Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 245: Suspicious People
"Sorry..."

"First, plant food on the unplanted farmland outside the city!"

"If you don't have enough farm tools, just ask!"

"Screw rustle..."

At the end of April, as the temperature rose, the snow on the Qilian Mountains was melted by the scorching sun, turning into mountain snow water that flowed into the river, winding northward.

In Zhangye City, which is surrounded by Ruoshui and Danshui, the air is filled with an atmosphere of anxiety.

The four gates of the city were tightly closed, and there were countless soldiers on the city walls.

On the farmland outside the city, tens of thousands of people were leisurely sowing crops and cultivating farmland.

In the distance, two thousand elite cavalry and five thousand armored soldiers had already set up camp outside the cultivated land, surrounding Zhangye like an iron barrel, into which neither a needle could penetrate nor water could be poured.

In the sunlight, the armor on the seven thousand soldiers flashed coldly, and their shouts were anxious, as if they were going to crack the sky apart.

"Zhang Huaishen, he actually mobilized his troops!"

"He doesn't want Liangzhou anymore?!"

On the city wall, Li Wei and Li Yizhong's faces were livid. They didn't expect that Zhang Huaishen would actually abandon Liangzhou.

At this moment, they were extremely cautious, fearing that the soldiers around them would suddenly attack for Zhang Huaishen.

The defenders on the top of Zhangye City were also nervously watching the movements outside the city. They didn't know why General Zhang, in the past, would prepare to attack the city.

After all, before this, the Hexi Guiyi Army had all been united in facing the outside world and had never engaged in internal strife.

They were terrified and wanted to ask Li Wei and his son, but because of the difference in their status, they could only ask their own captain and team leader in a vague way.

All the officers above the rank of captain in Zhangye City had long been replaced by Li Wei and his son with their own people.

Even so, these so-called insiders are still worried now.

"Sir, this is the messenger from General Liu Jie, who just came from Qilian City."

In the camp outside the city, as Du Wanmeng's voice rang out in the tent, Zhang Huaishen in the tent also cast his gaze behind him.

He was a captain, and when he saw Zhang Huaishen, he immediately bowed and said:

"Envoy Zhang, I am here on the orders of the commander-in-chief to help you persuade Li Wei and his son to surrender. This is the letter of surrender."

"My master said..."

The captain handed over the letter of surrender and told its contents.

Zhang Huaishen nodded upon seeing this, but did not take it.

"No need to look, I still trust Liu Jilong."

"Since he wants to help, Du Wanmeng, you should take this brother to persuade Li Wei and his son to surrender."

As soon as Zhang Huaishen finished speaking, Du Wanmeng bowed and said, "I obey your orders!"

Seeing this, he led the Longyou army out of the camp and rode along the official road towards the east gate of Zhangye.

At the same time, Li Wei and his son, who were always paying attention to the outside of the city, also noticed the situation here.

Du Wanmeng did not rush forward, but reined in his horse fifty steps away from the east gate of Zhangye.

"When two sides are at war, envoys are not killed. However, the grudge between us and Li Wei and his son is too great, so I will not accompany you, brother."

Du Wanmeng explained to the Longyou captain, who understood and immediately rode forward to the other side of the moat twenty steps outside the east gate.

He looked up at Li Wei and his son standing in front of the city wall, but he did not recognize them and thought they were generals in the city.

"I am delivering a message on the orders of Grand Protector Liu of Longyou Protectorate. I am troubled by Envoy Li to send someone to get the message!"

"Liu Jilong?"

Li Wei and Li Yizhong looked unhappy. They didn't expect that Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen had not yet fallen out.

Although they knew about the trade between Shandan and Longyou, trade is trade and sending troops is sending troops.

Liu Jilong was extremely famous in the Helong area, especially after he killed Lun Kongre, his reputation was almost on par with Zhang Yichao who liberated Hexi.

Upon learning that Liu Jilong had sent people to come, the morale of the defenders in the city inevitably declined.

Li Yizhong gritted his teeth when he saw this: "Send someone to get the letter!"

