cite Han

Chapter 371 Condolences

In Linxiang at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was cloudy and rainy from time to time, humid and cold. Even if people were wrapped in silk-filled double clothes and fur clothes with fur as the surface, it was still hard to resist the biting chill.

"Tack, tick, tick..."

Two majestic cavaliers wearing red headbands and black robes lined up in the lane with banners raised high.Behind the two guide cavalry are twenty knights holding halberds.After the knights, there were fifty infantrymen armed with spears, halberds, sabers, and crossbows, separated on both sides, and guarding a luxurious chariot covered with soap in the center.

The sound of the wheels rumbling, rolling over the muddy road, leaving two deep ruts.

The carriage made of high-quality Yuzhang wood isolated the winter rain from the outside of the carriage, but the interior of the carriage was still damp and cold, so Liu Jing and Deng Yuan had to rely on the bosom stove to keep out the cold.

The two traveled this time because the new year was approaching, and condolences to widows and widows. "Book of Rites" says: "A young man without a father is called an orphan, an old man without a son is called a lonely man, an old man without a wife is called a widower, and an old man without a husband is called a widow." These four are The poorest and most helpless in the world.

Liu Jing was a public official in his previous life, so he is very familiar with it.

But Deng Yuan was benevolent by nature and cared for the people. As early as in Ling County, he often followed Liu Jing to condolences to the poor.In addition, he has been in charge of the Salesian House for many years, so that there are few hungry children in Changsha, and he has a very high status in the hearts of Changsha scholars.Liu Jing once joked with Deng Yuan that the common people loved her more than himself.

The car finally stopped in front of a simple and low thatched hut. The owner of the house was a widowed old man who was nearly [-] years old and suffered from swollen feet. He had two sons, but they died in battle one after another. Lonely and pitiful.

The owner of the house is standing at the door of the house with his hands tied, his expression nervous and terrified.

The people in Jingnan only know Liu Jing, but not the Son of Heaven.

Liu Jing personally came to the door to express his condolences. If the officials hadn't told him in advance that he could just greet him inside the door with hands tied, he would have gone out and knelt to greet him.

As soon as the owner of the house saw Liu Jing and Deng Yuan, before the two of them approached, he couldn't wait to bow down, following the instructions of the officials: "Small, I pay my respects to the general and madam..."

Liu Jing immediately stepped forward, helped the owner up, and said: "The old man is old and has a problem with his legs, so there is no need to be polite." Then he held his rough and cracked hands tightly, and walked into the house while Hush and ask for warmth.

The owner of the house was moved and excited, and shed tears without saying a few words.

Liu Jing mourned his loneliness, and his two sons died for righteousness. They shook hands and chatted for a long time before getting up and leaving. At the time of parting, Liu Jing gave money, rice, meat, firewood, etc. to save the owner of the house from the worry of hunger and cold.

After that, Liu Jing and Deng Yuan visited five or six families non-stop, and did not return until noon.

Liu Jing traveled around for half a day and felt a little tired. When he returned to the official residence, he received the news of the Jiangdong envoy's arrival before he had time to have a sip of tea.

Liu Jing lightly tapped the book table with his fingers, with a playful expression on his face, "It's only been one and a half years since I led Jiangdong, so I'm eager to try it now."

Sun Quan's purpose is not difficult to guess.History has proved that Sun Quan has great ambitions for Jingzhou. Even without Liu Jing, he would raise troops to attack Jingzhou in the near future.

It is in the interests of Liu Jing that the two parties form an alliance to jointly deal with Liu Biao. He has no reason not to agree. As for whether it will lead wolves into the house...

In history, Sun Quan led the army to attack Jiangxia many times. Although he could win a big victory every time, it was difficult to completely destroy Huangzu.It wasn't until the eve of Chibi that Gan Ning came to vote and leaked all the details of Huang Zu to Sun Quan. Sun Quan succeeded in killing Huang Zu, but he failed to take all of Jiang Xia.

It took many years to raise troops several times, but only captured several counties in Jiangxia. On the one hand, it shows that Huang Zu and Liu Biao are by no means easy-going generations, and on the other hand, it also shows that Sun Quan is not good enough.

