Although it hasn't snowed yet, the temperature is getting lower day by day.
"Guiguzi" says: "Zhushu" refers to spring growth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage. This is the righteousness of heaven and cannot be reversed.
Outside the plain city, the vast farmland has long been deserted, the forests have been cut down, and the water levels of many lakes and swamps have dropped sharply and are on the verge of disappearing.
You must know that the climate of the North China Plain during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period was no different from that of the Yangtze River Basin. It had many complex water systems and groups of lakes and rivers, and was home to a large number of elephants and hippos.
During the Western Han Dynasty, rice was grown in the Yellow River Basin. Guanzhong, Luoyang, Zhangshui, both sides of the Yellow River, and the Jishui area in Mount Tai were all rice growing areas. It was not until the Little Ice Age and climate changes that the cultivation of corn and wheat was changed.
But now, not to mention food cultivation, even the large number of animals and plants that were originally there have begun to disappear.
The city seemed to be deserted for several kilometers and became deserted, like a ghost land on earth.
In addition to Yuan Jun living around the city, nearly 200,000 troops caused serious damage to the surrounding ecological environment.
The main reason is that more than 100,000 people who originally lived near Pingyuan City have migrated, and commercial trade and agricultural development have completely stopped due to the war, resulting in the complete desolation of this place.
But as the saying goes, it is easy to destroy but difficult to build. It is not easy to restore the grandeur of previous years.
Therefore, Chen Mu has no plans to move the people back. Anyway, as long as Jizhou is pacified and the two places are completely transformed into one place, the plain country north of the Yellow River will regain its vitality sooner or later.
Liu Bei and Chen Mu were walking beside the river outside the city that was overgrown with weeds and had long been deserted. The original Jizhou military camp had been demolished. After all, the living space in the city was limited, so most of the more than 200,000 people lived in the city except for a few.
Outside the city.
There are still a large number of ruins of Yuan's army's old sites outside the south city. As the two walked, Liu Bei still sighed: "After the First World War, several cities in the north of Pingyuan Kingdom were so desolate that they almost turned into deep mountains and old forests. The fields were all overgrown.
The weeds have been removed, and I don’t know what year or month it will take to restore it to its original glory.”
Chen Mu said: "Brother must be regretting the prosperity of the plain back then."
"The prosperity of the world is naturally joyful."
"But war is inevitable."
"I know this too."
Liu Bei sighed: "It's just a feeling in my heart."
Chen Mu smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry. Once Jizhou is pacified, the prosperity of the plains will naturally return to its past, and it may even be better."
"I hope so."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "Fourth brother, how sure are you that we will attack Hebei in the spring next year?"
Chen Mu muttered: "Let's count it to seven or three."
"oh?"
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "Are you so confident?"
Chen Mu pointed to the north and said: "Yuan Shao's attack on Qingzhou with all the strength of the prefectures and counties was frustrated, and many troops were lost in the battle of Liaocheng. In the battle of Weijun, my second brother and I continuously attacked Anyang, captured several of his cities, and killed prisoners
No less than 60,000 yuan, and his vitality has been severely damaged."
Liu Bei said: "But Bogui's side also suffered heavy losses. According to the intelligence detected by the Military Intelligence Department, Jizhou still has close to 200,000 troops. Without Bogui's side, the total strength is roughly the same as ours."
Chen Mu laughed: "But Yuan Shao will never think that I have sent people to help Bogui. Brother Bogui has always repaid kindness and revenge. Gongsun Du will never forget the hatred that attacked him.
Therefore, he will definitely attack Liaodong from the east. At that time, the emperor will issue an edict and ask Xian Yufu to reconvene the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes and march south to Jizhou, which will be another three-pronged attack."
Liu Bei was surprised and delighted and said, "Fourth brother actually had a plan in advance?"
"yes."
Chen Mu sighed: "Yuan Shao is very powerful, so we have to unite with our allies to defeat him together."
"Um."
Liu Bei nodded.
The two of them walked slowly outside the city. Countless troops came in and out of the city, spreading to the surroundings and gradually spreading out the Qingzhou Army's sphere of influence.
The city remains mottled over the years, the wilderness is silent, the mountains in the distance stand tall, the weeds turn yellow, and the rivers seem to have lost their color.
This winter seems to be colder than before. Both the common people and the nobles seem to be having a hard time.
In the next few days, Liu Bei and Chen Mu quickly mobilized their main forces across the river and stationed them in various places. The original sentries and important strongholds were reactivated. Zhang Fei and Tian Feng personally led 20,000 troops and began to move towards Yi County for a tentative attack.
.
The defenders of Yixian County offered little resistance and abandoned the city and fled.
After capturing Yixian, Liu Bei no longer continued the pursuit, but held on to his current territory. At the same time, he sent a message to the rear, asking Xun Yu to continue to raise granaries, train reserves, and prepare for the Northern Expedition in the coming year.
When Yuan Shao returned to Wei County, he also stopped fighting and did not dare to make any more moves. Instead, the two sides exchanged letters several times, pretending to be peaceful.
But everyone knows that it is just because winter is coming and it is inconvenient to start a war again.
