A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1217: Returning to Chang'an in the Snowy Wind

Wu Huaiyu never hides his tendency to protect his shortcomings.

An Lushan was his adopted son. He followed him when he was a teenager. He served him wholeheartedly and fought for the court in the northern frontier for more than ten years. He also made many contributions during the expedition to the Western Regions. Although An Lushan is now fat and no longer young, his contributions cannot be erased.

He has made a mistake now, but he still has to help.

"I'm letting you go to Anguo to avoid the limelight. There are many impeachment memorials against you now, and I can't let you stay in the Anxi Army as a soldier forever."

"I have pleaded for you with the Saint for many times. Now the Saint has issued an edict, agreeing that you can go to Anguo and restore your honor as a pillar of the country and the title of Earl of Dongping, but your official rank will be reduced to that of a guerrilla general.

Go to Anguo in Hezhong, and first serve as a trainer of the Parthian Unity Camp, to assist Helingjia in organizing the Anguo militia.

An Lushan listened very carefully.

"Aye, are you going back to Chang'an too?"

"Well, you are quite clever."

"In fact, everyone is guessing privately, when will they leave?"

"When it snows, it's time for me to set off." Wu Huaiyu did not hide the secret from his fat son. After Lu Chengqing returned to Beijing, he proposed to the Ministry of War to split up the Anxi Protectorate, and he also received the support of the Minister of War Li Ji.

Of course, the most important thing in this matter is the emperor's wishes.

Now, Lu Chengqing, the relative, told Wu Huaiyu that the matter had almost been completed. The Council of State Affairs had held several meetings, and the emperor had also convened several special court meetings to discuss the matter.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Western Regions will be divided into the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate. The Anxi Protectorate will be stationed in Qiuci, and the Beiting Protectorate may be stationed in Tingzhou, Suiye or Yili. The details have not yet been determined."

The split into two is already determined.
But who will serve as these two protectorates has not yet been decided.

The current situation in the Western Region is very good, so all forces in the court are eyeing these two positions and want to get a piece of the pie, even if it's just to gild the coin.

Wu Huaiyu has already chewed all the hard bones that could be chewed, so there will be no danger in coming. He can just sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor. Who wouldn't want to come?

Each party has its own interests and wants to put forward its own candidate.

Wu Huaiyu recommended his brother Wu Huaiyi to be the Grand Protector of Anxi and Su Dingfang to be the Grand Protector of Beiting. Although he knew that he could only get one of these two positions, he still wanted to make a statement and fight for it.

The Minister of War Li Ji also had supporters. He supported Guo Xiaoke to serve as the Grand Protector of Anxi again and Xue Wanche to serve as the Grand Protector of Beiting. Although Guo Xiaoke's performance as the Grand Protector of Anxi was not good before, there were objective reasons. Besides, he performed well and made contributions in suppressing the rebellion of the Qibi tribe.

Prime ministers such as Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, and even Yang Shidao and Wei Zheng all had their own supporters.

Anyway, it will be difficult to reach a conclusion on this matter in the short term.

"Aye conquered the Western Regions, but now those people are scrambling to reap the benefits. It's so damn disgusting." An Lushan cursed.

"I have seen all the beautiful scenery in the Western Regions. I have been here for almost two years and I want to go home. I have been away from my wife, concubines and children for a long time and I miss them very much. Next year, my aunt will get married and my eldest son will also get married. As a father, I cannot be absent."

An Lushan was also moved after hearing this.

When he followed Wu Huaiyu, he was the same age as Dalang Chengsi now. In the blink of an eye, he became a fat man weighing 300 kilograms and was over 30 years old. And the Chengsi brothers who were just born at that time are now old enough to get married.

"I may not be able to attend Dalang and Da Niang's wedding in person next year. You must tell them that it's not that their brother Zhu'er won't come, but that I can't go back for the time being. But let them rest assured that even if I am thousands of miles away in Anguo, I will send them a wedding gift."

Wu Huaiyu nodded,
Everyone said that An Lushan was domineering, greedy, and lustful. But this guy was absolutely filial to Wu Huaiyu, and treated the children of the Wu family as his own brothers and sisters. He never came empty-handed every time he visited, and even when he was stationed outside, he would definitely send a gift during the annual festivals.
There is no one in the Wu family who doesn't like An Zhuer who is getting fatter and fatter.

