In August of the fifth year of Yonghe, Chu Li retreated to Guangling. When Chen Kui heard this, he burned Shouchun and accumulated, destroyed the city and escaped. He begged for self-depreciation, and the edict was not allowed, and he ordered him to return to the town of Jingkou and relieve the governor of the capital. When Hebei was in turmoil, more than 200,000 remnants crossed the river to return, but the meeting had been returned, and the power was not accepted, and they could not extricate themselves, and their deaths were exhausted. In September, he returned to Jiankang, and suddenly heard that there was an envoy from the north, shouting a great victory. When asked, General Yan Zhenbei won a great victory in Guanzhong and recovered Chang'an, and he was angry and sick. In December, when he returned to Beijing, he heard a lot of crying, so he asked left and right, and said: "The home of the deceased is also on behalf of the deceased." "The disease was even worse, and he died not long after.

Excerpt from the introduction

It is said that the great victory of Guanlong continued to roll eastward, and the first to receive the good news was Jiangling Huanwen. He carefully flipped through the good news, reading it word by word, and analyzing it one by one against the map laid on the ground. After a long sigh, he sat back in place, silent.

Huan Chong, who had been holding the lamp next to him, waited for a while, and seeing that Huan Wen still had no words, he hurriedly called out: "Brother, brother!" ”

Huan Wen came back to his senses at this time, and turned his head to look at Huan Chong when he heard the sound. Seeing Huan Chong's worried look, Huan Wen couldn't help but smile, waved his hand and said, "It's nothing!" It's just a moment of contemplation. I used to underestimate Xu Ping. You see that he sent troops to Qiu Chi Wudu, attacked Tuyuhun, and took advantage of the chaos to take Guanlong this time. ”

Finally, Huan Wen sighed and said, "Now I can only look at the back of his neck." ”

At this time, Huan Chong said slowly: "If this continues, I'm afraid that Zeng Zhenbei will move east into Luoyang and recover Heluo." At that time, I am afraid that his momentum will be unmatched. ”

Hearing this, Huan Wen couldn't help laughing, turned his head to his own brother and asked, "Do you really think that Zeng Xuping will go straight to Heluo?" ”

Huan Chong was stunned by the question, and sat there not knowing how to answer, just looking at his brother with puzzled eyes.

"Zeng Xuping's achievements today, in addition to his personal efforts, are also related to him, and it is inseparable from the support of the imperial court and Jing Xiang." Huan Wen said slowly, "Since he sat in Liangzhou, he has made full use of the contradictions between the imperial court and me and quickly sat down, which is what he has today." ”

"What do you mean, brother?" Huan Chong understands a little, but he doesn't think about it thoroughly enough.

"Zeng Xuping not only used the imperial court to support him to contain my intentions, but also made full use of my idea of uniting him to resist the imperial court. Because of this, the imperial court and I asked him to release people and sell grain, and he did not dare to slack off at all, and as a result, in less than two years, Zeng Xuping managed Liang and Yi Prefectures like iron buckets. Indeed, when it comes to running a place, no one in the court can match this Zeng Xuping, not to mention the court now, even I, the old boss who is close to Liang and Yi, have no chance to interfere at all. ”

It is worthy of his own brother, Huan Wen explained patiently.

"Do you know what Zeng Xuping's most critical step is?" Huan Wen asked.

Huan Chong thought for a while, and finally said hesitantly: "Brother, could it be that he sent troops to Qiu Chi and Tugu Hun, right?" ”

"Yes," Huan Wen praised, "At that time, everyone said that Zeng Xuping's move was either reckless or greedy for merit and profit, and I only later figured out that without the tens of thousands of Qiang cavalry from hundreds of thousands of Xiqiang, how could Zeng Xuping take down Guanlong so easily without these tens of thousands of Qiang cavalry?" ”

"Brother, I see. It's just that what does this have to do with Zeng Liangzhou taking Heluo directly? Huan Chong asked after a while.

"Zeng Xuping worked hard to manage Liang and Yizhou, and tried his best to add tens of thousands of Qiang cavalry to get lucky to take Guanlong, do you say that he will re-enter Heluo if he is not sure? Do not hesitate to spend all your strength for the sake of a false name? Huan Wen asked rhetorically.

