Chapter 990: Meeting

Chapter 990: Meeting

Chapter 990: Meeting (Part )

"Stop!" The warrior drew his bow and arrow and shouted.

As he spoke, a feather arrow flew out and sank into the remaining snow, with the arrow feathers trembling continuously.

The hundred or so people running north were startled.

Soon, more than twenty young men came forward.

Most of them were armed with spears, and a few were armed with bows and swords.

The seven or eight strongest ones were wearing leather armor and looked quite capable, probably having been in battle before.

"We are all from the same village, don't fight." A middle-aged man rode forward and shouted in Qiaopei accent.

Locals? The bow-carrying warrior and his comrades looked at each other, and they relaxed their guard a little.

"Who are you and where are you from?" the warrior asked loudly.

Inside the fort in the distance, bells kept ringing. It was obvious that the fort owner was gathering troops and reinforcements would be here soon.

As the first line of defense against Wu’s troops, the military proficiency of these forts is quite good. They are capable of handling general small to medium-scale battles and their reactions are also very fast - there are no slow reactions left.

The Daliang court's policy in this area was basically to let the locals stay in their local area and not occupy the court's resources as much as possible. Therefore, they tacitly allowed them to grow in power in the local area and even appointed the children of wealthy families as officials.

For example, Huan Xuan, the former internal historian of Qiao and current prefect of Qiao County, was born into the "Huan family of Zhiren (Zhi County)", a middle-class local aristocratic family. They lived a neither good nor bad life. Although they did not enter the central government, after the previous prefect was dismissed because the Wu army invaded the county and a rebellion broke out in the local area, the Huan family of Zhiren had become one of the most powerful families in Qiao County, second only to the Xiahou family.

"I am a general under Duke Huan, and I have been ordered to return north to collect my property." The man said loudly.

When they heard the surname "Huan", the people in the fort felt nervous.

The warrior paused and asked again: "Which Huan?"

"Long Kanghuan." The man replied.

"I was wondering who it was, and it turned out to be the one who crossed the river." Hundreds of people had gathered behind him, and the warrior suddenly became bolder, laughing, "I almost thought it was a relative of Lord Huan."

When everyone heard that they were not from the governor's clan, they breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "There are women! Capture them and make them slaves!"

"Yes! If Wu soldiers can capture Qiao people, how can Qiao people not capture Wu soldiers?"

Amid the quarrel, the sounds of swords being drawn could be heard one after another, showing how deep the resentment between the two sides was in the past.

"Slow down!" Dozens of riders came walking on the snow and stopped far away. The leader, the fortress master named Zhang Ping, stretched out his hand to stop them.

After that, he whispered to someone beside him, "Tu Ge, lead fifty riders to go around the back and keep an eye on them, but don't act without authorization."

A man named "Tu Ge" took the order and left, leading fifty riders, and went far to the flank, taking out horn bows, a typical tactic of the Xiongnu light cavalry.

After the fifty riders made a detour, the newcomers became panic-stricken.

Zhang Ping sat steadily on the horse, quietly watching the panic on the opposite side.

After a long time, seeing that the fifty riders had no intention of launching an attack, they finally calmed down.

"Come here and find someone who can talk?" For some reason, Zhang Ping, who was a hot-tempered and murderous man, did not take action immediately, but spoke in a friendly manner.

A man from the opposite side stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This is a confidential matter, General, can we talk in private?"

"What's your surname?" Zhang Ping asked.

"Huan."

"Okay!" Zhang Ping nodded, dismounted, and walked west.

This person also walked west.

After they walked out more than twenty steps, they stopped.

"Xiang (county) native Huan Fu greets the general." Huan Fu bowed again and said.

After hearing the name "Huan Fu", Zhang Ping felt relieved.

His Royal Highness the King of Chu was stationed in Qiaocheng and sent people here to order them to meet Zu Ti and Sima Huanfu in Qiaocheng.

When had Zhang Ping ever seen such an important figure? After receiving the order, he did not dare to neglect it and sent people to patrol the Huai River area every day. Finally, he saw him.

As long as he could bring Huan Fu and his party safely to Qiaocheng, he would likely be praised by Huan Xuan, Lord Huan, and even the King of Chu.

