Chapter 348 Arrangements

Chapter 348 Arrangements

Chapter 348 Arrangements
On the winding country road, several riders gradually disappeared into the distance.

"He left in a hurry without even celebrating the Cold Food Festival." Wang Shu sighed and said depressedly.

"Why should Chu Ming worry?" Zhou Xi rode up and caught up, chuckling, "Zhongzhou is in turmoil and chaos, it's not a place we can enjoy. Sooner or later someone will get discouraged and cross the river to the south."

"That's right." Wang Shu turned his worry into joy and said, "Bo Ren is still good at comforting people."

"It's also to comfort myself." Zhou Xi laughed.

Wang Shu, Wang Dao's younger brother, was currently serving as a military officer in the military headquarters of Sima Rui, the General of Zhendong. Sima Yue had once recruited him, but he refused. When Wang Dun was the governor of Qingzhou, Wang Shu followed him on his way to take up a post in the prefecture, and the result is well known to everyone.

After Sima Rui moved south from Xuzhou to Jianye, the Wang family invested a large amount of money, and almost two-thirds of the clan members moved south to rely on him. Wang Shu was one of them.

Zhou Xi was born in the Zhou family of Runan, and was currently serving as the chief secretary of the military shogunate of Sima Pi. But he didn't want to do it anymore, so he chased to Fan County to resign and followed Wang Shu southward.

As for his hometown, he also sent someone back to inform them, and then he would leave with his family, servants, and followers.

The North is too chaotic, with iron and blood everywhere, while the South has gentle breezes, catkins, fine wine, and beautiful women. Isn't it beautiful?

There were several people following them, all of whom were former assistants of Sima Yue's government. Under Wang Shu's persuasion, they left their homes, crossed the river and headed south to join the King of Langya.

As the old saying goes, a man is worthless when he leaves his hometown, and the same is true for scholars.

You can indeed bring your soldiers and farmhands with you, but the problem is that it requires a lot of money to support you. Opening up new land is not an easy task, at least the first one or two years will be a pure loss, and you have to support them.

The Jiangdong government will provide some subsidies, but there is no doubt that you have to pay for it yourself.

As more and more people moved south, the price of grain in the counties of Jiangdong went up, and even you couldn't buy it even if you had money. You had to borrow it from others through your network of connections and return it after you successfully reclaimed the land.

At this time, it is very important to have relatives or friends who are officials in the local area.

The people who followed Wang Shu were to serve as officials and pave the way for the family's future migration to the south.

They are scholars, well-educated, knowledgeable, and have some management experience. At this stage, the King of Langya wants as many as he can get, because he wants to strike a balance between the southerners and the northerners.

In addition, attracting talents from the north is also a means to weaken opponents. In short, there are many benefits.

"Who are those people over there?" Wang Shu pointed with his whip, looking at the hundred or so people who were hesitantly moving forward a few dozen steps away, and asked.

Zhou Xi looked carefully and said, "They must be the people who came south to beg. I have seen quite a few of them on my way from Luoyang, Xingyang, and Puyang. The Xiongnu sent a small group of cavalry south, about one or two hundred cavalry, carrying a few days' worth of food and water, to harass people everywhere. When the people saw the bandits coming, they fled. The Xiongnu did not pursue them, but destroyed the crops, burned the houses, and then left in a hurry."

Although the people have started to live together, some of the forts are not big enough to fit everyone in. Many people still live outside the forts, and only hide in the forts when the enemy arrives.

Besides, people can hide, but fields cannot. If you can't deal with those 200 Hun cavalry, you can only let them do what they want - if you are determined to fight and repel the enemy in the wild, you may be able to prevent the enemy from destroying the crops, but not every fortress has the ability to do so.

As Zhou Xi was traveling along the way, he encountered a group of Xiongnu cavalry in Puyang and was almost captured by them.

"It seems that Shao Xun is not having an easy time in Henan." Wang Shu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "According to what Shao Taibai said, 'Every family has its own problems', haha. He faces the Xiongnu army head-on and is plundered every day. I don't know how long he can hold out."

Zhou Xi frowned after hearing this and said, "Chu Ming, it is also good for Jiangdong if Lord Chen blocks the way. Why do you have to make sarcastic remarks?"

