Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 158 Shocking Case (1)

Xinghubo (now Hala Lake), sixty or seventy miles northwest of Dunhuang County, covers an area of ​​about seventy square kilometers. From a distance, it looks vast and endless.However, like Yaoquan (now Crescent Moon Spring), this place is located in a low-lying area and is located in the exposed part of the underground river, rather than being formed by the convergence of rivers.

Therefore, the lake here is quite shallow, with a depth of less than one meter, and there are mounds of earth exposed everywhere.

In the past two years, the Tang army abandoned the original beacons and set up a market here to allow the people of Shazhou and the Hu people from the Western Regions to trade here.Therefore, along the coast of Xinghubo, there is also abnormal prosperity that is different from ordinary people.

To put it nicely, this place is called a market, but to put it badly, it is a complete black market!
Datang could not provide anything here, nor collect taxes, nor guarantee safety. It only allowed caravans to use the water source of Xinghubo, and occasionally patrolled here, but did not care much about it on weekdays.

As the days passed, ordinary people no longer dared to come here to trade. However, horse thieves, bandits, caravans disguised as Tibetan troops and other forces intervened and gathered here from time to time to do business.

Doulu Jun, the Shazhou frontier army, pretended not to see any business with or without capital, and did not ask or care about it. He was only responsible for collecting the corpses.

But today's situation is a bit special. Two particularly large caravans are conducting transactions here, but no one else can get close, and they don't even dare to watch from a distance.

Under a huge parasol, there were two young men with slightly darker skin, sitting across from each other and negotiating.One of them is in his 20s, and although the other is tall, his face is a little childish and he looks like he is only thirteen or fourteen years old.

The silk umbrellas of the parasols are all covered with gold foil. From a distance, the style is vulgar and luxurious, full of the temperament of the nouveau riche, but it undoubtedly confirms the identity of the owner.In the entire Hexi Corridor, this person is the only one with such a parasol.

That person is the famous "Hexi Qilinzi" whose name is resounding throughout Hexi, Fang Chongyong, the governor of Shazhou!
"This time I brought some good stuff over for you to see. Ah Sheng, give them the whole job."

Wearing cool linen clothes from Kuizhou, Fang Chongyong clapped his hands twice and whispered to Zhang Guangsheng beside him.

"Okay, envoy, let me show you my skills!"

Zhang Guangsheng skillfully took out some strange objects from the box and assembled them together.

It was a "big pot" similar to the satellite antenna of Fang Chongyong's previous life, with thin copper sheets that were polished and polished one after another on the concave surface.In the center is a thin iron pillar with a round iron tray at the top.

Zhang Guangsheng fetched a pot of water in Xinghu Po, put the iron kettle on the tray and ignored it.

"This is a pot that can be placed under the sun to boil water and cook rice by itself. I named it a self-burning pot. I charge you twenty guan for one. Isn't it expensive?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile.At this moment, he is no longer as immature as he was back then.The healthy and wheat-colored skin exudes strength and prowess.

"Whether it's good or not depends on whether it can be used. It doesn't mean it's good just because your stinky mouth says it's good."

The man who spoke was none other than the general of the Tibetan army, Enlan Dazalugong!As the supervisor of Sun Poru in Supi area, Lang Meise, Tubo Zampu was directly under the command of the Forbidden Army.In the minds of ordinary people, it was strange for him to appear here; however, in reality, it was not strange at all.

Because the Tang Dynasty and Tibet have ceased war for more than three years, and now the two sides have constant trade exchanges, as if the war never happened.

However, trade between armies cannot be put on the table, so both parties can only trade as black market merchants here in Xinghubo.

Enlan Dazalugong, as the liaison with the Tibetan army, has been dealing with Fang Chongyong, the governor of Shazhou, for three years. The two parties can be considered to know everything!
"Old Ma, you are just a duck to talk. Ah Sheng, are you okay? Don't let me wait too fast!"

Fang Chongyong gave Enlan Dazalugong a Chinese name, "Ma Chongying".Enlan Dazalugong, who was proficient in Sinology, felt that the name suited his temperament very well, so he readily accepted it and gave Fang Chongyong a good Tubo knife as a gift. The two parties became "brothers with different surnames".

This knife is called "Blizzard Phantom Knife"!
It has a very Tubo-like naming style. It is Enlan Dazalukong's favorite sword, and he never leaves his body with the sword.

