Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 276 The Old Man Remains
"The wise ruler of Li is Xianwen. He has eliminated all evil and separated good from evil. He has returned the land of He and Long, and the northern desert has been cleared of evil. He is truly a wise ruler."

"The emperor is now posthumously named the Holy Martial Emperor, and his temple name is Xuanzong."

On the tenth day of the eighth month of the thirteenth year of the Dazhong period, with the drastic measures taken by Wang Zongshi and Wang Maoxuan, Li Wen's throne was secure.

After Li Wen took the throne, the first thing he did was to posthumously confer a title on his father, Li Chen.

Although Li Chen did not choose him in the end, in order to create the impression of succession, Li Wen, at the suggestion of his ministers, posthumously gave Li Chen the temple name and posthumous title of Emperor Xuanzong Xiao.

However, judging from what Li Chen did in the last few years of his reign, the title of Xuanzong was obviously not worthy of his position.

Even so, it did not prevent Li Wen from giving it a very high evaluation.

After the posthumous title and temple name of the previous emperor were finalized, Li Wen immediately changed his name to "漼" and changed the name of the first Ming dynasty to "Xiantong".

On August 20th, Li Yi appointed Linghu Tao, Xiao Ye and Jiang Shen as prime ministers, and also promoted Pei Xiu to be prime minister for his merits.

Wang Zongshi was appointed General of the Cavalry and concurrently Privy Councilor.

Qi Yuanshi served as lieutenant of the Left Shence Army, and Wang Maoxuan continued to serve as lieutenant of the Right Shence Army.

Qi Yuanjian was promoted to Privy Councilor, Yang Xuanyi and Wang Zonghui served as envoys of the Southern and Northern Courts of Xuanhui respectively, and Yang Xuanjie served as deputy envoy of the Left Shence Army.

In addition, Zhang Huaiding, who was stationed at the Prince of Yun's Mansion on the night of Guimao, was also promoted to the rank of General Shenwu, in charge of the left and right Shenwu armies, and was granted the title of third-rank Yinqing Guanglu Doctor, Guard General, and the title of founding marquis of Qingshui County.

Although Zhang Huaiding was only a third-rank official, his father Zhang Yichao was under his control.

It has to be said that Zhang Huaiding made the right bet, and after being canonized, he returned to the Zhang Mansion in a domineering manner.

"bump!!"

"Did I ever tell you not to accept others' solicitation?!"

At Zhang's residence, Zhang Yichao, who was wearing a purple robe, had a livid face, while Zhang Yitan and Zhang Huaiquan, who were wearing red robes beside him, seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Inside the hall, Zhang Huaiding, who was being accused, had an ugly look on his face. He didn't expect that after returning home, he would be greeted not with praises, but with questioning and scolding.

"I got the purple robe by my own ability, what's wrong with that?"

Zhang Huaiding asked his father in return, and Zhang Yichao felt very disappointed after hearing this:
"What kind of good people are those people from Beisi?"

"When you were promoted today, did you see the attitude of your colleagues in the Southern Court toward you?"

"So what?!" Zhang Huaiding couldn't help laughing:
"The so-called Southern Court is nothing more than this."

"As long as I have military power, even the Supreme Being will have to be wary of me!"

"You were like this in the beginning, my elder brother was like this, Liu Muzhi was like this, and now I am like this too!"

"If the three thousand Shenwu troops are properly trained, our Zhang family may become the third force outside the Southern Court and the Northern Court!"

"Aye, you are old, your tricks are no longer effective!"

"If your method worked, why would Zhang abandon Hexi and move to Chang'an?"

"This world is no longer a place where blind loyalty can be rewarded. Only military power is real, and everything else is just..."

"You are presumptuous!!"

Zhang Huaiding's venting was interrupted by Zhang Yichao.

The more Zhang Huaiding wanted to climb up, the more afraid Zhang Yichao became.

