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While Fei Qian was visiting Cui Hou at the Cui residence, Li Ru was disdainfully tossing a recently transcribed folk song onto his desk.
Recently, a song had suddenly begun circulating in the capital:
"Enjoy the prosperous age, Dong flees;
Roam the four walls, Dong flees.
Blessed by heaven, Dong flees;
Adorned in gold and purple, Dong flees.
Express gratitude, Dong flees;
Prepare carriages and horses, Dong flees.
Ready to depart, Dong flees;
Bid farewell to the court, Dong flees.
Exit the western gate, Dong flees;
Gaze at the palace, Dong flees.
Look upon the capital, Dong flees;
Day and night cease, Dong flees.
Heartbroken, Dong flees."
This song annoyed Li Ru immensely. Could these aristocratic families do nothing but play these petty games behind the scenes? Couldn't they focus on doing something genuinely beneficial for once?
These rumors were like flies, buzzing around and occasionally causing a nuisance. It felt excessive to make a big deal out of crushing them, but ignoring them entirely was equally irritating.
Li Ru glanced at the piles of reports and petitions on his desk. While Dong Zhuo could indulge in women and ignore state affairs, Li Ru couldn't afford to do the same. The Three Excellencies were now feigning illness and staying home, shirking their responsibilities. If he didn't step up, the entire Han central government would essentially be paralyzed.
Fortunately, the Han dynasty's imperial court operated under a low-level feudal system, where local governments had some autonomy and the ability to manage their own affairs. This somewhat alleviated the pressure on Li Ru. Otherwise, by the time he received reports from the provinces, reviewed them, and sent back instructions, it would be too late to address the issues.
The current problems facing the Eastern Han dynasty, aside from the Yellow Turban rebellions, were the widespread natural disasters.
According to recent reports:
In June, locusts plagued Hongnong and the Three Auxiliary Regions.
In August, an earthquake struck the capital.
In autumn, an earthquake occurred in Jiuquan. The Yellow River overflowed in Jincheng, flooding over twenty li.
When Li Ru took over governmental affairs, he discovered that reports from June still hadn't been addressed...
On top of that, these so-called "pure" scholars still had the leisure to compose songs and spread them around...
Sometimes Li Ru felt a sense of foreboding. It was a good thing he had chosen the path of hegemony. If he had pursued the path of benevolent rule, the frequent natural disasters would have overwhelmed him by now...
But even so, the problems and contradictions of the hegemonic path were gradually becoming apparent.
The ruling faction, represented by the Wang and Yuan families, had temporarily gone underground after supporting Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, alongside Dong Zhuo. Although they had been rewarded with official positions, Li Ru knew all too well how turbulent the undercurrents beneath this apparent calm were...
As for the opposition faction, the sudden spread of this nursery rhyme throughout the capital couldn't have happened without someone orchestrating it. Li Ru would bet his life on it.
These rumors were undoubtedly the work of either the ruling faction or the opposition faction, and both were closely tied to the Wang and Yuan families...
Lu Zhi, the Minister of Works, had resigned. Yuan Shao, the Colonel of the Central Army, had fled. Cao Cao, the Colonel of the Elite Cavalry, had attempted to kidnap the emperor. Bao Xin, the Colonel of the Rear Army, had vanished without a trace... And then there was Yuan Shu. Originally, Li Ru had planned to appoint Yuan Shu as General of the Rear to win over the Yuan family and suppress the Wang family, but Yuan Shu had also fled.
Yuan Wei, that old fox, claimed that Yuan Shu had fled out of fear of being framed. But everyone knew that Yuan Shu had been involved in the attempted kidnapping of the emperor. It was just that there wasn't enough evidence to convict him.
Moreover, Yuan Wei still had some use for now, so Li Ru decided to let the matter rest for the time being, planning to settle the score later when the opportunity arose.
After much deliberation, Li Ru concluded that these issues needed to be resolved as soon as possible. Like a festering wound, if left untreated, it could lead to widespread infection. But if dealt with early, the pain would be temporary.
