Chapter 255 New Feature: Follower Upgrade
Su Ze looked at the Chencang Road project under construction and focused his attention on the system.
He just got a system prompt.
"[The Undisciplined Debater], this follower has been given an additional affix and its quality has been upgraded to orange."
"[A debater who does not abide by the precepts] is upgraded to [A debater who does not abide by the precepts and is good at traveling]"
[A Buddhist monk who does not observe the precepts but is good at traveling]
Name: Bianji
Grade: Orange;
Effect: This follower will cause dislike to other Buddhist followers in the team;
You need to equip scriptures to engage in debate. The more scriptures you equip, the stronger your debate ability will be.
Please note that the equipped scriptures must be from the same faction, otherwise it will lead to a decline in debate ability.
Note that the more scriptures of the same faction you equip, the stronger your debate ability will be.
Please note that once you equip a scripture, it is bound to your faction and cannot be changed.
Comments: "Although wine and meat pass through my intestines, the Buddha is in my heart. People laugh at me for being crazy, but I spread the truth across thousands of miles."
A special commission can be executed - "Youfang".
Traveling: Spread Buddhism during travels, increasing the follower's reputation.
Reputation: Famous in Luoyang.
Price: 200 Wen Tai and Wu Zhu coins, and a monthly maintenance fee of 50 Wen Tai and Wu Zhu coins is required, and alcohol and meat are required every month.
Bian Ji has actually been upgraded?
Moreover, it was upgraded twice at once, from a blue follower to an orange follower!
But this is not important. What is important is that Su Ze discovered that followers can be upgraded.
That's right. For example, Su Lao (a craftsman who wastes manpower and money) who is in charge of repairing the Chencang Road, his entry is that if the construction fails to meet his design requirements, the rank of his followers will be lowered.
Since the quality of followers can be lowered, it can certainly be improved.
But Su Ze had no idea how to improve it after thinking for a long time.
It can be said that Bian Ji's rank improvement was the result of an accident.
He was accidentally involved in the political struggle of the Northern Wei Dynasty and had to leave Luoyang.
When heading to the Southern Dynasty, new entries were awakened.
How can I add new followers to my followers and improve their quality?
What Su Ze thought of was the "halo" type of entries that could affect other followers.
For example, terms like [gossip] and [corruption] are contagious.
In the past, Su Ze always tried his best to group the followers with these entries with normal soldiers to avoid "infecting" the entries to other followers.
Now it seems that maybe I was too cautious, which led to me not discovering the function of adding suffixes until now.
Su Ze thought further.
First, let’s talk about the entry [gossip].
In the past, Su Ze always regarded this as a negative term, or used it to collect some information.
If we combine the term [Gossip] with the term [News Reporter] who is responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence, and create a [Gossip Reporter], would it actually improve the quality of the followers?
There is also [Corruption]. If this term is used in the lurking [White Egret Messenger], can money also be used to pave the way to collect more information and improve the quality of followers?
Su Ze thought further. The system clearly stated that negative entries would be "contagious", so would positive entries also be able to influence each other?
And above orange, will there be higher-level followers?
Su Ze decided to try his own idea first. Today he would summon a few followers of the [News Herald] series, and then group them with followers with the [Gossip] affix to see if he could get the [Gossip] attribute.
At this moment, Su Lao walked up to Su Ze and began to report the progress of the project.
"General, I have already inspected the site and found that some of the paths are too narrow! In order to increase the efficiency of traffic, I suggest digging through the mountain and laying a trail along the mountain road!"
"But this project is a bit more massive, so we need a little more manpower."
Chencang Road is the road that Liu Bang took when he left Guanzhong and "openly repaired the plank road and secretly passed through Chencang".
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Chencang Road connecting Guanzhong and Hanzhong lost its strategic value for supporting large armies and gradually became a trade route and a passage for messengers. The road became narrower and narrower, and some ancient plank roads can even be traced back to the early Han Dynasty.
