Chapter 257: Evil posthumous title
As Zhang Chong led the main force of the Taishan Army to the small town of Yanshi, the entire military spirit of the Yellow Turban Army began to stabilize to a degree visible to the naked eye. After all, General Chongtian's invincible golden sign has long become the confidence and belief of many sergeants.
To be honest this is not a good thing. If the sense of security and belief of many Taishan Army soldiers was only woven by Zhang Chong's continuous victories, it would be too fragile. No one can be invincible forever. If you cannot accept the fact that victory or defeat is a common occurrence for military strategists, then no matter how much you win now, you will have to pay back twice as much if you lose a battle later. It's like the story of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang in the Chu-Han War for Hegemony.
Zhang Chong's treatment of Zhang Dan this time was also based on this reason. Nowadays, there is a prevailing atmosphere in the army, that is, it seems that we can only win battles, but cannot defeat them. It seems that whoever loses must swallow gold and commit suicide. But who can always win and not lose? This is neither realistic nor possible.
But you can lose the battle, but you must know where you lost and where you learned the lessons, so that you can achieve the next stage of growth.
But Zhang Chong did not mean to encourage the generals to lose the battle. Zhang Chong knows the extreme nature of people. As long as you don't intervene or act, people will swing directly from one extreme to another. For example, if Zhang Chong doesn't punish Zhang Dan, many people below will probably say, oh, it turns out that defeating the battle doesn't matter, so let's just fight the battle as much as possible. Naturally, this was not allowed by Zhang Chong.
Many people are surprised. Qu Shuai, you said that it is okay to lose the war as long as you can gain something, but you also said that it is unacceptable to fight a bad war. So where is the boundary between acceptable defeat and unacceptable defeat?
Zhang Chong told them that there was no clear standard and all decisions were made by him.
Zhang Chong and the brothers said:
"Brothers follow me, Zhang Chong, to fight in the world, and I don't shy away from the target. It's not because I, Zhang Chong, have any noble bloodline, nor because I, Zhang Chong, have thousands of possessions. I want to come, just because I think I, Zhang Chong, have some character. Being public-minded and able to fight some battles has a reputation that is not worth mentioning. Since brothers believe in me because of this, please believe that I will judge impartially and let me decide the merits of everyone. "< br>
Seeing that none of the generals had any objections, Zhang Chong was not surprised. This had been expected for a long time, but Zhang Chong felt that he still needed to make some things clear:
"Some things cannot be explained clearly with one or two standards. For example, what do you think is obscenity? Some people will say that not wearing hakama is obscenity. But I can't see it clearly. We have many poor people. She doesn’t even have a pair of big pants, is that considered lewd? On the contrary, I heard that Liang Ji’s daughter-in-law was fully clothed from head to toe, but she frowned and walked with her waist down, so the whole world thought she was the most lewd one. The standard of obscenity is a bit unclear, but being unclear does not mean that it is unclear. Right now, if someone stands in front of everyone with a slutty eyebrow, everyone can tell at a glance that this is obscenity. , although it’s unclear, but it does exist.”
After thinking about it, Zhang Chong felt it was inappropriate and added:
"Now the system is being created and everything is simplified. But in the future, I will work hard to refine this kind of mental evidence into regulations so that people in the future can follow them in an orderly manner."
All the generals and staff listened patiently to this process.
But to be honest, most people don’t take it too seriously. They can't understand it. This is a mental testimony and it's methodical. Why can't it be more straightforward? Anyway, it’s enough to just listen to his handsomeness.
But many people among the staff understood Zhang Chong's subtext and the unfinished meaning.
They felt that Zhang Chong's short words could almost be the essence of their own governance and governance. Even in the early days, Commander Qu will use his personal prestige to decide major events for the entire Taishan Army. But in the middle and later stages, the explanation of legal provisions will be continuously strengthened to avoid the imbalance of personal authority.
Because after all, Zhang Chong is also a human being, and he will make mistakes as a human being. And if there are no written regulations to restrain him when he makes a mistake, then the mistake will definitely happen.
This kind of governing thought is undoubtedly quite enlightened and advanced. In the early days of civilization, descriptions of crime and punishment were always spoken without leaving any words. On the one hand, this is indeed because it is difficult to generalize, but on the other hand, it allows law enforcers to monopolize the absolute right to interpret the law. Later, Zhao Dun of the Jin Dynasty recorded the punishment on the tripod, and it became gradually clear. But there are still only a small number of monarchs who are really willing to explain clearly what should be done and what should not be done. After all, no one wants to be restricted by a rule.
