Han officials

Chapter 212: Shogunate’s First Show [12]

The second year of Chuping, the day of Renxu in September.

It was the autumn harvest season again, and Wei Zhe once again led his civil and military officers to the wheat fields to perform the harvest ceremony.

Thanks to the good weather, although this year is not a year of abundant harvest, it has barely reached the level of a good harvest.

Especially as the iron plow originating from Liaodong became popular in the three states of Youyan, productivity increased significantly.

Even though the yield per mu is still not as good as that in fertile areas of the Central Plains such as Jizhou and Yanzhou, it is still pretty good.

With this batch of grain, Wei Zhe's plan to develop military farms will no longer be hindered.

However, Wei Zhe did not have long to be happy, as the shogunate official Tian Chou hurried to the field and brought bad news.

"Your Excellency, a group of Qingzhou refugees were attacked in Fanyang County, Zhuo Commandery, resulting in over 500 casualties."

The death toll this time was not large, but Tian Chou did not dare to delay at all.

This was indeed the case. Wei Zhe, who had been smiling, suddenly turned pale when he heard this.

“…How many times?”

Tian Chou heard this and said cautiously, "My Lord, this has happened three times now, with a total of over a thousand casualties and refugees, and no fewer than three thousand taken captive!"

Tian Chou knew why his lord was angry. After all, everyone in Youyan knew that although General Zuo was a famous general on the battlefield, he loved to cultivate land like an old farmer. He would cultivate land wherever he went. It was said that some of the Jizhou gentry mocked him as the General of Cultivation.

Of course, Wei Zhe doesn’t care what others say, as long as it doesn’t interfere with his farming.

But this time, Zhang Yan really aroused Wei Zhe's murderous intent.

You must know that Wei Zhe's settlement of refugees from Qingzhou in Bingzhou was not for temporary gain, but also to eliminate hidden dangers for future generations.

There is no need to migrate too much. It is only necessary to restore the Han people in Bingzhou to the level of the former Han Dynasty, and then the migration of the Hu people will be a failure.

Even if more Hu people came south, they would be taken as captives of the Han army, and their organizations would be completely disbanded and settled in various parts of the Han Dynasty.

One is to passively endure the invasion, the other is to actively digest and absorb it, and the results of the two are completely different.

Zhang Yan's surprise attack undoubtedly greatly hindered the progress of this migration.

However, from Zhang Yan's point of view, there is nothing wrong with doing so.

After all, the more refugees from Qingzhou migrated to Bingzhou, the stronger Xu Rong and Zhang Liao would become, and the more likely Bingzhou would fall into the control of the Wei army. Zhang Yan naturally did not want to see such an outcome.

The most important thing is that raiding the immigrant group will benefit the Montenegrin army in every way.

Zhang Yan could use this incident to report to Yecheng and at the same time strengthen his own power. After all, these refugees were originally the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, and they had a close relationship with the Black Mountain Army. Now that Zhang Yan had taken them from the Wei army, the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou had effectively joined forces with the Black Mountain Army.

Moreover, the risk of raiding the refugee group is much smaller than attacking the Wei army, so Zhang Yan naturally went out frequently.

It’s a pity that Zhang Yan underestimated Wei Zhe’s importance to this migration plan!

Zhang Yan probably didn't expect that his lazy behavior would hit Wei Zhe's soft spot.

After returning to the city, Wei Zhe convened a meeting of all civil and military officials without any delay.

There is only one goal, and that is to kill Zhang Yan and the Black Mountain Army!

... "My Lord, this matter may be difficult to handle!"

Even though Xi Zhicai was resourceful, he couldn't help scratching his head at this moment.

"The Black Mountain bandits are located in the mountain valleys of Taihang Mountain... Oh, no, it's now Black Mountain Commandery." Xi Zhicai shook his head helplessly and said, "The mountains are dangerous and the terrain is narrow, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Moreover, they are deep in the heart of Jizhou. If we want to destroy the Black Mountain bandits, we must first destroy Jizhou. Otherwise, it will be impossible!"

It’s not that Xi Zhicai overestimated the Black Mountain Army, but their geographical advantage was really too good.

Except for Yuan Shao, the governor of Jizhou, other forces have basically no chance of destroying the Black Mountain Army.

Hearing Xi Zhicai say this, Guo Yuan beside him also nodded.

He said sincerely, "Please calm down, my lord. Even if the Black Mountain bandits have escaped, it's just a last gasp. Why bother with a dying man? Once our army pacifies Jizhou, the Black Mountain bandits will be easily defeated!"

Guo Yuan did not simply advise Wei Zhe to be patient, he also had a plan to deal with it.

"To ensure the safe migration of refugees, we can first strengthen the frontline forces in Zhuo County to deter the Black Mountain bandits. Secondly, we can force the Qingzhou captives to bypass Zhuo County to avoid harassment. Zhuo County is the seat of Zhuo County. If the Black Mountain bandits dare to penetrate this area, our army will be able to catch them in the trap and make sure they never return!"

It has to be said that Guo Yuan's method is indeed a mature and prudent strategy.

But Wei Zhe thought for a moment and shook his head, rejecting the plan. "If we follow this plan, won't we waste a huge amount of food and fodder? With the massive military farms we'll be developing this year and next, our granaries are already scarce. To increase our supplies for a few Black Mountain bandits is inappropriate!"

After all, whether it is the refugees migrating via detours or increasing the number of troops along the route, the loss of food and grass is not a small amount.

"Besides, it's easy to be a thief for a thousand days, but how can you be on guard against thieves for a thousand days?" Wei Zhe said solemnly, "If you defend for too long, you will lose. If you don't eradicate the problem in time, the military farms in Zhuo County will surely be abandoned!"

Seeing Wei Zhe's firm attitude, Guo Yuan was helpless.

What Wei Zhe said also made sense. Thinking of this, Guo Yuan suddenly frowned.

However, just as everyone was thinking hard, Tian Feng, who had never spoken, looked indifferent.

Wei Zhe knew that he had an idea when he saw this, and immediately asked humbly: "What do you think, Yuan Hao? Feel free to tell me."

Unexpectedly, Tian Feng did not give a direct answer after hearing this, but instead asked Wei Zhe a question.

"I wonder if you must kill Zhang Yan, or if you must eliminate the Black Mountain Army?"

At this point, Tian Feng paused for a moment before slowly saying, "Or perhaps you just wish for peace in Zhuo County?"

Tian Feng's words stunned Wei Zhe. He wanted to say that they were all the same thing.

But before he could finish his words, Wei Zhe realized that the problem at hand could indeed be further refined.

After a brief pause, Wei Zhe decisively said, "Maintaining the safety of Zhuo County is paramount. Other matters can be put aside for now."

Tian Feng nodded after hearing this and said, "In that case, I have an idea!"

As soon as Tian Feng finished speaking, the civil and military officials in the hall couldn't help but look surprised.

If the previous admonition only made people see Tian Feng's upright character, then this time it allowed everyone in the shogunate to see Tian Feng's brilliant strategies!
From this perspective, Tian Feng's debut in the shogunate was perfect, and Wei Zhe was even more satisfied with his performance.

So that night, a large net was quietly opened against the Montenegrin army...
-
There is still one chapter to be sent in the afternoon. I have figured out how to deal with it. I will take a nap first and write it when I wake up.

(End of this chapter)