Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 418 Urging Him to Ascend the Throne and Become King (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Crackling..."

The north wind blows snow at the beginning of the fourth watch, auspicious omens arrive at the end of the year.

With the sound of firecrackers, the world entered the eighth year of Xiantong. Gao Jinda of Longyou also acted quickly, dispatching 2,200 officials from various parts of Longyou to the south.

In addition, he recruited 4,400 officials from the Three Rivers region who were able to adapt to the climate of the Three Rivers region and sent them south.

Six thousand six hundred officials—this is the limit of the number of officials and clerks that Longyou can mobilize and reserve at present.

For this reason, Gao Jinda specifically wrote to Liu Jilong to ask whether university graduates who had served in the military for two or more years should be directly selected as officials.

"Currently, there are 1,852 university students in our army who have completed their two-year military service. According to the original requirements, they should serve as officials for two years before being promoted and gradually promoted to officers."

"But given the situation, both officials and generals lack scholars like them. Even if we recruit the people of the Three Rivers region as soldiers, we still need them to serve as generals and teach them to read and write."

Inside the Chengdu government office, Zhang Wu, returning in triumph, followed behind Liu Jilong. The two strolled leisurely through the office, watching the newly arrived officials bustling about.

Seeing that his commander remained silent, Zhang Wu continued, "Commander, there are no more men in Longyou who are eighteen years old or older and have completed primary school. They are either studying, working in various industries, or working in the countryside. We don't have any more soldiers to recruit."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Jilong led him to a section of corridor and then sat down.

"How many soldiers has Gao Jinda recruited?"

Liu Jilong asked calmly, and Zhang Wu replied, "We currently have 32,000 garrison troops in the prefectures, and more than 46,000 new recruits. This is already the limit of what we can recruit."

Longyou has developed its basic education over the years, but its population problem has only been solved in recent years. So, although Longyou has 160,000 students on paper, most of them are primary school students under the age of thirteen, and only more than 30,000 attend university.

The ages of these 30,000-plus people are generally between thirteen and eighteen.

Except for Linzhou University, other universities require at least two years of rural service and two years of military service according to the procedures.

In other words, the theoretical and practical teaching in Longyou lasted for fourteen years, from the age of seven to twenty.

After the age of twenty, if one wanted to embark on an official career, one would start from the most basic clerk position and work one's way up.

According to the merit-based system for the promotion of officials in Longyou, it was already quite good if one could become a ninth-rank official before the age of thirty.

Of course, if one consistently achieves top marks in performance evaluations, becoming a seventh-rank official is not impossible.

Longyou has its own set of rules for cultivating students and promoting officials, but these rules are clearly no longer suitable for the situation Longyou is facing.

About 80% of the men in Longyou who had received primary school education and graduated, and were over the age of eighteen, were recruited as officials or soldiers.

Including the more than 40,000 veterans, there are currently 160,000 professional soldiers in the Longyou army. Among them, about 70,000 are veterans and garrison soldiers who have acquired basic literacy through literacy campaigns. Only about 50,000 soldiers have actually received primary school education and graduated.

Besides these 120,000 men, the remaining nearly 40,000 new recruits were soldiers recruited by Zhang Wu and Geng Ming in Sanchuan, but their level of education was no different from that of illiterate people.

Commanding a group of soldiers with only a primary school education is undoubtedly more difficult than commanding a group of illiterate soldiers.

Zhang Wu's words implied that he wanted Liu Jilong to send a group of students from the tens of thousands of university students to Sanchuan, thereby helping the 40,000 new recruits in Sanchuan to get rid of illiteracy.

Liu Jilong knew what he was thinking, but he couldn't release the university students he had spent seven or eight years nurturing ahead of time.

The world is vast; conquering it is easy, but maintaining it is difficult.

If we want to safeguard the country, we still need to rely on the scholars from Longyou.

Lost in thought, Liu Jilong said, "I will transfer all the military students who have graduated from university to Sanchuan."

"These 1,800-plus people, plus the 16,000-plus new recruits from Xichuan who are about to head south, make up about 18,000 people, while your own recruits number only about 36,000."

"With this one-to-two approach, the soldiers recruited locally in Sanchuan can get rid of illiteracy in as little as six months and as long as a year."

"As for allowing university students to graduate early, or skipping the rural service route and joining the army directly, I will not agree to that."

"Skipping them out of going to the countryside directly will not be good for their future military careers or official positions."

Liu Jilong paused for a moment, then said, "As you have seen during this period, while we were using those scions of powerful families to maintain the situation, rebellions broke out frequently in various counties of the Three Rivers region."

