Chapter 1118 Wen and Zhao

Chapter 1118 Wen and Zhao

Chapter 1118 Wen and Zhao

In March, nothing major happened.

Shao Xun was recuperating in the palace. When he was not reviewing memorials, he would stare at the map.

On the tenth day of March, the second daughter Wang Huiwan got married. As a father, Shao Xun could only sit awkwardly in the palace and listen to the report from Wen Qiao, the governor of Qinzhou who was summoned to the capital.

"General Liu entered Wudu and massacred three people in one day. Many mountain strongholds rebelled again." Wen Qiao sat on a Hu bed, his tone quite helpless, his brows furrowed - perhaps it was not just worry, but also toothache.

Shao Xun simply ignored his words and asked, "Does your tooth still hurt?"

Liu Ling temporarily took over as the governor of Wudu, and led 6,000 men from the Heiliang Left Camp to carry out a massive cleanup.

Yang Dan, the commander of Yinmi Town, also served as the prefect of Yinping Town and led 3,000 soldiers to garrison there to prevent the Qiuchi Di from escaping.

Yao Yi Zhong sent two thousand light cavalry, and Jin Zheng also sent five thousand soldiers from Chang'an to Wudu.

There were a total of 16,000 infantry and cavalry, and they were very powerful and caused quite a lot of trouble - when they forcibly relocated the tribes, if they refused, the soldiers would arrive and there would be no second chance.

But Shao Xun didn't care about these things. He was more concerned about whether Wen Qiao's toothache had healed.

"The method of soaking and scrubbing with salt water that Your Majesty taught is quite useful," said Wen Qiao.

Is this method useful? It is useful, but not that much. The toothache still tortured him. If the emperor had not asked someone to read his face and said that pulling out the tooth rashly would be life-threatening, he would have asked someone to pull it out for him long ago, so as to avoid the constant torture now.

"You have been in charge of Qinzhou for several years and have made outstanding contributions." Shao Xun said, "I really can't find a suitable candidate other than Wen Qing. Now I will let Li Cheng take charge of the affairs. If you can work hard for a few more years, you will surely be promoted to the cabinet and become my right-hand man in the future."

This was a public promise of appointment and a promise. Wen Qiao was somewhat moved and immediately said, "Your Majesty is so prestigious that no one dares to look up to you. I was able to govern Qinzhou because of your Majesty's influence."

Shao Xun smiled and said, "No need to do that."

After that, he pointed to the map on the wall that he had rubbed so hard that it was almost patinated, and asked, "In your opinion, how should we take Hanzhong?"

Wen Qiao seemed to have thought about this problem a long time ago, so he said: "Your Majesty should focus on managing Wudu and Yinping. When the troops are dispatched to Hanzhong in the future, they can advance on several routes. The enemy will certainly be in a panic and it will be difficult to defend against them."

"Do you know this person, Ren Tiao?" Shao Xun asked.

"There is a native tribe called Ren in Qinzhou. I went to their tribe to persuade them, but Ren Tiao's family had already moved to Shuzhong and cut off contact with the Tianshui Ren family, just like outsiders." Wen Qiao said, "Most of the nobles in the six counties of Licheng are like this."

"That's right." Shao Xun laughed and said, "It's better to rely on yourself than on others. It's wishful thinking to take over Shuzhong by taking shortcuts. If they don't surrender, then don't surrender. Only after we get in, we can clean them up legitimately."

Wen Qiao lowered his head and responded.

"Is Longxi stable?" Shao Xun asked again.

"The Qifu tribe is in a bit of chaos. Li Dahan and Wuzhen are stationed in Jinxing and Longxi respectively, and they are enemies of each other. The leaders of the tribes are in a dilemma and don't know who to rely on." Wen Qiao said: "I am in charge of Qinzhou, and I can only restrain Qifu Wuzhen. Xinhezhou and Jin Dudu will have to work hard on Fuhan County to prevent them from causing chaos."

Fuhan County was a subordinate county of Hezhou and was not under the jurisdiction of Wen Qiao. Qifu Li Dahan grazed his cattle here.

