The distance between Nanyang and Xiangyang is not close, it is a full three hundred miles away.
A round trip of 600 miles is even more time consuming.
Even after the expedition was on the road, "war correspondent" Hu Wufuzhi was still urging Shao Xun not to go south and to return to the army quickly.
Shao Xun admitted that what he said made sense, but refused to accept it.
After heading south from Wancheng, the road condition was surprisingly good: mainly because it was wide enough.
It can be seen that since the Cao Wei Dynasty, the Jingxiang area has been attached great importance to.
This is also a commercial avenue, and it has been since the late Han Dynasty. I don’t know how many people have made a fortune from it. When Shi Chong was the governor of Jingzhou, it was probably the fastest period of wealth accumulation in his life.
On the night of the 20th, the army arrived at Juiyang. Shao Xun checked into the Le family's ancestral home and paid a visit to Lan Ji's mother, Liu family.
"Tao Nu is a miserable person, and the prince must treat her well." Mrs. Liu was old and lacked energy. She was about to fall asleep, but when she heard that the famous Chen Hou was coming, she insisted on meeting her.
She asked Shao Xun to sit next to the candlelight and looked at it carefully for a long time. Then she sighed and kept talking: "Tao Nu is not a kind person when he meets others. What about the King of Chengdu..."
Shao Xun listened patiently and smiled.
When he and Lan Ji talked at night, they would occasionally mention the King of Chengdu. Every time at this time, Lan Ji would get goosebumps all over her body, nervous... nervous to death, I don't know how cute it is.
"Please don't go to Xiangyang, Junhou." Mrs. Liu suddenly said.
"Why?" Shao Xun was a little surprised.
"Most of the monarch's soldiers are from the north, and they may not be able to adapt there. If an epidemic strikes, the soldiers who have fought in hundreds of battles will be gone." Liu said: "I know that the monarch has been practicing martial arts all year round and is strong.
You are in good health, but you can’t explain the disease, it’s hard to explain…”
When Shao Xun heard this, he was in awe.
Madam Liu was indeed knowledgeable, and she also pointed out things that he had ignored.
Fortunately, Nanyang is considered a mature area for development. However, the water network in Xiangyang area is crisscrossed, and the level of development is not high. When the army goes south, there may be nothing wrong or there may be trouble, who can say for sure?
"Thank you, madam, for the advice." Shao Xun cupped his hands and said.
Mrs. Liu sighed, squinted her eyes, looked at Shao Xun carefully, and said: "The prince has great ambitions, and his actions are also measured. If you fulfill your ambitions in the future, just treat my daughter well."
Shao Xun said hurriedly: "Don't worry, old lady. Tao Nu is charming and charming, and he serves Grandma diligently. I love you very much."
Mr. Liu nodded, then said goodbye and left.
Shao Xun then crouched in front of the case and casually handled several important official matters.
This is a rather simple and elegant study, but there is actually a bow hanging on the wall, which may reflect the living conditions of scholars at this time: studying and practicing martial arts must be taken care of at the same time.
Le Guang is the male protagonist of the idiom "a cup bows and a snake shadows".
Shao Xun looked at the bow again, and it turned out to be a horn bow used by cavalry.
It seems that Nanyang Leshi has a certain foundation in riding and shooting skills. No wonder Lekai directly said before that he had assembled more than two thousand "mounted cavalry".
One of the hometowns of Huaiying Tuqi, which is a bit interesting.
Tang Jian was lingering outside the door. After Shao Xun finished writing a letter, he called him in and sent the letter.
The letter was sent to Pei Chun.
Shao Xun asked him to send 1,000 county soldiers and 2,000 young men to Chenggao County to occupy Guancheng.
Chenggao was located on Dagong Mountain, the capital of Zheng Zheng in the Spring and Autumn Period. Ten miles southwest of the county was Xuanmen Slope, and there was a city on the slope called "Xuanmen Pass". It was one of the eight passes in Luoyang in the late Han Dynasty - this pass blocked the city.
South Gorge mouth of Ban Road.
It was later abandoned and a new gate was built two miles southeast of the county, which was called "Hulao Pass" - the gate was located in the middle section of the mountain road.
