Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 375

Chapter 375 New Lord Of Lanzhou

A few days later, Qin Mubai arrived at the Governor’s Mansion of Lanzhou with his troops. When it was still eighty miles away from Lanzhou City, a large group of people appeared in front of them, with banners flagged with heavenly weapons and fierce snowflakes. Upon closer inspection, it was the Tang army.

It turned out that it was Xue Wanjun, the deputy governor of Lanzhou, who came out of the main group to welcome him.

Qin Mubai pressed down on the flag and stepped forward. Xue Wanjun and the others had already dismounted from their horses and stood beside the road with Lanzhou Governor Xiao Liang and the other officials cupping their hands.

“Shanzhou Governor Xue Wanjun!”

“Lanzhou Governor Xiao Liang!”

“Liangzhou Governor Xue Wanche!”

“Lead the generals under the Lanzhou Governor-General’s Mansion to welcome Young Marshal Qin!”

Behind them were about two to three thousand cavalry. They dismounted and saluted together, promising in unison, “Welcome, Young Marshal!”

Qin Mubai was at a loss for a moment. In the past, they were used to addressing him as “Young General”. This Major Marshal’s address was quite new. Moreover, he had only returned to the capital before returning to Lanzhou, so there was no need for him to set up a formation like the three thousand troops in Guo Eighty Miles to welcome him.

This courtesy was a bit excessive.

“Everyone, you’re too polite. You’ve ruined me.” Qin Mubai hurriedly dismounted his horse and returned the greeting. “General, Xiao Cishi, I am only a rank four official of the Governor’s Mansion of Lanzhou. My rank is still behind you. How dare you greet me with such a grand greeting? I’m afraid you will be disappointed if you come to welcome the King of Jiangxia and Princess Wencheng. Their team is still far behind. They probably just left Chang’an.”

Xue Wanjun and the others smiled at each other and said, “Young Admiral, we naturally have our reasons for doing this. If it is the Jiang Xia King and his daughter who have come, we will at most welcome them in the city. There is no need to go out of the Guo Eighty Miles Military Formation to welcome them. It is precisely because Young Admiral Qin is the new lord of Lanzhou that we have to do so.”

“Oh, what did you say?” Qin Mubai asked in surprise.

Xiao Liang brought a green-clothed official with him. The green-clothed official held out an exquisite brocade box and handed it to Qin Mubai with both hands. “Young Marshal Qin, before you arrived in Lanzhou, the royal court sent a lowly horse to Lanzhou and issued an imperial edict appointing you as the governor of Lanzhou! Therefore, from now on, you are the new lord of Lanzhou.”

“Oh? What about my father?” Qin Mubai was once again surprised.

“Major Marshal, why don’t you ask the angels to read the imperial edict?” Xue Wanjun and the others laughed.

“Please!”

Thus, the official in green read out the imperial edict.

Originally, the Imperial Court issued an imperial order, appointing Qin Shubao, the Great Governor of Lanzhou, as the “Great Commander of the Kansai Road Army” and the “Great Governor of Anxi”. He always had the administrative and military power of the various Daos of Hexi, Guanlong and the Western Regions. After Qin Mubai arrived in Lanzhou, he took over the position of Commander-in-Chief of Lanzhou from Qin Shubao. He was in charge of all the important military and political affairs under Lanzhou, and was also given the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Kansai Road Army, that is, Military Advisor and Staff Officer.

The “Dao” of Kansai Dao, which is used for military purposes, is different from the “Dao of Jiangnan Dao”, which is divided into geographic and administrative regions. The former was almost the meaning of “military region”, and was often named after the place where the military region was located. In theory, “Kansai Dao” referred to a large area to the west of Confusion Pass. This official position was quite large, almost equivalent to supporting half of the Tang Empire. In narrow sense, it refers to the Guanlong area west of the Yellow River and the Western Regions.

The Great Commander-in-Chief of the Kansai Road Army was the commander-in-chief of all the troops of the Tang Dynasty in Guanlong and the Western Regions.

In addition, the important figures under the former Lanzhou Governor-General’s Mansion had their own new amnesty and missions. Xue Wanjun taught Xi Hai Dao (Hexi and Qinghai Lake area) the marching general and Shanzhou Governor, in charge of Shanzhou Military and Political and Dafeichuan Military Region Military; Xue Wanche instructed Yu Liang (from Lanzhou to Yumenguan) to march and be in charge of the military and administration of Liangzhou and to lead Qishan to Yumenguan Military Region. Xiao Liang, the former governor of Lanzhou, also worked as the governor of Lanzhou left behind by Qin Mubai Kong to help Qin Mubai deal with the people’s livelihood affairs under the governor’s office. Su Dingfang, who was about to arrive in Lanzhou, was appointed Governor-General Shi of Lanzhou Prefecture and military advisor of Governor-General’s Prefecture.