Everything in Tubo is very "unfashionable" except for naming and making up stories.It is not inconsistent at all to throw the characters and stories from the Tibetan classics into the light novel of Two Thorns Monkey written by Fang Chongyong in his previous life.

This knife belongs to Tubo's "Gusida". The blade is forged with silver knife patterns and is very sharp when blowing and breaking hair. It is now one of Fang Chongyong's swords.

"Okay, okay, it's almost done."

Zhang Guangsheng stared at the "self-burning pot", and soon after, he noticed that the lid of the kettle was flapping!

Is this all right?

Enlan Dazalugong was stunned. After three years of dealing with him, he knew that Fang Chongyong was very powerful. This man was very good at playing with new things.But it is unheard of for a pot to burn itself when placed under the sun!

Fang Chongyong took out a small paper bag from his arms and poured the broken tea leaves into Enlan Dazalugong's white porcelain cup.Zhang Guangsheng then poured the freshly boiled water into the cup, and soon the aroma of tea overflowed.

Self-burning pot, no need to make tea!
Enlan Dazalugong was horrified in his heart, but his face remained calm.

"My dear brother, are you not afraid that Tubo will learn this technique from me?"

Enlan Dazalugong took a sip of tea and asked with emotion.

"Techniques are learned from each other, and Shazhou is also learning Tibetan technology. Men should strengthen themselves, and so should the country."

Fang Chongyong said with a confident smile.

Enlan Dazalugong was silent for a long time, and then sighed and said: "As long as my good brother is in Shazhou, Tubo will not send troops to Hexi."

"Back then, I was guarding Shazhou, and you, Lao Ma, attacked Shazhou. We were just one night away from meeting each other directly. How can we win people's trust in what we just said?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile.

Enlan Dazalugong smiled bitterly and waved his hands and said, "Brother, please stop talking. In that battle, I almost died in Guazhou, and the Shazhou border army almost left Sun Boru Zhulang Meise in Changle County. The entire Every Dongdai in Subi District is full of mourners and has not yet recovered its vitality."

"I hope I won't meet you again on the battlefield in the future."

Fang Zhongyong crossed his hands and bowed, picked up the teacup and said, "Tea instead of wine, first I wish you a safe journey, old horse."

Enlan Dazalukong will soon return to Luoxe City (Lhasa) for his meritorious service in governing (monitoring) Sun Boru and accept Zampu's canonization.It's just that he shamelessly got these by trading contraband with Datang that others couldn't get.

Of course, this kind of transaction is mutually beneficial, and Shazhou also obtained a lot of "local specialties" from Tubo, such as various exquisitely crafted gold and silver utensils, gold masks, handicrafts inlaid with gems, etc.

Fang Chongyong used these things to accomplish many major events that were beneficial to Hexi local area.

There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. This sentence is truly an irrefutable truth.Even in the border towns of Tubo and Tang Dynasty, when they were not at war, they could trade privately, and there were no taboos on mutual benefit.

“We all want this batch of broken tea leaves and these self-burning pots.

In the future, I will try my best to relocate to the southeast and should not appear on the Hexi border.

There are no fathers and sons on the battlefield, let alone brothers.If unfortunately I meet a good brother in the future, I will not show mercy. "

Enlan Dazalugong raised the tea cup and drank the tea in one gulp.

The Tubo nobles were strange, humble yet cruel.If he treats you as a human being, he will respect you very much.If he doesn't treat you as a human being, he will be very cruel to you.Such contradictory behaviors often appear in the same person.

The Tubo people crazily exploited the people they captured in the border towns of Tang Dynasty and showed no mercy.As long as they meet them, they will be demoted to slaves without asking any questions. The injured and old people will be killed directly with cruel methods.

But to the senior officials of the Tang Dynasty, they often seemed very humble. To the senior generals of the Tang army, especially those who were capable of fighting, they were too polite and even changed the subject.

An extreme dichotomy, too abstract to describe.

Fang Chongyong felt nothing of the barbarism and bloodshed of the Tibetan aristocrats in Enlan Dazalugong. He only felt that they were polite, simple and strong, and they believed in what they said and paid attention to etiquette.

However, he also knew that the Tubo nobles treated him with courtesy only because of his identity and demonstrated abilities, and it did not mean that the other party was a good bird.