"No, it won't. The elder brother meant that Zeng Liangzhou would continue to stay in Guanzhong and gather strength. Huan Chong asked hesitantly.

"You have little contact with Zeng Xuping, you don't know much about his personality, for him, strength is above all else. Therefore, he will not make a move easily, whether it is sending troops to Qiu Chi and Tuyuhun or recovering Guan Long, he is all keen to grasp the opportunity, and then hit with one blow. This Heluo land is the hinterland of Northern Zhao, close to Yecheng. Moreover, the terrain is vast and flat, unlike Guanlong, which has natural dangers to rely on, once the troops fall into it, they may be attacked from all directions, so Zeng Xuping will not easily get out of Tongguan before gathering enough strength. ”

"And," Huan Wen picked up the teacup on the coffee table, took a few sips and continued: "The current Heluo is more important for Zeng Xuping. He left Heluo behind, and the court and I will do our best to take it. If the court doesn't take it, it won't be able to suppress me and Zeng Xuping; If I don't take it, I won't be able to compete with the imperial court and Zeng Xuping. But whether it is the imperial court or I want to send troops to recover Heluo, Zeng Xuping, who is a soldier of the river in Chen Tongguan, is the biggest helper. It can be said that only if Zeng Xuping is willing, it is possible for the court and me to recover Heluo, otherwise it will be ....... ”

Huan Chong nodded and replied, "I understand." Zeng Liangzhou is not able to recover Heluo instead of losing troops and spending a lot of strength, so it is better to sit in Guanyou, wait for the opportunity, and see who gives more benefits to help recover Heluo? ”

Huan Wen laughed: "Although the words are ugly, they are true. ”

Huan Chong couldn't help asking: "Then the imperial court will sit back and watch Zeng Liangzhou support troops Guan Longyiliang?" "Yes, in the past, this Zeng Hua was able to make such a big move just by sitting in a small Liangzhou, but now that he has the dangerous and rich Qinchuan, I don't know what kind of movement he can make? And according to Zeng Hua's means, in a few years, it is really not good to say that the surnames of Liang, Yi and Guan Long are Zeng or Sima.

"So what?" Huan Wen was quite resentful, if it weren't for the fact that the imperial court wanted to contain and suppress himself so openly and secretly, he would not have been forced to join forces with Zeng Hua because he wanted to resist the imperial court, but he knew Zeng Hua's personality best. "Now that Zeng Hua has grown up, who in the world can take him, what should I do?"

Huan Wen suddenly sighed and said faintly: "Chu Qi lost too badly. ”

Huan Chong heard Huan Wen's sad and sad sigh, and he also lamented in his heart.

In May, Northern Zhao Shihu fell ill and died. In June, the soldiers and horses of the Jin Dynasty who heard this letter took action one after another. His brother Huan Wen entered Tun'an Lu and sent troops to prepare to conquer Yuzhou, Huaihebei, but the imperial court did not allow it. The Northern Expedition is different from the Felling of Shu, without the support of the imperial court, Huan Wen has no way to send troops with all his strength, if that is the case, maybe he will be beaten to the ground before he sees Heluo. The soldiers and horses of Northern Zhao are incomparable to the decaying soldiers of the Cheng Han Dynasty, and Yizhou, which is located in a corner, cannot be compared with the Central Plains.

Soon, Yangzhou Thorn Shi Wang Hun was dissatisfied with Shi Zun's self-reliance, so he surrendered to Shouyang. Jiankang took this opportunity to fully support the Northern Expedition of Chu Pei, the general of the Zhengshi-Guozhang and the general of the expedition to the north. In autumn and July, Chu Pei entered Pengcheng and sent his teacher Xizhonglang to station Chen Kui in Shouchun. At this time, hundreds of families in Lu County heard that Wang Shi was on the northern expedition, and they were ready to cross the river to the south to return to the imperial court. Who knew that Shi Zun sent Li Nong to lead 20,000 cavalry to inspect Yanzhou and Northern Xuzhou, and fought in Daipi. Li Nong's cavalry attacked, most of the infantry army Wang Shi was defeated, Wang Gong was captured alive, Li Mai died in the chaos, and the sergeants and civilians were killed and wounded. Under the helpless rule, in August, Chu Pei retreated to Guangling, and Xizhonglang burned Chen Kui to Shouchun and escaped. A vigorous "Northern Expedition" was defeated.