In this way, Old Marshal Qin Shubao had risen to the next level, becoming a figure who was on the same level as Li Ji, in charge of half of the rivers and mountains west of the Yellow River in the Great Tang Dynasty, and the General Division had hundreds of thousands of troops; Qin Mubai, Xue Wanjun, and the others became the commanders of Qin Shubao’s military subdivisions. At the same time, Qin Mubai also assumed the executive power of Lanzhou.

In this way, Qin Mubai was indeed the “new lord of Lanzhou”!

After receiving the imperial edict, Qin Mubai was not in a hurry to be happy. Instead, he asked, “What does the Imperial Court mean by appointing my father as the Protector of Anxi?”

Xue Wanjun took a step forward and replied, “After Gao Chang surrenders, Marshal Xian Jie imperial court. The imperial court ordered Marshal Xian Jie to set up two prefectures and counties in Gao Chang’s hometown, and set up the Anxi Protectorate in Ting Prefecture to command Helong and the military and political power of the Western Regions. As a result, the Lanzhou Governor-General’s Manor is under the Anxi Protectorate.”

Qin Mubai frowned and said, “Set up the Anxi Protectorate? Wasn’t this just a fool’s dream? He had just experienced all sorts of bloody battles before defeating the Tibetan and Gaochang Alliance Army. Although he won, he still won miserably. The Great Tang’s strength to the west of Yumen Pass was simply not enough to set up a Protectorate to control the Western Regions. It could even be said that the Great Tang did not have a foothold there! Tibet was defeated, but it was hard to guarantee that it would return. Qu Zhisheng had surrendered, but other than the Qu family, there were three other Gao Chang kingdoms in the Gao Chang Kingdom. The four kingdoms had only managed to calm down one country. Furthermore, they were unconvinced. Why would they discuss setting up a Governor’s Mansion? The Great Tang’s influence in the Western Regions had only just become adorable, and this was actually the most sensitive and dangerous period! “It’s just a tragic victory and I’m so proud. I really don’t know what those people in the Imperial Court think!”

When everyone saw that Qin Mubai was not only unhappy, but also a little angry, they couldn’t help but curse. Xue Wanjun glanced left and right and whispered, “Young Marshal, please calm down. There are many people with mixed ears. How about returning to the Governor’s Mansion to speak?”

Qin Mubai smiled coldly and said to the green-clothed messenger, “To tell you the truth, whose idea was this?”

“This … I’m just an errand boy from Hongwen Library. I don’t know the details.” The green-clothed official said carefully.

Qin Mubai narrowed her eyes and said, “Is it Eldest Sun Wuji’s bad idea?”

Everyone listened to the words “Eldest Sun Wuji” coming out of Qin Mubai’s mouth with disdain. Their expressions changed and they were completely silent.

The green-clothed official was stunned for a moment and remained silent.

Xue Wanche shouted, “Our young marshal is asking you a question. Speak!”

“Yes! It’s Situ’s intention!”

Qin Mubai nodded and said, “Indeed. You and I will return to Lanzhou to rest for two days and I will treat you well. After recovering your spirits, return to Chang’an and relay the original number of my words to Eldest Sun Wuji. I know exactly what he wants to do. Don’t worry, the Qin Clan’s heart is in the wilderness and has no time to talk nonsense with him!”

This time, even Xue Wanjun’s face changed. He hurriedly said, “Why did Major Marshal say that? Could it be that you have fallen out with Eldest Sun Wuji when you returned to the capital this time? … In this case, it’s better to be more cautious-you, listen! Don’t send a single word back! Otherwise, I’ll find out another day and cut off your bird head!”

“Ah!” The green-clothed official was so frightened that he took two steps back.

“Don’t scare him.” Qin Mubai waved her hand to signal Xue Wanjun to take a step back. She stepped forward and said, “You’re just an errand boy. Tell me what I said. There’s no need to be vague or to add fuel to the fire. Do you understand?”

“Ming, I understand.”

“Alright, go back to Lanzhou!”

Qin Mubai rolled over and mounted the horse. Xue Wanjun and the others were filled with suspicion and didn’t want to ask any more questions. So, they mounted their horses one after another and returned to Lanzhou together with the army led by Qin Mubai.

The original Lanzhou Military Region’s Yi Manor’s military forces had already been led by Xue Rengui and Yuwen Hongtai, accompanying Qin Shubao on an expedition to the Western Regions. This time, Qin Mubai had personally brought 10,000 elite Yue Cavalry, which was the perfect opportunity to form a new Yi Clan. As a result, the seven thousand cavalry that followed Qin Mubai stationed themselves in the city and moved into the original barracks of the Yi Manor.

After many years in the army, Qin Mubai finally had a military force that truly belonged to him. He appointed his trusted old Baiji guards as generals to assist him in training this army. As for himself, he had moved into his father’s residence and replaced him as the new lord of Lanzhou.

