Chapter 578 Circle

Chapter 578 Circle

Chapter 578 Circle
Outside the city of Xuchang, the soldiers had been mobilized.

During Sima Que's time, the number of Xuchang soldiers was nominally 20,000, but in reality there were only 17,000 to 18,000.

After several rounds of fighting, many hereditary soldiers died or were incorporated into local soldiers and sent to Puyang and Dongping, and the number of soldiers dropped to 10,000.

Liu Shan, the commander of the army, then began to recruit 5,000 soldiers. The sign-ups were very enthusiastic, but it took a long time before the number of soldiers was expanded to 12,000. It was difficult to expand further because there were not enough people to recruit.

With no other options, after consulting Shao Xun, he recruited two thousand refugees from Nanyang and Guanxi, and brought them to Xuchang along with their families.

Another thousand families were "recruited" from the wealthy and powerful farmhands in Yingchuan and Chenliu, and they all came today - each family had dozens or even hundreds of farmhands. It was a bit reluctant to let them go, but it was also acceptable.

"What's the difference between this piece of land under the city of Xuchang and the military camp?" Yu Liang, who had just returned to Xuchang, asked with a smile.

The land adjacent to Xuchang City is of course very good and of great value - people living in the city can go out and inspect their own land, there is nothing better than this.

Starting from King Sima Jiong of Qi, the official land under the city of Xuchang was expanded little by little.

Sima Hu, Sima Yue, Sima Mo and Sima Que continued to work and eventually cleared out more than 5,000 hectares of fertile land and distributed it to the soldiers for farming - for this, they have to thank Wang Mi.

Strictly speaking, the hereditary soldiers of Xuchang cultivated government land. The hereditary soldiers themselves were tenants and had no personal freedom, so it was not wrong for Yu Liang to say that they were a military farming army.

The official fields outside Xuchang City have changed owners several times, and few people have been cultivating them from more than a decade ago to the present. They are either dead or gone.

The dead died everywhere, and the dead were also scattered everywhere. Many were even forced to separate from their relatives, settle down elsewhere, marry and have children - such as those who followed Sima Hu to Hebei, followed Sima Yue to Yanzhou, or followed Gou Xi to Qingzhou.

Many years later, if he is lucky enough to return to his hometown, he will find that his wife has remarried with the children - these days, if you don't come back for many years, it is basically assumed that you are dead.

In troubled times, one has to go with the flow; the power of an individual is too small.

"How about Yuan Gui being in charge of the farming army in Xiping?" asked Yu Gun's son Yu Jing.

"Yuanzhen asked a good question!" Yu Liang shook his head and sighed, saying, "If we could choose, who would be willing to stay in Xiping?"

Yu Jing and his younger brother Yu Mie looked at each other and laughed.

Who likes to go to a place where no one lives? Yuan Gui is still so young, and it is not time for him to retire to the countryside. He must miss Xuchang every day and every night, thinking about coming back to live a comfortable life instead of staying with the clumsy blacksmiths, miners, and peasant soldiers.

Yu Liang also wanted to laugh, but he finally held it back.

After being tempered for so long, my temperament is finally different.

Yu Xu and Yu Mie were accompanied by a group of young scholars. After seeing the brothers reminiscing about the past, they came up to greet them.

Yu Liang responded with a smile one by one, taking care of everyone.

Yu Yu's eyes lit up, Yuan Gui had indeed made progress.

While everyone was exchanging greetings, more than ten people came out of the city gate. They first glanced at Yu Liang and others, without saying anything, and then directly jumped on their horses and galloped past on the road.

They rode their horses galloping and talking and laughing loudly, looking so high-spirited.

"Hmm? Who is this?" Yu Liang took a look and asked.

When did such a group of "arrogant" teenagers come to Xuchang City?

Thinking back to the past, after his sister married Mr. Chen, Yu Yuangui's status in Xuchang City rose rapidly. When the scholars of the same generation gathered together, who didn't greet him? Who didn't fawn on him?
I didn’t expect that after just over a year of leaving, some people no longer recognized Yu Liang.

Yu Jing took a look and said, "They just moved here from Xiangcheng and Chenjun after the New Year. They are the sons of the palace soldiers and officers of the Silver Spear Army. They are rough and uncultured. They only know how to wrestle and hunt all day long."

"Don't get close to them?" Yu Liang subconsciously felt that this was not a good idea, as it was too clear-cut.

"I have tried, and we are not of the same kind." Yu Jing said, "On March 3rd, I invited the son of Zuo Sima Chen Yougen to attend the meeting, and he came. Chen Liangfu's nephew talked to him about music theory, but he knew nothing about it. I talked to him about the Book of Changes, but I didn't understand it either. Later, I don't know who ridiculed him for this, and he left in anger. I invited him again on May 5th, but he didn't come."

"During the Spring Festival, we sat and discussed the Dao." Yu Mie added, "Wu Qian's grandson was also laughed at, and he even had a fight with a son of the Zhong family."

"Why?" Yu Liang asked.

"They're laughing at him for speaking Luoyang dialect with the accent of Donghai." Yu Mie didn't say anything, but someone next to him laughed.

Yu Liang's face changed.

Mr. Chen came to Luoyang thirteen years ago. He can speak Luoyang dialect relatively well, but still has a bit of local accent.

This kind of thing can be laughed at privately by a few familiar people, but why humiliate others in public?

If Mr. Chen knew about this, what would he think?
"Shut up!" Yu Liang scolded the man with a ferocious look in his eyes.

The man was startled and felt even more embarrassed, but thinking of Yu Liang's identity, he did not dare to get angry. He could only smile awkwardly to hide his unhappiness.

