Chapter 139 Official Appointment...
With his newly acquired name and identity, Ren Hong arrived at Jinyang, the county seat of Taiyuan County, along with the team that migrated from Luoyang.
Here, the former residents of Luoyang who had fled to Bingzhou lined up in long queues in an orderly manner and registered.
It was impossible for Qiao Yan to accept these people into his territory without restraint, and he did need to offer certain preferential conditions to let them see Bingzhou's determination to accommodate the population. After consulting with Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai, he finally worked out a systematic set of rules and regulations.
Residents who moved from Luoyang were given priority to be settled in Shangdang County, Shang County, Xihe County and the southern part of Yanmen County, and there was no consideration of further increasing the population burden of Taiyuan County.
Because they arrived in Jinyang in early July, they could not catch up with the spring planting and autumn harvest. Therefore, these new residents of Bingzhou could earn food to last through the winter through workshops and open-pit coal mines in various parts of the state.
If one person in a household signs up to join the army, the household can be exempted from this year's head tax and receive 30 shi of grain from the state government for living expenses.
The state government has designated thirty acres of wasteland as the amount of farmland reserved for a household to cultivate. If more land is needed, the cost of purchasing it will have to be paid.
The term "wasteland" may seem harsh, but you have to know that the harvest of the wasteland in Bingzhou was four shi per mu last year, which is much higher than the three shi per mu of ordinary farmland in the Sanfu area. If you can follow the farming method of Bingzhou, at least you will not lack food and drink.
In addition, the farm tools and other daily necessities needed for farming will be made into tool kits by the state government in accordance with Bingzhou's farming regulations and sold at a discount to ensure that these new residents can adapt to the situation within Bingzhou as quickly as possible.
“And this.”
Even though Ren Hong didn't have to go through the queueing process because of Ma Lun, she still couldn't help but stare at the scene in front of her for a long time, until someone handed a piece of paper to her, interrupting her dazed state.
When she took the paper, she also saw the girl who handed it to her.
She looked to be only eleven or thirteen years old.
But what was more eye-catching was obviously not her age, but the fact that she was holding a huge stack of papers in her hands!
A huge stack of Lepinghou papers!
Ren Hong vaguely remembered that when she was still in Luoyang Palace, she heard people talking about the high cost of Lepinghou paper, which was why it failed to replace the original types of paper and became the mainstream of recording books today due to its toughness. But according to what she saw at this moment, it seemed...
It doesn’t seem that expensive.
The girl in front of him had already slammed down a bunch of words in a clear and fluent manner: "On the paper is a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of several counties in Bingzhou and the job requirements, all expressed in the form of simple drawings. It doesn't matter if you can't understand the words. On the back is the location of the transit point in Taiyuan County. The provincial government provides cheap simple meals, and you can also go to Jinyang City to have a look, but in order to prevent disorder, you need to go to the marked location on the map to get a number plate. That's about it. These processes have corresponding special people to guide them."
“Souji——”
She heard someone calling her in the distance and quickly waved to Ren Hong, "I'm leaving first. I have to go do something else. Just remember to read the instructions."
The girl, who looked experienced, had just taken two steps when she suddenly turned back and said to Ren Hong, "I forgot to say, Bingzhou welcomes you."
Ren Hong looked in the direction the girl ran and saw a girl in the distance who looked somewhat similar to the previous girl, but was seven or eight years older. Because the other party was in charge of coordinating the errands for the children in this area, and there were already more people around, they needed someone to help out.
The girl called Zhao Ji quickly divided the papers that had not been distributed yet into five parts and stuffed them into the hands of the other five young men. She took the other account book from her sister and took over half of the management work.
This, like the various resettlement policies in Bingzhou, was something Ren Hong had never seen anywhere else before.
She happened to see what the man in charge of farm work was doing.
Because the distance was quite far, she couldn't hear clearly what the other party was saying. She could only judge from his expression that he was making the final adjustments to the subsequent arrangement of picking up the farm tools.
