Usurping the Mongols: My Father-in-Law is Genghis Khan

The next day, Zhang Rou was appointed magistrate of Dingxing County of the Great Mongol Empire, and Qiao Weizhong was appointed county sheriff to guard Dingxing City.

Although the Mongols would not leave troops in any city, the necessary political order had to be left behind.

Otherwise, these cities would become power vacuums.

The bottom line of those powerful local families is lower than the most evil and corrupt court, and I don’t know how many tragic events would happen.

The good reputation established by the Mongols would also be greatly reduced.

In addition, there is another important reason, which is to submit a certificate of allegiance to the Mongols.

The Mongols did not leave troops, and these places would definitely be recovered by the Jin Dynasty.

There were too many people serving the Mongols, so unless the Jin Emperor was brain-dead and wanted to force these people to rebel and perish the country immediately, he would not retaliate on a large scale.

However, it was entirely feasible for the Jin court to issue an order to "only punish the leaders and not question those who were coerced."

People like Zhang Rou and Qiao Weizhong, who had been granted official positions by the Mongols, now had no way to turn back.

In fact, Zhao Shuo had specifically instructed his generals that when attacking cities and seizing territory, they must tie useful talents to the Mongol chariot.

Zhang Rou also understood this principle.

He had no complaints about this appointment.

Originally, killing officials and rebelling was his own choice, and no one forced him.

He valued chivalry and was willing to be the magistrate of Dingxing County to protect the peace of the area.

Besides, could he still defect to the Jin or Song Dynasty?

Learn from Lu Bu and be a slave of three families?

Since he had already surrendered to the Mongols, he would wholeheartedly serve the Mongols.

Immediately, Zhang Rou went all out to do a good job as the magistrate of Dingxing County.

In less than a month, Zhang Rou, with his title as magistrate and his prestige, integrated all the forces in Dingxing County.

Zhang Rou was twenty-eight years old this year, with a burly figure, broad shoulders and a thick back, and strong limbs.

His skin was bronze, and there were a few faint scars on his cheeks, possibly left when he fought with others out of a sense of justice.

His eyes were bright and piercing, and his whole person exuded a sense of heroism and perseverance.

"You may dispense with the formalities, sit down!"

"Yes."

Zhao Shuo said: "According to Genghis Khan's decree, whoever collects the surrendered people will be his subordinates.

So, now you are my direct subordinate, understand?"

"This official understands and is willing to die for the Prince Consort!" Zhang Rou said without hesitation.

Zhao Shuo continued: "You also know that we Mongols never leave troops in the city, so we will definitely leave.

How many soldiers can you take with us?"

Zhang Rou said: "May I ask the Prince Consort, if these soldiers follow you, are they considered civilians or slaves?

Are they going to graze sheep on the grassland or farm on the plains?

Can they bring their families?"

Zhao Shuo nodded approvingly at Zhang Rou and said: "You asked three questions without hesitation, it seems that you have been prepared for a rainy day.

This Prince Consort can now tell you clearly: you are of course my people and not slaves, you can bring your families, and we will not let you graze sheep on the grassland."

After a pause, Zhao Shuo smiled coldly and said: "Although we Mongols will definitely withdraw our troops, now that the war has reached this point, how is it possible that the Jin Dynasty will not bleed a little?"

Zhang Rou looked happy and said: "Then this official can take three thousand people and their families with you."

"So many?" Zhao Shuo was slightly stunned.

The Han people are the most attached to their homeland, especially in ancient times.

He had also asked some newly appointed magistrates, some could only bring three or four hundred people, some could bring five or six hundred people, and the most were only a little over a thousand people.

Unexpectedly, this Zhang Rou had such means.

Zhang Rou misunderstood Zhao Shuo's meaning and said: "When Dingxing City was captured, those militiamen were given enough food for their families to eat for several years.

To be honest, these people have probably never eaten their fill in their entire lives.

