witnessed the productivity of the industrial city in the south and had no interest in pressing oil from the ground. Especially these poor folks in the north—if he really took them in, he would have to support them, otherwise they would run away.

Sure enough, in Zhenzhou, a large number of villagers have already started flocking to the industrial city.

Famine has already occurred in some agricultural areas.

What Su Ming cared about was the power to squeeze into the upper echelons of power; after all, as a "righteous official" in his own territory, he had direct access to the emperor. This was a ticket representing the "voice of the local area," allowing him to bypass the current county and prefecture system and directly convey his will upwards. It meant that within the counties and even the prefectures, under the law, he was in the top tier.

As for "taking from and taking from" the people at will? Well, to be honest, it's impossible for these marquises not to want that. But since Xuan Chong didn't take from them at will in this era, no one really cares!
Su Ming glanced at Xuan Chong, knowing that within the entire kingdom of Zhen, no one could possibly gain any power beyond the law from the founder of Zhen through military achievements.

After bowing respectfully before Xuan Chong, Su Mingqin cried out, "Your subject thanks you for your grace!"

Xuan Chong stared at him and said in a cautionary tone, "This is a hereditary title; I don't want your gold, but don't cause resentment among the people."

Su Ming immediately understood that Xuan Chong was highlighting the value of this title. The Zhen Kingdom wouldn't issue titles indiscriminately and had the incentive to reclaim them. At the same time, he also understood that Xuan Chong was reminding him that the concept of "public resentment" was defined by the central government, and that he needed to align himself with the central government.

Su Ming quickly expressed his loyalty.

In addition to the bestowal of titles, a large number of servants and wealth were immediately distributed.

After bestowing the titles, Xuan Chong announced that the soldiers who participated in the war would receive various asset rewards.

The rewards went not only to the soldiers, but also to the laborers who fought in the battle and the wealthy families in the city who donated their fortunes. Their contributions were all recorded in ledgers, and they were all to be rewarded.

The cloth, pigs, and sheep bestowed as rewards were distributed throughout the villages.

Bloodshed and toil earned titles, while hard work brought rewards. Xuan Chong separated these two post-war rewards and punishments from the very beginning.

Labor remuneration was merely wages for daily living, while blood remuneration represented social status. With this distinction, the people of Nanzhen were completely clear about the concept of "blood remuneration obtained through bloody battles."

Wu Family Army has always supported the "merit points for money" system.

But right now, none of the soldiers in Lelang City would offer blood as payment for their labor. Although even the highest titles haven't drawn a single penny from the national treasury, this determines who sits and who kneels in important matters.

No one questioned the legitimacy of the title "Marquis of Ten Thousand Households." And those who could attain such a high rank were certainly not short of money.

Su Ming's father, Su Dahe, held a grand banquet for his guests on the day he stepped down as the prefect of Donghua County.

(End of this chapter)