Chapter 291 sucks!
Chapter 291 sucks!
Yingyin is the Xuchang City of later generations. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was Yingyin County of Yingchuan County of Yuzhou. During the Tang Dynasty, it was Changshe County of Xuzhou, Henan Road. In the Song Dynasty, it was Changsha County of Yingchang Prefecture, Northwest Beijing Road.
Less than thirty miles east of Yingyin is Xuchang, the seat of the Yuzhou governor.
From a military and transportation perspective, Yingyin County's status far exceeds that of Xuchang, because several east-west and north-south post roads intersect in this county.
From here, heading northwest, you can reach Luoyang via Yangdi, Yangcheng, and Huanyuan Pass.
From here heading west, you can reach Xiangcheng.
From here, go south through Runan to Jiangxia.
From here heading north, you can reach Xingyang.
From here heading east, through Xuchang, you can reach the heart of Yuzhou.
There is no doubt that this is a place with many connections.
During peaceful times, commerce and travel flourish and a large amount of wealth can be accumulated.
In war years, all parties are fighting against each other. It's your fault for building so many roads and doing so well.
Yingyang Pavilion, as the name suggests, is located on the north bank of Yingshui River.
It is really hard to say how much fief the Marquis of Ting has.
The fewest had a few hundred households, and the most had over two thousand or three thousand households, almost the same as a county duke.
Xun Xian was granted the title of Marquis of Yingyang Ting after Jin conquered Wu.
At that time, the court discussed the possibility of attacking Wu. Xun Xu and Jia Chong thought it was not possible. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Yan, did not listen to them and ordered an attack on Wu, which was successful.
After the war, rewards were given according to merit. Because Xun Xu was in charge of imperial edicts, one of his sons was made Marquis of Ting, with a fief of 1,000 households and 1,000 pieces of silk.
That was not all, he also appointed his grandson Xun Xian as Marquis of Yingyang Ting, with a fief of one thousand households.
In other words, Xun Xian had been the Marquis of Yingyang for nearly thirty years. With the power of the Xun family, the land and households actually controlled by Xun Xian were much more than what they were at the beginning.
In fact, Xun Xian's family had extensive land and fields, and the manor's land had long gone beyond Yingyin County and deep into the neighboring Linying County, totaling more than 160 hectares. Although he was not a big landlord, he should not be underestimated.
"Hao Chang!" Shao Xun stood on a small hill, looking at the fields full of wheat, and gave the order.
"I am here." Hao Chang stepped out and responded.
"You lead a thousand men to cultivate the land here. Work in the fields when you are busy, and train in the free time." After Shao Xun finished the first half of the sentence, he pointed with his whip and said, "Also occupy the land at the river bend. From now on, this is the station of the Yingyin Cuntian Army."
"Chen Liangfu will send someone to deliver the money, grain, bricks, stones, and wood needed to renovate the manor," Shao Xun continued.
"What will it be changed to?" Hao Chang asked.
"Change it to a warehouse city, with a limit of 3,000 soldiers, 300,000 hu of grain, and 100,000 bundles of hay."
"Yes, sir." Hao Chang agreed.
His family is still in Luyang, and someone will be sent to pick them up soon.
There is nothing to be dissatisfied about. The living conditions in Yingchuan are better than those in Luyang, although not as safe as Luyang.
"Take your men to take over the fields and manors now." Shao Xun waved his hand and said.
"Yes." Hao Chang immediately selected five hundred elderly people from Hebei and five hundred captive soldiers and took over Xun Xian's manor.
He had already seen that the huge manor was empty. Except for a few people sent by the Xun family to handle the handover, there were almost no farmhands, soldiers, or servants - there was only one reason for this: everyone had left.
A large group of people came from afar.
Xun Jun, Marquis of Jibei County, rode a tall horse, surrounded by more than a hundred riders in front and behind, holding long spears and horse lances.
Behind him were more than a thousand soldiers, some holding guns, some holding shields, and some drawing bows, escorting hundreds of vehicles.
