Chapter 1138: The Footsteps of War

Chapter 1138: The Footsteps of War

Chapter 1138: The Footsteps of War (Part )
The campaign to conquer Shu was in full swing, and political activities in and outside Luoyang also reached a climax.

Some of these were personnel adjustments of officials, some were plans for post-war political division of spoils, and some were purely speculation.

Chen Shi had just returned from a performance at the Foreign Expo when he heard a loud shout: "Catch him!"

Before he could react, several ferocious servants came forward, twisted Chen Shi's hands behind his back, and forced him to kneel down in the corridor.

"Grandpa..." Chen Shi was a little confused.

He didn't lose money today, he even won hundreds of thousands. Why are they suddenly going to punish him?

The Privy Councilor Chen Yougen put his hands behind his back, snorted coldly, and said, "Are you going to play the game again?"

Chen Shi didn't know how to answer. He stared at his father blankly for a while, and finally forced a smile and said, "Grandpa, I have nothing to do, so..."

"Bang!" Chen Yougen kicked his son hard in the chest.

Chen Shi’s face turned pale and he cried out in pain.

Seeing that he dared to scream, Chen Yougen kicked him again, but his foot stopped just before it touched Chen Shi's body.

After a long while, he sighed, waved his hand in a disinterested manner, and said, "Forget it, you are a good-for-nothing. It was destined to be so since you were born."

Chen Shi wanted to argue but was afraid of being beaten, so he could only kneel there dejectedly.

"Pack your bags today and go to Xiangyang." Chen Yougen sat back and said with a heavy face, "The position of Caizhou Garden Magistrate was originally held by Yu Gongzi Bin. After he returned to Yingchuan to mourn, the emperor kept him in the position and did not send anyone to replace him. If it weren't for your father's sacrifice, Caizhou Garden would still belong to Yu Bin. You are the eldest son and you have already started a family. You should start your career."

When Chen Shi heard this, he secretly thought that his father had actually managed to get him a seventh-rank imperial garden commander.

He didn't want to go at first, but then he changed his mind and suddenly asked, "Grandpa, is Princess Jingfu still living in Caizhou?"

"I think you want to die!" Chen Yougen was furious. He stood up again and kicked his son on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

Chen Shi cried out in pain as he stood up, knelt down properly, and said, "Grandpa, can't I go?"

Chen Yougen suddenly felt a little regretful. He stared at his son for a long time and said, "This is your last chance. If you still can't succeed, I will no longer care about you. This family business has nothing to do with you. After I die, the title of Duke of Dongguan will be inherited by your third brother."

After hearing this, Chen Shi shuddered all over and finally realized that something was wrong.

What's going on? After my eldest brother passed away, shouldn't I, the second son, inherit the family business? How can the title of Duke be inherited by my younger brother?
He blinked and looked at his father.

Chen Yougen looked at him expressionlessly.

Chen Shi felt uneasy. He had occasionally heard his parents quarrel, and his mother would say that his father had become stupid because of eating human flesh...

It was also at this time that he finally realized that his father's generation had a very difficult life, and correspondingly, the people there were also very cruel and ruthless and were capable of doing anything.

He secretly adjusted his kneeling position and said honestly: "Grandpa, I will work hard when I go to Caizhou."

Chen Yougen didn't respond for a long time.

Just as Chen Shi's legs and feet were numb from kneeling, his father's voice finally rang in his ears: "Get up."

Chen Shi got up swiftly, but just stood there and did not dare to go into the house and sit down.

Chen Yougen pondered for a while and asked, "Do you know why I sent you to Caizhouyuan?"

"My son has already started a family, so it's time for him to enter the government," said Chen Shi.

"Stupid." Chen Yougen was too lazy to scold his son, so he just asked, "If you want to be an official, where can you go? Do you have to go to Xiangyang?"

"Then..." Chen Shi pondered over it but could not figure it out.

