Chapter 233: The Master is Blessed

Chapter 233: The Master is Blessed

Chapter 233: The Master is Blessed
Xingyang has been very "prosperous" recently.

First, the relocation of the Taifu Shogunate brought in dozens of scholars who held shogunate posts in the local area.

They had families, servants, and a small number of followers and guests.

In addition to the shogunate's staff, there were also a large number of low-level officials and their lackeys who were under their command and were conscripted to perform duties in turns.

Just for this item, there are about six or seven thousand people.

This is not the end. Many merchants followed the shogunate to move around to do business, and there were quite a few of them.

There are also craftsmen and musicians...

It can be said that wherever the shogunate moved, the place would be very prosperous - if they gave money every time they consumed.

Consumption is only one means to promote economic prosperity. In addition, there is investment.

In the past six months, there were three main types of investment projects led by the shogunate.

One is to repair the post road.

The second was to maintain the ponds and irrigation canal networks in the three counties of Xingyang, Chenliu and Henan.

The third is to dredge and widen the river to facilitate water transport.

To be fair, the shogunate did make some changes, but the strange thing is that most of these changes were concentrated in the past few months. There were some changes before, but they were very few.

Anyone with a bit of common sense knows the reason: the Grand Tutor wants to improve his image so people won't curse him.

The last thing that brought "prosperity" to Xingyang was the large-scale migration of refugees from Hebei to the south.

This is both good and bad.

The good thing is that there is too much land and not enough people. The refugees who migrated south can cultivate a large amount of abandoned land and produce more food.

The bad side is the conflict between natives and Hakkas and the deterioration of public security.

This situation has already shown signs in Jingzhou and Yuzhou.

In the areas of Nanyang and Xiangyang in the north of Jingzhou, there are a large number of refugees from Guanzhong, and the number of refugees continues to flow in every year - entering Nanyang from the direction of Wuguan.

The refugees gathered in docks, with some having hundreds of families, and some having thousands. And because they were in a foreign land, they stuck together very closely. When one side was in trouble, all sides would come to help. The local natives were quite hostile to them, and there were many conflicts - the court called it the dispute between "residents" and "refugees".

The area around Yuzhou was mainly affected by the follow-up effects of Wang Mi's rebellion.

At the peak of his power, Wang Mi had more than 100,000 soldiers, but only 70,000 of them finally reached Luoyang. Of the remaining 70,000 or 80,000, some were wiped out by the government troops, while others scattered around, gathered together to protect themselves, cut down trees to build camps, and cultivated fields.

Obviously, the fields they cultivated nominally belonged to aristocratic families and commanders of fortresses. They even occupied a large amount of land from self-employed farmers and forced them to join their group, turning them into settled "refugees."

This is also a dispute between "residents" and "refugees", which is not uncommon in the counties of Yuzhou and there are many conflicts.

In short, Xingyang is now in a mess, with a lot of people, and officials and civilians are troubled by it.

In various corners, forts were erected one after another. The most famous one was the fort built by uncle and nephew Li Ju and Guo Song. At the beginning, there were only a few hundred families from Pingyang, but after absorbing refugees from Hebei, the number gradually increased to more than a thousand.

On this day, Sima Yue summoned Li Ju to the shogunate and comforted him many times.

Li Ju was very excited.

The powerful Taifu praised him highly. It was a blessing from heaven. It was the first time in more than ten years that such a high-ranking official valued him so much.

Sima Yue was also very satisfied.

He now had no confidence in the state and county soldiers or even the imperial guards, thinking that their fighting ability was too poor. So he turned his attention to the beggars, fort commanders, refugee commanders, and aristocratic families, recruiting them from all sides, intending to recruit them for his own use.

The staff provided a list, and Li Ju was one of them.

After a conversation, he found that Li Ju was indeed loyal, and couldn't help but sigh: The Sima family has been in power for decades, and there are still loyal ministers after all.

He was so pleased that he gave Li Ju many rewards and even invited him to have dinner in his house.

There was constant laughter and chatter during the dinner, until a piece of good news arrived...

The chief clerk Guo Xiang had gone out to have fun and party, so another chief clerk, Bian Dun, was on duty today. He was not a fool and really did not want to offend the Grand Tutor when he was happy, but there was no other way. After all, the Grand Tutor had told him to report the news of the war in Hebei as soon as possible. He could only bite the bullet and go ahead.

