Chapter 171: Risking Your Life Again
Chapter 171: Risking Your Life Again
According to ancient rituals, the emperor would be buried after seven days of mourning and in the seventh month; the princes would be buried after five days of mourning and in the fifth month.
When the emperor passes away, his funeral will not be held immediately. Instead, his body will be kept in a palace and wait for several months before he will be buried.
Therefore, Sima Yue did not need to devote much energy to the emperor's affairs. What bothered him more was the mess in Hebei.
Sima Teng, the King of Eastern Yan, had just been renamed the King of New Cai by the new emperor and was made the commander of the military forces of Sizhou and Jizhou, but this did not bring him good luck or change his fortunes. On the contrary, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
The attitude of the people of Hebei towards Sima Yue's people is subtle.
Some people are enthusiastic about fame, wealth and power and support it.
Some were less enthusiastic and neutral.
There were also people who opposed Sima Yue and provided the rebels with money, food, weapons and even soldiers.
Ji Sang's power, under the banner of Gongshifan, has grown rapidly and is almost approaching Yecheng.
This put Sima Yue under great pressure.
He had a premonition that Jizhou, such a big piece of fat meat, would soon be gone from him. At this time, he had to do something. Moreover, his own formation must not be disrupted, and internal strife must be avoided.
The main pressure for the internal strife came from court officials and the imperial guards.
At this time, his envoys frequently traveled between the residences of aristocratic families, officials, and generals of the imperial guards—of course, some also went south to Liang County...
The people who came were Pan Tao and Yu Liang. It was the tenth day of April, and they had the honor of visiting the second cavalry charge training.
Compared to the time ten days ago, the Silver Spear Army soldiers were much calmer this time. There were fewer panic and mistakes when adjusting their formation, and their speed was also faster.
Constantly find problems, solve them, and then through high-intensity training, let the officers and soldiers form conditioned reflexes. In the future, when they go to the battlefield, their chances of winning will be greatly increased.
The Yamen Army also participated in the training and their overall performance was slightly better than that of the Silver Spear Army. After all, their average military age was slightly longer and they had more veterans with combat experience.
After watching it, the two followed Shao Xun up the mountain to meet the queen.
After the death of the previous emperor, the Minister of Rites decided to give him the posthumous title of "Hui", that is, Emperor Xiaohui. Therefore, the new emperor issued an edict to honor Yang Xianrong as "Empress Hui" - she was the emperor's sister-in-law, and obviously could not be the empress dowager, which was one of the reasons why they were in a hurry to let Prince Qinghe ascend the throne.
Pan Tao first read the emperor's edict in front of everyone.
After Yang Xianrong thanked him, she stood up with a relaxed look on her face.
The emperor acknowledged her identity, ordered her to live in Guangcheng Palace, and gave her some utensils, palace maids, and guards, and sent her to serve in Guangcheng Palace.
To some extent, the emperor has confirmed the status of Guangcheng Palace as the imperial palace. If possible, further construction will be carried out, and there is no risk of stopping the construction, unless there are force majeure factors.
"The soldiers trained by the general are quite methodical and dignified, but I wonder how they will fare on the battlefield." Pan, Yu, and Shao left the main hall and sat in a pavilion on the top of the mountain. Pan Tao was the first to speak, saying, "If they can keep their guard up, they will pass the test."
Yes, the qualification requirements are really low. Facing a cavalry charge, if you can stand your ground and not collapse on the spot, you are qualified.
This is the reality today.
The level of productivity was low, and there were a lot of able-bodied men filling the gaps. Once they went into battle, they were naturally used by the cavalry to gain merit.
"In fact, many battalions of the Imperial Guard can do this." Pan Tao continued, "There are many new recruits in the Silver Spear Army, right? If they can train well for another year or so, they will definitely be able to make further progress."
Shao Xun bowed in thanks.
Pan Tao was reminding him not to be arrogant.