By the time next spring comes, the second war will not be long.
Time passes quickly.
In November, the weather became even colder, with rustling snowflakes covering the entire Hebei Province and the entire Jizhou Plain, covered with a thick layer of white.
Luoyang.
In the vast palace, Liu Yu was holding a meeting with several ministers in the Zhangde Hall. The attendees included Situ Zhao Wen, Sikong Yang Biao, Guanglu Xun Zhongfu, Dasi Nongshi Sun Rui, etc.
Taiwei Zhu Jun is still recuperating from illness, and Taichang Ma Rixi is over seventy this year. His health has not been very good recently. He seems to have sensed that his destiny has come, and last month he asked Liu Yu to resign and return to his hometown.
Ma Rixi was a native of Fufeng, Guanzhong. Now the war in Guanzhong is almost over. Duan Xuan has won consecutive battles and Li Jue is about to be destroyed. After Ma Rixi learned about it, Lao Huai was relieved and wanted to return to his hometown of Fufeng Maoling before he died.
Liu Yu was afraid that something might happen to him during his winter trip, so he asked him to stay in Luoyang. When the weather got a little warmer in the coming spring, he would approve his memorial and let him return to Chang'an to serve as the Jing Zhao Yin.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! However, I did not expect that Ma Rixi was still ill, and he was unable to attend this political meeting, which made people sigh and lament the passing of years.
At this time, the temperature in the main hall was very low, and some of the palaces in the North Palace collapsed due to disrepair. The Yutang Palace was the only palace with floor heating, but the iron pipes were almost rusty and could no longer be used.
Anti-rust in ancient times was usually painted, but after all, it did not last long. Over the years, it was almost corroded. Liu Yu was honest and did not want to spend money to rebuild the floor heating, so he could only use stoves for heating.
Like a group of old friends, a few people sat by the stove and talked about important affairs of the government.
"Your Majesty, I am so happy."
Yang Biao took out the latest memorial from the Chancellery and said with a smile: "Zigui sent general Xu Zheng to attack Liaodong. Gongsun Du was in western Liaoning. He was caught off guard and lost most of the land. Gongsun Zan took advantage of the situation to attack, defeated Gongsun Du and regained Liaodong.
, is just around the corner.”
Liu Yu said happily: "It's a good thing. Without Gongsun Du, Youzhou will be completely restored. When the time comes, I will let Xian Yufu take charge of Wuhuan and Xianbei. Next year, we can go south again to attack Yuan Shao and regain Jizhou."
Yang Biao nodded and said: "Zi Gui thinks so too. He has already written to ask the emperor to issue an edict for Xian Yufu to act now."
"good."
Liu Yu said: "I will write the edict later."
Zhao Wen said contemptuously: "Gongsun Du traveled a long distance to attack Gongsun Zan. Even if he succeeded, he could only withdraw his troops back to western Liaoning because the food road was too far. He probably thought that Yuan Shao would help him win Zhuo County, but he didn't know that Yuan Shao was an ambitious man.
You only care about yourself, and after using him, how can you care about his life or death?"
"Such idiots will be destroyed sooner or later. After Liaodong is recovered, we can send a new Liaodong governor."
"Chen Zigui wrote a letter saying that Xu Zheng seems to be a good candidate. This person was sent by Chen Zigui to the land of Sanhan. He has long known the border style and has the qualifications of a general. He should be able to guard Liaodong."
"Well, when Liaodong is recovered, let Xu Zheng be the governor of Liaodong."
Liu Yu nodded.
The Liu Bei brothers have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. Although Xu is one of theirs, this does not prevent their promotion.
As long as they are talented people, Liu Yu is willing to promote them.
Several people talked about some major world events.
For example, Liu Biao wrote a letter saying that he was willing to send troops to attack Yuan Shu, but everyone knew that he wanted to get a piece of Jiangdong's pie.
Cao Cao also wrote several times to impeach Lü Bu, asking the court to take back Lü Bu's post as pastor of Xuzhou, because Lü Bu colluded with Yuan Shu and plotted against Yanzhou, but several people tacitly agreed not to agree.
There were many other trivial matters, and after a long discussion, the charter was finalized.
Liu Yu's gray hair fell out of his bun at some point, covering his wrinkled forehead. The youngest of the old men, Yang Biao, is already fifty-seven years old, and Liu Yu is almost 70 years old.
Years go by so fast.
When things were almost settled, Liu Yu planned to invite a few old friends to have dinner together in the palace. The kitchen in the palace always had a lot of good food from various places. He could never finish it all by himself, and it was easy to leave it alone.
bad.
At this moment, a eunuch Chang Shi hurriedly entered the door, quickly came to Liu Yu's side, and whispered something.
Liu Yu's face instantly turned pale, and his whole body froze in place.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
Yang Biao noticed his loss of expression and asked quickly.
Liu Yu's expression changed from disbelief at the beginning, to pain in his eyes, and finally turned into despair. With a trace of sobs in his voice, he whispered: "Uncle Weng passed away from illness."
"What?"
Several people were shocked. They never expected that Ma Rixi would die of illness at this time.
