Wei and Jin Cooks

Chapter 1210 Return to Beijing

People's hearts are something you can't see or touch, but you can feel it. After Zhao Jiajun crossed the river, Zhou Qi felt the tolerance, even welcome and love of the people in the south of the Yangtze River for them.

 This is something that King Langya and his party did not have when they arrived in the south of the Yangtze River.

Sima Rui went south for two years. Most of the local nobles and nobles accepted him, but ordinary people were generally indifferent, and many even felt conflicted and disgusted.

Zhou Qi knew why. These northerners moved south in large numbers, and many southerners' businesses had improved, so they welcomed them; but more southerners found that since the northerners moved south, their land was getting smaller, and their work was becoming more difficult. It increased, but the income did not increase.

Furthermore, in order to prepare to resist the forces in Jiangbei, Wang Dun and Sima Rui recruited a large number of soldiers in Jiangnan this year.

 In some places, those who cannot be recruited will be directly issued military service.

Although the public dissatisfaction has not yet reached the point of boiling, there are still many complaints among the people. Moreover, since the unification of the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Chinese people have an obsession with unification and peace engraved in their blood.

Although many people are illiterate, they still firmly believe that if peace and stability are to be achieved on both sides of the Yangtze River, they must be unified.

When Sima Rui arrived, Zhou Qi did not feel the urgency of the people. Director Wang acted mildly and was willing to give up more benefits to the southern nobles. He also did not feel the support for Sima Rui from the nobles.

 Like him.

 So when he felt the urgency of the people after the Zhao army crossed the river, as well as the obedience of the heads of various clans to Zu Ti and the yearning for Zhao Hanzhang in Luoyang, he made a decision in his heart.

The Zhou family is the leader of the Jiangnan gentry. He controls the largest number of troops and the greatest military power among the Jiangnan gentry.

His choice directly affected various noble families in Jiangnan.

Zhou Qi followed King Langya on board the ship, and the heads of the Jiang and Lu families in Houjiu also packed up their things and crossed the river. They followed their team far behind and headed for Luoyang.

As for the northern gentry who fled to the south of the Yangtze River, as long as they still had some money to spare, they all paid to keep up. Because they didn't know the way forward, they left their families in the south of the Yangtze River temporarily.

There were also some nobles who had fled the war and were down and out. They also took this opportunity to blend into the team and shamelessly asked some old families for support to help them return to Luoyang.

Everyone knows that Zhao Hanzhang is thirsty for talents, and there is a talent recruitment examination in Luoyang, so even if the scholars are down and out, they are still full of confidence. They feel that as long as they arrive in Luoyang and let Zhao Hanzhang see their talents, they can stand out.

Therefore, after King Langya and Director Wang crossed the river, they found that the team following them was getting longer and larger.

Sima Rui couldn't help but lift the curtain and look back. The official road was long, with lush trees on both sides. At a glance, the pedestrians following behind were occasionally mixed with carriages, mule carts, donkey carts and ox carts, and from time to time there were people riding on them. The horse galloped across the grassland under the official road, kicking up dust all over the sky, and he couldn't see farther away.

Sima Rui saw such a large-scale migration for the second time. The first time was when he was fleeing south. At that time, a large number of nobles and common people followed him.

 But at that time, everyone’s face was full of uneasiness and fear of the unknown. Even he repeatedly questioned his choice and seemed hesitant.

 But now, the people following him had yearning expressions on their faces, their eyes were staring brightly ahead, and they were walking forward unswervingly.

Even though there was a guard of Zhao's army between them, he could still feel the hope and high spirits radiating from them.

Sima Rui's eyes turned red and he was so shocked that he lowered the curtain and sat up straight in his seat. However, his shoulders and back still couldn't help but slump, and he leaned lightly against the car wall.

Sima Shao, who was reading the book carefully at the side, felt his father's depression, so he put down the book, raised the curtain and looked outside.

He understood at just one glance, put down the curtain and said to his father: "Father should be happy. Our ability is not enough to make them peaceful and happy. Now that the burden is lifted, the pressure is gone."

Sima Rui thought about it and felt much better, "That's true, but the prosperity of the family will depend on you in the future."

Sima Shao nodded, "Don't worry, father, I will do my best."

Sima Shao's calmness gave Sima Rui great confidence. He exhaled and looked at him with a look of relief and trust. Well, now his pressure was completely gone.

