Meng Jin was from Huangchuan, Xinyang. In the first year of Deyu, he joined the sect of Chen Xinbo. Enke was admitted as a second-class Jinshi. His official career was smooth. He came to Xinyang in just eight years. As the Western Qin Party lost power, Meng Chou
For a small mistake, he was demoted to a civilian position and even deprived of his fame and honor.
Before Liu An'er's uprising in Hongzepu, a large number of refugees were flowing from the north to the south, and bandits were rampant in Yangxin territory. Meng Jin gathered his tribesmen to form a stronghold at the Zhaihe River at the junction of Huangchuan and Xinyang to protect themselves.
By the time Liu An'er led his troops to abandon Haozhou and march westward, the Zhaihe rural soldiers were already a force that could not be underestimated. Zhaihe also stood against Dutian Mountain at the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain, and relied on the danger to defend. Liu An'er and the soldiers who subsequently entered Xinyang
Luo Xiancheng, Gong Yucai and other refugees, Qu Shuai, all got along well with them after extorting money and food.
When Meng Jin came to know Xinyang, he did not have much prestige. However, over the years, he led his people to form a stronghold to protect themselves, dealing with many refugee forces, struggling to survive, and their reputation increased greatly. The remaining powerful clans in Xinyang were all the only ones.
Meng Jin followed suit.
In early February, the prefect of Xinyang fled. Meng Zhixiang, as a minor official, gathered the people of Xinyang to defend the city. All clans contributed money, and Xinyang was finally defended from being massacred by the brutal bandits. In fact, it was Meng Jin who was behind the scenes.
After being demoted to civilian status and having his fame taken away, Meng Jin felt somewhat humiliated and resentful in his heart. After Xiao Kui'an led his troops into Yangxin City, he returned to Zhaihe. Dong Yuan came to Xinyang this time because he wanted to invite him.
When Meng Jin came out, he also planned to make great efforts to win over the remaining local forces in Xinyang.
Dong Yuan wanted to invite Meng Jin to meet him in Xinyang City. After he arrived in Xinyang, he rushed the village on the Minghe River to be looted by the bandits, causing heavy casualties. Dong Yuan rushed over to inspect without stopping. Unexpectedly, Meng Jin brought two retinues with him.
Also followed.
Meng Jin, who was in his forties, was thin and unattractive. He was riding a green mule. When he saw Dong Yuan, who was wearing a purple robe outside his armor, he came out. He got off the mule to greet him and said loudly: "Meng Jin, a grassroots man in Huangchuan, pays homage to Xuan."
Lord Commander of the Capital..." He walked to Dong Yuan, bowed his head and bowed.
Dong Yuan hurriedly held Meng Zhen up and said, "Master Meng has defeated Dong Yuan!"
"Meng Jin's fame is not there, he was lucky enough to avoid being punished. As a commoner, it is proper etiquette to bow down when you see an adult..." Meng Jin stood up straight, but his mouth was not forgiving.
Dong Yuan knew that Meng Jin was resentful about the fact that he was demoted to the people because of the party struggle, so he didn't blame him for being pretentious. Seeing that Meng Jin was surrounded by two guards, and Xinyang City did not send any troops to escort him, he blamed him.
He came to Minghe to inspect Meng Zhixiang: "The thieves in Xinyang are causing trouble, Master Meng still trusts the people of Xinyang, how can you not consider his thoughtfulness?"
Meng Zhixiang felt aggrieved because the Xinyang faction did not send anyone to escort him, and he could not make the decision.
Meng Jin just needed Dong Yuan to behave like a courteous corporal, and said: "Your Excellency, please come to Xinyang in person and forgive Chen Hansan for being such a rogue bandit and not daring to go out to Huaishan to stir up trouble. Besides, Meng Jin is a commoner and there is nothing he can do to make a difference."
The thieves are worried about..."
"Master Meng, please don't say that," Dong Yuan said with a bow, "It was because I didn't think carefully. When I heard that the village here was being massacred by bandits, I rushed over here without making any arrangements..." Dong Yuan didn't mind Meng.
Jin knows how to behave, and the better Meng Jin knows how to behave, the more confident he can use Meng Jin.
Liu Tingzhou was close to Yue Lengqiu, and they always got along with Yue Lengqiu when they were in Huaidong. Liu Tingzhou was transferred from Huai'an Prefecture and served as the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs and also led the Huaixi Army.
This is Yue Lengqiu’s suggestion and recommendation.
