Du Hongsheng reached for the wine bottle, but Qin Xiao had already grabbed it first, got up and poured wine for Du Hongsheng.
"You don't know something. Back then, the Southern Xinjiang Army negotiated a peace with the imperial court and reached an agreement. The imperial court granted Murong Changdu the title of King of Zhennan, which is hereditary, and the Murong family had to surrender to the imperial court and send hostages." Du Hongsheng said with a faint smile.
: "As for the hostages, they only need to be members of the Murong family, not necessarily the descendants of King Zhennan, so this is just superficial. In addition, the imperial court can appoint officials to Southern Xinjiang. As far as I know, Murong Changdu was
Someone specially wrote the names of twenty counties, which meant that the imperial court could send officials to these twenty counties. It was also to give the imperial court face and enable peace talks to be concluded as soon as possible."
Qin Xiao smiled lightly and said: "The imperial court can send officials to Southern Xinjiang, and it can also tell the world that Southern Xinjiang still belongs to the Tang Dynasty. This is not bad at self-deception."
"But the county magistrates of a mere twenty counties are naturally not able to satisfy the imperial court. Moreover, these counties are the poorest poor counties in southern Xinjiang, deep in the mountains and old forests." Du Hongsheng sighed: "Many places in southern Xinjiang are composed of
Controlled by tribal chieftains, headed by the Six Chieftains of Southern Xinjiang, the influence of these chieftains is deeply rooted in Southern Xinjiang. Even the Murong family mainly tries to win over and appease the Six Chieftains. Almost all of these twenty counties are spread over the territory of the Six Chieftains
, the officials sent by the Murong family have no real power, and the officials sent by the imperial court are just decorations."
Qin Xiao toasted Du Hongsheng with a cup, poured him some wine, and then asked: "Is Xiang County also under the control of the six chieftains?"
"At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there was a local separatist regime in Xiang County established by Li Jialuoning and local tribes, which called itself the Daning Kingdom." Du Hongsheng explained: "The Tang Dynasty was invincible in its conquest of southern Xinjiang. Only the Daning Kingdom relied on its geographical advantage and resisted to the end.
, the empire also spent several years wiping out the Ning Kingdom. However, although Li Jialuoning was killed, the remnants were not completely eliminated. They were protected by the indigenous tribes, and the empire could not kill all the indigenous people in southern Xinjiang. It mainly tried to appease them.
Lord, he established the Southern Xinjiang Protectorate in Southern Xinjiang and conferred titles on the leaders of the six major indigenous tribes. In fact, he recruited the six tribes to be used by the imperial court to assist the Protectorate in controlling the entire Southern Xinjiang."
Qin Xiao didn't know much about Southern Xinjiang, and he knew very little about these past events. When he heard Du Hongsheng's explanation, he realized that Southern Xinjiang was much more complicated than he had thought before.
"During the reign of Emperor Mingzong, Duan Guifang, the Protector of Southern Xinjiang, proclaimed himself king and raised an army to rebel." Du Hongsheng stroked his beard and said: "Before Duan Guifang raised his army, he stayed in the position of Protector of Southern Xinjiang for more than 20 years, but he had
He was able to help the territory and the people, develop production, and actively trade. He also had a very harmonious relationship with the six chieftains. Under his rule, southern Xinjiang became very prosperous for a time, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Moreover, this man was good at running a business and bribed the government.
Many officials, so many officials in the court spoke for him, and Emperor Mingzong also felt that this person had outstanding talents and could appease the party, so Duan Guifang's position as the Protector of Southern Xinjiang was as stable as Mount Tai."
Qin Xiao had already understood and said softly: "Duan Guifang is very ambitious. He is buying people's hearts and accumulating strength in southern Xinjiang, just thinking that one day he can become a king on his own."
