Xunqi sneered. "If I lead my clansmen to retreat to the forest, even if the imperial court sends a million soldiers, can they do anything to me?"
Yang Fan said, "They can't!"
Xunqi smiled proudly. Yang Fan continued, "However, the imperial court has no intention of annexing your territory or seizing your hereditary position. Why are you doing this? Don't tell me it's fun to retreat into the jungle and become a half-savage? "
Yang Fan tilted his head and looked at Kaori's neck. With a serious expression, he said, "There are a few large lumps on Chieftain's neck. The lumps are like hills and the color is bright red. It seems that the mosquitoes in this forest are quite poisonous."
Xun Er covered her mouth and wanted to laugh.
Xunqi was unable to restrain his anger at Yang Fan's teasing. Like an angry baboon, he flew into a rage and said, "Nonsense! You have no intention of annexing my territory or seizing my position? Your people are doing this right now. "
"No, no, no …"
Yang Fan raised his index finger and shook it elegantly. "The people who want to annex your territory are Wen Hao and Yun Xuan. Although they are the governor and provincial governor of Yao Province, you know very well that they are not people of the imperial court. As for the three soldiers who came as reinforcements, they were deceived by Huang Jingrong, and I am going to help you expose his lies. "
Xun Er looked at Yang Fan in fascination. Although his hair was as messy as a bird's nest, his face was streaked with black and white, and his body was covered in mud and blood, even his shaking finger was dirty, he still stood there looking calm and elegant. Who among her clansmen had such an elegant demeanor?
Yang Fan said, "That is why I find it very strange that as the leader of your clan, Chieftain Xunqi, who is known for his wisdom, would not use such a good opportunity and would rather take a path of no return. Do you know that by doing this, you will be playing into the hands of Huang Jingrong and Wen Hao, allowing their evil plan to succeed? "
Kaori suddenly calmed down and glared at Yang Fan. "I have no choice but to fight this battle. "Now, we've lost many people. As a Chieftain, I must give them an explanation. We can't just leave things as they are. Huang Jingrong, the main culprit, must die. Can you do that?"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "We agree on this point!"
Xunqi's expression softened a little as he said, "Wenhao and Yunxuan offended their superiors and must be punished. Otherwise, if the other chieftains learn from them in the future, there will never be a day of peace in Yao Province!"
Yang Fan blinked his eyes and asked, "Then how does Chieftain Xuanqi plan to punish them?"
Xunqi rudely waved his hand and said, "This is a matter between the tribes of our Yao Province, it has nothing to do with the imperial court! There's no need for you to ask! "
Yang Fan said, "His Majesty the Emperor is very magnanimous. As long as you all acknowledge the existence of the imperial court and accept its rule, His Majesty the Emperor will not interfere with you at all. So as long as it is a matter between the tribes of Yao Province, the imperial court will naturally not interfere. However, Wenhao and Yunxuan are both appointed governors and provincial governors by the imperial court. If you make a move against them and the imperial court ignores it, where will the dignity of the imperial court go? "
Xunqi glared and angrily said, "So you're saying that you want to protect them?"
Yang Fan said, "Although they are officials of the imperial court, since they cannot maintain the peace of Yao Province and instead cause so many troubles, I think they can no longer be officials. If Chieftain Xuanqi wants to settle the score with your own people, he should wait until the imperial court removes them from their positions. "
Xunqi coldly said, "The imperial court will remove them from their positions?"
Yang Fan said, "Huang Jingrong's memorial accusing you of treason should already be in the hands of the Emperor."
Xunqi's expression tightened. Yang Fan continued, "Although I have always been in this stronghold, it does not mean that I am alone. The memorial accusing Huang Jingrong of her crimes and Wenhao and Yunxuan's ambitions should already be in front of the Emperor. Does Chieftain Xuanqi think that the imperial court will protect a greedy criminal official and two ambitious chieftains, or will they be more willing to support someone like you who is loyal to the imperial court?"
