Chapter 268 Decline and start again, can there be an end?
When the servants at home heard this, they were naturally confused, thinking that the war was about to end, so why did their young master want to avoid trouble?
To avoid what disaster?
Seeing the servant's doubts, Pei Shiju said: "If my mother asks, she will say that the military situation in Henan is not going well. The Zhou Kingdom will not give up and will definitely send reinforcements. Will this war end in a while?"
The development of the war situation was just as Pei Shiju expected.
The Zhou State, which was at a disadvantage in the battlefield of Henan, did not stop its activities. Instead, it intensified its deployment of troops and generals, and by the way, it also strengthened its offensive on the border of Hedong.
It is said that Yu Wenhu raised an army of 30,000 and personally rushed to the east of the river to kill him!
For a time, there was great chaos in Hedong!
However, when 30,000 Zhou soldiers and horses set foot on the east side of the river to attack along the river, Pei Shiju's family was already on the river in a large boat, preparing to go to Luozhou and join his relatives in Luoyang.
Accompanying us were not only close uncles and nephews from the clan, but also a few close friends and their families who often interacted with each other.
When these people heard that Yu Wenhu, Duke of Jin of the Zhou Dynasty, was personally leading troops to attack Hedong, they couldn't help but be afraid. When they recalled that Pei Shiju had known about it beforehand, they all felt lucky.
"Jun Pei is still very good at predicting things."
"That's right, I've also benefited from it."
"Fortunately, I listened to Pei Jun's analysis, but how did you come up with it?"
Pei Shiju said: "There were many examples in ancient times, and they are the same today, so we can predict them in advance. It's a pity that we are alone. We can do well alone, but we can't save the people in Hedong. Thinking about it this way, we can live a stable life as a student."
, it has to end.”
Someone joined in halfway, not knowing Pei Shiju's judgment, so he asked for advice.
Pei Shiju said: "The order of the Zhou Kingdom comes from Yu Wenhu. This man is a powerful official who has exclusive power in the country. His reputation is not justified. He was criticized and threatened in the country because of the wanton killing of old ministers and nobles, so he rashly used swords and weapons."
, to shift the conflict to the outside world, under such circumstances, if the war goes well, it will be nothing more than consolidating his prestige and power. However, if the war does not go well, his prestige will be severely damaged. He will definitely not give up and will definitely increase his attacks.
Cut!"
"So that's it," the person who asked understood, "it's like a gambler at the table. As long as he doesn't win, he wants to keep gambling. He feels that there is still hope of getting back his money or even making a lot of money, so he keeps throwing chips in, and the more he gambles, the more he will gamble.
The bigger the fight..."
While Pei Shiju was about to say more, suddenly a servant came out of the back cabin and said that his mother wanted to pay homage to Lord He, so he ordered Pei Shiju to go over and wait on her.
"I'll take my leave now."
Pei Shiju was not interested in worshiping gods, but his old mother was moving abroad and needed spiritual sustenance. How could he refuse? It was his duty to do so, so he said goodbye to a few people and went to the back of the ship.
This ritual of worshiping the gods is quite simple. After all, sailing on the river is the territory of the Lord of the River. Besides, when you are away from home, all the rules are simple.
After the worship was completed, Pei's mother said again: "We can come out safely because of Lord He's blessing. He is everywhere and is watching over you. Don't neglect us."
Pei Shiju nodded solemnly, that was enough on weekdays, but now that he was on the river, how could he not take it seriously.
In fact, not only Pei's mother, but also other people on the boat have been very respectful to the name of River Lord recently, for fear of causing trouble on the river.
The next few days were uneventful.
When the group of people arrived at their destination, the scholar surnamed Zhang had already led others to wait for their arrival.
"Brother Pei, it's been a hard journey."
"Brother Zhang, please wait." Pei Shiju greeted him and did not bother to reminisce about old times. He settled the group first and then had time to sit down and talk.
"Since Brother Pei is here, he must be thinking about becoming an official, right?" The scholar surnamed Zhang got straight to the point, "The country suffered disasters and wars continued, and after the Supreme Emperor passed away, there was also a turbulent undercurrent in the court, and there were traitors who caused trouble above.
This is a time when heroes are needed!"
Pei Shiju sighed and said with a wry smile: "I have to make some plans, but I am worried that once Yu Wenhu wins a big victory and takes a few cities, the court will be in chaos, and whether we will still have a foothold."
The scholar surnamed Zhang was stunned and said: "Pei Jun is so optimistic about Yu Wenhu?"
