Han officials

Chapter 99: The Absurdity of the End of the Dynasty
It is said that Guo Yuan, Shi Yi, Sun Shao and others have been like fish in water since they joined Wei Zhe's school.

Especially since Wei Zhe had just been conferred the title of Marquis of Xiang and he had recruited several people, Guo Yuan and others could be considered elders of the Marquisate.

Shi Yi and Sun Shao had been unknown in the Beihai Kingdom, but recently they have become young talents in the eyes of their neighbors, and many of their fellow villagers have come to seek refuge and visit them.

Fortunately, Guo Yuan and others are extraordinary people and will not make some low-level mistakes.

During the period when Wei Zhe was preparing for the war against the Three Han States, they managed the Marquisate in an orderly manner.

After Wei Zhe was renamed Marquis of Buye County, they were overjoyed and felt lucky that they had not chosen the wrong person.

It should be noted that according to the Han system, the fiefs of the marquises were called marquisates.

During the Western Han Dynasty, all marquises could establish their own states, even those who controlled a village or a pavilion were no exception.

However, after the revival of this dynasty, Emperor Guangwu stipulated that only county marquises could establish a country, and township marquises and pavilion marquises could not establish a country by splitting townships and pavilions from old counties as was done in the previous Han Dynasty.

Of course, the so-called establishment of a country does not mean ceding territory, but represents a kind of honorable position.

But even so, it is already a great honor for the Han people.

The relationship between Guo Yuan and others and Wei Zhe was truly that of a monarch and his subjects.

However, no matter how loyal Guo Yuan and others were, they couldn't help but be shocked when they learned of Wei Zhe's thoughts.

After all, the Han Dynasty had not yet been ravaged by Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao.

The court still has prestige and the people's hearts are still with the Han Dynasty. It is not the time for the princes to rise up.

Guo Yuan immediately frowned and asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, why... do you have such thoughts?"

There's nothing we can do about it, Wei Zhe's idea is just too bold.

Seeing this, Wei Zhe was not surprised. He said helplessly, "I don't want to do this either, but the emperor has issued an order. What can I do?"

When these words were spoken, Guo Yuan and others were stunned. They never thought that it was related to the emperor.

Xi Zhicai, who was standing by, saw this and explained, "The emperor wants to destroy Goguryeo and has secretly instructed you to do so within two years. Fan Daya, the governor of Lelang, is also here for this purpose!"

After hearing Xi Zhicai say this, Guo Yuan and others were even more shocked.

Wow, these pieces of news are more explosive than the last!
Fortunately, they were all talented people and they quickly figured out the situation.

Simply put, the emperor wanted to destroy Goguryeo within two years, but offered no other support. Liaodong Commandery alone was unable to do so, so Wei Zhe had no choice but to unite the Liaodong Commanderies to conquer Goguryeo.

After figuring out the twists and turns here, Guo Yuan and others suddenly felt some sympathy for their own prince.

They were also aware of the strength of Liaodong County, which was even inferior to Lelang County.

The emperor actually wanted the Liaodong governor to destroy Goguryeo? This was simply asking too much!
Being forced to this point, it's no wonder that our prince would take such an extreme approach.

After thinking about this, Guo Yuan hesitated for a moment and then said decisively, "Since that's the case, please expand the Marquisate first. Otherwise, with the current manpower in the Marquisate, it will be difficult to coordinate the forces of the Liaodong counties."

Shi Yi and Sun Shao also quickly got into the groove and immediately offered suggestions on how to better coordinate and deploy the forces of the four Liaodong counties and one vassal state, even taking into account Wei Zhe's suggestion of capturing living soldiers.

So after an afternoon of discussion, Wei Zhe finally came up with a perfect plan.

……

Compared with the township marquis, the officials of the county marquis are much more complete.

Some county marquises have the same positions as township marquises, and there are also positions such as Langzhongling, Dianshuling, Dianweiling, Dianciling, Xueguanling, Muchang, Yezhe, Zhongdaifu, Dianyicheng, Dianfucheng, Zhishu, and Sheren.

Among them, the position of envoy is to travel to all directions as an envoy of the Marquis' Mansion and convey the orders of the Marquis' Mansion.

The Dianweiling is responsible for guarding and commanding the troops.

The Dianfu Cheng was responsible for managing the finances of the marquis's mansion, while the Zhishu was responsible for handling some legal affairs.

As for the Sheren, they are the lowest-level officials in the marquis's mansion, mainly responsible for handling daily mundane affairs.

Therefore, Wei Zhe did not need to introduce any new system, as the Buye County Marquisate itself was a complete team.

However, in the past these were honorary positions, mostly used by county marquises to reward relatives and friends.

Now that Wei Zhe is ready to turn virtual into real, these subordinates will naturally come in handy.

For example, according to Guo Yuan's suggestion, the Commander-in-Chief of the Guards could be ordered to coordinate the military operations of the four Liaodong counties and the vassal states of Liaodong.

As for the most urgent matter of eliminating plows and promoting the use of plow carts, the Dianfu Cheng can be asked to coordinate it.

Anyway, whether it is military affairs or agricultural affairs, the Marquis' Mansion has people to coordinate.

In this way, with Liaodong unified, it is very likely that Goguryeo will be destroyed in two years!

……

The next day, Xuanshou County, Goguryeo County.

Inside the official residence, Xuanchu prefect Bian Yi was seen with a look of astonishment on his face.

"Is this Duke Wei crazy?"

