Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 551 A Parting is Inevitable

"Da...da..."

In midsummer of May, when most parts of the world are starting to get hot, Yunnan, with its high altitude, remains cool as usual.

The sound of officials' footsteps echoed in what was once Yangjumei City, now the Dali Yamen. Gao Pian, sitting in the main seat, slowly raised his head and saw Li Yangchun walk in. He immediately put down his vermilion pen and rubbed his sore brows.

"Has the fighting in the south ended?"

"Hmm." Li Yangchun nodded and bowed, explaining:

"The Wuman who rebelled in Tonghai have been quelled by the Prince of Yingchuan. More than 7,600 Wuman were killed and more than 60,000 Wuman and their families were captured."

The Prince of Yingchuan was Wang Jian, who was rewarded for his merits. Besides him, many other nobles were also promoted.

During the years when the imperial examinations in Beijing were very strict, Yunnan seemed to have become a popular destination for many nobles.

The generals who fought in Yunnan were largely unaffected by the imperial examination system; on the contrary, they were all promoted.

After the Han Dynasty recovered Yunnan, Liu Jilong ordered the withdrawal of many troops, but still left 30,000 Han soldiers and 50,000 barbarian soldiers in the Yunnan Military Command.

Generals such as Gao Pian, Li Yangchun, Wang Jian, Ge Congzhou, Yang Shihou, Zhang Guiba, Pang Shigu, and Liu Song were temporarily left in Yunnan.

The advantage of having so many outstanding generals stationed in Yunnan is that there are famous generals in charge of various places. Whenever barbarians cause trouble in a certain place, the generals can immediately lead troops to quell the rebellion.

As for the issues of food and manpower, these problems began to be resolved after more than 200,000 convicts migrated to Yunnan last winter.

"Have all the criminals been moved in and settled?"

Gao Pian asked Li Yangchun, who explained: "The court relocated more than 220,000 criminals. If any criminals fell ill along the way, they were allowed to stay and recuperate. Since October of last year, more than 30,000 elderly and weak people have been unable to bear the suffering and have died."

"The remaining majority were settled in Zhaozhou, Quzhou and Kunzhou due to disease, and eventually 74,000 people migrated to the four prefectures in western Yunnan."

"At present, Tongzhou, Jianzhou and Hankou in the south are still too few, with only a few thousand people. We must move in enough people to firmly occupy the mountain plains north of the Ailao Mountains."

The Han army's methods and procedures for migration were already very sophisticated. More than 200,000 criminals were migrated into Yunnan, and since they migrated in winter and spring, the number of civilians killed or injured along the way was not large.

Less than 20% of the migration casualties were still a remarkable achievement in any dynasty, especially considering that the dead and injured were mostly the elderly and weak.

"It's definitely not enough..."

Gao Pian took a deep breath and agreed, "In the past two years, the government has discovered many gold, silver and copper mines in Yunnan, but they have not been mined. The reason for this is that the population is too small."

"These days I have also felt my strength gradually failing, so I plan to submit a memorial to His Majesty to return to the capital to recuperate. At the same time, I request the court to relocate people to Yunnan. As for what will happen after I leave..."

Gao Pian paused, then looked at Li Yangchun and said, "Wang Jian is indeed a remarkable man, but he is deep in thought and lacks the experience of you."

"I am preparing to submit a memorial to the throne, requesting that you succeed me and take charge of affairs in Yunnan."

Although Yunnan has now established three departments, due to its small population, Gao Pian is basically in charge of managing them.

Now that Gao Pian said he would put Li Yangchun in charge of the three departments after he left, Li Yangchun was not surprised. Therefore, he bowed to Gao Pian and said:
"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail the court's grace."

"Hmm..." Gao Pian nodded, then handed the memorial he had prepared earlier to Li Yangchun.

"Take a look. If there are no problems, send them to Luoyang and Longyou respectively."

"Yes!" Li Yangchun bowed in response, and Gao Pian then instructed him based on his own experience:
"Although Yunnan has many mountain plains, they are underdeveloped, and there is a lack of water east of Kunming. You need to lead the people to dig more wells so that enough arable land can be cultivated."

"Furthermore, although Nanzhao occupied the area west of Gaoligong Mountain, its chieftain Long was dead, and internal chaos was inevitable."

"Currently, the imperial court has more than 80,000 Hankou in Yongchang, which is enough to support more than 10,000 troops to cross the Gaoligong Mountains."

