Jinting Han people

Chapter 228 Before Leaving Chang'an (4k)

After the military meeting, Liu Xian did not return to Niyang immediately because he still had some miscellaneous tasks to complete in Chang'an.

Although he was appointed as the governor of Beidi and the commander of the army, this was only a nominal power for Liu Xian and would not have any impact on the plight of the people in Beidi. In fact, Beidi County was still in a state of poverty.

The rebels in the county had been annihilated, but the looted grain would not return. And after recruiting the defeated soldiers and refugees, the county government was left with a significant food deficit. Even if it borrowed from every noble in the county, it would only last until February of the following year. This was to say nothing of essential military supplies like armor, weapons, horses, and bows and arrows.

But the most urgent thing was winter clothing. Heavy snow had been falling for two days, with no sign of stopping, and the temperature seemed to be dropping even lower. If we couldn't get winter clothing for the soldiers, we wouldn't be able to fight the enemy, let alone march normally.

Therefore, the next day after the military meeting, Liu Xian got up early again and braved the wind and snow to find Fu Zhi, the commander of the Anxi Army who was in charge of the logistics of the army.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the door, he was told that Fu Zhi was not in the Anxi Military Headquarters, but was going to the north of the city to count the newly arrived supplies. According to Fu Zhi's usual practice, he would usually be out all day, eating and wearing everything in the army, and might not come back until the evening.

The clerk who greeted Liu Xian suggested that he leave his name and address, explaining his purpose. He would inform Fu Zhi when he returned and discuss the details of the matter at a suitable time.

But Liu Xian didn't have the patience. The north was in ruins, with countless matters awaiting his attention. Moreover, there was a deadly war looming. How could he sit idle in Chang'an? So, he left a name card and then went to inquire about Fu Zhi's whereabouts.

The clerk was confused and told him that he was probably in Changxin Palace, west of the Chucheng Gate. As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Xian rode his horse north.

Liu Xian wasn't actually walking very fast in the snow, but the biting north wind still made his face pale. In such inclement weather, the shops that had been somewhat busy when he arrived were now locked. The wide streets were deserted, save for a few patrolling guards. It seemed as if the entire city of Chang'an had been buried in ice and snow.

According to the clerk, Liu Xian passed through the Chucheng Gate in the north, turned west, and walked through the snow that had covered his legs. Liu Xian saw a vague road in the wind and snow, extending from Wei Bridge to the city wall of Chang'an, and the end point was Changxin Palace.

This palace, once the residence of several famous empress dowagers during the Western Han Dynasty (including Empress Lü, Dou Yifang, and Wang Zhengjun), has now been converted into a large warehouse. When Liu Xian arrived, he could see a large number of carriages and horses parked outside the gate, with many civilians coming and going.

Liu Xian dismounted and led Fan Yu to the crowd, questioning them. After announcing his identity and purpose, a soldier immediately arrived to lead the way. They walked through several stone doorways and arrived at a building about 45 meters wide and 20 meters long. This seemed to be Fu Zhi's office.

This was probably where the accounts were checked. As Liu Xian entered, he heard the clatter of a dozen officials calculating with their hands. He peered inside and saw it was indeed the case. However, this was only one room within the house. Looking back, he could see another small room with a curtained door. Liu Xian walked toward the door and was about to knock when he heard the voices of two elderly men talking from within.

One of them said, "Duke Zizhuang, for the sake of the overall situation, please persuade His Royal Highness the Prince of Liang again..."

Liu Xian was stunned. He recognized the voice as Zhou Chu's, and the person talking to him was obviously Fu Zhi.

Fu Zhi replied helplessly: "Ziya, this is not something I can decide. It is difficult to go against the will of the people."

"What do you mean by 'it's hard to go against the will of the people'? It's just that His Royal Highness Prince Liang doesn't want to. I did have a disagreement with him before, but war is no joke. How can you be so absurd?"

"No, Ziya, I'm not kidding. Before we left Luoyang, Maoxian came to me and suggested that we fight a quick battle. This is indeed the court's idea."

Hearing this, Zhou Chu's voice was filled with indignation: "The general is on the front line and has to obey military orders. How can he ask the court for instructions on everything?"

"Alas, don't say such childish things." Fu Zhi's voice remained calm. "If the court could be so tolerant, why would they send His Royal Highness Prince Liang here?"

"Then why hold a military meeting?"

After hesitating for a moment, Fu Zhi said, "Zi Ya, anyone with a discerning eye can see that His Royal Highness Prince Liang simply wants to humiliate you in public..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became quiet, and Liu Xian felt embarrassed for Zhou Chu. Then, they parted unhappily, and the sound of someone's quick footsteps could be heard in the room.

