The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 366 Weeding

Wangwushan.

Since Sima Zhao was captured alive, the troops stationed in Bingzhou were withdrawn.

This caused Guo Ze's fame to skyrocket.

The news spread everywhere, saying that Guo Ze had set up ambushes and traps along the way, making the officers and soldiers afraid to act rashly, and finally they had no choice but to evacuate the place.

Guo Ze sat in the upper seat, looking at the many "generals" in front of him.

Liu Lu sat next to him. Today, Liu Lu is a popular figure around Guo Ze, and also a rising star on Wangwu Mountain.

He is more suitable to deal with these people than Guo Ze.

Even more suitable than Wang Yuan.

Although Wang Yuan was the first person to raise the banner of resistance, he was born into a wealthy family and had also been a knight-errant. However, there are differences between knights-errant.

In the past, some children of wealthy families also liked to be knights-errant. They usually brought their slaves and friends with them to hang out.

And the sons of powerful families like Wang Yuan also like to hang out with their tenants or servants.

Only people like Liu Lu, who come from commoner backgrounds, can be considered the lowest level of knights.

Liu Lu and these bandits in the mountains are similar in life experience, speech style, and other aspects.

After appearing publicly beside Guo Ze, Liu Lu began to contact leaders from all over the place. In a short period of time, he became a celebrity in the mountains, had frequent contacts with all kinds of people, and became their good friend.

Compared to the bureaucratic Wang Yuan, Liu Lu is more likely to become friends with them.

He is like a fish in water here.

Even Guo Ze couldn't help but praise him: You are a natural born bandit! You were born to be a bandit!

Of course, Liu Lu also played a role in Guo Ze's matter.

Liu Lu found the leaders and told them that the reason Sima Zhao retreated was because of Guo Ze. He made up many stories about Guo's unparalleled strategy and how he forced the army to retreat. At the same time, relying on the fact that these people in the mountains did not know the classics, he made up a story that Guo Ze exchanged letters with Sima Zhao, in which he cursed Sima Zhao, and Sima Zhao left in shame and anger.

These leaders actually believed it.

For a time, Guo Ze became a god-like figure who could defeat a million-strong army.

His prestige became even higher, and even more bandits came to join him. Liu Lu's reputation also soared, and everyone believed that he was the best general under Guo Gong.

Today, these leaders gather in the mountains.

Guo Ze had a stern face. He had not really integrated into the group of thieves. He still had the style of a scholar. He probably looked down on these people in his heart and was only concerned with doing his own thing.

However, it seems that these thieves really need such a person.

If it were ordinary bandits, it would be difficult to make so many people dare not have any other ideas.

Guo Ze read out several orders that had been issued recently. Simply put, they were about reclaiming land, registering households, and organizing manpower to make tools.

They are called bandits, but in fact they are just poor people who can't make a living.

Why did the Han people in the border areas gradually become Hu people?
Because they can no longer survive by farming.

Why did the people of the Central Plains become bandits?
This is the same reason.

The benevolent rule of the government made it impossible for them to survive. They could not pay the taxes, and if they did not pay they would be arrested and punished. So what else could they do except hide in the mountains and become bandits?

Including Zhang Yan in the past, it was said that he gathered hundreds of thousands of bandits in the mountains, died violently and tyrannically, and went down the mountain to rob. In fact, the hundreds of thousands of bandits in his hands were just hundreds of thousands of people who were not recognized by the temple.

Zhang Yan led those people, but they did not plunder all day long. They reclaimed land in the mountains and established their own city. Zhang Yan was equivalent to an unrecognized prefect or a larger county magistrate.

The same is true for Guo Ze today. Most of the work he does in the mountains actually has nothing to do with looting, but is still about governing the place.

Guo Ze finished speaking as usual and quickly left the place without stopping.

But no one was in a hurry to leave.

Liu Lu smiled and looked at Wang Yuan across from him. "General Wang, I have already done what you asked me to do. What do you think?"

Wang Yuan looked at Liu Lu in front of him with an ugly expression.

Liu Lu's rapid rise aroused Wang Yuan's vigilance, so he relied on his status as a veteran and began to order Liu Lu to do some big things.

His original intention was to suppress Liu Lu, and he arranged many difficult tasks.

For example, let Liu Lu go down the mountain to plunder, to inquire about the enemy's movements, or to prepare food and tools.

But I don’t know what’s going on with Liu Lu. No matter how difficult the task is, he can always do it perfectly.

Wang Yuan's instructions didn't stump him at all. He had originally intended to suppress Liu Lu, but ended up helping him become famous, which allowed Liu Lu to gain a firm foothold in the mountains.

This cannot be blamed on Wang Yuan's ignorance. It was purely because Liu Lu cheated. He was originally in the same group with the people outside the mountain. The Inspector of the Imperial Capital, Wang Jing, came to help in person. It was too easy for him to ask for food, fodder, and tools, and to rob some evil and powerful families.

