Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 140 Parting ways
"Did you hear that?"

"what?"

"I heard that the governor will not come back after going south to Longxi this time."

"No way?"

"Why not? You know, the newly recruited soldiers in the East City Military Camp are the future soldiers of the governor."

"What about us?!"

"I don't know, maybe he's going back to Shandan."

"what?!"

At the beginning of May, nearly half a month had passed since the recapture of Changsong, but during this half month, the Eastern Expedition Army was not very peaceful.

The news that Liu Jilong was about to leave began to spread in the army and became more and more intense.

Faced with such rumors, the generals did nothing to stop them and allowed them to spread.

Even the most obtuse soldiers realized that this was not a rumor, but perhaps the truth.

"We want to see the governor!"

"Yes! We want to see the governor!!"

"Stop! Are you going to charge the camp?!"

Outside Changsong City, hundreds of soldiers in military uniforms gathered at the gate of East Camp. They collectively blocked the gate of East Camp, clamoring to see Liu Jilong.

The soldiers guarding the camp were elite cavalry from Shanzhou. They were very familiar with these soldiers and therefore were too embarrassed to stop them. They could only form a human wall to keep them outside the camp gate.

Even so, they couldn't stop retreating.

“What are you doing!!”

Suddenly, a scolding voice came from the camp. All the soldiers looked up and saw Zhang Chang facing them with a dark face, looking very angry.

"General Zhang! Tell me, is the governor going to abandon us and go to Longxi?"

"Yes! General Zhang, you tell us what to do. We will listen to you!"

The soldiers questioned Zhang Chang at once, but Zhang Chang hesitated and didn't know where to start.

"I'm going to Longxi!!"

When Zhang Chang didn't know how to explain, a familiar voice came from behind him.

He turned around suddenly and saw Liu Jilian wearing simple military uniform, walking towards him step by step, followed by Shang Duoluo, Ma Cheng, Li Ji and others.

"The governor!"

"Is what you said true, Governor?!"

"Governor, what about us? Should we go to Longxi or where else?!"

When they saw Liu Jilian show up, the Shandan soldiers couldn't help but question him, their tones were so aggrieved, just like abandoned children.

Facing them, Liu Jilong felt heavy-hearted, but he had to tell them the truth.

He looked past Zhang Chang and signaled to Shang Duoluo, who also quickly ordered: "Retreat!"

As he spoke, the Shanzhou soldiers who formed a human wall quickly retreated to both sides of the camp gate, leaving room for Liu Jilian and the Shandan soldiers to talk.

The Shandan soldiers did not move forward, but just looked at Liu Jilong, waiting for his response.

"After I go to Longxi, I'm afraid I won't be returning to Hexi in the short term. I've asked where you're going... Stay in Guzang!"

"How can that be done?!"

"Yes, what would we do without you?"

"Governor, please don't leave!"

"Provincial Governor..."

Liu Jilong's response was like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart, but their answers also hit Liu Jilong's heart like a heavy hammer.

Most of the hundreds of people in front of him were brothers who had marched east with him from Guazhou three years ago.

After three years of getting along with each other, how could he bear to let them go?

But the problem was that most of these soldiers were from Guasha, and only less than 300 of them were Shandan soldiers who were added after subsequent battles.

They have their own families and properties. How can Liu Jilong be sure that they will abandon everything they have now and go to Longxi with him?
Precisely because he was unsure, he asked Zhang Huaishen to recruit lone soldiers in Changsong.

He required that new recruits must be alone, and the reason was simple: he did not want the new recruits to be "burdened" by their families.

Of course, Liu Jilong also thought that the Shandan soldiers might abandon everything and follow him, so he came out now.

But the soldiers' words were like cold water that extinguished him.

What they hope is that they don't leave, but they are bound to leave.

"Longxi, I must go!"

His voice was dull, and the Shandan soldiers in front of him were instantly speechless after he said this.

"Wang Ben, you and I are from the same hometown, right? I remember you have parents and brothers. Do you dare to abandon them and go with me?"

"Or, do you want to bring your parents and brothers to Liangzhou, and take them with me to Longxi?"

"And you, Zhao Hui, are you also going to follow me from Suzhou to Longxi with your wife and children?"

"Jiukezhuang, Zheng Huai, Hu Sijing, Zhang Yue, Liu Rende... Are you also going to bring your families and follow me to Longxi from Guasha Gansu?!"

Liu Jilian read out the names of the soldiers he knew and asked them whether they were willing to bring their families with him to Longxi.

Faced with Liu Jilong's questioning, they, who had originally felt aggrieved, now became timid.

