Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 202 Chaos
"Longyou is a place where you can make a lot of money!"

In mid-September, after two trips of cargo transportation and more than ten days of careful selection, Yang Fugong finally returned to Jiannan Road with a sufficient number of mules and horses.

Of course, he also left behind 372 pieces of brocade and 7,500 pieces of silk.

A deal was concluded and the trade routes between Jiannan Road and Longyou Road were about to be opened. These news made Liu Jilong very happy.

He walked back to the yamen with a smile, and after taking a seat, he waved his hand and said, "Brothers above the level of brigade commanders will each receive a piece of brocade!"

"Marshal Jie, let's just forget it this time."

Seeing Liu Jilong's generous reward again, Zhang Chang quickly stepped forward to interrupt and said, "You gave too much reward last time, and the brothers were upset."

"Yes, General Jie!"

"General, save it for reward after we recover Shankuo."

The generals also tried to dissuade Liu Jilian. For them and their brothers, Liu Jilian had given them too much.

Brick and tile houses in each county, sufficient military pay, occasional rewards of silk and gold and silver utensils, opportunities for literacy and learning, and sufficient respect and pensions.

Upon learning that Liu Jilong had not left any gold, silver or brocade for them, many generals complained to Zhang Chang and asked him to persuade the general.

If it was a reward after conquering a city, it wouldn't be a big deal, but they had done nothing but training these days, so they still felt a little guilty about receiving the reward suddenly.

Liu Jilong joked: "You guys are just like wild boars that can't handle fine bran!"

Faced with his shocking statement, everyone did not feel like they were being made fun of, but instead acknowledged it with a smile.

"Yes, we are wild boars. You should save it for your reward next time."

"That's right, that's right..."

Seeing that they were not ashamed but proud, Liu Jilong could only look at Cui Shu:

"How about this, I'll keep the brocade, and give the 1,000 pieces of silk to the 454 soldiers who were injured and disabled while recovering the three states of Tao, Die and Song."

"Two horses will be given to each household, and the rest can be given to the poorer family."

Hearing this, Cui Shu also said helplessly: "Marshal, you have given enough rewards and care to the martyrs' families. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Zhibai below couldn't even send out flour."

Liu Jilian did take good care of the martyrs' families, providing them with linen, rice and flour during festivals. It was because of this that the soldiers of the Longyou Army developed a fearless character.

For them, even if they died, the Marshal would take good care of their relatives.

In this regard, Liu Jilian was the only one in the entire Tang Dynasty who was so dedicated.

"Tell the martyrs' relatives that if they don't accept these silks, I will kneel down on Phoenix Mountain at night and tell the brothers that I didn't take good care of their martyrs' relatives!"

Liu Jilong said this with a grin on his face, and he was trying to find a way to get the martyrs' families to accept the silk.

Seeing that he was stubborn, Cui Shu could only shake his head and sigh as he agreed to this matter.

"Come on!"

Upon learning that they had returned, Gao Jinda also walked into the main hall with a thick volume of documents, bowed happily and said:

"The autumn harvest records of each state have been submitted, and the maps of Tao, Die and Song states have also been submitted."

Gao Jinda presented the documents and books, and said to the crowd:
"The four states of Lanhe, Linwei and others will follow the five-to-one tax system. The seven states of Chengwu, Min, Dangtao, Diesong and others will temporarily collect all grain, deduct what the people eat, and then register them."

"To sum up, this year's grain harvest is over 576,000 shi and over 73,000 shi of beans."

"In addition, it will take another two months to turn the harvested hemp stalks into linen cloth, but this year we should be able to produce 320,000 pieces of linen cloth."

"As for the bran gold, silver, copper and other items in each state, the value is about 50,000 strings of cash."

"Things like dragon beard mats, stone fat, and herds are too diverse, so there is no way to calculate the discount."

"Also, news came from Wuzhou that the bride-picking party has arrived in Wuzhou, and it is estimated that they will arrive in Didao in mid-October."

"General Jie, your grandfather-in-law has contributed a lot..."