Not to mention other Tibetan nobles, just as far as Enlan Dazalugong himself is concerned, he himself is not a soft-hearted person.Enlan Dazalugong once personally ordered the execution of a thousand Huihe captives, and directly demoted ten thousand of them into slaves!
The Huihe people were frightened by the news and had to cling to the thick thighs of the Tang Dynasty.

For such a person who is both an enemy and a friend, Fang Chongyong has always been very alert and extremely cautious when dealing with him.

"A Sheng, deliver the goods to Lao Ma's people, the old rules."

Fang Chongyong gave instructions to Zhang Guangsheng, and then gave Enlan Dazalugong some tea.

The latter smiled and said nothing.

Soon, Zhang Guangsheng came over, leaned into Fang Chongyong's ear and said in a low voice: "The Tubo people have [-]% more goods. Whether we accept it or not, we can't break the rules. If word spreads, it will be harmful to your reputation."

too much?How can this be?

Fang Chongyong looked at Enlan Dazalugong with a puzzled face, wondering what the other party was going to do.

"Before I leave, this is a gift for my dear brother. I might as well say it bluntly, this is just a trick to show generosity to others and weaken Sun Boru. My dear brother will just keep it.

Anyway, this is the last time, I will do whatever I want. Enlan Dazalugong said indifferently, with a smile on his face.

It turns out that this is Sun Boru’s military expenditure!You really know how to play on a horse!

Fang Chongyong suddenly realized that before he left, he had to trick Lord Lang Meise, and Enlan Dazalugong really did everything he could.In this way, I am afraid that it will only be a matter of time before Zanpu uses troops to attack the Subi area and quell the dissatisfaction.

Sure enough, every family has its own troubles, and in Tubo there is also a pile of shit under the butt!

"That would be disrespectful to me."

Fang Chongyong raised his hands and saluted, and then ordered Zhang Guangsheng to count the goods for delivery.Use various gadgets produced in Shazhou, such as self-burning pots and tea that can be brewed directly, in exchange for gold and silver valuables from the Tubo people.

After the delivery was completed, Fang Chongyong felt a sense of emotion in his heart.

Three years have passed!

Li Longji, the dog emperor, actually left his child in Shazhou for three years!

If it weren't for his two lifetimes, he really wouldn't be able to cope with all kinds of strange situations in Shazhou.

How could this dog emperor do such a thing!Even dogs wouldn’t do this, right?

While Fang Chongyong watched Enlan Dazalukong leave with his team, he cursed Li Longji in his heart for being so outrageous!

The temporary governor became a formal governor, and his term was increased from one to three years. Now that the governor's term has expired, he must return to Beijing to report on his duties. Where should he go?

Fang Chongyong was in a state of confusion.

"Fang Shijun, the brothers are all talking about this year's dividends..."

Zhang Guangsheng came over and spoke calmly in a lowered voice.

"As usual."

Fang Chongyong spit out two words, cherish ink like gold.

"Hey, good, good!"

Zhang Guangsheng was overjoyed. In fact, everyone was not worried that Fang Chongyong would not pay dividends. They were just a little worried that Fang Chongyong would leave immediately when his term was up!

If Fang Shijun leaves, what should be the rules in Shazhou and even Hexi?

This is the question hanging on everyone's mind.

What Fang Chongyong has done in the past three years is enough for Li Longji to kill him a thousand times!It's just that he used various methods to take care of the five states in Hexi, from the Hexi Jiedu envoy Wang Jue to the ordinary Qiuba below, comfortably and tightly.

There were no fewer than dozens of officials, big and small, who died of "suicide" because of this, and the cases were all closed hastily without causing any waves.

But what is ironic is that the five states in Hexi are actually more prosperous than in the past because of their abundant treasury, abundant wealth, well-managed officials, and fewer requests for support from the central government, which makes Ji Ge very happy.

The local chief officials were awarded by the court every year, and local officials were promoted repeatedly.

These promoted officials continued to cover up the bad things in Hexi in the central government, forming a tight chain of interests.

Fang Chongyong himself, who is at the center of the storm, ranks at the bottom among the five governors of the Hexi Corridor. He is "middle" in every assessment, which is in sharp contrast to the "above" of others.

