Three Kingdoms

Just as Zhang Liao was cleaning out the officials of the Duhu Mansion at the Yamen of Xihai City, a guard came to report, "General, there are a few people kneeling outside at the gate. I heard them say that they are from the Military Academy in Xihai City and are here specially." Please forgive me. 』

"Make them wait." Zhang Liao nodded slightly and gave instructions while waving his hand for Zhang An to continue.

If it were someone else, most of these military academies would not be so obedient and come to apologize.

Zhang Liao was born in the North. In some respects, he was also a general representative of Bingzhou. In addition, his military exploits were also illustrious, and most of the soldiers and soldiers in Bingzhou had heard about it. Even though Zhang Liao has few people with him now, but with the blessing of his own prestige, naturally here in the Western Region, he can suppress these soldiers and generals who are originally from Bingzhou and Liangzhou.

And what's very interesting is that Zhang Liao didn't bring many people with him, but it gave these soldiers a little hope. Because if the current soldiers and military schools in the Western Regions are really regarded as rebels, then the soldiers brought by Zhang Liao obviously cannot be in such a number. If the army comes, it is ominous if there is no blood. Without a sufficient amount of blood, it is not enough to comfort the thirst for swords and guns.

Lu Bu's actions in the Western Regions and Wei Xu's rebellious behavior still made everyone feel a little guilty. Most people actually have some standards of good and evil in their hearts. The kind of extremely evil and extremely good people are basically a minority. Therefore, most of the military academies who stayed on duty in Xihai City knew what their problems were, but they had been complicit in the past. If they did not do these evil things, they would be tolerated by others, and if they did not bribe their superiors, they would be dismissed. Due to the situation, Then they give up on themselves, or live with the light.

When Zhang Liao came, these military academies may not have had any luck. They felt that Zhang Liao might not be really ruthless. After hearing that Zhang Liao summoned the officials of the Protectorate, they all watched intently until Zhang Liao killed Chief Yan. , after hanging the corpses on the city wall, there were only two roads left to these military schools.

To rebel, or to plead guilty.

Regardless of resistance or escape, it means rebellion.

Can you resist Zhang Liao? Those civil servants didn't know much about Zhang Liao's military situation, but these military academies basically knew it, and many of them even went into battle with Zhang Liao back then...

escape? Escape to Lu Bu's place and let Lu Bu come and fight Zhang Liao seems to be a solution, but in fact this is even more unreliable. Zhang Liao had already taken action to kill Chief Yan of the Protectorate, who was a relative of Mrs. Lu Bu, which meant that Zhang Liao would not protect Lu Bu's face at all this time.

Another point is that most of those who are keen on collecting money, as well as those military academies who have a good relationship with Wei Xu, have followed Lu Bu, while the remaining people in Xihai City are basically relatively marginal figures, interacting with each other. After some discussion, he came to apologize. This is the tragedy of little people. If you don't work hard to be gregarious, you will be ostracized and bullied, and you will have no chance to survive in the world. But if you really join in the same trend, you will be tortured in your heart. Just like those people who stood by silently during some bullying in later generations, neither participating nor having the courage to fight.

Are such people guilty? There are some, but it is not a great evil. Therefore, in comparison, I would rather come to plead guilty than choose to rebel which will completely have no way out.

After all, Zhang Liao brought the scepter.

As long as you are not a fool, you can know what it means if you are not a fool.

Perhaps at some point, the hormones produced by killing people, or stimulated by hormones such as adrenaline, will produce a feeling of superiority and control over the life and death of others, but now he stands higher and can see further. , his mind is no longer on this three-acre piece of land, but when he follows Fei Qian and looks toward a farther goal, he naturally knows that majesty does not necessarily reflect how many people he kills.

Of course, people like Master Yan and Chen Sima who act boldly and refuse to admit their guilt should be killed anyway. Only with thunderous means can they show mercy.

In a short time, these civil servants in the Duhu Mansion were basically finished.

I dealt with it temporarily, after all, I was too pressed for time.

Most people were involved in corruption and malfeasance. Except for a few who were executed and executed on the spot, others were followed up according to the level of their guilt. Those who should have their homes confiscated, those who should be imprisoned, and those who should be removed from office. Anyway, almost all of them were Sweep away all the officials in the Protectorate.

Of course, dealing with civil servants, arresting people and killing people is not the most difficult. What is difficult is how to deal with the backlog of documents and subsequent work after cleaning up these people...

There are also military camps outside the city, which are also cancers that need to be broken.

