In the second year of Taiwu, June is like a year of fire.
Qinghe, northwest of Ganling.
On the straight road with endless flow, there are three people moving forward with the flow of people. But unlike the others, these three people are not going to Ganling but intend to cross the river to Licheng area in Jinan, Qingzhou.
Although the Taishan Army currently only occupies the plain counties north of the river, and has not engaged in further wars with the princes on the Qingzhou side. But in this tense atmosphere, those who dare to travel to Qingzhou are obviously not ordinary people.
And it is indeed the case. These three people are none other than Lu Yu, Zheng Yi and Liu Deran who have just finished observing their filial piety.
Originally, Lu Yu planned to bury his late father Lu Zhi in Jundu Mountain according to his father's will, but the change of land affected everything.
The situation of the barbarians in Dai was originally treacherous, but under Lu Zhi's manipulations, it was directly exploded. During the three months when Lu Yu kept his filial piety, the whole of Dai was in chaos.
The Xianbei people killed the Wuhuan people, the Huns killed the Xianbei people, and then everyone killed the Huns together. Therefore, the small stability of Jundu Mountain was soon broken in this chaotic situation.
After several times refusing to be recruited by the Hu chief's envoys, Lu and Yu finally decided to end their filial piety period early and move to another place.
Originally, Lu Yu and the others could return to their hometown in Zhuo County, but soon they heard that the fields, mansions, and clan members in their hometown had been cut off, and there was no place for the three of them to stay when they returned.
At this time, a letter came from Xuzhou. The sender was Zheng Yi's father, the famous Guandong Confucian Zheng Xuan.
Zheng Xuan sent someone from Xuzhou to bring a message to the three of them, saying that he had established a foothold in Xuzhou and that they could choose an opportunity to go south to Xuzhou to join him.
Zheng Yi naturally wanted to go back, but Lu Yu and Liu Deran had nowhere else to go, so they decided to go to Xuzhou together to look for opportunities.
The shortest road from Youzhou to Xuzhou is to cross the river from the Jibei area, then follow the road at the western foot of Mount Tai and cross the Nimeng Pass.
But unfortunately, this section of the road all passes through the territory of the Taishan Army, and none of the three of them were willing to take this risk.
If you don't take this road, you can only cross the river from Pingyuan County, and then go through Qingzhou and go to Xuzhou. This road is also not good, that is, the princes are everywhere, the thieves are swarming, and you are robbed and killed accidentally.
So the three of them decided to go to Licheng first, and then borrow a group of soldiers from Jinan Prime Minister Cao Cao to escort the three of them south.
Both Lu Yu and Zheng Yi's fathers were friends with Cao Cao, and even Liu Deran's younger brother Liu Bei had a friendship with Cao Cao before.
So the three of them decided to go to Xuzhou via Qingzhou.
Starting from spring and April at the end of this year, the three of them packed up and started to set off from Youbei. Until now, the three of them are still staying in Jizhou. This speed is incredibly slow.
In fact, this was what Lu Yu meant. The three of them knew very well that they would face the threat of the Taishan Army in the future. In order to learn more about this enemy, the three of them decided to visit the Jizhou area to see the real situation in Hebei today.
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Now, the three of them finally reached the Ganling area and were ready to cross the river. This visit was about to come to an end.
But it is obvious that whether it is Lu Yu, Zheng Yi, or Liu Deran, the three of them are very silent, and they have no joy of escaping and ascending to heaven.
Why?
Because during this period, from Youzhou to Jizhou, the three of them visited dozens of li communities, and they all saw the penetration and expansion of Taishan Army's power at the grassroots level from the changes in these li communities.
The penetration of this power has caused tremendous changes in the power structure of the entire local society.
In Lu Yu’s own words:
“What I saw along the road was that every village was organized into households and the people were divided into fields for production, just like the Qin Dynasty in the past.”
Of course Lu Yu and the others had never seen Qin Fa in the past, but after seeing the current situation in Hebei, they all lamented that in the past when the six kingdoms were in dispute, the Qin State in Guanzhong must have been like this.
In this world, pure Qin law did not last long, and it probably became "out of date" after the Han Dynasty. By the time of this dynasty, all dynasties had ruled the world together with the powerful.
This is reflected in the fact that at the local level, it is important for states and counties to appoint powerful officials, while in townships and communes, power is delegated to the three local elders.
In other words, the power of the Han Dynasty never took root at the local grassroots level.
And what did Lu Yu and the others see?
They saw various organizations in the local communes, such as township offices representing administration, field protection teams with military organizations. There were also various organizations with unknown names, such as farmers' associations, youth associations, women's associations, etc.
