Chapter 251: What Gao Lishi Cannot Do, This Slave Can

The unfamiliar yet familiar sounds of the hu flute and pipa echoed in his ears; unfamiliar yet familiar dishes bearing Western Regions flavors were laid before him, making his mouth water; in the private room, the willowy Hu dancing girls fluttered about like butterflies, their bewitching eyes stealing souls away.

Taking in everything before him, Fang Chongyong fell into a momentary daze—without realizing it, so many years had already slipped by.

How long had it been since he last came to Wuwei City, since he last climbed the Huamen Tower!

Of the commanders he had once known well, Xin Yunjing had been transferred to Hedong as Military Commissioner, Cui Qianyou to the Beiting Protectorate as Military Commissioner, and Wang Sili to Lanzhou as Inspector. Now among the high-ranking officers of the Hexi border army, only Guo Ziyi was a familiar face.

Fang Chongyong somewhat understood why Wang Zhongsi, heedless of outside criticism, had desperately cultivated trusted confidants and hoarded them close. The truth was, when a Jiedushi was parachuted into a region without a few capable commanders at his side, nothing worked at all.

"Withdraw. There will be a reward."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand lightly. The dancing Hu girls tossed him a few coy glances and, unwilling and reluctant, withdrew from the third-floor private room of Huamen Tower together with the musicians playing the hu flute and pipa.

With the idle outsiders all gone, everyone present tensed up.

They were truly afraid now—long gone was their earlier leisurely composure!

If not for this matter of "troop transfers," then at tonight's welcome banquet, these Hexi border army bigwigs inside Huamen Tower would have had nothing to do but eat and drink. After eating and drinking their fill, they would cuddle up with a Hu girl and sleep, then get up the next day and do whatever needed doing—living a carefree and happy life.

Then they would only need to watch from the sidelines: if Fang Chongyong could find a way out, they would follow his lead; if he could not, they would dump all the blame on Young Master Fang—every fault and every error would be his alone.

But now the court was transferring the soldiers of the Hexi border army to Hedong or Shuofang, and transferring the soldiers from Shuofang and Hedong to Hexi—which would fundamentally change the situation!

The reason the Hexi border army leadership had not been nervous before was that the rank-and-file soldiers of every Hexi unit were all involved in the smuggling trade along the commercial routes, giving it deep grassroots support.

If Fang Chongyong wanted to cut off their profits, or refused to be manipulated by them, then these people could immediately incite a mutiny.

When that time came, let alone the Fang father and son—even if the Emperor himself came, it would be no use. If the money wasn't enough, the soldiers would mutiny and start killing!

And now, the court was not transferring the senior officers of the Hexi border army, but was instead doing a wholesale swap of the rank-and-file soldiers and junior officers! Directly severing the roots of these army bigwigs! Rendering the networks they had spent years cultivating in the barracks to nothing.

The soldiers from Hedong and Shuofang—what would they know about the smuggling trade? They were not familiar with the Hexi border commanders either. Following ordinary military orders was no problem, but as for anything beyond that, one should not expect too much.

Even if these Military Commissioner bigwigs, desperate as a cornered dog, tried to stir up a mutiny, no one would be willing to listen.

Matters like smuggling could not be brought out into the open; once exposed, it was a capital crime—killing the entire family would not be considered excessive. In other words, the Hexi border command was in turmoil from top to bottom, but the problem could only be resolved beneath the surface; it was fundamentally impossible to blow things up.

The moment it blew up, it would be mutual annihilation!

But the court transferring border troops was perfectly proper—no matter how one argued it, there was no grounds for dispute.

Especially during the militia era, when militia soldiers were transferred at will, and campaigns thousands of miles away were commonplace. Swapping soldiers between Hexi, Hedong, and Shuofang while keeping the overall organization unchanged—what problem could there be? After all, this was not yet the mid-to-late Tang, when the garrison forces had already become localized and the court could not mobilize them from their stations at all.

