Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 240: Bird in Prison
"Screw rustle..."

In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, the sound of snow clearing could be heard throughout Dunhuang County. Although the sun rarely came out, the atmosphere in the city was depressing.

The news of Zhang Yichao's entry into the court reached Shazhou, and for many small clans and common people who supported Zhang Yichao, this news was sad.

But for those who have already had ambitions, this is a good opportunity for them.

Although Zhang Huairong, Wang Jingyi, Wang Jingzhi and others wanted to control these people, they were ultimately unable to do so.

In Shazhou, Guazhou, Suzhou and other places, there are more and more officials who are hypocritically disobeying the orders.

Suo Zhongyi of Yizhou was too lazy to even pretend to obey the orders and simply ignored the orders of Shazhou.

Because of this, Li En, the head of the Li family in Shazhou, couldn't help but have other thoughts.

This kind of thought became even more difficult to control when Li Wei's letter arrived.

Fortunately, at this time, Li Mingzhen spoke and woke him up.

"Aye, do you think Li Yizhong and Suo Xun can be Zhang Huaishen's opponents?"

In a study somewhere in the Li family courtyard, when Li En was staring at the letter sent by Li Wei, a voice was heard and Li Mingzhen walked in from outside.

He is eighteen years old now, and will be nineteen in more than half a month.

When Zhang Yichao led his troops to move to Ganzhou, he knew that there would be chaos in Hexi, so he resigned from his official position in Shandan and transferred to Shazhou to serve as the magistrate of Dunhuang County.

Li En was extremely unhappy at first, but now it seems that Li Mingzhen always has a long-term vision and is much more capable than him as a father.

"Why, have you guessed the contents of the letter?"

Li En patiently asked Li Mingzhen, but Li Mingzhen did not rush to answer. Instead, he walked into the study and sat down. After taking a breath, he continued:
"It's nothing more than wanting to drag you along to disrupt the situation in Hexi and dream of establishing your own territorial sovereignty!"

"A sweet dream?" Li En frowned: "Is it not feasible?"

"Of course." Li Mingzhen did not hide it, but came straight to the point: "The situation in Hexi is much more complicated than before."

"Let's not talk about anything else. Can Suo Xun, Li Wei, and Li Yizhong be Zhang Huaishen's opponents?"

"There are angels in Suo Xun's army, so Zhang Huaishen may not necessarily take action, but he can still easily defeat Li Wei and Li Yizhong who have no backing, right?"

"Not to mention that Zhang Huaishen has done Liu Jilong a favor. I don't think Liu Jilong is the kind of person who would repay kindness with enmity. If Zhang Huaishen is in trouble, he won't just ignore it."

"Hmph..." Li En snorted in dissatisfaction:

"How long has Liu Jilong been ruling Longyou and establishing his own faction?"

"If he really remembered the favor, he would have sent troops to help Zhang Huaishen expel Suo Xun long ago."

"I have said long ago that most of those who came from common backgrounds and got high positions are ungrateful. I am afraid that Liu Jilong is just a good pretender."

Li En had a lot of opinions about Liu Jilong, not only because he looked down on him because of his background, but also because he was inexplicably jealous of Liu Jilong.

How could a guy who was born a shepherd slave end up in such a high position?

Li Mingzhen knew exactly what his father was thinking, so he slowly made himself a cup of tea and then slowly explained:
"Liu Jilong did not take action because he was also a ruler and could not use the lives of his soldiers to help Zhang Huaishen consolidate his rule."

"But if it is profitable, can expand his power, and can also help Zhang Huaishen, then what do you think he will do?"

"What do you mean?" Li En asked directly, but Li Mingzhen shook his head:
"It hasn't happened yet, so I can't be sure."

"But I am certain that once Zhang Huaishen abandons Liangzhou, Li Wei and Li Yizhong will be used as an example to scare the monkeys."

