Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 496 Stabilizing Hebei (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Justice prevails and retribution is inevitable; they deserve this fate."

On April 24th, with the arrival of Xiaoman (the 24th solar term), summer-ripening crops such as wheat in the north begin to grow vigorously, and the grains gradually become fuller.

Outside Hejian County in Yingzhou, Liu Jilong, dressed in a battle robe, looked like an ordinary soldier tending to wheat ears in the fields, and commented on the fate of the Wei Bo soldiers without turning his head.

Compared to Wei Bo's matter, he is more concerned about Xiao Mai in front of him right now.

Compared to later wheat varieties with four or five ears per plant and forty or fifty grains per ear, wheat in the Tang Dynasty typically had only one or two ears, with just twenty or thirty grains per ear.

Of course, this is the normal wheat yield, but what Liu Jilong is facing now is not like that at all.

The wheat in front of him at this moment mostly had only one ear, a few had two ears, and each ear had no more than twenty grains.

Such a production volume is clearly not right, which is why Liu Jilong is here.

"In Hebei, since ancient times, the tax has been based on millet and wheat, along with beans, sorghum and other miscellaneous items, in order to ensure the stability of the people."

"In Hebei, millet is planted in April and harvested in August, while wheat is planted in September and harvested in May."

"There are less than two weeks until harvest, but this wheat..."

Liu Jilong picked an ear of wheat and rubbed it between his palms.

Before long, the wheat grains were rubbed out, but out of what appeared to be more than twenty grains, only a dozen or so were rubbed out.

These grains of wheat are mostly small and flat; if used to fill a stomach, it would probably take hundreds of them.

He stood up and turned around, only to see more than ten generals, including Cao Mao, Wang Jian, Chen Bingwen, Geng Huan, Wang Zhi, and Liu Jianfeng, as well as two officials dressed as civil servants standing behind him. Further away were endless wheat fields and troops on the official road.

He turned his gaze to the two civil officials, and gestured with his hand, saying, "The wheat in the field is growing well, but why are the grains so small, and so many of them are empty?"

Faced with Liu Jilong's questioning, two officials stepped forward one after the other. They were both officials left behind by Lu Long and naturally knew the reason.

"Your Highness, the farmland in Lulong Town has not been left fallow for ten years."

Although the Han people have a tradition of resting the land twice or three times, during times of turmoil, people lived a precarious life, and it was already good enough to have enough to eat. Who would bother to rest the land and tend to it?

If the land is fertilized, but then seized by the generals and soldiers of the local warlords, the whole family, young and old, will starve to death.

No one dared to gamble, so naturally no one voluntarily left the land fallow.

"Wasn't it said that the Duke of Yan governed Lulong Town with peace and stability for the military and civilians? How come there hasn't been a ten-year break for farming?"

Liu Jilong frowned and asked, after all, everyone had been praising how well Zhang Yunshen had governed Lulong Town, but now it seemed that the reputation was undeserved.

"The military and civilians are naturally at peace, but it can only be described as a rough peace; otherwise, so much land wouldn't have been abandoned..."

The two officials replied with embarrassment, and Liu Jilong understood that the outsiders' boast of Lulong's stability was only in comparison to the surrounding vassal states such as Daibei, Chengde, and Weibo.

Compared to these regional military governors, Lulong's situation was indeed quite good, but compared to Longyou and the vast Guanzhong region, which Liu Jilong had managed for many years, it was nothing.

"Your Highness, compared to last year, there may be another drought this year..."

Cao Mao suddenly stepped forward and spoke, while Liu Jilong frowned and looked at him, signaling him to continue.

At his prompting, Cao Mao continued, "These past few days, when I went south, I also sent out cavalry to keep an eye on the wells in various cities and villages, and the water levels in almost all of them are dropping."

"This severe drought has lasted for many years, and this year I'm afraid..."

Cao Mao didn't continue speaking, and Liu Jilong naturally knew what he wanted to say.

"The drought is likely to continue. An imperial edict has been issued ordering all prefectures and counties north of the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River to recruit laborers to dig wells, with one well dug for every hundred mu of cultivated land."

"In addition, we will repair the river canals and embankments, and build waterwheels and large waterwheels to ensure a smooth autumn harvest this year."

"The daily wage for laborers conscripted by the government is 20 coins in the two capitals and 10 coins in other places."

"Yes!" Cao Mao quickly replied, while Liu Jilong gazed into the distance at the millet seedlings that had been planted less than a month ago.

It's already the Lesser Fullness of Grain (Xiaoman) solar term, and wheat will be ready for harvest in about half a month, but millet won't be ready until August or September.

