Chapter 1113 Chengdu and Jianye

Chapter 1113 Chengdu and Jianye

Chapter 1113 Chengdu and Jianye

While Shao Xun and Yu Liang were discussing Sichuan, the ruler and ministers of the Li family in Chengdu were also analyzing the situation. This was in the 331st year of Yuheng ().

Li Xiong has not been in good health in the past two years, but after the spring rain, he still came to the outskirts of Chengdu and worked in the fields, setting an example for the world.

During the break, he sat on the ridge of the field with Prime Minister Fan Ben, Grand Tutor Li Shi, Shangshu Zuo Pushe Ren Yan, Shangshu You Pushe Luo Yan, Shizhong Li Shou, Zhenbei General Ren Tiao and others, looking at the fields, vegetable plots and orchards not far away, and said; "Yizhou is really a good place."

No one understood what he meant, except Fan Ben, who seemed to be thinking about something.

As expected, Li Xiong changed the subject and said, "But after we succeeded in going south, we all became a little too indulgent and content with the status quo."

"She wears Shu brocade, and even the maids in her house have dresses made of fine yellow cloth."

"Rice, wheat, millet and beans, plant them and you will have a good harvest. There will be no more famine."

"There are many birds and animals in the mountains and forests, and you can hunt them in your spare time."

"Shu paper is of high quality and low price. There is no need to use bamboo slips or wooden tablets. Your sons and nephews can also read."

"Some people, in addition to building manors, took advantage of the profits from well salt and trading, and became extremely wealthy."

Every time Li Xiong spoke, everyone's faces became uglier.

"Wukao, tell me, how long has it been since you last practiced martial arts properly?" Li Xiong asked, pointing at the small belly of his cousin, the Minister Li Shou.

Li Shou looked ashamed and said, "I used to feel uncomfortable if I didn't practice for a day, but now I feel sore all over after practicing for a day. My martial arts skills have indeed lagged behind for a long time."

"You are only 32 years old, and you have fallen so low!" Li Xiong said bitterly, "Last year, when I conquered Ningzhou, I was already hesitant. I was disgusted by your depravity. Fortunately, you did not disappoint me in the end. But with you like this, alas! There is no one left in the Dacheng clan."

Upon hearing this, Li Shou knelt down and cried, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong."

Li Xiong sighed, helped his younger brother up, and said, "I am old. I have been feeling powerless these days. From now on, I have to rely on you to build my country."

"I am willing to share your worries, brother." Li Shou kowtowed.

Li Xiong remained silent.

"Your Majesty!" Li Shou burst into tears.

"Forget it." Li Xiong looked at Li Shou and asked, "Wukao, you were in charge of the military affairs of Baxi back then, and everyone in the army was convinced. Are you willing to return to Langzhong?"

"I am willing." Li Shou said without hesitation, wiped his tears, and said loudly: "From today on, I will regard Baxi as my home, comfort the people and train the soldiers, and ensure peace in the eastern border."

Li Xiong nodded with satisfaction and said, "I will appoint you as the General of the Eastern Expedition and supervise the military affairs of the three counties of Ba, Baxi and Fuling. You must stop the Liang bandits in Badong."

"I obey your order." Li Shou replied.

Li Xiong looked at Shangshu You Pushe Luo Yan again.

Luo Yan's heart tightened, and he took the initiative to stand up and said, "I am also willing to share your majesty's worries."

Li Xiong motioned him to sit down, and after a moment, he said, "Your and my families have been relatives for generations. The Li family is rich, but has the Luo family been missing?"

"Your Majesty." Luo Yan was a little frightened.

Luo Yan was a Ba people, born into the Bandun barbarians of Baxi.

The Bandun Man are mainly distributed in Baxi, Ba, and Fuling, with a small number in Badong. They are named because they use wooden boards as shields.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the Bandun Man followed Liu Bang in pacifying the Three Qins.

During the Later Han Dynasty, the imperial court conscripted a large number of Bandun barbarians into the army and sent them to fight everywhere, some even going as far as Liangzhou to fight against the Qiang people, and their record was quite good.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the Bandun Man were also an important part of Liu Bei's army, conquering the east and the west.

