A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 352 Growing up, the cause of chaos

A few days after Liu Bei returned home, Liu's mother contracted a cold. Liu Bei wanted to see a doctor, but Liu's mother stopped him:
"Bei'er, there's no need to ask a doctor. I know my mother's illness well. The root of the disease has been established long ago and it can't be cured. Why spend that money? My family doesn't have much money. If it's all spent on me, If you put it on your body, you will be hungry."

"Mom, what are you talking about? Even if all the money is used up, the child must be treated, otherwise the child will feel distressed."

As she was about to run out, Mother Liu struggled to get up and said loudly: "Liu Bei, if you dare to ask a doctor, my mother will die for you!"

"Mother!"

Liu Bei fell to his knees helplessly.

"Ahem, Bei'er, don't blame your mother for being cruel. This is how the world is. If you want to get ahead, you have to be cruel to yourself. You have the ability to support yourself, and your mother can feel free to see your father. , your father has been waiting for your mother below for a long time, he should be impatient."

"Mother."

Liu Bei cried so hard that he couldn't take care of himself.

"Bei'er, listen to me, there are dozens of pennies under this bed. Take it and use it carefully. You must remember the lesson Mr. Lu asked you to come back.

You are a smart child and will definitely achieve great things in the future. This is why Liu Yuanqi is willing to help you. Mother is too tired.

Also, there is a small box buried in the corner to the right of my house. There is a hairpin inside. It was a gift from my mother's family. If you really have no choice in the future, take this hairpin and go to Baiguo. With Bei'er's cleverness, You will definitely be able to survive. "

After saying so much, Mother Liu was already very tired and gradually lost her breath.

"Mother!"

Liu Bei rushed to Liu Mu's couch and held Liu Mu's skinny hand. His cries resounded throughout the sky, penetrated the mud house, and spread to all directions.

Liu Yuanqi, who was not far from Liu Bei's house, also heard it. He hurried to Liu Bei's house with his son. After sighing for a moment, he began to help Liu Bei manage Liu's mother's funeral affairs.

After Liu Bei was sad, he was like a puppet on strings, accepting Liu Yuanqi's mercy. After Liu's mother was successfully buried and everyone left, Liu Bei cried in front of Liu's mother's grave again, but this time, there seemed to be a hint of sadness in his cry. A bit aggrieved.

After two days, Liu Bei recovered somewhat. He used the few dozen pennies he had left to buy a lot of meat, and went door-to-door to thank people for helping him take care of his funeral.

After doing all this, he looked deeply at the courtyard that had been with him for more than ten years. He was born here, grew up here, and studied here, but after all, he could not make a difference here.

He closed all the doors and windows, came to Liu Yuanqi's home, said goodbye to his uncle and clan brother who had detained him, and set foot on the road alone.

He is preparing to move to Zhuoxian County. Only there can he receive the latest national events and have the opportunity to fulfill the ambitions expected by his mother and himself.

June
Lu Zhi arrived in Lujiang with 3,000 forbidden troops. At this time, in the entire Lujiang County, only a few counties east of Shu County, the county seat, defended the city and saved the county seat. The seven or eight counties to the west have lost contact.

The barbarians in Lujiang plundered freely, and the entire western part of Lujiang was paralyzed.

Fortunately, Lu Zhi got the news in advance and did not rush southward from Runan County directly into the west of Lujiang River. Instead, he entered from Jiujiang County in the north of Lujiang River and entered the county town in the east of Lujiang River.

Seeing that Lu Zhi's army had arrived, the tens of thousands of barbarian alliances besieging the county and city dispersed in a flurry and fled into the mountains and forests without being seen.

The army successfully entered the county town. As soon as he got on his horse, Lu Zhi summoned the main officials and generals in the city and issued an edict, ordering the county town still in the hands of the court to send county captains to the county town to negotiate.

