Chapter 70, Part 1: Seizing Power and Profit
Since Liu Jun and Suo Lin reconciled, at Liu Jun's suggestion, some trivial court affairs could be handed over to Sima Ye, and the flames of war in the court ceased.
In addition, Liu Han was severely weakened, Shi Le was still observing, and apart from Bingzhou, which was constantly harassed by the Xiongnu and Jiehu, the entire Guanzhong region of the Jin Dynasty was still relatively peaceful.
Therefore, the officials were able to gradually settle down and free up their hands to organize military preparations and encourage farming and sericulture, and the originally exhausted Guanzhong region gradually stabilized day by day.
After Liu Jun finished his mourning period, Jia Pi immediately wrote to Liu Kun to act as matchmaker. Liu Kun was already worried about Liu Jun's marriage, and was overjoyed to hear this. He thanked Jia Pi profusely and gave him a large sum of money as a token of his gratitude.
So Liu Jun married Zhang, the granddaughter of Zhang Gui, the governor of Liangzhou, and Zhang, the daughter of Zhang Mao, the governor of Qinzhou. He also brought Dou and Guo to Chang'an. Apart from various considerations, his eldest son Liu Liang and his cousin Liu Qi remained in Liangzhou, which can be considered a family reunion.
Between the fourth and seventh years of Jianxing, Zhang and Dou each gave birth to a son, and Guo gave birth to a daughter.
After Jia Pi's death, the military and political affairs of Yongzhou were divided between Suo Lin and Liu Jun. As a result, Liu Jun directly controlled 150,000 troops. In addition, Liu Qi of Liangzhou and Liu Dan of Yuzhou could remotely command 100,000 troops, bringing Liu Jun's total military force to an astonishing 250,000.
Despite the poor harvests of the past two years, Liu Jun insisted on having his soldiers cultivate land in Guanzhong and build water conservancy projects. He himself set an example by personally farming the land, and all the women in his family, from Zhang down, personally wove cloth and made clothes. All the remaining expenses were used for military expenses.
In the first month of the seventh year of Jianxing, Sima Ye granted Liu Kun, the Minister of Works, the title of Grand Commandant, and also promoted him from Marquis of Guangwu County to Duke of Yanmen Commandery. Liu Jun was also promoted to Governor-General.
In politics, he held great power and was able to rival Suo Lin; in military affairs, his army was strong and his troops rarely suffered defeats; in family affairs, he had both a son and a daughter and his clan was strong and powerful. At only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, Liu Jun was able to achieve such success, which made people of his time very envious.
And so, in the blink of an eye, it was August of the seventh year of Jianxing.
Liu Jun had been staying in the granary for more than ten days. As soon as autumn arrived, he became extra cautious—the grasslands were lush, which was most favorable for the nomadic cavalry. From the Xiongnu to the Xianbei, they were most likely to raid the Central Plains at this time.
"My lord," Lu Jing said, quickly entering, "I have received a secret letter. Lord Suo requests your return to court as soon as possible."
Liu Jun frowned. "Why so suddenly? Has something changed in the court? Is it the Xun family or the Du family?"
In the past year or two, Sima Ye had devoted himself to supporting his maternal uncle's brothers Xun Kai and Xun Sui, as well as Du Lihua's brothers Du Dan and Du Ji. One was from the Xun family of Yingchuan, and the other from the Du family of Jingzhao. On the surface, this was to counterbalance Suo Lin, but Liu Jun knew in his heart that his childhood friend probably didn't completely trust him either.
“The specifics are unclear,” Lu Jing said in a low voice. “In addition, Sima Bao, the Prince of Nanyang, has sent someone to deliver birthday gifts again.”
"What a joke! My birthday is October 19th, and it's only August now. He's being far too eager." Apart from Sima Ye, Liu Jun had no goodwill towards any of the Sima princes, especially Sima Bao and Sima Rui, those two hypocrites who were all talk and no action, watching from the sidelines and waiting for Sima Ye to die so they could seize the throne.
Suo Lin was wary of Sima Bao, the Prince of Nanyang, because being close to him gave him an advantage. If anything happened in Chang'an, Sima Bao would be the first to arrive and could seize the Central Plains at any time.
