Han officials

Chapter 31 Undercurrent [4.7K]

The pressure is non-existent.

After learning about Guan Xiu's idea, Wei Zhe agreed decisively without much hesitation.

Even if this matter is really against the harmony of nature, the sin is in the present and the benefit will be for future generations.

In order to make future generations of Chinese people less disgusted, what does it matter if he bears this little infamy?

However, this means that many arrangements will have to be adjusted.

Not to mention that Guan Xiu's letter directly increased the complexity of the entire plan to a higher level, and the difficulty of execution also increased.

It is not an easy task to successfully implement this strategy.

For example, how is food transported?
"Overland travel is definitely out of the question," Wei Zhe said helplessly after pondering for a moment. "The Three Han are over a thousand miles deep. If we use oxen and horses to transport ten dan of grain, we'll probably only have three left. The loss is too great. Not to mention whether we can provide enough civilians, I'm afraid the Three Han tribes won't let us pass."

Xi Zhicai nodded in agreement when he heard this.

Indeed, this is like establishing a food supply route in enemy territory, which is completely unprotected.

You have to know that that is food. It would be strange if the three Han tribes along the way didn't rob it.

"The only option is sea transport, but there aren't enough ships available right now."

"Then build one. It doesn't need to be too big." Wei Zhe pointed at the map of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and said, "If we sail out from Haiming Port and follow the coast, we can circle the Three Kingdoms of Korea without any worries of losing our way."

Hearing this, Xi Zhicai thought about it and nodded slightly.

It just so happened that Daifang County accepted a large number of refugees, so there was no shortage of manpower for a while.

Of course, the two of them can only do some logistical support work at the moment.

How to distribute the food will still be decided by the managers on the front line.

Anyway, after this incident, Wei Zhe was very confident in Guan Xiu's ability.

However, Xi Zhicai soon raised another key question.

"The farming season is over now. Even if we send the steamed rice, I'm afraid it will have little effect." Xi Zhicai said helplessly, "Besides, the Three Kingdoms of Korea are different from China. They only have spring plowing and no autumn plowing. Farmers here don't have the custom of planting old wheat. If the steamed rice plan is to be effective, I'm afraid we have to choose another time."

The so-called "Su Mai" is winter wheat. It is planted in autumn and winter and matures after a year, so it is called Su Mai.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Si Shengzhi was sent as a light chariot envoy to inspect Guanzhong and encourage people to plant wheat.

The "Book of Si Sheng" contains detailed records of the cultivation of wheat.

Even though Su Mai was popularized during the Western Han Dynasty, it has not yet become widespread throughout the country. As for the Three Kingdoms of Korea, it is unlikely that they even know what Su Mai is.

Therefore, when Wei Zhe heard Xi Zhicai say this, he couldn't help but frown.

It is true that farming time does not wait for anyone, and the farmers of the Three Han countries also know the seasons.

In this way, even if these processed steamed grains flow into the Three Kingdoms of Korea, there will be nothing left after the Dongyi people consume them for more than half a year, and they will probably have to use new grains as seeds next year.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he slammed the table with a determined look and said, "Then wait another year."

As the saying goes: more haste, less speed.

For the future millennium pattern of the Korean Peninsula, Wei Zhe has enough patience to wait.

Anyway, good food is never too late, the only thing is that you won’t be able to eat it.

Hearing this, Xi Zhicai immediately understood what was going on.

So the two had to make changes to their previous plan again.

The situation of the Hue and Mok tribes was not as complicated as that of the Three Kingdoms of Han, and their population was not as large as that of the Three Kingdoms of Han. The original preparations were sufficient to deal with the various Hue and Mok tribes.

But Wei Zhe had originally planned to wipe out the Xianbei and the Three Han in one fell swoop, but now it seems that he can only do it step by step.

First pacify the Xianbei tribe, then destroy the Three Kingdoms of Han; start with the easy and then move on to the difficult, and the east of the sea can be pacified.

That night, the lights in the study were kept on all night.

The next day, after the personal soldiers left with the letter, Wei Zhe came to the barracks in the north of the city.

"Are all these grains cooked?"

