xymnovel Chapter 20 Hanzhong Academy
Chapter 20 Hanzhong Academy
"The best general attacks the enemy's plans; the next best attacks his alliances; the next best attacks his army; and the worst attacks his cities!" — *The Art of War: Strategic Attack* (original quote from Sun Tzu's *The Art of War*, chapter on Strategic Attack)
After dealing with the affairs of Zheng, the allied forces gradually returned to their respective homes.
Zhang Quzhuo ordered Zhao Fengchun to lead the Liang army to stay in Bi for a period of time to assist Zheng in handing over the promised cities and supplies, and to receive the hostages of Zheng. He himself led the royal army, escorting Zheng's letter of apology and some of the spoils, and returned to the capital Luoyi in a grand procession.
Outside Luoyi City, the Zhou emperor sent a high-ranking official to greet them.
Although the emperor granted Zhang Quzhuo's request to convene a meeting of the feudal lords and raise an army to attack Zheng.
But when he actually saw Zhang Quzhuo punish Zheng and punish the guilty, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
However, since Zhang Quzhuo's actions were ultimately to avenge the royal family and greatly restore their dignity, and the spoils of war he obtained were quite substantial, he deserved a generous reward both morally and logically.
In the royal palace, bells and drums resounded.
The emperor sat upright, looking down at Zhang Quzhuo below, his feelings complicated.
He commended Zhang Quzhuo and the Liang Kingdom for their outstanding military achievements in accordance with proper etiquette.
"Liang Bo has eliminated corruption and successfully carried on the family tradition. His courage and strategy are unparalleled, and he has brought glory to the Zhou Dynasty. His achievements are immeasurable! I now bestow upon you a wine vessel of black-brown wine, a black robe and red shoes, a red bow, a hundred red arrows, a thousand black-brown bows and arrows, and three hundred elite tiger warriors!"
The black jasmine wine was used for sacrificial offerings, while the black robes and red shoes were the highest-ranking chariots and clothing. Bestowing bows, arrows, and tiger-like warriors meant granting the emperor the power to wage war, signifying "repelling the four directions and pacifying China."
The scale of this reward is unprecedented since the late king moved the capital.
Zhang Quzhuo knelt solemnly, accepted the reward, and said loudly, "Your subject, Zhang Quzhuo, thanks Your Majesty for your generous gift! This is all thanks to the Emperor's divine power and the soldiers' bravery; I dare not take credit! I only wish to forever guard the western frontier and protect the royal family!"
After the ceremony, the emperor summoned Zhang Quzhuo to a side hall and asked him for his views on the affairs of the feudal lords. In reality, his true intention was to test the state of Liang.
Zhang Quzhuo responded appropriately, repeatedly stating that Liang Guoshi had received the emperor's favor for generations and that he was only concerned with serving the king and had no other intentions, thus temporarily appeasing the emperor's doubts.
Bearing unparalleled glory and the royal family's generous rewards, Zhang Quzhuo embarked on his journey home.
After this battle, all the feudal lords in the land realized that Liang Bo Zhang Quzhuo was merely using the emperor's orders to seek benefits for the Liang state, and was not loyal to the emperor.
However, the Zhou emperor did not think so. If Liang Bo could use the emperor, then why couldn't the emperor use Liang Bo as well?
Zhang Quzhuo's exploits in conquering Zheng at Xinzheng had already spread throughout the land, and the entire Liang Kingdom was overjoyed.
The Liang Kingdom's prestige was at its zenith, and it had implicitly become the leader of the western vassal states.
Several months later, Zhao Fengchun brought back Prince Hu and a hundred scholars from Zheng State with the Liang army.
Zhang Quzhuo rewarded the soldiers who had contributed to the campaign, especially those who had defended Bi to the death, such as Zhao Fengchun. He also provided relief to the families of the fallen, which won over the hearts of the troops.
Zhang Quzhuo resettled the newly arrived population, encouraged agriculture, promoted commerce and industry, and the Liang Kingdom presented a thriving scene.
Taking advantage of the victory in the war against Zheng, Zhang Quzhuo decided to reform the court system and local administrative system of Liang.
Since the reign of Emperor Wenzhao, the court system of the Liang Kingdom had been modeled after that of the emperor. The court had six ministers, ministers, and high officials. These nobles lived in fiefs, and each city had a capital official who was in charge of the military and political affairs of the city.
Liang Guo initially managed to operate this system very stably.
However, after more than two hundred years, the Liang Kingdom can no longer fully operate this system.
New blood and flesh need a new body to carry them, so a new system was proposed by Prince Jing and discussed and devised by Zhao Fengchun.
The prefecture-county system!