"If Nanzhao splits into divisions and internal strife in the future, you may send troops as you see fit. I will grant you permission to act as you see fit after I return to Luoyang to meet His Majesty."

In response to Gao Pian's reminder, Li Yangchun nodded and then, seeing that Gao Pian had not given any further instructions, retreated and left the yamen.

After leaving the yamen, he went to his own mansion, which was the mansion of Dong Cheng, a former official of the Qing Dynasty. The four-courtyard mansion with white walls and gray tiles was very grand, with separate courtyards and flower gardens to the east and west. It would have taken several hundred guan to build such a mansion.

Upon his return to the mansion, some figures in the hall rose to greet him. He gestured for everyone to sit down, then walked to the main seat and looked at the group.

Liu Song, Yuan Xi, Ge Congzhou, Zhang Guiba, Zhang Guihou, and Pang Shigu sat in front of him. When he sat down, they all cast questioning glances at him.

"King Gao is preparing to retire and return to Luoyang, and will then recommend a general to Yunnan."

"At present, the Lingnan Military Command is under the jurisdiction of Wang Xiangqian. I am preparing to recommend Liu Lang to return to Lingnan as the governor. The governor of the Yunnan Military Command will be Ge Lang, and the deputy governors will be the two young men, Zhang and Pang."

"Although Mr. Yuan's qualifications and achievements are sufficient, the court cannot allow me to arbitrarily place officials in the Three Departments. Therefore, I can only strive for the position of Provincial Administration Commissioner for Mr. Yuan."

In the Han Dynasty, the position of Provincial Administration Commissioner was a fourth-rank official. For Yuan Xi, who was currently only a fifth-rank official, he would never have been able to climb to this position so quickly if it weren't for his achievements in pacifying Yunnan.

Not only him, but also people like Ge Congzhou, so they all bowed to Li Yangchun and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"There's no need for that," Li Yangchun waved his hand, indicating that everyone should disregard it, while Yuan Xi said:
"If the Prince of Gao is to leave, then where should the Prince of Yingchuan go?"

If Gao Pian leaves, then only Li Yangchun and Wang Jian will remain in Yunnan.

Li Yangchun's qualifications and achievements need no further explanation; they naturally surpass those of Wang Jian.

However, since both of them were princes, Wang Jian could not possibly stay in Yunnan without proper authority.

"I heard that Zhang Huairong, the Grand Protector of Beiting, is preparing to retire. I suppose he will be transferred to Beiting after his retirement."

Li Yangchun recounted the information he had obtained through his colleagues in Linzhou, and everyone nodded in agreement, thinking to themselves that Wang Jian had indeed gone to a good place where it would be easy to achieve merit.

A few days ago, the National Gazette informed the world about the alliance between the Uyghurs and the Karluks. The reason for the alliance between the Uyghurs and the Karluks was very simple: Zhang Huaishen was launching too many military campaigns, which were difficult to resist.

After the two armies joined forces, the number of followers reached a staggering four to five hundred thousand, with over one hundred thousand archers.

However, after forming an alliance, their forces did not turn eastward, but instead turned to fight the Arabs (Samanid dynasty) who occupied the river.

This result was not unexpected. After all, Zhang Huaishen had driven the Uyghurs west of the Tianshan Mountains with only 8,000 elite cavalry and arquebuses. The Karluks could naturally learn about the strength of the Han Dynasty through the Uyghurs.

Compared to the Han Dynasty, the Abbasid Caliphate, which was split off to the west, was undoubtedly easier to attack. Although Wang Jian would have to accept Zhang Huaishen's control after being transferred to Beiting, his future career would be smoother with Zhang Huaishen's help.

"Don't worry about it, the opportunities in Yunnan are no worse than those in Beiting."

Li Yangchun scanned the crowd and quickly understood what they were thinking, so he couldn't help but remind them.

His reminder made everyone realize that although the Han Dynasty nominally controlled the entire Yunnan province, its control over the vast area west of Gaoligong Mountain and south of Ailao Mountain was only nominal.

This nominal control was not the result that the person on the Jintai Terrace wanted. Therefore, the battles in Yunnan were no less than those in Beiting, and were even more frequent.

After thinking about it this way, everyone felt much more comfortable. Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Li Yangchun took out Gao Pian's memorial, added his own memorial which he had written earlier, and handed it to Yuan Xi.

