Chapter 944 Zu and Wang
After the fleet passed Huaiyin, its speed suddenly slowed down.
On both sides of Hangou, there is a desolate scene.
Just like Xiapi, Linhuai, and Donghai in Huaibei, Huailing and Guangling in Huainan were also repeatedly devastated by wars, so that the captive populations were either resettled in Guangling or Hailing, or simply sent to Jiangnan , looking for land to open up wasteland.
Xuzhou has experienced this, but I don’t know how many years it will take to recover.
While the fleet was sailing, there were people gathering firewood on the shore. When they saw the passing army, they fled in a hurry and hid in the reeds.
This behavior shows that the people are afraid of the soldiers coming and going. Not only Shao Bing would arrest them, Wu Bing's military discipline was also not very good, or even worse, especially Zu Ti's troops, who even robbed merchants in order to raise money, and would do anything.
"Alas." Seeing this situation, Zu Ti coughed heavily, his eyes full of confusion.
What are you doing in this life?
At the beginning, the barbarians ravaged the Central Plains, and Sima Yue had no master, so he was unwilling to surrender. Unable to hold on any longer, he led a group of people who were also devastated by the war and went south through the Cao Canal to avoid disaster, and then worked under King Langya's tent.
To be honest, I feel a little regretful because the situation in the north is getting better little by little. But there was no other way. Three of the six brothers from the ancestral family stayed in the north and three went south. This was an inevitable behavior of the nobles to avoid risks and preserve the family property.
What he regretted was why he went south.
Shao Xun is capable. Apart from other things, there is no doubt that he is brave and good at fighting and is proficient in the art of war.
The Battle of Luoyang, advancing hundreds of miles.
The battle of Gaoping, chasing thousands of miles.
Ping Gou Xi detoured to Hebei and attacked.
Attack Hanoi, suddenly crossed the river on a thunderstorm night.
One after another, one by one, people are amazed and impressed by their courage.
Zu Ti actually admired him very much, although Liu Kun despised him.
But fate plays tricks on people, and that’s the way it is today. There is no resentment that the Northland was occupied by barbarians, only regret that they did not participate in this process.
Those whose names are recorded in the history of history are generals such as Wang Queer, Hou Feihu, Jin Zheng, and Li Zhong. They defeated the Xiongnu, defeated the Xianbei, and subdued the miscellaneous barbarians. They swept across thousands of miles from east to west, and their military exploits were brilliant and enviable.
As for his ancestor Ti, his health deteriorated after arriving in the south, and his mood became even more depressed and melancholy. It was extremely difficult to raise food, grass, equipment, and soldiers for the expedition.
To this day, he is still fighting a bad battle in Xiapi with a person like Yu Liang who has no strategy. In the end, he can only barely gain the upper hand by relying on the superiority of the boat division.
He could fully imagine that this time, Yu Liang and Li Chong were probably going to regain Xiapi again. This battle was in vain, and the people still suffered like this.
The sky is playing tricks on people!
"Brother." Zu Yue was shocked when he saw Zu Ti getting up from the cabin. He hurriedly helped him inside and scolded: "Brother is sick, so he should take a good rest."
Zu Ti did not struggle. , and lay back obediently.
His body was indeed running out of fuel and could no longer hold on, but at this time, he became more melancholy.
"If I had listened to Lu Gong's words back then..." Zu Ti sighed.
Zu Yue was also speechless, but there was no other way. This is what aristocratic families do.
It was decided early on that the eldest, second and third sons would stay in Youzhou, while the fourth, fifth and sixth sons would go south to build Ye.
Among the three brothers, one is deceased, and the other two are working under the king of Liang. Generally speaking, the ancestral family’s strategy is successful, but when it comes to individuals, There is always something unpleasant.
"Brother, there is actually a chance..." Zu Yue looked around and whispered.
Zu Ti shook his head and said: "You should have a beginning and an end when doing things for a person."
"Brother!" Zu Yue said anxiously: "The prince of Langya has passed away, and the people in the country are panicked. Situation, could it stop Shao’s army of millions?”
Sima Shao, the eldest son of King Langya, fell seriously ill a few months ago and passed away.
For King Langya, this was a tragic incident where a white-haired man gave a black-haired man a gift.
But that was for King Langya, and for the generals of the Jianye shogunate, it was more important to quickly choose a successor, because someone had already suggested selecting other clans to succeed the shogunate.
For now, the Jiangdong Tu people suggest making the king’s second son, Sima Cao, the heir apparent.
They don’t want to usher in big changes, because they only want to separate themselves, and have no idea of replacing or even unifying the world through the Northern Expedition.
Things are basically settled.
It was precisely because of this incident that Zu Ti withdrew his troops in a hurry, but he himself also fell ill. Especially after hearing that Shao Xun had conquered Chang'an and wiped out all the Tu Gezi, he felt relieved and soon couldn't hold it any longer.
So, for him, nothing matters now. He has no extra life to support him in realizing his ambition.
The ancestral covenant is different.
He is also ambitious, has a stronger desire for fame and fortune, and wants to do something great. But he saw no hope in Jianye because there were too many people ranked above him.
Now my brother is seriously ill and is about to die, so he is even more anxious.
Seeing that Zu Ti was silent at this moment, he said again: "Brother, it is better to defect to -"
Zu Ti shook his head gently.
"Brother!" Zu Yue was so angry that his face turned red. He just heard him say: "Brother, you think about the people in Jianye, do they think about you? Director Wang only knows how to dance with long sleeves, but he can dance like this For many years, I have only treated my brother as a convenient knife. How could Bian Yi be so virtuous? How could he be ranked above his elder brother? In the past, Wang Dun was even more mediocre in talent, but he was able to command a strong army in Jingzhou. In this world, it is still a matter of family status, and we are the ones in Jianye. I'm angry." Zu Ti closed his eyes and didn't want to say anything.
