Chapter 576: Divide the Cake

Chapter 576: Divide the Cake

Chapter 576: Divide the Cake

"Your Excellency's courtyard is quite unique." Yu Gun glanced around and said with a smile.

He was a hermit who often lived in a thatched cottage in the mountains, and he loved these things the most.

It was almost evening, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone into the courtyard.

The elm and locust trees cast long shadows, standing in the distance.

In a corner of the courtyard, there are dozens of bamboos planted, swaying under the courtyard wall.

There are stone tables and stone benches under the trees, where you can sit and drink tea.

On the other side, near the window, there is even a pond, with small lotus leaves floating on it, crystal clear and very cute.

This is a courtyard full of wildness. After working hard, you can walk around the courtyard and relax your temperament.

"Fish have deep waters and birds have tall trees; this is the law of nature." Yu Min continued, with a hint of deep meaning.

"Sit down and talk." Shao Xun stretched out his hand and invited everyone to sit down at the stone table.

"Are you here, Shangshu, because of something going on in the capital?" Shao Xun looked at Yu Min and asked.

Yu Min was the Shangshu Ling, a position that was not very high, but very powerful. Normally, he should have been busy in the capital, but he came directly to Jiyang. Didn't he go to work?

"Indeed, there is something." Yu Min nodded and said, "The emperor should have issued many secret decrees."

"Oh? You still can't sit still." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Do you know who it was sent to?"

"Wang Dun's copy. Zu Ti's copy may also be included, but I don't know if there are more." Yu Min said truthfully: "Recently, there are rumors that the emperor sent people to Guanzhong and Youzhou, but the roads were blocked and the messengers returned halfway."

"Who helped the emperor to pass the message?" Shao Xun asked.

"I don't know." Yu Min shook his head and said, "Wang Yifu said that Xu Xia, the Minister of the Court, Yan Ding, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Diwu Yi, the Governor of Henan, Li Shu, the Grand Master of Imperial Households, and Jiao Qiu, the General of the Light Chariots, are all suspects."

"These five people come from quite a variety of backgrounds." Shao Xun said, "The emperor is also recruiting surrenders and rebellions."

Xu Xia and Diwu Yi were considered court officials recruited by the emperor.

It turns out that Yan Ding was Liang Fen's man.

Li Shu was a relative of the late Sikong Xunfan.

Jiao Qiu had close ties with Gou Xi.

What is this? An anti-Shao alliance? No, in Shao Xun's view, they are just playing a game.

"Send all these people out," he said bluntly.

I don't care if you are suspected or not, or if you are wrongly accused, I will drive you all out of the court. This is still a gentle measure, if it was Sima Yue, he might have killed people directly.

When Yu Min heard Shao Xun's request, he hesitated for a moment and agreed.

Of course, he couldn't do it alone; he had to work with others and it would take some time.

After saying this, they started drinking tea.

There were three people standing behind Yu Chen and Yu Min, one of whom was Chen Kui, the son of the imperial guard general Chen Jing, and the other two were Guo De and Xin Zuo.

The latter two are from Xuchang, and their ancestors were once wealthy.

Guo De was born into the Yingchuan Guo family (Yangdi belonged to Yingchuan in the late Han Dynasty). His ancestors included Yuan Shao's adviser Guo Tu and Cao Cao's adviser Guo Jia.

Xin Zuo was born into the Xin family of Yingchuan (Yangdi belonged to Yingchuan in the late Han Dynasty). His ancestors included Yuan Shao's advisers Xin Ping and Xin Pi.

These two families really fell into decline.

The Xin family was better off, as they once married into the Yang family, but they are no longer doing well.

Guo's status plummeted and he became almost unknown.

Yu Chen and Yu Min brought these three young men together. Their intention was very clear: to make themselves familiar to Shao Xun so that they could recommend him when they needed people in the future.

In addition, the two declining aristocratic families, the Guo and Xin, had most likely surrendered to the Yu family and became their vassals.

