Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 478 Conflicts Begin to Emerge (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Let Princess Shang?"

Inside the main hall of the Prince of Han's mansion, Liu Jilong looked at Li Shangyin and the other two with a somewhat strange expression.

Taking a woman from the imperial clan as a concubine was indeed a good way to appease the former officials of the Li Tang dynasty, especially since Liu Jilong had no intention of exterminating the Li Tang imperial clan.

If the method of marrying Princess Shang could be used to appease the Li Tang imperial family and former officials, it would undoubtedly be very worthwhile.

Despite being a generation younger than Li Cui for no reason, Liu Jilong still felt somewhat relieved to be able to take Li Cui's beloved daughter as a concubine.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at Wang Shi, Li Shangyin, and Zheng Tian. At this moment, Gao Jinda, Luo Yin, Lu Guimeng, and others who had received the news also entered the main hall and bowed to Liu Jilong.

"You all know?"

Liu Jilong asked Gao Jinda and the others, and they nodded and said, "The news spread very quickly. Many aristocratic officials in Luoyang have learned of this matter, and many officials are preparing to jointly submit a memorial at the New Year's Day court assembly."

As Gao Jinda spoke, he glanced at Liu Jilong, hoping that Liu Jilong would agree to the matter.

However, he also knew that this matter could only be accomplished if Liu Jilong was willing; if he was unwilling, even a joint petition from the court and the public would be powerless to change it.

"You can handle the matter of Princess Shang yourselves."

Liu Jilong feigned calmness in expressing his attitude, which relieved the six people in the hall.

Not only them, but also Zhang Yanhui and the three court officials standing in the corner were in the same situation.

Although they hoped that Liu Jilong would usher in a peaceful era, they also did not want the bloodline of Emperor Taizong to suffer a tragic end.

Liu Jilong's actions undoubtedly reassured many people, and it is believed that the content of their conversation will soon be intentionally leaked.

"Your Highness, I have something else to report..."

Gao Jinda bowed deeply, and Liu Jilong nodded in response. Gao Jinda then said with a solemn expression:

"The Liu family of Hedong, the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Pei family of Wenxi, and other gentry families of Hedong hope that Your Highness will continue to appoint their sons to official positions in various prefectures and counties..."

Gao Jinda's words made Wang Shi, who had been sitting upright, somewhat uneasy, after all, he was also from the Jinyang Wang clan, a branch of the Taiyuan Wang clan.

Now that something like this has happened, he naturally has to be extra careful and, if necessary, distance himself from the situation.

He subconsciously looked at Liu Jilong, only to see that Liu Jilong's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes had become sharper.

Liu Jilong didn't seem to have much affection for powerful and influential families. The reason his eastward expansion was so slow was mostly because he was thinking about rebuilding after destroying the old order.

This "destruction" refers not only to the disruption of the original order, but also to the disruption of the original social classes.

The class of aristocratic families and powerful clans was quite different from the simple class concept of later generations, because aristocratic families monopolized the upward mobility channels from the pre-Qin period to the present day, which is thousands of years.

Even though the imperial examination system gave ordinary people a glimpse of upward mobility, this light was ultimately too weak to shake the image of powerful and aristocratic families in the hearts of the people.

Although the imperial examination system was a beacon of light, it couldn't even illuminate the lives of commoners, let alone ordinary people.

On the contrary, since the An Lushan Rebellion, in the hearts of the common people, only by joining the army and getting ahead could they barely see the backs of powerful and wealthy families.

This concept is so deeply ingrained that it is like the Shudras and Dalits facing the Brahmins; even if they become wealthy, they still find it difficult to overcome this psychological barrier.

Liu Jilong wanted to completely shatter this mindset among the people.

The best solution was to take up the butcher's knife. For example, Huang Chao's rampage and massacres in Huainan, Henan, and Dongji directly led to the downfall of twenty-eight powerful families.

Many powerful families from Guanzhong who followed Li Cui in his eastward escape were severely damaged by Huang Chao in Luoyang.

For this reason, Liu Jilong did not encounter much resistance in the three towns of the Central Plains and the eastern capital region; the resistance was mainly concentrated around Luoyang.

Such a thing did not happen in Hedong Road, which is why these powerful families in Hedong Road dared to negotiate with Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong naturally wished to get rid of them as soon as possible, but since he had not yet gained control of the country, he still needed to put on a show.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Jilong said to Gao Jinda:

"There are still many vacancies for officials in Luoyang, and there are many prominent families in Hedong. We can recommend our clan members for these positions."

