After leaving Wansheng Town, the boat arrived at the dock near Heyincang. Shao Mianren did not plan to change boats, so he directly borrowed more than ten carriages in Heyin County. The family went west along the post road, passing through Bishui and Gongxian.
When Yanshi arrived in Luoyang, it was already early April.
After hearing that he was back, his ninth brother Shao Xingben and his eleventh brother Shao Zhigu, who had just come from Xijing, came to visit him.
These two people were both born to Concubine Chu. One was twenty-one years old and the other was twenty years old. Both of them were already vassals.
The former was the prince of Zhongsheng County, with his fiefdom in Zhongsheng Prefecture (today's Kulun Banner), and the latter was the prince of Mi'e County, with his fiefdom in Mi'e Prefecture (today's Alxa).
To be honest, it's not a good place.
Therefore, if they have the opportunity to return to the Central Plains, they don't mind staying for a few more months. For example, this time the sage asked them to come back to report on their work - in fact, the concubine Chu missed her son - as long as the sage does not urge them to go back, they will stay as long as possible.
Play for a few more days.
After living on the grassland for several years, everyone was blown away by the wind and sand!
"Third brother." The two of them saluted together.
"Sit." Shao Mianren stretched out his hand and said.
His wife Zhang (the daughter of Zhang Guiba) also came out to see the ceremony and prepared tea and snacks for the three of them.
"You two..." Shao Mianren smiled and said, "Go back as soon as possible before I have an attack."
Jiulang and Eleventh Lang also laughed.
After they sneaked out of Chang'an, they dressed up like young men and traveled around, as if they wanted to make up for what they had lost in the past few years.
"Third brother, you don't know, the grassland is so difficult." Eleventh Lang Shao Zhigu said: "Mi'e River is really miserable. Among the grassland tribes, Hexi Dangxiang is the poorest and most fierce, and I, Mi'e, are the poorest and most ferocious.
The state's fiefdom was originally the pastureland of Hexi Dangxiang. Alas, all year round, there is nothing but wind and sand."
"Herdsmen often come to report that their sheep and horses have been stolen or robbed, so I have to lead my troops out of the city and brave the wind and sand to find them back. If I can't find the sheep and horses, I have to find the place and fight with them.
."
"The caravan only comes once every half a year. There are no good products yet, and the prices are extremely expensive. To be honest, third brother, I haven't tasted good teas like Mengding, Yangxian, and Zizun in several years."
"The city smells like sheep shit. The herdsmen are stubborn and stupid like pigs. I don't even bother to beat them because it's useless."
Shao Zhigu talked a lot, mostly complaining, which shows that life is really difficult.
Shao Mianren listened with a smile. He found many positive factors in the eleventh brother's words.
The eleventh brother complained, but he still did business.
The herdsmen came to him with every trivial matter. Although he was unhappy, he did not refuse, but tried his best to solve the problem.
The grasslands are no different than those in the Han Dynasty. These things may seem small, but they actually increase your prestige. If you do them more, your prestige will be accumulated bit by bit. If you encounter enemies and lead them to victory, your prestige will be unshakable.
From now on, we will fight wherever we can until we encounter irreversible failure.
From another perspective, life in arid and poor places like Mi'ezhou is extremely difficult, but there are also people who dare to fight and are brave and ruthless. If trained well, it will be an army with very good quality.
.
As long as the eleventh brother and his descendants do not go against the grain and rely on the imperial court's tiger-skin pressure, they can secure their positions. When the time comes when the Forbidden Army's armaments are depleted, if their line can pull out tens of thousands of strong soldiers, maybe they will be able to secure their position.
Can be of great use.
"Brother Eleven has grown up, and he is no longer the little brother who pestered me to catch cicadas when I was a child." Shao Mianren took a closer look at his brother's face that was roughened by the wind and sand, and said happily: "You have your own department now.
Everyone, you have won their love. Do your best and don't let them down. If you don't let them down, they won't let you down. Shaw's prestige on the grassland was built by his father with his sword and gun. Don't let it go easily.
Corrupted."
"Third brother, you..." Eleven Lang was a little surprised.
