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

Chapter 152

But it was said that Zhou Qi led the army into Peiguo, and first brought Xu Chu and generous gifts in Qiao County, and those Xujiazhai people who followed Xu Chu to leave their hometown, went to Xujiazhai to visit Xu Ding in person.

As a gathering of clan forces, Xujiazhai's real financial resources are not even considered to be local tycoons.

However, they are very united and can protect themselves in troubled times.

Xu Chu is now an official worshiping Sima, as long as Zhou Qi arrives in Yangzhou Kaifu, Xu Chu will definitely be promoted again.

Xu Jiazhai can be regarded as a person who has stepped out.

As for the other Xujiazhai youths who followed Xu Chu to leave their hometown, although they were not as prominent as Xu Chu, they all received awards.

As long as Xu Chu can continue to be promoted, these people will surely rise.

This time Xu Chu returned home with all his clothes, and the whole Xu family village was full of joy and excitement.

Xu Ding even slaughtered pigs and cattle, and held a large banquet to welcome Xu Chu and the young people who left Xu's family village back to their hometown.

This time, Zhou Qi came to the door in person, which also made Xujiazhai more face.

Xu Ding led all the prominent clan elders in Xujiazhai to pay homage to Zhou Qi.

After the banquet was over, both Xu Ding and Xu Chu were a little tipsy, but they still had bright smiles on their faces.

After drinking some sobering soup, Xu Ding looked at Zhou Qi and couldn't help but sigh: "Ten years have passed since I first met the General Chariot and Cavalry. I never thought that in ten years, the General could actually change from one person to another. A wanted criminal from the imperial court has grown to where he is today."

"It's true that Zhongkang followed you back then."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he also felt as if he had passed away.

Ten years.

How many decades are there in a person's life?

The current Zhou Qi has already achieved success and fame, with a high position and authority, dominating one side.

But who would have thought that Zhou Qi ten years ago could only flee from Xiang County to Qiao County with Xiang Hongwan like a bereaved dog?
Back then, Zhou Qi, although he had great ambitions, wanted to recruit Brother Xu Chu, but he was politely refused.

At that time, Zhou Qi wanted to be born but not born, and wanted status but not status. It was reasonable for others not to want to join him.

Nowadays, with Zhou Qi's status and reputation, not to mention a person from a poor family like Xu Chu, even nobles and celebrities can get the talents they need with just a piece of recruiting documents.

Behind the brilliance, no one knows how much painstaking efforts and calculations Zhou Qi has put into these ten years.

"Yes, a whole ten years."

"Looking back now, I feel like the world has changed."

Several people recalled the past, all sighed.

At the end, Zhou Qi looked at Xu Ding and said sternly, "Today, the chaos is already evident. As the place of the Fourth World War, Peiguo will inevitably have endless wars in the future."

"Thanks to His Majesty's respect, I was appointed Yangzhou Shepherd. If Bokang does not give up, he can lead the whole family to move to Yangzhou with me."

"When we get there, with the support of me and Zhong Kang, plus the Xu family's large population, I think we will soon become a powerful local family."

"In this way, I will live up to Zhongkang's friendship with me for ten years."

When Xu Ding heard the words, there was surprise in his eyes, without any hesitation at all, he directly bowed to the ground and said: "Thanks to the envoy for not giving up, the whole Xu family is willing to do the work of dogs and horses!"

Xu Ding at this time is completely different from his previous attitude.

Zhou Qi wanted to recruit the Xu brothers at first, but Xu Ding politely refused. Even if Zhou Qi later joined the Weiyang goal of Sili School, Xu Ding just asked Xu Chu to follow Zhou Qi to Xiangxian County to do some things. He has no intention of taking refuge.

Xu Ding let Xu Chu follow Zhou Qi until Zhou Qi was praised by Gai Xun, and became a disciple of the fourth generation and third prince Yuan's family, and won the post of Anfeng county magistrate.

