Chapter 519: Changes in the Wind and Clouds (Big Chapter)
"Just call her Bai Ningning!" Bai Tu said while holding the baby girl and sitting on Xiahou Juan's bedside.
"Well, Ning Ning will definitely be the best playwright in the future." Xia Houjuan looked like he wanted his daughter to "carry on the mother's legacy".
As for the name "Ningning", Bai Tu had already thought of it - if it was a boy, it would be called "Bai Ning", if it was a girl, it would be "Bai Ningning".
Yes, it's just to commemorate... no, it should be said to symbolize Bai Tu's "missing" for Gan Ning. "Commemorating" is a bit unlucky.
If everything goes well, Gan Ning should be able to return this year. Of course... no one can guarantee whether he can actually come back.
This definitely does not mean saying "I am your father" to Gan Ning, but a normal expression of friendship, just like Sun Ce and Zhou Yu now. Their sons are named Sun Yu and Zhou Ce respectively.
The birth of Lord Ning Weng brought more peace to the court of Chu State...
Although the pirates are not peaceful, the special investigation team is already investigating in Nishikawa, and generally speaking, the navy still has the advantage.
The only thing that makes people slightly uneasy is that Gan Ning and 20,000 of the most elite navy have not returned yet.
As for the canonization of Ning Wengzhu, Bai Tu still abided by the rules he had set. He only gave him the title of "Wengzhu". As far as the Chu State was concerned, he did not make any additional rewards, nor would he do it because of the addition of "Wengzhu".
"Weng Zhu", there will be additional allocations... All gifts are internal expenses of the Chu Palace.
Bai Tu was not worried. Xiao Ningning would not be like her second brother Lu Yan in the future, and she would still have the title of Qu Ahou to inherit.
Firstly, children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and there is no need to arrange everything properly. Secondly...the various workshops invested by the King of Chu and his family, not to mention the family's great business, Xiahou Juan also has so many scripts, doesn't he?
According to the "Laws of Chu", after the death of the creator, the successor can still inherit it for another fifty years...Xiahou Juan's copyright was not entrusted to others.
What Bai Qing and Lu Yan care more about than having a younger sister is that starting from this year, their "carefree" childhood has undergone "tremendous" changes!
The two brothers are four years old this year. According to the custom of calculating their virtual years, they are five years old. They are half a year younger than Deng Ai when Bai Tu first met.
It's still a little early to be literate, but... you should be able to get started with the most basic concepts of numbers and the basic sounds in "Qie Yun"!
Of course, considering that they are still children, Bai Tu thinks that two hours a day is enough, plus an extra hour. There is no need to pay too much attention to the teaching results of musical cultivation, just logical identification.
I specially invited a special master from the Ministry of Rites - after all, the content is extremely basic and does not require any important ministers to teach it.
Although Bai Qing and Lu Yan were too old to be taught by first-line ministers, there were probably many second-tier and honorary ministers who were willing to do this.
It's just that Bai Tu feels that not only is it "wasteful", but also if they are just a beginner, they may not be able to do better than a top-level tutor if they specialize in the art.
In most townships and counties, only one person serves as the primary school teacher. However, for the arrogant King of Chu, he could naturally hire the best person in each subject.
At the same time as them, Wang Lang's granddaughter Wang Yuanyuan, who entered the Chu Palace to study at the same time, and... Deng Ai, who occasionally accompanied them in their spare time.
This enlightening knowledge was of no use to Deng Ai. He was more like a "class teacher" than an accompanying student.
Compared to back then, Deng Ai had long since put away his heart for Zu An, and he had become much more mature and steady, and he had become "other people's children" in Jinling and even Chu State.
Although Deng Ai is only eleven years old now, which is when he learns knowledge the fastest at his age, and his mental power is still in the development stage, if he goes to Cheng Ji and awakens the official seal, he is sure of it!
It's just that Deng Ai wanted to make a splash, and... wanted to obtain his official seal in the imperial examination, so he had been accumulating, preparing to wait until he was eighteen years old, that is, the imperial examination in the thirteenth year of Chu Li, before officially entering the imperial examination.
official.
