Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 213: Starting from Hexi (Please give me double monthly tickets at the end of the month)
"Enter the class!"

"Tens of millions of years old..."

On the night of the Lantern Festival, all officials sing.

Unlike previous court meetings, in order to celebrate the first festival after the New Year, the curfew in Chang'an City was rarely lifted, and lights were hung everywhere, almost illuminating the entire city.

The emperor and his ministers also came to the Vermillion Bird Gate Tower to celebrate the lively Lantern Festival with the people.

In front of the Suzaku Gate is the wide Suzaku Tianjie. Both sides of the moat under the gate are hung with lanterns, which are reflected in the water, shining like stars and looking like a galaxy.

Various lanterns are hung all over the streets of Zhuque, high and low, scattered in an orderly manner, like trees full of flowers.

The streets were bustling with people, and carriages of dignitaries and ladies from wealthy families were moving freely.

The singer was heavily made up and dressed gorgeously, singing the most popular song "Falling Plum Blossoms" as she walked.

There is no curfew in Luoyang City tonight, so people can have fun as much as they want. This night is destined to be a sleepless night.

People were strolling in the streets, and from time to time huge turtle lanterns were pushed and displayed along the streets of Chang'an.

The court officials and the emperor sat together in the Vermillion Bird Tower. In the left and right corners were actors preparing to perform and bands playing music.

The building was brightly lit, and the ministers took their seats with all kinds of wine, meat and food placed in front of them.

Some officials who were not good at drinking were now intoxicated by the wonderful music.

Palace maids and eunuchs were lighting precious spices in every corner of the building, holding a variety of lanterns in their hands.

As the music reached its climax, the actors and dancers began to come out of their corners and displayed their graceful dancing moves in front of the emperor and the officials, causing the palace maids to secretly learn from them.

So "Thousands of doors are unlocked and thousands of lights are on, in the middle of the first month, the capital is shaking. Three hundred ladies dance with their sleeves linked together, and the sound of poetry is heard in the sky as soon as they enter."

In a sea of lanterns, spices, dance and music, hundreds of actors and dancers danced and sang together. What a spectacular scene.

The musicians put on the most exquisite makeup and performed the most popular stepping songs of the time, singing and dancing, somewhat similar to the girl groups of later generations.

Looking at the graceful dances of the actors and dancers, a hint of desire flashed in Prince Yun Li Wen's eyes, but he tried his best to conceal it.

Sitting in the main seat, Li Chen looked at the lively scene inside and outside the Suzaku Gate Tower, stroking his beard and nodding his head with a smile on his face.

But at this time, Pei Xiu frowned and drank alone in melancholy.

The national treasury had just reversed its deficit when it held such a grand Lantern Festival. I wonder how many gaps he will need to fill after the chaos.

There were countless Kongming lanterns released outside the city, and every one released was a waste of the court's money and grain.

Seeing this, Pei Xiu could not help but fill his cup, stood up and walked to Li Chen, raised his cup and bowed: "Your Majesty, my honest words are unpleasant to the ears, I wonder if Your Majesty can listen to them?"

"Pei Xiangke can say."

Li Chen restrained his smile, obviously knowing what Pei Xiu wanted to say.

"Your Majesty, the national treasury has just reversed its deficit, so it is not appropriate to hold such a grand lantern festival..."

"Alas... I feel the same way. However, the Lantern Festival is, after all, the first festival after the New Year. It is also a day for the whole country to celebrate together, so it must be celebrated in a grand manner."

Li Chen showed an embarrassed expression and sighed from time to time to show that he also felt it was extravagant and wasteful.

If Pei Xiu had not seen Li Chen's happy look before, he might have thought that Li Chen was crazy.

But of course he couldn't expose it, so he could only bite the bullet and say:
"Your Majesty, the grain transport has been improved and improved. Every year, 1.2 million dan of grain can be transported to Weicang smoothly. The salt and iron tax has also been increased, and there is a surplus of several hundred thousand strings of cash every year."

