At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

"I don't think so."

Guo Peng explained his views.

Guo Peng believed that Helian did not have as much prestige as Tan Shihuai, nor did he gain popularity. He just inherited the position of leader by virtue of Tan Shihuai's status. According to the Xianbei tradition, there were many people who disobeyed him.

"The last will hear that after Tan Shihuai's death, the three divisions of Xianbei have fallen apart, but Helian is still alive, maintaining the surface unity. If Helian dies, the Xianbei will immediately split.

The Xianbei lords of the various tribes did not obey Helian in the first place, and they also disagreed with each other. Now they must be busy fighting for power and profit to determine their own status. How can they have the intention to gather together to avenge Helian? "

Zongyuan felt that what Guo Peng said was reasonable, but he was still a little worried. He felt that the defense force in the north was weak, and it was okay to play small troubles. If it really started a national war, it would definitely not work.

So Guo Peng took advantage of the situation and proposed to expand his cavalry team.

He said that he lost a lot of troops, and he wanted to restore the fighting power of the Karasuma Battalion as soon as possible, otherwise it would be bad if the Xianbei went south again.

The clan members felt it was necessary, so they agreed to help Guo Peng recruit warriors to fill the Karasuma camp as cavalry, and the horses captured by Guo Peng were also allowed to restore the strength of the Karasuma camp.

In Zongyuan's opinion, he and Guo Peng are a military and political alliance. The stronger and prestige Guo Peng's army is, the more help it can provide to him, and the more convenient it will be for him to do things.

The more confident you are to deal with those local tyrants.

In fact, the Karasuma Battalion only needs to restore the establishment of 1000 people. Guo Peng mainly expands his own family soldiers.

The land of the Yan Dynasty has produced excellent cavalry since ancient times. The residents here have lived together with the Hu people for a long time.

After recruiting into the army, you can start training without even spending too much time teaching them to ride.

In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, especially after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, with the rise of local forces and the continued weakening of the central authority, the allegiance of the military in various places gradually changed from the central court to the local power faction.

The personal attachment between soldiers and generals was greatly strengthened.

Just like when Deng Xun was reassigned, the old subordinates were willing to follow him, rather than stay in place to accept the new commander. In many cases, the imperial court was short of troops, and there would be individual generals who would recruit soldiers as their own soldiers to conquer the place.

The court doesn't care about the process, it only asks about the result.

In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, when the army recruitment system became the mainstream, the army recruited by the generals themselves would even be used by the state as the main army.

For example, Zhu Jun's family soldiers have been used for several times to fight south and north, and it is not surprising that they are used to it.

The personal attachment of family soldiers gradually became the main factor, and it became that the family lived on the generals instead of the state, and from the economic level, it became the generals' private property, not the state's public weapon.

The tenant farmers in the manor, the private soldiers of various wealthy families, and the generals' family soldiers all exist in this way. They often move with the migration of the main family, and they take their families and family along with the generals.

Wherever the generals go, they go where they live, live and eat in the generals' territory, unless the generals take the initiative to dismiss them, they generally do not choose to leave.

Those who are officials in the central government are actually powerful people in the local area. They also have their own manor tenant farmers and family soldiers. They have to fight every minute to pull up an army to fight for their own family.

Therefore, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Emperor Ling completely compromised, gave up the restriction and suppression of the power of the scholars, and the scholars regained power. From then on, there would be no such thing as restricting local power against them at the national policy level.

On the contrary, there has also been a policy of enfeoffing the state and animal husbandry, which is a weak central and strong local policy.

For this reason, the power of the Han Central Committee was stagnant. Until the Dong Zhuo Rebellion a few years later, the two groups of foreign relatives and eunuchs who could represent the Central Power were finally destroyed, and the Han Central Committee was completely unable to control the situation.

So the world is in chaos, and it is very normal for groups of heroes to rise together.

Guo Peng knew this clearly.

Therefore, he gradually came up with the idea of ​​​​building an army of his own.

In troubled times, the army is king. Whoever has a strong army and who has a strong logistical capacity will be able to survive.

Moreover, before the war, the idea that suddenly appeared in him, and the idea that he could not sleep well at night, prompted Guo Peng to have the idea of ​​building his own army.

These things can't be done overnight, they take a long time to accumulate, don't they?

Guo Peng has not made such a determination in his heart, but it does not prevent him from taking action for his expanding ambitions and desires.

Seeing the respect and obedience of his old subordinates to him, obeying his own orders instead of the emperor's orders, and thousands of people following him instead of others, he can make them bravely fight to kill the enemy for himself with a single finger. Peng has also become a little different.

I'm starting to enjoy the feeling of being a human being.

Very happy.

chapter 102. one hundred and three

Guo Peng actively built a military camp near Ning County to house soldiers and their families.

Not only that, but also led them to reclaim the surrounding wasteland, plant some food crops, and then let them graze at the foot of the Great Wall based on the captured cattle and sheep, etc., so that they can live a stable life in various ways.

