I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 326 I Came to Bingzhou

Perhaps because of these three bottles of wine, Dong Zhuo didn't hold back and basically told Yuan Shu everything he wanted to know.

He told Yuan Shu everything about Bingzhou's military affairs, border defense, the number of border troops, equipment, combat effectiveness, defensive facilities, and the garrison status of the Great Wall.

Dong Zhuo's memory seemed quite good. He didn't bring paper and pen, but he could recall all the numbers at will, as if they were all memorized and recited fluently without any awkwardness. He didn't seem like a general, but rather a qualified strategist.

At the end of the conversation, Dong Zhuo sighed repeatedly.

"Originally, Zhuo was very happy to be appointed as the governor of Bingzhou, but after taking office, he discovered that Bingzhou had been unable to resist the Xianbei people's incursions for more than ten years. There was a reason for this. As the saying goes, 'It takes more than one cold day for ice to freeze three feet deep.'"

To change the status quo, drastic measures are necessary, but the causes of local corruption are far too complex. Zhuo knows that Governor Yuan's trip to Bingzhou is to reorganize the border defenses, and he hopes Governor Yuan will succeed. However, Zhuo's abilities are limited, and he simply cannot accomplish this.

After listening to Dong Zhuo's analysis, Yuan Shu also deeply felt the difficulty of the problem, and understood why Dong Zhuo, who had won many battles in Liangzhou, could not make any progress in Bingzhou and accomplished nothing.

The main problem is that these local officials are completely inhumane.

The border regions are harsh and dangerous, and many officials are unwilling to serve in these places. Those who come to Bingzhou to serve are either from Liangzhou or Youzhou, or are officials from the Central Plains who are dissatisfied with their political lives.

These people themselves did not have great talent, nor did they have the enthusiasm or sense of responsibility to govern the local area and benefit the people. Due to the lack of material life and the dangers brought by war, they wanted to leave as soon as they arrived and had no intention of staying for long. They had no idea of ​​making any political achievements.

Therefore, during their tenure, their main activities were not to strengthen border defenses or prevent the Xianbei people from invading the south, but rather to exploit the people, extort money, and then use the proceeds to bribe high-ranking officials in order to gain opportunities for promotion.

Especially in previous years, the court was corrupt, eunuchs held power, and money politics was rampant, so these border counties suffered.

Each new prefect, instead of fulfilling his duties, was focused on making money, buying an official position, and leaving as quickly as possible.

Under these three urgent policies, these border counties suffered terribly, with people displaced and many families that were originally well-off being ruined and wiped out.

The surrounding counties did not have strong local power, and official positions could be filled by outsiders. They were basically at the mercy of the imperial officials and government forces, unable to resist, and were thus utterly humiliated.

Some counties were lucky enough to occasionally have one or two officials with a sense of responsibility who would do a little work, such as reorganizing the border defenses and training the troops.

Some counties were truly unlucky, with several governors in a row being incompetent, only there to gain seniority and make money, with no intention of doing any work. Once danger struck, they would run away faster than anyone else, or simply cower in the city like turtles, letting the enemy run rampant.

It's easy to imagine what kind of life these people in the border regions were living.

Dong Zhuo initially had empathy for people from the border regions and wanted to do something and gain some merit. However, he was only the governor of Bingzhou, not the prefect of the province, and had no direct subordinate relationship with these prefects. The prefects didn't pay much attention to him at all.

Even with Yuan Kui's backing, he could only get a pleasant demeanor in return; in reality, he mostly paid lip service to the emperor while secretly going against his wishes.

He wanted to lead the troops of the prefects of various counties to fight against the Xianbei people, but the prefects immediately cried poverty, saying that they lacked troops and generals, and made various excuses and excuses, or simply claimed to be sick.

A series of buck-passing left him feeling powerless, so he simply gave up and stopped caring about anything.

Even if Yuan Shu were in Dong Zhuo's position, he would probably struggle and accomplish nothing. It is only because Yuan Shu is currently powerful that he has the confidence to say that he wants to reorganize the border defenses.

Fortunately, Bingzhou, as a border region, still has a strong military foundation. When Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu conquered the Central Plains, the Youzhou cavalry and the Bingzhou wolf cavalry both played a significant role. This good tradition has not disappeared to this day, and there are still many elite and skilled cavalry in many parts of Bingzhou.

Given this, Yuan Shu was not worried about not being able to recruit soldiers locally.

As for those who only want to use their position as governor of a border prefecture as a stepping stone or an ATM, Yuan Shu will use his position and authority as governor to tell them - you won't get a single penny of what's mine!

After parting ways with Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu continued his journey, intending to pass through Shangdang County and reach Taiyuan County.

Because Yuan Shu's official position was Governor of Bingzhou, not just a regular Prefect of Bingzhou, he was the superior of all officials in Bingzhou and held full military and political power. Therefore, officials throughout Bingzhou were extremely cautious about Yuan Shu's arrival.

The saying goes, "A higher rank can crush a lower one." Even the prefects, who are comparable to kings in their respective prefectures and kingdoms, must be careful when facing the governors, lest they be punished by the governor for a single disagreement, which would be disastrous.