Looking at the steaming corn in front of him, Wei Zhe couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Kushoufu Ji Hong immediately explained, "Your Excellency, the cooked grain changes so much that it's hard for an old farmer to see it. Right now, these grains have simply been boiled in water a few times to kill their vitality. They'll be dried again and sieved again later."

When it comes to how to process food, Ji Hong is an expert in this area.

After all, passing inferior goods off as good ones is a necessary skill for almost every Kushoufu.

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe immediately nodded in relief.

However, just in case, Wei Zhe still instructed: "After processing this batch of grain, you will personally supervise the seedling cultivation, and try your best to ensure that none of them sprout, and that their appearance is identical. You will control the timing yourself."

Since there is no urgent need to use it now, Wei Zhe naturally has to find a way to maximize the effect.

Although Ji Hong didn't know what a control group experiment was, he understood what Wei Zhe meant and immediately agreed.

……

Not to mention how patiently Wei Zhe prepared.

On the other side, Guan Xiu, who was in a foreign country like Ma Hansang, soon received the letter.

No one in the caravan knew what was written in the letter. Guan Xiu just burned the silk book with a smile on his face.

Seeing this situation, no one was so blind as to dare to ask more questions.

A moment later, Guan Xiu said with great enthusiasm: "Let's go to [Chen Su Tu Kingdom]!"

There is no way. There is really nothing to see in this foreign country. There are only a few good ports in the country.

In comparison, [Chen Su Tuguo] is much more interesting.

According to the information Guan Xiu had inquired along the way, [Chen Su Tu Kingdom] was one of the earliest tribes of the Three Han.

The "Su Tu" in the country's name is the ghost god second only to "Tianjun" in the territory of Mahan.

And because the King of Mahan strictly prohibited others from offering sacrifices to the "Heavenly Lord", like the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, who regarded offering sacrifices to heaven as the right of the Emperor, the belief in the god "Sutu" became more popular in Mahan.

After all, the more people who worship, the more people who believe in it.

The [Chen Su Tu Kingdom] was originally a witch tribe of the god "Su Tu". Many of the early sacrifices from the various Ma Han tribes were even sent from this tribe.

It was only after Ji Jun unified the Three Kingdoms of Han during the Qin and Han dynasties that the status of this witch tribe plummeted.

However, even so, after the death of Gi Jun, the Three Kingdoms of Han fell into chaos, and this group of shamans still gathered a group of believers and occupied a corner of the country, thus giving rise to the birth of the [Chensu Tu Kingdom].

To a certain extent, this "Chensu Tu Kingdom" can be regarded as the Papal States within Mahan.

Of course, Guan Xiu naturally didn't know what the "Papal States" was.

But after seeing the methods used by Taoist Taiping to shake the Nine Provinces, Guan Xiu no longer doubted the courage of these people. He did not believe that these witches had no interest in restoring their former glory.

Even if they have no ambition, Guan Xiu will help them inspire ambition.

So after meeting the high priest of "Minister Su Tu State", Guan Xiu changed his straightforwardness in Bo Ji State and started to beat around the bush. He was not in a hurry to talk about business, but instead talked about the story of Zhang Jiao and his three brothers.

It’s true, even though the Yellow Turban Army caused chaos in the Han Dynasty, few people in Haidong knew about it.

Especially tribes like Chensu Tuguo, which are located in the heart of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, know nothing about it.

Even though Guan Xiu didn't know the teachings and scriptures of the Taiping Dao, he had heard a thing or two about the Yellow Turban Army's tactics, such as setting up thirty-six factions, each commanded by disciples, and the eight states rising up together, which almost changed the world.

After these words, the chief priest of the Su Tu Kingdom was stunned.

Even the servants who were listening were immersed in it, feeling as if they were listening to heavenly scriptures.

Finally, Guan Xiu spoke, "I heard that your country was once the ruler of Ma Han, but was usurped by scoundrels one day, leading to the slaves bullying their masters. I really feel sorry for your country!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ancient temple suddenly became quiet.

The high priest then realized that this was Guan Xiu's purpose.

But even though he understood it, Guan Xiu's words still deeply hurt his heart.

Even the other priests in the temple couldn't help but agree with Guan Xiu's words. You know, they have always longed for the status of Su Tu priests in ancient times.

At that time, no matter which Mahan tribe the shaman walked out of the temple went to, he could almost immediately take power, unlike now where he could only be trapped in one place.

