Chapter 288 Drought is coming
At the Chang'an New Road Exhibition in the first year of Jian'an, Ni Heng wrote "Ode to the Parrot" in order to compete with Wang Can to show the excellence of Chang'an compared with other places.
However, the quality of an article is certainly not judged by the number of uncommon characters used, but rather by whether it can present the content of the article to the readers more accurately and clearly.
In this respect, Wang Can's "The Goddess Sending Me to the Expedition" is easier to understand.
What's more, Wang Can's entire story structure is more complete, and its twists and turns are much more exciting than "The Parrot Fu". It is natural that Ni Heng could not be ranked above Wang Can.
Even so, as he was among the top three, his short fu was published in the Leping Monthly Report and distributed to various prefectures and counties in accordance with the reward conditions given by Qiao Yan before.
Ni Heng had already made a name for himself as a madman in his early years. His comments on people from all walks of life after entering Chang'an City made it very clear to everyone that this man was arrogant and conceited.
So after his Parrot Fu appeared, because of the comparison between the before and after, everyone thought that he was shocked by the series of things Qiao Yan brought out, and he had to shut up his talkative mouth.
However, what these people did not expect was that Wang Can, who was ranked first, went to Qiao Yan's Grand Marshal's Mansion and took up the position of a clerk in charge of paperwork, but Ni Heng did not make any move at all.
Even though he followed Yang Xiu to attend the drinking party on the outskirts of Chang'an, it did not affect his leisurely life in Chang'an, and he had no intention of working for Qiao Yan at all.
Some people think that Ni Heng's action might be due to his dissatisfaction with Qiao Yan for not giving him the first place, but if Ni Heng himself said so, losing is losing. Although he is extremely arrogant, he still knows how to accept the facts.
He is just too lazy to take up an official post.
With his talent for writing articles and composing poems that could be exchanged for wine, it would not be difficult for him to survive in Chang'an.
As the price of paper becomes cheaper, life becomes easier for talented people like him.
Perhaps the only thing that makes me sad is this -
Alcohol consumption is restricted in Chang'an city.
According to the agreement between Qiao Yan and Liu Yu, the alcohol restriction order will last for two years, which means it will last until May or June this year.
In Chang'an today, the purchase of alcohol is still restricted.
At most, it was because Ni Heng was a good friend of Yang Xiu that he was able to buy more wine from Yang Xiu during the New Year, and then use the alcohol to scold Qiao Yan for limiting the alcohol consumption.
This state of his life lasted for a year and a half, and everyone in Chang'an knew about it.
Ni Heng wrote that poem about the parrot simply because he wanted to write it, and it had nothing to do with any respect he had for Qiao Yan.
It would be good of him not to beat the drum and scold Joe again.
It was precisely because of his stance that no one thought that his sudden clash with Chunyu Jia and his sharp criticism of him in public could be considered as speaking for Qiao Yan.
Who is Ni Heng?
Even Xun Yu, who had a handsome appearance and outstanding temperament, could be commented on by him as "Xun Wenruo could go to mourn with that face". He was simply a troll with vicious words and no taboos.
He didn't even care about his own image as a scholar, so how could he care about Chunyu Jia's face?
If we go by Yang Xiu's evaluation of Ni Heng, although this man has a sharp tongue, he still has some vision.
If not for this, he would not have pointed out at the wine discussion party that "if everyone in this world can put public interests above personal interests, there will never be two sides, the Chang'an court and the Yecheng court, in the world."
So he could also see that Qiao Yan's decision to postpone mobilizing troops and take care of farming was the most appropriate move to accumulate strength at this time.
The dispute at the Chang'an court meeting could not be concealed. After all, it had been brought to the formal table and naturally reached Ni Heng's ears.
He did not think that Qiao Yan's actions in the three states, and even in Yizhou, would make her develop a mentality of avoiding war and shrinking back. Therefore, this action to resist the drought was worthy of deep thought.
Prepare for war or prepare for famine. For a person who is capable of fighting, choosing the latter must involve some trade-offs.
This decision is not easy.
Of course, it has more logical basis than those who only know how to argue in the court.
So while muttering that he didn't want the alcohol restriction to continue for another two years, he went to block Chunyu Jia's way.