Qin Mubai had just arrived in Lanzhou and received the imperial edict to be promoted. In other people’s eyes, Qin Mubai should be happy no matter what. However, Xue Wanjun and the others were puzzled by his public fury.

Qin Mubai could not tell them many things, and they did not dare to ask. Seeing that the young marshal was in a bad mood and was very angry, the originally planned Cleansing Wind and Dust Banquet had no choice but to let it go.

Lanzhou had no owner for many days, and Xue Wanjun, the deputy governor, spent most of his time in Dafeichuan dealing with the military and political affairs there, and his avatar was lacking in skill. As a result, the Governor-General’s Mansion had a backlog of important military and political matters to deal with. As a result, Qin Mubai was busy for several days. With the help of Xiao Liang and the others, he finally managed to deal with the administrative and livelihood work at hand.

On the military side, Da Feichuan had Xue Wanjun leading the army and the red cannon guarding it. The Tibetans didn’t dare to take a step forward like a rock, so there weren’t many things happening. The troublesome thing was the military change in Gan Liang’s area. Xue Wanche was in charge of this matter, and due to the complexity of the relocation of the military region, progress was relatively slow.

Liangzhou Governor Xue Wanche was a good warrior. He was troublesome when he did these trivial things. One head and two heads were too big to be busy shouting all day long. Qin Mubai had no choice but to personally supervise the daily interviews and focus the work of the Governor General’s Mansion on Gan Liang’s area.

Fortunately, Xue Wanche also knew the importance of this matter. After receiving Qin Mubai’s imperial edict from Li Zhi, he immediately stationed his troops at Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass and defended Pu Changhai. They echoed Qin Shubao’s troops in Gaochang, making them no longer float overseas like a broken kite.

No snake without a head, no bird without a head.

With the new lord in Lanzhou, everything gradually returned to normal. After Pu Changhai’s victory (the people of Lanzhou used to call it the ‘Lou Tai Great Victory’), the tensions in Lanzhou tended to ease. The merchants who had been detained here were released one after another, and the business trips were finally able to circulate and became more active than before.

Businessmen chased after profits. In fact, the higher the price in times of war, the more profitable it would be.

After experiencing a period of tension and suppression, Lanzhou Dou Ran erupted with terrifying vitality. Business travel was like the passion of the masses, and it was more prosperous than in the past when it was peaceful.

Often after experiencing the chaos of war, the people are more eager for peace and tranquillity, the survivors love life more and have more passion for life and upward.

This was probably the reason why a country that had been established in chaotic times would always be able to achieve “great governance” at the beginning of its founding–people’s minds were set.

In the short span of ten days since Qin Mubai returned to Lanzhou, Guan Long had undergone a complete transformation and was on the right track to prosperity.

However, Qin Mubai knew that the “big thing” that was truly waiting for him had only just begun.

On this day, the fortnightly meeting of important officials of the Governor-General’s Mansion was about to be held. Of course, Qin Mubai was the host. The Xue brothers, Xiao Liang, and the others all came.

Qin Mubai took a good look at the list of visitors that the doorman had counted. All the people who should have come were here, but there was only one person missing–

Liangzhou sima, hou jun set.

On that day, all the officials left Guo Xiangying’s team, and Hou Junji was nowhere to be seen.

Qin Mubai remained silent as he finished the meeting according to the original plan and discussed some important military and political matters. After the meeting ended, he invited Xue Wanche to stay and asked him why Hou Junji hadn’t come to the meeting.

Xue Wanche shook his head and said, “I knew the young marshal would ask about him.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Qin Mubai asked.

‘”Ah!” Xue Wanche sighed and said, “The young marshal probably knows more about his situation than we do. The young marshal was in Chang’an at that time, didn’t he?”

“Yes, I know about Chang’an. What I’m asking is, how has he been since he came to Liangzhou?” Qin Mubai asked.

“Ever since he arrived in Liangzhou, he hasn’t worn an official robe for a day. He hasn’t paid attention to any political matters for a day. Every day, he wears red clothes, buys drunken nights, and doesn’t return home. He’s notorious for gambling and whoring.” Xue Wanche shook his head and clicked his tongue. “How can a grand founding father and a veteran general not be sighed over when they have fallen into such a state?”

Qin Mubai knitted his brows and said, “He can actually break a jar? This is a little out of my expectation. Hou Junji is an old lodge in the army of my father’s generation. In terms of seniority, the position of Hou Junji after the founding of the People’s Republic is far above my father’s. He came out of Duke Wei’s sect with me, so he’s my senior brother again. However, I don’t know all about him. I just heard some rumors about him. All in all, he is not the kind of person who tells himself that he has abandoned himself. ”

Xue Wanche hesitated for a moment before stopping.