"Inspector Zhang, from today on, you will be responsible for the deployment of various people's livelihood and government affairs in Xihai City. ” Zhang Liao said seriously to Zhang An. After observation, Zhang Liao felt that Zhang An was quite organized and cautious, and could be entrusted with important tasks. "You can recruit helpers on your own. Of course, the most important thing is to be safe and reliable..."

Zhang An did not appear excited because of his promotion, but was a little worried, "General, if it's an affair in a city in the West Sea, that's fine, but this Protector's Mansion... it has something to do with both inside and outside the Western Region... I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with my humble position..."

Zhang Liao nodded and said, "It doesn't matter. Jia Shijun will send someone to assist later. Supervisor Zhang will take this time to pass... I have to deal with military affairs, and I really have no time to take care of people's livelihood affairs." 』

Zhang An felt a little relieved, but still did not accept the order, but asked, "May I ask General, what is the most important thing in Xihai City now?" Is it transporting military rations, or..." Zhang An is indeed very cautious. He not only wants to confirm the manpower, but also asks clearly about Zhang Liao's arrangements for people's livelihood and political affairs, and those impetuous people who have not done anything yet. Generations, very different.

Zhang Liao pondered for a long time and then said slowly: "Farming and mulberry trees are the most important thing!" Organize farming and restore acres! Gather the young and strong men together and focus on spring plowing first! 』

Zhang An showed a smile at this moment, and proudly raised his hands and said: "I accept your order!" Please rest assured, General! 』

Zhang An took the order and left.

Zhang Liao looked at Zhang An's back, then looked silently in the direction of Chang'an, sighed in a low voice, and after a moment he shouted in a deep voice: "Let the guy kneeling outside get in!" 』

Zhang Liao squinted his eyes, wondering what he was thinking about...

……(艹艹)……

Chang'an.

The Great Hussar Mansion.

Fei Qian was sitting in the festival hall, Pang Tong and Xun You were sitting on the left and right, and Guo Tu and Feng Ji were sitting under them.

In addition to Xun You representing the Shangshutai, Pang Tong representing the Secretariat and the Youwen Department, there were also two functional departments, the Shenlu Yuan and the Kao Gong Department, who attended the meeting. In the Senate of Laws and Regulations, Guo Tu got his wish and performed well in the process of issuing relevant laws such as the Gongfu Examination System, thus gaining the title of Dean of the Laws and Regulations of the Council that he had longed for. Feng Ji was also promoted by half a level and was transferred to the post of false director of the newly established merit examination department.

This meeting was naturally held specifically for the affairs of the Western Region.

"The construction of the Protectorate of the Western Regions began with Marquis Miao. It went through eighteen terms and was later destroyed due to rebellion..." Fei Qian said slowly, "After Xiao Guangwu, there were three specialties and three connections. I first heard that I feel that all the soldiers and generals have great courage due to their ups and downs, but now that I think about it carefully, there is something wrong..."

The Western Han Dynasty established the Protectorate of the Western Regions, and it continued to govern the Western Regions for about seventy years. It was not until the end of the Western Han Dynasty that Wang Mang made major mistakes in handling some issues, which led to the Xiongnu re-invading the Western Regions. Finally, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Western Regions were lost. control of the Western Region.

During these seventy years, the Han Dynasty had actually established a good foundation in the Western Regions. However, it was a pity that after the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty did not inherit the heritage of the Western Regions well, but was lost. Although the Eastern Han Dynasty was not completely without efforts, and it also left in history such ups and downs and exciting twists and turns as the "Three Absolutes and Three Accessories", its stability was far behind compared to that of the Western Han Dynasty. The important thing is, as Fei Qian said, in the process, the Eastern Han Dynasty lost the assets of the Western Region that it had originally conquered...

This is the most regrettable thing.

After Guangwu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were still many countries in the Western Regions who were interested in the Han Dynasty. In addition, due to the violent conquests of the Northern Xiongnu, the countries in the Western Regions repeatedly sent envoys to request internal affairs and restore the establishment of the Western Regions Protector.

It's a pity that the Eastern Han Dynasty itself couldn't take care of it at that time. The Eastern Han Dynasty regime had just been established and its political and economic conditions were in devastation. Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu refused on the excuse that "the world has been settled for the first time and foreign affairs have not been carried out."

It can be seen from this that the gap between the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, especially the gap between the upper ruling class, because of the difference in buttocks, the Eastern Han Dynasty did not pay as much attention to external enemies as the Western Han Dynasty did, but The main focus was on consolidating internal rule and restoring the economy.

