The rebellion in Pingliang Fucheng lasted only two days from beginning to end.
But after the rebellion was put down, after every house was dead and every funeral was held, the city still had to face the chaotic end of the city with no officials and a collapsed economy.
Pingliang Fucheng is a special city. Of course, in the northwest of this era, most cities are very special, but each one is special in its own way.
The 30,000 people in this city support the feudal king, but from another perspective, the feudal king also supports this town.
After three invitations from the Han vassal kings, the Lion Battalion took over the city defense with white cloth on hand, and Yang Dingrui took up the government office.
On the twelfth day after the two-day rebellion, there were still more than 2,400 households and a population of more than 16,000 in the city. Except for the coffin maker and the paper money shop in the city, all businesses were in ruins.
The first thing Yang Dingrui had to do was to provide relief through work. This project was Prince Han's life-saving building.
King Han found that he was being led around. Liu Shizi first convinced him that Pingliang City was unsafe, then recommended a small city with a sharp enemy tower, and then built the city to relieve the people, with the ultimate goal of lending money to him .
Prince Han realized it later and thought about it, feeling that something was wrong.
He thought, he didn't seem to be providing disaster relief. The government office was in charge of this matter. Liu Shizi would spend half an hour every day to pay workers.
But if there is no disaster relief, his palace owes Liu Shishi 1,650 taels of silver and 1,280 shi of grain for building the city.
The King of Han has been lending money to others and earning interest all his life, and now he owes the rebel leader money and food.
He wondered why the thief Liu Chengzong was not born in Pingliang. Entering his palace, even just one person, using the name of the palace to go out with nothing, can turn the entire Pingliang Palace into the Prince Han's family.
But King Han did not dare to say that he was a little afraid of Liu Chengzong, because Liu Chengzong was taking him to a funeral. The hosts of the funeral were four executed soldiers from the Lion Camp.
Those were the two captains and two soldiers at the artillery post.
On the first night after entering the city, they very politely knocked on the door of a lieutenant of the auxiliary country. The three of them slept with the lieutenant's two concubines, and the other one was controlling the situation outside and letting them go.
Lieutenant Fuguo discussed it with his relatives all night, and the next day he had the courage to report the matter to the government office and claim twenty taels of silver.
Yang Dingrui had no choice but to report it to Liu Chengzong, but Liu Chengzong made a decision that no one in the city expected.
The first day was calm, and the Lion Battalion conducted exercises outside the city as usual. Liu Chengzong and Cao Yao borrowed the Guanlan Pavilion of Prince Han's Mansion to have a meal.
The next day he bought food and wine, treated three soldiers to a feast, and got himself drunk. After drinking, Han Shipan arrested them.
Fan Sanlang led his troops into the residence of Lieutenant Fu Guo. He first paid ten taels of silver as compensation, and then gave thirty taels of silver, and took away the two concubines, half robbed and half bought.
On the third day, the Lion Battalion gathered outside the city without any drills. The charges were read out in public, and the two captains were beaten to fifty and executed; the two soldiers were executed.
Cao Yao, the commander of the artillery post, was fined 100 taels of silver and two horses. The two commanders of the two captains were each fined 50 taels of silver and two horses. All members of the two teams were fined 10 taels of silver and one horse.
On the way back, Liu Chengzong kept a livid face, which made King Han dare not speak.
He thought for a long time and then whispered to Liu Chengzong: "Is the general's punishment too severe? I heard that two of the four are officers."
Seeing Liu Chengzong on horseback turning his head and staring at him expressionlessly, King Han quickly said: "Xiao Wang is saying that the general does not need to show himself to the clan and the people."
"If you ask me to kill my own soldiers and show it to others, are they worthy of it?"
Liu Chengzong didn't want to say more at first, but Fan Sanlang followed him and said: "I don't care who they sleep with. It violates military law. They can't correct the superiors and can't lift the subordinates. They can only kill."
King Han winked and said: "Then you can also fine gold and silver, punish mules and horses, strip off official positions, shave off your bald head, and make meritorious deeds. I heard that you attach great importance to officers."
Liu Chengzong looked around and saw that Fan Sanlang was the only one from the Lion Battalion around him. Moreover, he was indeed holding this issue in his heart and felt uncomfortable. He then said: "They are both officers, and those two soldiers can also be promoted to officers. My team officers are Very important."
"There is no one else here, I can tell you." Liu Chengzong stopped his horse, clenched his fists on the reins, and said, "If they kill the lieutenant, snatch the two women and run away, I may make the pursuers relax. Let them run."
"Even if they don't run or are caught, I will punish them with all their belongings, soldiers, armor and horses. If they don't run, I will make meritorious service. If they want to run, I will still let them go."
King Han didn't understand: "What does this mean?"
