Duan Si's letter of surrender to Murong Chui was written in Xianbei script. The messenger sent was a slave of the Duan family named Duan Yao. This Duan Yao also had a younger brother named Duan Yao. Duan Yao volunteered to risk his own life to go to Yecheng to deliver the letter.
As a result, his younger brother Duan Si was promoted to the governor of the Thousand-Man Department and received a reward of 200,000 coins and 500 bolts of silk. Duan Si also rewarded Duan with one of his concubines as his wife——
On October 28th, when they were saying goodbye at Gushujiangkou, the two brothers held each other's hands and cried. Duan Zhu asked him to go to Yecheng on his behalf. Duan Zhu said: "I am over fifty, and I don't have much time left. I can contribute to the head of the family."
, Even if you die without regrets, Ah Zhu, you are not yet forty this year, so you can live a good life and have children——"
Duan Zhu knelt down and cried loudly.
Duan Yan looked up at the sky and said: "At the end of this year, Ah Zhu will burn all the utensils I use on daily basis."
The Xianbei people's funeral custom is to bury the deceased in a hidden place without a grave. As for the funeral, they only have a coffin hub and a tomb. When they were alive, the carriages, horses and utensils were burned to send the deceased away. Duan Yu told his brother this, which is an estimate.
He could reach Yecheng in one and a half months, and the day when the letter was delivered was also the time when he died.
…
The first day, in order to celebrate the birth of Huan Wen's son, the officials of the Xifu Prefecture prepared congratulatory gifts and sent them to the General's Palace. Huan Wen hosted a banquet in honor of him. After the banquet, Huan Wen left Zhu Xu, Xie Xuan, Chen Caozhi and others to discuss the Northern Expedition again -
Xi Chao said: "The Northern Expedition has a long way to go, and the Bian River is shallow. I'm afraid water transportation will be difficult. Ming Gong can first order Yuzhou Governor Yuan Zhen to attack Qiao and Liang, and open the stone gate to open the water transportation. In this way, there will be no worries about the loss of food and grass."
Huan Wen nodded and said: "When the rebellion is completed and the Yan country is in chaos, I will immediately order Yuan Zhen to attack Qiao, Liang, and Tongshimen."
Huan Shixiu said: "The Xianbei people are accustomed to horse warfare and have no naval force. However, our Jin army has both land and water. We should use our own strengths to overcome the enemy's weaknesses."
"That's good." Huan Wen praised, "Tell me more details."
Huan Shixiu had discussed the route of the Northern Expedition with Chen Caozhi earlier. At this time, he said: "The Xifu Navy can first enter the Huaihe River from the Yangtze River, station in Xuzhou, and then enter Juyeze via Jinxiang, divert Wenshui into Qingshui, and control water transportation.
Then the boat division entered the Yellow River from Qingshui. After crossing the river, it went straight to Yecheng. The Xianbei people were afraid of their uncle's reputation and would be defeated by the wind. Even if the battle was unfavorable, our navy controlled the river and could advance and retreat freely. He ordered Yuzhou Governor Yuan Zhen to go to Huainan.
The prefect Huan Ziye, together with Shen Shijian of Luoyang, sent troops to seize the land in Huaibei and Henan. Even if we cannot capture all of Hebei in this battle, the land in Henan will belong to our Jin Dynasty."
Huan Wen knew that the Northern Expedition strategy mentioned by Huan Shixiu was indispensable for Chen Caozhi's planning, so he nodded and praised it. When he saw Xie Xuan and Zhu Xu, both of them offered their suggestions and advice, but Huan Xi was the only one who was distracted and looked absent-minded. Huan Wen was very unhappy.
, coughed and asked: "Xi, what suggestions do you have for the Northern Expedition?"
Huan Xi looked like he was waking up from a dream and said: "Everyone's words are reasonable. As long as we work together, the Northern Expedition should be successful."
Everyone else said something meaningful, but Huan Xi only made empty words. Huan Wen frowned and was about to scold him. He thought that he couldn't humiliate Huan Xi in front of Chen Caozhi and others, so he just said "hum".
Dissatisfied, Huan Xi said: "Dad, my son is feeling a little unwell and wants to go down and rest for a while."
