Chapter 216: Another Mission
Chapter 216: Another Mission
In the imperial study, Crown Prince Yang Yong knelt down respectfully and saluted, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father!"
Yang Jian said gently: "My son, please stand up!"
"Thank you, Father!"
Yang Yong stood up with his hands hanging down. Yang Jian continued slowly, "I know that your mother agreed to let Yun Shiduan be the governor of Lishi County, so I don't intend to blame you. But do you really think it's wrong to let Xiao Xia be the governor of Zhangye County? I want to hear your true feelings."
Yang Yong had already received Zhang Yunqiu's instructions. He said calmly, "Before answering your father's question, please allow me to make two clarifications first."
Yang Jian nodded, "You say!"
"The first point is about the former military commander of Zhangye County, Liu Zhizhen, being appointed concurrently as the governor. This was indeed approved by me, but I guarantee that it has nothing to do with Liu Zhizhen. The reason I approved it was because Liu Zhizhen was jointly recommended by the Sogdians of Zhangye County. He is conducive to stabilizing the court's rule over the Hexi Corridor. That's why I decided to approve him to concurrently serve as the governor of Zhangye County."
Yang Jian smiled and said, "This is a very good explanation. I understand it. What next?"
"The second point is about Yun Shiduan's appointment as the governor of Lishi County. I admit my mistake. I did have some selfish motives at that time. I have decided to let Yun Shiduan resign from the post of governor."
"How did he perform as a governor?"
Yang Yong shook his head. "To be honest, Yun Shiduan's performance was rather mediocre. He didn't do anything wrong, but he wasn't very accomplished either. The main reason was that he was lazy in government!"
"Since your mother agrees, don't dismiss him from his post. Transfer him back to the East Palace!"
"Your son obeys your order!"
"Now you can answer my question."
Yang Yong sorted out his thoughts a little and said, "Xiao Xia is my son's nephew. Although I can't say that I like him, I definitely don't hate him either. I don't usually pay much attention to him. This time he made great contributions in Zhangye and wiped out the Tuyuhun army that invaded Zhangye. He has made great contributions to defending the territory. If your father wants to promote him, I have no objection at all. But please be cautious about the position of governor. This is not a question of whether he has the ability or not, but he is still young. It is really inappropriate for him to be a governor at the age of sixteen. At the beginning, Master Yun did not make him a governor directly, but let him serve as a Sima first. A year later, when he was eighteen years old, your son transferred him to the position of governor."
Yang Jian said calmly, "You mean, Xiao Xia can be appointed governor when he turns 18?"
"That's right! According to the Great Sui system, eighteen years old is considered an adult. When he is eighteen years old, even if the emperor appoints him as the governor of the Central Plains, I will not object. At this stage, I think it is better for him to be an official in Chang'an."
Yang Yong wanted to find the answer to the soul's other world from Xiao Xia, and of course he hoped that Xiao Xia would stay in Chang'an instead of far away in Hexi.
"Okay, I understand your opinion. Let him come back after completing the Tuyuhun campaign."
Although Yang Jian was suppressing the prince to maintain a balance, the meaning of balance was not to be too biased, but not too much either. Being too relaxed would threaten his throne, while suppressing too much would shake the stability of the country.
As for the appointment of officials, the prince had the right to inquire about the appointment and dismissal of the chief officials of each county, and Yang Jian had to consider the prince's opinion. He planned to follow the prince's opinion on this matter.
Time passed quickly, and it was January of the fourth year of Renshou. Just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Xiao Xia brought a team of soldiers to Guzang County, Wuwei County. He had received an eagle letter from the governor Xue Shixiong, asking him to come to the governor's mansion to discuss military intelligence.
Li Datong, the military officer, welcomed him into the General Administration Office with great enthusiasm. He asked with concern, "It must have been difficult for Envoy Xiao to come here! How many days did it take you to get here?"
"Fortunately, we arrived in three days. I found that the key to marching in the snow in winter is the condition of the horse!"
Li Datong gave a thumbs up and said, "You have hit the nail on the head, there is a saying in Hexi, 'Ride young horses in summer and old horses in winter', that's what it means. Normally you should ride young and strong horses, but in winter it's best to ride old horses. Of course, they don't have to be too old horses, it's mainly because old horses have experience and have adapted to winter, so they run fast on the snowfield and won't have any accidents."
"Haha! Ride mussels in summer and old men in winter. I'll remember that!"
The two came to the chief steward's office, and Li Datong walked in and said, "Chief steward, General Xiao is here!"
"Please!"
Xue Shixiong came out with a smile, "I'm sorry to have asked General Xiao to come here on such a cold day!" Xiao Xia bowed, "How dare I disobey the order of the general manager!"
