Chapter 498 Recommendation

Chapter 498 Recommendation

Chapter 498 Recommendation
The wind was quite strong, and as the old horse's clothes fluttered in the wind, he had already entered the path.

After walking for a while, a courtyard covered with moss and weeds appeared in front of them.

In front of the wooden gate, the sound of axes chopping bushes continued to be heard.

Wang Yan got off the horse, threw away the reins and walked forward.

The old horse didn't walk far, but just ate grass under a big tree nearby.

"Shixuan seems to be at ease." Wang Yan walked among the weeds with his hands behind his back, looking around.

This is an abandoned courtyard, not very big.

Most of the previous owners were not officials, but wealthy families in the countryside, or wealthy families with not much wealth.

The period of abandonment is estimated to be quite long, at least more than five years.

The fence was covered with melon vines and the corners were full of thorns.

The vegetable patch, which was once very neat, is now covered with weeds.

There was a well in the vegetable garden, covered with dead branches and leaves.

Looking at the house again, the doors and windows had disappeared without a trace, and there was not a single piece of furniture left. It was empty, just like the empty land of Henan.

Liang Fen turned around and said with a smile, "Isn't Yi Fu also very free?"

"The Grand Commandant is extremely respected, but he does not take on practical work. After the court meeting today, there will be nothing to do for a few days, so he will be free." Wang Yan walked over and said, "You have been an official for many years. Even if you are not well-off, it shouldn't be like this, right?"

Wang Yan pointed to the long-abandoned house and said.

As he was speaking, a pheasant swooped up from the yard and disappeared into the horizon.

"This is the house of an old friend." Liang Fen threw away the axe and said, "I came to the capital to seek an official position, but failed, so I lived here. After Wang Mi fled from Luoyang, he went south to Jianye. Before leaving, he gave me the house, but I didn't accept it at that time. Now I come here to live in seclusion. I am really ashamed."

"Isn't the Liang residence in Beijing good?" Wang Yan asked.

Liang Fen pointed forward and said, "I came here yesterday. When I got up in the morning, the flowers and trees were covered with morning dew, and there was a thin mist in the forest. At noon, the golden crow was high in the sky, the distant mountains were dark, and there were white clouds coming out of the mountains, monkeys were howling, and birds were singing. When the sun was setting, I walked in the bean fields and had a great chat with the farmers. At night, I sat down under the willows by the river, drank the Milky Way with wine, and went home drunk. Yi Fu, do you think this life is comfortable?"

Wang Yan became somewhat fascinated.

After a moment, he shook his head and laughed, saying, "I am obsessed with money and greed, not as free and easy as Shixuan."

"Everyone has his own way of living." Liang Fen walked in the green grass and said, "If Yi Fu was not in charge of the court, I would not be able to live in peace. In the end, I became a deserter, while Yi Fu, you are still making up the world."

"Have you ever thought about finding another job?" Wang Yan asked.

Liang Fen shook her head and said with a wry smile: "This is the first time in ten years that my daughter has written to cry about her feelings. If I work for anyone again..."

At this point, he sighed.

Wang Yan understood.

In the past few years, Liu Han had three queens die abnormally.

First, there was Liu Yuan's Queen Shan. As a concubine mother, she was favored by Liu Cong and committed suicide out of shame.

Next is Empress Zhang of Liu Cong. Liu Cong wanted to make Liu E the empress, but Empress Zhang refused, so he made her niece Zhang the empress. When the empress died, Empress Zhang died soon after.

Liu Cong then made Liu E the queen, but a meteorite fell north of Pingyang in the first month of the year. Chen Yuanda believed that "too many female favorites are a sign of the country's demise", and Queen Liu died more than ten days later.

The Jin Dynasty was better, not as outrageous as the Liu Han Dynasty.

But it's just the pot calling the kettle black. If you don't believe me, go ask Yang Xianrong and see how she answers you.

It is understandable that Liang Fenruo was worried about her daughter's safety and was unwilling to take up an official position.

"I guess Yi Fu didn't come here today just to talk to me." As the two of them strolled, they arrived in front of a vast farmland.

There are many alfalfa plants in the farmland, and farmers work hard to harvest and dry them, and then feed them to livestock.

