Chapter 1290: Chapter Chat
Chapter 1290 Chat
In the last few days before the New Year, Shao Xun was not in good spirits.
But he still acted like a ruthless political machine, taking the prince on a tour around Bianliang, distributing New Year gifts to some selected soldiers, and listening to their opinions.
When we returned to Liang Palace, it was already New Year's Eve.
The New Year still needs to be celebrated. He still has parents, children, and other women, and he also needs to take care of their emotions.
The dead are gone, it is more important to cherish the living.
In addition, he also had to entertain officials and generals, meet with local accountants, and appease the leaders of the Hu tribes...
It was not until the eighth day of the first lunar month that he finally had some free time.
He was not very tired physically, but he was mentally exhausted. So he picked up his lance and horn bow, mounted his warhorse, and started training with that group of heroes on the ninth day of the New Year.
Han Wang Shao Wo and Liangcheng Commandery Prince Yuan Zhen also came and trained together.
It was not until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that people were given a few days off to meet their relatives and friends.
Shao Xun came to the Dragon Scale Palace and looked up things related to the development of Jiangnan to kill time.
It has been more than a year since the destruction of Jin. The first year of Zhenming was the peak of the first wave of people moving south, but the Ministry of Civil Affairs predicted that more people would move south in the second year of Zhenming (335). After all, many families were still making preparations last year, both mentally and materially.
Some native ethnic groups in the south of the Yangtze River were forced to move south to Luling, Linchuan, Dongyang, Linhai, Nankang and even to Jin'an and Jian'an counties, because there were no big tribes from the north to compete with them in these places, only barbarians.
Furthermore, northerners are not very willing to go to these more humid and hot places.
Jiangnan already makes them feel uncomfortable, so why go somewhere even further south?
Not all northern scholars who moved south were there to seize cultivated land. In fact, many of them were also reclaiming wasteland, which objectively promoted the development of the Jiangnan region.
Between the south of the Yangtze River and the north bank of the Huai River, the eight counties of Yiyang, Anfeng, Xunyang, Lujiang, Huainan, Tangyi, Linhuai, and Guangling are lined up - Huailing County has been abolished and has very few people - forming a barren Jianghuai area. It is so sparsely populated that much of the land that had been developed has turned into wilderness again, which is very eye-catching in the middle.
It is possible that we have to send household registration to these places.
The remaining soldiers of the government, the Hu people in Guanzhong, and even various miscellaneous populations will be gradually filled in.
Especially the remaining soldiers of the government, the more people go to Huainan, the longer the life of this system will be. As for whether the control power will decline, he can't care so much.
For example, in the Tang Dynasty, most of the military forces were stationed in Guanzhong, which made it easy to control them. However, this also resulted in the military forces having less and less land. Coupled with the indiscriminate awarding of honors and rewards, the entire system lasted only seventy years before it completely collapsed. The indiscriminate awarding of honors and rewards alone would not be a big deal, and the small amount of land alone would not be particularly fatal, but if the two were combined, the problem would be serious.
Shao Xun spread out the map and patrolled along both sides of the Huai River.
First, he selected Wokou and Yingkou, and then Yangyuan, Huaiyangqiu and Liangshan. The first two were in Yuzhou, but across the river from Huainan County of Yangzhou, and the last three were in the hinterland of Huainan.
A lot of taxes were exempted last year, and the big families are moving south again, so it is not good to exploit them too much. It is already good enough to be able to accommodate these five military offices.
They are all barren places that have been desolate for years. The farmlands are probably overgrown with grass and the houses can hardly shelter from the wind and rain. It is already good enough to be able to deal with these five, and the neighboring counties have to tighten their belts and provide more support.
******
After having lunch in the Dragon Scale Palace, Shao Xun called the King of Chu and his wife again.
"Are you going back to Luoyang to mourn?" Shao Xun asked.
"Yes." Shao Gui lowered his head and responded softly.
Shao Xun hesitated.
It's not that he suspected the second son was up to something, in fact it was simply impossible.
The so-called fight for the throne depends entirely on his attitude. Even if the current kings were ten times more powerful, they would not be able to cause any waves.
Li Shimin was the de facto founding monarch. He favored Li Chengqian and cultivated him wholeheartedly. But when Li Chengqian's feet failed, he was truly shaken. What happened afterwards was not so much Li Chengqian's madness as it was the result of Li Shimin's cold violence and even open provocation after he was shaken, forcing him step by step. The so-called treason was more like a sting operation.
There is probably only one real reason: a disabled person with a limp cannot inherit this country.
No matter what Shao Xun thinks in his heart, at least his outward attitude now is to establish a crown prince, and while he is on guard, he also intends to support him. As long as he supports the crown prince, the crown prince's position will be very stable.
There was no possibility that the second son would cause trouble. Even if his subordinates were unwilling, what could they do? Assassinate him?
What Shao Xun was really worried about was that Shao Gui went to the west and that the father and son would become more and more separated. After all, he would not return to Luoyang within two or three years.
But he soon thought of something, and after weighing the pros and cons, he said, "Since you want to go back to Luoyang, then go ahead. Don't build a thatched cottage, just mourn in the palace."
Shao Gui had not many family members, just a princess, two wives (Deng from Nanyang and Liu from Fanyang), one son and one daughter.
"Don't be in a hurry to leave now. Let's talk about it after the second day of the second lunar month." Shao Xun said.
"Yes." Shao Gui replied.
Shao Xun looked at Chu Wangfei Zu and said, "Mrs. Rong, you must take good care of Hulang. He - ah, go."
"Yes." Zu also responded.
