Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

When Li Tai saw Heland walking towards him, he couldn't help but smile. He turned over, dismounted from his horse, strode towards him, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Meeting old friends in a foreign land is truly a great joy in the world. This time I go to Long, I am afraid that the people will be unfamiliar and the eyes will be unfamiliar. Unexpectedly, I met Brother Helan just after passing through Longshan, which greatly comforted the panic of the travelers. Seeing this scene, I must have a good time to drink and sing! "

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. The scenery here may not be as close and familiar as that in Guanzhong, but it is still warm and hospitable. There are all kinds of fine wines and delicious food. I will have a great time with you even if you are a humble official!"

Heland responded with a smile. When he heard what Li Tai said, he was very happy. After all, they only knew each other but did not have a deep friendship. Li Tai was undoubtedly giving him face in front of the county people, so he He also became more attentive and respectful to Li Tai, and carefully introduced to him one by one the people who came to greet him.

Li Tai also responded to the greetings from the county people one by one, but he couldn't help but murmur in his heart.

According to Holland's introduction, some of these dozen people were county officials, and some were representatives of local wealthy families, but the vast majority were not Han Chinese, and most were Di and Qiang wealthy chiefs who had lived here for generations. Coupled with the fact that the county governor, Heland, was from Xianbei, it was the first time that Li Tai had seen such a thorough deception in a county.

However, the clothing and conversation of these Hu chiefs are not much different from those of the Han people. Some of them are even more dignified and polite than the powerful Han people in Guanzhong, which shows that they are deeply influenced by Chinese culture.

In fact, if we really talk about the level of civilization, the Diqiang tribe in Longyou is no worse than the Xianbei people, and is even far better than the Beizhen warriors who are now in power in the north.

The Diqiang had frequent interactions with the Han people as early as the Han Dynasty. In the late Western Jin Dynasty, the Five Husties invaded China, and a large number of people from the Central Plains fled to Longyou and Hexi to escape the war and disasters. This area once became the place where Han culture is inherited, even surpassing that of Pian'an and Jiangdong. The small court of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The Di and Qiang tribes living here have naturally fully absorbed the social organization, living habits, ethics and morals of the Han people. Many of them have even transformed from Hu tribe tycoons into local tycoons, and their absorption of Han culture has a far longer history. It surpassed Xianbei in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which did not undergo a large-scale sinicization until the Taihe period.

After some courtesy and greetings, everyone invited Li Tai into the post pavilion. Everyone took their seats in order according to their status, and soon there were servants serving wine and food.

Li Tai had been on a journey and was hungry, thirsty and tired himself, so he observed the types of food on the table with interest.

There is no obvious difference between the eating habits of Longyou and Guanzhong. The meat is mostly grilled, and the vegetables are mostly chopped and mixed. The only thing that is slightly commendable is that the condiments such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, etc. are used in larger amounts and are more sophisticated.

Especially the spicy Sichuan pepper wine, which makes you feel slightly uncomfortable at first, but over time it develops a unique flavor. After a few glasses, the dampness and coldness in your stomach disappear, and your limbs are numb and smooth. It is very addictive.

In addition to the food and drink entertainment, in the middle of the banquet, a county official who was present at the table got up from the table and walked out of the post. He left and returned not long after, followed by several musicians and two figures. The graceful dancers in colorful skirts, and as the music played, the two dancers began to dance gracefully.

Li Tai did not expect that Holland would have such an arrangement. After seeing this, he put down his glass and started to appreciate it seriously, of course from the perspective of artistic appreciation. I saw that the waists of the two dancers were flexible, their gestures and gestures were full of charm, and their gazes and expressions were extremely sultry, which aroused the energy of the wine they drank before, making people feel hot and unbearable.

When the dance ended, everyone in the hall showed unfinished expressions. Heland also looked at Li Tai with eyes asking for instructions. Li Tai raised his hand and waved to signal the dancers to leave temporarily, but he couldn't help but feel in his heart. I accuse these Lueyang people of having bad intentions. Don’t you know my relationship with the boss here? Use this to test the cadres!

When he was full of wine and food, Heland asked Li Tai for instructions: "It's still a few hours away from the county town. If we leave at this time, we can arrive in the evening. May I ask if you can stay in the county town first?" rest?"

