Chapter 814 The Wind Rises

Chapter 814 The Wind Rises

Chapter 814 The Wind Rises
It's harvest season again.

To the south of Pingyang City, an ox cart slowly approached and soon arrived at Pingchang Gate.

There were two people sitting in the car, laughing and joking, and their laughter could be heard on the road outside.

When Zhaojun Prefect Lu Chen heard this, he immediately turned his head, and at that moment, the person in the carriage opened the curtain and jumped down.

Lu Chen tried for a long time before he realized that these were Sima Li, King of Fanyang, and Sima Pi, King of Donghai.
After thinking about it, he stepped forward and saluted.

"It's Lord Lu of Anping." Sima Li immediately pulled Sima Pi and they saluted together.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "I wonder why the two kings came to Pingyang?"

"Enjoy the trip." Sima Pi said.

"Greetings, mother." Sima Li said.

Sima Pi had a manor in Chenliu and Xuchang, and his life was pretty good.

Shao Xun kept his promise and ensured that Sima Yue's descendants would be rich and safe, and never bothered him.

Basically, as long as Sima Pi doesn't do anything stupid, no one in the world can touch him and he can live freely for a long time.

He now has a child. His wife is from the Wang family of Donghai, also a famous family. Every year, the Donghai country will send him some symbolic tribute, so Sima Pi's living standard is comparable to that of the aristocratic families, and overall it is quite comfortable.

Compared with Sima Pi, Sima Li was much poorer.

He only had one Liuhuayuan near Guangchengze, which was obtained by his biological mother Liu Xiaohe. Many farmhands of Liuhuayuan died in this epidemic, and even Sima Li fell seriously ill. But he was young and strong, and survived, although his face still looked very pale.

Sima Li was also married. His wife was from the Yangping Bu clan, which was considered a noble family, but they had no children.

Sima Li was away from home all year round. He either traveled around with a group of playboys, or went to Xuchang to visit Sima Pi, and sometimes even went to Bianliang to visit Sima Que.

However, since Sima Que was transferred to Youzhou to serve as the magistrate of Changping County, he had no choice but to look for Sima Pi to play with - Sima Que was the only member of the Sima clan who was employed by Shao Xun.

As a descendant of the Lu family of Fanyang, Lu Chen knew something about Sima Li, since Sima Li was the nominal King of Fanyang, although Fanyang had long been abolished as a country and established as a county.

After saying hello, Lu Chen turned and left.

"Since you are in Pingyang, why not come in together?" Sima Li took a few quick steps and invited enthusiastically.

Sima Pi stood aside with dignity and said nothing.

Lu Chen smiled and waved his hand, pointing to a group of carriages and horses entering the city, and said, "I want to lead people into Ningshuo Palace."

"Who?" Sima Li asked subconsciously.

Lu Chen smiled without saying anything and left.

Sima Pi looked around and saw a group of shaved-headed Hu people, and was immediately surprised.

Among all the Hu people, only the one in the middle was dressed as a scholar with a tall hat and a wide belt, and he was turning his head to look at Lu Chen.

Sima Pi found that although this man did not speak, he was full of sorrow and his face looked anxious, but he did not know why.

Lu Chen stepped forward and whispered a few words, and the two of them went away.

Sima Pi withdrew his gaze and waited quietly outside the Pingchang Gate.

The summer grain had just been harvested, and there were endless carriages and horses entering the city, all loaded with grain.

It looks like there won’t be any major disasters this year, which is a bit disappointing…

He knew in his heart that Shao Xun's downfall would only bring him harm and no benefit, and might even lead to the destruction of his family, but for some reason, he wanted to see Shao Xun suffer a setback and fall.

He knew that this mentality was wrong and he had never told anyone, not even his wife, but he just couldn't control it.

Why? Blame Shao Xun for taking away the inheritance left by his father? Blame Shao Xun for occupying his mother? Maybe both.

******
The people who followed Lu Chen to Pingyang were the Wuhuan people, led by Wang Feng from the Guangning Wang family.

Su Shuyan's delegation had already returned, and when they arrived in Zhaojun, Old Su fell ill.

Shao Xun ordered the prefect Lu Chen to personally escort a group of people to Pingyang, which is why Lu Chen appeared here.

After Lu Chen and others entered the city, they learned that King Liang was hunting with his troops in Shanglin Garden. They secretly criticized that as the de facto master of the world, he did not cultivate literary virtues, but focused too much on martial virtues, thus corrupting the good atmosphere.

But there was no choice but to run to Shanglin Garden for an audience.

When they arrived at the hunting ground, they saw King Liang riding his horse at full speed, drawing his bow and arrow, and shooting down a bird of prey that was not sure whether it was an eagle or an hawk.

There were several horse-drawn carriages following not far away, one of which was carrying a large black wild boar covered in blood, which looked very creepy.

