Chengzhou, Tonggu County.
The Qingni and Xiabian waters merge and flow into Feilong Canyon, hence its name. Although they are located on the southwest border, these prefectures and counties in Longnan have generally been relatively stable compared to the wars and disasters in the Central Plains and Hebei.
No matter how violent the changes in the Central Plains were, their impact on the southwest was ultimately limited. Tubo in the west had already fallen apart, and even a few miscellaneous things could hardly make a big splash. In the past thirty years, as far as the states in Longnan were concerned, major turmoil occurred only around the time when the Later Tang Dynasty destroyed the Former Shu and the Later Shu conquered the Central Plains.
Of course, ever since the two countries of Han and Shu became hostile and used troops one after another, life for the people in the state had become difficult. Due to the geographical terrain, whether it is the Shu Kingdom or the Han Dynasty, when relying on it to use troops, it is inevitable to use its people's strength for food and food.
Chengzhou has four distinct seasons, with suitable temperatures and temperatures. Therefore, Chengzhou in early winter is not too cold. The Qingni River flows through the mountains and hills in the territory day and night, flowing through Tonggu City, no different from previous years. The biggest changes were the changing banner of the King of Han at the top of the city and the Han army at the foot of Phoenix Mountain.
Fortunately, after the Battle of Liangquan, the Shu army was defeated too quickly and retreated too hastily, and the officials of Chengjie surrendered too quickly. Therefore, Chengjiezhou did not suffer as much as Fengzhou. Serious military disasters.
After the surrender, the Han army only adjusted its defenses and sent troops to take over the city, government offices, and warehouses. Due to military discipline, they did not disturb the people too much. Even so, the people in Chengzhou were inevitably uneasy, and the scholars and people in Tonggu City were even more uneasy. After all, you could see the Han army camp at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain when you climbed to the top of the city.
However, although the war between Han and Shu still continued, order in the prefectures and counties was restored to some extent thanks to the efforts of the officials in charge and the military power of the garrison, even if the people's hearts were still undecided.
Several stage horses, spurred by their masters, galloped over, and it seemed that the splashing frost dust could be felt in the sound of kicking. When approaching the city, the troops divided into two groups and turned southwest toward the ferry. They followed the post road and headed straight to Tonggu.
At the city gate, the captain of the guard saw Lai Qi, and his bored spirit was lifted. Although he noticed the color of his clothes, he still fulfilled his duty and stepped forward to ask: "Where did he come from?"
The Yiqi was carrying a sack on his back and was sweating profusely. He was tired. When asked, he directly replied: "Gu Zhen has an urgent order. Send it to the state government and release it as soon as possible!"
After confirming the post's message, they were released. The two post guards quickly rode their horses along the bumpy streets of Tonggu to the state government office under the guidance. Guzhen is not far from Tonggu, about seventy miles away, and the postmen galloped all the way.
In the prefectural government office, the person in charge was Zhao Jue, a former judge of the Xiongwu Army. After receiving the urgent report and arranging the postmen, he immediately ordered to summon his staff.
Zhao Ding is a man in his thirties, white and fat. In his early years, he spared money to help the border, and he was able to become an official. Later, he worked for Chengzhou. In the early Han Dynasty, he reestablished a way to surrender to Shu, and was later appointed as a judge.
Among the four states of Qin and Feng, there were actually quite a few officials like Zhao Ju. After Shu occupied the four states, it did not clean up the officials at all levels and retained a large number of people.
Therefore, after the Han army conquered Shu and won a great victory, they changed their banner and returned to the Han Dynasty again without any psychological pressure. Especially officials like Zhao Jue, even if we don't talk about the strength and weakness between Han and Shu, they are closer to the Han because of the situation in the Central Plains where they are from. After all, Chinese people are hard-pressed to move away from home, and they all want to return to their roots after falling leaves.
After the Shu army was defeated in Fengzhou, Zhao Jue and his men refused to accept him, forcing Li Tinggui to divide his troops and retreat to Cheng and Jie. His plan failed, and he finally had to retreat to Xingzhou with his remaining troops.
The Han army swept through Feng and Jie and descended on the whole city. A group of officials led by Zhao Yu made great contributions. Therefore, they are all retained for the time being, and each is assigned his or her own duties to maintain order for the Han Dynasty.
Several staff members came to the hall one after another, and they saw Zhao Jue with his head buried in his hands, an official document in his hands, his face contemplative, and his face grim.
