At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 132: The first appointment of two thousand stones, the change of mentality
After Zhou Qi bid farewell to his wife, he found Xi Zhicai.

"Duke Ming has already made a decision?"

Seeing Zhou Qi's expression, Xi Zhicai couldn't help sighing slightly, and said softly.

Zhou Qi bowed to Xi Zhicai and said, "Gai Changshi has been kind to me. Although I am not talented, I know that I must repay the kindness."

"Sir, since you know what I mean, please teach me."

Xi Zhicai hastily returned the gift, saying: "Master Ming is so righteous, how dare Zhicai refuse to obey?"

"Minggong's concern is that there is no transfer order. However, from my point of view, the transfer order will arrive in Anfeng County soon, so just wait quietly."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he was a little surprised and asked, "Why did you say this, sir?"

Xi Zhicai explained: "Gai Changshi's letter is written in a private capacity, and it is full of worries about the situation in Liangzhou. I hope that Minggong can go to Liangzhou to put down the rebellion."

"With the wisdom of Gai Changshi, he would not know that if there is no transfer order, the public will not dare to leave his post without permission."

"If my prediction is correct, Gai Changshi should have already reported to the court when he sent the letter to Duke Ming, requesting that Duke Ming be transferred to Liangzhou."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he frowned and said: "With the official position of being a long history, I am afraid that I am not qualified to second me to Liangzhou."

Today's Gai Xun has not yet entered Luoyang to meet the emperor, and has not been loved and valued by Liu Hong. Although he is quite famous in Liangzhou, it is difficult to influence the court.

As the head of Hanyang County, he is not qualified to second Zhou Qi, the head of Anfeng County.

However, Xi Zhicai said seriously: "The Gai family is a prominent family in the county. Each generation has someone who serves as a high-ranking official with two thousand stone. Their influence far exceeds the imagination of Duke Ming."

"At the beginning, Cao Jie's power was in the hands of the government, and he secretly wanted Duke Ming. Gai Xun was able to suppress this matter. How about calling the public?"

"If he is determined to transfer Ming Gong to Liangzhou, will he have no choice?"

Zhou Qi was still dubious when he heard this.

Time passed, and within a few days, an angel arrived in Anfeng County.

Because Fan Jin, governor of Hanyang County, and Liang Hu, the former governor of Liangzhou, strongly recommended him, and the court also considered Zhou Qi's contribution to conquering the Yellow Turban, so he was named the captain of Hanyang County, with a rank of two thousand stones.

Let him arrive at Hanyang County as soon as possible to resist the Liangzhou rebels.

After receiving the edict, Zhou Qi suddenly realized that Gai Xun was indeed very honorable.

Needless to say, Fan Jin, the governor of Hanyang County, had no talent, but Gai Xun, as the chief officer under his command, was highly regarded by Fan Jin.

When Zhou Qi escorted Yangqiu's family for thousands of miles, Fan Jin wanted to keep Zhou Qi in Hanyang County.

He strongly recommended Zhou Qi as the captain of Hanyang County this time, and he must have followed Gai Xun's suggestion.

As for Liang Hu, the former governor of Liangzhou, the situation is almost the same as that of Fan Jin, but compared to Fan Jin, the governor of Hanyang, Liang Hu has a significantly greater right to speak.

Do you know why?

Gaiyin Liang Hu entered Hongdu school because he was good at calligraphy, and he was highly regarded by the emperor. He could be regarded as the emperor's confidant, and was later released as the governor of Liangzhou.

Although he has no other talents, he can also win the appreciation of the emperor with his exquisite calligraphy.

Not only as the emperor of the dynasty, but also when the princes came together in the future, Liang Hu was treated as a guest of honor by the princes because he was good at calligraphy.

Although this kind of pure scholar has no talent in running a country and commanding troops, he is also the favorite type of princes.

Even Cao Cao loved Liang Hu's calligraphy and hung his works on the walls and in the tents.

Although Liang Hu made no achievements during his tenure as the governor of Liangzhou, he had a close relationship with Gai Xun. Gai Xun must have written a letter to ask for help, and since it was beneficial to the country, Liang Hu would not refuse.

Needless to say, Liang Hu's weight.

Seeing that the governor of Hanyang and Liang Hu strongly recommended Zhou Qi, the Yuan brothers thought that the other party was a disciple of the Yuan family after all, so they naturally pushed the boat along the way and let the court canonize him as the captain of Hanyang County.

According to the original official system: to guard and govern the people, the prime minister assists them, and the captain oversees the army.

The rank of the county captain was originally two thousand shi, and his status was not below that of the county guard. However, during the reign of Emperor Guangwu, the official position of the county captain was abolished, and this position would only be established in border counties or certain feudal states.

In addition, if a war breaks out in a certain county, a county captain will be temporarily set up to lead the army to fight against the thieves.

It will be dismantled after the war is over.

That is to say, although Zhou Qi is now appointed as the captain of Hanyang County and is a military officer with a rank of two thousand stones, he is still a temporary worker.

When the war in Liangzhou ends, the official position will most likely be abolished.

