Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 99 Hot
"Susu..."

At the end of May, sandstorms from the Western Regions and Mobei began to invade Hexi.

As the westernmost sand state in Hexi, it is naturally the place most severely affected by sandstorms.

In the wind and sand, a group of seven people wearing long robes and conical hats rode their horses slowly forward.

As time went by, other colors began to appear under the dim sky.

One-foot-high crops grew on both sides of the road, and the outline of a building was vaguely visible in front.

As they approached, the word Dunhuang on the city gate began to become clear, and the people on the tower also stuck their heads out to ask, "Who is coming?"

"Zhang Jing, we haven't seen each other for more than two years. Can't you even recognize me?!"

On the horse below, Gao Jinda took off his hat, revealing his face.

"Gao Yaya!!"

The commander of the tower was so excited that he lost his voice. When he came to his senses, he hurriedly urged: "Open the city gate quickly! Gao Yaya and the others are back!!"

Soon, as the city gate opened, Zhang Jing excitedly came to Gao Jinda, bowed, and knelt on one knee: "Zhang Jing, the commander of the Shazhou Dunhuang Brigade, respectfully welcomes Gao Yaya back from Chang'an!"

"Haha, I'll have a drink with you later. Now I have to go find the governor first."

Gao Jinda smiled brightly. After two years, he finally returned to Dunhuang, the place where he grew up.

“Boom…boom…boom…boom…”

The drum tower in Dunhuang city rang, and many people who were hiding from the dust at home looked out curiously, while the officials braved the dust and went to the provincial government.

Soon, hundreds of officials from Dunhuang, both big and small, gathered in the main hall of the provincial government.

In front of the main hall, Zhang Yichao had already bathed and burned incense, and was standing there quietly.

As everyone arrived, the drumbeats finally stopped, and Gao Jinda, who had changed into the official uniform given by Emperor Dazhong Li Chen, also walked into the courtyard with two straightforward and solemn men.

Gao Jinda held the imperial edict issued by Emperor Dazhong Li Chen in both hands, while the two Zhibai behind him each held a tray in his hand.

On the tray were the flag and seal of the Shazhou Jiedushi, as well as the official uniform and seal bestowed upon Zhang Yichao by the Tang Dynasty.

Looking at the governor's flag and seal approaching him step by step, Zhang Yichao was extremely excited.

As Gao Jinda came to the incense table, he slowly opened the imperial edict in his hand and read it aloud.

"My disciple, Zhang Yichao from Shazhou..."

The imperial edict, with more than 200 words, first started with the Menxia Province, then emphasized that Zhang Yichao was a righteous soldier, and then began to explain the causes and consequences of the fall of Hexi.

Now that the explanation of cause and effect has been completed, the commendation begins with the focus on Zhang Yichao leading the righteous brigade to recover Shazhou and report the victory to Chang'an.

"Hereby appoints Zhang Yichao, a righteous soldier from Shazhou, as the governor of Shazhou, and concurrently the governor..."

"The decree is as on the right. Please obey it and implement it. I'm very careful."

"Your servant Zhang Yichao accepts your order and bows down to wish you a long life!"

When Gao Jinda finished reading, Zhang Yichao knelt down and kowtowed, then took the imperial edict with both hands and stood up.

Seeing this, Li En and Suo Zhongyi stepped forward to help Zhang Yichao change his clothes. Gao Jinda handed over official uniforms for the two to change into.

After putting on his robe, Zhang Yichao held the imperial edict above his head, demonstrating his status as a legitimate subject of the Tang Dynasty.

Even though he only got the title of Jiedushi and Surveillance Commissioner of Shazhou and Governor, this represented the result that the Hexi Righteous Brigade was recognized by the Tang Dynasty.

With this recognition, the Hexi Righteous Brigade truly possessed righteousness and status, and no one would dare to call them rebellious barbarians anymore!

For a moment, fragments of the past fifty-one years flashed through Zhang Yichao's mind, and finally stopped on the imperial edict in his hand.

He placed the imperial edict back on the tray and breathed a sigh of relief.

From today on, they are subjects recognized by the Tang Dynasty.

Before he could open his mouth, a straightforward man suddenly walked in quickly from outside the yamen, holding a tray in his hands.

There is a wooden box and a booklet placed on the tray, which is strange.

Faced with his intrusion, everyone looked at him unfriendly.

But this straightforward man walked straight up to Zhang Yichao, bowed and presented the document, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Ganzhou urgent report, Shandan Zuo Guoyi Duwei Liu Jilong led his cavalry to invade Liangzhou, defeated the foreign army, killed more than 2,000 foreign bandits, led 600 elite cavalry, killed Jialin Dong Benmang Luo in battle, rescued more than 2,000 civilians, and captured tens of thousands of cattle and sheep!"

