Chinese New Year

Chapter 550 Don’t Call Me From Now On
On the Bronze Sparrow Tower, Wang Yan carefully read the manifesto with a solemn expression.

Once the veil is torn off, things are about to change.

Now, when the ministers meet the emperor, they always mention "Zhongxing". They study the art of "Zhongxing" every day and ask the emperor to implement the strategy of "Zhongxing".

But Mr. Chen said that it is now the end of the Qin Dynasty and the end of the Han Dynasty, so there is no chance of revival.

Moreover, this manifesto contains many allusions, which is obviously intended for scholars who hold the right to speak. After reading it, scholars will naturally discuss it and give their own opinions.

Opinions are not given casually, because they implicitly imply taking sides.

"There are so many troubles." Wang Yan sighed.

He had a hunch that by the end of the discussion, he would have to step up and guide the direction.

"Grandpa, Mr. Chen's move..." Wang Huifeng's face was full of worry: "It's a little early."

Wang Yan nodded, then froze again, and subconsciously asked: "Hui Feng, why are you so worried?"

Wang Huifeng looked down at the manifesto and said, "Mr. Chen has always had great ambitions. He has worked hard for ten years to achieve the current situation. If he loses, Henan and Hebei will inevitably fight again."

"Is that all?" Wang Yan asked.

"Yeah." Wang Huifeng replied softly.

Wang Yan felt something was wrong.

He just asked "that's all", normally my daughter should be puzzled and surprised, wondering why he asked that. But she just said "hmm", which is very problematic, indicating that my daughter seems to have taken certain things as a premise.

Wang Yan decided to test the waters again. He said, "If I express my opinion, the Wang family will have no way out and our reputation will be damaged. If we cannot get enough benefits from Shao Quanzhong, we will suffer a great loss."

Wang Huifeng said "hmm" again.

"Hui Feng..." Wang Yan looked at his daughter and asked, "Mr. Chen said the other day that he wanted to come to my place and sit with me, 'select those orchids', you..."

"Father." Wang Huifeng said calmly, "Mr. Chen's intention is very clear. My sister keeps talking about Mr. Chen all day long, so I think she has someone in her heart. Mr. Chen also likes my sister. If you don't care about the status, you can persuade Mr. Chen to take my sister into the mansion."

Wang Yan was speechless. In front of his daughter, his eloquence was useless.

"You..." Wang Yan hesitated and asked, "I heard that you and Mr. Chen had a lot of correspondence?"

"Yes." Wang Huifeng nodded and admitted, "Most of them are about the people, and there are also rumors from various places. I will sort them out and send them to Mr. Chen. After my sister enters the mansion, I will stop writing letters to avoid suspicion, so don't worry, Master."

Wang Yan didn't know what to say, so he just said, "Well, it's good that you know. Mr. Chen told me before that he and you are in love, but it seems that he lied to me."

Wang Huifeng said seriously: "It's my fault that Mr. Chen misunderstood me. I won't make you worry again in the future."

Wang Yan sighed and said, "Rest early."

Before leaving, he looked at the papers on the table and asked, "Are you still writing to Mr. Chen?"

"The news from Xuzhou is extremely complicated and confusing, and it has not been sorted out yet." Wang Huifeng said: "Grandpa, don't worry, this is the last one."

Wang Yan shook his head and turned away.

Such an outstanding daughter refused to remarry for many years. Quanzhong was also quite capable, and he actually made Huifeng have some affection for him, but unfortunately he ruined it.

You bastard, you actually coveted my two daughters and wanted to take them all down!

Well, seeing how that dog thing is going too far, Huifeng used to be a concubine, so there's nothing interesting about it, it's better for her to stay at home.

Besides, she is now more active and not as stubborn as before, so there may be a chance for her to remarry.

My daughter is the legal wife no matter where she lives. How can she be wronged and become someone else's mistress?
After Wang Yan left, Wang Huifeng gently brushed away the distracting thoughts in his mind and concentrated on writing the letter.

The Tongque Tower is very high, and a cold wind is blowing outside.

As he was writing, Wang Huifeng put down his pen and listened quietly to the howling of the cold wind.

She opened a small wooden box, took out a letter and read it carefully.

When Mr. Chen wrote to her and told her that he had decided to pay money to redeem the lives of tens of thousands of people in Anping, she was absent-minded for a long time, and then wrote several letters to him.

Mr. Chen wrote back again, and she wrote back again...

At that time, her heart was slightly moved. Those who put the lives of the people first are true heroes and real men.

For the livelihood of the people of Henan, she could not hesitate to donate the Wang family's private collection of agricultural books.

For the lives of the people of Hebei, he could suppress all opposition, open his private purse and redeem lives.

Their views are so similar, their souls are highly compatible, and their hearts are connected to each other...

However, when I reread the old letters this time, besides the admiration, there was also a faint melancholy that I couldn't get rid of.

Wang Huifeng felt weak all over and fell on the table.

Unlike her sister Wang Jingfeng, she was not a pretentious woman and would not cry and make a fuss at every turn. She just hunched over the desk, her big eyes out of focus, as if all the energy had been drained from her body.

After a long time, a faint sigh was heard.

Wang Huifeng calmed himself down, smoothed out Shao Xun's reply letter, put it back into the envelope, and put it into the wooden box.

"Click." After the wooden box was locked, Wang Huifeng stared at it for a long time.

