Chapter 153: Protecting the Qiang General (5k, monthly ticket requested!)
After arriving in the capital area, Li Chong obviously slowed down. On the one hand, he enforced military discipline, and on the other hand, he sent envoys to the court to report to the generals and request merit. When he arrived in front of Luoyang City, the envoys from the court still did not arrive. Li Chong could only set up camp fifty miles outside the city.
In fact, these days, the servants of Li Chong's mansion have brought news from Luoyang City.
By the time Su Ze stepped into the general's tent, Li Chong had already taken off his armor. Only then did Su Ze notice that this cavalry general had become a thin old man with white hair. His shoulders had slumped and his body began to hunch. This expedition made Li Chong seem to have aged ten years.
Su Ze looked at the old man in front of him and felt like a hero in his twilight years.
Li Chong waited until Su Ze took his seat, then said slowly, "The court has been slow to send an envoy because they are still arguing over your contribution."
"what?"
In fact, after the army approached Luoyang City, Princess Chenliu had already sent people to contact Su Ze and informed him of the situation in Luoyang City, but Su Ze naturally had to pretend to be stupid now.
Li Chong said, "The Grand Chamberlain, the Minister of State, and the Prince of Guangyang, Yuan Shen, do not believe the military achievements reported by this general, saying that it is impossible for you, with only 3,000 cavalry, to march thousands of miles across the border and force the Prince of Gaoche to negotiate peace."
Seeing that Su Ze had no strange expression on his face, Li Chong sighed and said, "I called you over here to tell you that King Guangyang is not suppressing you on purpose, but is protecting you. Do you understand?"
Su Ze nodded. With Su Ze's merits, he could have been granted a title of nobility in the Han Dynasty. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, he could have been granted the title of general. Of course, the title of general in the Northern Wei Dynasty was far less valuable than that of a marquis in the Han Dynasty, but he should still be rewarded with some important positions in the court.
But it just can’t happen.
In just twenty years, Emperor Xiaowen's sinicization brought prosperity to Luoyang, but it also spread the bad habits of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Su Ze, a poor man with no family background, was bound to encounter huge resistance if he wanted to rise through military merit.
Moreover, the achievements reported by Li Chong were so shocking that everyone in the court thought it was a lie. After all, lying about military intelligence in the north was an old tradition.
Li Chong said: "Especially the Qinghe Prince faction, they have been writing letters to impeach you, trying to put you to death. Minister Yuan questioned the military merits in the memorial submitted by this general, but he also confirmed your contribution in the victory of Pingcheng. What do you think?"
Li Chong looked at Su Ze. He admired Su Ze and hoped that Su Ze would protect his family in the future. His tone was naturally much more polite. He said:
"If you feel you are wronged, I can write a letter to defend you, but then the court will definitely send an envoy to the northern border to inspect your military achievements, and the round trip will delay you for a long time."
After Su Ze heard this, he immediately understood what Li Chong meant. He said, "Thank you, General, for helping me. I won't argue with you then."
Li Chong also breathed a sigh of relief. He earnestly explained Yuan Shen's intention. Naturally, he wanted Su Ze to stop making trouble. He knew very well that with the efficiency of the court, it would take a long time to confirm the military merits. During this period, Su Ze would continue to be attacked by the Qinghe King's faction. It would be better for him to take the credit for the Battle of Pingcheng.
Li Chong sighed, "The factional strife in the court is more serious than before the expedition."
Su Ze was not surprised by this result.
The struggle between Prince of Qinghe Yuan Yi and Prince of Jiangyang Yuan Yi is becoming increasingly intense. This year is the first year of Shengui. If history does not change, two years later, that is, the third year of Shengui, Yuan Yi will launch a palace coup, kill Prince of Qinghe Yuan Yi, imprison Queen Mother Hu, and support the young emperor to rule the country.
But now history has been intervened by Su Ze, and this time Li Chong's expedition has once again become the focus of the struggle between the two factions.
Li Chong was recommended by King Jiangyang Yuanyi to lead the army, so he was also branded as King Jiangyang Yuanyi.
Since the Yulin Rebellion, Empress Dowager Hu quickly restored her trust in Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi, and Yuan Yi was able to enter and leave the palace freely and once again take charge of the Menxia Province.
However, Empress Dowager Hu seemed to have doubts about Yuan Yi's prestige in charge of the imperial guards and kept keeping him away from military affairs.
Li Chong said, "There are rumors in the court that I will replace Prince Qinghe as the general of the guard and command the imperial guards. Zilin, tell me what you think."
Su Ze thought about it and realized that this was naturally the action of King Jiangyang's faction.