However, compared to the fake Youzhong Lang general who was canonized during the crusade against the Yellow Turban, the captain of Hanyang County is at least a real high-ranking official of two thousand shi.

Even if this official position does not last long, Zhou Qi has at least served as a military attache for two thousand stones, and his official career resume has also written a strong stroke.

What Zhou Qi values ​​now is fame, but he doesn't value official positions very much, so after receiving the imperial edict, he was ready to take up a post in Hanyang County.

He said to Xi Zhicai: "Going to Hanyang County this time is no better than being recruited to conquer the Yellow Turbans."

"This time is a job transfer. It is impossible for me to continue to serve as the magistrate of Anfeng County. It is time for Tui Ziqing to take over."

Zhou Ziqing, also known as Zhou Zhan, a descendant of the family sent by Zhou Jing of Pei State, has been with Zhou Qi these years and is very proficient in government affairs.

Before the crusade against the Yellow Turbans, Zhou Qi was worried that he would be transferred to other places after he made great contributions.

Anfeng County is too important, and Zhou Qi has poured a lot of effort into it. He doesn't want to hand it over to others, so he made a plan with Xi Zhicai early on, planning to push Zhou Zhan to the top in the future.

Needless to say, Zhou Zhan's ability is more than enough to serve as the head of a county. With the secret promotion of Zhou Qi and the Zhou family of Peiguo, it is not too difficult to help Zhou Zhan obtain the position of Anfeng County head as long as he is willing to pay the price.

Xi Zhicai smiled and said: "This matter has been planned for a long time, so it's not a big problem."

Zhou Qi pondered briefly and said solemnly: "It's bitterly cold in Liangzhou, the war is unpredictable, and my wife is about to give birth. I want to keep my husband in Anfeng County to assist Ziqing."

"The affairs in the mountains must not be disclosed, and if it is not possible, they will be closed for the time being."

He knew that Xi Zhicai was not in good health, and it was winter, and Liangzhou was a place of bitter cold, located in Gansu in later generations.

After experiencing the war against the Yellow Turbans and Xi Zhicai falling ill in the rain, Zhou Qi was already wary and did not want Xi Zhicai to be tired from traveling around with him.

Xi Zhicai frowned slightly when he heard this, obviously understood Zhou Qi's thoughts, but didn't say much.

Anfeng County is indeed very important.

Moreover, although Zhou Qi is a county captain with a rank of more than two thousand stones, there is a governor on top of him, and the governor of Liangzhou is at odds with Gai Xun, so Zhou Qi doesn't have much room to play.

His trip was just to repay his kindness.

After arranging all the affairs in Anfeng County, Zhou Qi didn't stay too long.

He knew very well that the war in Liangzhou was worrisome, so he left behind Xiang Hong, Xi Zhicai and others, but he brought Dian Wei and Xu Chu and went straight to Liangzhou with light clothes.

Zhou Qi didn't even bring the trilogy.

During the crusade against the Yellow Turbans, Zhou Qi led 1000 people to the battlefield, resulting in nearly half of the casualties, and he had to pay for the compensation and resettlement fees himself.

After returning to Anfeng County, Zhou Qi regretted it endlessly.

It is for this reason, and in order to speed up the march, that Zhou Qi did not bring the part with him this time.

Liangzhou, Hanyang County, Long County.

Long County is connected to Liangzhou in the west and Longguan, the gateway of Sili to the east. The strategic location is extremely important, and the strategic significance is also very important.

Beigong Boyu and Marquis Li Wen killed Lingzheng, the Colonel Protector of Qiang, and launched a rebellion in Lingju County, where the mansion of the Colonel Protecting Qiang was located in Jincheng County.

In order to expand their power as quickly as possible, they did not even lead their troops to attack Jincheng County. Instead, they led their troops directly into Hanyang County, intending to capture Long County to build up their momentum.

If they can capture Long County with lightning speed, many Qiang tribes and powerful families in Liangzhou will inevitably rise up in droves, and the rebel forces will expand rapidly in a short period of time.

After taking Long County, Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou can attack Longguan, and then wreak havoc on the land of Sanfu.

At that time, even the capital will be exposed to the soldiers of the Liangzhou rebels, which will surely shake the world.

The two of them had really good plans.

It's a pity that the rebel army led by them was stopped by soldiers and horses led by Gai Xun when they arrived in Ayang after a long-distance attack.

The city of Ayang County is almost on the straight-line distance between Lingju County and Long County.

Gai Xun stationed troops here.

Beigong Boyu and Marquis Li Wen did not dare to take a detour to attack Long County, otherwise the rebels would be in danger if Long County could not be captured for a long time and the grain roads were blocked by officers and soldiers.

It was for this reason that the rebels first surrounded Ayang and wanted to take over the county seat.

On the city wall of Ayang.

Wearing armor and holding a sword, Gai Xun personally commanded the defenders to resist the attack of the rebels.

The rebel army has tens of thousands of soldiers, but there are only [-] officers and soldiers in Ayang City, and some soldiers and horses are Qiang people, which are not very reliable.

