At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 296: Zhang Er, who started his own business, and the purge of the remnants of the Six Kingdoms

After the banquet, Liu Bang did not stay in Daiguo's palace, but followed Zhang Er back to his mansion.

"Greetings, sir!" Zhang Ao, his wife Liu Le and his eldest daughter Zhang Yan saluted respectfully.

Liu Bang smiled and said: "My family doesn't need to be polite."

But looking at Zhang Ao, he was wearing a Confucian scholar's uniform and was respectful and polite, but this made Liu Bang frown.

Then he asked Zhang Erdao: "Brother, didn't you let Zhang Ao join the army?"

Zhang Er said: "Ao'er is now the magistrate of Pingyi County."

In Zhang Er's opinion, his son was already promising.

But Qu said sadly: "Brother, you are confused. What kind of world is this now? It is a world of great strife. Every year, the emperor enfeoffs a group of princes. Fame, fortune and wealth can be obtained from horses. All the heroes in the world aspire to become princes and kings. Can't you see this?"

"It is safe for you to make Zhang Ao the county magistrate, but he has no future. He is already over thirty, but he is still a mere county magistrate. You are looking at the territory of the Han Dynasty. There are many prefects in their thirties. Now General Zhennan is only in his early 20s."

Liu Bang's words reminded Zhang Er of his opinions to the Han Emperor back then. At that time, the Han Emperor only occupied a county and only had tens of thousands of people, but he had the courage to despise the powerful and change the world. But he couldn't do this. Now looking at the comparison of their identities, it can only be said that that meeting decided everything.

Zhang Er smiled bitterly and said: "My eldest brother is no better than you. I have hated the emperor. I am only able to reach my current position because of my cautiousness."

But the princes and generals in the world have a certain kind. A certain farmer was born and now he has become a prince. Who among these people, Ying Bu, Ji Bu, and Lu Chen, had a noble birth and became a prince? If you had established yourself as a king back then. , then use it to make wedding clothes for the king. "

"That's it~~~?" Liu Bang thought for a while and said: "In His Majesty's words, it means that the three views are solidified. That's right. You always think that the world belongs to those princes.

Then Liu Bang looked at Zhang Er and said: "Brother, when my younger brother came to seek refuge with you, he knew that you were a person with great ambitions. But now that you are called the Prime Minister, you are actually the governor of the county. Your original ambitions have come to an end." ?"

Liu Bang's proposal made Zhang Er a little excited. But he still hesitated and said: "I am afraid that the king will not agree if I break the earth and divide the feudal land."

He could only say: "Dai Guo is not a big man."

"Brother, you are fine with everything."

"Let Brother Wei think about it." This matter is not easy to handle. If he is not careful, he and Dai Wang will fall out, and then he, the Prime Minister of Dai Kingdom, will no longer be able to serve. Zhang Er's face was solemn and he kept walking back and forth.

Liu Bang said: "Then you still let him stay in Dai and become a county magistrate, serving the emperor and making great achievements. Even if he goes to Liaodong with a certain person to conquer the world, he will still be stronger than in Dai. Zhang Ao's future in Dai can be seen at a glance. "

He could only smile bitterly and said: "The master and minister have been decided, the general situation has been decided, what can I do as a brother?"

He said firmly: "Okay, I'll go find my king tomorrow."

Liu Bang said: "If you don't even agree to this request, that king is not worthy of your surrender. You borrow troops from the king to join the emperor's crusade against Qi. As long as you can make contributions, the emperor will definitely not be stingy in rewarding you." The title of vassal king. When the time comes, whether you are in Liaodong or in the desert, it is better to establish your own vassal state than to fight for the king."

Liu Bang said: "You should make it clear to King Dai, state your achievements over the years, divide a piece of land from Dai Kingdom, and establish your own vassal state."

Liu Bang said, Zhang Er was speechless for a while, what does it mean to be a mere county magistrate? Becoming a county magistrate at this age can already be called a young talent.

Liu Bang said: "Brother, please don't blame me for speaking harshly. Your talents are more than ten times better than Dai Wang Xie's, but now he is Dai Wang, and you are just the Prime Minister of Dai Kingdom. This year, Dai Kingdom is the land you brought soldiers to conquer, but But the king has benefited, but you, the prime minister, have gained nothing. If you had become the king, you would have done so many things. Just look at Chen Yu, who has done better than you."

