The timing for Xun Yu to lead his people to move north was very delicate. When he started, the Kwantung nobles were quietly gathering troops, and there was no apparent disturbance.
When they crossed the Yellow River and arrived in Jizhou, Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, forged letters from the Three Dukes and sent them to various places.
Jizhou also received documents accusing Dong Zhuo of various major crimes.
Jushu further said: "My lord, you must raise an army and form an alliance with various tribes to fight against the traitors of the country."
"The Guandong nobles will not obey me. There must be someone else as the leader of the alliance. If he issues an order and orders me to attack Luoyang independently, will he listen or not? If he asks for food, will he give it to me or not?"
According to the thinking habits of the Guandong nobles, Yuan Shao, who has a distinguished family background and a far-reaching reputation, is the best candidate to lead the alliance. If Liu Xiang joins the coalition, he will definitely be treated as cannon fodder. He will not go to the alliance to fight against Dong.
Jushou tugged at his short beard and said worriedly: "Jizhou is close and Luoyang is far away. I am afraid that the Kwantung Allied Forces will first go north and then west."
Liu Xiang understood what he meant. Now was the time to take sides. The Guandong nobles and Dong Zhuo had to choose a side. If they wanted to stay out of the matter and did not rely on both sides, there was a high chance that they would be beaten.
But that is something that only weak forces would worry about. The Anping Army was powerful and qualified to remain neutral. The Kwantung Allied Forces would be on guard against him, but they did not dare to provoke him before defeating Dong Zhuo.
"Don't worry, sir. Our army only needs to guard the Yellow River. They don't dare to attack. If we really force me to Dong Zhuo's side, the Kwantung Allied Forces will suffer heavy losses and may be destroyed."
Seeing that his lord had made up his mind, Jushu no longer advised the formation of an alliance. Instead, he came up with the idea of Qingzhou: "My lord, why don't you take the opportunity to send troops to Qingzhou? If the heroes occupy You and merge with the four states of Qing and Hebei, then the world can look forward to it!"
"
Liu Xiang smiled bitterly: "I thought so too, but there is a lack of food and grass. If the army goes out to fight, it will definitely deprive the people of their food. I don't know how many people will starve to death because of this. One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand? How can you bear it?"
"My lord is kind, but the opportunity to fight is fleeting, so we should put the overall situation first."
"Young Master, there is no need to persuade me anymore. I raised the army to settle the people. The soldiers under my command and the people under my rule have their hearts turned to me. It is all because of this. If you abandon the people in order to gain territory, it is putting the cart before the horse. You must not act like this, otherwise people's hearts will turn to me."
Separation, the general trend is over."
Liu Xiang could see clearly which one was more important and which one was less important. He also understood the two strategies proposed by Jushu: infiltrate into the coalition forces, use the power of the Kwantung gentry to kill the strongest Dong Zhuo force, and then use different methods to eliminate all coalition forces.
Or take advantage of the chaos to attack Qingzhou, which was proposed later.
All good.
But his eyes only saw the struggle between the nobles, and his heart was full of using power and tactics to seize the world. He did not see the people, or maybe he saw them but didn't care. The people were just tools in his plan, and they were just a stepping stone to seize the world.
Shi, he doesn't care how many low-level people die during the siege of the city.
This is not his cold-bloodedness, but the inertial thinking of most noble people.
Since they were born, they have been accustomed to being aloof. They have feelings for their family and country, know loyalty, and observe etiquette. They will worry about the turmoil in the world, and will grieve for war and chaos.
But they will also habitually ignore the suffering of the people.
This is a blind spot in thinking caused by class differentiation.
Most of the generous and tragic scholars are not bad people, they are just used to not looking down at the underlying environment.
Liu Xiang was different. Although he had been changed a lot by the Han Dynasty, at least he had overcome this era himself.
His thinking will not be bound by class or dynasty.
"My lord, I led the army at the age of sixteen. It has been more than five years now. I have fought more than a hundred battles and have never been defeated. Do you know why?"
"My lord is resourceful and good at making decisions. He uses his troops like a god and knows rewards and punishments. He loves his soldiers like a son. Every soldier under his command is willing to sacrifice his life. Naturally, he will never be in danger in a hundred battles." Jushou flattered him greatly.
