The Nameless of the Common Clans

Bingzhou, Huguan.

Since Chen Mo became the governor of Bingzhou, Shangdang County has gradually restored peace. Chen Mo allowed the Black Mountain Army to collect taxes from the county, but the management was still Chen Mo's people. This county tax brought peace to Shangdang and Bingzhou. In recent years, with the establishment of the General of Agriculture and the General of Craftsmanship by Chen Mo, farming tools have basically been refurbished. Chang'an plows are now popular, and even Jizhou and Central Plains have begun to appear.

As Chen Mo's earliest territory, Bingzhou uses manure and fireplaces. In recent years, except for Yanmen and Yunzhong, the people of Bingzhou still suffer from the Hu invasion from time to time, areas close to the interior such as Shangdang and Taiyuan have truly achieved peace.

The people are not said to be rich, but at least they will not freeze to death or starve to death in winter. In addition, the government has birth subsidies. A family of five, relying on government subsidies, can basically have some family assets in two or three years if the men in the family are more diligent.

It was harvest time, and the fields in Huguan were filled with the joy of harvest.

Several farmers loaded the harvested wheat onto carts and drove them back.

In the distance, a group of people and horses were seen galloping towards the village.

"Army?" The man driving the cart frowned and looked at the people and horses in the distance: "It doesn't look like the armor of the Huguan soldiers."

After a moment, the man's face changed: "No, it's the Black Mountain Bandits!"

The upper-level decision will naturally not be announced to everyone. Although the taxes of Shangdang County were given to the Black Mountain Bandits, the tax collection and the name were still given to the court or to Chen Mo. For most people, the Black Mountain Bandits were still bandits, but they were intimidated by the prestige of Changling Hou and did not dare to come here to act recklessly.

"It seems that there are not many people. What are they doing here?" Several farmers looked at the bandits galloping away, a little worried. Wouldn't the Black Mountain Bandits come to attack?

He hurriedly drove the ox cart back to the village and summoned the villagers to harvest the crops as soon as possible. If there was a war with the Black Mountain Bandits, their village was east of Huguan and would be the first to bear the brunt.

As for what the Black Mountain Bandits came for, it was none of their business and it was not their turn to manage. Only the head of the village sent someone to Huguan to report.

Outside Huguan, when he noticed that an army that did not belong to him appeared, the Huguan garrison commander quickly closed the city gate and waited for it. Although he had a cooperative relationship with the Black Mountain Bandits over the years, they were not his own people after all. If the Black Mountain Bandits sent troops to attack now, he would not be surprised at all.

The Huguan garrison commander was an ordinary soldier of the Xiyuan Army when Chen Mo was in Luoyang. Over the years, he climbed to the position of Huguan garrison commander step by step by following Chen Mo in the battles of the south and the north. For a small soldier back then, it was rare to have such achievements.

There are many people like this who were born as ordinary soldiers and climbed up to the position of generals under Chen Mo. These people are also very loyal to Chen Mo. They are basically serving in various dangerous checkpoints. Their official positions are not high, but they are extremely important.

Seeing that the enemy has come to the city, the guard ordered people to use arrows to intimidate the enemy and shouted loudly: "Stop, if you dare to move forward, don't blame the sword for being blind!"

The Black Mountain Bandits slowly stopped, and then the leading general came out of the crowd and came to the city. He bowed to the top of the city and said: "I am Du Chang under the command of Pingnan Lieutenant General. I am ordered by my general to meet the Marquis of Changling. Please let me go!"

Pingnan Lieutenant General is Zhang Yan's official position. The Black Mountain Bandits have official status. This position of Pingnan Lieutenant General was conferred by Liu Hong in the past.

The garrison commander frowned upon hearing this, and nodded, saying, "You will camp here for now, and I will notify the prefecture!"

This matter was not something he could decide, so he immediately ordered people to go to Taiyuan to inform Man Chong of the matter. As for how to decide, it was up to Chen Mo to decide.

…

A few days later, Luoyang, Chen Mo's office.

"Over the years, Yuan Shao has never given up attacking the Black Mountain Army. Last year, Gongsun Zan asked for help from the Black Mountain Army, and the Black Mountain Army sent Du Chang to reinforce, but was defeated by Yuan Shao. In addition, in the fourth year of Chuping, Tao Sheng betrayed, Yu Du, Zuo Ran, and Zhang Ba were beheaded one after another, and Liu Shi, Qing Niu Jiao, Huang Long, Zuo Xiao, Li Damu, Guo Daxian and other Black Mountain troops were successively defeated by Yuan Shao, and the Black Mountain Army's power is no longer as strong as before." Li Ru carefully counted the experience of the Black Mountain Army over the years.

At the beginning, the Black Mountain Army was indeed very rampant. When Liu Hong was alive, he could not do anything to the Black Mountain Army. However, they were bandits in the mountains after all, and they were still in a situation similar to an alliance. It was not until Yu Du, Zuo Ran, and Zhang Ba died in battle, and Liu Shi and others were defeated by Yuan Shao, that the Black Mountain Army gradually formed a unified model with Zhang Yan as the main force.

But there were not many suitable farmlands in Taihang Mountain. In recent years, Chen Mo has been vigorously promoting livelihood construction here, and many people from the Black Mountain Army have come to surrender. Yuan Shao has been suppressing them constantly. Although the Black Mountain Army is now unified, it has long lost the momentum of the past, which was said to be a million. If it were not for Chen Mo's secret support, Zhang Yan might be worse than now.

