Yan Liqiang's mind froze for a moment. For others, the imperial court giving him a county was a huge favor from heaven. They would definitely be overjoyed and would not even have time to express their gratitude, let alone think about it. But for Yan Liqiang, facing such a good thing that fell from the sky, the first question that came to his mind was - why did His Majesty the Emperor and Sun Bingchen have such great confidence in him and dare to place such a heavy bet on him
Giving me the title of Qiyun Protector, the honor of Tiangong Dajiang, or even a title, these are not a big deal for the court, at least not a big deal. However, separating Pingxi County from Ganzhou, renaming it Qiyun County and handing it over to me, and placing the entire county under the jurisdiction of Qiyun Protectorate, this is a big deal. What virtue and ability do I have to be so valued by His Majesty the Emperor and Sun Bingchen? Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor and Sun Bingchen knew that I went to the Imperial Capital to assassinate Lin Qingtian, and this is a reward for my merits? But that's not right. My going to the Imperial Capital was so secret, and I changed my appearance, how could others know about it. And now Lin Qingtian is not dead, what's going on
"Li Qiang, have you finished reading it?" Just as Yan Liqiang was frowning in thought, Liang Yiji, who took a sip of tea, spoke.
As soon as Yan Liqiang saw the expression on Liang Yijie's face, he knew that Liang Yijie already knew the contents of the letter. "Did Lord Sun tell Brother Liang about the things in the letter?"
"Master Sun had already told me before I came here!"
“I don’t understand why His Majesty and Lord Sun can trust me to do such a big thing!” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and looked at Liang Yiji. “Brother Liang, I won’t say anything nonsense in front of you. Although I have some skills and some foundation in Pingxi County, but to make Pingxi County independent and hand it over to me completely, and to consolidate the real power of me, who was previously a nominal governor of Qiyun, I feel… I feel that His Majesty and Lord Sun seem to be taking too much risk. I’m afraid I can’t take on this important task!”
"Haha, if other people encountered such a good thing of getting promoted and making money, they would definitely be so excited that they would be incoherent and would not refuse. Only you, Li Qiang, are still considering such a thing at this time!"
Yan Liqiang said sternly, "Brother Liang, you should know that promotion and wealth are not that important to me. I have more wealth than I can spend in my lifetime. I have no other ambitions. But this matter is a huge responsibility and concerns the lives and property of countless people around me. If I don't get to know the truth, I will not be able to sleep well!"
Liang Yijie smiled, "As expected by Lord Sun, Lord Sun told me when I came here that you, Li Qiang, must be walking on thin ice when you encounter this matter, rather than being overjoyed. Perhaps because of this, His Majesty and Lord Sun are confident in entrusting this important task to you. In the eyes of His Majesty and Lord Sun, the current situation on the Gulang grassland is most suitable for you to deal with..."
"Why?"
"You also know the current situation in the Imperial Capital. The imperial court is now too busy to take care of the Gulang Grassland. Before, the Gulang Grassland was occupied by the seven Shatu tribes, and the civil and military officials of the court could still deceive themselves and regard the Gulang Grassland as the territory of our Han Empire. But now, the Black Jie people have already rushed to the Gulang Grassland and are fighting fiercely with the seven Shatu tribes. For such a big thing, the civil and military officials of the court naturally can no longer pretend to be blind. In addition, in order to instigate the dispatch of troops to the Gulang Grassland, Lin Qingtian had already taken the Gulang Grassland into consideration. The incident has been exaggerated everywhere, creating enough momentum and making public opinion surging. Now that Your Majesty has regained power in the court and Lord Sun has entered the cabinet, if you completely ignore the matter of Gulang Grassland and allow the Black Jie people to run rampant on the Gulang Grassland, what do you think the people will say about Your Majesty and Lord? How can Your Majesty and Lord convince the people? For Your Majesty and Lord, this is also a dilemma. On the one hand, the court is temporarily unable to intervene, but on the other hand, it has to intervene. If you were Your Majesty and Lord, what would you do? "Liang Yi looked at Yan Liqiang with sharp eyes.
Facing Liang Yiji's gaze, Yan Liqiang just frowned slightly, silently thinking and analyzing the positions and ideas of the two people in the Imperial Capital City. Liang Yiji continued to talk to himself.
"In fact, before I came to the Northwest, Lord Sun had discussed various possibilities with His Majesty. Under the current circumstances, if the court sends a capable official to the Northwest to manage the Gulang Grassland, that person has no roots in the Northwest. If he wants to make any achievements, he will inevitably mobilize a large number of troops and spend countless money. It will cause chaos in the Northwest and create tensions with the governors and county magistrates in the Northwest. It may not be effective. In the end, the Gulang Grassland was not recovered, and the Northwest was messed up instead. The court is already in chaos enough now. Neither His Majesty nor the adults want the Northwest to be in chaos again. You should understand this!"
