Chapter 15 Control
Chapter 15 Control (Additional chapter for leader Han Feng Xiaose)
March 303, the second year of Tai'an in the Great Jin Dynasty (), was a sunny day.
Sima Yue, King of Donghai, came to Pan Garden and left soon.
Before leaving, he took a walk around Pan Garden, accompanied by Director Wang.
Wang Dao now regretted joining Sima Yue's court, but after thinking it over, he felt that there was no better place to go.
Sima Yi was a person with whom he had no good personality, so he really didn't want to go and join in the fun. Moreover, Sima Yi had a hot-tempered and reckless personality, and his first thought of solving problems was to resort to force, so it didn't look like he could stay in power in Luoyang for long.
I can only follow Sima Yue for now, even though he is not a good leader either.
It’s really difficult!
"Maohong, you said that Pei Dun intends to serve as an official in Qingxu. How credible is this?" Sima Yue has lost weight recently, and his face is extremely paler. He doesn't look like the popular figure in front of Sima Yi at all.
Perhaps, the repeated collision and tug between his ever-expanding ambition and the embarrassing and powerless reality made him feel exhausted.
"The Pei family is Your Majesty's in-law. I wonder if they have provided assistance to Your Majesty at this time?" Director Wang asked.
Sima Yue's face looked a little grim, but it was only for a moment. He quickly forced a smile and said calmly, "The Pei family is there, which is the biggest help."
Wang Dao was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, Xuzhou is an important place, and only members of the royal family can be in charge. Moreover, most people in Hebei (north of the Yellow River) are attached to Yecheng."
Sima Yue was speechless.
"I don't like Sima Kongwei (Sima Mao)," he said.
Wang Dao's heart was moved, and he felt that there was an opportunity, but he held back and did not take the initiative to propose it. He just said: "Your Majesty, you may send your confidants to win him over and make him take the initiative to serve you."
"It's a bit difficult." Sima Yue sighed.
Then he was annoyed again. The Pei family still refused to bet on him. It was very annoying. Could it be that, as Wang Dao said, the gentry in Hebei and Henan had different territories?
But he couldn't really get angry.
The previous generation of the Pei family was one of the leading scholars, and this generation has many children serving as officials in the court, spread across both the military and political circles.
In Hedong, the Pei family was still a super-large clan, with vast territories and numerous troops, and it was no problem for them to raise a private army of 10,000 or 20,000 people. Not to mention, there were also various small families attached to the Pei family in the area, and they were also quite powerful and should not be underestimated.
I heard that the Pei family is still vigorously consolidating this network of relationships, and further expanding its influence through marriages with Wubao Shuai and the Hansu family. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that no matter who is in charge of Hedong in the end, they have to cooperate with the Pei family.
As expected of a wealthy family in the north that could marry the Langya Wang family, to put it bluntly, Concubine Pei's marriage to the King of Donghai really felt like marrying down. In the eyes of the top nobles, the Sima family was just that, not to mention that Sima Yue was the grandson of Sima Kui, the fourth brother of Sima Yi, and was not a particularly close member of the royal family, so his status was a bit low.
The Pei family doesn’t want to get involved yet.
"Let's go back to Beijing." Sima Yue took a last look at Pan Garden hidden among green trees and red flowers, snorted coldly in his heart, and left.
Director Wang followed slowly behind.
He still has to control this chess game slowly and act according to circumstances.
Many people have not realized one issue, which is whether there is still hope for the Great Jin Dynasty.
In Wang Dao's opinion, there is no hope.
The kings will have to fight several more times in Luoyang, and by then I'm afraid it will be a ruin, completely destroying this best place.
If he didn't think that the Luoyang court still had some prestige and could appoint and dismiss some officials, he would have been too lazy to stay in this hellhole any longer.
Proceed cautiously and take your time until you achieve your goal.
******
The day after Sima Yue left, Pei Dun visited Pan Garden.
Yes, not betting is the overall attitude of the Pei family, but it is different for individuals.
Pei Dun is still quite keen on fame and fortune, and wants to take the initiative to jump into the vortex of Luoyang's power field.
He came in a carriage, and when he passed the fighting field (parade ground) outside, he suddenly ordered the carriage to stop.
The soldiers seemed to be practicing martial arts.
There are two types of drills in the military: individual drills and combined drills.
Single exercises are mainly for training personal skills, including formations, martial arts, flags, etc., and the frequency is very high.
The frequency of drills is slightly lower, and the soldiers need to gather together to mainly train in various military formations.
The one in front of you is a single exercise, and the subject is the spear.
"Don't think that strict formation and strict military discipline are enough." Shao Xun held a horse whip in his hand and turned around in the field, saying: "Two armies are lined up to fight, and each holds a long spear to stab. Whoever is more stable, accurate, and fast will find it easier to stab the enemy in front. If everyone can do this, then the two armies will have a great advantage when they fight."
