Chapter 862 Shock Wave

Chapter 862 Shock Wave

Chapter 862 Shock Wave

The snow fell all night long.

At dawn, Jia You opened the window. A cold wind blew in, and he shivered.

This shabby farmhouse doesn’t even have a wall, and not far away is the post road. It is extremely empty and there is no shelter or obstruction under the strong cold wind, which is very annoying.

But he could no longer keep such a farm.

Located in the suburbs of Pingyang, it changed hands several times. The last owner was a member of the royal family of Liu Han. After he picked it up at a low price, he saw that it was about to be picked up by another person.

He had to sell it because he had no official status now.

That year, King Liang asked him if he was willing to be the magistrate of Dinghu, but he declined because he thought it was too dangerous and too poor. Unexpectedly, King Liang never gave Pingyang Jia another chance. Jia You was so angry that he almost rebelled when the Huns invaded. Unexpectedly, the Pei family found out and sent people to "remind" him, so he had to give up in the end.

But it’s really difficult without an official position.

During the three-year disaster period, the work of measuring land in the twenty counties of Liang State suddenly slowed down, and in some areas it even came to a complete standstill.

Last year, we were recuperating and collecting food and fodder, so we didn’t do much.

During the war this year, the fields were still not measured, until the King of Liang captured Pingcheng...

After the great victory, the Huns retreated and the four barbarians surrendered. King Liang could not even wait for the New Year and began to measure the land in full swing.

King Liang is also born in the year of the dog!
When they need something from you, they will slow down a bit. When they don’t need anything from you, they will turn their backs on you.

Some people think that if they delay for one more year, their manor will accumulate more wealth, which is not bad, but Jia You does not think so, because before Yongjia, their family suffered a lot and kept a low profile, not daring to make any big moves. It was only after Yongjia that the Xiongnu invaded and the situation became chaotic, and they took the opportunity to occupy some land. Now they have to give it all up, how can they be willing?
There seemed to be a blowing and beating sound in the wind.

"Which old man passed away?" Jia You was stunned and asked casually.

Jia You's second son Jia Que heard the noise and came in, saying, "Grandpa, those are the soldiers who play drums and horns in the army."

Jia You suddenly realized it, and without saying anything, he took his son directly to an attic in the manor and looked out.

"What a bunch of nonsense!" Jia You looked at it for a long time and cursed.

On the post road, dozens of people were riding on horseback, playing various musical instruments, and the sound could be heard far away in the wind.

He had lived in Pingyang for many years and had seen the Huns do this, but most of them were Xianbei people.

I heard that there were only 550 combat soldiers in the Silver Spear Army, and the rest were mostly miscellaneous soldiers such as scouts, messengers, gatekeepers, clerks, etc., including musicians.

Among the rest of the troops, there are even generals who have recently brought their own privately hired musicians into the battle, called the "drum and trumpet troupe."

Shao Bing really loves music!
"Here it comes! Here it comes!" A faint shout came from the other side.

Jia You and his son went to look for the source of the noise, but saw a crowd of people outside Guangmo Gate on the north side of Pingyang. Countless common people did not avoid the wind and snow, and crowded on the roadside to look around. When they saw the soldiers show their heads, they started shouting.

"Most of the Silver Spear Army's families are in Bianliang. Why are people from Pingyang joining in the fun?" Jia You felt uncomfortable and cursed.

"Grandpa, maybe it's the family of Wan Shengjun." Jia Que said.

"The Yellow Head Army?"

"Of course."

Sure enough, the first group to appear on the northern horizon were soldiers wearing yellow scarves.

Jia You was speechless.

When the soldiers saw the people watching, they all raised their heads. This was the victorious army.

Behind the soldiers followed carts and vehicles loaded with all kinds of captured supplies.

In fact, most of the captured goods were slaves and livestock, which had long been transported to various places. However, for the sake of publicity, some wealth was collected, and the people in the Central Plains had a more intuitive understanding of these.

"Wansheng!" Someone shouted outside Guangmo Gate.

"Victory!" The cheers grew louder and louder.

The Yellow-Headed Army had already begun to enter the city. Someone on the road watched for a long time and finally found a man. He shouted, "Brother, the family has received two sheep."

One of the people in the queue heard a familiar voice, turned his head and saw that it was his younger brother who depended on him for everything, and immediately grinned.

"My dear, I finally see you back alive. Is it not enough for me to allow you to take a concubine?" A woman holding a child said loudly.

People from far and near heard it and burst into laughter.

After hearing this, a young officer in the queue with a flag on his back blushed and cursed inwardly, but in the end he couldn't help laughing.

"Grandpa." A babbling child ran after the queue.

One of the men in the formation took out cheese from his bosom, handed it to the child, and then touched his head.

The area outside Guangmo Gate was already filled with a sea of ​​joy.

The army went out to fight, and most of the people returned. They were given two sheep as a gift. There was nothing better than this.

Maybe in the future they will encounter a defeat where more than half of the troops will not return, but so what? It does not prevent them from enjoying the pleasure of the moment, and whether to fight or not is not something they can decide.

After more than two thousand yellow-headed soldiers passed by, mighty armored soldiers appeared in the distance.

When they were three miles away from the city, the soldiers of the royal army put on Ming Guang armor, surrounded the carriage of King Liang in a mighty manner, and marched towards Pingyang.

"King Liang is here!" Someone saw the big banner and shouted.

"The King of Liang is here! Those are his personal troops, so majestic." "Victory!"

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

"Long live……"

I don’t know why, but as they shouted, “Long live” turned into “Long live the country”.