…
Perhaps after Jiaozhou entered Chu, it stimulated the Han Dynasty and the feudal lords who supported the Han Dynasty.
Although the Huainan area is relatively peaceful, the North Sea Fleet operated by Liu Bei frequently appears near Donglai West Port and Donglai East Port controlled by Chu State.
Border conflicts have also occurred frequently in the land area in the eastern part of Dongnae County.
When Liu Bei first occupied Qingzhou, Gan Ning sent troops to seize the two excellent port locations in the east of Donglai County, so he suffered a huge loss.
In the end, several counties in the eastern part of Donglai County were handed over to the actual control of the Chu State, and "Donglai West Port" and "Donglai East Port" were successively developed, which were the locations of Weihai Port and Yantai Port in later generations...
In the six or seven years after Qi Hou Liu Bei, although he gradually realized the importance of sea power, he started late, had a poor foundation, and did not have advantageous geographical conditions. He only opened a port in Beihai County... and later Weifang Port.
, and also built some "warships".
However, judging from the assessment of Qi Fengwei, the "battleships" independently built by the Qi army are at most the level of the Chu state six or seven years ago - much more advanced than the Jiangdong warships ten years ago, but horizontally compared to the Chu state.
The comparison between the two countries of Wei and Wei is a bit "emotional".
In addition, the Qi Army recently "probably" purchased new warships from Wei. Although the number is not large, they are somewhat "presentable" as the main ship.
The reason why I say "very likely" is because the Fengwei didn't find any evidence, so I chose the word carefully. In fact, there is no other possibility...
After Gan Ning left Qingzhou, these two ports and several nearby counties, as well as the remaining navy, were handed over to the command of Governor Lu Meng.
Because it is a non-native enclave, "Chu Donglai County" did not carry out the reform of the two-level state and county system, but still maintained the autonomy of the local governor.
Although Lu Meng, the governor of Chu Donglai, has not performed outstandingly in recent years, at least he has not lost an inch of land or sea to Chu.
Not only at sea, the so-called Han North Sea Fleet has been suppressed in the waters near the North Sea without daring to show its face too much. In the face of repeated pressure from Guan Yu, it has also behaved neither humble nor overbearing.
At the most dangerous time, the battle between the two sides on land was almost on the verge of breaking out, but Lu Meng was able to unload all of his efforts...
In other words...it's not very eye-catching!
That's right, precisely because "nothing happened", no matter in the eyes of Chu State, Qihou Mansion, or other parties, most people think that Lu Meng's presence is very low.
Not even as good as Ling Tong...
Especially in the past two years, Ling Tong has repeatedly fought against pirates in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, at least with some worthy achievements. But what about Lu Meng?
He could only get the stabilizing contribution of "No War in Donglai". Even if Bai Tu hadn't intervened behind the scenes every year, the evaluation of Lu Meng by the officials would probably not have been rated as "Middle Class A", and at most it would have been "Below Class A".
Even "B".
It can be seen that even in the court of Chu State, although there was no dissatisfaction with Lu Meng, there was not much appreciation for it. Instead, Bai Tu often conveyed some concerns as a catching guard...
Baitu had nothing to do about this, except that he, His Royal Highness, the King of Chu, would personally go out every year to "set the pace" and give Lu Meng points.
Firstly, others don’t know, but Bai Tu understands Lu Meng. Secondly... others don’t know well, but Baitu understands Guan Yu better!
Although Bai Tu had known for a long time that Zhuge Liang, whom he had longed for back then, had agreed to just travel, but ended up "residing permanently" with Liu Bei. However, among the forces of the Qi lords, Guan Yu was still the undisputed "No. 2".
Guan Yu can be said to be the only "provincial governor" in the entire Chinese civilization who is not a prince but still has real power - the governor of Qingzhou!
This is not only the brotherhood between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, but also Liu Bei's trust in Guan Yu's ability, which is why he entrusted nearly one-third of the forces under the Qihou Mansion and almost the entire military and political affairs of Qingzhou...
