Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 561 Pingxi General

Zhuo Heng is stationed in this vast western region, and Chang'an is three thousand miles away. He is in charge of the work here alone. They are not worried about his lack of ability but about his inability to adapt to the local climate.

Fortunately, after a few days of observation, Zhuo Heng's ability was absolutely top-notch. He quickly adjusted his state and devoted himself to work. First, he arranged a rotation system for the soldiers, and then greatly increased the salaries and treatment of soldiers at all levels.

However, what is barren about this place is not the land but the spiritual and cultural life here. The soldiers have nowhere to go when they rest, and the local people cannot speak their language, and conflicts often occur with them. This is not a easy matter to deal with.

"I plan to take people to look around first. I heard that there are not only Turks but also many Semites in this place. These Semites have had a hard life since the Turkic invasion. I want to start with these people."

"So where do you plan to start?"

Xia Lin was not in a hurry to leave, as there was still a lot of work to be done here. After all, although this was not considered a conquest of the Wolf's Lair, it was definitely the farthest he had traveled since Emperor Wu of Han. If he came or left rashly, he would probably leave a lot of trouble behind.

"I have visited some places around these days and found that the Turks actually have a strong racial concept. They regard the Semites as the fourth class, even worse than livestock, and kill and humiliate them at will. This matter has caused great resentment among the Semites. If it is not calmed down, there may be chaos." Zhuo Heng opened his little notebook: "So I plan to find some respected people among the locals, gather them together, and talk about this matter in detail. Then they will coordinate the relationship between us and the local people."

Xia Lin stroked his chin and thought for a moment: "This may be a bit difficult. It is already difficult for them to trust foreigners. So, tomorrow you find two fellow villagers who are fluent in the local language, and take them directly to the local government office of the Western Turks to take over the government office first. After taking over, you will proceed in three steps. The first step is to separate the locals from the Turks and let them retain their hatred. The second step is to draw a range, within which the Turks have no legal rights, and accommodate some local wealthy families here, and encourage them to open farms and factories to absorb local people to work and farm. In the third step, you will start to open night schools and enlightenment schools for local people, and gradually begin to guide them to move closer to this side."

"Okay, then Senior Brother, can you ask those factory owners and farm owners to set a threshold for recruiting people, such as being able to speak simple Chinese or recognize simple Chinese characters?"

"Okay." Xia Lin nodded vigorously. "This is a good idea. From now on, you should occupy this piece of land and stay here. Focus on development. The Western Region is a treasure land. Try to develop it into a core transit station on the Silk Road."

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

Zhuo Heng's most amazing thing is his execution ability. This guy is a doer. He does what he says. The last person who dared to do this was Xiao Chenzi.

However, Xiao Chenzi is different from Zhuo Heng. Chenzi is more thoughtful and likes to come up with ideas on the fly, but Zhuo Heng is very practical. There is no one who is superior or inferior here. Instead, Xiao Chenzi is more suitable for dealing with various forces in the Northeast. It is difficult to survive in such a complex environment without some agility. You have to compete with each side in wits and courage and maintain a balance.

Here, Zhuo Heng faces a relatively simple environment, but the positive pressure is relatively high. His steady and solid style makes him more resilient and able to withstand pressure.

So Chenzi is suitable to be a pioneer and Zhuoheng is suitable to be a builder.

About two months had passed, and in the blink of an eye the weather had changed from hot to "snowy in August in the Hu sky". Only then was the treaty signed by Xia Lin and the Western Turks delivered to the hands of the two emperors of the Central Plains.

Emperor Jingtai's hands were shaking as he looked at these treaties, because the troops stationed in the Western Regions were not the Tang army, but the Green Forest Army of his Great Wei. This meant that although Li Tang ceded land to him when he ascended the throne, he also actually expanded his territory.

The next day he issued an edict, appointing Wang Zhuoheng as the fourth-rank General Pingxi, Jiedushi of Hetao and Grand Marshal of Guazhou, instantly making him equal in rank to his father.

Other rewards were even more frightening, such as rewards of tens of thousands of gold, thousands of acres of fertile land, and so on. Wasn't Wang Shichong in the court? When he received the rewards on behalf of his son, he almost looked down on others.

These old guys, at the end of their lives, aren't they competing for a son? How old is Zhuo Heng? He's only twenty this year! A twenty-year-old man was conferred the title of a fourth-rank general and a third-rank marquis, and at the same time served as a military governor and a grand marquis. Which family has done this?

Speak! Whose descendant did this!?

Expanding territory and conquering the Wolf's Lair were all the work of his Wang family! No matter how fiercely others fought or how capable they were, in the end, the history books would only record them as "Oh, he was quite talented."

