Han officials

Chapter 145 The First Liaodong Talks

The next day, outside Xiangping City.

Wei Zhe and many county officials were seen waiting patiently at the city gate, and Hua Xin and Guan Ning were also among them.

Although celebrities are celebrities, they still have to observe etiquette.

It should be noted that Hua Xin, Guan Ning and Lu Zhi, like others, were once students of the former Grand Commandant Chen Qiu in their early years.

Now that their fellow disciple Lu Zhi has arrived, no matter how aloof and reserved they are, they have to welcome him.

Not long after, a tall, middle-aged scholar in plain Confucian clothes was seen riding a horse towards them from afar.

However, before he reached the crowd, this person took the initiative to dismount and walked towards the crowd with his followers.

When he got closer, he saw that he had a thin face, neat beard, and elegant temperament. He looked like an official!
Although Wei Zhe had heard of Lu Zhi for a long time, this was the first time he met him.

Seeing Lu Zhi's true face at this moment, he suddenly couldn't help feeling a little regretful for some reason.

After all, it's a pity that with such a good physique he didn't become a military general but instead became a great scholar.

With Lu Zhi's foundation, even without practicing martial arts, he would have no problem beating two or three strong men!

In comparison, Lu Zhi's ideas were much simpler.

Perhaps because of Liu Yu's evaluation, Lu Zhi now looked at Wei Zhe more and more favorably.

Before he even got close, he greeted Wei Zhe with a smile, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you all to come and welcome me. I'm sorry."

"Lord Lu, you've been worrying too much!" Wei Zhe returned the greeting and laughed heartily, "The people of Liaodong have long awaited you, and today their wish has finally come true! Lord Lu, have you had a safe journey?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi smiled carefreely: "That's good. Lord Wei, have you forgotten that I am also from Youzhou?"

After some greetings, everyone arrived at the prefectural government.

In fact, Wei Zhe wanted to hold a welcoming banquet for Lu Zhi, but Lu Zhi declined.

So after a brief official meeting, Wei Zhe and Lu Zhi simply went into the study to have a private chat.

This was also what Lu Zhi requested, because he felt that the sooner the Andong Protectorate was established, the sooner peace would come.

……

In the study, there were only two people sitting opposite each other.

At this moment, there was no one around, so Lu Zhi stopped talking nonsense and went straight to the point:

"Since you have requested the establishment of the Andong Protectorate, are there any subsequent regulations?"

Lu Zhi had naturally read Wei Zhe's memorial and knew the responsibilities of the Andong Protectorate.

But what he was asking about now were those ideas that were not convenient to write in memorials.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe didn't hold back and said bluntly, "Goguryeo has been established for two hundred years and is no ordinary barbarian. Although the country has been destroyed, as long as the Goguryeo people have not disappeared, there will inevitably be concerns about rebellion in the future."

At this point, Wei Zhe couldn't help but sigh softly, "If the country's current strength didn't allow it, relocating Han Chinese to Goguryeo would actually be the best strategy. If even half a million Han Chinese were to migrate to Goguryeo, within a generation this place would surely become a Han prefecture."

As Wei Zhe spoke, he took out a map of Liaodong and placed it in front of Lu Zhi.

“Thus, although I destroyed his country, I was not able to destroy his heart.”

"This time, you're asking for the establishment of the Andong Protectorate, hoping to destroy my heart!"

Seeing Wei Zhe's frankness, Lu Zhi nodded slightly.

He had guessed some of what Wei Zhe said, but had never thought of some of it.

It was not until this moment that he completely believed Liu Yu's judgment - this man was indeed a great talent!

After some communication, the two heroes agreed on how to deal with Goguryeo.

Lu Zhi also felt that it was better to take his time in dealing with the Goguryeo issue.

Because the more you rush for quick success and instant benefits, the more likely it will have the opposite effect.

Once this consensus was reached, the tone of the Andong Protectorate was actually set.

That is to focus on appeasement, first calm the hearts of the Goguryeo people, and then divide and conquer them.

However, the two had a disagreement on the issue of the seat of the Andong Protectorate.

Wei Zhe felt that it would be most appropriate to place the seat of the Andong Protectorate in Guonei City.

It just so happened that many of the city's buildings and facilities were complete, which could save Lu Zhi a lot of trouble. However, Lu Zhi disagreed with this and pointed at the Fuyu Kingdom on the map with a deep look in his eyes:

"Although Goguryeo has been extremely powerful since our dynasty, seemingly overpowering Buyeo, this barbarian should not be underestimated! Remember, Goguryeo originated from Buyeo. Now that Goguryeo has been destroyed, if the Buyeo people take advantage of the opportunity to devour the remaining Goguryeo people, there will be endless troubles!"

