In fact, there was no need for Guard Chief Ying to remind him when he entered the city. Shen Zangfeng was already discussing the purchase of grain from the south with Shangguan Shiyi in the temporary Sixth Department that had been hastily repaired and temporarily used as an office: "Although the soldiers plundered countless people before, they recovered After the imperial capital and Yanzhou, most of the treasures taken from the Wei Dynasty were recovered. Even if a small part fell into the hands of the soldiers, we still have a lot of treasures taken from the Wei Dynasty, but they have been returned one by one. Obviously it’s impossible. But if you keep it and you’re afraid of being embarrassed by the original owner in the future, why don’t you exchange food and grass with several southern states? What do you think?”
Shangguan Shiyi, who was sitting upright, wore a green shirt and a soft hat. His skin was as bright as the moon, and he looked like a virgin. He said politely: "The only one who can provide enough food and grass for the army now is the south. But Brother Shen, don't forget, Qingzhou is also in the south.”
"I know, but the food and grass in the army are now unsustainable. It is impossible to survive without purchasing food from the south. What's more, the two generations of Shen and Su are related by marriage. If there is no major conflict, the Qingzhou Army will not easily block it. "It will affect our food supply." Shen Zangfeng sighed, "Of course it will not work this way, especially if Huo County is now in the hands of the Qingzhou Army. But Xiliang is far away, and the news of the death of my father and uncle has passed, even if it remains unchanged for the time being. The journey to transport grain and grass from there is both long and not smooth. Besides, Xiliang is already barren, and we have always had to transport grain and grass from nearby places. All that is done is the foundation that my ancestors of the Shen family have worked hard to accumulate. Now...since there are other ways, it’s better not to use them.”
It's not that he judged a gentleman with a villain's heart. He respectfully greeted his two direct uncles on the road in the morning. At this moment, he began to arrange and prepare for the Su family in Qingzhou. In fact, there is a large army outside, but the source of food and grass can be cut off by others. This is tantamount to giving someone a handle and putting their wealth and life in the hands of others. Even close relatives must be cautious.
Otherwise, if the Su family really tries to trick him one day, as long as the road is cut off, there is no need to continue to take action. The mutiny of 300,000 Xiliang troops was enough to put the surviving members of the Shen family in jeopardy.
"The only plan now is to support the Wei family." Shangguan Shiyi reminded, "Although the Wei family majors in martial arts, in these troubled times, it is impossible not to spend a lot of effort on private armies to protect themselves. The Wei family is also Brother Shen. Yue family, I heard that the old lady who heads the Wei family is very fond of Brother Shen’s wife! Why don’t Brother Shen select some soldiers who are good at military training from the Xiliang army and go to Fengzhou to help the Wei family train a fighting force? The Xiliang Army can also entrust the Wei family to purchase grain and grass. This will satisfy the son-in-law's filial piety. If anything changes and the Qingzhou Army wants to intercept our grain routes, the Wei family will respond. "
Shen Zangfeng nodded and said, "That's how it should be. I'll let Shen Die take care of it later."
At about the same time, Su Xiu Ming was also talking to her younger brother Su Xiu Wei about the baggage: "Yanzhou was burned, and the army's food and grass could only be transported from the south. Fortunately, although Siam invaded suddenly this time, it had not been attacked for more than ten years before. During the period of peace, we have indeed stored a lot of grain and grass in Qingzhou, and now we can buy a batch from Jiangnan... There is no need to worry about this problem at the moment. "
"The one I'm worried about is Ming Peitang." Su Xiu Ming frowned and said, "Both Dan Xiao and Dan Lang died during the breakout, Li Er also died because he asked to be cut off, and Shen Lianshi and Shen Liankun died. They are all useless. Now the Shen family is weak and can almost rely on Yao Ye. It is even more critical than Dan Xiao and others. I don't know if Yao Ye can survive. "
Su Xiuwei had always had a good impression of Shen Zangfeng, and with some calculation in mind, she said: "Yao Ye is quite extraordinary, and besides, he is famous all over the world because of Mu Xiuer, and he is popular among Xiliang and the Xiliang army. It has also laid a foundation. Although the situation is not good for him this time, he may not be able to turn the tide and secure his position as the leader. "
"But not necessarily." Su Xiu Ming shook her head slightly and said, "He has not yet reached the age of 30, so he is too young. And in order to get the army to set off as soon as possible this time, he even personally raised his sword to kill several suggestions in public. Among the tribesmen who set out after their luggage was fully packed, there were many elders among them! It can be seen that he is still young and can't hold his breath. "
"Soldiers are very fast. If the Xiliang army arrives in the capital in a day or two in the morning, maybe my brother-in-law and the others will not be killed in the rebellion, and our father and second brother will also be able to survive." Su Xiuwei narrowed her eyes and said calmly, " In fact, if it weren't for the interference from the clan, this time even if there was an army coming to Qinwang from the imperial capital, we wouldn't be in this situation."
