Chapter 362: Liu Biao's Personal Expedition
Of course he doesn't want to go to Luoyang!
At least not when there is someone who might recognize him!
But Liu Xie could not tell this reason to his adoptive parents.
He obviously couldn't say that he didn't want to go to Luoyang just because he was afraid of the place.
It would be troublesome if they went looking for someone to verify the facts and provide him with protection because of this fear.
He fiddled with his bowl with chopsticks, trying to look like he didn't care, and replied, "I'm just a little worried about the drought in Sili. The disaster in Hanzhong isn't that serious, but when we get to Luoyang, we have to face the drought in the north. If it's really a case of drought and locusts happening at the same time, no matter how much money and grain we have saved, it won't be enough."
"Right now, Luoyang is mainly used to accommodate people who have returned and are seeking refuge. As order has been restored from chaos, there probably won't be an opportunity to build additional schools. Even if we really want to go, it's better to do it later, at least when we can find a way to make a living here."
"Father said that Luoyang wants to restrict the influx of people, so he is anxious for us to go there as soon as possible. I think this is the biggest problem. Even the Grand Marshal is not sure that the excessively growing population can be allowed to perform their duties in Luoyang. If we go, won't we be causing more trouble for them?"
After Liu Xie finished his statement, he carefully looked at his adoptive father's expression.
Seeing that there was indeed a thoughtful look on his face, the tension in my heart eased a lot.
He quickly said, "The territory of Henan Yin is so vast. Even if Luoyang really restricts people from entering, we can find a place to stay nearby. There is really no need to rush. It is better to wait and see after the autumn harvest. Maybe if I wait another two years, the Leping Academy in Bingzhou can expand its enrollment, and I can go directly to Bingzhou to study."
These words are quite sincere, especially the part about going to Bingzhou to study.
Liu Xie himself had to admit that if he were to rank the people he admired, Qiao Yan would definitely be at the top.
This is not just because Qiao Yan was the first to rush into Luoyang to rescue the emperor during Dong Zhuo's rebellion, and not just because after he was brought to Chang'an by Dong Zhuo, she was the only one who was willing to lead troops to help, but also because the people under her rule were living a really good life.
Liu Xie knew exactly how much savings and income their family had, but even so, they had a quick-fix book and a bound volume of the Leping Monthly Report. He heard news from the Hanzhong prefecture that there were plans to print four books on agriculture, industry, medicine and poetry in Chang'an this year in order to further solve the problems of people's livelihood and literacy.
This made it much easier for him to gradually demonstrate his literacy skills to his adoptive parents.
But it is not just literacy that has changed, but also the appearance of the people.
Even though Liu Xie didn't come into contact with many people, and only the people in Hanzhong, a place separated from Chang'an by the Qinling Mountains, he could feel this change very clearly.
From the original pursuit of "survival" to the current pursuit of "progress", these are two completely different things.
However, Liu Xie did not realize that there was actually another reason behind the selection of the next batch of printed books. In addition to the fact that the content was more suitable for her to promote education and win the hearts of the people, printing four books at a time undoubtedly showed the further improvement in the efficiency of printing technology, and made it possible to launch several books at the same time and improve the quality of books.
This remains her way of checks and balances.
But anyway, what mattered most to Liu Xie was the attitude of his adoptive parents rather than the attitude of those aristocratic families, and he didn't need to know that.
"If you put it that way, it seems to be correct," the adoptive father replied thoughtfully, "I'll ask more about the situation in Luoyang. There's no rush to wait until after the autumn harvest this year!"
Liu Xie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he might have to make up a new lie after the autumn harvest to allow himself to successfully cope with the situation, at least he doesn't have to worry so much now.
Half a year...
Not to mention whether he can think of another way out in half a year, just talk about himself. At the age of fifteen, his appearance and temperament are changing with each passing day. Who knows if anyone will be able to recognize him after some time.
Maybe, even if he appeared in front of Qiao Yan at that time, she would not be able to recognize him!
By that time, there would be no need for Liu Xie in this world.
However, Liu Xie deliberately stopped his adoptive parents, and they did have a way to survive in Hanzhong, so they did not go to Luoyang at this time. But for most people who were aware that the drought disaster was probably unusual, going to Qiao Yan's rule as soon as possible before Luoyang ended its shelter was the only way to save their lives.