Without the support of junior officers and rank-and-file soldiers, these Hexi border army bigwigs could not pull off any tricks.

With this single move, Fang Chongyong had reversed the risk of being sidelined, framed, and made a scapegoat by the Hexi soldiers. Thereby binding them firmly to his side—if they were to die, everyone would die together!

Who was host and who was guest was no longer something these soldiers could decide.

"Jiedushi Fang, can you not give us the bottom line—what exactly is the Sage planning?"

Everything was fine, so why transfer the Hexi border army to the garrisons of other Jiedushi?

With soldiers not knowing their commanders and commanders not knowing their soldiers, if the Tibetans attack, it will be a catastrophe!"

Seeing that no one present was speaking, Guo Ziyi was the first to raise the question everyone cared about: what exactly was the court thinking?

"The court has its own regulations; these are not matters for this Jiedushi to speculate on at will.

The Sage has already made his decision on this matter, and there is no need for further discussion. If problems arise at the border command, I shall bear full responsibility."

Fang Chongyong said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Now no one had anything more to say.

In truth, the Hexi problem was mainly that they had grown accustomed to comfort over the years and had grown used to taking money. In essence, trading profits that should have gone to the central government had been pocketed up and down the border army. Now that this game could no longer continue, they could only return to normal conditions.

The Hexi soldiers were being moved out and replaced by the Shuofang army and the Hedong army—soldiers from there did not have this problem.

With this as a foundation, one could proceed at leisure, gradually correcting and restoring the various institutions of Hexi to their proper course.

Scraping the bone to cure the poison.

"Jiedushi, the court's arrangements are naturally without problem. But..."

An Chongzhang hesitated, unsure whether he should say things that ought not to be spoken on this occasion.

"But you, and even including many soldiers of the Hexi border army, have in fact participated as well, and have quite a few precious goods from the Western Regions in your homes, right?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a thin smile that did not reach his eyes.

Hearing these words, An Chongzhang was greatly alarmed, and everyone present also changed color in shock. They had never expected that the "little secret" they had been hiding and concealing would be laid bare by Fang Chongyong in a single sentence!

Goods coming from the Western Regions to Chang'an had several sources of origin. Depending on the distance, their rarity also differed, and they were specifically divided into four grades.

The farthest was the various countries of West Asia, where goods were the most expensive and profits the highest.

Next came the various Western Regions countries in the Congling area, where prices were also not cheap.

After that was the core controlled zone of the Anxi Protectorate, from which point some goods became relatively "accessible."

Last of all were goods produced locally in the Hexi Corridor, which many ordinary Chang'an residents could afford.

Using price differences to hoard and speculate was nothing new either. Deliberately stockpiling certain Western Regions goods, hyping them up, and then releasing them—similar things were no secret in the Hexi Corridor. The locals all saw through it but said nothing.

From top to bottom, people in the border army played this game and were deeply involved in it.

Now that Western Regions goods were not selling in Chang'an, many people in Hexi had their stock stuck in their hands, to the point that even their cash flow had begun to tighten. The costly medicinal herbs, spices, jewelry, and other such goods were of no use to them.

For example, the dragon-oil silk produced in the Kingdom of Nüwang (ancient Thailand), with its peculiar appearance unlike ordinary silk, was prized for being waterproof, and was very popular among the nobility in Chang'an, where the climate was still relatively moist. But the Hexi Corridor barely saw rain a few times a year, and these soldiers had hoarded similar fabrics, all of which were now stuck in their hands.

Selling cheap would mean a bloodbath of losses; they could not use the goods locally themselves; they had swallowed a bellyful of bitterness with no one to tell.

There was also the so-called "Fire Essence Sword" that came from the Great Forest Kingdom in the Western Regions—if one struck the blade with other metals, it would actually spark.

It was said to "have light like lightning, and cut gold and jade like mud."

