Chapter 1054: Turning against Tiangang!
Chapter 1054: Turning against Tiangang!
More than a hundred riders approached Jincheng and dismounted when they were more than ten steps away.
It's the golden autumn of August again.
Same time, same place, Zhuge Hui was deeply moved.
"Last year we planted millet, and this year some people are planting wheat. Has the wind from Luoyang also blown here?" After dismounting, he walked along the ridge of the field and said with emotion.
"Is what Daoming said unreasonable?" Not far away, two ox carts drove over one after another. A man got off the front cart and said with a smile, "The north wind is not strong yet, how can the fishy smell of Shao thief blow here?"
"Brother." Zhuge Hui took two steps forward and bowed.
The newly appointed Langya Prime Minister Zhuge Yi returned the greeting and whispered, "Your Majesty has just returned from Taicheng. I'm afraid the emperor will not live long."
When Zhuge Hui heard this, he looked at the second ox cart that had stopped and couldn't help asking, "Prince Langya is not in Taicheng at this time, why is he returning to Jincheng?"
"Daoming, the situation has been decided, are you still dreaming?" Zhuge Yi lowered his voice, but his tone was very stern.
Zhuge Hui wanted to refute, but when he saw his daughter getting off the ox cart, he sighed heavily.
It’s been almost two years and she hasn’t laid a single egg. So what can he do even if he’s busy as a madman?
This time, the Zhuge family lost miserably, and no matter how hard he tried to think, he could not figure out the reason.
However, can Wen Biao be blamed for this?
Seeing his brother come back to his senses, Zhuge Yi nodded secretly and said earnestly: "Daoming, I am old and sick, I am afraid I will not live for many years. This family depends on you to lead, remember, lie dormant and wait for the right time."
"The thief Shao is in that state. He can neither surrender nor fight - oh!" Zhuge Hui didn't want to say more. He was upset.
"My dear father-in-law." Sima rushed over and bowed.
Zhuge Hui reluctantly returned the greeting and looked at his daughter again.
Zhuge Wenbiao bowed, her face cold and her mind absent, as if everything in the world had nothing to do with her, and she just drifted away from it.
"Why did Your Highness return to Jincheng?" Zhuge Hui asked.
"Your Majesty ordered me to come back to take care of state affairs." Sima Chong said.
"It's already this late..." Zhuge Hui asked without thinking, "Why did you issue this order out of the blue?"
Zhuge Yi held his brother's hand and shook his head gently.
Sima Chong's face turned pale when he saw this, and he said, "When I was in Taicheng, General Sima Yanzuo of the Left Guard came to me many times..."
Zhuge Hui understood immediately and cursed: "Sima Zong is not a good guy!"
Sima Chong sighed and said, "I will also close the door and refuse to accept you, what can I do... Alas!"
Zhuge Hui looked up at the sky, and after a moment he said, "It is over now. This old man came to Jincheng to bid farewell to His Highness."
"What the old lady is doing is..." Sima Chong seemed to understand something.
"That's right. I have received an order to lead the troops north." Zhuge Hui said, "Shao the bandit has increased his troops in Xuzhou and may move south. We must be on guard."
He originally had 10,000 soldiers. After he was appointed as the General of Zhenbei, he asked the court for equipment for 10,000 more soldiers and distributed them to the people, asking them to train during the slack season.
However, the combat effectiveness of the 10,000 troops trained later was poor, far inferior to the previous 10,000 troops who had trained for several years and even went north to the Huai River to fight.
Therefore, in order to reinforce Huaiyin and Xuyi, he brought 10,000 people, mainly infantry.
After arriving in Guangling, a group of naval forces will be assigned to him for command, but not too many, perhaps a few thousand at most, because the main force of the navy will sail westward to cooperate with the navy of Jingzhou to defend the Yangtze River and Mian River line.
Although there are many officials in the court who are just sitting there doing nothing, there are also some sober people.
The Shao thief has increased his troops in Xuzhou, which is obviously a feint. But the frustrating thing is that his feints may break through your defense line, and you have to send a large number of reinforcements.
"After I leave, Your Highness..." Zhuge Hui thought about it, and there was nothing else to say. He could only sigh and said, "Take care, Your Highness. The situation in the capital is treacherous, so please consult the officials in the palace and the prime minister on everything."
Sima Chong just felt a little blocked in his heart. Compared with two years or even a year ago, some things seemed to have changed.
But he couldn't say anything.
