Chapter 240 The Lazy Years
Chapter 240 Lazy New Year Festival
Because Pei Kang was in Tangli Courtyard, Shao Xun did not dare to act unruly. After finishing his business, he left in a bad mood.
Princess Lu of Fanyang rode in a carriage and traveled with him for a while.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Shao Xun always felt that this woman was secretly watching him.
When passing by the gate of Liuhuayuan, he asked his personal soldiers to help carry some household items inside.
There were also family soldiers guarding Liuhua Courtyard. When they saw the famous Marquis Luyang arrive, they all knelt on the ground.
Some of them were even trembling, as if they were afraid of something.
"What are you afraid of?" Shao Xun asked, tapping one of them on the back with a whip.
“My lord…” This man seemed unable to bear the burden, his face turned pale.
Shao Xun glanced at Lu, who nodded slightly.
"Take him away for interrogation." Shao Xun waved his hand, and his personal soldiers rushed forward and pulled the man away.
The other personal soldiers drew their swords, strung their bows, and stared at the other guards.
Some of the family soldiers looked calm and fearless.
Some of the family soldiers even showed joy on their faces and looked at the others with hatred.
Some others looked unnatural.
Shao Xun thought about it, then walked into the yard and sat for a while.
Mrs. Lu was stunned for a moment, but then she quickly understood. After asking Shao Xun about his taste preferences, she personally brewed a pot of tea and poured it for him.
Shao Xun was not polite either. He picked up the tea bowl and drank leisurely.
All the servants in the mansion watched in silence.
After quietly drinking a bowl of tea, Tang Jian walked over and reported something in a low voice.
The matter was actually nothing, just some small matter of collusion between the servants and the family soldiers. For the time being, they didn't have much courage, they only dared to embezzle some money, but who knows what will happen in the future?
"Make me some Shuiyin cakes next time." Shao Xun stood up and said goodbye.
"Yeah." Lu's face flushed slightly and she responded softly.
The servants bowed their heads even more.
The large group of people left quickly, and with them left more than a dozen guards and servants from Liuhuayuan.
Mrs. Lu stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching Shao Xun's gradually disappearing back, and sighed silently.
******
When passing by Guangcheng Palace, Shao Xun did not stop and went straight back to Lvliu Garden.
He is a little tired now.
It turns out that dealing with several women is so tiring!
If there were dozens of women or even three thousand beauties, he simply couldn't imagine it.
Perhaps, in the end, he would ride a sheep cart like Sima Yan, and spend the night at the concubine's house wherever the sheep pulled the cart went, leaving behind the allusion of "waiting for good fortune in a sheep cart".
Fortunately, he stopped himself before it was too late and did not provoke the Lu family again.
It was already the 25th when we returned to Green Willow Garden, and there were still five days until the Chinese New Year.
He felt so relaxed as he sat comfortably in the recliner, listening to Lan Ji's soft voice, his mother's complaining but concerned nagging, and his son's babbling.
If anyone calls on him to go to war at this time, he will definitely turn hostile!
"Xiao Chong, how many months a year do you have to go on the expedition now?" asked mother Liu while sewing clothes for her eldest grandson.
"It will take three to five months, maybe half a year." Shao Xun closed his eyes and dozed off, enjoying the massage from Song Yi's soft little hands. He said, "In the future, we will go on expeditions more and more often."
Liu was about to speak but stopped herself. Finally, she couldn't help asking, "Can you tell Minister Wang that there is no one else in the court who can fight? My son goes on a campaign and can't come home for half a year. If it's one or two years, it's fine. But if it's like this every year, won't the wars never end?"
Father Shao coughed and began to speak: "Wang Situ is a famous scholar in the world. He summoned Xiao Chong to fight because he wanted to cultivate him. If you disobey him, it may be bad for Xiao Chong's career. What do you, a woman, know?"
Le Lanji had a smile in her eyes, and she almost messed up the rhythm of massaging Shao Xun's legs.
"Wang Situ?" Shao Xun stroked Song Yi's pretty face and said, "Don't worry, mother. Wang Situ doesn't have that much influence in my eyes. I am leading the troops to fight, in fact, I volunteered. If the Xiongnu attack Luoyang next year, even if the court does not issue an order, I will lead the troops to the north to resist the enemy, without asking for a penny."
Mr. Shao was speechless.
Liu subconsciously ignored the previous words and focused on the main point, asking: "The Xiongnu are going south?"
"It's almost certain." Shao Xun said, "Liu Yuanhai has been busy rectifying Pingyang and Hedong counties in the past few months. After sorting out the internal affairs and accumulating money and food, he will most likely go south. He will definitely have more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and no less than 50,000 cavalry."
Liu didn't know what "50,000 cavalry" meant, but it was a lot anyway. When she heard her son's words, her heart broke and her eyes turned red.
Mr. Shao was also silent for a while. After sighing, he went out to enjoy the cold wind.
