Chapter 881 Li Zhen

Chapter 881 Li Zhen

Chapter 881 Li Zhen
Starting from May 20th, scholars from various states left in batches.

Liu Chou, the governor of Jizhou, went to Jingxing Pass in person to welcome him.

There is no other reason, I'm just afraid that someone might do something stupid, so I'm going to find out the bottom of the matter again to avoid being caught off guard.

Most other provincial governors acted in the same way.

Shao Xun continued to stay in Jinyang to handle official business.

The Silver Spear Right Camp returned to Bianliang for rest and recuperation. After the Central Camp arrived in Jinyang, the Left Camp would also go into rest and recuperation.

The Yellow-Headed Army was sent back home in batches to do farm work, and each person received two pieces of linen as a reward.

The rest of the troops left one after another.

Currently, only the Zuoying Camp, the imperial guards, and more than 2,000 flying cavalry officers remain in Jinyang.

On the 21st, Liu Han sent troops out of Pujin Pass again and defeated the troops of the nobles in Hedong. When the Heilongjiang Left Camp and Luoyan Army arrived, they withdrew with the looted supplies.

In the direction of Nanyang, Le Kai, the governor of Mianyangbei, defeated thousands of Wu soldiers in Xinye.

After the summer campaign was over, he would gather tens of thousands of troops and attempt to besiege Xiangyang.

Zu Ti and Li Chong fought repeatedly along the Huai River.

Overall, Li Zhong was rather passive because he was unwilling to fight his way to the other side of the river, which made him very passive.

After the flood in April, Xia Pi City was even surrounded by the Jiangdong navy and fell in early May.

Yu Liang was furious and proposed to mobilize all the men in Xuzhou to recapture Xia Pi. Li Chong did not object.

There were also small-scale battles in Qiao, Pei, Ruyin and Runan areas.

Sometimes the county governors sent their generals to sneak across the river and plunder Yiyang, Anfeng, Huainan and other counties, and sometimes they faced looting from the other side.

Years of mutual plunder had caused great distress to the people on both sides of the Huai River, leaving counties and towns sparsely populated and farmland barren.

In the eyes of ordinary people, they might think that the counties north of the Huai River had been repeatedly invaded and were in great danger, but in Shao Xun's eyes, the counties along the Huai River had resisted effectively, so that the Wu people were more harassing than aggressive.

He was more concerned about the North.

The Zhuosheng army stationed in Yinguan and would occasionally come out from Mayi to look for the enemy's pastures and launch surprise attacks.

They failed several times, but they were all semi-professional warriors with three horses each. They did not need to worry about farming, they could just do the work. Therefore, they withdrew in time and suffered relatively little loss. They even succeeded once, capturing and killing nearly 10,000 people.

A part of the Yicong Army went north to Dongmugen Mountain, but has not made much progress so far.

A part of the troops were stationed in Wuzhou City, but they didn't achieve much. Once when they were out for a raid, they met Suotou who was also harassing them halfway, which could be considered a merit.

A part of them was stationed in Xuanhongchi, and they kept going north to harass the area around Qifuyuanchi, causing great annoyance to the tribe that had taken refuge with Yihuai.

Spring is the critical time when lambs and calves are born, when the old grass is about to end and the new grass has not yet grown. The loss caused by such an attack is really not light.

Now Helan Aitou has only two choices: one, retreat westward and northward to break away from contact; two, recruit a large army to attack Pingcheng and destroy the forward bases of the Yicong Army and the Zhuosheng Army.

He was running out of time and had to make a decision quickly.

"Is the yield per mu acceptable this year?" At this time, he had already arrived at Shiling Longxiang Prefecture, north of Jinyang, and asked while looking at the wheat fields that had just been harvested.

"It's better than last year. We can harvest about three hu per mu," replied the prefect Shao Guang.

Three hu is almost one hundred jin, which is a very high yield per mu, reaching the level of Sui and Tang Dynasties. One mu in Tang Dynasty was not much different from that in Wei and Jin Dynasties, about 0.8 mu in later generations. The fields were divided into three categories: upper, middle and lower. The average yield per mu was about one hu (one Tang hu = three Jin hu).