"I think I was tricked by Ye Shu again!"
Cao Cao, who returned to Yanzhou first after the meeting at Hulao Pass, couldn't help but utter such a sigh.
He originally thought that Qiao Yan's restriction on the number of people that could be accommodated in Luoyang and her action of rushing back to Chang'an to meet the emperor were her response and correction to Cao Cao's questioning.
But when the news from Chang'an City reached his ears, his political sensitivity made him suddenly realize that this was by no means a reformation and adherence to the rules of a minister, but a preemptive strike!
The accusations she made by others were not what Cao Cao said to her at Hulao Pass at all, but were made up by her own fabrication to achieve her own goals. Unfortunately, because only Qiao Yan and Cao Cao knew the content of the conversation at the meeting at Hulao Pass, and they were in a hostile state, no one except Cao Cao could expose the lies in her words, but even if they were exposed, no one would believe it!
She really made full use of everything she could.
Although she relaxed the scale of population migration for Cao Cao, it seemed that she made a concession, but in fact, she was still the only one who could see the benefits in the short term!
"Quota" is really an effective promotional tool, especially when she really proved with last year's construction that it has the quality worthy of the "limit".
When the regulation on the limited population that could be naturalized in Luoyang was announced, some people who were originally hesitant chose to go to Luoyang at this time, and reached the number set by Qiao Yan at an incredible speed.
Afterwards, she decisively cut off the eight gates of Luoyang and directly reached the condition of governing behind closed doors.
When Cao Cao received this series of news, Qiao Yan had already returned to Luoyang from Chang'an, citing the busy affairs in Luoyang as an excuse, and brought with her a group of extremely important administrative talents including Wei Ji and Chen Qun.
The population pressure in Luoyang is indeed a problem, but if it is allowed to become a problem that continues to intensify as the disaster evolves, I am afraid that in less than two months, the prisons in Luoyang will be overcrowded.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to reach the population limit they can handle in one go before the large-scale spring plowing season, and then solve all the troubles at the beginning.
Did she break her promise to Cao Cao? Obviously not.
After the eight passes of Luoyang were officially closed, only business people and scholars who came to Luoyang to seek official positions could pass through these gates.
Then the remaining people can only choose places like Yanzhou and Yuzhou.
This suppressed outflow of people was obviously what Cao Cao wanted to see.
After all, everyone is short of population now.
Did she behave in a rebellious manner towards Liu Yu? Apparently not.
After the influx of population was blocked, the population of Luoyang was greatly restricted. At least it was impossible for it to exceed Chang'an in population. This was undoubtedly a strong response to her statement that she wanted to re-establish a capital in Luoyang.
But it is hard to say whether Luoyang's current closed-door governance will benefit others, but it is the most favorable result for Qiao Yan.
She had given advance notice, but because the people migrated too quickly she had to leave a checkpoint behind in a short period of time. She had already done her best for the people.
The people who arrived in Luoyang were also sent to suitable places to settle down under the high-intensity operation of local officials, received distributed supplies, and then began to get used to life in Guanzhong.
Now, she was given an opportunity to leave Chang'an in a logical way, allowing her to put behind her all the waves that might be caused by her apology in the court.
"I heard that there was an episode in Chang'an. Yu Zhongxiang, who accompanied Lu Jining to Chang'an, said shamelessly before Qiao Yeshu left Chang'an that she left in order to avoid his prophecy that her life would be in danger if she stayed in the capital for a long time." Looking at the letter he received, it was hard for Cao Cao not to feel it was a bit absurd.
"Now that you're talking like that, if I were Qiao Yeshu, I would kill Yu Zhongxiang first and let him know that it's hard to say whether she will lose her life within two years. That guy will go to see the King of Hell first." Cao Hong muttered beside him.
"So she is Qiao Yeshu, and you are Cao Zilian," Cao Cao looked at Cao Hong with amusement and anger, and replied, "If you kill someone for such a ridiculous reason, what's the point? Yu Zhongxiang is an old minister of Sun Bofu after all, so it's inevitable that he has some complaints about the death of his lord. Just pretend that he didn't exist."
