Chapter 266: Family Affairs, State Affairs, Affairs of the World (A Ten-Thousand-Character Chapter)

In the great hall, by the time Pei Yuan proposed sending Zhang Zhao to Liangzhou, the situation had actually already eased considerably.

Zhang Zhao's maternal grandfather Song Tongyi, supported by his eldest maternal uncle Song Shantong, slowly walked over to Zhang Zhao's side.

The ancestor of the Song family of Shazhou had been a case investigator under Zhang Zhao's ancestor Zhang Xiaosong when the latter served as Prefect of Shazhou; the bond between the families could be traced back several hundred years to the Kaiyuan era, and the two families had intermarried countless times over the course of history.

Song Tongyi had no great feeling for his son-in-law Zhang Chengfeng, because Zhang Chengfeng was truly somewhat unreliable.

He had married a daughter of the Song family only to win the Songs over, so that he could pursue his extravagant ambition of campaigning east and west and restoring the former glory of the Guiyi Army.

But Song Tongyi had long seen the reality clearly: after the Guiyi Army had suffered four bloody internal struggles in succession — under Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun, the Li family's seizure of power, and Zhang Chengfeng's usurpation — it was no longer the Guiyi Army of old.

Each of these four transfers of power had involved large-scale bloodshed; apart from Zhang Huaiding, Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun, and the three sons of the Li family had all ended with virtually every male in their households being slaughtered to extinction.

Such severe infighting had enormously weakened the Guiyi Army's strength and, more importantly, dealt a blow to its morale.

After Zhang Chengfeng took power, he still hoped the men below him would follow him in re-subjugating the six commanderies of Hexi, but in truth no one any longer believed the Guiyi Army could flourish again.

And even if it did flourish, what then? Continue on to the next bloody internal struggle, and very likely get the whole family killed?

Therefore, back when Zhang Chengfeng was forced to acknowledge the Ganzhou Uyghur Khagan as his father, Song Tongyi, with almost no hesitation, joined Cao Yijin in driving his own son-in-law from power.

But toward Zhang Zhao, he was different. A son-in-law had no blood ties, but a maternal grandson was another matter.

And this maternal grandson was so talented besides; more importantly, he was the only surviving bloodline of Zhang Yichao.

"My lord, please withdraw the armored men outside! Erlang is the sole remaining bloodline of the Grand Guardian. We sons of Tang in Guazhou and Shazhou — without the Grand Guardian, we would likely still be slaves to the Tibetans even now. This old man is at death's door, and I cannot stand by and watch the Grand Guardian's line be extinguished!"

Having said this, Song Tongyi patted Zhang Zhao on the shoulder. "Have your men release young lord Cao the Second. We sons of Tang in Guazhou and Shazhou number only a hundred thousand or so; if we keep slaughtering one another, I fear our people will be wiped out.

If you still bear resentment in your heart, your maternal grandfather can tell you this: the two leaders who forced your father, the White-Clad Son of Heaven, to abdicate back then were the Great King Linggong and your maternal grandfather. If you can harden your heart and kill the two of us, then come on!"

"Erlang, those are old matters from more than twenty years ago. Back then, no one wanted your father's life; everyone simply did not want to be dragged into hell by him, because we had long since lost the ability to bring Hexi back under allegiance."

Before his maternal grandfather Song Tongyi had even finished speaking, Zhang Zhao's maternal granduncle from the Yin family also walked over.

That was what was said, and the facts were indeed the facts, but Zhang Zhao felt extremely stifled inside.

He had lost his father, and the Zhang family had lost its hold on power — could all that really be dismissed with just a couple of sentences?

Besides, he had made such a huge commotion, and now they wanted him to leave without any compensation at all. So he darkened his expression, and his words became far less pleasant.

"The two honored elders lost a son-in-law and a nephew, yet you can still speak of it so lightly. It seems your skill at cultivating composure must be fully perfected.

But your grandson cannot. In that coup more than twenty years ago, I lost my father and my elder brother. It cannot be dismissed with just a couple of sentences."

"Young lord Erlang, your... your mother has come!" He was just about to continue with a few more sarcastic remarks when Cao Yanming came running over with a strange expression.

Zhang Zhao suddenly let out a breath of relief. The support he relied on most had finally arrived!

It seemed his third cousin, the Princess of Tiansheng, had a very capable head on her shoulders after all.

"Open the doors! The grudges and grievances of twenty years ago — let us settle them all today!"

With a relaxed expression, Zhang Zhao waved at Cao Yanming, then looked at Ma Shacai, who had been holding down Cao Yuanshen. "Release my second cousin as well!"

Cao Yanming and Ma Shacai stared at Zhang Zhao in bewilderment, almost wondering whether Zhang Zhao's mind had broken.

If they opened the doors and released the man now, would they still be able to get out?

"Go do it! What are you dawdling for!" Zhang Zhao rapped Cao Yanming on the head, then pointed at his own head to show he had not lost his senses, and told Cao Yanming to hurry and open the doors.