You must know that in history, when Liu Bei entered Shu, he entrusted almost all of his troops in Jingzhou, south of Xiangyang, to Guan Yu.
Moreover, "at that time" Liu Bei pulled all the troops on the front line of Jingzhou to Xichuan. After officially falling out with Liu Zhang, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei led their troops from Wuxia to Yizhou.
Liu Zhang had just surrendered, but Liu Bei and Cao Wei were in Hanzhong again...
Normally, anyone else in Jingzhou would focus on defense - after all, Yizhou and Hanzhong had already opened up such a large battlefield and drawn away so many troops, which was also the main strategic goal of Liu Bei's forces at that time!
At that time, ten years had passed since Cao Cao suffered the disastrous defeat at Chibi. His strength gradually recovered, and he was preparing to go south again.
The first one to bear the brunt was half of Jingzhou in the hands of Liu Bei, not to mention the important town of Xiangfan that was stuck north of Guan Yu at that time...
However, at this time when anyone else would have "huddled under the tower", Guan Yu resolutely took the initiative to attack, and within two years, he fought and won consecutively. In the 24th year of Jian'an, he took advantage of a heavy rain in Xiangfan and flooded the Seventh Army.
Kill Pang De, surrender to the ban, shock China, and frighten the Central Plains!
In addition, Cao Wei's active preparations for war in northern Jingzhou were always based on exploiting the people as a source of motivation. The people of Jingzhou turned southward, and while Guan Yu was unstoppable, people from all over the country raised troops to join Guan Yu in the south.
The Jingzhou battlefield even "stealed the spotlight" of the Hanzhong battlefield at that time. Cao Cao had already been granted the title of Duke of Wei and was stationed in Yecheng, the capital of Wei, but the Han court was still settled in Xudu...
Guan Yu's achievements made Cao Cao want to bring the Han Dynasty to the north to avoid being attacked by Guan Yu.
If this situation develops, let alone the possibility that Guan Yu can successfully conquer the Central Plains... If Guan Yu can capture Northern Jingzhou, coupled with Liu Bei's victory in Hanzhong, the situation of Shu Han in future generations will be no less than that of Cao Wei.
However……
Just when Guan Yu's achievements were at their most brilliant, Lu Meng led his men in white across the river and stabbed Nanjun in the back. Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, who were guarding the rear for Guan Yu, surrendered without resistance.
Moreover, Lu Meng treated the families of the generals of the Jingzhou Army well with a heart-attacking strategy, spending more than ever before, and publicized this. Later, he knew that his old nest had been taken away, but the soldiers with their families intact had no intention of fighting, and Guan Yu also defeated Maicheng.
Eventually he was captured and beheaded.
From this, we can also imagine the mood of Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and even the Shu Han officials at that time.
First, there was a huge surprise on the Jingzhou battlefield, which I had no expectations for. However, before I could express my joy, there was shocking news...
Of course, although this "ending" is very sudden, if reviewed, it is not sudden.
With all his main force in Yizhou, Guan Yu resolutely embarked on the Northern Expedition, which was incompatible with the grand strategy of Liu Bei's forces at that time.
The tripartite confrontation of "Longzhong Pair", which united Wu to resist Cao, was not reflected in Guan Yu's Northern Expedition, and even contradicted it. It can be said that it was unquestionable in terms of tactics, but it was not wise at the strategic level.
With Guan Yu's aloof and confident temperament, stimulated by the good news in Yizhou and Hanzhong, and seeing opportunities in Northern Jingzhou, it is not surprising that he would send troops.
However... Soochow's dispatch of troops at that time was by no means unexpected.
Even if the Grand Governor at that time was not Lu Meng, but Lu Su, who had a certain tacit understanding with Guan Yu and advocated maintaining an alliance with Liu Bei, there was no way he could just sit back and watch Guan Yu's Northern Expedition go smoothly.
After all, Sun and Liu were already at odds with each other about the ownership of Jingzhou. No matter how much he thought about it, Sun Wu could not possibly watch Liu Bei make great profits in Yizhou while turning "allied with Wu to resist Cao" into "defending Wu and attacking Cao".
