Huan Rong

In December of the first year of Ningkang, Jia Bing and Huan Rong left Qiuchi and rushed to Jiankang day and night.

In the midwinter season, the waterways in the north were not smooth, so the group went south by land, and after passing Liangzhou, they diverted to water. Huan Chong.

After Huan Huo Huan Chong's reply letter was sent to Qiuchi, Jia Bing continued his journey and arrived in Jiankang before the dark day of the first month.

At that time, Yang An's head had arrived in Chang'an, and there were many discussions in the streets and alleys.

At the court meeting, Fu Jian's face sank like water, and he scanned the Mingguang Palace with his eyes like knives, shaving painfully.

All the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty lowered their heads, and no one made a sound.

Since last year, Di Qin's bad luck has taken the lead, and border wars have continued, with fewer victories and more defeats.Above the court, respected veterans died one after another, first Shuofang Hou, followed by Jianning Liegong, and people's hearts became more and more unstable.

Before Fu Jian could recover, Taiwei Lu Polou suddenly fell ill again.

Marquis Shuofang is old, and there will be such a day sooner or later; Marquis Jianning was seriously ill and could not survive the severe winter; Lu Polou was always in good health, the reason why he suddenly collapsed was because he received news of the death of his eldest son. I couldn't bear the blow for a while, and then I couldn't afford to get sick.

Thinking of this, Fu Jian couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty.

Lu Guang died at the hands of Qin Jing, but he was the one who sent him to reinforce Shuofang.

Long before the court meeting, he already had candidates for sending troops in his mind, and Lu's father and son were impressively listed at the top.

Lu Polou couldn't leave Chang'an easily, so Lu Guang became the best candidate.

He originally thought that no matter how good Qin Jing was at fighting, 8000 people would be enough to deal with it.Don't expect to drive him out of Shuofang and Wuyuan area immediately, relying on the superior force, it is always possible to form a seesaw.

Never expected that Qin Jing would brave the heavy snow to march, relying on the advantage of being familiar with the terrain, lay in ambush outside the camp, and took the opportunity to launch a night attack.

A total of [-] fierce soldiers were either killed or injured or fled. Those who did not escape became prisoners of war and were escorted back to Changli by Qin Jing.

After the fire was exhausted, the side general who got the news sent scouts to check it out.

In the vast snow, the place where the camp is located is in a mess.

Burnt tents and flying debris were scattered all over the ground, and there were fallen corpses in the middle, whose appearance before birth could not be recognized for a long time.

Greedy wolves roamed among the ruins, swarms of crows hovered in the air, and their hoarse cries pierced through the north wind, making people's scalps go numb.

Even if he has been on the battlefield many times and is used to seeing life and death, he will still be shocked by the scene in front of him.

The scout's face was pale, his calves were shaking, he didn't dismount at all, and hurried back.The burned camp was left behind, and the bones of Di Bing were buried under heavy snow.

When the snow melts in the coming year, everything will decay into slag and melt into the earth, leaving no traces.

Maybe there will be a few charred bones left to tell the world what happened here.

After this battle, the 100 miles outside the city of Shuofang almost became a forbidden area, and caravans and nomadic tribes passed through here, [-]% had to detour.If you really can't go around, you will camp far away, and carefully read a few words "Tian Shen" and "Tao Zu".

If you meet a timid person, you may hear the wind in the middle of the night, tremble with fright, and be unable to walk.

With the exchange of caravans, the story of Shuofang and Wudu was widely spread.Lu Polou was originally a white-haired man sending a black-haired man, and the pain of losing a child was unspeakable. Hearing these miscellaneous discussions, his condition became more serious under the aggravation of anger and anger.

Lu Yan went south but did not return, Lu Bao and Lu Deshi didn't take off their clothes, and they stood by the sick bed day and night, carefully serving the decoction.However, Lu Polou became seriously ill, and the medicine and stones were useless.

The doctors who came in and out of the Taiwei's mansion were all trembling, lest Lu Polou would die suddenly, and they would be hacked to death by angry Lu Bao and Lu Deshi.

