I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 554: Jincheng's Aftermath
Zhang Fei has indeed matured, different from before.

In the past, let alone asking Zhang Fei to take the initiative to give credit to others and be willing to be a supporting role to create opportunities for others to make merit, don't even think about it! Unless that person is Liu Bei or Guan Yu.

But now it is Xu Huang who plays this role.

However, Xu Huang was not a person who was greedy for credit. He and Guan Yu were both from Hedong and had a friendship in their early years. When he wrote a letter to report his achievements, he wrote down Zhang Fei's tactics of covering him in the final breakout without any omissions, and gave the credit to Zhang Fei.

Next they had more important things to do. With the death of the Xianbei leader Mo Hou, the Han army led the Western Region coalition forces to chase the defeated Xianbei and Cheshi soldiers all the way, starting with Liuzhong City in the front of Cheshi.

Just as the army was preparing to head towards Shule City in the rear of Cheshi, the rear of Cheshi had already abandoned their king.

"Your humble servant greets the general!"

Beijun was once a hostage in Luoyang. Later, the former Cheshi King had a disagreement with Wubu Hou under the command of Wuji Commandant and defected to the Northern Xiongnu. Beijun was then made the King of Cheshi. Later, the former Cheshi King wanted to come back. Considering that his prestige was far greater than Beijun's, Wuji Commandant, who personally made Beijun a hostage, took away Beijun's seal.

From this perspective, the Han Dynasty did not act in a fair way.

Therefore, facing this humble king whose behavior and style were reminiscent of the Han people, Xu Huang and Zhang Fei did not treat him harshly.

Unless they wanted to destroy the Cheshi Kingdom and split it up among Yanqi, Shanshan and other countries, they really needed to re-establish a Cheshi king who was loyal to the Han Dynasty, and there was no doubt that I was the best candidate.

The former king of Cheshi, who came with the Xianbei people on the way, had already surrendered to the Han army. The later king of Cheshi, Ami Zha, did not die in the chaos but was captured.

As the biggest supporter of the collusion between the Cheshi Kingdom and the Xianbei people, it was naturally impossible for him to become king. Whether he was presented as a prisoner in Luoyang or executed on the spot in the Western Regions as a warning to others, he would probably not escape death.

What was beyond Xu Huang and Zhang Fei's expectations was that after the Han people left, Liuzhong City was not abandoned, but was occupied by the vanguard of Cheshi.

Now that the Han king has returned, this military farming city built by the Han people will naturally return to the hands of the Han people.

In fact, not only Liuzhong City, but also Jiaohe City located in the front of Cheshi, as well as Shule City, Jinpu City and other garrison cities once left by the Han people, were where Xu Huang and Zhang Fei wanted to station their troops.

After arriving here, they realized that their ancestors had already considered setting up cities in these places.

However, after the victory in the battle, the county soldiers under their command generally wanted to return home, and they wanted to call people back to stay and make further plans.

……

On the other hand, let's not talk about the fact that the Western Regions would be decided by one battle. The rest would just be a matter of time and effort. Just to say that after Ma Teng and the Protector of the Qiang, along with many soldiers from the counties in Hexi, left Liangzhou, the Qiang people in the south, who had been restless to begin with, and the Xianbei in the north and west, were both ready to make a move.

Wang Can was feeling lucky at the moment. He said to Lu Jun and the others, "When Emperor Xiaowu attacked the Xiongnu, he exhausted the treasury and caused people's livelihood to decline. But if it weren't for Emperor Xiaowu's foresight to open up the four counties in Hexi, cut off the connection between the Xiongnu and the Southern Qiang, and connected the Western Regions through the four counties in Hexi, thus cutting off the arms of the Xiongnu, how could we have the current situation!"

"Think about the early years, because of the rebellion of the Qiang in Liangzhou, the ministers in the court often thought of abandoning Liangzhou. It can be seen that they had no foresight. Today, the Xianbei are approaching Wuwei, and the Qiang are approaching Jincheng. The two cannot be combined, so there is no need to worry!"

After hearing Wang Can's big talk, Ma Chao could only come to the conclusion that it was "nothing to worry about". He couldn't help but curl his lips and said, "Zhongxuan talked for so long, but it's the same as if he didn't say anything!"

Seeing that Ma Chao did not understand Wang Can's meaning, Sun Ce reminded him, "Zhongxuan's intention is not only for us to hear, but also for the county officials and Qiang and Di leaders and chiefs to hear. He wants to tell them that the court will never give up Liangzhou, and the Xianbei in the north are not our Jincheng County to worry about, and the Qiang people outside the Great Wall in the south are not worth worrying about!"