Based on the drought situation over the past decade, the most difficult period will undoubtedly be from mid-May to mid-July.

These two months should have been the rainy season with abundant rainfall, but it has been raining very little in recent years.

Liu Jilong was not surprised by this, since most dynasties in their later years would be caught up in the "post-ice age climate".

During the post-glacial period, dynasties were most powerful during the warmer periods, which were followed by the colder periods.

The cold season leads to monsoon disruptions, the most prominent feature of which is persistent drought in the north and persistent flooding in the south. The overall global trend is toward colder temperatures.

This is why the Bohai Kingdom in the northeast during the Tang Dynasty could grow rice in the river valleys, while it was difficult to grow wheat and sorghum in Liaodong during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Fortunately, Liu Jilong arrived at a relatively good time. Although it was a cold period compared to the early and prosperous Tang Dynasty, the situation was still much better than that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After this nearly century-long cold period, a warm period of more than two hundred years will begin, which will undoubtedly be a good thing for the new dynasty.

Although the century-long cold period was difficult to endure, given the current situation of vast land and sparse population, as long as we encourage the people to reclaim wasteland and rectify official corruption, this century will soon pass.

But these are things a hundred years from now; Liu Jilong is more concerned about the present.

The disasters at the end of the Tang Dynasty were no less severe. We could prevent man-made disasters, but we could not stop natural disasters. All we could do was try our best to make amends.

Now, the imperial edict has ordered the military and civilians in Hedong and Hebei to repair the irrigation canals and dig wells. It can be considered a belated attempt to salvage the situation, and whatever can be done will be of some value.

"How is the situation in the south?"

Liu Jilong walked from the fields toward the official road, and Cao Mao and the others followed in his footsteps: "Weizhou has been pacified, and it is only a matter of time before those hundreds of soldiers in Bozhou are also pacified."

"Currently, only Chengde Town in Hebei is still in a state of separatism, but Wang Jingchong's conditions remain unchanged; he still wants to obey orders but not proclamations."

"He's not one to heed orders, but not proclamations. That's quite a clever idea," Liu Jilong chuckled in exasperation, secretly thinking that Wang Jingchong was incompetent.

If it were his father or father, even if Chengde's soldiers disagreed, they would find a way to deal with the soldiers and then surrender to him.

As for Wang Jingchong, not only did he refuse to surrender, but he also dreamed of establishing a separatist regime.

"Order An to break through the Hu and quickly pacify Weibo, then return north to attack Chengde."

"We will remain here for the time being and watch Chengde perish in Yingzhou."

"I refuse to believe that there aren't a few smart people in the entire Chengde Town..."

The annihilation of all the towns was a foregone conclusion. Wang Jingchong was courting death, but Liu Jilong did not believe that everyone was willing to die with him.

If this fellow doesn't wake up soon, I'm afraid someone else will have to offer him his head.

With that thought in mind, Liu Jilong had already reached the official road, mounted his horse, and galloped towards Hejian County...

As he sped toward Hejian, Luoyang, which could quickly obtain intelligence about the Guandong region via the Grand Canal, soon received military reports that Le Yanzhen had led government troops into the city and that An Pohu had annihilated the Weibo guards overnight.

"Okay! Okay!"

"The mere Lulong and Weibo can be wiped out in the blink of an eye by His Highness's personal expedition. As for the so-called Chengde, I'm afraid it won't last much longer!"

"Hmph! The three towns of Hebei, which have plagued Hebei for a century, have finally turned to dust and bones!"

"Today's duty is over, time for a toast!"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

When the Hebei military intelligence arrived in Luoyang, all the officials in the Southern Palace knew about it and were overjoyed, chatting with their neighboring officials.

For the officials who had long accepted that Liu Jilong would one day ascend the throne, the sooner Liu Jilong became emperor, the happier they were.

Since the An Lushan Rebellion, the regional military governors' garrisons had frequently driven out the governors and military commanders, but Liu Jilong used force to quell the rebellions and disband their garrisons.

Now Liu Jilong has abolished the Jiedushi system in Hebei and restored the system of separate civil and military administration, which is the system of Dudufu and Guanchashi.

The downside of this system is that it limits and reduces the power of local officials, while the upside is that civil and military officials do not interfere with each other, allowing many officials to take up their posts with peace of mind.

Of course, the most crucial factor in the entire system is the local military situation. If it is still just a matter of local military officers changing their names to continue serving in the army, then many officials will naturally not dare to take up their posts.