"If you think you can unite with them to resist the nearly 10,000 soldiers under Zhang Huaishen and the loyal Zhang family members such as Zhang Huaiman from the four states, then I will no longer hinder your dream."

"In other words, if you feel you can't do it, then I suggest you express your support for Zhang Huaishen right now."

"..." Li En was silent. Li Mingzhen saw this and said slowly:
"Now is the best time to help those in need..."

Hearing this, Li En's eyes lit up, but he immediately showed his unwillingness.

Li Mingzhen naturally knew what he was thinking, but he continued: "It's useless for you to be unwilling."

"Even if you, Li Wei, and Suo Zhongyi can drive him away, don't forget that he still has Liu Jilong as his escape route."

"If he leads his troops to join Liu Jilong, Liu Jilong will then be able to attack the rebels in the name of Zhang Huaishen, the Hexi Defense Commissioner."

"As for Liu Jilong, even the imperial court needs to be careful in dealing with him, let alone us?"

"Given the grudge between our Li clan and him, even if he took the opportunity to exterminate our Li clan, no one would dare to speak up for us."

Although Li Mingzhen had never offended Liu Jilong, his father Li En had offended Liu Jilong.

In addition, Li Wei actually offended Liu Jilong, but later he used interests to tie Liu Jilong down.

If the two sides really fall out, Li Mingzhen doesn't think Liu Jilong will let them go.

"what do you mean……"

Although Li En looked down on Liu Jilong, he was still deeply afraid of him in his heart.

"I've said it before, let's make our stance clear and help Zhang Huaishen in his time of need!"

Li Mingzhen raised his cup and took a sip of tea, describing the blueprint to Li En.

"If you can help him out, your grudge against him will be wiped out."

"Plus, since I married the daughter of Envoy Zhang, I will be Zhang Huaishen's brother-in-law, and the relationship between the Zhang and Li clans will become even closer."

"There is no difference between the Li and Suo families dominating Hexi and the Li and Zhang families dominating Hexi."

Li Mingzhen continued to brainwash Li En, and after several times, Li En finally made a decision.

"Send someone to deliver the message to the Li family members and tell them to cooperate with Zhang Huaishen's orders."

"As for Li Wei, I will naturally write back to him, rejecting this matter and persuading them to submit to Zhang Huaishen."

Li En told him about his plan, and Li Mingzhen smiled and said, "In this way, the Shazhou Li family can become the Hexi Li family."

After the conversation between father and son ended, the cavalry that sent the reply letter galloped towards Ganzhou.

Li En no longer took sick leave, but went to the Shazhou government office to handle government affairs and supported Zhang Huaishen with his actions.

Although Zhang Huairong and others were puzzled, they still wrote a letter about Li En's transformation and sent it to Liangzhou.

As time goes by, the news spreads...

At the same time that Li En decided to stand on Zhang Huaishen's side, Zhang Yichao's team also arrived outside the Jinguan Gate of Chang'an City.

Although Li Chen did not personally welcome Zhang Yichao, the welcoming team he arranged for Zhang Yichao was composed of people of high official rank.

Xiao Ye, the Minister of Works and co-minister of the Secretariat, led more than 20 officials of the sixth rank and above to welcome Zhang Yichao at the Jinguan Gate, including Zhang Yitan, the left palace attendant.

"Erlang, this is Xiao Xiang, the Minister of Works and the Minister of the Secretariat, and this is..."

After Zhang Yichao dismounted, Zhang Yitan stepped forward to introduce Xiao Ye and others to him.

Although Zhang Yichao listened and bowed, his eyes were on his elder brother.

Zhang Yitan was thirteen years older than Zhang Yichao, so he was seventy-one years old this year.

Although his hair was covered by a bun, Zhang Yitan's eyes were cloudy and his steps were unsteady. He needed someone to support him to walk.

Zhang Yichao watched Zhang Yitan introduce everyone to him, and then said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother..."

"No...no..."

