Chapter 526 Prime Minister's Mansion
On the last day of July, after three days of repeated searches throughout the city, Shao Xun entered the city surrounded by his generals.
The civil servants were okay, but the generals were unhappy.
In the battle three days ago, more than 7,000 infantry and cavalry were killed and more than 5,000 people were captured. About 17,000 people fled back to the city, and the rest were basically defeated.
After Shi Le fled back to Yecheng, he reorganized the defeated troops and found only 17,000 or 17,000 infantrymen available, as well as more than 10,000 Ye people and 10,000 cavalry.
That night, the cavalry fled in two or three waves, leaving nearly 7,000 people, and people in Ye were panicked.
From day to night, the Jin army continued to attack the city, broke through several times, and climbed to the top of the city. Although they were all pushed back, the fact that the siege could reach the top of the city meant that the city was very dangerous. Moreover, the auxiliary troops were dispatched at that time.
When the generals gathered around Shao Xun to discuss, they were all in high spirits, beating their chests and asking for battle, saying that by selecting the best troops the next day, they would be able to capture Ye City before sunset.
But the development of the situation was beyond everyone's expectation. People left the city that night, surrendered or left. Except for a few sergeants from the Shile tribe, most of them were newly recruited servants from wealthy families.
The Jinming Gate was opened in the middle of the night, much to the disappointment of the generals who came with the expedition, except Yang Dan and Yang Pengzu.
But maybe there's still a chance, right? The main part of the war was over, but it was not entirely over.
Shi Le still has more than 30,000 infantrymen in the counties north of Yecheng.
The number of cavalry is not large, but there are still some. Moreover, for this battle in Yecheng, Shi Le recruited about 20,000 cavalry. The casualties before and after will definitely not exceed 3,000. The main force is still there, but they may not come again. Listen to Shi Le.
Chen Gong would not give Shi Le a chance to recruit troops again.
After the accumulation of military supplies and equipment is completed, troops and horses will be dispatched to the north soon. As for how soon this "soon" means, it may be - tomorrow?
At three o'clock in the morning, Shao Xun and his party arrived near Ye Palace.
He entered from Zhongyang Gate.
Ye has seven gates, three on the south side, Zhongyang Gate in the middle, Fengyang Gate on the west and Guangyang Gate on the east.
There are two gates on the north side, the stable gate in the west and the Guangde gate in the east.
There is a gate on the east side, called "Yingchun Gate", also called Changchun Gate and Jianchun Gate.
There is a gate on the west side, called "Jinming Gate", also called Baimen.
Yingchun Gate and Jinming Gate face each other from east to west. The street between the two gates is the east-west axis of Yecheng, dividing the city into north and south parts.
Except for a few government offices, warehouses, and military camps, the southern half is mostly residential areas, commercial areas, and handicraft areas.
After Shao Xun entered Zhongyang Gate, the main street (Tongtuo Street) he walked on was densely packed with lanes on both sides.
There is a wall in the inner square, and there is a door on the wall. There are a number of buildings surrounded by the wall and a number of people living there.
The entire Ye City has about thirty miles of squares, where most officials and people live.
In fact, there is another Lifang in the northeast corner of Beicheng District, commonly known as "Qili", which is the place where the princes and nobles live. It is magnificent and luxurious, but it has been destroyed by the war, leaving only broken walls and ruins. It was a good place to live, so none of Shi Le's generals and subordinates went to live there.
The carriage rumbled forward, and the soldiers held up large shields to cover the left and right.
Before, to the left and to the left, there were soldiers like clouds, and their flags blocked out the sun.
Outside the square wall, there are three posts per post and five steps per post. Most of them are soldiers with silver spears.
There are also a few soldiers from the field army on the streets inside the square wall to keep watch.
This pomp and security standards are really beyond the comparison of ordinary people, and they are not much different from the emperor. Even the "street cleaning" carried out by the emperor before traveling was often not so exaggerated.
The carriage quickly reached the end of Tongtuo Street.
This is a crossroads that intersects with Jinmingmennei Street (or Yingchunmen/Jianchunmen/Changchunmennei Street).
