Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 172 Music
After the Western Palace troops retreated, the pattern of Jiangdong was replanned.

The one who benefited the most was undoubtedly the Huan family. Huan Xuan was promoted to the governor of Jiangzhou, but in fact half of Jingzhou was under his control. In addition, Southern Yongzhou and Southern Yuzhou were old territories of the Huan family.

After Yu Kai and Wang Gong were defeated, the first thing they thought of was to surrender to Huan Xuan, which shows the influence of the Huan family in the Jin Dynasty.

The nobles didn't say it, but their actions were very honest.

If even top-level aristocrats like Yu Kai and Wang Gong wanted to join the Huan family, not to mention the large and small forces in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the power of the Huan family would be unprecedentedly high.

After the three armies retreated, Yin Zhongkan and Yang Qunqi immediately nominated Huan Xuan as the leader of the alliance to resist the imperial court.

The imperial court also made some adjustments, appointing Sima Xiuzhi as General Longxiang and Prefect of Xiangcheng, and Sima Shangzhi as General Jianwei and Governor of Yuzhou, to garrison Liyang, attempting to use Southern Yuzhou as the frontier against the Huan family.

"Among all the armies in the Western Palace, Huan Xuan has the greatest ambition. The Crown Prince should take action against him as soon as possible!" Zhang Fashun, the governor of Lujiang and the Western Recorder of the Langya Palace, made a strong appeal.

The person sitting at the top was just a boy of about fourteen years old.

Although he is young, his brows are furrowed and his eyes are sinister, lacking all the youthful vigor.

The young man, Sima Yuanxian, is now in charge of the entire Langya Palace.

Since the crisis was resolved, Langya King Sima Daozi has been living a life of drunkenness and debauchery, ignoring state affairs and leaving all military and national affairs to Sima Yuanxian.

The West Mansion where Sima Yuanxian lived was called "Xilu". Many people visited it every day, and it was always crowded. He became increasingly close to the nobles such as Wang Xun, Xie Yan, Wang Kai, Huan Fangzhi, and Wen Xiang.

Now, the troops of the Western Palace have retreated, but the crisis has not been completely resolved.

The Huan family will make a comeback sooner or later.

"Isn't there Yang Qunqi in Southern Yongzhou? Can this man be a rival to Huan Xuan?" Sima Yuanxian grasped the crux of the problem in one sentence.

The last time they dealt with the Northern Palace Army, he was the one who saw at a glance the conflict between Wang Gong and Liu Laozhi.

Zhang Fashun said, "Yang Qunqi is stubborn and self-righteous, and is no match for Huan Xuan. It would be better to have Liu Laozhi kill Huan Qian, causing a rift between the Northern and Western Prefectures. The Crown Prince can then reap the benefits!"

Huan Qian was the son of Huan Chong. He was appointed General Auxiliary State and Internal Historian of Wu, but secretly he was Huan Xuan's eyes and ears in Jiankang.

Huan Xuan's power is not strong now. With Yang Qunqi inside and Liu Laozhi outside, Huan Xuan is definitely no match for the opponent if he is attacked from both sides.

This strategy can also take the opportunity to weaken Liu Laozhi and test his loyalty.

The Western Army was also elite. After fighting with the Northern Army, both sides suffered heavy losses. All threats to Jiankang were eliminated, which was a two-pronged approach.

Liu Laozhi came from a humble family, but he ascended to the high position of Governor of the Northern Palace, which had long aroused the envy of many people.

However, Sima Yuanxian was hesitant. Although Zhang Fashun's strategy was good, the problem was that the imperial court was weaker.

Previously, Sima Huizhi and Sima Shangzhi were both defeated by Huan Xuan and Yang Qunqi. The imperial navy was completely wiped out, and Sima Shangzhi's elite troops were also killed.

"Liu Laozhi is fickle and cannot be trusted. If a war breaks out, he will turn against us again and Jiankang will be in danger of collapse. We should restore the imperial guards and strengthen Jiankang's military strength. Once we have a strong army and an invincible position, we can then plan other things!"

If a person can betray once, he can betray a second time.

Sima Yuanxian understood this principle very well.

