Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 97 Reunion of old friends

"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

On May 16th of the fifth year of Dazhong, the drizzle was as fine as silk, lightly falling on the vast grassland of Ganzhou.

Raindrops seep into the soil, nourishing all things and making the grassland appear a vibrant green.

Looking down from the sky, an official road divides the green grassland into north and south, like a winding jade belt running from east to west.

The drizzle disappeared, and the sun rose...

More than a dozen elite cavalrymen in armor, with handsome figures and neighing horses, came from the east, stepping on the morning light, with smiles on their faces.

As time passed and the sun rose to noon, they did not dare to slack off in the slightest, only silently calculating the distance to their destination in their hearts.

Finally, when the farmlands in the distance, which were different from the grasslands, came into view, the outline of an ancient city gradually became clear in the sunlight.

Looking at the city, the elite riders on horseback felt an inexplicable excitement in their hearts, as if all the long-standing fatigue had turned into strength at this moment.

They held their breath, tightened the reins in their hands, and squeezed their legs against the horse's belly. The horse seemed to sense its master's determination, and its four hooves raised splashes of water all over the sky as it galloped towards the city gate.

The sound of horses' hooves stepping on the wet road made a crisp and rapid sound, which echoed in the empty fields and attracted countless people who were weeding in the fields.

As the city gate got closer, the leading elite cavalry held up the text book in their hands, and the Shandan flags behind them fluttered.

"Urgent news from Shandan, great victory in Liangzhou!!"

"Urgent news from Shandan! Great victory in Liangzhou!!"

The leader's voice resounded throughout the city, and everyone, whether it was the farmers or the soldiers guarding the city gates, heard a loud bang in their heads.

"Great victory in Liangzhou! Great victory in Liangzhou!!"

"Shandan Zuo Guoyi Liu Jilong led his army to the east, and Ben Mang Luo, the general in the east of Jialin City, was beheaded!!"

The elite Shandan cavalry rushed into Zhangye City and proudly told everyone along the street about the great victory they had won in Liangzhou!
"Great victory?!"

All the soldiers and civilians along the street stood up and looked at this elite cavalry, but they did not stop, but rushed to the Ganzhou government office with the news of the great victory.

"A great victory in Liangzhou?"

"Does this mean that we can retake Liangzhou?!"

"Are we going to retake Liangzhou?!"

The soldiers and civilians along the street all showed joy on their faces. Everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed to tell the other soldiers and civilians in the city about the great victory in Liangzhou brought by the elite cavalry.

For a moment, Zhangye City was plunged into a sea of joy, and everyone was happy for the great victory achieved by the Shandan Army.

Zhang Huaishen was sitting in the inner hall of the government office handling government affairs. He was unaware of the noise outside and could not help but frown and look up: "What's going on outside? Why is there so much noise?"

"This..." Several students looked at each other in confusion. Finally, a younger one stood up and prepared to go out to ask.

However, before he walked out of the inner hall, he heard the sound of dense footsteps coming from outside the corridor.

Cao Yiqian, who was on duty outside the hall, came over hurriedly with a look of joy on his face, accompanied by a few straightforward people.

"Governor! Great victory in Liangzhou! Great victory in Liangzhou!"

Before anyone entered the inner hall, Cao Yiqian's voice had already been heard.

"what?"

Zhang Huaishen paused with the brush in his hand, looked up at the straightforward people in confusion.

At this time, Cao Yiqian led several straightforward people into the inner hall, and they all bowed to Zhang Huaishen, their faces full of joy.

"Governor, Shandan Zuo Guoyi Liu Jilong sent troops to report..."

"On the second day of May, the Left Guoyi of Shandan, Liu Jilong, led the Right Guoyi, Li Yizhong, the other general Jiu Juyan, the lieutenant Chen Jingchong, the brigade commander Zheng Chu and others, 1,400 elite cavalrymen, out of Longshou, Shandong, and captured Liangzhou."

"On the ninth day of the fifth month, Liu Guoyi led his army to defeat the Fanhe army, killing more than 800 bandits. At dusk, Liu Guoyi led his army to defeat the Jialin army, killing nearly a thousand bandits and beheading the general Ben Mang Luo from the east of Jialin!"

"In this battle, our army captured more than 660 Ming armored soldiers, 1,300 leather armored soldiers, and killed more than 1,800 bandits."

"Great victory! Great victory!!"

As Cao Yiqian spoke, he couldn't help but excitedly shout the word "great victory".

Zhang Huaishen was also shocked. Even though he recovered quickly, he still felt unbelievable in his heart.

It had been less than three months since Liu Jilong's last Eastern Expedition. Although Gao Jinda had told them half a month ago that Liu Jilong was preparing for a second Eastern Expedition, no one had expected that Liu Jilong would be able to achieve such a great victory.

