Chinese New Year

Chapter 438 Office
Raising a child is actually a boring yet interesting thing.

After a long time, the child becomes restless and the person is exhausted. But if you haven't seen your child for a long time, it's a different story.

Shao Xun held his son in his arms, and the two of them played with each other for a long time. Only after his son fell asleep did he hand him over to the wet nurse.

After breakfast, he went to the General Zhenjun's shogunate with Concubine Pei.

When they arrived at the shogunate, Shao Xun quickly dismounted, then lifted the curtain of the carriage and asked Concubine Pei to get off.

Concubine Pei got out of the carriage with the help of her maid. Her face was calm and indifferent, and her temperament was dignified and majestic - she looked like a "strong woman" at first glance.

The group then entered the shogunate compound.

Shao Xun changed out of the blue robe and put on a bright red military uniform, walking half a step behind Concubine Pei.

As he walked, he glanced around, just like the loyal family guard ten years ago.

Concubine Pei obviously thought of this as well.

As he walked, his steps became slightly lighter, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and his whole aura became much more relaxed.

The most important thing is that she now feels extremely at ease, as if she has a backbone she can rely on. She can also handle government affairs and meet with colleagues with greater ease.

Men are the backbone of the family.

When they arrived at the last courtyard, Supervisor Mi stepped forward and saluted.

He controlled the only armed force in Kaocheng: a guard that had slowly expanded to more than 3,500 people.

Apart from the Yanzhou gentry and refugee recruits, the rest were new recruits who were recruited by all means from Xuzhou and even the East China Sea.

The guard originally had 500 cavalrymen, most of whom were from the Yanzhou gentry. They were just decided a few days ago and allocated to the Yicong Army.

Among the remaining 3,000 people, there were 500 from the Yanzhou gentry, 1,000 strong refugees, and more than half were soldiers from Donghai, led by Mi Zhi who was from the Mi family of Donghai. They were considered the closest military force to the King of Donghai and the Queen Mother.

However, as a "big star" in Donghai, Shao Xun seemed to be able to keep this army firmly under his control without much effort - people in Luoyang thought of Shao Xun as a Luoyang person, and people in Donghai thought of Shao Xun as a Donghai person, it was amazing.

Shao Xun returned a salute to Mi Zhi, then escorted Concubine Pei to his office.

Cai Cheng handed over the defense tasks to Mi Zhi, and then took his men away from the shogunate.

When the assistants and clerks who remained in the shogunate saw this, they were secretly horrified and at the same time sighed: The King of Donghai can't even control his guards, so why is he making such a fuss?

After Concubine Pei sat down, she found that the room was very different from before.

Bows and swords were hung on the wall.

There is a low table in the corner, on which are all kinds of utensils such as a teapot. Judging from the inscription, it is Princess Lingshou's collection.

The desk was replaced with a high table, and a Hu bed was placed behind the table.

In one corner of the table were bamboo slips, wooden tablets and paper official letters - over the past ten years, there have been fewer and fewer bamboo slips and more and more paper has been used.

She walked back to the back of the room.

There is a beaded curtain hanging here, and behind the curtain there are a table and a bed.

When you are tired, you can have a drink or two here and then lie down and rest for a while.

Overall, the house is very simple and free of unnecessary items.

This man has not yet adapted to the life of wealth and luxury.

No, it should be said that he lived a rich life or a simple life, and it seemed that he didn't care much about these.

After sitting down at the desk, Concubine Pei picked up an official letter and took a look at it.

"... (Deng) You built his residence with a poor system, and his extravagant lifestyle hurt our thrifty virtue..."

Concubine Pei chuckled.

Just one day later, someone reported the Right Sima Deng You overnight.

As the second most important person in the shogunate, Shao Xun wrote a note below as a military commander: "You Sima has made great contributions to the army, and people are quite grateful for it. It is appropriate to punish him lightly as a warning to all officials."

After reading it, Concubine Pei wrote the three words "can be dismissed from office" at the bottom, then looked up.

The military advisors Luqiu Chong and Bian Dun were not there, and she was too lazy to call the clerk over, so she asked the maid to open the wooden box she was carrying, took out the seal of the general of the Zhenjun Army, dipped it in ink, and stamped it directly.

Thus, Deng You's fate was sealed.

The dismissal was not a real dismissal, but a manipulation to get the court to give him a position in Guanzhong. As for whether Deng You went or not, it was his business and had nothing to do with the shogunate.

However, there was really nothing wrong with Deng Sima. It was a bit outrageous that he was convicted of "extravagance" in the end.

"...Cao Yi is vicious and cunning, and the people are displaced. Jibei had a poor harvest last year, and silkworms are still scarce. (Zhao) Mu did nothing, did not encourage sericulture, and was late in providing rice relief, so it was difficult to save the urgent situation..."

This is a criticism of the Right Chief Clerk Zhao Mu.

Similarly, Zhao Mu had no personal moral problems, but his abilities were flawed.

The shogunate did not have much money and food to provide relief to Jibei, which was plundered by Cao Yi, but it still had to make a gesture to avoid local alienation. He was not clear-headed, and only after repeated persuasion did he send a batch of relief rice, which was transported down the Yellow River, and at the same time asked the nobles around Jibei to raise grain and beans and send them to Jibei.

