Late Han Zhao Tang

September, Jiaozhi Commandery, Longbian County.

"Why did you suddenly return home from Chang'an after your brother went north as a hostage?" Shi Xie asked in surprise.

After being ordered by Zhang Yu to persuade his father Shi Xie to surrender, Shi Xin immediately headed south. He first passed through Wuguan, then took a boat from Wancheng to Xiangyang, then took a large boat from Xiangyang, passed through Yunmengze, changed boats in Changsha, went through Lingqu to Panyu, and finally sailed to Jiaozhi County, which took a month in total.

One month is considered fast; normally, the journey from Chang'an to Jiaozhi would take more than two months. This shows that Shi Xin barely rested during the trip in order to persuade his father, Shi Xie, to surrender as soon as possible.

Shi Xin said, “Father, after the pacification of Jiangdong, the Tang Emperor summoned me to inquire about the people's conditions in Jiaoling and the matter of surrender, and wanted to summon you to the capital. Now Gao Shun's troops are already in Jingnan. If you wish to surrender, you can open the gates and welcome Gao Shun's army.”

Shi Xie leaned back on the armrest, feeling the cool breeze fanned by the maids on either side, and asked, "Now that you have met the Tang Emperor, may I ask what kind of person the Tang Emperor is?"

Shi Xin pondered for a moment and said, "The Tang Emperor has great ambitions and often speaks of restoring the glory of the Han and Zhou dynasties. When I arrived in Chang'an, the Tang Emperor summoned me every day to inquire about the situation in the various prefectures of Jiaoling. Knowing the situation in Jiaoling, he often said that governing the country and bringing prosperity to the nation depends on the prefectural officials. If the prefects can govern the Han and the barbarians well, instead of being corrupt and reckless, how can there be people who rebel? This is true in Liangzhou, and it is also true in Jiaozhou!"

Shi Xie remarked with emotion, "When the Tang emperor was knowledgeable about official matters and the prefectural officials were wise and capable, then the government's policies were implemented smoothly."

"The reason why Jiaoling was so peaceful during the Former Han Dynasty was that the prefects Xi Guang and Ren Yan taught them how to farm and made them wear clothes and shoes; they set up matchmakers so that people could understand betrothal; and they established schools to guide them in the classics. It was only after four hundred years that Jiaoling began to have Chinese customs."

"The reason why Jiaoling was in turmoil during the Later Han Dynasty was that the officials Huang Gai and Zhu Fu acted arbitrarily and did not think about education. This led to unrest, the rise of barbarians, and the spread of mountain bandits. My father relied on the governorship of Jiaozhi and recommended his relatives to be governorships as well. They did not harm the people, and only then did we have the peace between the Chinese and barbarians today," Shi Xie said.

"Jiaozhou is a remote and desolate region, where customs are corrupt and officials prey on the people. If Your Majesty can understand the difficulties in Jiaozhou, it will be a blessing for both the Han and the barbarians of Lingnan!"

Shi Xin said, "Not only that, Your Majesty has said that since all the prefectures and counties under Heaven are the Emperor's land, they should be treated equally. For example, when selecting officials, one should not consider birth, but rather promote based on talent and ability!"

Although Shi Xie was ambitious and longed to control Jiaoling, as a member of a prominent local clan, he genuinely hoped that Jiaozhou would become better. Now that Emperor Zhang Yu of the Central Plains understood the successes and failures of the Han Dynasty in governing Jiaoling, he could rest assured.

In the eyes of the Central Plains dynasties, Jiaozhi had always been a barbarian land, a place for exiling criminals, and was subject to discrimination. The most typical example of this was the name of the prefecture. Before the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhou Chang, the governor of Jiaozhi, had requested the court to change the name of the governor of Jiaozhi to the governor of Jiaozhou, just like the thirteen prefectures in the country. However, because the Eastern Han Dynasty looked down on it, the request was not adopted, and the prefecture remained Jiaozhi.

When Zhu Jun served as governor and campaigned against the barbarians of Jiaoling, he was referred to as the governor of Jiaozhi in imperial edicts and historical records, not the governor of Jiaozhou. It was not until the end of the Han Dynasty, after repeated petitions from Shi Xie, the governor of Jiaozhi, that Jiaozhi was officially renamed Jiaozhou in imperial edicts.

The discriminatory nature of the name of Jiaozhou reveals its low psychological status within the Central Plains dynasties. Furthermore, this discrimination reveals the low political standing of Jiaoling scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty; the vast majority of their virtuous and talented individuals could only serve in their home prefecture, with no opportunity to serve in the Central Plains.

Historically, when Emperor Xian of Han moved the capital to Xuchang, a shortage of officials led to the rise of Li Qin, a Yue native from Jiaozhou. While on duty at the Imperial Secretariat, Li Qin took the opportunity to complain to Emperor Xian about the unequal distribution of imperial favor. At that time, Emperor Xian issued an edict appointing a talented scholar from Jiaozhou as the magistrate of Xiayang and another virtuous and incorruptible official from Jiaozhou as the magistrate of Liuan.

Jiaoling fostered a desire for separatism, leading to the establishment of an independent state that considered itself a mini-Central Plains. Aside from the failed military conquest by the Northern Song Dynasty, this was also due to significant political isolation. Even the Tang Dynasty exiled disgraced officials to Jiaozhi (present-day northern Vietnam) to serve as officials, resulting in severe cultural clashes between the two regions.

However, the Tang Dynasty fared slightly better than the Eastern Han Dynasty. During Emperor Dezong's flight, Jiang Gongfu became the only prime minister from Yue in history. But he was dismissed from his post for offending Emperor Dezong by burying his daughter.

