Han officials

Chapter 250 Advanced Experiences of Our Predecessors [12]

When Wei Zhe learned of Yuan Jun's withdrawal, he was not surprised at all.

As Shen Pei said, when Wei Zhe returned victorious, Yuan Shao had no chance of winning.

However, Wei Zhe did not order a counterattack on Jizhou from the front lines, but instead took the opportunity to cease hostilities.

After all, the Wei army was not made of iron. They were exhausted after fighting this battle for so long, and their casualties were considerable.

While Yuan's army lacked the confidence to continue its offensive, Wei's army also lacked the strength to launch a counterattack.

For a time, the northern land, which had been ravaged by war not long ago, was unusually calmed down.

On this day, in the Shogunate Council Hall.

When Wei Zhe appeared, Xi Zhicai, Guo Yuan, and others immediately reported on the events of the past few days.

"After Wang Yun's faction was purged, Chang'an once again fell into the hands of the Liangzhou army. Li Jue appointed himself General of Chariots and Cavalry, Guo Si as General of the Rear, Fan Chou as General of the Right, and Zhang Ji as General Who Guards the East, and they were stationed in Hongnong... The emperor had already become a puppet of the Liangzhou army!"

After listening to Xi Zhicai recount all the news, Wei Zhe was not too surprised.

In contrast, he was more surprised by the news that Lü Bu and Shi Sunrui were holding Luoyang.

What, has Lü Bu really become a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty?

As for the news that Liu Bei was welcomed by Chen Gong to be the governor of Yan Province, it made Wei Zhe even more emotional.

It seems that Liu Bei is destined to be entangled with Prime Minister Cao.

It remains to be seen whether Cao Cao can turn the tide and retake Yanzhou this time.

After all, Liu Bei was much stronger than that brute Lü Bu, and he also had Zhang Fei and Guan Yu to assist him.

Most importantly, Chen Gong's appearance filled Liu Bei's biggest weakness.

The combination of Chen Gong, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei is far more dangerous than that of Lü Bu and Chen Gong alone.

Wei Zhe was also very curious about how the situation in Yanzhou would eventually turn out.

However, in the end, the focus of the discussion was still on their own internal affairs.

"We have captured many nomadic barbarians in this battle, and we must not waste them."

Inside the council hall, Wei Zhe pointed to the map of Youzhou and said:
"Repair the water conservancy projects and official roads that need repairing, and dig up the dredged sections. This will be a good opportunity to temper the temperament of these nomadic barbarians from the grasslands, so that they won't be unable to distinguish between right and wrong."

Guo Yuan nodded slightly upon hearing this, finding the move to be excellent.

He had wanted to build water conservancy projects for a long time, but he just couldn't find enough manpower.

However, he couldn't help but hesitate and ask:
"My lord, after the water conservancy and official roads are completed, what will happen? Will these people be allowed to submit to the prefectures and counties and graze cattle and sheep?"

It should be noted that after several battles, Wei Zhe captured nearly 300,000 nomadic people from the grasslands.

Although most of them were elderly, weak, women and children, such a large number is still not a small number.

Of course, this was originally the old foundation of the Xianbei in the central region, and this time it was wiped out by Wei Zhe in one fell swoop.

If we follow the example of Emperor Guangwu and settle these people in the counties of Youzhou, it would be tantamount to the Xianbei tribes in the central region submitting to Youzhou. If not handled properly, it could easily lead to chaos.

After all, while digging rivers and building roads would kill many people, it wouldn't necessarily lead to the deaths of all 300,000 people.

Upon hearing Guo Yuan's words, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but frown.

Killing them all would be a waste, and directly subjugating them using Emperor Guangwu's method doesn't seem appropriate either; it is indeed a troublesome situation.

So Xi Zhicai simply suggested, "Why not select some of the bravest Xianbei to form a cavalry unit?"

After all, the cavalry battalion in the early Luoyang Northern Army was entirely composed of nomadic warriors from the grasslands.

When Emperor Guangwu established the country, he frequently sent barbarian cavalry to fight in the south and north, and to sweep away disobedient subjects.