"Now that our people have arrived, you can see whether these powerful families can still take advantage of the situation to cause trouble."

“Sanlang, while military campaigns are important, governing local areas is equally important.”

"Throughout history, it has always been easier to conquer a country than to govern it."

“I will not mobilize the more than 30,000 university students in Longyou unless absolutely necessary.”

Liu Jilong had made his point clear: regardless of whether Zhang Wu understood, he would not continue this topic by saying another word.

Zhang Wu was well aware of this, but fortunately he wasn't pedantic, after all, he was also someone who had received an education in Longyou.

"This subordinate understands." He bowed in response, and Liu Jilong nodded as well.
"As you are in charge of the Governor's Office, you cannot only focus on fighting wars. You must also pay attention to the local people's livelihood, especially repairing water conservancy projects, repairing roads, helping people repair houses, and managing farmland, etc."

"Xichuan, which you control, is a prosperous place, but why are the people outside Chengdu Prefecture so poor? You need to think about this carefully."

“When Yishan arrives, he will help you and Gengming govern Xichuan and Dongchuan, but you cannot rely on him.”

“Yishan is no longer young. If there were a more suitable candidate, I would not have troubled him to travel this long distance.”

Although Liu Jilong said that, he was genuinely happy to see Li Shangyin, whom he hadn't seen for many years, and to be able to meet him and discuss some matters with him.

Thinking this, he got up and walked with Zhang Wu toward the central hall, and soon they arrived there.

Seeing that he had to attend to official business, Zhang Wu took the initiative to say goodbye and left.

After he left, Liu Jilong also looked through the documents that Gao Jinda had sent over.

These documents are mostly records of finances, taxes, and administrative documents from Longyou, which are quite overwhelming.

Even so, Liu Jilong still had to bite the bullet and read through it, and learned about the current situation in Longyou.

As it turns out, the powerful and wealthy families of Sanchuan were indeed rolling in money.

It is only the third day of the first lunar month, but in the previous half month, the Longyou Army had suppressed 22 rebellions, confiscated the property of 18 aristocratic families and 59 commoner families, seized more than 3 million mu of farmland, and countless amounts of cash, gold, silver, and goods and grain.

More than two million strings of cash, as well as gold and silver worth more than eight hundred thousand strings of cash, were sent to Longyou.

In addition, Sanchuan kept over one million guan in cash, as well as goods worth over five million guan and over three million shi of grain.

The cash sent to Longyou solved Gao Jinda's immediate problem and was at least enough for him to cover Longyou's expenses for nearly a year.

Today, Longyou has 160,000 soldiers, more than 5,200 officials, more than 12,000 clerks, and more than 7,200 instructors at the Imperial Academy.

After capturing Sanchuan, various expenses increased sharply, with annual fixed expenditures fluctuating around 3.4 million guan, putting considerable pressure on the company.

However, judging from the land and population acquired by Sanchuan, Longyou's tax revenue will also increase next year, and the Silk Road will be reopened due to the market in Sanchuan.

The spices that had been piling up in the Protectorate's warehouse finally found a use.

Liu Jilong slowly closed the book, rubbed his temples, and thought to himself:
"The two prefectures and twenty-nine counties, according to the old records, have a population of over 3.2 million and over 24 million mu of cultivated land."

"This is, after all, copied data, and it is probably already distorted. We will only know the answer after the officials under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate remeasure, re-register, and redistribute the land."

"However, even if it is just copied old data, if we extrapolate from this data and levy taxes according to the tax rate in Longyou, we can still collect at least eight million shi of grain."

"If we include commercial taxes, the tax revenue should be no less than six million strings of cash, converted at market value."

"This tax rate is indeed not high compared to that of the imperial court, but previously in Longyou, all the land could be divided equally, while in Sanchuan, a large amount of land was still controlled by powerful families."

“I can’t completely break ties with them right now. A 40% tax rate is still too high. I could consider lowering it a bit.”

Liu Jilong put down his left hand that was rubbing his eyebrows, and then started doodling on the paper. He quickly came up with an idea.

"Lowering the tax rate to 35% is not a huge reduction, but it is still much less burdensome for the people than the regular taxes and miscellaneous taxes levied by the imperial court."

Liu Jilong nodded to himself, then summoned the officials of the prefectural government, told them about the latest tax policy, and asked them to send his handwritten letter to Longyou.

Since taxes are to be reduced, then naturally all areas under the jurisdiction of Longyou should have their taxes reduced; reducing taxes only in the Three Rivers region is not enough.

Moreover, taxes are heavy in times of chaos, and light in times of peace.

