cite Han

Chapter 245 Patrol

"Congratulations Zhongda, happy birthday..." Liu Zongsifang's face was full of envy. He is [-] years old this year and has been married for nearly ten years. No one could bear him a son, but three daughters.

While congratulating Liu Zong, he presented a brocade box containing a piece of jade. "The Book of Songs" has a saying: "It is a man who is born, a bed for sleeping. Clothes for clothes, Zhang for playing."

Zhang, Guizhang, is a kind of precious jade, which was held as a gift when courtiers met princes in the Western Zhou Dynasty.Let the baby boy play Zhang, naturally hope that he can become an official when he grows up.Inherited by later generations, Liu Zong, as Liu Qi's elder, gave him beautiful jade, which contained good blessings.

"Haha... this kid is costing Brother Cong." Liu Jingzhi smiled from ear to ear. After two lives, he finally became a father. Surrounded by this great sense of happiness, although he has been awake all day and night, he is Full of energy, not feeling tired at all.

"Congratulations, Brother Cong..." Liu Liang's wealth is far inferior to Liu Zong's, and he can't afford to give Yuzhang, so he can only give a jade bi as a token of his affection.

Liu Jing said with a smile: "Ziming, you're going too this year. I got married at your age. It's time for you to think about your own marriage."

Liu Liang couldn't help but smiled wryly when he heard the words: "Brother Cong, don't you know my intentions? My father and mother don't agree, what can I do?" Both Liu Jing and Deng Yuan knew about this matter, and they were happy to see it come to fruition.

But this matter was opposed by Liu Liang's parents. If Liu Liang was still the hopeless boy who fished and sold fish with his father in the past, they would naturally not have any demands on their daughter-in-law.However, Liu Liang is no longer what he used to be. He is valued by Liu Jing and has a bright future. Liu's father and Liu mother inevitably have higher requirements for their daughter-in-law.

Liu Jing shook his head. Although he was sure of persuading Liu Liang's parents, he did so only to show kindness and pressure. He didn't want to do such a difficult thing. Therefore, Liu Liang still needs to solve this matter by himself.Of course, if Liu Liang's heart is still so firm in a few years, Liu Jing will come forward to persuade his parents for him and make them happy.

"Congratulations Liu Jun..." Ma Zhou, Wang Qiang, Han Guang and others congratulated together.

Cai Sheng and Liu Xiu were sent to Liling, Zhaoling and Liandao by Liu Jing a few days ago, and they are probably still on their way.Liu Zhu is still stationed in Hengshan Township as before.

Wang Qiang has been married for many years and has a son and a daughter. Ma Zhou also got married last year. He married the younger sister of Huang Fu, a miser in Zhongshui Township. His wife, Huang, is also pregnant recently.

Among the crowd, only Han Guang was alone. Back then he followed Yang Ding and was defeated in Nanyang. His wife, concubines and a daughter were taken by Liu Biao's army. Now he doesn't even know whether he is alive or dead.

Liu Jing had noticed this for a long time, so he planned to choose a good wife who was educated and reasonable for him among the prominent branches of the Liu family in Longqiu in the near future.

Han Guang is eight feet tall, with a majestic appearance and outstanding talents. He has even served as a general of Jianwu, so he is worthy of a daughter of the Liu family of Longqiu.

"Congratulations Zhongda..." Liu Yu, who was tall and handsome, like a woman, came slowly with her sleeves fluttering.The gift he brought was five small elm trees. In the Han Dynasty, gifts for newborn children, in addition to jade, also had the custom of giving "fallen trees".

Plant it from the day a child is born, and when he grows up and is about to get married, the small tree has become a big tree.An elm tree can be used to make cart wheels, and one tree can be used to make three pairs, and each pair is worth three bolts of silk, so ordinary families use this as a dowry gift.

Liu Jing couldn't help but laugh. Will his son be reduced to cutting down trees to make hubs for the dowry?To be honest, there are hundreds of people who gave gifts, but Liu Yu was the first one to give the tree.The reason why he gave the tree was most likely because he ran out of money again.

However, Liu Jing did not dislike the gift from Liu Yu. When Liu Qi grew up, he could point to the five big elm trees and say to his son, "This is a gift from Liu Wenlang, my father's savior." Thinking about it, it is quite meaningful.

Liu Jing then received the congratulations from members of the Liu clan and the officials of the county temple. At midday, the crowd gradually dispersed inside and outside the official residence.When a child is born, it is not advisable to celebrate wantonly. It is not until the child is full moon that guests can be invited to a banquet to celebrate the "full moon".

…………

The next day, Liu Jing, who rested overnight, had no time to accompany his son, so he led the crowd to the four counties of Chaling, Youxian, Rongling, and Ancheng in the east according to the original plan.

