Chapter 438 The stars have fallen and the veteran is dead
Author: Playing with Basilisk
Chapter 438 The stars have fallen and the veteran is dead
At the end of the sixth year of Zhangwu's reign, he arrived in Langzhong, Brazil, Yizhou.
There is a large mansion on the bank of the West Han River in the southeast of Langzhong County.
This mansion is magnificent, covering an area of hundreds of acres, with pavilions and pavilions all over the place, courtyards lined with paintings, and rockeries and ponds.
The entire courtyard is like a beautiful palace complex. Although the standard system is not as high as the palace, the houses are lined up row upon row, and the courtyards are colorfully located, full of two words - Haoheng.
There are not many powerful families in Yizhou who have the money to buy such a large property, but there is only one family in Brazil County that can own such a huge property.
That is the Zhou family in Langzhong.
Even if the Zhou family in Langzhong is not said to be the richest man in Yizhou, he is probably not far behind. Especially after Zhou Lin fell in love with the Han Emperor Liu Bei, he became even richer.
Liu Bei encouraged agriculture, did not inhibit commercial development, and promoted handicraft manufacturing, making the business atmosphere and economy extremely prosperous.
Later, the Han Dynasty's national policy of specializing in salt and iron was continued. The state opened a state-owned enterprise to specialize in salt and iron, with Zhou Lin and Mi Zhu in charge. This made the price of salt in the south low, and everyone could afford to eat oil, salt, and use iron pots and iron utensils.
Although the Zhou family in Langzhong lost a lot of land and population due to national policies, they originally made their fortune in business, so the losses were not great and their property was still very large.
It is now evening. In the backyard of Zhou Mansion, there is a huge square, which probably covers an area of more than three acres. There are countless precious flowers and plants in the courtyard, as well as pavilions, rockery ponds, and dense bamboo shadows.
luxury.
The most eye-catching thing is a tall building in the southeast corner of the back garden. The building must be at least more than ten feet high. It is very conspicuous among the low pavilions and houses, towering into the clouds like Optimus Prime.
Everyone in Langzhong knows that this is the Zhou family’s Guantian Tower.
On the roof of the Guantian Building, an old man was standing on the roof, looking at the clouds in the sky.
This old man is Zhou Lin's cousin Zhou Qun.
Historically, he was the Confucian scholar of Ji Han and an astronomer.
Next to Zhou Qun was a middle-aged man in his forties. This man was Zhou Qun's son, named Zhou Ju.
The father and son have been studying the art of divination and the movement of the stars all year round. Standing on the roof of the Guantian Tower, they stared intently at the eastern sky.
I saw stars twinkling in the eastern sky, and occasionally a star streaked across the night sky, like a comet dragging a long tail.
After a while, Zhou Ju said to Zhou Qun: "Father, the Ziwei Emperor Star seems to be a bit dim."
Zhou Qun frowned, stroked his beard and said: "A few days ago, I saw meteors falling in the east. A certain general must have passed away in the east. Not only has the purple star gradually dimmed recently, I'm afraid the world will be in chaos."
Zhou Ju thought for a while, and seeing no one around him, he whispered to Zhou Qun: "Father, there are two emperors in the world now. The dimness of the emperor's star often means that you think it will be?"
"Don't speculate about the Emperor Star in vain."
Zhou Qun interrupted him and said: "Your Majesty is currently engaged in the Northern Expedition. At this critical moment, no one wants any accidents."
"But."
Zhou Ju hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say anything.
Those of them who study astrological charts and prophecies can indeed easily combine the current situation with the celestial phenomena.
Nowadays, the Ziwei star is dim. Thinking that Liu Bei, who is nearly seventy years old, will go on the Northern Expedition, it is inevitable to worry about what will happen to His Majesty's health now.
It's just that the Zhou family's current fortune has a lot to do with Zhou Lin's fortune and Liu Bei's appreciation.
Therefore, Zhou Ju knew that his father had studied prophecy for many years, so it was impossible that he did not know what the dim purple star meant, but he just did not want to believe it.
If his father didn't say anything, Zhou Ju would naturally not dare to say anything.
The two continued to watch the sky.
It was getting later and later, and at this moment, a meteor suddenly fell from the sky.
Zhou Qun's eyes narrowed and he quickly turned his head to look.
Zhou Ju also watched and asked curiously: "Father, where did this meteor come from?"
Zhou Qun said: "It seems that Xuanyuan Star is coming, let's take a look."
They stretched their heads and continued to look.
At the end of dusk in the evening, around eight or nine o'clock, small meteors appeared scattered in the sky.
Later, when the third quarter was reached, the number began to increase dramatically, and the meteor showers were visible to the naked eye as they intersected and fell. There were also two huge bolides inside, which was very spectacular.
One of them is as big as a half-liter container, bright enough to illuminate the night sky, and its wake condenses in the sky, bending like clouds; the other bolide is as big as a large peach, its light shines brightly, and it falls slowly, almost competing with the bright moon.