The carts were fully loaded with wealth and food, and there were thousands of pigs and sheep at the back of the convoy - it looked like there was bleeding, but not a big one.
The Xun family's troops stopped three hundred steps away.
Xun Jun led several clansmen forward and stopped twenty steps away. He said loudly, "Lord Chen, I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar. I hope you will forgive me for this."
After Xun Jun finished speaking, the expressions of the several tribesmen behind him varied.
How to put it? Considering the Xun family’s status and power in the court, these words can be said to be quite soft, even “humiliating”.
The young people studied and practiced martial arts at home. They were not sensitive enough to the changing situation in the outside world. In addition, they were young and full of energy, and some of them were dissatisfied with the clan's attitude of keeping peace.
Of course, the elders of the Xun family would not think like them.
The Xun family is already extremely wealthy, and what they should do now is to preserve the wealth accumulated by the sages of the past generations. Therefore, they should be stable in everything and not easily fall out with others, which would consume the family's strength.
Troubled times have arrived. If the troops of our tribe are depleted too much, they will not be able to protect their family.
"Your Excellency is polite." Shao Xun bowed on his horse, looking very arrogant. He asked, "It is really sad that Yingyang Tinghou died of illness. I wonder where his family is?"
"My nephews and nieces are so sad that they have moved south with their family." Xun Jun replied expressionlessly.
Shao Xun said nothing, just sat on the horse and looked at him quietly.
The south wind suddenly blew, making the military flags rustle.
Under the banners, thousands of Silver Spear Army soldiers stood solemnly with weapons in hand, also quietly looking at the Xun family.
The atmosphere gradually became somewhat subtle.
Xun Jun's heart tightened, and he was somewhat worried that Shao Xun would suddenly attack and make things out of control.
"Xilulu..." The warhorse under Yicong Du Manyu's crotch neighed.
The free knights behind him tried to calm their horses, as their horses were also snorting nervously or paddling the ground with their hooves.
Xun Jun's face changed, but he remained calm and did not lose his composure. The performance of the young Xun family members behind him was mixed.
Some people were very calm and expressionless.
Some people were extremely panicked and their faces were pale.
Some people even couldn't withstand the pressure and subconsciously took a step or two back.
Shao Xun suddenly smiled, got off his horse lightly, walked towards Xun Jun, and said, "It's good to cross the river to the south. The world is in turmoil, and many people have indeed gone south to Wu. Maybe it can save the family and continue the descendants."
As he spoke, he had already walked to Xun Jun's side, took his arm in a familiar manner, and said with a smile: "I am very grateful that the Marquis of Jibei came to visit the army. Why don't we have a drink today so that we can see the extraordinary talents of the Xun family?"
"I couldn't ask for more." Xun Jun was slightly unhappy when a soldier from a lowly military family grabbed his arm, but his face showed no strange expression. Instead, it was full of smiles and he immediately agreed.
Shao Xun smiled slightly, and immediately ordered the cooking of sheep and cattle, and a feast for the whole army - all the expenses were naturally paid for by Master Xun.
He knew that Xun was still unwilling and felt humiliated in his heart.
Xun Jun brought over a hundred cavalrymen and over a thousand infantrymen, all of whom looked competent. Even though they were not as capable as the old soldiers of the Silver Spear Army, they were not too bad.
This is the Xun family’s old foundation.
After all, it is an old family with a long history. After generations of operation, it can always pull out some elite troops.
But the upper echelons of these families are too corrupt, decadent, and cowardly.
His style of running the family business is extremely conservative and he doesn't dare to take a gamble.
This situation reminded him of the feudal lords in the late Tang Dynasty.
The once prosperous towns such as Weizhou and Chengde had a large population, abundant money and grain, a large number of troops, and excellent armor, but the entire vassal state was in a state of decadence and internal conflicts. In the end, they were beaten by the emerging Xuanwu and Hedong towns, becoming their vassals, paying tribute and sending troops to help in the war.
Perhaps this is the difference between emerging groups and established families.
The old wealthy families in Yingchuan looked down on upstarts like Shao Xun, but at the same time they had to acknowledge his growing strength and submit.
