At the beginning, I gave up my military power with a cup of wine, and I ascended the throne

Chapter 227: Governing the Five Counties with Work-for-Relief

Half an hour later, Xun Kuan entered the mansion and was surrounded by Xun Ying and a group of swordsmen.

"What are you doing?"

Xun Kuan had only a few personal soldiers by his side and had not expected such a situation at all. He put his hand on the long sword at his waist and shouted sternly.

"uncle."

Xun Ying walked out with a sword in hand: "I have discussed with all the uncles and uncles and have decided to surrender the city to Xiliang. If you are willing, we can share the great cause. If you are not willing, I will have no choice but to kill you."

"Is that the reason?"

Xun Kuan laughed in silence, his burly body shook, he took back the half-unsheathed long sword, waved his hand, and the guards beside him also put away their swords.

"Uncle is willing?"

Xunying asked.

"Of course I do."

Xun Kuan nodded: "The Xiliang Marquis's troops are at the gates of the city, and the soldiers and civilians in the city have no time to fight. I wanted to lead my army to surrender to the Xiliang Marquis, but I was afraid that my elder brother would not allow it, which would bring trouble to the Xun clan, so I had to hold it in."

"I didn't expect you to be so courageous."

"My nephew thanks my uncle for his generosity."

With Xun Kuan's three thousand soldiers and horses working together inside and outside, it would not be difficult to capture Changshan City.

"Uncle, mobilize some soldiers and surround the mansion. Do not allow anyone to enter or leave, so as to prevent the news from leaking out."

Xun Ying said quickly, "I will go out from the west gate to contact the Xiliang army outside the city, and I will use the three croaks of frogs below the city as a signal."

"it is good."

The uncle and nephew made up their minds and took action. The west gate opened a small gap silently, and Xun Ying rode out and headed straight for Xiliang to agree.

The next evening.

Pucheng.

Xiao Han received an urgent secret report from Changshan eight hundred miles away. After reading it, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"My Lord, has Changshan been breached?"

Qin Yuanba heard the laughter outside the tent and hurried in to ask.

"Yes."

He handed over the secret report in his hand, "This morning early in the morning, the uncle and nephew of the Xun family opened the west gate of Changshan City and led Lu Ju into the city. In less than half an hour, they controlled the entire Changshan City, and all 30,000 Jizhou troops surrendered."

"A happy event."

Qin Yuanba clenched his fists and said, "My Lord gave General Lu five days, but I didn't expect that he would capture Changshan after only two days of siege."

In this way, five of the seven counties in Youzhou will fall into the hands of the Marquis, leaving only two counties, which are also within easy reach. "

"Hahaha."

Xiao Han was happy, "Thinking back to the past, I led 500 cavalrymen out of Jizhou and entered Xiliang, starting from scratch. In just a few years, I have conquered eight counties, with 200,000 armored soldiers under my command, a vast territory of 2,000 miles, and a population of over one million."

With the merger of Xiliang and Youzhou, and the addition of Xiapi and Shangdang counties, Xiliang now surpasses Jizhou in terms of both territory and population.

Of the original three states of Ji and You, only two are left. When will he eat?

There is no need to even send troops. All we need to do is develop the five counties of Youzhou, and the people of those two counties will come over spontaneously.

Starting with Changshan, leave 8,000 elite cavalry in Pucheng to guard against the Jizhou cavalry in Shuoyin. Pucheng is the gateway to Changshan, so heavy troops must be stationed there.

The army retreated and entered Changshan City. They first summoned the uncle and nephew of the Xun family and controlled the Xun family. Then the aristocratic families in the entire Youzhou would not cause chaos.

A steady supply of food and fodder was transported from Xiliang to the five counties of Youzhou. The government offices in various places were captured by the Xiliang army before they had time to evacuate.

At this time, the intelligence from Luowang and the Secret Service became particularly important. They followed the clues and arrested people according to the warrants. Those who should be killed were killed, those who should be sentenced to hard labor were sentenced to hard labor, and those whose property was confiscated had their property confiscated.

For a moment, all the officials in the five counties of Youzhou felt insecure, but as for the common people, they were as jubilant as if it were New Year.

Fortunately, the bloody killing only lasted for a few days. After killing the chicken to scare the monkey, a group of capable officials were promoted from the original government offices, and then the officials transferred from Xiliang were deployed.

With lightning speed, they reorganized the five counties in just half a month. This method was obviously premeditated, which made the noble families in Youzhou tremble in fear and become more and more in awe of the Marquis of Xiliang.

Suddenly.

It was the end of August. Jizhou and Northern Wei had been at war for more than a month, and Shuoyin's army was frequently dispatched, while the three counties of Xiliang were busy with the autumn harvest.

Changshan County Magistrate's Office.

Xiao Han was processing official documents sent from various counties. He was using the land of three counties to swallow up the five counties of Youzhou, making the most of a small investment to achieve great success.

This is just the first step.

If you can't hold on, you will eventually spit it out.

Among the five counties, only Changshan and Dai counties are better off, with just enough food. However, there are not many young and strong people in Shanggu, Tianyuan and Anyang counties, and the land is barren. This year's harvest is bound to be poor, and they can only rely on Xiliang for food.

"Sir, have a cup of hot tea to refresh yourself."

Qingyao comes in.

"How is the number of registered residents in various places verified?"

Have you received the autumn harvest information from each county?"

He took the hot tea and asked without looking up.

"not yet."

Qingyao shook her head: "But it should only be these few days."

"I heard from Chief Pan that it's a good thing we dispatched troops quickly, otherwise all the food in these five counties would have been taken away by Jizhou."

"When the memorial is submitted, give it to me immediately. After you have read it, send it to Xiliang City at an expedited speed of 800 miles."

He took a sip of strong tea, and his fatigue faded away. After reviewing the last memorial on the table, he leaned back in his chair and sighed, "We have taken the five counties, but it is not easy to support them. Fortunately, I, your Lord, have some wealth, otherwise it would be a real headache."

"You've done enough."

Qingyao squatted down and said softly: "Things should be done step by step, and meals should be eaten bite by bite. Don't be impatient."

"Why are you suddenly speaking so gently?"

He was surprised.

"what happened?"

She puffed her cheeks and said, "I'm not made of wood. Can't I just feel sorry for you?"

"Go, go, go."

Xiao Han smiled and nodded: "But there are still many things to do later, such as rectifying the noble families in Youzhou, providing work-for-relief, and settling the 30,000 Jizhou warriors."

“Credit for work?”

Qingyao exclaimed softly.

"Yes."

He nodded. "This half-year confrontation has almost drained all of Youzhou's resources. There are too many people who need relief. The state government will provide money and food to recruit these people to level roads, dig canals, comb fields, reclaim wasteland, build large camps and villages, etc."

"It will not only help them survive this winter, but also play a huge role. After the beginning of next spring, we will gradually implement Xiliang's policies in the five counties. Within two years, the hearts and minds of the people in these five counties will be in my hands."

"insidious."

She smiled.

"This is not called insidious, this is called open conspiracy, an upright strategy."

Xiao Han corrected.

"At that time, we can station heavy troops in Dai County, Changshan County, and Pucheng to guard Jizhou."

"That's why you deliberately left the two northern counties."

There was a little light in Qingyao's beautiful eyes. "With these two counties, Jizhou must station a large army to guard against us and resist the Northern Wei."

"And the army of Jizhou directly guarded the northern barrier for us, so the five counties do not need to worry about the invasion of the Northern Wei."

"Not too stupid."

He looked outside. The night was gloomy and dark as ink. The stars were dim and it was pitch dark.

(End of this chapter)