"Send the memorial in two copies to Luoyang and Longyou to avoid missing His Majesty."

"Yes!"

Upon receiving Li Yangchun's instructions, Yuan Xi immediately got up and left the mansion with the others.

Before long, fast horses galloped out of Dali City, heading towards Longyou and Luoyang respectively.

While riding swiftly north, Liu Jilong also spent a long time catching up with Zhang Huaishen in Zhangye. Every day they were either hunting or climbing to high places to enjoy the view, just like now...

"boom!!"

At the foot of the Qilian Mountains, as gunshots rang out on the grassland, the thick smoke was dispersed by the mountain wind. In the distance, the gazelles had already fallen, while Liu Jilong tossed his matchlock gun to Zhao Ying beside him.

Zhao Ying habitually cleaned the gun barrel and reloaded the ammunition for him, while Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Huaishen beside him, only to see Zhang Huaishen hand the gun in his hand to his second son, Zhang Yanli, and coughing awkwardly, saying:
"This matchlock gun is powerful, but its accuracy is still poor."

"Hahahaha..." Liu Jilong laughed heartily as he saw him trying to make amends.
"The accuracy of matchlock guns is indeed poor, but the imperial court is already researching straight rifling. If straight rifling can be applied to matchlock guns, the accuracy can be improved."

"Straight rifling?" Zhang Huaishen looked at Liu Jilong curiously, and Liu Jilong explained it to him.

After understanding the principles of rifling and straight rifling, Zhang Huaishen's eyes lit up: "If that's the case, the court can break up the main force into smaller units and use the cavalry to continuously kill and weaken the enemy's cavalry."

“It’s not that easy.” Liu Jilong shook his head and continued, “Although rifled guns are more accurate than smoothbore guns, their rate of fire is much slower, and they are also more expensive.”

"With the technology currently available to the imperial court, it is not yet possible to equip the army with it; it can only be used for personal purposes."

Although rifled guns only have rifling grooves carved inside the barrel, the materials, metallurgical and other technologies involved were all obstacles for the Han Dynasty.

It has only been ten years since Liu Jilong established engineering disciplines and universities. Although many technologies in the Han Dynasty have made some progress, the progress has been very limited.

It took more than three hundred years for rifled guns to go from their emergence to their widespread adoption and finally to being used by the entire army.

The current technology of the Han Dynasty can barely be considered to have caught up with the technological level of the 16th century, but it is still far behind the technological level of the 19th century.

Even with Liu Jilong's full support, and even with the continuous support of successive emperors of the Han Dynasty, it would be difficult to catch up within a century once the direction was known.

Even so, with the current level of technology in the Han Dynasty, it is already quite easy to crush the barbarians. The only difficulty is transportation.

Even though the Han Dynasty had already planted rubber trees in Lingnan, it was impossible to develop a steam engine, let alone a train, in the short term.

"Pity……"

Upon learning that straight-rifled matchlock guns were too expensive to be equipped by the army, Zhang Huaishen couldn't help but sigh.

After all, he was still thinking about recapturing Suyab, which was more than 1,400 li away from Huangcaobo.

"How is the construction of Beiting's city walls progressing?"

Seeing his dejected expression, Liu Jilong took the initiative to inquire about the situation in Beiting. Zhang Huaishen perked up after hearing this, and as he took the loaded matchlock gun from Zhang Yanli, he said to Liu Jilong:

"At present, there are more than 128,000 people in Beiting. I have established Linzhou, Huangzhou and eight counties west of Tingzhou. Each county is 70 or 80 li apart and has a population ranging from 10,000 to 3,000."

"Currently, there are still 120,000 people in Guanzhong who are on their way to be exiled to the Western Regions. I plan to exile 50,000 to Beiting and 70,000 to places like Gumo and Shule."

"These 120,000 people will be exiled over three years. After three years, we should be able to build a few more cities near Huangcaobo."

"If I can recapture Bowmoon City and Suiye City within ten years, I will die without regret..."

Zhang Huai sighed deeply, while Liu Jilong nodded and said, "That day is surely not far off, there is no need to worry."

With matchlock guns and cannons, the Han army only needed to send more than 10,000 troops and about 50,000 laborers to bypass the Tianshan Mountains from Huangcaobo and attack and occupy Suyab and Gongyue.

