People and Things in Zizhi Tongjian (II)

Sparse and sparse

During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, there was a man named Shu Guang, who served as a taifu and taught the prince to read. He also had a nephew named Shufu, who served as a young fu and was not a small official. By the time the prince was twelve years old, the Analects and the Filial Piety Had already been studied quite well, and Shuguang consulted with Shuguang and said, "Contentment is not humiliating, knowledge is not lost, being content as a person, knowing that it is appropriate to stop, our officials have achieved such a big job, and their fame has also been gained, if they are still greedy for power, sooner or later they will regret it later." ”

The two men quickly reached an agreement and together told the emperor that he had retired from illness, and the emperor immediately approved it and rewarded him with a lot of money. In fact, here I feel quite strange, it seems that the emperor actually quite hopes that they will retire, I feel that there is no intention of retention, perhaps there were too many people in the imperial court who coveted power at that time, and the emperor may want to take the opportunity to set a model and example.

After ShuGuangshu returned to his hometown, he began to invite relatives and friends to come over every day to eat, drink, and enjoy life, spending money like flowing water, giving people a feeling of not giving up without wasting the money, so some friends advised them that they should take money to buy some fields or other industries, leave it to their children and grandchildren, and avoid their children and grandchildren from being poor.

Shu Guang then replied, "Am I so old and confused?" Am I a person who only knows his pleasures and does not think about future generations? The reason why I am ready to spend all the money that the emperor gave me is because we already have some land in our family, and as long as the children and grandchildren are not too lazy and willing to farm, they can live a normal life. On the other hand, if I buy a lot of money for them, they will not only surpass ordinary people in living conditions, but also generate a surplus in goods. People are prone to laziness when they have money, and it is not a big problem for their reliable descendants to have money, at most they will lose their self-motivation. If an unreliable descendant has money, he will definitely use it to do bad things, and he will be hated for it. If so, why should I leave so much money for my children and grandchildren to harm them? ”

Huang Ba's management thinking

Huang Ba was a well-known official of the Han Dynasty, known for his gentleness and generosity, and his way of doing things as Yingchuan Tai was worth learning.

In the first aspect, he followed up the issues of governing the people in a particularly meticulous manner, such as calling on everyone to raise chickens and pigs, plant a variety of trees, do not waste extravagantly, and pay attention to widows and the elderly. And what is more rare is that he will go deep into the front line to communicate with small officials and ordinary people, so he understands both the overall situation and the details, so the whole Yingchuan is very well governed by him.

In the second aspect, he is also very generous in the employment of personnel, especially the staff and subordinates in important positions, he will never change or dismiss at will. For example, there is a county clerk in Xu County because he is old, deaf in the ear, obviously some of the impact on the work, some people suggested that he be removed from office, Huang Ba disagreed, he believes that although this county beggar is a little inconvenient because of deaf ears, but can also do their own job, so should not be dismissed.

Someone asked why Huang Ba did not often change subordinates, Huang Ba said: "If various important posts are often replaced, then a new person on the job plus an old man laid off, the process will not only produce a lot of additional money costs, but also some people will take the opportunity to engage in small actions to encroach on property, these costs are ultimately borne by the people." Not to mention that the new person is not necessarily better than the original, and even sometimes it is not as good as the original one, and tossing and turning for half a day is to find guilt for everyone. So the core of management is actually to pull out the worst and especially excessive people and dismiss them, there is no need to criticize everyone. ”

Huang Ba's governance policy was indeed very effective, and the number of households under his jurisdiction increased year after year, and later his official position was the highest.

The story of Zhao Chongguo

The inferiority of barbarians has always been to fear the mighty and not the virtuous, to deal with a civilized country like the Han Dynasty, their first choice is to fight and plunder, and later they were maimed and scared by emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so they began to submit and began to reason with you.

This point is completely consistent with today's United States, in chairman Mao's words, these barbarians do not reason with you when they have absolute military superiority, and what they want you is to come up and grab it directly. When your strength is strong and he finds that he can't beat you, he will begin to consider reasoning and negotiating with you, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea is a landmark event.