The court is in this state, and my father-in-law is a senior general who holds military power. Even Su Jun and others are nominally under his control. What can be done?
Zhuge Hui nodded at him.
Zhuge Yi understood and said to Sima Fei: "Your Highness, it is cold outside, please return home."
Sima Chong readily followed the advice, got in the car and left.
Zhuge Hui stood beside his daughter, and suddenly lost interest. He said, "Today is August 14th, right?"
Zhuge Wenbiao hummed.
Zhuge Hui said: "I still remember when you were a child, every time on this day, your father would put red water on your forehead to ward off illness. At that time, you always fell ill."
Zhuge Wenbiao's expression finally changed, as if he was recalling the past.
"I'm afraid your mother is applying cinnabar to Wenbao and Wenxiong today." Zhuge Hui continued.
A faint smile appeared on Zhuge Wenbiao's face, as if only her family could bring her a little joy.
"I don't know how many more years I can live like this." Zhuge Hui said, "Sometimes I think it would be better to learn from Deng Bodao and open a school in Pingyang to teach students. I can end up well."
Zhuge Wenbiao suddenly turned his head and looked at his father.
Deng Bodao is Deng You, who was originally an aide to Sima Yue. Later, he stayed with Sima Pi, the prince of Donghai, to teach literature.
When Shao Xun was in power, he was one of the few people who did not defect to Sima Pi and continued to stay with him.
After the Liang and Jin dynasties, he finally bid farewell and returned to his hometown of Pingyang to open a school to teach students and educate the world.
Seriously speaking, Deng You has a close relationship with their family.
Among the northern gentry, the Zhuge, Deng, and Yang families intermarried for generations.
Zhuge Wenbiao's third brother Zhuge Heng had been engaged to Deng You's daughter since childhood and was just waiting to marry her. But now they are separated, and he doesn't know if he will have the chance anymore.
Zhuge Hui was relieved to see his daughter's nervous look, and said, "Don't be so, I'm just sentimental." Zhuge Wenbiao lowered his head and said, "My daughter heard that Huan Wen and Huan Yuan's son became the son-in-law of the emperor after returning to the north. Why don't you let my third brother return to the north quietly and marry the daughter of the Deng family? My third brother is still young, so as long as we don't make it public, no one will know."
"It can't be kept secret for long." Zhuge Hui shook his head.
"Although Wuyan and Yueshui are beautiful, they are not my hometown after all." Zhuge Wenbiao advised: "If Junwen can survive in the north, it is better than the whole family perishing together. If my grandfather had not fled south to Dongwu, he would not be here today."
"If Junwen returns to the north, he will be taken care of by the Yang family, and Shao Taibai is a broad-minded person, so he will not be embarrassed." Zhuge Hui said, "What about you?"
"My daughter just wants to break free from the world, walk along the stream, and enjoy the springs and rocks. Or wait for the sun to set amidst the autumn wind and fallen leaves." Zhuge Wenbiao shook his head and said, "If this is not possible, then death is the only option."
After listening to this, Zhuge Hui closed his eyes. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Grandpa owes you."
After that, he waved his hand and said, "We will head north now. Although Li Chong is a bandit, he is a good general. Your father must be careful in dealing with him. You - take good care of yourself."
******
In fact, it is not surprising that Zhuge Hui was pessimistic and disappointed, because even the Jiangdong nobles who were put on the table and had the strongest will to resist were a little panicked at this moment.
Although Lu Wan was far away in Liyang, he also returned to Taicheng. This time he did not avoid anyone and went straight to the Prime Minister's Mansion to ask for the major plan.
"Why does Shi Yao have to do this?" Prime Minister Wang Dao said with a wry smile: "Even if the battle is not going well this time, it won't be possible for Shao's troops to capture Jianye in one fell swoop. With the navy, Jiangdong is safe. Shao's bandits have no navy, does Shi Yao think it's hopeless to repel the bandits?"
Lu Wan's expression did not improve at all. He only said, "Why do you ask when you already know the answer, Prime Minister? How many days do you have left for the Emperor?"
Wang Dao was silent after hearing this, and said, "I'm afraid it won't be until September. If it's fast, maybe..."
Lu Wan nodded, indicating that he understood.
Wang Dao sighed a little.
If the Jiangdong clans had supported the imperial court earlier, how could things have come to this point today?
He has been in the south for almost twenty years!
The first ten years were completely wasted, with nothing but meaningless wrangling and all kinds of setbacks.
