The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

Zu Ti's elder brother Zu Gai, Zu Ti's half-brother Zuna, Zu Ti's half-brother Zu Yue, the eldest son Zu Huan, and several other generals did not know how to comfort Zu Ti. After a moment of silence, Zu Gai said:"When Your Majesty first established himself in the south of the Yangtze River, his younger brother suggested that the turmoil in the royal family was not caused by the king's incompetence, but by the intrigues of many feudal kings fighting for power. The royal family's internecine fighting gave the Xiongnu an opportunity to take advantage of it. , captured the capital Luoyang, and massacred tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. The people in the Central Plains area were always thinking about expelling the barbarians and restoring their homes. It was the younger brother's heroic ambition and determination to resist the enemy that gave him the title of General Fenwei and Governor of Yuzhou."

"Alas, what can I say? Zu Ti sighed and said:"My brother and I are both over fifty years old, but when I think back to hearing the chickens dancing and hitting the sticks in midstream, it seems like it was just yesterday." Governor Liu Kun had been killed by Duan Pixi, and Shao Xu and Cao Yi were still fighting among themselves. As for Shihu, he is eyeing Fuping and Qingzhou. The Northern Expedition to regain our homeland is far away! Zu Huan said:"

In my opinion, my father, Liu Kun, Shao Xu and Cao Yi are the four most important forces in the north to fight against Hu." It's a pity that the four of you are not affiliated with each other and are scattered separately. This is the easiest way to be divided, surrounded and defeated by barbarians. Except for the fact that his father truly cared about the imperial court and spared no effort in the Northern Expedition, Shao Xu and Cao Yi were protecting themselves while at the same time attacking each other. Liu Kun, whom his father trusted most, has passed away, and the Jiangnan court's support for his father was mostly verbal. This will inevitably lead to the father being alone and helpless, and it will be difficult to fight alone for a long time."

After hearing Zu Huan's opinion, Zu Ti nodded in agreement.

"More importantly, the imperial court, which was half-hearted about the Northern Expedition, was quite wary of his brother's growing strength. Don't be suspicious when you employ people, don't use people when you are suspicious. Liu Kun defended Jinyang for nine years, but after he was killed by Duan Pixi, the court did not even send anyone to express condolences. Although Wen Qiao and others wrote a letter requesting Liu Kun to be rewarded, they were unable to rehabilitate Liu Kun due to concerns about Duan Pizhen's strength." Zu Yue said. After listening to the analysis of several people, Zu Ti said:"The tragedy of Liu Kun is that he believes in Duan Pixi too much. Here we have either my elder brother or younger brother, or my son or nephew. Therefore, I have no worries about the Northern Expedition."

While Zu Ti and others were talking, a soldier came in from outside the gate of the Governor's Mansion. The soldier knelt down and saluted and said,"Tell the Governor, there is a man named Feng Chong outside asking to see you!"

"Invite him in! Zu Ti said, and he and others came outside the government office. A man covered in blood came to Zu Ti, knelt down and cried:"General, please avenge Li Tou!""

"what happened? General Feng Chong? Speak slowly and don't rush."Zu Ti took Feng Chong to the government office and sat down. Zu Huan brought Feng Chong a glass of water. Feng Chong drank the water in one breath, and then burst into tears. Zu Ti asked:"Did something big happen? Already? Feng

Chong stopped crying. He wiped his tears and said,"Sir, when you attacked Fan Ya, the owner of the dock, you captured a BMW from him more than half a year ago." Li Tou, Chen Chuan's subordinate who came to assist you, likes this horse very much. You saw Li Tou's thoughts and rewarded Li Tou with the BMW. Later, Li Tou praised the Lord greatly and said that he would have no regrets if he followed you to death. As a result, Chen Chuan was furious and killed Li Tou. Li Tou is my sworn brother, and Chen Chuan wants to kill me to subdue his brothers. I got the news and led my brothers to rush out!"

After listening to what Feng Chong said, Zu Ti said to Zu Yue:"Young Master, you take brother Feng Chong down to heal his wounds first, and let the new brothers have a full meal. Medical officers were sent to treat those who were disabled. After dinner, count the number of new brothers."

"Follow the order! Zu Yue said. Feng Chong bowed his hands and saluted:"Thank you for your love, sir!""

After the two people finished speaking, they went down. Zu Ti said to the others:"This dock master Chen Chuan is a cruel master. He will definitely vent his anger on us, so everyone must be careful."

The next day, Zu Yue and Feng Chong came to the government office. Zu Ti, Zu Huan and several other generals were discussing matters. Zu Yue said:"Brother, General Feng Chong and I counted the number of new soldiers. , except General Feng Chong, a total of 466"

"well! The number of brothers killed by Chen Chuan was probably the same. Feng Chong started to cry as he spoke. Zu Ti asked them to sit down, and then said to Zu Yue:"Take the brothers brought by Feng Chong and join them respectively under a few of you, and train troops together for the expedition.""

"good!"As soon as Zu Yue said a word, three detective horses from outside ran in. When they came to Zu Ti, the three of them knelt down and said,"Master Qi, Chen Chuan's general Wei Shuo led his men to plunder several places in Yuzhou. county. Some people were killed and robbed. Please make your decision!"

"Get up and talk about the specific situation."Zu Ti asked the three people to get up and listened to what each Tan Ma said. After hearing this, Zu Ti was furious and said:"You Chen Chuan, who doesn't know the heights of heaven and earth! I considered that some of the sons of dock owners were held hostage by Shi Le in the state of Xiang. So I usually don't really attack these forts. Sometimes I just bluff and stay safe. Now that you, Chen Chuan, are so angry, I won't be polite to you anymore!"

"Zu Yue and Zu Huan obey orders!"Zu Ti said loudly

"The end will be here!"Zu Yue and Zu Huan replied together. Zu Ti ordered sternly:"I order you two to lead five thousand men and horses to the place where Chen Chuan is harassing and eliminate them!"

"yes! The general will obey the order!"After Zu Yue and Zu Huan finished speaking, they went down to lead the troops.

Zu Yue's soldiers and horses were stationed in the north of Chen County in order to guard against the Jie forces such as Shi Le and Shi Hu in the west and north, as well as nearby The Wubao was armed. Zu Yue, Zu Huan and three detective horses rode to the gate of the camp. When the soldiers guarding the camp gate saw that they were Zu Yue's uncle and nephew, they hurriedly opened the camp gate, bowed their hands and saluted, and said:"Two generals coming!"

The uncle and nephew nodded and came to the big tent and dismounted. After entering the big tent, Han Qian and Feng Tie, Zuyue's generals in the big tent, stood up and saluted:"See you two generals!"

Zu Yue waved his hand and motioned for the generals to sit down. Zu Yue sat in his seat in the middle, Zu Huan sat below, and three detective horses stood in front of Zu Yue, waiting for questions. Zu Yue asked:"What do you think? Let’s talk about Chen Chuan’s subordinate Wei Shuo and what evil deeds he committed in several northern counties!"

"Report to the general that Wei Shuo often leads more than a thousand men in the Liang County area. These people killed people, looted goods, and also robbed a large number of people, horses, cattle, and sheep."A Tan Ma said. Zu Yue asked again:"Do these people come often, or is there any pattern?"

"There is no pattern to follow. Sometimes it comes once every two days, and sometimes it comes every three days. Another Tan Ma said. Zu Huan asked:"How many counties in the north of Chen County have you been to?""