The heavy creaking sound seemed to strike at everyone's hearts. It had been nearly two hours since Zhang Zhao had burst in and begun threatening everyone with the terrifying exploding wooden tube on Cao Yuanshen's body.

The bloody infighting looming right before their eyes had filled everyone with deep dread, and the sound of the great hall's main doors opening was like a horn of hope in their ears.

Everyone raised their heads to look toward the entrance. A dense mass of armored soldiers was escorting four women inside.

On the far right was a woman whose face was somewhat aged, but whose bearing was upright and whose manner was noble.

She and the woman on the far left wore robes of similar style — magnificent queen's robes in the Anxi fashion.

Their features both showed a strong measure of western foreign blood, and the older one in particular looked almost entirely like a foreign beauty.

The two old women in the middle had Han features and wore the brown jacket-skirts commonly worn by old women of Dunhuang. Both were already extremely aged, and one had even been pushed in by others.

"Zhao'er! Do not torment yourself over your father's death. From the moment he acknowledged the Ganzhou Uyghur Khagan as his father in order to preserve Dunhuang, he was already dead.

A man as proud as a grey falcon could not accept such humiliation!

If you want revenge, you should not seek out Cao Yijin, and still less a foolish boy like Cao Yuande. You should seek out the Yageluo family of the Ganzhou Uyghurs!"

To call Cao Yijin by name, to call Zhang Zhao "Zhao'er," to call Cao Yuande a foolish boy, and to speak of Zhang Zhao's father Zhang Chengfeng in such a way — only one woman could do all that.

That was Zhang Zhao's legal mother, the elder sister of Li Shengtian who was like a mother to him, the Fengtian Grand Princess of the Golden Kingdom of Khotan!

And beside the Fengtian Grand Princess, the one who likewise bore obvious foreign blood was the third daughter of Li Shengtian and Cao Yuanxin, the Princess of Tiansheng of Khotan.

And the two old women flanked by those two were even more extraordinary.

The younger one on the left was the daughter of Zhang Huaishen, the second Military Governor of the Guiyi Army, the daughter-in-law of the third Military Governor Suo Xun, and the full maternal aunt of Cao Yuande and Cao Yuanshen.

The older one, seated in a four-wheeled wheelchair, had an identity even more extraordinary.

Her body was hunched, her hair so sparse it could only be wrapped in a gauze scarf, the wrinkles on her face crisscrossing like ravines, and only a pair of eyes that showed neither joy nor sorrow still glinted with light.

The old woman had been born in the fourth year of Dazhong of the Great Tang's Emperor Xuanzong — that is, 850 AD — the second year after Zhang Yichao rose up with a shout and began resisting Tibetan rule. This year she was eighty-six years old.

She was Zhang Zhao's own paternal grandaunt, the fourteenth daughter of the great hero Zhang Yichao, wife of the former Guiyi Army great general Li Mingzhen, and the only child of Zhang Yichao in the entire Guiyi Army still alive to this day.

The armored soldiers following behind them were faintly led by a woman in leather armor, who also gave Zhang Zhao a faint smile — none other than Lady Cao Sanniang.

Following Zhang Zhao's instructions to her, Lady Cao Sanniang had led thirty armored soldiers into Dunhuang city in batches.

Then, after joining up with the Princess of Tiansheng's hundred Khotanese warriors, once Zhang Zhao had entered the Qingxi Palace, she had gone directly to bring out Zhang Zhao's legal mother, the Princess Fengtian, and finally entered the Qingxi Palace using the identity of Cao Liulang, Cao Yanlu.

This was the most important trump card behind Zhang Zhao's confidence. Once he had detained the brothers Cao Yuande and Cao Yuanshen, the Cao family had in effect fallen into a state of leaderlessness.

The only two whose words still carried weight were Cao Yuanzhong and Cao Yanlu.

But these two, father and son, would never move against Zhang Zhao.

Cao Yuanzhong was Zhang Zhao's father-in-law twice over, and Cao Yanlu was even more special: he was Zhang Zhao's cousin's husband, while Zhang Zhao was in turn both Cao Yanlu's brother-in-law and his sister's husband.

Whom Cao Yuanzhong and his son would favor needed no guessing at all — which was also why Cao Yuande had had Cao Yuanzhong's entire family locked up at the very beginning.

From this one could also see that Cao Yuande simply lacked the ability and the means to carry out a coup. Before Cao Yuanzhong was locked up, Cao Yanlu had already slipped out in advance, and Cao Yuande did not dare lock up the Princess of Tiansheng of Khotan either — the whole thing was riddled with holes.

"Mother!" Zhang Zhao shouted, and knelt down on the spot. The people in the great hall looked outside — the door was open, but they still did not dare move.

Because the armored soldiers outside were all a dense mass of Khotanese warriors. The Cao family had no leader, and the Military Governor's yabing guards stationed outside had been directly reassigned by Cao Yanlu to garrison outside the palace.

