Chapter 136 Protecting the Qiang Colonel
When Liu Ye saw Lu Xun coming at the door, he hurriedly took a few steps forward to greet him, appearing extremely enthusiastic.
Lu Xun stood still first, then bowed and said, "Brother Ziyang, I am sorry for my intrusive visit today. Please forgive me, Brother Ziyang."
Judging by age, Liu Ye was born in the second year of Guanghe during the reign of Emperor Ling, and Lu Xun was born in the sixth year of Guanghe during the reign of Emperor Ling. It is true that Liu Ye was four years older than Lu Xun.
At this time, the pillars of the court of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu were almost all in their forties or fifties. Except for Chen Qun, who was older, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen and Sima Yi were also of this age. Prime Minister Zhuge of Shu Han was born in the fourth year of Guanghe, and was almost the same age.
Seeing that Lu Xun did not address him by his official title but by his given name, Liu Ye understood that Lu Xun had just surrendered to the Wei Dynasty and was still a little confused. He smiled and said, "It's Boyan. Please come in quickly."
The two walked into the room one on the left and one on the right. Huang Quan saw Lu Xun coming in and naturally stood up to greet him. In this way, Liu Ye, Huang Quan and Lu Xun sat and discussed things in the same room. The elites of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu were all here, which could be called a gathering of heroes.
After Lu Xun sat down, he took the initiative to speak: "Brother Ziyang, since I am serving the court, His Majesty has also asked me to leave the day after tomorrow to first go to Luoyang and then to Liangzhou to take up my post. I am from Yangzhou and know very little about Liangzhou. Today I have come to seek advice from Brother Ziyang. I hope Brother Ziyang can give me some advice."
Liu Ye did not hesitate. With the example of Huang Quan, who came from Shu Han and was favored by the emperor, it seemed that the emperor still valued capable people who surrendered from the enemy country, so he said directly: "Bo Yan, what questions do you have for me? As long as I know, I will tell you everything I know."
Lu Xun thought for a moment and said, "May I ask, Brother Ziyang, what exactly is the position of the Protector of the Qiang? How should I perform my duties after taking up the post?"
Liu Ye asked in return: "Is Boyan asking about the responsibilities of the official rank, or the inheritance and evolution?"
Lu Xun said sincerely: "I want to ask you something, please help me, Brother Zi Yang."
Seeing that Lu Xun was asking for his help in a humble tone, Liu Ye nodded with satisfaction and said, "The post of Protector of the Qiang has a long history. It was established as early as the time of Emperor Wu of Han. Over the past few hundred years, as the rebellion of the Qiang in Liangzhou has risen and fallen, the post of Protector of the Qiang has become almost permanent."
"Since Emperor Wu came to power, Du Ji and Yang Pei successively served as the Protector of the Qiang. After Emperor Wen came to power, Su Ze and Wen Hui served as the Protector of the Qiang."
"Brother Ziyang," Lu Xun asked, "I have heard of the deeds of Du Shangshu and Yang Jingzhao. Su Ze, Su Wenshi, pacified the chaos in Liangzhou, and Wen Hui and Wen Manji also served as governors of Yangzhou. But weren't these two governors of Liangzhou concurrently with the post of Protector of the Qiang?"
Liu Ye nodded and said, "Since Emperor Wen ascended the throne, the two successive Protector of the Qiang were both concurrently held by the Governor of Liangzhou, which was convenient for both the public and private sectors. At the end of last year, Your Majesty just appointed Xiahou Ba as the Governor of Liangzhou, but did not let Xiahou Ba concurrently hold the post of Protector of the Qiang."
"It seems that your majesty intends to separate the positions of Liangzhou Governor and Qiang Protector."
At this time, Huang Quan interrupted and asked, "Brother Ziyang, is the current Protector of the Qiang Commander responsible for external affairs or internal affairs?"
