Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2781 Heading South to Yangzhou, the Protector-General of Annam

In February of the second year of Jian'an, Prince Li Keyong of Mian'an passed away in Luoyang.

Li Keyong was one of the eight regional kings of Southeast Asia.

Of the eight princes, only five were Li Xiang's sons; the remaining three were meritorious officials selected from the imperial clan.

Besides Li Keyong, there were also Li Jing and Li Si.

However, Li Keyong, Li Jing, and Li Si did not go to take up their posts in person, but their sons took up the posts on their behalf, while they themselves remained in Luoyang.

Basically, barring any unforeseen circumstances, none of the three of them have much hope of going to their fiefdoms in their lifetime.

In March of the same year, Han Qinhu, who had been retired for many years, passed away peacefully in his hometown in Henan.

Han Qinhu was the maternal uncle of Li Jing, a member of the imperial clan, and was naturally related to the royal family.

However, this old guy is quite resilient.

In the second year of Jian'an, he was already eighty-three years old, a true centenarian. Among all the civil and military officials of the Great Jin Dynasty, there were fewer than one hand that could outlive him.

Also in March, Qin Qiong, a veteran general, passed away in his hometown in Shandong.

In April, Earl Zhongyong Yang Zaixing died of illness at home.

Yang Zaixing is actually only forty-eight years old this year.

However, his fighting style was extremely harmful to his own health.

The hidden wounds he sustained were the most severe among all the generals.

Even though the Imperial Medical Academy sent people to treat him several times, he couldn't withstand the fighting after the treatment when he was young, so they still used the same methods and didn't take care of his body at all.

When people get old, even with further treatment, it's impossible to completely reverse the damage.

Yang Zaixing suffered greatly during the last period of his life.

Four pieces of bad news reached Li Xiang, who had just entered the Yangtze River, and the emperor was overwhelmed with grief.

Li Keyong was posthumously granted the title of Grand Tutor and Pillar of State; Han Qinhu was posthumously granted the title of Duke of Qin and Pillar of State; Qin Qiong was posthumously granted the title of Duke of Yi and Pillar of State; and was posthumously awarded the titles of Grand General of Qingzhou and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince.

Yang Zaixing was posthumously granted the title of Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, and was posthumously awarded the title of Deputy Governor of Bingzhou. His son, Yang Jizhou, was also granted a fief of 500.

Historical records state that in the second year of Jian'an, upon hearing of the passing of the Prince of Mian'an, the Marquis of Dongyuan Township, the Marquis of Licheng, and the Earl of Zhongyong, the Emperor was deeply saddened and could not eat for three days.

In the same year, on the grasslands, within the Mongol Empire, the generals Bo'orchu and Monlik, whom Temujin had once relied on, also died of illness in May of the second year of Jian'an.

Also in May, Wanyan Zonghan, a former member of the Wanyan family and now a general of the Qing Dynasty, passed away in Shengjing.

In June, Shan Shituo, one of the earliest divine generals, finally passed away, tormented by the hidden wounds left by his life's battles.

Like Yang Zaixing, many of these fierce generals on the battlefield, though incredibly brave in their youth, suffered more and more torment in their old age.

These former acquaintances, whether they were subordinates or former enemies, have all passed away one by one.

Li Xiang, who was in the south at the time, was filled with mixed feelings and felt a deep sense of frustration.

July of the second year of Jian'an.

When Xue Rengui retired at the age of over sixty, Li Xiang granted his request. Considering his merits, Li Xiang increased his fief to ten thousand households, and also appointed him Grand Protector, Pillar of the State, and Grand General of the Northeast Army. He was granted a certificate of imperial pardon, which would exempt him from death nine times over! Later, he was also granted a carriage drawn by four horses, which allowed him to ride into the court, where he was not required to be named when being greeted and to enter the palace without having to rush.
Later, his portrait was made for the Lingyan Pavilion and placed on the third floor. Now, most of the 12 positions on the third floor of the Lingyan Pavilion have been determined. From the initial Li Jing, Wang Meng and Guan Zhong, Su Qin, Bai Qi were added later, and now Xue Rengui is the last one.

No more, no less, this spot is exactly half full.

Xue Rengui retired, and Li Mu went south to Nanjing to serve as the Minister of War in the imperial court.

At this point, Han Xin officially took command of the 200,000-strong northern army.

Among the important generals of the Jin Dynasty today, apart from Huo Qubing, only Han Xin is slightly younger.

He and Huo Qubing were among the few generals who were younger than Li Xiang.

At this moment, Li Xiang, who had already arrived in Yangzhou, first went to the Nanjing court and met with the officials of the Nanjing court.

Since the Great Jin Dynasty implemented the dual-capital system and established the Nanjing court, Li Xiang has never personally come here once.

Before this, only the Crown Prince had ever been stationed here for several years.

At this time, the ministers of the six ministries of the Nanjing court had been replaced one after another.

Guan Zhong, the former Minister of Personnel, has been reassigned as the Grand Protector of Annam.

The Beiting Protectorate was responsible for governing the grasslands north of Youzhou.

The Annam Protectorate, on the other hand, controlled the ten kings of the Li family in South Asia and was responsible for governing these vassal kings.

To put it bluntly, those eight kings in Southeast Asia, although they were vassal kings, had no power to threaten the central court at all.

They couldn't even get past the Southern court, let alone the Northern court.

During this period, Southeast Asia's level of development and population remained unchanged.

But the Ten Kings of South Asia were different; they had vast agricultural production areas, a large population, and ample land.

Even excluding the strongest of the ten kings of South Asia, any of the remaining kings, if they seriously developed their territories for a few years, could easily be worth several kings in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, that region is far from the reach of the emperor; not only can the northern court not extend its reach there, but even the southern court cannot.

Therefore, in addition to establishing the South China Sea Navy, Li Xiang also aimed to strengthen his control over Southeast Asia and even South Asia.

Furthermore, the Annam Protectorate was established, and senior officials with sufficient experience and prestige were dispatched to manage the princes, which also served as a form of supervision.

In South Asia, the military power of the Great Jin Dynasty was divided into two parts: one part consisted of the troops of the various vassal kings, and the other part consisted of the garrison of the Annam Protectorate.

Each year, the princes would pay a certain amount of tax to the Annam Protectorate, which in turn used this tax as the basis for establishing a garrison.

He was in charge of the princes, who were all princes after all. Therefore, for the Grand Protector of Annam, in addition to his military abilities, his political abilities were even more important.

Therefore, four years ago, Guan Zhong officially took office as the governor of Dadu Prefecture of Annam Protectorate.

The current Minister of Personnel, who is now the head of the six ministries in the Nanjing court, has become Wei Yang, who is in charge of the development of the Nanjing court and controls the development of the south.

Meanwhile, Governor Ji Dan was promoted to Minister of Revenue, thus balancing Wei Yang's position.

Wei Yang's political ideas were more suited to the period of conquering the world than to governing it.

With Ji Dan, a moderate, acting as a counterbalance, the south was able to develop rapidly without veering off course.