At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Page 168

Moreover, his family has been sent to Lu County, and there is an elder brother in Dongjun who is watching him for me. Zhang Wenyuan is not a stupid person. I can rest assured that Zhang Wenyuan will never dare to make mistakes here. "

Cao Cao looked at Guo Peng for a while and smiled.

"I'm born to be a hard worker. Just after finishing the farm work in Jinan, you asked me to come to Dongjun to clean up the mess. I'm your brother-in-law!"

"If the eldest brother is not my wife and brother, can I hand over such an important place in Dongjun to the eldest brother?"

Guo Peng laughed: "Right now Yuan Shao is in the north and Zhang Yang is in the west. Brother, Dongjun depends on you. Without you watching over Dongjun, I dare not sit back and relax."

"You just know to say good things to me and let me work hard, so you can sit back and relax."

Cao Cao had a smile on his face, but he didn't see much complaints, and he seemed to be enjoying it.

Chapter 301. Three hundred former officials of the Guo family (revision)

Guo Peng is very aware of Cao Cao's worries, and he is also very aware of the morals of the world, and everyone's anxiety about loyalty.

Because there is a very fundamental problem in this era.

The Emperor Han is still there, and all of you are nominally the subjects of the Emperor Han, whether it is Guo Peng, Yuan Shao, or Yuan Shu, they are all the subjects of the Emperor Han.

Including their respective subordinates, they are basically the courtiers of the emperor of Han.

During this historical process, there have been many rebellious incidents within the major warlord forces, which is understandable.

Strictly speaking, during this period, according to the rules of the dual monarchy, many of their subordinates were not their old officials, and those officials under their command were often those who existed in a certain place after they led the army to occupy a certain place. Officials.

It was appointed by the court.

Therefore, as long as the Han emperor is still there, these officials only need to regard the Han emperor as the monarch, and do not need to take the warlord who occupies the place as the second monarch to be loyal, and there is no actual moral burden.

Just like Lu Kang's rebellion against Yuan Shu, Lu Kang's Lujiang prefect was appointed by the imperial court, and he himself is not an old official of the Yuan family, so what right does Yuan Shu have to criticize him?

You can't get any of the double monarchs, so why should they be loyal to you?

The reason why Dong Zhuo killed Yuan Kui and Lu Bu killed Ding Yuan was widely criticized because Yuan Kui was Dong Zhuo's leader, and Ding Yuan was also Lv Bu's leader.

Mr. Guo deeply understands how terrible the existence of this kind of hidden worry is.

When his power is getting bigger and bigger, it will be even more terrible, because quite a few powerful subordinates are just like him in name, Hanchen, and the double monarch can't touch any of them, there is no need for loyalty, and rebellion is also possible No moral baggage.

That's why Mr. Guo took precautions. In Shanggu County, he used his power to found a government to recommend a group of core counselors and generals, making them all his old officials, and he continued to do so afterwards.

The earliest Liangcao Liangxiahou, Cheng Li, Mi Zhu, later Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Cao Chun, Gu Yong, Zaozhi, Xizhong, Guo Jia, Guo Rui who visited during vacation.

There are also Yu Jin recommended by Bao Xin, Le Jin who came to seek refuge by himself, disciples recommended by Zheng Xuan in Qingzhou, such as Guoyuan and Xi Xi, Xun Yu who took the initiative to seek refuge, and talents who came to Yanzhou to look for, such as Chen Gong.

As long as they don't have any valid old-official relationship, they all first entered Guo Peng's General's Mansion and State Shepherd's Mansion to establish Guo's status as the second-level monarch to them, and then they were released as officials.

It means that all these people have worked in Guo Peng's mansion, received the salary from Guo Peng, and now they no longer hold positions in the mansion, but they are all former officials of Guo Peng.

This is called the old official of the Guo family.

Fewer people, but just as useful.

With this relationship, coupled with the quality-appointment system and double insurance, the risk of betrayal can be minimized, and then Guo will send them out as officials and lead soldiers.

Guo is still doing this now.

As long as those who come to seek refuge have no official position or existing official relationship, they will first enter their own mansion to take up official positions, receive their salaries, call them to be officials, and then release them outside.

There is a special relationship between many loyal ministers of this era and their loyal masters.

For example, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang is equivalent to Liu Bei's old official, Liu Bei is not only the first lord to him, but also the second lord, can he not be loyal?

Now the core group that holds power under Guo Peng's command is mainly composed of former officials of the Guo family, supplemented by the system of pledge and appointment, which can make this organization quite strong and secure, and Guo's power is getting bigger and bigger.

That's why Guo Peng wanted to appoint Zhang Liao as a senior official and join the core group, so there would be so much doubt and opposition.

