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

Chapter 398 Ju Shou deserves to be punished!

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Qi always kept in mind the words "build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and claim emperor slowly". He did not take advantage of the power of defeating Yuan Shao to expand, but focused on developing his own internal affairs.

In three years, Tian Feng has turned Jiaozhou into Zhou Qi's back garden. As the place of the Fourth War, Xuzhou, which was once suffering from the war, has also been managed by Xiang Hong and Zhuge Liang in an orderly manner. Whether it is land tax or business tax, every year They are all reaching new highs.

At this time, Zhou Qi was married to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao respectively. In addition, he was powerful and geographically advantageous. The two had enmity over the merger of states, and did not dare to provoke Chu.

As for Liu Bei, he could only live in dilapidated Nanyang at this time. Even after these years of careful management, development was relatively slow due to insufficient population.

Today, Liu Bei not only has his eldest son Liu Chan and general Zhao Yun staying in Xiangyang as hostages, but also relies on the state of Chu in all aspects of the territory. He can be regarded as relying on others and does not pose any threat to Zhou Qi at all.

Although the gradual promotion of the imperial examination system failed to recruit enough top talents for Zhou Qi, it did select a large number of grassroots officials for the State of Chu.

Zhou Qi dispersed them all over the country, including the Ba people, barbarians, Shanyue and Miao people, and sent many officials there. Not only did the Chu country flourish, but it also strengthened Zhou Qi's control over various areas. Control of place.

The land of Bashu, known as the Land of Abundance, gradually became prosperous and stable under Zhou Ji's governance policy of lightening corvees and sparing taxes and allowing the people to recuperate and recuperate.

As for proclaiming himself emperor, it is not something Zhou Qi needs to consider at this stage.

In fact, Yuan Shao has lived seven years longer than in history, which is already considered a miracle.

All in all, although Chu State's territory has not expanded in three years, its national strength has been greatly improved. Not only did it gradually pacify the Yuan troops who surrendered in the Battle of Guangling, it also accumulated a large amount of money and food.

During this period, many people in the civil and military circles of Chu State advised Zhou Qi to go to the Northern Expedition, and some civil servants advised Zhou Qi to proclaim himself emperor, but Zhou Qi sternly rejected them all.

There is another very important factor, that is, Zhang Yan, who had been defeated by Yuan Shao and hid in the mountains and could no longer be a leader, took the opportunity to make a comeback and gathered hundreds of thousands to attack the city and plunder the land, and people from all over the country responded in droves.

Compared with the prosperity of Chu State, Zhao State's situation is much worse.

Even so, Zhao still has a vast land and a huge population. As long as it is managed well, the potential for future wars is also very scary.

Although in the end, with the help of Zhou Qi, Liu Bei and Cao Cao withdrew their troops, Yuan Shao also lost Bingzhou, and because of his aggressive military actions, the country was shaken, and eventually rebellions broke out within the country.

Today's Zhao State still seems to be vast in territory, but in fact it is riddled with holes. If Yuan Tan hadn't been in charge of Qingzhou and Yuan Xi had been in charge of Youzhou, Zhao State wouldn't have known what kind of chaos it would have been like.

The Battle of Guangling had severely damaged the vitality of Zhao State, and the subsequent cession of Xuzhou and Runan caused Zhao State even more heavy losses.

More than two years of quelling the chaos also caused Yuan Shao to miss valuable time to recuperate.

The longer the delay is, the more beneficial it will be for Zhou Qi in the land of five states.

However, neither Yuan Shao's physical condition nor Zhao's current logistical equipment was enough to support Yuan Shao to continue deep into the mountains and forests to conquer Zhang Yan. He had to deploy heavy troops in counties near the Taihang Mountains, and then withdrew his troops and returned to Yecheng.

Before Yuan Shao led his troops back to Yecheng, his symptoms of coughing up blood suddenly worsened and he became depressed.

After being diagnosed by the imperial doctor, Ju Shou felt heavy when he learned that Yuan Shao had run out of gas and that his time was running out.

