Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 220: Chaos in Huizhou (Thanks to the Silver Alliance for listening to the wind)
"A rustling--"

It was the end of May, when cicadas were supposed to be chirping on summer nights, but for some reason, there was no sound of cicadas in Huining City. Only the rustling sound of armor of the Huining Army patrolling the streets proved that there were still "living people" in Huining City.

"The pig-dog Han slaves said they wanted to relocate us to Liangzhou. Who knows if they will take action halfway?"

"That dog slave Suo Xun has always looked down on us, the indigenous people, and always lets people bully us. I think he wants to take this opportunity to kill us!"

"Jiayang Natso, we listen to you. As long as you open your mouth, we will mobilize our troops to rebel!"

"No, we want to kill all the Han dogs!"

In the dim earthen house, dozens of foreigners sat around a brazier, anger written on everyone's face.

During the day, the government posted notices and went door to door to tell everyone to prepare to move to Liangzhou.

However, the soldiers did not tell them how they would survive after moving to Liangzhou. Whenever they asked about it, they were beaten.

Such behavior aroused rebelliousness among all the barbarians who had been bullied since Suo Xun took office.

In their opinion, Suo Xun would never treat them well. If that was the case, there was only one way... to rebel!

Everyone turned their eyes to a sturdy foreign man with a big beard. His name was Jiayang Nacuo. He was a centurion of the Tubo stationed in Huizhou in the past, but now he was just a herdsman.

Although Zhang Huaishen told Suo Xun to win over some middle and lower-level officers in Huizhou Tubo, Suo Xun did not do it.

Because of this, Jiayang Natso became a herdsman slave and the leader of the group.

Facing everyone's gaze, Jiayang Nacuo said calmly:
"There are 200 armored soldiers in Huining City, and 300 armored soldiers in Wulan."

"Although their numbers are small, we still cannot defeat them, even if there are tens of thousands of our kind in Huizhou."

"You guys do as I say, and now go and notify everyone you can."

"In an hour, we will gather on the street, and then attack the government's armory. After seizing the weapons, we will use the carriages to block the streets, restrict their cavalry, and surround and kill them!"

"This matter cannot be delayed. The longer it is delayed, the easier it will be to be exposed."

"Everyone is already resentful. As long as we raise an army, their resentment will turn into anger."

After Jiayangnacuo finished speaking, everyone nodded and said, "Do as you say!"

"That's right!"

"Okay!" Jiayangnacuo nodded: "In that case, you go and do it now. Remember to avoid the Han soldiers patrolling the streets!"

Under the instigation of Jiayangnacuo, more than ten foreign people walked out of the mud house in the dark and went to inform the people they trusted.

An hour later, as Jiayangnacuo walked out of the mud house, foreign people holding farm tools and bows appeared on the street one after another.

Thanks to the fact that Suo Xun gathered the Han people in the neighborhood of the military camp, this neighborhood was inhabited by foreign people, and the foreign people had long been resentful of Suo Xun, so no one reported them.

Jiayang Natso looked vaguely and saw at least a hundred foreigners on the street.

Seeing this, he immediately led everyone towards the armory in the armory in the dark.

Since most of the soldiers in the city went to Liangzhou, the number of soldiers patrolling the streets was very limited.

They walked carefully to the outside of the armory, and one of them climbed up the wall by stepping on the backs of several people, and was then let down.

"How about it?"

When everyone asked, the man quickly explained: "There is a group of armored soldiers at the entrance of the armory. Can we defeat them?"

"Listen to me!" Jiayangnacuo said in a deep voice:

"You five take your men to set fire to the area near the military camp. Once the fire is lit, no matter if the soldiers in other parts of the city are attracted there, we will immediately attack the armory!"

"Okay!" Five people were entrusted with an important task and walked towards the military camp in the distance in the dark.

More than a hundred foreigners were waiting along the wall, and whenever they saw a fire in the distance, they would immediately hide along the wall.

Half a quarter of an hour later, fire appeared in the direction of the military camp, and a shrill wooden whistle was heard in the city.

"Beep--"

"The water is gone! The water is gone!"

Suddenly, wooden whistles in the city kept blasting, and Jiayangnacuo immediately shouted, "There are only a dozen of them. A few of them hold one person, and the others can attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was the first to break open the gate and rushed towards the dozen or so armored soldiers in front of the armory.

"Dog slave, what do you want to do?!"

"Kill him first!"

The soldiers at the armory door were startled by the sudden noise, and immediately took action after they realized what was happening.

Jiayangnacuo was holding a rusty fork, and the foreigners behind him were holding various farm tools.

The soldiers of the Huining Army were wearing armor, forming a formation, slashing with their swords and thrusting with their spears.

During the clash between the two sides, many aboriginals were hacked to death or stabbed to death.

