Chapter 427 Meeting

Chapter 427 Meeting

Chapter 427 Meeting
One mile north of Zhamadi, countless teachers and servants were sweating and compacting the foundation.

Wei Fu made a rough count and found that there were at least tens of thousands of people.

Such a large number probably came from the floating bridge downstream.

This should be the North City of Heyang.

Outside the north city, there were camps linked together. Each one was small, with at most two to three thousand soldiers stationed there, but when linked together they were huge, with at least 20,000 troops.

The flags in the camp were flying high, and the soldiers were sitting on the ground, silently waiting for orders.

Outside the camp, a phalanx of infantry numbering no less than three thousand was slowly moving forward.

More than a thousand cavalrymen were stationed on both sides, patrolling aimlessly.

Opposite them, the Hun cavalry were circling in the field.

Looking at their appearance, they were worried about being caught and attacked by the Jin cavalry, so they kept their distance; at the same time, they were also worried about entering the range of the infantry's bows and crossbows, so they kept moving around, trying to find the weaknesses of the infantry phalanx and defeat it with one blow.

Wei Fu felt tired for them.

If you can't fight, retreat quickly. It will be better for everyone.

Lord Chen is training his troops. If he doesn't want to pay attention to you and just defends the camp, is it possible to retake the north bank with cavalry alone?
I simply don’t know what it means.

A patrol cavalry appeared in front, and after some negotiations, they led Wei Fu into the central military camp.

"Greetings, Mr. Chen." Wei Fu actually saw Cheng Yuantan here. Could it be that he set out at the same time as him and came here through Beiqiao?

Cheng Yuantan nodded to him, and then continued to talk with Mr. Chen: "The princess has sent people to check the land that Mr. Chen mentioned. It is east of Shenyang County and west of Ru River. It is one of the fiefs of the King of Runan. The princess has sent a letter to ask for this land."

"Oh? King Runan is so easy to talk to?" Shao Xun asked curiously.

"You are joking, my lord. The princess is the cousin of the King of Runan. It is not difficult to persuade her with the pros and cons. Besides, the King of Runan lives in Jiangxia and has not visited Runan for a long time. It is useless for him to keep these lands." Cheng Yuantan said.

Sima You, King of Runan, defected to Sima Yue in his early years and was highly trusted by him.

When he was in Chang'an, he served as a military supervisor. After Shao Xun slaughtered the Xianbei, he immediately ran back to report.

He was one of the few princes who were not deprived of their freedom and detained by Sima Yue. He had been living in Runan before, but later went to his fiefdom in Jiangxia on the grounds that the place was "full of bandits" and then defected to Sima Rui. Sima You, King of Runan, not only had fiefdoms in Runan, but also in Jiangxia. In total, he was granted 25,000 households, which was very astonishing.

"How about Shenyang County?" Shao Xun asked again.

"The west of the county is still okay. There is the Shitangpo opened by Bao Yu, the prefect of Runan during the Yongping period of the Later Han Dynasty. It could initially irrigate hundreds of hectares of farmland, and now it can irrigate more than a thousand hectares, and the people all rely on it. The east of the county is a bit barren, with smoky villages and few people. After Li Hong's bandits looted, there are no more people farming alone, only the walls of the fortress left." Cheng Yuantan said.

"Since the princess has taken the land, it should belong to her." Shao Xun said, "I just mentioned it casually at the beginning, and the princess took note of it. Haha, I heard that the land is rich in water and grass, so the princess can take care of it and there is no need to report it to me."

"Yes." Cheng Yuantan responded in a low voice, and then said: "Ru'nan has many vast fields and swamps, and horses can be raised there. However, the country has been in decline in recent years, and there are fewer horses there, especially male horses. The princess sent her retainers to collect a hundred mares and thousands of donkeys and mules. She also selected brave and skilled warriors from her own soldiers to recruit soldiers in Ru'nan. She got 500 people and trained them to ride mules in battle, just in case of emergency."

Shao Xun was shocked when he heard this.

