Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 248 Xing

Winter arrived early.

While the Huai and Si rivers were freezing cold, the Jianwei General's Mansion in Chengcheng was bustling with activity.

"Has she given birth yet?" Liu Daogui waited anxiously outside, while the Cao family's maids came and went, even more anxious than Liu Daogui.

News came from our hometown of Jingkou that my elder brother's concubine, Zhang Que, had given birth to a boy named Liu Yifu, and another concubine, Sun, was also expecting soon.

The Liu family finally has a male heir.

Overjoyed, Mother Xiao Wenshou let out a long sigh of relief and held a grand ceremony to worship the Liu family ancestors, and then hosted a banquet for the elders of Jingkou.

"She gave birth! She gave birth! It's a girl."

Cao Sifei ran over to deliver the good news.

Liu Daogui felt a pang of frustration. It was another daughter. His elder brother had a son, but he was not his own. Things were different now. He had become a regional official with military power and a large family business. Without a son, he was like a piece of duckweed floating on water.

In this era, the most important thing is the lineage and offspring of the clan.

Ordinary families, especially those with few children, often suffer from bullying and contempt from neighbors and outsiders...

"Daughter... let's have a daughter. We'll work hard in the future and name her Lan Jun."

Some things can't be forced. As long as he can have children, that's enough. At worst, he can take a few more concubines. Liu Daogui doesn't believe he can't have a son.

However, a sense of joy still welled up inside me, for they were, after all, my own flesh and blood.

Cao Sifei comforted him, "Husband, don't worry, there's another one. Sister Shen will be here around the same time."

Liu Daogui nodded, "You should also work hard. Put aside the matters within the manor and the Cao family for the next few days, and let's get to work."

A blush rose on Cao Sifei's face; after several years of marriage, she had gained a more mature charm.

"She's given birth! Madam Shen is about to give birth too..." a maid shouted, attracting everyone's attention.

The midwife and maids ran to the east wing.

Liu Daogui also wanted to go and see, but Cao Sifei stopped him, saying, "You can't go, be careful not to get tainted by the unclean air."

"Fine……"

It's better to believe something is true than to believe it isn't.

Liu Daogui waited patiently outside.

Half an hour later, a loud baby's cry echoed throughout the entire mansion.

"Congratulations, General! It's a son! A son!" The maids rushed to announce the good news.

Liu Daogui was somewhat incredulous. "Really?"

"How could this be fake? He looks just like a general!"

"Hahaha, good! Reward everyone in the manor and the army with five dou of grain!" Liu Daogui was overjoyed.

After so many years of heartache, I finally had a son.

This year, Lanling and Lujun had a bumper harvest, and Langya and Dongguan also had good harvests. The treasury was full, and taking out several thousand shi of grain as rewards was not a big deal.

Today, from south to north, from east to west, there is war everywhere, and food prices have skyrocketed.

Five bushels of rice can be sold for ten strings of cash.

"Thank you, General!"

The maids left happily.

Liu Daogui was still waiting outside. In this era, there were many rules; a husband could only see his children a month after a woman gave birth.

"Oh dear, why is my husband still here?" Cao Sifei came out, her face beaming with joy.

"What name do you think we should give our child?" Liu Daogui asked, at a loss for words.

Cao Sifei thought for a moment, "My husband is waging war in the Huai and Si Rivers. The Liu family will surely prosper in the future. How about we name him Liu Yixing?"

"Liu Yixing, a good name." Liu Daogui repeated it several times.

"General, there is a critical military situation in the north." Meng Ganzhi's voice came from outside the courtyard.

Upon hearing that it was a major military matter, Liu Daogui had no choice but to leave.

Outside the courtyard, Meng Ganzhi's face was filled with barely concealed excitement: "The Yan army suffered a great defeat at Canhebei!"

"A crushing defeat?" Liu Daogui felt a strange sense of unease.

