Chapter 843 Fascination
Zhang was kidnapped by the rebels and was attacked with swords without changing his expression. He even asked for death. It is impossible to say that he did not have any pride in his bones.
So in the battle of Jincheng, he was beaten up by Feng Wenhe, and he felt extremely aggrieved. If he lost, he would lose, but he might not be convinced if he was convinced.
At that time, he went to Longyou not because he wanted to go, but because Zhang Gong scolded him for going there.
At this time, when he heard that Feng Wenhe defeated a hundred thousand Wei army with 20,000 men, his mind wavered, his face changed color, and he even doubted himself. This shows how much impact this incident had on him.
Liu Liang's expression changed when he saw Zhang. He knew that he had lost his mind, and for some reason, he felt relieved.
Even though he knew it was because of Feng Wenhe, who had made him unhappy before, he could sit here with confidence and watch the other person suffer.
But Liu Liang couldn't help but feel happy!
He picked up the teacup again and took a sip of it gracefully. Then he looked at Zhang Jue and asked leisurely:
"The 100,000 troops of Wei thieves are not as strong as the 20,000 troops of Feng Junhou. Mr. Zhang thinks, does Liangzhou still need me as a lobbyist?"
When Zhang heard Liu Liang's words, his face felt a little hot at first. However, the next moment, the emotion that arose in his heart was not shame and anger, but inexplicable relief.
Liangzhou does not have an army of 100,000. Even if it does, it is just pieced together. There is no way to compare with the elite Wei army in Guanzhong.
It would not be surprising if even Da Sima was defeated and his few troops were defeated by Feng Wenhe.
Thinking about it this way, I felt much more comfortable.
Just because he lost the enemy but not the battle, Zhang had several thoughts in his mind, but the expression on his face remained unchanged:
"Since Liu Langjun is not a lobbyist, and he has repeatedly said that he is going to Liangzhou to visit the local customs, then what are you doing with my Zhang family?"
When Liu Liang heard this, an unpredictable smile appeared on his face:
"I have heard for a long time that the Dunhuang Zhang family is trusted by the Hu people in Liangzhou. When I came this time, I brought a lot of goods and wanted to exchange some wool with the Hu people in Liangzhou. I would be really grateful if your house could help connect the people. "
After listening to Liu Liang's words, Zhang almost couldn't help but spit out the fragrance and wanted to greet this new friend: Is your mother still there? Is your father still safe?
It took too long for the snow to melt?
You really want to buy wool?
The excuse that comes right out of your mouth, do you dare to think about it?
You might as well tell me that you are going to sleep with Hu Nu!
I was almost unable to control my emotions, but in the end I endured it.
Can't bear it.
Even if he knows that the other person is not his son, he still has to endure it.
The situation is stronger than the person!
Not only must you tolerate it, but you must also give the other person a smile:
"I see. Liu Langjun has really found the right person this time. If it is about other things, I dare not agree to anything, but this barbarian, our Zhang family still knows some big tribes."
“Oh, seriously? That’s great!”
Liu Liang said happily, "If you get something this time, I will be rewarded!"
“Easy to say, easy to say!”
Zhang Jiu was also unambiguous. Not only did he tell Liu Liang the situation of the Hu people in Liangzhou in detail, he even sent an old man from his house as a guide to take Liu Liang and his party to the Hu tribe.
After arranging all this, he hurried to find Zhang Gong.
“The Han Kingdom is preparing to officially take over Liangzhou!”
At this time, Zhang Gong was wrapped in a thin blanket. After listening to what Zhang said, he said something leisurely.
Zhang Gong is already old. Even if the weather starts to get warmer, as long as there is a little bit of cold outside, his body will easily feel cold.
"Why do you say this, your lord?" Zhang was shocked. "Didn't your lord say that Han will have to wait at least two or three more years?"
"That was before." Zhang Gong sighed, "After the battle of Xiaoguan, Feng Yong's name was resounding throughout the world. Who among the barbarians in Yongliang was dissatisfied?"
“My lord, do you think the Battle of Xiaoguan is real?”
Zhang asked with a last glimmer of hope.
“It’s not that I think it, but it’s simply true.”
Zhang Gongyong said with great confidence.
Nowadays, all the barbarians in Liangzhou may not know who the governor of Liangzhou is, or even who the head of the Zhang family in Dunhuang is, but they all know who the captain who protects the Qiang in Longyou is.
It took at least twenty years for the Dunhuang Zhang family to gain the respect of the Qiang and Hu people in Liangzhou.
And what about Feng Yong?
From the time when woolen materials began to flow into Longyou, it was only five or six years at most!