The Imperial Guards still have some old members, most of them are former veterans of the Luoyang Central Army. Their military quality exceeds that of the Silver Spear Army veterans and is similar to that of the Long Sword Army. It’s just that there are always people messing around above them, which causes them to be unable to display their true strength.
Shao Xun had led the imperial army to fight many times and coveted these veterans, but he could not afford to support them now, so he had to give up.
"The Silver Spear Army still needs to see blood." Pan Tao said again.
"The first one killed Xianbei in Chang'an, so he has seen blood." Shao Xun said, "The other ones have suppressed bandits in Xiong'er Mountain, so they are not unfamiliar with fighting."
"You are an expert in battle formations. You should know that suppressing bandits and fighting in formations are completely different things." Pan Tao said.
"Minister Pan is very eloquent." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Tell me, what does the Grand Tutor want me to do?"
"If I ask you to go to Hebei, will you go?"
"Is there a decree?"
"Do you want to go?"
"There are so many things to do, I can't leave for even a moment."
"Then you don't want to go?" Pan Tao smiled and said, "The Grand Tutor may have to go to the outer vassal state."
Shao Xun's heart moved and he asked, "Where are we going?"
"Of course it's Xuchang. Avoid Luoyang, which is a place of trouble." Pan Tao said.
"People's words are scary." Shao Xun pretended to sigh.
He couldn't understand why Sima Yue took this step. Now everything was over and he had to leave Luoyang.
Maybe he still had the plan to hide for a while and then come back, but things in the world change, how could everything go as he wished?
"Xuchang's location is crucial." Pan Tao added, "It is located to the east of Luoyang. After leaving the town, it can respond to the east, west, south, and north, and can directly control Yuzhou. It is not a bad choice."
If there was a choice, Sima Yue would definitely stay in Luoyang and not go to Xuchang. However, things have come to this point, there is no better way, and temporarily leaving Luoyang on the pretext of quelling the rebellion is the best option.
Moreover, if Sima Yue stayed in Luoyang, his control over Xuzhou would be weakened - he did not fully trust Pei Dun and Sima Rui.
By establishing a hegemony government in Xuchang, he could also remotely control the court through his political ally Wang Yan.
If this doesn't work, Sima Teng (Jizhou), Liu Kun (Bingzhou), Sima Mo (Guanzhong), Sima Lue (Jingzhou) and Yuzhou directly led by Sima Yue surrounded Luoyang from four directions. That should have some effect, right?
In short, Sima Yue made all the arrangements and then focused his energy on military affairs.
Yes, “President Yue” is going to be online again, personally managing the wars in Hebei and Qingzhou.
After Liu Borgen was killed, Wang Mi started a second rebellion, killing two prefects in a row. He not only wreaked havoc in Qingzhou, but also attacked Xuzhou.
Sima Lue of Qingzhou patted his butt and left. Sima Rui and Wang Dao of Xuzhou were unable to do anything about Wang Mi, and the two states were in turmoil.
In the end, it was Gou Xi, the governor and provincial governor of Yanzhou, who sent troops eastward and defeated Wang Mi in one fell swoop, allowing General Wang (Wang Mi proclaimed himself General Zhengdong), who was starting his second business, to escape alone. After gathering some remnants, he lay dormant again.
After Wang Mi was suppressed, Ji Sang popped up again.
As a last resort, Gou Xi, the fire-fighting captain, sent troops northward. After Sima Yue arrived, he marched into Hebei and suppressed the rebellion.
The third batch of rebels, Chen Min, Liu Borgen and Gong Shifan, all died, but they still rose and fell in succession and were unable to resist the encirclement and suppression army of the Jin court.
However, it can be seen from the details that the Jin court's suppression was a bit distracted, suppressing one side while raising another, and was exhausted from parrying. Moreover, many of the generals who originally suppressed the rebellion became traitors, and those who did not become traitors also became warlords, which further sounded the death knell for the Jin court.
