Chinese New Year

Chapter 596 Women and Men
There was a loud thunder and continuous autumn rain.

On the Zhang River, wild boats are floating freely.

On the banks of Nanbei, willows grow lushly.

The garden is full of fruits and vegetables.

Several women sat under the corridor of Tongque Tower, watching the raindrops sliding down the bluestone rockery with boredom.

The scenery outside the city is scattered.

The millet and wheat in the fields have been harvested, leaving the fields bare.

Rivers and canals surround the area, and mulberry trees grow in rows, forming a lush forest.

A few storks landed by the river and wandered around.

In the Zhangqu Weir farther away, white waves can be seen faintly.

To the far west are endless mountains and forests. Amid the mist and rain, the dust and noise are washed away bit by bit.

Someone sighed, and several women's brows were filled with worry.

Wang Jingfeng no longer had the liveliness of the past, like a wilted flower, lifeless.

Wang Huifeng sat next to her sister, holding her chin with her right hand, looking at the misty rain, her eyes out of focus.

"Sister, when do you think Mr. Chen will come back from Hanoi?" Wang Jingfeng suddenly said.

"It's almost there." Wang Huifeng said.

"How do you know?" Wang Jingfeng's eyes lit up and he became interested.

If the man came, she would definitely give him a good scolding.

Your child can already move, isn't that amazing? Hehe, he's my child too, he's so smart.

"A messenger has come." Wang Huifeng said, "Henei is not easy to attack, and Lord Chen has not ordered to take Henei. He will come to Yecheng, which is more important."

Wang Jingfeng let out a long "Oh".

The other women all turned around to look at her. Le even laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more relaxed.

Everyone was no longer as listless as before and started talking.

"Ayu, Mr. Chen and I have been exchanging letters frequently, but you just don't..." Wang Huifeng was a little embarrassed to speak and didn't know what to say.

"My sister is a scholar, you should be happy that Mr. Chen can get your help. How dare you find fault with him?" Wang Jingfeng said with a grin.

Wang Huifeng sighed.

When Jingfeng was favored by Mr. Chen and secretly came to whisper to her, she could hardly describe what that feeling was.

I felt a little disappointed, a little sad, and more confused. I felt like I had lost my direction and was at a loss. I even felt a little resentful towards my sister.

Now, seeing her sister like this, she felt relieved.

We are sisters who grew up together. It is enough for her to be happy and blessed.

"Mr. Chen had a hard time fighting in Hanoi?" Liu Ye, who was sitting in the corner, suddenly said.

Wang Huifeng turned his head and looked at her. She was also a pitiful person.

In fact, Wang Huifeng admires Liu Ye's work very much.

Unlike other women of the gentry, Liu had calluses on her palms and fingers, which turned out to be caused by drawing a bow and arrow. She was also good at using swords and riding horses, and was very strong, which was very different from other women in the Central Plains.

It can be seen that she is an ambitious person with a great desire for power, but after being kept by Mr. Chen for a few months, her spirit was frustrated, she lost herself, and became confused. She is no longer the heroic girl she used to be.

What a troublemaker!

"Yewang has five thousand guards from Liu Han's Eastern Palace. They are well-equipped and will not be easy to defeat." Wang Huifeng said.

"These five thousand soldiers should be Liu Yi's men, right? A few months ago, Liu Cong sent General Guanwei Bu Chu to lead an army to take over the Eastern Palace and transferred these five thousand people away. Wouldn't the Four Guards of the Eastern Palace rebel?" Liu Ye asked curiously.

"Who told you that?" Wang Huifeng asked in surprise.

She had never heard of this, and Mr. Chen probably didn't know either.

Liu Ye lowered his head and did not answer.

Wang Huifeng thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps the Four Eastern Palace Guards were only responsible for protecting Liu Yi, and they were not necessarily Liu Yi's men. Liu Yi probably tried to win them over, but he certainly could not win them over completely. Liu Cong became suspicious of this army and could not tell who was loyal and who was treacherous, so he sent them to Hanoi to defend the city."

Liu Ye nodded and said, "The four guards of the Eastern Palace are quite capable. They are all selected from the best and strongest men in various tribes and counties. More than 300 warriors were selected from the Shangdang tribes, both on foot and on horseback. When my father was still alive, he felt very sad when he saw the warriors being selected. These people have been trained for many years, have excellent equipment, and most of them have fought more than once. If they don't surrender, Yewang has a high city and deep moats, which will be difficult to break through."

There won't be many people in a tribe who are good at both cavalry fighting and infantry fighting.

This type of people had a special name in the Tang and Song dynasties: "Beiwei", which means the brave warriors who followed the tribal leader.

"You are right." Wang Huifeng said, "So Lord Chen did not expect to conquer Henei. It was enough for him to attract Shi Hu and prevent him from harassing Yecheng and Baigoushui."

Shi Hu had already led his troops to retreat westward, but was called back by Han Anxi General Liu Ya.

