AWB Chapter 647 Recruiting Talents
Chapter 647 Recruiting Talents
In the third year of Zhongping (186 AD), Emperor Ling of Han was busy repairing the Nan Palace which was destroyed in a fire the previous year, and he intensified his extortion of money from all over the country.
Two months later, Zhao Ci of Jiangxia Prefecture rebelled and killed the governor of Nanyang.
At the same time, Gongsun Zan, who was appointed as the prefect of Beiping for his contributions in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans, was also busy managing his territory and recruiting soldiers.
At this time, Liu Bei was still serving as the Anxi County Lieutenant. He governed the area with benevolence and was deeply loved by the people.
On the other hand, Cao Cao, after being transferred to Jinan State as Prime Minister, vigorously rectified the administration of officials and punished corrupt officials, making the county politically clear and peaceful for a while. In order to win over Cao Cao, the dignitaries in the court prepared to promote him to the position of governor of Dongjun and appoint him as a councilor.
Cao Cao was unwilling to cater to the powerful, so he resigned from his official position and retired to seclusion, reading in spring and summer and hunting in autumn and winter, temporarily entering a state of seclusion.
Dong Zhuo of Xiliang was appointed General of the Central Army and, together with Huangfu Song, he quelled the rebellion in Liangzhou. He was granted a title of nobility for his merits and was given a fief of 1,000 households.
In April of the third year of Zhongping, Huang County, Donglai County, Qingzhou.
Several Liaodong cavalrymen arrived here after a long journey. They asked along the way and soon found their target, a young man who was 7 feet 7 inches tall.
"…My prefect has long heard that the warrior is very filial to his mother, diligent and studious, skilled in archery and horse riding, and good at shooting with his arms like an ape. He is a hero of the time. Therefore, he sent us to pay a visit and present gifts. There is also a letter. If the warrior is willing, he can go to Liaodong, and there will be an important mission."
"I never thought that the governor of Liaodong also knew my name. Wait until I read the letter before I tell you..."
On the other side, Yanmen County, Bingzhou.
A seventeen-year-old minor official from Yanmen County also received a conscription document from Liaodong, along with a gift.
After reading the letter, the Yanmen official was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is Liaodong really strong in military power and can it wipe out the foreign tribes?"
"Of course. My prefect once killed the Wuhuan and Fuyu cavalry outside Xiangping City, and they fled in panic, with countless casualties. Now, whether it is Wuhuan, Fuyu, Xianbei, or Goguryeo, they are all terrified when they hear the name of my prefect.
My governor loves young men the most. Hearing that you are very powerful, he specially sent us here from afar to ask you to go to Liaodong and wipe out the foreign tribes, so that our Han people can once again dominate the frontier and reappear the reputation of the Champion Marquis!"
"Okay! I will go with you to Liaodong. If what is said in the letter is false, Zhang will personally ask the governor for an explanation."
The same scene was happening in Changshan County, Jizhou.
“… Since arriving in Liaodong, my governor has pacified the four directions, cleaned up the bureaucracy, and implemented benevolent policies for the people. He is determined to ensure that the people of Liaodong have enough food and clothing and no longer suffer from famine. To this end, the governor often works in the fields himself, cares about agriculture and sericulture, and loves the people.
I have long heard that you are extremely brave and kind-hearted, and you are a hero of the world. I specially ask you to rush to Liaodong to protect the safety of the people there."
"If your governor is as you said in the letter, and is able to implement benevolent policies and love the people like his own children, I will certainly serve him."
"If you don't believe it, you can go and check it out."
Such scenes also happened in many other places.
Lu Cheng not only dispatched a large number of cavalry and issued conscription documents, but also sent the conscription documents to more distant places through the business channels of the Zhen family caravan.
At the same time, Lu Cheng also set up his own intelligence agency, which was responsible for investigation, espionage, and propaganda. He investigated the situation in various states and counties and outside the Great Wall, spied on the military intelligence of all parties, and publicized the peace in Liaodong, attracting talents to take refuge in Liaodong, and also attracting nearby people to migrate to Liaodong.
Looking around the world, there are countless talented people in both civil and military affairs, and many of them come from humble backgrounds. Lu Cheng follows the map and directly issues conscription documents to some figures whose names are recorded in history books. Regardless of whether he can recruit people or not, he will give it a try first.
As the saying goes, whether there is a date or not, just give it a try first.
For some talents who were close to the capital, the conscription documents might be delivered within a month. For those talents who were far away in Jingzhou, Yizhou, Yangzhou and other places, they could only wait for Zhen's caravan to deliver them.
In this day and age, transportation is inconvenient, information is not smooth, and traveling is indeed very inconvenient.
In April and May, it is the spring ploughing season in Liaodong.
On this day, Lu Cheng came to Wen County for inspection. He stayed in the city for half a day. In the afternoon, he changed into casual clothes and came to the farmland outside the city with only two guards.
At this time, some farmers were busy farming in the fields, some were busy sowing, some were busy drawing water for irrigation, and some were resting in the fields.
Near noon, there were still village women bringing their children to and from the fields, delivering food to those working.
Sweeping the entire field, Lu Cheng casually walked to an old farmer who was resting under a tree, sat down on the ground, and asked, "Excuse me, old man. I am a businessman who came to Liaodong to do business. I passed by here and saw that the fields were quite interesting. I would like to chat with you for a while."
The old farmer looked up at Lu Cheng and the two guards behind him, and quickly stood up and saluted: "My dear, if you have any questions, just ask me. I will tell you everything I know."
Lu Cheng waved his hand and smiled gently, "Don't be nervous, old man. We are just chatting for a while. I just saw that the plow used for farming in the field is quite different. I wonder where it came from?"
"It seems that the nobleman is really from another place. This is a curved plow. The governor ordered skilled craftsmen to make it and loaned it to farmers like us for free. This plow is very different from the plows used in the past. It saves a lot of effort to plow the land, and it is fast and good. This is all thanks to the governor."
"So, the governor is a good official who loves the people?"
"Of course. Who in Liaodong doesn't know that the governor loves the people like his own children and cares about their feelings?"
"I see. I came to Wen County to do business. I wonder what the officials in Wen County are like?"
"I don't know much about the situation in the city. However, I heard from the people in the city that the city is now peaceful. There is no need to pay the city gate tax to enter the city, and the soldiers in the city are kind to everyone. The officials no longer oppress us civilians, which is enough.
Moreover, since the governor came, he arranged for us to dig canals, build water wheels, and reduce taxes. Last winter, my family could often eat enough food, and no one starved to death. For this reason alone, the governor is our second parent..."
Lu Cheng also asked some other people, focusing on the progress of farming and finding out whether the local officials were corrupt and oppressing the people. The answers he got made him very satisfied.
Wen County has only been in Lu Cheng's hands for a year, and it is already very good to be in such a good state now.
If we want the people here to have enough food and clothing, we have to wait until those high-yield crops are fully promoted.
In addition to agriculture, Lu Cheng also attached great importance to the construction of basic medical care. He opened medical training classes in various cities and modified the barefoot doctor's system.
At the same time, Lu Cheng also stipulated a new marriageable age: women must be over 13 years old to marry and have children, instead of the previous age of 11. Some women even married at the age of .
Lowering the marriage age can indeed speed up population growth in a short period of time, but it will also greatly increase the infant mortality rate, and babies born are prone to malnutrition.
After inspecting the situation, Lu Cheng went to the Wen County garrison camp to check the army training and city defense conditions.
It might only take one year to conquer the entire Liaodong region, but it would take a longer time to truly bring the entire Liaodong region back to its roots.