Chapter 309: Give Them a Chance to Be the Great Tang

On a clear July 7th, Fang Chongyong consolidated the Liangzhou troops, drawing 3,000 elite cavalry and 2,000 mounted infantry from the Chishui Army; he also drew 1,000 mounted infantry from the Dadou Army. Together with the well‑supplied 3,000 Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, they formed the Anxi Expeditionary Army.

Nine thousand elite troops, each rider on a pair of horses, set out from Liangzhou toward Ganzhou for rest; the Chishui Army envoy Guo Ziyi did not accompany them, but served as Deputy Hexi Jiedushi, stationed in Liangzhou to oversee military affairs.

Fang Chongyong plans to select outstanding elite from the Great Tang border forces along the way to reinforce the ranks. By the time they reach west of Congling, the total army strength will be strictly kept between 15,000 and 20,000.

It is called the Anxi Expeditionary Army because ultimately elite troops will still be drawn from the Anxi Protectorate, which will serve as the main logistical base. Naming it after Anxi gives them face and makes it easy for the expeditionary army, after withdrawal, to let the Tang military prestige continue to intimidate the nations of the Western Regions.

If the Hexi troops march into the Western Regions without the cooperation of the Anxi Protectorate, it would be unimaginable.

The Western Regions cover more than two million square kilometers. In Fang Chongyong's previous life, a country of that size could field a regular army of 700,000 to 800,000 without being unreasonable, and the final deployment was still very scattered.

The Tang Anxi Protectorate has just over 20,000 men, yet its jurisdiction is boundlessly vast, like sprinkling pepper on an enormous cake, the white sand vanishing without a trace.

On the massive territory of the Anxi Protectorate, even a populated oasis town with an average allocation of 500 Tang soldiers would still be far short of the two‑ten‑thousand troops. Therefore, if the Great Tang wishes to achieve anything in the Western Regions, relying solely on the forces of Anxi and Beiting is insufficient for any major undertaking.

Each time the Tang must face a hundred enemies with one, and only by the whole force playing unrivaled can they barely meet strategic demands.

Tactically, this is naturally the Tang elite acting as one against a hundred; but strategically, such a situation is extremely dangerous, and one cannot rely on tactical victories each time to guarantee strategic deterrence.

Fang Chongyong is ambitious; he wants to achieve something before the world descends into chaos. This campaign must at least secure the Western Regions for the Central Plains regime, buying twenty years. As for the world after those twenty years, who knows?

As for why the expeditionary army heads to Ganzhou first, it is because Fang Chongyong is not in a hurry to rush to the front lines of the Western Regions; he has a major matter to attend to in Ganzhou!

……

"Zizi…"

The forged "iron bars" are dropped into cold water, producing a pleasant clank; a hoe's pick head is thus forged. Though the production efficiency is indeed low, it wins by being simple to make and easy to disseminate.

A blacksmith wearing a cow‑hide apron, busy forging farm tools, sees Fang Chongyong arrive and hurriedly steps forward to bow.

This is an ordinary blacksmith workshop in Ganzhou, situated on the riverbank near a small bridge outside Zhangye; many such workshops have been established, essentially clustered together.

Coal mines near Shandan County are extracted and sent outside Zhangye; locally mined red iron ore is also delivered here. The coal is first turned into low‑grade coke, then used for smelting iron. The resulting ironware is of poor quality and cannot be used as weapons.

But it is more than sufficient for forging hoes and plowshares.

This is one of the recent secrets of Hexi's agricultural development; Fang Chongyong planted a seed back then, and later people watered and fertilized it, and now a sapling has grown.

The discovered coal and iron mines attracted great attention from the Ganzhou Prefect and the Hexi Jiedushi. Using Ganzhou as the core, they built an iron‑smelting hub dedicated to producing farm tools.

There was no alternative; the Hexi region could not easily fell trees to make charcoal, so they resorted to the Ministry of Works' latest "coking coal" technique, first smelting the coal into average‑grade coke, then using that coke as fuel for iron smelting.

Frankly, the coke finally produced is indeed inferior to charcoal, but it wins by being convenient, cost‑controllable, and able to sustain the smelting hub over the long term.

As for why they chose the area near Zhangye, it is because this spot is almost the most water‑rich part of the Hexi Corridor! Iron smelting, after all, cannot do without water.

Since becoming Hexi Jiedushi, Fang Chongyong issued an edict to fully promote coal heating in Zhangye and strictly forbid any private cutting of the surrounding sand‑willow forest, preserving water and soil to guarantee Zhangye's water resources.

"When the great army sets out, carrying all the grain would be an unnecessary waste of transport capacity.

If we bring a batch of farm tools to the Western Regions and trade those tools for grain, and… for hearts.