Once Suyab and Bowmoon are captured, the pressure on the Northern Han army will be greatly reduced, because the rainfall in the Ili River Valley, where Bowmoon and Suyab are located, is incomparable to that of other parts of the Western Regions.

The environment in the Western Regions now is much better than it was during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. There are oases, lakes and rivers along the way.

If the Qing Dynasty could settle thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians in Yili at high cost during the Qianlong era, there's no reason why the Han Dynasty couldn't.

Although the Han population in Guanzhong was not as large as during the Qianlong era, a small number of migrations could be achieved by extending the timeline.

However, ten years is still too long. Although Liu Jilong felt that he was in good health, he was very uneasy about whether he could live to see the end of the ten years.

He must hold out until he conquers the Ili River Valley and achieves fruitful results in its development, so that future rulers will not have to abandon Ili due to costs.

The wisdom of later generations is always just wishful thinking that the predecessors were powerless to solve. If later generations could really solve all the problems, the Tang Dynasty would not have fallen from its peak, and the living space of the Han people would not have been compressed to the east of Fengxiang.

"After returning to the capital, a certain organization issued an imperial decree to transport one million shi of Ever-Normal Grain from Longyou to Tingzhou every year."

Liu Jilong suddenly continued speaking, but Zhang Huaishen sighed and said, "That's true, but after these grains arrive, only one-fifteenth will be stored. Even then, the annual supply of grain for the immigrants will be slightly insufficient. What can we do..."

“What if we add new crops?” Liu Jilong interrupted him, which made Zhang Huaishen look at him in surprise.

Zhang Huaishen naturally knew about the new crops, and he had marveled at their yield, but he did not know whether they could be grown in the Western Regions.

Judging from Liu Jilong's tone, it seems that the new crop can be grown in the Western Regions.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huaishen couldn't help but ask eagerly, "You mean, the new crops can be cultivated in the Western Regions?"

"Yes!" Liu Jilong nodded firmly. Although the grain yield of the new crop in the Central Plains was not as high as that of rice, the new crop did not require the same demanding planting conditions as rice.

At present, the yield of millet and wheat per mu in the Western Regions of the Great Han Dynasty is only about seven dou to one shi, which is far less than one shi and five to two shi in the south.

However, if new crops are introduced, even if the grain yield of potatoes and sweet potatoes is reduced to 40%, the yield per acre will still be much higher than that of millet and wheat.

On the basis of ensuring that the people of the Western Regions can be self-sufficient with the new crops, an additional million tons of grain will be transported to Tingzhou. Even if only one-fifteenth is retained, it will still amount to tens of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure) each year, and hundreds of thousands of shi over the years.

With this batch of grain, the difficulty for the Han Dynasty to reclaim the Ili River Valley will be greatly reduced.

"When can we take the new crops to the Western Regions for cultivation?"

Zhang Huaishen couldn't help but ask further, and Liu Jilong replied, "The new crop has only been planted in Lingnan for two and a half years. Although we can try to expand its planting to the western regions, we need to take over the planting in Qianzhong, Jiannan, and Longyou along the way."

"It will take at least three years before it can be expanded to the Western Regions, and it will also take two to three years to promote it in the Western Regions."

"Seven years from now, you may be able to lead troops on a western expedition and recover Suyab and Gongyue City for the court."

Seven years is the fastest time Liu Jilong has predicted. If there is frost damage or other disasters, this time may be extended.

"Seven years..."

Upon hearing that the timeframe had been shortened from ten years to seven, and that this was a guaranteed timeframe for troop deployment, Zhang Huaishen was immediately delighted.

"Very well, Your Majesty, please keep up the good work. I will surely recover Suyab and Bowmoon in seven years!"

"Very good." Liu Jilong chuckled, then took the matchlock gun from Zhao Ying beside him: "Let's go, let's see who shoots more yellow sheep today."

"drive!!"

The two men simultaneously shook the reins, and their horses shot off like arrows, searching for prey on the grassland.

While they were hunting for prey, Liu Lie, who remained in Luoyang to govern, was becoming increasingly adept at his duties.

Taking advantage of the fact that many of his officials were getting old, he promoted Guo Chongtao and others one after another. Currently, the four of them are serving in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Rites, respectively.

In addition, the imperial examinations in Jiangnan are also in full swing.

Compared to the Central Plains and Hebei, which suffered more from war, the Jiangnan region had a larger number of powerful families and their interests were more intertwined.