"As for local officials, let's mainly appoint students from Longyou who have taken the imperial examinations."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Tian bowed and said, "Your Highness, the court has not held the imperial examinations for three years. Why not take this opportunity to hold the examinations and allow these noble families to fill the ranks with mediocre talents?"

Although Zheng Tian was also a renowned figure, and belonged to the Xingyang Zheng clan, one of the five prominent families and seven noble clans, his suggestion was mainly aimed at preventing mediocre talents from entering the court.

After all, after what happened with Yang Xuanji, Zheng Tian realized that compared to two-faced people like Lu Yan, fools like Yang Xuanji were the most terrifying.

Lu Yan at least knew why he was rich and powerful, so he wouldn't do anything too outrageous, but a fool like Yang Xuanji was different.

Thinking of this, Zheng Tian tried to calm himself down by taking deep breaths.

But when he looked up, Liu Jilong shook his head and said, "The imperial examination is not urgent. The world is not yet settled, so there is no need to rush the imperial examination."

He dealt with Zheng Tian only because he had his own plans.

By asking aristocratic families to recommend their own sons, he was essentially lowering himself, actively trying to curry favor with them, and thus making them look down on him.

Once the powerful families are kept in check, he can then take action against them once he unifies the country and the scholars of Guanzhong have become successful.

For Liu Jilong, how could he make ordinary people feel that he was no different from the powerful and wealthy families?
The simplest solution would be to replace all the officials that the people see with commoners of the same status.

Once they understand that commoners can also become officials through their literary skills, the impression that powerful families monopolize upward mobility through writing will be shattered.

Of course, that's not enough, because Liu Jilong also faces a difficult problem: the issue of educational resources.

Given the extreme mismatch in educational resources between the two classes, he needed to improve the educational resources for the common people before he could conduct the imperial examinations.

Given the uneven distribution of educational resources, most ordinary people with limited educational backgrounds will certainly not be able to outperform the children of privileged families in the imperial examinations.

Therefore, he needs to first solidify the educational foundation of ordinary people before he can promote fair competition.

Under such circumstances, the imperial examination system had no choice but to be suspended, just as Zhu Yuanzhang of the early Ming Dynasty abolished it, and the early Qing Dynasty abolished the college entrance examination.

The problem of uneven distribution of educational resources, even with initial adjustments, will take one or two decades to resolve, making it an exceptionally long process.

Although Liu Jilong was confident in his physical condition, he dared not say that he could achieve complete success, given the limitations of his physical capabilities.

During his lifetime, it would be enough to simply raise the level of education resources for ordinary people to a certain standard.

What comes after that can only be left to future generations to handle...

It wasn't that he believed in the wisdom of later generations, but rather that human strength has its limits, and he couldn't possibly be all-encompassing.

Lost in thought, he turned his gaze back to Wang Shi and Li Shangyin, and addressed them respectively:

"In this northern expedition to recover Hedong Road, our army suffered 5,442 dead or wounded soldiers, and their compensation must be implemented."

"Currently, the imperial army has less than 280,000 troops, while the Hedong Circuit has only 44,000 troops and the Hebei Circuit has only 20,000 troops stationed there."

"Although Yizhou and Dingzhou were plundered by Li Keyong, the population of the two prefectures still numbered two to three hundred thousand."

"With the addition of 50,000 troops to the Hedong Circuit and another 20,000 to the Hebei Circuit, is the Ministry of War under any pressure?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shi bowed and said, "The armories of various prefectures and counties have 120,000 sets of armor stored in them, of which no less than 40,000 were captured during the northern expedition. This is more than enough to replenish the armor of the troops in Hedong Circuit and the soldiers recruited in Hebei Circuit."

"Your Highness, I would like to ask what should be done with the more than 24,000 soldiers who surrendered and were captured in Hedong Province, and the more than 4,000 soldiers captured in Daibei?"

"Furthermore, how does Your Highness intend to grant the requests made by the five tribes, including Helian Duo of Daibei?"

Wang raised several urgent issues, and Liu Jilong pondered them for a while. On his way back, he was already considering the matter and now he had a plan in mind.

The general of Hedong was originally very arrogant, but he was massacred once by Wang Duo, Li Keyong, Zhang Huaiding and others three years ago.

However, although the general was executed, the soldiers were not implicated too much, which resulted in the morale of the troops in Hedong Town being no less than that of the three towns in Hebei and Hebei.

These hereditary military officers and soldiers would certainly not accept the arrangement to go back to farming; to put it bluntly, they don't even know how to farm.

