Chapter 984 Performance Art (Part 1)
The sky was foggy, adding to the dampness and coldness of the morning.
Inside the house, the brazier has been lit, and from time to time there is the sound of crackling dead branches.
A high-top table, which is gradually becoming popular in the North but rarely seen in Jiangdong, was set up, and several people sat around, chatting and laughing.
The most famous among the people present is undoubtedly Gu He.
He was born into a wealthy family in Jiangdong, and was highly regarded by Wang Dao. He served as his subordinates and was secretly the leader among others.
But his relationship with Director Wang is like that.
Director Wang himself also served as the governor of Yangzhou, and sent eight troops at a time to inspect various places. After returning, the other seven people discussed the gains and losses of the two thousand stone officials from various places during the inspection, but Gu He remained silent.
Director Wang asked him if he had heard any news, and Gu He replied: "Why did Duke Ming collect rumors and use strict inspection to govern?"
Director Wang was filled with admiration.
This matter is very subtle.
A person with high emotional intelligence would say, "Ming Gong, please don't investigate. What if you find out something?" Generally speaking, Gu He's butt is relatively stable. Based on the Gu family in Wu County, he cooperates with the Nandu nobles to serve the family. Seek benefits and keep Jiangdong safe.
Therefore, Director Wang made him famous and reused him before, and he reciprocated the favor. Both sides got what they needed, that's all.
"Jun Xiao, in your opinion, King Langya will soon ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor?" Wei He Xi from the north of Jianye asked curiously.
"Can this be false?" Before Gu He could say anything, Zhang Cheng immediately jumped out like an aggressive little rooster and said, "When did something go wrong as Jun Xiao said?"
He Xi glanced at him contemptuously, not bothering to argue with him.
The Zhang family in Wujun suffered a severe decline. It started during the Soochow period. The wealthy families Zhang and Quan at that time suffered a heavy blow. Although they could still retreat to their hometowns, it was a fact that the power of the upper class continued to shrink.
Zhu actually has this trend.
Zhu Zhang, who was once the fourth surname in Wu County, was already far behind Gu Lu and could no longer keep pace.
After Sima Rui, Wang Dao and others moved south, this trend has not been reversed at all. People like Zhang Cheng can only be small officials and minor officials, which is obviously not suitable for their family fortune of thousands of bankers.
Next door in Kuaiji County, the He family and the Qian family are rising, and rising wealthy families like the Shen family are also eyeing it. It is really difficult for an established family like the Zhang family, so Zhang Cheng is like Gu He's little follower, "eager to protect his master." , making people laugh.
Gu He obviously saw the incompatibility between Zhang and He, but he didn't intend to say anything. He just followed what he said: "The day before yesterday, King Langya led all his officials to sacrifice to Emperor Daxing in Yaoyao. During the process, he cried until he fainted. .”
"Ah?" He Xi said in surprise: "Why is this so?"
Gu He pondered for a moment and said: "Because Emperor Daxing was assassinated and died by Shao Thief."
"Really?" He Xi asked.
Gu He said helplessly: "How can there be any conclusion on this matter? Is Shao the thief really regicide? How can outsiders know?"
He Xi thought for a moment and said, "That's right. What do you think, Jun Xiao, of the inside story?"
"Mostly it's false." Gu He said: "According to the news from Luoyang, Emperor Daxing became bedridden very early. Many people from Luoyang's ministers and clan members visited him, and they all said that he didn't have much time left. That's the case. , Why did Thief Shao bother to do this? Do you think anyone in Luoyang said that he committed regicide?"
He Xi nodded slowly and said: "But Jiangdong still uses the Divine Turtle as his reign name, and respects Duke Teng - well, he is the king, but we can't say that anymore."
"That's the case." Gu He said: "Don't talk nonsense in the future. After all-"
He thought for a while and sighed: "Now we have to share the same boat with the Northerners. Jiangdong finally broke away from China and North Korea, and no one wants to have the Luoyang or Chang'an court on their head."
