Great Han Empire

Chapter 317 The rain is coming
Li Hong didn't take Li Wei's concerns to heart.He knew nothing about these matters, had no idea of ​​the institutions involved and the intricacies of their execution.He thought that since the ancestors of the Han Dynasty had already done it, and did it very well, why can't the people of today do it?Today's people have the mature experience and successful stories of their ancestors, the land that their ancestors worked hard to reclaim and the Yanchi Iron Mine that they developed, and the younger generations are reaping the rewards. They should do better than their ancestors.

As for the problems Li Wei mentioned, Li Hong didn't consider them at all.He just wants to know if he can resettle the refugees, if there is any way to make money, and if he can make money right away.As long as there is a way to resettle the refugees and make money, he has confidence in his heart and he has the confidence to persuade Zhang Yan.Of course he couldn't reveal this kind of thought to his subordinates.

Now there are quite a few generals in the army who are full of fighting spirit and are ambitious to make military exploits through this counter-insurgency.There are also some generals who want to finish fighting the Yellow Turban Army as soon as possible, rush to the Youzhou battlefield immediately, and go back to their hometown.Another part of the generals who surrendered from the Yellow Turban Army were depressed and war-weary.Under such circumstances, Li Hong certainly couldn't say how to deal with the rebellion in Bingzhou, and he also had to be prepared for accidents within the army.

Although Li Hong expressed his sympathy for the Yellow Turban Army several times in military meetings, and had the idea of ​​appease the Yellow Turban Army, but in the eyes of some generals, the General had fought too many battles, he was a little tired, and his mood was unstable. Li Honghui, who once killed Zhang Niujiao's hundreds of thousands of troops and had a deep hatred with the Yellow Turban Army, gave up using force, and only cared about appeasement.

Li Wei, Song Wen, Xie Ming and others were all scholars. They learned classics and history books since they were young. Rebellion is still unacceptable.They have the same idea as the imperial court, first of all, they must resolutely suppress the rebellion, and secondly, solve the problem of rebellion.In their view, Li Hong's proposal was just a way for the general to find a solution to the Yellow Turban Ant Thieves other than force. What the general really wanted to do was resettle the refugees to solve the root cause of the continuous rebellion.

There is a big difference between the rebellion in Li Wei's heart and the rebellion of the Yellow Turban Army.Li Wei hoped that Li Hong would use the powerful force in his hands to eradicate traitors and eunuchs, clear the side of the emperor, and rebuild a Han Dynasty with clear politics, rich people, and peace and security, instead of directly proposing to overthrow the Liu Dynasty, destroy the Han Dynasty, and rebuild the country like Zhang Jiao. world.So, like Song Wen, Xie Ming and others, he had a lot of resentment and resistance to Li Hong's recruiting of the Yellow Turban Army.

He had privately discussed with Song Wen, Xie Ming and others about Li Hong's proposal many times. With the current corrupt court, it is simply an extravagant hope and impossible to realize Li Hong's proposal.If it weren't for Zuo Yan, who wholeheartedly wanted to help Li Hong recruit the Yellow Turban Army, and tried his best to make them give up their political difficulties, they would not even propose to use business to subsidize farmers.Without merchants participating in the operation of the salt and iron industry, it is impossible to make money quickly, and without money, it is impossible to resettle refugees and farmland. But is it possible for His Majesty and the court to revise the ancestral system that has been in use for hundreds of years?Li Wei thinks that Li Hong is doing useless work and dreaming of a big spring and autumn dream.

The frustration of Li Wei and others soon affected Li Hong who was in high spirits.Li Hong repeatedly asked about the details of reclaiming land and farming and operating salt and iron, but Li Wei and others had no practice and experience in this area, and secondly, they had no confidence in implementing these policies, so they were perfunctory, and they talked casually without saying a word. pull.

Li Hong saw that they seriously lacked confidence, but he already knew the approximate feasibility of this matter, so he was still very happy, and after a few words of praise to them, he told them to go to rest.

Before leaving, Li Wei said: "Although we have done nothing since we left Luoyang with your lord, we have been promoted and paid more because of the glory of your lord and other soldiers who defeated the Xianbei people. We feel ashamed. If your lord If there is any assignment, just say it, Lianzhi, Changfeng and the others, even if we are in a daze, we will not hesitate to do so."