Taking this opportunity, Jiayangnacuo avoided the front battlefield and rushed to the armory.

Seeing this, many clever natives followed him around the battlefield and rushed to the armory.

"Dog thief!"

"Beep--"

Upon seeing this, the chief cook of the Huining Army blew a wooden whistle, and the natives began shouting for rebellion.

When many aboriginal people learned that there was an uprising, they picked up their farm tools and rushed out of their houses, while the Han people in the direction of the military camp also took up weapons to protect themselves.

Jiayangnacuo led his men to seize weapons, and immediately joined forces with the indigenous people to attack the dozen or so Huining soldiers.

If anyone deserted the battlefield, Jiayang Natso would lead his men to execute them: "Don't even think about escaping. Only by killing them can we survive!"

"Think about how that bastard Suo Xun bullied us, where can you escape to!"

In just a few words, the natives who were almost defeated immediately regained their footing.

At the same time, the two killed Huining soldiers also had their armor stripped off. Jiayangnacuo and his former brothers put on armor and fought with the Huining army.

The rest of the barbarians who were not wearing armor also ran to the streets and began shouting, "The officers and soldiers are killing people, the officers and soldiers want to massacre the barbarians."

For a moment, many foreigners were frightened and joined the fight for the arsenal.

Soon, more than a dozen Huining soldiers were beaten to death by hundreds of foreign people who joined in later, and the armor was distributed by Jiayangnacuo to his brothers.

At this time, the fire in the direction of the military camp had been put out. Jiayangnacuo stood at the door of the armory and raised his arms and shouted:
"Go in, get the weapons, take back what belongs to us, and drive the Han people out of Huining City!"

"Whoosh-"

Jiayangnacuo distributed the weapons in the arsenal to more tribesmen. In addition, the tribesmen who made armor in the armory rebelled, so the armory was lost and hundreds of sets of armor were obtained by Jiayangnacuo.

Leading thousands of foreign soldiers and more than a hundred armored soldiers, Jiayangnacuo rushed towards the county government office.

At the same time, the Huining Army also gathered in the direction of the military camp, and the foreign and Han people in the city began to massacre each other. The entire Huining City was in chaos and flames shot into the sky.

Less than two hundred Huining soldiers suppressed the indigenous people near the military camp, while Jiayang Naccuo led his troops to seize the county government office.

Upon learning that the county government office was lost, the Huining army advanced towards the county government office, and Jiayangnacuo also organized a counterattack.

Although the Huining Army had more armored soldiers, there were more foreigners in Huining City.

Gradually, the Huining Army was outnumbered and began to organize the Han people to retreat to Ulan County.

Before dawn, more than a hundred Huining troops protected more than 4,000 Han people as they retreated to Ulan, while Jiayangnacuo captured Huining City.

He stripped off the armor of the soldiers who died in the battle, quickly armed nearly two hundred soldiers, and led more than three thousand soldiers to chase towards Ulan County.

At dusk the next day, soldiers from Huining City protected the people and entered Ulan County. Zhang Zhifang, who had just arrived in Ulan County, learned about the rebellion of the foreign people in Huining County.

"Asshole! Useless! Can't two hundred armored soldiers suppress thousands of bandits?!"

In the county government office, Zhang Zhifang was so angry that he overturned the table and cursed at the three Huining Army captains.

He had just arrived in Wulan yesterday, and only then did he know that Suo Xun was planning to cut off the source of the problem and move the people of Huizhou to Liangzhou.

Fortunately, he arrived in time and saved more than 7,000 people in Ulan County.

Originally he was planning to lead his troops to Huining, but before he could take action, he learned that the Huining barbarians had rebelled.

Although Zhang Zhifang lacked talent and was stubborn and self-willed, he was not a fool.

Faced with the rebellion of the Huining barbarians, he immediately made a decision: "Gather the soldiers and civilians, and leave the city immediately to attack Huining!" "Yes!"

The two captains stationed in Wulan County had been replaced by Zhang Zhifang's own men, so the two of them agreed decisively.

"Captain Zhang, you have been transferred to Liangzhou. Take your people to Liangzhou now, and the soldiers will stay behind."

Zhang Zhifang spoke to the defeated captain who went to Huilan, and Captain Zhang, seeing this, had no choice but to leave with the generals who were loyal to Suo Xun.

After they left, Zhang Zhifang mobilized more than 2,000 Han people in Wulan County and more than 4,000 Han people who had just migrated there to put more than 5,000 foreign people in the city under surveillance.

After the foreign invaders were under control, he led more than 400 soldiers to attack Huining City, and at the same time asked for help from the Shuofang Army, Jingyuan Army and Tianxiong Army.

On the fifth day of June, he encountered the rebels led by Jiayangnacuo on the official road on the east bank of the Yellow River, and the two sides fought in battle.

