Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 119: Appreciating the Taiping People

"Their blatant discussions in the main hall are obviously intended to hinder us and make you compromise."

"Uncle, if it were me, we should be tough. It only took Huai Shen and Liu Jilong a year to retake Liangzhou."

In the inner hall, Gao Jinda and Zhang Huairong spoke one after another, while Zhang Yichao, who had just sat down, rubbed his eyebrows and said:
"I expected it, that's why I said that."

"Did you do this on purpose?" Gao Jinda was stunned, and then quickly guessed Zhang Yichao's intention.

To put it bluntly, if Zhang Yichao does not show enough toughness, the group of people outside will definitely ask for exorbitant amounts of money, and they would like to fill the entire Eastern Expedition Army with their own people.

However, if things really turn out to be like this, the Eastern Expedition Army would become a joke. Not to mention recovering Liangzhou, it would be a good thing if they were not defeated one by one by Shang Moling.

Because of this, Zhang Yichao behaved very tough, and everyone who felt his toughness began to think of some compromise solutions.

To put it another way, opening a window will be prohibited, but lifting the roof will be allowed.

Small military achievements are better than no military achievements at all. This is the topic that Li En and his group are discussing right now.

Thinking of this, Gao Jinda could not help but bow to Zhang Yichao and said, "I am far less thoughtful and far-sighted than the governor."

"It's just the truth I've realized as I get older." Zhang Yichao did not feel complacent, but stroked his short beard and glanced at the map on the table.

He was thinking about Ganzhou, but not the previous events, but the situation in Ganzhou after this battle, and the situation in Hexi after the recovery of Liangzhou.

"Liu Jilong is a great general and a talented ruler..."

Zhang Yichao made a deliberate comment, and Gao Jinda and Zhang Huairong actually nodded one after another.

Such a scene made Zhang Yichao frown slightly, but his brows soon relaxed.

No one noticed his micro-expression, as Zhang Huairong and Gao Jinda continued talking along the lines of what he had just said.

"Liu Jilong played a huge role in this battle. Without him, our army would not have been able to inflict heavy damage on the foreign bandits, let alone have the opportunity to recapture Liangzhou!"

Zhang Huairong's tone was a little excited, and the reason why he praised Liu Jilong so much was also due to the fact that Zhang Huaishen did not exaggerate and discredit Liu Jilong in the victory report, but instead praised Liu Jilong's importance to the Eastern Expedition.

Although Zhang Huaishen was always on guard against Liu Jilong, that was due to the environment and the prevailing atmosphere. Liu Jilong came from a poor family and was less susceptible to temptation, so Zhang Huaishen was worried.

From a personal perspective, he naturally admired Liu Jilong very much, so he usually agreed to Liu Jilong's requests.

It is for this reason that he did not cover up Liu Jilong's contributions, but instead wrote extensively about them.

According to Zhang Huaishen's description of Liu Jillong's achievements, Liu Jillong was promoted at least two levels this time, to the fourth-rank Shangfu Zhechou Duwei, and concurrently served as the Governor of Zhongzhou.

"Jinda, you draft the silk book for me!"

Zhang Yichao did not hesitate and directly ordered Gao Jinda to draft the silk book.

Gao Jinda took out a silk book from the study, ground the ink, looked at Zhang Yichao, and prepared to write.

Seeing this, Zhang Yichao simply said: "I heard about the great victory in Liangzhou. I am very disappointed. I will give you a lot of credit for your achievements..."

He made some opening remarks and then began to talk about promotion.

Although Liu Jilong made great contributions in this battle, the commander-in-chief was Zhang Huaishen after all. This is like no matter how good Su Dingfang was at fighting, he was still a general under Li Jing, so the credit must go to Zhang Huaishen.

Zhang Yichao was generous in rewarding Zhang Huaishen. He first promoted him two levels to the position of Central Governor, and then promoted him to the position of Jiedushi of Ganzhou, in charge of the affairs of recovering Liang.

After Zhang Huaishen, Zhang Yichao began to mention Liu Jilong.

As for Liu Jilian, Zhang Yichao rewarded him even more generously, promoting him twice to the rank of fourth-grade Shangfu Zhechou Duwei and making him the remote governor of Lanzhou.

