Chapter 233: The Situation in Guanxi
Liu Kai, the chief secretary of the Xingtai, met Xiao Baoyin's gaze. He knew he couldn't avoid it, so he stood up and bowed and said:
"Grand Commander, the military situation in Liangzhou is a serious matter. We still need to send someone to verify it before making a decision."
Xiao Baoyin glanced at the advisers who expressed their agreement and thought to himself that these scholars were really shameless.
They didn't dare to offend him and give credit to Su Ze, but they also didn't dare to offend Su Ze and take away his credit.
This was equivalent to using the tactic of procrastination and kicking the problem back to Xiao Baoyin.
Xiao Baoyin thought about it and agreed with Liu Kai's suggestion. Procrastination was indeed the best way. Let's just delay it for a year or two.
Moreover, it was not his intention to suppress Su Ze's contribution. If Su Ze was to be promoted, it needed to be discussed in the court. Su Ze was just a poor military household with no background. Even if he had made contributions, no one would promote him if he did not have connections.
Thinking of this, the last bit of guilt Xiao Baoyin had left disappeared.
Xiao Baoyin continued to ask:
"Let's continue with the Guanzhong incident. If Mo Zhe Dadi died as the Liangzhou military report said, would Mo Zhe Tiansheng in Chencang withdraw his troops?"
Everyone knew that Yang Kan would never claim the credit for killing Mozhe Dati.
However, Yang Kan was close to the scholars in Guanxi, and the counselors present were all from Guandong, so they naturally wanted to suppress Yang Kan's achievements.
Liu Kai said, "The enemy army's base is in Qinzhou. Mo Zhe Dadi died, Mo Zhe Niansheng was captured, and Mo Zhe Tiansheng must return to Qinzhou to stabilize the situation."
Xiao Baoyin was delighted when he heard this and said:
"In that case, can this governor personally lead the troops to intercept Mo Zhe Tiansheng's returning troops?"
Liu Kai immediately said: "Absolutely not!"
In the Battle of Wuzhangyuan, Liu Kai witnessed the downfall of Cui Yanbo with his own eyes, and began to fear the rebels.
He explained:
"As the Art of War says, an army in distress will win. Now the rebels are an army in distress, and it is difficult to defeat them."
"Why not wait for Mo Zhe Tiansheng to retreat on his own initiative, and then we can retake Chencang. This is the safest way."
When Xiao Baoyin heard Liu Kai's suggestion, the courage that had just surged up in his heart disappeared. Yes, it would have been enough to just wait for Mo Zhetian to withdraw his troops on his own. Why bother to intercept him?
It seems that I was influenced by Su Ze's military achievements.
In fact, when Xiao Baoyin first entered the Northern Wei Dynasty, he fought very bravely. Otherwise, he, a member of the Southern Qi royal family, would not have been entrusted with important tasks by the Northern Wei court and led battles on the southern front many times.
However, as his status grew, he became more and more cautious, and less courageous.
Xiao Baoyin had a way out, and the final result of the discussion was to keep the troops in place and wait for Mo Zhe Tiansheng to lead his troops back to Qinzhou before raising an army to retake Chencang.
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Chen Cang.
Upon hearing the news that his father Mozhe Dati was defeated and killed in battle, and his brother Mozhe Niansheng was defeated and captured, Mozhe Tiansheng almost fainted.
The last time a corpse floated upstream of the Wei River, Mo Zhe Tiansheng had already sent people back to Qinzhou to inquire about the news, and he already had a bad feeling in his heart.
However, he did not expect that the scouts sent back to Qinzhou had not brought back any news, but he got the exact news from Hou Gang who crossed the Baoxiade Road.
After Mo Zhe Tiansheng's grief, he drew two arrows from his quiver and swore to the sky:
"Here lies the revenge for my father and brother! Mo Zhe Tiansheng swears to kill Su Ze!"
After saying this, Mo Zhe Tiansheng broke two arrows to show his determination for revenge.