Even so, Xu Ding did not intend to bring his whole family with him, he just asked Xu Chu to lead some tribes.

At that time, although Xu Ding felt that Zhou Qi was a potential stock, he was not very optimistic about his future and just made some investments in advance.

Unexpectedly, time has changed and Zhou Qi's status has changed.

Today, Zhou Qi only needs to say a few words, and Xu Ding will bow to him immediately, and without any hesitation, he plans to abandon Qiao County, the family's former home, and move to Yangzhou.

This boldness made Zhou Qi look at each other with admiration.

He helped Xu Ding up and said, "Bo Kang, please get up quickly. You, me, and Zhong Kang are all brothers, so we shouldn't be like this."

After helping Xu Ding up, Zhou Qi pondered for a while and said, "I asked Zhongkang to lead five hundred soldiers and horses to stay in Xujiazhai to help you sell your property and relocate."

"I will leave all my money and hope that Bokang can help me recruit two thousand reliable and capable young people from Xujiazhai and nearby counties to form an army."

"I ordered you to be the commander of the army, and the two thousand people under my jurisdiction will be the Huben camp. From now on, I will be my own soldier and protect my safety. Are you willing?"

Xu Ding was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly bowed to the ground, saying: "Since I am your personal guard, naturally they are all trustworthy people. Our Xujiazhai has a population of several thousand households, and it is easy to pick out two thousand strong men."

Xu Ding's words are not an exaggeration.

Xujiazhai is a large local clan, with many children in the clan. If more remote clansmen with weak blood relationships are included, the number of Xu family members alone will be no less than 2.

Zhou Qi treated Xu Jiazhai so kindly, not only because of Xu Chu, but also because of Xu Jiazhai's strength and large population.

There are many noble families in Yangzhou, and their power is strong.

If Zhou Qi does not want to be like Sun Quan in history, who is always constrained by the Yangzhou family and cannot conquer Hefei throughout his life, he must take precautions and make plans early.

In fact, not only Sun Quan, but also Liu Biao in history was constrained by local aristocratic families after entering Jingzhou, and he had to act based on people's faces.

These aristocratic families are more than conservative, but a little less aggressive, and their loyalty is worrying.

Once the foreign enemy becomes powerful, the first thing these aristocratic families think of is not to share the worries of their lord, but to persuade their lord to surrender in order to preserve their own families.

Therefore, the local gentry in Yangzhou can be used, but they cannot be relied on as confidants.

In terms of dealing with local aristocratic families, Yizhou Mu Liu Yan's methods were very clever.

Liu Yan did not ride into Jingzhou alone like Liu Biao, but took tens of thousands of refugees from Nanyang and Sanfu, as well as many gentry who went to Yizhou to escape the disaster of war.

Tens of thousands of refugees, with an average of four to five people in each household, at least tens of thousands of people, as many as 10,000+, and they were used to form the Dongzhou Army, which enabled Liu Yan to suppress the local forces in Yizhou and control Yizhou state.

Since Liu Yan, even when Liu Bei entered Shu, the local scholars in Yizhou had no right to speak, but were suppressed by Dongzhou people everywhere.

Zhou Qi planned to learn from Liu Yan's practice and recruit a large number of people from his hometown Peiguo to Yangzhou, enrich the counties and counties in Yangzhou, and then support these migrants from Peiguo so that they can compete with the local scholars.

Not only that, Zhou Qi will recruit refugees and foreign scholars when the Central Plains is full of wars.

With the joining of these people and Zhou Qi's deliberate support, it is possible to truly control Yangzhou in their own hands.

If these outsiders want to gain a firm foothold in Yangzhou, they must attach themselves to Zhou Qi, otherwise they will definitely be eaten by the local aristocratic family.

In this way, Zhou Qi will have a large number of subordinates who are loyal to him.

These subordinates from the Central Plains are different from the local aristocratic families who only want to guard their own one-third of an acre of land and have no ambition at all. They leave their hometowns and hope that one day they can return to their hometowns and return to their hometowns.