After a moment, she no longer hesitated, stood up and put the wooden box deep in the cabinet, then came to the desk and sorted out the news from Xuzhou.

******
The army gathered in the Tongjue Garden. The 6,000 soldiers of the Silver Spear Left Camp had been fighting for half a year and still maintained a high morale, although they wanted to return home to reunite with their families.

But as professional recruits, they risk their lives for a living, there's nothing much to say.

Haven't you seen that in later generations, Cai thieves served as soldiers and went to Qianzhong? As long as someone recruited them, paid money and food, and paid them on time, the soldiers didn't have so many emotions.

But conscription without pay was different, so Shao Xun recruited 30,000 people from Henan to replace them.

It would be too tragic if one really joined the army at the age of fifteen and returned home at the age of eighty, and when he returned home his house was dilapidated and overgrown with thorns, and he didn't know who to eat with after cooking a meal.

Hou Feihu had been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the vanguard army, and he led the garrisons of Shexian, Gushan, Wu'an, and Anyang, as well as a part of the newly dispatched Yicong army, totaling about 20,000 infantry and cavalry, to fight a fierce battle with Liu Yao.

Shao Xun personally led the follow-up troops, totaling more than 60,000 infantry and cavalry, with Liu Fudu as the vanguard, and set out on October 28th.

After breakfast, Liu Fudu's 1,500 cavalrymen were the first to leave the city.

Two hours later, six thousand soldiers from the Gao family of Bohai and the Liu family of Pingyuan set out.

After lunch, part of the Yicong Army and more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry from Henanwu Fort also left the city from Ximing Gate and disappeared in the wind and snow.

At 3 p.m., it was Shao Xun's turn to set off with his personal troops, the Silver Spear Left Camp, and tens of thousands of Henan Wubao residents.

Before leaving, he came to the Tongque Tower and said goodbye to Wang Yan, Lu Zhi, Yu Chen and others.

"What are you going to do?" After exchanging pleasantries, everyone dispersed. Wang Yan grabbed Shao Xun and asked.

"How to prepare?" Shao Xun was puzzled. What exactly was Lao Deng asking about?

"If we win this battle, I plan to submit a petition to the court, requesting that the ten counties of Chen, Liang, Nandun, Xincai, Runan, Yingchuan, Xiangcheng, Xingyang, Chenliu and Jiyang be made into the State of Liang, and you be made the Duke of Liang. How do you think?" Wang Yan said in a low voice.

Obviously, this is not a duke of one county. The land of ten counties is a country, which is a duchy, and the ruler is called "Duke of Liang".

"General, why are you suddenly..." Shao Xun was a little surprised.

This is not your style. You are even more anxious than Yu Chen, Lu Zhi and others. You are confused.

"Recovering Yecheng and gaining more than ten counties is enough." Wang Yan said: "If the world falls apart, it will be equivalent to destroying a country."

Shao Xun looked at Wang Yan and smiled.

In a sense, he did destroy a country. At least, Shi Le, who called himself "King of Zhao" in history, could not rise again.

"Wait and see what happens." Shao Xun said, "General, you are well-informed. After you find out the opinions of the scholars, ask Huifeng to compile them into a document and send it to me."

Wang Yan was silent for a long time after hearing this, and said, "Hui Feng will not write to you again."

"What?" Shao Xun looked at Wang Yan in confusion, then turned his head to look at the palace room.

Wang Jingfeng's silly girl stood on the second-floor terrace and waved to him quietly.

Shao Xun forced a smile and nodded.

We had a secret meeting yesterday, and we hugged and touched each other. You can’t be too heartless.

It’s just - never mind, I’ll deal with Wang Huifeng’s matter when I get back.

If you don't write a letter, I will!
Your mailbox is filled with spam. Can you handle it?

"The commander can go back to Luoyang first." After making up his mind, Shao Xun turned his attention back to the main business and said, "You don't have to show up. Find a few people to hold a few banquets and find out the direction of the situation."

"Do I need you to teach me these things?" Wang Yan said stiffly, feeling unhappy.

He has many lackeys, so he can just pick a few middle-level officials and ask them to deliberately guide the topic.

In addition, he can also find a few younger generations whom he values ​​and hold some leisurely discussions with them.

These are all good opportunities to find out the opinions of scholars.

He will not give up at the beginning, and even the matter of petitioning for land division and title of duke will not be taken by him. There are many people who are willing to charge into the battle.

Everything happens step by step.

For example, he would never mention "recording the affairs of the Shangshu" at the beginning.

Although there would be great resistance in merely dividing the land and conferring titles on the dukes, it was not impossible to succeed. After all, these ten counties had nothing to do with the imperial court anymore and were all firmly controlled by Lord Chen.

However, "recording the affairs of the Shangshu" would infringe upon the interests of court officials and high-ranking aristocratic families, so we have to wait and see.

"Alas, I don't even know what to say to you." Finally, Wang Yan looked at Shao Xun helplessly and said, "Can you just say things like 'A lost deer is hard to catch' and 'Look at the crows and stop'? You are gambling, gambling that everyone will turn a blind eye, gambling that everything will be calm, gambling that no one will stop you."

"If something really happens, we still have you, General," Shao Xun said with a smile.

"Why should I help you?" Wang Yan said angrily.

"Haha." Shao Xun smiled and left.

Outside the Tongque Tower, the sky was filled with wind and snow.

The army marched non-stop from morning till night.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the last troop of soldiers left.

(End of this chapter)