The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Bo Cai and his cronies and guests fled, and the remaining Daoists lost their leaders and either abandoned their weapons and fled, or surrendered.

Xun Zhen ordered Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, Chen Bao, Wen Pin, Xiao Ren, Cheng Yan, Gao Su, Feng Gong and others to lead people to hunt down Bo Cai, and they searched Zhuang Zi, but they couldn't find Bo Cai, and they were there. Brothers Da Xiaosu and Da Xiaogao outside the village did not see Bo Cai either.

There is nothing in the village, and there is no outside the village, can it still be gone? Xun Zhen felt strange and planned to lead someone to search Zhuangzhong again. Wen Pin dragged a wounded Taoist over and said, "This dead prisoner is Bo Cai's henchman. He said that there is a secret passage in the village, and the exit is under a hill a few li outside the village, and Bo Cai might escape from the secret passage. already."

"You take someone to see it."

Wen Ping answered the promise, brought his own cavalry slaves and a dozen or twenty guests from Xun Zhen's door, and the wounded Taoist led the way to check the secret passage.

Liu Deng suffered a slight injury, and some of Qingxia had some skills in trauma medicine, so he treated the wound and brought him to see Xun Zhen.

Xun Zhen jumped off the horse, hurried to meet him, hugged him, and asked with concern, "Are you seriously injured?"

"There was a sword on the left arm, it's not in the way."

"If it wasn't for you tonight, this Zhuangzi wouldn't be easy to win! I'll give you credit when I go back. The prefect has an order to catch Chopping Cai and Bolian, reward hundreds of gold, and remember great merit. Deng, I'm jealous of you. You deserve credit." Xun Zhen laughed.

Liu Deng scratched his head and smiled.

Since he was "expelled from the door" by Xun Zhen, he and Xun Zhen and the guests under Xun Zhen's door have not seen each other for a long time. Cheng Yan and Xiao Ren gathered one after another, and they didn't realize it until tonight, realizing that Xun Zhen had driven him just for a show, and admired Xun Zhen's foresight and Liu Deng's bravery tonight.

Cheng Yan punched him and scolded him with a smile, "Why did you get caught by Xun Jun and send him to do meticulous work? Why didn't Xun Jun choose me? 'Bonus a hundred gold', good guy! You will become a **** at this time. When I see you later, do I have to change my name to your Liu family? When you were driven away by Xun Jun that day, I did everything possible to plead for you, and your mouth is strict enough, just a word Not exposed."

"Hundred gold" is converted into one or two million yuan, and a family of more than 100,000 is "everyone". Cheng Yan asked whether he should be called "Liu's family". This "family" is the honorific title of Han people for men with status, just as women from wealthy families are sometimes called "Everyone".

Liu Deng reported to Xun Zhen how he had been in the past few days, saying: "A few days ago, Bo Cai and Bo Lian suddenly took the villains and others into this village. Only people are allowed to enter, and no one is allowed to leave, so they can't report the news to the king. Xun Jun , Bo Cai and Bo Lian sent people to each county in the county day and night these days to contact the Taiping Dao marshal in each county, the villain listened to Bo Lian and lost his words after drinking, it seems that they agreed to do things at the same time two days later.

"In two days?"

"right."

Xun Zhen stabbed the two of them when he was just rushing into the battle, and blood was splattered on his clothes and mounts. He took a soft cloth brought by Xiao Ren and dipped it in water. battlefield.

Forty or fifty people were injured or killed by the county guards, and seventy or eighty people were injured or killed by the Taoist disciples and the guests of the Bo family. Blood soaked through the snow, and dozens of corpses were lying on the ground far and near in the village. The wounded cried out for help. Near the village gate, the two colonists were commanding their soldiers to put out the fire. In the depths of Zhuangzi, several teams led their own troops to search for the escaped Daoist disciples.

The master bookkeeper Wang Lan picked up her clothes and carefully avoided the corpse on the ground. She came over and asked, "Mr. Xun, what should I do with the prisoners?"

