Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 460 Cultivation and Marriage Alliance

March, Chang'an.

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu's hearty laughter rang out in the Zichen Palace, and the people around him offered their congratulations.

"Congratulations, Your Highness, on expanding your territory to Shangyong and gaining control of the upper reaches of the Han River!" Guo Tu congratulated.

Zhang Yu's smile faded slightly as he said, "The Shen brothers have been entrenched in Shangyong for a long time, relying on its strategic location. Wang Ling seized the opportunity and conquered Shangyong in just ten months. He is truly capable of great things!"

Zhang Yu dared to appoint Wang Ling as the governor of Shangyong because he believed in his brother-in-law Wang Ling's abilities.

Wang Ling was accomplished in both literature and martial arts. He learned martial arts and literature in his youth and belonged to the elite among the typical gentry sons of the Northern Border. Furthermore, due to his early entry into officialdom and military service, Wang Ling's abilities were greatly honed, making him even more outstanding than his contemporaries in history.

While Wang Ling benefited from Shen Dan's surrender, his bold move of setting up a trap was a stroke of genius. After all, most generals would have accepted Shen Dan's surrender and then withdrawn, but Wang Ling's goal was to control Shangyong.

“Shangyong may seem like a poor and sparsely populated place, but it served as a refuge during times of chaos. The Shen brothers alone had nearly ten thousand households of retainers under their rule.” Zhang Yu handed the memorial presented by Wang Ling to his attendants and said, “When the counties were at peace, the local bullies were dealt with and the household registers were thoroughly checked, Shangyong County had tens of thousands of households.”

"Your Highness, King Wang Yong intends to build a mountain road directly to Chang'an, which is worth discussing!"

Du Ji read through the memorial and exclaimed in surprise, "Hanzhong is the gateway to Bashu, so there are three routes to it. However, Shangyong, Xicheng and other counties are geographically remote and have few registered residents, so there are no official roads. If people want to go to Chang'an, they have to travel hundreds of miles west and detour through the Ziwu Valley before they can reach the Qinling Mountains to the north and arrive in Chang'an."

“If the road from Shangyong to Chang’an can be repaired, it will greatly save travel time and also help the court control Shangyong County.”

Upon seeing the memorial mentioning the strategy of taking Nanyang from Shangyong, Xun You was overjoyed and said, "In the past, Bai Qi attacked Chu by going down the Han River. Now, Yuan Shu has made Nanyang the capital. If Your Highness raises an army to attack Henan, Yuan Shu will send out all his troops. Your Highness's army will defeat them. Then, send out a surprise force to attack Nanyang by going down the Han River. If Wancheng falls, Jingzhou will be pacified with a single proclamation!"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and praised, saying, "Wang Shangyong is skilled in both literature and military affairs, truly worthy of being a general highly regarded by His Highness!"

“Repairing the mountain road for hundreds of miles would require the mobilization of tens of thousands of people. At present, the country is prioritizing military operations. If we wish to repair the plank road, we may have to do it ourselves!” Zhang Yu said.

"In the campaign against Henan, not a single soldier from Hanzhong and Shangyong will be spared. Therefore, Your Highness may ask the two prefects to mobilize the people to repair the official road from Chang'an to Shangyong." Du Ji cupped his hands and said, "I have heard that there are many Ba people in Shangyong Prefecture. Now that the official road is being repaired, why not use money and grain to hire Ba people to come out of the mountains?"

"What Lord Du said makes sense!"

Xu Huang, who was attending the meeting, rose and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, when Zhang Lu surrendered Hanzhong, the treasury contained over a hundred bushels of grain. My expenses in Hanzhong all depended on the Hanzhong treasury. Hanzhong is a strategically important and dangerous place, and it is difficult to quickly transfer grain to Guanzhong. It would be better to let the two prefectures spend their own money and grain to hire the Ba people and the common people to repair the roads and open a major road from Chang'an to Shangyong."

Although Sichuan and Chongqing are rich, their key environment is isolated. Transporting the money and grain generated within Sichuan to Guanzhong required a lot of manpower and resources. Therefore, the biggest problem for the Central Plains dynasties in governing Sichuan and Chongqing was how to transport the money and grain from Sichuan and Chongqing out of the province for the use of the imperial court.