Yan Liqiang nodded and pondered for a moment. "Well, Lord Sun and His Majesty are right to think so. The matter of Gulang Grassland is indeed not something that can be resolved by sending a senior official to the northwest. If the Black Jie and the seven Shatu tribes were so easy to resolve, the court would not have to wait until now!"
"That's it. It's definitely not okay for the court to send a large army into the Gulang grassland to fight for the seven tribes of Shatu like Lin Qingtian did. Sending a senior official from outside will do more harm than good. If we send a peacemaker with too little ability to the northwest, it won't be able to stir up any waves and will just make people laugh. Your Majesty and the adults have considered various possibilities and found that under the current situation, the court re-established the Qiyun Guardian Mansion with Pingxi County as the foundation, and let you, Li Qiang, take the position of Qiyun Guardian. This is the best option that can advance or retreat!"
"Really?" Yan Liqiang rubbed his face with a wry smile.
"Li Qiang, you don't have to be modest. Think about it carefully. You were originally appointed by the court as the Qiyun Governor and the Northwest Bandit Suppression Envoy. You are from Ganzhou, not an outsider. You are well-known in the northwest, and you are on good terms with local officials and families, so it is easy for you to communicate with them. You have a deep foundation in Pingxi County, and you have disciples everywhere in the Kyudo Club. You also have the world's number one factory and manufacturing bureau that makes a fortune every day. You have no shortage of righteousness, prestige, connections, and money. It is only natural that you are taking this position now. Think about it yourself. Apart from you, is there anyone else in the entire Han Empire who can find such a suitable person?"
"The governors of the northwestern states are not lacking in strength and prestige, and they have rich subordinates, such as Lei Sitong. Isn't that possible?"
"Of course not. The governors of the northwestern states originally had the same status and powers. Now, if one governor is suddenly promoted and given important powers, and is distinguished from the other governors, the other governors will certainly not accept it, which will easily lead to internal friction. Moreover, this is not tolerated by the court system and disrupts the court rules. If the governor has no achievements, it's fine. But if he really has achievements and recovered the Gulang grassland, wouldn't it be a tail that is too big to be removed and a tiger that is raised to cause trouble? How could Your Majesty and the adults make such a stupid move! If the governor is like this, the other county governors are similar. They can't be of much use in this matter!"
"Why do I feel like I have to do this after hearing what you said, Brother Liang?"
"Hahaha, of course!" Liang Yijie laughed. "Besides, at this moment, most of Pingxi County belongs to you, Li Qiang. Not to mention your Yan'an Fort, even Pingxi City, Your Majesty and Lord Sun have heard in the Imperial Capital that after driving away the Shatu people gathered in the city, you, Li Qiang, are so rich that you actually bought half of Pingxi City's land in one go to prepare for reconstruction. It's really astonishing..."
"Ah, Your Majesty and the Lord know all this?" Yan Liqiang was a little surprised.
"The court naturally has eyes and ears in the local area. How could His Majesty and Lord Sun not know about the Shatu people making such a big fuss in Pingxi City? Perhaps His Majesty and Lord Sun thought that since you, Li Qiang, already have such power in Pingxi County, why not give you the entire Pingxi County so that you can mess with the Shatu people and the Black Jie people with justification? In this way, by setting up the Qiyun Protectorate, the court will have an explanation internally, and you as the Qiyun Protectorate can keep the northwest region in order. The court's gesture also deters the Black Jie people and the seven Shatu tribes. It's a win-win situation, so why not do it?"
Yan Liqiang was stunned. "Then separating Pingxi County from Ganzhou would be like cutting off Lei Sitong's flesh. Would Lei Sitong agree to this?"
"If there are no suitable exchange conditions, Lei Sitong will certainly not agree, but if the conditions are right, Lei Sitong will naturally not refuse. After all, although Lei Sitong is the governor of Ganzhou, this Ganzhou is not his personal property, but belongs to Your Majesty and the court!"
"What conditions did the court offer Lei Sitong?"
"The imperial court exempted Ganzhou from paying taxes for five years. After five years, Ganzhou only needs to pay 80% of the taxes, and the remaining 20% can be retained by Ganzhou for its own use. Then it will increase by 2% every year. In other words, after fifteen years, Ganzhou will need to pay taxes normally. In addition, some of the mountainous areas in the junction of Ganzhou and Lanzhou and other states that were originally out of control will be transferred to Ganzhou's jurisdiction!"
"Do the other governors have any objections?"
"Those lawless places have no one in charge to begin with. Besides, at this time, His Majesty has regained power in the court and is cleaning up Lin Qingtian's party. Who dares to make His Majesty unhappy?"
(End of this chapter)