Upon hearing this, the left and right immediately sent people out of the city to get the letter.

Soon, Liu Jilong's handwriting appeared in front of Li Yizhong.

He opened the letter, read it all with a gloomy face, and then handed it to his father.

After reading it, Li Wei was angry, but he also knew that Liu Jilong was no longer the same as before, so he did not dare to curse him.

"My commander said that if you two are willing to surrender, you can keep your official positions with this letter, and Envoy Zhang will not make things difficult for you and the brothers in the city."

"If you two are stubborn and refuse to change your ways, the 20,000 soldiers from Longyou have already gathered in Shanzhou. It will only take ten days for them to reach the city of Zhangye. Please think about this carefully!"

Before Li Wei and the other man could say anything, the team outside the city spoke out the contents of the letter like a loudspeaker.

Upon hearing his words, the soldiers guarding the east gate of Zhangye suddenly became chaotic and started whispering to each other.

"Marshal Liu Jie and Envoy Zhang have such a good relationship. If they really send troops, how can we stop them?"

"What do Envoy Li and the others mean?"

"Aren't we all members of the Guiyi Army? Why did it suddenly become like this?"

"Could it be Li Shijun and the others..."

There were constant rumors all around, and Li Wei and Li Yizhong looked unhappy.

Although Li Wei governed Ganzhou for nearly four years, the wealth of Ganzhou was accumulated by Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian, not to mention the people's support.

Upon learning that Li Wei and his son were going to be enemies with Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian, except for a small number of Li's descendants, the rest of the people began to waver.

"Aye, if Liu Jilong really sends out his troops, we will definitely not be able to stop him."

"What's more, my uncle is on Zhang Huaishen's side. If we become his enemy, we will never get any good results."

When Li Yizhong saw the letter from Liu Jilong, he had already thought about surrendering.

Hearing this, Li Wei gritted his teeth and said, "If Li En had not been short-sighted, the four states of Guasha and Gansu would have belonged to our Li family. This boy is incompetent!"

He was blaming Li En. After all, his original idea was to let Li En take over Shazhou, and then the two of them would pacify Guazhou and Suzhou, and use the troops of the four states to confront Zhang Huaishen.

Now Li En has sided with Zhang Huaishen, and he only has one city, Zhangye, so it is naturally impossible for him to be an enemy of Zhang Huaishen.

Thinking of this, Li Wei said unwillingly: "Open the city... welcome Zhang Huaishen!"

"Yes!" Li Yizhong bowed quickly and summoned officials in Zhangye City to gather outside the east gate of Zhangye City.

Not long after, Li Wei sent someone to tell the captain of Longyou their decision, and the captain also informed Du Wanmeng of the decision of Li Wei and others.

Half an hour later, Du Wanmeng led a thousand armored soldiers to gather outside the east gate, entered the city first to control the four gates, and then notified Zhang Huaishen to come and take over Zhangye.

When Zhang Huaishen learned the news, he immediately led the remaining 6,000 troops from Liangzhou and Shandan to Zhangye.

When passing through the city gate, his eyes rested on Li Wei and Li Yizhong.

The two were quite shameless. Li Wei bowed to Zhang Huaishen:

"If the envoy wants to come, all he needs is a letter. Why are you putting on such a show?"

"I didn't know this before. I thought it was the Uighurs in the north heading south again."

"Fortunately, General Liu Jie wrote a letter as evidence, so I now know the whole story."

In view of Li Wei's actions, Zhang Huaishen really wanted to execute him on the spot.

However, considering the content of Liu Jilong's letter, he was worried that his actions would damage Liu Jilong's reputation, so he stopped and said:
"I was not thoughtful enough..."

“Never before…”

Li Wei and Li Yizhong naturally did not dare to admit it, and Zhang Huaishen snorted coldly upon seeing this. He immediately took over Zhangye City and dismissed all the generals belonging to the Li family.

Li Wei and Li Yizhong were also confined to their homes. Although they had the title of provincial governor, they could do nothing.

