Chapter 1223: The World
Chapter 1223: The World
At the end of February, Shao Xun had just held a wedding for his fourth son.
Prince Shao Yu of Yan married Mi Huang's granddaughter. The wedding was held in Su Yu Palace. It was crowded with guests and very lively.
After the wedding, Shao Xun only gave him a month's vacation and asked him to leave Beijing and head north to Youzhou by early April at the latest.
Yang Chen had a serious illness in the winter and was dying. It was difficult for him to survive March. At present, the military and political affairs of Youzhou depended on the consultation between the chief historian and the military commander of the shogunate, and they urgently needed a leader.
Li Chong has been at home in mourning for almost two years, and it is still a little short of the twenty-seven months. Shao Xun decided to wait and let Li Chong return to Youzhou after the mourning period is over.
During this period, Shao Xun also received a considerable number of military reports sent from the front line.
The last update on Jincheng was in early February, and there was no news after that.
Seven hundred cavalry and more than a thousand infantry have been sent there, but no one knows how many are left now. The only thing that can be confirmed is that Jincheng has not been lost until February 20th and is still holding out.
It was a torment for both parties.
Shao Xun used his own war experience to analyze that in order to defend Jincheng, the cavalry must have attacked many times. Perhaps the casualties were not that high, but the loss of war horses must have been very large.
They may still have a few war horses, but they don't have much mobility. Considering that the outer river surface of Puzhoujin has been taken care of, the existence of this ferry is not very meaningful. From a rational point of view, the Wu people can just leave it alone and just monitor it, but they may not be able to save face and have to capture it.
Zhang Shuo was quite frightened by this because he had no ability to rescue the city.
Shao Xun didn't blame him.
Who should we blame? Should we blame Pu Gu, the loyal minister? He may be responsible, but he also made contributions, so it is not appropriate to pursue him at this time.
Progress was rapid along the Huainan and Lujiang fronts, especially the latter.
After the Di and Qiang tribes of Runan arrived, they attacked the city. The Wu governors could not hold out and fled in panic, rebuilding their defenses in the Xunyang area.
Zhang Shuo divided his troops and marched westward to Anfeng. At the same time, he sent several hundred detachments to sneak across to Xuancheng at the risk of being intercepted by the Jiangdong navy. It was said that this attempt had been successful.
There is no big problem in this direction. How much success you can achieve depends on luck - in fact, it mainly depends on the results of the surrender.
It’s almost March after all.
In the past, the Wei army attacked Jiangling and retreated after three months because the risk of epidemics would increase sharply if they continued to fight. However, the Liang army was better than the Cao army. At least they stipulated that drinking raw water was not allowed, the camps should be kept clean, and quarantine was required. However, regulations are regulations, and reality is reality. If you think that everything will be strictly followed according to the court regulations, you are too naive, not to mention that you can't take care of so many things when fighting.
The Huainan direction began to attack Hefei.
Zhang Shuo ordered several thousand surrendered soldiers from Huaiyang Qiu to advance to the city of Hefei and launch a fierce attack, and he himself led the main army to follow up.
After Shan Xia transferred all the mobile forces, even though the spring water had thawed and ships could sail freely, the important town of Liyang fell into a state of defense.
Beigong Chun went south from Xia Pi and after several days of fierce attack, he captured Huaiyin, an important town on the Huai River.
Now he moved his troops westward and began to besiege Xuyi.
Huan Xuan attacked the city while trying to persuade them to surrender. Zhongli, the defending general, became more interested and asked the Liang army to suspend the attack for a few days so that he could persuade his subordinates. Huan Xuan refused to listen and instead stepped up the attack.
The situation of the Wu people in Jiangbei was showing signs of complete defeat.
The officials from the Honglu Temple should have crossed the river, and Shao Xun still had to wait for the results of the negotiations with Zhuge Hui.
Oh, by the way, we can’t forget Su Jun.
Shao Xun was almost amused by his anger. After rejecting his outrageous request, he clearly said that he could give him the position of prefect, whether he wanted it or not.
