Chapter 249: Be Frank and Honest
Chapter 249: Be Frank and Honest (Part )
"Over the years, there have been many troubles in all directions."
"North of the Yellow River, soldiers are still gathering."
"The land of Jingyang has only just healed its wounds."
"To the west of Tongguan, disasters are frequent."
"In Yu, Yan and Zhongzhou, the people are in exile."
"As a result, half of the taxes in the country are used to support the army. Material resources are depleted and people are in a precarious situation. There are also the Xiongnu and Xianbei, who are jackals by nature. Last time in Chang'an, they slaughtered 10,000 people, and this year in Liyang, 30,000 people were drowned in the river. All these situations really make me worried." Shao Xun used the rhyme of "Graduate School Entrance Examination" to say: "In fact, I don't have any big ambitions--"
At this point, Shao Xun glanced at Wang Yan and said, "What we want to do now is nothing more than to encourage farmers to grow more grain to prepare for famine, and to train soldiers to prevent bandits."
Wang Yan silently savored these words.
Shao Xun was indeed frank with him, but not completely frank.
What he said can be advanced or retreated.
On the surface, he seemed to be a loyal minister who was concerned about the country, but Wang Yan didn't believe that this was what he was thinking.
In troubled times, who doesn’t have ambition?
Even when he first formulated the plan of having three burrows, he was quite ambitious.
That plan can be advanced or retreated.
If they advance, they will plot to seize the Central Plains and rule the world, and the Wang family will become extremely powerful.
If we retreat, we can protect the territory and the people, wait for the holy ruler, and the royal family will still be a duke.
By now in the execution of the plan, he had given up hope and completely abandoned the possibility of "advancing".
Maohong (Wang Dao) agreed with his opinion, Pingzi (Wang Cheng) thought it was neither right nor wrong, and only Chuzhong (Wang Dun) felt it was a pity and was a little unwilling to accept it.
Wang Yan was now very disappointed with Wang Dun, thinking that he was more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything. Such radicalism might bring disaster to the family. However, after all, they were brothers, so he was soft-hearted and found a post for Wang Dun as the governor of Yangzhou.
Having said that, everyone in the Wang family has serious flaws in their talents and character.
Including himself, as well as Wang Dun, Wang Dao, Wang Cheng and others, none of them had the ability to accomplish anything, and at best they were just assistants.
In this case, we must carefully select our assistants.
Maohong is assisting Prince Langya in Jiangnan, waiting for the right opportunity to act. This is a good thing and should continue.
He assisted Sima Yue in the capital, but Sima Yue was dying, so he had to carefully choose the next person.
Shao Xun is a good candidate. Wang Yan has been observing him for the past few years and feels that he has outstanding abilities in all aspects and has the potential to achieve great things. Unfortunately, his background is too low, which makes his chances of success much smaller.
This is not because Wang Yan looked down on his background.
From a rational point of view, such a low origin has little appeal to scholars. In the past seven years, how many scholars has Shao Xun attracted?
If he was a prince of the Sima clan, with his performance, he would have entered the central government long ago and would have been a powerful official who had the final say.
Just look at the stories of Sima Jiong, Sima Yi, Sima Ying and Sima Yue and you will know that once they came to power, scholars gathered around them, and they were all children of prestigious families.
Where is Shao Xun?
The Nanyang Le family and the Yingchuan Yu family were relatively close to him, but they were not first-class aristocratic families either.
The Pei family has only invested a part of it so far, and is half-hearted.
The Yang family of Taishan is similar to the Pei family, but even less powerful than the Pei family.
Fanyang Lu and Qinghe Cui also only sent out one or two people, and their families had no capital at all.
As for the Chen family of Yingchuan, the Chu family of Yangdi, and the Zhou family of Runan, they are not as good as the Le family and the Yu family, and are a bit inferior.
But apart from Shao Xun, there is no other outstanding person in Beijing.
The emperor could no longer trust him, so who else could he help? Could it be the prince of Donghai?
Whenever he thought of this, Wang Yan felt very conflicted.
Birth and family background were like an insurmountable barrier that made it difficult for Shao Xun, a promising young man, to move forward.
Wang Yan felt sorry for him.
However, it’s not like he has no chance of turning around…
Wang Yan thought of the prophecy that had been circulating wildly recently, and thought with some amusement: I wonder what rank the Taibai Star Spirit Sect is?
"You have such aspirations, which has surpassed many people." Wang Yan calmed down and said, "Indeed, let's take it one step at a time. Today you have made your intentions clear, and I will not hide them. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, I will do my best to help you resolve them. You help me resolve the difficulties in Luoyang. In this world, no one can see the way forward clearly, so let's support each other and move forward."
"That's exactly what I meant." Shao Xun said with a smile.
In the face of crisis, undercurrents were surging, and everyone was trying to find a way out. Sima Yue had no choice.
After the three of them finished their discussion, they left the quiet bamboo forest and walked outside.
"When will you lead your army north?" Wang Yan asked. "The first batch of weapons has been delivered. There will be a sum of money in a few days. You can come to Luoyang after receiving it. If you have any difficulties, bring them up now and I will help you find a solution."
"There is indeed a difficult matter." Shao Xun said, "I heard that the position of Shunyang Internal History is vacant?"
Wang Yan looked at him for a long time without saying anything.
This kid really takes advantage of the situation and just goes into the hole he sees.
Shunyang State belonged to Jingzhou and was the fief of Shunyang King Sima Chang. It governed eight counties and had more than 289 households in the th year of Taikang ().
Although they had experienced war, there were also many refugees from Guanxi, and the population was still over 100,000, or even more.
