Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 217: Heartbroken
"Sorry..."

At the end of April, there were anxious shouts outside Changsong City. Tens of thousands of soldiers were confronting each other on the plain, one side had six or seven thousand soldiers, and the other side had more than four thousand.

Although the Sanchen flags were flying in both armies, the flags with the words "Suo" and "Zhang" could still be seen.

"Suo Zhishi, why did you come to Liangzhou instead of staying in Huizhou?!"

On horseback, Zhang Huaishen rode out of the formation, followed by Jiu Juyan and others.

At this time, he was only about twenty steps away from the Huining Army, so he didn't need to speak too loudly for Suo Xun to hear him.

Seeing that he was not afraid, Suo Xun immediately shook the reins and moved forward, closing the distance between him and Zhang Huaishen to less than fifteen steps.

Behind him followed a green-robed official and a military general. The official held the imperial edict in his hand, while behind the military general was the flag of the "Chishui Army".

"Envoy Zhang, I am following the order of the Supreme Lord to lead the army to relocate to Liangzhou and promote you to the post of Governor of Liangzhou!"

"Here is the Supreme's imperial edict, as well as the Supreme's imperial edict to Envoy Zhang and Zhang Hexi!"

As Suo Xun finished speaking, the green-robed official rode forward, came to five steps away from Zhang Huaishen, and shouted sternly:
"The Supreme has issued an order. Please ask Defense Envoy Zhang to dismount and receive the order!!"

Zhang Huaishen looked unhappy about this.

Although he had long anticipated that the court's means would not be limited to provoking the relationship between him and Liu Jilian and instigating Li Yizhong to rebel, he did not expect that Suo Xun would also get involved.

In addition, the imperial court actually recruited another group of Chishui troops to come to Liangzhou, which put Zhang Huaishen in a passive position.

He had only 10,000 troops in Liang Province, 7,000 of whom were in Changsong.

If we confront Suo Xun here for too long, the Uighurs and Umu will take the opportunity to move south, and the counties in Liangzhou will be in trouble.

Thinking of this, he wanted to first see what the imperial court's decree was for them, uncle and nephew.

"dismount!"

He dismounted calmly, and Jiu Juyan and others followed him.

Seeing Zhang Huaishen and his men dismount and bow, the green-robed official also read out:
"Under the command of the Imperial Guard, Zhang Yichao, the governor of Hexi, the inspector of the Five Provinces, the inspector of Sikong, the purple-robed goldfish bag, and the Earl of Dunhuang County, has made meritorious service in garrisoning Hexi and has been promoted to the founding marquis of Dunhuang County and granted a fief of 1,000 households."

"Now, I appoint Zhang Yichao, the governor of Hexi, as the deputy governor of Anxi, the governor of Qixi, and the governor of the four towns. I order him to send troops to recover the Western Regions."

"Hexi Defense Envoy, Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor, Left Sanqi Changshi, Jialin County Master Zhang Huaishen has made real contributions, and is the Inspector of the Ministry of War. He was promoted to the Earl of Jialin County and given a fief of 700 households."

"Now, the Hexi Defense Envoy Zhang Huaishen is stationed in Hexi and stationed in Shazhou to assist the Anxi Deputy Protector Zhang Yichao in recovering the four towns."

"I also heard that Zhang Zhi, the governor of Liangzhou and the military governor of Chishui Army, was encouraging his troops to fight bravely, so I ordered him to move to Huizhou and take charge of the governor of Huizhou and the military governor of Huining Army."

"Huining Army Jiedushi Suo Xun, who has made meritorious service in garrisoning the town, is ordered to move to Liangzhou, and be appointed as the Governor of Liangzhou, Jiedushi of Chishui Army, and a male of Fanhe County, with a fief of 300 households."

With just a few words from the imperial court, the entire situation in Hexi was disrupted.

Zhang Yichao was transferred to the Western Regions to recover the four towns, and Zhang Huaishen was transferred to Shazhou to assist in recovering the four towns.

