Eighty-seven, the end of the song is here (finale)
On the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month, Ran Sheng and his one-armed Jingnu braved the wind and snow from western Liaoning to Yecheng to meet his brother and sister-in-law. In Yecheng, he stayed with his brother-in-law, his family, and Zongzhi to celebrate the New Year. He learned that Zongzhi and Runer
They are both engaged, and the wedding will be in October next year. Ran Sheng is not emotional. The simple boy back then has now become a stoic military commander who is indifferent to joy and anger. Ran Sheng just asked Wang Xun what his personality was like and whether he was a good person.
Is it worthy? Knowing that Wang Xun did not have the bad habit of drinking or drinking like the famous disciples of Jiangzuo, Ran Sheng nodded and said: "When the time comes, I will prepare two generous gifts. Brother and sister-in-law, please give them to me when they return. Just say
The Goguryeo people often have the intention of invading Liaoxi. Xiao Shengshi cannot leave his post for a long time. Please forgive me, Mistress Ding."
Chen Caozhi knew what was on Ran Sheng's mind. If he saw Run'er getting married with his own eyes, he would be heartbroken, so he didn't say much. But the one-armed Jingnu was a little anxious. Ran Sheng was already twenty-four years old on New Year's Day.
, but he was still alone. Even if he didn’t have a suitable wife, it would be better to have two concubines, servants, and children. Jing Nu asked Chen Caozhi to persuade Ran Sheng——
Before Chen Caozhi could speak, Ran Sheng said with a smile: "Brother, don't worry, I won't be alone all my life. I have to carry on the family line anyway." After that, he changed the subject and talked about Goguryeo's intention to join forces with Youzhou to attack Fuyu.
The thing is, Goguryeo was formerly a vassal state of Yan, and a prince was in Ye city as a hostage. When the Jin army attacked Ye, it was Goguryeo hostage who opened the city gate first and surrendered. Therefore, these small vassal states are all following the trend, and they are not worthy of trust.
, can only be suppressed, not condoned——
Chen Caozhi knew that Ran Sheng wanted to use troops against Fuyu because Fuyu had taken in Murong Chong, but Chen Caozhi did not want to use troops against Fuyu for the time being. Fuyu sent an envoy to express his vassal status in Jin, and Chen Caozhi's goal was to Daiguo.
The Xianbei Tuoba clan is the threat to the Central Plains and must be dealt a heavy blow to prevent the Tuoba clan from going south. They can only go north to compete with the Dingling Kingdom for territory. The Dingling clan and the Xianbei Tuoba clan can fight to ensure the peace of the Central Plains of Hebei for a hundred years. Liu Laozhi is now
We are training 10,000 heavy cavalry and 15,000 newly recruited infantry. Once these infantry and cavalry have formed a strong fighting force, it will be the time to cross the Great Wall and attack the Tuoba clan. We do not seek to destroy the dynasty, but drive the Tuoba clan to attack.
North Escape——
After hearing Chen Caozhi's plan, Ran Sheng nodded and said, "I naturally think that my brother is right."
…
In early March of the second year of Ningkang, Xi and his wife Zhou Matou came to Yecheng. Last year, Chen Caozhi recommended Xi to the court as the prefect of Ye County. Wang Biaozhi was ordered by the minister, Xie An was the leader of the army, and Wang Tanzhi was ordered by Zhongshu.
Wanting Xi to be at the center of power again, he accepted Chen Caozhi's recommendation and appointed Xi as the prefect of Ye County——
Chen Caozhi led his officials to greet Xi, and after greeting him he said: "Brother Guest, you are not going north to be an upright official with nothing to do. You have to work hard with my brother to do something big."
When Xi entered Hebei, he immediately felt that the weather was different. The Jizhou governed by Chen Caozhi was full of vitality, and he said with emotion: "But I am willing to be a pioneer according to my son's instructions."
That night, Chen Caozhi and Xi Dian had a long talk. Chen Caozhi shared his ideas one by one. He wanted to implement land tax reform in Jizhou. At that time, Murong Ping was in chaos, and people fled their homes one after another to avoid heavy taxes and became refugees.
