Master Kong Zhongni

Chapter 231 Lu's Chaos (4K6)

Today, in the main hall of the Tuqiu Mansion, all the high-level officials of Tuqiu Yi were present.

In front of Zaiyu were piles of books.

The ones on the left are the information sent by the caravans under Zigong from the cities of Lu.

The one on the right is the analysis of the changes in the military system of Lu State compiled by Ran Qiu based on the data.

Everyone present had a roll of intelligence materials in their hands. As they read more, the expressions on everyone's faces became more serious.

Jae Yu couldn't help holding his forehead even more when he saw half of it, feeling like his head was going to explode.

A few days ago, in order to deceive others, he sent Zigong to convey the news of Yanghu's possible rebellion to Gonglian Chufu by taking the opportunity of transporting grain, and hoped that he could pass it on to Mengsun Heji, so as to make the Meng family as soon as possible. purpose of preparation.

But although the news has been passed on, it is still unclear what the specific attitude of the Meng family is.

As for the Shusun clan, since Zaiyu himself was not close to Shusun Zhouchou, most of the Shusun clan's fiefdoms were far away from Tuqiu.

If Zaiyu repeats his old tricks and still chooses to send Zigong to transport the grain, no matter how long it takes, this behavior alone may make Yang Hu suspicious.

Therefore, at present, he can only hope that Mengsun Heji can convey the news to Shusun Zhouqiu after learning about it.

But even with the alliance of the Meng family and the uncle Sun family, Zaiyu was still not sure that they would be able to defeat Yang Hu.

Although the Ji family, Meng family, and Shusun family are collectively known as Sanhuan, the three families are all Shangqing of the State of Lu.

But as we all know, the gap between people may be greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

This sentence is also applicable to Sanhuan.

When Sanhuan was first established, in fact, the strength of the three families was between brothers. The Sanhuan of Lu State, like the Liuqing of Jin State, took turns in charge of state affairs in accordance with the order of the patriarch's seniority.

But when Duke Lu Xiang was in power, the balance of power among the three families was broken by an incident.

This incident is called 'Working in the Three Armies'.

According to the stipulations of Zhou Li, the Son of Heaven has six armies, the big country has three armies, the second country has two armies, and the small country has one army.

Since the first monarch Boqin, the State of Lu has maintained the establishment of two armies.

The source of the ingredients of the two armies is also very simple.

The State of Lu was established on the basis of the State of Yan, which was annexed by the Zhou royal family.

When Boqin became a vassal, King Cheng of Zhou not only gave him the power and obligation to conquer Dongyi and defend the royal family, but also gave him the six clans of the Yin people (Tiao, Xu, Xiao, Suo, and Changshao). Shi, Wei Shao) as subjects.

The six ethnic groups of the Yin people, the adherents of the Yan state, and the people of Boqin are the original stocks of the two armies of the state of Lu.

These people farmed and paid taxes in peacetime, and provided young and strong soldiers as soldiers in wartime according to their household registration.

In other words, the two armies of the State of Lu are completely loyal to the government.

Although the ruling ministers of Lu State have the power to mobilize them, they obey orders because the ruling ministers are appointed by the monarch.

But in terms of fundamental identities, the ruling minister and the people of the two armies are equal, because everyone is a subject of Lu State and is loyal to Lu Hou.

Naturally, such a situation cannot be tolerated by ambitious people who seek greater interests.

Therefore, in order to destroy the authority of the public office and incorporate the military power of the Lu State, Ji Sunsu, the third generation of the Ji family, began to act.

Ji Sunsu's father, Ji Sun Xingfu, is a political strongman with a long standby time. He served as the ruling secretary of Lu State for 33 years.

During Ji Sun Xingfu's reign, he was diligent in governing and loving the people, frugal in managing his family, and recruiting talented people, so he was quite popular.

The people of the country at that time even praised him as a good doctor who "has no concubines in his family, no horses in his stables, and no treasures in his house".

It's just that although Ji Sun Xingfu doesn't have much personal enjoyment, under his hard work, the Ji family seems to have developed into the most powerful branch among the three Huan.