"Let's have tea." Shao Mianren patted his shoulder and said.
"Okay." Shiyilang picked up the tea bowl and tasted it slowly.
"Ninth brother, how are you doing there?" Shao Mianren looked at Jiulang Shao Xingben and asked.
"It's better than Eleventh Brother's Mi'e Prefecture. The Seven Saint Prefectures are actually not much different. Zhongsheng Prefecture was originally a Khitan government office, so it's not bad. There are rivers, woods, swamps, pastures, and...
We have opened up some farmland and planted some corn, millet, and soybeans." Jiulang said: "The Seven Saints Prefecture has already vassalized three princes, and the fifteenth brother will join the vassal next year, so there will be four. In these seven areas, we
I will look after it for my grandpa."
Among the seven holy states, the eighth prince Shao Duanfeng, the eighth prince of the Protectorate Prefecture, has been a vassal for a long time. The protectorate state is located in the Wengniute Banner area of later generations - Balang is twenty-three years old this year, his wife is the Song family, and his biological mother is the Empress Zhao of Mingxian.
Shi.
The prince of Zhongsheng County was the ninth prince Shao Xingben, whose fiefdom was in the later Kulun Banner, and his wife Wei Shi.
Shao Zhuangjing, the king of Yingsheng County, has already passed away. The fiefdom of Yingsheng Prefecture is located in the northeast of Shuangliao later. He is 19 years old this year. His biological mother is the Empress He of Tang Shuxian, and his wife is the Wang family from Longmen County, Hedong.
Next year, Shao Zhizhong, the prince of Fengsheng County, will marry his wife Qian (the daughter of Qian Liu), and then go to Fengsheng Prefecture (southwest of today's Bahrain Zuo Banner) to join the feudal clan - the biological mother of the fifteenth prince Shao Zhizhong is Asde.
.
In addition to the Seven Holy Prefectures, the imperial court established two prefectures to the west of the Xianbei Mountains, namely Gongchen Prefecture and Pengri Prefecture.
The former is located near the later Xilinhot City, and the latter is located in the Hulunbuir area.
These two prefectures are lands acquired after Abaoji was defeated. They have been firmly controlled for more than three years. Tens of thousands of Khitan, Wugu, and Lin people are grazing there. Currently, they are managed by Lifanyuan and Beiya. In the future,
Either grant it to a prince, or ennoble it to a prairie chief and implement the rule of tyranny.
Gongchen Prefecture and Pengri Prefecture are located to the west of the Daxianbei Mountains. In terms of agricultural conditions, they are definitely not as good as those of the Seven Holy Prefectures to the east, and the population they can support is not as good as them, so the area is divided into larger areas.
In terms of Shao Mianren's selfishness, he hoped that these two places would also be given to his brothers. But after thinking about it, he couldn't bear it.
These two places are even poorer than the Seven Saints States. Isn’t this a deception?
But then again, no matter how bad it is, can it be as bad as Mi'ezhou? When the eleventh brother didn't want to join the feudal clan, he was almost kidnapped by his father. After staying there for a few years, the eleventh brother gradually adapted to it.
What?
People's adaptability is sometimes beyond your imagination. It all depends on whether they are willing to endure hardship - well, actually, it really depends on whether the father is ruthless or not.
"Ninth brother, you are only half right." Shao Mianren said: "Not only for the good of my father, but also for the good of my second brother."
Jiulang was slightly surprised when he heard this and asked: "Third brother, you and second brother..."
"Ninth brother!" Shao Mianren waved his hand and said earnestly: "It doesn't matter what happens to me and my second brother. I have been in Zangzhou for several years. I have returned to my hometown and appeased the people. If I don't follow the expedition, I will be punished one by one.
, I feel exhausted both physically and mentally. I am not humble about these two points, encouraging farmers to cultivate crops and developing business. I am very familiar with it. But in a more complex environment, I feel a little powerless. Every time I lead the army on an expedition, I am afraid of showing my cowardice. But the Wuyi Army
I am not good at strategy. After a long time, I can no longer hide it, and all the soldiers can see it. They are just willing to listen to my instructions for the sake of their father and the majesty of the court. When encountering unruly
I want to deal with the tame thorns, but I have to be careful. It’s really tiring.”