Shi Shou was actually very reluctant, but it was difficult to disobey military orders. In addition, Chaoge, Fangtou, and Gongxian were closed in their defense, so he had no better solution. If he crossed these strongholds and headed north to Anyang and Yecheng, there were troops led by Hou Feihu's Black Army guarding various key points, which were also difficult to capture.

The local nobles were unwilling to provide food and fodder, so they would stay in a place for three to five days before leaving. In the end, they could only destroy farmland, canals, and houses to vent their anger before riding back.

There are actually quite a few Hun troops gathered in the western half of Ji County and the Henei area.

Liu Ya, Zhao Gu, and Shi Hu had more than 60,000 infantry and cavalry, which was more than the number of Wang Que'er's troops, which had just been increased to 40,000.

Fortunately, the Huns' forces were relatively dispersed.

Chenguan is a fortress leading to Hedong, and troops must be divided to guard it;
There is a small road in Heyang (Heyang County of Liu Han) that can only be used by people and pack horses, which leads to the east of the river. It is necessary to divide troops to guard it;
Wude and Shanyang, which are connected to Ji County, must be guarded by separate troops...

The troops were divided everywhere, and the force facing Wang Que'er directly was not that strong. After Shi Hu led his troops to come, the Xiongnu soldiers gathered inside and outside Yewang City were even less than the Jin army.

But the Jin army was indeed unable to capture Yewang, and it was good enough to contain it.

Wang Huifeng's judgment that Shao Xun was going to come to Yecheng was actually reasonable.

"It's good to come to Yecheng." Wang Jingfeng said happily.

She had already begun to fantasize that when a man came over, she would stand with her big belly in the air and ask the man to do this and that for her and be nice to her.

As he thought about it, he actually laughed out loud. Wang Huifeng glanced at his sister, then turned his head back to look at the cold wind and rain.

Liu Ye was worried.

My brother is too timid and too greedy.

Duke Chen was dissatisfied with him, and the Huns were also suspicious of him, so he was in a bad situation.

After chatting for a while, Le, Yin and Guanqiu went back to see the child together.

******
In the Tongjue Garden under the Tongque Tower, Lu Zhi was entertaining guests.

"The dry bones in Wang Pengzu's tomb are actually Yuan Shu of the Han Dynasty. How ridiculous." Lu Zhi couldn't help laughing after hearing the new news.

Of course, Yuan Shu of the Han Dynasty was no match for Wang Jun.

When Wang Jun was at his peak, he won every battle. Only Gou Xi could be compared with him in the world, while Yuan Shu "had no achievement at all."

At one point he controlled Youzhou and most of Jizhou, and had a large population. His economic strength was unmatched by Yuan Shu.

But he and Yuan Shu have one thing in common: his own soldiers are not good enough.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shu was able to get by by conscripting peasants to fight in wars, after all, the armies at the end of the Han Dynasty were very weak.

But in the late Western Jin Dynasty, with cavalry running rampant, the combat effectiveness of the eighteen princes at the end of the Han Dynasty was no longer enough. Wang Jun recruited farmers and was defeated by Shi Le - because of the great development in cavalry technology and tactics, the combat effectiveness of the Hu cavalry at this time was far stronger than that of the late Han Dynasty, and their equipment was also better. It was indeed incomparable, and the intensity of the war increased greatly.

Therefore, Wang Jun’s current situation may be worse than Yuan Shu’s, which means there is an opportunity.

"Mr. Lu, is Taibai interested in Youzhou?" The guest You Sui asked seriously, "If you are interested, I won't be so hypocritical and will just follow Mr. Chen. But if you are not interested in going north, if you act rashly, you will be killed."

When Lu Zhi heard this, he did not answer immediately.

You Sui felt a little disappointed.

He was from Ren County, Guangping. The You family did not have deep roots in Guangping, and could only be traced back to the Cao Wei period. You Shu and You Shuzu successively served as county magistrates, prefects, imperial censors, and left chancellors, and the highest position was the empress's grand chamberlain, and then retired to return home.

Up to now, the Guangping You family is still just a small aristocratic family, and because of the war, the family was destroyed and the members were scattered.

When Wang Jun was powerful, he recruited You Lun, who had become a refugee leader, to be an official. However, because Wang Jun was not qualified to govern Jizhou, the officials he appointed could only be called "temporary officials" or even "fake positions" and were not recognized by people. Therefore, You Lun's status did not improve at all and he was just a refugee leader.

There was a reason why Wang Jun appointed You Lun as an official, because his elder brother You Tong was the Sima in Jun Mansion and was still in office.

The brothers You Cheng and You Sui are another branch of the Guangping You family.

You Yi was a good scholar and had some fame in the local area, and could even be called a famous scholar in Guangping.

When Wang Jun heard about this, he wrote to You Xi again and again to recruit him. You Xi could not refuse, and because he was worried that his family would encounter misfortune, he went.