At this time, they were still famous mercenaries with strong military traditions - of course, they were now better equipped and no longer used wooden planks as shields, and they were very good at crossbow shooting.

There are seven major surnames among the Bandun barbarians, namely Luo, Pu, Zan (also known as Du), E, ​​Du, Xi and Gong. Luo is the most respected and the most powerful. This can be seen from the fact that "King Luo" often appears in the Bandun barbarian group.

Li Xiong's mother was from the Luo family of the Bandunman in Dangqu. The Luo family was also an important reason why the Li family was able to gain a foothold in Shu, because they were able to win over the Bandunman group.

"After the great defeat in Badong, many people in the Baxi Bandun army made mocking remarks, but there was no need to be so. The Di, Han and Qiang are all our children. Why differentiate between them?" said Li Xiong.

Luo Yan blushed and hesitated to speak.

Li Xiong waved his hands, forced a smile, and said, "It's not a bad thing that the Bantun barbarians have such aspirations. The country is in danger now, and I want to send all the armor and weapons in the Chengdu arsenal to Baxi and Hanzhong. You can pick out the ones that can be used. If the Liang bandits advance westward, you must fight hard to kill the enemy."

"I obey your order." Luo Yan replied.

Li Xiong smiled with satisfaction.

In times of national crisis, these nobles and relatives are still reliable. They truly share the same fate with the country. Once they fail, the old families in Shu may not suffer too much, but these noble families or local barbarians in the six counties that have moved south will have a hard time.

They still know clearly what to do.

However, the old clans in Shu also have to contribute -

Li Xiong looked at Prime Minister Fan Ben again.

Fan Ben understood, cleared his throat, and said, "The Liang bandits have passed Yufu, and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River is no longer enough to protect them. Now we should guard Luzhai carefully and prevent the bandits from getting deeper. I am willing to meet with the big families in Shu to requisition military supplies, equipment, and private soldiers to defend Sanba. As for the navy, I will also think of a way."

Li Xiong nodded with a smile.

Failure to capture Badong meant that the defense line on the river had been breached, and now they could only rely on the advantage of attacking the downstream from the upstream to try to block the enemy - there was a river pass in Badong, which was near Baidi City, and was where the navy that controlled the river was stationed, so it could stop enemy ships outside Kuimen (Qutang Gorge).

If what was expected was correct, the Liang navy should move to Badong little by little, using it as a base to patrol the river.

If the Chengguo navy wants to attack them, it must come out in full force - they can avoid fighting.

But if we don't go out in full force, and just patrol and blockade on a daily basis, it's too far away and can't be there all the time. And we will also lose the river section with the fastest current, the narrowest river surface, and the most advantageous place for upstream to attack downstream.

At least the dangerous voyage from Jiangling to Badong, which was also the most vulnerable to enemy attacks, was much safer for Liang. From now on, more and more soldiers and food would be shipped to Badong County, which would become the starting point for Liang people to attack Shuzhong.

War is actually just around the corner.

According to the results of the previous discussion, the Liang people would probably advance by land from the north of the Yangtze River, relying on the food and grain they had stored in advance for supplies, and march westward to attack the two counties of Ba and Baxi.

Therefore, if we don't have any ideas, we should unite and defend Brazil and Ba County. If possible, we can try to retake Badong County, which will be much safer.

Li Xiong then talked to a few more people.

In particular, he will be transferred to Hanzhong soon to serve as General Zhenbei and Governor of Liangzhou.

Li Xiong's wife, Empress Ren, was born in this family. They were local tycoons in Tianshui, and this family could be considered an in-law family.

His cousin Li Shou and his son Li Qi married daughters of the Yan family in Tianshui, and they were also relatives by marriage.

These families were actually the nobles from the six counties who followed Li Te to the south to build their careers. They were considered founding heroes, so naturally their relationship was extraordinary.

In Li Xiong's plan, the north would be guarded by the young men of the six counties, and the east would be guarded by the big families in Shu and the barbarians.