When he was young, he had participated in the campaign against Wu, and he knew what 50,000 cavalry meant. Even if they were just 50,000 herdsmen, at least they could shoot arrows and chop people on horseback, right? At least they could run fast, right? If they intercepted your food supply, how would you respond?
This battle is very dangerous! Tens of millions of elite soldiers, if they are not careful, might be drowned in these tidal waves of barbarians.
"Liu Yuanhai is really..." Liu put down her clothes, feeling a little annoyed.
"Liu Yuan, also known by his courtesy name Yuanhai," Shao Xun corrected.
"Liu Haiyuan is..." "Liu Yuan, whose courtesy name is Yuanhai." Shao Xun corrected again.
Liu glared at him and asked unhappily, "Have you had lunch?"
"I've eaten it. It was noodles in gravy soup." Shao Xun answered casually.
"You must not be full." Mrs. Liu went out muttering to herself and prepared snacks for her son.
Le Lanji stopped and asked, "Are there any soup cakes in the army?"
"When we passed by Tangliyuan, Princess Donghai felt sorry for me because I was a general of the Yue family and had been on the battlefield for a long time and had worked very hard, so she made soup noodles for me and invited me to enjoy it." Shao Xun looked into Le Lanji's eyes and said.
Lan Ji was a little surprised at first, then she realized that the man was lying to her, she chuckled and said, "You are so beautiful!"
"If you don't believe it, forget it." Shao Xun said with a smile.
"The Princess of the East Sea is dignified and generous. She is also your mistress. How can it be reasonable for a mistress to cook for her subjects?" Lan Ji rolled her eyes at him and continued to massage her legs.
Shao Xun chuckled and stopped arguing.
It's not just the Princess of Donghai who's cooking. The two sisters-in-law are cooking together. If it weren't for Old Pei, the light bulb, who knows whether I would go home tonight.
No one always believes the truth! I'll go to Queen Yang's place in a few days to drink rice porridge to make up for my lost mood.
But this is really tiring.
He rode on horseback, drew his bow in battle, fought to the death, and was covered with wounds... In the end, he was risking his life for the children of these women.
Live for X, die for X, work hard for X all your life.
O man!
Mother Liu brought a bowl of glutinous rice porridge and some sour and crispy pickles. The combination was very delicious and Shao Xun finished it in a short while.
Very good, we don’t have to go to Queen Yang’s house.
After drinking the porridge, he strolled along the bank of the Ru River.
It was near New Year's Day, and the countryside was deserted.
There are smoke-covered villages and houses everywhere, near and far.
The population of Liang County is increasing every year.
The lives of the common people were not wealthy, but at least they could make ends meet and be reunited with their families, which was better than anything else.
To live for X and die for X is just a joke. Even if it means that this peaceful life will not be broken by violence, it is worth it to be covered with wounds.
Why did I come here? Of course, it was to deal with Liu Yuanhai - no, Liu Haiyuan - but also, to restore order to the world.
One day before the New Year, Princess Lu of Fanyang sent someone to deliver five hundred strings of cash and one thousand pieces of silk, saying it was a "thank you gift."
Le Lanji accepted it calmly, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Shao Xun became somewhat unfathomable.
Shao Xun was too lazy to explain and continued lying at home.
This is a rare undisturbed free time for him in the year.
Perhaps, even the Huns celebrate the New Year.
After these few days, it was the third year of Yongjia (309), the period when the Yongjia Rebellion actually began in history.
From then on, the defense of Luoyang was fought one after another for nearly two years. In the end, Luoyang fell when the food supply was cut off, the emperor and his ministers continued to fight internally, Sima Yue lost confidence, and fled with his troops.
Is Luoyang really undefendable? Not necessarily.
Will Luoyang be destroyed? Definitely.
This is a huge crisis, but also a great opportunity.
Whether or not we can rise depends on this wave.
A few days later, the New Year arrived.
Heavy snow fell from the sky, bringing a strong festive atmosphere to the New Year of the third year of Yongjia.
After spending the fifteenth day of the first lunar month with his family, Shao Xun took his personal soldiers to the countryside, visited the families of the soldiers one by one, and presented them with gifts.
This is an annual regular event. It costs little but has excellent results.
He was busy like this until February, and then began to receive wave after wave of scholars from Yingchuan and Henan counties, negotiating interests and being very busy.
In fact, as Pei Kang said, the big families including the Chen, Zhong, Yu and even Xun families of Yingchuan all offered large sums of money and grain, and their attitude was very obvious.
Shao Xun knew that this was a contract.
I will help you as an official and take care of the rear, provide you with money and food, and you will provide security protection. It will be mutually beneficial and cooperative.
This is the current situation in troubled times and the philosophy of survival in troubled times.
After all this was done, mid-spring arrived unexpectedly in March. It was at this time that Chu Huo, the chief farmer, came to report that the rain this spring seemed to be less than in previous years.
Shao Xun's heart skipped a beat; what was supposed to come finally came.
How could there be no floods, droughts, locusts and bandits in the last years of a dynasty?
He rushed to Guangchengze, his largest agricultural and animal husbandry base, as soon as possible.
(End of this chapter)