Chapter 372: Step by step (Central)

In early April, it is the most pleasant season of the year. The green and green wind blows, and the people in Chang'an City are not willing to be at home. They take their wives and children to travel on the street, making Chang'an City noisy and lively. In the morning, it is the time when the crowds are at its peak. People and cars are coming and going on Zhuque Street, and there are endless streams. Especially near Mingdemen, there are people in Chang'an who are preparing to go out. Carriages that are going out later are parked in disorder. Everyone is rushing to join the embrace of nature.

Suddenly, a dull sound of horse hooves came from outside the city. The sound of hooves was very rapid. More than a dozen carriages that were quarreling out of the city immediately quieted down. A soldier guarding the city jumped to the shaft and looked into the distance. He saw dozens of war horses running towards this side about two hundred steps away, coming quickly, stirring up the rolling yellow dust all the way, and he faintly heard someone shouting, "Do away! Emergency military information of 800 miles."

There was a sudden chaos at the city gate, and the carriages hid to both sides. The soldiers guarding the gate rushed to push some individual tourists against the city wall. In a blink of an eye, dozens of war horses roared over, and the officer in the lead held a pass order and shouted: "Hebei battle report, please allow the pass."

The soldiers guarding the city did not dare to neglect and made a way out one after another. One of the soldiers suddenly asked loudly: "How is the battle in Hebei?"

The captain waved his hand and let the soldiers pass through the city hole. He tied the reins and announced to everyone with some pride: "A great victory in Hebei! The Longyou Army completely annihilated the invading Hu barbarians and beheaded more than 70,000 people. Hu Chief has been captured alive!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cheer suddenly broke out at the city gate. Many people were even unwilling to play and turned around and ran towards the city. The messenger continued to run forward. While shouting to give way, they also declared along the way: "A great victory in Hebei! Beheading 70,000 captives."

The news of the Hebei victory was like a spring breeze, and it spread throughout Chang'an City in an instant, with cheering crowds everywhere. The excited people of Chang'an rushed home, picked up pots and basins and went out to the streets to beat each other desperately. People told each other and hugged each other and cried. The news of the victory meant that the nightmare that had been more than 20 years ago would not happen again, and that the last peace of the Tang Dynasty finally came.

The cheering voice even reached the imperial city and the Daming Palace. At the same time, several messengers had already entered the Daming Palace. Many small and medium-sized officials had already heard the news and ran out of the court room to find out the news. The messengers announced all the way that they rushed to the steps of the Secretariat and turned over and dismounted. As several important officials came out of the Secretariat after the meeting, Pei You saw that the messengers were excited and asked, "What happened?"

The captain immediately bowed and said, "Report to all the prime ministers, Hebei is a great victory, and the invading enemy troops are wiped out."

"God bless the Tang Dynasty! God bless the people!" Pei You, Cui Yu and others were suddenly excited. None of them were willing to disperse, and followed the messenger to enter the Secretariat again.

"Governor! Hebei Military Daily." Niu Sengru shouted all the way to the inner room of the Secretariat. He rushed into Zhang Huan's courtroom with a red face and shouted: "Governor, we won, Hebei victory."

Zhang Huanzheng was sitting in the court room to review the memorials. Niu Sengru's disobedience made him frown slightly, but he did not show it. He put down his pen and smiled slightly, "Our 250,000 troops against the enemy, all of them are experienced in many battles. If we lose like this, it will be really a joke."

In fact, he received the Feige Express from the Hebei Victory the day before yesterday, and the messenger was still one step slower, but he didn't know the specific process of the war. When he saw several personal soldiers leading the messenger to stand outside the door, he said, "Let them submit the military newspaper."

The captain's messenger immediately stepped forward, bowed and submitted a volume of military newspapers. The personal soldiers took it and transferred it to Zhang Huan, but Zhang Huan did not open it immediately, but asked the captain: "How did General Wang fight?"

"Reporting to the governor, General Wang had already found that the enemy's rations had been exhausted before the attack. He first had a feint attack, which triggered the enemy's counterattack, and then retreated without fighting. When the enemy's momentum was exhausted, General Wang immediately sent 20,000 iron cavalry to attack the enemy. At this time, General Helo's army came from the north, and the two armies attacked each other. The enemy was defeated and the Uighur tribe was all killed and killed. He captured 20,000 Khitans alive, beheaded more than 70,000 people in total. In the end, only hundreds of escaped were lucky enough, and our army suffered more than 4,000 casualties. Khitan King Yelu Derong and Uighur General Tuoba Qianli were both captured and taken to Chang'an."

Zhang Huan nodded. Wang Siyu had indeed made progress again. Then he opened the military newspaper and took a rough look. The military newspaper wrote about the same as the sergeant's statement. In the military newspaper, he was interspersed with a secret letter from Wang Siyu, and told Zhang Huan that he would personally lead 100,000 Anxi Army to advance to Huainan on the second day of the battle, and at the same time, he would also arrange the Cui family's Qinghe Army to accept Shandong's defense.

