Chapter 727: The Eunuch

Chapter 727: The Eunuch

Chapter 727: The Eunuch

After the weather cleared up for a while, the ground conditions improved greatly and the crisp sound of horse hooves could be heard again in the mountains.

From early August to mid-August, the two sides launched harassment and counter-harassment in the triangular area from the ancient city of Loufan to Xiurong City and the ancient city of Fenyang.

Zaohu generally prefer this fighting style.

The two sides did not come into direct contact, but instead kept a distance and rode and shot among the hills and valleys to see who was the better rider, the better archer, and who was more familiar with the geographical environment.

The riding and archery skills of both sides were similar, and the Xiongnu were really familiar with the geographical environment, so they often crossed the dilapidated old city of Loufan, infiltrated to the east, and attacked the men who were building roads.

Fortunately, they are all mountain paths, and only a few people can pass by, and they can only stay there for a few days. The post road is slowly being restored until it can finally be used.

The ancient city of Loufan is also being slowly repaired.

The original earth wall was so dilapidated that many parts collapsed. The remaining walls, both inside and outside, and even on the walls, were covered with weeds that fluttered in the wind.

There was nothing in the city except sheep dung, and it took a long time to clean it up before people could barely live in it.

Rebuilding the ancient city of Loufan was not just for the purpose of war. In fact, Shao Xun planned to open a second ranch here: a large ranch comparable to Guangchengze.

Starting from late August, the road was gradually improved and the construction focus became the ancient city of Loufan.

Not only were the damaged city walls repaired, but the granary was also urgently built and could store more than 600,000 hu of grain.

At the same time, more and more Jin cavalry were transferred to the west to graze horses.

After herding the horses, they would usually rush westward, capture and kill the Xiongnu herdsmen, and then take their heads to Jinyang to collect the reward.

The two sides fought for about ten days, and the Xiongnu gradually became exhausted...

Qiao Zhong's envoy Qiao Yu arrived in Pingyang at the end of August.

The popularity in and around the city has decreased a lot.

The shop opened in Yuancheng used to have slow business. The owner would doze off while sitting at the door. When he occasionally met a customer, the wrinkles on his face would break into a smile and he was very enthusiastic.

Qiao Yu knew very well that some of these people were worried about the chaotic situation and had fled to the countryside.

Some people had close ties with the Chinese people (the five tribes of the Xiongnu) or were related to them, and fearing being liquidated, they moved their families westward to Guanzhong.

Others were conscripted to transport food and military supplies.

He wandered around outside for a long time, observing the people of Pingyang, and then rode to the residence of Wang Shen, the eunuch in the east of the city.

The Luoyang Palace was packed with guests, and the Pingyang Palace was no less so.

Last year, Wang Shen's adopted daughter, Wang Shi, who was fourteen years old and pretty, entered the palace as the Left Empress, causing quite a stir.

In the past, Liu Cong often spent time in the harem and lost contact with the emperor. The ministers' memorials were controlled by several eunuchs headed by the eunuch Wang Shen, and many of them were not submitted at all. Gradually, they gained a lot of power, which caused dissatisfaction among the royal family and court officials. So they took the opportunity when Liu Cong came out of the harem to submit memorials to criticize Wang Shen, saying that the ministers would get off the carriage when they saw the dust of Wang Shen's carriage, that Wang Shen and others had deeply interfered in the elections of prefectures and counties, and that officials had to pay bribes to get things done, and so on...

Of course, nothing came of it in the end.

Liu Cong was deceived by Wang Shen and others, and Liu Can colluded with Wang Shen and others, so naturally the matter came to nothing.

After Wang entered the palace, she was greatly favored by Liu Cong because of her beauty, young age and innocence. She was directly named the Left Empress, which greatly angered the royal family and court officials.

With the court in this state, they were no longer afraid of Liu Cong and spoke frankly to him. The core issue was that Wang's status was too low and she was not qualified to be the queen.

Yes, whether it is the Jin Dynasty or the Xiongnu, status is considered, the only difference is the degree.

