The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 402: Wandering Around the World
In mid-August, Xiao Yan arrived in Fengxiang. He first accepted the surrender of Wang Zongkan, the commander of the northern camp of Shu Kingdom, and then ordered tens of thousands of Shu troops to disperse and return home, retaining only an elite force of about 20,000 people. From then on, they were disbanded and incorporated into the Daliang Imperial Guards, and moved to Bianliang together with their families.

Then, he inspected Ding Badu and gave out a lot of rewards. The spoils of Shu were still on the Yangtze River and could not be used for a while. Fortunately, Luoyang had raised a batch of wealth before the war for Marshal Xiao to spend. This war did not cost much money. Therefore, Xiao Yan was rich and generous, and rewarded the surrendered army of the old Shu and the Fengxiang Qi army. Of course, the generosity of the reward Ding Badu received was astonishing.

The Shu Kingdom's military strength was completely withdrawn, and all its elite troops were sent to the Central Plains.

For many years, Zhu Wen had been trying to reduce the power of the local military governors and strengthen the central power. He first formed elite personal troops such as Tingzi Du and Luoyan Du to suppress local military governors. He also tried to set up governors to manage civil affairs in the directly governed areas and sent Jiedushi to command the army. However, he still relied on military generals to take charge of the military, and failed to break the tradition of the integration of military and political power in the local military governors since the middle Tang Dynasty.

The most critical point is that although Zhu Wen implemented the farming system in Henan and recruited people to reclaim wasteland to increase taxes, the frequent wars resulted in very limited results. After the Yangtze and Huaihe River transport was blocked by the Wu Kingdom, the court's finances could only rely on Henan. For many years, it was unable to effectively integrate the resources of Hebei and Hedong, resulting in long-term multi-line battles with separatist regions such as Yan, Jin, Qi, Wu, and Shu. It had to delegate power to the local governments, allowing them to recruit their own troops and maintain semi-independent financial and military power.

Therefore, Zhu Wen's many years of weakening the power of the local vassal states were actually just relying on military deterrence and political control to suppress the local states. He failed to reform the foundation of the vassal states and in fact compromised with the local governors. Due to financial pressure, the imperial guards could not expand on a large scale, and were even less able to maintain local garrison troops. Therefore, as long as the local trusted generals loyal to Zhu Wen died, this so-called weakening of the power of the local vassal states would soon become a misnomer and quickly get out of control because of the semi-independent military and political power he possessed.

What Xiao Yan needs to do is to put an end to this phenomenon.

The Central Plains is a place where wars have never stopped for many years. Before Xiao Yan entered the Liang Dynasty, Daliang seemed to be the most powerful in the world, but in fact, due to frequent wars, it had already caused serious population loss. On the contrary, the southern regime was relatively stable and had a higher population density.

When the Liang Dynasty was at its peak a few years ago, there were less than one million registered households, but relying solely on the states of Henan, Shandong, Huaibei and other places, it supported 50,000 to 60,000 imperial guards and no less than 200,000 garrison troops. The imperial guards did not even engage in any production and were entirely supported by the national treasury. How could the finances possibly be good?

Expanding territory is not only a way to reduce the pressure of foreign wars, but also a necessary means to expand the scale of production. Now that the territory is large and the population is large, as long as the army is not expanded blindly, even if taxes are halved, the court will have savings and the finances will be sufficient.

Drawing local elite troops to the central government and having the central government dispatch garrisons for rotation, this was Xiao Yan's first step. The Kingdom of Shu really saved him a lot of long steps. With the merit of destroying a country in his hand, Xiao Yan's reorganization of the imperial guards and reform would be much smoother afterwards.

The original troops of Qi State will be used to guard against the two towns of Shuofang and Jin State, and will only be slightly adjusted for the time being. As for Shu State, Xiao Yan will not be polite. All the old Shu local garrison troops will be disbanded, and only the basic county garrisons will be retained. The elite troops along with property will be directly escorted to Bianliang. With the huge financial supplement, he will have sufficient financial resources in the future to disintegrate the vassal forces in other places and use them to expand the central imperial army.

However, the road ahead was long and arduous, and these matters needed to be carefully considered. Xiao Yan was not in a hurry. After inspecting Dingbadu in Fengxiang, he also accepted the submission of the king and ministers of Qi State. Later, Han Yanhui, the chief historian of Tiance Mansion, acted as a matchmaker to discuss the marriage with the "King of Qi".

After these things were done, Xiao Yan returned to the court, bringing 20,000 Shu soldiers and horses, Dingbadu, and several guards stationed in Chang'an back to Bianjing. After the war was completely over, the court also returned from Chang'an to the Eastern Capital Bianjing.

According to the original plan, Xiao Yan was going to take Ji Ruxue away first, but the girl wanted to stay in Fengxiang and wait to go to Bianliang with the empress.

Xiao Yan was not willing to agree to her request and directly forced Ji Ruxue into his carriage. The only regret was that, perhaps because the empress was embarrassed or for other reasons, she had always been interacting with him as the King of Qi and had never met him alone.

