Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 142: Four Sides Come to Surrender
"Uuuuuu——"

At noon, the horn sounded in Dunhuang.

Outside the east gate of Dunhuang City, hundreds of Dunhuang officials and thousands of armored soldiers were divided into two rows, marching out from the city gate along the stone bridge over the moat.

Zhang Yichao was wearing an official uniform, with four drummers, four horn bearers, and four flag bearers standing behind him, lined up on his left and right, playing music.

Although the scene was grand, no one present was happy.

Shortly after the light cavalry reported the great victory in Liangzhou yesterday, Li Mingzhen and his men sent someone back to Dunhuang to inform them in advance of the court's rewards to Hexi and Zhang Yichao.

[Establish the Guiyi Army, send the banners and official seals of the Jiedushi of the Guiyi Army in Guasha and eleven states’ inspectors…]

There are many titles, but none of them is what the people in Hexi want.

Therefore, even though they put on a very grand ceremony today, no one could smile.

Everyone was just going through the motions, and this motion was just for the people to see, to let them know that the court had not given up on them, and at the same time to deter the spies of various ethnic groups in the city of Dunhuang.

The sound of horse hooves rang out on the official road, and dozens of people including Li Mingzhen and Wang Jingzhi came slowly on horseback. Each of them was wearing official uniform and looked very solemn.

They walked past the teams on both sides of the official road, crossed the stone bridge, and arrived outside the east gate of Dunhuang.

Dozens of people dismounted from their horses, and the drummers, horn bearers and flag bearers behind Zhang Yichao began to play music.

"My subordinate, the Shazhou Governor Zhang Yichao..."

Li Mingzhen unfolded the imperial edict and began to read its contents.

There were hundreds of words, but they were not very interesting. Only the reward at the end made everyone slightly cheer up.

"We now set up the Guiyi Army in Gua and Sha Prefectures, and hereby appoint Sha Prefecture Governor Zhang Yichao as the Jiedushi of the Guiyi Army and the Inspector of Eleven Prefectures."

"The decree is as on the right. Please follow it and implement it. I'm very careful..."

After Li Mingzhen finished reading the last part, Zhang Yichao, who had a blank expression on his face, finally spoke.

"Your servant Zhang Yichao accepts your order and bows down to wish you a long life!"

He bowed before the incense table and then slowly stood up.

Wang Jingzhi and others came forward to change his official uniform as the governor of Guiyi Army. He cooperated very well during the whole process but did not say a word.

After changing into his official uniform, he stepped forward to take the imperial edict, and the people who came to watch also cheered like thunder.

But this sound at this moment is very harsh and uncomfortable.

"Let's go back to the government office first."

Zhang Yichao spoke to Li En and others, and then returned to the Dunhuang government office.

After returning to the yamen, Zhang Yichao did not speak immediately, but let them express their opinions.

Many officials have expressed their views on this.

"The imperial court probably felt that we had not yet recovered Liang Province, so they only granted the Guiyi Army the banner."

"Yes! If the imperial court knew that we have now recovered Liangzhou and are preparing to recover Huizhou and Lanzhou, they would definitely grant the title of Hexi Jiedushi to us!"

"Fortunately, the light cavalry has not been dispatched yet. We can send them out today to tell the court the news!"

"That's right... That's right..."

Everyone was looking for excuses for the court's decision to only reward the governor of the Guiyi Army, and at the same time trying to exonerate the court.

If the guards from Heshuo and Lianghuai saw this scene, they would probably be shocked.

In Heshuo and Lianghuai, if one's request was not granted by the court, anyone who dared to speak for the court would probably not be able to leave the government office. Even the envoys sent by the court would be expelled or beheaded.

However, when the same thing happened in Hexi, the officials in Hexi did not think it was a big deal and they all sympathized with the difficulties faced by the court.

After hearing what they said, Zhang Yichao's cold heart gradually warmed up.

He turned his gaze towards Li En and Zhang Huairong, took a deep breath, and then spoke:

"The court is unaware of our army's situation. I want to send another person to Chang'an to report the victory and continue to present the banner to the governor of Hexi."

"It should be so." Although Li En put more emphasis on personal gain, he also knew that Hexi needed Zhang Yichao and the Hexi Jiedushi Jingjie.

Zhang Yichao is already fifty-three years old. Although he is not considered to be very old, he is over half a century old. It is unknown how long he can live.

If he were alive, the situation in Hexi would remain stable. If he died suddenly, Hexi would fall into internal strife and gradually split.

Li En wanted to be the Beijia of Hexi, not the Beijia of Shazhou.

Only a stable Hexi would allow him to slowly grow the Dunhuang Li family, so he still supported Zhang Yichao on major issues.

As for Zhang Huairong, he naturally had no reason to refuse, after all, he was a member of the Zhang family.