The carriage stopped quickly.
Shao Xun wore no armor today and wore a light blue robe. He stood on the street with his hands behind his hands and looked carefully at this famous northern city that he conquered.
"See Ming Gong." There was a clatter of armor leaves, and dozens of generals, led by Li Chong, Yang Dan, Wang Que'er, and Jin Zheng, came together to salute.
They were in front, and the officials of the shogunate were behind. He was standing in the center of Ye City. With this scene, he really wanted to compose a poem.
But he couldn't hold back a word for a long time, so he just nodded and moved forward.
The generals retreated to both sides, and then followed him.
Cai Cheng led his soldiers to walk a few steps quickly and entered Sima Gate ahead of them.
The so-called Sima Gate is one of the main gates on the south side of Ye Palace. There is a Chique Tower in front of the gate, which was built by Cao Cao.
Before entering, Shao Xun looked up and saw that the palace walls had been severely damaged by the war. Some places even collapsed and were only blocked by wooden fences.
Sima Gate was probably built later, because it looks relatively new.
After the emperor stepped inside, it was the so-called inner court of Ye Palace, which is where Cao Cao handled government affairs on a daily basis.
Behind Sima Gate, there are courtyards on the left and right facing each other. On the left are the Prime Minister's Palace, the Yushi Dafu Palace, and the Shaofu Qing Temple, and on the right are Fengchang Temple and Danong Temple.
The house is in ruins and has been devastated by wars.
Shi Le occupied Ye for several years and sent people to rebuild some of the buildings and use them as official offices, but not all of them were repaired.
Shao Xun turned left and entered the Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Are you Zhang Mengsun?" Shao Xun asked, looking at a middle-aged man standing under the window.
This man is quite tall and has a slim appearance, typical of a middle-aged scholar.
But his eyes are very big, and he has a somewhat deep feeling when looking at people.
Oh, a thoughtful person!
"Zhang Bin of Zhao County has met Mr. Chen." Zhang Bin bowed.
Shao Xun returned the gift and looked around. His location is called Tingshi Pavilion, which is the main place where Cao Cao works.
The Prime Minister's Mansion is generally a square shape, with doors on the east, west, north and south walls, of which the east and west doors are commonly used.
The mansion is divided into three entrances, front and back.
The first entrance is where the guards and minor officials live and work.
The second entrance is the Tingshi Pavilion. On the left is the palace room, which is where Cao Cao received all the officials. On the right is the guest pavilion.
The third entrance is the backyard, also known as "Xianshe", where Cao Cao and his family members lived daily.
The Prime Minister's Mansion has just experienced a great war, killing more than a thousand people under the puppet guerrilla general Wang Yang. After cleaning up yesterday, Shao Xun planned to move in temporarily, because this is one of the few relatively intact buildings in Ye Palace.
"Sit down." Shao Xun asked people to remove the tables and couches in the room and replace them with tables and beds. Then he asked people to get water to make tea.
The generals have been ordered to disperse.
Several officials and assistants followed in: Hu Wufuzhi, the Western Pavilion offering wine, Yangchen, the right Sima, Liu Anzhi, the lieutenant in charge, Xi Jian, and Yu Chen, the captain of the Sili school.
They also looked curiously at the most important counselor in Shi Le's tent.
A native of Zhongqiu, Zhao County, his father Zhang Yao was the prefect of Zhongshan.
When the late emperor was on the throne, he changed the title of Taiyuan King Sima Hong to the King of Zhongqiu, and made Zhongqiu County the Zhongqiu Kingdom. Zhang Bin, as the local leader and official of the second generation of Zhao County, worked under the King of Zhongqiu. Under the supervision of the account.
This is a military position, he doesn't like it, and he's not good at it. After falling ill once, he was dismissed from his official position, and then he stayed at home for a long time until Shi Le appeared.
There were too many such people in the Jin Dynasty. The family background is neither high nor low, and it cannot be said to be a small gentry. After all, two generations have been officials in succession, but it cannot be said to be a big gentry, because Zhang Bin was dismissed from office after all. The difficulty for their family to move up has suddenly increased.