Some people even take it easier and drive the cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys directly into the alfalfa field and let them chew the alfalfa.

After eating it for a period of time, stop eating it to avoid bloating due to overeating.

Everything is in order, busy but not chaotic.

"Forget it. Since you don't want to take up a government post, what else can I say?" Wang Yan shook his head and smiled.

"Mr. Chen asked you to come?"

"Mr. Chen was in Nanyang trying to mediate between the natives and the immigrants. Hearing that you, Shixuan, were already a commoner, he felt a little sorry and wanted to let you take the position of governor of Jizhou."

"Jizhou?" Liang Fen was startled and asked, "Has Lord Chen decided to attack Hebei? Is the time ripe?"

Wang Yan was just thinking about what to say when he saw a cloud of dust in the distance. He looked closely and immediately clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Shixuan, please look, what's that over there?"

Liang Fen looked for a long time before saying, "It seems someone is driving livestock here."

"That's right." Wang Yan lived in Jingu Garden from time to time and was very familiar with these things. He only heard him say: "There are capture troops in Heyang and Fangtou. They often raid at night and capture people alive. Sometimes they also send out large groups of cavalry, quickly advancing and retreating, making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and returning with captives and livestock."

"There are a lot of casualties, right?"

"There should be casualties." Wang Yan nodded and said, "But we have also seized a lot. Outside the Jingu Garden, there are more than 3,000 horses, more than 7,000 cattle, and more than 50,000 sheep. They were all seized since this spring."

Liang Fen calculated secretly.

When I looked through the archives in the past, I learned that on the grassland outside Yanmen Pass, one person roughly corresponded to fifteen large and small livestock.

Among these fifteen animals, there is also a rough correspondence between the large animals (horses, cattle, camels) and the small animals (sheep).

If it is a drier grassland, one large livestock will correspond to ten sheep.

If it is a land with abundant grass and water, the proportion of large livestock is higher. Generally, there is one large livestock for every four or five sheep. To put it bluntly, it depends on the quality of the grassland.

The cavalry from the northern city of Heyang attacked in turns, and by fighting piecemeal, they should have wiped out a tribe of more than 4,000 people, men, women, and children - many of the young and strong may have escaped, but the elderly, the weak, women, children, cattle, sheep, and carts were difficult to escape.

The results were still enormous.

Even if some cavalry were lost in the process, it would be fine as long as we got enough in return.

He didn't know how many Hu tribes there were in Hanoi, but they would be in great trouble if they continued to fight like this.

In spring, fodder is scarce and war horses lose weight severely. Unless they are fed grain or squeeze out the fodder of other livestock, it is difficult for them to fight for long.

After the grass turns green, there are even more things to do. Even adult men have to be busy all the time. How can they have time to fight? Unless the Liu Han court allocates food and grass to help the herders solve their practical difficulties, the big and small heads will have a strong resistance to going out in the spring.

Or, if they go south, they can rob a lot of food and property, which may persuade the herdsmen to abandon their farm work and rush south.

But Heyang North City is a pure military city, there is nothing to be robbed there!

On the contrary, the Jin cavalry who were recuperating in the military city did not have to do farm work or graze, and their horses had food to feed. They only had to attack repeatedly, burn, kill, and loot.

As the saying goes, if you defend for too long, you will lose. You cannot defend against it because you don't know when they will attack, in which direction, and how many people will attack.

Gather a large number of cavalry and prepare for battle? What about the family work?
The grass had just turned green, so it was definitely not enough for the war horses to eat. Moreover, since they were going to fight, they had to give the horses some "hard food"? Without food, they would not have enough strength, and they would have to stop and graze after riding for a short time. In the process of grazing, the horses would even foam at the mouth and could not run any more - just like Sima Chi.

Fighting in the spring would be very disadvantageous for the Huns.

Even though there was no spoils of war in the process, the Huns were still given a lot of trouble.

The saying “A year’s plan begins with spring” applies to both farmers and herdsmen.

The losses suffered by the Hu people in Hanoi were far more than what was shown on paper; the main point was the destruction of their livelihoods.

The construction of cities in Heyang and Fangtou was truly a stroke of genius, which reversed the offensive and defensive situation.