The number of bandits killed may be deceiving, but Ming armor is not something that can be produced casually, let alone more than 600 sets of Ming armor.

"Where's the elite cavalry that delivered the letter?" Zhang Huaishen looked at Cao Yiqian, who couldn't hide his smile and bowed: "They're waiting outside the corridor!"

"Send him in!"

After Zhang Huaishen finished speaking, he took the initiative to walk out of his seat and tidied his appearance.

A dozen breaths later, footsteps were heard from outside. A cavalryman in armor was holding a wooden box the size of a human head, with a book on the box.

"Guo Shun, the captain of the third squadron of the second brigade of the first regiment of the Shandan Army, is here to report the victory on the orders of Liu Jilong, the left Guoyi commander of Shandan!"

Guo Shun was extremely excited at this moment, and pushed out the wooden box and document in his hands with both hands.

Zhang Huaishen stepped forward and took it with both hands, then placed the wooden box on the table and opened it carefully.

Mang Luo brought the lime-pickled head into view. Zhang Huaishen quickly closed the book and then picked up the document to read it.

Ever since Liu Jilong started literacy programs in the army, the Shandan Army has had detailed military intelligence records when they go on expeditions, down to the specific details of what the army is doing every quarter of an hour.

Because of this, when Zhang Huaishen finished watching Liu Jilong's campaign in the East, he couldn't help but sigh: "This battle... is really a battle of tiger power and wolf chasing!"

Huli refers to the bravery of the Shandan army and the domineering military force of Liu Jilong.

Wolf-chasing means that the Shandan army is like a pack of wolves. Once they set their sights on a target, they will chase it until the target is killed.

Looking at the entire Hexi region, there is really no one who can play like Liu Jilong.

Compared with Liu Jilong's style of fighting that was as powerful as thunder and lightning, with the back-to-back attacks and the ability to defeat the enemy with speed and ease.

Whether it is Zhang Yichao or Zhang Huaishen, they are better at defending the country with righteousness, using surprise tactics to deploy troops, and planning before fighting.

"This battle is a great victory. We must eliminate one of our confidants in Hexi!"

Zhang Huaishen sighed repeatedly, and Cao Yiqian nodded and said, "Based on the intelligence Liu Jilong had obtained before, this battle has already defeated more than 50% of the armored troops of Fanhe and Jialin."

"These 600 captured sets of armor can be made into our army's armor after repair, thus enhancing our army's strength!"

"For this achievement, Liu Jilong can be promoted to Shandan Zhechong Duwei, and the others who participated in this battle should also be promoted one level!"

When Cao Yiqian finished speaking, he happened to meet Li Wei leading more than ten officials from Zhangye walking in.

Li Wei heard Cao Yiqian's words but remained silent, while Zhang Huaishen handed over the military intelligence document in his hand after seeing him.

Although Li Yizhong did not participate in the Eastern Strategy Campaign, Liu Jilian still wrote his name as agreed, but his main contribution was to cover the retreat of the herd.

This may not seem like an impressive achievement, but Li Wei knew about the deal between his son and Liu Jilong, and with this achievement, Li Yizhong could be promoted one level.

Thinking of this, Li Wei couldn't help but bow and said, "I think what Cao Changshi said is absolutely right!"

"Old bastard..."

Looking at Li Wei's hypocritical appearance, Cao Yiqian cursed him in his heart but still smiled on his face.

Zhang Huaishen nodded and said, "If that's the case, then Chief Clerk Cao will send the documents and General Mang Luo's head to Dunhuang, and the Jiedushi will decide on the merits of Liu Jilong and his troops."

"Yes..." Cao Yiqian bowed in response, and then quickly arranged for people to take care of it.

When he returned, Zhang Huaishen had already sat back in his seat and said:
"During this expedition to the east, Shandan consumed a lot of food. In addition, we rescued many civilians and captured many foreigners for mining, so we needed a lot of money and food."

"Li Beijia led 500 elite cavalrymen in the city to escort 50,000 dan of rice and wheat and 15,000 strings of cash to Shandan."

After that, Zhang Huaishen picked up the document and continued:
"This time, Liu Jilong rescued 2,451 civilians, captured 1,841 foreign soldiers, and captured 4,872 horses, 3,462 cattle, and 74,51 sheep, camels, donkeys and other livestock."

"When Li Biejia returns, remember to bring back 500 military horses, 2,000 draft horses, 1,000 cattle, and 20,000 herds from Shandan."

Zhang Huaishen asked for a huge sum of money, and Li Wei felt a little embarrassed, but he still bowed and accepted it.

"Let's all go back."

Seeing that the task had been completed, he sent the rest away and continued to handle government affairs at his position.

Soon, the inner hall returned to the tranquility it had half an hour ago.

