In April of the sixth year of Long'an (220 years), summer in Luoyang came earlier than usual, and it already showed a scene that was only seen in May in previous years. On the thirty-three peaks of Mang Mountain, there are flowers and brocades, as green as clouds. Whenever the sun sets in the west and the twilight is dim, visitors stand on the top of the peak and look down. They can see tens of thousands of lanterns, smoke from thousands of households, tall city walls, majestic palaces, spacious gardens, and magnificent pavilions. It is very spectacular. Even if the sun rises high in summer, within a few days, rain will fall at the right time, cooling the land that is about to heat up. The people feel more comfortable. They say that this year will have good weather and it will definitely be a bumper harvest.
However, since the beginning of summer, Prime Minister Chen Chong has been trapped by several things, and there have been some deviations from his original administrative plan. One is the matter of appointing the crown prince. Although the candidate has been decided, the relevant etiquette needs to be prepared, and a good and auspicious day must be selected according to the celestial phenomena. It is not a big deal, but it must be treated with caution; the other is that there are some border trade disputes between various ministries in Yunbei. , Yunbei Chief Shi Maliang did not dare to deal with it alone, so he reported it to the court; the other was the new policy that had been agreed upon before, but the court discussion has not yet produced a new result. Chen Chong had many debates with people in court about this matter. Although he had long been prepared for a protracted war, seeing that it was almost May and there was still no progress, Chen Chong was inevitably a little impatient. I simply stopped mentioning this matter these days and wanted to start from other angles.
After reflection, Chen Chong realized that there was indeed too much resistance to comprehensively promoting the New Deal across the country. We might as well start with the local areas, one in Youzhou and the other in Sili. Zhu Hao, the former governor of Youzhou, has been transferred to Qingzhou, and Zhuge Liang, the captain of Sili School, has been transferred to Huainan, but the new candidates have not been finalized yet. Chen Chong thought that if he could select the right candidates, it would be a good start to launch the New Deal in these two key places. Just who should be replaced? After much deliberation, Chen Chong planned to appoint his brother Chen Qun as Sili Colonel and Huainan native Jiang Ji as the governor of Youzhou. Needless to say, the reason for choosing Chen Qun was because he was originally from the Eastern Dynasty, was familiar with the geography and customs of Youzhou, and was good at military matters. If there were any flaws, it was that this person was rumored to be greedy for money. However, firstly, Chen Chong did not have a more suitable candidate, and secondly, corruption could be solved by rectifying the administration of officials, so the matter was finalized.
Soon in May, the Jinu Army was finally completed and officially sent to Xiangyang. Now every ten days, there is basically a military report from Xiangyang, telling the latest battle situation in the south. The situation mentioned in the previous letter was that after Zhou Yu's army surrounded Zhonglu, he moved the entire army camp to Xianshan, and the navy ships sailed into the eastern part of Yuliangzhou. This was clearly visible in Xiangyang and Fancheng. As feared before, it started to rain continuously in the Hannan area from the end of March. After May, it was like the Milky Way pouring out. The Han River surged and overflowed the river embankment, pouring back for twenty miles on both sides. It can be said to be a vast ocean.
When this happens, the original plan to burn the city cannot be implemented. Sima Yi said in the military report that the current situation was such that he could neither destroy the city nor hand it over to the Wu people, so he could only prepare to stand firm in the city. He had stepped up repairs to the city's ultimatum, consolidated the city's foundation, and mobilized emergency personnel. He took part of Wancheng's grain. At the end, Sima Yi boasted that even if the Wu people attacked by water, he could hold on to the city for a year.
But Chen Chong did not agree with Sima Yi's opinion. He immediately wrote back and reprimanded: "Even if the city cannot be burned with fire, how long will it take to demolish the city's ultimatum? Zhou Gongjin has arrived at Xian Mountain, but he has not yet begun to besiege Xiangyang. It is obvious that We must use Xiangyang as a bait and take advantage of the situation to attack the reinforcements. If you do not return to Mianbei, but still plan to fight in Hannan, you are obviously playing into the hands of the traitors. At present, the country's elite has been lost, and the new army has not been rebuilt. It can be said that people come first and the city comes next. , Abandoning the city to gain people is the best strategy. The imperial court has made it clear on this, so you must act according to the plan."
Speaking of which, unlike the back-and-forth pushback in Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang's governance in Huainan has achieved certain results. Within a few months, Zhuge Liang recruited thousands of water bandits and mountain bandits, and began to establish farms in the Lu'an area to support the people. At the same time, he cooperated with Du Ji and others to repel Bu Zhao's two attacks and stopped his troops around Hefei. Although the lost places such as Juchao and Shuxian cannot be recovered for the time being, Zhuge Liang started to focus on civil affairs and publicized the latest tax reduction policy, thus attracting many people to come and submit. The war in Huainan has begun to show signs of stability. .
Comparing the two, Chen Chong was naturally more worried about the situation in Xiangyang. He thought about it for a moment. Although it was inappropriate, since the emperor had mentioned
Chen Zhang was appointed as a partial general, and he also had certain powers in the army. He could use this to influence the situation of the war, so he had to take action. So he wrote another letter to Chen Zhang, saying that if Sima Yi still refused to obey the order, he should disclose the imperial edict and lead his troops back to Fancheng. In this way, even if Sima Yi was dissatisfied, he could not stay alone in Hannan , can only return to Mianbei.
As he wrote this, Chen Chong couldn't help but laugh a little. I didn't expect that after so many years, I wrote my first letter to my son, and it was so business-like. It was indeed not without reason that my child resented me. So he took out another piece of paper and wrote another letter, talking about some of his experiences in Jinyang last year and his meeting with his only son Chen Pei. Chen Chong said in the letter that he was very happy to hear about his growth over the years. This time His Majesty promoted you, and there was a lot of criticism, but he has always been proud of him and believes that he will be qualified for this position. Heavy duty.
