Chapter 10 make a promise

In October of the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), when Cao Cao was preparing to send troops to Liang County, he deliberately recruited another army-the Xiongnu. During the Zhongping period, the Xiongnu internally opposed Shanyu's assistance to the Han court in the crusade against the Youzhou rebellion. Because a large-scale rebellion of 100,000 people broke out, Shanyu Qiangqu was killed.Yu Fuluo, the son of Qiangqu, claimed to be Shanyu, exiled in Luoyang, and asked the imperial court to send troops to help put down the rebellion.When Dong Zhuo entered the capital and the world was in chaos, Yu Fuluo made a living by looting and plundering the northern states of the Han Dynasty. Later, he used Pingyang County, Hedong County as his base, and began to fight with the separatist forces in various places.

Three years ago, Yuan Shu traveled from Nanyang to the north in an attempt to join forces with Gongsun Zan to eliminate Yuan Shao, and by the way, he recruited the Black Mountain Army and Yu Fuluo.Cao Cao gave a head-on blow, defeated the coalition forces in Fengqiu, and then chased three cities in a row, scaring Yuan Shu to move to Yangzhou.After Yu Fuluo's defeat, he returned to Pingyang and died of illness the next year. Shan Yu's seat fell to his younger brother Hu Chuquan.Later, when the emperor returned to the east, he was repeatedly chased by Li Jue and Guo Si, so he recruited the Baibo army from Hedong County to rescue him, and Hu Chuquan also sent his subordinate Youxian King Qubei to lead a team to go with him.

Since King Youxian went to Bei and rescued him from Sanfu, he protected the emperor to Anyi and Luoyang, and finally followed him to Xu County, the new capital. praise.Now that the Emperor Han had settled down and all court systems were gradually being restored, he offered to "return to the country", that is, to return to Pingyang, and continue to assist the new order in Huchuquan. Of course, in addition to presenting to the emperor, general Cao Cao must be consulted in advance for major court affairs.So Qubei also came to the General's Mansion in a regular manner; Cao Cao was very happy to see him, and specially arranged a banquet to treat him.

The Xiongnu tribe moved inland during the reign of Emperor Guangwu and has lived in Bingzhou for more than 150 years. Their living habits and language have been sinicized.Cao Cao looked at this tall, slouch-eyed and nose-filled Youxian King of the Xiongnu, and he felt it was funny. His Chinese was flat, soft and well-behaved, with a Zhongzhou accent, even purer than Cao Cao's own accent! "Your Majesty has done a lot of hard work," Cao Cao said, holding up a glass of wine to comfort him. "Unfortunately, the Han family has lost its order. In times of crisis, how many Mu Shou Zaifu shy away and forget the country's grace. As a foreigner, Your Majesty is willing to help. It's so precious to keep my son of heaven safe... I'll do it first as a respect!" After saying that, he turned his head up and drank.

Qu Bei also drank the wine happily, and said in a playful accent: "This is because the emperor of the Han Dynasty treated our family kindly in the past, so we are willing to compare our hearts. This is like the old Qin Mugong who let go of three hundred robbers regardless of minor faults." Ma Yeren, there was a battle between Qin and Jin in Longmen Mountain, with the help of three hundred savages, Master Qin turned defeat into victory and captured Duke Hui of Jin!" This Xiongnu king is actually familiar with the history of the Han family. Cao Cao laughed so hard that his turban was hanging down on the bowls and plates and stained. It took him a long time to take a breath and said: "Not bad...but you Huns are dignified grassland singles. Yu, compared to a savage is too contemptuous and self-deprecating."

"We are better than savages, but the big man is better than the tyrant Qin in the past." Qubei stood up, folded his arms and gave a barbarian salute, and said respectfully, "In the past, my predecessor Da Shanyu once helped Yuan Shu to abuse , I am an enemy of the general, and I hope that the general will forgive my family for its past crimes." In the current situation, it is better to offend the emperor than to offend Cao Cao. "Yu Fuluo is dead, so there is no need to mention this matter again. When the king returns to Pingyang, he can talk to the current Da Shanyu, saying that I, Cao, will surely rejuvenate the Han family and restore the former territory. Our two clans We communicate in harmony, and everything is as before. But..." Cao Cao changed the subject and began to raise conditions, "Your Majesty, if you start well, you should end well!"