"That's so embarrassing..." Cao Hong still felt that he couldn't just swallow this kind of humiliation.
Cao Cao shook his head and said, "If Qiao Yeshu can tolerate someone like Yu Zhongxiang, then who can't she tolerate? Printing is popular now. I think she wants to not only pacify the world, but also see a hundred schools of thought contend. Naturally, there must be voices of discontent first, and then there will be a grand scene of people from all directions gathering together."
In this regard, Yecheng is far behind.
I also heard that there was a young man named Zhong Changtong in Shanyang County of Yanzhou, who went to visit Qiao Yan when Jijiupian was being promoted, bringing the works he had written in the past few years. He claimed that he wanted to write a work that was more in line with the world. After obtaining Qiao Yan's permission, he traveled to various states under his jurisdiction in an attempt to perfect his words.
Even if Cao Cao did not think that such a young man could write anything, at most he could only write a poem like Wang Can, "The Goddess Sends Off the Army". However, in front of Qiao Yan's respectful attitude, no matter what he wrote, it seemed less important at this time.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore, let's pack up and go!"
Cao Hong was still a little confused, and then he heard Cao Cao continue, "What are you standing there for? Don't forget that we still have to go to Yecheng."
Long before Cao Cao and Qiao Yan met at Hulao Pass, he should have accepted Yuan Shao's invitation in the name of the emperor and gone to Yecheng.
But Cao Cao first sent Chen Gong to the north, and used one or two seemingly high-sounding reasons to temporarily fool him. He also delayed the matter for a while because he had to wait for Qiao Yan's performance after returning to Chang'an. Now he had to go to Yecheng.
Qiao Yan's reply, which seemed to be an answer but actually revealed nothing, forced Cao Cao to make the most advantageous decision at the moment:
First form an alliance with Yuan Shao.
Whether this is to survive this still bad year under the alliance or to wait for the situation to change, this is obviously the best choice.
Yuan Shao was of course happy to see Cao Cao's arrival.
Regardless of whether his alliance was made out of sincerity or was a decision made under temporary limitations, at least Yuan Shao would not be forced to sit back and wait for death just because of the loss of Yan and Yu states.
As long as Cao Cao is still willing to show submission to the Yecheng court, he still has a chance to fight back!
But perhaps Yuan Shao himself did not expect that he would have an ally who was separated from him by the north and south without even being informed.
Zhang Jin in Jiaozhou knew nothing about the turbulent yet complicated battle that was taking place in the Central Plains, even though there was no fighting.
Zuo Ci's suggestion on the time to send troops and the Taoist skills he displayed made him no longer have any doubt that he could defeat Liu Biao in Jingzhou. He was left with only confidence and determination.
In Zhang Jin's view, his situation and Liu Biao's situation were very different.
During the nearly six years he was in Jiaozhou, he failed to bring Jiuzhen, Rinnan and other counties under his control, leaving the governor of Zhuya County confronting him across the sea. It was not because he was not strong enough to do so, but because the people in these places still chose to behave like barbarians after hundreds of years of education and were more willing to associate with snakes and insects.
How can humans and beasts communicate normally?
But Jingzhou was obviously not so isolated and uncivilized. The fact that it failed to fully submit to the jurisdiction of the governor was due to Liu Biao's lack of ability.
beat! Of course you can fight!
In the ideal blueprint he had drawn for himself, the middle of the fourth year of Jian'an was the time for him to show off his power!
After the brothers Shi Wu and Shi Yi informed Shi Xie of the troop deployment between Nanhai County and Hepu County, they did not receive any response from the other party to stop it. From Shi Xie's perspective, he was waiting for an opportunity, but from Zhang Jin's perspective, his several years of operation in Jiaozhou had already made the most powerful Shi family in the local area submit to him.
Now everything is ready.
He had a legitimate reason for doing so - the Yecheng court was in critical condition and urgently needed him to make some changes.
He had the help of the right time, the right place and the right people - the soldiers of Jiaozhou were determined to fight under the rule of Taoism, his missionary work had attracted Zuo Ci, Yu Ji and others to his territory, and southern places like Jiaozhou had also completed spring plowing first, so they had more free time than the soldiers of Jingzhou.
The local powerful people did not try to stop his actions.
So what are you waiting for?
send troops!
