Chapter 153 Exchange of Interests

Chapter 153 Exchange of Interests

Chapter 153 Exchange of Interests
Mi Zhi set out from Wen County in August, heading west, passing Wangwu Mountain, then crossing the Yellow River in Hedong County and entering Fengyi County.

When we finally arrived in Chang'an, it was around the Double Ninth Festival.

There are many new graves on the plateau outside Chang'an, and the dense crowds make people feel creepy.

He stayed at the bottom of the plateau for a while.

There was not a cloud in the sky, and the autumn wind was blowing through the pine and cypress trees on the plateau, bringing waves of sobs.

He shuddered suddenly and became more confused about the way forward.

Sikong was quite polite to him, but a little too polite.

Whenever the staff members said something important, they would glance at him out of the corner of their eyes, as if they didn't want him to hear it.

Mi Zhi was a man of sharp mind, and he could sense subtle changes in the atmosphere.

He knew that people were wary of him.

Ugh!
Mi Zhi sighed, calmed himself down, and soon arrived at the Bashang camp.

Shao Xun also organized the transportation of grain in Chang'an City.

Kinmenwu has received the second batch of grain.

After two rounds of transportation, excluding the loss along the way, a total of 190,000 hu of grain were obtained.

The third batch has already been shipped, and the transportation of the fourth batch of grain will probably begin at the end of September.

In his spare time, he also received messages from various parties.

When the Taoist Fan Changsheng came down the mountain, Li Xiong of Chengdu treated him with great courtesy and made him "Grand Master of Heaven and Earth for the Four Seasons and Eight Festivals" - another amazing official position.

Li Xiong officially proclaimed himself emperor, named the country "Dacheng", changed the era name to Yanping, and issued a general amnesty.

This regime located in Shuzhong seemed to have become stable because of its geographical isolation.

After the great earthquake in the Western Han Dynasty, the Han River changed its course, and no one could repeat the old story of "secretly crossing Chencang". If money and grain in Shu wanted to be transported out, they could not use cheap water transportation like Liu Bang did, but could only take the long and rugged mountain roads.

The road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the sky. It is estimated that seven or eight out of ten carts of food would be lost on the way. Zhuge Liang's extremely difficult logistics at that time are a clear proof of this.

It's hard for others to get into this place, and it's also hard for the people inside to get out. I guess that's how it is.

Because of his "merit" in the Western Expedition, the emperor promoted Sima Yue to be Taifu and in charge of the Secretariat.

He also appointed Sima Hu, King of Fanyang, as governor of Jizhou and stationed him in Ye.

Ma Model from Pingchang Company really couldn't handle the mess in Hebei, so he just left and took up the post in Xuchang, moving to a more comfortable place to continue hanging around.

Sima Yue formally established the Taifu Shogunate and appointed Wang Yan as the military commander, and Uncle Cao was completely sidelined.

Most of the people in the new shogunate were scholars recruited in Xuzhou, or those who fled to Xuzhou with him after the Battle of Dangyin.

For example, Yu Hua, the military advisor and chief priest, and Guo Xiang, the chief clerk, were not doing their jobs and were drunk and dissolute. The former also made a lot of money, and the latter had a bad character and played tricks. However, because they were famous and praised by scholars, Sima Yue valued them very much.

What the hell is this!
Shao Xun also heard the news that Sima Yue was going to rebuild the imperial guards.

The Luoyang Central Army was originally divided into two parts: the Suwei Army and the Yamen Army. The former was stationed in the city, and the latter was stationed in the suburbs of Luoyang.

The Imperial Guard is also known as the Seven Imperial Guards, namely the Left Guard, Right Guard, Left Army, Right Army, Front Army, Rear Army, and Cavalry Camp.

Today, the Luoyang Central Army has only more than 30,000 people, organized into three branches: Left Guard, Right Guard, and Cavalry.

Sima Yue rebuilt the left and right armies, seemingly restoring the organization of the central army, but in fact he was arranging his own people.

He was afraid after all.

Shao Xun sneered and asked, "Are the left and right armies useful?"

However, from Sima Yue's perspective, this is normal.

It is impossible for the Left Guard, Right Guard and Cavalry Army to openly oppose him at this stage. He does not need the Left Army and the Right Army to be good at fighting. It is enough for them to protect him.

Without any reliable soldiers, do I have to continue wandering around in Wen County without being able to return home?
While he was thinking about the origins of the Left Army and the Right Army, Mi Huang and his son Mi Zhi came to Xiaoyao Garden.

The three of them bowed to each other and then sat down.