Qu Bei was taken aback, not quite understanding why Cao Cao said this: "Is there anything wrong with Xiao Wang?" "Sit down, sit down!" Cao Cao smiled and waved his hands, "Your Majesty did nothing wrong, but since you came to rescue him, you should return with full credit. Now that Yang Feng and Han Xian are still in Liang County, Your Majesty and Wouldn't it be better for me to send troops together to wipe out the thieves who are poisoning the country, and then return to Pingyang?" Cao Cao's soldiers and horses were more prosperous than Yang Feng and Han Xian's. Naturally, there was no shortage of these hundreds of people sent by the Huns, but this is a position that cannot be ignored.This time, Qubei came to rescue him with Bai Bojun, and the relationship between them can be seen to be close.Now Cao Cao labels Yang and Han as rebels of the imperial court, and Li Le and Hu Cai's Baibo tribe are still stationed in Hedong. They are quite close to Shanyu Huchuquan, and they seem to have contacts. It is also troublesome to unite the army.If you go to Bei to participate in the conquest of Yang Feng and Han Siam, it is tantamount to breaking up with the Baibo army on behalf of the Xiongnu, and it is impossible for the two forces to join forces to cause harm in the short term.

Qu Bei is also a shrewd person, so he naturally knows what Cao Cao has in mind.He lowered his head and thought for a while, and weighed Bai Bojun and Cao Cao in both hands. Naturally, Cao Cao weighed much more, and immediately said with a smile: "Since the general has this intention, Xiao Wang is duty-bound!" "Okay, let's make a deal." Cao Cao slapped his thigh. At this moment, someone came to report: "Xun Yu, Ren Jun, Zaozhi, Han Hao." As soon as Qu Bei saw this scene, he felt that he was in the way, so he quickly got up and hugged his chest: "The general has official duties, Xiao Wang will retire for the time being."

The words that should be said have been finished, Cao Cao did not force him to stay, he sent him out of the hall arm in arm, turned around and ordered the remaining seats to be removed, and invited the four of them to come in for a discussion. Before the hall was cleaned up, the four of them arrived.Ren Jun looked at the rest of the table and couldn't help shaking his head: "Nowadays, food is in short supply, so it's not good to waste it like this." "It doesn't cost much, and those poor boys who are removed will be divided." Cao Cao smiled slightly, "But the wine can't be ruined. A few days ago, Ding Chong took away twenty urns in one go, and it was cheap. That drunk cat, it's a bit tight to entertain guests right now."

"If it's not possible, we will ban bars!" Xun Yu interjected, "We welcome all the officials here, and the expenses are doubled. However, there is very little output in Yuzhou, and the confiscated grains of Ge Pei and the offerings of Yang Pei will soon be exhausted, and we need to hurry up." The grain adjustment is from Yanzhou." He glanced at Ren Jun while speaking.Now that Xun Yu has become the minister of the imperial court, he has less contact with the generals of Cao Ying. Cao Cao stroked his beard and murmured, "It's true that there are advantages and disadvantages to catering to the emperor. Although you can get the convenience of government orders, the cost of supporting hundreds of officials is also too high. Ge Pei got so much food, it's gone in the blink of an eye. Now I understand why Zhang Yang Mingming had the opportunity to control the court, but he handed over the emperor to me, he can't afford it!"

