Chapter 433: Journey to Runan

Chapter 433: Journey to Runan

Chapter 433: Journey to Runan (Part )
Zhou Fu looked out of the wooden lattice window, his gloomy eyes and tightly pursed lips revealed a little of the darkness in his heart.

After being defeated by Sima Rui, he fled back to Ancheng.

No one bothered him, as if Sima Rui knew when to stop and did not pursue him relentlessly. After all, there were many people from the Ancheng Zhou family working in the shogunate.

But Zhou Fu was unwilling to be an official anymore.

Feeling disheartened, I just want to settle down in my hometown and spend the rest of my life.

However, some people's character determines their fate. Even when he retired at home, Zhou Fu was still worried about state affairs and tried every means to find out the situation in Luoyang.

After understanding everything, he sighed deeply and lamented privately that the Jin Dynasty was coming to an end.

This realization made him extremely angry, and he then felt powerless, and his health deteriorated.

There was a burst of laughter from downstairs.

Zhou Fu became even more annoyed, so he left the window and went to the bookshelf.

Today, Pei Kang, the chief secretary of the Xuchang Shogunate, came to visit and borrowed a lot of books.

No, it should be that An Cheng Zhou donated almost all of his books - of course they were copied versions, but it was still a huge expense.

Zhou Fu casually picked up a scroll of bamboo slips: "Miscellaneous Notes on the Book of Documents".

This was written by Zhou Fang of the Zhou family of Ruyang in the Later Han Dynasty. The "Book of Documents in Ancient Texts" was passed down from generation to generation and the research was extremely in-depth.

"Miscellaneous Notes on the Book of Documents" has a total of 32 chapters, about 400,000 words. An Cheng Zhou copied a copy and kept it in his mansion.

To be honest, this kind of book is not easy to find outside of Runan, and Yingchuan gentry may not have it. Even if they do, it is incomplete.

After gently putting down the scroll, he picked up other books.

Yuan Jing of Ruyang studied Meng's Yi in depth and wrote Nanji, a book with 300,000 words.

"Biographies of Elders from Chenliu" written by Yuan Tang of Ruyang.

The fourteen chapters of "Objections to the Five Classics" and "Shuowen Jiezi" written by Xu Shen of Zhaoling.

Xu Jun of Zhaoling was proficient in the Book of Changes and wrote six books including Yi Xinlin.

Nanton Yingfeng wrote "Postscript to the Book of Han", "Chinese Language" and "Han Affairs".

Ying Shao wrote "The Book of Laws and Statutes", "Stories on the Rites of Han Officials", "Records of People", "General Meaning of Customs and Meanings", etc.

……

He read through every book and every volume.

After watching, he gently stroked it, as if he was looking at his own child.

You can imagine how reluctant I would be to hand over a copy of these books.

He had no idea why Shao Xun, a military man, sent people to copy books.

Every month, dozens of martial arts students who are not even twenty years old come here, copying precious white and yellow papers and checking each other's work, looking very serious.

Zhou Fu didn't like the books that he treasured to be spread out.

After he became famous at a young age, he moved from one royal palace to another, was sought after, and repeatedly held literary positions.

This position is mainly to teach classics, history, and allusions to the princes, and to write articles. When writing articles, allusions must be used, otherwise the writing will not be outstanding enough. Therefore, only people who are well-read can be appointed.

Literature is a close official to the king, so you can imagine how much benefit it can gain.

There were not many people who could compete with him for the position of literary official in the royal palace, and the secret was that his family had an extremely rich collection of books.

These things can be easily spread? Don't joke!
But he seemed powerless to stop it.

He is not the only one who has the final say in the Zhou family. Many people have acquiesced to this matter under pressure, so there is nothing that can be done about it.

"Haha, Lord Chen fought this battle with great success, making the Huns terrified. How magnificent! We should drink this cup to the full." Another voice came from downstairs, accompanied by a slightly flattering laugh.

"This year, apart from Yanzhou, many people in Si and Yu provinces are planting winter wheat. Why? The Huns have lost their courage and are unable to invade the south, so this is a fortunate thing." An old voice was heard immediately afterwards.

It was obvious that this was Pei Kang. After he finished speaking, there were several voices echoing him. They were the entourage that Pei Kang brought with him, including Yangdi Ling Zhou Mo.

Alas! Zhou Fu sighed again.

He knew that his nephew's future was delayed by him, as he had been stuck in the position of Yangdi magistrate without being promoted, because he had threatened to send 30,000 elite troops north to Luoyang to welcome the emperor to move the capital to Shouchun.

“Winter wheat is a benevolent policy.”

"It is indeed a good policy, but unfortunately the farmers are ignorant and not many people are willing to do so."

"In fact, it's more than before. There were three years of severe drought and four years of locust plague. If there had been no winter wheat, I don't know how many more people would have died in Henan."

