May is commonly known as the evil month and has many taboos, one of which is the prohibition on building houses.
As for whether building a city counts as building a house, that is a matter of benevolence and wisdom.
When Shao Xun received the details of the city construction sent from the court, he looked at it for a long time and then gave his opinion.
The city near the ferry on the south bank is not small, divided into two parts, the inner and outer cities, with a circumference of more than ten miles.
The city on the sandbank in the river is much smaller.
The imperial court sent people to conduct a survey and determined that even if they chose the widest place, they could only build a small city of about four miles, and there was no outer city, which was smaller than many county towns.
Well, smaller county towns are only that big, but as a military facility, such a big city is obviously not suitable. The main problem is that it cannot store too many supplies.
But where the objective conditions are, there is no good solution.
If, like in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, several sandbars were connected together to form a large piece of land, the margin would be much greater.
"How is Xun Song?" Shao Xun was leaning on the bed, as if he had just finished bathing. His robe was loose and he was probably not wearing anything underneath.
Wang Xuan, who came from Luoyang, didn't take it seriously.
When scholars entertain guests, there shouldn't be too many scenes like this. It's just that Shao Xun was not such a bohemian style before, which made him a little strange.
"This man is the great-great-grandson of Xun Yu, who is elegant and good at literature..." Wang Xuan said.
"Stop." Shao Xun stretched out his hand to stop, and said: "If I remember correctly, this person has a close relationship with Wang Dun, Lu Ji, Gu Rong and others. They often play together, recite poems and compose poems. But if there is anything Not necessarily military strategy, right?"
As soon as the word "Wang Dun" came out, there was a sound in the next room.
Wang Xuan didn't pay attention because he was indeed a little worried when Shao Xun said this.
"The matter has come to this, there is no point in worrying." Shao Xun said: "I just ask Xun Song not to give blind orders."
Like Wang Dun, let the people below do the work.
The left guard, the right guard, and the knights all have generals. Under the generals there are three governors, the generals in the palace, and the school captains...
As long as they don't act recklessly, although the army is slow and stupid, it is not without the strength to fight. After all, Wang Mi is not that strong.
Wang Xuan also had the same view, but he was still a little worried, and in the end he just sighed softly.
"How are the preparations for food, grass and ordnance going?" Shao Xun asked again.
"The ordnance is quite insufficient, so we can only allocate part of it first." Wang Xuan said: "Food and grass are very difficult. The first batch of grain was shipped in Shouchun, and the second batch of canal ships has not yet set off. We can only send 100,000 husks of corn first. , the rest will wait until the end of June or the beginning of July.”
Shao Xun glared at him and said: "If I mobilize so many soldiers and horses, my monthly food expenditure will be 80,000 dendrobium. How long will 100,000 dendrobium be enough?"
"Use it first..." Wang Xuan was a little embarrassed.
Who is to blame for this? It seems that the emperor has to be blamed.
After the New Year this year, a large number of people from Luoyang went eastward to Fuyuan and went south to Yangzhou via Yuzhou. The population of Luoyang decreased by a considerable amount, and the food consumption was not so large.
Seeing this, the emperor used food as bait, recruited strong men from the refugees to join the Forbidden Army, and launched the Battle of Xin'an.
As a result, food was suddenly in short supply.
To put it bluntly, after deducting the 100,000 grains spent on Shao Xun, the grain reserves in Taicang, Dongyangmen are only enough to last until July.
If there are no ships arriving in June and July, we will have to wait until the autumn harvest in August to see if we can scrape out some more grain.
But how long can it last? I'm afraid it won't survive this year. After all, Luoyang's agricultural production has been too severely damaged.
But that's not the scariest thing.
The most worrying thing is, what should we do if one day Jiangdong, Xuzhou and other places no longer send grain to Beijing?
"Doing some unreasonable things all day long." Shao Xun said displeased: "Wang Mi wants to fight, but not now. Or the emperor has thought clearly that Xin'an and Mengjin can only fight in one place, and he thought it was the peak of the Jin Dynasty. What happens then?"
After Wang Xuan heard this, he felt even more disgusted with the emperor and sighed repeatedly.
Come to think of it, the matter of food and fodder has not yet been determined, and a war suddenly breaks out. Is there such a fight? It is even more unlucky to think that this dispatch of troops was entirely caused by the emperor threatening to move the capital and "messing around".
The emperor wanted to move the capital, but the ministers were reluctant and tried to dissuade him. The emperor took the opportunity to bargain, and finally ended up in such a mess.
"When will Ming Gong leave?" Wang Xuan no longer dwelled on these troublesome matters and changed the subject.
"Just these few days." Shao Xun said: "I have allocated 50,000 husks of dendrobium from Xinzhengcang, but it has not been shipped yet. The ugly news is ahead. If I don't see the army rations in July, I will give up my job. "
Wang Xuan knew very well that even if Shao Xun was not given military rations in July, he would not really quit. Instead, he would find a way to transfer rations from Yuzhou and supplement it himself.
But that's not how things work. No matter how tight the imperial court's food supply is, it still has to find ways to squeeze out some. So he said with emotion: "Don't worry, Lord Ming. I will definitely allocate 100,000 hu of military rations to Mengjin by mid-July at the latest."
Shao Xun was noncommittal.
Your Wang Xuan's guarantee is of no use. If nothing else, if the battle of Xin'an fails and Wang Mi is allowed to attack Luoyang City, how will you transport food? It will not be fun if it involves me returning reinforcements from the front line.
