Chapter 236: Hexi Changes
“Marshal Jie! We know we were wrong!”

“County Magistrate Wang, we really know we were wrong. Please ask Marshal Jie for mercy!”

“We are willing to go to Hexi, just to leave our relatives behind!”

“General Cao! General Cao…”

In early October, when corrupt officials and their families who were arrested in Hezhou and Minzhou were supervised by more than a hundred elite cavalry and exiled to Hexi, Liu Jilian’s “Memorial on Security in Longyou” was published on blackboards in county governments and military camps.

The article begins by pointing out the reasons why the Longyou Guiyi Army has been able to reach where it is today, and the fairness and justice, and explains the reasons for the corruption and disciplinary violations.

Among these, group behavior is an important cause of disciplinary violations within the team.

These people who stick together can only see local interests and not the interests of Longyou. They can always use various excuses to emphasize their own hard work to explain their illegal and disorderly behavior, and always hope to make the overall interests subordinate to their personal interests.

For their own personal gain, they will win over some people and exclude others. They think they are superior to others and are ruthless in exploiting the people.

If this trend is not curbed, they will dare to infringe on the interests of grassroots officials and soldiers for their own benefit in the future.

It is for this reason that Liu Jilong had to crack down on corruption strictly in order to protect the interests of the people, grassroots management and grassroots soldiers.

At the end of the article, Liu Jilong emphasized the internal relationships in Longyou, and emphasized that one must never have retainers, retainers, or retainers.

It is precisely because of this kind of personal dependence that the Censorate would investigate a whole series of people, and pull out all the dirt.

Liu Jilian also gave corresponding punishments to those who formed cliques, engaged in internal strife, and colluded with other officials and generals to commit violations of discipline.

Those with less serious punishments will be exiled to Hexi with their entire family, and those with more serious punishments will be executed…

As the article spread from Linzhou to other states, the superiority of the Longyou Army also became apparent.

Although the illiteracy rate in the army is still very high, at least 40% of each group of soldiers are literate and can read and write “vernacular” articles like Liu Jilong’s.

Not only that, Liu Jilian also ordered the government offices of all states and counties to send them to repeatedly explain the contents of “Longyou Security Memorial” to the soldiers in the army.

Although there are still many people who cannot understand, a small number of people still understand why Liu Jilong has been cracking down on corruption and causing harm to his family during this period.

For the benefit of all soldiers, officials and civilians, these corrupt and disciplinary violators must be severely punished.

Even though some people feel sad because someone they know is involved, overall, they can still understand this approach.

After all, it has only been a few years since all the soldiers and civilians in Longyou were freed from their slavery, and their past experiences are still fresh in their memory. When Liu Jilian compared this group of corrupt people to the Tubo nobles of the past, anyone could recall their own past experiences.

But even so, they can only empathize in the short term.

As time goes on, there will be more temptations and more and more people will become corrupt.

Regarding this, Liu Jilong can only wait until the students of Linzhou University graduate before he can make follow-up processing and arrangements.

At the same time, the exiled corrupt officials and their families were also sent to Shandan, Ganzhou.

The officials responsible for receiving them immediately passed the news to Guzang after completing the reception.

When the news reached Guzang, the situation Zhang Huaishen faced was not good.

“He treats this place as his prison…”

Inside the Guzang government office, Zhang Huaishen looked at the letter from Ganzhou and couldn’t help but sigh.

At the same time, Jiu Juyan, who brought the news, also bowed and said:
“This time, 320 Hankou people were relocated from Longyou and settled in Shandan. The men were sent to the army and their families worked as farmers.”

“We didn’t have that much high-quality saltpeter, so we only shipped over 13,000 kilograms. The rest was paid back with horses.”

“In addition, Li Yizhong of Ganzhou withheld 40% of the tax grain and only transported 60% to Liangzhou.”

“This is the result of your sending Du Wanmeng to Shandan County. If it weren’t for Du Wanmeng’s 1,200 Shandan troops, Li Yizhong would probably have regarded Ganzhou as his own private property.”