When the Jin court returns, they will definitely collect food from them.

They will soon have their food taken away, how can they be willing?

Naturally, they are willing to follow you."

Zhao Shuo said: "The most important thing is that you have a high reputation in Dingxing, and the people believe in you and are willing to follow you."

"Not only do they believe in me, but they also believe in you, Prince Consort, and in the Mongol court."

Afraid that Zhao Shuo would not want to accept so many people, Zhang Rou quickly added: "These people are determined to surrender to the Mongols, and there is no problem with their loyalty.

Although their combat power is not strong, please believe me, Prince Consort, I will definitely be able to train them into an elite army within a year for the Prince Consort to use."

"Very good." Zhao Shuo said: "Later, you go to Ge Rile and ask for some horses, mules, cows, etc., to make up 10,000.

Then ask him for 3,000 carts.

After you go back, let these people prepare to move."

"Thank you, Prince Consort!"

It could be said that Zhang Rou was very satisfied that Zhao Shuo had agreed to accept these three thousand people, and he had an explanation to his fellow villagers.

Unexpectedly, there was still a surprise.

Zhao Shuo said: "In addition, I will transfer 7,000 troops from various routes to join your command.

Your original three thousand men will be considered your personal troops, and I will never split them up unless it is absolutely necessary.

In addition, I have the right to transfer these 7,000 people at any time, do you understand?"

"Understood."

"Very good."

Zhao Shuo stood up and said solemnly: "From today on, you, Zhang Rou, will be one of the ten thousand households under my command, Zhao Shuo."

"I am willing to die for the Prince Consort!"

Zhang Rou knelt down on the ground and bowed deeply.

If the first "I am willing to die for the Prince Consort" he said today was a normal superior-subordinate response, then this "I am willing to die for the Prince Consort" now was sincere and from the bottom of his heart.

There was no other way, he was promoted too quickly.

Less than two months ago, Zhang Rou was only a "commander" managing five hundred people in the Jin Dynasty.

This "commander" was a cheap position in the conscripted army, and it was even more uncertain whether the Jin court would recognize the temporary appointment by Nala Erzhen, the magistrate of Dingxing County.

Now that he had surrendered to the Mongols, he first became the magistrate of Dingxing County, and then was directly appointed by Zhao Shuo as a ten thousand household of the Han army, with an army of ten thousand under his command.

This power was something that even a prefect in the Jin Dynasty would not exchange it for!

"I didn't expect that the Mongols are not only generous with money, but also so generous with official positions!

I really made the right choice to surrender to the Mongols!"

Zhang Rou now felt his blood boiling all over his body.

Although he vaguely felt that not all Mongol nobles were so generous, perhaps only this Prince Consort Zhao Shuo, who had Han Chinese blood, was so generous.

But, what was the difference?

His current lord was Zhao Shuo!

The sentence "I am willing to die for the Prince Consort" was truly generous and sonorous.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed, and Zhao Shuo's army had swept through all the cities in Hebei.

A total of more than 107,000 taels of gold, 1.23 million taels of silver, and 6.57 million strings of cash were obtained.

35,600 pieces of various precious silk fabrics.

860,000 pieces of ordinary new silk cloth.

More than 400,000 heads of various livestock such as horses, mules, donkeys, and sheep.

270,000 shi of grain.

That's right, a full 270,000 shi of grain.

Although the Mongols didn't focus on grain collection, the gap between rich and poor was too great in this era. The rich stored enough grain to eat for nearly ten years, while the poor sold their children and struggled for food and clothing. Even the amount Zhao Shuo casually had people collect was terrifyingly large.

Of course, Zhao Shuo's greatest gain was the addition of a large army composed mainly of Han Chinese.

One day, outside the city of Zhengding.

A platform for reviewing troops was erected high.

Zhao Shuo, the Imperial Son-in-Law of the Great Mongol Empire, hereditary commander of five thousand households, and commander of ten thousand, ascended the platform under the guard of a hundred Black Riders.