"The concubines in the six palaces are all princes and grandsons. How can they be controlled by maids?" - This is the most crucial point. Wang Shen is a "clown left over from punishment". His adoptive daughter Wang is like an ugly eunuch, with a status similar to that of "your mother's maid". How dare he climb over a girl from a scholar's family?

After all the criticism, there was still no result. Brother Cong refused to listen. What can we do?
In fact, these court officials and royal family members should thank Shao Xun.

Without the strong pressure from him, who knows what Liu Cong would do. It is not impossible that your clan would be wiped out.

It's only right now that we need to be united and not take action, otherwise it would be a lot of fun.

As soon as these two things happened, all the neutral bystanders understood that no one could overthrow the party of the eunuchs Wang Shen, Xuan Huai, Yu Rong, the Central Palace Pushe Guo Yi, and the Central Yellow Gate Ling Xiu - Xuan Huai's adopted daughter Xuan was summoned into the palace because of her beauty and was made the Empress.

These people like to find beautiful girls who are a little older among their clans, in-laws, old friends, and fellow villagers, adopt them as their daughters, and then send them to the palace.

Just for this reason, you can't beat him, unless the emperor is also a homosexual...

As a Xiongnu noble, Qiao Yu had to follow the path of a eunuch, and today was the day.

Wang Shen usually stayed in the palace, but today he was in the mansion. After hearing that Qiao Yu had arrived, for some unknown reason, he summoned him in directly without having to queue.

Qiao Yu was a little surprised, but didn't say anything. Led by the maid, he soon saw Wang Shen next to the rockery pond in the backyard.

"Greetings, sir." Qiao Yu bowed to the ground without hesitation.

There was no sound for a long time.

Qiao Yu lowered his head even lower.

"Get up and sit on the couch over there. I have something to ask you." A deep and upright voice sounded.

Qiao Yu stood up swiftly, glanced at the corner of his eye, and saw a couch that could only accommodate one person, so he sat down on it.

Wang Shen looked him up and said, "Is this your first time visiting my house?"

"Yes."

"On whose orders have you come?"

"My brother's order." "Qiao Zhong?"

"Yes."

"I've accepted the gifts." Wang Shen flicked the gift list in his hand and said, "Why did your brother send you here?"

"Your Majesty, please send more troops." Qiao Yu replied.

Wang Shen's eyes narrowed, and he said in a lost voice: "The thief Shao is here again?"

Seeing him lose his composure, Qiao Yu sighed inwardly, wondering why the emperor favored eunuchs so much? It was disheartening that serious state affairs could only be accomplished with the help of these ugly eunuchs.

"Shao the thief is still in Jinyang. His troops are from Liu Ling's army and are stationed in Loufan, building fortresses and storing food." Qiao Yu replied, "Loufan, Yangchangcang and Jinyang are more than 200 miles apart, and there are endless grain carts. In the nearby valleys, there are herds of cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys, almost half a million. The dried cheese is piled up into mountains, and the squeezed white milk is flowing into rivers. There is also the stored grain, which cannot be stored in several cities. Shao the thief is preparing for war seriously, and he may attack next month."

Wang Shen suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the courtyard like an anxious trapped beast.

Qiao Yu had a blank expression on his face, but he felt even more contempt in his heart.

What kind of people are they? They can be so impatient and yet hold power. It's really ridiculous.

"General Qiao." Wang Shen suddenly walked up to Qiao Yu, looked him straight in the eye, and asked, "Tell me the truth, if the Shao bandit sends a large army to attack Pingyang, can we stop him?"

"They probably can't get through Guanjuejin." Qiao Yu said, "But the Xiurong line is too dangerous. My brother only has a few thousand soldiers. Even if he can recruit some strong men from the tribe, he can't stop Shao's hundreds of thousands of troops."

Wang Shen was stunned: "Shao the thief has so many soldiers?"

Qiao Yu was stunned.

He just exaggerated casually, do you really believe it? But it's okay, so he said with a sad face: "My brother has the responsibility to defend the land, and he should do his best to kill the enemy, but it is difficult to fight against hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers with a few thousand exhausted people. So I ask for more troops, but I am afraid it will be too late."