"More than 200,000 people in Runan are grateful for Mr. Chen's great kindness and virtue."

"For this good governance, I drink this cup to the full."

"Drink this cup to the full."

The banquet was filled with laughter and excitement.

Zhou Fu was too lazy to listen anymore, so he sat back at his desk and planned to write a letter to Boren.

Shan Jian, the governor of Jingzhou, had died of illness. The governor Wang Cheng was panicked because he could not quell the Du Tao Rebellion that had spread to Jingzhou. He did not even consult Wang Yifu and actually resigned from his post.

The court previously appointed Central Guard General Xun Song - yes, the same Xun Jingyou who was defeated in Xin'an - as the commander-in-chief, and Zhou Xi and Zhou Boren as the provincial governor.

Boren was the King of Langya's man.

Zhou Fu had a great grudge against the King of Langya and did not want to help him, but he was looking forward to Boren's further development. After all, the Ancheng Zhou family now urgently needed a pillar to protect the family from wind and rain, and Boren was the most suitable person.

But what should this letter be about? Zhou Fu thought for a long time before he started writing.

He first wrote about the situation at home, and then talked about the news he had heard recently.

Just recently, several major events happened.

One is that Jinyang was recaptured by Tuoba Yilu.

This man is indeed capable. He sent his son Tuoba Liuxiu as the vanguard, with tens of thousands of people. He led 200,000 people to follow, which can be said to be a full-scale attack.

This number is a bit exaggerated. The Tuoba Xianbei had few infantry, almost all of them were cavalry, and the number of more than 200,000 cavalry was just a bluff, but the total number should not be less than 50,000.

There are really a lot of Hu people on the grassland.

Liu Kun brought the soldiers and horses recruited in Changshan, plus the defeated soldiers, a total of several thousand people as guides, and followed the army to attack Jinyang.

The Huns encountered the same dilemma as the Jin people: no food, and difficulty in holding on.

So they fought in the field and were defeated.

Then he drove the people of Jinyang to retreat, which was undoubtedly a stupid move. He was soon caught up by Tuoba Yilu and defeated again. Liu Feng, the governor of Bingzhou, was captured, and Liu Can, the King of Henei, fled back. The total loss of Hu Jin soldiers was more than 8,000.

After Liu Kun recaptured Jinyang, the situation became even more critical, because he took over an empty city and was forced to move to Yangqu, north of Jinyang. After Tuoba Xianbei caught up with the Huns, they rescued many people in Jinyang, but it was obviously impossible for them to be returned to Liu Kun. Instead, they were taken away as rewards.

Tuoba Yilu also left some soldiers to help Liu Kun defend the city, and sent more than a thousand cattle, horses and sheep, and a hundred carts of supplies, and then returned.

He did not continue to advance into the heartland of the Xiongnu because of insufficient food and fodder. At the same time, he himself suffered heavy casualties in the battle with the Xiongnu cavalry and was unable to fight again, so he withdrew.

But no matter what, retaking Jinyang is always a good thing, but I don’t know how long it can last.

The second thing is Guanzhong.

Peng Tianhu, the successor leader of the Lushui Hu who raised the banner of revenge for his father, attacked Chang'an. The two sides lined up in the wild. Jia Pi was defeated and killed.

Liu Han appointed Peng Tianhu as the governor of Liangzhou, which was also the position his father once held.

Liang Zong, Liang Su, Suo Chen and others watched him die without helping, but attacked Feng Yi.

As for Chang'an, no one is interested anymore.

Just like in Jinyang, when Liu Yao retreated, he had already taken 80,000 men and women from Chang'an back to Pingyang. There was no one and no money in the city, so Peng Tianhu was greatly disappointed and went straight home.

The third thing is related to Wang Jun.

Last year, he fought two battles with Tuoba Xianbei, and not only was he defeated, but he also lost a lot of troops of his two sons-in-law. This year, he attacked Shi Le again, but was repelled by the troops left behind.

There's not much to say about this matter.

When writing this, Zhou Fu thought of Shao Xun.

The root cause of the decline of the Duan tribe of the Xianbei was this man. They still had to face attacks from both the Tuoba and Murong tribes on the grasslands, so they probably couldn't hold out for much longer.

Once the Duan tribe of Xianbei declined, Wang Jun would have no chance of survival.

Speaking of Shao Xun, Zhou Fu remembered something, so he continued writing.

Shao Xun went south from Xiangcheng to Xiping and summoned more than ten prominent families in Runan to send a hundred blacksmiths to restore the once-destroyed iron smelting city...

******
"Iron tools are the death knights of farmers. When death knights are used, enemies are eliminated. When enemies are eliminated, fields are opened up. When fields are opened up, crops are ripe..." Outside the iron smelting city in the suburbs of Xiping County, Shao Xun held a newly made sickle in his hand and smiled, "If farmers have this, crops will be ripe and the granaries will be full of millet and wheat."

