The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 974: The Establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate

"Yes!" Everyone understood that this matter involved the mystery of immortals. It was a serious matter and should not be easily spread to outsiders.

But the Lieutenant General who Protects the Western Regions was a little distressed, as they had too many escorts on this trip, a total of 500 people, including a main cavalry of 500. With so many people and so many mouths, it would be difficult to prevent everyone from spreading the news.

“As long as it’s not spread widely!” Seeing the hesitation of the General Protecting the Western Regions, Yan Yan could understand his difficulties.

The composition of this large army in the Western Regions was complex. There were soldiers from the Western Regions, as well as disciples of many schools, including the Ming Dynasty, Mohist, Taoist, and Confucian schools. It would be difficult to prevent the news from getting out.

All he wanted was for it to spread over a small area.

Even if each family knew about it, as long as Bingzhou did not publicly admit it, they could only investigate privately and did not dare to send a large force to investigate openly, so it would not affect the stability of the Western Region.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding!" The General Protecting the Western Regions breathed a sigh of relief and was sincerely grateful.

"What is the current situation in the Western Region?" Yan Yan continued to inquire about the affairs of the Western Region.

"Originally, Dayuan, Wusun, Loulan and the General of the Western Regions were the four powers that kept a check on each other. Now that Loulan has disappeared, the General of the Western Regions has taken advantage of the situation to subjugate the various small countries that were originally dependent on Loulan. The entire area around Lop Nur is now under the control of the General of the Western Regions. As for Wusun and Dayuan, I have supported the Wutan Kingdom to get between the two countries and check their expansion."

"In general, the Western Regions are now completely under the control of our General's Office!"

The Lieutenant General who Protects the Western Regions said this proudly.

As the first Lieutenant General of the Lieutenant General's Office for Protecting the Western Regions, he was the deputy general of Luo Bing, otherwise he would not be qualified to take over the Western Regions, which was extremely important to Bingzhou.

Yan Yan nodded with satisfaction. He pulled the smaller ones together and restricted the larger ones, so that the various forces in the Western Regions could maintain a balance, including the General's Mansion to protect the Western Regions.

If the General's Office has the power to suppress the entire Western Regions, then once Qin and Bingzhou become enemies and go to war in the future, it is possible that the entire General's Office will directly rebel and establish its own regime.

Therefore, the General's Office can become larger, but it must not be large enough to suppress the entire Western Regions.

Once the General's Office rebelled, Bingzhou could suppress it through Wusun and Dayuan.

The existence of those small countries is also necessary, and these small countries have become the key to restraining the three major forces.

As long as Bingzhou is strong, the General of the Household can use the power of Bingzhou to control these small countries and suppress Wusun and Dayuan, and vice versa.

"You are one of the first group to come to the Western Regions. No one knows the Western Regions better than you. Therefore, I have decided to set up a Protectorate in the Western Regions and appoint you as the first protectorate master. You will represent Bingzhou and be in charge of the military and political power of the Western Regions. You will be granted the title of Marquis of Xihai, a fief of 100 households, and a gold seal and purple ribbon!" Yan Yan suddenly spoke.

"Ah... Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" The General Who Protects the Western Regions never thought that he would be directly granted a title of nobility!
Look at the Qin Dynasty's Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben. They had so many military achievements, including the merit of destroying a country, but they were not granted the title of marquis. I was just a deputy general of Luo Bing, but I was already granted the title of marquis!
So, he did not refuse at all and bowed down decisively.

If you still refuse at this time, you are a fool.

The etiquette of the world is that the king has to ask and decline three times before accepting, but...

It's just an official position and cannot be inherited.

This is a title, and a marquis of a hundred households, which can be inherited.

If you invite the great Confucian scholars who are good at etiquette to come, they will not refuse.

If you miss this village, you will miss this store.

"Other soldiers, you should prepare the list and submit it to the Prime Minister's Office and the Guangluqing Office to reward them according to their merits!" Yan Yan continued. As the emperor of Bingzhou, it was impossible for him to reward everyone, so he only needed to control the majority.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" This time, not only the General of the Central Army, but also the soldiers who were accompanying the guards knelt on one knee to salute.

