Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 221 Great achievements shock the Lord
The Duke's Mansion of Tang Dynasty.

Summer rain poured down, and the rainwater flowed down the ridge of the hipped roof above the palace, into the drainage ditch, and then into the river through the canal.

Soldiers in full armor were guarding the outside of the palace, while people kept arriving and departing from inside.

The heavy rain did not dampen their enthusiasm.

Chang'an was unlike Luoyang; the relationships within the city were intricate and intertwined. Even after Erzhu Rong killed two thousand high-ranking officials, he still couldn't sever the complex web of relationships within Luoyang.

This newly built city is a blank slate, just getting started, and ironically, it is also the new hub of the entire Guanzhong Plain.

Any of the more intelligent forces in Guanzhong would have already sent people to wait in the city before Li Shuang even returned.

Now that Li Shuang has returned, they are all waiting outside the mansion.

It took Li Shuang more than half a month, from morning till night, to finally meet all these people.

After meeting the last group of people, Li Shuang stretched out his arms and stood up.

Han Ling walked in from outside the door.

"gentlemen!"

Li Shuang waved to Han Ling and poured him a glass of wine.

The crimson wine was poured into a glass, Han Ling picked it up, took a sip, and praised:

"Not bad!"

“They came from Gaochang.”

Winemaking was already widespread, and there were vineyards outside Chang'an City specifically for winemaking.

The quality of wines from different regions varies; there is a significant difference between wines produced in the Western Regions and those produced in Guanzhong.

Han Ling was also very knowledgeable; after taking a sip, he knew that this wine was quite valuable.

"My lord must have spent a lot of money, right?"

Li Shuang smiled.

"They were given to us by those foreign merchants!"

Han Ling was taken aback, clearly somewhat surprised.

"Sent?"

Han Ling never expected that those sharp-tongued, cunning, and mercenary Western Region merchants would be so generous.

It is important to know that the journey from the Western Regions to Guanzhong was long and arduous, often taking a hundred days. Because waterways were not an option, camels were the primary mode of transportation.

Such land transportation meant that merchants would inevitably carry high-value goods when engaging in trade.

Why is it called the Silk Road? Because silk was valuable, easy to carry, and convenient to trade, making it the most representative commodity on this trade route.

"These foreign merchants presented expensive gifts in order to open a market in Chang'an and facilitate trade."

"Has the lord agreed?"

“It’s not impossible! The Tuyuhun went to great lengths to occupy the Qinghai Road in order to get a share of the profits from the trade route. As long as the trade route is stable, the west will not be in great turmoil.”

Stabilizing a region comes at a cost.

Li Shuang only has 30,000 troops in Guanzhong, which is clearly impossible to manage in all aspects. Making enemies of distant powers is not a wise choice at this time.

Giving these Hu merchants face is to tell the forces in Liangzhou and even the Western Regions that Guanzhong will be a stable Guanzhong.

After listening, Han Ling reminded him:

"Suqin Mingda has already unified the Hu tribes and the refugee forces in Lingzhou. The next step should be to launch external campaigns."

"So fast?"

"It is said that after Xiao Baoyin fled to Lingzhou, he joined the forces of Suqin Mingda. Xiao Baoyin contributed a great deal of effort to Suqin Mingda's ability to quickly unite the local Han Chinese refugees."

Li Shuang laughed.

"Sir, where do you think Suqin Mingda will attack next?" Han Ling analyzed.
"The forces of Xia Prefecture are in Tongwan City. Cao Ni is the governor, and Changsun Zhi is the garrison commander. Suqin Mingda has already suffered a loss once and will not easily head east. The forces of Shuo Prefecture are scattered in Yunzhong, Woye and other places. They are a mix of Han and non-Han peoples. If there are no internal conflicts, they should not rashly head north. Qin Prefecture and Yuan Prefecture are very likely to become their targets for plunder."

Li Shuang nodded.

News about Hanling often arrives much faster than official news from Chang'an.

Just then, Su Chuo walked in, in a hurry.

Li Shuang initially thought there was fighting in Yuanzhou, but then he heard him say:
"My lord, the Imperial Secretariat has just received the appointment letter from Jinyang. General Tianzhu has appointed Houmo Chenyue as the governor of Qin Prefecture!"

Li Shuang did not expect that after Erzhu Rong established his hegemony in Jinyang and took charge of the Northern Wei government, the first prefectural governor-level order was given to Qin Prefecture.

Han Ling and Su Chuo both realized Erzhu Rong's purpose and couldn't help but ask:
"My lord, Erzhu Rong'an has sent such a thorn in our side, what should we do?"

Li Shuang smiled.

"Of course, you'd be more than welcome!"
-
Jinyang.

Tianzhu General's Mansion.

Erzhu Rong was drinking. Houmo Chenyue respectfully poured more wine for him after he finished.

Princess Beixiang brought over the wine, complaining.

"Husband, how can our daughter face the world if you do this?"

Upon becoming the Grand General of Tianzhu, he immediately used his own brothers to establish his authority. This was quite unethical, not only in the eyes of outsiders but also among his own people.

Princess Beixiang was worried about her daughter, who already lacked official status and was in an awkward position. With Erzhu Rong's actions, Erzhu Ying'e was bound to make things difficult for him.

Knowing that Princess Beixiang doted on her daughter, Erzhu Rong did not blame her, but simply said:
"What do you know, you woman? Go serve the dishes!"

Princess Beixiang left, and Erzhu Rong looked at Houmo Chenyue and asked:
"What do you think of appointing you as the governor of Qin Prefecture?"

The appointment letter has already been sent out, so it's clear that Erzhu Rong wasn't asking Houmo Chenyue whether he wanted to go!
"This humble general will certainly keep a close eye on Qin Prefecture for General Tianzhu."

Hou Mochenyue's attitude was very respectful.

"anything else?"

Hou Mochen Yue thought for a moment, then said:

"I will appease the Hu people in Qinzhou and other places, gather the brave and strong among them under my command, and report the movements of the local Han gentry to General Tianzhu every month."

News came from Luoyang that Yuan Ziyou wanted to marry his younger sister to Li Shuang, but Li Shuang refused.

Erzhu Rong didn't care about this matter. In fact, even if Li Shuang had packed up Princess Yuan and the widowed noblewomen from Luoyang and brought them to Chang'an, Erzhu Rong wouldn't have cared.

What really bothered him was that Yuan Ziyou, following Li Yu's advice, wanted to include Li Shuang's branch in the list of ancestral lineages.

In this way, the Li clan members in various parts of Longxi would naturally gravitate towards Chang'an, which is what Erzhu Rong is truly worried about.

Hou Mochen Yue, being Erzhu Rong's confidant, clearly understood Erzhu Rong's thoughts, and thus his answer satisfied Erzhu Rong.

"very good!"

Houmo Chenyue, having made up his mind, then asked Erzhu Rong for advice:

"Then how should we deal with the Duke of Tang?"

Erzhu Rong glanced at Houmo Chenyue, already having made his own plans.

“Be respectful, but do not obey any of his orders. Remember, once you are on Longshan Mountain, you and your men should not come down easily unless you see my secret order.”

"promise!"

Erzhu Rong wouldn't have offered such advice if he weren't a close confidant. Finally, he added a reminder:
“Your subordinate, Li Bi, is exceptionally brave. Take him with you. However, be careful not to let him become too powerful and develop disloyal intentions.”

"promise!"

……

(End of this chapter)