A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1186: Red Flag Soars to the Snowy Tianshan Mountains

The eastern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.

At the foot of the snow-capped mountains, Xiong Kuohai, Luo Cheng and Wu Yun summoned several Anxi soldiers to erect the inscription that had just been engraved.

The stone tablet is three meters high and is carved into a long shape from a whole piece of bluestone.

"Wu Huaiyu, the Minister of the Central Secretariat and Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, engraved this stone"

Xiong Kuohai read the inscription on the large bluestone stele.

These Anxi soldiers who were orphans of the Liyuan Opera felt particularly excited and proud when they saw Wu Huaiyu's name on the stele. Wu Xiang was the father of all of them.

There are thirty-six lines on the front of the bluestone stele, with more than a hundred characters in each line, and Turkic characters on the back.

The inscription says that Wu Huaiyu led the Anxi Army and the Turkic vassal army to the west to attack Suiye in the 14th year of the Zhenguan Period of the Tang Dynasty, beheaded the rebellious Khan Buzhen, defeated and captured the two tribes of Asijie, sent troops across Qianquan Mountain, pursued into the Shi Kingdom, destroyed the capital of the Shi Kingdom, captured the two great Jijins of Asijie, and defeated the Shi Kingdom, capturing the kings of both kingdoms and bringing them back.

Wu Huaiyu established the Suiye Military Town and the Dayuan Governor's Office. He also toured east to Rehai and established five cities on the Rehai Road, including Yezhi City, Helie City, Dong City, Rehai City, and Chishan City. Finally, he toured here, determined the location of Rehai City, and engraved a stone tablet to commemorate his achievements.

In the cold winter, there were only some makeshift cabins and soldiers' tents in Atami City.

"When is Chinese New Year?"

"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and the day after tomorrow is New Year's Day."

Xiong Kuohai stroked the large bluestone tablet and said, "It's a pity that I can't go back to Liyuan to celebrate the New Year with my brothers and sisters this year."

"Yes, the uncles and aunts in the opera house can't see it anymore."

They are all orphans who grew up in the Liyuan. Although they are the best children in the Liyuan and are now very successful, every Chinese New Year, as long as they are in Chang'an, they will go to the Liyuan to celebrate the New Year with everyone.

She would prepare gifts for her younger brothers and sisters in the opera garden, as well as give holiday gifts to the grandfathers, uncles, aunts and uncles who took care of the orphans in the opera garden.

But there’s no going back this year.

"The winter in the Western Regions is really cold. I wonder if Chang'an is cold this year."

"It should be fine. When I was in Gaochang, I received a letter from Liyuan's family saying that everything was fine."

Luo Cheng looked at the names on the stele: An Lushan, Li Keyong, Shi Shouxin, Pang Yanzhang, Xin Liaoer, Jiang Xingben, Cao Qin, Li Hai'an, etc.

I am very envious.

"I wish we could have our names engraved on this monument someday."

There are actually quite a few such steles in Anxi.

Some of them were left in the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty.

But most of them were engraved after Prime Minister Wu led the Tang army into the Western Regions this year. Every time a city was captured, or a region was conquered, or a city was built,
The military minister would have someone carve a stone stele to record his achievements and narrate his story.

Gaochang, Khanfutucheng, Luntai, Gongyue, Yili, West of Mount Dianhe, Suiye, Jiedanshan, then Rehai, Shiguo,
There are also Qianquan Mountain, Ashibulai City, Talas City, etc.

These steles represent the footprints of the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Army, their blood, sweat and achievements, and the majesty and sovereignty of the Tang Dynasty.

Wherever there is an Anxi Army stele, it is the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Xiong Kuohai said with a smile, "When we become General of the Central Army, we will be qualified to be on the monument."

The Lieutenant General in the Tang Dynasty was already a high-ranking military officer, of the fourth rank, and even the Lang Jiang was of the fifth rank.

The civil officials of the same rank were the governor of lower provinces, the right chancellor, and the vice ministers of various ministries.

The fifth rank of Lang Jiang, the corresponding civil officials are Zhongshu Sheren, Jieshi Zhong, Chang'an Wannian County Magistrate, Jianyi Dafu, Guozi Doctor, Zhishu Shiyushi.

Xiong Kuohai and other young men from the opera garden are now just Wu Huaiyu's guards, soldiers without any official title or position.

Not to mention the fourth-rank Zhonglang Jiang, even the fifth-rank Lang Jiang was out of their reach.

