Chinese New Year

Chapter 618 Going North (Part )

Shao Xun got out of the carriage and waved to the fathers (nobles) and elders (clan) of Youzhou.

Because Hebei had just been pacified, at the strong suggestion of the officers of the imperial army, they rode in horse-drawn carriages all the way.

Even so, Liu Ling, Yang Qin and others were still not satisfied.

Yang Qin suggested getting several identical carriages, and after stopping to rest halfway, get on one at random.

Liu Ling suggested choosing a large horse with strong pulling power to pull the carriage, and making an iron carriage with iron armor covering key parts.

Shao Xun didn't agree in the end, because it would be easy to be looked down upon. After all, he was a warrior more than ten years ago. Although the quality of soldiers from all forces has generally improved, he doesn't dare to waste time, but he is still a warrior. It's too much for him to accept.

After waving their hands in greeting, the officials and scholars leaving the city all saluted and said, "Greetings, Lord Chen."

"No need to be so polite." Shao Xun held his hands together and said in a gentle tone.

Everyone stood up and when they looked up, they saw more than 4,000 Black Lancer soldiers lined up not far away.

The shining armor, the pitch-black spear, the stern face, and the upright posture all give people a great sense of oppression.

The elders of Youzhou, who were used to seeing peasant soldiers, were shocked when they first saw the elite professional warriors.

Shao Xun smiled slightly. Do you really think I'm a gigolo?

The three battalions of the left, middle and right Silver Spears and one battalion of the Black Spear Army, totaling more than 20,000 soldiers, were all elite troops that he had built up with his own hands.

With these 20,000 elite soldiers, they can intimidate more than 50,000 miscellaneous soldiers, and these 50,000 miscellaneous soldiers can drive and supervise more farmers to fight.

Otherwise, why do you think Liu Ya and Shi Hu wanted to eat up the Silver Spear Left Camp in Hanoi?
Without those 6,000 veterans, Shao, who had been madly leveraging his assets, would be completely liquidated.

The result of a margin call may not necessarily mean ruin, but it will definitely greatly reduce his bargaining power.

If the current territory is compared to a company, Shao Xun feels that he already owns 51% of the shares - it is definitely less than half in terms of actual control area and talent pool, but the Silver Spear Army, Black Shadow Army, Palace Soldiers and the like are too many plus points, which have pushed his shares to over half, and general affairs that do not involve major decisions can be decided by a single word.

As for the absolute control of 67%, that is far from the truth. In this world, although there is no second-largest shareholder (more than 34%) with a veto power over major events, their combined power is not small, and major events still need to be discussed with shareholders.

What? 100% equity? Get other shareholders out? I don't think it's possible in this lifetime. No one in this era can do this.

In short, the Silver Spear, Black Jade Army and the Palace Soldiers are the core assets of his investment, and the valuation is very high. Once all the losses are gone, won't you have to rely heavily on other shareholders to inject assets (collect soldiers from the wealthy families) like Yuwen Tai did, diluting your shares? When the shares are reduced to a certain extent, the company will belong to others.

"Mingsir." Shao Xun was daydreaming, Zao Song, Zhu Shuo, and You Tong looked at each other, and finally Zao Song was one step faster, stepped forward and bowed, saying: "I will introduce the elders of Youzhou one by one to you, Mingsir."

Shao Xun nodded with a smile and said, "I just want to see the heroes of Youzhou."

Zao Song walked up to an old man with a long white beard and said, "This is the governor of this state, Liu Han, the elder of Yan State. Mr. Liu is respectful, loyal, filial, and friendly. He is well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge, and his poems are elegant. When he opened a school to teach, it was well-known far and wide. When he taught the world, both the Chinese and the barbarians came."

Zao Song's words were both a compliment and a way of secretly telling Shao Xun what Liu Han's status was in Youzhou. He could ignore other things, but he had students and guests all over Youzhou, which was something he couldn't ignore, especially since many of them were powerful figures.

When Shao Xun heard this, he was filled with awe and bowed to Liu Han, saying, "With Mr. Liu in Youzhou, what do I have to worry about?"

Liu Han returned the greeting, looked Shao Xun up and down, and said, "I have heard of Mr. Chen's name for a long time, and now I see him. He is indeed a dragon and a tiger."

At this point, he paused and asked, "I wonder what Mr. Chen thinks of the current situation in Youzhou?"

"Farming and mulberry farming provide food and clothing. In recent years, Youzhou has been plagued by frequent wars, and Wang Jun has imposed heavy taxes and levies. There have also been floods, droughts, and locust plagues, leaving the people poor and helpless. We should strengthen the foundation and calm the people down." Shao Xun said, "The Xianbei tribes are all our children. If they are willing to surrender, we can live in peace."

"What if you don't want to be comforted?" Liu Han asked.

"Heaven and earth are extremely benevolent, yet they also have frost and snow." Shao Xun said as a matter of course: "Those who rebel must be punished, and those who obey must be pardoned."

Liu Han bowed and said, "I know you, sir."

After the ceremony, step aside.

Zao Song nodded slightly to Shao Xun, meaning that Liu Han was willing to be the governor of Youzhou.

Shao Xun understood.

Wang Jun used to be an official, but Liu Han didn't want to be one. Wang Jun couldn't do anything about it and didn't dare to kill him. In comparison, another famous scholar, Huo Yuan, was killed.

Today's meeting was actually an examination, a mutual selection between the monarch and his subjects. If Liu Han was not satisfied with the answers, he might really resign and concentrate on his studies.

Now it seems that Liu Han has actually lowered his requirements and only asked two most basic questions: domestic affairs and foreign affairs.

In terms of domestic affairs, Shao Xun advocated recuperation.

