Chapter 240: Difficult to Compromise
After dealing with Zhong Yao, Hei Xiong had a night banquet with Ma Teng, Duan Wei and Yang Qiu.

As soon as the banquet began, Duan Wei presented the register of soldiers and civilians of Beidi County and the general's seal: "The one who has recovered the three counties is the general. I hope the general will select other wise men to revitalize the border counties."

Black Bear did not refuse. He looked through the registers of Beidi County and found only the population and land data of the Niyang area.

After taking a look, he closed the bamboo slips and said to Duan Wei beside him: "The old general has made special contributions to the country, and I personally admire General Duan very much, so Duan does not need to act like this."

Duan Wei listened with a serious expression: "That's not the case, old man..."

He was about to decline, but Black Bear raised his hand to interrupt him: "There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to say anything fancy. I can accommodate the Ma family, the Duan family, and the Yang family. I feel relieved to leave Beidi County to Lord Duan."

Then he turned his head and looked at Yang Qiu: "The Qiang and Hu people in Anding have also suffered a lot this time. If they are unwilling to leave next year... this spring and summer, they will have a hard time escaping in winter. I hope that the general will lead Anding County and work with General Duan."

Yang Qiu cupped his hands and said, "I will obey your orders."

Then Yang Qiu asked: "I have more than 500 cavalrymen, please send more troops."

"Well, I have assigned five battalions to Shangjun and five battalions to Anding. In mid-March, we will leave for Anding, and in September I will send another five battalions to strengthen the autumn and winter garrison. Between the winter and twelfth months, the five battalions of the spring squad that went north in March will withdraw to Guanzhong."

There are nearly four thousand people in the five battalions, including Yang Qiu's headquarters and the county soldiers mobilized by Anding County. Even if they cannot suppress the rebellious Qiang and Hu people, they can still hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.

The high mobility demonstrated by the Black Bear Operation is the morale and confidence of the border troops who hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.

Yang Qiu agreed immediately. Fighting a tough battle with his own troops and fighting a tough battle with the dispatched troops... are two completely different concepts.

Just like Ma Teng, Lu Shui Hu took a detour to attack Guanzhong, thinking that no one would dare to confront him head-on.

As a result, Ma Teng led his troops north to join Pang De, showing no mercy to Pang De's more than 2,000 cavalry.

With a force of less than 3,000 cavalry, he annihilated and killed more than 4,000 Lushui Hu.

Duan Wei saw this and immediately said, "General, I, the servant of the north, would like to follow the example of Anding and Shangjun and implore you to recruit the exiled people from your army."

"Since the old general is so persistent, after the spring plowing, I will personally go to the north to lead the reorganization. I will never let the old general and his old acquaintances suffer any loss."

Black Bear thought for a moment and continued, "I will stay where I am. Please inform the troops. After this reorganization, you can keep 500 households."

Duan Wei's core strength was limited to this amount, so he could totally accept it. He bowed and said, "Yes."

Black Bear took a sip of tea and said, "You are all good fighters and much older than me. I have no motive to doubt you. I will never be stingy with generals who are capable and brave enough to fight. I intend to emulate the merits of General Duan and recruit one of his descendants to serve in front of my army."

Twenty-three years ago, Duan Xing committed suicide by taking poison in prison.

As he said this, he looked at Duan Wei. Duan Wei had received support from Duan Xing, but his official career was also interrupted because of Duan Xing.

If it were not for Dong Zhuo, it would have been difficult for Duan Wei to display his talents again, and it would have been impossible for him to gather together Duan Xing's former subordinates who were scattered everywhere.

During his lifetime, Duan Xing was granted the title of Marquis of Xinfeng County and a fief of 14,000 households. However, after he committed suicide by taking poison, his family was exiled and it was very difficult for them to return home alive despite the rescue efforts of many parties. Therefore, there is no such thing as inheritance of the title.

As for the other two people among the three people in Liangzhou, Zhang Huan was not granted a title, and Huangfu Gui attached himself to the party members and refused to be granted a title.

