Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 123: Scheming
"Qiliben, Shangduo Luo and Xijie are too arrogant. I will call in the troops to deal with them!"

After returning to the government office, Tuoba Huaiguang immediately volunteered to go to the army, but Shang Maibi said with a sullen face:

"Get rid of them? Not to mention whether we can get rid of them completely, just say that after we get rid of them, how can we have the troops to attack Guzhou?"

Hearing this, Tuoba Huaiguang couldn't help but ask, "So just let them do whatever they want?"

"Then what can you do?" Shang Bibi frowned and said:
"Don't forget, we have pacified so many tribes and raised so many soldiers. These people need to eat."

"Although we harvested 130,000 shi of grain this year, this amount of grain will only last until July next year at most."

"If it weren't for Shang Duoluo bringing 30,000 stones to ease the urgent need, we wouldn't even be able to make it to the autumn harvest next year."

"That is why I am sending troops to Kuzhou."

"Shang Duoluo and his men are only about 800 people. Even if they are loyal to Liu Jilong, what can they do?"

"We will attack Guzhou in the spring of next year, and then let them go to Shandan."

After Shang Bibi finished speaking, Tuoba Huaiguang suppressed his temper: "I'm afraid they will never come back."

"If they never come back, then they never come back. If they leave, we won't have to pay back the grain that Liu Jilong borrowed in the past two years!"

Shang Bibi set her sights on Liu Jilian's borrowed grain, and Liu Jilian also set his sights on the elite cavalry he sent out.

Hearing this, Tuoba Huaiguang nodded in agreement: "The situation in Helong is chaotic now. We can take this opportunity to recapture Kuozhou and take over the entire Longyou."

"But the drought is not going away. Even if we take over Longyou, it will be difficult to feed the 100,000 people there."

The 100,000 people he mentioned were the Tibetans entrenched in Longyou.

If the Han people and the Emu people are included, the entire Longyou area has a population of at least 400,000.

"It's easy if there's no food." Shang Bibi said without any worry: "Liu Jilong said before that one Han person can be exchanged for two stone of rice."

"Among the nearly 30,000 people in Guzhou, half are Han Chinese."

"With so many Han people, if Liu Jilong wants them, he will agree even if I sell him three or five stone of rice."

"Just these Han people can exchange for 50,000 to 60,000 dan of grain, which can not only make up for the grain we owed Liu Jilong, but also give us an extra 20,000 dan."

"I attacked Guzhou with this in mind, but now that Shang Duoluo and the others have made such a fuss, I am worried that Liu Jilong will not fulfill his promise."

Shang Bibi showed a hesitant expression, and Tuoba Huaiguang stood up after hearing this: "That won't do!"

"After we take over Guzhou, we can continue to attack Lanzhou, Hezhou and other states. There are more Han people in those places."

"If exchanging food really works, it would be fine even if we leave Shang Duoluo to Liu Jilong."

"If we take over the entire Longxi, we can mobilize at least 20,000 armored soldiers, which is no less than the number of Lun Kongre in the past."

Tuoba Huaiguang was persuaded and immediately bowed to Shang Bibi and said, "Please let Qi Liben decide!"

"This..." Shang Bibi looked embarrassed, and after a moment she said, "Forget it, using them to exchange for the opportunity to fight for Helong is not bad."

"At worst, we can add a hundred or so elite cavalrymen to make up a thousand to give to Liu Jilong."

"Okay!" Tuoba Huaiguang did not hesitate, because Shanzhou today is no longer what it used to be.

In the past few months, through their continuous recruitment of deserters from Longxi and many tribes, the population of Shanzhou has doubled to 40,000.

In addition, there were two thousand elite cavalry and three thousand armored soldiers gathered in the city.

Even if some elite cavalry were added to Shang Duoluo to take back to Shandan, Shanzhou still had 1,000 elite cavalry and 3,000 armored soldiers. It would still be a third-party force in Helong after Shang Yanxin and Lun Kongre.

More importantly, the severe drought in Helong continued. The troops under Shang Yanxin and Lun Kongre were fleeing almost every month and were recruited by Shanzhou.

As long as there is enough food, Shang Bibi can easily win over Shang Yanxin and Lun Kongre's men.

So at the moment, armor and weapons are not important, what is important is food.

"Given the attitude of Shang Duoluo and his men, I'm afraid we won't be able to wait until spring."

"In that case, why not take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Guzhou while Nanshan is still open?"

After all, Shang Bibi was not good at commanding troops, so she tentatively asked Tuoba Huaiguang.

