Chapter 4: Deciding matters and saving prohibitions
"If they all abide by the laws of society, which one will follow them with their restraints? If they all obey, then who of them will abide by the laws of society?" [Book of Rites·Tan Gong Xia]
Only then did everyone understand the emperor's intention to divide and rule the Liangzhou rebels. With the imperial army on his side, Han Sui did not dare to act recklessly. The imperial court only had to send talented people to serve as prefects and county magistrates, and to provide moral education.
In a few years, Liangzhou will be completely pacified.
"As for the remaining six counties of Wuwei, Beidi, Anding, Hanyang, Longxi, and Wudu, they will be designated as Yongzhou. The selection of their governor, like the prefects of various counties, will wait until Han and Ma come to the court before making a decision.
"As for who to be the governor of Yongzhou, the emperor actually already had a candidate in mind, and that was Zhong Yao, the minister of Huangmen.
Historically, Zhong Yao was a lieutenant of Sili, and he was stationed in Guanzhong. He controlled and appeased Ma Teng, Han Sui and others so that Cao Cao would not have to worry about going west, which shows his ability.
It's just that Zhong Yao's identity is a bit special. He has a close relationship with Cao Cao. He was born in Yingchuan and was geographically close to the scholars of Guandong. Letting such a person garrison the important Yongzhou for the emperor could not completely reassure the emperor.
It will take some time to make a decision.
Before that, the emperor had to make preparations in advance to prevent Zhong Yao from being really overwhelmed and leaving him with no one available.
"The governors of the Yongliang Prefecture and the county magistrates must be selected based on tolerance, respect for etiquette, loyalty and ability, especially good dealings with foreigners." The emperor made a request and said: "What good things do you have?
Candidates can be reported together, and an edict will be issued in the future, instructing the ministers to recommend them."
Everyone talked about who they thought were suitable candidates, but in the eyes of the emperor, these people all had shortcomings and shortcomings of one kind or another. Although it was enough to serve as the head of a county, there was no one who wanted to be the governor of Yongzhou.
Comparable to Zhong Yao.
If there was really no more suitable candidate, then Zhong Yao was the only one. The emperor began to think about how to beat Zhong Yao to make him obey his orders, and waved his hand for everyone to leave.
Unexpectedly, at this time, everyone turned a deaf ear and hesitated with no intention of resigning.
It suddenly dawned on the emperor that they were waiting for his statement on the three issues of rise and fall: "the administration was in a state of disarray, the eunuchs monopolized power, and the nobles were tyrannical."
He thought for a while and realized that he could make a big deal out of this matter, so he said: "Let the imperial edict be passed on to the minister's desk. I will go to the Gaomiao to pay homage tomorrow."
Everyone left, but Xun You, the servant, was left by the emperor.
The emperor stared at the man in front of him who was not very good-looking, but could be called a wise man, and said sincerely: "I have always known that your servant has a beautiful heart. Just now I talked about the affairs between Liang, Qiang and Hu, and the princes of Guandong. I would like to hear about it."
of high opinion.”
It is one thing to serve under the emperor, but it is another thing to be willing to serve the emperor sincerely.
The emperor was not so arrogant that because Xun You helped him with Cai Yong, Li Jue and other matters, he mistakenly thought that Xun You had sincerely surrendered to him.
From Xun You's point of view, he should have found a way to become an official in Shu County as early as after the Cai Yong case was settled. If he didn't see that there was still something to do in the Han Dynasty, he would not be willing to stay and face Li Jue's rebels.
Threat, the city of Chang'an will be in dire straits? Who would choose to stay by the emperor's side?
The reason why the emperor did not show any impatience to reveal his feelings to Xun You in the past two days was because he was waiting for an opportunity like today.
He has given Xun You enough time to consider and observe, and now it is time for Xun You to choose where to go.
If you are not willing to assist, then Xun You's next answer can be perfunctory; if you are willing to assist
"Liang and Qianghu and the princes of Guandong seem to be two different things, but in fact, from Yi Chen's point of view, they can be regarded as one thing." Xun You looked directly at the emperor with deep eyes and calmly.
The emperor's spirit perked up. He was both pleased with Xun You's self-explanatory attitude and also surprised by Xun You's far superior resourcefulness than ordinary people: "May I ask about the general's plan?"