"I am a soldier of Yuhe Fort, and so are they. Killing without permission is a major crime, but thanks to hard work and saving their lives, I can bear some price for their mistakes."
Fan Sanlang was as confused as King Han: "Then, why did the commander kill them two?"
"It's four. If I can let four people live, I will let them go, but they are not afraid." Liu Chengzong took a deep breath: "They didn't kill the lieutenant, they just walked out like that. They thought the lieutenant didn't dare to complain, or... they were not afraid. The lieutenant complained."
"Then no one can protect them."
Liu Chengzong turned his head and said: "Sanlang, the general has five virtues: wisdom, trust, benevolence, courage, and strictness; wisdom means being resourceful and resourceful and knowing how to adapt; trust means that rewards and punishments are clear and not confusing; and strictness means using force and punishment to clean up the three armies."
Fan Sanlang read this sentence again, nodded and said he remembered it, and then asked: "Commander, Commander Cao didn't persuade you?"
"He persuaded me, he was convinced by me. He has his own way of leading troops. Making this decision is much more difficult than mine. The five principles of wisdom come first, because balance and flexibility are the most important."
Fan Sanlang blinked. In her impression, Cao Yao had always been a person who could persuade others, but he was actually persuaded by Liu Chengzong. She asked hurriedly: "How did you convince the commander?"
"I said I can be flexible. I also said just now that if you bear the price, strict military laws are not inflexible. As long as you are willing to bear the price, it has nothing to do with hard work."
"They have some merit, but I have never owed a reward, so I shouldn't relax when punishment is due."
Liu Chengzong said: "If they are afraid, I will exempt them from the death penalty. The sergeants in the camp have a little contempt for the military law, but the four of them have to fight hard. Maybe they will make greater contributions in the future, or they can save me." Life is worth it.”
"They are not afraid. I will not fail to punish them. I will not only bear the price of failure of military law for them, but also bear the price of them hating me because of the punishment. It will cost the lives of the entire army in the future. I cannot bear such a price for them."
"I treat Commander Cao like my elder brother. I told him this and said that if he speaks today and says that these four people must live, I can bear the responsibility for him. As long as he speaks, these four people will live."
Liu Chengzong slowly shook his head: "He can't speak."
"Justice!"
As soon as Liu Shizi finished speaking, King Han on the side stretched out his arm and raised his thumb to cheer, and then asked: "Then if he said so, would you really not kill him?"
Liu Chengzong glanced at him, shook his head and said, "I said, I treat Commander Cao like my brother, so I understand him as I understand my brother."
"He is very witty. He is not a fool who only talks big words. He has rich experience in saving lives and is more cautious than me."
King Han sighed, raised his finger and pointed at Liu Chengzong, shaking his head and saying, "Can't you lie to me? I just thought you were quite honest, and now you make me think you are cunning."
Liu Chengzong smiled and said nothing. Fan Sanlang asked: "What about Ren?"
"There are five virtues in a general, but not having these five virtues means you are a good general. The ultimate goal is to win. Treat a few soldiers Xiaoren and loosen the discipline of the entire battalion. When the battle comes, the soldiers are looting everywhere. I will send you to stop the looting of the soldiers, and then You joined their robbery team and were defeated in the end. How many people would die? This is unkind."
"Benevolence in leisure time means treating soldiers well, having them well fed, clothed, well equipped, well trained, and disciplined. In wartime, it is the greatest to achieve victory, use the best tactics regardless of casualties, and end the war as soon as possible. kindness."
Fan Sanlang understood and nodded firmly.
King Han was confused after hearing this. He thought it was too troublesome to lead a soldier with so many twists and turns.
In fact, he was more interested in how Liu Chengzong deceived him and put him in debt.
I just felt that I would look stupid for asking, so I didn't feel embarrassed to ask.
He said: "General, what you said is all related to your leadership of the troops. You have made the Lion Camp a benevolent and righteous army. Why did you take away the lieutenant's two concubines who were half robbed and half bought?"
In fact, Fan Sanlang who was on the mission was more interested in this.
She even secretly wondered whether her commander-in-chief was like Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms. He had special hobbies and liked married people.
It's not easy to ask this kind of thing.
"You've got the point right. This matter has nothing to do with leading troops, but it has to do with me telling you that I won't and don't need to kill my own soldiers to show others. It's not that I don't want to, but I don't need to. You Do you know why?"
Liu Chengzong pointed to himself: "Because I am a thief."
"As long as I enter the city and don't attack with troops, kill or rob, the people, including the feudal lord, will all impose on me the name of benevolence and justice, and the praise of moderation. Even if there is a small problem, other than the person involved, everyone will treat us badly." Very tolerant.”
King Han couldn't help but nod as he thought about it. If there were officers and soldiers outside, the clan members would have picked up weapons to prepare the city gates by now.