Tuoba Huaiguang thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "We have enough food now. If we can capture Guzhou, we can exchange the Han people of Guzhou for food with Liu Jilong."

"When the time comes, I will personally lead the army to Qilian City to exchange food with Liu Jilong. I don't believe he won't give it to us!"

Tuoba Huaiguang's eyes were burning, and Shang Bibi smiled and said, "Okay! Let's do it!"

"Then I will take my leave!" Upon hearing this, Tuoba Huaiguang stood up, bowed and took his leave. Shang Bibi also happily stood up to see him off.

After Shang Bibi sent Tuoba Huaiguang away, Shang Moyan, who had been watching everything in the corner, came out and looked at Tuoba Huaiguang's back together with Shang Bibi.

"This Tuoba Huaiguang has some military strategy but not enough means. He was willing to give up Shang Duoluo's 800-plus men with just a few words, and also gave Liu Jilong more than 100 people."

Shang Moyan looked at his father after he finished speaking, and Shang Bibi stroked his beard and said, "My father and I are not good enough in military strategy, and we need to be on guard against Shang Duoluo. Now we can only rely on him for military strategy."

"Once we take over Guzhou, we will not only be able to settle accounts with Liu Jilong, but we will also be able to borrow more food from Hexi."

"Borrow first and pay it back later, it won't be difficult to borrow again..."

At this moment, Shang Bibi no longer had the anger she had before, but was extremely calm.

He and his eldest son Shang Moyan walked towards the inner hall, and Shang Moyan couldn't help but praise:

"Father is really smart. He not only appeased Tuoba Huaiguang, but also made him willing to work for us."

"But father, although we can take over Kuzhou by then, Shang Duoluo said that Liu Jilong and his men have already won a great victory in Liangzhou, and they will be able to recapture Liangzhou by the end of next year at the latest."

"If he really recaptures Liangzhou, the next step will probably be to use troops against Longxi. Wouldn't we be in conflict with them by then?"

Shang Moyan inherited Shang Bibi's scheming, so he immediately thought of the situation a few years later.

In response, Shang Bibi looked at him with great satisfaction: "After spending half a year in Ganzhou, you have made a lot of progress."

"But you're right. If we take Longxi as our target, it will be easy to conflict with Liu Jilong..."

"But who told you that my target is Longxi?"

"Uh..." Shang Moyan was stunned: "Didn't you just say that to Tuoba Huaiguang..."

"Mo Yan!" Shang Bibi interrupted him, patted his shoulder and said:
"Remember, no matter what others say, you can't trust them except yourself."

After saying that, he continued to lead Shang Moyan towards the inner hall, and after a dozen breaths, they entered the inner hall and sat down.

Shang Moyan took some Rhododendron tea for him to soak, and only when the tea was placed in front of him did he continue:
"Although Longxi can mobilize 400,000 people, among these 400,000 people, 40% are foreigners, 20% are Umu, and 40% are Han people."

"I'm old, and I might die at any time. After I die, do you think you can control the situation?"

"This..." Shang Moyan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "I'm afraid my son can't."

"That's right!" Shang Bibi nodded.
"Everyone wants this place, but how many people can manage it well?"

"Let alone us, even Zhang Yichao and Tang Ting may not be able to govern this place well."

"Because of this, don't say we can't get it. Even if we can get it, I won't take it."

"If we take this place, we will become the target of public criticism. This is how the fear of heat is defeated."

Shang Bibi saw it clearly, and Shang Moyan was very obedient to the advice: "That's right."

"But you have already promised Tuoba Huaiguang that you will attack Longxi. If we stop, Tuoba Huaiguang will not be satisfied."

Seeing that Shang Moyan had no intention of interfering in Longxi, Shang Bibi continued, "This matter is easy to handle."

"I have heard a lot about Ganzhou from Shang Duoluo, so I predict that after Liu Jilong takes Liangzhou, he will immediately launch an attack on Huizhou and Lanzhou."

"You know the situation of Huizhou and Lanzhou. Huizhou has only more than 20,000 people, and there are only 1,700 to 1,800 soldiers in the city. Lanzhou is even worse than Huizhou."

"If Liu Jilong were to march into Hexi, he would be able to capture these two states within three months, and he would also launch an attack on Hezhou."

"Even if Tuoba Huaiguang wants Longxi again, does he dare to face Liu Jilong's troops?"

"As long as Liu Jilong plays some tricks, Shanzhou's food and grass will be in short supply, and Tuoba Huaiguang will definitely not dare to tear his face with him."

