Chapter 157 Treasure
Chapter 157 Treasure
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, while the shogunate had not yet officially come to power, Yu Liang left Luoyang and drove to Yiyang.
Hu Wu Fuzhi, the drunkard, was burping while drinking with others a few days ago. He shamelessly said that Sikong was the matchmaker and wanted to arrange a marriage between the Shao and Yu families.
The news spread quickly, even my family knew about it.
The mother looked gloomy and scolded Hu Wu Fuzhi because he had ruined her daughter's reputation.
My younger sister Wenjun didn't behave unusually and was reading a book all the time.
Yu Liang was a little confused. His sister had always made friends with women from aristocratic families. Could she really have fallen in love with Shao Xun?
After some indirect hints, Yu Liang felt a little disappointed.
My sister didn't like Shao Xun, but she didn't reject him.
But this “non-exclusion” is already scary.
While he was on the road, he was so preoccupied that he didn't even hear someone calling him on the road.
"But is it the Grand Tutor and the Chief Priest of the East Pavilion, Yu Yuangui? Lu Zhi of Fanyang greets you." A man rode over on a donkey and bowed.
Looking at his gentle smile, Yu Liang quickly ordered the car to stop and got out to return the gift.
He had met Lu Zhi once or twice.
The first time was probably two or three years ago. He served as the Minister of the Secretariat for a short period of time in the court, and then returned to Yecheng.
The second time they met was years ago, when he was ordered by the Grand Tutor to recruit this person into his staff.
Lu Zhi neither refused nor agreed.
Yu Liang didn't know why he hesitated. Even though you used to be the chief minister and the first counselor of the King of Chengdu, you all failed. You are lucky to be alive.
If you don't submit to Sikong, you won't even be able to become a county magistrate now, and no one will dare to use you.
"Is Yuan Gui going on a long journey?" Lu Zhi asked with a smile.
Yu Liang didn't want others to pry into his family's affairs, so he just said vaguely: "After the beginning of spring, the scenery is quite beautiful, so I plan to go around."
Lu Zhi looked at the gray fields around him and the remaining snow, and smiled without saying anything.
The young Yu Liang was a little overwhelmed and wanted to bow and leave.
Lu Zhi chuckled and went straight to the point: "I was invited by General Shao Xun to go to Jinmenwu in Yiyang. I wonder if I can go with Yuan Gui?"
Yu Liang was greatly embarrassed.
He knew that he had been seen through by Lu Zhi, a veteran official, so he could only say, "What a coincidence, I am on the same road as Lord Lu."
"Then let's talk while walking." Lu Zhi said with a smile.
"Okay." Yu Liang had no horse, so he could only sit back in the car and talk to Lu Zhi through the window.
"I heard that General Caiguan has two armies under his command, the silver spear and the long sword, but I don't know what they are like." The cold wind in the first month of the year was still biting, but Lu Zhi seemed to be unaware of it and was in high spirits.
"There are some tricks to it." Yu Liang replied perfunctorily.
In fact, he didn't know where the "tricks" were, he just simply felt that those soldiers had learned a lot and were quite powerful.
Well, you only know how to use a spear, but others can use both spear and archery, so they are naturally very powerful.
This is Yu Liang’s simple understanding.
"How many are there?" Lu Zhi asked.
"I don't know." Yu Liang became alert.
This person asked a lot of questions, all of which were about the core issues, which made Yu Liang a little wary.
Of course, he wasn't quite sure how many people there were in the Silver Spear and Long Sword armies. He only vaguely knew that they were going to expand their armies this year.
Lu Zhi didn't ask any more questions.
Now more and more people are studying Shao Xun, and he has also paid attention to it.
He discovered that Shao Xun did not like to sweep up tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of troops at will like some people did - the three kings of Chengdu, Hejian and Donghai liked to do so very much.
Shao Xun may have insufficient money and food, so he was very rational in expanding the army and paid great attention to quality.
It is difficult to say which is better, taking the route of a small number of elite troops or the route of a large number of weak troops.
This time, Lu Zhi wanted to see with his own eyes how well the soldiers trained by Shao Xun were.
The Luo River has not yet thawed, and the mountains on both sides are covered with snow and the mountain breeze is blowing.
Lu Zhi just watched like this along the way.
When passing by Yunzhongwu, he first glanced at the vast fortress with a fairly good shape, and then was attracted by the wheat seedlings covered with the remaining snow.
Not many people like to grow winter wheat now. It would be good if there are one or two acres out of ten acres.
There are many reasons, but the poor quality of the land is an unavoidable factor.
We all know that after planting winter wheat, we still have time to plant another crop of grains in the second year and harvest more food. But what about the soil fertility?
The more you plant, the more likely the field will become barren.
Although Lu Zhi didn't quite understand the reason, he always felt that if the land produced more grain out of thin air, the land must have paid a "price" - it became "barren", and the fertile land turned into barren land.
Everyone wants to harvest three crops of grain in two years, but can the soil support it?
Lu Zhi was thinking as he walked.
Yu Liang's attention was attracted by the farmers and farmhands who were pulled out for training.
Just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, we will start the training.
In half a month, we can practice about three times, and then there are other tasks.
He didn't know how busy and hard the farmers were before. Unfortunately, Shao Xun liked to hang out in the farmland, so he was forced to follow him and gained a lot of experience. Now he also knows that the people's lives are really not easy. Once the war breaks out, the random Latin soldiers will bring huge damage to agricultural production.
It seems that some of Shao Xun's ideas are correct. Soldiers are soldiers, and civilians are civilians. It is best to distinguish them clearly.
