Chapter 311 Negotiation

Chapter 311 Negotiation

Chapter 311 Negotiation
The rebellion in Jingzhou spread like wildfire in a short period of time.

Perhaps it was because the control of the Jin Dynasty had seriously declined, perhaps it was because enough contradictions had accumulated, or perhaps it was for some other reason, in short, the rebels were so powerful that they captured cities and territories and were out of control.

Du Rui, the governor of Wancheng, assembled a large army and marched south from Wancheng to suppress Wang Ru.

The two sides met on September 20th at Nieyang between Wancheng and Rangxian.

Wang Ru was born in the Jingzhao County army and knew how to fight. He first sent the old, weak, sick and disabled to fight, to encourage the enemy. Du Rui looked down on the refugee army, and when they fought, they had the upper hand, which made him even more proud. He thought that this was the refugee army he knew, so he sent his entire army to kill them.

Wang Ru sent troops to ambush on both sides of the road. When the government troops arrived, the ambush was launched and Du Rui was severely defeated.

Upon hearing that Du Rui's army was defeated, Hou Tuo, a native of Jingzhao, led an army of refugees to attack and occupy the empty Wancheng.

Yan Yi, a native of Fengyi, was active at the junction of Xiangyang and Yiyang, burning, killing and looting on a large scale, and the government troops were unable to control him.

The situation has completely broken down.

On September 22, Wang Ru named himself the Great General and took charge of Si and Yong provinces.

Hou Tuo, Yan Yi and others remotely regarded him as their leader, jointly resisted the Jin Dynasty and claimed vassal status as Liu Han.

"That is to say, among all the counties of Jingxiang, Nanyang has completely fallen, and Shunyang is only left to defend the city." On the bank of Suiyang Canal, Shao Xun put down a handful of beans, clapped his hands, and said.

Mi Zhi, who had just been appointed as Tongshi Sheren and would take office soon, nodded and said, "Do you have any strategy, my lord?"

"This is completely the court's fault!" Shao Xun snorted angrily.

The Silver Spear Army and the Yamen Army fought for two months before they extinguished the refugee armies from all over Yuzhou and prevented them from merging into a large group. Even so, the local area was still greatly damaged, with a sharp decline in population and a large amount of wealth consumed, and it would be difficult to recover in a short period of time.

Now the Yamen Army has returned to Liang County, and the Silver Spear Army is stationed in Yangxia and Chen County. They have rested for less than half a month, and they are going to go out again? You might as well tire me to death!

"My father holds the same view." Mi Zhi sighed.

"Was it Lord Mi who sent you here, or was it General Wang who sent you here?" Shao Xun asked.

"Before I left, my father gave me many instructions, and the general also told me a lot."

"You were bribed by a messenger?" Shao Xun laughed in anger.

"Your Excellency always says 'tolerance for the sake of the country'..." Mi Zhi said with all his courage.

The two were about the same age, but one was in a high position, with a natural authority, while the other was just under the protection of his father, and served as the official of the King of Donghai and the attendant of Tongshi. It was normal for Mi Zhi to not be able to raise his head in front of Shao Xun. This was not something he could do by giving himself psychological hints. He did not have the confidence to do so.

"What is the court going to do? Du Rui was defeated, Wancheng fell, but don't we still have Shan Jian?" Shao Xun said, "Don't tell me that the soldiers of Jingzhou can't fight. When Liu Hong was in power, he reorganized the troops, fought east and west, quelled the chaos in Jingzhou, and captured and killed Zhang Chang. Later, many Jingzhou soldiers were withdrawn from Yizhou. They have also experienced war. I don't believe they can't fight."

When Zhang Chang rebelled, he happened upon a very good vacuum period. That is, a large number of hereditary soldiers from the two towns of Xiangyang and Wancheng were transferred to Yizhou to quell the rebellion. As a result, he was unstoppable and swept across the country. Sima Xin, the governor of Jingzhou and the King of Xinye, and Yang Yi, the governor of Wancheng, were defeated one after another.

