Chapter 186 Winning over
Chapter 186 Winning over
On the tenth day of August, Shao Xun was ordered to go south to search for homeless children and teenagers along the way. He arrived in Handan on the fifteenth day of August.
Liu Yu's face didn't look very good.
Feng Song, the governor of Weijun, had an even gloomier face. Half of the soldiers he had recruited with great difficulty were killed by Shi Chao in Handan city.
"Commander Liu."
"General Shao."
After the group finished greeting each other, Shao Xun asked, "Has Ji Sang been captured yet?"
"We saw him in Chiping ten days ago. He has no more than a thousand men under his command. Forced by General Gou, he fled to the grass and swamps. He will not live for many days." Liu Yu replied.
"In this case, are we going to return? When will the rewards be distributed?" Shao Xun said. After that, he pointed to the thousands of soldiers of the Silver Spear Army and the Yamen Army standing in armor in the distance and said, "They are all waiting to take their rewards home."
"General Shao, this is your fault." Wang jumped out and said, "I heard that you have sent troops to various places to collect food and goods. You have made a lot of money now. What else do you want? Can't you share the worries of the Grand Tutor?"
Shao Xun seemed not to hear his noise, and only asked: "Has the Grand Tutor issued the military order?"
"No." Liu Yu said, "It's just a few days. There will definitely be rewards. You have made great contributions. You may be granted a title and gold and silk."
According to convention, when a title is conferred, in addition to the fief, there will also be silk rewards, which are usually equal to the amount of the fief.
Xun Xu of the Ming Dynasty had suggested abolishing titles below the rank of duke and marquis, and the emperor agreed to it. Although it was not completely abolished and some people were occasionally granted the titles of county marquis or pavilion marquis, throughout the Western Jin Dynasty, there were only five cases of county marquis and twenty-five cases of pavilion marquis, which were far less than the number of dukes and marquises.
From then on, the title system was mainly composed of king (county level) and duke (county level), with one or two oddities appearing occasionally.
For example, Liu Yu heard the news that Gou Xi would be granted the title of Marquis of a county.
The county was originally granted to princes, but it was given to dukes and marquises. This is quite strange.
But don’t worry, in the Ming Dynasty, there was a county level exclusive to dukes and marquises, which was granted to princes, namely “county kings”, which was another strange thing.
But these two are not the norm. Generally speaking, it is normal to confer titles of king in a county (sometimes a duke may appear at the county level, mostly to members of the royal family who are granted titles of decreasing nobility) and duke and marquis in a county, and it is extremely rare for a marquis to appear.
"Oh? What title can you be awarded?" Shao Xun asked with interest.
"I heard that he was a county marquis." Liu Yu said with a complicated expression.
Although it is not uncommon to see county marquises in their twenties, most of them are from aristocratic families, and there are very few who come from poor families or common people.
Ten years ago, Li Ju, who participated in quelling the Wannian Rebellion in Qi, was only granted the title of Marquis of Dongmingting and a fief of 700 households after his meritorious service.
Sima Lun usurped the throne and even conferred titles on his own slaves. As a result, titles were no longer so mysterious. Shao Xun was lucky to have come at the right time.
This man!
"Is it possible for this marquis to appoint a prime minister?" Shao Xun asked again.
"Yes." Liu Yu sighed and said.
Shao Xun was overjoyed.
Damn it, finally there are a few official positions to accommodate talented people. This should be able to attract talented people to join us, right?
"Taifu will reward those who have made contributions. You are truly a trustworthy person." Shao Xun praised.
Liu Yu felt very uncomfortable, as if he had eaten a fly.
I'm really done for this time. I didn't succeed in defeating Shao Xun, and in my impatience, I was fooled by Shi Chao. I wonder how the Grand Tutor will take this.
Shao Xun didn't bother to care what he thought.
Between an official position and a title, Sima Yue chose the latter, which was in line with his stingy character.
It doesn't matter. You don't want to give a name, but the world is like this, there are rebels everywhere. No matter how stingy you are when hiring people, you can't avoid making some concessions in the end.
This is the trend, and no one can stop it.
