Chinese New Year

Chapter 1467 Information from Afar
Throughout June and July, apart from court assemblies, Shao Xun spent most of his time in the Western Garden to escape the summer heat.

With everything in the empire back on track, he was happy to have some free time, spending his time reviewing memorials and continuing to play music and dance.

At the end of July, Yang Manyang Zuyan, the former Grand Councilor, died at his private residence. Shao Xun sent someone to offer condolences, and then summoned his twelfth son, Shao Zhen, the Duke of Kui (whose mother was Liu Yena).

His wife was born into the Yang clan of Taishan. They married last October. She was Yang Man's cousin. Princess Shao Yi of Baling (whose mother was Song Yi) also married Shao Tian around the same time. Her husband was Wei Xun of Dai County, a student at the Imperial Academy.

In theory, Yang should observe mourning, but in practice, as a married woman, she follows her husband's wishes and may not necessarily need to. However, Shao Xun still gave her some instructions: if she insists on observing mourning, do not stop her, lest it cause gossip.

After saying all that, Shao Xun got to the point, saying, "Da Che, you're twenty years old now. Last year I didn't let you work because you were newly married and I wanted you to spend more time with your new wife. But now—"

Shao Xun paused, looked south, and said, "Let's go to the Jianye Military Headquarters and get a position as a transport official."

"Jianye?" Shao Zhen was surprised.

“Go ahead.” Shao Xun waved his hand and said, “Jianye is not some desolate wilderness. You have been studying literature and martial arts for many years, so you are strong and healthy. Don’t say that you are inferior to a weak scholar.”

Upon hearing this, Shao Zhen raised his head and said, "Grandpa, I'll go."

“Once we get there, there’s nothing else to do but distribute supplies and equipment,” Shao Xun said.

"Who should we send it to?" Shao Tian asked.

“The newly appointed governor of Jiaozhou is Sun He,” Shao Xun replied.

He made some personnel changes in July.

Because Zheng Dong, the prefect of Shazhou, passed away, Guanqiu Ao, the prefect of Jiaozhou, was transferred to be the prefect of Shazhou.

The fact that he was transferred from one border region to another shows that Shao Xun was not very satisfied with him. The direct reason was that he was not able to maintain the border during his tenure in Jiaozhou, allowing Fan Wen to steal and gradually erode the land of Rinan County.

Therefore, he planned to appoint a military officer as governor to reorganize the prefectures of Jiaozhou and teach Fan Wen a lesson.

Since a reorganization was to be carried out, Zhang Shuo, as the governor of the four prefectures of Yangjiang, Jiaozhou, and Guangzhou, would certainly select provisions, weapons, and even some veteran soldiers from the hereditary army of Jingzhou to go south, train soldiers, and reorganize the border defenses of counties such as Rinan.

It just so happens that Da Che is also twenty years old, so it's a good time for him to go out and gain some experience and accumulate some practical skills.

"Father, could it be that Jiaozhou has been lost?" Shao Tian asked curiously.

"Not so." Shao Xun shook his head and said, "Although Fan Wen's ambition is burning, judging from his behavior, he doesn't seem to have made up his mind yet. His current actions are more like a test before invasion. I don't want to fight him, but only war can stop war. Retreat is useless and will only fuel the enemy's ambition. On the contrary, when you roll up your sleeves and are ready to fight, the enemy will retreat and won't be able to fight."

“I understand,” Shao Tian said.

"Go ahead, do your job well, and don't let anyone look down on you," Shao Xun said, patting his son on the shoulder.

"Yes."

After the father and son had lunch, Shao Tian took his leave, while Shao Xun continued to lie in the forest, listening to the cicadas and thinking.

A few months later, he would talk to his thirteenth son, Song Gong Shao Ji (Ewe Xianrong), intending to send him to the Wuwei military headquarters as a junior military advisor to gain experience.

Shao Ji married in April, taking Dou as his wife. She was the daughter of Dou Yuzhen, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Household Department. Princess Jianping, Shao Tong (whose mother was Lady Yin), was the same age as him. She married Liu Kai, the Registrar of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who was a descendant of Liu Chou and had passed the three classics examination at the Imperial Academy.

Shao Ji's marriage was a typical example of united front work. This was because the Hedouling tribe was currently grazing in the southern part of Kujiesha, surrounded on all sides, located in the heart of Shuozhou. They were considered a familiar vassal tribe of the Great Liang Dynasty and had always been relatively submissive, making them worthy of being won over.

