Chapter 333: Building...
As for how to determine the identity of this big fish, that's easy.
Isn’t Tian Feng still here?
Just ask him to come and meet him and you will know.
It's a pity that there is no such saying as "die before accomplishing the mission" now, otherwise Xin Pi, who was left to accompany Gao Lan in prison after returning to the military camp, would definitely want to make such a sigh.
Xun You couldn't help but sigh after locking up the person pointed out by Sima Yi. This guy not only has a first-class ability to seize opportunities, finding such a favorable opportunity for Lu Bu to attack, but he also seems to have an extraordinary talent in catching enemy undercovers.
Maybe this is his political acumen?
Xun You thought about the performance of Sima Fang and Sima Lang, and felt that in a sense, Sima Yi's trait could also be called hereditary.
But now this young man is far from being as shrewd and calculating as the important officials of Cao Wei in history. With several other seniors above him, he can't cause any big waves.
Xun You simply recorded the young man's performance points in the merit book of the Youzhou front, and then he and Qiao Yan wrote a memorial for this battle.
With Tian Feng's publicity case in mind, Xin Pi, who took the risk of sneaking into the enemy camp, would never go back to his old ways. Even if the other party wouldn't use this tactic to their advantage, the cost would not be worth it.
Youzhou is even less like Guanzhong. Once Xin Pi really gets the appointment, it will not be too difficult for him to escape back to Jizhou. Moreover, they have not yet been able to pick out all the undercover agents arranged by Yuan Shao among the new recruits in Zhuo County, and they cannot take risks in this situation where there is support.
Rather than letting the other party become the second Tian Feng, it is better to take him down directly.
Anyway, in this operation, the commander Gao Lan, who was in the border defense camp, would be robbed by Lu Bu's sudden attack on the camp, and the counselor Xin Pi, who had carefully sneaked into the enemy camp and never behaved wrongly, would be taken down by a young man who could read his words and expressions.
These two things did not seem to be a major loss to Yuan Shao, nor did they cause any serious damage, but they were undoubtedly another blow to Yuan Shao's camp.
Gao Lan's capture was simply a joke, and a big joke at that in the head-on confrontation between the enemy and our own strength. Xin Pi's capture was a joke that Yuan Shao delivered to his door himself.
How can Yuan Shao restore this damaged morale?
When they thought that the move to build momentum for Lu Bu was done by their people, they were afraid that they would feel even more annoyed when they thought about it in the middle of the night.
More importantly, their Youzhou garrison has hostages in their hands.
Two, enough hostages to seal a deal.
"Lü Bu attacked the camp? What are your scouts and camp defenses for?"
Upon hearing the news sent by Ju Su's subordinates, Yuan Shao thought that Ju Su was reliable and should say that the enemy's attack was successfully dealt with or that the enemy dared not act rashly. However, he never expected that the news he said would be such outrageous news that Gao Lan was captured.
The formal fight hasn't started yet. Even though Ju Su's official position is higher than Gao Lan's, Gao Lan is already a leading general. Who has ever heard of a leading general being captured first?
Yuan Shao almost spit out his tea when he heard this.
The subordinate who reported the news replied helplessly: "We are fully prepared. Lu Bu did not intend to cause large-scale casualties when he attacked the camp. He did not even intend to burn the camp. He just wanted to break through the camp and rob General Gao."
"Besides, we overlooked something they had."
Under Yuan Shao's somewhat gloomy gaze, he placed a crossbow that he had brought from his bag in front of Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao asked suspiciously, "Why are you bringing this scrap metal to me?"
Yes, what appeared in front of Yuan Shao was not a complete crossbow, but a broken and defective one.
There was a sharp blade stuck in the crossbow, almost splitting it in half, and also knocking off or even destroying many parts of the crossbow.
"This is the crossbow machine that Lu Bu used to attack the camp this time. It can fire ten crossbow arrows at a time. Compared with the long-lost repeating crossbow, the damage it can cause when breaking through the formation is even greater."
The cavalry can use crossbows during a charge, but unfortunately there is no time to flexibly reload the crossbow arrows. But what if the crossbow has already been loaded with arrows? All they need to do when necessary is press the switch to fire the crossbow arrows in groups of ten?
This was undoubtedly a fatal blow to the enemy.