The remaining Chu party forces in the court today are headed by Yue Lengqiu - Meng Zhen is still very upset about his dismissal from office due to the dispute between the Western Qin party and the Chu party, which means that he is unlikely to fight with Liu Tingzhou and Xiao Kui'an.
Go somewhere.
In addition, although Huaidong and the Chu party had long drawn a clear line, the case of Meng Zhen's demotion was directly through the hands of Gu Wuchen, who was the inspector of Jiangdong at the time. After the break between Lin and Gu, Qingzhou was defeated, and Huaidong accepted the remnants of Qingzhou.
In terms of power, Lin Fu himself is Gu Wuchen's son-in-law. Meng Jin's pretentiousness just now, whether it was because of his genuine hatred or a deliberate expression, was just Dong Yuan's need for him to have such a posture.
Dong Yuan invited Meng Jin to go to the village to express condolences to the villagers after the robbery, but Meng Jin accepted the invitation. After all, Dong Yuan's status was that of a polite and virtuous corporal, so he could not really expect to grovel.
Entering the village, he saw the corpses of the villagers being carried out and pools of blood on the ground. Meng Zhen asked: "My lord has strong soldiers and horses. It is easy to get rid of Chen Hansan, but what can Nairo do?"
Dong Yuan smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Meng knows better than me what the current situation in Huaixi is. If Chen Hansan gets Luo Xiancheng's support, the situation in Huaishan will be very complicated. I'm afraid it won't be easy to get rid of..."
"Luo Xiancheng was in Suizhou and Xiangyang claimed to have 200,000 troops. At that time, Liu An'er also had hundreds of thousands of troops in Huaisi. Wasn't it possible that the Chang Huai Army and the Huaidong Army were crushed and defeated?" Meng Zhen said, "My lord, you have ten troops.
Wan, why do you attach so much importance to Chen Hansan, a rogue bandit?"
"Luo Xiancheng's soldiers and civilians were mixed, and he had 200,000 soldiers. In fact, there were more people and fewer soldiers, and even fewer elites. When he was replaced, it would not have been a big problem," Dong Yuan said, "But now, the Yanlu have occupied Henan, Shandong
, the troops were pointed directly at the Huaihe River, and the imperial court advocated appeasement because they were afraid that Luo Xiancheng would jump over the wall in a hurry..."
"Even if the recruitment is successful, given the precedent in Xuzhou, Luo Xiancheng will always be a serious problem for the court..." Meng Zhen looked at Dong Yuan's face, as if trying to see through his true thoughts.
Dong Yuan likes Meng Jin's idea of cutting the grass and eradicating the roots. He was previously worried that the local forces in Xinyang had a tacit understanding with Luo Xiancheng. After all, if they attack Luo Xiancheng, the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain may become a battlefield. As far as local forces are concerned, they would rather survive than not.
Those who are willing to get caught up in the chaos of war.
"The mansions in Huaixi are in ruins, and they are threatened from the back and front by the Yan captives. It is unrealistic to talk about entering and suppressing Suizhou at this time," Dong Yuan said. "And I sent envoys to Suizhou and invited Luo Xiancheng to jointly suppress Chen Hansan. How could we go out?
Or not? The top priority is that if Xinyang can become the western vassal screen of Huaixi, it must first block the Yanlu from crossing the Huaihe River from the west to threaten Huaixi; even if Luo Xiancheng changes in the future, he must not leave Suizhou and go northward from Huaishan...
…”
Dong Yuan's opinion was very clear. It was too early to talk about attacking Luo Xiancheng at this time. Luo Xiancheng jumped over the wall in a hurry. He could leave Huaishan from Suizhou and ravage Xinyang, or he could enter Nanyang from Xiangyang and Beitou in Henan. At this time, he should first stabilize Luo Xiancheng and borrow
When it comes to encircling and suppressing the remnants of Chen Han San's troops and focusing on managing Xinyang, he actually has two hands prepared.
"Meng Jin understands your lord's intention, but I don't know if there is any place where Luo Jin can serve when your lord calls Luo Jin here..." Luo Jin not only hoped that Dong Yuan would have the determination to wipe out the Changle bandits, but he was also afraid that Dong Yuan would go too far.
Rushing forward, the local forces in Xinyang were hastily involved in a war with little chance of winning. Seeing that Dong Yuan's intention was to manage Xinyang first to prevent Luo Xian from becoming the master, it was in line with his thoughts, so he no longer kept secrets and directly
Ask about the core issues of this meeting.
