The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

After Zu Ti finished speaking, he poured the glass of wine in front of the window and knelt down. Everyone behind Zu Ti knelt down. Zu Ti stood up slowly, and others stood up one after another and returned to their seats. An old man sitting next to Zu Ti said:"Admiral Liu Kun died for the country, and his death was as heavy as Mount Tai. On behalf of all the squires here today, I would like to thank Mr. Zu and all the generals in Yuzhou. It has been your many years. Lai spared no effort to fight against the Hu people, sacrificed his efforts, and without the support of the court, the remnants of the Jiehu people fled here in despair. Although some of us are older than the adults, and some are younger. But I want to say What's strange is that we people are getting old, but before we die, we have a parent who cares about the country and the people! Even if I die now, I won't have any regrets!" After the old man finished speaking, he was already in tears. Tears streaming down my face. Hearing this, Zu Ti said with deep emotion:"It seems like yesterday that I heard the chicken dance when I was young, and the middle-class hit in the past few years. But if you think about it carefully, I am also over fifty years old. Back then, King Langya only gave I had food and rice for a thousand people and three thousand pieces of cloth, but I was not given armor or weapons, so I was left to find my own solution. After crossing the river, I gradually recruited two thousand soldiers and started to forge weapons. Alas, no matter how you put it, it was difficult. I finally got through the day!"

Zu Ti and the squires were talking when the downstairs suddenly became lively. A waiter came up and said,"Master Zu, there are thousands of people on the street, saying they are coming to seek refuge with you!"

When he heard that so many people had come, Zu Ti stood up quickly, and Zu Gai, Zu Huan and others also got out. Come downstairs. When I walked out of the restaurant, I saw a sea of ​​people at the door of the restaurant. A young man in the crowd who knew Zu Ti shouted:"Master Governor Zu is here!"

The people at the door of the restaurant suddenly became quiet. When these people saw Zu Ti coming, they all knelt down. The young man said:"Sir, we are the people north of the Yellow River. We came to Yuzhou a few days ago, and you gave us food and new clothes to wear. We all hated the days of being persecuted and enslaved by the Jie people. After discussion with the villagers from several of our villages, more than 500 households totaling more than 3,000 people crossed the Yellow River south to join the Lord!"

"OK OK! Get up quickly, folks! Zu Ti said happily:"I will arrange for everyone to stay as soon as possible." Let every family have a place to live and a field to grow, so that everyone can support themselves. Young people who are willing to serve as soldiers to protect their homes and country should register at the government office in a few days!"

The restaurant owner is a warm-hearted person. He moved out a table and took out a large piece of light yellow cloth, as well as an inkstone and a writing brush. Zu Ti took a look and praised:"That's great. The boss is really thoughtful. , we will immediately start registering the situation of the villagers. Brother, you and Huan'er start registering the names, place of origin and ages of the folks!"

"OK" Zu Gai said, sitting behind the table with Zu Huan, and started to register.

The restaurant owner looked at these people from the north of the Yellow River, and his heart arose spontaneously. He said loudly:"The folks who came here from the south, I immediately arranged for the staff to work overtime to steam the steamed buns. There are still some steamed buns, which are distributed first to the old, weak, sick, women and children, two to each person. For the rest of the people, each person will get two steamed buns and a bowl of soup."

"The restaurant owner is such a nice guy!"Many people in the crowd praised.

After sending away the squires who were attending the banquet, and arranging the residences of these people who were crossing south, Zu Ti and others returned to the government office. Zu Gai said to Zu Ti:"Brother, the people who crossed over to the south this time There are 1,200 young people who are willing to serve as soldiers. Our strength has grown a lot"

"very good. In the past two days, you and Huan'er have registered the rosters and sent these recruits to Han Qian and General Feng Tie respectively. Let the new recruits seize the time to train and improve their combat capabilities as soon as possible. Zu Ti said:"There is another thorny problem. Although we have temporarily expelled Shi Hu, not everyone in Yuzhou obeys our orders." Some old ministers of the previous dynasty often wavered from left to right. When Shihu came, he was afraid of Shihu, so he colluded with Shihu to rob the people, making the people miserable. The old officials of the previous dynasty mainly included Li Ju, Guo Mo, Zhao Gu, Shangguan Si and other separatist forces. These forces operate independently and are not subordinate to each other. In order to compete for population and territory, they often fight with each other, and sometimes conflicts even break out. Cause casualties. In the past two days, my eldest brother had time. He took my handwritten letter and went with Huan'er to convince them. Move it with emotion, understand it with reason. I believe that they will put the interests of the country and the nation first, put aside their past grudges, laugh away their grudges, accept my unified command, and work together to fight Shi Le"

"Okay, I'll do it in the next two days, don't worry, brother. Zu Gai said. Zu Ti added:"Brother, we must not only be courteous to virtuous corporals and considerate of the people's sentiments, but also treat everyone equally, regardless of high or low, rich or poor, in terms of rewards for war and military achievements." There are no battles these days. In addition to training the soldiers, the generals also have to take the lead in cultivating the fields. The children of our family should take the lead in farming. The place bordering the Huns and Jie people can allow soldiers to practice farming."

"If my brother has nothing else to do, I will go down. Zu Gai said. Zu Ti thought for a while and then added:"There is another thing that is not a trivial matter." They are the remains of soldiers and civilians scattered throughout Yuzhou. Whether it's the enemy or ours, if everyone dies, a hundred will die. It would be better to let the soldiers from all over the country restrain themselves and go to their graves in peace."

"My brother is just thinking carefully, I will do it now."Zu should have finished speaking and went down.

In the palace city of Jiankang, Sima Rui in the court was talking about things related to Zu Ti. Zhou Wei said:"Your Majesty, Jiangnan sent a report on the expedition horse to Yuzhou, saying what Zu Ti heard The little prince died and he was so sad that he didn't eat or sleep well for several days and nights."

Hearing what Zhou Wei said, tears flowed from the corners of Sima Rui's eyes again. Zhou Wei said hurriedly:"I made a mistake, please punish me! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Sima Rui said with some emotion:"I don't blame you. I will be content to have ministers and good generals like my ancestor Ti who are not around but care about the country and the royal family."

Diao Xie said."Yes, Your Majesty, it is indeed very rare for General Zu Ti to hold up a piece of Yuzhou's sky with his own power and block the Jie people's iron hoof. Of the four generals in the previous dynasty who were able to compete with the Hu people, Liu Kun has passed away, and Shao Xu and Cao Yi have their own agendas. Only Zu Ti was named General Fenwei and Governor of Yuzhou by His Majesty a few years ago. Adopting a steady and step-by-step strategy has been a great success. Zu Ti not only established a foothold south of the Yellow River. It also gradually eliminated Shi Le's influence south of the Yellow River, and his official position should be granted. Sima

Rui thought for a while, looked at the courtiers below, and then said:"General Fenwei and Zu Ti, the governor of Yuzhou, have been self-reliant and working hard for many years. The officers and men are of one mind and have high moral standards and high respect. Expelling Jiehu means hard work and great merit. I grant Zu Ti the title of General Zhenxi!"

"Your majesty is wise!"The civil and military ministers said in unison.