Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 651 Adjustment of the Four States
Ma Chao was ambushed and shot to death, which basically announced the demise of Liang. Under the pacification and suppression of troops sent by Lu Xun, the six counties in Longyou gradually stabilized.

Qu Ying, the prefect of Xiping, accepted Lu Xun's title and surrendered to the Han Dynasty in name only, while he himself became a local tyrant in Xiping; Ma Dai, the prefect of Guangwei, was unwilling to surrender because Ma Chao was killed by Lu Xun, and later, under the persuasion of Guo Huai's letter, he went north to join Guo Huai.

When Ma Chao hastily retreated from Lingju, Guo Huai withdrew his troops to the north, but he sent people to the south to gather intelligence on Longyou. When Guo Huai learned that the Southern Han had raided Longyou, the army he led had already disbanded.

In order to profit from it, Guo Huai had people keep an eye on the situation in Longyou. When he learned that Ma Chao had retreated to Xiangwu, Guo Huai had already expected that Ma Chao would be surrounded by Lu Xun, so he changed his mind and focused on persuading Ma Dai to surrender.

Under Guo Huai's persuasion, Ma Dai led thousands of his troops to retreat northward. At the Yellow River ferry, he received support from the Hexi troops and successfully retreated to Hexi.

As Ma Dai withdrew from Longyou, Wang Ping took over the Longshan Pass without a single drop of blood. He then temporarily assumed the post of prefect of Guanghan and led his troops to guard the Longshan Pass.

When Longyou entered its post-war recuperation period, it was already the third year of Jianxing.

Spring, the first month.

In celebration of the New Year, the palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, making it very lively. The palace was even more festive because the queen had given birth to a prince.

Of course, the joy did not stop there. With the destruction of Ma Chao, the news that the six counties in Longyou had surrendered spread throughout the palace. With the double happiness coming, Liu Chan was so happy that he wanted to grant amnesty to the whole country.

However, Liu Chan's intention to grant amnesty to the entire country attracted Zhuge Liang's advice.

"Your Majesty, you should rule the world with great virtue, not with small favors, and you should not grant favors based on your mood or anger. When the late emperor was alive, he dealt with Chen Yuanfang and Zheng Kangcheng, and received many teachings, but he never heard of a general amnesty that would please the hearts of the people of the world."

Zhuge Liang bowed to Liu Chan and advised: "If a general amnesty can win the hearts of the people, then Liu Jiyu's pardons every year will not benefit the governance. If the people of Shu obey Liu Jiyu, why would they rebel so many times?"

"Although the birth of your son is a cause for celebration, it is not enough to grant amnesty. The surrender of the six counties in Longyou is a cause for celebration, but it is not enough to reward or punish meritorious officers and soldiers. I hope Your Majesty will fully understand the events before and after and exercise caution in granting amnesty!"

In terms of governing philosophy, Zhuge Liang was very opposed to amnesty because in his view, if the law was not a bad law, then amnesty would undoubtedly be indulgent to those criminals, and even be used by the children of some high-ranking officials.

For example, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the children of high-ranking officials took advantage of their channels and learned that the Eastern Han Dynasty would issue an amnesty. They would deliberately commit crimes before the amnesty, thereby escaping legal punishment.

After being criticized by Zhuge Liang, Liu Chan looked ashamed and said, "I agree with what my father said. From now on, you are not allowed to mention the amnesty."

Seeing that Liu Chan accepted his mistakes so calmly, Zhuge Liang raised his wine cup to congratulate Liu Chan and said, "The late emperor had a son in his old age, and his family members were declining, so his bloodline was weak. Now that Your Majesty has a prince, I congratulate Your Majesty!"

Empress Zhang gave birth to a prince. In order to celebrate the birth of the prince, Emperor Liu Chan invited high-ranking officials such as Huo Jun, Zhuge Liang, and Zhang Fei to the palace for a banquet.

"Lu Boyan has expanded the six counties, and Jun is celebrating for Your Majesty!" Huo Jun also raised the wine cup to congratulate Liu Chan.

Liu Chan smiled widely and said, "The expansion of our territory is largely due to the planning of Zhongfu. I should offer a toast to Zhongfu."

"Your Majesty, please!"

