Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 255 Feng Chu assists the government
As time went by, Fa Zheng returned to Chengdu, Liu Qi went to Hanshou, and Liu Bei went to Jingkou.The smoke of war at the head of Jiangling City gradually dissipated. Huo Jun took up the post of prefect and officially took charge of the military and political affairs of Nanjun.

The first thing Huo Jun did when he took office was to meet with the county officials to learn about the detailed situation of Nanjun.

After the Jianghan War and the Jiangling Fire, the number of senior and junior officials in Nanjun County decreased a lot, from more than fifty people to only a dozen or so today.

What is a senior official?Senior officials are the heads of various departments, and junior officials are ordinary county officials.

During the peaceful period of the Han Dynasty, it was not difficult to become a minor official, but it was very difficult to be promoted from a minor official to a senior official.Unless you have a family background or have read Confucianism thoroughly, you can hope to be promoted to a senior official.Not to mention the official positions of county magistrate, county guard and above.

More than a dozen officials, both senior and junior, stood sparsely in the palace hall. The largest official was only a meritorious official.And this meritorious service is none other than the legendary Feng Chu Pang Tong.

Pang Tong was from the Pang family in Xiangyang. When Cai Mao became the prefect of Nanjun, he appointed Pang Tong as a meritorious official.Cao Cao went south to Jianghan, and the governor of Nanjun was replaced by Cao Ren. Pang Tong was still the meritorious officer.

Cao Ren led his troops to withdraw from Xiangfan, but Pang Tong did not follow him to the north, but stayed in Jiangling.When Liu Bei entered the city, Pang Tong remained unhurried. He neither took the initiative to see Liu Bei nor asked to see Liu Qi.

This is also true in history. After the Battle of Nanjun, Pang Tong became Zhou Yu's hero.Help Zhou Yu plan many matters, such as imprisoning Liu Bei in Jiangdong, or assisting Zhou Yu in planning to enter Shu.It wasn't until Zhou Yu died and Nanjun fell into Liu Bei's hands that Pang Tong came under Liu Bei's control.

In just one year, all the heroes in the world took turns to appear, and Pang Tong was as stable as Mount Tai. He would neither surrender to Cao nor Liu.It was not until Huo Jun took office as the governor of Nanjun that Pang Tong led more than ten county officials to visit him.

When I met Pang Tong for the first time, I asked Huo Jun how he felt.

Ugly?

Pang Tong is naturally not ugly, or Pang Tong is ugly. There are not many people who can be called handsome.

To describe it in Huo Jun's words, he is well-groomed and elegant.Although he is not as tall as Zhuge Liang, he is not inferior in elegance and is very gentle and elegant.

As for why Pang Tong is ugly in the memory of future generations?I'm afraid I have to ask why Luo Guanzhong wrote that.

Huo Jun chatted with the officials for a few words, and then asked everyone to leave, leaving only Pang Tong to inquire about political affairs.

"Shi Yuan, the name of Feng Chu. I heard a little about it when I was in Xiangfan."

Huo Jun asked Pang Tong to sit down and said with a smile: "I have also heard Kong Ming mention that Yanjun is a hero of Jingchu. He has strategies and has the talent to assist the king. But don't you know this?"

Pang Tong knelt down and took his seat and said, "The Lord of the Prefecture praised him highly. Tong is a young man from the Jiang Han Dynasty. How dare he speak nonsense about his talents in front of the general."

Huo Jun waved his hand and said: "Wolong Kongming's learning is already known to Jun. Kongming adhered to civil affairs and was able to stabilize a place, build water conservancy, gather abandoned people, cultivate fertile fields, mobilize troops, and bring them at his fingertips. He could also pacify the barbarians and make them He joins the army and serves the country."

After a pause, Huo Jun smiled and said: "Now Kong Ming has assisted Liu Yangzhou and served as the prefect of Wu County. He governs Jiangdong and is famous in Jianghuai. However, I don't know how Shi Yuan lives in Jiangling. He is only a meritorious official."

