Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 455 Eastern Shangyong in the Western Han Dynasty

Since the rebellion in Liangzhou at the end of the Han Dynasty, not only was Longyou out of control, but the Hexi Corridor was also cut off. In addition, the Western Regions were six or seven thousand li away from Guanzhong, so the Eastern Han court lost control of Hexi and the Western Regions.

The rise of Han and Hu warlords in the various prefectures of Hexi is a result of local forces gradually gaining power after the Eastern Han government lost control. Meanwhile, the Western Regions Chief Administrator's Office, having lost the support of the imperial court, has become a mere shell of its former self, and the various kingdoms of the Western Regions no longer rely on it.

However, if the Hexi Corridor is open and the prefectures of Liangzhou are at peace, and the Silk Road is opened, the countries of the Western Regions will send envoys to pay homage, driven by self-interest and the long-term efforts of the Han Dynasty.

Historically, Cao Wei's rule over the Western Regions benefited from the cultivation efforts of the Han Dynasty. However, due to the lack of troops stationed in the Western Regions, Cao Wei only nominally controlled them. The various states paid tribute to the Central Plains, but they were not conquered by the Central Plains dynasties; rather, they were profitable through tribute and trade.

Therefore, if one wants to truly control the Western Regions, it is necessary to station troops there, or even go further and abolish the kingdoms and establish prefectures. However, if one wants to send troops out of the Western Regions, the Central Plains will be unified, otherwise one will be unable to look westward.

The key reason why they were unable to look westward was the long distance. Without supplies to provide along the way, how could the troops travel six or seven thousand miles to the Western Regions to garrison or fight?
Therefore, when Shi Yi asked whether he would launch a campaign against the Western Regions, Zhang Yu could only give a perfunctory response. In his estimation, Shi Yi's subjugation of Liangzhou would be a great achievement, and the conquest of the Western Regions would have to wait until after the unification of the world.

"Your Majesty, Qiu Lang, Lu Hao, and Gong Hui are waiting outside the palace!" reported the eunuch Zhang Hang.

"Xuan!"

"promise!"

Zhang Hang was from Xuanshi, Shangdang. During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, due to his family's poverty, Zhang Hang entered the palace as a eunuch. At that time, he was cleaning Emperor Ling's tomb and escaped the massacre of eunuchs by Yuan Shu. Later, he followed Dong Zhuo to move the capital to Chang'an, and escaped the palace during the chaos in Chang'an, thus saving his life.

After Zhang Yu conquered Guanzhong, Zhang Hang was allocated land and remained in Chang'an. Now that Zhang Yu had declared himself king, Zhang Hang learned that the palace was recruiting former officials, so he came to apply. Because of his experience serving Liu Xie, he was assigned to serve Zhang Yu. Seeing that Zhang Hang was cautious in his words and deeds, Zhang Yu appointed him as a junior eunuch, responsible for his daily life and relaying messages.

A short while later, led by Zhang Hang, the three of them entered the hall and walked side by side with the respect due to subjects.

Zhang Yu stepped forward to help them up one by one, and said happily, "You men have greatly boosted my prestige this time we went south to relieve the siege!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu patted the shoulder of Gong Hui, the largest of the three, and laughed, "I bet you are Gong Hui, who shot and killed dozens of Shu soldiers with a bow and killed an enemy captain with his own hands."

Gong Hui said shyly, "I didn't expect Your Highness to remember my childhood name."

How could I not remember?

Zhang Yu laughed and said, "When I'm away on campaign, I often write to the instructors to inquire about your situation. And you are brave and skilled in battle, the best among all of you in martial arts. How could I not know that?"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu laughed and scolded, "I've heard you often beat people up and commit crimes after drinking. If you do it again, don't blame me for punishing you!"

"I will remember, Your Highness!"

Gong Hui was surprised that Zhang Yuzhen remembered him. His expression immediately became excited, and he replied in a deep voice, "I will never drink alcohol or commit any crimes again."

