Because of the threat of the Xiongnu cavalry, the Yanzhou wilderness in winter is barren, with gray and white forming the main theme of the earth.
There is really nothing to enjoy in this kind of weather, so everyone usually stays at home.
For the nobles, it is also a good time for gatherings.
On December 20, the General's Mansion was full of guests and very lively.
Liu Chou and He Sui sat together and talked in low voices.
"In this shogunate, there are more and more people from Yanzhou, and fewer and fewer people from Qingxu. If we wait a few more years, I'm afraid there won't be a place for me and others to establish themselves." Liu Chou held the wine bottle, quietly pointed to the person who just came in, and said: "
This man is six feet long and has a body shaped like a piece of earth and wood, but he can actually work as an official in the government. It's really ridiculous."
"Children of Ma family in Dongping." He Sui took a look and said, "They are all coming for that one."
Liu Chou nodded.
To be honest, they are very conflicted now.
After the death of the first Situ, due to various factors, they were loyal to the concubine and the successor king. But now, the influence of the first Situ is gradually dissipating, and the successor king is a bit - not like a human master, so he can only serve the queen.
The concubine is the main one.
The concubine had great trust in Mr. Chen. She appointed him as military commander and entrusted him with great power, and they could only obey.
In the past year or two, Mr. Chen has fully demonstrated his abilities, which has made everyone's confidence in him grow day by day. In addition, he is from Xuzhou, which makes it easier for him to get close to Xuzhou scholars like them, so he slowly fell in love with him.
.
Of course, there were also people in the shogunate who were dissatisfied with Duke Chen, but they would not show it on the surface. In private, they formed a small circle, with King Donghai as the leader.
In Liu Chou's opinion, Mr. Chen was also responsible for this matter.
As a general of the family, why are you talking to your mistress...
It's too much. It's too much.
However, Liu Chou found that he had no emotion about this matter in his heart, and had no feeling of indignation. So he could only lament that his moral character was getting worse and worse, and at the same time he stepped up his support for Chen Gong.
Well, there are three major criteria for a scholar's "appearance", namely: appearance, charm, and moral character.
In the past, when people saw Uncle Pei (Pei Kai), "Pei Linggong has a handsome appearance and looks good even if he takes off his crown, wears rough clothes and messes his head."
This means that he is handsome, even if his hair is messy and his clothes are rough, he is still handsome.
There is also "Seeing Uncle Pei, it's like the jade mountain rising up, the light shining on people."
This means that he has good moral character and excellent charm - people at that time used jade as a metaphor for moral character.
Liu Chou felt that he was getting farther and farther away from the "gentleman who speaks his mind and treats him as warmly as jade".
However, he should be better than the "earth-shaped skeleton" of the Ma family who just attended the banquet.
Liu Chou was thinking about things, but He Sui was still chattering over there: "Not to mention all the scholars from Yanzhou prefectures and states, most of them are minions of the military commander. There will be many contacts in the future, so don't ignore them."
Liu Chou came to his senses and nodded.
It is a general trend to localize the general and shogunate of the town army. It is impossible for foreign scholars to occupy high positions for a long time. After all, they still rely on the rich families in Yanzhou to provide supplies and soldiers.
And as time goes by, this shogunate will eventually deteriorate. Perhaps, it will become the shogunate of Chen Gong alone. After all, most Yanzhou scholars are now leaning towards him.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Sima Pi, King of the East China Sea, who was sitting at the top. He exchanged glances with Zhao Mu and Deng You, as if they had something to say.
"Everyone!" A loud voice sounded from the banquet, interrupting Sima Pi's rhythm.
I saw someone standing up with a wine bottle and said: "I heard that those who do harm to the world will benefit from the world. Therefore, Chen Zhuyuan is not just for the joy of fighting. Chen Gong uses the Yue out of love for others."
Liu Chou took a closer look and saw that it was the King of Drinkers in the East Pavilion, and he was a little surprised.
He was one of Xian Situ's confidants and was highly regarded, but judging from the meaning of his words, he was actually leaning toward Mr. Chen?
