Chapter 168 Hou Jing suppresses the rebellion (5k)
However, the Qiang people in Hezhou gathered together and rebelled, calling themselves the King of Shuichi!
When Su Ze arrived in Jincheng, he heard the news, and Li Shizhe, who had just entered the city gate of Jincheng, almost fell off the carriage.
Li Shizhe once again blamed his father, asking why he wanted to be the governor of Hezhou!
Now, as soon as I arrived in Jincheng, someone in Hezhou declared himself king and gathered people to rebel. Wouldn’t I, the governor of Hezhou, be dismissed by the court as soon as I took office?
Oh, and there’s Su Ze!
Li Shizhe knew that Su Ze was good at fighting. Didn’t his father let Su Ze be the General Protector of the Qiang just to deal with this situation?
Li Shizhe immediately sent someone to invite Su Ze into the city and told him about Que Tiechu's plan to declare himself king and rebel.
Su Ze was much calmer than Li Shizhe. He first asked people to call the clerks of the governor's office and asked them about Que Tiechu's origins.
A middle-aged official said, "This Que Tiechu is the chief of a Qiang tribe in the northwest of Hezhou. He showed signs of rebellion when the previous governor of Kou was in office. The reason why he waited until now to rebel is probably because Que Tiechu responded to the prophecy."
Another prophecy? Su Ze frowned and asked, "What prophecy?"
The middle-aged official said, "There is a prophecy in this area that says 'those who want to rebel will rebel within ten months or a year'. This year is the first year of the divine tortoise, and it is ten months now. But they have rebelled."
Su Ze snorted coldly and said, "Since Que Tiechu has long had the intention of rebellion, why didn't the former governor of Kou take him down?"
The middle-aged clerk began to tremble all over, and Su Ze immediately asked his trusted confidant Yang Zongjia to control him.
Then Su Ze said to Li Shizhe:
"Is there a local merchant from Hezhou among the governor's team? Please find someone who knows the local situation and come over."
At this time, Li Shizhe was already dumbfounded. Su Suan immediately stepped forward and said, "I'll go find someone right away."
After a while, a merchant appeared in front of Su Ze.
Su Ze asked: "Why did Que Tiechui rebel?"
The merchant looked around cautiously, and when he saw the clerk being controlled by Yang Zongjia, he gritted his teeth and said:
"The previous governor of Kou was too exploitative. He collected money for the young animals of the Qiang tribes, and also collected money for raising horses. Many Qiang tribes could not survive, so they raised the rebels."
Su Ze looked at the officials of the Hezhou Governor's Office who came to greet Li Shizhe, and asked with a sneer, "If it is an additional levy, why is Hezhou still levying the levy even though Governor Kou has left office? And why did they let Tiechu rebel?"
Although Li Shizhe was a bit pure, he also understood.
The previous governor, Kou Zhi, had almost resigned, and he, the new governor of Hezhou, had not yet taken office. However, the excessive taxes and levies that Kou Zhi had forcibly imposed were still being collected, and they had obviously gone into the pockets of the officials in the governor's office.
His predecessor and subordinates caused the trouble, but he had to take the blame. Even Li Shizhe was furious.
Su Ze continued to ask: "The ox leg tax is the official tax set by Emperor Xiaowen, why is it levied too much, and what is the horse breeding fee?"
The Northern Wei Dynasty started out as a nomadic nation, and the ox leg tax was a regular tax levied on nomadic tribes, just like the field tax in farming areas.
The collection of cattle leg tax is also very simple. One leg of each cow is collected as tax, which means that if a herder raises four cows, he has to pay tax on one cow.
The same method is used to levy taxes on sheep and horses, but they are all called ox leg taxes.
The businessman hesitated for a moment, then decided to join Li Shizhe and told him all the problems:
"Among the young animals of these nomadic tribes, only one out of three survives. The governor of Kou required a tax of one cow and one leg for each newborn animal, and he also required the tax of adult cattle and sheep. This made the Qiang tribes afraid to let female animals give birth, for fear of being targeted by tax collectors."
"What is the horse money?"
The merchant said, "The governor of Kou ordered each Qiang tribe to raise horses. The governor's office gave the foals to the herdsmen to raise. Five men raised one horse, and the governor's office paid for the foal."
Li Shizhe asked doubtfully: "Isn't this policy okay?"
The merchant said, "The money the governor's office gives for raising horses is too little. If you want to raise good horses, you have to pay extra. If it were just that, it would be fine. But every year, the tax collectors have to inspect the horses. If the horses die or are sick, they have to pay a fine. This is the cost of raising horses."
