My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 247 Pingcheng
"Before I can answer your question, I need to ask you what your ambitions are."

Chen Gong did not answer immediately after hearing this. Instead, he bowed deeply to Lu Yi in the carriage.

"Oh? What does this have to do with my aspirations?"

Lu Yi continued to ask with his smile on his face.

"Of course there is a great connection!"

"If you are aiming for wealth and honor, you should be low-key in your work and cautious in your conduct."

“All things and benefits come from the land.”

"Although Bingzhou is located in a remote area with a small population and is often invaded by foreign races, it has abundant land, including many fertile fields, like those around Lvwu. These unowned lands have been abandoned for a long time. You can do the same as Lvwu in Pingcheng, annex and buy land on a large scale, recruit people to cultivate the land, and you can become wealthy and content within three to five years."

As Chen Gong spoke, he carefully observed Lu Yi's expression.

After seeing that his expression didn't change at all, he knew that this was definitely not what Lu Yi wanted.

Therefore, after a slight hesitation, Chen Gong continued his story.

"But if you want to serve your country, Gong believes that you still need to accumulate strength for the time being!"

"Oh? When you need to use force?"

Sure enough, when Lu Yi heard this, he became interested and asked in detail.

"Exactly!"

Chen Gong felt relieved, and when he realized that he had hit the nail on the head on Lu Yi's thoughts, he began to add to his thoughts.

“Whenever there is a major change, there will be frequent natural and man-made disasters.”

"Natural disasters are beyond human control. When they come, they may be like landslides or tsunamis. The power of nature is so great that human power cannot resist it!"

"Of course, natural disasters are inevitable, but man-made disasters can be traced!"

"Gongtai can try to say it..."

When Lu Yi heard the key point, he could not help but sit up slightly and pretend to listen.

"Man-made disasters are all caused by desire. When people are hungry, they will not obey the king's laws. When they are greedy, they will not care about sacrifice."

"The emperor today is not a wise ruler, and cannot control his subjects. He has appointed many corrupt and servile officials. The corrupt and servile officials will flatter the emperor and oppress the people."

"So, the people are suffering from the rule of officials, and they are all resentful. If this continues, they will become alienated from the court and chaos will occur in the long run."

"If China is in chaos, China will decline. The barbarians are all fearful and unrighteous. When they see something profitable, they will rise up and attack."

"Therefore, from the palace's perspective, the Xianbei invasion to the south last year was just the beginning. If the people's grievances are not eliminated, the national strength will not increase, and if the national strength does not increase, the four barbarians will not submit."

"Although you are currently the small county magistrate of Pingcheng, you are at the bottom of the official ranks."

"But you must not underestimate yourself. You must be prepared for danger in times of peace. You should secretly cultivate your followers, raise loyal soldiers, and accumulate military strength. When chaos breaks out again, you can protect your life and property, put down the rebellion, and be promoted for merit. If you fail, you can punish the rebels and restore order!"

Chen Gong was full of strategies and his words were full of ideas.

Not only did Lu Yi feel happy, but even Gao Shun, who was sitting upright and silent, glanced sideways when he heard this. He suddenly understood why his elder brother valued such a poor and unknown person so much.

"good!"

"Gongtai's plan is very much in line with my wishes, but..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi clapped his hands and laughed, but then looked embarrassed. He was ready to continue investigating whether Chen Gong was really determined to accompany him to the end.

"It's fine to keep a hundred guards, but if you are cultivating your own followers and secretly raising assassins as Gongtai said, then you have violated the taboos of the court!"

"The emperor today hates people who form cliques for personal gain the most. If we open the clique ban twice, it will implicate many people."

"If you do this without an imperial decree, and someone reports you, you will be punished with the execution of all nine generations of your clan!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Unexpectedly, after hearing Lu Yi express his concerns, Chen Gong suddenly burst into laughter, causing Lu Yi and Gao Shun to look at each other in surprise.

"Why is Gongtai laughing? Are you laughing at me?"

Lu Yi looked annoyed and waited for Chen Gong's next words.

"I am just a countryman from the suburbs of Dongjun. All I want is to have two or three meals a day and support my mother."

"Although what Gong said was extremely treasonous, it was all out of gratitude for your kindness and was done with your whole heart."

"If you are just a coward who is content with the status quo, you can just tie up Chen Gong and his mother and take them to the court to claim the reward."

"As you said, the court has always hated traitors like Gong. If you report Gong to the court based on what Gong said today, I believe the two heads of Chen Gong and his mother will be enough to repay your kindness over this period of time!"

"However, if you are not content to be a county or a prefecture, and have the ambition to support the country and the people, even though I am not talented, I can still help you."

