In the autumn of the twelfth year of the Great Cause, in July, the emperor decreed that the Fenyang Army be changed to the Boling Army, and gave Li Xujin, the chief of the Boling Army, the title of Doctor Ziguanglu, and ordered him to still serve as the ambassador of the six counties to comfort him, and to undertake the election of the civil and military officials of the counties and counties. At the same time, the Ministry of Officials approved Li Xu's recommendation of Cui Qian and Zhang Gongyi to inspect the positions of Shanggu County Guard and Boling County Guard. (Note 1)

No one was ruined, no one was ruined, and the two opposing sides of the tension had their own gains, and they shook hands and talked happily. Countless spectators were dumbfounded, and as for the parties, they kept their mouths shut, and they did not allow outsiders to say what it tasted like.

"The one surnamed Li is lucky, and even the old woman Tang Gong jumped out to help him!" Some bystanders muttered unwillingly, and the expression on their faces could not tell whether they were jealous or envious. But then again, if the surname Li is really a piece of mud that can't support the wall, will the always cautious Tang Guild help at this juncture?

For countless insiders who are concerned about the current situation, Li Yuan's sudden move is by no means as simple as doing his nephew a small favor. Most of them are in Hedong and half of Hebei are small, and three generals with heavy troops in their hands, plus more than a dozen high-ranking officials above the fourth grade, a decisive local force has been faintly formed. Anyone who wants to reach into it again has to think about the consequences. Especially at a time when the imperial court was weakened and the four fields were in trouble.

The smart man began to quietly change his position, and before the Fenyang army returned triumphantly, the four county guards who were still in their positions led their officials into the mountain labor army, helping Li Xu boost morale at the same time, he also took the initiative to ask for talents from the comfort envoys. It turned out that the scholars from all over the country who were rejected by the counties became fragrant and sweet in an instant, from the county princes, governors to the various Cao lords, as long as Li Xuken recommended them to take office, the county guards accepted all the orders.

After thanking several colleagues for their kindness, Li Xu took out a list that had been prepared a long time ago. The local military positions have to be changed, except for Guo Xuan, the county governor of Zhuo County, who still has some skills, those county officials and county lieutenants in the other five counties are all masters who have seen the Liukou himself run first, and he will definitely not be able to keep the situation if he expects this kind of person. There happened to be some veterans in the Xiongwu battalion who had been seriously injured and were not suitable to continue to stay in the army, and it would be a good outcome to be able to place them in the local area to maintain law and order. As for the two counties of Boling and Shanggu, since even the county guards have been changed, they have simply changed completely from beginning to end, except for some small officials who are barely passable in terms of official reputation and ability, the other positions are filled by those who were at the top of the last examination. The scholars and veterans who had obtained official positions by virtue of their own skills rather than the shadow of their families, although they lacked experience in governance, were enthusiastic one by one. The granting of land, the reclamation of land, the collection of taxes, and the reassurance of the people, all the orders handed down from the Grand Governor's Office were all carried out meticulously.

With such an adjustment, the six counties finally have a new look. Not only was the decree unimpeded, but the children of wealthy families who usually relied on their family power to do whatever they wanted had to be restrained a little, so as not to burn the fire on their heads by those newly appointed officials. The happiest are naturally those who are from poor families, although the official positions appointed by Li Xu are far from their ideal goals, but after all, they have the opportunity to show their talents, and they are not as dark as in the past.

It wasn't just the family that was shaken. When what happened outside the mountain quietly spread into the mountain through the mouth of someone with a heart, Wang Subha, who was attacked on his back, could no longer sit still. He did not have the strength to resist attacks from the north and east of the river, although at present both armies were using blockade as their main tactic. But if it continues to be consumed, it will not take two months, and everyone will starve to death from starvation. Li Xu's actions in the six counties of Hebei made him see a hope, or rather, in his desperate heart, a gap suddenly opened.

