Chapter 437 Purge
Chapter 437 Purge
Because of the threat from the Xiongnu cavalry, the Yanzhou plains were barren in winter, with gray and white being the main themes of the land.
There is really nothing to enjoy in such weather, so people usually stay at home.
For the gentry, it is also a good time to get together.
On December 20th, the Zhenjun General's Mansion was packed with guests and was extremely lively.
Two Zhonglang officials, Liu Chou and He Sui, sat together and talked in low voices.
"There are more and more people from Yanzhou in this shogunate, and fewer and fewer scholars from Qingxu. If we wait a few more years, I'm afraid there will be no place for us to stand." Liu Chou held the wine jar and quietly pointed at a person who had just entered, saying, "This person is six feet tall and looks like a piece of clay, but he can actually enter the government as an official. It's really ridiculous."
"The descendants of the Dongping Ma family." He Sui took a look and said, "They all came for that person."
Liu Chou nodded.
To be honest, they are also very conflicted now.
After the death of the former Situ, they were loyal to the Dowager Concubine and the successor king for various reasons. But now, the influence of the former Situ is gradually dissipating, and the successor king is a little bit - not like a leader, so they can only serve the Dowager Concubine as their leader.
The Concubine Dowager trusted Mr. Chen very much, and appointed him as a military commander, entrusting him with great power, so they had no choice but to obey.
In the past one or two years, Chen Gong has fully demonstrated his ability, which has increased everyone's confidence in him. In addition, he is from Xuzhou, which makes it easier for them, the Xuzhou scholars, to get close to him, so they gradually turned over.
Of course, there were also people in the shogunate who were dissatisfied with Mr. Chen, but they would not show it on their faces. They formed a small circle in private and worshipped the King of Donghai as their leader.
In Liu Chou's opinion, Chen Gong was also responsible for this matter.
How can you, a family general, be with the mistress...
It’s too much. It’s too much.
However, Liu Chou found that he had no feelings of indignation at all. So he could only lament the declining moral character while stepping up his support for Chen Gong.
Well, there are three major standards for a scholar's "demeanor", namely: appearance, charm, and moral character.
In the past, when people saw Pei Shuze (Pei Kai), they said, "Pei Linggong has a handsome appearance. He looks good without his crown, in rough clothes, and with messy hair."
This means that he is handsome. Even if his hair is messy and his clothes are rough, he is still handsome.
There is also "Seeing Pei Shuze is like walking on a jade mountain, with light shining on people."
This means that he has good character and excellent charm - people at that time used jade to symbolize moral character.
Liu Chou felt that he was getting further and further away from "talking about a gentleman and being as gentle as jade".
However, he should be better than the "rustic" son of the Ma family who just attended the banquet.
While Liu Chou was thinking about something, He Sui was still chattering: "The scholars from the various counties and states in Yanzhou who have entered the government, if not all of them, are mostly the minions of the military department. You have to interact with them more often in the future, don't take it lightly."
Liu Chou came back to his senses and nodded.
The localization of the Zhenjun Shogunate is an inevitable trend. It is impossible for outsiders to occupy high positions for a long time. After all, they still rely on the aristocratic families in Yanzhou to provide food and manpower.
As time goes by, this shogunate will eventually deteriorate. Perhaps, it will become the shogunate of Mr. Chen alone, after all, most of the Yanzhou scholars are now inclined towards him.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Sima Pi, the King of Donghai, who was sitting at the top. He exchanged glances with Zhao Mu and Deng You, as if they had something to say.
"Everyone!" A loud voice rang out at the banquet, interrupting Sima Pi's rhythm.
Then someone stood up holding a wine jar and said, "I heard that those who get rid of harm in the world will benefit from it. That's why we set up troops in the fields not for the pleasure of fighting. Lord Chen uses the axe out of love for people."
Liu Chou looked carefully and found that it was Wang, the chief priest of Dongge. He was a little surprised.
He was one of the former Situ's confidants and was highly valued, but judging from the tone of his words, he was actually vaguely leaning towards Lord Chen?
