Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3289: Do it if you want, or get out if you don't

Indeed, Cao Pi had reason to be angry about the current situation in Jizhou.

But anger cannot solve problems, it can only create more problems.

Many things often cannot have the best of both worlds, and at certain times, you can only make choices.

The result of wanting everything is often that you get nothing.

Cao Pi has now tasted the consequences of wanting everything.

If he hadn't wanted everything before, then the money and grain of Jizhou might not be so concentrated in the transit camp, the soldiers of the counties would not be so weak, and the resentment of the local gentry would not be so great.

If he hadn't wanted everything, but tried to reconcile the relationship between Cui Yan and Chen Qun as much as possible, and kept the two in Yecheng to command, on the one hand, he could show the attitude of cooperation between Jizhou and Yuzhou to the outside world, and on the other hand, Wei Yan might not be able to take too much advantage under the cooperation of Cui Yan and Chen Qun.

Wei Yan was bold and sharp in his battlefield intuition.

He almost instinctively grasped the discord between Jizhou and Yuzhou, and sensed the hidden resentment of the gentry in Jizhou towards Cao's army. He immediately began to lure the gentry in Jizhou to become Wei Yan's "friendly army", actively or passively cooperating to cover up Wei Yan's tracks.

Chen Qun guessed some of the problems, but he couldn't say it clearly. He could only implicitly remind Cao Pi that there was a drought in Jizhou and that he should do something, at least to show an attitude and win over these gentry in Jizhou...

It's like many companies in later generations always have to give out some insignificant welfare products when they encounter festivals.

Although it's not much, and it's very likely that the middleman has passed the oil, but at least it proves that the company has this intention, and the employees' minds may be slightly more stable.

And Cao Pi is like coming up and slamming the table, shouting at the top of his lungs, China doesn't have much else, but there are many people, work if you want, and get out if you don't!

Isn't this the same as a certain milk factory mocking consumers, "We don't need you"?

As a result, Jizhou is now short of one person in the east and one in the west, and there are holes everywhere.

Cao Pi angrily said that he would loosen Chen Qun's chain and let him go out to bite... well, to suppress bandits, but in fact, even if Chen Qun killed all the officials in Jizhou who did not obey his orders, would the problem be solved?

Obviously impossible.

To really solve the problem is a very troublesome thing, so many people are willing to directly solve the person who raised the problem. So Cao Pi is now making a mistake on top of a mistake.

Cao Cao and Fei Qian are like two super companies in the Han Dynasty, with thousands or even tens of thousands of employees, directly involving millions of families, and indirectly radiating to tens of millions of people.

Then when there is a problem, it is to kill, kill, kill?

Which company has a problem and solves the problem by killing employees?

Layoffs?

Layoffs can only be regarded as dismissal at most, but killing is directly physically erasing.

How stupid can this solution be?

Now it's like layoffs cutting into blood vessels.

There are many delicious and fun things on a table, but a bug got mixed in.

The correct approach is definitely not to cry and shout, and then grab the tablecloth tightly, which eventually causes everything on the table to fall to the ground and break into pieces.

Chen Qun delivered those memorials to let Cao Pi understand where the root of Jizhou's problems are and what the most critical handle is...

The result is obvious. Cao Pi is like a crying and angry child. He doesn't listen to what Chen Qun wants to say, nor does he ask Chen Qun what to do. Instead, he grabs the tablecloth and pulls it down desperately.

In order to prevent the things on the table from falling to pieces, Chen Qun can only agree to lead the troops to encircle and suppress the "Piaoqi Bandits".

There must be some preparations for sending troops.

Before setting off, Chen Qun summoned his children to him.

Chen Tai is not old, but not young either.

Originally, Chen Qun brought Chen Tai to Yecheng, on the one hand, to take better care of and teach Chen Tai, and on the other hand, he hoped that Chen Tai would have more opportunities to contact Cao Pi...

How to get closer to the relatives of the leader is obviously also a learning.

Unfortunately, now, Chen Qun suddenly felt that Chen Tai and Cao Pi were not suitable to get too close.

'Father...'

Chen Tai stepped forward to greet him.

Chen Qun pointed to the seat beside him, 'Sit.'