Because Zhang Liao and Guo Peng did not have any reliable political connection, once, Zhang Liao had the opportunity to become an old official of the Guo family, but he did not seize it.

Zhang Liao and Guo Peng have no recommendation relationship, and they are also people who have done two thousand stones, so they are no longer allowed to work in Guo Peng's mansion.

Without this layer of Guo family's old official relationship, why do you enter the core group and share core power with us?

Although Guo Peng intends to promote Zhang Liao, the resistance against him in the group will not relax and weaken. Unless he can gain everyone's approval with his own efforts in the future, otherwise, his path will still be difficult.

Later, Xi Zhong came to see Guo Peng. Guo Peng wanted to ask Xi Zhong about the benefits of attacking Hanoi County, and give him a strategic consultation.

Now Guo Peng has a lot of advisers, and Cheng Li, his most trusted retainer, is responsible for guarding the base camp for him, so he didn't bring him with him.

Xun Yu, who has a good strategic vision, is more comfortable in government affairs, so he was arranged by Guo Peng to promote the strategy of locust control. It seems that he himself is very happy.

Guo Jia and Xi Zhong were often brought with him to advise on military and strategic goals, and Chen Gong could also be considered as a backup candidate.

But right now Guo Peng is still asking Chen Gong to supervise the transportation of grain and grass, because Chen Gong has no military experience yet, so he can only be regarded as a trainee counselor, and he will have to wait for a while before he can become a regular.

Guo Jia was studying the strategy of Hanoi with Han Hao, the leading party in Hanoi. Guo Peng came to Xi Zhong to discuss this matter with him and ask his opinion.

"Capturing Hanoi is undoubtedly extremely important. Hanoi can be regarded as a hand extended by Duke Ming. On the one hand, it can threaten Yuan Shao's Jizhou core, and on the other hand, it is also very close to Luoyang. If anything happens, it can be reacted."

When Xi Zhong said this, he felt a little bit emotional: "If Duke Zhu hadn't served in the court, Duke Ming could have supported Duke Zhu with some food and fodder, so that Duke Zhu could occupy the land of Luoyang and resist Li Jue's raging in Yingchuan. "

Xi Zhong is from Yingchuan, so he naturally has feelings for his hometown.

Just in May of this year, Guo Peng was still training troops and preparing for war. Zhu Jun, who was stationed in Zhongmu and was being elected as a grand master by Tao Qian and the prefects of various states, received an edict from the emperor, letting him enter Beijing as an official and a grand lieutenant. , Record Shang Shushi.

Undoubtedly, this order was not Liu Xie's own will, but an edict issued by Li Jue on behalf of Liu Xie under Jia Xu's suggestion.

Everyone knew that this was Li Jue's trick, and they all advised Zhu Jun not to go, but Zhu Jun thought that as a Han minister, if the emperor refused to go under the edict, he was despising the imperial power and the emperor, which was disrespectful.

You have to go, and you have to go dignifiedly.

Then Zhu Jun explained to the people around him that as long as he could be by the emperor's side, he might not be unable to find the opportunity to kill Li Jue like Dong Zhuo, and he might not be able to eradicate the traitor, and then serve the emperor and revive the court.

Zhu Jun believed that there was hope for him to go here, as long as he could protect the emperor, he would be able to revive the great man.

So Zhu Jun set off resolutely, and another alliance attempt by the Kanto princes failed.

Zhu Jun is still serving as a lieutenant in the imperial court, recording official affairs. Li Jue respects him on the surface, but secretly, his power is very limited.

For example, Li Jue continued to send troops to plunder Kanto and so on.

Because of this, Yingchuan was dilapidated and lost its use value. Although Xi Zhong moved his small family to Qingzhou to settle down, he still missed his hometown in his heart.

Xizhong's family can only be regarded as a small gentry in Yingchuan, because the population in the family is relatively small, the population is not prosperous, it is only a third-rate gentry, and the family property is not very rich, far inferior to the Guo family.

Compared with a big family like the Xun family in Yingchuan, it is indeed not on the stage.

Right now, only one of his family, Xi Zhong, is serving under Guo Peng's command. Because he is relatively close, he is valued more. The Guo family is also close to Guo Peng, and the close relationship is no worse than Guo Jia.

"We cannot interfere with Mr. Zhu's choice, but we must be sure about the future."

Xi Zhong understands so.

Guo Peng nodded.

"If Zhicai also supports it, I will feel relieved."

The two walked together for a while, and Guo Peng suddenly asked, "Is Zhicai still unwilling to be the magistrate?"

Xi Zhong shook his head.

"Being loyal or not good at governing, I still prefer military affairs. Minggong is willing to use loyalty to counsel the military. Zhong is very grateful."

Guo Peng didn't force himself, nodded slowly, continued to walk forward, took a few steps, and said, "Zhicai thinks that in this battle, will we gain more or lose more?"