Meng Ganzhi recounted: "Murong Bao, Murong De, Murong Lin and Tuoba Gui confronted each other at Wuyuan. Tuoba Gui cut off the Yan army's connection with Zhongshan and spread rumors. The Yan army all thought that Murong Chui was dead and had no will to fight. At that time, Yao Qin reinforcements arrived. The Yan army was surrounded on three sides. It was extremely cold. The Yan army lacked food and winter clothing and had to burn their boats and retreat. Unexpectedly, the Yellow River froze. Tuoba Gui led his troops across the river. The Yan army was unprepared. Murong Bao and Murong Lin were at odds. At that time, a strong wind rose from the ground and black clouds like a long dike covered the Yan army. The Wei army took advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack. The Yan army was defeated. Several thousand civil and military officials, including Prince Murong Wonu of Luyang, Prince Murong Daocheng of Guilin, and Duke Murong Yinguo of Jiyin, were captured. All 50,000 surrendered soldiers were buried alive."

Liu Daogui was speechless. Tuoba Gui was too outrageous. The Yellow River froze when they were crossing it, and a sandstorm attacked the Yan army first during the decisive battle. It was even more exaggerated than when Emperor Guangwu fell into the enemy camp like a meteor.

Liu Daogui and Liu Yu have been fighting bitter battles all these years.

It was common for one or two thousand men to fight against tens of thousands of enemy troops, risking their lives to carve out a bloody path.

Tuoba Gui was different; it was practically like he got it for free.

However, every era has its darlings.

When Murong Chui confronted Huan Wen at Fangtou, he also encountered a severe drought in the Huai and Si Rivers, which reduced the flow of the Grand Canal and caused the Jin army to run out of food and supplies, forcing them to retreat.

Now, the battle of Canhebei has wiped out everything.

In this battle, Tuoba Gui was not only resourceful but also ruthless. He massacred 50,000 surrendered soldiers, and including the Yan soldiers who died on the battlefield, all 80,000 elite troops of the Yan state were wiped out.

The backbone of the Yan Kingdom has also been broken... Murong Chui has been fighting in the south and north for years and has not managed his rear much. The loss of 80,000 elite troops is not as simple as just being severely weakened.

The Yangtze River's waves push the previous waves forward, and a new generation replaces the old.

This battle profoundly impacted the situation in the North and the course of history, ushering in a new era for the North.

With this defeat of the Yan army, various domestic problems will come to the surface.

Two weeks later, news came back from the north again.

Ping Gui, the General Who Conquers the East of Yan, gathered troops from the three prefectures of Boling, Wuyi, and Changle, occupied Lukou, and openly launched a rebellion. Ping Han, the magistrate of Haiyang, raised an army in Liaoxi in response to Ping Gui.

Murong Chui ordered General Yu Song, the General Who Guards the East, to attack Lukou.

However, like Fangtou, Lukou was a strategic fortress in Hebei. Back then, when Sima Yi attacked Liaodong, he dug the Hutuo River into the Li River to transport grain and built this city to store grain.

Sima Yi's moral character was naturally criticized, but his strategic vision was first-rate. Lukou was situated between the Hutuo River and the Li River, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At the beginning of the year, news came back from the north that Yu Song had suffered a great defeat!
Murong Chui had no choice but to brace himself for his old age and lead a large army on an eastern expedition...

As spring arrives and the earth warms, cuckoos sing in the fields, and busy crowds gather along the banks of the Sishui River.

Having suffered such a crushing defeat, the Yan state could not afford to attend to its southern territory for the time being.

After their defeat at Garlic Mountain, the southern bandits are stirring again, gathering a large army at sea in preparation for another major battle.

The fact that the rebels could still make a comeback after several major defeats shows that the Jin dynasty had lost the support of the people.

Liu Laozhi remained stationed in Shanyin, showing no interest in the Battle of Suanshan.

Liu Daogui sent a memorial expressing his feelings, but it disappeared without a trace, and no news came back. In fact, any scheming person would have tried to win him over, after all, they were all from the Liu family of Pengcheng and were connected by blood.

At this juncture, the Liu family would benefit the most from uniting together.

But Liu Laozhi made no comment...