Although Lanzhou was not yet in the hands of Hexi, all the provincial governors within Hexi had been appointed, leaving no extra positions for Liu Jilong.

If he were appointed as the governor of Liangzhou, he would be easily attacked by Li En, Suo Zhongyi and others, so it would be most appropriate to appoint him as the governor of Lanzhou from a distance.

After Liu Jilong, generals who participated in the war in Ganzhou, such as Suo Xun, Jiu Juyan, Ma Cheng, Zhang Chang, and Li Ji, were all rewarded and promoted, and basically they were promoted one level.

However, as a result, more than twenty generals were promoted to the rank of other generals, and there were six generals who were brave and resolute. Li Yizhong and Jiu Juyan were promoted to the rank of Zhechou generals.

Among them, Li Yizhong did not participate in the battle, but Liu Jilian still asked Zhang Huaishen to write his name.

Although Zhang Huaishen didn't want to do this, when he thought about splitting the Li family in Shazhou, he added Li Yizhong's name.

In this way, if Liangzhou was recovered, at least one city would be under the control of Li Yizhong, and this would be enough for Li Wei and Li En to fall out.

Although Zhang Yichao didn't know what the two were planning, he could vaguely guess the reason why Li Yizhong's name appeared.

"This Suo Xun was also promoted to the governor of Huizhou. I think he can shut up the Suo family."

Zhang Huaishen looked at the freshly printed silk book and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But facing his words, Zhang Yichao and Gao Jinda shook their heads and said, "Not necessarily."

After Gao Jinda finished speaking, he shut up. Zhang Yichao continued, "He is just a remote governor. He can't satisfy their appetite at all."

"They will make trouble again, but we don't have to care about them!"

After saying this, he took a deep breath, squinted his eyes and continued: "Gansu and Su are both under our control. If we combine the strength of the two states, we won't be afraid of not being able to recapture Liangzhou!"

"The most urgent task now is to send the silk book to Ganzhou as soon as possible, mobilize the armor from Suzhou and Ganzhou to arm the new soldiers, and seek to advance eastward!"

He finished speaking and then looked at Gao Jinda, who also bowed and said, "Don't worry, Jiedushi, I know what to do!"

"Hmm..." Zhang Yichao withdrew his gaze and looked towards the courtyard outside the inner hall, his tone filled with excitement.

"Recovering Liangzhou...is just around the corner!"

After he finished speaking, Zhang Huairong and Gao Jinda left one after another, and everyone in the main hall also saw the freshly printed silk book.

Li En was surprised, Suo Zhongyi was stunned, and the others looked at them, feeling betrayed.

The two were at a loss for words at this point. After all, among the several major clans present, only their two families and the Zhang family had received benefits and rewards.

Without waiting for the two men to stop them, Gao Jinda and Zhang Huairong handed the silk book to the light cavalry who came to report the news, and asked them to rest for a day before returning to Ganzhou.

After receiving the silk letter, the Qingqi hurriedly bowed and left the yamen. Then the officials who came from powerful families left one after another.

Suo Zhongyi and Li En's faces turned frighteningly dark, but they could do nothing about it because they didn't really want to prevent their own family from being promoted.

However, the promotion price offered by Zhang Yichao is obviously not enough. They need to work hard to let Zhang Yichao know that Hexi cannot do without them.

Not to mention their preparations, as time passed, Zhang Huaishen and others led their troops out of Yanzhi Mountain...

"A great victory in Liangzhou! Our army has recaptured Fanhe and is now back outside the city!"

"A great victory in Liangzhou..."

In Shandan City, as the light cavalry rode into the city and spread the news throughout the city, countless people put down their work and ran towards the east of the city.

Counting from noon, in less than two hours, they all walked out of the city and waited eagerly on both sides of the official road outside the east gate of the city.

Every household walked out of Shandan City, not to celebrate the victory, but to see the soldiers and civilians in their family who had served in the army.

"Mom, why hasn't Aye come yet?"

"It's almost there, don't rush me..."

"Aye, I'm hungry. When will my elder and second brothers arrive?"

