Chapter 315 Yizhou Arrangements...
This is no longer the era of Liu Yan and other previous generations.
Or maybe there is another meaning in this sentence——
This is no longer the era of the Liu clan.
When the country is in turmoil and people's livelihood is exhausted, it is also the time for people who can give the people support to replace the Han royal family.
Qiao Yan didn't mind telling Liu Yan the truth. After all, when she walked out of Liu Yan's house, this one of the earliest governors in the late Han Dynasty had stopped breathing and completely left this era.
"Announce the death of Yizhou Mu in Chengdu and say that Zhao Wei, Liu Zhang and others delayed Liu Yizhou's treatment. Now that he has regained consciousness and heard what his youngest son did, his injuries relapsed and he died."
The price Qiao Yan had to pay for Liu Yan's death was not much. The doctor's earlier diagnosis also proved that his death was only a matter of time after the recurrence of his old injury.
The doctor who was detained in the provincial government by Zhao Wei and Liu Zhang also corroborated Qiao Yan's statement.
But when Liu Zhang heard the news of Liu Yan's death, he felt as if struck by thunder. He threw himself at the bars of the cage like a madman: "This is impossible! My father could have announced the succession to the outside world. I am his legitimate heir. How could he die just like that!"
Liu Yan could have died of a serious illness, but he definitely could not have died because of his harm.
In the Han Dynasty, where filial piety was the guiding principle, being charged with murdering one's father was far more deadly than attempting to seize the power of a governor.
It also undoubtedly provided a more appropriate reason for Qiao Yan to suddenly send troops to Yizhou.
What right has a man who killed his father to take over a state?
Even if he is known as a hero, he is not qualified!
Liu Zhang no longer cared about his fear of Qiao Yan, and shouted loudly: "Why was my father fine before, but got into trouble after the Grand Marshal arrived? This is clearly not my fault."
But what was the point of him saying these words at this time? The drama of announcing the succession that day was unfolding in public, and the doctor who had treated Liu Yan earlier had also made a judgment that if Liu Yan could be in a suitable rest environment, he might be able to live a few more days.
Given the medical treatment capabilities of the doctors at Leping Medical College, it is indeed difficult to determine whether the patient can be saved.
Is it possible that a miracle will happen?
If the Grand Marshal wanted to murder Liu Yan, he would have had to give up the position of general, which was already within his grasp, to Liu Yan as a way to win him over; nor would he have had to send troops to Hanzhong as a warning when he learned that Liu Yan had rebellious intentions. She could just teach Chengdu a lesson, just like she did during this expedition.
The people would not care whether the Yinping Road route was a viable route to Chengdu if Zhang Lu and others had not built the road, nor would they care about what kind of attitude Qiao Yan had towards Liu Yan.
In short, after Liu Yan's death, there was only one person left who knew the truth about the dying man that she revealed to him.
What the people knew was that Liu Zhang failed to do evil and was instead captured by the Grand Marshal who parachuted in here.
Later, in Ba County, Xu Shu and Chu Yan, who came south from Hanzhong County, and Wu Yi, who came north with the Chengdu garrison, jointly attacked Yan Yan in Xuanhan County on the Bashui River, captured the general and brought him back to Chengdu.
In the confession provided by Yan Yan, he replaced Pang Xi as the prefect of Ba County, but he only received the appointment from Liu Yan, but he had never actually seen the sick Liu Yan. This is another piece of evidence that Liu Zhang and others placed Liu Yan under house arrest in an attempt to usurp power.
Liu Zhang was also thoroughly convicted.
After the Yizhou treasury data completed with the assistance of Jiang Jiong was handed over to Qiao Yan, she sent a letter to the east and north respectively.
The letters heading east were sent together with the same batch of supplies, which also carried a portion of the grain and fodder stored in the Yizhou treasury to Hailing via the Yangtze River waterway. Ma Chao and Yan Yan, who had made amends for his crimes, were responsible for the safety of the transportation.
After arriving at Hailing, this food will be divided into two parts.
One was used to support the war in Xuzhou.
Since Zhang Yi's forces south of the Huai River did not have much advantage, he used food and fodder to make up for the harvest loss caused by the drought in order to enhance the people's determination to defend the city.
At the same time, he informed Jia Xu and Pang Tong, who were still in Xuzhou, of the changes in Yizhou and asked them to consider when to reveal the news to the area north of Xuzhou.
If Yizhou could provide continuous backup support to Xuzhou and Yangzhou, northern Xuzhou would never be able to fight a protracted war. But if they want to take an unconventional approach, they have to see if they can be a match for the old fox Jia Xu and the young phoenix Pang Tong.