Li Hongda laughed and said, "Zhongyuan is out of touch. Without you, I would be helpless today. Now there is one thing, I wonder if you can help me do it?"

Li Wei, Song Wen and the others looked at each other, thinking that this general is really rude.He only said a few polite words here, and he made a request there.

Li Hong said: "It is really enviable to see that all of you scholars of Taixue are so talented and can solve any problems you encounter. It is better to be knowledgeable. You see, I am short of people here, especially people like you." The talented Li Shi Lie Cao, if you want to farm the fields after a while, there will be even a shortage of manpower, so I would like to ask you to help me recruit some manpower, what do you guys think?"

Li Wei, Song Wen and the others looked at each other, and they all felt that the general was full of confidence, and he seemed to be sure about the matter of farming.Did he really promise His Majesty when he was in Luoyang?With His Majesty's support, he might be able to solve a series of difficult problems, but the scary thing is, how will things develop in the future?What kind of fate is it for my group of people to follow him?

Li Hong looked at their suspicious eyes, and then said: "Whether you are a scholar from the Imperial Academy or a scholar from all over the world, as long as you can invite me, I will definitely report it to His Majesty for reuse."

Li Wei hesitated for a moment, and asked: "My lord, if the matter of garrisoning the fields is in charge of the Bingzhou Governor's Department..."

Li Hong shook his hand with a smile, and said, "Zhong Yuan, even the head of the Governor's Department of Bingzhou still needs manpower. Bingzhou has a population of one million and there are no officials. How to manage it? You should recruit people as soon as possible to prepare for the urgent need."

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Seeing Li Wei walk out of the big tent, Zuo Yan immediately said worriedly: "My lord, the matter of recruiting Shi Lie Cao should be reported to your majesty, and then your majesty will send a bachelor of Taixue to Bingzhou to become an official."

Li Hong looked at Zuo Yan and asked, "What are you worried about?"

Zuo Yan didn't make a sound.Li Hong said with a smile: "Junyi, we have been together for so long, can I still not trust you? Are you worried that they are all Li Wei's roommates, and they will form a force in the future?"

Zuo Yan sighed and said, "Your Excellency also knows."

Li Hong remained silent.It's not that he hasn't thought about this kind of thing. Now there are more and more forces of various sizes formed among the lieutenants and soldiers due to different races, different regions and different origins. Although he has been constantly reorganizing the army to eliminate this influence, the effect is not good. not ideal.He always comforted himself, thinking that this kind of thing happened because the time for forming an army was too short and the soldiers were not familiar with each other, but he knew in his heart that if this kind of thing is not dealt with, it will become more and more serious as time goes by .

Now the infantry army is dominated by the Yellow Turbans and the Xiliang Frontier Army, and the cavalry army is dominated by the Hu people.The innate hatred of the Han people towards the Hu people caused friction among the soldiers.During the war, there was a situation of non-support among each other, and when there was no war, there were more fights. He even heard that the camp prostitutes in the military market were unwilling to receive Hu people.Although some generals of the Han nationality commanded the Hu cavalry, there was antagonism among the soldiers, and some superiors even beat the Hu soldiers with excuses.

The Hu people in the cavalry army now have all ethnic groups, such as Xianbei, Qiang, Wuwan, and Huns. There is also hatred and friction between them; this situation is even more serious in the infantry army. The soldiers had fought several times in a row because of various trivial matters. Although Wei Zheng and the generals handled it privately without telling Li Hong, Zheng Xin still reported these matters.Li Hong was unwilling to interfere in these matters.He went from a soldier to a general step by step. This kind of thing happened too often, and it was nothing more than a battle of wills.He knew that in order to avoid these things, it was not enough to rely on military discipline and punishment, and he had to find a way to solve them, but to solve the problem of soldiers, the contradictions among the generals of the various ministries must be resolved first.The reason why the assassination of Master Weizheng has been concealed and not reported is because behind these fights are actually conflicts between the generals of the various ministries.