However, the Han army is now the main force in the country. Even in a frontier region like Lulong Town, Liu Jilong has only recruited a mere 10,000 men, and the Han army still dominates.

With the disciplined Han army as their help, the officials dared to venture even into places like Lulong.

Whether they can be transferred to lower-level positions depends on how Gao Jinda of the Southern Court arranges things. Therefore, the Political Affairs Hall where Gao Jinda works has become a place where many officials seek advancement.

"At the beginning of March, the imperial court had just dispatched more than 400 officials and more than 2,000 clerks to the Qi-Lu region."

"Now that Weibo, Zhaoyi, and Lulong have all been recovered, in my opinion, it will take 600 officials and 5,000 clerks to govern the area properly."

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, Gao Jinda calmly discussed with Liu Zhan, Xiao Gou, and other officials from the Six Ministries and the Censorate the number of officials to be sent to Hebei.

After this number was announced, no one objected. After all, there were as many as 100,000 officials during the Tang Dynasty, and Hebei, as a former populous region, still had a population that was incomparable to other provinces, even after a century of upheaval.

Five thousand officials, plus some selected locally, were enough to support the entire Hebei province, which had a population of several million.

Should Chengde be included?

Liu Zhan asked, and Gao Jinda nodded after hearing it: "Chengde has four prefectures and a dense population. We should send an additional 300 officials to govern these areas, and transfer 3,000 clerks as well."

"Agreed!" Everyone nodded in agreement, and Gao Jinda also looked at Feng Bangyan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

"The Ministry of Revenue estimates that, if the new system of the imperial court is used to maintain these 900 officials and 8,000 clerks in the prefectural and county government offices, approximately how much money and grain would be needed?"

Faced with Gao Jinda's inquiry, Feng Bangyan simply exchanged Jiannan Road currency with similar data, added some extra expenses, and then bowed proactively, saying:
"The cost of the grain and money is about 400,000 strings of cash. However, if we want to maintain the militia under the county and township inspectors, we will need to spend an additional 80,000 strings of cash, making it about 480,000 strings of cash."

"In addition, the salaries and wages of the officials and soldiers under the Hebei Governorate that Your Highness has now established, as well as the daily maintenance expenses, amount to approximately 800,000 strings of cash."

"The official documents from the various garrisons have not yet been delivered to Luoyang, but judging from the maps and records submitted by the garrisons during the Huichang era, the annual tax revenue that the court can collect in Hebei is approximately 2.7 million strings of cash."

As Feng Bangyan finished speaking, the officials in the hall nodded in agreement, and Liu Zhan added:

"The maps and records submitted by the various garrisons to the court must contain some hidden information. Clarifying the population and land in Hebei is a time-consuming and laborious task, and it will take at least one or two years to clarify."

"However, given the tax rates after the new policies of the imperial court, Hebei Province will certainly be able to collect no less than three million strings of cash in taxes."

Liu Zhan has already given a rather conservative estimate: the tax rate set by Liu Jilong is half the tax rate set by various towns in Hebei.

All the towns in Hebei, in total, have a standing force of at least 180,000 troops. If they can't even collect six million strings of cash in taxes, it's impossible to maintain such a large army.

Now that Liu Jilong has pacified all the towns, only Chengde remains. Even if tens of thousands more troops are added after Chengde is pacified, it will not affect the financial surplus of Hebei Province.

"If there are three million strings of cash in taxes, the troops in Hebei Province should be increased accordingly."

“Indeed, 35,000 troops are far too few. Hebei Province is not like other places. The Xi and Khitan people in the north are not easy to deal with. We also need to assist Hedong Province in defending against the Tatar invasion.”

"If we have three million in tax revenue, we might be able to increase our troops to seventy thousand. However, we cannot use the people of Hebei and Hedong. We will probably have to recruit soldiers from Guanzhong."

"The soldiers recruited in Kansai seem to be paid quite well. Can Hebei Province handle it?"

"If all else fails, we can reduce the number of troops, but we must increase it eventually. Thirty-five thousand is really too few."

Liu Zhan, Xiao Gou, Feng Bangyan, Zhang Huaicheng, and others discussed the situation in Hebei.

They were also very wary of the troops from Guandong, since the recruitment practices in the Huai River region, Hebei, and Hedong were indeed not good.

If they weren't worried about the growing power of Guanzhong and Longyou, they would have preferred to recruit soldiers from Longyou and transfer them to Hebei.

The people of Longyou were mostly refugees and people who had been enslaved by the Tibetans. They were simple and honest, and they strictly adhered to military discipline, which made them very popular with the officials.