Huan Wen calmly waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
Huan Xi left the meeting hall and walked quickly to the inner courtyard. He walked to the small courtyard where Li Jingshu lived and said to the maid in front of the door: "Let me come to see Xiao Xuan." Without waiting for an announcement, he walked into Li Jingshu's living room -
—
Li Jingshu leaned on the couch and watched the wet nurse feeding Huan Xuan. Li Jingshu had no milk. The wet nurse was a strong lactating woman selected from Girls City a few days ago——
Huan Xi came in, smiled at Li Jingshu, then looked carefully at Huan Xuan in the nurse's arms, and seemed to be saying to himself: "Xiao Xuan looks exactly like me when we were young."
Li Jingshu raised the corner of her mouth, squinted her beautiful eyes, and said, "Both of us are members of your Huan family, so it's not surprising that we have some similarities."
Huan Xi wanted to ask but did not dare to ask. He really felt that it was not such a coincidence, it was just a spring breeze, and he was not sure whether it was Li Jingshu that night?
Huan Xi looked at his three-day-old younger brother Huan Xuan. He had a small nose, small eyes, and a red face. The newborn was really not very good-looking——
Huan Xi patrolled for a long time, but failed to find the point and retreated.
Li Jingshu sneered, looking at Huan Xuan, her brows furrowed at first, then her expression gradually softened, showing love and pity, but in the blink of an eye it was replaced by a surly expression——
…
On the first day of the winter, Xie Xuan and Zhu Xu returned to Jingzhou, Huan Xi, Huan Shixiu, and Chen Cao went to Jingkou, and Xi Chao returned to Jiankang two days earlier——
Three thousand sets of heavy armored cavalry equipment built by the Xifu Ordnance Department have been delivered for use. Duan Si greatly praised this batch of armored equipment forged by Jiangdong craftsmen, believing that compared to the armored cavalry equipment of the Yan Kingdom, this batch of armor from the Jin Dynasty is lighter
, the good news is that although it is light, its defensive capabilities are not weaker than the Xianbei heavy cavalry that Duan Si saw when he was in the Yan Kingdom, regardless of the face curtain, chicken neck, chest, horse body armor, back riding, and body.
From the equipment, it can be seen that Jiangdong's forging technology is superior to that of Yan. Because the armor is relatively lighter, although Jiangdong's war horses are not as strong as Xianbei's horses, they are still capable of the task.
Huan Wen handed over this heavy cavalry of 3,000 men to Huan Xi. This heavy cavalry almost consumed more than half of Xifu's military resources for a year. The 3,000 cavalry were equipped with 6,000 horses. When marching, the cavalry was not wearing armor.
The horses were replaced by armored cavalry during charge operations to ensure that the war horses had sufficient physical strength. This heavy cavalry swept all the horses in the Xifu. The sergeants were also the most elite sergeants in the Xifu, and the cavalry commander Duan Sidhuan secretly ordered Huan Wen to unconditionally
Duan Si was loyal to Huan Xi and fled to Jiangdong. Everything was given by Huan Wen, so he bowed his head and obeyed his orders.
Duan Si and Ran Sheng led this heavy cavalry across the river on the first day of winter and headed south to Guangling along the north bank of the Yangtze River, not only to merge with the Beifu Army, but also to practice heavy cavalry marching and charging. By the time they arrived at Guangling, it was already the ninth day of winter.
, the north wind roared low, the weather suddenly turned cold, 60,000 soldiers of the Beifu were deployed on both sides of the river, and they practiced every day, including raids, ambushes, water attacks, fire attacks, city sieges, mountain operations, and river operations, all of which were involved.
The sergeants can cope with various difficult situations, and the infantry's Queyue Formation is also practiced skillfully. This Queyue Formation can be combined into a large formation of thousands of people, or it can be dispersed into a small formation of twenty people. It is complex but not hectic.
Attacking from far away and defending near, each had its own responsibility. Chen Caozhi worked tirelessly every day, inspecting the military camps, strictly enforcing military orders, and clarifying rewards and punishments. Everyone was in awe. Huan Shixiu sometimes came with Chen Caozhi, but Huan Xi seldom came.