If Jiankang allowed his brother to send troops to Northern Yuzhou, there would be no such ending when the east and west echoed, which really pitied the thousands of soldiers and civilians in Daibei. Huan Chong couldn't help but feel depressed when he thought of this.

"Young son, don't be discouraged." Huan Wen called his brother's words and comforted: "You said that those famous men in Jiankang can preside over the Northern Expedition, every time they send troops, they are all veterans of the division and are tired, and they return in a huff." In the end, it is not necessary to rely on Jing Xiang. ”

"This time, Jiankang will be overjoyed to receive this good news, and then Ming Zhao Zeng Xuping will return to Beijing to be sealed." Huan Wen smiled and stroked his beard.

"Zhao Zeng Zhenbei returned to Beijing, brother, you don't mean that Jiankang will attack Zeng Zhenbei." Huan Chong exclaimed.

"Young son, don't think so seriously. Zeng Xuping is already the world-famous minister of Zhongxing and land restoration, and Jiankang just wants to collect Zeng Xuping's military power, and they don't dare to start at this time. And they also relied on Zeng Xuping to assist the imperial court in the Northern Expedition and recover Heluo. Huan Wen replied with a smile.

"What do you mean, brother?" Huan Chong asked.

"The meaning of the imperial court is very clear, firstly, in Jiankang to officially canonize Zeng Xuping's merits, to promote the kindness of the imperial court to the world; Second, Zeng Xuping can be transferred back to Jiankang from Guanlong in the name of official canonization. In this way, Guan Long would not have been able to march to Heluo without Zeng Xuping's presiding. Chu Pei was newly defeated, and the imperial court needed time to reorganize the troops and horses, and they were afraid that Zeng Xuping would suddenly hit Heluo and ruin their big business. It's really calculating and calculating, but it's still in the calculations of others, and it's still doing things that destroy oneself tirelessly. These celebrities. Huan Wen sighed.

"You pass the letter for me to those governors of Jiankang. They were asked to remind some people in Jiankang not to use their brains to attack the idea of Yizhou, Liangzhou and other places under the jurisdiction of Xuping now. Xuping, I know him too well, he can bite off two taels of meat from you if he has nothing to do, you dare to go to him to take advantage, he dares to kill your whole family. Xuping didn't take care of things as much as I did, and I didn't want to have a stiff relationship with Zeng Xuping before the Northern Expedition. Huan Wen finally said, "It's better for you to come forward and inform you in a private message about this kind of thing." ”

When the good news reached Jiankang, the government and the opposition were boiling with joy. Many ministers and the people wept with joy, knelt in front of the north, and cried loudly.

On the night of receiving the good news, Sima Yu, the king of Huiji, came to visit Danyang Yin Liuyu, who was sick and recuperating at home.

"It's really long, do you know about Guan Long's victory?" Sima Yu asked straight to the point.

"Yes, just found out at noon." Liu Yi replied with a pale face.

"It's really long, I really regret not listening to your good words, I didn't expect him to be so strong." Now Sima Yu's intestines are repentant, and the Jin family can only be maintained by relying on celebrities and "talented people" from the government and the opposition to the present, and high-ranking officials and even princesses and queens are all means and measures to entrap. Huan Wen, Liu Yi, Chu Li, etc. are examples. Now that Zeng Hua has become like this, the Jin family has not yet pulled him into the network, and Sima Yu, as an auxiliary minister and patriarch of the royal family, feels that he is very derelict in his duties.

"I didn't expect this son to grow like this." Liu Yi smiled very happily, as the first to recommend and promote Zeng Hua, Liu Yi is naturally qualified and has reason to be proud of Zeng Hua's achievements today.

"It's really long, do you think you can continue with what you said last time?" Of course, Liu Yu knew that what Sima Yu said was that he had been mentioning the matter of asking Zeng Hua to be the son-in-law of the Sima family two years ago.

"Isn't there no suitable princess in the royal family now?" Liu Yi asked half-seriously and half-jokingly.

"This, this, I have discussed with the Queen Mother and several other princes, and I am willing to make my daughter Sima Yan the eldest princess of Guiyang, and she is still in Zengliang Prefecture." Sima Yu blushed a little.

