On the winding country road, several riders gradually receded into the distance.
"He left in a hurry without even celebrating the Cold Food Festival." Wang Shu sighed and said depressedly.
"Why should Chu Ming be worried?" Zhou Wei rode his horse to catch up and said with a chuckle: "Zhongzhou is in turmoil and chaos. It is not a place we are happy with. Sooner or later, some people will become discouraged and cross the river south."
"That's true." Wang Shu turned his worries into joy and said, "Boren is still able to comfort people."
"It's also a relief for myself." Zhou Wei laughed loudly.
Wang Shu, Wang Dao's younger brother, is now Sima Rui's Zhendong general and joins the shogunate. Sima Yue once conquered the army, but failed. When Wang Dun was appointed governor of Qingzhou, Wang Shu followed him and wanted to serve in the state. Everyone knows the result.
After Sima Rui moved south from Xuzhou to build Ye, the Wang family invested a lot of money, and almost two-thirds of the family members went south to rely on it. Wang Shu was one of them.
Zhou Wei was born in the Runan Zhou family and was currently the shogunate general and shogunate in Sima Bizhen. But he didn't want to do it anymore. After chasing him to Fan County to resign, he went south with Wang Shu.
As for his hometown, he also sent someone back to inform him, and he would leave with his family, servants, and tribe later.
The north is so chaotic, with iron and blood everywhere, but the south is full of gentle breeze, catkins, fine wine, and beauties. Isn't it beautiful?
They were followed by several people, all former assistants of the Sima Yue shogunate. Under Wang Shu's persuasion, they left their respective houses, crossed the river south, and went to King Langya.
As the old saying goes, people become poor when they leave their hometown, and the same is true for scholars.
You can indeed bring some bankers with you, but the problem is that it requires a lot of financial support. Opening up land is not a simple matter. At least the first one or two years will be a pure loss, and you must support them.
There is no doubt that the Jiangdong government will provide some subsidies, but it will also have to pay for it itself.
As more and more people migrated to the south, the price of grain in Jiangdong counties has been driven up, and even if you have money, you can't buy it. You have to borrow it from others through your network and return it after the land reclamation is successful.
At this time, it is very important to have relatives and friends who are local officials.
These people who followed Wang Shu were there to stand in front of the officials, so that the entire family could move southward in the future.
They are scholars, well-educated, knowledgeable, and have certain management experience. At this stage, King Langya has as many as he wants because he wants to strike a balance between the southerners and the northerners.
In addition, attracting northern talents is also one of the ways to weaken opponents. In short, there are many benefits.
"Who is that person over there?" Wang Shu pointed his horsewhip, looked at the hundreds of people hesitantly walking forward dozens of steps away, and asked.
Zhou Wei took a closer look and said: "They should be the people who went south to beg. I traveled from Luoyang, Xingyang, and Puyang and saw many of them. The Huns sent a small group of cavalry to go south, and each group only had one or two hundred riders.
They carried food and water for several days and attacked everywhere. When the people saw the thieves coming, they fled one after another. The Huns did not pursue them, but destroyed their crops, burned their houses, and then roared away."
Although people are now starting to live together, some of the fort walls are not big enough to fit everyone inside. Many people still live outside the forts, and they only go into the forts to hide collectively when enemies arrive.
Moreover, people can hide, but fields cannot. If you can't deal with the two hundred Huns cavalry, you can only let them do what they do. If you are determined to fight and repel the enemy in the field, you may be able to prevent the enemy from attacking the crops.
destruction, but not every dock is capable of it.
Along the way, Zhou Yi encountered a group of Xiongnu cavalry in Puyang and almost captured them.
"It seems that it is not easy for Shao Xun in Henan." Wang Shu breathed a sigh of relief and said: "According to Shao Taibai's words, 'Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite.' Haha. He faced the Huns' soldiers and was beaten every day.
I don’t know how long I can last for plundering.”
Zhou Wei frowned a little after hearing this and said: "Chu Ming, if Chen Hou blocks the front, it will also be good for Jiangdong. Why do you need to say sarcastic words?"
"That's right." Wang Shu apologized and said no more.
As of now, King Langya still respects the orders of the court.
