Qingzhou, Linzi.
Liu Yu, who had just gone to inspect the army drill outside the city, was dining with his newlywed wife Wang Ze at the governor's house.
The concubine Yunzhu and others were waiting respectfully on the side. It was completely impossible to see how the concubine looked arrogant in front of the lady after being favored by the male protagonist in the bloody palace fighting drama.
Because the master-servant relationship in the Wei and Jin Dynasties was truly very different.
Liu Yu believed that if Yunzhu was disrespectful in front of his wife Wang Ze because of his favor, he would probably be beaten to death immediately.
Liu Yu now knows that there are twenty or thirty strong servants in the dowry team of Xiao Luoli and Wang Ze. As for their role, of course they serve as violent tools for the hostess to clean up the backyard.
Moreover, through this period of getting along with each other, Liu Yu discovered that no matter how much he liked Yunzhu and other concubines, they were not taken seriously in the eyes of Xiao Luoli and Wang Ze. Liu Yu could clearly feel that she would think, This is how he gained Liu Yu's attention and love.
At the beginning, Liu Yu was quite puzzled by this. Is this little Luo Li Wangze really the kind of good wife who is not jealous?
Soon Liu Yu figured it out for himself. This was entirely because Wang Ze did not regard Yunzhu and other concubines as a threat to him, and even regarded them as helpers to consolidate the relationship between the couple.
The reason why this happened was because in his heart, King Luoli did not regard Yunzhu and other concubines and maids as equals to her.
In her mind, these people were just like playthings. How could a person be angry and jealous of her husband for liking a plaything?
After Liu Yu understood this, although it was completely inconsistent with the education he originally received, he did not teach little Luo Li Wang Ze some words such as equality for all, freedom and fraternity.
Because not only will these not make Liu Yu's image tall and majestic, but they will also make little Luo Li Wang Ze feel that she is not normal.
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, even the difference between the noble clan and the Han clan was huge, not to mention the relationship between master and slave.
And when Liu Yu knew that most of Yunzhu's concubines were Xianbei slaves and were prisoners given to Wang Jun by Duan Bujin, he would not even mention this idea.
Just when Liu Yu and Wang Ze, two evil feudal slave owners, were enjoying the meticulous service of the poor alien nu nu, there was a burst of hurried footsteps.
It was a maid in a light-colored dress who came to report that Liu Yu's men had come to report urgent military matters.
Different from the previous shouting announcements across the courtyard wall, since Wang Ze became Liu Yu's wife, there were quite a few rules and regulations in the backyard.
Of course, these rules certainly have nothing to do with Liu Yu. On the contrary, as the master, he can enjoy all-round maid service as soon as he enters the backyard. This also makes Liu Yu once again experience the importance of being a master. the superiority of the ruling class.
When Liu Yu came to the front hall, he saw a messenger sent by Dong Ping, his confidant stationed in Jinan County.
Liu Yu opened the letter and after reading it, he knew this time that his old acquaintances and Wang Mi's old subordinates Cao Yi, Xu Miao and Gao Liang had led their men to break away from Wang Mi and come to join him.
Although Cao Yi and Cao Yi were all loyal to Wang Mi when they followed Liu Bogen in the rebellion and had always been quite alienated from him, Liu Yu still recognized the ability of these three people to lead the army in battle.
Not to mention Xu Miao and Gaoliang, Cao Yi alone is a figure who left a name in the original history.
In the original history, Cao Yi and his three men broke away from Wang Mi, led their army back to Qingzhou, and soon occupied Donglai County. After a tug-of-war with Gou Xi and Gou Chun, they completely occupied Qingzhou, and Cao Yi became the de facto Qingzhou. ruler.
It was not until Jiehu Shile pacified the north and south of the Yellow River that Cao Yi was defeated by the powerful Shile.
After Cao Yi failed and was captured, he still cared about falling to the Hu people, and was eventually executed by the Jie people for conspiring to rebel against Shi Le.
From this point of view, Cao Yi can be regarded as a good general. After all, when Shi Le became stronger, except for a true hero like Zu Ti, there were not many people who could compete with him.
For a person like Cao Yi, if he sincerely surrenders to him, Liu Yu is still willing to accept him. After all, in the upcoming Wuhu chaos, even those high-ranking nobles can surrender to the Hu with peace of mind. Cao Yi A rebel warrior who can do that is considered a good man.
After reading the letter, Liu Yu asked the messenger.
"When you left, where were Cao Yi and his troops stationed?"
"When the villain left, Cao Yi and others were stationed outside Nanding City. Mr. Dong Fu only provided them with things to keep warm and did not allow them to enter the city."