Yu Liang was too lazy to talk to him more.

He also noticed that the military sons under Lord Chen's command didn't seem to get along well with them and couldn't even enter basic social occasions.

How could he be accepted by scholars when he failed in elegant language, music theory, poetry, calligraphy, metaphysical principles, etc.?
You know, even Liu Cong, a rough man who can shoot a hard bow, is good at calligraphy, can recite poems and compose essays, and can talk about music theory with the emperor. Otherwise, his trip to Luoyang that year would be in vain, because he couldn't squeeze into the circle at all.

"What do these officers' sons do on a daily basis?" Yu Liang asked again.

Everyone looked at each other.

They have only been in Xuchang for less than half a year, how would I know what they are doing?
"Wrestling and hunting." Yu Jing repeated what he had said before, and further added: "Invite more than ten friends to go hunting in the mountains. After hunting deer and foxes, we sit on the ground, warm wine and roast meat. When we are in the mood, we also have wrestling competitions."

"We have run into them a few times in Qinlou and Chuguan." Yu Mie said at the side: "This is the only place where we can run into them."

Yu Jing glared at his brother, disliking him for talking too much. Yu Liang glanced at his cousin with a half-smile. He was also wondering how Yu Jing knew these officers' sons so well, it turned out that he had met them in a brothel.

"Haha." Yu Xu laughed dryly twice and said, "These people don't have much money. I invited them a few times and they talked more."

Yu Liang nodded.

Most of the military officers under Mr. Chen were poor people before they started their careers. It might be an exaggeration to say that they were penniless, but they really didn't have much money.

There wasn't much land or servants in the family, not to mention any wealth.

The rise of a family cannot be achieved in just one generation.

When the sun was high in the sky, the group entered the city.

After politely declining the banquet, Yu Liang first went to the former residence of Sima Hu, King of Fanyang, now the residence of Lord Chen.

There were many carriages and horses on the street, pouring out in droves. I asked someone and found out that Mr. Chen was going to Luoyang soon, so the treasury was opened, and all kinds of equipment and supplies were transported to the military camp outside the city like water, and handed over to the 10,000 Xuchang soldiers who were about to go to war - if nothing unexpected happened, they would leave after the summer sowing was completed.

He recalled what he had seen on the road. It seemed that a considerable number of young men had been mobilized in Runan, Yingchuan and Xiangcheng. It was not known where they were going to gather before, but now it was clear: Luoyang.

What was Mr. Chen going to do? Yu Liang was a little confused and even a little uneasy.

After a round of notification, Yu Liang was quickly brought to the mansion.

"Brother." Yu Wenjun waved from a distance and looked at him with a smile.

Yu Liang took a quick look and then sighed.

This silly sister probably doesn’t know how many women Mr. Chen has outside, and he is too embarrassed to tell his sister.

But seeing how happy she was, Yu Liang didn't know what to say.

"Yuan Gui." Shao Xun glanced at him and said with a smile, "I've been going to the hotel for more than a year and haven't caused any trouble."

Yu Liang blushed.

Mr. Chen still had some sense of propriety and only said this to him in front of his family, otherwise he would really be too embarrassed to face anyone.

Shao Xun was casually wearing a long gown and was sitting by the pond fishing. He asked Yu Liang to sit down and said, "Rest for a few days after you come back, and then come with me to Beijing."

"Okay." Yu Liang no longer had the arrogant attitude in front of his friends, and sat on the Hu bed respectfully.

Yu Wenjun covered her mouth and smiled secretly.

A while ago, my husband was complaining to him about the scholars who were hypocritical. Looking at my brother, he seems to be more obedient than the officers of the Silver Spear Army.

"Is Xuchang good?" Shao Xun, who was fishing, suddenly asked.

Yu Liang was stunned, not knowing why his brother-in-law asked this, so he could only reply, "It's OK."

"I think it's just average," Shao Xun said.

Yu Liang didn't understand why.

"After you go to Luoyang, find a way to find the people from the Shaofu, and then take them to Junyi to plan the site of the city."

"My Lord, do you want to move the government to another place?"

Shao Xun hummed.

"Building a new city will cost a lot of money," Yu Liang murmured.

After the mess he had made in Runan, he finally realized that over-exploitation would lead to a popular uprising. Now the treasury was empty, and all the money and grain had been used for the war. How could there be any money left to build a new city?
"I don't have to pay." Shao Xun said: "People in Henan don't want to pay, but people in Hebei are willing to pay."

Yu Liang suddenly understood, but at the same time he was speechless and even a little depressed.

When he handed over the hotel affairs to the chief priest Fang Yang and returned to Xuchang happily, he never expected that he would be sent out again soon.

"Brother, this is an important task, many people cannot even ask for it." Yu Wenjun said on the side.

Yu Liang glared at his sister.

After she got married, she actually started to teach her brother a lesson.

But he was also relieved.

This is indeed a hard and tiring job, but it is also a job that makes one look good. Needless to say, the credit will be gained if done well, and it may even leave a strong mark in the history books of later generations. It is still very attractive to him.

However, this is far from what he likes, holding great power and ruling a region.

Although supervising the construction of a new city is relatively important, it is still a "general business" and not a noble job.

But he didn't have the courage to question Shao Xun's orders.

Ever since Guang Chengze started managing the prisoners' farming, he has become accustomed to accepting orders from his brother-in-law and doing one trivial and detailed task after another. Alas.

"When you go to Luoyang, take all the family soldiers with you." Shao Xun ordered again.

(End of this chapter)