Chapter 1220 Everyone has their own thoughts
Chapter 1220 Everyone has their own thoughts
After February, spring water gradually overflowed and the earth gradually thawed.
Although there are occasional late spring cold snaps, for example, there was a heavy snowfall in the south of the Yangtze River in early February, the temperature would rise two or three days later, and there would be another snowfall on the fourth night of the New Year. Then, the cold winter seemed to have exhausted its energy and it would inevitably warm up.
"My lord, if we miss the spring plowing, we may have nothing to eat in the autumn and winter. It is better to release the people first and recruit them after the spring plowing. With such a small number of people, it will be a waste if we go to Jincheng." Du Yi, the prefect of Danyang, said softly on the bank of the Huai River (Qinhuai River).
"If we fail to capture Jincheng, and the enemy invades the south in large numbers, then..." Shan Wei shook his head.
"My Lord, with the navy here, what do you have to worry about?" Du Yi said with a smile, "The Liang navy is far away in Jingzhou and can't get past Wuchang. Even if they come, we can sink all their ships, so the river defense will be fine. After repelling the Liang bandits' offensive, we still have to live on, and we must not stop the spring ploughing."
"Alas." Shan Wei sighed and said, "I don't know what kind of war Zhao Yin is fighting. The soldiers of the Northern Palace have taken turns guarding the Huai River and have been fighting against the Liang bandits for many years. They boast of their strong army, but when they came up with 5,000 men, they were beaten by the bandit cavalry and could not stand. Forget it, I think it would be a waste for these two or three thousand men to go. Let's do the spring plowing first and go again in late February."
"Your Excellency is wise." Du Yi praised.
Shan Wei glanced at him and asked with a smile, "Speaking of spring plowing, has your family's manor been plowing yet?"
"Seeds, oxen and farm tools have been prepared," said Du Yi.
"Your family's business has become more and more prosperous in the past two years." Shan Wei said, "How many farmhands do you have now?"
"There are already thousands of households."
"That's a lot. If the Liang army marches south and reaches here, can the manor be saved?"
"What are you talking about, my Lord?" Du Yi was surprised and said, "Northerners ride horses, southerners sail boats, each has its own strengths. With an invincible navy, how can the Liang bandits cross the Yangtze River?"
Shan Wei smiled and said, "The world is ever-changing, who can predict everything? Last year, Guangtu (Shan Shihui) was transferred from the Chief of the Left Cavalry Guard to the Duke of Shu. His position was promoted, but his power seems to have been reduced. It is hard to say whether he can turn things around in the future."
"Why is your Excellency so pessimistic?" Du Yi sighed.
Shan Wei shook his head and did not answer.
Du Yi didn't know how to respond. To be fair, he and Shan Wei got along well and had a good relationship. They also had a good understanding of each other. If he could help Shan Wei, he would definitely do so, which would be worthy of their friendship over the years.
Shan Wei doesn't dare to rebel, let alone be able to do so. He is not the kind of cruel and ruthless person.
So this is his tragedy.
He had clearly seen through many things, but due to various reasons, he had almost no choice.
Du Yi thought he could grasp Shan Wei's mentality pretty well.
Just like the matter of disbanding the two or three thousand young men who had just been summoned and letting them go home for spring ploughing, Shan Wei would not object too much if he did it himself.
In fact, we can’t defeat Jincheng anymore.
After attacking for so long, the casualties have exceeded five thousand, and now various places are constantly recruiting young men to be sent over, but no one knows how many more will die.
Zhao Yin seemed to have lost confidence, and now he focused on siege. He set up his camp on the Nanshan Mountain opposite Jincheng, confronting the Liang army across a river to prevent them from charging headlong, and then continued to send troops to attack the city.
Du Yi thought this was very dangerous.
He didn't know how much food and grass were left in the city, but when the crisis came, the defenders would first eat people and then kill horses to satisfy their hunger, and he was afraid that they would not be able to hold out for a long time.