The Zhao Jiajun who was guarding Sima Rui and his party did not stop those following the team. Occasionally, when an accident occurred, they would dedicate part of their troops to maintain order.

Some scholars who had tougher bones or had no old friends who were willing to help saw this and simply came to ask Zhao Jiajun for help.

Ping Yi thought about it and asked them to eat with the guards twice a day. They would eat whatever the soldiers ate. If they were camping at night, they would be given some bedding and allowed to stay beside the army.

More and more scholars are coming to seek refuge, but Pingyi doesn't accept everyone. If he can't tell his family's origins, can't recite a few pages of genealogy, or looks good in his clothes, he will Not helpful.

Even so, more and more scholars were taken in by him.

 As we approached Luoyang, one night, screams suddenly erupted from the quiet camping area, followed by a burst of noise. However, the noise soon dissipated, and eight more corpses appeared on the ground.

Torches were lit one after another in the dark night, and the heads of various aristocratic families who were camping not far away sent people over to inquire about the situation.

Ping Yi wiped the blood from the knife on the corpse in front of the visitors, and smiled with them: "It's not a big deal, it's just that the traitor Wang Dun sent an assassin to murder King Langya, and we captured him."

"Go back and tell your family master that all the traitors have been killed. Let them sleep peacefully." After that, he said to the frightened scholars: "Don't worry, everyone, I have received news of the assassin's treasonous trip before. , Don’t worry, our general will definitely not be involved in anything that you have not participated in.”

A scholar looked grim and asked, "Did you know before that they were mingling with us to plot rebellion?"

Ping Yi glanced at him and said, "This is a military secret. Are you sure you want to find out?"

The scholar was silent.

 Ping Yi waved his hand and asked people to drag the bodies down, and then said to everyone: "It's getting late, everyone, please rest."

As soon as Pingyi left, someone immediately asked to leave.

The soldiers did not stop him. Except for the eight fake soldiers who were holding knives and wanted to assassinate Sima Rui and were killed, they really did not implicate anyone and did not even check. They seemed to be very confident that there was no assassin among them.

 But they believed it, but the scholars did not.

Yes, they think there are assassins among them. Even if Zhao Jiajun is not involved, they will inevitably hurt innocent people when they fight and kill. An accident happened tonight, and two people were injured on their side.

One saw the assassin and the soldier fighting each other, and when he ran away in a hurry, he fell down and cracked his head. The other was frightened and stretched out his foot to kick the assassin, and was then surrounded and chopped by the two assassins.

Although scholars all practice the Six Arts and the scholars present have some martial arts, the other party has weapons, and they...

Except for a few who still kept their own swords, the swords of the other scholars had been mortgaged for food as early as in Jiangnan.

 So the soldier who kicked the assassin was seriously injured and was slashed twice.

Pingyi was very sympathetic and grateful to them. Instead of leaving them alone, he carried them to the camp for treatment. The commotion here did not affect the ordinary people following the team, and most of them ended without hearing anything.

The nobles closest to the camp knew about it and were as quiet as a chicken. They waited in fear. When dawn came, the team set off as usual.

Zhao Jiajun did not take the opportunity to arrest the assassins, nor did he blackmail them.

The following nobles were silent for a moment. Seeing that the **** in front was walking away, they quickly packed their luggage and took their families and entourage to follow.

The people behind them had already stepped on the grass and passed them, looking at them with disdain. "Students are so squeamish. The guard camp has left, and they have just woken up."

“That is, even if I can’t afford it, I still stand in front of the road, delaying our walk.”

 Each scholar:…

These people have fled to Jiangnan one after another in recent years, but they have not been able to run a family business in Jiangnan for many years.

Most of them worked as tenants or long-term laborers for the nobles and nobles, earning a small salary to survive, and their lives were very difficult.

I heard that in the land of Jiangbei, as long as you go back and settle down, you can get land and seeds, and you can also rent farm tools from the county government. The interest is extremely cheap, and even those who are a little brave want to go back.

 There was no chance before, but now when the opportunity comes, just pack up and leave.

 Some people are moving back with their families. Because they are poor and have little luggage, they turn all the food at home into dry food and carry it on their backs.

 Some people gave birth to one or two children, and several villagers united together to go north together.

They didn’t think as much as these nobles. They just thought this was an opportunity to live a better life, so they did it.

 The people at the bottom never lack for enterprising spirit. They are like weeds. Even if they are about to dry up, as long as there is a drop of rain and dew, they can become green again and work hard.

