Being able to use the two states close to Kyoto as the fiefdoms of the two kings is enough to show Su Xuanyong's preference for the two kings.
Compared with the King of Yue who was far away on the coast, it was indeed a bit shabby. No wonder the King of Yue was unwilling to do so and wanted to compete with the two kings for power. Su Qian did not want to participate in the fight between the three princes, and would not participate.
What he can do is develop his own strength in a limited time until he can compete with the three kings. With his strength, even if Su Xuanyong cannot restrain the three kings, Su Qi'an will be able to support Su Xian to rise to power.
This is also the reason why no matter how big the conflict or disagreement between him and Su Xuanyong is, Su Xuanyong will still trust him.
Since there is no common ideal among Su Xuanyong, then we should place our hope on Su Xian.
What he has to do now is to show his strength and attract the attention of the three kings. After the turmoil in the northwest is quelled this time, Su Qi'an's strength and reputation will definitely increase with this military exploit.
At that time, when he returned to Beijing again, as his master's personal disciple, together with many great scholars from the Hanlin Academy, he petitioned Su Xuanyong to canonize Su Xian as the crown prince.
Only by confirming the position of the prince can the three kings' plans be stopped. Even if the three kings are dissatisfied and want to rebel, it will be difficult to get support.
At that time, he was not very strong, but at least he was capable of fighting. By standing on the basis of reasonable legal system, the three kings wanted to rebel, and they basically couldn't do anything.
So this time he went to the northwest to oversee the army, not only for himself, but also to protect Su Xian in Kyoto.
Su Qi'an temporarily suppressed the thoughts in his mind, saw the direction clearly, gave an order, and headed straight for Jinzhou ahead.
This time when I went to Ganzhou, I had to pass through Su Zhe's fiefdom anyway. Su Qi'an had no plans to find out how good the people in Jinzhou lived and worked in peace and contentment and how good the public security was.
His current goal is to reach Ganzhou as quickly as possible. No matter whose fiefdom he passes along the way, he has no intention of stopping.
Fortunately, passing through here only passed through the north of Jinzhou and did not go deep into Jinzhou City. It also passed through seven or eight counties in the north of Jinzhou before leaving and entering the Ganzhou border.
According to their speed, they can leave Jinzhou in four or five days at most, and there will be no intersection at all.
Under Su Qi'an's order, the 20,000-strong army marched westward almost without stopping. After leaving the outskirts of Beijing, they entered Jinzhou territory in less than half a day.
During this journey, we had already given greetings to the counties along the way. There was no need to come to greet them. When we saw their troops, we could just let them pass.
The army was on its way, and as it entered the border of Jinzhou, although it didn't see many traders and pawns along the way, the official road under its feet was different from other states.
Not only is it spacious, but the ground is basically paved with blue bricks. This is completely different from other states where roads are paved with dirt and gravel.
Moreover, in the county town that passed the inspection, although they did not enter the city, the size of the county wall was enough to be compared with the general county town.
Moreover, there are many vendors on the outskirts of the county seat. They are divided into districts according to the things they sell, forming a temporary market, which looks very lively from a distance.
The soldiers in charge of the patrol had a smile on their faces, and they were not a bit arrogant like soldiers. Instead, they were polite and the two sides got along quite harmoniously.
Seeing this scene, Su Qi'an, Xie Cang and other generals' expressions changed slightly. This kind of harmony is not unseen in other states, but it exists mostly in states and cities.
As for the subordinate counties, it is almost unheard of. Basically, fights, robberies, and even bandit attacks are the norm in each county.
But here, in Su Zhe's fiefdom, there is such a harmonious scene, which would surprise anyone.
Su Qi'an had no doubt that the scene before him was a deliberate show. This was the northern part of Jinzhou, far away from the central Jinzhou City.
Generally speaking, remote border counties like this will be more or less out of control. Even Jiaozhou and Xizhou, where Su Qi'an is located, will suffer from poor management of border areas due to their remote location.
If these people were deliberately putting on a show, Su Qi'an would have thought of arranging the arrangements here in advance, knowing that Su Qi'an's army would pass by.
But if you look closely, you will find that this temporary market was not built in advance. Judging from the damage to the stalls in the market, you can tell that it has been there for a long time.
There was no fear or pretense on the faces of the people in the market. Whether they were buying or selling, trading, or even bargaining, everything seemed natural and without any pretense.
Even the border counties in Jinzhou are well managed. No wonder Su Zhe has a high prestige in Kyoto and is called the wise king.
If Su Qi'an had not experienced the confrontation with the two kings, looking at the scene in front of him, he would probably think that Su Zhe was a wise king.
Regardless of whether the scene in front of him was true or false, it would not change Su Qi'an's suspicion of Su Zhe.
He didn't stop for too long. After his subordinates took back the customs clearance certificate, he continued to move forward without stopping.
In Great Liang, if Jinzhou is really managed in an orderly manner as rumored, then the position of crown prince would have been in Su Zhe's possession long ago.
Su Qi'an did not doubt that the scene before him was fake and not for show, but there must be his unknown secret behind it. As long as he did it, there would definitely be something wrong and he wouldn't be able to hide it.
