Chinese New Year

Chapter 548 The Old Man
"Zidao!"

"Changshi!"

Inside the main hall of Bingjingtai, the visiting guests shouted loudly.

Lu Zhi couldn't hide his pride and greeted everyone one by one.

Among the old staff of the Chengdu Palace, he is too old.

In the ninth year of Yuankang (299), the -year-old Sima Ying was appointed General Pingbei, and soon became General Zhenbei, and was stationed in Yecheng to establish a government.

At that time, Lu Zhi was the left chief secretary and Zheng Qiu was the right chief secretary. The two of them managed Ying Prefecture together, with Lu Zhi as the main official and Zheng Qiu as the auxiliary official.

Diao Xie was first Sima, but was later replaced by Wang Kan. However, Wang Kan did not serve for long, and after leaving, he became the left Sima Cheng Mu and the right Sima He Yan.

In other words, for three years, Lu Zhi was the de facto first staff member of the Yingfu. The Sima closest to him came and went, and no one could stay for a long time, so naturally they could not threaten his position.

In three years, Lu Zhi had already placed a large number of private individuals in Ying Mansion and won over a group of followers, and his position was quite stable.

Shao Xun was not present, but he had reviewed the guest list one by one, and would summon them collectively tomorrow. Today was Lu Zhi's special show.

"Ji Yang, my son is in Anping, you must come out to help him." Lu Zhi asked everyone to sit down, then looked at someone and said.

"I am obsessed with literature and don't want to deal with mundane affairs." The person whose name was called sighed, "Well, since it is what Zidao asks, how dare I not comply?"

Lu Zhi laughed out loud, very happy.

This man's name is Zhang Kang, and he is from Anping.

The Zhang family is a noble family in Anping.

During the Taikang period, Zhang Shou served as the governor of Yizhou. He was good at painting and was very famous.

Zhang Shou had three sons.

The eldest son, Zhang Zai, whose courtesy name was Mengyang, was well-read and learned. He first served as an official in the court, and later returned to his hometown to avoid the chaos. He is still alive, but he lives in seclusion and rarely sees guests.

The second son, Zhang Xie, whose courtesy name was Jingyang, was skilled in poetry and prose. He once served as a Zhonglang in Sima Ying's court and was good friends with Lu Zhi. He has now passed away.

The third son, Zhang Kang, whose courtesy name was Ji Yang, was an outstanding scholar and also skilled in music, but he never took up an official post.

The three Zhang brothers had profound attainments in literature and were later called the "Three Zhangs".

Lu Zhi asked Zhang Kang to take up an official position not because he really valued his abilities, but because he wanted the Zhang family to step forward and help Mr. Chen.

When Shao Xun arrived in Anping, the Zhang family also sent people, but they only brought a little money and food, and their attitude was very perfunctory.

When Lu Zhi called upon Zhang Kang, he agreed immediately and his attitude became much more positive.

No matter how many problems Old Lu has, his ability to form cliques and factions is really amazing, and it is very appropriate to use it at this moment.

If nothing unexpected happens, Zhang Kang will take up a sinecure and use his name as a signboard, after all, he himself does not really want to be an official.

Some of the younger generations of the Zhang family of Anping would be recruited as appropriate to serve as low-level local officials and slowly climb up.

Cheng Mu (Yingfu Zuo Sima), who was also a colleague of Lu Zhi, came from Henan with Lu Zhi. He was from a noble family in Guangping and would serve as the prefect of Guangping.

"Shi Xi, you bastard, how dare you come to see me!" Lu Zhi pointed to another person, and this time he was not so polite, his tone was very stern.

"Uncle Shi, I was wrong." Shi Xi fell to his knees and burst into tears.

"Zi Dao..." Hao Chang stepped forward to help Shi Xi up and advised.

Lu Zhi looked at Shi Xi angrily and said, "I summoned you many times, but you hid in the village and didn't respond. Are you afraid now?"

"Zi Dao..." someone else advised.

Lu Zhi slowly calmed down his anger and said, "Go back and gather your troops, don't hide anything, and then go to Nanpi and serve as the commander."