Yuan Shao carefully took the broken crossbow in his hand and saw that the arrow path that could still be barely discerned in it was indeed wider than that of an ordinary crossbow, and it was obviously not able to accommodate only one crossbow arrow.
"When Lu Bu approached General Gao, he used this to break through the shield and spear defense."
Yuan Shao frowned in dissatisfaction and said, "Why can't you keep this rare item intact! Since we have the Jue Zhang Crossbow, even if Qiao Yeshu has troops stationed in Youzhou, I have never worried about the city defense encountering a sudden change. If we can crack the technology of this crossbow, they will be a nuisance to us today, but we will give them a surprise tomorrow."
The subordinate smiled bitterly and said, "If we can really keep it, why would we not want to? But not all the opposing troops are equipped with this crossbow. Only one person who was carrying this item died under General Gao's arrow, but before he died, he stabbed the crossbow mechanism with his saber and died."
He had never seen this scene with his own eyes, but he witnessed with Ju Shou the dagger being pulled out of the crossbow and the parts falling to the ground. He felt that the Bingzhou cavalry, in addition to their bravery when charging into the battle, also had a determination to disregard their lives in order to repay the lord's respect.
Ju Su said that even without the help of crossbows, the attack on the camp would be successful for such a swift and fast-moving team.
If he had not seen with his own eyes the abilities of Qiao Yan's men, he would not have believed that they would be like this.
Unfortunately, before he returned to Yecheng, Ju Shou told him that he did not need to tell Yuan Shao the last sentence. He only needed to say that the defenders in Gaoyang City would reorganize the camp defense as soon as possible and rebuild the defense line along the Juma River and Yishui River.
After hearing what Ju Shou had said, Yuan Shao asked, "Will there be no more news of enemy attacks on our camp?"
It was just Gao Lan who was kidnapped, which was indeed a loss that Yuan Shao could afford.
But not long after Yuan Shao received Ju Su's reply of "doing our best", he received a piece of news that almost made him bite his teeth.
Qiao Yan claimed that she wanted to use Gao Lan, who was captured by her side, to exchange for Tian Feng's family. If Yuan Shao felt that Gao Lan alone was not enough, then he could add Xin Pi.
In this way, no matter how you look at it, this is a very good deal for Yuan Shao.
Good value? That also depends on how she proposed the deal!
That bastard Qiao Yan used two pages of the October issue of Leping Monthly to record this incident.
One page was used to publish the achievements of the Bingzhou cavalry in this raid, and emphasized this year's horse expansion and breeding plan.
The direct shock of such numbers made Yuan Shao's eyes hurt, and he chose to skip it on the spot.
Another page strongly condemned Yuan Shao.
She had someone write that Yuan, a native of Jizhou, had been mentioned in the earlier records of Leping Monthly. He had grown from an honest man who went to Bingzhou to work to a member of the Shangshu Tai. He was a successful example of the Chang'an court attracting talents from outside.
However, Yuan Shao was a shameless man who kept using shady tricks. He even refused to allow Yuan's family members who were still in Jizhou to reunite with him, and even intended to detain hostages to make Yuan Shao's accomplice.
Qiao Yan would never allow a loyal minister who had served the emperor in Chang'an to be treated like this. After capturing Yuan Shao's general Gao Lan and following the clues to capture Yuan Shao's adviser Xin Pi, he decided to exchange the two for Yuan's family in Jizhou.
She might suffer a loss in this transaction. After all, these two subordinates of Yuan Shao were very important to him. If she only asked for money, she would definitely get a lot of money to redeem the hostages. However, in order to give a sense of security to the foreign scholars who came to Chang'an, she had to set this example at this time.
"Shameless... the most shameless!" Yuan Shao's hands were shaking as he held the Leping Monthly Report.
I don’t know if it’s because of the drought this year, but Leping Monthly has many channels for dissemination and sales in Jizhou and Qingzhou.
By the time Yuan Shao discovered that there was something wrong with the content in this October issue, these monthly reports had already been widely circulated, and God knows how many people had actually seen the content.
Especially, the court officials in Yecheng.
When Yizhou and Youzhou were successively taken into the hands of the Chang'an court this year, Yuan Shao clearly heard a rumor circulating in Yecheng.
They said, with the Chang'an court's fierce offensive momentum, could Yuan Shao really stop them from regaining the world and unifying it?
