Chapter 388 Power Structure
Chapter 388 Power Structure
In the evening, the rain and snow stopped.
A man riding a donkey was walking along the post road.
Behind him were more than ten carts, fifty knights, and more than a hundred servants.
The donkey walked leisurely, stepping on the mud and puddles with its hooves.
The man on the donkey wore a straw hat with his head hung on his chest, and his back was swaying as the donkey walked.
He didn't whip the donkey, nor was he too lazy to pull the reins, just letting the donkey walk on its own, showing a carefree and unrestrained look.
His eyes only lingered on the desolate fields, muddy roads, and endless rain and snow around him.
The guards and servants were almost freezing to death, but he didn't care. He even wanted to compose a poem and play a tune on the piano.
"Splash!" The donkey's hoof suddenly slipped, splashing a large pool of mud and water, staining his white robe.
The man sighed and ordered them to rest in a village ahead.
The guards rushed in first.
Sure enough, there were dead bodies lying in the village. Judging from their attire, they should be Huns.
There were no wounds on his body and no one knew how he died. He was probably starved to death or frozen to death.
The corpse had already smelled bad. The guard suppressed his nausea and took off the fur coat from the corpse. He looked at it carefully and smelled it. He planned to find an opportunity to clean it. Maybe it could still be used, or at least he could sell it at a low price.
Others began searching house by house, and later found three bodies in a relatively intact house. There were obvious sword wounds on their bodies, and their weapons, luggage and even horses were missing.
After hastily burying the body and cleaning it, the guards invited the owner and his family in.
The man riding the donkey found a cushion to sit on.
After he sat down, another person sat opposite him.
The servants couldn't find dry firewood, so they took down doors and windows to boil water and cook.
"Mr. Xun is really decisive." The person on the opposite side sighed.
"Hong Qiao, I once had a dream of being a wise minister and helping the world..." Xun Gong said slowly.
"Are you awake from your dream?" Hong Qiao asked.
The speaker’s surname is Yin, his given name is Xian, and his courtesy name is Hong Qiao. He is from Changping, Yingchuan, and is the protagonist of the idiom “付朱洪乔”.
Sitting opposite him was Xun Jun, Marquis of Jibei County and military officer of the Xuchang Shogunate.
"If I hadn't woken up, how could I be in the same country with you?" Xun Jun shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"It seems you are in trouble." Yin Xian said, "I am in trouble too."
"What's so difficult about Hong Qiao?" Xun Jun asked.
"My niece will soon be entering Lord Chen's mansion as a concubine." Yin Xian said, "Wherever Changping Yin goes, she is now considered Lord Chen's person. Otherwise, how can she go to Jibei with you?"
Xun Jun laughed out loud.
Jibei was his fiefdom, which consisted of five counties, located north of Dongping and west of Mount Tai.
He used to stay in his fiefdom, but he has hardly been there in the past two years. The reason is simple: it is unsafe.
This time when the Huns invaded, almost everything in the feudal state was wiped out.
If he had not hurried back to Yingchuan because of Xun Xian's incident and settled down there, he might not have been spared this time, just like Chen Cui of Gaoping, where many men died and his wife and daughters became slaves of the Huns. It was a tragic situation.
But now he wants the country, because Mr. Chen "suggested" him to go and guard the five counties of Jibei State, and stop people from coming in and out at will and plundering.
Things were a bit difficult and worrying, but he had no choice but to take up the post.
Some of the Xun family of Yingchuan served as officials in the court, some served as aides to the King of Langya, and naturally some also defected to Mr. Chen, and he was one of them.
The situation of the Changping Yin family was actually similar, except that they were more decisive. Some of them crossed the river south to Jianye, and some of them joined Lord Chen.
The Xun family and the Yin family both have concubines as dowries, and they are the same.
After Xun Jun came to power, Yin Xian became the Prime Minister of Jibei, or the Internal History.
The two of them have to work together to clean up the mess in Jibei.
"After this defeat, the Xiongnu will not come to Jibei again in a year or two." Xun Jun stopped smiling and talked about business: "Now we should worry about Cao Yi. Jibei and Jinan are adjacent, and there is a high possibility that Cao Yi will send troops to plunder."
"Aren't you worried about Shi Le and Shi Chao?" Yin Xian asked.
Xun Jun was silent for a while, and said, "Shi Le probably only wanted to develop in Hebei. After Yu Zimei left, he and Chen Gong confronted each other across the river, but they kept to themselves, that's all."
Ji County Governor Yu Chen did intend to retreat southward.
The direct reason is that all the crops this year were destroyed by the Huns, and now the county is short of food and it is difficult to survive.
In addition, after years of siege, he could only directly control two or three counties. This time, Liu Can was stationed in Hebei and captured two more counties, and now only the county town is left.
After the Huns were defeated, it was a good time for them to retreat - if they had won or had not been defeated, they would not have been able to leave.
I heard that Mr. Chen was arranging for him the post of Internal History of Liang, so the retreat to the south was almost certain.
"After the battles of Heze and Gaoping, I think Liu Han's expansion was interrupted." Yin Xian said: "Mr. Chen and Liu Can fought each other, and there were countless casualties. In the end, they just divided the territory between them."