"That's right." Wang Shu apologized and said no more.

Up to now, King Langya still obeys the orders of the imperial court.

Guangling didn't transport much grain to the capital last year, and the Jiangdong counties were relieved, but this year they have to start transporting grain. This is a very obvious signal that the King of Langya is still a minister of the Jin Dynasty and respects the orthodoxy of Luoyang.

As a subject of King Langya, he really shouldn't say too much.

Zhou Xi turned his head and looked in the direction of Fan County again.

In the past few days, the General Zhenjun's office has been preparing for Sima Yue's funeral.

After Sima Yue's death, his coffin had been kept in the city, but this time he was buried in grand style.

For people at their level, funerals are political activities and mean a lot of things.

After Sima Yue's burial, it meant that his era had come to an end, and the shogunate officials would start a new political career under the leadership of the new lord.

Zhou Xi heard that almost all the major aristocratic families in Yanzhou had sent people to the scene, and there were more people than Situ Sheng who came before.

It is true that the dead are the greatest and no one would go against the dead. But if the Marquis of Chen had not led his army to come, things would not be so simple.

Judging from the people who attended the funeral, the Yanzhou gentry probably also wanted to see if Chen Hou, a general famous in Luoyang, could help them withstand the fierce offensive of the Huns - not to stop it completely, but at least to improve it compared to before.

The situation in the north is quietly undergoing profound changes due to the interaction of external forces and internal factors.

******
At the end of March, the news suddenly increased.

Shouchun Zhou Fu was still touting his plan to move the capital, and mentioned that grain transport might be difficult this year because Jingzhou had suffered from war.

When this memorial was published, everyone looked at it with awe.

Langya King Sima Rui asked Zhou Fu to dismiss him, and the two sides were still arguing. No one dared to say whether they would resort to war in the future. At least, Sima Rui had a strong urge to get rid of Zhou Fu.

In the direction of Jingzhou, Yang Dan led his army southward, defeated Wang Ru again, and beheaded three thousand people.

After arriving at the city of Xiangyang, due to the failed siege, a military riot broke out in the camp. Yang Dan fled in panic and was defeated by Wang Ru, suffering heavy losses.

After gathering the remaining troops, they retreated all the way back to Xinye to lick their wounds. The Xiongnu had accumulated a certain amount of supplies in Hedong for several months, and finally lost their patience and began to attack.

Sima Mo, the King of Nanyang, sent his general Zhao Ran to lead his army to resist them. Ran's army camped at Pubanjin and blocked the way by the river.

There was another route heading to Tongguan for garrison.

These two groups of troops gathered all the capable soldiers in Guanzhong, and their strategic intention of keeping the enemy out of the country was very obvious.

The reason for doing this is actually fear.

Sima Mo was worried that if the Xiongnu broke into Guanzhong, the Hu people would respond and the situation would deteriorate instantly. Therefore, he had to put the battlefield outside and as far away from Chang'an as possible.

What's more, if you don't defend the two key locations of Pubanjin and Tongguan, what war are you fighting for?

The battle in Xiangzhou was still going on, and the situation was not good, because the government had no soldiers at all and could only call them up temporarily. Compared with the refugees from Bashu, the men who were temporarily called up were probably slightly inferior, and coupled with the difference in morale, the government troops were very passive, and Du Tao had already approached Changsha.

Wang Jun of Youzhou once again became deeply involved in the war against the Xianbei.

In March, before the grass turned green again, the Duan Xianbei were ambushed by the Murong Xianbei and suffered heavy losses, so they had to ask Wang Jun for help.

Jun led tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry eastward, which was considered a loyal act.

When talking about the Duan tribe of Xianbei, one cannot avoid the Battle of Chang'an six years ago.

Duan's troops were deeply involved in the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, and had already lost several thousand cavalry in succession. With another 5,000 deaths in Chang'an, their vitality was severely damaged.

You have to know that those who could be sent to the Central Plains were not the old, weak, sick or disabled, but relatively strong and healthy people. The killing of more than 10,000 people within a few years was an unbearable pain for the Duan tribe of Xianbei, whose total population was only a few hundred thousand.

Grassland resources are limited and tribal feuds are constant.

