Chinese New Year

Chapter 1512 The White Deer's Guidance
The Yellow River surges and flows eastward.

This year's military training for the Shangfan Prefecture troops was moved up to early October and took place in Puyang. The volunteer army from Liyang, across the river, also participated, making for a considerable force of about 35,000 infantry and cavalry.

The 61-year-old Shao Xun personally attended this annual drill competition.

Therefore, he had been conserving his energy for more than half a month in advance, and today he felt that his spirits were in good condition. So he left Bianliang and headed north to the Yellow River to inspect the tens of thousands of soldiers.

The horses were specially selected from the Imperial Stables (Flying Dragon Stables) to be gentle and well-ridden. They were only ridden briefly during inspections, and were accompanied by seven or eight officers who were always ready to handle any unforeseen circumstances.

Shao Xun didn't like this approach, but his subordinates insisted, so he went along with it.

However, after trying it out and feeling that he could still handle the warhorse, Shao Xun felt relieved and personally led the troops to Lingchangjin (Yanjin), giving them three days to build a pontoon bridge and cross the river to the north. To this day, the military exercises of the Great Liang Dynasty are still so realistic, and there is no empty talk.

Upon seeing the long-absent emperor, the soldiers dared not be perfunctory and were extremely enthusiastic. They completed the task in just two and a half days. The emperor was known for his clear system of rewards and punishments. If the task was not completed in three days, a string of heads would be waiting on the riverbank. If it was completed half a day ahead of schedule, there would be a reward.

Seeing the soldiers fighting so bravely, Shao Xun was very happy.

When the command flag was waved, all the camps rushed forward, and wherever the command arrow pointed, the soldiers followed without hesitation.

The soldiers are still daring and courageous, and still skilled in battle. They may lack some of the skills of the founding generation, but they are not far behind. After all, the military tradition has never been broken. Various combat experiences, fighting techniques, and lessons learned in blood have been passed down. Their individual skills are also very good. After rigorous training and drills, they can be deployed to the battlefield. In fact, many of them have participated in wars against the Murong Xianbei, the Western Regions, and even Linyi. The overall structure is well-balanced, combining old, middle-aged, and young soldiers.

Shao Xun has a clear conscience about passing on such a military force to his son.

Many dynasties did not pay much attention to military development after their founding, and some even carried out large-scale troop reductions or downgraded front-line field troops to second-line land reclamation troops, resulting in a decline in overall strength compared to the war years.

Unlike the Later Han Dynasty, the Great Liang Dynasty did not carry out a drastic reduction in the army, nor did it engage in hereditary military campaigns like the Cao Wei and Sima Jin Dynasties. By the time of the second generation, the army's combat effectiveness was maintained at a fairly good level, enough for the Liang slaves to wage some small and medium-sized wars—even if the wars did not go smoothly, it was enough for him to squander for many years.

He has nothing to owe his son.

On October 15th, the army crossed the Lingchang Ferry to the north and arrived in Ji County, where it joined forces with the 10,000 cavalry of the Righteous Army.

This ferry crossing has a long history and is one of the most important ferry crossings on the Yellow River.

In the tenth year of Jianwu in the Later Zhao dynasty, King Hu of Zhao built a bridge over the Lingchang Ferry. He quarried stone to form the middle of the river, but the stones would drift with the current. He had to put in more than five million man-days of labor, but the bridge was still not completed. Enraged, Hu killed the craftsmen and stopped the project.

Shi Hu was very ambitious, but also a bit foolish. He wanted to build a river bridge with piers, not a pontoon bridge, which, given the technology available at the time, was downright idiotic.

More than 20,000 troops crossed the river to the north, still using pontoon bridges.

As Shao Xun walked on it, he felt a surge of heroic spirit, vaguely recalling some of the feelings he had back then.

The soldiers surrounded him, just as their fathers had surrounded Marquis Chen, Duke Chen, Duke Liang, and King Liang, with banners obscuring the sun and swords and halberds arrayed around him.

Wherever he went, officials and commoners alike bowed their heads in awe, and scholars and commoners alike were terrified.

This is the enormous deterrent effect brought about by the underlying logic of power, which is why Shao Xun has not yet fully handed over his troops.

******
The entire drill lasted until the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. As usual, the soldiers received their rewards and returned home, while the guards who would replace them had already gathered in Luoyang and Bianliang to take over the defense duties.

Since there was no hunting this year, the six prefectures of Ji, Wei, Dunqiu, Yangping, Qinghe, and Henan selected stored grain, silk, dried meat, and cheese, and sent them to the banks of the Yellow River for the participating soldiers to take away.

Large-scale hunts are difficult to organize, but small-scale hunts are not.

The day after the Laba Festival, Shao Xun, surrounded by his personal guards, went hunting at Huangchi near Neihuang.

Although the population of Weijun has surged and many families have settled and cultivated land near Huangchi, a large body of water and forest has still been preserved.

Especially the dense forest southwest of Huangchi, shrouded in mist and incredibly secluded.

