Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 151 Divide the Big into the Small
"As Lord Wang said, the matter in Hexi is just as I want to know. What do you think?"

In the afternoon, in the Purple Palace...

As Linghu Tao, Pei Xiu, Cui Xuan and other high-ranking officials from the three provinces and six ministries entered the palace, Li Chen also asked Wang Zongshi to tell the news of the great victory in Hexi to the ministers, and also told them about Zhang Yichao's attempt to ask for the title of Hexi Jiedushi.

Faced with so much news, Linghu Tao and others frowned, secretly thinking about whether the thing was feasible.

Pei Xiu was still reforming the grain transport, salt, iron and tea laws, so he was naturally aware of the state of the national treasury. Therefore, after thinking for a moment, he bowed first and said:

"Your Majesty, the Tangut problem has not been resolved yet, and Wang Zhihong, the governor of Guozhou, has arbitrarily attacked and killed the hungry people in Jishan, causing unrest in Sanchuan."

"In addition, Hedong Jiedushi Li Ye allowed his officials and people to invade and plunder the barbarians and arbitrarily killed those who surrendered, causing unrest in the north."

"These three issues are still weighing on the court, and the national treasury is still not full. However, Zhang Yichao, the governor of the Guiyi Army, has always been respectful to the court. This time, the recovery of the three states of Helong is a great achievement, so we should not be too upset."

Pei Xiu saw clearly that since Zhang Yichao had sent Zhang Yitan to the court as a hostage, he certainly did not want to come into conflict with the court.

Now that he has made great contributions, he is willing to ask for military prefecture by petitioning for it, which makes him considered as one of the most respectful to the imperial court among the vassal states.

If he was not rewarded for his merits, not to mention that the court would not be able to refute Zhang Yichao on the basis of righteousness, if Zhang Yichao rebelled, the court would not be able to withdraw troops to resist the rebellion of the Guiyi Army while pacifying the Dangxiang.

The Hexi Jiedushi's banner and staff cannot be awarded easily, but the contributions of the Guiyi Army are obvious, and it would be unreasonable not to reward them.

"Your Majesty, how about appointing Zhang Yichao as the acting Minister of Works, granting him a purple robe, a goldfish bag, and a fief of 500 households?"

Wang Zongshi couldn't help but speak, but the reward he mentioned was really shabby.

Although Sikong, Taiwei and Situ were collectively known as the Three Dukes and could participate in the discussion of state affairs, it was actually a nominal position that was either an additional official title or a gift.

As for the purple robe and goldfish bag, they were even less meaningful. Zhang Yichao's merits were enough to wear the purple robe and the goldfish bag, and a fief of 500 yuan was nothing.

If word of this reward were to spread back to Hexi, wouldn't those "arrogant and fierce generals" just start a rebellion?
"If this reward were to be spread, it would be detrimental to the Supreme Saint's wisdom..."

Pei Xiu glanced at Wang Zongshi, which made Wang Zongshi feel dissatisfied: "Then according to Prime Minister Pei's opinion, what should we do?"

"Your Majesty..." Pei Xiu continued, "I think that Zhang Yichao can be appointed as the governor of Hexi, but the scope of his control should be limited to the five states of Guasha, Yisu and Xi."

"Among the Guiyi Army, Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilong are Zhang Yichao's right-hand men. According to Zhang Yichao's request, we can promote Zhang Huaishen to be the Defense Commissioner of Hexi."

"Liu Jilong was promoted to the post of military governor of Longxi Army and governor of the three prefectures of He, Lin and Wei."

When Pei Xiu said this, all the ministers frowned, because this basically met Zhang Yichao's request.

"Prime Minister Pei..." Cui Xuan couldn't help but interrupt:
"Zhang Huaishen is the nephew of Zhang Yichao. What's the difference between appointing him as the defense envoy of Hexi and handing Hexi over to Zhang Yichao?"

"Don't worry, Prime Minister Cui." Pei Xiu spoke to comfort him first, and then said:
"You can promote Suo Xun to be the military governor of Huining Army and the governor of Liangzhou."

"Li Yizhong was promoted to the post of Governor of Lanzhou and Observation Envoy of Liangzhou."

"Promote Fengjiu Juyan as the governor of Huizhou, and Li Wei as the governor of Ganzhou..."

With just a few words, Pei Xiu completely disrupted the situation east of Ganzhou.

Although Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun, Liu Jilian, Jiu Juyan, Li Yizhong, Li Wei and others each held the official positions originally listed in the "petition", the provincial governors or inspectors of the state were instead held by others.