Fortunately, the military officers and soldiers were always a minority; most of the state soldiers came from farming families. As long as the land was distributed equally, they could still go back to farming to make a living.

"First, spread the word that the surrendered and captured soldiers of Hedong Zhenzhou would be moved to Yun, Shuo, and Wei prefectures, where land would be distributed equally, oxen and farming tools would be provided to encourage cultivation, and twelve shi of reclaimed land would be distributed."

“All the military officers and soldiers of Daibei and Hedong Town were moved to Anbei Protectorate and Fengzhou, Shengzhou and other places, and were resettled in the local areas with land.”

Before Liu Jilong could finish speaking, his voice turned deep: "If anyone dares to cause trouble, suppress them all!"

"Yes." Wang Shi understood. Liu Jilong was planning to spread rumors to throw the generals and soldiers in Hedong and Daibei into disarray, and then launch an attack to eliminate the unstable ones among them.

Wang Shi naturally supported this, after all, he had dealt with the Silver Knife Team even more ruthlessly in the past.

"Helian Duo, Bai Yicheng, Mi Haiwan, and Li Youjin have made meritorious contributions by donating soil. They are hereby awarded the title of Silver-Blue Grand Master of the Palace and the title of Guardsman."

"If any of the four men are willing to go to Luoyang to serve as officials in the capital, they will be promoted to official positions, and their units will be transferred to places such as Zhongwu, Yicheng, Xuanwu, and Shannan East Circuit. Each household will be granted fifty mu of land."

"If he does not wish to go, he can be settled locally and appointed as the governor."

Liu Jilong naturally wanted to bring all of Helian Duo's followers to the Central Plains for assimilation, and at the same time settle them in Luoyang to enjoy wealth and luxury.

This was done to resolve the situation in Daibei where there were more Hu people than Han people. After all, if the hundreds of thousands of Hu people in Daibei continued to graze their livestock there, they might cause trouble at any time.

If they were to migrate to the Central Plains, these hundreds of thousands of people would be completely assimilated within a few years.

Moreover, the three towns in the Central Plains are sparsely populated and in dire need of rebuilding, which is precisely the time when they need manpower.

The migration of Han people to other places and the migration of non-Han people to other places can greatly expand the living space of Han people, as long as the degree is controlled.

However, he couldn't turn against them now and force Helian Duo and the others to come to the Central Plains, so he gave Helian Duo and the others a choice.

"Your subject has no objection." Wang Shi pondered for only a moment before understanding Liu Jilong's thoughts, and then nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing this, Liu Jilong said to Wang Shi, "His Majesty has now labeled Tianping and Yichang as traitors."

"Although Husiguang and Chen Jingchong are rarely wrong, I still want to appoint you as the Eastern Expeditionary Commander to control the three towns in Henan. What do you think?"

Although Wang Shi was beaten so badly by himself, he was still no match for Hu Siguang and Chen Jingchong.

Liu Jilong's decision to send Wang Shi eastward was a form of insurance for the two men, since Zhu Wen was no ordinary person.

Liu Jilong did not believe that this fellow would obediently wait to be surrounded after he mobilized his troops.

"Your subject will certainly not fail in your mission..."

Wang Shi was slightly moved; after all, he was a former official of the Tang Dynasty and was old and frail.

Given the quality of the Han army, the 60,000 troops of the three towns in the Central Plains were enough to wipe out many vassal states, and even severely damage powerful enemies such as the Dali, Bohai, Khitan, and Xi.

Although he could only mobilize 30,000 troops from the three towns on the eastern expedition, it was still a great trust Liu Jilong placed in him.

"This matter is up to you. Depart for Huazhou immediately and advance eastward before the twelfth lunar month. Sweep away the two towns with lightning speed to ensure that next year's spring planting is not affected."

"Yes!"

After giving brief instructions, Liu Jilong looked at Li Shangyin and asked, "How many teachers and students are there in the official schools under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Academy now?"

When Li Shangyin saw Liu Jilong asking, he knew there was no need to avoid the topic, so he bowed and said, "There are more than 34,000 students at Longyou University, more than 84,000 students at the primary school, and more than 78,000 students from other provinces."

"There are 26,457 instructors in Kansai."

At this point, Li Shangyin couldn't help but continue bowing: "This matter is currently being discussed with Your Highness."

"The paper, brushes, inkstones and inkstones of all the provinces are provided by the imperial court, costing more than 2.4 million strings of cash every year."

"I believe that now that most of the people in Longyou have become wealthy and the court has a sufficient number of officials, we should abolish the provision of paper, pens, inkstones and other necessities and stop providing meals."

