Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 241 Year After Year

"Your Highness, I, Zhang Yichao, congratulate you on your 100 millionth birthday..."

"Give me a seat!"

At the end of the twelfth lunar month, when Zhang Yichao's singing of the ceremony sounded in the Purple Palace, Li Chen looked at Zhang Yichao with complicated eyes.

Zhang Yichao was fifty-eight years old, eleven years older than Li Chen.

In Li Chen's opinion, he was of average appearance, but his brows were extremely majestic, and his aura was even stronger than that of the three ministers and four nobles beside him, Linghu Tao, Cui Shenyou, and Xiao Ye.

Even Wang Zongshi, who commanded the Zuo Shen Ce Army, found it difficult to overwhelm Zhang Yichao in terms of momentum.

His aura was not like Liu Jilong's sharp aura, but rather like a long sword in its sheath, ready to be drawn at any time.

He can have such momentum unintentionally. This is the kind of person who can lead the people of Hexi to overthrow the Tubo rule.

But even such a character eventually fell into his hands.

Thinking of this, Li Chen was relieved and said what he had prepared in his mind:

"The loyal ministers' red hearts were used to break the long horns of the Kunyi tribe. Dou Rong's story in Hexi was seen in the heyday; Li Ling's special troops who taught archery were all righteous troops."

"You led the righteous army to recapture Hexi. You can be called the god of Guanxi. Now that I see you, I feel you are so majestic!"

"If the world could have a few more people like you, the Tang Dynasty would surely prosper."

He praised Zhang Yichao, but Zhang Yichao remained calm and bowed respectfully, saying:
"The recovery of Hexi is the result of the unity of the people of Hexi, not the work of me alone."

"I am old now, so I came to Beijing to serve as an official. I will entrust the affairs of Hexi to my nephew Zhang Huaishen, the Observer Suo Xun."

Zhang Yichao mentioned the story of Zhang Huaishen and Suo Xun, in which Zhang Huaishen came first and Suo Xun came later.

The former represents the people he supports, and the latter represents the people supported by the court.

The coexistence of the two also means that the Zhang family and the court can coexist.

Li Chen and the ministers in the Purple Palace could naturally understand such a simple expression.

However, Li Chen did not speak, but looked at Zhang Yichao with a smile.

Zhang Yichao was fighting for the title of Hexi Jiedushi for Zhang Huaishen, but Li Chen was unwilling to give it to him.

In his opinion, Zhang Huaishen and Suo Xun were both hindering the development of Hexi without proper reasons, and the triangle relationship could only be stable if the Ganzhou Uighurs and Umu in the north provided checks and balances.

"Your Majesty, an urgent report from Hebei Province says that Wang Shaoding of Chengde Army died of illness. The army recommended his brother Wang Shaoyi as the successor. Please send a letter to the governor."

Linghu Tao changed the subject, and Li Chen withdrew his gaze, frowned slightly and asked, "What do you think of Wang Shaoyi?"

"This man is magnanimous and generous, and is highly recommended by both the military and civilians, and is very respectful to the court."

After Linghu Tao finished speaking, Li Chen nodded and said, "Let me think about it..."

After he finished speaking, he continued to look at Zhang Yichao, and his conversation with Linghu Tao was nothing more than a show of power to Zhang Yichao.

Zhang Yichao had already discussed the three towns of Heshuo with Zhang Yitan in their letters.

Among the three towns in Heshuo, Wei Bo is the most prominent in terms of economic population, with a population of over three million, followed by Chengde Town with over one million.

However, speaking only of military affairs, although the Wei Bo garrison soldiers are well-known, the military composition of Wei Bo is different from that of the other two towns. There are few cavalrymen, and infantry is the absolute main force.

Although it was said that it had 100,000 soldiers at its peak, it suffered severe losses in the Jianzhong Rebellion, with seven to eight out of ten soldiers killed. The fresh forces had basically been exhausted and the army entered the stage of general mobilization.