Since he couldn't get too close to Cao Pi, he had to choose another direction and open up another channel.

So what directions and channels are there in Yecheng, or in Jizhou, that are worth Chen Qun's investment?

In the hall, the father and son sat in silence.

The summer sun entered the courtyard, and it seemed a little bright and hot, as if it was going to melt everything.

'Jizhou's drought is not light...'

Chen Qun sighed softly.

The green leaves in the courtyard were now bowed.

Chen Tai didn't answer.

There was no wind, so the air around was a little stuffy.

Although the summer in Jizhou is not as humid and stuffy as Jiangdong, this kind of windless weather can make people feel as if something is blocking their hearts, and breathing is a little uncomfortable.

Cao Pi grew up gradually. Some of his temper could be described as "immature" or "childish" when he was young, but Cao Pi was not an ordinary child.

Moreover, the definition of children in the Han Dynasty was not as outrageous as that of later generations...

In later generations, there are not many who are still children in their thirties and forties, but in the Han Dynasty, there are not a few who become the head of the family at the age of twelve or thirteen and live independently.

Therefore, Cao Piguang lost his composure as a successor because of his temper and his aggressive behavior, which also made Chen Qun despise him more and more.

After another long silence, Chen Qun looked at Chen Tai.

Chen Tai quickly straightened his back slightly and treated him respectfully.

"What is a noble family?" 』

Chen Qun asked.

Chen Tai thought for a moment and said, "Aristocratic family is a family that has been passed down from generation to generation. Its family has a prominent family name and has been handed down from generation to generation." The family tradition is honest, the title is hereditary, and the descendants multiply and are passed down from generation to generation. 』

Chen Qun was noncommittal and asked again: "What is a gentry?" 』

Chen Tai was stunned for a moment, "Well... ah, the gentry is a family whose profession is studying. Although their family background is not as prominent as that of the aristocratic family, they have been scholarly for generations, and their descendants all attach great importance to learning." The family style is elegant and passed down from generation to generation. 』

"So, what are people? ” Chen Qun then asked.

"The people are the foundation of the country." ” Chen Tai replied.

Chen Qun nodded and sighed, "That's it." 』

Chen Qun is knowledgeable, but also limited by his own limitations.

What is fundamental?

In fact, they are the sewers of the city, the roots of the forest, and the people who are often ignored inside...

But Chen Qun, like Chen Tai, kept talking about "people", but actually couldn't see those people.

It's like Chen Tai can talk eloquently when he talks about "noble families" and "gentry", but when he talks about "people", he only has one short sentence.

Normally, their heads look upward.

When you look up, what do you see?

High-rise buildings and lush foliage.

As for the roots and soil below?

And the sewers that are clogged with siltation...

How stinky and filthy it is. Would that "idiot" look at it?

Chen Qun does not think he is a "fool", nor will he let his children be "fools".

"With the general trend of the world, what can you think about?" ” Chen Qun asked again.

"The general trend of the world?" ” Chen Tai was silent for a moment. This question was a bit big, and he didn’t know how to answer it for a while.

Chen Qun looked at Chen Tai and said, "The world is big and chaotic, but it is nothing more than aristocratic families, noble families, and people..."

Chen Tai suddenly understood, "Father, are you saying that now that the aristocratic family has collapsed, the gentry will take over and the people will be ruled?" 』

『Yes. ” Chen Qun nodded, but soon sighed again, “It’s just...the Crown Prince..."

Chen Qun looked around and lowered his voice, "I don't understand this." 』

Before the fall of the Yuan family, the Han Dynasty was the dynasty of the aristocratic family. It can even be said that dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, only aristocratic families could rule the roost. Even in the historical records, "noble families" are listed as the first priority.

What? Chen Sheng and Wu Guang?

Yes, Chen Sheng was not from an aristocratic family, but he was eventually classified as a "noble family".

Chen Sheng was the first to launch an attack under the strict rule of the Qin Dynasty, and he was very successful. Later, Chen Sheng established himself as the King of Chu, more or less a "king", and the generals he appointed also played a key role in overthrowing the rule of the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, Sima Qian praised Chen Sheng, compared him to Shang Tang and Zhou Wu, affirmed his achievements in overthrowing the previous dynasty, and elevated Chen Sheng into the "noble family".