After dealing with them, Zhang Huaishen summoned Du Wanmeng and others to discuss the matter in the main hall of the yamen.

"Order the people outside the city to continue to cultivate crops outside the city and not to delay the farming season."

"In addition, of the 20,000 people we brought with us, 1,000 households will be resettled in Zhangye, and the remaining 3,000 households will be resettled in Suzhou and Guazhou."

"Du Wanmeng, you will lead two thousand elite cavalry and three thousand infantry to personally handle this matter. I will send fast horses to pass the news to Shazhou and order Wang Jingyi to guard Guazhou and Wang Jingzhi to guard Suzhou."

"Order the three states of Gua, Sha and Su to each send out 500 infantrymen and 2,000 civilians, and you will lead them to rush to Yizhou."

"Send a message to Suo Xun and Suo Zhongyi, asking them to hand over Yizhou. I will then hand over Guzang and Changsong to Suo Xun."

"If Suo Zhongyi still refuses to leave Yizhou before the first day of June, you will lead your army to attack the city immediately!"

As soon as Zhang Huaishen finished speaking, Du Wanmeng immediately bowed and saluted: "I will obey your orders!" After he saluted, Zhang Huai took a deep breath and said:
"I will write a letter later and you can send someone to Shanzhou to express my gratitude to Liu Jilong."

The main reason why Zhangye was captured so easily was due to Liu Jilian's letter of surrender.

It is reasonable and proper for Zhang Huaishen to express his gratitude.

What's more, now that Ganzhou is stable, the remaining three states of Gua, Sha and Su will naturally be stable as well.

Although Yizhou had not yet been recovered, the trade route in the southern part of the Western Regions could also communicate with Zhongyun, Khotan, Qarluk and other forces and obtain spices from them.

Although Zhang Huaishen also had tens of thousands of acres of tea fields, it was obviously too little to trade for spices.

What the Western Regions needed were porcelain, silk and lacquerware from the Central Plains, and these things had to be purchased and traded by Liu Jilong before they could reach Zhang Huaishen.

Therefore, in addition to expressing his gratitude, his letter also contained matters of trade.

Soon, he wrote a letter and gave it to the Shanzhou cavalry outside the city to send back to Shanzhou.

While the light cavalry was heading to Shanzhou, Zhang Huaishen stayed in Ganzhou to take care of the logistics of the people's migration, while Du Wanmeng led the people to migrate to Guazhou and Suzhou.

When the news of the capture of Ganzhou reached Shazhou, it was already the second day of May.

After Li Mingzhen walked into the mansion with the news, Li En also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, I listened to you. If Liu Jilong had really sent troops, my Li family would have been uprooted."

"However, judging from Zhang Huaishen's current move, he really wants to abandon Liangzhou and retreat to the Five Provinces."

After Li En finished speaking, Li Mingzhen shook his head and said, "No."

"Although Zhang Huaishen abandoned tens of thousands of people in Liangzhou, don't forget, father, the number of people in Xizhou is no less than that in Liangzhou."

Li En frowned and pondered, "Are you saying that Zhang Huaishen will send troops to Xizhou?"

"Of course!" Li Mingzhen said firmly:
"Before, when Zhang Hexi was still there, he had thought about sending troops to Xizhou, but the distance between Xizhou and Guazhou was far. An Ning had nearly 10,000 people under his command, but there were not enough civilians in Shazhou, Yizhou, and Guazhou to support the army's westward expedition."

"Now Zhang Huaishen has relocated tens of thousands of people to Guazhou and Yizhou, and Liangzhou must also have Hankou."

"Since he wants to abandon Liangzhou, he will naturally not leave Hankou behind, and these Hankou will naturally be relocated to the west."

"If Zhang Huaishen relocates these Hankou people to Yizhou, there will be enough civilians for the army's westward expedition."

"By then, even if Zhang Huaishen doesn't want to march west, Zhang Huairong and others will instigate him to do so."

