Chapter 244: Ripples After The Battle
In the first month of the sixth year of the Tong Zheng Calendar, internally it was Zhen Hao and others advising to ascend; externally it was Xuan Chong forcing Zhao Cheng during the alliance oath to enshrine Da Yao as the legitimate sovereign. Zhao Cheng was forced to take the throne and accept the Da Yao rank of Duke Zhao.
Zhao Cheng’s original “Proxy Hao” process was to be carried out after achieving a small victory against Zhen State.
In other words, when the other troops were defeated, as long as Zhao Cheng, still in the position of Hao Minister, showed the ability to secure victory, he could take the initiative in the subsequent usurpation of Hao.
But in this battle, Zhao Cheng obtained no results from Xuan Chong’s hands that could be called a “victory.”
He was now being pushed to take power. And after he took power, the forces in Hao State pushed by Zhen Hao and many other noble families were all preparing to “advance.” This scene was just like the Three Families Dividing Jin.
If “Zhi Bo” could consolidate his position through victory like the Qi State’s “Tian clan,” he could directly replace Jin. But he failed to show leadership at a “substance” level superior to the other families, so in the end he died and the state collapsed, with the three families dividing Jin.
Zhao Cheng was the same; right now he had no prestige to integrate internally, and once he tried, it would be Zhi Bo’s fate.
Except for the three prefectures of Yuhuazhou, in all other territories, they were only his military allies, obeying military orders but keeping food, grass, and taxes for their own use.
For these small forces now enshrining Zhao Cheng as common lord, if they were attacked, Zhao Cheng had to fulfill military obligations, but if Zhao Cheng interfered in their personnel matters and taxes, that was unacceptable.
Additionally, for legitimacy, Zhao Cheng still needed to request enfeoffment from the Da Yao Imperial Court. And now the Tong Zheng Emperor was in Wu Hengyu’s hands, and Wu Hengyu would not do as he wished, so currently Zhao Cheng had to immediately fight Wu Hengyu.
…System: Destroy Hao homework has been completed…
Currently across the land under heaven, the thatched cottages where local noble families’ great scholars once gathered were no longer as prosperous as ten years ago. Because at this time, aside from Zhen State, the entire land under heaven had natural disasters amid the chaos.
In the southeast of Chenzhou, in the most famous thatched cottage here, the former assembly of worthies had now become just a few cats big and small. This was not only a food issue, but also an order issue; with each household’s militia in the countryside, rural disputes had intensified.
Nowadays, in all prefectures that had fought against Zhen State, they were all scrambling for a bite of grain.
In the past, great clans in the countryside used morality to suppress, forcibly defining some local ruffians as “scourges” during famine years; defining some widows as damaging to the family honor, then letting them starve to death.
Now it’s different; militia officers burst into homes, collecting grain and redistributing it. The highly respected family elders of noble families, after being slapped, could only let them act recklessly.
Ruffians joined militias en masse to become ruffian soldiers, and widows shamelessly threw themselves at capable men, wantonly selling their charms to survive.
Discourse power had shifted from the “moral helmsmen” to the “blade wielders.” In this transformation process, because “desires could be indulged without restraint,” all order within Da Yao began to collapse.
Morality is certainly hypocritical, but the premise for sustaining such “hypocrisy” is that everyone wants to honestly farm and produce, needing a nominally just authority for adjudication.
Now everyone holds the blade, fixed assets and steadfast hearts are gone; in villagers’ words: “Public morals are no longer simple, the people take to the hills as thugs.”
Specifically, the top martial forces of the various prefectures that participated in the war had been wiped out by Xuan Chong, and Xuan Chong did not take these places, creating a power vacuum.
These areas had now become places where militia groups had the loudest voices. Lacking a supreme deterrent to maintain order, local plundering led to farmland beginning to lie fallow.
The people dared not plant on lands they could not control; without security, even if fields were sown, they would be plundered, so better to let them lie fallow—at least they could catch some bugs and eat grass roots. In worse cases, even some rural great clans dared not reclaim land, because oxen brought out would be robbed.
In Hua Prefecture, many commoners silently envied the lands reclaimed by Xia Prefecture troops south of the Jia River; thugs never dared cross the Jia River, because once they did, Xingzhou corps would come and kill, often “at the incident site, all people within fifty li radius forcibly migrated to the southern border.”
In the thatched cottage, the remaining few advisors miserably discussed the spiraling decline of the situation.
