Chapter 1096: Peace and Cooperation

As the banquet was coming to an end, Shao Yu got a chance to meet with Su Zhongshun, the Prime Minister of Dai.

"Among the four great prime ministers of Dai State, Wang Feng is in Pingcheng, Wei Xiong is in Shengle, and you are here. Where is Changsun Rui?" Shao Yu asked.

"Chang Sun Rui has been promoted to Yang Zhen (Three Dukes) and is no longer in charge." Su Zhongshun said: "He was replaced by Dou Qin of the Hedouling clan."

Shao Yu didn't quite understand the inclinations of the various leaders within Dai, but he knew that Wang Fu-ren's first two supporters had lost power.

Liu Lugu was sent to Luoyang in a cage and beheaded in the East Market.

Chang Sun Rui was placed in a high position, promoted in name only but demoted in reality.

It can be seen that beneath the stable surface of the Dai State, the undercurrents were surging very violently, and from time to time an undercurrent broke through the water surface, splashing a huge splash of water, and then slowly returned to silence, and at this time a new undercurrent began to brew underwater.

Seeing that Prince Yan was not very clear, Su Zhongshun explained it to him.

The system of Tuoba Dai Kingdom has been changing.

For the time being, Duke Dai is the nominal monarch, and because he is young, the actual power is held by Lady Wang.

Under the Duke of Dai there were three dukes - equivalent to the three dukes of the Duchy of Wei established by Cao Cao and the Duchy of Liang established by Shao Xun.

The Xianbei people called the Three Dukes "Yang Zhen", but did not make any specific distinction. Currently there are two of them, Duan Fan and Chang Sun Rui. I heard that Duan Fan is very old and is about to die.

As in the Central Plains, the Three Dukes had a high status but no real power.

Wang Feng, Su Zhongshun, Wei Xiong and Dou Qin served as assistant prime ministers and were responsible for state affairs.

Among the four, Wang Feng represented the Wuhuan forces in Guangning and Dai counties that migrated westward one after another;
Su Zhongshun represents the Wuhuan forces from Youzhou who migrated here in the early years;
Wei Xiong was appointed alone, but he reclaimed wasteland and built up industries in Yunzhong and Mayi counties, and had two manors. His family still stayed in Dai County, and that place was already Liangtu.
Dou Qin represented the Hedouling tribe of the Old Party, but because they had more contact with the ruler and ministers of Daliang and had been severely beaten once, the Hedouling tribe is now more honest and less influenced by the Old Party. They began to try to reclaim the fertile land along the Yellow River in Wuyuan County.

As early as the Tuoba Yilu era, the prime minister did not actually have that much power because the state system was a tribal alliance.

Today, almost thirty years later, the situation is very different. The population directly controlled by Dai Gong has increased greatly, mainly including the population of various tribes who were registered after being dispersed, as well as the population of Yunzhong and Mayi counties who were successively registered. There are more than 100,000 people in total, which is quite a lot.

Therefore, compared to the Tuoba Yilu era, the current four prime ministers have a much easier life.

In addition to the assistant prime minister, the imperial guards also underwent reforms.

This is the most urgent thing Wang has been pressing for in the past two or three years, which may be related to her strong sense of insecurity.

The current strength of this troop is 12,000. Originally, they were the best and strongest men selected from various departments to become the imperial guards, a bit like the palace soldiers of Daliang who took turns to go to the capital.

This group of people still exists, but not as many as before, probably only one third.

In addition, there are registered population from the Dai Kingdom court and the remaining soldiers recruited from the Central Plains. The whole pattern is characterized by a mixed population: there are able-bodied men from the tribes, soldiers similar to hereditary soldiers, and some recruits supported by the court.

The imperial guards were no longer led by the four generals, but by the left, right, front and back generals, namely the left general Mo Han (a powerful Han Chinese), the right general Wang Ping (a descendant of the Wang family of Wuhuan), the front general Tuoba Kefu (a close relative of the royal family), and the rear general Qiu Dunju (a surrendered foreign tribal leader).