"I hope Mr. Luo can reluctantly come out to clean up the broken situation in Xinyang. Zhixiang has talent and reputation. I want to recommend him to be the commander of Xinyang..." Dong Yuan wants to win over the local forces in Xinyang, so he will naturally not be stingy with chips. The prefect of Xinyang
Joining the army with Sikou and giving it to the Meng family is very valuable. Dong Yuan also hopes to gather the clan forces in Xinyang and form a Xinyang rural army in Xinyang that can coexist with Xiao Kui'an's troops. When the time is right, he can
Transfer Xiao Kui'an out of Xinyang without worrying about big mistakes on the western front in Huaixi.
"If Meng Jin is demoted to the rank of a commoner, and even his fame is taken away, how can he clean up the situation in Xinyang for you?" Meng Jin asked.
"Dear Meng was wronged a lot by the tax case in Xinyang back then. It is natural to bring things right now," Dong Yuan said. "Prime Minister Chen also knew that Mr. Meng had been wronged, so he asked me to come over and ask Mr. Meng what he meant first, so that he could clear Mr. Meng's name.
.I will carry the petitions of all the people who joined the army in Xinyang Prefecture with me and fill in their names. However, the petitions of the prefects must be approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which cannot be done in a short time. For the time being, I have to wrong Lord Meng to be my staff. Only in this way,
I can immediately blame Mr. Meng for the affairs in Xinyang..."
Now that the momentum in Huaidong is so strong, Dong Yuan is not worried that Chen Xiyan and others will hinder him on the issue of Xinyang Prefecture. He can only push Meng Jin to the position of Xinyang Prefecture, and then he can take over the local forces in Xinyang as his own.
use.
In addition to the chief seal officers of prefectures and counties who need to be appointed by the court, the auxiliary officers and minor officials of Haozhou, Shouzhou and Xinyang are directly controlled by Dong Yuan and Liu Tingzhou respectively. To appoint officials, you must fill in your surname.
Just report it to the officials. After Huaidong gained momentum, Chen Xiyan and others eagerly hoped that Dong Yuan could quickly establish a foothold in Huaixi.
"My lord has said so, how dare Meng Jin not try his best?" Meng Jin bowed.
In a valley at the western foot of Huaishan Mountain, Chen Hansan rode his horse to stop on a huge rock on the bank of the stream, and his troops were moving to Macheng Village deep in the southwest Huaishan Mountain.
After Xiao Kui'an led his troops into Xinyang, Chen Hansan was afraid that the little money he had managed to save would be destroyed, so he did not dare to leave Huaishan too far and went deep into the hinterland of Xinyang to rob.
Now that Dong Yuan has come to Xinyang in person, Chen Hansan can only avoid the spotlight for the time being - Dong Yuan is as famous as Chen Zhihu, and bad luck is not so easy to deal with. Chen Hansan knows that his wealth at this time is too small to afford it.
"Someone still needs to go to Suizhou..." Chen Hansan said with emotion.
"Luo Xiancheng is that guy who bullies the weak and is afraid of the strong, afraid that he will sell us out!" Xu Shan, the general, took a grass stalk in his mouth and chewed it.
Ma Zhen frowned and said, "Luo Xiancheng can't be that stupid, right?"
"Yes, it's true that Luo Xian bullies the weak and fears the hard, and he's greedy for life and afraid of death, but he's definitely not stupid!" Chen Hansan said, "If we were to suppress Dong Yuan, it would only do him harm, not any good! But we can't save him.
If you feel confused for a moment, someone still needs to go over and explain your interests to him."
"There are not many soldiers and horses in Xinyang now, and the network is not dense enough. If it doesn't work, we will get out and go to Henan..." Xu Shan said again, feeling that wandering around in the Huaishan Mountains was really not an option.
"Are you going to vote for Chen Zhihu now?" Chen Hansan smiled bitterly and said, "Luo Xiancheng is still reluctant to part with his Changle King. If we vote for Chen Zhihu like this, we are afraid that Chen Zhihu will eat up all the bones..."
Chen Zhihu was ruthless. In order to lure Dengzhou soldiers and horses into his trap, he actually dragged tens of thousands of soldiers to die under Qingzhou City. If Yanhu asked Yuan Lishan to go to Henan, and Chen Hansan even considered pulling people to join him, Chen Zhihu would really be in trouble.