That was Qin Gongshi, who had made important contributions to the increase in per mu yield of farmland in Bingzhou as mentioned by the driver earlier.
Although the states displayed by these women of different ages in Bingzhou seemed quite different from those of Ma Lun, who had experienced too many changes in the world and became as calm as water, they also made Ren Hongwang dazzled, and she felt that the decision to come to Bingzhou was the most correct one she had ever made.
She suddenly understood why Marquis Qiao always said "Hongyu does not fly low" and why he had such expectations for her, or for everyone in their group.
Because there have been some successful examples under her rule.
As she was thinking, she spread out the piece of paper that Zhao Ji had handed to her in front of her, and saw that it was just as she said. The front side was a comparison of the four counties among the nine counties of Bingzhou that were selected by Qiao Yan to accept them.
But when she saw the picture above, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What are you looking at that's so funny?" Ma Lun, who had already completed all the formalities for them, came over and saw Ren Hong's performance and asked casually.
"Teacher, look." Ren Hong handed the paper to Ma Lun and pointed to one of the places deliberately.
The comparison between Shangdang, Xihe, Shangjun and Yanmen includes recruitment positions, resource distribution, climatic conditions, acres of farmland, and an especially important factor, which is the safety situation.
It goes without saying that Shangdang is the safest. As for the other three places, Yanmen needs to face the Xianbei outside the Great Wall, there are the Southern Xiongnu in Xihe, and west of Shangjun is Liangzhou where Qiang and Hu people appear. All of them are unstable, but because of the markings on them, this instability has become something indescribably funny.
To the north of Yanmen County, there is a painting of a stick figure holding a gun, with his other hand pulling a bunch of cattle and sheep. Behind him is a tent, and outside the tent, a little man wearing a Xianbei hat is crying.
At the Southern Xiongnu camp in Xihe County, there is a picture of a stick figure holding a gun, with one foot stepping on a Xiongnu man's head. There are a bunch of circles drawn next to it, which are probably the pile of human heads that Qiao Hou used to intimidate the nobles of the left wing of the Southern Xiongnu according to rumors.
And at the location of Shangjun, the little man was still drawn there, standing with a spear across his body, but there was clearly no enemy for her to attack.
If the person who drew this picture had not drawn the two pointed ends of the gun and the connecting feature in the middle so clearly, Ren Hong felt that he might not be so sure that this was their Bingzhou Mu!
The girl who received the same information sheet as her compared the one in her hand with the one in Ren Hong's hand.
This comparison reveals that although the content of the painting and the text is basically similar, they are obviously from different people.
"This should be the homework of Leping Academy." Ma Lun also thought that this "flyer" was particularly interesting.
Regardless of where these newcomers to Leping finally choose to live, Qiao Yan's image of being a capable and good fighter has at least been conveyed again through these papers, which is of great benefit to the people who have just arrived in Bingzhou in achieving their goal of returning home.
Leping Academy?
Ren Hong thought of what the driver had mentioned before. He said that if he could save some extra money, he would let his son learn a few characters so that he could get into Leping Academy. It can be seen that there are still some entry barriers to this place.
But it was precisely this admission threshold that made the people in Leping Academy become Qiao Yan's propaganda team at this necessary moment.
Her eyes lit up, this was truly a powerful method.
However, what she didn't know was that Qiao Yan only conveyed the instructions to the state, and it was only after returning to Jinyang that she saw this batch of finished products.
Qiao Yan couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity of his own map of Shangjun's position, which looked like "drawing a gun and looking around in confusion". He turned to Cai Zhaoji, who had finished her work, and asked, "Did you come up with this idea?"
According to Qiao Yan's original plan, he just hoped that Cai Yan could lead people to make this explanation into a bulletin board format and display it in the temporary camp in Taiyuan County.
Just like the road signs they saw along the way.
But Cai Zhaoji was quick-witted and directly changed the strategy to distributing flyers. She also made use of Cai Yong's identity as a scholar and turned the production of these flyers into an assignment within Leping Academy, thus creating a systematic publicity process for Qiao Yan.
