Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 445 Running away
Hou Jing was very clear-headed. Although he had occupied Chengdu, it was still a long way to go before Yizhou was pacified.

Yizhou is too big to just drive away Xiao Ji and other local forces and make them surrender.

More important is the Jingzhou area east of Shu.

Since ancient times, there have been two routes to attack Shu.

One is the Hanzhong area connected to the Shu Road. Cao Cao once occupied Hanzhong and attacked Shu, but was blocked several times and finally pushed back several times by Zhuge Liang.

Another route is the route that Liu Bei took to enter Shu, which is to enter Yiling from Jingzhou, pass through Baidi City and arrive at Ba County (Chongqing), and then use Ba County as a base to erode the Sichuan Basin.

The gateway to this route is Yiling.

The reason is the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.

Hou Jing once listened to Su Ze's personal teaching of "Annotations to the Classic of Waterways" and knew that it was impossible to sail from Ba County (Chongqing) to Yiling due to the natural dangers of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.

In other words, in the Hubei region located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, ships could no longer continue upstream along the Yangtze River after reaching Yiling, and had to rely on land transportation to Ba County (Chongqing) before they could reuse the waterways in Shuzhong for transportation.

Baidi City is extremely important.

If Baidi City is controlled by the Jingzhou Group, Jingzhou can attack Yizhou at any time.

If Baidi City is controlled by Yizhou, then the road from Yiling to Baidi City alone will be enough to destroy the Jingzhou group.

When Liu Bei's camp was burned down by Lu Xun in the Battle of Yiling, he fled to Baidi City and entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang. Baidi City is the eastern gateway to the Bashu region.

Wang Sengbian was no mediocre person. Even if he fled back to Jingzhou, he would never give up Baidi City.

With few soldiers, they could only occupy some important strongholds. They had to continuously send reinforcements from Liangzhou to truly control the Bashu region.

The most important thing is that there is still a tough battle to fight for Baidi City. Hou Jing ordered his soldiers to recuperate and prepare to attack Ba County first and control the main water transportation hub of Shu.

The next thing was to reward the soldiers. Hou Jing fulfilled his promise to the soldiers and ordered all the seized silk to be distributed to them.

"Colonel Captain!"

Yang Jia nodded slightly in greeting. He was lucky. Not only did he survive the battlefield, but he also saved his boss' life in the chaos.

After the war, the captain of his battalion was promoted according to merit and he recommended Yang Jia to Hou Jing to take over his position.

From then on, Yang Jia became a captain.

Captain, this is a position that Yang Jia never dreamed of, but this time he entered Shu to fight and unexpectedly got this position overnight!
A military captain is in charge of a battalion. According to the military system reformed by Duke Su, a battalion consists of a thousand people, divided by different types of soldiers. Yang Jia is in a cavalry battalion, and his status is higher than that of the infantry.

The official rank of meritorious official has accumulated to the third rank of Flying Cavalry Captain. The main benefit of an official of meritorious service is that the relatives of the relatives can be exempted from taxes and labor service. From the first rank, Yang Jia can exempt the taxes and labor service of two people. When he reaches the third rank, he can exempt the taxes and labor service of six people.

Taxes were not so bad. Duke Su loved his people like his own children, so the taxes on the government soldiers were still very light. The real burden was corvee labor.

There is no way. There are construction projects everywhere in Guanzhong, and construction requires manpower.

For example, in the village where Yang Jia lived before, more than 30 people were conscripted to perform labor service in order to renovate the irrigation canal.

Although everyone knows that this is a project that benefits everyone, the fact that able-bodied men in the family are drafted to serve in the military will inevitably affect family life.

Moreover, casualties are always inevitable in construction. Although the officials under Su Ze will not easily exploit the people, the government will not compensate if an accident occurs. That would be a devastating disaster for a family.

Yang Jia saw a young reserve soldier of the government (government soldiers were exempt from corvée labor) who was forced by the officials to perform corvée labor and eventually died of illness on the construction site.

When the cremated ashes were sent back to the village, the young man's mother cried so much that her eyes were blinded.

These places will naturally be given to the neighbors on both sides, which is the return on their investment.

War horses and weapons were also seized, but what made Yang Jia most happy were the ten pieces of Shu brocade that he was given.

Shu brocade is much more valuable than ordinary silk. Now that I am a captain, I am considered an official. My wife can also wear brocade. How magnificent it would be if she wore a dress made of Shu brocade!

Of course, it is impossible for all ten pieces of Shu brocade to be made into clothes. These can be exchanged for money and other things in the market, and they are hard currency with strong purchasing power.

Of course, these are external things, the most important one is the position of captain.

However, Yang Jia, the captain, is only a temporary captain. To be a military officer at the level of captain, he needs to be confirmed by the shogunate of the county mansion and undergo an inspection before he can be appointed.

But the promoted old boss told Yang Jia not to worry, because the shogunate rarely rejected the requests for merit from generals at the front line. Yang Jia was a soldier of the shogunate, and was definitely one of "their own." The examination was to test his martial arts, so Yang Jia would definitely be qualified.

The only thing that gave Yang Jia a headache was that he had to learn to read and write after becoming a captain.

Because at the level of captain, one is already an independent commander and needs to be able to read military orders, write them personally, and understand military maps.

