Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 202 Personnel Adjustment, Hanoi

In August, Yuan Shao had to cede Bohai County to Gongsun Zan in order to stop the war and allow him to concentrate on fighting the Black Mountain bandits because of the chaos in Wei County.

Because the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou had plundered Bohai County in the north, Gongsun Zan agreed to Yuan Shao's request and led his troops eastward to fight against the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou.

When the news of the ceasefire between the two families reached Changshan County, many people who were only there to watch the show were disappointed.

"My lord, Gongsun Zan has the people of Youzhou. We thought he would take advantage of his large number of troops to advance, but now he is looking east because of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou. Let Yuan Shao reorganize the troops and pacify the counties, then Gongsun Zan will find it difficult to attack Yecheng again." Guo Tu said.

"Gongsun Zan's move is actually beneficial to you, my Lord!"

Xin Pi said with a smile: "Yuan Shao took Jizhou by trickery, and Gongsun Zan took Jizhou with a strong army, so the people in various counties are afraid of Gongsun Zan. If Gongsun Zan can lead his army westward, he may be able to take down Yuan Shao in one fell swoop. However, now he has given up the greater cause for a small gain, and he will definitely wrestle with Yuan Shao for Jizhou in the future."

Yuan Shao spent so much time and effort to force Han Fu to give up his throne to him, and was able to occupy most of the prefectures and counties in Jizhou. However, in fact, because Gongsun Zan was brought into Jizhou, he occupied more cities than Yuan Shao. And because Gongsun Zan had troops from Youzhou in advance, Gongsun Zan had more troops than Yuan Shao.

In terms of the situation in Jizhou, Gongsun Zan has the advantage of a strong army, while Yuan Shao has the empty title of Jizhou Mu, so Gongsun Zan is strong and Yuan Shao is weak. If the two armies fight in Guangzong today, if Yuan Shao is defeated, Zhang Yu will intervene in the situation in Jizhou.

However, now that both sides are fighting against the enemy troops, it seems that Yuan Shao has lost Bohai County, but this gives Yuan Shao some buffer time to conquer the two counties of Julu and Ganling under the title of Governor of Jizhou, and then reach a balance of power with Gongsun Zan.

In terms of political strategy, Zhang Yu had to admit that Yuan Shao was talented, while Gongsun Zan had obviously missed a good opportunity to occupy Jizhou.

"It is better to achieve a balance of power. If Gongsun Zan becomes powerful, it will be detrimental to the situation in Hebei!"

Zhang Yu put down the intelligence document and said, "The situation in Jizhou is temporarily stable now. Our army needs to complete the relocation of people as soon as possible and then go to Henei County."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Guo Tu and asked, "How is the situation of the relocation of people now?"

“Somewhat effective!”

Guo Tu sorted out the documents on the table below and said, "Influenced by Gongsun Zan's troops stationed in Guangzong, he forged a letter to attack Yuan Shikai and circulated it widely in Xiaquyang, Yingtao, and Yangshi counties. The people in the three counties had suffered greatly from the Yellow Turbans, so when they heard the news of the war, many of them abandoned their jobs and fled to Bingzhou."

"Now the four schools of officers and officers are accompanying the people, and the number of civilians is about 4,000 households. Together with the civilians relocated from Zhao, our army should have captured no less than 10,000 households."

After a pause, Guo Tu said, "If Zhang Yan fulfills his promise and relocates 5,000 households from Changshan to me, this migration can greatly enrich the household registration of Taiyuan. According to Yuan Chang's report, he has made some arrangements. In addition to letting each county accept the people, he also wants to set up two new counties."

"Shouyang County was established in Mashou Town to dredge the Jingxing Road; Taiyuan County was established on the east bank of the Fen River, facing Jinyang City across the Fen River, to enrich the population along the Jin and Fen Rivers."

"Okay!"

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Taiyuan has 16 counties. Considering the current population, it should not be convenient to add new counties. However, considering the situation, it is necessary to build cities in Fendong and Mashou."