I don’t know if he was stimulated by Wang Can, so he has learned a new way of finding fault.
Isn't this just to lay the groundwork before getting down to business?
Ni Heng first talked to Chunyu Jia and said, "I heard that you refuted the decision of the Grand Marshal at the court meeting today?" I want to talk to you about this.
Chunyu Jia knew a lot about the grudge between Ni Heng and Qiao Yan, and was especially aware of Ni Heng's wild temper.
He came to a conclusion that Ni Heng obviously felt that Qiao Yan's behavior was inappropriate, so he came to him.
Ni Heng must have thought that he should take advantage of the advantage in Chang'an and take down the court in the east in one fell swoop.
It seems that this guy is on the same side as him!
Chun Yu Jia was blocked by Qiao Yan in the court and ignored by her, but he still hasn't figured out why he should consider the invisible disaster relief first. He is still holding his breath, worried that no one would join him in criticizing Qiao Yan. Now he meets someone who is obviously a fellow traveler, and he is so happy.
Before he could finish his sentence, Ni Heng suddenly asked, "Have you ever farmed?"
Chun Yujia didn't understand why he suddenly asked about this and just shook his head blankly.
Ni Heng replied: "I have never planted crops before, so I always walk on tiptoe when passing by the edge of the field, for fear that stepping on the ridge will affect the farmland on both sides, which will block the sunlight."
Chun Yujia: “……?”
Ni Heng asked again: "Have you ever fought in a war?"
Chun Yujia still shook his head.
Ni Heng said: "I have never fought before, so I usually avoid those soldiers because I know that one of them can beat five of me. For someone like me who easily offends others, I might be put in a sack and beaten, which would be even harder to beat."
"..."Ni Heng had actually been beaten up by someone with a sack in his hand during the previous essay writing competition, so what he said seemed quite credible.
But the two sentences he suddenly asked and answered not only confused Chunyu Jia, but also sounded a little wrong.
He frowned, realizing that Ni Heng might not be here to share the same hatred with him, and asked quickly, "What do you mean by that?"
Ni Heng replied: "There is a saying in the poem that without strength and courage, one will be the cause of chaos. I think this is the case with Doctor Chunyu."
"you!"
Ni Heng spread his hands calmly, "I'm just telling the truth. Doctor Chunyu doesn't know much about farming or warfare. If he were like me, reading poetry and drinking tea and wine every day, wandering the streets, listening to teahouses, and occasionally going to the Hongwen Hall to get a taste of the elegance of a great scholar, he would be a scholar. But you have to point fingers at things you are not good at. What's the point of that?"
He paused, and then said, "By the way, Doctor Chunyu is well-educated, so I guess he has also heard of the name Shu Diao?"
"In the past, Guan Yiwu once made an evaluation of Shu Diao, saying that there is nothing more human than loving oneself. If Shu Diao does not love himself, how can he love the king? This statement is true for Doctor Chunyu."
"Pretending to know when you don't know, making false accusations, is a sign of not loving your own reputation. If a person doesn't love himself, how can he love the king? This truth has already been verified by someone. So does Doctor Chunyu really love the king? Why are you talking about unifying the world as soon as possible!"
Chunyu Jia was so angry that his lips were trembling.
How could he not know who Shu Diao mentioned by Ni Heng was!
Shu Diao, Yi Ya and Kai Fang were the villains around Duke Huan of Qi, the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period.
In order to gain the trust of Duke Huan of Qi and show his loyalty to him, Shu Diao even castrated himself. For this, Guan Zhong made a comment: Shu Diao does not even care about his own body, so how can we expect him to love his monarch?
Sure enough, when Duke Huan of Qi was critically ill, Shu Diao and his cronies rebelled and even starved Duke Huan of Qi to death, which confirmed what Guan Zhong said.
Ni Heng's sophistry logic is to say that Chunyu Jia is pointing fingers at things he does not understand, which shows that he does not even care about his own reputation. Similarly, people who do not care about themselves will not love their king. Yet he still insists on making suggestions for the great cause of unifying the world, which is truly despicable.