"I think so," Cai Zhaoji continued, "Although people who have come to Bingzhou will know that the price of Lepinghou paper is not as high as the outside world says, nowadays literacy has not yet reached every household, and it is not easy to have such a piece of paper with words written on it at home. So if these people who settled in Bingzhou want to learn characters, what will they learn first?"
The answer is beyond doubt.
"These are the names of the counties in Bingzhou, the resources such as coal mines, iron mines, gypsum mines, and -"
"And your great achievements," Cai Zhaoji said confidently, "In this way, the only thing you need to worry about is whether you can always maintain this record of success that builds confidence in Bingzhou."
If Qiao Yan's career was just starting, she might have worried about this, but now there is no need to worry about it.
She herself was not carried away by the victory in front of her, and she had such a talented group of people under her command, and they had already made various innovations that could no longer be inferred according to the original historical facts.
She replied: "I have you, so what do I have to fear?"
According to her decision in Luoyang City, in the personnel transfer order that was subsequently issued, Yang Xiu took over Lu Yuan's position as the chief clerk, promoted Lu Yuan to the position of Gongcao Clerk, Zheng Tai served as Da Zhongzheng, and Xun You served as Shangjun Clerk.
As a result, the only remaining vacant positions were Wuyuan, which had the Du Liao General's camp, Dingxiang, which could be supervised by Wu Meng, and Shangdang.
When these appointments were issued, less than half a month had passed since Qiao Yan returned to Jinyang.
The people of Luoyang have all been arranged to the corresponding counties, and the documents and decisions that had accumulated during Qiao Yan's expedition against Dong Zhuo have all been approved. The first batch of people have also arrived in Bingzhou, and everyone has arrived and can perform their duties.
To her great surprise, Zheng Tai actually came to her right after accepting the appointment and said, "I would like to recommend someone to you as an official in Shangdang County."
The first recommendation made by Zheng Tai after he took office as the Grand Chancellor would definitely not be made casually. Qiao Yan also straightened his face and prepared to listen to what he had to say.
"Your Excellency is so busy that you probably didn't notice that among the people who arrived at the Jinyang Outer Registration Office yesterday, there was a clan that should have belonged to Henei County, with the surname Chang. The Henei Chang family is not a prominent family, but they have produced many talented people."
"But with such an identity, there should be no need to come to Bingzhou, right?" Qiao Yan asked with some confusion.
"No, they really need to come." Zheng Tai shook his head and continued, "Wang Kuang, the official in the former General He Jin's office, if I remember correctly, should have met you once."
“You should say it was the fate of a battle, and… the fate of a review.” The former naturally refers to the fight between Wang Kuang and Qiao Yan in the previous selection of General Du Liao, and the latter refers to the time when Xu Zijiang gave the monthly review five years ago, when Wang Kuang was actually present.
However, Zheng Tai didn't want to talk about these two things at this time.
He said: "This news may not have reached Bingzhou yet, but the refugees have already arrived. Wang Kuang, because of General He, naturally sided with the eldest son of the late emperor. He immediately wrote a letter to celebrate his ascension to the throne and asked for the post of governor of Henei."
"Because of his qualifications and reputation, the letter of appointment came very quickly. However, Wang Kuang is usually good at talking and making broad speeches, but if he is asked to govern a county, it would be too difficult for him. He asked his men to hide in various counties and observe those who have committed crimes, big or small. No matter what the hidden crime is, they will be detained first, and then they will be asked to redeem themselves with food and money. Those who hesitated at the slightest will be arrested and exterminated. On the one hand, it is to show his majesty as a prefect, and on the other hand, it is to quickly fill the treasury so that he can start to raise troops in the current situation."
Wang Kuang's behavior is really outrageous. If every prefect who takes office is like him, then what is the difference between them and Dong Zhuo?
