At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 112

Guo's Manor is his basic base, and Cao's and Xiahou's may also become his base.

Therefore, he will use the next few years to greatly develop the Guo's Manor, let Guo's power take root in Peiguo, and use this as the core to build his own territory.

In the future, when the princes challenge Dong, he can also rely on his own military strength and Peiguo's economic strength to mix in and become a part of it.

As for other aspects, he also made some ideas and measures.

In the army, there are many soldiers who were injured on the battlefield but did not die in battle, and they were still injured so that they could not continue to fight on the battlefield.

For example, a soldier with a broken finger, a broken hand, and a broken leg.

They couldn't go on the battlefield, and there was no point in staying in the barracks, but Guo Peng couldn't abandon them.

Cheng Li persuaded Guo Peng not to stick to some trivial matters, which would increase the burden on the army and himself, and dare to abandon useless people.

But Guo Peng thought about it carefully, and they were not useless people.

It's okay to say now, but in the future when the world is in chaos, and after occupying one side and becoming a vassal, he will inevitably face the problem of governing the region.

Generally speaking, it is difficult for a warlord with a powerful background to have enough literati to govern the place.

It is still necessary to rely on the literate gentry and powerful children to govern the local area, and divide power among them in exchange for their effectiveness. This is the reason why they have nothing to fear.

Local political power is controlled by them, and a considerable part of their interests are also controlled.

When the warlords have strong military power, they can still deter them. Once the military power of the warlords declines and cannot deter them, they will face the fear of overthrow.

For example, the dispute between Cao Wei and the Sima family was a chain reaction caused by the decline and collapse of the Cao family. Cao Wei's family was not as powerful as Cao Cao, and could not deter the gentry.

For a long period of time, the emperor had to divide power among powerful gentry in order to control the world, but the resulting dispute between local power and central authority was very serious. Unable to collect taxes, it is getting weaker and weaker.

The Eastern Han Dynasty is a typical representative, and Guo Peng's own clan is also devouring the flesh and blood of the Eastern Han court to strengthen itself.

Does such a government make sense?

Guo Peng took advantage of such loopholes, and of course he does not want such a thing to happen when he is in charge of the party.

But there is no imperial examination, there is not enough literate population and talents, and if there is no compromise with the gentry, what will be used to govern the place?

A place cannot be governed by a few counselors and prefects. What is needed is a large number of low-level bureaucrats such as county magistrates, county magistrates, grammatical and legal officials. These people must be literate and have relevant skills to maintain local development.

Such a person can't get it out by himself, so he has to hand it over to the gentry, and they provide their children to master it. If this is the case, how can I rest assured?

Guo Peng thought for several nights, and then came to a conclusion.

You must have the ability and preparation to cultivate talents. Some things must be prepared in advance, and you can't wait for the imminent moment to prepare.

The regime supported by the gentry tyrants obviously wants to safeguard the interests of the gentry tyrants. After the empire is established, it is easy to take action against the gentry tyrants for their own benefit?

Liu Xiu can be said to be the son of the plane and the emperor of luck, taking over the world is like playing for fun, but after becoming the emperor, he also wants to take power, and also wants to restore the former dynasty's registered household, Qimin, but faced with the strong power of the gentry. Resistance, his land reform failed.

From then on, the fate of the Eastern Han Empire was determined.

This is a negative textbook with a very symbolic meaning.

People who can't go to the battlefield may not be able to do other things. If they abandon it, they will shake people's hearts and lose the foundation for maintaining the army. If they are used properly, they can kill two birds with one stone.

Guo Peng decided to send these people who lost the ability to go to the battlefield to the Guo's Manor in Qiao County, and do what they can.

And let Guo Jin and Guo Tu arrange to teach them literacy, and then Guo Peng will compile some simple herdsman knowledge learned from Lu Zhi, and pass it on to them bit by bit.

There is no need for great talents, as long as they are qualified for the position of small officials.