According to the thinking of our civilized country, we will think that since the war has stopped and all kinds of agreements have been signed, it is necessary to implement them well. But the truth is often our wishful thinking, because the nature of barbarians is difficult to change, faith and righteousness are very weak in their bones, so it is their daily operation to go against the grain and wait for an opportunity (specific cases can refer to the various abusive behaviors during the Trump and Biden administrations, which are limited in space and do not expand).

Back to the main topic, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty feared the barbarians represented by the Xiongnu, so most of the ethnic groups in the Western Regions submitted, but there were always some repeated rebellions over time.

By the time of Emperor Xuan of Han, the Qiang people began to be a little dishonest, and the imperial court sent a person named Yiqu Anguo to deal with it, but this person was also very reckless in doing things, and the Qiang people had not really started a collective large-scale rebellion, but there were a few tribes that were a bit foolish. However, after he passed, he first gathered the various Qiang chiefs together, and everyone obediently came to a meeting, but he immediately killed a number of disobedient tribal leaders, so that the Qiang people were particularly disappointed, and after returning, they decided to start a joint rebellion, Yiqu Anguo immediately sent troops to quell the chaos, but he could not defeat the Qiang people, so he had to lead the troops to retreat and report to the imperial court.

Emperor Xuan of Han saw this situation and knew that he had to send troops to quell the chaos, so he asked Zhao Chongguo who would lead the troops to go out on the expedition more appropriately, Zhao Chongguo had rich combat experience, as early as the Han WuDi emperor had made great achievements, but the disadvantage was that at this time he was more than seventy years old, so the emperor only attached importance to his experience, and did not want him to directly lead the troops, did not expect Zhao Chongguo to reply that the most suitable person was himself.

The next story development began to be interesting, Zhao Chongguo used a textbook operation to demonstrate what is called "therefore a good warrior, standing in an invincible position", Zhao Chongguo used seemingly procrastinating, but in fact, extremely stable, the lowest cost means to quell the Qiang rebellion, of course, Emperor Xuan of Han's trust and patience to him also played a great role (assuming a change of emperor, it is estimated that there is no patience, and it is likely that blind command leads to the abandonment of previous achievements, everyone knows that there are very few leaders who are not anxious).

Zhao Chongguo proposed to lead the troops, the emperor originally wanted him to take a plan out to see, Zhao Chongguo replied, a hundred news is better than a sight, I have to go there first to understand the specific situation, in order to come up with the overall plan, the emperor also agreed. This is the first verification of Zhao Chongguo's steady work, he is not like some other people, he came up and bragged that I only needed to bring as many people as I could easily destroy the enemy, he talked and did things in a down-to-earth manner.

Zhao Chong guo led his troops to Jincheng (place name) and gathered 10,000 soldiers to prepare to cross the Yellow River, but he was afraid of being attacked by the Qiang people in the process of crossing the river, because if the army was attacked by the enemy in the process of crossing the river, it was easy to be crushed, and there were many cases of failure in history. So Zhao Chongguo took advantage of the night to send three battalions of soldiers, with chopsticks in their mouths (biting chopsticks in their mouths to avoid making a sound) to cross the river first, and immediately began to arrange defensive positions on the opposite bank. Waiting until dawn to start allowing the remaining soldiers to cross the river, the Qiang people did find that the Han army was crossing the river, and sent a lot of cavalry to harass, but this side had been fully prepared, so the river crossing was completely unaffected.

Not only that, when the Han army had all crossed the Yellow River, some people wanted to pursue these Qiang cavalry who had come to harass them, Zhao Chongguo stopped this idea again, he thought that the army had just crossed the river and was tired and nervous, and now it was most necessary to rest, to pursue these small groups of cavalry troops, even if they were all killed, it was not a big credit, but in case they were ambushed by others, it would not be worth the loss, which was the second verification of Zhao Chongguo's steadiness.