He also asked people to spread the news of his arrival in Lujiang County, so that the entire Lujiang River would know.

Lu Zhi sat in the main seat, the main generals of the three thousand forbidden soldiers who followed him sat on the right, and the local officials of Lujiang sat on the left.

"Everyone, I have come to assume the position of Lujiang Prefect under the order of the imperial court. The purpose is to quell the chaos and stabilize the place. There is an imperial edict and official seal here."

The entourage behind him came out, stood in the hall, and took out the seal and ribbon of the Lujiang prefect to show it to everyone present.

After the entourage's presentation was completed, Lu Zhi asked the official on the left: "Is there any colleague who can explain to me the cause and effect?"

The Lujiang officials looked at each other in confusion. The last county official, who was in his forties, stood up and saluted and said: "Xu Sheng, a subordinate of the rank of soldier Cao Shu, boldly told the prince of his passing."

Lu Zhi looked at Xu Sheng with satisfaction: "Please speak."

As Xu Sheng explained, Lu Zhi gradually understood the whole story of the chaos in Lujiang.

Lujiang County is originally a remote county in the south. Thanks to hundreds of years of immigration and reclamation by the Han Dynasty, the ratio of Han to barbarian is now half and half. In Nanhai County further south, the ratio of Han to barbarian is even only three to seven.

Originally, under the governance of the Lujiang prefects of the Han Dynasty, the conflicts between Han and barbarians in Lujiang were well resolved, and the entire county was relatively stable. Many barbarians began to leave the mountains and forests in tribal units, expressing their willingness to accept the rule of the Han Dynasty. Under the guidance of the government, they began to cultivate land and pay taxes to the court. They were called cooked barbarians. There are only a few barbarian tribes living in the deep mountains and old forests. They are unwilling to be naturalized by the government and are called barbarians. However, because the mountains and forests are large enough, and barbarians are constantly coming out of the mountains, and they are rich in materials, they do not go out to destroy the production of the Han people, so as long as they do not engage in All previous governors ignored the matter.

By the end of Emperor Huan's reign, the political situation in the court was in chaos, and after Liu Hong ascended the throne, he only wanted to make money and allowed the eunuchs to collect the money. As a result, several prefects only knew how to collect taxes and make money, and they also set up various projects. For the sake of corruption, they even helped a few lawless Han tyrants and forcibly destroyed several pro-Han barbarian tribes.

This suddenly intensified the conflict between Han and barbarians. The familiar barbarians could not bear the plundering, contemptuous attitude of the officials, and the robbery by some illegal and powerful Han people. They fled into the mountains and forests one after another, gradually mixing with the barbarians.

As a large number of barbarians entered the mountains and forests, there was a shortage of food in the mountains, and they had to seek a way out. Some barbarian tribes who had been assimilated by the barbarians began to attack Han manors and Wubao.

At first, the local army was able to suppress it, but as more and more barbarians could not stand the government's exploitation, more and more barbarian tribes were in unrest.

There are even many Han people who can't stand the exploitation by the government. They take the initiative to cut off their hair and tattoos, claim that their ancestors have barbarian blood, and seek to join the barbarian tribes to survive. They bring a lot of tools and knowledge, making it increasingly difficult to exterminate the barbarians.

Until the beginning of the year, several large barbarian tribes united with many small barbarian tribes to form an alliance, and while the prefect was vacant, they agreed to launch a surprise attack across the county at the same time.

Lujiang County could not look at each other from the beginning to the end. The county soldiers were exhausted and even encountered a large number of barbarian ambushes on the road. The entire army was wiped out, and the Lujiang County Sima was also killed in the formation.

At this time, the highest official in Lujiang was the county magistrate, a civil servant who did not know much about military affairs. As a result, the affairs in Lujiang became more and more corrupt, so he had to order the counties to defend themselves, and then reported it to the Yangzhou Governor's Department to ask for help from the imperial court.