As he spoke, Chen Gong stared at Lu Yi with a sharp gaze, also wanting to observe the true ambition in Lu Yi's heart.

"Hahahaha...Please don't be offended, I was just joking..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi's face became serious. He immediately understood Chen Gong's intention and hurriedly comforted him.

"Although I am just a crude and uncouth man from Jiuyuan, every citizen has a share of responsibility for the fate of a country."

"I also know that the chaos will not be far away, so I have already secretly accumulated a little bit of strength as Gongtai said, ready to use it at the critical moment. However, this matter is very serious. If it falls into the eyes of others, Luwu will be in great disaster. Therefore, it is inconvenient to tell Gongtai just now."

"However, now I know Gongtai's intentions. From now on, even if I have to fight you, I will not hide anything from you!"

Lu Yi held Chen Gong's hand and gave repeated assurances.

After hearing this, Chen Gong smiled again and asked Lu Yi curiously.

"I wonder how many troops you have accumulated under your command now?"

After this test, the relationship between the two became deeper, so Chen Gong asked directly.

"Raise an army for a thousand days and use it for a moment."

"Lüwu is poor and has limited supplies. For now, we have only hired 800 men as caravan guards. However, it didn't take long to recruit these men, only a little over a year."

"And my brother-in-law, the Bingzhou governor Zhang Xun, also has hundreds of Zhang family warriors."

"My brother Fengxian still has a thousand soldiers under his command, but they are soldiers of the imperial court and cannot be moved lightly unless there are special circumstances."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi naturally spoke frankly to Chen Gong. However, the Eastern Han Dynasty emphasized humility in words and deeds. Therefore, in order to leave a good impression in front of Chen Gong, Lu Yi did not particularly praise the strength of his subordinates. He just calmly expressed his thoughts.

"Oh? I didn't expect that a small place like Jiuyuan could support 800 soldiers?"

Chen Gong had not received Lu Yi's permission to see the Xianzhen Camp before, so he was a little surprised at first when he heard this, and then he began to comfort Lu Yi.

"Even though eight hundred people are not many, they are enough to form a battalion. If they train hard for a few years, they can still be used."

"Although Pingcheng is desolate and dilapidated right now, if we manage it diligently for a few years, we can still double the 800 people."

"And if we have a battalion of private soldiers, they will be useful at critical moments."

"I just don't know where these eight hundred men are now. Can you take a look at their appearance so that I can have an idea of ​​where they are?"

"Don't be anxious, Gongtai. Today is our first time in office. We haven't yet distinguished our enemies and ourselves. We must not reveal our background easily. Once we are settled, there will be plenty of opportunities for Gongtai to see." Lu Yi said to the anxious Chen Gong with a smile, and finally calmed his restless heart.

People like Chen Gong who are just starting their careers have an urgent desire to prove themselves, which Lu Yi can understand.

"Your Excellency is right. It is Gong who is a little impatient."

Chen Gong nodded upon hearing this and regained his composure.

"Sir, we have arrived at Pingcheng. There are several people standing outside the city gate who seem to be officials from Pingcheng welcoming us. I wonder if you would like to meet them?"

As they were talking, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Gao Lan, the coachman driving Lu Yi, reported to Lu Yi respectfully.

After Gao Lan recovered from his illness during this period, he displayed extraordinary martial arts, allowing Lu Yi to completely confirm his identity.

Therefore, he kept him by his side as a personal guard temporarily.

Gao Lan himself was grateful for being rescued by Lu Yi, and Lu Yi also helped him kill his enemies Hu Tuo and Fuluo Han Yi to avenge his blood feud. Therefore, Gao Lan is now completely devoted to Lu Yi and loyal.

"Since the officials are willing to welcome us, we should not disappoint the people below us since it is our first time in office, so let's meet them."

After a brief thought, Lu Yi took the initiative to get off the carriage.

"We are here to see the County Governor!"

Several people in clerk uniforms were standing at the dilapidated gate of Pingcheng. When they saw Lu Yi, dressed in official uniform, getting off the car, they could tell that this young and handsome young man was the new county magistrate who was taking office today, so they all trotted forward to greet Lu Yi.

"Ok?"

Lu Yi looked at the few officials standing in front of him with an unhappy expression.

"I had already informed Pingcheng the day before yesterday that I was here in person to take office today. Why are only a few of you here to pay your respects? Why are the other officials nowhere to be seen?"

"Do you look down on me because I am young?"

"I hope you will understand!"

