Chapter 225: It's a bit too advanced
Su Liang remained calm in the face of Yang Kan's question and immediately said, "Zu Xin (Yang Kan's pen name) is right. General Su always makes plans before deploying troops. This time he is leading a large army into Liangzhou for support. How can there not be enough troops?"
Yang Kan was still skeptical. He had also heard about Su Ze's style of using troops, and he was indeed a rare famous general in the court.
However, Su Ze was also well versed in the art of war and often bluffed. Yang Kan also suspected that Su Liang was deceiving him and letting Su Ze reap the benefits.
Su Liang also secretly groaned, this time the plan could not keep up with the changes.
Both Su Ze and Su Liang believed that the battle between the Mozhe Dam rebels and Liangzhou would be a long and fierce battle.
The strategy proposed by Su Liang at that time was for Su Ze's army to enter Liangzhou, block the retreat route of Mozhe Dam, and then cooperate with Liangzhou to trap the rebel army in Wuxing area.
But the result was unexpected. First, Mozhe Dati unexpectedly captured Yangping Pass, and then Yang Kan shot and killed Mozhe Dati, defeating Mozhe Dati's army.
Now the army of Hezhou has not been able to catch up, and Wuxing has to be surrounded, so they have no choice but to go ahead.
This incident also taught Su Ze a lesson.
The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was different from other eras. It was an extremely abstract era.
Many people are like Mozhe Dati. They are killing everyone in the last second, and they are dead and their families are wiped out in the next second. One by one, their names appear on the stage of history, but are quickly kicked off. In the end, those who remain on the stage are just supporting roles on the edge of the stage.
This is also the reason why the historical stories of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, although very exciting, are far less well-known than the Three Kingdoms period and other eras.
It is because this era lacks a "main line".
There are too many characters and the main plot is too scattered. Many characters’ appearances are just highlights, and then nothing happens afterwards.
Just a second ago, they had captured Yangping Pass and were about to sweep across the Mozhe Dike in Liangzhou, but they were shot to death by a single arrow from Yang Kan?
However, in history, Mo Zhe's family were also abstract kings.
In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, Mozhe Dati died of illness not long after he started his rebellion, and passed the throne to his eldest son Mozhe Niansheng.
Then Mo Zhe Niansheng conquered Tongguan and swept across Guanzhong. At the highlight of his life, he was killed by the traitor Du Can, and his entire family was killed.
Mo Zhe Niansheng's younger brother Mo Zhe Tiansheng inherited his father and brother's position and revived their foundation again. He defeated Xiao Baoyin's rebellion army again and was then shot to death by Yang Kan with an arrow.
To be fair, the fighting ability of these three father and sons was quite good, it's a pity that they were born in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
In this world that has been completely changed because of Su Ze's travel through time, the father and his two sons still cannot escape a similar fate.
Instead, Mozhe Dati was shot dead by Yang Kan with an arrow, Mozhe Niansheng was captured by Su Ze, and Mozhe Tiansheng defeated Cui Yanbo and swept across Qizhou and Yongzhou.
The situation had changed, and it was too late to wait for the Hezhou army in the rear to come up. Finally, Su Ze made a plan and asked Su Liang to contact Yang Kan to besiege Wuxing City with the Liangzhou army, while he sent elite troops to capture the city first.
After hearing what Su Liang said, Yang Kan said with difficulty:
"Brother Jingshun, I'm afraid you don't know the situation of our army. Governor Fu is seriously ill, and I am only temporarily in charge of the military affairs of Liangzhou. I am afraid I am not strong enough to lead the Liangzhou army to attack the city."
Yang Kan also explained everything to Su Liang. If it weren't for his reputation of killing Mozhe Dati with one arrow, he would not have been able to command the Liangzhou soldiers.
Some of these soldiers in Liangzhou were old veterans who had followed Fu Shuyan in his battles across the country. They were members of the Fu family. They chose to be loyal to Yang Kan because of the entrustment Fu Shuyan gave them before he fell into a coma.
The other part is some of the soldiers recruited by Fu Shuyan in the Di Shu and Shanyue areas of Liangzhou over the years.
To put it bluntly, these recruits are just working for money and they don't have much loyalty to the court.
As for why he had to recruit soldiers instead of conscripting them like Su Ze, Fu Shuyan also had his own helplessness.
The place of Liangzhou was originally seized from Southern Liang, and the people's hearts were not yet attached to it. Many of the big families in Liangzhou had connections with Southern Liang, so there was no question of loyalty at all.
Fu Shuyan also understood this truth, so he did not dare to recruit soldiers from these big and powerful families, but chose to recruit soldiers of other races from the remote Di Shu and Shanyue areas.
The Di people were a minority farming ethnic group in Shu.
From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Di people were distributed at the junction of present-day Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and other provinces, and were widely concentrated in the northwest Sichuan, northeast Sichuan, and Longnan Gansu.
