Chapter 1189 The End

Chapter 1189 The End

Chapter 1189 The End
The heavy snow came quickly, and it fell around August 15th, casting a shadow over people's hearts.

Looking back at the weather over the past decade or so, one extreme stands out.

Sometimes things are normal for a few years in a row, making you feel that good days are coming, but suddenly an extreme disaster comes out of nowhere, making you wake up.

After the three-year flood, until this year's hail and storm, there were about nine years in between which were relatively good. Although disasters continued, they were mostly confined to one corner and did not spread, and there were no continuous disasters - this is the most important point.

It's getting colder.

It is said that once the weather turns cold, it will take several years to get over it. And the so-called recovery after a few years may just be a small rebound on the way to getting colder. No one can predict the future.

Shao Xun looked at the heavy snow falling all over the fields and the withered yellow grass on the ground, and felt something in his heart.

In this life, we run around here and there, so busy that we never have time to do anything, but in the end there are still many things we haven't had time to do.

Time, oh, time, how come it goes so fast.

He also had to annihilate the Murong Xianbei, continue to deepen the layout of the grassland, recover the Western Regions, destroy the small court of Jianye, gradually clean up the historical vassal towns, constantly change customs, measure land, establish correct values ​​and guide the Central Plains gentry who moved south, make the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy examinations a regular practice for selecting officials, vigorously develop commerce, extend the lifespan of the government soldiers, establish a complete control system in the southwest, and more...

There are too many things going on.

He spent most of his life paying off debts to the Han, Wei and Jin dynasties. After all, he was just a founder. Perhaps the second generation of emperors could build on his foundation and fulfill their ambitions.

As soon as he ascended the throne, he was able to take over the tens of thousands of imperial guards, over 200,000 palace soldiers, and various garrison troops and Hu soldiers that his father left to him, who had not yet had time to fall. With such a big hammer in his hand, he just hoped that he would not see everyone as a nail and wanted to hammer it.

A loud shout was heard in the distance.

Shao Xun came back to his senses and smiled to himself. God would not give him another 500 years, so he should seize the present moment and do as much as he can until the day he dies.

"Your Majesty." The carriage drove over, Wang got out and said softly.

Shao Xun walked over quickly, first tightened her fur coat, then gently brushed away the fine snow on her face, and scolded her: "It's so cold, why are you still out?"

Wang seemed to enjoy his care and concern. The gloom between her brows dissipated a lot. She didn't want to say anything more and just stood quietly beside him.

"Pingcheng is still yours." Shao Xun's words floated in the wind and snow.

Wang just nodded and didn't ask why.

Her fate seemed to have been designed from the beginning.

Maybe there was an opportunity at the beginning, but she didn't seize it. No, maybe it couldn't be called an opportunity, it was just an illusory bubble. At the beginning, she and her son couldn't do without the support of Liang State, otherwise they couldn't stabilize the situation at all.

But when she managed to stabilize the situation and was able to do something, Li Zhen had already given birth and A Liudun was pregnant. Shi Yijian parted ways with her, and she lost her last chance to choose.

Who should she blame? Should she blame Shi Yijian for not understanding her difficulties in committing herself to an outsider? It seems that she cannot blame him.

Blame herself for being too power-hungry? It wasn't like that at the beginning. She was really looking for a way out for Shi Yijian.

Having come to this point today, both mother and son are wrong, and yet neither of them is wrong.

"There are almost no people who dare to speak for Shi Yijian now." Shao Xun said, "Watch him first. When the garrisons in Dongmugen Mountain and Woye Town are completed and the personnel are fully settled next year, let him come to Luoyang. I will grant him a house, give him an idle official position, allocate a few hectares of land outside the city, and recruit more than ten farmhands. In a few years, I will arrange a marriage for him. As long as he is honest, he will be a rich man for the rest of his life."

"As for Dai, I haven't made up my mind yet." Shao Xun sighed and said, "My ambitions are too big, but I feel that with the current national strength, I am afraid that I am too ambitious and my strength is insufficient. It is always difficult to make a decision."

"Your ambition?" It was the first time Wang heard such words. She walked over, gently took Shao Xun's arm, and asked, "How big is your ambition?"

Shao Xun smiled and said, "It's hard to tell anyone."

