Chapter 940 Agent

Chapter 940 Agent

In the small courtyard in front of Changle Palace, the autumn breeze was blowing and the chill was beginning to set in.

Shao Xun sat under a big locust tree, surrounded by three women, two adults and one child.

The woman had a high nose and deep eyes, and looked like a Western Hu. She was none other than Liu Ye'na, the former wife of Liu Han's Shangdang State and Shi Le's wife.

She is 31 years old this year and is in the prime of her life. Since she went to the war, except for Lady Wang, the wife of Daiguo, almost no one has competed for her favor. This is actually the happiest time for her physically and mentally in the past few years.

She was not familiar with Jin Yuehua, but had met her several times. At that time, the latter had not yet married Liu Can and could only be regarded as a Xiongnu noblewoman, and her status was not necessarily higher than that of Liu Ye.

"The king is not so willing to coax women now..." Liu Ye leaned close to Jin Yuehua's ear and whispered, "When we first got Hebei, he took me hunting every day and always said sweet words to me before going to bed. My uncles and brothers came to ask how the king treated me, and I always said that he treated me very well. The uncles and brothers went back satisfied and made up their minds to fight for the king. Now, he just lies down and snores. He doesn't care much about the Shangdang cavalry anymore."

Jin Yuehua covered her mouth and laughed, and glanced at Shao Xun with her eyes moving.

Of course, whether she is really loved or not is not important to her.

The Jin family was more concerned about the attitude of the King of Liang, both in his official position and in private. As a recent surrenderer, and being isolated by others, he needed her as a channel to pass on messages.

Otherwise, over time, suspicion between the emperor and his subjects would develop, which would be a devastating disaster for the Jin family.

Not far away, Shao Xun was looking at the little girl in front of him.

Jin Yuehua is 26 years old this year, and the young lady named Jin Yuehui is only 20 years old, but she was spotted by Liu Yao a few years ago.

The day before yesterday, she received a letter from Anding, who actually came to her house and asked for the release of her father, because she believed the rumors that Jin Zhun and Jin Ming had made great contributions in surrendering the city and could be spared, but Jin Kang led his troops to flee westward, intending to join forces with Shi Wu to resist the court, and he could not escape the death penalty.

Shao Xun observed carefully. This little girl was really pretty, and she looked timid and weak, which made people want to bully her.

She also misses her family very much. When she met Shao Xun yesterday, she asked him to kill her if he wanted to kill Jin Kang, which surprised Shao Xun.

Everyone present had some admiration for her, and some writers who were bored enough to write down this incident—

"The king teased the girl Jin, saying, 'If your parents and brothers are convicted, I will marry you. What do you think?'"

"The Jin girl said, 'Since the king has killed his parents and brothers, what use is there for me? I heard that when criminals are punished, even servants cannot escape, let alone his children!' She cried and begged to die."

"The king was moved, stood up and helped Kang, and pardoned Kang's crime."

The writing was a bit ridiculous, which made Shao Xun want to tear it up.

In the end, he gave up because he was worried that the historian would include the fact that he tore up the records.

At this time, Shao Xun looked at Jin Yuehui again.

She lowered her head slightly, her eyelashes trembled, and her ears turned red.

There was a voice of inquiry coming from a distance, and a moment later, several people came in.

Shao Xun became serious, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, looking relaxed.

Jin Zhun followed behind Huang Zheng and saw his niece from afar. He was furious. He was angry at his niece for being ignorant and at his brother Jin Kang for having too many ideas - I work hard to run this big family, and you actually want to betray me?
Jin Yuehui was surprised at the rapid changes in Shao Xun's expression and actions. Does this man have true feelings and speak the truth?

However, she didn't have time to think about it, and quickly stepped forward to pay her respects with her cousin Jin Yuehua.

Jin Zhun bowed to Shao Xun and then to Liu Ye.

"Please sit down." Shao Xun pointed to the Huchuang next to him and said.

Huang Zheng and others stood by with swords in hand.