Know some farming knowledge, know some knowledge of water conservancy, know some knowledge of handling short-term conflicts and disputes among parents, deal with some trivial matters, understand some basic abilities of mathematical operations, etc.

Train them into a team of grassroots administrative cadres.

Just take Guo's Manor as an experiment to accumulate experience.

He can't train high talents and great talents by himself, but he can still train a group of literate people who can be small officials. They have received a new life from their own favor, and they will implement their will to the lowest level of the locality.

Under the premise of chaos in the world, many places will encounter military disasters, the original powerful landlords will die, be injured or flee, a large number of land and manors will be barren, and a large number of people will die. In this way, there will be a lot of unowned land.

It may be a good choice to recruit refugees to cultivate the land, rebuild homes and administrative villages and townships, establish grassroots administrative units directly in charge of officials arranged by themselves, and create a warlord force with strong mobilization power.

Fighting for supremacy in troubled times, the melee between warlords is fighting the economic and demographic potential of their own territory, and a warlord with strong mobilization can develop this potential to the extreme.

Guo Peng didn't just think about it, but immediately arranged to do it immediately, and immediately started to practice. The county magistrate, prefect, and governor could not be trained, but small officials who could do small things could still be trained.

Guo Peng did not tell Cheng Li his thoughts, but insisted that he could not abandon those who lost the ability to continue to fight for himself. If he abandoned them, if someone abandoned him in the future, he would have nothing to say .

They were injured because of their own merits. Wouldn't it be ungrateful to abandon them when they got the credit?

"Once you are successful, your bones will be exhausted. Mr. Guo doesn't have profound talents and skills, but he will never do ungrateful things! As long as I have a bite to eat, I won't starve them!"

Guo Peng was determined to send the wounded soldiers and their families who were unable to fight to Guo's Manor to make arrangements for support, so as to ensure that they would not starve to death. Such things quickly spread throughout the barracks.

The sergeants and soldiers were greatly shocked and were quite moved by this matter.

Many soldiers who were injured and unable to fight came to Guo Peng collectively, knelt in front of Guo Peng and wept bitterly, and promised Guo Peng that they would follow him for life.

As long as he needs something, it doesn't matter if he dies, and the children in the family will continue to follow Guo Peng to serve him.

"Guo can't lead you to make great achievements, at least, you can't let you have nothing to rely on."

Guo Peng hugged a wounded soldier who had lost a leg, weeping.

Chapter 113 Three Zhang Fei Can't Do It

Guo Peng fulfilled his promise and arranged convoys and troops to escort the wounded soldiers and their families to Guo's Manor to make a living. He wrote to Guo Dan, asking Guo Dan to make proper arrangements.

The soldiers who were not injured were touched one after another. They trained harder, became more cohesive, and carried out orders more resolutely. This army gradually developed in the direction of the Iron Army in Guo Peng's impression.

And Guo Peng, as always, treated the soldiers kindly. He would eat simple battle meals with them when he was free, sit on the ground and chat with them, and exchange some interesting stories about military life and hometown.

Liu Bei, who witnessed such a situation with his own eyes, was quite amazed by this.

"Zifeng treated the soldiers well, and the soldiers were willing to die for him. That's why he was able to defeat the Yellow Turban Bandit and the Xianbei people. The soldiers of the Wuwan camp were high-spirited. No matter how many Xianbei people went south at this time, as long as Zifeng gave an order, all Yingying must be willing to die with him."

Guan Yu asked from the side: "Master, so the leader of the army must treat the soldiers well and let the soldiers appreciate their kindness?"

Liu Bei shook his head.

"It's not enough to let the soldiers appreciate their kindness blindly. Yun Chang, you see that the military regulations set by Zifeng are all iron laws, and all of them must be strictly followed. The punishment for slightly overstepping is extremely severe, so the military regulations and military laws must be strictly followed. Be strict, and then be kind, so that you can command the army."

Guan Yu nodded thoughtfully.

Zhang Fei touched his head aside.

