Chapter 193 Sun Shiwan and the Military Granting System
After hearing what Bian Ji said, Xiao Baoyin was horrified. Could this monk really have the ability to read minds?!
However, Xiao Baoyin grew up in the dangerous environment of the Southern Qi royal family. After fleeing to the Northern Wei, he also lived under the roof of others, so he was particularly good at hiding his thoughts. On the surface, he remained calm and said to Bian Ji with the etiquette of a disciple: "Master, I am about to enter Guanzhong to quell the rebellion. Is there anything else you can teach me?"
The reason Xiao Baoyin came this time was to confirm again whether Monk Bian Ji really had supernatural powers. Now he has been completely shocked by Bian Ji and believes that his supernatural powers are great.
Then Xiao Baoyin came to listen to Bian Ji's instructions.
Bian Ji closed his eyes and continued, "Luan gave birth to ten sons, nine of them died, and one son who died caused chaos in Guanzhong."
This time even Xiao Baoyin could not hold back. He stood up in horror and stared at Bian Ji.
This was a prophecy that was popular in the south before Xiao Baoyin fled.
Xiao Baoyin's father was Emperor Ming of Qi, Xiao Luan. Although Xiao Luan was not one of the nine sons, the term "nine sons" itself is a fictitious term.
A bird that dies while still in the egg is called a pheasant.
Before Xiao Yan replaced Qi with Liang, Xiao Baojuan, the last ruler of Qi, had killed almost all of the royal family members of Southern Qi. After the change of dynasties, only Xiao Baojuan escaped to the north and survived. Isn't this a case of "not a single son is left unkilled"?
This prophecy was popular in the south and was unknown to people in the north.
After Xiao Baoyin fled to the Northern Wei Dynasty, he took the initiative to make friends with the scholars in Guanzhong because of this prophecy, and gradually became the leader of the scholars in Guanzhong.
All of this was actually known by Bian Ji!
Now Xiao Baoyin has completely believed in Bian Ji's words.
All I heard was Bian Ji saying: "Danyang Gong is a phoenix, the essence of gods and the ancestor of birds."
Xiao Baoyin nodded repeatedly. Luan is the phoenix. The royal family of Southern Qi regarded it as the totem of a sacred bird. The Xiangfengwu (wind measuring instrument) in the palace of Southern Qi was shaped like a phoenix. It was a symbol of the orthodoxy of Southern Qi.
Bian Ji said: "A hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix, and the phoenix birds must be preceded when they travel. If the Duke of Danyang wants to enter the pass smoothly, he needs the divine birds Bifang and Jingwei to lead the way."
Xiao Baoyin took it very seriously and asked quickly, "Master, please help me figure out who is Bifang? Who is Jingwei?"
Bian Ji put his hands together and said, "I am not as accomplished as the master, I can only figure out where Jingwei is."
"Who is Jingwei?"
"Jingwei is the divine bird of the sea and the marsh."
泽？
Anyone with the character "ze" in their name?
Xiao Baoyin thought for a while, could it be Su Ze?
Yes, Su Ze is in Hezhou now. He made great contributions in recovering Xiping a while ago, which caused controversy in the court.
But for some reason, Xiao Baoyin never had a good impression of Su Ze, and even had some vague hostility towards him.
This hostility may come from the fact that Su Cho chose Su Ze instead of taking office himself.
Or maybe it was that Xiao Baoyin, a man of noble birth, had a natural contempt for Su Ze, who came from a lower class background.
And it was because Liang Lan repeatedly spread slander against Su Ze in his ear.
In short, all these emotions combined together made Xiao Baoyin naturally dislike Su Ze.
After saying this, Bian Ji stopped talking and began to recite Buddhist scriptures.
Seeing Bian Ji like this, Xiao Baoyin had no choice but to take his men away from Longhua Temple.
In preparation for the expedition, there were naturally various personnel and logistical arrangements. Cui Yanbo sent one letter for help after another, but Xiao Baoyin still stayed in Luoyang, slowly preparing to set up the expedition office.
It was not until the summer passed and October of the second year of Shengui that Xiao Baoyin's team was complete.
What is surprising is that Su Liang, who has always been Xiao Baoyin's right-hand man, was not appointed as the chief secretary of the Western Road Platform. Instead, Liu Kai, a descendant of the Hedong Liu family, was appointed as the chief secretary of the acting platform, in charge of military affairs.
This was of course because Liu Kai's father, Liu Chong, had once served as the governor of Qinzhou and had considerable prestige in Guanzhong.
Xiao Baoyin appointed Su Liang as Shangshu Lang, and asked the court to appoint Yang Kan as Lieutenant General. The reason why Xiao Baoyin attached so much importance to Yang Kan was naturally because Yang Kan's father Yang Zhi had once been the governor of Liangzhou.
Liang Lan, the son of Liang Zhao, a powerful leader of the Qiang people in Hezhou, was also appointed as a military officer. A large number of young men from noble families were also crammed into the military headquarters, and only then did they swear an oath in Luoyang in a grand manner.