.
Seeing this, Zhou Qun's mouth widened, and his face didn't know whether he was happy or sad. For those of them who study astrology, this is undoubtedly the most spectacular sight.
However, the art of prophecy is often combined with reality. Zhou Qun could not imagine whether the fall of such a large area of stars foreshadowed anything.
And this meteor shower continued until the next morning.
Even during the day, you can still see bright lights interlacing from time to time, and in the evening there are still tail stars falling, seemingly endlessly.
In the early morning, the Zhou family and his son, who had been observing all night, could not go back to rest. Zhou Ju, with the bags under his eyes caused by staying up late, said to his father: "Father, with the meteor shower and the strange phenomena in the sky and the earth last night, something big may have happened."
Zhou Qun also looked tired, but still held up his body and continued to look at the sky and said: "The falling stars mean that a large number of people will die in the war between the Southern Han and the Northern Wei. What worries me most are the two sparks in the sky.
, it’s so terrible, could this be a sign of the two emperors?”
By the end of the sentence, he was mumbling to himself, not knowing what to do.
Even though he has studied celestial bodies and stars for many years, he has only seen such a large-scale star fall once.
The last time was more than thirty years ago, at the end of the Han Dynasty, which was in turbulent times. Emperor Ling had just died, Dong Zhuo had usurped the throne, and then the princes were fighting for hegemony and the heroes were quarreling.
At that time, he thought that many people would die in the world.
Sure enough, Dong Zhuo was later killed by Lu Bu, Jizhou Mu Han Fu, Yuzhou Governor Kong Niao, Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai, Hanoi County Governor Wang Kuang, Chenliu Governor Zhang Miao, Dongjun Governor Qiao Mao, Shanyang Governor Yuan Yi, Jibei
Prime Minister Bao Xin, Guangling Governor Zhang Chao, Changsha Governor Sun Jian, Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian and others died one after another.
Afterwards, great princes such as Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu perished one after another. The situation in the north became that of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who occupied Hebei and Henan respectively. In the south, only Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Sun Quan of Jiangdong, Liu Zhang of Yizhou, and Guanzhong Han remained.
Then the people of Ma Teng.
It can be said that after that large-scale star crash, all the princes in the world were killed and injured in just ten years. Then Liu Bei came to Jingzhou and unified the south, which gradually turned into the current situation of confrontation between the north and the south.
It was like this back then, but now there is another star fall. Zhou Qun can no longer imagine that there will be another star fall soon in the future?
"Father, father?"
Zhou Ju called out twice when he saw Zhou Qun was in a daze and muttering something to himself.
Zhou Qun came back to his senses and said with a deep expression, "I'm afraid something big is going to happen."
"whats the matter?"
Zhou Ju asked hurriedly.
Zhou Qun said: "This should be the Xuanyuan star meteor shower. Do you know when was the last time I saw this scene?"
"when?"
"When the Ling Emperor collapsed, a huge spark fell, and then the stars fell. After the Ling Emperor collapsed, the world was in chaos, heroes were everywhere, and all life was in ruins."
"ah?"
Zhou Ju was startled and said: "What can we do? Now that the situation between the north and the south has finally stabilized, is the world going to be in chaos again?"
Zhou Qun shook his head: "Not necessarily, it may be that many generals and ministers are dead. Now that the world is at war with the north and the south, your majesty's governance of the south is as stable as a rock, and it is unlikely that there will be another chaos."
Zhou Ju thought about it and said: "Now that the north and the south are fighting, many generals are very old generals. They have been in the army for many years. Maybe many generals will die in this war."
"Um."
Zhou Qun said: "No matter what, I still have to report this matter to the Prime Minister."
After saying that, he immediately went down from Guantian Tower and went to write the memorial to be reported.
At present, his position is still that of the Confucian Academy Lieutenant, mainly doing the work of approving and correcting books, but he also watches the stars part-time, so naturally he cannot neglect this matter.
I heard that the Prime Minister is also an expert in observing celestial phenomena. Maybe he also noticed the scene of the stars falling last night, and I hope the Prime Minister can deal with it.
Zhou Qun thought to himself.
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Guanzhong, Chang'an City, Weiyang Palace.
Shen Chen was walking diligently in the square outside the North Hall of Weiyang Palace. He had just returned from inspecting the military camp this morning and was now preparing to handle some paperwork.
The person on duty today is Deng Ai. Now Deng Ai, Jiang Wei and others have been promoted due to their merit. Deng Ai was promoted to General of Miscellaneous Numbers, and Jiang Wei also became Captain.
They currently have some troops in the army. Deng Ai and Jiang Wei both chose to join Shen Chen's personal guard army. They have replaced Shan Yi and Wu Dang and serve as the leader of the personal guard around Shen Chen every day.
As for Shan Yi and Wu Dang, they were promoted to lieutenant generals who could take charge of their own duties. Now they lead the army alone outside the city and no longer serve as bodyguards.