Shao Xun enjoyed the hunt to the fullest, which lasted until dusk. As darkness approached, he saw a large white deer standing in a clearing in the woods ahead.

The sounds of horses' hooves and shouts filled the air, but Bai Lu remained unfazed, simply staring at Shao Xun.

Shao Xun looked at the deer with a strange expression, noting its slender body, elegant posture, and the few calls it made.

Actually, while white deer are rare, they do exist, and are recorded in various dynasties, where they were considered auspicious. Shao Xun believes they are likely wild deer with albinism or genetic mutations. While extremely rare, they are not inexplicable—Emperor Wu of Han even used white deer hides to make white deer coins.

But this white deer was different; it seemed to have been waiting specifically for him. For some reason, Shao Xun suddenly became enraged, nocked an arrow, and shot it at the white deer.

But it was too far away, and we couldn't reach it.

The white deer seemed startled, instinctively taking a few steps back before walking into the deep western forest, glancing back as it went, its steps carrying a guiding quality.

The surrounding knights also noticed the white deer and were extremely excited. They rode up on their horses, eager to capture it and present it to His Majesty—this was an auspicious omen, and if they could capture it alive, the riches and honors would be beyond their wildest dreams.

Unfortunately, most people returned one after another, looking dejected.

Shao Zhen's expression was not good. After asking a few questions, she learned that fog had risen in the forest, making it impossible to see anything. They lost track of the white deer in just a short while.

Enraged, Shao Zhen cursed, "Useless! All of you are useless! You can't even catch a beast!"

The soldiers felt wronged, but dared not speak and could only lower their heads and accept the scolding.

"It's alright." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "If such a rare creature could be easily captured, why would Emperor Wu of Han have valued the white deer so much?"

After saying this, he dismounted, constantly stroking the riding whip in his hand, and gazing westward.

He had just remembered something.

About eight months ago, he had an incredibly mysterious dream in the courtyard of the Kowloon Palace.

Dreams are certainly nonsense, but at this age, some things inevitably lead to doubt.

He seemed to have rejected something that time, and he was very angry inside. But ever since then, his health has deteriorated, with constant minor ailments and various discomforts.

This body had ultimately been worn down by countless battles. He couldn't remember how many times he had been bitten by mosquitoes and couldn't sleep, how many times he had missed breakfast, how many times he had traveled through the night, how many times he had frowned and analyzed the situation, and how many times his fingers had cracked from the cold wind and he had become dizzy from the scorching sun.

As if the time had come, these hidden ailments and injuries began to surface. Sometimes I felt agitated and even wanted to take elixirs to suppress the pain like Li Shimin did, but in the end I didn't do it.

Today's event seems to be another unseen hint.

The Jade Emperor favored him and gave him chance after chance.

However, Shao Xun quickly shook off this pointless feeling. What nonsense about the hint; it was just an albino deer.

He mounted his horse again and went to a nearby village to stay overnight.

******
In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow fell in Henan and Hebei provinces.

Having returned to Bianliang Palace, Shao Xun, as usual, reviewed official documents at Lichun Terrace—official documents reviewed and approved by the four Grand Councilors of the Council of State and the Crown Prince.

Actually, there's not much left. After all, the end of the year is approaching, and if something comes up, it will have to be postponed until next year.

After reading the memorial regarding the establishment of Shule Town, Shao Xun felt exhausted and put the rest of the memorials aside, intending to read them again the next day.

After the establishment of the towns of Kucha and Khotan, Shule Town is the third one to be put on the agenda. At present, more than 1,740 soldiers have been recruited from the Central Plains and assigned to farmland for defense.

King Pei of Shule was somewhat unwilling, but ultimately could not disobey. After all, the Dayuan Kingdom, which was just across the mountain from them, was still eagerly paying tribute to the Liang Dynasty. What could Shule Kingdom do? They might really end up in a miserable situation of being attacked from three sides, which would be the end of them.

Shao Xun was well aware of the importance of Shule Town and knew it was a very important matter, but he simply didn't want to look at it any further. After quickly glancing at the handling plans from the Council of State and the Eastern Palace—which included the departure of several hundred more soldiers or imperial guards to the west in the first half of next year—he found nothing wrong and decided not to deal with it at all.

He had a pot of hot tea brewed and sat quietly in front of the Nine Dragons Palace, watching the snow falling softly in the courtyard. He sat there for a long time until Empress Yu Wenjun arrived—she was really coming more often now, even though Shao Xun was staying in another concubine's courtyard.

The Crown Prince also came with the Empress.

As usual, he began by discussing matters of state. Shao Xun offered some useful suggestions, using specific examples, which the Crown Prince carefully considered and compared with his previous handling of the situation, finding them very beneficial.

At other times, he would cultivate his character, read books and observe politics, or spend time with his young children, even in the first month of the eighth year of Longhua (349).

Life went on peacefully, so peacefully that it was astonishing, until one day at the end of March, the celestial official reported: in the night sky, the Big Dipper was pointing westward, and the light of some unspeakable stars was dimming, showing signs of falling.

(End of this chapter)