White-robed Minister

Chapter 183 0181 [Yu Longke's Submission]

Tongyuan Military Headquarters.

Xu Lai, Hou Ke, Lian Ding, Zhou Kuo, and Wang Shao, five civil officials, are having a meeting.

The four people in front were all officers of the Tongyuan Army.

Wang Shao was a special case. His official identity was that of Cai Kang, the military commissioner of Qinfeng Road, but he was also ordered by the emperor to work with Xu Lai to expand the frontier.

Judging from the official ranks and stipends, even though the emperor promoted Wang Shao two ranks before he left the capital, he was still eight ranks lower than Xu Lai!

The main reason was that Wang Shao's Jinshi degree was too low, and he resigned from his official post not long after taking office.

"I just received news," Xu said. "The Western Xia have stationed a large army to build the West Market City, more than a hundred miles north of Guwei Village. Unlike the West Market Village in the northwest, the West Market City is much larger, and many Dangxiang and Qiang people have even been relocated there."

They even brought along women and children, ordinary people!

The desolate place of Xishi City (Dingxi) used to be inhabited by Qiang people who had submitted to the Song Dynasty. After being continuously plundered by the Western Xia for many years, the Qiang people there either fled or were captured by the Western Xia, turning the once thriving river valley into a no-man's land.

Xu Lai's act of sending people to build fortified villages provoked the Western Xia to take the same action, and they even relocated the people, including the elderly, women, and children. It was clear that they intended to develop Xishi City long-term, turning it into a border city that could be attacked at any time from Qinzhou and Tongyuan Army.

Hou Ke said, "Wusheng Village (Tongxi Village), Bili Village (Tongwei Village), and Zheda Fort all need to be reinforced for defense. Let's ignore Xixia's Xishi City for now and let these three villages and forts defend it. The most urgent task is to capture Yu Longke and Mu Zheng."

Wang Shao said, "Mu Zheng's stronghold, Kangu Fort, is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is not far from Lanzhou. Before attacking Kangu Fort, we must first capture Xishi City."

"That's for later," Xu said. "The court has agreed to help us build more fortified villages and has sent three thousand archers to be relocated from the two capitals. Training the archers will take time; they won't arrive until next month at the earliest. Two officials have come, though. One is my old superior, Gong Longtu (Gong Dingchen), who is coming to Qin Prefecture to oversee the Tea and Horse Bureau. The other is Gao Zunyu, the uncle of Empress Dowager Gao, who will replace the eunuch as the military commander of Qin-Feng Road."

Hou Ke frowned.

Wang Shao asked, "What's wrong with Gao Zunyu?"

Hou Ke sighed and said, "Gao Zunyu is knowledgeable in military affairs, but he is greedy for credit and power, narrow-minded, and vain. He has to interfere in everything he does, and he also tries to steal the credit of his subordinates and claim it for himself."

Wang Shao was both amused and exasperated: "He's not even as good as that eunuch from before."

Yes, although that eunuch didn't understand military affairs, he always lived in Qinzhou City and never meddled in other people's business. Even after receiving gifts from him multiple times, when Cai Kang and Xu Lai built fortresses without prior approval, this eunuch didn't report them to the court.

What a wonderful person he was! Why was he transferred away by the imperial court?

This was purely a case of the young emperor trying to do good but ending up doing something wrong!

Zhao Xu wanted to provide Xu Lai with the best civil and military resources, and thought that his maternal great-uncle (Gao Zunyu) was very capable, so he transferred him to be the military commander.

The emperor thought he was helping Xu Lai, completely unaware that he was actually making things worse.

The military advisor Lian Ding said, "If we are to send more troops to the three northern fortresses, we may not have enough food. This year, we have built four fortresses, and we need to transport grain and fodder to them all."

Wang Shao asked, "Could we purchase grain from the Qiang people through the trade market?"

Lian Ding shook his head: "The Qiang people who have submitted to us are willing to sell grain, but they don't have much to begin with. Yu Longke does have grain, but he absolutely refuses to sell it, fearing that our army will use it to attack him!"

Wang Shao then asked, "What about Qin Prefecture?"

"The grain for Guwei Village and the four newly built fortresses all came from Qin Prefecture," Lian Ding said. "Qin Prefecture is also running out of grain. Although we have money, grain prices have been rising this year, and it's not easy to buy even with money."

This is because since last winter, troops have been frequently mobilized in various parts of the Northwest, and this year they have been frantically building fortified villages along the border. All these actions consume large amounts of grain, causing grain prices to soar from western Beijing to Shaanxi, and even affecting grain prices in Kaifeng.

"It seems we have no choice but to buy grain from Yu Longke," Xu Lai asked Wang Shao. "Yu Longke is still the same; he's neither willing to submit nor to prepare for war with us?"

Wang Shao nodded: "This man is indecisive and keeps stalling for time. But he has already given in, claiming that he will only agree to submit if Xu Zhijun goes there in person."

"No!"

"This is outrageous!"

"Absolutely not!"