With the solid foundation and good reputation laid by his father, not long after Ji Sunsu came to power, he had a crooked idea of ​​dividing up the office and put forward the proposal of 'making the three armies'.

At this time, the monarch Lu Xianggong had not yet reached the crown, so he was unable to govern himself, and the decision-making power for major domestic affairs was in the hands of Sanhuan.

At this time, the Meng family and the Shusun family were the ones who were talking about it. Although Meng Sunmi and Shusun Bao opposed the establishment of the Three Armies, they did not want to destroy the unity of the country. In addition, it was indeed beneficial for the two of them to be in the Three Armies, so Finally, the military system reform was passed.

The so-called "making three armies" does not simply add an army on the basis of the original two armies.

Instead, the two armies that were originally subordinate to the public office were divided into three and reorganized into three armies, and Sanhuan also enriched the chariot soldiers held by his own family into the three armies.

In this way, since the three Huans have all contributed, they can logically ask the monarch to take charge of the army where their own private soldiers are.

In order to weaken the influence of the public office and enhance its own strength, Sanhuan introduced supporting policies one after another.

The Ji family directly embezzled all the tax revenue that the Shangjun should have paid to the office.

Uncle Sun received half of the income of the Chinese army, and the other half was still handed over to the office.

The Meng family collected a quarter of the income of the soldiers, and the other three quarters were handed over to the office.

After "making the three armies", Lu's financial revenue was divided into twelve equal parts.

The office occupies five shares, the Ji family occupies four shares, the Shusun family occupies two shares, and the Meng family occupies one share.

And because Sanhuan controlled the power to tax the three armies and transfer personnel, gradually, the object of allegiance of the three armies changed from the public office to Sanhuan.

Another 25 years have passed since the "Participation in the Three Armies", and the Ji family, who was full of food, wanted to expand his power again, so he proposed the motion of "abolishing the Chinese Army".

It is necessary to reintegrate the original three armies, kick all those who are loyal to the public office to the central army, and then abolish the establishment of the central army, so that there will be no more loyal people in the Lu army.

At this time, Uncle Sun and Meng also saw through Ji's hands and feet, so they joined hands to oppose Ji, saying that they would not agree to continue to weaken the government.

And Ji Sunsu was also afraid of forcing the two of them too hard, so he temporarily restrained his edge and did not mention the abolition of the Chinese army.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Uncle Sun Bao, the patriarch of the Uncle Sun family, suddenly died of illness, and several of his sons fought for the inheritance, but Ji Sunsu decisively muddied the water when he saw this, and helped the humble son Shu Niu to come to power.

After Shu Niu came to power, he reciprocated, and immediately agreed to abolish the Chinese army on behalf of his uncle Sun.

At this time, the Meng family had just changed office, and the new patriarch, Meng Sunao, was young, inexperienced, and low in prestige, so he did not dare to object to Ji Sunsu's opinion.

So the plan to abolish the Chinese army was passed, and since then, three Huan and four divisions have been divided into offices.

The Ji family commanded the upper army alone, the Meng family and the uncle Sun's each commanded half of the lower army, and the Duke of Lu completely lost control of the army.

Now that Yang Hu is holding Ji Sunsi hostage to cause chaos, and there is no one in the country to fight against, this can be said to be Ji's present report.

If they hadn't started with the idea of ​​"down and up", how could Yang Hu dare to follow suit?
If the Ji family hadn't done too many immoral things to the other two families, how could the Uncle Sun family and the Meng family turn a blind eye to Yang Hu's actions?

In other words, even if the office still retains some basic power, Yang Hu is at best controlling the Ji family, rather than taking the step of serving the country as an accompanying minister.

Zai Yu looked at the thick pile of documents in front of him, and shook his head while reading.

"It's true that good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil. It's not that there is no retribution, the time has not yet come. I don't know if Ji Wuzi thought that one day he would come to this point when he did these things.

Now the Shangjun has been ruled by the Ji clan for 60 years. For the soldiers of the Shangjun, what they eat is the salary of the Ji clan and what they receive is the favor of the Ji clan.

