Chapter 479 Political Solution

Chapter 479 Political Solution
The setting sun brings silence to the wilderness.

On the riverside path, Shao Xun carefully supported Yu Wenjun and went out for a walk.

After ten months of pregnancy, if nothing goes wrong, their first child will be born this month.

There was some fear and some longing on Yu Wenjun's face.

After all, she was only seventeen years old and it was her first time giving birth, so it was impossible for her not to be afraid.

When Shao Xun was away at the battle, she thought a lot and even secretly pulled her cousin Pu Tao over to shed sentimental tears. If she unfortunately had a difficult childbirth, Xiao Yu would take over as the legal wife and bear children for Chen Gong.

Girls are always sentimental and always think too much...

After Shao Xun came back, her mood inexplicably improved.

Today, I went out to get some fresh air with my big belly, and I was in a very good mood. The only thing that made me unhappy was that his purple robe was gone, and he came back wearing a red robe.

Yu Chen and his son Yu Liang were also there.

Yu Chen's temples were gray and his face was full of deep wrinkles. It was obvious that he was worried about too many things during his tenure as the Internal History of Liang.

The left side of Yu Liang's cheek was a little red and swollen. Although he tried his best to hide it, some clues could still be seen.

"I never knew that when I was going to the war, Wenjun helped me so much despite her physical disability." Shao Xun gently pressed Yu Wenjun's fingers and said with emotion.

The confrontation with Shi Le lasted from August to November, and they were still building cities afterwards, which consumed a lot of resources.

The military rations originally prepared had long been consumed, and the ones that were transported in later were basically taken from Yuzhou, especially Xiangcheng, Yingchuan, Chenjun and other places.

In November, they rushed to deliver some grain in an effort to sustain the army until March or April of the next year. They also took grain from Xingyang, Chenliu and Yingchuan.

In addition to the food and fodder delivered before the war, the Yingchuan gentry contributed food three times, which was like selling their kidneys to support Shao.

By the third time they raised money for the construction of Fangtou South City, the Yingchuan gentry were actually unwilling to provide grain.

In order to ease the tension between the shogunate and the Yingchuan gentry, Yu Wenjun summoned the women of various families under the pretext of visiting the mulberry garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace. She talked about the difficulties on the front line and the benefits of regaining Hebei.

The women would go back and talk to the men, and the men would go along with it and accept it - it was impossible to really fight to the end, but when the men were in a stalemate, the women would step in to mediate and there would be a way out, and the matter would be settled.

"Husband and wife are one, so naturally I have to worry about my husband's affairs." Yu Wenjun said softly.

Shao Xun looked at her in surprise.

Before he left for the war, Yu Wenjun told him not to worry about home, as she would take care of everything. At that time, I felt that she had grown up and matured, and I had the same feeling again this time. I really couldn't treat her as a little girl anymore.

"You did a great job, I'm very pleased." Shao Xun smiled, and then said: "People should be conscientious. The Yingchuan tribes support me so much, it will definitely be good for me in the future."

After hearing this, Yu Chen and his son Yu Liang did not express anything, but nodded secretly in their hearts.

Could it be that Mr. Chen's words were a double entendre?
No one is willing to give unconditionally. Even the Huns know how to use official positions to win over the gentry. The fact that a large family like the Pei family, which is divided into different factions, is still extremely strong in Hedong is proof of this.

The strong support from the Ruying gentry was also for their own benefit.

Shao Xun talked with Yu Chen in the afternoon. After taking office as the Inspector of the Sili Army, he no longer needed to stay in Luoyang, but could go directly to Fangtou to collude with the scholars, powerful people, and commanders of the fortresses in Hebei.

He could appoint his own subordinates, and no matter who he wanted to employ, he only had to draw up a list and he would approve them all.

The power granted was very great, which actually meant tacit approval for Yu Chen to place Ruying scholars and officers in Hebei, and it was also a way of giving back to them for their support.