As for whether Ni Heng loves himself or his king, there is nothing to criticize. Anyway, he does not want to be an official, he is incorruptible and happy!
This is even just the beginning of Ni Heng's street provocation.
No wonder, by the time Qiao Yan received the news, Chun Yu Jia was so angry that he vomited blood.
After hearing this conversation from someone who witnessed the entire quarrel between the two, it was hard for Qiao Yan not to feel that Ni Heng looked a lot more pleasing to the eye.
If you want to know how to curse, you have to look at these trolls.
He had not even calmed down until now. Chunyu Jia, who had recovered from his shock, looked like he was going to settle accounts with Ni Heng. He sighed helplessly, "If a man does not know the past and present, he will be as good as a horse or an ox; if a scholar does not know shame, he will be as good as a dog or a pig. Alas, how sad and lamentable it is."1
Chun Yujia finally saw Qiao Yan appear here at this time, and turned around and shouted: "Grand Sima, you actually let people humiliate me like this!"
Qiao Yan was suddenly attacked, and he seemed innocent. "You are wrongly accusing me. I never tell lies. I have already made it clear in the court what I want to refute you. Why exaggerate?"
"Shu Diao was a eunuch and a treacherous minister, but you were also imprisoned as a member of the party in the past. No one can compare you to Shu Diao. This man supported Prince Wu Kui to ascend the throne and caused civil strife in Qi, but you have no personal relationship with your Majesty's son. This is also a discrepancy."
Dong Zhuo had to admit that every word she said when writing the manifesto was a heart-wrenching fact.
"If Ni Zhongping did this at my instruction, I would have changed his words anyway. Don't you agree?"
Ni Heng's words don't conform to her aesthetic standards.
Chun Yujia's face became redder and redder.
Although Qiao Yan's words were meant to distance him from Shu Diao and his ilk, she never refuted one thing from beginning to end, which was Ni Heng's most fundamental accusation against Chun Yu Jia -
He doesn't have much ability, but he has to cross the line into areas he is not familiar with and talk too much.
When Chunyu Jia thought about seeing this busy Grand Marshal again, who had vomited blood because of being scolded by Ni Heng in the street, he felt so angry that he wanted to spit out blood again.
Even though the crowd around had been evacuated by the Jinwu Guards at this time, there were not many people left here to hear Qiao Yan's words. Chun Yu Jia still fainted without being able to catch his breath.
Qiao Yan and Ni Heng looked at each other across the medical staff who were treating Chun Yu Jia.
At this moment, both of them tacitly passed the final straw to each other.
This can't be blamed on her (him)...
With the precedent of Chunyu Jia, in order to prevent themselves from being subjected to such difficult-to-respond verbal attacks, even if there were some opposing suggestions to Qiao Yan's decision in Chang'an City, no one dared to raise them at such a critical moment.
After the court's power had been completely consolidated in Guanzhong, Qiao Yan was not at all surprised that voices of opposition would emerge one after another.
Rather than saying that what they wanted to oppose was her decision to protect the people's livelihood first and then pacify the world, it would be better to say that what they wanted to oppose was the fact that her position as the Grand Marshal was above that of any other official in Chang'an City.
It's better now.
No matter whether they still think so in their hearts, at least no one will influence her plan openly.
This was enough for Qiao Yan. After all, there was no need for her to control what everyone said.
The construction of canals and water storage and allocation in Chang'an were carried out in an orderly manner. From the source of the Wei River, Niaoshu Tongxue Mountain, to Tongguan, all factors that might affect the interruption of water flow during the dry season were checked.
Time has unknowingly passed from January to February, and soon it is the end of February.
Before the spring plowing, these extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive operations had been completely completed, and a portion of the grain stored in the Chang'an granary was used as wages for these laborers.
In most cases in the past, Qiao Yan was actually accustomed to using Wuzhu coins as the common currency of the three states, but because of the current special situation, he made some slight changes.
This was precisely to prevent the accumulation of money in the hands of the people during this stage. Once a drought came, the price of rice in Chang'an City would soar, disrupting the order she wanted to maintain in a very short period of time.
It was not just Guanzhong that made these preparatory works, but also Bingzhou and Liangzhou.
