Historical records: Gou Xi repeatedly defeated strong bandits and gained a great reputation. He was good at managing complex dramas and used strict methods. When he arrived in Qingzhou, he established his authority with strict engravings and carried out killings every day. He became the "butcher" in the stomach of the people of the state. Wei Zhi, the prefect of Dunqiu, was forced by the refugees. He led a force of 50,000 to 60,000 and plundered Yanzhou. Gou Xi went out to conquer Qingzhou with his younger brother Chun. He was tortured and killed more severely than Xi. People at the time said, "The little Gou is crueler than the big Gou."
Mid-December.
The 40,000-strong army led by Gou Xi has arrived at Duchang City. At this time, most of the food and grass carried by the army have been consumed.
The officers and soldiers of the Western Jin Dynasty were basically soldiers. The court rarely provided food and salary except for armor and military staff. Because of last year's Liu Bogen Rebellion, the entire Beihai County treasury was emptied. In addition, Gou Xi's famous general Pingshou Most of the people were scared away, and the more than 40,000 troops obtained very limited supplies in Pingthou.
After arriving in Duchang, Gou Xi had already received the information from the scouts ahead. No trace of the Donglai Army was found on the east bank of the Jiaoshui River. Gou Xi speculated that Liu Yu was probably afraid and wanted to rely on the strong city to hold on, and did not dare to fight with him. Field battle.
All this was expected by Gou Xi, but there was one thing that Gou Xi had never expected before. Beihai County, which was originally rich and prosperous, would be so poor that he could not even collect much food from the three cities.
Seeing that they are about to enter the territory of Donglai County, if the food supplies for more than 40,000 people are not prepared in advance, I am afraid that the tens of thousands of troops will collapse without a fight.
With so many years of experience in running the army, Gou Xi understands more and more that marching and fighting are often fought for food and military morale. If the food and grass are gone, the military morale will also be gone.
As the saying goes, "A good fighter has no great achievements." A good fighter has planned everything in advance before the battle. As for the final defeat of the enemy on the battlefield, it is just a part of all the plans.
Therefore, except for the battles they had to fight, the usual achievements of famous generals seemed to be so ordinary.
Gou Xi was confident that it was not enough to deal with Liu Yu, a country boy from Donglai County, but how to supply food and fodder to maintain the morale of the army, as well as deter and suppress the powerful forces along the way, was more important.
After entering Duchang City, Gou Xi immediately took over the treasury in the city, but he was once again disappointed to find that the treasury in Duchang was cleaner than the previous Pingshou City, and could basically keep away all the rats. Ran away hungry.
The trembling magistrate of Duchang County quickly explained that this was all because Wang Mi had caused trouble in various counties, Chunyu, Dongwu and other places a few months ago. In order to protect the environment and the people, Duchang County used the food in the treasury to recruit brave men. These were all approved by the former governor of Qingzhou and the governor of Beihai County. However, this year's autumn tax was due to natural disasters. The powerful officials and people in the county said that they had no income and could not pay the taxes.
When Gou Xi heard that the idiot county magistrate had used up the remaining grain in the treasury because of Wang Mi's rebels who were hundreds of miles away, he immediately severely reprimanded him and ordered him to collect this year's grain within three days. At least 30% of the tax must be paid back, otherwise it will cost him his head.
The order of Duchang quickly led the subordinate officials and officials to start collecting taxes. When the powerful families in the county saw that Gou Xi, the governor of Qingzhou, was personally in charge of Duchang, they all happily handed over 30% of the tax to be paid. Bloody Butcher, leave quickly and fight Liu Yu, the Donglai thief.
It only took one day to collect 30% of the tax.
Seeing this, Gou Xi not only did not give up, but felt that these powerful men clearly had savings but concealed it and did not report it. He immediately ordered all the powerful men to pay all taxes in full, and also wanted to investigate the fields and the overcrowded households of each powerful man. .