At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Di leader Li Xiong established Cheng Han, the first Hu regime among the Sixteen Kingdoms.
The most glorious period of the Di people after this was the Former Qin Dynasty during the reign of Fu Jian.
After Fu Jian's defeat in the Battle of Feishui, the Di people retreated to the Bashu area. When the Former Qin general Lu Guang established the Later Liang, some of the Di people migrated to Liangzhou, and the Di people in Hanzhong retreated back to the mountains.
Most of the Di people were assimilated in the course of history, while those who retreated to the mountains returned to a more primitive tribal state.
As for the Shanyue people, they were the barbarians in Shu who were wiped out by Zhuge Liang in Bashu.
The history of this branch can be traced back to the ancient Yue Kingdom during the Warring States Period, which was the Yue Kingdom of Yue Goujian. However, the Yue people were a mountain ethnic group widely distributed in the southern region. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Sun Wu regime spent most of its time fighting with the Shanyue people and competing for land from them.
After the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved south, it also prevented many wars with the Shanyue people for land. For example, Huan Wen in Jiangling had nothing to do, so he fought with the Shanyue people to train his army.
The Shanyue people in Hanzhong area were also driven here by the Han regime that opened up the southeast region. Part of them were driven by the Han people from the Yangtze River to the Pearl River, and then to the Lancang River, and became the ancestors of the Thai people in later generations.
A part of them fought from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the middle and upper reaches, then were driven into the southwest region, and then from the southwest region, they were also squeezed to Southeast Asia to join forces.
Fu Shuyan did not dare to use the local Liangzhou tyrants, and could only use the recruited Di Shu and Shanyue people. These people were extremely brutal in fighting and would not go to the battlefield without rewards.
Before coming, Su Liang had already analyzed the situation in Liangzhou with Su Ze.
In response to Yang Kan's hesitation, Su Liang also gave a solution.
Yang Kan frowned and said, "Award him a native official?"
Su Liang nodded and said, "This is General Su's strategy. It is also based on Prime Minister Zhuge's experience in governing Shu. 'Make peace with the barbarians in the west and pacify the Yi and Yue in the south.' The leaders of these tribes will be made the barbarian rulers, and local officials will be appointed to manage the local area."
This system was actually not unfamiliar in the Northern Wei Dynasty. For example, the Qihu tribe where Erzhu Rong was located set up Erzhu Rong as the "chieftain of the people" to manage its own tribe, and then used the "goose minister" system to control these tribal chiefs.
However, the Northern Wei Dynasty only used this system among the Hu people in the north, and it was aimed at the Erzhu clan, which joined the Northern Wei Dynasty early, to retain some of their autonomy and fiefdoms. In the northwest, the Qiang and Xiongnu peoples, who were relatively large in number, were given military commanders. The Northern Wei court would not grant official positions or territories to small tribes such as the Shanyue and Shudi peoples, who had a small number of people.
Yang Kan still frowned and said, "In the court?"
Su Liang smiled and said, "Isn't General Su the General of Anxi? Nowadays, more and more Han people from the Western Regions have surrendered to Liangzhou. The Governor of Liangzhou, Yuan Yu, has submitted a petition to the court, requesting the re-establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate, and asking the court to appoint General Su as the Grand Protector."
"General Su can then set up a vassal county in Hanzhong and confer titles on local officials."
Yang Kan was a little confused. You are an Anxi Protectorate, and you want to set up a vassal county in Hanzhong? And you want to appoint local officials in Hanzhong?
Everything west of Tongguan is west, right?
However, Su Ze's plan could actually make the Shanyue and Shudi people willing to send troops.
These Shanyue and Shudi were third-class citizens in the Northern Wei and Southern Liang dynasties, and the government did not treat them as human beings at all.
These Shanyue and Shudi tribes lived in the mountains, and because of the issue of survival resources, they had tense relations with the nearby Han people.
If a縻縻县 were really established and they were given official positions, these people would probably really support Su Ze.
But Yang Kan saw more than just this momentary thing. He said:
"Jingshun, General Su's plan will probably cause endless disasters."
The Northern Wei Dynasty's system of chieftains is no longer feasible today.
The Erzhu family has become the most powerful family in Xiurongchuan, almost like a country within a country.
The rebellions in Guanzhong were also started by these relatively independent Xiongnu and Qiang leaders.
If the Shanyue and Shudi people were granted positions in the imperial court, as they all lived in the mountains, they would become powerful and form a separatist force, which would be more terrifying than the Qinzhou rebels.
At that time, Shu Han also recruited mountain barbarians from the southern region to form the famous Wu Dang Flying Army. The Wu Dang Flying Army was all clad in iron armor and could cross mountains and ridges. They were good at using bows and crossbows and poison arrows, and were good at field battles. They were a famous strong army of Shu Han.