"It's not that we look down on you, sir. It's that Pingcheng was attacked by a 300,000-strong Xianbei army, a disaster that hasn't happened in a hundred years. Although the heavenly soldiers defeated the Hu people and the remnants fled north in panic, after this disaster, nine out of ten houses in Pingcheng were left empty. Not only did the former county magistrate, county magistrate, and county lieutenant all die at the hands of the Xianbei bandits, but officials at all levels also suffered heavy casualties. Now, these few people are the only officials in Pingcheng who are lucky enough to be alive!"

After the few people kneeling before Lu Yi looked at each other in fear after hearing what he said, they elected the oldest, thin, middle-aged clerk among them to step forward and answer.

"I see. The miserable plight of my colleagues in Pingcheng made me feel sorry for them. I was wrong to blame you."

"Everyone, get up and talk."

Lu Yi said "oh" as if he just realized it.

But I couldn't help feeling very satisfied.

As the saying goes, the county government is permanent, but the county magistrates come and go.

The imperial court has always been wary of local officials having too much influence while in office.

No matter whether an official does a good job or not, he or she will be promoted or demoted, or transferred to another place. The head of a place will usually have to move every few years.

However, the ones who really have influence in the local area are the officials who seem to be of low rank and have little influence.

The Han Dynasty had been established for exactly four hundred years.

Even if we calculate only the Eastern Han Dynasty, it lasted about two hundred years.

Although Emperor Guangwu was able to clean up the mess left by the Xinmang Dynasty and restore the Han Dynasty, he was very dependent on the help of the aristocratic families during the process of starting a business. As the saying goes, "A man who receives favors shall be grateful, and a man who eats favors shall be grateful." Emperor Guangwu, who was penniless, was able to reunify the world within a few years because of the support of these aristocratic families. Therefore, after the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the power of the aristocratic families was even greater than that of the Western Han Dynasty.

The officials in the counties and prefectures may seem to be of low rank and have little influence, but they actually hold all kinds of power in the local area.

Such an important position would naturally not be ignored by the increasingly uncontrollable aristocratic families.

Therefore, no matter where the Han Dynasty is.

Different from officials who cannot serve locally.

Most of these officials who are not subject to the above restrictions are from local aristocratic families.

On the one hand, the aristocratic families are all large landowners who control the local economic lifeline.

They have land, food and industry, so naturally they want to further enjoy the right to participate in politics.

Although clerks seem to have a low status, there has been no distinction between officials in the Han Dynasty. If a clerk does a good job and has connections, he can be promoted all the way, even to the three dukes and nine ministers.

Being an official means having channels for promotion and the right to participate in politics.

Secondly, if officials like county governors and county magistrates want to govern the local area well, they must face the complicated and interconnected aristocratic families in the local area.

If we don't give benefits to the aristocratic families under our rule, such as some clerk positions in government offices.

Then don't even think that these aristocratic families will cooperate with your government affairs.

If one insists on having his own way, the government's orders will not be able to leave the government office, and he will end up in the embarrassing situation of being alone.

After all, the imperial power of the Eastern Han Dynasty did not extend to the countryside. The common people who had depended on the aristocratic families for generations and relied on them for their life and death might not necessarily obey the orders of you, the high-ranking county governor or county magistrate.

Now, from the small number of officials, Lu Yi knew that the local forces in Pingcheng must have suffered a devastating disaster.

He knew very well that the resistance to his policies would be greatly reduced in the future, which would save him a lot of effort in dividing, winning over and suppressing people.

The number of officials nowadays is just right. If there are too many, they will form groups and cause trouble.

If you have no idea and don't have the guidance of these experienced people, you will be completely in the dark and have to start all over again.

Therefore, I was naturally quite satisfied.

"Thank you, sir."

After hearing this, several people felt relieved and stood up carefully.

As soon as they were informed of Lu Yi's appointment, they knew that this man was the one who made the greatest contribution to the pacification of the Xianbei.

He led 3,000 men and dared to charge into the 300,000-strong Xianbei army. He actually rushed in and killed dozens of Xianbei generals in battle. Even Budugen's younger brother Fuluohan was said to have been killed by Lu Yi and his men.

Even the remains of the Xianbei Khan Tan Shihuai were taken away by this man. He was truly a man of great martial arts prowess and a ferocious and awe-inspiring power.

Therefore, while these officials were grateful to Lu Yi, they also felt deeply afraid of him.

"Who are you? Do you have a name?"

Lu Yi glanced at the person who had just spoken and asked.

"My name is Huang Song, I am the head of the Huang family, and I am appointed as the household officer of Pingcheng."

"It turned out to be Huang Hucao."

"This is my first time taking office today. I don't know the current situation of Pingcheng. Please ask Huang Hu Cao to introduce it to me..."

"I don't deserve your invitation. If you have any questions, I will tell you everything I know..."

……

(End of this chapter)