Chapter 1071: 2 City

Chapter 1071: 2 City

Chapter 1071 Two Cities
As the end of the year approaches, the festive atmosphere in government offices becomes increasingly intense.

As for the war, it is related to the scholars who moved south, but the relationship is not that big. As the saying goes, live one day at a time. Even if you are going to die tomorrow, you have to finish living today first.

Shan Wei once again failed in his bid for an official position in the palace and was even scolded by his younger cousin whose power was growing day by day.

She first spoke earnestly about how important the position of Danyang Yin was, and then talked about the lack of a suitable official position in the court. In a word: no hope.

Family members know their own business. Shan Wei was very clear that his younger sister had not said one thing: his talent was mediocre and he was not suitable to be an important official in the cabinet. If he was not careful, it would bring disaster to the Shan family.

After the reprimand, Shan Wei returned to the government office in disgrace and complained to Du Yi, who was bored all day long: "Even if Shao the thief surrendered, the official he gave him would be higher than that of the prefect of Danyang."

As they were talking, clerks came in and out, bringing in piles of official documents and taking away those that had been processed.

It was a rare occasion that Mr. Shan was on duty in the yamen, so the official business that had accumulated over the past few days had to be dealt with quickly, especially those related to military affairs, so as to avoid being unable to find him again tomorrow.

Things were so outrageous that the war was imminent, but Shan Wei was either thinking about seeking a job or drinking and having fun, so much so that the 600,000 hu of military rations and 100,000 arrows were delayed for ten days before they could be loaded and shipped.

"Has your family been conscripted?" Shan Wei wrote quickly, finishing the official letter quickly and asked casually.

In fact, most official letters were not even read and approved directly. If this speed of handling official business gets out, I will be praised as a "capable official" again - I have been away for ten days, and I have finished the backlog of official business in one day after returning. Anyone will have to praise me as a "great talent".

"We selected a team of fifty people," said Du Yi.

"My family has drawn a hundred people." Shan Wei sighed, "Sent to Jingzhou, I don't know how many will come back."

"My Lord, what's going on in Jingzhou?" Du Yi couldn't help but ask.

His position was a bit low, and the county magistrate had no specific duties, so it was inevitable that he was out of touch with the news, so he asked whenever he got the chance.

Shan Wei put down his pen, waved his hand, asked the clerks to leave, and then said: "To be honest, we lost our troops and territory, it's a mess. I think the best outcome is to save Jiangling, Xiangyang is definitely lost. However, even if Jiangling is saved, it's just a city, and I don't know what will happen to the outside of the city. After this, I don't know how long it will take for Nanjun to recover. You didn't manage the business in Jiangling, did you?"

"No." Du Yi smiled bitterly.

"That's good." Shan Wei said.

He was not asking casually, because many people from Guanxi went to Xiangyang and Jiangling after they went south. After the Xiangyang riots, these people fled to Jiangling and Wuchang. If Du Yi had properties in Jiangling and Wuchang, Shan Wei would not be surprised at all.

"Tao Shiheng is actually a wise man." Shan Wei added: "Defending Xiangyang is a dead end. What if we let the Shao bandit army that is besieging Xiangyang go south? Is there a difference between 100,000 and 200,000? We can't do anything with more people, and there are also worries about epidemics and food shortages. Some people in the court——"

At this point, Shan Wei shook his head and smiled, then seemed to have thought of something and said, "The Murong clan has already begun to attack the Yuwen Xianbei."

"So fast?" Du Yi asked in surprise.

"It has nothing to do with the court. They want to fight on their own." Shan Wei said, "In October, they plundered Goguryeo and gained a lot. Now they turn around to fight the Yuwen clan. The Goguryeo people dare not move. They are afraid of being beaten."

"I think Shao... Shao the thief won't care about Yu Wen's life or death." Du Yi said.

"It's hard to say." Shan Wei thought about it and said with a smile, "Never mind, prepare a car the day after tomorrow, follow me out of the city and take you to a good place."

"Thank you very much for your support." Du Yi said with a flattering smile.

Shan Wei laughed and approved and stamped the last document on hand.

Perhaps it was the last one, he took a quick look at it.

The Shen family of Wuxing suffered a series of defeats and asked for surrender.

After this attitude was taken, the Jiangdong nobles who had originally helped the court deal with the Shen family also stopped their advances and began to plead for the Shen family.

This is how fucked up the situation is! The imperial court had to accept it even if it meant it.

In order to redeem himself, Shen will send 5,000 private soldiers westward to join the battlefield in Jingzhou and fight for the court.

This farce basically ends here.

The Wuxing Shen family only needs to hand over Shen Chong's family. It is even possible that only Shen Chong, who started the rebellion, needs to die, and everyone else can survive.

This is how the Zhou family of Yixing handled the situation back then, and the Shen family was no exception.

With the Shen family's private soldiers, plus the 3,000 soldiers gathered by Gu, Lu, Zhu, Zhang and the wealthy families in Jianye, the Jin court could send another 8,000 soldiers to Jingzhou to shut Tao Kan up and prevent him from repeatedly asking for reinforcements.

Although these soldiers have certain combat effectiveness, they are unlikely to defeat Shao's soldiers in field battles. They can only defend the city or launch surprise attacks with the assistance of the navy.

"The Shen family has passed this test." Shan Wei threw down the official document and said, "However, the Huaipu Chen family members who stayed in Jianye will not have such a good life. They are doomed. The best outcome is to be exiled to Jiaozhou."

Du Yi sighed a little.

When the Huaipu Chen clan surrendered, it was obvious that they had already given up on the clan members who stayed in Jianye. Things were rather rushed and there was no way to make proper arrangements.