Gao Jinda carefully took out a silk book from his sleeve. Liu Jilong took it with confusion: "What is it?"

He unfolded the silk book, and what was recorded on it was actually the dowry that Feng Ao gave to Miss Xiao Qi.

"Two hundred rolls of Shu brocade, three hundred rolls of brocade, five hundred rolls of yarn, three thousand rolls of silk, one thousand taels of gold, two thousand taels of silver, twenty thousand strings of cash, three thousand six hundred slaves, not to mention the rest of the crowns, clothes, gold and silver ornaments..."

As Gao Jinda read it, he couldn't help but joked: "Everyone says that the Feng family of Bohai has fallen into decline, but now it seems that their foundation is really deep."

Feng Ao not only returned the betrothal gifts that Liu Jilong had brought, but also added a dowry that was several times more valuable.

Liu Jilian took a quick look and found that the brocade, silk, gold, silver and jade alone were worth at least 40,000 strings of cash. And if the 3,600 slaves were worth at least 20,000 strings of cash based on the price of the horse-trade, they would be worth at least 20,000 strings of cash.

All in all, Feng Ao spent nearly 60,000 strings of cash. Compared with this, his betrothal gift of 6,000 or 7,000 strings of cash was really dwarfed by the sum.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong couldn't hide the smile on his face: "Getting married can bring so much money, food and manpower. If possible, I would like to get married a few more times."

As Liu Jilong said this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although divorce between men and women is not uncommon in this era, it is not a good thing either. For everyone, Liu Jilong's words are still a little difficult to evaluate.

As he said this, a figure hurriedly came outside the main hall.

"General, urgent news from Taozhou!"

When the brigade commander at the main gate urgently reported, the laughter of the crowd disappeared instantly, and everyone looked at him seriously.

"what happened?"

Liu Jilong sat up straight, frowned and asked the brigade commander, who also presented an urgent report: "This is an urgent report from Governor Shang."

Zhang Chang stood up and took the urgent report first, then passed it to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong opened it and showed some impatience at the contents.

"General?" Everyone asked tentatively. Liu Jilian threw the urgent report on the shore.

"Lun Kongre of Mochanchuan has gathered more than a dozen small tribes and is preparing to invade Hezhou and Kuozhou on the second day of October."

"After Shang Duoluo's spies in Mochanchuan reported the news, Shang Duoluo gathered 600 elite cavalry and headed to the border between Taozhou and Mochanchuan, preparing to conduct reconnaissance to see how many troops Lun Kongre had."

"Shang Duoluo requested assistance from the Protectorate, hoping that Ma Cheng and Zheng Chu would station troops in the river valley camp southwest of Fenglin County in Hezhou to guard against the invasion of Lun Kongre."

After Liu Jilong finished speaking, everyone frowned, and Gao Jinda also said:

"This Lun Kongre ran to Mochanchuan for food during droughts, but the products of Mochanchuan were not enough for him to gather so many troops, so in the past they only fought small battles."

"After you, General Jie, entered Hezhou, this Lun Kongre turned his target to Shang Bibi in Kuzhou."

"The drought is over this year, and I think the tribes in Mochanchuan have also gone on expeditions with their food and livestock, so they were gathered together by Lunkongre."

At this point, Gao Jinda paused for a moment, looked at Liu Jilong and said:

"General Jie, this Lun Kongre has a grudge against us, but his grudge against Shang Bibi is even greater."

"If we want to recapture Shan and Kuo Prefectures, we can station a large number of troops in He Prefecture. Then Lun Kongre will definitely not dare to attack and can only move to Kuo Prefecture and plunder Shang Bibi."

"General Jie, this is a good time to weaken Shang Bibi's power!"

Gao Jinda's analysis of the current situation was very accurate. After all, Longyou could only march towards Shankuo and then take over the Tuyuhun area or the Duomai area.

Gao Jinda’s suggestion was fine, but Liu Jilian did not intend to march into Tuyuhun and other places.

He already had the horse-breeding area of Longyou. Although Tuyuhun was also good, he could not assimilate the hundreds of thousands of local barbarians.