As a key area, Shazhou also ranked last in the assessment of the five states in Hexi. It also received "medium" in the assessment every year. It shouted "drought" every year and asked the court for money for disaster relief.

The Doulu Army, as the key executor, is also at the bottom of the assessment rankings among the Hexi armies. It is also "medium" in the assessment every year. It suppresses bandits in border towns every year, and banditry is serious every year.

As the "talker" who should receive the most money, Fang Chongyong not only did not receive a penny in favors, but instead collected the dividends into a tower and established a "fund" to provide free interest-free loans to military families whose families had lost their labor force due to the war.

In other words, he was a steward with the governor's salary, responsible for making connections, providing guarantees, and making decisions.

Nothing else happened!
Fang Chongyong had no exchange of interests, no corruption, no misappropriation of public funds, and he was innocent from top to bottom.

As for where the fine clothes he wears come from, according to Fang Chongyong himself, they are all "work clothes"!He is just "borrowed to wear". He only has the right to use it and has no ownership rights.

Fang Chongyong knows very well what it means to be strong without desire. As long as he does not take any benefits from it, then all those who do will spontaneously use all their strength to protect him!
Because once he dies, Hexi's secrets will explode; once he dies, there will no longer be a key talker who is selfless, can coordinate the interests of all parties, and can be trusted by everyone.

In other words, in the five states of Hexi, you don’t need to know who the Hexi Jiedushi is; but if you don’t know who the “Hexi Qilinzi” is, then just go home and farm the fields honestly. This golden trade route is not suitable for you. .

……

The group returned to the small town of Shazhou without causing any disturbance.When Fang Chongyong walked into the backyard of the government office, he felt a fragrant breeze blowing against his face.

"This spice is really pungent. It's similar to that Dior perfume."

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but complain, but Anaye in front of him pretended not to hear it and jumped directly on him, hugging him tightly.

The two kissed passionately under the poplar tree. Anaye's snow-like skin, set off by Fang Chongyong's red, black and explosive complexion, had a coquettish beauty.

This painting looks like Beauty and the Beast!

"Did you miss me?"

After a long time, Anaye stared at her big watery eyes, licked her lips, and asked pretending to be angry.

"Let's go and have a nice chat in the bedroom."

Fang Zhongyong said without changing his expression, picked up Anaye, who was already well-shaped, with a slim waist and long legs, and left.

Soon, Anaye's muffled breathing came from the bedroom.

Ever since the two opened the door half a month ago, they have been out of control.But Fang Chongyong was careful not to let Anaye lose her virginity.

It was really too early for her to have a baby.Although the children of aristocratic families get married early, they pay great attention to the woman's age during sex, and the same goes for Fang Chongyong, although Anaye is just his concubine.

"Virgin women" like the newly appointed Princess Shou were not uncommon among aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty.People from these powerful families have no pity for the people at the lower levels of society, but they do care for their own people.

The two of them explored the mysteries of life in a private space and felt that their souls had been sublimated.

There is also the indulgence of wild horses.

At this moment when the flames were burning, Fang Dafu came over, knocked on the bedroom door, and whispered: "Mr. Lang, the imperial censor sent by the imperial court is here. It seems that the person who comes is evil!"

"Supervising the censor?"

Fang Zhongyong pushed open the door, straightened his clothes and asked doubtfully.Logically speaking, in previous years, the supervisory censor should not have arrived in Hexi until next month. Why was it earlier this year?
Fang Chongyong felt that there must be something weird about this matter.

Fang Dafu took out his handkerchief and wiped the red lip marks on his face.

Seeing his embarrassed look, Fang Dafu said with a smile:

"Anaye knew that you were coming back today, so she specially dressed up and dyed her lips. Now Hexi covets her men, but they can queue up several times around Shazhou City. Lang Jun will not stop marrying the queen. Anaye, are you going to settle in Hexi?"

"It's not like you don't know about these troublesome things, so why do you ask so much?"

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly.

These days, no woman is blind, and she will definitely hold on to good things.That Queen Wang is not a simple character who is easy to get along with. Their relationship has been sealed for a long time!

Fang Chongyong lamented that it would be difficult for him to live with a group of concubines in the future. Anaye was probably the first and last concubine.

"Lead the way and meet the supervisory censor."

Fang Chongyong ordered Fang Dafu.

　Let's vote
　　
　
(End of this chapter)