Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 207 Working together
"Did the Tang court really issue an imperial decree to Liu Jilong?"

In the Guangwei County Government Office in Kuozhou, Shang Bibi could no longer sit still when she learned that the Tang court had issued an imperial decree to Liu Jilong to recover the two states of Shankuo.

He leaned forward, and Shang Moyan nodded calmly:
"Tuoba Huaiguang is unwilling to migrate, and Liu Jilong is already preparing to send troops to attack Tuoba Huaiguang next year."

"But he is willing to send troops to help us wipe out Lunkongre, let us move to Mochanchuan in the spring of the year after next, and open a trade market to trade with us for livestock, food, and ironware."

"In addition, he is willing to support us in occupying Duomai and taking over the six states of Weixi."

After Shang Moyan finished speaking, Shang Bibi asked in a deep voice, "What does he want?"

"He said he only wanted the three counties and tens of thousands of Hankou in our hands."

After Shang Moyan explained, Shang Bibi stood up and walked back and forth, asking: "How many soldiers and horses did you see along the way?"

"At least three thousand." Shang Moyan said:

"There are many male Hankou men in Hezhou and Linzhou. Judging from what Liu Jilong did in Ganzhou, the number of soldiers under his command must be no less than the 16,000 they said."

"Father, let's cooperate with him. I think Tuoba Huaiguang will die soon."

Faced with Shang Moyan's persuasion, Shang Bibi hesitated again and again, and finally said:

"We won't be enemies with him for now. Let's wait until he deals with Tuoba Huaiguang and helps us wipe out Lun Kongre."

"He gained momentum too quickly, far beyond my imagination. If we go directly south to Mochanchuan, we will only have 15,000 troops at most."

"If he captures Tuoba Huaiguang and hands over his followers to us, we will be more stable after we move south to Mochanchuan."

"He mentioned several times that we should be the Lord of Weixi. It seems that he wants to use us to contain the troops of Xichuan."

"I'm old, and you're too straightforward, so you'll be easily taken advantage of by Liu Jilong."

"Only if our headquarters has more troops can I safely take you to Weixi."

Shang Bibi was well aware of Shang Moyan's abilities, so he had been managing Guzhou in recent years and seeking to acquire Mochanchuan and Duomai.

The Tibetan population in Mochanchuan and Duomai is about 200,000. If the headquarters has more than 20,000 people, it will be enough to control them.

However, the population of the six states of Weixi and the land of Weixi is three to four hundred thousand. It would be difficult to take them down with just their own troops without external force.

Unless all the tens of thousands of tribesmen are armed, it would be possible to control such a vast area.

Given the situation in Guzhou, it is definitely impossible to produce so many pieces of armor, but Longyou can.

Therefore, if Liu Jilian was willing to open up trade and sell iron materials to them, they might really be able to take over Mochanchuan, Duomai and Weixi.

Thinking that she had the opportunity to become the master of millions of people in the eastern border of Tubo before her death, Shang Bibi's silent heart couldn't help but become active.

Although he was worried that Liu Jilong would use Shang Moyan after his death, he didn't know when he would die.

It is better to leave enough bargaining chips for Shang Moyan before dying than to trap him in Guzhou.

Thinking of this, Shang Bibi decided to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the two tigers. It would not be too late for him to submit to Liu Jilian after Liu Jilian dealt with Tuoba Huaiguang.

While he was thinking this, a major event happened in Liangzhou, nearly a thousand miles away from him.

"Susu..."

In the cold winter, in Chishui City of Liangzhou, which is colder than Linzhou, hundreds of old soldiers in armor surrounded the gate, with ferocious looks on their faces, and occasionally a hint of expectation in their eyes.

In the distance, the rest of the Chishui Army soldiers were wearing military uniforms but no armor, but they were still looking at this place.

Faced with such pressure, Zhang Zhifang in the tooth gate was so anxious that he paced back and forth.

"We were told to guard the border for three years. Now there are less than nine months left before the end of the period, but they want us to guard the border for another three years."

"General Ma, you also saw what those old soldiers of the Tianping Army looked like outside the Yamen. If I had told them that we would be stationed for another three years, we would have suffered today!"

Facing Zhang Zhifang's anxiety, the military supervisor named Ma, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, said:

"The Supreme Lord knows that you are in trouble, so he sent me with thirty thousand strings of cash and seven thousand pieces of silk."

"As long as we reward and appease those old soldiers, the remaining two thousand soldiers will not be a problem."

As Ma Jianjun said this, Zhang Zhifang hesitated, and finally said, "I will call Wang Shouwen and the others in, and please accompany me to comfort them."