Yes, after Liu Jilong’s questioning, they remembered that they also have families.

Even from the nearest Shandan to Lanzhou, the distance is 700 miles away, not to mention the soldiers from Suzhou, Shazhou and Guazhou.

The distance between their hometown and Longxi is equal to the distance between Longxi and Luoyang.

Such a long distance would take more than a month even by car, and no one could guarantee safety along the way, not to mention having to sell all the property.

Dragging one's family to go to a foreign land, not to mention in this era, even in later generations with such developed transportation, few people are willing to leave their hometown.

It was for this reason that Liu Jilong did not make any demands on the Shandan Army.

They were the soldiers who stayed in Shandan to guard the border after Zhang Yichao's Eastern Expedition ended. Now that the war is over, it is time to enjoy peace.

"I'm alone!!"

Suddenly, a soldier in his early twenties squeezed out from the crowd and shouted to Liu Jilong: "Governor! I am alone!"

"And I!"

"Me too!"

Soldiers squeezed out of the crowd one after another. They were all orphans without any family. They didn't care where to go. As long as they followed Liu Jilong, they would go anywhere.

Seeing them coming out one after another, Zhang Chang's eyes showed reluctance, and he couldn't help but walk up to Liu Jilong and said, "Governor, it's okay for brothers with families, but these brothers are all alone, and the Jiedushi will also understand!"

"Provincial Governor, take us with you!"

"Yes, Governor!!"

Seeing Zhang Chang speaking for them, these lonely soldiers began to speak up.
Facing them, Liu Jilong took a deep breath and said, "I will go to find the Jiedushi. If it succeeds, the brothers who are willing to go with me can come to the East Camp for training!"

"Yes!!" The soldiers responded loudly, almost using up all their strength.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t moved by such a scene.

"Go get the horse. I'm going to the city to find the governor."

"Yes!"

Liu Jilong gave instructions to Zhang Chang, and Zhang Chang took Hu Siguang and others and quickly brought a horse for Liu Jilong. They also led their own horses, obviously wanting to go with Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong did not stop them, but mounted his horse and led them to Changsong.

A distance of five or six miles only takes them a quarter of an hour.

As they rode their horses into the city, the situation inside Changsong City came into view.

Spring planting has ended, and the people in Changsong City are repairing their own yards in accordance with the government's policy.

When they saw Liu Jilong and his friends, many children trotted after them, their laughter like sunshine, dispelling the gloom of the past.

The streets became clean and many houses were empty because Zhang Huaishen had been migrating foreign generals, soldiers and their families to Changsong and Fanhe for the past half month.

Soon, they stopped their horses in front of Changsong Yamen, dismounted and walked into the Yamen.

Crossing the courtyard, they saw Zhang Huaishen discussing matters with Li Yizhong, Suo Xun and others in the main hall.

What was surprising was that Chen Jingchong and Jiu Juyan also appeared in the yamen.

"The governor!"

Seeing Liu Jilong, Chen Jingchong stood up quickly, with a smile on his face. Jiu Juyan also followed Chen Jingchong and bowed to Liu Jilong respectfully.

"Jiedushi..."

Liu Jilian, along with Zhang Chang, Huke Siguang, Ma Cheng and Li Ji, walked into the main hall and bowed to Zhang Huaishen, who held a high position.

Seeing that they came in a hurry, Zhang Huaishen frowned slightly: "You have been training in the East Camp for a while, and now you suddenly come here, I guess you are not here to reminisce with me... Tell me, what's the matter?"

Zhang Huaishen came straight to the point, causing Zhang Chang and the other three to look at each other in bewilderment. However, Liu Jilong said in a deep voice: "The brothers in the Shandan army learned that I am going to Longxi, and some of the lone brothers want to go with me. Please help me..."

"Liu Jilong, you're going too far!"

Before Zhang Huaishen could speak, Suo Xun couldn't help but stand up.

He frowned and said unkindly: "There are only more than 5,000 Han people in Changsong City. You have already recruited more than 800 people, and now you want to take away the soldiers from Shandan..."

"Don't forget, the soldiers of Shandan are the veterans left behind by the Jiedushi during his Eastern Expedition. They are not your newly recruited soldiers, and certainly not your private property!"

What Suo Xun said was all based on facts. The Shandan Army had 1,200 veteran soldiers and 3,000 new soldiers. Among them, 50% of the veteran soldiers had followed Zhang Yichao since the Shazhou Uprising.

Thirty percent of the remaining fifty percent were recruited by Zhang Yichao in Guazhou during his eastern expedition, and Liu Jilian also joined the rebel army at that time.