"Let me talk to you about something." Shao Mianren continued: "When we were in Xuzhou, your second brother inspected the state soldiers. He was wearing armor and shot eight out of ten arrows. The warriors were very convinced. Then he was tested for his martial arts skills as a sergeant.
Those who stand out will be rewarded, while those who have poor martial arts will be whipped directly. You can do whatever you want, and no one else can resent you, because my second brother's skills are there."
"I will never be able to reach the level of my second brother in this life. Besides, I prefer reading, writing poetry, and listening to music than martial arts. I can't imitate my second brother. All I can do is try my best.
, take care of local affairs for my second brother, and take better care of this family business."
"You also have to work hard. If you didn't have the tiger skin of the imperial court, if you didn't have the authority of your father to suppress you, ask yourselves, would you be able to rule your respective fiefdoms so easily?"
"This..." The two looked at each other and smiled helplessly, but soon under the gaze of the third brother, they said in unison: "The lesson from the third brother is that I must take care of the internal affairs of the fief and train the soldiers.
, for the imperial vassal screen."
Shao Mianren laughed and said: "That's right. Only with one hundred thousand grassland soldiers in hand can the Shao family's world be more stable."
The two of them were even more helpless.
If given a choice, who would want to go to the grassland? I don’t know how happy I am in Chang’an and Luoyang these past few months.
"When will father leave east?" Shao Mianren asked.
"We will leave almost next month." Jiulang said, "After the exams and results are released, my father may even give a banquet to the high school scholars. We will have to wait until all these things are completed before we return to the Eastern Capital."
"We may not be able to leave in May." Eleventh Lang suddenly said: "Didn't there be news from Anxi Road? Persia sent a message saying that another mission will come this year."
"What's wrong with coming to the mission?" Jiulang glanced at his younger brother funny and said, "Will father wait for them in Chang'an? How can the Persians have such big faces?"
"That's true." Shishiro smiled awkwardly and said, "The last Persian mission just left in November last year. Even if it moves quickly, it will take more than four months to return to Bukhara. It is necessary to send a second one so soon.
The mission is obviously a bit overwhelmed. Alas, don't tell me, Persia is really rich. Last year, Mi'ao State sent 400 soldiers to the west. I received news a few days ago that they brought back a lot of loot and slaves. According to
I think you should stop talking to Persia and just give him a hard beating."
"I also want to snatch a Persian female slave. Unfortunately, the Seven Holy States are too far away and cannot send troops." Jiulang said with some regret.
"Brother Ninth wants it, so I'll give it back to you." Eleventh Lang said nonchalantly.
"Good brother!" Jiulang said happily: "I will give you 10,000 sheep in exchange for two Persian orchids."
"Okay, okay!" Shao Mianren looked at the two of them with some humor and said, "No matter when my father leaves, you two can't continue to be like this. No one can guarantee what the consequences will be if you delay any longer.
.”
Jiulang and Eleventh Lang sighed together and said, "It's really time to go back. I just happened to buy some things and bring them back to the grassland."
"Third brother, take care of yourself." Jiulang took out an ancient seal from his pocket, put it on the table, and said, "I know that third brother is good at collecting ancient objects. This is an official seal given to the Khitan chieftain by the former Tang Dynasty. The workmanship is quite exquisite.
, sent to you."
The eleventh man also said: "Third brother, please stay for a few days. I will send someone to deliver a Buddha statue to make sure you have never seen it. In the fifteenth year of Jianji, my son-in-law captured it near Talas. Third brother must like it."
Shao Mianren put his arms around the two brothers' shoulders and said, "I'm determined. If there is a chance in the future, the third brother will definitely go to Zhongsheng Prefecture and Mi'e Prefecture."
The two felt a little surprised, but said nothing.
Shao Mianren didn't say much.
During a private discussion with his second brother, he intended to serve as Zong Zhengqing in the future - a position that is still vacant until now.
