Chinese New Year

Chapter 1452 Advance
In May, the summer harvest began in parts of the Guanzhong region.

The sight of golden wheat being harvested and stored in the granary is a joyful one. After all this is done, the people will plant millet and beans, other grains, or simply leave the land fallow, according to their own preferences.

Meanwhile, in parts of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, the wheat harvest was complete, and the fields were flooded in preparation for transplanting the rice seedlings from the small fields into the larger ones.

Without a doubt, the amount of labor that people in the Jiangnan region put into agriculture far exceeded that in the north.

In the Jiangbei region of Yangzhou, where rice-wheat rotation has been piloted for many years, the people are almost always busy with farming every month. This has led to them gradually being unable to cultivate too much land, nor needing to cultivate too much land, because the yield per mu is increasing rapidly. At the same time, this also means that the Jiangnan region has huge population growth potential, because they only need half or even less arable land in the north to support their families.

If the rice-wheat rotation system were to gradually spread throughout the south over several decades, its power would be astonishing.

Perhaps, in a hundred or two hundred years, the population of the south will catch up with that of the north, and Shao Xun could not predict the changes and impacts that would result.

After harvesting half an acre of wheat at Longxiang Mansion in Acheng, Shao Xun stood up, rubbing his back, and then drove Wu Gong Shao Yong to the field to continue harvesting wheat for him.

Shao Yong wore a bitter expression, but when he saw his mother's gaze, he quickly lowered his head and obediently got to work.

Strangely enough, he wasn't afraid of his father, but he was afraid of his mother.

"Of course, there's nothing shameful about it. Fathers are afraid of mothers too," Shao Yong thought to himself.

"At your age, why are you trying to be tough?" Pei Lingyan patted the wheat awns off Shao Xun's clothes and said, "The officials in Guanzhong don't dare to cheat or shirk their duties anymore, so there's no need for them to stay here any longer."

Shao Xun came to the shade of the tree, and his personal guards came over with palm-leaf fans to fan him, which made him feel much cooler.

He suddenly remembered Ji Sang.

On a sweltering day, someone is wearing an expensive fur coat and having someone fan them vigorously. It's an abstract analogy: someone truly terrified of poverty, having painstakingly acquired the fur coat, and unwilling to take it off.

But this very person, seemingly abstract, was able to slaughter Ye City and wreak havoc in Hebei, causing more destruction than anyone else.

Fortunately, everything has been swept away and the Western Regions have been recovered. He is very satisfied with the phrase "a perfect and complete empire".

“Yes, it’s time to go back.” Shao Xun sighed and said, “Having lived a short life, I have already fulfilled my minimum mission.”

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Pei Lingyan gently patted him and said, "As long as you are here, even if you do nothing, you will benefit the world."

Shao Xun smiled nonchalantly and said, "It depends on luck."

Before Huang Biao fell seriously ill, he was said to eat meat at every meal, have a good appetite, and be able to ride a horse for dozens of miles. But after his illness, he was a completely different person. I heard that even after recovering, he is now often bedridden.

On the contrary, Mi Huang and Mi Zihui had been in poor health for many years and were often bedridden, but their sickly bodies remained strong for many years.

Who can truly discern right from wrong?

However, Pei Lingyan is not wrong. In the course of life, people will have feelings, gratitude, love, hate and other emotions. Sometimes, even if a person in a high position has retired and no longer holds power, or is physically weak and unable to exercise power effectively, people will quietly wait until he dies before making choices that may displease him.

Every extra day Shao Xun lives brings stability to the world, until it is completely stable.

******
Inside Jianzhang Palace, Yu Wenjun was sitting idly with her son and daughter-in-law.

Han King Shao Wo married last winter, shortly after Jing Gong Shao Gong. His wife came from the He family of Lujiang and was the daughter of He Chong. Clearly, this was a political marriage to win over the local power in Huainan—Shao ​​Gong married a woman from the Xu family, who came from Mayi County.