At this time, a burst of footsteps came from outside the door. Cui Yu and others who had just left returned. Pei You entered the room and said with a hint of complaining, "The State of Supervisor must have known about the victory, but he hid it from us, which made me worry for a few days."

Zhang Huan quickly smiled and bowed, "Everyone is concerned about the matter in Huainan these days, and I have not taken the war in Hebei seriously, so I did not tell you in time that this matter is wrong. I apologize to you!"

"The Supervisor is so polite." Cui Yu said, "I heard that the Khitan King Yelu Derong was also captured alive. I wonder how the Supervisor was going to send him?"

Zhang Huan nodded, "I want to hear your opinions on this matter, please sit down!"

The personal soldiers brought a few soft couches and everyone sat down one by one. Everyone knew that Zhang Huan was not talking about dealing with the Khitan King, but how to deal with the Khitan, a northern ethnic group.

"Everyone, as we all know, since the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the Khitans have been disobeying discipline and repeatedly plundered the children of our Han family as slaves. During the Emperor Tian, ​​they even sent troops to attack cities and plunder villages, causing serious losses to the counties in the northeast. Emperor Xuanzong used the means of marriage. I remember that in the fourth year of Tianbao, Xuanzong summoned Princess Jingle and Li Huaijie, the governor of the Khitan Songmo, and gave him ten thousand pieces of brocade. However, in less than a year, my Tang Dynasty princess was killed by the Khitans, and the Khitans once again launched troops to invade the territory.

This nation that was kind and revengeful and then rebeled, and then tens of thousands of troops came to assist the rebels after An Lushan rebelled. They slaughtered countless cities in our Central Plains, raped, burned and killed, and did everything evil. If the Khitan was not destroyed as soon as possible, they would sooner or later become the enemy of our Central Plains. I planned to turn back to clean up the Khitan after solving Anxi, but he came to his door by himself. Now their 50,000 main forces have been wiped out. It is the time to clean up this evil wolf, so I ask everyone to discuss how to deal with the Khitans."

After Zhang Huan finished speaking, he looked at everyone. He had actually decided to take the opportunity to destroy the Khitan. All he had discussed with everyone was just a specific method. At this time, Zhang Huan saw that Lu Qi wanted to speak but stopped, so he smiled at him and said, "Shangshu Lu has something to say."

"I have only a little foolish opinion below, I would like to refer to you." Lu Qi stood up and bowed to Zhang Huan, nodded to everyone, saying, "I advocate referring to the method of dealing with the Dangxiang people, moving the Khitans inward, and demarcating two or three counties in Hebei and Hedong Road to resettle them, allowing them to govern themselves, but they must also follow the laws of the Tang Dynasty and pay taxes to the Tang Dynasty...."

"Shu Lu's words are wrong!" Before Lu Qi finished speaking, Han Huan stood up and interrupted him. He bowed to Zhang Huan and said generously: "According to the methods of Shang Shu Lu, the Khitans will still be Khitans, and they will not change for a hundred years. Moving to the mainland will give them the opportunity to plunder the wealth and children of the Tang Dynasty. Once our Tang Dynasty is weak, the Khitans will inevitably place their territory and become a country. The same is true for the Dangxiang people. When they moved the Dangxiang people to Qing, Yan, Xia, Yin and other states, they were allowed to govern themselves, so I will recognize them.

Because this is an extremely wrong strategy, Tuoba Qianli is an excellent example. The Dangxiang nobles have always hidden their rebellious hearts in their bones. Therefore, whether it is the Khitans, Dangxiang people or Xi people, the best way is to destroy these nations. Of course, the method of massacre does not conform to the wind of our heavenly kingdom. I suggest using the method of dealing with the Turks to disperse them to all parts of our Tang Dynasty and live with the Han people. If there are no more than three generations, whether it is the Khitans or Dangxiang, they will disappear into the long river of history."

Among them, Yuan Zai, the Minister of War, had the least qualifications. He sat at the end and remained silent. However, he was Zhang Huan's confidant, the person who knew Zhang Huan the best. He knew that Zhang Huan had actually had a decisive plan in his heart. When he solved the problem of Xidangxiang people in Wuwei, Zhang Huan used more vicious than Han Huan. He first killed all the nobles of Xidangxiang people, and then used the Dangxiang people as slaves, and then used the Chineseization as a condition for eliminating the identity of slaves.

Yuan Zai knew that Zhang Huan must have tried to reuse the same trick, but he did not advocate too much killing, and he did not agree with using the Khitans as slaves. This would be detrimental to the sinicization of the Khitans.

Thinking of this, Yuan Zai also stood up and said, "Chief, can you allow me to add a few more words?"

"Please tell me if you are the Minister of Yuan."