, or a hundred families and a thousand people living together. The War between Jin and Yan five years ago also caused Hebei to lose a lot of labor, so that the countryside was deserted. Chen Caozhi wanted to implement the land equalization system to allow the refugees to settle down and reclaim wasteland.
Make it a population that can be controlled by the government. This can curb the intensifying land annexation and allow farmers to get rid of the control of powerful families. Chen Caozhi also wants to abolish the gentry household system. From the governor on down, everyone pays taxes, and only serving military households
duty free--
Xi was deeply shocked by Chen Caozhi's new land tax policy. If this happened in Jiangdong, it would definitely arouse fierce opposition from aristocratic families. Chen Caozhi would be burned and become the target of public criticism. However, the dangers of land annexation mentioned by Chen Caozhi were beyond Xi's knowledge.
Of course, I know that this makes sense. This is a century-old plan for Chen Cao. Compared with Jiangdong, the resistance to the implementation of the new land tax policy in Hebei will be much smaller, because the aristocratic families in Hebei have no connection with the Eastern Jin royal family and cannot appeal to the court.
exert pressure to resist Chen Caozhi's new policy, and Chen Caozhi has guarded Jizhou for nearly four years and has won the support of the people. The powerful people in Hebei are unable to confront Chen Caozhi. It is feasible for Chen Caozhi to implement the new policy of land tax——
In the next few days, Chen Caozhi, Shi Cui, the convener of Xi, and other civil servants discussed the new land tax policy. Cui Cheng was from a wealthy family in Qinghe, and of course he was dissatisfied with the new policy. Chen Caozhi gave in and allowed the wealthy families to retain their shady households.
Households do not have to do corvee, but they must pay money and silk in lieu of it——
Cui Cheng contacted the Lu family, Wang family, Xue family and Chen Caozhi for several confrontations. After realizing that Chen Caozhi was resolute, he finally reluctantly agreed to implement the new land tax policy, which was implemented from May of the second year of Ningkang. The people were naturally happy because
Compared with before, the burden on farmers under this land tax system is lighter. For the government, there are more households to pay taxes. Although the tax per household is slightly reduced, the overall tax revenue is increasing. This increase
In fact, it was the benefits that the wealthy families reluctantly gave up. Of course, Chen Caozhi also properly appeased those wealthy families and appointed their children as officials. Jizhou's New Deal was carried out smoothly. While the land equalization system was implemented, Chen Caozhi ordered each county to
The county re-establishes township chiefs and village chiefs to manage the registered population——
It was also this year that Fu Jian, unwilling to be left alone, began his western expedition. Since Jin was strong and Qin was temporarily unable to compete with Jin for hegemony in the Central Plains, it expanded to the northwest. Fu Jian appointed Lu Guang, the son of Lu Bolou, an important minister, as a hussar general and the governor of Xidu.
All military forces led 50,000 troops to conquer the countries in the Western Region——
Wang Meng disagreed with this. The countries in the Western Regions such as Qiuci and Dawan did not pose a threat to Guanlong. Even if the labor expedition was successful, it would not be of great benefit to Qin. Wang Meng suggested that Fu Jian use the Huns Liu Weichen as a guide to attack Dai, but Fu Jian did not
Listen, I think we should be retained to represent the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to fight against the powerful Jin——
Chen Caozhi learned about Di Qin's Western Expedition and let it go. His long-term strategy was that even if Wang Meng died of illness, as long as Di Qin was not in chaos, he would not attack Di Qin. After all, Fu Jian used Wang Meng's strategy to implement the Han system, and Guanzhong and Central Plains rituals
The system is the same, so there is no need to rush to destroy Qin. With Di Qin here, the Huns in Guanlong and Liu Weichen are basically stable. Once Di Qin is destroyed and the Huns are scattered, wars will break out frequently and there will be no peace on the border——
…
As spring passed and autumn came, the golden breeze rustled, and Jizhou's new policy was quite effective. Xi's shrewdness and wit made Cui Cheng and others no match. With Xi's help, Chen Caozhi's control over Jizhou was strengthened. In late August, Chen Caozhi led
His wife, children, Zongzhi and others set off to return south. Zongzhi's personal welcome was on the second day of October, and Chen Caozhi also had to return to the court to report on Jizhou's new policies -
It is true that Xiao Chan has the appearance of a suitable son, and on the tenth day of the seventh month, she gave birth to a son. Chen Cao was overjoyed and named his son Ye Sheng. He was originally going to name his son Ji Zhi, but Xie Daoyun became pregnant in July last year, so she was due in early May.