What then?"

Patrolling along the Zhangye riverbank, Fang Chongyong asked Duan Xiushi beside him.

"Yes, Jiedushi, this is excellent. With a hoe in our left hand and a sword in our right, we wield both kindness and might—truly the way of a ruler.

According to what the junior officer knows, iron production in the Western Regions is limited and farm tools are scarce. The limited output must be prioritized for military supplies; many people in the small Western kingdoms still use stone tools to till the soil.

Wherever we arrive, we will spread out the iron farm tools we bring. Once they taste the benefit, those Western peoples, if deprived of Great Tang's supply and support, will find survival problematic.

The Jiedushi's tactic of taking must first give; truly it is beyond words!"

Duan Xiushi praised.

In the Western Regions, even at the garrisons of the Anxi Protectorate and Beiting Protectorate, iron farm tools are extremely precious. As the saying goes, in the Western Regions, precious and scarce iron is used for weapons.

Under the current harsh living conditions of the Western Regions, no one can afford to use iron farm tools daily, except in the Great Tang's core control zones.

It is a strategy no one can refuse! The key is that Hexi can continuously supply iron farm tools! Since tools wear out after a period and must be replaced, a steady demand arises.

Duan Xiushi knows this was Fang Chongyong's plan from years ago, and can only think the man is truly unfathomable, handling affairs one step at a time while looking ten steps ahead.

"Thank you for the kind words; this Jiedushi's journey to the Western Regions is merely to spread the glorious benevolence of Great Tang.

From now on, the army's logistical supply will be entrusted to you, including the management of these farm tools."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand dismissively and said.

During the Han dynasty, the Western Regions and the Central Plains dynasties engaged in a wave of large‑scale smelting technology exchange, each learning from the other. At that time, the Western kingdoms possessed some "black‑tech," such as "coke‑powder steelmaking."

Back then, Han military outposts in the Western Regions also had small iron‑smelting centers that produced farm tools and promoted draft oxen with iron implements. However, by the Tang era, prolonged wars, productivity loss, and environmental degradation caused political power to fragment, making city‑states the norm.

The Great Tang also abandoned the Han colonization system, switching to a "jimi" (loose‑control) military governor system.

Without the Great Tang's strong backing, these minor powers' smelting crafts have in fact regressed substantially, even become completely abandoned.

Because they cannot supply charcoal for smelting and suffer severe water scarcity, the small Western kingdoms lack both the energy and the will to manage these troublesome affairs.

"The Great Tang's principle is that we are the center, and the world is one family."

Fang Chongyong gazed across the Zhangye river to a group of children playing the "Officer and Soldier Catch the Bandit" game, and continued:

"Except for places like Xizhou and Yizhou, in other Western Region cities, although Great Tang claims jurisdiction, the households have not yet been registered and organized.

Great Tang may be inclusive of all seas, but we must not conflate who is our friend and who is our foe; broad, vague acceptance is unacceptable.

We certainly open our arms to welcome friends; when foes arrive, only Changsuo and weapons meet them!

This Jiedushi has a notion: in the Western Regions, let both our friends and our enemies each advance further."

Fang Chongyong said with deep meaning.

Duan Xiushi, puzzled, asked: "What does 'each advance further' mean?"

"Naturally, for the Western barbarian friends who bear goodwill toward us, we should give them a chance—to give them a chance to become Great Tang's dogs.

Hmm, just understand it as serving us from the saddle forward.

Those enemies who bear hostility toward us, when given the chance, must be cleanly and decisively sent to the coal mines of Hexi for labor reformation!

After they realize inside that opposing Great Tang is wrong and unacceptable, and deeply reflect on their crimes, then we give them a chance to wholeheartedly join the warm family of Great Tang."

Fang Chongyong chuckled, pulled a sheet of paper from his chest, and handed it to Duan Xiushi.

It is a common official letter from the yamen, already stamped, requiring only the officials handling the matter and the parties involved to sign their names.

"Is this… the naturalization document?"

Duan Xiushi, seeing the contents written on the paper, began to understand Fang Chongyong's line of thought.

"When we pass beyond Xizhou, the cities we encounter thereafter may no longer be wholeheartedly loyal to the Great Tang. It wouldn't be surprising if the nobles or even the common folk of those small states side with the Tubo, or have even larger schemes."

After we get there, we still need logistical supplies, we need servants for the army, and we need a place to settle.

The naturalization document is the unseen hand of this Jiedushi on the battlefield.

When the time comes, as long as someone is willing to serve the Tang army wholeheartedly, we can ensure not a single hair is harmed.

Those willing to die fighting for us, to sell their sons and daughters to raise war funds, we can grant them the opportunity to naturalize into the Great Tang and protect their property from violation.

