Chinese New Year

Chapter 485 Traditional People
Wang Xuan arrived in Xuchang on February 21st, but found nothing. In desperation, he set out south the next day and headed straight for Wancheng. At this time, Shao Xun had passed Fangcheng Mountain and arrived at Duyang County on the southern slope.

A pass has been built at the Fangcheng Mountain Pass, named "Fangcheng Pass", which is garrisoned by the Duyang Tuntian Army in turns.

Going north from Nanyang, the Sanya Valley Road is relatively difficult to travel, and there is a strategic pass like Luyang Pass, so generally speaking, official and private business travelers all take the Wanye Corridor to the east.

In fact, not to mention travelers, even the wars between the North and the South in ancient times basically took this road.

Liu Bang took this road from Luoyang to Wancheng.

When Liu Xiu started the rebellion, Wang Mang sent Wang Yi and others out of Kunyang, where they met Liu Xiu and were defeated and returned to Luoyang, taking this route.

Liu Xiu also took this route when he marched from Duyang to conquer Deng Feng in Nanyang.

At the end of the Later Han Dynasty, Cao Hong attacked Jingzhou and fought in Wuyang and Ye County, right on this road.

Liu Bei stationed in Xinye and advanced his troops to Ye County, where he set an ambush and defeated Xiahou Dun, and still fought here.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Chen Xianda fought against Huan Tiansheng, Lu Yuan attacked Nanyang, and Emperor Xiaowen of Wei attacked Xiangyang, all of which took place here.

Wanye Corridor, as the name suggests, is a narrow corridor-like road from Wancheng to Ye County. But in fact, the southern end of this road is at Fangcheng Pass in the northern border of Duyang County, and the northern end is at Yeyi in Ye County. The reason why it is called "Wanye Corridor" is probably because Wancheng is too famous.

This was the second time Shao Xun had taken this route.

Walking it again, I still felt that the vegetation was lush and dense, and there were many overflowing rivers around. It looked flat, but there was actually only one road to walk on.

Fangcheng Pass is the key to Wancheng’s northward journey into the Wanye Corridor, but how should I put it? The role of this pass is really far inferior to that of Luyang Pass to the west.

The reason is simple: the pass is too large, with a width of thirty miles from east to west. Unless the Great Wall is built, a small city pass cannot completely block the pass.

But if you say that closing the city is useless, that is not true.

This city is built on a road. After the garrison leaves the city, as long as they have sufficient field combat capabilities, they can still harass the enemy's supply lines that bypass the city.

Therefore, when crossing the Fangcheng Pass, Shao Xun specially stayed on the mountain for a while and listened to a piece of music played by Le Lanji herself. Only then did he feel satisfied and went down the mountain.

After entering Duyang County, the army set up camp on the spot, and he inspected the countryside accompanied by Shao Guang, the captain of the military farm.

The establishment of the military farms was different from that of the refugees resettled in Chen County.

Most of them lived together, and the land they cultivated was not very large, so they could barely make a living.

The Tuntian Army had cities, but they were not as good as proper county towns, prefecture towns or military towns, and were more like fortresses.

The families of officers and key soldiers lived inside the city, while the rest lived outside. Fields were also cultivated along the city, extending outward in circles.

The Duyang Tuntian Army originally had 5,000 men, and now there are 4,000 left. The missing 1,000 either died in the battle at Fangtou North City or went to Dongping to serve as government soldiers.

But overall, this is still a considerable military force.

"Sir, once you cross this river, it will be under the jurisdiction of Duyang County." Shao Guang said, pointing to a small ditch no more than two steps wide.

On the other side of the river stood a group of Silver Spear soldiers, wearing distinctive armor and looking impressive.

Shao Xun walked across the wooden bridge and came to the other side of the river.

There are farmlands on the other side of the river, and at this moment many people are working in the fields.

Shao Xun still remembered that when the army first arrived here, the people simply threw away their farm tools and fled.

However, after the Silver Spear Army sent people to return the farm tools, they let down their guard and returned to farming.

These people are actually quite brave!
"Huh? People from Guanxi?" Shao Xun was walking on the path in the field when he suddenly stopped and looked towards the field.

He seemed to hear a Kansai accent just now.

One side of the path was densely packed with personal soldiers wearing Ming Guang armor, some of whom even stood in the middle of the field, holding large shields.

When Le Lanji saw this, she chuckled, shook Shao Xun's arm, and looked at him with amusement.

Since entering Duyang County, they are very close to Wancheng. Lan Ji's mood is extremely good, and there is a relaxed and happy smile on her face from morning to night.

Sometimes, Shao Xun could even hear her humming a ballad. When he asked, he found out that it was a Nanyang folk song that she had learned from her wet nurse when she was a child.

Seeing the woman so happy, Shao Xun's mood also improved.

She follows you wholeheartedly, gives birth to your children, and takes care of your daily life. Isn't it right to treat her well?

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, and sometimes one might only have one or two opportunities to see relatives, which was very rare.

Shao Guang observed the expressions on the side and thought that his little cousin might want to meet those people from Guanxi, so he waved his hand, called over a clerk, and asked him to go and negotiate.