"But considering the convenience of management, it is better to temporarily build a city in Fendong, but set it up as a township and put it under the jurisdiction of Jinyang. Taiyuan is such a large county, but it still has no county magistrate, which is really regrettable!"

The typical problem of Bingzhou is that it has many subordinate counties, but because of the sparse population, each county has a small population, so the chief officials are all county governors. There are county governors who are doing a good job, but now there is no place to move. And considering the necessity of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches, the registered population of Jinyang must be large.

"promise!"

"Sir, if our army goes to Henei, should we leave some troops in Changshan?" Xin Pi asked.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "What does George mean?"

Xin Pi said: "Although Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao have temporarily stopped fighting, judging from the situation, they will definitely fight in the future. Considering the need to increase the population of the counties in Bingzhou, I think it is better to leave some people here. When there is war in Hebei, we can recruit refugees for you."

Zhang Yu thought about the candidate in his mind, and was silent for a while, then said: "Shen Tubei, the official of Shangdang County, has been working diligently since he was recruited, recruiting refugees and encouraging farming. Now he can stay in Changshan."

Guo Tu stroked his beard and hummed, saying, "Your Excellency defeated Baibo and then recruited Shentu Bei as an official. When Shangdang was hit by a locust plague, Shentu Bei persuaded his clansmen to donate grain to help the people. Judging from his actions, he has a benevolent heart. Letting him stay in Changshan is the right person for the position!"

Seeing that there were no other candidates, Zhang Yu said, "In that case, transfer Shentu Bei to Changshan."

"promise!"

On August 16, Zhang Yu ordered Hao Zhao to lead a thousand men to escort thousands of refugees back to Taiyuan, while he led 4,000 infantry and cavalry southward, preparing to borrow Yuan Shao's passage to Shangdang and then to Henei County.

Upon learning that Zhang Yu was about to return to Bingzhou, Zhang Yan went from Yuanshi to Gaoyi to see Zhang Yu off.

On the official road, Zhang Yan led the horse to see him off, and asked, "Why don't you stay in Changshan for a few more days?"

Zhang Yu laughed and said, "Yu Du, Bai Rao, Sui Gu and others have been plundering the three counties of Wei, Dong and Henei. I am now the governor of Henei and I should go to Henei to take up my post. If I do not go to take up my post now, I am afraid that Wang Kuang will seize Henei and station there."

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "If Du Liao leads his army to leave Jizhou, and Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fight, who should I help?"

Zhang Yu walked around holding his horse, saying, "Don't rush to send troops. Let the two fight for a while. If the situation becomes critical, someone will come to contact us. It won't be too late to discuss sending troops then!"

"Okay!" Zhang Yan understood and said, "In this case, the situation has changed. If it is difficult to decide, Yan will inform you."

"What about the five thousand households?" Zhang Yu reminded with a smile.

Seeing that Zhang Yu was afraid that he would go back on his word, Zhang Yan said, "Yan will not forget the old alliance. When Yan controls the counties of Changshan, Yan will arrange soldiers and officials to move 5,000 households of civilians to Bingzhou."

"good!"

Looking at Zhang Yu who was walking away happily, Zhang Yan couldn't help but sigh secretly, Zhang Duliao controls all the counties in Bingzhou, why is he being so stingy now? Is he afraid that he won't give anything to the people?

Zhang Yu naturally didn't know what Zhang Yan was thinking. Now for Zhang Yu, he should be generous when he should be generous, and be thrifty when he can't be generous. If you want to have a large population, you must accumulate small amounts to make a large one. After all, it is not realistic to expect to add hundreds of thousands of people at once.

On the 21st, Zhang Yu led his troops into Weijun, intending to enter Shangdang from Huguan Road, and then go south from Shangdang to Henei.

Today, Shangdang has emerged from the shadow of last year's locust plague, or in other words, thanks to the governance of Zhang Yang and Du Ji, Shangdang has entered a stage of rapid development. Abandoned fields have been reclaimed as farmland, old roads and bridges have been repaired by refugees, and damaged city gates have been reinforced.

In a short period of time, Shangdang County grew from a dilapidated lower county with more than 20,000 households to a prosperous middle county with more than 40,000 households. This was undoubtedly a great change.