“If you want to say anything, just say it. There’s no need to be obscure.” Qin Mubai said.

“En” Xue Wanche nodded and said, “Everyone knows that Hou Junji was defeated in the Imperial Court’s party struggle and suffered from the Crown Prince’s change before he was taken down by Changsun Wuji on the pretext that he was demoted to this point. Sima, who doesn’t know that Sima of the prefecture city, especially Sima of the military town of our border, is just a casual official position? –Hou Junji, you’ve lost your horse. I’m afraid there won’t be a day for you to turn around. It was fortunate to be able to find a useful body. “I guess he must have done this on purpose, deliberately showing it to the eldest Sun Wuji and the others in the court, so that they would let him go and not kill them all, so that he could save his life.”

Qin Mubai’s eyes lit up and he said, “Are you saying that Hou Junji is hiding his strength?”

“Isn’t that so?” Xue Wanche asked, “Originally, there was no way a Crown Prince like Hou Junji could escape from Eldest Sun Wuji’s saber and axe.” Now that he was lucky enough to survive, it was most likely because the Emperor wished him extrajudicial kindness for his past contributions. If it weren’t for this, he would have died countless times. Now that he had been demoted to Liangzhou, how could he dare to show his sharpness again? Of course, he could only fool around and confuse people. “If not for that, then Eldest Sun Wuji would think that he still has ambitions and is still a threat. What should we do?”

“That makes sense.” Qin Mubai frowned, nodded, and chanted, “But a useful genius like him is wasted in the vocal music horses every day. Isn’t that the biggest loss in Lanzhou?”

Xue Wanche was shocked, “Young Marshal, could it be … that you want to use this person?”

“Why not?” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “How is Hou Junji compared to the two of you?”

“He is inferior to us in charge of the battle. We are inferior to him in planning.” Xue Wanche replied sincerely.

“Isn’t that so?” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Lanzhou is new. At the moment of employing people, he is too old to use them. Who should I use?” Don’t forget that not only was there a war, but Hou Junji, who came from the army, had also served as Minister of Officials in Chang’an. I will definitely be inferior to him in terms of his ability to run the army and dismount the people. General Xue, arrange it. I want to go to Liangzhou and visit Hou Junji personally. But please do not alert him beforehand. ”

“Uh … this isn’t good, is it?” Xue Wanche said, “Major Marshal is Shangguan, he is a subordinate, how can he not welcome him when he condescends to visit?”

“No problem, let’s arrange it like this.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Just treat it as a visit to my Uncle and Senior Brother. It’s purely personal.”

“Alright, humble arrangement.” Xue Wanche agreed and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Major Marshal, this lowly one has a lot to say. I wonder if I should say it or not.”

“Speak!” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “If you can talk too much, it means that at least you care about me. Of course, I need to listen.”

Xue Wanche smiled and said, “I thought that Hou Junji was banished from Chang’an because of the Crown Prince’s case. He regarded him as a thorn in the flesh, and if it was because of the Emperor’s kindness and his past contribution, it would have been removed long ago. Now, Major Marshal wants to activate Hou Junji. Is this …”

Qin Mubai smiled and said, “If Hou Junji hadn’t been kicked out of the Imperial Court by Eldest Sun Wuji and demoted to Liangzhou, I wouldn’t have been so interested in using him.”

“What do you mean?” Xue Wanche asked in shock, “Could it be that Major Marshal has to go against Eldest Sun Wuji and become his enemy?”

“Fei Ye.” Qin Mubai said, “Think about it, Eldest Sun Wuji demoted Hou Junji. I will use Hou Junji … Hou Junji hates Eldest Sun Wuji to the bone. I don’t care if he is grateful to me or not, but I know that he will definitely fight to the death!” In public and private, Hou Junji will unswervingly stand with us. In this way, Lanzhou would have another general! “Isn’t this just adding wings to the tiger?”

“Major Marshal is wise!” Xue Wanche came to a sudden realization and said, “But is it worth it to turn into enmity with Eldest Sun Wuji because of this?”

“I’ve already flipped through it more than once. I’m not afraid of going through it again.” Qin Mubai grinned and said with a cold smile, “Anyone can be afraid of Eldest Sun Wuji. Only I can’t be afraid, and I won’t be afraid!”

“This” Xue Wanche was both shocked and suspicious. His head was filled with confusion, so he couldn’t ask any further.

Qin Mubai smiled and didn’t say anything. She thought to herself, If I don’t do something that goes against Eldest Sun Wuji’s wishes, how can the Emperor see through my firm determination? If I’m afraid of my hands and feet because of the pressure of Eldest Sun Wuji, why should I let Li Shimin have confidence in me and Lanzhou?

Hou Junji, Su Dingfang and I, Qin Mubai and Duke Wei, will soon join hands in the battlefield!