Rather than resisting and fighting them to the death, it is better to surrender directly.
Anyway, the emperor Liu Yu who was sitting in Chang'an City was a well-known good man. After becoming the emperor, he also became a benevolent monarch. In fact, he was much better than Liu Bian.
Although he was unable to find out who uttered the words of surrender, Yuan Shao could guarantee that there were many people who had such thoughts!
Now, his action of detaining the families of Chang'an officials and the defeat on the Jizhou and Youzhou fronts, in which he lost territory and men, were all disclosed in the Leping Monthly Report. This was undoubtedly his second public execution after the Shumai IOU.
But the last "interesting thing" about counting wheat was three years ago. At that time, the number of copies printed and the breadth of dissemination of the Leping Monthly News were far from comparable to today. I'm afraid that the power of today's event is even greater.
"People who are loyal to the Chang'an court should not think of being caught by outsiders. She knows how to establish a good reputation!" Yuan Shao slammed the newspaper in his hand on the table. But even if the newspaper was no longer in front of him, the sarcastic remarks about Yecheng between the lines seemed to still be jumping in front of Yuan Shao.
He took a deep breath, knowing that this was definitely not a good opportunity for him to reveal that Yuan Feng was Tian Feng.
If he really did this, he would always be questioned why Tian Feng came to Bingzhou as an ordinary Jizhou person?
Sending undercover agents to steal enemy intelligence is not actually a dirty act, but the prerequisite is that the information can be brought back without revealing one's identity.
When Tian Feng had not explicitly expressed his betrayal of Yuan Shao, he suddenly revealed the other party's identity. From now on, who would be willing to take risks for him?
What Qiao Yan wrote today was just that Yuan Shao detained the family members of the other party's important officials, but tomorrow it would become a confrontation between the two courts without martial ethics, which gave her a reason to send troops with a clear conscience.
She was so right. Not only did she not realize that Tian Feng was actually an enemy spy, but after discovering his talent, she gave him the opportunity to study and get promoted. She even intended to use Yuan Shao's important officials as hostages after she found out that Tian Feng's family was restrained by Yuan Shao and could not come.
Even if Yuan Shao said at this time that Yuan Feng was Tian Feng, and that it was very likely that Tian Feng did not do his job as an undercover and turned to Qiao Yan, he dared to guarantee that according to Qiao Yan's self-righteous behavior of lying, she would most likely say -
"She would say that even though she knew today that Tian Yuanhao's identity was questionable, she didn't mind saving his family from this dilemma first, as a way of repaying Tian Yuanhao for his contributions to the Chang'an court over the past few years, and then letting him make a new choice."
Xu You added a sentence.
Yuan Shao curled his lips and said, "This is indeed something she could do. It will become a great story. And I, Yuan Shao, will be the biggest joke among them."
"There is another reason why Tian Yuanhao's identity is even more inappropriate to be exposed. I don't need to explain it in detail. He is loyal to the Lord Ming instead of the Emperor of Yecheng. He caused so much trouble when he served Qiao Yan, but he was treated well. It is no different from buying bones for a huge sum of money."
Maybe it won’t trigger an immediate response this year, but what about next year, or the year after?
There may be another reason why Tian Feng's identity should not be revealed.
When did Yuan from Jizhou come to Bingzhou? Three years ago!
What kind of brain did Yuan Shao have to have to allow a famous Hebei scholar like Tian Feng to stay in the enemy camp for three years?
Anyone would be tempted by the enemy's treatment and switch sides!
Yuan Shao gritted his teeth and pondered for a long time, then made a painful decision: "Let's change people!"
Even if we completely lose Tian Feng, at least we can rescue Xin Pi and Gao Lan first, which is much better than not getting anyone.
This time he has learned his lesson!
No matter whether it was to investigate the business status of the opposite territory or the enemy's military deployment, he should not consider sneaking his people over there. There was no other possibility except being swallowed by Qiao Yan.
Tian Feng's family was sent by Yuan Shao to Xingkou, where the hostages were handed over, in a daze. Xi Zhicai and Qu Yi, who had been waiting there for a long time, transferred Xin Pi and Gao Lan, who had been sent to Taiyuan, to the area.
Seeing that the two men were brought back without any missing limbs and without being played any word games by Qiao Yan, Xu You, who was in charge of the handover, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But when he thought that these two people could have been sent back from Youzhou, but had to be sent to Jinyang in Taiyuan first to meet Qiao Yan, Xu You couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.