However, when recruiting soldiers in Longyou, most of them would choose to be close to the Guanlong faction, which made many officials worry that the Guanlong faction would become too powerful and they were always on guard.

However, Hebei Province could not be left undefended, so they had no choice but to resort to recruiting soldiers from Guanzhong and the capital region.

"How much is the salary for recruits in Kansai?"

Liu Zhan asked Gao Jinda, who replied, "For recruiting soldiers in Guanzhong, the annual reward is fifteen strings of cash if they are within the territory of this province, and twenty strings of cash if they leave the province."

"Twenty strings of cash?" Upon hearing this amount, Liu Zhan, Xiao Gou, and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

This amount is actually not much different from that of ordinary border troops, so it is still acceptable.

"In that case, let Prime Minister Gao submit a memorial to Your Highness and let Your Highness make a decision."

Liu Zhan bowed respectfully, and Gao Jinda nodded in return. Then they discussed other matters with the others.

In contrast to their harmonious atmosphere, many officials in Luoyang were in low spirits because of Liu Jilong's annihilation of the various towns.

Doulu Zhuo and Pei Che took the opportunity of going to the Hall of State Affairs to spend time together, talking as they walked:
"The towns in Hebei are about to be pacified. If Liu Jilong is impatient, he will probably test the waters after returning to Beijing this time."

"Even if he can restrain himself, the Guanzhong warriors under his command will not be able to."

In response to Doulu Zhuo's words, Pei Che nodded: "If Liu Jilong makes any unusual moves, then we will have no choice but to take a risky approach."

Doulu Zhu nodded in agreement, and as the Hall of State Affairs drew closer, he immediately shut his mouth and said nothing more.

They entered the Hall of State Affairs, where Gao Jinda and Liu Zhan had already finished discussing the governance of Hebei Province.

Upon their arrival, everyone turned to look at them, with Xiao Gou, Pi Rixiu, and Wei Zhuang displaying the most complex emotions.

Doulu Zhuo and Pei Che bowed respectfully to everyone before saying, "Prime Minister, this year, the mudflats on both sides of the Yellow River have been inspected by the government offices of various prefectures and counties, and no abnormalities have been found."

“Very good.” Gao Jinda nodded, then gestured for the two to go inside.

The two went inside and sat down. Gao Jinda continued the discussion: "Currently, the national treasury still has 1.4 million shi of grain and more than 2.6 million guan of cash. In addition, there are more than 1 million shi of Ever-Normal Grain in the local areas."

"Your Highness is about to pacify Hebei, and there will certainly be rewards afterward. There is no need for Your Highness to ask; the court should make preparations in advance."

"His Highness has mobilized 100,000 troops to Hebei this time, so 500,000 strings of cash have been transported north first."

"Furthermore, since you all have said that Lulong has few soldiers, and maintaining an army naturally requires sufficient food and supplies, it is only right that we transport the food and supplies northward."

"The war in the east has not yet ended, and the summer harvest is only half a month away. How about we temporarily transport 200,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) northward?"

Gao Jinda looked at everyone and, seeing that no one had any objections, he nodded again: "Since there are no objections, let's make it so."

"With the summer harvest approaching, all prefectures and counties under your jurisdiction should make good preparations. This year's weather is similar to previous years, so we should collect grain early. If the local granaries are short of grain, we can also allocate it in advance to avoid the people suffering."

"In addition, the Censorate should conduct more inspections of local areas. If any corrupt officials are found, their entire families should be exiled to Kucha."

"Everyone, have you all taken notes?"

Gao Jinda asked the crowd a question, and they all bowed and agreed. But then Pei Che said:

"Prime Minister Gao, now that Hebei has been pacified, should the officials in Hebei be transferred from Guanzhong or recruited locally?"

"This matter has been discussed and decided, and personnel will be transferred from Kansai," Gao Jinda replied with a frown.

Upon hearing this, Pei Che's expression turned sour. He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Officials from Guanzhong have only studied for a few years. They are quite good at governing sparsely populated areas, but Hebei is densely populated and a place with a flourishing literary tradition. Is it appropriate to have officials from Guanzhong govern it?"

Gao Jinda understood Pei Che's little scheme after a moment's thought: he simply wanted to cultivate local power to divide the court's authority.

Unfortunately, there were plenty of officials in Kansai, so even if there were vacancies, it wouldn't be their turn to fill them.

"The matter has been decided. If Vice Minister Pei has any other insightful opinions, it would be better to submit them to His Highness so that His Highness can make a decision."

