Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 76 Father-son transaction (3000)

The motorcade stopped outside General Zhengbei's Mansion. Huan Wen and Huan Xi stepped out of the carriage one after another. They did not notice at all that there was a jealous look in a carriage behind them looking at them.

Huan Ji's heart could not be calm for a long time. At first, he and his brother Huan Xi had a very good relationship. Neither of them was loved by their father, and they could be said to have the same disease.

However, since Huan Xi showed his talents, he has soared to the sky. Compared with his infinite glory in front of and behind others, Huan Ji, who is about to turn eighteen, has not yet become an official, so he feels very good.

Of course Huan Ji would not look for reasons in himself. He only felt that his father was partial. If he could be entrusted with important tasks, he would be confident that he would do no worse than his eldest brother.

"Second brother, why don't father and brother follow us back home?"

In the carriage, Huan Wen’s fourth son Huan Yi said doubtfully.

Among the five legitimate sons of Huan Wen, except for Huan Xi, none had any talent. Among them, Huan Yi was the dullest and could not even distinguish between beans and wheat.

This made Huan Wen often sigh. He could raise a son like Huan Xi, but he also had a fool like Huan Yi.

Huan Ji had always looked down upon his fourth brother, and a large part of his confidence in his own talents was based on Huan Yi.

"Speak less when you go out in the future to avoid being ridiculed by others."

Huan Ji scolded.

The father and brother made it clear that they were going to meet the general, but the fourth brother could still ask such stupid questions.

Huan Yi responded aggrievedly and shut his mouth obediently.

The carriage started again and Huan Ji lowered the curtain. No one knew what he was thinking.

But Huan Xi is such a perceptive person. When he met his second brother at the dock, he could clearly see the alienation in his eyes.

If you were to apply yourself to others, I would probably feel resentful because of the extremely different treatment between brothers.

Stepping into the door of the mansion, Huan Wen saw that Huan Xi was absent-minded and asked:
  "Xier, what are you thinking about?"

Huan Xi came back to his senses and casually found an excuse to pass it by. Huan Wen did not ask any further questions.

The father and son came to the front hall. The generals and subordinates from Jiangling City were already waiting here, and Xi Chao was also among the crowd.

Huan Xi just blinked at Xi Chao and made no other intimate gestures. He accepted everyone's greetings gracefully.

Among the military generals who came to pay homage, there was no figure of Wang Tanzhi. As the saying goes, if they get together, they will gather, and if they don't get along, they will disperse. Wang Tanzhi felt that he was not in line with Huan Wen's interests. He had left the shogunate long ago and is now under the leadership of the King of Kuaiji. He served in Sima Yu's government.

However, although Wang Tanzhi went to Jiankang, it did not mean that those who stayed behind were all loyalists to the Huan family.

For example, Yuan Hong, who joined the army in the Record Office, Bie Jia Xi Chi Chi, and others were all opposed to Huan Wen forcing the court.

After all, Huan Wen and Huan Xi are different.

Huan Xi started a new business in the north, and he also used northerners such as Wang Meng, Quan Yi, and Deng Qiang. Military generals such as Deng Xia and Shen Jin were also the sons of rebel officials. They did not have deep feelings for the Jin Dynasty, so they also He didn't care whether Huan Xi obeyed the orders of the Jin Dynasty.

But Huan Wen was different. His base was in the south, so he had to cooperate with the Jiangnan gentry.

It was also because he was concerned about the reaction of these people and could not force the court too much. He saw the chaos in the north, but was controlled by the court and could not send troops. He had to watch Yin Hao corrupt national affairs.

After the generals resigned, only the Huan family and his son were left in the front hall. Huan Xi finally found the opportunity to talk to Huan Wen about immigration:
  "Father, although Guanlong is settled now, it has been in ruins for decades after living in the dust. My child thinks that the overseas Chinese in Yongzhou should be allowed to return to their places of origin."

Huan Wen nodded slightly, but did not agree immediately. Instead, he talked about an unrelated matter:

"My father heard that you had a truce with the Liang people and asked Zhang Chonghua for 200,000 shi of grain and 30,000 military horses?"

When Huan Xi heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt bad. Huan Wen must have taken a fancy to his own army, but he couldn't hide this kind of thing, so he had to confess:

"That's what happened. Before Ha'er went south, Huan Yi ordered people to report quickly. The food, troops and horses have been sent to Qinzhou."

Sure enough, Huan Wenyun said calmly:

"Keep the food for yourself, but you can bring me the army and horses."

Huan Xi could not sit still. He knew that Huan Wen was short of horses, but he could not speak like a lion. Huan Xi suddenly stood up and complained:
  "Father, my son rushed to Tongguan earlier, and most of the troops and horses were killed and injured. We are waiting for these horses to arrive in Yongzhou to restore the cavalry's combat power. Besides, how can we guard the north without horses in the army?"

Huan Wen thought for a moment and felt that what Huan Xi said was reasonable, so he backed down and said:

"In this case, I will leave ten thousand troops and horses for you, and the rest will be sent to me, okay?
  "I've done the math for you. You have five thousand cavalry under your command. Although most of the horses were lost before, there are still some left. Now there are ten thousand left, enough to supply one person and three cavalry.

"There is no such thing as getting something for nothing in this world. Since you want more people, you should give up your army and horses."

Huan Xi felt helpless. He was thinking about the population under Huan Wen's rule. He never thought that his old father was also thinking about his army and horses.