The military camp only summoned the main generals to discuss matters at General Anbei's Mansion in Jingkou——
On the 30th day of the winter lunar month, Huan Wen led the Xifu staff to Guangling by boat to review the Beifu army. During the military exercise, it snowed heavily. However, the Beifu sergeants and soldiers were neat and unmoved by the wind and snow. Yan drums were passed, and the infantry and cavalry troops
They are all in uniform; there are two lines of strict drums, the cavalry is mounted, and the infantry forms a formation; the three lines are as directed by the military flag, the front of the command is forward, the rear is rear, the left is left, and the right is right. The infantry and cavalry turn around and change.
Taking turns to drill, troops were stationed in groups, their troops were stationed, and they were so solemn that they did not dare to make any noise——
Huan Wen was an experienced soldier. He couldn't help but marvel when he saw that within half a year, the scattered Beifu soldiers were so integrated and so murderous. After the drill, he called Huan Xi and had a secret talk with Huan Shixiu. Huan Shixiu had a very good impression of Chen Caozhi.
Chen Cao's kind words made Huan Wen worried. Chen Cao's reputation and talents were among the best in the world, but his son Huan Xi was mediocre. How could Chen Cao be content to be inferior to Huan Xi?
The Northern Expedition was imminent, and Huan Wen could not think too much about this. After the Northern Expedition was successful, Xu would seize Chen Cao's military power and let him return to the court to serve——
After the military exercise, Chen Caozhi returned to his residence in Guangling City with several of his retinues wearing frost and snow. However, they saw Lai Gui, Banli and a male servant of Xie Daoyun coming forward to pay their respects. They came from Qiantang to serve Chen Cao.
Later, I sent Lu and thanked the two ladies, as well as the winter clothes and birthday gifts sewn by Xiao Chan. Tomorrow is the first day of the twelfth lunar month, which is Chen Caozhi’s birthday. This time Ding Youwei did not prepare winter clothes for Xiao Lang. Xiao Lang is already married.
A wife who takes concubines has her own wives and concubines to love and cherish her, so she doesn’t need to be too concerned about her as a sister-in-law——
Lu Weirui and Xie Daoyun each wrote letters. The two women's writing styles were completely different and each had their own taste. Chen Cao smiled when he read the letter, and Banli stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Chen Langjun, did Mrs. Weirui write in the letter?"
Chen Caozhi asked: "What did you write?"
Seeing Chen Caozhi like this, Banli knew that he didn't know yet, so he said: "Congratulations, Mr. Chen, Mrs. Wei Rui is pregnant."
"Ah!" Chen Caozhi's eyes suddenly widened, and he hurried back and forth in the room. He was overjoyed. Wei Rui was pregnant with his child. What other happiness could compare with this good news!
Banli said: "Lai Gui, Xie Qi and I set off from Qiantang on the seventh day of last month. Before leaving, my sister Duan Hao told me the news, saying that Mrs. Wei Rui went to Chuyang Taoist Temple in Baoshishan the day before.
, Taoist Li Shouyi checked Mrs. Wei Rui's pulse and said that Mrs. Wei Rui was happy - why didn't Mrs. Wei Rui tell Chen Langjun about this great event?"
Chen Caozhi laughed "haha" and said: "Wei Rui just asked me if I could pay back the money to celebrate the New Year. Hey, Wei Rui is thin-skinned-" He was thinking about the night Wei Rui had a baby? Returning the money
That night at Lu Mansion in Wu County on the way to Tang Dynasty, Wei Rui was extremely emotional during the happy occasion. That day was August 24th. If it were really that day, then she would have been pregnant for three months now——
Banli asked: "Can Mr. Chen go back to celebrate the New Year? There is only one month left."
Chen Caozhi originally had no plans to go back to Qiantang to celebrate the New Year. It would take more than a month to go back and forth. Anyway, Wei Rui and Dao Yun are coming to Jiankang next year. It would be much more convenient to go to Jiankang from Jingkou, but now I heard that Wei Rui has
She was pregnant, and immediately wanted to return home to visit relatives. After thinking about it, she said: "You guys will leave tomorrow. I am not sure whether I can go back to my hometown yet. If I do, I will set off after the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. I can make it there on horseback."
Yes, if I don’t have time to come back, I will send someone back a few days earlier to report the news. If no one responds three days before New Year’s Eve, then I will come back.”
That night, Chen Caozhi wrote letters to Wei Rui and Dao Yun respectively. Of course, the letter to Wei Rui was longer——
Outside the window, heavy snow fell silently from the sky.