I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 185 Pang Tong, Pang Shiyuan
Zhang Hong didn't believe it!

But reality made him believe it!

After arriving in Yuzhang, Zhang Hong first sorted out the backlog of government affairs that had accumulated during Hua Xin's absence, and then began to measure the farmland in Yuzhang with some trepidation.

However, Zhang Hong was ultimately afraid of causing chaos, so he did not choose to start the land survey in Nanchang. Instead, he chose to start the land survey in Haihun, which is northwest of Nanchang and closer to the camp of Taishi Ci's army.

Zhang Hong had expected to encounter fierce resistance, and even anticipated that things might spiral out of control, requiring Taishi Ci to personally lead the army to quell the rebellion. But in the end... nothing happened at all.

Not only did nothing happen, Zhang Hong could even hear complaints at times: "Finally, Yuzhang has started to distribute land equally! I don't know what the previous Prefect Hua was doing!"

These voices come not only from ordinary people, but also from some low-level officials!

Because they not only benefit from the land, but also from the three chiefs and the local soldiers!

With the refinement of Gu Yong, Yuan Huan, and others, the Three Chiefs system gradually developed into a clear framework.

The candidates for the three chiefs were first selected from literate people.

These minor officials, on the other hand, were born literate and knowledgeable about government affairs!

Compared to the "three elders' positions" that they could only wait to die for, this "three leaders system" undoubtedly treats them much better from the bottom of their hearts!

Although the Fubing system was not implemented for long, these minor officials had heard some rumors about it.

Each prefecture can have ten or even more military prefectures!

Each of these military prefectures represents a captain's position.

Below the rank of Colonel, there are also ranks such as Military Commander, Military Officer, and Squad Leader!
With such a large number of "official positions" about to be offered to them, how could these low-level officials not be envious?
So when they learned that Yuzhang Commandery had finally caught up with Danyang, Wu Commandery, Huainan and other places, they were overjoyed, if not ecstatic.

Only at this moment did Zhang Hong understand why Liu Miao had told him to do these things with peace of mind.

"I thought he was wrong, but time and again it has been proven that he was actually right."

Zhang Hong was deeply moved.

He now understood that Liu Miao was not doing certain things on his own initiative.

Liu Miao always did things in accordance with the majority of people.

It's a pity that people who spend too much time in the circles of the wealthy and powerful sometimes fail to realize that ordinary people are also human beings.

Since Zhang Hong measured the farmland in Haihun... there have been those who felt as if they had lost their parents.

When someone invites you to dinner, they might ask you to make an exception.

There were also instances of offering bribes privately and requesting ambiguity in the process.

Many letters also came with threats of retaliation.

But even if all of these are added together, it is still far less than the number of people who yearn for the new policies!
"If our lord fails, it would truly be an injustice."

After testing the waters in Haihun, Zhang Hong had no more reservations and directly implemented the policies of the Three Chiefs and Equal Land Distribution throughout the entire prefecture, aiming to completely complete the reform of land ownership in Yuzhang.

Just as Zhang Hong had predicted, several powerful clans did indeed unite to rebel.

Zhang Hong acted in accordance with Liu Miao's instructions.

"General Taishi, I'm afraid I'll need you to lead the troops."

"Name! Address!"

Taishi Ci was completely enjoying it!
Although Yuzhang was not as wealthy as Wujun, the treasuries of the local powerful families were even more abundant than those of the powerful families in Wujun!

Yuzhang has never treated the wealthy families living here unfairly!

That pile of white grain! That heavy stack of copper coins! Combined with the utterly incompetent private armies of powerful clans, what's the difference between this and slaughtering pigs for the New Year?
Even an honest man like Taishi Ci sighed with amazement after unexpectedly receiving a large sum of military pay.

"If only Yuzhang had rebelled!"

"General Taishi, please show some self-respect!"

Zhang Hong was startled by Taishi Ci's words!
Everyone rebels? If everyone rebels, will he still be able to keep his post as the Prefect of Yuzhang?
Taishi Ci was just speaking casually, after all, he knew that Liu Miao was about to attack Jingzhou, and for now, it was best to act cautiously.

But the sheer pleasure of slaughtering pigs was too much for Taishi Ci to bear, so he urged, "Zigang, which other families are plotting rebellion? Just tell me, and I'll take care of it for you all at once!"

The most prosperous areas of Yuzhang were mostly located in the area surrounding Pengze to the north, such as Nanchang, Pengze, and Poyang. These places had already been completely pacified by Taishi Ci.

So when Taishi Ci asked, Zhang Hong thought for a long time before finally remembering that there was another one in Ganxian.

"The family's surname is Zhang. They didn't refuse, but they kept making excuses and didn't cooperate."

Taishi Ci immediately understood: "So that's how it is!"

"Zigang, do not worry, leave this matter to me!"

Traveling upstream along the Gan River, it only took a few days to reach Ganxian from Nanchang.

Taishi Ci's troops were all elite soldiers clad in heavy armor, wielding Han crossbows, and carrying precious swords at their waists. They went directly to find the Zhang family and arrayed their army in front.

As Taishi Ci had predicted, this powerful family also possessed the standard features of a southern aristocratic family—a fortified village.