At this point, he no longer needs to compromise with these military leaders in troubled times.
When I first started, I couldn't even sleep with any woman freely. How could I want to play with toys like I do now? You're dreaming.
If Su Jun wants to die, let him die. There is nothing more to say.
On the first day of March, Shao Xun ordered all civil and military officials to go to Bianliang to work.
As the secondary capital of Daliang, it is time to live in Bianliang for a while and manage it well.
Henan and Chenliu were changed from counties to "prefectures", and the chief officials were called "Yin", namely Henan Yin and Chenliu Yin. These are the only two prefectures so far.
Shao Xun arrived a little later, firstly because there was a wedding for the ugly slave Shao Zhen and Wu Qian's granddaughter in March, and secondly because Yu Wenjun was pregnant.
Shao Xun was both happy and worried, so he decided to stay with her for a while longer in this beautiful place.
In addition, Sima Xiuyi was over 60 years old and had been ill for a long time. It seemed that he was not doing well...
******
The envoy of the Honglu Temple had indeed arrived in Wuchang. His name was Yu Yi, Yu Liang's younger brother, and he had served as the prefect of Ji County before his mourning period.
After the mourning period was over, Shao Xun looked through all the vacant official positions and found only the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple to be the most suitable, so he was given the position.
Despite Yu Yi's status, he did not dare to be too arrogant along the way, because he knew that this was a serious matter. If he messed up, losing the credit would be a small matter, but complicating the war situation would be a big matter.
On the second day of March, after waiting for several days, Zhuge Hui was finally willing to meet him.
The meeting place was chosen to be a viewing courtyard by the river, and the time was at night, which shows Zhuge Hui's caution.
"I've always heard that Uncle Yu is kind and generous. Now that I see you, it's true." Zhuge Hui's deep voice came from the door. Yu Yi, who was kneeling behind the desk, stood up and saluted: "Mr. Ge."
Zhuge Hui looked at it carefully again and let out a light exclamation.
Yu Yi smiled slightly and just stood there.
As an important part of metaphysics, physiognomy has always been a skill that scholars must master. It is not surprising that Zhuge Hui understood this.
My brother Yu Liang actually understands this quite well, but he says that it is just a minor rule and is often inaccurate, so we don't need to take it too seriously.
Yu Yi asked him what was wrong, and Yu Liang privately said that the emperor looked like Dong Zhuo. Unexpectedly, it came true. It was really strange.
Yu Yi was speechless, so he no longer believed this.
"Shu Yu has a broad and flat forehead, which is called 'empty and calm', and he does not compete with the world. His chin is square and round, which means he is tolerant and has a kind temperament." Zhuge Hui continued: "But your eyebrows are not sparse or not scattered. Those who are sparse and open in a moderate way are called open-minded. Too light means he is unfeeling, and too thick means -"
"How?" Yu Yi was a little curious and asked.
"Impatient." Zhuge Hui smiled and asked Yu Yi to sit down.
Yu Yi wanted to ask more, but Zhuge Hui stopped him and said, "I'm afraid Shu Yu came here to discuss physiognomy with me."
Yu Yi slowly regained his composure and said with a smile, "I was just about to ask Mr. Ge to be the Prime Minister of the country."
Zhuge Hui stroked his beard and said, "The court of the world lies in Sizhou, and Luoyang is like two eyes. However, the dragon's eyes are gradually sinking and the purple air is dissipating. There are hidden cracks at the junction of Sizhou and Jizhou, and the main artifacts are replaced. I understood this when I was eighteen years old, so a gentleman seeks benefits and avoids harm, so I left for Xuzhou and then went to Jiangnan. But——"
At this point, Zhuge Hui sighed and said, "It's just that I was wrong after all. The border between Si and Ji is Yecheng and Handan, but these two places have never had a new master. I have studied Shi Le, but he pursued Shao Taibai all the way, so it is obvious that he is not a man who can accomplish anything. He is not good at learning skills, he is not good at learning skills."
Yu Yi laughed secretly, thinking that he was just playing tricks on others, so he followed his words and said, "The Emperor of Liang rose from Xuchang, what do you think?"
