Chapter 81 News
Chapter 81 News
When Shao Xun was free from training new recruits, he would also visit the shogunate.
He had no shogunate position, so he should not have been able to go. But now two-thirds of the shogunate's staff had gone with the emperor, and the rest did not have to report every day. The military commander Cao Fu who stayed behind simply opened the shogunate in his own home. He would report to the shogunate when there was something to report, and rest at home when there was nothing to report, or go out to get information.
Uncle Cao actually invited Shao Xun several times, but he declined every time.
This visit came as a bit of a surprise to Cao Fu, especially since Yu Liang came with him.
"Does the young master have a courtesy name?" Cao Fu asked with a smile, as he sat under the grape trellis, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan leisurely.
In ancient times, people usually took a given name after the ceremony of coming of age, that is, "a man of twenty is crowned and given a given name."
"As for the Son of Heaven, he also wears a crown at the age of twelve, just like the other princes."
In other words, the coming-of-age ceremony can be held at the age of 12-20, and is not necessarily strictly limited to years old - if the parents are in poor health, the time may be advanced.
For example, Emperor Wu of Han held a coming-of-age ceremony at the age of sixteen because Emperor Jing was in poor health.
The same reason applies to the fact that Emperor Wanli held his coming-of-age ceremony at the age of eight.
However, Shao Xun came from a military household and might not have performed the ceremony of coming of age. Cao Fu asked this only to show his closeness.
"No." Shao Xun shook his head.
Cao Fu pondered for a moment and asked, "What are your ambitions?"
"Be loyal to Sikong, support the country, and bring peace to the world." Shao Xun replied.
"What a great ambition." Cao Fu praised: "My dear, you are indeed a loyal and brave man. How about using 'Quanzhong' as your courtesy name?"
Shao Xun was struck by lightning and remained silent.
Shao Quanzhong? Are you...are you kidding?
"Haha, forget it if you don't like it." Cao Fu didn't mind and laughed it off.
He is not Shao Xun's elder, nor his teacher. It is normal that he is not happy about you taking a courtesy name.
Shao Xun laughed dryly, not knowing what to say.
"Actually, 'Quanzhong' is pretty good." Yu Liang said on the side.
Shao Xun glared at him fiercely.
Yu Liang saw that he was really angry, so he kept silent.
Shao Xun's anger turned into laughter, young people just need to be disciplined.
"Yesterday I received news—" Cao Fu stopped fanning himself with the palm-leaf fan and suddenly said, "Meng Jiu died. Well, it should have happened more than ten days ago."
"Meng Jiu?" Shao Xun was stunned, then laughed and said, "He has always wanted to kill me, but I didn't expect him to die so soon."
He was a little worried that Meng Jiu would hire assassins to kill him, so he would not go out unless he could. Even if he went out, he would not go out regularly, and would wear armor and bring a large group of people.
I didn't expect that I'm not dead yet, but you're done for, Brother Meng...
Is your wealth gone?
The servants have dispersed?
Although you are a eunuch, you still have wives and concubines. They all belong to someone else now, right?
Getting rid of a big trouble, how great it is.
"After Meng Jiu's death, the people in Ye Prefecture regained some confidence." Cao Fu continued, "But there are still many people who are confused and uneasy. Sima Yao, the Prince of Dong'an, and General Qiao Zhiming advised Ying to welcome the emperor, but Ying refused. This battle must be fought."
Sima Yao, King of Dong'an, was the uncle of Sima Rui, King of Langya, and served in Ye Prefecture.
Since the first month of the year, Sima Rui's position has become clear and he has supported Sima Yue as his leader.
The uncle and nephew placed their bets separately just to preserve the wealth and glory of Sima Yi's lineage.
At present, Sima Rui, like other kings in Beijing, had been forced to join the Northern Expedition.
Sima Yue is not stupid. He would not leave a prince behind when he goes to war. Isn't this digging a hole for himself?
Unreliable troops must be taken away and not left in Luoyang.
