Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 323 Circle
On June 12, the second year of Xiaochang, Prince Yuan Gong of Guangling was defeated in Lingqiu and barely escaped with his life.

Hedong was in chaos, but for the people in Guanzhong, the second year of Xiaochang was a wonderful year.

Since the locust plague, there has been no major war in Guanzhong. When Su Ze defeated Hu Chen in Huazhou, Hu Chen led the remnants back to Jingzhou and immediately stopped the friction with Mozhe Tiansheng and turned to Mozhe Tiansheng for shelter.

There was really no other way; Hu Chen was also scared of being beaten.

Also because of the threat from Su Ze, Mozhe Tiansheng did not launch an offensive against the government troops in Yongzhou, and the entire Guanzhong region came to a ceasefire.

Although there is a ceasefire, the situation remains tense.

Dugu Xin rode through several villages and finally stopped in front of a fortress.

This fort was originally the fort of the Guo family in Huayin. After Su Ze's "Pingwu Order" was issued, it was listed as a fort that needed to be demolished because it occupied an important location.

After inspection, Dugu Xin thought that the location of Guo's fort was excellent, so he redeemed the fort from Guo and used it as the military camp of Zhechoufu.

The Huayin Guo family is a branch of the Taiyuan Guo family, and is also a noble family with the surname Yi identified by Emperor Xiaowen himself. This branch moved to Huayin because the previous head of the family served as a governor in Huazhou, and just like the Hezhou Gao family, he moved here and branched out.

However, in Huayin, the Guo family is not considered a prominent aristocratic family because the previous head of the family died early, and now there is only Guo Zhi as a secretary, and there are no leading figures in the family.

Dugu Xin sighed for a while, this is the advantage of being a powerful family.

His father also died early, and in order to inherit the position of the leader of the Wuchuan Army, he had to fight hard on the battlefield.

Guo Zhi was about the same age as himself, and his father also died early, but with the help of the Guo family in Taiyuan, he was able to start directly from the most noble secretary to become an official.

However, Guo Zhi is not in Luoyang now. After the Xuanguang Rebellion, Guo Zhi was unwilling to serve Yuan Yi and returned to Huayin on the pretext of illness.

After Empress Dowager Hu came back to power, she summoned the officials who were forced out of Luoyang by Yuan Yi to return, but Guo Zhi remained in Huayin.

Later, after a period of turmoil caused by the King of Beihai and Hu Chen, when Yu Jin occupied Huayin, Guo Zhi, as the leading figure of the Huayin nobles, took the lead in complying with General Su's "Equal Field Order" and "Pingwu Order".

Later, General Su somehow found out Guo Zhi's name and personally called him to Xiazhou.

It's good to be born into a noble family. Now that Su Ze is becoming more and more powerful, it is very difficult for ordinary people to meet him.

Dugu Xin didn't know that Su Ze wanted to summon Guo Zhi not because of his family background, but because of the descendants of Guo Zhi in history.

Guo Ziyi, the Prince of Fenyang who rebuilt the Tang Dynasty, was a descendant of the Huayin Guo family. The Guo family also produced many famous ministers during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

When Su Ze heard that Guo Zhi was so tactful, he also wanted to see what Guo Ziyi's ancestors looked like, so he summoned him to Xiazhou.

Dugu Xin met another team of elite knights. The two teams communicated with each other. It turned out that Chen Shun (Hou Mo Chen Shun) had just suppressed a rebellious group of local tyrants in Huazhou and was preparing to return to Huayin City.

Most of Dugu Xin's team were clerks, so he simply communicated with Chen Shun, and the two teams joined together and returned to Huayin City together.

Dugu Xin saw Chen Shun, who was covered in blood, and saw the scar on his face. This was the scar left when he fought in Wuyuan and Po Liu Han Baling. Although he was treated by the doctors under Su Ze, the scar was still inevitably left.

Dugu Xin implemented the "Equal Field System" and set up the Zhechoufu. He followed Chen Shun's army all the way. After Chen Shun had dealt with local affairs, Dugu Xin would come forward to appease him.

Although the two had never met each other since entering Huazhou, they cooperated very well. Chen Shun played the good guy and Dugu Xin played the bad guy, and they used both kindness and force to make the powerful people in Huazhou submit.

The two people's reputations are also very different in Washington State.

Also from the Six Towns, Chen Shun is a rebellious warrior who is "full of karma" and will not have a good end in the future. He is considered the ghost of Huazhou, and some people even use him to scare naughty children at home.

Dugu Xin is Dugu Fengliu, a man of extraordinary demeanor. Although he was born in the Six Towns, he has a literary air and is a white lotus that grew out of the mud of the Six Towns.

But when Dugu Xin saw Chen Shun, he still felt extremely envious.

Obviously, he knew Su Ze earlier than Hou Mo and Chen Shun, but now Chen Shun is already a member of Su Ze's core circle, and he still has to go through some tests before he can enter this circle.

The core circle has never been determined by official positions.

Just like the prime minister is not necessarily a high-ranking official of the first or second rank, as long as he can participate in decision-making and is favored by the highest authority, he can be the prime minister.

Chen Shun’s greatest advantage is his loyalty.

His life was saved by Su Ze. His old master was Li Chong, who was half-master of Su Ze. Li Chong has now been dismissed from office and has no chance to go to the battlefield again at his age.

