Bai Xiaowen was revered by the imperial court as the "Gong of the State of Yan". He was granted a large number of subordinate officials, connected with courtiers, and became even more powerful.
Many courtiers, such as Dong Zhao and others, also served in the government; no one said that this was against the rules.
Although Xiliang has been pacified, the main quest 2 of the unification has not yet been completed.
Bai Xiaowen sent Zhang He to lead his army north to conquer the bandits. He was accompanied by other teammates of the White Phoenix team, also to make a small contribution to the war for his teammates.
However, for several days in Yedu, Bai Xiaowen never mentioned the attack on Zhang Lu.
This made Ma Chao a little anxious. He sent people to ask many times, and finally came to ask in person.
Bai Xiaowen replied: "Now the imperial troops have just gone through a great battle and need to rest and recuperate. Bandits and horse thieves are swarming in the north, and the border is unstable, so it is not suitable to go on an expedition. Moreover, the terrain in Hanzhong is dangerous, and we must be well prepared before attacking."
Bai Xiaowen said all legitimate reasons, and Ma Chao had no choice but to bow again and say: "I vow to find out the murderer of my father's murder. I hope Duke Yan will understand his situation and lend troops as soon as possible."
Bai Xiaowen said seriously: "Of course I also want to find out the murderer. Don't worry, Meng Qi. It could be as short as ten days or as long as one month. I will definitely lend you troops to conquer Hanzhong."
Ma Chao is very happy to say thank you.
Bai Xiaowen added: "This news should be kept secret as much as possible and must not be leaked, lest Zhang Lu get defensive."
Ma Chao agreed and left.
Zhang He went north to defeat the bandits, and his first target was the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan.
However, when he heard that Zhang He's troops were approaching, Zhang Yan directly led his troops to surrender.
After Bai Xiaowen learned the news, he was not surprised.
Zhang Yan in history was very discerning and quite different from ordinary bandits. According to Bai Xiaowen's evaluation, it would be "a man who knows the current affairs is a hero"!
During the period of Emperor Ling, Zhang Yan became a gang of thieves, and the number of people gathered under his command was said to be millions. Of course, this was true, and how much of it depended on Zhang Yan's advocacy ability. Emperor Ling's court was unable to annihilate them, so they could only
Just let it be.
However, Zhang Yan took the initiative to ask the court to recruit him.
So Emperor Ling appointed Zhang Yan as a lieutenant general who was responsible for managing public security and civil affairs in the mountainous areas north of the Yellow River. He even had the power to inspect and promote filial piety and integrity! He was like a mountain governor and a bandit prince.
During the period when the princes were fighting against Dong, Zhang Yan was even qualified to form alliances with various princes.
When Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were fighting for Jizhou, Zhang Yan jumped out and wanted a share of the pie. He sent troops to help Gongsun Zan, but was defeated by Yuan Shao. Later, Yuan Shao conquered Zhang Yan. Although he was not defeated, the Black Mountain bandit army suffered a lot of casualties.
This probably destroyed Zhang Yan's spirit and made him see clearly the gap between the rabble under his command and the armies of the princes.
Historically, after Cao Cao pacified the Yuan family, Zhang Yan saw that Cao Cao was powerful before he defeated Zhang Yan, so he led his troops to surrender to Cao Cao and gained the title of feudal lord.
Now, Bai Xiaowen's power in the world of the Three Kingdoms is even greater than that of Cao Cao back then. It is not surprising that Zhang Yan has asked to surrender.
Bai Xiaowen then sent officials from Yedu to receive Zhang Yan's tribe.
According to the final count, there were more than 100,000 people under Zhang Yan's command.
Zhang Yan usually boasted that he had an army of one hundred thousand, but it turned out that he included all his subjects. Among them were the elderly, women, and children.
Bai Xiaowen granted Zhang Yan the title of Marquis of Anguo Pavilion and granted him a settlement of 500 households.
Among Zhang Yan's subordinates, Bai Xiaowen selected thousands of young men and recruited them into the army.