Zhang Zhifang was transferred to Huizhou as governor, Suo Xun took charge of Liangzhou and was also given the title of Jiedushi of Chishui Army.

In this way, the 5,000 Chishui troops in Liangzhou would be under his command. If the 2,500 Huining troops he brought with him were included, Suo Xun would have 7,500 soldiers under his command.

If Li Yizhong supported Suo Xun, Suo Xun would have 9,000 soldiers and horses, enough to compete with Zhang Huaishen.

Of course, this is only the temporary strength of both sides on the surface.

Zhang Huaishen has the support of Zhang Yichao, Suo Xun also has the support of the court, and the Uighurs and Emu are also likely to end up in trouble. This is the reputation of the Tang Dynasty.

Even though the current Tang Dynasty is no longer the Tang Dynasty of the past, it can still command the surrounding tribes by relying on the reputation accumulated over the past two hundred years.

A dozen years ago, Tibet and Uighurs were competing with the Tang for appeal. But now Tibet is in civil strife, Uighurs have been defeated and moved westward, and Kyrgyz are unable to move south. As a result, the Tang has become the common leader that no one dares to provoke.

"Defense Envoy Zhang, please accept the order!"

The official signaled Zhang Huaishen to accept the order, but he was reluctant to step forward.

At this moment, his thoughts were turning around and around, and countless options and consequences flashed through his mind.

He thought about killing the angel directly, then going to war with Suo Xun, defeating him, and then expelling Zhang Zhifang.

Even if the Uighurs and the Umu moved south, he was confident that he could repel them.

But the question is...what happens after this?

Will the imperial court gather troops and march westward?
Will the uncle and nephew Zhang be criticized as traitors?
Can they repel the imperial army?
All these problems placed before him forced him to waver.

Hexi's foundation was too weak. In the vast land of more than a thousand miles from east to west, there were only 200,000 people living there, of which more than 20,000 were from Huizhou and Lanzhou.

Excluding the two states, there were only about 170,000 to 180,000 people in Hexi, and 30% of them were foreigners.

In this situation, he really did not have the confidence to deal with the counterattack from the Tang Dynasty.

If he accepted the imperial edict, even if Suo Xun took control of Liangzhou, there would only be a few thousand soldiers who would obey his orders, while the nearly ten thousand soldiers in Liangzhou would still be under his control.

Not only that, Hexi, which was divided into two halves, will also be integrated, and my uncle will also be given the title to recover Anxi.

After a lot of thoughts, Zhang Huaishen finally made a decision:

"I...accept the order!"

Zhang Huaishen stepped forward and took the imperial edict from the official. Before the official could even smile, Zhang Huaishen spoke:

"Half of the population of Hexi is in Liangzhou, but the imperial court doesn't know much about it, so they ordered me to move to Shazhou."

"Huai Shen is guarding Hexi for the imperial court, so we naturally cannot just sit back and do nothing."

"I will ask the court to postpone the relocation of the garrison. As for the request for a governor..."

Zhang Huaishen looked at Suo Xun, who had an unpleasant expression on his face, and said in a deep voice, "Please lead the troops to station in Chishui City!"

"Zhang Huaishen, you..."

Suo Xun raised his horsewhip, but Jiu Juyan drew his sword directly, and the Liangzhou soldiers behind Jiu Juyan also started to use their weapons.

Faced with this situation, the angel was frightened, and Suo Xun slowly put down the whip.

In the end, they did not dare to break off relations with Zhang Huaishen, which made Zhang Huaishen breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's all I have to say. Governor, just take care of the government!"

Zhang Huaishen jumped on his horse, turned his horse around and headed back to Changsong.

Seeing this, Jiu Juyan and others commanded the army to retreat slowly, while Suo Xun looked at their backs with a cold light in his eyes.

"Zhang Huaishen..."