This Jiedushi believes that for the peoples of the western frontier states who are willing to stand with us, we can offer even sweeter, richer benefits. As for the hardliners, the Anxi Protectorate's grip is now too weak; when the time comes, this Jiedushi will strike hard—take them one by one!

So that's how it is!

Duan Xiushi couldn't help but raise his thumb and say, "Jiedushi's words are truly a revelation! If one can obtain this naturalization certificate, those people would even wake up laughing in their sleep."

"It's not a naturalization certificate; it's that we have accepted their application to be entered into the Great Tang household registry. Since it's an application, there can be rejections! Whether it's approved depends on their subsequent performance."

Fang Chongyong smiled faintly and said, that's all for now; those who understand will understand.

Although the Great Tang appears outwardly as a 'nation that embraces all four seas,' in reality it openly practices discrimination, inscribing 'looking down on you' plainly into the law—a country that the Hu people both love and hate.

After the Hu people enter the Great Tang, even though they settle and receive household registration, the registry plainly states that they are Hu.

Since they are Hu, locally they are considered people of the city‑side tribes, taxed and conscripted according to city‑side customs. In a metropolis like Chang'an, they are assigned residences based on Hu settlements; on ordinary days they may not wear Han clothing, lest they be discovered and punished!

With the 'naturalization form' that Fang Chongyong provides, once approved, the individual becomes a Han citizen of the Great Tang rather than a Hu.

Just like the An family of Liangzhou, who have already broken through the political ceiling. This is not merely a matter of reputation and status; it also concerns daily behavioral restrictions, land allocation and tax standards, and other major issues tied to one's own interests!

Duan Xiushi fell silent at once.

He now understood that 'giving them a chance to be the Great Tang's dogs' is not just Fang Chongyong's talk; it is a three‑pronged combo of material rewards, identity recognition, and military deterrence!

Serve the Great Tang as dogs, and later they have a chance to become 'people'—and even their own kind.

Standing opposite the Great Tang means bearing the risk of being besieged from all sides, and even one's subordinates may turn traitorous.

What a powerful move!

Duan Xiushi thought deeper: everything Fang Chongyong now promises is merely his own word, backed by his position as Hexi Jiedushi. If he loses his office, all those promises become null, so what will happen then?

He no longer dared to continue pondering. Even if Fang Chongyong later decides to back off, the peoples of the western frontier states, who have already sunk huge costs, could not accept it.

"Why are you silent? Do you think this Jiedushi is being too merciful to them?"

Actually, in the process of mutual exchange among all peoples and regimes, the world is one family, with no divisions—it's the trend of the times.

A unified household registration for all the people is the nation's progress.

Currently some of our Great Tang policies are problematic; this Jiedushi is merely tweaking them a bit.

Seeing Duan Xiushi remain silent, Fang Chongyong offered another defense.

The western frontier is about to usher in a century‑long upheaval!

"Your strategy, Jiedushi, is indeed excellent; I, your subordinate, also trust that your word is worth a thousand gold, and that you keep your promises. Yet the Hexi Jiedushi also has a term of office. In the future, if you retire or are transferred, how will these promises be fulfilled?"

"The ancients said: 'When in a position, plan its governance.'"

Since this Jiedushi will no longer be in that position then, these troublesome matters will naturally be handled by the next Jiedushi.

Could it be that someone will go and incite these people, gather them to Chang'an to pressure the holy ruler, forcing the ruler to rescind the imperial decree?"

Fang Chongyong gave Duan Xiushi a strange look and said.

……

Splash— splash— splash!

Heavy rain fell in parts of Guanzhong, and the outskirts of Lichuan were the same. However, the water level of the nearby Jing River remained moderate, not flooding the Shen Ce army camp.

Fang Youde, with a helpless expression, looked at the pouring rain and saluted Ji Ge: "Your Majesty, our army was ready to set out, but this downpour prevents us from firing bows and arrows; marching north along the Jing River risks a water attack by the enemy. I humbly suggest we postpone the assault on Binzhou and wait for the rain to cease before marching."

"They're just a bunch of Khitan slaves; how would they know anything about a water attack! Lead your troops to attack Binzhou directly! The Shen Ce army has countless elite soldiers and generals; can they not subdue a band of rebels?"

This rain is a nightmare! Fang Youde had nothing more to say.

The stubborn emperor now only thinks 'I won't listen, I won't listen'; no amount of persuasion works.

"Then I will lead the troops out; please, Your Majesty, do not worry."

Fang Youde crossed his arms and saluted Ji Ge, then turned away and sighed silently.

If we follow Ji Ge's plan, total annihilation of the army is inevitable; it seems we must resort to some 'clever stratagems.'

Fang Youde thought silently to himself.

(End of chapter)