The Chen family's situation was slightly better than the other two. After all, Chen Jing was a general in the imperial army, and Chen Kuang was the governor of Yingchuan. However, when the Yu family became increasingly powerful, they had to bow their heads and show goodwill to them.

The Yu family of Yanling was originally just a second or third rate family. In places like Yingchuan where aristocratic families gathered, they had to rely on others for survival. But now, they are rising rapidly, and their influence spreads across Yingchuan and Runan. Many small and medium-sized families have flocked to them in order to get ahead.

The marriage between Shao Xun and Yu Wenjun directly changed the power structure of the entire western half of Yuzhou.

Therefore, during Shao Xun's last days in Yecheng, he spent the night with Wang Jingfeng every day, but Yu Chen didn't say anything, because he knew very well where the power of the Yu family came from.

Of course, Shao Xun had not crossed the line so far. The only thing he had not done enough was probably that he had not touched the two concubines, Yin and Guanqiu. After all, his wife had not given birth to a son yet. The children born by concubines could be taken to the mistress to be raised and treated as her own.

Yu Wenjun personally came over with tea, and everyone stood up to express their gratitude.

After serving the tea, Yu Wenjun no longer disturbed them, but strolled by the pond, turning her head to look at her husband from time to time.

Shao Xun was calm and composed in front of her elders, acting like a superior.

The elders also put themselves in a lower position, listening quietly to Shao Xun and responding from time to time.

Yu Wenjun suddenly covered her mouth and laughed.

She was often scolded in front of her father, and her father was serious and even respectful in front of her husband. And her husband was careful to take care of her mood in front of her.

Thinking of this, Yu Wenjun felt happy.

The men finished their tea and continued their conversation, while she slowly recalled her childhood.

"How is the grain collection going?" Shao Xun asked the question that concerned him most. "Every family has complaints, but they have all paid some grain." Yu Chen said, "As soon as I returned to Xuchang, I visited a few old friends and learned a little about their thoughts."

"Henan is a place surrounded by four wars. Since the Han Dynasty, it has suffered too much. When the King of Langya angrily rebuked Ming Gong in Jianye, the Jiangdong nobles, although few of them agreed, did not oppose much. When Zu Ti went north to Xuzhou, he received thousands of soldiers to help him. When Ji Zhan went to Shouchun, in addition to bringing a large number of Danyang soldiers, the Jiangdong clans also supported thousands of private soldiers."

"After Ji Zhan took office as the governor of Jiangbei, he inspected the Huai River every other day. Ruyin, Qiaoguo, Peiguo and other places were deeply uneasy and hoped that you would send troops to the south to set up fences at key locations to stop the enemy's front. However, you have been slow to send troops, and the elders of the counties are deeply disappointed."

"Also, your best troops have gathered in Hebei and fought against the Xiongnu repeatedly. They haven't seen much benefit, but they keep sending food and troops. If that were all, the southern troops are stationed on the Huai River. They can see that they are attacked from all sides and their hometown is about to be destroyed in the war, so they are full of complaints."

"Besides, the Ming Dynasty has too many open fronts. Excessive militarism is a sign of defeat."

After Yu Chen finished speaking, he bowed, then picked up the tea bowl and sipped the tea.

Shao Xun listened and nodded slightly.

Yu Chen said this not to complain. In fact, he found the right people and it worked, and grain was collected very quickly.

He said this, firstly to make Shao Xun pay attention to the opinions of the "elders" (scholars), and secondly, to demonstrate his influence.

The Yu family is indeed no longer the same as before, and has become more powerful.

Of course, there is also the meaning of "transaction" here.

In this day and age when the power of the aristocracy is at its peak, they really have the power to bargain, and everything they do has a price.

They support you, do you want to show your support?
"Yuan Gui has done a good job at the hotel." Shao Xun said, "The equipment he made is excellent, and the army considers it top quality. Now it seems that his temper has been tempered, so he can return to the shogunate and continue to serve as a soldier."

"There are still vacancies in Ji, Wei, and Dunqiu counties. The lieutenant can appoint them." He added, "We can also select talented people from Yangping and Guangping counties. If that's not enough, I'll give Yang Jiongzhi a call to see if there are any vacancies in Yuzhou."

