Chapter 238 System

Chapter 238 System

Chapter 238 System (Part )

After Yu Min left, Shao Xun thought about it carefully.

I'm afraid the principality cannot fully employ its subordinate officials, for the simple reason that it cannot afford to pay so much money. Alas.

When Sima Yan established this system, the various nobles had many fiefs and could afford to support such a team.

However, Shao Xun's fief of Luyang County only had 1,800 households, and he could not afford to support so many officials, so he could only pick the important ones.

On the 20th, he entered the city with his personal guards and two groups of silver spear soldiers, causing the imperial guards on duty in the city to be astonished.

They wanted to step forward and reprimand him, but Shao Xun glared at them and they all retreated in embarrassment.

Shao Xun went directly to visit Cao Fu at his residence.

Uncle Cao was lying at home, feeling relaxed and at ease. As soon as he saw Shao Xun, he smiled and said, "You, you made such a big noise as soon as you came back. You really make me worry."

"The more battles I fight, the more I fear death." Shao Xun said honestly, "I'm afraid someone in the capital is going to murder me."

"If the emperor summons you into the palace, what will you do?" Cao Fu asked.

"If this is the case, I would have gone before, but now I am a little hesitant." Shao Xun smiled and said, "At worst, I can just pretend to be sick."

Pretending to be sick was the privilege of scholars, especially when they did not want to take up official duties.

Sometimes they not only pretend to be sick, but also pretend to be crazy, disabled, and everything else.

"Do you feel like you are walking on thin ice when you get to this point?"

"Have."

"That's right." Cao Fu laughed and said, "Spend some time with Xiao Hong, and all your troubles will go away."

Today, Xiaohong was sitting next to Cao Fu. She giggled when she heard what he said and glanced at Shao Xun with charming eyes, as if she was both angry and resentful.

Shao Xun no longer looks down on Xiaohong.

Isn’t Song Yi from Wang Dun’s family much more fragrant than Xiao Hong?

"Tell me, why did you come to see me today?" Cao Fu pinched Xiaohong's buttocks and said.

Xiaohong left with a look of anger, allowing the two to talk in private.

"I specially ask Lord Cao to accept the position of Luyang State Tutor." Shao Xun stood up, bowed, and said earnestly.

After hearing this, Cao Fu felt a little emotional and seemed a little moved.

After a long while, he sighed and said, "It's nothing for me, but do you know that this will offend the Master?"

"know."

"Since you know this, I can't refuse. I'm afraid you will look down on me." Cao Fu smiled and said, "I just built a fort in Gaoshi Baigu, planning to spend my remaining years there. I didn't expect to end up in Luyang in the blink of an eye."

"The government office is located in Liang County." Shao Xun explained: "From now on, all military and political orders will be issued by the government office."

Cao Fu nodded.

This is the established system, which is fundamentally different from a makeshift team.

All government orders for the forts, manors, private troops and even the county of Luyang under Shao Xun's jurisdiction were issued by the government.

The main responsibility of the state tutor is to guide the king.

Shao Xun was sensible and didn't need any guidance from him. All he had to do was to sell his reputation and help Shao Xun smooth out the relationship in the court, and at the same time introduce capable people to work for Shao Xun.

His appointment as the Tutor of Luyang was more of a political statement, that is, who did he and the obvious and potential forces behind him support?

"Is the Prime Minister Cui Gong?" Cao Fu asked again.

"That's right." Shao Xun answered without any hesitation.

The prime minister governs the people, and all civil affairs except military affairs are under his jurisdiction.

Originally, this position should have been given to Lu Zhi, but Lu Zhi is now the prefect of Xiangcheng. If he were to be transferred to become the prime minister, he would have to manage another prefect of Xiangcheng, which would be rather troublesome.

The imperial court is not yours. It is not easy to give you a governor of Dunqiu. Don't cause trouble to the masters of the Shangshutai. If you make the emperor and the Taifu unhappy, Xiangcheng will be gone.

"Okay, okay. It's not easy to see you get to where you are today." Cao Fu said, "After the government is fully staffed, you will have completely established your foothold. Luoyang is quiet, so you really shouldn't come here too often. Once the Taifu gets angry, I don't know what he will do. After the New Year, I will move my family to Liang County, and then I will rely on you for support."

"Mr. Cao is joking."

Then the two talked about Cao's fortress.

The name of the valley is Baigu, located in Goushi County. It is adjacent to Jingshan Mountain in the north and Xiushui River in the south. There are gullies and cliffs everywhere. Because there are many pines and cypresses around it, it is also called "Baigu Valley".

In fact, it is a dock built using the local natural valley. It is high on all sides and low in the middle, with water and land docks connecting to the outside.

Dai Yanzhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty mentioned in his Records of the Western Expedition: "The fort is located in the south of Sichuan. It is called the fort because of its height. It is more than ten feet high. When King Liu Wu entered Chang'an from the west, the navy protected it... There is no place to turn the carriage in the valley."

