Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 501 An Old Horse in the Stable Still Aspires to Gallop (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Beep--"

"Boom!!"

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month of the second year of Qianfu, while the north was bustling with activity due to Liu Jilong's imperial edict to mobilize and recruit soldiers, the war in the south had already reached a fever pitch.

When the muffled explosion and the rising dust appeared, the city surrounded by Sheling Mountain was suddenly breached.

"kill!!"

"Whoever enters the city first will be rewarded with fifty thousand coins!!"

Wuyuan City, as a strategic pass in the southwest of Shezhou, is a remote and mountainous area that has been a den of thieves since the Tianbao era.

Those bandits who entrenched themselves in the mountains and rivers surrounding Wuyuan probably never imagined that such a barren place could attract tens of thousands of "government troops" to fight, and then all of them, the innocent bystanders, would be caught in the crossfire.

As the sun rose high in the sky and the shouts of battle within Wuyuan City grew fainter, fast horses charged out of the city gates, heading towards the enemy formation outside the city, where banners bearing the characters "Bohai" and "Gao" hung high.

Before long, he galloped to the banner, dismounted skillfully, and announced his victory:

"Reporting to King Gao, Wuyuan City has been captured, and all the rebels within the city have been executed!"

Faced with the good news, Gao Pian, under the banner, remained calm and composed, saying in an unperturbed tone: "Open the county treasury and distribute the entire amount to the brothers!"

"Greetings from the King!!"

Gao Qin and others behind him chanted the salute loudly, but Gao Pian remained unmoved.

He turned his horse around and returned to the camp, with no intention of entering Wuyuan City.

He did not want to attack Wuyuan City, because compared to the narrow mountain roads of Wuyuan, he preferred to attack Qimen, the gateway to Shezhou, or even Muzhou, and then Shexian, the seat of Shezhou in Zhejiang.

The main reason for attacking Wuyuan was that Muzhou had been unsuccessful in its long siege, and Yang Xingmin had deployed many measures to deal with him in Qimen, leaving him with no choice but to attack Wuyuan.

"King Gao, Wuyuan has been captured. Should we take the official road directly to attack the heart of Shezhou?"

Gao Qin and the others entered the tent. Among them, Sun Ru spoke in a very casual manner, which made Gao Pian frown.

However, he did not reprimand Sun Ru, but calmly said, "This matter still needs to be investigated by sending out soldiers to investigate, lest Yang Xingmin be cunning and set up an ambush in the mountains."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will leave this matter to you!"

Sun Ru agreed without hesitation, clearly intending to gain Gao Pian's trust through his performance on the battlefield, thereby accumulating more military merits for himself.

Gao Pian didn't point it out, but simply nodded slightly: "Then I'll leave it to Young Master Sun to handle."

"Yes!" Sun Ru was overjoyed, then respectfully retreated from the tent and arranged for people to scout the mountain path and eliminate any ambushes.

Shortly after he left, a messenger arrived outside the tent on horseback. Gao Qin took the message from the messenger, opened it, frowned, and went into the tent, presenting it to Gao Pian with both hands.

"Father, news from the north."

He spoke in a very cryptic manner, but Gao Pian immediately realized that the contents of the letter were probably not simple, so he took it and began to examine it.

Sure enough, when he saw the contents of the letter and learned that Liu Jilong had begun to mobilize troops to the south and recruit soldiers in Huainan, Jiangling, and Shannan East Road, he immediately felt the pressure.

This kind of pressure is one that Song Wei, Dong Cheng, Yang Xingmin, Qian Liu, and others cannot bring him.

Although Song Wei and his three companions held off his army for most of the year, he still managed to make some progress. The four of them only managed to delay their demise by relying on the terrain.

Compared to them, Liu Jilong, who was about to head south, was his mortal enemy.

"It seems Liu Jilong is eager to fight me to the death..."

Gao Pian's expression was solemn, and he immediately looked up to scan the faces of his generals.

But the expressions on the faces of the generals changed several times in an instant after he said those words; even street magic couldn't compare.

It wasn't that they were cowardly, but rather that Liu Jilong had cast too many shadows over them.

Zhang Lin, Suo Xun, and Lin Ruzhen all died because of Liu Jilong, and there has been no news of Gao Xun, who was captured.

Thinking about all this, they couldn't help but feel pressured, and Gao Pian naturally felt the same way, so he laughed heartily:
“I took over Sanchuan too hastily, which allowed Liu Jilong to easily break through Jiangyou Pass.”

"Now that the area south of the Yangtze River is firmly established by our army, Liu Jilong has no choice but to launch a strong attack on the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River, except for attacking Runzhou from Yangzhou and then occupying Jiangdong to fight our army."