Shao Wo felt so-so about this wife, but he knew he had no choice, so he obediently accepted her.

Yu Wenjun was initially somewhat dissatisfied with He Shi, feeling that she should find a man from a prominent family in the Central Plains. However, after being persuaded by Shao Xun, she began to find He Shi more and more agreeable.

“These Sogdian brocades are rich in color, have unique patterns, and are thick and exquisite. You can take them back and use them in your study.” Yu Wenjun pointed to the brocades being packed and said, “But don’t use them in the main hall, or people will laugh at you.”

Shao Wo nodded repeatedly.

He always presented a well-behaved image in front of his parents, never daring to overstep any boundaries. Moreover, his mother had always favored his elder brother and treated him rather indifferently, so this generous gift of money touched him somewhat.

"After the marriage, Mother will be relieved of a worry," Yu Wenjun said. "In a few days, I will be returning to the capital with your father. Although the position of Junior Chamberlain is not high, it is a job for the family. I will do my best to help your brother manage the finances."

Shao Wo nodded repeatedly.

Actually, he wanted to pursue a military career, since he had practiced martial arts with his father for many years and felt his skills were quite good. Moreover, the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard all said that he was proficient in archery and horsemanship, and also had a great grasp of swordsmanship and spears—he just didn't know if what they said was true, or if they were just trying to fool him.
“Your elder brother spends most of his time writing books and is not well aware of affairs outside the home. You should help him,” Yu Wenjun continued.

Shao Wo nodded repeatedly, but he was somewhat unhappy inside.

From childhood to adulthood, everything belonged to Liang Nu; he felt like he was living in his sixth brother's shadow. However, he couldn't say this aloud; he could only sigh inwardly.

Shao Xun coughed, then quickened his pace and slowly walked over.

The palace servants and guards all bowed in greeting.

Yu Wenjun stood up happily and came forward: "Husband."

Seeing his wife's gaze, Shao Xun refrained from saying what he wanted to say and simply nodded to the three of them. Shao Wo and Madam He rose and bowed.

Shao Xun gestured for the three to sit down, then looked at his son and said, “Quji, as the Junior Minister of the Imperial Household Department, you have no other duties but to manage the finances of the construction project. Since last year, tens of thousands of people have worked on the Hutuo River, and the results have been quite remarkable. Part of the expenses have been borne by the Junior Minister of the Imperial Household Department. You are good at math, so manage this money well and don’t let it go wrong.”

"Alright." After sitting down, Shao Wo relaxed considerably and asked, "Grandpa, am I going to Bingzhou?"

In previous years, he would visit his father every day, often taking a nap in the palace. After waking up, he would practice riding and archery with his father, feeling incredibly comfortable. He didn't feel awkward at all when he saw his father; in fact, he felt much more relaxed in front of his mother.

“We’ll go to Bingzhou this year and Jizhou next year,” Shao Xun said. “The Hutuo River flows from Taihang Mountain into Hebei. Since we’re going to clean it up, let’s do it thoroughly.”

"I understand," Shao Wo said.

Shao Xun glanced at Madam He again. This woman was already pregnant, and she was sitting there gracefully, neither reserved nor overstepping her bounds.

"Sigh, how come I have such a good eye for women?" Shao Xun thought to himself with a touch of smugness.

"I'll go back to Luoyang next month," Shao Xun said with a smile. "I'm sure the officials and generals in Guanzhong are all looking forward to my departure. Yuan Gui probably wants me to leave as well."

“Husband!” Yu Wenjun rolled her eyes at him and said, “My brother is very dedicated and talented. When we were young, we all studied with him and were in no way inferior to those famous scholars and Confucian masters.”

Shao Xun remained noncommittal, and even less willing to speak ill of his brother-in-law in front of his daughter-in-law.

Of course, Yu Liang wasn't completely incompetent; he was quite capable. It's just that he was a bit impatient. His life had been too smooth, without any major setbacks. The years and heavy workload had worn away much of his impetuousness, but a lot of it still remained.