A hint of panic appeared on Wang Shen's face.

Once hundreds of thousands of soldiers break through the blockade of the northern mountains and advance directly into the flat Hefen Valley, who can stop them?
It can be said that Luliang Mountain is the last chance, because the mountain road is rugged, supplies are difficult, and troops cannot be deployed. The terrain is also very complicated and it is easy to be attacked by surprise on the food route, so it can delay the Jin army slightly.

But if they manage to get out of the mountains, how can we stop them?
"I've remembered this matter. I'll tell His Majesty when I return to the palace tomorrow." Wang Shen took a deep breath and said.

The amount of wealth he accumulated was as much as the amount of food and fodder accumulated by the thief Shao.

Once it was taken away from him, he felt that he had no courage to live anymore, after all, his lifelong pursuit was gone.

No, some have to be transferred to Guanzhong.

But Crown Prince Liu Can has become somewhat estranged from him recently. Can the property, food, servants, and farmhands that were transferred across the river be kept?
Liu Shiguang (Liu Can) was a very heartless person. When he was needed in the beginning, he tried to make friends with people, but now that his position was stable and the trend was established, he drifted away from them.

A new circle of power and wealth has formed in Chang'an, which is different from the one in Pingyang. This makes Wang Shen very annoyed.

If it really doesn't work, I can only use that trick.

Liu Cong loves his stepmother, and Liu Can also loves his stepmother.

If the current emperor dies, the empress will become the empress dowager, and then a concubine, and will definitely have to serve the new emperor.

Liu Can often secretly looked at the Empress Fan (formerly the niece of Empress Dowager Zhang and maid of Empress Zhang Huiguang), the Left Empress Wang, the Right Empress Liu, and the Central Empress Xuan, and it was obvious that he was a lustful person.

He was just waiting for the current emperor to pass away so that he could take over his father's harem, just like the current emperor took over the harem of his father Liu Yuan and brother Liu He.

Some concubines in the harem can even be expected to pass on their power to three generations of their family - but in fact it is only a dozen years.

"Have a good fight in Xiurong and Fenyang Old City." Wang Shen held Qiao Yu's hand and said, "If you make meritorious contributions, I will report to the emperor and promote you to a higher position."

"Thank you, Lord, for your cultivation." Qiao Yu was overjoyed and bowed again.

But I felt a little numb in my heart.

What else can I do? I'll just try my best to resist.

The Qiao family was a Xiongnu noble family, and most of them served as generals in the army.

Over the years, some clansmen followed the prince to Guanzhong, some died on the battlefield, and some stayed in Pingyang as officials. Everyone was somewhat pessimistic about the state of the Han Dynasty.

To be honest, Qiao Yu and his cousin Qiao Zhong didn't think that the big man could beat the thief Shao.

The only suspense is how long they can hold out under Shao's fierce attack.

In fact, they are not the only ones in this country who think this way.

In recent years, many people have followed the crown prince Liu Can to the west, along with their family members, servants, tribal herdsmen, farmhands, etc. This is actually a form of escape. After all, with the Yellow River blocking the way, the Shao bandits cannot easily attack Guanzhong. It seems safer and can survive for many years.

Since last year, migration has reached its peak, with no less than 100,000 people leaving in a single year.

There are a lot fewer this year, but there are still people walking.

This was a very bad behavior, which greatly shook people's hearts. The emperor issued an edict to prohibit it, and only allowed the migration of more than 10,000 tribes and 70,000 to 80,000 people to the west as one of the foundations of Crown Prince Liu Can. The rest of the people were not allowed to cross the west unless they were approved by the court.

But an imperial edict is an imperial edict, and you can still follow the path of the eunuchs and princes.

Qiao Yu had no plans to move his family to Guanzhong.

If you die, you die. What can you do?

What he was more worried about was the safety of the court.

After leaving Wang Shen's mansion, Qiao Yu went south to Hedong to urge a batch of food and equipment.

(End of this chapter)