If Cao Cao hadn't withdrawn his troops early under the pressure of Zhou Qi, Zhao State, which was suffering from internal and external troubles, might not have been able to survive at all.

It is not to blame that the people of Zhao State rebelled.

It only took Yuan Shao less than half a year to put down the rebellions in various places, but he fought with Zhang Yan for nearly two years. Although he won many battles and drove Zhang Yan into the Taihang Mountains again, he still could not completely eradicate this scourge.

First, Guangling was defeated, so many soldiers were lost, and people's hearts were already unstable. In order to resist Cao Cao, Yuan Shao began to recruit soldiers on a large scale and increase taxes. This was the reason why rebellions broke out.

With the current area and population of Chu State, Zhou Qi does not need to take risks as he did at the beginning of the uprising. As long as he takes a steady approach and develops the domestic economy and military well, he will continue to widen the gap with other princes.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao and Liu Bei took the opportunity to attack Zhao, forcing Yuan Shao to recruit a large number of troops again to defend against foreign enemies.

But as time went by, and Yuan Shao had been busy conquering all these years and had no time to rest, his condition continued to worsen.

When he was conquering Zhang Yan, Yuan Shao could barely hold on because of his faith.

Now seeing that Zhang Yan could not be completely eliminated, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops and return. The anger in his heart was released, and his physical condition naturally deteriorated rapidly.

"General, your Majesty has summoned you!"

Jushou was thinking with a heavy face about where Zhao Guo should go in the future, but when he heard the voice of a eunuch, he immediately did not dare to neglect and hurriedly entered the ward to see Yuan Shao.

"I pay my respects to your Majesty. May your Majesty be safe!"

Yuan Shao's face was as golden as paper, his eyes were sunken, his cheekbones were protruding, and he was so thin that he lost his human shape. This was also related to the fact that Yuan Shao's hemoptysis was getting more and more serious and he did not dare to eat carelessly.

He forced himself to lean on the bed, looked at Jushou who was prostrate on the ground, and said feebly: "My body has been exhausted, but the position of the prince has not yet been decided. Sir, who among my three sons does he think can shoulder the responsibility?" Zhao Guo's important task? "Yuan Shao summoned Ju Shou alone this time, in fact, to test the other party's attitude. He already had a candidate for the crown prince in his mind.

How could Jushou not know Yuan Shao's intentions?

However, he knew that the current situation of Zhao State was worrying. If Yuan Shao followed Yuan Shao's personal preferences and abolished the elders and established young ones, he would definitely cause trouble in the future and make Zhao State fall into disintegration.

He took a deep breath and bowed again: "Young Master Tan is the eldest son. He is good at military strategy and has been running Qingzhou for many years. He is worthy of the important task!"

Listening to Ju Shou's words, Yuan Shao couldn't help but have a look of disappointment deep in his eyes, and then said: "Although Xian Si has military talent, he doesn't know the sufferings of the people. He also appoints villains, listens to the gossip, indulges in extravagance, and embarrasses his great responsibilities. ”

"Although he imitates me and makes friends with heroes from all over the world, he can only show kindness without dignity and cannot convince the crowd."

"I feel uneasy about handing over the Kingdom of Zhao to Xiansi."

"Furthermore, I have already adopted Xiansi to my elder brother. Now that he is my elder brother's son, it is not appropriate for him to inherit my inheritance."

What Yuan Shao said is not without purpose. Yuan Tan does have a lot of personality flaws. His living habits are similar to Yuan Shu's arrogance and extravagance. His personality habits are also similar to Yuan Shao's. He likes to listen to flattery, so that he loves villains and distant virtuous ministers.

Yuan Tan's original intention was to learn from his father and make friends with scholars, but his ability, skills and charm were far different. It was tantamount to imitating others. Many people received his favor but looked down on him from the bottom of their hearts.

How could Jushou not know Yuan Tan’s character flaws?

However, Yuan Tan is the eldest son after all, and now it is the critical moment of Zhao State. If he rashly abolishes the eldest son and establishes a younger son, there will be endless troubles.

But when he looked at Yuan Shaona's withered appearance, he still sighed slightly in his heart and asked: "Then does your Majesty have a favorite candidate?"