If the situation in Hebei had not changed suddenly and the Tang court had not handled the issue of dividing Chengde poorly, which led to the 35,000 troops of Zhu Tao of Youzhou and Wu Jun, the King of Chengde, marching south to rescue Tian Yue, Weizhou Town would probably have been annihilated by the 80,000-strong coalition force of Ma Sui and Li Baozhen.

Because of this, after the Jianzhong Rebellion, Weizhou Town did not participate in any major wars. Even though it recruited new soldiers, the town gradually developed the habit of "defending the hometown but not going abroad to fight."

If the purpose is to defend the homeland, the combat effectiveness of the Wei Bo army is still unsatisfactory, and unless multiple powerful towns join forces, there is generally nothing they can do.

If we go out of town to fight, our combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

Compared with Wei Bo, Chengde's situation is slightly better now, but it is still far worse than before.

After the end of the Anshi Rebellion, Chengde was the most militarily powerful of the three towns in Heshuo.

However, as Chengde Town instigated the Jianzhong Rebellion, the legacy of Chengde Town was divided up by the three towns of Yiding, Xinchengde, and Cangjing after the war, and Chengde was reduced to only four states.

Although Chengde Town still has 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and horses, its strength is no longer as strong as it used to be.

Different from Chengde and Weizhou, which often fought mainly on the defensive, Youzhou basically fought overseas and sent out a large number of troops.

Even though Youzhou Town launched several heavy attacks on the government troops, and even defeated the main forces of the government troops, Ma Sui and Li Huaiguang, in the Battle of Qie Mountain, Youzhou Town and the imperial court still had the same interests.

This common interest is facing harassment from northern ethnic minorities.

Although Youzhou Town in the middle and late Tang Dynasty was a barbaric land that was difficult for the imperial court to touch, Youzhou Town also shouldered the arduous task of guarding the border for the Tang Dynasty and defending against the Khitan and Xi. This was the primary reason why Youzhou Town maintained an army of 100,000 all year round.

The Youzhou army, which has been tempered in blood and fire for a long time, is not comparable to Chengde and Wei Bo, who are content with comfort, in terms of combat effectiveness and number. Its combat effectiveness is undoubtedly the best in Heshuo.

However, Youzhou, which had the strongest military strength, was unable to effectively exert its full strength due to the special situation of its border defense and the extremely unstable political situation.

Chengde Town, which had the most stable rule, was limited by its own weak strength and small army size, and was more capable of self-preservation than of fighting.

Wei Bo, the most economically developed town, had the strength to compete for the world. However, due to its extreme power structure, the soldiers in the town had no subjective desire to expand outward, and finally gradually sank in the rapid changes of history.

It is precisely because of this situation that a relative balance is achieved within the three towns of Heshuo, which has ensured that despite many major reshuffles, no town has ever been completely swallowed up by another town.

From a geographical perspective, it makes sense that the three towns can be interdependent, but in comparison, Helong is not so good.

Without mentioning the Tubo and Tuhun on the plain, just the Uighurs and Umu on the grassland, as well as the internal problems such as Fankou and Longjia, are enough to tie up a lot of Helong's energy.

In addition, Helong has a population of only over 500,000, its size is too small and its territory is too large. Overall, it is good at self-preservation but not enough for development.

If it were not for the support of three military strongmen, Zhang Yichao, Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen, the entire Helong territory would have been impossible to recover.

Now that Zhang Yichao is gone, Helong has lost a military strongman, leaving only Liu Jilian and Zhang Huaishen, and the pressure on the two will naturally increase.

Not to mention anything else, Liangzhou would inevitably be given to Suo Xun, but Suo Xun's ability was not enough to control Liangzhou, and Liangzhou would eventually fall into the hands of Emu or Uighur.

If Liu Jilian fails to recapture Liangzhou, Zhang Huaishen will be in a dead end, and so will Liu Jilian.

However, Zhang Yichao had no doubt at all about Liu Jilong's ability.

What Liu Jilian lacked was just an excuse that the imperial court could not find fault with.