He mentioned Su Pingzhan, and Su Xiuming couldn't say anything, just sighed.
The conversation between the two brothers ended here.
Su Xiuwei's face darkened as she left her elder brother. She called Su Yuwu over and told him everything about the conversation she had just had with Su Xiu Ming. She said with a sullen face: "Your grandfather unfortunately passed away. , it seems that your uncle does not intend to fulfill the previous agreement for this reason."
Only a few people in Fufeng Hall understood the meaning of this - about half a year ago, Su Pingzhan made up his mind to hand over Fufeng Hall to the third room. For this reason, he even called his eldest son and third son together to make a frank announcement. got this result.
At that time, when Su Pingzhan was tearfully recalling how difficult it was for the ancestors of the Su family to start a business and how difficult it was for ancestors to maintain success, Su Xiuming also shed tears and confessed that he was incompetent in educating his children. Su Yuliang was not talented enough to entrust the whole family. He didn't have the shame to take over Fufeng Hall, and was willing to give up his title and position as head of the clan to Sanfang to inherit, and promised that his father and son would assist Sanfang well...
After that, although Qian didn't know about it, he kept looking for trouble, but brothers Su Xiuming and Su Xiuwei already knew the result and ignored Qian.
But Su Pingzhan died during the breakout. This time Emperor Xingping rewarded the meritorious officials. According to the secret discussion and agreement between father and son, Su Xiuwei should accept the title of Duke of Kang. Su Xiuming, however, did not even bother to greet him, so he regarded him as his eldest son. Not to mention his identity as the person who received the title, but now he is questioning Shen Zangfeng's ability, he doesn't need to think about it. It must be someone from the side branch of Mingpeitang who contacted him and wanted to deal with Shen Zangfeng.
If Su Xiuwei could no longer see that Su Xiu Ming wanted to take advantage of her father's death to seize the position of clan leader, his years would have been in vain!
However, after hearing what happened, Su Yuwu was very calm and said: "My third cousin's wife, the child needs to call me Cousin Wei. It's not that the uncle didn't know this, but he still said this to his father. It can be seen that the uncle I’m still not sure yet, but I’m just taking the opportunity to test it out.”
"Of course a test is a test, but it also represents his attitude." Su Xiuwei said with a sneer, "Earlier when your eldest aunt was still here, she wanted to get married in our room and betroth Ning'er to you. You later did this. I know. Even if things don't work out, it can be seen that between you and Liang Er, your eldest aunt likes you more. In addition, your mother's niece is your cousin, so Yao Ye is naturally more beautiful than her in our room. Dear uncle! Since your uncle wants to covet Fufeng Hall, you must be on guard against Yao Ye, lest he consolidates his position in Mingpei Hall and helps our father and son later!"
Su Yuwu said: "Third cousin has been taught by my uncle since he was a child. Even if he is young, he should not be underestimated."
"I also hope that Yaoye can secure his position as the leader of the Shen clan." Su Xiuwei sighed and said, "Your uncle's promise was made in private. Without your grandfather's guarantee, it would be empty talk. Although your grandfather had earlier He has shown his preference for you, but it is not too obvious. Now that your uncle occupies the position of eldest brother and holds the military power of the Qingzhou Army, we don’t even have any reason to question it... "
Speaking of it, this time the Sanfanghui went from having a bright future when Su Pingzhan was alive to being passive now. It was because of his own fault and he was too careless.
Last year, he was ordered to lead 20,000 soldiers from Xiliang to Donghu to help, because he kept in mind the Shen family's instructions to "preserve the strength of the 20,000 soldiers from Xiliang" - he himself never thought about using his brother-in-law's private soldiers to replace the Liu family. He was willing to sacrifice his life and fight regardless of the cost - so after he was assigned to guard a certain fort, he ordered everything to focus on stability. If there was the slightest disturbance, the entire army would immediately withdraw into the fort and not be able to get out.
As a result, the Rong people took advantage of this and surrounded them one after another... Su Xiuwei didn't take it to heart. After all, the task given to him by Marquis Weiyuan was to guard the fort and prevent the Rong people from leaving.
