Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 262 I can't help but want to say "Long live Your Majesty!"

Changan.

In the conference hall of the Xingtai Mansion, there was a topographical map of Guanzhong and the surrounding counties.

Li Shuang and his subordinates and generals were discussing the situation in Guanzhong around a map when Hou Jing said:
"Your Majesty, this Yuwen Black Otter is ruthless!"

After Yuwentai went to Dongxia Prefecture, he led only a few dozen cavalrymen into Tujing Town, beheaded the town general who disobeyed his orders, dismissed a number of officers and soldiers, and subdued the Tujing Town troops. Not only that, Liu Lisheng, who had been dominating Fenzhou and Hexi, also clashed with him and suffered a loss.

"Even that old rascal Liu Lisheng is a bit afraid of him and has gone into hiding in the mountains."

Li Shuang listened and laughed:
"If Liu Lisheng insists on fighting the troops of the Six Garrisons in the open field, how can he not suffer losses?"

Seeing that Li Shuang didn't seem to care much, Hou Jing said:
"Your Majesty, Heba Yue, Yuwen Luosheng, and Houmochen Yue are now aggressively gathering the Hu tribes on the grasslands, and their forces have grown to over ten thousand each. If this continues, it will be detrimental to us."

Li Shuang asked:

"After Yuwen Tai took control of Dongxia Prefecture, how did he treat the people traveling between the north and south?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. I've heard that he's strict in enforcing the law, but fair in his dealings, and people both inside and outside the government respect him."

"That's good!"

As long as they don't fall out with the Erzhu clan, no matter how entangled their forces are in the north of Guanzhong, they will never break off relations completely.

"My intention is to establish prefecture and county troops in Hedong, Hongnong, Luozhou, Liangzhou, Hanzhong, Yuanzhou and other places, and set up Zhechong Prefectures. Each prefecture will have a Zhechong Commandant, and two Guoyi Commandants on the left and right. The upper prefecture will have 1,200 men, the middle prefecture will have 1,000 men, and the lower prefecture will have 800 men."

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other.

The combined military strength of these prefectures and counties must have exceeded 50,000, and there must have been at least 50 military outposts set up there.

With over fifty new Zhechong Duwei and over a hundred Guoyi Duwei added to the ranks, the military officers in Chang'an didn't seem to have any major concerns.

However, they did not know the difference between the Zhechongfu soldiers and the state and county soldiers.
"Your Majesty, what is the difference between these Zhechong Fu soldiers and the Fu soldiers in Guanzhong?"

"The soldiers of Zhechong Prefecture farmed the land in peacetime and defended the prefectures and counties in wartime. Every year, they held martial arts competitions, and the best of them were selected to serve in the Twelve Military Prefectures of Guanzhong and the Xiaoqi Prefecture of Chang'an."

Everyone understood that these soldiers in the Zhechong Prefecture were being used as reserves for the Guanzhong Military Prefecture.

The current troop strength in Guanzhong is less than 30,000, which is insufficient to cope with changes in the surrounding situation as a field army.

"In addition, the Zhechong Duwei is appointed by Chang'an, and the Guoyi Duwei must be a military officer from a prefecture or county. Every year, there is a martial arts competition, and the best are selected to enter Chang'an as officers. After the assessment, they are then appointed."

Everyone nodded, knowing that Li Shuang not only wanted to expand his army, but also to win over the local powerful families.

“Each prefecture and county has different land and water conditions, varying levels of wealth, and soldiers of varying strength and bravery. Therefore, we should make supplementary plans according to local conditions, and even upgrade the rank of military prefectures. You should first come up with a plan.”

"promise!"

Li Shuang walked out of the Xingtai Mansion and saw someone waiting outside, Yuan Shouli, who had returned from Xiangyang.

Upon seeing Yuan Shouli, Li Shuang said:
"You're back. You must have had a long journey."

Yuan Shouli had also been through many hardships, but he looked particularly energetic.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I did not believe I would return alive. After staying in Xiangyang for half a month, I was initially imprisoned in the post station by the people there. Later, things changed."

"how?"

"It is said that Crown Prince Xiao Tong of Liang personally intervened to redeem Xiao Gang."

Li Shuang was somewhat surprised when she heard this.