"Yes, I will listen to my uncle." Shi Xi stood up quickly.

He is Shi Chao's younger brother.

After Shi Chao was defeated, he fled back to his hometown, where he trained his troops behind closed doors and did not get involved in other matters.

The Hebei Shi family is divided into two branches. One branch is from Nanpi, Bohai, and its native place is Shi Xi; the other branch is from Yanci, Leling.

The two families have a close relationship, after all, they have only been separated for a short time.

In addition, Shao Xu had served as a military officer in Sima Ying's court and had a close relationship with Shi Chao. His ability to gain a foothold in Leling was not unrelated to the Yanci Shi family - the country was destroyed, but the clan was not completely extinct, and the Shi family was still a family that could not be underestimated in the local area.

To put it bluntly, all the forces that were originally active in Hebei were closely related to Sima Ying's shogunate.

Even Liu Han is the same.

Liu Yuan, Liu Cong, Qiao Zhiming, Wang Zhang, these Pingyang leaders, which one did not work in Sima Ying's court? Some even worked for many years.

Even Shi Le and his former boss Ji Sang were once subordinates of Gong Shifan, who was a supervisor under Sima Ying.

"Bu Er!" Lu Zhi looked at another person, his anger turned into joy, and he said, "Why have you been staying at home for so many years? Come out and do something."

"Bu Er"'s full name was Bu Tai, and he was from a Yangping noble family.

His father, Bu Xiong, was from Fagan, Yangping. He was once an official in the court of Prime Minister Sima Ying. He was good at divination and had many disciples. It happened that Lu Zhi also liked these things, so they got along well.

King Lun of Zhao once tried to recruit Bu Xiong, but Xiong publicly told people that Sima Lun's death was not far away and he was unwilling to go.

Lun was furious and sent troops to surround his mansion. Bu Xiong asked his disciples to run south wearing his clothes, but they were all caught. He himself slipped north and escaped successfully.

Sima Ying recruited Bu Xiong, who accepted the offer and became the prime minister's assistant.

Ying was defeated, Bu Xiong successfully escaped and slipped back to his hometown from Yecheng.

Sima Teng stationed in Ye and went to recruit Bu Xiong, but Bu Xiong refused to respond and this time he failed to escape and was killed.

This is a family of charlatans. They are very famous in Yangping, have many disciples, and are quite powerful.

Lu Zhi liked to employ old people and private individuals, so he allowed Bu Tai to take up an official position.

Bu Tai had not responded to Shao Xun's order, but when Lu Zhi came forward, he stopped refusing and said, "I will follow the orders of the Chief Secretary."

Lu Zhi named more than a dozen people. If Shao Xun were here, he would be surprised that there were still so many families in Hebei who had not come out to join him. In fact, in this era, not all families are well-known. In history, after the migration to the south, there are still families that are unknown and need Director Wang to introduce them.

After explaining everything one by one, Lu Zhi talked about the old things that happened ten years ago. Everyone sighed and some even shed tears.

When the King of Chengdu was stationed in Ye, it was truly the most glorious time for the scholars in Hebei Province. They almost conquered the world.

At this moment, Le Lan Ji came to the main hall with the help of her maid.

"princess?"

"Brother Consort!"

someone blurted out.

Even more people didn't know what to address her, and stood there excitedly and awkwardly - the Princess Taidi's belly was bulging, and she was pregnant, so what did you want us to say?

"There is no more Princess of Chengdu or Princess Taidi. I am Madam Le from Lord Chen's residence." Le Lanji glanced at everyone and said slowly, "I am very happy to see old friends today and know that you are all here."

In this familiar yet unfamiliar hall, Le Lanji found that she did not have many emotions.

Some of the memories of Yecheng are a little fuzzy.

On the contrary, the memory of being held in Shao Xun's arms and loving him became even more profound.

Whenever she tossed and turned at night, she liked to recall that night in Jinmenwu.

She lay on the windowsill and looked at the river that looked like a jade belt.

The ebb and flow of the tide gradually imprinted itself deep into my mind, and I can never forget it again.

