Three Kingdoms.

  Chapter 2437 The Dilemma of Rewards

Logically speaking, it should be something to be happy about Fei Qian's potential to defeat the Qiang people in Longyou and Longxi, and the long-standing illness of the great Han was eliminated. After achieving a staged victory between them, Fang slightly mentioned it.

   It's like the victory of General Hussars is just a foil for Cao Cao's majestic record.

  Cao Cao's results in the battle between Qing and Xu are quite impressive overall. One fish eats three, benefits from all sides. With the retreat of the Jiangdong Army, Cao Cao was not in a hurry to return to the army immediately, but made some adjustments between Qing and Xu in his spare time, and promoted Man Chong to Xuzhou Biejia. , and left some soldiers and civilians for Man Chong to rebuild the defense line between Qing and Xu, and had two or three in-depth talks with Man Chong, and felt that Man Chong had indeed understood Cao Cao's own meaning before leading the army to turn around.

  The news of Cao Cao's victory spread wildly everywhere.

  The children of the noble family in Jizhou naturally got the news at the first time, and they couldn't help being surprised when they heard the news. Just like the leader can't see the idleness of his employees, the employees will also feel that the leader is too idle and difficult to handle. Cui Yan was shocked when he heard that Cao Cao captured the dangerous county where Jiangdong soldiers were stationed in Guangling in one day, and also smashed the Jiangdong navy army under the city, beheaded thousands, defeated tens of thousands of enemies, and Jiangdong's son Sun Quan was defeated and fled to Yangzhou. He summoned the messenger urgently and asked about the details.

Cui Yan is more or less a person who knows how to fight, and he didn't believe in conquering the county in a day. After all, it was too unbelievable, and it was like bragging. Lies come. If the true lie was exposed, wouldn't it be ten times a hundred times more embarrassing?

  After detailed questioning, Cui Yan was stunned for a while, and then someone sent Li Pan and others to discuss.

  『The general’s victory this time...』 Cui Yan stroked his beard, "Maybe it’s not a lie... Then how do you and I deal with it? 』

  This sentence is somewhat nonsensical, but Li Pan can understand it.

"That being the case... recently I heard that the people in Jizhou are suffering, and they are not getting enough food... and there is a little surplus food in the granary, you can give it back to the people to avoid instability... After all, if there are bandits, it's not easy to kill them..." Li Pan said in a low voice, with eyebrows and eyes A little cunning flashed between them.

  Li Cheng clapped his hands and said, "This is a great strategy!" Presumably the general is worried about the country and cares about the people, so he should praise this move! 』

   Everyone here is not a fool, and they all understand the meaning of this.

  Public opinion is not the real "public opinion" in many cases.

  Shen Rong also said from the side: "Brother Li's words are quite subtle... I have another strategy, but..."

  『Please speak up, it’s okay to be blunt! ’ Cui Yan nodded and said.

"This..." Shen Rong stretched out his hand and pointed slightly to the south, and said, "The general is still facing... this... may as well commend the great general's merits, saying that only the emperor and the general live in harmony can resist foreign enemies and bring order to prosperity." Neibang, you must not cause the emperor and the general to be dirty because of the words of the villain...』

  Cui Yan listened, and couldn't help but look carefully at Shen Rong.

   Shen Rong lowered his eyebrows and looked down, with a loyal and honest look on his face.

   Sure enough, people cannot be judged by their appearance...

  『That’s how it works! 』

  Cui Yan made the final decision.

  Because of the battle between Qingxu and Xu, Jizhou is also a little worried. After all, the relationship with Lao Cao before is not so friendly...

Even if they reached a consensus with Cao Cao and achieved a certain degree of cooperation, it does not mean that there will be peace for thousands of years. With Cao Cao's return, it is very likely that he will use the momentum of the big victory to do something matter.

It is not true that there is any sworn feud between the children of Jizhou gentry and Cao Cao. If we can make a fortune together, of course it is good for you, me, and him, but if you want to be **** on your neck by a group of Yuzhou children , and it is thin and sticky and cannot be removed, that is the resentment and enemy for a lifetime.

  Jizhou and Yuzhou are fighting because of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao?

   Obviously not.

So…

   Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Jizhou and Yuzhou could let go of their long-standing grievances and work together?