The original Shunyang Internal History was named Liu Fan, the son of Liu Hong, the former governor of Jingzhou.
After Shan Jian was appointed governor of Xiangyang, he drank excessively and ignored state affairs. Perhaps he drank too much, but he heard gossip from his subordinates and believed it to be true, so he reported to the court that Liu Fan was quite prestigious in Shunyang State and that the local people might seize him as their leader to cause chaos.
When the imperial court heard this, they were outrageous and so they summoned Liu Fan to Luoyang and appointed him as the Captain of Yue Cavalry - a sinecure.
"Who do you want to be the Internal History of Shunyang?" Wang Yan didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
"Liang Ling, Yang Man, Yang Zu Yan."
After pondering for a long time, Wang Yan said, "Let the Yang family work together and use me to their full potential, right?" "Okay." Shao Xun was overjoyed.
If the Yang and Wang families work together, they can get an official at the level of a prefect, and they have a good chance of success.
"When will you lead the army north?" Wang Yan asked, feeling that he had caught Shao Xun's handle.
Shao Xun was indeed caught in the trap, and said, "We will leave at the end of the month at the latest, once the money and grain arrive."
Wang Yan sighed. It was too hard to control someone like Shao Xun.
Fortunately, Shao Xun also knew his limits and the bargaining did not really break down in the end.
******
After reaching an agreement with Lao Bi Deng, Shao Xun went straight back to Liuhuayuan and gave orders.
The five generals Wang Chan, Hao Chang, Lou Quan, Lou Bao, and Chen Jing led 5,000 auxiliary troops north to Guangchengze and arrived within ten days.
There were originally three to four thousand auxiliary troops, but their number increased greatly after they took in some "labor reform activists."
Afterwards, he reorganized some of the imperial guards who had come south to surrender, and the number reached 6,000.
This time, he brought 5,000 men north, which can be said to be the main force, although their fighting power is not very good.
Luyang County added a new defense force this year, and now has two defense forces with 579 people.
Liang County had three defenses, Guangchengze and two defenses, totaling seven defenses. A total of 1200 people were recruited to go north and formed into the Changjian Army.
The combat effectiveness of the Long Sword Army varies, some are very powerful, some are average, but overall it is still okay.
And as time goes by, the overall combat effectiveness will become stronger and stronger.
The 1200 soldiers, each with a subordinate, will gather at Guangchengze before the end of July.
The Silver Spear Army was stationed in Liang County and its surrounding areas and could assemble at any time, so they continued to train and wait for orders.
The army currently has twelve buildings and about 7200 people.
Among them, 6000 were attached to Xiangcheng County, and they existed in the name of county soldiers. In other words, Xiangcheng County provided more than 9000 bushels of grain to support this army every year, and also had to pay - pieces of silk as a reward - if Xiangcheng could not raise so much silk, it would use grain to offset it.
In principle, 4800 people from the first to eighth buildings will be taken north on this expedition, and the remaining 2400 people will stay behind.
The Yamen Army still has more than 4600 people in Liang County. As usual, we will lead people to the battle.
By this calculation, there are about 9,000 soldiers, which is a considerable force.
On July 27, Shao Xun received news from Hedong: Liu Cong, the King of Chu of the Han State, led his army south from Pingyang to attack the troops of General Cao Wu of Pingbei.
He knew that the war had entered the countdown and the flames of war could spread to Luoyang at any time.
Well, there is something happy before I leave.
Mrs. Lu just smelled the smell of oil smoke and ran out to vomit.
Shao Xun was overjoyed because he had had this experience once before. Considering that Lu's menstruation had stopped for a while, he thought this was almost certain.
After vomiting, Lu threw herself directly into Shao Xun's arms, crying with tears in her eyes.
She had been married to King Fan Yang for many years, but she had no children - of course, Sima Hu had no offspring either.
It is conceivable how much pressure she is under.
After she turned thirty, when the night was quiet and everyone was asleep, she would probably be so desperate that she would cry.
After crying, she wiped her tears and insisted on finishing cooking for Shao Xun.
"You will be leaving for the battle tomorrow. I will send you to Green Willow Garden so that I can take care of you." Shao Xun said, stroking her face.
Lu responded obediently, her hand still on her belly, as if she could feel something.
Shao Xun was a little scared.
In the past two months, Liuhuayuan has become a veritable Liuhuayuan, with mats and quilts washed frequently.
From time to time, when the two of them were alone, Lu would dance for him under the moonlight.
This was pure nonsense and almost murdered his second child.
After serving Shao Xun her meal, Mrs. Lu returned to the room. After rummaging around for a while, she brought out a large basket.
She carried the basket to the backyard by herself and dug a hole with a shovel.
There were ornaments, dresses, a bronze mirror, and some stationery in the basket.
Lu picked them up and looked at them one by one, then buried them without any attachment.
The last trace of Sima Hu has probably disappeared forever.
Shao Xun followed secretly behind and witnessed the whole process, and was overjoyed.
When he saw that Lu had finished burying the things, he sneaked back to the front yard in a wretched manner and pretended to read a book, but he held the "Spring and Autumn Annals" upside down.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lu was so agitated that she didn't notice it.
She snuggled into Shao Xun's arms and whispered, "Don't be too stubborn on the battlefield. I've counted all the scars on your body, and you can't have any new ones."
"Okay." Shao Xun replied, touching Lu's smooth forehead.
The women in the Sima family are all good women, but I am a bit of a scumbag.
On July 28th, the troops began to assemble.
For a time, cavalrymen were coming and going outside Guangchengze, with swords and guns in full force, and the air was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
The war machine slowly started moving.
Once started, it must be nourished by flesh and blood, whether it is the enemy's or its own.
(End of this chapter)