Wang Jing directly helped him adjust the lowest difficulty and assisted him throughout the process.

Wang Yuan also realized that something was wrong at this moment. How could Liu Lu accomplish so many things so easily?

But now that Liu Lu is in the limelight, he can't say much.

"Congratulations, Mr. Yang! You have made another great contribution. I think it won't be long before he surpasses us old folks."

Wang Yuan spoke.

Liu Lu laughed and said, "Brother, your plan of sowing discord is too naive, isn't it?"

He began, "You were the first to go up the mountain, and the other generals followed later. The order is not that important. We all want to eradicate the traitor and serve His Majesty. It's just that due to the distance, we arrived at different times."

"The order in which they ascend the mountain doesn't mean anything. What matters is individual talent. Those who have made contributions and are talented should occupy high positions. Those without talent and achievements will be replaced sooner or later, even if they remain in high positions. What do you think?"

Wang Yuan was suddenly speechless.

Several leaders around nodded and smiled.

Wang Yuan wanted to win over those who went up the mountain first to deal with Liu Lu, who went up the mountain later. However, Wang Yuan and his confidants went up the mountain first and occupied most of the high positions. Those who came after him were considered to be those who went up the mountain later.

Wang Yuan's strategy and courage are very good, especially among the bandits in the mountains, he stands out. However, Liu Lu has done a lot of big things in these years, visited many places, and met many people. The experience and knowledge of the two are not at the same level at all.

To give a simple example, the best fighter Wang Yuan had ever seen was Liu Lu, and the best fighter Liu Lu had ever seen was Wen Yang.

This is where the gap in knowledge lies!
Liu Lu didn't continue to pursue the enemy. He looked at everyone and said seriously, "Everyone, although the enemy has temporarily left, the Sima thieves' desire to destroy us will not disappear. I heard that they have begun preparations and will attack again this year. We must be prepared first."

Liu Lu seemed to be the master of this mountain, but everyone believed what he said.

After reminding everyone not to take it lightly, Liu Lu let everyone leave. After everyone left, he couldn't wait to walk towards the mansion where Guo Ze was.

Wang Yuan watched this scene coldly, and his confidant beside him said, "What a flatterer!"

"You keep running to Mr. Guo all day long, just trying to seduce him!"

Wang Yuan didn't say anything, but he was deep in thought.

How to deal with this troublesome opponent?
Liu Lu walked quickly into the palace. Guo Ze was waiting for him. When he saw Liu Lu come in, he hurriedly asked, "Is there a letter from His Majesty?"

Liu Lu smiled and took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Guo Ze.

"This is!"

Guo Ze couldn't wait to pick up the letter and read it carefully.

The emperor did not reveal his identity in the letter. Instead, he greeted Guo Ze as an old friend and talked about many things around him. However, everything was cryptic and ordinary people would not be able to understand it even if they received it.

Liu Lu has now established his own channel for transmitting information, contacted Cao Mao, and received orders from the emperor.

Guo Ze looked at the letter in his hand and was quite moved.

He hid the letter carefully, then looked at Liu Lu, "What other orders does Your Majesty have?"

The letter contained only greetings, expressions of longing, and an explanation of one's own situation, but did not contain any orders.

Liu Lu came back this time actually with the emperor's order.

Cao Mao hoped he could weed more.

The emperor said that there were too many weeds in the farmland today. If one wanted to make the land fertile, one had to remove the weeds first and then cultivate it again.

In order to carry out this matter better, Cao Mao also gave him advice. He hoped that Liu Lu could organize pirates so that they could set out from the river and go to various places on both sides of the river to remove weeds.

Sima Shi’s behavior gave Cao Mao an inspiration: the great families would also die, and the emperor could not kill them, but the rebels and bandits could!
Liu Lu was ready to take action. He already had a list of weeds here, and the weeds were divided into levels. Some must be removed, some must be partially removed, and some cannot be touched.

But Liu Lu was not planning to tell Guo Ze about these important events.

Guo Ze himself came from a prominent family and had a stubborn personality. He would never support such a thing. If he knew about this, he might even write a letter to the emperor, asking His Majesty not to do such a cruel thing that would hinder Liu Lu.

Liu Lu smiled and said, "Your Majesty has instructed you to do your best to comfort the people here and not let them starve to death. Your Majesty will send people to slowly take them in and allow them to become citizens of the Great Wei once again."

Guo Ze said very seriously: "I obey your command!"

Liu Lu comforted him a few more times before walking out. He looked in the direction of Wang Yuan's courtyard.

My companion Guo Ze couldn't do this, but Wang Yuan could. This man actually had extraordinary ability and courage. If I could get him to my side, would the weeding task be much smoother?

(End of this chapter)