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A normal "noble family" is the kind that Chen Tai answered, "a hairpin from generation to generation".

Chen Qun's meaning is very close to the path he took in history.

Because China is a large agricultural country, the formation of kingdoms before the Han Dynasty, including the Han Dynasty, was usually and could only be provided by the political elite group of a certain region as the core and the will to form a group. For example, Liu Bang and Liu Xiu had political groups with their regions as the core, and the same was true for Cao Cao himself.

In the great turmoil of the entire world, the most ordinary people are at best followers of these political elites. In a sense, they can be considered to have participated in the changes in national politics, but their influence is really very limited.

In the manor system of Han Shandong, these ordinary people at the bottom, except for a few people who are lucky enough to float to the surface, most of the people at the bottom are settled below the surface and cannot influence politics in a participatory way. decision making. They are just "people of the country", people under the rule of the emperor and officials, various "people" organized with various prefixes, such as subjects, subjects, common people, grassroots, untouchables, unruly people...

But China is the first country to realize the importance of the people.

If the sentence "the people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important" is only limited to Mencius' ideal, then "water can carry a boat, water can overturn it", as well as "public opinion", "people's heart", etc. Words have become the focus of emperors and political elites of all dynasties, and are an important constraint on the political governance of any dynasty. Many institutional practices in Chinese history also pursued, to varying degrees, the pursuit of conforming to the will of the people and winning the support of the people.

So it is obvious that China has a preliminary awareness of "people" or "subjects", but this awareness also has certain limitations.

This limitation does not mean that there is any difference between "citizens" and "citizens" in the West, because "citizens" in the West and "subjects" in the East are concepts formed by completely different historical developments and cannot be simply compared and evaluated with each other. Good or bad.

Chen Qun is the embodiment of this conceptual limitation.

He understood that the collapse of the Han Dynasty was the collapse of the aristocratic family. He understood that if the Han Dynasty wanted to return to order, it could only rely on more nobles, rather than relying on a single aristocratic family, so Chen Qun submitted an examination to Cao Cao. The "Zhengzheng System" was historically known as the "Nine-grade Zhongzheng System", but due to various reasons, Cao Cao did not effectively promote the "Kaozheng System".

Chen Qun had previously used the Wei Yan incident to deliver memorials from various places to Cao Pi. The original idea was to use this opportunity to promote the unity of the Jizhou gentry and consolidate the lower gentry into the "kaozheng system" so that they could Automatically and spontaneously search for experience packs, such as "bandits" and "drought", just like killing monsters and upgrading.

But it's a pity...

Cao Pi didn't appreciate it, or he didn't understand the key issues at all.

That would be a pity.

Chen Qun was not prepared to talk to Cao Pi a second time.

"The system of examination is based on the quality of people." People are divided into high and low, equally divided into superior and inferior, and examinations are used as a system to correct people. Therefore, it is called Kaozheng. ” Chen Qun said slowly, “This system is designed to select talented people for the use of the imperial court. In today's troubled times, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of the promotion of filial piety and honesty in counties and counties, and the talents are withering. Therefore, the governors of the state and county are used as the test, and the talents of the prefectures, counties and counties are inspected, and their conduct, talents, family background and other things are evaluated to determine their level. Firstly, it can avoid tediousness, and secondly, it can be fair. 』

Chen Tai looked at Chen Qun, "Father..."

"Nowadays, thieves and bandits are incessant in the prefectures and counties, and the drought is inexhaustible in the fields. All these are problems for the local area." ” Chen Qun said in a deep voice, “Now, under the orders of the prince, I am commanding the soldiers of Yecheng, marching against the bandits, and Jingping... Do you know what you should do? 』

"This..." Chen Tai seemed to understand a little, but not completely.

"Cui Jigui is not in Jizhou now. ” Chen Qun added.

Chen Tai thought for a long time, and then suddenly said, "Ah, I understand, kid." 』

Chen Qun nodded, "Then go and get busy." As a father... we will raise an army to defeat the thieves in three days! 』

Chen Tai took a breath and said, "Follow the order." The child resigned. 』

…

…

When Jizhou was disturbed beyond peace and everyone had their own thoughts, the Cao army camp at the foot of Emei Mountains received the most violent artillery baptism.