 In the past, ordinary people would not dare to walk in front of these nobles, but during this time, Zhao Jiajun's tolerance towards them made them feel that they could.

So when they saw that the nobles in front were slow to move, they couldn't bear it and overtook them directly, then quickened their pace and followed closely behind Zhao Jiajun.

Ping Yi did not close the news of the assassination, so not only the nobles who lived nearby knew about it, but Sima Rui, the person involved, also knew about it. Soon, even the ordinary people in the team knew about it.

Sima Rui specially came to Ping Yi to ask about this matter, and Ping Yi comforted him and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, we have received the news early and have made arrangements. As long as they take action, we can kill them immediately and we will never hurt them." To the king."

Sima Rui: "...Have you received the news earlier?"

Ping Yi raised his chin slightly and said proudly: "Our General Yuan is awake. He is well-informed. I received the news before I set off. Wang Dun sent assassins to assassinate the king and the governor in order to frame our general."

Sima Rui believed it. This was something Wang Dun could do.

He was a little angry, so he ran to Director Wang to scold Wang Dun together.

 Wang Dao was also very angry when he learned about this. Even the gentle people couldn't help but cursed together with King Langya.

This matter was not a secret, and soon there were rumors among ordinary people. They followed Wang Dun and scolded him as if he was their father-killing enemy.

 Frame Zhao Hanzhang for killing King Langya and destroying stability and unity. In their hearts, it is like cutting off their livelihood. Isn’t it like killing their father and enemy?

There was a lot of curses in the team, and King Langya also heard it. He had a complicated look on his face.

Because of the assassination, so many people scolded Wang Dun, and many people consciously started to investigate the people around them. There were even righteous men who organized manpower to patrol among the mixed teams. If there is another assassin, they can kill the assassin without the soldiers taking action. posture.

It was the first time that King Langya faced such love and care. To be honest, he was very touched. It was a pity that they loved him so much because of Zhao Hanzhang.

 “Wang Dun, the villain, how dare you frame General Zhao!”

 This is the most curse that King Langya has heard in the past two days.

 So, it is impossible to say in my heart that it is not complicated.

The team cursed all the way to the outside of Luoyang City. There were officials waiting outside the city gate. After receiving Sima Rui, Wang Dao and Zhou Qi, they were about to enter the palace. "The general and your majesty have been waiting in the palace early in the morning."

Sima Rui keenly discovered that "General" was still ranked before "Your Majesty".

Wang Dao and Zhou Qi looked at the open spaces on both sides of the city gate where ten tables were set up, and there was a steaming porridge shed not far away.

 The two could not help but ask the messenger who came to greet them.

Zhao Xin smiled slightly and explained: "The general knows that many survivors will follow the king back to their hometown this time, so he asked the Luoyang County Government to make preparations in advance to ensure that every returning survivor can be properly resettled."

Pingyi sent back a letter. There were about 20,000 remnants who came back with their team. It was considered a great migration. Moreover, as time went by, more and more people caught up from behind.

The letter was divided into two parts, one was sent back to Jiangnan and transmitted by radio; the other was sent to Beijing by horse.

Zhao Hanzhang received the telegram first and immediately informed Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou on their way to do a good job in the return of the survivors and make sure to arrange good people.

 Those who are not survivors, but are originally from Jiangnan or Jiangdong, but want to settle in Jiangbei, must also be treated equally.

On the road, most people who were originally from Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou chose to return to their hometowns to allocate their fields after feeling the friendliness of local officials.

 Those who were far away from their hometown in the Three Prefectures, or those who had escaped from the Sizhou area, chose to continue to follow.

As the news spread back to the south of the Yangtze River, more and more people decided to return to their hometowns. They were small and fast, so many people caught up with the large army. By the time they reached Luoyang, the number of ordinary people in the army had increased instead of decreasing.

Zhao Zheng held an iron trumpet to avoid the ranks of nobles and walked in front of the ordinary people. Two government servants cleverly carried a table and helped him stand on the table.

Standing on a table more than one meter high, he was finally seen by everyone.

He raised his trumpet and shouted loudly: "Fellow folks, I am Zhao Zheng, the magistrate of Luoyang County, and I am here to settle you down under the orders of the general!"

The sound rang out half a mile away. The originally noisy and restless crowd became quiet, and their hearts became calmer. They stared at Zhao Zheng eagerly.

Two chapters combined into one, see you tomorrow

 (End of this chapter)