Chapter 347 Project Promotion

Chapter 347 Project Promotion

Chapter 347 Project Promotion (Additional chapter for "Once So Serious")

Starting from the fourth day of March, Shao Xun paid attention to the news from the Huns while reorganizing the army.

The first is the statistics of military personnel.

He Lun still had more than 7,000 soldiers under his command, Liu Qia had more than 3,000 soldiers, and Man Heng had more than 1,200 soldiers, all of whom were cavalry.

In addition, the number of troops who failed to flee with Wang Bing exceeded four thousand, and two to three thousand of them ran back in the past few days. The number of people actually taken away by Wang Bing was less than four thousand.

Situ's guards still have a thousand men.

This is the entire force, with more than 19,000 infantry and cavalry, who are the main field mobile force of Yanzhou. As for local defense, it all depends on the counties and prefectures to find a solution on their own.

With such a small number of troops, they are no match for Shi Le. Even if the Da Hu do not send out cavalry, they can most likely defeat him with just the infantry.

Shao Xun divided it into four camps: front, back, left and right. He Lun and Liu Qia each led two camps on the left and right.

As the representative of the Xuzhou governor, Man Heng led the front camp as an explanation to Pei Dun.

The cavalry led by Man Heng were taken away by Shao Xun. He was a little unhappy, but more than half of these cavalry were imperial guards, and they had no objection to returning to Shao Taibai's camp. Under the general trend, Man Heng had no choice but to obey.

The rear camp was led by Tang Jian.

Shao Xun ordered him to select dozens of backbone members from his personal soldiers, and the military farming army would also select some brave and combative people to help him command the troops.

After Tang Jian resigned as the leader of the personal guards, Shao Xun promoted team leader Cai Cheng to take his place.

Cai Cheng, courtesy name Shunling, was from Guangling and came from a poor family. In order to get rich, he took the initiative to go to Donghai to enlist and was one of the first Donghai soldiers to come to Luoyang.

This person is actually not good at fighting. He is more interested in things like farming and dredging canals. However, he is careful and thoughtful. In addition, he is one of us and very loyal, making him the most suitable person for this position.

March 15th is the day when Tang Jian and Cai Cheng officially take over.

Early in the morning, Tang Jian carefully arranged the sentry posts, prepared desks, tea, and snacks, and stood guard for the last shift.

Another group of people came to the courtyard, most of them were local gentry in Yanzhou, such as the Tan family of Jinxiang in Gaoping, the Xi family, the Bian family of Yuanju in Jiyin, the Ruan family of Weishi in Chenliu, the Jiang family of Kaocheng, the Cai family of Kaocheng, the Yang family of Taishan, etc.

Among these Honshu samurai, some had members serving in the shogunate, some families had members who had served in the shogunate but later died or left, and some families had members who had been recruited by the minister of justice but did not accept the appointment.

The reason they were summoned here today was actually to stabilize the situation in Yanzhou.

Concubine Pei and the Crown Prince are still in the lead, with Shao Xun standing behind them, acting as a ballast.

No one could ignore his existence, and every representative of the family would subconsciously glance at him when speaking.

"After several years of chaos, the people have been living in misery. Until now, all we want is to protect our homes." Jiang Chun from Chenliu sighed, "If we can protect our land, houses and gardens, who would be willing to cross the river to the south?"

Jiang Chun is in his sixties and is the son of Jiang Rui, the former governor of Qiao County.

Rui was named Kangfu's son when the country was founded, and the Kaocheng Jiang family can be regarded as descendants of the founding nobles.

Jiang Chun had been a county magistrate and an official in the imperial court. He is now living out his old age at home. His nephew Jiang Tong was well-known in the village. He inherited the title of Kangfu's son. He first served in Sima Ying's mansion and then in the imperial court. He was later recruited by Sima Yue and died of illness in Fan County at the end of last year.

"Mr. Jiang is right." The speaker was a member of the Cai family in Kaocheng named Cai Ming. He said, "When Wang Mi was in chaos, every family was busy protecting themselves. After Wang Mi was defeated, we thought the world was at peace, but we didn't expect the Xiongnu to come again. They came three times and Chenliu was almost a ghost town. When I walked around the village, I saw starving people everywhere. I couldn't help but cry. Alas."