The boy will wait.
Almost everyone in the township community will participate in multiple organizations to a greater or lesser extent and be integrated into this power system.
The three of them, Lu Yu, could feel this power network just as outsiders, let alone the leaders of Guizhou. These people were invisibly wrapped up in this network, and they unconsciously became members of the Taishan Army system.
A member.
Among the three, Lu Yu received the most comprehensive education. He not only had profound cultural accomplishments, but also had specific experience in local administration, so he was the one who had the deepest impressions.
While Zheng Yi was still lamenting the depth of the Taishan Army's control over the local area, Lu Yu was terrified of this control.
Because he understood very well, didn’t this dynasty want to learn from the system of Qin and Han Dynasties? As a member of the ruling class, Lu Yu would be very responsible and said that he really wanted to, but they couldn’t do it.
As long as they are rulers, they all hope to be like the Qin Emperor and Han Wu, who can mobilize the country's resources to do great things at a moment's notice. But unfortunately, every time the state power sinks to one level, the money, food and officials paid behind it are a horror.
of numbers.
Moreover, this number will continue to increase over time, because the majority of people in rural communities will become increasingly passive and resistant to this kind of mobilization.
Therefore, the Qin Dynasty died after only two generations, and the Han Dynasty also had its household registration reduced by half, and the whole country fled.
Therefore, this dynasty has also learned from the lessons of previous generations and worked hard to make the place take care of itself.
Therefore, for the state of the grassroots, it is generally that if you catch it, you will die, and if you let it go, you will be scattered. These two are a paradox, and you cannot have both.
But what did Lu Yu see? But he saw another grassroots governance method in Taishan Army.
This method can not only keep the people under the rule within the system, but also avoid causing strong backlash from the grassroots, causing the grassroots to flee.
Lu Yu didn't know if there were special words to describe it within the Taishan Army, but in his own words, it was scripture, teaching, and punishment.
The so-called farming, teaching, and punishment means that in addition to the traditional affairs of taxation, labor, and levy, the Taishan Army's township offices also added mutual assistance in farming, moral education, and mediation of criminal names.
All these matters were carried out smoothly by the township government during the process of dividing the fields.
Lu Yu and the others encountered such a thing when they passed by a village in Lunu, Zhongshan State.
That is, they saw that many farmers would take turns using oxen and rakes, and there would be people who would teach them how to use new farm tools.
Lu Yu and the others had never seen those farm tools before, but as long as they had seen the use of these farm tools once, everyone knew that these were good things.
Later, the three of them, Lu Yu and others, stayed in the lodge and learned about the policies behind these actions.
It turns out that these are mutual aid groups organized by the Taishan Army for farmers. They are basically groups of four or five households, and the groups share the use of cattle and farm tools.
These cattle and farm tools were distributed to each group by the township office.
At that time, Lu Yu asked one of the heads of Guizhou, asking him if four or five households share a cow. Wouldn't there be people who don't regard the cattle as their own and use them frequently without caring for them and feeding them well?
But who would have thought that this would be met with a blank stare from the head of Guizhou opposite.
Qian Shou told these white-faced nobles very bluntly:
"These are definitely not farmers. We farmers cherish these big animals the most, because we know that these things can save our lives. Whether we can survive in the famine years in the future depends on whether we make good use of these animals.
Cattle. Besides, these are owned by the government, and we have to provide food for them. We all need livestock as a team. If someone spoils the cattle, let alone the government can’t spare him, even we can’t spare him.”
After saying that, the Guizhou leader looked at Lu Yu as if he were a fool, which actually made Lu Yu embarrassed.
But Lu Yu was also patient, and he later took Zheng Yi and De Ran to stay here for a while.
Here, they learned more about the Taishan Army's local policies.
For example, the old farmers they saw outside the community to teach farmers about planting were sent by the township government. Such old farmers are not only involved in farming, but also in sericulture, nurseries, forest farms, and mountain farms.
These people were hired by the township government with money and food to teach the Guizhou leaders and learn more advanced production techniques.
Even some workers from Yecheng Agricultural Institute will come to these places to teach and further spread more advanced agricultural technology.
Then there was what the Guizhou chief said, about the government lending them cattle.
Lu Yu also understood this situation.
It turns out that the township office not only lends money to farm cattle, but also to grow grain. Its purpose is not to suck blood from farmers, but to encourage them to cultivate new fields.
Why can't the poor Guizhou leaders cultivate new fields? It's because in the first year of the new fields, they have to rely on reserves. In the past, if they wanted to open up wasteland, they could only borrow money from powerful people, but once they borrowed money, the interest rates would be so high that these Guizhou leaders would be sucked away.