"The first few rows of the enemy will be wearing iron armor. If you can't hit the vital points, prepare for your death as soon as possible." "Hold the gun tightly and don't shake. During the fight, the enemy in front of you may hit your gun. If you let it go, you will die."
"Why are you stabbing so slowly? In the time it takes you to stab once, the enemy has already stabbed twice. Do you really want to die by playing so frivolously?"
"You have such a loud voice, haven't you eaten enough? When you are assassinating someone in person, your roar like thunder can scare off the enemy soldiers and give you a better chance of winning."
"Watch your step out of the corner of your eyes. After the battle, there will be corpses everywhere. If you stumble, you will die."
……
Pei Dun watched with interest.
He also sent someone to inquire about it, and it turned out that the person was a Du Bo named Shao Xun, who seemed to be quite responsible and had good abilities.
He was so dedicated to correcting the soldier's movements. For a moment, he even wanted to hire him as a guest and teach his servants and followers.
The training ground was located beside a small river, and there were about a hundred children practicing on the other side of the river.
They practiced with each other holding wooden poles with the spear heads removed, very seriously. But they were children after all, so they started to play around while practicing, laughing and joking.
Several older sergeants and squad leaders rushed over with whips in hand. The children had sad faces, but after arranging their formation, they continued their sparring.
A little further away are large tracts of farmland.
The gray-haired old soldier was weeding in the field. Occasionally he straightened up, looked at the young men who were training with a smile, and pointed and talked, as if he was recalling the glorious days of his youth.
This scene was unexpectedly harmonious!
However, even if the tree wants to be quiet, the wind will not stop. He recently heard a little bit of wind...
******
Inside the Pan Garden, there were flourishing flowers and numerous guests.
Just as the emperor entertained his ministers and the empress met with ladies of the court on important festivals, Sima Yue, the Grand Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty and the King of Donghai, held banquets every few days in Luoyang City, trying to win over the sons of the noble families and use them for his own benefit. As his wise wife, Princess Pei would naturally hold some activities to invite the ladies of the noble families to deepen their relationship. It is true that Wenxi Pei did not provide enough support to the King of Donghai, but Princess Pei herself was already doing her best to help her husband.
It is a sunny day today, and Concubine Pei has invited many people to Pan Garden to enjoy the spring time.
Pei Dun arrived quietly and was stopped. He was not annoyed, but sat down with a smile and asked who were the people.
Not long after, Du Bo Shao Xun, whom he had met before, walked over from a distance. He wanted to stand up and say hello, but when he thought about the gap in status between the two of them, he felt it was too cheap and gave up the idea.
Shao Xun also saw him, but he didn't recognize him and walked straight past him, with several soldiers following him. One of them was burly and strong, with a full beard, and he looked like a bandit, and he didn't look like a good person.
"This person must be Du Bo Shao Xun, right? Where is he going?" Pei Dun called a manager (equivalent to a housekeeper) of Pan Garden and asked.
"Replying to Minister Pei, Shao Dubo must have gone on an inspection tour. The princess is entertaining guests, and I heard that she went to the pond for an outing. We must not allow any trouble to occur." said the strategist.
"I see." Pei Dun nodded.
He recalled chatting with Mi Huang before, and mentioned that someone reported Shao Xun as a "young man with a dark bond". Wasn't he a team leader at that time? It had only been a short time, but he was promoted to the position of Du Bo.
Thinking of this, I felt a little blocked in the heart.
A soldier can be promoted, but he, a member of the Pei family, cannot even be appointed as a governor of another state. Why is that?
He is still young, but his desire for fame, wealth and power will never cool down.
"Doctor Shao is trusted by the princess?" Pei Dun suddenly asked.
The Dianji's face showed no expression, he just said truthfully: "Du Bo is extremely brave and brave, and the soldiers are in awe of him. He is meticulous and orderly in his night patrols and escorts, and the whole government trusts him."
"You!" Pei Dun was a little helpless.
If he remembered correctly, this Dianji was brought over from the Pei family when his sister got married. Over the years, he had become so powerful that he turned against him and kept saying useless nonsense to him.
But he also got a lot of useful information.
Shao Xun is indeed quite capable, and my sister probably trusts him. Considering the recent rumors that Sima Yi is trying to take on the post of Northern Army Commander, after a few months of stability, Luoyang is about to face a new round of war crisis. My sister probably wants to protect herself by doing this.
A capable person, even if he is of low status, will always receive many preferential treatments when he is employed.
No! I have to get out of this pit of hell in Luoyang as soon as possible and find a good job in another state.
Pei Dun walked back and forth in the front hall. After a while, he said to the accountant, "I'm going to take a walk in the camp. When the princess's entertainment is over, send someone to call me."
"Yes, sir." The strategist replied.
Pei Dun did not delay and walked out towards the camp where the soldiers were stationed.
(The editor told me that the update is a bit too fast... I can only pay back the debt slowly. If there are recommendations, I will update more and slow down the speed.)
(End of this chapter)