Chapter 572 Kao City
The sun gradually sets, and Kao City in the dusk has a different kind of beauty.
A mother and son stood under the willow tree, quietly watching the man walking from the south street.
"Grandpa!" The four-year-old child walked out from under the tree with childish steps, stretched out his hands, and asked for a hug.
With a smile on his face, the man walked a few steps quickly and picked up his son.
The woman looked at the happy father and son quietly.
After experiencing the troubled times of exchanging children for food, feeling the huge fear brought by the ogre king and the murderous maniac, and seeing with my own eyes the fearful scene where the streets are full of warriors and there is no tomorrow, I understand. The value of a calm and peaceful life.
Pei Lingyan cherishes days like this very much.
The man was working within her sight.
My ears are filled with the sound of men talking.
In our free time, a family of three went out for a stroll. You held the child's left hand, and I held the child's right hand. We felt the cool breeze in the summer evening, walking through the bamboo forest and pine waves, and walking across the small bridge and flowing water under the bright moonlight.
When we were tired from walking, we sat on the soft grass and watched the moonlight over the lotus pond together.
After the child fell asleep, the two hugged each other and slept together.
After getting up in the morning, she would put the scented clothes on the bedside.
After the man finished practicing martial arts, she would hold the breakfast she made by herself and watch the man eat it one bite at a time.
When the man met with his staff and processed official documents, she accompanied him and occasionally gave her opinions. If a man doesn't ask, she won't speak, and she won't leave a bad impression on him. Men sometimes want to save face.
When a man is tired, he makes a pot of tea soup and brings some dried fruits and snacks. The two of them eat together and chat about interesting things.
She always tolerates this man because she also relies on this man.
The only pity is that wherever this man goes, there are women like her who take care of his daily life and everything he has.
He has too many homes!
"Nian Liu is a little tired." Shao Xun said while holding his son and caressing his tender little face.
"Yes." Pei Lingyan took Shao Xun's arm and the three of them walked back together.
"In this area of Kaocheng, mulberry forests are common and wheat grows very densely. Thank you for your hard work." Shao Xun said.
"Some matters will be handled by the shogunate officials." Pei Lingyan said, "I'm just giving some advice from time to time."
As the Dowager Princess of the East China Sea, Pei Lingyan is in charge of specific affairs.
Sima Pi, the king of the East China Sea, is married and is supposed to be in charge of the government. However, until now, he has been excluded from the power system of the Yanzhou shogunate and travels all day long with several clan members of similar age. dawdle.
When Shao Xun was away, except for the mobilization of the army, all major and minor matters were handled by the shogunate's assistants themselves. Concubine Pei was responsible for supervision, review, and final approval with her seal.
To raise military rations this time, to embarrass Shao Xun, the Yuzhou shogunate was not as fast as Yanzhou.
Concubine Pei directly removed several of her assistants who had often clamored for the Prince of Donghai to be in charge, and replaced them with local scholars from Yanzhou. The speed of raising food suddenly became faster - it sounds a bit like selling an official to win a title, but This is the reality.
If Shao Xun was left to handle it, he might be a little embarrassed to be so obvious and worried about his reputation. But Concubine Pei really didn't have any worries at all. She directly removed the Jiji Wai Wai Wai Wai Wai Wai from their posts and then exchanged their official positions for money and food.
What? Are you saying that you are narrow-minded and cannot tolerate objections? I am a woman and I am not broad-minded. How do you treat me?
"How can it be so light to control a place?" Shao Xun smiled softly and said, "Are you tired of it?"
Pei Lingyan glanced at him and said in surprise: "You are now Just dare..."
"In fact, I know almost everything I need to know." Shao Xun said, "I don't want to wrong you."
Pei Lingyan rolled her eyes at him and said, "You. There are many people who have been wronged. Xiaohe has already given birth to two children for you, why don’t you leave her in Nanyang?”
Princess Liu of Nanyang gave birth to a son for him in March.
If Nanyang King Sima Mo was still alive when her eldest daughter Fu Bao was born, and could still use her identity as a "prince's daughter" to hide it, there is no way to explain this now, and she can only secretly raise her in the mansion. Keep it secret.
Shao Xun also felt a little embarrassed.
Inviting all the princesses to military parades every day makes them pregnant, and they are not responsible. This is so fucked up.