So after a long silence, the high priest under the giant wooden statue finally said in a deep voice: "Han people, what do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Xiu immediately smiled.

"Cattle, horses, furs, food, women... I want everything!"

Everyone looked disgusted upon hearing this.

The old high priest shook his head and said, "Han people, you are too greedy!"

However, despite this, the high priest of the Su Tu Kingdom breathed a sigh of relief.

In the high priest's opinion, the more Guan Xiu wanted, the more reliable the deal would be.

So in the following time, the two of them bargained like vendors and finally reached a consensus.

Like Boji State, Guan Xiu used iron coins to purchase cattle, horses, furs, grain, and women, and the payment was made every six months.

When they see Guan Xiu's ship, both parties can exchange money for goods.

And considering the location and uniqueness of the state of Su Tu, Guan Xiu also agreed to sell them a thousand swords.

But he is not doing good deeds.

The reason why he sold swords to his ministers Su Tuguo was not only to strengthen their strength and encourage them to attack Muzhiguo led by King Mahan, but also to exchange for another permission.

That is the endorsement of your minister, Su Tuguo.

To put it simply, the minister Su Tu State sent a priest to accompany him who was responsible for contacting various tribes.

If Guan Xiu encounters other Mahan tribes later, he can use his status as a subject of Su Tuguo to trade with them.

Although the Su Tu Kingdom is not as powerful as before, they have inherited the legacy of their predecessors and have a wide network of contacts.

With the endorsement of Minister Su Tuguo, it will be much easier for Guan Xiu to stir up trouble next time.

For this reason, after leaving the country, Guan Xiu couldn't help but feel more confident about this plan.

……

Perhaps because there are many plains along the coast of Mahan, most of the 54 countries of Mahan are located on the coast.

So Guan Xiu traveled between the coastal countries while recording various terrain information.

Such as which ports are available along the coast, which tribe is good at fighting, which tribe is good at farming, and the location of each tribe, everything that can be found out is recorded one by one.

After all, having delved so deeply into Ma Han, the information he had previously read was no longer of any value to Guan Xiu.

In fact, a lot of inside information about Ma Han was obtained by him along the way.

For example, when Guan Xiu was doing business in the Rulai Beili Kingdom, he learned that there was also a Qianma Kingdom in Mahan.

And this Qianma Kingdom was the previous leader of the tribal alliance of Ma Han.

Because in the Mahan dialect, "Qian" and "Han" are homophones, the Qianma Kingdom is also called the Hanma Kingdom.

Therefore, the origin of the country name Mahan actually comes from "Han Ma Kingdom".

Later, when the Muzhi Kingdom rose to power, it simply inherited the name of the former leader and called itself the King of Mahan.

When Guan Xiu learned of this origin, he was naturally overjoyed.

So there was another round of turmoil, which successfully aroused the ambition of the Qianma Kingdom.

After all, once a steady stream of iron money flows into Qianma Kingdom, it means a large number of swords.

In this way, it would be impossible for the Qianma Kingdom to live in peace.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Western Mountains says:

There is a beast that looks like an ape, with a white head and red feet. It is called Zhuyan. When it is seen, a large army will be launched.

At this moment, Guan Xiu was like the ferocious beast "Zhu Yan" in human form, and war broke out wherever he went.

Ma Han, who had been relatively calm, was caught in a treacherous undercurrent.

……

……

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

When the undercurrent in Mahan was surging, the Han Dynasty was actually not calm either.

"The Emperor is still worried about General Huangfu!"

In Daifang County, Wei Zhe couldn't help but shake his head with emotion after reading the latest court report.

The reason was simple. The emperor recalled Huangfu Song from the front line on the pretext that he had failed in his campaign against the rebels in Liang Province. Not only did he take back his seal and ribbon of the Left General of Chariots and Cavalry, he also deprived him of 6,000 households and changed his title to Marquis of Duxiang.

Although the court report said that this was because the eunuch Zhang Rang demanded 50 million coins from Huangfu Song, which he refused to give, Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang joined forces to accuse Huangfu Song of wasting money and food in a series of battles without success, which is why the current emperor believed the slander.