"That's exactly the case." Du Hongsheng sighed: "So after Du Guifang rebelled, it took the court another three years to put it down. After regaining southern Xinjiang, it abolished the Southern Xinjiang Protectorate and divided it into Jiaozhou and
Liuzhou will also have a governor each, who will be replaced every three years."
"In this case, how can Murong Changdu become bigger?"
"Actually, there has never been much of a problem." Du Hongsheng said softly: "However, when the late emperor ascended the throne, the local chieftains in Jiaozhou launched a rebellion again. The governor of Jiaozhou was incompetent. The rebels all abandoned the city and fled, and it was directly occupied by the rebels.
Mingcheng, Jiaozhou. The imperial court was about to send troops to quell the rebellion. Unexpectedly, Murong Sude, the governor of Cangwu County, Jiaozhou, summoned hundreds of soldiers and several chieftains loyal to the court to quickly recapture Mingcheng and take the heads of the rebel leaders.
He sent people directly to Kyoto, and the late emperor was very happy and appointed Murong Sude as the governor of Jiaozhou. Moreover, because of that battle, the reputation of the Murong family was so powerful in southern Xinjiang that the chieftains of various tribes were in awe of the Murong family."
This was the first time Qin Xiao heard of Murong Sude's name, and he asked softly: "Then what is the relationship between Murong Sude and Murong Changdu? Are they father and son?"
"Exactly." Du Hongsheng said: "The biggest mistake of the late emperor was to trust the Murong family. The late emperor felt that the chieftains of the southern border were so in awe of the Murong family, so in order to prevent the fierce local chieftains from causing trouble again, he kept the Murong family in charge.
In Jiaozhou, when Murong Sude was alive, he was quite loyal to the court. However, because of his management, the Murong family's influence in Jiaozhou was deeply rooted, and even extended its tentacles to Liuzhou. Murong Sude died of illness.
Some officials in the court reported that it was time to send another official to replace the Murong family. However, less than half a month after Murong Sude's death, another rebellion broke out in Jiaozhou, and the court had no choice but to let Murong Sude's son...
That is to say, the current King of Zhennan, Murong Changdu, took over his father's position and put down the rebellion, and it only took Murong Changdu less than a month to restore peace to Jiaozhou."
Qin Xiao sneered and said: "After Murong Sude passed away, there was an immediate rebellion. Murong Changdu happened to rebel and took over his father's position, allowing the Murong family to still take root in southern Xinjiang. This rebellion really helped the Murong family a lot."
Du Hongsheng smiled faintly. The two of them knew it well and did not say anything. Du Hongsheng continued: "Compared to Jiaozhou, Liuzhou is far behind the two states in southern Xinjiang in terms of population and area. Moreover, Liuzhou still changes its governor every three years.
The influence of the Murong family in Liuzhou is much greater than that of the six governors. And because of trade, the influence of the Murong family has long penetrated into Liuzhou, so after the saint ascended the throne and Murong Changdu raised his army, the first thing he did was to attack
He entered Liuzhou and controlled the entire southern Xinjiang without any effort. So far, the two southern states are under the control of the Murong family, and all the officials, big and small, are from the Murong family, except for the twenty poor people listed by the Murong family.
County, and only the position of governor of Xiang County can be filled by people sent by the imperial court."
"Xiangjun is in Liuzhou?"
"Yes." Du Hongsheng nodded: "And it is the most barren county in Liuzhou, full of indigenous tribes. In fact, the Murong family cannot completely control Xiang County. The court wants to lose face, so the Murong family just lost the position of the governor of Xiang County.
To the imperial court, but no matter who comes to Xiang County, it can only be a decoration, and the government orders cannot leave the county governor's house."
"So that's it." Qin Xiao suddenly realized, frowning and said: "Situ Budang sent you to Xiang County, wouldn't it be...?" Thinking that the walls had ears, although his voice was low, he still did not continue.
Du Hongsheng, however, was unusually calm. He held a cup of wine and said with a smile: "Back then, the officials sent me to Xiling Zhen County, where I stayed for eight years. From that time on, I was destined to have no future. This time Zhen County fell to the rebels.