The other copy, along with the positioning device that Qiao Yan had exchanged, was sent to Liaodong via ship from Xuzhou.
The purpose of the former was to provide cover for the latter, but the existence of the latter meant that—
Once this batch of food and grass is successfully delivered to Youzhou and Liaodong, the hunt for Gongsun Zan will officially begin!
It’s not harvest time yet!
"Why am I only responsible for escorting food and fodder, but cannot participate in the war in Xuzhou?" Ma Chao asked indignantly.
When he first heard the news that Qiao Yan asked him to go to Xuzhou, he thought that he had performed extremely well in first assisting the prince in intimidating Zhang Lu, then capturing Chengdu, and then going north to capture Yan Yan. He was no longer the reckless person he used to be. Therefore, the prince thought he could be of great use and made some additional appointments to him.
But the words that followed made him realize that he did not have as much room to play as he had imagined.
He muttered, "I am a bit straightforward, and I have said a few bad things about Jia Wen and this traitor who surrendered again. I think he brought shame to us Liangzhou people, but when it comes to wholehearted cooperation, I will not make a fool of myself."
How can you just let him be a transport officer and not let him take any action?
I heard that there are still a few capable generals under the command of the Xuzhou Mu appointed by the Yecheng court in the northern part of Xuzhou. Otherwise, he would not have been able to escape from the trap set by Zhuge Liang and others. Isn't this a chance for him to display his talents?
The people of Liangzhou should be allowed to make military achievements under your command again.
Qiao Yan looked at Ma Chao's attitude of volunteering to fight and replied, "It's not that I don't want to give Meng Qi a chance to show his abilities, but Meng Qi has this intention. Don't the people in Yizhou have the same intention? General Yan and General Zhang, who went to Xuzhou with Wen He and others earlier, are both from Yizhou. They are accused of seizing power or having rebellious intentions in Yizhou. They urgently need a military achievement to establish themselves. How can I not give them this opportunity?"
Ma Chao thought about it and realized that he and his father Ma Teng had actually been branded as rebels, and it was indeed through their actual achievements that they had erased those accusations. He took back the words he wanted to use to ask for a fight.
Qiao Yan then continued, "Besides, I didn't just ask you to take charge of transporting grain. Why do you feel disappointed so early?"
"I have two things I need you to do. First, after arriving in Xuzhou, pretend to reorganize the Xuzhou cavalry and cooperate with the generals in Xuzhou to create the illusion that Xuzhou is a breakthrough point after the Yizhou Incident."
This approach to advancement sounds really logical.
Yizhou, a place that was relatively less obedient to imperial edicts, returned to the control of the imperial court in Chang'an, and Jingzhou and Yangzhou in the south also respected Chang'an as their superior. Since the Huaihe River front in Xuzhou had the potential to become a breakthrough point, why couldn't they make a concerted effort here?
"Second, when passing through Jingzhou, we should say hello to Liu Biao and warn him not to spread the news of the ship's passage outside Jingzhou."
It is impossible for Liu Biao not to know that the boats were passing through the territory. Although the route this time was different from that of Zhang Yang's trip to Xuzhou, and they did not pass through the Han River and Xiangyang first, they were still within the territory of Jingzhou.
How would Liu Biao understand this so-called warning to him to spread the news outside Jingzhou?
Probably only Liu Biao himself knows.
As for why she had to entrust the task of issuing the warning to Ma Chao, it was probably because, among the people she was currently suitable to dispatch, only Ma Chao could display such an overbearing arrogance.
At some times this kind of arrogance is not a good thing, but at this time it is obviously a good thing.
Ma Chao actually didn't fully understand what Qiao Yan meant, but this was both the first and the second. It didn't seem like he was asked to be a grain escort officer, so he immediately took the order and left.
Another battle report heading north was handed by Qiao Yan to Fu Gan, who sent it to Chang'an.
The letter arrived in Chang'an via Hanzhong and was handed over to Liu Yu.
"Capture Chengdu?!" Liu Yu stood up subconsciously as soon as he saw the beginning of the letter.
How is this possible?
Why did Yizhou set up a provincial governor back then? It was because this place had an extremely isolated environment and the imperial court had long lost control over it.
Even if Qiao Yan took the Luogu Road to attack Hanzhong last time, in the eyes of most people, she was able to deter Liu Yan's ambition only because the other party still had fear of the Han court in his heart. It did not mean that she could directly reach the core area of Yizhou and achieve such results under the circumstances of a long expedition.
But now she did it!
No matter how she did it, at least it was made clear in the letter sent to Chang'an.
