April of the first year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.
More than two months have passed since the investiture ceremony after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but the far-reaching impact of the ceremony continues, especially for the interest groups in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, where an internal struggle for division is quietly unfolding.
Wuzhou City, the residence of Liu Ziyu, the Earl of Wuyi.
After King Zhao Liu Xinwu took up permanent residence in the imperial city of Jinling, his adopted son, Earl Wuyi Liu Ziyu, became the new head of the interest group in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
His Earl's Mansion, located in Wuzhou City, a major border town of the Tang Dynasty, became a gathering place for civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, with guests flocking in every day.
After receiving his title, Liu Ziyu returned to his post and began a life of complete decadence. As the deputy general of the Tang Dynasty's southern expeditionary army, he did not think about training the troops or preparing for war. Instead, he spent his days drinking, making merry, and indulging in a life of debauchery.
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too.
The generals in the army of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun under his command also followed the example of Liu Ziyu, the Earl of Wuyi, making the army of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun chaotic and ineffective.
As a result, the remnants of the Turkic Khaganate, which had been destroyed two years earlier by Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion under Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, seized the opportunity to return to the northern desert to graze their livestock, gradually testing the attitude and bottom line of the Tang Dynasty.
Liu Ziyu turned a blind eye to this, allowing the remnants of the Turkic tribes who had migrated back to the northern desert to gradually grow stronger.
On this day, inside the Earl's Mansion in Wuzhou City.
As usual, Liu Ziyu drank and made merry with a group of civil and military officials from the Youyun region at his residence. During the meal, they inevitably talked about the recent actions of Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an.
Prefect He Kuan of Wuzhou, emboldened by alcohol, said sullenly, "Gentlemen, you've all heard, haven't you? The Emperor has issued a decree to incorporate the Goguryeo Peninsula into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and has also bestowed upon his adopted son, Chen Lingwu, the title of King of Goguryeo."
"Not only that, the Duke of Han, who had already voluntarily relinquished his military power, volunteered again at the court assembly to lead 200,000 Xuanjia soldiers by sea directly to the port of Nampo in Goguryeo;"
"Combined with the Qin state's forces in the Liao River region, they launched a two-pronged attack, completely annihilating the Goguryeo regime represented by King Gojang."
"If the Goguryeo regime is destroyed and the Goguryeo peninsula is incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, then the Duke of Dingguo, the Duke of Qin, the Duke of Han, and the other marquises and earls who accompanied them on this expedition against Goguryeo will be honored."
"His status and power in the Tang Dynasty are likely to rise to a new level!"
Wow!
The moment Prefect He Kuan uttered these words, the banquet erupted in uproar.
Those who are qualified to sit and drink at the Marquis of Wuyi’s residence today are all those who were disappointed at the founding ceremony of the Tang Dynasty when the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were conferred titles. Prefect He Kuan’s words immediately touched the sensitive and easily angered nerves of everyone.
The expression on the face of Liu Ziyu, the Earl of Wuyi, who was sitting in the main seat, was obviously frozen.
At this moment, a military officer immediately roared indignantly, "It seems that Liu Ergou got off easy. Once the war to pacify Goguryeo is over, won't Liu Ergou be strutting around like a madman?"
Then someone else chimed in, "Yeah, what is Liu Ergou anyway? He was just a groom who served Duke Pang Xianchu of Jin for a few days, and he thinks he's some kind of genius?"
"He was just a mere garrison commander of Jizhou, yet he was not only granted the title of Earl, but he also secured a lucrative post to lead troops in the first battle after the founding of the Tang Dynasty. After a casual trip around the Liaodong region, he'll look down on us old brothers with his nose in the air!"
"that is......"
For a moment, the table was filled with complaints.
The Liu Ergou mentioned by the generals was none other than Liu Ergou, the garrison commander of Jizhou, one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and the Earl of Suiyuan. At this time, he was the deputy general of the Tang Dynasty's eastern expeditionary army, assisting Duke Wang Jian of Qin in his eastern expedition against Goguryeo.
Bang!
Suddenly, Liu Ziyu, who was in the main seat, slammed the wine bowl in his hand on the table and shattered it.
The sudden noise startled the other generals at the table, who all fell silent and turned their puzzled gazes to Liu Ziyu.