The craftsmen heard this and laughed a few times to join in the fun.

Shao Xun walked into the iron smelting city which was half collapsed.

Xiping County hastily cleaned up the ruins and now it has a somewhat recognizable appearance.

Shao Xun walked and looked.

Under the ruins, the items that had been cleared were placed on an open space nearby.

Spears, knives, axes, arrowheads, swords, and even iron stoves, coffin nails, lamps, all kinds of things.

He was deeply moved after reading it.

There are only two large-scale iron manufacturing bases under his rule. One is Ruyangju, located on the southern edge of Guangchengze, which has hundreds of blacksmiths and apprentices.

The other one is Xuchang, but to be honest, its scale is not as large as the Ruyang gathering built bit by bit by Shao Xun, because the craftsmen here were once wiped out by Wang Mi, and later recovered a little, but the time was still short and there was no improvement.

In addition, there is a large iron smelting workshop in Nanyang, but after Liang Fen left for Wancheng, it has become difficult to obtain weapons.

This is an important reason why Shao Xun cannot leave the court.

This time, Wang Yan sent a lot of craftsmen, including blacksmiths, and all of them were settled in Xuchang.

One of the important reasons for this inspection of Xiping was to rebuild the iron smelting workshop there.

Xiping has Tieshan Mountain, which is an advantage that is difficult to match in other places.

This iron mountain existed during the Warring States Period, and later went through the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and it was not until the middle Tang Dynasty that it completely disappeared - one reason was because of the war, and the other was that the iron was not easy to mine.

However, in the 21st century, due to the advancement of mining technology, the Wuyang Iron Mine has regained its vitality, and the country has also established a steel plant, which shows the resource endowment of this area.

From now on, he would build Xiping into the largest iron smelting base under his rule, or at least one of the bases.

The first priority was actually to fleece the aristocratic families and the imperial court, find ways to get more blacksmiths, and then let them take apprentices to expand the scale of production.

Not only is smelting necessary to manufacture weapons, but agricultural tools are also indispensable.

"The princess praises Fang Zhubu as being proficient in general affairs, especially good at smelting. I wonder if he can clean up this place for me?" Shao Xun asked, pointing to the iron smelting city overgrown with weeds.

The place where the Iron Smelting City is located is called "Hotel".

It was originally an iron smelting city in Korea during the Warring States Period. Because officials and craftsmen drank and had fun in their spare time, it was named a hotel.

During the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, the rebellious vassal state in Huaixi was pacified, and the imperial court destroyed the Iron Smelting City to prevent future troubles.

The name of "Fang Zhubu" was Fang Yang, who was once the chief clerk of Sima Yong, the King of Hejian. After Yong was defeated, Fang Yang was introduced by someone and entered the Xiangcheng Princess's mansion as an official, mainly responsible for managing the blacksmiths in the manor, and his skills were quite high.

As for the Fang family, there are three branches: Qinghe, Jinan, and Henan. They are small and low-ranking noble families. Fang Yang is from Qinghe. Most of the three branches of the Fang family have crossed the Yangtze River to the south, and there are not many people left. Fang Yang is one of them.

Shao Xun would not completely trust him.

In fact, the Iron Smelting City will be managed by the military officer Yu Liang, and officials will be transferred from Ruyangju. Liang County Martial Arts School will also send a group of students to serve as grassroots managers to slowly put this large iron smelting base into operation.

"If you have an order, I will obey it." Fang Yang bowed and replied.

"You can just take up a position in the Xuchang government." Shao Xun said, "After the New Year, I will dispatch a group of soldiers to Xiping County to plant crops and graze livestock, and fully supply food and meat. The hotel and iron smelting city are related to the great cause and cannot be neglected. But if you do it well, you will be able to rise to prominence in the future."

Fang Yang felt warmed in his heart when he heard this.

The status of the Qinghe Fang family was not high. If Sima Yong had not been the King of Hejian and stationed in Yecheng, he would not have had the opportunity to enter the Yong mansion, serve as an official in Yecheng, and then follow the King of Hejian to station in Guanzhong.

Speaking of which, their family is very similar to the Mi family of Donghai.

If Mi Huang and Mi Zihui were not from Donghai, given their family background, they would not have had much chance of entering the Donghai Palace, let alone being promoted to the second rank in ten years as they have now, becoming the second richest family in Donghai.

If Mi can do this, Fang can do it too, as long as they follow the right person.

"Do a good job." Shao Xun patted Fang Yang on the shoulder and said with a smile.

How to get rid of dependence on the imperial court? Farming and training are both indispensable.

These things have to be done.

After the Battle of Zhamati, his prestige reached a new height and his bargaining power was further enhanced.

At the same time, the situation in Henan has become increasingly stable, and we can appropriately reduce some resources used for war.

Hotel Smelter City is just one of the “big projects” in the coming years.

(End of this chapter)