Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 746 Drawing and Standing Statue
In the seventh year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang began to rectify the military and administration and established a ruling system for the Han Dynasty.

In the eighth year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang implemented a new tax law to reduce the taxes on the people and to register the hidden households. In order to encourage the governors of prefectures and counties to do their job, he also implemented the examination system and the last-place elimination system.

The implementation of the last-place elimination system made officials miserable. I thought I could just sit back and relax while the world was at peace, but unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang not only struggled himself, but also made all the officials struggle with him.

Of course, work is work. In order to improve the enthusiasm of officials, Zhuge Liang changed the salary standards of local officials and clarified the promotion system.

During the Han Dynasty, the salary of a county governor was 2,000 dan, and the salary of a provincial governor in charge of inspection was 600 dan. There was an inverted imbalance between power and salary, which did not meet the needs of the current three-level local system of the Southern Han Dynasty.

In order to adapt to the national system, Zhuge Liang divided the salary range of county governors into between 800 and 2,000 dan, the salary of provincial governors into between 2,000 and 2,500 dan, and the salary of county magistrates/county governors into between 300 and 1,000 dan.

Zhuge Liang took into account the inequality between border counties and inner counties, and in order to correct the inequality between the two, he introduced border subsidies and year-end subsidies.

The allowances were divided into three levels according to the degree of danger of the barbarians in all directions. The Xianbei barbarians were the upper level, the Lingnan barbarians and Qiang people were the middle level, and the inner county barbarians were the lower level. Depending on the performance of the year, the allowance accounted for about 20%-50% of the salary.

The year-end allowance is assessed based on the year-on-year increase in taxes paid, as well as population, land area, etc., and a year-end bonus of 10%-50% of the original salary is given.

Therefore, if he served in a border county and made considerable achievements, his salary would exceed that of an official in an inner county through border subsidies and year-end allowances every year.

Take Liu Fan’s administration of Hainan Island as an example. Although he received the minimum salary of 800 dan, thanks to border allowances and year-end allowances, his salary was even higher than that of some prefects of inner counties due to his outstanding performance during his tenure.

With salary incentives and clear examinations, officials in prefectures and counties showed unprecedented vigour. They thoroughly investigated the amount of farmland in the local area, recruited people with hidden household registration and refugees, and repaired local water conservancy projects. People in Kanto and Kansai could be seen reclaiming wasteland.

The peace in China did not mean the stability of the border counties, because the Xianbei had a fierce conflict with the Han Dynasty in order to fight for the Western Regions.

In the winter of the fifth year of Jianxing, Jiang Wei led 800 elite troops out of Yumen Pass. The Chief of the Western Regions of Wei surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and Jiang Wei led his troops to station in Haitou (now Lop Nur).

In the sixth year of Jianxing, in order to quickly establish the Han Dynasty's rule in the Western Regions and prevent the Xianbei from advancing westward, Jiang Wei ordered people to pacify the countries in the Western Regions.

When the small countries in the Western Regions learned that Cao Wei had fallen and the Han Dynasty had returned to the world, they sent envoys to the court to pay homage to the Han Dynasty because of their former prestige. However, sending envoys did not mean that the countries in the Western Regions were submissive to the Han Dynasty.

In the autumn of the sixth year of Jianxing, Jiang Wei led his own troops and more than 2,000 Shanshan soldiers to attack the King of Kucha on the grounds that he had invaded Shanshan. The King of Kucha sent 5,000 infantry and cavalry to meet the enemy, but was defeated by Jiang Wei's troops.

Jiang Wei surrounded the capital, and the Kingdom of Kucha asked the Kingdom of Yanqi for help. Yanqi sent troops to rescue, but was defeated by Jiang Wei again.

Qiuci was afraid of Jiang Wei's military power, expressed its submission to the Han Dynasty, and sent its son to Chang'an to serve as a servant; Yanqi King Pojiushibina raised an army for no reason, so Jiang Wei replaced him with a pro-Han noble to succeed to the throne.

In the spring of the seventh year of Jianxing, Shanshan, Qiuci, Khotan, Shule and other Western Regions countries once again sent envoys to pay tribute and supplied military rations to the Western Regions Protectorate.