"Let's do this for now." Shao Xun said: "The situation in Xin'an will be reported one day at a time and sent to our army on horseback. Before the autumn harvest in August, I will let the Zhongwu Army go north to attack the Erling Tombs of Xiaoban and Lianchi. , talk about it as a containment. For the rest, the court will find a way on its own, remember one thing, prudence is the top priority."
On the battlefield, there is a strange phenomenon. After a big battle breaks out, the losing side retreats sharply and gives up a lot of land. Especially in places with difficult and dangerous terrain, there is no intention to fight when the defeat occurs, and everyone is scrambling to fight. He ran away with his life and gave it up easily. When he adjusted later and wanted to regain this land, he had to pay a heavy price because the enemy already had the advantage.
Xin'an falls into this category.
In the past two years, it is not that the Huns have not marched from this direction, and it is not that the imperial court has not fought with the Huns in Xin'an or even further west, but every time the Huns withdrew, they did not occupy this land.
After Guanzhong was captured, they had no worries and directly captured Hongnong and gave it to Wang Mi.
Wang Mi controls the territory of five counties, and his enthusiasm is much stronger than that of the Huns, so he is naturally easy to manage. If the court wants to take back Xin'an now, it will definitely have to pay a bloody price.
"By the way, has the imperial court recruited troops from other states and counties?" Shao Xun asked.
"Yes." Wang Xuan nodded affirmatively and said: "Jingxiang is still in war and cannot send out troops, but Xiangyang still sent three thousand troops northward. There are no troops dispatched to Yangzhou."
Shao Xun nodded.
The reason why he asked about this was simply to analyze how much prestige the imperial court still had.
During the Sima Yue era, although Luoyang was besieged many times, Yangzhou still sent two troops. One was the Huainan troops led by Wang Kuang, who were completely wiped out in Shangdang; the other was the Wu Xing troops led by Qian Juan, who were afraid of the Huns and directly attacked them.
Guangling rebellion.
Jingzhou also sent five thousand troops northward, but they returned halfway because the siege of Luoyang had been lifted.
After Sima Yue's death, the situation in Luoyang was still difficult. At this time, only Jingzhou was willing to send troops, while Jiangdong silently refused the imperial call. This is not Sima Rui's fault, it's just that the wealthy people in Wu were unwilling to send troops.
Fortunately, they are still willing to provide money and food.
If one day the money and food are no longer willing to be released, the prestige of the Luoyang court will be really ruined. What remains may be a little righteousness, and even the appointment and removal of officials may not be possible.
"You go back." Shao Xun sighed and said, "Take care of yourself. If your family members can move out of Luoyang, they can move out."
"Jingfeng and Huifeng no longer live in Luoyang." Wang Xuan said subconsciously.
Shao Xun gave him a funny look but said nothing.
He doesn't want women anymore. He is too virtuous to bother with her.
After sending Wang Xuan away, Shao Xun had the bed moved outside the window of Concubine Pei's bedroom and had a conversation.
"...Are you sure of this battle?" Concubine Pei asked.
There was a child crying in the house, as if he was hungry, but fortunately it stopped after a while.
Shao Xun was itching to hear this and said: "There is nothing uncertain about a war. However, it is better to block the river and resist the enemy than to risk an attack."
The last time we fought the Huns was a mobile battle, but if nothing else goes wrong this time it will be a pit battle. The difference is still huge.
However, this is very suitable for him who is mainly an infantryman, because his mobility is really poor.
"Yes." Concubine Pei's voice came again: "Don't show off your strength, we two will wait for you to come back."
"Okay." Shao Xun said: "Unless Liu Cong appears in front of me, I will be in a deep ditch and a high base, and I will not be able to get out."
"Are you sure about Yanzhou?" Concubine Pei asked again.
"It's okay for the time being. It's hard to tell when the autumn harvest will happen in August." Shao Xun said, "But don't worry, it's just the soldiers coming to cover up the water and the soil."
Concubine Pei was silent for a while and then said: "Last year the Huns suffered a loss. Will they come again this year when the river freezes?"
Shao Xun frowned, don't tell me, this is really possible.
Compared with the Yangtze River, the Yellow River has a fatal flaw, that is, it freezes in winter, and there are many places where people, horses, and vehicles can pass directly.
During the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, the Western Wei Dynasty often sent people to dig ice in key river sections to prevent the Eastern Wei army from crossing the river.
The Yellow River is not the Yangtze River after all, so it’s not easy to compare.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Shao Xun said, "You can take care of the children at home first, don't worry about it, and wait for me to come back."
"Yes." Concubine Pei said softly: "When you come back, hug the baby more."
"The matter about Princess Xiangcheng..." Shao Xun hesitated for a long time and finally asked.
"She will not join the Shao family. She is the wife of the Wang family." Concubine Pei only said this and said no more.
Shao Xun didn't know how to describe his mood.
When your wife is unable to serve you, introduce her relatives to you.
If Yu Wenjun is pregnant over there, it seems that he can still play his wife's best friend?
Really...
On the last day of May, Shao Xun received a letter from Yu Wenjun.
Xiao Nizi has returned to Xuchang to serve her parents-in-law and take care of the family business.
Shao Xun had never seen such a long letter, and he wrote several pages.
The little girl shared every interesting story with him, making Shao Xun feel even more guilty.
I swear once again to control Jill.
After taking the oath, he wrote a reply letter and strode away from Kao City, marching northward with the whole army.
Chapter completed!