In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, at the beginning of May.
Qiuci Town, Anxi Protectorate.
Sitting in the side hall, Zhou Jun picked up the secret letter on the desk and read it again.
The handwriting on the secret letter is beautiful, written by Jie Qin from Huaqiong Tower in Chang'an, and it reads like this:
"In the fifth month of the thirteenth year of Tianbao's reign, I was sparse on Anlu Mountain and asked for rewards for my subordinates. Your Majesty has approved and decreed that more than 500 of Anlu Mountain's subordinates should be made generals and more than 2,000 generals of Zhonglang."
"In the first month of the fourteenth year of Tianbao, Anlushan sent his deputy general Bian Shouping to perform the memorial. Please replace the Han generals with forty-one Tibetan generals. Your Majesty will approve it."
"In March, His Majesty ordered the Minister of Rites to express condolences to Hebei. After the angel arrived in Fanyang, it took more than 20 days before he could see Anlu Mountain. However, Lushan did not practice the etiquette of ministers and regarded himself as the master."
"In April, in order to get An Lushan to rebel, Yang Guozhong ordered Jing Zhaoyin to surround his Chang'an residence, arrest hundreds of Lushan's followers, send them to Yushitai Prison, torture them to extract confessions, and then secretly kill them."
Zhou Jun put down the secret letter, touched his chin, and said to himself: "Although the time, characters, and details are different, the general direction of history has not changed... Looking at it this way, the Anshi Rebellion is probably unavoidable."
At this moment, a guard came to report outside the door, saying that it was the deputy envoy who wanted to see him.
Zhou Jun first collected the secret letter, and then asked Deputy Envoy Feng to enter.
After Feng Changqing walked in, he bowed and saluted as a subordinate, and called him Protector again.
Zhou Jun first asked Feng Changqing to sit down and talk, and then said to the latter half-jokingly: "Now that you are also the Protector, we are on the same level. Don't salute like that in the future."
Feng Changqing smiled bitterly and said: "I was lucky enough to win the battle of Dabolu. The imperial court issued a relocation order according to my merits and asked me to travel thousands of miles to be the governor of Beiting. Chang Qing came today to discuss with the Protector.
This matter."
Zhou Jun was a little surprised: "Discuss?"
Feng Changqing cupped his hands and said, "Chang Qing would rather stay in Qiuci than go to Beiting."
Zhou Jun was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Why?"
Feng Changqing: "Chang Qing has been working in Anxi for many years and is familiar with the local customs. He is afraid of being acclimatized to other places. In addition, a large number of refugees have entered Anxi. The four towns in Anxi are expanding construction, private housing, zoned protection, household registration, etc.
The affairs are complicated and involve a wide range of things. If Chang Qing is entrusted to others now, no one may be able to handle it properly."
After listening to Feng Changqing's words, Zhou Jun asked: "If you stay in Anxi, you can only be a deputy envoy. If you go to Beiting, others will call you a protector. Even so, you still don't want to go?"
Feng Changqing stood up and said: "Protector, Chang Qing grew up in Anxihu City since he was a child. He has been a minor official for more than forty years, and then followed his husband Meng Lingcha, Gao Xianzhi and you as the three protectors. So.
Over the years, Chang Qingdao said from the bottom of his heart that only after Zhou Lang came did Anxi really change... Instead of letting me go to Beiting to be the governor, I would rather stay with the governor and serve in a small way.
"
Zhou Jun looked at Feng Changqing for a while and said with a pun: "As the governor of Anxi, I don't behave like ordinary people. Occasionally I may act abnormally. Being my deputy will probably lead to hardship. In this case
, are you willing to stay too?"
Feng Changqing: "Observing the actions of the Protector, there are often hidden meanings that are difficult to understand. Chang Qing did not understand it at first. Only after a long time and seeing many things did he realize the painstaking efforts involved. Chang Qing trusts the Protector more than he trusts himself."
Zhou Jun smiled slightly and said, "I will appeal to the imperial court to retain you as the deputy envoy of the Anxi Protectorate."
Feng Changqing was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly bowed to Zhou Jun and said, "Thank you, Protector!"
Zhou Jun continued: "But I also hope that you will also serve as the governor of Beiting."