At the small banquet, the relationship between the emperor and his subjects was not so restrained and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Liu Chan sipped his wine and asked, "Father Zhong, Father Xiang, how about the rewards for the soldiers who destroyed Liang?"

"Hmm~"

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "In the battle to destroy Liang, the first meritorious officer was Lu Piaoqi, followed by Wang Ping and Wei Yan, and then Jiang Jiong, Zhao Ang, Yang Ang, Jiang Wei, etc. Jun has discussed with the prime minister for a long time about the rewards for the meritorious officers and soldiers, and the general idea has been decided!"

"For example, Jiang Jiong and his son. Jiang Jiong, the father, had the merit of cutting off Ma Chao's army's food supply and offering Jincheng, and had also worked hard to return to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Jun thought that he could be appointed General Zhengxi, made the governor of Jincheng, and the commander of the military affairs of Hehuang, and be granted the title of Duxianghou. Jiang Wei, the son, had the merit of taking Jixian County, and had also worked hard to return to the Han Dynasty. He could be appointed General Fengyi, given 5,000 soldiers, and be granted the title of Dangyangtinghou."

"Wang Ping attacked and captured the cities of Tianshui and defeated the Liang army. He has made great contributions. He can be promoted to General Pingxi and be granted the title of Marquis of Xicheng County. His official position will be changed. Wei Yan ambushed and killed Ma Chao and made great contributions. He will be promoted to General Pingbei and be granted the title of Marquis of Lintao County. His official position will be changed."

The position of Siping General was not established in the Han Dynasty. However, after the Battle of Zhongli, a large number of generals needed to be promoted, and the position of Siping General and Si'an General was born.

In the Han Dynasty, the order of generals is four garrisons > four expeditions > four peace > four peace > miscellaneous generals. Above the four garrisons are the four directions and guards, chariots, and cavalry generals.

Among them, the unique general titles are not counted as miscellaneous general titles, such as the four general titles of Military Advisor, Assisting Han, An Han and Xing Han. Their ranks are basically the same as the Four Expeditions, but their significance is greater.

Wang Ping and Wei Yan were already generals of miscellaneous titles, and they had made great military achievements, so they were promoted to generals of Siping and later granted county marquises. However, the county marquises they were granted were for counties with more than a thousand households, such as Xicheng with more than 1,200 households and Lintao with more than 1,100 households, with almost no difference.

As wars became more frequent, the number of people who were granted titles of county marquis gradually increased, regardless of the size of their fiefs. Listening to the list of rewards, Liu Chan asked curiously, "If what Zhongfu said is true, all the generals will be rewarded. I wonder if there are any unresolved issues?"

"It's about the reward for the cavalry general!"

Huo Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "Lu Boyan, your current official position is General of the Cavalry, Governor of Yongzhou, and Marquis of Nanzheng County. You are now planning to seize the six counties in Longyou and be in charge of the affairs of the western land. In my opinion, to encourage Lu the Cavalry to fight hard, it is better to make Lu Boyan a county lord with a thousand households."

"Appoint the General of the Cavalry as a county lord?"

Liu Chan frowned and said, "Although Bo Yan has made great contributions, how can he compare with Zhongfu? Now I will confer him the title of General and grant him additional fiefdoms, which will be enough to complete Bo Yan's contributions."

The title of county lord was of great significance. Huo Jun had been in the position of county marquis for so long that he was able to be promoted to county lord by taking advantage of the two battles of Zhongli and Shouchun. Isn't it too simple for Lu Xun to be promoted to county lord based on his achievements in the six counties?

As for why Huo Jun wanted to confer the title of county lord on Lu Xun, the main reason was that he felt uneasy about being the county lord alone. Letting Lu Xun take on the title of county lord would help him share the pressure.

Zhuge Liang seemed to see what Huo Jun was thinking, and said with a smile: "The Grand Marshal is very partial to Lu Boyan. Why not follow the example of the Grand Marshal? Grant Lu Boyan an additional county and fiefdom. If he makes great contributions again, he can be made a county duke. Such a reward may encourage Lu Boyan to use his troops to contain the troops of the generals in Guanxi."

"What the Prime Minister said makes sense, Grand Marshal, don't think too much about it!"

Liu Chan said indifferently, "Bo Yan has made great contributions to Longyou, so let's do as we discussed before. He will be appointed as the general, given an additional county, and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of Liang and Yong."