At this point, Gao Pian looked at Gao Qin and asked, "Gao Qin, what is the situation in the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River?"

"Reporting to Father..." Gao Qin briefly sorted out his thoughts and then said, "The eight prefectures have stored 700,000 shi of grain and more than 30 cities, all with bluestone foundations and rammed earth walls built with blue bricks. There are also 50,000 veteran soldiers guarding the city, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"Although Liu Jilong has occupied Jiangling, our army has also occupied Hanyang and Hanchuan, the eastern gateway to Jiangling, and can advance westward at any time to seize Fuzhou and take Jiangling."

Gao Qin's words relieved the previously anxious Bohai Navy commanders.

Seeing the generals' reaction, Gao Pian knew he couldn't just say nice things; he needed to put some pressure on them to avoid being accused of exaggeration.

"Of course, although our army has ample supplies and strong fortifications, Liu Jilong has mobilized troops from various regions to march south this time. According to my rough estimate, the number is probably no less than 150,000."

"Liu Jilong will surely first take over the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River, and then head south to fight our army."

"At present, I have an army of 200,000. Although 50,000 are tied down by the southern barbarians and 70,000 are tied down by the two traitors Song Wei and Dong Chang, the 30,000 naval troops in Hunan and other places are brave in battle. Moreover, the northerners are not good at naval warfare. The Kuimen Pass is too dangerous, so there is no need to worry."

"We only need to hold out for half a year in the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River. After the Jiangdong region is pacified, I will lead a large army to attack Huainan and force Liu Jilong to return to its aid."

What Gao Pian said was correct. In reality, the battle was between 150,000 and 150,000, and Liu Jilong was on the offensive. He also controlled the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, so he had the advantage no matter what.

His words gradually calmed the anxiety of the generals, and Gao Pian continued to address them:
"In addition, our army has paper armor. If paper armor is used in naval warfare, its advantages are many times greater than those of iron lamellar armor."

"A set of iron lamellar armor costs more than ten strings of cash, while the paper armor I have only costs three or four strings of cash."

"In the Jiangnan region, there are nearly eight million people under our control alone. We can easily recruit more than 100,000 soldiers to fight Liu Jilong on the Yangtze River in paper armor."

"That is why we must leverage our strengths and avoid our weaknesses in this battle."

Gao Pian looked at Gao Qin and said, "By imperial decree, all shipyards shall commence construction, Hunan shall recruit another 40,000 naval soldiers, and all armories shall manufacture paper armor."

"The people of the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River were all relocated to Hunan and settled in Langzhou, Lizhou, Tanzhou, and Hengzhou."

"An imperial edict was issued ordering naval commanders Gao Jie and Zhang Ji to blockade the waterways around Ezhou, thus thwarting Liu Jilong's plan to transport grain through Sichuan."

"Yes!" Gao Qin quickly replied. Seeing this, Gao Pian continued speaking to the generals:

"Once the mountain roads are found to be safe, our army will attack Shezhou, seize more than 200,000 people from Shezhou, and then continue eastward to occupy the states east of the Yangtze River."

"King Gao is wise!!" The generals bowed and saluted, chanting his praises.

Seeing that the morale of the troops was high, Gao Pian feigned satisfaction on the surface, but in his heart he already felt the urgency.

The arrangements made earlier are simply not enough to deal with Liu Jilong's southern expedition.

To stop Liu Jilong, the first thing to do is to firmly control the Yangtze River. In the Yangtze River naval battle, Liu Jilong will inevitably use a large number of gunpowder packs to attack.

Even the sturdiest ships will turn into a pile of driftwood if thousands of gunpowder rains down from the sky.

"Naval forces...naval forces..."

He murmured the words "naval force," then looked at the Yangtze River on the sand table, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"The imperial edict appointed Liang Zuan as the Defense Commissioner of the Eight Prefectures North of the Yangtze River, and Yu Gongchu complied."

"Sun Ru, the military commissioner, led 10,000 troops to explore the mountain roads of Wuyuan and then attacked Shezhou via the Wuyuan mountain roads."

"The rest of the troops, except for Wang Zhongren's troops, all broke camp and headed to Chizhou."

"Your subordinate obeys!!"

The generals didn't know why Gao Pian had suddenly changed his mind, but seeing his actions, no one dared to question him.

With the generals receiving their orders, Sun Ru continued to lead his troops to explore the mountain roads of Wuyuan in the following days, while Gao Pian had already led 40,000 troops to detour to Chizhou.

At this time, Shezhou was like an iron barrel, managed by Yang Xingmin. He was in Shezhou's capital, constantly deploying troops to deal with Gao Pian's upcoming attack.