Pang Tong's eyelids twitched and he said: "Today there is great chaos. There are many people who want fame and fortune, but few people who want peace. Jiangling is often exposed to war, and the people are displaced and have nothing to rely on. Many of Tong's colleagues are afraid of war and value profits. Tong Ruo abandons If we leave, the people of Jiangling will have no officials, so won’t they suffer?”

Pang Tong was as famous as Zhuge Liang and was praised as a sleeping dragon and a phoenix by the Xiangyang nobles. How could he not care about his reputation?He can humble himself about his lack of ability, but he cannot accept others using Zhuge Liang to question his ability.

Huo Jun showed admiration and said: "Shi Yuan is noble and noble, and he cares about the people. Jun deeply admires him."

As he spoke, Huo Jun sighed and said: "Jun is a native of Nanjun. Now he sees that Nanjun is in ruins, the officials have abandoned their offices, and the people are displaced. I don't know if Shi Yuan can help Jun and restore peace to the people of Nanjun." .”

Although today's history is different, the people of Nanjun have not moved north and have retained the essence.However, Nanjun, which was ravaged by war, and Jiangling, which suffered two fires, left scars in Nanjun that needed to be healed.

Although Huo Jun is from Nanjun, it does not mean that he can easily take over Nanjun when he first takes office and restore Nanjun to normal.Now, if we want to restore Nanjun to normal operations, we can only rely on the help of Pang Tong of Jiushi Nanjun.

With Huo Jun's previous foreshadowing and the fact that he was from the same county, Pang Tong was willing to help.

Pang Tong straightened his back, cupped his hands and said, "Please rest assured, Lord, Tong is also from Nanjun. How can we bear to see Nanjun in decline and the people displaced now?"

"good!"

Huo Jun poured a cup of tea for Pang Tong and said: "Shi Yuan has been serving Nanjun for a long time. Since the war, I wonder what changes have occurred in Nanjun? And if you want to govern Nanjun, what opinions does Shiyuan have?" Pang Tong saw that Huo Jun was sincerely asking for advice, so he didn't dare to hide it. , said: "Cao Cao went south to Jianghan, and the local county magistrates either abandoned their posts or fled due to the war. For example, Li Yan, the magistrate of Zigui County, abandoned his official post and transferred to Liu Zhang of Yizhou; or the magistrate of Zhonglu County After Xiang Lang went south, he was transferred to another post in Jingzhou."

Li Yan, a native of Nanyang, Jingzhou, was a real Jingchu scholar.When he was serving as the magistrate of Zigui County, he heard that Cao Cao was going south and Liu Cong surrendered to the city, so he took refuge with Liu Zhang.He was appointed as the Chengdu Order by Liu Zhang, and now he is prosperous.

From a historical perspective, Li Yan entered Shu two or three years earlier than Liu Bei.To say that he is from Dongzhou in the Central Plains is better to say that Li Yan is a Jingchu scholar.

"There is no commander in the local area, which means that the officials are incompetent and corrupt and have no money in the treasury; and the counties and counties are disordered, the scholars and the people are in chaos, and thieves and bandits are everywhere, plundering the people and killing people. To put it in perspective, it is necessary to appoint wise men to serve as the commanders of counties and cities. , a safe place.”

Pang Tong made a calculation in his mind and said: "In the past, there were seventeen counties in Nanjun. Today, when Cao Cao goes south, the Nanjun now only has Jiangling, Wuxian, Zigui, Dangyang, Huarong, Linju, Zhijiang, Yidao, Yiling, and Zhouling. There are eleven counties including Zigui, Zhouling and Huarong among which there are no officials and elders, and the ruler of the government can choose the talents to appoint them."

Except for the eleven county towns controlled by Huo Jun, the remaining six county towns are mostly around Xiangyang.However, after Liu Bei led the people across the river and Huo Jun plundered the Hannan people, in fact, the six counties no longer had much population.In fact, Pang Tong could incorporate the newly built Public Security City into the county seat of Nanjun.