So far, hundreds of Taoists have surrendered.

These people can't be let go.

Xi Zhicai said: "A Deng said that the Taiping Road in this county will rise at the same time in two days. It can be expected that by that time, the pressure on our county will definitely be great. The troops in the county are already insufficient, and these prisoners will only be left behind. To add to the trouble, kill it."

Xun You disagreed and said, "It's ominous to kill the prisoners. If the prisoners are killed and spread out, it will only arouse the hatred of the rebels and urge them to fight to the death. in jail for later disposal."

Xun Zhen wiped off the blood on the horse, and then looked at the corpses all over the floor, especially the corpses of those Taiping Dao believers who died in battle. If you only look at the corpses, you will not be able to see that these dead Taoists are rebels. Their faces are full of weather, and their long-term labor has made their hands and feet rough. Most of them are skinny and skinny. It is not so much that they are rebels. peasant.

He thought: "After thousands of years, what will future generations think of me? 'The executioner who suppressed the peasant uprising'? The 'butcher'?" Isn't it just to let the people live a good life for a few days? But tonight, he personally killed so many people who were desperate, officials/compelled/people/rebels.

"Ugh."

"Zhenzhi, we won the first battle tonight. Although there is no wave before he falls, he was beheaded by A Deng, and Yao Dao's arm was cut off. It's a happy event, why do you sigh?"

Xun Zhen had no joy in winning.

The words "class struggle" came to his mind again. In his previous life, because public opinion deliberately downplayed the relationship between guidance, he did not feel deeply about these four words. Now, living on the eve of troubled times, he deeply realized how cruel these four words are.

Where there is oppression there is class. His current class is the "gentlemen", the vested interests of the current system. No matter how enlightened scholars are, it is impossible for them to stand on the same front as the oppressed who rebel and try to break the current system. Xun You's attitude towards these "anti-thieves" is to "leave it for later disposal". Xi Zhicai was even more straightforward: "kill it".

As a member of the "Gentry", Xun Zhen could understand Xun You and Xi Zhicai. Aspiring and talented scholars like the two of them, when the world is at peace, they may ask for the people's orders; when the world is in chaos, they will stand firmly on the side of the ruling class. This has nothing to do with personal conduct, has nothing to do with love for the people, it has nothing to do with "class interests".

Not to mention them, even Xun Zhen. He can give up "class interests", but cannot give up "personal interests", knowing that the final outcome of the Yellow Turban Uprising is a failure, even if he is full of sympathy for the rebels, what can he do? Join it, will you die on the battlefield in the end? Instead of dying lightly, it is better to keep a useful body and do your best to preserve a little more vitality for this once powerful empire. Human beings are inherently mortal, either lighter than a feather, or heavier than Mount Tai. Maybe this is heavier than Mount Tai?

He sighed and said: "In prosperity, the people suffer; in death, the people suffer. No matter whether they rise or fall, it is the people who suffer. The world is about to be in chaos, and I just hope that there will be great order after the chaos."

Xun You and Xi Zhicai are both insightful people. If it is said that before the Taiping Dao event, they did not see the danger, but now the Taiping Dao event is in front of them. The followers of Taiping Dao are all over the country. It can be seen that Xun Zhen did not say any dangerous words, it was indeed "the world will be in chaos".

Xun You sighed: "In prosperity, the people suffer; in death, the people suffer. Honestly!"

Xi Zhicai was not very interested in this topic, he said, "Zhongye is back."

Wen Pin came out of Houzhuang, galloped his horse to Xunzhen, got off his horse and said, "I took people along the secret road for a while. I saw a horse's hoof at the exit. I chased it for a while, but I didn't catch up. Only after this wave ran away. Fast enough!"

"Xiao Ren, you stay here to assist the Chief Director Wang and command the county guards to continue to search for the escapees, count and capture them. This Zhuangzi is one of the important strongholds of Bocai. There must be a large amount of weapons, armor, grain, gold and silver hidden in Zhuangzi. After they come out, they will be transported to the county house together with the captives." The county will face a major battle, so more supplies and more assurance.