Ma Chao suddenly understood what was going on. He immediately said, "When it comes to these conspiracies and tricks, I'm really no match for you. I don't know how many twists and turns you have in your minds."

After hearing this, Wang Can and Sun Ce rolled their eyes at Ma Chao.

Compared with Ma Chao, Lu Jun, who was acting as the prefect of Jincheng, was actually willing to accept the advice. He quickly summoned the civil and military officials of Jincheng County and used Wang Can's words to appease the people.

Of course, words alone are not enough. The most crucial person is Ma Teng’s son Ma Chao.

After all, Ma Chao had left Jincheng and gone to Luoyang for many years. Although he was quite prestigious in Jincheng County because he was the son of Ma Teng, there were still some people in high positions and the chieftains of the Qiang and Di peoples who did not believe in Ma Chao.

After Lu Jun finished speaking, Jincheng County Sima Houxuan and Cheng Yin jumped out impatiently and shouted, "The chief secretary's words sound nice, but the one who is fighting against the Qiang invaders from outside the Great Wall is not the chief secretary, so he can talk big here with confidence!"

"It is right to give more money and food as rewards!"

The two of them sang the same tune, which caused the military officers in the prefect's mansion to agree in their hearts even though they did not speak out in agreement.

Seeing this, Ma Chao stood up suddenly and said, "It is said that the battle is won thousands of miles away from home. The Chief Secretary has made overall arrangements when he is acting as the governor. We warriors will fight the enemy at the frontier. I will take orders to go to the border later. You, on the other hand, should not be afraid of the Qiang people outside the border!"

After saying this, Ma Chao, holding his sword in his hand, looked around at the military officers present. Only a few of them dared to look directly at him.

Even Hou Xuan and Cheng Yin, who were trying to stir up trouble, could not hold out for long in the face of Ma Chao's piercing gaze.

Because they understood what Ma Chao's eyes meant. It was a look of fighting against opponents who refused to obey. It was very similar to the look of Ma Teng in the past.

The most important thing is that it is really impossible to do it!

When a hostage suddenly returns to his homeland, he generally has the problem of lacking prestige to command the people because he has been away from his homeland for a long time. For example, Beijun, who was about to become the King of Cheshi, was taken away the seal of the King by Captain Wu Ji because he could not sit firmly on the throne.

But Ma Chao did not have this worry.

On the one hand, although Jincheng County is a "country within a country", it is fundamentally different from a vassal state. On the other hand, Ma Chao is indeed a man who can stand on his own feet and is not afraid of challenges from all sides.

Faced with the looting of the Qiang people, Ma Chao and Sun Ce led the soldiers of Jincheng County to launch military operations to defend their country. They even spared no effort to push the war outside the Great Wall and robbed the Qiang people of their sheep and horses.

During this process, Ma Chao, the son of Ma Teng, and Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian, who was powerful in Liang Province, inherited the prestige passed down from their fathers at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Bofu, Mengqi, Longxi Li Taishou sent a message, hoping to join forces with our Jincheng County soldiers to attack Qiang and teach the Qiang people a lesson, so that they won't always think of raiding the border for no reason."

After arriving in Liangzhou, Lu Jun truly felt the difference between the inland counties and the border counties. The Hu people outside the Great Wall who were like flies to him were enough to annoy him. Even someone with a good temper like him couldn't help but feel the urge to kill them.

Lu Jun actually agreed with the proposal of the Longxi governor. Although the Qiang people in the periphery of Jincheng County had been cleared out, it was called an alliance, but in fact it was more of a help to Longxi County.

Of course, the corresponding supply of military supplies is necessary. Lu Jun is honest and not a fool.

As for Sun Ce and Ma Chao, there is nothing wrong with that.

The morale of the Hu and Han soldiers under their command was also high because they had been invincible with the two men. After all, neither they nor Lu Jun could deduct military merits and rewards. With sufficient treatment, in Jincheng County, where material conditions were limited and the spirit of war was strong, everyone dared to fight.

……

"Ah Gui (Ah Zhen), greetings to the two generals!"

Ma Chao looked at the two men who came on the orders of the Longxi prefect. Although both of them were dressed like Han people, the difference between them could still be noticed from the traces left by their slightly different hairstyles from those of the Han people.

"Are you Di people?"

"The general has a keen eye!" replied Zhen.

Ah Zhen continued, "In the past, our garrison was near the frontier, but later we moved inland, but the original garrison was still preserved, so my two brothers are quite familiar with Longxi and the frontier."

Perhaps worried that Sun Ce and Ma Chao would doubt his ability, Ah Zhen said proudly: "I once led the way for Guan Gong! The warhorse beside me was given to me by Guan Gong at that time! I heard that Guan Gong has now become the General of the Northern Expedition, which is really great!"

