Chapter 957 Western Affairs

Chapter 957 Western Affairs

Chapter 957 Western Affairs
As the sandstorm hit, Guzang City was instantly plunged into darkness.

The street, which was bustling just now, suddenly became deserted.

The few remaining pedestrians also held their heads in their hands and walked hurriedly back home.

Yu Mie asked people to close the doors and windows, then he spat and sat back behind his desk.

The followers looked numb and complained continuously.

I've been in Liangzhou for several days, but I haven't accomplished anything and I've eaten a mouthful of sand. It's really bad luck.

Yu Mie looked at everyone and suddenly laughed.

Xun Xu glanced at him and said unhappily, "Why is Yuan Du laughing?"

Xun Xu is a very interesting person.

He was considered a descendant of Xun Yu. His father Xun Kui died early, leaving only him and his younger brother. He was only a few years old at the time and was taken back to be raised by his cousin Xun Song.

Xun Song had moved south with his family long ago and served as the governor of Jingzhou, but was later squeezed out by Wang Dun.

After Wang Dun's death, Xun Song came back and took over the position of Ji Zhan who had passed away.

However, while Xun Song was working for Jianye, he secretly sent his cousin Xun Kui's son Xun Xu back to his hometown in Yingchuan.

Last year, a man from Yingchuan was selected as a filial and incorrupt official to be appointed as the chief clerk of the Honglu Temple (rank seven). It is strange that he was selected as a filial and incorrupt official but had no parents.

When he was sent as an envoy to Liangzhou, Yu Mie brought several followers from the Honglu Temple, and Xun Xu was one of them.

Even though he had just been in office for a short time, he was a descendant of the Xun family after all, and he had a very high opinion of himself. When he spoke to Yu Mie, he did not treat himself as a subordinate at all, and always called him by his courtesy name.

Yu Mie was not annoyed, he just put away his smile and said: "I laugh at Zhang Jun's lack of wisdom and ignorance of fate-"

"Bang bang!" There was a knock on the door outside.

Yu Mie stopped talking and listened carefully. Indeed, there was the sound of knocking on the door mixed in with the wind and sand.

He stood up suddenly and opened the door.

The wind and sand immediately rushed in, filling the felt carpet and table with fine sand.

"Sir, someone is knocking on the door." The accompanying Yu family general reported.

Yu Mie was silent for a while, then he looked at the low gate and said, "Open the door."

"Yes." The general brought several elite guards and went forward to open the gate.

Yu Mie looked carefully and saw only one person.

The man was wearing a riding cap and a fake bell. He lowered his head slightly. When he saw the gate open, he raised his head, bowed, and said, "I am Yan Ding from Tianshui, greeting Mr. Yu."

Yu Mie thought for a long time before he realized who Yan Ding was. After being surprised, he shook his head and said with a smile: "So you ran to Liangzhou."

Yan Ding also laughed and said, "As early as the day when the Xianbei marched south, I took my family and servants and left for the west. If it were left overnight for ten days or half a month, and the whole city was searched, I would have found it difficult to escape."

"Come in." Yu Mie nodded and turned back into the house.

The soldiers let Yan Ding in and then closed the gate.

Yan Ding took off his shoes at the door of the main hall, entered the house, and sat down opposite Yu Mie without any courtesy.

At that moment, more than ten gazes were cast at him, but Yan Ding seemed unaware of them. He just bowed and said, "I came to see Mr. Yu today, but I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Yu Mie had no expression on his face and said, "Please try to explain it to me."

Yan Ding sorted out his thoughts and said, "Mr. Yu, do you know that the people of Liangzhou are unwilling to surrender?"

“I don’t know that.”

"This story starts with Zhang Xiping (Zhang Gui)," Yan Ding said, "At that time, the three kings of Changsha, Hejian and Chengdu were fighting each other, and Sima Yong had a slight advantage, so he appointed Fengyi governor Zhang Fu as the governor of Qinzhou. However, the counties on the upper reaches of the Long River were not happy about the foreign general entering Qinzhou, and they all rose up to attack, especially Longxi governor Han Zhi. The two armies fought at the entrance of Zhaduo Valley, and Fu's army was defeated, and Han Zhi killed him."