Seeing that Huang Quan had also asked this question, Liu Ye smiled and replied, "What Gong Heng asked is exactly what I am going to say next."
"The Han Dynasty was divided into the Early Han Dynasty and the Later Han Dynasty. During the Early Han Dynasty, the Qiang people were far outside the border of Liangzhou. The affairs of the Qiang people under the jurisdiction of the Protector of the Qiang were mainly against the Qiang people outside the border."
"After the two Qiang rebellions in Yongchu and Yonghe during the Later Han Dynasty, the trend of the Qiang people submitting to the Liangzhou prefectures and counties was inevitable. From Dunhuang in the west to the several counties in the north of Anding near the Three Auxiliary Prefectures, the Qiang people were everywhere."
"In the seventh year of Guanghe, the Liangzhou Qiang Rebellion, which started almost at the same time as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, once again turned Liangzhou upside down. Then Han Sui, Ma Chao, Song Jian and others were causing unrest. Gong Heng and Boyan should know what happened next."
When Lu Xun heard Liu Ye's story about the Qiang people entering the counties of Liangzhou, he was thinking about many things. In the seventh year of Guanghe, Beigong Boyu, Li Wenhou, Bian Zhang, Han Sui and others rebelled in Liangzhou. Wasn't this the year he was born?
The post of Protector of the Qiang had been passed down for more than 300 years. How could the problem of the Qiang people in the border areas of Liangzhou be solved? Although Lu Xun was from Wujun, Yangzhou, during the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, most of the famous generals served in the western and northern borders. At this time, he also had some intention of emulating the sages.
When Cao Cao was young and not yet a powerful official, didn't he also have a heroic dream of becoming the 'Han's General Who Conquers the West'?
Lu Xun listened more seriously, and after thinking for a few moments, he said, "Since Brother Ziyang said that the Qiang people in Liangzhou have surrendered, then the duties of the Protector of the Qiang also include the Qiang people in Liangzhou?"
Liu Ye shook his head slightly: "Not really. The efforts made by the Later Han Dynasty for two hundred years to treat the Qiang people in Liangzhou now seem to have been almost completely unsuccessful. One of the important reasons is that the Central Plains looked down on Liangzhou, and the administration of Liangzhou was in chaos." "The Protector of the Qiang sometimes fought against the Qiang people, sometimes pacified them, and sometimes did not lead troops at all. The duties of the Governor of Liangzhou often overlapped with those of the Protector of the Qiang."
Lu Xun thought, if the Later Han Dynasty had not been in chaos, it would not have been so miserable, and there would not have been warlord separatism later. Lu Xun did not speak and continued to listen to Liu Ye's story.
Liu Ye continued, "The Qiang people who are in Liangzhou are now usually called Eastern Qiang. The Qiang people who are still outside the border are usually called Western Qiang. In the past, the Qiang people inside and outside the border were treated as one and mixed together, which in itself was an unreasonable way of governance."
"Then let's go back to what Brother Gongheng asked just now. Is the Protector of the Qiang a question for internal or external affairs? Then the Protector of the Qiang is responsible for the Qiang people outside the border."
Lu Xun asked: "Brother Ziyang, during the Han Dynasty, several counties in Liangzhou were separated to form Yongzhou. Now the Eastern Qiang are divided between Yongzhou and Liangzhou, and the Western Qiang are outside the border. Are the Yongzhou Qiang under the jurisdiction of the Yongzhou Governor, the Liangzhou Qiang under the jurisdiction of the Liangzhou Governor, and the Western Qiang under the jurisdiction of the Protector of the Qiang?"
Liu Ye nodded and said, "That's right. And now the court wants to isolate the three tribes of Liangzhou Qiang, Yongzhou Qiang, and Western Qiang from each other so that they can be ruled by division."