If you keep going on like this, you'll go crazy!
During the banquet, the Silver Spear Army and the Yicong Army selected some elite soldiers to perform various skills in public.
Later in the day, the entire army even performed a battle formation.
The smooth, quick and precise movements were full of rhythmic beauty, and even Xun Jun, who was not very fond of military affairs, was fascinated by them.
After reading it, I sighed in my heart.
After several generations of management, the Xun family has only managed to raise more than 2,000 elite soldiers who are truly capable of fighting. They are reluctant to consume them and have always treated them as treasures.
But in troubled times, there are always some people who take advantage of the situation and, through just a few years of hard work, suddenly surpass the aristocratic families who have been operating for more than a hundred years. Don’t you think this is outrageous?
Let's not talk about Shao Xun. Shi Le was a slave who was originally a farmer in Chiping Manor. The elite soldiers under his command who dared to fight and fight were far more powerful than those of the Xun family. If they came with all their forces and did not care about casualties, they could completely destroy the Xun family.
Is there something wrong with this world?
Why are the accumulations of the aristocratic families over hundreds or even thousands of years not as good as those of these self-made slaves (Shi Le), military households (Shao Xun), county officials (Zhang Chang), fort commanders (Zhao Gu), poor families (Wang Mi) and even the Tianshidao believers and other miscellaneous people?
Among the people mentioned above, which one has a higher starting point than the gentry?
Wang Mi, who came from the best family, had a grandfather who was a prefect and a father who was unknown. By his generation, he was no different from a local tyrant.
Shi Le, who came from the poorest family, was beaten to the point where he was left with only eighteen riders. However, he seized the opportunity, used Liu Yuan's influence to persuade the Jie people, who were not from the same tribe as him, to surrender with just a few words, and he rose again after repeated defeats.
Shao Xun was just a serf soldier, but he was also able to seize the opportunity and soar to fame.
These people, in just a few years, have surpassed the accumulated strength of the aristocratic families over a hundred years, which is really a cause for sigh-worthy.
Perhaps, times have really changed.
Although the aristocratic families enjoy fine clothes and food, high positions and generous salaries, this is also a cage that binds their hands and feet tightly, making them dull and clumsy. When the great era comes, they can do nothing and are quickly surpassed.
But what’s the use of figuring it out?
Can it be changed? It seems not.
Xun Jun even pessimistically speculated that even at the critical moment of life and death, they would not be able to make any fundamental changes.
In the end, relying on the emerging rulers and continuing to maintain certain privileges and status is already the best outcome.
It's terrible!
On February 29th, Shao Xun ended his display of military might in Yingyin and marched to Xuchang, where he convened a meeting of the Yingchuan gentry to discuss strategies for protecting their hometown.
Xun Jun also followed.
This is a political attitude and the signal is very clear.
In addition, the news that Xun Xian, Marquis of Yingyang Pavilion, had died suddenly of illness spread quickly, and everyone understood what to do.
But this is not a bad thing.
When Wang Mi first came, there were more than 100,000 people and the momentum was extremely huge.
To be honest, if the Yingchuan gentry could unite, and every family would not hold back, contribute their most capable elite troops, issue generous rewards, replenish equipment and money, and form a coalition army to fight a decisive battle with Wang Mi, it would be hard to say who would win.
But can they do this? Even dogs don't believe it!
Since we cannot unite and protect our own safety, we can only rely on outsiders.
The meeting in Xuchang was a meeting of unity and victory...
Shao Xun not only collected a lot of money and food, he also "borrowed" a total of 300 elite soldiers from various aristocratic families, sent them back to Yangcheng County, and set up a defense force.
There are three hundred people, and if everyone shares the cost, each family will only have to contribute a few dozen people. It's a bit painful, but acceptable.
I wonder if they have heard the story of the boiling frog.
In Shao Xun's view, the aristocratic families that were not organized and were scattered were nothing more than ATMs.
You can't hurt them all at once, or they will resist.
Just play slowly...
(End of this chapter)