Jiangyang Prince Yuan Yi is already the general in charge of the army, which is an important position in charge of the military power of the imperial palace guard. If Li Chong is allowed to serve as the general of the army, Yuan Yi and his party will completely control the military power of the entire Luoyang, which is naturally something that Qinghe Prince and his party do not want to see.
However, Prince Qinghe's party also faced a dilemma. Because Prince Qinghe loved literary people, the people he was close to were basically civil officials. He did not have a single candidate who was qualified to succeed him as General of the Guard.
In fact, the root of this matter lies with Empress Dowager Hu. Although Empress Dowager Hu trusted her brother-in-law Yuan Yi, she was not stupid enough to hand over the military power inside and outside the palace and the entire Luoyang capital to one person. This was no different from seeking death.
Su Ze thought for a moment and asked, "Does the general want to take this position?"
Li Chong was silent. The title of General of the Guard was a top military position, generally only awarded to princes of royal families. Li Chong had never thought that he would be awarded this position at the age of seventy.
It is impossible to say that you are not moved.
But Li Chong also knew that this was a hot potato. Once he accepted it, it would be equivalent to officially joining the camp of Jiangyang King Yuan Yi and becoming the focus of the fight between the two kings.
Su Ze saw Li Chong hesitated, so he said: "In fact, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, the generals of the imperial guards were divided into left and right. There were left and right generals of the imperial guards, who were in charge of the imperial guards respectively."
Li Chong's eyes lit up. Su Ze's idea was indeed good!
The Guard Generals were split into left and right, with Prince Qinghe continuing to serve as the Left Guard General, a nominal position in which he remotely controlled the imperial guards.
Li Chong could serve as the General of the Right Guard, and his status was lower than that of the Prince of Qinghe, but he actually controlled the imperial guards.
Such an arrangement would satisfy Prince Qinghe, fulfill Li Chong's wish, and also make Empress Dowager Hu feel at ease.
This guy is indeed a political genius!
The more Li Chong looked at Su Ze, the more satisfied he became. It was a pity that he didn't have a daughter of the right age to marry.
After finishing this matter, Li Chong said:
"Besides, there is the matter of my rebellious son. This time, the court will promote him to the position of governor of a large province. There are not many vacancies for governors of large provinces. There is the governor of Jizhou, which was just pacified. In addition, there are vacancies in the southern provinces and several provinces in Guanzhong. Where do you think he is the best choice, Zilin?"
After consulting his father about his problems, Li Chong came to consult about his son's future. He regarded Su Ze as a family consultant.
However, after "cooperating" with Li Shizhe along the way, Su Ze found that this guy was actually a good "cooperator".
He is easily influenced by others, timid, will do things for money, and can take the blame. He is simply the best candidate for the role of "boss".
Su Ze first ruled out the southern states. He was still thinking about how to put it tactfully, but Li Chong said directly: "This rebellious son knows nothing about military affairs. I am also worried about letting him go to the southern states. Now that the Southern Dynasty is making a comeback, how can I ruin the country because of personal feelings?"
Su Ze continued, "Jizhou has just been pacified, and there are many large families in Jizhou, so it is not suitable."
Li Chong nodded repeatedly. In fact, there was already a candidate in the court for the post of Governor of Jizhou, and that was Zhang Shijun, the son of the former Minister of Works Zhang Yi.
Before his death, Zhang Yi had been seeking the position of Jizhou Governor. Zhang Shijun followed General Yuan Yao to quell the Mahayana Rebellion in Jizhou, and according to his military merits, he could also be promoted to the position of Jizhou Governor.
The Zhang family itself is a big family in Jizhou. If Zhang Shijun is appointed as the governor of Jizhou, he will be able to suppress the local powerful people. Therefore, Qinghe King Yuan Yi has recommended Zhang Shijun to be the governor of Jizhou.
Jizhou Governor?
Su Ze shook his head. Once the Six Garrisons Rebellion broke out, Jizhou would be destroyed.
Forget it. Li Chong has taken very good care of him along the way, so Su Ze decided to help this old man.
"Ze thinks that the Guanzhong states are a good place to go."
Li Chong seemed to have found a confidant. He said to Su Ze, "That rebellious son does not have enough experience. Now there is someone who can be the governor of Yongzhou. I am afraid that he cannot get Yongzhou. The only ones left are Qin, Liang, and Liangzhou."
Guanzhong in a narrow sense is the geographical unit within the four barriers, that is, the 800-li Qinchuan.
In the Northern Wei Dynasty, they were Qinzhou (the capital of which is now Tianshui, Gansu), Liangzhou (the capital of which is now Wuwei, Gansu), Liangzhou (the capital of which is now Hanzhong, Shaanxi) and Yongzhou (the capital of which is Chang'an).
During the Qin and Western Han dynasties, Guanzhong was hailed as the base of kingship and hegemony and the most fertile region in the world.