Next, Mo Zhe Tiansheng looked at Hou Gang and said:
"King Qin, what should our army do next?"
Mo Zhe Tiansheng had no choice.
This is also the dilemma of uprising in this era.
In this era when knowledge is monopolized by the gentry, and the gentry particularly values family background, it is very difficult to recruit talented people to work for you.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng has already conquered Qizhou and half of Yongzhou, but the local gentry either fled with their families or refused to serve in the government until their death. Even those people that Mo Zhe Tiansheng had captured would not be able to give him sincere advice.
This was the result of the aristocratic forces being plowed over by the Five Barbarians and various northern regimes.
The gentry in the south were much more conservative than those in the north. Liu Yu, the founding emperor of Liu Song, had a father who had served as a county official and his ancestors had even served as prefects. However, his father died early and his family fell into poverty, so he had no choice but to become a leader of refugees.
Liu Yu himself was literate and well-versed in military books, but he was still ridiculed by southern scholars.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng has only occupied these places for a short time, and the local nobles still regard him as a bandit and are unwilling to help him with his plans. Now Mo Zhe Tiansheng has no one around to discuss things with, so he can only ask Hou Gang for his opinion.
Hou Gang said decisively: "Please ask the Grand Marshal to return to Qinzhou to take charge of the situation."
"Qinzhou is the base of the Grand Marshal. Now that the Grand Prime Minister and the Grand Chancellor have been defeated, Qinzhou is unstable. If we allow that Su thief to invade Qinzhou from Longxi County, our army will really become a bandit."
Mo Zhe Tiansheng was horrified. Thinking of the difficulties he had faced in fighting outside Qinzhou and the success of his battle to overthrow the governor Li Yan in Qinzhou, Mo Zhe Tiansheng finally understood the importance of people's hearts.
The people of Qizhou and Yongzhou do not have their hearts on him. If he loses his hometown Qinzhou for the sake of Qizhou and Yongzhou, it would be a loss.
Mo Zhe was born to be a hero. After deciding to retreat to Qinzhou, he asked Hou Gang, "But what should we do after we retreat to Qinzhou? Should we defend Qizhou? Should we defend Chencang?"
Mo Zhe Tiansheng had conquered Yongcheng and Chencang, the capital cities of Qizhou, with great difficulty, so he would definitely be reluctant to give them up.
Hou Gang said: "Chencang cannot be defended, but Yongcheng can be defended."
Mo Zhe Tiansheng nodded slightly. This was the same idea as his.
Qizhou is geographically integrated with Qinzhou, so after Qinzhou launched an uprising, Mozhe Tiansheng easily captured Qizhou.
However, Chencang is too far away from Qinzhou. If we want to defend Chencang, we have to leave soldiers to guard the area along the Wei River, which would require too many men and horses.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng finally asked: "What if our army retreats back to Qinzhou? After returning to Qinzhou, we will be attacked from both sides by the government troops. Are we just going to sit there and wait for death?"
This is also the issue that Mo Zhe Tiansheng is most concerned about. If he voluntarily retreats and allows the government troops to surround him, it would be better to surrender directly than to retreat.
Hou Gang had already thought of the answer, and he said to Mo Zhe Tiansheng:
"Da Sima, the north."
"north?"
Hou Gang said: "Da Sima, do you still remember Po Liuba Peacock?"
"You mean the messenger of the True King?"
Mozhe Tiansheng thought of Po Liuba Kongque. This envoy of the true king had participated in Hou Gang's Qin King's coronation ceremony, and was then considered by his father Mozhe Dati to be too inflammatory, so he was placed under house arrest in the Qin King's Mansion in Qinzhou City (today's Tianshui).
When he first started the rebellion, Mozhe Dadi was full of high spirits and felt that the government troops were like chickens and dogs that would collapse at the slightest touch.
At that time, Mozhe Dati had no intention of submitting to the True King, nor was he prepared to start an army under the banner of responding to the True King.
