I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 325 Dong Zhuo's Impatient Waiting

Yuan Shu accepted this mission in the imperial court.

He will command the Tianxiong Army as a general and consolidate and govern Bingzhou as the governor of Bingzhou, which means that the military force he can mobilize will be no less than 50,000.

This is a rather significant number.

Since Duan Jiong quelled the Qiang rebellion, no other Han general has been able to command such a large army. Even Duan Jiong has only ever commanded a maximum of 30,000 men in battle. He has never commanded an army of more than 50,000 men.

In this battle, Duan Jiong did try to go north to participate, but Yuan Shu did not agree to it.

Yuan Shu said that since he had left, the court would have to leave a great general to keep things under control and help his father maintain order. The Duan brothers, one with prestige and the other with power, were able to keep those monsters and demons in check and prevent them from becoming too arrogant.

As for the rest, it depends on how well Yuan Shu performs in Bingzhou. If he can win some impressive battles in Bingzhou, he can naturally continue to enhance his deterrent power in Luoyang. If not, then things will get a bit troublesome.

So no matter what, the road ahead is full of obstacles.

Yuan Shu ignored the objections of some people and instructed Cheng Li to write them all down on a list so that he could deal with them later.

He himself packed his bags and on the 28th day of the ninth month of the second year of Zhengshi, he ordered his subordinate general Lian Da to lead 1,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantrymen to go north to Yanmen County first to clear the way for the main army. Then on the first day of the tenth month, he officially led the main army north to Jinyang, the capital of Bingzhou, to officially take up his post as governor of Bingzhou.

Before Yuan Shu officially set off, in addition to saying goodbye to his family and friends, he also made a special effort to hold a meeting at the headquarters of the Yixin Association in Luoyang.

He instructed the Yixinhui members who remained in Luoyang to strictly abide by the association's rules and do their best to carry out their tasks. He hoped that by the time he returned, all sixty-six Liangzhuang villages would have been completed.

In addition, he delivered a speech at the Zhixing Academy, expressing his hatred for the Xianbei people and declaring his determination not to return until the Xianbei were destroyed.

Then Yuan Shu said that Bingzhou was dangerous, and it would be better for the students to stay in Luoyang. After he stabilized the situation in Bingzhou, he would consider opening a branch of Zhixing Academy in Bingzhou, and then let everyone go to Bingzhou to receive his direct teaching.

This matter really needs to be explained properly.

Previously, when news spread that Yuan Shu was going to Bingzhou, many students at Zhixing Academy were surprised and found it hard to accept.

Many of them gave up the possibility of entering the Imperial Academy and joined the Zhixing Academy because of Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shu did not show up and teach at the Zhixing Academy, then the Zhixing Academy would not be as attractive as the traditional Imperial Academy.

Therefore, many people expressed their hope that Yuan Shu could take all the students to Bingzhou for teaching, so as not to affect the operation of Zhixing Academy.

Yuan Shu considered this situation and believed that doing so was acceptable.

No matter how optimistic I am, I will need at least five years in Bingzhou, so it is possible, and even necessary, to bring Zhixing Academy to Bingzhou.

However, Bingzhou is dangerous, with troubles both inside and outside. Before things are settled, he doesn't want these people from Zhixing Academy to go on the adventure together. At that time, he would be in a very passive position, having to deal with the enemy while also sending people to protect them.

This group of scholars, most of whom lack strong combat capabilities, will become his weakness and a part of him that he must take into account, which will hinder his ability to make great strides in Bingzhou.

Yuan Shu did not hide this point, but expressed it very frankly in his speech at Zhixing Academy, saying that everyone was his weakness, and he could not protect his weakness in front of the enemy, whether it was external or internal.

Therefore, he needs everyone to stay in Luoyang for the time being to study diligently and be protected by the Luoyang army.

And while being protected, they continue to implement what they have learned.

They need to help farmers, apply what they have learned to actual production, or they can apply to intern and help in other farms under construction. This can increase their "credits" and increase their chances of being included in the Yixin Association.

Yes, after the establishment of Zhixing Academy, Yuan Shu carried out several reforms to the education system. One of these reforms was the introduction of the concept of credits, which stipulated that those who initially joined Zhixing Academy could not be considered Yuan Shu's disciples, but could only be called "students".

Only after completing a certain number of credits can one be recognized as Yuan Shu's student.

Only when one's credits are higher and one reaches a new level can one be recognized as Yuan Shu's disciple.

Of course, simply accumulating credits was not what Yuan Shu was pursuing. Therefore, after the concept of credits was established, in order to avoid the situation of high scores but low abilities, Yuan Shu also introduced the aspect of helping farmers into the credit system, stipulating that credits are divided into two types: "knowledge credits" and "practice credits".