Two years ago, Princess Xiangcheng donated five thousand households to him at one time, thinking that her family's assets had been emptied, but she didn't expect it.

He hesitated and pondered for a long time, but finally couldn't save face.

There is no proper tax system in the world today.

The emperor relied on Jiangdong, Xuzhou and Jingzhou for support, while Shao Xun asked the aristocratic families for money.

But he felt embarrassed to ask for money so many times. If he could...

Forget it, a man cannot lose face in front of a woman.

He has solemnly declared: the era of living off gigolos is gone forever!
I am now very confident and will continue to fleece the emperor and the aristocratic families.

Runan is Caizhou, and Shao Xun didn't know why this place had such a long history of raising donkeys, but rarely raising horses. Even if there were, the male horses were taken to the battlefield to fight, leaving only the female horses, so many mules were produced.

Of course, those are all old almanacs.

During the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, the people plundered the country again and again. Sima You also plundered Rome and found a donkey and a mule to give to A Yue. The refugee leader Li Hong plundered again. The Guanxi refugees from Nanyang also came to rob the country more than once. Now even the donkeys and mules are scarce.

Everything needs to be restored slowly.

"The soldiers of the Princess's Mansion have never seen blood in battle." Shao Xun said, "Next month I will select a group of students to go to Shenyang and train with the new recruits."

"Yes." Cheng Yuantan agreed.

It was said that they were training new soldiers, but in fact they were controlling the military power. However, this was not a bad thing. Without the protection of Lord Chen, the princess would not be able to control even her family generals and soldiers.

The group of new recruits from Runan who were trained in warfare on mules were nominally the princess's troops, but in reality they were Chen Gong's soldiers. They themselves should have known clearly who they were loyal to.

The world is so chaotic, are you kidding me about being loyal to a woman?

"What else do you need? Tell me as soon as possible. Money, food, and equipment?" Shao Xun asked.

"Just give them some equipment and food." Cheng Yuantan replied.

"Don't want money?" Shao Xun asked again.

"The princess started a donkey business and sent people to Chenliu and Nanyang to sell donkeys. The harvest was quite rich..."

Damn, he’s really good at doing business, Shao Xun sighed.

He vaguely guessed that Princess Xiangcheng must have done business under his name, otherwise it would not have been so smooth - the business environment in the world today is not very good.

He felt like a whale swimming in the ocean, with more and more barnacles clinging to his body, all trying to hitchhike on him.

But this was also expected. He quickly adjusted his mentality, glanced at Cheng Yuantan, and asked vaguely: "How is the princess?" "Yes, everything is fine." Cheng Yuantan also replied vaguely.

Shao Xun nodded.

Seeing that Shao Xun had nothing to say, Cheng Yuantan bowed and left.

Starting today, he will take office as the magistrate of Heyang County.

After Cheng Yuantan left, Wei Fu stepped forward to report his work: "The departure date is set for next month, just in time to return with Beigong Chun's troops. I wonder if you..."

"Yes." Shao Xun agreed, and then asked, "Are you sure about the King of Nanyang?"

"It should be fine." Wei Fu said, "Prince Nanyang is kind-hearted, always obedient, and has no bad intentions."

Shao Xun nodded.

He recently learned that the King of Nanyang is a fat otaku!

His biggest hobby is sleeping and reading after waking up. He claims to weigh “800 kilograms”!
This number is of course exaggerated, but people who have seen Sima Bao say that he is really fat...

He was indecisive and had no strategy. When two of his subordinates quarreled, he couldn't even persuade them, let alone punish them ruthlessly. He didn't have the courage or the willpower to do so.

Lack of leadership is really fatal.

Being fat, unwise, indecisive, and living in a complicated area like Qinzhou, Shao Xun seemed to have seen the end of Sima Bao.

Moreover, he has impotence and cannot have sex with women, so he cannot have offspring. How can you expect your retainers to be loyal to him? There is no point!
"What's the situation in Guanzhong?" Shao Xun asked.

