Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 120 How can there be peace?
"Pitter patter"

"One to one makes one, one to two makes two, one to three makes three..."

The morning light was just breaking and the drizzle was like silk. When the sound of the raindrops sounded inside and outside Shandan City, both sadness and joy were washed away by the drizzle.

In a courtyard not far from the government office, the sound of rain accompanied by the crisp sound of reading intertwined in the early morning air, and each sound was pleasant to the ear.

The dim light shines through the window frames, illuminating the young faces of the students.

They were dressed in coarse linen clothes, had dark skin but bright eyes, and their loud voices of reading were filled with a thirst for knowledge and a vision for the future.

Amid the sounds of reading, there are occasionally the chirping of swallows under the eaves, like a chord between heaven and earth, adding a bit of vitality to this quiet yet energetic morning.

As the sky gradually brightened, life in the city began to revive.

Someone was cooking, causing smoke to rise, and the aroma of firewood and breakfast wafted inside and outside the house.

Some people wore straw raincoats, went out of their homes, carried water to wash clothes, and swept the streets in front of their homes.

Some people also went to the craftsmen's workshops, textile factories and other courtyards, working diligently.

Against this backdrop, every passerby can feel Shandan’s unique vitality.

Those families who sacrificed their family members have come out of the haze, picked themselves up again and are trying to live a good life.

Because of this, even on days like this, there are only two busiest places in the city.

One is a school and the other is a military camp.

The entrance to the military camp was crowded with men enlisting in the army, and the entrance to the school was crowded with relatives of soldiers who died in the battle.

Men joining the army and children going to school are the top priorities in the eyes of the people of Shandan.

Under the eaves, Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen stood at the school gate and watched the families of martyrs and the students complete the entrance ceremony.

In the Battle of Liangzhou, there were 241 soldiers who were seriously injured, disabled, or killed in battle, and they were divided into two groups.

Severely injured or disabled soldiers who have no brothers or children, or those who have brothers or children but are over fourteen years old, can go to the military camp to continue their studies.

Those under the age of fourteen can come directly to the school.

Looking at hundreds of students being admitted to the school by the Zhibai people, Zhang Huaishen's chest heaved, not knowing how to evaluate Liu Jilong.

"How did you get so many books..."

He asked calmly, and Liu Jilong nodded and said, "I improved the printing technology so that books can be mass-produced."

"With books, paper and ink become a small problem, but I don't know if they can continue to read in the future."

"Why not?" Zhang Huaishen interrupted, but Liu Jilong looked at him and said after a moment of silence:

"I'm not sure if the officials who take over after I am transferred will still be willing to raise books and paper for them to continue reading."

"That's why I brought the governor here today, mainly to talk about their problems."

Liu Jilong took a deep breath and continued, "After I recover Liangzhou, I hope to let Cui Shu be the county magistrate of Shandan because he will not change my decrees."

"As long as the government does not change its policies and continues to follow the rules, within ten years, Shandan will provide Hexi with hundreds of poor scholars with clean backgrounds."

"With them, the Jiedushi and you can do things more easily without being restricted."

Zhang Huaishen was moved by Liu Jilong's words, not only because his words made sense, but more because he was moved by Liu Jilong's selfless words.

Hundreds of scholars were a force that could not be ignored, whether in the Song Dynasty or the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

With them, Zhang's governance power in Hexi will be greatly enhanced.

Zhang Huaishen couldn't believe that Liu Jilong would be so generous as to hand them all over to him.

"You handed them over to me, what about you..."

Zhang Huaishen pondered for a moment before speaking, but Liu Jilong chuckled and said, "I can just train another batch."

Hearing this, Zhang Huaishen nodded slightly, not rejecting Liu Jilong's kindness.

In response to this, Liu Jilong withdrew his gaze from him and turned his attention to the students who had enrolled.

There were hundreds of scholars and relatives of soldiers who died in battle. How could Liu Jilong not be tempted by such a clean family?

However, he was very clear that it would take at least two to three years, or even three to five years, for him to take over Liangzhou and enter Longnan, and he would have to change his post all the time.

How can we take good care of these students who need to settle down and study with such a displaced life?

It would be better to hand them over to Zhang Huaishen, so that the Zhang family's voice in Hexi can be stabilized and they don't have to rely so much on powerful clans.

What's more, handing this group of students over to Zhang Huaishen and others will also help enhance his voice in Hexi.

As for himself, after arriving in Longnan, he could train hundreds or even thousands of scholars with the help of movable type printing.

It will only take about ten years. Considering his age, he will be only thirty years old by then, which is enough for him to rely on thousands of scholars to deal with the coming trend.

To govern a small county with a population of more than 10,000, only about twenty scholars and a hundred soldiers are needed.

