Chapter 150 Will General Li really kill the nine clans of the noble family?
August, East Market, Luoyang.

"I entrust my life to my friend, and we will be together in old age."

Pan Yue, who was covered in dust and dirt in the prison car, forced a smile because his old friend Shi Chong had been taken to the execution ground before him.

The soldiers of the Yue Cavalry Camp, wearing a full set of tube-sleeved armor, untied Pan Yue from the prison cart and carried him to Shi Chong, so that several of the twenty-four friends could be reunited.

"When Jia Mi died, we should have stayed away from Luoyang. Before the Central Guard was promoted to the Grand Commandant, we should have had a chance to survive."

Shi Chong, with a bruised face and nose, felt somewhat regretful. He had originally thought that King of Zhao Sima Lun would not let his crony Sun Xiu kill those who were attached to Jia Mi. Unexpectedly, after the death of King Huainan Sima Yun, the only person in Luoyang City who could compete with King of Zhao, Sun Xiu did not hide his true intentions and arrested all those who had a grudge against him and put them in prison, and then took them to the execution ground.

Along with them came their relatives.

Pan Yue sighed, "The King of Huainan is too reckless. He should wait for the King of Qi, the King of Chengdu, and the King of Hejian. These three kings have hundreds of thousands of soldiers under their command. If they can work together internally and externally, the King of Zhao will also be cautious."

The King of Qi guarded Xuchang, the King of Chengdu guarded Yecheng, and the King of Hejian guarded Chang'an. Previously, a considerable number of officials in Luoyang City hoped that these kings would lead their troops into the capital to eliminate the scoundrels like Sun Xiu. Unexpectedly, from April to August, the kingship outside allowed Sima Lun and his faction to do whatever they wanted in Luoyang City.

The 52-year-old Shi Chong opened his mouth, trying to comfort his friends, because Pan Yue's mother, brothers Pan Shi, Pan Bao and other three clans were taken to the execution ground one after another, even Pan Yue's daughter, nephew and other younger generations were among them. The baby was not seen, so they must have been killed long ago.

But he couldn't utter a few words of comfort. This former governor of Jingzhou was not much better than Pan Yue. His old mother, brother, wives, concubines, children and others were all there.

What made him feel ashamed was that his wives, concubines, and children all had disheveled hair and untidy clothes, as if they had been violated.

"Sun Xiu, the first person to make clay figures for burials, will he have no descendants?"

At this point, it was too late for Shi Chong to regret. He only felt sorry for his property and his beautiful concubine Lu Zhu who had committed suicide by jumping off a building in front of him.

The family property was acquired by him with all his might from merchants when he was the governor of Jingzhou, and Lu Zhu was the most boastful piece of his property.

After a lifetime of competing with others for wealth, this was the first time he felt sorry for his family property.

Sun Xiu, who was supervising the execution, stepped down from the carriage. He laughed and said, "Shi Chong, when you robbed and killed the merchants from Jingzhou, did you ever think that there would be a day when all three clans would be exterminated?"

Many people know that Shi Chong became extremely wealthy by robbing and killing merchants passing through Jingzhou.

The former governor of Jingzhou did not answer. His eyes were fixed on Sun Xiu's carriage, trying to see clearly what was on it.

He suspected that Lu Zhu's body was in the carriage. Given Sun Xiu's style, it was not impossible for him to desecrate the corpse.

Pan Yue replied on behalf of his friend: "Sun Xiu, I heard that the rebels in Jizhou and Bingzhou have occupied several counties. There is no general in the world who does not admire General Yuzhou. Aren't you afraid that General Li will kill all your clans?"

Sun Xiu sneered a few times and stared at his clear and handsome face, wishing he could peel off the skin and stick it on his own face.

Maybe the beauties in his house would scream even louder on his bed after seeing this face.

"It's noon, execution!"

Sun Xiu became more and more annoyed, so he ordered the execution in advance.