Although it seems to have little effect, if the court sends Suo Xun to Liangzhou to work and sends Jiu Juyan to Huizhou to govern, the military and political situation will be in chaos, which will then cause conflicts among these people.

"Divide the big ones into small ones, so that they can be controlled more easily... Prime Minister Pei's methods are truly superb."

Cui Xuan nodded in approval, and Wang Zongshi also showed a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Prime Minister Pei's method is very good, but some details still need to be changed..."

Suddenly, Linghu Tao, who had been silent for a long time, said slowly: "How about Suo Xun serving as the governor of Huining Army and the governor of Lanzhou?"

"The court can appoint another official as the governor of Liangzhou, draw troops from Shandong, and set up the Chishui Army in Liangzhou, and let this person serve as the governor."

Linghu Tao played a trick of cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron, and Cui Xuan nodded in agreement after hearing this:
"You can send General Zhang Zhifang of the Jinwu Army to Liangzhou with 3,000 soldiers from the Yunzhou Tianping Army, station the Chishui Army in Guzang, and promote Zhang Zhifang to the post of Governor of Liangzhou and Jiedushi of the Chishui Army."

"Not only that." Linghu Tao continued:
"The imperial court can support the Hu tribes such as the Uygurs and the Uighurs to restrain Hexi."

As soon as this was said, officials from the three provinces and six ministries nodded in agreement, and Hexi was thus torn into pieces by them.

Li Chen was naturally very satisfied with this. After all, he just wanted the situation in Hexi to remain stable and restrict Zhang Yichao from further expanding his power.

But no matter how satisfied he was, he still had to pretend.

So when the ministers turned their eyes to him, he immediately frowned to show his resistance:
"With such behavior, where does this leave the generals of the Hexi Righteous Brigade?"

"Your Majesty, the court is also helpless." Wang Zongshi jumped out and bowed:

"Although Zhang Yichao is loyal, there is no guarantee that others may harbor evil intentions."

"Now Hexi has tens of thousands of soldiers and a population of one million. If someone intends to cause chaos, Ling, Yuan, and Qin will have to station more troops."

"The national treasury is empty now, and the military expenditure is like a mountain of pressure. If we continue to station more troops, I'm afraid the court won't even be able to pay the salaries of the officials..."

After the An-Shi Rebellion, Tang's military expenditure did increase day by day, and military reductions could easily cause unrest, so the proportion of military expenditure rose sharply. For every ten strings of cash in annual income, eight strings of cash would be spent on military expenditure.

Wang Zongshi exaggerated the strength of Hexi, but it is an indisputable fact that Hexi borders the imperial court to the east, and in order to guard against Hexi, the imperial court had to increase its troops stationed in the three states of Guanxi.

Because of this, after Wang Zongshi said this, Li Chen stopped refuting and just sighed:

"This is my fault. I hope Mr. Zhang will not blame me..."

As soon as this was said, the ministers decided on the strategy of "dividing the big into small" with respect to Hexi.

"Your Majesty the Holy Ming..."

All the ministers praised the emperor's wisdom, and Li Chen kept sighing to show his pity for the fate of the Guiyi Army.

Seeing that he agreed, the ministers bowed and left the hall one after another, and Wang Zongshi also returned to his residence afterwards.

At night, before Zhang Yitan could report the great victory in Hexi to the court, the imperial edict from the palace was delivered to his door.

After bathing, changing clothes and preparing the incense table, Zhang Yitan dressed in his official robes to welcome the angel.

"My disciples, I heard that the governor of the Yi army has returned..."

In the courtyard of the mansion, when Zhang Yitan knelt in front of the cushion to receive the imperial edict, the angel who delivered the edict slowly read out the contents of the imperial edict.

Just the opening chapter was enough to make Zhang Yitan feel disappointed.

He knew that Gao Pian was one of the people sent by the court to monitor him, but he did not expect the court to react so strongly to this matter.

The imperial edict was delivered at night, which was obviously because the emperor did not want him to make a scene in the court.

"Zhang Yichao was appointed as the governor of Hexi, controlling the five states of Gua, Sha, Yi, Su, and Xi. The governors of the eleven states were demoted to governors of the five states. He was also granted the title of Earl of Dunhuang County, the title of Inspector of Sikong, and was given a purple robe, a goldfish bag, and a fief of 700 households."

"Zhang Yitan, the Left Imperial Attendant, was granted the title of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, a male of Shouchang County, and a fief of 300 households."

"Promote Zhang Huaishen as the Hexi Defense Envoy, grant him the title of Marquis of Jialin County, Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor, and Inspector of the Left Cavalry Attendant, with a fief of 500 households."

