Chinese New Year

Chapter 1454 Difficulty Traveling

After arranging the affairs of the state and establishing the garrison, Shao Yu conscripted five hundred men from the kingdom's army, led by the banner chief Liu Jiu, along with more than ten officials from the royal palace. They traveled westward and arrived in Xiangping on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.

Xiangping was originally the seat of Liaodong Commandery, but it has clearly declined in status.

After conquering the Murong Xianbei, although the people Murong Huang had moved to Jicheng were returned, the problem was that many of them could not be found. They were either dead or scattered during the war and could not be contacted for a while.

When these people reappeared after a long time, they had already been re-registered as refugees in other places, making it impossible for them to be returned.

Shao Yu wasn't particularly interested in managing Xiangping, even though the conditions there were excellent and more suitable for large-scale farming. But everything changed because Liaodong and Qingzhou were separated by only a shallow strait, a journey that could be completed in a day and a night, much more convenient and economical than spending two months crossing the swamp.

The Li family is the most powerful clan in Xiangping, and now it is managed by a middle-aged man named Li Qing.

He was also the elder brother of Lady Li, wife of Shao Yu, so naturally, Li Qing was appointed as the magistrate of Xiangping.

He had intended to entertain Shao Yu, but the man was in a hurry to continue his journey. He only stayed at the manor for one night, changed some of the horses, and collected some dry rations. On the morning of the seventh day, he set off westward again.

After entering Liaoze, the journey suddenly became much more treacherous.

The Li family dispatched a hundred retainers to escort them. They wrapped their entire bodies tightly in cloth, leaving only their eyes and noses exposed, which was quite astonishing. However, the people of the Prince of Yan's residence were not surprised at all and did as they were told.

In June, the air in Liaoze is filled with a faint smell of humus and water, and with continuous heavy rain, it is hot and humid. It must be very uncomfortable to be wrapped up like this, but there is no other way. If you don't want to be sucked dry by mosquitoes, you have to do it.

Left Attendant Pan Dan was already somewhat regretful; he should have advised the Prince of Yan to travel by boat from Lushun to Qingzhou. However, he failed to stand by his opinion when faced with the opposition of the crowd, which led to this situation.

"There are far fewer people than before." As he walked along the soft, sticky, muddy path, Shao Yu looked around and remarked with a sigh.

Right Attendant Cui Jinghua kept wiping his sweat and said, "Actually, there are still some people, but most of them are near dangerous places."

He initially supported the Prince of Yan's return to the Central Plains via Liaoze, arguing that it would be safer and would not require waiting for a ship in Lushun.

It seems that sailing in the depths of the Liaohai Sea may indeed be dangerous, but if it is just crossing the strait between Penglai and Lushun, it is hard to say whether the level of danger is comparable to crossing the Liaoze.

Especially in summer, with abundant rainfall, many roads are flooded. And when the rain stops and the sun comes out, Liaoze becomes a huge, sweltering, and humid oven.

Many of the puddles formed by rainfall are stagnant pools, breeding countless mosquitoes that swarm towards you more fiercely than locusts.

When they pitch tents at night, they often smoke to repel mosquitoes. When they wake up in the morning, the layers upon layers of dead mosquitoes around the campsite can shock you for a long time, or even make you feel nauseous.

Cui Jinghua also regretted it, regretting that he had not agreed with Pan Dan's opinion, but instead opposed him.

The group of over six hundred people walked on with great difficulty.

Because of the heavy summer rains, the road is now difficult to see. In fact, during floods, the roadbed was completely washed away and vanished—it's quite bizarre that even messengers couldn't find their way back after traveling to a certain point.

Therefore, every step must be taken cautiously. Beneath what appears to be a solid meadow may lie bottomless mud. A slight misstep could send people or horses sinking, their struggles sounding particularly desperate in the vast expanse of water.

The procession moved slowly, with everyone holding a long pole to probe the way, their minds on high alert.

It wasn't until mid-June that they finally traversed the long mudflats, crossed the Liao River, and arrived at Xiandu, a city located in the western part of Liaoze.

This is probably the only place with a semblance of human presence amidst hundreds of miles of mud.

