Chapter 952 Anxious People

Chapter 952 Anxious People

Chapter 952 Anxious People

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, a grand court meeting is held.

The emperor was unable to walk, so he ordered the crown prince to be regent and to attend government affairs beside the throne.

If the issue of abdication was discussed only in private before to build momentum for public opinion, then today's court meeting was an open discussion. It was mentioned publicly by the eunuch, Luoyang magistrate Yu Bing, and discussed by all the ministers. The conclusion was the same as that of Empress Liang: the rise and fall of nations has existed since ancient times.

Shao Xun did not attend this court meeting, but he controlled the rhythm very well. He knew when to formally issue the decree to abdicate and when to decline the throne. He followed his orders in everything.

After the court was dismissed, the aging Minister of the Imperial Clan and Prince of Beihai Sima Shi asked to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

Sima Duan, the regent prince, followed the prior instructions and did not stop them. He also had no reason to stop them and personally led Sima Shi and several others into the Zhaoyang Palace.

After seeing the emperor, the emperor and his ministers cried together.

After leaving the palace, news spread in the capital: The current emperor might not live long.

On December 20th, Shao Xun personally went out of the city to Pan Garden to welcome his parents.

As for his wife and children, they arrived a day later.

The guards and maids of Ningshu Palace took down the luggage one by one and placed them in various places.

Shao Xun stood aside, stunned.

Mother Liu kept talking, "This is salty pickles that insects like to eat. Alas, I am old and can't farm, so I can only make salty pickles. If I wait a few more years, I am afraid I won't be able to make this myself."

Jars of pickles were taken down and carefully placed in the cellar.

"Xiao Chong, there are some mutton sausages. Yin Ling sent them here." Liu walked to another carriage and said, "There are several carriages."

Shao Xun didn't react for a moment and asked: "Yin Ling——"

"She has already given birth to a baby for you, but you still don't know who it is?" Mrs. Liu glared.

The palace maids and guards all lowered their heads and moved faster.

Only the lady dares to tell such a secret. Others will feel a chill down their necks when they hear it.

Shao Xun reacted and laughed, holding his mother's hand, saying, "Mother is right."

"Some of these are made by Fu Bao, and I had them packed separately." Liu continued, "This granddaughter is so good, I don't want her to get married."

"But I don't know what to do with the vegetable fields in Ningshuo Palace. They will probably be abandoned."

"The Fenshui fish you like to eat was killed and brought here. It's frozen solid."

"I picked mushrooms from Shanglin Garden and dried them for several days. Come here, Chunkui."

Chunkui came over, hesitating, and Shao Xun didn't even notice her at first.

"You're an eleven-year-old girl, but you're still so shy." Liu joked.

"Grandpa." Chunkui called out with her head down.

"Good girl." Shao Xun replied with a smile.

A lot has happened in the past few years. Not to mention the siblings Chounu and Chunkui, I rarely see my own children and feel a little estranged from them.

But after saying "good girl", Chunkui's face was filled with smiles and she raised her head to look at Shao Xun.

"What did you learn this year?" Shao Xun asked, feeling ashamed.

"I learned poetry and music theory." Chunkui answered softly.

"Better than your father." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Where is the ugly slave?"

Before Chunkui could answer, Liu said, "He has been training with the Ningshuo Palace guards this year and has been working very hard."

Shao Xun nodded.

The two siblings were given to the queen to raise. When their mother heard about their life story, she felt sorry for them and often called them to eat with her and gave them rewards.

That's just her personality.

Although she was harsh in words, she was soft-hearted and kind-hearted. She never punished the palace maids and often forgave their mistakes.

In fact, the rewards and punishments were a bit unclear, but Shao Xun just followed her wishes and didn't care.

Compared to mother, father is different.

He really killed someone.

After drinking once, he stammered and said that he had "plundered" when he was pacifying Wu, and that it was not just once.

Shao Xun is also a warrior, how could he not understand the old warrior?
The father and son smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.

When he came to Luoyang from Pingyang, he heard that his father had gotten angry and actually asked someone to put armor on him.

The guards couldn't persuade him, so they took out a set of Ming Guang armor and actually put it on and walked a few steps.