Fortunately, Gai Xun is quite famous in Liangzhou.

No matter the Han people or the Qiang people, they all respected Gai Xun, but he was able to suppress the Qiang soldiers guarding the city.

If the rest of the people were stationed in Ayang, the Qiang soldiers in the city might have mutinied long ago, killed the guard general and defected to the rebels.

Due to the disparity in the strength of the two sides, Gai Xun could only passively defend the city.

However, most of the rebels were cavalry and were not good at attacking cities.

In addition, Gai Xun had already strengthened the city wall and prepared a lot of defense materials in parallel. Therefore, even if the strength of the two sides was ten times different, the rebels would be unable to do anything against the county town of Ayang in a short time.

Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, Zhou Qi had quietly arrived with the seal and the order of the Liangzhou governor.

Zhou Qi and others came from the south and arrived in a remote and cold place. Feeling the howling northwest wind, they couldn't help but shiver.

"It's really cold here."

Xu Chu tightened his clothes, feeling the biting cold wind, muttering.

No wonder Xu Chu is like this.

Peiguo is located in the middle of China, and the winter temperature is simply not comparable to that of the bitterly cold northwest. In addition, it is now the Little Ice Age, and the winter is so cold that water can almost turn into ice.

Zhou Qi hid in the distance, looking at the rebels who were still attacking Ayang in such a cold weather, and couldn't help but frown.

Zhou Qi turned to Dian Wei and Xu Chu and asked, "What do you most want to do in such a cold weather?"

Dian Wei touched the empty wine pot and said, "I just want to meet up with a few friends, light a brazier in the house, warm up a few pots of strong wine, and add some steaming meat soup. That would be perfect." .”

But Xu Chu joked: "After eating and drinking during the day, do you want to sleep with your soft little wife in your arms at night?"

When Dian Wei heard the words, he blushed in a rare way, but said in his mouth: "Don't you think so?"

Zhou Qi watched the two bickering, and his depressed mood improved a little.

After the two men finished fighting, Zhou Qi pointed to the Qiang rebels who were wearing tattered and thin animal skin clothing and attacking the city in the cold wind, and asked: "Then why don't these people stay at home and enjoy themselves?"

The two fell silent when they heard the words.

Who doesn't want to live a good life?
But in this fucking world, not to mention a good life, ordinary people may not even be able to maintain the most basic life.

Wang Fu and Cao Jie are dead, and there are ten permanent attendants.

Their brothers and family members all served as high-ranking officials in the local area, desperately searching for the people, so that the people were in dire straits.

These people have huge assets in their families, but ordinary people can't even pay for their children.

In addition to eunuchs, corrupt officials and powerful families are also trying their best to squeeze the place. These upper class people live a glamorous life, but no one cares about the darkness and pain at the bottom.

On the way to Liangzhou.

Zhou Qi could feel that this big man had become more precarious since the Yellow Turban Uprising.

Houses and villages destroyed in the flames of war can be seen everywhere, and there are many bones everywhere, some of which have obviously been eaten by people.

Not a single corpse could be seen.

Because some people are too hungry and feed on corpses, they can only see bones, but not corpses.

There are even cases where parents are so hungry that they cannot bear to eat their own children and hand them over to others as food.

Compared with these, what is the case of infanticide and abandoned infants in Peiguo?
In this fucking era, where is there any humanity left?Where else is the law taught?
All the people think about is to live, and they desperately want to live.

All kinds of human tragedies deeply touched Zhou Qi.

He also couldn't help thinking secretly: "Such a big man deserves to die."

"Whether it is the Yellow Turban Army or the repeated rebellion, the most fundamental reason is that the people at the bottom cannot survive."

"The people of all dynasties in China have the character of enduring hardships and standing hard work. As long as there is a mouthful of food, as long as there is a way to survive, they will not rise up."

"If I were in their position, even if I knew that the rebellion would fail, I would probably fight to the death."

After Zhou Qi arrived in Liangzhou, tragedies happened everywhere.

In addition to government offices, county towns, and powerful families, looting and killings can be seen everywhere. Many people are beaten to death for a little bit of food and clothing.

Not only the Han people, but also the Qiang people were wandering around, freezing to death, and starving to death.

Compared with the Han people, the officials oppressed the Qiang people even more, and the Qiang people's ability to resist risks was also worse.

In such a severe winter, it only takes one cold wave to freeze a large number of cattle and sheep to death, reducing the population of a tribe by more than half.

compare to.

The government and county yamen are singing and dancing every day. The officials wear thick clothes, gather around the warm campfire, eat meat and drink, sing and dance.

It is exactly in response to the sentence: the rich wine and meat stinks, and the road has frozen bones.

Before coming to Liangzhou, he still had the intention of making contributions.

However, after seeing those human tragedies along the way, the impact on Zhou Qi was extremely huge.

He felt that rather than fame and fortune, he should do something for the people of the world.

It may be more meaningful to allow them to live a better life and allow the Han people to survive in troubled times.

It's a pity that he has more than enough heart but not enough energy now.

(End of this chapter)