He just felt a little sad. For the nobles, war is indeed the biggest nightmare. It can make you lose face and lose full control of your own destiny.

"Regarding the matter of Chen from Huaipu, is there no one in the capital who is willing to plead for her?" Du Yi couldn't help but ask.

"Why not?" Shan Wei sneered, "But it's useless. It's just a small family, with few connections and few connections. Although it is a noble family, it is even worse than the Wuxing Shen family."

After saying that, Shan Wei stood up and suddenly felt a little emotional: "My cousin is also a ruthless person. But she has no choice. Others can surrender, but she can't."

"Maybe not." Du Yi said in his heart.

Queen Shan is so young. If she is abducted by Shao Taibai, how can she escape without giving birth to a few children?
"Let's go, let's eat first." Shan Wei didn't want to work anymore, so he said as he walked, "Hongzhi, I'm telling you, the guy named Ma is dead."

"Who's surnamed Ma?" Du Yi quickly followed and asked.

"He is the husband of the current emperor's biological mother..." The two voices gradually faded away.

******
The Jin court tried its best, and the Jiangdong nobles also provided support. During the twelfth lunar month, the surface of the Yangtze River was filled with boats and ships coming and going constantly.

Xiangyang, located on the banks of the Mian River, seems like a forgotten corner.

After entering the twelfth lunar month, Fancheng was attacked twice, but both times were fruitless.

Mao Bao, a military officer of the Jingzhou shogunate, had only about 3,000 men left, and morale was very low. Everyone knew that they were doomed, unless reinforcements came to rescue them, or they surrendered to Liang. But the latter faced a very serious problem, that is, they could not control their fate after surrendering, and might be exiled to Youzhou or Liangzhou, and would never see their families again in this life.

Xiangyang City was also attacked once.

There were still more than 6,000 soldiers left in the city, but about 2,000 of them were servants of wealthy families or market townsmen. Deng Yue, the prefect of Xiangyang, did not trust their loyalty, let alone their fighting ability, and was caught in a dilemma.

In addition, Xiangyang was not a big city, and there were not many supplies stored in advance. The army could only last until mid-February at most, and perhaps they could hold out for a few more days by plundering the surplus food from the people, but what was the point if supplies and reinforcements could not be sent in? It was just the difference between dying early and dying later.

At this time, Deng Yue used the excuse of discussing matters to keep the aide named Yang Tan.

"The Upper and Lower Hui are now full of Liang soldiers. I'm afraid you won't get your house and property back, right?" Deng Yue asked after sitting opposite Yang Tan.

While asking the question, he looked at Yang Qin subtly.

Yang Tan was also an old fox. He knew that Deng Yue was testing him, so he immediately said, "Under an overturned nest, how can the eggs remain intact? With the state affairs at this point, all the knowledgeable people in the world are sighing with regret. What does it matter if the Yang family loses a little bit of property?"

Deng Yue heard this with a look of admiration on his face, and said, "The northern soldiers marched south, and many families were destroyed. Shao Taibai acted so cruelly, I'm sure the nobles in Jingdi hated him and would fight to the death."

Yang Tan's heart moved, and he said, "Your Majesty is right. However, I heard that Lord Shao has a lot of rules and regulations in his actions. Maybe he has not been able to restrain himself, so his subordinates may act recklessly."

Deng Yue was silent for a while.

Having said that, many things are actually very clear, and the two have a certain understanding of each other's attitudes.

Yang Tan glanced at Deng Yue secretly and said tentatively: "Shao Bing boasted outside the city that he had conquered Ji'nan City and captured the Lord of Nanjun Tao. This may not be false. If Emperor Liang is willing..."

In the end, the words are a little vague. However, a wise person should understand the meaning of the song. Some things do not need to be explained too clearly, just a little hint will do.

After hearing this, Deng Yue just hummed and didn't respond, but judging from his expression, it was obvious that he had taken it to heart.

"You are a man of talent and wisdom. Do you know how the battle in Jingzhou will turn out?" Deng Yue directly raised another question.

Yang Tan was confident and said, "The imperial court can only do what the Eastern Wu does, and will only keep the places that can be kept, such as the areas south of the Mian River and north of the Yangtze River. The Eastern Wu was able to hold on to the areas because of the existence of the Yunmeng Lake. And it was also because of the existence of these military cities that the Wu people dared to move the capital to Wuchang. However, the Eastern Wu can keep Jiangling, but the imperial court may not."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Deng Yue asked with interest.

"It's nothing, the Liang Emperor is determined to get it." Yang Tan said, "Since Ji'nan City has been captured, the Liang army must have mobilized a large number of troops to move south from Dangyang. From this, it can be seen that Shao Taibai wants to get Jiangling very much and is very determined. He is willing to sacrifice a large number of troops to take it by force. What is the situation of the court now? It may not be able to stay in Jiangling for a long time."

"Why does Shao Taibai want to obtain Jiangling?"

"Control the water army and go to Jianye."

Deng Yue nodded slightly.

In fact, he also holds the same view because it is too obvious.

"My Lord." Yang Tan leaned closer and whispered, "Jiangling has become the place where the two countries are fighting. What will happen to Xiangyang? Will there be reinforcements coming to rescue it?"

"What if Shao Taibai is unable to capture Jiangling and is eventually forced to withdraw his troops? If that happens, Jinan, Dangyang, Shicheng, Anlu and other places may not be able to be saved."

"Even if we really fail in Jiangling, Xiangyang will be firmly in our hands." Yang Tan said, "Shao Taibai has a very bad character. How can he be willing to not gain an inch of land since the southern expedition? Even if he risks his life, he must protect Xiangyang. My lord, we are already abandoned. No one will come to rescue us."

Deng Yue was silent for a long time this time.

(End of this chapter)