Once Zhang Yichao moved away from Hankou, the foreign people would inevitably rebel and the barbarians would inevitably move south, and Suo Xun would either flee east to the Guannei Road or die in Liangzhou.

Whether Suo Xun died or escaped, it would give Liu Jilian a chance to recover Liangzhou, and the imperial court would have no reason to complain.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yichao had an idea in his mind, and he couldn't help but bow and said:

"Your Majesty, there are few Hankous in Liangzhou. Please settle down in the border areas to prevent the loss of Liangzhou."

"That's natural..." Li Chen narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this, and climbed up the pole and said:

"Vice Protector General Zhang will soon recover Xizhou, and there are many barbarians in Xizhou, so they will definitely need to move civilians in and settle the border."

Li Chen thought that it was okay to relocate the population, but Zhang Huaishen had to go and recapture Xizhou.

The problem is that as long as Zhang Huaishen leaves Liangzhou and goes west to recover Xizhou, Liangzhou will inevitably be captured by Suo Xun, and the imperial court can also transfer the Chishui Army later to force Suo Xun to surrender Liangzhou.

In this way, the imperial court cut off the main communication channels between Longyou and Hexi, and surrounded Liu Jilian in Longyou on three sides.

But Li Chen also knew that Zhang Yichao should be able to see this, so he probably wouldn't...

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Zhang Yichao nodded and bowed, which surprised Li Chen, Linghu Tao and others.

But they knew that Zhang Yichao had passed through Lanzhou and might have met Liu Jilong.

If this is the case, it means that the two have a good relationship, not to mention that Liu Jilian also sent someone to give gifts to Zhang Yichao.

But since the two had a good relationship, why would Zhang Yichao agree to Zhang Huaishen leaving Liangzhou?

No one was sure, but Li Chen's suspicious character made him wonder at this moment whether Suo Xun was also the candidate supported by Zhang Yichao.

If this is the case, then even if Suo Xun occupied Liangzhou, Hexi and Longyou would still be united, and the influx of population would only increase their strength.

Thinking of this, Li Chen tried to probe: "In this case, why don't you take charge of this matter and order Deputy Protector General Zhang to recapture Xizhou." "I obey your order!" Zhang Yichao responded calmly. Li Chen was a little confused when he saw this. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said:

"In that case, Situ Zhang should go and take care of this matter first."

"I will take my leave. May you live for tens of millions of years..."

Zhang Yichao agreed decisively, stood up and walked out.

After he left, before Li Chen could speak, Xiao Ye said in surprise: "Your Majesty, Zhang Yichao's behavior is really inappropriate."

Cui Shenyou also said: "The court supports Suo Xun in the hope that Suo Xun can seize Liangzhou, and then the court will send people to take over Liangzhou and cut off the main connection between Hexi and Longyou."

"Zhang Yichao is Liu Jilong's benefactor. He must know that if the imperial court takes Liangzhou, Liu Jilong will be sandwiched on three sides, like an egg in the hand, and can be manipulated at will."

"Could it be..." Cui Shenyou paused: "Could it be that Zhang Yichao went to Longyou to discuss something with Liu Jilong, but the matter did not go as he wished, so he took revenge on Liu Jilong?"

"Your Majesty, I think what Prime Minister Cui said is absolutely right." Ma Gongru and Wang Guichang bowed and echoed Cui Shenyou's guess.

Although Li Chen was suspicious, if it was not the case, it would be impossible to explain why Zhang Yichao wanted to put Liu Jilian in a desperate situation.

Linghu Tao felt that Cui Shenyou was wrong, but he didn't know why Zhang Yichao helped the court deal with Liu Jilong.

It’s just that the emperor didn’t ask him, and there was no need for him to stand up and express his different opinion.

Thinking of this, Linghu Tao agreed, "Why not see whether Zhang Huaishen will give up Liangzhou? If he really gives up Liangzhou, he must relocate people to fill Liangzhou to prevent the Liangzhou barbarians from causing chaos."