Including Duan Wei who lost his title, among the descendants of the three families, only the side branches Duan Wei and Huangfu Song were re-ennobled for their military merits.

Upon hearing this, Duan Wei stood up and bowed: "General, you admire my brother's achievements. I, Duan, will serve you wholeheartedly and do my utmost for your great cause!"

"Don't be so polite. I will treat you as a Zhonglang."

Black Bear raised his glass to signal Duan Wei to sit down, then he looked at Ma Teng who had been silent the whole time: "The Xiongnu still needs someone to guard the place, does my uncle have any candidates?"

Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Ma Teng asked, "Is he the General Du Liao or the General of the Central Army of the Xiongnu?"

The General Du Liao had great power, so he made the General Lieutenant of the Xiongnu be in charge of the Xiongnu.

In terms of authority, when the two permanent generals stationed at the border encounter an emergency, General Du Liao has the highest authority.

"At present, there is only the Lieutenant General of the Xiongnu, and the Lieutenant of the Protectorate of the Qiang. I intend to ask my brother to take up the post."

Black Bear smiled and said that it was not surprising that Ma Chao returned to Guanzhong.

Ma Chao is not stupid. In his current state, no one can trust him.

It’s just that Ma Chao has been avoiding him these days, and Black Bear hasn’t seen him. But it’s not a good idea to keep such a strong fist at home, so throwing it out to harm the Qiang people would be the best use of his talent.

Ma Teng smiled when he heard this, but then he restrained himself and said, "If you set up a Du Liao camp, I am willing to lead it."

Black Bear was also aware of Ma Teng's admiration for Liangzhou and Sanming in his early years. Now in Ma Teng's eyes, Liangzhou and Sanming were just that.

But when he was young, Ma Teng regarded Sanming, Liangzhou as the pillars that supported the sky.

Even his courtesy name, Shoucheng, was borrowed from Huangfu Gui.

The court offered Huangfu Gui the title of Marquis of Shouchengting with a fief of 200 households, but Huangfu Gui refused. Huangfu Gui married Ma from Maoling. During Dong Zhuo's reign, he proposed to Ma, who had widowed early, and wanted to make her his principal wife. Ma disagreed and was killed.

Dong Zhuo certainly did not marry Ma for her beauty.

He simply wanted to humiliate Huangfu Gui's nephew Huangfu Song and win over the scholars in Guanzhong.

This is where the inharmoniousness of Ma Teng's name lies. He uses his name and his courtesy name to express his aspirations.

"It is not appropriate to set up the Du Liao Camp at the moment. I will set up the Du Liao Camp after Guanzhong is stabilized and the treasury has two years of savings."

Black Bear explained: "The Du Liao Camp should be stationed in Wuyuan. It is just a name to deceive people if we station it in Sai Nei. If we station it in Wuyuan, it will be difficult for Guanzhong to rescue us if the Xianbei attack. We have to wait for a few years. If my uncle can bear with it, he can be appointed as the Lieutenant General of the Xiongnu. I have a good relationship with Chanyu Liu Bao. If my uncle goes there, Liu Bao will treat us as his nephew."

During the Later Han Dynasty, there were two permanent camps outside the Great Wall.

One was the Du Liao Camp, which was mainly used to exile criminals, and the other was the Wu Huan Camp.

These two camps constituted the military and diplomatic agencies outside the Great Wall of the Later Han Dynasty, and played an important role in curbing the rise of the Xianbei.

The last legitimate General Du Liao was named Geng Zhi. He took the Du Liao Camp and recruited Xiongnu servants to join the group in the fight against Dong Zhuo.

The campaign against Dong Zhuo was not going well, and a conflict arose between Yu Fuluo and Yuan Shao, probably over a labor dispute.

Zhang Yang was in charge of mediation. Yu Fuluo, who did not receive his salary, kidnapped Zhang Yang and escaped. Yuan Shao sent Ju Yi to defeat Yu Fuluo.