Zheng Tai looked down on his behavior, so he addressed this "famous scholar" by his full name, and then said: "There is a man in the Chang clan in Henei who once beat up his retainer. The specific reason is unknown, and he was also detained by Wang Kuang. The people in the clan are in a panic. I don’t know how much money Wang Kuang needs them to pay to redeem themselves, or the young man named Chang Lin directly found Hu Mubiao, a fellow villager of Wang Kuang, and said this-"
He said that Wang Kuang was a man of great talent in both civil and military affairs, and that he had come to Henei County, a vast and populous land, at a time when the ruler was young and treacherous ministers were in power, so it was the right time to select talented people and promote their abilities to eliminate the thieves and help the needy.
As the saying goes, "A wise man sees the wind and responds to it as if it were an echo. Peace is the key to overcoming chaos, so what expedition will not be successful? If there is no grace and virtue, and the right people are misplaced, the fall will come, and there will be no time to support the court."1
"After he finished speaking, Hu Mubiao went to talk to Wang Kuangchen on his behalf and asked him to release the imprisoned clansman, Chang Lin's uncle. However, Chang Lin was not sure whether there would be other troubles tomorrow, as they seemed to have made things clear with Wang Kuangchen today. So he took his clansmen to Bingzhou overnight."
"I have heard of Chang Lin before. He is studious and talented, and hates evil. He is the best among those who moved here with their families. Why doesn't Lord Qiao use him as an example and give him a position in Shangdang County?"
Zheng Tai bowed to her and said, "This is a great gift for buying bones."
Qiao Yan thought about it and agreed to his suggestion.
But after seeing Zheng Tai off, Qiao Yan thought about Chang Lin and Shangdang County, and always felt that he might have forgotten something.
She vaguely remembered that Chang Lin had a good friend whom he made during the time he was hiding in Shangdang County, but now she was so busy that she really didn't think of this person for a moment.
But anyway, the person is already in her territory. If there is really an important person, he will be sent to her like Zheng Tai recommended Chang Lin today.
The vacant position of Wuyuan County official was soon filled with a suitable candidate.
This time it was not a new person, but Xu Fu who came to her and said, "Since you want to conquer Liang Province, you must first stabilize the internal situation and then fight against external forces. General Du Liao, who is camped in Wuyuan, should have helped you quell the rebellion in the border areas. If there is a change in the central government, even if he cannot leave his post, he should still be united with you. However, all his actions only connect with the external enemies and do not help you."
He bowed to Qiao Yan and said, "I am not talented, but I would like to serve as an official in Wuyuan County and help you get rid of this internal disaster."
From his words that revealed murderous intent, Qiao Yan couldn't help but feel that although he had chosen to give up martial arts and pursue literature, he still had the spirit of a knight in the past in his heart.
If the situation was not so inappropriate at the moment, he would probably have said something like "I will go and get Han Fu's head on your behalf."
But his behavior was undoubtedly a reassuring thing for Qiao Yan.
This is her true man. Now that he has been trained, he can take on some important tasks, such as helping her plan how to eliminate the hidden danger of Han Fu.
Qiao Yan stared at him for a moment, and was certain of his determination as the knife that cleared away the rotten flesh. He replied, "As you said, I will send you the letter of authorization later."
Seeing that Xu Fu did not leave immediately but remained where he was, Qiao Yan asked in confusion, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
What surprised her was not that Xu Fu had other things to do, because her men had been having strange ideas for a long time, but that there was a hint of shyness on his face, which was in stark contrast to the determination he had just stated about getting rid of Han Fu.
Xu Fu pondered for a while before speaking: "Earlier, the Lord gave Mr. Zhongde a new name, changing it to Yu, and the disciple of Madam Ma who had just arrived in Bingzhou was given the name Hong by Lord Qiao..."
He gave her an expectant look, "I wonder if you would be willing to give me a new character as well?"
To be honest, Qiao Yan had wanted to do this a long time ago, but seeing Xu Fu's attitude of thinking that getting the prince to change his name was a recognition, and it was also a layer of showing off his superiority in front of others, he couldn't help but find it a little funny.
She took a piece of paper from her side, wrote the word "Shu" on it, and handed it to Xu Fu.