This sentence was spoken not only to the court from the north who went south to try to unify China, but also to the court that conquered Luoyang and Chang'an during the Northern Expedition.
Especially the latter. Once the Northern Expedition succeeds and the country is unified, what will happen to Jianye? Anyway, it is impossible for the new imperial court to establish its capital here, and it will not be of any benefit to the Jiangnan Tu people.
"Jun Xiao, what you said makes sense. I don't have to worry about it." He Xi nodded and said, "I'm just a little scared. I don't know what will happen in the future."
"It was so difficult in Soochow, but I managed to survive it. Now Nanjun, Xiangyang, Shouchun, and Hefei are all in hand, so there may not be no chance." Gu He said: "In today's world, Shao Xun is like Cao Mengde, who controls the north. However, there are still Ma Chao and Han Sui in Xiliang, the Shu Han Dynasty is still there, and Xiangyang and Shouchun are the important towns in Dongwu. Is it difficult to defend Cao's troops in the north? "
"But Shao Mengde has not been defeated in Chibi, and he is very optimistic. If he drives troops from all over the country to go south, it will be difficult to resist." He Xi said.
What he actually wants to say is that this "New Soochow" has advantages and disadvantages.
It is true that the situation in Xiangyang, Shouchun and other places is much better than that in the old Soochow, but there are a large number of Nandu scholars in the new Soochow.
It just so happens that these people still hold great power. Although they have been getting along for many years, the conflicts between the Nandu scholars and the Jiangdong Tu people are no longer as big as before. The two sides have gradually found a position that is acceptable to each other, but the internal public sentiment is still not as good as that of Sun Wu, which is far behind.
In a word, Old Soochow can work together with Cao Cao, but New Soochow or Eastern Jin - if King Langya proclaims himself emperor and still uses "Jin" as the country's name - cannot work together.
Shao Thief waved his hand, and he didn't know how many people were secretly communicating with him. This hidden worry must be faced squarely.
He Xi had a hunch that maybe things would go bad in the end.
"Now -" Gu He looked at He Xi, then at the others, and said: "We still have to unite sincerely. After defeating Shao's thieves several offensives, his thoughts of going south will fade away, and Jianye's people will be stable. Wait. Twenty years later, another generation passed, and the connection between the Nandu scholars and the north became even weaker, while the foundation of Jiangdong became more and more stable. ”
"So, what do you think Jun Xiao can do to defeat Shao Thief's offensive?" He Xi couldn't help but ask.
"Prevent with rivers, use epidemics, and use Shao thieves to act against the enemy." Gu He said decisively.
He Xi was shocked and speechless.
Take it one step at a time.
******
The cold wind swept across the north and hit the south of the Yangtze River.
Overnight, the north wind whimpered and frost and snow fell suddenly. Director Wang had just left the official office when he saw thatch flying above his head. After flying for a while, it hit people's faces.
The entourage quickly stepped forward and removed the grass clippings from Director Wang's body.
Bian Yi, who was following Director Wang, saw him, laughed twice and said: "This door should be repaired."
Director Wang remained calm and simply said: "Money and food should be used in critical situations."
There was originally a royal palace in Soochow, called "Taichu Palace".
During Zhang Chang's Rebellion, his troops attacked Shi Bing to Jianye and burned the Taichu Palace to the ground.
After Sima Rui moved south, he could only use the buildings in the former Soochow Palace to work.
No way, too poor.
Construction requires manpower, who will give it to you? Will the Jiangdong clan send their own dealers over?
Construction also requires logging and quarrying in the mountains, and the mountains are owned by their owners. Have the Jiangdong clan allowed you to cut down trees and quarry?
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So, just make do with it.
Practice it when you have the energy to spare, and forget about it if you don’t have the energy to spare. Therefore, to this day, the main entrance gates of many government offices still have thatched roofs, which is a bit outrageous.
Originally this year we had prepared some wood, strips of stone, and hired some manpower to burn bricks, make tiles, and ram earth to build walls, but now there is no chance.