You Sui advised him at the time that Wang Pengzu's regime was not sound and that the Huarong were rebellious, so it would not last long. It would be better to delay it a little longer, as he might be defeated one day.

You Yi insisted on going, arguing that Wang Jun was cruel and suspicious, and if he repeatedly refused, he would be killed by him, and even his clan would be implicated. Moreover, "in troubled times, clans should be divided in order to preserve their descendants."

You Sui was speechless, so he saw his brother off and went to Jun Prefecture to serve as the chief priest, a position he holds to this day.

He was still a little excited when Lu Zhi found him.

Lu Zidao was a famous scholar in Hebei, with connections in all counties. When he was the chief secretary of Yingfu, he was so powerful that Jiang Tong and Cai Ke from Henan could not beat him, and Lu Ji and Lu Yun from Jiangnan were even more defeated by him. All the scholars in Hebei were convinced by him.

You Sui was still willing to do things for him, as long as it was not at the cost of the lives of his elder brother You Xi, his cousin You Tong, and their entire family.

"Taibai has his own intentions for Youzhou." Lu Zhi paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Jin Zhenggang defeated Hu Yanmo twice in Gaoyang, and he will capture this county sooner or later. Why do you doubt it?"

You Sui was half-believing and half-doubting.

"Stupid!" Seeing him like that, Lu Zhi's face fell immediately, and he scolded: "What has happened to the Guangping You family? If it weren't for my strong recommendation, You Lun would not have been the governor of Zhaojun, and the You family would have fallen overnight. Now there is a golden opportunity in front of you, but you are hesitating again and again. Why is it? I can make You Lun the governor, and I can also make him step down. Guangping Governor Cheng Mu was recommended by me, how come after the defeat of King Chengdu, you don't even recognize me, Lu Zidao?"

“How dare I!” The “Godfather” of Hebei was as overwhelming as a mountain, and You Sui was terrified.

Lu Zhi stared at him for a long time. Seeing You Sui's humble appearance, he smiled and said, "You are such a fool for not knowing how to catch Da Fugui. I will give you another chance. Tell me, what is the situation in Youzhou now."

You Sui did not dare to neglect and immediately said: "According to what my brother said, there are many generals in Junfu, but only the supervisor Sun Wei has some ability and is relatively loyal, the rest are mediocre..."

After listening to You Sui's detailed explanation, Lu Zhi gradually understood it and it was almost the same as what he understood.

This mutual confirmation made him even more ecstatic, and he felt more certain about some things.

"Mr. Chen has no me, but I don't know how many years he will have to fight in Hebei." Lu Zhi smiled and said, "Who are you, Sima Youtong of Junfu?"

"From my brother." You Sui replied.

This is my cousin's cousin, so they are actually quite close.

"I heard that Pei Xian and Pei Jingsi are in Jun Mansion. What are their positions?" Lu Zhi asked.

"Pei Jingsi is the former governor of Yuzhou and the general of the Northern Army. Since Wang Jun has not yet taken power, how can he be used?" You Sui said, "He is just a guest official. Xun Chuo and Xun Yanshu are also guests."

Pei Xian was once appointed by Sima Yue as the Governor of Yuzhou and the General of the North Central Army. Later, he was frightened and defeated by the Xiongnu army. He fled all the way to Shouchun and attached himself to Zhou Fu.

When Zhou Fu was defeated, he fled to Jiangzhou and attached himself to Hua Yi.

After Hua Yi's defeat, he fled to Youzhou and took refuge with his last acquaintance, Wang Jun.

"Hmm." Lu Zhi stroked his beard and said, "Pei Jingsi and Hua are on good terms. I know what to do."

In fact, the Lu family also has connections with the Hua family. Aristocratic families always have some complicated relationships.

Lu Zhi was the great-grandson of Lu Zhi, a famous official of the Later Han Dynasty, the grandson of Lu Yu, the prime minister of Cao Wei, and the son of Lu Ting, the military commander. In the Ming Dynasty, Lu Zhi was the chief historian of the Ying Mansion and the chief secretary. If Sima Ying had not been defeated, the four generations of the Lu family would have exploded.

The Hua family was related to the Lu family by marriage. Hua Yi, the former governor of Hebei, the chief minister of the Central Secretariat, the palace attendant, the minister of imperial edict, and the minister of the Chancellery, was Lu Yu's son-in-law.

When Lu Zhi was in power in Yecheng, he had a very good relationship with the Hua family.

Now maybe he could ask Hua to send someone to contact Pei Xian. As for Xun Chuo, who also lived in Youzhou, he didn't intend to pay any attention to him.

Thinking of this, he looked at You Sui and said, "Do you dare to go to Youzhou?"

You Sui didn't dare to refuse, and replied, "Yes."

In such a chaotic situation, who would be crazy enough to go to Youzhou? But did he have a choice? Lu Zidao was not a magnanimous person. On the contrary, he was a little petty. People who offended him basically had no good end.

Lu Zhifu laughed loudly, feeling extremely happy.

(End of this chapter)