If Zhang Huaiding had the ability, he would certainly support it, but Zhang Huaiding didn't.

Continuing to allow Zhang Huaiding to climb up will only bring disaster to the Zhang family.

"..."

After being interrupted by Zhang Yichao, Zhang Huaiding was silent for a moment. Before Zhang Yichao could continue to lecture him, Zhang Huaiding said calmly:

"Your Majesty has granted me a mansion, and I will move out later."

"Starting tomorrow, the Left and Right Divine Armies will be trained by you and your brother."

After saying this, he turned around and glanced back at Zhang Yichao and the other two:

"What I just said was in the capacity of the Great General Shenwu, not Zhang's Second Brother."

"Whether you are worried about me or look down on me, from now on, please call me General in the army..."

After finishing the last sentence, Zhang Huaiding walked out, and Zhang Yichao was also silent after his words.

Zhang Huaiding's figure had disappeared. Zhang Yitan then spoke up, "We are old. Erlang and the others are in their thirties after all. They naturally have their own ideas. You don't have to worry too much."

"Alas..." Zhang Yichao sighed, his eyes showing a moment of worry:

"I'm worried that he'd be deceived by the eunuchs in the Northern Division and get sucked deeper and deeper into trouble."

"But he is right. It is always better to have military power. At least when something happens, you can still have the ability to counterattack."

It’s not that Zhang Yichao doesn’t understand, he’s just too concerned and confused.

Now that he had calmed down, he turned to look at his eldest son Zhang Huaiquan:

"Da Lang, you brothers, please help each other in the future. I am old..."

"Aye..." Zhang Huaiquan didn't know what to say. He seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he couldn't say anything.

In short, after this day, Zhang Yichao never went to the Right Shenwu Army again, and Zhang Huaiding also merged the garrisons of the Left and Right Shenwu Armies into one.

Zhang Huaiquan was recommended by Zhang Huaiding as the general of the Left Shenwu Army, Zhang Yichao served as the general of the Right Shenwu Army, and several brothers were recommended as military commanders.

In just a few days, the Shenwu Army had become Zhang's private army, but the consequence was that Zhang Huaiding and the Beisi became closer and closer.

By the time the news reached Liangzhou, it was already the end of August.

On the vast grassland, Liu Jilian read the intelligence sent by Chang'an Jinzouyuan over and over again, while Cao Mao and Chen Ying followed him silently.

After he finished reading all the information, he let out a long sigh and couldn't help but begin to recall the differences between the present and history.

The emperor who ascended the throne and the reign title were still the same as in history, but the overall situation had changed.

Zhang Yichao arrived in Beijing ahead of schedule and was therefore involved in the struggle between the Southern Court and the Northern Court.

The Shenwu Army was therefore controlled by Zhang Huaiding, the guy who caused Zhang Huaishen to be beheaded in history, and he completely established his foothold in Chang'an.

In addition, looking at the situation of the entire Tang Dynasty.

As Xiahou Zi was defeated, Wang Shi lacked anyone to recommend him, so he was not transferred to eastern Zhejiang to quell the rebellion and remained in Annan.

Gao Pian, who was supposed to have come to prominence during the Xiantong period, was appointed as a military governor ahead of schedule and is now in charge of Lingnan.

With Wang Shi and Gao Pian in charge of the "two souths", can Nanzhao still achieve results in the south?
It would be fine if he was simply repelled, but if he suffered a crushing defeat, would it affect his plans?
Fortunately, the rebellions of Wang Shouwen and Qiu Fu did weaken the power of the Tang Dynasty, and the three tax increases by the Tang court also increased the burden on the people.

The number of refugees in Henan and Huainan at present is no less than that at this stage in history.

The Tang Dynasty's foundation is still very strong, while my own foundation is still very weak.

You can't and shouldn't be the first to stick your head out.

After sorting out his thoughts, Liu Jilong turned and looked at Cao Mao and Chen Ying:

"How is the training of the soldiers in the two towns of Liangzhou going?"