When Hou Gang retreated from Yangping Pass to Chencang, he also burned part of the plank road in order to block possible pursuers.
Su Ze knew Su Lao's character. He had increased the budget several times since the start of the project. It was obvious that Su Lao wanted to make it a century-long project.
“How many people are there at a little bit?”
Su Lao counted on his fingers and said:
"A thousand people are enough!"
"no!"
Su Ze has increased the budget three times. He would rather lower Su Lao's rank than continue to add staff.
Now is the spring ploughing season, the busiest farming time of the year, and there are no civilians to be conscripted.
Su Lao leaned over to Su Ze and said:
"My lord, the people of Liangzhou are not good enough. I heard that there are Shanyue people and Di people in the mountains. I don't need any craftsmen, just laborers to move bricks."
Su Ze flatly refused:
"No, Liangzhou has finally settled down. It would be bad if a civil uprising broke out."
Su Lao rubbed his hands and said:
"My lord, it's not free, we can recruit them, just give them some food."
Su Ze looked at Su Lao and asked:
"Really?"
"Of course! I have talked with the officials in charge of recruiting barbarian soldiers under Governor Fu. Many barbarian tribes in the mountains are really miserable. They can be tricked into coming down to serve as soldiers by giving them some food. Building plank roads is much safer than serving as soldiers. They will definitely be willing to do so if we give them a meal."
Su Ze thought about it and decided to agree with Su Lao's suggestion. He said:
"You need to go to the mountains to recruit people. For every person willing to go down the mountain to build the plank road, you will be given ten hu of grain. There will also be food supplies during the construction period."
Sulao was smiling happily and was busy recruiting people, while Su Ze's spies in the north sent him a message.
An uprising broke out in Jingzhou.
-
On March 10th of the second year of Zhengguang, Jin Wei, the deputy governor of Jingzhou, raised an army.
Hu Chen, a brave general from Gaoping Town who had fled to Jingzhou, also joined forces with Jin Wei's army. Jin Wei, who was known as the commander-in-chief under the True King, appointed Hu Chen as his special general and quickly swept across the entire Jingzhou.
Jingzhou, now Jingchuan in Gansu Province, was named after the Jing River which flows through it.
This place has been a mixed Han and Qiang area since the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, Xue Rengao established his own regime in Jingzhou, recruited Jingzhou soldiers to fight against Li Tang, and caused great trouble to Li Shimin.
Because Xi Kangsheng built a Buddhist temple in Jingzhou, the people had many complaints against the court. Under the call of Po Liu Han Kongque, Jingzhou raised an army and began to attack Huazhou westwards.
After the Jingzhou uprising, Mozhe Tiansheng returned to Qinzhou to complete the integration and once again led the Qinzhou army to Yongcheng, the capital of Qizhou, preparing to lead troops to attack Yongzhou.
Xiao Baoyin, who was stationed in Wugong Fufeng, was shocked when he heard the news. He quickly sent military information from Guanzhong to Luoyang and asked the court for support.
Xiao Baoyin was not a complete fool either. He also ordered Liu Kai, who was stationed in Chencang, to set up a defense line on the south bank of the Wei River.
If Mo Zhe Tiansheng ignored Chencang, then Liu Kai would cross the Wei River to harass Mo Zhe Tiansheng's rear and supply lines. If Mo Zhe Tiansheng attacked Chencang, relying on the solidity of Chencang and the Wei River defense line, he could also hold Mo Zhe Tiansheng back. Of course, this was also Xiao Baoyin's wishful arrangement. This time, Mo Zhe Tiansheng's army was huge, and Xiao Baoyin had to dispatch troops to guard Huazhou, so the situation in Guanzhong took a sharp turn for the worse.
After the court received the news, King Yuan Yi of Jiangyang quickly summoned all the ministers to discuss the matter.