“Once he takes over Xizhou, he can connect to the northern route of the Silk Road, and Shazhou can connect to the southern route.”

"In this way, together with the two valley roads in Ganzhou, he can support his army with spices, and also obtain a small population with the support of Liu Jilong."

"If this is accomplished, Zhang Huaishen's position will probably be more stable than Zhang Hexi's in the past."

Li Mingzhen's analysis was apt, and Li En nodded repeatedly after listening to it.

"That's fine. We will help Zhang Huaishen this time. Although Zhang Huaishen doesn't like us, he still needs to rely on us to govern Hexi."

"Zhang Yi and Li Er, this is a good story indeed."

After Li En finished speaking, he immediately raised his teacup and took a sip, his face full of satisfaction.

While they were feeling satisfied, Zhang Huairong, Wang Jingyi, Wang Jingzhi and others who got the news also took action.

Suo Zhongyi of Yizhou and Suo Xun of Liangzhou also received Zhang Huaishen's letters. The father and son sent light cavalry to deliver letters to each other, both wanting to know the other's thoughts.

When the situation in Hexi was slightly stabilized, the memorials of Suo Xun and Wang Duanzhang were also delivered to Chang'an.

However, at this time, Chang'an had no intention of dealing with the affairs of Liangzhou.

On April 9, Wang Linghuan, a general of Lingnan, led his guards in a riot and imprisoned Yang Fa, the governor and inspector of the East Road of Lingnan. The guards of Lingnan requested that Wang Linghuan be appointed governor and inspector of the East Road of Lingnan.

Before the news from Lingnan reached Chang'an, incidents occurred in other places.

Shi Zaishun, the general of Hunan, led his guards in a riot, expelled Han Cong, the governor of Hunan, and killed Wang Guizhi, the chief guard. The guards then recommended Shi Zaishun to be the governor.

It was only the tenth day of May when the two reports of the rebellion reached Chang'an.

When Li Chen heard the news, his face turned pale and he urgently summoned all the ministers to the Xuanzheng Hall to discuss the matter.

After Li Chen sat in the main seat, Linghu Tao spoke first:

"Your Majesty, the rebellion of Hunan and Lingnan must not be forgiven lightly, and we should send troops to suppress it!"

"Your Majesty, I second the motion!" Xiao Ye also seconded the motion and Ma Gongru, one of the four nobles, bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, the governor of Shannan East Road, Xu Shang, has hundreds of elite soldiers under his command. He is known as the 'bandit-catching general'. Why not send him to fight against the rebellious soldiers in Hunan?"

Wang Guichang also bowed upon seeing this and said: "Your Majesty, you can order Rong Guan and Song Ya to send troops immediately to quell the rebellion in Rongzhou, and then send troops to quell the rebellion in Lingnan."

The Tang court always had three attitudes towards the rebellious guards.

There is one attitude towards the three towns of Heshuo, another attitude towards the Tianping Army, Zibo-Qing Army and Taining Army that split from Zibo-Qing in the past, and the last attitude towards the remaining states.

The former is a compromise, the middle one is soft but firm, and the latter is extremely tough.

Because of this, the imperial court has always taken a tough stance when facing the rebellious troops in Rongzhou, Hunan and Lingnan.

After all, if we can't even subdue these weak military governorates, how can we make the Heshuo, Zibo and Qingzhou governors submit?

"Your Majesty, I recommend Gao Pian, the governor of Qinlong and the governor of Tianxiong Army, as the governor of Lingnan. I order the Chengwu Youyi Army to follow him south to suppress the rebellion in Hunan and Lingnan."

Suddenly, Wang Zongshi came out and bowed to ask for a report. After hearing this, Linghu Tao even seconded the proposal:
"Your Majesty, Gao Qianli is a man of great talent. If he can control the Chengwu Youyi Army to march south, it would be a good idea."

"Your Majesty, I second the motion." Xiao Ye also followed suit.

Seeing this, Li Chen thought for a moment before saying, "If Gao Pian is transferred from Qinlong, who can take over?"