Prefects and magistrates were appointed and dismissed directly by the monarch and their positions were not hereditary!
Zhang Quzhuo designated Liangyi, Sanyi, Jiangcheng, and Quanqiu as Chencang Commandery, with the governor being a descendant of the Si clan.
The prefect was in charge of civil administration, while the military commander was in charge of military affairs within the prefecture. However, since the capital of the Liang Kingdom was located in Chencang Prefecture, Chencang Prefecture did not have a military commander.
Leaving Sanguan Pass and heading south along Chencang Road, there are three cities: Baima, Dongcheng, and to the west of Dongcheng, there is a city called Wudu! But this Wudu is not the same as the Wudu of the past; this Wudu is none other than the famous Mianzhu of later generations!
This is the place where Zhuge Zhan and his son dedicated themselves to serving their country during the Three Kingdoms period.
Zhang Quzhuo merged Baima, Dongcheng, and Wudu into Wudu Commandery, with Zhao Han, son of Sima Zhao Fengchun, as its governor! The purpose of Wudu Commandery was to defend against the invasions of the Di and Qiang people from the west!
South of Wudu County, the Liang Kingdom had three cities and one pass.
The three cities of Xiyi, Qiyi, and Juyi, and Pingguan (Yangping Pass), were all capitals of three small states that were destroyed by Liang. Pingguan was built by the state of Bao, which was later destroyed by Liang, and Pingguan was incorporated into Liang.
The military commander of Liang State was stationed at Pingguan to guard against the invasion of the Shu army led by Zitong (Zitong).
These three cities and one pass were divided into a prefecture by Zhang Quzhuo, which became known as Shubei Prefecture. The prefect was concurrently held by Wu Shishi, a descendant of Zhang Ke and Zhang Quzhuo's cousin.
The last prefecture was Hanzhong Prefecture, which included the four cities of Nanzheng, Baocheng, Hanyin, and Chenggu, located in the entire Hanzhong Basin.
The predecessor of Hanzhong Commandery can be said to be Bao State. As the largest commandery of Liang State, it not only had two armies stationed in Hanyin and Chenggu respectively to guard against Yong State in the east, but also to contain the northern disturbances of Ba State in the south.
As for the governorship of Hanzhong Commandery, Zhang Quzhuo appointed his most valued son, Prince Jing, as the governor.
Why was Prince Jing transferred to Hanzhong Commandery to serve as its governor? Because Zhang Quzhuo wanted to make Baocheng a secondary capital and expand the city!
The imperial edict concerning these matters caused quite a stir.
But no one dared to voice any objection, especially regarding the matter of opposing Zhang Quzhuo.
Thus, under Zhang Quzhuo's decree and supervision, the prefecture-county system was successfully implemented in the Liang Kingdom.
As the secondary capital of Liang, Bao City finally took shape after a year and a half of expansion.
The new city is nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with high and thick city walls that far surpass those of the old one! Inside the city, palaces, treasuries, military camps, and markets are all in good order. The Bao River is diverted into the city, which is beneficial for both defense and the people's livelihood.
Under the meticulous supervision of Prince Jing, this city is not only a military fortress, but is also gradually showing the prototype of everything needed to serve as a secondary capital.
On the day the expansion was completed, Zhang Quzhuo personally led civil and military officials from Liangyi along the Chencang Road.
Zhang Quzhuo then held a grand ceremony to establish the capital, announcing the completion of the secondary capital to Heaven and his ancestors.
Zhang Quzhuo directly named this new capital Hanzhong!
At the grand ceremony marking the establishment of the Han dynasty outside the city of Hanzhong, banners fluttered and armored soldiers stood at attention.
Zhang Quzhuo, dressed in black robes and crimson skirts, wearing a crown and tassels, offered sacrifices to heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, and to comfort the past rulers of the Liang Kingdom.
He stood atop the high platform, his voice booming like a bell:
"Our Zhang family, since our ancestor Duke Wenzhao assisted King Wu in establishing the empire and guarding the western border for ten generations, has endured! Now, with the establishment of Hanzhong, it is not for my own sake or to glorify our achievements, but truly to solidify the foundation of our Liang state and to lay the foundation for our descendants for ten thousand generations! Your subject Qu Zhuo respectfully informs Heaven and our ancestor Duke Wenzhao!"
Then, Zhang Quzhuo turned to face the assembled officials, soldiers, and civilians, and announced the decision he and Zhao Fengchun had agreed upon in Liangyi:
I. Establish a secondary capital and strengthen the central government:
The establishment of Hanzhong as the secondary capital of Liang State was formally made. From now on, the emperor will visit both capitals to handle government affairs according to the seasons and the needs of the state, in order to more effectively control the situation in Hanzhong and even the south.
