A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 965 Xianyang Bridge Conspiracy

Xianyang Bridge,
Many business travelers from Weibei to Chang'an have to pass through here, and a lively grass market has formed on both sides of the bridge.

A group of people stopped in front of a simple tea shop on the roadside.

"Waiter, bring a pot of hot tea and some snacks,"

"Hello, sir, the shop only has big bowls of tea, and this is the only type of brick tea. The snacks include yellow rice buns, glutinous rice cakes, and steamed buns..."

"Then let each of you have a big bowl of tea first, and a big plate of the three kinds of snacks."

The middle-aged man in the simple tea shop was smiling from ear to ear. This was a big order, and there were about ten people in this business. Look at them all riding tall horses. Although they are not wearing official robes, they are all dressed in extraordinary clothes. In the cold winter months, they are all dressed in brocade and fur robes. They also carry bows and knives.

At first glance, he looked like an aristocratic official, and he thought he looked down on his small shop.

Soon, a man came over carrying a big teapot, followed by two children, one carrying several bowls, and the other carrying several plates of snacks.

The man skillfully poured the tea into the large bowl on the table.

There was a sound of horse hooves,

It is said that the effect of Fu tea is better than that of Smilax smilax, and some people call it Fu tea or blessed brick.

The Wu family has been processing and selling medicinal materials and tea leaves in Jingyang very early. The tea at the Wu family's Jingyang Tea House mainly uses tea leaves from southern Shaanxi and Sichuan as raw materials and is made by hand. Because the raw materials are sent to Jingyang for processing, it is also It is called Jingyang Brick, and because it is mainly processed in Futian, it is also called Fucha.

Wu Huaiyu smiled and said,

"This guest officer has good eyesight. Although we are a small business, the tea we use is serious and good tea. I went to Jingyang to buy it specially. I bought it from Jingyang Yingdong Tea House. This is good tea. I sell it all. Inside and outside the Yinshan Mountains, in the north and south of the desert, and even many Hu merchants from the Western Regions are buying and transporting them back in camel teams. This black tea brick is known as black gold. "

Wu Huaiyu was a little surprised that the tea in this small roadside tea shop with only a thatched roof and the wind on all sides was actually pretty good.

He specially came to Zhongwei Bridge, which is twenty miles away from the city gate of Chang'an, actually to see someone off.

Xianyangqiao has a lot of merchants traveling from north to south, and the eating habits in Guanzhong also make people like to drink brick tea, especially milk tea, which is most suitable and more popular than traditional sliced ​​tea.

"Your tea is not bad,"

The best fu tea is made with golden flower fungus.

I picked up the tea bowl and tasted it slowly. The large bowl of tea brewed in a large pot was indeed made from Jingyang black tea bricks. The taste was quite pure, and it was truly produced by the Wu family.

"Is this tea from Jingyang?"

Nowadays, there are many tea merchants who sell tea bricks outside the Great Wall, but when it comes to reputation and market share, it is undoubtedly the Wu family that has gained both fame and fortune. No one can compare with this giant. With just one Jingyang brick, its annual production and sales are quite astonishing.
However, Wu Huaiyu is not here to inspect the market today, nor is he here to taste his own tea.

The cold wind whistles,

The Chinese New Year is coming soon. Riding a horse for twenty miles in this weather will feel freezing even if you are wearing a mink suit.

Brick sheep became the basic reference for transactions between Han merchants and herdsmen.

"coming,"

far away,

Today, Wujia Jingyang bricks are made from high-quality black tea as raw materials and are refined through multiple processes such as screening, fermentation, steaming, pressing, flowering, and drying. The brick surface is smooth, consistent in thickness, dark brown in color, and rich in golden flowers. Pure aroma, bitter aftertaste, mellow taste,
Become a best-selling product at home and abroad,
Especially among nomadic tribes, Jingyang bricks have even become hard currency, which is more useful than money. The herdsmen usually use tea bricks as currency units.