"Enough!"
Liu Ziyu, his face ashen, said, "All of you, shut your mouths! If you don't have the ability to gain the Emperor's favor, then stop gossiping about others behind their backs!"
"You've got guts! Why don't you go to the Emperor and volunteer to lead troops into battle? Gossiping behind people's backs, is that what a real man does?"
"Everyone, step back. We won't drink any more wine today!"
Liu Ziyu had already given the order to leave, so the military officers who were still enjoying their drinks could only leave reluctantly.
Everyone knows that the deputy general is unhappy!
And that is indeed the case.
Although Liu Ziyu started to slack off after returning to his post in Wuzhou following the end of the investiture ceremony.
But, as the saying goes, a person lives for their reputation, just as a tree lives for its bark.
Seeing his former subordinates being given important positions by the emperor, while he, the "brother-in-law of the emperor" in the eyes of the world, was destined to sit on the sidelines, anyone would be unhappy!
Furthermore, as a veteran border general who had been operating in the Youyun region for decades, Liu Ziyu was also an old acquaintance of King Gojang of the Goguryeo Dynasty. Smuggling valuable products such as ginseng and deer antlers from Goguryeo to the Central Plains Dynasty was one of Liu Ziyu's means of accumulating wealth.
If the Goguryeo Dynasty were to fall, it would mean that Liu Ziyu's smuggling business in the Liaodong region would be completely ruined.
This inevitably made Liu Ziyu feel a sense of shared sorrow.
In addition, his defeat at the founding ceremony of the Tang Dynasty made his urgent desire to open up the smuggling route from Jiangnan to Youyun to Anxi to the Western Regions also quite difficult.
In particular, Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi who was in charge of the four towns of Anxi, did not give Liu Ziyu any face at all.
This has led to Liu Ziyu's current setbacks in officialdom and business. As he watches his family fortune accumulated over the years gradually dwindle, Liu Ziyu can't help but feel anxious and frustrated.
"master--"
At this moment, Liu Ziyu, who was lost in thought alone in the study, was suddenly awakened by the butler outside the room and came back to his senses.
The butler leaned against the door of the study and whispered, "A guest requests an audience!"
Inside the study, Liu Ziyu frowned and said angrily, "Steward Sun, didn't I say that I would not be receiving any guests today? Are you ignoring my words?"
"Sir, I wouldn't dare—"
Outside the study, Butler Sun hurriedly explained, "Master, this guest says he comes from the Western Regions and has brought you immense wealth. He asked me to inform you!"
"If, if Master is unwilling to receive guests today, then I will go and refuse that person immediately!"
"etc--"
Inside the study, Liu Ziyu suddenly raised an eyebrow, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. He then waved his hand and said, "Steward Sun, go and bring the person over!"
"Yes, sir!"
Butler Sun left in a hurry, but Liu Ziyu in the study became interested. Could it be a guest from the Western Regions?
A moment later, introduced by the Earl's steward, a tall man who was clearly not Han Chinese by his appearance appeared in the Earl's study.
This man was tall and broad-shouldered, and wore a typical Western Region ethnic costume.
As soon as he entered, he rushed up to Liu Ziyu and gave him a bear hug, muttering, "My good brother, it's been years! How have you been?"
"Bartel?"
Indeed, the Western Region visitor who appeared in Liu Ziyu's study at this moment was none other than Batel, the fourth son of Timur, the Turkic Khan who had dominated the northern deserts for more than thirty years, and the leader of the Guli tribe of the Turkic Khanate!
Back then, after the Turkic Khaganate was destroyed overnight by Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion, Batel, who had narrowly escaped the calamity, led his tribe to flee to the western desert and was never heard from again.
Heaven knows why he suddenly returned to Wuzhou City all alone.
But one thing Liu Ziyu was very clear about was that Batel's return to Wuzhou City to find him was definitely not for anything good!
Liu Ziyu's expression changed from initial surprise to a wary glance around before he quickly closed the door, saying with a hint of lingering fear, "As soon as I heard you were a visitor from the Western Regions, I guessed it would be you."
"You little brat, are you out of your mind, actually returning to the Central Plains?"
"Don't you know that Chen Huai'an, the Prince of Jin who once destroyed your Turkic Khaganate, is now the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"
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