"At that time, Liangzhou Sima Yang Yin asked Xiping Duke to send troops on the grounds that Han Zhi disobeyed the order and killed Zhang Fu without authorization. He said, 'Your Excellency is in charge of a region and should punish those who disobey. This is also the meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals. If the princes perish and Duke Huan cannot save them, then Duke Huan will be ashamed.'"

"Gui followed his advice. He falsely claimed to have received an edict from Yongzhou, saying that Han Zhi had launched an internal invasion and that his intention was to suppress the rebellion. He then defeated him and captured Qinzhou."

"After Nanyang Wang Mo settled in Guanxi, his government orders did not leave Chang'an. At that time, Zhang Gui sent an envoy to make peace with him, and Mo was very happy. However, it didn't take long for the two sides to have a rift again..."

Simply put, after Sima Mo settled in Chang'an, his relationship with Zhang Gui was very complicated.

When he first arrived, government orders did not leave Chang'an, so Zhang Gui sent an envoy to establish friendly relations with him, which moved him deeply.

But after gradually gaining a firm foothold, he did not want to see Zhang Gui become more powerful, so he took advantage of the latter's illness and tacitly allowed Zhang Yue and others from Liangzhou to replace Zhang Gui.

There was a lot of chaos in the meantime, but Zhang Gui eventually put down the chaos. Sima Mo gave up his attempt to control Liangzhou, gave Zhang Gui a sword, and allowed him to have the right to rule the area west of Longdi. The two sides then began to cooperate.

However, Sima Mo also took the opportunity to take back Qinzhou and had his son Sima Bao guard it.

"Gui is indeed a loyal minister, but he has compared himself to Qi Huan. He is the same as everyone in Liangzhou, and he has never given up his sights on Qinzhou." Yan Ding said finally.

After listening to this, Yu Mie remained silent for a long time.

It was the first time he heard Zhang Gui's story from this perspective.

In the past, we only knew that when the emperor was in trouble, Zhang Gui sent troops to help several times, and he was a rare loyal minister.

The King of Liang sent people to Liangzhou to offer gifts and recruit soldiers, and they did not make it difficult for him.

I didn't expect there was another side. Perhaps, what he heard and what Yan Ding said were both correct.

Zhang Gui compared himself to Qi Huan, which did not conflict with being a loyal minister, because he acted with the attitude of the princes respecting the king and expelling the barbarians.

Moreover, in these troubled times, who doesn't have ambitions? Which lord doesn't want to expand his territory?

"Are you done?" Yu Mie came back to his senses and looked at Yan Ding.

"No." Yan Ding smiled and said, "There is a second matter."

"Speak." Yu Mie said.

"After Sima Mo died, Pei Bao, the former governor of Qinzhou, returned to Qinzhou and fought against Sima Bao, but was later defeated by Chen An. Pei Bao fled to Anding, but was killed by Zhang Gui." Yan Ding said, "I heard that Madam Pei was very favored, so the Zhang family of Liangzhou was suspicious."

"I see." Yu Mie nodded.

Pei Bao's father, Pei Li, served as a guerrilla general. He was the eldest son of Pei Hui and the brother of Pei Kang.

In other words, Pei Bao is Mrs. Pei's cousin, and their relationship is quite close.

But - does this count? Yu Mie doesn't think so.

"After the Xiongnu entered Guanzhong, Zhang Shi, Zhang Mao and others all followed the strategy of keeping Liangzhou." Yan Ding continued, "Now that Zhang Jun has succeeded to the throne, this strategy has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It will be difficult for the King of Liang to subdue them."

"It is impossible for Zhang Jun to enter the court! There are also many powerful families and Hu chieftains in the eleven counties of Liangzhou, such as the You family in Jincheng County and the Dou family, a powerful Diqiang chieftain. In the past, Sima Yong appointed You Kai, the governor of Jincheng, as the governor of Liangzhou, but he was unwilling to take the position and only wanted to be a local tyrant in Jincheng. This shows his character."

"If the King of Liang wants to obtain the eleven counties of Liangzhou without fighting, he must grant him the title of prefect. I heard that the King of Liang is only willing to give him the post of governor of Liangzhou, and the governor will be appointed by the court, so this alone cannot be accomplished."

After listening to this, Yu Mie thought about it carefully.

There must be a reason why King Liang only gave him the position of governor and not the position of provincial governor.

Although the governor does not command the military, he represents the imperial court and his influence cannot be underestimated.

