After a period of clear weather, the ground conditions improved greatly, and the crisp sound of horse hooves could be heard again in the mountains.
From the beginning of August to mid-August, both sides launched raids and counterattacks in the triangle area from Loufan Old City to Xiurong City and Fenyang Old City.
Zahu generally prefers this fighting method.
The two sides did not come into direct contact, but kept distance, riding and shooting in the hills and river valleys to see who was good at riding, who was good at archery, and who was familiar with the geographical environment.
The horsemanship and archery skills of both sides were similar, and the Huns were really familiar with the geographical environment, so they often crossed the dilapidated old city of Loufan, penetrated to the east, and attacked Ding Zhuang who was building roads.
Fortunately, they are all mountain trails, so few people can pass by and stay there for a few days. The post roads are slowly being restored until they can finally be used.
The old city of Loufan is also slowly undergoing renovations.
The original earthen wall was too weak and collapsed in many places. The remaining walls were covered with weeds inside and outside and even on the walls, fluttering in the wind.
There was nothing in the city except sheep dung, and it took a long time to clean it up before people could barely live there.
The reconstruction of the old city of Loufan was not just for the war. In fact, Shao Xun planned to open a second ranch here: a large ranch comparable to Guangchengze.
Beginning in late August, the roads were gradually improved and the focus of construction became Loufan Ancient City.
Not only the damaged city walls have been repaired, but the Cangcheng has also been urgently built, which can store more than 600,000 dendrobium of grain.
At the same time, more and more Jin cavalry were transferred to the west to herd horses.
After herding horses, they usually rush westward, hunt down the Huns herdsmen, and then take the heads to Jinyang to receive the reward.
The two sides fought for about ten days, and the Huns gradually became too much...
Qiao Zhong's envoy Qiao Yu arrived in Pingyang at the end of August.
The popularity inside and outside the city is much less.
The business of the shop opened in Yuancheng was slow, and the shopkeeper sat at the door and dozed off. Occasionally, when he met a customer, the old wrinkles on his face broke out into a smile, and he was very enthusiastic.
Qiao Yu knew very well that some people here were worried about the chaos of the current situation and hid in the countryside.
Some people have close relations with the people of the country (the five tribes of the Xiongnu), or are related to each other, and are afraid of being liquidated, so they have moved their families westward to Guanzhong.
Others were captured as young men and transferred food, grass and military supplies.
He wandered outside for a long time, observing the various moods of the people in Pingyang, and then rode to the palace of Wang Shen, the Changshi in the east of the city.
Luoyang Prince's Palace was packed with guests, and Pingyang Prince's Palace was no less generous.
Last year, the adopted Queen of the Imperial Palace, Wang Shen, turned fourteen and came into the palace as Queen Zuo.
In the past, Liu Cong often prostituted in the harem until he lost contact. The memorials of the ministers were controlled by a few eunuchs headed by the Zhongchang Shi Wang Shen. Many of them were not sent in at all, and he gradually gained a lot of power. This caused the clan to
dissatisfaction of courtiers
, so he took advantage of the opportunity when Liu Cong came out of the harem to criticize the ministers, saying that the officials had to get out of the car when they saw the dust on Wang Shen's carriage, and that the state and county elections were deeply interfered with by Wang Shen and others.
Money, bribes, all that...
Of course, nothing came of it in the end.
Liu Cong was deceived by Wang Shen and others, and Liu Can colluded with Wang Shen and others, so naturally nothing happened.
After Wang entered the palace, she was favored by Liu Cong because of her beauty, young age, and innocence. She was directly named Queen Zuo, which made the entire clan and courtiers furious.
With the court in such a state, they were no longer afraid of Liu Cong. They bluntly stated that the core problem was that Wang's status was too low and she was not qualified to be the queen.
Yes, whether it is the Jin Dynasty or the Xiongnu, it all depends on status, but the degree is different.
"The six concubines and concubines are all sons and grandsons, so how can they be treated as maidservants?" - This is the most critical point. Wang Shen is "a clown in punishment", and raising a queen is just like an eunuch and an ugly eunuch, and has the same status as "your mother and maidservant" Almost like that, you actually dare to climb on top of a scholar girl?