The mountain barbarians in the Nanzhong region are actually similar to the Shanyue and Shudi people in Hanzhong. They are brave and good at fighting, and are the best soldiers in this area.
Su Liang said: "General Su has also considered these issues. First, the number of native officials should be strictly controlled, and the titles set by each village should be abolished. The court will only recognize the leaders who are granted the status of native officials, and crack down on others who claim to be kings."
"In addition, we will set up an agricultural institute in Hanzhong City in the future and require all local officials to go to the institute in autumn and winter to learn farming knowledge and return to their tribes before the spring plowing season."
"In the end, if a native official wants to take over, he also needs to be confirmed by the Anxi Protectorate and there must be no objection from the local tribes, rather than being passed on privately."
Su Liang added: "Finally, General Su is also planning to set up a Jiemi Prefecture to unify the management of these tribes with native officials. The Jiemi Prefecture will not use native officials, but will set up officials from other provinces to govern them."
After hearing this, Yang Kan could no longer raise any objections. Su Ze had thought it through carefully and had already considered the issue of the chieftains becoming too powerful.
In fact, setting up local officials was Su Liang’s suggestion to Su Ze.
Su Liang's family lived in Wugong County, Yongzhou. During this period, the Guanlong area was not the core area of the Han people as later generations imagined.
During the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China, various barbarian forces had ravaged Guanzhong, and the mixed residence of Han and barbarians was the norm here.
It is possible that the northern neighbors of a Han fortress owner would be the herding Huns, and the southern neighbors would be the Di people farming in the mountains. They would also encounter Qiang merchants and Xianbei officials, so the ethnic composition was very complex.
Su Ze was reluctant at first, as he was thinking of the Ming and Qing dynasties' policy of converting natives into officials.
When others traveled through time, they all carried out reforms to transform native officials into officials, which represented the most advanced production relations. But how come when I traveled through time, I set up native officials and established vassal counties? Doesn't this make me a decadent reactionary?
However, after understanding the current situation in Liangzhou, Su Ze realized that the policy of reforming the native system to govern officials was probably too advanced here.
Setting up local officials is already an advanced system in this era!
Now there are no native officials! How can we talk about changing the native officials into officials?
Many of the Shanyue and Shudi people living in the mountains were still in the early stages of civilization. The feudal system was too complicated for them, and slavery was considered an advanced system.
Give them certain treatment, let them manage themselves, and provide some soldiers. Fu Shuyan who can do this will be a good governor respected by the people of Liangzhou.
What kind of ethnic integration are you talking about, migrating these barbarians down from the mountains and assimilating them into Han culture?
That was something that Su Ze had not been able to fully achieve in that era when material technology was extremely advanced before he traveled through time.
Su Ze was willing to give them local officials and let them manage themselves, and set up agricultural schools to teach them farming techniques, which was the same as what Zhuge Liang did in Shu back then.
Yang Kan said admiringly: "General Su is thoughtful. If the negotiations can really be successful, these people can be mobilized."
After saying this, Su Liang stared at Yang Kan and asked:
"Brother Zu Xin, General Su asked me to come this time. Other things are not important. The most important thing is you."
Su Liang said: "Before I came, the general said to me, 'If I can get Brother Zu Xin alone, it is better than getting 100,000 soldiers from Liangzhou!'"
Yang Kan was silent. Su Liang knew that he was wavering and continued:
"General Su also said that he is willing to submit a petition to the court to allow Brother Zu Xin to temporarily serve as the governor of Liangzhou."
After Su Liang finished speaking, Yang Kan was also stunned.
Su Ze, a general of Anxi, submitted a petition to the court asking to be appointed as a governor?
Su Ze’s position is not as high as that of a governor, right?
But for some reason, Yang Kan felt that Su Ze could accomplish this task.
Even the calm Yang Kan's breathing quickened.
This was the position his father had held. Even if it was just a temporary position, he would be one step closer to his dream of reviving the family!
The offer from Su Ze was so generous that Yang Kan couldn't refuse.
But thinking of Fu Shuyan, Yang Kan asked again: "But Governor Fu?"
Su Liang immediately said, "The Fu family is loyal and brave. Fu Jingshao died fighting for his country. General Su will ask the court to posthumously confer him the title of Governor of Liangzhou and to confer titles on his wife and children."
"Governor Fu has worked hard and made great contributions, so he should be granted the title of nobility and be well supported. If Zu Xin is willing, he can just recruit more descendants of the Fu family."
"Besides, Brother Zuxin's grandfather also served as the governor of Liangzhou."
Hearing this, Yang Kan knew he couldn't refuse, so he said:
"A few days ago, my wife wrote to me, saying that during the Xuanguang Incident, she was taken care of by Her Royal Highness Princess Chenliu, and that Princess Chenliu was entrusted by General Su to take care of my wife and children. For this kindness, Yang wants to thank her in person."
(End of this chapter)