Unfortunately, there is no such ideal situation in reality.
Even Shao Xun himself was training the people of Baohuwu, wasn't he planning on sending them into battle?
******
On the 18th day of the first lunar month, we arrived at Jinmenwu.
After the announcement, the two were welcomed inside, but not to the fortress, but to a small basin in the mountains. The basin was very small, and after being leveled, it was used as a fighting field for the soldiers to practice various skills - mainly archery.
There were more than a hundred people standing scattered outside the arena, as if they were on guard.
There were even fewer people in the fighting arena, seemingly only a man and a woman.
Lu Zhi narrowed his eyes and looked carefully.
A young military general was teaching the princess how to shoot arrows.
It was probably the first time for Taidi's wife to touch a bow and arrow. She was a little excited, but also a little scared.
She closed her eyes, slightly pulled the bowstring, and then let go, and the arrow flew out crookedly.
The young general chuckled, hugged the princess into his arms, then took out a piece of silk and gently wiped the sweat off the tip of her nose.
What surprised Lu Zhi even more was that the Princess Consort did not reject this man's hug at all, and it seemed that she was used to it.
She even stretched out her two hands slowly, hesitated, and finally gently placed them on the man's lower back...
Lu Zhi quickly turned around.
How could such a dignified and elegant woman like the Princess Taidi be like this!
Yu Liang was stunned.
Who is that woman? Could she be Le, the woman bestowed by the emperor?
He suddenly felt relieved, but also felt an inexplicable displeasure.
Shao Xun soon saw Lu Zhi and Yu Liang and greeted them with a smile.
When Le turned around and saw Lu Zhi, her face turned pale.
Her body was trembling a little, as if someone had seen something extraordinary.
Shao Xun held her hand.
Le raised his head, his eyes a little red.
"I won't let you down," he said.
"Really?"
"real."
Le lowered his head.
After a long time, he took a deep breath and gradually calmed down.
"Lu Changshi was originally the strategist of King...Chengdu. He is talented and has many friends, but he is a little narrow-minded." Le said softly, "He is probably still connected with the old generals of Ye Prefecture, but he should not be underestimated. King Chengdu occasionally shows a little bit of a dandy attitude, and often scolds the generals when he is angry. Sometimes I help to turn things around and save him from punishment..."
Shao Xun was ecstatic.
Less than two months ago, Le was still holding her zither, looking as if she had no desire to live.
Now, his true nature is gradually showing and he smiles more often.
She is also particularly sensible and knows how to help her "husband".
Women from large families may have different personalities and preferences, but none of them are simple. As a result of being influenced by their surroundings, their political sense is very keen, especially those like Le Lanji who have "studied further" in Yecheng.
"Let's go and meet them." Shao Xun said, holding Le's hand without any hesitation.
Le Shi didn't break free.
She raised her head and tried to act dignified and graceful as possible, following Shao Xun closely.
"Mr. Lu, Yuan Gui." Shao Xun bowed to them one by one.
The two returned the gift.
"Princess..." Lu Zhi looked at Le, not knowing what to say.
Hearing the word "Princess" from her old friend's mouth, Le felt a surge of bitterness in her heart, which instantly made her want to cry.
She calmed herself down, bowed gracefully, and said, "I am already a wife of the Shao family, no longer a princess or a concubine of the crown prince."
His voice trembled slightly, but he finished speaking firmly.
Lu Zhi nodded, sighing.
Yecheng has suffered a disaster, and now it is occupied by Sima Teng.
The Taidi Mansion, which was once full of talented people and extremely prosperous, also fell into disarray amid the rain and wind.
Now all that's left are just some wandering ghosts.
"Madam Le, do you still remember generals Shi Chao, Lou Quan, Lou Bao, Hao Chang, and Wang Chan?" Lu Zhi asked.
Le nodded and said, "This is a former general of Ye Prefecture."
"They have all received Madam's favor." Lu Zhi sighed and said, "Now some of them are living in Guanzhong and are against the Grand Tutor. Some are hiding in Hebei, raising soldiers and still intend to oppose the Grand Tutor."
There was a hint of sadness on Le's face, but she really didn't care about these people or these things anymore.
She is a woman, what can she do?
Shao Xun looked at Lu Zhi silently.
Lan Ji said that he was not broad-minded enough, but he was a man who valued friendship and loyalty.
After Sima Ying and his two sons were sentenced to death, Le was imprisoned in the mansion. In the end, Lu Zhi was not afraid of taking risks and arranged the funeral for his former master.
Shao Xun had only met the King of Chengdu once, so he didn't know much about him. But judging from the fact that people in Hebei had rebelled one after another under his banner, the King of Chengdu didn't seem to be much worse. Perhaps this was due to his courtesy to the wise and humble in his early years. The people of the Sima family were just like that. Once they gained power, they would easily become arrogant, but before they gained power, they were very good at pretending.
Qian Xiu, Gong Shifan, Shi Chao, Lou Quan, Hao Chang and others, even when the overall situation had already been decided, still opposed Sima Yue, fought again and again after repeated defeats, and were always unwilling to serve him.
Shao Xun was deeply moved by this spirit of fighting against heaven and earth.
He instinctively wanted to do something, but considering his family background and origins, he sighed silently.
"The mountains are foggy. Mr. Lu and Yuan Gui, why don't you come with me into the dock to discuss in detail?" Shao Xun looked at the two of them and said.
He also glanced at Le, but unexpectedly, she was looking at him, so he smiled and held her hand tightly.
There are so many treasures in this woman that you can never dig them all out.
(End of this chapter)