Suddenly, the entire Duchang County was filled with complaints. You must know that the reason why the power of these powerful gentry clans spanned the three dynasties of Han, Wei, and Jin not only did not decline, but became stronger and stronger, it was not only because some of the land under the land occupation system had tax-free privileges. , more because of colluding with state and county officials to conceal a large amount of land and slaves far beyond what is allowed by law.
Gou Xi's move is tantamount to digging out the lifeblood of these powerful men in Duchang.
Several well-known scholars in Qingzhou, regardless of their old age, rushed to the camp to persuade Governor Gou not to treat the scholars harshly, but to live in harmony with the people and so on.
After meeting these powerful leaders, Gou Xi said that he would not only attack the Donglai bandits now, but also the Dunqiu refugees soon, and would need a large amount of food and grass supplies. As long as the powerful families in Duchang were willing to take the lead in paying more food and cloth, he would They will be rewarded accordingly and those children of aristocratic families who have made contributions will be recommended as officials.
If there were such a thing in the past, in peaceful times, powerful families would definitely be willing to do it, but now the world is getting more and more chaotic. The official position in the court is not worth much at all. It is necessary to exchange the food and cloth that can survive for a vain official position. It's very uneconomical.
Moreover, due to years of natural and man-made disasters, these powerful families do not have much savings. After all, they themselves have to support a large number of clan tribes.
These well-known leaders of the people hesitated and rejected Gou Xi's proposal, which made Gou Xi instantly fall out.
Gou Xi, who had tens of thousands of troops at his disposal, immediately ordered the officials in Duchang County to lead the way from house to house and collect land and taxes from door to door. Anyone who disobeyed the slightest was immediately killed. Hundreds of people were killed in just three days.
All the powerful people in Duchang were impressed. When Gou Xi counted the grain and cloth collected, he found that it was far more than the tax income of Duchang County in two years.
Seeing such outstanding results, Gou Xi couldn't help but feel proud.
He thought about it, when Emperor Wu of Wei was the Prime Minister of Jinan, he also used such common thunderbolt methods to punish the lawless and powerful people in the country. Sure enough, what these people from a family who spoke of benevolence, justice and morality feared most was an iron fist, not an iron mouth.
Later, when Gou Xi led his army to Xia Mi County, he followed the same pattern and peeled off another layer of skin of the powerful people in Xia Mi County. In this way, Gou Xi's army's food and grass supplies were instantly sufficient.
Xia Mi, the county magistrate's office.
After Gou Xi, the governor of Qingzhou, led his army into the city, a curfew was imposed throughout the city, and the streets were deserted in the middle of the night.
A dark figure quietly flashed out from the corner of the street. The side door of the county government office quickly opened a crack, and the dark figure quickly stepped in sideways.
"Brother Xue Xian, you are finally here. You are not being followed." The person who spoke was Xu Ke who gave the secret order.
"Brother Xu, don't worry. I was careful all the way. There is nothing unusual."
This person is the black shadow that flashed through the door.
"That's good, that's good. I am a classmate of Donglai Gong Cao Ling Shi Guocen. This is my handwritten letter. I will definitely introduce you to Liu Yu with this letter. Also, this is my most trustworthy servant. He will lead you along a path that few people know, ensuring that you will not be discovered by Gou Tu's soldiers."
Xu Ke was given a secret order to nervously hand over a letter to the visitor.
"Brother Xu is thoughtful and I admire him. When Gou Xi is eliminated, my brother will be the first to take the lead."
After hearing this, Xu Ke was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly.
"I don't dare, I don't dare. If Gou Xi loses, it will be because he is at odds with General Liu Yu and is unable to defeat each other. It is not that we have done something secretly."
"Yes, yes, Brother Xu is right. But I, Xue Qi, will definitely remember Brother Xu's hard work today for Mr. Xue of Linzi."
"That's all, brother Xue Xian, hurry up and hit the road. Be careful on the way. If you encounter Gou Xi's men, don't let this handwritten letter fall into their hands."
Xu Ke said with worry on his face.
When Xue Qi heard this, he immediately patted his chest.
"Brother, don't worry. If we encounter Gou Xi's men, I won't let them seize it even if I eat this letter."