Hundreds of people in the execution ground cried out and begged King Zhao to sue Sun Xiu, just to buy a way to live.

Only a few people kept shouting and cursing, especially Shi Chong's nephew Ouyang Jian, who cursed the most fiercely.

"You bastard, sooner or later you will die under the halberd of General Li."

These people to be executed are quite experienced. Sima Ying, Sima Jiong and other kings have been reluctant to come to Luoyang City. It would be better to rely on Li Hao, the leader of the rebel army who is still in Bingzhou, to avenge themselves than to expect them to take revenge.

At least General Li will really kill the nine clans of the noble family.

The more Sun Xiu listened, the more annoyed he became. Somehow, he always felt that this was some kind of witchcraft.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the three clans of Shi Chong, Pan Yue and Ouyang Jian were all wiped out.

Although all those he disliked were dead, Sun Xiu, who was in charge of the execution, was still frightened. He returned to the carriage in a daze and didn't even have the heart to play with Lu Zhu's corpse.

The words of Pan Yue, Ouyang Jian and others before their death kept lingering in his ears, as if the next moment General Li would rush from Bingzhou to Luoyang, Sizhou, and kill all nine of his clans.

While he was daydreaming, Sun Xiu came across the already cold body of Lu Zhu. He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and kicked Lu Zhu off the carriage.

The sound of the corpse falling to the ground attracted the soldiers of the Yueqi Battalion who were following the vehicle to come over to check what had fallen. Sun Xiu let out a long sigh, knowing that his reputation would not be good in the future.

Although his reputation was not very good before.

"Go to the Prime Minister's Residence!"

The more he thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. Sun Xiu believed that he must persuade King Zhao to send troops to attack Li's rebel army.

The reason is quite simple. Now that Sima Yun and his followers have been killed, the Zhao Wang faction is the only one in power in Luoyang City. If the military forces of Sima Ying of Yecheng, Sima Jiong of Xuchang and other kings can be reduced, then the Zhao Wang can change his clothes.

The coachman drove quickly to the prime minister's residence. When they arrived, Sun Xiu stepped on the back of the soldier in front of the door to get out of the carriage, and rushed in to look for Sima Lun, King of Zhao.

There are quite a lot of people in the Prime Minister's Mansion today. The subordinates and staff of Prince Zhao's Mansion are basically all here. It seems that they were called here early to discuss the next step.

Sheren Ma Lang, generals Guan Xi and Sun Bi, father and son, the chief secretaries of the Eastern and Western Expeditions Ying Zhan and Qian Chang, the left and right chief secretaries Li Chong and Xun Zu, the left and right Sima Wang Kan and Liu Mo, the military assistants Xun Song, Lu Ji, Diao Xie, the officials Xi Jian, Fu Xuan, Xun Sui, and the recorder Liu Kun all came.

Although Sun Xiu was highly favored by King Zhao, he was only a Sima, and his status was not high enough among these noble families. So he lowered his head and walked quickly to the middle of the east side, found an empty table and sat down.

"Junzhong is here. Just now they urged me to send troops to the north to resolve the crisis in Pingyang County. What do you think?"

Pingyang County Prefect Song Zhou was originally close to King Zhao and had recently been showing goodwill to him. Sima Lun actually didn't want to get involved in this matter, but once Pingyang was lost, both Hedong and Henei counties would be unstable.

Especially Henei County, which is the hometown of the Sima clan, and Sima Lun also wants to gain a good reputation for himself.

"The Li family rebels must be wiped out!" Sun Xiuxian set the tone, "We should use the excuse that the emperor is personally leading the army to order the kings of Yecheng Sima Ying, Changshan King Sima Yi, Xuchang Sima Jiong and other kings to send troops to fight and wipe out the rebels in Leping, Zhao and other places.