Linghu Tao did remind Li Chen that Suo Xun had previously exerted strong pressure on the barbarians in Huizhou, which led to a barbarian riot in Liangzhou not long after he sent troops there, which almost resulted in the death of Zhang Zhifang.

However, this incident was ultimately caused by the fact that Suo Xun led his army to Liangzhou. If he had not gone to Liangzhou, the local people would not have caused chaos.

"Suo Xun's previous mission caused the Huizhou tribe to riot, and there are many Liangzhou tribes. Will this cause the tribes to riot and lead to the loss of Liangzhou?"

Although Li Chen knew what was going on, he still couldn't help but ask everyone.

Wang Zongshi bowed and said, "Suo Xun has 7,500 soldiers under his command. The number of Han and Fan people in Liangzhou is 40:60. It is not easy for them to cause chaos."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Gongru bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the garrison period for the 5,000 Chishui troops is only one year left. Should we transfer another 5,000 troops from other places to Liangzhou?"

Facing Ma Gongru's question, Li Chen frowned and looked at Xiao Ye. Xiao Ye hesitated and said:
"Guan Nei Dao has already recruited a group of Chishui troops. In addition, many starving people have been resettled in Huizhou. Now we really can't spare any troops."

"I heard that Xichuan has trained 15,000 new troops. Why not transfer soldiers from Xichuan to the north?"

"No!" Ma Gongru refused. He had long regarded the Xichuan troops as his own, and was not willing to transfer them northward.

Xiao Ye was not angry at being interrupted, but continued: "If that's the case, then we can only dispatch troops from Tianping Army, Zibo, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and other places."

After hearing this, Linghu Tao pondered and said, "The first batch of soldiers were dispatched from Tianping, and now they should be dispatched from Ziqing and Xuzhou."

"This..." After hearing Linghu Tao say this, Cui Shenyou stood up helplessly and said:

"Zibo and Qingzhou are far away. If we want to dispatch 5,000 people to Liangzhou, it will cost a lot of money and food."

"As for the Xuzhou Wuning Army..."

Cui Shenyou didn't continue speaking, but everyone knew what he meant.

The Xuzhou Wuning Army was originally an elite force of the imperial court to defend the lifeline of the canal. Later, when Emperor Muzong of Tang wanted to downsize the army, the Wuning Army refused to do so, drove away the original governor, and supported the local general Wang Zhixing as governor.

Wang Zhixing was worried that he would be expelled, so he selected the elite troops from the Wuning Army to form a guard of 2,000 people, called the Silver Knife Army.

After Wang Zhixing was transferred away, the Silver Knife Army gradually became arrogant and complacent. The successive military governors of the Wuning Army did not dare to deal with them, so they became even more arrogant.

When a Jiedushi took office, he had to treat the Silver Knife Army to wine and meat and was required to be respectful to all the soldiers. If they were disrespectful, the Jiedushi would be expelled at any time.

In less than twenty years, he expelled several military governors and became extremely domineering.

If the imperial court really dispatched 5,000 troops from the Wuning Army to Liangzhou, the Silver Knife Army would definitely take the opportunity to cause chaos and might even expel the Jiedushi.

Thinking of this, Linghu Tao also felt a headache, and finally couldn't help but tentatively ask:
"Your Majesty, the cost of deploying new soldiers to guard the border is very high."

"I heard that the Chishui army is led by Wang Shouwen, Wu Wei and five hundred other veterans of Tianping. How about rewarding the rest of the soldiers with half a year's salary and rewarding Wang Shouwen and five hundred others with two years' salary, and letting them guard for another ten years?"

Li Chen frowned when he heard this, but after thinking about it, he felt that since it could save a lot of money and grain, there was no need to waste more.

"This matter will be handled by you, please make sure nothing goes wrong..."

"I will receive the order."

Linghu Tao and the others received the order. Li Chen continued to ask, "What is the situation in Huizhou?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye took the initiative to speak and bowed, saying: "The court has relocated more than 30,000 people from Guannei Road to Huizhou, including many brave people such as Dangxiang and Shatuo."