As he said this, scenes from the early Tang Dynasty came to his mind.

The population at this time should be larger than that of Li Shimin in the early Zhenguan period, and the overall national strength is comparable.

However, the population of the Daliang Dynasty included a large number of Hu people, while the ethnic integration had been completed in the early Tang Dynasty, which was a big difference. Not to mention, there were still aristocratic families occupying a large number of resources, which was different from the early Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, no matter how bad the chaos between the Northern and Southern Dynasties was, one thing is certain: in many places where the Hu people were the majority, there was no longer any distinction between the Hu and Han people in the Tang Dynasty. You could even say that they were all Han people, because the Hu clans such as Dugu, Helan, Yuwen, Baba (Changsun), Hedouling (Dou), Tuoba (Yuan), and Tuge (Liu) were all integrated into the Han group.

The area around Hetao was either inhabited by Xianbei or mixed Hu people, but in the early Tang Dynasty, it was the territory of Liang Shidu, Zhang Changxun and others. Mayi and Pingcheng, the core areas of the Dai Kingdom, were the territory of Liu Wuzhou in the late Sui Dynasty.

The difference is too big.

In short, he has to create, manage and consolidate what others have at the beginning.

Can reality support his ambition? Shao Xun was hesitant. It was very dangerous to further construct buildings on the beach.

"Forget it, I always have a benefit." Shao Xun suddenly laughed.

Wang looked at him quietly.

"At least the Murong clan and Goguryeo have not been fattened up yet." Shao Xun said.

"If you want to attack Murong, you should join forces with Goguryeo and attack together." Wang said, "If you don't like Goguryeo, you can send troops to attack after you have dealt with Murong Xianbei."

"You've already calculated everything." Shao Xun said with a smile.

"Who in the world has not been calculated by you? You seem to be able to see through the fog, but others don't have this vision. It's not unfair that you lost." Wang said.

"Precisely because I can see through things, I sometimes become more anxious. You don't understand." Shao Xun said.

"Grandpa." A crisp call came from the side of the carriage.

Yuan Zhen and A Liudun walked over holding hands.

They were playing in the carriage, but when they saw their mother did not come back for a long time, they jumped out.

In the heavy snow, the two little children were dressed like little fur balls, so cute.

After Yuan Zhen came over, she stood there, while Ah Liudun began to climb up automatically, following Shao Xun's legs step by step, with extremely skilled movements. Shao Xun picked up his daughter and kissed her rosy little face.

As long as he is not busy with important work, Ah Liudun is like a pendant on his body and refuses to come down.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard again in the distance.

The imperial army was ready to go, and more than a thousand cavalrymen rushed out to meet a returning troop.

"This is the last one." Shao Xun looked towards the east and said.

There were tribes in Ruyuan who did not come to Yinshan Queshuang and launched a rebellion. Not only that, they also mixed with Tuoba Hena's old subordinates, and Yuyang Kingdom was basically destroyed in their hands.

"I said at the beginning that Hena was untrustworthy. You blamed me for killing him and even took back his people. Do you see it now?" Wang heard it and rolled her eyes at Shao Xun, saying, "They have been following Hena for so long that they have become crazy."

"He has been crazy for a long time." Ah Liudun twisted Shao Xun's face and said in a baby voice.

Wang and Yuan Zhen both laughed.

Shao Xun helplessly endured his daughter's "ridicule" and looked at Tong Qianjin who was riding a horse towards him.

"Your Majesty." Tong Qianjin dismounted and saluted, saying, "Ulolan, Shiben, Hegu (Ten Tuoba clans) and Wang Wuhuan attacked the rebels, beheaded more than 7,000 people, captured 10,000 people, and the rest fled into the Yuwen clan's territory."

"So brutal killing?" Shao Xun asked in surprise.

He suspected that the captives were all women and children, and all those above the wheels were dead.

"Winter is coming soon, and all the tribes have suffered disasters, so my hands have become a little darker." Tong Qianjin said.

"Grandpa, what does 'hands are a little dark' mean?" asked Ah Liudun.

"A Liudun, this is what killing means." Yuan Zhen patiently explained to his sister: "The tribes have a hard time in winter and can't feed so many people, so they can only rob other tribes, kill their men, and plunder their food and livestock."

Ah Liudun listened blankly, and didn't feel scared at all.