.
What's more, Guan Yu has not yet "defended against Wu" - Mi Fang's surrender without a fight is indeed shocking. However, if Guan Yu is really prepared to "defend against Wu", he will never be able to "disdain" himself, even just now.
Mi Fang, who had been punished, was placed in such an important position in Jiangling.
It is conceivable that even if Mi Fang has some integrity and does not surrender immediately, but sticks to one or two, Guan Yu will inevitably retreat to rescue. After that, the battlefield in Jingzhou will change from allied with Wu to fight Cao to allied with Wu and Wei. It will still be
Disadvantages...
Of course, Mi Fang's astonishing move eliminated even the "disadvantages".
As a result, the Liu Bei Group also missed an opportunity to "prosper", especially after Liu Bei ignored the dissuasion of Zhuge Liang and other important ministers out of rationality, resolutely launched the war against Wu, and suffered a defeat at Yiling, "Ji Han"
So he is basically destined to be a "Shu Han".
However, Guan Yu, who is so confident and unruly, is now "forced" by Lu Meng in Chengji World to achieve nothing, which shows Lu Meng's ability!
If the Marquis of Qi, or even just Qingzhou, really wants to take back Donglai, Chu State can only control the coastal area with its navy alone.
The main reason why it has been preserved to this day is the "prestige of the Chu State", but Bai Tu would not think that Guan Yu would be completely intimidated by the "prestige of the Chu State" given his temperament.
As long as Guan Yu saw the opportunity and could not give Chu the time to negotiate and use diplomatic means, "Chu Donglai County" would be gone long ago...
It can be said that Lü Meng’s achievements were not that great even for Guan Yu!
However, the situation has changed now. As the Chu State becomes increasingly powerful and seems to be continuously widening the distance from other princes, "Jiaozhou into Chu" has become the last straw...
The Marquis of Qi began to cooperate with the State of Wei. The Marquis of Qi advocated the establishment of the North Sea Fleet of the Han Dynasty, the Bohai Fleet of the State of Wei, and... the unclaimed civilian pirates, and reached a certain consensus in the Bohai Sea and the East China Sea.
In addition, "Chu Donglai County" has to face the pressure of increasingly tense land conflicts at the same time. Since last year, Donglai's navy has been unable to completely lock the entrances and exits of the Bohai Sea and the East China Sea. This is why Lianzhou last year
There were pirates in Hu and Yizhou!
After the North Sea Fleet acquired new warships this year, it began to wander around the waters near Donglai, with the intention of linking up with the land army.
Without the analysis of other think tanks in the Chu State, Bai Tu could also see that what Donglai was facing now was not just Guan Yu, but the entire Qihou Mansion, and even the linkage of the entire auxiliary Han forces behind it.
In Yongliang, Yonghou and Zhaihou, who had recovered or at least shocked the Western Region and rebuilt the Protectorate, also began to gather their strength back to Longyou, and gradually began to tighten their fists - and under Longyou's fist,
It is Zhang Lu of Hanzhong who "faced Kansai I was submissive, but faced Liu Zhang I struck hard"!
Since the Battle of Badong, everyone knows that Hanzhong is protected by the Chu State...
At least it is the "cover door" that Chu State does not want to lose.
However, now that Chu State only relied on its "majesty", it was no longer able to protect him.
Shouchun, the frontier of Huainan, which used to be a major external city, began to become increasingly depressed due to the "secret" attitude of the Marquis of Qi, and even the atmosphere became increasingly solemn.
And compared to Shouchun, which only had a solemn atmosphere, Wancheng, Chu's frontier town in Jingzhou, had become really tense at the beginning of the sixth year of Chu Li...
"Jiaozhou into Chu" not only shocked the Chu State's prestige, but also seemed to have touched some terrible switch. In the year when "Ning Ning" was born, the Chu State was not at peace.
Of course, whether it is the Chu State, the Wei State, or other princes who assisted the Han Dynasty, they have long passed the period of "frequently starting wars". They are all princes with the burden of great power... The "switch" has just been pressed.