When Li Jue told Li Ru everything he saw along the way, Li Ru said nothing and asked everyone to continue on their way to Chang'an.
Li Jue was puzzled. Guanxi was ruined before his eyes, so he still had to pay tribute? Isn't this stupid?
But Li Ru was the instigator, and Li Jue was a little unsure of his own culture, so he followed the action honestly.
The next day, Li Ru and his envoy arrived at the outskirts of Chang'an. The officials from the Guanxi court who received the delegation had been waiting for several days and finally received the envoy from Hedong.
But the officials who received the reception were obviously very anxious, but when they sent Li Ru and others into the city, they still did not go directly to the city through Qingming Gate in the east. Instead, they took a big detour and entered the city through Anmen in the south.
Already.
Along this road, there are more than ten miles of ruins and tombs, which are all dilapidated.
After all, Chang'an has only recently been taken seriously. In the past, it was regarded as the Xijing, that is, it was a little more important in the city. The Piyong, the ancestral temple, and the Sheji in the south of the city have all been repaired by the previous dynasty. Over the years, the rain and wind have made it full of desolation.
.
Later, Li Ru found out why he took a detour to the south gate to enter the city on that day. It turned out that the Qingming Gate on the east side was full of retreating soldiers, and these people were stationed outside the city to prepare for reorganization.
The imperial court in Guanxi did not want the mission from Hedong to see these failures, so they took this detour.
However, despite all the concealments, the Kansai court undoubtedly attached great importance to the Hedong mission.
Not only did Da Honglu go out of the suburbs to meet him against the rules, but he also brought an old acquaintance of Li Ru with him.
He was Cao Quan, the original commander of Heyang. It turned out that Li Ru was from Heyang, Zuofeng Yi, Guan Nei. It was Cao Quan who promoted him to the county office, so he had a meager salary to support his family.
It can be said that Cao Quan was Li Ru's first nobleman.
Sure enough, Li Ru was very excited when he saw the former leader in the crowd. He stepped forward and bowed to Cao Quan, and then greeted the Guanxi court politely.
Cao Quan was also very emotional. The former little official who was fighting for food, just because he was with the right person, has now reached a stage where he and even Jiu Qing are required to go out of the suburbs to meet him. Who would have thought of this?
Although the court was not behaving like this because of what Li Ru did, but because of Dong Zhuo, the governor of Hedong behind him, this was already astonishing.
The reason why the Guanxi court treated the Hedong envoys with such courtesy was certainly not because of the Chiyan, which was less than a hundred cars away. Of course, these were also valuable, especially for the now poor and impoverished Guanxi.
But what really mattered to the Kansai court was that this batch of pool salt was a tribute from the governor of Hedong.
The system of tugong has its origins. Any good local specialties, such as rice, wine, salt, dried and fresh fruits, ginseng and antler medicines, wild game, fresh fish from rivers and lakes, or clothing and utensils, to name a few, must be paid.
Pay tribute to the royal family for royal use, sacrifices, banquets, and military needs.
The system of local tribute also shows the superior-downward relationship between the local government and the central government.
For example, when Qi Huan attacked Chu in the past, it was because Chu did not pay tribute to Qingmao because he was disobedient. Therefore, the batch of tribute sent by the governor of Hedong is a symbol of turning towards the court of Guanxi.
In fact, Dong Zhuo's vision and timing were particularly good. The current Kansai court really needs Dong Zhuo and his Hedong Group.
At this time, Kansai had just been defeated outside the Pass and had lost the initiative to leave the Pass. It was urgently needed for Dong Zhuo to lead his Hedong Army to cut off the Kwantung Army's westward advance from the north.
So this time Dong Zhuo has something special to live in.
In the next few days, Li Ru not only paid a pilgrimage to Liu Hong, but also drank and chatted with the officials from Chang'an and the famous people in Guanxi. It was as if Li Ru was really one of them, and it was as if there were not tens of thousands of people outside Guan who were singing and dancing.
The heroic soldiers of Guandong.
Li Ru listened to a lot and saw a lot, but said very little. After all, Li Ru was sober and had no hallucinations. He knew the reason for the high courtesy and what he was doing here.
Soon, the Hedong mission embarked on the reverse journey.
This time, a small official named Meng Da served as a companion and took Li Ru and others back on their journey.
Because the Weihan Pass outside Hangu Pass was no longer safe, Li Ru and the others did not take this road on their return trip this time. Instead, they planned to take the Pujin Road from the north of Chang'an.
In fact, from the route, we can also understand why the Eastern and Western courts were competing to win over Dong Zhuo, the governor of Hedong.
Because there are three routes to Guanzhong from Hedong alone.
The first one is Weihantong where Li Ru and others left when they came.
This is the road between Xin'an and Yiyang. The western section of this road is only separated from Hedong by a big river. It has been an important place to enter the pass since ancient times. When Guangwu blocked the pass, the red eyebrows were stationed on this road, and then here
More than 100,000 red eyebrows made an emergency landing.