Liu Yan, governor of Yizhou, fell ill due to a relapse of his arrow wound. His youngest son, with the support of local tyrants who did not obey Liu Yan, usurped power and imprisoned him in a house without giving him proper medical treatment. He intended to take over the entire Yizhou first, and then concealed the facts in his report to the court, saying only that he had taken over Yizhou.
Yizhou is a remote and isolated place. If such a change were to occur, the imperial court would have no way to respond.
Fortunately, Zhang Lu, who was defeated by the royal army in the past, was still watching Shuzhong's efforts to build roads and assimilate the vassal states of Guanghan. After discovering something unusual, he sent the news to Qiao Yan.
Although Liu Yan once had the idea of usurping the royal power, his position as Governor of Yizhou had been recognized by the imperial court, making him the legitimate highest official in Yizhou. Once the position of Yizhou Mu could change by seizing the father's position in this way, the court's control over Yizhou would be in name only, so it had to be curbed.
In order to prevent the news from being leaked and allow Yizhou to respond in advance, Qiao Yan ordered Xun Yu to stay in Luoyang for her, while she personally led troops from Wudu County to attack Yizhou, and headed straight to Shuzhong from Guanghan, a vassal state where Zhang Lu was located.
Who could have imagined that this would be the path to take?
Even if someone realized that she might go to Yizhou to quell the rebellion, no one would have thought that she would rather give up the advantages she had already built up in Hanzhong and take the unknown road with high mountains and deep valleys.
If it weren't for the fact that her actions of expelling Zhang Lu from Wudu County and nearly besieging and killing him in Hanzhong were witnessed by everyone, there would be no possibility of fraud, and people would really think that she and Zhang Lu had actually negotiated and acted.
"Is Ye Shu's action too much trust in Zhang Lu?" When Liu Yu read out the letter in the court, even Huangfu Song, who knew her temper, couldn't help but sigh.
But as soon as he said this, he realized that it was unnecessary for him to express his concerns at this time. After all, if it weren't for Qiao Yan's trust in his old enemy, they would never have achieved such a brilliant result in the battle.
In this letter sent to Chang'an, it was written that after she arrived in Chengdu, Liu Yan died of illness, Liu Zhang and his accomplices Zhao Wei and others had all been captured, and the troops heading north from Chengdu and the Hanzhong defenders joined forces to pacify Ba County in one fell swoop.
In this way, except for a few counties controlled by the Southern Barbarians, most of the counties in Yizhou could be easily controlled in their hands.
Compared with the previous situation when Liu Yan was independent in Shu, the current situation has made a breakthrough!
What is even more exciting is that Qiao Yan mentioned that in addition to taking care of Liu Yan's household affairs and the rebellion of the Yizhou scholars, she also took inventory of the treasuries of various parts of Yizhou, especially Shu County.
Leaving aside the rest of the hard currencies such as gold and silver, the amount of grain and fodder stored in Shu County was as high as more than 10 million dan, which was almost enough to catch up with the amount collected through taxes and military farming in Guanzhong in the past two years!
This was after Qiao Yan had Jiang Jiong take inventory of the unreasonable taxes and land encroachments, and returned a considerable portion of them, leaving the remaining money in the treasury.
And this is the inventory that Liu Yan was able to accumulate during his ten years in Yizhou, despite various civil wars and high expenses.
This number alone is enough to make people sigh that Yizhou truly deserves the title of the Land of Abundance.
No wonder... Liu Yan, who controls this place, would actually have some thoughts that a Han minister should not have.
While others were still troubled by natural disasters, Yizhou had the Dujiangyan water conservancy project as its support, naturally fertile land for farming, and geographical conditions isolated from its neighbors as a security barrier. Who could not watch the growing money and grain in the treasury and allow their desire for power to grow unchecked?
etc!
Si Tu Wang Yun, who was originally wary of Qiao Yan, suddenly thought of something and asked, "What are the subsequent arrangements of the Grand Marshal for Yizhou?"
If this place was in Liu Yan's hands, it would be extremely difficult for the court to manage in depth. But if it was in the hands of a military genius like Qiao Yan, it would be an even more unbreakable base!
This place is even more dangerous than Bingzhou and Liangzhou under her control.
It was so dangerous... that it made people doubt whether she could re-establish a small court there.
Wang Yun felt that he really couldn't be blamed for being suspicious about this matter.
From the initiation to the preparation of the Battle of Yizhou, the court in Chang'an did not feel any sense of participation. Only this one shocking result fell on their heads.
If the internal calculations of Yizhou were not to take the court in Chang'an seriously, and even to play both sides between Chang'an and Yecheng, then Qiao Yan, who seemed to be committed to supporting Liu Yu in restoring the Han Dynasty, also showed some respect for Liu Yu through this vigorous march?
