Chapter 953 Settlement

Chapter 953 Settlement

Chapter 953 Settlement (Part )

In the process of conquering the world, it is often inevitable to engage in united front work and borrow forces that do not originally belong to you.

In this process, the monarch succeeded, and his capital expanded from a county or a state to the whole country, but the people whose power he borrowed were not fools, so wouldn’t their capital increase? This was inevitable.

This is the case with the Liu family of Shangdang.

Liu Zhao, the prefect of Kelan, commanded the Jie people and miscellaneous Hu people in various counties. His area bordered Mayi of Dai State. He led troops to fight many times and his combat effectiveness was quite good.

Liu Quan, the governor of Xinxing, moved his garrison from Heqing and defended the border for the country, fighting against Tuoba Xianbei many times. But times have changed, and Xinxing is no longer a border area.

In recent years, Liu Runzhong, the governor of Shangdang, unified the Jie tribes that were originally independent of each other, and also annexed the Wuhuan and Xiongnu tribes in Shangdang, greatly increasing his strength.

Liu Hezhu, the governor of Changshan, ruled a basically barren land, which has only become slightly populated in recent years. The main reason for going here was the flood. Shao Xun wanted someone to help him guard the border. Otherwise, this place would be a public toilet, and the Hu people could come and go as they pleased.

Another purpose is to split up the inland military towns and lay a solid foundation for the future cleanup of the Dalu Lake.

After the old Luze town was divided into two, Liu Hezhu went to Changshan, and his tribe lived in the northern half of the mountainous hills and farmed and nomadic. I was also the governor of Changshan, handling government affairs - in fact, there was not much government affairs to handle, because there were not many people.

His son Liu Hedu still stayed in Luze Town.

Liu Da was the deputy governor of the Yicong Army. In fact, he also had a tribe, but it was not large, located in the mountainous area west of Shangdang. He built a mansion in the old Guyuan County (now Qinyuan, which has been abolished), but he only lived in it for a few days a year.

Shao Xun once wanted to station local soldiers in Guyuan, but after weighing various considerations, he decided to cancel the plan.

The power of the Shangdang Liu family is very strong and it has developed very quickly. Now it is no longer limited to the Jie people, but controls the Jie, Wuhuan, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Han people and many other Hu people. It can easily send out more than 50,000 cavalry. It has the strength of Liu Yuan when he started his army more than 20 years ago. When Liu Yuanhai just raised the flag, the number of people who came to him from far and near was no more than 50,000 cavalry.

When Shao Xun was conquering the world, he wished that the Liu family had more cavalry and stronger combat effectiveness. Now that the world is settled, his thoughts suddenly changed.

But to be honest, Shangdang Liu family really did nothing wrong to him.

Liu Runzhong lost a son fighting for him, and many young men from other tribes also died in the battle.

Liu Zhao, Liu Quan and Liu Hezhu led their troops to guard the border. They were all very respectful and often fought with the enemy. They can be said to have done their best.

Even Liu Da, the deputy governor of the Yicong Army, worked very hard in training troops and fighting.

It would be unacceptable if such a family were convicted without reason, as it would cause suspicion among the entire ruling group - if you can't even tolerate your relatives, how can you tolerate outsiders like us?

It is not advisable to forcibly reduce the power of the vassal states. At this time, we can only promote them in public and demote them in private, and we need them to cooperate and understand the overall situation.

Therefore, Shao Xun was very polite when entertaining them and did not treat them as outsiders at all.

"Gongji, I haven't seen you for a long time. Your thigh muscles are back." Shao Xun laughed as he entered the main hall.

When he got to Liu Runzhong, he patted his chest, pointed at his lower abdomen, and asked with a smile, "What's in the inner room?"

"Nothing special, just my utter loyalty." Liu Runzhong also said with a smile.

The smile on Shao Xun's face froze a little, but he quickly reacted, bowed to Liu Hezhu again, and asked, "When did you come here?"

"I stayed in Mangshan last night and came here early this morning." Liu Hezhu returned the greeting and said.

"How old are you this year?" Shao Xun asked, looking at Liu Hezhu's head of white hair.