Because Jiangnan submitted to the central government relatively late, the current imperial court still holds the dominant position in Longyou, followed by Guanxi, then Guandong, with Jiangnan at the bottom.

With the various factions in Longyou, Guanxi, and Guandong all dealt with by the imperial court, the voices of the powerful families in Jiangnan in the imperial court were simply insufficient to protect their interests.

Faced with the court's deliberate entanglement, all the powerful families in Jiangnan could do was rebel, but their rebellion was nothing to the Han Dynasty.

The various factions in the Longyou region of the imperial court even hoped that the court could continue to expand its operations in Jiangnan. After all, after four rounds of imperial inspections, they all understood that what their emperor wanted was a sufficient number of criminals. If the court obtained enough criminals in Jiangnan, their emperor might be able to calm down for a while.

With the various factions stirring things up, the inspection in Jiangnan proceeded very smoothly, and apart from some rebellions, it generally met Liu Lie's expectations.

"In just over four months, more than a thousand officials of rank and tens of thousands of clerks have been investigated. This Jiangnan region is truly a land of gentle pleasures, capable of bewitching people so much."

Mid-June, inside the Dongshang Pavilion in Luoyang.

Looking at the memorial in his hand, Liu Lie couldn't help but mock the officials who had been investigated and punished.

Faced with his mockery, Yan Keqiu, who was currently working in the Ministry of Personnel, bowed and said, "There are certainly many parasites in Jiangnan, but the main problem is that the powerful families and wealthy clans in Jiangnan have too many tricks up their sleeves."

"This time, 154 households were confiscated, involving 87,657 people. A great deal of land, mansions, and money were confiscated, and the count is still being completed."

"In addition, more than 247,000 people have been found to be hiding among the powerful families and clans. They are all currently being held in their residences, awaiting the court's arrangements."

"Currently, we are still in Jiangdong, Liangzhe, and Jingcha, and have not yet entered Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Lingnan and other places."

For the Nanjing-Jiangsu-Nanjing inspection, Liu Lie chose to proceed slowly from north to south, until winter when he would enter the Lingnan-Nanjing inspection.

For this reason, the prosperous and wealthy Jiangdong and Liangzhe regions became the first choice, and the situation there did not disappoint Liu Lie.

Disappointment is one thing, but satisfaction is another.

"How long will it take to complete the investigation in Jiangdong and Liangzhe?"

Liu Lie asked Yan Keqiu, who bowed and said, "It will still take quite some time; it won't be over until August at the earliest."

The population of Jiangnan is over 17 million, with over 8 million of them residing in the eastern part of the province and the two Zhejiang provinces alone. The difficulty of investigating this area is no less than that of investigating two or three provinces.

However, if the problems in Jiangdong and Liangzhe are solved, the problems in Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Lingnan and other places will be much easier to solve.

After hearing this, Liu Lie did a quick mental calculation and realized that the number of people implicated just from the officials and powerful families found to have problems was no less than 200,000.

Two hundred thousand would be enough in other places, but not enough for Jiangdong and Liangzhe.

There are still many people in Jiangdong and Liangzhe who could be implicated, and even if many of them are innocent, their sacrifices are nothing compared to the complete control of Lingnan.

Thinking of this, Liu Lie said, "No rush, investigate slowly and thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Yan Keqiu immediately understood his lord's attitude, while Jing Xiang, Xie Tong, Zhang Ying, Guo Shu, and the others serving in the Dongshang Pavilion had different expressions.

“Yes…” Yan Keqiu bowed and acknowledged the matter, while Liu Lie looked at Zhang Ying and asked:
"What is the population count in each area of ​​Lingnan Circuit? Does the Cabinet have records?"

"Your Highness, yes." Zhang Ying bowed in response, while Xie Tong, who was serving beside him, got up to fetch the document, presented it to Liu Lie with both hands, and began to introduce it.

"By mid-September of last year, the three departments of Lingnan Circuit reported that Lingnan Circuit had 584,627 households and 2,945,752 people."

"Among them, five-tenths are in the east of the mountains, three-tenths in the west of the mountains, and two-tenths in Annam. The total of more than 26 million mu of cultivated land is roughly the same."

Xie Tong began to introduce the matter. Liu Lie scanned the contents of the document and saw that Lingxi had only about a million people, of whom 30% were barbarians, while nearly half of Annam's 600,000 people were barbarians. He then closed the document and turned his gaze to Yan Keqiu.

