Chapter 151: Balance of Terror

Chapter 151: Balance of Terror

Chapter 151: Balance of Terror

On the fourth day of July, the Bashang military camp, where tens of thousands of troops were stationed, was filled with joy.

Carriages were pulled in, loaded with money and silk.

Each soldier of the imperial guards was given a piece of silk, and officers were given additional amounts at each rank.

As long as the auxiliary soldiers participated in the battle, they could also receive dozens of coins as a token of their appreciation.

Chang'an was not that wealthy, and most of the seized property was taken away by tens of thousands of people when they claimed the reward.

Shao Xun also gave horses and gold and silver utensils to military officers at all levels, which was another expense.

In short, in the end, he only kept a mere five or six thousand pieces of silk and more than two thousand strings of money.

Of course, his biggest gain was the nearly 8,000 horses, which were now grazing on the plateau outside the city, guarded by the Long Sword Army and a part of the Left Guard.

The imperial guards who received the money were all smiling, and everyone praised General Shao for his generosity.

Especially the Zuowei men, who had followed General Shao to Yuzhou once and received money, and who came to Chang'an this time and received more money.

He is truly a god incarnate. It’s great to follow General Shao.

General He Lun of the Left Guard now stood side by side with Shao Xun, no longer letting Shao fall behind him.

During the visit to Xuchang, the petty officials secretly gave him five thousand rolls of silk. After returning, he bought a big house, bought many household items, took in several concubines, and even assembled a team of female musicians and dancers.

This time when he came to Chang'an, his official purse was so rich that he felt a little embarrassed.

This Shao Xun is really too polite.

He knows how to share the profits and never eats alone. No wonder everyone likes him.

Yes, the officers of the Left Guard came to Shao Xun countless times. He Lun was not very comfortable with it before, but after many times, he was relieved.

Money and women are real.

Things in this world are difficult to be clear about.

I am loyal to Sikong, and Shao Xun has never been against Sikong. He has even said in public many times that he is grateful for Sikong's kindness in selecting him. So I'll just pretend to be confused.

Furthermore, many lower-level military schools had risen step by step following Shao Xun. The middle-level generals with official status also had a good relationship with Shao Xun, so what else could be done?
Let’s see what happens after we return to Luoyang.

"Governor, where did the King of Hejian go?" Shao Xun asked when returning to the city from Bashang.

Mi Huang seemed to have aged a lot, and he was frowning all day long, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

When Shao Xun asked for the second time, he finally realized what was happening and said, "I don't know either. I just heard that he fled to Nanshan. He Lun sent troops to pursue him but found nothing."

"I see." Shao Xun nodded and asked, "The soldiers have received their rewards, and now that there is no more battle to fight, they all want to go home. I wonder when they will withdraw?"

"Are you so anxious to go home?" Mi Huang turned around and made a rare joke: "You haven't married yet, why are you in such a hurry to go home?"

I'm in a hurry to move the wealth back! Shao Xun said with a smile: "Now that we have so much wealth, we can go back and clean up the Golden Valley Garden. When we get married, it will be comfortable for us to live there."

In fact, he has already started to turn his fortune around.

The Changjian Army sent out two hundred men, requisitioned vehicles around Chang'an, and went to Hongnong County to wait for orders in exchange for food.

As an important town in Guanxi and a core city for war preparedness, Chang'an stored a large amount of military rations.

Shao Xun didn't like transporting grain before because it was heavy and cheap, but this time he had plenty of time and held great power in a short period of time, so he came up with an idea.

The general idea was to first transport the grain to Hongnong via the Wei River, and then transfer it by land to Jinmenwu.

As for how Jinmenwu will be coordinated with Yunzhong and Tanshan, that will be a matter for later.

There will definitely be some losses along the way, and they will be considerable.

The remuneration paid to the driver and the master is not a small amount.

But we will transport as much as we can. Places like Yiquanwu are no longer willing to sell grain. Perhaps their grain reserves have fallen below the warning line, so we need to slow down a bit.

In a sense, food is more important than money.

When you can use your power and influence to exchange money and silk for food, do it quickly. Exchange as much as you can until others are unwilling to exchange with you.

In addition, there was also a lot of grain shipped from other places on the Luoyang market - Chen Yan, the Duzhi Schoolmaster, was specifically in charge of grain transportation.

Even though these grains are a little expensive, Shao Xun will buy them if he can.