After criticizing till the end, there is still no result. Brother Cong doesn’t listen, what can I do?
In fact, these courtiers and clans have to thank Shao Xun.
Without the strong pressure from him, Liu Cong might have decided what he would do, and it would not be impossible for your clan to be wiped out.
It's just that we have to talk about unity right now. It's not easy to do it, otherwise we'll have a lot of fun.
As soon as these two incidents came out, neutral bystanders understood that no one could overthrow the Zhongchang servants Wang Shen, Xuanhuai, Yu Rong, the Zhonggong servant She Guo Yi, and the Zhonghuangmen Mausoleum Xiu Party - Xuanhuai's adopted daughter Xuan Because of her beauty, she was summoned to the palace and made the queen.
These people like to look for older and beautiful girls from their clans, in-laws, old friends, and township parties, adopt them as adopted daughters, and then send them to the palace.
With this alone, you won't be able to win over someone else, unless the emperor is also a womanizer...
As a Hun noble, Qiao Yu also had to take the path of a regular servant, and that was the day.
Wang Chen usually stayed in the palace, but today he was in the mansion. After hearing that Qiao Yu was coming, for some unknown reason, he actually called him in directly without queuing up.
Qiao Yu was a little surprised, but he didn't say anything. Under the guidance of his maid, he quickly met Wang Chen beside the rockery pond in the backyard.
"Greetings to Ming Gong." Qiao Yu did not hesitate and fell to the ground.
There was no sound for a long time.
Qiao Yu lowered his head lower.
"Get up and sit on the couch over there. I have something to ask." A deep and honest voice sounded.
Qiao Yu stood up quickly, glanced out of the corner of his eye, saw a couch for one person, and sat on it.
Wang Chen raised his eyes and looked at him, and said: "Is this your first time coming to my house?"
"yes."
"Whose order do you come here on?"
"My clan brother's destiny."
"Qiao Zhong?"
"yes."
"I have accepted the things." Wang Chen flicked the gift list in his hand and said, "Why did your brother send you here?"
"Your Majesty, please increase your troops." Qiao Yu replied.
Wang Chen's eyes narrowed and he lost his voice and said: "Thief Shao is here again?"
Qiao Yu saw him losing his composure and sighed in his heart, why does the emperor favor eunuchs so much? Serious state affairs can only be accomplished with the help of these eunuchs and ugly people, which is really chilling.
"The Shao thief is still in Jinyang, and his foreign troops, Liu Ling's troops, are sent to Loufan to build a fortress and hoard supplies." Qiao Yu replied: "Loufan, Yangchangcang, is more than 200 miles away from Jinyang, and there is an endless stream of grain trucks. .In the nearby valley, there are herds of cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys, numbering no less than half a million. The dried cheese is piled up into mountain peaks, the squeezed white milk flows into rivers, and there is even more accumulated millet than even several cities can accommodate. Shao Thief is here Prepare carefully for war, maybe we will call next month."
Wang Chen suddenly stood up and walked around the courtyard, like an anxious trapped animal.
Qiao Yu's face was expressionless, but he felt even more contempt in his heart.
What kind of person is this? It’s ridiculous that he can control his power even though he can’t keep his composure.
"General Qiao." Wang Chen suddenly walked up to Qiao Yu, looked at him directly, and asked: "Tell me the truth, if Shao thief launches a large-scale attack on Pingyang, can he stop it?"
"Guanjuejin will probably not be able to get through." Qiao Yu said: "But the front line of Xiurong is too dangerous. My brother only has a few thousand soldiers. Even if he can recruit some strong men from the tribe, he can't stop Shao's thieves' hundreds of thousands. Centaur and horse.”
Wang Chen was stunned: "Thief Shao has so many soldiers?"
Qiao Yu was stunned.