In the 416th year of Yixi in the Jin Dynasty (), Liu Yu marched westward to Guanzhong and defeated Zhao Xuan of the Later Qin at Baiguwu. He also built three hook-locked forts in the fort, forming a tripod.

The fort was still under construction, but members of the Cao clan and more than a thousand servants and slaves had already moved there, farming in the valley, storing food and fodder, and grazing cattle and sheep.

Cao's followers are also moving here one after another, and eventually there will be probably more than 2,000 families settling here.

Although Wang Mi's rebellion was quickly put down, its impact was far-reaching.

In addition, Cao Fu mentioned that the Mi family chose a flat land in Songshan Mountain to build a fort and recruited hundreds of refugees to farm and garrison, which was also influenced by Wang Mi's rebellion.

After hearing this, Shao Xun thought to himself that when the Huns invade Luoyang next year, he wondered how many people would look for land to build a base around Luoyang.

Li Ju from Xingyang had held on for many years like a nail house owner.

Yiyang Yiquanwu seemed to still exist during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, until it could no longer hold on, so it moved south with more than 50,000 people from other surrounding villages.

Shao Xun was very happy to see the Daxing Fortress around Luoyang, because it meant that the people were organized and armed.

If there is a long-term stalemate with the Huns in Luoyang in the future, the surrounding forts will become important fulcrums.

The Xiongnu had many cavalrymen, and it was easy for them to intercept the grain route. But if there were forts, and the distance between them was not far, then they could use chariots to cover and transport grain, equipment, and personnel between the various strongholds.

People are not made of iron. Even if there are chariot formations, the soldiers will still be nervous and tired when facing a large group of cavalry. Over time, they may be taken advantage of by the enemy.

At this time, it would be great if you had a dock for you to rest, relieve mental tension, relieve physical fatigue, replenish arrows, and accommodate the wounded.

After resting, the vehicle formation can be on the road with full health and go to the next stronghold.

In history, when Liu Yu was conquering Southern Yan, he set out from Xuzhou and built a city every thirty miles to store grain and station troops.

These temporary earthen cities were actually military stations, allowing the infantry to move forward and transport supplies and food to the main force under the harassment and surveillance of the cavalry.

Its function is similar to that of a dock.

The forts built by the dignitaries of Luoyang at this time can be used in the future.

After leaving Cao's mansion, Shao Xun visited Mi Huang and others, and then led his army south and went home!
******
Heading south from Luoyang, the road ahead is lined with lush green wheat seedlings, covered by the remaining snow.

Of course, there are also many empty fields where wheat is not planted.

The efficiency of the government was just so-so. Even though Wang Yan attached great importance to the matter and often urged and checked it at any time, there were still many people among the government and the people who did not take it seriously.

There was nothing that could be done about it. On the 24th, the army arrived in Liang County, and the Silver Spear Army was given leave in batches to go home for the New Year.

Shao Xun went to Tangliyuan stealthily.

Pei Shiliu was organizing people to clean the ditch outside the yard. When he saw Shao Xun, he hurried forward and saluted.

"Mr. Pei, you are busy. I'll just take a look around." Shao Xun looked up at the sky, as if admiring the scenery.

Pei Shiliu understood and continued to direct the farmhands to work.

As Shao Xun was strolling around, he accidentally entered the gate of Tangliyuan.

"Ah!" A soft body bumped into him, and he quickly reached out to embrace it. When he looked closely, it was Princess Lu of Fanyang.

Tang Jian and others were standing outside the door. When they heard the noise, they subconsciously drew their swords and rushed over. When they saw Shao Xun holding a woman, they retreated.

Lu was petite and she struggled to get free but failed. Just as she was about to frown, she saw Concubine Pei coming towards her.

She didn't know where she got the strength from, and hurriedly jumped to the side, looked at Shao Xun, then looked at Concubine Pei, and said: "Sister-in-law, please listen to my explanation, I don't mean to compete with you for Marquis of Luyang... uh, no... it's... oops!"

Lu's incoherent words made Shao Xun and Concubine Pei blush.

The two looked at each other.

Shao Xun was fine, but Concubine Pei's face was as red as blood. Fortunately, the servants were far away and couldn't hear what Lu said, otherwise she didn't know if she still had the courage to stand here.

Shao Xun sighed. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it. The old saying is so true. The affair has been exposed!

The worst thing is that, for several years, I only touched her little hand and didn’t get any benefit from it, but so many people already knew about it.

He was so angry that he grabbed Lu and dragged her into the main hall.

Concubine Pei followed and waved her hand to let all the servants disperse.

Some people thought to themselves that it turned out that Marquis Luyang often came to the Grand Tutor's Mansion because he had taken a fancy to Princess Fanyang.

It was unknown when Concubine Lu had hooked up with Marquis Luyang. It was a pity that King Fanyang was so wise in his lifetime, but he had no offspring after his death, and was about to be wiped out by Marquis Luyang.

In the main hall, Mrs. Lu was worried and kept her head down without saying a word.

Shao Xun glared at her.

With his current status and power, he doesn't even take a princess without a husband or children seriously.