In troubled times, which of food, oxen, farm tools, horses, and weapons is not more important than money?
"The Prime Minister has not given the order yet." Mi Huang said briefly.

"Has the victory report been sent?"

“It was just sent yesterday.”

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief." Shao Xun bowed.

Mi Huang helped him delay it for a few days, which was very kind of him.

But where are Dai Yuan and Sima You? The day before yesterday, I met the King of Runan, but he just walked around and left without talking to me. He looked like he was looking at a dead person, as if he had just pasted the words "Zhang Fang" on his forehead.

Tsk! Many of Zhang Fang's generals were once servants of Zhi Fu's family.

His troops were also provided by Sima Yong.

If I only have the imperial guards at my disposal, there is a real possibility that someone will find an opportunity to assassinate me.

But with the Silver Spear Army guarding me, it would not be so easy for Sima Yue to harm me.

Of course, there is no such thing as a thief on guard against thieves for a thousand days, only a thief can steal for a thousand days.

The most important thing is that you have to scare Sima Yue. You only have one chance, what will be the consequences if you fail?
You are going to kill Mr. Shao, and he will have nothing to worry about, and his reputation will not suffer any loss. Can you withstand his revenge?
Will you sweat profusely when you enter the palace to meet the emperor?

When you lived in a villa outside the city, were you worried about being surrounded by a large group of "bandits" on a dark and windy night?
Only when you have the means to fight back will others wake up and think twice.

This is called the balance of terror. Neither side will say it out loud, but they both know it in their hearts.

"Let's stay here for a while. I guess Sikong's order will come soon." Mi Huang said with a gloomy look.

"Do not think too much, Governor." Shao Xun consoled him, "After we go back, Sikong will surely comfort us and will not blame us too much."

The withdrawal is certain, the only suspense is the month.

The soldiers of the left and right guards were anxious to leave now so that they could return home in time to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival.

******
Outside the Sima family ancestral tomb in the suburbs of Wen County, Sima Yue sat down breathlessly.

The day before yesterday, after hearing the news that 5,000 Xianbei cavalrymen were annihilated, he fell ill. He stayed in bed for two days before he could finally get up. The first thing he thought of was to visit the mausoleum.

The two Sima descendants in Hejian and Donghai attacked each other, but unexpectedly, each of them had an unruly "rebel general" under his command.

Zhang Fang has already surrendered, when will Shao Xun die?
Sun Hui, the secretary of the army, tiptoed over and said, "Sikong, Wang Yifu is almost here." Sima Yue nodded and looked at the green pines and cypresses in the distance, remaining silent.

Now that the Xianbei cavalry is gone, how should we explain this to Wang Jun?
How should we fight when the war goes against us in the future?
Shao Xun first robbed the Xuchang armory and then harmed the Xianbei people in Chang'an. How should we deal with him?

One thing after another left him at a loss.

"Sikong, there is one more thing." Sun Hui said again.

"Go ahead."

"There's news from the palace that Shao Xun has been given several female musicians."

"That's it?" Sima Yue looked at Sun Hui unhappily, but he was weak now, and the anger he forced out seemed a little lacking in momentum.

"One of the female musicians was the former Princess of Chengdu, Lady Le," Sun Hui added.

There was no change in the expression on Sima Yue's face. There were too many bad news, and compared with those, this was nothing.

"Has the emperor pardoned Le's crime?" he asked.

"Never."

Sima Yue nodded.

If Le's crime had not been pardoned, she would have been nothing more than a criminal, a female singer. After all, those people behind the emperor did not deal with him openly, but could only use some tricks secretly to make things difficult for him. How ridiculous.

There was the sound of hoofbeats in the distance.

Sima Yue looked up and saw Wang Yan coming towards him riding a donkey.

"Sikong, why is it so?" Wang Yan sat on the donkey, sighed, and said, "Isn't it a happy event that we won a great victory against Yong?"

"Yi Fu, stop making sarcastic remarks." Sima Yue stood up, feeling dizzy, and said with difficulty: "Will you help me?"

Wang Yan laughed, got off the donkey, and said, "Sikong, you are confused."

Sima Yue remained silent.

"Let me try to explain it to you, and you can listen to it." Wang Yan said.

Sima Yue nodded.

"May I ask Sikong, if there is a military order, will the army that is on the Western Expedition return?" Wang Yan asked.

Sima Yue nodded again.