Pei Che was speechless upon seeing this. Naturally, he dared not directly submit a memorial to Liu Jilong, asking him to employ more scions of aristocratic families.

If he really dares to do that, although those warriors from Guanzhong wouldn't dare to kill him, they could still annoy him.

"Since there's nothing else, let's all go back."

Seeing that he remained silent, Gao Jinda immediately bowed to everyone and saw them off. Liu Zhan and the others returned the bow and left the Hall of State Affairs.

A few days later, as the officials in charge of the Guanzhong region were transferred to Henan and Hebei, Anpohu finally captured the few remaining counties in Bozhou.

All the soldiers in the city were killed. An Pohu only rested for two days before leading his army north, marching fifty li each day.

At An Pohu's speed, he could enter the territory of Jizhou in Weibo in as little as four days.

At this time, Li Gongquan, who controlled the Chengde Cavalry, occupied Nangong County in the southwest of Jizhou, while the other counties were under the control of Song Wentong.

Upon receiving the information from the scouts, Song Wentong, who had become the governor of Jizhou, was now looking at the map of Hebei with great interest.

Behind him stood two military commanders and several generals, who were puzzled by his interest in examining the map despite having learned the news.

"My lord, An Pohu has at least twenty or thirty thousand troops under his command, and we also have that traitor Li Gongquan to the west. What should we do now?"

"What should we do?" Song Wentong looked at the people behind him and chuckled, "I'd like to ask you, where are you from?"

"Naturally, it's Dingzhou." The crowd responded without hesitation. After all, they were originally the commanders of Dingzhou under Hou Gu. Later, they were coerced by Wang Jingchong into moving to Chengde. Although they had achieved success in Chengde, they were still Dingzhou people.

Seeing that everyone still remembered his hometown, Song Wentong continued, "Do you think Wang Jingchong is a match for the imperial court?"

"This..." The group looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Seeing their reaction, Song Wentong said bluntly, "You don't really think I'm going to stick with Chengde through thick and thin, do you?"

Before everyone could react in surprise, Song Wentong said, "Liu Jilong massacred seven or eight of Chengde's soldiers in Yecheng, and the rest were scattered across the four prefectures of Chengde, totaling no more than a thousand people."

"Now, in the counties of Jizhou, apart from Li Gongquan who occupies Nangong, the other counties only have a few dozen or a hundred soldiers, while our army has a full 1,500 men and has also controlled a considerable number of newly recruited troops."

"You've all seen what's going on with Wei Bo. I don't want to be buried with Wang Jingchong."

At this point, Song Wentong gradually stopped smiling and looked at everyone with narrowed eyes: "You shall set off now, slaughter all the local garrison soldiers, and then prepare to surrender to the imperial court with me!"

"Surrender?!" The crowd was incredulous, but Song Wentong said:
"The sooner you surrender, the higher your value will be. Besides, Liu Jilong's offer is not low; at least it can preserve our wealth and status."

"Whether you choose to be buried with Wang Jingchong or receive a minor official position and return home in wealth and honor, the decision is yours."

Song Wentong turned back to look at the map, letting everyone make the decision for him.

Although the generals were reluctant to relinquish their power, the imperial court was too powerful, and even Lulong and Weibo had been destroyed.

The number of veterans in Chengde Town that could be considered old soldiers was no more than 20,000 at most.

With such a small force, how long can they hold off the imperial court?

It would be better to surrender as our lord suggested, to avoid being preempted by others.

"I am willing to surrender!"

"Me too!"

"I'm the same..."

Without keeping Song Wentong waiting long, this group made the right choice.

Seeing this, Song Wentong turned to look at them and chuckled, "Very good. I will write a letter and head south now, and I will certainly not let anyone seize the initiative!"

"Your Excellency is wise!!"

Everyone patted their chests and urged their horses onward. Then, following Song Wentong's instructions, they went to various counties in Jizhou to prepare to take action against the military troops stationed in those counties.

At the same time that he chose to surrender, Li Gongquan, who was stationed in Nangong County with 5,000 Chengde cavalry, also made the same decision.

"Damn it, thank goodness I didn't go south to seek refuge with Chengde."

Inside the Nangong County government office, a burly general with three-white-eyed eyes sat in the main seat, sighing with the others in the hall.

The five thousand Chengde cavalry were mostly from the elite guard unit, so it wouldn't be easy for Li Gongquan to surrender.

"The imperial army will soon enter Jizhou. Tell me, should we surrender or what?"

Li Gongquan looked at the people in the hall, seemingly giving them a choice, but judging from what Li Gongquan said, it seemed that they only had one option left: surrender.