Among them is Xin Pi from Yingchuan...
What would Yuan Shao think about this?
Even if he would not reprimand Xin Pi for the sake of face, his experience of making inappropriate advice, making operational mistakes, and being suspected of being talked to by Qiao Yan were enough for Yuan Shao to make some guesses.
But fortunately, the person has been picked up, and other matters can be dealt with after he returns.
But just as Xu You was about to leave, Xi Zhicai said, "Wait a minute!"
Xu You turned around and asked, "What else do you want?"
Xi Zhicai smiled and replied, "I heard Fengxiao mentioned in his letter to me that Yuan Zigu had a son named Yuanxi who had come to Chang'an to visit him. I would like to ask why he was not among those sent here."
A vein on Xu You's forehead jumped.
Don’t think he doesn’t know who Yuan Xi is. Isn’t that Yuan Shao’s second son Yuan Xi?
Xi Zhicai obviously knew about this as well.
But if the hostage exchange this time requires sending the Second Young Master to the other side, it would be too outrageous.
He replied: "He passed away."
"Oh?" Xi Zhicai took a look at his face and replied playfully, "That's really a pity. I will tell Lord Yu about this matter of the old sending off the young."
"also--"
"There is one more thing I would like to ask Mr. Xu Ziyuan to tell Yuan Qingzhou. There are many captives in Youzhou who are cooperating with Xin Zuozhi. Let Lord Ju take them away with him, so that he won't have to eat and live with us. Then we can ask Yuan Qingzhou to pay the interest."
To pick out all the spies, there is no need to screen the new recruits one by one.
If there is an accidental injury, it will easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings among the new recruits in Zhuo County. It is better to let Yuan Shao lead his troops himself.
When Xu You heard the word "interest", he felt a little stressed.
After all, he was thrown out of Chang'an because of the huge debt because he had to pay the interest on the grain he borrowed for Yuan Shao. Now, when he suddenly heard that he had to pay interest on the food and accommodation expenses, he almost fell down on the spot.
"Don't worry, we will pick you up as soon as possible."
"That couldn't be better," Xi Zhicai smiled at Xu You again, "Goodbye, I won't see you off."
Of course, Xi Zhicai didn't need to escort the Jingxing Pass, as Yuan Shao's defenses were already deployed at the other end of the pass!
This time, Xu You turned around and took a few steps forward. Finding that he was not blocked by the other party again, he quickened his pace to avoid hearing the other party say something like "Where is Yuan Xi?" and quickly left the place.
Only when the Bingzhou Beijia disappeared from his sight did he finally feel a sense of security.
Seeing that the two who were brought back were somewhat silent, Xu You thought that being captured was not what they wanted to happen, so he asked, "I wonder how you two felt after seeing Qiao Bingzhou?"
"To be honest, Ziyuan," Xin Pi smiled bitterly, "since we were sent from Youzhou to Bingzhou, we have never seen each other. It seems that she just wanted to make sure that this transaction would go through her hands once."
But if I tell Yuan Shao this, will he believe it?
Perhaps they believed it, perhaps they didn't, but in any case, all the rumors and rumors in Yecheng were suppressed under Yuan Shao's control.
He also had to have someone do as Xi Zhicai stated at the end of the transaction process, which was to have Xin Pi go back to Zhuo County and select and take away all the people who were traveling with him.
The reason given by Lu Bu's army was that these new recruits would be used to support Liucheng and would not stay here to continue training. In fact, they were taken back to Gaoyang by Xin Pi.
Yuan Shao did not immediately adjust the positions of Xin Pi and Gao Lan, but as he, Xu You, Guo Tu, Shen Pei and others agreed in Yecheng, the next year he planned to transfer Xin Pi to cooperate with Zhang He to guard Henei County, transfer Shen Pei to the north to cooperate with Ju Su, and order Gao Lan and Gao Shun to swap their positions.
"To be honest, letting me go north to supervise the battle seems to make me a person with vested interests. I don't think this is a good arrangement. Replacing generals in the middle of a battle is a big taboo. If you are more decisive and replace people directly, although it will inevitably lead to some criticism, it is better than causing friction due to the dispatch of soldiers and giving others an opportunity to take advantage of you." Shen Pei said to his wife when he returned home.
