Chapter 126 Everyone has a share

Chapter 126 Everyone has a share

Chapter 126 Everyone has a share
Early in the morning on September 8th, Shao Xun went to the Prince of Fanyang's palace to pay a respectful visit.

After a while, the servants of the mansion opened the main door, and Shao Xun went in to visit under the escort of fifty soldiers.

The princess looked to be about thirty years old. She was born in the Fanyang Lu family. She might have never experienced such a chaotic situation. She was a little panicked. When she saw Shao Xun, a valiant warrior, she subconsciously tightened her skirt and was obviously not calm in her heart.

"General, why...what are you here for?" Mrs. Lu was very pretty, with a petite figure. She spoke in a soft voice, which was trembling slightly.

The canary in the cage has never experienced the rain, snow, wind and frost of society. Shao Xun probably understood that the Princess of Fanyang was over 30 years old, but her mental age might not be the same. Such a person was easy to deal with, although she might not be able to speak in front of Sima Hu.

"Don't worry, Princess." Shao Xun forced out a few gentle smiles and said, "What happened last night was actually a misunderstanding. Following the order of the Minister of Works, we led our troops south to help Xuchang. Unexpectedly, Governor Tian thought that the enemy army was approaching in large numbers and fled in a panic, which was ridiculous."

Huh? Lu opened her eyes wide, looking a little incredulous.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really." Shao Xun said, "If the princess doesn't believe it, you can send people out of the city to pursue him. Maybe you can find Governor Tian and invite him back to Xuchang. After a confrontation, the matter will be clear."

Mrs. Lu bit her lips tightly and scratched her nails subconsciously. She looked a little moved and a little worried.

Shao Xun waited nervously for her reply.

Tian Hui, that fellow, must have run far away, right? If we really find him, it would be a bit embarrassing. If it really doesn't work, we can send people to guard outside the city and kill him quietly.

While he was thinking, Madam Lu spoke up: "I want to write a letter and send it to the camp of King Fanyang. Can you help me?"

"Of course." Shao Xun said, "I am General Shao Xun of the Left Guard Palace of the Luoyang Central Army, a general of the Yuefu family. Following the order of the Sikong Army, I led 10,000 troops as the vanguard to help Xuchang and conquer Liu Qiao and his son. I am loyal and have no intention of offending you. Princess, please explain yourself and don't distract the King of Fanyang and affect the war in Hebei. Alas, the war is dangerous and fierce. Once you are distracted..."

Mrs. Lu's face turned pale, and she stood up and said, "I will write the letter right away."

He had just stumbled out two steps when, perhaps realizing that there were outsiders present, his face turned red. He quickly composed himself, walked to a corner of the study in a dignified and elegant manner, knelt down, spread out paper and pen, and wrote a letter.

Shao Xun really wanted to see what was written in the letter, but he had no suitable reason, so he had to give up.

At the same time, I kept weighing the calculations in my mind.

How would Sima Hu react when he saw his wife's letter? Would he send troops back in a hurry?
From a rational analysis, it should be possible, but the mood may not be so urgent.

Just delay it for ten days or half a month!

When I have carried away the armor in the armory, I will divide the other equipment and property among everyone equally. Then the law will not hold everyone responsible, and everyone can do whatever they want.

There are nearly 18,000 soldiers, and everyone has a share. No matter how unhappy Sikong is, he can only accept it.

It is certain that you will be punished in the future, but so what? If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our troops; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth.

"Will the general go to fight Liu Qiao and his son again?" A timid voice sounded in the corner.

"Of course I want it." Shao Xun said with a look of indignation, "Liu Qiao is a coward. He took advantage of the time when Prince Fanyang was on a northern expedition to Jizhou to cause chaos. If we don't capture and kill him, it will be difficult to relieve the indignation in my heart."

Mrs. Lu felt relieved and continued writing the letter.

After a moment, she sealed the letter, called a servant, and asked him to deliver it to the Hebei camp as soon as possible.

Shao Xun did not stop him the whole time. When he saw the letter was finished, he immediately said, "Liu Qiao is now in power, and the people of Yuzhou are unstable. There may be scoundrels in Xuchang who are colluding to cause chaos. The palace is very important and there must be no mistakes. Therefore, I have sent dozens of soldiers to guard here to ensure that the thieves will not disturb the princess."

Madam Lu was silent for a while, then said, "General, please do as you please."

"I'll take my leave." Shao Xun bowed and left quietly.

When he got outside the gate, he called Gao Yi and Zhang Jin and said, "Search for horses and mules quickly. The more the better. Also, don't go out of the city to ask for them. There are many aristocratic families like the Xun family in Yingchuan, so don't get into conflict with them for now."

"Yes." The two replied.

The long march to Xuchang has resulted in losses of horses and mules, so of course we need to replenish them, and quickly.

Because he really wants to fight Liu Qiao next. Whether he can beat him or not is another matter, but he must take action.

This is politics, attitude matters.

******
Liu Qiao was actually still in Pei State.

The reason was that he was worried that Sima Yue would come back to kill him, although the possibility was very small.

Of the 30,000 troops of Xuzhou, only a few thousand actually died, and most of them were scattered during the rout. If Sima Yue gathered them all, it would be a big trouble.