"I summoned you here today because of the Guanxi issue." Shao Xun put down his tea bowl and said, "Among the counties in Xizhou, which one do you think is the most difficult?"

"Qinzhou." Jin Zhun said immediately without any hesitation.

"What's the difficulty?"

"The barbarians have not been influenced by the king for a long time, so they rebel whenever they want."

"Not bad." Shao Xun nodded and said, "What do you think of Sangcheng and Caobi?"

Sangcheng was the place where Sima Bao stayed for a while when he was fleeing in a panic. It is located in Lintao County, Dingxi City today.

This is an important transportation route and a crossroads. It belongs to Longxi County and has a considerable river valley area. The overall conditions are pretty good.

Whether you are heading east to Tianshui or north to Jincheng, you can't avoid this place.

The surrounding areas are mainly inhabited by Di and Qiang, with miscellaneous Hu as a supplement. If Jin Kangruo were stationed here, he would be quite conspicuous.

The grass walls also serve as a path for thieves.

If the Hu people in Anding and Nangan counties wanted to break into the flat Guanzhong Plain, Caobi Town would be a very easy route to take. Jin Ming's stationing here would be of great use.

If Shao Xun could see these things, how could Jin Zhun, who had been dealing with the Hu people in Qinzhou for many years, not know them?

He just smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty wants the Jin family to guard the border of Daliang and suppress the Hu people." "Why do you have to do this?" Shao Xun smiled and said, "I just want to ask one question, what is the foundation of the Jin family? Do you rely on your tens of thousands of people? Let's not talk about Qinzhou. In Anding County of Yongzhou alone, there are Tugelu, Xiutujin, Xiutuliang, Lushuihu Peng, Lushuihu Liu, and Diqiangbajie. Which tribe has less than 10,000 people?"

"Nan'an Yao Yizhong has no less than 50,000 followers."

"I'm afraid the Pu Hong family has no less than this number."

"Which one of the Fengyi Xuchu clan, Shangjun Shan clan, Luzhu clan, the Xiongnu tribes in the north, Northern Qiang King Penjuchu, Four-horn King Bojuda, etc., doesn't have tens of thousands of people?"

"With wolves surrounding us, how can the Jin family survive?"

Jin Zhun remained silent.

If Guanzhong falls into chaos again and the various tribes attack each other, what will happen to the Jin family?

Jin Zhun knew with his toes that their ending would not be a good one.

The remnants of the Xiongnu who he had defeated would seek revenge on him, the Longshang tribes who he had brutally suppressed would not let him go, and the Di and Qiang in Fengyi and Shangjun who he had oppressed and even killed more than once would not let him go. Everywhere he looked, he saw enemies.

The only possibility for the Jin family to survive is to rely on the imperial court, be a loyal dog of the imperial court, and use the imperial court's tiger skin to intimidate the tribes so that they dare not act recklessly. The Jin family can even rely on the great military prowess of King Liang to make some small and medium-sized tribes swallow their anger and continue to be oppressed by him.

If the imperial court was gone, or the Jin family lost the support of the imperial court, they would inevitably suffer the tragic fate of being eaten by a pack of wolves. Who made you, Jin Zhun, help Liu Can do so many dirty things, and then had a brain crash and destroyed the Xiongnu tribes?
Don't make yourself unpopular with everyone!

"Father." Jin Yuehua glanced at Shao Xun first, then said to Jin Zhun, "I heard that Wang Yan and Wang Yifu had sought the posts of governors of Jingzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou for their brothers. If so, the Wang family would be scattered everywhere, and even if there was a disturbance, they would not be caught in one net. Guanzhong is dangerous, and if all the members of the Jin family gathered in one place, it would be difficult to escape in times of emergency. Wouldn't it mean that the family would be destroyed and difficult to continue?"

"Now my second uncle is stationed in Caobi, my third uncle is stationed in Sangcheng, and my father is living in Chang'an, commanding the Xiongnu in Jingzhao, Shiping, Xinping, and Beidi counties. The east and west will respond to each other, and the bandits will not dare to act rashly."

