Yellow Turbans Zhang Crazy · Section 63 Temporarily stay at Ji Wei has not been established

  Due to Xu Sheng's sudden popularity, those heroes were once again stirred up with great enthusiasm, and they came one after another to report their names and ask if they were "above the heavenly stars". Zhang Kuang, in order to leave a good impression on those around him, had no choice but to patiently receive them one by one.

  After this ordeal, it wasn't until late evening that things finally came to an end. Even with the protection of his "Tai Ping True Qi", which was considered the best in the world, Zhang Kuang still secretly complained to Zhou Cang afterwards that he had bitten off more than he could chew. However, this bit of hardship earned him a great deal of fame among the rural heroes of Xu and Yan provinces, with no one unaware of his name, and greatly increased his reputation.

  As for the "Flying Taoist" He Man, who was sent to scout around, he didn't return to the fort until the next day and asked Zhang Kuang for forgiveness. Fortunately, with the addition of more than 20 light cavalries who defected to the Tianping Army along with Zang Ba, this conflict not only made up for all the losses but also gained over a dozen skilled fighters.

  As for the other heroes, they stayed outside the fort for a day and then dispersed to return home. However, Mei Zhu took advantage of the night to secretly visit Zhang Kuang and reached a tacit understanding with the Tianping Army.

  The Mi family would regularly transport a batch of military grain and fodder to the Tianping Army, while the Tianping Army had to ensure the safety of the Mi family's private salt transportation team within dozens of miles around. This good thing that can be done by sitting at home counting money is naturally what Zhang Kuang sought after, and he readily agreed with a smile.

  The next month was the most relaxing time for Zhang Jiao since he arrived in this chaotic world. With Wudu Fortress as his base, the Heavenly Army drove out several powerful families around him and occupied parts of Fei County and Nanwuyang County, relying on Mengshan to prepare for a sneak attack to welcome the impending defeat of the Yellow Turbans.

  For this layout, Zhang Kuang's subordinates naturally couldn't understand it and asked about it many times in private. Zhang Kuang didn't want to be said that he was cursing his superiors and betraying the Yellow Turbans, so he didn't say much about it, only attributing it to the "pointing" of "Old Immortal South China". Fortunately, most of the generals had been "enlightened" by Zhang Kuang and blindly worshipped him and "Old Immortal South China", which managed to suppress the **military's heart.

  In order to let these energetic and ambitious guys under his command settle down, so as not to have small thoughts in the dark every day, Zhang Kuangming formulated a comprehensive military training plan.

  After the military advisor Wang Guo brought out the training plan, Zhang Kuang, who thought Wang Guo's training plan was too easy, stipulated that before each morning's training, they had to run ten miles on the mountain trails around them in full armor.

  Anyway, in his impression, the mobility of the army is a crucial factor in determining the outcome of battles. Haven't you seen that when the Red Army marched 25,000 miles, it made the Kuomintang, who had an absolute advantage in military strength, exhaust all its efforts but still couldn't eliminate them?

  This move was made in preparation for the future guerrilla warfare between the Heavenly Army and the Han Army in the mountainous regions.

  Of course, Zhang Kuang was also one of those who had watched "Qie Ming" online in later generations and knew that high-intensity training required a lot of nutritional supplements. So, although he trained his subordinates to the point of exhaustion, he was full of complaints towards Military Advisor Wang Guo. However, since there were rice and meat rations every day in the army, the grievances caused by the harsh training were mostly dissipated.

  As a result, the money and grain in Zhang Kuang's hands were consumed extremely quickly. In order to hoard some rice and grain to get through the difficult years ahead, Zhang Kuang also actively participated in the private salt smuggling organized by Zou Shi, making a considerable profit from it, which slightly offset some of the expenses.

  Incidentally, while leading his subordinates to familiarize themselves with the terrain of Mengshan and Taishan, Zhang Kuang also annihilated several bands of genuine mountain bandits lurking in the treacherous areas of the mountains. By doing so, not only did he provide the army with experience in mountain warfare, but also captured a considerable amount of money and grain. Even the wealthy and powerful families in the surrounding areas, who had long suffered from the bandits' raids, began to change their impression of the Tianping Army.

  Of course, this little benefit is still not comparable to the bad feeling brought by Zhang Kuang leading his troops to extort grain. However, since Zhang Kuang was very measured in his extortion and did not open his mouth too wide, the surrounding powerful families knew about the ferocity of the Tianping Army and could only grit their teeth and tolerate this small amount of extortion.

  The officials and soldiers of Taishan County, for some reason, did not react at all during the process of the Tianping Army entering the county. The surrounding warlords also gradually accepted the existence of the Tianping Army because it acted with principle.

  After the situation had roughly stabilized, Zhang Kuang couldn't help but carefully consider the next step in his development path.

  Since it is necessary to lie dormant for several years, the yellow scarf wrapped on top of the head must be removed at the right time. This is not urgent for the time being. However, if you want to establish a stable foothold in the future resurgence of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and carry out effective governance and development, you must reserve enough talent in advance.

  Military personnel are not in short supply at present. After several months of war, the Tianping Army has initially established a framework for an elite army. Due to the absorption of many beneficial experiences from the Han military system, the combat effectiveness of the troops has reached the standard of ordinary prefectural soldiers. In the future, as long as they are slightly cultivated, they can meet the needs of expanding to tens of thousands of people.