"I am old and frail, and I hope to resign and return to my hometown to retire."

Pei Xiu didn't want to deal with this mess anymore, but Li Chen didn't want him to leave.

"How can I lose Prime Minister Pei? Please give me a few months to think carefully."

Li Chen always used the word "delay" to get the job done.

Seeing him behave like this, Pei Xiu knew that his resignation was hopeless, so he had no choice but to return to his seat and drink in silence.

At the Lantern Festival in Chang'an City, everyone from the emperor and nobles to the common people enjoyed this feast paid for by the national treasury.

Everyone is releasing themselves to the fullest, as if leaving all the worries to yesterday, preparing for a better tomorrow.

As for the empty treasury and the natural disasters suffered by the people in Huainan, Hedong and Jiangnan, these were not issues they needed to consider at this time.

For them, enjoying the present moment is the most important thing...

In the streets everywhere, there are countless young scholars walking in pairs, looking proud and happy.

Inside a tavern somewhere in West City, a figure seemed out of place with the scenes.

It was clearly a time to enjoy the present moment, but he sat at the table, reading by light from inside and outside the private room.

Even though the outside world was extremely bustling, he did not accept the temptation, but instead quoted scriptures and classics from historical books like a madman.

"Tuk tuk..."

"My dear, would you like some food and wine?"

"Don't eat!"

The servant's voice came from the door, but he refused flatly.

Hearing this, the servant sighed and then opened the door.

What appeared before the servants was a tidy private room and a messy desk.

The man frowned and raised his head, as if he was going to get angry if the servant couldn't say a word.

"My dear, I have spent most of the money I brought last year."

"The imperial court has suspended the imperial examination for three years. How about returning to Caozhou to study for two years and then rushing back to Chang'an?"

The servant's words hurt the man's heart. He knew the servant didn't want to do this, but the fact was just as he said, they didn't have much money left.

The expenses in Chang'an were extremely expensive. Although his family had been dealing in salt for generations, they could not live a comfortable life in Chang'an.

However, he had spent a lot of money on the imperial examinations. If he returned home at this time, wouldn’t it be…

The hand holding the brush trembled slightly, then he slowly put the brush down and staggered to his feet, holding on to the table.

In front of the servants, he walked to the windowsill, propped up the window, and looked out over the bustling Chang'an, the colorful lanterns, the couples going out together, and the proud and triumphant young men of the aristocratic families.

During the Lantern Festival, all kinds of lanterns appeared one after another and all kinds of characters appeared on the stage, but there was no place for Huang Chao.

Taking a deep breath, Huang Chao greedily sniffed the scent of spices in the air, then nodded unwillingly: "I'll go home tomorrow."

"Yes!"

The servant agreed, then bowed and left the room.

After he left, Huang Chao turned around and prepared to go back to rest, but saw poems left on the screen.

"The west wind blows through the courtyard, the flowers are cold and fragrant, and butterflies are hard to come."

"If I become the Qing Emperor in his future years, I will be rewarded with peach blossoms."

This was written before he took part in the imperial examination last year. He thought he would get what he wanted, but now it seems...

After pondering for a moment, Huang Chao walked back to his desk, picked up a pen and wrote his name on the screen.

After doing all this, he calmed himself down and then tidied up his desk.

The next day, he and his servant checked out of the hotel and returned to his hometown in Caozhou. When the servant was cleaning the private room, he happened to see this poem.

"On chrysanthemums…Huang Chao?"

The waiter read out the title of the poem and the name of the poet, and then told the story to the many diners in the tavern.

Regarding this poem, many people think that Huang Chao was a sour person and that he only wrote a sour poem. They think that although the poem has momentum, it is still sad and cannot be considered as an elegant poem.

Although a small number of people wrote down this poem, more people ridiculed it, thinking it was just a sour poem written by some crazy student after failing the imperial examination.