As for Taiyuan County, Pingyang County and other places, first, order Song Zhou, Wang Jun and others to hold on to the cities and wait for the imperial court to reinforce them, and second, order Tuoba Xianbei to go south to help, and after Li Hao returns to support Leping and the counties of Zhao, send the troops of Sima Yong in Guanzhong and the troops from Hedong and Henei to the north to attack Li Hao. "

His response plan was very clear. In the name of the emperor, he forced the kings who were stationed in various places to send troops to suppress the bandits, and kept most of Luoyang's guards and Yamen troops in Sizhou.

"Going to the front in person? That's not right." Sima Lun hesitated. If Sima Ying and others took away the current emperor, he wouldn't even be able to use the emperor to control the princes. The central army near Luoyang was not entirely under his jurisdiction. Without the title of emperor, he would be no different from the King of Chengdu and the King of Qi.

Among Prince Zhao's staff, many supported Sun Xiu's strategy, while some opposed it.

Sima Lun listened for a long time but could not make up his mind, so he ordered Sun Xiu to explain why the emperor should lead the army in person.

"Mingsir, you can send the six schools of soldiers to the north to accompany the emperor in his personal expedition. If Sima Ying and others dare to disobey, you can take the opportunity to reduce their fiefdoms and military power. If the emperor dies on the battlefield, all the blame will be put on Sima Ying and others, and then Mingsir will be ordered to succeed the throne."

Although Sun Xiu used the word "if", everyone in the Zhao Wang Palace understood its true meaning: the foolish emperor would not live long.

The six schools are the school battalions under the jurisdiction of the six school lieutenants, namely Tunqi, Infantry, Yueqi, Changshui, Shesheng and Lingjun. Each battalion has one thousand people. They are the second-rate troops of the Luoyang Central Army and are slightly inferior to the Sixth Army, the Fourth Army and the Second Battalion.

Sima Lun figured out this move. If he let the Li family rebels kill Emperor Sima Zhong, he could continue to put pressure on Sima Zhong's brothers to send troops to quell the rebellion, while at the same time he could reasonably kill Sima Zhong.

The King of Zhao clapped his hands and praised: "Excellent chess, excellent chess. It is better than the one played by Ma Sheren."

Ma Lang was a chess master who wrote "Go Situations" and was famous for his superb chess skills.

"I dare not compete with Ma Sheren in chess." Sun Xiu was very proud. He thought that summoning kings from other places to quell the rebellion in the name of the emperor personally leading the army was the most ingenious trick he could think of.

"The soldiers of the six schools are not fully prepared. They can only defend the city, not attack the Li bandit head-on. It would be better to replace them with two battalions and the Yamen Army."

"Lead 20,000 Yamen troops to march north. This will show your determination to fight against the Li rebels."

General Guan Xi and his son Sun Bi came up with suggestions one after another.

The central army was divided into two parts: the central guard stationed in the capital and the Yamen army stationed outside Luoyang city.

In the Central Guard, the Fourth Army and the Sixth School each have a thousand people, and the Second Battalion has two thousand five hundred people. None of them are the main force.

The six armies with more than 30,000 soldiers are the absolute main force of the Central Guard.

After Sima Lun conferred the title of Prime Minister on himself, he also added 20,000 soldiers to the palace. These soldiers were the personal guards of the King of Zhao and could never be sent outside of Sizhou.

"We will take 20,000 Yamen troops and 10,000 soldiers from the six schools and two battalions, a total of 30,000 troops, and march north to defeat the bandits. Yueshi, I will appoint you as the champion general and lead the troops north with Sun Hui."

Sima Lun singled out the famous Liu Kun, and after giving him the titles of General of the Champion, he ordered him and Sun Xiu's descendant Sun Hui to lead the army north.

"Thank you, Lord Ming!" Liu Kun was overjoyed.

He was a native of Zhongshan, and his family's land was not too far from the rebel army's territory. He had been worrying about whether he should move like the Zhao and Changshan gentry. Now that the court had sent troops to fight against the rebel Li, he no longer had to worry about this annoying matter.