If he didn't want to come, the lord of the country ordered his death again. There was really no other way but to prepare a suicide note and go out with his head in his hands.

Lu Polou's illness became worse day by day, and Fu Jian's mood became worse day by day.At this juncture, the news of Qiu Chi's murder came, Yang An's head was sent to Chang'an, the air pressure in Mingguang Palace was frighteningly low, no matter civil servants or generals, they all lowered their brows and lowered their eyes, and they would be worried if they breathed heavily.

Don't look at Fu Jian's hobby of inviting names, even those who raise the flag to rebel can be merciful.

All of these have a premise that the matter is not serious enough.

Now, the city in the north is unstable, the east is being eaten away by Qin Ce, and Shi Yiqian is rebelling in the west, and Jin soldiers who are regarded as weak have captured two counties!

Even if you have no brains, you should realize that the situation is serious.What's more, Fu Jian is not stupid, so he naturally knows how powerful it is.

Bad things happened one after another, and the officials in the court had their own thoughts. The general who should have stepped forward to relieve the king's worries became a quail again, and Fu Jian was so angry that he wanted to kill someone.

You don't have to wait until after the autumn to settle the score, just pick up the knife, and everyone present will count one by one, and they will all be hacked to death!

"Your Majesty," Wang Meng, who was sick, stood up and broke the stagnant atmosphere, "Your Majesty has played."

Things cannot continue like this, and a way must be found to break the situation.

Huan Rong didn't leave Qiuchi for a day, so Lu Yan, who stayed in the south, couldn't encourage the Yang family and his son to kill him.But if Huan Rong is not dead, the Huan family will not immediately turn against Jiankang.

Without chaos in Jiankang, Di Qin had one more enemy to guard against, and he was still unable to do his best to extinguish Shi Yiqian's regime in Guzang, let alone repel Qin Jing and take back the territory from Qin Ce.

One ring within another, Huan Rong became the most critical breakthrough point.

Had this matter been too important, Wang Meng would not have allowed Lu Yan to take the risk of staying in Liangzhou.

Lu Polou has already lost a son, if Lu Yan makes a mistake again, news of the death will come from the Taiwei Mansion immediately.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is to guard the border town to prevent bandits."

Translated, 8000 people will be taken over by one pot, so don't even think about adding fuel to it, temporarily abandon Shuofang and Wuyuan, and strictly guard other border towns.To prevent the cavalry led by Qin Jing from taking half a step.

Although the words are not nice, they will lose face, but at least they can keep the strength of the border and not be eroded by the Qin family.

Furthermore, in the severe cold season, heavy snow fell continuously in the northern land, and the border near the grassland was even dripping into ice.In such cold weather, it is very difficult for cavalry to travel. Hugh said that a large-scale attack on the city is purely courting death.

It's true that Qin Jing can fight, but he can't beat God after all.If he sent troops by force, Hu Qi who followed him would definitely feel dissatisfied, and internal strife was possible.

Wang Meng had a good idea and suggested Fu Jian in the same way.

The land of Diqin has been eroded, and the loss from last year to now is incalculable.But now is not the time to be impulsive, you must be careful in every step and act cautiously.

After the Zhuhu moved inland, many regimes were established, but not many lasted for a long time.

Di Qin has established the country for [-] years, and now he is caught in front of several regimes, surrounded by powerful enemies, and if he is not careful, he will repeat the mistakes of others.For the current plan, stabilize Chang'an, win over the tribal leaders, grasp the power in your hands, provoke internal conflicts among others, and look for opportunities to make a comeback!

After finishing speaking, Wang Meng retreated to the queue.

The Mingguang Palace fell into silence again.

After a long time, a courtier came out, holding a wat board, and said: "I am attached to the prime minister's proposal."

So what if you don't agree?

Can't think of any other way, can only follow what Wang Meng said, temporarily abandon Shuofang and Wuyuan, avoid confrontation with Qin Jing, in case the army is empty, and Qin Ce and Yi Jin will take advantage of it.