Thousands of scholars could not only help Liu Jilian firmly control the seven prefectures and fifteen counties in Longnan, but also help him expand the teaching team and train more scholars.

Taking over Longnan is just the beginning, and following the general trend is the way he has to go.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong calmed down and walked towards the yamen with Zhang Huaishen holding an umbrella.

However, when they were on their way to the yamen, in the Longshou Valley, more than 30 miles away from Shandan, a group of people were walking cautiously along the valley road towards the south.

The drizzle made the valley path in Longshou Mountain no longer safe, and fallen rocks and collapsed mountains could be found every few steps.

It was only ten miles, but it took the group a full hour to cover most of the distance.

Before they could continue walking, a shrill whistle suddenly sounded above the valley.

"Beep--"

"Hey!!"

Hearing the whistle, the group of more than ten people stopped their horses and looked around.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves came from the valley in the south.

In less than half a cup of tea, more than a dozen elite cavalrymen in armor appeared in front of everyone.

"Who are you from and what are you doing in Longshou Mountain?"

A team leader rode his horse between the two sides, questioning the dozen or so men wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats.

Hearing this, a man from the team rode out on his horse and bowed respectfully: "I am the monk Wuzhen, and I have returned from Chang'an on the orders of the Jiedushi!"

"Monk?"

"Wu Zhen?"

For a moment, the soldiers of the Shandan Army looked at each other in bewilderment, and the captain waved his hand after a brief hesitation and said, "You guys follow me first!"

"Thank you!" Wuzhen breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking along the valley path under the supervision of the Shandan elite cavalry.

In just half an hour, they arrived at the stone fort at the entrance of the valley.

Upon hearing this, the captain of Shibao immediately sent light cavalry to Shandan to deliver a message and confirm the identities of Wuzhen and others.

When the light cavalry arrived in Shandan, it was already dusk and the sky was terribly gloomy.

The sound of footsteps was heard in the corridor of the inner hall, and soon the cavalry was brought to the door of the inner hall.

In the inner hall, Liu Jilong, Suo Xun and Zhang Huaishen were sipping tea. When they saw Huke Siguang arriving with his cavalry, they all cast inquiring glances at him.

Upon seeing this, Huke Siguang handed over the Wuzhen token brought by the light cavalry to Liu Jilong.

"Zhechong, these are the brothers from Longshou Mountain. They said they found a group of people claiming to be Dunhuang envoys in the valley of Longshou Mountain. The leader is called Wuzhen."

"Wu Zhen?"

Before Liu Jilong could speak, Zhang Huaishen's eyes lit up: "Did they say they went from Dunhuang to Chang'an, and then turned back from Chang'an?"

"That's what they said." The Qingqi replied, and Zhang Huaishen also explained to Liu Jilong:

"This Wu Zhen is the former head of the Wu family and now a disciple of Hong Bian Dade. He was sent to Chang'an by my uncle and his men to report the victory last year."

"Gao Jinda had mentioned them before. Now it seems that they have returned triumphantly from Chang'an!"

Liu Jilian naturally knew who Wu Zhen was. After all, the names of the first three groups of envoys sent by the Guiyi Army to Chang'an were all in historical records, so he naturally would not forget them.

However, he could also take this opportunity to ask Wu about his problem.

"Disciples of Master Hongbian? Then we should invite them to Shandan for a banquet!"

Liu Jilong nodded and looked at Hu Siguang and the Qingqi: "Tell these brothers to rest, send someone else to Longshou Mountain, and ask Wang Chongde to send someone to escort Master Wuzhen and the others to Shandan."

"Yes!" Huke Siguang and the Qingqi bowed in response, then left the inner hall.

Seeing them leave, Liu Jilong also looked at Zhang Huaishen and asked, "Come to think of it, the Wu family was also a powerful family in Shazhou, and was the governor before Shazhou fell. Why don't we see any Wu family members holding important positions now?"

"Well..." Zhang Huai took a deep breath and then told the story slowly.

The origin of the Wu family mainly comes from Wu Xuzhi, the governor of Shazhou a hundred years ago.

During the Tianbao period, Wu Xuzhi led troops to garrison Shazhou for a long time, served his country with loyalty and made outstanding military achievements.

However, with the outbreak of the An-Shi Rebellion, Longyou Jiedushi Geshu Han was ordered to lead a large army to defend the emperor, leaving Hexi power empty. Tubo took the opportunity to attack Hexi and marched forward with great force. Wu Xuzhi led his army to resist desperately for more than ten years, until he ran out of ammunition and food in the second year of Jianzhong, and then he chose to surrender to Tubo.

After surrendering, Wu Xuzhi made three agreements with Tubo, namely, not to relocate the people of Dunhuang, not to slaughter people at will, not to impose heavy taxes, etc.