Upon seeing that Taishi Ci had actually arrived fully armored and armed, the other party was extremely flustered: "General Taishi! Can we wait a few more days?"

"Today! If you continue to resist, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

As he spoke, Taishi Ci had already ordered his soldiers to aim the Han crossbows at the fortified village.

Seeing that Taishi Ci was about to do something serious, the other side finally began to fear and slowly opened the city gate.

Upon investigation, Taishi Ci discovered that this family was actually quite kind!

The treasury was not full, and even the farmland had not been encroached upon too excessively, which puzzled Taishi Ci. "You should have agreed earlier. Why resort to such delaying tactics?"

The other person gave an awkward smile, but still muttered, "There has to be something to look forward to, right?"

Taishi Ci looked at the not-so-bright patriarch in front of him and said with a smile, "Who's giving you any ideas? Do you think the patriarch's decree is going to change the policy?"

"That's not it."

The other party still expressed regret: "I heard that Pang Shiyuan of Jingzhou has come to Yuzhang and is using money to win over the Yue people in the mountains of Yuzhang, seemingly trying to get them to cause trouble."

"I thought that if I held out until the chaos in Yuzhang, I could save the land passed down from my ancestors, but I didn't expect it to be too late. Alas!"

Taishi Ci's expression suddenly changed: "What did you just say?"

The other party was so frightened that he stammered, "I was saying that if you had come a few days later, maybe my ancestral land would have been saved..."

"Bah! Who asked you that? Besides, were those fields passed down from your ancestors? They were clearly seized by your ancestors through force! I was asking the first question!"

The other party was even more resentful: "I heard that Pang Shiyuan of Jingzhou has come to Yuzhang and is trying to win over the Yue people in Yuzhang."

"Where did you get the news?"

"My aunt married a member of a collateral branch of the Pang family in Xiangyang, which is why she knows."

Powerful and influential families often share close ties! This gave Taishi Ci a general idea of ​​what was going on—

What the other party said is most likely true!

Liu Biao wanted to send envoys to incite the Yue people in Yuzhang!
Taishi Ci asked the other party, "Where is Pang Tong now?"

"I don't know."

"What does Pang Tong look like?"

"I do know that!"

The other party became visibly excited: "General, you have no idea! That Pang Tong is extremely ugly! Ugly to the extreme!"

"Everyone says I'm not good-looking, but if you put me next to Pang Tong, I'd probably be even more handsome than Xu Gong from the north of the city!"

Taishi Ci: "..."

However, Taishi Ci had no time to investigate further, and he didn't even have time to transport the money and grain from the enemy's treasury back. He immediately returned to Nanchang to discuss countermeasures with Zhang Hong.

"It's actually Pang Tong, Pang Shiyuan?"

"Zigang has heard of his reputation?"

Zhang Hong nodded.

"Pang Tong came from the Pang family of Xiangyang. At that time, Sima Hui, a famous scholar from Yingchuan, was a man of refined taste and good at judging people. When Pang Tong went to visit him, Sima Hui was sitting on a mulberry tree picking mulberries, while Pang Tong was sitting under the tree. The two talked from day to night. Sima Hui was very surprised by Pang Tong and said that there was probably no scholar in the southern region who could surpass Pang Tong. This is how Pang Tong became famous."

Taishi Ci felt even more troubled upon hearing this.

"According to Zigang, this person must be eloquent and persuasive, and may actually be able to convince the mountain tribes to rebel!"

Zhang Hong also looked serious.

Both of them knew what the consequences would be if the Yue people of Yuzhang Mountain really revolted.

"First, send a letter to the lord to inform him of this matter."

"Afterwards, Zigang sent officials to the mountains to appease the mountain chieftains, while I led the soldiers to set up outposts and try to capture Pang Tong as soon as possible."

Finally, Taishi Ci had one more thing to verify with Zhang Hong—

"Is Pang Tong really that ugly?"

"Yes."

Taishi Ci breathed a sigh of relief; this was probably the only good news he had ever heard.

"That makes it easier to find!"

He speaks with a Xiangyang accent, is extremely ugly, but has the demeanor of a scholar.

Under these conditions, the soldiers quickly began searching the territory of Yuzhang.

In just one day, he found many scholars who were ugly in appearance, which angered Taishi Ci so much that he cursed his soldiers: "I said extremely ugly! Extremely ugly! Do you understand?"

The soldiers had no choice but to go searching again.

Finally, some soldiers spotted a scholar on a path south of Pengze, and upon seeing him, they immediately surrounded him with great joy—

"You are Pang Tong!"

"I'm not!"

"You are!"

The scholar's thick, brush-like eyebrows arched wildly upwards, almost curling into his temples; his flat, upturned nose resembled a large, pus-oozing toad perched on his face, rising and falling with his breath. His entire face had a bluish-black, oily sheen, like rusted iron that hadn't been cleaned in years, blending into a chaotic mass with his short, tangled beard, barely concealing the drooping corners of his mouth and a set of yellowed teeth…

Seeing that he could not deny it, Pang Tong could only sigh heavily: "I never thought that my reputation would become so great that the whole world would know me?"

The soldier who captured Pang Tong frowned: "What are you talking about?"

"I've never seen anyone as ugly as you in my entire life! Who would believe you if you said you weren't Pang Tong?"

(End of this chapter)