Chapter 163 Mission Completed, Appointed to Hezhou
In Li Daoyuan's study, Su Ze, holding the "Annotations to the Classic of Waterways" which had been copied onto a paper book, and Su Cho listened to Li Daoyuan's last lesson.
Looking at the two disciples who were listening attentively, Li Daoyuan nodded slightly. He returned to the court this time and felt very frustrated while serving as the governor of Henan.
He wanted to correct the customs in Luoyang, but there were too many powerful people in Luoyang, and he, as the governor of Henan, simply did not have the ability to do so.
Now the price of rice in Luoyang was skyrocketing, and Li Daoyuan also sent officials to the market to prohibit merchants from raising prices, but his efforts were doomed to be futile. After changing the price back to the original, the merchants mixed a large amount of gravel and stones into the grain, continuing to raise the price in disguise.
Li Daoyuan was unable to stabilize prices, so he could only find a way to stockpile some grain and then open the warehouses to provide relief if a famine occurred in Luoyang.
What a man-made disaster!
Li Daoyuan was heartbroken, but issuing Buddhist coins was a major event in the court, and it was not something that he, the governor of Henan, could interfere with. Things would not change because of him.
Li Daoyuan could only use this enthusiasm to teach his disciples.
Now when Li Daoyuan recalled that his greatest gain since his reinstatement was accepting two disciples, Su Ze and Su Cho.
Su Chao inherited his talent for handling government affairs, while Su Ze learned the art of geography that he had studied in depth.
Li Daoyuan drew the terrain of Hezhou by hand and said:
"Hezhou is the strategic point in the northwest of our Wei. The countries in the Western Regions travel to the Central Plains mainly to transport silk from the Central Plains, which is called the Silk Road. The Silk Road generally has two routes."
Li Daoyuan drew a simple map of Wei and the Western Regions, and then drew a line with his brush:
"One is Wulan Road, which can also be called the northern line of the Silk Road. It starts from Luoyang and enters Guanzhong, and goes all the way north to Liangzhou."
"The second is the Qinzhou Road, which also enters the pass from Luoyang, passes through Qizhou, Longzhou, Qinzhou, Weizhou and Hezhou, and finally reaches Liangzhou."
"Both roads meet at Liangzhou, and further west are the countries of Gaochang and other regions in the Western Regions."
Su Ze looked at the map and finally understood the importance of Hezhou to the Northern Wei Dynasty.
In fact, the Northern Wei Dynasty is an underestimated dynasty in history. Because of the existence of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, in most people's impressions, the Northern Wei Dynasty was not a powerful dynasty.
After all, if they can't even unify the country, how can they talk about being strong?
But in fact, the Northern Wei Dynasty's control over the grasslands and the Western Regions was so strong that no dynasty in later generations could match it except the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Even the development of the Western Regions by the Sui and Tang dynasties was basically based on the foundation laid by the Northern Wei Dynasty.
This can be seen from the Northern Wei's control over Hezhou.
After the middle Tang Dynasty, Hezhou in this area was occupied by Tubo, and the Tang Dynasty lost control of this important route of the Silk Road.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty tried to struggle and mobilized the whole country to organize the Hehuang border expansion. However, it ended in a miserable defeat. After losing the Hezhou area, the Northern Song Dynasty completely lost its horse farms and the passage to the Western Regions and could no longer compete with the north.
After the Yuan and Ming dynasties, this area was basically controlled by chieftains, and the imperial court could only appoint chieftains to exercise control over it.
Today, Hezhou is firmly controlled by the Northern Wei Dynasty. This prosperous Silk Road brought BMWs, gold, silver and spices from the Western Regions to the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Then Li Daoyuan said, "The importance of Hezhou, in addition to being a major transportation route, is also greatly influenced by the terrain. Zilin, what do you think?"
Su Ze stood up and said, "To the north of Hezhou is the Qilian Mountains, which separate the Hexi Corridor. To the west is the grassland and snowfield, which is an excellent horse ranch. The fertile land of the entire Hezhou is the Dahe River, Tao River, Daxia River, Huangshui River, Guangtong River, Sancha River and many other rivers passing through the valley. The climate here is suitable for farming. Jincheng and Fuhan were both built here to control the entire Hezhou area."
The more Su Ze looked, the more satisfied he was. Hezhou's geographical location was really great.
Hezhou had developed commerce and was an important transit point on the Silk Road, through which it could obtain BMWs from the Western Regions.
It also has excellent horse farms and the Hehuang Valley, a rare high-quality farming area in the northwest region.
Even with the poor governance level of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Hezhou was already self-sufficient in food. The needs of the Hezhou garrison and the people could be met through military settlements, which was countless times better than the Six Garrisons.
Hezhou is a place surrounded by mountains. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Zhang family of Former Liang and the Qifu family of Western Qin both used Hezhou as the base of their kingdom and lived in peace here for a hundred years.
After the rise of the Northern Wei Dynasty, these northwestern regimes were defeated one by one and incorporated into the territory of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Li Daoyuan nodded with great satisfaction, and continued, "Jincheng is the capital of Hezhou, but the most important city in Hezhou is still Fuhan."