"Come in and warm yourself by the fire!"
There was a large charcoal basin in the room, and the charcoal fire was burning brightly. Xue Shixiong asked Xiao Xia to sit down and said slowly: "I received an eagle letter from the Western Expedition Marshal's Office. Your contribution in defending Zhangye has been recorded as a great merit. I will reward you after the entire campaign is over."
"Thank you, butler, for speaking well of me!"
Xiao Xia handed another memorial to Xue Shixiong, "This is the credit of my subordinates. I have recorded it in detail."
Normally, as the military commander of Zhangye, Xiao Xia's achievements should be recorded by the general manager and cannot be reported directly to the Ministry of War or the Marshal's Office. However, Xiao Xia's status was special, so Xue Shixiong took the initiative to report his achievements to the emperor.
But Xiao Xia's subordinates could no longer overstep their authority and had to report to the general manager. They could not report directly to the Marshal's Office without going through Xue Shixiong. Instead, Xue Shixiong had to summarize the information and submit it to the next level.
Xue Shixiong nodded with satisfaction, "I understand. Then I invited you here to give you an important task. You will lead the army as the vanguard and send troops to the southern entrance of Dadouba Valley to completely open up Dadouba Valley."
There are two military cities in the Dadouba Valley. One of the military cities has been occupied by the Sui army, but it does not mean that the Sui army has completely controlled the Dadouba Valley. It is just that the Sui army occupied more than half of the territory of the Dadouba Valley and confronted the Tuyuhun army in the Dadouba Valley, reversing the previous passive situation of the Dadouba Valley being completely occupied by the Tuyuhun army.
Now that spring is approaching, Xue Shixiong must of course consider gaining a strategic advantage on the western front first, that is, occupying the entire Dadouba Valley, so that he can attack when advancing and defend when retreating.
Xiao Xia stood up and said, "I obey your orders!"
Xue Shixiong nodded and said, "I will give you another 2,000 cavalrymen to replenish your troops to 6,000. The militia can stay to defend Zhangye, and you can lead 6,000 men as the vanguard. I hope that when the real war breaks out, my Hexi Army can successfully fight its way to the west coast."
The task that Xue Shixiong assigned to Xiao Xia was not only to occupy the entire Dadouba Valley, but also to open up the passage from Dadouba Valley to the northern bank of Xixi. In fact, it was to capture the strategic fortress of Tuyuhun on the northern bank of the West Sea, Datong Military City.
Xiao Xia did not stay in Guzang County, but led 2,000 cavalrymen back to Zhangye that day. To Zhangye's surprise, these 2,000 cavalrymen were none other than Xue Wanjun's troops who had joined him in annihilating the Tuyuhun army last year.
Xue Wanjun was of course also in the army, and he naturally became Xiao Xia's subordinate. This was Xue Shixiong's real intention, to hand his son over to Xiao Xia and let his son follow Xiao Xia to achieve great things and build a career.
Xue Wanjun is a man of many talents. Under his father's careful training, Xue Wanche successfully built his foundation at the age of eighteen and his internal strength reached the sixth level. His brother Xue Wanche's internal strength was also the sixth level. The two brothers not only had great internal strength, but also had superb martial arts and could use a sword to perfection.
Xue Wanjun also took part in the military examination and obtained the qualification to become a military scholar. He highly praised Xiao Xia for defeating Pei Xingyan and Yang Yichen and winning the first place in the military examination.
"Pei Xingyan is a ninth-grade master, yet the envoy has defeated him. Is your inner strength also at the ninth grade now?"
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "I only completed my foundation building last November, so I don't know exactly what rank I am at. But even if I'm at the ninth rank, it doesn't mean I have extraordinary martial arts skills. For example, I'm no match for Yuwen Chengdu."
Xue Wanjun nodded, "My father also said that ninth-grade masters are divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower. Yuwen Chengdu and Shi Wansui are both in the upper ninth-grade, and are known as the two best in the world. Zhang Xutuo can only be considered as the middle ninth-grade, which is inferior to the two of them. But I think even if he is in the lower ninth-grade, he is still unmatched."
Xiao Xia continued slowly, "Martial arts is only one aspect. Even though Shi Wansui is the best in martial arts, he is also a general under Gao Jiong. Among the ten great contributors to the founding of the Sui Dynasty, Gao Jiong ranks first, but it is not because of his martial arts!"
"Your Excellency is right. I am still short-sighted."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "However, no matter how powerful Gao Jiong and Shi Wansui are, they are no match for age. It is still uncertain who will have the final say in the future!"
Xue Wanjun laughed loudly: "I am sure that in twenty years, Shi Wansui will not be my opponent!"
The two men chatted and laughed, and led the army to speed up towards Zhangye.
(End of this chapter)