But in Wei Zhe's view, the slander of Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang was nothing more than a fig leaf for the emperor.

Xi Zhicai shared this view, and even went a step further, analyzing, "General Huangfu might not be unaware of the emperor's intentions. He probably understood the outcome when he set out on the expedition, and the failure of the campaign might even have been intentional."

When these words came out, Wei Zhe was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help but sigh.

Indeed, Huangfu Song really had no way to fight this battle. He could neither win nor lose.

If he wins, the emperor will probably not tolerate him.

In the end, he would probably end up like Duan Ying, one of the three famous people in Liangzhou, and be killed by a cup of poisoned wine.

If he lost, Huangfu Song would still suffer a great loss of reputation.

It was also a torture for someone like Huangfu Song who valued his reputation after death more than his life.

It can only be said that when the emperor personally appointed the generals and ordered the ministers and officials to go thirty miles out of the city to see him off, Huangfu Song's fate was already determined!
It is a tragedy that a good general of a country can win but dares not to win!

The current emperor may be very powerful, but this kind of method is chilling.

I'm afraid there are many smart people in the world who, like Xi Zhicai, have seen the clues.

And the hearts of the people in the Han Dynasty were lost bit by bit in this way!

However, the emperor can treat state affairs as a joke, but the rebellion must be suppressed eventually.

According to the court report, the Luoyang court appointed Zhang Wen as General of Chariots and Cavalry and General of Imperial Guards, Yuan Pang as deputy, and General Dong Zhuo and General Zhou Shen as subordinates, and launched another expedition to Liang Province.

Yes, Dong Zhuo rose again and was granted the title of General Po Lu.

Wei Zhe didn’t care about it before, but now it seems that the Runan Yuan family’s manipulation is inevitable.

After all, if there is no one in the court, no matter how good a fighter you are, you can only stay in the border counties.

By the way, Wei Zhe also saw another familiar face in the official newspaper.

It is not known whether it was Zhu Jun who introduced him, but after General Zhang Wen went to war, he requested Sun Jian and Tao Qian to participate in military affairs, and appointed Zhao Qi as the chief secretary.

At this point, Sun Jian finally ended his nearly one-year bench career.

And now this fierce tiger of Jiangdong is stationed outside Meiyang City with more than 100,000 infantry and cavalry led by Zhang Wen, confronting the Liangzhou rebels such as Bian Zhang and Han Sui!
In this regard, Wei Zhe could only wish Sun Jian all his wishes come true.

It is said that Wei Zhe developed the habit of reading the court bulletin regularly and discussing it with Xi Zhicai while watching the news broadcast.

Although it was suspected of being a manipulation of politics, it did allow Wei Zhe to have a deeper understanding of the changes in the Han Dynasty.

But just as Wei Zhe was about to put the official report down, the last few lines of small print made him freeze:
"At the request of Zhang Cheqi, 3,000 cavalrymen from Youzhou were dispatched. Zhang Chun, the prime minister of Zhongshan, originally from Yuyang, offered to lead them. Zhang Cheqi refused and instead sent Gongsun Zan, the governor of Zhuo, to act as acting commander-in-chief and command the troops, sending them to Liangzhou. However, when the army reached Jizhong, the Wuhuan cavalry, lacking food and pay, rebelled and returned to their own forces. Gongsun Zan, the governor of Zhuo, was fined thirty yuan in exchange for pardon."

Seeing this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly...
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references:
Because there is too little information about the Three Han Dynasties during the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the above information comes from the Korean historical books "Samguk Sagi" and "Samguk Yusa", the Japanese historical books "Nihonshoki", "Kojiki" and "Shinsen Shojiroku", the Chinese "Book of Han", "Book of the Later Han", "Book of Song", "New Book of Tang", as well as "The Inscription of King Gwanggaeto" and "Zizhi Tongjian" and other records.

In addition, as I said before, I also downloaded some history-related papers from CNKI. I read some Peking University core journals, CSSCI and SCI papers, and some were doctoral and graduate theses. There may be papers by many of you readers. There are too many teachers involved, so I will not list them one by one here.

I am very grateful for the research of all the teachers, which has really helped me a lot. Although reading each article is very ecstatic, it does allow me to understand all aspects of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Thanks again! ! !

(End of this chapter)