A smile appeared on Zhang Yitan's face, and Xiao Ye beside him also bowed in time and said:

"The Supreme Lord knew that Situ Zhang was coming, so he ordered people to build a mansion early, and also moved Changshi Zhang's mansion to Xuanyangfang to be next to Situ Zhang."

"In addition, Your Majesty also granted me 3,500 mu of permanent farmland and 1,000 mu of official farmland, and promoted me to the Marquis of Dunhuang County, with a fief of 1,000 households outside Chang'an."

"As for your twelve sons and daughters, they were all granted the salary of Zhongsan Dafu."

Perhaps feeling a little embarrassed, Li Chen increased the reward for Zhang Yichao.

Now Zhang Yichao holds the actual post of Right Shenwu Commander-in-Chief, and also has other noble titles such as Inspector Si Tu, Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and Zhuguo.

The combined salaries of these officials and nobles could be converted into at least 1,500 strings of cash. With the output from the permanent fields, official fields, and fiefs, the annual income was at least 4,000 strings of cash.

Not only that, his twelve sons and daughters also obtained the title of Zhongsan Daifu, a fifth-rank official with an annual salary of 200 dan.

Although he was only a casual rank and had no official land or permanent land, the salary of 200 dan was not a small amount.

His disciples relied on him to live in their mansion and used their salaries for their daily expenses, which was generally enough.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yichao bowed slowly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace and all the hard work you have put in."

"I think Situ Zhang is also very tired. How about going to Xuanyangfang Residence to rest today and then going to the palace to meet the emperor in three days?"

Xiao Ye said with a smile, and Zhang Yichao did not refuse. After all, he was not ready to meet the emperor.

"Thank you for your concern, Xiao..."

Seeing that Zhang Yichao agreed, Xiao Ye exchanged a few more words with him, and then left with dozens of officials, leaving Zhang Yitan and Zhang Yichao's team outside the Jinguang Gate.

Of course, not all of the one hundred elite cavalrymen brought by Zhang Yichao could enter Chang'an, even if he was a vassal state entering the capital.

Xiao Ye had already arranged the whereabouts of this group of people.

"Erlang, let Huaiquan take ten people to escort your family and you to Xuanyangfang. The rest can follow my servant and rest outside the city."

"Prime Minister Xiao has built a villa next to your permanent farm and official farm. You can send them to live and rest in the villa, put away their armor, and then enter the city."

Hexi had its own imperial court, but the number of soldiers allowed was very small. Even a vassal state like Hexi only allowed ten soldiers to enter the capital wearing armor.

Zhang Yichao had already known about these things through his correspondence with Zhang Yitan over the years.

For this reason, Zhang Yichao obeyed Zhang Yitan's instructions and asked Zhang Huaiquan to bring ten elite cavalrymen to escort his family into the city, and Zhang Huaiding to bring the remaining ninety family members to follow Zhang Yitan's servants to the villa outside the city.

After everything was done, Zhang Yichao helped Zhang Yitan onto the carriage, and the two of them rode together.

There were markets everywhere outside Chang'an City, which was already very prosperous, not to mention the city itself.

Not to mention the elite cavalry in Hexi and the descendants of the Zhang family and their families, even Zhang Yichao could not help but sigh at its prosperity.

But when he looked at the street, he couldn't help sighing in his heart.

Even in a luxurious place like Chang'an, there were people wearing rags and begging for a living on the streets.

Seeing those people, Zhang Yichao couldn't help but recall the scenes he saw in Lanzhou.

Although he didn't say anything, Zhang Yitan could probably guess something and couldn't help but comfort him:

"Chang'an is like this, but we have been immersed in the ancient poetry for too long, so we mistakenly think it is a paradise on earth."

"Hmm..." Zhang Yichao responded, then looked at Zhang Yitan, sighed, held his hand and said:

"I haven't seen you for nearly seven years. I never thought you would be like this..."