Once upon a time, when Azhen met Guan Yu, he still needed to use the surname of Yang, the King of Baima Di, to show his strength, but now, he and his brother Agui no longer need to do so.

They can rely on themselves, that's enough!

Sun Ce and Ma Chao were not very familiar with Guan Yu, but since they were sent by the governor of Longxi and were Di people, they should be trustworthy.

After all, when they were dealing with the Qiang people outside the Great Wall, they discovered that there was actually some connection between the Qiang people on both sides. However, there were actually very few Di people in the Qiangzhong area, because the Di people loved farming more than the Qiang people, and farming was almost impossible in the Qiangzhong area.

Sun Ce immediately said: "That's great. Our army is not very familiar with the Qiangzhong area south of Longxi..."

On the way to the expedition, Sun Ce and Ma Chao learned more about the brothers Agui and Azhen.

Now Agui is already a well-known Di king in Longxi County, but compared to the identity of Di king, Agui prefers his other identity - a clerk under the command of the duwei, with a salary of as much as one hundred dan!
As for Azhen, he was even more amazing. He was one of the inspectors in the county. Although he was only paid 100 stones, he held the power of supervision and held a very important position.

The reason why the two brothers were treated so well was not only because they were able to cling to the emperor in time, but also because they were both very smart and could learn classics very quickly. Moreover, Ah Zhen had participated in the war against Han Sui, so he had a good family background.

If they don’t make progress, who will?

With two people leading the way, and Sun Ce and Ma Chao leading the troops, they only attacked Longxi County and part of Jincheng County bordering Qiangzhong, and were invincible along the way.

However, Sun Ce and Ma Chao also learned from the talkative Ah Zhen about the new conflicts that had arisen in Liang Province...

"In fact, we Di people are much better at farming than the Qiang people... We don't even need the Han people to teach us how to farm. We just need to allocate us a piece of suitable land and we can cultivate it ourselves."

"The problem now is that some of the land we have reclaimed is not actually considered as military farms... and some of the land was originally occupied... For example, the land that my unit originally had near the border has a stream that can be used for irrigation... so it naturally cannot be considered as military farms."

"But now, everyone knows how to farm. If the Qiang and Di people don't participate in the military farming, but farm their own land, although most of the land is not good, they only need to pay the original small amount of head money... But if they also farm their own land, the Han people have to perform corvée labor, pay land rent, and also pay cloth or silk and linen per household..."

“Although I am not Han Chinese, in my opinion, it is somewhat unfair.”

Ma Chao didn't think too much after hearing this, but just said: "This is inevitable... At least Liangzhou can be stable!"

Sun Ce thought more.

At first, it was the Qiang people who were dissatisfied with the oppression of the Han people. Later, both the Han and Qiang people in Liangzhou were dissatisfied with the oppression. As for now, it seems that the Han people are dissatisfied with the unfair treatment they have received.

"What is worrying is not the scarcity but the inequality!" said Sun Ce.

After hearing this, Ah Zhen immediately responded, "Just as the general said. However, it would be best if it could be equally distributed!"

After listening to Ah Zhen's words, Sun Ce also understood that if he wanted to make the Qiang people bear the same tax treatment as the Han people, Liang Province, which had just been settled, would probably fall into chaos again.

He thought about it over and over again, but could not find a good solution.

We can’t let the Han people in Liangzhou suffer forever!

After thinking it over, Sun Ce prepared to write a memorial and send it to Luoyang - to give the ministers the same headache as he did!

After learning that Sun Ce was going to report the matter to the emperor, Azhen looked at Agui, who had been relatively taciturn along the way, and both felt that their goal had been achieved.

Coming from a small Di tribe close to the frontier that was on the verge of collapse to where they are today, both of them cherish their current lives. As for the new conflicts they have discovered about Liangzhou caused by military farming, they naturally hope to resolve them before they break out.

However, they did not dare to say these words to the prefect or other officials in the county who were qualified to submit petitions, because once the news spread, the Han people who farmed the land would probably thank them for speaking frankly, but more Qiang and Di people, and even officials, would probably despise them for looking for trouble.

After all, this is just a hidden worry, and the ones who will really be hurt are probably only ordinary Han people.

Therefore, after hearing about the origins of Sun Ce and Ma Chao, they thought of this opportunity and wanted to express their concerns to the two of them in a roundabout way.

Originally, they saw that Ma Chao didn't seem to understand and were still hesitating whether to speak more directly.

Fortunately, Sun Ce was a smart man, so even if they told others about it, at most they would just be saying it was an unintentional mistake of talking too much.

(End of this chapter)