The "practice credits" can only be earned through practical actions of helping farmers in the fields. Students of Zhixing Academy need to have enough achievements in helping farmers in various Liangzhuang or self-cultivating rural villages.

Without sufficient "practice credits," even with high "knowledge credits," one can only become Yuan Shu's disciple at best, unable to advance to the level of apprentice, let alone become a member of the Yixin Group. Fortunately, this is a period of large-scale construction of the Liangzhi Farm, providing these students with an excellent opportunity to travel to various Liangzhi Farms to assist farmers. Yuan Shu urged everyone not to waste their precious youth and ample time, and to strengthen their knowledge and practical experience while he marched north to Bingzhou to fight the Xianbei, without any slackening.

Yuan Shu raised his right fist and shouted loudly—

I went to fight off the enemy's invasion for you, and you brought me food to fill my stomach. We were both doing things for each other. So even though we were not together, our beliefs and will remained the same, and we were never separated!
The speeches filled the students of Zhixing Academy with excitement, making them eager to rush to Liangzhuang in various places to assist in the work, and then deliver bags of plump and fresh grain to Bingzhou, to Yuan Shu, and watch him eat the grain they had grown.

After the problems at Zhixing Academy were resolved, Yuan Shu had no more worries.

He has assigned enough capable and trustworthy people to continue to be in charge of military, academic, political, economic, and even intelligence matters, so even if he is not in Luoyang and cannot watch all of this continue to move forward, there will not be too much of a problem.

In any case, he couldn't possibly watch all of this happen all the time.

On the first day of the tenth month of the second year of the Zhengshi era, Yuan Shu officially launched his rebellion and marched north, aiming for Jinyang County, the capital of Bingzhou.

Because the vanguard had scouted out the route for them in advance, and with sufficient organization and training, the army advanced very efficiently, maintaining a speed of about thirty li per day. In less than ten days, they led the army to Jinyang County in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Before this, when Yuan Shu led his troops across Xiaopingjin and continued north, he encountered Dong Zhuo, who came to meet him.

Dong Zhuo seemed to have little desire to remain in Bingzhou, so he traveled south to see Yuan Shu before Yuan Shu even arrived, appearing somewhat impatient, which made Yuan Shu want to laugh.

To be fair, while Dong Zhuo's appearance couldn't be described as handsome, it was certainly dignified. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a thick waist, clearly the model of a valiant and powerful general. Although his eyes weren't large, they revealed a shrewd glint, showing that he was far more "brave" than he appeared on the surface.

He is thoughtful and has ideas.

As expected, after meeting Yuan Shu, the first thing he did was to present him with generous gifts: one hundred horses, two hundred taels of gold, and a batch of silks, satins, gold, silver, and pearls. Under the guise of helping the army, he was actually giving gifts to befriend Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu naturally accepted it; it would be wrong to refuse money given to him for no reason.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo can now be considered part of the Yuan clan group, belonging to Yuan Wei's camp. He is a friend, not an enemy, to Yuan Shu, and will definitely be useful to him in the future. Therefore, there is no need to have any ill feelings towards him because of some historical events.

Yuan Shu thanked Dong Zhuo for his generosity, accepted the gift, and then gave Dong Zhuo three bottles of wine.

When Dong Zhuo saw the three bottles of wine, his eyes lit up with great joy.

"Could it be Liangzhou wine?"

Yuan Shu nodded and smiled.

"This is not only Liangzhou wine, but also a top-grade Liangzhou wine. You can't buy Wuwei wine if you want to. Only the wine that Yuan Sikong and I gave you is genuine Wuwei wine. Compared with other wines, it is more fragrant, mellow and sweet, and has a full flavor. I hope Lord Dong will not find it offensive."

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo's mouth practically watered.

"This... how could I possibly complain? I've heard that Wuwei wine is more expensive than gold, and even an equal weight of gold might not be enough to buy it. Lord Yuan's generosity is truly ashamed of me! I... I'm afraid I can't accept such a generous offer!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu burst into laughter.

"No matter how precious it is, it's still just a bottle of wine. Since it's wine, it should be drunk. Lord Dong is a hero of the world, how can you not accept it? Lord Dong, please accept it!"

"Zhuo is deeply grateful for Your Excellency's great kindness!"

Dong Zhuo bowed respectfully to Yuan Shu.

The two then discussed the current situation in Bingzhou.

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P.S.: I'd like to recommend my friend's new book, "From Zhuge Liang's Rebirth at Wuzhang Plains to the Establishment of a Thousand-Year-Old Family." It has two perspectives, one from Zhuge Liang's point of view and the other from the protagonist's perspective. It's quite interesting.

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(End of this chapter)