Chapter 290: Divine Mighty General
The trip to Youzhou broadened Fa Zheng's horizons and gave him many new ideas.
For example, the matter of expanding territory.
In this world, apart from Tian Ze, the person most suitable for external expansion is Gongsun Zan.
The location of Liangzhou is directly connected to the Western Regions. This place was originally under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, so it is legitimate to take it over.
Moreover, Gongsun Zan had many light cavalry under his command, which was most suitable for conquering the relatively far Western Regions. The money and food from the Western Regions could just make up for Gongsun Zan's shortcomings in domestic affairs, which was a perfect match.
In comparison, Liu Yan of Yizhou had no ambition to expand, and lacked control over the southern region of Yizhou, so he could do nothing about the barbarians in the south.
The situation of Shi Xie in Jiaozhou was similar. They were both guard dogs who wanted to be their own emperor behind closed doors.
Sun Ce had just pacified Jiangdong and had no energy to expand outward from the sea. His shipbuilding technology and medical levels were also behind the times.
Only they have this condition.
"Attacking the Western Regions..." Gongsun Zan frowned slightly.
"Those small countries seem to be vassal states of the Han Dynasty and are quite docile. Is it necessary to attack them? Besides, I'm afraid we have no legitimate reason to do so."
Gongsun Zan's hatred of foreigners has been greatly improved in Liang Province over the years.
He was worshipped like a god by the Qiang people every day. Every time he chopped someone with a sword, he would smile and shout to thank God for his gift. After a long time, Gongsun Zan really felt embarrassed to torment these Qiang people too much.
His views on other ethnic groups also changed a lot. After all, the Wuhuan and Xianbei, his mortal enemies, were almost gone, so who else could he hate?
Almost all the people who could be hated have been dealt with by Tian Ze.
"My lord, although these small countries seem docile, who knows if they are harboring evil intentions." A stern look flashed in Fa Zheng's eyes.
"Think about these years. As soon as the Han Dynasty encountered trouble, many of these small countries began to delay paying tribute, or even stopped paying tribute. It is obvious that they have changed their minds!"
"Huh!" Gongsun Zan looked at Fa Zheng with a slightly strange look.
"Xiaozhi, from what I know, there has been quite a lot of unrest in Xiliang in recent years, so it's not that these countries didn't pay tribute, but they couldn't send anything in, and many of them were robbed."
"So what?" Fa Zheng said righteously.
"Just because a few bandits robbed the road, we don't pay tribute. Is this a reason? Where do you put us Han people? Where do you put your lord?"
"Is it difficult for such a big country to send thousands of soldiers to escort tribute? In the final analysis, it is still insincere and harbors evil intentions!"
Gongsun Zan looked at the indignant Fa Zheng and scratched his head gently: "Xiaozhi, what you said makes sense."
Yes, but there are only a few thousand soldiers and horses, at most most of the military forces of these small countries, and it seems "reasonable" to use them to escort tribute items.
Seeing this, Fa Zheng nodded with satisfaction.
For such a "big" crime, it's good enough that the country is not destroyed. It should not be an exaggeration to bring it under your command. This is a blessing!
Compared with the Han Dynasty's past behavior of sending envoys to die and then causing trouble to destroy the country, he was still too "soft-hearted".
The Han army is approaching, do not dare to move. If you move, your country will be destroyed!
This is not an empty statement. It is better not to give me a reason to beat you, because once I find one...
Fa Zheng didn't mind taking Gongsun Zan to expand the territory ahead of time.
"However, my lord, before conquering the rebellious countries in the Western Regions, you must complete one thing as soon as possible so that you can have a legitimate reason," said Fa Zheng.
"What's the matter?" Gongsun Zan asked.
"Be king!"
"King Liang!"
???
Gongsun Zan stared at Fa Zheng with wide eyes, his face full of surprise.
"It seems that since Emperor Gaozu, the White Horse Alliance has been established, and only those with the surname Liu can be king!" It is impossible for Gongsun Zan to say that he is not tempted to be king or emperor, but he does not have much in mind. He does not like these empty titles very much, and it is more practical to have more soldiers and horses.
"My Lord, times have changed."
"There are already three emperors in the world. If a common man like Lu Bu can become king, why can't you, my lord?" Fa Zheng said with a sigh of regret.
After learning about the situation of Lu Bu and Li Ru, Fa Zheng has always regarded Li Ru as his target.
The situation in Bingzhou in the past was worse than that of Liangzhou today. Li Ru could give Lu Bu the title of King of Yan, so why couldn't he give Gongsun Zan the title of King of Liang?
The relationship between Li Ru and Lu Bu is more like that of father and son, or master and apprentice, while the relationship between Fa Zheng and Gongsun Zan is more like that of brothers.
Gongsun Zan always treated Fa Zheng as his younger brother and doted on him quite a bit.
Fa Zheng also regarded Gongsun Zan as his brother, but he felt that this elder brother was a little disobedient and too petty.
It would be better if he could listen to him as much as Lu Bu listened to Li Ru.
"I'm not afraid of anything. The main reason is that calling myself a king seems to be meaningless, and if I'm not careful, I will attract criticism from Liu Yan and others. Why bother?" Gongsun Zan said.
“No, it may not have made sense before, but it will make sense once you conquer the Western Regions, my lord,” Fa Zheng said.
"And even if you are defeated and surrender to Tian Chengshou in the future, you can't be lower in status than that fellow Lu Fengxian, it's really inappropriate not to be called a king."
"Besides, who dares to attack us now? Liu Yan is just a watchdog. He can guard Yizhou, but if he dares to send troops to Liangzhou, we would be more than happy."
"Li Jue and Guo Si are in trouble themselves, so they have no time to care about us. Tian Chengshou must support us. The other princes are too far away to take action."
Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zan nodded thoughtfully.
"Besides, Lu Fengxian also called himself the Chanyu of Xianbei. My lord, you can't be left behind either. My lord, you should be the King of Qiang!"
Scratching his head somewhat helplessly, Gongsun Zan looked at the civil and military officials on both sides who agreed with him.
"Is this appropriate?"
"Suitable! Suitable!" everyone responded.
Han Sui even stood up and said, "King of Liang! The Qiang people of Liangzhou all follow the orders of the lord. It is not worth mentioning to confer a title of Qiang King. In my opinion, the lord should confer the title of Divine Mighty General again!"
Upon hearing this name, a strange light suddenly flashed in Gongsun Zan's eyes.
Domineering! I like it!
Although the titles of King of Liang and King of Qiang were obviously more valuable, Gongsun Zan liked this title of general.
Fa Zheng looked at Han Sui deeply.
The two sides' eyes met in the air and they nodded to each other.
Originally, Fa Zheng was quite wary of Han Sui.
He had long seen that this guy seemed to be upright and righteous, but in fact he was full of evil intentions. He had only joined Gongsun Zan because of the general situation, and he had never had any good intentions.
But now it seems that with the changes in the world situation, this guy seems to have "flexibly" changed his identity and is ready to become a "loyal minister."
They were all smart people, so Fa Zheng saw through Han Sui's thoughts at a glance.
But this is also a good thing, Fa Zheng no longer holds a grudge against him.
"it is good!"
"Wen Yue, I'll leave this matter to you. The scene must be grand, but don't spend too much money, just make it look good."
"I obey your command!" Han Sui bowed.
(End of this chapter)