Below the platform, banners fluttered, and flags waved. Eighty thousand soldiers stood respectfully and solemnly.

Among them, Zhao Shuo's original subordinates numbered thirty-six thousand.

The newly recruited Han army numbered forty-five thousand.

Including the twenty thousand Balu battalion soldiers outside Zhongdu City, Zhao Shuo's total force exceeded one hundred thousand.

In other dynasties, this would have been enough power to sweep across the land.

Today was the day Zhao Shuo would present the flags to his Han army.

"Guo Baoyu!"

"Here!"

With a series of heavy footsteps, Guo Baoyu, fully armored, ascended the platform.

Zhao Shuo said, "Guo Baoyu, you were meritorious in seizing the gate at Huihe Fort, and you have made no small contribution during our army's conquest of Hebei. Today, I bestow upon you the position of Commander of the Han Army's Plain Red Banner!"

Having said that, he took a large, bright red flag from behind him and handed it to Guo Baoyu.

"Thank you, Imperial Son-in-Law! Guo Baoyu, Commander of the Han Army's Plain Red Banner, is willing to die for you!"

Guo Baoyu knelt on one knee and accepted the red flag.

Then, he stood up, raised the red flag, and waved it towards the troops below the platform, saying, "Long live the Han Army's Plain Red Banner!"

"Long live the Han Army's Plain Red Banner!"

"Long live the Han Army's Plain Red Banner!"

…

Ten thousand soldiers of the Plain Red Banner shouted in unison, their voices shaking the sky!

Then, Zhang Rou came on stage and received a Plain Blue Banner.

Zhang Rou was appointed as the Commander of the Han Army's Plain Blue Banner under Zhao Shuo.

The next person to come on stage was Shi Tianni.

Unlike Guo Baoyu and Zhang Rou, who needed Zhao Shuo to replenish their forces, Shi Tianni brought ten thousand soldiers with him when he came to join Zhao Shuo.

Indeed, Shi Bingzhi only had eight hundred private soldiers, and he had already joined Zhao Shuo.

However, the Shi family's influence in Yongqing was too deeply rooted.

Shi Bingzhi's grandfather was named Shi Lun, and he was very wealthy.

When Yongqing suffered a major disaster, Shi Lun directly took out eighty thousand shi of grain to provide disaster relief and save the people.

Eighty thousand shi!

According to the weight of later generations, that would be ten million jin.

Even in later generations, that would be a dazzling number.

In this way, although Yongqing suffered a major disaster, not a single person starved to death.

After Shi Lun passed away, the people, grateful for his merits, spontaneously organized more than forty "Qing Le Society" groups, each with a thousand households.

By the time of Shi Bingzhi's father, Shi Chengkui, he naturally became the leader of these forty thousand households. He was charitable and generous, and like Shi Lun, he would take out the grain from his home to help the poor people in the years of major disasters.

After decades of operation, the Shi family in Yongqing was truly able to get a response from everyone.

Now that Zhao Shuo was sweeping through Hebei and Shi Bingzhi had joined the Mongols, Shi Tianni gave a call, and the members of the "Qing Le Society" responded in droves, easily gathering ten thousand strong men, killing the county magistrate, and joining Zhao Shuo's command.

Zhao Shuo simply appointed Shi Tianni as the Commander of the Han Army's Plain Yellow Banner.

The fourth person to come on stage was named Yan Shi.

Yan Shi was from Changqing County, which belonged to Shandong in later generations' administrative divisions. But in this era, it belonged to Hebei.

This person also belonged to the second type of local tyrant. His family didn't have much money, but he was charitable and liked to stand up for the oppressed. Yan Shi had offended too many wealthy households because he stood up for the oppressed too much, and he had been imprisoned many times.

This time, when the Mongols attacked, Yan Shi gave a call, and three thousand people immediately responded and joined Zhao Shuo.