Those who had fled Luoyang, like Yuan Shao, were like festering wounds. While they were still weak, it was best to eliminate them all in one fell swoop.
The current plan was to lure out all potential enemies, gather them together, and eliminate them in one go. Only then could the path of hegemony be completed in the shortest time possible...
If everything went smoothly, Li Ru had many plans he wanted to implement. The Han dynasty owed his people 337 years of debt, and it was time to settle the score. No matter what, even if the world forgot, he could never forget the hardships he and his ancestors had endured on the frontier.
Li Ru smiled faintly. The Dong who started it all would now be ended by another Dong. Wasn't that the greatest irony and the best revenge?
But before that, he needed to check on Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo had been indulging in women for far too long...
Where was the ambition that this inexperienced son of the Dong family had shown back in Xiliang?
It was all so vexing.
************
When Fei Qian returned home, he was surprised to find Zhang Liao visiting.
Not only that, Zhang Liao had brought a spear he had previously used and gifted it to Fei Qian, which delighted Fei Qian. He immediately asked Uncle Fu to prepare some food and wine, inviting Zhang Liao to stay for a meal.
Zhang Liao didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the invitation.
Zhang Liao, whose courtesy name was Wenyuan, was actually around the same age as Fei Qian. However, his long military career and martial training made him appear older.
Zhang Liao hailed from Mayi in Yanmen. Although he had loved martial arts since childhood, his family was originally a scholarly one. However, after his family was destroyed by Xianbei raids, he joined the army in anger. He fought against the southern Xianbei invaders in Bingzhou alongside Lü Bu until Ding Yuan brought them to Luoyang.
Now, Zhang Liao had been promoted to Colonel of the Protectorate Army. He had gone from being a temporary Major managing less than two hundred men to overseeing nearly a thousand soldiers. Although his unit wasn't at full strength, the sudden increase in numbers left him feeling somewhat overwhelmed, which had been troubling him lately.
Warfare often comes down to logistics.
Previously, Zhang Liao only had to manage supplies for fewer than two hundred men. Now, with nearly a thousand soldiers under his command, his old methods of calculation were no longer sufficient. Although he had military clerks to help with the calculations, Zhang Liao still felt that it would be better if he could handle the logistics independently. Coincidentally, he had met Fei Qian, a disciple of the renowned mathematician Liu Hong. So, under the pretext of gifting the spear, Zhang Liao had come to learn more about military logistics and calculations.
The sources of military logistics in the Han dynasty were complex, but provisions mainly came from two sources: the fixed taxes paid by the people, known as "various levies," and additional contributions from local residents, known as "allocations."
Within the "various levies" alone, there were several types specifically for military use: poll tax, monthly stipends, property tax, and equalized losses...
On top of that, there were the procurement, registration, usage, wear and tear, and disposal of weapons and equipment like swords, spears, and halberds...
All of this had to be documented. Funds and provisions had to be collected from the Shaofu, while weapons had to be obtained from the armory. Sometimes, the Shaofu and the armory would issue notes, requiring you to collect items from various workshops. For example, there were workshops for military equipment like Ruolu, Kaogong, Shangfang, Neiguan, Zuoyi, and Sigong...
Moreover, the quantities of items to be collected from each place often varied. For instance, you couldn't expect the number of suits of armor to match the number of arrowheads...
As a result, the sheer volume of records and transactions was overwhelming, leaving Zhang Liao dizzy. Sometimes, he suspected that the military clerks were tampering with the records, but he couldn't prove it.
Thus, Zhang Liao's main purpose for visiting was to seek Fei Qian's guidance.
*****
A/N: The "Dong Flees" song was actually a nursery rhyme that emerged after Dong Zhuo moved the capital. The author has moved it forward in time. Additionally, Cai Yong was actually promoted after Dong Zhuo arrived in Luoyang, but the author has also moved this event forward.
In reality, ancient military logistics were even more complicated than one might imagine. The author, after learning a bit about it, felt his head swelling three times its size. It makes one wonder about those time-travelers in stories who casually claim to have raised tens of thousands of troops without mentioning logistics. Did those soldiers not need to eat, wear clothes, or use weapons?