There were no swarms of mosquitoes or horseflies, no exposed human or animal remains, no putrid stench, and no suspicious footsteps echoing from the reeds...

People can get a good night's sleep, replenish their food, and drink clean water here—it couldn't be more comfortable.

This city was originally intended to be a military garrison, but it has not yet been established. Tens of thousands of people live nearby, mostly Xianbei, and are managed by a military advisor appointed by the governor's office.

The soldier wanted to curry favor with the Prince of Yan, but Shao Yu politely declined. He only took some dry rations and wine, changed his horses, and then wandered around the neighborhood.

Compared to the past two years, there have been some changes in the river. At least they have widened the river channel, drained some of the swamps, built small-scale dikes, and started planting wheat.

In addition to the wheat fields, a post road about ten miles long was also built.

This post road is very high, and the locals call it "Die Dao". Walking on it is like walking on a dike, and you can look down at the marshes, farmland, sandbars and grasslands on both sides.

However, given the limited resources available to the people, this is the best that can be achieved in the short term.

When Cui Jinghua, the Right Attendant, first met Diedao, he subconsciously frowned.

The reason why Liaodong Kingdom was able to establish a feudal system was precisely because the imperial court was worried that it could not be defended, since it was isolated and far from the capital.

But if the swamp is filled with winding paths, and large areas of farmland are reclaimed and ponds are built, then it will be a different story. To put it bluntly, the weak agriculture of Pingzhou, the Hu people everywhere, and the hundreds of miles of swamp together constitute the "protective shield" of Liaodong. But if the swamp is conquered, will the court extend its reach to Liaodong?

Fortunately, after walking two or three miles, the winding path came to an end. Looking at the dense reeds ahead and the waterbirds leaping and foraging in the shimmering marshland, Cui Jinghua breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it," he thought, "it would take at least a hundred or two hundred years to get it properly restored."

However, it is indeed something to be careful about.

The imperial court has taken measures to manage Pingzhou, as evidenced by the development of Xiandu City. However, their main focus is currently on Jicheng, Bintu, and the Bailang River basin, which border Youzhou. More precisely, it is the area west of Yiwulü Mountain.

No one would be so foolish as to try to transform a swamp when there are large tracts of wasteland available for development.

On June 17, Shao Yu only stayed in Xian Du for two days before continuing westward, arriving in Jicheng on the 25th.

After declining Governor Li Chong's invitation to a banquet, the group of over five hundred people headed south and arrived in Jicheng before the end of the month—Li's troops had already returned from Jicheng.

Shao Zhang, the governor of Youzhou, held a family banquet in his mansion to entertain his fourth brother.

******
In front of his elder brother, Shao Yu seemed to have taken off all his masks, and felt much more relaxed.

Shao Yu rarely smiled, especially when his four nephews and nieces appeared in front of him.

Especially Mancao, who is now thirteen years old, has grown into a graceful young woman and is no longer as playful and mischievous as she was when she was a child. Suddenly, she has become very quiet.

After paying her respects to her fourth uncle, she personally brewed a pot of tea, brought over some fruit, and then gracefully departed.

Looking at his niece's retreating figure, Shao Yu suddenly realized that his elder brother was already thirty-four years old, while he himself was already twenty-seven.

Time flies so fast; it slips away from you without you even noticing, silently.

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable for all people." Shao Zhang looked at his travel-worn younger brother and sighed, "When the day comes, I will accompany you, fishing by the Yalu River, and spend the rest of our lives together."

Shao Yu remained silent.

"Don't believe me?" Shao Zhang glanced at Hu Tou, shook his head, and smiled bitterly. "It'll be soon. After Third Brother establishes himself in Gaochang, it'll be my turn. I don't know about Second Brother, but I'm definitely leaving. By the way, have you heard any news from Baekje lately?"

Shao Yu nodded and said, "The King of Baekje encourages brave men and has great ambitions. If Lelang and Daifang counties remain as they are now, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold them off. It's only because they don't dare to attack that we can hold them off. If they were truly determined, we wouldn't be able to protect those two counties; they're too far away."

Shao Zhang felt a tightness in his chest as he listened.