He now has eight children, but seven of them were born to him by women from the Sima family: the daughters-in-law of the Sima family gave birth to six, and the daughter of the Sima family gave birth to one.
Those who didn't know what was going on thought he was the reincarnation of Cao Mengde, who came specifically to seek revenge from the Sima family.
"When I build the shogunate in Junyi and take over Yanzhou, you can join the government at that time." Shao Xun said.
"Yes." Pei Lingyan agreed without thinking.
She did not ask what identity she would be given after entering the house, because it would be useless to ask. This man is sometimes very affectionate and sometimes very ruthless. He insists on something and can give up everything, including his family, if necessary.
She did not ask the Yanzhou shogunate generals how to arrange it, but it was useless. Instead, it seemed that she was greedy for power.
Just dealing with it this way is the best ending.
She can always be by the man's side, maintaining the current relationship where men and women love each other and are like a family that supports each other.
The most important thing is that their son Nianliu can be given an identity.
Children born in the future will also have the identity of Shao clan members.
After the two entered the house, dinner was already prepared.
Shao Xun handed his son to the nanny and sat down.
"Why did you scare Pan Yangzhong a few days ago in Junyi?" The weather was hot, Pei Lingyan helped him take off his robe and put on cool clothes, and asked.
"He was not scared, he was just suspicious." Shao Xun said: "Furthermore, I want to raise four million grains and beans, and I can't do it without scaring people."
"I want to raise four million grains and beans." So many?" Concubine Pei was a little surprised.
Her Yanzhou shogunate, in charge of eight counties, only raised 800,000 grains and beans and 300,000 bundles of hay.
“There are so many things to fight in a war.” Shao Xun said with a smile: “A soldier needs to eat two bushels of dendrobium and seven measures of grain in one month, what do you think? If you don’t have enough food, you won’t have the strength to fight.”
Warriors are not just soldiers, but also auxiliary soldiers and servants.
When later generations fought in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, one or two thousand people were transferred from this province, and three or four thousand from that province, making up tens of thousands of people. It may not seem like much, but these are fighting soldiers!
The auxiliary soldiers who set up camps for the soldiers, boil water for cooking, take care of the horses, and repair equipment are not necessarily counted, and are often recruited on the spot.
Not to mention the caravans, camel teams, and convoys that transport grain and grass over long distances. This number is even greater. In the Qing Dynasty, many businesses were outsourced and were not counted in the total military strength.
If a war only requires combat troops, and does not require a larger number of auxiliary soldiers, or the number of masters and disciples several times that of the auxiliary soldiers combined, then the consumption will definitely be small, but this is impossible. Four million grains and beans can actually not last long, only more than half a year, and it will be over in winter.
"Last year's harvest was not good, and now we don't have enough food." Pei Lingyan said while taking the dinner plate from the maid's hand: "No wonder you want to scare people."< br>
“It’s not just that there is not enough food storage.” Shao Xun said.
Pei Lingyan thought for a while and said, "Maybe some people are waiting and watching."
"How do you say it?" Shao Xun asked.
Pei Lingyan put Shao Xun's favorite spring sunflower in front of him and said, "There is a vague rumor in the south. King Langya is dissatisfied with you and may take action."
"Tell me more in detail. ." Shao Xun frowned and said.
He knew that the aristocratic families were divided into different parties, and they exchanged letters with each other. No matter how professional you are and how cautious you are, you will inevitably reveal some information in a few words - this applies to both Shao Xun and Sima Rui.
However, after these aides from noble families received information from their relatives, they may not disclose it to their lords. The reasons are very complicated.
"Jing Wen (Sima Rui) once told people, Lang Jun, you are -" Pei Lingyan looked at Shao Xun and said slowly: "A thief who steals the country."
Looking at the woman's cautious look, Shao Xun He held her in his arms and said with a smile: "I love stealing beauties more than stealing countries."
"Which of your women is not stolen?" Pei Lingyan leaned comfortably in his arms and said seriously : "Actually, Jing Wen is a kind person, humble and courteous. Generally, he would not say this to someone. Now that he has done this, he must be very angry. You can't ignore it."
Shao Xun nodded lightly. .
Sima Rui used to be Sima Yue's younger brother. How should I put it? This person has a gentle personality, is well-educated, and is polite in his dealings with others. He is not aggressive - at least on the surface, he is like this. The real situation is difficult to say, and Shao Xun doesn't believe it, because Sima Rui is not without any ambition, nor is he at all capable. No, people in troubled times are not simple.
