Chinese New Year

Chapter 571 Junyi
There is a post road from Junyi to Baimajin.

Going out from the north gate, passing through Fengqiu and Changyuan counties of Chenliu, passing through Baima County of Puyang, to Baimajin to cross the river, it is about 150 miles.

From here, you can cross the river and enter Liyang, an important river defense town in Wei County. Liyang is about 60 miles north to Dangyin, which connects to the Luoyang-Yecheng post road.

If you go by water, Junyi will pass through Xingyang in the northwest and go straight into the Yellow River, connecting all places.

From Junyi to the south, the Grand Canal connects Chenjun, Ruyin and Shouchun.

From Junyi, the Grand Canal runs southeast through Liang and Qiao states to Zhongli area.

From Junyi to the east, the canal connects Yin, Gaoping and Peiguo to Xuzhou and connects to Jiangdong.

Cao Cao was a canal fanatic. He ordered the repair of old canals and the construction of new canals, which formed the prototype of the canal system of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Although he took good care of Xuchang in his canal network, it was helpless because of the geography. In the end, Junyi was the intersection of various canals and was very important.

After the middle Tang Dynasty, because Luoyang was destroyed by war, Kaifeng became the largest metropolis in Kanto.

The Xuanwu Army Jiedushi, with its capital in Kaifeng, had a force of 100,000 soldiers and dominated Henan.

Because of the first great commercial boom in Chinese history during the late Tang Dynasty, Kaifeng and Xuzhou along the canal became famous and prosperous places. Zhu Wen, who owned these two places, used them to subdue the four directions, unified Henan, Jianghan, southern Bingzhou, and most of Guanzhong, and extended his power deep into Hebei, forcing the heroes of Hebei to become his vassals. He eventually made Kaifeng his capital and established the Later Liang Dynasty, which lasted for 17 years.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng continued to be the capital and reached its peak as its business became increasingly prosperous due to its superior transportation conditions.

The reason why Junyi - or Kaifeng - is favored by so many people must be that it has unique conditions.

If I were to put it simply, it would be that the transportation is so convenient.

The waterways are extensive, making it possible to mobilize troops and supplies quickly and at low cost.

The cost of water transportation is not on the same order of magnitude as that of land transportation, so this alone saves a lot.

In addition, when the boat goes downstream, it can also sail at night in the river section where people travel all year round. All in all, the speed is faster than riding a horse, and it consumes little energy.

What does rapid mobility mean? It means that you can have a lot more troops out of thin air, or you can maintain a lot fewer troops.

Henan’s extensive water system is actually a natural highway.

Shao Xun also took a fancy to Junyi.

"Years of war have made the city a desolate place." Shao Xun dismounted and stopped while looking at the dilapidated city walls from afar.

There was drizzling in the sky and the outskirts of Junyi were empty.

Chen Wu's army of beggars had been relocated to Hebei, and the population of Junyi had dropped sharply, with almost no people left.

After walking for a long time, I saw a small village in front of me. When I asked, I found that the villagers were all beggars, the old, weak, sick and disabled. It was inconvenient for them to travel far, so they stayed. There were only a few dozen families in the village, and they lived a hard life here.

There are already people waiting in the village.

"My lord." The newly appointed Chenliu prefect Li Ju, the loyal and martial commander Shao Shen, the left chief historian of the Yanzhou shogunate Pan Tao, and the sons of two local aristocratic families in Junyi, the Bian and Wang families, all stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Let's go and talk in the village." Shao Xun waved his hand and went to a house first.

The guards placed a few cushions in the corridor and everyone knelt down on them.

Shao Xun didn't say anything at first.

A misty drizzle fell from the eaves, splashing water in the courtyard.

The courtyard was full of weeds and wild flowers, which swayed gently in the slanting wind.

There was a well dug in the corner, with only half of the cover left, and the edge of the well was covered with moss.

Half of the vegetable patch was abandoned, and the remaining half was full of weeds, which grew more vigorously than melons and beans.

The old woman was making a fire and cooking in the wooden house on the west side. Her wrinkled face was full of suffering and her cloudy eyes were dull, as if she had lost all expectations for life.

The old man was picking bean sprouts tremblingly and looking at the group of officials with a flattering look, as if he was going to use the best things he had to entertain these distinguished guests.

From the backyard came the sounds of the personal soldiers pounding rice and chopping firewood.

They went in and out, taking bags of dried meat, cheese, and dried vegetables from under the saddles and stewing them in earthenware pots.