"Someone left Wuyuan untouched so that Gao Pian would mistakenly believe that he could attack from there."

"According to a report sent a few days ago, Gao Pian has already entered the mountain road leading from Wuyuan to Shexian with nearly 10,000 troops. This should be his vanguard."

Inside the Shexian County government office, Yang Xingmin paced back and forth around the sand table, with Li Shenfu and Tai Meng, among other generals, surrounding it. Behind Yang Xingmin stood a scholar in his thirties.

The scholar frowned, then scanned the hall. After a moment, he suddenly stepped forward and said, "General, I fear there is something amiss..."

"Hmm?" Yang Xingmin glanced at the man, then bowed and said, "Mr. Yuan, please instruct me."

Seeing Yang Xingmin's state, the scholar said to him, "All of our generals are here, except for Gao Xu, who is stationed in Xuanzhou and Chizhou in the rear."

"If Gao Pian uses a detachment to lure our army to Shezhou, and then turns his forces to attack Chizhou, Chizhou will surely be in danger."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingmin immediately realized what was happening. He glanced at the generals in the hall and then realized that he had transferred all his elite troops here in order to severely injure Gao Pian.

"Li Lang, you shall lead 5,000 troops back to defend Chizhou."

"The last general takes command!"

Without hesitation, he ordered Li Shenfu to lead his troops back to defend Chizhou. Li Shenfu did not complain at all and readily agreed.

After receiving the flag, he immediately led 5,000 troops on the road back to defend Chizhou.

Meanwhile, Sun Ru's troops encountered Yang Xingmin's troops on the Sheling official road.

After the two sides encountered each other, Yang Xingmin immediately led 10,000 troops to defend the Sheling Pass, and ordered Tai Meng to lead 3,000 troops to trek through mountains and rivers to cut off Sun Ru's retreat from the rear.

On the fourteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Sun Ru clashed with Yang Xingmin on the south bank of the Zhejiang River. At the same time, Gao Pian also led his troops to launch a surprise attack on Chizhou.

The garrison in Chizhou numbered only a few thousand. With Gao Pian using gunpowder to attack the city, the counties of Chizhou fell one after another. Gao Pian led his army in a triumphant advance, capturing Qiupu, the capital of Chizhou, and then launched a strong attack on Qingyang.

Before Li Shenfu could reach Qingyang, Gao Pian led his army to capture Qingyang and advanced towards Xuanzhou. Li Shenfu retreated to Nanling and quickly sent a fast horse to Song Wei and Yang Xingmin for help.

On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yang Xingmin defeated Sun Ru's troops, and Sun Ru led his army back to their camp and remained there.

When Yang Xingmin learned that Gao Pian had captured Chizhou and was advancing directly towards Xuanzhou, he immediately stopped besieging Sun Ru, crossed the Zhejiang River, left Tai Meng in Shezhou, and led 8,000 troops to reinforce Xuanzhou.

Upon learning that Gao Pian's army had reached Xuanzhou, Song Wei, who was in Suzhou, hurriedly dispatched 20,000 reinforcements to aid Xuanzhou, which were then placed under the command of Yang Xingmin.

On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, the two sides faced off in Nanling City. The news was also obtained by spies in Jiangdong, who sent carrier pigeons to inform Jiangbei.

By the time Li Yangchun from Jiangbei sent a fast horse to deliver the news to Heyin, it was already the eve of the Lunar New Year.

"They are fighting fiercely, but Gao Pian's feint attack strategy is really not very good."

Inside the courtyard in Heyin, Liu Jilong held the intelligence report sent from Huainan in his hand, but his gaze was fixed on another intelligence report on the table.

This intelligence was sent to Jiangling by spies in Hunan, and then delivered to Heyin by fast horse from Jiangling. The content was nothing more than that Gao Pian was recruiting soldiers on a large scale in Hunan and was relocating people from eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River to the south.

"Your Highness, shall we not stop Gao Pian?"

Cao Mao sat at the head of the left, clearly already aware of Gao Pian's plan to relocate people south.

"No, let him migrate. Let him migrate as much as he can."

Liu Jilong leaned back in his chair with a smile in his eyes, and then said, "Hunan has always been divided by the Xiang River. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were more Liao and Man peoples along the Xiang River, while during the Western Han Dynasty, there were more Liao and Man peoples."

“The land in eastern Hunan is not easy to equalize, but the land in western Hunan is not like that.”

"Gao Qianli dared not lay a hand on powerful and influential families, but he was never soft on these barbarians."

"Using his power to clear out the barbarians in western Hunan and settle Han people to populate the southwest, the barbarians will surely hate Gao Qianli."