"It's been several years without me noticing." Shao Xun said with emotion, "Next year, the twenty counties of Liang will formulate a new tax system. The families of government soldiers will be exempted from taxes and labor service, but the troops will not be exempted. As for whether the tax will be levied on 30 acres or 50 acres, it is yet to be determined."

"Yes." Shao Guang responded, then raised his head and said, "Your Majesty has fought for twenty years and can finally collect taxes."

Shao Xun burst out laughing.

It's just so ridiculous!

It took twenty years for the state to implement taxation in some areas, which was a natural thing. And it might not be implemented nationwide in his lifetime.

In order to transform the world, he first had to fight for twenty years to eliminate the huge disadvantages of his background, gain supreme prestige, and force others to obey his orders.

After twenty years of struggle, he slowly gained the power that a normal emperor of a dynasty naturally had when he ascended the throne. Moreover, this power was discounted, which made people very angry.

But on the bright side, he also has great prestige and a base that he built himself that a king who only maintains the status quo does not have.

“Zhengchen, you are dressing more and more like a scholar.” Shao Xun walked forward a few steps and looked at Liu Quan, the governor of Xinxing who had not left yet, and said with a smile.

"Your Majesty said 'the barbarians and the Chinese are all at peace'. I thought about it and realized that the world is still the Chinese after all. If we don't want to be seen as an alien, we still have to change our customs." Liu Quan said, "The children at home have stopped listening to foreign music and invited famous teachers to teach them the classics. I will teach them martial arts and military strategies myself."

"What book are you reading?" Shao Xun asked.

“Zuo Zhuan.”

"Do you understand?"

“It’s always good to read.”

"Do you read?"

"I've read Dongguan Hanji." Liu Quan said, "Your Majesty's literary and military strategies are convincing. Maybe you can recommend a few books."

Shao Xun waved his hand and asked his eldest son Jin Dao to come over and asked, "What book are you reading?"

Jin Dao was a little confused, but still answered: "The Book of Lord Shang, Guanzi, and Treatise on Salt and Iron."

Liu Quan was a little surprised. The son of King Liang also read these books?

"Your servant only needs to read the Dongguan Hanji, there is no need to make any changes." Shao Xun laughed and patted Liu Quan on the shoulder.

He did not say the second half of the sentence. A king cannot just read history books, that would lead to his own death.

"How are the new counties?" Shao Xun asked again.

"The population is sparse. Apart from the tens of thousands of people in my tribe, there are only government soldiers and very few people who settle there."

"Has the mansion been repaired?"

"It has been built. It is south of Xinkou."

"I want to plan for the north, but Xinxing and Yanmen are deserted and there is a lack of supplies. What can I do?" Shao Xun said, "I have been focusing on managing Bingzhou in recent years. Today, we have seen some progress in Taiyuan. Xinxing and Yanmen still need to be reorganized with great effort and we must not slack off." "Yes." Liu Quan replied.

"In July and August, select elite cavalry and march north to Yunzhong to await the enemy."

"As ordered."

After Shao Xun gave this order, he thought for a moment and then asked, "During this discussion, do the chieftains have any ideas?"

"From what I know, their spirits are low, even inferior to those of martial artists." Liu Quan seemed to be at a loss for words, and after a long while he said, "I am flattered and overjoyed to be able to participate in the discussion."

"Hedong Dong Wu said that Your Majesty has great courage and love for people, which is unmatched by any sage king in history."

"Kelan Qiaotan said that under the 'peace between the barbarians and the Chinese', they also have a share in this world, and the Jin emperor is far inferior to him. For the sake of the family, we should support the king as the emperor."

"besides……"

"What do you think?" Shao Xun asked.

Liu Quan was startled and said, "Without the king, I would be just a barbarian. How could I be where I am today? I beg the king to ascend the throne as the emperor. If so, the barbarians will feel at ease and will all be willing to die for me."

