Chapter 306 Increase your efforts, don’t stop!
Chapter 306 Increase your efforts, don’t stop!
The army set out along the Bian Canal. There were a total of 13,000 combat soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, and craftsmen. They moved quickly and arrived in Junyi in three days.
Along the way, Xingyang and Zhongmu counties were relatively stable, but after entering Junyi, we found that it was a mess and there were a large number of refugees gathered there.
The common people are not stupid and they vaguely know where to find food.
Junyi was an important water transport town with frequent transport ships coming and going. After the news spread, a large number of hungry people immediately gathered there.
Beggar Chen Wu had originally liked Latin to join the army, but now he didn't dare to accept anyone without permission because he was also short of food.
So they closed the city gates and ignored the question.
Sima Yue's new governor of Chenliu, Wang Zan, was originally a general under Sima Hu, the King of Fanyang, but later defected to Sima Yue. He wanted to provide relief to the victims, but he also had no food.
He wanted to intercept the canal boats like Shao Xun did, but after thinking about it, he didn't dare to do so. In the end, he could only let it go and pretend that he didn't see it.
When Shao Xun's army arrived in Junyi and took an empty ship back to Chen County, the two of them came to visit at the same time.
"Are you going to the south to quell the rebellion?" Wang Zan was a military strategist and had fought against Ji Sang together with Gou Xi. He had a good attitude towards Shao Xun. He only heard him say, "I have learned from the hungry people that many refugees from the counties and states of Yuzhou have gathered in settlements. Now some of them can no longer survive and have begun to roam around and attack and kill the residents. First they were small groups of refugees, then they merged into a large group, regardless of casualties, and attacked fiercely. Many fortresses have been breached and the situation is in chaos."
"What else?" Shao Xun asked.
"Some nobles took their valuables, food, and followers and moved south with their families. After they left, the farmhands were left unattended and chaos broke out."
"Thank you very much for telling me." Shao Xun said sincerely.
It's probably just the beginning now, and it will probably get worse in the next few months.
The migration of aristocratic families to Wu in the south should also cause a climax.
There are differences in the migration of the elite to the south, some crossing early and some crossing late, and some crossing voluntarily and some crossing forcedly.
Shao Xun thought of the Yu family.
Historically, their family crossed the river early and took the initiative to move south, so they had a little bit of both.
Yu Chen should have crossed the Yangtze River in the first one or two years after Sima Chi ascended the throne, and even got the position of prefect of Kuaiji, which was quite good. If he had been two or three years later, he would have forgotten about the position of prefect, and at most he could have been a county magistrate.
Xie Kun of the Xie family also went to seek refuge with Langya King Sima Rui early in the morning. Xie Pei and the others might have arrived a little later, but since Xie Kun took the lead, it was not a big problem.
In comparison, the Qingzhou aristocratic family, the Su family, arrived later and were forced to flee.
Su Jun originally had thousands of subordinates in Qingzhou, but because of the pressure from Cao Wei, he finally fled hastily with only a few hundred relatively core followers, and he still left by boat, looking very embarrassed - of course, he was warmly welcomed by Sima Rui, the King of Langya. At that time, every northerner who crossed the river to the south was very valuable, and as for despising the northerners who crossed the river to the south, that will come later.
Shao Xun was not very fond of these scholars who had moved south.
If you want to leave, just go ahead and free up the land so I can do some work to dig out the roots of the tribe.
"This must be General Chen, right? He is indeed brave and decisive, with the qualities of a great general." Shao Xun looked at Chen Wu beside Wang Zan and praised.
Yang Jiongzhi stood behind Shao Xun and just glanced at him briefly before paying no more attention.
Hu Wu Fuzhi took a serious look at it, then lost interest.
After looking at Chen Wu, Mao Bang and Pei Yi looked at the many officers following behind him.
The beggar army is indeed poor!
They didn't have uniform military uniforms, didn't have many armors, and their equipment wasn't sophisticated enough, but their spirits were still pretty good.
