fake gentry

Mount Yi in Yanzhou.

Mount Yi is also known as Mount Zou, which is now Zoucheng, Shandong.

Xi Jian, the governor of Yanzhou, was standing on the Yishan fortress at this moment, wearing a half-worn crimson wide-sleeved robe.

Gazing at the gray sky, his fingers, resting on the cold rammed earth, turned slightly white.

Last night he added several more scouts, and the news they brought back kept him awake all night.

Shi Hu has been leading 40,000 elite cavalry to besiege Taishan County for several months. Xu Kan is trapped in Taishan County. Once Taishan County falls, the Jie Zhao cavalry can march south along the Ji River and reach the city of Zoushan.

After the Yongjia Rebellion, Yanzhou became a gathering place for refugees from the north. Xi Jian gathered people here to protect themselves, appease the refugees, and gradually transformed it into a forward military stronghold north of the Yangtze River to resist the Jie Zhao.

The importance of Zou Mountain is self-evident.

For the imperial court, it was a crucial node for maintaining the northern borders and connecting the Jianghuai defense line.

For the Xi clan of Gaoping, this was the core base for the entire family to accumulate power. Once lost, the Xi clan of Gaoping would fall into ruin.

Xi Jian's current position seems important, but it is actually quite awkward.

A warlord like him, who essentially controlled a region, was so powerful that he could rank among the top three in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty.

But look at the status of other warlords, and what is his status?

Wang Dun, of course, needs no introduction.

Tao Kan held the titles of governor of several prefectures, Marquis of Chaisang, General Who Pacifies the South, and Grand Master of the Three Departments.

Xi Jian only had the title of Governor of Yanzhou to his name, and there were several other governors at the same time.

Generally speaking, a governor of his rank would need to be given the title of general to reflect his status.

With his power, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to hold the position of governor of several prefectures and establish his own government.

But unfortunately, he's not even a marquis now, and the general is a damn high-ranking official.

What kind of scoundrel is General Longxiang? It's just a nickname.

What is the current situation in Yanzhou?

To paraphrase a line from a TV series, it's a complete mess.

There were three governors of Yanzhou alone. Xu Kan and Shi Le even fought to the death. The entire Yanzhou was still suffering from famine, to the point that people had to catch wild rats to fill their stomachs.

However, it must be said that Xi Jian's personal charisma was too great. Not only did his subordinates not defect, but their numbers continued to grow, which caused him a great deal of trouble.

If we don't accept it, it will damage our reputation. The Xi family of Gaoping relies on their reputation to rise in social standing.

Take them in; they won't survive.

Xi Daohui is a renowned scholar and the head of the Eight Elites of Yanzhou. How could he do something that would damage his reputation?

So Xi Jian is about to collapse if no one hits him.

The fact that Xu Kan and Shi Hu were fighting each other actually gave him hope.

What hope?

The hope of escaping.

Let whoever wants to come to this wretched place come; Xi Daohui has had enough.

Just then, Xi Zhong's letter arrived.

The name Xie Hong appeared before Xi Jian for the first time.

The sixteen-year-old boy, far away in Jiangzhou, hit the nail on the head, not only seeing through his predicament but also guessing his thoughts.

This greatly shocked Xi Jian.

In his letter, Xi Zhong praised Xie Hong to the skies, and Xi Jian did not doubt that his cousin was exaggerating.

If A-Nu could marry Xie Fengzhi, it would be a good match.

The only pity is that the Xie family of Chenjun was not of high enough social standing.

The Xi family of Gaoping absolutely cannot afford to decline.

"Report!!!"

Suddenly, a troop of cavalrymen rushed in from outside the city. The leader was one of the servants he had sent out the night before, followed by the men he had sent to protect his children, and finally, a burly young man dressed in brown.

"My lord, a letter from the lady has arrived."

"Open the door."

Liu Ju, a military officer under Xi Jian, ordered his men to open the city gates and let his servants and retainers into the city.

Xie Hong's handwritten letter to Xi Jian was also delivered to Yanzhou by Xi Zhong along with Liu Chong on horseback when Wang Huzhi's letter arrived in Jiankang.

The guards sent to protect Xi Xuan and Xi Yin were naturally Xi Jian's most loyal assassins. Upon meeting Xi Jian, they immediately presented him with letters from Xi Zhong and Xie Hong.

Liu Chong, looking travel-worn, stood to one side, scrutinizing Xi Jian, and unconsciously tightened his grip on the Han sword in his hand.

Xi Jian opened the letter on the city tower and read the one written by Xi Zhong first.

Dao emblem:

My brother and daughter will be returning soon; let's talk about the Xie family's son again...

