Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 130 There are no treacherous ministers in Hedong

Binzhou.

Yuan Ziyong came back with a distraught look on his face. Yuan Hao was very confused when he saw him.

"Linghe, didn't you say you were going to dissuade Huba Omitu from heading south to plunder? Didn't he listen to you?"

Yuan Ziyong smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter whether he listens or not."

Yuan Hao frowned, but heard Yuan Ziyong continue:
"Your Majesty, please be prepared. The bandit forces in Binzhou and other places are likely to increase significantly!"

Yuan Hao felt very strange after hearing this.

"I have been very effective in suppressing the rebellion here, so why are the bandits in such great chaos?"

Yuan Ziyong told Yuan Hao what he had seen and heard in Tujing, saying:

"This will stabilize Tangzhou, but the Hu people who fear the Tangzhou army will inevitably flee. If they go west and collude with bandits like Hu Chen, Xiao Baoyin and you will probably be the biggest victims."

When Yuan Hao heard this, his face changed drastically.

"I understand!"

"What is your plan, my king?"

Yuan Hao made the most rational judgment and expressed his own conclusion.

"I'm afraid we can't stay here any longer!"

"..."
-
The two largest rebel forces in Guanzhong today are Hu Chen who occupies Lingzhou and Mozhe Niansheng who occupies Longxi.

Of course, they are not powerful rulers who can make decisions on their own, they are just thieves.

They also have large and small hills under their command.

For example, Wanqi Chounu and Su Qinmingda, who occupied Gaoping under Hu Chen.

Since Cui Yanbo died in battle, Xiao Baoyin was no longer as tough as before in dealing with these rebels.

Of course, having lost so many troops, they could no longer be tough.

Xiao Baoyin changed his strategy and replaced suppression with appeasement.

He spent a lot of money to send envoys and spies to Qinzhou, Lingzhou and other places.

On the one hand, he tried to win over the various small rebel leaders, and on the other hand, he contacted the local Han Chinese leaders in an attempt to disintegrate the rebel forces.

But just when he was doing his work very effectively, he heard bad news.

"Yuan Hao wants to leave?"

The army of King Yuan Hao of Beihai was Xiao Baoyin's barrier in the north.

If he left, Xiao Baoyin would have to face the enemy forces in Guanzhong.

Wei Langgen said:

"The news that just came from the north cannot be wrong. I believe that soon, the imperial edict from Luoyang to transfer Yuan Hao will arrive."

"how so?"

"I don't know either, but I think Your Majesty can use this opportunity to win over Yuan Hao's soldiers and generals. Especially Xue Xiuyi. If you can win him over and his 7,000 newly recruited soldiers, you will have more confidence to gain a foothold in Guanzhong."

Xiao Baoyin thought about it and made up his mind.

"Then go ahead and do it. Don't be afraid to spend money!"

"promise!"
-
After listening to Xiao Baoyin's words, Wei Langgen went to Binzhou to find Xue Xiuyi. However, he did not expect that this famous tyrant in the Hedong area was more difficult to deal with than he imagined.

"What do you mean?"

Looking at the box of gold in front of him, Xue Xiuyi's face was serious.

"Nothing else, it's just that the King of Qi respects the general and specially ordered me to come here and give it to the general."

"It's not appropriate to accept rewards without merit!"

Xue Xiuyi refused without even thinking.

"I appreciate the King of Qi's kindness. As for the rest, the court will decide. If the court tells me to obey the King of Qi, I will naturally obey."

After hearing this, Wei Langgen didn't say much.

"In that case, I'll take my leave!"

As soon as Wei Langgen left, Xue Xiuyi quickly found his retainers.

"What did the Duke of Tang say?"

"The Duke said that it's okay for you to go back to Hedong and fight him, but the Lord has so many people under his command. Do you think he should support them?"

These seven thousand people were recruited for the imperial court, and all the money and food were paid by the imperial court.

It was obvious that Xue Xiuyi couldn't take so many people with him. Even if he could, Tangzhou couldn't support so many troops at the moment.

Xue Xiuyi thought for a moment and asked:
"What did the Duke say?"

"He said Chen Shuangchi was going to rebel!"

"Even if he wants to rebel..."

Xue Xiuyi was halfway through his speech when he suddenly understood.

But then, there are still some difficulties.

"But can I decide the appointment of the court?"

"Duke Tang said he could do it!"

Xue Xiuyi thought of Li Daoyuan's story, and at that moment, he had an epiphany.

"I see. How much does he want?"

"Two boxes of gold!"

Xue Xiuyi gritted his teeth and said:
"Send two boxes of gold!"
-
Pingyang.

Looking at the two boxes of gold in front of him, Li Shuang sighed.

Hou Jing, who was standing nearby, asked:
"My lord, do you think the gift is too little?"

Li Shuang shook his head.

"No!"

"Then why does my lord sigh?"

"I just lament the hardship of being a loyal minister like me!"

After listening to this, Hou Jing nodded, and a hint of sadness appeared on his face.

"My lord, you serve the country and the people, but for the sake of the greater good, you have to endure such vile things. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel sorry for you."

"There's nothing we can do about it. We've just won a battle, and those who have made contributions need to be rewarded, those who died in battle need to be compensated, the Hu people in places like Tujing and Lishi need to be appeased, and the provincial troops need to be stationed in various military garrisons. You know, money is needed everywhere."

After hearing this, Hou Jing came over.

"My lord, I have heard that recently some of the Xianbei nobles in Hedong and other places not only do not understand your difficulties, but they have also secretly colluded to report you to Luoyang, saying that you are a traitor!"

"Is there such a thing?"

"It just so happens that they all manage Jiechi for the imperial court. I'm thinking that instead of letting these treacherous officials control Jiechi, exploiting the salt workers and embezzling the imperial court's taxes, it would be better to let the lord manage it and put it on the right track."

After Hou Jing finished speaking, he continued:
"In this way, Great Wei is fortunate, and the whole world is fortunate!"

After listening to this, Li Shuang nodded.

Seeing Li Shuang like this, Hou Jing said:
"Then I'll go tell Liu Lisheng that the lord wants to eat fish!"

Li Shuang stopped Hou Jing.

"Old Liu can't do anything about this."

"What about that?"

"You have to use some cleverness!"
-
Anyi.

"Whatever he wants to do, he can do it!"

A group of Xianbei nobles gathered in the residence of Anyi Shou, shouting in anger.

Chen Shuangchi rebelled, gathering troops and blocking the ferry. Xue Xiuyi, following the imperial order, tried to persuade him to surrender, and when Chen Shuangchi saw Xue Xiuyi coming, he immediately surrendered.

However, the story does not end there.

Most of the people under Chen Shuangchi were from Shu. They found it difficult to settle down in Hedong, and many of them became salt workers.

The price these Shu people paid for their work was naturally cheaper than that of ordinary local people in Hedong.

Therefore, they also become cheap objects of exploitation.

"Da Ye Shuang said he wanted to redress the grievances of the salt workers and investigate the corruption at the Hedong Salt Pond. He said Chen Shuangchi and his men rebelled because they were persecuted by corrupt officials. He also said that if the investigation wasn't thorough, it could spark another uprising."

"Bah, he's even investigating corruption. How can he be so shameless!"

"This is a big deal, what should we do?"

Everyone calmed down. If they used force, they might not be afraid of Li Shuang.

But now that Li Shuang is acting like a magistrate, it is difficult for them to deal with him.

"Send someone to Pingyang to tell Li Shuang that everyone is working for the court, and there are no treacherous officials in Hedong."

(End of this chapter)