That's why Mozhe Dadi "promoted" Hou Gang to be the "King of Qin" and used the banner of "King of Qin" to unite everyone to rebel. But now that Mozhe Dadi and Mozhe Niansheng have suffered successive failures, Hou Gang mentioned the "real king" again, and Mozhe Tiansheng suddenly realized.
"Your Majesty, do you mean to form an alliance with the 'True King' and wait for the True King to make trouble before we take action?"
Hou Gang nodded, but Mo Zhe Tiansheng said, "But will the government army give us this opportunity? The Su bandit's army is strong, what if he continues to attack Qinzhou?"
Hou Gang said categorically: "Absolutely impossible!"
"Why is this again?"
Hou Gang said: "When I was in Luoyang, I once came into contact with Xiao Baoyin."
"Although people say he is a man of great character and generosity, he is actually a narrow-minded person."
"Moreover, he is a member of the Southern Qi royal family who surrendered. Although he married a princess, his position in the pseudo-Wei court is awkward."
"Xiao Baoyin has been eager to prove himself over the years. After being transferred back to Luoyang, he has been trying to get a transfer."
"If Xiao Baoyin wins a great victory and Su Ze loses a great defeat, then Xiao Baoyin will definitely pursue the victory."
"But now Xiao Baoyin has been badly defeated and Su Ze has won a great victory. Xiao Baoyin, the Grand Commander of the Western Road, will definitely restrain Su Ze and prevent him from attacking Qinzhou."
"If Su Ze really pacifies Qinzhou, who will be the Grand Commander of the Western Expedition Office?"
After Hou Gang finished speaking, Mo Zhe Tiansheng suddenly realized, so that's it!
That’s right. Xiao Baoyin is so incompetent on the front battlefield. If he continues to let Su Ze make achievements, how will he establish himself in the court?
It was precisely because the government troops were dragging each other down and stabbing each other in the back that he was able to rise.
After Mo Zhe Tiansheng understood this, he nodded slightly and said, "If that's the case, who can defend Qizhou Yongcheng?"
This was also Mo Zhe Tiansheng's test of Hou Gang.
Although Hou Gang crossed the Qinling Mountains and traveled thousands of miles to join him, Mo Zhe Tiansheng was still worried about him.
Especially since Hou Gang analyzed the strategy so clearly, Mo Zhe was naturally wary.
Hou Gang cursed in his heart, why are both father and son like this? Even their methods of testing people are the same?
If Hou Gang had the capital and the means to surrender to the court, he would never have wanted to join this father and son.
However, due to the situation, he had no choice but to submit to others. Hou Gang was even more determined to be careful with his words and actions in the future.
He immediately said: "This is Da Sima's family affair, it is not my place to talk about it."
Hearing this, Mo Zhetiansheng hid his murderous intentions and instead took Hou Gang's hand and said:
"Thinking back to the time when we started the army last year, we were so high-spirited. This year, my grandfather was killed in battle and my brother was captured. It was so desolate. Now is a time when people's minds are changing. I hope the king can be of one mind and one heart. This general will assist the king in his great cause."
What Mo Zhe Tiansheng said was incongruous, as if he was trying to win over Hou Gang, the King of Qin, to assist him, the Grand Marshal.
But that is the fact. Although Hou Gang is the King of Qin in name, his life and freedom are in the hands of Mo Zhe Tiansheng, the Grand Marshal.
After agreeing on the future strategy, Mozhe Tiansheng was also decisive. He ordered the armory and granary in Chencang to be emptied and all the things that could not be taken away to be burned. After leaving the devastated Chencang, he led the army back to Yongcheng in Qizhou.
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Su Ze led his troops into Nanzheng City, the capital of Liangzhou, and sent a "skillful medical expert" to diagnose Fu Shuyan. The follower then used the golden needle technique to bring Fu Shuyan back from coma.
