Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 34 I just want to reach the top step by step, I want to be the Grand Marshal!
After thinking for a long time, Liu Bian still could not fully trust Zhu Jun.

Liu Bian looked through Zhu Jun's resume as the governor of Jiaozhou. Except for the rebellion of the barbarians and the execution of a few Jiaozhou people who colluded with the barbarians, Zhu Jun's resume as the governor of Jiaozhou was perfect.

But such a resume aroused Liu Bian's suspicion.

Where is Jiaozhou?
It is two thousand miles away from Luoyang, with a long journey, a sparse population, chaos caused by barbarians, and rampant miasma. Such a "barren land" has become a natural place of exile, and exile can also be used to enrich the local population.

But as the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people, let alone Jiaozhou, which has such a complex composition?

The exiled families of officials, the indigenous people of Jiaozhou, the Jiaozhou barbarians who refused to submit to the king, and the people who migrated from the inland, these four forces constituted the basic population structure of Jiaozhou.

At the top of the food chain are the families of exiled criminal officials.

The families sentenced to exile in Jiaozhou were at least a group that could be called a clan.

Their culture and population are not comparable to those of the local indigenous people. In addition, with the favoritism of the successive governors of Jiaozhou and the prefects of various counties, even the ethnic groups that have taken root here since the Qin Dynasty and the Chu State during the Warring States Period are no match for this force.

The second group was the Jiaozhou barbarians who refused to submit to the king.

But when we say Jiaozhou barbarians, they are actually the indigenous people of Jiaozhou.

"The people are like beasts, with no distinction between old and young. They wear their hair tied up at the top and go barefoot at the bottom. They wear a belt on their heads and their clothes are open on the left." This is a true portrayal of the indigenous people of Jiaozhou. Sometimes they are Jiaozhou barbarians, and sometimes they are indigenous people.

Their rebellion depended on the local gentry, that is, the exiled clans.

After all, they were clans. No matter how weak they were, they were not comparable to the naturalized Han people in Jiaozhou and the barbarians in the mountains. Over time, they became the local gentry and nobles in Jiaozhou.

However, these people were exiled by the emperor in the past, and they had some old grudges against the Han court in their hearts. Relying on the fact that the emperor was far away, once the policy strategies of the local county officials appointed by the court and everything about them depended on the current situation, they would incite the people to rebel, kill officials, and turn the indigenous people into Jiaozhou barbarians if they were dissatisfied.

When the imperial army arrives to suppress the rebellion, they will rush to join the army and help it quell the rebellion, so that they can enjoy more benefits and occupy the land of the dead rebels.

However, during the period when Zhu Jun served as the governor of Jiaozhou, there were no large-scale rebellions in Jiaozhou. For the other many small rebellions, Zhu Jun often did not need to intervene. The local gentry and nobles easily extinguished the flames of rebellion, providing Zhu Jun with a brilliant resume.

If someone said there was no connection between the two, Liu Bian would definitely not believe it.

Although everything was speculation, based on Zhu Jun's usual style of doing things, Liu Bian felt that this was very likely.

"Gong Wei, you're putting me in a difficult position."

Liu Bian looked at Zhu Jun, and seeing the eagerness in his eyes, he slowly sighed.

"I originally wanted to appoint Gong Wei as the governor of Qingzhou, but everyone in the court said no, even the three ministers..."

"Alas, is one's background really that important? Even someone like Gong Wei, who has already shown his talent, cannot be used by me."

Liu Bian sighed repeatedly, looking as if he felt sorry for Zhu Jun.

Zhu Jun's expression instantly darkened when he heard this. He didn't even need to find anyone to verify whether the prince's words were true.

The prince's reputation had long spread throughout Sanhe and Sanfu, and was still spreading to all directions at a very fast speed.

The scholars in the Central Plains praised the prince's courtesy towards great scholars such as Xun Shuang and Cai Yong, while the unwelcome border counties and children from poor families praised the prince's recruitment of officials to the prince's palace and the five captains of the Northern Army.

The scholars in the Central Plains longed to be treated as national heroes by the prince, while the scholars in the border counties and the children of poor families longed to be like Lu Fengxian, Jia Wenhe and others, who were farmers in the morning and entered the prince's palace in the evening.

Therefore, Zhu Jun had also fantasized about gaining the favor of the prince like Sun Wentai, who was also from Yangzhou, but he did not expect that he would actually be summoned by the prince today!