"Be good, Sanlang. Wait until big brother and the others arrive. We'll eat mutton tonight."

"Yeah! Eat mutton, eat mutton!"

On both sides of the official road, the children found the wait boring, while the adults comforted them while looking into the distance anxiously.

"I'm coming!!"

"It's really coming!"

I don’t know how long it took, but when flags appeared on the official road in the distance, the cold outside the east gate of Shandan City was instantly boiled over by the enthusiasm of the people.

The surroundings were no longer cold, and everyone was happily chatting with each other, and the long team was getting closer and closer as time went by.

Gradually, the light cavalry of the vanguard appeared, and the people looked up, trying to find familiar faces in the ranks.

"Brother! Brother!!"

"Jiro! Look this way! We are here!"

On both sides of the road, the people who saw their relatives greeted them happily. They followed their relatives' footsteps on both sides of the road, greeting them as they ran.

Others stopped where they were, looking around, hoping to find their children, brothers and husbands like everyone else.

As the army continued to advance, fewer and fewer civilians stopped to move forward.

Gradually, a hint of despair appeared in their eyes.

Even so, they still stayed where they were until the troops of regular soldiers and civilian laborers had completely passed them and the team transporting the martyrs' relics appeared. Only then did they kneel on the ground helplessly.

The five hundred carts of relics contained the ashes and belongings of the fallen soldiers, and they were quietly placed on the official road waiting to be claimed.

Faced with such a scene, some people searched desperately in the convoy, while others sat on the ground powerlessly, their faces pale and the light in their eyes gradually lost.

Gradually, suppressed sobs and whispers were heard from the crowd, and the regular soldiers who stayed behind lowered their heads and read out the names of the fallen soldiers on the military register.

"Captain Jiu Ke Zhuang..."

"Soldier Zheng Huai..."

"Soldier Lin Jingchun..."

"Soldiers..."

As the names of the martyrs were read out one by one, the atmosphere on the scene became heavy and sad.

"Jirang! Where is my Jiro!!"

Suddenly, a staggering figure fell on the official road, staggered to his feet, and walked towards the soldier whose name was called.

At this time, she was just a mother who lost her son.

When the soldier handed her her son's belongings and ashes, she sat on the ground, holding the belongings and urn in her hands, and cried heart-wrenchingly.

Her sadness spread quickly among the crowd like a plague.

The children didn't understand what was happening, but seeing their elders' grief, they also burst into tears. In this heavy atmosphere, everyone bowed their heads.

In the distance, Liu Jilong's face was as cold as a sculpture, his eyes were deep, but no one knew what he was thinking.

Behind him, Zhang Chang and others lowered their heads silently, as if mourning their comrades who died in battle.

In the end, Liu Jilong took the lead in shaking the reins and led them back to Shandan City.

At the city gate, Cui Shu looked forward to seeing them. He bowed to them and then mounted his horse and went into the city with them.

"Where is the Jiedushi?"

"I have arranged for him to rest in the government office."

Liu Jilong asked and Cui Shu answered. In response to these answers, Liu Jilong asked in a deep voice about the situation in Shandan.

In response, Cui Shu skillfully took out a document from his arms and handed it to him.

Liu Jilong took it and read it, and soon understood the changes in Shandan.

This year, Shandan produced more than 38,000 shi of grain, and more than 3,800 shi were handed over to the government.

This batch of grain is not large, but it represents that Shandan is on the right track.

Moreover, from the beginning of the year to now, Shandan has vigorously reclaimed wasteland, and now the area of wasteland reclaimed by Shandan has reached more than 46,000 acres.

Before winter, we should be able to reclaim another 4,000 acres, totaling 50,000 acres.

In this way, Shandan's arable land will exceed 90,000 acres, and will be maintained at around 50,000 acres each year in the future.

Of course, the premise of this standard is that Shandan has always maintained its current clear administration.

But he will eventually leave Hexi, so the future of Shandan is undoubtedly full of uncertainty.

But as long as he is there, the people of Shandan can live in peace.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong found out that this year's hemp production was enough to make more than 26,000 winter clothes.

