The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 802 Hidden knife in the sheath, prelude to Mobei

If you want to go south from the land of Hebei to enter the land of Henan, there are a total of six roads you can take.

These six roads start from Hanoi County, Wei County, Dong County, Qinghe County, Pingyuan County, and Le'an County.

Not long after the war, Hanoi County was captured by the Ming army, while Wei County and Dong County had been at war, and Pingyuan County and Le'an County were under the control of Qu Yi.

Only Qinghe County is unimpeded.

With the end of the Battle of Fanyang and the victory of the Ming army, all the powerful families in Hebei panicked. Many powerful families abandoned their homes and fled south, fearing that they would be liquidated.

The reason why these aristocratic families have been able to last for hundreds of years depends on betting separately, relying on observation of words and observations, and deep-rooted local forces.

But none of this would work with the Ming army, he had no way to bet on the Ming army, only the aristocratic family in Liangzhou was the most alert, and Xu An had already been sidelined from the very beginning.

The public trial regulations of the Ming Army’s Eagle Wolf Guards have become rules and regulations written on the surface. All the powerful families in Hebei have already read the regulations, and they have even calculated that their clans will be punished. what kind of punishment.

Before thinking about winning, thinking about losing.

They've prepared for the worst
The powerful behavior of the aristocratic family is actually the evolution of their needs.

As an aristocratic family, there are only two things they seek.

One is to allow the clan to develop and grow to the maximum extent, and the second is to survive and continue the clan.

That's why the aristocratic family made separate bets.

Although Shen Pei is loyal to Yuan Shi, Shen Shi is not loyal to Yuan Shao. Shen Shi also has officials in the Han court, but because of Shen Pei's reason, Shen Shi puts more bargaining chips on Yuan Shi. party.

After the victory of the Ming army, all the powerful families who had done evil in their daily lives were all terrified, and some knight-errant bullies who were notorious in Yiting Township Juli on weekdays were even more terrified.

Facts have proved that Taiping Dao doesn't care about your four generations and three generations, or whether you are a high-ranking family, let alone how many high-ranking officials and dignitaries your ancestors have produced, and what great Confucian scholars you are.

Under the law all are equal.

The Eagle Wolf Guards on Taiping Road will carry out Xu An's orders without hesitation.

The main force of the Wei army, the main force of the Han army, and the main force of the two armies were defeated by the Ming army. All the powerful families in Hebei have not grown ignorant enough to think that they can stop the Ming army with some private soldiers and village bravery under their command. attack.

No matter how strong the Wubao is, what is the use of it? The Ming army has catapults. No matter how strong the Wubao is, is it as strong as the city wall of Yecheng?
Which Wubao built by a powerful family in Bingzhou is not more dangerous than the Wubao in Jizhou, and which Wubao built is not stronger than the one in Jizhou.

Back then, the Bingzhou aristocratic family hired dead men to assassinate Xu An, and the Yellow Turban Army almost plowed the entire Bingzhou land in just one month.

Qu Yi was entrenched in Qingzhou, and when he received the news of the victory of the Ming army, he refused all the aristocratic and powerful families to flee south, but he did not stop the matter, and did not interfere with the affairs of Qinghe County.

As a result, Qinghe County was crowded with Hebei aristocratic families who fled south, and many of them traveled lightly.

They knew very well that once the Ming army was free to send troops to Qinghe County, they would have no chance to escape to Henan.

Many aristocratic families fled south all the way with only a few small and small soldiers and retainers, non-stop.

They just want to survive now. The Yinglangwei public trial has almost no family punishment, but there is no mercy for those who have committed crimes.

Even those Liangzhou aristocratic families who belonged to them had many clansmen who were beheaded for crimes after the public trial.

Therefore, most of the people who fled south from Qinghe County were bullies in the rampant village, as well as people from powerful and powerful families with notorious reputations.

Their plan to flee south went smoothly at first, and many people fled to the south of the Yellow River through the ferry.

Then not long after, a group of Ming army cavalry with yellow flags rushed along the river bank.

The cavalry army of the Ming army easily defeated the Han army occupying the ferry, seized all the ferry boats, and arrested all the powerful families on the official road.

No one expected the Ming army to come so quickly.

The changes in Hebei can be said to be as fast as lightning. Not long after the Ming army occupied Qinghe County, Qu Yi was officially conferred by the Ming court, and the Wei State collapsed.

Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi were beheaded, Yuan Shang was named Marquis of Wei, and the Ming army continued to pour into Hebei.

All the powerful families in the land of Hebei also completely gave up resistance, and resistance is useless.

Walking on the official road, the march of the Ming army, one after another with no end in sight, is really daring.

The battle in Youzhou ended, and the brigade's cavalry marched south along the official road, completely disintegrating the will to resist of the powerful families in northern Jizhou.

Qu Yi's surrender made all the powerful families in Jizhou completely lose their last hope.

Today's Hebei is like a huge urn, and they are the fish in this urn, they can't escape from the urn no matter what, they can only choose to catch it with nothing.

There is still the hope of preserving the clan, and resistance can only lead to death.

According to the news from the Ming army, those who take the initiative to take action can have their punishment reduced as appropriate, but if anyone dares to resist, they will be punished by the clan!

This time, the order issued by the Ming army was extremely tough, several times stricter than the orders issued in Guanzhong and Yizhou. The family punishment did not implement this punishment much in the Taiping Road.

Because of this, all the powerful families in Hebei did not dare to act rashly, and they were all submissive.

After this order spread throughout Hebei, the last few cities that were still trying to resist stubbornly announced their surrender. One county magistrate was unwilling to surrender and was even beheaded by the local powerful families, and then dedicated the city.

In fact, the persuasion order this time was not issued by Xu Ansuo, but by the judge.

Xu An handed over the matter of persuasion to the judge, and when the judge executed it, he changed the punishment to family punishment.

The judge was very clear about why Xu An was willing to let Yuan Shang go, so the judge needed to get those counties in Hebei to surrender as soon as possible, so the punishment was revised.

He is a member of the family, and he knows what the family is really afraid of.

The severance of inheritance is something that a powerful family cannot accept.

In fact, they can give up all the extraneous things such as land and wealth, and become poor families, but they will eventually have a chance to rise.

Of course, the punishment was severe, but the reward trial was naturally also for the powerful families in Hebei to get accurate information from Xu An.

The reason why a powerful family is a powerful family is not because they have land forever, nor is it because their clan is huge, but because they have power, the right to be educated and to be an official, which is impossible for ordinary civilians to have power.

In exchange for the trial and appointment is the right to be an official and to receive education, to ensure that the Taiping Dao can be treated equally, and to allow the children of the powerful families in Hebei to enter the county school, county school (primitive school), and even be promoted to the national school .

In fact, this is the basic right of the people in Taiping Dao. Whether they are born in aristocratic families or born in common people, they can receive education.

Xu An didn't intend to sweep all the powerful families of the old family into the dustbin of history, but all the powerful families in Hebei were unaware of this matter, and the judges took advantage of this information gap.

To be able to have the power to be an official, although you need to pass the exam, it still makes all the aristocratic families feel ecstatic.

As a powerful family, many of them actually look down on the farmers who work in the fields all day long.

In their view, even those people can receive education, but so what?

They are just a group of ignorant villagers, they are not even considered human beings, and those who let them receive education and finally pass the test are only the children of powerful families like them.

Under the parallelism of Enwei and the strong military strength of the Ming army, by August, the lands of Jizhou, Youzhou, and Qingzhou had all been attached to the Taiping Road in name and belonged to the rule of the Ming court. Down.

Going down to the Quyang government office, Xu An sat in the first seat, listening to the trial report, the murderous look in Xu An's eyes became more and more intense.

The wealth of the Zhen family far exceeded Xu An's imagination. Hebei is rich and rich, and the Zhen family is the richest. It is really not a rumor in Jizhou, but a real thing.

Mrs. Zhen handed over a lot of property and property, but Yinglangwei went to investigate secretly under the advice of the judge, and found a cellar hidden by Mrs. Zhen. Silver melons, the silver melons stored in the entire cellar are roughly estimated to be several points more than the silver mined by a medium-sized silver mine in the Taihang Mountains in a year.

And this is just one of Zhen's cellars, but it's just a drop in the bucket.

Xu An suddenly remembered a sentence he had seen in later generations.

"The Wuji Zhen family is called a wealthy family, and they are used to seeing the ups and downs of eight hundred years."

Compared to Mi's family, which is famous for its merchants, numerous servants, and incomparably luxurious in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Zhen's family is truly a family with profound heritage.

Yuan Shao, who has four generations and three princes, also wants to marry him in exchange for Zhen's support.