He clenched the whip with both hands, while the general beside him bowed and said, "No matter what, you have finally taken control of Liangzhou."

"Now we just need to wait for the right opportunity, and then we can slowly drive Zhang Huaishen out of Liangzhou District!"

"Hmm..." Suo Xun frowned and thought. After he felt that it was true, he turned his horse around and drove the army towards Chishui City, north of Guzang.

Upon learning that they were heading towards Guzang, Zhang Huaishen, who returned to the military camp, knew that he could not stay there any longer.

Thinking of this, he rubbed his brows helplessly and said, "Jiujuyan, tell the three armies to set out and return to Guzang tomorrow."

"Also, send someone to tell Liu Jilong to take over Guangwu. I will take back Lanzhou after I have dealt with Suo Xun."

"Forget it. I'll write a copy by hand and you can send someone to deliver it."

Zhang Huaishen knew that Hexi's foundation was weak, so he still wanted to strengthen Hexi's foundation.

The imperial court was holding the people in Lingzhou and Yuanzhou, not allowing them to migrate to Hexi, so the only option was to start from Hexi.

As long as he could attract population and enrich Hexi, Zhang Huaishen would endure it even if he couldn't take back Lanzhou.

After all, in his opinion, the population of Lanzhou is no more than 10,000 people, and now Li Yizhong and Liu Jilian have recruited soldiers to fight, and the rest are basically the old, weak and sick.

As long as Liu Jilong could provide him with young and strong population, it would not matter if he gave up Lanzhou.

What's more, the imperial court is now keeping a close eye on him, and if Lanzhou falls into his hands, it will only further stimulate the imperial court.

"Envoy, are we just going to let Suo Xun enter Liangzhou like this?!"

Jiu Juyan clenched his fists, and Zhang Huaijian also said viciously: "Why not send troops tonight and kill him by surprise!"

"That's right!" Jiu Juyan also supported, "First, defeat Suo Xun, and then drive out Zhang Zhifang's 3,000 men!"

"Enough!" Zhang Huaishen had a splitting headache and interrupted the two of them with a shout.

He raised his head and looked at the two of them. At the same time, he glanced at Zheduosibie and asked, "What will happen after we defeat them?"

"This..." The two did not think too far ahead and just wanted to expel Suo Xun and Zhang Zhifang.

Faced with Zhang Huaishen's questioning, the two of them hesitated and couldn't explain it for a long time.

Zhang Huaishen has a strong personality and sufficient abilities, and the Ganliang stage is so small that he can handle it all by himself, so Jiu Juyan, Zhang Huaijian and others have no time to take charge and perform on their own.

Under normal circumstances, they could at most make suggestions to Zhang Huaishen, and whether they would be adopted depended on whether Zhang Huaishen chose to do so.

Without pressure there will be no progress, and without progress there will be no growth.

In terms of ability, Zhang Chang and others under Liu Jilong, who were once inferior to them, have now become experienced and are far better than them.

"Do as I say and leave!" Zhang Huaishen dispersed the crowd. Jiu Juyan and the others wanted to say something but in the end they could not say anything and could only leave the tent.

The next day, Zhang Huaishen led his troops to withdraw to Guzang. Before leaving, he instructed Zheduosibie to train the new soldiers well. Zheduosibie nodded repeatedly and promised to train the soldiers well.

Two days later, Suo Xun and Zhang Huaishen led their troops to withdraw to Guzang one after the other.

Suo Xun knew that if he wanted to compete with Zhang Huaishen, he must have enough troops.

Because of this, after he led his troops to Chishui City, he immediately surrounded the city and brought an angel to summon Zhang Zhifang out of the city.

Zhang Zhifang and Ma Jianjun in the city learned that the court had issued an order, and immediately led the Chishui Army to open the city gate to receive the order.

"My disciples..."

The angel read out the decree at the city gate. When Zhang Zhifang learned that he was transferred to Huizhou, he was not sad but very happy.