However, as the turmoil in the world intensified, the number of households in Shangdang was definitely more than 40,000. It was probably only a matter of time before the number exceeded 50,000.

After all, due to the terrain of the north, when the world is peaceful, Shanxi's economy lags behind Hebei due to geographical issues. But if the world is in chaos, the people of Hebei will flee to Shanxi with their families for their livelihoods.

For example, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when the country was in chaos, Shanxi had a population of about 4.5 million, while Henan's population was only half of Shanxi's. Obviously, as long as Shanxi was not in chaos, the displaced population from the north would come to seek refuge.

On September 3, Zhang Yu passed through Huguan. Zhang Yang led the county officials out of the city to meet Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu entered Huguan City, exchanged greetings with everyone, and then asked the civil and military officials who accompanied him to leave, leaving only Zhang Yang.

"Uncle has worked so hard to make Shangdang what it is today!" said Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yang grinned and said, "It's all thanks to Ji'an and Yuan Chang's good foundation, and Bo Hou (Du Ji) was left to assist."

Then Zhang Yang asked, "I heard that Ji'an is going to Henei, is that true?"

"how?"

Zhang Yu poured a glass of honey water for Zhang Yang and said with a smile, "Could it be that Uncle knows Hanoi?"

Zhang Yang took the cup with both hands and said, "I can't say I know much about it. It's just that the people of Henei have migrated inland. When I talked with them, did I hear much about the developments in Henei?"

As he spoke, Zhang Yang glanced at Zhang Yu and saw that he was quietly waiting for him to speak, so he continued, "Since last year, the princes in Guandong have been fighting against Dong Zhuo, and their troops have gathered in Xingyang and Henei. Because Yuan Shao was difficult to control, the princes allowed their troops to plunder, and the people either became bandits or migrated to Bingzhou. Now half of the population has survived."

Zhang Yu pondered and said, "There are millions of people in Henei, but now they are suffering from war. We don't need to have half of them, but 200,000 or 300,000 people. That's enough for Bingzhou!"

"But Henei is adjacent to the Central Plains and across the river it overlooks the capital. Its location is strategic and is at the elbow of our Bingzhou. In the past, Kou Xun made great efforts to govern Henei, which enabled Emperor Guangwu to pacify Guanxi. Therefore, only those who are both civil and military are qualified to be the governor."

Zhang Yang put down the cup and said, "Du Ji is very talented and can govern the people simply. He is worthy of this important task!"

After a pause, Zhang Yang rejected the idea and said, "However, Du Ji is not a member of the Zhang family. If he is appointed as the governor, in charge of military power and civil affairs, it may not be appropriate."

"Du Ji, I have known him for a long time and know his character. Although he has great talent, he is not good at military affairs. He needs someone who knows military affairs before he can take the position!" Zhang Yu said.

Zhang Yang stroked his beard and thought for a moment. Considering the key location of Henei, he said, "I have a rough understanding of military affairs. If Ji'an thinks it is feasible, I can station troops in Henei. Let Du Ji be the county magistrate and follow the example of Shangdang County!"

Seeing Zhang Yang volunteering, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "That's what I think, but I'm afraid my uncle doesn't want to move to Henei."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang straightened his face and said, "Shangdang is peaceful, there are no bandits or soldiers in the area, there is no place for me to use my military power, so I will go to Henei now."

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu said with relief: "I will lead the troops to Henei first, and when my uncle and Wang Chen hand over the county affairs, I will be able to lead my troops south."

"promise!"

With the help of Wang Ji's letters and Wang Hong's operation, the brothers Wang Chen and Wang Ling sneaked out of Chang'an, passed through Hedong County, fled back to Taiyuan County, and have now arrived in Jinyang.

As an opportunity to recruit new talents, Zhang Yu plans to let Wang Chen temporarily serve as the governor of Shangdang to focus on governing the people's livelihood. And transfer Zhang Yang to Henei to lead troops to defend against the enemy. If Wang Chen is not competent for the governor of Shangdang, Zhang Yu can only re-select someone else.

(End of this chapter)