"Of course!" General Ma nodded in response.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhi sent someone to summon Wang Shouwen and other veteran soldiers of the Tianping Army.

Soon, a group of armored soldiers in their thirties or forties walked into the Yamen, led by two forty-year-old Yamen generals.

They were a group of more than thirty people, mostly middle and lower-level generals at the rank of captain or above.

Zhang Zhifang was able to control the Chishui Army because he relied on this group of people.

"Come on!"

Two forty-year-old generals walked into the main hall, while the other generals stopped in the courtyard, staring at Zhang Zhifang and General Ma.

"Please take your seats, brothers outside, please listen and discuss."

After being expelled by the Youzhou guards, Zhang Zhifang was still domineering, but he knew who he could and could not offend.

He was relatively courteous to this group of former veterans of the Tianping Army.

At his hospitality, two generals, Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei, took their seats, and Zhang Zhifang also looked at General Ma.

Seeing this, Ma Jianjun immediately said, "The Supreme Lord sent me to Liangzhou. In addition to rewarding the troops, I also want to discuss something with you."

"Please speak, Military Supervisor." Wang Shouwen nodded and said, seeing this, Military Supervisor Ma said:

"The court hopes that you can serve for three years as garrison commanders..."

"fart!!"

Wu Wei stood up angrily, and the group of old soldiers outside also put their hands on the hilts of their swords.

It seemed that as long as General Ma dared to confront them, they would chop off his head.

Faced with such a scene, Zhang Zhifang was sweating profusely, but Ma Jianjun was somewhat knowledgeable and said slowly:

"You are willing to guard the border only for money, and now the court allows you to guard for another three years, so naturally we will not treat you unfairly."

"The court ordered me to bring money and silk to reward the troops as compensation to you all."

"As long as you are willing to serve for another three years, the thirty thousand strings of cash and seven thousand rolls of silk I brought with me this time will all be given to you."

"I hereby promise that you will be able to return home after serving your military service by July of the thirteenth year of Dazhong at the latest. By then, the court will give you another reward to compensate you!"

As General Ma finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard looked at each other.

The main reason why they were willing to come to Liangzhou to guard the border was to make money.

Although they had been away from home for two and a half years, they all wanted to go back home as soon as possible, but they would not receive such high salaries after returning home.

Thirty thousand strings of cash and seven thousand pieces of silk, this was almost the military pay for the entire Chishui Army for more than half a year.

If they could accept it and share it equally among the more than 500 people, then these 500 people would almost get a year's salary for free.

Thinking of this, many people became excited, and Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei, who were sitting in their seats, also looked at each other.

"If you feel this is not enough, I am willing to return to the capital and ask for more rewards!"

Seeing that they were wavering, General Ma immediately made a promise.

His words made the old soldiers in the courtyard look at Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei.

In response, Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei looked at each other, with Wang Shouwen taking the lead and saying:
"There is too little money. We need to pay at least one year's salary to reward the army!"

Hearing this, General Ma felt a little pain, but thinking of the accounts that had been settled in the court, he nodded and said:

"In that case, I will set off for Chang'an tomorrow and ask the court to increase the reward."

"As for the thirty thousand strings of cash and seven thousand rolls of silk, I'll leave it to you two to distribute."

After Ma Jianjun finished speaking, Zhang Zhifang also laughed and said, "Well, now that the matter has been settled, let's have the banquet!"

After saying that, Zhang Zhifang looked at the civil servants behind him and said, "Take out 500 strings of cash from my salary and go to Gumo to buy cattle and sheep, and hold a banquet in Chishui City to reward the army!"

"Yes..." The civil servant bowed in response and then walked out.

At the same time, Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei also stood up and walked into the courtyard, shouting, "What are you still looking at? Bring some people to help General Zhang!"

"Yes!!"

When they learned that there was a reward, the old soldiers were not so angry anymore. They all agreed and turned to leave.

Soon, more than a hundred Chishui soldiers, led by General Zhang, rode towards Guzang City.

The scouts from Guzang brought back the news that they had left the city in advance, and Zhang Huaishen and others in the yamen couldn't help but frown.

"I heard that the imperial court sent a military supervisor yesterday, and brought a lot of money and silk. Could it be that the imperial court wants to target us again?"

Jiu Juyan frowned and spoke. Zhang Huaijian and Zhang Huaiman heard this and said angrily:
"If it weren't for my uncle's unwillingness to be an enemy of the imperial court, we wouldn't be so frustrated." "Then Liu Jilong has been appointed as the governor of Longyou, what about us?"

Faced with the complaints of the three people, Zhang Huaishen felt very uncomfortable.

Liu Jilian had recovered the entire Longxi territory except Shankuo, and had also extended his hand to Jiannan Road.