"This way, we can rest assured." After Shang Bibi said this, Shang Moyan finally understood and couldn't help but admired: "Father, you are really smart."

"That's nothing." Shang Bibi took a sip of tea, clicked her tongue twice, and continued:

"If we just use Liu Jilong to intimidate Tuoba Huaiguang, then Tuoba Huaiguang will definitely turn his attention towards us, so we must distract him."

"Don't forget, Luoshui City is in chaos, and the places below are even more chaotic."

"There are dozens of tribes in Qingtang (Qinghai), large and small, with at least 100,000 people."

"Let Tuoba Huaiguang take Qingtang, and then go south to Duomai (Anduo)."

"If he can take Qingtang and Duomai, then we will give Duomai to him, or we will go to Duomai!"

After Shang Bibi finished speaking, Shang Moyan nodded quickly: "It's better to separate from him. This guy is too violent. Apart from people like Liu Jilong, no one else can control him."

"Humph!" Shang Bibi chuckled and said, "Liu Jilong is not a good person either. I have met him several times and I don't think he is someone who would be inferior to others."

"As I expected, he will definitely part ways with Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen in the future."

"How could it be?!" Shang Moyan was still not as experienced as Shang Bibi. He actually did not believe Shang Bibi's analysis.

"Why not?" Shang Bibi looked at him and said, "After all, the Zhang family is the most powerful in Hexi. Even if the Zhang family is gone, the Suo and Li families should take over. How could it be the turn of a person who was born as a herdsman?"

"Although Liu Jilong has an open-minded personality, he is not a good person. He knows that his position in Hexi will be fixed sooner or later."

"If he doesn't want to be under someone else's command for a long time, he needs to go out and start his own business. Even though Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen are reluctant, they dare not quarrel with him."

After Shang Bibi said this, she drank a sip of tea with satisfaction, but Shang Moyan frowned and said:
"This... but without Zhang's support, what else can he do?"

"What?" Shang Bibi frowned and looked at Shang Moyan. She felt that he was a little clever but too naive.

Thinking of this, he put down his teacup and asked Shang Moyan: "Shang Duoluo and others have only been with him for a year, but they dared to gather a crowd to besiege the city. What do you think of Zhang Chang and Ma Cheng, who are under his command?"

"Liu Jilong is already very powerful. If he wants to set up his own faction, he can at least take away 70% of Shandan's troops."

"If we take into account Shang Duoluo's thousand-plus elite cavalry, it would be easy for him to capture a city or a state."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Shang Moyan and said, "Your military strategy is not as good as Tuoba Huaiguang, and your scheming is not enough to restrain him. The best outcome is to guard a piece of border land and befriend Zhang or Liu Jilong."

"They look down on you, but you are law-abiding, which will ensure long-term stability for our Lu family."

"I understand." Shang Moyan has no other advantages, but his greatest advantage is that he can listen to advice.

Seeing that he had no other thoughts, Shang Bibi let him leave with satisfaction.

A few days later, more than 4,000 troops and more than 6,000 civilians from Shanzhou set out for Guzhou under the command of Tuoba Huaiguang and Shang Duoluo.

At the same time, the Helong area was not peaceful.

After the decline of the drought, the Helong area began to fight each other. Many tribes went to rob food when they had no food, and their targets were mostly places that were not affected by the drought.

Yuanzhou, Fengzhou and Xingzhou in the western part of the Tang Dynasty were all looted to varying degrees.

Reports of attacks on the border came in like snowflakes, and the Secretariat was extremely busy.

As the Left Palace Attendant, Zhang Yitan was willing to serve, but everyone in the court opposed him.

Several months passed, and as the Left Palace Attendant, he could only read books and practice calligraphy in the mansion awarded by the court.

Such a life is the dream of many people, but for Zhang Yitan who is determined to serve his country, it is a torture.

Although he was not successful in politics, Li Chen provided Zhang Yitan with a wealthy life.

Zhang Yitan’s mansion covers an area of more than six acres, with three courtyards in front and back.

The front yard is long and horizontal, the main yard is square and wide, the back yard has a round pond and pavilions, and the three yards are surrounded by corridors and houses.

The gate between the front yard and the main yard is called the middle gate. The main gate and the middle gate often have gatehouses, and there are stables on the side of the yard.

According to the Tang Dynasty system, princes, nobles and high-ranking officials above the third rank could open the main gate on the wall of the block themselves instead of going through the block gate.