Hou Ke, Lian Ding, and Zhou Kuo all opposed it.

Xu Lai is now in charge of developing the Hehuang region; he built the framework here, and he's also responsible for communication between the imperial court and Qin Prefecture. Even Gong Dingchen's appointment as the head of the Tea and Horse Bureau was an external aid secured by Xu Lai.

If anything happens to Xu Lai, the situation here will quickly deteriorate!

This is why Yu Longke insisted that Xu Lai personally come forward; only in this way could the sincerity of the Song Dynasty be demonstrated. Historically, this was also the case; at that time, Wang Shao was in charge of border expansion, so Yu Longke trusted Wang Shao's involvement.

Xu Lai laughed and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Don't you understand who Yu Longke is? Faced with our relentless pressure, he doesn't even dare to prepare for military resistance. He's afraid that if he makes the slightest move, we'll really attack him. Even if I stayed at his place for a few months, he would only treat me warmly, not kill me."

Hou Ke shook his head: "We still can't take the risk. How about I go instead?"

This old man is truly fearless.

Xu Lai said, "Yu Longke doesn't want to see a specific person, but rather whoever is in charge of opening up the border. I'll have to go there myself."

Zhou Kuo advised, "There's no need to take the risk. The three thousand archers sent by the court will arrive in a month or two, won't they? Once they arrive, gather the local troops and march to the edge of Yu Longke's territory. That will surely frighten him into surrendering immediately."

Xu Lai said, "But we are short of food now, and the arrival of three thousand archers will make it even more difficult. We must persuade Yu Longke to surrender now. Not only can we buy food from him, but we can also obtain some poor Qiang people to serve as tenants for our archers."

After the tenant farmers are employed, they can immediately clear land for summer planting and seize the opportunity to increase their grain yield.

Once Yu Longke submits, we'll have both food and manpower!

Lian Ding was still worried: "If Zhijun makes any mistake, the excellent situation will be completely ruined."

Xu Lai said, "If anything happens to me, I will hand this place over to Wang Jiyi (Wang Shao). I will leave behind a memorial as my last words, which you can send to the court after I die."

Lian Ding and Zhou Kuo were dumbfounded. How did they even come up with their last words?

Hou Ke smiled and nodded, and Wang Shao was full of admiration.

To prevent any accidents, Xu Lai couldn't go in a big way.

Moreover, he couldn't go alone; besides taking Bu Chao with him, he also carefully selected several cavalrymen, such as Zhao Long, who had volunteered to join the army.

This was to prevent the Qiang people of Yu Longke's tribe, who had been bribed by Mu Zheng, from ambushing and killing them on the way if word got out.

One day, Xu Lai, under the pretext of inspecting land reclamation, set off on horseback with eight attendants.

For the past six months, apart from the initial period when there was a shortage of manpower and he had to help manage the market, Bu Chao has spent the rest of his time practicing archery and horsemanship.

Bu Chao is making rapid progress. Although he is not yet as good as the frontier generals, he is already more capable than ordinary cavalrymen.

After all, ordinary cavalrymen don't have time to train every day.

Yu Longke's stronghold was in Yanchuan Village, less than 40 li (approximately 20 kilometers) from Guwei Village. The area was a mountainous valley with several salt wells, where Yu Longke could make a fortune by trading salt.

Further south, Yu Longke also had more salt wells, including the salt well town of Zhang County in the later generations, which was also his territory at this time.

Xu Lai rode his horse at breakneck speed, seeing many herdsmen and farmers along the way. The river valleys were mainly used for farming, the hillsides for grazing, and the mountains further south were mainly used for hunting and farming.

After running for a while, his followers came to intercept them.

Xu Lai did not admit his identity, only saying that he was an envoy sent by the Song Dynasty court to avoid being ambushed by the Qiang people secretly bribed by Mu Zheng.

Upon arriving at Yu Longke's stronghold, where the man personally came out to greet him, Xu Lai said, "I am Xu Lai, the top scholar of the Song Dynasty and the military governor of Tongyuan. Do you wish to see me?"

Yu Longke was both surprised and delighted, not expecting Xu Lai to actually come. He quickly bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Commander Xu."

"Ha ha!"

Xu Lai dismounted, walked to Yu Longke, helped him to his feet, and said, "I've long heard of a Qiang hero named Yu Longke. Seeing him today, I can see he is indeed awe-inspiring and extraordinary."

Yu Longke's feelings were initially mixed, and he harbored some resentment towards Xu Lai. However, Xu Lai's enthusiastic attitude and immediate praise made Yu Longke happy again: "I've also heard that there's a brave and outstanding scholar in the Song Dynasty. Today, I've finally met him."

Yu Longke invited Xu Lai to the village for drinks.

Bu Chao, Zhao Long, and others rushed forward to protect him. Xu Lai, speaking according to the script, waved his hand and rebuked, "Now that we're at the Qing Tang chieftain's stronghold, do I need your protection?"

So Bu Chao, Zhao Long, and the others stepped aside.

The real "Great Leader of Qingtang" was actually Dong Zhan from Xining.

