Chapter 496: Selling Officials
"The queues are not uniform, and each person receives a whip." On the seventh day of March, Wang Xuan stopped as soon as he left the Nanyang Palace.
In the open space in the distance, the soil has been trampled firmly, and a large group of people are practicing in teams and buildings.
The newly appointed Nanyang Lieutenant Yuan Xi stood on the high platform, standing upright like a gun.
From time to time, he would point his riding whip, and soon someone would come down to the school grounds and drag out a certain team or building. After the people were whipped, they would continue to practice.
It can be seen that the new lieutenant is a ruthless person.
Almost nothing to say, but he has a very vicious eye. Anyone who is lazy or has poor practice will basically not escape his observation and will be caught on the spot.
Wang Xuan even had a feeling that he had been trained in this way before, so he copied it and now applied it to these newcomers.
The newcomers are all Tianshefu, and it seems that they did not volunteer to become the royal army. While practicing, occasionally someone would cast their eyes on the farmland outside the school grounds.
There are people working in the fields, most of them are young and strong women. Occasionally there are some old people and children, bowing their heads and bending over, repeatedly hoeing weeds.
Nothing in this world is easy, including him.
Wang Xuan stopped looking, called his entourage, took a carriage, and headed to Wancheng in the northeast.
This is actually a relatively important post road, but there are almost no pedestrians on the road.
When the spring breeze blows, there is only the sound of the reeds.
Wubao can be seen occasionally.
The smaller one was surrounded by newly cut large trees. The fort residents didn't even clean the bark on the wood, so it looked very crude. Some of them were more particular and put a layer of soil on the outside, probably to prevent fire. But when spring came, weeds grew on the soil and drifted in the wind, which looked very funny.
As expected, this was built by Kansai refugees.
They were very cautious and very uneasy, and only cultivated part of the fields very close to Wubao. The land a little further away is basically abandoned, and the grass is cut to feed the livestock.
It can be seen from this small detail that the influence of the dispute between natives and guests is still there and has never faded.
Dawubao can also be seen.
They are relatively wealthy, and most of them have been in business for more than one generation. The exterior walls are even built with bricks fired in a kiln.
There are many houses inside, with mottled walls, but there are signs of repairs everywhere, so there is no doubt about their sturdiness.
Of course, there are also some relatively new Wubao. Most of them are local tycoons who have become prosperous in the past twenty years. After embezzling land and people, they rammed earth to build outer walls, gate towers, and turrets.
Some Wubao even have obvious signs of expansion. It can be seen that these local tycoons are much better than the old gentry in forging ahead, and they are more courageous. They dare to fight and fight, which is what the refugees in Kansai fear the most. It was them, because they were doing something dirty.
While passing a small river, there were groups of people sitting under the willows on the other side.
The old man's face was full of ravines, and he looked sadly at the road ahead.
Men and women are busy cooking in pots.
Children chase butterflies in the fields full of yellow flowers and green grass, releasing their ubiquitous energy.
Every few steps on the road, there is a sergeant wearing brown cloth standing.
Looking at their appearance, they are not serious warriors. They are probably the field troops under Shao Xun's tent. At this moment, they are standing on guard in boredom, guarding the men, women, and children sitting all over the place. .
There is a large manor in the distance.
Dozens of donkey carts drove out of the manor, and the cart drivers were unloading grain. Baoding stood aside vigilantly to prevent these men and women who were eating and resting from damaging the crops in the fields and the trees on the street. Mulberry forest.
The clever entourage stepped forward to inquire about it and came back to report: "Shang Shu, these are the refugees from Guanxi sent to Runan, saying they are going to Xiping County."
" Xiping..." Wang Xuan pondered for a while, secretly thinking that Shao Taibai was really implementing his plan step by step.
Everyone knows that yeoman farmers are good, but in this world, do yeoman farmers have a way to survive? Don’t make the village too easy to grab!
Taibai vigorously divided the land in several counties in western Henan and created a bunch of homesteaders. If they were looted, the losses would be huge.
But his ambition is really big! Because only in this way can we reduce our dependence on the gentry.
Few people in this world are true fools. How come people like Wang Xuan can't see the trick?
His mood is complicated about this.
I don’t know whether it is right or wrong to follow Mr. Chen wholeheartedly.
******
On the eighth day of March, I passed Wancheng but failed to enter, so I continued on my way.
When we arrived at Gualijin, it was getting late, so we ate and stayed overnight in a country inn.
“Only restaurants and restaurants can be opened near Wancheng.” After dinner, Wang Xuan sat in the vegetable garden behind the restaurant and chatted with the shopkeeper.
“The official is right.” The old man was holding a pottery urn, watering vegetables in the garden, and said: “Yesterday, the Yangdu army just passed through the border. If there were no senior officials out of the city to inspect, Laowan’s shop would have been destroyed. It's going to be a disaster."
"Oh? Your Majesty Yang Pengzu is so lax?" Wang Xuan asked with a smile.
"So the name of the Yang Du is 'Peng Zu'?" The old man shook his head and said: "It is not only lax, but also bad. In the late autumn of last year, the Yang Du came from Luoyang and passed through the countryside. The few mats we had made were all taken away. Unfortunately, my son got up before dawn, braved the frost, and waded through the cold water to go to Hezhu to cut the leaves for more than a month. I just woven a few pieces and were about to sell them in the market, but they were robbed."
Wang Xuan sighed and then asked, "Is it just Yang Pengzu who marched all the way north?"