The people of Longyou have multiplied for almost a generation, but the land has not expanded much, and the per capita arable land remains the same. Appropriately reducing the tax rate can be seen as an encouragement to the people of Longyou, and it can also allow soldiers from Longyou to see the results of their campaigns.

"The problem of official corruption really needs to be taken seriously."

Liu Jilong looked at the old books, a hint of worry flashing between his brows.

Despite the fact that the total tax rate in the Three Rivers region was not low, with the people bearing a tax burden of almost 45%, the court did not receive much money. The majority of the money was pocketed by clerks and local officials.

In the end, the common people suffered exploitation, local officials and clerks became rich and powerful, while the imperial court continued to live a miserable life and bore the infamy of the local officials and clerks.

Li Cui, sitting on the throne, probably couldn't understand how his mere increase of two percent tax and a few kilograms of grain per mu could force the people to rebel.

Little did he know that he only added a few kilograms of grain tax, while the local officials added more than ten kilograms of tax per mu.

For farmland where the yield per mu hovers around 100 to 200 jin, these dozen or so jin of grain may not seem like much.

Don't forget, this is just an additional tax. Before this, the land had already been taxed countless times.

Perhaps in the emperor's eyes, the total tax levied by the court on each acre of land was no more than twenty-odd catties of grain.

However, in the hands of local officials, those twenty-odd catties of grain had long since doubled to seventy or eighty catties.

Ordinary people who could barely survive would have no choice but to rise up in rebellion if they encountered man-made disasters or natural calamities.

Throughout history, this has been the fate of every dynasty that perished.

To paraphrase what my teacher from my past life said, I am "too far removed from the common people," which is why I feel that my tax increase is only "a little bit."

How to solve the problem of bureaucratic corruption? Liu Jilong's solution was to include clerks in the official promotion system, pay them salaries, and promote them based on their performance.

This was only the first step. The second step was to cultivate a large number of people who could replace the officials, so that the officials themselves would feel a sense of crisis. Thus, the Imperial Academy came into being.

The fight against corruption has no end, and Liu Jilong's goal is to be able to arrest anyone at any time and place, and to quickly replace anyone who is brought down.

In short, if you don't want to be an official, there are plenty of others who will...

This system is rudimentary, but it's sufficient to deal with the current situation.

As for more specific systems, he could only rethink them when the world was about to be pacified, or even after it had been pacified.

After all, he had too many problems to deal with. Just considering the issues of powerful and influential families, he had to spend a lot of effort to balance and deal with them.

In addition, he also needed to address the problem of local military governors becoming too powerful since the An Lushan Rebellion.

Historically, Zhao Kuangyin faced an even worse situation, so he had to resort to drastic measures to address the critical issue.

Although the situation I'm facing is also bad, it's not unsolvable, and there's no need for a one-size-fits-all approach.

While the country is still in the process of conquering the land, the system of the Governor-General's Office, which is not much different from that of the Military Governor, cannot be abolished for the time being.

Once the country was conquered, local governance had to be divided among different departments, and the Three Offices system of the Ming Dynasty was undoubtedly the best system he could learn from.

The Song Dynasty's decentralization of power was too thorough, and the suppression of military power by civil officials was too extreme. The Qing Dynasty, on the other hand, allowed smaller clans to dominate larger ones, and the necessary conditions were not met.

After much deliberation, the only system that could be learned from was the Three Offices system of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the Ming Dynasty was weak in its later period, the more than two hundred years of exceptional stability in the mainland were enough to demonstrate that the system was not without merit.

With this in mind, Liu Jilong had a general idea, and now the question before him was how to fight in Longyou next year.

"General!"

Suddenly, footsteps sounded, and Zhang Wu hurriedly entered the hall, bowing to Liu Jilong and saying:
"General, a spy from the Sanxianlou in Shannan East Circuit has sent word that Wang Xianzhi has been defeated and Pang Xun in Henan Circuit has also been defeated."

"Of the three major bandits in the He-Huai region, only Huang Chao, who occupies Qizhou, Huangzhou, and Shuzhou, has not been defeated."

Zhang Wu looked anxious because he knew that if the three major bandits were defeated, the imperial court could then draw more troops from the Central Plains to attack them again.

Liu Jilong remained calm in response, but frowned slightly before reassuring her:

"There is no need to worry. Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi have done what they were supposed to do. Now the production in the Hehuai and Shannan East Circuits has been severely damaged. In addition, our army has won one battle after another. The local warlords will definitely outwardly comply but inwardly defy us. The amount of money and grain being transported will only decrease."