It is obvious that Mrs. Wang attaches great importance to seizing military power, and tries every means to turn the imperial guards into the court's army and avoid being constrained by the tribes as much as possible.

In short, the four prime ministers and four generals were the core officials of the Dai Kingdom's court.

The Four Generals were generals from outer garrisons, wavering between the imperial court and local forces.

Liangcheng was a feudal state.

The six counties of Yunzhong, Dingxiang, Mayi, Wuyuan, Shuofang and the newly established Hexi (the northern half of Beiyi Mountain) are the front part of the mountain, while the part behind the mountain is under the jurisdiction of the tribal alliance, which is mainly nomadic.

This is a dualistic country that is a mixture of Han systems and grassland traditions. There are natural contradictions, not to mention that a woman is in charge.

It was only after listening to Su Zhongshun's introduction that Shao Yu gained a deep understanding.

In the past, I only heard about the Tuoba Dynasty. It turned out that some of it was true, while some was biased. Now I understand it more clearly.

"Madam Wang's life is not easy either." After hearing this, he smiled and said, "I think she is on par with Jia Nanfeng."

"I dare not say that." Su Zhongshun smiled bitterly and said, "The Madam knows what your Highness intends. The Yicong and Luoyan armies should arrive at the Hequ Ferry in Mayi as soon as possible and make preparations for crossing the river. The imperial decree for conferring the title should also be issued as soon as possible. The Madam prefers the Duke of Wuyuan County."

"Isn't the Duke of Wuyuan County Tuoba Yihuai?" Shao Yu asked. "Just change the title." Su Zhongshun's face changed slightly and he lowered his head and said.

Shao Yu thought to himself that it was not impossible.

Su Zhongshun saw Shao Yu thinking, his heart tightened, and he hurriedly said: "The lady said that even if we suppress it this time, there will be a big hurdle in the future. Dai Gong is eleven years old. According to the customs of the grassland, he can get married at the earliest age of thirteen. With Dai Gong's status, it is impossible for him to marry a girl from a small tribe. If he marries a large tribe, the situation will change. After he takes power, he can legitimately hold power. The reason why these tribes support the lady now may not be that they are waiting for Dai Gong to take power. This matter is indeed worrying. The lady may be able to delay it, but how long can it be delayed? Fourteen years old, fifteen years old? It is impossible to delay it any further. It will not be later than fifteen years old..."

Shao Yu listened, nodded slightly, and then asked: "What would happen if Shi Yijian died?"

"The Dai Kingdom is torn apart, and many heroes are fighting for supremacy." Su Zhongshun's face changed, and he said, "Your Majesty doesn't want to see this scene, right? The best way is to control it. If you let it disperse on its own, it will invade the border from time to time, and the court will never have peace, and it will also ruin your majesty's plan."

Shao Yu raised his eyebrows after hearing this and said, "So what if they invade us? We can just fight back."

"If it were that simple, why didn't Your Majesty destroy the Tuoba Xianbei?" Su Zhongshun smiled bitterly, "First, it is very difficult to do, and second, the court cannot station heavy troops at the border all year round. It would be unbearable. The support of the three military towns of Wuzhou, Gaoliu, and Hongcheng is not a small amount. One third of them rely on self-reliance, one third rely on the supply of livestock, grain and fruits from Dai State, and one third rely on taxes collected from the military market. This is not enough, and the court has to give out some silk rewards from time to time."

"If chaos really breaks out, the military market will definitely be gone, the Xianbei people will not pay tribute, and the fields they cultivate may not be fully harvested. Besides, the troops from these three towns cannot block all the passages to the south. The Dai Kingdom has been maintained for so many years, and I don't know how much money and grain Your Majesty has saved."