It will not give the officers and soldiers a chance to cause problems, and they will never be allowed to enter the city.
He heard Liu Chengzong ask: "Why is this?"
King Han didn’t know.
Liu Chengzong said: "This is called a widow losing her integrity. It is better to be a good old prostitute."
"Although my soldiers made mistakes, I don't want to pay a single copper to Lieutenant Na Fuguo. He should fight to the death with my soldiers. It's best to kill them. Even if we lose, I will avenge him."
"But he didn't. A five-foot tall man with a very impressive appearance came to complain the next day. Instead of asking me to punish the soldiers, he asked for twenty taels of silver. He never thought of protecting his mother-in-law from the beginning to the end."
King Han frowned and said: "Those are the two concubines you bought, and you let them risk their lives..."
"What's wrong with me? There are two of you. I'm going to Liuhu Lake now to fish out the koi you kept in the pond, remove the scales and fry them with salt."
King Han's eyes widened and he frowned: "You can only catch one!"
"I'll just fucking talk about it, virtue, return it to the prince, just a few carp, now you won't be afraid of taking your life."
Liu Chengzong spread his hands and said, "I don't blame him either. It was my people who were wrong, but those four people stained the innocence of two women. In your wealthy family, what will happen to them?"
"Hang yourself or throw yourself into a well?" King Han didn't know much about these things, but he had a basic common sense about keeping a chastity: "I don't know, it depends on them. Keeping chastity is what the superior people do, and middle-class people wait until their husbands die. It doesn't matter if you remarry, but as for lower-class people, as long as they don't murder their husbands, there's nothing wrong with them."
King Han laughed: "If there were many chaste and fierce women in the world, there would be no need for chastity memorials."
Liu Chengzong was very calm: "This is shameless."
King Han spread his hands and said in surprise: "Why are you so shameless? No one is forcing them!"
"Do you need force? Are these two women far-sighted and stubborn? Not to mention that Lieutenant Fu Guo has done nothing. I am afraid that others can kill more people than me just by gossip."
Liu Chengzong pointed at himself, and then said: "Growing up, they have always thought that after their husbands die, the first is to follow their husbands to the ground to be martyrs, the second is to stay widowed, and the third is to remarry. The stories they heard, If you die to prove your innocence, what should you do if this happens?"
Liu Chengzong never expected that King Han did not say anything, but nodded thoughtfully. It was Fan Sanlang who raised objections.
Fan Sanlang said: "But Commander-in-Chief, chastity is highly valued in the customs, but chastity is not practiced among the people. If it is not respected, what should we do?"
Liu Chengzong glanced at him appreciatively. Fan Sanlang was not arguing, but he did have something to think about. This is progress after experience. He said: "What you said makes sense. It is very important to have moral standards, but people are not saints. Moral standards should not be too high, let alone meaninglessly high.”
"People can stay unmarried, but they should not commit adultery. This is related to loyalty; but if your husband dies, you can remarry if you should. What's the point of being a widow or even dying in love? If you are raped like this, what's the use of hanging yourself in a well?"
"What's more, they are from a superior family. According to the "Book of Rites", the meaning of marriage and the moral responsibilities that a husband should fulfill are to set an example for him to be his king, his wife, and his teacher."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and pointed to Pingliang Fucheng not far away: "The two women just suffered misfortune, not willing to lose their virginity. For the superior men in this city, the loss of the city and the fall of the vassal state is already a disgrace to the country. Why don't I see anyone?" Will you commit suicide by hanging yourself in a well?"
"A group of people ran out of the city to watch the breeding of black donkeys." As he said that, he glanced at King Han and said to Fan Sanlang, "It must be that the king is not morally worthy."
"Hey, you man, I just thought what you said makes sense." King Han was so anxious that he wanted to jump up on his horse, but he felt ashamed at being criticized, so he glanced at him and said, "Why are you just swearing?"
Liu Chengzong and Fan Sanlang looked at each other, both smiling at the embarrassment of King Han.
"Hey, you are so annoying. I know that I am not as smart as you." King Han wanted to change this embarrassing topic as soon as possible, and said: "Just tell me, what do you want me to do?"
"It's done." Liu Chengzong spread his hands with an innocent look on his face and said, "These past few days have been too heavy, so I'm happy."
After that, he greeted Fan Sanlang and rode towards the city.
The angry King Han beat his horse and scolded him from behind: "Be content, if it weren't for Xiao Wang's relatives who always do things to the enemy, with your character, how could Xiao Wang be friends with you!"
The two young men galloped and chased each other until they were bumped into by Chang Shi who was leaving the city at the city gate.
Chang Shi dismounted and glanced at Liu Chengzong first, then saluted King Han and said: "Your Majesty, please go back to the palace. Here comes the angel official who wants to announce the decree; General Liu, your good deeds have arrived."