As for Yu Liang, he still served as a military officer, but he was no longer in charge of farmland and water conservancy affairs. His work focus in the future would be on the hotel and iron smelting city.

All the craftsmen from Ruyangju have moved here, and recently they have received some more from the imperial court. Now the entire Iron Smelting City has gradually gained more than 3,000 craftsmen, apprentices, and laborers, and there are 5,000 soldiers stationed nearby to farm, serving as the protection force for the Iron Smelting City.

From now on, all these will be under his management, and he should not interfere in other matters. When Shao Xun feels that his impatience has been corrected, he will be given more important positions.

After they walked around for a while, Yu Wenjun felt a little tired, so Shao Xun helped her get on the carriage and returned to the mansion.

After settling his wife down, he sat down and had a detailed conversation with Yu Chen and his son.

"I want to attack Shi Le, and then the situation will become unstable. What do you think?" Shao Xun asked.

"But what about Nanyang?" Yu Chen asked.

"Of course."

Yu Chen hesitated for a moment and said, "It's best not to resort to violence. Can we force Liang Fen to leave?"

"The emperor is definitely unwilling, and Liang Fen may not obey the order." Shao Xun said: "Even if the court issued an order, if the emperor denied it in public, or Liang Fen claimed that it was a false order, it would cause an uproar."

Yu Chen frowned and thought, then said, "Why not give it a try and have someone recommend Liang Fen as the governor of Yongzhou?"

Shao Xun nodded and said, "I will write a letter to Luoyang and ask someone to submit a petition." After saying this, he still felt that this matter was very tricky.

During the Wang Ru Rebellion, there were 40,000 to 50,000 refugees from Guanxi in Nanyang. After the rebellion was put down, it was impossible to kill all of them. This was too horrifying.

In fact, at least 60 to 70 percent of the people survived, and they still lived in settlements and farmed their own fields as before, but they no longer rebelled.

In recent years, because the Huns fought fiercely in Guanzhong, Peng Tianhu, Yao Yi Zhong and others moved eastward, and many Hu and Jin refugees entered Shunyang, Nanyang, Xinye, Yiyang and even Sui State.

Liang Fen does not lack a base, it is quite strong.

He vigorously employed scholars from Guanxi, and his number one henchman, Yan Ding from Tianshui, was appointed as the gate commander. The commanders of fortresses scattered across the country often came to Wancheng to receive his orders.

To be honest, Shao Xun was a little confused about what he was thinking.

You say he is ambitious, but that's not quite the case.

Before the civil uprising in Runan, a bandit from Fufeng fled to Nanyang and sought refuge with him, but he tied him up and sent him back to Runan.

Moreover, he has not yet taken any action against Luyang, Duyang and Ye counties occupied by Shao Xun, especially the Duyang Tuntian Army where Shao Guang, a member of Shao Xun's clan, serves as the Tuntian Captain, which is very close to Wancheng, but he has always ignored it.

This kind of behavior really doesn't seem like that of an ambitious person in troubled times.

But if you say he has no ambition, that's not true.

When Tongguan was occupied by the Huns, the refugees from Guanxi Hu and Jin could only enter the Guandong area through Wugu Pass, and the old Nanyang County was the first stop for these refugees from Guanxi.

Liang Fen sent people to control these people, and even went against the natives of Nanyang to make them hand over the abandoned farmland and distribute it to the Hu and Han refugees, so that they could live in groups and grow their own crops.

The refugees from Guanxi were so grateful to him that they almost built a temple in his honor.

Shao Xun had no idea how many refugees Liang Fen had gathered together, but he felt it was a lot, perhaps even more than the number before Wang Ruzhi's rebellion.

He thought about it for a long time, and finally found that Liang Fen's actions were somewhat similar to those of Liu Hong who put down Zhang Chang's rebellion.

Liu Hong also forced the gentry and even the barbarian chieftains in Jingzhou to give up their unused land and distributed it to the refugees from the Central Plains who moved south, and even to the people from Bashu who poured in. This greatly increased the population of Jingzhou and also provided a large tax base that could be directly managed.