Li Daoyuan was well-versed in the geography of mountains and rivers, and the history of counties and prefectures, which made Su Ze admire him sincerely. In the era before he traveled through time, this ability would have made him an outstanding talent.
Geographical factors often play a decisive role in the rise and fall of a region, and the rest is historical inertia.
Therefore, in Li Daoyuan's eyes, the situation in various parts of the world was like a map. He knew the key nodes in the entire Northern Wei territory very well, and could grasp the key to various regional issues at once.
Li Daoyuan said: "Before Emperor Xiaowen changed the prefectures, Hezhou was called Fuhan Military Town. After the prefectures were changed into counties, there were only six towns left in the entire Wei Dynasty. The remaining border states were changed into prefectures and counties, and Hezhou was established for this reason."
"Emperor Xiaowen named Hezhou after the Chinese sage Dayu who 'guided the river to Jishi Mountain and reached Longmen', so he used Jishi Mountain as the boundary of the state."
Wow, this is the benefit of sinicization. After the Northern Wei Dynasty put on the sinicized skin, it could claim to be China’s “territory since ancient times”.
The ancient Chinese history can be traced back to Dayu's flood control.
This one sentence completely eliminated the claim of the Qiang people who had lived in Hezhou for hundreds of years. My ancestor Dayu had already controlled the floods here, and you Qiang people are just later comers!
Li Daoyuan continued, "The city of Fuhan was built a long time ago. When Hezhou was still in the hands of Zhang's family of Former Liang, Shi Hu of Later Zhao led an army of 100,000 to attack Fuhan, but still failed to capture it. At that time, Shi Hu once sighed: 'I conquered the nine states with a small army, but now I am trapped in Fuhan with the power of the nine states', which shows how important Fuhan is."
"The Protectorate General's Office was always located in Fuhan, but the predecessor moved it to Jincheng in order to gain the prosperity of Jincheng, and Hezhou began to be in chaos."
Su Ze understood what Li Daoyuan meant, and he immediately intervened and said, "After I take office as the governor of Hezhou, I will definitely move the General's Mansion to Fuhan!"
Li Daoyuan nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Hezhou borders Tuyuhun in the west. The establishment of Fuhan Military Town in the past and the establishment of Hezhou by Emperor Xiaowen were all for the purpose of resisting Tuyuhun."
Tuyuhun, this regime is not very famous in Chinese history, but from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was an unavoidable place in the western region.
Li Daoyuan said: "The Tuyuhun were a tribe of the Murong Xianbei in Liaodong. They began to migrate westward after the war at the end of the Jin Dynasty and eventually settled on the plateau. They are now the biggest threat to the Wei Dynasty in the northwest."
The Murong clan of Liaodong were really good at reproduction and escape. His subordinate Murong Shaozong was a descendant of the Murong clan of Liaodong. This branch of their clan escaped to Pingcheng and integrated into the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Others fled to the south of the Yangtze River after the fall of the Former Yan, and were integrated into the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties. (Murong Fu in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils) The most powerful group was the Tuyuhun people, who fled from the bitter cold of Liaodong to the plateau and became the current Tuyuhun tribe.
Li Daoyuan said: "Zilin, when you go to Hezhou, the most important thing is to reorganize the military and guard against the Tuyuhun people in the west."
Tuyuhun was as submissive as a younger brother in front of the Central Plains dynasty, but he was the overlord in the Western Regions.
Relying on the transfusion from the Silk Road, Tuyuhun was actually quite rich, so Tuyuhun always had the ambition to completely control the Silk Road.
Hezhou is a key point on the Silk Road, so Tuyuhun would certainly covet it. Therefore, both internal and external problems of Hezhou over the years have been influenced by Tuyuhun.
After talking about Hezhou, Li Daoyuan said to Su Ze:
"Although the Protector of the Qiang is a general of miscellaneous title, he can also recruit subordinate officials, and there are five official ranks recognized by the court."
"First is the Chief Clerk of the General Protector of the Qiang. He is a seventh-rank official and the chief of the assistant officers of the General Protector of the Qiang's mansion."
After saying that, Li Daoyuan looked at Su Chuo who was beside Su Ze and asked, "Ling Chuo, are you willing to assist your senior brother?"
Su Chao was suddenly called by the teacher and stood up in panic. He had already received the advice of his elder brother Su Liang, and immediately said, "As long as you don't mind, I am willing to do it!"
Su Ze also quickly pulled Su Chuo and said, "If I get Ling Chuo, I will definitely be able to stabilize Hezhou!"
Li Daoyuan nodded with satisfaction. If an official of a general with a miscellaneous title entered officialdom, he would be discriminated against by the powerful people in Luoyang. However, at this moment, Li Daoyuan felt that it would be best to stay away from Luoyang.
Besides, Su Ze is such a good fighter, so he may have opportunities in the future.
Li Daoyuan continued, "The Huqiang General's Office also has one Infantry Lieutenant General and one Cavalry Lieutenant General, both of rank eight, which are military commanders. General Li has already agreed to this. Zilin, you can select candidates from among the old Yulin members."