The conflict between the generals originated from the horse bandit officers in Lulongsai and the Youzhou officers.Fist, Huzi, Xian Yufu, and Xian Yuyin were all opponents on the battlefield in the past, and they came to Li Hong's tent together because of the Xianbei invasion.Later, officers from Jizhou were added.The Jizhou military officers are divided into the official army and the yellow turban generals. These people were also opponents on the battlefield in the past.When we arrived in Xiliang, the situation became more complicated. Xiliang had frontier troops, county soldiers and Qiang generals.Every time Li Hong summoned the generals of various ministries to discuss matters in the big tent, he felt unhappy to see them sitting together according to their respective small factions.Several times he ordered them to sit according to the steps, but when it came to the next military meeting, these people still went their own way and ignored Li Hong's words.After Li Hong talked a few times, he felt that he was bored, so he stopped talking and let them sit together and make out.

This time in Bingzhou, the reason why Li Hong was not in a hurry to defeat the Yellow Turban Army and go north to Youzhou was for this reason.He must find a way to deal with this problem, otherwise, the next battle may be defeated.

As for the arrogance of Li Wei and others, Li Hong only recently noticed it.When leaving Luoyang, Li Hong brought out a group of scholars from Taixue according to Li Wei's request.When he was in Jizhou in the early days, he didn't feel Li Wei's appeal. He only felt that Li Wei was very courageous in his words and actions. His gang of little brothers liked to hang around him and obey him. Feel the influence of Li Wei.Because Li Wei lacked confidence in Li Hong's proposal, he didn't come up with any opinions until Li Hong forced him to order, and Li Wei and others hastily came up with a plan.Zuo Yan was supposed to take the lead in this matter and convened everyone to discuss it, but Li Wei and others had always rejected Zuo Yan because Zuo Yan was the leader of the Yellow Turban Army. Wen Du followed behind Li Wei and did not work hard.Zuo Yan was a gentle and honest person. Although he knew that Li Wei, Song Wen and others looked down on him and didn't want to listen to him, he still laughed openly and invited them to discuss matters in the tent.However, from Li Hong's point of view, he still hopes that Li Hong can realize this problem.

Now there are conflicts among the generals, but they all obey Li Hong. During the war, no one disobeyed Li Hong. The friction between them has not affected Li Hong's authority yet.Zuo Yan was concerned about Li Wei, Song Wen and others.If Li Hong needs them to advise on political affairs that he is not familiar with, and these people deliberately mislead Li Hong's decision-making or resist Li Hong's orders because of political opinions, then the problem will be serious.If Li Hong's authority in political affairs is provoked by Li Wei and others, his authority in military affairs may be directly endangered.

For Zuo Yan, the lesson of the internal struggle of the Yellow Turban Army was too profound.Whether it is Zhang Jiao or Zhang Niu Jiao, Hua's energy in this area is far greater than when he was fighting.Many times, it is not power that is at stake but political differences.Now Li Hong seems to be in the same situation.To appease the Yellow Turban Army, first of all, it is not a question of whether His Majesty agrees or not, but a question of whether Li Hong's subordinates can obey.

The army had already approached Jinyang City, but Li Hong, uncharacteristically, had not come up with a winning strategy so far.Is it because Li Hong is not sure about convincing his subordinates or is he not sure about persuading Zhang Yan?Zuo Yan thought it was the former, and Li Hong was definitely worried that his subordinates would use His Majesty's imperial decree to force him to order an attack.But fortunately, there are 5 Hu people in today's army, and these Hu people all listen to Li Hong. This is Li Hong's absolute strength to control the army.When the subordinates have more military exploits and the officials become bigger, many things will change.Li Hong now has three Zhonglang generals under his command, and these three Zhonglang generals can lead the army alone. Although they are all under his control at present, there is only an imperial decree from the emperor, and any one of the three can immediately replace Li Hong as the commander of the army.Zuo Yan felt the crisis, and Li Hong also saw the crisis.If one thing in Bingzhou is not handled properly, disasters may come again and again.

When Zuo Yan finished his worries slowly, Li Hong put his arms around his shoulders and said thank you.

Zuo Yan smiled wryly and said: "For so many years, I have followed several old masters, but you are the most stupid, my lord. My lord has no scheming, treats people honestly, and is willing to suffer a disadvantage. Although there are many people who believe in you, it will not be a problem if you continue like this. I Your personality has a lot to do with your loss of memory. I plan to send someone to Luoyang to invite some famous doctors to show you."