As he looked at the familiar handwriting, Xi Jian's eyes slowly narrowed.

By the end, a hint of anger appeared on his face.

Xie Zizhen is truly a lecherous scoundrel.

How dare he seduce my daughter into falling for him?

Xi Jian doted on Xi Xuan, but compared to family status, this doting was not so important.

In short, social status is above all else.

After reading Xi Zhong's letter, Xi Jian coldly tore open the letter Xie Hong had written to him.

Your Excellency Daohui, I, Hong, bow my head in respect:

Respectfully yours, Mr. Zhanxin...

Upon seeing the name Zhan Xinshu, Xi Zhong was immediately enraged. This scoundrel certainly has a knack for using words; no wonder the girl was captivated by him.

In fact, after reading Xi Zhong's letter, Xi Jian developed an even stronger interest in Xie Hong.

He knew the reputations of Zhai Tang, Gu He, and Zhu Faqian. He could tolerate the first two, but Xi Jian also made the same mistake as the northern gentry: looking down on the southern gentry.

How so?

Even if I'm so poor I'm practically licking ashes now, my ancestors were once wealthy.

However, Zhu Faqian was indeed a member of the Langya Wang clan and was known as the foremost scholar outside the secular world. Yet, he was stumped by the three questions posed by that young man from the Xie family.

Liu Chong kept a close eye on Xi Jian's expression.

Unbeknownst to him, Xi Jian was experiencing a turbulent storm in his heart.

Xie Hong actually analyzed the current situation in Yanzhou in his letter, and his words were so accurate that it was as if he had experienced it firsthand.

Xie Hong opened his third eye specifically for Liu Chong, so he wrote it in great detail.

Xi Jiandu felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

That scoundrel actually said Xu Kan could only hold on for another month at most.

How did he guess that?

He even went so far as to say that Yanzhou was no longer suitable for business.

It wasn't a question of whether Xu Kan and he could hold the line; it was the terrain of Yanzhou that made it impossible to defend. Yanzhou was long and narrow, with no depth to the north or south. Once Shi Hu broke through the Taishan defense line, the Jie-Zhao cavalry could freely penetrate and divide the area, leaving Xi Jian with nowhere to retreat.

Therefore, the optimal solution is to retreat and defend Huainan. Hefei is a well-fortified city with sufficient food supplies, protected by the Huai River, and convenient by waterways. It can protect Jiangdong to the south and attack Xuyu to the north.

"Your only option now is to retreat to Hefei. Because of Wang Dun, the court will not blame you. On the contrary, they will place high hopes on your tens of thousands of troops."

"If the Duke voluntarily requests permission to move south, the court will certainly bestow upon him the title of General to reassure the army."

Xi Jian frowned.

This brat actually managed to figure out the court's intentions?

He once said that Wang Dun would raise an army again within two years, and at that time the court would only be able to rely on his own army of refugees.

Xi Jian had no idea that Xie Hong was taking a shortcut.

Because Xu Kan was defeated and killed a month later, Shi Hu took the opportunity to move south, leaving Xi Jian with only one option.

That means retreating from Hefei and heading towards Jingkou.

It took him about two months to establish himself in Hefei, and then another three to five months to get through the transition period.

After he was stationed in Jingkou and completed a thorough reorganization, the timing was perfect, as it coincided with the window of opportunity for Wang Dun to launch another uprising.

If Xi Jian stayed in Yanzhou to fight Shi Hu head-on, even if he won, more than half of his tens of thousands of refugee troops would be killed or wounded.

If Wang Dun rebels against the court again in the future, he will have no troops to use, and he will lose his only chance to rise to power.

Xie Hong also specifically mentioned this point in his letter.

One particular sentence, in particular, froze Xi Jian in place, unable to move for a long time.

"Remember this: if you save the land but lose the people, you will lose both; if you save the people but lose the land, you will save both."

Suddenly, as if possessed, Xi Jian started circling on the city wall, muttering to himself.

"A monster, a monster, this is a monster!!"

Everyone around him was stunned.

Only Liu Chong had a smug smile on his lips.

Third brother, your father is nothing special.

Wasn't he just scared by his elder brother?

Xi Jian muttered "demon" several times, then burst into laughter.

All his hesitation and doubts were shattered by those twelve words.

He had been tossing and turning for the past few months, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, but he still felt that something crucial was missing.

Now he understood; Xie Hong's words had revealed everything.

He raised his head, gazing at the hazy sky, and suddenly murmured, "Even if Zhuge Liang were to be resurrected, he would be no better than this."

"But alas, our family background..."

"Never mind, let's wait and see."