"If that is the case, the imperial court can establish schools in Shannan East, Hedong and Dongji, so that tens of thousands of students can have the opportunity to read and write."

Liu Jilong concentrated money and grain to ensure that a small number of people could study, in order to cultivate commoners with no background to serve as officials.

At that time, Longyou was in dire need of reconstruction, so Liu Jilong used the profits from the Silk Road to support tens of thousands of students.

Now, several years later, the number of students from Longyou has increased many times over, and it is obviously unrealistic to continue to maintain such high treatment for students from Longyou.

The imperial court's annual revenue is limited; if there are more resources in Longyou, there will be fewer resources in other places.

Li Shangyin preferred to abolish the high treatment of students from Longyou and give more opportunities for commoners to study, rather than allow Longyou to dominate the field.

Liu Jilong did not directly agree with this, even though he knew Li Shangyin was right.

Because the high treatment in Longyou was something he had tacitly approved of.

If these privileges were abolished now, officials from Longyou would surely submit memorials and even attack Li Shangyin.

"Now that peace has not yet been restored, there is no need to change the treatment of paper, pens, inkstones and inkstones for the time being, but the free meals can indeed be abolished."

“Starting from June next year, the canteens of official schools in various prefectures and counties of Longyou will continue to operate, and the meals will be priced according to local prices.”

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, Li Shangyin breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Liu Jilong would not agree to everything, and he was already very happy that one clause could be abolished.

"If that's the case, the official schools in Longyou can save 300,000 strings of cash every year."

The treatment of students in Longyou's official schools is evident from this. It should be noted that food was only a small part of the expenses; the real major expense was paper, brushes, inkstones, and ink.

Neither of them mentioned whether the treatment of students in the various regions of Kansai had been abolished, because most of the regions in Kansai, except for Longyou, had only been stable for two or three years and were still in the stage of restoring production.

However, regardless of the circumstances, as the country is unified, these privileges in Longyou and Guanzhong will be abolished one after another.

Free education is a necessary means in times of need, but with the continuous expansion of territory and population, current productivity simply cannot sustain such free education for all people.

Even if Liu Jilong favored Longyou, let alone the whole country, the population of Longyou would continue to increase, and the financial burden on Longyou would also continue to increase.

In the past, when there were only 40,000 students, the annual expenditure was only 500,000 to 600,000 strings of cash. The profits from the silk and spice trade, plus the output of gold, silver and copper mines, were enough to support them.

Now, only six years have passed, and the number of students has tripled. If it keeps doubling like this, even collecting all the taxes in the country would not be enough to enrich Longyou.

The era in which Longyou concentrated most of its resources to cultivate a small group of people is over. After pacifying the country, Liu Jilong can then begin to abolish it.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong asked the others, "Is there anything else you wish to report?"

The group remained silent. Seeing this, Liu Jilong gestured for them to leave. Wang Shi, Zheng Tian, ​​Luo Yin, and Lu Guimeng all left one after another, leaving only Gao Jinda and Li Shangyin behind.

Gao Jinda frowned, and seeing that there were no outsiders present, he bowed and said, "Your Highness, this action will likely cause dissatisfaction among many officials..."

Liu Jilong knew what he meant, and he also knew the consequences of doing so.

Abolishing the free meals was Liu Jilong's way of testing the waters with officials and generals from Longyou.

He can bestow wealth and honor upon his men because of the historical context, but the fundamental national policies will not change.

The prosperity of Longyou will eventually decline with the change of policies, and even if the people of Longyou are unwilling, there is nothing they can do.

Longyou has been consolidated, but Yunnan, Guizhou, Liaodong, the Western Regions, and Lingnan have not yet been consolidated.

To consolidate these areas, resources must be invested, and only then can returns be gradually reaped.

What Liu Jilong could be thankful for was that, comparatively speaking, the situation he faced was not as difficult as it was in the early Ming Dynasty.

The simplest example is that Sichuan had less than 1.5 million people after the Mongol massacre at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, while the Jiannan Circuit, Shannan West Circuit, and Shannan East Circuit in Sichuan under Liu Jilong's control had a combined population of no less than 4 million.

In comparison, the total population of various ethnic groups in central Guizhou, Dali, and Annam is only about three million.

If a portion of the unstable elements can be eliminated through war, Liu Jilong can then use the three routes of Jiannan, Shannan West, and Shannan East to Sinicize most of central Guizhou and Yunnan.

With this historical window of opportunity open, Liu Jilong was not about to let it slip by.

Faced with this issue, all people and forces must yield...

"Let's see how they react to this matter."