But only 10,000 horses were left, which was really too few. Huan Xi bargained:
  "Father, among these 30,000 horses, there are 4,000 mares and 1,000 stallions that have not yet been castrated. The child is going to keep them for breeding. The child is willing to share the army horses with his father equally. Please forgive me."

War horses in the military have always been castrated. This can reduce the secretion of male hormones in the war horses, reduce their sexual desire and male behavior, and make them easier to train and control.

As for the four thousand mares and one thousand stallions, Huan Xi specially requested them from Xiang Liang.

Huan Wen also knew the difference between a full meal and a full meal. The conditions in Jiangnan were not suitable for horse breeding. If Huan Xi could establish a great horse administration in Guanzhong, he would not worry about not having enough military horses to drive him in the future. He nodded in agreement and said:

"In that case, I'll do as you say."

In a few words, Huan Xi lost fifteen thousand horses, but this was also the condition of their father-son deal. Huan Xi reminded:

"Father, the matter of immigration"

Huan Wen smiled and said:

"It's ready for my father."

Military horses were a scarce resource for Huan Wen, but population was not. There were no less than 400,000 households in Jingzhou alone, which was close to multiples of the people under Huan Xi's rule.

Moreover, the wealth should not flow to outsiders. After all, they are also father and son. Huan Wen is not unaware of the population dilemma that Huan Xi faces in Guanzhong. Since he has pried fifteen thousand military horses from Huan Xi, he should be his big boss. Open the door of convenience.

However, Huan Xi was no longer satisfied with the Yongzhou residents. In the south of the Yangtze River, the population was not as elite as the war horses. The Yongzhou residents in Xiangyang County were full of people, and there were only 10,000 or 20,000 households. How could they make up for Huan Xi's losses.

"Father, I still want to recruit some refugees in Jingzhou."

Huan Wen frowned and said:
  "How many people do you want to take away with you the Yongzhou residents?"

Huan Xi boldly stretched out five fingers:

"Fifty thousand households."

Huan Wen did not refuse immediately. Huan Xi saw this and hurriedly struck while the iron was hot:
  "Father, taking away 50,000 households does not mean that my father has lost these people. They still have to pay taxes and obey the conscription for our Huan family in the north.

"We, father and son, are one body and share weal and woe. If the people in Guanzhong prosper and are revived, my father will also benefit from it."

Although Huan Xi's words were tempting, in fact, Huan Wen had no way to intervene in the three states of Yong, Liang, and Qin. This time, if Huan Xi had not wanted something from him, he would not have given up his troops easily.

The power of the two has been divided to a certain extent.

Even if they are father and son, they still have to settle accounts clearly. Huan Wen muttered:
  "Thirty thousand households. My father promised you to take away 30,000 households from Jingzhou."

Huan Xi was overjoyed. His previous offer of 50,000 households was just an exorbitant price. How could Huan Wen allow him to take away so many people?

After all, Huan Wen withheld taxes and the population decreased, so the military government's income would also drop sharply.

Now that he has obtained 30,000 households, he is happy enough. This can, to a certain extent, alleviate the labor shortage problem in Guanzhong.

Huan Xi was afraid that Huan Wen would regret it, so he quickly thanked him and said:

"My dear, thank you father!"

Huan Wen teased him:
  "I'm so happy now. I just asked you for some military horses, and you looked at me with a bitter face."

Huan Xi laughed and said:
  "A child from a poor family cannot compare to his father's strong army and horses, so he should spend every penny he has."

Since Huan Wen still had official duties to attend to, Huan Xi did not bother him for a long time. Before leaving the military mansion, he went to the wing where Xi Chao was, and the scribes excused themselves.

Xi Chao said half-jokingly, half-seriously:

"I thought that with Wang Jinglue (Wang Meng) as his assistant, the prince would forget about Xi."

Although Xi Chao lives in Jiangling, he has always paid attention to news from the north. He also knows a little about how much Huan Xi attaches great importance to Wang Meng.

Huan Xi sat down casually, waved his hands informally, and said:

"There is no need to say such words between you and me. Who doesn't know that you, Xi Jingxing, are my Huan Xi's closest confidant?

"Although Wang Jinglue is a great talent, his status in Huan's heart cannot be compared with that of Jing Xing. Jing Xing and I are not only the relationship between the palace master and his assistant, but also I have always regarded you as a close friend.

"That is to say, Jing Xing is now serving in his father's shogunate. If he goes to Yongzhou, my courtesy to Jing Xing will definitely be better than that of Wang Jinglue."

When he was in the north, he kept talking about Mr. Wang. When he came to the south, since there were no outsiders here, he called Wang Jinglue.

However, Xi Chao was greatly benefited from this. In fact, he did not really want to compete with Wang Meng for favor. Over the years, he had been at home in the Zhengxi General's Mansion. Huan Wen obeyed his words. It was a time when he was satisfied. How could he have the leisure to worry about the close relationship between Huan Xi and Wang Meng?

Huan Xi and Xi Chao shared some experiences after their separation, but Xi Chao still asked Huan Xi about Wang Meng intentionally or unintentionally.

He still had a lot of curiosity about Wang Meng, and Huan Xi did not hide it. He told Xi Chao how Wang Meng worked hard to govern Guan Long for himself.

Xi Chao sighed:
  "I didn't expect that there would be such a wise man in a poor family."

Of course, what impressed Xi Chao the most were the two rumors Wang Meng used to motivate his soldiers.

　There is another chapter. I have discussed it with the editor. If nothing else happens, it should be on the shelves next week.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)