"When our army marches south, we can either pacify the barbarians and bring them into the plains, or relocate them to the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River. In this way, the barbarians will enter the plains, while the Han people will enter the hills. We can then spread our culture and expand our territory."

What Liu Jilong cared about was never the kind of territory that was controlled by the local government; what he cared about was whether the Han people could take root in the area and turn it into traditional Han territory.

He treated the Western Regions, the Hetao region, and the Hexi Corridor in the same way, and he would treat the present-day Southwest and the future Liaodong region even more so.

By having Gao Pian play the villain and himself the hero, the plan was to first transform the bridgeheads for Han people entering the southwest, such as central Guizhou and western Hunan, into Han territory, and then further penetrate into Yunnan, western Hunan, and Annam.

If the hundreds of thousands of people in the eight prefectures north of the Yangtze River were all relocated to the west of the Xiang River, the ancient barbarians of western Hunan, who numbered no more than two or three hundred thousand at most, would probably not even be able to hold onto their current habitat.

If it weren't for the An Lushan Rebellion and the chaos of the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, the various ethnic groups in western Hunan, central Guizhou, Yunnan, western Lingnan, and Annam would not have been able to live and multiply in relatively peaceful conditions for so long.

The Tang Dynasty had not experienced a century of chaos and war, so although its population had been severely damaged compared to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it was still much stronger than the surrounding tribes.

As long as there is money and food, one can forcibly relocate people and take over the river valleys and plains in central Guizhou and western Hunan that have been developed to a near-complete state.

If we don't relocate the people during times of war, it will be much harder to manage once the country is at peace.

Since Gao Pian was willing to play the villain, how could Liu Jilong refuse?

"Gao Pian blocked the Yangtze River waterway, and the imperial court still has more than two million shi of grain that has been suspended in Jiangling and Shu. Are we not going to do anything about it?"

Cao Mao was getting anxious, but Liu Jilong laughed heartily, stood up, and pressed his shoulder, saying, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The imperial court has already transported 220,000 shi of grain to Huainan, which will temporarily alleviate the famine in Huainan."

"As for the grain stockpiled in Jiangling, we can simply transport it overland to Henan, then transport the grain from Henan to the Grand Canal, and finally provide relief to Hebei."

"Although there will be some extra food loss, it is nothing compared to the migration of hundreds of thousands of people to western Hunan."

Migration is easiest during times of war, while it is more difficult during times of peace, as it is not only more costly but also more difficult to manage the people.

In times of chaos, people only need to survive, but in times of peace, this is not the case; instead, many desires arise.

This is why people who migrate during times of chaos rarely return to their original homes, while people in times of peace, even if forcibly relocated, will try every means to escape back to their original homes.

This situation continues to occur even under the current dynasty, let alone in the future when peace is assured.

Lost in thought, Liu Jilong glanced at the stack of documents on the table and said, “In Henan, tens of millions of acres of farmland have been abandoned. It is time to relocate the population and stabilize the region.”

"An imperial edict was issued to Zhang Chang, appointing Li Sigong as the prefect of Fengzhou, and ordering all his followers to relocate to Shannan East Circuit and Henan Circuit, with soup kitchens set up in the prefectures and counties along the way."

“For all the people of Pingxia tribe who migrate to Henan, each household will be given 100 mu of wasteland and exempted from taxes for three years.”

"If Li Sigong disobeys the order, Zhang Chang, Zheng Chu, and An Pohu shall be ordered to gather cavalry from all directions to encircle and annihilate the Pingxia tribe!"

The Tangut people, who occupied Henan, were always a sharp blade hanging over the heads of Guanzhong.

Whether from a military, economic, or environmental perspective, there should be no nomadic tribes in the Henan region.

In later generations, there were two deserts in Henan Province, namely Mu Us and Kubuqi, but these two deserts are still small-scale sandy areas today.

As long as the situation of indiscriminate land reclamation and overgrazing ends, and people are sent to plant trees and create forests in the area, the environment can be restored to the level of the Qin and Han dynasties very quickly.

Liu Jilong wasn't advocating for nature conservation; he simply didn't want Luoyang and Chang'an to be constantly invaded by sandstorms in the future.

If the danger can be contained at its inception, why let it develop unchecked?

"Li Sigong in Henan will probably be difficult to attack..."

Cao Mao frowned as he spoke, because he was very familiar with the situation in Guannei Dao. Liu Jilong nodded in agreement and said, "You mean to say that Dijinze is difficult to attack, right?"

Dijinze was a lush pasture in the heart of the Ordos Plateau. Later, Li Jiqian encountered setbacks and led his troops to retreat to Dijinze. The Song army, however, was hampered by the sparse population and desert protection surrounding Dijinze, making it difficult to penetrate deep into the area to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

Fortunately, the population of Guannei Road is still sufficient, and the Pingxia tribe has not yet reached the level of power it once was in history.