Wang Feng saw it from a distance and was greatly amazed. He whispered, "This Eagle Shooting Warrior is very rare even on the grassland."

"That's King Liang." Lu Chen replied.

Wang Feng's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Seeing him like that, Lu Chen was a little surprised. Could it be that he and King Liang had a crush on each other? He really couldn't understand the thoughts of the warriors. Sometimes two people with very different family backgrounds and experiences could unite because of their mutual respect for martial arts, which was surprising.

Wang Feng looked around and exclaimed in amazement: "The horsemanship of the King of Liang is truly extraordinary. He rides up and down the hills, gallops and shoots at the same time, and the man and the horse are one. I think the King of Liang must have practiced martial arts every day and never stopped."

“I heard that it is.”

"That's not surprising. He has extraordinary martial arts, strong muscles and bones, and he has a lot of strategies and ambitions..." Wang Feng looked at him for a long time, and seemed to let go of a worry that had been bothering him for a long time. He smiled and said, "The Son of Heaven in the Central Plains can only be a man in heaven."

"Don't talk nonsense." Lu Chen scolded.

"That's for nothing." Wang Feng apologized immediately, and then said, "The soldiers around King Liang are not bad either, and they are considered warriors on the grassland."

Just as Lu Chen was about to say something, he suddenly thought and whispered, "Lizhi, there should be someone in your clan who is good at farming and animal husbandry, right?"

"A lot, what's wrong?" Wang Feng asked.

"Would you like to recruit some for me?"

"Isn't there one in Youzhou? Why go to a faraway place?"

Lu Chen looked at him with an expression of disappointment.

Wang Feng's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "Ziliang, how many people do you want?"

"No need for many, a dozen people will be enough." Lu Chen said.

"Why do you ask about this?" Wang Feng asked curiously.

"Do you know that Prince Liang's eldest son Zhang has become the magistrate of Shanglin Garden?" Lu Chen asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't know what's normal. I just found out after seeing my good friend Fei Shu." Lu Chen said, "We'll discuss this later. King Liang is here."

When Shao Xun saw them, he stopped hunting and galloped over.

"Take this eagle and treat it. Divide its feathers as rewards." Shao Xun threw the prey to his personal soldiers and said, then got off his horse and walked up to Lu Chen and Wang Feng, saying, "Ziliang, how is your father?"

Lu Chen's face turned sad when he heard this, and he said, "I can no longer walk."

Lu Zhi did not escape the epidemic. Although he did not die immediately, he has been bedridden since the spring and is obviously not doing well. "I have received Zidao's letter." Shao Xun looked a little emotional. "Zidao has made an indelible contribution to my current situation. We promised to share wealth and honor in the past. The words are still ringing in my ears. How can I forget them? Since Ziliang has come from Anping, he should not go back. The country has newly set up a secretary supervisor (from the third rank). You can help me manage it."

Lu Chen bowed deeply and said, "As you wish."

This was obtained in exchange for his father's friendship with King Liang.

After his father was bedridden and unable to take care of things, he wrote a letter to resign from the post of Right Army Commander, and King Liang agreed.

But King Liang was a kind-hearted man after all, and still remembered their old friendship, so he promoted him directly from the post of Anping prefect to the central government and appointed him as Secretary General.

This position is in charge of the national database, but also participates in government affairs. Sometimes, it even requires writing official letters and orders, which is not bad.

"This must be Wang Feng Wang Lizhi, what a heroic young man." Shao Xun looked at Wang Feng and said with a smile, "You are the first Dai State governor to come to see me. Just based on this, you will never let Shi Yijian lose."

Wang Feng felt relieved after hearing this.

Although the King of Liang might be lying to him, at least he did not openly say that he wanted to destroy the State of Dai. Judging from his intention, he probably still supported Shi Yijian as the ruler of the State of Dai, which would save him trouble and effort, and was indeed a good choice.

"If the king does not send troops again, Dai County and Guangning will be in danger." Wang Feng sighed.

"Oh? Tell me about it." Shao Xun asked everyone to sit down.

Mrs. Lu came over with her second son, Huanlang.

Lu Chen and Wang Feng took their seats only after they had performed their formalities.

After sitting down, Lu Chen sighed secretly.

The elder sister has grown old, and although she is one of the Twelve Ladies, she has gradually faded out of King Liang's side.

Perhaps, only when King Liang wants to reminisce about the past one day will he go to sit with his sister.

King Liang was also a weirdo when it came to women.

Many prefects and princes, after taking control of a region, even used both soft and hard tactics to force local nobles to send women to their palaces. After the chaos began, there were even lustful people like Gou Xi who recruited thousands of women from the people to serve as his concubines.

But King Liang never allowed the noble families to present beauties to him, nor did he select from the locals.