Shi Shouxin, whom they envied, was about to become a king and a governor, but he was originally a guerrilla general of the fifth rank. Then his military position was the Lieutenant General of the Right Guard. After he made meritorious contributions in the Western Expedition, Wu Huaiyu awarded him the title of Zhechong Duwei of Xizhou Puchang Prefecture in Anxi Protectorate.
Their former superior, Li Keyong, the commander of the Anxi Army, also held the rank of guerrilla general and lieutenant general.

"When can we be like those brothers?"

For several years, young people stood in the snow, all full of desire to achieve success.

"Let's wait until next year. After the spring, we will conquer the three kingdoms in Shannan. Then we will ask Aye to go to the front line and gain fame and honor immediately. Wealth and honor come from risk. If we stay by Aye's side as guards, we will have no chance to make achievements. We still have to go to the front line to fight!"

"What if Le Shusanguo surrenders and asks for forgiveness?" Zhu Can asked.

"It's too late to surrender. You think Asijie doesn't want to surrender, but do you think Wu Xiang agrees? He can rebel if he wants to, or surrender if he wants to. How can he be so free?

Our Anxi Army has just entered the Western Regions, and it is time to establish our prestige. Whoever jumps higher will be severely punished. Asi has hundreds of thousands of troops, the two strongest among the Ten Arrows, but they have rebelled again and again. Isn't Aye going to completely destroy them?
The three small countries in Shannan dared to rebel against the Tang Dynasty. Who else should we destroy if not them?"

These people can be regarded as children of the Wu family. They grew up in the opera theater and were later selected to study at the Wu family school, Qujiang Academy in the south of the city, because of their outstanding performance. Afterwards, they were selected to join Wu Huaiyu's troops in the expedition and were again selected to join the Anxi Army and became guards.

They are representatives among the Wu family orphans, one in a hundred.

I also look at problems more thoroughly.

Next year, the Anxi Army will definitely conquer the three Shannan countries. This is not only because they followed Asiji in rebelling against the Tang Dynasty, but more importantly, because of the position they occupied and the fact that although they were small in size and sparsely populated, they were located on the southern route of the Tianshan Mountains on the Silk Road and were very rich.

This year, Wu Xiang's series of military operations in the Western Regions were mainly in the east and north of the Tianshan Mountains. He opened up the Tianshan North Road and the Beixin Road from Yiwulu all the way to Suiye and Shiguo.

However, the Silk Road's southern Tianshan route has not been involved.

This time, the three Shule kingdoms and Asijie rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, which was undoubtedly the best reason for the Tang Dynasty to intervene in Shannan.

The three kingdoms of Shule are right at our doorstep, so there is no reason to push them away.

"Or we can just ask to stay in Chishan City. Chishan City also needs people to stay here. This is the eastern end of Atakado. When we conquer the three kingdoms next year, this place will be the first to bear the brunt." Xiong Kuohai suggested.

"How about we brothers stay here together?" Luo Cheng said.

Brothers Wu Yunzhao and Wu Tianxi were also willing.

Finally, everyone looked at You Junda and Zhu Can, and they nodded, "We are brothers, of course we have to be together."

The brothers went to find Wu Huaiyu and told him in person that they wanted to stay in Chishan Castle.

"Chishan City is only on the map now. There is nothing there yet."

"We know that we can serve as an outpost for Chishan City and build a wooden house to live in first," Xiong Kuohai and several others suggested staying to guard the Bodaling Pass.

"You should think carefully. Staying in Chishan, the conditions are simple. Although the New Year is coming soon, it is still a long time before spring comes, and supplies will have to wait until spring comes." Wu Huaiyu admired these young people. They named themselves and grew up in the Wu family's Liyuan Orphanage.
Although I did not adopt them as my adopted sons, they have all called me Aye since they were young.

These children are truly reliable people who can be trusted.

Wu Huaiyu not only raised them, but also taught them. He even promoted them to join the Anxi Army and made them a glorious Anxi soldier.

They want to make progress, which is a good thing. Young people are motivated. Perhaps with time, they will become as talented as Li Keyong, An Lushan, Yuwen Chengdu, Shi Shouxin and other adopted sons.

"Please rest assured, Minister Wu. We are all Anxi soldiers, brought up by you. We are not afraid of climbing on ice or lying in the snow. Even if we don't have supplies, we can hunt and fish. We can't starve."

"Yes, the Bodaling Pass is so important, someone has to guard it." Luo Cheng also said.

Looking at these passionate young people, Wu Huaiyu nodded.

"Okay, then I will leave twenty of you and temporarily organize you into a garrison.