Sima Rui also flattered Concubine Pei, walked in her doorstep, gave gifts frequently, and said nice words for free.
There is a reason why he was sent by Sima Yue to Xiapi first and then to Jianye.
To put it simply, he is the fallback route arranged by Sima Yue in advance. Once the situation in the north is in a bad situation and it is difficult to recover after using all methods, Jianye can also serve as a backup to provide him with support.
It’s just that Sima Yue didn’t wait until that day, and he died first. Instead, Sima Rui took advantage and collected part of his inheritance.
"If you are really worried." Concubine Pei said, "I will write a letter to Jing Wen and explain it."
"It's useless. By now, everything has become clear, and no one is a fool." Shao Xun shook his head and said: "After enjoying the benefits of the Four War Land, you have to bear the disadvantages of the Four War Land. People in the world only want to get benefits. , I don’t want to do any harm, but how is this possible? I will arrange this.”
After that, he gently caressed Concubine Pei’s proud body and said, “You can rest assured, slave Hua. Give me a baby."
Concubine Pei hummed from the depths of her throat, with a long ending.
The maids turned a blind eye, placed the food one by one, bowed and left.
The two sat down and started eating.
Shao Xun thought silently while eating.
Hua Nu just mentioned that someone is watching, which is actually a reminder.
It turns out that there are still people who are not optimistic about his ability to survive the north-south pincer attack.
Actually, this is normal.
Aren’t the generals within the shogunate worried? Just as worried.
Halfway through the meal, a messenger came.
Shao Xun took the letter and read it, met Concubine Pei's eyes and said: "This is written by Wang Yifu. Wang Dun has been appointed as the governor of Jingzhou."
"This decree is definitely not from Taige. "Yes." Concubine Pei was a little surprised at first, and then judged.
Shao Xun nodded and said: "But Xun Song has handed over his seal."
Whether the imperial edict is useful depends on whether others recognize it.
At present, it seems that even if it does not pass through Taige, it is a "zhongzhi", but Xun Song recognized it - Xun Song's family had already crossed south, and it was normal for him to recognize it.
The imperial edict issued by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was also illegal from a procedural point of view and was an invalid imperial edict, but some people recognized it.
Of course, Sima Chi is much freer than Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, at least everyone around him has not been replaced.
There are many true or false loyal ministers in the court. When he summons his ministers, they will not be searched when they come out - this is too ugly.
He could even find a scene for a private meeting, such as high on Jiuhua Terrace, with no palace guards around. This was also the unimaginable power of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
Shao Xun didn't bother to think about who sent the imperial edict, because there were too many possibilities and he couldn't guess at all.
"No!" Concubine Pei grabbed his hand, shook her head gently and said, "There are some things that Yuan Chao can do, but you can't."
Shao Xun slowly nod.
Concubine Pei said again: "What you have to do is to accumulate prestige, the higher the better. Attacking the emperor now will only damage your prestige, and the gain will not be worth the loss. Part of the reason why Henan is so peaceful is that You wiped out the bandits and drove out the Huns, and part of the reason was that you allowed the emperor to maintain his dignity."
Shao Xun hummed.
Does he respect the emperor?
In fact, I don’t have much respect. But compared to other powerful officials in history? That's respectful again.
At least, in the eyes of the world, he did not outrageously replace all the people around the emperor like Cao Mengde and Sima Yue, and lock them up like caged birds.
At least, he did not use the emperor as a shield.
At least, he delivered supplies when the palace was in short supply.
At least, he was a vassal outside the town. When something happened in Luoyang, he was not like some people who just watched on the sidelines when something happened, but he was really a diligent king.
Everything is compared.
He is a domineering and powerful minister, a little disrespectful to the emperor, but so far he has done no harm.
This is one of the reasons why many people in Henan are willing to cooperate with him.
The Sima family is not high-spirited, but they still have people's hearts and there is no need to look for trouble.
"I still have to go to Beijing." Shao Xun said: "Talk to Wang Yifu. However, Hua Nu, you are right, victory on the battlefield is fundamental. If you can't win, there is no need to talk about anything. If we win, all the monsters and monsters will be in vain.”
(End of this chapter)