It's really amazing that an old man over 70 can still be like this.

At this moment, he was in the front yard silently watching the guards assigning sentry posts. It was a long time before he came over.

"Grandpa." Shao Xun stepped forward and saluted.

Chunkui also bowed.

Shao Xiu didn't say much, just nodded and signaled with his eyes.

Shao Xun understood.

The father and son walked out more than ten steps and came to the bamboo forest.

"Lan Ji and Jin Dao, mother and son, have become somewhat estranged." Shao Xiu said only one sentence briefly.

Shao Xun was a little surprised.

"That Lekai is not a good guy!" After saying that, Shao Xiu waved his hand, left and went to help Liu.

Shao Xun stood beside the bamboo forest for a long time.

My father is a man of few words, and he rarely comments on the shogunate's generals and officials. This time he actually named and criticized Lekai. I guess he must be very dissatisfied.

Lekai came to Luoyang a long time ago, and later went to Pingyang. They came here together again this time. There must have been something going on in between.

Shao Xun thought about it and had some idea.

In fact, it is just a normal instinct of aristocratic families. If it happened to someone else, the father probably wouldn't bother to say much, but what if it happened to his own grandson?

Shao Xun didn't plan to do anything for the time being. He planned to wait for Lan Ji to come and find a good opportunity to ask her.

It is normal for the Le family to have ideas. It would be strange if they didn't have any.

When we attack Jiangdong next, the Le family will be the main force, at least they will be the main force along the way.

Shao Xun vaguely recalled that Le Kai had submitted a memorial a while ago, saying that he had repelled Tao Kan's attack on Wancheng and recovered all the lost territory. Next year, he would organize a siege on Xiangyang to save face. There was no problem with loyalty.

******
After a busy period, it was soon noon.

"What are we having for lunch?" Liu asked, looking at the sky.

"The soup noodles made by my mother are the most delicious. Let's cook some meat." Shao Xun said with a smile.

"Go get some firewood." Liu looked at the kitchen and gave the order.

"Okay." Under the embarrassed gaze of the guards, Shao Xun grabbed a few bundles of straw and a bundle of dead branches, trotted into the kitchen, and sat behind the earthen stove.

Pan Yuan had an iron pot with two large mouths, so he built an earthen stove.

A few more people came to Pan Garden.

Liu Ye, who was pregnant, bowed to Shao's father and mother, then went inside to rest.

Sisters Jin Yuehua and Jin Yuehui appeared in front of their parents for the first time.

Liu was a person who liked to be around people and always greeted them with a smile, but secretly, she complained about Shao Xun, saying that the women in the family were older and she no longer liked them, so he only flirted with young girls.

Shao Xun turned a deaf ear to it and didn't care at all.

Jin Yuehua changed into a set of light home clothes and kneaded dough with her mother.

Shao Xun hooked his finger and called the little girl Jin Yuehui to come over and sit on the small stool together.

The little girl was injured and her brows were slightly furrowed when she sat down.

This was caused by Shao Xun. It was her first time. She bled a lot last night and gave up halfway.

Shao Xun skillfully lit the thatch and put it into the stove hole, then took out a few bean stalks and slowly stuffed them in.

The sound of "crackling" explosion gradually sounded.

"Never seen it?" Shao Xun asked.

Jin Yuehui shook his head, hesitated for a moment, picked up a few bean stalks and handed them over.

"Any young girl is richer than I was when I was young." Shao Xun said with a smile.

Jin Yuehui lowered his head.

"Do you miss your family?" Shao Xun asked.

"Ah."

"Your father has arrived in Sangcheng, defeated the bandits, and killed Shi Ta, a member of Shi Le's clan." Shao Xun said, "He has made a great contribution."

"Really?" Jin Yuehui raised his head, his eyes sparkling.

"Of course it's true." Shao Xun said, "I'm going to give him a reward. What do you think is a good reward?"

Jin Yuehui shook his head.

"I will grant you a house in Luoyang." Shao Xun deliberately pondered for a while and said, "Since you miss your family, you can write a letter and bring them from Chang'an and Sangcheng to Luoyang, so that you can be reunited."