"So good, so good!" Liu Yu smiled and said, it seems that Sima Yu is very sincere this time, and even his daughter who has just turned fourteen years old has been sent out, this is his favorite eldest daughter, the daughter of the Sima family. It seems that it is still strength that proves everything.

"That's a long time, there's one more thing I need your help with." Sima Yu said hesitantly, "The imperial court is preparing to edict Zeng Liangzhou to return to Jiankang, so as to officially confer the canonization of monks. It's just that I'm afraid that Zeng Liangzhou will misunderstand, so please write a letter to him and explain it in detail, the court has no other intentions. ”

Liu was stunned for a moment, but suddenly understood, and couldn't help but ask slightly hoarsely: "Who is the imperial court going to take as the commander of the Northern Expedition this time?" ”

"Prepare to commission Yin Yangzhou (Yangzhou Thorn Shi Yin Hao) to preside over the new Northern Expedition." Sima Yu hurriedly replied.

"I understand, I'll give Zeng Xuping a letter. He is now a Fang Bo important minister, and he has not yet been to Jiankang to face the saint, so it is really unreasonable, he is different from those foreign vassals. Besides, I miss him too, and I'm afraid I won't have a chance if he doesn't come again. Liu Yi was a little gloomy when he said this.

Looking at Liu Yu's pale face and weak body, Sima Yu couldn't help but sigh gloomily, and he was speechless for a long time.

After the good news reached Jiankang, the atmosphere of joy quickly spread to Danyang and Yangzhou. Chu Li, who returned to Beijing after defeat, pleaded guilty from Beijing, and as soon as he entered Jiankang, he saw laughter and laughter on the shore, which was very lively, and hurriedly sent his entourage to ask only to know that it was Zeng Liangzhou, who he had always looked down on, to take Guanlong and recover Chang'an, Xijing.

Hearing the news, Chu Li, who was hiding on the boat, had mixed feelings, and lamented repeatedly: "The general of the defeated army, why did you meet you?" The general of the defeated army, how can he face the king. "Within a few days, I started to get sick.

At the end of September, Zeng Hua was inspecting Fufeng County under Wang Meng's rule. When Wang Meng defected to him, Zeng Hua immediately appointed him as the county guard of Fufeng. On the basis of the former Fufeng County, the current Fufeng County merged the former Xinping County, most of Shiping County and half of the Beidi County (Zhiniyang, now Fuyao County, Shaanxi, including only a small area near the present-day Tongchuan City, which was completely different from the Beidi County in the Han Dynasty), and became a veritable right Fufeng in the three auxiliaries. And Zeng Hua handed over such an important place to Wang Meng, who had just come to defect, which shows his importance to Wang Meng.

"Lord Wang has done a lot of things in less than a month after taking office, not only vigorously promoting the uniform field system, but also rectifying the rule of officials, cracking down on the strong and powerful, exiling corpses, pulling out stagnation, showing talents, not guilty but not punished, no talent and no appointment, the whole Fufeng is a new look." It was Zheng Pu who accompanied Zeng Hua on his tour who spoke.

"Now what about Mr. Jingluo?" Zeng Hua asked

"Back to my lord, Lord Wang went to Huangqiu, where he was surveying Jingshui." The master of Fufu County, who came to greet him, said.

"Okay, let's take a look."

When Zeng Hua and others saw Wang Meng, they saw him wearing linen clothes and a hat, standing by the Jingshui River.

"Mr. Jingluo, you are here!" Zeng Hua dismounted and shouted loudly.

"It turned out to be an adult." When Wang Meng heard the sound and saw Zeng Hua, he hurriedly arched his hand, but he didn't come over to greet him, maybe he was dressed too "plain and ordinary", but it was not good to salute formally, so he simply pretended to be confused.

"Mr. Jing Luo seems to have the idea of this water." Zeng Hua said with a smile as he walked.