"Huang Chao has stayed in Qizhou for so long, which is not in line with the behavior of a bandit. I suspect he has something to do... Bring me the map."

Liu Jilong pondered for a moment before evaluating Huang Chao, then instructed Zhang Wu to fetch a map.

Seeing this, Zhang Wu familiarly took a map from the bookshelf in the central hall and laid it flat on the table.

Liu Jilong stood up and looked at the scene with Zhang Wu. In the blink of an eye, he raised the corner of his mouth slightly and placed his hand on Jiangzhou (Jiujiang) and Chizhou in Jiangnan West Circuit.

"If this fellow is building a boat, then that explains why he hasn't made any progress in the past six months."

"He's going south to conquer Jiangnan..."

Zhang Wu's eyes lit up, and his tone became even more excited: "Great!"

"Now the most prosperous land in the Three Rivers region has been captured by our army, and the He and Huai Rivers have been destroyed. In addition, three towns in Hebei occupy a large area of ​​land. The court can only rely on Jiangnan."

"If chaos breaks out in Jiangnan, the imperial court will be completely out of money and supplies, and naturally will be unable to maintain a stalemate with us."

After the initial excitement subsided, Zhang Wu seemed to remember something and calmly said, "But General, Jiangnan is so important to the court, the court will certainly not let Huang Chao go unpunished."

"With Liu Zhan and Kang Chengxun's troops all around Huang Chao, and the government army having a considerable number of ships at its disposal, Huang Chao probably won't be able to build up his influence in Jiangnan."

“No problem!” Liu Jilong drew a circle around Jiangnan on the map: “It’s enough to keep Jiangnan in chaos for a while.”

"Next year, you will lead your troops to consolidate the Three Rivers region, and after winter, I will lead my troops south to compete with Gao Pian for the remaining Three Rivers prefectures and counties and the Qianzhong Circuit."

"At that time, Guannei Road, Jiannan Road, Shannan West Road, and Longyou Road will all be in our hands, and Guanzhong will be within our grasp."

"If we take Guanzhong, the court will have no choice but to flee to the northern capital. At that time, we can take advantage of the situation to attack Luoyang, the eastern capital."

"Once the situation eases up a bit, we can advance into the Hehuai region, first taking the south and then the north to conquer Jiangnan and Lingnan, and then heading north to attack Hedong and Hebei."

Liu Jilong shared his thoughts, and Zhang Wu frowned upon hearing them, saying, "Since ancient times, it has always been north first and then south; I have never heard of south first and then north."

After he finished speaking, he pondered for a moment and then suddenly realized what was going on. He looked up at Liu Jilong and asked, "General, have you not yet decided how to deal with the Emperor?"

"Sort of, but not quite." Liu Jilong nodded in response, then continued:

"With Dong Zhuo's example as a precedent, if we directly seize the Tang court in Guanzhong, chaos will inevitably break out in Hedong and Hebei, and warlords will rise up in the Hehuai region and Jiangnan."

"Even if the emperor is in our hands, we will still be caught off guard if the various garrisons come to demand him."

"It would be better to send the emperor to Hedong to stabilize the situation in Hedong and Hebei, and then take the opportunity to seize the Hehuai region, occupy the Central Plains, eliminate the warlords in Jiangnan, and then head north."

After hearing this, Zhang Wu hesitated and said, "What if someone imitates Cao Cao and uses the emperor to command the feudal lords?"

"That just gives our army an opportunity." Liu Jilong chuckled, then said:

"Don't forget, although the court issued a proclamation to punish us, we have never declared war on the court, let alone issued any 'cleansing the court of corrupt officials.'"

Why do you think I didn't issue a decree to purge the court of corrupt officials?

Liu Jilong's words are a question that people all over the world cannot understand.

Normally, when the imperial court issues a proclamation to punish Liu Jilong, Liu Jilong should issue a proclamation accusing the court of having treacherous officials and then purging the court of corrupt officials.

However, although Liu Jilong clashed with the government troops, he did not issue a proclamation, nor did he make any statements about clearing out corrupt officials from the emperor's inner circle.

This approach was actually somewhat illegitimate and lacked legitimacy. If it were an ordinary force, it would have lost some morale before the battle even began, but not in Longyou. Many officials in Longyou were of commoner origin and their education was shaped by literacy campaigns; they had no interest in formal etiquette or such things.

If they want to fight, they'll fight. For them, issuing proclamations is just like making threats before a fight; it doesn't matter whether they make threats or not, as long as they fight hard.