Yu Fuluo fled to Liyang with his defeated troops and Zhang Yang, where he defeated Geng Zhi who had no time to react, and annexed the Xiongnu people in Geng Zhi's camp, thus regaining his power.

After hearing this, Ma Teng raised his hand and stroked his beard. He felt that going to the Xiongnu and becoming a king of kings would be more interesting than staying in Guanzhong.

As for the fate of his eldest son, he no longer wanted to care about it since the family division.

With a sister like that around, it would be really hard for Ma Chao to die now unless he seeks death himself.

After all, objectively speaking, Black Bear has no clan, so there is no obstacle to re-employing Ma Chao, who was separated from the clan.

As for whether he would unite and rebel if his eldest son supervised the Xiongnu and conquered the Qiang people, given the military prestige that Black Bear had built up, if they dared to rebel, their subordinates and the leaders of the Xiongnu and Qiang servants would dare to kidnap them.

Well, Ma Teng still had some obsession with fame, especially his military achievements in conquering the various Hu peoples.

He was very tempted, but also had some concerns, as he was the retired General of the Northern Expedition.

After thinking about it, he said, "To be the Lieutenant General of the Xiongnu is more important to me than to conquer the north, so it is not a bad idea to go there."

"Then I'll entrust the matter of the Huns to my uncle." Black Bear bowed solemnly, and Ma Teng responded with a smile.

There is no shortage of manpower in Guanzhong now, and after the spring plowing, construction of his Wangchuan Manor will naturally begin.

He felt that he could still work for a few more years. He would first make the Xiongnu General of the Central Army cooperate with Black Bear to capture Hetao; finally, he would fight with the Xianbei for a while as the General of Du Liao.

Before resigning and retiring, he took the Du Liao Camp and followed Black Bear to give the Xianbei a severe beating.

General Du Liao, who failed to cross the Liao River, felt somewhat regretful.

The matters of Ma Teng, Duan Wei and Yang Qiu were dealt with, and then they all started drinking.

As for the land disputes that would soon arise in Guanzhong due to the resettlement of troops, they did not want to get involved at all.

Guanzhong has become the black bear’s small garden, and they can take care of it however they want. Anyone who dares to stop it must be prepared to bring disaster to the three tribes.

After the banquet, Black Bear came to see Wang Can drunkenly.

Coincidentally, Wang Can didn't sleep in the middle of the night.

How could Wang Can possibly sleep?

Cai Yong's collection of books was sorted out and copied in order.

Cai Zhaoji has also returned and started to repair the missing content in the collection.

In addition to Cai Zhaoji, Kong Rong also interfered, causing Wang Can to lose the label of the only successor of Cai Yong's mantle.

In particular, there was a legend about simplifying the characters, which made Wang Can feel very uneasy.

He didn't care much about being the only successor to Cai Yong's legacy. His Shanyang Wang family was of such high status that they didn't need Cai Yong's inheritance to raise their status.

What he is worried about now is this simplified writing system. Writing has always been associated with sacrifices, ghosts and gods, and the mysteries of heaven and earth.

The Five Pecks of Rice Sect in Hanzhong had a system for granting certificates of promotion to the immortal officials in the Heavenly Cao, and the language was very complicated and ornate.

Black Bear here has united with the Taiping Dao and advocates Cai Yong's simplification... It is still unknown whether this simplified text set is Cai Yong's.

For Wang Can, it really doesn’t matter who invented and improved the characters.

Just like having a meal with him, there is no need to know the chef.

He just wanted to find Black Bear to confirm whether simplified characters could be used to communicate with ghosts and gods.

According to his knowledge and understanding, the trend of writing development is simplification. If it is really simplified to the extreme, then it may really be the key to heaven and earth.

The key of the gods is much more meaningful than any noble family.

When Confucian classics developed to its limit, metaphysics was born.

When the black bear came, Wang Can tossed and turned on the kang, thinking about all kinds of fairy legends.

During the Guanzhong Rebellion, most of Wang Can's relatives and friends died.