Xiong Kuohai, you are appointed as the inspector of the garrison, Luo Cheng, you are appointed as the deputy garrison commander. "Wu Yunzhao appointed you as the leader of the first group, Zhu Can as the deputy leader, You Junda as the leader of the second group, and Wu Tianxi as the deputy leader."

"Work hard. If you can hold on until the beginning of next spring, you will be given permanent positions."

A garrison of the Tang army consisted of less than 30 people, and the garrison commander was only of the ninth rank, equivalent to the head of a palace soldier team.

A garrison deputy is equivalent to a team deputy.

The chief chef and the deputy chief chef are not up to the standard.

The six brothers are now just guards without any rank.

Arranging them to stay here, temporarily organizing them into a garrison, and granting them positions as temporary garrison commanders is also paving the way for them.

Just hold on for a few months and you can become a full-time employee, and even getting promoted to a higher level won't be a problem.

Xiong Kuohai's purple face turned even purpler with excitement, "Thank you, Prime Minister Wu."

Luo Cheng and others also expressed their gratitude loudly.

"Do your best. Pick sixteen guards and make a total of twenty people. Then go get the corresponding money, food, and equipment. When we return and pass by Chishan, I will have people help you build a few wooden houses, and you will stay there to guard the place."

Wu Huaiyu looked at these young people and said, "I have watched you grow up since you were young. Now you want to spread your wings and fly high. I am very pleased.
The sharpness of a sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.
I will give each of you something."

Wu Huaiyu gave Xiong Kuohai an eight-sided purple gold spear. This weapon was twelve feet long, with edges but no blades. It had copper caps and copper spikes at both ends, and there were also many copper hoops on the spear body.

This type of weapon was mainly a vehicle-mounted weapon in the Pre-Qin period, and later became a striking weapon for soldiers. It was made of bamboo and wood, but the one that Wu Huaiyu gave to Xiong Kuohai was an iron rod with an eight-sided copper hoop, which required a person with particularly great physical strength to use it to better exert its power.

The purple-faced Xiong Kuohai is naturally strong, so this is quite suitable for him.

"Thank you, sir." Xiong Kuohai liked this weapon very much. This eight-sided purple gold spear was originally Wu Huaiyu's ceremonial weapon, but it was also a genuine and excellent weapon.

"Good job."

"Luo Cheng, I know you are good at using guns, so I will give you this 2-foot-long dragon gallbladder silver gun."

Luo Cheng took the gun, his hands were shaking with excitement, and he couldn't let go of the gun.

Wu Tianxi was given the Baoyue Kun Tiedun, Wu Yunzhao was given the Zhangba Snake Spear, Zhu Can was given the Qinglong Yanyue Blade, and You Junda was given the Wupang Toutian Fork.

The weapons of the six people are more famous than each other, and they are indeed of very good quality.

But in the end, Wu Huaiyu still gave each person two handsome horses, a set of Ming Guang armor of the captain level, and a black lacquered horse lance.

Wu Huaiyu did not stay too long on the east coast of Rehe. He erected a monument, made a circle, followed Tunshabo Khan to visit several Basagan winter pastures, and took a bath in the hot springs in the mountains.

It was snowing heavily on the way back. The snow on the ground was so thick that the breath turned into ice, but the Atami was still sparkling.
We passed the future location of Chishan City and stopped for a day.

He sent people to help cut wood, and built a small wooden village for the Chishan garrison of twenty people led by Xiong Kuohai, which included several wooden houses, a circle of wooden fences, and an arrow tower. He also left them food and fodder, as well as some arrows and other equipment, and also cut down some trees and chopped some firewood for them.

One day later, the troops on the eastern tour returned to Suiye on the snow.

Xiong Kuohai and twenty other people were left behind to guard the garrison.

After half a month of trekking, we finally returned to Suiye.

By this time, the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month had already passed.

As soon as he returned to the city, Wu Huaiyu received a lot of news. Due to the snowstorm, the news was seriously delayed.
The first piece of news was that last year, Deputy Grand Protector Tingzhou Governor Liu Demin and Yuwen Chengdu led their troops to the east to attack the Khitan tribe and succeeded. After crossing the Great Desert and meeting up with Governor Guo Xiaoke's troops in Shazhou, they headed straight for Liangzhou.

The Qibi tribe held Qibi Heli hostage, and 8,000 troops moved northwards, dragging their families along, and their movements were very slow, which allowed Liu Demin and Guo Xiaoke to successfully catch up, and the two sides fought a battle in the north of Liangzhou.
The Anxi army blocked the Qibi tribe's way, and then Yuwen Chengdu led 5,000 infantrymen to form a spear formation with their backs to the water.