And further back, when the Qin State was about to leave the border, spy on the King of Zhou, and aspire to conquer the Central Plains, it was also here that it was anxious with the Korean army.
But there are still some things to pay attention to when going down the Xiaohan Road from the south of Henan Province.
Because there are two natural barriers between the Hedong Basin and the Weihan Road. One is the winding Zhongtiao Mountain, and the other is the raging river.
Therefore, although Hedong borders Guanluo, there are only two mountain roads where we can actually march.
One is the Yuban Road to the east. Starting from Anyi, you can go directly to Sanmenxia, then cross from Shaanxi to Shanxi, and then go to Shaanxian to enter the customs. Li Ru and others took this road.
One is the Baixing Road in the west. It starts from Jie County, crosses Zhongtiao, and then takes the Shaanxi Ferry to enter the customs in Shaanxian County.
Shaanjin is undoubtedly the only ferry crossing from Hedong to Weihantong. This crossing is also a very important one among the many crossings on the river.
From here, you can go west to Hangu and go directly to Guanzhong. Or you can go east to Xin'an and go directly to Yinluo. And because the river suddenly converges from Sanmenxia, the riverbed is narrow, only more than 70 feet wide, which is very convenient for crossing.
Of course, there is not only this one ferry on the river in the east of the river, but there are also two crossings, Zhujin and Fenglingdu, from east to west. But as far as the Xiaohan Road is concerned, Shaanxi and Jin are the most important.
Now, this road cannot be taken, and Li Ru can only take the Pujin Road in the north, which is also the most convenient road between Hedong and Chang'an, and is also the most important reason for Luoyang to win over Dong Zhuo.
It turns out that taking this route can directly bypass Hangu Pass and enter the Weibei Plain directly.
From Hedong Anyi, Wenxi and other places, you can go down the Shushui River in Neijun, either by boat or by land along the coast, to Pujin Ferry at the big river ferry. Then cross the bank to Zuo Fengyi's Lin on the opposite side.
Jin County. Finally, you can go straight through the Weibei Plain and arrive at Guanzhong.
It can be said that this road is the key point of the east-west collision, and the control hub of Yong, Bin, and Yu. Its gains and losses are extremely important to both Kanto and Kansai.
Let's put it this way, it is very difficult for the Kanto court to really break through Hangu Pass head-on, and once Pujin can be won, entering the pass will be a matter of time. Because of this, for the Kansai court, this Pujin
The Tao is also their lifeline and cannot be lost.
So, you know how liveable Dong Zhuo is!
In fact, in addition to the Weihan Road that Li Ru took when entering the customs and the Pujin Road that he took when exiting the customs, there is another road that is also very important, and that is the Longmen Road. But this road is farther north in the east of the river.
The current things are confrontational and have limited impact.
However, if Dong Zhuo suddenly changes his mind and raises troops to enter the pass, then Longmen Dao will come in handy.
I just don’t know if Dong Zhuo ever used this path one day, hehe!
…
Because they took different paths, Li Ru and others were able to examine the actual situation in Kansai from another direction.
The road was not smooth and there was a heavy rain. Li Ru and others stopped at Wannian in Zuo Fengyi. They saw the young men urged by the Guanxi court to go south along the official road. The local officials in Wannian made a long march to send young men.
The scene only makes people write another article "Wannian Official".
But Li Ru also discovered something in Kansai that should not be underestimated during this process. That is along this road, there is an endless stream of grain transport teams under various banners. Li Ru is a native of Zuo Fengyi, and of course he knows that these banners are all
It is the most powerful family in the county.
Obviously, this time the Kansai family really made a fortune. Maybe it was the crisis that brought these people together, maybe it was the emperor's promise, or maybe it was the resentment of the past two hundred years. In short, this time the Kansai family
It was really bleeding.
Perhaps in order to catch up with some military action, the camels that died along the way were just dismembered on the spot, with large pieces of meat taken, and the rest was left to the local homeless people.
Li Ru regarded Guanxi Ding's behavior of going to the battlefield and women winning grain as the unyielding spirit of the old Guanxi people. In his opinion, the resilience of the Guanxi court was obviously not small.
But the accompanying envoy Meng Da didn't think so. The son of the governor of Liangzhou obviously felt that this journey was not honorable. Especially at his age, it was the time when he was most honourable.
So along the way, he looked gloomy and said nothing. He just wanted to take them to Pujin as soon as possible so that he could complete this mission.
But Li Ru had a lot of people all over the world, and he also saw that this noble young man named Meng Da was the kind of person who listened to what he said, so he flattered him and let him know some details of the defeat outside the pass from Meng Da.
.
In Meng Da's words, this was just a minor setback. It was the careless act of Yang Biao, the avant-garde captain who was currently recruiting the armies from the east and who was stationed at Hangu Pass.
As for any carelessness or minor setback, Meng Da was very tight-lipped. No matter what Li Ru said, he just hesitated.
Li Ru knew that he couldn't get any more information, so he had no choice but to chat with Meng Da about old affairs between the two capitals to pass the time.
Soon, the boring journey finally ended.