Since Liu Teng's death, Jiangyang King Yuan Yi has become even more unscrupulous. Under normal circumstances, he would have the Ministry of Personnel send official documents to his home, and all important court affairs were handed over to his staff to handle. In Luoyang, there was even a saying that it was easier to get things done by bribing Yuan Yi's staff than by bribing the prime minister.
Even the party members who defected to Yuan Yi were very dissatisfied. For example, Yuan Shen, the Palace Attendant, did not gain any power because of his successful speculation on Yuan Yi. On the contrary, he, the chief minister and the chancellor, became a mere decoration, and all the power was monopolized by Yuan Yi.
Yuan Shen was not the only one who was stripped of his power. The Menxia Province became a mere formality, and the Shangshu Tai became a bureaucracy. All power was taken away by Yuan Yi alone, who handed it over to his trusted aides to handle.
However, Yuan Yi had no way to deal with the situation in Guanzhong. He could only come out of the extravagant palace and summon the prime minister and the ruling officials to the Menxia Province to discuss the matter.
The prime ministers and ministers present were also in a bad mood. They treated themselves as mere decorations on weekdays, but when something really happened, they had to discuss it with everyone.
The person sitting at the highest seat was Yuan Yong, the Prince of Gaoyang, who was nominally the head of the Wei clan, the minister of the court, and the recorder of the palace affairs.
Yuan Yong was also dissatisfied with Yuan Yi.
The reason for the dissatisfaction was that the palaces of Yuan Yong and Yuan Yi were both in the same district.
There were originally some residential houses between the two palaces. Yuan Yong's palace had always been the largest in Luoyang. Even when Prince Qinghe was in power, the Palace of Qinghe was not larger than his home.
After Yuan Yi came to power, he began to frantically occupy the surrounding houses, and now the area has exceeded that of Gaoyang Palace.
Yuan Yong wanted to occupy the residential area between the two royal palaces first, but he didn't expect that Yuan Yi would be faster.
Because of this incident, Yuan Yong was also very dissatisfied with Yuan Yi.
After all, he is the head of the royal family and the nominal ruler, but he cannot compete with Yuan Yi, a distant relative of the royal family?
In terms of blood relationship, he is the uncle of the current emperor. When he was granted the royal palace by Emperor Xiaowen, the branch of King Jiangyang was still grazing in Pingcheng!
No one said a word, and Jiangyang King Yuanyi could not help it.
He looked around and finally called out the name of Prince Guangyang Yuan Shen.
"Prince Guangyang, you are the most knowledgeable about military affairs among the royal family. How do you think we should quell the rebellion?"
After being named, Prince Guangyang could no longer pretend to be dead. He said:
"Duke Danyang's military intelligence said that since Cui Yanbo's defeat, Guanzhong's military strength has been seriously lacking. Now Jingzhou has rebelled again, so he asked the court to increase the troops. This is a reasonable request."
Everyone present nodded, but Yuan Yi frowned.
You all say you want to increase the number of troops, but where will they come from?
But Guanzhong is too important. If the enemy army breaks through Tongguan, they can attack Luoyang at any time.
Yuan Yi motioned for Yuan Shen to continue.
Yuan Shen said:
"We should dispatch another general from Luoyang to lead troops into Guanzhong to support Commander-in-Chief Xiao."
Yuan Yi asked:
"Where do the troops come from?"
Yuan Shen said:
"Recruit soldiers from Bing, Ding, and Jizhou."
Yuan Yi looked around at the Han prime ministers and officials present, especially the Minister of Personnel Cui Liang, who had been purged from the court as a member of the Qinghe Prince's faction and was also sitting in the Menxia Province.
Bing, Ding and Ji are the most essential and prosperous states in Hedong of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Since the reign of Prince Qinghe, the Han noble families have become more powerful in these states. Yuan Shen said he wanted to recruit soldiers who could quickly form combat effectiveness. Of course, it was impossible to conscript able-bodied men from the common people. The soldiers he wanted to recruit were also the private soldiers of the local aristocratic families.
