Chapter 1 Thunder (Seven) In the autumn of the twelfth year of Daye, in July, Renxu, the emperor decreed that the Fenyang Army should be changed to the Boling Army, and Li Xujin, the general manager of the Boling Army, was given the title of Doctor Ziguanglu, and ordered to continue to serve as the comfort ambassador of the six counties.
At the same time, the Ministry of Civil Affairs approved Li Xu’s memorial recommending Cui Qian and Zhang Gongyi to inspect the posts of Shanggu County Sheriff and Boling County Sheriff (Note 1). No one was ruined, and no one was ruined.
Both sides of the tense situation each had something to gain. They shook hands and talked happily, and countless onlookers were dumbfounded. As for the parties involved, they remained silent and did not let outsiders tell them what they were feeling.
"The man surnamed Li is so lucky that even the old woman Tang Gong jumped out to help him!" Some bystanders muttered unwillingly, and it was hard to tell whether the expression on their faces was jealousy or envy. But then again, if the man surnamed Li is really a piece of cake,
Can the always cautious Tang Guild come to help at this critical juncture when the mud wall cannot be held up?
For countless experts who are paying attention to the current situation, Li Yuan's sudden action is more than just doing a small favor for his nephew. Most of Hedong and half of Hebei include three generals with heavy troops, plus more than a dozen other generals.
As a high-ranking official of fourth rank or above, an important local force has been vaguely formed. Anyone who wants to reach out to it has to consider the consequences, especially when the imperial court is weak and wars are happening all over the country.
The smart people began to quietly change their positions. Before the Fenyang army returned in triumph, the four governors who were still in their positions led their officers into the mountains to work for the army. While helping Li Xu boost his morale, they also took the initiative to comfort the envoys.
Scholars from all over the country who were looking for talents but had been rejected by each county suddenly became the most popular people. From the county magistrate, the governor to the various Cao bosses, as long as Li Xu was willing to recommend them to take office, the county governor
We accept everything according to the order
After thanking several colleagues for their kindness, Li Xu took out a list that he had prepared a long time ago. Local military positions had to be changed. In addition to Zhuojun County Prime Minister Guo Xuan who had some abilities, those from the other five counties
The county magistrates and county lieutenants are all masters who run away first when they see the bandits. Counting on such people will definitely not save the country. There happen to be some old soldiers in the military camp who have been seriously injured and are not suitable to stay in the army to fight for their lives.
Being able to place them in local areas to maintain public security is a good outcome. As for the two counties of Boling and Shanggu, since even the county guards have been changed, it is simply a complete change from beginning to end. Apart from leaving some official reputation and skills, they are still barely passable.
Except for the minor officials, all other positions were filled by those who ranked first in the last examination. Those scholars and veterans who obtained official positions based on their own abilities rather than the legacy of their families, although they lacked political experience, were all enthusiastic about conferring fields, cultivating wasteland, and collecting taxes.
Anmin, all the orders passed down from the General Manager's Office are executed meticulously.
After such adjustments, the six counties finally had a completely new look. Not only were the government orders flowing smoothly, but the wealthy children who usually relied on their family power to do whatever they wanted had to restrain themselves a little, lest the officials who had just taken office would burn the flames on their heads.
Naturally, they were those scholars who came from poor families. Although the official positions assigned by Li Xu were far from their ideal goals, after all, they had the opportunity to show their talents. It was not as dark as before with no light at all, right?
It was not just the aristocratic family that was shocked. When what happened outside the mountain was quietly spread into the mountain through the mouths of those who were interested, Wang Xuba, who was attacked from both sides, could no longer sit still. He had no strength to resist the attacks from both directions of Hebei and Hedong. Although
At present, the two armies are using blockade as their main tactic, but if they continue to consume it, in less than two months, everyone will starve to death. Li Xu's actions in the six counties of Hebei gave him a hope, or in other words, in his
In my desperate heart, a gap suddenly opened
"Tell me, if we go to seek refuge with General Li now, will he give us a good death?" Wang Xuba asked tentatively while holding a bowl of wild vegetable broken rice porridge so thin that it could almost make out the silhouette of a human figure.
After being hungry for half a year in the mountains, more than half of the fleshy pimples on his face were gone. His hot temper was completely "cured" by the vegetable porridge. He was weak when he spoke, and completely lost the arrogance he had when he looked down on the world at the beginning of the year. "You guys said,
Will he fulfill his original promise and find us an official position, or will he trick us out of the mountain like other dog officials and immediately behead us in public!"!