After writing the two letters, Chen Chong put them on the table. Feeling that his legs were a little numb, he stood up and moved around. The weather in Luoyang was still very warm, and the begonia flowers in the courtyard were already showing signs of withering, but it was This season is when the fragrance of flowers is strongest. Chen Chong stood by the flower branches and listened to Yan's words for a while. He felt that Chen Zhang was not good at martial arts. Should he borrow some servants from Yunchang to protect him? After all, Yunchang has always been famous for his martial arts. Several of his personal followers, such as Sun Lang, Guan Ming, Hu Wan and others, have participated in all the East-West wars with him. Although they cannot be said to be able to defeat ten against each other, they can all be called. Kong Wu is powerful. Thinking of the various crisis moments he encountered on the battlefield, Chen Chong sighed in his heart. He was only able to survive today because of someone's loyal protection every time.
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Early the next morning, Chen Chong went to discuss the matter with Guan Yu. Guan Yu naturally agreed happily. He called all his relatives over. About twenty people lined up in the courtyard. It was not difficult to find that these relatives of his The sources are mixed, not only the Westerners and Guandong people, but also the Huns and Xianbei people. The strong men all wear leather hats and have knives at their waists. They look like a row of steel guns, majestic.
Chen Chong picked four people, Sun Lang, Lian Yu, Guan Feng (the Huns changed their surnames), and Hu Yanping. Then he asked Sun Lang with a smile, "Do you know why you are going to Fancheng?" Sun Lang knelt on the ground out of the habit of a warrior. He said: "Thanks to the prime minister's great love, since I have been chosen to protect the young master, I will risk my life to ensure that the young master is safe!"
Chen Chong shook his head, nodded his head with the hilt of the sword, and at the same time said to the other people who were picked out: "Everyone must come back alive!" After that, Chen Chong took off his sword and gave it to Sun Lang, and said to him: " After I leave, I will also advise the young master not to make mistakes, and you should not dominate the army because of me. If I hear the news, I will settle the account with you!" After that, he took his luggage and wrote The private message to Chen Zhang was also given to Sun Lang.
On that day, Chen Chong personally sent a few people off, ten miles out of the city. There was a pavilion under the willow tree as a place for people to say goodbye. Chen Chong ordered his entourage to get wine to drink, and asked Zhao Qiu to play the flute to say goodbye. Zhao Qiu has followed Chen Chong for many years and has learned a lot about musical instruments. Dangjie played a piece of "Yi Shuihan", which was melancholy and long. It happened that there were dark clouds in the sky and there was a touch of moisture in the air. Chen Chong suddenly felt extremely sad. . He said to Zhao Qiu: "Let's change the song."
Chen Chong originally wanted Zhao Qiu to play "Soldiers Parade Song", but Zhao Qiu had not learned it yet, so he changed to "Qingque Helan Mountain". The tune was far-reaching and melodious and had the meaning of farewell. Everyone was deeply moved after hearing this, so they immediately said goodbye and rode away without looking back. Chen Chong watched their figures disappear, and quickly remembered the figure of himself and Xuande when he was young, and then said nothing for a long time until their figures disappeared.
Once you get busy, time passes quickly, and every day seems very short. June is here in a blink of an eye. The pond is full of white, pink, and red lotus flowers, and the orange trees in the countryside also bear large flowers. Small and large green fruits. When the lotus flowers fade and the oranges turn yellow, it means that the harvest season is coming.
Chen Chong's recent government affairs are more or less on the right track. He rectified the administration of officials in Sili. He arrested several noble sons who broke the law and sent them to farm in Youzhou. The effect cannot be said to be very significant, but it also caused many The officials in Beijing restrained themselves. This allowed him to concentrate on the administration and war affairs in various places instead of getting stuck in wasted time. At present, the Xiangyang side has returned to Fancheng according to his arrangement. There is a small battle with the Wu army, but nothing major happened, while the Liaodong side is stupidly
Ready to make a move, Chen Chong ordered Jiang Ji to report to the court every ten days, as was the practice in Xiangyang.
That night, Chen Chong was reviewing the military report under the lamp when he suddenly heard a sound, like the sound of a bowstring on the wall being drawn and released. He was startled, and looked up. In the dim candlelight, he could see the well-strung bow hanging on the wall without moving at all. He put the pen on the case and felt confused: The bowstring sounded for no reason. Could it be calling me to go back to the battlefield?
The weather was hot and humid, and he couldn't sleep for a long time. He sat under the lamp and read a book. But my ears were kept propped up, always trying to catch the sound of bowstrings on the wall. I don’t know how long it took, but the candle had burned out and a pair of sad eyes were staring at me in the darkness. Such familiar eyes have looked at me in my sleep, no, in countless sun and moons. There seems to be a ripple in the dark night, whose eyes are that?
"Ten thousand years!" Chen Chong Huo De sat up and knocked over the candlestick on the table with his hand. I don't know what time of day it was, but it was dark inside the prime minister's palace. Dong Bai, Chen Xiu and others must have fallen asleep, and no one noticed Chen Chong's strange movements. He quickly lit the candle, held it in his hand, and looked out the window. There was nothing in the black hole. Shining candlelight on the wall, the bowstring is still hanging firmly on it. There was no other sound except the chirping of cicadas and crickets. And his own sweat had already soaked his clothes.
Chen Chong could no longer sleep. Wearing clothes soaked with sweat, he sat down and thought hard: When was the last time he dreamed of Wannian? Who is it related to? Liu Xie? Childish slave? Mother? Hanzhen?
Chen Chong sat like this until the sky turned white.