Later, Zhang Yichao made a second expedition to the east, recovered Gan and Su states, and finally stopped in Shandan, leaving the Third Regiment and the other four regiments in Shandan, forming the foundation of the Shandan Army.

It can be said that the Shandan Army was originally composed of old soldiers under Zhang Yichao. This can be seen from the names of several captains in the city when Zhang Huairong took office as Shandan.

Zhang Huaijian, Zhang Huaiman, Zhang Huaiyi and two captains named Suo commanded the five regiments of the Shandan Army at that time. Although Liu Jilian was a special general at that time, he was only familiar with the third regiment and was far from being considered his army.

However, as more and more people died in the Battle of Qilian City, the Battle of Zhangye, and the three eastern expeditions, the Shandan Army was constantly recruited, which led to the expansion of the army to twenty regiments.

Even so, fifteen of the regiments were newly recruited soldiers half a year ago, and 70% of the old soldiers were soldiers left behind by Zhang Yichao's Eastern Expedition, and only 30% were soldiers recruited by Liu Jilian.

Suo Xun said this simply because he didn't want Liu Jilian to take the army away.

After all, he said today that he would take the lone person away, but who knows if he will lead the entire Shandan army south tomorrow?
Even though the families of the Shandan Army were in Gua, Sha, Gan, Su and other states, Suo Xun was still worried.

"okay……"

Zhang Huaishen spoke in a deep voice, and Suo Xun looked at him with a frown, puzzled.

Faced with his confusion, Zhang Huaishen chose to ignore it, because he knew that Liu Jilian could not take the Shandan Army away.

The situation in Longxi is complicated. Even though Liu Jilian has a very high prestige in the Shandan Army, most of the Shandan Army members are family-oriented. How many of them are willing to give up everything they have and follow Liu Jilian to Longxi?
"I'll give you three days to report these people, but you have to leave the armor behind."

Zhang Huaishen still chose to let Liu Jilong take away the lone soldiers in the Shandan army, but he did not let Liu Jilong take them away with their armor. After all, he had already given Liu Jilong more than 2,000 sets of armor and tens of thousands of stones of grain.

"Thank you, Jiedushi!"

"Thank you, Jiedushi..."

Liu Jilong bowed in gratitude, and Zhang Chang and others also bowed, expressing their great gratitude.

"Three days later, Li Yizhong will lead two thousand Zhangye armored soldiers to follow you south to recapture Lanzhou. Be well prepared."

Zhang Huaishen's eyes were complicated. Liu Jilong nodded after hearing this and said, "I will take my leave!"

After saying this, he led Zhang Chang and the others out of the government office. After they left, Suo Xun immediately bowed to Zhang Huaishen and said,

"Jiedushi, once Dunhuang knows what you have done, they will definitely impeach you. You have already given Liu Jilong enough help!"

There was a hint of anger in his tone. After all, compared to Liu Jilong, what he got was nothing.

Not only did Zhang Huaishen transfer more than 2,000 sets of armor from Changsong to Liu Jilong, he also transferred tens of thousands of stones to the East Camp, and asked Li Yizhong to lead 2,000 Zhangye troops to help him attack Lanzhou.

On the other hand, the Huizhou Army of the future is nowhere to be seen, and there is not even a set of armor.

Although Zhang Huaishen promised him that he would personally lead troops to recapture Huizhou, leave the Huizhou armor there, and provide him with food and fodder to form the Huizhou Ulan and Huining armies.

But compared with Liu Jilong, all he could get were promises but no reality.

But he also forgot that Liu Jilian made the greatest contribution to the army's recapture of Liangzhou, far surpassing anyone else.

"Don't forget why the army was able to recapture Liangzhou!"

Zhang Huaishen's impatient voice came, which made Suo Xun's face freeze.

“I hope you won’t regret it!”

He snorted coldly and walked away.

Zhang Huaishen shook his head as he watched him leave, and Li Yizhong also said, "This Suo Xun is reckless and impulsive, and he won't obey anyone. I think he will definitely cause trouble in the future."

"No problem." Zhang Huaishen shook his head and said, "After we recover Huizhou, our army will have two official roads to Guanzhong."

"In addition, Huizhou is adjacent to Lingzhou, Beiwuzhou, and Yuanzhou under the jurisdiction of Guannai Province. With the support of the imperial court, I think nothing will happen."

"After you and Liu Jilong went to Lanzhou, although you stayed in Guangwu and didn't have to face Shang Yanxin directly, the two states of Shankuo in the southwest of Guangwu were all under the control of Shang Bibi."