Chengde was already surrounded. Unlike Li Keyong, they could not escape north to the south of the Gobi Desert, and going south was even more impossible.

Not to mention that their families were all in Chengde, the fact that they would have to face encirclement and suppression by An Pohu, Wang Shi, Li Yangchun and others when they went south would make it difficult to break through.

However, they were really dissatisfied with the conditions offered by Liu Jilong if they surrendered. After all, their skills were all on horseback. If they really surrendered, how many of the brothers in the army would know how to farm?
Thinking of this, everyone expressed their opinion: "If possible, we would naturally like to surrender."

"But the conditions offered by the imperial court are harsh. We have no idea how to farm. If we are laid off, how will we survive?"

"As long as the imperial court allows us to continue serving as soldiers, we can persuade our brothers below to surrender!"

"That's right!"

"That's what I meant too..."

The officers and soldiers of Chengde clearly hadn't read many books carefully, and their language was relatively crude.

However, Li Gongquan didn't care about this at all; all he needed was the attitude of the crowd.

As long as the attitude is right, the terms can be discussed gradually.

Thinking of this, Li Gongquan took the initiative to say, "I also feel that the court's conditions are somewhat harsh."

"However, our army is cavalry after all. Five thousand cavalrymen are a considerable force no matter who they assist."

"If you are all willing to surrender, then I will negotiate the terms."

"Even if we have to cut staff, the court must provide enough money and food to ensure our brothers are well-off."

"it is good!!"

As soon as Li Gongquan finished speaking, the generals all cheered.

Seeing that they had no objections, Li Gongquan wrote the letter in front of everyone. After everyone read and confirmed that it was correct, he sent it to the south.

The letters from Song Wentong and Li Gongquan arrived at An Pohu's hands almost simultaneously, so when both sides noticed each other on horseback, they immediately became vigilant.

"Where are they?"

"They're all outside the yamen."

Inside the Qinghe County government office, An Pohu took the letter from Zhang Yanhui and subconsciously began to inquire about it.

Upon hearing Zhang Yanhui's answer, An Pohu was no longer in a hurry.

He opened the two letters and looked at them. Song Wentong's request was undoubtedly the simplest: he only asked that officers of the rank of colonel and above in the army be promoted to the same rank of honorary official, and that the veterans under his command in Dingzhou be given severance pay and land be distributed equally in Dingzhou to settle them.

Dingzhou has only 1,500 people, so settling them is not difficult. Song Wentong's request is not difficult either, and Anpohu himself can make the decision.

However, compared to Song Wentong, Li Gongquan's conditions seemed rather harsh.

It would be best if all 5,000 Chengde cavalry could be retained, and their pay could be reduced accordingly.

If they cannot be retained and must be eliminated, their land should not be confiscated, but they should be resettled with fifty mu of high-quality land per person.

These conditions are somewhat demanding, but not so demanding that Anpohu cannot make the decision.

If fifty mu of fertile land is cultivated on a two-year, one-year-rest basis, only thirty mu can be planted each year, yielding about forty shi of grain. An Pohu can make the decision and agree to this.

However, the fact that the land owned by the five thousand Chengde cavalry could not be confiscated left Anpohu undecided.

The five thousand Chengde cavalry are the treasures of Chengde Town. They are mostly elite soldiers. Who knows how much land they have accumulated?
If they own too much land, it will inevitably affect the imperial court's future land distribution in the four prefectures of Chengde.

Thinking of this, An Pohu said to Zhang Yanhui, "Make copies of these two handwritten letters and send them to Hejian to ask for His Highness's opinion."

"Our army will temporarily be stationed in Qinghe. We will wait for Your Highness's instructions before advancing into Jizhou."

"Yes!" Zhang Yanhui readily agreed, and then took the two handwritten letters to the Sixth Office. While having them copied, he also arranged for the fast horses sent by Li Gongquan and Song Wentong to be placed in place.

After the handwritten note was copied, Zhang Yanhui sent it by express horse to Hejian in the north.

Thanks to the urgent delivery of the fast horse, Liu Jilong received the two handwritten letters the following morning.

Liu Jilong was not surprised that some people surrendered, after all, not everyone is as stubborn as Wang Jingchong.

He quickly flipped through the letters from Song Wentong and Li Gongquan, and came to the same conclusion as An Pohu: Li Gongquan's conditions were too high.

However, the Chengde cavalry under Li Gongquan's control are extremely valuable, whether they are kept or disbanded and their armor is recovered by the general.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but get up and walk to the dusty horse. He instructed Cao Mao and the others beside him, "Tell the cooks to prepare a meal. Don't let the brothers go through all this trouble and not get any enjoyment."