Even though Qiao Yan had made it clear in this letter, or in the memorial, there were too many uncertainties in this march, so she had no choice but to keep all her plans secret from Chang'an.
But the court here has been established for nearly three years, and she knows all the people in it well. There should be three or two people who can get the news, but in fact -
No.
Not even Huangfu Song.
But at this moment, it seemed that he was the only one who showed such worries in the face of such a great victory, which made him begin to doubt whether Qiao Yan had managed his image too well, or whether he had to sing a different tune from everyone when everyone was excited about the benefits of the Yizhou change.
At least Liu Yu, as the emperor, did not hear the subtext of Wang Yun's words and replied, "Ye Shu has already held a funeral for Liu Yizhou in Shu. Although some things that are not in accordance with the rites were found in the expenses of his wives, concubines, children and the treasury inventory, he has passed away. It would only make us look petty if we further investigate the mistakes and omissions. So we will still bury him with the rites of a governor."
"Since Liu Junlang has ruled Yizhou for ten years, it would have been the best choice to employ someone closely related to him to ensure a smooth transition in Yizhou. However, during the inventory of the Yizhou treasury, some of the tricks he played on the people's taxes were exposed. It's not an exaggeration to say that this has damaged the people's morale."
"In addition, when Liu Zhang's son and Zhao Wei were working together to transfer power, in order to keep his brother firmly under control, he did not hesitate to poison him. Although he was rescued, his mental state is not as good as before, and it is obvious that he is unable to bear the heavy responsibility."
"It would be better to abolish the post of governor of Yizhou, let the Dongzhou scholar who followed Liu Yizhou into Shu serve as the governor of Yizhou, and give the two counties to Yizhou people to serve as prefects to supervise the local area."
Qiao Yan's arrangements in this letter were obviously well thought out.
Liu Yu also explained it clearly to all the ministers in the court through his words.
The Dongzhou scholar who took over the position of Yizhou governor must not have too rigid a relationship with other Yizhou scholars. It would be best if he had close ties with the former Yizhou governor Liu Yan. He also had to have made contributions to the Chang'an court and have a reasonable argument for rewarding his merits.
Coincidentally, there really is such a person.
It was Wu Yi who was chosen by Qiao Yan.
He was a good representative of the Dongzhou scholars under Liu Yan, but because his authority was closer to that of a military general than a civil official, he seldom expressed his suggestions on some of the interest disputes in Yizhou. At least he was more popular with the Yizhou scholars than Pang Xi.
His sister married Liu Yan's third son Liu Mao, so he was a relative of Liu Yan. If he wanted to mobilize the forces left by Liu Yan in Yizhou, he still had some connections to rely on.
The most important thing is that before Qiao Yan attacked Chengdu, Wu Yi, who was stationed in Fu County, had been "persuaded" by the court's righteousness in quelling the rebellion in Yizhou, and participated in the attack on Chengdu. He then assisted Xu Shu in pacifying Ba County.
If such a person is not worthy of the position of prefect or governor, how can the court's control over Yizhou convince the people?
Wang Yun: “…”
This statement is really too high-sounding.
But when he thought that Wu Yi was from Chenliu, Yanzhou, and was a fellow townsman of Dian Wei, Qiao Yan's staunchest and loyal minister, and that he had obviously reached an exchange of interests with Qiao Yan, which led to his sending troops to assist, Wang Yun felt like there was something stuck in his throat.
So rather than saying that this was to achieve a smooth transition of the Yizhou regime, and therefore Liu Yan's Dongzhou subordinates were still used, it would be better to say that this was a roundabout way for Qiao Yan to take control of the power of Yizhou into his own hands.
This main theme, which could not deviate from, made Wang Yun distracted when he was listening to the subsequent arrangements.
But even if he didn't put all his heart and soul into it, he still had to admire Qiao Yan's clever methods in manipulating such border forces.
She mentioned that in order to regain control of Yizhou now, certain concessions must be made to the local forces in Yizhou. The positions of these two prefects should be given away, but before that, it would be better to make some divisions among the counties within Yizhou.
There is no need to consider dividing the originally uncontrolled areas of Zangke County and Yizhou County in the south of Yizhou. Instead, Naba County can be divided into Badong and Baxi, with half of it given to the local people of Yizhou to govern.
Many people of Ba had grudges against Liu Yan, especially after Liu Yan's iron-blooded suppression of the big families in Ba County to establish his authority. However, the Chang'an court made such concessions, which was undoubtedly beneficial to the stability of Bashu.