The women around him, except for the ones at the beginning, were mostly wives and daughters of the defeated who were robbed and never disturbed the people...

Fanyang Lu once tried to insert women into Ningshu Palace, but ultimately failed and gave up the idea from then on.

After all, King Liang was still wary of these big families.

Lu Chen had just noticed the king's second son, Gui. He was thirteen or fourteen years old, but he didn't know if he could take on the responsibility.

These things only flashed through Lu Chen's mind, and then he sat up straight and listened carefully to Wang Feng's words.

"It is inevitable that He Li will go east in July." Wang Feng frowned and said, "The Wuluolan, Shiben and other tribes have responded. The Dugu tribe can't stand alone and is in a very dangerous situation."

"How about the Wuhuan in Guangning and Dai counties?" Shao Xun asked.

Wang Feng's face suddenly turned ugly.

Lu Chen glanced at him and said, "Your Majesty, the Qi clan is a major Wuhuan clan. After repeated actions, the Wuhuan in the two counties are in a dilemma. It is very likely that the Shi Ben clan will go south and attack Dai County."

Wang Feng did not object.

This is the situation, there is no point in covering it up.

Let's not talk about anything else. Who is Su Shuyan? He is the big brother in Guangning. What can't he find out? If he conceals it, he will be looked down upon by others, and it will not be possible to promote cooperation.

Among Tuoba Yulu's four sons, the two youngest were just one year old, and their tribes had already fled far away, actually withdrawing from the struggle for power.

Tuoba Yihuai seems to have attracted the most tribes to support him, but Helan Aitou is too cunning and has not yet openly rebelled. If you were in the shoes of the Qi mother and son, what would you do?
In fact, it is very simple. First, eliminate or incorporate Tuoba Shiyijian's forces, take control of the eastern part where the New Party has the upper hand, eliminate worries, and then turn around and deal with Helan Aitou with all your strength.

Of course Wang Feng saw this - even if he couldn't see it, someone would analyze it for him.

Therefore, his situation was very dangerous, otherwise he would not have come to Pingyang for help.

"How many people can you keep stable?" Shao Xun asked immediately after hearing this, knowing that the probability of Tuoba Xianbei heading towards civil war had further increased.

"More than 20,000 people." Wang Feng said.

"More than 20,000 men, or more than 20,000 people?" Shao Xun asked without giving him the chance to play word games.

"More than 23,000 people." Wang Feng sighed and said.

He had read books, had contact with Han scholars, and knew their level.

When recording, many scholars simply wrote more than 20,000 people as more than 20,000 men, showing no common sense at all.

Some people write "more than 20,000 settlements" as "more than 20,000 households" or "more than 20,000 families", and cannot tell whether this settlement is one tent or a settlement composed of four tents.

But King Liang seemed to be very knowledgeable, and it was useless to play tricks in front of him.

"Are there any unusual movements in the tribes of Daijun and Guangning?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Nothing has happened yet."

Shao Xun hummed.

The Xianbei situation has not yet reached the point of an all-out war. There are only signs of it at present, or more accurately, it is the eerie calm before the storm. This is his judgment.

But necessary support still needs to be given, if for no other reason than to help Wang Feng stabilize the situation and avoid being beaten to death all of a sudden.

"Does the Qi family have to kill Shi Yijian?" Shao Xun suddenly asked.

"Must kill." Wang Feng said.

Shao Xun took two steps closer, looked into Wang Feng's eyes, and asked, "Did Qi negotiate with you in private?"

Wang Feng was only nineteen years old after all, and he was shocked when he heard this.

Shao Xun chuckled.

Lu Chen looked at Wang Feng in surprise. Wang Lizhi had not told him about this, and he probably hadn't told Su Shuyan either.

"I have said it." Wang Feng said with difficulty: "Give up the title, hand over Shi Yijian, and the Wang family will be safe."

Shao Xun nodded and said, "You are willing to come to Pingyang, which means you have refused. At least you still have feelings and are not the kind of person with a heart as black as charcoal."

"I will send a message to Liu Hezhu. Be prepared and support Daijun at any time." Shao Xun looked at Wang Feng and said, "Don't delay in Pingyang. Go back quickly. If things go wrong, you can take refuge in Fanyang."

This was because they were worried that even if Liu Hezhu and Wang Feng joined forces, they would still be unable to defeat the Xianbei, so they prepared a way out for them.

Lu Chen felt a little relieved, but still a little worried.

How can the war be fought if the King of Liang does not mobilize the elite troops in the country and sends out all the tribes?
His eyes turned around and suddenly fell on Badger.

The boy also sat upright, seeming to be listening very seriously, which made Lu Chen feel somewhat comforted.

This concerns your mother's family, so it's time to cheer up.

(End of this chapter)