The most crucial thing is that Liangzhou is not a monolithic entity. There is a big warlord in Liangzhou, but there are also small warlords within it. This gives the governor room to take advantage of the situation. In the end, he might really overthrow Zhang Jun's rule.

Zhang Jun could definitely see this, so what Yan Ding said was correct. If they really wanted to secede, they would definitely not agree to the court sending a governor.

In fact, according to previous contacts, Zhang Jun did send his staff to privately express his wish that the court should appoint him as the governor of Liang Province.

"You just said that Liangzhou wants to take over Qinzhou, but Qinzhou has been occupied by the Xiongnu for several years and now it has fallen into the hands of King Liang. What should Zhang Jun do?" Yu Mie looked at Yan Ding and asked.

"Clean up the eleven counties, then plan to conquer Hehuang and the Western Regions." Yan Ding replied.

"You have quite a big ambition." Yu Mie said with a smile.

Yan Ding nodded and said, "The governor of Jincheng was originally held by the You clan, but was later defeated by the Duke of Xiping. The Dou clan of the Di Qiang tribe replaced them and frightened them again. The year before last, they sent troops to Henan (south of the Yellow River in Lanzhou), penetrated deep into Hehuang, and recovered the old territory of Jinxing County. People from far and near submitted to them."

"Last year, Gu Zang had a discussion. The Chief of the Western Regions and the Commandant of Wu Ji heard that the Central Plains was in chaos and the roads were blocked, so they attached themselves to Liangzhou. However, since the Xiongnu have been destroyed, their hearts may be different. It is better to send troops to garrison and serve as a retreat."

"These two families are still there?" Yu Mie asked in surprise.

"Still there." Yan Ding said.

The Office of the Chief Secretary of the Western Regions was stationed in Loulan (now Ruoqiang), and the current chief secretary was Li Bai.

The Wu Ji Colonel was stationed in Gaochang (now Turpan), and the current colonel was Zhao Zhen.

After the chaos in the Central Plains, the roads were blocked, so these two people relied on Zhang Gui until today.

The Central Plains had been fighting for twenty years, but to them it was as if nothing had happened. Everything was peaceful and they continued to do what they were supposed to do.

The Hu people in the Western Regions lived in peace with these two families because they had internal autonomy and the Central Plains court did not interfere in their affairs. They were also intimidated by the reputation of the Central Plains since the Han and Wei dynasties.

What Yan Ding meant was that Zhang Jun was preparing to strengthen his control over these two vassal forces, with the intention of marching into Gaochang and even Loulan. In fact, this was to expand the strategic rear area. After all, their way to the east had been blocked.

From this perspective, the ambition is really big.

Thinking of this, Yu Mie was thoughtful and asked, "Is it possible to persuade the Chief of the Western Regions and the Wu Ji Colonel to attack Zhang Jun together?"

"It's difficult, they are too weak." Yan Ding said, "and Li Bai may not be willing to send troops. He is deeply indebted to Zhang Gui and is quite loyal to Zhang. Then there is Yanqi King Long Xi. If we send troops, it may be plundered by the 'red-headed soldiers', which may not be a good thing."

Most of the people in Yanqi State had red hair, so they were nicknamed "red-headed soldiers".

"The ministers of the court can give me a detailed account of the events in Liangzhou, Hehuang and even the Western Regions, so that I can send them to Luoyang." Yu Mie said, "You should know the story of fleeing to Guanzhong in the past. If you can do this, you may be able to make up for your crime and gain merit."

Yan Ding was silent for a while, then said, "Okay."

Yu Mie breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his trip was not in vain.

Even if he failed to complete the task of persuading Zhang Jun to surrender, at least he knew a lot about things in the west.

It turns out that so many things happened in the west when the Huns separated the east and the west.

The most surprising thing was that the Western Regions Chief Secretary's Office and the Wu Ji Colonel's Office, which had not been heard from for many years, were actually still there. The court once thought that they had been conquered.

Yu Mie waited patiently for Yan Ding to write about the events in Liangzhou.

It was not until the tenth day of the first lunar month that he finished organizing these manuscripts and the secret letter to King Liang, and then handed them over to the messenger, who sent them to Qinzhou as soon as possible and then forwarded them to Luoyang for King Liang to make a decision.

The situation in Liangzhou was far more complicated than he had imagined.

A force that fears Liu Han and Tuoba Xianbei, but its ambition cannot be underestimated.

(End of this chapter)