"I am sixty years old. I can't fight for the king for many more years." Liu Hezhu said with emotion: "But I am satisfied. Before I die, the Liu family can have such wealth and honor. Twenty years ago, it was unimaginable. Even Shi Le——"

Liu Hezhu was halfway through his words when he saw Liu Ye coming.

Her belly was slightly bulging and her face was full of maternal radiance. When she saw her family, her eyes were red with joy.

Shao Xun immediately grabbed her hand and scolded her, "Don't worry, we are all family. We will meet at the back house later."

After that, he helped Liu Ye to sit on the couch, and then asked everyone to sit down. He continued with the previous conversation, saying, "Why do you say that, Mr. Liu? What does wealth and honor mean nowadays? A few months ago, I got some wealth and goods from Chang'an, many exquisite things. I will select a few carts to send to Mr. Liu."

"How can I be so worthy as to accept this offer--" Liu Hezhu smiled happily upon hearing this, but he kept declining.

Shao Xun pretended to be displeased and said, "My mother was just saying that farmers should work together to open up wasteland, and they will share the benefits after the harvest. How could I conquer this world by myself? Don't refuse. Not only do I have the rare items in Liu Can's palace, I also want Liu Gong to come to the court to help me."

After that, he looked at Liu Runzhong and said sincerely: "Gongji is Ye Na's brother, why are you staying in that poor place like Shangdang? You can leave the tribe to the children, and come to the court to help me quickly. The position of Shizhong is vacant and waiting for you."

When Liu Runzhong heard this, he was a little surprised, but also a little hesitant.

Shao Xun smiled and said, "Why? Do you have a lover in Shangdang? No problem. If you like any of the beauties in Liu Can's palace, just leave."

"Well!" Liu Runzhong slapped his thigh and said, "In the past, not to mention that the Zhongxia nobles looked down on me, even if I went to Pingyang, the Xiongnu nobles also looked down on me. Your mother's maid! Go to the court, right? What should the minister do? Although I can read and write, my poetry is mediocre. I am afraid that if I don't do well, it will embarrass the king."

"The Shizhong is an eunuch official who has no specific responsibilities, but travels between the inner court and the outer court to report on matters. Just stay by my side so that I can consult you on military and political affairs." Shao Xun said.

Liu Runzhong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good."

Shao Xun was very pleased and said, "You should arrange manpower for those tribes as soon as possible. I'll give the post of prefect to your son-in-law. I think Sun Wenji is a good choice." Sun Jue was the magistrate of Jinyang County before he was transferred to Yangqu Magistrate at the end of last year. Now he is going to be directly promoted to the prefect of Shangdang. This is the legendary "rocket cadre".

This kind of opportunity is usually only available at the beginning of a country.

After the world is at peace, you have to slowly accumulate experience, which is not as good as before.

When Liu Runzhong heard this, he said, "Wen Ji is still a little behind..."

When Shao Xun heard this, he knew that he was reluctant to give up the jars and pots in Shangdang, so he smiled and said, "Then let Zhengchen (Liu Quan) come back. He is the governor of Xinxing, which is just right. Wen Ji will go to Xinxing."

This was exactly what Liu Runzhong wanted, and he was quite satisfied.

After marrying his daughter to the Sun family of Taiyuan, there was nothing wrong at first, but as the situation in the world became clearer and clearer, the status of the powerful Shangdang Liu family rose.

Many people discriminated against them as Hu people, but the situation was stronger than people, and gradually, more and more nobles accepted the Shangdang Liu family. Although most of them were small and medium-sized nobles whose family fortunes were not very good, it was enough.

After Liu Runzhong squeezed into this circle, he gradually became fascinated by the style of the gentry.

Just last year, he personally sent people to Taiyuan to draw the exact shape of the old Wang family house in Taiyuan, and then started a large-scale construction in Lu County, which has not been completed yet.

This shows the fascination of the nouveau riche with the old aristocrats.

Liu Runzhong actually liked the idea of ​​entering Luoyang to be a minister. He even began to imagine how to interact with wealthy families like Wang family of Langya, Pei family of Hedong, and Yang family of Taishan. He was really excited just thinking about it.