But he happened to be caught between Chen Mo and Yuan Shao. The Black Mountain Army was on the Taihang Mountains. Neither Chen Mo nor Yuan Shao could do anything to the Black Mountain Army. But if they dared to come out, they had never won. And just like the last time Tao Sheng defected, even if Zhang Yan had the title of General of the Central Army, a thief was a thief. In this era, the upper limit was very limited. Yuan Shao or Chen Mo, as long as they threw out some official positions as bait, there would naturally be a second and third Tao Sheng.

"So, this Black Mountain bandit wants to surrender to the lord?" Yang Xiu laughed.

"Nominal surrender." Xu Shu shook his head and said, "Zhang Yan is a local lord no matter what, and the current situation in the world is not clear. If he had not had a grudge with Yuan Shao and suffered a new defeat, Zhang Yan would not have come to the lord so early."

Zhang Yan is now a little bit out of control. After the death of Yu Du and others, the originally scattered forces of the Black Mountain Army have truly gathered together and become a force. The Black Mountain Army used to be a general term, but now, the Black Mountain Army is considered a force, but it's too late. Yuan Shao has now occupied Youzhou and has no worries. He can focus on dealing with the Black Mountain bandits.

Although Zhang Yan controlled the entire Black Mountain Army, he was also responsible for the food and grass expenses of these people and horses. Zhang Yan obviously did not dare to run to Chen Mo's territory to plunder at this time. That would be equivalent to offending Chen Mo and Yuan Shao at the same time, which was tantamount to seeking death. Besides, Chen Mo's funding for the Black Mountain Army over the years was not given in vain. Even if Zhang Yan had this intention, there would be different voices in the Black Mountain Army, which was not morally right. Yuan Shao was now on guard against death. If you want to rob food from there, you have to pay with blood.

Everyone looked at Chen Mo, waiting for his decision.

"Notify Huguan to let him go, let him come first." Chen Mo smiled and said, "We still have to meet. There is no reason to block the envoy outside the door."

"My lord, even if Zhang Yan is willing to surrender, I am afraid he will not give up his military power. Instead, he needs our support. In this way, it will undoubtedly offend Yuan Shao." Li Ru frowned.

Now Yuan, Cao, and Chen are competing for supremacy. Although the current strategy is to ally with Cao to fight against Yuan, this is not so absolute. When necessary, it is also possible to unite with Yuan Shao. After all, Cao Cao occupies the Central Plains, and his war potential is actually higher than that of Yuan and Chen.

"When necessary, I believe Yuan Shao will not stop dealing with me just because of the Black Mountain Bandits, and the Black Mountain Bandits do have their necessity to exist and can provide troops for our army." Chen Mo smiled.

Although it is not under his control, it is still possible for the Black Mountain Bandits to send troops to help Chen Mo contain Yuan Shao when necessary. After all, even if it is a nominal surrender, it is still a surrender, and nothing can be done.

"So, my lord is going to subsidize the Black Mountain Bandits?" Xun You asked.

"It's not about subsidizing, each takes what he needs. I will provide food and grass for him to feed the soldiers, but since he can't feed the mountain people in Taihang Mountain, it's just right to use it to fill the population of Bingzhou." Chen Mo smiled.

Chen Mo is short of population now, otherwise he wouldn't have to think about how to naturalize the Qiang people. One million Black Mountain bandits is definitely an exaggeration. Taihang Mountain can't support so many people, but there are always 100,000. If these 100,000 people can be filled in Bingzhou, Bingzhou will naturally be able to support 10,000 or 20,000 households. Zhang Yan only needs the army. The civilian population is not a war potential for Zhang Yan, but a burden.

Xun You smiled and nodded: "My lord is wise."

It looks like a deal, but in fact it is trying to hold Zhang Yan's lifeline. After all, the population of Black Mountain is still somewhat productive. If the population decreases significantly, Zhang Yan's dependence on Chen Mo will become greater and greater, and eventually Chen Mo will completely hold the economic lifeline. As long as Chen Mo tightens his grip, I'm afraid the so-called Black Mountain Army will immediately turn into countless bandits and bandits, annexing and fighting each other, and the Black Mountain Army will no longer exist.

Not only did he sell the other party a favor, but he also indirectly controlled Zhang Yan's troops. At a critical moment, the Black Mountain Army hiding in Taihang Mountain can play an important role.

A few days later, Du Chang came to Luoyang with a group of followers and met Chen Mo. Just as everyone thought, Du Chang came this time in the hope of surrendering to Chen Mo, but Zhang Yan wanted to control the military power. In fact, Zhang Yan surrendered to Chen Mo, but wanted to retain the military power, while Chen Mo had to provide him with food and grass.

It sounds like a very unbalanced deal, but Chen Mo agreed generously, but there was an additional condition. Zhang Yan needed to return the people of Bingzhou under his rule and let them return to their hometown.

This kind of thing, of course, cannot be said directly, it has to be said in a more generous way. Chen Mo is thinking about those Bingzhou people who have left their homes. Now that Bingzhou is safe, those who have left their homes can also come back.

With this group of people, next time Zhang Yan comes to ask for food and grass, he can use other excuses to get another group of people, until the population under Zhang Yan's rule is squeezed out. By then, Zhang Yan will no longer be a powerful general who holds military power and obeys orders but not decrees, but a force controlled by Chen Mo...