The door curtain opened, and Liu Xian's eyes suddenly met Zhou Chu's stern expression. Zhou Chu was also stunned, but it was only for a moment before his brows knitted together, his eyes gleaming with disdain. He snorted coldly, put on his hood with both hands, and hurried away without looking back.

This glance stung Liu Xian. He always looked down on others in his heart, but he never imagined that one day, he would be looked down upon by others. This feeling was truly unpleasant, as if he had lost a sword fight. At this moment, Liu Xian finally understood how Jia Mi felt about him. Some things seemed insignificant, but he didn't want to lose.

After Zhou Chu left, Fu Zhi also noticed Liu Xian outside the door and asked, "Who is this distinguished guest outside?"

Liu Xian hurried in and bowed to Fu Zhi, saying, "I'm sorry to have the audacity to ask to see Lord Lingzhou. I hope Lord Lingzhou won't blame me."

Fu Zhi looked at Liu Xian twice, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "So it's Lord Liu. I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar!"

"You are too polite, Lord Lingzhou."

"Haha, you're the father and mother of my hometown, how can I not be polite? I received a letter from my family saying that after the rebellion, they were worried and felt that their future was in jeopardy. Soon after Liu Fujun took office, the country suddenly became peaceful. It was really eye-opening for them!"

"You're too kind. This is all thanks to the support of Brother Wugen and the others. I've long admired you. You can just call me Huai Chong."

Liu Xian had long admired Fu Zhi, a renowned figure in the court. During the Yellow River's early flooding, Fu Zhi built the Shenlai Weir in Xingyang, resolving the flooding in Yanzhou. He later served as the Grand Court Justice, Palace Attendant, General of the Left Army, Palace Attendant, Lieutenant of the Imperial Guards, and Minister of Honor, each with impeccable political achievements. Even though he had been implicated by Yang Jun, he remained unpunished and was instead praised for his consistent admonitions. Despite being sidelined for several years, he had now been promoted to the position of Commander of the Anxi Army.

People in Luoyang often said that Fu Zhi was like Liu Xuande in the officialdom. Even though he frequently changed camps, his personal morality was impeccable and no one could find fault with him.

Perhaps it was because Liu Xian recovered the northern land, and Fu Zhi also admired him, so he naturally changed his name to Huai Chong and asked Liu Xian what his purpose was in coming here.

Liu Xian said, "I'm here to talk to Lord Lingzhou. The North is short of supplies, and I hope you can quickly allocate some."

Fu Zhi didn't delay and asked directly: "Please make a list for me first, and I'll see if I can squeeze it out."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian immediately took out the written list from his sleeve. When Fu Zhi looked at it, he introduced:

"The county is short of everything right now: food, weapons, and arrows. Most importantly, winter clothing. I have 5,500 men under my command. I hope you can allocate a set of winter clothing to each soldier."

"I'm afraid I can't squeeze out that much." Fu Zhi flipped through the documents for a moment and replied, "I'm not trying to shirk responsibility. There's really a huge need for winter clothes this year. I can get you 3,000 sets at most. For the rest, I can get you a batch of cloth. You can find someone in the county to make them quickly. Is that okay?"

"That's fine, too..."

"As for armor, you're really bold. You actually asked me for 300 sets of iron armor, Ming Guang armor at that. Before the Luoyang Arsenal burned down, this was something I could consider, but now... I can only give you 50 sets at most. The 2,000 sets of Liangdang armor you asked for are no problem, I can grant them to you."

"Thank you, Lord Lingzhou."

"As for crossbows, logically, I should give you 300, but there's still this problem. Crossbows are in short supply everywhere, so we should concentrate them."

"Can it be replaced with a horse?"

"Of course you can, but you'll have to find the horse feed yourself."

"No problem." This is indeed not difficult to solve. Liu Xian can go to Xiayang to transport bean feed, which is enough to raise horses.

However, the most important thing is food. Food is the foundation of all military operations. People can't do anything if they are hungry, so Liu Xian is most concerned about how much food can be allocated.

Fu Zhi's response was: "I can first send you 20,000 hu of wheat and beans as emergency food for three months."

"Only 20,000 hu?"

Fu Zhi explained, "There's no other way. Huai Chong, as you know, the Wei River is frozen in this weather, so we can't use the canal to transport the goods. We can only use cattle and horses to transport the goods multiple times in the severe cold, but the losses are too high."

"During yesterday's military meeting, His Royal Highness Prince Liang said the court was short of food, and he wasn't lying. I'll allocate you 20,000 hu of grain now. Later in the spring, when the Wei River thaws and grain transport resumes, the army can officially march. You can lead your troops to the camp for food, and you won't have to worry about these problems."

