Chapter 295 Fengguo

Chapter 295 Fengguo

Chapter 295 Fengguo
"On March 310th of the fourth year of Yongjia in the Jin Dynasty (), the Marquis of Chen assembled his troops in the western suburbs of Chen County, and the nobles and other families attended the ceremony. The Marquis of Chen rode under a canopy and personally ordered the beating of gongs and drums."

"Silver spears were arrayed in the south, and the Yicong and aristocratic soldiers were arrayed in the north, each beating a golden drum to command the troops."

"There are formations such as the crescent moon and fish scales, the flying dragon and soaring snake, and more than ten kinds of formations in total."

"Spears, bows, swords, shields, lances, halberds, and clubs, all circling and changing to avoid each other."

"After the battle, the northern and southern armies both sounded drums and horns, and everyone made a great noise."

"Infantry and cavalry advanced and retreated to fight each other, and the south won and the north lost."

"Alas! The Northern Army has cavalry from various tribes, but they are also in disarray. The Southern Army pursues them and chases them northward, which is a great spectacle."

"After the military lecture, all the soldiers sounded the gongs and gongs, and the troops regrouped as usual and sat down."

"The Marquis of Chen rode his horse to review the troops. The officers and soldiers stood up and shouted 'Long live the victory'. The soldiers of various tribes also shouted along."

Hu Wu Fuzhi, the left attendant of the Marquis's mansion, was hunched over his desk, having already finished writing a "general draft" that looked quite like a reporter for a sports meeting.

Of course, this is not a real press release, it's just a record.

In ancient times, history was usually compiled by the later dynasty, and the basis for historians to write history was the various materials left over from the previous dynasty.

Regarding emperors, it is generally based on the official records or daily notes of the time.

As for the princes, there were special interviews by historians, even in times of war. When Ge Congzhou, the Prince of Chenliu in the Later Liang Dynasty, retired at home in his later years, a historian came to his house and asked him to recall his life experiences and write down the key points.

At this time, historical research was not as important as in the Tang and Song dynasties, so there might not necessarily be historians to record this event.

However, the materials written by Hu Wu Fuzhi are still very valuable. If any historian is interested in this when compiling history in future generations, he may write about it - it is rare that he remembered it more seriously this time without too much exaggeration.

After the military parade, the entire army will naturally have a feast.

The men of the Silver Spear Army and the Volunteer Army followed Shao Xun on a long tour of Yuzhou, and they enjoyed a lot of good wine and meat, which was really great.

This time, the bill for the grand feast was no longer paid for by Master Xun, but by dozens of noble families from various counties in Yuzhou.

Henan is rich in products, so food is naturally abundant as well.

"I came to Yangxia from Yanling, and it was a beautiful scenery." Shao Xun picked up a piece of chicken and said, "Mr. Xie is very capable."

Xie Pei didn't say anything when he heard this. He just raised his eyelids and said, "I wonder what scenery Lord Chen saw?"

"Chickens and dogs are scattered around the village, but mulberry trees and elm trees cast shade over distant fields." Shao Xun said.

Xie Pei raised his head, looked at Shao Xun carefully, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that the Lord is such an elegant person."

After saying this, he raised his glass in greeting.

Shao Xun felt a little unhappy, but he still picked up the wine bowl and drank it all.

The Xie family of Yangxia is not considered a great aristocratic family.

The father of the three brothers Xie Kun, Xie Pei and Xie Guang, Xie Heng, was the chief academic officer of the Imperial Academy, and their grandfather Xie Zun was the General of Agriculture. Neither of them was a high-ranking official with great power.

Xie Kun married Liu from Zhongshan (Liu Kun's niece).

Liu Kun was a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan. He had actually fallen into decline in the imperial court, but because he was a member of the "old money" family, his reputation remained. Xie Kun married Liu, obviously wanting to gain recognition from the old family and break into this circle.

The effect can only be said to be okay. At least Xie Kun is qualified to talk to Wang Dun and even become friends with him.

But that’s as far as it goes.

Xie Kun and Wang Dun are on good terms, and sometimes even get praise from Wang Yan, but do the core members of the old clan like the Wang family really respect you? Will they help you at the critical moment?