"Haha..." Zhang Yitan smiled and nodded, then said: "Everyone will grow old."

"That's right!" Zhang Yitan seemed to have thought of something and said:

"Liu Jilong is indeed thoughtful. When I left the mansion earlier, I saw his men guarding the Wutou Gate of your mansion. They brought a lot of things with them."

"Muzhi?" Zhang Yichao smiled bitterly, shook his head and sighed:
"I thought he wouldn't be so worldly, but I didn't expect he had already made preparations in Chang'an."

"Haha." Zhang Yitan smiled and stroked his beard, and couldn't help but say:
"Food and clothing in Chang'an are not as expensive as in Shazhou. You have many children and grandchildren, and there are places where you need money. It's better to accept it."

Over the course of several years, the imperial court in Chang'an dealt Zhang Yitan a severe blow, and he gradually came to terms with it, which is why he has survived to this day.

After listening to his words, Zhang Yichao nodded and looked outside the car.

Outside the carriage, countless civilians, a small number of soldiers, and some children of officials were looking at their team, their eyes all fixed on the horses under the elite cavalry.

Most of the Hexi military horses were second or third generation horses bred with Dayuan horses.

Although not as good as the Dayuan horses, they are taller and more majestic than the so-called fine horses from Guannei Road, Hebei Road and Hedong Road.

In this era, BMW is a popular car.

Zhang Yichao also learned about these things through Zhang Yitan, so he also made some preparations for his offspring.

"Brother, find someone to buy me a pasture in the next few days. I brought ten stallions this time. After breeding fine horses, they can be sold to support the family."

Zhang Yichao said "mercenary", Zhang Yitan also laughed: "I thought you didn't leave anything for yourself, well, well..."

The smile on his face was one of relief, but Zhang Yichao smiled bitterly and said:

"Now that we are in Chang'an, we can't trouble Huai Shen and the others. We have to find a way to support ourselves."

Before he came, he only knew that Chang'an had prepared an official position and 3,500 acres of farmland for him, but he did not know that there were also official fields and other property.

In addition, he wanted to cut off the connection between Hexi and Chang'an, so naturally he had to seek a long-term solution.

"There are many private horse farms in Guanzhong, most of which are in Weibei, but the prices are not cheap."

"Ten stallions can produce at least several hundred horses, which requires at least ten thousand acres of pasture."

"If you don't mind the distance, you might as well send someone to Huayuan in the north to buy pasture. The cost will probably be around five thousand strings of cash."

The land price in Chang'an is not cheap. Even though Huayuan County is a hundred miles away from Chang'an, ten thousand acres of grassland will cost thousands of strings of cash.

Zhang Yichao sighed after hearing this, obviously he did not prepare that much money.

Zhang Yitan smiled and said, "No problem. I have saved up some salary and rewards over the years. If you don't have enough money, I will buy a pasture with you and make a living by selling horses in the future."

"Okay!" Zhang Yichao smiled and nodded when he heard that. Although he was already 58 years old, he looked rarely "young" in front of Zhang Yitan.

In response, Zhang Yitan also smiled and took him to Xuanyangfang, and introduced him:

"This Xuanyangfang is where the Wannian County Government is located in Chang'an City. It is adjacent to the East Market and is very expensive."

"If you hadn't come, I wouldn't be able to live in a market like this, let alone move to a larger mansion."

While Zhang Yitan was explaining, Zhang Yichao was also watching the prosperity of the Xuanyangfang Gate in Chang'an.

Most of the pedestrians were wearing brocade and silk, but no cloth was seen. They were obviously wealthy people from Chang'an.

"You and I are both officials of the third rank and above. We don't need to crowd the streets of the market town. We can open the Wutou Gate in the market town wall."

After Zhang Yitan finished speaking, their carriage passed the gate of Xuanyangfang and stopped after walking more than 200 steps.

Zhang Yichao helped Zhang Yitan get out of the car, and the two appeared in front of a mansion.