As expected, the Grand Tutor's face suddenly changed after hearing the result of the Battle of Yemagang.

Li Ju was a little confused.

It was rumored that Shao Xun was the favorite general of the Grand Tutor, and whenever he was summoned, he would follow him. This time, Liu Han's seven generals attacked Hebei, Pei Yuzhou abandoned his army and fled, Wang's cavalry stationed in Dongyan and did not move, but Shao Xun went deep into Hebei, defeated the bandits, and recaptured the famous city in one fell swoop.

Isn't this a good thing?

Wouldn’t it add luster to the Taifu?

Why does the Master seem unhappy?
Fortunately, Sima Yue knew that there were guests at the banquet. He suppressed his turbulent emotions and forced a smile, saying, "Shao Tai Quanzhong is indeed capable and has lived up to my high expectations. He had already shown his prowess when he defeated Wang Sang and Liu Ling in Ji County. If he defeats Shi Le again this time, Hebei will have nothing to worry about. This is a good thing, a great thing!"

Bian Dun laughed to join in the fun.

Li Ju was fascinated: "Marquis Luyang did not wait for the arrival of reinforcements, but marched north and defeated the enemy several times. Such a heroic spirit is truly a real man. I wish I could meet him."

Bian Dun stood there, feeling very conflicted as to whether he should wink at Li Ju.

Sima Yue could hardly maintain the smile on his face, and at the same time he felt dizzy.

This has been an old problem of his, but it has become more serious in recent years, sometimes even affecting his judgment - it's as if his brain is "suffocating".

During this intermittent brain asphyxiation, the name Shao Xun almost became a symbol, which exacerbated his illness.

The Battle of Yemagang, haha, the Battle of Yemagang, why didn’t you lose?

"Taifu." Li Ju was still in high spirits, and continued, "The Marquis of Luyang won this battle decisively, which greatly boosted the morale of the army and civilians in Hebei. It was just like when General Gou Dao defeated Gong Shifan and Ji Sang, and was extremely brave. Taifu is lucky to have the Marquis of Luyang."

Bian Dun almost held his forehead and sighed.

Li Ju, since you don't understand the situation, can you just say less?

The two names Gou Xi and Shao Xun were mentioned at once. Do you know what this means?
These two were both "favorite generals" whom the Taifu once trusted very much and praised to everyone for their bravery and strategy, but later they fell out with each other.

Although Bian Dun didn't quite understand why the Grand Tutor always fell out with capable people, the falling out was a fact. You still praise him like this, you really want to die...

You're done.

As expected, Sima Yue felt more and more uncomfortable the more he listened, and even felt as if he was going dark. Looking back on the past, he did regret it, and he also thought about how to repair the relationship.

Just last month, he was thinking about whether he could reconcile with Gou Xi and get back together.

There were also some people in the shogunate who advised him so. After all, Gou Xi had a large number of soldiers and was a good fighter, which would be a great help in troubled times.

But when I think about it in the end, I always can't get over the hurdle in my heart.

In particular, Gou Xi once wrote a letter to question him why he did not keep his promise and why he suppressed his memorial to the generals and soldiers to ask for merit. His words were very fierce and his attitude was very disrespectful.

Sima Yue became angrier and angrier as he thought about it, so he completely gave up the idea of ​​reconciling with Gou Xi.

To be honest, Shao Xun was much more respectful than Gou Xi on the surface. He sent out troops every time he was summoned, and even brought his personal troops with him. Who wouldn't praise him when seeing this if they didn't know the inside story?

Master, you are so lucky...

If the Grand Tutor gets a talented official position, the world will be stable...

Marquis Luyang can protect the family of the Grand Tutor for two generations...

The Taibai star spirit descended to the world and was impressed by the Taifu. There were yellow clouds and purple air above the Taifu's head...

And so on.

After hearing what these people said, Sima Yue sometimes couldn't help but waver, wondering whether he should reconcile with Shao Xun?

But it was still the same situation as Gou Xi, he couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.

Moreover, Shao Xun, like Gou Xi, did not take the initiative to humble himself and admit his guilt, and did not give him any way out.