"promise."

After the explanation, Xun Zhen got on his horse, leaving Xiao Ren, Wang Lan, and the county **** behind, taking the guests under the door, carrying the injured, and galloping out of the village gate. Daxiaosu and Daxiao Gao, who were scattered outside the village, led the team to meet them.

Su Ze said: "There are many people in the neighboring villages."

Xun Zhen looked around and saw that there were many people densely gathered on the official road and in the fields in the distance.

He thought: "Since Bo Cai dares to hide here, the development of Taiping Road must be good in this area. I don't know how many of these people gathered here are followers of Taiping Road?" . He couldn't help but feel fortunate: "Fortunately, they were just onlookers, not participating in the war." Then he thought, "Two days later, Taiping Road will hold an event. How many of these onlookers will participate in it?" The guests hunted them down?"

Hesitating again and again, no order.

It's not that he is soft-hearted, but he is worried that ordering the massacre for no reason will have a bad influence on the guests under the door. First, it might affect his image in the eyes of the guests; second, he wanted elite soldiers, not bandit soldiers. After all, no matter whether these onlookers will participate in the rebellion in two days, they are just ordinary people now.

He said loudly to the four people, "I am the governor of the northern post, Xunzhen, who broke and killed this village tonight. I was ordered by the prefect to arrest the rebels. It has nothing to do with you. You don't need to be frightened." He lifted Bo Lian's head, and then shouted, "Rebel Bo Lian has already been slain! The first wave of thieves is on the run. The prefect ordered: 'Whoever captures Bocai will be rewarded with a hundred gold'. If you can capture him, you can send him Go to the county seat and receive a reward."

The news that Bo Cai could not be caught could not be concealed, so it was made public. Taking this opportunity, you can also enhance your personal reputation and demoralize Taiping Dao: I am the former Northern Governor, and I killed Boren!

Many Taiping Dao believers among the onlookers knew about Bo Cai and Bo Lian, and there was a commotion.

Xun Zhen didn't say much, and divided two groups of people to disperse them, and told them to go home, and bring their own people to go back to Yangzhai in the snow.

…

Back in Yangzhai, it was already dawn.

Called to open the city gate, everyone entered the city and went outside the prefect's mansion. Zhong Yao received an urgent report from the city gate in advance, and greeted him in front of the gate. The first sentence he asked was, "Have you won Pocai, has Polian been won?"

"Kill Polian, and Pocai escapes."

Zhong Yao felt regretful and said, "It's a pity, it's a pity!"

"This is Liu Deng, and he is the one who killed Bo Lian. According to him, Bo Cai made an agreement with the young marshals of Taiping Road in each county to hold things at the same time two days later."

"In two days?"

"Yes."

Zhong Yao's expression changed greatly: "How urgent! How urgent!"

The order ordering the counties to arrest Pocai and Poren's party members was just passed on yesterday, and the counties that are farther away may have just received it last night. Two days later, the Taiping Road will have an incident. In just two days, how can there be time to arrest the rebels? The urgent report to the court and prefecture was just sent out yesterday. Calculate the distance. When the court and prefecture receive the report, the Taiping Road may have already spread over the mountains and fields to attack the city and conquer the land.

Xun Zhen blamed herself and said, "It's my fault that I failed to capture Bo Cai."

"I don't blame you, I don't blame you. If it wasn't for you, the county still doesn't know that the demons are going to rebel. If it wasn't for you, the county wouldn't be able to sweep away the henchmen of Bo Cai and Bo Lian in the city. , the county could not find any trace of Bo Cai and Bolian. These are all your credits! Now Bo Cai was lucky to escape, and we can only say that God will not kill him, and this disaster is doomed."

Speaking of "sweeping out the henchmen of Bo Cai and Bo Lian in the city", Xun Zhen asked, "Have all the henchmen of Bo Cai and Bo Lian been taken down?"