Zhang Zhifang, with his 400 armored soldiers and 800 Han soldiers, actually fought a draw with Jiayangnacuo's 200 armored soldiers and 3,000 Fan soldiers.

Seeing that he could not defeat Zhang Zhifang, Jiayang Naccuo began to withdraw his troops to Huining, while Zhang Zhifang led his troops to advance, surrounded Huining City, and waited for reinforcements from the three towns.

"Huizhou Fanlu?"

On the ninth day of June, Gao Pian, who was in Shanggui, learned about the rebellion of the Huizhou tribes and looked puzzled.

"After Suo Xun led his troops to Liangzhou, he also planned to forcibly relocate the people of Huizhou to Liangzhou, which caused the chaos."

"Envoy Zhang was also unlucky. He had just arrived in Wulan when he learned that Huining City had been captured. He then asked for help from the three towns of Tianxiong, Shuofang, and Jingyuan."

Standing in front of Gao Pian, Wang Zhongren briefly explained what happened in Jiangzhou, and then explained:

"The news was sent on the third day of the first lunar month and arrived at Chengji County yesterday. I think Shuofang and Jingyuan have already sent out their troops. We don't need to worry about it."

Wang Zhongren did not intend to send troops to use the power of the Tianxiong Army to help Zhang Zhifang.

In response to this, Gao Pian, who was sitting in the main seat in the hall, frowned and stood up. He then walked back and forth before saying:

"You would think so, and maybe the towns of Shuofang and Jingyuan would think so too."

"If they don't send troops, and Liu Jilong gets to know about the unrest in Huizhou, he might send troops to seize Huining."

"If we don't send troops then, it will be a mistake."

"Then you ask Zhang Lin and Lin Ruzhen to lead a thousand elite cavalry to Huining and take it back before Liu Jilong knows about it."

Gao Pian didn't dare to let Liu Jilian expand any further. After all, the last incident had already made Wang Zongshi dissatisfied with him.

"I obey your command!" Wang Zhongren agreed, and then sent someone to inform Generals Zhang Lin and Lin Ruzhen.

Soon, the two men led a thousand elite cavalry to Huining, and Gao Pian also sent the news of sending troops to Chang'an.

When Chang'an received the news, it was already June 13th, and Chang'an was not peaceful at this time.

Prime Minister Pei Xiu was dismissed and appointed as the Acting Minister of Revenue, Governor of Bianzhou, Imperial Censor, and Jiedushi of Xuanwu Army with the title of Tongpingzhangshi.

In this regard, all the ministers knew that Pei Xiu was dismissed because he advised the emperor to appoint a crown prince.

The position of crown prince was vacant, Beisi Zhong Wang Zongshi supported Yun Wang Li Wen, while Ma Gongru and others supported Li Zi.

Because of Pei Xiu's dismissal, Linghu Tao and Lu Jun did not dare to place any bets.

Seeing that they did not take sides, many officials in the capital kept silent and did not participate in the selection of the crown prince.

For a time, the younger Li Zi had the upper hand, while the older Li Wen seemed alone and powerless.

Li Chen was very satisfied with the actions of Linghu Tao and Lu Jun. Therefore, when the memorials from Suo Xun, Zhang Zhifang and Gao Pian were delivered to the Purple Palace, he did not summon the four nobles, but summoned Linghu Tao and Lu Jun into the palace.

He gave the memorials from Gao Pian, Zhang Zhifang and Suo Xun to the two men for them to review.

Among them, Gao Pian mainly talked about sending troops to help Huizhou quell the rebellion, while Zhang Zhifang talked about how Suo Xun entered Liangzhou, occupied the troops of Huining Army, and wanted to relocate the population of Huizhou, which led to the chaos in Huizhou.

As for Suo Xun, he explained why he had occupied the troops of Huining Army on the grounds that Zhang Huaishen was too powerful and unwilling to give up power, and at the same time asked the court to pay them.

Of the three people's memorials, Li Chen was most dissatisfied with Suo Xun.

The reason why Suo Xun was able to take charge of Liangzhou was mainly due to the support of the imperial court rather than his outstanding abilities. As a result, now that he has taken charge of Liangzhou, he is actually thinking of asking the imperial court to pay for his army.

Li Chen originally wanted Zhang Zhifang to command 3,000 Huining troops and Suo Xun to command 5,000 Chishui troops.

As a result of Suo Xun's actions, Zhang Zhifang only had more than 400 Huining troops and there was even a rebellion in Huizhou, while Suo Xun had 7,500 troops.

If this were the case, even if Hexi was divided, there would be a Suo Xun with nearly 10,000 soldiers in Liangzhou, and this was not the outcome Li Chen wanted to see.