He held his chin with a worried look on his face. "Especially the Jingxing Pass. Although the pass is difficult to pass, it is equipped with crossbows that can cover the passage. In terms of familiarity, we are really not as good as Bingzhou on the opposite side."
Bingzhou has done much better than Jizhou in the development of the Taihang Mountains.
Thinking that there was a group of former Black Mountain bandits on the opposite side, Shen Pei felt a little uneasy for no reason.
Even though these generals all have the surname Gao, even Gao Shun and Gao Gan, who are from the same clan, have differences in the deployment of troops. What's more, after the garrison is modified, the ones who remain here will be Gao Lan and Gao Gan.
The former was originally one of Yuan Shao's most famous generals, but after being captured, he went to Jingxing again, which made the latter laugh at him.
The latter was Yuan Shao's nephew, so he had the advantage in terms of closeness.
"How can this be a solution?"
Unfortunately, Shen Pei could tell that Yuan Shao's determination to make a replacement next year was stronger than anyone could imagine. It was not known whether he was stimulated by Qiao Yan's Leping Monthly Report.
Or perhaps, he had to accept the fact that Tian Feng had indeed changed camp at this moment, and that the other party was now in Youzhou, becoming a veritable rival of his, making him much more anxious than before.
"So what are you going to do? Are you going to follow Tian Yuanhao's example and defect to Chang'an?"
Hearing his wife's question, Shen Pei quickly replied, "What nonsense is this? I have been entrusted with a top-ranking position by your Excellency. Even if I am captured and sent westward one day, I will die facing east. How can I submit to the enemy and live in peace?"
He sighed, "I just hope that this dispatch can be persuaded before it is carried out."
What he was even more afraid of than replacing generals was that before the replacement took place, because the status of Gao Lan and Xin Pi in Yuan Shao's heart would inevitably decline, some people would simply recommend new people to seek greater benefits for their side.
But now is definitely not the time to do this...
The winter of the third year of Jian'an arrived in such an environment.
As October entered the end of the month, the signs that this year's winter would be exceptionally cold were already evident in the chill of late autumn.
It is not a big deal for the people in Qiao Yan's territory.
The October issue that published the exchange of hostages with Yuan Shao actually also reported the preparations of the four northern states for wintering.
I won’t go into details about the personnel arrangements, as they are basically in line with the practices of previous years.
For example, the Huangzhong Valley in Liangzhou continued to accept the Qiang people who lived on the plateau in spring and summer. The Qiang people who did not like to change their living habits were still respected and provided with a shelter for the winter. For example, the Xianbei people outside the Bingzhou Great Wall entered Yanmen County and Yunzhong County as usual and participated in the mining business there.
The most important thing is the daily necessities that people are most concerned about.
If the well water freezes, where will they get water?
This is a serious problem in the wake of droughts when water flows frequently dry up.
Not everyone has the conditions to burn wood and charcoal.
An explanation was given in the monthly report that in order to avoid the impact of drought, almost all the wells dug in various places were deep wells, and the probability of them freezing into ice in winter was far lower than the original wells.
If you really want to worry about this, you can either cover the well or directly draw water from the underground reservoir before the Qinling Mountains.
The second is cotton.
People in Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Youzhou and Sili could use their household registration in these places to purchase enough cotton for one cotton-padded jacket per person, at a rate of twenty five-zhu coins per purchase.
Just as Qiao Yan said in the transaction conditions proposed to Yanzhou, only selling cotton needed for cotton-padded clothes actually lowers the purchasing threshold for the people.
After all, old clothes that can no longer be worn, original winter clothes, and scraps of fabric can all be turned into cotton-padded clothes.
In Yizhou, Jingzhou, Yingchuan of Yuzhou and Yangzhou, the price of cotton would be increased by five five-zhu coins because the climate in these places is relatively warmer, to ensure that the northerners could purchase this product first.
The impact of the weather was imminent. Seeing that people in Luoyang, the nearest city, had formed long queues to buy cotton, Cao Cao had to send someone back to Bingzhou to negotiate the deal, no matter how much he thought it was unreliable to mix the cotton-padded clothes trade with the book trade.
In fact, this time, except for Cao Ang who was still sent, Cao Cao did not send Cao Hong again, but let Chen Gong accompany Cao Ang.