This is just a county, and there are more to come. Su Qi'an doesn't believe that there really are such perfect people in this world.
As the army continued to set off, in the next two days, Su Qi'an led the army to pass through two or three counties in northern Jinzhou.
Just like what I saw in the first building, the officials and the people live in harmony, the people live and work in peace and contentment, everyone praises the wisdom of King Jin, and there is no flaw at all.
Su Qi'an was a little disappointed with this result, but it was also expected. Su Zhe was able to be trusted and relied on because of his years of wisdom. If he really saw through it all at once, there would be no need to pretend for so long.
I have to say that Su Zhe's show was indeed very powerful, but if Su Qian didn't see clearly the nature of the fight between the two kings, he might actually help him.
But unfortunately, compared to Su Zhe, Su Qi'an wanted to help the tenth prince Su Xian more.
Su Xian's sincerity, friendliness, and concern for the people at the bottom cannot be faked by a child.
On the contrary, Su Zhe, who has shown himself to be a wise man for more than ten years, has a deeper scheming and more sinister actions, which Su Qi'an knows very well.
After traveling through six counties in a row, all he saw was a harmonious scene. Su Qi'an regretted not being able to find any flaws, but Jinzhou was just passing through during this expedition.
It doesn't matter whether you have discovered it or not. If you travel one county further, even if you leave Jinzhou, you will have entered the boundary of Ganzhou. By then, if you walk more than a hundred miles forward, you should be able to meet the army starting from Jiaozhou.
After that, the two armies reunited, and after walking for seven or eight days, they would reach the Ganzhou Protectorate. After meeting Wang Zhenshan, they would know the specific situation of the current northwest war.
After the army had eaten, drank, and rested for an hour, Su Qian led the army and set off again.
The army traveled with great momentum. Su Qi'an did not intend to see anything more in the last county. He had no intention of staying and wanted to leave Jinzhou in one go.
Even after looking at seven counties, no flaws were found. There was no need to look at the last county, which was a waste of time.
Just when Su Qi'an was about to leave Shanxi County in one go, the army led by him suddenly stopped.
Su Qi'an's eyes flashed, he reined in the horse's rope and looked ahead. After a while, a messenger from the vanguard troops came quickly.
He cupped his fists at Su Qi'an and Xie Cang and said, "Report to the Marquis, there are Jinzhou soldiers blocking the road ahead. There are quite a few of them, about a few thousand people. The leader is their state shepherd."
"According to their wishes, Jinzhou Mu would like to invite the Marquis to have a talk and then let him go."
"Hmph, you are so brave. He actually blocked the road and had to explain it before letting him go. He really thought that because he was a state herdsman, he could be lawless. He was a state herdsman who could not afford to miss the chance of fighting."
Before Su Qi'an could speak, Xie Cang frowned and said coldly, in his opinion, this was a naked provocation.
If you don't come early, you won't come later. But when they are about to leave Jinzhou, they start to block the road.
"Brother Su, you don't need to come forward in this matter. Please let me know for a moment. This Jinzhou Shepherd is really outrageous. He dares to block the road openly. If I don't teach him a lesson, I really think we are easy to bully."
"Come here, pass this order to the Split Mountain Army. Let the Mountain Splitting Army prepare to attack. Wait for my order to kill these bastards at any time."
With that said, Xie Cang was about to rush out on horseback, but was stopped by Su Qi'an on the side.
He grabbed Xie Cang's horse rope, shook his head and said, "Brother Xie, don't be impulsive. This is the boundary of Jinzhou. If this Jinzhou shepherd dares to openly block it, there is no way he doesn't know what will happen if he blocks us."
"I think he has no intention of taking action. If he does take action, it is impossible to bring only a few thousand people. Since the other party has proposed to meet and talk, then let's meet. It will be just in time to see what the Jinzhou Shepherd is planning."
"Of course, if he really wants to take action, I will not be merciful. With our strength, we can defeat them with a single charge. If we take action at the slightest disagreement, he will definitely lose his temper. The best way to stop is to stop quietly."
When Xie Cang heard this, his eyes flashed, then he nodded and said softly, "Brother Su is right, let's meet this Jinzhou Shepherd for a while."
Then, Su Qi'an and Xie Cang rode toward the front leisurely.
After a while, they arrived at the vanguard. In front of them, thousands of Jinzhou soldiers stood in a row and blocked the leaving official road.
In front of the Jinzhou soldiers, a middle-aged man wearing a bright red official robe and an official hat with a rich face, smiling and looking amiable, was sitting on a horse. This man was in charge of all the affairs of Jinzhou. The first governor, Jinzhou Mu Guo Kai.
Seeing Su Qi'an and Xie Cang appear, Guo Kai clasped his fists in salute and said with a smile.
"I think you two are the famous Baishou Hou and Lingdong Hou. It's my great fortune to meet you today. To be so young is really a blessing to me."
"What I did today was really a last resort. I just wanted to see the two princes. I hope the princes won't be surprised."
"To express my apology, I have prepared some wine in Shanxi County so that I can fulfill my duty as a landlord. Please rest assured, Mr. Marquis. It will only take half a day at most and will definitely not delay Mr. Hou's schedule. I also hope that Mr. Hou can give you a favor. .”