"Have Li Dahan and Wu Zhen ever attacked each other?" Shao Xun asked.

“I haven’t heard of it yet.”

"That's good." Shao Xun nodded.

Helong is now generally peaceful. There may be small-scale tribal conflicts, but they can never be stopped. After all, the Han people fight for water and fight with weapons, which is impossible to prevent. There are also many cases of grassland tribes fighting for pastures and water sources, and the conflicts have never stopped.

As long as there is no large-scale conflict, it will be fine. Because a small-scale war cannot change the overall situation, but a large-scale war may cause a tribe to disappear, which is not allowed - it is best to control it as long as possible.

The only sign of instability in Helong was probably the Tuoba Xianbei.

You Ziyuan, the governor of Guangwu and the general of Hehui Town, reported that the small tribes under Tufa Tuijin often drove cattle and sheep to the vicinity of Hehui City to steal grass, which caused dissatisfaction among the soldiers of Hehui Town. The soldiers of Hehui Town were mainly Han, Di and Qiang, and their families cultivated land along the Yellow River and grazed in the valleys.

The Tuoba Xianbei were really strong, and probably the most ambitious of all the tribes in Helong. The Qifu Xianbei were inferior to them before the split, let alone now.

But this guy Tuijin is really cunning.

They sent troops when ordered to do so, and they also accepted punishments. Once, someone reported that a tribe under the Tufa Alliance was harboring Shi Hu, but Shi Hu ran away and was not found. He was very slippery.

Moreover, the Tuyuhun Xianbei (descendants of Murong Wei's brother) who lived further west of the Tufa Xianbei were even more excited. They openly protected Shi Hu and took the blame for the Tufa tribe, which suddenly made Tufa Tuijin valuable for the united front. They were simply out of their minds.

It's just that I don't have time now, otherwise I would have cooked it directly.

"Your Majesty. Li Bai, the Chief Clerk of the Western Regions, has said that there are desert bandits. Please send troops to the Western Regions. We must be cautious about this matter. It is best to wait until the Nine Provinces are unified before clearing them out." Wen Qiao suddenly reminded.

Shao Xun nodded slowly.

What desert bandits? Actually, they were just small countries in the Western Regions who coveted wealth and goods and disguised themselves as robbers. It was not a big deal. But one thing was that the trade routes in the Western Regions could not be affected. Shao Xun had actually given Xi Jian an order to send an envoy to the Western Regions to give a slight warning.

Some people may ask, what should we do if they don't heed the warning? There is no way. We can only put it on record and select elite soldiers and a good general to lead them in the future. Ten or twenty thousand elite soldiers are enough, and the logistical pressure is not great. If we use the form of grazing and fighting, and advance from the grasslands north of Yinshan Mountain instead of going out of Dunhuang, we can even send more troops.

Anyway, this is something for the future, and I don’t have time to deal with it now.

Just when Wen Qiao thought there was nothing to talk about, Shao Xun suddenly asked, "I heard that you are going south to Su Yu Palace to watch the ceremony?"

"That's right." Wen Qiao knew that he couldn't hide this, so he could only answer like this. "Nothing." Shao Xun smiled and said, "Your wife is the daughter of Wang. It's normal for you to attend the wedding of the prime minister's niece."

After that, he added: "Go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to have a look. Toothache is indeed annoying."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wen Qiao said with emotion.

******
A few days later, Shao Xun summoned Prince Shao Xu of Zhao and Princess Shen to the palace for an audience.

There are already wrinkles at the corners of Pei Lingyan's eyes.

The gray hair of a hero and the aging of a beauty always make people sad.

Fortunately, my "husband" and children are by my side, I live a rich life, and my relatives are all doing well, which is enough to comfort me in my life.

Prince of Han Shao Yan (sixteen years old), Seventh Prince Shao Yong (fifteen years old), and Mian Niang (twelve years old) also came.

Pei Lingyan gave birth to three sons and one daughter for Shao Xun, and all of them are here today.

Shen was still the same. Even though she was married, she was still extremely shy. Her face was like a piece of red cloth and she looked like a little girl.

After Mian Niang finished her greetings, she sat next to her sister-in-law and chattered non-stop.