Su Ze had to admit that this governor Kou had come up with new ideas and techniques in exploiting the people. These two methods were better than those of most officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty who were just sitting in office doing nothing. For example, Li Shizhe in front of Su Ze would never have come up with these names.
Su Ze looked at the merchant and asked, "You are so familiar with the Qiang people in Hezhou. What is your name?"
The merchant leaned over and said, "The humble merchant Huang Xin is engaged in the horse trading business."
"How many people are there in this group, and how many followers does Tiechu have?"
The merchant Huang Xin lowered his head and said, "The tribe of Que Tiechu has a thousand people, which is considered a medium-sized Qiang tribe in Hezhou. The people who responded are probably several tribes that have been severely exploited, totaling about ten thousand people."
When he heard the number of ten thousand people, Li Shizhe's face turned even paler.
If there were tens of thousands of rebels under his rule, it would certainly alarm the imperial court. No matter what, he, the current governor of Hezhou, would be in trouble.
Su Ze calmed down and said, "Ten thousand people is just the number of people in the rebellious tribe. There are old, young and women in the tribe, and the young and strong who can fight are no more than two thousand."
Su Ze's words made Li Shizhe feel a little relieved... Bullshit!
In Hezhou's current situation, two thousand rebellious Qiang tribal cavalrymen could cause huge harm. If not handled properly, it could even cause a rebellion that would sweep across the entire state, and Li Shizhe would be completely finished.
Su Ze continued to ask Huang Xin: "You are so familiar with Que Tiechu, you must have had some dealings with him before, right?"
The air at the scene froze, and Huang Xin broke out in a cold sweat. He had no idea of Su Ze's attitude. If he admitted that he knew him, he would be very ruthless. The charge of colluding with the rebels would be enough to arrest him as a businessman.
But Huang Xin still decided to take a gamble. He raised his head and said, "My caravan often travels to Que Tiechu's tribe, and I have some friendship with Que Tiechu."
Su Ze smiled, helped him up and said, "Que Tiechu was forced to rebel by the former governor and the clerks in the governor's office. Are you willing to go to Que Tiechu's headquarters and persuade him to surrender to the Protector of the Qiang General's Office?"
After a fierce struggle in his heart, Huang Xin gritted his teeth and said, "I am willing to go!"
Su Ze said admiringly: "Good man! From today on, you are the secretary of the Huqiang General's Mansion. This general will not let you die alone."
Su Ze selected a few more Yulin cavalry followers, and they marched out one after another. Then Su Ze's eyes fell on a few of his confidants.
Yang Chounu was the first to step forward and ask for the order: "I am willing to go!"
Yang Chounu took the lead, and Yang Zongjia, Wang Hui and others reacted and asked to fight.
But Su Ze's gaze bypassed them and fell on Hou Jing and Murong Shaozong.
Murong Shaozong met Su Ze's gaze and said, "General, if I go, I will need fifty sheep."
Hou Jing also met Su Ze's gaze, grinned, pointed at the Beifu soldiers behind Su Ze and said, "My lord, I want those five brothers."
Su Ze nodded approvingly and said, "Yang Chounu, you lead fifty riders to escort Murong Shaozong and Hou Jing to repel Tiehou's tribe."
Then Su Ze said to Li Shizhe: "Prefect, please hand over the seal and take over the defense of Jincheng treasury."
With Su Ze's support, Li Shizhe finally showed the authority of a governor. He walked straight past the officials of the governor's mansion who were kneeling on the ground and led his men into the governor's mansion.
Su Suanze quickly took over the seals and account books of the Hezhou Governor's Office and placed his own people in important positions.
In the current situation, Tie Hou rebelled and the entire Hezhou was no longer safe. Su Ze sent a green [Yulin Army Messenger] to Baohan City, using his own military order to mobilize the army of the Huqiang General's Mansion to go to Jincheng.
Su Ze, in the identity of Li Shizhe, gave orders to take over the entire Jincheng city defense, and sent [strictly enforcing military judges] to inspect the city defense camps. He also sent [city builders of Tongwan City] to inspect the city walls, identify the weak points of the walls, and lead the civilians to repair and reinforce the walls.
Jincheng is a border city that was recently converted from a town to a state. After Su Ze took over the city's military affairs, the gears of the entire city began to turn slowly, and soon they turned smoothly.
Su Ze couldn't help but sigh that the Northern Wei Dynasty was really destroyed by the rulers of Luoyang.
Obviously, the Northern Wei army still had combat effectiveness, and it had not yet reached the end of the dynasty when disasters struck. However, the few years that Empress Dowager Hu was in power completely destroyed the Northern Wei's wealth.
