Youzhou controlled the Hu cavalry in the north, and was surrounded by Heshuo in the south, and had both farming and nomadic benefits. During the Warring States Period, thousands of years ago, Yan State was among the seven heroes, so Youzhou was the most powerful vassal town on the border of the Jin Dynasty. In the current situation where the Qiang, Di, Hu tribes Saoran, Yizhou, Qinzhou, Liangzhou, and Bingzhou, the frontier prefectures and counties from the southwest to the north, all of them were turbulent, Youzhou was the only one that could maintain stability in the northern border of the Jin Dynasty, and was the last chain on the shaking defense line of the Hu tribe.

On the other hand, in recent years, the Central Plains have been in constant trouble, and Youzhou is rarely damaged by military disasters, so it has become the target of many sect kings with its strength. As many parties are rushing to win over, local officials in Youzhou have become more and more powerful. For example, Wang Jun and Wang Peng Zu have become key players that can influence the situation in the Central Plains.

Youzhou is so important that the court will never sit idly by and watch its position as the military and political chief for a long time. Therefore, Dai County's infiltration of Youzhou was carried out in an extremely intense manner, and its momentum was just like the words Lu Yao often said: "Seize the day and night."

In order to achieve the goal as soon as possible, not only did a group of capable personnel, mainly Shao Xu, Fang Qinzhi, Zhu Sheng and others, but even Lu Yao himself took considerable risks to cross the mountains and ridges and reach the hinterland of Youzhou several times. After all, some special characters are worth seeing Lu Yao himself.

On this day in late September, Lu Yao appeared again in the Jundu Pass not far from the northwest of Changping County, Yan State. The Jundu Pass was not long, about forty miles, and the cliffs on both sides of the deep ditch stood like walls, which were steep and unattainable, and the terrain was extremely dangerous. If you want to go from Yanguo, Fanyang and other places in the core areas of Youzhou to Daidi and Bashang grasslands, this pass is a very important passage; and vice versa.

Lu Yao habitually looked at the distant scenery between the mountains, then rode his horse forward and stepped into the mountain path lingering between the deep valleys of cliffs. Dozens of cavalry and civil and military officials followed behind him one after another.

Although the mountain road was narrow, Lu Yao's long-standing riding skills were not particularly difficult to walk. He held the reins with one hand and controlled the horse to move forward casually. Sometimes the soil and rocks under the horse's hooves collapsed into small pieces and made a serene friction sound and fell to the bottom of the deep valley. The thrilling danger almost made the entourage knights gasp, and did not make Lu Yao pay special attention.

Youzhou! Youzhou! Although there are mountains covering it, Lu Yao seemed to have seen the hero's place of use. He took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement that appeared from time to time, and turned to consider various practical issues.

In order to be able to control Youzhou, there are too many situations that need to be investigated in advance, such as the distribution of the Youzhou family and local tyrants; the strength and preparation of the local army, the ability of leading generals and school officers; the specific talents, preferences and tendencies of local officials; even the maintenance of roads everywhere, the direction of mountains, rivers, etc.... Lu Yao calculated over and over for a long time, slowed down his horse slightly, and asked, "Have you calculated the data I want clearly?"

Related to his previous work experience, Lu Yao did not like to show gorgeous words in official documents, but repeatedly emphasized the use of solid numbers to describe the actual situation. In this regard, the Fang brothers who have been doing business for many years have special advantages. Among these three brothers, Fang Qinzhi is very eloquent and courageous, while Fang Mianzhi is proficient in numerology and is familiar with the "Nine Chapters". After Lu Yao discovered his specialty, he felt like he had a treasure and regarded it as a very rare talent. He immediately appointed him as a Shuzuo of the Western Cao, and asked him to accompany him to specifically count and verify various data.

When Lu Yao passed by this place the last time, he suddenly remembered that although the Youzhou army was defeated, the strength of the private parts of the local tyrants was not damaged. These tyrants were intricately in the local forces of their hometowns and had mastered household registration and divisions for generations. They had great potential in both economic and military terms. To control Youzhou, they could never bypass these aristocratic families. Although it is still difficult to understand their economic power at present, they must at least have a rough understanding of their private armed forces. Therefore, Fang Mianzhi ordered to draw personnel from Zhu Sheng's subordinates to secretly visit the local tyrants of various counties in Youzhou, and summarize them into a complete report.