But they arrived too late and some people starved to death.

Shao Xun's comment below was not so polite: "He has done nothing and is almost evil, and his crime cannot be escaped from the Constitution."

Concubine Pei originally only intended to dismiss him from office, but after seeing the man's comments, she wrote directly: "Deprive him of all his concurrent posts, and order the traitor Supervisor Tang and Secretary Shen to investigate and deal with him." "... Every year on the twelfth lunar month, counties and prefectures catch and raise foxes and rabbits as tribute. This is against human nature and a waste of manpower..."

The annotation on this copy reads: "After the war, we should save resources. It is unnecessary to trouble our people."

Concubine Pei first read the man's comments, and then wrote the words "it's better to stop".

"...The Xiongnu had not yet been destroyed, and the master and his disciples were exposed. And the New Year's Eve banquet was very wasteful..."

Concubine Pei handled more than a dozen official letters in a row at an extremely fast speed.

He glanced at the main text without reading it in detail, only paying attention to the comments of the military commander Shao Xun at the bottom. Then, according to his wishes, he issued an order and used the seal in the name of the general Sima Pi, and completed it in one go in an instant.

Shao Xun walked in from the outer room, put the food box on the table, then hugged Concubine Pei from behind, pecked her face lightly, and said, "I baked some Hu pancakes, let's have some together."

"Bake it yourself?"

"Of course." Shao Xun said, "Look at me."

Concubine Pei turned her head to take a look and chuckled.

There were traces of smoke and fire on his face, and there was ash on his hands.

Thinking of this, she slapped Shao Xun's hand, saying that the apple had been soiled by his touching. She had originally planned to feed the child herself.

The two laughed and joked for a while, then sat opposite each other behind the beaded curtain and started eating cakes.

"When do you plan to return to Xuchang?" Concubine Pei asked softly.

"I originally planned to return in the next two days, but now I am a little hesitant." Shao Xun said, "I didn't want to get up this morning, I just wanted to stay for a few more days."

Concubine Pei chuckled and said nothing.

She could tell that there was some truth in the man's words.

When he first came to Kaocheng, he was really tired. He slept soundly after going to bed, as if he had loosened a taut string and gained unimaginable peace.

After doing this for a few days, a person's energy and spirit will be visibly improved.

To be honest, Concubine Pei was still very touched.

He trusted her without any defense.

She was also greedily obsessed with this kind of life.

Every night she would go to bed first and warm the quilt. After the man finished his work, he would come over and talk about some things. She would also give some advice, or say some private love words, and finally they would smile at each other and fall asleep in each other's arms.

After getting up in the morning, we have meals together and play with the child for a while.

Then he practiced martial arts in the yard, and she sewed clothes by hand in front of the window, always looking at the man's muscular body.

He then escorted her to the shogunate to review official correspondence.

With a man by my side, everything is safe and secure. There is no need to intrigue or think too much.

Just do what he says.

Concubine Pei is a little panicked now. She wants to spend such a warm life with a man more and more. What should she do?
This thought is almost impossible to suppress, or rather, the more you suppress it, the more you want it.

Yu Wenjun, why?
"After the spring sowing, I will leave Xuchang temporarily," said Shao Xun.

Concubine Pei hummed and felt much better.

Shao Xun withdrew his gaze from Concubine Pei and sighed that time management had been applied to the extreme.

Don't invest your emotions, just vent, and don't even need to do time management.

If he gets emotionally involved, that'll be troublesome, and he feels a little exhausted.

"Will you go on an expedition next year?" asked Concubine Pei.

"It's hard to say. I don't want to fight, but the Xiongnu may not." Shao Xun said, "Besides, Hebei is always a hidden danger. The cavalry is rampant, and the counties in Yanzhou are not only affected by the autumn harvest, but also can't grow winter wheat. It's too bad. If there is a chance, I still want to deal with Shi Le."

"What are you going to do?"

"There's no rush." ​​Shao Xun didn't give a direct answer, but said, "Let's stabilize the three cities of Heyang first. If the Silver Spear Army doesn't withdraw, they won't be able to defeat Shi Le, as he has too many cavalry."

"Will there be any changes in the south?"

"The King of Langya is still busy reorganizing the five states and has little energy to look north. As long as I don't move Xuzhou, there should be no conflict." Shao Xun said.

Xuzhou is the gateway to the Jiangnan regime. No matter who is based in Jiangdong, they will try every means to control it, or at least control the Huai River line.

This is the bottom line of Sima Rui and the Jiangdong gentry. Once it is broken, it is hard to say what will happen.

"You've suffered a lot in this land of four wars." Concubine Pei sighed.

"Sometimes I do feel miserable and irritated." Shao Xun said, "But when I see you, I don't feel miserable anymore. I will fight hard no matter what, so that you can live a rich and worry-free life."

Concubine Pei looked at him for a long time before she said, "Go back early."

"Okay, I'll come visit you and your mother after the New Year." Shao Xun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

On December 26th, just a few days before the New Year, Shao Xun, who had been wandering outside for two months, finally returned to Xuchang.

(End of this chapter)