However, although Fu Shuyan regained consciousness, half of his body was unable to move.
Su Ze knew that it was a stroke, a cerebral hemorrhage caused by long-term fatigue and the stimulation of his son's death in the war. In those days, it was called "wind disease."
Even if the emperor was infected with rheumatism, he would not live long, but the descendants of the Fu family were still very grateful to Su Ze.
Fu Shuyan is conscious and if he is taken good care of he can live for a while, and this time is enough for him to arrange the family's funeral affairs.
When Su Ze saw Fu Shuyan's look, he also felt a pity.
Fu Shuyan, who had made great contributions to the Northern Wei Dynasty and had been cleaning up the mess in Liangzhou, ended up like this.
Although Fu Shuyan could not speak, he could still write with his left hand. He expressed his gratitude to Su Ze and Yang Kan on his sickbed, and in front of all his subordinates, entrusted Liangzhou to Su Ze.
At the same time, Fu Shuyan wrote a letter personally, requesting the court to allow Yang Kan to succeed as the governor of Liangzhou.
This was a relatively smooth political handover, because the military achievements of Su Ze and Yang Kan intimidated two forces within Liangzhou, namely the Diyue barbarians recruited by Fu Shuyan and the local powerful forces in Liangzhou.
Yang Kan also entered the Liangzhou Governor's Office and temporarily handled the aftermath of Liangzhou in his capacity as a Langzhong of the Western Expedition Office.
Su Ze also handed over the government affairs to Yang Kan with confidence, and he took Su Liang and a group of personal soldiers to inspect Nanzheng City.
Su Ze looked at an old building in the center of Nanzheng City and asked Su Liang, "Is this Zhang Lu's former master's mansion?"
Su Liang nodded and said, "My lord is very knowledgeable. This is the Imperial Master's Mansion left over from the end of the Han Dynasty."
Su Ze said: "It's not that I am knowledgeable, but my teacher is. In the past, Master Li once examined the remains left by Zhang Lu in Hanzhong and mentioned this Junshi Mansion."
Su Liang had also heard his younger brother talk about Li Daoyuan, and he admired his erudition and talent even more.
Zhang Lu was one of the warlords during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. He once occupied Hanzhong and later surrendered to Cao Cao.
Su Ze looked at the ancient building in confusion and asked, "The remains of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms can still be found today. This Junshi Mansion is indeed extraordinary."
Zhang Lu occupied Hanzhong around 200 AD. Now it is the first year of Zhengguang, 520 AD, which means that this Junshi Mansion has a history of more than years.
Three hundred years is already a very long time, and Hanzhong is also a place that has been warred on four sides. It is truly a miracle that it has been preserved to this day.
These days when Su Ze entered the city, he was busy with military affairs. Su Liang still received some civil registration files from the Liangzhou Governor's Office, so he had some understanding of the things happening in Nanzheng City.
Su Liang said: "I think it's because this Junshi Mansion is not only a relic left by Zhang Lu, but also a place where the people of Nanzheng offer incense, so it has been preserved intact."
Su Ze's expression changed and he asked, "Five Bushels of Rice Sect?"
Su Ze then remembered that Zhang Lu was a unique one among the separatist forces in the Three Kingdoms - because the regime he established in Hanzhong was one of the few regimes in Chinese history that combined politics and religion.
He called himself "King's Teacher", his officials were called "Jijiu", and the common people who joined him were called "Ghost Soldiers".
When I got closer, I saw the Junshi Mansion, which was once a bustling place of worship. I would have thought that three hundred years had passed, but Zhang Lu had long since become a pile of dried bones in a tomb, and the Five Pecks of Rice Sect had stubbornly taken root in this land.
My wife and children both have colds and fevers, and my throat is also a little uncomfortable.
Today is the big recommendation, I really can’t add more chapters. I owe you all, I’m really sorry.
There are many people suffering from colds and fevers recently, so please take care of your health.
(End of this chapter)