Han officials

Chapter 198 Military Reform [12]

That day, Yecheng.

"This thief's evil ambitions are obvious!"

In front of his confidants such as Shen Pei and Xu You, Yuan Shao did not hide his anger.

He thought he had been polite enough to Wei Zhe, and had treated him with courtesy when he had previously fought against Dong Zhuo. However, he did not expect this guy to be so heartless and not remember their friendship at all.

Compared with Yuan Shao, Shen Pei didn't think there was anything wrong.

In troubled times, the struggle for supremacy is a life-and-death struggle, so talking about feelings is a bit hypocritical.

However, Wei Zhe's move to establish Yingzhou made Shen Pei's expression solemn.

At this moment, both Xu You and Guo Tu had to admit that Wei Zhe and Gongsun Zan were indeed not on the same level.

Apart from anything else, the idea of splitting up the prefectures and counties was not something Gongsun Zan could have thought of.

Of course, the pressure faced by Yecheng has also become greater.

Thinking of this, Shen Pei's already furrowed brows suddenly became even more solemn.

Soon, he looked hesitant.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao knew that Shen Pei had a plan to deal with it, so he waved his hand and said:

"Zhengnan, if you have anything to say, feel free to say it. Don't hesitate."

It can be said that the great success of the Battle of Fu Shui established Shen Pei's great authority in Yuan Shao's heart.

After all, Shen Pei not only destroyed Gongsun Zan with one plan, but also helped him stabilize his position as the governor of Jizhou. This made it impossible for Yuan Shao to disrespect him, and he often compared Shen Pei with Zhang Liang and Han Xin.

Seeing Yuan Shao's words, Shen Pei said bluntly, "The current situation is clear. Duke Wei is eyeing Jizhou with all his might, and has long considered it a prey item. If this continues, Jizhou will have a hard time surviving. However, the only way to break the deadlock is to improve both internally and externally!"

"What does it mean to cultivate both inside and outside?" Yuan Shao couldn't help but look puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Shen Pei only said eight words: "Link up with Black Mountain internally and seek support from outside."

However, as soon as these words were spoken, Yuan Shao's expression immediately turned gloomy.

You have to know that he has never been a tolerant person, and being courteous to others is just a way to gain fame.

It would have been fine with Gongsun Zan. All the humiliation was gone when Gongsun Zan died in battle.

But the Black Mountain bandits were just remnants of the Yellow Turbans, and they actually dared to offend him, which was something Yuan Shao could not tolerate.

In fact, after initially stabilizing the situation in Jizhou, Yuan Shao was already preparing to settle the score later.

Whether it was Yu Du or Zhang Yan, he would not forgive any of these lowly vagrants and thieves.

Seeing that Shen Pei asked him to condescend and accept the Black Mountain Army, Yuan Shao was naturally very dissatisfied.

Upon hearing this, Xu You also said with disdain: "A mere remnant of the Yellow Turbans is worthy of Zhengnan's attention?"

Xu You was able to play with Yuan Shao and they had known each other for many years, so it was natural that they had some similar views.

For example, they all think that they are of noble blood and are born to be superior to others. As for those common people, they are just cattle and sheep and are not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath with them, let alone being on an equal footing.

Although Guo Tu didn't say anything, he also showed contempt on his face.

As the leader among the Yingchuan gentry, the Yangdi Guo family was naturally one of the people in heaven.

Seeing this situation, Shen Pei felt exhausted.

Originally he thought Yuan Shao was stronger than Han Fu, but now it seems that his strength is limited.

But there was no way out. He had chosen his lord himself, and Shen Pei had to bear the consequences himself.

So after a light sigh, Shen Pei could only helplessly explain: "This is different now!"

He then pointed to a map on the wall and said, "Zhang Yan commands hundreds of thousands of troops and resides north of the Taihang Mountains. He occasionally clashes with the Wuhuan and Tuge tribes at Yanmen. This city could be a great aid. If Zhang Yan is useful to you, you could order him to march east through Puyin Pass and harass Youzhou. This would both relieve Jizhou's worries and tire Youzhou out. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

The Puyin Xing mentioned by Shen Pei is actually one of the Eight Xings in Taihang Mountains. It connects Beiping County of Zhongshan State in Jizhou and Guangchang County of Dai County. It has been an important road between the two places since ancient times.