If the Northern Expedition is launched in the future, these people will be the staunch advocates of the war.

This is the case under Sun Quan's command in history.

Most of the local scholars advocated surrendering to Cao Cao. On the contrary, foreign generals such as Cheng Pu and Huang Gai called for a fight one after another, wanting to fight Cao Cao to the death.

The Xu family has a great cause. With Zhou Qi's support, they will definitely be able to dominate the county in the future.

Even if their background is not as good as that of the aristocratic family, but they have their own armed forces, the local aristocratic family dare not easily offend them.

It’s not just Xu.

Zhou Qi also plans to move the Peiguo Zhou family to Yangzhou. With the inheritance of the Peiguo Zhou family, coupled with Zhou Qi's background and support, it will be a matter of time before the Peiguo Zhou family becomes the largest family in Yangzhou.

With the Zhou family of Peiguo as the most solid backing, coupled with the Zhou family of Lujiang, Zhou Qi can get rid of the situation where Sun Quan has been constrained everywhere in history.

Of course, these are only theoretical.

To achieve this in actual operations, there will inevitably be many difficulties, but Zhou Qi holds the military power in his hands, and there are [-] troops from other places.

Anyone who dares to oppose will be exterminated.

Zhou Qi also planned to spend a huge price to keep all the [-] soldiers and horses in Yangzhou, and even take over their families and clans.

As a result, Yangzhou was equivalent to having [-] more subordinates who were completely loyal to Zhou Qi.

With [-] households, the total population may be as high as tens of thousands.

With the influx of these foreign populations, the existing order in Yangzhou will inevitably be disrupted.

Zhou Qi himself can use thunderous means to reopen a new order in Yangzhou.

After bidding farewell to Xu Ding and Xu Chu, Zhou Qi continued to go to his hometown, Xiang County.

When they arrived at Xiangxian County, Yuan Zhong, the Prime Minister of Pei State, led all the officials of Pei State, large and small, to go out of the city for twenty miles to meet him.

Yuan Zhong was also born in the Yuan family of Runan. He was a descendant of an aristocratic family. Logically speaking, he was of the same generation as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, but his age was almost the same as that of Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei.

Although the two families are of the same race, their blood relationship is relatively weak.

Even so, Yuan Zhong still received the dividends from the Yuan family, the fourth generation and third prince, and was able to easily hold the official position of the two thousand Shi Pei Guoxiang.

Yuan Zhong is not an unknown person. He and his friend Fan Pang were arrested and imprisoned due to party imprisonment and were severely tortured.

The environment in the prison is relatively poor, and many arrested scholars, because of pampering, do not know the number of sick people.

In order to protect the sick scholars, Yuan Zhong and Fan Pang rushed to accept the punishment in front.

As a result, the two became famous and were respected among scholars.

However, it was precisely because Yuan Zhong was labeled as a party member that Yuan Kai and others deliberately alienated him when the imperial court had to implicate party members within the five clans.

Since the Yellow Turban Uprising, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty pardoned the party members, and Yuan Zhong's crimes were also pardoned. Relying on his own fame and Yuan's power in the court, he quickly rose to the top and became a party member.

Even so, Yuan Zhong, Yuan Kui and others did not come close.

Now Zhou Qi defeated the Liangzhou rebels, intimidated Dong Zhuo, and took away King Chen Liu according to the emperor's decree. His reputation was extremely prominent and he had been promoted to the top.

Xiangxian County of Peiguo is also the hometown of Zhou Qi. Now the general of chariots and cavalry has returned home in fine clothes, which makes everyone in Xiangxian County rejoice and look forward to it.

Zhou Qi's prestige in Xiang County is evident.

As the Prime Minister of Pei State, Yuan Zhong could not go against the people's will. In addition, Zhou Qi was indeed in a high position now, so he would come out of the city to welcome him in such a grand way.