Li Tai did not answer the question directly, but looked at the people present thoughtfully, and then asked Xiang Heland: "Is it because the county Sima is not able to see the county commander because the county is busy with military affairs and has no time to spare?"

When he went to Long, in addition to serving as the governor of Duguxin's second mansion and the governor of Tianshui County, he also served as the military commander of five counties. These five counties were Tianshui, Lueyang, Hanyang, Qingshui and Heyang.

Although Heland served as the governor of Lueyang County, he did not have the title of governor, so he had no jurisdiction over the affairs of the people and horses in the territory. According to convention, the military affairs should be managed by the commander-in-chief of the county. If you calculate it this way, Sima of Lueyang County is Li Tai's real subordinate and must accept the jurisdiction of his great governor.

But now the county governor Heland and the county officials came to greet him, but the county commander was missing. It was not that Li Tai felt offended by the snub, but he wanted to know a little bit about the personnel in his position. Is this county commander too busy to get away, or did he deliberately not come to see him.

Hearing Li Tai's question, Heland's face became a little unnatural. The two county people present immediately avoided the table and stood up. They knelt down in front of Li Tai's table and kowtowed before saying in a sad tone: " When the commander of the county, Ma Yangling, relied on the strength of the people, he insulted the villagers, was arrogant and lawless, and repeatedly committed evil. I beg you to bring justice to the people of Lueyang and punish the evildoers!"

Li Tai was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then his face darkened, and he slammed the table and said angrily: "Lueyang is a wild and barren land outside the king's rule. The court established counties and appointed officials here to govern the people, enforce the law and punish evil. If the people in the county have any grievances, they must first appeal to the officials. The county government cannot decide matters that the state government can judge for the public.

I have just entered this place and the situation is unknown. You are eager to seek justice here. Are you trying to take advantage of my ignorance and lure me to listen to one side? Now that Helan Taishou is in the hall, even if he wants to look down on the situation here, I will ask the Taishou myself. If what he said is not detailed, I will ask the villagers! You all leave quickly and don't stay here to disturb the audience!"

As he slammed the table, Zhang Shi Nu and other personal guards also drew their swords and drove out the two people who knelt and cried out for justice and other county people in the hall without saying anything, leaving only Helan De in the hall.

"What's going on?" Li Tai was still angry, and he looked at Helande and asked in a deep voice. He was not a law enforcement censor who inspected the administration of prefectures and counties, so he would not ask about the disputes between local tyrants. However, the people of this county had already come to him to cry out for injustice, and the one he accused was the county Sima under his jurisdiction, so of course he had to ask and understand. "I really don't know, they would dare to..." This matter seemed to be beyond Helande's expectations. At this moment, he looked quite uneasy. He bowed to Li Tai and apologized repeatedly. He sorted out his thoughts before explaining: "The county Sima here is named Yang Ling, and he was originally the chief of Qiuchi Di in Nanqinzhou. In the past year, the chief of Qingshui Di in the territory, Li Shuren, gathered people to cause chaos, and Henei Gong Dugu opened his government to mobilize troops from various states in Longbian..." After listening to Helande's story, Li Tai finally understood the whole story. Although the two county people cried out for injustice in a very pitiful way, it was nothing more than the local snakes failing to deal with the powerful dragons who entered the country. Li Tai thought that he had finally heard of a Han county official when he heard the name of this county Sima Yang Ling, but he didn't expect that he was actually a Di chieftain. He was born in the Qiuchi Yang family. In terms of clan origin, he was of the same clan as Yang Shao, the governor of Fucheng County and Yang Xiong's father, whom Li Tai had known before. However, because he was naturalized late, he was not as successful as that branch of the Yang family.

Yang Ling was originally a subordinate of Yuwen Qiu, the governor of Nanqinzhou. Yuwen Qiu was also a member of Heba Sheng's family. He followed Dugu Xin to Jingzhou in the past, and now he is still guarding Longyou as Dugu Xin's subordinate.

In the ninth year of Datong, Li Shuren, the chief of the Qingshui Di people, gathered people to cause chaos because of the great defeat of the Western Wei in the Battle of Mangshan. Dugu Xin dispatched people from Longyou to encircle and suppress the chaos, including Yang Ling, the chief of the Qiuchi Di people, and his troops.