"I hope you can be knowledgeable about common affairs, not forget the common people, and achieve great things. Is this a good name?"
This can be regarded as bringing the name back to its historical track.
Xu Fu, no, it should be Xu Shu, had no idea what Qiao Yan was thinking at the moment. He only felt that when he took the initiative to ask Qiao Yan for an official position, receiving such a blessing was really the most appropriate thing.
From now on he was called Xu Shu!
He carefully folded the piece of paper with the word "Shu" written on it and put it into his sleeve. Seeing that Qiao Yan was still looking at him, he straightened his back in an attempt to hide his true intentions.
"Okay, go down. By the way, you and Zilong go and test the captured Zhang Xiu to see if he is willing to take the position of Dingxiang County official, so as to avoid him having to confront his uncle."
If this can be accomplished, there will be one less vacant official position.
After finishing all these things, Qiao Yan finally had the opportunity to meet Li Ru.
After capturing Dong Zhuo in Luoyang City while he was fleeing, Qiao Yan did not allow anyone to treat him badly.
First, he was treated for the injuries he sustained from falling off his horse, and then his freedom of movement was only restricted without any shortage of food.
Even when he wanted to read some books to kill time, Qiao Yan had them delivered to him.
However, this person was obviously not as carefree as Zhang Yi who was imprisoned by her before, and he would not do anything like eating more in order to accumulate strength.
In Qiao Yan's opinion, if one were to evaluate Li Ru's current condition, at most he was well aware of his current situation, ate when he should and slept when he should, and even went out for a walk, but he still looked a little thinner.
This also showed a signal. If he was to turn against his own side just because he was captured,
"I know that Mr. Wen You cannot be as loyal to me as Mr. Wen Xian."
Hearing Qiao Yan's voice coming from behind him, Li Ru did not stop what he was doing.
In this house that was used to imprison him, he applied to open up a piece of land to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers.
Qiao Yan was farming in Luoyang at that time in order to make himself look like he didn't have too many ambitions. Li Ru's behavior seemed more like he was looking for a job to kill time.
He swung the hoe into the ground in front of him again, but perhaps because the wound on his arm had not yet healed fully and his legs were still limping, he looked really funny and a little pitiful when he swung the hoe in this state.
He replied: "Since Lord Qiao knew this truth, why did he come all the way here?"
Li Ru knew very well that Qiao Yan wanted to keep him here. Qiao Yan also gave an explanation when he captured him.
Does Qiao Yan really need a counselor like him? Not necessarily.
On the way to Bingzhou, Li Ru was thinking about the further expansion of her team of advisers after she gained the reputation of defeating Dong Zhuo, and she was very worried about Dong Zhuo's future.
Unfortunately, he is now restricted here. Even if it is true as Qiao Yan said, that Dong Zhuo will change his previous autocratic behavior after this failure and be willing to listen to his plan, he has no way to deliver the message.
Thinking of this, Li Ru couldn't help but sigh.
Even without counting the help of these advisers, as both were powerful figures, Qiao Yan was obviously much smarter than Dong Zhuo.
The retreat from Luoyang to Jinyang and the relocation of people made Li Ru, who witnessed it all, admire Qiao Yan's prudent actions.
He heard that Qiao Yan did not show any dissatisfaction with his words of resistance to cooperation, but asked in a calm tone: "I am just a little curious, why is a person like you so loyal to Dong Zhuo? Or, can't you see that with his temper, he will destroy himself sooner or later?"
Li Ru replied calmly, "Marquis Qiao should know that the grace of saving my life must be repaid with gratitude."
This statement clearly explains the origin of the master-servant relationship between him and Dong Zhuo.
And perhaps, in the beginning, these two people could really be called a relationship between king and minister. With Dong Zhuo's process of making a fortune in Xiliang and his means of making friends with Qiang nobles, he at least lived up to the title of former general he had earned at that time.
Qiao Yan thought for a moment and asked again: "If Dong Zhuo is dead, do you want to avenge him, or are you willing to surrender to me?"
