Chinese New Year

Chapter 493: The True King of Nanyang (Part )

At daybreak, Cai Cheng was outside the door asking when to set off.

After reaching an agreement with Le Kai, Shao Xun did not intend to delay any longer and decided to deal with the Nanyang affairs as soon as possible and return to Xuchang.

The direct reason is that the Huns have been active recently.

After the spring sowing was over, Shi Le sent his troops north and defeated Wang Jun at Yishui.

The Duan tribe of the Xianbei split.

Some people were jealous of Wang Jun's invitation to Tuoba Xianbei to attack, and once again refused to rescue.

Wang Jun was furious and opened the city gates, asking Murong Xianbei to teach Duan a lesson.

Duan Jilujuan and others attached themselves to the Xiongnu, and Jilujuan and Shi Hu became brothers.

This is the east road.

The Xiongnu in the west increased their troops to more than 30,000 and defeated the Jin army in Acheng.

King Liu Can of Henei entered the deserted Chang'an, but soon retreated due to lack of food. The Jin army pursued him and made some gains.

When Emperor Liu Cong of Pingyang heard this, he was not angry but happy. He decided to transfer the imperial army's infantry and cavalry to the west and put them under the command of Liu Can.

Liu Can was actively deploying a second attack on the Jin army, and the situation was extremely critical.

There was no major movement in the direction of Qingzhou.

Cao Yi asked Su Jun to come out of seclusion and work for him and gave him the position of magistrate of Ye County, but Su Jun refused.

But after the refusal, he felt deeply uneasy, so he took his family and hundreds of his followers, crossed the sea to the south and went to Guangling to seek refuge with Sima Rui.

There were many Qingzhou nobles like Su Jun. Most of them crossed the sea to Guangling and Jianye in the south. The rest either went north to join Murong Xianbei, or went to Yanzhou to join the Zhenjun General's headquarters, and some even went south to Donghai to join Mi Huang.

Wang Mi of Hongnong knew that he was weak, so he had been staying at home for the past two years. He was either farming in Shan County or patrolling the city of Xin'an. In short, he kept a very low profile.

The only action was probably to cooperate with the main force of the Huns and try to capture Shangluo County of Sizhou.

This county is surrounded by mountains, sparsely populated, and with few soldiers. Wang Mi only sent more than a thousand infantrymen to the south. The local tyrants defended the city and forced them to retreat. Wang Mi's troops then retreated and defended Lushi County, which was considered an explanation.

Wang Mi and Cao Yi were basically doing nothing, and Zhao Gu didn't make much movement in Hebei either, but he had always wanted a piece of his own territory and was extremely anxious.

In late February, he led his troops northward from Leling and captured Zhangwu, Hejian and other places, but they were soon captured by Shi Le.

Zhao Gu was furious and smelled the scent of a fight, so he fled at full speed and retreated to Hanoi in one breath.

Liu Cong appointed him as the governor of Henei, and he finally had a piece of territory of his own. But it was hard to say whether he could hold on to such a frontier territory. Anyway, Zhao Gu would rather fight in Guanzhong than be the governor of Henei.

This is roughly the situation in the north.

No one was idle. Even though it was quite difficult to mobilize a large number of cavalry, Shi Le mobilized the infantry and still fought several brilliant battles. However, his opponent Wang Jun made many stupid moves and operated foolishly, which was a pity.

After reading the military report summary, Shao Xun became a little restless.

Going to do it again this year!
As for which one to go after, it depends on which one is the most critical. Right now, Wang Jun is the most critical because he has the lowest IQ.

Damn it, Da Hu, you forced me to do this. I didn’t want to beat you up this year.

Today is the sixth day of March. I will go to Nanyang Palace again to cut the Gordian knot and get things settled.

******
After lunch, it started raining heavily.

Farmers from near and far were in a state of panic and rushed to the fields to cut a hole in the ridges to prevent the millet seedlings, which had only been planted for a month, from being soaked and rotted.

A big dog came over, shaking its tail.

Shao Xun spent a few days with it and they became quite familiar with each other. Compared with the other people in the Le family, Da Huang was probably the most sincere to him.

Le Lanji walked out of the gate, feeling somewhat reluctant to leave.

Shao Xun persuaded her to stay with her mother for a few more days. The silly woman was moved and wanted to stay with him and serve him.

After much persuasion, she agreed to stay in her hometown temporarily and asked Shao Xun to send his personal soldiers to pick her up as soon as possible.

"Boom!" Thunder suddenly sounded in the sky.

When Shao Xun was about to mount his horse, he waved to Lan Ji, and then looked at Le Kai.

Le Kai said loudly: "Don't worry, my lord, I am here."

Shao Xun nodded, bowed to the old lady, and turned to leave.

More than two thousand cavalrymen escorted him as they headed towards the Nanyang Palace, more than thirty miles northwest.

As for the Silver Spear Army, they will wait until the heavy rain stops before leaving.

The cavalry moved away quickly, marching along the road.

It was raining heavily and the mud was not yet soft, so the march was relatively stable. Shao Xun admired Nanyang in the rain while walking.

The water system is so abundant, with rivers and streams one after another, that it is impossible to march fast.

The clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, and soybean-sized raindrops hit the river, splashing water one after another.

On the river, the small boat swayed from side to side in the rapids. The fisherman, wearing a straw raincoat, was not afraid at all and actually caught a fish.

In the vegetable plots by the river, okra is lush and green.

In the farmlands on the other side of the river, millet and wheat are thriving.

This heavy rain is nothing to the upper fields irrigated by canals, and may even be harmful. But for the middle and lower fields far away from rivers and irrigation canals, it is a timely rain.