Huo Jun nodded slightly and said: "As Shi Yuan said, Jun should look for talented people to appoint the magistrates of the three counties. If local soldiers and bandits are causing trouble, he can order the county magistrate to appease them first, and send generals and schools to follow behind. For the sake of the people, if things go wrong, there will be peace. In autumn, the soldiers and bandits can be quelled, and the customs of Sunan County will be established."

"In troubled times, use heavy codes, just as the prince said, bandit troubles should be quelled as soon as possible."

Pang Tong sipped the tea cup lightly and said, "I wonder how you want to treat the homeless people in Nanjun?"

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Would you like to hear from Shi Yuan Gao?"

Pang Tong put down the tea cup and said: "If the ruler is benevolent, he should carry out the order of frivolous corvee and low tax. If any village in the north of the Yangtze River encounters military chaos, he should be exempted from the land tax this year to please the people. By next year, Nanjun has already An, if we ask the soldiers and the people to pay taxes, how can the people complain?"

"An order for frivolous corvee and low tax?"

Huo Jun thought for a few times in his mind and said: "This matter cannot be decided by one person in my house. I need to write to the envoy to explain the importance of small gifts and the importance of light corvee. However, seeing the military chaos in Jianghan, I expected that the envoy would agree."

The county's taxes need to be turned over to the state. The tax reduction or exemption is not something Huo Jun doesn't want to do, but requires the state's consent.If taxes are underpaid but not reported to the state pastor, the blame will be traced downwards to Huo Jun.

As he spoke, Huo Jun smiled and said: "Shi Yuan's talent is indeed comparable to that of Kong Ming. Now that Kong Ming has governed Wu County, why doesn't Shi Yuan assist Jun in governing Nan County so that the Wu and Chu scholars can see the talent of Feng Chu?"

"Jun first came to Nanjun, and he had to manage the military affairs at the same time, but he had no skills to do both. I want to recruit Shi Yuan to serve as the governor of the county, how about it?"

Hearing this, Pang Tong was moved, but he smiled and said: "Why do you need to provoke me, Lord? Managing the county and the people is for the sake of the people of Jianghan. There is no need for Lord to invite me, so Tong should do his best!"

The method of stimulating generals is simple and crude, even ordinary people can detect it.But what if you notice the provocative method?As long as you are greedy for fame and wealth, and you are not a worldly expert, you will almost always fall into the trap of the general.

Huo Jun helped Pang Tong up, who was saluting, and said with a smile: "If a scholar is able to help, then the general of Nanjun will be happy!"

After inviting Pang Tong to take a seat, Huo Jun said, "Zigui, Zhouling, and Huarong counties have no long-term orders. I wonder if Shi Yuan has anyone to recommend?"

Pang Tong pondered for a while and said: "Huang Kui and Huang Shulu, the meritorious Cao Cao of Qiannan County in Xiangyang, have always been talented. Due to the war, they are at home, so they are qualified to serve in the Huarong Order. Tong's younger brother Pang Lin and Pang Shize are Tong's biological brothers, but they are In terms of talents, he can be the chief of the state mausoleum."

"good!"

Huo Jun said: "Since they are recommended by Shi Yuan, how can Jun not accept them? Now we can let the two of them serve as county magistrates for three months. If they have political achievements, they can stay in office."

"promise!"

Although Huo Jun wanted to use Pang to rule Nanjun, he did not completely trust him.Not only the scholars recommended by Pang Tong had an assessment period, but Pang Tong also had an assessment period.If you don't do well, get out of here for Huo Jun.

During this period, Huo Jun had asked Sima Zhi, an old official, to serve as the Wuguanbu of Nanjun, concurrently as the two Cao Cao of Jue and Ci, and to control the county's judicial system.

As for Jiang Wan, Huo Jun also had a deep chat with Jiang Wan.After carefully understanding Jiang Wan's current abilities, we know that he once served as a county magistrate and has governance experience.Now that there is a shortage of people in Zigui County, Jiang Wan is asked to serve as the false Zigui Order until he becomes a regular official during the assessment period.

(End of this chapter)