In the summer of that year, Kebineng ordered his younger brother Juluohou to lead 40,000 cavalrymen to march into the Western Regions. They entered the Western Regions from the Cheshi Kingdom. The King of Cheshi urgently reported to the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Wei sent envoys to various countries, and on the pretext of the safety of the countries in the Western Regions, he mobilized 30,000 troops from six vassal states including Qiuci and Shanshan, and sent them to Cheshi to find the main force of the Xianbei for a decisive battle.

The two armies met in Yiwulu (now Hami City). Jiang Wei led the coalition forces of the Western Regions to fight against the Xianbei cavalry. In the first battle, due to the disparity in strength of the troops, Jiang Wei was defeated by Juluo Hou and fled for dozens of miles.

In order to save the situation, Jiang Wei deliberately leaked military secrets to Zhu Luohou and pointed out the problems of various coalition forces.

The next day, Jiang Wei led his troops to fight against Zhuluo Hou again. Based on the intelligence, Zhuluo Hou focused on the weak Shule soldiers. However, Jiang Wei secretly changed the deployment of the troops and replaced the Shule soldiers with the strong Han soldiers.

The Xianbei failed to charge into the Han formation and their morale was shaken. Jiang Wei seized the opportunity and led a thousand cavalrymen to charge into the enemy formation. The Xianbei cavalrymen were defeated and fled.

In order to dissuade the Xianbei from invading the Western Regions, Jiang Wei pursued Juluo Hou relentlessly. Within three days, the two armies fought four fierce battles, beheaded thousands of people, captured more than 20,000 cattle, sheep and horses, and Juluo Hou led the remaining troops to retreat to the south of the desert.

After the battle of Yiwu, the Western Regions power Wusun was afraid of the Han army and sent envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute. In order to prevent the Xianbei from reaching out to the Western Regions, Jiang Wei asked all countries to provide manpower, money and food to repair Yiwu, and sent military commander Jiang Pan to garrison Yiwu.

Upon learning that Marquis Juluo was defeated by Jiang Wei, Ke Bineng became furious and wanted to lead his troops on an expedition to the Western Regions. However, he was concerned about Wei Yan and Tian Yu who were stationed in Bingzhou, so he had to temporarily give up the idea of ​​the expedition.

The Han Dynasty was greatly pleased with Jiang Wei's outstanding performance in the Western Regions and appointed him as the Marquis of Longle County.

At the same time, Deng Zhi used diplomatic means to win over the Qiang people to the Han Dynasty and establish a foothold in the Xitao Plain.

Deng Zhi's move to gain a foothold in the Xitao Plain threatened the Baosai Xiongnu, whose leader Hu Bo Juzizhi launched a rebellion and wanted to welcome Ke Bineng into the Xitao Plain.

At the critical moment, Deng Zhi, as a half-state commander, summoned troops from Beidi and Anding. Hu Zun led 3,000 elite infantry and cavalry to fight against Hu Bojuzizhi, who was defeated by the Yellow River. Seeing that he was no match for the Han army, Hu Bojuzizhi sent people to surrender to Deng Zhi.

Deng Zhi accepted Hu Bo's surrender and submitted a memorial to the court, appointing Hu Bo as hereditary Dao Duwei.

With the surrender of Xiongnu leader Hu Bo and the support of Qiang tribe, Deng Zhi restored Lingwu County and intervened in the affairs of Xianbei tribe in the county. Deng Zhi's actions in the Xitao Plain and Jiang Wei's management in the Western Regions made Kebi Neng feel the threat of Southern Han and decided to develop towards Mobei and absorb tens of thousands of tribesmen in Mobei into his rule.

In the autumn of the eighth year of Jianxing, in order to prevent the Southern Han from sending troops to intervene, Kebineng led 80,000 cavalry to invade Guanxi. The troops were divided into three routes, one to attack Lingwu, one to go south from Shangjun, and one to plunder Bingzhou.

Upon hearing the news, Zhuge Liang was furious at Kebi Neng's unilateral violation of the treaty, so he sent three armies to defend the border and sent envoys to reprimand Kebi Neng for his actions.

Wen Pin led 20,000 troops from Longxi to Lingwu County to resist the enemy; Lu Xun led 30,000 elite troops from Guanzhong to garrison Beidi, Shang and Anding counties; Wei Yan led the troops from Bingzhou and guarded Yanmen with Yanmen Prefect Tian Yu.

Autumn, September. Kebi Neng invaded from Xihe County. The Southern Xiongnu defending the border collapsed at the first blow, and more than a thousand households were looted. Then the Xianbei broke into the city of Lishi and killed the chief officials.