At the critical moment, Liu Hong gathered the defeated soldiers, trained them painstakingly, and slowly turned them into a combat-capable army, and finally wiped out Zhang Chang.

How many years has Liu Hong been dead? Is the Jingzhou army useless?

These were not newly recruited soldiers, but veterans with a lot of war experience and many years of service. Shao Xun estimated that even if they were not as good as his Silver Spear Army, they were still a strong second-tier army. How could they be defeated?

No, their foundation is still there, but their commander Shan Jian is not a human being.

"General Shan originally planned to lead the army himself, but when he heard that Du Rui's army was defeated, he hastily withdrew his troops and did not dare to go out." Mi Zhi said, "He is still in Xiangyang now, reporting to the court for help."

"Ridiculous!" Shao Xun laughed angrily, "After setting out on a campaign, they suddenly heard of the defeat and retreated in panic. By avoiding battle like this, their morale is also gone. Shan Jilun is really good at leading troops."

Mi Zhi also sighed and had nothing to say.

He had only led his family troops and never commanded a large army, but even so, he knew that Shan Jian's behavior was extremely damaging to morale. As a commander, he gave the soldiers a hint: the enemy is very strong and we can't defeat them.

"Sir, the commander asked me to ask, if we lead the Silver Spear Army to the south to quell the rebellion, how long will it take? And how much money and food will it cost?" Mi Zhi said again.

"The court has money and food?" Shao Xun sneered, squatted down and continued to look at the beans.

The earliest batch of grains planted have begun to be harvested.

The joy of harvest hung over everyone, and everyone truly felt hope.

In a few days, the second batch of beans will be harvested. There are soybeans, adzuki beans, mung beans, black beans, and various other grains - basically, whatever seeds are available, just plant them, as long as there is time to harvest, no matter what, just plant them all.

The refugees in various camps and teams had even moved away from their roughly built adobe houses and were living in the fields with their bedding, guarding the food that was about to be harvested with pious eyes.

Those who have not experienced famine cannot understand their feelings.

Shao Xun often patrolled the fields and talked with these refugees, and he felt deeply moved by this.

It is said that he often kills his enemies in large numbers, but he prefers to see the joy of a good harvest, just like he was carefully checking whether the beans were full just now.

"My Lord, Jingzhou suffered little disaster this year, and there is still surplus food." Mi Zhi said, "After the army moves south, the governor of Shan and the envoy Wang will do their best to ensure the military supplies."

"That's just a nice word." Shao Xun shook his head and said, "There are people like Wang Ru, Hou Tuo, and Yan Yi between me and Shan and Wang. Who will send me food?"

"Your Majesty, are you unwilling?" Mi Zhi was a little anxious.

"Let me ask you, if the Huns march south to Luoyang, who will resist them?" Shao Xun asked back.

"Will the Huns definitely come?"

"Originally it was not certain, but after hearing about Wang Ru's rebellion, he will definitely come. Even if he fails to take it down in the end, it's good to try his luck. What if he succeeds?"

"This..." Mi Zhi didn't know what to say.

Indeed, after Wang Ru's rebellion, Jingzhou was in ruins, which would tie up a lot of the court's energy, making it a good opportunity for them to go south. Even if they couldn't take Luoyang, it would be good to plunder the surrounding areas.

By plundering again and again and weakening Luoyang's war potential, as long as we persist, we will see results one day.

"You!" Seeing Mi Zhi's distraught look, Shao Xun sighed, stood up, patted his shoulder, and said, "Come on, walk around with me."

Mi Zhi followed behind stupidly, thinking about his own things silently.

"My lord." Seeing Shao Xun approaching, the refugees from various camps prostrated themselves on the ground.

"If you're wasting your energy on flattering others, you'd better take care of the crops." Shao Xun scolded with a smile.

Everyone stood up, and some of them were brave enough to say, "Your Excellency is the spirit of Taibai Star who has descended to the earth. If we pay our respects to you, we can also get some of your divine energy."

Shao Xun shook his head and laughed.

Sometimes he felt that this was a world of gods and ghosts. Why were people at that time so enthusiastic about these things?