His defection to Shile should be a decision made after careful consideration and not an impulsive decision.
This is a man with his own ideas.
"Meng Sun is under Da Hu's tent, named Chang Shi, and he actually holds the important responsibility of the prime minister." Shao Xun pointed to the Tingshi Pavilion and said with a smile: "This is where you manage your daily affairs, right? This shows the great trust of Hu."
Zhang Bin looked at the table and said nothing.
Cai Cheng brought tea, and Shao Xun invited his staff and Zhang Bin to enjoy it together.
For a while, the tea was filled with water and the sound of sipping was endless.
After putting down the tea bowl, Shao Xun looked at Zhang Bin again and said, "Can Meng Sun teach me about Hebei matters?"
Zhang Bin also put down the tea bowl, and at the same time, Shao Xun felt in his heart Xun's image is a little richer: he is a straightforward person, he doesn't like to play the retreat game with you, he likes to be straightforward.
To be fair, this is not a qualified bureaucrat who plays with power. He has a very strong martial character, direct and clear, and does not even want to be polite, but he is very real.
Considering his origin, it is understandable.
But it seems to be different. Some people from lower-class backgrounds, after suddenly ascending to high positions, like to be arty and stiffly imitate the ways of doing things of scholars, which is often self-defeating and makes people laugh.
After Shao Xun became successful, he still went his own way without making many changes. He could be distinguished at a glance among the crowd because he was so incompatible with the surrounding scholars.
This is a warrior with outstanding vision, tenacity, clear purpose, and straightforwardness!
In an instant, Zhang Bin had already thought a lot.
"If Mr. Chen wants to pacify Hebei, he has only one strategy." Zhang Bin said.
“Let’s talk and listen.”
“Move the shogunate to Yecheng, use it as a basis, and vigorously operate it, and then you can get a certain percentage.”
“ Oh? Are you saying that I can't defend Hebei?"
"Taihang Bajing is mostly located in Hebei. Liu Kun in Jinyang is weak and cannot stop the Xiongnu. , Its power is unstoppable. However, Hebei is vast and far away, and there is no danger to defend. Chen Gong's residence in Henan may disappoint the people of Hebei, and even if they are attached for a while, some people will definitely defect to the Huns."
Shao Xun was silent.
Zhang Bin was speaking from a strategic perspective.
Hebei is a plain, and the terrain is lower than Bingzhou. The Eighth Routes of Taihang were basically in the hands of the Xiongnu, such as Huguan.
If you want to attack Bingzhou from Hebei, there are many difficulties, and it is easy for someone to break into the rear from the mountain and intercept the retreat.
The only way is to use Hebei as the foundation and Yecheng as the hub, make great efforts to manage the counties, and make the counties as strong as iron barrels and win the hearts of the people. Only then can it be possible to fight against the Xiongnu forces. Victory, and then counterattack into Bingzhou, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers inside and outside.
In short, the forces in Hebei that have not merged the state into a vassal state are very fragile. Their soft belly is directly exposed to the enemy's front and requires great efforts to operate. But if you don't come to Hebei, this How much business effect can it have? I'm afraid it's not half the result with half the effort.
But Shao Xun cannot stay in Hebei for a long time, at least not yet.
Nothing else, just a basic question.
The soldiers are from Henan, and most of the officials are from Henan. He is also married to the Henan nobles and has a close relationship. How could he come to Hebei? That would alienate the once close subordinates and allies and bring disaster upon themselves.
He is also observing Zhang Bin.
Through what he said just now, he was convinced that Zhang Bin still had some regional ideas, and his primary targets were the princes of Hebei. If it doesn't work, then others will be considered.
Of course, most scholars these days are divided into different regions. Not to mention Henan and Hebei, even Henan can be divided into several factions based on different counties.
Zhang Bin is the top smart man of this era, but he has not broken away from the times and is inevitably affected by the atmosphere and values of the times.
"Meng Sun, are you willing to join me?" Shao Xun asked.
Zhang Bin shook his head.
Shao Xun didn't force himself, he laughed and said: "It's noon before I know it, let's eat first."
(End of this chapter)