   Of course it is wonderful.

pity…

   If you really want to be able to let it go, the big man, or the Eastern Han Dynasty for more than a hundred years, wouldn’t you have let it go long ago?

What's more, the current estrangement and confrontation between Jizhou and Yuzhou was not what the people of Jizhou and Yuzhou wanted at first, but a situation deliberately created by some people. How can it be said that it can disappear without a trace now? of?

   It’s just that Cao Cao still needs to go to Yuzhou first, and then hold a sacrifice ceremony in Yuzhou, and then turn back to Jizhou when he has time. It probably won’t be until autumn before he arrives in Yecheng, just in time for the autumn harvest...

  So there are two months to prepare now, er, wrong, it is coordination.

The current situation in Jizhou really has nothing to offer. After Yuan Shao's death, his status plummeted. After finally breaking his wrist with Cao Cao, he was worried. It was done under the name of Mi Heng. I was really afraid that I would lose it. As a result, Cao Cao became angry and bloodbathed Jizhou.

  Cao Cao tolerated it last time, but this time, who can guarantee that Cao Cao can endure it? So what to do? Waiting to die? It's like those in later generations who pay first and want to pay later, they just ask to bring a belt, those who pay first are unwilling, and want to make trouble, not to mention that Lao Cao now asks those who pay first in Jizhou to hand over their authority?

  While people in Jizhou were discussing countermeasures, the sacrifice ceremony prepared in Xu County was also in full swing.

On the side of the hussars, although a lot of Hu soldiers and Qiang people were killed, it was impossible to transport all the heads to Xu County, so the heads of some Qiang leaders were sent, and some were selected from the prisoners of war. The rebellious people, the old and the weak soldiers, offered to Chang'an.

  As for those strong Qiang prisoners of war, of course Feiqian kept them for himself...

So in fact, the number of captives who arrived in Xu County was not many, only about three or four hundred, and they stayed in Yangcheng for a long time. Angry and worried, and there was no hope of any treatment, many died one after another, and in the end there were only more than two hundred and less than three hundred left.

   This number is naturally much less than the number of prisoners of war donated by General Cao Cao.

  The fewer the number, the smaller the momentum of course.

  There are so many people...

Of course, the common people don't know the difference between the battle between the hussars and the general, and they don't know the specific situation. Anyway, they just watch the excitement. Popping flowers are the same as fresh eggs.

   It’s really dissatisfaction. If you want to vent your anger, would the truly simple and thrifty Chinese people be willing to use flowers and fresh eggs?

   The rotten eggs must be kept to grow flowers and grass to fertilize the field!

  If you have that time, why not take two trips in Doraemon, weed two more weeds, and earn a little more money! So what's the time to travel a long distance, and then go somewhere and spend money to express "anger"?

   Therefore, the sacrifice ceremony, which had been planned for a long time in Xu County and prepared again, did not attract much attention from the common people at all. Of course, it's not that there are no people coming. After all, some ordinary people are relatively easy to be incited, especially idlers.

  If they are really busy under the oppression of life, those people who do not work for a day will not have food for a day, and they will not be able to spare time to participate in any ceremony.

  Unfortunately, in Xu County, these people who are forced to be busier and work harder occupy the majority. Therefore, although it is said that the prisoner offering ceremony was held to stabilize the hearts of the emperor, officials, and even the soldiers and civilians around Xu County, in fact, very few people came to watch the ceremony. If some problems were not discovered in advance, let the surrounding counties quickly recruit They killed some villagers or something, so they were embarrassed to death on the spot.

The overall ceremony was still decent. Hundreds of officials surrounded the emperor and came to the altar in the eastern suburbs. They watched the general Cao Cao wearing a military uniform and returned to the altar. The emperor and the general held hands to accept the congratulations of the officials. The prisoners of war were escorted to the altar, and the crimes of the prisoners of war were announced by the ceremonial officer. After the three animals were burned and sacrificed, the prisoners of war were beheaded to sacrifice the world with blood. Finally, the emperor returned to the palace to perform the ceremony of telling the temple to thank the ancestors. shelter…

  The ceremony must be called grand, but unfortunately there were only a few spectators and it was not lively enough.