Now the Jinshi examination has been suspended for three years, and it is uncertain whether this crazy man will be dead or alive in three years.

Because of this, Huang Chao’s poems and departure were of little concern to the people in Chang’an. They were more concerned about enjoying the three-day Lantern Festival carnival.

But when the carnival was over, everyone returned to their normal lives.

Survive during the day, rest during curfew at night, work at sunrise and rest at sunset.

Gradually, Huang Chao's deeds were forgotten.

Compared with the people of Chang'an who were reveling in the Lantern Festival, more people were still facing survival difficulties caused by natural disasters and man-made calamities.

After Cui Xuan was appointed as governor of Huainan, he issued several disaster relief orders, but the court was short of money and grain, and the scale of the relief was limited to just a few counties.

Compared with the starving people in dozens of counties in Huainan, the relief food was just a drop in the bucket.

Some of the hungry people went to Shannan East Road, some went to Jiangnan East and West Roads, and some went to Henan Road.

But without exception, they were all driven back by soldiers from various provinces and had no choice but to go up the mountain. But even if they went up the mountain to make a living, they still had to face the exploitation of government officials.

After Pei Xiu's reform, the power of "mountain and swamp treasure smelting" in each county and prefecture was taken over by the Salt and Iron Envoy. The common people who went up the mountain to chop wood and look for wild grass to make a living were also required to pay taxes.

In this context of officials forcing the people to rebel, many hungry people simply gathered in the mountains and became bandits.

At one time, there were tens of thousands of bandits in the mountains and rivers of Huainan Road. Although Cui Xuan wanted to pacify and suppress them, he gave up because of insufficient money and food.

Seeing that the government did not crack down on the bandits, the hungry people simply joined the bandits.

For a time, the number of starving people in Huainan was indeed reduced by half, but the number of bandits increased by countless numbers.

Upon seeing this, Cui Xuan immediately reported to the court, saying that "the famine has been resolved and Huainan has turned from danger to safety."

It was already mid-March when Li Chen received the memorial, and he did not doubt Cui Xuan's statement.

In other words, in his opinion, a few hungry people were not a big deal; as long as peace could be maintained on the surface, it was enough.

"Huai'an has stabilized, which is indeed a cause for celebration."

Inside the Purple Palace, Li Chen placed Cui Xuan's memorial on the table and chuckled with satisfaction.

Seeing this, the three ministers and four nobles all congratulated him, and Lu Jun bowed and said after congratulating him:

"Your Majesty, now that the situation in Huainan has been stabilized, we should now start with Longyou and the other tribes to eliminate the powerful vassal states in the western border."

"Hmm..." Li Chen nodded, then asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister Lu?"

Hearing this, Lu Jun pondered for a moment and then bowed and said:
"I heard that after the Uighurs were defeated, they fled westward with their entire tribe, and their footprints extended from Ganzhou to Juyanhai to Anxi."

"It would be better to issue an imperial edict praising his merits, wait for him to return to the yamen, appoint him as Khan, and then order Zhang Yichao to lead troops to recapture Xizhou."

"If Zhang Yichao recovers Xizhou, he will be promoted to the post of governor of the four towns and governor of Anxi. Zhang Huaishen will be appointed governor of Hexi and moved to Shazhou."

"Zhang Zhifang was promoted to be the Defense Commissioner of Hexi, and he was in charge of Gansu and Liangzhou."

"Promote Suo Xun to be the governor of Huilan, and control the two states of Huilan."

With just a few words, Lu Jun tried to disrupt the situation in Hexi.

In response, Li Chen frowned and asked, "Will Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen listen to the court?"

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict to order the Ganzhou Uighurs and Liangzhou Umos not to invade Hexi. If they do, stop their trade and make a show for Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen."

"I believe that based on their past behavior, they will definitely agree to move the town..."