"Alas!" Zu Yue sighed again, filled with anger that could not be vented.
“After I die——” Zu Ti suddenly made a voice on the couch.
Zu Yue was startled.
"You can lead the army well." Zu Ti said: "If there is a chance in the future, take my coffin back to Fan Yang and bury it in the orchard where you and I used to play when we were young."
Zu Yue's eye circles immediately turned red, and he stood there blankly, not knowing what to say.
******
It was getting late, and Wang Dao, Wang Yue, and Wang Tian, father and son, were sitting in the courtyard drinking tea.
Director Wang’s face was calm, neither sad nor happy.
Wang Yue's face was pale and he looked weak.
Wang Tian seemed to have just finished bathing. His hair was disheveled in front of his father and brother, but he looked as if nothing had happened and did not feel rude at all.
"Da Lang, can you still hold on?" After drinking a few sips of tea, Director Wang looked at his eldest son Wang Yue and asked with some pity.
"After the death of the crown prince, all the plans came to nothing." Wang Yue sighed and said: "I think back then, my son and the crown prince had a close friendship and he was his confidant. I don't know how many people he offended because of this. . But who knows, life is unpredictable, alas."
Director Wang also sighed.
He has a good relationship with Wang Rui of Langya, and his eldest son Wang Yue and Wang Changyu have a good relationship with his eldest son Sima Shao.
He knew that there were too many swords and shadows, too many overt and covert struggles.
The effort that the eldest son expended on this process was unimaginable to outsiders, and this also caused his already weak body and bones to deteriorate even more. However, at the age of twenty-something, there are faint silver threads on the head.
He has never complained to him before, so he just revealed a little bit today because his mind was wavering.
As for why the mood was fluctuating, it was actually very simple. The news that Shao Xun had conquered Chang'an spread to Jianye.
Wang Dao still remembers the changes in the expressions of everyone in the shogunate at that time.
The scholars who arrived early were dejected, those who arrived late looked gloomy, and the Tu people in Jiangdong were extremely anxious.
As for King Langya, he has not yet come out of the pain of losing his son, and is more at a loss.
In the end, it was his Wang Guo who had to come out to comfort everyone, mentioning that the northerners were not accustomed to the acclimatization of the south, and at least 50,000 of the 100,000 troops died of illness. The battle still had to be fought, and this improved everyone's morale. pick up.
But my family knows their own affairs.
If Shao's soldiers went south, it is certain that many people would die of illness, but can the epidemic alone completely prevent the northern soldiers from going south? The answer is obvious.
"Father." Wang Yue suddenly said: "In a few days, we have to visit the Wuzhong clan. Most of them are unwilling to surrender. As long as they support it, Jiangdong will not be so easily broken."< br>
Director Wang nodded slightly.
Wang Tian listened for a long time and suddenly laughed and said: "Every time the northern troops go south, there are always people who want to surrender. It was like this when Cao Mengde was like this, and it was like this when Shao Xun was like this. It's really ridiculous."
" Shut up!" Director Wang couldn't help but scolded.
I don’t know why, but I get so angry every time I see this son.
Sometimes it is clear that he did nothing wrong or said anything wrong, but Director Wang is just angry. The reason may be related to his usual careless appearance.
He was arrogant, frivolous and fond of martial arts, which made many people laugh at him and made him lose a lot of face.
Compared with Erlang, the eldest son has a docile and calm temperament. He is filial to his parents, polite to others, and cautious in his words. When he is assigned to the late prince, he can deal with hidden arrows from all directions, and does his job calmly. Something went wrong.
What’s the difference between the two!
After scolding the second son, Director Wang looked at the eldest son again and said, "Dalang, besides contacting the Jiangnan Tu people, do you have any other suggestions?"
Wang Yue shook his head and said: " River Nan is unable to make progress and can only try its best to protect itself. The only current plan is to work together, use the Jianghuai River as a barrier, use the Navy as a defensive city, and secure Huaiyin, Shouchun, Xiangyang and other places to wait for the weather. "
< br>
"Shao Xun's victory over Chang'an was a time of great success. However, the Huns were suddenly defeated and Tuoba was still unconvinced. I expect there will be recurrences in these two places. If he mobilizes all his troops and goes south, he will be worried about a fire in his backyard. Just like when Ma Chao and Han Sui started in Guanzhong, "Old war."
"On the other hand, if he is eager to usurp the throne, he will lose the hearts of the people. Once the southern expedition fails, more people will rebel, even if it is eventually suppressed. , also the national power is greatly weakened, the people's hearts are The turmoil made it difficult for him to march south again in the short term. He was already thirty-nine years old. In another ten years, he would be full of twilight and ambition, and his thoughts would no longer be about living in the world, but how to pass the throne to his son. .”
< br>"Murong in Liaodong, the soldiers are fierce and fierce, and they are like King Mu. Perhaps we can send envoys to the north to make good contacts and contain him."
Wang Yue said a lot in one breath, but there is only one core idea, That's waiting.
Stabilize your own position first, and then wait for Shao Thief to make mistakes, or simply wear him down until he loses his ambition.
After all, for a person who is almost forty years old, once the dynasty changes, the top priority must not be to unify the world, but how to pass on the throne smoothly and safely.
In short, the fifty-year-old Shao Thief is very different from the forty-year-old, let alone the sixty-year-old - if he can live to that age.
It is possible to succeed by "waiting for the enemy to defeat you".
After listening to this, Director Wang didn’t say much. He just sighed with emotion: "Unexpectedly, that little soldier back then has soared into the sky."
(End of this chapter)