But the smile on Zhang Huaishen's face was hard to appease.

Compared to him, Li Wei's work was even more arduous. To transport 50,000 dan of grain to Shandan, at least 10,000 horse-drawn carts and tens of thousands of civilians were needed.

Given the situation in Zhangye, it was obviously impossible to provide so many horses, ox carts and laborers to transport the grain, so it could only be transported in batches.

Three days later, Li Wei assembled 500 elite cavalrymen and 2,000 draft horses and ox carts, and recruited 2,000 civilian laborers, and headed for Shandan City with 15,000 strings of cash and 10,000 dan of grain.

When he led his troops to Shandan, it was already May 22nd.

The team of more than 2,000 carriages was huge. Even with 500 elite cavalry guards, there were still some loopholes in the defense.

Fortunately, the Uighurs had become more obedient after suffering a heavy blow last time, so the team finally arrived in Shandan safely.

"Li Beijia..."

Liu Jilian, Li Yizhong and others rode their horses to meet him two miles outside the city. Li Wei looked a little weak after several days of running around.

"Liu Guoyi is a heroic young man. This great victory has been reported to Dunhuang. I believe that soon, Liu Guoyi's name will be changed to Liu Zhechong."

Since Li Yizhong was transferred to Shandan, Li Wei tried his best to reduce conflicts with Liu Jilong.

However, conflicts between the two sides always exist, so the relationship is not close.

However, this time, Liu Jilian's behavior of praising Li Yizhong in the military intelligence document won Li Wei's gratitude, and Zhang Huaishen also wanted to ease the relationship between the two, so he sent him to Shandan.

Liu Jilong was no longer the reckless boy who only knew how to fight and kill. He naturally saw through Zhang Huaishen's arrangement, so when facing Li Wei's arrival, he still gave him enough face.

"Li Beijia, the government office in the city has already set up a banquet. You can try the eight-browed pig, a specialty of Shandan."

"Eight-browed Pig?" Li Wei raised his eyebrows. He really didn't know when the Eight-browed Pig became a specialty of Shandan.

The Eight-browed Pig is a breed that has been passed down since the pre-Qin period and is mainly raised in captivity in the northwest region.

For the nobles and the powerful, mutton, beef and goose are the expensive meats. Although pork is rich in fat, it has always been a cheap meat due to problems with the breeding environment and taste.

However, when Gao Jinda hosted a banquet in Zhangye last time, he did mention that Shandan’s pork was particularly delicious.

Curiosity piqued Li Wei's interest, "Then I really want to try it."

"Oh right..." Li Wei looked around and then said, "If there are any old cows in Shandan that cannot be tamed, they can be slaughtered. Zhangye is in urgent need of leather."

Li Wei hinted to Liu Jillong that he could kill the cow, and Liu Jillong was stunned after hearing that.

After all, cattle are an important labor force. Although the cattle on the grassland have not been domesticated for farming, after being captured and trained for a few months, most of them can still farm honestly. The disobedient cattle are always a minority.

Because of this, even though Liu Jilong has been in Shandan for more than ten months, the days he can eat beef can be said to be very few.

Seeing Li Wei say this, he immediately thought of some things Gao Jinda had told him.

Gao Jinda once said at a banquet that although the imperial court had issued an express ban on the people from privately killing oxen for work, it did not ban the eating of beef.

Therefore, many oxen were often killed privately by the people on the pretext of falling to death or dying of old age, and were eventually sold in the market.

Unexpectedly, Hexi also issued a clear order prohibiting the killing of working oxen, but the powerful still found ways to kill cattle in order to satisfy their appetite.

In this regard, Liu Jilong could only sigh.

He would not kill young and strong cattle, but some untamed and old cattle could still be killed, after all, enough leather was needed to make armor.

"Don't worry, Li Beijia. A cow fell to its death this morning due to old age. There will be no shortage of beef on the table."

Liu Jilong smiled and motioned Li Wei to go into the city, and Cui Shu whispered a direct order to someone after hearing this.

After hearing this, Zhibai rode his horse towards the barn.

Li Wei took in all of this, and finally said to Liu Jilong with a smile: "No hurry, we still have to hand over the documents first."

As he spoke, he took out a document from a cloth bag on his horse's back and handed it to Liu Jilong.

"The governor has said that the government treasury should transfer 50,000 dan of grain and 15,000 guan of money to Shandan to support the reclamation of Shandan and to reward the army."

"But the governor also told me to transfer 500 military horses, 2,000 draft horses, 1,000 oxen, and 20,000 herds of cattle from Shandan back to Zhangye."

"I have brought 10,000 dan of rice and wheat, as well as 15,000 strings of cash. Please check and stamp the document, Liu Zhechong."