Cao Yanjing and Cao Yanlu, the two brothers, were the front and rear Chief Commanders of the Guiyi Army's Military Governor's yabing guard. Cao Yanjing was inside the great hall, so the Cao family warriors outside could only follow Cao Yanlu's orders.

"My son! Raise your head, and let your mother have a good look at you!"

Princess Fengtian hurried forward a few steps, then gently gathered Zhang Zhao into her arms, and her tears began falling with soft pattering sounds.

"Truly a fine son of the Zhang family — you look so much like your father. But you have surpassed him. I hear that in Anxi you expanded Khotan's territory by a thousand li, making it the foremost power in Anxi. Your uncle must be overjoyed, isn't he? Is he in good health?"

Princess Fengtian cupped Zhang Zhao's face in her hands, her eyes radiating boundless nostalgia. Since leaving in her teens, she had not returned for nearly thirty years.

Zhang Zhao also raised his head and carefully studied his stepmother Princess Fengtian. Her youth had long since passed. She had changed from the steady embrace he remembered from his childhood into an old woman nearing fifty, her slightly plump face bearing more than a passing resemblance to Li Shengtian.

"Uncle, the Son of Heaven, is in excellent health! When I left, he told me that once state affairs were less pressing, he would certainly send a full carriage escort to bring Mother back to Khotan for a stay!"

Princess Fengtian listened, then lifted her head and drew a deep breath. "It has been twenty years since I left home, and Zhao'er has grown up. Once matters here are settled, I truly should return to Khotan for a visit!"

Having said that, Princess Fengtian looked at Zhang Zhao again and said in a lowered voice, "Go see your mother in a while. Don't blame her — she was frightened out of her wits and hid herself in the Buddha hall to pray for you."

The mother Princess Fengtian spoke of was, of course, Zhang Zhao's birth mother, Lady Song, a woman of exceedingly timid disposition.

Zhang Zhao had originally intended to bring her out as well, but it seemed Lady Song had hidden herself away — perhaps the shadow of the coup years ago had left too deep a wound on her.

"Cao Yuande, will you not come down? Your father is not yet dead. Who gave you leave to sit in that seat?"

Truly born of an imperial house, Princess Fengtian had keenly spotted Cao Yuande's greatest vulnerability.

For Cao Yijin had merely suffered a stroke, and had only been angered into unconsciousness by the mutual slaughter in the Qingyuan Palace — he was not dead. Cao Yuande's title of Acting Military Governor of the Guiyi Army was entirely self-proclaimed and had no legal basis whatsoever.

Cao Yuande's face immediately fell. He felt as though a brazier of fire had suddenly been placed beneath the seat under him. Princess Fengtian had all but called him unfilial and rebellious.

At that moment, a young woman in a blue-green padded jacket came running to the entrance of the great hall. She arrived panting for breath, yet still found time to glance at Zhang Zhao, who had just stood up, her eyes carrying a hint of deeper meaning.

Zhang Zhao recognized her at once, because that padded jacket was one he had ordered craftsmen to make in Shule. In all of Dunhuang, only Cao Sanniang and Shijiu Niang had them.

This bright-eyed, white-toothed, pink-cheeked young woman was surely his lawful wife, Cao Shijiu Niang Yanxi.

"First Uncle, Second Uncle, Father — the Great King Linggong has awakened! He is clamoring to see you all!"

Cao Yanxi said this in a small, timid voice, and deliberately took a roundabout path to come stand beside Zhang Zhao.

At the news that Cao Yijin had awakened, Cao Yuande's expression grew somewhat complicated, while Cao Yuanzhong let out a long sigh of relief.

Princess Fengtian took Zhang Zhao's hand and had him push the four-wheeled chair of Zhang Yichao's fourteenth daughter, Zhang née Li. Then she addressed everyone in the great hall.

"Elder Song, Elder Yin, Elder Chen, Commissioner Murong, Troop Commander Luo, and all the family heads — come with us to see Commissioner Cao!

The rest of you wait here. Cao Yanlu, you will hold the great hall. Until we return, no one is permitted to leave."

In the Qingxi Palace, Cao Yijin sat propped against the back of a folding couch. After everyone entered, his eyes rolled about several times, and only when he saw that the three Cao brothers were all present did he visibly relax.

"Even Fourteenth Aunt has been disturbed. Aunt, forgive your nephew for being unable to rise and bow."

Cao Yijin first apologized to Zhang née Li, then, without looking at anyone else, fixed his gaze on Zhang Zhao.

"Zhang Erlang, your uncle's life is near its end!"

Zhang Zhao looked at Cao Yijin. In just over four short years, the life's radiance had faded from this Great King of the West who upheld the Guiyi Army.

The jet-black hair of four years ago had turned almost entirely white. The bearing of a regional lord had long since vanished, leaving only the frailty of old age.

The slightly crooked corner of his mouth and his already somewhat slurred speech showed that he had indeed suffered a stroke, though perhaps not a severe one.

"All men must die. Your nephew will have that day too. Uncle, in this life you preserved a home for the sons of Tang of Guazhou and Shazhou in their hour of peril. In your next life, you will surely be reborn into a golden age."