But then again, Zhao Yin has been unable to capture the city for a long time, and the important officials of the Southern Dynasty are anxious, so what does it have to do with him?
******
It was already the eighth day of February, and the ice and snow were gradually melting.
Early in the morning, Wang Shu arrived at his cousin Wang Xia's house.
“Alas, I didn’t expect that at this time, I would actually have to be the county magistrate.” Wang Xia said with a wry smile.
The plan to turn Huaide County into a real one was decided last year, but no one expected that it would be formally implemented at this critical juncture - one township each from Jiangcheng and Jurong was incorporated into Huaide County, and Wang Xia, the county magistrate, organized people as soon as possible to support the Jincheng war.
Wang Xia had no choice but to take up the post. But before taking up the post, there were still some things he had to do.
"How is Huaizu's manor in Kuaiji?" Wang Xia asked.
"There are more than 2,000 farmstead households." Wang Shu said, "Kuaiji is a good place. I have long wanted to move there. It is better than Jianye."
"I only have 500 households of farmers in Piling, and they are Wu people rewarded by the court." Wang Xia smiled bitterly and said, "Everyone says that Huaizu is not good at speaking, but I think they are all wrong."
Wang Shu didn't seem to want to talk about this too much, and only said, "Is the matter of Jianye really impossible? Yu Tan and Yu Siao just won a great victory and captured more than ten children of the Qian family. It doesn't seem that bad."
"Huai Zu is at the side of the King of Kuaiji. How could he not know? The Qian family was defeated, but not all of their people died. They just didn't have time to recruit troops and were caught off guard. This matter will be repeated." Wang Xia's face was gloomy, and he sighed: "The national affairs are in danger. I didn't expect that my Taiyuan Wang family, who had fled to the south of the Yangtze River, still couldn't escape this disaster."
Wang Shu didn't know what to say.
Since the Yongjia period, the Wang family of Taiyuan has made great mistakes.
One group first went to the East China Sea, then to Jianye, and took root in the south of the Yangtze River.
One branch got involved with the Xiongnu and was later liquidated, and now only some distant branches are left lingering.
The most important thing is that the Wang family of Taiyuan has lost its status. How can they be officials in the future and maintain their family business? Thinking of this, both the uncle and the nephew were sad.
"Forget it, let's not talk about these disappointing things." Wang Xia said, "I will entrust my wife and children to my nephew."
Wang Shu nodded and said, "It's my job."
After saying that, he asked again: "The matter between my younger sister and King Kuaiji..." The matter of Wang Jianji marrying King Kuaiji as his principal wife had been decided, and all the procedures were almost completed, with only a few details left to be decided, and it was obviously impossible to regret it.
This would have been a good thing in the past, but it is very tricky now. Wang Xia has no intention of handling this, and he doesn't know what the King of Kuaiji thinks.
"Let's put it off for now." Wang Xia said, "State affairs are more important. We can make plans after we defeat the Shao bandit."
"Okay." Wang Shu didn't waste any words. After a pause, he could not help but remind him, "Uncle, you should be careful when you go to Jiangcheng. Jincheng will not be taken down in a short time. The Imperial Army and the Northern Palace blame each other. It seems that hundreds of people went ashore last night. The Prime Minister has agreed to station the fleet in Guangling to assist Su Jun in attacking Tangyi. Although the Liang people cannot cross the river for a while, they are not easy to deal with. Let Zhao Yin fight, and uncle must not go up on his own."
These are the truths that only his own people can tell. If he were facing outsiders, Wang Shu would have to talk about something else.
"Don't worry, my ancestors. I can help you." Wang Xia sighed.
While the two were talking, Wang Zhen came over with his mother and younger brothers and sisters. They all bowed to the two of them.
Wang Shu returned the greeting and said with a smile: "Kuaiji is a beautiful place with clear water and mountains. It is definitely a good place. You should study and learn women's lessons when you go there. Don't waste your time."
"Yes." Wang Zhen bowed with his younger brothers and sisters.
Wang Jianji looked at the sword on her brother's waist and for some reason she wanted to cry again, but she almost held it back.