Due to the isolated environment, successive dynasties all went to great lengths to repair the Shu Roads, so the history of large-scale repairs of the roads in Hanzhong can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, the roads in Hanzhong underwent their second large-scale renovation. The Kugu Road in Shangyong was repaired due to a surge in population. Furthermore, to manage the finances and grain supplies of Hanzhong and Shangyong, the Tang Dynasty opened many new roads, hoping to utilize river transport.

Although the old roads still pass through Hanzhong and Shangyong, the distribution of money and grain remains inconvenient. Therefore, Xu Huang's idea was brilliant: to use the collected money and grain to hire the Ba people and Han people to repair the roads.

After considering for a long time, Zhang Yu looked at Prime Minister Zhong Yao and asked, "What do you think?"

Zhong Yao pondered for a moment and said, “Your Highness, since the Qin and Han dynasties, rice has been transported by the Xiegu waterway to the Qinling Mountains, and then transported by land to the Wei River. Down the Wei River, the grain from Shu was transported to Chang’an. Now that Your Majesty has made Chang’an the capital again, we should continue the old strategy of our predecessors and repair the Baoshui Road to transport the grain from Hanzhong to Guanzhong, which may be beneficial for the deployment of troops.”

"Shangyong also needs to repair the road, so Your Highness should order Hanzhong and Shangyong to repair the plank road themselves, with Sun Yongzhou supervising the work. Once the Baoshui Road is completed, Hanzhong's rice and grain can supply Guanzhong, and the troops in Guanzhong can then conquer Bashu."

Since the Qin Dynasty, grain transported from Bashu to Guanzhong has not been via a fake waterway that was destroyed and rerouted by an earthquake, but rather by the waterways in the Baoxie Road.

Historically, during the Battle of Wuzhang Plains between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, the Shu army's supplies were transported out through Xiegu Valley. In order to make better use of the Bao River for transporting supplies, Zhuge Liang created the "flowing horse" (流马).

During the Tang Dynasty, the grain and fodder distribution in Sichuan and Chongqing continued the route of the previous dynasty, using a combination of water and land transport to Guanzhong.

"Shangyong Road, Baoxie Road?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then understood and said, "The Prime Minister's words are reasonable. It is better to repair the water and land roads in Bashu sooner rather than later. Since the soldiers and rice of the two prefectures are difficult to mobilize, let the two prefectures repair the water and land roads first. This matter will be handled by Sun Zi, the governor of Yongzhou. The prefecture will send people to mobilize, the accounting department will send officials to calculate, and the censorate will send people to supervise."

"Yes, sir!" Since last year, Zhang Yu has prioritized road construction, grain storage, and the mobilization of the people. First, he built canals in Hebei to connect the province's waterways. Now, he is building the Qinling official road, with the same purpose as the canals in Hebei: to facilitate troop deployment and tax collection.

"Your Highness, Wang Shangyong asked what should be done with the assets of the Shen clan and their more than one hundred confidants?" Guo Tu asked.

Zhang Yu tapped the armrest and said, "The Shen family is not doing well. They have been moved to Jincheng County to protect the border and are not allowed to return to Shangyong."

Guo Tu continued, "So, how should Wang Shangyong be rewarded for his meritorious service this time?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then said, "Issue an edict to promote Wang Ling to General Zhaowu and enfeoff him as Marquis of Duting."

"promise!"

Taking advantage of the silence between the emperor and his ministers, Minister Linghu Shao stepped forward from his seat, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, Lü Bu has sent an envoy, Xu Si, with a memorial to the capital. How should we receive him?"

"Has Lü Bu received an official position?" Zhang Yu asked.

"According to the envoy Xu Si, when Lü Bu learned that Your Highness had declared yourself king and appointed him as Grand General, he was overjoyed and said that the people of Shuo had established a kingdom and that he would soon be rich and powerful." Linghu Shao pondered for a moment and said, "When he received the seal of Grand General, Lü Bu invited his civil and military officials to a banquet, showed the seal to everyone, and was extremely proud of himself."