There are twelve long spears outside the main gate of the mansion, and short flags with the word "Zhang" are hung on the spears.

“This door lintel is so magnificent!”

Zhang Huaiquan couldn't help but dismount and praise him. Zhang Yitan also laughed and said, "This mansion covers an area of 152 acres, with pavilions, towers, and more than 80 houses of various sizes. It is one of the best mansions in Xuanyangfang."

As soon as Zhang Yitan finished speaking, he saw a carriage approaching in the distance with a "Longyou" flag flying next to it.

The carriage stopped and an official in a light crimson robe got off and bowed to Zhang Yichao.

"Yang Xin, the Longyou yamen official, greets Zhang Situ..."

"Greetings, Mr. Yang." Zhang Yichao bowed in return, and Yang Xin said awkwardly:

"I was born as a soldier in Shandan, and was a soldier under Situ in the past. I received the military order from the commander a few days ago, and only then did I know that Situ had come to Chang'an."

While he was speaking, two soldiers stepped out of the carriage, holding two small boxes in their arms.

"Today is the day that Situ is celebrating his new home. This is a gift from the commander-in-chief. Please accept it."

As soon as Yang Xin finished speaking, two soldiers handed over the box.

“This is still…”

"Huaiquan, why are you still standing there? Take it."

Zhang Yichao wanted to decline politely, but Zhang Yitan interrupted him and motioned Zhang Huaiquan to accept it.

Zhang Huaiquan originally thought that his father would not agree, but when he saw his uncle speaking, he immediately stepped forward with two soldiers and accepted the two small boxes.

Seeing this, Yang Xin bowed and said, "Situ, you must be very busy these days after the long journey. I will come to bother you again in a few days."

"Thank you." Zhang Yichao bowed to Yang Xin, which made Yang Xin quickly return the greeting, then drove away with his soldiers.

After they left, Zhang Huaiquan hurriedly opened the two small boxes.

I saw two small boxes filled with copper coins, and twenty thumb-sized gold bars placed on top.

The value of this is no less than two thousand strings of cash.

"It seems that there is no need for me to join hands with you to open a horse farm..."

Zhang Yitan stroked his beard with satisfaction, but Zhang Yichao sighed and said, "Muzhi is in a difficult situation now. I feel uneasy about taking his money."

"Haha..." Zhang Yitan laughed:
"If it weren't for your support, he would have wasted several years at least. So you should just take back some of your kindness."

"When he was in the Chang'an Office, he sent someone to give me money. You don't have to feel bad."

Zhang Yichao said nothing, but frowned.

Seeing this, Zhang Yitan immediately changed the subject and talked to him about the etiquette of entering the palace, and then signaled Zhang Huaiquan to bring his money and family into the mansion.

Since Zhang Yitan had prepared everything, Zhang Yichao's family could move in immediately without having to prepare anything.

At dusk, a family dinner was held in the mansion, and laughter echoed in Zhang Yichao's ears.

Even Zhang Huaiquan, Zhang Huaiding and others who were reluctant to leave Hexi at the beginning were smiling happily at this moment.

They lost power, but they no longer have to live on the edge of a knife.

The prosperity of Chang'an far exceeded their imagination.

They must have a deep understanding of such prosperity.

As for what happened in Hexi, they had long forgotten it.

Seeing them like this, Zhang Yichao couldn't help but feel fortunate that he did not choose them but chose Zhang Huaishen.

Whenever he thought of Zhang Huaishen, Zhang Yichao became worried, wondering how he was doing.

His gaze passed over everyone at the family dinner, but he could only see part of the sky confined to the mansion.

This limited sky made him feel like a caged bird.

He raised the cup and drank it, with mixed feelings. He looked at the gift sent by Liu Jilong not far away, feeling bitter and relieved.

"Muzhi, whether Hexi is good or bad is up to you to decide..."

(End of this chapter)