Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 26 Dilemma
It was almost evening when Shen Zhezi returned to Shen's house.

In the afternoon, he went out of the city with a few clansmen and the soldier Liu Meng, and a group of Longxi soldiers. They made a detour to Stone City and watched from a distance for a long time.

The Stone City sits high on a rocky mountain, and the buildings are not so magnificent and aesthetically pleasing, but the terrain is steep and victorious, like an iron fist raised to defend Jiankang.The big river passes around the mountains, the peaks are straight and steep, the big boats connected by iron cables float on the river surface, and two beams connect the river bank.

Nearby are hundreds of ragged subordinates, stepping on bamboo rafts along the river to clean up water, weeds and debris to avoid silting up the waterway.Most of these people were born in official households, directly attached to various levels of government, and served as servants all year round, but they did not have the prestige of the small officials in the Yurou Township of later generations, and were more like free servants, who could be sent by any chief official at will.

Right now, the Six Forbidden Guards guarding Stone City are the only army directly under the imperial court, with around ten thousand soldiers.Previously, due to the chaos in Wang Dun, the emperor issued an edict to conscript the young and strong in the Gyeonggi area, and then added nearly [-] soldiers.

Shen Zhezi looked at the past from a distance, and saw that the flags and banners on the stone city were mixed, and the figures were chaotic.The so-called Imperial Guard's army is inferior in military capacity to the Shen family's trilogy army, which shows the weakness of the imperial power suppressed by the joint efforts of the aristocratic families.

However, further north of Stone City, there is still a military camp. Based on the size of the camp, it is estimated that there are about [-] troops, and the number of one army is stationed there.It was part of Nanxia Qinwang's refugee army, but it was also under the banner of Suwei. It seemed that it was intercepted by the court to supplement the six guards.

Shen Zhezi wanted to take a closer look, but after a short distance, the group was driven away and not allowed to approach.

Going up along the river from Stone City, you can reach Liyang where the refugee commander-in-chief Su Jun is defending in a short time. If you go down the river from the upper reaches, the speed will only be faster.The emperor's courage to place such a general with a large army and no background there is astonishing, which also shows his trust, and he seems to be quite confident in his own methods.

Today's emperor is indeed a wise emperor, not to mention the weak Eastern Jin Dynasty, even at any stage in history, his methods and abilities are quite outstanding.If he can enjoy the country for a long time, rule the top and bottom, balance the left and right, and kill the few outstanding people in Nandu's generation, he may be able to revive the imperial power. Even if he cannot regain the lost ground, history will be greatly changed in his hands.

Shen Zhezi does not dislike Gan Gang's arbitrary dictatorship and centralization. Later generations say that democracy seems to have become a politically correct choice, but centralization has an incomparable advantage, that is, high efficiency.In troubled times, whoever can mobilize power faster and more effectively is the king.

Afterwards, Guanlong made a fortune, and there was no shortage of descriptions of the strong Qin military system, unifying the north and the south, and ending the troubled times.It may be called brutal oppression, but it is a moral choice.

When reminiscing about the past and the present outside the city, Shen Zhezi didn't expect that he would soon realize the means of the hero.

When he returned to Shen's house, his servant sent two letterheads, one of which surprised Shen Zhezi. It was Sima Zong, king of Nandun, who made the invitation!
Five horses cross the river, and one horse turns into a dragon.Sima Zong was one of the horses who failed to transform into a dragon. The so-called Eight Kings Rebellion started with his father, Runan King Sima Liang.

Seeing this sudden invitation, Shen Zhezi's heart rose sharply.Regardless of his personal perception of the Sima family, Sima Zong's embarrassing status and situation alone could not help him not being vigilant.

It is needless to say how tragic the disaster of the clan in the Jin Dynasty was. Now the rulers or their elders are tortured to the point of death, or they themselves suffer from it. Naturally, they will spare no effort to attack the few remaining clans.However, the crisis of power and ministers in the Wangdun Rebellion made the emperor realize the reality that the imperial power was isolated and difficult to regain, and then used the clan. Therefore, Sima Zong is now the official of the left guard general and has to be in charge of the guard.

Holding this invitation in his hand, the first thing Shen Zhezi thought of was how dare Sima Zong show his favor to his family?Is this out of his own will, or the emperor's order?
If we only look at it from the current situation, it is obvious that the combination of the powerful Shen family, which is famous for its military power and is not favored by high-ranking families, is a perfect match with the clan, especially now that the aristocratic family is silent and the imperial power will be strengthened.Guangwu Zhongxing, the continuation of Han Zuo relies on this configuration.

But the reputation of Sima's family is really bad, and the wind can stink.Shen Zhezi really couldn't find a reason to convince himself to go see his boss Ma Zong.He is not superstitious about the original historical trend, but believes in the facts that have already happened, and has serious doubts about the Sima family's conduct.

Putting this invitation aside, Shen Zhezi picked up another letter sent by Yu Yi, and his heart sank when he first saw the messy handwriting.After reading through the content, I felt cold hands and feet, and my mind was a little dizzy.

Combined with the fact that Yu Yi was detained in Taicheng, Shen Zhezi was almost certain that Sima Zong's act of soliciting his family, even if it was not the emperor's order, was the emperor's tacit approval.

Picking up the flimsy invitation again, Shen Zhezi felt extremely heavy.The yellow-bearded Xianbei slave in Taicheng was so daring, he cut off the bridge connecting the Shen family with the overseas Chinese family, and left the Shen family isolated and helpless again. Either completely surrender to him, or ask for more blessings. Don't worry about Wu's turmoil again.