But such things had no practical use—to put it plainly, they were nothing more than playthings in the hands of the nobility, expensive and impractical. Aside from the nobility and the Li-Tang imperial family, who would want such junk—what fool would hang a 'Fire Essence Sword' at his waist?

There were many similar strange objects.

In contrast, Tibetan blades were extremely practical. They could be used on the battlefield and in daily life, and their prices were relatively accessible, so they were widely popular. But among the precious goods from the Western Regions, practical items like the Tibetan blade were few.

Now, as the scale of the caravans shrank, many shops in Chang'an's Eastern Market had also begun refusing to cooperate with the caravans. The prices of luxury goods were starting to return to their proper levels. These border command bigwigs had many treasures in their hands that they could not sell for money.

This was not just one person's money—it was family property. If things dragged on too long, the problem would truly be enormous!

If not for this complication, the court could change the system all it wanted—at worst, they would simply go back to how it was before, take their modest salaries, and tighten their belts; it was not as if they could not get by.

"Jiedushi Fang's gaze is sharp as a torch. The goods from the Western Regions have piled up quite a bit in Hexi now. I wonder if the Jiedushi has some way to work things out so that the victims can get untangled."

An Chongzhang let out a long sigh and said.

Everyone present wore an expression of shared sympathy, nodding in agreement one after another, which for a moment caught Fang Chongyong somewhat off guard.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood.

It wasn't that there were no smart people in the Tang Dynasty, and those who could serve as military commissioners in border towns were even less likely to be fools. It was just that smart people often could not escape the fatal flaw of "greed."

A Ponzi scheme, a game of passing the parcel—was it truly the case that no one could see this model simply could not sustain itself for long?

Even if they truly didn't understand, surely they grasped the saying that there is no feast that never ends? Whether good things or bad, there will eventually come a day when the music stops and the people scatter!

Of course these people couldn't possibly not understand. Any scheme, once set up, will inevitably have flaws that certain observant people can spot.

But what was most pitiable was that nearly everyone who entered the scheme firmly believed they would never be the one holding the last baton, that the mess would absolutely not land in their own hands!

In the end, their eyes had been blinded by greed.

Faced with the prospect of doing nothing, just putting money in and letting money breed money—who could resist such temptation?

Even in his previous life, there was never a shortage of seemingly shrewd figures like this, both at home and abroad.

Now that Hexi could no longer engage in smuggling, the backlogged inventory in the border generals' hands still needed to be "fenced" for them, exchanged for hard currency like bolts of cloth.

Having thought this through, Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said:

"On this, you military commissioners can rest assured. Since I have taken over the civil and military affairs of Hexi, it is impossible that I would not consider your difficulties.

When you all return, tally up the valuables in your household treasuries and privately submit an inventory to me. As for the rest, I will choose a suitable time to meet with each of you privately and individually.

There is no need to worry yourselves over these troublesome matters anymore. Right now, it is time to drink wine! Eat food!

Come, I shall drink first as a gesture of respect. I hope you can all share the same heart and mind as me, and together manage the great burden of military affairs across the five prefectures of Hexi. Tonight, we do not return until we are drunk!"

Fang Chongyong raised his wine cup and drained the fine wine within in one gulp!

Upon hearing these words, the atmosphere in the room instantly livened up. Amid the clinking of cups and exchanging of toasts, the military commissioners all seemed to be calling each other brothers, laughing, cursing, and bantering without restraint.

The earlier scene of worry over the court transferring away their subordinate troops had vanished without a trace.

The Tang people's character carried a natural ease and open-mindedness, displayed to the fullest at this moment. As long as the fire hadn't reached their eyebrows, they could carouse to their hearts' content without worrying about what grade of house they would live in next month.

Fang Chongyong raised his wine cup, smiling as he looked at the people in the private room, secretly calculating in his heart how he should manage affairs in Hexi going forward.

