Chapter 1265: Surging Heart
Chapter 1265: Surging Heart
It's the end of the month and the weather is still very cold.
It was as if God was high up in the clouds, looking at all living beings indifferently, and then bringing down the test of frost and snow on them.
The snow fell again, very heavily, covering the whole sky and ground, without stopping.
Farmers who planted winter wheat last fall watched all this with concern. Although the wheat seedlings covered by snow may not be that cold, they are still worried.
Farmers who are preparing for spring sowing next month are even more worried. If things continue like this, spring sowing will inevitably be delayed, and then a series of things will be delayed as well.
At the foot of Kongtong Mountain in Liang County, three thousand soldiers marched through the snow and soon arrived at the Guangcheng Palace.
He Shen, the commander of Guangcheng Garden, had received the news early on, and when he saw the imperial carriage, he immediately bowed down.
However, the imperial carriage was empty. After waiting for a while, Shao Xun and Liu Ye both rode up on horseback, their fur coats covered with fallen snow.
"Your father was going to Wuwei and asked me for people. I heard that you didn't want to go to the border to make merit?" After getting off the horse, Shao Xun patted He Shen on the shoulder and asked with a smile.
"My talents are average. I can manage a garden, but I will make numerous mistakes if I manage a county. Even if I become an official, it will be difficult for me to offer suggestions. My vision is limited." He Shen said.
Shao Xun laughed loudly, and Liu Ye couldn't help but chuckle.
He Shen immediately lowered his head.
"If you don't want to leave Beijing, then you don't want to leave Beijing. Why are you saying so much?" Shao Xun exposed.
He Shen was the son of He Lun.
Just as he said, his talent was indeed average, but not bad either. At least he had no problem managing a garden. On the contrary, he managed it quite well and meticulously.
But he also had a shortcoming, which was that he was addicted to the prosperity of the big city. Whenever he had free time, he would throw his work to Yuan Cheng Yuan Ji (son of Yuan Yan), go to Luoyang for fun, and then come back drunk - of course, drinking was not a big deal, Shao Xun had not yet corrected the problem of drinking while working.
Guangcheng Palace was empty, with no one else except a few elderly palace maids.
Most of these palace ladies came from Luoyang and Pingyang.
Shao Xun thought of the times in history when the flags of kings changed from city to city. During the Five Dynasties, some palace maids even served several dynasties and seven or eight emperors. Anyway, the fall of a dynasty had little to do with palace maids and eunuchs. When a dynasty fell, they would stay and continue to serve the new emperor. In the era of emperors taking turns, they were probably numb.
Tong Qianjin commanded his personal soldiers to take over the entire Guangcheng Palace.
Shao Xun took Liu to sit in the porch in front of the main hall, overlooking the snowy scenery in the mountains.
"Many years ago, I came here to burn firecrackers in the middle of the night." Shao Xun said, pointing to a place in the square.
"Offer your beauty to a sheep?" Liu Ye asked.
Shao Xun hummed, then held the woman in his arms, protecting her from the wind and snow.
The beauty in my arms is thirty-nine years old this year, and her face looks a little old.
Perhaps because he likes riding horses, he has maintained a good figure, but the Jie people age easily and have given birth to so many children, so they cannot compare with the "new and cutting-edge" forces in the harem.
Liu Ye also had a relative who passed away recently, namely General Liu Hezhu.
The Minister of the Interior Liu Runzhong requested to remain in mourning, but his request was rejected.
Shao Xun saw that Liu Runzhong did not want to resign, so he asked him to wear simpler clothes and let it go.
However, Liu Runzhong did not remain in mourning, but Liu Hedu, the general of Lu Zezhen, could not escape.
As a military town, it naturally could not be without a leader for more than two years. Therefore, He Fen, who served as a cavalry officer in the Chanyu Palace after the expedition to Shu, temporarily served as the acting commander of Lu Ze Town.
It goes without saying what his main job is.
"Huangtou lost a lot of money last year, right?" Shao Xun asked.
"That's not a loss. It costs money to hire someone to make a textile machine, right?" Liu Ye said.
"That's right." Shao Xun said with a smile, "If we spin more twill this year, we will get our money back slowly."