Huaiyu patted his shoulder and said, "When you go to Anguo this time, don't bring those women from Kucha. None of them are sincere, so don't cause trouble. When you get to Anguo, be restrained and low-key. Lead the troops well and protect Helingjia. This is also your chance."

He smiled and said, "Maybe one day, you, like Little Stone, can become the King of Anguo. Then the Saint might grant you a county lady of the royal family."

This is not all a joke.

Helinga is now commonly known as the Vice King of Anguo, but he is the 22nd legitimate descendant of the royal family of Anguo. Now that he has the support of the Tang Dynasty, the Turkic King Anguo will be driven away sooner or later, and Helinga will surely be able to restore the throne.

Then, as Helingjia's sworn brother, An Lushan could be considered half a prince.

If there is any major unrest in Anguo again and King Helingjia dies, then An Lushan, who holds the power of the army and has the Tang Dynasty behind him, will first appoint a royal child as king. It is very likely that he will control the power of Anguo.
When the time is right, it is not impossible for An Lushan to become king himself. For the Tang Dynasty, this may not be a bad thing. The key is that An Lushan must be able to control the situation in Anguo. His power can bring benefits to the Tang Dynasty, so he can be supported as king.

Didn’t Wu Huaiyu directly send his adopted son Shi Shouxin to the throne of King of Anguo?
Didn't the imperial court agree and officially confer titles on him as king, governor, and general, and even grant him a marriage with a princess from the royal family?

Wu Huaiyu had already pointed out a clear path for An Lushan.
But whether he can succeed depends on his ability.

Wu Huaiyu believed that An Lushan had the ambition and the ability to do so. If he stayed in the Anxi Army, he might get into trouble again. If he was not in Anxi, he could not protect him. If he got into trouble next time, he might not be able to save himself. If he went to Anguo and tried his best, he might even become the king of Anguo.

For him and the Tang Dynasty, it would be a good thing if it really came to that.

It is always more in the interests of the Tang Dynasty to have one of our own people as king than to have a Turk or a Sogdian as king.

Even for Wu Huaiyu, having an adopted son who is the king in the Hezhong region has many benefits, whether it is trade on the Silk Road or leaving a retreat for the Wu family, it is all good.

"This is all I can do for you. You have to walk the rest of the way carefully."

An Lushan knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

"Pig, there is something I want to make clear to you in advance. Even if you really become the King of An in the future, you must remember your original origins and must be loyal to the Tang Dynasty. You must never betray the Tang Dynasty."

"Please rest assured, foster father. If such a day really happens to me, An Zhu'er, my descendants and I will be loyal to the Tang Dynasty for generations to come, and we will also remember the kindness of foster father and Wu family for generations to come."

the next day,
Wu Huaiyu summoned He Lingjia again and had a secret talk with him for half a day. During this time, he also summoned An Lushan. The three of them talked for a long time.

When they finally finished their conversation and came out to drink tea, all three of them were smiling.

Helingjia found a backer and received Wu Huaiyu's clear promise of support. Helingjia even sent his adopted son An Lushan, who was very good at fighting, to Anguo to help him recruit soldiers and train them. He was even willing to act as a matchmaker for him and help him place orders for military equipment from the Tang Dynasty's Ministry of War, the Military Equipment Bureau, and the Weiwei Temple.

In the future, An Lushan will help Helinga recruit and train a 5,000-strong Parthian united army. This is the armed force of the Anguo Sogdians themselves, and they will be loyal to Helinga and support the royal family of the Anguo Kingdom.

The restoration of Anguo is just around the corner.

An Lushan also took another big step towards his goal. Witnessed by Wu Huaiyu, he and Helingjia formally burned incense and swore brotherhood, and also obtained the official position of the training envoy of the united troops of Anxi Prefecture in the Hezhong Protectorate.

Halingka even wanted to marry his own sister to him.

quickly,

An Lushan followed Helingjia back to Hezhong. They also recruited a group of mercenaries here. Some of them were children of Anxi soldiers, and some were disabled Anxi veterans. They followed An Lushan to Anguo and served as coaches and officers. They had good food and wages, and Helingjia would also allocate land to them and even let them marry wives and concubines.