In addition, since Longyou was entirely built up by Liu Jilong, few people dared to force him to do things he didn't want to do, so no one advised him for a long time, and Liu Jilong naturally had no opportunity to explain.

Now that Liu Jilong had taken the initiative to speak, Zhang Wu seized the opportunity to ask, "Please enlighten me, General."

When Liu Jilong saw him asking, he immediately went to the bookshelf, replaced the map with a new one, and placed the map of the Tang Dynasty on the table.

Most of the maps of Longyou were drawn by Liu Jilong himself and then printed, so they were very accurate.

Liu Jilong pointed towards Hedong (Shanxi) and said in a deep voice, "If I want to purge the court of corrupt officials and accuse them of being treacherous, the emperor can arbitrarily replace and demote them to eliminate them. Therefore, purging the court of corrupt officials can only be done by accusing the eunuchs of the Northern Bureau of corruption. This is also the situation where the emperor cannot eliminate them and everyone is happy."

"But since I don't want to capture the emperor too early and am prepared to let him go to the northern capital, if other regional military governors hold the emperor hostage to command the other lords and kill the eunuchs of the Northern Division to cleanse the court of corrupt officials for me, what reason will I have to cleanse the court of corrupt officials then?"

"Could it be that we'll then identify this person as a treacherous minister and continue to purge those close to the emperor?"

"Moreover, I have already identified the eunuch of the Northern Division as a thief. If the eunuch of the Northern Division encounters difficulties, he will certainly not ask me for help."

"On the contrary, in the current situation, I have neither identified anyone in the Northern or Southern Offices as a treacherous minister, nor have I cleansed the court of corrupt officials. I have only been fighting against the court and plundering land and people."

"When the court retreats to the northern capital, if it encounters difficulties, the court, whether in the southern or northern offices, may take the initiative to send people to invite troops. Our army can then openly and legitimately go to the northern capital."

"As for what our army did before, the officials in the court will explain it to us."

"Whether one is a soldier or a thief, the answer will naturally be revealed."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Wu still didn't quite understand. He only knew that Liu Jilong hadn't purged the court of corrupt officials because he didn't want to arrest the emperor. He didn't want to arrest the emperor because he was worried that if the emperor were arrested, the country would be leaderless, and then many heroes would rise up, making it difficult to eliminate them.

Now, the two factions in the court are at odds. Accusing the treacherous minister would undoubtedly offend the eunuchs of the Northern Bureau, while not accusing the treacherous minister would leave room for maneuver for both sides.

Zhang Wu couldn't figure out anything deeper, and only felt a headache coming on, so he simply bowed and said:
"Regardless of what the commander thinks, as long as your order is given, I will set off immediately without delay!"

"Hmm," Liu Jilong also saw that Zhang Wu didn't have much political skill, so he didn't make things difficult for him, but nodded and said:
"Before winter arrives, you should lead your officials to survey the land, handle government affairs, and train the troops."

"Don't worry about other things. Just help Geng Ming and Chen Jingchong and guard the Three Rivers."

"Yes!" Zhang Wu bowed in response and then left the main hall.

Seeing him leave, Liu Jilong was about to continue handling government affairs, but less than half an hour later, he heard the sound of ceremonial chanting coming from outside the main hall.

"Duokang Meilu Danzeng and Weigong Luolu request an audience with the military commander."

"come in."

Upon hearing the two singing, Liu Jilong immediately summoned them in.

The two men were dressed in Shu brocade round-necked robes and turbans, their attire no different from that of the Han people.

Upon entering the main hall, they all bowed to Liu Jilong, who put down his pen and asked, "What brings you here?"

"General, my father has sent word that the artisan merchant Kogeleden from the Kang region has risen up in rebellion and is leading tens of thousands of slaves to attack Lhasa."

"The nobles of the Weiru area, Loboroqiong, also took advantage of the chaos to rise up and establish their own independent regime in Weiru."

"I am also in conflict with the Bei clan. The clan chief asked my father for help. My father wants to take this opportunity to expand his power to Ü-Tsang, so he sent me to ask you whether we can lead our troops back to Dokang."

Before Lu Danzeng could finish speaking, Liu Jilong sighed inwardly, "Tibet is finally about to begin to fall apart..."

If he remembers correctly, the great Tibetan slave uprising should have occurred a few years later.

The reason for advancing the date is probably because he led his army to unify Longyou, entered the Three Rivers region, and cultivated the Duokang force that stood between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet.

Because Dokham charged tolls, merchants had no choice but to raise prices, making goods sold in Tibet even more expensive.

Silk and porcelain were not of much use, but tea and grain were crucial to the survival of slaves.