"Xuchang is in the right place." Zhuge Hui said, "But the prince is not in power, and the kings are fighting each other, like a needle mark hanging straight into the lips, the Lord——"
"Who is it, Lord?" Yu Yi asked, listening attentively.
"The main ancestral temple is running out of food." Zhuge Hui glanced at him and said.
"Nonsense!" Yu Yi denied subconsciously.
Zhuge Hui smiled faintly and did not argue with him.
"What about Jiangdong?" Yu Yi asked unconvinced.
"The essence of Jiangdong lies in Jingyang. There is no need to hide some things." Zhuge Hui said: "In the past, Tao Kan governed Jingzhou, but he focused on Wuchang and Baling, and neglected Xiangyang. Therefore, the left cheekbone (north of the river) is pale like a corpse, and the right cheekbone (south of the river) is flushed like drunkenness. This is the sign of the separation of yin and yang, and the consequences have come true."
"Yangzhou is the Earth Pavilion, surrounded by the Yangtze River. If the Chengjiang acupoint is full, it is a plump and round appearance. However, the ears are not flat, which indicates that the nobles will rebel. Emperor Liang raised troops and sneaked into Jincheng, which is like a sore at the corner of his mouth. This is a fierce appearance of a dragon biting its tail, which must be destroyed by external evil Yin energy."
Yu Yi was stunned for a moment, and said, "As you said, Jiangdong is doomed to fail. Why not seek benefits and avoid harm?"
Zhuge Hui was silent for a moment, then said, "The king's aura is like a human face. Once rashes appear, they can be cured with medicine."
"Even if the medicine heals you, it's still weak inside. You never know when the sore will come back." Yu Yi said, "It's better to get a new look."
"Is the new look so good?" Zhuge Hui asked, "In Youping, the Hu and Han peoples are mixed together, just like the uneven hairline of a person, which is called reverse hair. In my early years, I went to Yandi. There was a pillar of bone behind the jade pillow of Youzhou. This should be in Liaodong. It is not impossible that the light will shine directly on Youyan in the future."
"The snow in Liangzhou and Qilian Mountains is like fly spots on the face. Although it does not hurt the root, it will eventually drain the energy of the body."
"Plus what happened among the people in Xuchang——"
Zhuge Hui shook his head and said no more.
Yu Yi was also speechless.
Zhuge Hui's words were far-fetched, but he was actually using physiognomy to euphemistically express his views on the current situation. In other words, he had a conclusion in his mind first, and then he made up his own story.
"The barbarians in Liaodong and Helong are just a minor problem. If Lord Ge goes north and helps the emperor to correct the situation, what else will there be to worry about?" Yu Yi said.
Zhuge Hui's expression changed, but he said nothing.
Yu Yi hesitated for a moment, as if afraid someone might hear him, and lowered his voice and said, "If Lord Ge is willing to return to justice, it wouldn't be a big deal to supervise a state in the north. He may even be promoted to one of the Three Dukes. Lord Ge probably doesn't know yet, but your daughter has been sent to Bianliang. The emperor has specifically instructed us to treat her with courtesy and allowed Zhuge Junwen to visit her."
Although his son and daughter were held hostage, Zhuge Hui remained silent, as if hesitating about something.
Yu Yi was so angry that he wanted to go over and press his head to make him agree.
After a long while, Zhuge Hui sighed and said, "I have already ordered all the troops on land and sea to withdraw. Now we should protect the territory and the people and arrest the thieves."
This was a wait-and-see strategy. Yu Yi understood after a brief thought that Zhuge Hui wanted to see whether the Jianye court could hold out.
In addition, Zhuge Hui may also need time to unify internal ideas.
Jingzhou is so big that it is impossible for everyone to have the same idea. This is normal.
In short, the fact that Zhuge Hui was willing to come to see him so late already explained a lot.
Yu Yi was no longer in a hurry and decided to persuade him again after a while and let Zhuge Hui take care of the internal affairs first.
(End of this chapter)