He just exaggerated casually, do you really believe it? But this is fine, so he said with a sad face: "My brother has the responsibility to defend the land, and he should kill the enemy with all his strength. However, with thousands of exhausted people, we defeated hundreds of thousands of Xiao It is difficult to have sharp soldiers. Therefore, if we ask for more troops, we may not be able to catch up."
There was a little panic on Wang Chen's face.
Once hundreds of thousands of soldiers break through Beishan's blockade and march straight into the flat Hefen Valley, who can stop them?
It can be said that Luliang Mountain is the last chance. Because the mountain roads are rugged, supplies are not easy to supply, and troops cannot be deployed. The terrain is also complicated, and the grain roads are easy to be attacked, so the Jin army can be delayed slightly.
But if they are allowed to get out of the continuous mountains, how to stop them?
"I will remember this and will tell His Majesty when I return to the palace tomorrow." Wang Chen took a deep breath and said.
The amount of wealth he accumulated was as high as the food and grass accumulated by Shao Thief.
Once it was taken away from him, he felt that he no longer had the courage to live. After all, his lifelong pursuit was gone.
No, we have to move some to Guanzhong.
But Prince Liu Can has become somewhat estranged from him recently. Can the goods, grain, servants and maids transferred across the river be kept?
Liu Shiguang (Liu Can) was also a ruthless person. When he was needed, he made friends deliberately. Now that his position is stable and the trend has been achieved, he gradually drifts away.
A new circle of powerful people has formed in Chang'an, and Pingyang is not from the same group, which makes Wang Chen very irritated.
If it really doesn't work, the only option is to use that move.
Liu Cong loves his little mother, and Liu Can also loves his little mother.
If the current emperor collapses and the queen becomes a queen mother, and then a concubine, she will definitely serve the new emperor.
Liu Can often secretly looked at Queen Fan (formerly Empress Dowager Zhang's niece and Queen Zhang Huiguang's maid), Queen Wang on the left, Queen Liu on the right, and Xuan on the middle. They were obviously lustful people.
He was waiting for Jin Shang to die so that he could take over his father's harem, just like Jin Shang took over the harem of his father Liu Yuan and brother Liu He.
Some concubines in the harem are even expected to be passed down to their descendants for three generations - in fact, it only lasts for more than ten years.
"Xiurong, let's fight well over there in Fenyang Ancient City." Wang Chen took Qiao Yu's hand and said, "If you make great contributions, I will definitely tell the emperor to give you an official title."
"Thank you, Prince, for your cultivation." Qiao Yu was overjoyed and bowed again.
I felt quite numb in my heart.
What else can you do? Try your best to resist.
The Qiao family was a Xiongnu noble, and most of them served as generals in the army.
Over the years, some tribesmen went to Guanzhong with the prince, some died in battle, and some stayed in Pingyang as officials. Everyone was a little pessimistic about the Han Dynasty's national power.
To be honest, neither Qiao Yu nor his brother Qiao Zhong thought that the big man could beat Shao Thief.
The only suspense is how long they can hold out against Shao Thief's surging offensive.
In fact, they are not the only ones in this country who think this way?
In recent years, people have been following Prince Liu Can on his journey to the west, bringing with them their families, children, servants, tribal herders, Zhuangke tribes, etc. This is actually a kind of escape. After all, with the Yellow River blocking the way, the Shao thieves cannot easily enter the pass. It seems that It is safer and can survive for many years.
Since last year, migration has reached its peak, with no less than 100,000 people leaving in a year.
There are a lot fewer this year, but there are still people walking.
This is a very bad behavior, which greatly shaken people's hearts. The emperor once issued an edict to prohibit it, and only allowed the migration of more than 10,000 people and 78,000 people from various tribes to the west. As one of the foundations of Prince Liu Can, the rest They were not allowed to cross westward unless permitted by the imperial court.
But the edict is an edict, so you can still take the path of always serving the prince.
Qiao Yu has no plans to move his family to Guanzhong.
Just die, what can I do?
What he was more worried about was the safety of the imperial court.
After leaving Wang Chen's residence, Qiao Yu went south to Hedong to supervise a batch of grain, grass, and equipment.
Chapter completed!