Chapter 652: A Gaze Cast Toward Hexi

The Zhaowen Hall, located in the southwest of the imperial city, was one of the Three Halls, serving primarily as a repository for books.

The Great Han's Three Halls, inheriting the Tang system, had received much attention from Liu Chengyou in cultural and educational matters since his accession. When finances first allowed, he did not repair palaces or renovate government offices, but specifically expanded and refurbished the Zhaowen Hall, the History Hall, and the Academy of Scholarly Worthies, to signal his intent to welcome worthy men from across the realm.

Over the years, developing gradually, they had gathered the literary cream of the Great Han. Among those who passed the Mingjing and Jinshi examinations, not a few had served in the Three Halls, compiling and observing governance before being assigned official posts. The chancellors of the Great Han court also concurrently held hall posts—for instance, State Finance Commissioner Xue Juzheng concurrently served as Grand Academician of the History Hall.

As time deepened, the weather in the Eastern Capital grew increasingly cold, and a thin layer of frost congealed on the surfaces of beams, pillars, bricks, and tiles. However, compared to the biting cold outside, the Zhaowen Hall was far better—not warm as spring, but not requiring one to huddle and shiver.

Toward these literati and talents, Liu Chengyou had always shown courtesy, and all winter provisions were handled thoroughly.

Within the hall, the study rooms stood in close array, each Academician at his own desk—some reading, some writing, some collating texts, or simply sipping tea and debating. In short, it was quite lively. The scholars in the hall were, by and large, the highest-ranking and most leisurely "civil servants" of the Great Han.

When Liu Chengyou stepped into the Zhaowen Hall, it caused a small stir, for although he treated scholars generously to nurture talent, it was more like nurturing idleness—he rarely set foot there. When he needed to consult texts, he merely sent someone to fetch them.

Though most of the civil officials in the hall were merely literati draped in official robes, not a few harbored ambitions and grand aspirations, hoping for advancement in office. Since the Emperor rarely came in person, they naturally wanted to put on a display, hoping to leave a good impression.

However, Liu Chengyou's attention fell on a young man standing tall and straight at the side, silent, with a faint composed smile at the corner of his mouth, standing out like a crane among chickens.

"You are... Lu Duoxun?" Liu Chengyou looked at him.

"Your Majesty, this humble official it is!" Lu Duoxun bowed respectfully.

A sudden realization came over him—the second-place graduate of that special examination, a young man of outstanding talent and quick insight. At the time, because he had discerned the strategy of "luring the enemy with a weary Shu" and had been too sharp and conspicuous, after he was given office, Liu Chengyou had placed him in the Zhaowen Hall, intending to temper and grind him down.

Of course, that was Liu Chengyou's thinking, but as time passed, he simply forgot about it. Now, encountering him by chance, he only just recalled. The corners of his mouth slowly rose as he appraised Lu Duoxun. Lu Duoxun, for his part, stood slightly bowed, neither humble nor arrogant, calmly meeting the Emperor's gaze.

Now, only twenty years old, Lu Duoxun remained a handsome young man of outstanding bearing, but he had clearly become much more restrained.

"You've been at the Zhaowen Hall for nearly two years now, haven't you?" Liu Chengyou asked.

"Indeed!" Lu Duoxun replied.

"What have you been doing these two years? Proofreading texts?"

"Your Majesty, your subject is young and shallow of learning; the work of collating and correcting is beyond my ability. Each day I merely organize charts and books, and read to understand principle..." Lu Duoxun humbly indicated that he was just a librarian.

"Haha!" Liu Chengyou could not help but laugh, and instructed: "Go and bring me the maps and records of the prefectures and counties of Longyou and Hexi, especially the recent records!"

"Yes!"

Liu Chengyou did not have to wait long before Lu Duoxun came back carrying several volumes to report completion. Liu Chengyou was unexpectedly surprised, picked up an old-looking volume, and asked: "So fast? Just these few?"

"Your Majesty, Liangzhou recently paid tribute. Its land was originally territory of our Central Kingdom, but was split away due to war and chaos. Now that it has come to court again, your subject thought Your Majesty might once more place importance on the old lands of Hexi, and so prepared the records in advance for your perusal!" Lu Duoxun replied calmly. "Moreover, since the end of the Tang, Hexi was lost, and the Central Plains suffered frequent warfare, so records of the old Hexi lands are greatly lacking—most volumes mention it only in passing. These few books contain somewhat more content!"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou's gaze once again fell on Lu Duoxun. The man was proper and orderly—indeed more restrained—but he had merely sheathed his sharpness. He was truly intelligent and cautious; though situated in the Zhaowen Hall, his gaze was fixed on the court.

"What if I had no such intention and did not call for the records?" Liu Chengyou said with amusement.