"hehe!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The vicious tiger has had its fill; now it can be used!"

Unlike Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao, Lü Bu did not harbor ambitions to become emperor or king. He was unwilling to be subordinate to others, preferred to rule from behind closed doors, and had a strong desire for empty fame. Therefore, Lü Bu was often driven by others and was concerned about whether he was wanted by the imperial court.

After the Han dynasty was ended by Yuan Shu, Lü Bu and many of his former associates were disoriented, unsure of whom the world should serve as their ruler. However, after Zhang Yu defeated Yuan Shao and seized Hebei, Lü Bu genuinely sided with Zhang Yu.

After a pause, Zhang Yu asked, "Did Lü Bu send an envoy to Chang'an this time to ask for grain or horses?"

"Your Highness!"

Linghu Shao said, "Lu Bu has a daughter and a son. The son is still young, only two years old; the daughter is eight years old and is now ready to be engaged and married. Therefore, Xu Si's visit to the capital this time is not for grain or horses, but to seek a marriage alliance with Your Highness."

"Marriage?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly, pondering his sons.

He had more than ten wives and concubines in his harem, who bore him six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Zhang Luo, and fifth son, Zhang Wei, were born to Wang Ji; his second son, Zhang Bi, was born to Ala Hai; his third son, Zhang Zhang, was born to Li Suyi; his fourth son, Cai Xi, was born to Cai Yan; and his sixth son, Zhang Tao, was born to Zou Qi. He also had three daughters: Hong Niang, Hu Yanyu, and Lady Yin. Including his adopted son, He Yan, Zhang Yu had a total of seven sons and three daughters.

Of the seven sons and three daughters, starting with the fifth son, the subsequent children are all young. Excluding Zhang Luo, the second son Zhang Bi is eight years old, and the third son Zhang Zhang is six years old. Now, Lü Bu's daughter is eight years old, and the eligible son is Zhang Bi.

Seeing that Zhang Yu remained silent, Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, Lü Bu has no intention of becoming king or emperor; all he seeks is wealth and honor. He is now asking Your Highness for a marriage alliance, hoping to become a queen even if not the crown prince's wife. If he becomes a relative of the emperor, Lü Bu believes that after submitting to Your Highness, he can be guaranteed a life of wealth and honor without misfortune."

As the political landscape became increasingly clear, and Lü Bu chose to side with Zhang Yu, it was impossible for him not to consider his own interests. Liu He was the best example, having formed a marriage alliance with Zhang Yu's son. Therefore, Lü Bu wanted to emulate Liu He, using this kinship to secure his wealth and status after surrendering.

“My second son is about the same age as my eldest daughter. Since Lü Bu wants to form a marriage alliance, we can arrange for my second son to be engaged to her!” Zhang Yu suggested.

Zhang Bi has Xiongnu blood, and unless under special circumstances, he would find it difficult to gain the approval of the court officials due to his blood ties. Furthermore, Zhang Yu had long desired to appoint Zhang Bi as king to govern the Xiongnu and assimilate the Xiongnu who had submitted to Han rule. Now that Lü Bu intends to form a marriage alliance, Zhang Yu might as well arrange for Lü Bu to become Zhang Bi's father-in-law.

"Uncle Kong, you and the Prime Minister should receive Xu Si and convey my wish to form a marriage alliance with Lü Bu. Later, you should arrange for an envoy to go to Lü Bu to establish friendly relations," Zhang Yu said.

"As ordered!"

Linghu Shao was a member of the Linghu clan of Taiyuan. When Zhang Yu conquered Taiyuan, he joined Zhang Yu's army as an official. After Zhang Yu was appointed Grand General, Linghu Shao became a clerk in his government office. Since taking charge, he has been kind and generous to people, advocated for reducing the severity of punishments, and was fond of learning and literature, earning him widespread respect.

When selecting the heads of the Six Ministries, Zhang Yu valued Linghu Shao because of his upright character and incorruptible official conduct. He was appointed Minister of Rites, responsible for the examination of candidates for the civil service examination and for etiquette and reception.

(End of this chapter)