It is precisely because of the support of the Zhen family that Yuan Shao is not troubled by money and food. Yuan Shao uses troops every year and spends a lot of money, which is also inseparable from the support of the Zhen family.

The Wuji Zhen family first flourished in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Three Kingdoms, Western Jin Dynasty, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It has gone through eight dynasties for nearly a thousand years, but it has always been a big family, standing still, and the overthrow of the dynasty did not even make Wuji The Zhen family was hit too hard, enough to see the background of the Wuji Zhen family.

"Continue to investigate, be careful not to startle the snake."

After the trial and assignment report was completed, Xu An also set the tone for this matter. He was very satisfied with the high efficiency of the trial and assignment.

"When the evidence is solid and the time comes, I will ask Liu Pi to lead the Eagle Wolf Guards to assist you personally."

The look of the judge changed slightly. He had heard Liu Pi's name, and knew that it was Liu Pi who was now the commander and actual leader of the Eagle Wolf Guard. Xu An asked Liu Pi to handle this matter. I am afraid that he wanted to make use of it, not just to attack the Zhen family. I am afraid that he will have to do something powerful to the entire family in Hebei.

Xu An noticed the abnormality in the trial and match, pondered for a while, and explained a sentence.

"Gold, silver and copper coins can only be called money if they are circulated on the market. They are stored in cellars and caves, but they are just a pile of stones."

The feudal nobles like to save money the most. Although they live in corruption, they spend money like water.

But at the same time, they are misers who are greedy for money. They gather a lot of wealth in their own hands and are used to storing it. They would rather rot in the ground than take it out and distribute a little profit to ordinary people. people.

"promise."

The judge made a promise, made a salute, and withdrew from the government office.

Xu An watched the judge leave, frowning slightly.

The difference between the powerful families in Hebei and the powerful families in Liang, Bing, and Yizhou is really too big.

The aristocratic families in Liang, Bing, and Yi prefectures are powerful. They are located in remote areas, and they often cannot enter the political center. Because of the barren land and the danger of the frontier, they often hug the local people for warmth, so the conflicts between them Not too big.

But in the land of Hebei, these aristocratic families had great power before. They occupied almost [-]% of the land in Jizhou, and controlled almost all forest farms and lakes. It can be said that they almost controlled [-]% of the wealth.

But ordinary villagers can hardly maintain food and clothing.

This is the case in the land of Hebei, and the strength of Qing, Yan, Yu, and Xu, the aristocratic families in the Central Plains, also made Xu An feel more and more troublesome.

These are all things that affect the whole body. It is easy to fight the country, but it is difficult to stay in the country.

The hills in the southeast and the [-] mountains in the south, many places can harbor dirt and evil, making it difficult for large armies to enter and eradicate them. All dynasties have been unable to solve these problems. This is a problem of the times, and it is a problem caused by communication and transportation.

If the persecution is too eager and there is no way out, the powerful families in the south will take risks and enter these places, which will definitely bring a lot of trouble to the Ming army.

There must be a perfect strategy, first use gentle means to paralyze those powerful families, wait until everything is ready, when those powerful families relax their vigilance, and then use the force of thunder to wipe them all out!
Looking at the map on the desk, Xu An also had some ideas in his mind.

Just when Xu An was still thinking about the aristocratic family, a loud shout broke Xu An's thoughts, and also changed the expressions of the Ming army generals sitting in the hall.

"A military urgent order!"

A messenger carrying a command flag walked into the hall. After seeing Xu An, he immediately sent a letter.

"Mobei Express."

Xu An suddenly got up, a cold look flashed in his eyes.

There is only one thing that can make Lu Bu use the military emergency order to report the news of Mobei.

The Battle of Mobei may have already begun.

The mutual patience between the Eastern and Western Xianbei has reached the point of irreconcilability.

Xu An unfolded the letter in his hand, his expression slightly condensed.

Jian Man assembled nearly [-] cavalry and invaded the hinterland of the Eastern Xianbei, approaching the Eastern Xianbei royal court. The Eastern Xianbei's performance was even worse than expected. Although Lu Bu had informed the Eastern Xianbei's Shan Yu in advance, but The Xianbei in the east is still retreating all the way, and the situation in Mobei is worse than originally expected.

　For the nomadic tribes in the north, when they are fighting, they are counted as soldiers if they can go to battle.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)