Only in this way can we win people's hearts, let the soldiers turn to themselves, and become their own soldiers.

From this moment on, Guo Peng began to deliberately ask himself to use various methods to win people's hearts and make the army loyal to him instead of others.

He didn't feel that there was anything bad about his changes, all for survival.

In late March of the second year of Zhongping, the news of the great victory in northern Xinjiang spread to Luoyang and became known to everyone.

Lu Zhi was the first to know the news, overjoyed, and immediately reported the matter to Heaven.

The eunuch did not dare to delay, and immediately reported the matter to Emperor Ling. Emperor Ling was overjoyed when he heard that, and felt that the excellent candidates he advocated did not disappoint him.

The leader of Xianbei was actually killed. In this way, Xianbei will surely fall into a new round of power struggle, and the northern border of the Han Dynasty can gain peace for a period of time!

Nothing makes Lingdi happier than this.

The Northwest Rebellion happened just before, and he was in a hurry to dispatch troops to attack Beigong Boyu in the Northwest. He was worried that if something went wrong in Northern Xinjiang, something would happen. Now Guo Peng directly killed the leader of Xianbei, Northern Xinjiang is bound to settle down.

The big man can finally avoid a war on both fronts.

No matter how stupid Emperor Ling is, he also knows that fighting on two fronts is a taboo for military strategists. It is only one side to be stable, and the kingly way is to concentrate all efforts on the crusade.

Emperor Ling could finally add troops to Huangfusong with peace of mind, allowing him to quell the Qiang chaos more quickly.

And Guo Peng, who made such great contributions, also needed rewards, so Emperor Ling asked Lu Zhi, what kind of rewards would be better for his proud disciple?

Emperor Ling is very happy now, if the request is not too much, he will agree.

However, Lu Zhi considered that Guo Peng was not easy to stand out too much, so he stated in the form that Guo Peng was young and needed more experience, and that promotion and official status would not be convenient for his growth, and he was willing to seek a reward of glory for him.

Emperor Ling understood what Lu Zhi meant, and after thinking about it, he sent someone to look for Guo Peng's information to learn about Guo Peng's birthplace, and then announced his decision.

In the Jin Dynasty, Guo Peng was granted the title of Marquis of Yangzhai Ting, with [-] food towns, rewards of money and rewards, and rewards of money and rewards one by one on the list of meritorious deeds, but there was no promotion for the position.

So this news was known by more people in Luoyang, and when the news spread, Luoyang set off a new round of discussion on Guo Peng.

Since Guo Peng lived in Luoyang for eight years before, he was famous in Luoyang and had many friends, so many people were willing to brag about him.

For example, Yuan Shu is the number one Guo Peng in the world, boasting all the time, and everyone in Luoyang knows the credit of Guo Peng.

The news reached Cao Song's home, and Cao Song excitedly told Cao Lan about it. Cao Lan wept with joy, but then was deeply afraid, and immediately wrote a letter to be taken to Youzhou and handed over to Guo Peng.

A few days later, Guo Dan in his hometown in Qiao County was very excited when he heard the news.

Originally, Guo Peng's conquest of the Yellow Turban Army made him very excited, and now he was even more so.

He was promoted to the prime minister of the country and became the two thousand stones, fulfilling Guo Dan's long-cherished wish for many years, and made Guo Dan so happy that he didn't sleep well for several days. The meaning of showing glory is very strong, and Guo Dan has a sense of pleasure of revenge.

After some time, the news reached the ears of Cao Cao, who was cracking down on the illegal activities of local rich and local tyrants in Jinan.

When Cao Cao learned that Guo Peng defeated Xianbei, beheaded Helian, and was able to become a marquis, he was greatly impressed, and then stepped up his efforts to punish the outlaws in Jinan.

There are more than ten state-owned counties in Jinan, and the magistrates and officials of each county are mostly dependent on the powerful, corrupt and perverting the law, and have no scruples. Cao Cao's previous ministers of state all ignored them.

As soon as Cao Cao took office, he changed his predecessor's attitude of inaction, vigorously rectified, and dismissed eight out of ten senior officials at once. Jinan was shaken, and corrupt officials fled one after another.

Afterwards, Cao Cao drastically rectified the chaos in Jinan, pursued the crimes of the rich and powerful, and personally brought people to the door to bind them, which seriously violated the interests of the local rich and powerful.

Of course, it also brought a short Qingping Festival to Jinan people.

Cao Cao believes that Guo Peng's military achievements are dazzling, but if he can make political achievements, he can also become a star of tomorrow, so he must do what he can do now instead of aiming too high.

Cao Cao began to forge ahead.

While Cao Cao was advancing, Guo Peng also began to plan for the future. With the support of the clan members, he sent people to various parts of Youzhou to recruit Han knights to enrich his cavalry.

Guo Peng's prestige became very famous with the preaching of Helian's head, and because he was Lu Zhi's disciple, a famous scholar in Luoyang, and Lu Zhi was the current Taiwei, they admired Guo Peng very much, so they counted Within a month, nearly a thousand people went to Ning County to join the army, hoping to follow Guo Peng to make a career.