Liu Jilong took a deep breath and shut Gao Jinda up with a single sentence.

Seeing this, Gao Jinda could only sigh inwardly, while Li Shangyin was well aware of what Liu Jilong wanted to do.

He usually supports what Liu Jilong wants to do, because without Liu Jilong, he probably would have died young from depression and frustration.

Liu Jilong raised his hand to signal them to leave, and the two respectfully bowed and departed.

After they left, Zhang Yanhui stepped forward to refill Liu Jilong's tea and water, and sighed, "It's not easy being in Your Highness's household."

"Hehe..." Liu Jilong chuckled, but there was a hint of weariness in his laughter. "When the plate is big, it's naturally harder to wipe it."

"I can only manage what happens before I die, not what happens after I die, but managing what happens before I die is not so easy."

Liu Jilong knew that once this news spread, he would probably have fewer close friends and family around him.

As it turned out, his conjecture was correct.

Not long after Li Shangyin and others left the Prince of Han's residence, news began to circulate in Luoyang.

First, Liu Jilong married a princess; second, the imperial army marched eastward; and third, the free meals provided to Longyou were abolished.

The recycling of any resource represents potential benefits, but Liu Jilong's attitude is even more important.

If Liu Jilong continued to favor Longyou, the officials, though they had grievances, dared not say anything.

But now Liu Jilong has sent a signal that Longyou is not immune to perpetual prosperity.

This practice was quickly spread by officials in Luoyang and then to many other prefectures and counties.

Before setting out on the expedition, Chen Jingchong and Husi Guang specifically submitted a memorial to Liu Jilong, hoping that the meals for students in Longyou would not be abolished at the moment, so as not to shake the morale of the army.

However, shortly after they submitted their memorial, Wang Shi arrived in Huazhou with an imperial edict and placed the two under his control.

"Your Highness dispatched me here because neither of you has fought in this area. Therefore, I was asked to maintain the army's supplies. I hope you will not hold any grudges against me."

Inside the South Office of Huazhou Guard, Wang Shi sat in the main seat and raised his cup, while below him were Hu Siguang, Chen Jingchong, Ma Yi, Gao Huai, Wang Jian, Lu Yanhong, Han Jian, and others.

Wang Jian, Lu Yanhong, and Han Jian had no powerful backers, so they were very cautious. Chen Jingchong, Gao Huai, and Ma Yi were indifferent, while Husi Guang was not happy.

Wang Shi had already learned about these people before his arrival, so he asked, "May I ask Governor Chen, how much grain is stored in the Huazhou granary, and are the laborers sufficient?"

Chen Jingchong bowed calmly and said, "The granary contains 320,000 shi of grain, but 120,000 shi of it are from the Ever-Normal Granary."

“Recently, famine has been a frequent occurrence in the six prefectures of Weibo, and people have fled south. The government has accommodated them all, so the grain in the Ever-Normal Granary should not be moved lightly. The remaining 200,000 shi are provisions for the eastern expedition.”

“There are many starving people outside the city. If you give them two catties of grain, you can hire a strong young man to transport the grain.”

"Currently, the granary is still short of 5,000 shi of soybeans, but the soybeans are already being transported here, and we will be fully prepared to set off in three days."

Wang Shi nodded repeatedly at Chen Jingchong's words, but Husi Guang interrupted, saying, "It's just that rumors have been spreading lately, and morale in the army is wavering."

Wang Shi knew what Hu Siguang was talking about, but he didn't reply. He just nodded and said, "Zhang Sitai of the Tianping Army was originally a subordinate general who rebelled. Although he obtained the official position of Tianping Jiedushi, there are many people in the town who do not submit to him."

"His Highness sent me here not because he was worried that the two governors would be unable to defeat Zhang Sitai, but to remind you to be careful of Zhu Quanzhong in Yanhai."

"Hmph!" Husiguang sneered upon hearing this: "What's there to worry about, a mere bandit leader?"

"With Chen Lang in command of the central army and myself in command of the vanguard, we can easily subdue them with three thousand elite cavalry!"

Husiguang indeed looked down on Wang Shi, his defeated opponent. Even though he wasn't the one who defeated Wang Shi, he still looked down on him.

He was straightforward and his emotions were written all over his face, so Wang Shi wasn't worried about him.

On the contrary, Chen Jingchong, who was calm and unassuming, caught his attention somewhat.

Wang Shi had learned that Liu Jilong had many capable generals who could lead independently, but none who could command the entire army.

Chen Jingchong was the only one who could be considered somewhat related, but Wang Shi did not think his performance in various battles in Longxi, Longdong, and Xichuan was outstanding.