This uprising was just the beginning. As climate change continued and the wars in the Central Plains led to increasingly high food prices, slave uprisings on the Tibetan Plateau would become more and more frequent.

Historically, although the slave revolts were suppressed by the nobles, the once powerful Tubo Dynasty fell into more than a thousand years of division.

Although the Song Dynasty occupied the Qingtang area, it quickly lost it.

Although the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties nominally controlled the Tibetan Plateau, in reality they could only influence Amdo, Kham, and eastern Ü-Tsang.

Whether it was the Tibetan governor during the Yuan Dynasty, the Dharma King during the Ming Dynasty, or the monks during the Qing Dynasty, they could only control the area around Lasa. They had no control over the areas south and west of the mountains and even had to constantly request the Central Plains dynasty to send troops to help them.

The frequency with which the Lasa monks requested troops from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties to quell the rebellion was so high that one might think that everyone except the Lasa was in rebellion.

When faced with the monks' pleas for help during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Mongol cavalry were the most frequent responders, followed by the Qing dynasty.

However, after suppressing several rebellions during the Qianlong era, even Qianlong himself felt the situation was becoming difficult. He simply withdrew the army to Changdu and even reduced the garrison in Changdu to a few hundred men.

During the Jiaqing era, they simply stopped caring about anything and pretended not to hear even when the monks shouted themselves hoarse.

As for the Ming Dynasty, apart from the Yongle era when troops were dispatched to patrol and ensure the smooth operation of the U-Tsang post road, the subsequent Xuande and Hongzhi eras were basically left unattended.

During the Wanli era, the authority was simply granted to the Mu clan chieftain of Lijiang, who was then tasked with leading troops to maintain order from Kham to Lasa.

A chieftain from Yunnan, with two or three thousand "papaya soldiers," was able to maintain order in most of the Kham region.

If Songtsen Gampo knew this, even his coffin lid wouldn't be able to stop his roar.

This also shows how much the Tibetan Plateau will decline from now on.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Tibet, with its more than three million directly subordinate population, will lose at least two-thirds of its population in the major uprisings that will take place over the next few decades.

It remains to be seen what kind of situation the Tibetan Plateau will enter with the presence of Shangmoyan's forces.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong said, "We have recovered a lot of money and grain in the past few days after suppressing the rebellion. Since you are leaving, take 200,000 shi of grain from the government warehouse and go back to Gutao Pass."

"Thank you for the reward, General!" Upon hearing Liu Jilong's words, Lu Danzeng and Wei Gongluo quickly bowed respectfully.

Liu Jilong had previously rewarded them with 200,000 shi of grain, and now he has given them another 200,000 shi.

Four hundred thousand shi of grain would be enough to feed hundreds of thousands of people in Dokang for three or four months, not to mention the rewards for helping to suppress the rebellion during this period.

"You may leave now. Tomorrow I will hold a farewell banquet in the main hall for you."

"Yes……"

The two left the main hall, and Liu Jilong returned to his official duties.

While he was engrossed in his political affairs, more than 300 miles away from Chengdu, in Rongzhou (Yibin), Gao Pian was kneeling in front of the prefectural government office, respectfully receiving the imperial edict from the envoy.

"Gao Jieshuai, from today onwards, you are a prince. I hope you will not fail His Majesty's grace."

Tian Lingzi, the magistrate of the horse stables, looked at Gao Pian with envy. Gao Pian had long heard that Tian Lingzi's godfather was Tian Yun, a trusted confidant of the emperor, so he bowed respectfully and said:

"I will never fail to repay Your Majesty's grace."

As soon as Gao Pian finished speaking, the young general standing next to him turned around and gestured.

Two soldiers came forward carrying a wooden tray, which was covered with a red cloth. Tian Lingzi understood what was going on, but hesitated and said, "This...this might not be a good idea."

"Angel, please accept this, otherwise you will be looking down on me." Gao Pian raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

Seeing this, Tian Lingzi also remembered what her father had said to her before she set off.

The mission to the Three Rivers region was no easy task.

Tian Yun had a premonition that the world was about to change, which is why he went to great lengths to send Tian Lingzi, a lowly stableman from a minor government office, to the Three Rivers region in order to befriend Gao Pian.

“In that case, I will take half; the other half will be taken when the Prince has a happy occasion and the imperial decree is issued next time.”

"Very well." Gao Pian didn't insist, but watched as Tian Lingzi took the wooden tray, then turned to look at the young general:
"Forty-three-year-old, arrange for the angel to rest. When the angel returns to court, send troops to escort the angel out of Sichuan."