Zhang Zhao genuinely admired Cao Yijin. Half of the capital with which he had built his own career had been given to him by Cao Yijin, so Cao Yijin could be counted as Zhang Zhao's benefactor.

"You, at least, do not shrink from talk of life and death. Everyone else tells me I will soon recover. Only you say that I am about to enter the cycle of rebirth."

A smile blossomed on Cao Yijin's ashen face. Facing Zhang Zhao, he was somehow more at ease than facing his own sons.

"Do you still remember the pact between us?"

Zhang Zhao nodded. "Your nephew remembers, of course. On the day we return to our homeland, your nephew will escort your coffin to be buried in Qiao Commandery, and carve a stele before the tomb, inscribed: 'Tomb of Cao, taboo name Yijin, Duke of Qiao Commandery, Loyal Solitary of the Great Tang, Military Governor of Hexi and Longyou.'"

"You understand me!" Cao Yijin raised his right hand with difficulty and pointed at Zhang Zhao.

"I have heard of the great deeds you have done in Anxi, and my heart is full of joy. At last Heaven has not abandoned us sons of Tang in Hexi. How I long to see Chang'an — I longed for it in my youth, and now in old age I still have not gone!"

At this, Cao Yijin suddenly became deeply despondent, and the deathly gray pallor on his face grew all the more pronounced.

"Why could you, Zhang Erlang, not have been born a few decades earlier? If after the Grand Guardian you had become Military Governor of the Guiyi Army, we would have returned to our homeland long ago.

I, Cao Yijin, might well have been born into a noble house in Chang'an, and would not now be trapped in Guazhou and Shazhou, forced from my sickbed to witness the tragedy of mother and sons, brothers, slaughtering one another!"

"Father, Yuande is unfilial! Preserve your health!" Cao Yuande finally broke down and collapsed to his knees with a thud.

But Cao Yijin stubbornly turned his neck to look in another direction, refusing to look at Cao Yuande on the floor, nor at Cao Yuanshen standing there in a daze.

"Zhang Erlang, back then your words proved prophetic. Lady Li and the children she bore could not be saved after all.

This is my retribution, Cao Yijin's retribution. But enough children have died. Can these two cousins of yours be spared?"

Cao Yuanshen's lips quivered. He wanted to say that the outcome was not yet decided, but perhaps by the blessing of his ancestors, he swallowed the words back.

"Your nephew wishes to go to Liangzhou, because Guazhou and Shazhou are poor and far from the Central Plains — truly too cramped a stage.

But I will take the name of the Guiyi Army with me. Those who do not wish to return east to the homeland have no use for that moral banner.

Let the post of Military Governor of the Guiyi Army be set aside for now. Send envoys to the court, and request for my father-in-law the title of Acting Minister of Education, Military Governor, Surveillance and Disposal Commissioner of Guazhou and Shazhou, Commissioner of Pacifying the Tribes, and Prefect of Shazhou!"

The moment Zhang Zhao finished speaking, Cao Yuanzhong was stunned. He truly had never thought of seizing the authority over the two prefectures of Guazhou and Shazhou for himself. But such is the strangeness of things — those who want it cannot get it, while the unintended willow grows into shade.

But to the other two, these words were like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Cao Yuanshen dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Father!" Cao Yuande let out an even more anguished cry.

Zhang Zhao was asking for his father-in-law Cao Yuanzhong to be given the offices of Surveillance Commissioner and the rest over Guazhou and Shazhou, plus the post of Prefect of Shazhou. Once Cao Yuanzhong received these offices, Cao Yuande would be left with nothing at all.

At this time in Hexi, whether it was the Guiyi Army, the Ganzhou Uyghurs, or Liangzhou, legitimacy still had to be observed.

Whenever a Military Governor or Khagan was replaced, recognition from the Central Plains court was required. One could not simply appoint oneself to whatever office one pleased.

Cao Yijin did not so much as glance at Cao Yuande and Cao Yuanshen. It seemed the mutiny in the Qingyuan Palace had wounded him deeply.

"Then what of the Military Governor of the Guiyi Army? You, Zhang Erlang, do not want it?"

Zhang Zhao hesitated for a moment, then decided not to tell lies in front of Cao Yijin.

"Your nephew will be leaving for Liangzhou in a few days. The Acting Military Governor of Liangzhou deceives those above and oppresses those below, levying harsh taxes and scraping the very earth bare. I intend to replace him.

If I succeed, the court will surely appoint me Military Governor of Hexi, so I will not ask for the Guiyi Army Military Governor title for now.

Furthermore, when your nephew returned to Dunhuang, I actually brought five thousand troops with me, called the Fengtian Army.

But since I have returned east, the name 'Fengtian' is not something a subject may use, and there is even less need to incur the court's wariness and displeasure over a mere title.

Therefore I intend to rename the Fengtian Army the Guiyi Army, and with these five thousand stout soldiers, petition the court to be appointed Guiyi Army Commissioner!"