After hearing this, Liu Yu nodded slightly. It was relatively safe for Dong Ping to do this. After all, it was necessary to guard against others. If Cao Yi and the others were allowed to enter Nanding City, what if they came to gain the city for Wang Mi? , then Liu Yuke would lose an important stronghold in Hexi.
The three men of Cao and Yi led their troops to surrender, which was of great importance to Liu Yu.
Because if the three of Cao Yi can be conquered for one's own use, it will not only increase the number of three generals and nearly two thousand veterans, but also boost the morale of Qingzhou.
Let the powerful people and people of Qingzhou see that even Wang Mi, who is now traveling across Hebei and sweeping thousands of miles, is completely incompetent in front of Liu Yu today.
Otherwise, why would Cao Yi and the others abandon Wang Mi and submit to Liu Yu?
Two days later, after settling the affairs in Linzi, Liu Yu led 200 cavalry guards to Jinan County.
When Liu Yu was in Nanding City, he saw Cao Yi, Xu Miao and Gaoliang, as well as their trusted generals, who had come to pay homage to him.
When Cao Yi and the other three saw their old friend Liu Yu, they couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Liu Yu immediately chatted with them about their old acquaintances, and he doubted the authenticity of their coming to submit because they were not unfamiliar and indifferent before.
In fact, Liu Yu was thinking in his heart that the so-called "doubt people and don't trust people" may not be correct. But if he expresses his attitude of "doubt people and don't trust people", then he definitely doesn't. Incorrect.
When Cao Yi and the others learned that Liu Yu would not annex their subordinates, but also invited them to go to Linzi to rest and regroup, and then continue to lead the army, they all immediately expressed their intention to follow Liu Yu wholeheartedly, no matter what life and death.
After Liu Yu encouraged him, he also said that if Liu Yu and Wang Mi fought in the future, he would try his best to avoid letting Cao Yi, Xu Miao, and Gaoliang go into battle, and prevent them from facing their old master Wang Mi. An embarrassing situation occurs.
When Cao Yi and Cao Yi received Liu Yu's previous agreement, they all knew that what Liu Yu said were standardized words to attract people's hearts, and they seemed to respond to Liu Yu with the same stylized language.
But when the three of them heard Liu Yu's words about trying to avoid facing their old master Wang Mi on the battlefield, they were indeed touched in their hearts.
At this time, most of the generals who rebelled will be allowed to fight against their old masters on the battlefield. On the one hand, it is used to consume the enemy's strength and morale. On the other hand, it also makes the betrayal of the traitorous generals an ironclad fact. , to prevent them from playing double-dealing tricks.
Cao Yi looked at Liu Yu with a solemn expression and said resolutely.
"Ji Xing's magnanimity is truly incomparable to Wang Mi's."
After listening to Cao Yi's words, before Liu Yu had time to respond, Xu Miao beside him suddenly spoke and said loudly.
"Not only are they incomparable, but if you ask me, Wang Mi can no longer be considered a human being!"
Gao Liang, who was not good at words, also echoed Xu Miao's words.
After hearing this, Liu Yu was a little surprised. He didn't know what happened to make Xu Miao, who was originally a die-hard Wang Mi, say such words.
After knowing Liu Yu's doubts, Xu Miao said excitedly.
"Ji Xing, you don't know. If we don't come to join you, we might not even be able to do anything anymore."
"Can't even do it? What do you mean?" Liu Yu became even more confused after hearing this.
"If you continue to follow Wang Mi, you will have to be a beast, not a human being." Xu Miao continued, "When we left, Shi Le and Liu Ling's army, who were attacking Hebei with Wang Mi, had been short of food for a long time, and the road was blocked by heavy snow. , there are already barbarians in the military camp who have begun to eat people."
"Ah?! Cannibalism?" Liu Yu was really shocked when he heard this.
During the Five Husties period in history, although there was no such thing as a "two-legged sheep" because this title only appeared and was recorded later in the Song Dynasty, at this time agriculture was in ruins and famines occurred frequently, so logistics and supplies were not considered important. The barbarian army of Hu people did indeed kill their own kind for food when famine occurred.
"Ding Shao, the governor of Jizhou, has defeated Wang Mi and Shi Le several times recently. All the food they originally looted has been lost, and there has been heavy snow."
"Shile's army was composed of Xiongnu and Jiehu from Bingzhou. They were all a bunch of fishy beasts. After they broke through the nearby Wubao, they fed on grain, made strong men and women slaves, and killed the useless old and weak. They also killed children thinking they were meat jerky and claimed it was more delicious than lamb!”
Xu Miao's words gave Liu Yu another shuddering feeling. It is conceivable that after a desperate resistance, his home was destroyed, his relatives were used as slaves, and some people were even not qualified to be slaves. The Yi Di beasts were killed like useless garbage, and the children who were originally the hope of the clan were eaten by the beasts as food. How miserable and desperate it is.
