Chapter 5030: Chiseling the Five Ridges

Chapter 5030: Chiseling the Five Ridges
Fang Jun took a sip of tea, took the letter, and read it quickly.

Zhang Junzheng, the father of Zhang Zizhou, had served as the deputy governor of Shaozhou for many years. Because Shaozhou was far away from Lingnan and inconvenient to travel with Fanyang, he moved his family there. The letter mentioned that Shaozhou was located at the southern foot of Lingnan, and to the north was Dayuling, one of the Five Ridges. The mountains were crisscrossed, the roads were obliterated, and the area was extremely poor.

Zhang Junzheng served in Shaozhou for many years. He visited various places, went deep into the mountains and forests, and observed the terrain. He then had the ambition to dig through the mountains and connect the north and the south. He also surveyed and drew maps and made detailed designs. However, Shaozhou was too far away from Guangzhou, the capital of Lingnan Province. The local population was sparse and it was difficult to gather enough corvée labor. There was also a lack of money and food. Officials at all levels made many excuses, so the project was shelved for many years.

This time Zhang Zizhou came to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and specially ordered him to bring a letter to visit, hoping that Fang Jun could advise His Majesty to drill through Dayu Mountain...

Putting down the letter, Fang Jun frowned and thought.

The name Lingnan comes from "South of the Five Ridges". The five mountain ranges stretch from east to west, separating the north and the south. Before the Qin Dynasty, it was a land of miasma and was inhabited by barbarians, who had never entered the Central Plains since ancient times.

Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms and his ambition remained undiminished. He vowed to "conquer the kings of the Hundred Yue in the south" and sent Tu Sui to lead 500,000 Qin troops to attack Lingnan. After ten years of war and the loss of countless elite soldiers, the Qin army basically occupied Lingnan.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Shihuang established three counties, namely Guilin, Xiangjun and Nanhai, in the Lingnan region he had captured, officially incorporating Lingnan into the territory of the Qin Dynasty.

When the Qin Dynasty fell, Zhao Tuo led an army to cut off the road from the Five Ridges to the Central Plains, established the Nanyue Kingdom, and called himself "King Wu of Nanyue". In the sixth year of Yuanding, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent General Lu Bode and General Yang Pu to lead the army to pacify Nanyue, and set up nine counties: Nanhai, Cangwu, Yulin, Hepu, Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, Rinnan, Dan'er, and Zhuya.

However, due to the isolation of the Five Ridges and the lack of navigation technology, travel was extremely inconvenient. Although Lingnan was nominally under the jurisdiction of the central government, it was actually isolated from the central government and acted on its own.

In order to facilitate the supervision of officials in various counties, the Han Dynasty established thirteen permanent supervisory agencies, called the "Thirteen Departments". Among them, the Jiaozhi Department was located in Guangxin County, Cangwu County, and was specifically responsible for correcting the nine counties in Lingnan.

From ancient times to the present, although Lingnan has been under the jurisdiction of the central government and nominally the territory of a country, in reality it has always been independent of the central government, like a "country within a country."

To this day, although Feng Ang has long since sworn allegiance to the Tang Dynasty and recognized the officials sent by the Tang Dynasty, the area of ​​Lingnan is still under his control. People call him the "King of Lingnan". The two emperors Gaozu and Taizong were wise and powerful, but they could only appease Feng Ang.

What Zhang Junzheng said in the letter was not entirely true. When the central government had sufficient gunpowder to blast through the mountains, the biggest obstacle preventing them from breaking through Dayu Mountain and connecting the north and the south was not manpower or money, but Feng Ang.

The navy roamed the sea, and the central government could dispatch troops to Lingnan by sea at any time, but navigation at sea was slow, and there were very few ports that could dock large ships and supply the army for landing. After counting, there was only one port, Guangzhou. Even if the central government was dissatisfied with Feng Ang, there was still time for the situation to turn around.

But once Dayu Mountain was penetrated, the north and the south were instantly connected, and the army could cross Dayu Mountain and enter Lingnan continuously, and Feng Ang's power would be gone.

Of course, in history, Dayuling Mountain was indeed dug through during the Tang Dynasty, connecting the north and the south.

But who has done this feat?

It seems to be... Zhang Jiuling?

……

Fang Jun put down the letter, drank a sip of tea, and asked Zhang Zizhou: "There are countless benefits to drilling through Dayu Mountain, but there are also obstacles and difficulties everywhere. The most difficult part is, you..."

At this point, he turned around and asked his mother, Mrs. Lu: "What should I call you?"

Madam Lu waved her hand and said, "You two are of the same generation, you should call me brother!"

Fang Jun: "..."

Madam, don't you understand my current status?
He's just a distant relative. It's already a great honor for the world for us to sit together and talk together. Why do you still call me brother?

I can call out, but can you please ask him if he dares to answer?
As expected, Zhang Zizhou had already stood up, with a look of panic on his face: "I was just a warehouse official in Shan County before, a low-ranking official, how dare I be so arrogant? I use my courtesy name as my name, so the commander can just call me by my courtesy name."

Fang Jun looked at his mother and raised his eyebrows, a little proud. Your son is a high-ranking official. You should be aware of this and don't always take it lightly...

He turned around and asked Zhang Zizhou to sit down again, and continued: "...Zizhou, your father insisted on excavating Dayu Mountain. Among the many difficulties, what do you think is the most difficult one?"

Zhang Zizhou said respectfully, "Of course it is Duke Geng."

In the fifth year of Wude, Feng Ang accepted Li Jing's letter of appeal and led his subordinates to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan set up eight prefectures in Feng Ang's jurisdiction, namely Gao, Luo, Chun, Bai, Ya, Dan, Lin and Zhen, and appointed Feng Ang as Shangzhuguo and Governor of Gaozhou, and conferred him the title of Duke of Wu, which was soon changed to Duke of Yue. He also appointed Feng Ang's son Feng Zhidai as Governor of Chunzhou and Feng Zhiyu as Governor of Donghezhou.