Fang Mianzhi was six years younger than his brother, and he was very passionate. It was the first time he was appointed as the Xicao Shuzuo by Lu Yao to be responsible for his own tasks, so he was very attentive. He heard Lu Yao's inquiry, and immediately replied: "The three places of Changping, Jixian, Guangyang, and Zhuoxian, Liangxiang, and Qiuxian in Fanyang have already received rewards. I also arranged for people familiar with the local situation to review. In the rest of the places, the inspectors have not been able to return."

Zhu Sheng's subordinates have recently mainly focused on monitoring the movements of the three strong tribes in the eastern Xianbei tribes. There are not many people moving in southern Youzhou, and it was only five days ago to arrange this task. Using the limited manpower to gather the six counties within five days, the movements have been very fast. Lu Yao nodded slightly.

Fang Mianzhi leaned over and checked the leather bag hanging on the side of the saddle, took out a scroll and unfolded it: "The situation of the tribes of the six counties has been roughly recorded here. A rough count of the fact that more than 100 private soldiers and those who have excellent armored bows and swords are the three families of the Lu family, Zu family and Feng family; there are a total of 16 families of the wealthy families with more than 100 private soldiers. If the figures of the other twelve counties of Yan State and Fan Yang State are merged into it, it is estimated that five families with more than 100 private soldiers will be more than 100, and the number of soldiers under his jurisdiction will be close to 100."

Seeing Fang Mianzhi's hands breaking away from his reins, Lu Yao was very nervous when he held the file, so he smiled and signaled him to carefully ride the horse and take it to watch it.

Youzhou is vast and sparsely populated, and its household registration is mainly concentrated in Yan State and Fanyang. The Dai County, Shanggu and Guangning controlled by Lu Yao, totaling the Dai County, Shanggu and Guangning, the official records during the Taikang period are said to be 11,000 households, and the actual households are less than 60%, which can only be enriched after being included in a large number of refugees in Bashang Grassland. The household registrations in Yan State and Fanyang are nearly 40,000, and the tenants under the guise of the aristocratic families and the number of tenants is probably the same. Dai land is far from as many as it is.

With the Yan State and Fan Yang, Wang Jun was able to organize tens of thousands of troops south of the Central Plains several times, and the aristocratic families could also control nearly ten thousand private soldiers. It is said that the Yan people are brave and brave, and are born by elite soldiers. It is true that they are true.

However, the difference between Youzhou and Dai County is also here. Dai County was recovered by Lu Yao from the Hu tribe. Hu'er's tribal system was almost destroyed in the fierce battle. The Jin people of Dai County were enslaved and driven by Hu'er for many years and completely lost their original clan organization. Lu Yao came to him with a strong army and easily included them all under military management.

Youzhou is completely different. In the north of it, the Murong tribe, Yuwen tribe and the Duan tribe, which had ulterior motives, had already divided all the land, people and pastures; in the south, many powerful people from Jin colluded with each other, and moved their whole body. Such a piece of land, such a huge force, could be taken into control, to achieve great things. But if the governance is not ruled, it would be too agitated and become a puppet pushed by the aristocratic families.

Taking Wang Pengzu as an example, he unified the Hu Jin tribes with his keen political sense and unique balance means, thus creating a situation that staggered the Central Plains. However, after careful analysis, his failure was not only due to the betrayal of the Xianbei people, but how could the wealthy families in Youzhou really have the same heart and virtue as him?

The Youzhou Army, which seemed invincible, had no will to continue fighting after a setback. Isn’t this because the children of the powerful gentry in the Youzhou Army were secretly pushing it? After the defeat of Ruyuan, Wang Jun could not mobilize private soldiers from all over the country to enrich his troops with the power of the General of the Cavalry. Isn’t this because the local clans were tired of Wang Jun’s military and strongly resisted his orders? Wang Jun’s strength was like a tall building built on the beach, which seemed gorgeous, but could fall apart at any time.

Can I, Lu Daoming, do better than Wang Jun? What methods can I use to control Youzhou?

Lu Yao handed the file back to Fang Mianzhi, thinking in his heart, but his expression was peaceful, as if this trip was for hunting and traveling in autumn. As Dai County became more and more powerful, Lu Yao became more and more accustomed to showing his majesty in his leisurely state, and seemed to be confident, and he really had more and more means to solve the problem.

*******

Last week, the crab was confused for a moment and the lard was shocked. He actually agreed to the editor to keep up this week... Oh my God, this is really a bit difficult for me. But since I agree, I have to try my best.
Chapter completed!