Chen Yougen didn't want to test his son anymore, because it was useless and would only make him feel upset, so he said, "Isn't it to accumulate military merit for you? Although the emperor has mobilized so much food and grass, it may not be enough for a war. The Shaofu collects more than 4.3 million hu of grain and beans a year, and spends more than 3.6 million on gardeners, officials, banquets, and rewards, and there is still a surplus of 700,000 hu. The gardens and forests in various places also raise more than one million heads of miscellaneous livestock. After expenses, more than half of the surplus is left. There are also incomes from bamboo, wood, cloth, fruits and vegetables. A garden is far more than what you see."

"Shaofu Supervisor Cai Cheng has ordered an inventory of the nine major gardens and forests, and then allocated grain, meat jerky, cheese, and dried fruits to be sent to the front to serve as food for the army. Caizhou Garden is a well-developed land, and it has been in our hands for almost two years. There are more than 2,100 gardeners and the products are quite abundant. When you go there, work hard, try to expand some farmland, raise more livestock, and do a good job, which will be a credit."

After saying this, he sighed and said, "In the past, I would not have been able to greet you with such a scoundrel like you. If it weren't for the fact that this was such a big event and the imminent destruction of Cheng State, how could I have wasted my affection for the emperor? Alas, you loser, do you understand my painstaking efforts?"

"I understand, son." Chen Shi nodded like a chick pecking at rice, but I don't know whether he really listened or just forgot it.

"The surplus grain and meat in Caizhou Garden will be transported by Xiangyang Duzhi Schoolmaster Huan Wen. You..." Chen Yougen pointed at his son and said, "Take care of yourself."

Chen Shi lowered his head helplessly and said, "Okay."

******
In fact, it was not just Chen Yougen's family that had their children in there. The war to destroy Cheng had already begun, and everyone knew that there were not many opportunities to gain military merit, so they all started to act and show their magical powers.

On the fifteenth day of the winter month, Mi Qu, the younger brother of General Mi Zhi of the Left Changzhi Guard, who had been managing the business at home, also made some moves. Taking advantage of the opportunity that Sima, a captain under Huan Wen's command, died of an acute illness in Jingling, he took up this position. He packed his bags on the spot, and went south with more than a dozen of his followers to take up his post.

He did not travel alone, but set out with a group of "young masters" from Luoyang.

Each of them brought with him dozens of guards, servants, and guests. For a moment, they were so numerous and powerful that some people couldn't help but ask: They are all small officials of the seventh or eighth rank, with not much salary, but they have to support a bunch of subordinates. Don't you think it's a loss?
No one cares about him.

Did I become an official just for the salary that was barely enough to fill my teeth? If he really wanted money, he should be managing his business at home now, instead of risking death from illness and going south to Jingzhou. At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the group rode at full speed and arrived in Xiangyang one after another.

There are not many troops here anymore, but there are really a lot of people.

Beside the grove on the west side, there were many young men wrapped in felt blankets lying in all directions. They were really exhausted and took the time to take a short rest.

On the eastern bank of the Mian River, boats were packed so densely that they almost filled up the river surface. Smoke rose from the decks, rotten vegetable leaves floated everywhere, and laborers went up and down, unloading cart after cart of supplies and loading them into the cabins.

At the foot of the mountain in the south, a flock of sheep that came from nowhere had almost eaten all the dead grass on the ground.

On the northern city wall, there were human heads hung one after another. They were the convicts who were caught and brought back after escaping because they could not bear the pain of being transported.

This is war...

The young masters of Luoyang expressed their feelings and then dispersed.

Mi Qu and Chen Shi traveled together and came to the bank of the Mian River. After waiting for a long time, they finally saw a small wooden boat that could only accommodate two or three people. After struggling to pass through the gap between the big boats, they arrived at Caizhou Island.

Huan Wen had a bubble on the corner of his mouth and his voice was hoarse from shouting. When he saw Mi Qu, he directly brought out his official uniform and asked him to change into it on the spot. He said, "You have come at the right time. Come with me to Jiangling. They are in need of someone who can write and calculate."