"Zhang Zhifang, the governor of Huizhou, has recruited 2,000 new soldiers to train with the old army and set up a Huining army of 2,500 people. The money, food, and armor needed have all been purchased. Your Majesty does not need to worry."

Xiao Ye said this, and Li Chen nodded in satisfaction:

"When Zhang Huaishen moves to another place, I will order Suo Xun to take Liangzhou. Then I will transfer Suo Xun to Chang'an and appoint someone else to take charge of Liangzhou."

"If Suo Xun doesn't respond, immediately transfer the Chishui Army!"

"I will receive the order."

Linghu Tao and others bowed one after another, and then saw Li Chen stand up. They all bowed and saluted to see him off.

After Li Chen left, they also dispersed. They were not in a hurry to resolve the issue of the Chishui Army in Liangzhou. After all, there was still a year of garrison period.

Shortly after they left, Zhang Yichao also went to the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel to discuss Zhang Huaishen's western expedition, and drafted the imperial edict with officials from the three provinces.

After the imperial edict was confirmed to be correct, the Southern Courtyard was handed over to the palace, and after Li Chen's nod, it was sent to Hexi.

After this matter was settled, Zhang Yichao was taken to the You Shenwu Army.

The Right Shenwu Army is one of the six armies of the Northern Ya, and is not in the same system as the Shen Ce Army.

The so-called Six Armies of the Northern Yamen are mainly the Yulin, Longwu and Shenwu armies. Each army is divided into left and right armies, so they are called the Six Armies of the Northern Yamen.

The Yulin Army had a strength of 4,000 men, the Left and Right Shenwu Army and the Left and Right Longwu Army had a strength of 3,000 men each, and the six armies together had a total of 10,000 men.

However, there are many rich kids on the military register in the Sixth Army, their military discipline is very poor, and their combat effectiveness is very weak, so they are of little use.

Zhang Yichao now serves as the commander of the Right Shenwu Army, with 1,500 soldiers under his command.

Although he came to Chang'an to gain the court's trust and whether he worked or not was not important, Zhang Yichao still went to the You Shenwu Army with Zhang Huaiquan and others after resolving the issues in Hexi.

As they expected, the military discipline of the Right Shenwu Army was lax, and most of the soldiers were young men from wealthy families who were just in name only.

Zhang Yichao did not tolerate this, but instead petitioned Li Chen to reorganize the Right Shenwu Army.

"Reorganize the Right Divine Army?"

In the Zichen Hall, Li Chen listened to Wang Zongshi's report and nodded secretly.

Although he had many complaints about the weakness of the Six Armies of the Northern Yamen, although the Six Armies of the Northern Yamen were incompetent, they were able to accommodate many sons of nobles.

Li Chen didn't want to be the bad guy and deal with them, but now with Zhang Yichao, he could use his help to reorganize the Right Shenwu Army.

However, this army must be firmly controlled in his own hands. Thinking of this, Li Chen looked at Wang Zongshi:

"Your brother Wang Zonghui has been idle for long enough. Let him go to the Right Shen Ce Army to supervise Zhang Yichao's military training."

"Yes!" Wang Zongshi agreed decisively. He would not miss such an opportunity to enhance his strength.

Thinking of this, he bowed to Li Chen and left the Purple Palace. Soon he summoned Wang Zonghui.

He looked at Wang Zonghui in the square in front of the Purple Palace and said in a cold voice: "Zhang Yichao wants to reorganize the Right Shenwu Army, and His Majesty asked you to be the military supervisor."

"Don't interfere with how he wants to reorganize the army. Once he has done so, someone will naturally depose him. Then you can promote someone and take firm control of the army."

"Yes!" Wang Zonghui's eyes lit up and he agreed immediately.

"Go." Wang Zongshi nodded to signal him to leave, and Wang Zonghui also hurriedly turned around and walked out of the palace.

To them, the Guanxi divine generals and the Hexi righteous troops are nothing more than chess pieces on the chessboard.

Seeing that the emperor is getting older and older, and the position of crown prince is still hanging, they should also plan for themselves...

(End of this chapter)