Liu Daogui felt like he had been given the cold shoulder, but the imperial court rewarded him with a box of Five-Stone Powder, a cart of fine wine, and thirty beautiful women... Sima Yuanxian even wrote a private letter, discussing romantic matters at length, and invited Liu Daogui to a gathering at Xinting next year...

Compared to Sima Yuanxian, who was fifteen or sixteen years old, Liu Laozhi was frighteningly naive in politics.

By placing him in the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army, he harmed himself and others, and ruined the entire Northern Army.

Today, the Huai and Si rivers have become the most peaceful place in the world.

The several thousand military households arrived one after another, filling Rencheng, Gaoping, Xiaqiu and other places. After a winter of hard work, all the abandoned fields were reclaimed.

To incentivize them, Liu Daogui ordered a two-year exemption from land tax. In the third year, the tax rate would be reduced to five-tenths, and in the fourth year, it would be reduced to four-tenths, thus lowering the land tax rate to one-tenth, resulting in lighter taxes and corvée labor.

However, slaves did not receive such treatment; eight out of ten were taxed, leaving only twenty percent to sustain their livelihood.

With the fertile soil of Huaibei, it is more than enough.

Sixty percent of the land along the banks of the Surabaya River was cultivated by slaves, enough to sustain the military, with a surplus of 230,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) last year alone.

Although half of it consists of coarse grains such as millet and beans, it is still grain.

In every major battle, many soldiers, following past practice, would bring their own food and weapons, thus reducing the burden of food supplies.

In short, a virtuous cycle has been formed under Liu Daogui's rule.

When civilians and military households have food, they will train their children to learn martial arts and join the army.

The slaves were incredibly motivated to get land and women as soon as possible.

The key point is that Liu Daogui's rule did not have the corrupt atmosphere of Jiangzuo. Under Liu Daogui's influence, everyone worked diligently and did not need to scheme around.

No amount of scheming will help; the four prefectures under my jurisdiction are all under military control, and merit in battle determines everything.

Those who have never been on the battlefield lack confidence when speaking, let alone when facing soldiers and commoners, or even slaves.

“The Yan Kingdom is currently preoccupied with its own problems. I believe we can take advantage of this opportunity to attack and capture the counties of Dongping and Taishan, and then take over Yanzhou!” Wang Yuande came specifically to offer his advice.

Liu Daogui shook his head, "Do you know why the Yan Kingdom suffered such a crushing defeat?"

Wang Yuande said, "Murong Bao is incompetent, and Murong De and Murong Lin each have their own agendas."

"Besides these, the most important thing is that the Yan state has been at war for many years, neglecting its internal affairs and becoming strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Last year, we spent so much effort to take over the area west of the Si River, and this year we want to take Dongping, Taishan, and even Yanzhou. Don't you think we are moving too fast? Don't forget, Murong Chui is not dead yet and still has the power to fight back."

These days, land is everywhere; the key issue is population. With only about 20,000 households under its command, controlling the upper and middle reaches of the Sishui River is already quite an achievement.

Taking Dongping and Taishan is pointless.

Murong Long relocated the population to Huatai and Yecheng, leaving little profit to be made in the north.

On the contrary, if you occupy these places, you also have to put effort into managing them.

Liu Daogui hasn't even managed to establish a foothold west of Sishui yet...

"It was my oversight and I was too hasty." After Wang Yuande and Wang Zhongde were defeated by Murong Chui, most of their relatives were killed or wounded. Their blood feud was irreconcilable. Seeing the Yan Kingdom's great defeat, they naturally wanted to avenge themselves as soon as possible.

"The time is not right, we cannot force it." Liu Daogui said calmly.

Now is the time to solidify the foundation and vigorously develop the land.

A tall tree catches the wind. Not only is Murong Chui still alive in the north, but the Sima family is also to the south. If Liu Daogui were to launch a northern expedition without authorization and reclaim Yanzhou, the court would face pressure.

Timing and timing are crucial; blind expansion is not a good thing.

Both the North and South are currently undergoing dramatic changes. As long as things remain stable, Liu Daogui feels that even greater opportunities will arise...

(End of this chapter)