"Yes!"

In the Sanchuan region, the only person Gao Pian addressed as "Forty-Third Son" was his eldest son, Gao Qin.

Gao Qin was only twenty-two years old, and his literary and military talents were not outstanding, which made Gao Pian very worried.

Knowing full well that Rongzhou was not easily invaded by the southern barbarians, he deliberately placed him there, which shows that he hoped for its safety rather than any great achievement.

Gao Qin arranged for someone to escort Tian Lingzi to the Yin Hotel to rest, while he followed Gao Pian to the lobby.

Before long, Gao Pian entered the main hall and sat down. Gao Qin then poured him a cup of tea.

Watching the tea leaves being scalded by the hot water, Gao Pian couldn't help but think of the current situation and asked, "How is the situation in the north lately?"

"Longyou?" Gao Qin was indeed not very talented, and he had to ask before he dared to answer.

Seeing his father nod, Gao Qin said, "A few days ago, the rebellions in Sanchuan began to decrease."

"According to the contents of the messages sent by the spies via carrier pigeon, Liu Jilong must have dispatched officials from Longyou to the south and recruited troops, which is how he stabilized the situation in the Three Rivers region."

At this point, Gao Qin couldn't help but ask, "Father, Liu Jilong suppressed the powerful and commoner families in Sanchuan, plundered their land, wealth, and servants, and forcibly relocated them to Hexi. Why didn't the other powerful and commoner families rebel?"

“Because Liu Jilong didn’t lay a hand on them.” Gao Pian replied with a frown, thinking to himself that this was not good news.

Gao Pian naturally knew how much money and grain these powerful families in Sanchuan had, but as an official of the imperial court, he could not easily rob them.

"It's a pity, they all benefited Liu Jilong..."

Gao Pian frowned and placed his teacup on the table beside him. Gao Qin quickly refilled his cup with water.

Seeing Gao Qin's mediocre appearance, Gao Pian sighed inwardly. He didn't think it was the child's fault, but rather that he had been away from home for many years and neglected to teach him, which was why the child had grown up like this.

“Father, I saw the military documents this morning. We are currently recruiting soldiers in Sanchuan and Qianzhong, and we already have more than 90,000 troops.”

"Lord Wang has already dispatched 20,000 new soldiers to Bidao. When do you plan to retake the lost territory in the north?"

In Gao Qin's eyes, his father had only suffered a temporary setback. Now that Sanchuan was in his hands, and he could recruit fierce barbarian soldiers in Qianzhong, he would surely be able to take back Sanchuan.

However, in Gao Pian's eyes, it would be quite difficult to retake Sanchuan. He would only have a chance to attack Sanchuan when Liu Jilong led his army north to conquer Guannei Road.

As for whether Liu Jilong would continue to confront him, or even cross the Yangtze River to the south, he had no doubt.

He knew the climate of Sanchuan; compared to Longyou, it was like a furnace that was constantly being sprinkled with water, hot and stuffy.

Most of Liu Jilong's troops were from Longyou and Hexi, and they were certainly not used to the summer and autumn seasons in Sanchuan. Spring was too close, so Liu Jilong would definitely not continue to launch attacks on Sanchuan.

In comparison, the new soldiers recruited by Liu Jilong in Shuofang and Qinzhou have been training for about three months. When Liu Jilong marches north in the spring, these new soldiers will be of good use.

The Guannei Road suffered a heavy blow, and Zheng Tian was eyeing it covetously.

In Gao Pian's view, Liu Jilong would definitely head north to seize Guannei Road and fight Zheng Tian in a decisive battle along the Longshan line.

When Guanzhong is surrounded on three sides, the imperial court will inevitably have to move the capital.

With this in mind, Gao Pian had no choice but to start making plans for himself.

For the imperial court, moving the capital to the north would be the best option. However, if they could move the capital to the south, to Jiangling, and I could control the Shannan East Circuit, then I might be able to create a situation of east-west confrontation with Liu Jilong.

"The Great Tang Dynasty can only rely on me..."

Gao Pian narrowed his eyes, and at that moment, footsteps could be heard outside the hall.

Before long, Zhang Lin appeared in the courtyard. He walked over happily and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Jie... no, I should call you King Gao now!"

Zhang Lin greeted him with a smile, and Gao Pian, seeing his carefree attitude, couldn't help but curl his lip slightly: "You rascal..."

Zhang Lin didn't take it seriously, stepped forward and sat in the first seat on the left, saying, "General, I went to Luzhou and saw that the Dongchuan soldiers are still capable. After replenishing the troops, we now have 20,000 soldiers. 10,000 will stay in Jiang'an, Mianshui and other counties in the south of Luzhou, and I brought the other 10,000 with me."