"Tell me, if we go to General Li now, will he give us a good death?" Holding a bowl of broken rice porridge with wild vegetables that was so thin that it could almost show the figure of a person, Wang Xuba asked tentatively while drinking. The mountain has been hungry for half a year, more than half of the meat bumps on his face have disappeared, and his hot temper has been completely "cured" by the vegetable porridge. Or like other dog officials, trick us out of the mountain and behead us immediately for public display! ”！

"This, this General Li is not that kind of person. He said that he would not continue to attack the mountain before the autumn harvest, so didn't he really not attack it? Wang Suba sat opposite Wang Junkuo, the second master, and his nephew in terms of seniority. Before the bottom of the family was scraped clean by the corrupt officials, he had learned sword techniques behind the martial artist for two years, and he was the first brave general of the "Great Yan Kingdom", and his words were more weighty, "Besides, he didn't even kill any of those who tried to rebel, so why bother us?" But when he does this, benevolence is righteousness, but he inevitably loses his prestige......"

"This is also true, my uncle seems to be still an official in Zhuo County. I heard from the people who went out to inquire about the news that Lord Li also asked for the title of General Dingyuan for him from the imperial court, which is a genuine Zhengwupin! Guo Fang, the third master, responded vaguely while "sucking" and drinking vegetable porridge. Since the beginning of the autumn harvest, the lockdown outside the mountains has eased slightly. It's impossible for them to rush out and cause trouble again, but the news from outside can still be heard more or less.

The clans who secretly opposed General Li all took the initiative to lose their sincerity, and the officials in the yamen also changed their ways. Unlike any previous open and covert fight, the loser was not cut down to the roots, but was punished a little, and then did not blame the past. The best example is Guo Fang's own uncle, Guo Xuan, who relied on the support of thousands of county soldiers and local tycoons, and did not take General Li seriously before. But after recognizing the situation and taking the initiative to lose sincerity, General Li did not embarrass him, but instead won for him a Zhengwupin loose official who he had never dreamed of before.

"My uncle, my uncle sent a letter to say. Let the past be in the past. General Li is a responsible man, we had better plan early! Taking a breath, he continued to add. My uncle also said that if you go down the mountain one day earlier, you will be safe one day earlier. He has seen countless high-ranking officials in his life, but none of them are like ......"

"Don't mention your Uncle Bird!" Li Fu, the fourth master, was so noisy by the "sucking" of Guo Fang, the third master, that he threw the open-minded pottery bowl on the table, and scolded angrily: "Your uncle, what kind of thing is your uncle!" If he hadn't agreed to stab the knife surnamed Li from behind, he would have saved us from the siege. Are we stuck in eating wild herbs and grass roots? If I had heard that I had avoided the east of the river, I would not have wanted to surrender like I did today, and I was afraid that others would not agree! ”

"Fourth, don't dig through old accounts!" Listening to Li Fuyue's words, the more digression became more and more amarkable, Wang Xuba hurriedly spoke. "The past is over, and when it is imperative, discuss how to survive. The last bit of food is in everyone's bowl, if there is no proposition, there is no need for the official army to go up the mountain, our own people will have to fight for stuttering! ”

He is telling the truth in the cottage right now. Since the roads leading to Lingqiu were completely blocked by the soldiers and horses in Hedong, the last supply channel on the mountain was also blocked. At the beginning of the year, the little grain and grass funded by some big people was not enough to chew, and the bottom was seen at the beginning of the month. The group was counting on using the terrain to inflict heavy losses on the enemy and turn defeat into victory. As a result, the soldiers and horses in both Hedong and Hebei only blocked and did not attack. Braving the rain of arrows to attack the opponent's camp was not the strong point of the minions, so Wang Suba had no choice but to put the sustenance of breaking the siege outside the mountain. But now, the bigwigs outside the mountain have shaken hands with General Li and made peace, and those promises in the past must have been swallowed in their stomachs. No one cares about the life or death of these bandits who have lost their use value, and they can only find ways to save themselves.

"But that Guo Xuan, that Guo Xuan had an appointment with us at the beginning. Now that he has returned to General Li, in order to cover up the dirty things in the past, it is inevitable that he will not find a way to kill people and kill them! Li Fu is open-mouthed, but his mind is not blindly simple. There is something that the big people outside the mountain can't do, they were the ones who planned to harm people at the beginning, and they are the ones who support General Li now. A black hand turns the clouds and rains, and it's not easy to set a trap for everyone?

Hearing this, everyone sighed long. One wrong step, one wrong step. I knew that today, as soon as General Li opened the conditions for recruiting security, everyone should immediately sell him the conspiracy of those big people outside the mountain. Now that all the opportunities have been snatched up by others, no matter how much I toss, I will end up being just a backhand...