However, after pondering for a moment, Wei Zhe shook his head and said:

"First, let them dig canals to atone for their sins. Once the water conservancy project is finished, select the obedient ones to register as commoners, change their clothes and surnames, and disperse them to various counties and prefectures to cultivate land, preventing them from forming cliques. After two generations, they will naturally be assimilated into the Han people!"

"As for those who remain unruly..." Wei Zhe said, his expression turning slightly cold, "then send them to the mines to extract stone!"

Indeed, if Wei Zhe were willing, he could immediately possess a Xianbei elite cavalry.

While the Hu cavalry was convenient to use, it was troublesome to deal with them afterwards.

Wei Zhe didn't want to create many hidden dangers for the future just to save time and effort.

Besides, Youzhou has no shortage of horses or men. Wouldn't it be better for him to train a loyal Han cavalry force from scratch?
It was normal for the Han army to use some Hu (non-Han) servant cavalry when they went beyond the Great Wall to attack the Hu people on the grasslands, but it was unnecessary in the interior.

The Sima family was too lazy in this regard, and their pursuit of temporary convenience led to endless harm.

At this point, Wei Zhe simply set a tone.

He said decisively:

"If any grassland tribes suffer from disasters and cannot survive in the future, and voluntarily move south to request submission, they will all be dealt with in the same way."

"Whether they are Dingling or Xianbei, all tribes are treated equally."

"If the tribal chief is willing to hand over his people, he can come to Ji County and become a wealthy man. As for the remaining tribal herders, they must adapt to local customs, be dispersed and resettled in various places, and be registered as ordinary citizens, just like the Han people."

In Wei Zhe's view, Emperor Guangwu was good in every way, except that he was too careless about the issue of the non-Han peoples coming to China.

It's unclear whether he was too confident in the sacred texts, but he actually allowed the Hu people to submit to the Chinese in an organized manner.

Even though he divided the Hu people into different groups when settling them, he ultimately allowed them to continue living together as a community.

In this way, the dismantling and resettlement actually became a form of sowing and spreading.

Over the course of more than a hundred years, these non-Han peoples who had submitted to the Han Chinese have instead grown stronger and learned Han Chinese methods.

It was precisely because Emperor Guangwu set this precedent that the Sima family felt there was nothing wrong with doing so.

Wei Zhe sometimes wondered, wasn't it a good thing to integrate the barbarians into the Han people by registering households and unifying the people during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods?

Just to acquire a batch of free Hu cavalry, they disregarded the successful experiences of their predecessors?
Tsk tsk, laziness in governance is indeed the greatest evil!

At the same time, seeing Wei Zhe's firm attitude, Guo Yuan immediately understood and accepted the order.

Xi Zhicai was still somewhat puzzled, and Tian Feng also felt that Wei Zhe was making a mountain out of a molehill.

In their view, after Wei Zhe's sweeping campaign beyond the Great Wall, the nomadic tribes on the grasslands were no longer a threat.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to turn the past troubles into an advantage.

Of course, it can't be said that their thinking is wrong.

The main problem is that the two of them are still confined to the present day and are unaware that times have changed.

Against the backdrop of the Little Ice Age, fewer and fewer nomadic tribes could survive on the grasslands, and those nomadic tribes that could not survive would naturally migrate south to Han-controlled areas to seek a living.

No matter how great Wei Zhe's reputation was, it could not stop the southward migration of the Hu people.

After all, staying on the grasslands meant certain death, so heading south, with its near-certain death rate, was actually an excellent choice.

This trend of non-Han people migrating south in search of a living may have lasted for over a hundred years, until the climate warms up again.

While the Sima family was utterly incompetent, the external factor of the Hu people migrating south was indeed real.

However, on the other hand, Wei Zhe simply doesn't like being passive. Even though the integration of the Hu and Han peoples is an inevitable trend, he still needs to take the initiative.

The ancient Chinese people were able to gradually assimilate the barbarians in the Central Plains during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and their descendants can certainly do the same.

It is important to understand that the results of proactive integration and passive integration are drastically different.

Active integration means that China absorbed the power of the barbarians, transformed it into its own heritage, and then brewed a new golden age.

If it was a passive assimilation, then the situation of the Han people during the Five Barbarian Invasions is the best example.

The Sima family deserved to die, but the tens of millions of Han Chinese who perished during the Five Barbarian Invasions were innocent...

(End of this chapter)