My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 205 The Jia Family Ancestors and Grandchildren
Cai Yan was Cai Yong's daughter, born in his middle age. When Cai Yan was born, Cai Yong was already forty-four years old, which can be described as having a daughter late in life.

Cai Yan was only fifteen years old when she got married. Not long after her marriage, Wei Zhongdao died of illness, and she, who had no children, could only return to her parents' home.

Upon learning of this, Liu Feng immediately arranged for a quiet courtyard behind the prefectural government building to be vacated for Cai Yan to live in.

At the same time, he invited his mother, Lady Tian, ​​and his concubine, Lady Gan, to accompany and entertain Cai Yan.

He himself went to greet Jia Xi and his grandson Jia Kui.

Liu Feng held Jia Xi and his grandson Jia Kui in extremely high regard.

This is an extremely important piece of his overall blueprint.

Jia Xi was skilled in military strategy and familiar with state and county affairs, making him an excellent political and military instructor. Although he was quite old and not suitable to continue serving on the front lines, he was perfectly suited to serve as an aide to Liu Feng in training the children in Liu'er's camp.

Jia Kui, a capable, virtuous, and fiercely loyal member of the aristocratic class, was one of Liu Feng's most valuable core supporters.

At present, Liu Feng has a very strong military base, but his political base is still very weak.

The Zhuge brothers are just getting started, and Bu Zhi, Wei Jing, Chen Jiao, Xu Xuan and others have only just entered the ranks of middle and lower-level officials. Moreover, apart from Zhuge Liang, probably only Bu Zhi can be as well-rounded as Jia Kui in the future. Zhuge Jin is somewhat lacking in military affairs.

The most prominent confidants at the moment are Lu Su and Liu Ye, but these two are both father and son, and even more so Liu Bei's men, so they can't be considered talents from Liu Feng's private fold.

With someone like Jia Kui, who is capable of standing on his own in the future, and is extremely loyal, capable of leading troops on horseback and governing the people on foot, he is practically a second-rate Little Marquis. How could Liu Feng not try his best to win him over and cultivate him?

Moreover, although Jia Kui was inferior to Zhuge Liang in ability and character, he was more devoted to loyalty than Zhuge Liang, which could be considered a kind of compensation.

The core is a group of die-hard loyalists, who are then layered into a circle. The innermost layer must consist of people like Gao Shun, Jia Kui, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhou Tai, who are willing to sacrifice themselves to please their lord even if their interests conflict.

Such people are extremely rare, and often, due to their temperament and personality, they are lost in the crowd.

It should be noted that even with Liu Bang's great strength, he never managed to gain a loyal follower like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei.

The three heroes of the early Han Dynasty each had their own selfish motives. Even his old comrade Fan Kuai and the strategist Chen Ping eventually became so unfamiliar that Liu Bang almost lost all hope in them.

Many people praise Liu Bang for his magnanimity, saying he was the emperor who took life and death in stride the most.

But few people know that beneath his seemingly incurable illness and impending death, he was also heartbroken by his old comrades.

This shows how rare and precious loyalists are.

But who can blame him when Liu Feng is a master strategist?

Secondly, there are those like Gan Ning, Dong Xi, Pan Zhang, and Bu Zhi, who received imperial favor and devoted themselves to serving the country. These people are ambitious, but only in the sense of being a subject. They respect the system and want to integrate into it.

As long as such people are given a chance to enter the system, and rewards are generally given for merits and punishments for demerits, they are no different from the first type of die-hard supporters, or rather, they become die-hard supporters.

This is the fundamental reason why Gan Ning later seriously studied the works of various schools of thought.

These people are very easy to appease. The biggest difference between this type of person and the first type is their choice of interests. Unlike the first type, they cannot remain loyal even when their own interests are greatly infringed.

These kinds of people believe in the principle that if the ruler treats me as a national hero, I will repay him as a national hero.

If given enough opportunities, they will all become the same die-hard fans as the first type.

The outermost circle consists of sycophants whose interests are always aligned with their lord's; typical examples are Lu Su and Zhou Yu. The characteristic of these people is that they know how to adjust their own interests to ensure they remain consistent with their ruler's.

Their only demands were the lord's trust and the ability to make the best use of their talents.

The outermost layer consists of loyal ministers who prioritize morality over self-interest, are inspired by righteousness, but also possess their own independent thoughts. A typical example is Zhuge Liang, and Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun, Xun Yu, Xun You, and others also belong to this circle.

Any ruler who has these four layers of support, as long as he doesn't do anything reckless, basically doesn't need to worry about the country collapsing.