"Otherwise, let's go to the Li family in Taiyuan. I'm afraid that his strength over there is greater than that of General Li? After a long sigh, Wang Xuba wiped the green wild vegetable residue from his mouth and asked in a consultative tone.

"But I'm afraid that the brothers below won't want to." Guo Fang, the third master, is obviously inclined to go down the mountain to lose his sincerity to Li Xu, and many of his rhetoric have already been drafted in his heart. "If we have tens of thousands of people in the mountains, if we go to Hedong, we may not be able to eat. Once there are two thorns in it, can we still keep it well under the command of Tang Gong? If you vote for General Lee, it will be otherwise. General Li promised to lend seeds to everyone to reclaim the wasteland, but the brothers were just bitter back then, and they had the land to plant again, and they might not be willing to take knives again! ”

"But then we don't have the power in our hands!" Wang Junkuo has the highest ability, and his utilitarianism is also heavier than that of several others. "There are more brethren left, and our officials should be safe. If the brothers all go home to reclaim the wasteland, won't we be the same to be kneaded? ”

"I'd rather the officer be as small as possible, the smaller, even if it starts as a small soldier, it means that people have forgotten all the things in the past!" Li Fu scraped the bottom of the bowl with his fingers and licked it all over the door. "We are originally farming, and with a good life, who wants to be afraid?"

"If we only think about going home and farming, General Li will definitely not allow anyone to attack us. He can tolerate Cui Laosan......."

"Farming, what should those officials do if they bully them again? Can the surnamed Li ensure that all of his subordinates are Qing officials? If you want me to say, it's better to go to Tang Gong and become an official yourself, without others to take care of it! ”

"It's not slow to follow General Li to get promoted, he is the youngest general in this dynasty!"

"Follow Tang Gong to have a future..."The leaders were gossiping, and no one could make up their minds.

"Let's talk about life first, and I'll talk about it when I don't become an official!" Seeing that everyone began to digress again, Wang Suba hurriedly pulled the conversation back to the right path. "Let's first say that it is more likely to take refuge in General Li's life, or it is more certain to take refuge in Tang Gong's life. It can't be delayed any longer, the longer it drags on, the more there is no rush ahead! ”

"General Lee!" Guo Fang was the first to respond, "The left and right are betting, it's better to bet on what can be seen." He can tolerate my uncle and Cui Laosan, so that he won't be able to get along with us! ”

"If you really want to go down the mountain, I, I also choose General Li! Anyway, who he is, we've seen it. Li Fu also agreed with Guo Fang's suggestion.

"For the time being, I am in favor of taking refuge in General Lee. In the long run, we should take refuge in Tang Gong. After all, there are several generations of national princes, and the tree has deep roots. Although General Li has a good heart, it is just a woman's kindness, and it may not be able to achieve great things in the future! Wang Junkuo hesitated again and again, making a difficult decision.

General Li is too good-hearted, so he can't make a big deal. If even those who conspire to frame themselves can be spared, wouldn't it be an encouragement to the betrayer? All the leaders agreed with Wang Junkuo's reason, but it was a long-term goal, and it had nothing to do with whether everyone could survive or not. After repeated discussions, Wang Xuba still decided to surrender to Hebei, "I can't be an official, and I can forget if I have a piece of land." It's better than having your head cut off and hanging on the wall! ”

Once he had reached his conclusion, he summoned the rest of the leaders to the front of the Gathering Hall and announced his final decision in public. Surprisingly, from the 'general' to the 'governor' to the 'lieutenant', none of the civil and military officials under his command raised any objections. After a moment's pause, the rebels cheered. If even secretly wiped away the hot tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Actually, they just want to live!" Wang Xuba instantly understood the whole content behind the call. Being a great general, a great prime minister, and living a vigorous life is only the wish of a very small number of people like Wang Junkuo. Having a piece of land to plant, a stable place to eat, and a grass hut to protect from the cold has been the lifelong desire of most people.

When they lost their way to live, they had to rise up. When they realize that there is still hope for a stable life, they prefer to lay down their swords and guns. The general Li outside the mountain may not be a big deal, but his understanding of the people's minds is actually the deepest among all.

"If I knew this was the case, what else would I be tossing!" Wang Xuba smiled bitterly, lowered his heart, and walked quickly to the outside of the mountain.

Note 1: Calibration, i.e. temporary agent. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the inspection of a certain official was the acting official. After the Song Dynasty, the meaning changed to real responsibility.

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