It has been more than five months since we recovered Liangzhou. Although this is not a long time, it is not a short time either.

"Reporting to the commander, the soldiers of the two towns have been trained, but the elite cavalry is short of horses. For the time being, we can only gather 2,000 elite cavalry."

After Chen Ying finished speaking, Cao Mao also added:
"It's not just the two towns in Liangzhou. The other towns that have been expanded are also basically short of military horses."

"Although the main focus of this northern expedition to Juyanhai is Hexi, the pursuit back and forth will always result in the loss of a lot of troops and horses. I think..."

Cao Mao looked hesitant, and it was obvious that he did not want to waste troops and horses to fight in the Juyan Lake.

However, Liu Jilong affirmed: "We must go to Juyan Lake, and not just this time, but every year, and make patrols a regular practice."

"Only by letting the Uighurs know that the entire Hexi area is our sphere of influence can we keep them out of Hexi and protect the safety of Liangzhou!"

"When the population is sufficient in the future, we will also move people to Juyan Lake, Xiutu Lake, Baiting Lake and other places, build cities, reclaim land, and continuously expand our sphere of influence."

At this point, Liu Jilong took a deep breath and said, "Liangzhou has been on the right track these days. Counting the days, it's almost time for me to go back to Linzhou."

"In Liangzhou, the two of you will temporarily help Yishan. When the matter of Juyanhai is settled, Cao Mao, you will go back to Linzhou first, and Chen Ying will go back to Linzhou after hearing the news from the Protectorate."

"Yes!" The two bowed in response, and then returned to Guzang City with Liu Jilian.

After returning to the city, Liu Jilong went to the yamen and met the busy Li Shangyin.

Li Shangyin, who historically should have died in the past two years, now seems to have a second spring and is full of energy.

When Liu Jilian arrived, he was calculating on an abacus with more than twenty officials, with a smile on his face.

"Let me see, what could make Yishan so happy?"

Liu Jilong suddenly spoke, and Li Shangyin realized that he had actually walked up to him. "General Ji!"

Li Shangyin stood up and bowed, but Liu Jilong held his shoulders and smiled as he looked at the documents on the table: "A lot of people have moved in."

"Reporting to the commander, Linzhou just sent a document stating that more than 7,000 people have arrived this month, and most of them will be relocated to Liangzhou."

Li Shangyin explained, picking up the document and flipping through it, saying, "Since we recovered Liangzhou, in the six months since then, we have relocated 80,000 Hu people out and relocated more than 53,000 people in."

"Except for the 20,000 people who moved from Lanzhou, the remaining 33,000 people all moved from Jiannan, Shannan and other places."

"The imperial court raised taxes three times, and the officials below also kept raising taxes. The burden on the people has reached 70%. Even people from Xichuan have fled to Longyou. It can be seen that the country is corrupt."

"Now, under my jurisdiction, there are no less than 540,000 people, but the cultivated land is only more than 4.6 million acres, of which 5% is military land, 1% is official land, and 4% is civilian land."

"The taxes collected in the prefecture amounted to more than 800,000 dan and more than 300,000 guan."

"Of these, 50% are the Duzhi army, 30% are the Duzhi government offices, and 20% are Duzhi workers."

"In addition, the Imperial College's expenditure is no less than 200,000 dan, which is entirely filled by the grain purchased by merchants."

"My government owes the spice merchants 126,000 strings of cash. Fortunately, we have received news from Ganzhou that we will be able to transport spices into Fanhe territory in three days."

"This time we bought sixteen kinds of spices, weighing five hundred and forty stones, and pepper alone weighs one hundred and fifty stones."

"If the next batch of spices is shipped to Chang'an for sale, it will be worth at least 300,000 strings of cash, three times the value of the goods."