Therefore, the most difficult thing for a ruler is to employ people.

Because people can pretend, even a sycophant like Lu Su can still pretend to be a die-hard loyalist.

True die-hards can also appear rebellious due to a lack of emotional intelligence; a typical example is a certain Deng, a mountain bungee jumping expert who wishes to remain anonymous.

Liu Bei was very good at this. Although his skill in handling things was a bit lacking, it was the first time for everyone, and there were no precedents to follow. To be able to do this was already quite impressive.

However, Liu Bei was indeed quite adept at recognizing and utilizing talent. Not only did he always have loyal followers around him, but he was also able to gather more and more of them, making the best use of everyone's abilities.

Historically, Liu Bei was essentially grooming Zhuge Liang to be the next core member of his group.

Because of the large age gap between Liu Bei and his son, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were of the same generation as him, he needed to find a reliable person to entrust his son to. Zhuge Liang was the first person Liu Bei chose to cultivate.

Liu Bei genuinely admired Pang Tong and Fa Zheng, but he was destined to entrust his son to Zhuge Liang as his first choice.

When Jia Xi and Jia Kui learned of Liu Feng's identity, they were greatly shocked.

The grandfather and grandson had no idea that the witty, friendly, and approachable young man was the eldest son of the Fang family, let alone that he was deeply involved in both the political and military affairs of Xuzhou.

However, precisely because of this, Jia Xi had a very high opinion of Liu Feng, believing that with such a son, Liu Bei himself must be even more outstanding.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have risen from a commoner to become the ruler of a state in just over a decade.

Moreover, along the way, after entering Yanzhou, Liu Xuande's name had already been heard of, and after arriving in Yuzhou, it was frequently mentioned.

As for his arrival in Xuzhou, his fame spread far and wide, and many people even secretly built a shrine in his honor.

This year, Liu Bei received a request for help from the Chancellor of Lu and came north. On the shore of the South Four Lakes, he annihilated the army led by Guo Gong, the Governor of Yu Province, which was attacking Lu.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Liu Bei released Guo Gong out of righteousness and even returned his troops and equipment, as if he had truly come to rescue the State of Lu.

Jia Xi felt there must be a secret involved, and that what was being circulated in the public was probably only the surface, not the inside.

Jia Kui strongly agreed with his grandfather's judgment, especially since Guo Gong's attitude changed drastically afterward, and he completely sided with Liu Bei. This was undoubtedly much smarter than simply swallowing up Guo Gong at the time.

"Old Jia and Liang Daoyuan have come from afar, they should rest and recuperate for a while."

Liu Feng paused here, observing the expressions of Jia Xi and Jia Kui.

Jia Xi remained completely still, as dignified and composed as a scholar, while Jia Kui, being young and impetuous, showed some anxiety in his eyes.

So Liu Feng immediately changed the subject and said to Jia Xi with a sincere expression, "However, there are many things in the state that need to be done, and there is a lack of manpower for various affairs, and even more so a lack of talented people like Elder Jia and Liang Dao. Therefore, I earnestly request that you two not hesitate to take up your posts as soon as possible."

Then, Liu Feng explained in detail the position prepared for Jia Xi: "Old Jia, my father intends to recruit you as a military advisor, responsible for teaching military strategy. Xuzhou has already prepared Sun Tzu's Art of War, Wu Zixu's Art of War, Sun Bin's Art of War, and Sima's Art of War, etc., as teaching materials. If Old Jia has any other military strategies that you are willing to teach, the state is also willing to compensate you."

In this era, knowledge is extremely valuable, and books are often closely guarded secrets passed down through generations.

Putting aside everything else, the ten-thousand-word military strategy that Jia Xi taught Jia Kui is definitely worth a fortune.

Considering that Jia Xidu had been out of office for many years, yet was still able to get his grandson a position as a magistrate in the prefecture, it's clear that the Jia family still had considerable influence and resources.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xi was slightly shaken. Looking at the famous military treatise that Liu Feng had casually mentioned, he asked incredulously, "Does the young master mean to pass on these military treatises to the young men of the state?"

"Exactly!"

Liu Feng nodded and said, "I observe that the current army lacks formal training. We want to cultivate a group of non-commissioned officers to serve as grassroots assistants to the generals. Jia Lao can teach according to their aptitude. There is no need to impart in-depth knowledge. As long as they can complete the work of the three levels of grassroots squad leader, platoon leader, and captain, that will suffice."

Jia Xi, being experienced in affairs, immediately understood Liu Feng's idea.