He quickly glanced at the general of Zhenjun Army again, only to find that he looked stunned, as if he had not expected Wang's behavior.
The king's performance was not over yet, and he continued: "Yanzhou and the Jin Dynasty are very lucky to have such a great general. We should congratulate Lord Chen."
After saying that, he picked up the wine bottle and drank it all.
"We should indeed congratulate Lord Chen." Cao Yin, the chief priest of the Western Pavilion, and Mi Zhi, the governor, stood up at the same time, picked up the wine jugs and drank them all in one gulp.
The atmosphere in the field suddenly became a little subtle.
The officials in the shogunate were all shrewd men, and they were well aware of the undercurrents in the government.
As the General of Zhenjun Army grew up gradually, especially when he was going to marry a new wife named Wang from Donghai after the Chinese New Year, the voices for demanding power from the Concubine Dowager gradually grew louder.
This is not unfounded worry.
For the sons of the nobility, marrying a wife is a very important node, which means you have a family. After you have a family, you naturally have to establish a career, and then you will have more power. This is the rule and value of this era.
In addition, although Lord Chen was a military commander, he was not in the palace most of the time, which inevitably gave the King of Donghai an opportunity.
However, there must be someone in the shogunate who would tip off Mr. Chen and let him know the situation of the Yanzhou shogunate.
The scholars from Yanzhou entered the shogunate one after another to serve, which was seen by smart people as a counterattack strategy by Mr. Chen.
Today's gathering was actually initiated by the King of Donghai, and it was also one of his means to win over the shogunate's officials. But unexpectedly, the king directly stood up and blatantly forced everyone to express their opinions, which severely slapped the King of Donghai in the face.
After Wang, Cao Yin, and Mi Zhi expressed their opinions, the left chief historian Pan Tao picked up the wine jar, stood up and said, "We should congratulate Mr. Chen."
After Pan Tao, Zuo Sima Pei Shao, Zhonglang Pei Miao, Shen Ling, Canjun Zou Jie and others stood up and said, "We should congratulate Lord Chen."
Sima Pi, who was sitting on the left at the top, had recovered from his initial shock.
But he was young after all, and he was not very good at hiding his inner emotions. His face was extremely pale, and one could tell at a glance that he was afraid.
Yes, he was afraid. During the time when Shao Xun was away, he tried to win over many people. These people had ambiguous attitudes, but none of them explicitly refused. This gave him hope for a while. He discussed with the Right Chief Secretary Zhao Mu and the Right Sima Deng You many times and felt that he could increase his efforts and make further attempts.
But he is sober now.
He was caught off guard by the slap in the face that came so quickly, and it also made him realize how ridiculous everything he had done before was.
Just a victory in a war made those fence-sitters quickly cut ties with him and stand firmly on the side of Chen Gong Shao Xun.
How ridiculous! What I did before was ridiculous!
He was somewhat disheartened and didn't want to struggle anymore. He might never be able to defeat that man in his life, because even his mother had become his woman and had given birth to his illegitimate child.
Zhao Mu and Deng You remained relatively calm. They kept signaling with their eyes, asking the King of Donghai to express his opinion and to let today's farce go by so as to avoid causing even worse consequences.
Sima Pi's hands were shaking a little. He reluctantly picked up the wine glass, drank it all, and said in a bitter voice: "Congratulations to Lord Chen."
"Congratulations to Lord Chen." After seeing the King of Donghai do this, the subordinates raised their glasses one after another.
Wang laughed and sat back.
Is this the end of the matter? Of course not!
******
"How are you going to deal with Zhao Mu, Deng You and others?" In Kaocheng County, Concubine Pei asked softly while lying in Shao Xun's arms.
"Go to Guanzhong to take up the post." Shao Xun stroked Concubine Pei's smooth back, waist and hips with his left hand, as if measuring a beautiful curve.
While kneading it gently with the right hand, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the naizi - naizi, also known as naizi, is native to China and is an early apple.
Well, I can only satisfy my urge to do it.
It has only been half a year since Huanu gave birth to the child, and he is not so cruel. What if the woman is pregnant again?