Li Shuren relied on his territory and his people to occupy the southern foot of Qiantun Mountain. Dugu Xin failed to conquer him and dragged on for nearly half a year before Huazhou Bafu sent Zhao Chang to persuade him to surrender, resolve the rebellion and send the surrendered Di tribe to Huazhou.

Although the rebellion was resolved, Dugu Xin's face was somewhat lost. He probably hated the Di Qiang tribes for following him and making trouble. Therefore, he did not select local powerful Hu chieftains as military officers in the county according to the previous practice, but directly left Yang Ling's troops in Lueyang County.

"When I entered the country, the two sides had already fought many battles and were at odds with each other. With just me, even with the help of county officials, it was really difficult to quell the dispute. I reported to the state government several times, but none of them responded. I could only appease them and hope to calm things down."

When Helander said this, he was also sad and bitter. He thought that this time as a county governor was an opportunity for his career advancement, but he didn't expect to jump into a fire pit.

Both sides of the fight were powerful chieftains with their own troops, but he, as the governor, did not even have the power to control the local militia in the county, and would only be slapped in the face if he approached. The past two years as the governor have been a bitter experience.

This time, when he learned that Li Tai was going to Long, Helande was both sad and expectant.

The sad part was that when they just met, he was already the chief of the Situ Mansion, a high-ranking official, while Li Tai was just a young man who had just entered the pass and was still a white-collared boy. But now he is still suffering in the county government, while Li Tai has become the second most important person in Longyou after Dugu Xin!

But putting aside the difference in their status, they finally met, and Helande also hoped to rely on Li Tai's momentum to make the county people respect him a little, so he invited people from the county to come and greet him together.

Although County Sima Yang Ling did not come with him, the other invited county people basically came, and the scene was quite harmonious. However, Helande did not expect that these people were not here to give him face, but to take the opportunity to complain to Li Tai.

Although Li Tai still maintained his face and drove the county people who complained out before questioning him, he could not hide his embarrassment in office now, and all of it was exposed in front of Li Tai, and he was inevitably ashamed for a while.

Li Tai was happy after listening to Helande's story. Before, he did not know the situation in Longbian, but just assumed that Dugu Xin had been in charge of Longyou for several years, and he must have a great prestige, but now it seems that his father-in-law seems to be a little bit bad.

Lueyang is the gateway connecting Guanzhong and Longyou, and its geographical location is not unimportant.

But now the native and Hakka forces are causing unrest in the territory. Although Dugu Xin fanned the flames and deliberately condoned them, it also shows that Dugu Xin did not have the final say here, otherwise why would the two sides continue to quarrel.

Recalling the previous rebellion of the Di chieftains here, Dugu Xin failed to conquer them after several attacks, and Yuwen Tai only sent an envoy to persuade them to surrender, or even submissively moved them to Huazhou.

Of course, it was because the envoy Zhao Chang was indeed capable at that time, but it also seemed to mean that Huazhou Bafu was more efficient in negotiating with the Huqing here than the Qinzhou Governor's Mansion, which was close at hand. To put it bluntly, Yuwen Tai was not at ease with Lueyang, the regional gateway, allowing Dugu Xin to come and go.

Thinking of this, Li Tai looked at Helande with some sympathy. It was involved in the secret fight between the two top bosses. The situation here was so torn, and it was really not your fault. Helande could suffer in this pit for more than two years, which showed that Helande's endurance was extraordinary. If it were Li Tai himself, even if he couldn't lift the table, he would have to find a way to saw off the table legs. I can't be the only one who is sad and depressed.

After learning about these inside stories, Li Tai would not openly sing against his father-in-law and take the initiative to punish the county Sima Yang Ling. Although this guy didn't come to greet him, which made him very unhappy, but the hometown sentiment was so unnecessary to ask too much.

As for the local tyrants in Lueyang who were crying out for injustice, they might not have died tragically. They might have some sinister tricks in their hearts. They might think that he was young and hot-tempered and wanted to use him as a gun. Of course, he would not obey their wishes.

But although he had a good idea here, he could not prevent some people from being confused. Originally, he was just an outsider listening to Helande's complaints, but soon Li Tai himself experienced how serious the situation and disputes that made Helande feel tormented were.