To put it bluntly, given Lu's situation, even if she was killed, few people would seek justice for her.

Of course, Shao Xun would not do that.

Lu and Lu Zhi are somewhat related, both are from the Fanyang Lu family. Others can kill him, but he can't.

Concubine Pei first rolled her eyes at Shao Xun, signaling him to move away with her eyes, then walked over and hugged Lu's petite body in her arms. Without much preparation, her eyes turned red, and then she leaned over to Lu's ear and whispered something.

Shao Xun walked out of the main hall in a panic, then walked out of the main door in a dejected manner. Then he sat on a big rock next to Pei Shiliu, pulled out a grass stem, and chewed it in a very ungraceful manner.

"My Lord..." Pei Shiliu looked at him strangely.

"How many people have come here to build the villa this year?" Shao Xun asked.

"The first to come were the Prime Minister Wang Yan's family. That's the manor on the other side of the lake in the northeast." Pei Shiliu replied, "Secretary Wang Dun often sent people to inquire about it, and it was obviously built by the two families. But for some reason, Princess Xiangcheng built a separate manor on this side of the lake, supervised by her family, and it is almost finished."

Like dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons, princesses had fiefs, estates and even subordinate officials, mainly tutors, lieutenants, chancellors, servants and so on. The number of such officials varied depending on the amount of their estates.

Princess Xiangcheng Sima Xiuwei's fief was in Wuyang County, Xiangcheng Prefecture, with a total of 5,000 households.

Sometimes Shao Xun felt that Wang Dun was unreasonable.

How can you be so self-righteous as a gigolo? You actually abandoned the rich woman halfway and gave up your job. Are you crazy? Or are you often bullied in your daily life, so your mentality has been twisted and you are extremely dissatisfied with the princess?

Well, it's not impossible.

The princess's maid dared to be disrespectful to Wang Dun, so one can imagine what the princess's attitude was.

"There seem to be quite a few people over there?" Shao Xun asked, pointing at the large princess manor.

"Princess Xiangcheng's family soldiers." Pei Shiliu said, "I heard that the princess gave her maids to the soldiers as wives, and they were grateful and served the princess. She also transferred a group of farmhands from Wuyang County, totaling more than a thousand households. They reclaimed wasteland in the first half of the year and planted winter wheat in the second half. I don't know how much harvest we can get next year."

"Princess Xiangcheng is really decisive to plant wheat on the newly reclaimed land," Shao Xun praised.

"I heard that the person in charge of this matter is Princess Fu Cheng Yuantan, who is from Luoyang." Pei Shiliu said.

When Shao Xun heard this, he felt that the name sounded familiar.

When Shi Le attacked Guangping, the prefect abandoned his post and fled.

Shao Xun exchanged letters with Wang Yan and learned that many people were unwilling to go to Hebei, and the court intended to select Cheng Yuantan as the prefect of Guangping.

Old Wall Lamp even recommended this man to Shao Xun, saying that although he was over 60 years old, he was quite talented and was more than capable of managing the place.

At that time, Shao Xun thought that the old wall lamp had a poor taste in people and did not respond, but now he is interested again.

His mansion was indeed deserted, empty and completely deserted.

If he really has talent, why not use him? With the army at hand, there is nothing to be afraid of!
"Who else is coming?" Shao Xun continued to ask.

"Uncle Wang Yan, King of Wu Sima Yan, Grand Tutor Pan Tao, and Jingzhou Military Governor Cui Kuang..."

"Wait a minute." Shao Xun interrupted Pei Shiliu and asked, "Why did Cui Kuang, a subordinate of the King of Gaomi, come to Guangchengze?"

"I don't know about that."

Shao Xun thought to himself that this Cui Kuang had once served as a military officer under Sima Ying, and must be from either Boling or Qinghe. He did not know whether he was called here by Lu Zhi or Cui Gong.

Damn it, if this continues, the Luyang County Mansion will become the Chengdu Palace 2.0.

Lu Zhi is good in every way except for one thing: he likes to exclude others and doesn't have much tolerance for others.

"Forget it. When hiring people, you have to use their strengths." Shao Xun sighed secretly. If someone can help him recruit talents, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages at this stage. Let's talk about it later.

Pei Shiliu then continued his introduction.

You wouldn't know until you hear it. It's really shocking to find out that more than 20 officials and ministers came to Guangchengze to build a villa.

Most people just build a small yard or a small villa, which is a real refuge.

But there are also those who are wealthy and powerful enough to directly build manors.

Aren't you afraid that I will take away all your property and troops? Shao Xun looked at the gradually developing "villa manor area" and secretly thought that he would come to collect protection fees from each family in the future and see if they would pay.

While he was thinking, a servant came out from Tangli Courtyard and called Pei Shiliu in.

Pei Shiliu apologized and left. After a moment, he came back and whispered, "The princess is waiting for you. She has something important to discuss with you."

After saying that, he added, "Mr. Pei is here too."

Shit! Pei Kang is here too? Why didn't I notice him just now? Shao Xun was shocked.

After straightening his clothes, he walked inside.

(End of this chapter)