"I thought that after Brother Meng De learned that I snatched Tian Yuanhao from Yuan Benchu, he would not dare to send you, Chen Gongtai, over here." Qiao Yan put down the file in his hand and looked at the two visitors.
The chill of approaching winter has condensed a layer of white frost on the green bamboos in the courtyard, but because of the floor heating in this house, it still feels like the turn of spring and summer.
Chen Gong glanced at the ground thoughtfully, then turned his gaze back to Qiao Yan's face, "I think my situation should be different from Tian Yuanhao's."
"Of course it's different," Qiao Yan smiled, "I've always been very tolerant of my own people, but for someone like you, Chen Gongtai, who is smart but not useful to me, I have to be as tolerant as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves."
"For example - I have to tell you some bad news first."
"That day I told Zixiu that I could accept the offer of cotton along with the books sold to Yanzhou, but now the condition... must be slightly changed."
Before Chen Gong could ask, Qiao Yan replied leisurely, "It is the principle of not waiting for the right time. I think Chen Gongtai is a smart man with decisiveness. He will understand this principle."
The confidence in her tone made Chen Gong realize that this was by no means an easy deal to negotiate.
After all, after just succeeding in the deal with Yuan Shao, Qiao Yan was obviously more aware of the bottom line that each force could be manipulated to break.
When book No. 2, which Qiao Yan called a "new trading item," appeared in front of Chen Gong, his expression changed again and again.
The lethality of this book is in no way less than the report in Leping Monthly about Yuan Shao detaining Tian Feng's family!
If this stuff flows into Yanzhou in large quantities, they will be wasting their winter clothes!
He opened his mouth to argue about the deal, but saw Qiao Yan had already raised a finger in front of him, "Chen Gongtai, I don't think Brother Meng De asked you to come here in the hope that you would return empty-handed again and then have someone come back a third time. You'd better think carefully before bargaining."
Chen Gong looked at Qiao Yan quietly for a long time, and could clearly see the unquestionable nature of his gaze.
Then he said, "Book No. 2 can only account for 30% of the books sold this time."
He thought that they would have to go through some more arguing, but he heard Qiao Yan reply without even having any time to think: "Deal."
Chen Gong: “……?”
"Didn't you hear my answer clearly?" Qiao Yan said, "I said, deal. I have my bottom line. I can't let people negotiate with me again and again without paying any price. But there is another bottom line in this world, and that's life."
Winter is coming, there is no time to delay.
She had no intention of pushing anyone into a desperate situation.
"Book No. 2 has not been printed yet. It will be delivered after the books are completed in January next year. The gift cotton and Book No. 1 will arrive in Yanzhou first. I will let my people handle the sales process. Otherwise, the price will not be this. I hope Yanzhou and Yuzhou can understand what I mean."
"Of course." Chen Gong replied to her while wondering whether he should refresh his understanding of this Grand Marshal who controls half of the world.
In the past few years, Cao Cao and Qiao Yan had done the cotton-padded clothes business. At that time, the price of a single cotton was one stone of cotton for one cotton-padded clothes. This year, the Yanzhou side was ready to be ripped off by her operation of selling books and giving away cotton, but they learned that Qiao Yan only planned to set the price at thirty-five five-zhu coins.
Although it is more expensive than the areas governed by the Chang'an court, it is much cheaper than the price of rice in this drought year!
If they can limit the influence of Book No. 2 to a certain extent, it won't be a loss!
When Qiao Yan said that life is her bottom line, it was obviously not just a casual remark.
She has the habit of giving lucky money to her subordinates on the first day of the first lunar month every year. In recent years, this has no longer been a secret to the outside world.
On the first day of the first lunar month of the fourth year of Jian'an, the lucky coin that appeared in the hands of her subordinates in various places was a coin with a pattern of a crane holding a herb of angelica.
This totem means——
In this year of natural disasters, different places have their own epidemics. I urge you all to take good care of yourselves and wait for tomorrow.
Before achieving the results of expanding territory, the most important thing is to keep yourself alive.
But even with such blessings, Xun Shuang, who had been seriously ill since the end of the third year of Jian'an, passed away in January of the fourth year of Jian'an at the age of 68.
"Even though I know that this age is close to 70 for most people, and that Mr. Ciming lived in seclusion in Hanbin in his early years and his health was worn out, it is not easy for him to live to this year, but I still feel that it is really sad to witness these elders passing away."