"Liu Jilong was promoted to the military governor of Longxi Army, and was granted the title of male of Changle County, with a fief of 300 households, and the title of defense commander of the three states of He, Lin, and Wei."

"Promote Suo Xun..."

"The decree is as on the right. Please obey it and implement it. Be careful!"

The angel sang the contents of the imperial edict, and then handed it to Zhang Yitan with a smile.

That smiling face looked extremely eerie in the firelight in the dark night, and Zhang Yitan also forgot how he took the imperial edict and sent the angel away.

All he knew was that when he came to his senses, he was already sitting in the main seat in the main hall, and Wang Jingzhi was standing in front of him with a grim look on his face.

“Are you trying to split us up…?”

Wang Jingzhi suppressed his anger, and Zhang Yitan also looked down at the imperial edict on the table next to him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

The imperial edict did not mention the appointment of Zhang Zhifang as the governor of Liangzhou and the military governor of Chishui Army, so Zhang Yitan did not know that the contents of the imperial edict were not all the means the court had to deal with them.

Even so, what he knew was enough to cause a stir in Hexi.

The post of Hexi Jiedushi was obtained, but it was obtained in exchange for the division of Hexi.

Under the arrangement of the imperial court, each state had a governor and a remote inspector or military governor.

The separation of military and political power, a measure conducive to stability, was applied to the Hexi states.

Stability is good, but what Hexi needs is power.

The situation created by the court's means could only be suppressed by Zhang Yichao, but this suppression was not justified.

The imperial court had restricted the authority of the Hexi Jiedushi to five states, including Guashayisuxi, among which the Western state was still under the control of the Uighurs.

Although Zhang Huaishen was appointed as the Defense Commissioner of Hexi, he was not the Governor of Ganzhou or Liangzhou, so he could only manage the military but not the government.

Liu Jilong was given the position of Jiedushi of Longxi Army, but he lost the position of Guanchaoshi of Lanzhou, which meant that his rule in Lanzhou was not legitimate.

These methods may not produce any signs of success in a short period of time, but over time, people's hearts will become restless and chaos will occur...

Zhang Yitan stood up, picked up the imperial edict again with trembling hands and opened it, trying to find something different in it.

However, the imperial edict remained the same, exactly the same as what had just been read out.

For a moment, Zhang Yitan was filled with grief. He held the imperial edict with trembling hands and cried:
"We have been in the military for decades, and the uprising has lasted for more than four years. Who are we fighting for? For whom?!"

He was about to tear up the imperial edict, but Wang Jingzhi stepped forward to stop him: "No, Chang Shi!"

He snatched the imperial edict from Zhang Yitan, but he was also heartbroken.

They fought desperately to return to the east, and now they have finally opened up an official road, but what they face is countless suspicions from the court.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yitan's body began to stagger.

There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. He finally understood what this sentence meant.

In the blink of an eye, he seemed to have aged a dozen years and staggered towards the inner hall.

"Attendant, this imperial edict..."

Wang Jingzhi wanted him to make a decision as to whether to send the imperial edict back to Dunhuang.

But Zhang Yitan did not respond to him and staggered out of his sight.

In the next few days, Zhang Yitan closed the door and refused visitors. No matter who came to see him, he refused on the grounds of illness.

Even though doing so would arouse suspicion from the Southern Court and the Northern Court, he still did it because he was too tired at the moment and did not want to face these false pretenses anymore.

Not long after, Wang Jingzhi left Chang'an with the imperial edict.

Neither he nor Zhang Yitan could make the decision on this matter. They could only return to Dunhuang and let Zhang Yichao decide whether to announce the imperial edict.

At the same time, Chang'an also sent some envoys to Hexi, but not to Dunhuang, but to the south of the desert to find the Uighurs, Umu and other tribes, preparing to support them and restrain Hexi.

The people in Hexi were still unaware of this, and Liu Jilong, who was far away in Lanzhou, had no idea that he was also implicated.

At this moment, he is immersed in the harvest in autumn...

"Be careful not to cut your hands!"

"Susu..."

In mid-August, because Lanzhou is closer to the south and the weather is warmer, the massive autumn harvest had already begun here while many places in Hexi were still waiting for the autumn harvest.

Golden waves of wheat are rolling in the fields, and in the distance there are hemp, beans, vegetables, and some late-planted millet and wheat still in the fields waiting to be harvested next month.

"Where's the carriage? Come and collect the wheat!"