As a native of Liangzhou, how could Zhang Gong not know what the nature of the Hu people in Yongliang was?
In the battle of Longyou, if the Hu people had not rebelled against Wei and returned to Shu, stabbing the Wei army, the Shu people might not have been able to take Longyou into their hands so easily.
Even if it can be taken into their hands, without Feng Yong to govern the barbarians, it will take at least five or six more years for the Shu people to govern Longyou.
And it will certainly not be possible to make local wealthy families and Qiang Hu obey obediently like now.
The name "Feng Langjun, the descendant of the mountain god" is really much more useful to the Hu people than the name he has earned through more than twenty years of hard work.
Zhang came back from Longyou and told Zhang Gong everything he saw and heard. After that, he knew one thing:
Under the governance of the Huqiang Xiaowei Mansion, the Hu people in Longyou not only behave like dogs, but they even try their best to actively act like dogs!
In the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty and the latter Han Dynasty combined, this situation only occurred when the Han Dynasty was at its most prosperous.
But Feng Yong has done it now.
In the past two years, with the inflow of goods such as woolen materials, brown sugar, and other goods, rumors about the various treatments of the Longyou Hu people under the governance of the Shu people's Huqiang Xiaowei Mansion have also been continuously spread to Liangzhou.
It even made the Hu people yearn for "Feng Langjun, the successor of the mountain god".
Longing for a better life is a survival instinct, isn’t it?
Of course, rumors are just rumors after all, and it is impossible for the barbarians in Liangzhou to rush to Longyou to seek refuge with Feng Langjun just because of a legend.
It is inconvenient at first.
Now that the Han and Wei Dynasties are facing each other in Liangzhou, it is already the limit for caravans to communicate with each other. If any tribe suddenly wants to cross the border, it will be an act of seeking death.
If I can't defeat the Shu people, how can I not defeat you barbarians?
Well, since a captain came from Longyou to protect the Qiang, the Hu people in Liangzhou suddenly found that their lives had actually improved!
Just the wool sold to local wealthy families is a considerable amount of extra income.
Under the constant threat of the Shu soldiers, the Wei officials tried to appease the people internally. How could they dare to shout at the Hu people like before?
Even the local wealthy families had to temporarily change their attitude towards the Hu people in order to better get wool from the Hu people.
What's more, when Liangzhou is very likely to fall into the hands of the Shu people, looking at the Longyou side, the Shu people's slogan of Han and Yiruyi does not seem to be just talk.
It is appropriate to make political speculation in advance.
The Hu people in Liangzhou naturally don’t understand why their lives have suddenly become better in the past two years.
But as long as life goes on, it is naturally impossible to risk death to test the bottom line of Han and Wei.
Hu people can live a confused life, but Zhang Gong is not confused.
He could fully imagine that if Liangzhou really fell into the hands of the Han, then the Hu people's rebellion in Liangzhou that had lasted for more than a hundred years in the Later Han Dynasty would inevitably end at the hands of Feng Yong.
As for the Liangzhou wealthy people who always like to "raise beards to respect themselves", if they don't want to go against the Han Dynasty, they have to change their game.
If you are not willing to give in and want to take any action, you can refer to the Shu family.
At this time, Liangzhou looked calm on the surface, but underneath it was restless.
This restlessness comes from pressure from the Han State and from internal changes in Liangzhou.
When the superficial calm will be broken depends on when the two countries Shu and Wei will decide the outcome in the east.
"The battle at Xiaoguan must be true. Feng Wenhe sent this person here at this time, naturally he didn't want to find some Hu girls to go back and sleep with him."
Zhang Gong stared at his son and repeated emphatically, "How many years have passed since the Battle of Longyou? Did the Han Dynasty forget the methods they used so quickly?"
Zhang is not a stupid person after all. The adults in his family have reminded him of this. After thinking about it for a while, he immediately understood:
“Instigating rebellion against the barbarians in Liangzhou?!”
Zhang Gong nodded, "If my guess is correct, I guess it will come true."
This method is almost exactly the same as the one used in the Battle of Longyou: first instigate the Hu people in Liangzhou, and then just wait for the Shu army to march into Liangzhou, and the Hu people will stab them in the back!
“Sir, should we remind the governor’s office?”
Although he knew that this day would come sooner or later, Zhang still couldn't control himself the moment he actually faced it, and asked with a slightly trembling voice.
Zhang Gong closed his eyes and leaned on the couch:
"There have been rumors that the Han Dynasty is going to enter Liangzhou for three years. If you go and remind them now, how many people believe it? Even if they believe you, what can they do?"
