I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 331: Great Reward, Su Yao Supervises the Battle in Northern Frontier (4K5)

Take office wherever you want.

When Lu Zhi heard that Su Yao did not express any objection, he felt relieved and at the same time, he became more alert.

After all, this is the highlight!

However, he did not directly tell the destination, but asked:

"Let me ask you, sir. Do you want to go to a peaceful and prosperous place, or a turbulent and chaotic place?"

Lu Zhi's question made Su Yao stunned.

Is this still an option?

At that moment, Su Yao immediately said:

"For the sake of world peace, we should display our strengths in a chaotic place."

In the past, it was simply for the sake of dominating the world.

The best choice now would be to go to a prosperous and peaceful county, cultivate the land diligently, and wait for the world to fall into chaos.

However, now, after experiencing so much, Su Yao's thoughts have changed again.

Since there was no sign of any other players so far, why should he just follow the routine?

He could have found a way to accomplish his great cause of pacifying the world that was quick, effective, and would cause as little damage to the country as possible and would reduce the suffering of the people.

In this case, it is natural that we should go to the turbulent area and protect the peace.

Moreover, only in such a place is his military force valuable.

"Lord Su is truly a pillar of the country, and he cares about the world. I admire him."

Lu Zhi nodded and said:
"Since you have such intention, I will speak frankly."

"Your Majesty intends to let you stay in Youzhou to assist Envoy Liu in dealing with post-war issues. It would be best if you could capture and kill Zhang Ju and complete the mission."

Su Yao understood as soon as he heard it.

His Majesty the Emperor is still quite ambitious.

This Northern Expedition was very powerful. Although it conquered Lunu and recovered the counties of Youzhou, the most critical bandit leader Zhang Ju abandoned his wife and children and ran away.

This undoubtedly left a big knot in his heart. Not to mention the emperor, Su Yao himself was the same.

Otherwise, he would not have asked the Zhen family to find a way to sneak the spy in.

This incident can be said to be a common regret for both of them.

You must know that Youzhou is located in the border area, the people are tough, and the rebel forces have not been completely eliminated, and the remaining forces are still active.

As long as Su Yao opened the map and took a quick glance, he could immediately find that the red distribution of hostile forces inside and outside Youzhou was particularly eye-catching.

Not only the Wuhuan people, but also the Xianbei and Goguryeo people played the role of taking advantage of the situation in the border counties during the rebellion led by Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju that swept across You and Ji.

At the same time, although Zhang Ju, as the leader of the rebellion, fled to the border, it was obvious that he would not give up his ambitions easily once he became emperor.

If given the chance, he might gather his remaining troops, or even collude with foreign forces, to come back and take revenge.

Only by capturing and killing Zhang Ju can this incident be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

But obviously, it was impossible for the emperor to lead his troops to the frontier in person.

And Su Yao, as the most dazzling figure in this Northern Expedition, naturally became the most suitable candidate in the emperor's mind.

Not only because he was brave and good at fighting, loyal and reliable, but also because he always won with a smaller force and miraculous quick attacks.

Therefore, when Liu Hong decided to send Su Yao away for training, he thought of this arrangement almost immediately.

Select a border county in Youzhou and let them continue to hunt down Zhang Ju.

Once we get Zhang Ju's head, we can transfer him back with justification.

The emperor had a good idea, and Su Yao was also happy to take this opportunity to clean up and resolve the problems around Youzhou.

However, Su Yao knew that things might not be that simple.

The most critical questions are:

"General Liu Youzhou Lu, do you know that this man is a typical pacifist?"

"pacifist?"

Su Yao's words stunned Lu Zhi.

What kind of noun is this?

But after a pause, Lu Zhi finally understood what Su Yao meant.

This is true.

It was common knowledge in the court that Liu Yu advocated appeasement and emphasized education when governing the ethnic minorities and rebellious people in the border areas.

The reason why Liu Yu was invited to be the governor of Youzhou was because of the failure of the previous bandit suppression strategy and the increasingly severe rebellion in Youzhou and Jizhou.

You know, war costs money, and the court really has no money.