For his meritorious service in supervising the construction, Prince Jing was retained as the governor of Hanzhong, in charge of all military and political affairs in Hanzhong.
II. Relocating powerful and wealthy families to repopulate the population:
He ordered the relocation of some nobles, wealthy households, and families of elite soldiers from the relatively crowded Chencang Commandery and other parts of the country to Baocheng and other cities in Hanzhong Commandery. He granted them land and houses, reduced or exempted taxes, and encouraged land reclamation.
At the same time, the immigrants and artisans previously received from the State of Zheng were properly resettled, and they were allowed to live among the local people and pass on advanced agricultural and craft skills from the Central Plains.
Zhang Quzhuo also announced that those people who had been received from Zheng would become Liang citizens upon entering Liang! The people of Liang were not to be arbitrarily insulted, their customs were to be respected, and they were allowed to perform sacrifices according to the customs of their hometowns.
III. Promote education and culture:
Zhang Quzhuo ordered the establishment of an "academy" in Hanzhong, where scholars from various schools of thought who had come with the hostage from Zheng State taught rites, music, classics, arithmetic, and crafts to cultivate talent. He also announced to the whole world that anyone with a heart could enter the Hanzhong Academy!
Furthermore, he had a copy made of the "Zhou Gong Yuan Gui" and "Shang Zhu" left by Zhang Zhao and Zhang Chengsi, and placed them in the Hanzhong Academy, allowing the students of the academy to read them.
After the ceremony marking the establishment of the capital, the Liang Kingdom was transformed.
The establishment of the secondary capital and the thorough implementation of the prefecture-county system were like changing the wheels and horses of the ancient chariot of the Liang Kingdom.
Although there were still some dissenting voices among the old aristocracy in the country, these voices gradually dissipated in the face of Zhang Quzhuo's authority and the effectiveness of the new policies.
Standing atop the towering city wall of Hanzhong, Zhang Quzhuo gazed at the misty mountains of Sichuan and Chongqing to the south, his heart brimming with pride.
"Ancestor, can you see this?"
[Ding~ The Liang Kingdom has successfully established its secondary capital, Hanzhong, and thoroughly implemented the prefecture-county system, completing a major institutional reform.]
The Liang Kingdom's national strength has been substantially enhanced, its control over the Hanzhong region has been greatly strengthened, its central authority has been increased, and its clan prestige has increased by 1500.
You have acquired the building—the unique, Earth-rank Jixia Academy (now renamed Hanzhong Academy).
Earthly Rank · Hanzhong Academy: National mainstream cultural dissemination +15/year, can establish academy priest and hereditary model, the effect of the priest and hereditary model of each school is different!
① Academy Chancellor: During debates at the academy, the talent and arguments of the person's faction and school of thought are increased by 10%, the cultural spread of the person's school of thought is increased by 10 per year, and the person's school of thought and culture are the most prominent schools of thought in the world.
② Confucian Exemplar: During debates at the academy, the Confucian school's arguments regarding talent increase by 10%, and the character's educational ability increases by 20%.
③ Taoist Exemplars: During debates at the academy, the number of Taoist figures whose arguments demonstrate talent increases by 10%, and their ability to educate the people increases by 20%.
④ Mo Family Model: During debates at the academy, the Mo family's talent and arguments are increased by 10%, and the character's espionage ability is increased by 20%.
④ Military Strategist's Model: During debates at the academy, the arguments of military strategists are increased by 10%, and the character's military ability is increased by 20%.
⑤ Legalist Exemplars: During debates at the academy, the Legalist school's talent and arguments are increased by 10%, and the character's governance and stability maintenance abilities are increased by 20%.
⑥ Farmer's Family Tradition: During debates at the academy, the arguments of the Farmer's School of Thought are increased by 10%, and the character's farming ability is increased by 20%.
⑦ Medical Family Tradition: During debates at the academy, the arguments of medical family members are increased by 10%, and the character's medical abilities are increased by 20%.
⑧ The Tradition of the Strategists: During debates at the academy, the arguments of the strategists increase by 10%, and the character's diplomatic skills increase by 20%.
⑨ Yin-Yang School's Exemplary Lineage: During debates at the academy, the Yin-Yang School's talent and arguments are increased by 10%, and the character's sacrificial and stability-maintaining abilities are increased by 20%.
The system has detected that someone in your family already meets the criteria for becoming a sage. Would you like to transition from a family of ritualistic traditions to a family of sages?
In the void, Zhang Zhaogang looked at the Hanzhong Academy that had been completed and put into use. His excitement was short-lived, but he soon saw the last message on the panel.