Jiu Juyan’s words made Zhang Huaishen frown, and Zhang Huaijian, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, said dissatisfiedly:
“Liu Jilong’s appetite is too big. He wants 200 kilograms of high-quality saltpeter for every person he sends.”

“Our population in Yizhou and Suzhou is not large to begin with. In addition, Suo Zhongyi of Yizhou pretends to obey but secretly disobeys. The pressure of mining saltpeter is basically on Suzhou.”

“Suzhou is a place where there are more barbarians than Han people. If the barbarians riot, we won’t even be able to get saltpeter, and Liu Jilong will probably not migrate people to us!”

“Enough!” Facing Zhang Huaijian’s complaints, Zhang Huaishen frowned and stopped him, then said:

“The successive replacements of the Jiedushi of Shuofang, the Jiedushi of Shannan West Road, and the Jiedushi of Xichuan were probably all means used by the imperial court to deal with him.”

“In this case, there is no problem for him to exchange Hankou for some saltpeter from us.”

“Now, besides him, is there anyone else willing to relocate to Hankou for us?”

Hexi and Longyou can now be said to be banding together for warmth.

Zhang Huaishen didn’t want to offend Liu Jilong, otherwise Hexi would be truly isolated and helpless.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and said, “I plan to move 3,000 Hankou people from Guzang, Jialin, and Fanhe counties to Suzhou to stabilize the situation in Suzhou.”

“I’ll leave this matter to you, Huaijian. You will personally lead 500 elite cavalry to escort the 3,000 Hankou to Suzhou.”

Although he was very reluctant, Zhang Huaijian still stood up and bowed, saying, “Yes!”

Seeing that he agreed, Zhang Huaishen continued to look at Jiu Juyan: “The governor of Shanzhou is Zheng Chu. You have a good relationship with him. You can exchange letters with him and let Zheng Chu speak in front of Liu Jilong.”

“I know it’s not easy for him, but if possible, please move more people to Hankou.”

“As long as he moves in some people, high-quality saltpeter won’t be a problem. We can also trade him with horses, cattle, and spices.”

Zhang Huaishen’s idea was the same as Liu Jilong’s, which was to cooperate with each other and reopen the Silk Road.

Even though the trade volume was not as high as during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty due to the unrest in the Western Regions, it was still enough to feed both sides.

“I will write to my brother and ask him to transfer enough spices from the four states of Guashaysu, Yisu, and you ask Du Wanmeng to keep a close eye on it and don’t let Li Yizhong mess things up.”

Zhang Huaishen looked at Jiu Juyan, who nodded when he heard this:

“As long as we explain that this batch of goods is needed by Longyou, Li Yizhong will be cautious and will not dare to become an enemy of Liu Shijun.”

Jiu Juyan knew Li Yizhong very well, and Li Yizhong was quite afraid of Liu Jilong.

As long as the commercial goods are marked with the flag of Longyou, Li Yizhong will not dare to move.

“Okay, I’ll leave this matter to you.”

Zhang Huaishen nodded and explained everything, then prepared to get up and walk around the city.

But at this moment, Zhang Huaiman hurried into the main hall, his face tense and said:
“Suo Xun is here with his men, and the team also includes the Chang’an Angel who just arrived in Chishui City!”

“…” Hearing this, Zhang Huaishen felt something was wrong and thought about what might happen.

“go!”

He led everyone out with a deep voice. Soon he arrived at the north gate of Guzang with more than a hundred elite cavalrymen and confronted Suo Xun, who was leading more than two hundred elite cavalrymen outside the city gate.

Suo Xun could be said to be in high spirits during this period. Although he did not receive the military pay for 7,500 soldiers from the court, the court still sent him the original military pay for 5,000 Chishui soldiers.

Although the military pay was insufficient, Suo Xun was able to earn money and food through trade.

He brought the former dental merchants from Huizhou to Liangzhou, and now he relied on the sale of goods to pay the extra military wages for 2,500 old soldiers.