Liu Yu's proposal was exactly what the court wanted. If the rebellion could be quelled without mobilizing troops, that would naturally be great.

Unfortunately, before he could implement his policies just after taking office, the rebels led by Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju launched a new round of rebellion.

Now that the main force of the bandits has been destroyed, Liu Yu has finally got the chance to show his talents.

Therefore, the court did not hold him accountable for his poor governance and allowed him to continue serving as the governor of Youzhou.

"Is Lord Su worried about conflicts with Liu Youzhou's policies?"

Su Yao nodded.

Isn't this obvious?

Although he was a frontier official, it happened to be Youzhou, and he had a chief officer above him.

In history, Liu Yu, who advocated peace, had a fierce conflict with Gongsun Zan, who advocated war.

Although Su Yao cannot be said to have replaced Gongsun Zan's ecological niche, if he does not want to lie down, he still must have the right to fight.

Otherwise, the opportunity for battle would be fleeting, and Liu Yu would hinder him in the rear. Wouldn't it be better for him, a senior official stationed in a local area, to stay in the central government?

In response to Su Yao's question, Lu Zhi also fell into silence.

"What does Lord Su mean?" Lu Zhi asked.

"Let me discuss this with everyone."

Lu Zhi nodded in agreement with Su Yao's request, and he had no complaints.

Rather, it was because the matter was of such importance that the emperor and the general jointly asked him to be the middleman to discuss the reward with Su Yao in private.

"What do you think about this issue?" Su Yao asked everyone.

In the side room, Wei Ming, Wang Ling, Liu Bei and Cheng Lian discussed the issue in a circle, but they still couldn't figure it out.

After all, although an official like a provincial governor also has a salary of two thousand stones, he has extremely heavy powers and responsibilities. As the head of a province, if the local governor wants to be free from his constraints, he will first conflict with the system.

After all, the post of provincial governor was only appointed this year by the Later Han Dynasty due to circumstances, and they knew very little about this official.

Cheng Lian was just a military man and had no idea about state affairs.

Liu Bei and Wang Ling were also newcomers and had little understanding of politics.

Although Wei Ming knew more, in his opinion, this matter was not important.

It would be more to his liking if Su Yao could stay away from the center for a long time.

If Zhang Ju was quickly wiped out and then brought back to the court, wouldn't he still be used as a tool by that tyrant emperor in the end?

This is such a waste of Lord Su's talent.

Therefore, after the last round of discussion, the result was that either we should come back and pay more attention to communicating with Liu Yu, show him our sincerity and ability, and gain the understanding and support of this superior.

Or, just change the location.

"I think Qingzhou is not bad."

Wei Ming stroked his beard and said:
"The Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou are rising again, and the local governor is difficult to control. Your Excellency is capable, so why don't you become the governor of Beihai, where you can still realize your ambitions."

That's a good point, but it's ultimately an evasion of the issue.

Su Yao still hopes to be able to complete what he started.

Now that he has reached the edge of Youzhou, it is not in his character to let this problem go. Not to mention, being an official in Youzhou might give him a chance to teach Bangzi and his misidentified father a lesson.

That’s great. Then let’s improve Liu Yu’s impression first.

So, after a period of silence, when Su Yao was finally ready to go back and grit his teeth to accept the challenge, he bumped into an unexpected old friend as soon as he opened the door.

"Lord Su, I am sorry for the inconvenience."

Huangmen Shilang Zhong Yao bowed and saluted:

"I see that you haven't returned for a long time. I think you are still worried about the rights and responsibilities with Liu Youzhou in the future."

"I have something to say about this, I wonder if you would like to hear it?"

Zhong Yao, the Imperial Court Minister.

Su Yao was really surprised that this old friend, who used to read imperial edicts to him together with the eunuch Jian Shuo and helped him solve the accommodation problem in the capital, suddenly came over at this time.

He almost thought that this guy was just a background board this time.

But seeing that this person was willing to talk, Su Yao had no reason to refuse.

After all, this person is a real talent.

Not to mention that in the future he was compared by Cao Cao to Xiao He's achievements and was one of the Three Dukes, his basic political attribute of 92 at debut alone made him a top character on the same level as Sima Yi and Lu Su.

