Chinese New Year

Chapter 579: Leading the Way

It was a bit stuffy in the car, so Zhou Mo wiped the sweat off his face and simply got out and walked for a while.

The moonlight tonight is beautiful, its bright light fills the earth and illuminates the way ahead.

There was even a slight cool breeze as we passed an abandoned manor.

The manor gatehouse fell to the ground and the outer wall collapsed.

There are overgrown weeds inside the wall and the sound of insects chirping is endless.

The windows were dark and looked quite creepy. When the bullock cart passed by, it even made a little noise. Before I could see it, a wild cat climbed onto the roof, staring at the people passing by with its orange eyes.

Zhou Mo withdrew his gaze and, under the protection of several followers, passed through a fruit forest and took a shortcut forward.

There was a strange smell in the orchard. He knew it was the rotting smell of the fruits after they fell to the ground, with a hint of alcohol.

pity!

There was no one to be seen in the wild mountains and wilderness, and the good fruits were not picked by anyone.

He couldn't help but look back at the manor.

It should have been built a few years ago, when the world was in turmoil and many people lived in the mountains to avoid war. However, this manor was eventually found, and under the siege, no one was left alive!

Zhou Mo took a few quick steps and soon passed through the woods. After walking across a rotten wooden bridge, he came to the road.

It is extremely hot and stuffy in the middle of summer.

Zhou Mo waited for a long time before he saw the ox cart coming. After hurriedly getting on the cart, he traveled about ten miles before finally arriving at the outskirts of Luoyang.

After dawn, he entered through Jianchun Gate and soon arrived at the residence of Grand Marshal Wang Yan.

Wang Xuan went out personally and welcomed him into the mansion.

Wang Yan was in the back house with his wife Guo. After hearing this, he asked Wang Xuan to deal with it for a while and continued, "Why don't you go to Yecheng?"

Guo first responded, then looked at her husband suspiciously and asked, "Why are you so anxious to get me out of here? Could it be that..."

Wang Yan was so angry that he snorted and said, "You jealous woman, I am already old, why do you have to do this?"

Guo felt a little embarrassed and stopped talking.

Their daughter Jingfeng wrote to them and said she was pregnant. The couple felt very complicated after hearing this.

They are old and cannot be with their daughter for the rest of her life, but they are also happy that their daughter has a child and will have someone to accompany her in the future.

But after all, it was impossible for my daughter to become Mr. Chen's wife - she had tried it but to no avail - and for someone with their family background, it was ultimately somewhat shameful.

In addition, there is some expectation in my heart, expectation for the future.

In short, it is very complicated and cannot be explained to outsiders.

"Pack up and set off in the next few days." Wang Yan waved his hand, left the back house and went to the meeting place.

As soon as I arrived nearby, I heard the conversation between Wang Xuan and Zhou Mo.

"I have been walking along the road, and there is no life along the way. Seeing the scene in Yiluo, I can't help but shed tears." Zhou Mo sighed and said, "Someone has to come out to clean up this world. It can't go on like this."

"Shuzhi is right." Wang Xuan also sighed, "There are some people who are just sitting there doing nothing. They can't defend themselves against the enemy, and they can't comfort the people. Yet they are still occupying high positions. It's really hateful. The court should be cleaned up."

"Mr. Chen came to Luoyang not to clean up the court. It is not convenient for him to do these things, and the Grand Marshal will have to take action in the end." Zhou Mo said: "Mr. Chen went north mainly to supervise the war."

Wang Yan coughed and stepped inside.

"General." Zhou Mo stood up and saluted.

Wang Xuan took a few steps forward and whispered in Wang Yan's ear, "Mrs. Yu has agreed."

Wang Yan nodded slightly.

His daughter was pregnant, so of course that brat had to give an explanation, and marrying into the Shao residence was inevitable. Being a concubine was already humiliating, and Wang Yan couldn't stand it anymore if she followed him without any status.

"Shuzhi has come from afar, I believe Mr. Chen has already made a decision?" Wang Yan asked.

Zhou Mo came from Xuchang.

He was originally the magistrate of Yangdi, but because of his brother Zhou Boren, his career was somewhat bumpy. Now he has regained trust and was transferred to the position of the chief priest of the chariot and cavalry. This time he came to the capital on the orders of Shao Xun to be the vanguard.

"Replying to the commander, Lord Chen is a minister of Jin, not a rebellious person." Zhou Mo said, "But leaving Luoyang alone is not a good idea. In fact, Lord Chen is still a little undecided and wants to hear the commander's opinion."

Wang Yan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Does Lord Chen want to see the emperor?"

"Yes." Zhou Mo said, "The emperor may have believed the slander of the villain and misunderstood Lord Chen. Some words are not beautiful if they are said by others. Lord Chen wants to say it to the emperor face to face."

"How to meet the emperor?" Wang Yan asked.

"What suggestions does the commander have?"

Speaking of this, Wang Yan was a little speechless.

Shao Xun is too afraid of death!

The last time I met the emperor at Tianyuan Lake, I mobilized a large number of troops and many people saw it, which actually had a bad impact.

As a minister, you brought a large army into the capital, which easily made people think of you as Dong Zhuo.

But it seemed too risky to let him enter the palace alone or with only a few followers.

When Cao Mengde met Emperor Xian of Han, he could be sweating profusely or even bleed. Every emperor has a different temperament, and who knows what he will do under impulse? This risk cannot be taken.