He had heard about these things, and Suo Xun and Li Yizhong gradually began to disobey his military orders, which made him very angry, but there was nothing he could do.

He couldn't even deal with Zhang Zhifang, so how could he deal with Suo Xun and Li Yizhong?
Thinking of this, he said to Jiu Juyan, "Find someone to spend some money and get some information."

"Yes!" Jiu Juyan responded, turned around and went to give orders.

A quarter of an hour later, more than a hundred Chishui soldiers led by General Zhang arrived at the north of Guzang City, but more than two hundred Guzang soldiers gathered at the gate of the city.

The old soldiers did not want to cause trouble, so they explained their purpose and hoped to send someone into the city to make purchases.

The commander of the north gate received Jiu Juyan's order and nodded immediately, saying, "Choose ten of you to go into the city to buy things, and the rest of you just wait patiently!"

Because they had several conflicts with the Guzang army and did not have the upper hand, the old soldiers listened to the orders of the commander of the north gate and sent out ten old soldiers to buy cattle, sheep and vegetables.

The ten people acted separately, so the people sent by Jiu Juyan found a more mercenary old soldier, spent a few strings of money, and got the information they wanted.

At the same time, ten old soldiers bought cattle and sheep and walked out of Guzang City in an orderly manner.

"Extend the garrison period?"

Inside the government office, Zhang Huaishen and his men heaved a sigh of relief but also felt a little aggrieved when they learned that the purpose of the court's visit yesterday was to extend the Chishui Army's garrison period.

I felt relieved because the imperial court did not provoke the Hexi Army again, but I felt aggrieved because I felt I had to live with these beasts for another three years.

"Send the news to Dunhuang and let my uncle make the decision."

"also……"

Zhang Huaishen was silent for a moment, then looked at Jiu Juyan: "Jiu Juyan, go to Linzhou and see if you can get Liu Jilong to open up a trade route with us."

"Yes!" Jiu Juyan responded quickly. He had long felt that Hexi should open up a trade route with Longyou.

Zhang Huaijian also supported it, saying, "After opening up the trade route, if we can get some people from Liu Jilong, it will be easier to deal with Zhang Zhifang!"

"That's right..." Zhang Huaiman nodded in agreement.

However, just as Zhang Huaishen made the decision, hurried footsteps were heard outside the yamen.

"Defense Envoy!"

An anxious shout was heard, and when everyone looked outside, they saw Du Wanmeng rushing into the inner hall and shouting urgently: "Urgent news from Ganzhou!"

Everyone's faces changed, and Zhang Huaishen stood up and walked out: "What happened to Ganzhou?"

"Chengle led tens of thousands of Uighur troops to the south to attack the pass. Three days ago, they crossed Longshou Mountain and headed towards Shandan!"

Du Wanmeng responded hastily. Zhang Huaishen looked at Zhang Huaijian immediately after hearing this and said, "Gather the elite cavalry from each city and follow me to rescue Ganzhou."

Before he finished speaking, he continued to look at Zhang Huaiman and Jiu Juyan: "Put aside your trip to Longxi for now. You two lead the cavalry to guard Liangzhou to prevent Emo from going south!"

"Yes!" Everyone bowed in response, and Zhang Huaishen hurried back to his bedroom.

Soon, he put on armor and led his troops out of Guzang to rush to Ganzhou for support.

At this time, the old soldiers of the Chishui Army had not left, so they also learned the news that Ganzhou had been invaded.

Everyone's face changed. After all, the last time the Uighurs invaded Liangzhou, it was accompanied by Umu's southward march to Liangzhou.

They hurried back to Chishui City and told Ma Jianjun and Zhang Zhifang about the matter.

Zhang Zhifang heard the news and cursed: "If my father were still alive, I would kill all of these barbarians!"

Zhang Zhifang's father, Zhang Zhongwu, once led Youzhou Town and troops from the Xi, Khitan, and Shiwei tribes to the north to attack the Uighurs, defeating the Uighur Khan Ujie and forcing him to flee far away to Jinshan (Altai Mountains).

Although Zhang Zhifang was domineering and stubborn, he still admired his father's achievements very much.

Of course, compared to him, other people had different opinions on the Uighur invasion.

Ma Jianjun was calm and collected. He glanced at the angry Zhang Zhifang and said immediately:

"Don't worry about the barbarians invading. We just need to defend Chishui City."

"That's right!" Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei also nodded in agreement. After all, they guarded the border to make money, not for military merit.

Besides, they also saw the momentum of the Umu people and the Uighurs when they joined forces to march south last time.

Even if they could get out of the city to repel the invasion of the Uighurs and the Ummat, they would suffer heavy losses.