After being appointed governor of Youzhou at his father's behest, he also began training troops, currently numbering only a little over a thousand, but the organization and training were quite good. However, could a little over a thousand soldiers, plus the powerful clans of the two commanderies, truly stop the Baekje people?

“The King of Baekje has already sent envoys to the court to accept the investiture from the Great Liang. Surely he wouldn’t dare to take such drastic action?” Shao Zhang couldn’t help but say.

“It’s better to rely on yourself than on others.” Shao Yu looked at his elder brother and said seriously, “All the titles and honors are meaningless. Some people think that since the emperor is far away, the court won’t come to attack them, so they can do whatever they want. Besides, the Baekje people are the most despicable. They may not launch a large-scale invasion, but they are very likely to cross the border to cultivate land and buy off tribes from time to time. They will steal a piece today and another piece tomorrow. In the long run, by the time the court finds out, most of Lelang County will be gone.”

Upon hearing this, Shao Zhang realized that it made perfect sense.

Since the Han Dynasty, although commanderies such as Lelang and Daifang were marked on maps, they were not directly controlled, with Lelang being the most obvious example. Most of its land was mountainous, inhabited by many tribes who nominally submitted to the court, but neither paid taxes nor governed themselves. Whichever side they sided with, Lelang became their territory.

The Baekje people "stole" these tribes, shifting the border northward by tens or even hundreds of miles, and the imperial court might not have noticed in time.

Even if you discover that Baekje and Silla are close by and have already controlled these tribes through various means, what can you do?
Sending troops to conquer them seems unwise. These are only a few dozen or a hundred miles of barbarian settlements, where they pay almost no taxes. Is it really worth sending tens of thousands of men across the Liao and Ze regions on such a long and arduous expedition?

In short, if you were the Grand Councilor, what would you do if you spent a huge amount of money and grain to mobilize tens of thousands of troops and more than 200,000 laborers on a long expedition of more than a thousand miles for a place that has not contributed anything to the court, causing unrest throughout the country and boiling public resentment?
If the Baekje people were wise, they would immediately submit a letter of apology and declare their eternal allegiance. What would you do then?
In the eyes of the officials in charge of state affairs, the administration of Lelang and Daifang counties had never extended beyond ten miles from the county seat, and they had never truly ruled the desolate wilderness. Now that the Baekje people had taken over these places and declared that they would be their subjects forever, it seemed that there was no significant difference.

Moreover, they have only encroached on several dozen miles, and they have controlled the pace very well. This is the most disgusting and most difficult part. Of course, it depends on the person. If it were the current emperor, he might have dispatched 30,000 to 50,000 troops to launch a long-distance expedition across the sea. But it is hard to say what the emperors of the future will do.

Shao Zhang understood this principle very well, and could even find ready-made examples—in March, Jiaozhou reported that the Linyi Kingdom had established settlements in the ambiguous area of ​​the border between the two sides and had bribed the "thirty-six cave chiefs" in the vicinity. The court did not discover this for a year.

Why did Fan Wen dare to do this? Because no matter how strong the Liang Dynasty was, its power extended to the borders, and the local area was hot and humid, which caused many diseases and difficulties for outsiders.

With four outlying regions in the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest, it would be good enough to manage one or two directions, let alone want to control them all? Fan Wen bets you won't come to attack him! So, after hearing about the Liang Dynasty's expedition to the Western Regions, this guy started making some small moves.

“During the Han Dynasty, the Three Han states were mostly inhabited by barbarian tribes and were not civilized.” Shao Zhang sighed. “Now, several hundred years have passed, and with the gradual formation of laws and systems, ambitions have also swelled. Alas, Tiger Head, I may have to rely on you in the future, and I really have no confidence.”

Upon hearing this, Shao Yu nodded without hesitation and said, "Brother, don't worry, I've got you covered."

Shao Zhang stared blankly at his younger brother.

Shao Yu raised his head, looked at his elder brother, and said, word by word, "Brother, have you forgotten our promise to fish at Yalu River?"

Shao Zhang grabbed his younger brother's hand and only let go after a long while.

(End of this chapter)