In addition, Rouran and Tuyuhun need to be on guard.

If Shi Yiqian hadn't rebelled and Di Bing had taken over the Western Regions, Fu Jian would never have been so passive.But the world was not as expected, Shi Yiqian took possession of Guzang and claimed to pay tribute, but he had no intention of bowing to Chang'an at all.

In the past, Huan Rong secretly promoted it, but now he and Tuyuhun are coveting each other, and they also have contacts with several Rouran tribes. Relying on Tuoba Xianbei's background, he gathered many old Tuoba tribes living on the grassland, and his power once swelled. It is not easy to win.

"My minister agrees!"

One after another, courtiers stood up and agreed with Wang Mengzou's request.

Fu Jian gritted his back molars hard, for the first time, he didn't nod on the spot, but walked away without saying a word.

The officials were in an uproar, and all turned their attention to Wang Meng.

This was the first time since Wang Jinglue went to court.

Wang Meng's expression remained unchanged, he stood up slowly, turned around and walked out of the Mingguang Hall.When he got outside the palace, he didn't leave the palace in a hurry, but turned to the apse, intending to persuade Fu Jian further.

He could understand Fu Jian's mood at the moment, aggrieved, extremely aggrieved.But the situation is like this, and I can't bear to be angry for a while, and I am afraid that I will usher in the bad luck of destroying the country.

In the past, Murong Xianbei dominated the six prefectures, but he was attacked into Yecheng overnight.

Today's Chang'an may not be safer than Yecheng.

Thinking of this, Wang Meng let out a long sigh, took a breath of cold air into his lungs, and coughed violently again.

The second year of Ningkang, February

After Huan Rong captured Qiu Chi, he did not return to Youzhou in a hurry, but stayed temporarily to supervise the reconstruction of the city, and waited for the reply from Huan Chong and Huan Huo.

On the day of the siege, both the east gate and the south gate were smashed into pieces of wood, and a large piece of mud bricks at the gate collapsed.It takes a lot of effort to rebuild.

Fortunately, Mr. Huan has no shortage of capable people under his command, and he cannot burn bricks on a large scale, but can temporarily fill them with polished stones.A giant log was erected at the city gate, and the craftsmen started working in rotation, and the two giant gates soon took shape.

Inside the city walls, most of the houses damaged in the war were repaired.

With the friendship of fighting side by side, the boundaries between Han and Hu are no longer as clear as before. The powerful and wealthy households generously donated their money to help the people in the city tide over the difficulties.

Huan Rong ordered the granary to be opened, and distributed all the corn and wheat that Di soldiers had robbed.

At the same time, notices were posted in the city, hiring strong men to build the city, one meal a day, and additional wages after the completion of the project; sign state soldiers, regardless of Hu or Han, after screening, those who successfully enter the camp will be paid the same as Youzhou state soldiers .

Posting such a notice caused an extraordinary response.

According to the examples of previous years, whenever the city was destroyed, the people in the city would always flee with casualties, and the population would drop sharply.

Huan Rong broke the rule, Qiuchi City changed hands, and the population in the city not only did not decrease, but increased one after another.As for the source, there are the Zahu tribes scattered nearby, the Xiyu Hu who fled from Guzang and other places, and even the Tuyuhun people who wandered on the border.

Of course, the largest number is still Han refugees.

Compared with the refugees from Youzhou, these people suffered even more miserably. Most of them were sallow and emaciated, trembling in the north wind.At least more than half of them were covered with whip wounds, some had been blackened with age, and some had just scabbed over, even oozing blood.

According to the situation, nine out of ten are sheep slaves who escaped from neighboring counties.

Looking down from the top of the city, there is a long queue of refugees waiting to enter the city.Most of them are men and women in their prime of life, a few are half-grown teenagers, and the elderly and children are very rare.

As for the reason, Huan Rong didn't want to think about it, nor did he dare to think about it.

In troubled times, human life is worthless.