To him, the prince was also a threat and had to be taken away and kept under his supervision.
As for Qiao Zhiming, he was a Xianbei, with the courtesy name Yuanda, and was known for his talent and character. He had joined Sima Ying very early and brought a considerable number of Xianbei cavalry to him, so he was recommended as the general who eliminated bandits. Later, he served as the county magistrate in Longli County and Gong County, and his political achievements were quite good. The people respected and loved him, calling him "the god".
When the war broke out, he tried his best to persuade Sima Ying to welcome the emperor - in fact, surrender - but Sima Ying retorted: "You are well-known for your knowledge of affairs, and you have devoted yourself to serving me. Now that the Lord is being oppressed by a group of villains, how can you force me to surrender without any effort!"
Qiao Zhiming felt ashamed, so he took a position as a military advisor, brought his Xianbei cavalry, and went to Shi Chao's tent to receive orders.
Yes, it is Shi Chao...
This man changed horses along the way, ran back to Yecheng with dishevelled hair and a dirty face to apologize.
Sima Ying did not blame him, but handed over 50,000 infantry and cavalry to him and ordered him to fight against Sima Yue.
Shi Chao burst into tears. He took out all the money in his family and mobilized all his social connections to recruit brave warriors, select his troops, and vowed to fight to the death.
With the army approaching, the once arrogant and extravagant Sima Ying actually became normal again!
The waves are high with the wind, and the wind is strong against the wind. Where does this weird trend come from?
"As for the battle of Yecheng, when do you think the outcome will be decided?" Shao Xun asked.
Cao Fu laughed and did not answer directly. He just said: "As long as people live long enough, they will know more. Young people don't remember many things in their early years. I have heard of people losing battles that were almost certain to win, and I have also seen miracles of turning defeat into victory when the odds were against them. Military struggles are not that simple. All we can do is to do our best. As for victory or defeat, it depends on God's will."
Shao Xun took a sip.
Cao Fu was old and had a kind of fatalistic idealism.
Of course, many scholars of this era believed in fatalism.
Shao Xun rejected this idea. It was too weak and not positive enough. A real man should stay away from these things.
To put it bluntly, he is still out of tune with this world and has not truly integrated into it.
He is a killer who believes that "everything depends on human efforts", "the one with the strongest army and powerful soldiers becomes the emperor", and "he despises authority".
This belief certainly did not form in a day or two.
His rebellious nature must have been tempered through thousands of trials and tribulations.
This may be one of the reasons why he is so averse to the courtesy name "Quanzhong", not just because of the historical Zhu Quanzhong.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Cao Fu was an experienced man. He could tell at a glance that Shao Xun didn't care. He didn't blame him. He looked at Yu Liang and said with a smile, "Yuan Gui, when I was sixteen, I was still fighting cocks and riding horses in the countryside. I didn't know anything about the world. But you entered the officialdom early, tempered your mind, and learned about public affairs. Shao Jun is a capable person. You won't go wrong if you learn more from him."
"Yes." Yu Liang responded immediately.
He had long observed that Shao Xun was not only brave, but also had some administrative skills. If he were to be a county magistrate or governor, he would probably be able to do his job properly and would not be easily fooled by his subordinates.
Moreover, many of Shao Langjun's insights are different from what the children of the noble families have known since childhood. They can verify each other and come up with new insights. Following him is indeed a good way.
After Cao Fu finished speaking, he stopped talking.
He picked a purple grape from the shelf, peeled it and swallowed it in one gulp, not caring about other people's eyes.
"By the way, you all came here today to know the news from the west, right?" After eating the grapes, Cao Fu wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "The western troops have been dispatched. There are 20,000 of them, led by Zhang Fang. Judging from their movements, they are not coming directly to Luoyang, but may go to Hebei. Luoyang is safe for the time being, you can just train your troops, and I will do my best to support you if you need anything. Although Wang Yifu is fickle and arrogant, he will not interfere at this critical moment."
Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to express his gratitude.
If he didn't have the support of the Luoyang court, he didn't know how long it would take him to train a strong army.