For the military, the capabilities of the grassroots are a crucial element, yet they are often the most easily overlooked by those in power.

The advantage that veterans have over new recruits is not only due to their rich combat experience, but also because their grassroots organization is far superior to that of the enemy.

If new recruits have received training and instruction, the gap between them can be narrowed significantly, which is equivalent to improving the combat effectiveness of one's own side.

From Jia Xi's perspective, Liu Feng's approach actually has considerable feasibility.

Because grassroots positions do not require profound knowledge, or even literacy, the pool of candidates is extremely broad.

Of course, this is also an experimental practice; those who will truly be cultivated in the future are the trusted confidants and loyal followers. "Agreed."

Jia Xi nodded, feeling quite intrigued and wanting to give it a try: "This old man is willing to comply with your wishes, young master."

Liu Feng nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Jia Kui, who was eager to try, and asked, "Does Liang Dao wish to govern or join the army?"

Jia Kui glanced at his grandfather discreetly, only to find that the other man was ignoring him, which made him hesitate.

Liu Feng didn't seem to mind at all, and continued, "If you wish to govern, you can choose to serve as the chief clerk in a county. Currently, Xuzhou is rebuilding Pengcheng. If you are interested, I can arrange the position of chief clerk in Pengcheng County for you. From Lord Mi of Pengcheng to Lord Zang of Pengcheng, they are all my close friends. Liang Dao doesn't need to worry about being troubled by his superiors."

The chief clerk was a high-ranking official in charge of a county. County magistrates and county heads were usually recruited directly from prominent local families to serve as county magistrates. This was beneficial for completing various tasks assigned by the imperial court, as well as tasks such as autumn harvest and tax collection.

Pengcheng County was the seat of the Pengcheng Kingdom, so it was naturally the place with the most resources and the easiest place to make a name for oneself.

The fact that Liu Feng arranged for him to be there, and that he had connections to protect him, shows how much Liu Feng valued and cared for Jia Kui.

"If you wish to join the army, Xuzhou is currently expanding its military. I can offer you the position of Qu Junhou, with the trial position of Shoujun Sima. After the expansion is completed, you can be promoted to a regular army Sima."

This time, not only was Jia Kui excited, but Jia Xi, who had been pretending to be an observer, was also deeply moved.

In the military system of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the rank of Qu Junhou was already considered to have fully entered the ranks of mid-level officers, commanding two hundred soldiers. The next rank, Jun Sima, was a powerful officer commanding four hundred soldiers, only one step away from becoming a high-ranking officer.

Now Liu Feng is making direct promises to Jia Kui. If he's not deceiving Jia Kui, then he's truly cultivating him as a trusted confidant.

Jia Xi even had the illusion that his family might have been related to the Liu family by marriage.

Even if there is a real marriage alliance, the other party shouldn't be so willing to invest so much resources in Jia Kui.

Jia Kui kept glancing at his grandfather, but found that his grandfather didn't even look at him and ignored his hints.

Left with no other choice, Jia Kui had to make the decision himself.

After much hesitation, Jia Kui did not choose to enter politics, but instead chose to join the army.

"Young master, Kui is willing to join the army."

Jia Xi had anticipated this, but felt a little regretful, given how favorable the conditions were for entering politics.

Although joining the army is a higher starting point, a soldier who doesn't rise to prominence can't compare to Baili Zai.
Based on Liu Feng's current attitude, Jia Xi is certain that if Jia Kui chooses to become the registrar of Pengcheng County, he will become the county magistrate within three years.

Even though Jia Kui had made his choice, Jia Xi remained silent.

Subsequently, Liu Feng personally hosted a banquet to welcome Jia Xi and his grandson Jia Kui, and also settled them in the prefectural government.

After returning to the city from his trip, Liu Bei heard about Liu Feng's arrangements and personally visited Jia Xi and Jia Kui at night to inquire if they had overlooked anything.

This unexpected and heartwarming visit surprised and touched the Jia family.

As for Cai Yan, it was mainly because Kong Rong had mentioned it to Liu Bei, wanting Liu Bei to bring Cai Yan out of her hometown Chenliu, whether to keep her in Xuzhou or send her to Beihai.

Kong Rong and Cai Yong were close friends. Historically, it was Kong Rong who arranged for Cai Yong's youngest daughter to marry Yang Dao as his second wife.

Because Yang Dao's first wife was Kong Rong's daughter.

After hearing that his friend Cai Yong had been killed by Wang Yun in Chang'an, Kong Rong became very concerned about his friend's orphaned children.