Yuan Zai bowed to the other people, and then said slowly: "I also agree with Han Shangshu's method. He gradually eliminated the Khitans by living in a mixed manner and made them sinicized. This time, more than 20,000 prisoners were captured by Hebei. I suggest that the evil ones be executed. The other ordinary soldiers should be allowed to reunite with their families. Moreover, the Khitans who moved south and the Xi people should all give land like us Han people, regardless of the high or low. Only in this way can we truly conquer people with benevolence and righteousness, and they can return to their hearts, and we should not add another killing, otherwise when will the revenge be repaid?"

"What Secretary Yuan and Secretary Han said are very true, please think twice." Pei You and Cui Yu both expressed their support for Yuan Zai and Han Huan respectively.

Zhang Huan originally planned to transfer prisoners of war to the mine as slaves, and the rest of the Khitan children were rewarded to the meritorious soldiers, but he had to consider the opinions of several important officials. After pondering for a moment, he finally nodded and said, "Okay! This matter will be done according to the opinions of Shangshu Han and Shangshu Yuan. The enemy chiefs Tuoba Qianli and Yelu Derong were beheaded and displayed in public. The Khitan and the Xi people moved inward were led by Pei Xiangguo to come up with a plan first, and the other departments cooperated together."

He turned back to Yuan Zai and said, "I will appoint your Khitan envoy to fully handle the internal migration of the Khitans and the Xi people. At the same time, I will order Lou Wuji to cooperate with your measures. But there is one thing you should remember that you cannot blindly talk about benevolence and righteousness. You must combine leniency and strictness. The best strategy is to use both soft and hard. If someone resists and refuses to move south, kill me all!"

Everyone stood up and bowed to answer the order. Zhang Huan looked at them again and smiled faintly, "I have ordered Wang Siyu's army to go south. I want to solve the matters of the Chu family in person. I may be temporarily away from Beijing for more than a month. When I am not in Beijing, the affairs of the military and national affairs will be resolved together by the five of you. If you are not sure of your decision, you can send someone to report to me."

When everyone heard that Zhang Huan was leaving Chang'an, everyone was shocked. Cui Yu hurriedly advised: "The war in Hebei is over now, and it is time for all the things to be settled. There are a large number of accumulated cases that need to be clarified one by one. Why not go to Huainan and persuade Chu Xingshui to put the overall situation first, and the supervisor will stay in Beijing to preside over the overall situation."

Zhang Huan shook his head and said, "One of the time, the Chu family is my uncle. The crisis of the Chu family cannot be solved by me. Secondly, Huainan is the most important source of wealth for the court. It is of great importance. I must solve this matter myself."

Cui Yu was still trying to persuade him, but Yuan Zai touched him gently behind him. Cui Yu felt enlightened and immediately changed his words: "Since the supervisor must go in person, we will obey the supervisor's arrangements and hope that the supervisor will go early and return soon."

Zhang Huan glanced at Yuan Zai, smiled slightly and said, "I'll set out early tomorrow morning."

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It was noon soon, and there was an hour for lunch break. Some officials went home to have lunch and rest, but most of the officials made an appointment with their colleagues who were close to each other to eat in the nearby yard. The place where Zhang Huan went to was naturally Jingniang's restaurant. However, the last time the hungry people made trouble, the farmhouse was burned, so Jingniang rebuilt a new restaurant on the original foundation, which was even more large than before. At the same time, more land was opened behind the restaurant for officials to enjoy farming in their spare time.

Zhang Huan's carriage slowly stopped in front of the gate of the Congwoman Residence. Jingniang had already been waiting in front of the door. She wore a sky blue dress with an intoxicating smile on her face. This mature woman was more charming than ever. Her figure was plump and charming, and her skin was as delicate as a cream. The most attractive thing was her dark blue eyes. Seeing Zhang Huan's arrival, a gem-like glow flashed in her blue pupils.

She is Zhang Huan's lover. Many people know that this is an open secret, but no one will put this matter on his lips. Of course, her special relationship with Zhang Huan has made her restaurant full of every day. The small piece of farmland she developed has long been sold out, and some people can't buy it even if they offer high prices. No one will sell the opportunity in their hands.

Now, in addition to opening a hotel, Jingniang also opened two large shops in the East City, mainly selling goods from the Western Regions, Persian carpets, silverware and gold coins from Dashi, Egyptian cotton cloth, Indian gems, Anxi wine, etc. She used the waist brand given to her to be unobstructed in the Western Regions, and also sold silk, porcelain, tea and other items from the Tang Dynasty to Shule, Shuye and other places, and then transported them to the West by merchants there, bringing wealth. Her shrewd business mind made her the richest woman in Chang'an.

However, although she had a charming smile today, her eyes seemed a little restless. As soon as she saw Zhang Huan coming, she stepped forward and whispered: "There is someone who is willing to give you ten thousand acres of Guanzhong Ueda to you, just want to see you."

Zhang Huan was stunned. Who would have such a big deal if he had the ten thousand acres of Guanzhong? "Who wants to see me? Don't you know me?"
Chapter completed!