Seeing that the Duan tribe was showing signs of decline, how could the Murong and Yuwen clans not step forward to share the spoils?

Over the years, Wang Jun has actually been providing blood transfusions to the Duan tribe. He has sent troops to rescue them three or four times, resulting in the loss of a lot of soldiers and money and food, which has allowed the Duan Xianbei tribe to barely survive until now.

But it only slightly reversed the downward trend.

The Duan tribe of the Xianbei tribe continued to lose pastures, cattle, sheep, and people, and their strength became increasingly weak. Perhaps, in a few years, they would withdraw from the stage of history, and be replaced by the Murong Xianbei or the Yuwen Xianbei - or perhaps the Tuoba Xianbei?

When Shao Xun saw this, he felt a little strange: "Why did Wang Yifu tell me this?"

"Mr. Chen, you don't know that the Grand Commandant once thought of sending Wang Jun south from Youzhou while Mr. Chen led his troops north to attack Shi Le, Shi Chao and others and recapture Jizhou." Yang Mao said, "However, Wang Youzhou was exhausted and had no strength to go south."

"Wang Jun doesn't know how to fight without the Xianbei." Shao Xun sneered, "In the past, the Xianbei helped him fight, and now he helps the Xianbei fight. They are really a good pair of father-in-law and son-in-law."

"Wang Youzhou has no other options. He has no friendship with the Murong clan and the Yuwen clan. After losing the external aid of the Duan tribe, he can't hold Hebei. Not to mention the Xiongnu, he can't even defeat Shi Le." Yang Mao shook his head and sighed, "Mr. Chen can't count on this man. He's no match for him."

"I'm not that stupid." Shao Xun said, "Lord Yang, you have to take care of all the affairs in Yanzhou. It's not right for the successor king to command the army in Yanzhou, so I need Lord Yang's support."

"Isn't this also not legitimate?" Yang Mao said with a wry smile, "Will the emperor really agree?"

"The emperor will agree." Shao Xun smiled and said, "Because there are still smart people in the court of Luoyang, they will find that Luoyang has been pushed to the front line. The war in Guanzhong will rage. Once it falls, the situation in Luoyang will be even more critical. At this time, it will need the support of Yu, Yan, and Xu. I always say 'tolerance for the sake of the country'. If I tolerate it, the emperor must also tolerate it. If he doesn't want to tolerate it, someone will persuade him to tolerate it. That's all, don't worry, Lord Yang."

Yang Mao smiled bitterly again.

He smiled bitterly twice, but for different reasons. Only he himself could understand the feeling.

"Has Mr. Chen made all the arrangements in Xuzhou?" Yang Mao asked.

"Xuzhou's Pei Shijun has recommended the Sili Xiaowei Mi Huang and Mi Zihui as the internal historian of Donghai." Shao Xun said, "This matter should not be a big deal."

After Sima Yue died, Mi Huang was extremely confused.

Character determines destiny. He tried to mend the rift between Shao Xun and Sima Yue, but ended up with neither side end up happy.

Of course, Shao Xun actually had no opinion about him.

Xuzhou was too far away for him to take care of it at all. He had no objection that Concubine Pei and her son favored Mi Huang.

The original internal historian was Wang Cheng of Taiyuan, one of Sima Pi's teachers. But Wang Cheng had decided to move south to Jianye, so the position became vacant.

The Mi family was a local aristocratic family in Donghai, but their family background was not high.

In recent years, due to their rapid rise in Luoyang, the Mi family has developed rapidly in their hometown. Many common people and even powerful people have come to rely on them, and their strength has greatly increased.

With the support of his family power and the conveniences brought by his official position, he should be able to compete with the Wang family, right?

In fact, Shao Xun hoped that he could unite with the Wang family to jointly defend the four counties of Donghai State, but he didn't know whether it would work.

"My lord, it's time to go." Cai Cheng walked in from outside and reported.

"Okay." Shao Xun nodded, then bowed to Yang Mao and said, "Take care, Mr. Yang. I'll have Tang Jian stationed in Linqiu, and if anything happens, he'll be there in no time."

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Chen." Yang Mao returned the greeting.

Shao Xun then turned around and left, embarking on his journey home.

(End of this chapter)