Or, she and Shao Xun went boating on the lake, looking at the starry sky, lying in the cabin with their fingers clasped.

This kind of life is pretty good.

My only regret is that I didn't marry him from the beginning.

Le Lanji calmed down, stroked her belly, and said, "What happened yesterday cannot be brought back. You should look forward. Mr. Chen is not rigid in employing people, so you don't have to worry. If you have any questions, you can seek help from Lu Zidao. If it is really difficult to solve, I will help you solve it."

When everyone heard this, they all bowed and looked much more relaxed.

Lu Zhishen is trusted by Mr. Chen, so of course we can look for him.

But the role of the Princess Taidi cannot be ignored and is indispensable.

The roles of men and women are completely different. It is not completely safe for only Lu Zhi to be with Chen Gong, but it is much better if the concubine of the prince is also there.

especially--

Some people looked at Le Lanji's bulging belly again, as if thinking about something.

Mr. Chen's eldest son was born to the Crown Prince's wife. If he has another son this time, it would be a big deal. I'm afraid the one in Xuchang would be unable to sit still.

Add to that the rumor that Lord Chen is going to build a palace in Yecheng, and things will get even more interesting.

Who was the one who succeeded Yuan Benchu ​​back then...

******
"Zidao has helped me a lot this time." That evening, Shao Xun personally hosted a banquet to entertain Lu Zhi.

He was accompanied by his cousin Lu Yan, who had served as an official in the office of General Sima Ying.

After hearing this, Lu Zhi was very pleased.

Without me, Mr. Chen would have had to waste several more years in Hebei.

"My lord, you just need to expel Liu Yao, and leave Hebei to me." Lu Zhi said without hesitation.

On the way, he learned that Shao Xun had recruited another 30,000 people from Henan, and they arrived in Hebei in batches to replace the Nanyang soldiers, Guanxi soldiers, Luonan men, and Tuntian soldiers who had been on the expedition for a long time.

Now that these people have arrived, food and military supplies are being stored. Probably in a few days, Lord Chen will set out on another western expedition.

Once the Xiongnu forces were driven away and even defeated, Hebei was completely stabilized.

Today he also met Zao Song, the former secretary of the General's Mansion, and learned about the inside story of Youzhou.

In his opinion, Wang Jun was arrogant, had enemies everywhere, and was not far from defeat.

Sending Zao Song south to pacify the Jizhou forces was an arrogant act that failed to see through his own abilities.

He has plenty of ways to deal with people like this.

Thinking of this, he put down his wine bowl and said in a slightly tipsy tone: "After you defeat the Xiongnu, just stay in Yecheng. I will send someone back to Fanyang and let you enter Youzhou sooner or later."

Lu Yan quietly tugged at the hem of his great-grandfather's robe.

Shao Xun laughed loudly and said, "With Zidao, nothing is impossible."

"With Youzhou and Jizhou in hand, there is no need to rush to attack Pingzhou." Lu Zhi said, "First, take down the Hu people in Youzhou, and then drive tens of thousands of cavalry to fight against the Xiongnu."

Shao Xun nodded.

This was actually Shi Le's route in history.

Youzhou looked smaller than Jizhou, and its population and wealth were far inferior, but there were too many local Hu people, which greatly enriched Shi Le's cavalry source.

After Liu Cong's death, Shi Le's power was no weaker than that of the Xiongnu, who owned Bingzhou and Yongzhou.

But taking Youzhou also has hidden dangers, as it might lead him into an endless war, with Wuhuan, Tuoba Xianbei, Duanbu Xianbei and even Murong Xianbei fighting each other.

Still have to be cautious.

Keeping Wang Jun, who is like the "Skeleton King", in Youzhou is not necessarily a bad thing.

The primary target is still Liu Han. Lu Zidao was really drunk today, and he got carried away and gave random suggestions.

Shao Xun laughed secretly and urged Lu Zhi to drink again.

There was a sound of footsteps outside, and soon, a personal soldier came to report: "Liu Yao sent a letter to you, sir."

(End of this chapter)