But at the same time, the real power in Hanzhong and Badong was in the hands of the court in Chang'an. With Wu Yi in Shuzhong, he was able to encircle and control the central Baxi County. This was also a kind of division.
In Shu, on the one hand, he executed Zhao Wei, a traitor who usurped power and plotted treason, in order to restore the orthodoxy in Chang'an. On the other hand, he sent Yan Yan, Zhang Ren and others to the Xuzhou front to give them the opportunity to make merit. In addition to establishing the central position of the prefecture, he also handled the relationship with the Yizhou territory. This can be said to be a move to calm the people.
With all these measures listed in front of us, one can only feel that when it comes to checks and balances of power, Qiao Yan's operations in various places in the three states have reached a level that is beyond the reach of others.
The most interesting thing is the last measure she proposed afterwards.
In her opinion, the southern part of Yizhou, which Liu Yan did not pay much attention to, might also be possible to touch.
But the prerequisite for making this attempt is to appoint a person to an official position.
Yao Chang.
The original Protector of the Qiang, Yao Chang.
"Why can't the position of the Qiang Protector be adjusted?"
Yao Chang had never thought that there would be a change in her position after accepting the official appointment, but when Qiao Yan said this, she felt that it was indeed feasible.
Qiao Yan said, "The Qiang people are similar to the Nanman people. There are dozens of ethnic groups in one state. Some of them are friendly neighbors and have formed alliances, while others have long been enemies because of disputes over rivers and mountains. We can also kill, suppress, conquer and win them over. If you know my attitude in Liangzhou, you will also know how to treat the Nanman people."
Yao Chang continued: "If it is as you said, the Qiang people in the north of Yizhou can also help me and go to the south with me."
"That's right, so this position should be changed from the original Protector of the Qiang to..." Qiao Yan paused here and said with a smile: "Look, since you can have the position of Protector of the Xiongnu Lieutenant, why can't you be promoted from a lieutenant to a Lieutenant General? If you must count, you have made more military achievements than Wang Shuyou, so you should be called Protector of the Qiang and Barbarian Lieutenant General."
"But will Chang'an approve this appointment?" Yao Chang couldn't help but ask.
Not only was she a Qiang, she was also a woman. Even with the Grand Marshal Qiao Yan, it was by no means as difficult to have a female General of the Central Army in the army as it was to have a woman like the Deputy Governor of Yizhou who assisted the Governor of Liangzhou in governing the country, or the Grand Historian who was proficient in astrology and calendar.
However, what she saw was only Qiao Yan's determined eyes. "Before that, do they have a way to recapture the southern part of Yizhou? I want to rule the barbarians with the Qiang people. I am taking a road that no one has ever taken before. The division of responsibilities is also the first of its kind in the world, so what's the problem?"
"In addition, I will also send someone to assist you. I intend to have Zhao Ang of the Hanyang Zhao family take over the position of governor of Zangke County to help you pacify the Nanman."
Qiao Yan looked towards the south, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
I hope Zhao Ang’s wife Wang Yi can also be a helper to Yao Chang.
As long as there is a possibility of opening a breakthrough in the southern part of Yizhou, Fa Zheng, who was selected to serve her through the Hongwenguan selection examination, will be sent here as her assistant.
Although Yao Chang was unaware of Qiao Yan's plan, she still responded decisively: "If so, I will definitely do my best for you and make this happen!"
Everything is going smoothly in Chengdu, and people from top to bottom get along well with each other, but it is not so comfortable in Chang'an.
Wang Yun walked out of the Purple Palace with worry in his heart, thinking about the situation in Yizhou.
Yizhou suddenly felt like a heavy burden on his shoulders as he saw that the eastern part of Sili, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Yizhou had actually tightly surrounded the Chang'an court.
At this point, if Qiao Yan wanted to strangle the Chang'an court and have his decrees represented by Liu Yu's orders be announced to the world, it would no longer be a difficult task.
Does she really... have no other ideas?
Just as he was thinking this, he heard someone calling his name from behind, interrupting his thoughts.
In order to prevent his worries from being seen by others, Wang Yun quickly composed himself and turned to look behind him. He saw Qi Zhou, a subordinate of the Grand Herald, walking towards him quickly.
Wang Yun couldn't help feeling curious.
This person has never had any friendship with him, why did he suddenly come to him?
When Qi Zhouxing arrived in front of him, Wang Yun saw Qi Zhou mysteriously pull him aside and whispered to him: "Wang Situ, I want to ask you something. I wonder if you can give me some advice."
Qi Zhou looked around to make sure no one noticed his actions, then he continued: "It's about my trip to Yizhou that year--"
"I suspect there is something hidden behind what happened back then."
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