In the second half of the month, as generals from various borders rushed to the battlefield, several fierce battles broke out with the Xianbei.

In Lingwu County, Wen Qin and Hu Zun were the vanguard, fighting against the Xianbei, beheading more than a thousand people and temporarily forcing the Xianbei to retreat.

Wei Yan led the troops of Wuhuan, Southern Xiongnu and Han army and fought fiercely with Xianbei in Mayi all day long. Relying on his own bravery, he defeated Xianbei.

Ke Bineng looted a bit and when he saw that the Han army had deployed its defenses, he sent an envoy to Guanzhong, hoping to discuss peace terms with Zhuge Liang again.

In October, Zhuge Liang was extremely angry and did not want to negotiate with Kebi Neng. However, due to his policy of prioritizing economic development, he had no choice but to negotiate with Kebi Neng again.

After two days of negotiations, the Han Dynasty gave the Xianbei more silk, food and fodder, and the two sides continued to trade with each other; the Xianbei presented 3,000 horses and returned the looted people.

After both sides got what they needed, Kebi Neng led his troops back to the south of the desert and planned to take the north of the desert. Compared with Kebi Neng's satisfaction, the Han emperor and his ministers were very angry.

In Zhongnan Mountain, it was raining and snowing, and the mountains and forests were covered with white snow.

Inside the house, Huo Jun sat cross-legged while Huo Yi added firewood to the brazier.

Sipping his tea, Huo Jun was contented and asked, "How is Chang'an these days?"

Huo Yi fiddled with the firewood and said, "Although there are disturbances on the border, Guanzhong is peaceful. According to the ministers, this year's taxes are 10% higher than last year, and the number of households and farmland in the prefectures and counties has also increased."

After a pause, Huo Yi said, "It is just that the Xianbei have repeatedly invaded, which has made Your Majesty and the Prime Minister very dissatisfied."

Huo Jun put down the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art in his hand and said, "The Xianbei Hu people are greedy by nature. They were defeated by Protector Jiang and lost the Western Regions. They can only plunder our border in the south to show the power of the Hu cavalry."

Huo Yi sat on the couch and asked, "Father is a man of extraordinary strategy. I wonder if there is any way to stop the Xianbei from raiding the south?"

Huo Jun smiled and said, "The only way to stop the Xianbei from plundering the south is to use cavalry to fight cavalry, destroy the Xianbei with soldiers, and make them submit to our dynasty."

Hearing this, Huo Yi sighed slightly and said, "The Prime Minister is ashamed that the cavalry is not skilled, and has ordered people to train the cavalry. I hope that our dynasty can have elite cavalry to follow the example of the Han Dynasty in driving out the barbarians in the north."

Because they came from Wu and Chu, the army of the Southern Han Dynasty was still mainly composed of infantry, and the cavalry had only been developed for a few years. Therefore, facing the highly mobile Hu cavalry, the Southern Han army was exhausted and had to focus on defense first.

In order to strengthen the military strength, Zhuge Liang ordered the army to have more cavalry to avoid being controlled by the Xianbei Hu cavalry in the future due to the lack of skilled cavalry.

Talking about the recent situation in the court, Huo Yi said: "Your Majesty wanted to compile history for the heroes because of the chaos and disputes at the end of the Han Dynasty. He selected the literary talents of the people and ordered Sima Zhao to compile history for Wei, Liu Zhi to compile history for Yuan Shu, and Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao, and Dong Zhuo each had a scholar to write history."

"It is a good thing for the country to give a final verdict to all the groups and let future generations know the reasons for the conflicts in troubled times." Huo Jun agreed.

During Liu Bei's reign, the Han Dynasty was focused on the Northern Expedition and lacked the motivation to compile history. Now that the Southern Han Dynasty has unified the world, it is necessary to make a final conclusion for the past fifty years of chaos.

"It's not just that!"

Huo Yi said: "Because General Zhang is seriously ill and General Zhao is old, Your Majesty wants to imitate the Qilin and Yuntai Pavilions and draw pictures of the revival of the Han Dynasty in the Daming Pavilion so that future monarchs and ministers can admire them."

"How is Yide's condition?" Huo Jun asked.

Huo Jun had already heard about the drawing and statue erection from Zhuge Liang.

Huo Yi shook his head and said, "According to your majesty, I'm afraid General Yide won't survive this winter."

Huo Jun sighed and said, "I'll go down the mountain to visit!"

(End of this chapter)