Guangling did not transport much grain to Beijing last year, and the counties in Jiangdong were happy and relaxed, but this year they will start to transport grain. This is a very obvious signal. King Langya is still a minister of the Jin Dynasty and respects Luoyang Zhengshuo.
As a subordinate of King Langya, he really shouldn't say much.
Zhou Wei turned his head and looked in the direction of Fan County again.
In the past few days, the town army general and shogunate have been organizing Sima Yue's funeral.
After Sima Yue's death, the funeral was held in the city. This time it was considered a grand burial.
For people at their level, funerals are political activities and mean many things.
After Sima Yue is buried, it means that his era is completely over, and the shogunate staff will start a new political career under the leadership of the new master.
Zhou Wei heard that basically all the major noble clans in Yanzhou had sent people to the scene, more people than those who came before Situ Sheng.
It is true that the dead are the most important, and no one will have trouble with the dead. But without Chen Hou leading his army, things would not be so simple.
Judging from the people attending the funeral, the Yanzhou nobles probably also wanted to see if Chen Hou, a well-known general in Luoyang, could withstand the Xiongnu's fierce offensive for them - not necessarily to completely block it, but at least to be better than before.
The situation in the north is quietly undergoing profound changes due to the interaction of external forces and internal factors.
****
At the end of March, there was suddenly more news.
Shouchun Zhou Fu was still selling his plan to move the capital, and mentioned that water transportation might be difficult this year because Jingzhou suffered from war.
As soon as this statement came out, everyone turned their attention.
Sima Rui, King of Langya, asked Zhou Fu to be dismissed from his position. The two sides were still arguing. No one dared to say whether they would use weapons in the future. At least, Sima Rui had a strong urge to kill Zhou Fu.
In the direction of Jingzhou, Yang Dan led his army south, defeated Wang Ru again, and beheaded three thousand people.
After arriving at the foot of Xiangyang City, due to the long-term attack and failure, a military chaos broke out in the camp. Yang Dan fled in a panic. Wang Ru was defeated and suffered heavy losses.
After gathering the remaining soldiers, they returned all the way to the new wilderness and licked their wounds.
The Xiongnu had been saving for several months and hoarded a certain amount of supplies east of the river. Finally, they lost patience and began to attack.
Sima Mo, king of Nanyang, sent General Zhao Ran to lead his army to reject the attack. Ran's army was stationed at Pubanjin, blocking the way by the river.
Another one went all the way to Tongguan for guarding.
These two groups brought together all the capable soldiers in Guanzhong, and their strategic intention to defend the enemy from outside the country was very obvious.
The reason why I did this was actually because I was afraid.
Sima Mo was worried that after the Xiongnu broke into Guanzhong, the barbarians would respond and the situation would instantly deteriorate. Therefore, no matter what, the battlefield should be placed outside and as far away from Chang'an as possible.
What's more, if the two key places of Pubanjin and Tongguan are not defended, why are you fighting?
The fighting is still going on in Xiangzhou, and the situation is not good, because the government has no soldiers at all, so it can only summon them at short notice. Compared with the refugees from Bashu, the Dingzhuang who were recruited temporarily may be slightly inferior, plus the morale is low. The difference was that the officers and soldiers were very passive and had already allowed Du Tao to approach Changsha.
Wang Jun of Youzhou once again participated deeply in the Xianbei War.
In March, before the forage turned green, Duanbu Xianbei was attacked by Murong Xianbei. He suffered heavy losses and had to ask Wang Jun for help.
Jun led tens of thousands of people on foot and rode eastward, which was considered a sign of loyalty.
Speaking of Duan Bu Xianbei, we are destined to be unable to avoid the Battle of Chang'an six years ago.
Duan Bu was deeply involved in the Eight Kings Rebellion. He had already lost thousands of his cavalry in battles one after another. Another five thousand were killed in Chang'an, and his vitality was suddenly severely damaged.
You must know that those who can be sent to the Central Plains are not the old, weak, sick and disabled, but relatively strong people. More than 10,000 people were killed in a few years, which is unbearable for Duanbe Xianbei, whose total population is only a few hundred thousand. the pain.