Not to mention that Yuan Shu and his father Yuan Feng are now the number one and number two figures in the Han Dynasty. If they are offended, how will they survive in Bingzhou in the future?

Therefore, when Yuan Shu led his army through the area, it was the perfect opportunity to leave the best impression on his superiors. He absolutely could not afford to make a mistake at such a time! So, as soon as Yuan Shu arrived in the southern part of Shangdang County, the governor of Shangdang County, Puyang Qian, had already come to greet him with his men. They were very respectful and had prepared a large amount of wine and meat to reward the army. Everything along the way was well arranged for Yuan Shu, and the roads and military stations showed signs of repair.

It's clear that this prefect is quite shrewd. Knowing that his superior was coming with troops, he dared not offend him. So he rushed to repair the roads and military posts, and even accompanied him along the way, fearing that if he displeased Yuan Shu in any way, he would be finished.

Fortunately, no matter what he had done before, Yuan Shu didn't care too much, after all, he wasn't the governor of Bingzhou before. But after that, he wouldn't be so lenient.

Yuan Shu clearly told Puyang Qian this when they arrived at Changzi County, the seat of Shangdang Prefecture.

“I have come here not to lord it over others, nor to flaunt my power, but to reorganize the defenses to prevent the Xianbei from continuing to destroy Bingzhou’s production and encroach on Bingzhou’s land. I am here to do business, to fight, and to kill, but not to enjoy myself.”

"Lord of Puyang, I do not care about what happened in the past, because I was not the Governor of Bingzhou then. But from this moment until the end of my term, I will strictly demand high standards from all officials within Bingzhou. I will govern the officials of Bingzhou in the same way I govern the army."

At the banquet, Yuan Shu instructed the main officials of Shangdang County and their entourage on what he was to do. He first gave them a warning, telling them not to think that they could be easily fooled just because they were young.

In addition, Yuan Shu specifically mentioned something.

“When I was in Luoyang, I heard that there were people in various border prefectures and counties who traded ironware with the Xianbei or other mixed Hu tribes. Some even traded iron materials and blacksmiths. I don’t care about the past, but I came here to stop this behavior of aiding the enemy.”

Therefore, if anyone is involved in this matter, they should immediately stop now, and I will let it go. However, if my investigation later reveals that someone else is still doing this and disobeying my orders, I will not let them off easily.

After Yuan Shu finished explaining these matters in his capacity as the governor of Bingzhou, he did not linger and continued his journey to Taiyuan County that same day.

All the officials in Shangdang County felt waves of worry and panic about this.

Some people are worried because the young governor has too much power and strength, and doesn't seem like someone who can be easily fooled. If they anger him, who knows what kind of bloody rampage he might unleash.

Some people panicked because these people were more or less involved in the trade of ironware with the Xianbei people and had made a lot of money. Yuan Shushang immediately announced that he would investigate and cut off their source of income.

There is definitely dissatisfaction, and there is also genuine fear.

He is the son of the de facto ruler of the court, and he brought 30,000 well-equipped troops to Bingzhou. They simply cannot fight against him. If they are not careful, their entire family will be wiped out and they will have no one to complain to!

These days are probably going to be tough!

The officialdom in Shangdang County became increasingly oppressive after Yuan Shu's arrival.

Of course, things won't be much better in Taiyuan County either. After all, Taiyuan County is where Yuan Shu is stationed, and Taiyuan County will face the heavy pressure that Yuan Shu brings to them more directly.

Similar to Shangdang Commandery, Zang Min, the governor of Taiyuan Commandery, also personally welcomed Yuan Shu in the southern part of Taiyuan Commandery, bringing wine and meat to reward the army, guiding Yuan Shu along the way, and even personally leading Yuan Shu's horse at times to show respect.

Yuan Shu had previously learned a little about the main officials of Bingzhou and knew that this Zang Min was quite capable and had the ability to command troops.

Previously, there was a rebellion of bandits in Yangzhou. Zang Min, who was then the governor of Yangzhou, personally led troops to suppress the rebellion and won the victory. He was a man knowledgeable in military affairs, and Yuan Wei, in his capacity as Minister of Works, summoned him to take up his post.

It is said that Yuan Wei originally intended to appoint him as the General of the Envoys to the Xiongnu, but later, considering that Yuan Shu was going to Bingzhou, Yuan Feng arranged for Zang Min to be reassigned as the Prefect of Taiyuan Commandery, probably with the idea of ​​giving Yuan Shu more help.

In addition, Xia Yu, the newly appointed governor of Yanmen County, was also manipulated by Yuan Feng to become Yuan Shu's assistant.

Xia Yu was originally a subordinate of Duan Jiong. He performed outstandingly on the Liangzhou battlefield, made many military achievements, and was very capable in combat. Therefore, on Duan Jiong's recommendation, Yuan Feng transferred Xia Yu from the position of Prefect of Beidi Commandery to Prefect of Yanmen Commandery.

Thus, before Yuan Shu even arrived in Bingzhou to take up his post, Yuan Feng had already arranged for two fierce generals, Zang Min and Xia Yu, to be his assistants.

The father was extremely worried about his son's safety.

Yuan Shu felt somewhat moved by this.

(End of this chapter)