"No match for Lord Chen." Chen Wu bowed and said, "I have the greatest respect for the warrior who killed the Hu people. Lord Chen fought in the north and south and made many achievements. In the Battle of Yemagang, he defeated Shi Le; in the Battle of Qiliai, he defeated Liu Cong; and he also advanced from Luochuan to Luoyang and galloped among tens of thousands of Huns. This feat is admirable. The court is fortunate to have you here, and there is hope for revival."
"Passed." Shao Xun laughed and said, "General Chen is just as loyal and courageous as any other."
The Beggars' Army, the Western Jin version of "Supporting the Qing and Eliminating the Foreigners", is interesting.
Chen Wu, who had a lot of mixed Hu people under his command, was still passionate when talking about "killing the Hu people". Perhaps the Hu people in his context referred to Liu Han, not ordinary Hu people.
"I am far inferior to you, General." Chen Wu said ashamedly, "The Xiongnu went south to Chenliu and plundered the city. Now the villages are in ruins and the countryside is in ruins, but I was unable to stop them. I am really ashamed."
"General, you have few soldiers, that's understandable." Shao Xun encouraged, "This time the bandits invaded the south, the battles in Puyang and Chenliu were the most intense. If we can keep the county city intact and the grain transport uninterrupted, we will have won. We can take our time to conquer the Xiongnu, there's no rush."
After hearing this, Chen Wu felt a little less guilty.
He was ordered to guard Junyi, and his main task was to ensure the transportation of grain. If we only look at this point, he was successful, at least Shi Le's troops who went south did not gain much advantage from him.
Wang Ping and Qi Ji of Liang even took advantage of the locust plague and launched a surprise attack, defeating Tao Bao once. Although they were defeated again later, their record was still acceptable.
"The Xiongnu retreat is only temporary, General Chen must not let down his guard." Before leaving Junyi, Shao Xun said, "If the enemy comes again, we must defend Junyi."
"The Huns will come again?" Chen Wu was a little surprised.
A lot of grain has been transported to Luoyang. What’s the point of them coming again?
"Liu Yuan was about to die, so the Xiongnu retreated." Shao Xun explained: "After the new king ascended the throne, he might start a war for prestige. It would be Luoyang or Chang'an, and Luoyang might be bigger."
Chen Wu felt a little worried when he heard this.
When Shao Xun saw this, he wondered if he was really a loyal minister or if he was simply angry with the Xiongnu.
After chatting for a few more words, they boarded the ship and left.
Chen Wu, Wang Zan and others stood on the shore and watched the fleet leave.
Whether you admit it or not, Lord Chen is now the backbone of Yuzhou and even Luoyang.
Even though many people don't think highly of him, or even despise and hate him, they still have to cooperate with him.
If we unite, we both benefit; if we separate, we both lose. Let's just make do with each other.
******
The boat moved downstream at a very fast speed.
In mid-June, Shao Xun arrived in Chen County.
Amid the sound of passionate war drums, tens of thousands of soldiers disembarked and lined up on the shore.
When Shao Xun, surrounded by his personal soldiers and subordinates, appeared outside the cabin, a large group of people bowed and saluted, shouting, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"No need to be polite." Shao Xun got off the boat, helped a few people up, raised his hands and said loudly. Everyone slowly stood up, lowered their eyebrows and eyes, and stood respectfully.
Shao Xun took a quick look around and found that these people had pale faces and sad expressions. They were obviously from poor families who were used to living a hard life.
He walked up to a middle-aged man in his forties and asked, "What's your name?"
"Mr. Li." the middle-aged man replied.
"How many years are there in Spring and Autumn?"
The middle-aged man was a little confused.
"My Lord, I'm asking how old you are." Li Zhong "translated" on the side.
"Twenty-eight."
Holy shit! Shao Xun took a few more careful looks. He looked like he was forty years old, but he was only twenty-eight!
Life makes people grow old.
A scholar who lives in fine clothes and delicious food looks very young even when he is forty years old.