Moreover, after all, the two of them had worked together all the way back to Beijing. Zhong Yao was one of the rare people in the court who had a favorable impression of him and had no ill will towards him.

So Su Yao also bowed in return to show his respect.

However, this surprised Zhong Yao greatly.

After all, this Lord Su usually treats almost everyone indifferently, so he came here prepared to be treated coldly.

Such a scene was truly moving, so Zhong Yao hurriedly returned the greeting and said:
"Excuse me for being frank."

"Lord Su has made great contributions, but he was sent from the central government to a remote county in Youzhou. Although it is an upgrade, the court is still somewhat at fault."

"Since you are worried about the governor's interference, why don't you take this opportunity to ask for power and bypass Liu Youzhou's jurisdiction?"

"Power?"

Without waiting for everyone to think, Zhong Yao continued:

"Have Lord Su forgotten how we acted in Bingzhou in the past?"

"Did the Minister tell you to ask His Majesty for a staff?" Wang Ling asked.

Wang Ling knew very well that Su Yao had obtained his independent status in Bingzhou by taking the staff of Wang Rou, the Lieutenant General of the Xiongnu.

Not only was the governor unable to control him, but the prefects of all parties had no choice but to cooperate with him.

That is to let the Xiongnu General deal with the chaos.

Speaking of Youzhou.
"General Du Liao."

Zhong Yao nodded:

"Your Excellency, may I ask you to lead the army across Liao?"

General Du Liao.

It was first seen during the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty. In the third year of Yuanfeng of Emperor Zhao, General Fan Mingyou of the Central Army was appointed as General Du Liao, and the area was named after crossing the Liao River.

He was an important military officer who was higher in rank than the General of the Xiongnu and the Commandant of the Protectorate of Wuhuan, and was responsible for guarding the northern border of the Han Dynasty.

If we say that in the early Western Han Dynasty, the General Du Liao was a general with a miscellaneous title appointed for specific matters.

During the Later Han Dynasty, in order to cope with the increasingly frequent war crises in the north, General Du Liao officially became a permanent general.

In addition to helping the Xiongnu General to supervise the Xiongnu, he was also responsible for the military threats against the northern ethnic minorities, especially the Xianbei, Wuhuan, Goguryeo and Qiang.

Its official base was in Wuyuan Manbai County (Wuyuan Mankou), and together with the Wuhuan Commandery Commandant it was known as the Second Camp, commanding two thousand cavalrymen in seven northern counties.

In the past, the Du Liao General had a very broad scope of authority and was a senior official with great authority.

Not only does he have the power to command border garrisons, but he can also mobilize troops from surrounding areas to conduct defensive or offensive operations as the situation requires.

It can be said that General Du Liao was the undisputed number one general in the northern border of the Han Dynasty before the collapse of the military system of the Later Han Dynasty, and the elite troops under his command were the strongest border troops of the Han Dynasty.

In his heyday, General Du Liao once led 20,000 to 30,000 cavalry to conquer the east and the west. It is no exaggeration to say that he was the stabilizer of the northern border of the Han Dynasty.

Such a General Du Liao, in modern terms, was the permanent commander of the northern military region of the Han Dynasty.

But now
Also because of the increasingly fierce rebellion inside and outside the Han Dynasty, General Du Liao was like the former General of the Xiongnu and the Lieutenant of the Protector of Wuhuan. Not only did his organization collapse, but the general also disappeared in the war and his life or death was uncertain.

"But your Excellency is the governor of Qian, with an official rank of 2,000 stones, and the General Du Liao is also a 2,000-stone official. Can they hold both positions at the same time?" Cheng Lian asked doubtfully.

However, this is what political novices like Cheng Lian don’t understand.

According to the practice of the Later Han Dynasty, except for the full-time General Du Liao who was promoted from Colonel and General of the Household, this position was mostly held concurrently by the prefects of border counties, who served as the General Du Liao.

It is to give them the power to act at their convenience and concentrate on dealing with the crisis at hand.