After the family of four shared a meal, Shao Xun received another military report from the Western Regions.

Yang Qin demoted all the captured princes and nobles of Shule to slavery and sent them to the Later Kingdom of Cheshi to cultivate land.

The King of Shule requested to come to the court, and his son was still made king.

At the end of this year, all the kings or crown princes of the Western Regions will come to the capital to participate in the New Year's Day court assembly, in order to strengthen the deterrent effect of the Great Liang Dynasty on these border vassal states.

After reviewing the document, Shao Xun was generally satisfied and ordered Li Bai, the Grand Protector of the Western Regions, to come to the capital and serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Mao Bang, the former Right Vice Minister, was appointed Left Vice Minister, while Liang Fen was appointed Minister of State and Chancellor, while still concurrently holding the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

As the prime minister, he also held the position of chief minister of the Eastern Palace. Different people will naturally have different interpretations of this.

Some people believe this shows the emperor's trust in the crown prince, arguing that the prime minister is an official under the crown prince, so how could this not be considered important?

Some believe this is the emperor strengthening his control over the crown prince, because the crown prince's tutor has a higher status and more power, reducing the crown prince's bargaining power.

Shao Xun couldn't control what others thought, nor did he want to. Or perhaps, he himself had complicated feelings that he couldn't explain.

Yang Qin took over as the second Protector-General of the Western Regions, governing the town of Kucha (present-day Aksu), and directly managing the 3,500 garrison soldiers of Kucha—currently only 500 cavalrymen have been recruited, and only about 800 of the 3,000 infantrymen have been recruited.

In addition to the directly administered states, there were also those under the supervision of the five kingdoms of Yanqi, Kucha, Shule, Khotan, and Shanshan. Below these five kingdoms were also fiefdoms, such as Wensu, Weitou, Weixu, Weili, and Shache.

Yang Qin's primary task was to stabilize the situation in the Western Regions, and the foundation of this stability was the garrison.

Without a garrison, nothing will work. A mere piece of paper as an investiture document—if it can't instill fear in them, will they really take you seriously?
Emperor Wu of Han was indeed a warmonger who brought the country to the brink of collapse, but when it came to trouble in the Western Regions, he really went to the front lines, regardless of the cost, until he had to issue the Luntai Edict of Repentance to quell public anger.

It was this willingness to pay any price that dispelled the wishful thinking of many countries in the Western Regions, forcing them to submit, because no one could be sure whether the Han army would return to fight again.

Kucha Town was just the first one.

Shao Xun wanted to see how long it would take to complete. After everything in Kucha was finished, he planned to establish a town in Khotan or Shule, especially the latter.

Yang Qin's military report mentioned that after the snow melted, more than 10,000 soldiers from Dayuan crossed the mountains and ridges to come. Seeing that Shule had been pacified, they sent envoys to apologize and present gifts.

Shao Xun couldn't help but laugh when he saw it.

The Dayuan Kingdom came charging in with great force, but when they saw that their old ally, the Shule Kingdom, had already surrendered, they panicked and stopped their attack. They were no honest people either.

I've heard that their king intends to send his crown prince to Luoyang; we'll see then.

Yu Mie had also arrived in Shule, and Yang Qin dispatched Tuoba Sigong, who had recently been promoted to Right Valiant Cavalry Guard Commander, to lead 300 cavalrymen to escort him to Dayuan.

The King of Dayuan accompanied them, and his attitude was respectful; the whole affair was quite well-organized.

On May 11th, the eunuch Hou San sent someone to Chang'an. After seeing this, Shao Xun pondered for a long time and wrote a letter to his fourth son, Hu Tou.

Without further hesitation, he arranged for people to stay in Chang'an to take care of some concubines who had difficulty traveling, while he himself returned to Luoyang ahead of schedule.

(End of this chapter)