"In addition, if something happens, my second and third uncles can also make contributions to the court and benefit their wives, and the Jin family will become more prosperous. Given time, it is not impossible for them to become a major family in Zhongxia."

"Father, please think twice about this."

Shao Xun glanced at Jin Yuehua approvingly.

To put it bluntly, if Guanxi is divided into two parts, east and west, there are indeed a large number of Xiongnu, Di Qiang and even Xianbei in the east, but compared with the western half, they are not on the same level.

Especially in Qinzhou, the population in the household register compiled by the court was pitifully small, with only a few thousand households in a county. But even in these sparsely populated counties, tens of thousands of Hu troops would appear at any time, and after being suppressed, tens of thousands of cavalry would appear again within a few years. This shows what the situation was like there.

Qinzhou was truly powerless and could not be directly ruled at all, and even Yongzhou was difficult to rule.

This problem was not unique to the Jin Dynasty. In fact, all regimes that occupied these areas, including the Former Zhao, Later Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, and Northern Wei, faced this problem.

Historically, until the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, town generals and Hu chieftains coexisted.

Whenever the chiefs were unhappy, they would besiege military towns and cities, kill town commanders, provincial governors, and prefects. They surrendered and rebelled repeatedly throughout the three hundred years, and even after they were moved to other places, they still rebelled.

For example, Anding Xiutu Hujin Dahei was relocated to Shangjun during the Former Qin period. He also rebelled and defeated the Former Qin army that came to suppress him, beheading 5,800 people.

So, even though various tribes surrendered when Shao Xun besieged Chang'an, what about the future?
The Former Qin, Later Qin, Hu Xia and Northern Wei dynasties all experienced such highlights when various Hu tribes surrendered one after another, but they also experienced dark moments when rebellions broke out one after another.

There are many reasons for the rebellion. Some officials committed suicide by cruelly exploiting the tribes. Some tribes felt that they did not get enough benefits and rebelled. There were even some people who were so arrogant that they rebelled because of a prophecy.

Therefore, Shao Xun needed an agent to guard Qinzhou and the western half of Yongzhou connected to it when he left Chang'an and returned to Guandong.

He had promoted Yao Yi Zhong to General Ningshuo, and his troops were still stationed in the old territory of the Liu Han period: Nangan County.

Yao Yi Zhong temporarily served as the prefect of Nannan, guarding this place full of Di and Qiang tribes for him, and monitoring the Qiuchi Di tribe to prevent them from invading the north.

Jin is also one of the agents, and in Shao Xun's mind, he is more important - Yao Yi Zhong flatters him loudly, but Shao Xun does not completely trust him. In comparison, Jin, who seems to be desperate, is more worthy of his trust, although Jin Zhun himself is an unstable factor.

The Puhong family was less trusted, although they were very active.

Shao Xun planned to stabilize the situation first and then find an opportunity to move them away, at least away from where the Di and Qiang people gathered.

As for Zhao Gu, Yang Tao, Liang Xun and others, they will all move away this year.

Having said this, Shao Xun felt that he had made himself clear.

He was indeed frank with Jin Zhun, without hiding his purpose and without any deception.

I have made it clear about the good and the bad. This is your position in my opinion. Do you accept it?
"Father, the king has ordered the return of the old house of the Jin family in Jiexiu. The Jin family has been included in the list of surnames in Xihe County and is a top-class noble family. As Ah Hu and Ah Bao grow older and complete their studies, they may become officials and interact with the noble families in the Han area in the future. They will definitely be grateful to father." Jin Yuehua added.

"You--" Jin Zhun was speechless when mentioning his two sons who were only in their teens.

This daughter really knows him through and through and knows exactly what he is thinking.

"What are you going to do in the future?" Jin Zhun couldn't help but ask.

"Which good family would dare to marry the queen of an enemy country? Aren't they afraid of being suspected of wanting to rebel?" Jin Yuehua laughed at herself with a sad tone.

Jin Zhun choked.

Shao Xun had a calm expression on his face, his eyes unfocused, as if he was repeatedly considering whether there were any omissions in his arrangements.

(End of this chapter)