"My lord, how can Shi En cast a spell to make soldiers appreciate En De? Compared with Shi En, as long as there are strict military regulations, can't you command the army?"

Liu Bei continued to shake his head.

"Yide, what you said is wrong. It's just that the military regulations are strict, and you don't show kindness to the soldiers. Although the soldiers are afraid, they are also resentful. Such an army cannot exist for a long time. In the long run, there will be problems."

"But it's too difficult to do favors to soldiers."

Zhang Fei was puzzled: "How much should we reward for money and things? How much reward do these soldiers need to get to serve us like they served General Guo?"

"Yide, it depends on various situations."

Guan Yu said: "In short, you must treat the soldiers well. Severe punishments and strict laws are necessary, but it is equally important to treat the soldiers well. If you can't treat the soldiers well, the soldiers will not really serve you."

Liu Bei was very satisfied with what Guan Yu said, and Liu Bei patted Guan Yu on the back and said, "Yun Chang's words really win my heart."

Zhang Fei lowered his head and said nothing. After thinking about it, he still felt that this was not something he could do.

It's just that the soldiers are driven by harsh punishments. Isn't it necessary to treat soldiers severely and let them fight?

Is there any other meaning besides this?

Zhang Fei couldn't imagine it.

Similarly, seeing Liu Bei and Guan Yu chatting and laughing happily with their subordinates these days, he also tried, but he couldn't do it well, and it was self-defeating, which made the soldiers even more afraid, so Zhang Fei simply gave up.

Zhang Fei really couldn't do it.

He decided to lead the army according to his own style. It is not necessary for him to do what Liu Bei and Guan Yu can do. Can they do it?

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, the second year of Zhongping is over.

At the end of the second year of Zhongping, Guo Peng learned that the Qiang rebellion in the northwest was getting worse, and Han Sui and Bian Zhang had the upper hand, putting the Han government army at a disadvantage.

Originally, Emperor Ling sent Huangfusong to the expedition, but Huangfusong was single and lonely. As a Taiwei, Lu Zhi recommended Dong Zhuo, the governor of Bingzhou, to lead his troops to help. Fight under the flag.

In May and June, the battle situation changed. Huangfusong defeated Han Sui and Bian Zhang's troops several times and won some victories, gradually turning the battle situation. As a result, the eunuch group did some tricky things again.

Huangfusong committed the same problem as Lu Zhi and was unwilling to offer bribes.

So Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, the ten permanent servants of the new generation, joined hands to impeach Huangfu Song, who clearly could march but didn't, and asked Lingdi to punish Huangfu Song for his evil intentions.

Emperor Ling thought that this was not right, but considering that Huangfusong had already made great contributions, if he made great contributions smoothly this time, how would he be rewarded?

As a county marquis, Huailihou, he rewarded [-] households, and he is still the highest rank among marquises. If he goes up, is he going to be crowned king?

Liu Bang beheaded the white horse and made an oath that no one with the surname of Liu could be crowned king. Everyone is following this rule, so how can we make an exception for Huangfusong?

Naturally, Emperor Ling was not smart. Hearing Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong say that the Han army had the upper hand and that the enemy could be defeated in a single battle, he thought about it.

After thinking about it for a while, Emperor Ling took Huangfusong down on the grounds of "fear of war and will not go forward", cut off the position of General Zuo Cheqi, cut off the title of Marquis Huaili, and demoted him to the same capital as Guo Peng Hou.

Of course, it is still necessary to reduce the closed households more vigorously, and cut off the six thousand closed households by four thousand, leaving only two thousand.

Huangfusong suffered a disaster for no reason, and was taken away from the barracks. His face was disgraced, which greatly shook the morale of the Han army.

The one who succeeded Huangfusong in leading the troops was a civil servant, Zhang Wen, who once said good things about Zhu Jun. He was an official promoted by Cao Cao's grandfather Cao Teng. He belonged to the eunuchs, so he was recommended.