Even though the court pulled Fan Wenzheng to take the blame, I, the governor of Zhen County, could not escape the blame. He did not kill me, but just sent me to southern Xinjiang. This was considered an act of mercy outside the law. I was originally a bastard in Zhen County.
As for the decorations, going to Xiangjun now is just a change of location, it’s not a big deal.”
Although he was smiling slightly, his tone clearly indicated that he had already looked away.
"I want to say goodbye to you when I leave this time, just because I know very well that if we say goodbye this time, we may never see each other again." Du Hongsheng sighed softly: "Although Xiling is windy and sandy, I can still bear it.
However, the humidity in southern Xinjiang is heavy, and the miasma rats are also poisonous. I was suddenly transferred from the west to the south. I must not adapt to the climate there. I might die there in less than a year and a half. Even if I adapt, I will die there.
, the imperial court will not think of me as the governor of Xiang County again in ten or eight years. If nothing else happens, Xiang County should be my burial place."
"Sir, there are no absolutes in everything." Qin Xiao knew that Du Hongsheng was speaking from the bottom of his heart. When parting, he treated himself sincerely, with a heavy heart, and said softly: "Maybe there will be a sudden change, and you can leave southern Xinjiang as soon as possible."
Du Hongsheng leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice and laughed: "You mean the imperial court sent troops to attack southern Xinjiang? Hehe, if it really happens, Murong Changdu will be the first to use my head to sacrifice the flag." He shook his head and sighed: "Actually, these are all
Year, I really hope that the imperial court can conquer Southern Xinjiang as soon as possible, so that Xiling can be recovered. But I have gone to Southern Xinjiang now. If the imperial court attacks Southern Xinjiang, I will be the first to lose my life. Qin Xiao, what do you think of me?
Should I hope that the imperial court will send troops, or should I hope that they will never send troops? Even I am a little confused now."
Qin Xiao didn't know how to answer.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and someone said: "Mr. Du, if there is nothing important, we should leave as soon as possible. We are ordered to leave the city today. If we delay leaving the city later, we will not be able to report to the superiors.
Explain." Naturally, it was the official who escorted Du Hongsheng to his appointment to urge him.
Du Hongsheng agreed, picked up the wine bottle, and poured himself a glass. He held the glass in his hand, but did not drink it. He looked at the wine in the glass thoughtfully.
Qin Xiao stood up, then turned his back to Du Hongsheng, took out the banknotes from his arms, and took out two thousand taels of silver banknotes. Two thousand taels is certainly a huge sum of money for ordinary people, but for someone with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver,
For Qin Xiao, it was not a big deal.
He put away the other banknotes, took two thousand taels of banknotes, and stuffed them into Du Hongsheng's hand. Du Hongsheng took a look and was a little surprised: "You...are you...?"
"Sir, this trip to southern Xinjiang is not necessarily tiring. I know that when you returned to Beijing from Xiling, you couldn't bring anything with you." Qin Xiao said in a low voice: "You can also use this money as travel expenses on the way.
. When we get to southern Xinjiang, with this little money in hand, many things should be easier to handle."
Du Hongsheng smiled bitterly and said: "Thank you for worrying about me, but I can't accept it...!" As he was about to push him back, Qin Xiao held his arm and said: "We are all suffering together, so we don't have to be so clear about it.
, take it, if there is a chance in the future, I will go to southern Xinjiang to see you."
"Okay." Du Hongsheng smiled, his eye circles were a little red, and patted Qin Xiao on the shoulder: "I'll wait for you in southern Xinjiang. I heard there is good wine there, so I'll wait for you to drink." No longer persist, knowing this trip.
In southern Xinjiang, everything is difficult. With this little money on hand, many things will indeed be done much more smoothly. I took it into my arms and showed gratitude on my face.