In terms of diplomacy, Shao Xun's policy was mainly to appease the enemy.

Liu Han agreed with this, so he was willing to accept the position of Governor of Youzhou.

Once he accepted it, it would mean that Shao Xun's rule in Youzhou would be halfway stabilized.

The reason was simple. He couldn't possibly station a large number of troops here. The Silver Spear Right Camp and the Black Sword Army had to return to Henan to rest and recuperate. The Yicong Army had also been on the march for a long time and needed to go back to recuperate.

The power to defend Youzhou still depends on the people of Youzhou themselves.

If you gain recognition from local clans, they will serve as local garrison forces, reducing your expenses and saving your manpower.

Liu Han's family can only be said to be of upper-middle level, but his personal influence is very strong. If he stands up to support you, it can indeed influence the hearts and minds of quite a number of powerful people.

If we expand the scope to the whole of Hebei, in terms of families, the Fanyang Lu family, the Pingyuan Hua family, and the Qinghe Cui family are the first-class, while the Boling Cui family, the Pingyuan Liu family, the Leling Shi family, the Zhongshan Liu family and other families are slightly lower. As for the Guangping You family, the Cheng family, the Anping Han family, the Weijun Shao family, the Gaoyang Xu family and others, they are the next highest.

It was impossible for Shao Xun to win over all the Hebei gentry, so he could only focus on the key points.

It is enough to deal with the three families of Fanyang Lu, Pingyuan Hua and Qinghe Cui. The other second-rate aristocratic families can be connected by these three families through their extensive network of relationships - this is also the only solution.

After meeting Liu Han, Zao Song introduced Yang Yu, saying, "This is Yang Yu, Yang Shilun, a man of ability. When Wang Jun was in power, people were in trouble. Shilun had the heart to help the country and save the time, so he encouraged people to cultivate agriculture and sericulture, and to suppress evil and violence, so that people were harmonious and the people were happy. After the matter was settled, he resigned and left. Wang Jun repeatedly offered him an official position, but he refused. He said that he accepted the position for the people, and now that the people are at peace, he should live in seclusion in the mountains and forests."

Shao Xun was once again filled with awe and said, "Shi Lun has such a strong will, which is really admirable."

At this point, Shao Xun took direct action - he held Yang Yu's hand and said: "Since Shi Lun has such ability, he should be placed in a key position and test his ability as a loyal follower. How about correcting me from time to time?"

"How dare I not serve you, sir!" Yang Yu was silent for a while and then agreed.

Shao Xun chuckled.

Yang Shilun was also quite famous, and what was even more rare was that he was relatively young and did not have low desires like Liu Han.

The two of them talked for a while, and it seemed that they got the approval.

Shao Xun invited him to serve in the Shogun's office, and he accepted the offer without much hesitation. This was a good thing, and the cause of united front work had made another step forward.

"Mingsir, this is You Tong You Guangming, a native of Guangping, Jizhou." Zao Song began to introduce the third person: "On the night of his conversion, he led the elite troops of all camps and made great achievements..."

"Zhu Shuo and Zhu Qiubo are both talented in civil and military affairs, and have a good understanding of the past and present. They know the old problems of the counties and prefectures, and understand the people in the shogunate..."

Zao Song introduced them one by one. Shao Xun was patient and was polite at first, then made a few comments and even promised some benefits. Suddenly, the atmosphere became harmonious and peaceful.

We all know that united front work is very important, but when it comes to actually doing it, it is extremely complicated and cumbersome.

After talking for the entire morning, Shao Xun had even forgotten what he had said. It was simply outrageous.

Just as the musicians were playing weakly, the long meeting finally ended. Shao Xun, surrounded by the elders of Youzhou, went straight into Jicheng and stayed at Wang Jun's mansion.

The banquet has been prepared. The next step is to use the opportunity of eating and drinking to get to know more about everyone's situation, and even spread rumors and offer benefits.

This is the standard procedure for receiving a place.

If you don’t do these things, you may end up feeling “uneasy”.

How can the local tyrants dare to place bets on you when they don’t know you?
How can they work for you if you don't give the local bosses benefits?
How can you employ guests without knowing their reputation, ability and past experience?
There are many things that cannot be understood simply by dry information and text; one has to meet in person to discuss them.

As far as today's meeting was concerned, Shao Xun felt that he had gained a lot, so he couldn't help but drink a few more glasses.

While people were toasting in the front yard, Liu Ling, Yang Qin and others entered the back yard with their personal soldiers, carefully searched all places where people might be hiding, and then set up sentry posts, waiting for Mr. Chen to arrive.

Wang Jun, who was locked in the bedroom, was very sensitive to the movements outside.

He stood up suddenly, but felt a little dizzy. After staggering for a long time, he finally calmed down and looked outside.

Liu Ling leaned against the door frame, grinned at Wang Jun, and said, "How many kilograms of lamp oil can you make from such a fat body?"

Wang Jun's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "Who are you? Where is Shao Xun? Let him come to see me."

"Wang Pengzu!" Liu Ling shouted, "When we led the Xianbei to attack Liu Borgen's troops and slaughtered them wantonly, did we ever think that this day would come?"

"Are you the remnant of the Tianshi Dao?" Wang Jun asked in surprise.

Liu Ling sneered twice and said, "Get ready to die. Once the emperor's edict arrives, it will be your time to die."

Wang Jun couldn't help but tremble.

Liu Ling looked at him disappointedly.

More than ten years ago, when the Qingzhou rebels heard the name of Wang Jun, they trembled with fear.

More than ten years later, Liu Ling suddenly realized that this was just an old man whose heart was full of fear.

This is the scholar? This is the Wang family of Taiyuan? Haha.

(End of this chapter)