Scholar 1: “We all misjudged this Zhen State!”
Scholar 2: “Could it be, brother, you want to go?”
Scholar 1: “Me? Hard to leave native soil.”
Note: Not that he doesn’t want to go, but there’s no position left. Xuan Chong’s talent selection mode, these scholars all knew, was a ruthless screening machine. Wanting to emulate scholars throwing themselves at a wise lord, Xuan Chong’s side didn’t even have recommendation slots.
Only the two great exams in spring and autumn allowed entry to Xuan Chong’s interview stage; as for these worthies, they still hoped someone would come to respectfully seek them.
Just as the remnant elders and youths in the thatched cottage began to lament, noisy voices came from outside, servants shouting to stop: “You can’t do this, we are x family people!”
Soldier: “General’s Mansion conscription, you must respond!”
Thus, a group of crude big men burst in. The leader kicked over the tea table with one foot, put knife hilts on these scholars’ shoulders, then cupped fists inviting the scholars to take office.
The scholar trembled with anger: “Are you bandits? Just tying people up like this?”
Who knew the soldiers burst out laughing: “Bookworm, you guessed right, we were good fellows of Erlong Mountain before, now thanks to the Great General’s grace, we’ve come down the mountain to eat imperial rations!”
The scholars were locked and seized, still muttering: “How is this different from the ‘violent Zhen who burns bamboo’?”
However, a certain “commoner” similarly conscripted nearby mocked these young masters: “Zhen State can provide meals, your peaceful land under heaven, besides driving us to chop wood, reel silk, farm, and support your moral airs, what else is it good for!”
Saying this in Chenzhou, obviously not a “general commoner,” but a scholar returned from Zhen State; just after returning, for speaking for Zhen State, he was expelled from scholar rolls.
The land under heaven develops spirally; when the entire land under heaven discovered that Zhen State, collectively opposed by noble family scions, showed no sign of perishing, but instead won the founding war.
Numerous heroes concluded: No need for noble family support to achieve great things!
So, in the current world, strongmen began imitating: small as grass-roots kings with a few hundred men, large as Zhen Hao and other forces with heavy troops, all pondering: “Should we listen to the noble families reason? Or can we directly use sword and blade to make the noble families reason for us?”
…New and old alternation produces chaos, because some imitators don’t understand new terms, only know “he can, so can I”…
Xuan Chong impacted the entire land under heaven, but many brutish men only learned the surface; Zhen State not relying on noble families was because Xuan Chong did decades of investigation and practice, figuring out the noble families’ two legs: one, rural economy; two, official personnel system.
Xuan Chong found two new legs and attached them before sawing off the old masters’ two legs.
1: Use film distributors to replace noble families’ local economic control; 2: Official system relies on baojia of military merit ranks to implement legal will. (Without these two prerequisites, it’s Xian Daoren’s outcome.)
In Zhao proxying Hao process, let alone grass-roots kings, even proper military strategists couldn’t figure out the reasoning. (Lord of Myriad Changes most likes such ignorant yet boldly experimental smart people.)
When batches of soldiers arrived locally, seizing noble families’ manors, servant girls, property confiscated, how exactly to allocate?
After Zhao Cheng returned, seeing a series of chaos, he was silent! He couldn’t help missing his pre-transmigration lord. “Seal the treasury, no moving women or goods”—now, very few could do it!
As soldier calamity began infiltrating rural great households, no longer limited to small branches; poetry gatherings could no longer be held in great clans, replaced by fortifying for self-preservation.
And self-preservation led to farmland concentrating in self-preservation areas, while lands reclaimed in former peaceful years, now indefensible, lay fallow. Fallow land then led to insufficient grain, population decline.
Note that these noble families previously sustained the main branch’s prosperity not by relying on fields near the main branch.
…Chaos level gradually rising…
At the foot of a hill in Hexi, Zhen Hao was at the edge of a big pit, sending one “corpse” after another into the trench—no, not corpses, but human bodies with organs partially cut, still writhing.
Since returning, Zhen Hao had become obsessed with the blessings gained from such sacrifices. This was the dharma gate searched from Zhao Shanhe.
Through sacrifice, he could know what various figures under his prefectures were thinking (blue); make farmland outside his location harvest monthly (green); make beauties and delicacies beside him more delicious (purple); keep soldiers loyal to him loyal and brave (red).