If the Jiangdong clans had given their full support at that time, Shao Xun would not have won the Battle of Gaoping, let alone received the unreserved support of the Yingchuan clans. At that time, he could have advanced northward by both land and sea. Even if he could not occupy Henan, he could have slowed down Shao Xun's pace.
Perhaps, he is still struggling in the quagmire, and has not even conquered Hebei, let alone Bingzhou and Guanxi.
Now, in order to ease the conflicts in the north, Shao Ze no longer conceals his thoughts. The Jiangdong nobles know it and are getting anxious, but what’s the use?
Incompetent bungler.
"There can be no chaos in Jianye." Lu Wan said, "Is the Prime Minister prepared? If you need help, you can--"
"Shiyao should stay at the front." Wang Dao stood up and said, "The court is full of honest officials. Even if someone is confused for a while, I still have a strategy."
"Oh? What's the strategy?" Lu Wan asked.
If it were in the past, he would never ask, firstly because he didn't care, and secondly because he believed in Wang Dao's ability. But now he was too concerned and couldn't put his mind at ease. If he didn't ask clearly, he would always be worried.
The situation is now clear.
The scholars who moved south might still have some room for surrender, but it was difficult for the scholars in Wu, unless they were willing to give up the land, houses and farmhands passed down from generation to generation.
Since the thief Shao used Jiangnan as bait to boost the morale of the northern nobles, now that things have come to this point, even he cannot turn back.
Even if Shao wanted to pardon the Jiangnan nobles, would the northern nobles agree? No.
Don't the military meritorious nobles under Shao want to buy property in Jiangnan? Can they agree? Of course not.
The most that could happen to Shao is that he could use his prestige to pardon some people, but he would never forgive the entire South, as that would cause the Shao Dynasty to become disunited.
To put it bluntly, in order to make a living in the north, he sold out the entire Jiangdong noble family.
Everyone wants cultivated land, so who would go and open up wasteland when they have nothing better to do? Kuaiji, Danyang, Yixing, Wu and other counties will inevitably be robbed.
"Shi Yao is confused." Wang Dao said, "How about we play a game of chess?"
"Prime Minister!" Lu Wan said in a louder voice, "The overseas Chinese who migrated south have many manors in Danyang and Kuaiji. When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Dao remained silent.
Just when Lu Wan was about to get impatient, he said, "General Sima Zong of the Left Guard and General Yu Yin of the Right Guard hold the keys to the gates of Taicheng. I suspect they have ulterior motives and have made arrangements."
After hearing this, Lu Wan felt relieved and asked, "Can the imperial guards be trusted?"
Director Wang glared at him and said, "Reliable."
In recent years, his relationship with Emperor Sima Rui has been somewhat subtle, with a sense of coexistence yet mutual vigilance.
Is there any information about Wang Clan of Langya when the royal family is getting married? No.
Wang Dao was well aware of the situation and knew that the emperor was wary of the Langya Wang family's control of Jianye, so he won over the Shan family and the Zhuge family and set up military garrisons around Jianye. This not only protected the capital, but also put pressure on the Langya Wang family, killing two birds with one stone.
Wang Dao didn't take it seriously, but just felt a little emotional. This was a clear proof that even the closest relationship could not withstand the alienation of power.
But then again, in Jianye, he was not afraid of anyone. The only thing worth worrying about was the unrest caused by the collapse of the sky. After all, Shao the thief had unified the north, and his momentum was too amazing.
Compared with the palace coup, Wang Dao was more worried about someone surrendering to the enemy on the front line.
People are unpredictable!
The relationship between the scholars who moved south and the people in the north is very complicated, with each one of them being part of the other.
The Longkang Huan family sneaked back to the north and Huan Wen actually married the princess. When Huan Yi heard about it, he was also appointed. This set a very bad example because it gave the Qiao clan nobles some imagination and made them more creative.
Perhaps no one would surrender to the enemy at the beginning, but if the war situation becomes passive and they suffer a few defeats, that may not be the case.
Thinking of this, he looked at Lu Wan.
Lu Wan also looked at Director Wang.
In an instant, both sides understood each other's concerns.
"Please Prime Minister, do your best to ensure the safety of Jianye." Lu Wan bowed deeply and said, "I will go and persuade the great families in Jiangdong one by one. At this moment, we must unite to fight against the Shao bandit."
"Good." Director Wang didn't waste any words and replied with full energy.
(End of this chapter)