Liu Demin and Guo Xiaoke led the cavalry to deploy on the other side of the hillside.

The Qibi army chose to attack the 5,000 infantrymen who were arrayed with their backs to the water.
However, no matter how the Qibi cavalry repeatedly attacked Yuwen Chengdu's infantry spear formation, they attacked for two hours, suffered countless casualties, and still failed to drive the 5,000 Tang soldiers into the river to feed the fish.
Instead, they suffered countless casualties in front of the spear formation, leaving corpses all over the ground.

The Qibi tribe thought they would win by using cavalry against infantry, but they did not expect that the Tang army not only deployed densely packed spears, but also had secret weapons behind the spears, namely three-eyed fire guns and various palm thunders, thunder bombs, even poisonous smoke balls, kerosene bombs, etc.
These things have a very restraining effect on the Khitan cavalry. Although they don't kill a lot of them, they have a very strong effect of scaring and frightening them.

It is also very lethal at close range.

After charging from morning to afternoon, the Khitan tribe finally could not move forward.

At this time, the Tang cavalry, who had been on the distant mountain, finally rushed over after seeing the fatigue of the Khitan tribe.

Before the battle, the Khitan people were still mocking Liu Demin and Guo Xiaoke for their incompetence, leaving the infantry to die by the water while the cavalry watched the show. They also speculated that the Tang army generals might have been fighting among themselves or were simply arrogant.

When the Tang cavalry came to attack, they realized that the Tang army had made plans long ago and expected that they could not break through the infantry formation with their backs to the water.

But it's too late to regret.

The well-rested Tang cavalry attacked, but the Qibi army was exhausted and their morale was low. They were directly defeated by this charge.

The Tang army's infantry and cavalry launched a pursuit, and the Qibi tribe collapsed for dozens of miles. The young and strong elite were defeated, and the women, children, the elderly and the weak behind them were no longer able to resist.
After the Tang army surrounded and captured the women, children, the elderly and the weak of the Qibi tribe,

The defeated Khitan warriors finally had no choice but to surrender.

The Tang army won a great victory in this battle. Qibi Heli and his mother were also rescued. Under the leadership of Heli, the Qibi tribe returned to the Tang Dynasty. Most of the nobles of the Xueyantuo tribe who had taken their tribe north to surrender were captured and escorted to Chang'an.

Most of the 8,000 tents of the Khitan tribe were brought back to Helan Prefecture where they were originally settled.

This happened years ago, around the time when he arrived in Suiye.

Look at the next letter.

A few years ago, the emperor wanted to tour Luoyang and ordered the crown prince to be regent and the right servant Gao Shilian to assist him. As a result, when the carriage arrived at Wen Tang, the guards Cui Qing and Diao Wenyi shot arrows at the palace at night, and five arrows fell into the courtyard of the emperor's bedroom.

After the incident, Baiqi quickly arrested the two men and interrogated them overnight, but the two men confessed that they were just tired of the pain of marching and hoped that the emperor would be frightened and stop patrolling, and they had no intention of assassinating the emperor.

Baiqisi did not believe this result, but he could not find any evidence of their treason, nor could he find any other people involved.

The Hundred Cavalry Division wanted to intensify the interrogation and investigation, but the emperor issued an edict to execute the two men for high treason, one of the ten major crimes. The case was closed and no further investigation was carried out.

Wu Huaiyu intuitively felt that this case was not that simple.
No guard said that they were unwilling to follow the emperor on tours because they thought it was too hard, so they dared to shoot arrows at the emperor's bedroom. This was not a warning.
This is treason and assassination.

Those who can serve as the emperor's guards are not ordinary people. They have to go through strict screening. In other words, the emperor's guards are generally the sons of nobles and officials.
One of these two people has the surname Cui, which doesn’t seem like a coincidence.

But the fact that the emperor closed the case so quickly showed that there might be something hidden behind it.

But the emperor closed the case in a hurry and did not allow further investigation. Could it be that this Cui Qing was a descendant of the Qinghe Cui or Boling Cui families?

If this is true, then the emperor did not allow the investigation to continue, not because he was afraid of the two five-surname families, but rather he might be planning a more severe counterattack.

Thousands of miles away,

Now I don’t know how this matter is progressing.

Changan,
This New Year must be a time when all nations come to pay tribute. The lanterns in Chang'an during the Lantern Festival must be very beautiful.

His wife and children at home should be doing well. With a feeling of longing for them, Wu Huaiyu found the letters sent by them.

Make a pot of tea.

Read each letter slowly and carefully.

(End of this chapter)