Suo Zhongyi didn't say anything. Perhaps because of Li En's warning yesterday, he appeared very calm.

Seeing this, Zhang Yichao nodded and said, "In that case, let's write a new memorial and send it to Chang'an."

"Yes..." Li En and others bowed and saluted, and Zhang Yichao also stood up and left the yamen with a worried look on his face.

After he left, the officials in the yamen left one after another, and the report praising the merits of yesterday was revised and redrafted, and sent to Chang'an by more than ten light cavalry.

The people of Dunhuang were not aware of all this.

In their view, as long as the court recognized them, it was enough. As for the difference between the Jiedushi of Guiyi Army and the Jiedushi of Hexi, they did not care.

Most people care about themselves. They don't have the time or energy to understand the overall situation, just like Changsong right now...

"General Zhang! I am Chen Jitong under your command!"

"General Ma! I am Zheng Kaiyuan!"

"General Zhang..."

At noon, when Dunhuang was shaken by the imperial edict, the gate of Changsong East Camp was crowded with enthusiastic soldiers who joined the army.

Here are not only the old and new soldiers of the Shandan Army, but also soldiers from the Zhangye Army and the Fanhe Army.

Liu Jilian's reputation had long been known throughout Hexi. All the soldiers in the army knew that there was a Liu Jilian who came from a commoner family. They also knew that he had won victory after victory and climbed from a soldier to a high position.

Not only him, but also Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng, Zheng Chu and others around him became famous because of this.

In addition, during this eastern expedition, the treatment of the Shandan Army was seen by the soldiers of the Zhangye Army and the Fanhe Army. Therefore, when they learned that they could go to the East Camp to join the army, many people rushed over.

What is rare is that Zhang Huaishen did not stop the soldiers of Zhangye Army and Fanhe Army from defecting to Liu Jilian, so they joined the East Camp without any hindrance.

"Dou Jingchong, leader of the Shandan Army's fourth regiment!"

"Wang Sifeng, a soldier from the 7th Regiment of the Zhangye Army!"

"Liu Yingyan, a soldier from the 18th Regiment of the Shandan Army..."

In front of the camp gate, Ma Cheng, Geng Ming, Li Ji, Zhang Chang, Zheng Chu, Hu Siguang and other six people set up six tables to record the original positions, names and hometowns of the soldiers who came to join the army.

Since many people had once been soldiers under them, they all chose their former coaches when lining up.

Amid the lively scene, Liu Jilong, Shang Duoluo and Cao Mao stood in the distance and watched.

Looking at the huge crowd at the camp gate, Cao Mao scratched his head and asked, "Are there so many lonely people in the army?"

Liu Jilong and Shang Duoluo looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

Not only did they not understand this problem, even Ma Cheng, who was in charge of the registrant, did not understand it.

"Zhao Ying, the Sixth Team of the Shandan Army!"

At the desk, a 24- to 25-year-old honest man proudly reported his family's address. Ma Cheng, who was in charge of registration, looked at him in surprise:

"Zhao Ying, I remember you have parents and brothers at home, right?"

"You remembered it wrongly. I have always been the only one in my family!"

Zhao Ying explained calmly. Ma Cheng was stunned, but after thinking about it, he wrote down his name and had someone carve a new military badge for him.

"You are now the captain of the second squad of the second brigade of the eighth regiment of the army. Get your armor and wait in the back. I will take you to set up camp later."

"Yes!" Zhao Ying quickly took the military badge that had just been engraved, then happily walked across the camp gate, received his armor, and then went to the open space behind the camp gate to joke with people he knew.

There are many people like him. After a long time, Ma Cheng and others finally understood the reason.

In response, they all accepted them tacitly, and at this time a familiar voice sounded.

"Shandan Army Chen Jingchong!"

"Damn it, whose name are you giving?"

Zhang Chang, who was busy registering his citizenship, looked up unhappily, only to see Chen Jingchong's dark face.

“Old Chen!!”

He stood up all of a sudden and hugged Chen Jingchong tightly in his arms: "I knew you had a conscience!"

"Haha!" Chen Jingchong laughed heartily, "Hurry up and make arrangements for me!"

"Arrange it! It must be arranged!" Zhang Chang shouted excitedly, then turned around and waved towards Liu Jilong and the others.

"Governor, Lao Chen asked you to come over and make some arrangements for him!!"

His voice was so excited that it broke.

Liu Jilong had also seen Chen Jingchong early on, and when Zhang Chang spoke, he had already walked over. "Governor!"

Seeing Liu Jilong coming over, Chen Jingchong bowed quickly and said, "I will come to you in the future!"

"Okay!" Liu Jilong nodded happily and gave Chen Jingchong a bear hug, which made Chen Jingchong speechless.