Jingyang is located in the north of Chang'an, which is the only way for Southern Tea to go north.

The bowl is a very crude black pottery bowl.
When the tea soup is put into the bowl, it is orange-yellow in color and has a strong aroma.

Wu Huaiyu looked up and saw the person waiting, so he stood up.

Shi Shouxin left twenty coins on the table and spoke to the man.

The man ran over with a smile and glanced at the two bunches of copper coins on the table. They were both Kaiyuan Tongbao newly minted in recent years. They were fine copper coins.

"Oh, sir, it's just ten bowls of tea and three plates of snacks. It doesn't cost that much,"

"Your tea and snacks are very good. I'll reward you with more."

"Thank you, sir. If you are not in a hurry to leave, please leave the table for now and come over later to refill the tea for free."

He paid one penny for two bowls of tea. There was no charge for refills, and the snacks were not expensive either.

Wu Huaiyu walked to the road,
Fan Xing, who had come all the way from Chang'an over there, was a little surprised when he saw him. He reined in his horse and jumped off.

"Why is Erlang here?"

"I heard that Aye was urged to leave Beijing immediately and take office. I came to see him off right away,"

The Chinese New Year was about to come, but Fan Xing received an order from the imperial court and immediately left the capital to go to Lizhou to take up the post of governor, and he had to arrive in Lizhou within half a month. This was very urgent.

It’s not close from Chang’an to Lizhou, you’ll be entering Sichuan soon.

With this, Fan Xing did not dare to complain about the delay. After all, this was a demotion as punishment for a crime.

Of course, the reason given by the court was that Tuyuhun was in chaos, and the Tuoba tribe of Dangxiang Qiang had been unwilling to surrender, and now it was also in chaos. The Tuoba tribe even led troops to invade the border.
Now the borders of Longyou and Jiannan are on alert and preparing for war.
Even places such as Diezhou, Songzhou, and Taozhou have begun to fight.

Although Lizhou is not on the front line of the border, Lizhou is also very important as the gateway to northern Sichuan and the throat of Shu Road. It is a strategic location for the imperial court.
A Dajian Mountain separates Jianzhou and Lizhou, and Jiange is naturally dangerous. It can be said that Lizhou is a strategic support point between Gannan and Sichuan.

Once the beacon fire is ignited at the border, it will also start here.

Fan Xing, the governor of Lizhou, cannot celebrate the New Year in Chang'an at this time. He has to rush to Lizhou to prepare for war and reinforce the border at any time depending on the situation.

"I took the order and left the city without even thinking about returning home. I didn't expect you to know about it and run in front of me to wait for me."

"I happened to hear His Majesty talk about it in the palace, so I came here directly to see him off after leaving the palace."

Fan Xing patted his son-in-law on the shoulder and said, "Auntie came home yesterday and said that we have another baby. This is a good thing. I thought we could finally reunite as a family to celebrate the New Year this year, but it's a pity."

He patted his son-in-law hard and said, "Don't worry, I'm only in my early forties. Being demoted this time is not a big deal. This is another opportunity to atone for my sins."

"Well, I also came here to remind Aye to be prepared this time. There may be a big battle."

"War?" Fan Xing was surprised, "As for Tuoba Chici, the old immortal? What kind of trouble can he make? A cunning and cunning guy like Fu Yun was killed even after he escaped to Tulum Moraine. Tuoba Chi How many people are there in Ci tribe?
Although he danced happily, his nephews had secretly surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. "Aye, the Tuoba tribe is indeed not that strong, but the place they occupy is very remote and difficult to attack. What's more, the most important thing to worry about is Tubo.
This time when Murong Nuohebo entered the court, the emperor married Princess Honghua and gave her a surname and a given name. Tuyuhun was also abolished and the Qinghai Governor's Palace was established with Zishan and Tubo as the boundary.
The Tubo people had fought with Tuyuhun for a long time without any benefit, and now they were asked to retreat to the south of Zishan. How could they be willing to do so?
What's more, they sent envoys to propose marriage this year, but the court refused again.