"Hahaha..." Ren Jun, Zaozhi, and Han Hao laughed at each other. "What are you laughing at?" Cao Cao asked puzzled. Ren Jun cupped his hands and said: "The three of us came here just to relieve the general from his worries." "Oh? Sit down, sit down! Wen Ruo, sit down too." Cao Cao sat down as well, but he didn't return to his proper seat in the hall, and just casually squeezed into the same place with the four people. Ren Jun smiled and said: "I didn't come up with this method, Zaoyi and Yuansi, please talk about it." Zaoyi cupped his hands to salute, Cao Cao pulled his hand away: "Speaking of serious business, there is no need for this red tape." "No." Zaozhi slightly approached and said, "We can try the method of farming." "Turn the fields? Is this okay?" Cao Cao expressed doubts.The method of garrisoning fields has already existed in ancient times. During the period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo advocated self-sufficiency in garrisoning fields in "Defending the Frontiers and Preparing Saishu". Qian also took Chen Deng as the lieutenant of Diannong, who was in charge of farming.However, the form of farming is limited to the frontier fortress, mainly to solve the problem of military food supply, and cannot cope with the huge expenditure of the entire court. After all, national taxation is the main source of the court's income. Zaozhi explained: "Nowadays the world is in chaos, the people's registries are messy, and locust drought disasters are frequent. Most places have barren fields but no people to cultivate, but there are not enough acres of land in the stable land with people, and it is limited to the place of residence of the refugees that cannot be granted by the government. Just take Yuzhou as an example. Since the war, the people have fled, and there is almost no output. There is more than ten thousand hectares of land that can be cultivated? It’s just that no one is willing to cultivate it.” "This is the truth." Cao Cao was helpless. Zaozhi continued: "The general broke the Yellow Turban repeatedly, and received millions of people from Qingzhou, including nearly 300,000 strong men. Although the rebellion in Yanzhou dispersed some, they still managed a lot of refugees. The Yellow Turbans also have a number of people who belong to them. Then we might as well change the military settlements into civilian settlements and recruit them to farm." "It's a good idea to make full use of the barren land and the refugees." Cao Cao squinted his eyes and couldn't stop scratching his beard. "I don't know if you have any specific ideas?" Han Hao took over the conversation: "This matter has never been done before, let's try it out near Xudu first. I have a preliminary idea, we can move Qingzhou refugees here, and then organize reclamation and farming. According to the old rules of Dianke, The government leases the cattle, collects the grain according to the number of cattle, and distributes the rest to the refugees themselves. This not only saves the government’s expenses, but also solves the lack of food for the people.” "Okay, let's try it first." Ren Jun smiled and said: "Since the famine, the officials and the people have suffered from lack of food. All the armies have divided their regimes together, but they have no plan to survive. If they are hungry, they will plunder, and if they are full, they will abandon the rest. Because there is no food, they will be disintegrated and displaced, invincible. There are countless self-defeating forces. Yuan Shao's division was eating mulberries in Hebei, and Yuan Shu's people were hunting river mussels in Huainan. The people were eating each other, and the state was in depression. When we drove out Lv Bu, although it was a military victory, when we got to the bottom of it, Lv Bu was at that time It is also a fact that we are afraid to fight due to lack of food!" Ren Jun dared to say that the cause of the suppression of the rebellion was attributed to Lv Bu's lack of food.Others can't easily obliterate Cao Cao's military exploits, but Ren Jun is his brother-in-law, so he speaks straightforwardly. Cao Cao knew in his heart that when he moved to Dong'e in the past, there was already a shortage of food.Cheng Yu killed the rebels, and secretly dried the human flesh to supply the soldiers.In fact, everyone knew it well, but they said it was beef and relieved themselves, and now they shudder every time they think about it.Not long ago, Wang Zhong, a Fufeng man, led the township party to join him. People cannibalized people along the way. What is the law of nature and human relations?Cao Cao sighed and said: "The art of establishing a country is to have strong soldiers and enough