As for Que Tiehou's rebellion, Su Ze was not too worried.
This rebellion did not appear in history books, indicating that it was not serious.
In addition to his knowledge of history, Su Ze also realized that the entire Hezhou had not yet reached the point where the people were living in misery and rebelling. It was just that some Qiang tribes were oppressed and could not survive, so they were forced to rebel.
In addition, Que Tiechu's reputation in Hezhou is not high, and many officials in Jincheng don't even know this person.
In ancient and modern times, the prestige of the leader is very important in rebellion. The reason why the Yellow Turban Rebellion shocked the whole country was that Zhang Jue was a nationally famous religious leader before the rebellion.
The reason why the Wuchang Uprising elected Li Yuanhong, the old warlord leader, even though the uprising was victorious was because there was a lack of prestigious leaders in the city of Wuchang at that time.
Que Tiechu was just a tribal leader of the Qiang people in a remote tribe. He did not have the support of the local nobles, nor did he have supporters or responders in Jincheng. Such rebellions often did not last long and could be quelled without even a large army.
And even if there is a war, Su Ze is not afraid.
When he left Luoyang, he brought with him two hundred former members of the Yulin Army, all of whom were elite cavalrymen, including three teams of armored cavalry.
Que Tiezhu was just a group of Qiang light cavalry. Even if they had two thousand men, they were no match for the elite cavalry unit under his command that had defeated the King of Gaoche on the grassland.
In addition, Su Ze sent a messenger to Baohan to mobilize troops in order to see the attitudes of the military leaders in Baohan City.
If they went to Jincheng immediately, Su Ze could win over and reorganize some of them for his own use. If Baohan refused to send troops and just stood by and watched, Su Ze could rely on his prestige in suppressing the rebellion of Que Tiehou to break up and split the power of Baohan's military leader and re-establish the Huqiang General's Office.
Su Ze even had to thank Que Tiechu. His rebellion gave him a good target to quickly establish his prestige in Hezhou.
These Qiang tribes only had light cavalry when they rebelled and had no ability to attack the city. As long as I could defend Jincheng, I would be invincible.
As for Murong Shaozong and Hou Jing, what kind of surprises they can bring back to themselves will also determine their future position in his system.
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"Brother Murong, I'll let you talk first this time. If your method doesn't work, you have to use my method!"
Although Murong Shaozong was Hou Jing's deputy, Hou Jing asked Murong Shaozong for advice on military tactics every day during this period, and the two had a relationship of both teacher and friend.
Murong Shaozong cupped his hands and said, "If my strategy doesn't work, I'll use Brother Hou's method."
Because they were driving a flock of sheep, the cavalry team did not advance very fast.
The merchant Huang Xin was worried. Although he was appointed as the military secretary by Su Ze, if he died this time, all his official positions would be useless.
However, high risks bring high rewards. Huang Xin cheered up and mobilized his network of connections along the way to gather information. Five days later, the group found the rebellious Que Tiechu's troops.
As Su Ze had expected, Que Tiehou had no prestige in Hezhou, so he used the prophecy to gather people to start an uprising. Moreover, this group of Qiang people lacked siege equipment, so they did not attack any towns and forts along the way. They were called a righteous army, but in fact they were no different from a group of bandits. They just coerced other tribes to join them along the way, so their momentum looked very huge.
Relying on his identity as a merchant, Huang Xin entered the tent and met Que Tiechu, and finally persuaded Que Tiechu to meet with Murong Shaozong.
Murong Shaozong immediately ordered his men to drive the sheep away, and he rode alone towards Que Tiexu's tent.
In Que Tiezhu's tent, Que Tiezhu, who called himself King of Tianchi, was also very annoyed.
The Qiang generals, tribal chiefs, and Han fortress owners who had previously persuaded him to rebel all remained silent after he officially launched his army.
In particular, Liang Zhao, the leader of the Baohan Army, had once formed an alliance with Que Tiehou. As soon as Que Tiehou started a rebellion, he would immediately raise troops in Baohan City, then attack Jincheng and control the entire Hezhou.
But when Que Tiechao really raised his army, no one responded to him. His former allies did not send troops, but instead warned Que Tiechao not to approach their ranches and forts.
The leader of the Baohan Army, Liang Zhao, was even more ruthless. He directly killed the envoy sent by Que Tiehou to contact him and denied that he had ever made a secret agreement with Que Tiehou to start an army.
Now Tiechu is in confusion.
He could only annex some small tribes and rob some livestock, but he did not dare to attack towns and forts, and wandered aimlessly on the grassland.
Although the population is increasing, the food is becoming less and less. If there are no decent results, Tiechu estimates that his team will soon collapse.