Although Li Sigong currently commands a considerable number of cavalry, the number of armored cavalrymen who can wear lamellar armor is not large, amounting to only a few thousand.

If it were the situation in the towns northwest of Beijing before, Li Sigong might have been able to do something, but now, facing the might of the Han army with tens of thousands of troops, Liu Jilong did not think that Li Sigong would be foolish enough to start a war with the court.

He was not Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Chen; the Tanguts had no right to flaunt their power in front of him.

It wouldn't take much time to tidy it up before the southern expedition.

"The three routes of Longyou, Guannei, and Hedong have a total of 15,000 elite cavalry. It will be easy to pacify the mere Dangxiang. There is no need to worry."

Liu Jilong reassured Cao Mao, while also marveling at the fact that they could now easily mobilize over ten thousand cavalry to quell a local power.

Six years ago, he couldn't even muster 10,000 cavalrymen.

Six years later, the Han army had no fewer than 40,000 cavalrymen, and in a few more years, that number would probably double.

However, the Han army did not yet have an opponent that required 100,000 cavalrymen, and maintaining cavalrymen was not so cheap.

The ordinary Han infantryman's pay was 15 strings of cash, while the pay for those transferred from their hometown was 20 strings of cash. The pay for cavalry infantrymen was 22 strings of cash, and the pay for cavalrymen was 25 strings of cash.

One hundred thousand elite cavalry would require two and a half million strings of cash in military pay alone each year, not to mention the feed and hay for the horses. All things considered, one hundred thousand elite cavalry would cost at least three million strings of cash, which is nearly 20% of the current imperial treasury.

Therefore, maintaining around 50,000 cavalry was basically Liu Jilong's plan for the future of the northern frontier; any more would be unaffordable.

With the rapid pace of artillery development, I imagine that once the world is at peace, I can skip the matchlock gun and directly research the arquebus or flintlock gun.

If he could have developed matchlock or flintlock muskets in advance, an army of four or five hundred thousand would have been more than enough for him to expand his territory and defend his people.

Has any news come from the north?

Thinking about the future of defending the land and ensuring the safety of the people, Liu Jilong naturally thought of the two deserts that have hung over the Central Plains since ancient times.

According to the original history, the Kyrgyz began to fall into internal strife after the death of the last Khan, which led to a power vacuum in the two deserts for nearly a hundred years.

However, now that Li Keyong is stirring up trouble in southern Mongolia, no one knows how much of a commotion he will ultimately cause.

Although Liu Jilong did not take Li Keyong seriously, he did not want to sit idly by and watch enemies appear in southern Mongolia and invade the northern frontier at will.

Although the Tang Dynasty built many border walls, they could never compare with the Great Wall. If Liu Jilong wanted to avoid being invaded, he could only continue to build stone fortresses to the north and penetrate deep into the southern desert, placing the future battlefield in the southern desert.

"The Heiche tribe was defeated by Li Keyong and Xijie and has now fled to Julunbo (Hulun Lake) in the north. Li Keyong and Xijie have jointly divided up the Heiche tribe's grasslands."

"In my opinion, Li Keyong may continue to harass the Hetao and Daibei regions while our army is on its southern expedition, so as to capture enough Shatuo and Tatar people to go north and help him."

Cao Mao shared his guess, and Liu Jilong pondered for a moment before speaking.
"The imperial edict ordered Anpo Hu to be pacified. If Li Sigong were to take up the post of Prefect of Fengzhou and the Dangxiang tribe were to migrate to Henan, he would be ordered to prepare for the northern expedition the following year. It would be impossible for Li Keyong and the Xi Jie tribe to be pacified."

"In addition, I ordered Husi Guang to train troops and wait for an opportunity to retake Yingzhou."

After speaking, Liu Jilong returned to the main seat and took out a booklet.

"This is the list of those who have contributed to the pacification of the northern towns. Send it to Luoyang to draft an imperial edict."

"Yes!" Cao Mao stood up and agreed, then personally led the imperial edicts written by the court historian out of the courtyard.

Half an hour later, several teams of fast horses galloped away from Heyin County, heading towards Luoyang, Daibei, and Youzhou.

Within just two days, Liu Jilong's document arrived in Luoyang.

"Crackling..."

As firecrackers celebrating the New Year resounded, fast horses from Heyin galloped into Luoyang.

Luoyang in the third year of the Qianfu era seemed even more prosperous than it had been a few months earlier.

The first month of the lunar calendar covered the entire city of Luoyang with a light snowfall. In previous winters, the common people in the plains south of the Yi River would have been wearing hemp clothes stuffed with willow catkins.