This is actually not wrong, but from the perspective of the military operations of the Eastern Han Dynasty to reopen the Western Regions, Emperor Guangwu's "cautious external" attitude as the first emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty may have doomed the Eastern Han Dynasty on the issue of the Western Regions. It was impossible to reach a level comparable to that of the Western Han Dynasty.

The first time the Eastern Han Dynasty tried to reopen the Western Regions, it was actually very simple. Geng Bing and Dou Gu led about 14,000 people and defeated it. And Dou Gu was more of a gilded person, so after defeating the charioteer, even if he completed the mission, he never thought about continuing to march deeper into the Western Regions, and then quickly established the Western Region Protector and Wuji School. Wei, who boasted that he had completed the recovery of the Western Regions, generously wrote in the history of Qing Dynasty, "The Western Regions have been extinct for sixty years, and then they were restored." 』

It was equivalent to dispatching 14,000 people to beat up a chariot boy who was closest to the big man. He was in a hurry to set up a flag and left two red sticks to watch the hall. As a result, Geng Bing and Dou Gu had just left the next year. , other countries in the Western Regions counterattacked, and were immediately cut off again.

The momentum was huge, and it took one year to open.

As for the following two specialties and two direct connections, and the three special ones and three direct connections, strictly speaking, they are not the credit of the Eastern Han Dynasty court. Because at that time, the Eastern Han Dynasty directly gave up its jurisdiction over the Western Regions, first revoking Wuji Xiaowei, and the next year issued an edict to withdraw all garrisons from the Western Regions. Among these garrison troops, there was an extraordinary figure, Ban Chao.

Ban Chao was on the imperial court's withdrawal list, but halfway through the withdrawal, Ban Chao carefully analyzed the situation in the Western Regions and believed that a strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians" should be adopted, so he stayed in the Western Regions and asked the court to support his proposal in running the Western Regions. , on the other hand, sent troops to defeat the rebellious Yarkand and Shule.

Then how many troops and horses did the imperial court give to Ban Chao?

Eight hundred soldiers.

Therefore, it should also be called "Ban Babai".

As for other soldiers, maybe there are, but probably not. Because if there were other supporting soldiers, they wouldn't be pitifully written "eight hundred" in the history of the world. Then the Eastern Han Dynasty almost left Ban Chao in the Western Regions. It was not until Ban Chao defeated Dayuezhi in the Western Regions that the Eastern Han Dynasty court was shocked.

Because at that time, Da Yuezhi commanded 70,000 troops to attack the Western Regions, but was defeated by Ban Chao! In this situation, the Eastern Han Dynasty quickly appointed Ban Chao as the Protector of the Western Regions and Xu Qian as the Chief Historian of the Western Regions...

Soon after, he was ordered to transfer Ban Chao back to China.

Naturally, as soon as Ban Chao left, the Western Regions were in chaos again. Later, when the Xiqiang rebelled, the Western Regions were naturally cut off again.

By the third time, it was Ban Chao's son Ban Yong who stepped forward. When the countries of the Western Regions heard that the son of a hot man was coming, they showed their force quickly, so the countries of the Western Regions quickly surrendered...

But how did the Eastern Han Dynasty repay Ban Yong in the end?

Because when they attacked Yuanmeng, Ban Yong and Zhang Lang, the governor of Dunhuang, divided their troops into two groups and agreed to meet at the gate of Yuanmeng City. However, Zhang Lang took the credit and captured Yuanmeng first. As a result, Ban Yong missed his term and was imprisoned. Ban Yong was dismissed from office, and later Ban Yong died of old age at home.

why?

Logically speaking, Yuan Meng has been defeated. Since the goal has been achieved, isn't that enough?

no.

Because at that time Ban Yong could already mobilize more than 30,000 troops and horses in the Western Regions.

After Ban Yong's death, the Western Qiang were in chaos again. During the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, they were basically cut off again, until Fei Qian sent Lu Bu to open up the Western Regions here...

"One of the disadvantages of the Western Regions is that many people who turned to the Han perished, while those who rebelled against the Han were spared. As one went down and the other went up, they became more perverse and paranoid, and it was difficult to tame them. ” Fei Qian made a general summary of the previous three specialties and three connections, “Since we are too afraid of the outside and harsh on the inside, how can we not lose anything in the Western Regions? Just like Wusun, who used to be friendly and made many good alliances, but easily abandoned them, broke promises and forgot his promises. Wusun asked for help several times, but ignored him, as if he had heard about it. Wusun has now wandered away and turned against Guishuang. This must be cited. It's a precept. 』

Of course, this was not entirely the fault of the Eastern Han emperor.