The pampered ladies and gentlemen, even though they were in their thirties, still made Shao Xun almost melt into them.
"Is there anyone else at home?" Shao Xun asked again.
"I am the only one left."
"No offspring?"
The man remained silent.
Shao Xun stopped asking, patted him on the shoulder and said, "It will be fine, life will be better."
The "middle-aged man" had red eyes, as if he was a little sad, but also a little yearning.
Shao Xun walked forward and stood on a country road.
Because of the continuous drizzle in the past few days, the path was very muddy, but he didn't care, walking slowly, his eyes always on the fields.
What an endless plain!
When people from the southern hilly areas first come here, they will be surprised how there can be such flat land in the world, stretching for thousands of miles with no end.
The Great Plains also has a crisscrossing water system and convenient transportation. After years of development, there are numerous water conservancy projects and irrigation canals extending in all directions.
If you want to farm, you should go to places like this.
Shao Xun crossed the canal and came to a ridge of a field.
The crops planted in early June have sprouted, and the large expanse of emerald green is very pleasing to the eye.
Seeing a little green on the land ravaged by locusts is so touching that it makes people want to cry.
"What did you plant?" Shao Xun squatted down and pointed at the tender sprouts emerging from the ground and asked.
"It's mainly beans." Li Zhong explained softly, "We plant whatever we can find, and we can harvest it in September."
"Not bad." Shao Xun nodded and praised: "How are the people arranged?"
"One household cultivates 20 mu, one team has 10 households, and 10 teams form a battalion. Now more than 120 battalions have been settled, mostly in Yangxia and Chen counties." Li Zhong replied, "We will definitely be able to harvest before the snow falls."
“Is it too late to plant winter wheat?”
"Some seeds planted early may work, but those planted late won't. Also, most of what was sent from Jiangnan is rice, millet, and beans, and there's not much wheat to be found, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to do."
"Well," Shao Xun said, "There are many things to do this year. We need to settle all the refugees who can be settled before the end of the year. There are so many things to do, such as houses, farm tools, and draft animals. There is really no time. After the beginning of spring next year, I will come here in person and lead everyone to plant millet."
"As long as you are here, the people have hope. From now on, everyone will praise you, your reputation will spread far and wide, and you will be invincible in the world." Li Zhong bowed solemnly and said.
"Oh? Invincible in the world?" Shao Xun asked.
"They have taken away their people's time, so that they cannot till the land to support their parents. Their parents are freezing and hungry, and their brothers and wives are separated. They have trapped their people. If the king goes to conquer them, who can stand against the king?" Li Chonghui said.
"This is what Mencius said to King Hui of Liang, right?" Shao Xun said with a smile.
Quite appropriate!
"The people have worked hard in the fields. Today, we will give each person five liters of rice as a reward to the people," Shao Xun ordered again.
Tang Jian quickly ordered the messenger to deliver the message.
The refugee team leaders and battalion commanders who were following Shao Xun from a distance couldn't help but cheer in a low voice when they heard this.
Shao Xun turned to look at them and said, "From now on, you are all my countrymen. We will prosper together and share weal and woe."
When everyone heard this, they didn't know who took the lead, but they all knelt on the ground and shouted, "Greetings, my Lord."
This is the etiquette for the people to pay homage to the monarch.
There is a very clear personal dependence relationship between the monarch and his subjects.
These refugees were settled down without "middlemen" (aristocratic families, powerful people), and became direct citizens of the State of Chen under Chen Hou Shao Xun. With time, when people's hearts gradually stabilized, they became a huge force.
At this time, even if he was a county governor, he could only mobilize a small part of the county's resources, and he had to negotiate and bargain with the various families and their agents (county officials and generals).
If we can eliminate the middlemen and mobilize resources directly, the amount will be very impressive.
Although this state without middlemen may not last for too many years, and sooner or later will create multiple classes between the monarch and the people, reducing the efficiency of mobilizing resources, but I only have these few decades, right?
We need to increase our efforts and intercept the next batch of grain when it arrives.
(End of this chapter)