But in fact, the Guanzhong region began to decline during the Eastern Han Dynasty because of the rebellion of the Qiang people in the northwest.
The Eastern Han Dynasty established its capital in Luoyang, and its population was mainly composed of scholars from Luoyang, Hedong and Shandong. The scholars from these areas were called Guandong scholars and had always been the absolute main force in the court.
The scholars in Guanzhong and Longshang regions of the Western Han Dynasty were called Guanxi scholars, and were excluded by Guandong scholars. However, because of the Qiang rebellion in the northwest, the Guanxi region had been a place where Han and Hu people lived together for a long time, and martial spirit flourished. In order to quell the Qiang rebellion in the northwest, the Eastern Han Dynasty could only allow the leaders of Guanxi scholars to be generals, such as Duan Xing, Huang Pusong, and Dong Zhuo.
Therefore, there has always been a saying in the Eastern Han Dynasty that prime ministers come from Guandong and generals come from Guanxi. Although Guanxi is not the political core, its status is higher than that of the barbarian areas such as Jingchu and Jiangnan.
The Cao Wei regime at the end of the Han Dynasty also had its base of supporters from Guandong. The Wei and Jin dynasties established their capitals in Luoyang, so the Guanxi region naturally continued to decline.
During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, many people from Guandong migrated south, but Guanxi also suffered a devastating blow.
The forces in the Guanzhong region came and went. After the collapse of Fu Jian, first it was Yao Chang of the Later Qin, then Liu Yu's Northern Expedition, and then Helian Bobo attacked Chang'an. Finally, after Helian Bobo was destroyed by the Northern Wei, the Guanzhong region was finally stabilized.
Therefore, compared with the Hedong region, the core of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Guanzhong region is not a good place to go. It is only slightly better than the states on the southern front.
Li Chong said with a headache again: "But Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin also recommended a few people before, and King Jiangyang also supported those candidates."
Duke Danyang Xiao Baoyin's plan to take advantage of Prince Song's alliance with Prince Qinghe failed when Prince Song and Princess Lanling divorced, so he turned to Prince Jiangyang.
Su Ze had previously guessed that Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang, had long been in collusion with the nobles in Guanzhong. The smuggling of southern goods in Luoyang back then was closely related to the nobles in Guanzhong, and Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang, was the mastermind behind the smuggling trade.
Now that Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin has recommended candidates for governors of various states in Guanzhong, this further proves Su Ze's judgment.
It is normal to think about it. As a representative of the younger generation in Guanzhong, Su Liang was able to serve under the command of Xiao Baoyin, Duke of Danyang. This also shows that the scholars in Guanzhong chose Xiao Baoyin, Duke of Danyang, as an investment target.
Otherwise, how could Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang, a member of the former Qi royal family who fled north, be so highly valued in the Northern Wei court?
Now that Li Chong and Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin are both considered forces under Yuan Yi's camp, Yuan Yi naturally has to balance their interests. Since Yuan Yi agreed to Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin's recommendation, it means that the Guanzhong area will be assigned to Xiao Baoyin.
Li Chong also had no intention of competing with Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin, so he asked Su Ze for his opinion.
Su Ze looked at Li Chong and said, "General, is there a vacancy in Hezhou?"
"Hezhou?"
Li Chong was stunned for a moment. Hezhou is now the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the central area of Gansu Province.
Later historians once commented: "The Hehuang area is a transportation hub connecting Qianghun and the Western Regions in the west and Tubo and Tianzhu in the southwest. The return of envoys, the advance and retreat of the military, and the entry and exit of monks and merchants often take this route."
The famous Yumen Pass is just north of Hezhou. Hezhou is broadly considered to be the Guandong region and part of the Guanlong plate.
This barely met Li Chong's request to let his son go to Guanzhong.
Another reason why Su Ze recommended Hezhou was that when the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons was about to break out, Guanzhong also responded to the rebellion of the Six Garrisons.
Hu Chen and Wanqi Chounu of Gaoping and Mozhe Niansheng of Qinzhou also responded to the Six Garrisons Uprising. Among them, Mozhe Niansheng even approached Chang'an and almost occupied the entire Guanzhong.
Therefore, the four states in Guanzhong mentioned by Li Chong are actually far from safe. Once chaos breaks out in Guanzhong, Li Shizhe, who is of such level, will definitely be beheaded by the rebel army.
Guanlong is a plate. As long as Qinzhou can advance straight into the country, Liang and Yong will have no defenses at all. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Qiang rebellion in Gansu region often approached Chang'an and even excavated the tombs of the Western Han emperors. The Eastern Han court with its capital in Luoyang took hundreds of years to quell the rebellion.
In comparison, Hezhou is much more dangerous.
"The Tao River flows in the east, the rocks stand in the west, the snow-capped mountains are in the south, and the Yellow River is in the north."