In response, Liu Jilong instructed Cui Shu beside him: "The soldiers who died in this battle will be given an additional ten rolls of linen, twenty dan of rice, and one hundred mu of land."

"Yes!" Cui Shu, who had long been accustomed to Liu Jilian's generosity against his soldiers, did not question it, but nodded generously.

Seeing him nod, Liu Jilong continued to flip through the documents.

For example, Liu Jilong needed to pay attention to matters such as how much oil needed to be squeezed from the beans harvested outside the city, how much needed to be stored as horse feed, how much horse feed and how many pounds of oil could be made.

In addition, the city would need to calculate how much salt it would need next year, how many kilograms of salt it would need to send to Zhangye, and so on.

As they watched, Liu Jilong and they arrived at the yamen, then dismounted and walked towards the inner hall.

The first moment he returned, Liu Jilong did not celebrate or rest, but dealt with all the matters that needed his attention.

When all matters were settled, the time came to Youshi (17:).

"Zhechong, I've put hot water in the bathroom. Go wash up first. I've already asked the kitchen to cook."

Seeing Liu Jilong put down his pen, Cao Mao ran over immediately, changed Liu Jilong's clothes, and handed him clean clothes.

"The governor and his men are here today, and the army has returned with a report of victory. Remember to prepare more meat."

Liu Jilong took off his military uniform and gave instructions to Cao Mao. When he took over the uniform, he added:

"We seized a batch of armor, many of which were in tatters and needed cowhide ropes."

"You ask Chen Jingchong to select a group of old cows to slaughter, so that the army can also taste what beef tastes like."

"Yes!" Hearing that he could eat beef, Cao Mao quickly agreed and swallowed his saliva with a smile.

Liu Jilong went to the bathhouse in the inner hall and spent quarters of an hour washing himself before changing his clothes.

Half an hour later, he walked out of the inner hall cleanly and came to the bustling main hall.

At this time, the main courtyard was filled with tables, chairs and benches. There were more than twenty tables and chairs of different sizes, enough to accommodate one hundred and fifty or sixty people for meals.

There was no one for Liu Jilong to prank this time, so he naturally didn't have to do it himself.

In less than half an hour, Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng and others, who had washed up, poured into the yamen and each found a seat.

"Zhechong!"

Ma Cheng walked into the main hall with a smile and greeted Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong nodded, then glanced at Li Ji, Zhang Chang and others who were still gloomy.

Although more than half a month has passed, they are still dissatisfied with Jiu Juyan's actions, not to mention that they ran into Chen Jingchong today.

Chen Jingchong was standing aside feeling very embarrassed, but Liu Jilong said, "Don't worry about them. Send someone to the military camp to see if the celebration banquet for the soldiers meets the standards."

"Yes..." Chen Jingchong bowed and left, and at this time the sound of salutes was heard from the side door of the main hall.

After cleaning up, Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun, Li Yizhong and others walked into the courtyard from the side door one after another and responded to the civil and military officials of Shandan.

Seeing them returning the greetings while walking towards the main hall, Liu Jilong also had the main seat in the hall tidied up again.

Zhang Huaishen sat in the main seat, and the table in front of him was a large assembled round table about ten feet in size.

Looking at the round table and chairs, Zhang Huaishen nodded and said, "I've heard from Li Wei that your place has changed a lot, but I didn't expect it to be bigger than the last time I came."

"Come, sit down. Today is a celebration banquet. Let's not talk about anything else. Just eat meat and drink wine!"

"Yes!!"

Zhang Huaishen lifted the ban on alcohol, which made everyone excited.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong decisively ordered Zhang Chang to take people to carry up the few bottles of wine in the yamen.

Soon, more than sixty jars of wine of various sizes appeared in the main hall and the courtyard. Such treatment was definitely not possible in the military camp.

After all, there was still a shortage of food in Hexi, and only a small amount of wine could be brewed using grain. It was impossible to brew wine on a large scale, and naturally it was impossible to provide a large amount of wine.

Except for the generals who could drink a few kilograms of rice wine and yellow wine, it was difficult for the soldiers to taste any alcohol.

Thinking of this, the chefs began to serve the dishes.