So after Zhang Chong said this, Dong Zhao, who fully understood, looked at the thief leader with a very complicated expression. He realized that he might be about to fall, because the more he looked at this leader, the more he looked like the Holy Lord.
There are many staff members who "understand" like Dong Zhao. On the one hand, they admire him, but more importantly, they start to daydream, won't power be delegated to them by then? Are they the ones who restrain him?
But if Zhang Chong knew the thoughts of the staff above, he would only say with emotion, you intellectuals really think too much.
After that, Zhang Chong began to reorganize various troops in the camp. Many battalion leaders had been recruited along the way. These battalion leaders of three to five hundred people were obviously not suitable for the upcoming battle of Xingyang. So Zhang Chong decided to take a good rest at the Yanshi Barrier, and also train and train these camp heads.
Zhang Chong and his Taishan Army were on the alert, and while they were gathering strength, the Han court also ushered in a major adjustment.
At this time, Xingyang City was no longer in ruins as it had been during He Yi's previous attack. Under the urging of Xingyang's order Yang Yi, who did not show mercy to the people, a solid Xingyang City was once again located on the bank of the river.
What reassures the people in the city even more than the strong city defense is the continuous flow of Han soldiers coming from various counties in Gyeonggi Province in the past few days. The camps stationed outside the city expanded every day, and for a while, the bottom of Xingyang City once again became a sea of crimson.
And all this was arranged by Liu Hong, who had inspired himself.
A few days ago, Liu Hong was feeling discouraged as he faced one after another reports of military defeats from defenders from all over the country. He once felt that the Han Dynasty, the ancestral temple and the country were about to be destroyed by his hands. But later, with the comfort of his father Zhang Rang and his mother Zhao Zhong, Liu Hong regained his strength.
He reorganized the troops in his hands. Now the soldiers and horses from Youzhou and Jizhou are besieging Taiping Road in Hebei Province, and the soldiers and horses from Qingzhou cannot be counted on. Yanzhou's art of war was broken, and Yuzhou's soldiers and horses, together with Zhang Wen, the left Zhonglang general, and Zhu Jun, the right Zhonglang general, strangled Runan Taiping Road. Jingzhou's soldiers and horses are confronting Nanyang Taiping Road. The soldiers and horses in Xuzhou were working on their own affairs, strangulating each other with the Yellow Turban Army in the state. As for the soldiers and horses in Liangzhou, they are neither reliable nor reliable because of the rebellion of the Qiang people.
Now, after all calculations, they are Yizhou, Bingzhou, Sili, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou. Among them, the last two are too far away and cannot be counted on for a while, so the only ones that can be used are Yizhou, Bingzhou and Sili. But there is a problem with the Bingzhou border troops, that is, they need to defend the Xianbei people on the fortress, and they cannot be mobilized for a while.
In the end, only Sili and Yizhou were left. Sili has three counties: Henan, Hanoi, Hedong, Hongnong, Jingzhaoyin, Fengyi and Fufeng. Among them, the last three counties are Guanzhong, and they must cooperate with the Yizhou soldiers to attack the Qiang rebellion. This is a configuration. Among the first three counties, Hanoi mainly cooperates with Hebei, and only Henan and Hedong counties can dig out excess troops to support Xingyang.
After making this plan, Liu Hong did the same. After discussing with Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, he wanted to mobilize the remaining soldiers from the two counties to support Xingyang.
But Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong looked at each other and asked a question that Liu Hong had not expected. The two said:
"Your Majesty, many counties in these two counties actually don't have many soldiers and horses?"
Liu Hong frowned and asked what he meant.
Afterwards, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong told Liu Hong the whole story. These two people are closest to the core of Hanting. They know the two pairs of big men much better than Liu Hong, the nominal master.
After the two men explained, Liu Hong understood what soldiers and horses were on paper and what they were in reality.
In the Gyeonggi area, the troops on the surface are the two armies guarding the North and South Palaces. This is what the emperor can see, and it is also the core weaponry needed to defend the country from humiliation. Therefore, even though it has been nearly two hundred years now, the strength is still Still maintain.
But there is another part of the soldiers and horses on the books in the capital, and that is the soldiers in each county. Generally speaking, a thousand people per county is the basic number, but in the core areas of Gyeonggi, the population is prosperous, so each county has a hundred county soldiers. But this is all on the surface. There are more than three in the Gyeonggi area. The population is large, there are many wealthy households, and there are many eunuchs. In particular, the latter are all official families who came to Kyoto from all over the Han Dynasty to settle down as officials. They are either from the family of a high official or from a family of two thousand dan.