"Send the register of population and cultivated land in Lingnan Circuit, as well as the register of criminals currently under investigation in the capital, to Longyou for Your Majesty's decision."

Although Liu Jilong had already said that he would exile many people from Nanjing to Lingnan, Liu Lie was still prepared to ask again.

Yan Keqiu nodded in agreement, then bowed and accepted the order: "Your subject accepts the command..."

Seeing that Liu Lie had no further instructions, Yan Keqiu took the documents and left the East Pavilion.

After he left, the East Pavilion fell silent once again.

Although many of the officials implicated in the Nanjing investigation were from Longyou and Guanzhong, they had already become pawns to the various factions that had decided to cut their losses.

No one pleaded for them or spoke out against their injustice; they were swept out of officialdom as if no one cared.

Under these circumstances, fast horses carrying documents galloped from Luoyang towards Longyou Road.

More than a month later, Yan Keqiu's memorial, along with those of Gao Pian and Li Yangchun, arrived in Zhangye.

Because it was the rainy season, Liu Jilong was able to rest in the temporary palace in Zhangye City, where he could quietly read through these memorials.

Although it was called a temporary palace, it was actually just an ordinary courtyard, not much different from the courtyard in Shandan, so Zhang Huaishen sat in the second seat next to Liu Jilong.

"I am preparing to transfer Prince Wang Jian of Yingchuan to Beiting, but not as Grand Protector, but as Governor of Beiting. You will continue to serve as Grand Protector."

Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Huaishen, who nodded in response: "Your subject has no objection."

Seeing that he agreed, Liu Jilong looked at Zhao Ying, who was sitting in the hall, and instructed him: "Wang Jian, the Prince of Yingchuan and Governor of Qianzhong Circuit, shall be appointed as Governor of Beiting, and Zhang Guihou shall replace Governor of Qianzhong."

"Gao Pian, the Prince of Bohai, retired and returned to the capital. Li Yangchun, the Prince of Lintao, was appointed as the General Commander of the Three Departments of Yunnan. Liu Song was appointed as the Governor of Lingnan Circuit, and Ge Congzhou was appointed as the Governor of Yunnan."

"Zhang Guiba and Pang Shigu were appointed as deputy governors of Yunnan, and Yang Shihou, Liu Xun, Wang Yanzhang, and Fang Ying were appointed as military commissioners."

"With Nie Yizhong appointed as Yunnan Provincial Treasurer, Li Shanfu as Yunnan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and Yuan..."

At Liu Jilong's behest, the southwestern circuits either changed their governors-general or their provincial administration commissioners or provincial judges.

In addition, he replaced all the provincial inspectors, provincial governors and military governors of the Jiangnan Circuit, such as Qian Liu and Yang Xingmin, who were transferred to Shannan East Circuit and Shannan West Circuit respectively.

They were replaced by Lu Guimeng, Du Xunhe, and others who had served in the imperial court for many years. Even if they were not as capable as the former, their loyalty was commendable.

After all, the powerful families and clans of Jiangnan had caused quite a stir. If these people were to waver due to a lack of resolve, even though the division of power among the three departments had eliminated any possibility of them establishing their own independent regimes, Liu Jilong still did not want any mistakes to occur.

Therefore, after giving his instructions, he continued, "All the powerful and influential families in Jiangdong and Liangzhe who have committed crimes shall be exiled to Yunnan, and all officials and their relatives shall be exiled to Lingxi."

"The remaining powerful families, officials, and their relatives who committed offenses in various places will all be exiled to Annam and Hainan..."

Yunnan lacked population, but Liu Jilong could not possibly send all the people to Yunnan, since most of Yunnan's arable land had already been allocated to the local Hankou and the convicts who had just been exiled there.

Although there is still a shortage of population, as Gao Pian stated in his memorial, the shortfall is only a few hundred thousand people.

If another 400,000 to 500,000 criminals were forcibly relocated, Yunnan's self-sufficiency would be disrupted, and grain would have to be transported from Jiannan, Shannan, and other routes.

Therefore, it would be more reasonable to distribute the people of the three Jiangnan regions equally to Yunnan, Lingxi, Annam, and Qiongya.

After this, these four places will be predominantly inhabited by Han Chinese, and all I need to do is continue to send people to these places.