The natural mountain and water barrier and its hub location connecting the surrounding areas make the Hezhou area an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack "land with four barriers".
The seat of Hezhou was Jincheng, which was established by Emperor Wu of Han. The name it gave means "solid as iron", which is enough to show how solid this city was.
During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Zhang family of Former Liang controlled the Hezhou region and successfully survived many regimes in the Central Plains.
Historically, after the chaos in Guanzhong, Mo Zhe Niansheng also attacked Hezhou, but failed to conquer it.
And Su Ze had another private purpose in letting Li Shizhe go to Hezhou.
Hezhou is a key point on the Silk Road. In fact, from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Silk Road has never been cut off. Hezhou is an important trade node for merchants from the Western Regions and the best place to obtain Western Region BMWs. Hezhou itself also has a large number of excellent pastures.
If Li Shizhe could be sent to Hezhou to serve as the governor, Su Ze would be able to get access to a supply of high-quality war horses in the future, and he wouldn't have to rely on fighting every time like he does now.
However, Su Ze was unable to reveal the future course of history to Li Chong and could only make suggestions and then keep silent.
Li Chong thought for a while and said, "Hezhou is the right place! The post of governor of Hezhou is vacant. I will arrange for that rebellious son to go to Hezhou right away!"
Su Ze didn't expect Li Chong to trust him so much. Then Li Chong grinned and said, "It just so happens that the position of General Protector of the Qiang in the court is vacant. Zilin, do you want me to help you with it? With this merit, you can be promoted to General of Miscellaneous Title."
Su Ze now understood Li Chong's intention. It turned out that he wanted to accompany his son to take office!
The title of General Protector of the Qiang originated from the position of Colonel Protector of the Qiang in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Colonel Protector of the Han Dynasty was quite valuable, so since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was downgraded to the title of General. Although it was only the lowest level of miscellaneous general, it was also a genuine official position of the court and was considered a mid-to-senior level military position.
The Protector of the Qiang General is different from other general titles. This position is specifically for the Qiang people in the northwest, and the Protector of the Qiang General’s headquarters is in Jincheng, the capital of Hezhou!
Seeing that Su Ze didn't say anything, Li Chong said, "The position of Protector of the Qiang has been vacant for many years, and because it is in Chizhou, basically no one is vying for this position. Zilin can think about it carefully after returning to Luoyang. As long as you are willing, I will definitely recommend you for this position!"
Chizhou is too far away from Luoyang. Although the Huqiang General is a general, he is actually similar to the Zhenjiang of the Six Garrisons, except that his rank is higher than that of a Zhenjiang and he has entered the ranks of generals.
Generals were not valuable in the late Northern and Southern Dynasties, but generals are still valuable now.
Su Ze bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, General. I will think about it again."
Li Chong didn't care and said, "It's about the future, so it's always good to think about it. But I also remind you that in the current situation, it's better to stay in Luoyang than to be assigned to another post."
Su Ze also understood this truth. Li Chong had been assigned to the Jiangyang King's faction by the Qinghe King's faction, and Su Ze was a general under Li Chong. He was also the sworn brother of Erzhu Rong, the chieftain whom Jiangyang King Yuan Yi valued. Naturally, he was a rising "new star" under Jiangyang King.
In political struggles, it is normal to suppress newcomers in the enemy camp.
Moreover, Su Ze has no clan power and no support in the court, making him the softest target.
Su Ze could only sigh that fate was playing tricks on him. He actually became a member of the group of Yuan Yi, a treacherous minister who brought misfortune to the country, and was attacked by the Qinghe King faction, which had a good reputation in history books.
After talking about the future, Li Chong said, "Zilin, I am going to write a letter to the court, requesting that the six towns be changed into prefectures and counties, and that the residents of the six towns be allowed to move around. Can this solve the problem of the six towns?"
"Memorial on Changing Military Prefectures into Prefectures and Counties"?
Su Ze was a little dazed. In history, after Li Chong went on a diplomatic mission to the north, he immediately submitted such a memorial to the court. He did not expect that in this timeline that he had changed beyond recognition, Li Chong still made the same choice.
Military states were administrative units in the early stages of the Northern Wei Dynasty's expansion. For example, Chizhou was originally called Baohanzhou, but after the border was stabilized, it was changed to a prefecture and became an ordinary prefecture.
The people in the military states were all enlisted in the military and were under semi-militarized management, and were not allowed to move or migrate.
Changing the military prefecture into a prefecture-county was Li Chong's last effort to resolve the northern border issue. Su Ze looked at Li Chong and shook his head and said:
"General, forgive me for being blunt, but it's probably too late to change the military state into a prefecture."
Ten thousand words today!
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(End of this chapter)