Chapter 346 Statement

Chapter 346 Statement

Chapter 346 Statement

Fan County is said to be the site of the Gu State during the Xia Dynasty.

At that time it was a county under the jurisdiction of Dongping State. It was named Shouzhang County in the Tang Dynasty and was later located in Liangshan County.

During the Yanzhou Rebellion, Cao Cao only had three counties left that had not been captured: Juancheng, Fan, and Dong'a. The first two had already been passed by him on his way east, while Dong'a was still north of Fan County.

To the east and south of Fan County is the vast Daye Lake.

This is one of the nine lakes in ancient times and it still exists today. From a distance, it looks more like an ocean than a lake.

Such a vast wetland is extremely precious to Dongping, Gaoping, Jiyin and other places. Even during the epic drought two years ago, it was still able to guarantee a certain amount of agricultural water and avoid crop failure.

Overall, Yanzhou is a densely populated, rich and fertile place.

Wei Wu used it as a base to conquer the world.

At this time in the imperial court, Gou Xi was still brooding over being driven out of Yanzhou - how could Qingzhou compare with Yanzhou?

On the evening of the third day of March, Shao Xun escorted Concubine Pei and Sima Pi to stay outside the city.

As Concubine Pei's brother, Pei Shao took down the hanging contract and personally welcomed his sister and nephew into the mansion.

That evening, there was an endless stream of people coming to visit, and soon the small house was packed.

Shao Xun brought a Hu bed over and asked Concubine Pei to sit on it.

The heir to the throne, Sima Pi, moved a small rope chair and sat next to Concubine Pei.

Shao Xun stood behind the two of them, holding his sword.

A lot of people came, and almost all the members of the three shogunate teams, namely, Situ, Mu of Yanzhou, and King of Donghai, had arrived.

Pan Tao, the left chief secretary of the Minister of the Interior, Feng Song, the left military commander, Shen Ling, Wang, Yang Mao, the military advisor Liu Qiao (yes, the Liu Yuzhou who had beaten Sima Yue so hard that he was furious), Zou Jie, Liu Wei, Qu Zhuang, Li Xing, Guan Junyi, Sui Mai, the military strategist, Guang Yi, the Western Cao clerk...

The left chief secretary of the palace, Liu Chou, the chief clerk, He Sui, Pei Xia, the military supervisor, Pei Miao, and the lieutenant, Liu Qia...

Pei Shao, Cheng Shou and other assistants in the Yanzhou Mu's office.

There are dozens of people in total, and the lineup is so huge that it is breathtaking.

And this is the reduced scale.

Hua Yi, Xie Kun, Guo Xiang, Bian Dun, Ruan Fu, Yang Jun, Lei Sijin, Du Pi, Yan Han and others have either left the mansion or died of illness and are no longer here.

In addition to the assistants, there were also military generals and members of the Sima clan.

Shao Xun was very surprised watching from the side.

The emperor actually pushed away such a large group of staff and wanted to settle accounts with them one by one. What kind of idiot is this?

Those who have been in Sima Yue's court for a long time have more or less participated in conspiracies against the emperor and his favorites. At this time, you should be more generous, show that you will not hold grudges against the past, and first win over the people and the army, and then take over the territory.

So you want to settle accounts? It's hilarious.

They will not sit and wait for death, nor will they surrender to you. In the end, they will only benefit other ambitious people, such as Sima Rui, the King of Langya.

With Sima Chi, the Great Jin Dynasty has hope for revival!

"I recall last year's New Year's Day, when the palace was filled with distinguished guests, laughing and feasting." After taking a look around, Concubine Pei said, "You all have great talents—"

"Some people have made every possible effort and have the honor of assisting the army and the people."

"Some are well versed in the art of war and have the record of leading an army to annihilate the enemy."

"Some people care about the people and have the merit of saving their lives and protecting them."

"Some people have great literary talent and are good at promoting education."

"Someone who understands worldly affairs can be used to spread virtue and pacify the people."

"We are orphans and widows, lacking in wisdom and military strategy, and no one has any hope. Even if we have the legacy of the previous prime minister, we dare not command all the talented people." At this point, Concubine Pei wiped her tears and said, "In recent years, there has been a severe drought for more than a year, and locust plagues have spread all over the land, resulting in empty granaries and poverty. In addition, the Xiongnu are fierce and ambitious, eyeing China. In such a predicament, I and the successor king are afraid that we are powerless, so you should recommend yourselves to take on the important task."

