Han officials

Chapter 87: Too Much is as Bad as Too Little [45]

"Lord Wei, please accept the order!"

The next day, at the Lelang prefectural government office.

I saw a eunuch saying this with a smile on his face,

Seeing this, although Wei Zhe felt a little complicated, he still performed the ceremony as required.

It was only half a month ago that Wei Zhe led his army back to the Korean city and learned that Zhang Chun had rebelled.

This made Wei Zhe feel somewhat regretful and helpless.

There was no way. Although he knew that Zhang Chun would rebel, he didn't know the specific time of his rebellion.

This is also the reason why Wei Zhe was so eager to pacify the Three Han Kingdoms.

However, things did not go as planned, and he ultimately missed the best opportunity to end his life.

However, Wei Zhe didn't take it too seriously at first. Since he didn't catch up before, it wasn't too late to join the battle now.

So after returning to Lelang, he was so loyal to his country that he didn't even take a rest and took the initiative to write a letter requesting to go to war.

Wei Zhe originally thought that with his current record and resume, it should be a sure thing for him to lead his troops into the pass.

After all, apart from his family background, in what way is he not better than Gongsun Zan?

No matter how you look at it, he should be qualified to be in charge of suppressing the rebellion in Youzhou.

Even with his current qualifications, if he is asked to be responsible for suppressing the rebellion, Gongsun Zan will have no choice but to serve as his deputy.

In this way, Wei Zhe would naturally have the opportunity to get his hands on the best part of Youzhou.

Gongsun Zan, that kid, was able to gradually grow in power in the heart of Youzhou by relying on Zhang Chun's rebellion, so naturally he can do it too.

It’s not that Wei Zhe dislikes Liaodong, it’s just that the gap between the two places is too big.

There is no way, the population of the three Liaodong counties combined is not as large as that of Yuyang County!
But what about Yuyang County? It only ranks second in Youzhou.

Because Zhuo County, which ranks first, has a population of 650,000!
Of course, compared with the counties in the Central Plains, Zhuo County is nothing.

After all, Youzhou has a total population of only 2.04 million, but Nanyang County alone has a population of 2.43 million.

A county is comparable to a state, this is the foundation of the counties in the Central Plains!

This is also the reason why Yuan Shu was so arrogant and domineering even though he only occupied Nanyang County.

It is true that war is a competition in all aspects, but the most crucial point is people.

Human resources are the most precious commodity in this era.

Nanyang County has a population of 2.43 million, and they can support an army of 200,000.

Although the border counties are vast, they are sparsely populated and even if they have resources, they cannot be developed.

Even if there are mountains of gold and silver buried under the border counties, they will still be a pile of waste if no one digs them up.

Without people, there is no food;
Without people, there are no swords.

The principle that there is strength in numbers has been true since ancient times.

It can be said that Wei Zhe dreams of entering the customs!
The Zhang Chun Rebellion was his best opportunity to extend his influence into the heart of Youzhou.

After all, in the process of fighting with Zhang Chun's rebels, Wei Zhe had too many ways to make trouble.

If the local county officials refused to cooperate, the charge of colluding with Zhang Chun would be enough to get them dismissed from office.

This is called using the suppression of rebellion to control the local areas!

Wei Zhe suspected that Gongsun Zan had done the same thing, but he just played it a little rough.

But it doesn’t matter, Wei Zhe’s current conditions are much stronger than Gongsun Zan’s.

Once he gets Youzhou, Wei Zhe will let Yuan Shao know what it means to be confused.

One step at a time, one step at a time.

By then, Wei Zhe was confident that he could quell the chaotic late Han Dynasty within fifteen years, rather than letting many warlords rise up and compete for supremacy, which ultimately took fifty years for the world to be unified, resulting in the population being halved, bones exposed in the wild, and no roosters crowing for thousands of miles.

The most crucial thing is that even though the Western Jin Dynasty reunited the world, it instead brought China into a new abyss.

The Five Barbarians invaded China...Alas~the Sima family is deeply sinful!

It can be said that Wei Zhe has already thought of the entire plan and is just waiting to implement it.

However, Wei Zhe never expected that performing too well could actually be a disadvantage.

……

A moment later, in the inner room of the prefect's mansion.

The eunuch who announced the decree was chatting with Wei Zhe in a familiar manner.

Of course, the two were indeed familiar with each other, after all, it was he who came to read the edict of conferring nobility last time.

Even the earliest imperial edict that promoted Wei Zhe to the position of prefect of Lelang was received from this eunuch.

That is, Wei Zhe's superior is the emperor, otherwise he would be labeled a eunuch. But acquaintances have their advantages.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the eunuch didn't waste any time and went straight to the point.

"Lord Wei, His Majesty has high hopes for you!" The eunuch sighed, "Putting aside the two thousand households of fiefdom, this is the first time in our dynasty that a title has been bestowed upon one's ancestral home. This is a tremendous honor!"