"Is it Qiu Lang?"

"Exactly!"

“Without your strategy to capture Baocheng, the army would have had difficulty taking it quickly. And when the Shu army arrived, the army would have been defeated at Baokou.” Zhang Yu praised, “Although you are young, you have the qualities of a great general.”

"hey-hey!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's high praise for him, Qiu Lang scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, showing none of the ferocity he displayed during battle.

"Deer oysters!"

"Skilled in archery and horsemanship, he fought five Shu cavalrymen and rescued more than three hundred civilians. He is brave and resourceful, a fine young man indeed!"

Suppressing his excitement, Lu Hao said, "I am willing to serve Your Highness to the death!"

Zhang Yu patted his shoulder and said with satisfaction, "I have raised my sons for many years, and the civil and military officials thought they were useless. But now, in the battle to rescue Hanzhong, my sons have performed brilliantly and are well-known in the army. They have not let my efforts go to waste."

"Guards, prepare a feast! Gentlemen, join me for a drink!"

"promise!"

When Zhang Yu invited them to lunch, the three were overjoyed. Needless to say, the lunch was quite a spectacle; Zhang Yu's heartfelt words completely won them over. By the time they left the palace, the three considered Zhang Yu their lord and were willing to give him their whole heart.

Although dozens of the three hundred Zhongtiao soldiers were killed or wounded during this southern expedition to Hanzhong, most of them distinguished themselves in battle. To continue his strategy of cultivating loyal followers, Zhang Yu specially selected the top three soldiers with outstanding military achievements to enter the palace as a sign of favor. Later, Zhang Yu would visit the Zhongtiao army separately to comfort the remaining meritorious soldiers.

After lunch, Zhang Yu took a short nap.

At noon, Guo Tu reported that Sun Ce had withdrawn from Hanzhong. Zhang Lu was ordered to visit Chang'an. Zhang Yu then summoned Zhong Yao, Xun You, Du Ji, Jia Xu, Guo Tu and others to the Zichen Hall to discuss matters.

"Sun Ce led his army to withdraw from Hanzhong, while Zhang Lu went to Chang'an via the Ziwu Valley."

Zhang Yu sat down with the others to discuss politics, and said, "Zhang Lu has entered the court to take up the post of Grand Master of Ceremonies. A governor should be appointed for Hanzhong, and troops should be stationed there. I wonder what your opinions are?"

"Hanzhong is isolated, with fertile land inside, but separated from Chang'an by the Qinling Mountains, making it inconvenient to mobilize troops."

Xun You pondered for a moment and said, "Sun Ce controls Ba and Shu, and is waiting for an opportunity to spy on Han Chuan. If Your Highness launches an eastern expedition to the Central Plains, Sun Ce may invade the border again. Therefore, in my opinion, a great general should be appointed to Hanzhong and concurrently take charge of the government affairs."

"The Central Plains are the priority for military operations, while Sichuan and Chongqing are the next priority. Therefore, defense is the top priority in Hanzhong. When encountering the enemy, we must defend the strategic points so that Your Highness has no worries about the rear." Tian Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Therefore, we need a general who can stand alone and command all the troops to defend against the enemy."

"The greatest enemy is Yuan Shu, and Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Li Song, and Man Chong are my henchmen. I cannot bear to part with them."

Zhang Yu tapped the armrest lightly and said, "Besides the four, do any of you have candidates?"

"How is General Zhang?"

Guo Tu said, "General Zhang is a veteran of military affairs and is respected among all generals. His presence in Hanzhong commands respect from the people."

"inappropriate!"

Jia Xu shook his head slightly and said, "Hanzhong has a complex geography, and Lord Zhang is unfamiliar with it, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to take up the post. Moreover, there are many surrendered generals in Hanzhong. Although they may be able to submit to Lord Zhang, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to win the hearts of the people."