Barring any major upheavals, these areas will become the Han family's base. What I need to do next is to divide up the various circuits of Jiangnan after dealing with most of the powerful families and clans there.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Huaishen: "I will be returning to Luoyang soon, and this parting will likely be difficult..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Zhang Huaishen understood Liu Jilong's meaning and nodded, saying, "In that case, I will return to Tingzhou in three days."

After they finished speaking, they remained silent for a long time, listening to the sound of rain hitting the tiles and watching the rainwater fall into the courtyard and flow into the pool under the house through the drain.

After a long while, the autumn rain finally stopped. Zhang Huaishen was the first to get up, followed by Liu Jilong.

"Your Majesty need not see me off. If I recover Suyab and Gungwol, I will certainly return to Luoyang to report on my duties."

"But before I leave, I would like to ask Your Majesty: if we recover the area south of Yibohai, as well as Suyab and Gongyue City, what prefectures should we establish?"

Zhang Huai was worried that he wouldn't be able to hold out until the city of Suyab was recaptured, so he asked Liu Jilong for a glimmer of hope.

Liu Jilong pondered for a moment upon hearing this, and then said, "Let's establish a prefecture south of Yibohai, a Ningzhou in Gongyue City, and a Zhenzhou in Suiye City."

"I await your recapture of the lost territories and the establishment of three prefectures. At that time, I will relocate 100,000 people to settle here, firmly controlling this land and ensuring it never falls into the hands of the Han again..."

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Zhang Huaishen bowed deeply with his hands clasped together, and before Liu Jilong could speak, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.

After he left, Liu Jilong stared at the gate where he had left for a long time before turning to Zhao Ying and saying, "We will set off to return to Luoyang tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to wait for the Prince of Jiaohe to leave first?" Zhao Ying asked in surprise, but Liu Jilong shook his head with a wry smile: "If he leaves first, I'm afraid I'll be sad. It's better to let him watch me leave first."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ying didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and could only smile wryly and bow, "Yes..."

After he finished speaking, Liu Jilong went into the study, and the tranquility of Zhangye City was broken by the news that the two were about to leave.

"Clang... clang... clang..."

At dawn the following day, as the morning bell rang, countless people began to emerge from their neighborhoods and gather on both sides of the main street.

They stood silently, occasionally punctuated by whispers of discussion, each person looking with a complex expression at the neighborhood next to the county government office.

Before long, with the sound of hooves, fully armed elite cavalrymen began to pour out of the ward gate. They slowly advanced towards the east gate, and when the people saw the cavalrymen appear, they all shut their mouths and kept their eyes fixed on the ward gate.

When the imperial carriage emerged from the ward, the people on both sides of the street caused a slight disturbance, but because they were isolated by the Imperial Guards, they were unable to interfere with the departure of the imperial procession.

The crisp, rhythmic hoofbeats of the horses ridden by the Imperial Guards were particularly clear in the quiet morning, striking a chord in everyone's hearts.

Zhang Huaishen, along with the officials of Ganzhou, stood quietly outside the east gate of Zhangye, their gazes calmly fixed on the approaching imperial carriages and imperial guards at the end of the passageway.

Under his watchful gaze, the jade carriage, pulled by six pure-colored horses, finally slowly drove out of the passageway and was exposed outside the East Gate.

When the soldiers driving the carriage saw Zhang Huai waiting, they immediately reined in their horses and stopped the carriage. Zhang Huai also took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed deeply to the carriage, saying, "Your Majesty, please proceed with caution."

"Seven years from now, I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's expectations, recover all the cities, and establish three prefectures!"

Zhang Huaishen's voice broke into the jade carriage, causing Liu Jilong, who was sitting upright, to change his expression.

He didn't respond immediately, but paused for a moment before looking at Zhao Ying inside the car.

Zhao Yingming understood, and immediately opened the window, exposing the scenery outside to Liu Jilong's view.

Through the window, Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen's eyes met in mid-air, their hearts filled with complex emotions and mixed feelings.

After a long silence, Liu Jilong was the first to lose his composure, his voice calm but tinged with worry: "Take good care of yourself. I will wait for you to return to the capital to report on your duties after you have recovered the three prefectures."

Standing there, Zhang Huaishen felt a complex mix of emotions upon hearing this simple concern. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't utter any touching words. He could only nod deeply and say, "Yes."