He is not a god, he can't blow a breath, move his fingers to clear the Central Plains, and save all the suffering people.All he can do is to step out steadily step by step, do his best, and do well in the present moment.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, the cold air flowed into your lungs along your nasal cavity, Huan Rong couldn't help shivering, the sudden gloom dissipated, and when you opened your eyelids, your eyes were like shining stars, and your brain was instantly clear.

At this moment, Xu Canjun, who was in charge of registering household registration, hurried to the top of the city and reported to the people from Jingzhou, holding a letter written by Huan Huo and Huan Chong.

"Father's letter has arrived?"

Gu Shu is the gateway to Kangxi, guarding this place, Huan Chong's every move will be watched.It is really not advisable to deliver the letter directly to Qiu Chi. Although it will take a lot of trouble to send the letter to Jingzhou and have Huan Huo forward it on his behalf, it is safer.

"Yes." Xu Canjun said, "I'm in the barracks now."

"it is good."

Huan Rong nodded, looked out of the city again, then turned around and walked down the city.

The black cloak was rolled up by the north wind, like the spread wings of a roc, about to take off and break through the wind and snow to soar thousands of miles.

Returning to the camp in the city, Huan Rong couldn't help being surprised when he saw the messenger.

"Brother Cong?"

The visitor was looking at a scroll of bamboo slips, when he heard Huan Rong's voice, he raised his head, revealing a handsome face like a chiseled knife.

"Brother."

The person who came was none other than Huan Shimin, the third son of Huan Huo.

Huan Rong met him at the crowning ceremony, and they didn't say a few words at that time, but they had a good impression of each other.He knew that Huan Shimin was guarding Jingzhou with Huan Huo, but he never expected that it would be him who sent the letter.

Huan Shimin has a cheerful personality and superb martial arts skills. During the period of guarding Jingzhou with Huan Huo, he did not hesitate to sweep away border troubles and made military exploits.He has been promoted to General Dingyuan before, and will soon be the prefect of a place.

It was beyond Huan Rong's expectation that he came to deliver the letter.

"Brother Cong, did the journey go smoothly?"

The two brothers greeted each other and sat down in front of the screen.

The little boy brought tea soup and pastries, and closed the door.Huan Shimin didn't say much, he directly took out the letters written by Huan Chong and Huan Huo, and handed them to Huan Rong.

"Father's letter, tell me not to delay on the way, and must be delivered to brother as soon as possible."

Putting down the letter, Huan Shimin picked up the tea soup and said with a smile, "Brother, I still call me Brother Cong. It is inevitable that I will be unfamiliar with Brother Cong. Also, the cook in my hands is very skilled, and the fried cakes are absolutely perfect."

While talking, Huan Shimin picked up a piece of fried cake, ate it in two or three bites, took another sip of tea soup, and sighed contentedly.

Huan Rong was speechless.

This person is a famous general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. According to historical records, who sent troops to intercept and kill Fu Pi?

It's better to be famous than to meet.

Seeing Huan Shimin eat the whole plate of fried cakes in the blink of an eye, Huan Rong couldn't help but think of Huan Yi who was far away in Yandu, subconsciously raised the corners of his mouth, and asked the boy to give two more plates of cakes.

"There is also tea soup." Huan Shimin said.

"promise."

The boy stepped back, Huan Shimin put down the bamboo chopsticks, and continued to taste the tea soup.

Huan Rong unfolded the letter and read it carefully, the more he looked at it, the higher his eyebrows were raised, and finally almost flew off the boundary line.

"Brother," Huan Rong raised his head, looked over the letter to Huan Shimin, and said, "Before we set off, what did Father say to you?"

"This," Huan Shimin put down the lacquer lamp, thought for a moment, and said, "I didn't say anything else, I only talked about Qiu Chi, everything is arranged by brother."

Huan Rong: "..."

"Brother?"

"Brother, what Father means is to ask the imperial court to choose brother as the prefect of Qiu Chi, and brother Shu Xia as the prefect of Wudu."