Yu Longke, Mu Zheng, and others were nominally Dong Zhan's subordinates. However, no one paid any attention to this subordinate relationship.

Hearing Xu Lai address him as "Chief of Qing Tang" and not allow his entourage to protect him, Yu Longke burst into laughter, his vanity greatly satisfied.

Xu Lai took Yu Longke's hand and the two entered the village gate side by side.

Yu Longke, beaming with pride, summoned his trusted confidants and introduced Xu Lai to them. He then prepared wine and meat, and ate and drank with Xu Lai.

Half-drunk, Xu Lai walked up to Yu Longke, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, "Does the Great Chief know about the relationship between the Han and Qiang people? I mean, the relationship between our ancestors."

"Ancestors?" Yu Longke didn't understand.

Xu Lai said, "We Han people are descendants of Yan and Huang, that is, descendants of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang."

Yu Longke asked, "Were Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang very powerful?"

Xu Lai said, "Impressive, that was the ancestor of the Han people thousands of years ago. Do you know what Emperor Yan's surname was?"

Yu Longke shook his head.

"Bring me a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone!" Xu Lai shouted.

Bu Chao immediately took out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and poured out water to grind the ink.

Xu Lai said, "Emperor Yan's surname was Jiang."

Xu Lai wrote down the character "姜" (Jiang), then asked, "Do you know how the Qiang people write '羌' (Qiang)?"

Yu Longke shook his head.

Xu Lai then wrote down the character "Qiang".

Yu Longke exclaimed in surprise, "They all look the same!"

Xu Lai said, "The characters for Jiang and Qiang both have the character for sheep on top. One has the character for 'woman' (女) below it, and the other has the character for 'son' (儿) below it. Great Chief, do you understand what this means?"

Yu Longke pondered carefully: "Could it be that they used to herd sheep?"

Xu Lai said, "That's right. The Han and Qiang people share the same ancestry. Is there anyone around the Great Chief who understands Chinese characters?"

Yu Longke beckoned to one of his trusted confidants: "Nuodan, come here."

Xu Lai waved to Bu Chao, who then took out several books from his bundle.

Xu Lai first opened a copy of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas": "Shu Yi Fu begat the Western Mountain, the Western Mountain begat Xian Long, and Xian Long was the first to give birth to the Di and Qiang people. This Shu Yi Fu was a descendant of Emperor Yan. His great-grandson established the earliest Qiang tribe."

The literate Qiang man named Nuodan carefully read the text and nodded slightly to Yu Longke.

Xu Lai then took out a copy of the *Book of the Later Han*, turning to the section on the Western Qiang: "The Western Qiang originated from the Sanmiao, a branch of the Jiang clan. That is to say, the ancestors of the Qiang people shared the same origin as the Han people with the Jiang surname. They were all descendants of shepherds!"

Nordan was shocked and nodded at Yu Longke with wide eyes.

Xu Lai then took out a copy of the *Guoyu* (Discourses of the States): "In the past, Shaodian married a woman from the Youqiao clan, and they gave birth to the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor—therefore, the Yellow Emperor was Ji, and the Yan Emperor was Jiang. We Han people, and you Qiang people, all share the common ancestor Shaodian. These are all ancient books, the earliest being several thousand years old, and the latest over a thousand years old. They weren't made up on the spot."

Yu Longke and the Qiang leaders present looked at each other in disbelief. The Han and Qiang people actually shared the same ancestor.

Xu Lai lamented, "My friends, we share a common ancestor. The Han and Qiang people should have been brothers. But the brothers separated for so many years that their descendants no longer know they are relatives."

Zhao Long read his lines from the script: "Xu Zhijun truly deserves to be called the top scholar; he is indeed learned and talented. These kinds of secrets hidden in ancient books are completely unknown to ordinary scholars."

Xu Lai said, "I came to Guwei Village to expand the frontier on the orders of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. The civil officials in the court all say that the Qiang people are a foreign race and cannot be trusted. But I don't think so, so I consulted the ancient books and discovered that the Han and Qiang are actually brotherly peoples. Great Chief, do you acknowledge me as your brother?"

Yu Longke was taken aback, then exclaimed happily, "Of course we should acknowledge it. If Xu Zhijun hadn't said all this, I wouldn't even know about the relationship between the Qiang and Han people."

Xu Lai took Yu Longke's hand: "Brother Yu Longke, would you like to go home?"

In fact, the moment Xu Lai appeared, Yu Longke had already decided to submit.

Now that he had a way out, his words and actions became much smoother: "There's no need to say anything else. Since we're brothers, we won't distinguish between each other anymore. We're all on the same side. The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is not only the emperor of the Han people, but also the emperor of our Qiang people. Come, let's drink this bowl, and from now on we'll all be brothers."

"drink!"

Xu Lai raised his wine bowl.

All the Han and Qiang people present raised their wine bowls.

The 120,000 Qiang people of Yu Longke's tribe loyally submitted to the Song Dynasty. There was no further rebellion!

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