Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 238 Ambition of Liangzhou
"Junior Liu Jilong greets Zhang Hexi."

"Get up..."

On the tenth day of the winter month, Liu Jilong met Zhang Yichao outside the gate of Wuquan County.

Compared to a few years ago, Zhang Yichao looks much older, with gray hair and many more wrinkles on his face.

He was wearing a purple robe, a fu hat, and a leather belt around his waist. It was not luxurious.

The team that escorted him to the capital was composed of more than ten descendants of Zhang Huaiquan and Zhang Huaiding, as well as a hundred elite cavalrymen wearing armor and each riding two horses.

These elite cavalrymen had childish faces and did not bring their families with them. They were probably orphans. After entering the capital with Zhang Yichao, they decided to settle down in the capital.

In the convoy they were guarding, many women and children stretched their heads out to look and whispered about Liu Jilong's appearance.

They had all heard about Liu Jillong's deeds in the past, and now that they had seen Liu Jillong, they felt that he was even more powerful than what was rumored.

While they were looking at Liu Jilong, Zhang Yichao was also looking at Liu Jilong.

Looking at the six-foot-tall and majestic Liu Jilong, Zhang Yichao still praised him: "You are worthy of being my Hexi man!"

"Hexi is praising you." Liu Jilong bowed modestly. Zhang Yichao looked towards Wuquan City and sighed:
"This is a fortified city. Even if I lead my army to attack it, I'm afraid I will probably return in defeat."

He was not being modest when he said this, but rather that Wuquan County was managed too well by Liu Jilong, Geng Ming and Dou Bin.

The city has a circumference of four miles, is twenty-four feet high and three feet thick. It is made of rammed earth and covered with bricks, making it very solid.

Not to mention Zhang Yichao's attack, even if Liu Jilian came with gunpowder to attack, it would probably take a while to take it down.

"There are only seven cities like this in the entire Longyou area."

Liu Jilong gave a realistic explanation. After all, with the population and productivity of Longyou, the number of bricks produced each year was very limited.

Because of this, after so many years, except for a few important passes, only six counties in Longyou, namely Didao, Wuquan, Weiyuan, Longxi, Pandi, Baohan and Yanjing, have achieved overall expansion and rammed earth and brick covering.

Although the remaining twenty or so counties have also been expanded, most of them are still rammed earth structures and it will take another five years to cover them with bricks.

Zhang Yichao was not surprised, but smiled and nodded, saying: "Come on, let me see how you manage the Five Springs."

"Please come in Hexi." Liu Jilian turned sideways and motioned for Zhang Yichao to get on the carriage.

But Zhang Yichao smiled and said, "Although I am old, riding a horse is more suitable for me than riding a car."

Seeing this, Liu Jilong arranged a fine horse for him, and he also rode a fine horse himself.

As Liu Jilong had given instructions, and there were a thousand armored soldiers stationed in Wuquan, Zhang Yichao's entire team was allowed into the city.

Passing through the long corridor, what appeared before Zhang Yichao and others were clean and tidy streets, as well as houses along the street painted with white lime and covered with gray tiles.

Although Wuquan cannot achieve the green bricks and gray tiles like Didao, it can still achieve earthen houses with gray tiles.

Not only Wuquan, but it can be said that most cities in Longyou have already achieved the goal of living in earthen houses with gray tiles, and there is no need to lay thatch anymore.

Even Shanzhou and Guzhou, which had just been recovered, were now moving towards earthen houses with gray tiles.

Facts have proved that it is not that difficult to lead everyone into a new life when the administration is clean and the distribution is relatively fair.

The distribution problem is always the most difficult problem in anything.

Liu Jilong gave a nearly perfect answer to this question in Longyou.

"Come on!"

"Who is next to Marshal Jie?"

"I don't know, could it be the Marshal Jie's father?"

"I've never heard of Ji Shuai and Aye..."

"Keep your voices down. If you continue to discuss Marshal Ji's family affairs, I will have the soldiers arrest you!"

On both sides of the street, many young people were discussing Zhang Yichao's identity, and then were driven away by the old men next to them.

The young people laughed heartily and were neat and clean, which surprised Zhang Yichao, Zhang Huaiquan, Zhang Huaiding and other people who came from Hexi.

Although there was corruption among officials in Hexi, it was not serious and the taxes on the people were not heavy.

However, since Hexi was surrounded by powerful enemies, they could only continue to recruit soldiers to guard their hometown.

There are nearly 200,000 civilians in Hexi today, but 17,000 of them are soldiers, and there are more than 2,000 officials.

With a population of 200,000 and a military and administrative force similar to that of Longyou, plus the occasional invasions by the Uighurs, Tuhun, and Emu, the people of Hexi naturally did not have a good environment to develop their lives.