……

Ever since Prince of Yong Li Lin and two other princes were "invited out" of the Ten Princes' Residence, four more princes had been "graciously released" from Chang'an by Jige this spring. Of course, though they had left Chang'an, they had not left the capital region.

These princes still resided in the suburban counties surrounding Chang'an, such as Lantian County, Sanyuan County, and Jingyang County.

They still dared not act rashly, much less "collude with border generals" to rebel.

Jige was naturally satisfied with this arrangement. In fact, having so many princes gathered in Chang'an was actually quite disadvantageous for Jige himself.

The Guanlong aristocrats could, taking advantage of a day when he fell into a coma, blockade Xingqing Palace, forge an edict claiming the Son of Heaven had passed away, and enthrone a certain prince. Such a "standard procedure" made Jige feel afraid.

Back then, Taizong's Xuanwu Gate Incident began by first seizing control of Li Yuan, after which the imperial guards watched the whole affair unfold as spectators. If Li Erfeng had been outside Chang'an city at the time, let alone the Xuanwu Gate, he would have had to worry about being pursued and killed on the road even if he fled to Luoyang.

An Lushan needed over ten days to fight his way to Chang'an, whereas aristocrats colluding with princes to turn coats often took only a day or two. Compared to the border armies, these bureaucrats, aristocrats, and princes within Chang'an city posed an even greater threat!

Now seven princes had already left Chang'an, and the number of people who could change the fate of the realm in a brief moment had been reduced by seven. Jige felt that even his mood at mealtimes had improved considerably.

However, while he was feeling pleased, certain princes were feeling anything but.

No matter how prosperous the county towns around Chang'an might be, compared to Chang'an, they were nothing at all!

Prince of Yong Li Lin was the one who felt the most displeased among the princes sent out.

After arriving at the county seat of Jingyang County and establishing his residence and office there, Li Lin realized he had fallen for Jige's big trick!

What kind of backwater wasteland was this! There wasn't even a halfway decent market! The city's entertainment facilities were virtually nonexistent!

For the Prince of Yong Li Lin, long accustomed to a life of music, beauties, hounds, and horses, how was he supposed to live like this?

Yet what displeased Li Lin even more was that the palace had recalled his personal eunuch and then sent a young eunuch of presentable appearance to accompany him. This person was named Gao Shang!

But the moment he saw this Gao Shang, Li Lin felt extremely displeased! He felt this person was sent by Jige to torment him.

On the very day Gao Shang arrived at the Prince of Yong's residence, Li Lin summoned him to his study.

The moment they met, he bellowed at Gao Shang without preamble:

"Speak quickly—who are you, and what did Gao Lishi send you here to do?

If you don't explain clearly, I will have someone beat you to death. The Sage would never punish me over a mere servant."

Li Lin's words carried a certain air of bluster masking inner weakness. If he truly killed Gao Shang, there was no telling what great misfortune might befall him.

"In reply to the Prince of Yong, it was Gao Lishi who sent your servant here to sow discord between the Prince of Yong and the Crown Prince."

Gao Shang crossed his hands in a bow and said to Li Lin with calm composure.

Hmm?

Something seemed a bit off here.

Li Lin frowned slightly, sat down at his desk, pointed to the cushion opposite him, and said, "You sit too. Tell me what's going on!"

"Your servant can speak standing."

Gao Shang bowed respectfully and said.

"Whatever, just don't waste words!"

Li Lin said impatiently.

"Your servant came here to help the Prince of Yong ascend to the great throne in the future!

What Gao Lishi can do for the Son of Heaven, your servant can also do. What Gao Lishi cannot do, your servant can still do."

Gao Shang said without changing his expression, his tone filled with pride.

Hearing these words, Li Lin rose abruptly, his eyes wide with shock, unable to utter a single word for a long while.

To think such things existed, and such people too!

I've had many reflections during my illness. Once I recover, I must vent about them.

(End of chapter)