Now Wang Shichong didn’t dare to think about how Zhuo Heng would be evaluated in history books, let alone how highly he, as a father, would be praised because of this kid. Maybe Zhuo Heng would even change his rebellion in Luoyang into a rebellion caused by being forced into action, and he would rise up to seek justice.

"Hey... that, that, that..." Wang Shichong's eyes narrowed with laughter: "Your Majesty, this old minister has something to ask."

"But it doesn't matter."

"This, my family... Zhuo Heng is not young anymore, and now is the time for him to start a family. He said there is no rush to start a family, but this mansion..."

Emperor Jingtai was indeed not smart, but Wang Shichong had said this, how could he not understand? He was going to give Wang Zhuoheng a mansion in the capital. Opening a mansion was equivalent to dividing the family, and Wang Zhuoheng's family tree had a separate page!
The family tree is open separately and it is a big family like the Wang family. This kind of temptation is really comparable to being an emperor.

"Come here, select a mansion for Marquis Yiyong, and point to Princess Changyu."

Wang Shichong immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Long live the emperor, but your majesty...Princess Changyu is still too young this year, isn't she?"

"It will be almost time to wait for Zhuo Heng to come back." Emperor Jingtai also laughed: "Just wait patiently."

"Thank you, my emperor!"

No matter they were political enemies or allies, the people around him rolled their eyes when they saw Wang Shichong's smug look.

Political enemies are easy to deal with, but why are allies like this? It's actually very simple. After all, it's more painful to kill brothers than to let them live well...

Hey, is there someone missing here?
Yes, Xia Lin's name was missing. When Xia Lin made his report, he did not take any credit at all, and gave it all to Zhuo Heng. Shan Xiongxin and Zhuo Heng fought the war, and Zhuo Heng negotiated. Xia Lin just joined in the fun, eating and drinking with the team and acting as a manure-making machine.

Emperor Jingtai asked no questions, because he knew in his heart that Xia Lin really could not accumulate any more merits. He was almost wearing the seals of six kingdoms, and this was really too heavy for a 26-year-old man.

But since today is a post-match review, there is no need to mention those annoying things. It’s just that the news these days seems to be very good, which makes people happy.

First, Ma Zhou also sent a message that the 12 million taels of silver that Li Tang used to purchase materials and supplies had arrived, and much more would be needed later. This made all kinds of factories in the entire Wei Dynasty busy, sweeping away the previous decadent atmosphere. Although the 12 million taels of silver were not much spread out in each link, once it started running, it would be difficult to stop.

It was impossible for Li Tang to just stop construction after spending so much manpower and resources, and Da Wei no longer had to worry about having no money. The employment rates on both sides went up. Li Tang's money flowed into Tian Wei, and Tian Wei's excess production capacity was output to Li Tang.

Although the two sides are sworn enemies, they cannot fight at this moment. The people on both sides really depend on each other to survive, and both sides have a lot of internal problems now.

I heard that the noble families in Li Tang's side were very violent, and they used all kinds of shady tricks, but don't think that this side is much better. All crows are evil, and if there is trouble over there, this side will definitely help. In addition, Gao Shilian is fighting with his old boss at the moment, and Jinling City is not peaceful. They are exposing each other's secrets and almost digging up the fact that my grandfather once cursed the founding emperor three generations ago. There was even a clan fight in Yangzhou involving more than 4,000 people, and about 1,120 people died.

We must fight a war with Li Tang, but I'm afraid now is not the right time.

As for the world, this damn world is about to be in chaos. No matter in the north or the south, a large number of small warlords have sprung up like mushrooms after rain in recent days.

A larger group of 20,000 or 30,000 people, or a smaller group of even 300 or 500 people, would dare to seize a town as their base, but the problem is that everyone knows what is going on, but they really don't have the time to do it.

Of the more than 400,000 Green Forest Army soldiers, only about 100,000 were left after they laid down their armor and returned to their hometowns. Of these 100,000 soldiers who were truly capable of fighting, all were pulled to the west, either dancing tango with Li Tang or strangling the Turks in the Western Regions.

The two remaining armies with relatively strong combat effectiveness are Po Lu and Shan Hai, but Po Lu started a large-scale reorganization of the new army last year, and this year it even sent 50,000 men to the Ningbo Navy. The entire combat system is left with only tens of thousands of men to protect the capital. The Shan Hai Elite Cavalry has gradually declined after Li Jing's death. His son is not good at leading troops, and he also has to guard the important area of ​​Shan Hai, so he is really unable to split his time.

As for the remaining scattered things, it is better to hope that they do not cause chaos themselves than to expect them to quell the rebellion.