"I wonder what the judge called me for?" the subordinate asked after seeing him bow.
With a bitter smile, he gestured to the official document in his hand: "A letter from Guzhen is sent to the commander-in-chief to defeat Xingzhou. The troops are coming to Xi County. In order to defeat the city, let Feng, Cheng, Jie, and Xing prefectures be recruited. Ten thousand people will be recruited to arrive. The city will listen to you for a period of ten days. Cheng and Qizhou will need to recruit 4,000 people!"
Hearing this, everyone was shocked. One of the officers stood up and said in a somewhat impatient tone: "Since the fierce war between Han and Shu, three thousand civilians have been recruited to serve. After successive battles, more than half of them were killed or injured. Now the two states are not at peace. Recruiting another 4,000 people is an attempt to recruit all the young people in the state. If this is carried out, the people will definitely become resentful!"
The two prefectures of Cheng and Chie have a small territory and a small population. The two prefectures combined have just over 10,000 households. After deducting the old, young, women and children, and including the existing conscripts, there are not many people left. This is the reality. question.
"The people at the top and bottom are in panic. They have exhausted the people's power and forced them too much, fearing that the soldiers and people's livelihood will be in chaos!" another person said.
All the staff couldn't help complaining, expressing concerns, and making noises.
Seeing this, Zhao Ding couldn't help but feel upset. He slapped the table in the hall hard and made a solemn noise. After glancing around, Zhao Ding's cheeks shook a few times, and then he said, "I'm not calling you here to discuss whether to recruit civilians. It's hard to listen to your complaints."
He waved the official document in his hand, pressed it on the case, and said: "This is not an official document, but a military order. How can the military order allow us to question and say more. We are returning to the Han Dynasty. There is an order ahead, how dare we disobey it? These four thousand people have become The two states must be collected and sent to Xi County!"
Obviously, Zhao Jue can still see clearly, has a clear mind, and knows the pros and cons.
"Four thousand men can still be recruited, but the time limit is too short. From Tonggu to Xixian, it is at least two hundred miles away, and even further from Jiezhou. Within ten days, the recruitment will be completed and then sent to It's too difficult under the city!" After clarifying the situation, someone finally calmed down a little.
"Then don't sit here and talk nonsense!" Zhao Jue took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Everyone, please put down all the matters in your hands and take everyone to draw dice in each township and village. Within three days, we will decide We need to gather together the number of people of the right age!”
As he spoke, Zhao Jue took out the administrative map of Cheng and Jie prefectures, pointed at each township, and determined the amount and responsible personnel. After a pause, he added: "The decree has been sent to Jiezhou. I will go there in person. The road to Chengzhou is close, so I leave it to you. We can send thousands of people to Xi County in batches!"
"yes!"
As the most powerful among the surrendered officials, Zhao Jue also took care of Liujie Prefecture. He is actually not too worried about Chengzhou, mainly Jiezhou, which is about 150 miles away.
"What if we rush too quickly and cause civil unrest?" the subordinate asked hesitantly.
After hearing the question, Zhao Jue was silent for a short time and said in a cold voice: "There are forbidden troops stationed in both states! I will go up to the camp and pay homage to the commander to ask for his assistance!"
In one sentence, the meaning is already obvious. In today's situation, the authority of the government alone is not enough. We must also rely on weapons and weapons so that the people will obey the orders obediently...
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Jue looked at the officials solemnly and said: "Everyone, we, the ministers of the Central Plains, had no choice but to surrender to Meng Shu. Now we are fortunate to return and be accepted by the court. We must perform well in order to gain access to the court. Trust. I don’t say anything else, even if it’s for our own future and for our family, we must do our best on this matter!”
"Yes!" Zhao Jue said, and everyone became more alert.
In fact, Zhao Di was an official who was good at punishment, but he could not be considered a gentle gentleman regardless of his character or conduct. This is a qualified bureaucrat and landlord who cares more about his own future and official position than caring for the people.
Soon, the entire state government was mobilized, and all officials, officers, and state soldiers came out to recruit young people from counties, towns, and towns. Zhao Jue first went to Longqi Military Camp to visit Gao Huaide, and then hurried to Jiezhou to preside over his affairs.
Because of a military order from the front line of Xixian County, tensions rose up and down the two prefectures in Chengchie. The officials were strained and the people suffered. After the levy order was issued, the people of the two states immediately complained.
In a war situation, even if the Han army had strict military discipline and did not burn, kill or loot, they would still have to suffer.