"Well calculated!" Cao Yijin coughed a few times, and everyone in the room looked at Zhang Zhao with new respect.

Zhang Zhao was going to hide away the title of Guiyi Army Military Governor, because a Guiyi Army Military Governor who held only Gua and Sha, and a Guiyi Army Military Governor who also held Liangzhou, were two entirely different things in the eyes of the Central Plains court.

Therefore, to avoid the Central Plains court's wariness, hiding the Guiyi Army Military Governor title and using only the Hexi Military Governor title was undoubtedly correct.

And by renaming the army the Guiyi Army and asking only for the title of Guiyi Army Commissioner, it would be far less conspicuous.

In this way he both grasped the moral high ground and avoided drawing too much attention.

"So then, Zhang Erlang, are you prepared to set aside your father's hatred as the White-Clad Son of Heaven? Dalang, Erlang, rest easy and be rich men of leisure!"

Cao Yijin gave a long sigh. The first half was a question to Zhang Zhao; the second half was meant for the two brothers Cao Yuande and Cao Yuanshen kneeling on the ground.

"I have set it aside! Because I feel my mother was right. The debt of my father's death should be charged to the Ganzhou Uyghurs!"

Failing to avenge one's father was a huge mark against a man in this era. Even though Zhang Zhao felt practically nothing for Zhang Chengfeng, he could not say he would not avenge Zhang Chengfeng. Now, using his mother Princess Fengtian's words, he could smooth the matter over.

"Besides, if I insisted on avenging my father by doing something to my uncle, then who should avenge the wrong done to my grand-uncle, Lord Situ?"

The "grand-uncle Lord Situ" Zhang Zhao spoke of was Zhang Huaishen, the second Military Governor of the Guiyi Army.

Zhang Huaishen was the eldest son of Zhang Yichao's elder brother Zhang Yitan. After Zhang Yichao went to Chang'an, Zhang Huaishen was the de facto controller of the Guiyi Army.

Later, after Zhang Yichao died, his descendants returned from Chang'an to Shazhou — that is, Zhang Zhao's grandfather Zhang Huaiding brought the whole family back.

Naturally, after Zhang Huaiding returned, he certainly believed the Guiyi Army Military Governor position should belong to him. With the support of his brother-in-law Suo Xun and Li Mingzhen, he exploited the resentment of Zhang Huaishen's son by a concubine and launched the first bloody coup in the Guiyi Army's history.

In the coup, Zhang Huaishen, who had held power in the Guiyi Army for over a decade, was killed along with his wife Lady Chen and all six of his legitimate sons.

This became the curse of the Guiyi Army. From then on, every change of Military Governor was always accompanied by bloody infighting.

From any angle, Zhang Huaishen had rendered tremendous service to the growth of the Guiyi Army, and his succession had been approved by Zhang Yichao.

Zhang Zhao's grandfather Zhang Huaiding had no right to do what he did, and he did it so ruthlessly — wiping out the entire family. The only survivor was Lady Zhang, present here now, who had married Suo Xun's son.

"Wuuu..." Lady Zhang did not cry. The one crying was Zhang Huaiqing.

This man had lost his father in childhood and had in fact been raised by his cousin Zhang Huaishen. When Zhang Huaishen was killed, he was already in his teens, so his memories were extremely vivid.

"Zhang Erlang, you speak a fair word!" Zhang Huaiqing wept harder and harder.

"Lord Situ rendered tremendous service to the Zhang family and to the Guiyi Army, often handling government affairs until midnight. His appointment as Military Governor was approved by Lord Taibao. Why did he have to end with his whole family slaughtered? How unjust is Heaven?"

"It was my grandfather who wronged my grand-uncle!" Zhang Zhao did not hesitate for an instant and admitted it at once, because Zhang Huaiding had indeed been in the wrong.

"Father! Father! Today, at last, someone has spoken a fair word for you. The base-born calf wrought evil; the lord was deceived. When will the Zhang family stop slaughtering one another?"

Lady Zhang, whose tears had long since dried, clutched the hem of her clothes tightly and at last wept aloud again, no longer numb like the walking dead.

If one asked who had suffered most in the Guiyi Army, she was the one.

Her cousin-uncle and her father-in-law had joined together to kill her father and six brothers.

Then, her cousin-aunt Lady Zhang née Li, who was close at hand, had led men to kill her father-in-law's entire family, including her husband, sparing only her and a few children.

Later still, she had witnessed the three sons of Lady Li being executed.

Listening to the mournful weeping in the room, everyone was awakened to nightmare memories of their own, and every face grew sorrowful.

If not for the infighting, how could the Guiyi Army have fallen to its present state? No one wished to live through those bloody events again.

When would they ever stop killing one another? Though there is no kinship before power, when the butcher's blade truly comes, neither the perpetrator nor the victim is a victor.

Because this cycle would pass down from generation to generation like a curse.

So Zhang Zhao thought for a while, then walked before his aunt Lady Zhang and his grand-uncle Zhang Huaiqing, and slowly knelt down.

