Chapter 994: Revisiting Yiyang Road
Chapter 994: Revisiting Yiyang Road
Old Wang’s Jingu Garden has been in a semi-abandoned state for a long time.
Except for a few servants, there was almost no one living there.
Even these servants existed for a reason. In addition to daily cleaning, their main tasks were:
First, regularly harvest fruits and vegetables from the manor and sell them for money!
Second, regularly cut down some trees and dead branches and sell them for money!
Third, open the water mill regularly to grind flour for the people of Luoyang and make money!
Fourth, regularly collect the manure in the livestock pen and sell it for money!
It can only be said that Mrs. Guo is a business genius who will not miss any opportunity to make money. If possible, Wang Yan will be ordered by her to pick up manure after get off work.
On the other hand, in Lao Wang's hands, Jinguyuan is a pure financial black hole.
Gather the scholars together and spend money!
Transplanting many precious flowers and trees, and transporting rockery and strange rocks, costs money!
From time to time, he would lend Jingu Garden to others for use, consuming his own inventory of grain, meat, cloth, and various facilities for depreciation, and spending money!
Today, Lao Wang borrowed Jingu Garden again because Shao Xun and his family stopped here for one day to deal with an urgent matter on their journey west.
There was no way. I had just left Beijing for half a day when the news came.
So while they were still close to Beijing, they called over important military and political figures to discuss the matter.
"In February, auspicious signs frequently appeared in the counties of Jiangdong. I didn't know there were so many auspicious signs in the world. Sima Rui's rule was so peaceful and prosperous." Shao Xun smiled and said, "On February 20, Sima Rui accepted the advice of his ministers and decided to ascend the throne. He is probably preparing for the coronation ceremony. Or, he has already offered sacrifices to heaven, proclaimed himself emperor, changed the era name, and issued a general amnesty."
There were more than twenty people sitting at the banquet, and there were two thousand personal soldiers outside. The dried fruits, salted fish, and fine wine stored in the Jingu Garden were pulled out in carts, and even a lot of cattle and sheep were slaughtered to provide food and drink for these two thousand people.
Guo looked at the rapidly decreasing supplies in the warehouse and listened to the screams of cattle and sheep as they were slaughtered, feeling sad.
But Wang Yan didn't care about money at all and specifically ordered all the fine wine and delicious food to be taken out, so as not to lose face as the prime minister, which made Guo very angry.
However, she was a person who cared about appearances. Although she was stingy and liked to save money in small ways, she had never lost face for her husband in front of outsiders.
If you want to spend money, then spend it, it will just be a bit painful.
"Hutou, why did you leave the table? Eat more and don't let outsiders eat it." Guo gently stroked her grandson's back and spoke with a hint of gritted teeth.
Before this, Hu Tou went with Wang Xuan's son Wang Xian to admire the crabapple flowers planted by Shi Chong.
Wang Xian reminisced about Lu Zhu's beauty, but Hu Tou sneered at this and said that Shi Chong had never seen a beautiful woman.
The two cousins had a disagreement and separated halfway.
When he saw Guo, Hu Tou bowed politely and said, "Greetings, Grandmother."
When Guo saw Hutou, she was delighted and said, "Some people outside say that you don't care about small matters. I think it's just groundless slander."
Tiger Head smiled shyly.
Guo looked at the emperor and his ministers sitting on the blanket in front of him and whispered, "Liang Nu is attending the meeting, why are you away, Hu Tou? You should listen more to military and national affairs, give more advice, and let His Majesty know your talents."
Hu Tou nodded repeatedly but didn't move.
Guo glared at him, sighed and left.
Hu Tou chuckled, and heard his father's voice faintly in his ears: "Zu and Liu have been fighting each other for many times, and they are now as hostile as fire and water. I expect that after Sima Rui ascends the throne, he will definitely divide Zu Yue's power. However, there are not many troops in Jiangdong that can fight, and it is impossible to abandon Zu's troops. In this case, it seems inevitable that Zu Yue will be appointed as the governor of Huainan. The 30,000 people of the Zu family may be divided into two, or even three. Pass the order down..."
Next came Zhang Bin's voice.
His voice was not as strong as his father's, so his words did not sound as clear. Hu Tou could only vaguely hear words like "prefect", "govern Shouchun", "stockpile supplies", and "hold on and wait for help".
After a little thought, he roughly put the whole thing together: Zhang Bin meant that the seat of the Huainan prefect was in Shouchun, so he wanted Zu Yue to surrender the city and wait for the royal army.
But what does "stockpiling food" mean? Could it be that Shouchun is surrounded by rivers, which is good for the navy but not for infantry, so they need to stockpile food in advance, otherwise it will be easy for the Wu army to cut off their retreat and become an isolated city?
The more Hu Tou thought about it, the more itchy he became. He wished he could go and study it right away, and imagined in his mind how he would fight if he were to command this battle.
The voices of "Shouchun", "Determined to win", and "Contact quickly" were gradually heard. Hu Tou had already understood that Sima Rui had just ascended the throne and was afraid that he would be hit hard.
But he had brought this upon himself. Even if Zu Yue did not rebel this time, someone else would rebel next time.
Given the situation and the fact that the Jianye court was in a patchwork state, it was too easy to rebel.
******
On the fifth day of March, the huge team marched westward along the Luo River Valley, stretching for more than ten miles.
When we arrived at Yunzhongwu, we stayed there for one day.
Shao Xun climbed up the stairs, looking around as he walked.
"These steps were opened up bit by bit." Shao Xun pointed to the blue brick steps under his feet and said, "Back then, they were not paved with bricks. When it rained, they were slippery and difficult to walk on."