"Your Excellency is wise." Yu Chen said.

What Shao Xun had just said was to draw a circle for Yu Chen, so that he could start from this aspect and repay the favor.

After hearing this, Yu Chen was certainly very happy, but he also had some concerns. Lord Chen asked him to arrange for officials to enter the prefecture? Is Yang Jiongzhi so easy to talk to? Not necessarily.

This son-in-law! Yu Chen smiled bitterly.

Shao Xun didn't bother to care what he thought.

This era is really fucked up for a tyrant in troubled times. Because there are always people in the local area who hinder you, and there are always people who bargain with you, which is not pleasant at all.

You are developing, your strength is increasing, and others are also reaping the benefits.

Shao Xun received news from Nanyang yesterday that Le Kai, the military commander of the Wancheng governor's office, requested to intercept some of Yongrao's smelting equipment to train a new army. He also requested to transfer and appoint a large number of local officials because these people had close ties with Wang Dun of Xiangyang.

Shao Xun thought for a long time.

I was thinking about it before dinner, and still thinking about it after dinner, and finally I agreed.

If you want someone to help you block a strategic direction so that you can concentrate on dealing with other directions, you will have to pay a price.

The strength of the Le family army was demonstrated during the Northern Expedition against Shi Le, and it was quite good. At the beginning, they were clumsy under Yang Dan, but they became skilled in fighting, improved quickly, and made many military achievements.

Of course, it is impossible for the temporary peasants to improve so quickly. However, most of the Le family troops were private soldiers who had been trained for many years and had a solid foundation. After defeating Shi Le, they underwent a transformation from top to bottom and were completely different.

The strong rise of the Le family in the counties and states of Nanyang was inevitable. With weapons workshops, money and food, and an army, as well as their own people in the local area, they already had all the elements to establish their own regime, but it was unnecessary.

Shao Xun could only impose certain restrictions by adding sand and other means.

Yang Man didn't want to be the Internal History of Shunyang and wanted to be transferred, but Shao Xun kept refusing to agree.

The construction of Nanyang State was also progressing steadily.

However, the pressure from Sima Rui weakened the effectiveness of his efforts, and he was forced to delegate more power to the Le family.

The price of driving Liang Fen away and taking over Wancheng so quickly now became apparent.

This is not to say that relying on the Nanyang gentry to stabilize Nanyang was wrong. After all, Shao Xun bought time and was able to go north to defeat Shi Le.

Everything in the world is nothing more than a matter of weighing pros and cons. It is impossible for you to have all the good things unless you are the protagonist.

Today, he has to give benefits to Henan scholars again, and the one who takes the lead in asking for benefits is his father-in-law.

This certainly doesn't mean that his father-in-law has bad intentions towards him.

In fact, in Yu Chen's understanding, things have always been done this way, and it has been like this for many years. It is a tradition.

You asked for money and food, and we gave it to you. In exchange, it is only natural that you give us an official position.

Sometimes, Shao Xun felt that the hegemons in troubled times after the Song Dynasty were very happy. How dare you refuse to give me money and food? I will slaughter you all, and you will have no ability to resist. You can only kneel down and die. That's how tough it is.

However, the nobles in the north were easier to manipulate than those in the south.

Sima Rui might not even be able to make this deal, so he thought on the bright side. At least, the Yu family had no military power, which made it much easier for Shao Xun to accept.

"I will return to Xuchang in the next two days." Shao Xun said, "Gather the local elders for me so that I can meet them."

"Okay." Yu Chen agreed immediately.

He couldn't stay in Henan for long and would soon return to Yecheng. Before leaving, convening such a meeting would also allow him to increase his influence.

We have to get Yuan Gui back soon so that he can have the chance to show up.

"Send the newly collected food and grass to Junyi for delivery to Yang Bao." Shao Xun added, "I still need 10,000 men. Please recruit them for me."

"But heading to the three cities of Heyang?"

"Exactly."

(End of this chapter)