Even now, these ordinary people can wear a woolen coat worth three hundred coins, which shows how many ordinary people benefited from Liu Jilong's work-for-relief policy.

But people are never satisfied. Yesterday, when I was wearing a linen coat with willow catkins, I longed to wear a woolen brown coat.

Now that I'm wearing a wool coat today, I look forward to wearing a cashmere jacket tomorrow, and a goose down robe the day after.

"It's a bit colder this day than last year."

Inside the Southern Government Office's administrative hall, Gao Jinda exhaled a puff of mist, stretched out his somewhat stiff hand, placed it on the edge of the bronze incense burner for a few breaths, and then withdrew it.

Upon seeing this, Lu Guimeng, who had come to handle government affairs, couldn't help but look at the officials in the government affairs hall: "Why don't you put more firewood on the firewall?"

"That's already the maximum..."

The two doctors responded, but Gao Jinda shook his head and said, "This government office is too big. The firewall is still not enough. We can have a heated kang bed made next spring."

After he said that, Lu Guimeng could not say anything more, and at this moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Gao Jinda looked up and saw Zhang Yanhui approaching with several imperial edicts and documents. He quickly got up to greet him.

"Prime Minister, this is the imperial edict His Highness issued the day before yesterday."

Zhang Yanhui presented the imperial edict, which Gao Jinda took and then sat down again to carefully read through.

Fifteen minutes later, Gao Jinda finally breathed a sigh of relief, reached out and rubbed his eyes, which felt a little blurry.

"Your Highness plans to first wage war against the north, but fortunately the scale is not large. The main purpose is to relocate and disperse the Dangxiang tribes in Henan to Henan, and to settle them by granting them official positions as chieftains and their sons."

"If they are unwilling, I'm afraid they will send three cavalry units to encircle and suppress us, which will require the assistance of tens of thousands of laborers."

"Furthermore, this document is a letter of appointment for rewarding meritorious service after the pacification of the various towns, but it's a hardship for Young Master Zhang."

Gao Jinda smiled happily, stroked his beard, and looked at Zhang Yanhui, while Lu Guimeng also looked at him curiously.

Zhang Yanhui was somewhat confused, since he hadn't dared to look through the imperial edicts and documents in private. He could only ask, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what official position have I been granted?"

Seeing this, Gao Jinda smiled, opened the book, found Zhang Yanhui's page, and said: "Zhang Yanhui, who was appointed as the Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Crown Prince's Attendant, was appointed as the Prefect of Caizhou."

“Caizhou?” Lu Guimeng was stunned for a moment before realizing why Gao Jinda had said Zhang Yanhui was suffering.

Caizhou was once a major prefecture in Henan Province, but after Qin Zongquan's tyranny, its population dwindled to less than 30,000.

Although peace has been restored for several years, the population is still only over 70,000, and it has been downgraded to a lower state.

Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but now the imperial court is about to launch a southern expedition, and Caizhou is also on the front line of the war.

Liu Jilong's move was clearly intended to have Zhang Yanhui properly govern Caizhou and ensure the supply of troops passing through Caizhou, thus training him.

It should be noted that Zhang Yanhui is only seventeen years old, yet he has already become the Prefect of Caizhou, a fourth-rank official.

Even if Liu Jilong no longer promotes him in the future, Zhang Yanhui can still easily take charge of the Southern Government before he turns forty.

This treatment inevitably made Lu Guimeng and many officials in the Council of State show envy.

Even though everyone knew that Zhang Yanhui's trip was not easy, they were still envious. After all, the hardship that could bring rewards was not something to be afraid of.

"I understand now."

As the saying goes, "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation." Now, Zhang Yanhui, after being influenced by Liu Jilong, Gao Jinda and others, is no longer the ignorant person he was three years ago.

He was well aware of Liu Jilong's guidance and support, and felt immense admiration and gratitude for it.

"You will be heading to Caizhou soon, so I'm giving you a ten-day leave to go back and rest and prepare."

Gao Jinda's voice brought Zhang Yanhui back to reality. After realizing what was happening, Zhang Yanhui quickly bowed to Gao Jinda and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister Gao."

"Go down." Gao Jinda smiled and gestured for Zhang Yanhui to leave, adding at the end, "Remember to give my regards to the King of Dunhuang when you get back."

"This humble official takes his leave." Zhang Yanhui, still reeling from the news, left the Hall of State Affairs in a daze.

Watching him leave, Gao Jinda smiled and lowered his head again, then slowly wiped the smile away.

Seeing the change in his expression, Lu Guimeng couldn't help but ask, "Prime Minister, is there something amiss?"