"Sanfu is an area where floods and droughts occur from time to time, and the subordinates are ready to divert water first, build channels to irrigate the fields, and then promote the district field method on this basis." Wang Meng replied, "It's about time for the farmers to organize the people to dig ditches and build roads." Now that nearly 100,000 people in Fufeng County have registered to participate in the winter work, I plan to focus on two things: one is to expand Weilong Avenue, build it from Shiping County to Longcheng, build it in sections, and prepare to raise 50,000 people to build it. The second is to raise 50,000 people to build the Jingshui canal, so that it will be convenient to popularize the district field method at the beginning of spring next year. ”

At this time, Zeng Hua said: "I have heard of the district field method, but this farming method requires a high level of cultivators, and it must consume a lot of manpower and material resources, although it is not conducive to large-scale promotion, but Mr. Jing Luo planned very well, this eight hundred miles of Qinchuan Sanfu land is just suitable for this kind of farming, and in terms of personnel organization, Mr. Jing Luo can refer to the mutual aid group measures I used in the past in frustration." ”

Then Zeng Hua explained in detail the organization and methods of the mutual aid group, and Wang Meng nodded directly.

"This method is good, so that we can concentrate young and strong manpower and cultivation power, which is suitable for the district field method, and I will try it in Fufeng County next year." Wang Meng said happily.

"Okay, if the trial is successful, we can promote it to Jingzhao and Feng Yi. Most of Nanzheng's arsenal has been moved to Xianyang, and the craftsmen recruited from all over Guanlong have also been gathered in Xianyang, so Mr. Jingluo, the agricultural tool at the beginning of spring next year, does not have to worry. ”

The arsenal is Zeng Hua's trump card, so he naturally takes it very seriously, and as soon as Chang'an settles down, he began to prepare to move the factory from Nanzheng to Xianyang City. The craftsmen of the arsenal have long regarded Zeng Hua as a person who is closer than their relatives, not to mention moving to the more prosperous Guanzhong Xianyang, even if they move to the mountains, they have no opinion.

After talking for a while, and then looking at the situation on both sides of the Jingshui River in this area, Zeng Hua and Wang Meng began to go to Huangqiu County.

"My lord, I have a few questions for you." Wang Meng asked, riding on his horse.

"Sir, just say it."

"Why did your lord order this ditch and road construction to be done by recruiting people, and not by collecting civil servants? The grain and grass needed in the army are purchased from the people, except for taxes, instead of taxes? Doesn't this greatly increase the burden on the government? Wang Meng asked.

Zeng Hua replied: "Sir already knows the story of Emperor Wu of Han's crusade against the Xiongnu. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty spent decades on an expedition against the Xiongnu, so that they did not dare to cross the southern part of the desert for half a step. What was supposed to be a good thing turned into the cause of the decline of the Han family. Why is that? ”

Seeing that Wang Meng was a little thoughtful, Zeng Hua continued: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went on an expedition against the Xiongnu, and all the materials needed for horses, grain and grass were collected from the people of the world, so the greater the immortal achievements of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the poorer the people of the world became, and in the end the Huns were driven away, but the people were destitute, and the Han family began to decline. ”

"If everything is purchased from the people, it does increase the burden on the government. But you have to settle the account from another aspect. It must be purchased from the people, and it must be accompanied by a proper supervision system, so as to prevent corrupt officials from doing evil and corrupt money to the greatest extent. Moreover, the government must think twice every time it uses things, because the money and food are limited, and if it is not effective, it will be reprimanded and demoted by me, and every time I use the army, I dare not act because of this thought. Besides, when the people have money in their hands, they will think about buying more things, renovating new houses, etc., so that more goods will be needed, and the craftsmen will be more interested in making things, and the government will collect more taxes, and the cycle will continue like flowing water. ”

Wang Meng nodded and said, "What the lord said is a bit profound, and the subordinates still need to think about it for a few days." However, I initially think that the unbelievable idea of the adults and the legal policy formulated because of it should be good, and only by enriching the people can the country be strong. And the people will not only restrain him with the law, but also induce him with profit. ”

It's really a fierce man, his own set of propaganda has been promoted for so long, and he is the only one among so many advisers who has grasped the key point in a few words.

At this time, several heralds rushed over on horseback, and when they came to Zeng Hua, the herald at the front said first: "My lord, great joy! Nan Zheng sent an urgent report that the second lady gave birth to a son! ”

Zeng Hua was overjoyed at the time, sitting on the mount and swaying, almost not carrying it to the ground, Zeng Hua became a father.