Shen was so embarrassed that she would often reply with only one or two sentences after Mian Niang said seven or eight.

Pei Lingyan was not very satisfied with this daughter-in-law, but she didn't hate her either. She could only say that she felt a little regretful that the man she liked didn't marry Nian Liu.

Shao Xun took Shao Xu and walked beside the quiet bamboo forest.

"Mu'er is getting married next month." Shao Xun said, "After the wedding, you, Nian Liu, will go to Xiangyang. A market will be opened there, and as the market supervisor, it is your responsibility to manage it. Your father wants to see how you build a market from scratch, and you must do it well and beautifully."

At this point, he paused and said, "Leave others speechless."

After hearing this, Nian Liu responded obediently, "I know."

Shao Xun wanted to touch his head, but then he thought that his son had married and was an adult, so it would be inappropriate to do so. So he withdrew his hand, looked at Nian Liu, and said, "You are the child of Hua Nu and me..."

After saying this, his face looked a little unnatural, and he blamed himself for his bias.

He can't treat everyone equally, so it's inevitable that he loves everyone.

"Anyway, get the job done." He sighed and said, "You can be given the title of Zhonglang in the Jiangling Shogunate."

"Father, why didn't you let me go to Jiangling?" Nian Liu asked, "Jiangling is a place where merchants gather, and the trade is several times greater than Xiangyang. If I go there, I will have a better chance to use my skills, and I can also recruit the members of the Shen family in Baling nearby, so I don't have to send messages back and forth, which would delay things."

Shao Xun was speechless.

In the end, he finally touched his son's head and said, "After all, you are the child of Hua Nu and me..."

"But are you worried that your child will get sick?" Nian Liu asked.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Shao Xun said with a straight face, "Don't run around in Xiangyang, and don't go to Jiangxia, Jingling, or Nanjun."

Nian Liu responded and didn't force it.

"Chunlang is already sixteen years old. Where do you think your father should arrange him?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Fifth brother is pure in nature, so let him stay in Xiyuan." Nian Liu said, "He can often visit parents in the palace. When I was in Yecheng, I always regretted that I couldn't be filial to them. Now that I am going to Xiangyang, let Fifth Brother do it for me."

Shao Xun was very happy when he heard this.

Some people gave him gold coins, and some filial children gave him gold coins as gifts.

When Sanlang was in Yecheng, he made him a pair of wolf-skin boots, which were very warm. He wore them last winter and they warmed his heart.

Of course, who is Shao Ze? He looks kind but has a dark heart.

Later, he asked his third brother Shao Fan to investigate secretly and found out that it was indeed obtained by Sanlang and his men from hunting in Taihang Mountain. Only then was he satisfied. At the same time, he was secretly happy that the third brother was finally not so "soft" and had made progress compared to before.

This also made him more certain: his sons started working at the age of 16, and there might be mistakes, but he should not rush to draw conclusions about them. People are good at learning and it is possible for them to improve, so he should observe slowly.

But Sanlang has been kind-hearted, filial, and friendly to his brothers and sisters since he was a child. This has never changed, which makes Shao Xun like him very much.

Moreover, after some experience, he is smarter and more perceptive than four years ago. When he heard that he was assigned to work in the Jiangling Shogunate, he knew that he had the important task of pacifying the people. In fact, anyone who is not stupid knows that the surname of Princess Zhao is obvious. Shao Ze is just biased in thinking this way.

"In addition to the children of the Shen family, river bandits can also be recruited." Shao Xun added: "Merchants in Xiangyang, Jiangling, and Yangkou can be bribed with appropriate benefits, which may have miraculous effects. If there are merchants who dare to go to Jiangnan to build a fort, you can grant them an official title and make a wish. If they can play a role in the future, it will all be your credit."

"Yes." Nian Liu responded.

March passed quickly, and at the beginning of April, the Shanyu Protectorate sent a message: Lady Wang, the Grand Lady of Dai, had just avoided an assassination attempt, and after a purge, she finally decided to bring Duke Dai south to Luoyang to meet the emperor.

(End of this chapter)