Liu Bang said: "What are you thinking about? Brother, as long as you leave Dai, you will have no problem becoming a prince. Now is the best opportunity. There are not many princes and kings as powerful as Qi. If you don't join this war, It's even harder to establish a country on your own. Think about Chen Yu. He doesn't worry as much as you do. If he says he will be King of Yan, he will be King of Yan. You see, even if he falls into despair later, he can still become the King of Shanggu and become the No. 1 king in the world. For the two great princes and kings, sometimes choosing the right path is more important than doing things.”

Liu Bang talked about his younger brother, which directly hurt Zhang Er. At first, Liu Bang and Chen Yu were his younger brothers, but now they have become princes and kings, and their status is above him.

But what Liu Bang said later made Zhang Er helpless. Daiguo was only the size of a Han Dynasty county, and its development potential was just that. It was impossible for Zhang Ao to replace him as prime minister.

Zhang Ao and Liu Le looked at their adults nervously, wondering what wrong choice Zhang Er would make.

The next day, Zhang Er indeed said that he wanted to enfeoff, saying that enfeoffment was the general trend of the world now, and his request was not high. He handed over the land on the grassland in the north of Dai State to establish a vassal state of his own.

When Dai Wang Xie heard this, his expression immediately changed. Liu Bang said that the issue of extending the favor order had given him a huge headache. Now Zhang Er wanted to take away half of the land of Dai Kingdom. If Dai Wang Xie was so willing, even his own son would not be enough. point.

He could only hesitantly say that they were enfeoffed like the Han Dynasty, and they represented the country. A small country with a small population did not have the conditions to implement such a policy.

Zhang Er was furious in his heart. He had supported Dai Wang Xie. He had sacrificed his life several times to protect Dai Wang Xie, but now he refused to even get a piece of desolate land.

Zhang Er's heart has been touched by Liu Bang. His two younger brothers have become princes and kings. If his eldest brother doesn't work hard, he will be replaced by his younger brother.

So he wanted to ask on behalf of Wang Xie to lend him 3 soldiers so that he could go to Qi and make contributions.

Dai Wang Xie had no choice but to agree. First, Zhang Er had made great achievements after all, and he could not stop Zhang Er from making great achievements.

The second is that the officers of Dai State are Zhang Er's people from top to bottom. If Zhang Er is really anxious, Zhang Er can lead all the soldiers of Dai State even without his orders. But this way, his face becomes ugly.

The main reason why Zhang Er did not dare to fall out with Dai Wang Xie was because Zang Tu had set an example and rashly betrayed his master. Even if he occupied Dai Kingdom, he would not be able to stand.

Three days later, Dai Wangxie could only watch Zhang Er leading 3 Dai soldiers to go south to Qi to make great achievements.

Because of Liu Bang's instigation, Lu Chen's coalition of princes only had to guard Chen Yu, the king of Shanggu. Originally, Lu Chen also wanted Chen Yu to lead troops and join Peng Yue's army.

But Chen Yu acted like a dead pig who was not afraid of boiling water. He said that he was seriously ill and could not send troops, but he just refused to help the big man.

Lu Chen had no choice but to continue to lead his troops and watch Chen Yu outside Shanggu County.

Guangyang County, Zhenhai Administrative Office.

Peng Yue looked at Chen Ying and said hesitantly: "Duke Lu wants someone to purge the nobles and powerful people in Hebei and Qi who have connections?"

Chen Ying said: "The generals must have seen the rebellions in various parts of the Central Plains. If the rear areas are not cleaned up, the generals dare to send troops to attack Qi?" Peng Yue said: "Guangyang and other counties do not have many powerful nobles contacting Qi."

Guangyang County and other places are too far away from Qi State, so Xiang Yu did not contact the nobles and powerful people in Guangyang County. Of course, this is the land of Yan. In the eyes of the Central Plains people, this place is a barbaric land, and it has been a small and transparent place for hundreds of years. , the powerful nobles of the Central Plains have always regarded them as savages. So I rarely take them to play.

Chen Ying said: "This kind of thing is done in secret, how can the general know about it?"

"But we can't arrest people without reason."

Chen Ying said: "Sometimes position is very important. A certain person was born as a petty official. General, you may say that he was born as a water bandit. Lu Guogong and others were also born as prisoners. We all relied on the big men to achieve our current status. of."

The high-ranking officials of the Han Dynasty were not noble, and most of them were prisoners, even leaving aside the prisoners. Xu Fan was just a master, and Yingbu and others were just rangers and farmers. Only Zhou Zhang and Chen Xiao had better status, but most of them were from commoner backgrounds.