From a long distance, you can see the banners covering the sky and the sun in the distance.

When the army was approaching, Yuan Zhong raised his eyes and saw that the invisible army was well-organized, with bright armor, and looked very mighty.

Zhou Qirong returned to his hometown, and this time he specially made his soldiers wear armor. The shock was indeed extraordinary.

Zhou Qi had long known that Pei State Prime Minister Yuan Zhong had led everyone out of the city to greet him, so when he saw Yuan Zhong and others, he immediately ordered his soldiers to slow down. However, he took Dian Wei, Xiang Hong and others and clapped his horses forward. .

When he got closer, Zhou Qi got off his horse.

Seeing Zhou Qi's golden seal and purple ribbon, Yuan Zhong, Prime Minister of the Pei Kingdom, hurried forward to salute: "Pei Guo Prime Minister Yuan Zhong, lead the officials of Xiang County, big and small, to meet the general of chariots and riders!"

Zhou Qi hurriedly stepped forward to support Yuan Zhong and said: "I am also a disciple of the Yuan family and have a deep connection with the Prime Minister. Why does the Prime Minister need to go out of the city to welcome him?"

Yuan Zhong said solemnly: "The reputation of General Cheqi is spread all over the world. I have also admired General Cheqi for a long time."

"Besides, I heard that King Chen Liu is also in the army, so he led the officials of the country to visit the prince."

After Zhou Qi exchanged pleasantries with Yuan Zhong, he immediately greeted them one by one under the respectful and excited eyes of the other Xiangxian officials, without any airs of riding a general.

These officials in Xiangxian County have long heard of Zhou Qi's name, and they can even be regarded as thunderous.

I was able to meet him today, and found out that he was more famous than I thought. Zhou Cheqi was younger and more approachable than I thought.

As the saying goes: residence moves Qi, nourishes body.

Zhou Qi has been leading troops to fight for many years, so he naturally carries a bit of majesty and murderous intent. Therefore, even though Zhou Qi is very approachable, these county officials are still full of awe and do not dare to look down upon him.

Zhou Qi did not want to disturb the people and ordered the army to be stationed outside the city. However, he took Dian Wei, Xiang Hong, Chen Wen and others, as well as the personal guards recruited from Xiang County, back to his hometown to visit his relatives.

Zhou Qi was just the head of Anfeng County before, so even if he was well-known in Xiang County, he still had to bear a lot of pressure to be willing to abandon his wife and children, leave his hometown and follow his subordinates.

Especially those who are richer in their families are under more pressure.

Zhou Qi brought them back to his hometown this time, and he also wanted to let these songs that had followed him for a long time return to his hometown.

When they returned home this time, they did not wear armor. Instead, they all wore brocade robes and rushed towards their respective homes with generous gifts prepared by Zhou Qi in advance.

Even though some people moved their families to Anfeng County, they still have many relatives in Xiang County, and this time they can be regarded as returning to their hometown with honor.

A Zhuangzi not far from Zhouji Township.

The Patriarch of the Chen family was dressed very solemnly. He walked back and forth in front of the bronze mirror a few times, and asked the servant behind him, "How about my clothes?"

The servant hurriedly said: "Master puts on these clothes, which are luxurious but not luxurious. He seems to be 20 years younger."

After hearing the compliments from his servants, the head of the Chen family couldn't help but look happy, then waved his sleeves and said: "Reward!"

At this time, the Chen family's mansion was decorated with lanterns and festoons, and relatives and friends gathered together. It was very lively.

Those who didn't know thought that the Chen family was planning to get married.

An old man from the Chen family walked up to the head of the Chen family and said, "Wen'er is following the right person this time. We don't hang out in the streets and countryside every day like before. Finally, a character has emerged from our Chen family."

With a smile on his face, the head of the Chen family said, "Thanks to my uncle's teachings in the past, otherwise that boy Chen Wen wouldn't have woken up."