There was silence for a while, and whispers gradually began to be heard.

Sima Fan, King of Xiangyang, sighed repeatedly and lowered his head in silence.

Liu Chou and He Sui looked at each other meaningfully.

He Lun and Liu Qia looked at Sima Pi with burning eyes.

Everyone has his or her own thoughts, as can be seen from this.

Yang Mao, the attendant of the imperial guards, coughed and said, "Your Highness, you are too kind. The general of the Zhenjun Army is kind, generous, intelligent, filial, and the son of the prime minister. He is just the right person to lead the army. Some people say that the heir is young, but there are many talented people here. If we choose the best ones to assist us, nothing will be impossible. After many years, the heir will be benevolent and righteous, and his grace will be increased. His reputation will spread to the north and south of the river, and then great things will be accomplished."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Yang Mao.

Someone is thinking.

Someone is watching a play.

Someone is laughing.

There are so many different things.

Yang Mao seemed not to feel the gazes of the crowd. He bowed and said, "I would like to invite the general of Zhenjun to come to Yanzhou to take charge of the affairs."

Concubine Pei raised her head, her eyes blank.

"I also ask the general of Zhenjun to take charge of the matter." This time it was Man Heng, the governor of the palace, who spoke.

This person's identity is rather complicated. He was originally a cavalry commander under the command of Pei Dun, the governor of Xuzhou, and was from Shanyang.

Later, he was recruited by Sima Yue and brought a group of Xuzhou cavalrymen and the brave cavalrymen who were stationed in the town, a total of more than a thousand cavalrymen, under his command.

Even in Yue Prefecture, he had always maintained close contact with Pei Dun. Standing up and speaking at this time, people couldn't help but wonder if this was the intention of Pei Dun, the governor of Xuzhou.

Sure enough, after Man Heng finished the previous sentence, he immediately said: "Pengcheng Pei Shijun has been deeply grateful to the Minister of Justice, and is willing to obey the orders of the Zhenjun General."

There was a buzz in the crowd.

Pei Dun was a heavyweight governor, and he stood up to support the successor king, which was much better than Yang Mao, a shogunate official. Sima Fan was already very calm. How could he not be calm after completely giving up that extravagant hope?
"We are willing to obey the orders of the successor king." He Lun and Liu Qia said loudly.

Their status is not high, but they directly control the troops and their influence is not light.

But everyone just glanced and turned their eyes to Shao Xun, the General of the Southern Army, who was standing behind Concubine Pei.

There is no need to say much about Shao Taibai's reputation. There was no general or officer in the shogunate who did not know him.

The love and hate between him and Situ could even be described as a whole day and night. But since Situ was gone, there was no need to mention some things anymore.

Theoretically speaking, Shao Taibai was born into a family of generals in the Yue family. Although he was not a slave, he was a proper subject.

He is actually qualified to express his opinion, after all, they are all from the East China Sea.

"I have received the grace of the Minister of Justice until today." Shao Xun walked around to Concubine Pei and Sima Pi, bowed and said, "The General of the Zhenjun Army is the blood of the Minister of Justice. Now that he has grown up, he may be the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Yanzhou. As for the matter of pacifying the people, you can choose other wise men from the shogunate to assist you."

Sima Pi's face lit up when he heard this.

As a young man, who hasn't fantasized about being in command and giving orders?

Yanzhou is such a large place with many troops, and they can be allowed to do whatever they want. It's simply - too much fun.

He looked at everyone eagerly to see who else would support him.

Liu Chou and He Sui looked at each other again and sighed inwardly.

After a while, the two said in unison: "We are willing to obey the orders of the Zhenjun General."

To be honest, I say this with some reluctance.

Both of them were from Xuzhou noble families and were Sima Yue's most trusted confidants. They knew that their own interests depended on Sima Yue alone.

However, neither of them was sure whether the successor king Sima Pi had the ability to protect their interests.

However, having said that, Sima Pi is after all the flesh and blood of the former Situ, so there is some kinship and a sense of intimacy between them.

It would have been fine if heavyweights like Pei Dun and Shao Xun had not come out to support the successor to the throne, but now that they have clearly expressed their support, what else is there to say?

The emperor wants to settle accounts with everyone. If you don't vote for the successor king, you have to cross the river to Jianye and vote for the Langya King. After thinking it over, I decided to work in the successor king's court for a while.

If it suits their wishes, they will continue to work. If it doesn't suit their wishes, they will leave.

