Andong Governor's Office
Cheng Chuliang had already received Li Xiang's letter, which should have been sent a month ago. Now the alliance between the city-states there has been completed, and the Tang court has begun to set up local officials at all levels. This change must be implemented all at once.
When Li Xiang first led his troops to fight, he still used a puppet regime. Now that system is no longer needed, mainly because the Tang Dynasty has become stronger. If those puppet regimes are still needed, it would be a shame for his years of fighting in the south and the north. Therefore, he carried out the most thorough reforms from the beginning.
Although doing so lacks transition and will bring various difficulties to our work, but then again, the difficulty is only in the initial stage. Once you implement it this way, you will be able to relax for a long time afterwards. So even if it is a little difficult at the beginning, Li Xiang believes it is worth it.
Although the leaders of the city-states were unwilling, they had no choice but to agree under the suppression of the Tang army. They took their families and most of the gold and silver treasures and began their journey to Chang'an City under the escort of the Tang army. As for their territories and people, you don't need to worry, we will take good care of them for you.
Cheng Chuliang didn't have the time to take care of Vietnam's affairs, so he asked someone to call General Moren over. The order mainly mentioned General Moren's appointment and dismissal order, which relieved General Moren of all his posts in the Western Regions and he was about to go to the Annan Protectorate to serve as General Annan.
"Why haven't you found anyone yet?"
Cheng Chuliang said somewhat depressedly that the order had been issued for half a day, but the area of the Western Region was too large. General Moren and his men were on the transportation line, and it was very likely that they would not be able to get over in two or three days. However, he was upset and felt that he had let General Moren down.
Although General Moren is a Gaochang general, his contribution to us is not small. Of course, he is willing to stay in the Western Regions. However, the current situation is no longer suitable. The Annan Protectorate is also short of a general. This is a small upgrade for General Moren, but he may not be willing to accept it.
"General, please don't be too anxious. Our men have already traveled six hundred miles this morning, but General Moren is over a thousand miles away. It will take at least several days for him to arrive."
Zhang Jiuli was handling some urgent official business. At this moment, this guy was still doing his old job, assisting Xiao Shougui in various places in the Western Regions, and at the same time serving as a staff general beside Cheng Chuliang. Of course, he was only doing the work of a staff general and did not have the title of a staff general. Who made this guy a criminal? However, he felt very satisfied with this.
Thinking about what I did in Sichuan, I have brought so much trouble to the local people. Those people are suffering a lot now. Now I am still alive and can bring my family back from the border. This is already a very difficult thing, so I don’t ask for anything else now.
"Mr. Zhang is right. I'm a little nervous. General Mo Lun has been in the Western Regions longer than I have, and he's made great contributions. But look at these brats in Chang'an City. They're isolating him in various ways. I've seen it all. I feel so sorry for him. Why are they driving him all the way to Annan? What's going on?"
Although Zhang Jiuli did not hold any official position, he was Li Xiang's counselor after all. Cheng Chuliang and other generals understood this, so when facing Zhang Jiuli, they had to call him Mr. Zhang, which was considered to give this guy enough face. What's more, when Zhang Jiuli was in the Western Regions, he was equivalent to the deputy protector general. Xiao Shougui had to discuss some things with him, so it was normal to have such courtesy.
"I understand the general's thoughts. In fact, the earliest soldiers in the barracks are also unhappy. General Gao Chang has done a lot for us, and we should give him better. However, some things are beyond our control. Your Highness has written this letter, which means that you cannot afford to offend the nobles in Chang'an City for the time being. There are simply too many of them."
What Zhang Jiuli said was a fact. Take a small lieutenant general who was in charge of 500 people for example. There were about a hundred of them in the entire Western Regions, but more than 40 of them were from noble families in Chang'an City. They were of the same blood and encouraged General Moren together.
No matter how important General Moren is, you can't just remove these forty-plus sons of nobles. If you remove them all, the combat effectiveness of the entire military camp will drop dramatically.
"Sir, what you said is correct. I was one of them originally, and I still count as one now. They are strong fighters and have not lost face for their fathers and brothers. However, they also have one characteristic: it is extremely difficult for them to accept a general from the colony. Your Highness is also responsible for this. In the early years, Your Highness kept saying that those who are not of our race must have different hearts, and everyone has remembered it. Therefore, it is really difficult to accommodate a foreign general now."
When Cheng Chuliang talked about this matter, he also pulled Li Xiang into it. Zhang Jiuli didn't know what to say. He couldn't just join in and criticize Li Xiang. You are Li Xiang's brother-in-law, and it doesn't matter if you say a few words. No one will hold you responsible, but as a criminal, you can't do that.
Seeing Zhang Jiuli's sudden serious expression, Cheng Chuliang knew that he had said the wrong thing. He should not talk about Li Xiang's problems behind his back. If someone with ulterior motives heard it, it might affect the livelihood of the whole family in the future. So this guy looked around with a guilty conscience. There was no one else except Zhang Jiuli, so he felt relieved. Zhang Jiuli was not a talkative person.
At this moment, General Moren was escorting supplies to the military station. After receiving Cheng Chuliang's order, he rushed back as quickly as possible. General Moren worked hard to do these things, but in the end he could only get the trust of the old people, but still could not get the trust of the young generals in Chang'an City. During this period, he also had some insights in his heart, but he did not show them. He still did the work in his heart well.
When General Mo Lun received this letter from Cheng Chuliang, he knew that this farce was about to end, but he didn't know how the court would deal with him...