What's more, the Chishui Army under Zhang Zhifang of Liangzhou has only one year left before the end of their three-year border defense. It is unknown whether the 3,000 Chishui Army will continue to defend the border or take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Historically, the Tang court only transferred 1,500 new Tianping Army soldiers to Liangzhou and did not change the army's name. Therefore, the Tianping Army was able to marry and have children during their time guarding the border in Liangzhou, and was eventually assimilated by the Tibetans in Liangzhou.

But now the 3,000 Tianping troops have not only changed their name to the Chishui Army, but also have hundreds of veteran soldiers among them.

These hundreds of old soldiers are all people who have settled in Yunzhou. They are also the old soldiers of Zibo and Qing in the past and are very domineering.

Liu Jilong had to wait and see if they would cause any trouble.

Because of this, he had no plans to mobilize troops next year, but instead put the recovery of the two states of Shankuo in his plan for the year after next.

It would be best to recapture Shankuo in a peaceful manner, which would be beneficial to my future plans.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong rejected Gao Jinda's proposal: "I have known Shang Bibi for many years. When our army settled in Wuquan, he lent me food and people. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I don't want to fight him."

"As for Lun Kongre, have you all forgotten that this beast killed a large number of Han people in Longyou area and even chopped off their heads to build Jingguan?"

The Han people are very vindictive, but they also easily forget hatred.

After Liu Jilian reminded them, Zhang Chang and his men remembered the incident in the past when Lun Kongre plundered the eight states of Hexi, killed people and set fires, and even used spears to pick up babies for fun, turning the land within a five thousand li area into a barren wasteland.

This is the highlight moment in the discussion on heat fear, but it is the most shameful moment for all Han people in Longyou.

Thinking of this, many generals gritted their teeth, and Liu Jilong looked at Cui Shu and said:

"Cui Shu, you go there in person and tell Shang Bibi that Lun Kongre is planning to plunder Guzhou. Also, invite Shang Moyan to come to Didao to meet me."

"I obey your command!" Cui Shu bowed and responded. Liu Jilong then looked at Zhang Chang:

"You will personally lead 400 elite cavalrymen to Hezhou, and together with Ma Cheng and Zheng Chu, you will lead the Hezhou troops to station in Fenglin County to guard against Lun Kongre's invasion."

"I will obey your command!" Zhang Chang also bowed in response. At the same time, he saw that the atmosphere in the hall was tense, so he couldn't help but joked:
"This pig-dog theory is so scary that I can't stay in Didao to attend your wedding!"

"Hahahaha..." Liu Jilong laughed heartily:

"That's fine, I can have your celebration banquet then!"

While he was talking, Cui Shu and Zhang Chang went to the military camp to lead the troops and galloped towards Hezhou.

At the same time, Gao Jinda also began to prepare for Liu Jilong's wedding banquet, urging the governors of all states except Tao, Die, Song and He to arrive in Didao before October 15 to attend Liu Jilong's wedding banquet.

While they were making preparations, Gao Pian in Qinzhou also learned that Liu Jilong had become Feng's legitimate son-in-law.

"Are you sure the message is correct?"

In the Fuqiang County Government Office, Gao Pian, dressed in casual clothes, looked at the person in front of him with a slightly frown.

Facing his question, Wang Zhongren, who was in charge of the brokers in the Tianxiong and Chengwu armies, affirmed: "There is no mistake. Feng Ao did marry his daughter on September 20th. Now is the seventh day of the wedding."

"I sent people to inquire with Zhang Lin of Wushan County and Liang Zun of Shanggui County. Their Tangqi troops were unable to obtain any information. It is estimated that the wedding carriage went from Wuzhou to Linzhou via Minzhou."

"It seems that if Shannan West Road wants to obtain livestock in the future, it can trade with Liu Jilong without having to go through us or Fengxiang."

Gao Pian frowned at Wang Zhongren's words. He closed the book in his hand, stood up and walked to the window. After a moment's silence, he said:
"This matter must be reported to the court, so that the Supreme Lord will know that Feng Ao and Liu Jilong are father-in-law and son-in-law."