"Let's go." Seeing his expression, Liu Jilong suppressed his sadness and turned to Zhao Ying to gesture again.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ying nodded to Zhang Huaishen and then closed the car window.

Upon hearing the carriage window close, the driver shook the reins and steered the jade carriage toward Shandan.

Upon seeing Yu Lu's movement, the Imperial Guards adjusted their speed and continued to closely protect Yu Lu as he departed. Zhang Huaishen stood still, watching Yu Lu leave.

"Roll...roll..."

Feeling the distance between himself and Zhangye City gradually receding, Liu Jilong slowly closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

For a moment, only the sound of wheels rolling forward and the sporadic clatter of horses' hooves could be heard inside the carriage.

Hexi, the land that countless Han Chinese had painstakingly recovered, was about to leave him, and after this parting, he would probably never be able to return to Hexi in his lifetime.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but speak, his voice low: "Zhao Ying, I want to hear the 'Great Battle Music'."

"Yes." Zhao Ying, who was prepared, bowed and replied. Then he opened the carriage window again and instructed the Imperial Guard general outside the carriage: "By His Majesty's decree, all generals shall sing the 'Great Battle Music'."

"Your subordinate obeys the order!" Without hesitation, the general bowed and accepted the command. He then turned his horse around, gave instructions, and dispatched several fast riders.

At his command, several fast horses galloped like arrows towards the front and rear of the column.

The fast horses spurred their horses forward, simultaneously announcing: "His Majesty commands! Play the 'Great Battle Music'!"

"His Majesty commands! Play the 'Great Battle Music'!"

The command was like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples that soon filled the ranks with a deep and desolate bugle call.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The bugle call echoed across the plains. Upon hearing the call, the Imperial Guards soldiers, who had already received their orders, straightened their backs, took a deep breath, and gathered all the passion and strength in their chests into their throats.

"First take the twelve prefectures of Shanxi, then send other generals to attack the local officials!"

"Looking back, the Qin Pass is low as a horse's hooves, and gradually the Yellow River can be seen flowing straight north!"

"Heaven's might sweeps across the Yellow River, and the soldiers on their long march sing Han songs..."

"The waters of Moyan Mountain flow backwards, and the horses of the army in the north feast on plenty of hay..."

The rugged and bold singing, with its soaring momentum, echoed across the land outside Zhangye City.

Inside the jade carriage, Liu Jilong, upon hearing the singing, unconsciously began to gently pat his knees in time with the powerful rhythm.

His lips moved slightly, as if he were whispering a song with his soldiers.

His tense and dejected face gradually softened, as if in this familiar melody, he had returned to his youth when he rode horses and charged alongside Zhang Huaishen and countless brothers.

At the Zhangye Gate in the distance, Zhang Huaishen did not leave immediately, but stood there like a statue.

As he was about to leave, the magnificent strains of the "Great Battle Music" appeared in the distance, carried by the wind and clearly reaching his ears.

Faced with this familiar melody, Zhang Huaishen felt a sudden pang of sadness, and the scene of drinking and eating heartily at the Shandan government office, pulling Liu Jilong to be the leader, and singing "Da Zhen Yue" in unison involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The past events are still vivid in my mind, but everything has changed.

"Father, why are you crying?"

Zhang Yanli's voice suddenly rang out, and it wasn't until Zhang Huaishen reacted that he realized he had unknowingly burst into tears.

Zhang Huaishen quickly raised his hand and roughly wiped away the tears on his face to cover up his loss of composure. His voice was slightly hoarse as he replied, "It's alright, the wind and sand were strong and got in my eyes."

Before Zhang Yanli could ask, he looked again at the almost disappeared procession in the distance, and suddenly couldn't help but laugh and curse: "You pigs and dogs! You're not feeling well, so you have to sing this song, making me feel bad too!"

This laugh and curse was the only way he could express his emotions at that moment, and it was also the way he believed Liu Jilong could feel it.

After laughing and scolding, before Zhang Yanli and Zhang Yanwu behind him could speak, he had completely composed himself, turned around in a few breaths, and his face regained its usual determination and composure.

He reached out his large hand and patted his two sons' shoulders heavily, so hard that the boys almost stumbled.

"Prepare well, it's time for us to return to Tingzhou and teach those barbarian bastards west of Tianshan a lesson!"

"Yes……"

(End of this chapter)