To put it bluntly, in Wang Yan's eyes, middle-class aristocratic members like Xie Kun and Xie Pei were nothing, not as good as people like Shao Xun who wielded swords and guns. At least he made Old Wall Deng love and hate him, often causing Old Wang's blood pressure to soar and moving him deeply.

Can the Xie brothers do it? They can't.

The only way out for the Xie family is to move south.

They were all northern gentry who moved south with their wealth and status. However, there is a saying in history that there are "scholars who moved early" and "scholars who moved late". Those who moved early got the first job, while those who moved late didn't even have any jobs left.

The migration of the elite to the south was a rare opportunity for a reshuffle. They could take control of the old money families that arrived late, then marry into them to raise their family status, and add to that the positions occupied by those who migrated earlier, and the class leap would be complete.

If he stayed in the north, there would be few opportunities. Look at how Xie Kun was doing in Sima Yue's shogunate. Oh, he had already decided to cross the river to the south because he was not optimistic about the future of Sima Yue's shogunate and was very worried about the situation in the north.

Shao Xun was not sure whether other members of the Xie family would move south. At least so far, the brothers Xie Pei and Xie Guang had not left and might still be waiting and watching.

You can go if you want, or not. I won’t tolerate you!

Shao Xun looked at Yuan Chong, the representative of the Yangxia Yuan family.

This branch of the Yuan family can be traced back to Yuan Pang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty.

Yuan Huan, the son of Yuan Pang, first joined Yuan Shu and then joined Cao Cao, and he did quite well.

Yuan Huan's son Yuan Zhun served as Jieshizhong during the reign of Emperor Wu, and Zhun's son Yuan Chong served as Guanglu Xun, but has now been dismissed from office and is at home.

Although the Yuan family is doing well so far, its decline is already evident.

In this generation, Yuan Chong's cousin (daughter of his uncle Yuan Kan) married Xun Yu (great-grandson of Xun Yu), the right supervisor of the Imperial Guards, and gave birth to a son, Xun Song.

But the Xun family was very large, and the status of relatives was completely different, so Xun Yu's branch did not live very well.

The marriage between the Yuan and Xun families of the old Qian family can only be described as a mutual support.

When it comes to the next generation of the Yuan family, I'm afraid they will have no choice but to marry into the Xie family and the neighboring Yin family.

"Mr. Yuan is very polite." Shao Xun raised his wine bowl and said, "On the way here, I took a short rest at Mr. Yuan's house. I saw that the crops were well-watered and the cattle and donkeys were fat. I will definitely ask Mr. Yuan for advice someday."

"Sure, sure." Yuan Chong was experienced, but he didn't put on airs. Having been defeated in the treacherous political struggles in the court, he now understood the importance of force. He said, "I still have tea trees at home, which have just been picked. If you have time, you can come over and taste them."

"Oh? Henan also produces tea?" Shao Xun asked in surprise.

"Let alone Henan, even Guanzhong produces tea." Yuan Chong said with a smile, "Tea is planted in February every year, with 60 to 70 seeds planted in each pit. After three years, each tree yields 8 taels of tea, and there are 240 trees per mu, yielding 120 kilograms of tea."

"It seems that Mr. Yuan is an expert in this field." Shao Xun was in awe. He was never interested in people who talked about the mysterious. But people like Yuan Chong who were familiar with tea planting and production deserved his respect. He liked such down-to-earth people the most.

"I'm unemployed at home now, getting old, and this is the only hobby I have." Yuan Chong said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Mr. Yuan is in his prime, why is he talking about being old?" Shao Xun pretended to be displeased and said, "When this matter is over, I will definitely get closer to Mr. Yuan."

Yuan Chong was secretly delighted, but his face remained calm as he said, "Lord Chen is well-known in Luoyang, and I was just about to ask for your advice."

"Okay, it's settled." Shao Xun raised the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Yuan Chong also drank it all in one gulp.

No matter how much you look down on the upstarts, you always have to face reality when your family is in decline.

It’s difficult for the old Qian family too.

If I were to be so hesitant in interacting with Lord Chen today, I might be laughed at by other scholars.

Yuan Chong seemed to have heard some people talking behind the scenes about how the Yuan family was shameless and that they were trying to curry favor with a new rich man, especially a military upstart with no family background.

Thinking of this, my face turned red. Fortunately, I had drunk some wine, so no one could see it, otherwise I would be too embarrassed to stay here.