Qiao Yan arranged a grand funeral for Xun Shuang in Leping and invited his students to attend the funeral.
According to Xun Shuang's request, his body would be buried in Taihang Mountains.
After all, I have been wandering all my life, so why do I have to return to my hometown?
Qiao Yan looked at the mountains of Xun's disciples dressed in white, and said the above words to Xi Zhicai with emotion.
In fact, it is not only a great achievement for Xun Shuang to live to this year, he even lived five years longer than he expected in history.
During these five years, he spent three years writing books and teaching in Leping Academy, which was considered a peaceful time for him in his later years.
Before he died, his only regret was one thing.
In the past, his daughter's husband died, and Xun Shang wanted his daughter to remarry, so he promised her to a man from the same hometown. However, Xun Cai wanted to remain faithful to her deceased husband, so she avoided the guards and committed suicide on the day of her wedding, leaving only the three words "return the body to the Yin", indicating that she wanted to return the body to the Yin family where her husband Yin Yu was.
This became a pain that Xun Shuang could never make up for.
Before the old gentleman died, perhaps because his mind was clear before he died, he looked at Qiao Yan standing in front of his bed, motioned her to dismiss her subordinates, and asked, "Can you please grant me one favor?"
"In the past, I followed the ancient rites, and I felt that only rites could not be abolished, and all other things could be changed and compromised. This thought has not changed since I returned to Luoyang. However, during the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, rites and music were destroyed, the Han Dynasty almost ceased to exist, and the people were in dire straits. I realized that the old rites were useless and only accelerated the chaos of the times.
He closed his eyes and rested for a long time, his breathing was almost inaudible, and then he was heard saying to Qiao Yan: "I don't know what you want to do, or maybe I don't want to go into it. Only capable people can bring peace to the world. You have a bottom line in your heart, so I have nothing to worry about."
"I hope that you can set an example for me so that parents will no longer force their children to get married, and that women will know that there is more to life than just staying faithful to your ex-husband."
"...I feel sorry for Ah Cai, I have to do something to make up for it."
The legacy he left to Qiao Yan was to persuade some of his disciples who wanted to leave to continue studying in Leping. Some people who no longer needed to pursue further studies also chose to stay in Leping because they had to keep vigil for their teacher.
There may be some conservative people among them, but there will definitely be talented people who can be used.
The selection of these talents was left to Xi Zhicai.
"Among the eight dragons of the Xun family, Ciming is unparalleled. Xun Ciming had such a reputation during his lifetime, and he became a minister of the Han Dynasty after his death. There are also princes who will take care of his affairs after his death. Perhaps one day his classics and works will be circulated throughout the world, and he will die without regrets." Xi Zhicai slowly walked beside Qiao Yan and replied.
Having said this, he suddenly stopped where he was, looked up into the sky, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Sir, the wind is blowing."
Yes, it's windy.
The winter wind on the Taihang Mountains is so fierce that it rustles the white flags in the mountains.
Qiao Yan stretched out his hand to catch a wisp of cold wind that passed through his fingertips, and his eyes had returned to a calm look, "The wind rises from the tip of the green duckweed, and the situation will change."
The fourth year of Jian'an is destined not to be a peaceful time!
In the first month of the fourth year of Jian'an, there was a civil strife in Pei State, Yuzhou. The officials stationed by Liu Bei there were detained. Under the leadership of the powerful people of Pei State, they defected to Cao Cao.
The change in territory ownership within the Yecheng court was enough to make Yuan Shao angry, but because of the hostage exchange at the end of last year, he was unable to make any criticism of Cao Cao in this unfavorable situation.
Besides, what responsibility does Cao Cao need to take for this?
Should we blame him for being born in Pei State and having some personal relationships with local powerful people in his early years?
Or should we blame him for handling the people's livelihood affairs of the newly incorporated territories of Chen County and Runan County in Yuzhou so well this winter?
Liu Bei was only the governor of Xuzhou in name, which should not include the territory of Yuzhou.
But this is obviously not the end of the year, but just the beginning.
On the sixth day of February in the fourth year of Jian'an, the southern forces of Xuzhou led by Zhang Yi crossed the Huai River and attacked the north bank, launching a fierce attack on Liu Bei!
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