The people of Luoyang were methodically engaged in the construction of the fourth year of Jian'an. Xun Yu complained that Qiao Yan did not reduce his burden at all, but instead increased his workload. At the same time, he asked Chen Qun to help deal with trivial matters after he had sorted out the legal details among the refugees.
Chen Gong of Yanzhou was in charge of the situation in Yanzhou and Yuzhou after Cao Cao went north to Yecheng. With the assistance of Zao Zhi and others, he tried his best to avoid public grievances in the two states due to the adverse weather conditions.
Xuzhou is adapting from its original divided state to the current unified situation.
The border between Jizhou and Youzhou also seemed to have temporarily changed from a state of confrontation that could break out at any time to focusing on the internal affairs first.
In this April, it seems that no one has the intention to launch an invasion against the enemy.
But it was in this April that a piece of news that no one expected came from the southern direction of Jingzhou!
Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, led an army of over 10,000 and marched north from Jiaozhou to launch a surprise attack on Guiyang.
Because there was already some contact between the clan bandits in southern Jingzhou and Jiaozhou, and Zhang Jin's dispatch of troops was unexpected, the officials of Guiyang County were unable to complete the interception as quickly as possible.
"In just a few days, we lost Guiyang's Zhenyang, Qujiang, and Linwu counties, allowing the enemy to station troops at the foot of Keling Mountain. What are the defenders of Guiyang doing?"
Liu Biao slammed the report on the table, his face still full of anger.
He bowed his head to Qiao Yan, showing weakness, but that didn't mean he could tolerate a character like Zhang Jin bullying him.
Who the hell is he!
To the north of Guiyang County is Changsha County. Earlier, because of Zhu Jun, Liu Biao failed to develop his power in Guiyang in time. But after Zhu Jun was removed, Liu Biao had people take over Changsha County again. After the spring plowing, he could push the garrison troops from Changsha southward to Guiyang, and by the way, he would also deal with those Guiyang clan bandits with the set of policies proposed by the Kuai brothers back then. However, before he could take any action, Zhang Jin, the guy who stirred up trouble, showed up.
Liu Biao looked up and saw Cai Mao's helpless expression. He quickly waved his hand and said, "I know you can't be blamed for this."
The counties lost by Guiyang County were all on the southernmost side adjacent to Jiaozhou, and were not even at the middle border.
Although Cai Mao had gone to take over Changsha County under Liu Biao's instruction, it was not possible to recover the city by simply sending soldiers into the territory. It would indeed take time to reach a compromise with the local clans.
It is obvious that the Guiyang mutiny was not caused by Zhang Jin's Jingzhou background, which led to the people in Jingzhou defecting.
All I can say is that he chose the best time to launch the attack!
If he had been a step late, Liu Biao would have been able to stop him as quickly as possible.
But now the opponent has taken the first move.
However, Liu Biao was able to let Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang kill more than 50 clan leaders without batting an eyelid just to annex Jingzhou and gain his own private troops in addition to the support from the aristocratic families. Now, he is definitely not a coward who would wait for the other side to come to him.
He gave the order immediately.
"Send a message to Luoyang and ask the Grand Marshal to keep an eye on Cao Cao to prevent him from launching a pincer attack from Yuzhou through northern Jingzhou."
"Please ask Kuai Yidu to stay in Xiangyang, and Degui to follow me to mobilize the troops and go south in person. I want to see what kind of person Zhang Ziyun is, and how he has the courage to challenge me!"
Kuai Yue is in charge, and Cai Mao goes south with Liu Biao!
As soon as these words were spoken, the city of Xiangyang suddenly fell into a state of intensive troop mobilization.
At this time, Liu Biao was a little regretful about loaning Huang Zhong, Wen Pin and others out, but fortunately he was not without people under his command.
After arranging all matters in Xiangyang, he immediately mounted his horse and rushed to Guiyang County with Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Huo Du, Huo Jun and others.
At the same time, a small boat also set out from the upper reaches of the Ming River in Zangke County of Yizhou and headed towards Jiaozhi County of Jiaozhou.
The person sitting on the boat was Fa Zheng, who was going to visit Shi Xie.
He looked at the clear waves of the river in front of him and smiled with a determined look. ：,n,
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