Fortunately, he let go quickly, giving Chen Jingchong a chance to catch his breath.

"Zhang Chang, put it on record." Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Chang and said solemnly: "Chen Jingchong...Zhechong Duwei!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chang happily brought a new booklet to Chen Jingchong, wrote his name and official title on it, and then turned around and instructed:
"Go get some new tables and chairs, and let Chen Zhechong do some work!"

At his command, the soldiers behind him hurriedly brought tables and chairs. Chen Jingchong also took the brush and the book and shouted to the queue:

"If anyone trusts me, Chen Jingchong, come and line up here!!"

As he shouted, many soldiers noticed him and quickly changed their ranks and ran to line up with him.

Ma Cheng and the others watched this scene and cursed with laughter: "Chen Jingchong, you are so good, you stole our people!"

"Haha, brothers, just follow whoever you want!"

Chen Jingchong's words were a double entendre. So many people came here, and so many people ran away from the West Camp.

As if to verify his statement, a team of elite cavalry rushed into the city from the west gate of Changsong and headed straight for the government office.

Not long after, Suo Xun dismounted from his horse and walked into the yamen in a menacing manner.

Zhang Huaishen was discussing things with Li Yizhong and Jiu Juyan in the main hall. Seeing Suo Xun coming, Zhang Huaishen also said:

"Inspector Suo has arrived just in time. We are discussing the matter of marching into Huizhou in two days. Let's sit down and discuss it together."

"March into Huizhou?" Suo Xun couldn't help but sneer. He suppressed his temper and bowed, saying, "Jiedushi, the people in the West Camp are almost all gone. What can we use to march east to Huizhou?!"

"Governor Suo, there's no need to exaggerate!" Jiu Juyan frowned and stood up, refuting Suo Xun's statement.

Suo Xun glanced at him and said, "Jiu Juyan, Liu Jilong was a soldier under your command, right? Now that he has become a governor, you are quick to curry favor with him."

"Tell me yourself, how many people from Zhangye, Shandan, and Fanhe armies escaped today?!"

Facing Suo Xun's aggressiveness, Jiu Juyan also stood up and refuted: "Most of those who left today are single soldiers, and they are within the agreement between the Jiedushi and Governor Liu."

"Besides, they are only going to recapture Lanzhou. Governor Liu is also a general in my Guiyi Army. I don't know why Governor Suo is so excited!"

Jiu Juyan's words made Suo Xun very angry. Although everyone knew privately that Liu Jilian went to Longxi to set up his own faction, in public he was still the general of the Guiyi Army.

The generals of the Guiyi Army led the Guiyi Army to recapture Longxi, and no matter how much they tried to argue, they could not find any reason to do so.

The agreement between Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian was an agreement between the two of them. If Liu Jilian did not abide by it, he could also incite the generals in the army to follow him south.

Except Zhang Huaishen, no one here is qualified to say that Liu Jilian disrespected military orders.

"you……"

Suo Xun was angry, but he couldn't find any reason, so he could only glare and say, "Then tell me, how many people from the three armies ran to the East Camp?"

"You can't say that..." Li Yizhong also chimed in, "It was the soldiers' choice to go to the East Camp. Besides, it wouldn't take that many troops to recapture Huizhou. Why should Governor Suo be angry?"

"Besides, if I remember correctly, the soldiers should have left their armor behind. I don't know what to complain about."

Li Yizhong still has to lead his troops to Lanzhou with Liu Jilong. He will not conflict with Liu Jilong over Suo Xun.

The sooner Liu Jilian captured Lanzhou and recovered the three prefectures of He, Lin and Wei, the greater the possibility that Li Yizhong would be in charge of Lanzhou.

"Li Yizhong, you..."

Suo Xun wanted to continue speaking, but Zhang Huaishen frowned and said, "Okay, Governor Suo, if you want to discuss the Eastern Expedition to Huizhou, then sit down. If you want to talk about other things, then leave first!"

Zhang Huaishen was naturally aware of what was happening in the West Camp, but he owed Liu Jilong too much, so he just pretended not to see it.

Anyway, after regaining Liangzhou, he had tens of thousands more Han men under his command. As long as the armor was left behind, he could raise an armored force again at any time.

Moreover, in his opinion, if he could secure the position of Jiedushi of Hexi in the future, he might be able to recall Liu Jilian.

Of course, these were all his thoughts. As for Liu Jilong’s thoughts, he had no idea.

"Jiedushi, it's not that I'm narrow-minded, but more than 400 people have already escaped from the West Camp in just one morning. There are still two days left. Who knows how many people will escape in the end?"

Suo Xun presented the facts, but Li Yizhong retorted: "Today, the East Camp is recruiting soldiers, so naturally many people will go. After today, the number will naturally decrease."