They were even more unwilling,
Now, taking advantage of the civil strife in Tuyuhun, the Tubo people are definitely going to play dirty tricks. They will definitely support Tuyuhun and the anti-Tang forces in the party to form an alliance to deal with the Tang Dynasty."

"No way. Does Tubo have that kind of ambition and strength?"

"Not to be underestimated."

"Intelligence shows that the Tibetan Zanpu swore to Bai Lan that he would win, and he also swore on the plateau that he would marry the Tang princess,"

Fan Xing smiled and said, "What the hell, the water will flood the earth and the soldiers will stop them. If the Tubo people really dare to come, I will be useful."

"It's good that Aye has an idea,"

After chatting with Fan Xing for a while, Niu Jinda also arrived.

He was demoted as the governor of Jingzhou, under the governor Fan Xing. His territory in Jingzhou was very small, mostly in mountainous areas, dominated by barbarian tribes. They were also rebellious before, and his predecessor was Hou Junji, who launched a great campaign in Jingzhou. Killing, dyeing the road back to the court with the blood of those barbarians, and even plundering countless barbarians and selling them into slavery.

Although Hou Junji's powerful tactics quickly pacified Jingzhou, it actually caused an undercurrent in Jingzhou. Although the barbarians were suppressed, they were even more alienated from the Tang Dynasty and were always waiting for opportunities.

If Dangxiang, Tuyuhun, and Tubo invade together, the Jingzhou barbarians will definitely take the opportunity to rebel again.

"It seems that I have to make plans early," Niu Jinda said. He didn't want to capsize after being demoted to Jingzhou this time.

Wu Huaiyu gave Fan Xing and Niu Jinda a suggestion to strengthen contact with Liu Lancheng and Li Junxian to support each other.

Li Junxian was originally the governor of Lanzhou, and Liu Lancheng was the governor of Xiazhou. They were both from Wagang and belonged to the lineage of Qin Qiong, Cheng Yao, Jin, Wu, Huaiyu, and they had a good relationship.

Li Junxian was on the second line in the battle of Tuyuhun this time. He didn't get much credit, but he still worked hard. As a result, not only was he not rewarded, but he was transferred from Lanzhou to Maozhou as the governor.

Maozhou is not located in the central Sichuan plain, but on the western Sichuan plateau. My subordinates say that there are more than ten states, but the population, taxes, etc. of the more than ten states are not comparable to that of one state in the Central Plains. Most of the territory is occupied by the Qiang tribe. Likewise, It is also a place where rebellion is rare.

Liu Lancheng's transfer from the governor of Xiazhou to the governor of Songzhou was the same actual demotion.

Moreover, this time they were suddenly demoted to western Sichuan and faced the problem of recruiting Dang Xiang Qiang and others. If they handled it improperly, failed to control the situation, or were even harassed and defeated, they would definitely be held accountable later.

Wu Huaiyu was very sure that this was the emperor's intention to suppress his faction.
Rather, cutting off his wings and then attacking him was purely for balancing purposes and weakening the Wu Huaiyu system, which is now the strongest among the departments under the East Palace.
There are actually quite a few factions among the princelings in the East Palace.
Wu Huaiyu, the prince's teacher, is now one of the stronger members of the East Palace Party. There is also the uncle of the state, Changsun Wuji, etc. However, the uncle of the state, Changsun, does not have a deep foundation in the military.

But Wu Huaiyu had a wide network of contacts and great influence in the military community.

Not to mention the two big guys Li Jing and Qin Qiong, there are only two main factions in the Wagang faction. One is headed by Li Ji, and the other is headed by Wu Huaiyu.

The Wagang faction headed by Wu Huaiyu was even stronger than Li Ji's Wagang troops.

"As long as the four of you join hands, communicate with each other, and watch and help each other, then you can handle it no matter whether it is to control the barbarians, the Songwai Dangxiang, the Tuyuhun, or even the Tubo invasion,"

"There is even a chance to win a big victory and achieve great success."