He quickly looked at the general of the town army again, but saw that his expression was full of astonishment, and he seemed not to have expected the king's appearance.
Wang's performance was not over yet, and he continued to say: "It is a great blessing for Yanzhou and a great blessing for the Jin Dynasty to have such a great general. We should congratulate Mr. Chen."
After saying that, he picked up the wine bottle and drank it all in one gulp.
"This is indeed a congratulation to Mr. Chen." The West Pavilion offered wine to Cao Yin, and Supervisor Mi Zhi stood up at the same time, picked up the wine bottle and drank it all in one gulp.
The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became a little subtle.
All the officials in the shogunate are shrewd people, and they are fully aware of the undercurrents surging in the shogunate.
As the generals of the Zhenjun gradually grew up, especially after the Chinese New Year, they were about to marry the Donghai Wang family's bride, and the call for power from the dowager gradually arose.
This is not unfounded.
For the children of aristocrats, marrying a wife is a very important node, which means that you start a family. After getting married, you will naturally have to establish a career, and then you will have more power. These are the rules and values ​​of this era.
In addition, although Chen Gong is the military commander, he is not in the mansion most of the time, which inevitably gives the King of East China Sea an opportunity.
However, someone in the shogunate will definitely inform Chen Gong and let him know the situation of the Yanzhou shogunate.
Scholars from Yanzhou entered the shogunate one after another, which in the eyes of smart people was Duke Chen's counterattack strategy.
Today's gathering was actually initiated by King Donghai, and it was also one of his methods to win over the shogunate's aides. But unexpectedly, the king stood up directly, nakedly forced everyone to express their stance, and slapped King Donghai hard in the face.
After Wang, Cao Yin, and Mi Zhi made their statements, Shi Pan Tao, the leader of the left, picked up the wine bottle, stood up and said, "Congratulations to Mr. Chen."
After Pan Tao, Sima Pei Shao of Zuo, Zhonglang Pei Miao, Shen Ling, and Zou Jie, who joined the army, all stood up one after another and said: "Congratulations to Mr. Chen."
Sima Pi, who is at the top left, has recovered from his initial shock.
But after all, he was young and was not very good at concealing his inner emotions. His face was extremely pale, making people scared at first sight.
Yes, he was afraid.
During Shao Xun's absence, he tried to win over many people. These people had ambiguous attitudes, but none of them clearly refused. This gave him hope for a time, and he discussed with the right commander Shi Zhao Mu and the right commander Deng You.
I think I can increase my efforts and try further.
But he is awake now.
The slap in the face came so quickly, which he did not expect. At the same time, it also made him understand how ridiculous everything he had done before was.
Just a victory in the war caused those outsiders to quickly break away from him and stand firmly on Chen Gong Shaoxun's side.
How ridiculous! What I did before was so ridiculous!
He was a little discouraged and didn't want to struggle anymore. He might never be able to fight that man in his life, because even his mother had become his and gave birth to an evil seed for him.
Zhao Mu and Deng You were relatively calm, and kept signaling with their eyes to let the King of East China Sea express his position, so as to get rid of today's farce and avoid having a worse impact.
Sima Pi's hands were trembling a little, so he reluctantly picked up the wine glass, drank it down in one gulp, and said in a bitter voice: "Congratulations to Mr. Chen."
"Congratulations to Mr. Chen." After seeing the East China Sea King's capital like this, the lower-level officials raised their glasses one after another.
Wang laughed and sat back.
Is this the end of the matter? Of course not!
****
"What are you going to do with Zhao Mu, Deng You and others?" Concubine Pei asked softly while lying in Shao Xun's arms in Kaocheng County.
"Go to Guanzhong to serve." Shao Xun stroked Concubine Pei's smooth back, waist and hips with his left hand, as if measuring a beautiful curve.
With his right hand, he kneaded it gently and closed his eyes to enjoy the apple - also known as the apple, it originated from China and was an early apple.
Well, I can only live with my hand addiction.
It had only been half a year since Hua Nu gave birth to a child, and he was not so heartbroken yet. What if the woman got pregnant again?
When he wasn't on an expedition, he would spend the night with a woman every night, but he didn't have to do anything. It was just a personal preference. He had to have a woman sleep with him, even if he didn't do anything.