Not only that, he also asked Zhang Huaishen for food and fodder, but Zhang Huaishen could only supply him a small amount of food in order to consider the overall situation.

Suo Zhongyi, the governor of Yizhou, transported grain to Liangzhou for Suo Xun several times.

Although Suo Xun could not infiltrate several cities in Liangzhou in a short period of time, the fact that he had facilitated something now brought him one step closer to occupying Liangzhou.

On horseback, Suo Xun saw Zhang Huaishen walking out and immediately looked at the angel beside him. After the two looked at each other, the angel immediately raised the imperial edict.

“Anxi Deputy Protector General Zhang Yichao and Hexi Defense Envoy Zhang Huaishen receive the order!”

The sound of the imperial edict being read out rang out, and no matter how reluctant Zhang Huaishen was, he still had to dismount and bow.

“I heard that Zhang Yichao, the deputy governor of Anxi, the governor of Qixi, and the governor of the four towns, was old and weak, so I summoned him to the court, appointed him as the commander of the Right Divine Army, granted him 3,500 acres of permanent farmland in Chang’an, and the first block of the house in Xuanyangfang, and promoted him to the position of Minister of Education.”

“Also, order Zhang Huaishen, the Hexi Defense Commissioner, to concurrently serve as the Anxi Deputy Protector General to recapture the four towns as soon as possible and make him the rear guard of the four towns.”

“Liangzhou Governor Suo Xun has made great contributions in defending against the invaders, and is now promoted to Hexi Surveillance Commissioner.”

“The decree is as on the right. Please obey it and implement it. I’m very careful.”

The angel read out the contents of the imperial edict in a few words, but Zhang Huaishen stood up with a cold face, showing no intention of accepting the edict.

The angel felt a little embarrassed when he saw this and looked towards Suo Xun.

Suo Xun also shouted at him, “Zhang Huaishen, the emperor’s edict is before you, and you are disrespectful. Are you planning a rebellion?!”

“Shut your stinky mouth!” Jiu Juyan and Zhang Huaiman shouted coldly. Upon hearing that, Suo Xun’s eyes widened and he raised his right arm.

At the end of the road, thousands of armored soldiers slowly approached Guzang, and Jiu Juyan hurriedly took out a wooden whistle and blew it.

“Beep——”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!”

When the ear-piercing wooden whistle sounded, elite cavalry immediately poured out of Guzang City, and rows of armored soldiers stood up on the horse road at the top of the city, with trumpets shaking the sky.

As the two armies faced each other, cold sweat fell from the angel’s forehead, but Suo Xun relied on the imperial court and refused to retreat.

Half an hour later, there were more than a thousand elite cavalry and more than three thousand armored soldiers standing behind Zhang Huaishen.

If the armored soldiers on the horse road were included, the number would be at least over 6,000. Although the elite cavalry behind Suo Xun was less than a thousand, the armored soldiers numbered over 6,000.

The two sides confronted each other in silence, but before either side could take action, a smoke signal was raised in the northwest direction, attracting the attention of countless people.

“There’s smoke rising from the northwest!”

“It must be the Hu Za who took the opportunity to invade!”

“Damn it, Suo Xun, you actually colluded with Hu Za!”

In the north of Guzang City, the Hexi Army kept cursing, but Suo Xun sneered, “Emu and the Uighurs are originally subjects of the court and are under the control of this envoy!”

“Zhang Huaishen disobeyed the imperial order and behaved like a traitor. I wonder if any of you will stand with him. When the imperial court sends troops to punish you, you will all be traitors!”

After the threat, Suo Xun suddenly slowed down and said, “However, if any of you now turn from darkness to light, I will definitely report to the Supreme and exonerate you!”

After Suo Xun finished speaking, many middle and lower-level generals in the Hexi Army looked at each other in bewilderment.

The descendants of the Zhang family were not qualified to command tens of thousands of Hexi troops, so many generals were from powerful commoner families such as the Wu family, Li family, Cao family of Shazhou and the Cui family of Ganzhou.

“Envoy, take action now. The longer you delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for us!”