Therefore, if Shao Xun entered the palace to pay homage to the emperor, he would be surrounded by soldiers and guards like clouds, which was a bit too much.

In short, it's difficult.

"How is the battle going in Xuzhou?" Wang Yan did not answer immediately, but asked about the war instead.

"When I left Xuchang, I heard that Xi Jian attacked Xia Pi once but failed and was repelled by Zu Ti," Zhou Mo said.

"Xia Pi is surrounded by water on all sides. It would be unwise for Xi Daohui to attack it by force," said Wang Yan.

"It had been raining for days and the roads were muddy, so the cavalry was useless. Xi Daohui sent people to cut wood and build rafts to attack Xia Pi." Zhou Mo said: "Zu Ti ordered the navy to come forward and fired bows and crossbows. The army could not hold on and retreated."

"We can't use fire to attack and burn Zu Ti's fleet?"

"I don't know about that."

Wang Yan hummed.

He knew that this sentence was unprofessional.

How come Xi Jian didn't know about fire attack? How come Zu Ti didn't know to guard against fire attack? It's not that simple.

"Where is Pengcheng?" he asked again.

"Lu Zidao went to Pingyuan in person and asked the Hua family to persuade Xun Taizhang. I heard that the Liu family of Pei State and the Shi family of Leling also sent people to persuade him." Zhou Mo replied.

Wang Yan secretly praised Shao Taibai for his ability to use people.

Hua Yan, grandson of Hua Xin, a famous minister and grand marshal of Cao Wei, married the daughter of Liu Fen of Pei State.

He gave birth to a daughter named Hua Tiao, who married Xun Zu and Xun Taizhang.

She also gave birth to a daughter, Hua Fang, who married Wang Jun. She died of illness in the first year of Yongjia (307) at the age of . She was Wang Jun's third wife.

The Liu family of Pei State is not simple either.

Liu Fen married the daughter of Wei Weiwei Wu Zhou (from Pei), and had three sons: Liu Cui, the General of the Southern Army, and his wife was Xun; Liu Hong, the Minister of Rites, and his wife was Hua; Liu Han (some say Liu Huang), the Grand Master of the Imperial Household, and his wife was Cheng. Liu Han's daughter married the Shi family of Leling, and the Shi family also had intermarriages with the Xun family and the Chen family of Yingchuan...

The aristocratic families have woven an impenetrable web.

It feels good to use them, because you can get close to relatives in various ways and they can provide a lot of help for your cause. But once you sit down and carefully look into their past, you will be terrified.

For rulers like Shao Xun, it is really a love-hate relationship.

But in the matter of Pengcheng, they had to be used.

The relationship between Pingyuan Hua and Xuzhou Governor Xun Zu is really close. Add in other close relatives, and with all these measures, can Xun Zu still remain neutral?

People cannot live in a vacuum, they are bound to have tendencies.

"I think Taibai should wait until the matter of Pengcheng is settled before going to see the emperor." Wang Yan looked at Zhou Mo and said, "It would be even better if Xi Daohui could capture Xiapi."

"I will report back to Lord Chen," Zhou Mo said.

"As for the form of the audience..." Wang Yan thought for a while and said, "Bringing troops into the palace is too scary. After Taibai comes to Luoyang to supervise the battle, we can ask the emperor to come out of the city to comfort the troops. That way it will be much easier."

When Zhou Mo heard this, he secretly praised Wang Yifu for having a solution.

"Mr. Chen has the help of the Grand Marshal, which has saved him a lot of trouble." He said sincerely.

Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "Go back and tell Taibai not to rush. There are some things that can be done by princes and scholars, but he is not from a prominent family, so if he does it, he will be criticized and it will hinder his great cause. Take it slow. If you take Xuzhou, the rumors will be reduced by half. If you capture Hongnong and Henei, or destroy Shi Le, no one will say anything anymore."

Wang Yan's words were quite sincere. He didn't make empty claims, nor did he deny that Shao Xun was of low birth. He told him to concentrate on supervising the battle and quickly take down the places that needed to be taken down. Then things would be much easier.

"I heard that you went to Jiangling. How was it?" Wang Yan asked again.

"Not much effect." Zhou Mo said with a wry smile.

He had indeed just gone to Jiangling to meet his brother Zhou Xi.

His elder brother was more loyal to King Langya and directly rejected his suggestion to join Lord Chen.

Since the matter was not accomplished, Zhou Mo did not stay long and immediately returned home to report the details to Shao Xun.

Things in Jingzhou are still the same old way, doing business for a few days and having fun for a few days, which is completely different from the fast-paced pace in Xuchang.

"Shuzhi, there is no need to lament." Wang Yan also smiled bitterly and said, "Isn't it true that I wrote a letter to Chuzhong?"

It was normal for the noble families to be divided into different places and serve different masters. But Wang Yan felt that he had been very sincere to these people, but he did not expect this result, so he was inevitably disappointed.

"Forget it, you go back first." Wang Yan said to Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo was about to bow and leave when Wang Yan stopped him.

"The emperor does not allow Yan Ding, Li Shu, Diwu Yi and others to be dismissed from office." Wang Yan said, "Please don't be hasty, Taibai. I will find their faults."

Zhou Mo understood.

Wang Yan must have been worried that Chen Gong would follow Sima Yue's example and arrest and kill people in front of the emperor. However, as long as the emperor protected them, could Wang Yan really dismiss these people? Not necessarily.

After all, he is not the prime minister or chancellor, and he cannot bypass the emperor. This matter is likely to have twists and turns.

(End of this chapter)