"Hmm..." Gao Jinda nodded, reached out and picked up the investiture document, then sighed:

"Your Highness has promoted many junior generals this time, which may cause dissatisfaction among many people."

Upon hearing this, Lu Guimeng immediately shut his mouth, as did all the other officials in the hall.

After all, the only people who could give Gao Jinda such a headache were those people from Longyou.

These days, Luoyang may seem unchanged, but behind the scenes, there are many conflicts among officials.

A few days ago, officials from Longyou and Guandong even got into a fight.

Officials of this era were all masters of the Six Arts of a Gentleman. The result of their attack was that both were injured; one needed to stay in bed for half a month, and the other for two months.

If Gao Jinda hadn't arrived in time, the fight between the two men might have escalated into a brawl between two factions of officials.

The fact that officials were physically fighting each other was a ridiculous scene, yet it actually happened in the various government offices of the Southern Court, demonstrating just how intense the factional conflicts were within Luoyang.

This was even though Liu Jilong was not in Luoyang. If Liu Jilong were in Luoyang, the officials in Longyou and the other provinces in Guanzhong would probably be even more arrogant.

"A lone yang cannot grow, nor can a lone yin produce; Your Highness has your reasons."

Lu Guimeng struggled for a long time before finally managing to utter these words. Gao Jinda shook his head after hearing them, gave a few wry smiles, and then said:

"My eyesight has been blurry lately, and I'm afraid I'll go blind in a few years."

"I'm afraid I can't handle this job in the Southern Court for many more years. I only hope to see His Highness advance further before I go blind."

Gao Jinda sighed, while Lu Guimeng opened his mouth.

Although he felt that Gao Jinda's abilities were not outstanding, Gao Jinda's greatest charm was not that, but that he treated all officials equally.

In this respect, people like Cui Shu, Han Zhengke, and Chen Ying could not do it, and Li Shangyin was unwilling to become prime minister. Therefore, even Lu Guimeng could not help but worry about the future of the court after hearing Gao Jinda say this.

"Okay, back off."

Gao Jinda seemed to realize he had said too much, and waved his hand to signal Lu Guimeng to step down.

"This humble official takes his leave..."

Upon seeing this, Lu Guimeng bowed respectfully and left the Hall of State Affairs. Gao Jinda, on the other hand, spent half an hour writing the contents of the document into a memorial, then took the memorial to the palace and found Emperor Li Yi.

Since the incident involving Wei Zhaodu, Li Yi has not dared to leave Luoyang City. He only dares to play around in the palace and even needs to be careful of the female officials and servants around him at all times.

When Gao Jinda approached him, he was practicing archery in the garden of Xuanwu City, and the objects of his practice were various wild deer and pheasants that he had had captured from outside the city.

"Your subject, Gao Jinda, the Chancellor, pays his respects to Your Majesty..."

"Please rise, Prime Minister Gao. Has the King of Han sent an imperial edict?"

Gao Jinda bowed and made a gesture of respect. Li Yi, who was shooting arrows, heard the familiar voice, quickly dropped his bow and arrows, and went forward with a smile to help Gao Jinda up.

His posture was certainly not that of an emperor, but it seemed that only this posture could make him feel safe.

"The war in the north has been pacified for nearly two months. Now that the new year has begun, it is a good time for the generals to report their achievements."

"This is a memorial sent by His Highness the Prince of Han to the Southern Court. Please take a look, Your Majesty..."

Li Yi could say that Liu Jilong issued an imperial edict, but Gao Jinda could not say that; instead, he referred to it as a memorial.

Li Yi didn't care about any of that. He simply picked up the memorial, took the vermilion brush from the eunuch beside him without even looking at it, and wrote the words "as presented".

Li Yi never looked at these memorials, in order to avoid others thinking that he had any ulterior motives.

"Is there anything else, Minister Gao?"

After Li Yi gave his reply, he eagerly inquired of Gao Jinda, who respectfully bowed and asked, "Recently, Prince Tongchang submitted a memorial requesting an audience with Your Majesty. What is Your Majesty's opinion?"

Since Gao Jinda had spoken, Li Yi naturally knew his thoughts, which were simply to express that Liu Jilong had no ill intentions towards him.

"I am naturally pleased that my elder sister is coming."

Li Yi responded with a smile, but he was not happy to see Li Meiling, but rather happy about Liu Jilong's attitude towards him.

Since Liu Jilong stopped in Heyin County, he has been somewhat uneasy and felt extremely tormented.

What he hopes for most now is for the court officials to persuade Liu Jilong to ascend the throne, and then for Liu Jilong to give him a quick death after he takes the throne.

Whether it's exiling him, killing him, or settling him down with the same honors as the two kings and three nobles, as long as there's a result, that's fine.