Jiu Juyan urged him in a low voice. Zhang Huaishen frowned slightly. He was unsure of the consequences of attacking the angel.

But if he doesn’t take action, he will undoubtedly be suppressed by Suo Xun in momentum, and then many families in Hexi will side with Suo Xun.

Apart from anything else, these powerful people are absolutely first-rate in their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

They could cooperate with Tubo in governing the Han people in Hexi under the rule of Tubo, so naturally they would not resist Suo Xun’s rule over Hexi.

“Your Majesty!”

Jiu Juyan urged him anxiously, and seeing this, Zhang Huaishen gritted his teeth and prepared to draw his sword to fight.

“Your servant Zhang Yichao, accepts the order…”

At the critical moment, a voice came from not far away.

Everyone looked over there, and the Hexi Army automatically made way for them.

Zhang Yichao, dressed in casual clothes, was seen riding a white horse. Although he was less than sixty years old, his temples were gray and his face looked tired.

During the past six months, he lived in Guzang, waiting for the court to respond to his request.

Today, he heard the rustling of armor in Guzang City, and he knew that his petition had received a response.

But he didn’t know what the court’s reply was, and why the Hexi Army was constantly cursing and a conflict was about to break out.

He first opened his mouth to respond to the imperial edict, then rode his horse to the angel, dismounted, bowed, and tried to take the imperial edict.

The angel sent by the court was stunned when he saw this, but he finally reacted when Suo Xun beside him pulled him, and read the imperial edict again.

After listening to the contents of the imperial edict, Zhang Yichao took it calmly, and then said to Suo Xun and the angel:

“I will be going to the capital soon, but before that, I need to tell you two something.”

The angel was timid and weak, and was slow to respond.

Seeing this, Suo Xun could only force himself to speak: “May I ask if Situ has anything else to say?”

Suo Xun had witnessed Zhang Yichao’s abilities with his own eyes.

If he had not known that Zhang Yichao could not possibly be an enemy of the imperial court, he would not have dared to lead his army into Liangzhou and confront Zhang Huaishen.

Fortunately, the other party has received an imperial decree and will be transferred to the capital soon.

After he leaves, what can Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian use to compete with me who has the support of the court?

To take Hexi first and then Longyou, this was Suo Xun’s ambition.

While Suo Xun was thinking this, Zhang Yichao also spoke calmly;

“Our army will march west to recover Xizhou soon, so we need to dispatch troops and relocate their families to Yizhou. Lord Laosuo, please wait.”

Suo Xun breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. After hearing the first half, he thought Zhang Yichao was going to send out his own troops, but fortunately he was only dispatching the Liangzhou Army.

If the Liangzhou Army was transferred away, the possibility of him taking control of Liangzhou would be even greater.

Thinking of this, Suo Xun nodded slowly and said, “Don’t worry, Situ, I am here to guard Liangzhou, the Uighurs and Umut will not dare to offend!”

He was confident enough. Zhang Yichao stared at him for a long time, then shook his head, mounted his horse, and turned around to signal Zhang Huaishen to leave.

Zhang Huaishen frowned, but still followed Zhang Yichao, while Jiu Juyan and Zhang Huaiman gritted their teeth and said, “Retreat!”

Soon, the Liangzhou army withdrew back into the city, and Suo Xun also withdrew his troops back to Chishui City.

After the two sides stopped fighting, Jiu Juyan and others were still very angry, but many powerful people in the Liangzhou army became active.

They were all guessing why Zhang Yichao left Hexi, and at the same time speculating on how Zhang Huaishen would govern Hexi after Zhang Yichao left.

Not only are they curious about this question, Jiu Juyan is also curious about it.

“You wait at the door!”

Zhang Yichao walked into the inner hall of the yamen. Zhang Huaishen, with a dark face, gave orders to Jiu Juyan and the other two, and then followed him into the study room in the inner hall.

When he walked into the study, Zhang Yichao was already sitting in the main seat, and Zhang Huaishen clenched his fists and said:
“Uncle, if you hadn’t stopped me, I would have definitely cut off Suo Xun’s head!”