For him, working with Wang Shouwen, Wu Wei and other old soldiers was like living in fear of his future.

Liangzhou is rich, but there is a Zhang Huaishen who controls him, and he dare not ignore Zhang Huaishen.

Now he has been transferred to Huizhou and has become the lord of Huizhou. He can do whatever he wants. It is much better than eating dust in Chishui City in Liangzhou!
"The minister accepts the order!"

Zhang Zhifang accepted the order without thinking, and then looked at the 2,500 Huining Army soldiers and 2,000 Chishui Army recruits behind Suo Xun.

"Lord Suo, since the court has transferred me to be the governor of Huizhou, then these people behind you..."

Zhang Zhifang wanted to ask for the Huining Army, but Suo Xun frowned and said, "Most of these soldiers are mine."

"If Governor Zhang wants, he can go to Huizhou to train his troops on his own."

"But before that, I need to bring my remaining troops and family members in Huizhou back to Liangzhou."

Suo Xun would not give up his troops, and what's more, he looked down on Zhang Zhifang and knew that Zhang Zhifang didn't have the courage to cause trouble with him.

Before leading his troops westward, Suo Xun found out whose orders the Chishui Army in Chishui City obeyed.

"May I ask which one of you is Wu Wei and Wang Shouwen's general?"

Suo Xun ignored Zhang Zhifang's ugly expression and bowed to the Chishui army opposite and asked.

In response, two sturdy figures stepped out from the Chishui Army on the opposite side.

"I am Wang Shouwen (Wu Wei)!"

The two of them introduced themselves in unison.

Seeing this, Suo Xun waved his hand and said, "The court's reward for the Chishui Army has already arrived. It is in the baggage train behind this envoy."

"Thank you two for leading the troops back to the camp. Afterwards, go to the Yamen to collect money and silk for the brothers!"

Wu Wei and Wang Shouwen's eyes lit up, and they instantly forgot about Zhang Zhifang and bowed to Suo Xun: "We obey your orders!"

Zhang Zhifang was abandoned by the three thousand Chishui troops, or rather, he was abandoned by Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Zhang Zhifang snorted coldly, turned around and walked back into the city.

When Suo Xun saw him leave, he whispered to the general beside him, "Send light cavalry to Huizhou and tell Suo Min to lead the troops to relocate the people of Huizhou to Chishui City."

"I obey your command!" The general beside him bowed in response, and then sent out light cavalry.

Seeing that things were going smoothly, Suo Xun sneered in his heart: "I just lacked luck. Now that luck has come, who can stop me?"

He turned his horse around and looked at the almost invisible city of Guzang.

Although he couldn't see it, he seemed to see Zhang Huaishen and gripped the reins tightly.

"Zhang Huaishen... I will expel you first, and then go south to deal with Liu Jilong!"

After his thoughts came to an end, he proudly turned his horse around and headed towards Chishui City.

"This Chishui City is too small. The army will set up camp and expand the city tomorrow!"

"The last general takes orders..."

Soon, the news that Suo Xun had taken over Chishui City reached Zhang Huaishen's ears.

He had just returned to the government office and sat down when he heard the news. He couldn't help but frown: "Zhang Zhifang just handed over the military power like this?"

"Yes!" Zhang Huaiman, who was stationed in Guzang, said regretfully:

"If we had known that Zhang Zhifang was so incompetent, we should have taken action against him sooner!"

Hearing this, Zhang Huaishen felt regretful, but he also knew that it was useless to regret now. The number of soldiers under Suo Xun's command was already close to 8,000, and if Li Yizhong's soldiers were included, the number would be even greater.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huaishen looked at Zhang Huaiman and asked, "Has there been any news from uncle?"

"It's been too short. My uncle should have just seen the first letter. I'm afraid the second one is still on the way."

Zhang Huaishen was annoyed in his heart, but his face remained calm.

He glanced at the generals, took a deep breath and said, "I was originally thinking of launching a northern expedition after the beginning of summer, but now it seems that it is impossible."