The process of waiting for the results was undoubtedly the most agonizing for him.

Now that Liu Jilong has made a statement, it means that he is safe in the short term and no longer needs to endure such torment.

"Prime Minister Gao, I wish to travel to Chang'an to pay homage to my ancestors. Does the court have enough funds and provisions to prepare for the trip?"

Upon learning of Liu Jilong's attitude, Li Yi immediately proposed to go to Chang'an.

Gao Jinda frowned slightly after hearing this, and Li Yi's heart jumped into his throat.

He didn't intend to do anything, but he felt that Luoyang was really oppressive, and it was not appropriate for him to suggest going to the Northern Capital or the Southern Capital. Only Chang'an, which had been managed by Liu Jilong for many years, seemed to be a safer option, so he made a special request to ask.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask His Highness the Prince of Han before I can give His Majesty an answer on this matter."

"Naturally, naturally..."

Seeing Gao Jinda's reaction, Li Yi knew that the matter was mostly settled, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"If that's the case, then I'll take my leave."

"President Gao, please take care."

After exchanging pleasantries, Gao Jinda left Xuanwu City, leaving Li Yi, in high spirits, to continue shooting arrows.

Shortly after Gao Jinda left, a fast horse headed towards Heyin.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yanhui, who had been granted leave, returned to the Prince's Mansion and met Zhang Yichao, who was resting in the central hall.

"Er Ye Ye!"

Upon seeing Zhang Yichao, Zhang Yanhui addressed him as "Yeye" and, upon approaching him, recounted what he had just learned.

In his view, with his father being such a person, it shouldn't be difficult for him to guide him in governing a small Cai Prefecture.

Unexpectedly, after he spoke, Zhang Yichao slowly opened his eyes, shook his head and said, "Only you can help yourself with this matter."

Although he looked very old at the moment, his eyes were still sharp.

If one did not know his physical condition, one might think he was hiding his talents and that he was still in good health.

In fact, Zhang Yichao almost had an accident last summer due to the excessively hot weather.

If it weren't for Liu Jilong's imperial edict years ago, which mandated that the court provide ice to the Prince's residence every year to help cool it down, Zhang Yichao probably wouldn't have survived last summer.

Although he is gradually recovering, his overall spirit is not as good as before, and his hearing has also deteriorated.

Because of this, Zhang Yanhui thought his second father had misheard again, and immediately repeated it loudly. But Zhang Yichao said:
"I am not deaf yet; this matter can only be handled by you personally."

"Um..." Zhang Yanhui was a little embarrassed, then asked, "How should I proceed?"

"Well, before going to Caizhou, make a trip to Heyin to discuss your marriage with the princess."

Before Zhang Yichao could speak, Zhang Yanhui was speechless. He had indeed never thought about his marriage to Liu Zhi, the eldest daughter of Liu Jilong.

It wasn't that he looked down on Liu Zhi, it was just that Liu Zhi was indeed too young, only seven years old at the time.

"Mu Zhi doesn't want to marry off his daughter for the time being, but that's not a reason for you not to bring it up, do you understand?"

As Zhang Yichao spoke, he extended his wooden cane and tapped the box next to him.

"There are Shandan tea leaves in the box, sent by your father. Send them as a gift."

"Huh?" Zhang Yanhui was taken aback and couldn't help but say, "Well, the tea from Shandan isn't exactly good tea. How about I give you two fine horses from the stable?"

"You scoundrel..." Although Zhang Yichao's health had deteriorated, his mind was still very clear. After gently nudging Zhang Yanhui with his wooden cane, he laughed and scolded:
"Do you know that the tea trees in Shandan were all planted by Mu Zhi himself with his soldiers? Whether the tea is good or not is not important; what matters is who planted it."

"I was unaware of that." Zhang Yanhui was somewhat embarrassed, only belatedly remembering that his father-in-law had once been stationed in Shandan.

"when to go?"

"We will depart in ten days."

Zhang Yichao asked the question, and Zhang Yanhui answered respectfully.

Having received the answer, Zhang Yichao nodded and waved for him to leave.

Just as Zhang Yanhui was about to leave the main hall, Zhang Yichao spoke up: "Come back soon after you finish your duties!"

"Yes!" Zhang Yanhui responded without hesitation, then walked out of the main hall, his footsteps fading into the distance.

Even so, Zhang Yichao inside the hall had a big smile on his face.

What he was looking forward to was not Zhang Yanhui's future return, but the outcome that Zhang Yanhui's return would represent.

If Zhang Yanhui returns to Luoyang, it would mean that Liu Jilong has recovered the south and unified the country.

"Muzhi, hurry up..."

(End of this chapter)