Chapter 330 Two Hundred and Forty Miles
Pei Chun, the prefect of Xingyang, changed into a military uniform, took care of his beard, and prepared to go out to meet Shao Xun.
Before leaving, I even planned to apply some powder, but was dissuaded by the servant.
"Master Fu, I heard that Chen Hou never wears powder and prefers strong warriors, so why don't you give it up?" the servant suggested.
"That's right." Pei Chun followed the good and immediately stopped messing around.
He left Hulao Pass without any ostentation, just two servants and an ox cart. After seeing the large group of people from a distance, he got off the bullock cart and waited by the roadside.
Teams of soldiers walked over in neat lines.
They entered Hulao Pass first, and after controlling various key points, they sent people to send messages back.
Not long after, another group of soldiers came and pushed the people on both sides of the road away, leaving only a few people.
After all this was completed, Shao Xun finally appeared on the post road in the distance.
"It's quite a grand occasion." Pei Chun secretly cursed.
Zheng Zun stood behind him, half a step behind, silently looking ahead.
Every one of the wealthy families in Henan has to make a choice.
Stay or cross south? What kind of attitude do those who stay hold? Which side should you go to?
Decisions are hard to make, but they must be made, otherwise you will not be human inside and out, and anyone will mess with you.
Li Ju stood further back than Zheng Zun. His status was too low.
A native of Pingyang, a refugee commander from other places, now he has changed his job to become a Wubao commander. If he hadn't been so sophisticated and got on the wrong side of Yuan Fu and Sima Yue, life would have been much more difficult than it is now.
This time he also selected three hundred elite troops and sent them to Hulao Pass to help defend the city. He has always been very concerned about maintaining the Jin Dynasty.
Chen Hou Shaoxun was the most loyal minister in the Jin Dynasty and had made numerous meritorious deeds. Li Ju admired him very much and would take a look at him from a distance no matter what he said.
Beside Li Ju there were some small scholars and local tycoons.
The scholars were relatively reserved, but the wealthy people had nothing to care about. They stood on tiptoes and looked up to their necks.
In fact, there are really not many powerful scholars in Xingyang.
Like Chen Liu and Puyang next door, Liyang is located on the front line of the war.
It has only been plundered for less than ten years now, and it is already very depleted, with the population declining sharply - this is despite the addition of a large number of refugees from other places.
If you grab a ten or twenty years, you can't imagine it.
At that time, the county may have only a small amount of large docks and estates left. There is a large open space between the estate.
The open space may have been farmland that has been farming for a long time, but it is deserted. One group is grazing outside the west gate, and the other is grazing outside the east gate. After the horses have eaten grass and gained some strength, they start fighting. When the horses lose strength, they stop fighting.
The people of Puyang's people are now hoping that some people can provoke heavy responsibilities, cover the wind and rain for them, and keep this very rich place -the plain in the territory is dominated by plains, the river is vertical and horizontal, and the irrigation is convenient. It is convenient to irrigate. There is also Canal Hotel, which is closer to Luoyang. How can it not be rich?
However, some people may be destined to be disappointed.
Shao Xun sent many people to Xingyang, Puyang, and Chenliu counties yesterday to carefully draw maps and measure the distance from the ferry to the key city - he did not believe in the imperial map.
Many people don't understand the act of measuring mileage, but a few smart people see that it is entirely for military purposes.
Xingyang, Chenliu, and Puyang may not be able to escape the fate of the front lines.
"Pei Fujun."
"Junhou."
After Shao Xun dismounted, he walked arm in arm with Pei Chun, very warm.
He is really very satisfied with Pei Chun now. He holds a sword to supervise the battle late at night, and spends all his wealth to recruit strong men. Is this kind of determination and courage that ordinary people can have?
"Fu Jun guarded Hulao Pass and cut off the communication between the east and west of the thieves. He did a great job." Shao Xun said with a smile: "When I return to Luoyang, I will definitely report Jun Pei's contribution to the emperor."
Pei Chun smiled and said: "Where is it? The small contribution is not comparable to the great achievements of the monarch in helping the country."
"The monarch is too modest." Shao Xun said.
Pei Chun shook his head and said firmly: "The water transport is protected by the princes. If there were no princes, I might have been held by him when Shi Le went south in May."
Shao Xun chuckled, but also felt a little confused.
As with the Luoyang Great Famine in history, water transportation was obviously cut off, and it was this year.
Could it be that the prefect of Xingyang in history was not Pei Chun?
While the two were talking, they had entered Guancheng.
There are almost no houses in the narrow streets. They are either military camps, warehouses, stables, etc. At this time, there are silver gun sergeants standing guard.
Pei Chun was a little shocked after seeing it.
The ostentation of Chen Hou is indeed grand. Everywhere he goes, there is a post every three steps and a sentry every five steps. The level of security is tight, even more than that of many governors, governors, and princes. Some people mocked him for being afraid of death, and it was not without reason.