It was impossible for Jing Gong Shao Gong to inherit the throne, as can be seen from his nickname.
Unless there is really no other choice, such as Sima Rui's son, the ministers would not agree.
Liu Ye naturally understood this principle, so she had never thought about this aspect.
The kings would not embarrass their brothers like Huangtou and Da Che who posed no threat. This might not be a bad thing for them.
"When will you return to Luoyang?" Liu Yena stood up from Shao Xun's arms, concern flashing in his brown eyes.
That day, the man sent her away to have a secret talk with Zhang Bin. She had some guesses in her mind. Combined with the fact that Guang Chengze was relaxing, her guesses were basically correct.
"First, finish the winter, and then work on the farm here. When everything is done, I will summon Liang Nu here." Shao Xun said, "Go to the hot spring to prepare, I want to relieve my fatigue."
On the evening of the 21st, Shao Xun met his daughter Wang Huiwan after taking a hot spring bath.
"Your Majesty." Wang Huiwan saluted while holding her chubby daughter in her arms.
This is her daughter with Jiafangling Xu Xuan, born in August last year.
In the past year, Wang Huiwan has spent most of her time living in the nearby Suyu Palace to be close to her mother.
Sima Xiuwei fell seriously ill last year, and Shao Xun took the opportunity to handle government affairs in Suyu Palace. He accompanied her for a long time and only returned to Bianliang in early summer.
In the past six months, Sima Xiuwei has been bedridden sometimes and able to walk sometimes. However, after the winter, the time he spends walking out of bed has become shorter and shorter, and recently he has not been able to get up for a long time. This is also one of the reasons why Shao Xun came here.
"You don't even want to call me father." Shao Xun said.
Wang Huiwan's face was slightly hot, and she said, "Grandpa."
Shao Xun smiled, stood up and walked over, carefully took his granddaughter, and looked at her again and again.
Prince Consort Xu also had a hard life.
He was in Bianliang, and his wife was in Luonan, living apart. In addition, his mother-in-law was dying, so the young couple had to be careful about the impact, so the next one or two years would be difficult.
"Take me to see your mother." Shao Xun said. Wang Huiwan responded.
The father and daughter walked one after the other and soon arrived at the Bixiao Palace.
Seeing Shao Xun coming, Sima Xiu's cloudy eyes brightened slightly.
"What's that noise next door?" she asked softly.
"Mother, General Tong is directing his troops to move their belongings." Wang Huiwan said softly.
Sima Xiuyi said "oh" and looked at Shao Xun again, "Am I really ugly now?"
"I've become uglier too." Shao Xun said with a chuckle.
Sima Xiuwei sighed softly, feeling a little exhausted again.
Shao Xun looked at her for a while, and seeing that the situation was relatively stable, he went back to the next room, spread out paper and pen, wrote a letter, and asked the messenger to send it to Jinyang.
******
At the end of January, heavy snow fell in Jinyang.
Shao Jin, who was about to go to Xinxing and Yanmen counties, had to postpone his trip temporarily and chat with his subordinates around the fire.
"The soldiers of the Right Jinwu Guard are indeed elite, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, and full of murderous aura." Lieutenant Chen Kui said: "Among the tens of thousands of people, at least one third of them can ride horses."
"The Right Dragon and Tiger Guard is not bad either." Qin Wang You Xinzuo said, "They have more people who can ride horses, but their military formation is not as disciplined as the Right Jinwu Guard, so they are slightly inferior."
"The Right Dragon and Tiger Guard was formed late after all." Right Chamberlain Lu Shang said, "A few years ago, when I went back to my hometown to visit my relatives, I saw soldiers from the Longxiang Prefecture of Xichuan who were collecting food supplies in Fufeng. Most of them were soldiers who had made contributions in the suppression of Wu. They are not as good as the Right Dragon and Tiger Guard and still need to be trained."
Xichuan Longxiang Prefecture was newly established after the destruction of Jin the previous year and is located in the former Xichuan County (now Qingyang).
General Jin Zheng of Zhenxi moved Xiutu Huliang Aguang's troops northward and set up Xichuan Longxiang Prefecture with 1,200 people in the vacated area. Together with Jingyang Longxiang Prefecture, they suppressed the huge Anding County.