Zhong Yao nodded and said, "There are 131 people in total, and none of the people on the list escaped!"

Last night, Zhong Yao and Du You led the county pawns to put the entire city under martial law.

Although the henchmen of Bo Cai and Bo Lian were on alert when Xun Zhen entered the city at night, they were too scattered and outnumbered, so they were defeated by Zhong Yao and Du You. They resisted fiercely, few were captured alive, and most of them were killed on the spot. Correspondingly, the county guards led by Zhong Yao and Du You also suffered a lot of casualties.

Zhong Yao said: "The demon road has not yet officially started to riot, and the county guards have suffered heavy casualties. Hey, Zhenzhi, what about the county guards you brought with you?" Only then did he notice that the people who came back with Xunzhen were all from his sect. guests.

"I left them in the village to clean up the battlefield, and they will be brought back to the county by the master bookkeeper later."

"The guests under your door have worked hard all night, and they must be tired. The mansion has given you a barracks in the south of the city, and you can let them rest first. There are also those who are injured, and they must be treated as soon as possible."

An official came out with Zhong Yao, who was the secretary of the soldier Cao Rong. Xun Zhen immediately ordered the guests and the people to carry the wounded, and followed the secretary to the barracks to rest.

All chores, such as food, accommodation, including the treatment of the wounded, are arranged by this book.

Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, Chen Bao, Liu Deng, Cheng Yan, Wen Pin, Gao Su, Feng Gong and others did not go. Xun Zhen took them along with Zhong Yao, Xun You, and Xi Zhicai into the prefect's residence.

…

Prefect Wen stayed up all night, exhausted, and forced himself to sit in the hall waiting for the news of Xun Zhen.

Fei Chang, Han Liang, Du You, Guo Jun and other county officials sat down with him.

Xun Zhen entered the hall and ordered Liu Deng to present the head of Bo Lian, kneel on the ground, and report the attack on the village.

Hearing that he couldn't hold Po Cai, Prefect Wen was very disappointed. Then he heard Taipingdao's events in the whole county two days later, and he was no longer sleepy: "Ah, ah, what can I do?"

Xi Zhicai looked down on him as timid as a mouse, knelt down behind Xun Zhen, and said loudly: "Now Lai Zhenli, Yangzhai City is settled, Bolian is also dead, there is no internal trouble, the only thing to worry about is external trouble. With 100,000 people, there are thousands of soldiers in our county, which is enough to protect the city for ten months. When the army arrives, the demon thieves will be able to fight back! Mingfu, the county general, the courage of a county, if you lose your courage now, the county will perish!"

At this time of life and death, Prefect Wen picked up his old self-willedness, took out his humility and asked for advice, and said, "Your words are very true! The demon will have something to do in two days. In your opinion, how should my county deal with it?"

"Clear rewards and punishments, choose good generals, and prepare for battle."

"How do you know the reward and punishment?"

"The world has been in peace for a long time, many county soldiers do not know how to fight, and military laws are also loose. Military laws are loose, and rewards and punishments are unregulated. It also boosts morale. "Wei Liao Zi": 'The people are afraid of severe punishment, and the enemy is underestimated outside.'

"Okay, okay!" Wen Taishou was full of praise, but he was noncommittal about his request for military law enforcement, and then asked, "How to choose a good general?"

"The general is the foundation. The military law is clear, and if there are good generals, three thousand soldiers can run amuck in the state and county. Loyal recommends one person, if the Ming government can use it as a general, the rebels will smash millions of people, and my city will have no worries."

"who?"

"That's why the northern governor is Xun Zhen."

When Zhong Yao heard this, he also attended the recommendation: "Yao Tong is the former governor of the northern post, Xun Zhen."

Du You, Guo Jun and other former colleagues of Xunzhen knew their abilities well, and they also attended the recommendation: "You (Jun) and others also recommended Xunzhen, the former governor of the north."

The hall was full of officials, and more than half of them left the bed to recommend Xun Zhen. Prefect Wen hesitated for a while, and asked Xun Zhen, "Would you like to?"