It was no wonder Bian Yi lost his composure; the contents of the letter were indeed a bit outrageous. Wei Zhe actually expressed in the letter his wish to send troops to Xuanchu County to establish military farms.

What Bian Yi found most outrageous was that this guy actually interfered with the farming affairs in Xuanqiu County.

After reading the entire letter, Bian Yi couldn't help but recheck the seal and the mud.

Seeing this, the chief clerk Liao Bo could not help but say, "My Lord, this letter is genuine, not a forgery."

Upon hearing this, Bian Yi looked at Liao Bo with a wary look and asked, "Do you know what this means?"

Liao Bo realized his misunderstanding and said with a wry smile, "The head of the Wei family came to visit me yesterday and hinted at something in his words."

When Liao Bo said this, Bian Yi immediately understood who he was talking about.

Because there is only one head of the Wei family in Xuanchu County, no prefix is needed.

But this made Bian Yi even more confused, and he immediately asked irritably: "What exactly does Wei want to do?"

You should know that the Houcheng Wei family today is very different from what it was a few years ago. At least half of the people in the six counties of Xuanchu eat fish salt from the Houcheng Wei family.

What is represented here is not only interests, but also status and influence.

If the Wei family of Houcheng wanted to resist him as the prefect, then the only thing that awaited him was dismissal from office.

Because unless he first dealt with Wei Zhe, the Liaodong prefect next to him, he would not be able to do anything to the Wei family.

Xuanchu Prefect Bian Yi understood this, and Liao Bo naturally understood this as well.

So he immediately said bluntly, "This time, Duke Wei's power isn't just targeting Xuanchu County. Lelang County, the Liaodong vassal state, and Dongming County have also received letters. I heard... they've all agreed!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Bian Yi couldn't help but open his eyes wide, his eyes full of shock.

After all, Wei Zhe's move was undoubtedly an infringement of the prefect's authority. How could they agree to it?
It would be fine for Taishi Ci, the commander of the Liaodong vassal state, and Gongsun Zhao, the governor of Dongming, as they were both Wei Zhe's students and former officials, so it was reasonable for them to agree to such a request.

But why is Fan Chou, the governor of Lelang, so cowardly?
Isn't he a disciple of Hongdu Sect? I heard he's also related to the Minister of Selection, so he has a very powerful background.

A person like this shouldn't be afraid of a mere Liaodong governor!

Thinking of this, Bian Yi was confused from the bottom of his heart and asked, "Why is this happening?"

Liao Bo was not surprised to see this, because he had the same expression yesterday.

But at this moment, he was much calmer and immediately explained, "I heard that the emperor wanted to attack Goguryeo, but the treasury was empty, and the Liaodong governor, Wei Gongwei, was unable to do so, so he wanted to unite the forces of Liaodong!"

Liao Bo then analyzed, "Lelang Governor Fan Daya must have been involved for this reason."

After hearing this, Bian Yi suddenly understood.

Although the emperor's action was a bit absurd, it was also reasonable.

Besides, Duke Wei of Wei is indeed good at conquering, so it is not surprising that the emperor entrusts him with this task.

Even Bian Yi suspected that Lelang Prefect Fan Chou probably came for this matter.

Thinking of this, he looked at the chief clerk hesitantly and said, "Should I agree to this?"

"I think it's best to agree!" Liao Bo said bluntly, "This matter actually has more benefits than disadvantages for the Lord!"

Without waiting for Bian Yi to speak, he offered his explanation, "During the reign of Emperor An, the former Liaodong Governor Cai Feng and the former Xuantu Governor Yao Guang once joined forces to attack Goguryeo, and they subsequently collaborated on numerous occasions. Therefore, it was customary for the two counties to join forces to attack Goguryeo in Liaodong, and there was nothing wrong with that. Furthermore, among the Liaodong counties, Xuantu County suffered the most from Goguryeo persecution, and we are irreconcilable enemies. Duke Wei's desire to attack Goguryeo is also a good thing for us."

Seeing Bian Yi's expression eased slightly, he continued, "Furthermore, with Duke Wei's ability, I'm afraid this plan has a real chance of success. Even if we can't ultimately destroy Goguryeo, a decisive victory should be easy. In that case, if the Lord participates, wouldn't that also be a military achievement?"

Although Liao Bo spoke tactfully, Bian Yi still felt a little uncomfortable and coughed slightly.

After all, sometimes it is unacceptable to take credit for others' work.

But as an official, how can you care so much about your face?
After Liao Bo's explanation, Bian Yi realized that this was indeed an opportunity.

In comparison, the infringement of the power of Prefect Xuanchu was nothing.

Anyway, he can't be the prefect of Xuanchu for the rest of his life, so let the next person in charge worry about this matter.

As long as he can get promoted, what does it matter to him whether other people live or die?
Thinking of this, Bian Yi immediately wrote a letter back to Wei Zhe without hesitation.

So not long after, Guo Yuan brought a group of officials to Xuanchu County and started working.

Something that was originally very absurd actually happened so openly.

However, in the current Han Dynasty, local governors like Bian Yi are not an exception.

Many of the major pitfalls in the prefectures and counties were caused by the legacy of successive governors, which ultimately led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion...

　Um, maybe there is something wrong with my writing method.

　　I used to write very quickly before it was put on the shelves, but now my typing speed is getting slower and slower. For example, this chapter is only 3,000 words, but I ended up writing and revising it all night long.

　　Sigh~ I need to adjust, this pace is too exhausting. Writing historical articles really isn't for humans...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)