Yuan Shao had almost no hesitation and said straightforwardly: "You are brave and courteous, just like me in the past. You are worthy of a big job."

Jushu knew that Yuan Shao had made up his mind, so he immediately stopped trying to persuade him, and instead said, "If your Majesty insists on making the third young master the crown prince, you can issue an edict to order the first and second young masters to return to Yecheng, and then remove them as governor of Qingzhou and governor of Youzhou respectively. Only in this way can the position of the Third Young Master and the Crown Prince be stable."

Yuan Shao shook his head and said: "Now Xiang Bode and Zhuge Kongming are stationed in Xuzhou, with well-equipped soldiers and food supplies, and they are eyeing Qingzhou. Xiahou Miaocai and Wang Yanyun are stationed in Bingzhou, eyeing You and Jizhou."

"If something unexpected happens to me, the Zhao Kingdom will inevitably be at war again. The three states of Ji, You, and Bing are the foundation of the Zhao Kingdom, and they need reliable people to lead the troops and guard them. I ordered the three brothers to each guard one state, and if they are invaded, they can serve as horns for each other. , and cooperate with each other, so that we can protect Zhao State.

But Jushou said: "When soldiers come, they will be blocked, and when water comes, the soil will cover up. If the bandit army leads an army to invade our territory, a general will lead the army to reject it. Putting the three young masters in one state each is the way to avoid disaster."

"A rabbit is running around, and thousands of people are chasing it. The country of Zhao is like a rabbit. The young master is not the eldest son, and he is suddenly established as the prince. How can he convince the people? If the two young masters are allowed to lead the army outside, your majesty is still there. If you can suppress it, if something unexpected happens, everyone will chase you."

"It was too late for the disaster to happen to Xiao Qiang at that time. I hope your Majesty will take notice!"

Ju Shou's words inevitably made Yuan Shao hesitate. At this time, Yuan Shao's scheming character was revealed again.

Seeing that Ju Shou wanted to persuade him again, Yuan Shao immediately covered his head and said, "I'm tired. Please step back first."

Seeing this, Jushou had no choice but to retreat.

After Ju Shou left, Yuan Shao summoned Xin Pi again and asked, "I want to make the young master the crown prince. Ju Qing suggested to me that we should recall the eldest young master and the second young master first, and then remove them from military power to avoid causing trouble to Xiao Qiang in the future. What does Zuo Zhi think? ?”

When Xin Pi heard this, he couldn't help being shocked.

He had secretly made friends with the eldest son Yuan Tan for a long time. He thought that as the eldest son, Yuan Tan would inherit the throne in the future, but he did not expect that Yuan Shao actually planned to make Yuan Shang the crown prince.

Xin Pi and Yuan Shang have no friendship. Once the other party gains power, he will definitely use Feng Ji, Shen Pei and others in the future, and his life will become difficult.

Fortunately, Yuan Tan was still leading troops outside and occupying Qingzhou at this time. It was naturally impossible for Xinpi to let Yuan Shao stop Jushu's suggestion and recall Yuan Tan to relieve his military power.

He immediately shouted sternly: "I thought Ju Shou should be executed!"

When Yuan Shao heard this, his expression changed drastically and he asked, "Why did you say this?"

Xin Pi said: "The three young masters are brothers, brothers and sisters. Your Majesty ordered the three of them to each guard a state. I also hope that they can help each other and strengthen the Zhao Kingdom in the future."

"As a minister, Jushou doesn't appreciate His Majesty's painstaking efforts. He actually provokes the relationship between the three young masters. He must have his own selfish motives."

"I secretly believe that Jushu has been in charge of the military power in Hebei for a long time and has won the hearts of the people in Hebei. General Chunyu died in battle again, and Jushu's family is the largest in the army."

"There are two young masters leading the troops outside, which can still be a constraint. If Your Majesty follows his advice and transfers the two young masters back to relieve them of military power, who will be able to control Jushu if he really wants to have a different intention?"

"Therefore, I think that Ju Shou has evil intentions, and he should be punished to avoid future troubles!"

(End of this chapter)