"I have something to ask Mr. Fu." Shao Xun said suddenly while walking.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"How many registered households are there in Xingyang counties?"
"Less than 10,000 households." Pei Chun thought for a while and said.
In fact, this data is just speculation.
It has been many years since I checked my household registration. And these years have been a period of extremely frequent wars. How can we have accurate figures?
The statement "less than 10,000 households" is actually just a number mentioned by many people when Pei Chun was chatting with county officials after the locust plague in May this year.
This is of course inaccurate, and is likely to be greatly underestimated - Zuoli come from many places and have their own positions.
“Is that really that much?” Shao Xun asked.
"Maybe there are 20,000 households." Pei Chun said again.
Shao Xun was a little speechless. You just doubled the number. Is that so imprecise?
"Junhou, there should be 20,000 households. I can't say how many more there are." Pei Chun said: "If we include the refugees from Bingzhou, Yongzhou, and Jizhou who live in Chengwu, there may be more. Thousands, even ten thousand, came out.”
Shao Xun believed what he said.
Refugees are the biggest variable, because you don’t know how many of them are coming. With the government incapacitated at this time, it was impossible to conduct a detailed investigation. When the refugee commanders and Wubao commanders report a number, what else can you do except believe it?
"If the people are moved south..." Shao Xun paused, and then said: "Do you think someone will cause trouble?"
Pei Chun was startled and immediately advised: " Lord, if the people are forced to leave, there will really be chaos."
"Who is causing trouble? The scholars or the powerful?"
"It's all because of the imperial dynasty that has spoiled them." Shao Xun sneered and said, "If we fight for another ten or eight years, we'll see if they can move."
"Why would the monarch move the people? "Pei Chun asked, a little confused.
“It’s only forty or fifty miles from Dahe Ferry to Guancheng.” Shao Xun gestured: “Guancheng is ninety miles south to Xinzheng, Xinzheng is south, and another forty miles to Yingchuan Changshe. It’s another sixty miles to Xuchang. This is the thoroughfare, with a total distance of two hundred and forty miles, what do you think?”
Guancheng was a county in the Qin Dynasty. The county has long since disappeared, but the place names are still there.
Xinzheng was still a county during the Cao Wei Dynasty. Guochao Province was moved into Yuanling County, and the city was still there.
There is a large post road running from north to south. When entering Xingyang, it passes through Guancheng and Xinzheng. On the contrary, the county town of Xingyang is not on the post road.
Guancheng has two north-south and east-west post roads intersecting, and its location is very important. Therefore, in the Tang Dynasty, Guancheng was once again established as a county and became the seat of Zhengzhou (Xingyang County).
From the ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River to the important town of Xuchang, the distance of 240 miles, whether it is far or close, can still be put to good use.
"Don't you think the prince cares about Xingyang?" Pei Chun said in shock.
"Haha, what are you talking about? I gave up Xingyang. If it is occupied by others, wouldn't I be asking for trouble?" Shao Xun laughed and said: "Don't think too much. Next, you find an opportunity to take over Guancheng and Xinzheng should be repaired. Guancheng may need to be rebuilt. It does not need to be too big. It can be garrisoned with 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 horses. Cangcheng must be able to reserve military supplies for half a year. It's a bit dilapidated, but the base is still there. I'll try to repair it and build another warehouse outside to store grain and supplies." Pei Chun thought for a while, but he didn't understand what Shao Xun was doing. The intention of doing it.
But he had a bad feeling that it would not be a good thing for Xingyang.
It seems that we have to find a way to move. This bad prefect is too dangerous to be a good one. It would be better to switch to a larger county that is richer and deep in the hinterland. No matter what, you have to get back the money you lost this time.
After the two entered Guancheng, Shao Xun was not in a hurry to find a place to stay, but instead inspected the wall first.
The Huns have retreated, and some of the conscripted peasants have dispersed and returned to their homes.
The county soldiers haven’t had time to leave yet, and they will probably not retreat until before the Chinese New Year.
The other two thousand county soldiers in Xingyang have been lost, with only a few hundred remaining.
After the New Year, they still have to recruit again, and then drive to Hulao Pass, farm near Guancheng, and guard the city at the same time - the conditions in Xingyang cannot support professional soldiers at all, and they are semi-employed at most.
Hulao Pass, Guancheng and Xinzheng are, to some extent, more important than the newly recovered county.
As a last resort, Shao Xun can tolerate the loss of the county town, but it is best to defend these three strongholds.
"Let's have a banquet in the evening to entertain the Xingyang elders." After descending from the city, Shao Xun ordered: "You come and bring out the wine, and I'll provide the meat, horse meat."
"Xingyang My father is just trying to get acquainted with the prince." Pei Chun smiled and said, "It must be arranged."
It was his area of expertise again, and Pei Chun immediately felt very comfortable and agreed.
(End of this chapter)