"I've always heard that the He family of Yangxia is the descendant of the founding heroes. Why haven't I seen any of the He family today?" After drinking with Yuan Chong, Shao Xun looked around and asked in surprise.

There was a moment of silence at the banquet, and no one spoke.

The He family of Yangxia was a noble family in the imperial court. He was one of the few people who were granted the title of duke when the country was founded.

His descendants were extremely extravagant and arrogant, spending "ten thousand coins a day" or even "twenty thousand coins a day", which was shocking.

Last year, after Sima Yue, King of Donghai, returned to the capital, he captured He Sui and killed him in front of the emperor.

He Sui's brother He Song cried bitterly after collecting his brother's body. He died of illness a while ago and no one knew the cause.

He Ji, Sui's younger brother, was arrogant and had once insulted the lower-class Xie family of Yangxia, forcing Xie Kun and others to pay him a visit. He simply did not listen to others' advice and was very arrogant.

Ji's younger brother Xian was arrogant and stingy. He bullied people of high rank and was an official who made everyone hate him. He also made enemies everywhere in his hometown Yangxia.

How could such a family, pure Yangxia bully, look up to Shao Xun and obey his orders?
Lu Zhi coughed and said, "My Lord, when I was in Xiang County, someone reported the He family for illegal activities..."

Everyone's eyes fell on Lu Zhi.

This person is really cruel!
I heard that when he was in Ye Prefecture, he had a hand in killing the Lu Ji brothers. Now that he is in Yuzhou, he wants to kill the He brothers again?

Shao Xun didn't say anything, but tapped the table with his index finger.

In the five counties of Chenjun, apart from the three aristocratic families of He, Yuan and Xie in Yangxia, there are no other formal aristocratic families.

This is also the main reason why he intends to develop Chen County into a base.

Since the journey eastward, all the tribes in Yingchuan have submitted, and even Xun Xian, Marquis of Yingyang Pavilion, died.

I didn’t expect this. Isn’t Xun Xian’s death enough to warn everyone?

No, in fact, it has scared many people.

At least, the Yuan family of Chenjun was trying hard to please him.

Xie appeared to be putting on airs, but in fact she was extremely panicked because Xie Pei had arrived.

Is He seeking his own death? All I can say is that there is no cure for stupidity.

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly, and no one is allowed to cover up!" Shao Xun made up his mind and said, "If anyone knows about He's various illegal activities, please report it to the Prime Minister immediately. Those who know but do not report it will be treated as accomplices."

As he said this, he looked at the representatives of the aristocratic families from several surrounding counties, including the Xie family of Yangxia, the Yuan family of Changping, the Xiahou family of Qiao County, and the Ying family of Nandun.

Everyone bowed their heads.

Everyone knew that Lord Chen was planning to target the He family.

Chen County was his fiefdom. Theoretically, this county could be called the State of Chen, just like the State of Lu of Jia, the Duke of Lu.

No one will be allowed to oppose him within the State of Chen.

He is so disrespectful that he deserves death.

In addition, no one had much objection to killing the He family, for the simple reason that the He family was too arrogant.

Especially the Xie family from Yangxia, because their family status is lower than the He family, they have to pay visits every year, which is simply a humiliation.

The Yuan family has also suffered a lot from the He family.

Some people might not be willing to bear the death of the brothers He Ji and He Xian, or even feel grief-stricken, but there were certainly many people who applauded.

Some people who are quick-witted are already thinking about whether they can take advantage of the opportunity to gain some benefits.

The He family is very rich, with a lot of wealth, land, shops, and troops. It would be great if we could get a piece of the pie.

Shao Xun looked at the expressions on their faces and sneered in his heart.

There are so many greedy people!

He would never give the He family's land and troops to outsiders.

He beckoned.

Tang Jian understood and moved his head closer.

"Send someone to Luoyang to recruit 300 good soldiers from the Imperial Guards." Shao Xun whispered, "Send someone to the Zhongwu Army and Yamen Army to recruit 300 people. Tell them clearly that they can move their families to Yangxia to serve as soldiers. Each person will be given 150 acres of land and three households of followers. I will provide them with clothes, armor, horses, and equipment."

"Yes." Tang Jian replied in a low voice, turned and left.

(End of this chapter)