This deal is worth doing!
******
The group was quickly sent to a dock.

Several leading officials were even given nice houses. But you know, some people usually live in large manors, with beautiful wives and maids serving them, so how can they get used to the narrow, damp, cold rooms in the fortress?
As a result, Yin Yi, a military officer before the dissolution of Zu Ti’s shogunate, was dissatisfied.

He has no sense of being a dependent, and has been looking down on military strategists for many years.

Zhang Ping offered up the house where his family lived. Yin Yi cursed as soon as he saw it: "This house can only be used as a stable!"

After hearing this, veins on Zhang Ping's forehead appeared faintly.

His children and family members also glared at Yin Yi.

"Shut up!" Huan Fu turned his head to look at Yin Yi and shouted, "We are here to plan important things, not for pleasure."

Yin Yi was so angry after being scolded that he almost managed to hold it back.

Huan Fu was a Sima, and he was just a military officer, so their rank was different.

After Zu Shizhi's death, Zu Shishao actually held the military power. As far as the present situation is concerned, Huan Fu is still trusted, while Yin Yi is about to be kicked out. The gap in status is even greater than before.

Your mother, I will teach you a lesson when I see my clansmen in Luoyang.

My niece is the favorite concubine of the Emperor of Daliang. Let me see if you will try to curry favor with me in the future!

"General Zhang, I wonder what's happening with the old Huan family residence in Longkang?" Huan Fu asked.

"Aren't you a physiognomist?" Zhang Ping asked.

"Ask for Duke Huan." Huan Fu replied.

The Xiangxian Huan family is the descendant of Huan Tan, a Confucian scholar in the Later Han Dynasty. The Longkang Huan family is the descendant of Huan Rong, the imperial teacher of the Later Han Dynasty. The family is well versed in the Book of Documents and is a family of Confucian scholars.

The Huan family of Zhi County is the descendant of Huan Jie, the Taichang of Cao Wei. Their ancestors were originally from Changsha and later moved to Zhi County.

If the Huan family of Xiang County and the Huan family of Longkang are somewhat related, then the Huan family of Zhi County are truly outsiders.

"After Duke Huan crossed the river, this house was occupied by someone. Later, when the Wu soldiers came, they seemed to be defeated and fled in all directions." Zhang Ping said: "As far as I know, Duke Huan's house was no longer inhabited until the middle of last year. The Wu soldiers set a fire, and the walls of the house collapsed. I'm afraid there are few intact houses left."

"As for farmland, most of it is abandoned. Occasionally someone would go there to graze cattle and sheep, but they would leave right after that. It's too close to the Huai River, so it's easy for the Wu people to plunder."

"In fact, the entire Qiao County is not short of land, but only of people. The two armies have been fighting for so many years, and the casualties are too great."

"Thank you for letting me know." Huan Fu bowed and said.

Zhang Ping waved his hand and said, "Your Highness the King of Chu has arrived at Qiaocheng. I see that you are all quite tired. How about you take a rest today and head north early tomorrow morning?"

"Yes." Huan Fu replied.

While the two were talking, the people of the fort had already set up cooking utensils in the courtyard and were preparing meals for the more than one hundred new arrivals.

"Why are there so many people here? There must be at least a hundred men and women?" Zhang Ping pointed at the group of people and asked curiously.

Huan Fu blushed and said, "Most of them are Longkang Huan's sons, followers, and servants who came to clean up the old house."

Zhang Ping understood immediately and asked, "What position did Lord Maolun (Huan Yi) hold in Jianye?"

"Zhongshulang." Huan Fu replied.

"What is this position?"

Huan Fu was silent for a moment, then said, "Compile the national history."

However, there were rumors in Jianye that Huan Yi might be transferred to the position of Shangshu Libulang, but nothing was settled yet, so Huan Fu did not want to say more.

Furthermore, the system in Jiangzuo was a bit strange, as it began to mix systems that existed during the Cao Wei period and had long been reformed during the Jin Dynasty.

For example, Cao Wei appointed 25 Shangshu Langzhong (the sixth rank in the nine-rank system), who were assigned to various departments to assist the chief officials in handling affairs.