"It's very chaotic." Wei Fu replied: "Jia Pi is the governor, and he is not on good terms with the governor Liang Zong. The Qu brothers also fought with Jia Pi, and after being defeated, they led their troops back to Xinping. Peng Tianhu, the son of Peng Dangzhong, claimed to avenge his father and wanted to kill Pi, so the situation became chaotic."

Shao Xun nodded slightly.

In fact, this is the consequence of the lack of prestige of the court.

When Liu Yao was besieged, there were at least four "Jin armies" in Guanzhong that were independent of each other. After driving away the Huns, no one was willing to submit to the other.

The court appointed provincial governors and military governors, but failed to reconcile the conflicts between them.

Peng Dangzhong was the leader of the Lushui Hu tribe in Anding County, and he had sworn brotherhood with Jia Pi. Jia Pi repeatedly asked Peng Dangzhong for troops to suppress the rebellion, but he refused.

After Liu Yao and Liu Can captured Chang'an, Peng Dangzhong accepted Liu Han's appointment as the governor of Liangzhou.

Jia Pi was very dissatisfied with this, so he disregarded the brotherhood and attacked and killed Peng Dangzhong. Now the other person's son is coming to take revenge.

The worst thing was that Peng Tianhu secretly sent people to Chang'an, and the Qiang, Di and Hu soldiers under Jia Pi's command scattered one after another - more than 90% of Jia Pi's army that recaptured Chang'an were Hu soldiers from various tribes.

The situation in Guanzhong was so delicate that Shao Xun was even worried about whether his men could return safely. They might get robbed by others, which was a very likely possibility.

"Are you interested in Guanzhong, my lord?" Wei Fu asked quietly.

"I do have the intention, but I am powerless." Shao Xun said: "Liu Can herds his horses in Henei and keeps a close eye on the three cities of Heyang. Next year, I am worried that the Xiongnu will come with all their might. By then, there will be many wars. How can they intervene in Guanzhong?"

Wei Fu nodded in agreement.

"It would be great if I could buy some horses, recruit some soldiers, and get to know some scholars, powerful people, and chieftains." Shao Xun said, "The most important thing is to buy horses."

"Yes." Wei Fu replied.

Commands were heard from outside the tent, and the clanging of armors of patrolling personal soldiers could be heard incessantly.

Shao Xun stood up, walked around the tent, and asked in a low voice: "Are you used to Nanyang, Concubine?"

"Everything went smoothly after the Concubine Dowager arrived in Nanyang." Wei Fu said, "Some old members of the royal palace who had been separated for a long time in Guanzhong came to join the army, and their influence is growing. Governor Liang did not cause any trouble, so it is considered stable."

"How is the princess?"

"I was ill some time ago and just recovered recently."

"Hmm?" Shao Xun frowned, feeling a little irritable. After a pause, he said, "If the concubine takes the princess with her, others will probably gossip about her. It's better to send her back to Xuchang and I will find someone to take care of her."

"I'm afraid the Concubine Dowager won't agree." Wei Fu said.

Sima Bao is in Qinzhou and Sima Li stays in Guangchengze. If the princess is not around, how can the queen dowager hold on?
Shao Xun also knew that this was unreliable, so he stopped talking about it and said, "You should go back earlier. Beigong Chun and others are eager to go home and will leave soon. In a few days. In addition, Wu Qiannian is already sixty years old, so please take care of him on the way."

"Yes, sir." Wei Fu replied.

"After some time, I will go back too." Shao Xun said and waved his hand.

Wei Fu bowed and took his leave.

Shao Xun walked out of the tent, climbed onto the high platform and overlooked the land of Hanoi.

After Liu Can and Liu Yao led their troops south, they saw that the camps here were well-prepared, so they did not force their way in.

It was early winter now, and the Huns probably couldn't mobilize a large number of infantry to come and besiege, so the three cities in Heyang were safe for the time being.

In this case, he didn't want to stay here for long.

The defense was entrusted to Wang Que'er, who returned to Luoyang.

He wanted to meet the emperor and have a good talk with him.

(End of this chapter)