He was just about to say a few words to comfort Helande when he suddenly heard the chaotic roar of horses and men outside the post station. Before he could ask what happened, the captain of the guard outside the hall, Zhang Shinu, had already stepped into the hall and said in a hurry: "My lord, hundreds of cavalry appeared in the south of Lueyang River Valley, heading straight for this post station!" Li Tai frowned when he heard this. He first asked the staff to get a set of light armor and put it on, and then strode out of the hall. A county chieftain who had been driven out of the hall for crying out for injustice said with anger and fear: "It's Yang Ling, it's Yang Ling! This evil thief is really bold. It's ok to bully the villagers on weekdays. Today, when the envoy passed through the border and the people came out to greet him, he didn't respectfully greeted him, but he dared to gather a crowd to disturb him..." Li Tai took a serious look at this man and remembered his appearance in his heart. I don't know you well, but you are the one who jumps happily. When I find out what's going on behind you, I will either fleece you or you will fleece you quickly! Anger was brewing in his mind, and his followers quickly got ready to form a battle array, surrounding and defending the post station.

At the same time, the team galloping on the river valley road in the south was also getting closer and closer. They soon arrived near the post station and stopped at a distance of an arrow. A short and strong middle-aged Hu general shouted loudly: "Is Li Sanqi from Chang'an here?

I am Yang Ling, a military officer under Dugu Kaifu, General Jianwei, Sima of Lueyang County, and the governor. I am afraid that I am not good enough to offend you, so I ask Li Sanqi to come in and tell you. The people here are not civilized, and bandits are everywhere. If you don't go with me, I'm afraid it will be difficult to guarantee your safety!"

"Yang Ling, you are so bold! All the local celebrities are gathered here, and the Helan envoy of the county is also here. What bandits dare to come and disturb us? On the contrary, you led the crowd here without informing them. Do you want to take advantage of the fact that Li Shijun is not yet established and threaten him with force!"

The people in this county often fight with Yang Ling. Enemies are particularly jealous when they meet, and because Li Tai is also standing here, he feels a little fearless. He pointed at Yang Ling and shouted and scolded loudly.

Yang Ling and his followers were not to be outdone, and immediately cursed back. Some even drew their bows and shot at the post station, not caring whether they would scare or injure Li Tai. As for Helande and other county officials, they didn't care at all.

Li Tai was speechless for a while when he saw this scene.

Just looking at the unscrupulous appearance of Yang Ling and his followers, it can be seen that although they have not yet completely subdued the local tyrants in Lueyang, they usually rely on the backers behind them to suppress the output of the Lueyang tyrants.

But the problem is, you are so arrogant that you are forcing me to deal with you, a dog? You are so unscrupulous in front of me, do you really think that I am just a useless son-in-law who relies on Dugu Xin's momentum?

Helande and other Lueyang chieftains did not carry too many weapons and armors because they came to welcome Li Tai, but Li Tai's followers were well-equipped with bows, swords, armor and horses.

As Yang Ling's troops drew their bows and arrows and shot at them, Li Tai's troops also drew their swords and waited for orders.

Although Li Tai did not want to get involved in the dispute between the natives and the Hakkas in Lueyang, it did not mean that he would just stand by and let the other party hit him in the face to show off his power. It should be known that there were more complicated personnel disputes waiting for him in Qinzhou, and it was time to let the people of Qinzhou see and understand his style of doing things.

So he first ordered those people who were still arguing with Yang Ling's troops to be driven into the post station and guarded, and not allowed to go out to fan the flames, and by the way, it also showed that his next behavior had nothing to do with these people.

Then he ordered his men to fetch his lance and mount, and after he got on his horse, he pointed to the other side and ordered loudly: "Beat the drums, after three drums, those who still don't dismount and abandon their weapons will be killed without mercy!"

After hearing this, Yang Ling on the opposite side suddenly changed his expression. Seeing that the troops gathered by Li Tai were similar to the troops he brought this time, he was a little unsure, so he glared and shouted: "Don't talk nonsense, young general, I came here to welcome and escort Li Sanqi as a courtesy, but I am afraid that he will be deceived by the evil people in the village..."

The drums sounded, covering up all the shouts behind Yang Ling. He made several gestures to interrupt, but he still didn't see any intention of stopping the drums. His expression quickly turned ferocious again, and he said bitterly: "Come into me." There is no way for a distant visitor to show off his power among the powerful! No matter where he comes from, I will teach you how to be a good person today!"