“Without the pressure from Guanzhong, Liangzhou is within the grasp of the Han State. What’s more, in the past few years, it seems that the Han State has not entered Liangzhou, but in fact...hey!”
At the end of the day, Zhang Gong couldn't speak any more.
“Sir, what should we do?”
Zhang then understood what his master did not say behind his words.
The way the Han Dynasty has treated Liangzhou in recent years is basically to cook minced meat. The longer it is cooked and the more it is stirred, the easier it is to eat.
Let’s not talk about the semi-paralyzed Liangzhou Governor’s Office. In the past, it was the easiest thing for the local wealthy families to raise Hu to be self-respecting.
And they have always done so.
But now?
Just because of all the rumors about Longyou, not to mention the Hu people, even the Liangzhou wealthy people also have many people yearning for it.
The Han Kingdom has not yet taken control of Liangzhou, and the cost of raising Hu people has already increased by an unknown amount.
If we really have to wait until the Han Dynasty takes control of Liangzhou, if the wealthy people still want to do what they did before, they are basically dreaming.
As long as Feng Yong can govern the Hu people in Liangzhou like he did the Hu people in Longyou, within three years, the Han state will be able to recruit at least 50,000 to 60,000 Hu cavalry, and they will be very active in serving the Han state.
Unless the Han State sends others to take charge of Liangzhou affairs.
But when you think about the reputation of Zhuge Kongming, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, for governing Shu, it doesn't look like he was a blind person.
"What should we do? If the sky doesn't fall, life will have to go on as usual. Haven't our Zhang family withdrawn from the Liangzhou Governor's Office a long time ago?"
Zhang Gong did not open his eyes and said calmly:
“I am the Colonel Wuji of the Western Regions, and of course I have to take care of the affairs of the barbarians in the Western Regions. In the past two years, Liangzhou has been cut off from Guanzhong, and it is difficult for envoys from the Western Regions to go to the Central Plains. Some people will inevitably have doubts.”
“What we have to do is to appease those people and not let the countries in the Western Regions turn away from China.”
Zhang responded quickly: "No."
The cold air in Liangzhou has not disappeared, but the heat in Jiangnan has begun.
Since Jianye became the capital of Wu State, because Sun Quan planned it on the original basis and the Wu court moved from Wuchang to Jianye, Jianye has become a lot more lively than before.
In an alley not far from the Imperial Palace of Wu State, most dignitaries live here.
There is a small courtyard in it, which is different from those large courtyards with high gates. It lives independently.
This small courtyard was specially set aside by Sun Quan for Qin Lun, a man from the Qin Dynasty (i.e. the Roman Empire) to live.
Qin Lun has been in Wu for five years. When he first came, he was summoned by Sun Quan to talk about what he saw along the way and the folk songs and customs of foreign countries.
Although it is rare to see Sun Quan in the palace now, the fact that Sun Quan specially approved this small courtyard for him to live in is enough to show that Sun Quan has not forgotten him.
Qin Lun's status is quite special, plus he has a lot of free time. He has traveled to many places in Wu over the years and has made a lot of friends.
As a businessman, Qin Lun was overjoyed when he found out that there was such a delicious thing as brown sugar in the world.
Soochow and Xishu already have official brown sugar channels, and a certain amount of brown sugar is imported from Xishu every year.
But most of the brown sugar flowed into the palace and was used by Sun Quan for his own enjoyment and as rewards for his officials.
If private individuals and people want to get brown sugar from Shu, they cannot avoid one family, and that is the Zhang family of Wu County.
The Zhang family was purged by Sun Quan a few years ago through the Jiyan incident, which severely damaged their vitality and temporarily disappeared from the official circles of the state of Wu.
Fortunately, when Zhang Wen was on a mission to Shu, he suddenly heard an article circulating in Shu, and he immediately expressed his fascination for a certain country man named Feng.
Given Zhang Wen's reputation at that time, and how much Shu valued him, Zhang Wen's move really helped Feng Tibi's reputation.
After learning about this incident, Feng Tibi tried to establish a correspondence with Zhang Wen, and later became a legendary pen pal.
After Zhang Wen was deposed by Sun Quan, his younger brother Zhang Bai was also exiled to Jiaozhou. He almost died there because he was not acclimatized to the climate.
At that time, Shi Xie's son Shi Hui wanted to rebel against Wu and sent people to Shu for help. Feng Tubou happened to have a brown sugar project and needed sugar cane that was only available in Jiaozhou at that time.
As a result, the two parties established a relationship, and Zhang Bai also received the care of Shi Hui and escaped from death.
The Zhang family obtained Feng Tubie's rough sugar extraction technology and became the general agent of the brown sugar project in Soochow District.