After these two expressed their opinions, quite a few of the remaining officials also expressed their opinions. As for those who did not express their opinions, it was obvious that they were unwilling to vote for a young man. Everyone has their own aspirations and cannot be forced.

Shao Xun silently counted the heads and found that there were many supporters and the momentum was very strong, which was enough.

Military support is certainly important, but the support of staff is more important, because they are not just assistants, but representatives of aristocratic families.

You can substitute the concepts of feudal lords and vassal subjects.

The aristocratic families are all local tyrants. They have armies, wealth, and are well-known in the local area, holding huge influence.

If they support you, it means that the place is generally stable.

If they oppose you, your will to rule will not be able to extend smoothly to that area.

This is one of the important reasons why many princes in the past actively recruited scholars.

Gou Xi is a negative example.

He was unpopular in Qingzhou - the "people" here refer to the nobles and powerful families.

Of course, Gou Xi did not get the support of ordinary people in Qingzhou, and was even hunted down by the religious representatives of Tianshi Dao. He was truly surrounded by enemies. Even if he won a few battles for a while, he would inevitably be defeated in the end.

Shao Xun is an example that is neither good nor bad.

His family background was too poor to attract the support of scholars. Later, there was a rumor that the Taibai star spirit had descended to the world, which gave his life story a bit of mythology. This helped him to gain a lot of support in the process of leading the people.

Otherwise, even if his political skills were better than Zhang Fang and Gou Xi, the current situation would not have happened.

Zhang Fang also wanted to make friends with scholars at the beginning, but he was ridiculed and mocked by scholars led by Bi Yuan, a prominent family in Hejian, so this approach was blocked.

When Gou Xi first arrived in Qingzhou, he also wanted to cheer up the situation, but in the end it seemed to not have much effect.

Zhang Fang is dead, and Gou Xi has come to this point today, with his family background being an indelible shadow.

This is a long-term debuff that always exerts a negative impact, making you lag behind at the starting line in the competition with the scholars, and then you have to race with the lightly equipped scholars while carrying a heavy load. You can imagine how difficult it is.

Background is the biggest golden finger in this era.

Concubine Pei watched silently from the side. When she saw everyone finish expressing their opinions one after another, she choked up and said, "My late husband passed away, but his legacy is still there. I will remember your kindness in my heart. However, the heir king is still young, and still needs good people to assist him——"

At this point, she looked at Yang Mao and said, "Mr. Yang is a capable man, loyal and diligent in his work. He always writes to me with tears in his eyes. I have been deeply moved by your writings and have been thinking of something to repay you. The officials, soldiers and civilians of Fan County may jointly ask Mr. Yang to be the governor and report to the court, begging for your grace. If so, I will be very grateful."

When everyone heard this, they cursed inwardly.

Yang Mao was the first one to step forward and show his loyalty, and he actually got such a huge benefit.

However, even if they were not happy, they would not openly oppose it at this time, and all agreed with the crowd. Even some people who did not want to work in the Zhenjun General's Mansion and were determined to leave did not mind putting their names on the list to make a good relationship.

After this matter was settled, only the details remained. Yang Mao planned to move the governor's office to Juancheng to take all parties into consideration.

The headquarters of the Zhenjun General's shogunate would definitely not be located in Fan County. As for where it would move to, Yang Mao didn't care much. That was something that Concubine Pei and the heir king needed to think about.

"The civil affairs are over, but there is still the military affairs to deal with." Concubine Pei added: "The troops in Fan County are in disarray and need to be reorganized as soon as possible to prepare for the invasion. Generals He and Liu are well-informed and are the former prime minister's favorite generals. Perhaps they can take on the important task."

After that, he looked at Shao Xun and said, "Lord Chen is the bravest of the three armies and has won many battles. He can help the counselor a little."

Shao Xun used to be a general of Yuefu, but not anymore. To be honest, he is now a general of the emperor, commanding thousands of Yamen troops, so when Concubine Pei invited him, she used the term "assistant counselor" instead of giving him a direct order.

As for whether it is "assisting" or "leading", everyone understands - if you don't understand, just look at the Silver Spear Army all over the city.

Coming here with such a big fanfare, are you kidding me? He is the biggest supporter behind Concubine Pei and the heir king.

In fact, what Wang Bing said was correct. He was the manipulator behind Concubine Pei and the heir to the throne, and he used the names of Situ's widow and legitimate son to gain benefits.

He will definitely get involved in the army.

(End of this chapter)