Well, according to the etiquette at that time, it was indeed not appropriate for men and women to meet privately before getting married, although there was no possibility of either party regretting the engagement.

The wedding date has not been set yet, but it should be soon. All the petitions for the throne from all over the Liang Dynasty have been sent to the court. Once Xiao Yan is crowned King of Qin, the wedding will take place simultaneously. He himself will have to go to Fengxiang again to bring the empress back. These two things are major events that many people will like to see.

After staying in Luoyang for two days, Xiao Yan accepted congratulations from Henan Prefecture, including King Wei Zhang Quanyi and many officials. He promoted some officials who performed well in the war and said that he would confer the title of Grand Tutor on Zhang Quanyi.

Zhang Quanyi performed very well in suppressing Yang Shihou. As Xiao Yan's insider, he lured a large number of internal opposition forces into the trap and cooperated with Xiao Yan with all his efforts. Xiao Yan was naturally very satisfied with him.

Zhang Quanyi was very respectful, and took the opportunity to resign from the post of Henan Yin on the pretext of old age, expressing his desire to go to Dongdu to spend his remaining years in retirement. However, Xiao Yan did not agree. Zhang Quanyi had done a very good job in Henan Prefecture in recent years and had the merit of "rebuilding the capital". As such a talent who was good at developing production, Xiao Yan wished he could work for another 30 years.

So Zhang Quanyi had to settle for the next best thing and requested to transfer his second son Zhang Jizuo, who was then the commander of the Henan Prefecture, to Beijing to assist Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan gladly accepted and appointed Zhang Jizuo as the chief priest of Tiance Prefecture on the spot. Then he led the army to continue the journey from Luoyang.

Because they had won the battle, everyone was eager to return home, so they were not slow. In late August, the armies arrived in Bianjing. It was a hot summer day and the temperature was very high, but the crowded crowds were unusually noisy, and the heat was even higher.

Xiao Yan's contribution this time was particularly great. Although the captives did not arrive together, the Guide Army, which was escorting the treasures, had already landed in Jiangling. It took thousands of officials to compile the list alone, and the news back to Bianjing was more than a sensation. The court officials, led by Jing Xiang, welcomed them ten miles away, and the families of the imperial guards were also very happy.

After all, it was the first time for many people to see that more and more people were fighting outside and they returned with a full load.

"My dear, how are you?"

Xiao Yan simply responded to the officials' congratulations, and asked someone to bring a horse so that Jing Xiang could ride back with him.

"The general conquered Sichuan and Shu, subdued Qi, and Qinchuan returned to the Central Plains. My colleagues and I are so happy." Jing Xiang looked much older than when Xiao Yan first met him, but he was in good spirits. He looked more energetic than when he mutinied. He stroked his beard and smiled at Xiao Yan, "Just yesterday, Minister Zhang told me that the general solved the urgent need of the court. He looked at the list of prisoners and was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night."

Xiao Yan smiled and looked back. Sure enough, he saw that the Minister of Revenue Zhang Wenwei had two big dark circles under his eyes, but he did look very excited.

He rode his horse and looked back at the roadside, which was full of enthusiastic people. The most excited people were mostly the families of the imperial guards. A few months ago, Xiao Yan had people move Ding Badu's family to Bianliang, so there were many happy people in the crowd. After all, Ding Badu's entire army received very generous rewards.

"The names of all the injured and dead soldiers must be registered without omission, and each person must be given additional compensation." Xiao Yan looked for a while, then suddenly turned around and said to Han Yanhui and a group of officials from the Tiance Mansion behind him.

Li Ting, who was among the officials, said sincerely: "Your Majesty cares for the soldiers. The soldiers who died in battle are naturally willing to shed their blood for Your Majesty, because they know that even if they die in battle, they can get a lot of money to let their family live a good life... and Your Majesty will protect their families." Jing Xiang stroked his beard and said nothing. He had long known that Xiao Yan's prestige in the army was particularly high.

Not all soldiers entered the city. For example, the surrendered soldiers of the old Shu army had to be arranged in the military camp outside the city first, and the cavalry had to go to the military camp to hand over their horses first, and then they could disband and rest. As for other soldiers who were not responsible for horses, some of them were allowed to leave the team early if they found their relatives on the road.

Only the ministers and the imperial guards accompanied Xiao Yan and the generals into the city. When they reached the gate tower, some people had already seen Xiao Yan. A year ago, Xiao Yan led the Hebei troops back to Bian Jing, and many people remembered his image vividly. At this time, the imperial guards guarding the city walls were also in an uproar, and someone shouted, "That's the King of Song!"

As soon as they heard it, countless people were shouting excitedly: "King Song is invincible, the military god of Daliang!!" "Long live the king!"

Many people stood on tiptoe with their eyes wide open and looked up. The crowd was very excited. After all, with the deliberate publicity of the Tiance Palace, most people knew that it was the King of Song who reduced the taxes by half.