Although Liu Laozhi was the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of seven states, including Yan, Qing, Ji, You, Bing, Xu and Yang, as well as the military affairs of Jinling, he did not get the most important position of Governor of Yangzhou, so he had no foundation.

During the battle at Xinting, Sima Yuanxian ordered his troops to advance several times, go up the river, attack Wuchang, and cut off the retreat of the Western Palace Army, but Liu Laozhi turned a deaf ear to him.

The most profound lesson Sima Yuanxian learned from this battle was that he had too little military power.

Without military power, imperial power will be unstable.

Although Sima Yuanxian was young, he had a clear understanding of the root cause of the crisis of the Jin Dynasty.

Young people inevitably have ambitions. The Northern Army, descendants of the refugee army that migrated south, has established its own legacy, with outsiders unable to interfere. They are inherently at odds with the Sima family.

"Your Highness is absolutely right!" Zhang Fashun agreed deeply.

His plan was ingenious, but fraught with risks.

The biggest risk is Liu Laozhi.

Now the safety of the entire imperial court depends on the Northern Army. If Liu Laozhi were to defect, the Sima family would be doomed...

"So the most urgent task right now is to expand the army and strengthen Jiankang's strength."

"Then where does the army come from?" Zhang Fashun raised the most realistic question.

The army cannot be expanded just because you want to. It needs young and strong people, as well as investment of money and food.

Nowadays, the best source of soldiers in Jiangzuo is of course the refugees who moved south, but the refugees pose too great a threat, and the Sima family has never trusted them. As for the Northern Palace Army, the Sima family has also been secretly on guard against them.

The only area the imperial court actually controlled was the Three Wus.

However, there were many noble families in the Three Wus, and the registered population was not large.

However, since Sima Yuanxian wanted to expand his army, he had already thought of a way. "I suggest that all the nobles and officials from the Three Wu states, including the dependents, servants, and the common people, be relocated to Jiankang and be called the Yuezu!"

It is equivalent to directly cutting meat from the gentry and feeding it to the Sima family.

Cutting off their own flesh would be fine, but they also wanted to be "happy servants", meaning that they were willing to become servants of the Sima family...

In Sima Yuanxian's view, the Northern Army dared not act rashly, and the Western Army was difficult to attack. The only ones who could attack were the seemingly weakest nobles...

This is the approach used by Wang Dao and Huan Wen in those days.

No noble family dared to resist.

The same was true of this battle. Wang Gong and Yin Zhongkan were shouting loudly, but the ones who took action were Huan Xuan, the young and inexperienced man, and Yang Qunqi, the outsider.

"The reason why the two Han dynasties were strong was that they suppressed the powerful. Now that the imperial court is weak and the local areas are strong, we should use the music clan to weaken the local powerful families." Sima Yuanxian was very confident.

By filling Jiankang with the population of the Three Wus, the dilemma would be resolved, the power of the imperial court would be strengthened, and three birds with one stone would be achieved...

Zhang Fashun was stunned. "Prince... this plan will only displease the nobles and powerful families. Moreover, how will the people of the Three Wus survive if they move to Jiankang? Jiankang also has no spare land, and the Three Wus are the last foundation of the imperial court... This matter needs to be carefully considered."

Wang Dao and Huan Wen were able to make the decision successfully because they had knives in their hands.

Sima Yuanxian's expectation that the nobles and powerful families would spit out their people with just one sentence was nothing but a foolish dream.

The power of the imperial court is still so strong.

Sima Yuanxian sighed, "I know this, but Huan Xuan, Yin Zhongkan, and Yang Qunqi are holding each other back. Liu Laozhi's foundation is shallow, and time is running out. If this succeeds, the Jin Dynasty will be revived. If not, I will make other plans. You should help me!"

Young people's thoughts are always straightforward.

In his opinion, it didn't matter if it failed. The worst that could happen was that he could compromise with the nobles and powerful families again.

After all, there are still threats from the west and the north, and the Sima family's throne is still stable. Back then, Wang Dun, Su Jun, and Huan Wen were so powerful, but they still failed to overthrow the Sima family, right?

"I will fight to the death and will not hesitate even if it means death!" Zhang Fashun also thought so.

As for those at the bottom of society, such as the poor, servants, and the scattered people, they pose no threat at all. For now, we can only make them suffer...

(End of this chapter)