There are more than twenty departments in the Jiangzuo Taige now. Those assigned to the Secretariat are called Zhongshulang, and those assigned to the Ministry of Personnel of the Shangshu Province are called Shangshulibulang.

The former had no real power and only edited the national history, while the latter was a government office with real power and had certain advisory power in the selection of officials below the fifth rank.

But to be honest, none of them are high-ranking officials. It would be better for him to be sent to a remote place to be a prefect.

Zhang Ping didn't know the inside story, but when he heard the words "editing national history", he understood. It turned out that he had no power at all.

This was purely because he was not satisfied with his work in Jiangdong, so he tried to move to the north.

Huan Yi must have been paying close attention to Huan Fu's movements in order to decide his next move.

These people!

"This wok is full of holes and it takes so long to cook the meat. Will it be cooked by evening?" Yin Yi's voice rang out in the courtyard again: "It's better to melt it and make weapons."

Zhang Ping heard this and stood in front of Yin Yi, saying, "In ancient times, the princes debated the weight of the tripod. Today, Fang Ping has arrived, and you want to break the tripod?"

Yin Yi sneered and said, "When I go to Luoyang and see my clansmen, I will smash your head and see if you still cherish this tripod!"

Zhang Ping flew into a rage and drew out his sword.

Huan Fu quickly held his hand and whispered, "Calm down. This man is the cousin of Concubine Yin Shu, and he is arrogant. Don't bother with him. I will take him away and go to Qiaocheng tonight."

When Zhang Ping heard the words "Yin Shufei", he sobered up a little. After taking several deep breaths, he finally suppressed the urge to kill.

"Pa!" A crisp slap was heard.

Zhang Ping looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man who came with Huan Fu put all his strength into slapping Yin Yi hard, knocking him unconscious.

Zhang Ping felt relieved and his anger subsided a lot, so he asked, "Who is this?"

Huan Fu hesitated for a moment, then leaned close to Zhang Ping's ear and whispered, "This is Duke Huan's eldest son Wen."

"What a young hero." Zhang Ping clapped his hands in praise, then thought of Huan Wen's identity, thinking that Huan Yi was more decisive than he thought and had already made up his mind.

Actually, think about it.

Huan Yi was not someone who was content with being lonely.

As a descendant of the Xing family, one must have longed to recreate the glory of his family - the locals all knew that Huan Yi was the descendant of Huan Kai (on the run), the son of Huan Fan, the Grand Minister of Agriculture of Cao Wei who was executed along with his entire clan, although he had never seen the Huan family genealogy.

In the Qing dynasty, King Lun of Zhao usurped the throne. Huan Yi fled to King Sima Jiong of Qi, but after his failure, he fled back home.

After settling down for a while, he surrendered to Sima Rui again and moved his entire family across the river. Unfortunately, it seemed that he was not highly valued.

Thinking of this, Zhang Ping actually felt a little pity for Huan Yi.

I didn't follow the right person twice...

After Huan Wen defeated Yin Yi, he asked his own troops to guard him.

Yin Yi repeatedly yelled and threatened, but Huan Wen remained unmoved. He only said, "You can only endure the beatings now. What's the point of yelling and cursing? It will only increase your pain. If you want revenge, I will go with you to Luoyang. What's that?"

Yin Yi was stunned. He wanted to say something but was afraid of being beaten. He could only look at Huan Wen with resentment, wondering how to get back at his enemies.

Huan Fu sighed and ordered, "Leave after you finish your meal."

After saying that, he looked at Huan Wen with some worry, thinking that he had to take him to Qiaocheng. If he could gain the favor of the King of Chu, he would not be afraid of the villain's revenge.

As it was getting dark, everyone finally filled their hungry stomachs.

Huan Fu bowed deeply to Zhang Ping, said goodbye and left with more than ten people, and the remaining hundred people went to Huan's old house.

At the end of January, Huan Fu and his party arrived in Qiao County.

The prefect Huan Xuan, accompanied by Shao Fan, the King of Lu, and Shao Gui, the King of Chu, summoned Huan Fu, Huan Wen, and Yin Yi to the prefect's office.

(End of this chapter)