Ten days of watering is not as good as one rain!
We walked and looked around like this, and by the evening, when the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the Nanyang Palace was within reach.

Shao Xun got off the horse and walked along the path.

The Nanyang Palace also enclosed a large area of ​​land, and the situation was just as he had seen on the road, quite good.

There are talented people in the palace. Even though the head farmer Wei Fu is not here, all farm work is still arranged in an orderly manner.

A few storks flew across the fields and landed on the bank of the Nie River. The location of the Nanyang Palace was actually within the territory of Nieyang - this was a county under Nanyang.

A large crowd gathered outside the royal manor in the north.

Shao Xun looked from afar and saw many farmers being gathered together.

They rushed back to the manor from the fields, put down their hoes, lined up to receive their weapons, then drove out of the manor and lined up in the open space outside.

Shao Xun waved his hand, and the cavalry rushed northward, splitting into two groups, advancing one after the other.

There was a commotion among the Nanyang State's central army, which had just formed its battle array. There was a lot of noise, and people kept deserting their units and running away into the manor.

Shao Xun frowned and walked over slowly.

It was not that he was dissatisfied with the disorganized state of these troops, but after arriving in Nanyang, he kept summoning old people from the palace for questioning, and heard some news that made him wary of Liang Chen.

When I decided to add sand in Lekai's group, I didn't consider Liang Chen.

Now, he felt that Liang Chen was no longer suitable for holding an important position.

As another key fulcrum for him to intervene in the situation in Nanyang, the State of Nanyang must be firmly controlled in his hands and made solid and bigger. He will not allow any hidden dangers to exist.

It's a rare opportunity for me to come here, so I might as well take care of things at once, so that I won't be caught in a fire at the backyard and become overwhelmed at the critical moment of the Northern Expedition in the future.

Furthermore, this is also a good opportunity to establish his authority. It is Liang Chen's bad luck.

"Greetings, Lord Chen." Liang Chen, dressed in military uniform, took a few quick steps forward and saluted.

"Greetings, Lord Chen." Led by Wei Fu, a large group of people saluted in unison.

Well, more respectful than to King Nanyang.

In fact, Shao Xun is now the King of Nanyang, and he couldn't be more authentic.

"Follow me." Shao Xun snorted coldly and said as he passed by Liang Chen.

Liang Chen was stunned. He was fine a few days ago, why is he speaking so coldly now?

Before he could react, he saw several Shao's personal soldiers surrounding him.

Du Boyuanxi made a gesture of invitation.

Liang Chen lowered his head and followed him.

There was some commotion among the sergeants behind him.

Liu Ling carried a large flag and put it on the ground. After looking around, the commotion gradually subsided.

Before entering, Shao Xun took a look at the Nanyang Palace.

It is neither too big nor too small, covering an area of ​​dozens of acres, integrating residential, office and production functions. It is actually a very typical manor.

There is a wall outside the manor, built of rammed earth, with a few hastily built watchtowers, but its defensive capabilities are actually very average.

There are still traces of war on the outside of the wall, and it is obvious that there was a fierce battle.

In the future, when there is more money and food, the defense facilities of the palace will have to be rebuilt. Fortunately, Nanyang is safe for the time being, so there is no rush and we can take our time.

******
After receiving the news, Liu gently put her daughter down in her arms.

Just as he was about to go out to greet him, he stopped.

I don't know what she was thinking, but she sat down in front of the bronze mirror as if possessed by a ghost and began to dress up.

The daughter stared with her big dark eyes, looking curiously, as if she had not seen her mother putting on makeup in front of the mirror for a long time.

"What is Mr. Chen doing?" Liu asked while drawing her eyebrows.

"Scolding the lieutenant." The maid who had just returned from outside answered softly.

"What did he say?"

"He said that the lieutenant was incompetent in training soldiers, which disappointed him."

"that's it?"

"A servant of the royal palace reported that the lieutenant had 'recruited fugitives as his confidants' and had evil intentions."

Liu frowned, then breathed a sigh of relief.

She has always known Liang Chen, a ruthless person.

When Sima Yong, the Prince of Hejian, was defeated and had nowhere else to go, he was ordered to go to the capital. However, Liang Chen intercepted the Prince of Hejian and his son on the way, strangled all three of them, and dumped their bodies in the wilderness.

After arriving in Luoyang, I did some things privately because I had no money.

Liu sent someone to inquire, but Liang Chen denied it flatly. However, he spent money lavishly and also recruited a group of people among his guards, so Liu did not dare to ask too many questions.

After she unexpectedly became pregnant, Liang Chen suddenly became well behaved, his words and actions respectful, as if he had regained the loyal appearance he had when the King of Nanyang was still around.

Liu was depressed for a while, but later she gradually figured things out.

A vicious dog will only bite its owner in one situation, that is, when the owner is not strong enough.

She is not strong enough, but she can rely on a strong man. Anyway, her chastity has been broken by that man...

After arriving in Nanyang, Liang Chen was quite honest at first, but after half a year, perhaps because he felt that the emperor was far away, he returned to his old ways and his attitude gradually became less respectful.

He also secretly sent people to recruit bandits and pirates to serve as his minions and confidants, slowly replacing the lower-ranking officers of the royal army.

As the replacement progressed, his attitude became worse and worse, as if he regarded himself as the master of the palace, until the man led an army of 20,000 and went straight to Wancheng.

After finishing her makeup, Liu saw the beautiful face of the person in the mirror and smiled bitterly: "A woman in troubled times."

"Let's go and take a look at the central hall." Liu sighed and stood up and said.

(End of this chapter)