Chapter 830 Left, Center, Right

Chapter 830 Left, Center, Right

Chapter 830 Left, Center, Right

In early April in Jinyang, the sun is shining brightly, the grass is lush and the birds are singing.

Farmers carried hoes into the fields and cleared the weeds that seemed to be endless.

Water gurgles in the irrigation canal like a dense spider web, covering the entire farmland.

The Minister of Agriculture Yin Xian once said that the only place that benefited greatly from the Fen River was Taiyuan.

In counties like Hedong and Pingyang, because the fields are high and the rivers are low, they either rely on building ponds to store water or rely on water wheels to pump water. In short, it is not that convenient. However, most counties in Taiyuan have gravity canals, which is much more convenient.

Moreover, there are countless uncultivated fields here. The people who moved here can even get two plots of land: low-lying fields irrigated by gravity canals and dry fields on relatively high terrain. In addition to these two plots of land, there are even fallow lands. The per capita land resources are so rich that it is astonishing.

By the eighth year of Shengui, Jinyang, as the core of Taiyuan, was almost completely occupied by government soldiers.

Four of the seven Longxiang Prefectures were located around Jinyang City, and they were all given the best land, not too far from the city walls, and in good locations. The people who lived closest to them could even live in the city at night and go out to farm during the day, because there were so many ownerless houses in Jinyang City that they could be lived in with just a little repair.

The governor Shao Guang didn't care who owned the house before. If no one lived in it for more than a year, he would just give it away. If the owner came back to claim it, he would just give him another unoccupied house. It was no big deal.

Even though Sun Jue had seen this kind of scene countless times, he was still quite shocked when he saw it again.

It has been two years since the first batch of soldiers arrived here. In the past few decades, we have never seen a large group of penniless people directly dividing up the land outside the city wall.

You know, the land near the city is usually the exclusive property of the nobles or powerful families, because it is convenient for their children to "farm". Now, all I see are warriors from all over the world.

They came with their whole family and settled down in Jinyang.

Or he could arrive alone and then find someone to marry him. For a person with two hectares of land, this would not be difficult.

The soldiers of the palace had gathered at this time, and were practicing with the soldiers of the Yellow Head Army who had arrived here via Guanjuejin. That is, both sides arranged various formations, one side attacked and the other side defended, and they would stop when the time was right. Then they would switch roles and continue practicing.

The soldiers of the government worked in the fields, caring for the farmland for their masters, producing grain, fruits, vegetables, mulberry and hemp, and providing their masters with a steady supply of food for daily necessities and the practice of martial arts.

In return, the government soldiers would provide them with protection and ensure that no one could encroach on the fields they were given to cultivate, the pastures they were given to graze, the forests they were given to collect firewood for, and the rivers and ponds they were given to catch fish and shrimp.

Don't underestimate this kind of protection.

In the past, Liu Hong of Jingzhou opened up mountains, forests, lakes and ponds to refugees, which was once called a benevolent policy. Most of the time, ordinary people even had many restrictions on going up the mountain to chop firewood.

Taiyuan, once a place full of aristocratic families, has now become a paradise for small landlords with military merits. This transformation is strange to people.

"The Taiyuan soldiers need more training. They are not much stronger than the Yellow-Headed Army." The loud voice of King Liang rang out from the hillside: "The more soldiers are set up, the more unqualified they are. Their combat effectiveness has dropped significantly. The Taiyuan soldiers have only been set up for one or two years. I don't blame you for this. But if you are still like this in another two years, it will be unacceptable."

Yang Wu, the Western Cao official of General Longxiang's Mansion, Feng Pi, the Western Pavilion chief priest, Yang Hui, the Protector, and Chang Can, who came with the army all agreed.

Shao Xun's eyes fell on Chang Can, and he couldn't help but blame him, "Why don't you learn more words when you have time? Are you going to be a supervisor for the rest of your life?"

Chang Can was dumbfounded and could only sigh: "Your Majesty, you can recognize my characters, but I can't. But my son has been smart since he was young. He can recite the Thousand Characters compiled by Your Majesty by heart, and he is also very good at sword and spear skills. He can shoot six or seven out of ten times even when wearing armor and standing on foot."