Since Lujiang County is not a border county, there is no long history of military affairs. Instead, the prefect leads the army, and the county Sima is responsible for specific military command.

After learning what happened, Lu Zhi asked Xu Sheng to sit down, and then expressed his thoughts to everyone:

"Since the matter arose due to corrupt officials, I will start by thoroughly investigating the officialdom. Xu Sheng, I will promote you to be the commander of the county and authorize you to lead the county soldiers to arrest a group of criminal officials and lawless tyrants.

In addition, the governor's decree was immediately conveyed to the outside world: This civil unrest is actually caused by the improper employment of the imperial court. Therefore, the governor assures the officials and people of Lujiang County that as long as I, Lu Zhi, am in Lujiang, Lujiang will not forgive any illegal acts.

From July 25, as long as the rebels can give up the rebellion and return to their fields and homes, regardless of whether they are Han or barbarian, they will be forgiven and will not be charged with following the rebellion.

After the twenty-fifth day, those who have not returned to their hometowns will still occupy the counties, towns and villages. Those who create chaos in the surrounding areas, regardless of whether they are Han or barbarian, will be mobilized by the prefect to eliminate them one by one. "

Looking at the energetic crowd, Lu Zhi continued to order: "Who is the postal supervisor?"

Among the officials on the left, a strong man stood out, saluted Lu Zhi and said, "I will serve Gao Lin, and I will be appointed as the postal governor of the county."

Lu Zhi looked at Gao Lin inquiringly: "My decree needs to be sent to the counties in the west. I wonder if Gao Duyou has the courage to go to the west?"

Gao Lin's eyes shone brightly and he said loudly to Lu Zhi, "Please give me the order!"

"Okay, people say that heroes come from remote counties in the border areas, but now that I see it, I can't believe what they said. Gao Lin, I, the prefect, allow you to select fifty warriors from the army to go to the west with you.

Every county in the west must know my decree. The important thing is to see which counties have fallen and which ones are still in the hands of the imperial court.

How much time do you need to be able to come back? "

"Two months at most, one and a half months at least, I will definitely return under my command!"

"Okay, go ahead. When the task is completed, I will personally petition the court for you, and you will be a wealthy prince."

"Order!"

After Gao Lin left, Lu Zhi stood up and said to the people who stood up together: "Gentlemen, whether I can quell the chaos is not something I, Lu Zhi, can do alone. I hope you guys can encourage me and work together." Serve the imperial court and gain a great future for yourself!"

After the meeting, Lu Zhi immediately assigned all the county soldiers and government officials to Ma Xusheng, the trusted commander of the county, and handed over all the city defense to the three thousand forbidden soldiers who came with him.

In less than three days, all corrupt officials in Shu County were wiped out. Even several officials who were at the original meeting were dismissed. After reporting to the court, the court sent all these people to prison.

As for the cleaning operations in the county, Lu Zhi was fully responsible for the talisman given by the court.

So in just over a month, in the entire eastern part of Lujiang, the houses of unscrupulous Han powerful people who had affected Han-Barbarian relations were confiscated. Those familiar barbarians and Han people who learned about Lu Zhi's actions and edicts after he became the governor of Lujiang all broke away from the rebel ranks. , returned to the fields and lived a peaceful life.

Lu Zhi also kept his promise and ignored the returning Han barbarians, so more barbarians returned to their original lands.

Under Lu Zhi's fair and impartial handling of Han-Barbarian relations, as well as after cracking down on corrupt officials and canceling excessive taxes, the barbarian chaos in the entire Lujiang County was mostly stable.

Gao Lin also returned from the west. Now, five of the eight counties in the west are under the control of the barbarians. Only Lu'an, Liao, and Yangquan counties were not captured because they were too close to other counties. They learned that Lu Zhi took office. After receiving the news, his morale was greatly boosted, and he expressed that he would guard the city and wait for the arrival of the prefect's army.

(End of this chapter)