"Come here, Hulang, and walk with grandpa." Shao Xun walked out of the palace gate and waved.
Shao Gui followed closely behind.
"The other brothers have all been assigned tasks, but grandpa didn't let you go out. He only gave you the position of Du Shui Shao Jian. What do you think?" Shao Xun asked.
"There is a reason why Grandpa did this," said Shao Gui.
Shao Xun paused, turned around, patted his son's shoulder gently, and said, "You are right. Grandpa has a reason for doing this, do you understand?"
Shao Gui was silent. "Go, go to Luoyang, it's not a bad thing for you. If you are not satisfied with living in Luoyang, the old Fanyang Palace in Xuchang is still there, I sent people to clean it up, you can live there if you want." Shao Xun said: "Your 200 guards are still with you, you can support them with the food and land. You can do whatever you want with the officials in the palace, support them if you can, and dismiss them if you can't. If there are talented people, you can recommend them to me, and I will employ them at my discretion."
At the end, he softened his tone and said, "Grandpa promised your mother that he would treat you well and not - let me down."
"Yes." Shao Gui replied.
Seeing his son looking depressed, Shao Xun didn't say much.
After so many years of training, the abilities and personalities of several older princes are basically clear.
Jin Dao was the first candidate for crown prince whom he rejected.
Hulang is the second one. His ability may not be as good as Jindao, and Shao Xun does not like his personality either.
Jin Dao was completely dominated by his wife and lost the support of the people.
There seemed to be a glimmer of hope in Hulang's mind. Today's conversation could hardly be called a hint. I hoped he could recognize himself sooner rather than later.
Of course, if it really came to that, Shao Xun would not do anything to Huan Lang out of gratitude for their old friendship with Lu Xun. But the officials of the royal palace and the local big families who bewitched him could not escape, and he wanted to see if anyone dared to bewitch his son.
******
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Shao Xun came to Fanghuayuan after visiting his parents.
Shan Yinan was chatting with Yang Xianrong with a big belly.
Perhaps knowing that Shao Xun was in a bad mood, Yang Xianrong had a particularly good temper. She personally made soup for Shao Xun and chatted with him about love and romance.
But as they talked, the topic inevitably turned to King Shao Gui of Chu.
"Duan Liao, the Right Attendant of the Prince of Chu's Palace, is not a good guy." Yang Xianrong said, "I heard that he has a house in Nanyang and keeps many guests. He is arrogant and domineering. Oh, those guests seem to be Xianbei people from Youzhou. If he stays with the Prince of Chu, there is no guarantee that something will happen. You might as well send a letter to the Governor of Jingzhou to ask him to investigate. Duan Liao has a lot of things going on, and you can find out the truth if you investigate."
Shao Xun's heart moved, and he asked, "How do you know?"
"Who doesn't know that Duan Liao's son Qi Te is really a businessman?" Yang Xianrong said disapprovingly, "You are the only one who sits in the palace all day and thinks that all your sons are innocent. You should deal with Duan Liao before he causes any bigger trouble."
"Didn't you also give birth to two sons for me?" Shao Xun said speechlessly.
"Are you very proud that the Queen of Dajin gave birth to a child for you?" Yang Xianrong glanced at him and asked in a sarcastic tone.
After these words were spoken, Shao Xun didn't say anything, but Shan Yinan blushed.
Shao Xun sighed lightly, leaned lazily on the bed, and no longer had the mood to tease.
Shan Yinan took a dried fruit and put it to his mouth.
Shao Xun shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to eat.
Shan Yinan took his hand again and gently placed it on his lower abdomen.
Shao Xun's expression changed, and he asked, "Seems to be turning over?"
Shan Yinan nodded slightly and said, "You scared me just now."
Shao Xun no longer looked like everyone owed him 100,000 strings of cash. He realized that the woman next to him was pregnant with his child and he shouldn't bring negative emotions to her, so he forced a smile and said, "It would be best if it's a daughter."
"Why?" Shan Yinan asked.
"If someone is as considerate as you, he will definitely be a stunning charmer when he grows up." Shao Xun said.
Shan Yinan chuckled and said, "She's so charming. I'm really troubled by this kid."
Shao Xun was startled and asked, "Feeling uncomfortable?"
Yang Xianrong couldn't help but say, "Just take care of your own comfort. Yi Nan's face turned pale from vomiting in the winter month."
Shao Xun was speechless.
"Alright." Shan Yinan winked at Yang Xianrong, then leaned into Shao Xun's arms and whispered, "Birth, aging, sickness and death are human nature. You still have the world, your parents, wife and children, and you have to move forward step by step. In the past in Jianye, all the civil and military officials frowned when they heard your name, and they wished you would not be so ambitious and would lose your ambition as soon as possible."
"What about you? What were you thinking at that time?" Shao Xun asked.
"Li Cheng was still here at the time, and I thought I could probably fight you with the strength of the three of us." Shan Yinan rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are already in your forties, and I am only in my twenties, so maybe I can beat you. But things in the world don't always go as planned—"
Having said that, he stroked his bulging belly and sighed softly.
When Shao Xun heard this, his vanity suddenly rose.
Although he knew Shan Yinan might have said that on purpose, he was still happy. This woman knew exactly how to tickle his itch.
Then he looked at Yang Xianrong again.
Fortunately, Yangyang was still in the mood to argue with him and there was nothing wrong with his health.
The year of the great epidemic was the year he was most worried about, because he subconsciously felt that Yang Xianrong in history might have died in that great plague that spread across the country.
In this world, it is not easy to live, and the most important thing is to cherish the people around you.
(End of this chapter)