It is only natural for a disciple to inherit his teacher's old subordinates. The Six Garrisons are gone, and Chen Shun is a man with nothing, so he is Su Ze's retainer.

No matter who looks at it, Chen Shun is Su Ze's private minister. In this era, there is absolutely no possibility that Chen Shun would betray Su Ze.

In fact, Chen Shun was able to lead his troops to delay the defeat of Liu Han Baling in Wuyuan alone under the entrustment of Li Chong. This was already extremely "loyal" and he had demonstrated his loyalty.

Therefore, no matter how Su Ze employed Chen Shun, he always treated him as "his own man", and that is why he gave Chen Shun the task that would offend the most powerful families in Huazhou.

In fact, Chen Shun did a good job, and the curses from the local tyrants in Huazhou were the best proof of this.

His military talent is beyond doubt, his loyalty is guaranteed, and he is efficient in handling local affairs. His future in Su Ze's group is obvious to the naked eye.

Dugu Xin looked at himself again. He still needed to prove his ability in grassroots affairs, and he had to be separated from his old subordinates to show his loyalty. It was obvious that this was not the treatment of "one of our own".

The good thing is that Dugu Xin is indeed capable and has done a good job in setting up the Zhechou Mansion. Moreover, he and Su Ze are old acquaintances, so as long as he works hard, he still has a chance.

But Dugu Xin also felt a sense of urgency. The reason was very simple. As long as he was an individual, his circle of friends would be limited.

A superior with outstanding abilities will directly lead no more than thirty or forty subordinates. It is already very difficult for an ordinary person to lead two or three people to carry out work.

Even if Han Xin wanted to recruit more soldiers, the better, he still controlled the army through thirty or forty officers.

The emperor also needs the prime minister to control the court. There is no other way because a person's memory and energy are limited.

As Su Ze's status becomes higher and higher, it becomes more and more difficult for his subordinates who are farther away from him to stand out.

In later generations, people in large companies and entrepreneurial teams were able to establish relatively close relationships with their bosses, but once the company was on the right track, even if the employees recruited later reached senior levels, they would always be separated from the bosses.

Fortunately, it is not too late. I have been given a name by General Su. As long as I follow the goal of "faith", I will definitely be reused!

After collecting his thoughts, Dugu Xin and Chen Shun greeted each other. Chen Shun was very enthusiastic about this fellow countryman who brought his younger brothers and sisters from Liuzhen to Xiazhou. He wanted to ask Dugu Xin to sleep with him and talk all night long.

Dugu Xin was somewhat reluctant. It was not that he was unwilling to live with a man, but he and Chen Shun were essentially doing the same job. Sorting out the local nobles was a very important task. The two were so close, and if General Su knew about it, he would think that they were conspiring and colluding.

But seeing Chen Shun being so carefree, Dugu Xin gave up resisting. Perhaps it was because of his character that he was completely trusted by General Su, while he always thought too much and seemed selfish.

When they arrived at the military post, Chen Shun dismounted and a short soldier took over the reins. Chen Shun then said:
"A Chong, quickly pay your respects to your brother Dugu!"

Only then did Dugu Xin realize that the short personal soldier following Chen Shun was Houmo Chen Chong whom he brought from Pingcheng, and now he had changed his name to Chen Chong.

Chen Chong also respected Dugu Xin very much and bowed respectfully.

Dugu Xin accepted Chen Chong's courtesy. When Chen Chong led the horse to the stable, Dugu Xin saw him carrying a bucket to wash the warhorse and couldn't help asking:

"Commander Chen, General Su is recruiting students at Chongwen Pavilion, why don't you let your brother give it a try?"

Dugu Xin was a man of both civil and military talents, and most military generals were willing to let their sons and nephews study.

There were too many accidents on the battlefield. Even Yuwen Gong's eldest son Yuwen Hao was a good friend of Dugu Xin and his archery and cavalry skills were better than Dugu Xin's. He could have died in battle.

Chen Chong was still so young, and Dugu Xin had taught him to read on the road, so he originally thought that Chen Shun would let him go to school.

Chen Shun said indifferently:
"There is no place where you can't read. There are also secretaries appointed by the generals in our army. I will let Ah Chong study with the secretaries in his spare time."

"It takes only a few years for riding skills to improve. How can a man from the Six Towns lose the foundation of his life?"

Dugu Xin glanced at Chen Shun. It was no wonder that a straightforward man like him could gain such trust from General Su.

Troubled times are approaching, and the status of warriors is rising. If they cannot gain merit immediately, do they have to change their careers and join the ranks of the nobles?

Dugu Xin immediately understood the position of the people of the Six Garrisons. They were different from the powerful families in Huazhou. General Su even allowed the powerful families in Huazhou to sell their land and leave, but the remaining people in the Six Garrisons had no choice.

But on the other hand, the people of the Six Garrisons are also natural direct descendants. As long as they don't commit suicide and behave well, they can obtain a more important position in the General's Mansion.

Dugu Xin was a smart man. After figuring this out, he felt relieved. As long as he worked hard, he would have opportunities to succeed.
-
In the second year of Xiaochang, on June 20th, Bingzhou was honored.

After Su Ben's (a Western merchant who senses danger) caravan left Jinyang and entered Xiurong, they heard the news of Lingqiu's defeat.

(End of this chapter)