  However, in terms of administrative talent, it is extremely scarce.

  Currently, in the Tianping Army, there are hardly any people who have experience serving as officials. To be strict, not a single person has been an official before. The highest position held is only that of a minor official with a salary of 200 dan of grain.

  At that time, the rank of officials was not the nine grades and eighteen ranks that were popular in later generations. The germination of this thing still had to wait for dozens of years, until Chen Qun formulated the "Nine Grades Middle Zheng System". In Han Dynasty, the official rank was directly marked with the income of officials.

  Not entering the mainstream, fighting for food, 200 dan, 300 dan, 400 dan, 600 dan, 1,000 dan, compared to 2,000 dan, 2,000 dan, true 2,000 dan, middle 2,000 dan, 10,000 dan...

  It is said that the most detailed hierarchy in the imperial court had reached 22 levels. The ones listed above are relatively common salary grades in the Han Dynasty.

  Those who usually have a salary of 600 stones or more are considered officials. These people who became officials generally had a certain upward mobility, belonging to the beneficiaries of the time, and naturally avoided the Yellow Turbans, who were destroying the existing order.

  Only those who hold low-paying positions and have no hope of advancement in this life will harbor a gambler's mentality, joining the Yellow Turbans' ranks, hoping to gain an opportunity to rise above their circumstances through this uprising.

  So, the administrative talent in Zhang Jiao's hands is actually very limited. Even if he were given a territory as large as a commandery for the Heavenly Peace Army now, the army would be unable to effectively govern it. If all the literate people in the Heavenly Peace Army were gathered together, plus the Taiping Taoist system led by Master Tai, they could probably handle the civil administration of two or three counties.

  So what should we do?

  Zhang Kuang wasn't too worried. In his heart, he already had a predecessor's example to learn from. As for the means of learning, it was nothing more than: eliminating ignorance and studying.

  During these years of dormancy, apart from training military personnel, Zhang Kuang also had to think of ways to let his subordinates learn more about the way of governing a country. At least, after occupying a prefecture in the future, there would be enough officials to handle the administrative affairs of this prefecture in an orderly manner.

  Only by building a good base can the Tianping Army maintain its strong momentum in future battles, gradually develop and expand, and finally seize the world.

  For this reason, Zhang Kuang is now in the army, and for those who are illiterate or semi-illiterate, he has launched a preliminary literacy campaign. Although many soldiers feel that learning to read is more difficult than going to the battlefield to fight, Zhang Kuang has made up his mind and will not easily waver.

  To ensure the effectiveness of learning, he not only personally took on the role of enlightening teacher to instruct those with some official duties who were illiterate or semi-illiterate, but also established strict reward and punishment rules. Those who failed in the examination would be punished differently, from not eating meat to starving for rice. On the other hand, those who performed exceptionally well or showed enthusiasm for learning would receive extra rewards, such as large pieces of meat or money, cloth, etc.

  However, as they say "plans can't keep up with changes". This is often the case.

  On this day, Zhang Kuang was as usual, leading by example, running with two hundred men in the hills. Suddenly, a few pedestrians in the distance caught his attention.

  The reason is simple. If someone sees a large group of Yellow Turbans rushing over, not only do they not avoid them, but instead rush to meet them head-on, it wouldn't be strange if that didn't attract other people's attention!

  Zhang Kuang's footsteps stopped, and more than ten steps away, the Tianping Army officers and men blocked the newcomer.

  "Who is it?"

  The newcomer did not answer, but asked loudly:

  "Which department of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are you brothers from?"

  But the internal organization of the Taiping Tao was still quite tight. With "Daxian Liangshi" Zhang Jiao as the leader, the organizational structure below him was divided into eight systems based on Zhang Jiao's eight great disciples. The names of the systems were named according to the eight directions of the Bagua. For example, Zhang Kuang's "Fang", at the time of the uprising, belonged to the "Gen" position according to its direction.

  However, since the first defeat, the Taoist followers who originally belonged to the "Gen" department are now extremely limited in number in the Tianping Army. On the contrary, with the joining of the remnants of the "Li" department, the number of Taoist followers of the "Li" department has already exceeded that of the "Gen" department. Therefore, if one really wants to say which part Zhang Kuang's troops belong to, there can be many choices.

  Of course, after careful consideration, Zhang Kuang had his own plan and was not prepared to take out the flag of any one of the eight trigrams.

  "We belong to Tai Chi, not one of the eight trigrams!"

  The person's face froze for a moment, revealing a look of surprise.

  Only the Taiping Taoist crowd personally led by "Daxianliangshi" Zhang Jiao can be called the "Taiji" faction. This is Yanzhou, shouldn't it be the territory of the "Taiji" faction?

  He reacted and asked again:

  "Isn't the Taiji Department in Ji Province? How did you end up in Yan Province?"

  The fifty-year-old man who was answering the visitor, also a member of the "Taiping Dao" sect, realized that the other person understood the trade and knew he was one of his own, so his expression became more gentle as he explained:

  "We are Commander's relatives, the nephew of 'Daxianliangshi'! Not from the 'Taiji' department, which department is it?"

  Now someone else wanted to ask something, at this time, among several people who came, the person who really took charge spoke up:

  "Uninhibited! Old friends have arrived, can't you recognize them?"