"Here, General Li is not that kind of person. He said he would not continue to attack the mountain before the autumn harvest. Doesn't that mean he really didn't attack?" Opposite Wang Xuba sat the second-in-command Wang Junkuo. In terms of seniority, he was his nephew.
Before his family fortune was wiped out by corrupt officials, he had learned swordsmanship from a martial artist for two years. He was the most brave general in the "Great Yan Kingdom" and his words had more weight. "Besides, he didn't even kill anyone who tried to rebel."
, why bother us? It’s just that he is benevolent and righteous, but he has lost his authority..."
"This is indeed true. My uncle who is still an official in Zhuo County seems to have heard from someone who went out to inquire about the news. Mr. Li also obtained the title of General Dingyuan from the court for him. He is a genuine fifth-grade man!"
The third boss, Guo Fang, drank vegetable porridge while "sucking, sucking, sucking" while replying vaguely that since the autumn harvest has just begun, the blockade outside the mountain has been slightly relaxed, and it is absolutely impossible for people like them to rush out and cause trouble again.
But we can still get a little bit of information from the outside.
Those aristocratic families who secretly opposed General Li took the initiative to surrender, and the officials in the Yamen also changed their tune. Different from any previous open and covert fights, the losers were not eradicated, but were given a slight punishment and then let things go.
The best example is Guo Fang's uncle Guo Xuan. Relying on the thousands of county soldiers and the support of local wealthy families, this man did not take General Li seriously before, but after he understood the situation and took the initiative to show his sincerity.
, General Li did not make it difficult for him. Instead, he got the fifth-grade official for him who had never dreamed of getting him before.
"My uncle, my uncle sent someone to send a letter saying that what happened in the past will be in the past. General Li is a responsible man. We'd better make plans early!" After taking a breath, he continued to add, "My uncle also said, one day early
Go down the mountain and be safe one day earlier. He has met countless high-ranking officials in his life, but none of them are like..."
"Don't mention your Uncle Bird!" Li Fu, the fourth master, was so noisy by the "sucking" of the third master, Guo Fang, that he threw the cracked pottery bowl on the table and cursed angrily: "You
That uncle, who is your uncle! If he hadn't promised to stab Li in the back and save us from the siege, would we have been stuck eating wild vegetables and grass roots? He would have listened to me and fled to the east of the river.
, you won’t be afraid that others won’t agree if you want to surrender like today!”
"Fourth brother, don't go back on old accounts!" After hearing what Li Fu was saying, he was getting further and further away from the topic. Wang Xuba quickly stopped him, "The past is in the past. The most urgent thing is to discuss how to survive. The last bit of food is in everyone's bowl. If you haven't already
This idea is that we don’t need the troops to go up the mountain, but our own people have to fight over the stuttering!"
He was telling the truth about the current situation in the village. Ever since Hedong soldiers and horses completely blocked all roads leading to Lingqiu, the last supply channel on the mountain was also blocked. The little food and grass funded by some big shots at the beginning of the year was simply not enough.
We saw the bottom at the beginning of the month. Everyone was expecting to use the terrain to inflict heavy damage on the enemy and turn defeat into victory. However, no matter whether the troops in Hedong or Hebei, they only blockaded and did not attack. Braving the rain of arrows to attack the opponent's fortress is not the strength of the minions in the first place.
Therefore, Wang Xuba had no choice but to place his hopes for relieving the siege outside the mountain. But now, the big shots outside the mountain have shaken hands with General Li and made peace. Those promises in the past must have been swallowed up by these bandits who have lost their use value.
No one will care whether you live or die, you can only find a way to save yourself
"But Guo Xuan, Guo Xuan made an appointment with us and now he has returned to General Li. In order to cover up those dirty things in the past, he will inevitably find ways to kill people and silence them!" Li Fu spoke freely, but his mind was not blindly focused.
Is there anything that the big shots outside the Simple Mountain can't do? They were the ones who planned to harm people in the first place, and now they are the ones who support General Li. They are the ones who can turn the clouds upside down. Isn't it simple to set a trap for everyone?
Hearing this, everyone let out a long sigh. Bu Bucuo had known that today, as soon as General Li set out the recruitment conditions, everyone should immediately sell him the conspiracy of those big figures outside the mountain. Now,
All the opportunities have been snatched away by others. No matter how hard I try, I will always be nothing more than a backhand...
