Chapter 887 Avoid its edge
Chapter 887 Avoid its edge
After autumn, the rainfall increases.
In Yingyin County, Yingchuan, the silver-haired Xun Jun sat outside his own pond, silently watching the servants picking lotus roots.
Outside the pond is a millet field that has just been harvested.
Farmers are pouring water into the fields in preparation for sowing the next season's wheat so that the granaries will be full of summer wheat in May next year.
After reading quietly for a while, Xun Jun picked up a letter and read it carefully.
The letter was written by Xun Song.
In terms of seniority, Xun Song was his cousin. He had served as the Central Guard General and organized the Xin'an Campaign. He was later transferred to become the Governor of Jingzhou until Wang Dun took over.
Because Wang Dun was seriously ill, Le Kai of Nanyang led his troops to besiege Xiangyang. Xun Song was sent out again, and he led the naval and land troops recruited from Jiangzhou to the west to reinforce Xiangyang. He has just arrived in Xiakou.
Xun Song wrote this letter to find out what was going on in Henan.
Xun Jun did not say much, only discussed family friendship, then elaborated on the three major ambitions mentioned by King Liang at the Jinyang Conference, and sent someone to take them back.
Judging from the words in the letter, Xun Song actually knew something about what happened in Jinyang.
Within just three months, this major event had spread far and wide - the main force behind the spread was definitely the wealthy families in the counties.
But Jianye only had a vague idea of what happened, so Xun Song focused on asking about the specific circumstances of those ten days.
Xun Jun had no intention of keeping anything to himself and told him everything.
He has retired and no longer stays in Jibei. He lives in his old house in Yingyin. When he has nothing to do, he likes to sit and watch the changes in the world.
"How many years have passed, and here comes another person who dares to defy the world." Xun Jun laughed, put away the letter, and then looked at Zhong Ang, a descendant of the Changsha Zhong family, and Chen Chun, a descendant of the Xuchang Chen family, who came to visit him, and said, "You two came from Yecheng. Did you hear that two martial arts students were killed there?"
"Yes." Zhong Ang said, "They were all minor officials in the city. They were killed and their bodies were thrown into the river. They were later found, but we still don't know who killed them."
"Who else could it be?" Chen Chun said with a smile, "In the past few years, either the Xiongnu were attacked or there was a disaster, so the land measurement was stopped. The nobles of Wei County thought that the project was abandoned halfway, but unexpectedly it started again. When a cornered dog jumps over the wall, what can't it do? But to be honest, the degree of rebellion is much lighter than that of Emperor Guangwu of Han."
As we all know, after Liu Xiu established the country with the help of powerful forces, he was unwilling to be controlled and began to use the prestige of establishing the country to invest in land.
At this time, a large number of "bandits" appeared in the local area.
When the army went to suppress them, the bandits quickly dispersed and could not be found.
As soon as the army left, the bandits reappeared.
What does this show? It shows that local officials and the powerful families are in complete collusion, and the so-called bandits are nothing more than the powerful families' followers.
Liu Xiu was very determined at the beginning and killed many officials, but in the end, he became a little afraid because the bandits could not be killed completely and the local people were in chaos. If he continued to do so, a large-scale rebellion or even a civil war might break out.
In the end, he was forced to compromise and gave up holding local officials accountable. He allowed the bandits to report on each other, and it was enough to take the head of one out of five.
Dutian seemed to have succeeded, but also seemed not to have been completely successful. In short, it was very frustrating.
This actually has something to do with the underlying nature of the regime.
Liu Xiu came to Hebei alone and made his fortune by marrying a rich woman. Even though he later seized some power in the war of unification, his foundation was not good after all. It is commendable that he could achieve this level.
Shao Xun also made his fortune by marrying a rich woman, but his army was not sponsored by others. Instead, he built it himself from scratch, so his prestige was naturally unparalleled.
Moreover, there were a large number of military students and officials at the level of the twenty counties of Liang State, there were local government soldiers, and the Hu people's forces also openly surrendered to him.
The most important thing is that the land measurement was not expanded, but was only implemented in 20 counties of Liang State, and matters before the Yongjia period were not investigated for the time being.
The wealthy families of Liang State could not only keep the land they had occupied before the Yongjia period (if any), but also purchase properties outside the twenty counties. This is called "encircle three and leave one" in military strategy.
But even so, when the land tax reached its limit, there were still people who took the risk, but the scale was not large and it was just sporadic rebellion.
"Shao Taibai is as cunning as a devil." Xun Jun smiled and said, "When I went to Jibei to take charge and repelled the Xiongnu's attack, I began to deploy soldiers from two prefectures and eight defense prefectures in Jibei before I left. This man will take advantage of any opportunity and will act immediately when he sees it. When there is no opportunity, he will just wait silently."
Zhong Ang and Chen Chun burst into laughter.
"Lord Xun, I heard that the troops of the Right Jinwu Guard have left Fukou and are heading for Yecheng. Will the chaos in Hebei get bigger?" Zhong Ang asked again.
"Big? Who will make it big?" Xun Jun glanced at the young man and said, "Everyone wants others to die while they sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. How can anything be accomplished?"
"When Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty measured the land, the nobles of Qing, Xu, You and Ji all fought in the war. What can these people do now? The Yu family of Jiyang only dared to expel the county official who measured the land, but did not dare to kill him. Tell me, can their ambition be compared with that time?"
"It would be difficult to reach the level of bandits and robbers in the early Han Dynasty."
Xun Jun's words made Zhong and Chen sigh repeatedly and feel a little ashamed.