Zhao Chongguo began to lead his troops all the way to slowly advance, whether it was camping or marching, he was very cautious, and also sent many scouts to inquire about the enemy's situation, and when he reached the western capital Wei mansion (place name), he stationed the army, and he was not in a hurry to fight the enemy, and the Qiang people came to challenge him and ignored him. Moreover, he learned through some Qiang captives and hostages that there was now a lot of unity in the rebel clique, and some of the leaders did not want to rebel at first, but now they regretted seeing Zhao Chongguo bringing troops, worried that they could not defeat Zhao Chongguo. So Zhao Chongguo released a hostage called Diaoku, who was the younger brother of one of the leaders, and told him: "The Han army came here to kill those who took the lead in rebellion, you go back and tell those chiefs, make the right choice again, don't go to death." If we can change evil and help the Han army quell the rebellion, we can also reward merit and deeds."

Originally, Zhao Chongguo's side was gradually dividing and disintegrating the rebel clique, but a man named Xin Wuxian gave the emperor a bad idea, saying that the army should bring enough food as soon as possible, and then march to fight the enemy. The emperor did not make a blind decision, and he directly gave this plan to Zhao Chongguo and asked him to give his opinions. Zhao Chongguo strongly opposed this plan, the reason is that this plan is very reckless, qiang people have lived on the grassland for a long time, you chase him he will definitely run, and the probability of running faster than you, when you are exhausted, he will come back to give you a sneak attack, even if you can kill some of his people, maybe your losses will be heavier. What's more, I have learned that their leaders are not united, I am preparing to divide them, and those tribes that were originally wrapped up in rebellion together can actually become the helpers of our Han army, why should I rush to fight them indiscriminately?

The emperor read Zhao Chongguo's reply, and discussed with the ministers, thinking that Zhao Chongguo's turtle style of play was too slow, so he sent another army to prepare to fight the Qiang people, and also accused Zhao Chongguo of being too conservative and idealistic, and also pointed out that the economic pressure of the imperial court was too long.

Zhao Chong guo wrote to insist on his own plan, he believed that the Qiang rebellion was now in a strong period, the other side's grain, grass and soldiers were abundant, and the strategy of dividing the enemy had not yet produced great results. To fight them now, the first is that they are strong, and the second is that it is easy for them to become united, because those wavering leaders will have to continue to rebel if they find themselves beaten. If we send troops now, it will be hard-hitting, and it is difficult to say who wins and who loses, but if we wait for a while, the strength of the Qiang people will continue to decline, because although our logistics pressure on grain and grass is greater, their pressure is even greater, so they must not be able to hold on first. The emperor thought about it and agreed to this plan.

Then Zhao Chong Guo continued to slowly lead the troops forward, reaching the territory of the "First Zero Tribe" that occupied the leading position in the rebel army, these Qiang people were free and scattered after all, and when they first gathered together, military discipline was OK, but because Zhao Chong Guo dragged on for a long time with the turtle speed playing method, the rebel army was already disorganized, there was no fighting spirit at all, as soon as they saw the Han army coming, they directly began to flee, and even all kinds of equipment were not needed.

However, the road to escape was narrow and difficult to walk, and it was necessary to cross a river, zhao Chongguo was not in a hurry, let the army slowly follow behind and chase and fight, and a subordinate proposed to Zhao Chongguo: "We must speed up the pursuit and sweep away the rebels on this road." Zhao Chongguo replied: "You are wrong, you do not understand the reason for poor Komo to chase, now these enemies have no fighting spirit, we slowly pursue, they will have the hope of running away, there is no mind to fight." If we speed up the pursuit, it is equivalent to obliterating their hopes of escape, they have no choice but to turn around and desperately fight, why should I risk losing soldiers to accelerate the pursuit? ”

The people of the Xianzhi tribe really just fled for their lives, drowning many people and surrendering many people when crossing the river, and the Han army not only suffered very little losses, but also captured more than 100,000 livestock and more than 4,000 vehicles.

Then the Han army continued to advance, to the settlement of a rebel tribe, Zhao Chongguo ordered not to invade the people of this tribe, because this tribe is not a diehard in the rebel army, but has been wavering, so coming here not to infringe on their property will strengthen the determination of these tribes to surrender. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the tribal leader to come to Zhao ChongGuo to discuss the surrender, and Zhao Chong Guo directly agreed at the risk of the leader being unhappy, and then reported his decision and ideas, and later the emperor also issued an edict agreeing, so several tribes surrendered and submitted.