Linghu Tao understood the emperor's thoughts very well, so after reading the three people's memorials, he, who used to be silent, took the lead in bowing and said:
"Your Majesty, Gao Pian dispatched troops in a timely manner and should be rewarded."

"Zhang Zhifang was not capable enough, but the Huizhou rebellion was not his fault, and he took the initiative to send troops to quell the rebellion, so his merits and demerits can be considered to be offset."

"It is Suo Xun who has seized the military power and refused to give up. He even wants the court to pay for his army. He has evil ambitions."

"Although there is a rebellion in Huizhou right now, since Gao Pian has sent out troops, I believe there will be news of victory soon."

"Now that Huizhou is in our hands, Suo Xun is a long way from Guanzhong, so the court doesn't need to respond to him."

"As long as the court does not respond to him, he will inevitably clash with Zhang Huaishen in order to support his army."

"The court's goal has been achieved. All that remains is to wait for civil unrest in Hexi."

"Although Huizhou has a population, there are more Fan people than Han people. Why not recruit the hungry people from Guannei Road and move them to Huizhou to increase its population and stabilize Huizhou?"

Although Linghu Tao is usually taciturn, he can still come up with solutions to problems when necessary.

Li Chen was very satisfied with this and said: "The matter of pacifying the hungry people will be handed over to you."

"In addition, the position of Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi (prime minister) is vacant. Who do you think can take this position?"

"I think Your Majesty has already chosen a candidate." Linghu Tao did not recommend anyone. Although Li Chen felt disappointed, he couldn't help but feel satisfied.

In his eyes, the best minister was like Linghu Tao, who was usually silent and would speak out advice when he needed it.

"What do you think of Zheng Lang, the Minister of Works?"

When Li Chen asked, Linghu Tao knew that the candidate was probably this person, and he bowed slowly and said, "This person is very talented."

"Okay..." Li Chen nodded: "Then let Zheng Lang be the co-minister of the Secretariat."

"Your Majesty is wise." Linghu Tao bowed, but Lu Jun next to him looked calm.

Li Chen frowned upon seeing this, he knew that Lu Jun wanted to join the ranks of Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, but in his opinion, the position of Shangshu Zuo Pushe was already not low, and Lu Jun's behavior was really that of a mean man.

But he didn't say anything, just pretended not to see it, and asked Linghu Tao:
"With Hexi in such a situation, should we start with Longyou?"

Li Chen did not expect that Hexi would be so easy to deal with. Therefore, after disrupting the situation in Hexi, he couldn't help but feel anxious and wanted to deal with Liu Jilong, the powerful vassal of Longyou.

If it were any other time, Linghu Tao would definitely not take the initiative to speak, but seeing that Lu Jun looked like he had nothing to do with it, he could only bite the bullet and shake his head:
"Liu Jilong is not like Zhang's uncle and nephew. He is young, and many of his generals are from commoner families, and they all respect him very much."

"Judging from the memorials submitted by Bai Sikong and Yang Jianjun of Jiannan Road, the generals in Longyou were arrogant and disrespectful, and they were all respectful to the court because of Liu Jilong."

"If the imperial court were to use force against Longyou, I'm afraid the generals would force Liu Jilong to fight against the imperial court."

"I think that we should not rush into Longyou affairs and should take our time."

In response to Linghu Tao's words, Li Chen first nodded, then frowned slightly.

"Liu Jilong actually used food and farmland to lure hungry people from various regions to settle in Longyou. If this continues, it will become a disaster!"

Linghu Tao was speechless upon hearing this and didn't know what to say.

The reason why Liu Jilian was able to pacify the hungry people so easily was because the imperial court did not have enough money and food to provide relief to the hungry people.

If Liu Jilong had not pacified these hungry people, they would most likely have become bandits and wreaked havoc in the counties and prefectures.

Linghu Tao was very clear about the administrative situation in various prefectures and counties. As long as Liu Jilong was willing to pay, the officials in various prefectures and counties would send the hungry people to Longyou, and even the imperial court could not stop it.

But since the emperor said so, he had no choice but to express his opinion, so he could only delay and say:
"The hungry people in Longyou were relocated mainly to the Shannan West Road."

"Why not take advantage of Feng Ao's term of office being over this year and transfer him to the capital to serve as an official, so as to cut off Liu Jilong's source of hungry people?"

As soon as Linghu Tao opened his mouth, Li Chen nodded: "As you say!"

Seeing this, Linghu Tao sighed helplessly in his heart, feeling that he had been blamed again. If Liu Jilong hated him, he would probably have a hard time in the future.

Compared to him, Li Chen stood up very satisfied and said, "If you have no objection, then let's leave it at that."

"I will take my leave now. May Your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

Linghu Tao and Lu Jun bowed and then left the Purple Palace, while Li Chen also returned to the side hall and continued to take his long-term medicine.

(End of this chapter)