After all, it was difficult for the Goguryeo people to be sinicized, but it was relatively easy for them to be assimilated by Buyeo.

In this regard, the Fuyu Kingdom has an advantage over the Han Dynasty, and there is a possibility of integration between the two!
If we do not take precautions in advance, the transformed Buyeo Kingdom may become more difficult to deal with than Goguryeo in the future.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but frown.

Seeing this, Lu Zhi said, "That's why the seat of the Andong Protectorate cannot be too far from Buyeo. Liaoshan is just right."

Looking at the place Lu Zhi pointed, Wei Zhe pondered for a moment and finally nodded.

It’s true that Liaoshan’s location is just right.

First, the Xiao Liao River originates from Liao Mountain, and then flows down along the southwest, passing through Xigaima County, Goguryeo County, Houcheng County, Liaoyang County, and Liaodui County before it merges with the Daliao River and flows into the sea at the mouth of the Liao River.

In addition, the Daliang River and the Xiaoliao River outside Xiangping City also meet, making the connection between them even closer.

The most crucial thing is the location of Liaoshan, which is at the border between Goguryeo and Buyeo.

If the seat of the Andong Protectorate was established in Liaoshan, it would not be so easy for the Buyeo Kingdom to invade the Shuruo Kingdom, Xiongchuan Kingdom, and Hexi Kingdom on the border!
You must know that this time Lu Zhi was the "envoy with special powers", ordered to inspect the fourteen states in Liaodong.

In other words, in addition to these small countries in Goguryeo, the Buyeo Kingdom in the west and the Louyi Kingdom further north were also within the scope of Lu Zhi's supervision.

If the Fuyu Kingdom really dared to steal under Lu Zhi's nose, it would give Lu Zhi an excuse.

Since there were no outsiders around at the moment, Lu Zhi was also frank with Wei Zhe.

Lu Zhi said with a serious face: "Now that Goguryeo has been divided, we must not allow Buyeo to continue in this state."

"I intend to find an opportunity to split the Fuyu Kingdom into two, with North and South Fuyu each established. This will ensure stability."

It can be said that Lu Zhi was also learning from the lessons of his predecessors.

After all, Goguryeo developed from "Buyu", which made Lu Zhi dare not support any barbarian tribes to balance Buyeo.

Rather than supporting the emergence of another Dongyi country, it is better to let the Fuyu Kingdom split directly.

Whether it is two parts or three parts, the more broken it is, the better.

Although the Andong Protectorate currently only controls the fourteen states in Liaodong, it may be able to register all the people and directly govern the fourteen states in Liaodong in the future!
If the Andong Protectorate could really be unified to this extent in the future, then the Liaodong Xianbei would probably have to leave.

Of course, this was just Lu Zhi's plan for the Andong Protectorate, and he just wanted to tell Wei Zhe the truth for the time being.

After all, the foundation of the Andong Protectorate was not west of Liaoze, but in Liaodong.

If Lu Zhi could not reach a certain consensus with Liaodong County, he would not be able to accomplish anything even if he had great abilities.

After listening to Lu Zhi's ideas, Wei Zhe was naturally happy to see it come to fruition.

Lu Zhi's plan actually coincides with Wei Zhe's idea, and the two do not conflict.

He even felt a little fortunate that the court sent Lu Zhi, otherwise he would not have found a suitable person to support the Andong Protectorate.

Even letting such a capable official to manage a small Andong Protectorate was a bit of a waste of resources.

At this point, the first meeting between the heads of Liaodong County and Andong Protectorate came to a successful conclusion!

The situation in Northeast Asia for the next few years was thus determined by these two people.

As a gesture of goodwill, Wei Zhe even provided a batch of food and fodder for Lu Zhi to prepare for the establishment of the Andong Protectorate.

With the salt and iron from Yuyang and the grain from Liaodong, Lu Zhi could finally let go and do his best.

But the first thing he had to do was not anything else, but recruit people.

After all, the Andong Protectorate is now just an empty shell, and no one, from the officials to the guards, knows where it is.

So Lu Zhi set up a camp in Liaoshan while receiving the leaders of various countries in Andong who came to pay him a visit; at the same time, he also sent letters to various counties in Youzhou, recruiting brave men to fill the Andong Protectorate.

When this news came out, many Youzhou heroes who had no connections were overjoyed.

Although the Andong Protectorate was still an empty shell, Lu Zhi was well-known throughout Youzhou!

Besides, it’s better to be an empty shell, otherwise how would they have the opportunity to serve the country?
Youzhou, which had just calmed down, suddenly became restless again.

The heroes and knights from all over Youzhou couldn't wait to head towards Liaodong...
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[I feel exhausted today, so I'll only write one chapter. Sorry.]

(End of this chapter)