"At that time, His Majesty appointed Xiahou Ba as the governor of Liangzhou, and it was precisely because of his status as the son of Xiahou Yuan. Xiahou Yuan attacked Ma Chao, defeated Han Sui, and killed Song Jian. His troops marched from Longshan all the way to Huangzhong on the shore of the West Sea. He has a long-standing prestige among the Qiang people, and mentioning Xiahou Yuan's name can convince the Qiang people."
Huang Quan's expression did not change when he heard this, but he had a little disdain in his heart. When Huang Quan was still under Liu Bei's command, he participated in the whole process of attacking Hanzhong and killing Xiahou Yuan, and even offered a lot of advice.
In the end, it's all about perspective. Huang Quan recognized Xiahou Yuan's achievements, but he heard that Xiahou Yuan's name was feared by the Western Qiang. If that's the case, wouldn't Huang Zhong, who killed Xiahou Yuan, be feared by the Western Qiang? Wouldn't it be more effective to mention Huang Zhong's name among the Qiang people?
But I just thought about it in my mind, it is impossible to say such words out loud.
Lu Xun asked again: "I have written down everything that Brother Ziyang said just now. What are the powers and responsibilities of the Qiang Protectorate?"
Liu Ye looked around and saw that Lu Xun and Huang Quan were both looking at him. He stroked his beard subconsciously and said, "The duties of the Protector of the Qiang are actually similar to those of the Protectors of the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan. They all have the duty of patrolling and managing affairs and stabilizing the region for the emperor."
"But the duties of the Qiang Protector are very different from those of the Xiongnu Protector, Xianbei Protector, and Wuhuan Protector. They are to monitor the movements of the Qiang people and be responsible for farming."
Lu Xun was a little surprised: "I know about the military farming. The difference between the Qiang people and the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei is that the Qiang people farm and graze, while the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei are nomadic. But why is it different to monitor the movements of the Qiang people?"
"Boyan doesn't know this." Liu Ye glanced at Lu Xun and said slowly, "The Qiang people originally lived in tribes, most of which had no more than 10,000 people, and the largest tribe had no more than tens of thousands of people."
"Unlike the Xiongnu and Xianbei, the Qiang people did not have a figure like the Xiongnu Chanyu or the Xianbei leader to organize all the Qiang people, and there were many grievances among the various Qiang tribes in the competition for resources. Therefore, before the Qiang people rebelled, the various tribes must have held an alliance and announced that they would temporarily put aside their hatred and exchange hostages before the unrest began."
"And the Protector of the Qiang is to prevent the Qiang from settling their grievances and offering hostages, or to immediately inform the court and the counties if they discover something, to prevent the Qiang from causing chaos."
Lu Xun said, "I understand. But I have another question. Where is the seat of the Protector of the Qiang, and who are his subordinates?"
Liu Ye glanced at Lu Xun and said, "Boyan, the Protector of the Qiang has a chief clerk, a military commander, and two assistants. As for the rest, let's wait until Boyan goes to Luoyang to discuss it."
"After you arrive in Luoyang with His Majesty's edict, the Shangshutai will naturally assign you a seal and explain your rights and responsibilities. Most of what I know is what I heard from Su Zesu Wenshi, who was also a minister at the time."
Su Ze was born in Fufeng Su clan. In his early years, he served as the governor of Jiuquan County, Anding County and Wudu County. When Cao Cao passed Wudu during his expedition against Zhang Lu, Su Ze served as the guide for the army on the Qishan Road to Hanzhong.
Later, Su Ze came to Jincheng County near the West Sea (Qinghai Lake) to serve as the prefect. At that time, the local Qiang nobles rebelled. After Su Ze successfully suppressed the rebellion, he was appointed by Cao Pi as the Protector of the Qiang, and became the first Protector of the Qiang after the establishment of the Wei Dynasty.
As for the things Liu Ye just said about Liangzhou, he didn't know how much of it he already knew and how much of it he learned from Su Ze and then showed off.
But it doesn’t matter to Lu Xun. Whose knowledge is not knowledge?
(End of this chapter)