“And then…” Zhang Yichao asked Zhang Huaishen, and before he could open his mouth, he said directly:
“Then Suo Zhongyi led the remaining Suo clan members to establish their own regime in Yizhou, and Li En, Li Yizhong, and Li Wei used the excuse that we killed the angel to establish their own regime?”

“Besides, Suo Xun has more than 7,000 soldiers under his command. Even if you kill him, how many of our troops will be left?”

“By then, the Ganzhou Uighurs and Liangzhou Uygurs will move south, and smoke of war will rise in the west. How long can Huai Man and Jing Yi hold on to Shazhou?”

“You operated carelessly, and Hexi fell apart in an instant.”

Zhang Yichao told the story of what happened after Zhang Huaishen killed Suo Xun, but Zhang Huaishen couldn’t help but retort:

“Suo Xun is bound to take over Liangzhou. We will fight him sooner or later.”

“Instead of delaying, I should take advantage of my youth to clean up Hexi again!”

Zhang Huaishen’s heroic spirit remained undiminished, and he was confident that he could lead more than 10,000 soldiers to sweep across Hexi.

“After the sweep, how will you govern Hexi?”

Zhang Yichao questioned him, but Zhang Huaishen said, “At worst, I can train my own scholars like Liu Jilong!”

“Do you have that much time to train scholars?” Zhang Yichao continued to question, which made Zhang Huaishen not know how to respond.

Hexi is not Longyou. The strongest enemy Liu Jilian had ever encountered in Longyou was just Shang Yanxin of the Three States Alliance.

However, there were the Ganzhou Uighurs with a force of more than 200,000 in the northwest of Hexi, the Liangzhou Uighurs with a force of more than 100,000, and the Anxi Uighurs and Tuhun in the west.

If there is any turmoil in Hexi, they will rush up like wild dogs to share the food of Hexi.

The situation in Hexi meant that Zhang Huaishen had no time and money to train scholars, and could only use the money and food for the military.

“At worst, I can ask Liu Jilong for help!”

Zhang Huaishen gritted his teeth and spoke, which made Zhang Yichao look gloomy.

If Zhang Huaishen has this idea, then keeping him in Hexi is not a good thing.

“Are you willing to go to Chang’an with me…”

Zhang Yichao suddenly spoke, and Zhang Huaishen was stunned: “Didn’t you go to Chang’an to make the court trust me?”

“If I go, is there any need for you to go?”

Zhang Yichao was silent after hearing this, and after a moment he said, “The situation in Hexi has become a dead end. The court is unwilling to relocate people. Even if we win battles one after another, we cannot save the people in Hexi.”

“The only way for Hexi to have a chance of survival is to go to Chang’an and persuade the imperial court, but I am not sure.”

“Your personality is not suitable for governing Hexi. I’m worried that you will…”

“Uncle!” Zhang Huaishen gritted his teeth, his brows firm:
“We have finally liberated the people of Hexi. If I leave, what difference will that make me a deserter?”

“Even if I die, I will not leave Hexi. You don’t have to persuade me!”

Seeing him say this, Zhang Yichao fell silent.

Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Zhang Huaishen immediately turned around and prepared to walk out, but Zhang Yichao stopped him.

“If Liangzhou is in trouble, you can move your troops from Hankou to Guasha Gansu. It will be enough to maintain contact with Longyou Shanzhou.”

Zhang Yichao gave his solution. After listening to it, Zhang Huaishen left the study without looking back.

After he left, Zhang Yichao looked at the map in the study, his eyes wandering between Longyou and Hexi.

He knew that after he left, Zhang Huaishen would not be able to hold on to Liangzhou, and Liangzhou would eventually be occupied by Suo Xun.

But Suo Xun couldn’t become the master of Liangzhou either. In the long run, the master of Liangzhou could only be that person.

“Liu Jilong, we haven’t seen each other for a long time. It’s time for us to meet…”

(End of this chapter)