When he was not on a campaign, he would spend every night with a woman, but he didn't have to do anything. It was just a personal preference. He had to have a woman sleep with him, even if they didn't do anything.
"So you rushed to Kaocheng because of something." Concubine Pei gave him a resentful look.
"Hua Nu, you have done a good job and recruited many Yanzhou scholars into the palace. But I still have to deal with the biggest villain." Shao Xun said: "After the war, we have to deal with the internal affairs."
He was already in charge of the military affairs of Sizhou and Yuzhou, and he could have taken over Yanzhou as well, even if he suffered some losses. But he didn't do so, probably because he was deceiving himself - it had only been a short time since Sima Yue died, and you couldn't wait to snatch Yanzhou away.
This is actually a way of being both a role and a stand-up, but politicians must learn double standards and be both a role and a stand-up.
Concubine Pei sighed softly.
She was actually a little hesitant. Keeping the Yanzhou Shogunate was beneficial to her, especially for her newly born child.
She felt that she had changed a little. In the past, she took Shao Xun's reputation into consideration and didn't want to embarrass him too much. After all, taking in a princess was one thing, and taking in a former mistress was another.
It is never glorious for a wicked servant to bully his master.
But now, she wanted to give the child a legitimate status and let the child be Shao Xun's son again.
The birth of a child has indeed changed a lot.
Shao Xun seemed to sense something, and subconsciously hugged Concubine Pei tightly, saying: "During the battle of Heyang, I crossed the river at night. At that time, there were lightning and thunder, and autumn rain was pouring. Although the boatman rowed hard, the boat was still drifting, with no support. At that time, my most common thought was that if I fell into the water, I might never see you again."
Concubine Pei was startled and leaned her face against Shao Xun's chest, her fair arms tightly around his neck.
She knew that this man was not honest and was having affairs with other women. Sometimes, the words he said were half true and half false, but unfortunately, she just loved to hear them.
She recalled the time when the man said he would abandon everything and take her out of the siege. She didn't know what happened to others, but she still had a deep impression of it.
Women, sometimes, are just a moment of inspiration, and then the touch becomes everlasting, and it still does not fade after many years.
No matter how strong or rational a woman is, she also has moments of fantasy and wants to be pampered. This is their Achilles' heel, but it is also a rare bright spot in their cold, lonely and boring lives, and it is extremely precious.
To put it bluntly, Shao Huangmao can provide too much emotional value, which makes people greedy for him.
"What are you going to do with it--" asked Concubine Pei.
Shao Xun gently pinched her mouth and said, "How can you use the word 'dispose'? I promised Sima Yuanchao that I would keep his blood alive. I will keep my word and will not harm him."
"Please take back all the seals and keep them safe for you." Shao Xun added, "Next year I will continue to replace the shogunate officials, and the local county officials will also be replaced slowly. When these are done--"
At this point, Shao Xun hesitated for a rare moment, then gritted his teeth and said righteously: "Flower slave, you can come into my house. I want to see you every day and hold you to sleep every night."
Concubine Pei chuckled and said, "Although your words are not sincere and you are using the strategy of retreating while advancing, I still like to listen. Please say more."
"This..." Huangmao was a little embarrassed.
"I said, I am also a woman." Concubine Pei changed to a more comfortable position and said, "I will follow you even if I am ruined. Can't you tell me some lies to comfort me?"
“……” Huangmao felt a little guilty and was speechless for a moment.
Concubine Pei sighed and said, "Forget it. I am very satisfied that you have this intention. But now the time is not right and it will hinder your great cause. Please wait a little longer."
Shao Xun felt even more guilty.
He knew that there might be some ulterior motive behind Hua Nu's words, most likely for the sake of the child.
But knowing is one thing, and feeling it in your heart is another.
He couldn't be as rational as a robot, and neither could she.
They are actually the same kind of people.
Let’s just leave it at that for the Yanzhou Shogunate, slowly replace people and slowly reorganize.
(I have a cold and feel groggy. I am going to sleep now. I will update the second chapter in the afternoon.)
(End of this chapter)