Chinese New Year

Chapter 466 Siblings
Time passes quickly, yet seems to pass slowly.

The Huns had been at the gates of Luoyang for several days. They first slowly harvested the remaining crops in the fields as supplies.

It was a pity that the little food that the people of Luoyang had grown with great difficulty had to be used as food and horse feed for the Xiongnu before it could be harvested.

While doing all this, the Huns were also looking for places to plunder and create as much panic as possible.

However, the area around Luoyang is very desolate, with only forts or mountain strongholds, all of which have certain defensive capabilities and are not easy to rob.

With no other options, they could only rush into the residential areas, commercial areas, and royal palaces around Luoyang City. After looting, they set fires, burning down many buildings, and even looted some of the scholars and civilians who were still hiding in these areas.

There was chaos outside the city, and there was also chaos inside the city. It was not until the fourth day of September that the imperial guards went out of the city and drove the Xiongnu cavalry out of the construction area outside the city.

The leader Zhi Quliu laughed and rushed northward to the southern city of Heyang, trying to create chaos.

As for the attack to the south, he gave up.

The three passes of Luonan are blocked, and they only have 3,000 cavalry. It is impossible for them to cause much trouble. There is no need to make trouble for themselves.

After the Huns retreated, the debate in the Luoyang court reached its climax.

Especially this year there is a fatal problem: insufficient grain imports.

If this could still be tolerated, the grain transportation was now interrupted because the Huns cut off the transportation to Jiuqu Du.

How do you respond?

The emperor also felt a little panicked, because once Luoyang was captured, he would inevitably suffer and there would be no escape.

At this moment, it wasn't a question of who to mess with behind the scenes or not, he was really panicking...

"Your Majesty, don't worry. This is not the first time that Luoyang has been besieged. We have always escaped danger. Why do you need to hastily summon Lord Chen back to defend the king? Besides, he is in Fangtou, being entangled by the bandits. It will be difficult to withdraw for a while." Princess Sima Xiuyi of Xiangcheng advised earnestly, "My sister just asked the general in the palace. When the enemy and I are fighting, we must not retreat. If we want to retreat, we must wait until we have defeated the enemy."

Sima Chi was not ignorant of this principle. Even if he really didn't understand it, there were people who understood it and explained it to him.

But the question is, why should he consider others?

He is the emperor, and others should naturally consider him, sympathize with him, forgive him, and put themselves in a difficult position for him.

He would not and would not want to compromise himself or consider others. Even if the army to support the king encountered difficulties, they should come overnight.

Well, he had been beaten up in the past few years and was not so self-centered, but he really wanted to see the troops coming to the king. Especially this morning, a group of imperial guards rashly pursued the enemy cavalry and were defeated, losing more than 3,000 soldiers and greatly dampening their morale, which made him even more panicked.

"There is not enough food and grass in the city. If we don't drive out the bandits, the grain transport will be blocked and the people will be in turmoil. How long can we hold out?" Sima Chi said unhappily.

Sima Xiuyi smoothed her hair, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, how long can the grain stored in the granary last?"

"This...this..." Sima Chi paused.

He only knew that the stored food would definitely not be enough, but he was not sure exactly when it would become insufficient.

Seeing his sister staring at him, he blushed and said, "Use it sparingly. It will probably only last until the first month of the year."

Sima Xiuyi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this and said, "Your Majesty, the grain stored in Taicang is only needed to pay for the palace expenses, the salaries of all officials, and the food allowances for soldiers and craftsmen. It can last until the first month of the year, so what is there to worry about?"

"Sister, are you saying that the canal transportation will be open in the next few months?" Sima Chi asked with some doubt.

Sima Xiuyi didn't know whether the battle could be won or not, so he could only say: "If Lord Chen wins at Fangtou, there is no need to send troops to help, and the enemy cavalry will retreat on their own. If he is defeated, the Xiongnu may cross the river in large numbers and surround Luoyang. Your Majesty should think carefully about what to do."

Sima Chi thought for a long time and was still hesitant.

"Your Majesty..." Sima Xiuyi advised again.

Sima Chi looked at his sister suspiciously and couldn't help asking, "Why did you speak up for Shao Xun again and again?"

Sima Xiuyi's face was calm, without any ripples. She only said, "Sister is also considering His Majesty. If we order Chen Gong to come to defend Luojing at this time, will he be able to come?"

"If he doesn't come, his ugly deeds will be made known to the world." Sima Chi said without hesitation.

"Your Majesty is the ruler of the Nine Provinces, don't be angry." Sima Xiuyi said helplessly: "It is better to wait and see what happens. Anyway, there is still food stored in the granary."

Sima Chi snorted coldly and said nothing.

The family knows their own affairs.

In fact, didn't he know that Luoyang would not fall in a short time? He knew.

Now he is in a state of panic and is almost issuing an imperial decree to all directions to come to the rescue, which is actually intended to take advantage of the situation to make more sense.

This is the darkest part of his heart, and he must never bring it to the surface.

Yes, he felt that he was a little crazy. He actually wanted to see Shao Xun defeated and killed, and his entire army annihilated.