Of course the Luoyang Imperial Guards had to return to Luoyang. They were the imperial court's army, not anyone's private army, and it was impossible for them to stay in Guanzhong for a long time.

"Will the court grant a 19-year-old the position of prefect?" Wang Yan continued to ask.

Sima Yue shook his head.

Just like Zhang Fang was excluded in Yongfu, Shao Xun was met with vague hostility in Yuefu, and Gou Xi wasted thirty years without any progress, it was too difficult for someone without family background and foundation to become a prefect. Moreover, it was impossible for a child of an aristocratic family to become a prefect at the age of nineteen. If Shao Xun wanted to become a prefect at this time and establish his own regime, he would be collectively resisted, and this appointment would not be issued.

"May I ask Sikong, are there any old acquaintances between the aristocratic families in Guanzhong and the nobles of Di and Qiang and Shao Xun?" Wang Yan asked again.

Sima Yue still shook his head.

"Without soldiers, reputation, or old acquaintances, what does Sikong have to worry about?" Wang Yan smiled, brushed his sleeves casually, and said calmly.

"What I am worried about are not these things!" Sima Yue said unhappily after Wang Yan finished his "performance".

It's not like he doesn't have staff, so naturally there are people helping him analyze these things.

It was impossible for Shao Xun to stay in Guanzhong because the imperial guards had to go home, and Shao Xun would not be able to stand firm after they left.

What he was worried about was how to face Shao Xun when he came back.

Yes, Shao Xun didn’t know how to face Sima Yue, and Sima Yue hadn’t figured out how to face Shao Xun either.

But then again, both of them are political animals, and face is not important at all. They will face reality in the end.

"Don't worry. Although Xun Taijian is not the same kind of person as you and me, he doesn't like Shao Xun either. The Shangshu and the left and right Pushe all look down on this man, so what does the Sikong have to worry about?" Wang Yan said with a smile.

Wang Yan was the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and Xun Fan was the Shangshu You Pushe. Wang Yan was the chief and Xun Fan was the assistant. They jointly controlled the selection of personnel in the Ministry of Personnel and had great power.

"Okay." Sima Yue finally showed a smile on his face.

With these two people working together, things became much easier.

He needed to go back to Luoyang, which was nothing, but he was suspicious and always felt that Luoyang was not reliable. Some people wanted to deal with him like they dealt with Sima Yi.

Shao Xun's domineering attitude made him hesitate to move forward.

If Wang Yifu could help, reorganizing the imperial guards would be much easier.

In fact, he had already sent a letter to Hebei, asking Sima Mo to help him recruit soldiers and send them to Wen County. He also made it clear to him that these people were to come to Luoyang to serve as the imperial guards, and that they must be selected from the best and not be fooled.

When Sima Mo heard this, he directly mobilized the troops as a whole and sent them to Luoyang along with their families. He was very supportive.

The general in charge was named Song Zhou, and he had a total of 5,000 infantry and cavalry, and they had already set out.

Song Zhou was originally the governor of Pingyang and had a bad reputation. He suppressed Li Ju, who came from a poor family, and took away his hard-earned official position.

After Song Zhou left office, his clansman Song Chou was appointed as the prefect of Pingyang.

The Xihe Song family is considered to be an old local boss and has considerable influence in Pingyang.

After this group of people arrived, including the 4,000 surrendered soldiers who were being escorted here, and the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses they brought with them, there were almost 20,000 people, just enough to form the left and right armies of the imperial guards.

These 20,000 men were "pure and flawless" and not as unreliable as the Left Guard, Right Guard, and Valiant Cavalry. They were enough to escort him into the capital.

I have been away from Luoyang for nearly two years, and my army is about to be stolen. If you don't come back, are you going to steal something else?

This time we have to clean it up thoroughly.

However, he was still a little scared - although he was reluctant to admit it - what should he do if Shao Xun was doomed to fail?

Thinking of this, he thought it would be better to find out the truth first.

Mi Zhi, an official in the royal palace, seems to be able to take on this important task.

Wang Yan watched silently from the side and laughed to himself after a long time.

The more you think about it, the more you dare not break up with others and the more you want to maintain superficial harmony.

In the end, it's just you take a step back and I take a step back, that's all.

It seems that our Wang family is destined to be lucky and make a profit as an intermediary. I think we can get our hometown in Qingzhou. How wonderful!

(End of this chapter)