Some people were feeding the horses with roasted beans under the shocked gaze of the old couple.

These sleek war horses obviously eat better than them.

"Someone is always causing trouble for me." Shao Xun suddenly said.

He was not talking about the actions of Sima Rui's regime in the south. Ji Zhan, Wang Dun and others had not yet taken action so quickly, and the news had not yet reached them. Even from the perspective of the Xuchang shogunate, the south was very peaceful.

He was talking about the rumors that have been spreading recently in various parts of Henan.

In short, some people were not too happy with him.

The reasons were very complicated. Some were dissatisfied with his "warmongering", some were dissatisfied with his "moving the capital to Yecheng", some were dissatisfied with his "lowly birth", and some were dissatisfied with his "disrespect for the emperor".

Of course, there are many people who are satisfied with him and are even willing to support him in changing the dynasty.

In fact, this is normal. No one can be liked by everyone. This is impossible.

The essence of the problem is that he protected Henan too well.

Yuzhou has been peaceful for more than three years, and Yanzhou has been peaceful for two years.

They could not feel the flames of war right before their eyes, but they had a deep memory of being constantly drained of blood to support the war.

Was Cao Mengde disgusted by these people back then?

Maybe there was, and it even made Lao Cao unable to control himself and kill someone.

"Forget it, let's not talk about spoiling the fun." In the doubtful eyes of the crowd, he smiled and said, "This year, Yuzhou has a summer harvest, and there should be a little more food. You must try your best to prepare it for me."

The number had already been counted before everyone came. When they heard Shao Xun say this, although their faces did not look very good, they all agreed.

"Yang Zhong." Shao Xun looked at Pan Tao and said, "There are rumors in Henan that I want to move the capital to Yecheng..."

Pan Tao's expression brightened, thinking that he had finally spoken out. "This is not an empty statement." Shao Xun continued.

Pan Tao actually didn't quite believe this rumor, but when Shao Xun said this, his heart still skipped a beat and he began to doubt whether his judgment was correct.

Although Mr. Chen has always been mature, resourceful, and clear-minded, he is a warrior after all. Will killing too many people affect his mind and lead to stupid moves? This is hard to say.

Some people are wise in the first half of their lives, but stupid in the second half. This has happened before.

"Lu Zidao is quite popular in Hebei." Shao Xun continued, "The Hua and Liu families in Pingyuan, the two Cui families in Qinghe and Boling, the Lu family in Fanyang, the Liu family in Zhongshan, the Shi family in Leling, etc. are all famous families of the time. They are very active in sending troops and food. They are even willing to repair the weirs, gardens, and irrigation canals in Yecheng for me. I have seen that between Yenan and Anyang, there are rivers and lakes, irrigation canals, and thousands of acres of fertile land. If the soldiers of the Silver Spear Army are moved there, and each family is given twice the land, they will surely be happy."

Li Ju and others looked at each other.

Pan Tao was a little hesitant.

The relocation of the shogunate was a major political issue, just like the emperor's relocation of the capital.

At that time, Zhou Fu asked the emperor to move the capital to Shouchun and the scholars of Guanxi asked the emperor to move the capital to Chang'an, but in the end they were both opposed by the ministers, which is very telling.

When you go to a new place, you will inevitably win over the local officials, scholars, and powerful people and allocate more benefits to them. There are only so many official positions. If you give them more, will others have less?

In addition, the original properties such as houses and manors in the shogunate and the capital will almost certainly depreciate or even be sold at low prices, which will all be losses.

If Mr. Chen went to Yecheng, given Lu Zhi's attitude, what would the Henan scholars have to do with him?

But Pan Tao suspected that Mr. Chen was being mysterious.

Because there are rumors that Lord Chen may choose Junyi as the new shogunate's residence. Lord Chen met with everyone in Junyi today. Is he hinting at something?
"However, I also have my eye on Junyi." Shao Xun added, "The capital of King Xiao of Liang is all fertile land. There are many rivers and lakes to the south of the city, which can be used to control the navy. However, it is precisely because of this that Junyi is flat and wet, and there are many floods."

When Pan Tao heard this, his brows slightly frowned.

Mr. Chen said so much when introducing Yecheng, but only said a few short sentences when mentioning Junyi. There is something wrong.

He looked at Shao Xun carefully again, but couldn't see any expression on his face.

"Your Excellency originated from Henan, so you should govern in Henan," Pan Tao reminded.