The clerk took the order and left. He did not dare to push through the Shao family's personal soldiers who were like a wall. Instead, he walked around them and went down to the fields. He said, "You, you, and you, Lord Chen wants to summon you for questioning. Come with me quickly."

Several farmers stood in the fields without moving.

Soon, several more people arrived.

The leader was carrying a sword and a bow, and even wore leather armor. He didn't look like he was doing farm work at all.

He frowned at first, then looked at the soldiers standing like a forest on the roadside, and immediately gave in, leading the three farmers over personally.

Cai Cheng brought in two Hu beds.

Shao Xun sat down. Lan Ji didn't want to see outsiders, so she went straight back to the carriage.

Liu Ling jumped down from the field in a nonchalant manner and reached out to grab the bow and sword from the leader.

The man was startled and stretched out his hand to stop it.

Liu Ling looked at him with contempt, and with a little force, he twisted the man's hands behind his back and pressed him to the ground.

Yang Qin was quick to take away his bow and sword, and then searched carefully and found a dagger from his boots. The other people were also searched and after ensuring that they had no weapons, they were brought to Shao Xun.

The leader was beaten by Liu Ling and lost all his momentum. When he saw Shao Xun, he knelt on the ground and shouted, "Family member Yang San greets Mr. Chen."

The rest of the people followed suit and saluted.

"Get up." Shao Xun said, "Fellow villager? Where is your hometown?"

"Duyang——"

“Original place!”

"I'm from Acheng."

"That's Chang'an County?"

"Exactly."

"When did you come to Nanyang?"

“Two years ago.”

"When the Lushui Hu attacked Chang'an?"

"Yes."

"How about Lushuihu?"

"Brutal and violent, plundering by nature."

"Who did you come to Nanyang with?"

"There are elders in the village who are highly respected and brought hundreds of families out of Lantian Pass and into Nanyang."

"How did you get to Duyang?"

"General Liang sent someone to lead us here."

“Hundreds of families are here?”

"There are more than 300 families from Chiyang who are on the road together, so there are nearly 1,000 families in total."

"Do they all live over there?" Shao Xun stood up and pointed at a fortress in the distance, with a corner of it visible behind the woods, and asked.

"Exactly."

"Liang Fen is quite courageous." Shao Xun suddenly smiled and said, "If we disperse you all, aren't you afraid of being bullied by the natives?"

Yang San raised his head and said seriously: "We are not evil people. We just want to stay alive. If the natives don't bother us, we can live in peace."

"That's easy to say." Shao Xun shook his head.

It would be nice if everything in the countryside was so simple. Fights over land, water, or even trivial matters could lead to large-scale conflicts between residents and refugees.

"Chang'an is a good place." Shao Xun sighed, and said, "Since you have come to Duyang, you can live in a village, grow your own crops, and live peacefully. Don't cause trouble."

"Has Mr. Chen been to Chang'an?" Yang San asked boldly when he saw a nostalgic look on Shao Xun's face.

"I have been there, and I killed people in Chang'an." Shao Xun joked, "Five thousand heads were hung on both sides of the street, and they were not collected for several months."

"Are you Shao Taibai?" Yang San asked in surprise.

Shao Xun laughed dumbly and said, "Since you know that I am the Duke of Chen, why don't you know my name?"

Yang San was a little embarrassed, but also a little excited, and said, "So Mr. Chen is Taibai. In the past, when Chang'an killed the Xianbei, everyone who heard about it praised him. From Hongnong to Jingzhao, and then to Fufeng, Shiping, and Fengyi, everyone praised him."

"It's been so many years, but I didn't expect that there are still people in Guanzhong who remember me." Shao Xun was filled with emotion after hearing this.

That incident brought him a lot of trouble, and it could even be said that it directly accelerated the rift between him and Sima Yue, causing the conflict to break out prematurely and making it impossible for him to continue to survive.

But what can we do now that we have done it?
He is not a robot. He has emotions, is impulsive, and makes mistakes. This is normal.

The Xianbei did those unscrupulous things, so just kill them and I will bear the consequences alone, that's all.

"Lord Liang asked you to come to Duyang to cultivate the land. Do you have any message?" After expressing his feelings, Shao Xun asked again.

Yang San's attitude towards Shao Xun was much better now. He immediately replied: "I met Lord Liang when I was in Wancheng. Lord Liang was worried about the resettlement of refugees and was exhausted. He once said to me, 'Since you have come to Nanyang, you should live here. The vitality of the world is running low. Don't make trouble and make your relatives sad and your enemies happy.'"

After listening to this, Shao Xun seemed to understand something.

He believed that these were Liang Fen's sincere words, because he did not ask these people to be loyal to him, nor did he incite hatred between the natives and the Hakkas. On the contrary, he had the intention of persuading them.

This doesn't look like the way to consolidate the base.

Perhaps, he really thought too much about Old Deng.

Liang Fen is a very traditional person.

When in the court, be prudent and protect yourself; when out of town, protect the country and the people.

There is the reality of separatism, but there is no intention of separatism.

He had enormous power in his hands, but he did not use it as a weapon to attack the outside world.

People like this are interesting.

(End of this chapter)