Xun You looked away from the emperor's face and lowered his gaze, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking, nor did he know that he had just made a decision concerning personal honor and disgrace: "What you have discussed before is nothing more than
This is because it is difficult to take into account the affairs of the east and the west. If you want to secure Guandong, you can't focus more on governing Liangzhou. If you want to secure Liangzhou, you can only watch the princes of Guandong become powerful. However, there may be a compromise between the two, and this is what I said.
The two can be considered the same thing.”
After saying this, Xun You moved his seat, walked to the emperor on his knees, waved his right arm, and spread one sleeve on the table.
The emperor was surprised at first, but he soon felt relieved. Out of trust, he nodded slightly and acquiesced to Xun You's behavior.
Xun You stretched out his left hand to point at the patterns on his sleeves and said: "The land in Guanzhong is fertile and the people are prosperous. To the west, we can collect the troops of the six counties of Longyou, and to the south, we can get the wealth of Bashu and Hanzhong. The people of Qin and Emperor Gaozu all got it based on this
If your Majesty wants to establish the king's business and rule the world based on it, he can still refer to his predecessors."
The emperor nodded and said: "First capture Liangzhou, and then conquer Bashu. After concentrating on resting for several years, we will have enough troops and food. As soon as we leave Hangu, the world will be settled."
"But," the emperor said doubtfully, "if Liangzhou is captured first, Guandong cannot sit idly by and ignore it. This will return to the previous problem."
"Your Majesty has learned from your wisdom that Emperor Guangwu once said, 'After peace with Long, look back to Shu.' I also intended to advise your majesty to do so. It can be said that it coincides with each other." Xun You agreed with the emperor's strategy and added: "At that time, Emperor Guangwu
He accepted the new news and sent troops to help relieve the worries of Guanlong. From then on, he focused on the eastern expedition and divided the world into three parts. Your Majesty might as well do it. In addition, your Majesty and the princes seem to only focus on Liangzhou and ignore it."
He pointed his finger in the middle of the sleeve and moved it upward: "Bingzhou."
The emperor looked along where Xun You pointed. According to Xun You's explanation, Bingzhou is bordered by Sanfu to the south, Yongliang to the west, and Yanzhao to the east. It is a dangerous area that must be fought for, and it has no military significance and importance for Guanzhong.
Weaker than Liangzhou.
According to Xun You, as long as Bingzhou is included in the pocket, it can not only protect the three assistants from the invasion of the barbarians in the north, but also deter the aliens in Yongliang. The most important thing is that from Bingzhou, Shangdang, Taiyuan and other places can live
Taihang Mountains, and the Hebei Plain below.
Whether it is to beat Yuan Shao of Jizhou from time to time, or to occupy Bingzhou in order to regain the world in the future, it is a good move for the emperor to make the first move.
"It's just that the situation in Bingzhou is more complicated than that in Liangzhou. The Wuhuan, Southern Xiongnu, Qianghu and other tribes live together in one place, and there are constant fights. After Emperor Xiaoling, among the nine counties in Bingzhou, only Shangdang, Taiyuan, and Xihe were the three.
Now, the rest will fall into the hands of the barbarians!" Xun You said in a deep voice: "The reason why the courtiers turn a blind eye is actually because they know that the court is still struggling and facing difficulties, so how can they spare the effort to attack it?"
The emperor frowned deeply and said distressedly: "Liangzhou is easy to handle. As long as you carefully win over Ma Teng and Han Sui, you can be guaranteed to be safe for many years. However, in this Bingzhou, the forces of various ethnic groups are intertwined. This cannot be done overnight.
The matter to be resolved. If you are not careful and provoke wars among various ethnic groups, it will actually put the imperial court into trouble."
"There is a saying in Shangshu Ling that makes sense. Although the Qiang and Hu are an external threat to the frontier, they are internally ill. If your majesty wants to calmly move eastward, you must stabilize Guanzhong and never allow another turmoil between the Liang Dynasty and the Liang Dynasty." Xun You took back his sleeves.
, said: "Now there is a person who can guard Bingzhou for Your Majesty and relieve this worry. Moreover, when this person comes out, he can make Guandong more chaotic and difficult to threaten the imperial court for a while."
Is there such a person in the world?
Seeing the confused and surprised look on the emperor's face, Xun You reminded: "It has been almost a year since Mr. Liu left Wuguan in the Middle East, right?"
The emperor was stunned for a moment, and then recalled a scene in his mind.