However, most of the mid- and lower-ranking generals in the eastward-advancing army were from Longyou.

No matter how skilled he is, if he is hindered by lower-ranking generals, it can easily lead to defeat in battle.

Perhaps because he had been tricked by the Tang court too many times, Wang Shi was now always suspicious and paranoid when commanding troops.

"In that case, we shall break camp and advance eastward in three days. I request that Governor Husi lead three thousand elite cavalry and four thousand infantrymen to advance into Dizhou and make sure to occupy the south bank of the Yellow River in Dizhou."

"I obey!" Husiguang replied without hesitation, while Wang Shi looked at Chen Jingchong.

"I will command the rear army of 8,000 infantrymen, with Wang Jian as general. The remaining 2,000 cavalrymen, 5,000 infantrymen, and 8,000 infantrymen will be commanded by Commander Chen as the central army. What do you think?"

Wang Shi adopted a very humble attitude, and Chen Jingchong nodded in agreement: "Agreed!"

"If that's the case, then it's settled." Wang Shi raised his glass again, and after several rounds of drinks, everyone dispersed.

But as soon as Husiguang and Chen Jingchong walked out of the yamen, they saw many generals and captains from Longyou standing at the door waiting.

After the two left, Chen Jingchong didn't say anything, but walked towards his own residence, while the others followed.

Wang Jian and the other two did not leave immediately, but instead bowed to Wang Shi and said:

"Among the Han army, water cannot penetrate, but military orders are very strict. I hold the fish tally of the Commandant, and none of my subordinates disobey. Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"I understand." Wang Shi nodded, then smiled and gestured for the three to leave.

Upon seeing this, Wang Jian and his two companions returned the greeting discreetly and left. However, Chen Jingchong, Husiguang, and others, along with dozens of generals from Longyou, arrived at his residence and sat down.

Facing his own people, Chen Jingchong took a deep breath and said, "You have all earned a lot of money and grain, and His Highness has not been stingy with your wealth, so let's not make a fuss about this anymore."

"How can the Governor say that?"

“Governor, I may be rich and powerful, but Longyou is still our foundation.”

"Your Highness has always favored Longyou. Why would you suddenly abolish the policy of providing meals to official schools? There must be some villains causing trouble."

“This matter must not be conceded. When His Highness was teaching us to read and write, he said that if we cede five cities today, we can cede ten cities tomorrow, and then we can have a peaceful night’s sleep.”

"If we back down, the people of Longyou will likely be bullied..."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, as if they had all suffered a tremendous loss.

Faced with their argument, Chen Jingchong only felt a headache coming on.

This was not the first time such a thing had happened since he followed Liu Jilong eastward.

When Liu Jilong recruited surrendered generals, some people took the initiative to approach them. Not only were Lu Yanhong, Han Jian and others impeached, but even Wang Jian, who had been in the Han army for three years, was often excluded.

Fortunately, this group of people also knew that they couldn't act recklessly on the battlefield, otherwise Wang Jian and his men would have been ostracized.

"I and Husilang have already reported this matter to Your Highness. Things are different now than before. Your Highness is to be the ruler of all under heaven, not just the ruler of Longyou."

"Many things cannot be considered only from our perspective; we also need to consider others more."

“Do not forget that although you are from Longyou, most of your men are brothers from Guannei, Shannan, Jingji, Henan and other places.”

"Are you going to take advantage of these brothers' hometowns by neglecting them?"

Chen Jingchong, having studied in the Zhang clan since childhood, was naturally more eloquent than these generals who had only undergone literacy education.

After being told what Chen Jingchong said, they suddenly became hesitant and didn't know what to say, so they could only look at Husiguang.

Although Husi Guang was brave, he was too straightforward; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so easily swayed by Li Ji's few words back then.

If he hadn't always put Liu Jilong first, he would have suffered the same fate as Li Ji and Ma Cheng.

Even so, he didn't learn his lesson and remained unchanged in his personality. So when he saw the brothers in Longyou being scolded by Chen Jingchong, he quickly said:
"Even if Your Highness wishes to abolish the decree, you should summon us to Luoyang to discuss it before making a decision."

“The brothers didn’t understand, they just felt wronged, so it was normal for them to complain a bit.”

Husiguang was, after all, a soldier under Chen Jingchong. Although he was complaining, he didn't dare to say anything harsh.

If Chen Jingchong hadn't recruited him back then, he wouldn't have the status he has today.

"They act this way because you spoil them!"