Of course Xun Zhen would like to. Not only was he willing, he was also going to recommend Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, Chen Bao, Liu Deng, Wen Pin, Gao Su, Feng Gong and others. Otherwise, why would he bring so many people to the hall? I just didn't expect that before he took the initiative to ask for military power, Xi Zhicai recommended him.

He never discussed this matter with Xi Zhicai.

All I can say is: Heroes see the same thing. The chaos is imminent, if you can't take control of the military, why stay in Yangzhai?

He said respectfully: "I would like to share the worries of Mingfu."

Prefect Wen looked at the officials who were kneeling on the ground and recommending Xun Zhen. He was determined not to entrust him with military affairs, and he could not resist the public opinion. Change the appointment of the minister to the soldier Cao Rong."

In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu "dismissed the provincial state soldiers" five times. Not to mention those who do not have county soldiers, there are two types of soldiers, those with fewer soldiers and those with more soldiers. Under the prefect, those with more army soldiers were assigned the county Sima, and those with fewer army soldiers were assigned Cao Cao. Bing Cao rafter is the commander of Bing Cao, serving as assistant governor and in charge of county soldiers.

Xun Zhen knelt down and thanked him, saying: "To attack the village tonight, I know Xi Zhong's plan; in the fierce battle, Liu Deng assassinated Bolian. These two people have made great contributions. Wen Pin, Jiang Xian (Xu Zhong), Jiang Qin, Chen Baoxian I sent the police to Yingyin, so that the Ming government could know about the rebellion of Taiping Road early, and then I rushed into the county government with me. Tonight, I fell into battle and urged the front. Promote Xizhong as Cao Shi of the Right Soldier, Jiang Xian as Cao Shi of the Left Soldier, Liu Deng, Jiang Qin and Chen Bao as Cao Shuzuo of the Soldier."

The staffing of Bing Cao is the same as that of other Cao Cao. "The robber under the door" is the same as the main book, and is one of the close officials under the door, "the main guard", similar to the captain of the guard of the county guard.

At this time of employment, Prefect Wen had to recognize even if he was unwilling, pinching his nose, besides, among the people recommended by Xun Zhen, there were also Wen Ping. He replied: "Okay, just follow Qing's will."

"Gao Su and Feng Gong were originally surnames in Xixiang. They heard that the Taiping Road was rebellious. When they got up at night, they led the guests to gallop to Yingyin. Tonight, they also captured Bocai and Bolian from the subordinate officials. "

The soldiers Cao Rafter and the left and right soldiers Cao Shi have all been appointed, and it doesn't matter how many walks there are. Prefect Wen said, "Quan Yiqing's will!"

Although he couldn't be too trustworthy, but being able to hold some military power justifiably, Xun Zhen gained two points of confidence to fight.

—

1. Soldiers Cao rafters and county Sima.

"At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, following the old Qin Dynasty, the county set up the county soldiers, with Sima as officers. If the county soldiers were cavalry, the county Sima was called the county cavalry Sima. The county Sima was under the jurisdiction of the county governor and the county commander. If a county without military affairs has dismissed its soldiers or only a few of its soldiers are left, the county Sima will no longer be placed in the county. However, in a county with military affairs, the army will still be placed, and the county Sima will still be placed, especially in the border counties. The above examples can be seen, and there are still examples in the late Han Dynasty. In the counties that have dismissed the army or have only a few army soldiers, there is no county Sima, and the military affairs are appointed by Cao Yeshi, a soldier created by the prefect of the county, or the history of soldiers and horses. "

Sun Jian was the county Sima.

Sun Jian was a native of Wu County, either because Wu County often had military affairs, or because of the rebellion of the "Huaiji Demon Bandit Xuchang" in the neighboring county at that time, so there was a county Sima in the county. Sun Jian used the county Sima to recruit more than 1,000 brave soldiers, and he joined the state and county, and after breaking Xuchang, he was successful.