"Great victory! Great victory!!"

The sudden good news made everyone's mind go blank, as if it exploded in everyone's heart like a bolt from the blue.

No one expected that today would bring double happiness, and no one expected that a little-known brave captain would take the initiative to attack and win such a great victory.

"A great victory..."

In the crowd, Gao Jinda murmured, recalling the scene when Liu Jilong told him that he wanted to make a second eastern expedition.

He never thought that only a month had passed and the man had conquered the east just as he said and won such a great victory.

“There is hope for advancing eastward.”

Gao Jinda smiled, and Zhang Yichao, who was standing next to him, also reacted, stepped forward, picked up the document, and opened the wooden box.

Inside the wooden box, the head of General Mang Luo, treated with lime, had already started to stink, but for Zhang Yichao, it was a gift no less important than the flag and banner presented by the governor of Shazhou.

From the time when Yizhou was taken over until now, during this nearly half year, the Shazhou government has been debating whether to march west or east.

The Western Expedition faction believed that there were many forces in the Western Regions and it would be easy to defeat them one by one.

In comparison, Liangzhou, with a population of over 100,000 Han and non-Han people, had a population several times that of Hexi, and the number of its weapons and armor was also far greater than that of Hexi.

Faced with such a huge disparity in strength with Liangzhou, the Western Expedition Faction believed that only by recovering the Western Regions could they mobilize enough troops to march east to recover Liangzhou.

But now, Liu Jilian used facts to tell the Western Expedition faction that Liangzhou was not invincible and not impossible to recover.

These ten words, "six hundred elite cavalrymen, killed General Mang Luo", completely ended the discussion of the Western Expedition and the Eastern Expedition.

"Liu Jilong..."

In the crowd, Suo Xun, dressed in official uniform, had a complicated expression. He thought that he had accomplished a great feat by following Zhang Yichao to recapture Yizhou.

But Liu Jilong did not stop, instead gave him a big gift.

Six hundred armored soldiers are already a lot, let alone six hundred elite cavalry.

Even though there were more than ten thousand soldiers in Hexi, there were only more than five thousand armored soldiers.

Although Liang Province has a large population, no matter how many armored soldiers there are, they will not exceed eight thousand, and no matter how many elite cavalry there are, they will not exceed three thousand.

It can be said that Liu Jilian wiped out 20% of Liangzhou’s elite cavalry in one battle.

By combining the strength of Hexi, we may be able to recapture Liangzhou!

"Jiedushi, this battle was a great victory, but Liangzhou is exhausted. I suggest preparing food and fodder for the eastern expedition to Liangzhou next year!"

"Jiedushi, I second the motion!"

"Jiedushi..."

Just as Suo Xun thought, many officials in Dunhuang shared his idea and all of them believed that an expedition should be launched to the east.

Liu Jilian captured more than 600 armored soldiers, which suddenly gave Hexi an additional 600 armored soldiers. As the strength of both sides increased and decreased, there was great potential for the eastward advance.

Even if the entire Liangzhou cannot be recovered, capturing one or two cities can greatly enhance the strength of Hexi.

If Fanhe and Jialin can be recovered, the population of Hexi will exceed 100,000.

The population of each of these two counties exceeds that of Shazhou.

Rather than fighting for the interests of the five states with less than 60,000 people here, it would be better to seize the interests of more than 30,000 people in these two counties and divide them up.

For a time, both the Westward Expedition Faction and the Eastward Expedition Faction turned their eyes to the East.

In response, Zhang Yichao did not easily promise or agree, but said in a deep voice: "The time has not come yet, so let's not discuss the Eastern Expedition anymore!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yichao turned around and walked towards the inner hall, and the officials in the courtyard followed him eagerly, but were finally stopped outside the inner hall by Zhang Huairong and his men.

"Now is the right time, why would the Jiedushi do this!"

"That's right, we must persuade the Jiedushi to march east!"

"Alas...if we give the bandits a chance, they will recover their strength in a year or two!"

"Everyone, we have to persuade the Jiedushi to move eastward!"

"That's right! That's right..."

Faced with Zhang Yichao's unshakable calmness, those officials who had placed their hopes on advancing eastward became anxious.

They kept talking outside the inner hall, but Zhang Yichao went back to the inner hall to take a good look at Liu Jilong's military intelligence documents.

"Liu Jilong is a master at commanding his troops, quick and fierce, and able to predict the enemy's yin and yang. No wonder he was able to achieve such a great victory."

After reading the military intelligence document, Zhang Yichao spoke highly of Liu Jilian.