As long as the Ji family doesn't give an order, even the monarch can't mobilize the army.In addition, Yang Hu has been running Shangjun for three years, and now it is not easy for them to fight back against Yang Hu...

But if you want to fight with the Shang army with real swords and guns, Meng and Uncle Sun will still be able to fight with the help.

But if one of them is hesitant, is it possible that I, Tuqiu Jiashi, can defeat a hundred with one enemy? "

Zai Yu was thinking about it when Zi Gong suddenly said, "My son, did you read the news I sent you yesterday?"

"what news?"

Zigong said: "Some merchants saw that the Qufu arsenal was carrying armor. They asked the servants who were in charge of guarding it. They only said that they were preparing for the crusade against Qi."

"Others will believe these nonsense, but will you and I still believe it?"

Ran Qiu also nodded and said: "Yang Hu didn't intend to attack Qi at all, he just wanted to find a reason to send away the soldiers who supported Meng and Shusun."

Zai Yu frowned, and asked instead: "Who is in charge of the Qufu Arsenal?"

When Zi Gong heard this, his face suddenly became a little strange: "Si Bing Gong Bo Liao."

"This……"

The faces of everyone present changed.

Shen Jian murmured: "Could it be true that I have made my decision? Gong Bo Liao, did he really take refuge in Yang Hu?"

Gao Chai said with an ugly expression: "If this is the case, then it will be troublesome. He is in charge of the Qufu arsenal, where all the weapons of the upper and lower armies are stored.

If Gong Boliao and Yang Hu were in collusion, even if Meng and Shusun were awakened, it would be impossible for the soldiers of the lower army to fight the upper army with wooden sticks, right? "

Kong Li also reported with a dark face: "Yesterday, Zilu and Pitz also sent someone to send a letter. The letter said that the order to urge them to hand over the military power of the upper army and go to the local area as soon as possible is more and more severe.

Even though they tried their best to delay the transfer date, it might not last long if this went on. "

Zaiyu thought about it for a while, and replied: "Since you can't procrastinate, then don't procrastinate. If you evade too much, Yang Hu will definitely become suspicious. If he finds out that something is wrong, if he is not sure, he will attack immediately.

You sent someone to tell Zilu and Pitz to pack their bags and come to Tuqiu first to wait for orders.

Whether it will be successful this time is not only determined by the three 500 people under them. "

After finishing speaking, Zaiyu turned to Ran Qiu and asked: "How many people can Ziqi, Zikai, and Zijian get together?"

Ran Qiu replied: "They said that if they try their best to mobilize, three thousand brave soldiers from the countryside are no problem. But if they want to arrive in Qufu on the same day, they have to abandon the old and weak soldiers and only send out elite chariot soldiers."

"How many chariots can they send out?"

"Fuzhong, Luqiu, and Shanfu can be transported for two hundred rides."

"That's 800 people..." Zaiyu pondered for a while, and then asked: "I have asked you to purchase horses and chariots during this period, how is the progress?"

Ran Qiu said: "Chariots are not items that ordinary merchants can manufacture and trade, but ordinary vehicles can still be bought.

During this period of time, I have purchased more than [-] vehicles from the business travelers going to and from Tuqiu, plus the ones that can be recruited locally in Tuqiu, it is not a problem to gather [-] or [-] vehicles. "

Shen Zhen then reported: "Tuqiu soldiers suffered many casualties in the Battle of Dayeze and the Battle of Yangzhou. Except for those who were killed and seriously injured, 220 people can be dispatched this time. With so many vehicles, it should be enough to transport troops. .

Now we have 200 people here, plus Ziqi's two hundred times, this can make up 1000 people.

With so many people, even if there is no way to defeat Yang Hu, if the situation is not good, self-protection should be enough. "

Kong Li was a little displeased when he heard the words: "Zi Zhou! What are you talking about? Zi Zhou, what is your name? If the big thing I am doing this time fails, we should die in battle to thank the country. How can there be any reason to retreat and protect ourselves?"

Shen Jian was not angry when he heard Kong Li scolding him, but asked a question instead.