Wang Zhongren nodded in approval and expressed their concerns: "If Feng Ao supports Liu Jilong, then even if Liu Jilong does not expand the city, his strength will continue to grow."

"In addition, the taxes we can earn will be even less, and the amount of money and grain we will demand from the imperial court will increase, which will inevitably make the Supreme Being unhappy."

"If the court does not transfer Feng Ao away, Liu Jilong will become too powerful to be eliminated in the long run."

"Yeah," Gao Pian responded, then turned and walked to the desk, hesitated for a moment, and then quickly put pen to paper.

Soon, a memorial was formed under his hands, and while he was waiting for the ink to dry, he couldn't help but say in a deep voice:
"The Chishui Army will be stationed at the border for less than a year. I cannot mention this matter. When you send someone to deliver the letter, remind Wang Dujian to prevent the Chishui Army from causing chaos."

"Yes!" Wang Zhongren agreed, and soon he walked out of the yamen with the packed memorial and sent his confidant to deliver the memorial to Chang'an.

When the memorial arrived in Chang'an, it was the last day of September, and Wang Zhongren's confidant also told Wang Zonghui, who was transferred back to Chang'an, about Gao Pian's reminder.

"Governor Gao said that the Chishui Army's garrison period is less than ten months, please ask the court to make arrangements early."

"understood."

Outside the Taiye Lake in Chang'an, Wang Zonghui waved his hand impatiently, then ordered his men to take his confidants away, and he turned around and walked into the Taiye Lake.

Not long after, when he walked into the Taiye Pavilion in the Taiye Lake, he saw Emperor Li Chen sitting in the pavilion, as well as the four nobles Ma Gongru, Wang Guichang, Wang Zongshi, and Linghu Tao, Cui Xuan, Pei Xiu and other officials from the three provinces and six ministries.

He walked carefully behind Wang Zongshi, whispered Gao Pian's reminder to Wang Zongshi, and at the same time handed Gao Pian's memorial to Wang Zongshi.

Wang Zongshi frowned when he heard this, while Li Chen, who was sitting in the main seat in Taiye Pavilion, was raising his glass to Cui Xuan.

"Only Prime Minister Cui can pacify the famine in Huainan this time. Thank you for your help."

Li Chen's words made Cui Xuan's face turn pale, but he still held his breath and raised his glass to respond to the emperor.

"I will definitely fulfill your mission and quell the famine in Huainan."

After saying that, he raised the cup and drank it all, feeling endless regret in his heart.

He glanced at the purple-robed official next to him. The man had white hair and beard, and was about seventy years old. He was drinking slowly from a small cup, neither hurried nor hurried.

Since the beginning of summer this year, Huainan has suffered from drought and rice prices have risen sharply.

Faced with this situation, Du Chong, the governor of Huainan, indulged in feasting and traveling, and neglected state affairs. He failed to stabilize grain prices in various counties in a timely manner, which led to a famine in Huainan in July. The famine was not exposed until August when he was impeached by the Censorate.

Du Chong successively served as the prefect of Jingzhao, the governor of Fengxiang Longyou, the governor of Xuanwu Army, the governor of Dongchuan and Xichuan, and other official positions.

Because he recovered Weizhou, which was occupied by Tubo, during his tenure as the Jiedushi of Xichuan, Li Chen thought he had military strategy and sent him to serve as the Jiedushi of Huainan.

As a result, his actions while in office brought shame to Li Chen, and now he has caused hundreds of thousands of starving people in Huainan.

Li Chen was embarrassed and immediately dismissed Du Chong from his position as governor and summoned him back to Beijing.

Although Du Chong was dismissed, hundreds of thousands of starving people in Huainan still needed to be dealt with. Therefore, Li Chen summoned Lu Jun, the governor of Beidu and the governor of Hedong, to the court as prime minister, and dismissed Cui Xuan, the minister of the left, as the chief officer of the Yangzhou Grand Marshal's Office and the deputy ambassador of Huainan to quell the famine.