In addition to being the leader of the pro-army, Deng Ai also worked part-time as a clerk, helping Shen Chen handle official documents. He was currently in the side hall of Weiyang Palace.
Seeing Shen Chen come in, he raised his hands and saluted, "Master."
In formal situations, you should address your job title.
However, there are no people in the hall now, and it is a private occasion, so it is naturally more cordial to call him Master.
Shen Chen nodded, his face was like water, and he didn't look happy at all.
Deng Ai saw his worried look and asked, "Master, what happened?"
Shen Chen shook his head and said, "No, it's just that I have been restless these past few days. I always feel that something big will happen, so I am a little worried."
Deng Ai smiled and said: "We have now occupied Guanzhong and captured Chang'an. Although we cannot continue to advance because we do not have enough troops, horses, food and grass, we have won a great victory on the western front, so why should you worry?"
"That's not what I'm worried about."
Shen Chen slowly walked to the main seat in the hall, sat down cross-legged, put his hands on his knees, pondered for a while, and then said softly: "I just always feel that something will happen."
"Master Shijun is probably too worried. Now Cao Jun only dares to stick to Tongguan and Bingzhou. How can he send troops to recapture Guanzhong?"
Deng Ai smiled.
Now it is actually difficult for them to continue to make progress.
It's not a Tongguan problem.
It is true that Tongguan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but a large-scale attack does not mean that we cannot approach the pass and attack the pass by force.
But now that Cao Wei's secrets have been revealed, more troops have been sent to the western front.
After the city of Chang'an was broken, only less than 20,000 of Cao's 50,000 troops fled back. Together with the troops of Cao Zhen and Xu Huang Zhu Ling, there were about 70,000 people who held firm.
Later, Cao Pi sent an additional 50,000 troops. Now the number of Cao's troops in Bingzhou and Tongguan exceeds that of Han troops.
But Shen Chen is not without some background.
In the past year, Yu Jin has been training troops in the rear. After Liangzhou was stabilized, the number of troops increased sharply. It would not be a big problem to mobilize another 20,000 to 30,000 troops from Hanzhong and Liangzhou.
The main thing is to attack Tongguan by force, which would take a year and a half. However, transporting grain from Hanzhong to Chang'an, and then from Chang'an to Tongguan, even if the Wei River and Yellow River help transport grain, is still a long way, up to two thousand miles.
Now that I have been recuperating in the South for three years, it is really unreasonable that the family fortune that I finally accumulated could be lost like this.
Therefore, after conquering Guanzhong, Shen Chen hoped that the migrant population would return to Guanzhong for development.
As long as some people can be relocated and planted around Chang'an to solve the problem of military grain transportation, he will naturally take action against Bingzhou and Tongguan.
Similarly, Cao's army seemed to be outnumbered, but they did not dare to attack Guanzhong.
Shen Chen improved horse equipment and had powerful light cavalry and heavy cavalry. With their superb mobility, Cao's army only suffered losses in the wild, let alone attacking the city.
Therefore, the two sides on the western front were in a confrontational situation. Shen Chen was not able to attack, and Cao Jun was unable to counterattack Chang'an.
But what surprised Deng Ai was that Shen Chen shook his head and said, "I'm not worried about Cao Jun."
Deng Ai was surprised and said: "What is this, Master?"
"I don't know either."
Shen Chen held his forehead with one hand and frowned: "I just feel restless. I am obviously not thinking about the attack or whether Cao Jun will come, but I am always worried about something, but I don't know what I am worried about." what."
Deng Ai thought for a while and said, "Is it possible that the master is worried about your majesty and the general? The master has sent tens of thousands of cavalry to assist your majesty, and Henan will probably have no worries. The general defeated Cao Xiu again and shocked Huainan. Surrounded by the city of Hefei, who is his opponent in the land of Huainan?"
"Um."
Shen Chen said: "Of course I won't worry about Your Majesty and the General. Oh, forget it, I'm probably just worrying in vain."
As he spoke, he shook his head and smiled.
Now the three-pronged offensive is going relatively smoothly. Although the Henan side has not achieved any results, it is still watertight.
With the help of Pang Tong, Fa Zheng, Xu Shu and others, Liu Bei is probably unlikely to fail.
There is no need to say more about Guan Yu.
Although Zhang Liao is also a world-famous general, he is still a little inferior compared to Guan Yu.
So there is nothing to worry about in Huainan.
Shen Chen felt that maybe he was overthinking it, so he didn't care. He picked up an official document and started to read it.
About a quarter of an hour later, the messenger at the door hurried in. With a sad face and a hint of crying, he knelt down on one knee and reported: "Grand Governor, something serious has happened."
"What happened?"
Shen Chen's face suddenly turned serious. Could it be that his hunch was right and something bad really happened?
The messenger lamented: "Old General Huang suddenly died of illness last night."
"Snapped."
The document in Shen Chen's hand suddenly dropped, and his face was stunned.