Jin Yuehui was quite excited but hesitated to speak.

"Don't worry." Shao Xun said, "The country is in trouble right now, and I can't leave your father for a moment. When peace comes in the future, I can bring him to Luoyang, right? A family reunion, great wealth and prosperity, isn't that better than leaving him in that wild place?"

"Yeah." The little girl smiled.

Jin Yuehua listened not far away and quietly looked at the two people huddled behind the earthen stove.

Prince Liang is really idle, and he just keeps saying things to deceive the young lady.

Even if there had been no such military achievements, shouldn't Jin Kang's clan have been moved to Luoyang as hostages?
She thought again of the news she had heard recently.

The battle of Qinzhou is basically over.

After Shi Wu and Shi Le escaped, they counterattacked, were defeated, and then they really fled westward.

Some tribes in Qinzhou also rebelled, not because they were instigated by Shi Wu and Shi Le, but because Jin Zheng was too cruel. He slaughtered anyone who disobeyed him. Several Jingguans were built with the heads of the people from various tribes.

Yang Nandi and his brothers spread "rumors", saying that King Liang, like the Xiongnu, wanted to move all the Qinzhou tribes to Guandong. Many people followed suit and rebelled, but they were all defeated one by one.

Jin Zheng broke through Yinping and headed straight for Wudu, but suffered a defeat and had to withdraw his troops.

There was a discussion in the court to recruit Yang Nandi, but Jin Zheng wrote to the emperor saying that this person was unruly and difficult to tame, and cited the example of the Qiuchi Di people who surrendered and then rebelled during the Liu Han period, and requested that they be killed.

The court did not give a clear response.

But not being clear is tantamount to tacit approval. Jin Zhengke is the governor-general with full authority.

However, by the end of the year, the weather was freezing, food and grass were running low, and the tribes were unwilling to fight anymore, so Jin Zheng finally returned to Chang'an.

The situation in Qinzhou is now clear. It may take several more years of deterrence and suppression, but the overall situation has been determined and will not change for some time.

The main force to suppress the rebellion was obviously Jin Zhun, the General of the Central Army who protected the Xiongnu, Jin Kang, the General of Sangcheng Town, Jin Ming, the General of Caobi Town, and Yao Yizhong, the Prefect of Nangan.

There was a sound outside.

Jin Yuehua collected her thoughts and continued to help Liu knead the dough.

Shao Xiu sat in the courtyard, silent as a bodhisattva. He had not intended to stand up, but when he saw someone coming, he slowly stood up.

The visitor did not dare to neglect and bowed first: "Greetings, Sir."

They were Shangdang governor Liu Runzhong, Yicong army deputy governor Liu Da, Changshan governor Liu Hezhu, and Luze town commander Liu Hedu.

Xinxing Governor Liu Quan and Kelan Governor Liu Zhao did not come. It was obvious that they were guarding their local areas and did not dare to leave easily.

Shao Xiu returned the greeting and ordered the palace servants to invite Zhu Liu into the main hall.

Shao Xun heard the report in the inner room, laughed secretly, and said: "My heart is like grass growing in it, I can't wait to know what will happen after the founding of the country, whether it will rise or fall, whether it will soar to the sky or be lost in the crowd."

Liu was unhappy after hearing this and said, "Even if the farmers work together to open up wasteland, there will be an explanation after the success. Xiao Chong, do you really think you can conquer the world by yourself? Go and meet the guests quickly, don't disappoint the soldiers. They are still relatives."

Shao Xun thought to himself that after the founding of the country, he would definitely make the Liu family uncomfortable, because if they were comfortable, he would not be able to sleep.

Shangdang is like a sword hanging over Luoyang's head. How blind must I be not to see it?

However, we cannot be too hasty about this matter. We need to do it slowly, using both civil and military means, and we must not act rashly.

"Keep the fire going here." Shao Xun gave the young lady some instructions.

Jin Yuehui lowered his head and nodded.

"Don't set the firewood pile on fire." After making a joke, Shao Xun stood up, flicked his sleeves and walked out of the kitchen.

(End of this chapter)