Yan Shi also contributed a lot to Zhao Shuo's conquest of Hebei this time.

In historical records, Yan Shi was one of the most prominent Han Chinese warlords in the north, and he was awarded the title of Commander of the Dongping Road Army, with fifty-four cities under his command.

Zhao Shuo awarded him the position of Commander of the Han Army's Plain Black Banner.

According to the Qing Dynasty's Eight Banner system, it should have been the Plain White Banner. However, Zhao Shuo thought the white flag was too unlucky and changed it to the Plain Black Banner.

There were still five thousand Han soldiers left, and Zhao Shuo assigned them to the Han Army's Bordered Red Banner.

The flag of the Plain Red Banner was pure red, without a border; while the flag of the Bordered Red Banner was red with a black border.

Because the five thousand households of the Bordered Red Banner didn't have enough merit, Zhao Shuo didn't appoint a commander of ten thousand, but instead had two commanders of a thousand come up to receive the flag as representatives.

The first commander of a thousand was named Dong Jun.

The second commander of a thousand was named Di Shun.

These two people were also Northern Han Chinese warlords in historical records, and they were both granted the title of commander of ten thousand in history.

Although Dong Jun was not very famous in later generations, his son Dong Wenbing was very famous.

Dong Wenbing was not only good at fighting, but also proficient in both civil and military affairs. He served as the prime minister of the Great Yuan Dynasty and was affectionately called "Brother Dong" by Emperor Shizu Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty.

Could a person who could be called "Brother" by the emperor be simple?

"The Han Army's Plain Red Banner (Plain Blue Banner, Plain Black Banner, Plain Yellow Banner, Bordered Red Banner) is willing to die for you, Imperial Son-in-Law!"

After the flag-granting ceremony, the forty-five thousand Han soldiers paid their respects and made oaths like mountains and seas.

They brought their families and left their homes, joining Zhao Shuo's command, cutting off all retreat and offering Zhao Shuo their complete loyalty!

Zhao Shuo was very excited when he saw this.

Now, these Han soldiers all had two horses per person, wore iron armor, and were equipped with heavy iron spears, iron axes, giant shields, and repeating crossbows. With a little training, they would be an elite force.

These Han soldiers voluntarily left their homeland with Zhao Shuo. In other words, they were the most adventurous people in Hebei, willing to go out and explore. In a sense, Zhao Shuo had already taken control of the elite soldiers of Hebei.

These Han army commanders of ten thousand and commanders of a thousand were actually Hebei Han Chinese warlords that Zhao Shuo had collected based on his historical memories. It could be said that all the famous generals of Hebei were in Zhao Shuo's hands.

Zhao Shuo's conquest of Hebei this time was truly a great gain.

In fact, who else besides Zhao Shuo was excited?

Mo Shi Ming'an thought to himself: Imperial Son-in-Law Zhao Shuo promoted Guo Baoyu to be the commander of the Han Army's Plain Red Banner, so what about me? It's just that there aren't many Khitans in Hebei, and the contributions I've made aren't enough.

In the future, when there are more Khitans under the Imperial Son-in-Law's command, and I make great contributions again, I'm afraid I can also get a Khitan commander of ten thousand.

Dong Jun and Di Shun looked at each other and saw the intention of competing in each other's eyes.

Zhao Shuo asked them to come on stage to receive the Bordered Red Banner, which meant that the commander of ten thousand of the Bordered Red Banner was likely to be produced between them. It depends on who makes great contributions first and gets there first.

Moreover, when the Imperial Son-in-Law bestowed the banners to the various banners just now, he said 'commander of a certain banner', not 'banner lord of a certain banner'.

It is likely that the commander of ten thousand and the banner lord are not the same.

Thinking about it, how many colors can there be on a flag? With so many Han people, how could there be only tens of thousands of soldiers?

As long as I make great contributions in the future, why worry about not getting promoted!