Jia You and his son Jia Que heard it from afar and looked at each other in horror.

If we say that before Emperor Wu of Han, the term "Wansui" was not exclusive to the emperor, then since he began, it had a certain flavor. Common people no longer used this term as casually as before, and always had some reservations in their hearts.

During the Later Han Dynasty, the imperial attribute of "Wansui" became more prominent, fewer people in the folks called him "Wansui", and there were more taboos.

During the Ming Dynasty, if you said "Long live the emperor" to ordinary people, they would be scared to death because very few people did so.

Theoretically speaking, it would not be a big problem for the people of Pingyang to shout "Long live Shao Xun", because even at this point, the word "Long live" had not been said and it must not be used by a minister.

But actually - actually it’s not a big problem!
The Emperor of Luoyang was afraid that he would have no way to hold anyone accountable.

But Jia You and Jia Que, father and son, were scholars with high political sensitivity and thought a lot. They looked unhappy when they heard this, although everyone knew that this day would come.

"The real purpose is revealed!" Jia You said as he pounded the window frame.

I feel some anger, some melancholy, some regret, and some grievance in my heart.

I just declined once, why don't you use me? How can you not use me? If not me, who else can you use?

"Grandpa, how about..." Jia hesitated and said, "How about we go to Hedong. The Jin Dynasty is about to be destroyed. If we get close to the Pei family, there may be a chance for a turnaround."

Jia You was silent for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "Hasn't my family been on the Pei family's side for a long time? The Pei family is on the side of King Liang. But - alas, King Liang always pushes us scholars away! If he wants to be a sage king who rules the country without any hesitation, who would oppose him?"

"Grandpa, things are different now." Jia said, "You saw it too. When the army returned, many people came to welcome them. If it weren't for the king's order, the officials of the shogunate would have gone several miles out of the city to welcome them. He has bewitched a group of killer farmers, and those people only believe in him and only listen to him. There is nothing we can do."

"Well," Jia You sighed, "then let's wait and see. This farm will be sold in a few days, so don't mess around. Go to Hongnong in the winter to see if there is a farm to buy. If there is none in Hongnong, go to Lu County to have a look."

"Yes." Jia replied.

"If King Liang can't even tolerate my family's property in Lu County, then that's too much." Jia You said finally.

******
It has been several days since Prince Liang returned, but Yang Wu, a clerk in the Western Division of the Longxiong Shogunate, has not had the opportunity to meet the emperor.

In the past few days, he has been sitting in the office, looking at the list of honors in front of him with an expressionless face.

"It's too easy!" He sighed after a long time.

Awarding honors to more than two thousand people at once was unheard of and the shock it caused was enormous.

Yang Wu didn't dare to imagine what consequences would occur once this list was made public.

Yes, everyone has long known that Luonan soldiers can be awarded merit according to the honorary officer system when they go to war. But knowing is one thing, and actually seeing it happen in front of you is another.

It has been several years since the discussion on honorary officials began.

The Luonan army attacked Wuguan in their first battle, but they were defeated and retreated. They never went out again, so many people have forgotten about it...

But a while ago under the Guangwu city, King Liang personally promised that the battle was a "frontal battle" and the final results would be considered a small gain. But even so, the soldiers who participated in the battle still collectively obtained the third level of merit.

The third level of merit can be exchanged for an honorary official title called "Flying Cavalry Captain". Although it is of no great use, cannot be in charge of affairs, and has no salary, but an official is an official, and the improvement in status is unparalleled, and the impact on scholars is also enormous.

In addition, Yang Wu was really worried about King Liang. If things continued like this, wouldn't it be too easy to get an official position? Was it too common?
He wanted to enter Ningshuo Palace just to discuss this matter.

Of course, he didn't know that in real history, "tens of thousands of soldiers were awarded medals"...

In the Dunhuang County Examination Book from the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty unearthed later, among the 591 people registered, a total of 150 were honorary officials, including 55 senior pillars of the country.

There were fifty or sixty Shangzhuguo in one county, and the speed of depreciation was almost as fast as that of the gold yuan! If you were not a Shangzhuguo, you would be embarrassed to go out and say hello to people.

However, perhaps it was precisely because of the generous rewards for military merit that the Tang army soldiers were willing to travel thousands of miles to the border and fight without hesitation.

The dual binding of political status and economic interests brought extremely high status to military men in the Tang Dynasty. The trend of becoming generals or ministers was prevalent, and even literati had to take up arms to win military exploits. As the saying goes, "It is better to be a centurion than a scholar."

Yang Wu couldn't imagine such a scene, let alone accept it.

This is because at that time, official positions were very serious, very rare, and very sacred. If you allow an influx of honorary officials, the value of official positions would be devalued, damaging the interests of all the gentry.

Do you know the consequences?

Yang Wu thought for a long time, scratching his head anxiously, and wished he could go see King Liang right away.

Only King Liang has the prestige to make the military men make concessions without forcing them to rebel; no one else can do that.

"Sir." A clerk standing at the door asked softly, "It's the last day. Have the official seals been issued? The Luonan soldiers are still waiting in the south of the city."

Yang Wu’s body froze.

He looked up at the roof and didn't reply for a long time.

The petty official was not an ignorant person. He knew the importance of the matter and waited patiently with his head down.

"Forget it. How dare I disobey the order of the shogunate!" Yang Wu sighed and said, "Make a few copies of the list on the case and post them in important places. Official seal - send it out."

Forget it this time! He thought to himself that he would stop it no matter what next time.

This honorary officer is too crude, he needs to be changed!
(End of this chapter)