Over the years, the cultivated land in Hexi has not increased much and the population has been declining.

Because of this, for Zhang Yichao and others living in Hexi, the life of the people in Longyou can be said to have allowed them to see the "prosperous times" that he had imagined.

"I heard most of your stories from Jiu Juyan."

While riding his horse, Zhang Yichao looked at Liu Jilong with admiration in his eyes.

"Equalizing the land area, providing education and providing food and clothing, the so-called Zhenguan and Kaiyuan periods are nothing more than this."

"I should have transferred Huai Shen to Yizhou and let you stay in Liangzhou."

After these words were spoken, Zhang Huaiquan, Zhang Huaiding and others behind the two men frowned, but had to admit that these words were true.

If Liu Jilian was stationed in Liangzhou, then with the troops and money and food in Liangzhou, he would definitely be able to recover Longyou more quickly.

Not only that, he can also respond to the court in a tough manner, and Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen will not be so tired.

If things had not gone wrong, the Guiyi Army should now have taken control of the entire Longyou Road, and even sent troops to recapture Xizhou and expel the Uighurs and Umu.

With more than 500,000 civilians in Longyou Road, it is enough to support 40,000 soldiers, which is equal to the three towns in Heshuo!
It's just a pity...

Unfortunately, these things can only be thought about because they have already missed them.

Now that Liu Jilian has set up his own business, his family has been split into two. It is not so easy to merge them into one again.

Zhang Huaiquan and Zhang Huaiding couldn't help but sigh, but Liu Jilong heard something different.

"You've overrated Hexi. I was just relying on luck to take over Longyou and govern it well."

After he said this, Zhang Yichao couldn't help but laugh and said, "Luck?"

"If all this is just luck, then you are undoubtedly a person favored by heaven."

This was a bit inappropriate, after all, the person favored by heaven could only be the emperor, so Li Shangyin frowned calmly.

Liu Jilong did not refute, but said: "I am lucky to be alive today, and Hexi is not wrong about this."

"hehe!"

The two looked at each other and chuckled, then walked towards the yamen in silence.

Not long after, after they arrived at the yamen, the families of Zhang Yichao and his son went to the Yin Hotel in the yamen to rest, and even the guarding was handed over to the one hundred elite cavalrymen from Hexi.

After settling them, Zhang Huaiquan and Zhang Huaiding were about to escort Zhang Yichao to the main hall, but Zhang Yichao waved his hand and said:
"You are tired too, take a good rest. I have Mu Zhi's protection, so you will be safe."

"Yes……"

The two men were not stupid. They knew that their father was about to say something they could not hear, so they bowed and left immediately.

As for whether Liu Jilong would take action against their father, they had never even thought about it.

After all, his father was Liu Jilian's benefactor. If he took action against his benefactor, he would not only offend Hexi, but also be ridiculed by people all over the world.

With Liu Jilong's talent, he would not be unable to think of these things.

The two of them left with peace of mind, and Zhang Yichao turned and walked towards Liu Jilong and others, and soon arrived in front of them.

"Come on, let's go to the main hall. I have something to tell you."

Zhang Yichao signaled him to go first. Seeing this, Liu Jilong nodded and led the way.

The two men did not speak for a few dozen steps, and Li Shangyin and Dou Bin behind them just followed them without any intention of speaking.

When the four of them entered the main hall, Liu Jilong took the initiative to walk to the first seat on the left and said to Zhang Yichao:

"Hexi is my benefactor, and he deserves to be in the upper position."

Li Shangyin and Dou Bin frowned when they saw this, but Zhang Yichao smiled and said, "Okay, in that case, I'll take the upper seat."

He did not refuse, but sat directly in the main seat, looking at Li Shangyin and others, and then at Liu Jilong.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong signaled to Li Shangyin and the other two, "You go and take care of the government first, and come back in a quarter of an hour."

"Yes……"

Li Shangyin and Dou Bin bowed and agreed, and they were not worried that Zhang Yichao would harm Liu Jilong. After all, Liu Jilong's bravery was well known in Helong, and if Zhang Yichao wanted to attack Liu Jilong, it would be tantamount to seeking death.

Seeing the two of them leave, Zhang Yichao finally spoke up, "I took the initiative to ask for permission to enter the capital."

"I know..."

Liu Jilong's eyes were calm. He sighed inwardly while answering on the surface.

Zhang Yichao's eyes dimmed as he saw this and said, "The court does not trust our Guiyi Army, and as you grow stronger, the court becomes even more worried."

"The imperial court doesn't dare to attack you first, so it can only attack Hexi first."

"Now that I'm leaving Hexi and entering the capital, I originally wanted to persuade Huai Shen to leave so that you can have a chance to do something, but he doesn't want to leave, so I have no choice but to enter the capital first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Jilong's eyes flickered and he guessed what he meant.

Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen were his benefactors, so it was naturally impossible for him to harm them.

If Zhang Yichao took Zhang Huaishen and even the entire Zhang family away from Hexi, Hexi would inevitably fall apart.

But if Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen left, he wouldn't have to worry about this favor. Once Hexi fell apart, he could wipe out Hexi in a swift and lightning speed.

By then, all the Helong lands will belong to him, and he can support more than 500,000 people and more than 40,000 soldiers, making him equal to the three towns of Heshuo.

At the same time, Zhang also left Hexi and was able to enjoy peace in Chang'an.

This situation not only saved the Zhang family, but also allowed Liu Jilian's power to increase.

Given the kindness that Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen had shown to Liu Jilian, the stronger Liu Jilian's power became, the better the court would treat them.

Even if he fell out with Liu Jilian in the future, he could still use Zhang Yichao's uncle and nephew as a backup, sending them to persuade Liu Jilian to surrender, or use them for peace talks.

Anyway, given their achievements in recovering Hexi, it is impossible for the imperial court to take action against them.

The reason why Zhang Yichao made this choice was probably because he saw the complicated situation in Hexi now. As he was getting older, he was worried that if Zhang Huaishen took over Hexi, he would end up with his head and body separated.

Liu Jilong didn’t know whether Zhang Yichao in history thought this way, but at least for now, his idea was very beneficial to him.

Unfortunately, Zhang Huaishen vowed to defend Hexi to the death, which made his plan fail.

In other words, half of the plan failed, but the other half was implemented.

"The current situation is complicated. The imperial court does not trust us, so they will naturally not migrate people to Hexi to enrich the area."

"Huai Shen's military strategy is enough to make him a hero, but he lacks strategy and is easily harmed."

"But with you in Longyou and Huai Shen's kindness to you, I think he should be safe even if he stays."

Zhang Yichao looked at Liu Jilong with complicated eyes. Without waiting for Liu Jilong to speak, he took a deep breath and continued:
"I have told Huai Shen that if there is unrest in Hexi, let him stabilize the four states of Guasha, Gansu and then seek Yizhou."

"As for Liangzhou..."

Zhang Yichao did not continue speaking, but looked at Liu Jilong: "What do you think the situation in Liangzhou will be like?"

Liu Jilong did not hide anything. After all, Zhang Yichao had been very open with him, so there was no need for him to hide anything.

"The Uighurs are powerful, and Umo should not be underestimated. In addition, the Tuhun have been harassing Shazhou constantly."

"As I expected, Envoy Zhang cannot stay in Liangzhou and can only return to Shazhou to take charge."

"It's just that Suo Xun is around, and he has no good generals under his command who can stay in Liangzhou and resist Suo Xun, so he will definitely move part of Liangzhou to Hankou to stabilize the four states of Guasha and Gansu."

"It's a good idea to do this. At least after the people from Liangzhou and Hankou move in, there will definitely not be any chaos given the number of foreigners from the four states."

"But after doing this, it will only be a matter of time before Liangzhou is occupied by Suo Xun."

"If Suo Xun threatens to move to Hankou, Envoy Zhang will probably give up Changsong in the east, or even Guzang."

"By then, Suo Xun will have the help of the imperial court, and with the help of Suo Zhongyi, Li En, Li Wei, Li Yizhong and others, he will definitely take the opportunity to seize Jialin and Fanhe."

"It is only a matter of time before Liangzhou is lost. Envoy Zhang can probably only hold on to four states."

After Liu Jilong's analysis, he then comforted her, "This is actually a good thing."

"If we protect Liangzhou, we will inevitably lose Suzhou. If we lose Suzhou, it is only a matter of time before we lose the three states of Guashay."

"What's more, if we stay in Liangzhou, we will inevitably go to war with Suo Xun. If both sides are defeated, the Uighurs and Umu will invade from the south, and we will lose one of Liangzhou and Ganzhou."

"Plus, Liangzhou borders the imperial court, and if the imperial court wants to deal with me, it will definitely cut off my connection with Hexi, so the imperial court will also cause trouble in Liangzhou."

"In the end, none of the six states in Hexi could be saved."

"In this case, it would be better to give Liangzhou to Suo Xun and cut off the connection between Hexi and the imperial court."

"If this continues, the imperial court will forget about Hexi, and Hexi will no longer be provoked by the imperial court."

"There are tens of thousands of people in Hankou in Liangzhou. If they move to the four states and abandon the foreign population in Liangzhou, their strength will be weakened on the surface, but in fact it will be strengthened."

"As long as Envoy Zhang doesn't think about looking east, and there are no other interferences, his lineage is enough to control the four states and repel all enemies."

Having said that, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Yichao in front of him.