In the Wu Kingdom, no matter who wants to get brown sugar privately, they can't go around the Zhang family.
In the past few years, apart from still being unable to enter the center of power in Soochow, the Zhang family has finally recovered in other aspects.
If Qin Lun wants to get enough brown sugar, he also has to deal with the Zhang family - as long as he gets enough brown sugar to return home, it is foreseeable that he will get whatever he wants in Da Qin.
Under Qin Lun's interesting ideas, he and Zhang Bai soon became good friends.
“Zhong Jiang, I have a happy event recently that I want to tell you.”
Zhang Bai walked into Qin Lun's courtyard excitedly and shouted loudly.
Qin Lun originally had no character, but Zhongjiang was the name he gave himself later, following the Han people's habits.
Hearing Zhang Bai's voice, he hurriedly came out to greet him: "What's the good news for Shuhe?"
Zhang Bai raised the paper in his hand and said excitedly: "Let's go in and talk later."
When the two of them arrived in the front hall and sat down, Zhang Bai handed the letter in his hand to Qin Lun: "There is a letter from Feng Langjun."
“Feng Langjun?”
Qin Lun quickly took it and took a look. Then he remembered that he had not fully learned Chinese characters. He raised his head again with a look of envy on his face:
“I wonder what Feng Langjun said in the letter?”
Pinched the white paper in his hand. If this kind of paper were placed in Da Qin, I'm afraid it would be worth a lot of money. I heard that Feng Langjun also gave it to the Zhang family.
Thinking of this, Qin Lun couldn't help but sigh to himself, how great would it be if he could also get to know the legendary Feng Langjun?
“This is not Feng Langjun’s letter. I copied Feng Langjun’s article to his brother.”
Zhang Bai explained, his face was slightly red because of excitement, "Zhong Jiang, Feng Langjun has produced another masterpiece!"
“A masterpiece?”
“Yes, Feng Langjun has written another excellent article. Reading it makes people leave the world and travel to the fairyland..."
Zhang Bai shook his head and said.
Qin Lun has been studying Chinese in the past few years. People all over the world say that Feng Langjun's article is a work of banishing immortals. Naturally, he will not miss it.
What's more, he still wanted to get acquainted with Feng Langjun, so he spent twelve thoughts on things related to him.
At that moment, he hurriedly said: "Shuhe, please listen to me quickly!"
“Okay, just listen.”
Zhang Bai picked up the paper, took a deep breath, calmed down, tried to be solemn, and then said:
"Haike talks about Yingzhou, but it is hard to find letters in the misty waves... The sky is stretching towards the sky, and the five mountains are stretching out to cover Chicheng. The rooftop is 48,000 feet long, and it is tilted to the southeast..."
Although he couldn't fully understand the meaning, some of the sentences were enough to make Qin Lun almost uncontrollably jump up and want to grab the paper in Zhang Bai's hand.
With his businessman's instinct, he immediately sensed that this article seemed to contain great value.
As soon as Zhang Bai's recital finished, he couldn't wait to ask:
“Shuhe, there are many things I don’t understand about this article, please answer them for me.”
“Zhong Jiang, please speak.”
“Where is Tianmu Mountain?”
“I don’t know either.”
Zhang Bai shook his head, with a look of confusion on his face, "But in my opinion, Feng Langjun is a disciple of a master, and his disciples must have seen him."
(Note: Tianmu Mountain did not become famous until Xie Lingyun in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.)
“Then Feng Langjun has also seen overseas fairy mountains?”
Zhang Bai smiled bitterly, "Zhong Jiang, you are really making things difficult for me. Although I have been favored by Feng Langjun, I have never had a word with him. How could I know?"
"But as far as I can tell, even if Feng Langjun has never met him, his disciples should have seen him. The Xie Gong in this article seems to be a member of Feng Langjun's disciples."
Qin Dian nodded, “That’s it.”
Then he sighed again, "If I had met Feng Langjun, I would have no regrets in this life!"
His knowledge is unfathomable, his writing is astonishing, and he is a man of both civil and military skills. He is actually the top figure in the Seris Kingdom.
ˆPS:
The following are free of charge:
Becoming a close contact with the new coronavirus, he looked confused. For the past few months, who of you has been calling me to be locked up in a dark room? Stand up! Brothers and sisters, I know I was wrong, so please do me a favor and undo the curse you have placed on me!
Having become a close contact with the new coronavirus, I looked confused. For the past few months, who of you has been calling me to be locked up in a dark room? Stand up! Big brother and sister, I know I was wrong, so please do me a favor and undo the curse you have placed on me!
(End of this chapter)