After Li Wei finished speaking, Liu Jilong began to think about Zhang Huaishen in his heart.

It turns out that this guy has been brooding over the 500 military horses, and he also wants to take away 3,000 oxen and draft horses and 20,000 herds of cattle.

"Don't worry, Li Biejia. I will have someone prepare it tomorrow and it will be ready for you to take back to Zhangye the day after tomorrow morning."

"That's good……"

After the two discussed for a few sentences, Liu Jilong asked Cui Shu to take over the money and grain, while he led Li Wei to the yamen.

As soon as everyone entered the government office, Liu Jilong said with a smile: "This Shandan pork has to be cooked by me personally to make it delicious."

"Li Guoyi and Li Biejia, you and your son haven't seen each other for many months, so we won't disturb you. We'll have a banquet in an hour and have a few drinks."

He offered to leave on his own initiative, and seeing this, Cui Shu and others also said they had something to do and wanted to leave.

Everyone scheduled the banquet for an hour later, and Li Wei took Li Yizhong to the county magistrate's office to rest.

The father and son were silent all the way until they arrived at the county magistrate's office. As Li's soldiers occupied all corners of the county office, Li Wei finally sat down and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Has Liu Jilong ever bullied you?"

"No, Liu Jilong is a very generous person."

Li Yizhong took the initiative to explain for Liu Jilong, and continued: "If I am promoted this time, I should be promoted to the position of Zuo Guoyi of the Central Government, but I don't want to be transferred away from here."

"Do you think Liu Jilian can still make achievements?" Li Wei nodded and asked back. Obviously, he thought so too.

"Yes!" Li Yizhong nodded and said, "Liu Jilong is swift and unpredictable in his use of troops."

"Given the current situation in Hexi, as long as Liu Jilong continues his eastward expansion, he will surely be able to lead a large army eastward in two or three years."

"By then, Shandan will be the gateway to the Eastern Expedition, and I can not only rely on Liu Jilong's meritorious service to be promoted here, but also gain a place for our family when we recover Liangzhou in the future."

Although Li Yizhong has been in Shandan for a long time, he still has the character of a wealthy and powerful man, and he is always thinking about expanding his family.

Hearing this, Li Wei had to admit that this was a very good way: "If this is really possible, it would be great."

"There are over hundreds of thousands of Han and Fan people in the five cities of Liangzhou, and hundreds of thousands of herds of livestock."

"If we can gain a foothold in one of these cities, it will be no worse than gaining a foothold in the other five states."

"Given your current situation, if you have merit in the Eastern Expedition, you will be more than qualified to be the commander of a city and an army."

"But after the news of Liu Jilong's victory in conquering Liangzhou in the east reached Dunhuang, I was worried that the guys in Gua and Sha states would also want to take a place there."

"If they want to gain a foothold, they can only attack Shandan..."

A trace of sadness appeared between Li Wei's brows, and Li Yizhong also frowned when he heard that.

"The reason why Shandan is able to unite people is mainly because Liu Jilong can unite people's hearts."

"If I promote Zuo Guoyi, then You Guoyi will basically be promoted by Jiu Juyan under Zhang Huaishen."

"It's impossible for them to plant people in the army, but as for the government..."

Li Yizhong hesitated and said, "You and Liu Jilong both serve as county magistrate and chief clerk. If they use this as an excuse, they can send people to occupy the positions of county magistrate, county governor, county lieutenant, and chief clerk."

"If they occupy these official positions, the power over money and grain will no longer be in Liu Jilong's hands, and Liu Jilong will have to be cautious in doing things."

"In this case, the matter of recovering Liangzhou will probably be postponed."

Li Yizhong and Li Wei began to worry that Liu Jilong would be constrained. After all, if Liu Jilong was constrained, it would mean that Ganzhou's recovery of Liangzhou would be pushed back.

If Liangzhou is not recovered, their idea of using Liangzhou as a springboard to advance their family will be shattered.

Thinking of this, Li Wei said in a deep voice: "The Jiedushi and Zhang Huaishen dream of regaining Liangzhou, and they will definitely not allow others to hinder Liu Jilong."

"But if we don't restrain him, given the abilities he has shown so far, I'm afraid he will become too powerful to be stopped one day."

"If he becomes greedy, Hexi will probably be doomed to civil strife..."

"No!" Li Yizhong interrupted Li Wei's speculation and said firmly: "Liu Jilong is a generous and honest person, he will never do that!"

Hearing him say this, Li Wei put aside his speculation in this regard and began to discuss other matters with Li Yizhong.

However, when the father and son were discussing Liu Jilong's character, Liu Jilong, who was standing in the kitchen, was looking at the pig intestines in the wooden basin in front of him and felt conflicted.

"Is it better to keep it original or to keep it in its original state?"

(End of this chapter)