Some imperial guards who had never participated in the war were also very excited. In this world, the superiors can only be military generals who understand battle formations and military affairs, so that the soldiers who fight to the death below can be appreciated and everyone can have hope. If the person living in the deep palace does not know about military affairs, or is a weak person or a child, the soldiers will naturally not obey, because they think that no one knows that they are fighting in the front, and it is all thanks to the civil servants' words, so of course they will not obey.

It is not enough for the superior to be rich and know political tactics, but also to be able to fight. Warriors only obey the strong on the battlefield! Otherwise, the dynasty will change.

Then many generals of the imperial guards who were guarding the capital shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, please transfer us to Dingbadu, or the Guide Army! We want to go out with you to make achievements..."

In the middle of the queue, Wang Jian quietly asked the eunuch to lift a corner of the curtain for him, and looked at the surging crowd outside with a heavy face. He never thought that Xiao Yan, who rose to power through a coup, could be so popular in the capital of the Central Plains...

The two Concubines Xu were also looking out from that corner. The younger Concubine Xu turned pale. She had never seen such crazy people and soldiers. As expected, compared with Shuzhong, the Central Plains Dynasty was obviously more violent and more devoted to the use of force.

Concubine Xu was in a state of sadness. She had no intention of paying attention to the scene in front of her. This scene was of course shocking. The more popular Xiao Yan was, the more stable his position would be. However, what she was thinking about was the person in the carriage ahead of theirs, the cold girl who looked to be under 20 years old.

Not long ago in Luoyang, Xiao Yan hosted a banquet for all the ministers. They and Wang Jian were naturally invited together, but the one sitting next to Xiao Yan at that time was the girl. Even Qian Wu, who had always been tried to please her, could only sit next to the girl.

The high status can be seen from this.

Concubine Xu was a little scared. She thought that a young girl would not be particularly generous. If she was discovered to have seduced Xiao Yan in Nanzheng and made the girl unhappy, judging from Xiao Yan's behavior towards the girl, she might just be able to respond to a word from the girl.

"My beloved concubine..."

Wang Jian turned around and noticed that Concubine Xu was acting strange, so he said in a deep voice, "Don't be afraid. Although I am the king of a fallen country, many people from Shu have come to Liang to serve as officials. They shouldn't dare to do anything to me for a while. I will definitely protect you."

The eldest Concubine Xu forced a smile and did not respond.

Wang Jian seemed to feel that he was bragging. Judging from the external situation, it might only be a matter of time before Xiao Yan replaced Zhu, let alone getting involved in his two concubines.

After entering the imperial city, Wang Jian and his entourage of Shu royal family members were temporarily taken elsewhere for arrangements. Xiao Yan did not go to the palace to meet Zhu and his son, but went straight back to the palace.

After seeing off Jing Xiang and other ministers, Xiao Yan summoned his subordinates to the Tian Ce Mansion to discuss matters. After a while, Han Yanhui came in with everyone and presented two pieces of memorial paper: "Your Majesty, I have read all the memorials sent to the Tian Ce Mansion before today. This is the list of people who wrote memorials for the emperor's ascension in the past month. They are recorded according to the various government offices and vassal states. The members of the Zhu royal family are at the end."

"These are the congratulatory letters from the various princes in the south. Except for Wu, Ma Yin of Chu, Qian Liu of Wuyue, King Shen Zhi of Min, Liu Yin of Nanping, and Chi Li of Yunnan (Raojiang) all sent letters to congratulate the king on pacifying Qinchuan, and expressed their submission to the Central Plains..."

The number of members of Tian Ce Mansion is growing day by day. Li Ting and Zheng Yu who had joined the army before, Zhang Jizuo who came later, and some talented people from Shu Kingdom have all been assigned tasks in Tian Ce Mansion. Although Zhang Jizuo does not have much talent, he is not a mediocre person. He is also a hostage of Zhang Quanyi to show his loyalty. Naturally, Xiao Yan is willing to trust him.

The newcomers would not interrupt casually, and they might need some time to adapt, so they all sat quietly and didn't say anything. However, when Xiao Yan looked at the list carefully, Li Ting said directly: "The Wu Kingdom was disobedient to the court before, and now it still refuses to obey the king. However, under the pressure of the king's power, it may secretly collude with the Jin Kingdom..."

Han Yanhui said in a deep voice: "The tributes from other countries are very sincere, but Chu is very careless."

"As expected." Xiao Yan responded without even looking up, "Ma Yin and I have a grudge. He was ready to make a move when the Central Plains was in turmoil half a year ago. Now he is pinching his nose to show his submission. How can he be sincere?"

Zheng Yu pointed out which people in the Liang Dynasty did not write letters of persuasion to ascend the throne. It is worth mentioning that all members of the royal family, such as Zhu Wen’s brothers and relatives, wrote them.

Li Ting then offered a suggestion: "Your Majesty, you can first remember these people, and after a while, summon them from the local areas to the capital. If there are those who do not leave, they will be regarded as disrespectful..."

After discussing some important matters, Xiao Yan finally returned to the inner house, but before he went to look for Ji Ruxue, he saw Bago coming out from inside. She shyly informed him that Jiang Chen was packing her small bag and preparing to travel around the world.

(End of this chapter)