Huan Huo and Huan Chong's expression of the so-called virtuous and not avoiding relatives was really brought out to the fullest.

People say that the Huan family is arrogant, but now it seems that there is some truth to it?

"I know about this." Huan Shimin was not at all surprised, "Father originally wanted to raise my second brother, but unfortunately the court ordered that my second brother be chosen as the prefect of Jingling, and he will take up the post soon. Brother, it’s not suitable, and it will fall on me and Uncle Xia in the end.”

"Father, do you have any other explanations?"

"Father said that with such an arrangement, we can temporarily win over Chen Jun's Xie family."

Chen Jun Xie?

Huan Rong pondered for a moment, and finally realized suddenly, he couldn't help but secretly said, Jiang is old and spicy!

Huan Shimin's father-in-law was Xie Yi, the former Yuzhou governor who had served under Sima Huan's curtain, and Xie An's eldest brother, Xie Xuan's own father, was the one recorded in the history books who chased Sima Huan to drink.

According to Princess Nankang, without this, Huan Rong probably wouldn't exist.

Huan Yi is versatile in both civil and military affairs, and is good at flute music. He is known as "No. [-] in Jiangzuo" and has personal relationships with both Wang Huizhi and Xie An.

The selection of the two of them as Qiu Chi and the prefect of Wudu was almost a stroke of genius, not to mention a stroke of genius.

Huan Rong put down the letter, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was feasible.The problem that has plagued me for many days is about to be solved, and it's hard not to be excited.

Although Xie An would guard against the Huan clan, he had to worry more about the Xi clan of Gaoping.

In the same way, one of the Jiankang gentry is counted as one, and it is not a good thing.Rather than go to great lengths to choose someone else and be taken advantage of by others, it is better to accept these two candidates smoothly.

In this way, one can not only sell Huan's favor, but also benefit from "in-laws" and "personal acquaintances", why not do it?

Doesn't fit the image of Qingfenglangyue?

Huan Rong shook his head.

Xie An was a famous scholar in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and it is true that he is unparalleled, but he is also the head of a noble family and shoulders the heavy burden of the family.In the special historical period of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, whether you like it or not, you must put aside yourself and take the interests of the family as the primary consideration.

"Brother, I will submit the form as soon as possible." Huan Rong walked around twice excitedly, and sat back on the futon again, "You don't need to wait for Jiankang's decree, brother, you can first familiarize yourself with the government affairs in the city. Jingzhou transfers some familiar generals."

"No hurry." Huan Shimin shook his head and said with a smile, "I just came from Jingzhou, and I want to spend a couple of days at leisure. I heard that brother has good wine hidden in his hand, so I really want to go there."

He was obviously a handsome young man, but he wanted to act like a rascal, but he was extraordinarily free and easy, leaving people speechless and couldn't help laughing on the spot.

"Okay, let's have a banquet tonight to clean up the dust for my brother!"

"it is good!"

The Huan brothers chatted happily, and Qin Jing, who was galloping in the north, did not attack the border towns as Wang Meng expected. Instead, he led [-] cavalry southward and galloped all the way to Xihe.

Qin Ce had written a long time ago, asking him to go back to Xihe as soon as possible.

Mrs. Liu also sent out the goshawk, explaining the affairs of the city, telling between the lines, don't stay outside for a long time, after crossing the West River, return to Changli as soon as possible, or go south to Pengcheng.

After receiving the letter, Qin Jing rode his horse and stood there for a long time, looking at the snow-covered grassland, and finally made up his mind.

In the second year of Ningkang, in the middle of February, Qin Jing led his cavalry to Xihe.

The army did not enter the city, but camped in a selected place outside the city.

With the supplies looted from the Di people and the goods transported by the caravan, the life of the army is quite good.Intimidated by Qin Jing's majesty and Xihe's reputation, he never left the camp if necessary to avoid any accidents.

Qin Jing only led Ranhu and the two minions back to the city. When he saw Qin Ce, he explained the battle situation in the past few months, and then said a shocking sentence: "Son, please lead the troops to town Shuofang."