Sometimes he would disobey the imperial edict and reject the imperial will, but you cannot say he was not a loyal minister, because loyal ministers are hard to be, and those who are blindly loyal will only be killed by the treacherous ministers who control the central government. Liu Hong respected the court until his death, paying tribute and serving the king, and he was also regarded as a loyal minister by the people of the world.

"It's the time and the situation." Shao Xun sighed.

More than two years ago, Liang Fen was stationed in Wancheng. It was Cao Fu, who stayed behind, who ordered Hou Feihu to withdraw his troops.

This cannot be blamed on Uncle Cao. He made the decision after careful consideration, and Shao Xun also agreed with it afterwards.

But no one expected that Liang Fen, who was like an invisible man in the court before, could create such a situation by taking advantage of the massive influx of people from Guanxi into Nanyang.

Some people just don't want to wade into muddy waters and prefer to keep themselves safe. But once they are pushed to a certain extent, they can't be underestimated.

"Don't worry too much, my dear son-in-law." Yu Chen said, "Liang Fen doesn't have much ambition. Even if she has some, it was created by people like Yan Ding."

"Oh? Are you saying that Liang Fen might have been sidelined by Yan Ding and others?" Shao Xun asked.

"Not really." Yu Chen shook his head and said, "I have met Yan Ding before. He gathered a group of refugees from Guanxi in Mi County and cultivated their own land. He went to Luoyang from time to time and actively participated in the gatherings of Guanxi scholars. He was ambitious. But his reputation is low, so even if he has ambitions, he has to restrain them and obey Liang Fen's orders."

Shao Xun understood a little.

A military-political group often has its own will.

The cause of Wang Ru's rebellion was actually the conflict between the natives of Nanyang and the refugees.

The refugees from Guanxi are outsiders who are discriminated against and oppressed by the locals, so they naturally tend to stick together. They have their own interests and collective will.

If this collective will is exploited by an ambitious person, it will lead to the Wang Ru Rebellion; if it is properly appeased, the situation can be avoided - to be honest, the Wang Ru Rebellion, which was mainly caused by refugees from Guanxi, and the Du Tao Rebellion, which was caused mainly by refugees from Bashu, were both caused by the imperial court.

"When I was the Imperial Censor, I met Liang Fen several times." Yu Chen added, "He was a sensible man and never interfered in the political struggles of the court. The kings fought each other and many officials were involved, but Liang Fen rose step by step and became a general of the guards. It was not because he was diligent in his work, but because the others were gone."

Shao Xun laughed when he heard this, Liang Laodeng is quite capable of hiding himself.

"Besides, my dear son-in-law has set up a good situation in Nanyang. Even if Liang Fen wants to go north, he won't dare to do so, right?" Yu Chen looked into Shao Xun's eyes and said, "Let's not talk about the fact that the Nanyang nobles and Liang Fen don't get along. Liang Chen previously recruited refugees from Guanxi in Nanyang to serve as the Nanyang Wangzhuang guest troops. This time, Wei Fu returned from Qinzhou and brought back a group of Guanxi scholars and powerful people, which made Liang Fen somewhat constrained. Now these people have come to Xuchang, right?"

Shao Xun smiled awkwardly and said vaguely: "Get some people to compete with Liang Fen. Don't let him live too comfortably."

"After the New Year, it's best for me to go to Nanyang." Yu Chen said, "Those people in Nanyang respect your orders, but they will inevitably have some ideas if you haven't been here for a long time. It's a good opportunity to meet Liang Fen. As I said, it's best not to use force. Once a fight starts, it's hard to say how long it will last. If you can't wipe it out once, there may be recurrences in the future. You can't kill all the Guanxi people in Nanyang."

"Okay." Shao Xun readily followed the advice and made a plan.

The issue of Nanyang is best resolved politically.

(End of this chapter)