When you are in the world, you should understand how to be human and just flatter your leaders without any shame.
The corners of Liu Xiang's mouth turned up, he coughed dryly, and suppressed his smile: "Ahem, I am not worthy of being a middle-aged man, I am so proud of you. The reason why I can win is because of the support of the people under my rule. If I need soldiers, they will
When their son came and needed armor and weapons, they went to dig and build them. When they needed food, they went to plant crops.
They support me, so I have a strong army and a fortified city. The enemy is facing tens of thousands of people under my rule. How can I be undefeated?"
He patted Ju Shou on the shoulder and concluded: "People are the most important. My people are more important than anything else."
After saying that, he turned back to the mourning hall and continued to observe mourning.
Jushou understood what he meant. There was still food, but it was for the people and could not be used.
Therefore, we must guard the Yellow River and watch from the sidelines.
"Alas! It's a pity that we have such a good opportunity. Taking over the world will naturally bring peace to the common people. This is a great benevolence." Jushou shook his head and sighed.
Some ideas cannot be changed by others in just one or two sentences.
Not long after Jushou left, Xun Yu came.
Recommended by Liu Xiang's father-in-law, he came to Jizhou and met the death of another father-in-law.
Whether it was to visit the owner of this place or out of etiquette, he had to come to express his condolences.
After the roll call, salutes, and condolences, Liu Xiang invited Xun Yu to speak in the side hall.
Xun Yu brought hundreds of his family members to live in Jizhou. All the fields and properties in Yingchuan had been sold, and he only took gold, pearls, jade and other valuable treasures with him on the road. Dian Wei had already sent someone to report these situations.
If you want to live in peace, you must have an industry, and land is the best industry, but Liu Xiang didn't want the Xun family to occupy a large area of land.
He asked tentatively: "Wen Ruo, what do you think about dividing the fields?"
"Since the introduction of the Well Field Law in the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial court has allocated fields to the people for farming, so that taxes can be fully paid and the country can use it."
Xun Yu knew what he meant by asking. The man in front of him hated the annexation of large clans and did not want the scholars to occupy large areas of land. He had heard about this a long time ago and did not want to buy much land. He only needed enough land for his family.
.
"Everyone in the family who is over fifteen years old, regardless of gender, will be divided into ten acres of Yongye field and five acres of mulberry and hemp field. What does Wen Ruo think?" Liu Xiang would not give in on the division of land. Only if there was no disagreement on this point could he
Continue to talk about interests, ideas, wishes, etc.
But Xun Yu was not used to such a straightforward way of talking. He was slightly stunned and asked with some confusion: "Is Liu Shijun going to allocate the land to Yu?"
Liu Xiang replied seriously: "Yes, the Yongye field can only grow grain, and the mulberry field can be anything. The land rent is one ten tax for the upper field and one fifteen tax for the lower field. I will divide the fields of Wen Ruo's family into one place so that
We will plant and distribute as much as possible to your fields."
Xun Yu looked at Liu Xiang with burning eyes and asked with a smile: "Is this considered using power for personal gain?"
"That's right, but it can only go so far."
Xun Yu laughed heartily and thanked each other: "Then thank you very much for taking care of me?"
But I was thinking secretly in my heart: The ambition of attaching so much importance to farming and mulberry trees is not small, and it still needs to be observed what kind of character he has.
Liu Xiang also made a calculation in his mind: It seems that he can accept the division of land, and we can continue the discussion.
Thinking of this, he asked: "Every county in Jizhou has my property. I wonder how Wenruo wants to make a living? You might as well tell me and I will give you some advice. To tell you the truth, I am very concerned about the merchants."
He is also quite proficient.”
"Aren't you afraid of criticism when you speak eloquently?" Xun Yu asked with a smile.
Liu Xianghun didn't care.
"The seven things to open the door, firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, are all known to ordinary people in the market. How can those old masters not know this? They are just pretending to be noble. Their families have vast fields and numerous industries. Don't worry about such hypocrites.
Nowadays, the world is in chaos, and we need talented people who can do things to end the chaos and restore peace to the people."
"How do you view the chaos in the world?" Xun Yu wanted to ask Liu Xiang about his philosophy.
"Wen Ruo might as well come and take a look under my rule. The answer is there."