His cousin Wang Kai stayed in Jingzhou and lived a wealthy life, but now he is the only one wandering alone in Guanzhong.

Revitalizing the family is the driving force of his life, so if he can find the magic to do something magical... then what's the point of revitalizing the family?
The priority of immortal techniques and the keys to heaven and earth is too high.

So when Wang Can heard that the black bear was coming to see him, he jumped off the kang.

Without even having time to put on shoes and socks, he ran out the door barefoot and walked quickly along the cold corridor to meet Black Bear: "Greetings, General."

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Xuan Gao, by visiting you so late at night."

Black Bear grabbed Wang Can's hand and walked inside: "I wanted to go to Chang'an to pay a visit, but the affairs in Guanzhong piled up, so I had to stay in Chiyang. I am really ashamed to trouble you to come in person."

"The general is serious."

Wang Can only now felt the cold and pain on the soles of his feet. He restrained himself and said, "The general has saved millions of people from disasters and is busy with all kinds of affairs. How can I expect to see you?"

Visibility was poor late at night, so Wang Can thought the black bear didn’t notice him.

Leading the black bear quickly through the corridor and into the relatively warm house.

The guards brought two lamps and Wang Can and Hei Xiong sat on the kang.

Black Bear said, "I have to inspect the counties tomorrow, so I came to see you late at night. I want to ask you, sir, what are the chances of success for the hegemony of Guanzhong in the world?"

Wang Can restrained his expression and thought seriously about this question: "General, do you want to achieve hegemony?"

Now we can only acknowledge hegemony, who dares to acknowledge empire or kingship.

Seeing that Black Bear was silent, Wang Can said, "As far as hegemony is concerned, you have already achieved 90% of it, and the remaining 10% depends on the emperor. If you can welcome the emperor back to Luodu, the court will be freed from the cage, and the people will be united. No one can stop you from achieving hegemony."

"If the general's ambition is to eradicate the deep-rooted disease and restore peace to all people in the world, I think he should follow the example of Ying Qin."

The black bear nodded and said, "If God has given it to me, how dare I miss it?"

Now he is worried about being surrounded, so he said: "What I am worried about now is the change of vertical and horizontal alliances."

Wang Can said expressionlessly: "General, if you look around, you will see fear everywhere. If you don't mobilize a large army, don't rush to achieve success, and stay away from villains and indulge in wine and sex, then you can achieve great success."

Black Bear nodded slowly after hearing this: "Jingzhou is rich and has a large population, but I gave it up and only took Guanzhong because I can travel freely here. If you can help me, I will recruit you and entrust you with the cause of my country when the imperial envoy arrives."

Wang Can remained silent after hearing this. He could naturally feel the black bear's malice towards the wealthy and powerful.

But there is a question, is Wang Can a famous person or a powerful person?
Although the Shanyang Wang family was strong, their vitality had been severely damaged.

His father, Wang Qian, is a person who cannot be seen in public or discussed in detail.

If Wang Yun had not died too quickly, Wang Can would not have been able to dodge the knife when he was hunting down the remnants of Dong Zhuo.

Now the only thing left of the Shanyang Wang family is its signboard, and Wang Can can still enter the upper-class stage with this signboard.

If he loses his balance and falls, the Shanyang Wang family will be ruined.

In a sense, he, like Black Bear, is a clanless person.

But Wang Can himself was teaching and developing students.

With a group of disciples, he is not afraid of not having a place to use his talents.

Faced with Black Bear's invitation, Wang Can hesitated instinctively and became more suspicious, suspecting that the simplified characters were a bait to lure him into a trap.

After thinking for a while, Wang Can asked, "What do you think of the future Ruying people, General?"

The black bear remained silent. Wang Can closed his eyes and sighed, "It's not that I don't want to help the general achieve his great cause, but I am entangled in human relationships and it is difficult to get out of it."

If the city cannot accommodate a person like Ruying, how can it accommodate him in the future when his disciples are spread all over the world?
(End of this chapter)