The road to the four counties in the east can be roughly divided into two types: water and land. The water route goes north along the Xiangshui River to Hengshan Township, and then flows eastward through Laishui, a tributary of the Xiangshui River.The land route goes directly east across the mountains.However, whether it is by water or land, it must pass through Yinshan County in Guiyang County, which is the northernmost county in Guiyang County.

In the Han Dynasty, the road conditions in Jingnan area were extremely poor. Liu Jing decided to take the water route without much consideration. Liu Liang, Ma Zhou, and Han Guang led their troops to go with him.

Liu Jing led the troops across the border. Not only did the magistrate of Yinshan not dare to complain, but he sent cattle and wine to comfort Liu Jing's soldiers.

Liu Jing didn't make it difficult for the other party, and invited him to drink with him at a banquet, and they broke up happily.

After leaving Yinshan County, Rongling is on the south bank of Laishui, You County is on the north bank, and Chaling is on the east.

Chang Wenchun of Chaling personally led the officials and people of the three counties to welcome Liu Jing at the intersection of the three counties, by the Laishui River.

Liu Jing landed under the guard of the soldiers. He was wearing a high crown and leather shoes and an official robe. He had a solemn face and a very dignified appearance. He lowered his eyebrows and lowered his hands, not daring to be presumptuous.

Wen Chun is about fifty years old, of medium stature, with a slightly elongated face, and a refined air about his body. Most of his foot-long beard has turned white, but he doesn't show any obvious signs of aging.

"Changwenchun in Xiachaling, I pay my respects..." Wenchun took the lead in bowing to Liu Jingchang, and then all the officials and people of the three counties bowed to the ground.

Liu Jing was startled, and hurriedly held Wen Chun's arms, not letting him bow down, and said in his mouth: "What is Wen Jun doing? I can't bear Wen Jun's worship. If it spreads, the world will laugh." There's no one in sight."

Wenchun gave up on this, stroked his beard and smiled: "You have both ability and political integrity, crowned in Jingzhou, and I am the leader in Jingnan. I have heard it for a long time. When I saw it today, it really deserves its reputation."

Liu Jing smiled and said, "Mr. Wen praised him so much, but I dare not take it."

Although it was the first time for the two to meet, it was not the first time they had dealt with each other. As early as last year, a large number of refugees fleeing from refugees flooded into Liu Jing territory. He once sent people to the four eastern counties for help, and Wenchun gave him [-] hu grains at that time.

To be honest, [-] hu grains are definitely not a lot, but Liu Jing appreciates Wenchun's affection very much.Because he hadn't gotten through with Liu Ba at that time, the [-] hu grains were considered a solution to his urgent needs.

Liu Jing then signaled the officials and people of the three counties to stand up, and said: "Now the governor is trapped in Linxiang, and it is difficult to convey the orders of the prefectures to the counties, so I was ordered to also take pictures of the nine counties in the south of Changsha."

"May I respect Liu Jun's order." The officials and people of the three counties saluted again.

Liu Jing said again: "The three counties of Chaling, Rongling, and Youxian have been very effective under the leadership of Wen Jun. I will not interfere in the political affairs of the three counties. It's just that I heard that there are many bandits and barbarians in the three counties. , in order to protect the peace of the people in the three counties, I will station a battalion here."

The officials and people of the three counties secretly breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the words, their faces could not contain their joy.Liu Jing not only promised not to interfere in political affairs, but also sent troops to protect them. This was the result they most wanted to see.

Liu Jing has his own considerations. Since Wenchun is capable of managing the three counties, let him manage them well. What he wants can be obtained through Wenchun. There is no need to jump out in person, which will involve his energy. Moreover, It may not be able to do better than Wenchun.

Accompanied by Wen Chun, Liu Jing took a tour of Rongling and Youxian counties. Only Chaling made him stop for a while.The reason is simple. Chaling is the richest and most stable among the three counties. Most importantly, it produces iron ore.Although the Han court never set up iron officials here, the iron output is quite considerable.What's more, as long as Liu Jing is willing to invest manpower and material resources, the iron production of iron mines and smelters can be doubled in a very short period of time.

Stayed in Chaling for one day, and the next day, Liu Jing led his army out of Chaling County and headed for Ancheng County in the northeast.

If Chaling still has some plains, then Ancheng County is surrounded by mountains.The only thing worth mentioning is that there is a Lushui River in the county, which is a tributary of the Ganshui River in Yuzhang County.Ganshui is to Yuzhang what Xiangshui is to Changsha.It is because of it that Yuzhang County once supported a population of more than 160 million, and it is one of the few large counties in the south of the Yangtze River.