Li Hong shook his head and said with a smile: "Junyi, although I have some brain problems, it won't affect the fighting. What kind of medical craftsman should I hire? Forget it. In fact, it's enough to have you brothers by my side. Think about it, What I can do by myself, I don’t need everyone to do it together. It doesn’t matter if I’m stupid, as long as you are smart.”

"Based on the knowledge of Li Wei, Song Wen and others, the manpower they recruited must be better than those sent by the imperial court. There is no doubt about it, so let them handle this matter. As for the future, you can think so. If Bingzhou is stabilized and the rebellion in Youzhou is pacified, there will be no disasters in the Han Dynasty. At that time, whether you, Zhongyuan, or Yuxing, you will either be officials in the court, or officials in local states and counties. I have nothing to do with it anymore. I am a general who has not fought a war, so I am naturally not a general. His Majesty may let me guard the border. So, in two years, everyone will go their separate ways. Let's live a day. "

Zuo Yan sat there in a daze for a while.After much deliberation, Li Hong was right.I may have been in the Yellow Turban Army for a long time, always thinking about how to survive in the future, but forgot my current identity.Li Hong is an important minister of the imperial court, he can't control his own destiny, just like Huangfu Song, if he has made military exploits, he will be a general on the left chariot, and if he offends His Majesty, he will be dismissed from office and go home without reason.Unlike myself, a small official, if you don't want to work, you can resign and go home if you find an excuse.No matter how scheming Li Hong is, in the future he will be nothing more than a gangster of Jiuqing with two thousand stones in it.But looking at him like that, he didn't want to do it either, he probably wanted Lu Longsai to be a border general and enjoy himself.Since Li Hong has no big ambitions, he certainly won't be like Zhang Jiao, who has to calculate everything to be sure.Think about Zhang Jiao, a man like a god, why didn't he think that he would die when the Yellow Turban Army was most in danger?If everyone had been content with the situation like Li Hong, Zhang Jiao would certainly not have established the Taipingdao and rebelled.In the final analysis, Li Hong is nothing more than a warrior.

Zuo Yan was thinking wildly, when Li Hong spoke again.

"Junyi, go to the old man in Bing Cao Ying and tell him to send a cronies to Chang'an."

"What are you doing in Chang'an?" Zuo Yan couldn't help asking strangely.

"Invite Yuntian's elder brother here." Li Hong said, "Although Zhong Yuan and the others have figured out a way, they have no experience, and they can't figure out how to handle it, so we have to invite a businessman. This camp Of course, you have to ask the merchant about the business."

"My lord, the matter of Bingzhou hasn't started yet, we haven't even seen Jinyang City, so you just..."

"The matter of Bingzhou cannot be resolved in a day or two. Let's make money first." Li Hong said with a smile, "Zhongyuan and the others are timid, and they are too upright. They always think about whether the court can agree to this matter. Is it violating the laws of the Han Dynasty? He doesn't think about it. If all the corrupt officials in the court think so, are there any corrupt officials in the Han Dynasty? I have seen through it when I was in Xiliang to suppress corruption. Did it. If you go to Luoyang and have a look, the bureaucrats there only get so much salary a month, but which one of them is not well-clothed? Which one has no mansion and real estate? Which family does not have dozens of servants and servants? The money is all from Where did it come from? I don’t believe it was all left by their ancestors.”

Zuo Yan felt uneasy, he looked at the indignant Li Hong and asked, "Your Excellency wants to privately..."

"That's right." Li Hong patted the table and whispered, "Wen Long said it better. Instead of making a little money, it's better to resell it privately and make a lot of money."

Zuo Yan's face changed color.

"Don't be afraid." Li Hong said with a smile, "Anyway, the money is used to settle refugees and state affairs. As long as we are not greedy, there is nothing to be afraid of?"

"My lord, if His Majesty knows about this..."

"Do you think that if I don't resell, no one will falsely accuse me of reselling?" Li Hong shook his head and smiled, "There are many people in Luoyang who want to kill me. If I keep my head down, I will die faster. It's okay, I have the means to deal with it." Law."

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(End of this chapter)