"The Grand Master is really considering letting you go north." After going around in circles, the topic returned to the starting point, and Pan Tao said, "Go to Henei and Ji County first, and then go to Hebei or go north to Bingzhou. Liu Yuan is also attacking cities, and the imperial army has been defeated and retreating. Now only Jinyang is left. It is very critical."
"The population of Bingzhou is less than 20,000." Yu Liang interjected.
Shao Xun nodded silently.
This is Sima Teng’s fault.
Bingzhou was hit by severe drought and locust plague one after another. Sima Teng did not resume production but instead continued to mess things up. Before leaving, he took away a large number of soldiers and civilians (beggars). Bingzhou was completely paralyzed.
Twenty thousand households only equals to one hundred thousand people. Even if we include the hidden households, how many people can there be?
On the contrary, there were originally 3 Huns in the area, as well as various other tribes such as the Jie people. It was heard that Liu Yuan was still luring tribes to move south on the grassland. The local Hu-Han population ratio was at least 1:4, and may have reached 1:.
Liu Kun could only barely protect Jinyang and was unable to expand outward.
"Minister Pan, how is the new emperor these days?" Shao Xun asked.
"On the second day of his accession to the throne, the emperor began to pay attention to the affairs of state." Pan Tao said this with a look of bewilderment, surprise, and sneer: "All the ministers said that since Emperor Wu, we have finally welcomed a holy ruler. Therefore, the public was excited and the momentum was growing."
A puppet supported by Sima Yue, who had just ascended the throne, couldn't wait to rule the country himself. Was he so impatient? Or was he sure that the previous emperor had just passed away and was sure that he would be fine?
But he did achieve his goal.
He first paid attention to state affairs and expressed his desire to rule the country himself. At the same time, he attracted loyal ministers to gather around him to discuss state affairs. Even though his opinions were not very brilliant, they were definitely on the standard level, so they were recognized by his ministers and everyone was very excited - compared with Emperor Hui, the current emperor could not be much worse.
"The new emperor is not so easy to manipulate. Sooner or later, he will come into conflict with the Grand Tutor." Shao Xun quietly put forward some conclusions and observed the reactions of the two.
Yu Liang didn't quite believe it, but Pan Tao believed it 70%.
"Minister Pan, has the Grand Tutor invited you to join the shogunate?" Shao Xun asked again.
"Maybe that's the intention." Pan Tao said, "There's no position available yet, maybe it will be given to Sima in the future. Why do you ask this, young master?"
"Does the Minister really want to be the shogunate's Sima?"
"I haven't made up my mind yet." Pan Tao told the truth.
Shao Xun nodded.
As a member of the group that stayed behind in Luoyang, Pan Tao never formally joined Sima Yue's court, and he always only served as a court official.
Sima Yue probably still wanted to use Pan Tao, but there was really no position available for the time being. He would have to wait until the internal personnel were adjusted and a senior position of Sima or Changshi was available before Pan Tao would agree.
However, even if Pan Tao really went to the Taifu's office, it would not be a big deal.
A smart person never leaves only one way for himself.
"It seems that we have to go to war." Shao Xun sighed, "Since the Grand Master has set the conditions, we have to give him face at this time. However, can you help me delay it for a month or two and ask for more money, food and equipment? The Silver Spear Army has frequent training, and the stockpiled equipment is consumed quickly."
"We can still delay it now." Pan Tao thought for a moment and said, "If Yecheng or Taiyuan is in a hurry, we really can't delay it."
"If I don't go to Taiyuan, I won't be able to make any progress. On the contrary, I will suffer heavy casualties." Shao Xun shook his head and asked, "Can I see the emperor?"
"Try your best." Pan Tao replied.
Shao Xun quickly expressed his thanks.
As a member of the disbanded "Luoyang Left-behind Group", Pan Tao prefers him, but he also has his own interests to consider and it is impossible for him to completely favor him. Being able to help within his ability is already very kind.
Yu Liang didn't say anything from beginning to end.
In this situation, a small character like him really had no room to interrupt and could only learn and experience silently.
This rare experience is good for him. How much he can learn depends on his understanding.
(End of this chapter)