Then the only one in the rebel army that can still survive is the First Zero Tribe, the Emperor's side is hoping for a quick battle (I don't know why the leader is always in such a hurry), he not only let Zhao Chongguo continue to pursue the First Zero Tribe, but also let the other army attack together. Zhao Chongguo disagreed, his reason was that the current rebels could not afford to make any waves, and if they dragged on for a while, they might fall apart on their own, and now it was very expensive and costly to fight, and in case one accidentally lost the battle, the efforts of the Han army in front of them would be wasted. And now the safest way is to withdraw the most expensive cavalry, keep some infantry, and let me lead these soldiers to start tuning in the local area and repairing some fortresses, so that on the one hand, the army here can be self-sufficient, the economic pressure at home will be greatly reduced, and on the other hand, we can block the first zero tribe, so that they can only stay in those harsh places.

The Emperor quickly replied, "Your method sounds very good, but when will the Qiang rebellion be completely put down?" You talk about a more specific plan, and then tell me the point in time. ”

Zhao Chongguo wrote again: "First of all, we chose the best strategy, because the method of Tuntian defense is the most beneficial to our country when considered comprehensively. We now occupy fertile land and grasslands, and the rebels led by The First Zero must be in a state of trepidation now, because they simply cannot afford to drag, and the strategy we have been using to divide the enemy has worked very well, and there will be more and more people in the rebel army who do not want to fight. And we stay here while planting land and carrying out construction, and when we have enough grain and grass and strong troops and strong horses, and the Qiang rebels are hungry and cold, we will be able to win without a fight. ”

The Emperor replied to him, "You mean it will be pacified this winter?" Or when? And if our army starts tun tian, in case the Qiang people bring troops to plunder and harass, how can you guard against and resist? ”

Zhao Chongguo wrote to the book again: "After several battles, among the rebels led by Xian Zero, there are only seven or eight thousand elite soldiers at most, and because their current life is very sad, some people are constantly sneaking away to find us to surrender, so I think they will not be able to survive next spring at all." In addition, the rebels are far away from us, they are not only short of food and grass, but also drag their families with their mouths, there are other tribes on the grassland, on the one hand, they dare not abandon their families to harass us on a large scale, on the other hand, they are afraid that other tribes will take advantage of the danger. Although we have withdrawn our cavalry, we have many elite infantrymen who are waiting here to work, are we still afraid of a small and hungry group of rebels? ”

Zhao Chongguo's letter, the emperor took it out every time to discuss with other ministers, the longer the time to agree with Zhao Chongguo's ministers, the more he because his strategy is always well considered, and each time successfully verified, so in the end everyone agreed with Zhao Chongguo's opinion. However, because the emperor was very anxious, he had already sent another army before, so he let this army fight the rebels of the First Zero Tribe alone, because Zhao Chongguo had made a good layout and accumulation in the whole process of quelling the chaos, this army fought very smoothly, the rebels were defeated, and the counterinsurgency was basically over.

But the problem here is that in fact, this army can not attack at all, this army only let the rebellion end early, but the materials and manpower consumed by this army may not be very cost-effective at all, but the war is won, and no one has to investigate deeply.

In the summer of the following year, Zhao Chong guo wrote to the emperor, saying that the rebellion had been basically quelled, that the remnants of the rebel army that had fled would not exceed four thousand at most, and that they were still being recruited, so they hoped to request the withdrawal of the Tun army, and the emperor agreed, and Zhao Chong Guo returned triumphantly with the army.

Perhaps, whether in the past or in modern times, it is difficult for someone like Zhao Chongguo to become a dazzling star, because he does not have the brilliant and legendary achievements of Wei Qing and Huo Fuyi, and he will not use various words to package himself. However, he has always looked at the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, rather than thinking about how he can fight a beautiful battle to make meritorious contributions and be rewarded, but only hoping that his country can achieve long-term peace and stability at the lowest cost. Perhaps it is precisely because there are countless such selfless cattle people in history that our cultural spark can continue to this day, and our nation can stand up countless times in the face of adversity.

Thanks for reading.