The old man stopped what he was doing and stared at Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan was puzzled.
The old man pointed to a river outside the fence and said: "The Guanxi people on the other side of the river have also gone there. Let's leave a day early."
Wang Xuan stood up and looked at the other side.
There was a woman digging a hole by the river, wiping her tears while digging.
Two children, probably only five or six years old, followed behind, clumsily throwing beans into the hole.
“His husband was conscripted.” The old man sighed: “Although he is from Guanxi, he looks very pitiful. I heard that a total of 10,000 people were conscripted to Hebei, and I don’t know how many of them will be able to return. "
"So many..." Wang Xuan was a little surprised. The 10,000 Guanxi soldiers must have been selected to be strong and strong, almost the essence of the Wancheng world soldiers established by Liang Fen.
Ten thousand people marching north to fight against the Huns is a very heroic and morale-boosting thing in the writings of writers, and it deserves a special mention. But when he saw the woman wiping her tears and the children who had to help their mothers grow beans at a young age, Wang Xuan felt something was blocked in his chest.
After a long time, there was only a sigh.
Should we fight the Huns? Should!
But the war is fierce and dangerous, and not everyone can come back.
Wang Xuan felt that he might have seen this kind of thing too rarely, his heart was not hard enough, he was too hypocritical, and he was too sentimental.
But he couldn't help but think about it, and even thought about an old incident a few years ago: Cong Bo Wangkuang led more than 30,000 Huainan troops to attack the Xiongnu in the north, and the entire army was annihilated in Changping.
None of these people can go back.
Wang Kuang did not know whether he was alive or dead. There were even rumors that he surrendered to the Huns and worked as a pseudo-official in Liu Han incognito. This made Wang Xuan very angry.
War is indeed very dangerous, and I don’t know how strong Shao Taibai’s will is, leading his troops into battle again and again. At the critical moment of the Battle of Zhemati, they even crossed the Yellow River at night under thunder and rainstorms, risking their lives and surviving.
It is fitting that he has the status and fame he has today.
It’s his turn to enjoy beauty as much as he wants.
Wang Xuan suddenly felt that it was right to follow Mr. Chen. His original idea was correct and should not be wavered.
Nanyang’s powerful tribes and the Kansai soldiers all went north, and their number may not be less than 20,000...
The effort this time was really quite impressive, and the momentum was astonishing.
Wang Xuan thought of the Emperor again.
Compared with the two, he felt that he looked a little disgusting today.
Yes, this idea is a bit disrespectful, but it is indeed disgusting.
Fighting the Huns won't help, but holding them back is first-rate. Can you do some personnel work?
In the Battle of Xin'an, how many soldiers of the Imperial Army were killed in vain?
Earlier in Fupingjin, the general's entire army was wiped out.
The Sima clan king seems to be very bad too!
In the Battle of Dayang, Cao Wu's entire army was wiped out.
In the Battle of Hanoi, Wang Kan suffered heavy losses.
...
There are reasons for this. If you resist cavalry with foot, how can infantry defeat cavalry? Failure is normal, right?
But there are people who can fight in this extremely disadvantageous situation.
There was Malong Ma Xiping before, there is Shao Xun and Shao Taibai now, and there will definitely be others in the future.
If you have no ability, you have no ability, no need to quibble!
******
On March 14, Wang Xuan, who had been trekking all the way, finally saw the tall city wall of Luoyang, which made him relieved.
This day is full of running errands.
Unfortunately, he is the only one in the family who is suitable for running errands. You can’t let your father or two younger sisters run errands, right?
If you send a servant over to deliver the letter, you will probably not be able to see Mr. Chen, and there will be no way to discuss the matter.
He almost wanted to call some more people from Langya.
But most of the reliable Wangs in Langya went to Jianye, and those who stayed in their hometown had varying abilities - this was my father's opinion.
Wang Xuan felt that since his father and son had made up their minds to follow Mr. Chen, they would inevitably confront the Jianye gang. At this time, they should stop talking about fellow clansmen and should take action and rob them. Don't feel embarrassed when people rob others.
But his father refused to listen, which made Wang Xuan a little discouraged.
After entering through Pingchang Gate, Wang Xuan found that there were so many cars and horses on Tongtuo Street that he could hardly walk.
The little clever guy who asked the question rushed back out of breath and reported: "There are commanders from Yanshi and other counties driving grain trucks to Beijing, saying that they want to donate grain to the emperor."
< br>"What?" Wang Xuan was extremely surprised.
"It's true." The servant replied: "The emperor gave them officials, and the commander of Wubao presented them with food."
"Isn't this selling officials?" Wang Xuan murmured.
He got off the carriage and saw two rough men laughing.
"I remember that I committed a crime back then and was chased by the government and hid in Songshan Mountain. I almost fell to death. I didn't expect that I would be an official now, haha!"
"After the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Dangyin, I despaired of this world. He fled home and gathered his fellow villagers to work in the fields. Now that he is in office, he feels that there is still something to be done in the world. "
"The emperor is wise and has many talents, and there is hope for the rejuvenation of the Jin Dynasty."
< br>"Well said, haha!"
Wang Xuan was dumbfounded.
What does the emperor mean? Crazy? Isn't this a slap in the face of the imperial court?
The area around Luoyang is extremely depleted. How many grains of food can Marshal Wubao contribute? It's not worth it. It's really not worth it.
"Go home." He waved his hand weakly.
(End of this chapter)