No one can guarantee what will happen if Shao Xun is defeated.

But he felt that it was better than Shao Xun being alive.

Now that this man is dead, he can use the righteousness of the court to inform the generals and order them to lead their troops to serve. Li Chong, Chen Yougen, Wang Que'er, Jin Zheng, Hou Feihu, Man Yu and others used to follow Shao Xun and act as accomplices to the evil, and they have committed many crimes. Now that their backers have fallen, wouldn't they be afraid?
As the Son of Heaven, I have pardoned your sins and allowed you to make amends for your crimes. How could you not be grateful?

Admittedly, he knew that it might be a bit idealistic, but there would always be opportunities, right?

As for whether the Huns would march south in large numbers, he felt that after incorporating Shao Xun's followers, he could mobilize elite troops from Wancheng, Xiangyang and Xuzhou to engage in a decisive battle with the Huns, and there would still be a certain chance of winning.

At worst, he can move the capital to Xuchang, Wancheng or Xiangyang, surround himself with important ministers and famous generals, and all major events can be handled by him. Isn't that better than it is now?

He really didn't want to stay in Luoyang, a city located on the front line where famine could occur at any time.

He needed chaos, drastic chaos.

In the chaos, he could become worse or better.

But if there were no confusion, his ending would seem to be predictable and there would be no suspense.

His mentality can be described in simple words: crazy.

After being hit hard twice by Sima Yue and then being controlled by Shao Xun and his ministers, his mental state was more or less problematic.

Sima Xiuyi seemed to have sensed the emperor's strangeness. He sighed softly, not knowing what to say.

In fact, she was also very conflicted in her heart. After all, she was the daughter of Emperor Wu and the sister of the emperor. She enjoyed all the glory of the royal family when she was young, and even her legacy continues to this day - the dowry was ten times that of an ordinary princess, enough to make her one of the richest women in the world.

But a married woman is like spilled water. Even if she cares about her parents' home, she still has to consider her own life.

Besides, she now has a child, whom she treasures very much. She is not at all comfortable leaving her to a wet nurse. Every night before she goes to sleep, she has to see her daughter's lovely face before she can fall asleep peacefully.

Today I went to the palace to visit the emperor, ostensibly to chat about family affection between siblings, but in reality I had another purpose.

She felt a little ashamed about this matter, so she didn't want to say more.

The palace room fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, the emperor asked again: "When will sister go to Jiangzhou?"

"Why are you going to Jiangzhou?" Sima Xiuwei was stunned, but he reacted quickly, with a look of disgust on his face.

"Sister is Wang Chuzhong's wife, and the couple should be reunited." The emperor saw the expression on his sister's face and understood what she meant, but he still advised: "Wang Qing is the ambassador to Jiangzhou, and he commands a large army. He is the pillar of the country, and I trust him. If sister goes and supervises him, I will have more protection in Luoyang."

"I won't go." Even when facing the emperor, Sima Xiuwei did not give any face and said coldly.

"Sister still has the same temper as before." Sima Chi smiled embarrassedly.

"Your Majesty." Sima Xiuyi looked at the emperor, with a look of nostalgia in his expression and a much more sincere tone: "Your Majesty, you must be well... Don't act rashly. Even if the situation changes in the future, there will always be rich men."

This is a bit outrageous.

But the emperor had already fallen into such a state, and he and his sister had been together since childhood, so he did not blame his sister. He just remained silent, his mind distracted.

Sima Xiuwei was a little disappointed. After chatting for a few minutes, he left the palace and returned home.

The next day after returning home, she received news: the emperor did not order Chen Gong to return to the capital to defend the country, but sent an envoy to Fangtou at night to transfer the cavalry back to Luoyang.

She just sighed a little about this, thinking that all the civil and military officials in the court were selfish after all.

Perhaps under the influence of important officials such as Wang Yan, the court officials reluctantly suppressed the idea of ​​dispatching troops to provide assistance, but no one stopped them from calling back the imperial guards that originally belonged to the court.

These people are just like this.

Sima Xiuzhi thought of Zhou Fu's previous proposal to move the capital to Shouchun, and the emperor was tempted for a while, but his ministers were reluctant to give up their family businesses in Luoyang, and eventually ruined the plan.

After all, what these people care about is only their own money and official positions.

In fact, isn't she the same?

In troubled times, everyone is trying their best to do things that are beneficial to themselves, and constantly adjusting as the situation develops.

Now she only hopes that Lord Chen can successfully defeat Shi Le.

To put it more pretentiously, she doesn't want her daughter to be without a father.

To be practical, she doesn't want her own interests to be harmed.

After sighing for a while, she sat down at the table and began to write a letter. After she finished writing and sealed it, she immediately sent someone to go around Yanzhou, find a way to cross the river, and deliver it to Mr. Chen.

She felt it necessary to inform Mr. Chen of everything that happened in the capital, including the emperor's thoughts and state.

After sending the letter, she smiled bitterly again.

Even she, as an elder sister, was informing Lord Chen. I wonder where the emperor got the confidence from.

(End of this chapter)