Empress Dowager Hu and the young emperor personally climbed up to the city gate. Xiao Baoyin accepted the ceremonial staff and banner bestowed by the court. The army finally headed westward towards Tongguan.
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Dunhuang.
After lifting the siege of Gaoche, Su Ze has been vigorously developing Dunhuang.
Today, Su Ze did not attend the military meeting, but led his troops to the outskirts of Dunhuang City.
Followers with the affix [Northern Army] followed Su Ze, and a [Great Xia Dragon Bird Guard] carrying the [Great Xia Dragon Bird] on his waist followed Su Ze half a step behind. There were also cavalrymen on guard in the distance. Although Su Ze did not display his flag, passers-by avoided him when they saw him, knowing that a distinguished person was traveling.
"Cunzhen, how are the 3,000 Han people you brought back from Gaochang being settled?"
Previously, Su Ze heard from Madam An that there were three thousand descendants of the Ganliang West Army in Gaochang City who wanted to return to Han land, so Su Ze sent Li Cunzhen, the captain of the Ganliang West Army, to negotiate and prepare to take them back to Dunhuang.
At the beginning, the King of Gaochang was quite dissatisfied with this and refused to release the person.
After Su Ze sent Murong Shaozong to lead a thousand elite cavalrymen for an "armed parade" near Gaochang State, the ruler of Gaochang State not only released the people, but also paid for the travel expenses of the Ganliang West Army and took the initiative to send them to Dunhuang.
"General, everything has been arranged. The county governor's office is making a list of land for distribution. According to Master Su, we will plant beans for the first season this year, and then we can plant grains in the spring tomorrow."
"Do they have any objection to being given a surname?"
Li Cunzhen shook his head and said, "The general gave us a surname, and we are all so happy about it, how could we object?"
These Ganliangxi troops have been lost in the Western Regions for a long time. They have also intermarried with various countries and ethnic groups in the Western Regions. The pure-blooded Han people who have retained their family tree and surnames are already rare.
For example, Li Cunzhen in front of us has the features of a person from the Western Regions. His family is also the leading family of the Ganliang West Army in the Suiye area, and the same is true for other Ganliang West Army members.
Some families even lost their surnames in the process of inheritance, or adopted the surnames of local people.
Not all of the people who came to Dunhuang were from the Ganliang West Army. Among them were some foreigners who were dissatisfied with the rule of the Gaochang royal family and were forced in by the King of Gaochang. They were also packed up and sent to Dunhuang.
The first measure Su Ze took for these people was to give them surnames.
Those who still retained Han surnames were allowed to keep their original surnames, and those who forgot their surnames or used Hu surnames were given new surnames by Su Ze. Among these 3,000 people, all the soldiers and their families who could be selected as elite soldiers were given the surname Su by Su Ze. Su Ze used the land granting system of Emperor Xiaowen as the standard and granted land to families.
Single men or unmarried women were not granted any land. Men were granted 40 mu of open field for growing grain, and women were granted 20 mu.
This policy is naturally intended to encourage these newly arrived population to form families. As the saying goes, those who have stable property have stable determination. Only with the care of a family can one work harder to live a better life.
Su Ze established Sanchang Village in the south of Dunhuang and appointed three chiefs to make records of people and fields. He did not recruit these elite soldiers into the army, but let them open up wasteland and build their own homes.
Only occasionally during the slack season were some simple military trainings carried out.
As I said before, we must let these surrendered people establish connections with Su Ze's group so that they will fight harder on the battlefield.
The village that Su Ze came to today has everyone with the surname Su. It is located next to the first phase of the water diversion canal built by Su Miao, the costly and laborious Western Region water conservancy master.
The three village heads followed Su Ze. After checking the land register and the land register, Su Ze actually brought a group of subordinates to the fields, which scared the three village heads so much that they hurried to catch up.
Although they did not catch up with the spring plowing season, every household was busy in the fields, tilling the land, and building irrigation facilities. It was a busy scene.
Su Ze asked Mrs. An beside him, "Have all the cows been passed down?"
Madam An said, "The household department of Dunhuang County has already granted cattle to the people. Five households form a group, and each group shares one cattle. These cattle are loaned to them by the government. Any old, sick, injured or dead cattle must be reported to the village chiefs, and then reported to the city of Dunhuang."
Madam An has a very good memory. She said, "This village reported a dead ox. It was the sick ox that Su Yizhi, the divine doctor, found when he came to treat another ox half a month ago."
Su Ze nodded. Although Su Yizhi had the affix [Buddha's Hand Demon Heart] on this guy, he would not kill people randomly.
Wherever he went, he selected the livestock that had the best chance of being cured and killed those that could not be cured.
Su Ze asked him to take his disciples to inspect the villages, and they found many infected livestock that could not be cured, and saved more livestock.
Su Ze was very satisfied with the construction of the village. He said to Madam An and the village chief behind him:
"We need to strengthen inspections of oxen to prohibit the transfer, private distribution, and private slaughter of oxen. If found, they will be severely punished."