Wu Huaiyu judged that the Battle of Songzhou might come early because the external incentives and conditions for the Tubo people to fight this battle were basically mature.

If there is a motive and conditions, it can happen at any time.

However, the imperial court is still not well prepared for this. No one really believes that Tibet would dare to come to attack the Tang Dynasty. They even think that Tibet is far away and cannot come at all.

If these demoted generals are not prepared, they may really suffer a big loss then. If these are his important allies,

You have to remind them and even help them organize it.

This is also the reason why Wu Huaiyu specially came to Weiqiao to wait for them instead of saying goodbye at Chang'an or the Chang'an city gate.

On this day, he stopped people one by one at Weiqiao.

They stopped Fan Xing, stopped Niu Jinda, and also stopped Liu Lancheng and Li Junxian.

Three governors and one governor,
Wu Huaiyu analyzed it in detail with them and explained it seriously.

Caution is the boat,
Even if the Tibetans really don't come, the four generals can at least seize the opportunity and capture the Tuoba Dangxiang first. This will also make a great contribution. The imperial court originally planned to recruit the Dangxiang Qiang as soon as possible and complete the attack on the Western Sichuan Plateau. The strategic deployment of Jisi rule.

The emperor wanted to hand over the matter to Hou Junji, but Wu Huaiyu believed that it would be difficult for Hou Junji and Duan Zhixuan to deal with Tuyuhun. If Tubo intervened in Tuyuhun, they would not care about Party Xiang Qiang at all.

When the time comes, these generals in western Sichuan will deal with the Dangxiang Qiang for the imperial court, and even suppress the barbarians in the border areas. Such a great achievement, how can the imperial court not remember this achievement, and even be able to look down upon it in front of the emperor? .

In other words,
Even if these four generals will be in western Sichuan for a long time, Wu Huaiyu hopes that they can open up the situation, grasp the situation, and even build a certain force.

These four generals are the generals of his department. Even if they are thrown to western Sichuan, they must maintain sufficient combat effectiveness.

Hou Junji will not stay in Tuyuhun and Hexi for long, at most one or two years. If everything goes well, then the emperor will be able to use Hou Junji's success in pacifying Tuyuhun and summon him to the court to pay homage to the prime minister.

After all, this guy has now gained the title of Minister of Military Affairs, and the emperor's intentions are obvious.

Although Wu Huaiyu was unhappy about this, he couldn't stop it.

To the emperor, Hou Junji was his little friend, his confidant, and loyal to him. He had been with him through life and death on the battlefield time and time again. It was for him that he dared to break into the palace late at night, kill the imperial guards, and kidnap the emperor. Go to the dragon boat in Houhai,
The Xuanwu Sect's transformation power ranks first, this is not just a casual statement.

Back then, Hou Junji not only tied his head to the belt of his pants, but also tied the entire nine tribes to his belt. If he failed,
Kill the nine tribes and make them irrecoverable.

So although Hou Junji was knocked down later, the emperor kept protecting him and raised him up again whenever he had the opportunity.

In terms of seniority and closeness, Hou Junji's relationship with the emperor was much stronger than that of Wu Huaiyu.

What's more, it was precisely because the relationship between Wu Huaiyu and Hou Junji was openly at odds and even had personal grudges that the emperor was more willing to reconcile with Hou Junji and was even eager to have him return to the Central Political Affairs Hall as prime minister.

The emperor is becoming more and more skilled at balancing.

In this regard, Wu Huaiyu could only say that he should ignore Hou Junji for now. The four generals of his allies could not capsize again.

"I will contact Yizhou Governor Shi Tangjian later. If anything happens, he will be able to provide some support in Yizhou."

It's a pity that Su Lie is in Nanzhong, too far away, otherwise Su Lie and his second Liu, Liu Rengui and Liu Renyuan, would be a strong support.

(End of this chapter)