At this time, Shen Zhezi even regretted dissuading his father from rebelling.Where does the emperor have the courage?Naturally, Wang Dun was crushed and destroyed, which made his confidence burst.

Without Dad's participation, the turmoil caused by the Wang Clan's Rebellion was far weaker than the original history, and at least Sanwu was able to stabilize.Now that the Wang family has been defeated, with the momentum of a great victory, and they are in charge of the army of hundreds of battles in the north of the Yangtze River, why would the emperor worry about Shen Chong, who is alone?
As expected, this history cannot be changed lightly. Once it is changed, not to mention the change of the situation, the change of the mentality of the people in the current situation is the most terrible thing.

Shen Zhezi was caught in a dilemma, the invitation was tossed and turned in his hands, and it was difficult to make a decision.

He knew very well that once he went to the banquet to express his position, the Shen family might become a hard-core royal party, cut themselves off from the current situation, and would be jointly attacked by Wang Yuqiao's surname.This is exactly what the emperor hoped, that is, to isolate the Shen family from Shi, and they can only be loyal to him. Holding this chess piece in their hands can not only better control the Wu land, but also form a check and balance on the emerging refugee commander.

To be honest, Shen Zhezi is not unacceptable to this situation. Once he becomes a royal party, as long as he is still useful, he doesn't have to worry about safety.But the problem is, this dude Sima Shao doesn't live long, although he is talented right now, he will die next year.

In less than a year, how could the Shen family be able to withstand the influence of Wang Yu's Gaomen, even if the father tried his best to make progress, he was not qualified to be a minister of life.At that time, when the list is pulled, it will be really dumbfounded.

At this time, Shen Zhezi really realized what it means to be in a dilemma.If you don't bow your head, the disaster will come in an instant; if you bow your head, the disaster will come in the next year.

"It's terrible!"

Leaning on the Hu bed and covering his face, Shen Zhezi's thoughts were racing, and he was miserable.

The entanglement in this choice is that the emperor's life is not long. Even if this old man can live for another three or five years, Shen Zhezi will definitely agree to be his pony without hesitation.But there is only one year, and there is really no way to resist the joint counterattack of the aristocratic family.

Unofficial history speculates absurdly on the cause of the death of this young emperor, and Shen Zhezi himself wonders why Sima Shao died so hastily.Even if something goes wrong, Shen Zhezi doesn't think he can help him survive, he is still a sick child.Are you telling this man that you have to take care of your health, or you will definitely die next year?

Or cut off the penis and entered the palace for personal protection, eliminating all potential threats in advance?Don't say he doesn't want to, even if he is willing, the confident emperor will listen to a brat like him?
"Or, is it the other way around?"

As soon as this thought came to his mind, Shen Zhezi immediately denied it. This is the real act of committing suicide.

Immediately, Shen Zhezi thought of the feasibility of going south to Jiaoguang for farming development.Although it is still a barren land there, it actually has a foundation.Not all the Nandu gentry were concentrated along the Yangtze River, and some of them migrated and settled in Jiaoguang further south.In addition to farming, you can also go to Southeast Asia to develop as a maritime merchant. With a certain foundation, you can either penetrate into Yizhou Chenghan, or go directly to the north.

With such an idea, Shen Zhezi felt a little more at ease. No matter how feasible it is, at least there is no way out. Even if it is difficult to go north in this life, but with a little technology tree, it can be regarded as supporting the great development of the south.

But if he wanted to give up Wu Xing's family business foundation, Shen Zhezi didn't know how to convince his father, and he couldn't convince himself.I haven't reached the end of my journey yet, and it seems that I can still work hard.

After regaining his calm, Shen Zhezi first ordered Liu Meng to transfer dozens of Longxi soldiers into the city, and at the same time, notified the troops on the south bank of the river to prepare for the response.After arranging the retreat, Shen Zhezi began to think about ways to break the situation.

The reason why the emperor wanted to persecute the Shen family was naturally to build his own power, and the reason was that the Shen family was in an embarrassing situation.It is not a high school in Jiangdong itself, and there is no strong political alliance. The original backer Wang Dun is gone, and the line of the Yu family was cut off by the emperor just after connecting. It is the moment of isolation and helplessness.

To get rid of the current situation, what Shen Zhezi has to do is to integrate the Shen family back into the gentry group in the shortest possible time, regardless of the north and south, and get rid of the isolated and helpless situation.At the same time, it is necessary to dampen the emperor's confidence and let him understand that the current strength is just an illusion, and he must not blindly act swiftly and resolutely.

Neither of these goals is easy.To integrate into the gentry group as soon as possible, it is necessary to unite with the most prominent people at the moment.And the source of the emperor's confidence is the refugee commander he uses, who is also beyond the reach of the Shen family, and no mere wealth can be disintegrated.

In Shen Zhezi's mind, he sorted out all the people with outstanding reputation and status in the ruling and opposition parties, and gradually settled on one target, that is Nan Shi Jizhan who brought Xi Jian into the court!
Ji Zhan is the crown of southern scholars, the leading existence among scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. He was the leader of the turmoil just past. Prestige and feats have climbed to the extreme!

Although the candidate is locked, it is particularly difficult to achieve the goal.The indifference of Gu Lu's family is still in sight, not to mention Ji Zhan, who is even more prominent than him.

Shen Zhezi wouldn't have dared to think about it before, but the situation is different now.The invitation in his hand certainly pushed the Shen family into a corner, but it was an important bargaining chip obtained out of thin air!
(End of this chapter)