"After getting this money, I can pay back the money I owe to the tooth merchants, buy another 100,000 worth of goods, and still have a surplus of 80,000."

Li Shangyin did the math for Liu Jilian and found that, in general, Longyou's fiscal expenditures were greater than its revenues.

However, after the recovery of Liangzhou and the opening up of the Hexi Corridor and the southern route of the Western Silk Road, Longyou and Hexi were able to gain a lot of wealth via the Silk Road.

Although not as good as the peak period of Kaiyuan, it was enough to ensure that Hexi and Longyou had enough food and drink.

“Can it still grow?”

Liu Jilong asked, but Li Shangyin shook his head and said, "I need to wait for the wine envoy from Hexi to arrive before I can know the demand of the Southern Road of the Western Regions."

"Okay." Liu Jilong nodded and said:
"In that case, I will wait for Jiu Juyan to arrive and take the spices to Linzhou."

"Are you going back?" Li Shangyin asked hurriedly. Although he was able to handle the affairs of Liangzhou, he felt more at ease knowing that Liu Jilian was here.

"Well, I've been out for nearly half a year, it's time to go back."

After that, Liu Jilong chatted with Li Shangyin for a while, then went downstairs to rest.

Three days later, Jiu Juyan really led the caravan into Liangzhou. However, it was not until the seventh day of September that Jiu Juyan led the caravan to the outskirts of Guzang City.

After he handed over the spices to Li Shangyin, he walked into the Guzang government office nervously.

"Ganzhou Governor Jiujuyan in Hexi pays respect to the commander-in-chief..."

After not seeing each other for so many years, Jiu Juyan felt a little embarrassed when he met Liu Jilong in this way again.

However, when Liu Jilong faced him, he still spoke to him in the same straightforward manner as before:

"Not bad, although not as impressive as before, but this envoy's aura is indeed not bad, please take a seat!"

"Yes……"

Seeing that Liu Jilian was the same as he was before, Jiu Juyan breathed a sigh of relief and took a seat as arranged by Li Shangyin.

After he sat down, Liu Jilong began to serve the dishes and asked Jiu Juyan:
"How does the Western Regions trade route compare to the past?"

"The southern route can still communicate with India, but the northern route is in chaos due to the influx of Uighurs into the Western Regions, making trade difficult."

"The goods shipped to Khotan were sold out in less than half a month. The demand is far from enough to meet the supply."

"Thanks to Marshal Jie's good fortune, Hexi has also gained a lot, so Marshal Zhang Jie hopes that you can provide more goods and population..."

When it comes to population, Jiu Juyan couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. After all, he knew that Longyou was more short of population than them, especially Hankou.

However, I have to ask the military orders because I have to ask the questions.

In this regard, Liu Jilong also turned his attention to Li Shangyin, and Li Shangyin also said:

"There are 378 people who committed crimes in the prefecture, and 951 of their family members were implicated."

"Seventy percent of this population are from Hankou, and thirty percent are from Fankou."

"According to the previous rules, replace it with high-quality saltpeter or war horses."

After hearing that more than a thousand people would be relocated to Hexi, 70% of whom would be from Hankou, Jiu Juyan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and nodded quickly:

"Of course, but our army is also short of horses, so we can only replace it with saltpeter."

"Well..." Li Shangyin looked at Liu Jilong, but Liu Jilong nodded and said, "Okay!"

Seeing that Liu Jilong agreed, Jiu Juyan hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude, and Liu Jilong did not feel at a disadvantage.

Although black powder bags are powerful, the amount consumed when used to attack brick walls is still quite large.

The Longyou Army recaptured Liangzhou, using more than 40,000 kilograms of gunpowder, which was worth more than 5,000 strings of cash.

According to the current formula, these 40,000 kilograms of gunpowder will consume nearly 30,000 kilograms of saltpeter.