Due to the long distance between childbirth and childbirth, it is not known whether the mother and child are safe. Du Zigong once said that Xie Daoyun will have a son and two daughters, the daughter being the eldest. If Xie Daoyun gives birth to a son, then he will be the elder brother of Ye——
When Chen Caozhi returned to Jiangdong this time, he ordered his sergeants to deliver 8 million yuan, 10,000 bolts of silk, and 80,000 dendrobium wheat to the imperial court as Jizhou's taxes to show the results of Jizhou's new land tax policy, hoping to win the imperial court's support for his new policy.
On September 27, Chen Caozhi, his nephew Chen Zongzhi and his family landed at the entrance of Beijing. Diao Yi, the internal historian of Jinling, came to greet him. They rested at Jinling Diao's Manor that night and set off for Beijing early the next morning. Zongzhi's wedding was approaching.
, there was no need to delay any longer. Not far from the motorcade, they saw several bankers dragging a young man over to this side. Seeing Chen Caozhi's carriage and horse, the group of bankers did not dare to collide and grabbed the young man and stood there.
On the other hand, we have to wait for the convoy to pass before we get on the road——
Chen Caozhi was riding on the horse and saw the young man shaking his arms to try to drag him away. The two big men who tied his arms behind his back almost couldn't catch him. Although the young man was tied behind his back, he showed no fear. He gritted his teeth and looked resentful——
Chen Caozhi stood on the horse and asked: "What has this young man committed?"
The banker knew that Chen Caozhi was a noble official and did not dare to neglect him, so he replied: "I owe my master 30,000 yuan in gambling debts, but he has not paid back -"
The young man shouted: "When did I say I wouldn't pay back!"
Another dealer sneered: "You are a poor woodcutter, a fisherman, and you won't be able to repay thirty thousand dollars until the end of your life!"
The young man said angrily: "Mr. Diao wants to occupy my ten acres of good land and lure me into gambling——"
Then some dealers beat the young man up and down, scolding him at the same time: "I told you to talk nonsense! I told you to talk nonsense."
Chen Caozhi shouted: "Stop!" and asked the young man: "What is your surname?"
The young man's right eye was covered with blood from his forehead, but he couldn't reach out to wipe it. He replied: "My surname is Liu Mingyu, and my small name is Jinu."
Chen Caozhi raised his black eyebrows and thought to himself: "Liu Yu and Liu Jinu, I didn't expect to meet you here!" Then he said to the group of Diao family's villagers: "Let Liu Jinu go."
However, the banker did not obey the order. He bowed and said: "I would like to teach you that this Liu Jinnu owes my bank thirty thousand yuan. Moreover, this man is a scoundrel and he will disappear as soon as I let him go."
Chen Caozhi said calmly: "Thirty thousand yuan, I will pay it on his behalf." He ordered Huang Xiaotong to take two catties of gold and give it to the banker.
The banker was holding two kilograms of gold and was at a loss. Chen Caozhi shouted: "I won't let him go yet!"
The bankers were startled and were dragged away by the young man. The young man fell to Chen Cao's horse, raised his head and asked, "May I ask your honorable name?"
Chen Cao said: "Don't ask too many questions. Go back and live a good life and stay away from gambling." He rode his horse and followed the convoy slowly away.
Huang Xiaotong looked back and saw that the young man had already strode eastwards, so he said to Chen Caozhi: "Chen Governor, why would such a gambler spend 30,000 yuan to redeem him!"
Chen Caozhi squinted at Huang Xiaotong. Huang Xiaotong felt that he was talkative, so he lowered his head and kept silent.