"Then you must work harder and defeat the Huns for me first." Shao Xun said with a smile.

After careful evaluation, it was found that the Hu people and the Wu people had a common interest and hoped that he would quickly ascend the throne and become emperor so that they could secure their gains and make the benefits real.

But it was the scholars who controlled most of the world's resources, and their attitudes were quite divided.

However, at this point, it is not impossible to force it.

After all, becoming the emperor does not require you to come up with any ideas about governing the country. The basic version or the beggar version does not require this. The general trend is enough to ascend the throne and become emperor.

As for whether the centripetal force is strong or not, that is another matter. But Shao Xun was unwilling to force it.

"Read more books, you are still young." Shao Xun said, "You can read Zuo Zhuan, Yan Tie Lun, and Guan Zi."

Liu Quan was stunned.

"I was just joking." Shao Xun laughed, "If you learn well, I can promote you. I just want people to see that as long as you have real talent and knowledge, even a Hu person can become a high official."

"Yes, sir." Liu Quan replied.

He vaguely felt that the opportunity seemed to have come.

This opportunity belongs to him alone, and no one else.

******
Liu Quan left soon.

Shao Xun sent his son away again and quietly went to the woods at the foot of the mountain.

"Your Majesty!" Wang Chang, the governor of Yunzhong of the Dai State, jumped out. As soon as he shouted, several knives were put to his neck.

Shao Xun waved his hand, and his personal soldiers put away their swords and retreated.

Wang Chang timidly stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, I just received a letter from Changchun Palace yesterday, saying that the Khatun gave birth to a son."

When Shao Xun heard this, he was delighted.

Half a year has passed, and he misses Wang's little appearance a little.

I didn't want to give birth to a child for him at first, but is this up to you?
"Is there any discussion in the country?" he asked.

"Even if there is discussion, it was after the beginning of winter last year." Wang Chang smiled bitterly and said, "By now, those who are dissatisfied have left, and only those who are submissive are left."

“Where are the main people who are dissatisfied?”

"The area around Dongmugen Mountain."

"Is there any rebellion?"

“It has never happened before.”

"That's good." Shao Xun nodded and asked, "Have you named your son yet?"

Wang Chang's face changed.

My king, we are all pretending to be confused. You are making it very difficult for us!
"The Khatun named him 'Tuoba Lizhen'." Wang Chang said cautiously.

"Nonsense!" Shao Xun said unhappily, "What kind of power is this?"

"Your Majesty, please take a look at this." Wang Chang took out a jade pendant and presented it respectfully.

Shao Xun took it and looked at it. The quality of the jade was average, but it had the words "Shao Zhen" engraved on it. His anger immediately turned into joy.

If you think about it carefully, you have yourself to blame.

Who makes you always like to let other people’s wives give birth to your children?

"I will wait for you later..." Shao Xun said halfway, not wanting to say more, and asked another question: "You are here to discuss the Dao in Jinyang, do you have anything in mind?"

"Your Majesty's ambition is unprecedented in history. Duke Dai is willing to respect Your Majesty as the Emperor of Central Plains." Wang Chang said.

"I heard that the Tuoba clan often passed the throne between brothers." Shao Xun pondered.

"Your Majesty, this cannot be done!" Wang Chang knelt down and said with a bitter face, "This is absolutely not feasible."

Shao Xun looked at him quietly.

Wang Chang swallowed and said, "Not right now."

"What are the obstacles?" Shao Xun asked.

"There are many obstacles." Wang Chang smiled bitterly and said, "If Your Majesty can raise an army to attack and destroy Helan Aitou, perhaps we can give it a try."

Shao Xun smiled, pulled Wang Chang up, and said, "Forget it, we'll talk about this later. Take a letter back for me and tell Madam Tai that Helan Aitou may raise an army in August, so we must be prepared."

"Yes." Wang Chang replied.

"I will defeat Helan Aitou sooner or later. Don't be impatient." Shao Xun left the grove and ordered his troops to return.

(End of this chapter)