Therefore, whether Zhang Yu could respect Jiaozhou was related to the political future of all the people of Jiaozhou, including Shi Xie's political status after his surrender.

Zhang Yu was not a political novice. In his mind, although Jiaozhou was a barbarian land, the Zhang Tang Dynasty he established needed to do its best to Sinicize Jiaozhou and integrate Jiaoling with the prefectures and counties of the Central Plains in terms of politics, economy, and military affairs, so as to enhance its centripetal force with the Central Plains.

Seeing that Zhang Yu treated everyone equally, Shi Xie smiled and said, "Emperor Tang is indeed a wise ruler!"

Shi Xin countered, "Father, don't you ask about the title bestowed upon you by the Tang Emperor?"

Shi Xie laughed and said, "As you said, the Tang emperor knows the mistakes of the Later Han dynasty's governance and is a kind and benevolent ruler. Moreover, he sent you back to the prefecture to persuade us to surrender. How could he treat you and my son harshly!"

"Father is wise!"

Shi Xin said admiringly, "The Tang Emperor's father, Prince Gong, is terminally ill and resigned from his post as Minister of Works last year. The Tang Emperor wishes to summon my father to court and appoint him as Minister of Works. He said that since the Han Dynasty, all twelve prefectures have produced three dukes, but only the people of Jiaozhou have not yet achieved this. Now, he wishes to use my father as a model for the future and appoint him as one of the three dukes in the capital." Shi Xie's lips curled up even more. Although he had not yet met Zhang Yu, he already felt a sense of goodwill towards him.

Although the Three Dukes were now largely nominal positions, more of a figurehead, the first Three Dukes in Jiaozhou's history still held considerable appeal. In particular, Zhang Yu's attitude made it difficult for Shi Xie, who was aware of Jiaozhou's weak political standing, not to feel favorably towards him.

"Ahem~!"

Shi Xie coughed and asked, "I wonder what title His Majesty bestowed upon the entire prefecture upon it after its surrender?"

Shi Xin quickly noticed the subtle change in Shi Xie's address from "Emperor of Tang" to "Your Majesty," and immediately said, "Father, His Majesty has granted the title of Duke of Jiaoguo. Since the prefects of various counties are of the same clan and need to be granted titles, their fiefs are slightly less, probably around five or six thousand households. The remaining uncles will receive several hundred households depending on their rank."

"I've heard that Liu He and Lü Bu were both commanders of ten thousand households?" Shi Xie asked in return.

"Of course!"

Shi Xin said, “Your Majesty enfeoffed two people with ten thousand households because they had no relatives to share the fief. But our Shi family is different. Our uncles are prefects, so we had to be granted titles. When Your Majesty pacified Ba and Shu, Sun Quan resisted first and then surrendered. Because all our relatives had to be granted titles, we only received eight hundred households.”

"That's it!"

Understanding the differences between granting titles and fiefs, Shi Xie didn't care and said, "My father was able to govern Jiaozhou thanks to the help of my brothers and relatives. Without them, the Shi family would not be as prosperous as it is today, so we should share wealth and honor with them."

"Father is so magnanimous!" Shi Xin complimented.

"If brothers can work together with one heart, our Shi clan will never decline."

Shi Xie said, "If we were to enter the court now, I wonder how His Majesty would treat the three of us brothers?"

Shi Xin said, “Your Majesty said that the Shi family has made meritorious contributions in governing Jiaozhou, but Jiaozhou does not belong to one family alone. If we surrender to the court now, the virtuous among the prefects will be promoted, and the mediocre will be granted titles. The officials of the various prefectures in Jiaozhou should be appointed by the court. This is the fundamental reason for surrendering!”

Shi Xie had three younger brothers: Shi Yi, who served as the Prefect of Hepu and concurrently as the Prefect of Yulin; Shi Yi, who served as the Prefect of Jiuzhen and concurrently as the Prefect of Rinan; and Shi Wu, who served as the Prefect of Cangwu and concurrently as the Prefect of Nanhai. The three brothers governed six prefectures and were all under the command of Shi Xie, who was stationed in Jiaozhi, thus establishing the Shi clan's dominant position in Jiaoling.

Now that the four members of the Shi clan have surrendered, Zhang Yu cannot allow them to remain in Jiaoling. This is Zhang Yu's demand and his bottom line.

"Can!"

After considering for a while, Shi Xie said, "Now that we have surrendered to the Central Plains, it is not appropriate to turn back. Besides, the Tang Emperor treats me with the courtesy due to a father, so how can I not know what is right?"

"And what about the three uncles?" Shi Xin asked in return.

Shi Xie stroked his beard and recited, "My three uncles all obey my orders. I will immediately have them summoned to Longbian to discuss matters of surrender and to see the Emperor in Chang'an before the end of the year."

"promise!"

Shi Xie, being the eldest brother and possessing the most powerful armed forces in Jiaoling, thus held the authority to oversee all the prefectures of Jiaozhou. Upon learning of Shi Xie's summons, Shi Yi, Shi, and Shi Wu rushed to Longbian one after the other.

When the four men gathered, Shi Xie proposed surrendering to the Tang Dynasty. His three younger brothers each had their objections: Shi Wu supported Shi Xie's choice, Shi Yi hoped to negotiate more with Zhang Yu, while Shi's attitude was ambiguous. However, despite their objections, under Shi Xie's insistence, Shi Yi and Shi Yi eventually agreed to surrender. (End of Chapter)