Su Ze said in surprise: "Master, does the court agree to let me take people from the old Yulin?"
Li Daoyuan nodded and said, "Originally it was not possible. The Imperial Guards are the imperial guards, the emperor's private army. However, due to your contributions in the north, the newly appointed Right Guard General Xi Kangsheng has granted you special permission to take part of the Imperial Guards to Hezhou."
In this way, he could legitimately bring the armored cavalry squad and his trusted men to Hezhou, but he also had to leave some trusted men in the Yulin Army to keep abreast of the movements of the imperial guards at all times.
Li Daoyuan added, "There are two more military officers in the Huqiang General's Mansion, ninth-rank, which are generally awarded to the local leaders of Hezhou. Zilin, you can decide for yourself."
"A Qiang man of great rank?"
Li Daoyuan nodded and said, "Hezhou was originally a military town, and its system was the same as the Six Towns. The court appointed important officials as the town commanders, and the local Qiang people were the military leaders."
"The largest Qiang leader in Hezhou is the Liang family in Fuhan City."
"The Liang family is a Qiang people who have lived in Hezhou for generations. Liang is a Han surname given by Emperor Xiaowen."
"Liang Zhaoxi is the current head of the Liang family, and his son Liang Lan serves as a subordinate under the command of Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin."
Su Ze's guess turned out to be correct. Duke Danyang Xiao Baoyin had already become the spokesperson for the Guanxi nobles in the court. Even the sons of local tyrants like Hezhou were sent to serve under him as officials.
Since the other party has a master, it will definitely not be smooth sailing for me to be the Protector of Qiang. Su Ze did not have a good impression of these local heroes. Most of them were opportunists, and they were also domineering and greedy in the local area. He would think about cleaning them up when Su Ze arrived in Hezhou.
Su Ze sincerely thanked Li Daoyuan. This is the benefit of having a good teacher.
Before Su Ze took office, Li Daoyuan had already given a clear introduction to Hezhou's defense focus, mountains and rivers, geography, and natural resources.
He also helped Su Ze to form a staff team, told him the attitudes of local powerful people, and pointed out his main contradictions and enemies.
Su Ze, who was still in Luoyang, already had a good understanding of the situation in Hezhou. Su Ze could only sigh that Li Daoyuan's political talent was completely overshadowed by his literary fame. This "Notes on the Classic of Waterways" is not a literary masterpiece, nor is it a geographical monograph, it is a dragon-slaying technique!
Although the court had not officially appointed him, the rumor that Su Ze would be the General Protector of the Qiang had spread, and his old friends came to visit him one by one. Erzhu Rong even invited Su Ze to his home and generously gave him several fine horses.
It has to be said that Erzhu Rong was really sincere in his love for the person he liked. He even asked Su Ze to choose his entourage and said that he wanted his men to escort Su Ze to office.
Of course Su Ze rejected his kindness, but he also formed an alliance with Erzhu Rong. After he took office in Hezhou, he would send a caravan to Xiurong to exchange what they had.
Erzhu Rong was even more delighted. Although the General of Protector of the Qiang was only a general of miscellaneous title, he was a powerful general in the local area. He believed that with Su Ze's ability, he would definitely be able to control Hezhou.
In Erzhu Rong's view, although the insects in the court were making a lot of noise, things still had to be done by people like them who had strong power.
Every time Erzhu Rong came to Luoyang, in addition to studying Confucianism, another important thing was to make friends with the chieftains of the people who came to Luoyang.
Erzhu Rong had a high prestige among these Yanchen chieftains. He immediately introduced to Su Ze several chieftains from Liangzhou, Hezhou and other areas who came to Luoyang, and took Su Ze to pay them a visit.
With Erzhu Rong's endorsement, Su Ze met the leader of the Mozhe tribe, a major Qiang tribe in the northwest, as well as the patriarchs of many Qiang tribes.
With the help of gifts, Su Ze quickly got closer to these tribal chiefs and gained their trust.
In October of the first year of Shengui, the court finally issued an edict.
Li Shizhe, the son of General Huoqi and Junior Minister of Rites, made great contributions during his service to the Rouran and was appointed Governor of Hezhou.
Cui Yanbo, the Purple Light Doctor, was appointed Governor of Qizhou.
Yu Jin, a military officer in General Li Chong's military office, was appointed governor of Gaoping County due to his merits.
Su Ze, the commander of the Yulin Cavalry, was appointed General Protector of the Qiang for his merits.
The imperial court once again ordered to reward the imperial guards who were sent to Jizhou and the northern border with Buddhist money. The newly appointed Right Guard General Xi Kangsheng personally commanded the imperial guards, which finally prevented the soldiers from causing trouble.
Su Ze received the order from the court. After receiving the military order, Su Ze had to set off within ten days so that he could arrive in Hezhou to take up his post within the specified time.
Just at this time, Liu Bozhi finally came to the door, and Su Ze also received a notification that the mission was completed.
Today 8k, sort out the subsequent plot.
Continue to update on Monday
(End of this chapter)