This is still the top level, the middle level people like Cao Xing, Fan Kuai, Jia Bu, Chen Xiaodao and others are either farmers or petty officials. The grassroots level of the Han people is actually a little better. A small part of them are from small landowners, and most of them are from farmers.

But these people have a common characteristic. They have basically no connection with the original nobles and powerful people of the Seven Kingdoms. In the words of later generations, they are a group of nouveau riche.

And it was this identity that made the nobles of the Six Kingdoms extremely disappointed. They were originally the upper class, but now the big man does not reuse them, but instead reuses a group of them. And they looked down on the imperial examinations of the Han Dynasty. Their ancestors were all rich, and the princes and monarchs did not know how many generations they had passed. How could they be worthy of becoming the chief of the pavilion, the tour payer, the Qiangfu, etc., who could not wait for a small official with a hundred stones.

They dared not fight in wars, looked down upon in the imperial examinations, and were not good at farming. This resulted in them having almost no way to enter the officialdom of the Han Dynasty. Xu Fan's Han Dynasty did not have a way to reach the sky in one step, so they could only love and pity themselves, and at the same time formed a family. The minor leagues jointly despise these uneducated bastards and blame the emperor for not giving them, gentlemen, a way to advance.

"But Xiang Yu is a noble from Qi State. Most of the people who are rebelling in the Central Plains are powerful nobles from the six countries. They have the same status as Xiang Yu."

Then Chen Ying said with disdain: "Now the world is ruled by the Han Dynasty, but they can't understand the current situation, and they still follow Xiang Yu in rebellion. In the eyes of these remnants of the Six Kingdoms, they are the real nobles, and we are just some gangsters." He dominates the world, and even now they have not surrendered to the rule of my great man. Since these people are so unwilling to die, let them see the disadvantages of my great man's sword. Only by cleaning them out will the world of my great man have no hidden worries. ”

Peng Yue retorted: "I'm afraid you want a population, but now you want someone to be your sword."

Although people like Chen Ying spoke uprightly, Peng Yue soon discovered their small thoughts. These vassal states were all established in barbaric lands. The people in the Han Dynasty did not want to go to such a place as long as they could survive. Only a small number of desperadoes and prisoners of the Han Dynasty will be sent there.

The backlash caused by such a large-scale purge was not something that a small Zhenhai general like him could withstand.

Chen Ying did not object and said: "This is the common thought of dozens of us princes and kings, but it is also the common thought of the entire Han Dynasty. The whole world belongs to us, but we no longer need these remnants of the old era that cannot keep up with the times."

But the entire ruling class of the Han Dynasty was also dissatisfied with them. They conquered this world, but they occupied the most land and the most interests. They still had to fight through all the obstacles in the wilderness to establish their own vassal states. But these remnants of the Six Kingdoms are living a good life in the Central Plains.

Not satisfied with this, they also wanted His Majesty to return the power to them and let them rule the world again, which also aroused dissatisfaction among the Han officials. They conquered the world, so naturally they should be allowed to occupy the vast majority of the interests. The generals of the Han Dynasty fully recognized Xu Fan's statement that he would conquer the world on horseback and rule the world on horseback.

It was only the great war at the end of the Qin Dynasty that left the nobles of the Six Kingdoms with a tiger skin. They made the Han military and even the Han officials feel that they were powerful.

Even though Xu Fan repeatedly told them that this was the power of the people of the world, these people still did not believe it. They preferred to believe that it was the power of the nobles of the Six Kingdoms. This time Xiang Yu rebelled, these powerful nobles of the Six Kingdoms were easily suppressed by the Han pavilion chief. Not even the tiger skin can be saved.

Even Xu Fan didn't notice that the war triggered by Xiang Yu turned into a war between the new aristocrats of the Han Dynasty and the old nobles and powerful men of the Six Kingdoms.

In the beginning, the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms were unwilling to be oppressed by the Han Dynasty and resisted. The Han Dynasty was extremely nervous, fearing that these old nobles of the Six Kingdoms would contact Xiang Yu, causing chaos in the world and the destruction of the Han Dynasty.

But the reality was beyond everyone's expectations. The seemingly powerful old aristocrats of the Six Kingdoms were actually vulnerable. Most of their rebellions were suppressed by the village militia. Even the county captain could suppress them. It is relatively successful.

The strong grassroots organizational strength of the Han Dynasty revealed the false power of these old nobles of the Six Kingdoms. It turns out that these so-called three thousand-year-old families are actually so weak. Not to mention fighting the regular army of the Han Dynasty, even a few pavilion chiefs and militiamen can do it. Suppress them.