"The Grand Tutor has already ordered the withdrawal of troops. Everyone must evacuate by the end of September at the latest." Mi Huang's demeanor had improved slightly recently. It seemed that after some negotiations, he was not severely punished and was even comforted by Sima Yue.

So the question is, why didn't the Grand Tutor send an envoy to comfort me? Putting aside the facts, I killed 5,000 Xianbei cavalry, so don't I have any merit?
"Did the governor get promoted?" Shao Xun asked, noting Mi Huang's expression.

Mi Huang forced a smile and said, "Sir Lieutenant, is that considered a promotion?"

"Of course it's considered a promotion if your official rank is higher," Shao Xun said with a smile.

However, the position of the governor with real power was gone.

The Sili Xiaowei had soldiers, but not many, not even as many as the Duzhi Xiaowei. The latter managed the long canal transport routes, so he had several thousand soldiers, while the Sili Xiaowei had at most three thousand, maybe even less.

"Who was the Hongnong Prefecture given to?" Shao Xun asked.

"Pei Yi, the magistrate of Hongnong, has been promoted to the position of governor." Mi Huang said, "Your family's forts should be managed by yourselves. I can no longer take care of them."

"Oh." Shao Xun responded nonchalantly.

Hmm? Mi Huang was surprised to see Shao Xun was not panicking at all. Then he thought of the way they approached Concubine Pei, and suddenly realized that it seemed that the young master had gone further on this path than him, and his relationship with Wenxi Pei was not simple.

"What does Grand Tutor plan to do with me?" Shao Xun asked after a moment of silence.

Mi Huang took a deep breath. Some things had to be faced eventually.

He only said: "The Grand Tutor is slowly improving the organization of the Luoyang Central Army."

Shao Xun nodded, indicating that he understood.

"The Yamen Army will also be rebuilt." Mi Huang said: "The Grand Tutor wants you to take charge of the Yamen Army."

"How many battalions does the Yamen Army have?"

"The Yamen Army is just a newly formed army, and there is only one battalion under your command."

"how many people?"

"Your old general leads more than 5,000 men."

Shao Xun remained silent for a long time.

Mi Huang waited quietly for his response.

Mi Zhize held his breath and concentrated, and goose bumps appeared all over his body.

There are 600 silver spear warriors in Xiaoyao Garden. There are tens of thousands of soldiers in Bashang Camp. What will happen if this person suddenly attacks?

Sometimes, a falling out happens in a flash.

"You're going to drive me out of Luoyang!" Shao Xun suddenly slammed the table and shouted.

Mi Huang frowned and didn't react. Mi Zhi, however, was startled and almost cried out.

The Silver Spear Army warriors all looked over, and some even dropped their hands to the hilts of the swords at their waists.

"The Grand Tutor still promises you a position." Mi Huang suddenly said after a moment's silence.

Shao Xun was amused and said, "Commander-in-chief, what kind of relationship do you and I have? Why are you hiding it?"

He knew that Mi Huang was also following the orders of the Grand Tutor to give out benefits bit by bit.

If Shao Xun had not reacted strongly, there would have been no follow-up.

At the same time, he felt a little emotional. What can you say about Mi Huang? He is too loyal and honest. Until now, he has not been completely disappointed with Sima Yue and is still working wholeheartedly for him.

What virtue or ability did Sima Yue have to have people like Mi Huang, He Lun and Wang Bing loyal to him? Admittedly, the abilities of these three people were average, but their loyalty was beyond doubt and they could be trusted with their backs.

"The Grand Tutor has granted you the position of a talented general and ordered you to supervise the construction of Guangcheng Garden." Mi Huang continued.

This is a naked exchange of interests.

After a year, what happened in Guangchengyuan is no longer a secret.

Sima Yue could indeed have colluded with Wang Yan to stop the project. Now he brought it up as a bargaining chip.

"I turned down the position of general officer several times, but I finally gave it up." Shao Xun said with a smile, his anger turning into joy.

"General Caiguan is of the fifth rank. It seems that he has only been promoted one rank, but this step is not that simple." Mi Huang said earnestly.

In the officialdom, there are always certain levels of official positions that seem to be only one step away, but many people find it difficult to cross them in their entire lives.

For them, this is the ceiling.

Promotions are not permanent. Once you reach the ceiling, no matter how many contributions you make, it is difficult to move forward.

He was promoted from a sixth-rank General of the Palace to a fifth-rank General of Materials. This leap in rank stopped countless people.

The general of the talent officer is on the same level as the county governor, the prime minister, and the internal historian of the kingdom.