Liu Xian knew Fu Zhi had a point, but he still tried to argue: "Duke Lingzhou, please allocate another 2,000 hu. The people in this county are not only displaced, but they don't even have seeds for spring plowing. What will they eat next year?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhi was silent for a long time. He then said, "This is military rations. Logically, we shouldn't have to spend this kind of money. Zhou Ziya was previously reprimanded by the King of Liang and the court for opening the granaries to release grain. But I'm from the north, and you're the governor of the north, so I'll just derelict my duty for once and take care of my hometown."

The implication was that he agreed to this matter. Liu Xian was very grateful. With these supplies, at least he would have fewer worries next year.

After discussing this topic, Fu Zhi immediately drew up a list of material allocations and sent someone to give it to Liang Wang Sima Rong for stamping. After the stamp was completed, the Anxi Army could officially allocate materials.

While waiting, Fu Zhi smiled at Liu Xian and said, "Huai Chong is in Chang'an, so there shouldn't be anything else going on."

"No, I plan to go back to Niyang once the snow stops."

"You don't have much time left in Chang'an. You're just sitting there doing nothing. Why not play a game of chess with me?"

This was the elder's request, so Liu Xian naturally couldn't refuse. Fu Zhi immediately set out the chessboard and sat on the couch to play chess with Liu Xian.

Unlike Lu Ji's game, Fu Zhi, being older, wasn't as accustomed to playing fast as Liu Xian and Lu Ji. He pondered each move for a long time. Half an hour passed, and the two had only made fewer than thirty moves. This feeling was quite tormenting for Liu Xian, but he couldn't say much.

Fu Zhi finally made another move and said with a smile, "Huai Chong, what do you think of this rebellion suppression? Do you think it can be successful?"

Liu Xian's spirits perked up at the question. He casually placed a piece and replied, "I actually think Duke Ziya's proposal yesterday was a good one. His Royal Highness Prince Liang's proposal to go to Liumo for a decisive battle was a bit too reckless. I'm afraid the casualties will be high."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Yes, since ancient times, there have been countless cases of attacking after the enemy has occupied a strategic advantage. There have been successes, such as Wei Wu's defeat of Zhang Lu and Han Xin's defeat of Chen Yu, and there have also been failures, such as Sun Quan's attack on Hefei and Wang Mang's siege of Kunyang. These successes and failures have taught future generations that to succeed, the quality of one's own generals must be superior to that of the enemy in all aspects. Failure will result in an unprecedented devastating defeat. I believe that we may not have all the necessary elements for success here."

"Haha, what you said makes sense, so why don't you agree with Zhou Ziya?"

Faced with this question, Liu Xian remembered Zhou Chu's cold eyes and smiled bitterly with shame on his face:

"What Lord Ziya said is indeed the correct way of military strategy, but unfortunately he is not the commander-in-chief after all. The army should be united against a common enemy and work together. His Highness Prince Liang has made such a clear statement and has done me a favor, so I really can't agree with him in public..."

At this point, Liu Xian suddenly shook his head, denying himself and saying, "...No, that's not the case."

"Alas, what I just said was actually just self-consolation."

"I finally got what I wanted and was promoted to the position of prefect. I really didn't want to offend others and lose my position, so I was timid for a while. Even though I agreed with Zi Ya Gong in my heart, I didn't dare say it. As a result, I violated my principles and became a villain. It's really ridiculous to say it now. Alas, if I have the chance, I should apologize to Zi Ya Gong."

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhi stared at Liu Xian in a daze for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh, "Huai Chong sets such high standards for himself. He's truly a gentleman!"

He then placed a piece down and said with a hint of self-mockery, "Unfortunately, in this era, orthodox teachings have died, and the ways of a gentleman have long been lost."

He didn't think too much about it, but it wasn't hard to understand. After the disillusionment of the last century of the Han Dynasty, there were almost no people left who still believed that self-cultivation and family harmony could lead to the governance of the country and peace in the world. Even Liu Xian himself didn't believe it.

But in this disillusioned world, why are there still some people who insist on self-cultivation and moral improvement?
Liu Xian thought about what he saw and heard during his visit to Chang'an this time, and believed that there were still many people who firmly believed in the way of a gentleman.

Perhaps this is an age of starry nights. Although the path to the future is unclear, the spirits of our ancestors still illuminate the world, guiding us forward. Even though the glory of the past has faded, we still travel through the ruins of greatness, and history still lingers in our breath.

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(End of this chapter)