"You are you, and your son is your son." Shao Xun glared and said, "If your son is capable, I will take him by my side as a close follower, so what? But you——"

"Your Majesty, you said this!" Chang Can said with surprise.

Shao Xun was speechless.

"Get lost! You are a piece of rubbish that can't be helped!" He scolded with a smile, "You retreat when I want to flatter you. I have never seen such a fool."

Chang Can bowed and took his leave.

He was born a bandit and doesn't have much wisdom, but he still has some cleverness.

After coming down the mountain, he immediately found an acquaintance who was in charge of transporting grain and grass there, and asked him to go back to Liang County and call his thirteen-year-old son.

The noble Prince of Liang is forgetful, what if he forgets it one day? While the words are still fresh in his mind, he hurried to Jinyang day and night, and first became a close follower of the Prince of Liang. How far he can go in the future depends on his luck.

Of course, this is not entirely out of selfishness.

In Chang Can's opinion, it would be safer if King Liang had more military sons around him.

If one day all the noble families rise up against King Liang, he only needs to hide in the military camp and no one can hurt him. All that remains is to quell the rebellions one by one and then reward the military men for their merits.

Chang Can already has the awareness and instinct to consider his own interests.

"The soldiers from Jinyang Prefecture can take turns to escort the food and equipment." On the hillside, Shao Xun was still talking: "Those who haven't taken turns can practice at home. They are not qualified to fight the Xianbei people now."

"Your Majesty, tens of thousands of troops are stationed in Jinyang, consuming tens of thousands of food and fodder every day, but we don't know when the troops will be dispatched." asked the Inspector Yang Hui.

"Are you asking this on behalf of Jin Zheng, Wang Que'er, Man Yu and others?" Shao Xun glanced at him and said.

"Yes..." Yang Hui didn't dare to hide it.

"Let me think about it again." Shao Xun stood up without giving a clear answer.

******
In the Sun family manor outside Jinyang city, soldiers wearing helmets and armor were patrolling non-stop.

Officials came and went in a hurry.

Occasionally, a few officers came out of the village, and when they met acquaintances, they talked and laughed loudly, being extremely heroic.

Sun Jue, the famous "freeloader king" in Taiyuan, gave the best courtyard in the manor to King Liang. In another small courtyard separated by a wall, lived Dai Gong Shi Yijian and his mother.

"The Baba and Dugu tribes have already surrendered to you. How many other tribes can be won over?" Shao Xun asked, looking at the map on the wall.

Shi Yijian also opened his eyes wide and looked at the map.

He is five years old this year and already understands some things. Looking at the mighty general in front of him, he was actually a little dazed.

I wish he could be as powerful as this one day.

Wang's mind was not on this at all. When she heard Shao Xun's question, she was stunned for a moment.

Shao Xun's face immediately fell and he said unhappily: "The grassland is vast, it is impossible for me to capture every tribe and occupy every place. Recruiting them is inevitable. This is related to the life and death of you and your son, and you are still so careless. What use are you? If you continue like this, I will change the strategy and permit Tuoba Yihuai to be the Duke of Dai, and let him lead the remnants and become a vassal of the Great Jin." Wang was almost in tears after being scolded like this.

In the first month of the year, she still thought that King Liang was a gentle and kind man, and even had some feelings for her. Now it seems that it might have been just her wishful thinking and she misunderstood his meaning.

Otherwise, why didn't he agree to my request for an audience in February?
We set out for the expedition in March, and we didn't say much during the journey.

King Liang never even praised her beauty, and from beginning to end he only mentioned her "utility value".

Wang forced herself to dispel the fantasies and distracting thoughts in her mind, and said in a muffled voice: "Shi Ben and Wu Luo Lan were only used by Qi mother and son due to the situation. If we can defeat them, they may change their ways."

"Change your ways? Won't they join Tuoba Yihuai? Why would they choose you?" Shao Xun sneered.

Wang's heart trembled, and she said, "If the king can defeat them, I am sure I can pacify them."

"Do we still want to defeat them? Wouldn't that mean the deaths and injuries of my men? And a waste of my money and food?" Shao Xun snorted coldly.

Wang lowered her head sadly, feeling somewhat sorry for herself.

She didn't dare to be angry with King Liang, and she didn't even dare to show her unhappiness, for fear of angering him.

After what had happened in the past few months, she no longer had any confidence.