"Yes!" Cao Mao replied, then ordered someone to prepare the meal, while Liu Jilong asked the fast horseman:

"Are the envoys sent by Li Gongquan and Song Wentong still in Qinghe City?"

"When they set off, they were still resting in the city, waiting for Governor An's reply."

The fast horse team was respectfully reporting back when Liu Jilong nodded, then looked at Cao Mao:
"Write a letter for me and tell An Pohu to first agree to Song Wentong's conditions. Make a big show of it and inform Song Wentong's envoy. It would be best if Li Gongquan's envoy also saw it."

"After informing Song Wentong's envoy, then neglect Li Gongquan's envoy for two more days, so that he will come to us in a hurry, and then take the opportunity to modify the terms."

"It is impossible for Chengde's five thousand elite cavalry to remain. The court will resettle them after the reduction, but it is impossible to retain their land and provide them with an additional fifty acres of high-quality farmland."

"The imperial court will buy back their land at the current market price, and in the subsequent land redemption policy, the land will be redistributed according to the population."

"If they accept, then we'll open the gates and surrender; if they don't accept, then there's nothing more to discuss."

Liu Jilong seized upon the fact that Li Gongquan was unaware that Song Wentong had also surrendered. If Li Gongquan knew that Song Wentong had surrendered, he would definitely lower his demands.

Now that the price of farmland in Chengde has fallen due to the war, the court can buy back the land at a low price without spending too much money or grain, and it can also give the Chengde cavalry under Li Gongquan a way out.

If they behave themselves, Liu Jilong will naturally not target them.

However, if they continue to bully and dominate the market, Liu Jilong will have to deploy troops to suppress these soldiers.

Anyway, by then they will have been scattered, and it won't be easy for them to regroup, so it's unlikely they will pose any danger.

"The last general takes command!"

After Cao Mao finished giving his instructions, he immediately dispatched a fast horse with a letter to the south to inform An Pohu.

The following morning, after receiving instructions from Liu Jilong, An Pohu quickly followed his orders and went to the Yinbin Hotel in a grand manner, making the news that the court had accepted Song Wentong's surrender known to everyone.

Song Wentong was promoted to Left Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, and the other generals and officers also received honorary titles of the same rank. The soldiers in Dingzhou received a severance pay of twenty strings of cash each, and after returning to their hometowns, they would be resettled under the equal-field policy.

The envoy sent by Song Wentong was clearly surprised that the court would agree to all the conditions, so he happily returned to Jizhou with An Pohu's reply.

The success of Song Wentong's envoy immediately made Li Gongquan's envoy anxious.

He waited anxiously for four days, but seeing that Anpohu still showed no intention of looking for him, he took the initiative to approach Anpohu on the fifth day.

"Governor An, may I ask which condition in the letter from a certain military envoy you are dissatisfied with? We are open to discussion."

The envoy sent by Li Gongquan humbly inquired of An Pohu, but An Pohu immediately presented Song Wentong's handwritten letter.

"The clerk will know what I am dissatisfied with once he reads this letter."

The clerks in the hall forwarded the letter to the envoy sent by Li Gongquan. The envoy glanced at it briefly and understood why Song Wentong's surrender terms were so easily accepted.

Compared to Li Gongquan's terms, Song Wentong's offer was significantly cheaper.

"The military personnel will inevitably be reduced, and the court will certainly reclaim the land in the four prefectures of Chengde. However, His Highness is worried that you military personnel are all skilled in military affairs and neglect farming. Therefore, he has decided to redeem the land at the current market price of 1,500 coins."

"Furthermore, after the imperial court implements the land equalization policy, each household will be allocated land based on population, and you soldiers will be the same."

"Tomorrow I will head north to accept the surrender of Ji Province. If your military commander feels this is inappropriate, then let him confront my army in Nangong County!"

An Pohu wasn't good at discussing such convoluted matters. After briefly stating his conditions, he signaled Zhang Yanhui to send the man away.

After being sent away, this person had no choice but to bite the bullet and head north to Nangong County with An Pohu's conditions.

When he rushed back to Nangong County at night, Li Gongquan was already waiting for him at the county government office with a group of people.

He stated Anpohu's and the court's terms, which made everyone resentful, but they became uneasy when they heard that Song Wentong had already surrendered.

After Li Gongquan's explanation over the past few days, they also learned the benefits of surrendering first.

Now they know that Song Wentong surrendered to the court first, and that Song Wentong is right next to them.