Worth mentioning, Zhen Hao now through blessings knew that Hui Cai beside him came from the west; but he did not punish this disloyalty, because “Hui Cai” got the message from Zhen State to help him Zhen Hao stabilize the local noble great clans.
Zhen Hao also knew that now Zhen State did not want more war; for power stability, he acquiesced to Hui Cai under him. Of course he had tried corruption, but all his corruptions failed.
Just as he was sacrificing at the pit edge, the nearby door opened, Hui Cai stepped forward, cupped hands: “My lord, Baili Jue, Lord Baili has arrived.”
Hui Cai seemed not to see the writhing in the pit. But he had prepared for being silenced anytime.
Zhen Hao: “Got it, I’ll go see him.”
Half a shichen later, Zhen Hao in scholar attire, bringing men who looked like servants but were actually personal soldiers, met Baili Jue near Fan Bridge. Both harbored their own thoughts.
Reviewing the previous campaign, Zhen Hao inwardly cursed: “These days you’ve stayed here, so long without opening the Bei Xie Jing passage? Don’t know if they’ve opened a breach elsewhere.”
After going north, Baili Jue saw desolation everywhere, and the giant soldier treasury empty, thinking: “So many siege weapons, you lost them all, now no chance to turn the tables.”
Both inwardly cursing, but on the surface no false courtesy. Directly fake smiles, praising each other’s hardships.
Zhen Hao: “Thanks to your steadiness, I could be here.”
Baili Jue: “Where where, General, you campaigned a thousand li, hard work!”
…No sincerity, all pretense.…
Same year, Xuan Chong stayed in Zhenzhou, many congratulatory memorials from all sides.
“Wu Yuanchang should be crowned king!” This time it wasn’t Wu family people praising, but all internal “voices of authority” suddenly “realizing” what to do!
In their narrative, Xuan Chong should be responsible for the people of this half the realm.
Even some southern border local noble families began debating scriptures; in Fen Xing City’s thatched cottage, the first batch of migrant Chong Land noble families now looked at Heluo, Ji Prefecture and other noble families also dragged down with a sense of superiority!
They were elders who pledged allegiance to Xuan Chong in Emperor Shu’s era, enjoyed the opening reclamation dividends. So now, with Xuan Chong’s acquiescence, they had considerable voice in the “southern border system.”
And to now Xuan Chong was still strengthening their discourse power, not because they were noble families, but because they were on the border, in the countryside.
Xuan Chong: “If not strengthen their discourse power, the border will be scraped as a colony by industry and commerce groups.”
The thatched cottage was quite lively, Debater 1: “So, vassal lords mastering one prefecture rise and fall quickly because of lack of virtue! Now the great war in Ji Prefecture, a nation-destroying level battle for the Hao Army, hard resisted by Wu Fei? What reason?”
Debater 2: “Officers and soldiers gave their all, people united, heaven’s timing blessed? All reasons explained are complex.”
Final debate result: “The state lord has virtue.”
Finally, Xuan Chong held back these congratulatory memorials. Because there was still one last war not fought. And if accepting memorials, couldn’t “slap smiling faces” anymore.
Xuan Chong tapped the table: “There should still be some people’s congratulatory memorials coming.”
…Wu Xiao Que has a small mind…
Water, Yin family was one of the top great surnames here; when the Yin family head who conspired externally returned to the old manor secret room, over twenty clan members sat there. They all asked: “How, did he accept the memorial?”
The Yin family head shook his head under the dim light.
Then, Second House head said: “This, this how to handle! Could it be Duke Zhen wants to settle accounts with us?”
Someone nearby rolled eyes; Second House’s young master had rare reputation for virtue, but in this chaotic world, joined Hao Army camp, now Hao Army defeated in Ji Prefecture one battle, per news this Second House young master reportedly captured. So if settling accounts, it would be Second House.
Yin family head said gravely: “Duke Zhen acts, rewards by merit records, punishes by crime ledgers; Brother Xiao (Second House young master) always upright, won’t implicate us.” (Meaning Second House young master should have offed himself.)
The family head’s words made Second House head jump up, but other branches all echoed the head. These days, if Second House gambled outside, had to bear consequences.
Yin family head then instructed: “Duke Zhen is not one for grand praise, but under Duke Zhen’s account there are no lack of petty gossips, we should prepare more.”
Then Yin family head began excluding Second House. Head gathered other houses’ managers, discussing how to resolve crisis with new plan of “offering gold,” “sending talent to southern border.”