"I only know that I will be loyal to whomever I take the salary from. Considering how to serve the country is what I have to do. As the Yi Sima of Tuqiu, all I have to consider is how to protect me!
The Master once taught us: If you are not in your position, you will not seek your own government.Bo Yu, you will not forget the story of Nan Kuai back then, right? "

Kong Li's face turned red with anger, but when he heard the name 'Nan Kuai', he also fell silent.

Nan Kuai was a retainer of the Ji family in the past. His father Nan Yi established Fei Yi, the headquarters of the Ji family, so after the completion of Fei Yi, Nan Yi became the governor of Fei Yi.

After Nan Yi's death, Nan Kuai inherited his father's position and continued to help the Ji family supervise Fei Yi.

But later, after Ji Sun Yiru succeeded to the throne, he looked down on Nan Kuai for not remembering the past.

Over time, Nan Kuai felt resentful and planned to rebel against the Ji family.

Therefore, he contacted several important ministers of the Lu State Office, intending to jointly expel Ji Sun Yiru with them, and return Ji's land to the office for management.

Unexpectedly, things were not going well, and several courtiers in the public office were actually sent abroad at the very moment when Nan Kuai planned to rebel.

Nan Kuai was worried that the matter would be revealed if it was delayed for a long time, so he did not do anything, directly raised the banner of rebellion, and led Fei Yi to betray the Ji family.

Ji Sun Yiru sent troops to quell the rebellion, but his army could not attack the fortified Feiyi for a long time.

So, under the advice of his advisers, he changed his strategy and began to adopt a soft policy towards Fei Yi.

Ji Sunyi ordered that if people in Feiyi were frozen in the country, they would be given clothes, and those who were hungry would be given food. He also lowered taxes in Ji's fiefdom, and promised to enjoy such treatment if Feiyi returned. .

After two years like this, Fei Yi really betrayed Nan Kuai, and even united with him to expel him to the state of Qi.

After fleeing to Qi State, Nan Kuai once drank with Qi Hou.

Qihou was happy after drinking, so he stood up half-jokingly and said to him suddenly: "You rebel!"

After hearing this, Nan Kuai felt aggrieved and ashamed, so he could only defend himself by saying, "I didn't rebel, I just wanted to help the Duke of Lu regain power!"

Han Xi, the doctor of the Qi State next to him, didn't agree with him at all, but sarcastically sarcastically.

"As a vassal of the Ji family, you talk extravagantly about strengthening the power of the Duke of Lu. Is that something you should consider? As a courtier, there is no greater crime than this!"

When Ran Qiu and Gao Chai heard Shen Jian mentioning Nan Kuai, the last little knot in their hearts was finally untied.

Zizhou is right!

As Ziwo's retainers, what we have to consider is Zaiyu's safety and loss. Should we consider other matters?

Thinking of this, Ran Qiu, who had been hesitating about whether to make a bad move before, finally let go of his psychological burden.

He said to Zaiyu: "My son, if you just want to instigate the army, I have a way here."

As soon as this remark came out, Zaiyu got up in surprise and said, "I have! If you have a way, you should have said it earlier! Between you and me, is there still a need to hide it?"

Ran Qiu showed embarrassment, a little hard to say: "It's not that I didn't say it before, but it's just that it's not a last resort, so try not to use this trick..."

Everyone asked in unison: "Why?"

"Because...it might be immoral..."

When Zi Gong heard this, he was anxious: "Zi You, what you said! Is it moral to let Yang Hu rebel?"

Zai Yu also opened his mouth to relieve the moral burden in his heart.

"Two evils are the lesser, and two benefits are the most important. Everyone hopes to act in a moral way, but sometimes, if you want to achieve morality and righteousness, you must use less moral and benevolent means. way."

Ran Qiu heard the words, and finally said: "My son, have you forgotten your new student?"

"A new student?" Zaiyu was taken aback when he heard this.

Ran Qiu nodded and said, "It's Ji Sunsi's son, Ji Sunfei! Didn't he just arrive in Tuqiu a few days ago?"

　Moral forms vary from nation to nation and also from identity to identity.

　　For readers, ethics means subscribing and voting.

　　——Excerpt from "Zaiyu's Diary"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)