Therefore, Zhang Yitan’s mansion specially opened the Wutou Gate, which can be entered directly from the main road in the city without passing through the Fangmen Gate.

There are twelve halberds inserted outside the Wutou Gate of the mansion, which is also a rule stipulated by the court.

According to Tang Dynasty laws, high-ranking officials above the third rank and princes and nobles were allowed to line up long spears outside the main gate. The higher the official rank, the more spears there were, ranging from ten to sixteen, and there were also flags tied to the tops of the spears.

Li Chen rewarded Zhang Yitan with a three-courtyard mansion of more than six acres, and also allowed him to open the Wutou Gate and insert twelve long spears.

For him, this kind of wealth and prosperity was indeed a good life that he had never experienced in the past fifty years.

However, he had no relatives in Chang'an and was unable to realize his ambitions. He could only stay in his study every day, drinking tea and reading books, and occasionally learn about current affairs from some minor officials who came to visit him.

Although the imperial court had no intention of recovering Helong, the story of the Hexi Righteous Brigade still inspired many young officials. Even the vassal states in Heshuo and Lianghuai could not help but act more cautiously when they learned that Hexi had been returned.

After all, recovering Hexi was something that neither Emperor Xianzong nor Emperor Wuzong had managed to do.

Now that Hexi has surrendered, many vassal states feel that the imperial court has been revived and have become more low-key in their actions.

Such a result made Li Chen very satisfied, but Zhang Yitan could only shake his head silently.

"Mr. Zhang, I heard that the Supreme Master ordered the Ministry of Shrines to inspect the number of temples and monks and nuns in the world. What do you think the number is?"

An official in a light crimson robe was chatting with Zhang Yitan about current affairs in the study. He was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, with a handsome appearance and a strong body, unlike the frail officials like ordinary officials.

Seeing him speak, Zhang Yitan was curious: "I wonder how many there are?"

"There are 4,600 temples, 40,000 monasteries, and 265,000 monks and nuns!" The official waved his hands and reported a shocking number.

Although Hexi people revere monks, Zhang Yitan was stunned after hearing this: "The world's population is only over 20 million, and monks and nuns alone account for one-third of that. This is too much..."

Hearing this, the official also said, "In the past, the late emperor was going to order these people to return to secular life, but after His Majesty ascended the throne, he abolished the old policy. Now no official in the court dares to speak out, so you, Lord Zhang, please don't submit a petition."

"I know." Zhang Yitan sighed in his heart, and then said:
"These days, I have submitted thirteen memorials to the court, requesting that the court march west to recover the lost territory, but there has been no response."

"I heard that Qianli, you have made great contributions in pacifying the Tanguts and will soon be promoted by the Supreme. If you are interested, can you ask the Supreme for me?"

Upon hearing this, the official called Qianli smiled and said, "Qianli will certainly do what Mr. Zhang asks!"

After saying this, he stood up and bowed to Zhang Yitan: "I have bothered you for a long time today. I will bother you again tomorrow."

"I'll see you off." Zhang Yitan stood up and sent the man out of the Wutou Gate. After seeing him leave on horseback, he slowly returned to the study.

But soon after he returned to his study, the official took a detour to another mansion.

As he dismounted from his horse, two servants hurried forward to lead the horse for him.

This mansion covers a vast area and is prosperous inside. It is far more noble than Zhang Yitan’s mansion.

After several detours, this person was taken to the main hall, where a pale-faced eunuch sat high up.

Although he changed into casual clothes, the fact that he was fifty years old and had no beard was enough to reveal his identity.

"Lieutenant, I've already returned from Attendant Zhang's place."

The official bowed and the eunuch slowly asked, "How is it?"

Upon hearing this, the official responded, "Empress Zhang did not criticize the court, and he had a thorough understanding of the situation in Helong and told me everything."

"From what I have seen, he is consistent in his words and deeds, and it is unlikely that he has any dissatisfaction with the court."

He finished speaking, but the man at the position did not respond immediately.

After a while, the man slowly said: "You have made great contributions this time. I will report to the Supreme and commend you for your achievements."

"Thank you for your recommendation, Lieutenant!" The official bowed and saluted. Before he could stand up, the eunuch waved his hand and said:
"Okay, go down and have a good rest. The Tanguts still need you to deter them."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

After he left, the eunuch also looked at the people next to him and said, "Yang Xuanjia, go to the palace and tell the Supreme Master about Gao Pian's matter."

"I obey your order." A thirty-year-old eunuch came out and bowed, then followed the order and went to the Daming Palace.

(End of this chapter)