Cui Xuan knew that if he could quell the famine, he would have a chance to return to the court and serve as prime minister, but if he failed to do so, he would have to wait until there was no one in the court before he would have a chance to return to the capital.

Thinking of this, he also leaned towards the latter, because the scale of the famine in Huainan was too large, and the court had no money or food to provide disaster relief. Huainan could not quell the famine with its own financial resources.

"His Majesty……"

Pei Xiu suddenly opened his mouth and bowed to Li Chen, saying, "Half a month ago, Yuezhou reported that the soldiers of the East Zhejiang Army expelled Li Ne, the governor of East Zhejiang, from the East Zhejiang Army on the grounds that he was disrespectful to the soldiers."

As he spoke, the atmosphere in the pavilion suddenly dropped a lot.

It was snowing outside the pavilion, and it was even colder inside.

Jiangnan has always been the imperial court's money bag. The soldiers of the Zhejiang East Army expelled Li Na for this reason, which showed that they did not take the imperial court seriously at all.

Thinking of this, everyone secretly turned their eyes to the emperor, but Li Chen calmly asked: "Who is the military supervisor in East Zhejiang?"

"Your Majesty, the military supervisor is Wang Zongjing!"

Ma Gongru bowed hurriedly, glanced at Wang Zongshi and Wang Zonghui with the corner of his eyes, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Wang Zongshi clenched Gao Pian's letter in his hand. Before he could speak, Li Chen drank the whole cup and said coldly, "The general violated the rules and was sentenced to be the military supervisor."

"I have ordered that Li Ne be demoted to the post of Governor of Langzhou, and that the military supervisor Wang Zongjing be caned forty times and exiled to Gongling."

"Your Majesty, I obey your order..." Wang Zongshi's teeth were almost broken.

The East Zhejiang Army expelled Li Na, apparently because the imperial court collected too heavy taxes in East Zhejiang, and the East Zhejiang Army was jealous and wanted to benefit.

Because of this incident, he actually lost a clan member who was serving as a military supervisor in another town. Thinking of this, Wang Zongshi looked at Ma Gongru implicitly with a vicious look in his eyes.

"Does anyone here recommend someone to be the new governor of East Zhejiang?"

Li Chen asked everyone, his eyes kept scanning, and Lu Jun also put down his chopsticks at this time, bowed solemnly and said:
"Your Majesty, the troops in eastern Zhejiang are accusing Li Ne of being disrespectful to his officers and men. The court should send someone with respect to control eastern Zhejiang."

"The Minister of Rites, Shen Xun, is quite talented and can be appointed as the Governor of East Zhejiang."

The excuse of the soldiers in eastern Zhejiang was very lame. After all, no soldiers would riot just because their superiors were not polite to them. It was obvious that they expelled Li Na because they could not gain any benefits.

Although the court knew that what they wanted was not etiquette but courtesy, Lu Jun still sent Shen Xun to represent etiquette.

Shen Xun was knowledgeable about etiquette, and everyone in the court and the country knew it.

If the soldiers from eastern Zhejiang expelled Shen Xun again on the grounds that the governor was disrespectful to his soldiers, the imperial court would have a legitimate reason to mobilize troops to suppress them.

Most of the soldiers in the Zhendong Army in eastern Zhejiang are children of powerful families in eastern Zhejiang. If they are asked to fight to the death, they dare not.

It was precisely because Lu Jun grasped this point that he was so tough.

Li Chen was very satisfied with his suggestion and immediately said, "In this case, I will appoint Shen Xun, the Minister of Rites, as the Governor of East Zhejiang."

At this point, Li Chen also looked at Wang Zongshi and asked, "What did Lieutenant Wang just receive?"

"Yes..." Wang Zongshi finally reacted and presented the memorial:
"I have not yet had time to open it and present it to Your Majesty. Please read it."

The eunuch serving nearby took the memorial and presented it to Li Chen. After Li Chen opened it and read its contents, he frowned.

(End of this chapter)