"So you came all the way to take the exam, so you really have something to do." Concubine Pei gave him a resentful look.
"Hua Nu, you have done a good job and recruited many Yanzhou scholars into the government. But I have to be the biggest villain." Shao Xun said, "After the battle, we have to take care of the internal affairs."
He already oversaw the military affairs of the two prefectures of Si and Yu. In fact, he could have taken over Yanzhou as well if he suffered some losses. But he did not do so, probably out of self-deception - Sima Yue had only been dead for a long time, so you couldn't wait to take over Yanzhou.
snatched away.
This is actually a way of being both responsible and independent, but politicians must learn to have double standards and learn to be responsible and independent at the same time.
Concubine Pei sighed softly.
In fact, she was a little undecided. It would be beneficial to her to retain the Yanzhou shogunate, especially for the child she had just given birth to.
She felt that she had changed a bit. In the past, she was concerned about Shao Xun's reputation and didn't want to make things too difficult for him. After all, it was one thing to accept a princess into the palace, but it was another thing to accept the former mistress.
Being a slave and bullying the master is not always so honorable.
But now, she wants to give her child a status and let him be Shao Xun's son in a dignified way.
The birth of a child really changes a lot.
Shao Xun seemed to be aware of it, and subconsciously hugged Concubine Pei tightly, saying: "During the Battle of Heyang, I crossed the river at night. At that time, there was lightning and thunder, and the autumn rain was pouring. Although the boatman worked hard to paddle, the boat was still drifting.
I had nothing to rely on. At that moment, my biggest thought was that if I fell into the water, I might never see you again."
Concubine Pei was startled, then she leaned her face against Shao Xun's chest and wrapped her white and tender arms tightly around his neck.
She knew that this man was dishonest and was flirting with women. Sometimes what he said was half-truth and half-lie, but what was disappointing was that she just liked to hear it.
She recalled the time in Jin Yong City when the man said he would abandon everything and take her to break out of the encirclement. She didn't know what happened to others, but she was still deeply impressed.
Women, sometimes they are moved for a moment, and then they remain fresh for a long time, and they still do not fade after many years.
No matter how strong and rational a woman is, she still has moments of fantasy and wants to be loved by others. This is their Achilles heel, and it is also a rare and precious touch of bright color in their cold, lonely and boring life.
To put it bluntly, Shao Huangmao can provide so much emotional value that people can't stop craving him.
"What are you going to do with it?" Concubine Pei asked.
Shao Xun gently pinched her mouth and said: "How can you use the word 'disposal'? I promised Sima Yuanchao that I would keep his flesh and blood alive in the world, and I will do what I said and I will not harm him."
"Take all the seals back and keep them safe." Shao Xun added: "Next year I will continue to replace the shogunate staff, and local county and county officials will also slowly replace a group. After these are completed-"
Having said this, Shao Xun also hesitated for a rare moment, then gritted his teeth and said righteously: "Slave Hua, please come into my house. I want to see you every day and hold you to sleep every night."
Concubine Pei chuckled and said: "Although I don't mean what I say and use the strategy of advancing to retreat, I still want to listen and talk more."
"This..." Huang Mao was a little embarrassed.
"I said, I am also a woman." Concubine Pei changed to a more comfortable position and said: "I have been ruined and I want to follow you, so you can't tell some lies to coax me?"
"..." Huang Mao felt a little guilty and was speechless for a moment.
Concubine Pei sighed quietly and said: "That's all. If you have this intention, I will be very satisfied. Now the time is not ripe and it will hinder your great cause. Just wait a little longer."
Shao Xun felt even more guilty.
He knew that Hua Nu's words might have some small thoughts, mostly for the sake of the children.
But knowing is one thing, and inner emotion is another.
He can't be as rational as a robot, and neither can she.
They are actually the same kind of people.
The Yanzhou shogunate, let's just do this, slowly replace people and slowly make adjustments.
(I have a bit of a cold and feel groggy, so I will go to bed first. Chapter 2 will be updated in the afternoon.)
Chapter completed!