Shao Xun secretly thought that it was a good thing that he brought Yuan Zhen and A Liudun to Luoyang. If they were still brought along by Wang, they would have adopted the values ​​of the grassland people.

Yuan Zhen has only been back for a few days, but he remains calm when talking about killing people. If you don’t know him, you would think he is eighteen years old, but in fact he is still an eight-year-old child.

"Where did that old guy Yuwen Qidegui hide? Is he still alive?" Shao Xun asked.

"The last time he appeared was at Zuoleshui (Xilamulun River), which was several months ago," said Tong Qianjin.

"I'm hiding so far away, how can I still look like a Chanyu?" Shao Xun was amused and said, "The Yuwen Twelve Tribes didn't kill him and set up a new Chanyu. They are really kind people. Ignore him. I think the Yuwen Xianbei will soon fall apart. Who is the second person after Qi Degui?"

"The Eastern Lord Yidougui." Tong Qianjin said, "He is a man who is specifically responsible for resisting the Murong Xianbei. Qidegui lost his courage, so he let Yidougui lead the army to fight."

"Please ask him to come forward and negotiate, and order the Yuwen tribes to return the fugitives."

"Yes, sir." Tong Qianjin took the order and left.

"The east has been resolved." Shao Xun said, "Now the west is the only thing left. After Che Kun and his troops are wiped out, the extermination will end this year. I plan to take ten battalions of the new army to Luoyang for food, and temporarily leave their slaves and property in Dongmugen Mountain and Pingcheng. You send someone to look after them. After the pastures are divided and the cities are initially completed next year, they will go north again."

"How many people can I still manage..." Wang rolled her eyes at him and said.

"Mother, how can you control me?" Ah Liudun whispered, "You won't even let me eat honey."

"My daughter can eat even the biggest fish in the sea. If your mother won't give you any, go back to Luoyang with your father to eat them." Shao Xun kissed his daughter twice and said.

Ah Liudun laughed non-stop.

Wang was so angry that she pinched Ah Liudun's ear and said, "Yaoxi has to stay in Pingcheng."

Shao Xun nodded.

Yaoxi was the son that Wang gave birth to in May. Shao Xun was still on the road at that time. When he heard about this, he personally gave the son the nickname "Yaoxi".

"Tuoba Gu fled his country, so forget it." Shao Xun said, "I have issued an edict to confer Yaoxi the title of Duke of Yuyang County and to govern the three counties of Yuyang. The court will reselect officials and the Yanshan Protectorate will be in charge for the time being."

The Yanshan Protectorate currently only exists on paper, and even its seat of government is temporarily located in Ji County, with Yang Chen acting as the Grand Protectorate.

Next, we can gradually materialize it, starting with the State of Yuyang.

"You've torn off another piece of Dai Kingdom." Wang straightened Yuan Zhen's hat, tucked his ears inside, and complained softly.

Shao Xun did not respond, but looked at Yuan Zhen and said, "Li Zhen, your father always says that human power is limited. There are some places that the imperial court cannot reach. You three brothers must strive to do well in the future. Liangcheng, Wuyuan, and Yuyang are all from the same source. Grandpa wants to see who among you can do the best."

"Grandpa, I will do my best." Yuan Zhen said.

At the beginning of September, news came from the west: Yizhan's tribe was wiped out, and his members were either dead or escaped; Che Kun's tribe fled far away and later surrendered.

These are just the two most iconic large tribes. Seeing that the situation was not good, some of the small and medium-sized tribes that had not yet been defeated surrendered.

Shao Xun ordered them to send their eldest sons to Luoyang as hostages.

The same applies to the tribes that participated in the Yinshan Queshuang.

In addition, each ministry will select young men to study at the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy, and this will be implemented immediately.

On the tenth day of September, Shao Xun returned to Pingcheng and ordered Shao Yu, Prince of Yan, and Shao Jin, Prince of Qin, to come and see him.

At the same time, as the conscripted soldiers returned in batches, the first group of people left Pingcheng on September 12 and returned to Luoyang with the captured cattle, sheep and other livestock, indicating that the northern tour in the sixth year of Kaiping had come to a perfect end.

The hidden worries in the north that had been hanging for many years have been temporarily alleviated.

(End of this chapter)