Thinking of this, Shao Xun immediately called Tang Jian and asked him to take a letter back to Beijing.
******
Inside the Taiji Hall in Luoyang, the court meeting had just ended.
Emperor Sima Chi retained ministers including Wang Yan, Xun Fan, and Gao Guang for a small-scale interrogation.
Everyone first talked about some financial issues, and then the topic turned to the suppression of rebellion in Hebei.
Ji Sang had been captured by Gou Xi a few days ago and executed directly. The second round of rebellion in Hebei was considered to have been put down, and now it was time to reward the meritorious service.
"Gou Xi is the most meritorious, and he is granted the title of Marquis of Dongping County, with a fief of 3,000 households and 3,000 pieces of silk. I have no objection. Such a loyal minister deserves a generous reward." Sima Chi said, "He is also granted 50 pieces of gold and silver and 10 female musicians as a reward for his merit."
The Zhongshu Sheren immediately drafted the imperial edict.
Gou Xi was the governor of Yanzhou, and Dongping County was under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou. It was right at his doorstep, which was very good.
Wang Yan had no objection, in fact he was a little distracted at the moment.
Yesterday, Cao Fu actually came to visit and mentioned Shao Xun's performance in quelling the rebellion in Hebei, which surprised Wang Yan a little.
He did know that the group of people who stayed behind in Luoyang under the Sikong Shogunate were closely related, with Cao Fu as the main figure.
But he didn't expect that Minister Cao, who was over 70 years old, would be willing to speak for Shao Xun. This made him start to re-evaluate the relationship between these people.
Of course, things were not as complicated as he thought.
He is simply a living fossil who has experienced the Three Kingdoms era. After being neglected, he just shows a little kindness to the young people who are still willing to respect him.
The relationships behind Cao Fu were extremely complicated, and Wang Yan had to respect him as a senior. Now that the two of them belonged to the same camp (Sima Yue was the former and current military advisor), Wang Yan did not refuse and agreed.
What's more, he now also wants to make a deal with Shao Xun.
For Wang Yan, he would rather make a deal with this man than with Gou Xi, who was a governor of another state, because the latter was not a general of the imperial guards and could hardly influence the central government of Luoyang.
Gou Xi was granted the title of Marquis of a county by the Grand Tutor, but the county was not specified. Now that it was agreed that Gou Xi would be granted the title of Dongping County, it was not considered unfair to him.
Shao Xun was granted the title of county marquis, and the Grand Tutor agreed reluctantly. The next step was to discuss the specific fiefdom.
"Shao Xun ranks second in terms of merit, and can be granted the title of county marquis with a fief of 1,400 households, which is second only to state marquis. He will also be awarded 1,400 pieces of silk." After Gao Guang finished speaking, he looked at the emperor.
Sima Chi understood his look and said, "Give me thirty pieces of gold and silver and four female musicians. I have read Hu Wuqing's report of victory. It is brilliant and inspiring. Shao Qing is loyal to the country and I love him. You should quickly choose a good fiefdom."
Wang Yan remained calm and said nothing.
As Sima Yue's representative, if he doesn't stop it, then no one will be able to stop it.
Of course, he had no reason to stop it.
"Your Majesty," Xun Fan said, "Perhaps you can choose a county in Hebei to enfeoff him."
Sima Chi looked uneasy, thinking that Xun Taijian was still holding on to the old hatred. This was not good, Shao Xun was someone I favored, and I had to find a way to resolve the hatred between them.
He has been very active recently, not only trying to win over Shao Xun, but also secretly contacting several other people, such as the brothers Miao Bo and Miao Yin, generals of the imperial guards.
These two people were the grandsons of Sima Fu, King of Anping, and the brothers of Miao, the former concubine of Sima Yong, King of Hejian.
Both father and son worked for the King of East China Sea and were actually family retainers.
But retainers can also betray their lords. Judging from what has happened so far, there is every chance that they will do so.
Sima Chi was delighted about this.
Miao Bo and Miao Yin were family servants, and Shao Xun was a family general. When they betrayed Sima Yue one by one, he wanted to see the expression of the Grand Tutor.
Some say that there are huge risks involved, which may make the Grand Tutor furious, but so what?