Seeing Husiguang like this, Chen Jingchong was somewhat angry at his lack of ambition and said, "Have you forgotten about Young Master Li and Young Master Ma?!"

This time, not only Hu Siguang, but everyone in the hall shut their mouths.

Li Ji was confined to his home for six years. If Ma Cheng hadn't had a son like Ma Yi, he probably would have been squeezed out of the core and marginalized long ago.

Everyone knew the truth, and even Ma Yi, sitting in his seat, felt somewhat embarrassed.

Regarding the things his father had done, he only felt that his father was getting senile, but he didn't know what to say.

Upon seeing the somewhat embarrassed Ma Yi, Chen Jingchong immediately realized he had said something he shouldn't have, and quickly changed his tune:

"In this battle, Lord Wang has already given us plenty of face. If you want to compete with His Highness, you will need to put on a good show."

"Don't forget, the three towns in the north were recovered in just over two months."

Chen Jingchong deliberately mentioned the north to remind these people that they, from Longyou, did not have complete control over the Han army.

Although An Pohu and Zhang Wu both grew up and joined the army in Longyou, they were, after all, from Guannei Circuit and Shannan West Circuit.

For this reason, most of their generals were from Guannei, Jingji, Jiannan, Shannanxi and other places.

Although Cao Mao also belonged to the Longyou faction, he never took sides and forbade his subordinates from doing so, so it was impossible to expect Cao Mao to submit a memorial.

Now that the faction inside the pass has recovered the three towns east of the pass, if they perform worse than the faction inside the pass, even if there is no fighting between the two sides, they will still lose face.

“From Huazhou northward to Cangzhou, it is only a journey of seven hundred li, passing through fifty cities.”

"I will lead 7,000 troops ahead, and Lord Chen will lead 15,000 troops behind. Without Wang Shi's intervention, our army can capture fifty cities within a month!"

Husi Guang said proudly, after all, he had not encountered any decent opponents since he went east.

Seeing his reaction, Chen Jingchong frowned and said, "You must take what Magistrate Wang said to heart."

"This Zhu Quanzhong is only twenty years old, yet he has managed to occupy two towns and command tens of thousands of troops. He must have some impressive skills."

"We must be cautious in this battle and never underestimate our opponent..."

"I understand." Husiguang casually agreed to the matter, and Chen Jingchong could only look at Ma Yi and Gao Huai.

"You two are under the command of Governor Husi."

"Yes!"

The two agreed without hesitation. Seeing this, Chen Jingchong said nothing more, but instructed, "Before the two towns are recovered, I do not want to hear anyone complaining!"

"Yes……"

The generals responded in hushed tones, clearly not very satisfied with the arrangement, but they dared not directly report to Liu Jilong, so they could only act like subordinates.

Seeing their reaction, Chen Jingchong could only sigh inwardly, thinking that if he had known that the hardest part of advancing eastward was not fighting, he certainly would not have followed Liu Jilong eastward.

At this moment, he felt a little envious of Ma Cheng, who was now idle at home.

After waving his hand to dismiss the crowd, Chen Jingchong calmed down and began to prepare for the eastward advance.

At the same time, Wang Shi also wrote a letter about the situation and sent it to Luoyang overnight by express horse.

The journey was only four hundred li, but thanks to the fast horse's continuous gallop day and night, Wang Shi's letter was delivered to Liu Jilong by dusk the following day.

Liu Jilong sat in the main hall of the inner courtyard, feeling the heat emanating from the fire wall, which dispelled some of the chill from his body.

"They are still sensible and know what can be delayed and what cannot be delayed."

"What use is it for Young Master Chen to be so sensible? Those below him will never see it clearly."

Liu Jilong sighed, but at that moment Feng Hui came to his side with a maid, brewing tea and setting out pastries for him as they spoke.

After setting out the pastries, Feng Hui sat down next to Liu Jilong and tentatively asked, "Today, the abolition of just one decree has caused such a stir. If all the benefits for official schools in Longyou are abolished in the future, what kind of trouble will they cause?"

“In the past few days, quite a few ladies have come looking for me, all hoping that I can advise you.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but rub his temples and ask, "What does my lady think?"

“Since you’ve made up your mind, then of course you should do it.” Feng Hui answered without hesitation, choosing to stand by his side.

Liu Jilong felt gratified, but then he thought of Princess Shang's matter and couldn't help but ask, "You must have heard about Princess Shang's matter, right?"

“Of course.” Feng Hui stood up and walked to Liu Jilong, massaging the acupoints on his head, and said with a light laugh:

"It is a joyous occasion that Princess Shang will gain the support of the old ministers. Even if you, my lord, were to marry Princess Shang as your principal wife, I would be happy for you."