Even General Du Liao had the power to establish a government!

This is the most important thing for Su Yao.

Although it was not as famous as the shogun's and cavalry general's shogunate, it was finally possible to officially recruit talents, appoint the chief secretary and Sima with a salary of 600 koku, and appoint the subordinates and chief clerks with a salary higher than 400 koku.

His private army finally had a formal organization and no longer had the embarrassment of unclear affiliation.

Su Yao, whose mind was suddenly opened, immediately pressed Zhong Yao's shoulder with joy and said:

"The Minister is indeed a man of great talent. This is very accurate and agrees with my heart!"

"In this way, I can act freely in Youzhou without being afraid of Liu Youzhou's constraints."

"what?"

"Su Yao is going to carry out the Du Liao general military campaign?!"

He Jin was shocked when he heard Liu Biao's words.

Logically speaking, they had asked Su Yao to leave the center this time in the hope that the popular Liu Yu would keep him under control, so that this kid could live out a few years away from the power center and not disturb their important affairs.

However, if he were to obtain the privilege of being the general of Du Liao, there would probably be another bloody storm in the northern frontier.

By then, this guy will come back with a great victory. The scene will be so beautiful that He Jin dare not even think about it.

"Who gave him this idea!!!"

However, it was useless to say more. He Jin, who had once strongly advocated Su Yao's military achievements and recommended him for promotion, could not find a reason to stop the development of the situation.

The next day, at the morning court meeting in the palace, the emperor personally appointed generals.

Former general Lu Zhi was promoted to Shangshu Ling, with an additional fief of 2,000 and was responsible for escorting the army back to the capital.

Su Yao, the Lieutenant General of the Tiger Guards, was transferred to be the governor of Liaodong, and was given an additional fief of 1,000 yuan. He was appointed as the general of Liaodong and continued to search for Zhang Ju and wipe out the remnants of the bandits in Youzhou.

Cao Cao, the commander of the imperial guards, was promoted to General of the Tiger Guards and took over Su Yao's duty of guarding the palace.

Yuan Shu, the General of the Five Officials, was demoted to a commoner and ordered to return home to reflect on his actions.

Liu Bei, a general of the Huben Army, was transferred to be the magistrate of Xiangping.

Dong Yong, a general of the Huben Army, was promoted to the position of Zuo Pushe of the Huben Army.

Xing Ju, the left servant of the Huben army, was transferred to be the commander of the guards of Wuhuan.

Cheng Lian, the commander of Qujun Army of Bingzhou Army, was transferred to Sima of Biebu Army and stationed in Liaoyang.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were dismissed from their posts and given money, cloth, etc.
In addition to the officers and soldiers of the Central Army who performed well and received promotions and demotions, the ordinary soldiers of the three armed forces naturally also received rewards. This included the various loyal princes who, although they did not play a big role, should not be stingy with the rewards they deserved.

This was the reward plan that Su Yao had bargained with Lu Zhi and others yesterday.

As the saying goes, one hero needs three helpers. In addition to his own affairs, Su Yao naturally also has to commend and reward his soldiers who have always followed him.

As for Su Yao's decision to appoint all his subordinates and confidants to new posts, the imperial court did not express any opinion.

The main reason is that the country is in chaos now, and if any provincial governor takes office without bringing a team of trusted people with him, he will not be able to carry out his work at all.

Especially this time, Su Yao volunteered to go to Liaodong. Now there was no news from that place after the rebellion, and he had no idea what the situation was like.

Compared with those who brought their family members to office, Su Yao's personnel transfer under the regulations of the court was already restrained.

Therefore, Cheng Lian, who was the earliest to follow Su Yao, was invited by Su Yao to be appointed as the governor of Liaodong after he had finally accumulated merits and reached the position of Sima, to help him command the Liaodong County troops.

Liu Bei already had the experience of being the county lieutenant of Anxi County. This time, Liu, Guan, and Zhang Fei performed outstandingly in the Huben Army. Su Yao commended him and sent him to Xiangping, the capital of Liaodong County, to serve as the county magistrate to assist in handling government affairs.

(End of this chapter)