The Cai family is much stronger than the Jiang family. Their ancestor was the prime minister of Cao Wei, Cai Mu (grandson of Cai Yong).

Mu Zide was appointed governor of Leping.

De Zi Ke was once an assistant to the King of Chengdu. After Sima Ying was defeated, he returned home and lived in seclusion.

When Sima Teng was stationed in Ye, he was short of people, so he recruited Cai Ke. Cai Ke refused to accept the appointment, so Sima Teng threatened him in every way, and finally he became an official.

But he was unlucky and had to deal with Sima Teng. During the Jisang Rebellion, he was killed by Li Feng's troops along with Sima Teng and his sons, the Chief of Chariots and Cavalry Yang Heng, and the Prefect of Julu Cui Man.

Ke Zimo was successively selected as a filial and honest official in Yanzhou and a scholar. Later, he was recruited by Sima Yue but refused to accept the invitation. He has now crossed the river to the south with some of his clansmen, servants, and followers.

In fact, some members of the Jiang family have also moved south. Like the Cai family, those who remain now are either unwilling to leave or have not yet made up their minds.

For the two elderly people, Jiang Chun and Cai Ming, they really have no motivation to move south.

I am over 60 years old, how many years do I have left to live? My ancestors’ tombs are all here. I heard that the south of the Yangtze River is low, humid and hot, and it would be difficult to adapt if I went there. It is better not to leave.

Since they were not leaving, they became more concerned about the situation in Yanzhou, or at least Chenliu.

Their demands are actually not many, just to protect their interests.

Shao Xun had already understood this in his dealings with the gentry in Yuzhou.

Given the current situation, everyone has to compromise a little. They no longer need you to give them too many benefits, as long as they can protect their interests.

To put it simply, the nobles and powerful families in the entire Henan province need a thug, a thug who can help them resist foreign aggression.

Shao Xun occupies this ecological niche very well.

Sima Yue was unable to do this very well, so after his death, the Yanzhou gentry no longer supported this shogunate.

It's useless, and we have to spend money and food, and send out soldiers. Instead of wasting money like this, why not save the money, or cross the river to the south, or train soldiers yourself, isn't it better than throwing money into the water? "In the past, the King of Donghai wanted to recruit me, but because of different opinions, I left quickly." After Jiang and Cai finished speaking, Xi Jian of the Xi family in Jinxiang suddenly said, "After the prime minister left the town, he recruited me again, but I declined. Today, the world is in turmoil and civil unrest is everywhere. I just want to know how the successor king can keep Yanzhou stable?"

This was a very impolite remark, and he was looking at Shao Xun when he spoke, not Sima Pi.

It was about nine years ago that Xi Jian was recruited by Sima Yue. At that time, Sima Yue wanted almost anyone, and Xi Jian happened to be in Luoyang. He went to see him and left soon.

After Sima Yue was sent to govern Yanzhou, he was invited again. However, Xi Jian had a bad impression of him and refused for the second time.

Gou Xi also wanted to recruit Xi Jian, but Xi Jian also refused, looking down on him. Because Xi Jian was training soldiers in Gaoping Countryside and had great prestige, Gou Xi did not force him.

A while ago, Xi Jian entered the court as an official, but soon resigned because he looked down on the emperor.

On his way back home after resigning from his post, Xi Jian passed by Chenliu and was detained by Chen Wu, the begging general. After a conversation, Chen Wu asked him to stay and jointly lead the army, but Xi Jian refused and returned to his hometown in the east.

Such a person, no matter how easy-going he appears to be on the surface, is actually very proud deep down.

He looked down on Sima Yue. Even though he was not a direct descendant of the Xi clan, but a remote branch, and that joining Sima Yue could strengthen his voice in the clan, he was still unwilling to compromise.

Even Sima Yue looked down on him, so how could he look up to a little kid like Sima Pi?

So, he was looking at Shao Xun, a young general who had become famous in recent years and was busy putting out fires everywhere.