Zhang Wen didn't know how to lead troops. He usually talked about the art of war and knew that he was only talking on paper. Fortunately, he knew himself well and was willing to follow the advice of Dong Zhuo and Sun Jian who knew military affairs.

But even so, without Huangfusong's commander-in-chief, the Han army was still hit.

Bian Zhang and Han Sui were afraid of Huangfusong, but not Zhang Wen. They were very happy when they heard that Huangfusong was replaced, so they marched to attack the Han army with confidence. Zhang Wen did not respond well, and the Han army did not receive effective command. .

However, in November, one night, a shooting star suddenly flashed over the battlefield where the Han army and the rebel army were fighting. It spread like fire and was more than ten feet long. The light from it illuminated the barracks of Han Sui and Bian Zhang. At that time, Han Sui, Bian Zhang and others felt that this was an ominous omen, and the army's morale was greatly disturbed, and they wanted to withdraw their troops.

At this time, Dong Zhuo noticed this and was overjoyed, so he ignored Zhang Wen and joined forces with Bao Hong to attack the disorderly army in a panic. They won a complete victory and beheaded more than ten thousand.

As a result, another accident happened at this stall.

Chapter 114. 110 Fourth Sun Jian is quite farsighted

Zhang Wen sent Zhou Shen, the general of the gangsters, to pursue Han Sui and Bian Zhang with an army of [-], and surrounded Yuzhong City.

Dong Zhuo felt that it was too dangerous to pursue alone, so he wanted to lead his troops to meet Zhou Shen, but Zhang Wen refused. Zhang Wen asked Dong Zhuo to attack Xianling Qiang.

Later things turned out as Dong Zhuo had expected. Han Sui and Bian Zhang killed a carbine, which in turn cut off the supply road for Zhou Shen's troops.

Zhou Shen's army panicked and threw away their luggage in an attempt to escape, but was smashed by the rebel army. Dong Zhuo sensed the anomaly in advance and used his intelligence to lead the entire army to retreat safely without loss.

After this battle, although the Han army was defeated for a while, the Liangzhou rebels also retreated for this reason and no longer attacked the Sanfu area, so the Han army still completed its original first step strategic goal.

After Emperor Ling learned of this, he reprimanded Zhang Wen a little, then rewarded Dong Zhuo, and added [-] households to him.

At the same time, because of disasters in other places, Lu Zhi took the blame and resigned according to the usual practice, and resigned from the position of Taiwei.

Emperor Ling considered that Lu Zhi had the ability to work hard and was safe in doing things, so that it would be convenient for him to enjoy himself, so he added the crown prince Shaofu to Lu Zhi, and he was still in charge of the Shangshutai, laying the foundation for him to enjoy life.

Afterwards, Lu Zhi wrote to Guo Peng, telling him about what had happened in the court, and told him that Emperor Ling had thought of recruiting him to Liangzhou to quell the rebellion, but Lu Zhi stopped him because the northern border was undecided, and Guo Peng You can't leave the defense zone, otherwise Xianbei will take advantage of the gap and enter.

Lu Zhi asked Guo Peng to stay in the defense zone and prepare for defense. If he needs help, write to him, and he will find a way.

Guo Peng is very grateful for Lu Zhi's love and care.

In addition, Guo Peng also received a letter from Dong Zhuo, in which Dong Zhuo complained to Guo Peng.

Dong Zhuo said that Zhang Wen looked down on him, and there was Sun Jian next to Zhang Wen who was always targeting him and making things difficult for him. He heard that Sun Jian had a good relationship with Guo Peng, so he asked Guo Peng why he fell in love with someone like Sun Jian?

Guo Peng felt very speechless, do you want me to give you justice?

How can I uphold justice for you?

Sun Jian was an old official brought up by Zhu Jun. Zhu Jun had a good relationship with Zhang Wen. During this battle, Zhu Jun was unable to act due to illness, so he sent Sun Jian to follow Zhang Wen to serve as his staff.