They also recruited some Sogdians here, especially some Jie warriors.

When the team left Qiuci, they left quietly, and Wu Huaiyu didn't even go to see them off. But Wu Huaiyu asked Shi Shouxin to see them off.

Shi Shouxin and An Lushan were both Wu Huaiyu's adopted sons, and brothers, and they had a good relationship. Now Shi Shouxin was the king of Shi State, and An Lushan went to An State to be a coach. There were Kang State and Dong'an State between them, but they were not too far apart.

Once An Lushan encountered trouble in An State, Shi Shouxin would still be able to provide support. Even if things really came to the worst, An Lushan could at least flee to Shi State for refuge.

Shi Shouxin's visit to see them off also represented an alliance between the two countries of Hezhong, Shi and An.

the next day,

It's quite quiet.

The Western Turks are all very honest, and the other countries are even more honest.

On the other hand, the Anxi Protectorate had entered a period of intensive adjustment. Almost every three or five days, an order from Chang'an was transmitted to Qiuci via the post road.
Before the formal splitting of the Anxi Protectorate, the imperial court was adjusting some important positions in the Western Regions, including military garrisons, governors, and inspectors.

Especially those governorates and military towns that were actually under their control,
Yuwen Chengdu was transferred to be the garrison commander of Yili, Li Keyong remained as the garrison commander of Suiye, and Pang Yanzhang was no longer the inspector of Qianquan Governor, but was transferred to be the garrison commander of Khotan.

In addition, Shi Shouxin also served as the garrison commander of the Dayuan Army.

Wu Huaiyu's adopted son temporarily retained the positions of the four garrison commanders.

Cao Qin was the garrison commander of Shule, Cao Jishu was the garrison commander of Qiuci, and Heng Zhixi was the garrison commander of Yanqi.

The imperial court sent new garrisons to the three towns of Yiwu, Tianshan, and Hanhai in the three states of Yixiting.

The garrison commander of the Tianshan Army is Gongsun Wuda, who has a prominent background. He was one of the nine generals of the Xuanwu Gate back then. He was previously the governor of Suzhou and was later promoted to General of the Left Gate Guard. This time the emperor selected him to be the garrison commander of the Tianshan Army in Xizhou, which also shows the importance the emperor attached to the Western Regions.

The garrison commander of Yizhou Yiwu Army also had a distinguished background. He was Xie Shufang, a fierce general under Jiancheng, who almost broke into the Xuanwu Gate during the Battle of Xuanwu Gate. He was as brave as Xue Wanche and served as the governor of Hongzhou in the early Zhenguan period.

I don't know how this happened, but this time, with the rank of Yinqing Guanglu Dafu, a third-rank civil official, he was appointed by the emperor as the garrison commander of the Yiwu Army.

The emperor selected Master Zhang, a man from Wugong County and the Left General of the Army, to be the garrison commander of the Hanhai Army in Tingzhou. Not only was Master Zhang a royal relative, but his three brothers were all third-rank officials, known as the Three Spears Zhang Family.

Gongsun Wuda, Xie Shufang, and Zhang Dashi, these three garrison commanders all have one thing in common, that is, they are all third-rank officials, and have served as governors or provincial governors.

The garrison commander sent out this time is obviously of high rank, and more than one level higher.

Although the current military ambassadors in the Western Regions are dispatched envoys and not regular official positions, and have no rank themselves, they are still judged according to the official rank.

However, the eleven military ambassadors appointed by Wu Huaiyu before were all military officers of the fourth or fifth rank.

Yuwen Chengdu was promoted again to the third-rank Yunhui General after he was appointed as the garrison commander.

Several others were Lieutenant Generals and Guerrilla Generals.

This high-profile appointment was obviously a preparation for the subsequent split of the Anxi Protectorate. This garrison commander might only be a temporary position.
It is also possible that they will be given the position of Inspector, Envoy with Special Powers, Inspector and Garrison Commander, in charge of both military and political affairs.

The four governors of Tiannan are also in the process of adjustment.