Pei Shiju said: "Not because he is optimistic about him, Yu Wenhu will not be defeated in this battle, even if it is just for the results on paper, he will invest his troops regardless of the cost. In contrast, we have to care about gains and losses, plus the DPRK and China
Factions and conflicts will inevitably give people opportunities to take advantage of, and it is inevitable that the land will be lost."
After hearing this, the scholar surnamed Zhang couldn't help but sigh, and said: "Brother, I will help you with the affairs of the court, so that you can serve the country as soon as possible."
Pei Shiju said: "Pei can just take the ordinary route, but Brother Zhang, please don't stand out recently. Since ancient times, if emperors valued sycophants, loyal people would be in trouble, so be careful!"
The scholar surnamed Zhang was silent, shook his head, and said goodbye.
In the next few months, Pei Shiju and his family lived in Luoyang, and not much news came. After the scholar surnamed Zhang left, there was no news again.
Some servants whispered that the gentleman of the Zhang family was unwilling to contribute to the management.
Pei Shiju said worriedly: "In the past, Zhang Jun came to see me every year, but now there is no news. I'm afraid he is in trouble."
In April of the following year, news came first that the Northern Zhou Dynasty had captured Yiyang, Fenzhou and other nine cities.
At this point, the national border between Zhou and Qi advanced eastward, close to Heyin County, and almost reached the edge of Luozhou. Some people even said that you could see Zhou soldiers and horses cruising outside Luoyang City.
In and outside the city, people are in panic.
The Luoyang government kept sending people to ask for help from the DPRK, but all the debris was thrown into the sea and there was no response.
In the past half month, people inside and outside the city have become more and more worried, and the more worried they are, the more they need to seek sustenance. As a result, Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are overcrowded, and the Lord of the River, who is very close at hand, is also worshiping more and more people!
Pei Shiju's mother is one of them.
No matter how busy she is every day, she will always take time to worship. Because it is close to the river, there is the Hejun Temple in Luoyang City, which is very popular.
From time to time, Pei's mother would drag Pei Shiju along.
On this day, Pei Shiju returned from worshiping. When he arrived home, he met a messenger sent by his friend in the court and wrote a letter.
The letter stated that the factions in the DPRK were fighting fiercely, and a large number of civil and military officials were imprisoned by the emperor's favorites and scholars, including a scholar named Zhang.
"Alas, the ancients did not deceive me. They have all been recorded in the past. Why not learn from it?"
After learning about this, Pei Shiju was unhappy.
Soon, a friend came to Pei Shiju's house and had a drink with Pei Shiju to relieve his boredom.
"He Shikai, you are a treacherous little man who relies on flattery to gain favor. The Emperor has gone, but I heard that this man has an affair with the Queen Mother... In short, he is still protected, and even Prince Zhao and others want to take the opportunity to take him away.
When he asked about the crime, he was falsely accused, saying that the prince of Zhao was a spy. He fled in fear of being accused, and even beat a prince to death in the hall. Alas..."
Friends are indignant.
After the others left, Pei Shiju shook his head and sighed: "When I looked at Chen and Zhou, I thought they were all going to die early. Unexpectedly, the first one to show signs of national subjugation was Da Qi! After all, the Three Kingdoms of the Central Plains are actually
All are in decline, so where is the way out for this world? Is it going to be like the past in ancient times, like after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when the land of China was broken up and the countries were in dispute? Will the disputes among the countries in the past be repeated? When will it be a
head!"
"What if Qi dies first? What will happen to Zhou's Zuo?"
"The Kingdom of Zhou should have declined, but if the Qi Dynasty rebelled first, then the Kingdom of Zhou might be able to use this to survive, but it would only be temporary, and it would die sooner or later, huh?" Pei Shiju suddenly came back to his senses as he said this, with a horrified look on his face.
Sheng looked over and asked, "Who are you and when did you come here?"
He had actually seen this situation once, but the figure in his imagination did not appear. What came over was a spirited old man with divine eyes and white hair shawl.
After the old man came over, he smiled and said: "Gentleman, don't be surprised. I am here because I have reached a critical moment in my practice. I still lack a chance, so a good friend gave me some advice and asked me to come over and ask for advice."
Pei Shiju took a deep breath, but he didn't panic. He guessed the origin of the old man's friend and asked, "What do you want to ask, sir...?"
The old man did not hesitate and asked: "Gentleman, do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing for Zhou State to seize the nine cities of Qi State?"