After saying that, he stretched out his right hand and pulled Pei Lingyan up.
She looked around.
The fort is located halfway up the mountain and is very steep.
There are peaks and ridges on the mountain, with clouds and mist in between. The Luo River flows from the east, like a jade belt or a natural moat, protecting the fortress tightly.
At the foot of the mountain are farmlands that stretch far into the distance.
The valley is narrow and every inch of land is utilized.
The sunny hillside is planted with fruits, vegetables and melons.
Orchards can be seen everywhere on the undulating hills.
Cows, sheep and horses walked on the dry riverbed, silently grazing on the fresh grass growing in the wettest part of the river.
Look down at your feet again, you will see green grass growing out of the cracks in the blue bricks. Although it has been trampled on repeatedly, it remains tenacious and unyielding.
There are railings on both sides of the steps. The wood is dark and smooth, and it is obvious that they have been there for many years. "Back then, you relied on these forts to build up your power bit by bit." Pei Lingyan looked at it with some emotion.
"And the money you gave me." Shao Xun whispered, "You used your dowry to build a fort for me. I will never forget this until I die."
Pei Lingyan's eyes flickered as she said, "Not everyone who gets paid can achieve such a great feat today."
Shao Xun laughed, took the woman's hand and climbed up the mountainside, and came to the square in front of Yunzhongwu.
The royal guards were stationed inside and outside the fort, and more than ten people led by Lieutenant Yun were waiting respectfully.
Shao Xun only saw a familiar person. After saying a few polite words, he came to the small courtyard where he had lived for a short time.
To this day, his residences are still preserved in Yunzhong, Kinmen and Tanshan. In a sense, this is his "place of origin".
The furnishings in the courtyard were still there, showing a rough and simple style, which could not be compared with those in the Luoyang Palace, but Shao Xun felt very familiar with them.
After standing in the courtyard for a while, the officials, concubines, and princes who accompanied the emperor all followed him.
There were people outside the yard looking at him with their heads tilted and eyes wide open.
The main reason why Shao Xun didn't talk much with them was that the people here had changed more than once, and almost all the people he knew and remembered back then had gone to other places.
Even Lieutenant Yun named Zhang Qin didn't know which batch of martial arts students he belonged to. He only had a nominal teacher-student relationship with them. He was not as friendly as the group of people who had taught him personally in the previous batches.
Yunzhongwu has changed, and he has changed too.
Back then, he was alone with only 600 silver spearmen under his command, struggling to survive in the chaotic times.
Today, he is surrounded by high-ranking officials and generals, concubines dressed in gorgeous clothes, and several good children who have lived a life of luxury since childhood.
Everything has changed.
The reason why I stay here is that there is a trace of nostalgia in my heart.
“If the trees are like this, how can humans be any better?” Shao Xun patted the cherry tree that he had planted with his own hands, feeling a little emotional.
Hu Tou wanted to laugh when he saw this. His father was old, and he was sad and depressed.
But this fort is quite interesting, it looks very difficult to attack.
While his father was sighing, he wandered around and his personal guards did not dare to stop him.
Hu Tou walked to the bedroom in the courtyard. When he saw that there were only two small windows in the front and back, he immediately said with a sigh of relief, "My father must have been beaten so badly that he had to build the fort so easily defended and difficult to attack."
Perhaps he was too filial, he accidentally tripped when looking at the window, and when he looked down, he saw a brick flipped out.
It seems that this brick was not laid properly in the beginning, or it was dug out by someone, resulting in the bricks not fitting as tightly as the bricks in other places.
Hu Tou picked it up and took a look, his expression suddenly became very interesting.
He seemed to have discovered some incredible secret. But he couldn't keep this secret, and it would probably bring him a lot of paternal love. When he was about to put it back, Shao Xun came in with a group of people.
When Shao Xun saw Hu Tou holding a brick and looking at a loss, his face turned dark.
He brought many concubines with him on this western tour. Except for Empress Yu Wenjun who could not accompany him, the three wives all came along, and many of the nine concubines, beauties, and talented women also followed.
It's not a big deal, but it's a bit embarrassing.
Hu Tou smiled awkwardly, put the brick back in place and stepped on it to make it firm.
Liang Nu followed behind Shao Xun, looked at Hu Tou in confusion, and then looked at the bricks under his feet.
Hu Tou quietly slipped out, and when he passed by Liang Nu, he whispered, "Don't look."
"What's so special about bricks?" Liang Nu looked at his father and saw that he was already reminiscing about the furnishings in the house, so he quietly slipped out and asked.
"There are words." said Hu Tou.
"What word?"
"Father's military strategy." Tiger Head said with a wicked smile.
Liang Nu looked at him, his face full of questions. How many words could be engraved on a brick? Or the art of war? Then he had to go and learn.
"Liang Nu, you are too upright. You can't learn this art of war." Hu Tou said again: "Why not learn something else."
Liang Nu retracted his gaze and said, "I have indeed learned a lot here today."
The tiger opened its mouth wide.
"With enough food and soldiers, the people will trust it." Liang Nu said.
Hutou didn’t know what to say. How could you see so many things from a broken fortress?
"Master, you don't take the Xin'an Road, but go to Yiyang. There must be a deep meaning behind this." Liang Nu glanced at Hu Tou and said.
Tiger Head was speechless and said, "Actually, there is no deep meaning."
Liang Nu didn't believe it.
Hu Tou didn't dare to say more, and only said: "You will know later."
While the two brothers were talking, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance.
A moment later, a messenger came hurriedly and handed over an urgent report from the south: Sima Rui officially proclaimed himself emperor and changed the era name to "Taixing".
(End of this chapter)