This Hulao Pass was called the "Old Hulao Pass" in later generations, because in the first year of Daye of the Sui Dynasty, a new Hulao Pass was built on the bank of Si River, also known as "Sishui Pass".
Xinguan City was moved to the foot of Dagong Mountain, bordering the Yellow River to the north and mountains to the south. It also blocked the Beixiakou of the Ban Road.
The reason why Xinguan City was built here is probably because the siltation of the Yellow River formed a piece of land at the northern foot of Dagong Mountain. When traveling from east to west, you can walk along the riverside without having to walk up the mountain.
At this time, this riverside road has not yet appeared, and you still have to take the mountain road between Luoyang and Xingyang, so Hulao Pass or Chenggao Pass are the top priorities.
Controlling Hulao Pass will control the most convenient road out of Luoyang east.
It’s not impossible to take a detour, but it’s more troublesome and risky.
In history, Gao Huan once crossed mountains and made detours for sneak attacks. It can be seen that the loss of Hulao Pass caused huge inconvenience to the Eastern Wei Dynasty, forcing both sides to fight here.
This is a critical place.
"Wait a minute." Shao Xun grabbed Tang Jian and said, "Let the messenger bring a word."
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"Store enough food and grass in Guancheng. If you dare to escape without fighting, I will kill you."
Tang Jian was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "No."
This sentence is quite serious.
Whether Pei Chun will listen or not is unknown, but it should have some effect.
It is inevitable for the Xiongnu to go south to surround Luoyang. If they block the Hulao Pass and then lock up the three passes in Luonan, if they want to go deep into Yuzhou, they will have to retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River first, then cross the river from Jijun and go south, bypassing
A big circle, very inconvenient.
As a result, the army was divided into two groups, the east and west, with no way to coordinate, which was very troublesome and dangerous.
It’s hard to say, and it’s not necessarily a given.
****
After leaving Juiyang, we arrived at Rangxian County in one day.
Then we traveled twice as many times and arrived at Deng County on the 23rd, occupying the deserted county seat.
At this time, there was an army report, and the powerful people who had surrendered to Wang Ru along with the country killed the officials appointed by Ru.
Shao Xun asked someone to bring the map and look at it carefully.
When the country was first unified, Jingzhou had a very vast territory and governed a total of twenty-two counties.
Now it's far worse than before.
First, Jiangzhou was established and the three counties of Wuchang, Ancheng and Guiyang were taken away - and seven counties were taken away from Yangzhou.
The three counties of Xincheng, Wei Xing and Shangyong were also transferred to Liangzhou.
After the emperor succeeded to the throne, he took Changsha from Jingzhou, Hengyang and other five counties to Xiangzhou - and cut Guiyang from Jiangzhou to Xiangzhou, and cut Shi'an and other nine counties from Guangzhou to Xiangzhou.
The entire area of ​​Jingzhou has shrunk greatly, with only eleven counties left.
Jingzhou has also made some internal adjustments.
Jiangxia was divided into Jingling County.
The country of Sui was established for King Sui. This country was very small and only governed the two counties of Sui and Pinglin.
When Sima Xin, the king of Xinye, was still alive, he analyzed Xinye and other counties and established Xinye Kingdom.
After Sima Xin was defeated and died, he had no heirs, the country was eliminated, and all counties were merged into Yiyang. Although he was adopted by Sima Shao to inherit the king's title, the county king became the county king - after all, the last new king of the field was Sima
You guys are really on the wrong team, and the new king has nothing to do with Sima Yue. Otherwise, what if Sima Teng created a new Cai Kingdom for you like Sima Teng did?
According to this calculation, there are still thirteen counties in Jingzhou at this time, but the area has been greatly reduced and is no longer the same as before.
However, Shao Xun has already asked Shu to reset Xinye County, with jurisdiction over the five counties of Xinye, Jiyang, Rang, Chaoyang, and Caiyang. Yu Fang will be appointed as the prefect to reward him for killing the rebels and as a defense against Wang Ru.
The first line of defense.
At this time, Yu Fang followed him with more than a thousand soldiers and horses.