"It is not difficult to defeat the Hu people, but it is really not easy to control the Hu people. Your Majesty has spent a lot of effort to maintain the Dai Kingdom, eliminate worries, and save money and food."

After listening for a while, Shao Yu felt that it made sense, but he was a little skeptical about Su Zhongshun's position.

After so many years in Dai, could it be that he is no longer so devoted to Daliang? People change. Shao Yu suspects that Su Zhongshun enjoys his position in Dai and is not interested in serving Daliang.

But he didn't say it out loud, but kept it in his heart.

"In fact, I came here for another reason." Shao Yu cleared his throat and said, "In recent years, Murong Wei has been very ambitious. He attacked Goguryeo in the east and frightened them. He attacked the Yuwen clan in the west and swept through all the tribes, looting countless people, cattle and sheep. It was only because of the power of Daliang that he dared not act rashly in Youzhou. But such ambitions should not be ignored. Your Majesty intends to let the Tuoba clan and the Yuwen clan join forces to fight against the Murong clan."

"Back then, the Yuwen clan repeatedly went south to plunder Youzhou." Su Zhongshun gritted his teeth and said, "My family suffered greatly from that. I can't even remember how many of our clansmen died in the battle. It's just right that such villains are dead—"

"This is a different time." Shao Yu hurriedly stopped him from saying the following words, "The Yuwen clan has been injured by them, and their strength has been greatly reduced. They are no longer a threat. As the saying goes, the lips and teeth are cold, so we should join hands now. Otherwise, do you think that with the current situation of Dai Kingdom, we can be a match for the Murong clan in a direct confrontation?"

Su Zhongshun shook his head.

Internal strife has always been a shadow that Tuoba Xianbei cannot shake off for many years. If Murong attacked, to be honest, many tribal leaders would rather join Murong Xianbei than surrender to Daliang. They just had no choice.

Don't give them a chance to choose!
As long as Yuwen Xianbei was there, Tuoba Xianbei would be safe. If Murong swallowed up all of Yuwen's tribes and lands, they would be directly bordering Tuoba Xianbei, and the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse. He understood this principle, and Mrs. Wang should also understand it.

Thinking of this, Su Zhongshun immediately said: "I will do my best to make this happen."

"It's not about trying to make it happen, it's about making sure it's done." Shao Yu said, "This is the emperor's intention. He doesn't want anyone to cause trouble behind the scenes when he attacks Jin."

At this point, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Li Zhenbei has already arrived in Youzhou. I will also lead the troops to fight with the Murong family."

"What? Your Highness is going to fight on the battlefield?" Su Zhongshun was a little shocked.

"I'm sixteen years old, so why not?" Shao Yu was unhappy when he heard this, and said, "I have practiced martial arts for so many years, and read military books for so many years, is it just for people to see, or for idle talk?"

He sneered and said, "A real man is willing to die. What is there to be afraid of?"

Su Zhongshun even admired the King of Yan a little.

There is a sense of heroism and bravery, just like the emperor in his youth, but not as cunning as that one - yes, in Su Zhongshun's opinion, the Emperor Liang many years ago could be called "cunning", which is a point that many people overlook.

He is brave, generous, wise, and willing to sacrifice himself at the critical moment. He has a heroic spirit, but he also hides a ruthless and cunning side, which is not comparable to the young boy in front of him.

However, Prince Yan is only sixteen years old. Who knows what he will become in the future?

After parting with Shao Yu, Su Zhongshun secretly met with Wang again and told her everything they had talked about.

Wang thought for a long time and said, "To fight against foreign enemies, we must first stabilize the internal situation. Let's deal with the internal situation first."

The next day, Shao Yu recruited dozens of knights in Liangcheng who were proficient in using halberds and long spears and had excellent riding skills - one of the criteria was that they could easily control bareback war horses.

Then he headed straight to Youzhou without stopping any longer.

Before leaving, he compiled what he had seen and heard along the way into a written report and sent it to Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)

previouscatalognext