How can I forgive you if you act like this?
Sima Yue actually knew that this was called "narrow-mindedness" and was not a quality that a leader should have.

But I am narrow-minded, what can you do about it?

In the past year, he has heard all kinds of rumors about his wife and Shao Xun.

He didn't believe it before, thinking it was just hearsay. But after hearing it so many times, sometimes he couldn't help but think about it, could it really be true?

The more he thought about it, the more jealous and resentful he became, and it was even more impossible for him to forgive Shao Xun.

"Bang!" Sima Yue slammed the table heavily.

"Master, this..." Li Ju was startled and looked up at Bian Dun.

Bian Dun shook his head at him, signaling him not to speak, and then said with a smile: "The Grand Master is drunk. If Shihui has anything to do, please leave immediately."

Li Ju stood up awkwardly, saluted, and then said goodbye.

When he left, he sighed in his heart: Henan is a place where I am unfamiliar with and where I have little information, but I don't know what I did wrong. Could it be that there are many conflicts between the Grand Tutor and Shao Xun?
After sighing, he strengthened his own thoughts: No one in this world can be relied upon, and only by accumulating strength and training troops can one gain a firm foothold and be loyal to the court.

After Li Ju left, Sima Yue slowly recovered.

After a long while, he asked, "Zhongren, do you think everyone in Luojing is loyal to Gu Yang and disobeys him?"

Bian Dun's heart skipped a beat and he said, "What is there to worry about, Grand Tutor? With Wang Situ in charge of the capital, the officials in the shogunate have never shirked their responsibilities or delayed their work. Everything is in perfect order. Who dares to disobey the orders of the Grand Tutor?"

"Wang Yifu..." Sima Yue snorted and said nothing.

Bian Dun observed the man's words and expressions and secretly thought that he might write a letter to Situ Wang.

"I should go back to Luoyang." Sima Yue stood up and said, "After the New Year, when the post roads, ponds, and ditches in Xingyang, Chenliu, and Henan are repaired, I will return to the capital."

"Yes." Bian Dun replied.

"What do you think about the situation in Hebei?" Sima Yue asked.

"I am just a chief clerk and dare not speak nonsense." Bian Dun replied.

"Just say it when I tell you to." Sima Yue said dissatisfiedly.

"I think we can call back the Marquis of Luyang."

"What happens after the return?"

"Give them the title and rank, but take away their real benefits."

"How to do it?"

"You can promote him to a higher rank, either a county duke or a county marquis, but you are not allowed to interfere in Hebei's affairs."

"Who will be handed over Hebei?"

"Ding Shao can do it." Bian Dun replied.

Ding Shao was previously the governor of Guangping and had worked in Hebei for many years. He once saved the life of Sima Mo, the King of Nanyang, who erected a monument for him.

During the Jisang Rebellion, he led his troops to hunt down the remaining soldiers and gained some merit.

After the war, he was commended for his merits and King Nanyang spoke for him, and he was promoted to the governor of Jizhou.

Such a person is actually much better than those like He Yu who flee at the first sign of the enemy. At least he dares to lead troops to fight and has some popularity in Hebei.

"Then Shao will be made the General of Ningbei, given the title of General of Jizhou, and be in charge of the military affairs of Jizhou, and stationed in Yecheng." Sima Yue said, "Governor - I will think about it again."

Bian Dun bowed his head and said nothing.

In fact, he knew that the Grand Tutor already had candidates for governor and provincial governor in mind, and he also knew what the Grand Tutor was thinking, so as soon as he proposed to appoint Ding Shao as the governor of Jizhou, the Grand Tutor agreed immediately.

After Ding Shao was transferred to be the governor, the post of governor would most likely be held by someone from Hebei, preferably someone with military strategy, good at fighting, and loyal to the Grand Tutor.

If we choose in this way, the candidate is obvious: Wang Bin, the left Sima of the shogunate.

Ding Shao had been in Hebei for many years, starting out as a prefect. He was highly regarded and was also capable of leading troops in battles.

Wang Bin was once a general in the army of Sima Ying, the King of Chengdu, and later joined the Imperial Tutor. During the Wang Mi Rebellion, he led 5,000 soldiers to aid Luoyang and participated in the final decisive battle.

The purpose of using these two people was very clear, and Bian Dun knew it well.

(End of this chapter)