The anger on Chieftain Xuanqi's face miraculously disappeared. He sheathed his blade and rushed forward to give Yang Fan a big hug. He laughed heartily and said, "Recognizing a poisonous thing is the same as finding a good medicine. Not only has this old man recognized Wenhao and Yunxuan, these two poisonous bastards, but I have also obtained imperial envoy Yang, a good medicine that can save the world and the people. This is this old man's good fortune! "
Yang Fan was stunned. Xunqi's change was too fast, and he was unable to adapt.
Chieftain Xuanqi loosened his embrace and enthusiastically grasped Yang Fan's hand. With a sincere smile, he said, "This old man represents the White Barbarian Tribe and is willing to accept imperial envoy Yang's help and mediation. Please believe me, the Dark Barbarian Tribe will definitely agree!"
Yang Fan stammered, "Chieftain Sir …"
"Imperial envoy, you are treating me like an outsider!"
Xunqi solemnly said, "The imperial envoy is helping my people protect the stronghold and is willing to uphold justice for this old man. You are our best friend! You can directly call this old man by his name, or this old man will take advantage of your age and call me uncle! "
He took off the scabbard embedded with gems from his waist and placed it in Yang Fan's hands. His face had an abnormally sincere and passionate smile as he loudly said, "This sword is something that this old man always carries with him. Today, I give it to you as proof of our friendship!"
"Eh … Uncle Xunqi, you agree to cooperate with me?"
"Of course I agree!"
Xunqi grabbed Yang Fan's shoulder and loudly said, "Let's go! Let's go up the mountain! Tonight, I want to hold a large banquet to reward the brave warriors of the stronghold. I also want to drink a few cups of good wine with my tribe's good friend, the esteemed imperial envoy. Please! "
Xunqi did not allow for any explanation. He pulled Yang Fan's hand and walked up the mountain.
As Yang Fan walked, he suddenly felt that the old man beside him, who seemed to be abnormally hot-tempered, was actually not a big baboon that was easily angered, but a cunning old fox, and he himself was the little monkey that was playing a monkey show with the old man …
…
Wu Zetian was playing with her two most beloved male pets at Lichun Tai. She was lying on the bamboo couch of Xiang Fei, holding Zhang Yizhi's hand in front of her chest and gently caressing it. She was smiling as she watched Zhang Changzong change into Hu clothes and dance for her. Suddenly, the chief internal servant, Eunuch Gao, hurried over and whispered a few words into her ear.
Wu Zetian suddenly heard an urgent report from the southwest that Prime Minister Li Zhaode was already waiting for her at Wucheng Hall. She couldn't help but be shocked. She didn't know what had happened. She quickly stopped the dance, changed into her robes, and hurried to Wucheng Hall.
When Wu Zetian arrived at Wucheng Hall, the Chief Prime Minister Li Zhaode and the Imperial Attendant Shanghai Wan'er had already arrived.
"No need for formalities, rise. Prime Minister, please sit! "
Wu Zetian couldn't be bothered to exchange pleasantries. The moment she entered Wucheng Hall, she excused the two of them from bowing to her. She hurriedly sat behind the imperial desk and asked in a deep voice: "What exactly happened?"
Li Zhaode solemnly said: "Your Majesty, the Censorate Huang Jingrong is investigating the Jiannan Daoists. They are abusing their authority and slaughtering the innocent. For the sake of extortion and bribery, the barbarians of Yao Province can't stand the humiliation and have revolted!"
"What?"
Wu Zetian's face immediately turned gloomy. The Shanghai Wan'er softly said: "Yao Province's White Barbarians and Wu Barbarians have led over two hundred thousand people in rebellion. The other tribes of Yao and Yan Prefectures are restless. Tubo and Nanzhao have deployed their troops at the border. Their intentions are unclear. "
Wu Zetian's face turned even colder. When Wang Xiaojie recaptured the Four Garrisons of Anxi, the Tubo allied with the Turks and were defeated by Wang Xiaojie. News has come from the Western Regions that Wang Xiaojie has already recaptured Anxi. The biggest problem at hand is that after conquering the Four Garrisons of Anxi, he will have to station troops there.