Are the city walls of the Han Dynasty, the city walls of the Tang Dynasty, or the Ming and Qing Dynasties the same?

Apparently not.

In ancient times, the earliest defense systems were fences and trenches, which were used to defend against wild animals. Later, city walls were added to defend against humans. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the city wall had basically taken shape, with a rammed earth lining and brick and stone covering, which became the standard for city walls in later Chinese feudal dynasties.

It's just that because the means of attacking the city are becoming more and more cruel, the city wall has begun to develop horizontally and become thicker and thicker. Most of the city walls that have survived in later generations are those from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, in the early Han and Tang Dynasties, because on the one hand they were very old and on the other hand they were not as thick and strong as the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are not many that remain.

Generally speaking, the strength of the "shield" used to defend was determined based on the "spear" at that time. Therefore, when Fei Qian took out the artillery that spanned this dynasty, it was still set up according to the old defense standards. A city wall can't stop it, let alone a military camp?

So didn’t Cao Jun know that Fei Qian had artillery?

In fact, I know.

But the key is that the time left for Cao Cao was too short.

When the news that Shanshan Kingdom was bombarded by artillery and the capital city was spread to Shandong, some people thought it was "fake news" created by Fei Qian...

Artillery roared.

Fei Qian only used two bronze cannons, and after several consecutive bombardments, he opened a small gap in Cao Jun's camp down the slope. Although the wall will not collapse, the morale of Cao's army is obviously declining.

Even though Liu Zhu quickly organized people to block the collapsed part of the wall and barely maintained the front, the collapse in people's morale was not so easy to fill.

Fei Qian's formation was like a crab, with two large pincers serving as cavalry on both wings.

In the thick array in the middle are infantry, artillery and baggage, and there are also some cavalry in the rear line, like those with thinner legs of crabs.

The mission of the infantry is not only to attack, but also to protect the artillery array.

The duty of the cavalry is to strangle them like giant pliers when there is a flaw in the opponent's formation.

This kind of array is simple and straightforward. Both your own side and the enemy can see it clearly and understand it clearly. It does not look like an eight-door golden lock, a nine-bend Yellow River, etc. It makes people confused.

But the problem is that even if Liu Zhu understands it, he has no choice but to stand there and pray for Cao Jun's reinforcements to come quickly...

Fei lurked at the back of the formation, and Xu Chu stood aside.

"Just go." 』

Fei Qian nodded slightly.

Xu Chu bowed down, stood up immediately, and moved forward proudly.

This is the stage set by Fei Qian for Xu Chu, and now Xu Chu is about to appear on stage.

A good general cannot grow by talking on paper, but must be tested in actual combat.

The small and medium-sized Cao Jun camp at the foot of the slope was Xu Chu's training ground.

Of course, you can win, but if the damage is too great, or if the command is too chaotic, you may lose the next chance to go on stage, or even never get a second chance.

Following Xu Chu's order, the infantry line gradually moved forward.

The archers followed the shield soldiers, fifty steps away from their own line of soldiers, not too far or too close, just the range where the archers could exert their greatest power, and they could use volleys or diffuse fire to support the front-line infantry formation at any time.

The war drums roared, and the flags fluttered.

The cavalrymen were full of fighting spirit, and the ranks were neatly approaching.

On the other hand, the Cao army soldiers in the camp were pale and trembling.

Even with the camp trenches and chevaux de frise traps, they could not bring any comfort to these Cao army soldiers, let alone any sense of security.

The Cao army soldiers felt that they were deeply trapped in an endless swamp. Whether they struggled or stayed still, it meant the arrival of death, sooner or later.

If Liu Zhu had not repeatedly emphasized that going out of the camp to fight in the field meant death, and staying in the camp might still wait for reinforcements, these Cao army soldiers might have collapsed and fled in the first few rounds of artillery fire.

But this is only temporary, and both Liu Zhu and the Cao army soldiers know this.

Liu Zhu personally stayed on the front line, constantly encouraging the Cao army soldiers and stabilizing the front line, but how long can this Cao army camp at the bottom of the slope hold out? No one knows.