The value of them, mother and son, seemed to be really low. It was a great favor for King Liang to use them, because he could completely ignore them and talk directly to Tuoba Yihuai.

Shao Xun turned around again and looked at the map.

His finger pointed northward from Shiling Pass, along the Hutuo River, all the way to Yanmen.

"The man guarding Yanmen is named Yu Ju. Do you know his origins?" Shao Xun's voice came from afar.

Wang was distracted and didn't hear for a while. Shi Yijian quietly pulled his mother's sleeve.

Shao Xun turned around and looked at Wang.

Wang didn't dare to look him in the eye. She hurriedly sorted out her thoughts and said, "Yu Ju was originally the chief of Suotouchuan."

"Soutouchuan?"

"It is the section of the upper reaches of the Rushui River (today's Yison River, flowing through Weichang County, Chengde City) that you mentioned, and it is across the river from the Yuwen clan."

"The Tuoba clan's territory is really vast." Shao Xun couldn't help but sigh.

It is more than 10,000 miles from Chengde and Zhangjiakou in the east to Dunhuang in the west.

When Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire, it only covered the Mongolian Plateau and the area around Lake Baikal. The vast majority of the territory of the Mongol Empire is still nominally under the control of the "four tribes" of the Tuoba Xianbei.

Shao Xun really didn't know how the Murong Xianbei won in later generations.

The Murong clan could not compete with the Tuoba clan in terms of territory, nor in terms of population, but their productivity was estimated to be equal, so they should have been defeated by the Tuoba Xianbei.

Perhaps, like the Duanbu Xianbei, the Tuoba Xianbei entered the battlefield too early and suffered concentrated attacks from the Later Zhao and Former Qin, which weakened their strength.

However, the Tuoba clan was luckier. After being destroyed once, they had a chance to start over, and they seized it. However, the Murong clan did not seize the opportunity and failed in the direct competition for supremacy between Tuoba and Murong.

"Is it possible for Yu Ju to surrender?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Can't...can..." Wang was incoherent due to Shao Xun's gaze.

Seeing Wang's expression, Shao Xun felt a little reluctant, so he softened his tone and said, "If you can, you can. If you can't, you can't. Just tell the truth. I don't blame you."

"Not really." Wang lowered her head and stammered, "Yu Ju is still very loyal."

"That's right." Shao Xun nodded and said, "With Madam's advice, I have avoided many detours."

For some reason, Wang felt a little excited when she heard this. She raised her head and said, "Also, there are many Wuhuan people in Yanmen and Pingcheng. If Your Majesty can defeat Yuju and others, there may be a turning point."

"Oh?" Shao Xun was a little surprised and couldn't help but praise: "With your ability, Madam, you will definitely help me with my big task."

Wang lowered her head again, her ears feeling a little hot.

Without King Liang, she could not do anything. Only with King Liang's help did she have the opportunity to recruit her followers.

However, she was still helpful to King Liang, which made Wang happy.

Shao Xun turned around and looked at the map again.

Wang quietly raised her head and looked at his back.

When King Liang reprimanded her before, she was really sad and wanted to cry.

When King Liang praised her just now, she regained some confidence, but a little aggrieved surged up again.

If King Liang could speak to her in a gentle and kind voice, or bring her great joy like he did when he gave her the riding hat on Renri, she would definitely be able to think of more ways.

"Your Majesty." Military strategist Zhang Bin walked in from outside, first glanced at Wang's mother and son, then walked to Shao Xun, handed him a military report, and said, "The war in Dai County has resumed."

Shao Xun took it with his hand, glanced at it casually, and said, "It's almost time to fight. This year will definitely be more tragic than last year, and I don't know how many people will die. Don't rush north to Xinxing, let them consume each other first. Tell Chen Yougen to fight well and delay as many enemies as possible. It would be even better if we can win a few small victories and make Suotou angry."

After saying this, Shao Xun's eyes were fixed on Caochengchuan, Yanmen, and Daijun.

On the left wing, Yin Xi’s army had 6,000 cavalry.

On the right wing, Chen Yougen had more than 30,000 infantry and cavalry.

In the middle route, there were nearly 30,000 elite soldiers led by him personally.

Three armies are ready to march at any time.

(End of this chapter)