At least, Luoyang is much safer now, this is the truth. Apart from the opening of Xin'an, it is difficult for the Huns to directly penetrate into the heart of Luoyang.

There is actually no obvious change in the "territory" of both sides, but the situation has changed little by little, and the internal things are the key.

"Yi Fu, what does Taibai want me to do as an official?" Liang Fen suddenly asked.

"Shixuan, you..." Wang Yan laughed.

Liang Fen smiled to himself and said, "Life is only a few decades long. Even the ancient saints and sages could not avoid it. I am also approaching the end. A gentleman sticks to his path and knows his end. He is righteous and returns to justice. I will be a minister of Jin in my lifetime and will never serve in government again."

Wang Yan seemed to understand something.

As expected, Liang Fen continued, "Fu Shihong (Fu Xuan) was a court official in the past, and later followed me to Wan. Now he is idle at home. He is loyal and filial, and is intelligent. His brother Shidao (Fu Chang) is calm and resourceful, and is familiar with court etiquette. These two are both talented, and I really can't bear to see them return to the countryside and be buried among the weeds. If Mr. Chen is short of people, you can recruit them to join your staff, and they will definitely be useful."

"The Fu family of Beidi is the descendant of a famous official." Wang Yan nodded slightly and asked, "How brave are these two?"

"What does Mr. Chen need them to do?"

"Do you dare to go to Anding and the North to pacify the Hu people?"

Liang Fen pondered for a moment and asked, "Fortune requires life. How do you plan to appease Mr. Chen?"

"When Lord Chen heard that the Hu people moved eastward, with tens of thousands of people in their numbers, he began to think of recruiting them. If they are willing to come to Henan, he can be given land. After they make military achievements, it goes without saying that his wife and children will be given titles." Wang Yan said.

"That's fine." Liang Fen sighed, "I can write a letter and send two people to Anding to take it."

The Liang family was a large and stable family, and the Fu family's ancestral home was in the north. The two counties bordered the Hu territory and had many clans inside and outside the territory.

It is impossible that powerful families in border areas like the Liang and Fu families have no connection with the Hu people. If we let them try to lure them, the success rate will be greater.

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of the local Hu tribal chiefs, the emperor of Luoyang may not be as important as the Liang and Fu families.

This is the connection, the relationship, the influence.

Liang Fen was unwilling to serve as an official for Shao Xun, but was willing to recommend his confidants. If used properly, they would be of great help.

It just so happens that the war situation in Guanzhong has taken a turn for the better recently.

Liu Can attacked near Chang'an and won many battles, but Fengyi in the rear was ambushed and a general was killed. Frustrated, he led his army to retreat, and the battle line was pushed to the east again, and the tug of war was very fierce. Taking advantage of this favorable opportunity, he led his troops back to his hometown to recruit people, just like Liu Kun sent people back to Zhongshan to recruit soldiers.

If successful, not only will Er Fu make a great contribution, but Shao Xun will also remember Liang Fen's favor.

"Mr. Chen is luring the Hu people to Henan. Does he want to launch a large-scale northern expedition?" Liang Fen asked again.

"Nine out of ten," Wang Yan said, "Didn't you see that Nanyang has sent 20,000 troops north? Now, all over Henan and Yanzhou are transporting food and grain. They may gather troops from all over the country next month. Lord Chen is keeping a close eye on Shi Le."

After hearing this, Liang Fen looked somewhat excited.

The situation is really improving little by little.

The Xiongnu was like a knight in full armor, charging straight towards the Central Plains, with an aggressive momentum that was unstoppable. But with a series of tactics by Chen Gong, the enemy cavalry's speed became slower and slower, and their momentum to charge forward became weaker and weaker.

Although he had decided to be a bystander, he was still very happy in his heart.

"Will Pingyang send troops to help?" Liang Fen asked.

"You ask me, who should I ask?" Wang Yan said with a wry smile, "Just wait and see what happens, Quanzhong will be back soon."

Liang Fen looked towards the south.

I gave Wancheng to you just to see how far you can go.

To chase away the wolves and bring peace to the world, to bring peace to the people, this is my life's ambition...

(End of this chapter)