At the same time, he was constantly engaged in verbal battles with Sima Yue, Sima Hu and others.

Messengers rushed out from time to time, carrying his memorials to Luoyang.

He also received a letter from Liu Hong of Jingzhou. After all, they had fought together in the past, so they still had some friendship. In the letter, Liu Hong offered to be a middleman to resolve the conflict between him and Sima Yue and "jointly reward the royal family", but Liu Qiao was not interested.

He is getting angry now. Sima Yue, who is famous all over the world, is just like this. I want to see if he dares to leave Xuzhou.

Liu Hong also sent a letter to Sima Yue, and received the same harsh rejection.

He felt very uncomfortable about this.

So he submitted a memorial to the court, saying that there had never been such a fratricide in history, and "I am secretly saddened." Now that the border has changed, the Central Plains is in turmoil. The kings do not care about the country, but only compete for superiority. If the four barbarians take advantage of the situation, it will lead to great disaster.

He suggested that the court issue an edict, ordering the princes and governors to put aside their past grudges and defend their respective fiefdoms. If anyone again took action without the emperor's order, he would be punished by the whole world.

It should be said that Liu Hong, the governor of Jingzhou, was one of the few loyal ministers in the Jin Dynasty, and he truly cared about the world.

It’s a pity that Sima Yue simply didn’t listen to him.

Liu Qiao didn't know Liu Hong's true thoughts, but he really enjoyed the pleasure of provoking Sima Yue and engaging in verbal battles.

Memorials after memorials were sent to various places, even to Luojing, clearly expressing his attitude: Sima Yue and I are irreconcilable, so who the hell is he, to dare to claim that he carries the hope of the world?

On the eighth day of September, Liu Qiao sent his son Liu You and other generals to various counties to collect food and grass, and continued to fight in Pei State with Sima Yue.

Sima Yue really didn't want to pay any attention to this stinky piece of shit, it was such a disgrace!
But who made him such a poor fighter? Now he was entangled by Liu Qiao and could not move an inch, so he could only wallow in the mud with him. In a fit of rage, he finally agreed to King Fanyang's request and sent an envoy to Youzhou to ask for 5,000 Xianbei cavalry to come south to help.

Under such circumstances, Shao Xun finally waited for the arrival of more than 5,000 infantry and cavalry led by Huang Biao and Li Chong on September 13.

Before they arrived, people from Yushanwu had come twice and carried away more than a thousand pieces of iron armor.

The speed is a bit slow, mainly because of the lack of vehicles. When the people from Yunzhongwu come over, I believe the situation will improve.

On September 14, flags fluttered in the wind on the parade ground outside the city of Xuchang.

Rolls of silk were distributed one after another.

Everyone who received the reward shouted "Thank you, General, for the reward" and then returned to the queue happily.

Huang Biao and others are fine, but Li Chong is politically savvy.

He felt quite uncomfortable during the whole reward distribution process. In the end, he could not help asking, "General, do you know what you are doing by opening the treasury without authorization and giving rewards to soldiers without authorization?"

Shao Xun glanced at him and said nothing.

Huang Biao, Zhang Gu and others were not happy and said bluntly: "Li Zhong, what nonsense are you talking about? The war is imminent, how can we boost morale without rewards?"

"It's not easy for brothers to support their families, so what's wrong with getting a little reward?"

"Li Zhong, you've lost your mind!"

All the leaders of the banners made accusations one after another, and even Duan Liang, the cavalry commander who was assigned here, was quite dissatisfied.

The Xianbei played with the brocade in his hand and said with a smile, "Master Li, why don't you listen to the opinions of your men?"

Li Zhong was too lazy to pay attention to him. He just looked at Shao Xun and said, "General, you have always been sensible in your actions. You should know the pros and cons. If the King of Fanyang returns and investigates, there may be twists and turns."

"I have my own plan for this matter, so please don't say any more." Shao Xun said.

Li Zhong choked, then sighed for a long while and said, "As you wish."

"The whole army will have a feast today, and tomorrow we will march to Pei State to attack Liu Qiao." Shao Xun gave another order.

Including Li Chong, everyone responded in unison.

The Luoyang Imperial Guards had only been trained for less than half a year. Although there were many veteran soldiers in the central army, their combat effectiveness was still worrying.

However, everyone is confident in following Shao Xun to fight. They have overcome so many difficulties in the past, so there is nothing to be afraid of now. Just fight!

That night, the whole army slaughtered pigs and sheep, and had plenty of meat and wine. More than 6,000 soldiers ate until their mouths were full of oil, and they were very happy. In addition, the rewards distributed during the day made everyone excited, and their morale was greatly improved.

On September 15, Shao Xun left Huang Biao and Zheng Dong with 1,000 soldiers to guard Xuchang, and he himself led more than 5,500 infantry and cavalry south to attack Pei State.

The army advanced very quickly and arrived in Xinji in the evening.

That night, Shao Xun appointed Li Chong to lead 4,000 infantrymen, while he himself took all the horses and mules he had collected, as well as 500 men from General Tu and the new cavalry commander Duan Liang, and left the camp at night, disappearing on the east bank of the Ru River.

(End of this chapter)