These Qiang chieftains have long been established in Jincheng. On the surface, they appear to be subservient to the Han Dynasty and often identify themselves as Han people.
Each time the Qiang people submitted, the imperial court would issue corresponding appeasement policies. However, due to the excessive greed of the Han officials in the past, who colluded with powerful clans to plunder and oppress the Qiang people who had submitted, the original appeasement policies became deadly poison.
The powerful Qiang people who benefited quickly sided with the Qiang people again, and then used various means to transfer all the oppression suffered by the Qiang people into hatred and dissatisfaction with the Han Dynasty. They took the benefits, while the Han people took the blame.
Moreover, they often secretly supported the rebellious Qiang people, which is truly despicable.
Cheng Yu has seen this very clearly since he arrived in Liangzhou, and he will naturally not give up any opportunity to strike at or eliminate them.
After giving his orders, Cheng Yu looked at the scout and asked, "Any other news?"
The scout respectfully reported, "After Bei Gong Boyu and those people dispersed, he secretly invited Bian Zhang to his study."
Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Did you overhear what they were saying?"
"No! They're very careful; our people can't get close!"
The scout shook his head and then said, "But there's something strange. When they went in, there were two of them, but when they came out, there were three of them."
Cheng Yu pondered for a moment, "Keep a close eye on the third person; he might be a key figure!"
"promise!"
Then Cheng Yu asked, "By the way, how are the arrangements going in Heyang and Weinan?"
"Shangguan, the Gao family has been lured out, and it seems they intend to kill those students!"
After the scout finished speaking, he glanced at Cheng Yu hesitantly, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
What are you trying to say?
Cheng Yu also noticed the unusual behavior of his subordinates.
The scout no longer hesitated and asked suspiciously, "Shangguan, you and those scholars serve His Majesty together. Why didn't you help those people who used refined iron to frame the scholars promoted by His Majesty...?"
Upon hearing his subordinate's question, Cheng Yu closed his eyes and slowly replied:
“Some things aren’t that simple. If we help them get rid of the evidence, then the people hiding behind the Gao family will become aware of it. So our goal is to lure out the Gao family and then eliminate them completely using the same methods. Do you understand?”
"Understood."
The scout didn't ask any further questions, gave Cheng Yu a deep look, and then turned and left.
Two days after Li Ru left with the Imperial Guards, investigators from the Court of Justice arrived in Heyang.
The officials of the Court of Justice also easily uncovered evidence of Li Ru's framing and wanton killing of local powerful figures. They even found a letter in Li Ru's former residence from someone claiming to be the Left Wise King of the Northern Xiongnu.
Soon, the officials from the Court of Justice, carrying the evidence they had gathered, sped towards Luoyang. At this time, Li Ru was completely unaware of all of this.
Cheng Yu also sent someone to write down the Gao family's actions in a secret letter and urgently sent it to Luoyang.
On the other side, after several days of rapid march, Li Jue finally led his thousand soldiers to Dunhuang County.
Zhang Ji, the Commandant of Dunhuang, came to greet them personally.
Upon seeing Li Jue produce Duan Jiong's handwritten order, Zhang Ji immediately sent someone to inform Xun You, the governor of Dunhuang, and to have the thousand Liangzhou soldiers brought by Li Jue brought to the military camp for resettlement.
When Xun You learned that Yang Biao had volunteered to go to Youzhou to serve as a county magistrate, he, not wanting to be outdone, also asked Liu Hong for permission to come to Dunhuang to serve as a county magistrate.
The environment in Dunhuang was much more complex than that in Jincheng, with not only Han Chinese, but also Qiang, Yuezhi, Baihu and some people from the Western Regions.
When Xun You first arrived in this place, he also realized the difficulty of governing it. The mixed living of multiple ethnic groups inevitably led to various conflicts and contradictions due to differences in living customs. In addition, there was not much arable land in the area, so the policies of the imperial court were not applicable here.
After some investigation and deliberation, Xun You believed that Dunhuang's unique geographical location and abundant surrounding resources made it suitable for developing handicrafts and commerce. He then drafted a governance plan and submitted it to Liu Hong.
Liu Hong also believed that Dunhuang could be developed into a commercial city, so he readily agreed to Xun You's suggestion and allowed Xun You to give certain preferential treatment to artisans and merchants within a certain scope.
With the emperor's support, Xun You began to vigorously recruit artisans. He accepted all types of artisans without hesitation and encouraged local residents to develop various handicrafts. He also promised that the government would buy back their products at a certain price if commercial taxes were reduced.
As a result, various handicraft workshops sprang up like mushrooms after rain under Xun You's rule. At the same time, Xun You also gathered people other than Han Chinese under his rule and educated them in Han culture.
Anyone who did not seriously study Han culture would have their right to set up workshops and do business revoked. Driven by profit, the Qiang, Hu, and Western Region people all took the initiative to accept Han education.
After witnessing the profoundness of Han culture, they take great pride in being able to speak and write Chinese characters.
Thanks to Xun You's unconventional approach to governance, the people's livelihood and economy under his rule recovered rapidly. He also promoted the education of outsiders without any hindrance, achieving remarkable political achievements. A month ago, Liu Hong promoted him to the position of governor of Dunhuang.
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