Thinking of this, he saw Liu Ye, who was sitting next to Shao Xun with a happy face, and said, "Amei met a bad man in her early years, but now she has found a good man. She feels like she is soaking in a honey pot, smiling all day long--"

"Agan!" In such a hurry, Liu Ye actually called out the Xiongnu and Xianbei language's name for brother.

Liu Runzhong laughed and said, "People think I am a barbarian, so I must be ruthless and ignorant of etiquette. Why do you say that? Huangtou (Shao Gong, the tenth son of the king) will be seven years old in the new year, and I, as his uncle, have not given him any gifts. Back then, my sister also had some tribesmen, and later most of them were given to us. Today, I will return them all and give some more, so that Huangtou will not blame me for being stingy in the future. The more than 6,000 tribesmen in Xinxing will be handed over to my sister. We are all family, and it will not look good to refuse them."

At this point, he paused and said, "I heard that there is a Duke of Liangcheng County in the Dai Kingdom. Huangtou may be able to use these thousands of households to become the king of a county. Is that okay?"

"Brother." Liu Ye said anxiously.

"Sister, listen to me." Liu Runzhong's smile faded and he said, "Huangtou will know the benefits when he grows up."

Shao Xun patted Liu Ye's hand and said, "This is my good intention."

While speaking, I cursed in my heart: Are there any secrets in this world? How come my little thing has been seen through?
After that, he looked at Liu Hezhu and said, "Mr. Liu can be the general of the auxiliary state and come with Gongji to help me."

Liu Hezhu remained calm and said with a smile, "There is no human habitation in Changshan for a hundred miles, and there are more wild animals than people. I am tired of hunting. I am sixty years old and still have a few years to live. I should go to Luojing and enjoy the good life. I can't suffer all my life and not know what a good life is like. I am thick-skinned. If the scholars laugh at me for being a monkey in human form, let them laugh. I don't care."

Everyone laughed when they heard it.

Just at this moment, a palace maid came in and reported: lunch is ready.

"Let's have some soup noodles made by my mother, as well as pickled mustard and broth." Shao Xun stood up and invited everyone to the dining hall, saying, "To be honest, when I was a general in Luoyang in my early years, I also visited wealthy families and ate delicacies from land and sea. In comparison, the food made by my mother is the most to my taste. Don't think the food is crude, we are all family, and I won't put on airs."

Liu Runzhong said loudly: "The food cooked by the old lady has a fairy-like flavor. Otherwise, why is the king so wise and powerful?"

Everyone laughed again, and their mood became even happier.

Prince Liang was about to become emperor, but he did not put on airs at all and was so generous. He truly treated them as his own family.

In this way, his wish will be fulfilled and he will become the emperor.

Overall, they were satisfied with today's meeting.

Liu Runzhong felt a little pained, but the atmosphere was like that, what else could he say? After all, he was given the position of Shizhong, and Xinxing County was also managed by his son-in-law, so it was generally acceptable.

Liu Hezhu, the governor of Changshan, was originally a bit weak. As he was old, he entered the court to serve as a general to assist the country to satisfy his desire. Although he had no specific responsibilities, he was respected and it was also good for enhancing the reputation of the Shangdang Liu family.

Now that these two have been promoted to official positions, other younger generations will definitely also benefit. They just need to be patient and wait.

The simple lunch was quickly finished.

Everyone sat for a while and left in the evening.

During this period, Shao Xun mentioned the affairs of Jiangdong. Liu Hezhu understood his intention and asked his eldest son Liu Hedu to select 4,000 households from Luze Town and hand them over to his youngest son Liu Dahai, to take them to Yiyang to farm and graze, and prepare for the southern expedition to Xiangyang.

After seeing off Liu's group, Shao Xun sat alone in the yard for a while.

It’s time to reach the “game settlement” stage. In recent days, a lot of his fragmented time has been spent on this.

The problem of the Shangdang Liu Group has just begun, and we have to take it slow.

(End of this chapter)