To be fair, although Yingchuan was not included in the land measurement, the county was bordered by Xingyang to the north, Chenliu and Chenjun to the east, and Runan to the south, all of which were counties under the jurisdiction of Liang. Xiangcheng County to the west was not within the territory of Liang, but it was one of the earliest territories controlled by the King of Liang, and it lacked large families, so the land inventory was clearer than Runan, Chenliu, Pingyang, Wei and other counties under the jurisdiction of Liang.
Yingchuan is surrounded on all sides!
As the native people of Yingchuan, how could they not be anxious?
"Lord Xun, since the nobles of Liang are so afraid of death, can we..." Chen Chun whispered, "Can we let the Wu soldiers or the Xiongnu wake up the King of Liang?"
"Hmm?" Xun Jun turned his head and looked at Chen Chun, his eyes dark and unclear.
Chen Chun swallowed his saliva and said with a stiff face: "We don't want King Liang to be defeated and killed. After all, he has made great contributions in expelling the Xiongnu. It's just that - we just want him to 'put up with each other for the sake of the country'."
"Haha!" Xun Jun suddenly laughed and said, "'Tolerance for the sake of the country' has a new interpretation! Shao Taibai has always been the one who said to tolerate each other for the sake of the country, and let others tolerate. If someone asks him to tolerate, what about that?"
Chen Chun's eyes lit up and he asked, "Does Lord Xun think this plan will work?"
"Bullshit!" Xun Jun cursed.
Chen Chun was puzzled.
"As long as the nobles dare not defect or surrender to the enemy, the King of Liang will not give in." Xun Jun said, "Unless the nobles such as the Pei family in Hedong and the Le family in Nanyang, who are adjacent to the enemy, control the entire territory and surrender the whole county, it is possible for the King of Liang to feel bad and then give in. But now, look at their attitude."
Chen and Zhong looked at each other and were speechless.
The Nanyang Le clan is still recruiting men to besiege Xiangyang, the Hedong Pei clan has not made any moves, and with Yu Liang in charge of Xuzhou, it seems that nothing will go wrong. Under the circumstances, we really cannot expect King Liang to make concessions.
This is actually a game of who can't bear the pressure first and who blinks first.
The land in Hedong is not measured, the land in Nanyang is not measured, and the land in Xuzhou is even less measured. People still have some hope, so how could they risk the whole family's suffering by rebelling?
The ones who really jumped out were just those small families that lacked foundation and could not keep their composure.
"You guys!" Xun Jun sighed and said, "You are all thinking of stupid tricks. Instead of doing it openly, why not secretly marry the trusted generals of King Liang and see if Shao Taibai can be so cruel as to kill even his own clansmen, students, and in-laws."
Chen and Zhong were moved and thought to themselves that this was a very cruel move.
"Don't let your imagination run wild and act rashly." Xun Jun added, "Someone must have thought of this trick before. Two years ago, General Zhang Shuo married the daughter of Wang from Donghai as his second wife. Have you forgotten? Later, when we went north to attack Dai, what was Zhang Shuo doing? He led his troops to station in Ruyin to guard against Wu's sneak attacks and suppress the rebellions in Qiao and Pei. He may seem like a great general, but in fact, his future has been surpassed by many people who are not as good as him, and it is very difficult for him to move up."
The two were stunned. It turned out that it could be interpreted this way? Whether it is true or not, we can just observe it more later.
"Don't think too much. People should be content and happy." Xun Jun didn't know what he was thinking about, and he felt a little depressed: "At that time, no one in the world could defeat him. You asked me how to win. There is only one trick, avoid the sharp edge and wait for the right time."
After saying this, Xun Jun sighed.
Although he was giving people advice, deep down he didn't really want to object.
The reason may be unexpected. He had more than 50 wives and concubines in his life, several times more than King Liang, but he had no children. In the end, he had no choice but to adopt his nephew Xun Shi as his heir.
Some people may treat their adopted son as their own and raise him as their own child, but Xun Jun could not do that. He always felt that something was not right.
In this situation, what's the point of trying! He's done with it.
If there was a brave man who dared to go against Shao Xun, he wouldn't mind watching the joke from the sidelines, or even giving some advice in secret, but if he had to do it himself, it would be impossible. I don't even have any biological offspring!
Chen and Zhong were carefully pondering the phrase "avoid the sharp edge and wait for the right time".
Yes, no matter how heroic you are, there will always be a day when you grow old and die.
Can you guarantee that your son is as smart as you?
Your son does not have as much prestige as you.
Hundreds of years of accumulated problems make it difficult to go against the will of heaven.
"In autumn, the pond is flooded and the boats are divided by small waves. In summer, water chestnuts are delicious, and in autumn, lotus roots are wonderful." Xun Jun suddenly laughed and said, "I am old, just like the old roots and leaves in this autumn pond, which will eventually turn into mud."
Chen Chun and Zhong Ang straightened their expressions and listened attentively.
Xun Jun stood up and strolled by the pond, saying, "But the lotus roots grow new roots every year and new leaves every month. Shao Taibai, a hero in his lifetime, will eventually pass away like these old roots. His new roots are your rivals."
After saying this, for some reason, Xun Jun actually felt a little sad and sympathized with Shao Xun.
Shao Taibai, you were born at the wrong time after all, not in a good era.
This world gives you the opportunity to rise, but also limits your talent. You struggle in a big network all day long. Even if you have achieved certain results, it must be very tiring? Very frustrating, right?
Your heart is like this, but no one knows it.
No one knows, it's a pity.
(End of this chapter)