After the general strategy was decided, the staff of the Prince of Zhao's Palace repeatedly discussed many details, including ordering Wang Jun of Taiyuan County to lead the Tuoba Xianbei troops to attack Jinchang County and other places in the south, and recruiting the national troops of the Prince of Hejian to join the army to quell the rebellion.

Sima Lun had long harbored the ambition of usurping the throne and establishing himself as the emperor. These aides knew this better than the other, and they were also waiting for King Zhao to ascend the throne and reward them lavishly.

The opportunity to follow a dragon is rare in a lifetime, and no one wants to miss it.

……

Pingyang County, Puzi County.

This place is located on the western foot of the southern end of Luliang Mountain. It has a hundred miles of dangerous terrain in the north and south, and a narrow strip of sky in the east and west. It is known as "the throat of Hedong and the gateway to Western Qin."

This was the sixth county captured by the rebel army in Pingyang County. After incorporating Liu's Southern Xiongnu soldiers, General Li led the rebel army along the Fen River and captured Pingyang County, Yang County, Yong'an County and other places.

After driving Song Zhou's Pingyang troops to Jiangxian County, Hejin and other places, the rebel army turned its spearhead to Puzi County and other places in the west, striving to ensure the safety of both wings.

"Reporting to the general, we have found that there are 7,000 households, including official households, dependent households, and slave households in Puzi County, with a total of more than 29,000 people. The registered land of the nobles and the yellow household is more than 134,000 acres, and there are dozens of coal mines... and four iron mines..."

In the Puzi County government office, the head of the rebel army's registration department named Feng En reported to the general the local population, large mines, and number of acres of land.

"There are so many big coal mines, but the population is so small?" Li Hao was a little surprised. "After we conquer Hanoi and Hedong, we will capture the noble families in these two counties and bring them here to mine coal to enrich the population of Puzi County."

Mining is not affected by seasons and can be done most of the year.

"There are not many able-bodied men here, and the private households are mostly Di people, Qiang and Hu people. I suggest that the general distribute the land to the able-bodied men and set up a government and officials as soon as possible."

Vonn suggested.

He was a talent recruited by Li Ju in Pingyang County. He was born into a humble aristocratic family. He wanted to achieve great things but was hindered by his background. He couldn't even become a subordinate of a king in a small country.

After he joined the rebel army, General Li felt that he came from a relatively humble background and was good at writing and calculating, so he was considered a talent, so he put him in charge of matters such as the Huangji of Pingyang County.

"We can win over the Di people." Li Hao took stock of the situation. "Select those who have read books and train them to be clerks. We can also select some literate Han people from the regular households and the hidden households here. The ratio of Han people to Di people is eight to two."

The rebel army had no shortage of soldiers, but they lacked clerks who could write and read. The clerks in charge of food, fodder, and armor in the army had to count the pieces on their fingers, which greatly slowed down the rebel army's attack on the city and occupation of land.

Feng En made note of this.

General Li suddenly thought of something else, "You can find a craftsman who can make paper pulp from bamboo and train him vigorously. He will be of great use in the future."

The art of making bamboo paper probably originated in the Jin Dynasty, and it was a powerful tool for popularizing books.

During the Ming Dynasty, the bamboo paper-making process became more sophisticated, which greatly reduced the cost of books. One piece of bamboo paper, that is, one hundred sheets of ordinary bamboo paper, could cost as low as eighteen cents. As a result, the novel as a literary genre became popular in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

Being cheap has its disadvantages. Compared with other papers, bamboo paper does not last long.

"I understand. Hemp paper is also relatively cheap. The general can order all counties to plant more hemp next year so that they can make paper."

Feng En understood that the general before him wanted to quickly train a group of clerks of humble origins, so he suggested that the rebels plant more hemp in their territory next year.

"We'll discuss this at the end of the year. This year, you can check whether there is enough land for growing hemp in Pingyang County. I'll send someone to look into this matter at the end of the year."

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(End of this chapter)