Everyone on the court was speechless for a moment. Although Ma Rixi was very old, he had been very tough in the past few years. Who would have known that among these old guys, he would be the first to die?
"Uncle Weng!"
Zhao Wen shouted with a trembling voice, his whole body was swaying, and he almost fainted.
Tears flowed from the corners of Liu Yu's eyes, and he said sadly: "With such a passing away, it is easy for the country to grow old. Let's... go see Uncle Weng."
A group of old men, supporting each other, walked out of the palace, got on the carriage, and drove slowly outside the palace.
The news of Ma Rixi's death quickly spread throughout Luoyang.
Zhu Jun has been recuperating for more than two months. He follows the doctor's instructions every day, not to be overly happy or sad, and to insist on taking medicine and exercising.
In the early morning of this day, he was teasing his grandson at home. His eldest son Zhu Hao was transferred back to Luoyang two years ago and served as a general and master craftsman. It is always a good thing for the family to be reunited.
Zhu Jun not only serves as the Taiwei, but also as the Minister of Records. Logically speaking, he will definitely participate in today's court meeting.
But Liu Yu was worried about his physical condition and asked him to take a good rest. After he recovered, he would return to the court and even continue to lead troops to conquer Jizhou.
By noon, Zhu Jun felt that he had a good appetite. He ate three large bowls of rice in a row and was in good health. He couldn't help but happily said to the housekeeper: "Your Majesty, you are overly worried. I fainted a few days ago and I was probably too happy for the moment. You Judging by how good my health is now, and whether Lian Po can still eat despite being old, I feel that there will be no problem if I go into battle to kill the enemy again."
The steward agreed: "The master of the house is naturally in good health, but your majesty's intentions are also good. Now in the cold winter months, the master of the house is recuperating. When spring comes next year and the weather is warm, he will lead his troops to go on an expedition. He will surely regain the mountains and rivers for your majesty. "
"Hahahahaha."
Zhu Jun was so happy that he suddenly caught a glimpse of the precious eagle bow on the weapons rack in the courtyard. He laughed and said, "This is the time for hunting. I want to go hunting outside the city. You go and summon the guards at home to follow me."
The housekeeper hesitated and said: "This...Master, Your Majesty asked the master to rest at home, and the weather is very cold at this time, so I'm afraid it's not suitable for hunting."
"Um?"
Zhu Jun frowned and said: "I have been on the battlefield for many years. I am good at riding horses and archery. My body is naturally fine. Moreover, I am wearing cotton clothes. Are you still afraid of being exposed to the wind and cold? You go and gather the people yourself, so there is no need to be nagging."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Wei."
The housekeeper had no choice but to summon the servants.
These servants were all elite personal guards on the battlefield. After they retired from the battlefield, they protected Zhu Jun and looked after his home. They stayed at home every day with nothing to do, and their hands were already itchy. When they heard that Zhu Jun was going hunting, they were overjoyed and quickly prepared their weapons and equipment. Go out with Zhu Jun.
Zhu Jun put on his cotton coat and cloak, and a group of dozens of people left the house in a mighty manner, walking along the streets of Luoyang Xicheng, preparing to go to Mang Mountain in the north.
But as soon as they arrived at Zhuque Street, they saw countless cars and horses gathering at Taichang's mansion on the street, blocking the road.
Zhu Jun wondered: "What's wrong with this?"
Servant Ding Cang put his head in the air and said, "I'll go ask the general."
After that, he rode over.
Ma Rixi had a high prestige in the city. Not only dignitaries came to express condolences, but also ordinary people rushed to come.
Cang Tou asked one of the people, who didn't know that Liu Yu and other officials in the court had deliberately concealed the news from Zhu Jun and told him the news of Ma Rixi's death.
Cang Tou also didn't know what Liu Yu and others had hidden from him. He turned around and said to Zhu Jun: "General, Taichang died of illness."
"What?"
Zhu Jun was stunned for a moment. He sat on the horse for a long time and refused to believe it. After a long time, he suddenly shouted "Uncle Weng", and then his vision went dark, and he fell off the horse instantly.
"General!"
Fortunately, Cang Tou had quick eyes and quick hands and hugged him.
The servants around him were so frightened that they jumped on their backs and came to help him up.
Zhu Jun's face turned pale, and he said with a trembling voice: "Help me go to Taichang Mansion. I want to see Uncle Weng again."
"General..."
"Help me go."
"only!"
Cang Tou had no choice but to take Zhu Jun to Taichang's mansion with the help of everyone.
Liu Yu and others were shocked when they heard that Zhu Jun had come. The doctor had said that Zhu Jun could not be overjoyed or sad. He knew that the news might be bad.
But now that everyone has arrived, I have no choice but to go over to see him and ask people to help him in for a look.
After Zhu Jun reluctantly paid the courtesy, he came to the lobby of the mansion and saw the dead body of Ma Rixi with his eyes closed on the mat. He instantly felt filled with grief and anger, and after screaming, he fell down again.
For a moment, the entire venue was in a state of panic.
People carried Zhu Jun back to his home and called doctors for treatment. They managed to save his life, but his body and bones were no longer as good as before and he was as sick as a thread.