Feng Changqing froze on the spot, looking puzzled.
Zhou Jun: "Yanqi Town is only a few days away from Jinman City. If you want to handle official business, you can just ride back and forth. It won't cause too much trouble if you hold two jobs at the same time."
Although he didn't understand why Zhou Jun had to serve as the governor of Beiting, Feng Changqing still agreed.
After talking about the personnel arrangements, Zhou Jun asked Feng Changqing: "How are the refugees who have moved to Anxi these days?"
Feng Changqing: "From the year before last to March this year, more than 40,000 refugees from Guanzhong, Hedong, Henan and other places have moved to Anxi. Moreover, the number of immigrants is still accelerating. And the four towns of Anxi
The combined local population is only about 200,000. The sudden increase of so many people will put huge pressure on the four towns."
Zhou Jun: "How to arrange the residence and work of the refugees?"
Feng Changqing: "The Governor had previously built a lot of construction projects in Qiuci Town and built many small buildings with double eaves, which could accommodate tens of thousands of residents. Now that the refugees are pouring in, it can be used to arrange housing."
"As for work, the governor ordered that the government provide food and money, hire refugees as laborers, cut down trees and burn them into charcoal, quarry stones and solidify the soil to lay official roads, dig canals to divert water, and open up wasteland as fertile farmland. These have all been arranged.
Although this move can provide a living for the refugees, the food and money in the Protector's Mansion will be consumed very quickly, and it may not last long."
Zhou Jun: "Residences and courtyards will be built in the four towns of Anxi. In the future, more people will move to Anxi. As for labor, I will select refugees from different occupations and open Anxi official camps according to local conditions.
Used to supplement the expenses of the Protectorate."
Feng Changqing nodded and continued: "There are two more things."
Zhou Jun: "What's the matter?"
Feng Changqing: "The first thing is that the Imperial Guard rescued nearly 10,000 prisoners from Dashi earlier. Since the Anxi Army's establishment is full, how to arrange it has become a problem... I propose to select the best and send all the others away."
Zhou Jun: "That's inappropriate. These prisoners of the Tang army are all loyal men. If they are dismissed on the spot, they may lose their military morale. They should all return to the army."
Feng Changqing said in embarrassment: "During the Battle of Dabolu, the Anxi Army already had 20,000 people, and nearly 10,000 prisoners returned from the Great Rebellion. If all were recruited, the Anxi Army would probably expand to more than 30,000. The four towns of Anxi
The military garrisons, taxes, and fixed rates from the imperial court are simply not enough to support such a huge army, so please think twice."
Zhou Jun: "These prisoners who came back from Dashi are all elites in the Tang army, and they will be of great use in the future... At present, Anxi is surrounded by enemies on three sides, with Geluolu in the north, Tubo in the south, and Dashi in the west.
It is a time when troops are deployed, so it is not wise to reduce the number of soldiers."
Feng Changqing: "But food, wages and farming..."
Zhou Jun: "I'll figure this out."
Hearing this, Feng Changqing reluctantly agreed and said, "There is another thing. The 40,000 refugees who moved to Anxi call themselves Yinglong believers. Wherever they settle, there are priests preaching and believers raising funds on their own initiative.
, built dozens of Yinglong temples. Many local residents were persuaded to join the religion. The theory of Yinglong spread throughout Anxi and became the most popular."
Zhou Jun: "Is there anything wrong with Yinglong's theory?"
Feng Changqing hesitated for a moment and then replied: "Privately, I have gone to Yinglong Temple to listen to the teachings, and there is nothing wrong with it... However, in Anxi, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism have always been the most respected. Recently, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism have always been the most respected.
In recent years, due to the Tubo Esoteric Rebellion, Buddhism has been suppressed, and Zoroastrianism has been scattered in various places, lacking management, and is gradually declining. Now that Yinglong has been introduced to Anxi, the missionary momentum is like a flood, and we have to guard against it."
Zhou Jun looked at Feng Changqing and said meaningfully: "Don't be impatient for a moment. Let's first take a look at the origin of Yinglong's theory. It's not too late to respond to it."
Feng Changqing saw Zhou Jun smiling and thought that the latter had a countermeasure in mind, so he said no more.