Soon after, Emperor Gaozu changed Feng Ang's title to Duke of Geng.

Fang Jun nodded: "It seems that you and your son have already made a plan..."

He paused, his smile faded, his face became serious, and his aura was overwhelming: "Feng Ang is a man who is feared by the people of Lingnan. He is powerful and skilled in weapons. Even Your Majesty is afraid of him. If I use the righteousness of the Central Government to suppress him and not prevent the drilling of Dayu Mountain, how can he let it go? If this leads to chaos in Lingnan, or even a sudden outbreak of war, I will be a sinner of the Tang Dynasty!"

"what?"

Mrs. Lu was shocked. She just thought that an old relative came to ask for help. Given her son's current power and status, she would help if it was not too troublesome.

Who would have thought that it might lead to chaos in Lingnan?

She was the daughter of Lu from Fanyang and had been well-versed in classics and history since childhood. She certainly understood how much responsibility her son would have to bear if such consequences occurred.

He immediately became furious and glared at Zhang Zizhou with raised eyebrows: "I treat you as an old relative with all my heart, how could you and your son deceive my son?"

Princess Gaoyang, who had been silent the whole time, was also dissatisfied: "What kind of relatives are you? Please leave immediately and never have any contact with us again!"

Zhang Zizhou quickly stood up again, stood in the hall, bowed to the ground, and said with a wry smile: "Your Highness, calm down, Auntie, calm down! According to common sense, what the commander said is indeed possible, but now the situation has changed, and we can't judge it by common sense."

Mrs. Lu glanced at her son who was drinking tea steadily, then stared at Zhang Zizhou and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Zizhou spread his hands and said, "Because Feng Ang is about to die!"

Lu also knew that Feng Ang had absolute power in Lingnan. If he was pushed too far, he would rebel without hesitation, cede land and claim his own kingdom. But if Feng Ang was gone, even if the Feng family still existed, the situation would be very different.

However, she was unwilling to let her son take any risks, and said decisively: "Then wait until Feng Ang dies!"

Zhang Zizhou was helpless. He looked at Fang Jun and said sincerely, "Digging through Dayu Mountain is like creating the world. The labor service imposed by the government will be tens of thousands, and the money and grain consumed will be countless. The construction period is unpredictable. If we wait until Feng Ang dies to discuss this matter, wouldn't it be a waste of time? The people of Shaozhou have suffered from the isolation of the Five Ridges for a long time! We can discuss whether this is feasible first. If it is feasible, we can prepare it and start digging as soon as Feng Ang dies!"

Fang Jun still frowned: "Where did you get this information from?"

To this day, neither the imperial court nor the navy has received any news that Feng Ang is seriously ill and will not live long, otherwise they would have already sent additional troops to take precautions.

Feng Ang is like a pillar supporting the sky in Lingnan. Once this pillar collapses, no one knows what will happen.

Zhang Zizhou said, "My father has served in Lingnan for many years. Although he is only the deputy governor of a state, he has extensive connections and has frequent contacts with the sons of the Feng family. Now the Feng family's old house in Gaozhou has been closed to visitors for a long time. People in Lingnan suspect that Duke Geng is seriously ill, but they have no evidence and can only inquire about it. My father's source of information is absolutely accurate. The court should make a decision as soon as possible."

Fang Jun stood up and said to Lu: "Feng Ang is tantamount to claiming his own kingdom in Lingnan. His life and death are of great importance. I will bring Zizhou to the palace to report to Your Majesty, and then we can discuss whether to excavate Dayu Ridge."

Lu said hurriedly: "Go quickly!"

He also reminded: "Since Zizhou has passed the imperial examination, he will surely be selected and appointed as an official. You have a very good relationship with the Prince of Hejian. If necessary, you may as well advocate for Zizhou in front of the prince. You must find a rich and stable place. Don't go to Lingnan like his father, thousands of miles away from home, and live a hard life in a remote and poor place."

The old lady was very accepting of the relationship. Although Zhang Zizhou did not mention a word about needing the Fang family to take care of his career during his visit, she firmly believed that there was no need to mention this matter. As long as he came to acknowledge the relationship, the Fang family would have the obligation to take care of it.

Moreover, if it was just about excavating Dayuling Mountain, it would be fine. She didn't understand the conflicts of interest involved. But her son had a very good relationship with the current Minister of Personnel, Li Xiaogong. He was just a newly-minted Jinshi, and the highest he could be selected as an official was only the sixth or seventh rank. Isn't it just a matter of Erlang's words?
Relatives are like this. If you can help, don't stand idly by. No matter if you are from an aristocratic family or a noble family, haven't they been like this for generations, sharing the same roots and helping each other?
Zhang Zizhou said hurriedly, "Aunt, I appreciate your kindness, but the purpose of my visit is to dig the Dayu Ridge and benefit the people. This is a public matter, and I dare not shamelessly seek the care of the Grand Commandant. Although I am not talented, knowledgeable, and morally upright, I dare not disregard the laws of the country."

After hearing what he said, Mrs. Lu became even more concerned. A young man who did not rely on connections, was down-to-earth and had talent would be able to help her without any worries even if it violated some principles.

Then he stood up and walked forward, saying angrily: "Relatives should help each other. Why do you have to follow those pedantic people? Don't worry about this matter, just let Erlang handle it."

Then he said to Fang Jun: "Zizhou is shy and embarrassed to ask for help, so you should take it to heart."

Fang Jun was helpless, but what could he do since his mother said so?
"Don't worry, mother. I have my own ideas."