Chinese New Year

Chapter 533 Human Heart
Wang Yan's departure from Beijing was quite grand.

Sima Zhengdong of the Right Guard of the Imperial Guards led a thousand infantrymen, and Duan Liang, the commander of the Youzhou Cavalry, led four hundred cavalrymen to escort them. Together with their entourage and servants, the total number of people was nearly two thousand. They left the capital from Dongyang Gate, intending to cross the river via Puyang and head north to Yecheng.

When I left Beijing, many people paid attention to me.

Liang Fen even went to Dongyang Gate in person to see them off. The two old men each wrote a poem and said goodbye to each other in great joy.

Liang Fen was sharp-eyed and even saw Wang Yan’s two daughters in the convoy.

But he was too lazy to take care of this matter.

After returning to Luoyang City, he strolled around.

Although Luoyang had just been plundered by the Xiongnu cavalry and lost some people and money, the people still talked about Hebei's victory with relish.

In the past, we only heard about Yecheng attacking Luoyang. This time, people from Luoyang captured Yecheng, which is the most exciting news in the past ten years.

It's not easy! The world situation may be changing dramatically.

When I returned to the mansion in the city, my old wife was wiping her tears and crying.

Liang Fen sighed. It was about her daughter again.

In fact, he still feels very guilty about this matter.

Liang Fen and his wife were extremely loving. In his early years, he had several concubines, but later he sent them all away and lived alone with his wife.

The couple had only three children. The eldest son was an official in another place and died in the war among the kings. It was a tragedy that the old man saw the young man die.

The second son used to be a county magistrate in Yanzhou. When the world became chaotic, he simply resigned and stayed at home to serve his parents, but his health was not very good, which was heartbreaking to see.

The other is the youngest daughter, who married Prince Yuzhang as his principal wife.

This was not a bad thing, but Prince Yuzhang became the crown prince. Liang Fen felt that it was not good at the time, but this matter was led by Sima Yue, and he was powerless to change it. Moreover, Prince Yuzhang himself was very positive and wanted to be the crown prince, so he could only complain.

At this point, Liang Fen has nothing else to ask for but for her family to be safe and sound.

He had tried to control the general situation of the world, but he could not do anything. The best he could do was to ensure peace in some places, save more starving people, and keep more vitality in the world.

When he was young, he was skilled in archery and horse riding, and he rode and hunted. He also read the classics, history, and literature. He was eloquent in debates with others and had his own ambitions.

Thinking about it now, it seemed like a dream.

After comforting her gently and telling her a few interesting stories about her grandson, Liang Fen finally calmed his wife down.

The two held hands and looked at each other, just like that clear autumn afternoon many years ago, when he was the talented Liang and she was the talented Huangfu, and they were staring at each other from afar through a bunch of flowers.

As we get older, the tenderness and affection we had back then has gradually turned into caring and support for each other.

The servant waited outside the door for a while before coming in to report: Fu Xuan is here.

Liang Fen straightened her robe and went to the living room to receive the guests.

"Lord Liang." Fu Xuan bowed.

"Shihong is leaving now?" Liang Fen asked, inviting him to sit down.

Fu Xuan was the chief priest of the Western Pavilion in the Longxiang General's government. He was ordered to sneak back to Anding and Beidi with Fu Chang to recruit the Hu people.

When they reached the vicinity of Chang'an, the road ahead was blocked due to war.

After waiting for a long time, the war was still going on, so the two brothers discussed it and finally decided that Fu Chang would continue to move forward and Fu Xuan would return to Xuchang, so that both of them would not be killed in Guanzhong.

"Yes." Fu Xuan replied: "Mr. Chen knew that I had returned, so he sent me to Runan to serve as the chief farmer and to guide and settle the refugees from Guanxi."

"Not bad." Liang Fen said, "I've been all the way back from Nanyang. How is the situation outside?"

"Lord Chen sent people on horseback to report the victory. There was some unrest in the counties of Nanyang, but it gradually calmed down." Fu Xuan said.

Liang Fen nodded slightly.

The conflict between the natives and the Hakkas can never be completely resolved, it can only be alleviated.

Mr. Chen recruited tens of thousands of men from Guanxi to go to Hebei, and they were not allowed to return during the autumn harvest, so it was normal for them to have some unrest.

"Xiangcheng and Luonan counties are all very happy." Fu Xuan said, "Some ignorant people in the countryside said that Lord Chen will be crowned king."

Liang Fen smiled.

Without the merit of destroying a country, Duke Chen would probably be embarrassed to accept the title of king. Although Shi Le's territory was not small, including parts of Zhao and Wei in the pre-Qin period, he did not proclaim himself emperor.

"There are also those with little knowledge and talent who say that Lord Chen should take on the position of prime minister, sit in Yecheng, and divide the land into a country." Fu Xuan said again.

Liang Fen didn't laugh this time.

"Many people in Beijing also say so," he sighed.

People always like to find similar things in the past and apply them to the present.

What's more, the incident of Cao Mengde happened only a hundred years ago, so it is normal that people still talk about it.

But there is something unusual in the normal.

Can this kind of thing be discussed openly?

This is not about whether you had lunch today or what the outcome of yesterday's debate was, but about a change of dynasty!

The fact that people openly discussed such a sensitive matter without any reservations showed how much the prestige of the imperial court had fallen. To be honest, few people would have done this a few years ago.