As for the reason——
Director Wang and his party soon arrived at the military camp outside the city.
Good guy! A total of 20,000 people were wearing linen and mourning, and the entire army was in plain clothes!
Director Wang had no expression on his face. After being informed, he quickly came to the Chinese army's tent and met Sima Rui.
"Mao Hong!" Sima Rui burst into tears as soon as he saw Director Wang.
"Your Majesty." Director Wang sighed and said, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."
"The hatred of the country and the family is here, and I am depressed..." Sima Rui shook his head and sobbed: "The revenge of Emperor Daxing must be avenged. Mao Hong does not need any more persuasion, Gu Yao will swear to the Northern Expedition, personally conquer Luoyang, and take the head of the Shao thief , to pay homage to Emperor Daxing.”
"Your Majesty, we are running out of food and grass, what can we do?" Director Wang said with a sad face.
"Mao Hong!" Sima Rui stared angrily, his eyes were red, and he heard him shout loudly: "Who is trying to push back the three obstacles? On the occasion of the Northern Expedition, the water transportation is delayed, why not cut it off?"
"The servants will send people to investigate and deal with the water transport officials." Wang Dao said: "Your Majesty, please don't be too sad."
"Mao Hong must go to the north to find the orphan!" Sima Rui said loudly: "Come here! Wear armor for the orphan!"
The military academies looked at each other, and finally someone bravely brought in a pair of Mingguang armor.
Sima Rui took two steps forward and motioned to put on the armor for him.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he put on the body armor and before putting on other parts of his body, Sima Rui staggered and almost fell down.
Fortunately, someone with quick eyesight and quick hands quickly helped him.
So heavy!
Sima Rui's eyelids jumped, he pushed the person away, stood firm, and signaled to continue wearing armor.
Everyone had no choice but to put on his arm armor, skirt armor, body armor, heart protector, and mantle one by one, and finally put an iron helmet on his head.
I don’t know who was careless or careless. The heavy iron helmet almost knocked Sima Rui unconscious, but luckily he held on.
"Your Majesty!" Director Wang prostrated himself on the ground and urged: "We have no food and grass now. I ask your Majesty to return to the palace to take charge of everything and put national affairs first."
"Your Majesty!" Bian Yi and others also prostrated themselves on the ground and advised: "Your Majesty, please put state affairs first."
"Shoo!" Sima Rui drew out his sword and said angrily: "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Your Majesty, the Shao thief killed the king, angered both men and gods, and usurped the throne under the instigation of the ugly people in Luoyang. The survival of our country is in danger!" Wang Dao said: "The order cannot be left unruly for a day, and the country cannot be left without a master for a day. Servant please The king will return to the palace immediately to take charge of everything.”
After Director Wang said this, he gestured with his eyes, and everyone said in unison: "Please return to the palace to take charge of everything."
"The Shao thieves have not been eliminated, how can I have the face to do this? It's inappropriate!" Sima Rui insisted: "Mao Hong, go and check immediately to see who is blocking my Northern Expedition by refusing to distribute food and grass."
"Your Majesty." Wang Yue, the son of Director Wang, suddenly stood up and said, "Today someone came from the north of the Yangtze River, carrying an edict from the Emperor's Zen throne."
Having said that, he stepped forward and presented the edict respectfully.
Sima Rui was stunned for a moment, then knelt on the ground, took the edict with trembling hands, and opened it to read.
In an instant, tears fell like rain, and he cried: "I am so ashamed of myself to the Emperor (Sima Duan)!"
"Your Majesty." Wang Yue said sincerely: "The Zen Lord was forced by the Shao thieves and knew that he was invincible. I sincerely ask the King to take charge of everything and continue Jin Zuo. The King must not let him down."
Sima Rui cried loudly when he heard this: "How virtuous and capable I am! How virtuous and capable I am!"
Its voice is mournful, saddening the listener, and moved by the listener.
(End of chapter)