The pasta dishes include mutton buns, large steamed cakes, date cakes and other foods, while the meat dishes include chicken, bird, pork, cow, sheep, donkey and other meats.

There are all kinds of meats such as steamed chicken, marinated chicken, beef with yellow vegetables, crispy pig ears, fried pork belly and liver, steamed lamb, braised lamb, etc. However, the only vegetables are some wild vegetables and cabbage.

Such a rich banquet made everyone drool.

Even a man of Zhang Huaishen's status had never eaten such a sumptuous banquet.

Although everyone had already waited a long time to eat, they still had to wait for Zhang Huaishen to pick up their chopsticks before they dared to do so, so they all turned their eyes to Zhang Huaishen.

In response, Zhang Huaishen did not make any fuss. He just stood up and poured a bowl of rice wine into his ceramic bowl. He held it with both hands and spoke to the generals and officials in the yamen:
"Before the celebration banquet begins, we must first pay tribute to our comrades who died in battle!"

After saying that, he poured the precious rice wine onto the ground, but it was limited to the bowl in his hand.

After doing all this, he poured himself another bowl of rice wine and continued, "This bowl is from me, Zhang Huaishen, respecting you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he drank the rice wine in the bowl and waved his hand: "Eat meat with big mouthfuls! Drink wine with big mouthfuls!"

As he spoke, the yamen suddenly became joyful.

The laughter of the generals who returned victoriously echoed in the courtyard like spring thunder. They clinked cups and drank rice wine in big gulps, unwilling to put down their bowls.

Of course, there were also guys like Zhang Chang and Li Ji who didn't drink a sip of wine, but buried their heads in eating, swallowing meat in big mouthfuls.

The grease tried to slide down from the corners of their mouths, but they quickly licked it clean, not wanting to leave even a drop of it.

The way they ate made Liu Jilong, who had no appetite, feel hungry, so he started to eat the meat on the table.

These iron-blooded men showed their heroic qualities at this moment, with satisfied and happy smiles on their faces.

This smile is the cherishment and celebration of a peaceful life after experiencing battlefields and escaping death, and it is also the joy for the beauty of the present moment.

After three rounds of drinking, many people's cheeks turned red and their words became more and more outrageous.

They were not the elegant high-ranking officials and literati in Chang'an City. They did not know anything about flying flowers, shooting covers and tossing pots. They only knew how to show off their few talents.

Someone stood up, put one foot on a stool, picked up chopsticks and lifted up a ceramic bowl, and started to sing while beating them.

"The flag team is like a pile of brocade, and the silver-clad Beiwei fights the Hui people. First, they clean up the Anxi Road, and then they go to the river source to water the horses..."

Seeing someone taking the lead, the others quickly began to dance to the tune, moving between the tables.

Zhang Huaishen was so happy that he clapped his hands and clapped his hands in rhythm with them.

Liu Jilong, Zhang Chang and others also picked up chopsticks and tapped them in front of their chests to the beat of the music.

After all, they are a group of men in their late teens or early twenties.

Although they showed their heroic qualities on the battlefield, when they return to life, who doesn't have some childishness?
Zhang Huaishen stood up and drank a big mouthful of rice wine, then sang "Da Zhen Yue" and pulled Liu Jilong up: "You will be the leader of the team!"

"Come on!" It was not the first time for Liu Jilong to perform the dance, so he naturally acted as the leader of the team, walking in front and singing along with the "Da Zhen Yue".

Zhang Huaishen held the wine jar in one hand and put the other hand on his shoulder, singing along with him.

"Follow me, old horse!"

"Tie your belt, I won't put my arm around your shoulder, I'll grab your belt!"

"Old Chen, follow up!"

"Coming!!"

Seeing this, Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng, Chen Jingchong and others followed suit, holding onto each other's shoulders and grabbing the belts, and began to dance.

Soon, the dancing team in the courtyard was like a greedy snake, shuttling back and forth between the wine tables in the courtyard, and the singing became louder and louder.

"According to the law, I will resign as the head of state and go to fight against the traitors... Let's sing the music of breaking the formation and enjoy the peace together!"

"Sing the music of breaking the formation, and enjoy the peace together!!"

(End of this chapter)