It's just a few strings of cash a year, why would it be worth risking your life like that?

As long as Umu and Uighur do not invade Chishui City, everything else has nothing to do with them.

"Okay, go down and have the soldiers reinforce the city defenses to prevent Umo from invading."

General Ma signaled Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei to leave. The two men happily bowed and left because General Ma had brought rewards from the court.

However, after they walked out of the yamen, the two of them summoned the military captains to go to Wang Shouwen's yard.

Soon, more than ten captains of the Chishui Army gathered in the small courtyard, while Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei stood at the door of the main house and talked with everyone:

"Everyone heard what the eunuch said about the reward just now."

"We came from Yunzhou to guard the border for money. Now that we have received the reward, and the eunuch said that the court will increase the reward, it will be fine for us to guard the border for another three years."

"The purpose of calling everyone here is not only to appease the people below, but also to discuss how to reward them."

Wang Shouwen loudly stated the purpose of summoning them, then looked at Wu Wei and said:

"General Wu Ya and I have decided that each of us will receive 1,000 strings of cash and 500 pieces of silk."

"Each lieutenant received 500 strings of cash and 200 pieces of silk; each brigade commander received 200 strings of cash and 50 pieces of silk; each captain received 50 strings of cash and 10 pieces of silk; each team leader received 15 strings of cash and 3 pieces of silk; and each of the old brothers without official positions received 15 strings of cash."

"The rest should be distributed to the soldiers below."

Among the 3,000 Chishui troops, more than 500 were veteran soldiers, who basically occupied the positions of team leader and above.

Therefore, Wang Shouwen gave all the silk and the big reward money to the generals who held the rank of team leader and above. As for the more than 100 people without official positions, they each received 15 strings of money.

After Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei's distribution, more than 24,000 strings of cash were shared by more than 500 people, and the remaining 5,000 strings of cash were equally divided among the more than 2,400 soldiers recruited later.

Hearing this, the captains present all nodded in satisfaction, and Wang Shouwen, seeing that everyone agreed, also spoke up:

"Let the old brothers go to the Yamen to divide the money after the banquet, and then take the remaining money to the military camp to distribute to the soldiers who were recruited later."

"Don't forget, there will be another reward from Chang'an afterwards. If they still want to share the reward, tell them to keep their mouths shut."

"If those soldiers recruited later knew how much money we got, they would definitely cause trouble!"

Wang Shouwen had thought it through, and the captains were no fools either. They immediately bowed and said, "Don't worry, General Ya. We know what to do!"

"Okay! Everyone, leave." Wang Shouwen immediately ordered everyone to disperse.

Not long after everyone left, the aroma of meat filled the air in Chishui City. Three old cows and more than two hundred sheep were slaughtered and cooked, and the three thousand Chishui soldiers held a banquet on the parade ground and shared the beef and mutton.

After the banquet, the newly recruited soldiers returned to their residences, while the old soldiers stayed behind in the name of cleaning.

After the new recruits left, the old soldiers closed the gate of the parade ground, took out all the money and silk from the yamen, and divided it equally among the soldiers according to their official ranks.

When the old soldiers learned that their garrison term would be extended, they had some complaints, but when they saw the heavy copper coins and silk in their hands, they stopped complaining.

Silk was not easy to hide, so it was bought at a low price by generals such as Wang Shouwen. The team leader and the cook sold the silk and took the money away.

After everyone got the money they wanted, Wang Shouwen gathered them together and gave them instructions seriously:
"If today's incident gets out, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Don't forget, Chang'an will have subsequent rewards!"

After Wang Shouwen finished speaking, he glanced at General Ma who was not far away.

General Ma frowned slightly, but said nothing in the end.

Seeing that General Ma did not refute, Wang Shouwen immediately withdrew his gaze with pride and said to everyone:
"After you get the benefits, don't be greedy and give the remaining money to other brothers!"

After giving the instructions, Wang Shouwen let more than 500 soldiers leave with the remaining 5,000 strings of cash as rewards, and distributed them to more than 2,400 newly recruited soldiers.

After learning that the garrison period was extended and each person would receive only a little over two strings of cash as a reward, there were constant complaints in the military camp.

However, in response to complaints from the newly recruited soldiers, the old soldiers comforted them by saying that there would be many rewards later.

With the comfort of the old soldiers, the new soldiers had no choice but to accept the fact and put away the two-tael reward.

Seeing that the new soldiers were appeased, the old soldiers all showed satisfied looks and their hands unconsciously reached for the box containing the rewards.

Feeling the weight of the box, the old soldiers were all thinking:

"Three years is three years. After this period of garrison is over, even if the king of heaven comes, I will go back to Yunzhou!"

(End of this chapter)