"Yes, my lord. The people of Hebei are unpredictable. They may surrender to you today, but surrender to the Xiongnu tomorrow. Their fickleness will hinder your great cause."

"It would be a pity to abandon your great reputation in Henan. It would be better to move the capital to Junyi."

The children of the Bian and Wang families spoke out one after another.

They were of low rank and could only be regarded as peripheral members of Shao Xun's military and political group. They were originally confused, but when they heard this, they suddenly realized that Junyi was actually one of the shogunate headquarters preferred by Mr. Chen. They were overjoyed and kept trying to persuade him.

Shao Shen secretly curled his lips on the side.

Second uncle obviously likes Junyi more, but he can take both sides of the river into consideration. Now he is trying to scare others, which is a bit unfair.

According to his true feelings, Yecheng and Junyi don’t matter to him.

Yecheng is more than 190 miles away from Fangtou, and Junyi is 150 miles away from Baimajin, which is almost the same distance - however, if a new highway is built from Junyi to the north and crosses the river from Jijun, it will be less than 100 miles, which is closer.

Shao Shen preferred to go to Yecheng, for the simple reason that he could deter the fence-sitters in Hebei and then attack the Xiongnu. As for the opinions of the people in Henan, he did not care.

"Yang Zhong, it's really hard for me to decide. You guys can discuss it." Shao Xun sighed, "I don't have many wishes. My biggest wish is to annihilate the Xiongnu. It is indeed more convenient to attack from Hebei. Besides, Hebei is rich, and Guangwu built his empire because of it. If we move the capital to Yecheng, we can better win the hearts of the Hebei gentry, raise money and food, and recruit soldiers."

"Okay." Pan Tao nodded and agreed.

He still didn't believe that Shao Xun would move the capital to Yecheng, but he had to admit that this possibility was not small, for the reason Shao Xun had just explained.

The most important thing is that Cao Mengde did do this in the past, and Pan Tao couldn't help but think about it.

He already had an idea in mind as he needed help with this matter.

Shao Xun looked at his nephew Shao Shen again and asked, "How is the Zhongwu Army doing?"

"We have been trained for years. We can go into battle at the command of my Excellency." Shao Shen said.

"Can they really fight?" Shao Xun asked doubtfully.

The Zhongwu Army was actually just peasant soldiers, no different from the Tuntian Army, and he really doubted their combat effectiveness.

"You can really fight!" Shao Shen said loudly with his face flushed.

"Then stop talking nonsense, leave Yiyang and attack Hongnong." Shao Xun said with a smile: "You and Wang Mi have fought a lot in the past few years, right? We are old enemies."

"Wang Mi will definitely be beheaded." Shao Shen said.

"Fight first, don't talk big." Shao Xun said, "Hold Wang Mi back, don't let this mad dog get out."

Shao Shen and Wang Mi are indeed a pair of old enemies now.

The two sides had been fighting repeatedly in the Luoshui River Valley and between the East and West Xiao Mountains. The scale was small, and each side won and lost. The fighting was very lively. The number of times was so frequent that the people of Hongnong called Shao Shen "Little Shao Thief".

The eldest nephew was quite famous in that area, and he had gained a lot of experience points. He started with small-scale battles of more than a hundred people, and gradually expanded to medium-sized battles of more than a thousand soldiers, two or three thousand soldiers, and gradually cultivated his own team. He had a deeper control over Zhongwu Army, Yiyang Sanwu, Gancheng and other places, and his military and civilians were integrated, and his ability was greatly improved.

Moreover, he has a relatively deep foundation in the Luoyang River Valley area.

His wife is a daughter of Du from Yiyang. He recently took in a concubine who is from Yang family of Hongnong and has a fortress in Yiyang.

The Du and Yang families took care of the rear and provided food, equipment, soldiers, and draft animals. Their model was similar to that of Shao Xun - a confluence of military leaders and local tyrants.

"I will give you the two counties of Luhun and Xincheng south of Yique Pass, and you can also call upon the village guards under Jingu Garden." Shao Xun added, "In short, the west of Luoyang is all yours, fight hard. You will be responsible for the conquest of the territory. If the troops are damaged, I will give you equipment, money and food, and even expand the army, so don't worry."

"Yes, sir." Shao Shen replied happily.

After all, he is a family member, so my uncle still tried his best to cultivate him.

At this point, he has his own ideas.

The empire that my uncle worked so hard to build must not be taken away by outsiders.

He wants to keep an eye on it for his uncle.

(End of this chapter)