Tubo was naturally very happy that Shazhou, which they had been trying to conquer for more than ten years, chose to surrender, and they agreed to Wu Xuzhi's conditions.

It was precisely because of Wu Xuzhi's conditions that Shazhou's power was not disrupted by Tubo, which provided the basis for Zhang Yichao's uprising.

As for Wu Xuzhi, although he surrendered, he did not serve in Tubo, but retired to the countryside of Dunhuang.

His wife was from Nanyang Zhang, and was of the same clan as Zhang Yichao, so Zhang Yichao became acquainted with Hong Bian when he was very young.

Because Hongbian practiced Zen, Tubo respected him very much. The Tubo Zamp even ordered him to be promoted to the professor of Buddhism, making him the supreme leader of the Hexi Buddhist community.

During this period, Hong Bian spent all his family wealth to recruit skilled craftsmen to carve the Seven Buddha Hall, which took two years to complete.

These seven Buddha halls became Cave 365 in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang in later generations. During this period, Hong Bian also recruited many monk soldiers under the pretext of protecting the caves.

With the assassination of the Tibetan king, the situation in Hexi gradually became chaotic, and Zhang Huaishen and Hong Bian also began to plan an uprising and return to the Tang Dynasty.

It was not until the second year of the Dazhong period that the two decided to revolt. Hong Bian, with his prestige and status as the highest leader of the Hexi Buddhist community, raised his arms and recruited monks from Guasha and other places to cooperate with Zhang Yichao's army in the crusade against Tubo.

After Zhang Yichao recaptured Shazhou, Hong Bian sent his disciples Wu Zhen and others to accompany him and give him advice.

After Zhang Yichao recaptured Ganzhou and returned to Shazhou, he sent Wuzhen to Chang'an to report the victory.

Now that Wuzhen has returned, it means that the victory report has come to an end, but I don’t know what good news Wuzhen can bring them.

As for Liu Jilian, after listening to the ups and downs of the Wu family, he also understood why the Wu family had no sons holding important positions.

To put it bluntly, Wu Xuzhi was originally an outsider, and it was only because of his identity that the Wu family became a local tyrant.

But no matter what, Wu Xuzhi was an outsider, so there were not many descendants in the Wu family. And since Hong Bian practiced Zen, it was naturally impossible for him to return to secular life.

Since Hong Bian refused to return to secular life, the remaining descendants of the Wu family, without a leader, naturally had to sink in the torrent of history.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but sigh.

He did not think Wu Xuzhi was wrong. After all, he had been defending Hexi for more than ten years and had already made his attitude clear with his actions.

If Suzong had not disobeyed Li Mi, the Anshi Rebellion would have been quelled long ago, and Wu Xuzhi would have been able to wait for the Tang army to come to his aid.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but feel sorry for people like Li Mi and Wu Xuzhi.

He had very few writers under his command, and Cui Shu was one of the few who could be considered outstanding.

But even so, Cui Shu couldn't help him share much of his worries.

If he had someone like Li Mi under him, he would not have been entangled by so many trivial matters.

While sighing, time can't help but pass by little by little.

It is more than 20 miles from Longshou Mountain to Shandan. Although the distance is very close, it has rained after all, so Wuzhen and his friends probably won’t be able to reach Shandan tonight.

Zhang Huaishen exchanged a few words with Liu Jilong, gave him instructions, and then returned to Zhangye in two days before going to rest.

Once Zhang Huaishen left, there was naturally no reason for Suo Xun to stay.

As they all left, the inner hall became deserted again.

Cao Mao was tidying up the teacups on the Eight Immortals Table, and as he did so he said, "Zhechong, when will the inner hall have a hostess?"

"Hmm?" Liu Jilong glanced at the boy and said, "Are you thinking about women?"

"No, I just think it's time for you to find a wife. When my father was your age, I was already three years old."

Cao Mao was talking as he cleaned up, with such skill that he didn't look like a thirteen-year-old boy at all.

Liu Jilong was helpless when he heard this: "Why didn't you say anything when Governor Zhang and Suo Zhechong were here? They haven't married yet either."

"I dare not..." Cao Mao smiled, and Liu Jilong said unhappily: "Do you think your family is easy to bully me?"

"Of course not!" Cao Mao explained hastily, "Zhechong is more approachable, while Governor Zhang and his men are not."

"Haha...just consider it as a compliment."

Liu Jilong responded with a smile while leaning back in his chair, wondering in his heart whether he should find a woman.

After all, he is also a human being, and he has lived two lives as a human being. Naturally, he has tasted meat, and it is normal for him to want to find a woman sometimes.

But given his status, it was unlikely that he would marry an ordinary woman, so he was not in a hurry.

"When you become a Ding, I will find you a marriage partner."