Chen Cao said in his heart: "This Liu Yu is the end of clan politics. After he succeeds, this person will repay favors and repay grudges with resolute and cruel methods. Liu Yu also rose to a high position with military merit. First, he suppressed Sun En
He rose to prominence in the uprising, and made great contributions to pacifying the Huanxuan Rebellion, and took control of the leadership of Beifu. After the Northern Expedition, Qin made great achievements, and was eager to return to Jiangdong to usurp the throne and establish himself-but now the current situation has changed, and there will be no Sun En Rebellion, that is,
Without Huan Xuan's rebellion, Liu Yu would never have had the opportunity to be promoted based on military merit, and I would never allow him to change dynasties."
…
When we arrived in Jiankang, we learned that Xie Daoyun had indeed given birth to a son on May 15th. In just three months, the Chen family in the west building had two children, which showed that the family was prosperous.
Although the wedding of Chen Zongzhi and Zhang's girl was not as grand as the wedding of Chen Cao's two daughters, 6 and Xie, it was still a great joy for Jiankang. Chen Zongzhi was as handsome as his uncle. The Zhang girl and Gu Kai's wife Zhang Tongyun
They are somewhat similar. They have the beauty of Jiangnan women, the upbringing of a wealthy family, they are well versed in books and etiquette, they are good at poetry and painting, and they play the piano and harp together very well after marriage.
Then came Runer's wedding. The Wang family of Langya was extravagant, and it was even grander than Zongzhi's marriage to Zhang's daughter. Wang Xun was no longer the chief secretary of Xifu and returned to Jiankang to serve as Langya Wangyou. Ding Youwei lived in Jiankang forever, and Runer
The next day I went back to the Qinhuai River to visit my mother——
Emperor Sima Yu was very pleased to see that Jizhou had donated money and taxes again. Wang Biaozhi and Wang Tanzhi thought that the new land tax policy implemented by Chen Caozhi in Jizhou was a bit aggressive, but it was obvious to all that Chen Caozhi managed Jizhou in an orderly manner, so
They did not ask Chen Caozhi to change his ways and take back the New Deal. Moreover, Wang Biaozhi and others also understood that it was beyond the reach of the imperial court to completely control Chen Caozhi——
…
In April of the fourth year of Ningkang, Chen Cao's alliance merged with the prefectures of Huan Shiqian, Youzhou, Tianluo, Ji, You, and three other prefectures to conquer Dai with 60,000 infantry and cavalry. Youzhou Tianluo left Zhuojun with Ran Sheng as the vanguard (
Ran Sheng (now Tian Luo's son-in-law), crossed the Great Wall and attacked to replace Junhe Baideng, and Bingzhou Huanshi's Qian soldiers went out from Yanmen to capture Sangqian and Mayi. Their power was like a broken bamboo. The Jin army captured everything south of the Great Wall, Youzhou and Bingzhou.
The two armies converged to attack Yunzhong, the capital of the Dai Kingdom. On the fifth day of the sixth lunar month, Tuoba Shiyi Jian ordered the Bai tribe, and the Dugu tribe led 80,000 Jin troops to fight fiercely at Shiziling, southwest of Shengle Palace. The Dugu tribe was unable to resist.
The heavy cavalry attack of the Jin army caused a huge rout, and the Bai tribe was also defeated. Tuoba Shiyijian led his troops to flee to the north of Yinshan Mountain, thinking that the Jin army would retreat to the south of the Great Wall after looting. Unexpectedly, Chen Cao
From then on, he sent heavy troops to garrison Yunzhong and pushed the Bingzhou defense line to the north of the Great Wall. Tuoba Shiyiqian could not return to Monan, so he had to compete for pasture with the Dingling people who lived in Beihai (i.e. Lake Baikal). There was a victor between each other. From then on,
Unable to give up——
Before Chen Caozhi sent troops to Dai Guo, he specially sent an envoy to inform Fu Jian. Fu Jian urgently summoned Wang Meng and Fu Rong and others discussed. Some suggested uniting Dai Guo to resist the Jin, while others wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Wang Meng said
: "Chen Cao has been preparing for his conquest for a long time. I don't expect Tuoba Shiyiqian to be his opponent. Your Majesty should just wait and see what happens."