Among the wheat fields, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians from Wuquan held sickles in their hands, bent over and worked hard in the fields. Their movements were skillful and quick. The sickles danced in their hands, and accompanied by the sound of "crackling", heavy ears of wheat fell down.

Sweat soaked their collars, but it couldn't hide the joy on their faces.

Except for a small number of soldiers from Hexi, most of the soldiers and civilians in Shandan were residents of Wuquan and family members of the soldiers from Shanzhou.

In their previous lives, it was normal for them to be hungry and cold, because half of the grain and livestock they harvested had to be handed over to the nobles.

But since Liu Jilian came to Wuquan, the amount of food supply set by Liu Jilian allowed them to have enough food and drink every day, which also made them regain confidence in life.

The people, who were once numb, couldn't help but pick up the wheat and look at it carefully after harvesting it, with smiles on their faces.

"Do you think what the governor said is true?"

"It must be true. The food supply for the past three months has not been cut corners. If you say anything bad about the governor again, I will beat you to death!"

"I mean new clothes. Didn't the governor say that we should get winter clothes in winter and summer clothes in spring?"

"I've said it's true. Why would the governor lie to a jerk like you?!"

"hey-hey……"

While working in the fields, the people of Wuquan were smiling happily, and from time to time they looked at the hemp fields in the distance.

In about a month, they will be able to harvest the hemp stalks and make new clothes.

Wearing new clothes was something they had only experienced more than a decade ago.

Ever since the outbreak of cholera in Longxi, Mouruna had been exploiting them more and more severely. They had to pay 60% of their grain, and the hemp and beans outside the city had nothing to do with them.

Despite their hard work, they still had to compete with animals for bran, which was also the reason why the people of Lanzhou rushed to flee.

But now, they have ushered in good days. Although Governor Liu will collect all the grain, he will distribute food rations to each household at the beginning of each month according to the number of people in the family.

This time they no longer had to eat bran, because what they were given was corn with the bran removed and coarsely processed flour.

They could no longer remember what it felt like to be hungry.

Three months of eating and drinking made their originally sunken cheeks fuller.

The children are no longer timid, but dare to play boldly on the ridges of the fields while working, occasionally helping to pick up fallen ears of wheat, their young faces full of anticipation for a good harvest.

Faced with the ripe crops, they wished they could live in the fields until all the crops were harvested and then go home to rest.

Time passed, as the sun set, the sky darkened, and a whistle was heard in the distance.

"Beep--"

"Stop working, go home and rest, and come back to work tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. The crops are growing in the fields and they can't run away!"

In the fields, many soldiers working blew wooden whistles, urging the people to go home and rest.

This scene occurs almost every day. After all, in the face of Liu Jilian's kindness, the people can only repay him with hard work.

"Go back soon!"

"Young Army Master, we'll go back after we finish harvesting here!"

"Hahaha……"

Although the soldiers had begun to urge them, the people did not want to leave and instead wanted to harvest as much food as possible.

The soldiers were helpless about this and could only urge them again and again. It was not until nightfall that they straightened up, wiped the sweat from their foreheads, and smiled at each other.

They began to clean up the fields, and the children were not idle either, constantly using sieves to sift out the scattered ears of wheat on the ground.

Before nightfall, they drove the carriage towards the city and returned with a full load.

Fires had already appeared at the city gate, and some officers were leading people to separate the straw from the wheat and count the weight of the straw and wheat.

As for the people, their mission had been completed and they could leave after dropping off the food.

But when they entered the city, the general at the gate shouted:

"Today is the autumn harvest. The governor said that every family should take a pound of mutton back to reward themselves. Don't overwork yourself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people at the city gate began to talk, and everyone couldn't help swallowing.

"Hurry up and go back to eat!"

"Thank you Zhang Guoyi, thank you Governor..."

At the city gate, Zhang Chang began to lead people to distribute the meat.

The people who received the meat bowed to him one after another, but he just urged them to move forward. After all, he still had more than a thousand pounds of meat to be divided.

A pound of meat is not a lot, not to mention that each family has six or seven people at most, or two or three at least.

However, for the common people, the weight of this pound of meat is heavier than a thousand pounds of wheat, because it represents the concern that Governor Liu has for them.

They were once slaves and farmers, but now they have become human beings under the command of Governor Liu.

Feeling the weight of the mutton in their hands, at this moment all the hard work turned into sweet fruit. Everyone's heart was filled with gratitude to Liu Jilong and longing for the future.

Liu Jilong stood on the city wall in the dark, watching them silently.

Seeing them going home with a smile, a smile also appeared on his face.

But he still didn't know what means the Tang court used to restrain them...

(End of this chapter)