Before Chen Wen followed Zhou Qi to assassinate Wang Ji, Prime Minister of the Pei Kingdom, he was a well-known ranger and slutty man from all over the world, and his reputation was not very good.

Although the Chen family is not a powerful family, it is still considered a rare wealthy family in Shili and Baxiang.

The Patriarch of the Chen family originally hoped that Chen Wen could study hard, so that even if he couldn't be a part-time official in the future, he could still inherit the family business and develop the Chen family.

However, Chen Wen did not listen to the advice and hung out with green men and idle men every day, which also made the head of the Chen family criticized.

There are even many members of the Chen family who believe that Chen Wen's character is not enough to assume the position of head of the family in the future, and hope that the head of the Chen family will give up the position of head of the family to other direct descendants of the Chen family.

For this reason, the Patriarch of the Chen family almost vomited blood in anger.

He really didn't expect that since Chen Wen followed Zhou Qi, the members of the Chen family who would have other ideas, have been silent since the beginning, and now they are deliberately flattering.

Today, no one in the Chen family dares to covet the position of Patriarch.

"Thanks to my son, Chen Wenhui, who has such a sharp eye, he abandoned everything and followed him when the chariot general was in his infancy, so that he can have today's achievements."

The rest of the Chen family members all showed envy on their faces when they heard this.

Including the rest of the families who heard the news and came to congratulate, they also made no secret of the envy in their eyes.

"Tap Tap!"

Just as the Chen family was putting on lanterns and festoons, a servant suddenly ran over excitedly, his face full of surprise.

"Patriarch, the young master has entered the village with ten or twenty cavalry, wearing luxurious brocade robes!"

The Patriarch of the Chen family was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurriedly took all the members of the Chen family out to greet him in person.

But when Chen Wen returned to his hometown in glory, he suddenly felt high-spirited. The publicity that had been buried in his bones could no longer be suppressed, and he entered the countryside with great fanfare.

Whenever he met people he knew on the way, Chen Wen would be arrogant, and even whistled to make fun of a beautiful woman.

Seeing Chen Wen, who was flamboyant and flamboyant in fresh clothes, not only did they not feel disgusted in their hearts, but they were full of envy.

"Wen'er, Wen'er!"

Just when Chen Wen was making all his boasts, he heard a familiar shout.

He hurriedly looked up and saw his old father running quickly. He immediately felt the tip of his nose sore, put away his playful smile, and hurriedly rolled off the saddle and dismounted.

"The child pays homage to the father!"

The head of the Chen family helped Chen Wen up and carefully looked at his son, who had a headache. He couldn't help but shed some tears in his eyes.

"Good, good, good!"

"It's really a blessing for the Chen family to have someone like you appear in the Chen family!"

Facing his father, Chen Wen became very humble, saying: "If it wasn't for the teachings of my father and the elders in my family, I am afraid that I would still be a country bum, doing nothing every day."

Father Chen's face was full of smiles and he said loudly: "My son has returned to his hometown with great honor, and the whole family is rejoicing, playing music and dancing!"

As soon as Father Chen finished speaking, the sound of gongs and drums resounded through the countryside, and the young woman danced gracefully on the roadside. Although the dance seemed a bit crude, it was already considered a very grand reception for this place.

Just like that, Chen Wen and his party were welcomed into the Chen Family Courtyard with gongs and drums.

The banquet that had been prepared long ago started when Chen Wen sat down. Everyone shouted loudly and came to toast Chen Wen.

Chen Wen refused to accept anyone who came, and seemed to be very interested.

After drinking, Chen Wen began to brag, telling and praising Zhou Qi's great achievements and praising himself for his bravery. The young people around him applauded, their faces full of admiration.

Chen Wen enjoyed the feeling of being sought after very much. He immediately patted his chest and said with a straight neck: "You know, Zhou Yufu pleaded for the people and defied power, and crashed to death in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"In order to avenge Zhou Shifu, General Chaoqiu selected nine reliable and loyal young men after a very strict selection process to assassinate Wang Ji, Prime Minister of the State of Pei."