"Furthermore, since Your Highness is now a prince, it would be inconvenient to appoint other concubines if the princess were to become a secondary consort. However, there are still four concubines available."

"If Your Highness permits, I can find these four concubines for you..."

"No need," Liu Jilong said, listening to Feng Hui's increasingly outrageous words. "There are only eight people in the inner quarters, and I'm already too busy to handle them all, let alone adding five more."

As he said this, Feng Hui chuckled and said, "Young master, there's no need for that. Although there are eight women in the inner quarters, apart from Lan and Wang, the rest are all middle-aged or older."

"How can a young man possibly be interested in a group of middle-aged women?"

Feng Hui joked with a smile, but Liu Jilong felt a little embarrassed.

He was, after all, a man. Although women in their late twenties and early thirties would still be considered young women in his later years, he was indeed getting tired of them.

He only refrained from taking too many concubines, fearing that his superiors would set a bad example.

Now that Feng Hui had exposed him, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. But thinking that Feng Hui wouldn't usually say such things, he couldn't help but ask, "Did my brother come to see you?"

“Hmm…” Feng Hui didn’t intend to hide anything and directly told him what she had talked about with Feng Bangyan.

Seven days after the winter solstice court assembly, Feng Bangyan felt a sense of crisis at the suggestion of the court officials to marry the princess.

In Liu Jilong's view, even though a woman in her thirties has lost her youth, she still has the charm of a young married woman.

However, in the eyes of people like Feng Bangyan of that era, the best age for a girl was fourteen or fifteen. Many sons of noble families even bought maids and concubines who were eleven or twelve years old, and then sold them to others when they were fifteen or sixteen.

For this reason, in his opinion, Feng Hui's age was already quite old.

He was worried that Feng Hui would fall out of favor after Liu Jilong married the princess, so he deliberately approached Feng Hui when Liu Jilong went out of the city for inspection.

His goal was to have Feng Hui act as a go-between, selecting several women from the Feng clan to marry Liu Jilong as concubines, thus further increasing the Feng clan's influence.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong frowned slightly but said nothing, after all, the Feng family had indeed helped him when he was in trouble.

As long as it's within the rules, Liu Jilong will give Feng the wealth and status he desires.

"Let's put the matter of choosing concubines aside for now; I don't have the energy to be distracted at the moment."

"By the way, how are Tiger Head and the others doing with their studies?" Liu Jilong thought of his eldest sons, whom he had left to fend for themselves in Linzhou.

Upon hearing this, Feng Hui couldn't help but show a hint of resentment: "I thought my lord had forgotten about his offspring."

Liu Jilong was somewhat embarrassed: "I'm so busy with official duties that it's really hard to concentrate."

"If it weren't for my wife, the children in the inner quarters probably wouldn't even recognize me."

What he said was true. Although he no longer had to personally lead troops into battle, he was taking on more and more government duties.

The eight provinces under the Han army's jurisdiction were rife with problems. Today, there was flooding here, Tatar invasion there, Tuhun rebellion, and Dali provoking trouble in the south, among other things.

Although the three provinces and six ministries would offer suggestions on these matters, Liu Jilong still had to review and process each memorial to the throne.

For example, regarding the matter of marrying the princess, Liu Jilong should have explained it to Feng Hui long ago. However, a few days ago, an earthquake struck Chang'an, causing all the roof tiles to fall off the city, destroying 120 houses, affecting thousands of people, and even burying and killing patrolling soldiers.

He has been busy dealing with these matters these past few days and has been resting in the front yard for several days. He only had time to come to the back hall today.

"Tiger Head..."

Seeing that Liu Jilong seemed somewhat guilty, Feng Hui was about to speak when Zhang San Niangzi, who was nearly sixty years old, walked into the main hall and presented a memorial with both hands.

"Your Highness, this is a memorial that Commandant Zhao asked me to forward to you."

Zhang San Niangzi had taken care of Liu Jilong's daily life for nearly twenty years. Liu Jilong and Feng Hui trusted her very much and brought her with them when they came to Luoyang.

Liu Jilong took the memorial, and after reading its contents, a slight smile appeared on his lips. Feng Hui asked curiously, "What has happened that makes you smile, sir?"

Upon hearing her inquiry, Liu Jilong's brows relaxed, and he raised the memorial with a beaming smile, his tone unusually relaxed:
"With the floods in the Jianghuai region, Zhu Quanzhong and Gao Qianli's wishful thinking is likely to fall through."

(End of this chapter)