For such an alien regime, this is the best choice.

At the same time, Li Xiong also sent envoys to the State of Jin, but this time it was not as convenient as the previous trip by boat...

******
In fact, there was no need for Chengguo to send an envoy, as Wuchang already knew the result.

Zhuge Hui immediately withdrew the naval and land troops that were harassing Jiangxia and Jingling, and at the same time reported the results of Liang Cheng's battle in Badong to Jianye.

There was mist inside the west hall of the Shiqian Palace.

Gilded bronze goose and fish lanterns were scattered everywhere. Under the dim light, Shan Yinan gently leaned on the edge of the white jade steps. When his shoulders emerged from the water, they were even whiter than jade.

Large patches of scarlet flowers float in the water. They are picked in summer and autumn, dried in the sun, and then preserved, and sprinkled into the soup during bathing.

At this time, the red flowers set off the beauty, and the beauty adds color to the flowers, which can be said to echo each other.

There were light footsteps outside and Shan Yinan moved slightly.

The petals floated up and down, and soon stuck to the two beautiful red plums in the bath water.

"Queen." The voice of Da Changqiu was heard outside the bathing hall.

Shan Yinan hummed lightly.

The maidens knelt by the pool, holding a jade spoon, taking out ambergris from the jar and pouring it into the water. Someone else added bath beans, and everything went smoothly.

"Your Majesty just discussed the matter with the ministers but failed to reach a conclusion. Governor Zhuge of Wuchang even submitted three memorials in a row, stating the pros and cons in detail, asking them not to send troops to help Shu." The Grand Chamberlain said softly.

Shan Yinan stood up slowly.

In the mist, the body almost glows.

She gently plucked the petals from the red plum blossom.

The majestic mountain where the red plum blossoms took root is as white as the bright moon, with blue veins faintly visible, like the roots of the red plum blossoms, or like ink spreading on paper.

The palace maids held the thin shark silk towel presented from Guangzhou to wipe the queen's body.

After wiping, he brought the clothes.

"Your Majesty has been deceived for a long time." Shan Yinan stretched out her hand and let the palace maid put on gauze for her and hold her belly.

The maid carefully passed the upper strap over the Queen's white shoulders, and then passed the lower strap through the Queen's waist on both sides, gently tied them together behind her back, and then tightened them.

The embrace was immediately pressed tightly against her delicate body, and the blooming red plums almost broke through the gauze.

"There is a rumor in the capital that Zhuge Daoming's son went to the north?" Shan Yinan said, gently raising one foot.

The maids then put on two pairs of trouser legs for him.

When the jade legs rose, the wormwood obediently lay on the hillock, and the palace servants who were squatting to serve felt a little dazzled - the light of the fish and goose lights shone between the legs of the Queen of the Mountain, like the rising sun, but that was not real, the Queen of the Mountain was lacking after all...

"Your Majesty, this must be true," said the Grand Chamberlain.

Shan Yinan sighed softly and said, "Does the Prime Minister know?"

"know."

Shan Yinan sat down. The maid gently tied the ribbon around her crotch, seemingly closing the door, but just like the country of Jin, if she gently pulled it, she could see the crystal tears of Queen Shan - crying for the fall of Jin.

"Let's make a deal with the Prime Minister..." Shan Yinan said, "Zhuge Daoming is not a loyal minister. If he stays in Wuchang, it will only cause trouble. He cannot add any pressure to Shao. Before that -"

He stopped talking halfway. This matter ultimately required the intervention of the emperor and the approval of the important officials in the court.

However, having lost three counties, reprimand was inevitable.

In Shan Yinan's opinion, Chengguo had to be saved, otherwise it would be defeated one by one, allowing the thief Shao to be proud.

As the queen of a fallen country, what would be her fate? I'm afraid it would be worse than death.

We must not allow the thief Shao to gain a foothold in the gorge, the court must take action.

Of course, she also knew that this was actually difficult.

Nowadays, Jiangdong is basically a group of people who just want to get by. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are just dead bones in a grave...

(End of this chapter)