He teased Cao Mao, but Cao Mao just curled his lips in silence and took the teapot and teacups to wash them.

Seeing him leave, Liu Jilong returned to his study to practice calligraphy.

His handwriting isn't very good looking, so naturally he needs to practice more.

Two hours passed like this, and as it got dark, he went to bed early.

The drizzle stopped at night, making it convenient for Wuzhen and others to travel the next day.

When they arrived in Shandan at noon, Zhang Huaishen, Liu Jilong, Suo Xun and other Ganzhou officials were already waiting at the north gate to greet them.

"Governor Zhang..."

"Great virtue."

Wuzhen and Zhang Huaishen knew each other, so they greeted each other when they met.

After standing up, Zhang Huaishen took the initiative to introduce everyone to Wuzhen.

"This is Liu Jilong, the commander of Shandan Zhechong Prefecture. Our army has just returned from an expedition to Liangzhou and recovered Fanhe. Liu Zhechong made great contributions in this battle and captured more than 3,800 armored soldiers. He severely damaged Liangzhou for our army and created an opportunity to advance eastward next year!"

"More than 3,800 armors were obtained?!"

Wuzhen looked at Liu Jilong in disbelief. It was true that he was Hong Bian's disciple, but he was also a monk soldier who could go into battle. Naturally, he knew the significance of having over 3,800 pieces of armor.

You should know that when he left the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty had only obtained 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers in its battle against the Dangxiang, while the army it mobilized was more than ten times that of Ganzhou.

Liu Jilong's military achievements would make him a brilliant general even in the Tang Dynasty.

"Great Virtue..."

Liu Jilong bowed to Wuzhen and also looked him up and down.

Wuzhen had a short beard and was about forty years old. He had a handsome appearance but was not thin.

If Liu Jilian remembered correctly, Wuzhen would be in charge of the Guiyi Army's diplomacy, Buddhist affairs, and other matters for the next half century.

During his life, he experienced the rule of Tubo, Zhang Yichao, Zhang Huaishen, Zhang Huaiding, Li Mingzhen, Zhang Chengfeng and others, and can be regarded as a living fossil within the Guiyi Army.

Of course, the reason why Liu Jilong remembers him is mainly because he left behind many works, and his life is also mentioned in the museum's "Dunhuang Manuscripts".

However, Liu Jilong could not remember exactly when he died. He only remembered that he should have died during the reign of the White-Robed Emperor Zhang Chengfeng.

While he was reminiscing, Zhang Huaishen also introduced the rest of the people to Wuzhen.

As the introduction was over, Zhang Huaishen welcomed Wu Zhen and others to the yamen, where more than ten tables of banquets had already been set up.

More than 80 generals took their seats one after another, but Wu Zhen looked at the round table in front of him in surprise: "These tables and chairs are really novel."

"Haha, they were all made by Liu Zhechong. The dishes that will be cooked later are also made by Liu Zhechong. You can enjoy them."

Hearing this, Wu Zhen couldn't help but look forward to what the stir-fried dishes that Zhang Huaishen praised would taste like.

Soon, dishes were served, including meat and vegetables.

Although since the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, many monks were not allowed to eat even the three pure meats, monks under the rule of Tubo were still able to eat meat.

Wu Zhen didn't hesitate, but ate a few pieces of fried meat with his chopsticks, and a smile appeared on his face: "It is indeed better than ordinary dishes."

"Then you should eat more." Zhang Huaishen gestured with a smile, and then chatted with Wuzhen while eating.

The topic of their conversation was mainly about the situation in the Tang Dynasty, and the others also listened attentively, hoping to hear about the prosperous Chang'an and the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

"Great virtue, isn't Chang'an extremely prosperous?"

"What does a saint look like?"

"By the way, Dade, is there any difference between the people in Guanzhong and us here?"

"Nonsense! There must be a difference!"

"Yes! The people living under the saint's feet must be living a much better life than us."

"Great Master, please tell me quickly, please tell me quickly..."

Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng, Li Ji and others asked questions one after another, while Zhang Huaishen, Li Yizhong and Suo Xun also looked at them expectantly.

Among the people present, except Wu Zhen and the dozen or so men under his command, only Liu Jilong was drinking in silence, while the others had curiosity and excitement in their eyes.

They were eager to hear from Wuzhen about Guanzhong and Chang'an as introduced by Gao Jinda, and they were eager to see the wise king waiting for them to return and serve.

Faced with their desire, Wu Zhen slowly placed the tea in his hand on the table, raised his head and looked at everyone with an indifferent look.

"What I saw on this trip were domineering warriors, soldiers who oppressed the people, corrupt officials who exploited the people, poor people who sold their wives and children, and the indifferent and unknown Supreme..."

(End of this chapter)