Without enough food, the soldiers would not have the energy to drill.
You can't train too often without protein intake.
During training, the wear and tear of various equipment was shocking.
Their East Sea Kingdom Army not only has complete equipment, but also has spare weapons.
After a battle, the blade of a knife may become blunt and the tip of a spear may become dull. These need to be repaired by auxiliary soldiers overnight, but they may not be repaired within a day. At this time, spare equipment is very important.
Isn't it easier to get money from the Luoyang court than from the aristocratic families? Well, the premise is that the sponsor has a high status in Luoyang.
Seeing that Master Cao had nothing to say, Shao Xun was about to say goodbye, but Yu Liang tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "My dear, forget about the Xiongnu."
Oh, yes! I was so busy that I almost forgot. Fortunately, my "little secretary" reminded me.
Shao Xun sat down again and asked sincerely, "Does the military commander know Liu Yuan?"
"Liu Yuanhai?" Cao Fu recalled and said, "I have met him several times. He is an outstanding person."
After saying this, he fell into a long silence.
After a long while, Fang sighed and said, "In fact, Liu Yuanhai almost became the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Wu. But now he is over fifty years old, and the time has come for him to succeed."
When the opportunity comes, your life span is not enough. Are you depressed?
Of course, Liu Yuan might not think so.
He spent most of his life studying and working as an official in the Central Plains. Peeling off his Xiongnu blood, he was actually a typical Han scholar-official, and a good moral person.
In Cao Fu's opinion, Liu Yuan was better than Wang Yan in both moral character and ability, and by a lot.
The main reason why his achievements were not as high as Wang Yan’s was his family background.
The clan system was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty, greatly strengthened in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, reached its peak in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and then went downhill until the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Since the clan system was close to its peak at this time, how could it be impossible for the Hu people not to distinguish between surnames?
There was a surname called "Lu" during the Northern Dynasties, and it actually still exists at this time.
However, the status of the Lu surname was very low. Economically, their privileges were equivalent to those of a poor landlord, who owned herdsmen, slaves, pastures, and livestock. Politically, they were not even as good as the poor and could not join the ranks of the gentry.
Therefore, the chieftains of the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan had no family background, and theoretically it was difficult for them to become officials.
But they have more united front value than the Han people.
The Jin court often granted official positions and even titles to chieftains and prominent families among the Hu people who surrendered to the Jin court.
To put it bluntly, if you behave yourself and don't cause trouble, I will give you candy.
Therefore, no matter what age a person is, he must have the value of united front work...
Liu Yuan was a person who was targeted for united front work, but after spending most of his life there, he still didn't achieve anything.
But when he was young, the Jin Dynasty was in a strong period, so it was impossible for him to rebel. Now that the Central Plains is in chaos, he has the opportunity to rebel, but he is old. It is really fate that makes people feel helpless.
"A chieftain Hu Yanyou came to Yecheng and wanted to invite Liu Yuanhai back to Bingzhou to take charge of the overall situation and send the troops of the five Xiongnu tribes to help Chengdu. The King of Chengdu was hesitant and had not yet agreed. Liu Yuanhai ordered Hu Yanyou to go back first and stayed in Yecheng to assist the government." Cao Fu said: "I don't know much more. Judging from the situation, he will leave sooner or later."
In fact, Liu Yuan could leave if he wanted to, and Sima Ying did not send troops to monitor him.
But this man was still somewhat loyal. Sima Ying didn't want him to leave, so he didn't leave, and only let Hu Yanyou and others leave first.
However, as Cao Fu said, he will leave sooner or later. If he doesn't leave now, he will leave in the future.
There was a reason why the Huns came to welcome him. The world's situation had changed, and the ambitions of the five Hun tribes grew. They wanted to take advantage of the chaos to get a piece of the pie.
"Thank you, Minister, for the information." Shao Xun saluted.
Yu Liang followed suit and bowed in silence.
The kings have been fighting for so many years, and it seems that something has happened...
(End of this chapter)