At least Liu Xie thinks so. He has been looking forward to this day for a long time, like a bird that has been locked in a cage for a long time, imagining how beautiful and vast the outside world is, and finally flies out for a day, but meets In the event of wind, rain, and hail, not to mention flying between the sky and the earth, the feathers of the birds were almost wiped out. I was exhausted and half dead, and I didn't feel the inner excitement. The physical exhaustion was secondary, mainly the inner tired.

  Of course, in the whole ceremony, the victory of the general Cao Cao in the battle of Qingxu was the focus of commendation, and even the tone of how to reprimand the Changan envoy was planned at the beginning.

  For example, "Like a country urchin who is angry, how can he be an important minister of the country if he is so narrow-minded?" ! 』

   Another example is "the land of the Han Dynasty does not distinguish between east and west, and people do not distinguish between north and south. How can one place be more important than one side?" ! 』

   In the next half month, the news of Cao Cao's big defeat in Jiangdong gradually spread, and the prefects and county magistrates of various counties and counties under Cao Cao all hurriedly sent envoys to Xu County to congratulate. They have always been like this. Once Cao Jun wins, no matter if it is a big victory or a small victory, they will inevitably show a "loyal minister" who moves the world and is inexplicably excited. He calmly said nothing, as if the affairs in Guanzhong were trivial matters.

  At the beginning of May of this year, Feiqian's third group of envoys entered Xu County to report the news of the Chuping rebellion by the Di people in Hanzhong and Sichuan. This time the emissary's identity was a little higher, and it was Zhuge Jin, who was a Zhonglang under Fei Qian's command. After meeting the emperor and submitting the memorial, Zhuge Jin asked openly, saying that the news of Hussar General Longxi's victory had long been heard. It has already been sent, and even the prisoner offering ceremony is said to have been held, why didn't the imperial court issue an edict to reward Fei Gong?

  Of course Cao Cao didn't bother to answer this question, but Xun Yu, the Minister of Shangshutai, had no choice but to respond, saying: "The hussars have restored Longyou Jingping, and they should be encouraged." 』

   Immediately, he dug a hole to Zhuge Jin and said, "I don't know what the hussars want?" 』

  Zhuge Jin replied neither humble nor overbearing: "Fei Gong only wants to expel the Hu bandits and reset the society, and he has no desire at all." However, when the country is in chaos, it is necessary to be clear about rewards and punishments, and to calm people's hearts. Since the first emperor Qiang rebellion, the king's teacher has been uncertain for a long time, and he has been repeatedly defeated. Save also. Previously, the achievements of mastering the Western Regions were nothing but rewards, but now that the great Han has been wiped out for many years, the government and the people are proud, and they will not bow their knees in front of the barbarians, and will not abandon their ancestors. Such achievements, if the court does not reward them, so what? Encourage loyal ministers and righteous men to serve the emperor? 』

  Xun Yu pondered for a long time, but finally had nothing to say, and could only perfunctoryly say again: "The imperial court has finally made a decision, you can wait for a few days to decide..."

Speaking of which, Fei Qian completely quelled the Qiang chaos that the Eastern Han Dynasty failed to figure out for 30 or 40 years, wiped out the upper-level tribe leaders of the Qiang people headed by Beigong, and completely dispersed and gathered the Qiang people. While completely solving the hidden dangers of the Han Dynasty in Longxi and Longyou for many years, it also made the Shandong gentry a little embarrassed.

  It is precisely because the people from Jizhou and Yuzhou in the Eastern Han Dynasty were too weak, they only knew how to recruit mercenaries in foreign wars, and they were stingy and refused to give money, which eventually led to the rebellion of the Qiang people who were continuously drawn blood and the Southern Huns...

  As a result, the strategy of the Eastern Han Dynasty had to adopt the mercenary model, and Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was worried about the force of Bingzhou and Liangzhou, and deliberately suppressed and restricted it, making the military strength of the local frontier weak...

  In the summer of the first year of Emperor Yongchu of Emperor An of the Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han government sent the riding captain Wang Hong to send the Qiang people to garrison the Western Regions. Most of the Qiang people fled because they were afraid that they would not be able to return. The Han Dynasty overreacted to the Qiang people's escape from service, and immediately sent troops to surround the Qiang people in the Qiang area, and even burned their houses, which led to a large-scale rebellion among the other species of the Qiang people, the Dian Ling and the Zhong Qiang.