"Among these nine young men, I, Chen Wen, am the first choice of the Chariot and Cavalry General."

"Do you know why?"

"Because I, Chen Wenyi and Bo Yuntian, can do anything for my brother!"

"You may not look at General Chariot and Cavalry's rapid rise to prominence over the years, but the people who are truly trusted and close to each other are us young men who were the first to follow General Chariot and Cavalry to assassinate Prime Minister Pei Guo!"

Hearing this, someone immediately asked: "Since General Che Qi values ​​you as expected, why didn't he come with you to visit the Patriarch of the Chen family?"

Another person also asked: "Since you are highly valued by the General Chariot and Cavalry, you must have been conferred a great official position by now. Do you have a seal and ribbon, show us?"

These people were not targeting Chen Wen maliciously, but were purely curious.

However, when Chen Wen heard this, his smile gradually faded and his face became a little ugly.

He was indeed the first person to follow Zhou Qi.

However, the ability is here after all, and he has not made any achievements in several wars, so he is only a small officer in the army, where is there any seal?
As for Zhou Qi, he has been surrounded by enthusiastic people since arriving in Xiangxian County. How could he have time to visit Chen Wen's father?
not to mention.

With Zhou Qi's current status, Chen Wen's father is not worthy of being visited in person.

Seeing Chen Wen's face gradually turning ugly, the onlookers seemed to have thought of something, and they all looked at Chen Wen with suspicion.

"He blows so hard, isn't it all fake?"

I don't know who whispered.

"Who? If you have the guts to stand up and speak out!"

This sentence seemed to hit Chen Wen's sore spot by mistake, and he immediately flew into a rage, like an enraged lion, scanning viciously around.

"Did Ah Wen drink too much? Why did he return home with such a bad temper?"

Just when Chen Wen was furious and wanted to find out the person who had spoken just now so that he could teach him a lesson, he heard a familiar voice.

He trembled all over, and turned around hastily to look. When he saw Zhou Qi who came in casual clothes, his eye circles turned red immediately, and he knelt down hastily.

"My subordinates pay their respects to the Cavalry General!"

The ten or twenty soldiers who followed him also bowed down after seeing Zhou Qi.

This obeisance immediately left everyone present dumbfounded.

They did not expect that the superior Chariot General, Yangzhou Mu, and Anfeng County Marquis Zhou Qi and Zhou Ziyi would actually come to visit Chen Wen's home in person.

This is a great honor!
　Many people say that Yangzhou has a small population. Let me explain here.

　　At the end of the Han Dynasty, the population ranked first in Yizhou, second in Jingzhou, third in Yuzhou, fourth in Jizhou, and fifth in Yangzhou with 433 million.

　　However, after experiencing the Yellow Turban Rebellion and natural and man-made disasters, the population of the Central Plains dropped sharply, especially in Jizhou and Yuzhou, where the Yellow Turban Uprising was most rampant.

　　If Jizhou hadn't been governed by Yuan Shao, I don't know what kind of chaos it would have been. Among them, there were millions of Black Mountain troops under Zhang Yan's command.

　　In the rest of the country, thieves broke out everywhere, the people were displaced, and a large number of people and scholars fled south to Yi, Jing, and Yang.

　　Therefore, during this time period, Yangzhou’s population can definitely rank among the top three.

　　Also, don't think that Yangzhou was the territory of Sun Quan in history. Lujiang and Jiujiang were divided into two at that time, and it was the place where Cao and Wu fought most fiercely. Hefei, where Sun Quan fought all his life, was in Jiujiang County.

　　The protagonist's hometown, Peiguo, is also close to Jiujiang. As long as Jiujiang and Lujiang are defended, they can attack wherever they want and completely take the initiative.

　　If it is lost, it is estimated that it can only be like Sun Quan, who can only stick to Jiangdong.

　　Those who are interested can look at the map.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)