RPAGF Chapter 225 Certificate of Surrender
Chapter 225 Certificate of Surrender
"Sigh." Shen Pei sighed heavily.
The old steward, Shen Pi, who was also the most loyal servant of the Shen family, asked Shen Pei, "My lord, what's wrong?"
“Bibo, your family has been the stewards of my Shen family for generations. Have you ever felt wronged?” Shenpei asked.
Shen Pi was startled by Shen Pei's words. He quickly bowed and said to Shen Pei, "Master, my family has served the master for more than ten generations. When it came to my generation, the great master bestowed upon us the surname Shen. I am extremely grateful and have no grievances to speak of."
Shen Pi's entire family served Shen Pei. Although they nominally addressed each other as master and servant, they had actually been a real family for generations. Shen Pi's wife was also a woman from a collateral branch of the Shen family, and her status was not low. So, strictly speaking, Shen Pi was a true elder of Shen Pei.
Shen Pei said to Shen Bi, "Uncle, we are relatives within five degrees of kinship, and you have followed me for many years. Today's matter can only be discussed in this room."
"Old slave understands."
"You are aware of the policies implemented by the King of Wei towards powerful families, especially those that primarily control land, right?"
“This old servant knows, but my Shen family doesn’t own much land. Most of the land is owned by individual clansmen, so this land annexation shouldn’t be attributed to us,” Shen Bi said cautiously.
"It's not that simple. This matter has little to do with my Shen family. Well, it's not exactly small, but it's also quite significant." Shen Pei's contradictory words made Shen Bi even more confused. He looked at Shen Pei, knowing that Shen Pei would definitely have something else to say.
"This time, I have been ordered by the King of Wei to take over Yanzhou. Do you know what that means?"
"Wasn't it thanks to the patriarch's familiarity with Yanzhou and his extensive network of connections that things were quickly stabilized?" Shen Pi asked doubtfully.
Shen Pei shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. King Wei is trying to use someone else to do his dirty work."
"Using someone else to do the dirty work!" Shen Pi exclaimed in surprise. Could it be that the King of Wei was about to carry out a major purge of Yanzhou? He quickly thought of a possibility, and considering what Shen Pei had just said about the land issue and the policies of the self-governed regions in dealing with these issues, Shen Pi quickly realized that the King of Wei was trying to get Shen Pei to pledge his loyalty!
Shen Pi didn't know how to respond to Shen Pei, so he remained silent. He dared not express his opinion on this matter, and Shen Pei was not surprised by Shen Pi's silence.
He glanced at his old steward: "We must present a pledge of allegiance. After I decided to surrender, Yuan Shao could no longer tolerate me. Now that I have pledged allegiance to the King of Wei, I must give the King of Wei a reason to give me an important position."
At this moment, Shen Pi finally understood why his master had sighed and why he had stood there silently alone. Sometimes, people really have no choice.
"For the sake of my family's future, I have no choice but to make sacrifices. Moreover, I don't think the King of Wei is the kind of person who would abandon his supporters after they've served their purpose. So, I must do this thing in Yanzhou, and do it well."
Shen Pei said to Shen Bi, "Tomorrow, you will send invitations to all the major families in Yanzhou in my name, saying that I will host a banquet for the heads of the families in the prefecture five days later to discuss the future development of Yanzhou."
"Yes, Master, this old servant understands."
Shen Pei's invitations were quickly sent out, and the various families who received them immediately began to secretly make active efforts to bring Yanzhou under their own jurisdiction. All the families knew that they were now facing a choice. Shen Pei's banquet invitation was no invitation at all; it was a trap, a trap that could potentially kill them.
It's like a trap – should they go or not? If they go, they'll have to decide whether to comply with the autonomous region's policies, sell some of their land, and shift towards commercial and industrial development. But these families, who value their land more than their lives, are not so easily willing to sell their land.
But now that the invitations have arrived, if they don't go, a large organization might come knocking at their door at any moment. When Shen Pei entered Yanzhou, he was followed by a large organization of 100,000 men.
Everyone in Yanzhou knows that this is a massive organization of 100,000 men, and the elite first organization under King Chen Er of Wei. It is said that the commander of the troops is Gao Shun, Chen Er's top general. They are coming with a murderous aura.
While Shen Pei was actively preparing to complete his task, Yuan Shao also began to take action. After reaching a tacit understanding with Chen Er, Yuan Shao gradually shifted his focus to controlling the Sili and Yongzhou regions.
Although it is not suitable to wage large-scale military operations at present, it is still feasible to deal with Liu Xie in Luoyang and to win over the emperors who actually control Yongzhou.
Because Liu Xie killed Gongsun Zan, a large number of his former subordinates under Lu Zhi were very dissatisfied with Liu Xie's actions. Regardless of Gongsun Zan's character, he was still Lu Zhi's student.
The old generals, the legitimate heirs of the old Jizhou and Bingzhou organizations, have now been killed by Liu Xie. These veteran generals are extremely dissatisfied. What is most fatal to Liu Xie is that all of these veteran generals are stationed in Yongzhou.
Far from Luoyang, when these veteran generals learned of the incident, they immediately severed ties with Luoyang and withheld the taxes and grain that should have been handed over to Luoyang. As a city heavily reliant on external supplies, Luoyang experienced a surge in prices.
Before Yuan Shao entered the city, the price of rice had already risen to one string of copper coins per pound, which ordinary people simply could not afford. Even coarse grains had risen to half a string of copper coins per pound. At such prices, ordinary people could not survive and could only go outside the city to find wild vegetables.
Although Luoyang has been ravaged by war several times, it still has at least 100,000 people. How could these people possibly survive on wild vegetables alone? After Yuan Shao entered the city, he provided some relief to the people on a small scale.
However, he quickly stopped this operation because he found that there were far too many people in need of relief, and the food supplies in his organization were only enough to last for half a year, not to mention that he had also taken more than 100,000 able-bodied men with him.
These are all major consumers of grain. There was no other way but Yuan Shao could immediately start the land reclamation plan, sending all the able-bodied men to farm. Although it was not the best time for planting, Yuan Shao had no choice but to do so after understanding Luoyang's predicament.
Fortunately, thanks to Gongsun Zan's diligent management, the agricultural harvest in Sili has been quite good in the past year or two. Yuan's organization plundered a lot of grain and fodder when it was consolidating the Sili region, which can sustain them for a while longer.
"I really don't know where this brat got the courage to kill Gongsun Zan directly. Look at his control. I've arrived so late, and he hasn't done anything except control of Luoyang City."