For example, Han Wei, the governor of Qiuci who had previously reported An Lushan, received an order to be recalled by the court. The emperor's brother-in-law Qiao Shiwang was appointed governor of Qiuci, and the emperor's son-in-law Chang Sunchong was appointed governor of Yanqi.
Jiang Xingben was still the governor of Shule.
But the governor of Khotan has not yet been decided.

The emperor handed over the post of governor of Qianquan in the north of Tianshan Mountains to the Turks, and appointed the post of governor of Qianquan to the younger son of Nishu, the cousin of Bobu Khan.

The emperor's brother-in-law She'er was the successor to the Khan of Nanting and the Protector of Mengchi.

Four military governorates were set up in the south of the Tianshan Mountains, three directly affiliated prefectures were set up in the east of the Tianshan Mountains, and the two protectorates and other military governorates in the north of the Tianshan Mountains were all vassal prefectures with Turks as protectors and governors. The imperial court only had two military towns there, Yili and Suiye, and the Dayuan military town in Hezhong.

The weather is getting cooler.

Wu Huaiyu knew that the day of his return to Chang'an was getting closer.

The four governors, three provincial governors, eleven garrison commanders, deputy garrisons, various garrison commanders, general managers, and sub-general managers should all be put in place.

It was time to split and replace the Anxi Protectorate.

This day, we didn't have to wait too long.

The autumn wind is rustling,

The Imperial Court's Ministry of War eventually set up fifty-five Zhechoufu in the Western Regions, each of which had a thousand men. These fifty-five military headquarters also incorporated the fifty-five thousand Anxi soldiers from the eleven military garrisons in the Western Regions.

Draw up maps, assign military posts, grant military land, relocate families and children...

at last,

Wu Huaiyu woke up this morning.
I found some white in the howling north wind.
Snow started falling from the sky.

It snowed in Qiuci, south of the Tianshan Mountains.
Wu Huaiyu finally received the latest order from the court.
The Anxi Protectorate was divided into two. The Beiting Protectorate was established north of the Tianshan Mountains. The Protector General was probably the unexpected new Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor Xie Shufang.

He was promoted to the Grand Protector of Beiting, and then concurrently served as the Governor of Tingzhou, with his eldest grandson Wuda as the Deputy Grand Protector.

The post of garrison commander of the Hanhai Army was taken over by General Li Hai'an.

The four towns of Suiye, Yili, Dayuan and the Hanhai Army belonged to the Beiting Protectorate. The two protectorates of Mengchi and Kunling, which were concurrently held by the two Turkic khans, also belonged to the Beiting Protectorate.

Pilou Wuche, the General of the Right Guard and Duke of Jiyuan County, who was born in the Qin Palace, was appointed as the garrison commander of Yiwulu.

The most notable Anxi Grand Protectorate, who governed the two states of Yi and Xi, the four military garrisons of the four governors' offices in the south of the Tian Dynasty, and the Anxi Ya Army,
It directly governs two states, four military governors' offices and five military garrisons.
The Grand Protector of Anxi was transferred from Wu Huaiyu's brother Wu Huaiyi, the Inspector General of the Palace, General of the Right Guard, and the founding Duke of Shixing County, while the Deputy Grand Protector was the emperor's brother-in-law, the Governor of Qiuci, Qiao Shiwang.

The Tocharian Protectorate and the Hezhong Protectorate west of the Pamir Mountains were both under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate, while the Khazar Protectorate, together with the Mengchi and Kunling Protectorates, were under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate.

Officially separated,

The Beiting Grand Protectorate was governed by Suiye, and the Anxi Grand Protectorate was governed by Qiuci. The two Grand Protectorates each commanded five military garrisons.
Beiting restored the Jingsai Army as the yamen of the Beiting Protectorate.

As a result, there were 60,000 troops stationed in the Western Regions, and the two major protectorates each unified the Ya Army and the Five Military Towns with 30,000 infantry and cavalry.

Wu Huaiyu received the imperial edict and did not stay any longer.

The luggage was packed long ago, and we set off the next day.

He left quietly without notifying the civil and military officials of the Western Regions, the leaders and nobles of the various tribes and countries, and only took a team of followers and guards with him, embarking on the long journey home in the wind and snow.

(End of this chapter)