After uncovering the cover of these paper tigers, the thoughts of the senior Han officials changed. Princes and kings like Lu Chen needed outstanding talents to help them develop their country, but their princely countries were poor and miserable places. Don't say anything. There are outstanding talents, but even ordinary people are unwilling to go to their vassal states.

The Han Dynasty exiled tens of thousands of talents. After going to these people's vassal states, the situation changed. Usually the people who knew how to farm in their vassal states were all outstanding talents. Now the Han Dynasty's top talents can be chosen at their will, and they can go up to the general level. From classic scholars to blacksmiths, carpenters, and masons, everything is available here. It is a gift package of talents. The princes and kings of the Han Dynasty, consciously or unconsciously promoted the expansion of the Han Dynasty's purge of the nobles and powerful men of the six countries.

And the Han officials also wanted to seize the property of these powerful nobles to achieve their political goals. Whether it was out of jealousy or actual interests, they wanted to cleanse the nobles and powerful people in their territories (not to mention that it was impossible, it was not possible). Don’t overestimate the influence of these people. Take a look at the biography of the powerful Han officials. These nobles and powerful men were really fat pigs at the time, but later emperors have slowly lost this ability.)

As a result, the middle and high-level officials in the entire Han Dynasty began to expand the scope of the purge intentionally or unintentionally to strive for their own interests.

Peng Yue fell silent. He might not be afraid of Chen Ying, but he would never offend dozens of princes and kings in the entire Han Dynasty.

On September 12, the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, Jibei County.

The salute of the Qi soldiers made the battlefield calm for three days, but the guards led by the Han Emperor rushed to the Qi battlefield. If they could not defeat the Zhendong Army in front of them and advance into the Central Plains, Qi would have no chance of winning.

Moreover, when Fan Zeng thought that he could disrupt the hinterland of the Han Dynasty, the powerful nobles in the Central Plains and Hebei were easily suppressed by some militiamen led by Han officials. Knowing this, both Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng were dumbfounded. How could the power of the powerful nobles decline so much? He was actually defeated by the militia led by a few Han officials.

However, the princes from all over the country who they expected to secretly support them were intimidated by the powerful military force of the Han Dynasty. None of them dared to contact Qi State for fear that the emperor would find out and send a large army to wipe out their princely countries. .

At this time, Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng discovered that none of the allies they imagined were reliable. They could only rely on Qi's own strength to fight against the Han Dynasty alone. But with one person against the whole world, the fate of failure is already doomed.

Xiang Yu was still unwilling to give in. He still wanted to fight against one side, so he celebrated and led his army to attack the Zhendong Army, hoping to eliminate the main force of the Han in the Central Plains and spread the flames of war to the Central Plains.

But it is a pity that the combat effectiveness of the Zhendong Army far exceeded Xiang Yu's imagination, although he could repeatedly defeat the Zhendong Army's formation with his bravery.

But the Zhendong Army is completely different from other armies that Xiang Yu encountered. The quality of the grassroots officers of the Zhendong Army is too high. Even if the military formation is broken, the Zhendong Army's commander, team leader, and even the commander will quickly organize soldiers. , continue to resist the Qi army in the form of a small team.

If the Han army was defeated but not defeated, the Qi army would be unable to inflict huge casualties on the Zhendong Army. The battle loss ratios between the two sides were extremely close. Because of their weaponry and medical advantages, the Han army suffered fewer casualties.

Qi army camp
Fan Zeng advised: "Yu'er, we can't continue to fight. I've really suffered over 10,000 casualties in the past few days. Our army only has this few elites left. If we continue to fight, we won't even be able to gather the officers to form a large army." .

In Qi State, Xiang Yu could quickly recruit hundreds of thousands of troops, but his officers could only trust the 2 standing troops he had in hand, and the Han Emperor had already arrived in Luoyang City. If we don't expand the army now, the subsequent battles will be difficult to fight. . "

Xiang Yu said fiercely: "Mobilize the entire Qi State. I will lead an army of 30 to continue the war against the Han army."

The battles in the past few days really made Xiang Yu's defense a little broken. Song Liu, a little-known member of the Han army, resisted his army. This was something he never expected. He could not defeat even one of the Han emperor's men.

And Long Qi and the others looked sad. They couldn't even defeat Song Liu. The emperor of Han Dynasty was here. How should we fight this battle?
(End of this chapter)