food. The people of Qin used agriculture to take over the world, and Emperor Xiaowu used farmland to control the Western Regions. This is a good way of the ancestors." "The benefits are far more than that." Xun Yu couldn't help but interjected, "The Yellow Turbans are constantly being suppressed. The root cause is that they can't survive on their own and can only be plundered. Now they are making a living by farming the fields. Besides paying grain If they own the land, their lives are at stake, and they will not easily cause chaos if they focus on production in the future. Also, there are countless deserted fields for refugees. Even if the imperial court does not occupy them, the local tyrants will occupy them. The local tyrants should not be allowed to compete with the imperial court for food and land. , that will also breed disobedience." Xun Yu's analysis went a step further, and Cao Cao was quite satisfied: "Let's do it as soon as we say it. Ren Jun, I will praise you as the general of Diannong Zhonglang! Zaoyi and Han Hao will cooperate in this matter." "No." The three stood up and saluted. Cao Cao patted Ren Jun on the shoulder and joked, "Brother-in-law, I will depend on you to have enough food in the future!" Ren Jun was not in the mood to joke with him, but still looked worried: "What about the errands of those Qingzhou refugees?" This is a problem, Cao Cao thought for a while before saying: "Leave it to the Li brothers." Speaking of the Li brothers, Ren Jun let out a long sigh: "General, I just received Wan Qian's letter yesterday. Li is seriously ill all over his body, and I'm afraid he won't be able to survive for a few months..." The Juye Li family contributed a lot to Cao Cao's stability in Yanzhou.Li Gan once fought with him in Xuzhou, but was later killed by Lu Bu because he went to Cheng's generation to appease the tribe.Later, his younger brother Li Jin, his son Li Zheng, and his nephew Li Dian all served Cao Ying, and even provided a batch of grain and grass in the most difficult time.Li Gan was seriously injured by Lu Bu's general Zhang Liao in Dingtao, and died soon after.Now that Li Zheng is dying of illness, Cao Cao is a little moved: "A handsome hero does not live long, let me call him the governor of Qingzhou." Qingzhou does not belong to Cao Cao's territory now, and Li Zheng, who is seriously ill, cannot take up the post. A kind of spiritual comfort. "The matter of relocating refugees..." "Leave it to Li Dian to do it." "Li Mancheng?" Ren Jun frowned, "Is he too young?" Cao Cao waved his hand: "This kid is different from other powerful children. Not only is he proficient in poetry and books, but he is also young and mature. He must be able to take on this job. Just let him do it! In addition, Zaoyi was promoted to the prefect of Chenliu. Go recruit refugees. Help Li Dian." "No." Zaozhi took the order and stood up. He, Ren Jun and Han Hao saw Xun Yu sitting on the side with an imperial edict in his sleeve, as if there was something important to do, so they hurriedly left. Seeing them leaving, Xun Yu took out the imperial edict and said, "I have read the edict you ordered to draft for Yuan Shao, and the wording seems a little sharper." He read a few words, "The land is vast and the soldiers are numerous and specialized. Since he established the party, he didn't know the teacher of the king of Qin, but he just attacked each other...Would such a harsh reprimand anger Yuan Shao?" "Sharp words?" Cao Cao chuckled, "Which statement in this imperial edict is not true? He is trying to plot something wrong." "Having said that, but..." Cao Cao didn't allow him to finish, so he interrupted: "I just want to test Yuan Benchu's capacity, to see if he has regarded me as an enemy, and to feel how deep this pool is. It doesn’t matter if he leads Jizhou Mu, this is not only a gift from the imperial court, but also a gift from me. I also let him know that there is an imperial court now, so that he won’t have to forge edicts all day long with the seal of ‘Bixianghou’! " Xun Yu still disagreed with Cao Cao's argument: "Now is definitely not the time to provoke Yuan Shao. If he refuses to accept orders, what will you do then?" "Let's take one step at a time. Yuan Shao has suppressed me for so long, so it's time for me, Cao, to vent my anger." Cao Cao said with a firm tone, "Order Shangshu to draft another edict for me, call General Wei Dong Cheng, Pianjiang Liu Fu, Youxian King Qubei of the Huns, and Yuzhou Mu Liubei joined forces with me to conquer Yang Feng and Han Siam. I want the world to know that there is only one court in the world, Xudu! Not only The Son of Heaven, the clan, relatives, Xiongnu, and scholars are all on my side!"