"How about we join the Li family in Taiyuan? Their strength may be greater than that of General Li?" After sighing, Wang Xuba wiped the green vegetable residue from his mouth and asked in a consultative tone.
"I'm afraid the brothers below are not willing." Guo Fang, the third leader, was obviously inclined to go down the mountain to confess his sincerity to Li Xu. He had already made many excuses in his mind. "If the tens of thousands of people in our mountain go to Hedong, they may not be able to do it."
If two thorns appear in one of them, can we still be safe under Tang Gong? If we voted for General Li, otherwise General Li would have promised to lend seeds to everyone to cultivate the wasteland, and the brothers would have suffered a lot back then.
Haha, if you have new land, you may not be willing to pick up a knife again!"
"But then we have no power in our hands!" Wang Junkuo is the most capable and more utilitarian than the others. "If there are more brothers left, our official position will be stable. If all the brothers go home to cultivate wasteland, we
Aren’t you just letting others manipulate you?”
"I would rather the officer is as young as possible. Even if he starts from a soldier, it means he has forgotten all about the past!" Li Fu scraped the bottom of the bowl with his fingers to make a pile, and the whole family ate it all.
We are originally farmers, and when we have a good life, who wants to be worried?"
"If we just want to go home and farm, General Li will definitely not allow anyone to do evil things to us. He can accommodate Cui Laosan..."
"If you are farming, what should you do if those officials come to bully you again? Can the man named Li guarantee that all his subordinates are honest officials? If you ask me, it is better to go under the command of Duke Tang and become an official yourself without anyone else taking care of you!"
"It's not slow to get promoted following General Li. He is the youngest general in this dynasty!"
"There is a future with Mr. Tang..." The leaders were all talking about it, and no one could make an accurate decision.
"Let's discuss the matter of survival first, and we'll talk about it after we're no longer officials!" Wang Xuba saw that everyone was starting to go off topic again, and quickly brought the conversation back to the right track. "Let's first talk about whether it is more likely to survive by taking refuge in General Li, or by taking refuge in Tang Gong.
We are so sure that we can’t put it off any longer. The longer we put it off, the less progress we can make!”
"General Li!" Guo Fang was the first to respond. "It's a gamble on both sides. It's better to bet that he can accommodate my uncle and Cui Laosan so that he won't have trouble with us!"
"If I really want to go down the mountain, I, I will choose General Li! After all, we have seen who he is." Li Fu also agreed with Guo Fang's suggestion.
"In terms of the immediate situation, I agree with taking refuge in General Li. In the long term, we should take refuge with Duke Tang. After all, he has been a member of the Tang family for generations and has deep roots. Although General Li has a good heart, he is just a woman's kindness and may not achieve great things in the future!" Wang Junkuo hesitated!
Again and again, make difficult decisions
General Li has a good heart, so those who can't achieve great things by themselves are ruthless. If he can let go of those who conspired to frame him, wouldn't it be an encouragement to the traitors? All the leaders agreed with Wang Junkuo's reasons.
But whether it can achieve something big is a very long-term goal, and it has nothing to do with whether everyone can survive at the moment. After repeated discussions, Wang Xuba decided to surrender to Hebei, "If you can't be an official, it's better to have a piece of land to farm than to be killed
Cut off the head and hang it on the city wall!"
After coming to a conclusion, he called the rest of the leaders to the Juyi Hall and announced his final decision in public. Unexpectedly, from the 'General' to the 'Governor' to the 'Zhi Ge Xiaowei', all of his subordinates
None of the civil and military officials raised any objections. They were stunned for a moment, but these dishonest rebels cheered and even secretly wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes.
"Actually, they just want to live!" Wang Xuba instantly understood the whole content behind the cry. Becoming a general or a prime minister, living a vigorous life, is only the wish of a very small number of people like Wang Junkuo to have a piece of land to farm and a stable life.
Food and a thatched house to keep out the cold are what most people want in their lives.
When they lost their way to survive, they had to rise up. When they found that there was still hope of living a stable life, they would rather put down their swords and guns. General Li outside the mountain may not be able to accomplish much, but he has the deepest understanding of the people's thoughts among all people.
of
"If I had known this, why would I bother with it!" Wang Xuba smiled bitterly, made up his mind, and walked quickly out of the mountain.
Note 1: During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the term "inspector" was to temporarily act as an official. In the Song Dynasty, the meaning of "inspecting a certain official" was to act as an agent for a certain official.