Most of these saltpeter were exchanged with Hexi for people who had committed crimes. This not only solved the problem of population shortage in Hexi, but also solved the problem of insufficient high-quality saltpeter in the Longyou Army. It could be considered a good utilization of waste.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to Jiujuyan: "Since Khotan and other countries need a lot of goods, we will sell twice as much as this time in the spring of next year."

"In addition, during the autumn harvest this year, we will go north to annihilate the Uighurs in Ganzhou, Juyanhai. Our division's 2,000 elite cavalry are ready. We only need General Zhang to signal us."

Jiu Juyan called Zhang Huaishen the "Jie Marshal", which showed that Zhang Huaishen had no intention of having any dealings with the Tang court. Otherwise, calling himself the "Jie Marshal" would be an act of usurpation and would inevitably cause internal turmoil in Hexi.

However, since the Suo family left and the Li family joined, even if Zhang Huaishen is not the one who has the final say in Hexi, he is almost there, so there is no need to hide it.

As for sending troops to Juyan Lake, it would be of great benefit to Longyou. In addition, the troops were mainly elite cavalry from Hexi, so he would naturally cooperate.

"In that case, I will return to Ganzhou now and report this to my commander."

"it is good."

Liu Jilian did not make a show to stop him, but sent Jiu Juyan out of the yamen. The next day after Jiu Juyan left with more than 300 elite cavalrymen from Hexi, Liu Jilian personally led 200 elite cavalrymen to escort the spices south to Linzhou.

On September 20th, he led his army back to Didao City and met Gao Jinda, Cui Shu and others.

Although he was eager to see Feng Hui, there were indeed many things in the Protectorate that needed his attention.

Not to mention anything else, among the criminals who were trafficked to Hexi, many were corrupt officials.

Because of this, Liu Jilian, who returned to Didao, did not show a good face to all the people who came out of the city to welcome him. Even when the common people and martyrs' families came to welcome him spontaneously, he just smiled with his lips closed.

His attitude made everyone feel heavy-hearted. It was not until they entered the main hall of the Protectorate that Liu Jilong sat down, glanced at everyone, and said in a cold voice:

"I have only been on the expedition for half a year, and more than 300 people have committed crimes against the wind."

"Why? Do you think I am far away in Liangzhou and cannot control them, so you are so bold and reckless?"

In a few words, everyone was sweating profusely, and Gao Jinda had no choice but to step forward and bow:

"General, this is due to our poor supervision. Please punish us..."

Liu Jilong did not respond to him, but asked in a cold voice: "Han Zhengke?"

"General, I am here."

A green-robed official in his early twenties walked out. He was the head of the Censorate when Cao Mao was away.

Most of the more than 300 people who committed crimes this time were arrested under his leadership.

"Have all the perpetrators been found?"

Liu Jilong questioned the other party, but Han Zhengke said calmly: "Replying to the commander, there are always corrupt officials and criminals, and they cannot be eliminated or eradicated completely."

"I and the officials in the Censorate can only guarantee that we will not let go of any corrupt officials or offenders we find."

Han Yike's words are quite insightful. At least in the previous Protectorate environment, such a person could not be cultivated, because Han Yike was an official introduced to Longyou by Li Shangyin's letter.

Longyou has a weak cultural heritage and is still developing. It will take a long time to develop its culture.

Liu Jilong nodded in satisfaction and said, "The Censorate should monitor all prefectures in the prefecture. Anyone who shields and obstructs will be punished with the same crime!"

"I have never deprived you of your wealth. Every stitch and thread you use is paid by the people of Longyou who have saved money through their frugality."

"Before you start exploiting and oppressing the people of Longyou, you'd better first recall your past as slaves under the rule of Tubo!"

Without saying much, Liu Jilong stood up and walked towards the inner courtyard, while all the people left in the main hall were still frightened and looked at each other.

Liu Jilong is still the same Liu Jilong as before, but how many of them are still the same person as before?
I'm afraid they themselves don't dare to answer this question...

(End of this chapter)