"Li Chengxun, the governor of Jingyuan, is an expert in military affairs. It would be better to appoint him as the governor of Qinlong and the governor of Tianxiong Army."

Linghu Tao made a suggestion without hesitation, and Li Chen nodded and said, "Okay, let's do as you say."

After the words fell, Li Chen had no intention of discussing further and immediately prepared to stand up.

Fortunately, Wang Zongshi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Hexi Surveillance Envoy Suo Xun and Liangzhou Deputy Envoy Wang Duanzhang have petitioned Anxi Deputy Protector General Zhang Huaishen to recruit tens of thousands of Liangzhou troops to march west to Xizhou from Hankou. Now Liangzhou is exhausted, so please petition the court to move the hungry people to Liangzhou."

If it weren't for Wang Zongshi, Li Chen would have forgotten about Suo Xun of Liangzhou.

However, when he heard that Zhang Huaishen was really leading his troops to the west, he subconsciously asked, "Is Situ Zhang here?"

"Your Majesty, I, the Right Divine Military Commander and Inspector General Zhang Yichao, listen to your instructions!"

Zhang Yichao, who was wearing a purple robe, took the initiative to speak. Li Chen looked at him and then asked:
"Why did Deputy Protector General Zhang recruit tens of thousands of people from Liangzhou to march west from Hankou?"

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Yichao bowed and explained:
"From Liangzhou to Xizhou, the journey is more than 2,000 miles, of which more than 1,500 miles are from Gansu, Guai and Yizhou, where food and fodder can be provided."

"However, after the army reaches Yizhou, it is still more than 500 miles away from Xizhou. There are tens of thousands of Uighurs in Xizhou. If we want to retake Xizhou, we must have at least 5,000 soldiers."

"There are only about 7,000 people in the two counties of Yizhou, and only about 2,000 men. How can they provide food and supplies for an army of 5,000?"

"Even if the other states provide grain, Yizhou cannot gather enough laborers to meet the demand."

"My nephew Huai Shen, following your majesty's order to recover Xizhou, will do his best."

"Therefore, only by recruiting tens of thousands of Hankou soldiers from Liangzhou can we recover Xizhou..."

Zhang Yichao explained the matter clearly, and all the ministers nodded in agreement. However, Li Chen narrowed his eyes and said:

"The governor requested that the people be relocated. What does Situ Zhang think of it?"

Zhang Yichao did not pause and responded directly: "There are tens of thousands of foreigners in Liangzhou. Now there is no Hankou to restrain them. If this continues, chaos will inevitably break out."

"I think it would be better to move all the tens of thousands of hungry people from Shannan, Jiannan, Guannei and other places to Liangzhou. This will make Liangzhou stable."

There was nothing wrong with his suggestion, and even Linghu Tao and others couldn't find any fault with it.

After all, the best way to stabilize a place is to settle down with immigrants.

However, in Li Chen's view, his remarks seemed like a trap designed to force the imperial court to move population to Hexi.

“Suo Xun is supported by the imperial court and is his enemy, so why should he speak for Suo Xun?”

Many possibilities flashed through Li Chen's mind, the biggest possibility being that Suo Xun's surrender to the court and Zhang Huaishen's relocation of the garrison were all arranged by Zhang Yichao long ago in order to allow the court to continuously migrate people to Hexi.

After all, Hexi lacks nothing except population.

Tens of thousands of starving people may not be a big deal in other places, but for Hexi, it is like a blessing after a long drought.

Thinking of this, Li Chen's eyes flickered, but he suddenly felt extremely thirsty.

He knew that he should take long-term medicine, otherwise he would definitely cough and let his ministers know that he was sick.

"Please allow me to think about this matter and then leave the court!"

"Tens of millions of years old..."

Feeling the itch in his throat, Li Chen quickly stood up and hurriedly walked out of the Xuanzheng Hall amid the singing of his ministers.

Zhang Yichao bowed and stood up, his eyes meeting with Zhang Yitan who was not far away, both of them with deep meaning.

(End of this chapter)