Oh, Wang Shichong still has 50,000 men available, and there is no problem with Wang Shichong's loyalty now. His mind is full of how to make his son more successful. He will certainly not do anything rash at this critical juncture. But the quality of his soldiers is a bit poor. I heard that the oldest is almost sixty years old. They should be grandfathers, but they are still eating from the same pot in the military camp. It is conceivable what kind of combat effectiveness Wang Shichong's soldiers have. After all, he was beaten so badly by the Po Lu Army that year, and his military spirit was even defeated.

Looking back at Li Tang, the situation of Li Tang might be even more serious than that of Tian Wei. Although the witchcraft disaster in Chang'an City has been resolved, will those people give in like this? Their master had already run away, and they couldn't be stopped at all. Killing them could solve the problem, but the problem was that Li Yuan didn't dare to kill them.

Because looking back, how could he be the emperor and how could he rule the country by dividing the river with his old master Tian Wei? Was it really because he was unparalleled in the world in terms of civil and military achievements? Wasn't it because the Five Surnames and Seven Families and the Forty-two Northern Tribes lifted him to the throne?

The current situation of chaos and division of power is the trump card of these people. There is no difference between the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty. When they think that you, the emperor, cannot bring them any benefits, they will always use this method to overthrow you.

If it were in the past, when Chang'an was in chaos and everyone was attacking, Li Yuan would probably have to beg to call his second son back in order to have a chance of survival.

But today, the situation in the world has changed drastically. The appearance of that kid has attracted the attention and firepower of the world's families by himself. What Li Yuan has to do is to wait, wait for him to come back, and then start a killing spree.

In fact, it’s not that no one in the court had raised questions. Why did he, Li Tang, have to wait for an outsider to resolve the issue?

Every time this happened, Li Yuan would curse in his heart.

What outsider! He is the father of the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty! He is the son-in-law of the current emperor of the Tang Dynasty! How can he be called an outsider? Isn't it his duty to protect his son's kingdom?
So when the treaty signed between Xia Lin and the Turks reached Chang'an, Li Yuan considered it again and again, and risked the world's disapproval to confer a title of marquis on Wang Zhuoheng. The Wei Dynasty was given the title of Yiyong Marquis, and the Tang Dynasty was given the title of Fenyong Marquis. Unlike the Wei Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty also conferred the title of Changxin Marquis on Shan Xiongxin.

In other words, Xia Lin’s core team, including Xia Lin, are all people who enjoy the title of marquis in both Tang and Wei.

Li Yuan's meaning was also very clear. What did the struggle between Tang and Wei have to do with the border troops? If the emperor of Tian Wei could confer titles on them, then the emperor of Li Tang could naturally do the same. Anyway, the border troops only guarded the borders of the country. What Li Tang and Tian Wei were fighting for was the right to name China. The border troops didn't bother to care about those trivial matters. They didn't even bring back the Tang and Wei after they were defeated, so why didn't they confer titles on them?

However, in addition to this, Li Yuan also found someone to make up a pretext to give Sanniang a high position. She originally held military power, and now when it came to the time of conferring a title of nobility, Li Yuan said that Sanniang had made great contributions in helping to defend the territory, and directly divided the land and conferred her the title of king.

This operation is extremely confusing, and even makes people a little confused, because throughout history, no one has dared to give a general who holds the military power of the world a title of king. In other words, this is tantamount to supporting him to rebel against the court and become emperor in disguise.

Well, if Sanniang is a biological daughter and will not rebel and claim the throne, then the meaning of this matter is different. That is to say, the throne of the Tang Dynasty will eventually belong to Sanniang, right?
When Li Jiancheng heard the news, he was dumbfounded. He had made every possible effort to be careful and on guard, but who knew that he could protect his younger brother but failed to protect his own sister.

He went to see his father with a wronged look on his face, but was told that Li Yuan was resting and he was not allowed to disturb him.

At this moment, Li Jiancheng understood everything. He had become a discarded pawn after all, but there were still some things he was not clear about.

Why? Why was he abandoned? What did Sanniang do to make her take his place? Was it because she gave birth to two bastards who looked nothing like Dugu Han and were brought in from nowhere?

Bastard... Li Jiancheng narrowed his eyes and thought carefully about his nephews and nieces. He felt vaguely that something was wrong with their expressions and looks. It was as if he saw his nephew again, as if he were an old friend.
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I updated a chapter today. A friend came to me to relax and have a drink in the evening. I thought about it and decided to go. I haven't left the house for more than ten days. It's not a good idea to crawl in the dark every day. After all, I have to breathe the spring breeze to relieve the anxiety and uneasiness that is almost crushing me.

Sorry guys, love you guys.

(End of this chapter)