When he heard this, Yuan Shao fell silent.

Shen Pei's best-of-both-worlds theory once again moved him.

However, Yuan Shao was still anxious about the previous offense of the Black Mountain Army, so after pondering for a moment, he only said ambiguously: "In this case, let's send someone to pacify a few of them first, and see if there is room for education for these people." Shen Pei could only nod his head when he heard this. Fine, it's better to have something to talk about than nothing at all.

He was afraid that Yuan Shao was determined to kill the Black Mountain Army, and if that happened, Shen Pei would be helpless.

After finishing the topic of the Montenegrin Army, it becomes much easier to talk about foreign aid.

After Xu You and others discussed for a long time, Yuan Shao immediately sent people to Jingzhou, Xuzhou and Yangzhou.

Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, it always helps to try a few more times.

……

On the other hand, while Yuan Shao was full of confidence, Wei Zhe was not idle either.

With the establishment of Yingzhou and Liaozhou, many issues were soon put on the agenda.

For example, matters concerning military and civilian settlements, as well as the reorganization of troops in the three states, all required Wei Zhe to make the decision.

There is no need to say much about the former. Military farming has always been Wei Zhe's basic policy that he has insisted on.

From Liaodong to Jixian, he has been vigorously promoting military farming.

But this kind of thing needs to be done step by step, you can't be impatient, and there is no way to achieve it quickly.

In comparison, the reorganization of troops is a big trouble.

You must know that Youzhou was not very stable before, and the county soldiers, state soldiers, and county soldiers had long since changed.

The number of soldiers and horses varies, and some have long since changed their nature.

Wei Zhe was unable to take action when Youzhou was unstable before, but now it is time to reorganize these chaotic troops.

"I have only eight words: lay off the old and weak, recruit and train them." On the top of Ji County City, Wei Zhe said with a cold face, "Anyone who has any objections should come to see me in person."

Wei Zhe is not a common leader welcomed by counties and prefectures. He has the confidence to destroy and rebuild.

Cui Yan, who had just been recruited as a shogunate official, was not familiar with Wei Zhe's personality and was speechless.

There was no way. Wei Zhe really dared to kill people. Cui Yan was really afraid that if he said something wrong, the place where he was injured would be covered with blood.

In comparison, Xi Zhicai was much calmer.

After using his eyes to signal Cui Yan not to worry, Xi Zhicai asked curiously, "Isn't the system of military and civilian settlements working well? Why do we need to change it now?"

Unexpectedly, Wei Zhe shook his head and said, "It's not a reform, it's an improvement!"

At that time, the world was not in chaos and Emperor Si was still in power. Due to the constraints of the overall environment, Wei Zhe did not dare to bring up many things.

Therefore, the current military farming system is actually just a semi-finished product of his conception.

Now that he has finally broken free from his restraints, Wei Zhe naturally wants to complete it.

On the city wall, against the backdrop of the setting sun, Wei Zhe pointed to the banks of the Gushui River below and sighed, "Today, if a farmer can yield ten dan per mu, it's considered good farmland. This standard applies everywhere. However, even with the benefits of the Gushui River, the yield per mu of farmland here is still only around five dan."

"Today, a farmer's family of five has no more than two people who work in the fields, and they can cultivate no more than a hundred mu. The yield from this hundred mu is no more than 300 dan. One dou of millet yields six liters of rice. After husking 300 dan, you can only get 180 dan of millet."

"Even so, it still requires the farmer to work hard to get such a harvest."

"It's the same with civilian settlements and military settlements. If you gain something, you lose something!"

It was not so bad when he was in Liaodong before. Wei Zhe relied on the advantage of weapons and his farming army to sweep away the surrounding barbarians.

But since entering the Pass, Wei Zhe gradually realized that his soldiers were struggling.

It’s not that the military farming army has become slack, but that the Han people themselves are the best fighters in the world today.

Farm during the farming season, train during the leisure time, and go to war during the war time.

The model of military farming may sound perfect, but human energy is limited.

Half farming and half fighting, after all, cannot be as sharp as the full-time soldiers who practice killing skills all day long.

So this time Wei Zhe wanted to reorganize the troops, not only for the prefectures and counties, but also for himself.

He needs to reorganize the military systems of Youzhou, Liaozhou, and Yingzhou so that they can each perform their duties and do their work...

(End of this chapter)