The Xinye Yu clan came after Han Situ Yu Meng, and their starting point was higher than that of the Yingchuan Yu clan, but their development was not as good as theirs. Perhaps it was because of the circle - Jingzhou scholars were obviously not politically comparable to Ruying scholars.
"The situation is very clear." Shao Xun stood at the head of Deng County City and glanced regretfully to the south.
Deng County was formerly under the jurisdiction of Yiyang and is now one of the eight counties in Xiangyang County. Fancheng can be reached not far to the south.
Wang Ru did not defend Deng, but he gathered many soldiers and horses in Fancheng and could not leave. His intention was clear.
Luc Kai and Yu Fang, who were also following along, looked at each other with unclear meanings in their hearts.
"Ignoring other counties, the three counties of Xinye, Nanyang, and Shunyang must guard and help each other." Shao Xun looked at the two of them and said: "The three families together can gather tens of thousands of troops. If we fight well, we should not be afraid of Wang Ru.
. After I return to the north, I don’t want to hear about one family being surrounded and the other two families sitting back and watching. Yang Zuyan is not here today, but I will make it clear to him. If we divide ourselves, we will be weak, but if we unite, we will be strong. When the three families join together,
No one can eat you easily."
Le Kai and Yu Fang looked at each other again and said in unison: "I will obey your order."
They heard that the king and the prince regarded these three counties as their private territory, and used the word "you wait".
Sometimes, they feel that troubled times are not good.
Sometimes, I feel that troubled times are really a paradise for careerists.
When the imperial court had great authority, how could they be allowed to seize military power and political power in local areas?
But when the authority of the imperial court weakened day by day, local power would be filled by gentry clans.
They vaguely feel that even if someone cleans up the old mountains and rivers in the future, clan politics will not be eliminated for a while, and they will take advantage of this troubled time to climb to new heights.
Chen Hou, the nominal overlord of Luonan and Yuzhou, seems to have acquiesced in their local status?
There was a sound of horse hooves in the distance.
Soon, several sergeants came over dragging a messenger.
"Your Majesty, this is Wang Ru's messenger." After Tang Jian led people to search him, he invited the messenger over and reported.
Shao Xun looked at the messenger.
A typical middle-aged scholar, looking at Shao Xun timidly but energetically.
Shao Xun was too lazy to pay attention to him, took the letter and read it.
After reading it, he asked: "Why did you deliver the letter for Wang Ru?"
"Everyone in the family is obsessed with him and has no choice but to listen to him," the messenger replied.
"Wang Ru is a figure in one party after all, but he is trapped in an isolated city and does not dare to go to war. Why?"
"The general has been victorious in consecutive battles. He is unmatched in bravery and his momentum is heard far and near." The messenger replied: "Although there are many soldiers, their hearts are mixed and inconsistent. Therefore, Yingcheng defends itself until the general retreats."
Shao Xun laughed and said, "Wang Ru is upright and not afraid of me knowing the inside story."
The messenger bowed his head and said yes.
"Bring me a message to Wang Ru." Shao Xun said.
"General, please speak."
"When I defeat the Xiongnu, I will definitely--" Shao Xun rubbed the hilt of the knife at his waist and said: "It is a good idea to carry out a journey of loyalty and righteousness, lead the people who are pleasing to the people, beat the drum to ask the guilty, and march southward, Xiangyang Gucheng.
One strike from the soldiers?"
"The imperial court sent back the refugees, and they rebelled out of anger. It was excusable when things happened. If the king knew his situation and surrendered, I would ensure that nothing happened to him." Shao Xun continued: "Bring back the original words."
"Yes," the messenger replied.
After the messenger left, Shao Xun waited in Deng County for two days.
During this period, scouts came to report that Wang Ru had almost given up all his peripheral strongholds and retreated to Fancheng and Xiangyang, without any intention of attacking.
Shao Xun sighed, knowing that this guy was determined not to get out.
Although there isn't much food and grass in the city, it shouldn't be a big problem if we hold on for a month or two. There are also a large number of Kansai Party members following us, and we are also sitting on a fortified city, so it is not easy to capture.
There is no time to waste with him, so we can only withdraw our troops first.
Chapter completed!