"Grand-uncle, the dead cannot be brought back to life. I intend to open a cave shrine solely for my grand-uncle, to make offerings to the Buddha.

I have heard that Grand-uncle has seven sons and is blessed with many descendants. I would ask Grand-uncle to give up one branch of his family and adopt them out to Grand-uncle Situ. I will also petition the court for Lord Taibao's title of Duke of Nanyang Commandery and bestow it together upon them, so that Grand-uncle's line of incense will never be broken!"

Zhang Huaishen's entire family had been killed in the coup, so his line was in fact extinct. But Zhang Huaiqing, as the younger brother raised by Zhang Huaiding, could give up one branch of his descendants to be adopted by Zhang Huaishen — that would absolutely be the greatest comfort to the departed spirit.

Cao Yijin narrowed his eyes and inwardly could not help praising: brilliant! He had continued Zhang Huaishen's incense, atoned for his ancestor's crime, and won over Zhang Huaiqing all at once.

Because although the adoption took place, the adopted son and grandsons were still Zhang Huaiqing's descendants. Without this matter, the title of Duke of Nanyang Commandery would absolutely never have fallen to Zhang Huaiqing's son.

Moreover, Zhang Huaiqing was famously prolific within the Zhang family — sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters together numbered more than fifty.

Likewise, the marriage connections of his children's and grandchildren's generations spread throughout the entire upper ranks of the Guiyi Army. Winning him over meant winning over a great many people.

Hearing Zhang Zhao say this, Lady Zhang — the only surviving blood descendant of Zhang Huaishen — suddenly showed a spark of vitality on her haggard face, and she looked hopefully at Zhang Huaiqing.

Zhang Huaiqing, who had sat down heavily on the ground, wiped his tears and nodded firmly. To him this was a fine thing that would comfort his elder brother, and he would also gain a Duke of Nanyang Commandery title. Of course he would agree.

"The Zhang clan of Nanyang has hope! Elder Brother, can you see it from heaven? The Zhang family has finally produced someone who can distinguish right from wrong. Jiulang here will immediately adopt my youngest son's family out to you. Rest in peace!"

"Erlang!" Lady Zhang walked to Zhang Zhao's side and, weeping loudly, pulled him up from the ground.

Everyone around could not help but redden at the eyes. The two most important branches of the Zhang family had, at this moment, finally reconciled.

Lady Zhang née Li sat in her four-wheeled chair, her gaze burning as she watched Zhang Zhao. Zhang Zhao comforted Zhang Huaishen's daughter for a while, then walked before Lady Zhang née Li and slowly knelt down as well.

For everyone present, Lady Zhang née Li held a very special significance.

She was Zhang Yichao's only surviving child, and her husband had been a founding hero of the Guiyi Army.

She was a living fossil who had witnessed the Guiyi Army from its founding to its glory to its decline, and she had also held the great power of the Guiyi Army for several years.

"Grand-aunt, your grand-nephew apologizes to you on behalf of my father. The three Li grand-uncles certainly erred, but their crimes did not merit death, much less the extermination of the entire family, old and young alike.

You see, my father also paid the price — he died of despair at just twenty-four. Your grand-nephew often thinks that in his midnight dreams, he must have deeply regretted it too!

I have heard that Cunhui, the eldest son of Cousin Shaozong, is skilled in bow and horse and is the bravest of the next generation. Let Cunhui come with me to Liangzhou and serve as a Commander in the Guiyi Army!"

Back then, after Zhang Zhao's grandfather Zhang Huaiding died, Suo Xun — a great general of the Guiyi Army and also Zhang Yichao's son-in-law — usurped power and replaced Zhang Zhao's father Zhang Chengfeng, taking the seat of Guiyi Army Military Governor.

Later it was Lady Li who, together with her four sons, drove the usurper Suo Xun from power, and only then was Zhang Chengfeng able to succeed to the position.

This was originally a good thing, but after Zhang Chengfeng succeeded, the Li family began to harbor other intentions. Lady Li and her four sons divided the Guiyi Army's authority among themselves, completely reducing Zhang Chengfeng to a figurehead.

In the end they too were overthrown by Zhang Chengfeng in alliance with the great clans of Shazhou. Of Lady Li's four sons, all except Li Hongding were put to death — the kind of death where the entire family was wiped out.

The cousin Shaozong whom Zhang Zhao mentioned was Li Hongding's son and Lady Li's grandson. Li Cunhui was Li Hongding's son and Lady Li's great-grandson.

Among the sons of Tang in Guazhou and Shazhou, Li Cunhui and Murong Xinzhang were known as the Two Jades — brave and resolute. Zhang Zhao decided to take him to Liangzhou: first, to grant him an office and achieve reconciliation; second, because he would genuinely be useful.

"Erlang, your grand-aunt also wishes to open a Buddhist cave for your three maternal uncles, make offerings to the Buddha, and adopt descendants to continue their incense. Would that be acceptable?"

Lady Li stretched out a hand like withered wood and gently stroked Zhang Zhao's cheek, tears streaming down in profusion.