What Lu Jun wanted to say was nothing more than to demonstrate to Zhang and the other two the appeal of the imperial court to the ethnic minorities around Hexi, and to use force to force the two to move their garrisons.

Li Chen was very happy when he heard this, but he sighed on the surface: "How can I be worthy of these two heroes?"

"Your Majesty, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Please make a wise decision!" Lu Jun bowed and advised.

At the same time, Ma Gongru, Wang Guichang and others saw this and knew that the emperor was moved, so they all bowed and advised: "Your Majesty, please make a decision!"

Seeing this, only Pei Xiu frowned and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Zhang Zhifang is fierce on the outside but weak on the inside. If we let him govern Gan and Liang, it may not be a good idea."

Li Chen was planning to agree, but when he saw Pei Xiu say that, he felt a little angry, but he nodded in agreement and said, "Prime Minister Pei is right."

Seeing this, Wang Zongshi thought of someone and could not help but bow and say:

"Your Majesty, why not support Huining Army Jiedushi Suo Xun as Hexi Defense Commander, make Lanzhou Governor Li Yizhong the Governor of Ganzhou, and transfer Weizhou Governor Chen Jingchong to Lanzhou Governor."

Wang Zongshi knew that this was a good opportunity to expand his external power, but Li Chen also guessed his thoughts.

"Who should the state send to the town then?"

Li Chen asked Wang Zongshi, but Wang Zongshi said: "We can send Wang Zhongren, who is under Gao Pian's command, to be the general governor of Huizhou!"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is inappropriate!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Gongru quickly stepped forward to interrupt:
"Then Suo Xun probably won't give up Huizhou so easily!"

"I second the motion!" Wang Guichang also stood up and interrupted Wang Zongshi's plan.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zongshi glared at the two of them but did not dare to get angry on the spot.

Seeing the four nobles arguing, Lu Jun and Pei Xiu kept silent, but Linghu Tao remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Li Chen immediately turned his gaze to Linghu Tao, who immediately bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, I have a solution..."

"Oh?" Li Chen showed great interest. Linghu Tao sighed and said:

"Since the Tanguts were pacified, many people have fled to Guannei. It would be better to order Suo Xun to move the people of Huizhou to Liangzhou."

"In addition, the Ganzhou Uighurs, Xizhou Uighurs, Anxi Uighurs and Liangzhou Uighurs are prohibited from violating the ban on Hexi. Zhang Yichao is transferred to serve as the Anxi Jiedushi and the four towns are left behind."

"Order Zhang Huaishen to be the Hexi Defense Envoy to control the entire Hexi region, transfer Chen Jingchong to be the Lanzhou Governor, transfer Lanzhou Governor Li Yizhong to be the Ganzhou Governor, and the former Ganzhou Governor Li Wei to be the Xizhou Governor."

"He then sent a good official to Guannei Road to recruit refugees and appointed him as the governor of Huining Army and the governor of Huizhou."

Linghu Tao's idea was simple. The most important thing in Hexi was its population. However, there were more tribes in Huizhou than Han people. It would be better to let Suo Xun lead the military and civilians of Huizhou to migrate to Liangzhou and give him the power to govern Liangzhou.

At the same time, Zhang Yichao was transferred to the Western Regions to recover the four towns, and Hexi was merged and handed over to Zhang Huaishen for governance.

Linghu Tao knew clearly that ever since Hexi was split into two parts, east and west, by the imperial court, although the uncle and nephew of the Zhang family were in charge of the two parts respectively, they were still not happy.

It would be better to let Zhang Huaishen control Hexi with the title of Hexi Defense Commissioner, but not grant him the title of Jiedushi and the official seal.

The uncle and nephew of the Zhang family would not miss this opportunity to openly integrate Hexi, not to mention that the court also gave them the title of Governor of the Four Towns and Jiedushi of Anxi.