However, it would have been better if he didn't mention this. As soon as Wei Zhe mentioned it, he felt helpless.

Never-Night Marquis? Does this mean he sells tea or runs a tavern?

In comparison, Wei Zhe felt that the Goguryeo Marquis was not unacceptable.

Although I always feel that future generations will misunderstand me as a Korean with this name, but who cares when the person is dead.

However, since the emperor had given him face, he naturally had to accept it.

Wei Zhe immediately declared his stance in a righteous and stern manner, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will restore order in Liaodong as quickly as possible and bring that wretch Zhang Chun to justice. I will not let Your Majesty down..."

However, before Wei Zhe could finish his words, the eunuch interrupted him by waving his hands.

"No, no!" The eunuch shook his head helplessly and said, "Master Wei used to be quite clever, so why did he suddenly lose his composure today?"

Seeing Wei Zhe's confusion, he simply explained in a low voice, "Leave Zhang Chun's troubles to Meng Yi. Your top priority right now is Liaodong."

As he spoke, the eunuch pointed to the north and said meaningfully, "The King of Goguryeo has long been disobedient to the Han Dynasty and has repeatedly offended it. The Emperor is very distressed by this!"

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe immediately understood what he meant.

To eat the emperor's salary and share his worries, this obviously means that he should help the emperor solve his troubles!
However, although he understood the eunuch's hint, Wei Zhe suddenly felt an urge to curse.

Isn’t the emperor too greedy?
Having the Hwi-mok land and the Three Han is not enough, you also want Goguryeo?

Are you trying to be on par with Emperor Wu of Han?

If you care so much about your reputation and the evaluation of history after your death, what were you doing before?
This is Goguryeo, not a tribal alliance like the Three Kingdoms of Han!
Even though the King of Goguryeo barely escaped with his life in the last battle of Bashui, this is different from destroying the country.

You should know that in the history of Goguryeo, there were many cases of kings being killed and capitals being burned.

This was done by Cao Wei, Sima clan, and even the Xianbei people of Northern Wei and Gao Huan of Northern Qi.

But the Goguryeo people were like rats. Once the Han army withdrew, they would come out from various ravines again, and soon they would start to show off again.

Wei Zhe really doesn't have the confidence to solve something that others have not been able to do with the power of a whole country.

It’s okay if you don’t understand, but after understanding, you are still so confident, which is a bit mysterious!
However, Wei Zhe's biggest backer now is the emperor, so no matter how unsure he is, he can only nod his head reluctantly.

Otherwise, once he loses the emperor's support, let alone taking control of Youzhou, he will probably be sitting on the bench in Luoyang next month.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe took a deep breath and said with a firm look in his eyes, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to your trust!"

After hearing what he said, the eunuch smiled happily.

This is what he likes most about Wei Zhe: he never lets the emperor down!
Therefore, he immediately asked impatiently: "How long?"

Hearing this, Wei Zhe wanted to say ten years, but seeing the eager look on Xiao Huangmen's face, he thought for a moment and then made a promise against his conscience: "Five years! Give me five years, and I will definitely wipe out the Goguryeo nation!"

Unexpectedly, the eunuch frowned after hearing this. This was not the result he wanted to hear.

The eunuch believed that this was not the response the emperor wanted to hear.

So after trying to figure out the emperor's thoughts, he immediately said with a gloomy expression, "Two years!"

"Lord Wei, His Majesty's patience is not very good. You need to be more understanding!"

The eunuch didn't care whether Wei Zhe could do it or not. He just wanted an answer that would make the emperor happy.

This is what eunuchs are like. They say whatever the emperor wants to hear and they don’t care whether it is the truth or not.

Seeing that the eunuch said so, Wei Zhe had nothing else to say and could only nod helplessly.

Two years is just two years. As for what happens after two years, we can only deal with it as it comes!

After seeing off the imperial edict delegation, Wei Zhe did not sleep all night.

Late at night, when he put on his clothes and went to the yard to look up at the waning moon in the sky, he suddenly felt a little bored.

Wei Zhe didn't expect that when he was about to make the final leap, the one who stopped him was actually the emperor!

He wanted to enter the pass, but the emperor insisted on keeping him in Liaodong...even if it was out of selfish motives.

As expected, everything has a price, and no one can always take advantage.

He enjoyed the emperor's protection and indulgence, but naturally he had to pay the price for it.

Looking back on his choice during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wei Zhe even felt that perhaps he should not have come to Lelang.

If he had not been the leader and instead chosen to follow Fu Nanrong to Liangzhou, perhaps there would have been a different outcome.

But it's too late to say anything now. Whether it's the backlash of history or the emperor's willfulness, Wei Zhe will be completely trapped in Liaodong for the next two years!

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe under the moon could only sigh helplessly...

　I'm still coding the next chapter, it gives me a headache...

　　I feel like my body is hollowed out! o(╥﹏╥)o
　　
　
(End of this chapter)