"Didn't they grab the food? Why do they still eat people?" Liu Yu was still a little confused.
Although the road was blocked by heavy snow in the cold winter, which was not conducive to the transportation of food and baggage, since they had broken through the Wubao and grabbed the food, why did they have to risk the world's disapproval and eat people? Is it really impossible to eat without meat?
After hearing Liu Yu's confusion and confusion, Cao Yi smiled bitterly and explained to Liu Yu.
"Because the grain storage in Wubao in Hebei is actually not too much, and the Hu people like Shi Le and Liu Ling are short of food because they have a large number of horses in the army. These horses have no fodder to eat in the heavy snow. Then The only thing he can eat is grain. Such a beast can feed several strong men. After a few meals, the grain that was barely enough to eat will no longer be enough."
Cao Yi sighed and continued, "Wang Mi told me that both Shi Le and Liu Ling believed that these old and weak children were human shields that could not do heavy work or fill ravines for the advancers. It would be a waste of food to keep them, so they might as well Killing and eating them not only saves food, but also fills the stomach with meat. Anyway, as long as they survive the winter, those men and women can continue to have children next year."
After hearing Cao Yi's words, Liu Yu's originally cold heart suddenly became filled with anger.
These Jiehu people are indeed half-animals and half-men that even the Huns despise. Whenever they encounter a disaster or crisis, they are like animals and completely abandon all their beliefs in being human.
Maybe in the hearts of Jiehu, the slaves of the Southern Huns, there is not much difference between a person and a sheep.
"We are fighting in Hebei this time. Wang Mi's army also has a large number of horses. After barely holding on for a while, there is also insufficient food. Wang Mi is not willing to kill horses for food. I am afraid it will be a matter of time before he kills the old and the weak and eats people. "
After Cao Yi finished speaking, there was silence for a while.
Xu Miao said in a low tone.
"So Brother Cao took the opportunity of going out to plunder Wubao to tell the two of us to leave Wang Mi and return to Qingzhou. When we returned home, we both happily agreed."
After this conversation that was completely unexpected by Liu Yu, several people who had met their old friends in a foreign country fell into a dead silence.
Finally, Liu Yu told them that he must take them back to Linzi, Qingzhou, and let them tell the powerful nobles in Qingzhou and the ordinary people in Qingzhou, let them know that there is such a group of people in Hebei, across the river from Qingzhou. Barbarians who lead beasts and cannibals.
Let them know how ferocious the enemy they face is, let them know that when these barbarians kill red eyes, they don't care whether you are a high-ranking scholar or a pale-headed Guizhou leader.
Maybe in the eyes of the Hu people, they are just cattle and sheep who can plow fields and weave cloth.
If the people of Qingzhou can realize what kind of enemy they are about to face, then they can use their strength to defend themselves.
Otherwise, today's Jin Dynasty in the Central Plains does not have the absolute strength to crush a group of barbarians during the Han Empire.
Take Qingzhou as an example.
According to "Jin Shu Geography", the six counties to which Qingzhou belongs had 53,000 households during the reign of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty. Based on the average eight people per household at this time, Qingzhou's population was probably less than 500,000. After Liu Bogen raised his troops, two consecutive years of war began, causing many people to flee.
Even if a large number of unregistered Yinke tribes and refugees are included, the current population of Qingzhou will not exceed 600,000 at most.
During the period of Emperor Huan at the end of the Han Dynasty, the number of registered households in Qingzhou alone was more than 600,000, and the population must have been six to seven million people.
Comparing the two aspects, nowadays there are really only one living person out of ten.
Now relying on about 600,000 people in Qingzhou, Liu Yu has an army of 50,000. The ratio of soldiers and civilians has reached a terrifying one to ten. In other words, ten residents in Qingzhou have to support one soldier, and these ten The residents are not all men and women, they also include the elderly, the weak and children.
This is almost like the ratio between the military and civilians during the Three Kingdoms period when they were in a state of year-round war. One can imagine how great the financial pressure they faced was.
Now in Qingzhou under the rule of Liu Yu, almost all officials have very small salaries. If they were ordinary officials, I am afraid these people would have given up their jobs long ago. However, officials of all sizes in Qingzhou are still very active. With his enthusiasm for work, all the troops stationing, training, household adjustment and other things ordered by Liu Yu were done very quickly.
The reason why these people are like this is entirely because in addition to being ordinary political officials, they are also military officers in their respective counties and counties, and they are all "vassals" with great autonomy.
And when they truly realized that there were still a group of barbarians who led beasts and cannibals and were eyeing them, Liu Yu could better control them all.