It would be great if he did this. He was leading soldiers from Xiliang to fight in Donghu, and they were unfamiliar with both the subordinates and the geography. Even if he did not consider the idea of preserving the strength of the Xiliang army, according to Su Xiuwei's thinking, this situation must be that he should not seek merit before seeking no fault. To avoid getting into trouble.
Later, the Rong people withdrew their troops due to the incident of Demonic Grass, and Su Xiuwei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she would be able to return to the imperial capital soon. But Weiyuan Hou persuaded him to stay, saying that he was afraid that the soldiers would come back after leaving, so he asked him to stay for a few more days.
As soon as he stayed like this, he was suddenly surrounded by soldiers again.
Compared with his previous experience, Su Xiuwei guarded the fort very seriously, thinking that he had done a good job... Then the soldiers retreated, and he realized what major events had happened during the period when he was unable to hold on - the imperial capital was besieged, Marquis Weiyuan was assassinated! The whole thing is as messy as boiling porridge!
Then when he ordered hundreds of people from the Xiliang army and planned to leave the others to the deputy general and let these hundreds of people escort him south to Qingzhou to move reinforcements, it was too late.
On the contrary, Su Xiu Ming, who was also trapped in Yanzhou, because the remnants of the Xuanjia Guards tried to rush into the city and got the news that there was no Qin King, they actually took the risk to break through with Shen Zangfeng and succeeded, and returned to Qingzhou to gather the army - he went back What a coincidence, it happened that it was Su Yuwu who spent a lot of effort to convince the family to flood Zezhou and carry out the execution.
The Qingzhou Army finally escaped from Zezhou, and before Su Yuwu had time to ask for orders to take them north, his uncle Su Xiu Ming took a ready advantage.
Although Su Yuwu still went north with the army, with the experienced and older Su Xiu Ming here, his nominal deputy general was just a cover...
All in all, the current situation of Sanfang is very bad.
No one knew that Su Pingzhan had designated an heir, and no one knew that Su Xiu Ming was breaking her promise.
However, Su Xiu Ming made a decisive decision this time, burning grain and grass, abandoning Yanzhou, and flying back to her hometown to save lives at night. Don't let the Xiliang army suffer too much and appear very mediocre and incompetent.
Even though Su Yuwu drowned 100,000 Siamese elites in the third room... But the most criticized thing about Su Yuwu and Shen Zangfeng is that they are both too young...
After Su Xiuwei found out what happened during this period, she was so upset that she couldn't even express it!
In fact, he and his eldest brother Su Xiu Ming should have the same talents and abilities!
"... Before, your grandmother took the lead to give up the secret passage in the secret room for our consideration." Su Xiuwei's gloomy face was covered with sadness. She looked at her only son who also looked sad because of what she thought of, and sighed, "The secret passage in the secret room of other people's houses. They are all for the female family members. Our family... your grandfather's proposal has hidden powerful people. These people are your grandfather's confidants. They are well aware of your grandfather's attitude during his lifetime, and may be biased towards us. "
It was not without reason that the Su family abandoned the female dependents as the master, but kept this group of subordinates.
The main reason is that Su Pingzhan is not like Shen Xuan. He is already old and is very worried about how many years he can survive after breaking out. Yes, he never thought that he would die after breaking out, so he did not leave the exact designated third room in his haste. The token or words of taking over Fufengtang - but Su Pingzhan believed that after breaking through, he would not live long after all the ups and downs.
For the sake of his children and grandchildren, Su Pingzhan worried that while his family would be in the court for a long time, Sangzi would be taken care of by someone else. Moreover, the grandson he wanted to train either died early or was still young and was not sent back to Qingzhou to hone his skills and lay down a solid foundation. Although the sons are prestigious in Qingzhou, there are many people in the clan who are older than them and have higher moral standards than them.
Don't let others join forces to bully your descendants after you die and covet the position of lord. So as soon as he gritted his teeth, he discussed with his old wife, Mrs. Deng, to leave a group of capable people for his descendants... These people included subordinates and servants, and they all had their own strengths, and Su Pingzhan relied heavily on them.
However, due to his age, position, etc., he was not good at riding horses and could not break out with the team.
Mrs. Deng had a docile temperament, and since she was so old, she naturally agreed to take the lead and not enter the secret room, so as to leave a humerus for future generations.
Now it was this group of people that Su Xiuwei was counting on - saved with the lives of their brothers' mothers and wives. (To be continued)