At this time, Zhang Huairong also walked into the inner hall, and after listening to his comments, he couldn't help but sigh:
"He has been in charge of Shandan for only half a year, but he has already made Shandan's population grow rapidly and its army and horses become stronger."

"Given time, I'm afraid Huai Shen will be able to recapture Liangzhou with the strength of Ganzhou alone."

Hearing this, Zhang Yichao nodded and said, "That's true, but the sooner we move east, the better." "Huh?" Seeing that what Zhang Yichao said was different from what he said just now, Zhang Huairong asked in confusion:

"But just now, uncle, you said that it was too early to go east, and the time was not right. Why is it that now..."

He did not continue speaking, but Zhang Yichao smiled and said:

"If I hadn't said that, would they be so united?"

As Zhang Yichao spoke, he motioned Zhang Huairong to look outside.

Listening to the noise outside, Zhang Huairong finally realized, "Uncle wants to make them anxious, and then work together to discuss the Eastern Expedition?"

"Hmm..." Zhang Yichao stroked his short beard, then stood up and placed the document on the bookshelf, saying, "We should move eastward as soon as possible."

"It's been less than half a year since we took over Illinois, and they've already made Sand State a mess."

"If we can take Liangzhou sooner, they might be able to stay quiet for a year or two."

"But it is very difficult to take Liangzhou. With all our strength in Hexi, we can only mobilize 6,000 armored soldiers now."

"During the Eastern Expedition, we must also guard against the rebellion of the Uighurs in the Western Regions and Ganzhou, and we must leave enough armored soldiers behind."

"In this case, how many soldiers can we mobilize to march eastward?"

"If there are only more than 4,000, even if Huai Shen and Liu Jilong work well together, it will probably take several years of hard work."

"Therefore, the time for the Eastern Expedition has indeed not yet arrived, but the Eastern Expedition should be launched as soon as possible."

Zhang Yichao turned around and took out a booklet to read. After reading the contents, he continued:
"We have five states in our hands, but Suzhou and Ganzhou both produce iron."

"Although Liangzhou also produces iron, its output is not as high as ours."

"If Liu Jilong's report is true, then the two cities of Shandan and Jiuquan alone can produce a thousand sets of armor per year."

"Two years later, our army will have more than 8,000 soldiers."

"At that time, we will leave behind more than a thousand soldiers, and send the remaining seven thousand to the east, and then Liangzhou can be recovered."

Zhang Yichao expressed his thoughts, and Zhang Huairong nodded repeatedly after listening.

"Two years isn't a long time. I think those guys out there can hold out. Do we need to spread the news?"

"No need." Zhang Yichao shook his head and said, "Let's leave them alone for half a year, and then we can talk about it after half a year."

"Yes..." Zhang Huairong nodded in agreement, but then he continued:
"Now that Shandan has become a fat piece of meat, I'm afraid this group of people all want to take some positions to accumulate merit so that they can occupy a high position in Liangzhou in the future."

Hearing this, Zhang Yichao remained calm: "What do you think?"

"Nephew..." Zhang Huairong thought for a moment, then said: "Nephew doesn't know either, but nephew knows one thing."

"Shandan's soldiers are so brave, but they can't do without Liu Jilong."

"If the people we send will hinder Liu Jilong, then the Eastern Expedition will be hopeless."

"But my nephew feels that if we continue to let Liu Jilong develop, he may become too powerful to be controlled one day."

"Even with Huai Shen, my nephew still feels..."

Zhang Huairong hesitated. He did not dare to continue speaking, but Zhang Yichao took a deep breath and said:
"Huai Shen told me about him, but Huai Shen is more confident than you. He thinks he can overpower Liu Jilong."

"Well, maybe my nephew is cowardly." Zhang Huairong admitted it.

"Let's take it one step at a time. I hope Liu Jilong can bring me some unexpected surprises."

After saying that, Zhang Yichao closed the book in his hand, and Zhang Huairong also stood up, bowed, and then walked out.

The plan to move eastward was put on hold, but some people with ulterior motives had already begun planning.

As one of the powerful families in Shazhou, the Suo family has been rising step by step since the Shazhou Uprising, not to mention the status of Suo Zhongyi and Suo Xun.

Currently, Suo Zhongyi serves as the deputy governor of Shazhou, while Suo Xun serves as the commander of Shazhou.

After returning from the yamen, the father and son sat side by side with a chessboard on the low table in front of them, but neither of them made a move.

"If I had known that Shandan was so important, I would not have transferred you away. I should have let you serve as the Shandan Zhechou Duwei."

After a long time, Suo Zhongyi slowly spoke, but Suo Xun remained silent.

He knew that his father had high expectations of him, but he knew in his heart that he was not as good as Liu Jilong.