"General, when shall we move our troops?" Zhang Lin asked, bowing, clearly dissatisfied with the previous defeat.

Seeing Zhang Lin's question, Gao Pian saw no need to hide anything and answered directly:
"The imperial court has joined forces with the Kyrgyz and agreed to send troops in March. The Kyrgyz will send 100,000 troops to harass Liangzhou, while the imperial court, led by Zheng Tian, ​​will send 90,000 troops to attack Qinzhou."

"In addition, the Tiande Army and the Xiasui Army will also take the opportunity to harass Shuofang."

"At that time, Liu Jilong will surely head north, and our army will be able to train well and send troops to recover lost territory around autumn."

"Good!" Zhang Lin was invigorated upon hearing this, but at the same time, he said with melancholy, "Our elite cavalry only has a little over three thousand left. Now that we cannot acquire more horses, I'm afraid..."

"It's alright," Gao Pian reassured. "Liu Jilong is skilled in using cavalry, and the north is more favorable for cavalry warfare. Therefore, after he goes north, he will lead his cavalry north. At that time, although our army only has three thousand cavalry, it will be enough to deal with the rebels in Sanchuan."

“That’s true.” Zhang Lin nodded, agreeing with Gao Pian’s statement.

Seeing this, Gao Pian also said, "Train the troops well, we only have six months left."

"Yes!" Zhang Lin stood up and bowed, while teasingly saying, "Then this humble general will take his leave, Your Highness."

"Get lost!" Gao Pian smiled helplessly and chased him away, but when he picked up his teacup again, the corners of his mouth still couldn't help but turn up.

"King Gao... is not bad either."

As Gao Pian savored the title, the Longyou Army and the Sanchuan Army began the unusual spectacle of training troops across the river.

The mighty Yangtze River flows eastward, often hundreds of feet wide, with its waves crashing and surging. Even the battle cries of tens of thousands of soldiers seem so weak in its presence.

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and as February arrived, Liu Jilong, who was in the Chengdu government office, finally met Li Shangyin, whom he had not seen for a long time...

"General, Mr. Yishan has arrived!"

Inside the Chengdu government office, Zhang Wu hurriedly entered the main hall to remind Liu Jilong, who was practicing calligraphy.

Liu Jilong paused in his writing after hearing this, then looked up and smiled: "Finally, you've arrived..."

He put down his brush, washed and dried his hands, and asked, "Where is Mr. Yishan? Quickly prepare the troops, and we will go out of the city to welcome him."

"We've arrived at the main hall. I only just found out myself. Mr. Yishan said not to make a fuss."

Zhang Wu hurriedly explained, but Liu Jilong frowned after hearing it: "Don't make a fuss?"

A bad feeling rose in his heart, and at that moment, footsteps sounded outside.

Zhang Wu and Liu Jilong looked over and saw Li Shangyin, whose hair was still black and whose beard was about a foot long, and whose physique was slightly stronger than before, walk to the door, followed by several officials of the fifth rank.

"Since Yishan is coming, why didn't you tell me in advance?"

Liu Jilong stepped forward excitedly, wishing he could embrace Li Shangyin to express his feelings.

However, Li Shangyin did not reply to him immediately, but instead looked at the officials behind him and said, "You may all step back."

"Yes..." Several officials quickly bowed to Liu Jilong and Zhang Wu and left.

Upon seeing this scene, Liu Jilong slowed his pace: "Has something happened in Longyou?"

"Indeed, many things have happened." Li Shangyin frowned, nodded in reply, and stepped into the main hall, saying to Liu Jilong:
"However, before discussing these matters, please allow me to first address the most important issue at present."

"What?" Liu Jilong looked at him in confusion, only to see Li Shangyin bow deeply to him and take out a book from his bosom.

Before Liu Jilong could react, Li Shangyin solemnly said:

"Zhang Huaishen, Deputy Protector-General of Anxi and Viscount of Shouchang County, Gao Jinda, Governor-General of Longyou, Zhang Chang, Governor-General of Hexi, Chen Jingchong, Governor-General of Shannan, Cao Mao, Governor-General of Shuofang, Cui Shu, Chief Secretary of the Protectorate of Longyou, Han Zhengke, Censor-in-Chief and Legal Advisor of the Censorate, Li Shangyin, Chief Secretary of the Protectorate of Dongchuan and Xichuan, and seventy-eight others submitted a memorial, jointly urging the military governor to declare himself king!"

(End of this chapter)