Because after the Eastern Han Dynasty, the land issue had not been resolved, and the gap between the rich and the poor and class monopoly had not been improved much. Even after a brief recovery of the economy, it fell into intra-class struggles, leaving the imperial court with no time to care. The policy towards the Western Regions was relatively negative and conservative, with frequent swings, which led to the continuous decline of the central dynasty's authority and prestige in the Western Regions, and Wusun gradually drifted away from the Han Dynasty.

Similar to Wusun, the people from the Western Regions who initially tended to lean towards the Han Dynasty, after several repeated tug-of-wars, most of them died, either following the Han Dynasty in the process of regaining and opening up, or in the Western Regions after the severance. Within the purge of the mainland, those who harbored ill intentions towards the Han Dynasty could receive a certain degree of pardon when the Han Dynasty resumed the opening of the Western Regions.

To put it simply, many good people in the Western Regions died, and the rest...

This is a very big problem.

Fei Qian knew that Wusun was another important passage from the north of the Tianshan Mountains to Central Asia. If Wusun was opened, he would have the opportunity to reach Balkhash Lake along the Yinli River, and then use Balkhash Lake as a springboard to target Further away...

Of course, this is Fei Qian’s idea, and it’s unclear whether he can reach that point in the future.

"The second disadvantage of the Western Region is that its powers are inappropriate and its name does not match its reality. ” Fei Qian continued, “Within the Western Regions, the positions of Protector of the Western Regions, Wuji Colonel, General Commander Shi, and Xiaoqi Commandery are unknown, their authority is unknown, their number of soldiers is unknown, and their jurisdiction is unknown how far or near they are. Today they are promulgated. Withdraw them tomorrow. In the four hundred years since the Han Dynasty, no one has been able to customize them! Isn't the Western Region as big as Jiaozhi? Sad, deplorable? 』

The Han Dynasty divided Jiaozhi into several prefectures and counties in a serious manner, but the Western Regions were perfunctory from beginning to end. Even during the seventy-year period of relative stability in the Western Han Dynasty, the Western Regions were not divided into counties or counties.

How many Han people are there in Jiaozhi? Not much actually. There are no other states in Jiaozhi. There are also many Cham tribes and even Cham states. But regarding Jiaozhi, the Han Dynasty had a very firm attitude. Even if Jiuzhen Rinan was lost, there was still a Jiaozhou governor, but what about the Western Regions?

Therefore, in the Western Regions, it is very embarrassing to reflect the extreme disharmony caused by the huge difference between the established fact of the administrative practice of the Western Regions Protectorate and its legal constraints.

If it is said that it was difficult for the Han Dynasty to establish stable institutions in the Western Regions because of repeated conflicts with the Xiongnu, it seems reasonable on the surface, but in fact it is not the case. In the era when the Xiongnu ruled the Western Regions, due to the limitations of the Xiongnu's own tribal alliance-style primary state form, its control over the city-states in the Western Regions was only governed by a boy servant captain sent by King Richu. This Tongpu Captain may have a certain number of simple subordinate officers and subordinate troops. The details are not very clear, but there are records that the Tongpu Captain "often lived among Yanqi, Weixu, and Weili, taxing various countries, and collecting taxes from various countries." "Fu Ji Yan", that is, it can be made clear that this organization is floating, not a fixed point.

Judging from the Xiongnu's social structure, production relations, lifestyle, etc., it is destined that this child servant captain can only be nomadic in nature. It is impossible to go deep into the hinterland of the Western Regions for a long time, and it is impossible to have any control over the Western Regions. A relatively profound and lasting impact.

This can be proved by the excavation of ruins in the Western Regions in later generations.

Most of the official offices and settlement institutions discovered by archeology in the Western Regions at this stage of the Han Dynasty are basically Chinese traces, and almost none belong to the Xiongnu. After Li Guangli conquered Dayuan, "As far as Yanshui River in the west, there are often pavilions." There were hundreds of field soldiers in Lundou, so envoys were placed to protect the fields and accumulate millet for foreign envoys. 』

Fei Qian sighed loudly when he said this.

He really felt very sorry for Fei Qian.

These early Han colonial strongholds have gone through four hundred years, but they have not been able to form effective legal practices...

If the Han Dynasty could establish the colonial system in the early days, why wait until the sun never sets in later generations? !