Mi Qu was a carefree person, and upon hearing this, he bowed and said, "As you command."

After saying this, he asked the boatman to quickly sail back to the west bank and ferry his luggage and followers over.

Chen Shi exchanged greetings with the officials of Cai Zhouyuan. He was a little disappointed when he learned that Princess Jingfu had moved to Huan Mansion in Xiangyang City and returned the old house to the Cai family.

But just as he was stunned, the officials of Caizhouyuan said goodbye and left one after another, leaving only a lower-level clerk to accompany him.

"This is..." Chen Shi was a little confused.

"There are 15,000 hu of rice in Caizhou Garden that need to be sent to Jiangling. But only three boats have been found so far, and two are still needed. The Garden Secretary has gone to borrow boats from the Kuai family, and someone else is going to look for a mule cart. If that doesn't work, they'll go by land. The garden is in chaos, and it's really too busy." The recorder reminded.

"Hmm?" Chen Shi couldn't help but look at him again when he saw that he was speaking quite logically.

"I came to Caizhouyuan last year and am a martial arts student in Bianliang." The recorder bowed and said.

"Oh." Chen Shi thought to himself, no wonder, and asked again: "Yuanzhong——"

"If you have time, why don't you go find Captain Xia Huan and see if you can squeeze out two boats to carry 6,000 hu of rice southward." The recorder said, "The delay is quite serious, and Caizhou Garden cannot afford it. The Minister of the Household, Mr. Cai, is currently counting cattle and sheep in Guangcheng Garden and will come to Caizhou soon. Your Excellency..."

"Let's think of other solutions first." Chen Shi subconsciously rejected the idea of ​​asking Huan Wen for help, on the grounds that Huan Wen simply couldn't afford any grain boats.

After thinking for a while, he asked, "Is the King of Zhao in Xiangyang?"

"Yes." The recorder said, "The King of Zhao ordered the merchants in the market to donate money and prepare to send a batch of food and silk to Jiangling today to meet the military needs. If you can persuade the King of Zhao, it will be a great thing."

Chen Shi hummed, but did not move his feet, obviously hesitant.

He had a decent relationship with Zhao Wang Shao Xu, so it was possible that he would succeed if he asked him for help, but was it worth using up his favor on this matter? He hesitated slightly.

The recorder observed his expression, sighed, and said, "If Yu Ling were still here, he would definitely be able to persuade Captain Huan and King Zhao. Alas."

Chen Shi felt uncomfortable after hearing this and snorted coldly, "Why do we need Yu Bin to come forward? I will go to see King Zhao right now."

After saying this, without even having time to change into his official uniform, he rushed straight to the river bank and looked around for a ferry.

The clerk followed him, helping to find a raft and laughing to himself.

Chen Shi glanced at him and snorted again.

He was not a fool, how could he not know the tricks of this martial arts student? But when it came to this, he could only rush around.

Furthermore, if he didn't use some tricks to let his subordinates see his connections and abilities, how could he convince them in the future? How could he command these people?

The raft slowly floated over, carried the two people on board, and rowed towards the west shore.

Looking down from the air, there must be tens of thousands of people gathered in Xiangyang. They sweated and sorted arrows, swords and guns, grains and beans, felt blankets, tarpaulins, medicinal materials, earthenware jars and other items into different categories and shipped them to the south in batches.

The boat cut through the waves and sailed downstream.

Ox carts lined up in a long queue, rumbling along.

Mules and horses, with bells hung on them, crossed one ridge after another.

Suddenly, a large herd of horses appeared, running straight across the field, and gradually disappeared on the distant horizon amid the loud shouts of the shepherds.

Another group of pigtailed Hu people arrived. They carried horn bows and led horses. They did not stop and moved forward in silence.

The pace of war is so rapid.

(End of this chapter)