Based on a rough estimate, there should be at least thirty thousand soldiers left to guard the Four Garrisons of Anxi. These thirty thousand soldiers will be stationed at the border for a long period of time, and rations will be a huge problem. Transporting food from the mainland is a good idea, but the journey is long and the roads are treacherous. Every single buckets of rations transported will cost at least five buckets.
Wang Xiaojie has already submitted a memorial to the imperial court to discuss the matter of stationing the army. After some discussion, the imperial court has agreed to his suggestion and decided to temporarily station him in Anxi. Although stationing the army will only provide less than half of the rations needed by the border army and the rest will still have to be transported from the Central Plains, it is still better than relying solely on the imperial court.
Even so, the Bureau of Revenue has done some calculations for the imperial court. With the sea trade gradually flourishing, the Silk Road trade is no longer as important as it was during the Han Dynasty. If the imperial court garrisoned the army in Anxi, the profits from opening up the Silk Road wouldn't even be comparable to the expenses of garrisoning the army in the Four Garrisons of Anxi.
Thus, after the victory, voices of opposition to stationing the army in Anxi arose once more. Some officials even suggested withdrawing the army from Anxi, believing that this barren land isn't enough to guard. If one were to consider the economic accounts of the four garrisons, the losses outweighed the gains. On the other hand, from a political perspective, there aren't many benefits to be gained at the moment.
In truth, whether the Four Garrisons of Anxi should be maintained or not was a dilemma with both pros and cons. There is no such thing as a perfect conclusion. If Jiannan were to fall into chaos at this moment, the voices of opposition to the abolition of the Four Garrisons of Anxi would spread like wildfire in the imperial court. And the restoration of the Four Garrisons of Anxi is the only military achievement of the Wu-Zhou Dynasty. How could Wu Zetian bear to revoke it?
Besides, if Jiannan were to fall into chaos, if the Tubo Empire were to make use of this opportunity to collude with the barbarians of Jiannan, the northwest and southwest would no longer be peaceful! This wouldn't just be a matter of the Four Garrisons of Anxi but the entire Great Zhou Empire.
At this point, Wu Zetian angrily slammed the table and bellowed, "Huang Jingrong! How dare she fail to consider the bigger picture! She deserves death! "
Seeing that the eye drops were almost fully applied, Wan-er said, "Sage, this is the memorial that Huang Jingrong has just submitted to the imperial court regarding the rebellion in Yao Province. Please take a look!"
Wu Zetian took the memorial and read through it carefully. Puzzled, she said, "The contents of Huang Jingrong's memorial doesn't seem to match what Minister Li has said!"
Shangguan Wan'er said, "Here is another memorial from the Inspector-General, Yang Fan. It has just been sent to the capital on horseback. Please take a look."
Yang Fan's memorial was written by Zhang Jianzhi, and it also mentioned the rebellion of the barbarians of Yao Province and the Wu Barbarians. However, Huang Jingrong's memorial stated that the barbarians had colluded with the outlaws and plotted a rebellion. Due to Zhang Jianzhi's discovery, they had no choice but to bring forward the rebellion. On the other hand, Yang Fan's memorial pointed out that Huang Jingrong had indiscriminately slaughtered the innocent, accepted bribes, and forced the barbarians to rebel.
After reading through it, Wu Zetian didn't know who she should believe. While this wasn't the time to pursue the matter, a different judgment would determine whether the imperial court would pacify or annihilate Jiannan. Military affairs were a matter of great importance to the empire, especially with the unsettled situation in the Western Regions. It would affect the southwest greatly, so how could Wu Zetian not be cautious?
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