But these termites are using his background as an excuse to suppress him as they did before!
Liangzhou and Jiaozhou were both at the bottom of the food chain in the Han scholar circle. Yangzhou was only slightly better than these two states, but it was still severely suppressed.

Therefore, Zhu Jun had to resort to extreme measures, such as bribery and robbing documents to improve his reputation. However, even with the reputation of being a righteous man, he was still not accepted by the scholars in the Central Plains.

Others said that he was highly regarded by the emperor and was appointed as the governor of Jiaozhou, and was granted a fief of 1,500 households for his great achievements. However, who knew that the Secretary-General at that time simply thought that Yangzhou and Jiaozhou were adjacent to each other, the soil and climate were not much different, and the capable generals in the court were all from the north.

In this era, if you can't adapt to the local climate and water, you can die.

Therefore, the emperor and the Secretariat decided to give Zhu Jun a chance and take two thousand family soldiers to gamble. If he won, he would get a share of the credit, and if he lost, all the blame would be on him alone.

But even though he succeeded in suppressing the rebellion, he was removed from office as the Governor of Jiaozhou by the imperial court not long after he took office. He returned to the court and became a powerless counselor with an official rank of 600 stones!

Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in charge of government, he wants to use him regardless of regional background, but he is blocked by these insects!
Deceiving too much!

Zhu Jun's hands were shaking and his eyes were red. Dian Wei stepped forward and stood in front of the prince, holding his sword.

Liu Bian shook his head at Dian Wei, gently pushed Dian Wei's strong arm away, and said to Zhu Jun with a smile: "Why, Zhu Gongwei, are you so resigned to your fate?"

"Your Highness!"

Zhu Jun raised his head and looked at Liu Bian. His eyes, red with anger, gave Liu Bian the strange illusion that Zhu Jun was so aggrieved that he was about to cry.

"Why does Gong Wei think I'm such a coward?"

"I only agree not to appoint you as the governor of Qingzhou, but there is still a place where I need a loyal and brave general to guard it."

Liu Bian gently pulled Zhu Jun's right hand. Zhu Jun, who had always behaved like a scholar, showed some shyness and nervousness like a little girl when he was pulled away by the prince.

Liu Bian did not notice Zhu Jun's reaction, but just pulled him to a map hanging on the wall of the side hall and pointed to the western border.

"Liangzhou?"

"Yes! It's Liangzhou!"

Liu Bian thought about it and felt that it would be a pity not to use Zhu Jun, but he was also worried that he would protect corrupt officials, so it would be better to send him to Liangzhou to serve as the governor!

"The Protector of the Qiang, Captain Ling Zheng, and the Prefect of Hanyang, Gai Xun, wrote two letters to the emperor, saying that Huangzhong Yi and the Xianrong Qiang and Fuhan Qiang tribes might be plotting rebellion." Liu Bian's eyes were cold, and the fingertips that were pointing at the map turned white because he was pressing too hard.

Historically, the Qiang people suddenly stabbed the Han Dynasty in the back when they were devoting all their efforts to dealing with the Taiping Dao. They invaded the Sanfu area and threatened the ancestral temples and mausoleums in Chang'an. Although the rebellion was quelled, it severely damaged the Han Dynasty's control over Liang Province, allowing Dong Zhuo and his ilk to become powerful.

Therefore, he had to arrange in advance a general who could deal with the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou.

Liangzhou is a poor place with poor people, but it was not greatly affected by the drought this time, so Zhu Jun did not need to rectify the corruption problem in Liangzhou.

Moreover, as the bottom of the food chain of the Han Dynasty, although Liangzhou and Yangzhou are not favored by the scholars in the Central Plains, if a Yangzhou person comes to the land of Liangzhou, he will look down on the Liangzhou scholars who are also excluded by the scholars in the Central Plains.

This is human nature. Being despised by the upper class does not prevent them from despising those below them.

"I would like to appoint you as the Governor of Liang Province and the Right General of the Central Army, with the title of Grand Marshal. Could you help me to ensure that my rear is safe?"

"If Liangzhou is lost, I will bring my head to you!"

Zhu Jun accepted the job without any hesitation.

Although Liangzhou is a cold and bitter place, it is also a place where merits can be made, and it is not necessarily inferior to the Central Plains provinces where the Taiping Dao rebellion broke out.

And Zhu Jun will take advantage of this opportunity to catch up to the highest position of military generals step by step!
He wants to be the Grand Marshal!
(End of this chapter)