It was a bit strange for a general to lead the Yamen Army, but who could blame the Yamen Army for having only 5,000 soldiers? When the Luoyang Central Army was at its peak, the Yamen Army had more than a dozen battalions with a total of more than 50,000 infantry and cavalry.

The Imperial Guards were usually not deployed, and the Yamen Army was the strategic reserve and mobile combat force of the Western Jin court.

"Where is the Yamen Army stationed?" Shao Xun asked.

"Where do you want to station?" Mi Huang asked back.

Shao Xun hesitated for a moment.

The Yamen Army was usually stationed in the suburban counties outside Luoyang City, sometimes in Luoyang and Henan counties, and sometimes in Yanshi and other places.

"I always hang around in front of the Grand Tutor, I guess he finds it annoying." Shao Xun said self-deprecatingly, "Letting me go to Liang County, far away, is exactly what the Grand Tutor wants."

Theoretically speaking, Liang County is also a suburban county.

But suburban counties are different from suburban counties. For example, the original station was in Tongzhou near Beijing, but now it has been moved to Yanqing. This is too "suburban" and too "rural".

Mi Huang did not object after hearing this, because he obviously knew that Sima Yue really didn't want to see Shao Xun.

Sima Yue even wanted to move Shao Xun further away, to Jiangdong or even Shuzhong to quell the rebellion and die together with Chen Min and Li Xiong, but he also knew that this was impossible.

"Liang County seems to be a good choice. The Grand Master should not object." Mi Huang thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "It's right next to Guangcheng Garden, so it will be more convenient for you to travel."

"Can I still go back to Luoyang?" Shao Xun asked with a smile.

Mi Huang glared at him and said, "No one is stopping you from returning to Luoyang."

"That's good." Shao Xun said, "If the construction of Guangcheng Garden stops one day, I will go back to Luoyang."

Mi Huang sighed.

He wrote many letters about the matter between Shao Xun and the Grand Tutor, trying his best to mediate the situation and explaining the pros and cons. In the end, this result was achieved, which was actually very good.

But who understands his painstaking efforts?
The Grand Tutor didn't understand him, and Shao Xun didn't understand him either. This made...

"Taifu has another request." Mi Huang finally said: "If there is a war, the Yamen Army must go to the battlefield."

"Except for Jiangdong, where else are there wars?" Shao Xun asked.

Liu Borgen of Qingzhou was beheaded by the Xianbei cavalrymen who came south from Youzhou, and Wang Mi fled to the mountains and forests and his whereabouts are unknown.

The situation in Hebei has been initially suppressed and appears to be quite calm on the surface.

Guanzhong was also conquered.

Shuzhong was subconsciously ignored by everyone.

For now, apart from Chen Min of Jiangdong, only Liu Yuan of the Xiongnu is still alive.

After what happened this year, Sima Yue gained a certain prestige, at least on the surface, and all his enemies were defeated.

Perhaps this is the reason why he returned to Luoyang?

"In any case, you should be careful." Mi Huang did not answer Shao Xun directly, but only said: "Now that all places are peaceful, some people in the shogunate may target you and regard you as the next enemy. If you leave Luoyang, those people may instigate the Grand Tutor to mobilize troops from Hebei, Yuzhou and even Xuzhou..."

Having said that, Mi Huang will not say any more.

Regardless of whether these people's slander will come true, it is still a threat. Perhaps the Grand Tutor himself has had such thoughts before, so it is better to be careful.

"So, Grand Tutor is trying to buy time?" Shao Xun asked.

Mi Huang shook his head and sighed, saying: "Master, it's not necessary. You are still useful after all."

Is Hebei really pacified? Even the Grand Tutor is not sure, otherwise, King Fanyang would not have gone out to govern Yecheng.

The Xuchang soldiers were still capable of fighting, and Gong Shifan and others were eventually defeated under their encirclement and suppression.

But the situation there is very strange.

Although Sima Ying is dead, there are still many people who use his name. When one wave is suppressed, another wave will rise up, and it will be endless.

Who knows, maybe one day someone will start a rebellion again.
Keeping Shao Xun can also deal with these small fry.

As long as there is stability for a few years, the Grand Tutor should be able to win over the hearts of the imperial guards, right?
Mi Zhi didn't say a word from beginning to end.

Today's meeting had a great impact on his soul.

It turned out that the 19-year-old general in front of him had done such a big thing that even the "powerful" Taifu was helpless and had to "reason" with him.

It turns out that having soldiers and influence in the imperial guards can bring so many benefits.

It seems that the fame brought by pure conversation will gradually give way to the sword-wielding one.

His understanding of the world had unknowingly advanced a big step forward.

(End of this chapter)