At the same time, it also indirectly shows that the world is changing too fast. People's concepts are impacted every few months or a year, and then they get used to things that were previously unacceptable.

The prestige of the Jin Dynasty was declining, while the reputation of Duke Chen was growing.

After recapture of Yecheng, if he can hold it firmly, his reputation will reach a new level.

Liang Fen considered himself a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty, but he was not as averse to changing dynasties as before.

At least Shao Xun can win battles, right?
How many years have passed! Cao Wu, Wang Kan, Wang Kuang, Song Chou and others suffered successive defeats against the Xiongnu and were unable to restrain the Xiongnu cavalry, putting Luoyang in danger.

Shao Xun saved Luoyang many times and gained a lot of goodwill among the officials and scholars.

They are the most vocal group in the world. If they sing praises for Shao Xun, the difficulty of changing dynasties will be greatly reduced.

Shao Xun's reputation was truly earned by his own hard work, which is completely different from Wang Yifu.

"After you go to Runan, do your best to work." Liang Fen gathered his thoughts and said, "The counties and kingdoms in Yuzhou are Lord Chen's foundation. Other places may rebel against him, but the counties in western Henan are unlikely to do so. When he promotes and appoints officials in the future, he will definitely pay attention to whether they have served in western Henan. Many people beg for the title of Runan Great Farmer, but they can't."

"Yes." Fu Xuan replied.

Going to Runan to be an official was truly a profound act of bearing the imprint of Mr. Chen.

In the eyes of others, you belong to him.

To put it bluntly, if Mr. Chen fails and is purged, Fu Xuan will also be affected and even suffer disaster.

Therefore, he could only work hard, and as a Guanxi scholar, appease the Guanxi refugees who migrated to various places in Runan to settle down, and let them take root and support themselves, so that they could gradually provide taxes and people, and become a force that Chen Gong could directly mobilize.

His idea shows one thing: he is not opposed to Mr. Chen taking the lead in changing the dynasty.

"I don't know whose connections the official has made to become an official in the court. He won't tell me even if I ask him." Liang Fen sighed again, "He is too utilitarian."

"Tai's ministers—are they not pure ministers, right?" Fu Xuan asked, organizing his words carefully.

"He is only clever but not wise." Liang Fen shook her head and said, "He wants to use the emperor to get a job, most likely a governor. But it is unwise to get involved at this time, alas."

Fu Xuan nodded silently.

He didn't have a very good impression of Yan Ding, and could even be said to dislike him.

If he wants to die, we can only let him go.

"What's the situation in the palace?" Fu Xuan asked.

"What else can we do?" Liang Fen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She only heard him say, "The emperor has won over a group of lucky people, but they have accomplished nothing. Wang Yan, Yu Min and others may still give him some face, but Lu Zhi is aggressive. The emperor is angry, so he can only--"

Having said that, he sighed.

Fu Xuan understood and sighed as well.

"Can we recruit people from Shidao?" Liang Fen asked again.

"It's hard to say." Fu Xuan said with some concern: "Guanzhong is too chaotic. Even places where there is no war are very chaotic. When they see outsiders passing by, they are full of malice. If the enticement is successful, the group of Hu people will bring their families through the counties, which is very ostentatious. It is also difficult to raise food and grass along the way. It is too difficult. Most of the good friends I knew back then are gone now, and it is difficult to ask them for help."

"Let me help you." Liang Fen was silent for a moment, then said, "But as you said, it's hard to say whether the old friend is here or not."

"Thank you, Mr. Liang." Fu Xuan bowed solemnly.

He knew that Lord Liang was helping them purely out of consideration for the Fu brothers, and was also giving them a big gift so that he could show off his achievements in front of Lord Chen.

Lord Chen was eager to have a strong cavalry. If anyone could lead several thousand cavalrymen to surrender to him, as long as he survived, he would have untold wealth and honor in the future.

After thanking Liang Fen, Fu Xuan couldn't help but say, "It's a pity that you are idle at home and wasting your talents."

Liang Fen glanced at him and said, "As a minister of Jin, one should see things through to the end."

"But now it is still the Great Jin Dynasty." Fu Xuan said, "As long as you don't join the curtain, what's wrong with the position of a prefecture?"

Liang Fen did not answer.

He didn't know how long the Great Jin Dynasty could last.

When the news of the victory of retaking Yecheng was reported back to the capital, there was great jubilation. Many people told each other that the Xiongnu were going to be destroyed and they would finally be free from the scourge.

From this perspective, Shao Xun's reputation has reached a considerable level.

Maybe the time is not right now, but what about in the future?
Luoyang City will soon no longer belong to the Sima family.

"Go back early." Liang Fen stood up and said, "I'm afraid Shao Xun won't be able to return to Henan for a while, so pay more attention to the things in the rear. The world has finally started to improve, so don't let anything go wrong."

"I will always remember your teachings." Fu Xuan bowed.

Perhaps, what Liang Fen just said represented the attitudes of a considerable number of northern scholars.

It has been eighteen years since the Wannian Rebellion of Qi began!

Everyone has had enough of the suffering of war and is eager to return to peace and prosperity.

Shao Xun's momentum is very good, and he has a great chance of destroying the Huns and unifying the north. Many people do not want him to get into trouble and suffer a second time.

This is probably what people think.

(End of this chapter)