As Kong Rong's confidant, Liu Bei had obviously been instructed by Kong Rong, and even left behind a letter as proof.

When Liu Feng went to Hedong this time, he remembered this matter and asked the messenger to find the guards in Hedong. If Cai Yan was willing, he would bring her to Xuzhou.

After all, Cai Yan was the daughter of Cai Yong, a famous talented woman in the world. She was not only proficient in literature, but also skilled in music and calligraphy, and could be described as a polymath.

Thinking of the other person's tragic fate in the original timeline, Liu Feng felt that he should lend a helping hand if he could.

Moreover, this was not without its benefits for Xuzhou as well. Just the fact that Cai Yan was asked to recite the ancient classics she had memorized was already a huge financial windfall.

At this moment, Cai Wenji is unaware that she was almost kidnapped by the Hu people and has lived in the desert for twelve years.

Therefore, it is unknown how much gratitude Cai Yan felt for his hometown of Xuzhou, or how much he could repay Xuzhou.

Meanwhile, after Xin Ping returned to Hebei, he was summoned by Yuan Shao the next day.

When Xin Ping arrived at the prefectural capital, he found that quite a few people had come, including Ju Shou, Xun Chen, Shen Pei, and Feng Ji.

After Xin Ping sat down, he spoke quietly with Guo Tu for a while and then understood why there was such a big fuss.

Ju Yi suffered a defeat and was pursued by Gongsun Zan all the way. He barely escaped with his life, and only one-tenth of his troops survived.

Yuan Shao's army suffered thousands of beheadings at the hands of Gongsun Zan's army; these were all seasoned veterans who had fought bravely and skillfully.

In addition, all the carts and packhorses that were meant to supply 100,000 people were lost.

Such a significant loss deeply distressed Yuan Shao.

Indeed, he was angry and hateful towards Ju Yi for his arrogance and lawlessness, and even harbored murderous intent.

But Yuan Shao only wanted to get rid of Ju Yi; he even planned to properly incorporate Ju Yi's troops after eliminating him.

Now look what happened, almost everything was lost, and only Ju Yi escaped back.

Once Ju Yi's troops were exhausted, Ju Yi himself became worthless.

Yuan Shao did not value military generals, or rather, he did not have many military men worthy of his attention, only Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

Chunyu Qiong was a member of the gentry, not a military man.

Unlike Liu Bei's group, the vast majority of Yuan Shao's troops were from the gentry class.

In the story, Ju Shou is a strategist, Guo Tu is a strategist, Shen Pei is a strategist, and Feng Ji is still a strategist.

In reality, these people were all generals who commanded troops. Ju Shou even once held the title of commander of the entire Hebei army. Later, two-thirds of the army was divided between Chunyu Qiong and Guo Tu.

Within the entire Jizhou Group, the main forces were divided into three parts. One part was the troops led by Ju Yi, which at its peak numbered several thousand.

This group consisted almost entirely of people from Bing and Liang provinces. They were relatively united and independent, and did not readily obey Yuan Shao's orders, only listening to Ju Yi.

Secondly, there are the various retainers, such as Shen Pei, whose family is a well-known wealthy clan in Jizhou, a typical super-rich household with money, grain, and manpower.

Therefore, the number of soldiers in the Shenpei family was quite frightening.

The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records: "When Pei was in power, he monopolized the government, and his clan became large and his army strong."

What level is considered sufficient for a clan to have a large army and strong soldiers?
These troops were nominally part of the Hebei Army, but in reality, they were private armies, and their orders were primarily those of their own lords.

The last part is the Hebei Army in a broader sense. Theoretically, Yuan Shao himself was the leader, but the actual commander was Ju Shou.

Ju Shou was appointed by Yuan Shao as military supervisor and General of Valiant Might, to oversee all the generals.

In theory, all the troops in Hebei should be subject to Ju Shou's supervision, including the selection and allocation of troops from large and powerful clans.

It is evident that at this stage, the Hebei faction firmly suppresses the Henan faction, and Yuan Shao ignores this faction.

After all, Yuan Shao still needed the scholars from Hebei to continue contributing money and effort to help him recover his strength and completely defeat Gongsun Zan.

Xin Ping sized up the Hebei scholars opposite him and suddenly realized that Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and others were actually observing him. He was startled and quickly smiled amicably at them before averting his gaze.

The Hebei faction is currently in a strong position, and he doesn't want to clash with them.

Soon, Yuan Shao came out from the back hall, walked to his seat, and sat down, and the meeting began.

(End of this chapter)