If Song Wentong joins forces with the imperial court to attack them from both sides, they will probably have no choice but to abandon tens of thousands of families and try every means to escape.

"These conditions... aren't necessarily unacceptable."

"1,500 coins per mu is not low these days."

"That's right, especially since the imperial court promised to distribute land equally later, didn't it?"

"First, take a few dozen strings of cash to settle the family, and then divide the land equally and rent it out to others to cultivate, so that the brothers can also become rich."

The officers and soldiers in the hall all changed their attitudes, fearing that Li Gongquan would be in a difficult position.

Seeing their reaction, Li Gongquan frowned and said, "We still need to ask the brothers for their opinions on this matter."

"That's natural!" Although the soldiers of Chengde were not as fond of rebelling as those of Weibo and Lulong, they were still one of the three towns of Hebei.

If the guards were not satisfied, they might actually break into the yamen at night and cut off all their heads.

"Since that's the case, I'll go and persuade the brothers first. I don't want them to follow in the footsteps of Lu Long and Weibo."

Li Gongquan secretly reminded everyone that the fates of the soldiers from Lulong and Weibo could serve as a warning to the soldiers below.

The soldiers were selfish and brutal, but that doesn’t mean they were stupid.

With the Lulong and Weibo troops already wiped out, the fate of the remaining Chengde troops was clear to them.

"We'll take our leave..."

Many officers and soldiers rose and left to go to the military camp to persuade the soldiers inside.

Faced with the overwhelming power of the government army, the soldiers of Chengde appeared somewhat fearful and uneasy, especially after learning that eight thousand soldiers of Weibo, along with their families, had been completely wiped out, which made them secretly gasp in astonishment.

Two days later, as An Pohu led his army north, the five thousand Chengde cavalry finally chose to surrender.

The news of Li Gongquan and Song Wentong's surrender and the Han army's entry into Jizhou spread quite quickly.

Wang Jingchong, who was originally preparing for battle in Zhao Prefecture, initially thought that the rumors had rebuked the messenger, but as more and more messengers arrived, especially after Liang Gongru, Fu Xi and others sent urgent messages by fast horse, he finally accepted the fact.

"Song Wentong! You worthless dog, you son of a bitch!"

Clenching his fists, Wang Jingchong's forehead veins bulged, as if even his breath was burning hot.

He had thought Song Wentong was his promising talent, but this promising talent not only surrendered on his own, but also led nearly 10,000 new soldiers from Dingzhou and Jizhou to surrender as well.

Now that one of the four prefectures of Chengde has been lost, the remaining three prefectures have only more than 40,000 troops, of which more than 20,000 are new recruits.

With this strength to confront the imperial court, even Wang Jingchong felt fear.

"Where are those soldiers from Ji Province? They always act so arrogantly, why did they let Song Wentong hand over Ji Province so easily?!"

Wang Jingchong questioned the officials before him, but they looked at each other in bewilderment and remained silent.

It's not that they didn't guess, but rather that they guessed but dared not say it.

"Get out! Get out of here!"

Wang Jingchong grabbed the memorials from the table and threw them at the officials, who could only run out of the main hall in a sorry state, leaving Wang Jingchong alone inside.

As Wang Jingchong watched the group of officials being driven out, he was about to leave when several of them hurriedly entered the hall.

Wang Jingchong wanted to reprimand them, but seeing their grim faces and hurried steps, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

"General, the three counties of Shulu, Luze, and Anping in Shenzhou have surrendered to the imperial court. Governor Liang requests reinforcements!"

"Damn it..." Upon hearing that someone had surrendered to the court again, Wang Jingchong was so angry that he lost all strength. After cursing under his breath, he clenched his fists tightly, but in the end, he slowly relaxed them.

"Pen and ink, I must present a memorial to Liu Jilong..."

"Commander?" Everyone thought they had misheard, but seeing Wang Jingchong's serious expression, they quickly fetched a brush and ink.

Wang Jingchong wrote on the memorial and handed it to the general, saying, "Send a fast horse to Yingzhou and deliver the memorial to Liu Jilong."

"Furthermore..." Wang Jingchong looked at the general in front of him with a dark face: "Send orders to Liang Lang and Fu Lang, tell them to execute all the soldiers in the city who oppose surrender!"

"This is……"

He swallowed hard, wanting to say that this was inappropriate, but considering how few soldiers were left and their resolute attitude, he finally nodded.

These arrogant soldiers had held them hostage for years, but now it was time for them to repay their debt to these officers.

If these soldiers don't die, how can the wealth and status of the officers and generals be guaranteed?

(End of this chapter)