They finally arrived at Linjindu, opposite Pujin where Liu Hong's confidant Gao Hong was stationed.
In theory, Pujin belongs to Hedong County, but how could Liu Hong give his throat to others, so he asked Gao Hong to control it long before entering the customs.
Once delivered here, Mengda's mission is over.
Meng Da said some polite words of farewell to Li Ru, and then made a gesture of reluctant to leave. Li Ru was also sad, saying goodbye and wondering how long they would see each other again. There was no willow tree nearby, so Li Ru
Confucianism is about to break the willow expression.
No matter how many false politenesses there are, separation is inevitable.
After sending Li Ru and others onto the long boat, unmooring and launching the boat, Meng Da bowed to Li Ru in the boat and left silently.
Li Ru, looking at the backs of Meng Da and others, was also thinking deeply.
Is Kansai strong or weak?
…
The delegation from Hedong left, and the ministers at Chang'an court breathed a sigh of relief.
They are really vain. Maintaining the peaceful and prosperous times for those few days has been too much for these Kansai ministers to cope with.
From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, the situation in the world has gradually become clearer.
Now it can be said that the Heavenly Pillar of the Han Dynasty has collapsed, and it is now three points.
Among them, Liu Hong was concerned with Long, the powerful forces of Henan were concerned with the west, and the Taiping rebellion was related to Hebei. Among the three, the Guandong court supported by the powerful forces of Henan was the strongest and occupied the richest area in the world.
Next are the remnants of Taiping and the Taishan bandits in Hebei. Hebei was originally the place where the Han family made money and food, and was already wealthy, but fortunately, Hebei also had three points.
The north is still under the control of the Han family governors. With the support of local powerful forces and the military support of the Lu Zhi Army in Youzhou, these county guards still occupy the four counties of Changshan, Zhongshan, Hejian, and Bohai. They are still powerful.
powerful.
In the central Julu County, Anping State, and Qinghe State were mostly occupied by the Hebei Yellow Turbans. However, most of the cities in these areas were still in the hands of the Han Dynasty. Among them, Julu, Anping, and Ganling were the Han Dynasty.
The centers of several regions are like three fortresses, firmly anchored in the waist and abdomen of the Yellow Turbans in Hebei Province.
Finally, the southern Zhao Kingdom, Wei County, and northern Hanoi were occupied by the Taishan Army. The court in Guanxi has no way of knowing the specific situation in this area. Anyway, these areas have not been sent by post horses for a long time.
Already.
Putting aside the above, the last thing is their own Guanlong.
They are really poor in Guanlong. Now they already know that northern Jingzhou, Yuzhou, most of Xuzhou, most of Yanzhou, and some prefectures and counties in Qingzhou have all sent Shangji and envoys to the imperial court in Guandong.
camp.
The above areas are the areas with the densest population and the most developed economy and culture of the Han Dynasty. Even to tell a joke, they are also the strongest in terms of military strength.
In addition to inheriting most of the military strength of the Northern Army, the powerful troops in the Kanto area all have very good soldiers. In terms of absolute combat power, they may be slightly inferior to the Kansai soldiers, but they have many soldiers and generals.
It can be said that the imperial court in Guandong, the Jianghuai River in Antarctica, the corner of the sea in the east, and the Heshuo River in the north are the land of the Six Kingdoms. There are already four of them. There are half of them with the most talented people in the world. It can be said that he is the leader in super stature.
And what about their own Kansai?
It was already in decline during the Pre-Han Dynasty, and was even more dilapidated during the Xinmang chaos. Then it was transferred to the Pingqiang for hundreds of years, and it was truly destitute.
Even the Guanlong area has no potential. Because of the long-term neglect of the Guanlong area, both the inns, pavilions and water conservancy facilities have long been abandoned and stopped.
Although Liu Hong's frame has been repaired by capable and experienced people after it entered the customs, what progress can be made in the short term?
Therefore, if what Li Ru saw and heard was just disappointment about the future of Guanxi, then the officials of Guanlong who were more familiar with the inside story were already in despair.
The struggle at this moment is just due to the inertia of obeying the authority of the Han Dynasty, or the dissatisfaction with the suppression of Kansai by Kanto for two hundred years.
After all, these Guanlong families have memories. Most of their clans have written records from the Six Kingdoms period, or even earlier from the Spring and Autumn Period. The history of the family and the history of the region are very clear.
Those Guizhou people who have only lived for less than twenty years may inherently think that Kanto people are more noble. But who knows, we Kansai people should be among the best in the world.
It was our ancestor Jian Shang who established Tianzhou eight hundred years ago. It was also our ancestor who followed the King of Qin out of the border and swept across Liuhe. It was also our ancestor who assisted Gaozu Jian to destroy the heroes and established the glorious Han Dynasty.
Why, just because you from Kanto won once two hundred years ago, do you want to overtake in a corner?
So they are not convinced! But what can they do if they are not convinced?
Now, the situation is like this, where can their way out be?
It was also at this time that a message sent from Hangu Pass brought them the answer.