Fortunately, I don’t have to learn the Four Books and Five Classics. I can learn simple reading and writing from the teachers in the army.

But what Yang Jia envied the most was that he could become an official in the future if he reached the rank of a lieutenant. For example, Yang Jia's boss, the lieutenant who was promoted, was appointed as the county magistrate of Mianyang by Hou Jing.

This was also a temporary appointment and dismissal. It was the official book given to Hou Jing by Duke Su before he went on the expedition, allowing him to appoint temporary officials below the seventh rank.

Even if he is not promoted, a captain can become a county lieutenant when he arrives at the local area.

The county lieutenant is the third in command of a county. Even the party leader has to shout "Third Master" when he sees him. He is so arrogant in the entire county!

Of course, if one wanted to leave the army, it was either because of a special wartime situation like his old boss, where a military officer was needed to serve as a county governor to suppress local forces, or because of old age or disability.

But at least it's hope.

Since I have become an official, my son should not join the army in the future. I should let him study hard. Maybe my family can also become an official family.

Yang Jia rode his horse and inspected the barracks before reporting the situation in the camp to Hou Jing.
-
Luoyang.

Yuan Yu no longer went to the Menxia Province to work.

Ever since Chen Qingzhi defeated Yuan Tianmu and Gao Huan in Ji County, Emperor Yuan Hao straightened his back. He simply bypassed the Menxia Province and directly appointed his favorite ministers to control the government. He soon destroyed the last bit of prestige of the already shaky Luoyang pseudo-court.

Yuan Hao first announced that iron coins would be issued according to the Southern Dynasty's system, and then sent palace people to forcibly redeem supplies in the city with iron coins.

For example, Yuan Yu witnessed with his own eyes that an old man selling charcoal in Luoyang City had a whole cart of charcoal forcibly bought by Gong Yong with a bag of iron coins. The charcoal seller cried and fainted on the ground.

Yuan Hao's palace messengers used iron coins to redeem all kinds of things in Luoyang. The only remaining markets in Luoyang city were all closed. These palace messengers would even knock on the doors of wealthy families and even court ministers, and force them to buy things with iron coins. If they refused to sell, they would fabricate charges and arrest their families and put them in jail, extorting more money.

In addition, Yuan Hao also recruited ruffians into the army. The Luoyang Imperial Guards had a bad reputation, and this group of people had an even worse reputation. The once prosperous Luoyang City, after these rounds of turmoil, went from having five out of ten houses empty to having nine out of ten houses empty.

At this moment, a subordinate suddenly reported that an official wanted to see Yuan Yu.

Yuan Yu felt a little strange. Since Yuan Hao began to monopolize power, few court officials came to visit him. He ordered the steward to bring the visitor to his study.

Looking at the young man, Yuan Yu remembered his name.

Yuan Yu was a rare kind-hearted elder among the Northern Wei royal family.

Yuan Yu did not fight for power and profit. It was the same when he was in Liangzhou, and he did not seek an official position after returning to Luoyang.

But all these can only mean that he is not competitive, and his generosity is reflected in his willingness to support those who are younger than him.

When Su Ze defeated the Gaoche people in Dunhuang, Yuan Yu entrusted him with the management of Dunhuang, because Yuan Yu liked to promote capable young people.

When Yuan Yu was in Luoyang, he recommended many talented young people to the court as a clan member when he was free at home. This was why Yuan Hao wanted him to be the governor of the Menxia Province.

Yuan Yu remembered that this young man was the one he had recommended, Zhen Luan from the Zhen family in Zhongshan.

Zhen Luan was proficient in mathematics and was recommended by Yuan Yu to the Taichang Temple, where he served as Feng Xiang Shangshi, the official in charge of the Grand Historian.

Feng Xiang Shangshi was an official in charge of observing astronomical phenomena.

Yuan Yu said kindly:
"Zhen Lang came to the mansion so late at night, what's the big deal?"

"Your Majesty! Yesterday the astronomical phenomenon warned us that Luoyang would be hit by a disaster!"

Yuan Yu, on the other hand, did not show any emotional change. Aren’t there enough disasters in Luoyang?

No one knew where his predecessor, King Gaoyang Yuan Yong, had drifted away with the Yellow River!

Nine out of ten houses in Luoyang are already empty, how big a disaster can there be?

Yuan Yu said with a desperate look:
"Zhen Lang, Luoyang has been plagued by wars over the years. I'm afraid this astronomical warning is due to this."

Zhen Luan was obviously very confident in his business ability. He said to Yuan Yu:

"Your Majesty, this astronomical warning is not just a disaster for Luoyang, but a disaster that will sweep across the entire capital!"

Yuan Yu was getting impatient. There were disasters everywhere these days. There was still war in Hanoi, and there was instability everywhere.

At this time, he wanted to drive Zhen Luan away, but the other party suddenly said: "The celestial phenomena are warning us that the Luoyang court will not be able to respond to the disaster."

"Your Majesty, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. I am not asking you to help with the disaster, but I am asking you to give me a letter of recommendation so that I can go to Guanzhong."

Wow, Yuan Yu didn't expect Zhen Luan to be so direct. However, Luoyang is in a precarious situation now, and anyone with some connections has already fled.

The reason why Zhen Luan did not run away was not because he was so loyal to the Luoyang court, but because he had nowhere to run.

(End of this chapter)