Although the situation has changed, Zhang Yichao's thoughts remain unchanged.

If the imperial court continues to distrust the Hexi Guiyi Army, it would be better for it to withdraw from Liangzhou to Ganzhou, sever ties with the imperial court, and let the imperial court forget that there is a Hexi Army in Hexi.

In this way, with the help of Hankou, which was moved from Liangzhou, Zhang Huaishen's rule over the four states will be more stable, and the Hexi Guiyi Army will no longer be instigated by the court.

By then, even if Li Yizhong, Li En, and Li Wei had other ideas, they would be discouraged by the loss of support from the court.

In addition, Zhang Yichao had already left Hexi with his people, leaving only Zhang Huaishen's lineage within the Hexi Guiyi Army, and everyone had no choice but to support him.

In this way, as long as there are no internal problems, Zhang Huaishen can really rule the four states well. Although the Umu and Uighurs outside are powerful, they can't do anything to Zhang Huaishen.

It can be said that Zhang Yichao has paved the way for Zhang Huaishen. As long as there are no accidents, Zhang Huaishen will at worst be the lord of four states.

As long as there are no internal problems among the Han people, it will be difficult for foreign enemies to invade.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong thought of the Guiyi Army in history.

Historically, Zhang Huaishen was eventually beheaded mainly because of internal problems.

First of all, the imperial court delayed granting him the title of Jiedushi of Hexi, which led to dissatisfaction between the Suo and Li families within the family.

It happened that Huang Chao attacked Chang'an, and Zhang Yichao's son Zhang Huaiding fled back to Hexi. However, this man was incompetent and easily sidelined, so he was used by Suo Xun. In the end, Zhang Huaishen's head and body were separated, Zhang Huaiding became a puppet and died of illness, and Suo Xun became the lord of Hexi.

Fortunately, the Li family also did not submit to Suo Xun, and the powerful people in Hexi were more willing to accept the leadership of the Zhang family, so the Li family supported Zhang Huaiding's son Zhang Fengcheng and killed Suo Xun.

Li originally wanted to use Zhang Fengcheng to control his disobedience, but Zhang Fengcheng was unwilling to be a puppet, so he purged Li and regained control of Hexi.

As a result, Zhang Fengcheng did not have the military ability of Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen, and made enemies everywhere. Finally, he was besieged by the Uighur army and died of depression after signing the Treaty of Surrender.

Zhang Fengcheng's descendants had no talent, so Cao Yijin took over and became the governor of the Guiyi Army, and the Zhang's Guiyi Army became the Cao's Guiyi Army.

Thinking about the historical ending of the Guiyi Army, Liu Jilian could only sigh.

There was nothing wrong with Zhang Yichao's arrangement. After all, he did not expect that Huang Chao would attack Chang'an a few years after his death. As a result, Zhang Huaiding fled back to Hexi, making the already unstable internal situation in Hexi even more unstable.

It can be said that even if the court did not grant Zhang Huaishen the title of Hexi Jiedushi, as long as Zhang Huaiding did not return to Hexi, Zhang Huaishen would be fine.

It happened that Huang Chao attacked Chang'an and Zhang Huaiding fled back to Hexi, which led to the death of Zhang Huaishen.

Of course, this is how Zhang Huaishen died in history, not today.

Although Liu Jilian didn't know whether Huang Chao would attack Chang'an in the future, he knew that as long as he was alive, the people within the Hexi Guiyi Army would not dare to kill Zhang Huaishen.

Whether Zhang Huaiding fled back to Hexi or not, he could not kill Zhang Huaishen. Not to mention that Suo Xun was much more arrogant than Zhang in history, so he had no chance to murder Zhang Huaishen.

"You are right..."

Zhang Yichao's voice brought Liu Jilong back to reality. He looked at Zhang Yichao, who also admitted:
"With my arrangement, Huaishen will be safe, but Liangzhou will definitely be seized by Suo Xun or the imperial court."

"In your opinion, what will happen to Liangzhou after Suo Xun or the imperial court occupies it?"

He questioned Liu Jilong, who answered without hesitation: "Suo Xun is incompetent. If Envoy Zhang moves to Hankou in Hexi, Suo Xun will not be able to wait for the court to move to Hankou, and he will cause unrest by criticizing the foreigners."

"In addition, the imperial court has nurtured a tiger that will become a threat. The Uighurs and the Umos will inevitably move south, and Suo Xun will either retreat back to the Guannei Road or be defeated and killed, and Liangzhou will be occupied by the Uighurs or the Umos."

Liu Jilong expressed his judgment, but Zhang Yichao shook his head, which made Liu Jilong frown.

"What does Hexi mean by this?"

Facing his question, Zhang Yichao smiled and stroked his beard: "Liangzhou..."

"It will be yours!"

(End of this chapter)