When Chen Caozhi drove Xianbei Tuoba out of Monan, Guanzhong was shocked. Fu Jian sent another envoy to Yecheng to inquire about the news. Chen Caozhi comforted him with kind words and said that there was no use in attacking Guanlong——
…
In the spring of the fifth year of Ningkang, Emperor Sima Yu felt that he was old and frail, and was afraid that his life would not last long. He summoned Chen Caozhi back to Beijing to take care of his affairs. Sima Yu trusted Chen Caozhi more than Wang Tanzhi and Xie An -
—
Chen Caozhi accepted the emperor's order and set off to return south with Xi and his wife. Xi was also in poor health recently and had no desire to eat, so he had to return to Jiangzuo to recuperate. On March 19, Chen Caozhi, Xi and his party came to the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Liyang, because Zhou Lin, Zhou Ma Tou’s younger brother, was serving as the county magistrate in Liyang, a group of people went to Liyang County to meet Zhou Lin——
In late spring, in March, on the Liyang Road, horse hooves startled a flock of orioles flying around. It was Shen Shi in the afternoon, and the sun was setting. Suddenly, he heard the drums of the Buddhist temple in the distance. Xi Hu said: "Yes, this is Wujiang Temple, Zizhong
, how about going to Wujiang Temple with me to celebrate?"
Chen Caozhi knew that Xi believed in Buddhism, so of course he accompanied him.
Xi Dao: "Wujiang Temple is a temple where a female nun practices. The abbot's name is Daorong, and the emperor also believes in it. Zizhong still remembers the bird's nest in Taiji Hall, and he couldn't drive it away. The emperor thought it was evil, so he asked Daorong.
Master Daorong asked the emperor to fast for seven days and observe the Eight Precepts. After seven days, the birds in the back hall flew away from their nests and never came together again."
Chen Cao smiled and thought: "Is this happening? Hasn't the Taiji Hall been demolished? The new hall was completed three years ago -"
Wujiang Temple is a small temple. It is quiet and desolate, and looks like an abandoned temple. But when you enter the temple, it is neat and clean. The old nun recognizes Xi and leads him to the main hall to pay homage to the Buddha. Chen Caozhi sees the people in the backyard of the Buddhist temple.
A few crabapples were fresh and pleasing to the eye, so I moved over to take a look at them. Suddenly I heard someone behind me say in surprise: "Chen Caozhi——"
Who is so rude and calls others by their first names?
Chen Caozhi turned around in shock, only to see a young nun standing in the corridor of the back hall. Although she had not left, she was wearing a monk's robe. Taking a closer look, she was the Princess of Xin'an, Sima Daofu!
Chen Caozhi stepped forward and asked in surprise: "Why are you here, Your Highness?"
Sima Daofu walked down the hall corridor and came to Chen Caozhi. He looked at Chen Caozhi carefully and said with a smile: "I have become a nun, and my Dharma name is Daofu. Don't you know?"
Chen Caozhi shook his head and said he didn't know. He only heard that Sima Daofu and Huan Ji were divorced——
Sima Daofu said: "I divorced Huan Zhongdao. I asked my father to give me to you, but my father refused. I didn't want to marry anyone else except you, so I became a monk with Master Daorong and practiced in Wujiang Temple.
, in addition to chanting sutras every day, I have to do some chores. I am not afraid of loneliness, but I still can't forget you - Master Daorong said, this is my love sin. I'm afraid I can't get rid of it in this life, and I will be a ghost after death.
If you don’t lose it, you will return to reincarnation. I will have to marry you in my next life to carry out this love--"
Sima Daofu under the crabapple tree said: "Chen Caozhi, you must marry me in your next life."
Chen Caozhi was speechless, his heart and soul shaking, as if he was holding the longevity lamp in Lingyin Temple: afterlife, afterlife, is there an afterlife?
Just listen to Sima Daofu stubbornly say: "I will meet you sooner in the next life. I will never marry anyone else. I will definitely wait for you. Regardless of whether you like me or not, I will definitely pester you to marry me -"