As for whether his son is satisfied or not, that's not Shao Xun's business; this isn't the first time he's sold his son.

In August, Zhonglike, the garrison commander of Shamen Town, and Sima Que, the governor of Qingzhou, both reported that the grain transport mission to Lushun this year had been successfully completed, with more than 710,000 hu of grain and beans actually transported.

Originally, this was supposed to be the last time, but Shao Xun suddenly remembered how reluctant Jiahe was to part with him, and his heart was moved. He ordered Qingzhou to send another 500,000 bushels of grain and beans next year, and told Hu Tou that this really was the last time, and from now on he would have to rely on himself for everything.

After dealing with all this, he ordered the establishment of two Longxiang Prefectures in Jiangxia County (between present-day Guangshui and Anlu) and Huangcheng (present-day Huangpi), the establishment of the Longxiang Prefecture in Louting (east of present-day Sixian) in Xiapi, and the establishment of the Longxiang Prefecture in Mouxiang (southeast of present-day Yinan County) in Langya County, totaling 4,800 soldiers, selected from the surplus soldiers of the Right Jinwu Guard, Right Feilong Guard, and Left Yulin Guard.

As for the troops needed, they were brought in by the Xianbei and Goguryeo troops from the Hutuo River management site in Hebei, and sent to various places in batches, which was just enough.

Of these four military prefectures, the establishment of the two prefectures in Jiangxia Commandery was directly related to the Crown Prince's memorial. Considering that Yiyang Commandery already had three prefectures, Anfeng Commandery had one prefecture, and Lujiang Commandery had four prefectures, the establishment of these military prefectures could both deter the civilian settlements in the seven commanderies of Huainan and suppress the barbarians of the Five Rivers, so their effect was still very significant.

The latter, in particular, refers to the Baihu Yi, distant relatives of the Cong people. After more than a hundred years of appeasement during the Eastern Han Dynasty, they had spread extensively to various places in Jingbei and Huainan, and their power was considerable. Historically, after the failure of Liu Song's northern expedition, they even took the opportunity to cause trouble, so it was time to take action.

On August 15th, Shao Xun finally left Xiyuan and went to Heyang to inspect the autumn harvest.

******
On the same day, a letter from the Western Regions arrived in Luoyang after a long journey of more than 10,000 miles and three months.

Wang Feng, the Minister of State Ceremonies, dared not delay. He personally drove to Heyang and then took a boat to the sandbar in the middle of the Yellow River, where he personally handed the letter to Shao Xun.

Shao Xun was inspecting the three islets of Heyang when he saw Wang Feng and was very pleased. He said, "I caught quite a few fish today. Let's have a meal together." Wang Feng thanked him repeatedly, then glanced at the large Yellow River carp swimming in the wooden basin and exclaimed in amazement: "How many years has it been since we last caught them? They're so plump! And golden in color, they're definitely good fish!"

“Li Zhi has arrived late; he probably doesn’t know my feelings for the Three Shores of Heyang.” Shao Xun pointed to the north bank and said, “The other side is Zhema Causeway. I always seek stability in military affairs, but sometimes I take risks. In the Battle of Zhema Causeway, we crossed the river on a stormy night, catching the Xiongnu completely off guard. Alas, speaking of which, I wonder how many of those who participated in the battle are still alive. I remember we fought which of Liu Cong’s sons, I think it was the Prince of Bohai…”

Lightning flashed and thunder roared, torrential rain poured down, and the waves surged...

Wang Feng felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it. Crossing the river on such a dark night was indeed something the enemy had not anticipated.

"Your Majesty's military tactics are unpredictable," Wang Feng complimented.

Shao Xun smiled, sat down, opened the letter, and began to read it carefully.

The soldiers bustled about, tossing some silk to the villagers before leading a few sheep out to a temple on the sandbar to be slaughtered.

Some people picked melons from the field, washed them by the river, cut them open, and presented them to Shao Xun on the table in front of him.

"Have some melon." Shao Xun invited, "These were planted by me back then. Later, the Sanzhu land was distributed to refugees in Hebei, and the melons they bred over generations seem to be even better."

As he spoke, his gaze never left the letter, clearly showing great interest.

Wang Feng picked up a slice of melon and ate it slowly.