Everyone similarly knew, Wu Xiao Que after receiving gifts would retract claws, not string everyone up on thorns to dry.
…Rewards and punishments…
Xingzhou, Xuan Chong heavily rewarded Su Ming and a crowd of meritorious ministers.
Among them Xuan Chong added ten thousand households’ fief to Su Ming, almost an entire county. And on the other side, Cai Baijing also got Marquis of Ten Thousand Households rank.
Of course Zhen State’s enfeoffment of marquis was improved. Marquis of Ten Thousand Households’ heirs inherit not local ten thousand household “fief” economic privilege, but hereditary legal adjudication right.
These marquis heirs to be uniformly taught at Zhenzhou criminal law academy, only inherit after graduating qualified. So depends on which of the marquis’s sons has good achievement.
And rank stripping not tied to Chou Jin Tax.
If local adjudication unjust, two generations in a row, causing local discontent, failing local advisory parliament and without central endorsement, the lord can revoke.
From this visible, Xuan Chong seems to be turning his governance to modernization, promoting centralization-favorable prefecture-county system, while building “parliaments” in prefectures-counties, giving center effective “policy implementation” feedback;
And such representing public opinion advisory bureaus (left) can be mouthpieces. While military merit marquises controlled by center (right) are center’s amplifiers suppressing local dissent on big projects.
Xuan Chong to win internal recognition still used the old name “Marquis of Ten Thousand Households.”
This has huge appeal to masses chasing military merit. Fact proves: this “marquisate” without fief economic privilege is fine, but as long as corresponding sufficient “blood reward nature” rank privilege, this signboard is still pure gold.
Xuan Chong: “As the saying goes, upright officials hard to judge family affairs, i.e., family matters hard to handle by law; (unwilling to understand situation, forcibly intervene strongly by law, results in mess), and similarly, in era of undeveloped communication tech, center pushing prefecture-county system must compromise, delegate adjudication right to local.”
Regarding such rewards, soldiers had no complaints, Su Ming even less; he had seen southern industrial city’s productivity, had no interest in squeezing oil from soil. Especially this northern bunch of paupers, if really taking over, had to support them, else they’d run.
Sure enough, in Zhenzhou side, large numbers of rural villagers already squeezing toward industrial city.
Some agricultural areas already had depopulation.
What Su Ming cared about was power to squeeze into upper central echelons; after all as “upright official” on own territory, that reaches heaven’s ear. This is a ticket representing “local voices,” bypassing current prefecture-county system to directly convey will upward. Means under law in prefecture-county even prefecture, he is first tier.
As for “taking and giving” to territory people? Hmm, to say. These marquises not wanting impossible. But in this era even Xuan Chong doesn’t take and give, so everyone doesn’t care!
Su Ming glanced at Xuan Chong, knowing in entire Zhen State, no one could by war merit from this Zhen State founding lord get powers beyond law.
Su Ming diligently prostrated before Xuan Chong, shouting: “This minister thanks grace!”
Xuan Chong stared at him, in tone of advice: “This is hereditary replaceable rank; I don’t want your gold, but don’t stir public resentment.”
Su Ming instantly understood Xuan Chong hinting at this rank’s gold content. Zhen State won’t issue lavishly, has motive to reclaim. At same time he understood! Xuan Chong awakening him that “public resentment” concept is center-defined, need to align with center.
Su Ming hurriedly pledged loyalty.
Besides rank rewards, soon large numbers of servants and goods to allocate.
After issuing ranks, Xuan Chong announced participating officers and soldiers would get various asset rewards.
Rewarded not only officers and soldiers, but also civilian laborers in great war, and city great households donating family assets. Their contributions all recorded in account books, now to be repaid.
Rewarded cloth and pigs and sheep all allocated to countryside.
Blood labor exchanges for rank, hard work for bounty. Xuan Chong from start separated these two post-war reward-punishment calculations.
Labor pay just daily wages, blood reward is class status. After such division, south Zhen up and down totally clear on “blood fight gains blood reward” concept.
Always, Wu Family Army supported “merit points exchange money.”
But now Lelang City soldiers, no one would exchange blood reward for labor pay. Even if biggest rank now couldn’t get a penny from state treasury, it decided on big matters who sits, who kneels.
No one questioned “Marquis of Ten Thousand Households” quality. And those getting high ranks not short of money.
Su Ming’s father Su Dahe, on day relinquishing Donghua Commandery Prefect, grandly banqueted guests.
