Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 353: Never fought such a rich battle
After hearing the sound of gathering troops, Wanqi Chounu instinctively jumped off the bed. He immediately called for his personal guards and woke up all his own centurions.

As a surrendered general, Wanqi Chounu was very clear about the character of his commander Yu Jin.

As his name suggests, Yu Jin, the commander-in-chief, has a rigorous style of leading his troops.

Unlike other generals, Yu Jin attached great importance to the importance of military orders.

Therefore, Wanqi Chounu did not dare to delay. He immediately assembled the troops and then headed towards Yu Jin's camp together with the military commander Chen Chong.

Along the way, Wanqi Chounu felt a little conflicted.

If he was asked to go north to Gaoping County to recruit tribal soldiers, this mission would only be to assist General Su in the battle. However, if Yu Jin really ordered an attack on Jingzhou, he would be fighting head-on against his old boss Hu Chen.

Wanqi Chounu still couldn't get over this hurdle psychologically.

He looked at Chen Chong beside him. His elder brother Chen Shun was also a military officer in the shogunate and was well-informed. So he asked:

"Sir Chen, where are you going to attack when the governor of Yu County gathers his troops this time?"

Chen Chong immediately said:

"This is a confidential military order. How can I know it? The brigade commander just needs to follow General Yu's order."

After hearing Chen Chong's words, Wanqi Chounu felt relieved.

Yes, he was just a small brigade commander anyway, and it was not him who ordered a fight with Hu Chen. He just had to fight according to the instructions of his superiors.

Thinking of this, Wanqi Chounu relaxed and followed Chen Chong and the others into Yu Jin's military camp.

When the drum sounding for gathering the troops stopped, the military judge beside Yu Jin stepped forward to count the number of people. A brigade commander who was late was dismissed from his post on the spot and dragged out to be beaten with a military stick. Yu Jin then sat upright on the commander-in-chief's couch and began to announce the orders of the shogun's office.

"Proclamation to Suppress the Qinzhou Rebels"

After hearing the title of the manifesto, Wanqi Chounu felt more relaxed. It turned out that it was about fighting Mozhe Tiansheng, so he had no psychological pressure anymore.

Wanqi Chounu also knew the Mozhe family in Qinzhou. He also looked down on these rebels who started out as heroes and generals. He secretly made up his mind that he must seize the opportunity this time, make good military achievements, and at least become a captain!
The crude generals present could not understand the four-six parallel prose of the anti-rebellion manifesto, but Yu Jin did not care whether they could understand it or not. Anyway, for the generals under his command, they only needed to make achievements to be rewarded, and that was enough.

The manifesto was written more for the scholars in Guanxi. It was a political declaration written by General Su to the scholars in Guanxi.

Moreover, his army, like Murong Shaozong's army that contained Jingzhou's army in Pucheng, was a detachment that created opportunities for Hou Jing.

Although he did not undertake the most important military task, Yu Jin still managed the army prudently. After setting the date for the expedition, he ordered the generals to go back and prepare for departure.
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Hou Jing arrived at the new city of Longxi County without stopping. This was the place where Mozhe Tiansheng's brother Mozhe Niansheng built the city. After it was occupied by Su Ze, Murong Shaozong was sent to garrison. After several expansions, it has become a bridgehead for Longxi County to defend against the Qinzhou rebels.

After Hou Jing arrived in Xincheng, the current head of the Longxi Li family, Li Kuo, the magistrate of Didao County, came to visit Hou Jing.

The nominal governor of Longxi County was Su Ze. When Hou Jing went on this expedition, Su Ze also gave him the power to control the local area. This also reflected the importance of his marriage with the woman from the Li family.

In the eyes of the Longxi Li family, Hou Jing, the son-in-law, is a member of their own family.

Although it is listed among the Five Surnames and is a noble family, the Longxi Li family has lost its influence in the court since the sudden death of Li Chong, a famous minister during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen.

Longxi County is not as fertile a place as Hedong. With its numerous gullies and ravines, even the most powerful Longxi Li family cannot occupy an entire county, and there is still a big gap between them and the other four families.

Therefore, when Su Ze entered Longxi County, the attitude of Longxi Li family was very humble. They gave up their ancestral home to Su Ze to live in. After Su Ze built Yongle City, they sent their children to help. They were considered one of the early investors of Su Ze Group.

Today, the Longxi Li family has also been rewarded.

Many of Li's descendants entered officialdom. When Su Ze's territory expanded rapidly, many of them took up positions such as county magistrate and county lieutenant, and received huge political rewards.

However, the Longxi Li family also has its weaknesses, that is, there has never been a promising young man to support the upper echelons of Su Ze's shogunate.

The person with the highest position was Hou Jing's father-in-law, who was just a doctor in the Ministry of Works and was responsible for relatively marginal civil engineering work.

There is no way. The talent gap in the Longxi Li family is too serious. Even if they invested early, there are no family members with enough ability to reach the top.

Therefore, Hou Jing's significance to the Longxi Li family was different. Even if they looked down on Hou Jing's birth, he was still one of the most respected generals under Su Ze. For the sake of their son-in-law, this time the Longxi Li family could be said to have done their best to help Hou Jing fight.