"Oh, my child! They died so wretchedly! Day and night I hear them weeping and wailing in the underworld, yet there is nothing I can do!"

"It shall be as Grand-aunt wishes. Moreover, your grandson holds the status of a Dharma King Protector of the Buddhist faith. Several hundred eminent monks from India have followed your grandson west this time, and I intend to build another monastery in Shazhou — let it be called Yan'en Temple.

We shall enshrine the ancestors of all the heroes who rose in revolt with the Grand Guardian back then, and their descendants may also be enshrined alongside them!"

Having said this, Zhang Zhao turned and looked at Suo Shengquan, grandson of Suo Xun. "Cousin Suo, when the time comes, send over your grand-uncle Suo's birth date and portrait, and he shall be enshrined together with the rest!"

"Good! Good! M-many thanks, young lord!" Suo Shengquan was so stirred that he could barely speak smoothly.

Suo Xun was different from the others. He was the chief culprit in the Guiyi Army's upheavals — it was he who incited Zhang Huaiiding to kill Zhang Huaishen, and later he confined Zhang Chengfeng and set himself up as ruler. Others might claim innocence, but Suo Xun alone could not.

But now Zhang Zhao was willing to place Suo Xun in the temple for veneration, giving the Suo family immense face. One must remember that Cao Yijin's principal wife was Suo Xun's daughter.

"Zhang Erlang, come to your uncle!" Seeing that Zhang Zhao was willing to reconcile with the Suo family, Cao Yijin beckoned to him.

"From now on, address me as Agong! I can already see that the Cao family will enjoy peace and prosperity in the days to come!

You have done very well — better than I imagined. At the very least, I do not possess this ability to reconcile with everyone. In this Yan'en Temple, will there be a statue of me, Cao Yijin?"

This was the benefit Zhang Zhao had gained by insisting on fighting his way through to India. The Buddhist atmosphere of this age was far beyond anything later generations could compare with. In the Great Tang, Li Shimin and Wu Zetian had both received the title of Golden Wheel Divine Emperor.

Although Zhang Zhao had only obtained a Silver Wheel Dharma King — and could not yet proclaim it openly — within the small circle of the Guiyi Army, it was already extraordinary.

Because building a temple and performing sacrifices was not something just anyone could do. Cao Yijin, for example — even though he was Military Governor of the Guiyi Army, he still could not privately build a temple.

But Zhang Zhao could. Not only could he, he could also canonize deities and Buddhas, because among the Seven Treasures of the Wheel-Turning King, the Jade Maiden Treasure, the Chief Treasurer Treasure, and the Commander of Troops Treasure were in human form.

The Jade Maiden Treasure signified the most beautiful woman in the world, symbolizing conquest.

The Chief Treasurer Treasure signified the chancellor under the Wheel-Turning King.

The Commander of Troops Treasure signified the bravest of fierce generals.

Although these three were not Buddhas or bodhisattvas, they possessed the status of deities and Buddhas, and could even have temples built for them and receive sacrifices independently.

Cao Yijin struggled to have Lady Cao Sanniang and Cao Shijiu support him, and right there on the folding couch he performed a full prostration to Zhang Zhao.

"This disciple has revered the Buddha all his life. At sixty-five years of age, I have never wrongly killed a single person. I have guarded this realm with nothing but a public heart.

If I may become the Chief Treasurer Treasure under the Wheel-Turning Sage King and enter the temple to receive sacrifices, this life will have been enough! I beg the Dharma King to grant this!"

Zhang Zhao stood tall and received Cao Yijin's grand prostration. Then he produced from his person the golden seal and golden register of the Wheel-Turning Sage King, and Cao Shijiu handed him the vermilion brush.

Right there in the room, Zhang Zhao personally wrote the golden register document, granting Cao Yijin of the Qiao Commandery Cao clan the position of Chief Treasurer Treasure, bestowing virtue, with treasures overflowing beyond compare.

Cao Yijin held the golden register of the Chief Treasurer Treasure that Zhang Zhao had written for him, his eyes full of satisfaction.

"In Liangzhou there is a tribe called the Cao Wanjia, formed when Sogdian Caos migrated to Liangzhou and multiplied. They are now the leaders of the Sogdians in Liangzhou.

Their chief, Cao Wancheng, once came to Dunhuang as an envoy of Liangzhou to pay respects to my father-in-law, the Grand Guardian Suo, and renewed the clan genealogy with me, with an agreement made.

I will write a letter in my own hand. When Erlang reaches Liangzhou, you may use both grace and severity to win them over for your use!"

Right! There were many Sogdians in Liangzhou, and quite a few in Liangzhou city itself. They basically ran all the economic activity there — at least thirty to fifty thousand of them.

If he could gain the support of the sinicized Sogdians of Liangzhou, he would have one more measure of confidence in driving out Li Wenqian.

"Young lord! My family is of Tuyuhun origin. Among the Six Valley Tribes of Liangzhou, the East River Valley Tribe of the Zhangmi, Mabo, and Zhulu families — though they call themselves Wenmo — are in truth the remnants of the Tuyuhun who were enslaved after the Tuyuhun were annexed by the Tibetans.