Have to go bankrupt.
But now the township office has come out to help the Guizhou leaders and help them survive the first year of pioneering wasteland.
Lu Yu's first touch happened in this rural community.
From these policies of the Taishan Army, he saw an image that truly seeks the welfare of the head of Guizhou. He also saw that these policies are all encouraging production. As long as these policies are implemented in a down-to-earth manner, it is foreseeable that
, the whole of Hebei will be filled with fertile fields and become a true land of abundance.
Lu Yu is also a Northerner, a relatively idealistic Northerner who loves the people.
So he naturally had a good impression of the Taishan Army's policies.
But Lu Yu's identity was destined not to join the Taishan Army, and he had to view these things from a hostile stance.
But looking at these things from another perspective, he saw something powerful.
Once these Hebei and Guizhou leaders listen to the Taishan Army in their production and life, this consciousness will take root in their souls.
Maybe these people themselves don't know that with the implementation of these various policies, they will inevitably become like the Taishan Army.
They no longer have regional identities such as Zhao people, Wei people, and Zhongshan people, but are unified into new households under the rule of the Taishan Army.
After that, the three set off again, and their journey to Hebei was not over yet.
They saw a lawsuit scene in a village near Onozawa in Julu County.
Litigation matters are nothing more than trivial matters, but the person presiding over the litigation is different.
In the past, in the Han Dynasty, these lawsuits were presided over by the local wise men and three elders. But now they are all township officials in yellow.
These village officials used these lawsuits to consolidate their authority. And their handling of the lawsuits has become a touchstone of their reputation.
When inspections at the county level evaluate these township officials, they generally start with these lawsuits. In this way, these township officials generally resolve lawsuits impartially, forming a good cycle.
The above two kinds of Lu Yu can still be understood. After all, to put it bluntly, they have replaced the role of the rural sages in the past.
But what he saw later in the Weijun area was completely beyond Lu Yu's imagination.
Wei County is the Gyeonggi County of Taishan Army and the core area of Taishan Army.
A brand-new thing has appeared in the rural communities in this area, and that is the envoy.
As they walked along the street, they could always see some people holding yellow paper in their hands reading some teachings to the whole community, old and young.
Lu Yu and the others had heard it, and the content was nothing more than some daily quotes from the leader of the thieves, Zhang Chong, his views on things, his understanding of groups, and his evaluation of a certain case.
There are even some contents about the Taishan Army’s claims, the situation in various places, and the purpose of the policy. But the most talked about one thing is:
"Farmers need to stand up!"
These things sounded relatively new, and then they were spread throughout the country through edicts and edicts so that people could read and recite them.
This kind of missionary work is simply unheard of and unseen.
Thinking about it, three generations of rule were nothing more than this, but now in Hebei, a so-called bandit has achieved it.
All the above things made Lu Yu silent.
Because he understood that the Han Dynasty could never take back Hebei because it had become beyond recognition.
Afterwards, naturally, Lu Yu shared all his experiences with his two senior brothers.
Zheng Yi was okay, he just silently absorbed the merits of these words.
But Liu Deran sneered at Lu Yu's words.
Different from Lu Yu's evaluation, Liu Deran was full of disgust for this kind of local governance, thinking that it broke the morality and unity of the community in the past.
The Hebei countryside he saw was full of betrayals and denunciations. Villains rose to the top by stabbing elders in the community in the back, which was a kind of moral decay.
In Liu Deran's view, the countryside of the past was moral.
The countryside was governed by inaction from above, while moral elders were responsible for the local affairs. The Han Dynasty had full trust in these people and rarely interfered.
And Liu Deran is not a rotten scholar. He believes that the rural sages in the past were better able to protect the place.
Because the reason why rural sages are virtuous is that they are based in local rural communities. They gain the trust of Guizhou leaders by virtue of their morality, wealth, and status.
Therefore, the rural sages know that their power comes from below, so they are more responsible for these people.
But what about the local officials like the Taishan Army? They are like tigers and wolves, with no affection or connection to the local area. They repeatedly build water conservancy projects and do not cherish the people's power.
In Liu Deran's view, this is because the power of these local township officials comes from above. These humble Guizhou leaders have no kindness to the local areas. Their ability to order the local areas depends entirely on the support of the Taishan Army behind them.
And these little people also understand this, so they flatter their superiors and show no care for their subordinates.
This is what Liu Deran despised. He described today's Hebei as a place where people's hearts are in chaos and moral apocalypse.
In this way, Liu Deran and Lu Yu saw completely different faces of Hebei. Which one of them was right?