For example, the Qinghe Cui family in Jizhou and the Qinghe Zhang family, the son of Sikong Zhang Yi who served as the governor of Jizhou, all had high-quality private soldiers at their disposal.
Precisely because of the complex connections between these aristocratic families, King Yuan Yi of Jiangyang did not implicate these high-ranking Han families in his two coups.
Now it is time for these Han noble families to contribute.
Being watched by Yuan Yi, Cui Liang, who had been recuperating at home for a long time, said with a rosy face:
"I wonder who King Jiangyang wants to be the commander-in-chief?"
King Jiangyang also heard that it was Cui Liang and other Han families who were asking him for bargaining chips.
Yuan Yi looked at Yuan Shen again, and Yuan Shen said to Cui Liang:
"The commander of the army this time must be a member of the Wei royal family. I recommend Beihai County Prince Yuan Hao as the commander."
Beihai Prince Yuan Hao, his father was Emperor Xiaowen's seventh son Yuan Xiang.
Yuan Xiang was beautiful and well-mannered. When Emperor Xiaowen was dying, he was appointed as a minister of state to assist Emperor Xuanwu in ascending the throne.
Emperor Xuanwu did two main things during his reign: he believed in Buddhism and suppressed the royal family. Yuanxiang, the most prestigious member of the royal family, was falsely accused of treason and executed.
Yuan Xiang was rehabilitated shortly after his death, and Yuan Hao inherited the title of Prince of Beihai.
Yuan Yi nodded. Beihai Prince Yuan Hao had also bribed him before. He had been the governor of Xuzhou and confronted the Southern Dynasty. He also had military experience and was a suitable candidate to lead the troops.
Cui Liang also nodded, and he continued:
"I think the deputy general should be selected from Jizhou. Cui Mu, the chief clerk of Jizhou, can be appointed."
When they heard that Cui Mu was from the Qinghe Cui family, the prime ministers and officials present all showed expressions of disgust.
Has the Menxia Province's discussion of matters now reached the point where "the virtuous are selected regardless of personal relationship"?
Both sides have reached the stage where they are no longer shy about recommending their subordinates.
Yuan Yi knew very well that Prince Yuan Hao of Beihai must have followed Yuan Shen's path, and Cui Mu was simply a relative of Cui Liang.
However, as long as the problem in Guanzhong could be solved, Yuan Yi had no choice but to make concessions.
He nodded and said:
"That's it! Issue an order to recruit soldiers from Bing, Ding, and Jizhou. The Prince of Beihai will be the General of the Western Expedition, and Cui Mu, the Chief of Jizhou, will be the Minister of the Seven Armies. They will assist the Prince of Beihai in entering Guanzhong to support Xiao Baoyin."
-
Jiankang City, Tongtai Temple.
Today is the day when the nine-story pagoda in Tongtai Temple is completed and sealed. Emperor Xiao Yan of Daliang personally visited Tongtai Temple to see the pagoda and its golden roof.
All the ministers present chanted the Buddhist teachings in unison. Xiao Yan sat upright on the imperial chariot, feeling that his merits and virtues had increased even more.
Xiao Yan personally presided over the remaining ceremonies, and then entered the monks' quarters behind Tongtai Temple accompanied by his entourage.
During these days, Xiao Yan would occasionally leave the palace to live in the monks' quarters and cultivate his body and mind in the Buddhist temples.
However, today Xiao Yan did not want to recite the scriptures, but asked his attendant to bring a chessboard.
Chen Qingzhi, dressed in a white robe, sat opposite Xiao Yan and picked up a black piece.
The black and white colors of Go pieces represent the concept of yin and yang:
White represents Yang, which is Qian in Qiankun, meaning "heaven", and heaven is supreme;
Black represents Yin, that is, Kun in Qiankun, which means "earth", and earth means low.
The white piece with higher status went first, which was the recognized rule at that time.
Xiao Yan was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He said in a casual manner: "Today, in front of the Buddha, there is no distinction between the ruler and the minister. The black piece goes first."
(End of this chapter)