Xun Jun nodded slightly.
After this year, there should be a tacit understanding between Liu Han and Chen Gong. The area north of the Yellow River is yours, and Yuzhou and Yanzhou are mine. Isn't it just a division of territory?
But the division of territory is not something that can be accomplished by just talking. You have to fight first to get a result that both sides can accept. After the Huns suffered a setback in their southward march, they will probably focus on Hebei and Guanzhong.
Especially since Guanzhong surrendered and then rebelled again, it was necessary to send troops to suppress it.
After "suppressing" them, they still have to "pacify" them. In the long run, Guanzhong will inevitably tie up some of their energy.
In fact, there is only Taiyuan left in Bingzhou.
It wasn't that the Xiongnu didn't want to fight, but they were mainly worried about Tuoba Xianbei's attitude. In addition, Liu Kun posed almost no threat, so they just let him survive.
What may be really important is Hebei.
It is possible that the Xiongnu will not hand over Hebei to Shi Le and Shi Chao, but will send their own troops to intervene deeply and turn Hebei into a county directly under Liu Han - it is difficult to say.
Sometimes, one or two wars, which are not earth-shattering in scale, can suddenly determine the strategic situation for a long time.
However, people living in that era may not have been able to realize the far-reaching impact of this war.
But after several decades, people suddenly realized that this war was worthy of being recorded in history books because its impact was so far-reaching.
A series of battles, including defeating Lu Zhuyan at the foot of Dayi Mountain, capturing Zhang Yue in Heze, cutting off the food supply route in Dongwuyang, and defeating Jin Zhun in Gaoping, together constituted the main body of the Jin-Xiongnu War in the fifth year of Yongjia.
Now that the dust has settled, the situation is becoming clearer.
As a noble family in Henan, if they had a clear mind, it would be time to increase the stakes.
Anyway, Xun Jun has increased the stakes, so let's go to Jibei.
He invited Yin Xian to go to Jibei together, and Yin Xian agreed, which also explains some problems.
"In the first month of next year, Lord Chen will marry the daughter of the Yu family. It will surely be a lively scene, right?" The servant brought the warmed wine to the two of them. Yin Xian poured a bowl for Xun Jun first and said.
"This is something that has attracted the attention of the whole world." Xun Jun sighed, "The young lady from the Yu family is ignorant and I don't know if she can handle the position of a wife."
After all, Yu Wenjun was born in Yingchuan.
Xun Jun and Yin Xian were both scholars from Yingchuan, so naturally they hoped that Mr. Chen would be closer to the scholars of Yingchuan.
Yu Wenjun is one of the most important links among them, but it is not known whether she can do it.
It is not enough to just take care of her husband, raise her children, and serve her parents-in-law. I wonder if anyone has taught her.
Speaking of the wedding itself, it was actually a political event.
For those who hold authority, there is no purely private matter.
Mr. Chen understood this, the scholars in Yingchuan understood this, and the scholars in the entire Henan Province understood this.
After marrying Yu Wenjun, the integration of the entire Yuzhou will be accelerated, and Yanzhou will also be under deeper control.
The value of the Luoyang court gradually decreased for Mr. Chen.
The value of those who cooperate with him in the court will also be reduced.
Isn’t Wang Yifu in a hurry?
"The emperor has recently proposed to move the capital. What do you think, Lord Xun?" After drinking a bowl of wine, Yin Xian felt that the coldness in his body was dispelled, and he asked another question.
"Where can the emperor move the capital to?" Xun Jun asked in return.
Yin Xian thought about it and realized that there really wasn’t one.
Ever since Cao Mengde used the emperor to control the princes, this trick is no longer effective.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, basically whoever touches it will die.
Is Shao Xun willing for the emperor to go to Xuchang? Not necessarily.
Because he can't be a truly powerful official because he doesn't have the foundation.
Wang Rui of Langya could be a powerful official, but would he be willing for the emperor to go to Jianye? Most likely not.
The emperor today is not a good person. Wherever he goes, he will cause trouble, so no one welcomes him to their territory.
Perhaps Shan Jian and Wang Cheng of Jingzhou are willing to do so, but the situation there is chaotic and it is not advisable to go there for the time being.
Furthermore, once the emperor left Luoyang, his authority would be greatly reduced.
Now he can still issue an edict ordering all the feudal lords in the world to select craftsmen, female musicians, and doctors to serve in the capital, arrange the positions of prefects, governors, and governors, and let the states pay rent and taxes. But once he leaves Luoyang, these may not be available.
Even if there is, it may be greatly discounted.
The emperor was imprisoned in Luoyang, it was that simple.
"General Liang Fen has gone to Nanyang to quell the rebellion. He won a small victory right after arriving. Wang Ru is already showing signs of decline..."
"If you were a refugee from Guanxi, and you had to choose between Wang Ru and Liang Fen, who would have a greater reputation?"
"That's right, Wang Ru's death is not far away."
"drink wine."
Xun and Yin sat opposite each other and drank leisurely. The atmosphere was lively and it soon became dark.
By dusk, the wind and snow had picked up again.
During this snowstorm, Shao Xun was almost reaching Kaocheng.
(End of this chapter)