But he didn't dare to say this out loud, because that would only lead to abuse from his own Ye Ye.

"Why are you silent?"

Suo Zhongyi picked up the black piece and put it down, frowning slightly.

Seeing this, Suo Xun took a deep breath and said, "The reason why Shandan has become more important is because Liu Jilong twice went east and joined forces with Shanzhou Shangbibi to migrate to Hankou."

"If I were to do it, I might not be able to do it better than him, and I might not be able to succeed..."

"Ridiculous!" Suo Zhongyi was as angry as Suo Xun expected. He stared straight at Suo Xun:

"You are my child, how can you be inferior to Liu Jilong of that generation of white clothes?"

"When he was a shepherd slave, you had already learned the military books and put them into practice. He, who had never read any military books, only won the great victory because of his bravery!"

"Do you really think so?" Suo Xun smiled bitterly.

For a moment, there was silence between the father and son.

Suo Zhongyi didn't want to continue this topic, so he changed his tone and said, "I will find a way to transfer you to Zhangye."

"Yeah." When he heard that he was about to return to Ganzhou, Suo Xun couldn't help but think of Liu Jilong.

"When do you think the Jiedushi will start to move eastward?"

Suo Xun came back to his senses and asked, but Suo Zhongyi signaled him to make a move and said, "The governor just wants us to stop fighting among ourselves and turn our attention to Liangzhou."

"Although it is easy to advance eastward, even he is not sure whether he can recover Liangzhou."

"Based on the speed at which each city manufactures armor and stores food, it will take at least two years to mobilize 8,000 armored soldiers to march eastward."

"But we need to store food before we advance eastward, and transporting food is undoubtedly a time-consuming and laborious task."

"If the Jiedushi does not signal to transport grain to Shandan in the spring of next year, it will take at least three years."

Hearing this, Suo Xun murmured: "Three years later..."

He placed a move and continued, "Based on my understanding of Liu Jilong, I'm afraid he will continue his eastward expansion."

"If he achieves a great victory during this period, I'm afraid the time will be advanced."

"Hmm," Suo Zhongyi nodded, "It's not impossible, but it's too small."

"The bandits in Liangzhou have suffered such a great defeat. It is unlikely that we will be able to fight them in the field in the short term."

"Without his herds to plunder, what else can he do?"

Suo Zhongyi was not optimistic about Liu Jilian's method of fighting to support war. After all, the reason why the Tibetans in Liangzhou dared to fight in the field was that they only had two or three thousand elite armored cavalry.

Now that Liangzhou's elite armored cavalrymen were led by Liu Jilian with 600 armored men, it was unlikely that they would continue to fight Liu Jilian to the death.

Liu Jilong's two eastern expeditions both took him through the Ganzhou grasslands north of Longshou Mountain and Yanzhi Mountain.

As long as Shang Moling is not stupid and sends light cavalry to patrol the north of Yanzhi Mountain, he can warn Liu Jilong's troops in advance and avoid them.

If this continues three or four times, Liu Jilong will certainly gain nothing and can only stay quietly in Shandan, waiting for Zhang Yichao's order to march east.

It was for this reason that Suo Zhongyi explained the matter to Suo Xun with full confidence.

However, his words seemed a bit rigid to Suo Xun, so he shook his head and said, "I don't think Liu Jilong will stop here."

"Although I don't know what he will do, he probably won't just stay in Shandan obediently."

"Hehe..." Suo Zhongyi chuckled twice after listening to Suo Xun's words.

He didn't say much, because in his opinion, time would prove everything he said.

In comparison, he was more concerned about what price he would have to pay to transfer Suo Xun to Zhangye.

While he was thinking this, Gao Jinda, who had been away from home for two years, also returned home.

Although the Gao family was also powerful, there were only more than 30 members in the family, and only 12 of them were adults.

If Gao Jinda had not made the right bet when Zhang Yichao started the rebellion, a small family like the Gao family would not have been able to gain a good position.

Although he is only a clerk now, he is expected to get a good official position thanks to his trip to Chang'an.

Because of this, when he returned home, he sat on the couch in a daze, and responded to his wife and children's questions about his well-being with simple words.

When Zhang Yichao started the rebellion, he made the right bet. Now that the Gao family has reached its end, he will bet again.

If the move is wrong, the Gao family will gradually decline.

If the bet is right, the Gao family will be promoted.

Thinking of this, Gao Jinda thought of the clean and tidy Shandan City, the lively banquet that night, and the handsome Liu Jilian.

Thinking of this, his eyes gradually became firm, and finally he looked at his wife who was sitting beside him sewing clothes for him.

"Madam, how about we go to Shandan?"

(End of this chapter)