Xi Zhong pursed his lips, and a gleam flashed in his eyes.

After a little weighing, Xi Zhong knew what he should do.

"For the Yanzhou people, it must be a relatively large loss, but for Minggong, it is a greater gain."

chapter 302 three hundred and one

What Xi Zhong said made Guo Peng's heart move.

So Guo Peng stopped, turned around and looked at Xi Zhong with a smile: "You really think so."

"Because people who can cause trouble to Duke Ming, after this battle, will no longer have the power to contend with Duke Ming. Duke Ming can govern the entire territory of Yanzhou as much as possible, accumulate enough food and fodder, and then go north to crusade Yuan Benchu, Yuan Benchu ​​will not be able to fight back."

Xi Zhong grinned and said so.

"You actually saw it."

Guo Peng patted Xi Zhong on the shoulder: "When did you see it?"

"Not long ago, when I saw Duke Ming was annoyed by the fact that Chen Liushan, Yangjiyin, Rencheng and the four prefectures could not promote farming, Zhong suddenly figured it out."

Xi Zhong thought about the choice of words and sentences, and then said: "Minggong knows that the most important thing in troubled times is always food, and only with food can we have everything. If the land cannot be controlled by Minggong, then Duke Ming can't have enough food and grass, so he won't be able to compete for supremacy in troubled times."

Guo Peng looked at Xi Zhong.

"Don't Zhicai think that what I do is despicable and unrighteous? In fact, this is my plan to kill people with a knife. I want these lands, I want these household registrations, and I need them to produce food for me."

Guo Peng stared at Xi Zhong with extremely sharp eyes.

"In troubled times, what is a little trick to fight for supremacy?"

Xi Zhong looked indifferent: "The reason why Minggong is stronger than Yuan Benchu ​​and Yuan Gonglu is because Minggong has land, food, can raise soldiers, raise a lot of soldiers, refine them, and the army's combat effectiveness is extremely strong.

But Yuan Benchu ​​and Yuan Gonglu couldn't do it. They didn't have a stable source of food. They relied on expropriation and looting to obtain food. "

Guo Peng understood.

Xi Zhong thinks what he does is a means of fighting for hegemony, a symbol of determination and ability, so he appreciates what he does and thinks what he did is right.

There is a great possibility of becoming the final victor.

A little deeper, I didn't think of it.

"Zhi understands me."

Guo Peng closed his sharp eyes, laughed loudly, and took Xi Zhong's hand: "In the future, I will rely on Zhicai to advise me. I not only want Hanoi County, but also Jizhou, and Hebei. , can you help me?"

"Stick what you want, don't dare to ask for it!"

Xi Zhong straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly to Guo Peng.

Guo Peng laughed, and patted Xi Zhong's shoulder. After the pat, he suddenly felt that Xi Zhong's arm was still a bit thick, and it actually had muscles.

Taking a closer look, Guo Peng suddenly felt that Xi Zhong seemed much stronger than before.

The sickly and weak posture before, now seems to be a bit lean.

"Zhicai, why do I feel that you... are much stronger?"

Xi Zhong raised his head and smiled.

"What Duke Ming said is true. During this period of time, Feng Xiao pulled his subordinates to do the kind of physical exercise that Duke Ming asked Feng Xiao to do. Feng Xiao supervised him very strictly, and he was indeed made miserable by Feng Xiao at the beginning.

But afterward, I felt that my body had made a lot of friends, and now I take a little time to do it every day. I feel that my body is getting stronger and stronger, and some old problems from the past have not been committed for a long time. "

"There is such a thing?"

Guo Peng was a little surprised. He didn't expect Guo Jia to encourage Xi Zhong to exercise together.

Guo Peng couldn't help laughing.

This is a good thing, definitely a good thing, although Guo Peng keenly sensed that Guo Jia's motives were not pure, but Guo Peng appreciated what Guo Jia did.

In the future, it is better to let those civil officials who do not like to exercise to exercise together.

Better than dying prematurely.

Most of the literati these days also have some skills in their hands. Fencing is a common hobby for the children of wealthy families. After the sword was eliminated from the army, it became an accessory for the literati.

Fencing, an ancient fighting skill, has gradually become the content of literati's enjoyment.

Guo Jia and Xi Zhong are two military staff officers whom I rely on very much. If they die prematurely, Guo Peng will be very distressed.

After the conversation, Guo Peng looked at Xi Zhong's leaving back and smiled slightly.

From Xi Zhong's statement, Guo Peng felt that perhaps one or two of the top resourceful people under his command had already thought of their own means of doing things, but not all of them, only a very small number of people might have vaguely guessed some.

Like Xi Zhong, who observes the subtleties, he may think more and gain something, but most people can't think of it.