After paying a heavy price, although it subsided temporarily, hidden dangers were also planted. The Guanzhong Sanfu, who was rebelled on a large scale, was severely damaged. Unwilling to give enough support to the Guanzhong Sanfu area, and even wanted to cut off this land for a while, which led to the follow-up in the Guanzhong Longyou area, which was never calm, and rioted again during the Han Lingdi period...

In the first period of time after hearing the news of Longyou's rebellion, there were still many gentry children in Xu County gloating, as if they saw someone who was owed wages and wanted to jump off a building while he could continue to be hired by the company. The boss acts like a dog, full of happiness, and some people even cursed "There is also today" and so on.

   Then things went wrong...

  Fei Qian actually took care of Xiqiang, and he was still doing it smoothly while taking care of Xiqiang. No, it should have been premeditated to clean up those thorns in Hanzhong, Sichuan and Shu!

   And all of this, many people don't even know how it came about, and what kind of strategy it went through!

   Even Xun Yu only had some guesses with Guo Jia, and then he was slapped in the face by Fei Qian's record. Immediately such a result also stimulated Cao Cao to jump up, risking the danger of possible follow-up hidden dangers, and sent troops to clean up the Taishan Army and the Jiangdong Army.

It can be said that if it weren't for Fei Qian's record, Cao Cao might still think of a more secure way to deal with the group of people in Taishan. After all, those people did not show any rebellious intentions to a certain extent, and they are not considered Shandong. The most difficult thing for the court at the moment.

  Boss Cao has such a strong personality...

  Since Fei Qian took the initiative to control these local tyrants, how could Cao Cao be able to bear it?

  The next step for Taishan Army to be cleaned up is Yingchuan, and then Jizhou. Xun Yu was very helpless about this matter. On the one hand, he felt that this matter should not be like this, but on the other hand, he felt that he had no good way to prevent it from happening.

  It can only be delayed and prevaricated like it was with Zhuge Jin.

   But the problem is, this won't last long...

   It was as if being forced into a corner by Zhuge Jin.

In fact, Xun Yu also discussed with Cao Cao several times through letters and discussions on how to award Hussars General Fei Qian, the suppression of the Western Qiang rebellion, and the beheading of Beigong and other Qiang enemy chieftains. However, several important ministers participated.

  What Cao Cao meant was that Fei Qian’s current official position is already very high, basically there is no room for promotion. General Hussars is already considered a second-rank general, half a rank higher than General Chariots and Generals Wei, and then there are only first-rank generals. Come out and hand it over to Fei Qian?

  The disadvantages of the relatively simple and flat military rank system in the Han Dynasty are fully manifested at this moment. Sometimes Xun Yu couldn't help complaining to the Son of Heaven in his heart, saying why did he raise Fei Qian to three levels in a row, so much, otherwise wouldn't he be able to slowly adjust up half a level and half a level? How could you encounter the current predicament?

But at that time, the entire framework of the court had collapsed, not only Feiqian alone, when Xiliang soldiers were in chaos, all the hussars and chariots were in disorder, even if they stabilized a little later, didn't Yuan Shao immediately claim to be Changed to a general after a chariot general? Yuan Shu also called himself a late general, and even Cao Cao himself jumped from a fourth-rank general to a second-rank general, and then inherited Yuan Shao's legacy?

  In this regard, the only role that the emperor Liu Xie can play is to choose to stamp or not stamp.

  So at the beginning, some people meant that it would be the only one who could be rewarded like last time, that is, only Juelu, and then add some food to Feiqian, and the increase of 5800 should be very generous, right?

It's just that Xun Yu expressed some worries. Of course, he knew that doing so would be in the best interests of the Shandong gentry and others. Anyway, what he gave was Fei Qian's own, just like the part of the value of the labor produced by the capitalists. As a reward, he also said that this is a blessing, and you must know how to cherish it. If no one pierces the window paper, you may be able to live in peace, but if it is exposed, it will be quite embarrassing, and it will appear to be too much. The county is becoming more and more incompetent here...

If you don't see it, don't know it, it won't work. After all, the ceremony of offering captives has been done, and even the ancestors of the emperor of the Han Dynasty were sacrificed. Nothing happened, nothing happened.

   Rewards are needed, but rewards are not good. Otherwise, even Cao Cao will not be able to carry out the next strategy...

   So, what should we do now?

  (end of this chapter)