“The Right Jinwu Guard and the Right Dragon and Tiger Guard are both pillars of the country. Bingzhou is also rich in fine horses. Once something happens, 20,000 tiger guards can ride south or east in a moment. Your Majesty has made many friends during his years of inspection. In the future, all of this will be--” Chen Kui stopped talking halfway, realizing that he had said something wrong, and stopped talking.
Yuan Dan smiled and glanced at Chen Kui, as if to say, "Why are you so timid? We are all family here, what is there to be shy about?"
Shao Jin coughed and stopped his subordinates from talking in an increasingly incoherent manner.
In fact, he was quite excited.
Last year he traveled everywhere, promoting culture and education, and also cared deeply about the government soldiers.
He even wrote a memorial to Bianliang, asking Zuo Guoyuan and Loufanjian to release good horses. He sold or gave away more than 2,000 horses to guards in various counties, earning himself a lot of fame.
As the Bingzhou Observation and Disposal Envoy, he was also present at the Autumn Military Exercises. He witnessed with his own eyes the scenes of tens of thousands of people practicing military formations, attacking in different directions, and maneuvering on horseback, and he was deeply moved.
After the drill, the army headed for Xihe and Kelan counties and went into the mountains to hunt. He participated in the whole process and got to know many of the military academies of the government soldiers.
Senior officers were more reserved and didn't want to get involved in disputes, but the junior officers were not so particular. They didn't have many opportunities to meet important people, so when they caught the King of Qin in front of them, they were very eager to get to know him.
Before New Year's Day, even some military schools at the level of Sima of other departments, deputy generals of other departments, and chief historians of other departments came to give gifts. Fortunately, Shao Jin did not lose his mind. He refused them entry and secretly persuaded them to leave.
His father sent him here so he must have a certain tolerance, but some things are too easy for others to take advantage of and should not be involved in.
Just as he was about to speak, the messenger arrived in a hurry.
Shao Jin first glanced at the envelope, and after confirming that the words on it were written by his father, his face became serious. Then he carefully checked the seal, and finally opened it to read.
After reading it, he remained silent.
The subordinates stopped talking, put down their wine bottles and signaled with their eyes.
Shao Jin handed the letter to Xin Zuo and Chen Kui, the two people with the highest status here.
Xin Zuo took it first, read it silently, and then passed it to Chen Kui, who passed it to others after reading it.
After turning around, the letter returned to Shao Jin's hands.
"Last year, your Majesty ordered me not to return to the capital before the New Year and to do my job well in Bingzhou. Now you are summoning me to Guangcheng Garden, but I don't know what your meaning is," he said.
"There is no news from the capital." Yuan Dan shook his head and looked at everyone.
“Could it be——” Xin Zuo swallowed and said, “Dragon body…hmm.”
Everyone's expression changed.
"Nonsense!" Shao Jin glanced at Xin Zuo unhappily.
Xin Zuo realized that he had been reckless and immediately bowed to apologize.
Seeing that no one was talking for a while, Yuwen Xibaxiong interrupted and said, "Last year, I submitted two petitions requesting the establishment of a crown prince. Although Your Majesty did not agree, he did not explicitly oppose it. Now that Wu has been pacified and the reign has been changed and a general amnesty has been announced, I think it is necessary to establish a crown prince. Your Majesty must be prepared."
Yuan Dan looked at Yuwen Xibaxiong, feeling slightly dissatisfied.
What this guy said does make sense, but is it your turn to be in the spotlight here?
Shao Jin looked at Yuwen Xibaxiong with admiration and said, "You are right."
After saying that, he suddenly stood up and took a few steps.
The stove seemed a little hot, and he couldn't help but take off his fur coat and handed it to the servant standing beside him.
My heart started pounding and I couldn't calm down.
He felt his face was getting hot, and the blood was rushing up.
After a long while, he heaved a long sigh and said, "Let's discuss this. If I go to Guangcheng Garden, what will His Majesty ask, and how should I answer?"
This sentence seemed to be a signal. The atmosphere among the people present suddenly became heated, especially Yuan Dan, Xin Zuo, Guo De and other Henan scholars, who were proud of it and looked like they were ready to show off their talents.
After so many years of waiting, it’s finally done!
(End of this chapter)