Li Ru did not answer this question directly, but asked: "With the cautious nature of Lord Qiao, who is always trying to build up his reputation as a loyal and good man of the Han Dynasty, aren't you afraid that using someone like me will damage your reputation?"
Qiao Yan smiled when he heard this, "Since you asked this, I will assume that you have a positive answer to the previous question."
Li Ru's persistence was only in the fact that during Dong Zhuo's defeat, he did not stand on the opposing side and add fuel to the fire.
But if Dong Zhuo died, all the grudges would disappear, and he would no longer consider himself Dong Zhuo's adviser. After all, he had done his best for Dong Zhuo.
This is obviously good news for Qiao Yan.
She then continued, "Sir, how many places do you think I have occupied when Dong Zhuo was defeated? Is there no use for you in them? If you think that the name Li Ru carries the inseparable relationship between the monarch and Dong Zhuo, and you want to change your name to something like Li Meng, I actually have no objection. With my ability in Bingzhou, it is not difficult to get an identity certificate."
Before leaving, Qiao Yan said, "Please consider this carefully, sir."
Li Ru couldn't help but shook his head. Qiao Yan's words, that if he didn't want to be called Li Ru, he could also change his name to Li Meng, really showed that this governor still had some youthful mentality.
But just as she said, the world is so big that there are places where he can be of use, not just what he did before.
He held the hoe and pondered for a moment, and finally decided not to think about this problem which would obviously take a long time to solve.
It was no longer a secret within the Bingzhou army that Qiao Yan wanted to take the route through Liangzhou to attack Dong Zhuo, who was currently in Chang'an.
But conquering Liangzhou is by no means that simple.
Even if she could quickly understand the terrain of Liangzhou, she was not like Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song, where there were frictions in cooperation. To defeat the Qiang people who had recovered from Duan Xing's massacre and extermination policy in his early years, and to conquer Ma Teng, Han Sui and others who could definitely work together when fighting against foreign enemies, it was not something that could be accomplished by just talking.
Even with Bingzhou as backup, it would be impossible to launch an attack until at least after the autumn harvest when there was surplus grain in Bingzhou.
If we want to further attack Chang'an, it will take some more time.
We'll see then.
In this time when the world is divided into two parts and each has its own emperor——
Liu Xie, who was held hostage by Dong Zhuo and taken to Chang'an, took the name Guangxi.
Liu Bian, who ascended the throne in Yecheng and proclaimed himself the orthodox one, also announced the news of changing the era name to Zhaoning to all directions with the assistance of Yuan Shao.
There is a sense in which using someone's reign title as a time marker means recognizing who is the legitimate emperor at that time.
All places along the North-South dividing line had to make a difficult choice at this time, and it was possible that both sides would send officials there at the same time.
Fortunately for Qiao Yan, she doesn't have to face such a dilemma.
She had already put forward this statement at a court meeting before Liu Bian ascended the throne. Since she was going from Liangzhou to Chang'an to rescue Liu Xie and follow the will left by Liu Hong, she should naturally make Liu Xie the emperor.
So for Bingzhou, this was July of the first year of Guangxi.
Qiao Yan leaned back on the couch in the study, listening to the sound of wind among the bamboos and the chirping of cicadas outside the window while opening his character panel.
[Name: Qiao Yan]
【camp:? 】
[Occupation: Strategist (?)]
[Age: 15 (years old)]
[Physique: 95 (100), Force: 80 (100), Intelligence: 82 (100), Luck: 75 (?)]
[Remaining points available for allocation: 11]
[Skills: History lv7, Eloquence lv9, Incitement lv10, Cultural Relics Appraisal lv4, Archery lv12, Horseback Riding lv11, Painting lv3, Calligraphy lv7, Field Archaeology lv5, Ancient Coins lv3...]
[Remaining allocable skill points: 0]
[Strategist Points: 350] (For every 10 Strategist Points you gain, you will automatically gain 3 attribute points and 1 skill point)
She looked at the panel for a long while, and put all the remaining 11 attribute points into luck.
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