He knew that the letter had been sent back by Yu Mie, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. It had traveled through the four kingdoms of Dayuan, Shule, Yutian, and Shanshan, and then through Liangzhou, Qinzhou, and Yongzhou to reach this place. It was no easy feat. This also indicated that Yu Mie's delegation was temporarily safe, at least their personal safety was not restricted, and Dayuan was even willing to deliver the letter for them.

His feelings toward this subordinate were quite complicated.

The Yu family members are frightening! He's one of his two deputies, and he could easily be promoted to replace him—of course, the Great Liang Dynasty has only been established for a little over ten years, and the emperor is still alive, so it's unlikely that someone would be promoted to one of the Nine Ministers without merit.

What? You're saying Wang Feng became the Minister of Ceremonies without any merit? This... is he really without merit? The Dai Kingdom is such a vast territory. Putting aside the Xianbei people, the various Wuhuan tribes, large and small, all give him, Wang Feng, a lot of face. Without his personal persuasion, would they have so readily submitted to him? Furthermore, his sister has borne the emperor five children and has been frequently serving him lately. She's currently waiting for him in the southern city of Heyang, spending the night with him. Isn't that a merit?

However, on the other hand, after Yu Mie returns from his mission, he will definitely become the Minister of Ceremonies. It's hard to say what he will do then.

Wang Feng was slightly worried. He was only in his forties, in the prime of his life, and had high expectations for his career.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a "smack" as the emperor slammed the letter onto the table.

"Kangju Kingdom has indeed fallen," Shao Xun sighed.

Wang Feng was taken aback and asked, "Your Majesty, has Kangju already fallen?"

“Although the kingdom has not been destroyed, it is no different from it.” Shao Xun said, “After the Kushan Empire declined, the Persians squeezed in. The lords (minor rulers) in Kangju ruled their own country. They nominally respected the King of Kangju, but in reality, they did not take him seriously. Quite a few people sided with the Persians. The King of Kangju did not even have a fixed capital anymore. He lived here for a few years and then there for a few years. He was in a very sorry state.”

"Then there are the Kuaihu. I really underestimated them." Shao Xun continued, "There were actually more than just two or three Xiongnu tribes that migrated westward, but they also ruled independently and conquered and vassaled a number of local tribes, constantly encroaching on the territory of Kangju. The lords of Kangju had no choice but to seek help from Persia and try their best to resist. In a sense, it is somewhat similar to the pre-Qin period, when the Zhou dynasty was weak, the lords rose up, and there were constant conflicts."

Wang Feng remained silent, listening quietly.

“Yu Yuandu mentioned that many tribes or city lords in Kangju were greatly troubled by the invasions of the Kuaihu.” Shao Xun added, “Some of them were Yuezhi people who lived in the Zhaowu City area of ​​the Qilian Mountains during the Han Dynasty. They were driven away by the Xiongnu and migrated to the west of the Pamir Mountains.”

"Is that really true?" Wang Feng exclaimed in surprise.

"Compared to the Xiongnu descendants of the Kuaihu, these Yuezhi descendants are more willing to submit to the Great Liang." Shao Xun glanced at Wang Feng, shook his head, and smiled bitterly, "Unfortunately, human strength has its limits. All I can give them is a piece of paper..."

Wang Feng was speechless.

The "paper" the emperor referred to was actually the investiture document. Indeed, the Liang Dynasty could probably only offer assistance beyond actual aid—what was commonly known as verbal support.

Of course, if diplomacy is handled well, making the Kuaihu fearful or hesitant, it may not be impossible to achieve results.

To be honest, Wang Feng had never heard of the "Kuaihu" two years ago, but who knew they could cause so much trouble west of the Pamir Mountains? If the Great Liang Dynasty hadn't intervened in the Western Regions, they would have extended their influence east of the Pamir Mountains and south of the Tianshan Mountains.

The Yuezhi people couldn't defeat the Xiongnu back then, and it's unbelievable that their descendants still can't defeat the Xiongnu descendants. They're really useless.

Wang Feng couldn't help but think to himself that although the Xianbei people always mocked the Wuhuan for not being able to defeat them, if they gathered all the Wuhuan tribes together and marched westward in a large-scale campaign, with 100,000 men, women, and children driving cattle and sheep, riding in horse-drawn carriages, and carrying bows and arrows, they might be able to completely defeat the Kuaihu and let the Wuhuan people run rampant there.

Of course, it's just a thought.

"Do as you please," Shao Xun said, waving his hand.

After saying that, he prepared to write another letter.

(End of this chapter)