According to the information obtained from Wen Chun, the chief official of Ancheng County was expelled last year by Pan Sheng, the county surname. At present, Pan Sheng has gathered two thousand families and occupied Ancheng County.

Liu Jing led thousands of soldiers on the mountain road for more than [-] li, and finally came to Ancheng.

Liu Jing also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. If Pan Sheng made up his mind to stick to it, it would definitely give him a headache.After all, to forcefully attack Ancheng will definitely cost a lot of casualties, and the most important thing is that the gains after defeating are limited.But retreating here would damage his reputation, and might even lead to instability in the three counties of Chaling, Youxian, and Rongling, which can be described as a dilemma.

It's not like Pan Sheng didn't have such thoughts, but he thought that he had little chance of success in doing so, and if he failed, he might be in danger of dying, so he had no choice but to give up the risk.

The reason why he was able to drive away the chief officials of Ancheng last year was because they were incompetent in governing and could not be favored by the county sergeant and the people.

But Liu Jing is not the case. He has a very high reputation and prestige. Even the scholars and people in Ancheng live in the mountainous area, he has heard of it, and none of the scholars and people want to be an enemy of him.It can be said that before Liu Jing arrived, most of Ancheng had fallen.Under such circumstances, Pan Sheng alone could not fight against Liu Jing, and he was in danger of being stabbed in the back. Pan Sheng had no choice but to surrender.

"Villain Pan Sheng, meet Liu Jun..." Pan Sheng led the people of Ancheng to meet Liu Jing under the city.

Liu Jing frowned slightly. This is an unstable factor. The most direct way is to kill him and annex them.

Liu Jing hesitated for a moment, after all, he didn't kill Pan Sheng, and stepped forward to help him up.

When Pan Sheng got up, his forehead was covered with sweat.

Liu Jing asked with a smile: "Your forehead is dripping with sweat. Could it be that it's very hot?"

While wiping his sweat, Pan Sheng said, "Yes, the weather this year is a bit abnormal, it's just this hot in March..."

Liu Jing smiled and asked, "Are there many thieves in Yuzhang here in Ancheng?"

"Many," Pan Sheng replied with a nod, "Yuzhang has been in constant war for the past few years. There are Yuzhang thieves everywhere in the mountains and Lushui River. Ancheng has limited arable land, and people everywhere are often harassed by Yuzhang thieves." , in desperation, had to abandon the fields and hide in the city. The previous officials of Ancheng were expelled by the angry people of Ancheng because they were afraid of facing the thieves and did nothing."

Liu Jing couldn't help but laugh. The chief official of Ancheng was obviously driven away by him, but why did he say that he was driven away by the common people?However, he didn't expose Pan Sheng either. After all, the latter is not a madman. If he dared to kill the chief official of Ancheng last year, Liu Jing would definitely not let him go today.

Liu Jing asked Pan Sheng a few more things, and then led his troops to Ancheng to take over the city defense completely.

Ancheng is sparsely populated and has limited resources. It is not worth Liu Jing's effort. He only stayed for one day before preparing to leave.

However, Ma Zhou was left behind. His main tasks were to supervise the political affairs of Ancheng County internally, and to resist the Yuzhang bandits in the east to protect Ancheng and even the three counties of Chaling, Youxian, and Rongling externally. nuisance.

When Ma Zhou was in Zhongshui and Pingyang Townships in the past, he showed his ability to stand on his own. However, Zhongshui and Pingyang Townships are named townships, but in fact they are no different from a county. Neither of them is smaller than Ancheng. When Ancheng was handed over to Ma Zhou, Liu Jing was naturally relieved.

Before leaving, Liu Jing pulled Ma Zhou and said, "Zijin, if you find that Pan Sheng has changed, you can immediately kill him without reporting to me."

Ma Zhou raised his disorganized eyebrows, and said confidently: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, I have seen a lot of local tyrants like Pan Sheng, and I have killed more than one. As long as I am here, he will definitely not be able to win." wave."

Liu Jing finally patted Ma Zhou on the shoulder and led the crowd away.

After another long trek across the rugged mountainous area, Liu Jing returned to Chaling. This time, he left behind Liu Liang.

Liu Jing was afraid that he was young and energetic, and he didn't know his level, so he specially told him: "You only need to be responsible for eliminating bandits and barbarians in the territory. All political affairs are in charge of County Magistrate Wen, and you must not interfere. If I hear that you dare to mess with the political affairs of the three counties Tell me what to do, I will immediately recall you to Ling County and deprive you of your military power."

Liu Liang said with a dry smile: "Brother Cong, don't you know me? I have had headaches since I was a child when I read scriptures. How could I be interested in political affairs?"

Liu Jing couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this, and didn't bother to talk nonsense with him anymore, boarded the ship docked in Laishui, and returned to Ling County.

(End of this chapter)