After a while, Wang Ke also came over to greet everyone.
As the eldest son in the family, he had to accompany his father to Huaide to train troops.
As the sun rose higher, the Wang residence slowly became empty, with only a few old servants left to guard the gate.
Wang Shu stood quietly for a long time, then finally left with a sigh.
The Wang family and the Jin Dynasty are so similar, both are just struggling to survive.
******
The river wind is fierce and the ships are passing by quickly.
On the undulating river surface, the overwhelming number of ships going upstream is a spectacular sight.
Su Jun also came to the riverside and looked at the endless fleet on the river.
"Hundreds of miles of ships cover the river. The wealthy families in Wu still have money and people." Su Jun suddenly said with emotion.
"Sikong, the people of Wu are not only on guard against the Liang bandits, but also against us," said the military officer Ren Rang.
Su Jun was already one of the Three Dukes and had the privilege of establishing his own government. A group of guests and clerks around him suddenly became officials in the Guangling government, and Ren Rang was one of them.
Su Jun said "Wu people" in public, which obviously separated him from Jiangdong.
But it was not his fault. For many years, the Jin court did not allow refugees from the north to cross the river. Occasionally, they allowed only a small number of refugees. First, they were worried that the refugees would be difficult to control, and second, they were worried that it would intensify the conflict between the natives and the immigrants. After all, the refugees were allowed to cross the river at the beginning without any obstruction, but then many problems arose, so the refugees could not cross the river anymore.
The second generation of Jiangbei refugees have even grown up, but they still act like "second-class citizens". How can you expect them to be happy?
The rift does exist, and it's quite large.
"The emperor has fallen into the control of Director Wang and this woman, hey." Su Jun walked back and forth with his hands behind his back.
Not far away were soldiers ready to go, their number had swelled rapidly from 7,000 to 20,000.
Apparently, Su Junradin had enlisted in the army.
The original 7,000 men were well-equipped, and Jianye often gave them rewards. They had been trained for years and had good combat effectiveness.
The newly recruited troops were much worse off. The Guangling arsenal was totally insufficient to arm them. Many of them were still wearing the linen shirts they wore when doing farm work and carrying a wooden spear.
Don't laugh, he is also a soldier.
In fact, this kind of infantry was the norm most of the time. Only a few were well-trained and well-equipped, especially in the late dynasty, when large numbers of these soldiers were recruited. They were incomplete in equipment, had no skills, and had very poor psychological qualities. They were all targets for the cavalry to kill.
But Su Jun was too lazy to care about that.
As a semi-independent warlord, it was instinctive for him to expand his troops. How could seven thousand people be as impressive as twenty thousand?
Today, 20,000 people are lined up in the wilderness, but not for a battle.
Ren Rang and other core staff also knew that Su Jun was still watching and had no intention of engaging in a large-scale fight with the Liang people.
"Send an envoy to Luoyang." Su Jun said, "I heard that the position of Liang Guo Taiwei has been vacant for nearly two years, so I asked for it. I also asked for the position of Yangzhou Governor to follow Xin Yan's example and see if Shao Xun is generous enough."
"Where is King Wuling?" Ren Rang asked.
"Hold it first." Su Jun stroked the handle of the knife and said casually.
Ren Rang understood and was very happy that his lord finally figured it out!
At this point, he would no longer work wholeheartedly for the Jin court, and his real goal was to seek benefits for himself and his old subordinates.
The fact that Shao Xun promised Xin Yan that he would be the governor of Hezhou and still be in charge of his old army shows that he was likely to allow the surrendered person to be in charge of an area.
Yangzhou may be bigger and richer than Hezhou, but what's wrong with bargaining?
Do warriors in troubled times still care about this?
"Send someone to contact Changguang. Chen Yan's soldiers have gone to Jiangnan. You don't have to be afraid. Just guard the fortress and wait for my order." After Su Jun gave the order, he said, "I will personally watch the training of the soldiers today. You should work hard."
(End of this chapter)