Liu Chan raised his objection and said, "Wudu and Yinping are the old counties of Liangzhou. At present, Bo Yan wants to merge Wudu and Yinping into Yongzhou. I am afraid that Yongzhou's territory is too large and will undermine Liangzhou's power."

"I think it is appropriate to merge Wudu and Yinping into Yongzhou!"

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan and said, "There are more than 30,000 households in the six counties of Longyou, but less than 150,000 people. Moreover, Xiping is ruled by Qu Ying alone, who is obedient in public but rebellious in secret. Therefore, only five counties can be ruled by Yongzhou. With a small population and a vast territory, it is difficult to command troops to resist the enemy."

"If we can merge Wudu and Yinping counties into Yongzhou, the registered households can reach 40,000, and the number of men and women can approach 200,000. Only then can we lead tens of thousands of soldiers and dominate the western land alone."

Since the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Longnan has been ruined for many years. The land of the six counties today is less than the population of Jiaozhou. Incorporating Wudu and Yinping counties into Yongzhou can barely make Yongzhou presentable.

Of course, there is another reason, that is, if we rely on Lu Xun to use the army, we must satisfy Lu Xun's corresponding rights. Now it is not too much to propose to merge Wudu and Yinping counties into Yongzhou.

Seeing that Zhuge Liang agreed with Lu Xun's approach, Liu Chan asked again: "The general is now in charge of Yongzhou and will be stationed in Longyou in the future. I wonder who will be the governor of Chongqing?"

Huo Jun put down the wine bottle, thought for a moment and said, "The Governor of Chongqing will be relocated to Hanzhong and renamed the Governor of Baliang, in charge of Liangzhou's military affairs. A new Governor of Shuzhong will be established in Chengdu, and talented people will be selected to take the position!"

After a pause, Huo Jun added: "Hanzhong Governor Huang Quan can be appointed as Baliang Governor, and General Guan Ping can be appointed as Shuzhong Governor. In the event of war, the two will be supervised by Yongzhou Governor and lead the troops to the battle."

The governor of Shuzhong did not need much military talent, he only needed to be consistent with the central government. Although Guan Ping's talent was not that of a great general, he was Guan Yu's eldest son, similar to the status of a general of the Southern Han royal family.

Of course, Guan and Liu have different surnames, so their relationship may become alienated in the future. However, because of the relationship between the ancestors, the relationship between the second generation will not be that alienated.

The military power of the four states of Xitu Ning, Liang, Yi and Yong belonged to different people, so that the four people could check and restrain each other and command each other's troops.

For example, Li Hui, a native of Nanzhong, ruled his own province. He had few soldiers under his command and was only responsible for maintaining stability. Huang Quan was related to Huo Jun by marriage and commanded the relatively important Liangzhou troops. Lu Xun had the greatest authority and the heaviest burden, so he was stationed in Longyou. The governor of Yizhou had the least responsibility and was responsible for maintaining public order.

In short, because the Western Regions are far away from Wu and Chu, military power cannot be handed over to one person. Even if that person is the son-in-law of the Southern Han, the central government cannot trust him too much, so as to avoid the formation of separatism.

"Let the general go to Shuzhong?"

Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and agreed, saying, "Except for the rear general, there is no one trustworthy enough to command the troops in Yizhou."

Then, Zhuge Liang bowed to Liu Chan and said, "Your Majesty, when Emperor Gaozu was appointed to the throne, he recruited talented people; when Emperor Guangwu revived the Han Dynasty, all the talented people came. The reason why the two Han dynasties prospered was that they were open-minded and recruited talents; the reason why the two Han dynasties declined was that they valued mediocre people and recruited treacherous people."

"Now that the Han Dynasty has risen for the third time, Yongzhou has just been settled and its talents have not yet arrived. I think we should show mercy and allow the counties of Yongzhou to select talented people to come to the capital and promote them. Then they can think about returning to Dahua, serve the country, and work together to fight the Northern Expedition!"

With the example of Bashu, it was inevitable that Long people would be used by Wei. Zhuge Liang decided to let Yongzhou recommend some talented people to Wuhan, let the Shangshutai examine them, and then recruit them as officials.

"Everything is subject to the wishes of Zhongfu and Xiangfu!"

(End of this chapter)