Grit your teeth and attack Jincheng?
It seemed that this was the only way left for Que Tiechu.
At this moment, a confidant suddenly reported:
"Your Majesty! The messenger sent by Jincheng has arrived!"
Que Tiechu immediately said happily: "Please come in!"
But he quickly realized that he was now the leader of the rebels, King Tianchi, and quickly changed his attitude and said, "Hurry up and let the messenger from the dog court get out!"
After a while, Murong Shaozong, who was exhausted but still well-dressed, was seen walking into Quetie's tent.
When he first saw Murong Shaozong, Tieyu was a little angry. Jincheng actually looked down on him by sending this greenhorn over.
However, Murong Shaozong had an extraordinary bearing, and he stunned Tiehuo as soon as he opened his mouth.
"My General Su already knows why Chief Quetiechu rebelled. If you quickly withdraw your troops, disband your tribe, and then go to Jincheng to apologize, the general might be able to forgive you!"
"If you insist on doing this, aren't you afraid that your clan will be exterminated?"
Murong Shaozong was so aggressive, but Tiehou finally reacted. He said angrily:
"That boy actually threatened me! Come, drag him out and chop him into pulp!"
Murong Shaozong said without changing his expression:
"My general defeated 100,000 elite Gaocha troops with only 3,000 soldiers on the grassland and facilitated the grassland alliance. It's not a pity that I die here today. It's a pity that the chief didn't seize the last chance. Soon, the whole clan will be buried with me!"
Que Tiechu had never seen such an arrogant envoy who came to persuade the surrender, but when he saw Murong Shaozong's young face, he could no longer say anything more cruel.
Murong Shaozong did not continue to oppress Que Tiechu, but said:
"My general sympathizes with the suffering of the people and asked me to bring fifty lambs."
Que Tiechu's attitude softened a little, but when he saw Murong Shaozong's young face, he asked:
"Where are the sheep!?"
"I'll escort him here tomorrow."
Murong Shaozong was driven out of the camp and even his horse was taken away, but he tidied his appearance and returned to the place where he had agreed to meet Hou Jing.
After seeing Hou Jing, Murong Shaozong immediately said, "Brother Hou, you can start now."
Hou Jing laughed and said, "My contribution tomorrow will also be due to Brother Murong's contribution today! Let's have a good meal. If we fail, we will all die of hunger in the underworld!"
The new military secretary Huang Xin looked at these vicious soldiers anxiously and inexplicably felt a little more secure.
The next day, Murong Shaozong led Hou Jing and five Northern Army soldiers, driving a flock of sheep, and came to Que Tiechu's camp again to ask for a meeting with Que Tiechu.
Que Tiechu thought that Murong Shaozong was going to continue sending gifts to make him surrender, so he let everyone enter the camp without any precautions. Even when Hou Jing led a small team of Northern Army soldiers to approach his tent, no one came up to disarm them.
It was not until they arrived in front of Que Tiechu's tent that his confidants came forward and asked Hou Jing and others to take off their armor.
The [vicious Northern Army soldiers] behind Hou Jing took off their ghost masks, revealing their ferocious faces, which scared the confidant who asked them to disarm so much that he took a few steps back.
Hou Jing immediately led his men to rush into Que Tiezhuo's tent. The guards of Que Tiezhuo around the tent finally reacted, but the [vicious Northern Soldier] directly took out the saber from his waist, raised the sword above his head with both hands, squatted down like a strong man lifting a tripod, and posed as if a huge tripod was blocking the door of the tent.
The murderous aura of the [vicious Northern Army soldiers] was naturally not comparable to that of the herdsmen under Que Tiezhu's command. Although they were numerous, they did not dare to step forward and could only watch Hou Jing and his men rush into the tent.
When Hou Jing entered the tent, Tiechu also realized something was wrong. He shouted for the guards and prepared to escape, but Hou Jing quickly stepped forward and kicked him to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, Hou Jing ordered the Northern Army soldiers to tie up Que Tiehao, and then dragged Que Tiehao out of the tent. Five Northern Army soldiers formed a formation beside him and went straight towards the camp.
At this time, someone finally reacted. These Qiang warriors rushed up with simple weapons, but were chopped to the ground by the elite Northern Army in no time.
By the time the Qiang warriors reacted and prepared to send archers over, Hou Jing and his group had already left the camp.
Yang Chounu's fifty cavalrymen also came to support, and they forced Que Tiehu onto his horses and rode away.
The rebels under Tiezhuo were completely confused. Their leader was kidnapped like this? How could they rebel? Should they still rebel?
(End of this chapter)