Liu Jun, however, was more wary of Sima Rui, the Prince of Langya, who was far south of the Yangtze River, and the gentry who had migrated south behind him. Therefore, he also prevented Sima Ye from recommending Sima Rui as the leader of the alliance.
"It is still unknown, and General Yin has not found out either."
Liu Jun pressed the sword at his waist. "Very well, let's return to the capital!"
Ten miles from the capital, they heard that Suo Lin was waiting for them at his villa outside the city.
Upon meeting, before they could even exchange pleasantries, Suo Lin blurted out, "His Majesty wants to kill Liu Cong!"
"Why so suddenly?" Liu Jun raised an eyebrow. Sima Ye was usually indecisive and not as decisive as he was.
"Liu Yao, the Prince of Zhongshan, finally launched a coup, killed Jin Zhun, and has now ascended the throne."
“Zhongshan? Does he even deserve it?” Liu Jun said unhappily.
Suo Lin was anxious and couldn't help but secretly roll his eyes at Liu Jun, thinking to himself, "What time is it for someone to care about their own family's ancestral home?" "Your Excellency, there's no need to worry about it. He has now changed the name of his country to Zhao and the era name to Guangchu. At the same time, Shi Le has also raised an army and declared himself king, also known as the King of Zhao."
Liu Jun couldn't help but laugh out loud, "What, is the name Zhao so good? Everyone's vying for it, so how are we supposed to address them?"
His expression immediately darkened. He knew about Liu Yao's rebellion, but he hadn't heard a word about Shi Le's matter and didn't know what had gone wrong. The news was coming so slowly this time, and he would have to reprimand the shogunate properly later.
"Suo Gong's eagerness must not be for some trivial matter like Liu Yao and Shi Le fighting like dogs. Why are they attacking the Great Jin again to demonstrate their military prowess?" Liu Jun said casually.
Suo Lin sighed, "It's so easy to talk to smart people. That's right, Liu Yao is frequently mobilizing troops and will be sending them out soon."
"After the Duke of Gaogui was killed in the Southern Palace, Emperor Wen immediately destroyed Shu to establish his authority through military virtue," Liu Jun smiled. "Now, Shi Le occupies the entire eastern border of the north, while Liu Yao only occupies a small piece of land in Bingzhou and Yuzhou. He has always been very proud of himself, so how could he allow the lowly slaves of the past to be above him? But seeing Shi Le's growing power, he also knows that a head-on confrontation would be of no benefit to him, so he can only come to bully us, the soft persimmon."
After saying that, Liu Jun suddenly realized something was wrong. Suo Lin had seen a lot of things, and the mere fact that Liu Yao was attacking him was not enough to make him so surprised. However, in a flash, Liu Jun said with almost certainty, "Does His Majesty want to appoint Du Dan or Du Ji as generals?"
“No,” Suo Lin said with a rare sense of satisfaction at Liu Jun’s miscalculation, “His Majesty intends to lead the expedition in person.”
"The emperor personally leads the expedition?" Liu Jun laughed. "Yes, why not? It's a good thing that His Majesty has such ambition, and we, as his subjects, should support him."
Suo Lin looked at him with confusion, unsure whether he had other plans or was truly so upright and honest. "Doesn't the Chamberlain worry that His Majesty will be like a cunning rabbit that has been caught and a hunting dog that has been cooked?"
"In the past, during the Qin and Han dynasties, only the emperor's tiger tally was recognized when mobilizing troops. Later, the Han dynasty collapsed, and warlords rose up, each ruling their own territory, raising soldiers and raising troops. The emperor's tiger tally became a mere formality." Liu Jun didn't take it seriously. "I dare to assert that, apart from my father and myself, there are probably very few governors in the world who still recognize His Majesty's tiger tally."
Suo Lin understood his unspoken meaning. He glanced at Liu Jun and thought to himself, "He's been busy seizing power all these years, and more than half of the civil and military officials in the court are Liu Jun's men. Yet he still pretends to be loyal and upright, as if Suo Lin is the only powerful minister and he is the most loyal minister in the world."
Regardless, seeing that he was acting as if nothing had happened, Suo Lin was relieved.
Just then, Yin Xiaocheng delivered a secret letter from Sima Ye. Liu Jun opened it, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "His Majesty has hosted a small banquet. I obtained some tangerines a few days ago, which I would like to present to His Majesty."
He cracked his whip, looked into the distance, and saw Chang'an.
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