Like his father Xiao Yan, Xiao Tong was a learned man.

As the crown prince, Xiao Tong was qualified. However, due to the incident of the wax goose prayer, a rift developed between Xiao Tong and Xiao Yan.

Although Xiao Tong and Xiao Gang were born of the same mother, they were also competitors for the position of crown prince.

Xiao Gang was captured because he was eager to gain military merit, hoping to use it as leverage to secure the position of crown prince in the future.

The fact that Xiao Tong stepped in to redeem Xiao Gang sounds rather strange.

Yuan Shouli continued, "The envoy from Liang has arrived. Would Your Majesty like to see him?"

Who is this visitor?

"Zhu Yi!"

……

As Xiao Yan's most trusted confidant, and even a favorite minister, Zhu Yi may not be the most capable person by Xiao Yan's side, but he is definitely the one who understands Xiao Yan's thoughts the most.

Li Shuang led Hou Jing to meet Zhu Yi in the main hall of the Qin Prince's mansion. Upon seeing him, Zhu Yi smiled.

"Your Majesty, I apologize."

Zhu Yi paused for a moment, then said:
"When our army first entered Hanzhong, we wanted to stabilize the people's hearts. However, the surrounding Hu and Qiang tribes were arrogant and unruly, and they raised troops on their own. In addition, Hanzhong was remote, and the soldiers on the front line were greedy for merit, which led to their transgression."

A meticulously planned scheme was reduced to a misunderstanding in Zhu Yi's words. Li Shuang, upon hearing this, was not angry, but smiled and said:

“I knew there was a misunderstanding. Those barbarians are really scoundrels. That’s why, seeing how chaotic the situation is in Hanzhong, I was afraid that His Highness Xiao Gang would be harmed by the barbarians, so I specially invited him to Chang’an.”

Upon hearing the name Xiao Gang, Zhu Yi's expression changed slightly, and he tentatively asked:

"I wonder how the Third Prince is doing?"

“Very good. He eats well and sleeps well. Now that you are here, you can escort His Highness Xiao Gang back to Liang at any time.”

Although Li Shuang said that, Zhu Yi certainly wouldn't do it. He lowered his head slightly and said:

"To express his gratitude to the Prince of Qin for protecting His Highness Xiao Gang, the Emperor intends to bestow upon the Prince of Qin 10,000 bolts of brocade, 30,000 bolts of Shu brocade, and 160,000 bolts of various colored silk fabrics. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shuang cupped his hands and said:

“Protecting His Highness Xiao Gang’s safety is a subject’s duty; how could I possibly ask for the Emperor’s reward!”

"..."

"However, if the emperor gives it, wouldn't it be disobeying the emperor's command if the subjects didn't take it?"

Damn it, you're going to give me a twist now, huh?!
Zhu Yi cursed inwardly, but then heard Li Shuang say:

"I wonder when the Emperor's reward will arrive, so I can arrange for Prince Xiao Gang to return to Liang."

"These 200,000 bolts of cloth and silk of various colors have been divided into two batches and dispatched from Chengdu and Xiangyang. They will arrive in Chang'an soon."

Li Shuang nodded, but then heard Zhu Yi say:
"As for His Highness Xiao Gang, there is no rush to return. Once these 200,000 bolts of silk have entered Lianghan and Luozhou, the Prince of Qin can escort His Highness Xiao Gang to Luoyang and hand him over to General Chen Qingzhi."

……

After Zhu Yi left, Hou Jing approached and said:
"Your Majesty, the Liang people are cunning!"

Erzhu Rong is currently heading south, and he will have a major battle with Chen Qingzhi.

At this moment, Liang Jun's greatest worry was that Li Shuang would leave Tongguan and enter the Luoyang area from the west. If that happened, Liang Jun, together with Yuan Hao's army in Luoyang, would likely be unable to withstand a pincer attack from Erzhu Rong and Li Shuang.

"Xiao Tong truly lives up to his reputation as the Crown Prince, having held the position for nearly thirty years. That was a brilliant move!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing asked:
"So we're really not going to Luoyang?"

Li Shuang smiled.

"Tell my second brother about this!"

"Why?"

"Are only the people of Liang worried that I'll take this opportunity to go to Luoyang?"

……

(End of this chapter)