Lu Duoxun, unhurried, clasped his hands in salute: "Your subject merely prepared in advance, lest Your Majesty, upon consulting them, find himself flustered and unable to respond in time. Moreover, Hexi and Longyou have been lands of the Central Kingdom since antiquity—how can they be allowed to remain long fallen to foreign peoples? Your Majesty possesses great talent and bold vision, and will surely recover them sooner or later. Even if you do not consult them now, there will be a future..."

Hearing his explanation, Liu Chengyou's expression was plain, neither approving nor disapproving, but clearly this man had left a deeper impression on him. Casually opening one volume, Lu Duoxun had thoughtfully folded the corners to mark relevant passages, but the texts were old, the wording obscure, and some characters blurred—quite difficult to read...

Closing it directly, he looked at Lu Duoxun: "You've read all these records, haven't you? I won't read them then. Tell me about the situation of the prefectures of Longyou and Hexi!"

Facing the Emperor's inquiry, Lu Duoxun immediately perked up, and after a moment's preparation, narrated calmly: "Since the mid-Tang, the Central Plains fell into decline and chaos, unable to hold the prefectures of Hexi and Longyou, which were seized by the Tibetans. A hundred years ago, Zhang Yichao raised an army and drove out the Tibetan forces, causing the more than a dozen prefectures of the northwest, lost for sixty years, to return to the Central Kingdom.

But with internal strife and external pressure, the Central Plains could not support them, and the Guiyi Army gradually weakened, declining day by day, its territory shrinking until now only Shazhou and Guazhou remain, nearly cut off from the Central Plains. The current power-holder of the Guiyi Army is the Cao clan."

"Since I took the throne, the Guiyi Army has indeed sent envoys twice!" Liu Chengyou nodded. "The road is difficult, and after decades isolated in the northwest, they still keep the Central Plains in their hearts—that is not easy!"

Lu Duoxun then said: "This is certainly due to the far-reaching spread of our Han culture, with Tang officials and Han people still surviving, but beyond Guazhou and Shazhou, all Han lands are held by barbarian peoples. The Guiyi Army is like a lone island in the sea, perpetually threatened, always in danger of toppling. Therefore, the Cao clan must maintain contact with the Central Plains—to resist external enemies and unite hearts within. If the Great Han returns to Hexi in the future, the Guiyi Army will prove most useful!"

Liu Chengyou nodded, signaling him to continue.

Lu Duoxun said: "Since the Three Dynasties, the Tibetans have gradually weakened, and the prefectures of Hexi and Longyou have been divided among Tibetans, Uyghurs, Tangut, and various miscellaneous barbarians. The most powerful among them is the Ganzhou Uyghurs. In the mid-Tang, the Uyghurs declined and were destroyed by the Kyrgyz; their tribes migrated, and one branch moved to Ganzhou. After the Guiyi Army's power receded, they seized the opportunity to grow strong. Now, with Ganzhou as their seat, their strength is likely not inferior to the Dingnan Army."

As he spoke, Lu Duoxun cautiously glanced at Liu Chengyou and continued: "For decades, Hexi and Longyou have been lost, and only Ganzhou, Liangzhou, Shazhou, and Guazhou maintain regular contact with the Central Plains. The closest of these is Liangzhou.

After the Tibetans split into internal strife, though their power declined, they still retained a large population living in the northwest. Liangzhou is a mix of barbarian and Han—Tibetans, Han people, Qiang, and various miscellaneous barbarians all gathered together, making its situation the most complex. The one who came to court this time, Zhebu Jiashi, is of the Tibetan Liuhe tribe, and has become a local magnate of Liangzhou. Since the Later Liang, they have repeatedly petitioned the Central Plains to send envoys to garrison the region..."

Liu Chengyou was clearly very satisfied with this exposition from Lu Duoxun. Looking at him with a light smile, he said: "It seems you have devoted real effort to study. To sort out the threads of Hexi from these chaotic and disorderly historical records is no small feat. In the entire court, I doubt anyone knows the situation of Hexi better than you!"

"Your Majesty overpraises me; your subject does not dare accept!" Lu Duoxun replied with lowered eyes and a docile demeanor. "Your subject merely read a few more books in his spare time, but the true situation of Hexi cannot ultimately be gleaned from old records. The Central Plains and Hexi have been cut off for too long!"

"For you to have such insight is truly rare!" Liu Chengyou sighed, and after a moment's deliberation, suddenly asked: "You became famous young, a proper second-place graduate, yet confined to the Zhaowen Hall—do you feel your talents are wasted?"

Hearing the Emperor ask this, even if he truly felt his talents wasted, he would not dare show it. Lu Duoxun said submissively: "Your subject dares not! Your subject was young and inexperienced; these two years in the Zhaowen Hall have been immensely rewarding!"

"Read ten thousand volumes, travel ten thousand miles!" Liu Chengyou laughed. "I rather think it's no longer suitable for you to remain in the Zhaowen Hall!"

At these words, Lu Duoxun's eyes immediately lit up with alertness.