Guo Peng screened them, and those who were suitable were included in the army for training, and those who were not suitable were given money and food to go home.

At that time, someone asked Guo Peng, what if someone came here not to join the army, but to cheat money and food?

Guo Peng replied that if he was deceived in order to recruit strong men, then I would be willing to be deceived.

When this matter spread, everyone praised Guo Peng for his broad-mindedness and his measure.

So many strong men rushed to join Guo Peng after hearing the news, thinking that Guo Peng was a real hero and worthy of their followers.

In a few months, Guo Peng recruited more than 1000 high-quality and tall strong men into the army to enrich the army. Most of them can ride horses, and even swing swords and shoot horses right away. .

Those who are included in the army will be given horses, weapons and military uniforms, and the monthly salary will be directly distributed to the soldiers, but it is no one's hand.

This is stipulated by Guo Peng himself. There are rewards for fighting, and rewards for excellent training. Not only that, the soldiers' salaries are received directly by individuals, but it is not the hands of the officers.

This matter has aroused widespread discussion in the army. The soldiers all feel that this approach is very novel and very welcome, because it can guarantee their interests to the greatest extent, so they are very supportive of it and very grateful.

Guo Peng used this method to transfer the soldiers' gratitude to himself for the soldiers' salaries originally issued by the Han court.

This is just a small trick, not worth mentioning, and in the eyes of many people, it is basically useless.

But from Cheng Li's point of view, this approach was quite meaningful, but for a while Cheng Li didn't pursue the meaning behind it carefully, he was busy registering soldiers and had no time to do such things.

In the process of expanding the army, Guo Peng promoted the first to follow his old Changshui troops and family soldiers as grassroots officers, leading the newly recruited soldiers to join the army, strengthening his own lineage, and enhancing the army's obedience to him.

Moreover, he insisted on daily inspections of the barracks, mingled with the soldiers at the grassroots level, so that his face and voice would be remembered by every soldier, and he insisted on having meals with the soldiers, living together in the barracks, personally taking them out of morning exercises, and supervising them Training, personally lead the cavalry to practice riding and shooting and charging.

In this way, his entire existence is deeply imprinted in the soldiers' minds, so that the soldiers know their own existence from the subconscious and know whose orders they should obey.

In June of the second year of Zhongping, a greeting card attracted Guo Peng's attention.

The person who handed over the greeting card was Liu Bei, named Xuande.

A native of Zhuo County, Zhuo County, a disciple of Lu Zhi.

Guo Peng was stunned for a while before he could react.

Brother cheap is here?

Chapter 103. One hundred and four

At that time, Cheng Li was sorting out these greeting cards by Guo Peng's side. When he saw Guo Peng staring at the greeting cards in his hand, he asked.

"My lord, whose invitation is this?"

"Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, from Zhuo County, Zhuo County, my teacher, one of Lu Gong's disciples when he was teaching in Zhuo County Academy."

"Is there such a thing?"

Cheng Li was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It seems that my lord's reputation has increased greatly, and it's only natural for some old friends to come to visit. This Liu Bei, should he want to rely on this relationship to get a certain position in the army? How about the lord? look at it?"

Guo Peng put down the greeting card and said with a smile: "Brothers from the same school come to visit, how can we not treat each other with courtesy? Zhongde, help me arrange, I will meet my senior brother in the county town."

"Yes."

Cheng Li took the lead.

So Guo Peng chose the tall and burly Xiahou Dun to meet Liu Bei with him.

In fact, Liu Bei has already come to Ning County. After arriving in Ning County, he saw the continuous flow of people and felt surprised. After asking, he found out that they all came to seek to follow Guo Peng. He was very surprised at Guo Peng's fame. .

He didn't come here by himself this time, but brought a group of soldiers from his hometown to follow him, and now he is willing to continue to come with his people.

Among this group of people are children from hometown and rangers. They all admire Liu Bei's fame, so they follow Liu Bei.

By the way, this Liu Bei is not a simple character. He was one of the best trendy men in his hometown when he was a child.

He doesn't like reading, but likes dogs and horses. He likes beautiful clothes, exquisite food and good music. He leads fashion and is a man of the hour in his hometown.

Later, because he got acquainted with wealthy businessmen Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, he conquered them with his charm and lip service, and got their funding.

Coinciding with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei took advantage of the momentum and formed a team that had always belonged to him. The number was not large, but it was also an armed force.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei led 500 soldiers from his hometown to become volunteers and fought against the Yellow Turban Army in Youzhou.

Some people felt that they could not see the future, so they bid farewell to Liu Bei and left, while others felt that Liu Bei was extraordinary, and they insisted on following Liu Bei, and wanted to follow him everywhere.

Among them are Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jian Yong. They are all Liu Bei's trilogy, with Liu Bei as the main one. They follow him around and feel like brothers.