He looked at the land again and said, "Zhang Heipi, you have quite an appetite. What else are you going to plant?"

"Plant some turnips. I heard they can grow in winter." Zhang Heipi replied, "I've never planted them before. If they can really grow, your Excellency will have fodder for your war horses when you send out troops in winter."

Turnip is a very good feed that can be eaten by humans, cattle, sheep, and horses.

In winter, when fodder is scarce, turnips are a great supplement.

"Keep it for yourself. It's enough to have this intention." Shao Xun praised: "Don't plant too much. Planting beans and turnips at the same time will deplete the soil fertility and delay the spring ploughing next year. It's hard to say whether it's a loss or a profit. You have to be aware of it."

"I don't need to." Zhang Heipi replied.

Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "Go away, go back to work."

After saying that, he led Mi Zhi forward again.

This year, there was a locust plague, and even the winter wheat could not be fully harvested, resulting in a considerable loss. Therefore, all the places under his jurisdiction basically planted grains in June, and they could be harvested in September.

Winter wheat will not be planted this year, as the main focus is on soil conservation. Next spring, millet will be planted.

The collection and resettlement of refugees is also in progress.

As of now, more than 280 camps (more than 28,000 households) have been resettled, widely distributed in Chen, Yangxia and Wuping counties.

During the rebellion of refugees from Yuzhou, they attacked and destroyed some fortresses, powerful people and even low-level nobles. Some people migrated south, leaving a lot of land vacant.

The next task should be to further exchange land and resettle as many people as possible so that they can settle down and live and work in peace and contentment.

This is Lu Zhi’s current main job.

Merit is not only about the passionate and generous efforts on the battlefield, but also the silent and meticulous efforts in the rear.

Only by doing this well can we achieve continuous victories on the front line and have Mr. Shao the opportunity to show off in front of the ministers.

"I heard that Guangling Duzhi collected a batch of grain this year and shipped it north?" Shao Xun suddenly asked.

"I don't know about that." Mi Zhi said in surprise.

He really doesn't know.

"Only the grain and grass in Guangling were burned. The ships are all in Duzhong and were not destroyed by Qian Yu." Shao Xun said, "The grain will not be shipped until mid-September. It is not certain that this batch of grain can be delivered to Luoyang in time. How about -"

"Your Majesty wants to..." Mi Zhi seemed to understand, but was very shocked.

The grain shipped by Guangling Duzhi came from various counties in Jiangdong, Xuzhou, and Qingzhou (transported from the south of Yishui River). After being collected in Xiapi and Pengcheng, it either flowed into the Yellow River through Honggou and Heshui, or directly into the Bianqu. Considering the time it took to collect money and grain, this batch of grain could be transported to the capital before the Yellow River froze.

But what if a war breaks out? That would be difficult.

"Why don't we stop at Junyi and I'll take care of it for the court?" Shao Xun said, "Most of the grain transported by Guangling Duzhi Yamen is old grain. I'll return the new grain next year. Just consider it as a loan to me."

"Borrow?" Mi Zhi thought about the word carefully, but always felt something was wrong.

"Don't think about it anymore. Go back and discuss it with Wang Yifu." Shao Xun said, "I always keep my word. I will definitely return what I borrowed. I will never break my promise."

"If the court lends you grain, are you willing to send troops?" Mi Zhi asked.

"That's right." Shao Xun said with a smile.

This was the condition he offered.

If the court agreed, he would help quell the rebellion.

If the imperial court did not agree, he would actually send troops to quell the rebellion.

He is just trying to deceive the imperial court to see if they are willing to give him real money.

Of course, there are many smart people in the court. Maybe they are not human beings, but they are not stupid, and most of them can see Shao Xun’s plan.

But things in this world, if you see through them but don't speak them out, are nothing more than bargaining.

Anyway, this batch of grain may not be transported to the capital in time. Instead of letting it be plundered by the Huns halfway, it is better to hand it over to me for safekeeping first.

The court is now under unprecedented pressure. There is room for negotiation. It just depends on whether they are willing to cut their losses.

(End of this chapter)