The rest were all disarmed and returned to their fields (in fact, they did not have "A"), and were scattered and distributed to sparsely populated places such as Guanzhong, Sizhou, and Bingzhou.
Bai Xiaowen also ordered the governors of various prefectures and counties to allocate fields for these people to cultivate, and also implemented a series of good policies, such as exempting grain taxes for two years, etc.
After the decree was issued, everyone in Zhang Yan's tribe was grateful and helped the old and the young away.
In fact, Bai Xiaowen basically cannot see the benefits in two years. He does this just because these people have just turned from thieves to civilians and have not settled down. If there is no way to survive, they will inevitably gather in the mountains and forests again.
Promulgating good governance now can quickly calm their minds. Even if Zhang Yan rebels again, these former tribesmen will basically not respond.
Zhang Yan in Heishan has become a thing of the past. Zhang He led his army across Jizhou and the border of Bingzhou to conquer the horse thieves in Bingzhou.
…
Bai Xiaowen received a wave of envoys from Jingzhou in Yedu.
Liu Biao of Jingzhou died of serious injuries.
The second son Liu Cong inherited his father's inheritance, but because of his young age, his uncle Liu Bei was temporarily in charge of Jingzhou's military and political affairs.
This envoy from Jingzhou was sent by Liu Bei to ask for an edict from the imperial court, asking Liu Cong to be made the shepherd of Jingzhou.
It was said that it was a request for a seal, but it was actually a routine notification to the court. Even if Bai Xiaowen did not agree, Jingzhou would not pay attention.
Bai Xiaowen squinted his eyes and asked the Jingzhou envoy: "I heard that Liu Jingsheng has two sons, the eldest son Liu Qi and the second son Liu Cong. Why do you abolish the eldest son and establish the younger one?"
The envoy from Jingzhou replied: "Reporting to Duke Yan, unfortunately, Master Liu Qi died prematurely. It has been more than a month."
Bai Xiaowen was shocked.
The time of Liu Qi's death happened to be the time of his entry!
This confirmed Bai Xiaowen's guess.
When he matches, the rules of the spirit world are to select the identities of two spirit world characters who are about to die (or have just died) in the target spirit world plane for him to choose.
This time Bai Xiaowen entered the Three Kingdoms plane and was about to die. The figures in the spiritual world who fit into the famous family and had important status should be Yuan Xi and Liu Qi.
If Bai Xiaowen chooses Liu Qi's identity, he will surely hear the news of Yuan Xi's death soon.
As for Yuan Xi and Liu Qi, Bai Xiaowen was not surprised that they died earlier than in the novel. The appearance and exit times of historical figures in the spiritual world are not strictly consistent with those in the novel.
Bai Xiaowen said: "Liu Cong is young and is not qualified to govern the prefectures and counties. According to the wishes of the imperial court, another famous person with high moral character and high prestige will be sent to govern Jingxiang."
The envoy from Jingzhou replied: "Although my lord is young, he is smart and studious, and he is assisted by his uncle Liu Bei. If the court chooses someone else to replace him, it will not only violate the old lord's will, but also make the people of Jingzhou dissatisfied. This will be a source of disaster."
source."
Seeing that the envoy answered fluently and showed no fear, Bai Xiaowen was curious and asked: "Who is the envoy and what is his current position?"
The man replied: "I am Hua Xin, whose courtesy name is Ziyu. He is now a member of Liu Jingzhou's tent."
Bai Xiaowen's heart skipped a beat.
This Hua Xin is not an ordinary person, he is a more ruthless gangster than Dong Zhao.
In the novel, when Cao Wei usurped the Han Dynasty, Hua Xin was the vanguard.
Bai Xiaowen wanted such talents, so he stood up and went down the steps to recruit people: "I have heard about the name of Pingyuan Huaziyu for a long time. Why do you condescend to Jingzhou and become an official with your talents and knowledge? Why don't you come to Yedu?
You can show off what you have learned.”
When Hua Xin saw Bai Xiaowen's sincere attitude, he bowed down and said, "Xin is willing to be a pioneer for Duke Yan."