Not only did they mobilize the nobles of Longxi County to prepare military rations and horses, dredge roads and rivers, and prepare logistics for Hou Jing early on, but even before Hou Jing arrived, the new city was already filled with weapons made by the nobles of Longxi County led by the Longxi Li family. The Li family also sent their own troops to the new city to assist Hou Jing's troops in the battle.

After Hou Jing arrived in Xincheng, he was also stunned by the unity of the people of Longxi County. He had never fought such a prosperous battle in his life!
According to his wife's seniority, Hou Jing should call Li Kuo "uncle", but Li Kuo had a high EQ and just asked Hou Jing to address him by his position.

"County Magistrate Li, have you all read the general's manifesto?"

Li Kuo nodded quickly. He also came here for the matter of the manifesto.

Although every sentence in this manifesto is a denunciation of rebellion, there is actually one idea hidden in its words - Kansai is Kansai for the people of Kansai.

From beginning to end, Su Ze's manifesto emphasized this central idea - the homes of the Guanxi people need to be protected by the Guanxi people.

As for the hidden meaning, a big family like the Longxi Li family naturally understood it, which is that the court no longer has the ability to interfere in the war to quell the rebellion in Guanxi, and now the only one who can bring peace to Guanxi is Su Ze.

This was exactly Su Ze's strategic plan of "taking possession of Guanxi and observing the rest of the world". He would first put down the rebellion and separatist forces in Guanxi, and then observe how the situation in the Central Plains would change.

The manifesto was intended for the samurai in Kansai, and now is the time for them to make a choice.

As the leader of the Guanxi samurai who had already boarded the ship, Li Kuo had of course already taken sides, and he naturally supported Su Ze.

Li Kuo's statement made Hou Jing very satisfied. His wife's family members were clear-headed, so there was no need for him to criticize them, and he also saved the step of tearing their faces apart.

Hou Jing recalled the secret conversation between him and General Su before the expedition, and understood the tasks General Su had assigned to him. To quell the Qinzhou rebels was one task, and to completely win over the hearts of the people in Longxi was another. He must not be lenient towards those families who were wavering.

The Li family was the head of the Longxi noble family. With their support, Hou Jing's work was much easier. He continued:
"Mr. Li, the general also said before I left for the battle that it would be inconvenient for him to hold the post of governor of Longxi County remotely for a long time. After this battle, an official will be appointed to take up the post."

Hearing this, Li Kuo's appetite was completely whetted. If he could make some progress, wouldn't he be able to become a county magistrate?
But Hou Jing's next words dampened Li Kuo's enthusiasm again.

Hou Jing said:

"But the general must strictly enforce the Three Mutual Laws. County Magistrate Li is not qualified to be the governor of Longxi County."

The Three Mutual Laws were a law that officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty avoided. Simply put, officials could not hold office in their hometowns.

This system was destroyed at the end of the Han Dynasty, and was even more in name only during the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties. For example, Zhang Shijun, the governor of Jizhou who died in battle, came from the largest family in Jizhou, but several generations of his family had served as governors of Jizhou.

"General, considering the current situation, the Three Mutuals Law is only implemented at the prefecture and county level, so the governor of Longxi County must have been transferred from outside."

Li Kuo felt a little disappointed, but Hou Jing's next words cheered him up again.

"There are many vacancies for county governors in various places now. County Magistrate Li has made great contributions in rewarding the soldiers this time. After the war, he may be able to seek the position of county governor of a large county."

This was just Hou Jing's empty talk, but with County Magistrate Li's qualifications and his achievements in governance, he was more than qualified to be promoted to county governor.

We also have to thank the court for this. Because of the war in Guanxi and the lazy government in Luoyang, there are now a large number of vacant positions in the entire Guanxi, which can be reserved for Su Ze to appoint.

Li Kuo quickly figured out the interests involved. The Three Mutual Law was not aimed at the Li family. Since the Three Mutual Law was used in the prefectures and counties, it was also to avoid the problem of collusion between officials and local authorities. There was nothing wrong with Su Ze's actions.

If he could be appointed to a prefecture or county position, he would have the opportunity to move up in the future, which would also make up for the current shortage of senior officials of the Longxi Li family.

Li Kuo immediately said:

"The general is practicing the Three Mutual Law for the sake of local peace. The Li family has no problem understanding this. Now the Li family will provide logistical support to General Hou and do our best to help the general quell the rebellion!"

Hou Jing felt even more relieved after hearing the Li family’s statement. This is what it means to fight a war!
All those bad battles I fought in the past were just that!

They had to recruit their own soldiers and rob their own weapons. After winning a battle, they had to worry about how to distribute the spoils, and every day they had to worry about what their brothers would eat.

Now, as long as Hou Jing sits in Xincheng, food, war horses and weapons will be delivered to him automatically. Soldiers will be trained and assembled in Zhechongfu and sent to the front line. After a victory, there will naturally be military judges and military Sima to count the military merits. After the war, there will also be envoys from the shogunate to distribute the spoils and announce the rewards.

The local government also fully supports me, it feels so good!
After Hou Jing sent Li Kuo away, he immediately spread out the map. Even the map was carefully explored by military scouts over the years and accurately drawn by military teachers. The enemy's deployment was marked on the map.

At the same time, Gao Huan, who defeated Yuan Yanming in Jizhou, finally waited for Ge Rong's envoy, and his reward finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)