"Although Shang Bibi has a close relationship with our army, I heard that he and his subordinate Tuoba Huaiguang shared the two states of Shankou. We still need to be careful of Tuoba Huaiguang in Shanzhou."

"Don't worry, Jiedushi." Li Yizhong bowed and saluted, not taking Tuoba Huaiguang seriously.

It’s not that he has outstanding abilities, but he lives close to Liu Jilong, so if anything happens, he can also ask Liu Jilong for help.

Zhang Huaishen also saw his thoughts, so he murmured: "As for Liu Jilong, it is best not to trouble him."

"Uh..." Li Yizhong was speechless after hearing this. It was obvious that Zhang Huaishen's words disrupted his plans.

However, since he had not yet obtained the post of Lanzhou governor, he could not turn against Zhang Huaishen, so he could only nod and say, "I understand."

Seeing that Zhang Huaishen did not give any instructions, Li Yizhong retreated uncomfortably.

After they left, Zhang Huaishen turned his attention to Jiu Juyan and Chen Jingchong.

Jiu Juyan remained silent, but Chen Jingchong seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"You are my seniors, but if you want to follow Liu Jilong, I won't stop you."

Zhang Huaishen spoke slowly, which made Jiu Juyan's face darken. Chen Jingchong bowed and said, "Jiedushi, you have been very kind to me, but..."

"Go and pack up, no more talking." Zhang Huaishen interrupted him. Seeing this, Chen Jingchong knelt down, kowtowed three times to Zhang Huaishen, then stood up and left.

After Chen Jingchong left, Zhang Huaishen turned his gaze to Jiu Juyan: "If you want to go, go ahead."

"No... I grew up eating Zhang's food. Governor Liu has been kind to me, but he doesn't need me."

Jiu Juyan shook his head and refused, and said sadly: "Even without me, it would be very easy for Governor Liu to recover the three states of Helin and Wei."

"Hehe...are you saying I can't live without you?" Zhang Huaishen chuckled, with a hint of coldness in his tone.

“No…” Jiu Juyan shook his head and said, “The enemies on Governor Liu’s side can be killed, so it’s not a problem, but the enemies on your side cannot be killed, so that’s a problem.”

"If I leave, how will my parents and brothers view me..."

Seeing him say this, Zhang Huaishen sighed: "Go down and rest."

"Yes!" Jiu Juyan turned and left, looking lonely.

When he walked out of the yamen, Chen Jingchong, who had left earlier, walked out.

His face was originally full of joy, but after seeing Jiu Juyan's expression, he could no longer smile.

"You're not leaving?" His voice was a little surprised, and Jiu Juyan shook his head: "Someone has to stay."

"I'm not like you. You have no one to worry about except a married little sister. But I can't do that."

"My family is in Dunhuang. It's easier said than done to take them to Lanzhou."

After that, he reached out his hand and patted Chen Jingchong on the shoulder: "Don't worry, go with the governor. I will take care of Dunhuang. I won't be wronged."

"Old wine..." Chen Jingchong didn't know what to say, so he could only take a deep breath and said, "Come to my place tonight, and we won't leave until we're drunk."

"Okay!" Jiu Juyan nodded with a smile, which contained a hint of bitterness.

Soon, the two men rode to the West Camp where the Ganzhou and Liangzhou armies were stationed at the west gate.

Shortly after they returned, noise was heard from the direction of the Ganzhou military camp.

They walked out of the tents and saw many soldiers shuttling back and forth between the tents, saying that Liu Jilian was going to Longxi and that the Shandan army might be stationed in Liangzhou.

Liu Jilong had already announced that any lone soldier could go to the East Camp to join the army. This made many Shandan soldiers who were slow to realize the situation happy, but then they became depressed again.

Many of them already had families, and their official and permanent lands had already been distributed and settled.

If one wants to follow Liu Jilian to Longxi, there is a high possibility that the official land will be taken back, and although the permanent land can be retained, how many people are willing to bring their families to Longxi?

Now that the war has been won and Huizhou has been recaptured, they can return home for a short time to reunite with their families and enjoy peace.

One is the soon-to-be stable life in Hexi, and the other is the uncertain future in Longxi. Faced with the two choices, many Shandan soldiers fell silent for a rare moment.

Except for a few lone soldiers who were packing their luggage, most people were hiding in their tents, fearing that they would not be able to bear the ruthlessness and leave on impulse.

Looking at the situation in the camp, Jiu Juyan and Chen Jingchong felt very uncomfortable.

The "Shandan Camp" that was built with great difficulty is now falling apart.

I wonder if people still remember their deeds after a few years...

(End of this chapter)