The struggle for power does not allow for any retreat.
Sima Chi loves power more than anything else. He must do this and can take huge risks and sacrifice everything for it.
"Not right." Gao Guang observed the emperor's expression and saw that he was unhappy, so he said, "Gou Xi was able to be granted the title of Yanzhou Dongping, and Shao Xun killed two generals and captured and killed ten thousand people in the battle of Feixiang. Why is he treated so harshly?"
Xun Fan ignored him and said, "It's up to your majesty to decide."
Sima Chi looked at Gao Guang expressionlessly.
Gao Guang understood and said, "During the Cao Wei period, Handan King Cao Wen was renamed Luyang King, with a fief of 4,400 households. In the Ming Dynasty, the Wei royal family was demoted to Luyang County Duke, with a fief of 1,800 households. Now that the country has been abolished and turned into a county, it is time to re-ennoble it."
After the abolition of Luyang State, it became Luyang County and was under the jurisdiction of Nanyang State.
From a geographical point of view, it is located in the south of Liang County, very close to the Yamen Army’s garrison, and can be given to Shao Xun. Henan County is an important place in the capital, and it is not suitable for enfeoffment. The only way is to find a way to enfeoff in Xiangcheng, Nanyang and other places around Liang County.
"Okay." Sima Chi nodded in agreement.
The Zhongshu Sheren immediately began to draft the edict.
"Your Majesty." Gao Guang paused and said, "Shao Xun invites the former Zhongshujian Lu Zhi to be the Prime Minister of Luyang."
"A waste of talent." Sima Chi sighed and said, "Okay."
After saying that, he glanced at Wang Yan.
Wang Yan was helpless and said, "It's up to your majesty to decide."
He actually knew about this. When Lu Zhi became the Prime Minister of Luyang, he would definitely refuse the post of the chief priest of the shogunate offered by Sikong. Shao and Lu did this, which was really not giving face to the Taifu.
But there is no problem on the surface.
Shao Xun is the Taifu's "favorite general", and Lu Zhi is a talent favored by the Taifu. They are both "own people", so how do you say that?
Never mind, they are all trivial matters, not worth getting in the way of.
He now wants to meet Shao Xun a little.
There was confidential news from the Taifu's office that the King of Donghai was in poor health. This made Wang Yan a little worried, and he had to use his unique skills of preparing for a rainy day again and make arrangements in advance.
He knows his strengths and weaknesses.
As far as the military aspect is concerned, he absolutely cannot play it and must have a collaborator.
There cannot be only one collaborator, as that will greatly weaken your voice.
It would be best if several people were in charge of the imperial guards, and no one was willing to submit to anyone else. In the end, Wang Yan would make the final decision, so that the interests could be maximized.
Shao Xun was the first person he had his eyes on, and he needed to further investigate the others.
As for whether the emperor would come to compete for the imperial guards, he thought it was possible. This required vigilance. Now it seemed that the emperor was also very interested in Shao Xun, which made Wang Yan feel a little bit of crisis.
A young man from a military family is now being fought over by big shots. He is really lucky.
"When will the Grand Tutor order the troops to withdraw?" Sima Chi was in a good mood after the matter of conferring the title was finalized, so he asked.
"Maybe in September." Xun Fan, Gao Guang and others were unable to answer this question, so it was up to Wang Yan to answer it.
"After returning from the expedition, order Shao Qing to come to the palace for an audience." Sima Chi said happily.
"According to the order."
Wang Yan had a calm expression and said nothing.
The emperor made no secret of this. He recently appointed Liu Tun as Shangshu Zuo Pushe, filling the vacancy left by himself as Sikong. It is said that he also intends to intervene in the Shangshu system and push Gao Guang to the position of Shangshu Ling.
From this, Wang Yan could also conclude that the emperor must be trying to win over the generals of the imperial guards, and Shao Xun was just one of them.
Being so anxious, how could the Grand Tutor stay still in Xuchang?
You went out to seek some peace and quiet, but do you know what the consequences would be? I still haven't learned enough from the one year and seven months I spent fleeing east to Xuzhou.
(End of this chapter)