Sima Pi touched his head and subconsciously turned to look at Shao Xun.

Concubine Pei glanced at him inconspicuously, and Sima Pi quickly turned his head away.

Shao Xun whispered a few words to Sima Pi.

"Chen - I think if we defend it for too long, we will lose it. If we station a large number of troops in Chenliu, the Xiongnu will come from Puyang. If we move our troops to Puyang, the Xiongnu will attack Gaoping. By the time we reach Gaoping, the Xiongnu will go to Xingyang. If we run around like this, we will surely be defeated." Sima Pi said, "The only way to win is to destroy their nest and attack them so that they will come to the rescue."

"Destroy the nest?" Xi Jian smiled and said, "It's a good idea, but do you have the ability to do it?"

Sima Pi was stunned again.

Shao Xun leaned close to his ear again.

"Ahem." Sima Pi cleared his throat and said, "It's not possible now, but it may be possible in the future. As long as the Yu and Yan tribes work together, provide food and soldiers, select elite soldiers, and train them strictly, we will definitely succeed."

Xi Jian did not comment, but did not ask any more questions. Judging from his expression, he was obviously not optimistic.

Since the defeat in the Battle of Changping, the Jin Dynasty switched from offense to defense and has been in a passive position of being beaten.

Now the Xiongnu has occupied most of Jizhou and Bingzhou, and at the same time swallowed up Pingyang, Hedong, Henei and other counties in Sizhou. They have also expanded their influence deep into Fengyi in Guanzhong, and also control the former Shangjun in Hexi. They are the number one force in the north, spanning states and connecting counties. It would be good if they don't come to fight you, but why do they take the initiative to attack?

It's difficult.

After the three spoke in turn, other families also spoke a few words. In the end, the core idea was actually very clear. It was not that they were unwilling to support the shogunate, but that they saw no hope.

Investing in a project with no beneficial output for one or two years is fine, but over time, do you really think I'm a sucker?

The most important thing now is to restore their confidence.

Their faith was very weak, so family members continued to cross the river to Wu with money, troops and supplies, voting with their feet and their attitude was very obvious.

However, after Shao Xun arrived with the Silver Spear Army, they regained a little confidence and decided to see what would happen after the change of personnel.

At the end of the conversation, Concubine Pei brought up the issue of the headquarters of the General of the Zhenjun Army.

Shao Xun proposed to set it up in Kaocheng County, Chenliu State, for five reasons.

First, Kaocheng is located close to the Bian Canal, which has the advantage of water transportation, making it convenient for mobilizing troops and transporting grain.

Second, Kaocheng is located at the junction of Chenliu and Jiyin, which is convenient for connecting with the hinterland of Yanzhou.

Third, Kaocheng is very close to Liang State and Chen County, making it convenient for Shao Xun to provide support.

Fourthly, in Chenliu State, where Kaocheng was located, the gentry accounted for almost half of Yanzhou, making it convenient for them to get food.

Fifthly, there were two other beggar troops, Chen Wu and Wang Ping, near Kaocheng, so it was convenient to recruit and supervise them in the name of Sima Yue's legitimate son.

"Princess, heir king, I request that Jiyang County be re-established, and that it govern the four counties of Jiyang, Waihuang, Kaocheng, and Yuanju." Shao Xun said, "If the general of Zhenjun is stationed in Kaocheng and governs both the east and the west, there will be great potential for Yanzhou's affairs."

"This matter needs to be reported to the imperial court and approved by the emperor." Concubine Pei nodded.

Jiyang once existed and governed three counties, including Kaocheng, a county that was abolished in the early years of the Ming Dynasty.

After Jiyang County was abolished, Kaocheng was not abolished with it, but was incorporated into Chenliu.

In the Jiyang County that Shao Xun proposed to restore, there were three major families: Jiang, Cai, and Bian. Among them, the Cai and Bian families had produced famous scholars and were quite powerful. It was obvious that he wanted to eat and use them.

Of course this is also good for them, it depends on how you understand it.

"Of course." Shao Xun and Concubine Pei looked at each other and then looked away.

(End of this chapter)