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

"Will King Zhao go up to see Baichilou today? Zhang Bin asked. Shi Le waved his hand and said,"Forget it, we all drank a lot today." Let’s go up and have a look another day. After walking for a while, Shi Le asked Zhang Bin:"Li Yang is left alone today, so he has one more general." Your Majesty, I have put you in charge of selecting officials. How is it going?"

"When our dynasty was first established, the official rank was determined to be the fifth rank. After more than two years, the situation has changed a lot. Now the territory of our country, Great Zhao, is getting larger and larger, and the population under its jurisdiction is increasing. The original five-grade system cannot be adapted to it. I think it should be changed to the ninth rank, and I order the ministers and the governors of the prefectures and counties to recommend one person each year who is talented, filial, honest, virtuous, outspoken, and brave. All the main officials in the dynasty, whether they are civil servants or military generals, can recommend talents who can bring peace to the country through literature and military skills. Of course, these recommended people must also pass examinations and inspections. In order to avoid nepotism, whoever recommended the recommendation will be held responsible."

"What Youhou said makes sense, so let’s do it!"Shi Le nodded and said.

After Zu Ti's death, Zu Ti's brother Zuna led troops and stationed in the north of Yongqiu to guard against Shi Le north of the Yellow River. A few months ago, Zu Lian went home to attend his mother's funeral and came back. Zu Ti had passed away, so Zu Lian followed Zuna and joined the army. Zuna was Zu Ti's half-brother. Zu Ti had been depressed these days after his death. Otherwise, he just drank tea all the time. Or just keep drinking alone. The training of the enemy's soldiers is all passed on to Zu Lian, and he doesn't care about how they train.

Zu Lian thought that it was not an option to continue like this, so he came to Zuna In front of him, he said to Zuna who was drinking heavily:"Sir, you have been having a hard time these days. Have you ever forgotten your worries?"’？"

"Forget about worries?"When he heard the word"Wangyou", Zu Na put down the wine bottle, took Zu Lian's hand and said:"Zu Lian, let's go to the stone table under the tree to"Wangyou"’！"

The two people came outside the big tent and sat down at a square stone table. There is a stone Go board placed on the square table. There are seventeen lines vertically and horizontally on the Go board, with a black and white jar placed on each side. There are black seeds in the black jar, and white seeds in the white jar.

"Sir, you hold the black man, you go first."Zu Lian said. Zuna nodded without saying a word, picked up a black piece and started playing chess. The game between the two began. After playing for a while, Zu Lian saw Zuna's absent-minded look and said:"Master Zu Ti After returning to heaven, our soldiers in Yuzhou seemed to have lost their backbone. Some are listless, and some are muddle along. It would be dangerous if Shi Le sent Shi Hu to attack.

Zuna spoke:"In the current situation, if Shihu really attacks Yuzhou, we will lose our armor and dismantle our armor, and there will be no other result than being defeated and dispersed.""

"Is there any way to change it? We cannot let Master Zu Ti’s achievements in the Northern Expedition over the years be wasted and destroyed."Zu Lian said with some worry. Zuna said:"The Northern Expedition army led by Zu Ti actually had members of the Zu family as the core. According to age, Zu should be the elder brother of Zu Ti and me, but we are not from the same mother. Zu Ti and his younger brother Zu Yue were born to the same mother, and Zu Yue was the youngest. According to my official position, I am still the Guanglu doctor of the previous dynasty. However, it was Zu Yue who succeeded Zu Ti, General Pingxi, governor of Yuzhou, and took over the Northern Expedition tribe. I am very worried about the unrest among the Northern Expedition soldiers."

Zulian felt that there was something wrong in Zuna's words, so he asked:"Sir, what can I do?"

"Although our family relationship is somewhat estranged, when Zu Ti was alive, he valued you very much and intended for you to follow me. Now we see that the soldiers of the Northern Expedition are disloyal. Some lower-level generals, even leading their own men, deserted and returned to their place of origin without explaining the reasons. Now the morale and combat effectiveness of the Northern Expedition army are no longer what they used to be. So I plan to ask you to go to Jiankang and tell His Majesty my concerns. Zu

Lian agreed without saying a word. Zu Lian said:"Sir, I am willing to serve." Since the death of Lord Zu, the soldiers stationed in various places in Yuzhou have missed Lord Zu's kindness. But on the other hand, he was unwilling to obey Master Zuyue's orders. If His Majesty can take back his orders and let you take charge of the Northern Expedition, there may be a glimmer of hope for recovering the Central Plains."

Zuna nodded, took out a piece of cloth from his coat and gave it to Zulian. Zulian looked at it and said,"Sir, I won't delay. I will go to Jiankang this afternoon."

Five days later, in the morning, Zulian came to Jiankang. Sima Rui in the Taiji Hall looked sad, and the civil and military ministers below also whispered. Diao Xie said:"According to reliable news from Jingzhou, Wang Dun has requisitioned Xiangzhou. Half of the boats. Originally, Wang Dun planned to requisition all of them, but King Qiao and Xiangzhou Governor Sima Cheng said that Xiangzhou also needed defense, so he reluctantly left half of them. Generals from various counties in Jingzhou also frequently traveled between Wuchang and their bases."

Sima Rui nodded, but before he could speak, the guards from outside the Taiji Hall came in and reported:"Your Majesty, the ancestral company of Mr. Zuna from Yuzhou who joined the army has come to represent Zuna."

"Zulian? Zuna? On the table? Yuzhou? Ancestor appointment? Sima Rui felt a little strange. He hesitated a little and said,"Please come in, Zu Lian!""

Zu Lian came to the Tai Chi Hall, and the civil and military ministers all looked back. Zu Lian came to Sima Rui, knelt down and saluted:"Your Majesty, Mr. Zuna of Yuzhou has a report!"

"Present it!"Sima Rui said. Fei Ren came down and Zulian took out the watch and handed it to Fei Ren. Fei Ren returned to the top and handed the watch to Sima Rui. Sima Rui unfolded the watch and saw that it read: Your Majesty. , after the death of his younger brother Zu Ti, another younger brother Zu Yue took over the post of General Pingxi and Governor of Yuzhou. Although Zu Yue and Zu Ti share the same mother, he always had the temperament to be superior to the monarch. As time goes by, trouble may occur. When Zu Ti's brother was alive, he was still able to suppress him. Now he commands the entire army and civilians in Yuzhou, and his wanton behavior has been revealed. What's more, Zu Yue also sent people to contact the refugee commander Su Jun, hoping that your majesty would understand. Because of his prestige, he could not convince the public, and some The officers and soldiers are incompatible with their appearance. Some dock owners have escaped from the control of the Yuzhou government. With his current power and status, I am worried that there will be chaos in the future. It is not impossible.

"I already know that Zulian loves you. You can go to the post house to rest for two days. The court still has several sets of armors worn by the laborers. I will give one set to each of Zu Gai, Zu Na, Zu Yue and Zu Huan. I hope they can turn their grief into strength and train their troops to guard against Shi Le's invasion from the south."Sima Rui said. Zu Lian knelt down and saluted:"Thank you for your majesty's grace! Wei Chen resigned.