Beijing officials from such wealthy families generally bring a large group of servant clans with them after entering the capital from various places. On the one hand, it is material enjoyment, and on the other hand, it is the Tichi clan and village party. And when there are more people, it is natural to build large dockside villas. This construction requires manpower.
I don't know which generation started, but these officials began to set their sights on the counties and counties in Gyeonggi Province. These people are powerful, organized, and most importantly, have a very low presence. As a result, these county soldiers began to change careers one after another and took up construction work.
And these pawns are also happy. Because of official corruption, these county pawns cannot always receive money and food. Instead, they might as well work as slaves for those wealthy families, but they can also have food and clothing.
But now the problem arises. Now Liu Hong wants to use troops, and the soldiers in the counties and counties in the Eight Passes and Capital Region are all empty troops. What should we do now?
Finally, Liu Hong thought of a method that Zuo Zhonglang general Zhang Wen had used before, which was to send powerful troops to help the army. But just after he said this plan, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong shook their heads again.
This time, Zhang asked the two of them for the following reasons:
"Most of the powerful people in Gyeonggi are the descendants of the first party rebellion. They must not be allowed to re-enter the officialdom."
Liu Hong was angry:
"Haven't these people been pardoned?"
Zhang Rang shook his head and continued to explain:
"Your Majesty, those we pardoned before were those who were implicated, but some of the core members of the party, especially those who followed General Liang Ji, were not included."
Liu Hong still doesn’t understand:
"These are old things from 20 years ago. The people involved are all dead. Now they are the sons and nephews of those people. What does it have to do with what happened back then? Their parents are their parents, and they are themselves. We cannot generalize."
This time it was Zhao Zhong who answered:
"Your Majesty, you must not think like this."
Liu Hong was confused:
"Why?"
"Your Majesty, it is human nature to have an heir like me, and worry about the reputation of our fathers and the future of our descendants. If you have the same intention, are those with prosperous families more important than old slaves? Do you think so? ”
What Zhao Zhong said was reasonable, and Liu Hong couldn't help but nod.
Then Zhao Zhong continued:
"Since this is the case, are the descendants of the group of people who lost the struggle always thinking about overturning the verdict of their fathers so as to restore their names? In the past, they could not do it because they They have been deposed and belong to the category of people who will never serve as officials. But if we hire them again now, I am afraid that in a hundred years, when the other generation comes to power, I will give you a bad posthumous title and give this old slave an eternity. It’s a shame. That’s why we are determined to imprison the party members, just because we don’t want party strife to break out in the future, and the country will be destroyed after repeated strife.”
Good guy, Zhao Zhong has a sharp tongue, and he always turns his personal interests into public interests.
But regardless of whether Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were truly public-spirited, Liu Hong was horrified after hearing this, because he realized that what Eminem said was not a possibility, but had a high possibility of becoming a fact.
But, again, what can Liu Hong do? Does he have any choice at this time? The current situation before him is that he has no soldiers, while some powerful people have soldiers. If he doesn't compromise with these people, can the big man really survive this time?
It was not a choice for Liu Hong to choose whether to be the sinner of the Liu family's descendants or bear the infamy behind him. Although he was greedy for money, dissolute, and loved BMWs, Liu Hong still felt that he was a good emperor. A big man cannot be destroyed by his own hands.
Finally, Liu Hong finally issued an edict ordering the powerful forces in the capital to assist the army. But when he thought that he would bear an evil nickname in history in the future, Liu Hong's tears still flowed out.
But he also comforted himself that he didn't have to think about so many useless things. He was already dead, so he couldn't care about the future.
Now that the troops and horses have been raised here, it is time to finalize the commander.
So who should be chosen to lead? After Liu Hongsi came to think about it, he finally found that there was no one to take with him, so he appointed Huang Wan, the Mu of Yanzhou, as the general of the army in the east camp, with a false ax to command the troops in the capital.
After all, Huang Wan was loyal to his duties, and he was a party boss who could get along well with these reinforcements. Moreover, he still had more than a thousand remaining soldiers under his command, so he could also serve as a guard.
In the end, Liu Hong cobbled together 10,000 reinforcements and asked Huang Wan to circle back to Luoyang from Hanoi and lead troops to support Xingyang again.
The last wave of reinforcements from the Han Army arrived on September 3rd, and then both sides repaired for seven days. Then on September 10th, the Han Army in Xingyang and the Taishan Army in the Yanshi Camp unexpectedly chose this day. Go to war.
So, on September 10, the sixth year of Guanghe, the second Battle of Xingyang broke out.
Finally caught up. Xiao Chen was really tired today. My family members, please don’t go to West Lake to take wedding photos. I regret it again because I didn’t do it in Shanghai. I suffered a lot today.
(End of chapter)