Chapter 597: Fame and Actuality

Yan Liqiang felt dizzy. To others, the imperial court giving him a prefecture was a huge honor and he should be overjoyed, but for Yan Liqiang, the first question he thought was why did His Majesty and Sun Bingchen have such great confidence in him and dared to place such heavy bets on him?

Giving the title of Qiyun Protectorate General, Heavenly Master Craftsmith and even nobility was nothing for the imperial court, but moving Pingxi Prefecture out of Gan Province and changing it to Qiyun Prefecture for him to manage was huge. What rights and capabilities did he have for His Majesty and Sun Bingchen to take him this seriously? Did they know about him assassinating Lin Qingtian in the capital and wanted to reward him? But how could people know about him going to the capital? Lin Qingtian wasn’t dead yet either, so what was going on?

“Yan Liqiang, have you finished reading?” Just when Yan Liqiang was frowning, Liang Yijie asked him a question.

Yan Liqiang glanced at him and knew that Liang Yijie was familiar with the contents of the letter. “Did Lord Sun tell Brother Liang about the message?”

“Lord Sun already told me before I came!”

“I don’t understand. Why did His Majesty and Lord Sun entrust me with such a huge matter!” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and looked at Liang Yijie. “You’re here so I won’t bullsh*t. Although I have some small capabilities and some foundation in Pingxi Prefecture, taking it out and giving it to me completely to actualize my power, I feel… I feel that His Majesty and Lord Sun are taking too much of a risk. I might not be able to live up to the responsibility!”

“Hehe, if it was someone else, they would be overjoyed. They wouldn’t reject this at all. Only you would think about something like that now!”

Yan Liqiang said seriously, “Brother Liang, you probably know that rising in ranks and getting wealthy isn’t that important to me. I have enough wealth for ten lifetimes. There’s too much at stake here and it concerns the lives of countless people around me. If I don’t find out why, I can’t sleep!”

Liang Yijie smiled, “Just as Lord Sun predicted. He told me that you would be treading thin ice instead of being overjoyed. Perhaps it’s due to this that His Majesty and Lord Sun entrust you with such a heavy task. In their eyes, you’re the most suitable one to deal with the situation on the Gulang Plains…”

“Why?”

“You know the situation in the capital. The imperial court is busy with itself and doesn’t have the effort to intervene in the Gulang Plains. When the Shatu took over the plains, the imperial court could still lie to themselves and consider it the Great Han Empire’s territory. But now that the Black Ram people are there and fighting with the Shatu, the imperial court can’t turn a blind eye anymore. Lin Qingtian made a huge commotion about attacking the plains before and getting the citizens excited, but now that the Emperor has regained power and completely neglects the Gulang Plains, what do you think the citizens would say about the Emperor and Lord Sun? This is a difficult situation for them too. They can’t intervene, but they have to. If you were the emperor, what would you do?” Liang Yijie looked at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang frowned and contemplated the thought process of the two in the capital while Liang Yijie continued speaking.

“Before I came here, Lord Sun already discussed all sorts of possibilities with the Emperor. With the current situation, if they sent a capable person here, that person would have no foundation in the northwest. If he wanted to do something, it would be very costly and cause tension between province governors and it might not even be effective. The northwest might sink into chaos instead. The empire is already chaotic enough. Neither the Emperor nor Lord Sun want the northwest in chaos, and I believe you understand this!”

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Yan Liqiang nodded and thought for a moment, “Mhm, it’s right of them to think this way. The Gulang Plains situation can’t be solved by sending a foreign minister. If the Shatu and Black Ram people are that easily dealt with like that, the empire wouldn’t have waited till now!”

“That’s it. Sending the empire’s army into the Gulang Plains to fight for the Shatu definitely won’t work. Sending a capable minister has more drawbacks than benefits. Sending an incapable peacekeeper would only make people laugh. After considering all sorts of possibilities, His Majesty and Lord Sun came to this resolution!”

“Really?” Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly and rubbed his face.

“Yan Liqiang, you don’t need to be so humble. Think about it, you’re already the Qiyun Protectorate, the ambassador for clearing out thugs in the northwest. You’re a Gan Province native. You’re renowned in the northwest and well connected with the local officials. You have a deep foundation in Pingxi Province. The archery academy students are all over the place. You also have the number one factory in the world and the manufacturing bureau to create wealth for you. Whether it’s righteousness, fame, popularity, or wealth, you have it all. You’re just rightfully taking power over this position. Think about it — who else other than you would be suitable for this in the Great Han Empire?”

“The provincial governors of the northwest have power and fame. They have people and wealth. For example, Lei Sitong. Why can’t he do it?”

“Of course not, the provincial governors have the same power and status. If one suddenly rose up and had more authority, the other provincial governors wouldn’t accept it. It’s easy to start an internal conflict. It’s also out of sync with the imperial system. If the provincial governor doesn’t accomplish anything then it’s fine, but if he does and takes back the Gulang Plains, then it would be the same as threatening His Majesty! The other prefectural governors are like this too in this matter!”

“How come Brother Liang makes it sound like I’m the only one who can do this?”

“Hahaha, of course!” Liang Yijie laughed, “Plus, more than half of Pingxi Prefecture is pretty much yours. Just in Pingxi City, His Majesty and Lord Sun heard that you bought half of the city after those Shatu people were kicked out. This is too shocking…”

“Huh? They even know this too?” Yan Liqiang was shocked.

“Of course the imperial court has eyes here. How could they not know?”

Yan Liqiang blankly stated, “If Pingxi Prefecture is separated from Gan Province, this is like cutting flesh from Lei Sitong. How can he agree?”

“If there isn’t a trade, he wouldn’t agree, but if there’s a suitable condition, Lei Sitong wouldn’t reject either. After all, although he’s the governor, the land isn’t his — it’s the Emperor and the empire’s!”

“What condition did the empire give Lei Sitong?”

“They gave him a five-year tax break. After five years, they only need to give 80% of the tax, and the remaining 20% can be kept for Gan Province to use. This tax increases 2% every year so that means Gan Province would only need to pay regular tax after 15 years. Other than this, the nearby mountainous regions between the Gan, Lan and other provinces would be under the management of Gan Province!”

“The other governors don’t mind?”

“No one manages those places anyway. Plus, at this time, the Emperor has regained control of power and is clearing people out. Who dares to make His Majesty unhappy?!”