Su Ze knew that any system was always efficient and honest in its early stages.
However, as it operates for a long time, corruption and inefficiency will arise.
Therefore, while his bureaucracy is small and relatively clean, he will make the early pie as big as possible. When the war really breaks out and he has to lead the troops into battle, he will not be able to take care of the rear.
These days, Su Ze also arrested a group of corrupt officials and village heads. The only consolation is that the officials under him are guaranteed to be honest.
"Let's go to the next village."
Su Ze left the busy farmland and headed towards the next village.
Everyone in the next village has the surname Murong. This village is smaller than the Sujia Village mentioned earlier, and the land allocated to it is also a tributary of the irrigation canal, but this village is also full of enthusiasm.
When they arrived at the village, Murong Shaozong took Su Ze to introduce the situation of the village, because this was the village that Su Ze had "granted troops" to him.
The military granting system can actually be traced back to the system used by the Sun family in Eastern Wu.
However, the military granting system of the Eastern Wu also has many drawbacks. Su Ze’s current measure is just a stopgap measure, and he has also revised some problems in the military granting system of the Eastern Wu.
When Sun Ce started his career, he had only a few thousand men under his command, including "more than a thousand former subordinates of Sun Jian" who were recovered from Yuan Shu. His power was very weak.
The bigger problem was that Sun Ce's reputation and position were very low at the time.
He was not a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan like Liu Bei, nor was he a child of aristocratic family like Cao Cao. When he fought against Dong Zhuo, he was already a local lord.
Sun Ce's official position was very low, just like Su Ze now. As the General of Anxi, he could only be granted ten official positions in the court, and the positions in the army were just good-sounding ones, without any salary or substantial benefits.
The official system is not something that Su Ze can easily modify now. As long as he does not rebel, he must follow the regulations of the court.
Therefore, Su Ze used the Sun family's "granting soldiers" system, which was to grant a newly built Sanchang Village to his subordinates as reserve soldiers.
For example, in this village where all the people changed their surname to Murong, there were fifty males of appropriate age who could serve as reserve soldiers. Su Ze gave the reserve soldiers of this village to Murong Shaozong. When the army expanded in the future or needed to recruit new soldiers, Murong Shaozong could recruit from this village.
However, apart from the item of reserve soldiers, the village's taxation and civil power were not directly granted to Murong Shaozong as in the Sun Wu's fiefdom system, but were controlled by the government in Dunhuang.
In other words, all Murong Shaozong had was the right to recruit soldiers for this village.
This is naturally a lesson learned from Sun Wu.
It was because of the "military granting system" of Sun Wu that soldiers were regarded as personal assets of generals, which led to all generals pursuing personal assets. In the campaign against the weak Shanyue, everyone rushed to be the first, because as long as they conquered the Shanyue, they could gain military merits and more private soldiers, and their own positions would be more stable.
However, when it came to foreign wars, everything was a mess. The generals preferred to preserve their own private soldiers during battles and were unwilling to consume their own strength for the country. This led to Sun Shiwan's defeat at Hefei.
In fact, in the historical time before Su Ze traveled through time, the Eight Pillars State System of the Western Wei Dynasty was also a replica of this "military granting system".
In the Battle of Mangshan between the Western Wei and the Northern Qi, after winning the first battle and gaining a huge advantage, as soon as Yuwen Tai's troops showed a disadvantage, the other pillar generals immediately started a race, scrambling to abandon their friendly forces and escape back to Guanzhong.
There are naturally military factors involved, but more important is the Western Wei's system of generals as pillars of the country, which is also a system of granting troops. Generals as pillars of the country like Dugu Xin and Li Hu would rather preserve their own strength than fight for Yuwen Tai.
Therefore, Su Ze's system of granting troops only provided additional reserve troops and also deprived the government of tax revenue.
But power and obligations are equal. In the future, the weapons, equipment and logistical supplies for these soldiers will be provided by the government, without Murong Shaozong having to pay for it personally.
The military is a continuation of politics, and this is also the best way Su Ze currently uses to motivate his generals.
Murong Shaozong would often come to these villages for inspection on weekdays. After all, the good boys here would be his soldiers in the future. If he solved their problems, they would fight harder on the battlefield in the future.
Based on his previous achievements, Su Ze "granted" Hou Jing 200 soldiers, totaling four villages, and gave them all the surname Hou.
Murong Shaozong, Li Cunzhen, Wang Hui, Yang Zongjia and Sun Dayan were each "granted" 100 soldiers, totaling two villages, and were all given different surnames.
Just when Su Ze was inspecting the countryside, an envoy from Yuan Yu, the governor of Liangzhou, rushed to Dunhuang and urgently requested to see Su Ze.
It can only be said that there is no eternal law. The military garrison system was good in its early days. The fact that it became the Six Garrisons can only be attributed to the fact that the predecessors over-trusted the wisdom of the later generations.
(End of this chapter)