This title is of little use to the Tang Dynasty court, but it is of great use to Zhang Yichao and Hexi.

The name of the Tang Dynasty was still very famous in Hexi. Many Uighur leaders who migrated westward claimed that the Tang Dynasty was their uncle, which made the countries in the Western Regions dare not invade.

If Zhang Yichao had this title, he would have the authority to recover Xizhou and the four towns.

Li Chen also thought of this and nodded with satisfaction. He then asked, "Who is suitable to be transferred to Huizhou?"

"Your Majesty, I suggest that you promote Wang Shi, the governor of Jinzhou." Pei Xiu took the initiative to speak and explained:
"In the past, the harvest in Hequ was poor, and people fled. The officials of the prefectures and counties where the refugees went refused to accept them. Only Jinzhou, where Wang Shi was in power, provided relief to the famine-stricken refugees, saving thousands of lives."

"Jinzhou, where Wang Shi governed, was famous for its "strict defense". When the Hu people in Hedong were in turmoil, the Hu people heard that Wang Shi governed Jinzhou and did not dare to cross the border. There was also a nursery rhyme in the south of the desert saying, "The governor of Jinzhou should avoid him!"

"In the past three years, Wang Shi has been rated as the best in Jinzhou's examinations, which shows that he has a lot of ability and should be promoted."

Pei Xiu briefly mentioned Wang Shi's contribution, and Li Chen was satisfied after hearing it:

"In that case, transfer him to Huizhou."

"Your Majesty..." Pei Xiu was about to agree, but he saw Wang Zongshi bowing and saying:

"Your Majesty, Wang Shi once joined Wang Shoucheng, and he is not a good person!"

Hearing this, Li Chen's pupils shrank.

Wang Shoucheng was a eunuch during the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong. It was rumored that he and the eunuch Chen Hongzhi conspired to murder Emperor Xianzong in the Zhonghe Hall, falsely claiming that Emperor Xianzong died from taking an elixir of immortality. He, together with Liang Shouqian, Wei Yuansu and others, decided to establish Emperor Muzong.

Li Chen marketed himself as a "kind father and filial son" to the outside world, but privately he was jealous of Muzong's lineage and wanted to regard them as usurpers.

It is obviously impossible for him to reuse Wang Shi now.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Pei Xiu and felt that Pei Xiu had bad intentions.

Pei Xiu still bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the court is in need of talents, and Wang Shi has made great achievements in his tenure in Jinzhou, so he should be promoted."

Li Chen's face was calm, showing no emotion, but Linghu Tao, who was familiar with him, knew that the emperor was unhappy.

Seeing this, Linghu Tao could only bow and say, "How about transferring the Chishui Army to Huizhou and transferring Zhang Zhifang to be the governor of Huizhou?"

"Good!" Li Chen responded quickly.

In his opinion, even if Zhang Zhifang was mediocre, he was better than the so-called good minister Wang Shi.

"His Majesty……"

Pei Xiu wanted to persuade them, but Li Chen interrupted him and said to them with a cold face:

"Propagate my decree: the Uighurs have made contributions to the country, have been married for generations, and have become vassal states and paid tribute, so there will be no alarm in the north."

"During the Huichang period, the barbarian court was in chaos, the Khan fled, and the treacherous ministers took control and annihilated him immediately."

"Recently, a surrendered person said that he has already become the Khan and is still living in Anxi. When he returns to the royal tent, he will be given an imperial decree."

Li Chen stood up after he finished speaking, and Linghu Tao and the others bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, we obey your order..."

Li Chen turned and left, and the eunuchs beside the golden platform also hurriedly sang: "Disperse..."

Seeing this, the three ministers and four nobles could only retreat. Li Chen, who had walked to the door of the side hall, looked at the eunuch on duty next to him and said irritably:

"Send the imperial physician Li Yuanbo to bring long-term medicine into the palace!"

"This slave accepts the order..."

(End of this chapter)