After a pause, Jia Xu added, "Not only that, there are four counties east of Nanzheng: Xicheng, Shangyong, Fangling, and Xixian. Although these four counties are under the control of Zhang Lu, each county has its own powerful local strongmen. According to Xu Huang's report, during the great chaos in Nanyang, tens of thousands of families fled west to these four counties and were recruited as retainers by the powerful local strongmen. If they are not managed properly, it may cause unrest."

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the country was in chaos. The four counties of Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling remained peaceful until now, while Guanzhong and Jingzhou suffered repeated wars and thus absorbed a large number of refugees. Historically, the reason why Cao Wei was able to divide these four counties into three commanderies was not only because the Shen brothers and Meng Da rebelled, but also because of the large population in these four counties.

In the early Western Jin Dynasty, the registered households in the three commanderies totaled nearly 40,000. It should be noted that prior to this, due to Meng Da's rebellion, more than 7,000 of his retainers were relocated to Youzhou. Therefore, strictly speaking, at its peak, the registered households in the three eastern commanderies should have been around 50,000, with a population between 200,000 and 300,000.

In this current world, due to the early pacification of Guanzhong, there was no refugee crisis in Guanzhong. However, because Yuan Shu's rule in Nanyang was unpopular, many people from Nanyang fled west to the three eastern counties.

Du Ji cupped his hands and said, “Your Highness, Hanzhong has a large number of registered households. Although Sun Ce has relocated tens of thousands of people, its population still far exceeds that of the counties in Yongzhou. Its former 100,000 households were comparable to the land of a province. In my opinion, if Your Highness wishes to govern Hanzhong well, it would be better to divide the two counties and grant each of them tens of thousands of households.”

"Lord Du's words make sense!"

Zhong Yao said, "Your Highness has included Hanzhong in Yongzhou because Yongzhou has a small population and Hanzhong alone can withstand the pressure from Bashu. However, the number of households in Hanzhong alone exceeds the total number of households in all the counties of Longyou. If Hanzhong is not separated, it will be detrimental to the governor's administration."

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to make Wudu the capital of the prefecture, governing the counties of Longyou above and the counties of Hanchuan below. If Sun Ce were to invade Hanzhong, the soldiers and officers of Yongzhou would be stationed at Xiabian, and if the enemy wanted to attack Hanzhong, they would have to defend against the enemy from Longnan."

Zhong Yao, considering the administrative divisions, not only agreed to split Hanzhong into two commanderies, but also hoped to place the prefecture's capital in Wudu Commandery, so as to support Hanzhong from the west. Later, when Ba and Shu attempted to launch a northern expedition against Hanzhong, the troops from Longyou were stationed in Wudu, and the troops from Hanzhong were stationed in Yangping. With strong armies on both sides, the northward advance of Ba and Shu would be blocked.

Zhang Yu nodded slightly in agreement, saying, "What you say makes sense. Hanzhong is the gateway to Bashu. If Sun Ce wants to leave Bashu, he must attack Hanzhong. Now that Yongzhou has moved its capital to Wudu, it can coordinate with Hanzhong from afar, so Sun Ce will no longer be able to take the Jinniu Road!"

"And that's not all!"

Xun You continued, "Since there are troops from Longyou responding, then Hanzhong can simply send someone skilled in both civil and military affairs to defend it; there is no need to leave a general to oversee the area."

Zhang Yuwei leaned against the table, pondering the personnel matters in Hanzhong for a long time, and said, "Guo Huai is skilled in both literature and military affairs, and Xu Huang has praised Guo Huai's talent and strategy. Now, Guo Huai should be appointed as the governor of Hanzhong Commandery to oversee the military and political affairs of Hanchuan. As for Xicheng, the four eastern counties should be separated to form Shangyong Commandery, and Wang Ling should be appointed as its governor to oversee major military and political affairs."

Although everyone was surprised that Zhang Yu would entrust such an important position to young officers, they did not voice their objections because the two were Zhang Yu's confidants and had served in the army for many years.

"Yes, sir!" the crowd replied.

(End of this chapter)