Yan Yan smiled and nodded, then raised his hand to signal everyone not to be polite.

The Headquarters of the General of the Central Army for Protecting the Western Regions and the Headquarters of the Protectorate of the Western Regions are different.

Strictly speaking, the Office of the Protector of the Western Regions was under the control of the General's Office and the Imperial Guard's Office, and its political affairs were also controlled by the Nine Ministers' Office of the Prime Minister's Office. However, the Office of the Protectorate of the Western Regions was different. It was directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor, and its status was only half a level lower than that of the Imperial Guard's Office and the Prime Minister's Office, making it equal to the Office of the General's Office.

As the first Protector General of the Western Regions, he was granted a title of nobility, a golden seal and a purple ribbon, and his rank was equal to that of the Nine Ministers.

The most important thing is that he is no longer controlled by other government offices and is a true frontier official.

As for the management of the Western Regions, it was no longer just about sending troops to protect various countries and mediate conflicts among them, but it was also about sending officials and prime ministers to various countries in the Western Regions to interfere in their affairs.

In other words, the former Office of the General of the Central Army for Protecting the Western Regions could only establish military settlements and diplomatic missions in various countries in the Western Regions on behalf of Bingzhou, and could not interfere in the political affairs of various countries. However, the current Office of the Protectorate of the Western Regions can send talents to serve as officials in various countries and interfere in government affairs.

"Where is General Luo Bing!" The General of the Central Army still hasn't forgotten Luo Bing.

Without Luo Bing's support and reminders, he would not have come to the Western Regions to take root, and would not have achieved what he has today. Now that his title has been promoted to Marquis and his official position is equal to Luo Bing's, he is somewhat worried that this will cause Luo Bing's dissatisfaction.

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“You don’t think that after being granted a title of nobility and becoming the Protector General of the Western Regions, you can be on equal footing with General Luo Bing, right?” Yan Yan smiled and looked at the General of the Central Army.

"I dare not!" The General shook his head hurriedly.

"The Western Regions are too small. General Luo Bing will be transferred back to the royal city sooner or later. When the time comes, his position will be yours!" Yan Yan said with a smile.

The General of the Central Army understood that the General's Mansion of Zhenxi was not only one of the four towns in Bingzhou, but also the giant of the National Guard Mansion and one of the real decision-makers in Bingzhou.

In other words, as long as it is related to the west of Bingzhou, Luo Bing and Yan Yan can discuss and decide, while others only have the right to make suggestions and cooperate.

"Bingzhou is just a makeshift team. All the people in it are here for the first time. Therefore, there are not so many restrictions on enfeoffment of kings and marquises, unlike the Qin State!" Yan Yan continued to paint a big picture.

Is it enough to be a marquis? Do you want to be a lord?
Work hard, General. You are not too old yet and you still have a chance to make further progress.

The General's breathing also quickened. This pancake was drawn by His Majesty himself. He had to eat it. He wanted to eat it!

Why didn't the Qin State dare to confer titles of nobility on Wang Jian, Wang Ben and other veteran generals who had destroyed other nations?
Because the world had not yet been completely unified, they were worried that there was nothing left to conquer.

Bingzhou does not have this worry, the grassland has been pacified, and it is impossible for them to go to war with Qin in a short time. So, why not bestow rewards lavishly at this time, and wait until resentment grows among his subordinates before bestowing them?

"The Western Regions are not the limit. There is still a huge territory to the west of the Western Regions. Although Bingzhou cannot conquer it now, it does not mean that we cannot be granted the title of marquis or king!" Yan Yan continued.

The General immediately understood what Yan Yan meant.

Bingzhou cannot be controlled, but feudal lords and marquises can be sent there. As for how to occupy and manage it, that is something that the feudal lords and marquises should have considered in the past.

Just like the Zhou emperor's enfeoffment of princes, the fiefs of the princes at that time were all barren lands, and the princes were left to grow wildly.

(End of this chapter)