Of course, there is another crucial reason, that is, every time Sun Quan leads an army, Jiangdong’s backyard will catch fire, and Shanyue, Heroes, Yellow Turbans...as soon as they see an opportunity, they will immediately launch a rebellion.

During the Baoding period (AD 266), when Soochow was established for nearly 40 years, it was actually beaten by Shanyue all the way to Jianye, the capital of the country, [-] miles away. It is unimaginable.

Therefore, Liu Jing was not worried about luring wolves into the house, and being constrained by the rear, Sun Quan could not defeat Jiangxia at all, let alone compete with him for Jingzhou.

Taking a step back, even if Sun Quan wiped out Huang Zu in advance and occupied Jiangxia because of Liu Jing's variable, he would not be able to compete with Liu Jing for Jingzhou in the short term due to his unstable foundation.

Don't be afraid to say something arrogant, maybe after he defeats Liu Biao and occupies Jingzhou completely, Sun Quan may not be able to completely integrate the five counties in Jiangdong.

Four days later, Zhuge Liang's army returned. It took nearly half a year for them to go to Wuling in July, and they finally returned at the end of the year.

Liu Jing went out of the city to meet him personally. Looking at Zhuge Liang, who looked very majestic in Gejin and plain robes, Liu Jing smiled gratifiedly. The reason why he didn't keep Zhuge Liang by his side, but sent him to Wuling was because he had experienced him. consideration.

And Zhuge Liang also lived up to Liu Jing's expectations, and it was his strategy to break the Wuxi Man.

Out of the consideration of Liu Biao in the Northern Expedition next year, after conquering Wuling, Liu Jing ordered to suspend the encirclement and suppression of Wuxi Man, and focus on Fu instead.

However, this does not mean a complete cessation of military operations. In September, Zhuge Liang personally led the elite and the Dan Rideng troops to go deep into the Barrens, smashing the remnants of the Wuxi barbarians, and restoring Yiling County. It took only [-] days before and after, and he returned in triumph. .

Yiling County was the prefecture of Wuling County in the Western Han Dynasty. It was abandoned in the early Eastern Han Dynasty and merged into Chenyang County.In the original history, it was not until the Tang Gaozong period that the county was built on the original site of Yiling. Zhuge Liang advanced this process by more than [-] years.

Although Liu Jing doesn't know the details, it is undoubtedly an extraordinary feat to regain lost ground in the precarious era of the Han Dynasty.

Previously, clan brother Liu Zong and others privately believed that Liu Jing favored Zhuge Liang too much, and they were dissatisfied in their hearts, but Liu Jing thought that he was more cautious in appointing Zhuge Liang.

Facing Deng Yu, who was only 22 years old and came to vote with his strategy, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu immediately promoted him to No. 1 under his command.The next year, at the age of 23, as a general, he supervised the army and entered the pass, just like the great ancestor Han Xin, who was in charge of the field.

In hindsight, Zhuge Liang can see that Liu Xiu was obviously a little too hasty at the time. Although Deng Yu was deeply talented, he was too young and inexperienced to deal with the complicated situation in Guanzhong, so that he failed in the end.

With Deng Yu's lessons learned from the past, although Liu Jing knew that Zhuge Liang was a peerless talent, he didn't push back the seedlings like Liu Xiu.

Zhuge Liang came to vote last year, and Liu Jing asked him to go south with the army to conquer Zhangjin, so that he could get in touch with and become familiar with military affairs.At the beginning of this year, the Anyuan General's Mansion was established, and he was worshiped as a military adviser to participate in the political affairs of Jingnan.In July, he dispatched troops to Wuling, took him as the overseer, and took charge of the army for the first time, with remarkable achievements.Withdrew from Wuling this time, he used his supervision of more than ten thousand water and infantry troops to accumulate experience in commanding large armies.

It can be said that Zhuge Liang walks very steadily every step. Liu Jing firmly believes that if he keeps walking step by step in this way, within a few years, Zhuge Liang will be able to assist him in internal governance of civil affairs and external peace of the world.

(End of this chapter)