"Suo Xun has 8,000 soldiers stationed in Chishui City. We have to hold him out until he makes a mistake."

"I don't know how my uncle would feel after seeing the letter and the imperial edict I sent the day before yesterday. I'm afraid he would feel bad."

Zhang Huaishen couldn't help but sigh, and the atmosphere in the hall became depressed.

While they were feeling depressed, Zhang Yichao received Zhang Huaishen's second letter on the road.

Zhang Yichao was relieved to learn that Liu Jilian had not joined forces with the court.

But even so, the situation in Hexi was not much better.

"Envoy, are you... okay?"

Cao Yiqian couldn't help but ask, while Li En and Suo Zhongyi remained silent.

Zhang Yichao, sitting on horseback, looked back at the three men and the more than 2,000 soldiers of Shazhou behind them, and couldn't help feeling tired.

He brought Suo Zhongyi and Li En with him on this expedition in order to prevent them from staying in Dunhuang and interfering with Zhang Huairong and Zhang Huaiquan.

The two of them were well aware of this and remained silent along the way.

Looking at the two of them like this, Zhang Yichao felt sad.

It was clear that when they gathered together and started the uprising, their purpose was to drive out the foreign bandits and restore the Han dynasty. Why did it end up like this?
Is the reason really just because of the Tang Dynasty?

Zhang Yichao withdrew his gaze and looked towards the Qilian Mountains in the south.

The sky was clear and the weather was warm, but he felt as if his body was falling into an icy cave, with chest tightness and difficulty breathing.

If this continues, what will Hexi become like?
"Let's go to the post station ahead to rest. We will reach Jiuquan in two days."

"Yes……"

After a long time, Zhang Yichao spoke in a low voice, and the three responded in different tones.

Cao Yiqian spoke in a restrained tone, Li En spoke with regret, and Suo Zhongyi was a little bit excited that he couldn't suppress.

The public relations between the Zhang, Li and Suo families were finally torn apart, but the young Cao Yiqian still followed in Zhang Yichao's footsteps.

They shook the reins of their horses and headed towards Jiuquan along the official road.

Five days later, Zhang Yichao arrived in Fulu and saw 3,600 soldiers and more than 5,000 civilians gathered there.

The population of Suzhou became extremely unbalanced due to the migration of thousands of Tibetans to Gan and Liang states, and the Tibetans often caused trouble.

When the foreigners who usually made trouble saw that Zhang Yichao had stationed a large number of troops here, they immediately quieted down.

All of this was reported to Zhang Yichao by the officials of Suzhou, but Zhang Yichao knew that his troops stationed here were only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution.

If we want to cure the root cause, we have to migrate enough people from the Tang Dynasty and make the Han people the main body, so as to assimilate the foreign people.

However, his idea was blocked by the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty would rather let the hungry people in Guannei Road and Jinggi Road starve to death than move them to Hexi and expand the population and power of Hexi.

He was already disheartened, and on the second day after arriving in Fulu County, he received Zhang Huaishen's third letter and the imperial edict from the court.

When Zhang Yichao learned that the imperial court nominally asked him to recapture the four towns of Anxi, but in fact it wanted to split up Hexi and take away Liangzhou, his heart gradually died.

The setting sun was blood-red. Zhang Yichao climbed up the Drum Tower of Fulu County and looked at the setting sun slowly setting in the distance.

Cao Yiqian followed him like this, feeling indescribable.

"Zhong Huai..."

"Sir, I am here."

Zhang Yichao looked at the setting sun. His back was as strong as a dragon, but now he looked a little hunched, which made Cao Yiqian feel distressed.

Although summer was about to begin, Zhang Yichao felt the evening breeze was biting and he couldn't help shivering.

"What did we do wrong to deserve the court to treat us like this?"

"We recovered Hexi for the imperial court. Did we do something wrong?"

(End of this chapter)