My Murong family was originally their royal line. We have maintained contact over the years. I, old man that I am, will write a letter in my own hand for Xinchang to take with him.

The young lord is brilliant and martial. If you gain their full support, you will have a foundation among the Wenmo Six Valley Tribes."

The speaker was Murong Guiying — Lady Cao Sanniang's father-in-law and Murong Xinzhang's grandfather.

The old fellow truly deserved to be called an old fox — he certainly knew how to pick his moment! These three Tuyuhun remnant families hit exactly the spot Zhang Zhao had been itching to scratch.

"Commissioner Murong shall surely enter Yan'en Temple and be venerated by his descendants for generations. These three old Tuyuhun families shall be Xinchang's tribe for generations to come. One day, after I hold Hexi and Longyou, Xinchang may serve as Prefect of Shanzhou and Kuozhou!"

Shanzhou and Kuozhou lay right beside Liangzhou, prefectures where the Six Valley Tribes were concentrated. Though not large, they were among the eleven prefectures of the Guiyi Army that Zhang Yichao had recovered in former years.

"I thank the young lord for his grace!" Murong Guiying had not expected Zhang Zhao to be so generous. He took Murong Xinzhang by the hand.

"My good grandson, you lost your father in childhood, and your grandfather is old. I raised you into a young eagle, but I lack the strength to let you soar above the ninth heaven.

Your uncles are all mediocre men. Let them remain in Guazhou and enjoy their wealth and comfort.

The eagle of the Murong family must go to broader skies. From this day forward, the young lord Zhang Erlang is your elder and master. Your grandfather gives you three hundred Murong warriors — go and win glory!"

For a Chinese person, the power of one's posthumous name is truly mighty. The temptation of having a temple built and receiving sacrifices is one no old man can resist — not Cao Yijin, and not Murong Guiying either.

And with the two of them setting this example, the way everyone in the room looked at Zhang Zhao changed.

If Dharma King Zhang builds a temple and performs sacrifices, and your ancestors cannot enter the temple, how could you still face anyone? Wouldn't your ancestors come to you in dreams and slap you across the face?

The older ones especially — did they not wish to enter as filial sons and worthy grandsons, enshrined beside their ancestors?

What was more, Cao Yijin and Murong Guiying had both placed their bets. It was plain to see this Liangzhou venture had real promise — did they not want to place a bet too?

"Erlang, your maternal grandfather's family does not practice the military arts, but your grand-uncles and cousins are versed in letters, and have merit in matters of coin, grain, taxes, and law. They can serve Erlang in settling the hearts of the people of Liangzhou!"

His maternal grandfather Song Tongyi was the first to step forward, helping Zhang Zhao set the tempo once more.

"Erlang, my Suo family is withered in talent, but we have fifty sets of armor left by our ancestors and one hundred twenty strong bows and crossbows, which we can give to Erlang for the pacification of Liangzhou." Suo Shengquan had no sons or younger kin to offer, but he had armor, bows, and crossbows.

"Young lord, in past years it was I who wronged the White-Clad Son of Heaven. Fortunately, today there is still a chance to make amends. The Luo family of Shazhou has one hundred fifty young men, skilled in battle formations and adept with bow and horse. I beg the young lord to take them in!"

Luo Tongda stepped forward. The Luo family of Shazhou, the Suo family of Guazhou, and the Li family of Longxi were the three great military clans of the Guiyi Army after the Zhang family.

The Suo and Li families were now withered in talent, but the Luo family still maintained a powerful family tradition. The Luo family warriors, needless to say, were absolutely formidable.

With the Song and Luo families placing their bets as well, the scene immediately grew lively. Everyone was kin, the atmosphere was so warm — those who had men offered men, and those who had armor, bows, and crossbows offered armor, bows, and crossbows.

Before long, the elite sons and the arms and armor of the Guiyi Army's great clans were delivered to Zhang Zhao in great batches.

In particular, these sons of great clans were no ordinary warriors — every one of them could charge and wheel on horseback, dismount and fight in formation, shoot well at a distance, cut down foes up close, and moreover could read and write, most of them having studied military texts. They were not merely fighting men, but high-quality junior officers.

To call them the future of the Guiyi Army would be no exaggeration at all!

A perilous coup had in the end become forgiveness, and now had become hope — the smell of blood dispersed in an instant.

The next successors of the two prefectures of Gua and Sha were now settled. As Zhang Zhao's father-in-law on both sides, Cao Yuanzhong, who had obtained the post of Gua-Sha Surveillance, Disposal, and Tibetan Affairs Commissioner, would certainly support Zhang Zhao.

At the same time, Zhang Zhao carried away the moral authority of the Guiyi Army. Until he could openly raise the Guiyi Army banner, Zhang Zhao's title of Guiyi Army Commissioner would be the great standard for the eastward return of the sons of Tang of Hexi and Anxi!

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