Grassland resources are limited, and tribal vendettas continue.
Murong and Yuwen saw that Duan Bu was showing signs of decline, why didn't they come forward to share the food?
Over the years, Wang Jun has actually been giving blood transfusions to Duan Bu, sending troops for rescue three or four times, and losing a lot of soldiers, money and food, making it difficult for Duan Bu Xianbei to survive until now.
But it only slightly reversed the decline.
Duanbu Xianbei continued to lose pasture, cattle, sheep and people, and its strength became increasingly weaker. Perhaps, in a few years, they will withdraw from the stage of history and be replaced by Murong Xianbei or Yuwen Xianbei - maybe Tuoba Xianbei?
When Shao Xun saw this, he felt a little strange: "Why did Wang Yifu tell me this?"
"Mr. Chen doesn't know something. The Taiwei once imagined that Wang Jun would go south from Youzhou, and Chen Gong would send his troops north to attack Shi Le, Shi Chao and others to regain Jizhou." Yang Hao said: "However, Wang Youzhou was exhausted and exhausted, but It’s no longer possible to go south.”
"Wang Jun doesn't know how to fight without Xianbei." Shao Xun sneered: "Xianbei helped him fight in the past, but now he helps Xianbei fight. What a good husband-in-law."
"Wang Youzhou has no choice. He has no friendship with the Murong clan and the Yuwen clan. After losing the foreign aid of Duanbu Xianbei, he can't hold Hebei, let alone the Xiongnu, even Shi Le." Yang Hao shook his head and sighed: "Mr. Chen
But you can’t count on this guy, he’s not good enough.”
"I won't be that stupid." Shao Xun said: "Mr. Yang, you have to worry about everything in Yanzhou. The heir king is governor of Yanzhou. His reputation is not justified, so he needs the support of Mr. Yang."
"Isn't it true that I am not justified in my words?" Yang Hao smiled bitterly: "Will the emperor really agree?"
"The emperor will agree." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Because there are still smart people in the Luoyang court. They will find that Luoyang has been pushed to the forefront. The war in Guanzhong will be raging. Once it falls, the situation in Luoyang will be even more critical. At this time
We need the support of Yu, Yan, and Xuzhou even more. I always say, "Tolerance is for the sake of the country." If I endure it, the emperor must also endure it. If he doesn't want to endure it, someone will persuade him to endure it. That's it, Mr. Yang, don't
worry."
Yang Hao smiled bitterly again.
He smiled bitterly twice, but for different reasons. Only he could understand the feeling.
"In Xuzhou, has Mr. Chen made arrangements?" Yang Hao asked.
"Pei Shijun of Xuzhou has declared that Mihuang Mizi, the commander of the Sili School, has been restored to the position of internal history of the East China Sea." Shao Xun said: "This matter should not be a serious problem."
After Sima Yue died, Mi Huang was extremely hesitant.
Character determines destiny. He tried to make up for the rift between Shao Xun and Sima Yue, but in the end they were not on good terms.
Of course, Shao Xun actually had no objections to him.
Xuzhou was too far away for him to care about, and he had no problem with Concubine Pei and her son being interested in Mihuang.
The original internal historian was Wang Cheng of Taiyuan, one of Sima Pi's teachers. However, Wang Cheng had decided to move south to build Ye, so the position became vacant.
The Mi family is a local noble family in Donghai, and their family status is not high.
In recent years, due to the promotion in Luoyang, the Mi family has developed rapidly in their hometown. Many common people and even powerful people have come to rely on them, and their strength has greatly increased.
With the support of family power and the convenience brought by official position, he should be able to compete with the Wang family, right?
In fact, Shao Xun hoped that he could unite with the Wang family to guard the four counties of Donghai Kingdom, but he didn't know if it would work.
"Ming Gong, it's time to go." Cai Cheng walked in from the door and reported.
"Okay." Shao Xun nodded, then saluted Yang Mao and said, "Mr. Yang, take care. I ordered Tang Jian to station in Linqiu. If there is any change, he will be there in a moment."
"Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Chen." Yang Hao returned the gesture.
Shao Xun then turned around and left, embarking on his return journey.
Chapter completed!