Duke of Zhenguan

The twenty auxiliary soldiers died in a gruesome manner; their heads were nowhere to be found, and their bodies were hacked to pieces by sharp blades. No wonder Cheng Yaojin was so angry.

After handling the aftermath, Lin Chuan went to inspect the salt lake.

After continuous improvement, all processes of salt harvesting have been fully operational and are now on the right track.

As the soldiers' proficiency improved, the daily amount of salt collected continued to increase slowly.

This salt field has enormous salt reserves; if manpower can keep up, it could supply the entire Tang Dynasty without any problem.

Li Shimin would send someone with official documents almost every two days to inquire about the quantity of salt harvested and the speed of salt transportation.

Just by looking at those stacks of official documents, Lin Chuan knew that Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and others were definitely brewing some big move.

Unfortunately, he couldn't return to Chang'an anytime soon.

The following evening, Cheng Yaojin led his army back to the camp, bringing with him not only hundreds of heads but also more than a dozen prisoners.

Looking at the pitiful prisoners, Lin Chuan asked Cheng Yaojin in confusion:

"General, you spared some prisoners?"

"Let's go inside and talk!"

Cheng Yaojin waved his hand and led Cheng Yaojin into the commander's tent.

After entering the command tent, Cheng Yaojin took off his helmet and rubbed his forehead with a headache.

"Uncle Cheng, what happened?"

"These thieves are not simple people. The people I brought back are related to the local powerful clans!" Cheng Yaojin said with a wry smile.

"Was it instigated by a local powerful clan?" Lin Chuan asked, frowning.

"No, those powerful clans don't have that kind of guts!" Cheng Yaojin shook his head.

"Since they weren't the instigators of these powerful clans, Uncle Cheng could simply wipe out these bandits and report the situation to the imperial court. Why bother with all this trouble?" Lin Chuan asked.

"I have already sent someone to deliver the message back to Chang'an. What I am worried about is that, given His Majesty's temper, Liangzhou is likely to become unsettled soon!" Cheng Yaojin sighed softly.

Lin Chuan remained silent. At this time, Liangzhou was already part of the Tang Dynasty's territory, but due to the coexistence of Hu and Han people, the relationships between local powerful clans and Hu tribes were complex.

Because it is far from the capital, management naturally becomes a problem.

The imperial court had sent people over, but they either couldn't stay or died of illness for no apparent reason.

Therefore, most of the officials in these places were selected from local powerful clans.

Over time, local officials naturally began to outwardly comply with but inwardly defy the imperial court's orders.

Li Shimin and the ministers in the court had long been dissatisfied with the Liangzhou region. These bandits had foolishly robbed the Right Guard's salt, handing the knife to the court. It was no wonder that there was no peace.

At this time, the Right Guard had nearly 10,000 men stationed here, which was like the sharpest knife.

Cheng Yaojin did not like doing such things.

He preferred leading his army to fight the enemy on the battlefield rather than pointing his blade at those arrogant and ignorant barbarian tribes.

There were also those ignorant local powerful families in Liangzhou who had only seen Liangzhou City and thought that Chang'an was just a bigger city.

Lin Chuan had a pretty good idea of ​​Cheng Yaojin's thoughts, and smiled as he comforted him:

"General, the salt harvesting is the most important matter now, and the court may send someone else to handle it!"

"Leaving 10,000 Right Guard soldiers here to mine salt?"

Cheng Yaojin shook his head with amusement, and then said:

"If I'm not mistaken, the guards who will replace me should already be on their way!"

Old Fang probably suggested to His Majesty that the Right Guards be sent to Liangzhou to harvest salt with the intention of sending this old man to do the dirty work!

"Even if we want to reorganize Liangzhou, there's no need to send Uncle Cheng, is there?" Lin Chuan asked, puzzled.

Cheng Yaojin picked up his scabbard and tapped it a few times on the map on the table, then said with a smile, "How could it be just Liangzhou..."

Lin Chuan's gaze fell on the map, looking at the places Cheng Yaojin had pointed out, such as Lanzhou, Yuanzhou, and Lingzhou. A sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he asked softly:

"Is the imperial court going to take action against Liang Shidu?"

"Liang Shidu is nothing but a clown, not enough to warrant such a large-scale mobilization from His Majesty. If I'm not mistaken, His Majesty is probably planning to take action against the Turks!"

However, before taking action, we must thoroughly investigate Longyou. Liang Shidu, that clown, is just someone we can easily eliminate!

"Only by eliminating our worries can we take action against the Turks with peace of mind!" Cheng Yaojin said with a smile.

Lin Chuan said subconsciously:

"So fast?"

Cheng Yaojin gave Lin Chuan a strange look and said softly:

"Originally it wouldn't have been this fast, but when we were dealing with those powerful families, you let His Majesty and the old Fang family know that there was still so much grain in Jiangnan!"

Even I never expected that without using laborers and a large army, so much grain could be transported from Jiangnan into Guanzhong in less than three months!

"Our Great Tang Dynasty has a strong and well-equipped army. The only concern in our campaign against the Turks is the supply of provisions and provisions. Now that the food problem is solved, the campaign against the Turks will naturally be a matter of course!"

Lin Chuan nodded. Given Cheng Yaojin's status and wisdom, his judgment was naturally correct.

He just never expected that the flapping of his butterfly wings would create a whirlwind so quickly…

"Alright, you don't need to worry about this. As long as you can defeat those powerful families again, you'll have accomplished a great feat!" Cheng Yaojin waved his hand with a smile.

Just as Cheng Yaojin had guessed, half a month later, the Ministry of War's order reached the Right Guard.

The amount of salt transported into Chang'an during this period was enough to deal with those powerful families. Although the salt fields still needed to be kept secret, they no longer needed to be hidden from those powerful families.

Therefore, the task of salt mining at the salt fields was handed over to the local government troops, and the Right Guard was transferred to Liangzhou City.

They waited in Liangzhou City for the officials sent by the imperial court.

On the third day after the Right Guard received the order, the soldiers of the Liangzhou Chariot and Cavalry Prefecture arrived at the salt field.

After the handover, the Right Guard Army marched towards Liangzhou City.

Upon arriving outside Liangzhou City, Cheng Yaojin refused the Liangzhou officials' request to see him and ordered the Right Guard Army to set up camp outside the city.

At this point, the officials in Liangzhou finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

Previously, the bandits in the Mabozi Mountain area of ​​Guzang County had been wiped out, and they were still hoping that the matter would be over after Cheng Yaojin led his men to wipe out those bandits. They did not expect that the Right Martial Guard army would arrive in Liangzhou.

Upon seeing the heavily guarded Right Guard camp, the local powerful clans and nomadic tribes finally panicked.

Every day, people would bring gold, silver, jewels, and beautiful women to the Right Guard Camp to request an audience.

However, the Right Guard camp was tightly closed. Except for those transporting grain, all officials and tribal leaders were blocked outside the gate by the soldiers.

These powerful clans and nomadic tribes lived in fear for about ten days before the imperial officials finally arrived in Liangzhou.

More than ten officials came, the highest-ranking of whom were the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The day after the arrival of the imperial officials, more than 10,000 soldiers from the Right Guard suddenly sealed off Liangzhou City, and squads of soldiers began arresting people in the city according to the list.