"Li Yizhong, stop being unreasonable!" Suo Xun couldn't help but scold him.

Li Yizhong snorted coldly: "Who is making trouble? I think the governor can see it clearly."

After that, Li Yizhong bowed to Zhang Huaishen and said, "Jiedushi, let's discuss the details of the Eastern Expedition tomorrow."

"Well, everyone leave." Zhang Huaishen stood up and walked towards the inner hall, and Jiu Juyan followed.

Suo Xun also wanted to follow, but was stopped by Li Yizhong.

"Li Yizhong, you..."

"Please stop messing around, Governor Suo!" Li Yizhong interrupted Suo Xun first, and then whispered:
"Suo Zhishi, I really don't understand why you always keep holding on to Zhishi Liu."

"Shouldn't you go east to conquer Huizhou and protect your own piece of land?"

Li Yizhong's words calmed Suo Xun down, but he did not stop talking and continued, "How big is Shazhou?"

"Shazhou, with a population of only 20,000, is actually packed with more than ten families, big and small. Doesn't Governor Suo feel it's crowded?"

"Huizhou is adjacent to Guannei Road. After recovering Huizhou, Governor Suo can ask the court to send people to guard the border. In a few years, it will surpass Shazhou."

"With such a bright prospect in front of us, why doesn't Governor Suo go for it, but comes to get angry with Governor Liu?"

There was some confusion in Li Yi's words. After all, Huizhou was a perfect place for someone like him who was trying to enjoy peace.

It is adjacent to Lingzhou, Beiwuzhou, and Wonzhou, and can express its stance to the imperial court, thereby gaining support and gradually becoming more powerful.

This kind of place is definitely much better than Lanzhou.

Sometimes Li Yizhong felt sorry for Liu Jilong. After all, after going to Lanzhou, he still had to recover Longxi, and who knew how much time it would take.

Even though Longxi was recovered and the Longxi Jiedushi's banner was obtained, Tubo had already declined and Longxi was destined to not receive support from the court.

I'm afraid Liu Jilong will have to live in Longxi from now on.

There are more barbarians than Han people in that place, so it won't be peaceful even if we take it over.

Thinking of this, Li Yizhong seemed to see the scene of Liu Jilian wasting time in Longxi in the future.

Because of this, he became even more dissatisfied with Suo Xun who was ungrateful.

Li Yizhong worked very hard just to become the governor of Lanzhou and get a piece of the scraps of Liu Jilong's achievements.

But Suo Xun's father won him the post of governor of Huizhou, but he was still not satisfied...

"Humph!"

Perhaps because he felt that he was wrong, Suo Xun snorted coldly and walked away.

Li Yizhong shook his head upon seeing this, then turned and walked towards the Sixth Office.

When the two men parted ways, Zhang Huaishen and Jiu Juyan also came to the inner hall and sat down.

As soon as the two of them sat down, Zhang Huaishen took the initiative to say, "Although Liu Jilong has made great contributions to Hexi, he cannot take all the soldiers of Shandan with him."

Upon hearing this, Jiu Juyan bowed and said, "Don't worry, Jiedushi, I'll be keeping an eye on it. However, some people from Zhangye and Fanhe armies have also defected to Governor Liu. This..."

Jiu Juyan hesitated, but Zhang Huaishen nodded and said, "Just don't affect the recovery of Huizhou."

"Yes..." Jiu Juyan breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued to discuss the Eastern Expedition with Zhang Huaishen.

Compared to them, Suo Xun, who had just calmed down, was agitated again after returning to the West Camp.

As soon as he returned to the tent, he saw the generals and captains of the Zhangye army surrounding him and complaining to them.

"Governor, it's only been one day and sixteen of our group have left!"

"Thirty people left our group!"

"Twenty-two people from our group have left..."

"Governor, have you told the Jiedushi what happened here? What did the Jiedushi say?"

When the generals started reporting at once, Suo Xun immediately became annoyed, and his tone was a little impatient.

"I told him, but the governor didn't take it seriously!"

Suo Xun responded with a cold snort, then glanced at everyone and said, "I won't go to the government office. If you can't stand it, go find the governor yourself!"

After saying that, he pushed everyone away, walked into the tent and sat down, and the soldiers in the tent brought him a cup of tea.

Originally, Suo Xun was going to drink it all in one gulp, but when he saw the fried tea in the bowl, he couldn't help but think of Liu Jilong, and suddenly smashed the bowl to the ground.

"boom!"

The pottery bowl shattered, and Suo Xun's mind flashed through what Li Yizhong had said, and his mood gradually calmed down.

"Liu Jilong, wait until I get the support of the court, I'll see how you can still be so proud!"

(End of this chapter)