Although Fu Shou was young, she had been practicing water conservancy projects with Bi Lan in Guanzhong for two years and had previous experience in hydrological surveys. With Qiao Yan's strong recommendation, she was transferred back to Bingzhou to directly take on the responsibility of inspecting the waterways there.
The affairs of Liangzhou were handed over to Jia Mu.
Under this clear division of labor, any abnormal situation occurring in any place can be reported back to the central government as soon as possible.
Qiao Yan worked non-stop during the preparation period before the spring, and he also did not rest in other places.
But unlike her, who was actively preparing for drought, Yangzhou was preparing for war.
Just as Chunyu Jia knew, Sun Ce was preparing to formally attack Huang Zu in the early spring!
The troops that had previously pacified Kuaiji County have now officially advanced to the territory of Yuzhang County.
Sun Ce's confidence in this battle is obvious.
From the morale to the strength of his army, they were far superior to Huang Zu's, so there was no reason for him to fail.
After this battle, he would definitely kill Huang Zu on his horse to avenge his father who was ambushed by him!
He dressed up and walked out of the main tent, but saw Zhou Yu, who was with him in Yuzhang, looking at the sky with a serious look on his face.
"What are you worried about, Gongjin? I will not go deep into the enemy's territory alone this time. There are many sunny days these days, so I won't be bothered by the weather. Yuzhang is in the territory of Yangzhou, and there is no terrain that can be taken advantage of. The winner of this battle is already clear!"
Sun Ce's confidence was not arrogance, but the conclusion he drew after analyzing the current situation.
Back then, Dong Zhuo arranged for Huang Zu to be the prefect of Yuzhang as a check on Qiao Yan's request for Sun Ce to be appointed the prefect of Kuaiji.
Once Huang Zu left Jingzhou, the support that his clan could provide him would be greatly reduced.
If he had been more decisive and retreated back to Jiangxia early, instead of continuing to confront Sun Ce in Yuzhang County, he might have lived longer - after all, Sun Ce was still the governor of Yangzhou appointed by the Chang'an court. At least in the short term, he would never break the rules and invade Jingzhou.
Ke Yuzhang...
As the governor of Yangzhou, Sun Ce had the right to supervise and lead this place.
Sun Ce had already grown strong in Yangzhou. He was no longer the young man who had come to Yangzhou as a last resort!
No one can save Huang Zu this time!
Zhou Yu looked towards Sun Ce and saw the determination to defeat the enemy on his face, which made people feel infected by his high-spirited spirit.
He replied: "It's not Huang Zu that I'm worried about."
There was no way Huang Zu could be their biggest threat.
If it weren't for the Shanyue and aristocratic forces in Yangzhou who were secretly trying to hinder Sun Ce, this situation of numerous clans was indeed a characteristic of the south. Huang Zu would not have been alive last year, and he would not have waited until this year.
Fortunately, nowadays, Yangzhou's grain production has increased a lot with the help of new farming methods. Even if a large amount of grain is offered to the court in Chang'an, the remaining amount is enough for Sun Ce to recruit soldiers.
The support he gets here is increasing day by day. Once he takes Yuzhang County, he will become the real lord of Yangzhou.
But there was a problem at the moment that made Zhou Yu worried.
"Bofu, the climate in the north and south is different. You and I both know that there is little precipitation in the spring in the north. If there is little rain in autumn and winter, it is not uncommon for there to be less rain in the spring due to the influence of windy days. But we are in Yangzhou."
When the weather in the south of the Yangtze River warms up, there is always rain. But now it is March, the time for spring plowing, and the rain is especially scarce. There have been continuous sunny days in recent days. It is indeed a good environment for combat, but it is definitely not for people's livelihood!
In particular, the crops in Yangzhou are mainly rice, which requires much more water than millet and wheat in the north. The drought can be alleviated for now by relying on the extensive water network in the south, but what should we do if the drought continues?
You know, the possibility of summer drought in the south of the Yangtze River is much higher than spring drought!
Zhou Yu murmured, "Perhaps, Chang'an's predictions and preparations are correct."
The Chang'an dispute, which they had previously treated as a topic of idle talk, had now shown the necessity of action by one side.
Drought is coming...
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