Fan Xicheng stared at the young master Han Qian, who had bound his own hands, bared his chest and torso in the open wilderness before the city, and was shivering from the cold wind as he walked step by step toward the city gate. His heart was filled with endless emotions.
Just over two short years ago, who could have imagined that the young master at that time was still a worthless wastrel who angered the family head so much he would vomit blood every day, yet by today had transformed into a young hero who could leave the court helpless and intended to dominate and establish independent control over the corner of Xuzhou?
Over the past year and more, Xuzhou had simultaneously opened up land prohibitions while using gold mine rumors to attract refugees flooding in. Amid this mix of all sorts, besides the large-scale infiltration of Tanzhou forces, there were also quite a few water stockade forces that Yang Qin had invited from Poyang Lake to settle here under Han Qian’s instructions.
Fan Xicheng, who had remained in Xuzhou serving at Han Daoxun’s side in Qianyang City all this time, was extremely clear about the situation. He also knew that through redemption, the Xi clan members gathered near Qianyang City now exceeded one thousand in scale.
The forces Han Qian had secretly cultivated in Xuzhou were directly reflected in the expanded scale of the Xuzhou boat gang’s fleet and armed guards.
Before the Feng clan members migrated west, the Xuzhou boat gang possessed sixteen medium and large semi-armed sailing ships, four hundred sailors and boatmen, and three hundred armed guards. This had almost completely exhausted the able-bodied men Han Qian directly controlled in Xuzhou, so that the Wufeng Mountain plantation, mines, and smelting works could only hire refugees on a large scale to farm and work.
Logically speaking, this manpower alone was still insufficient for them to establish a foothold in Xuzhou, still insufficient for them to contend with the forces of the local prominent families.
The westward migration of the Feng clan members and servants was a rather significant turning point.
The Feng clan members and servants arriving in Xuzhou had no one to rely on, but their internal cohesion had not yet dissipated. Once they became vassals controlled by them after arriving in Xuzhou, they could provide nearly a thousand able-bodied men for Han Qian’s use, thereby substantially elevating their power in Xuzhou to the point of directly contending with the Four Great Clans.
After the second batch of Feng clan members and servants arrived in Xuzhou, Han Daoxun ordered the city gates closed and strictly prohibited entry or exit. Fan Xicheng had thought the family head was making too much of a small matter. But seeing Han Qian appear directly beneath the city today, he truly understood in his heart—it was still the family head who understood the young master’s calculations and ambitions best!
Fan Xicheng looked toward Zhao Kuo and several other household troops standing behind the family head. At this moment, they were all looking at each other in dismay, completely unsure how to handle the scene before them.
Could it be that after the family head gave the order, they would really shoot the young master dead on the spot beneath the city?
Fan Xicheng had followed at Han Daoxun’s side the longest and best understood Han Daoxun’s sincere heart devoted to the people. But less than half a month after the second batch of Feng clan members arrived in Xuzhou, the young master had now directly led so many men and arrived in Xuzhou unannounced. Even counting on one’s toes, one could understand the young master was determined to establish independent control of Xuzhou this time. Could the family head, who was devoted to pleading for the people and unwilling to see warfare cause the populace to flee and scatter, truly tolerate the young master acting so recklessly at this time?
Yet seeing the young master with an appearance of bearing thorns to plead guilty, walking step by step beneath the city, Fan Xicheng’s heart was filled with great confusion. Could it be that the young master was confident he could persuade the family head to agree that the Han family would henceforth establish independent control of Xuzhou?
Fan Xicheng glanced at the family head Han Daoxun’s ashen expression. His heart was in complete chaos, utterly uncertain how to untangle the deadly knot before them.
Of course, Fan Xicheng also noticed that some people atop the city wall had somewhat perfunctory expressions, perhaps thinking the family head was merely putting on a show. He also didn’t know what the young master was actually thinking—with so few men, what could they accomplish? Could it really be as the family head predicted, that they would become vassals of Tanzhou and jointly oppose the court?
If that were the case, wouldn’t this land that had formerly belonged to the Jiangnan West Circuit be torn apart by the flames of war again, with the people unable to make a living?
Han Qian walked beneath the city, shivering from the cold wind. Looking up and seeing more than ten bows protruding from behind the battlements, their arrowheads glinting coldly as they aimed at him, he silently cursed in his heart, thinking that in the future he truly wouldn’t do this kind of thing to play the hero anymore.
However, regretting it now was too late. He could only steel his courage and call out loudly: “I fought bloody battles atop the walls of Xichuan, preserving Jingxiang for the court and achieving great merit. Others say I took unorthodox paths and shouldn’t be rewarded for merit—I harbor no resentment in my heart. I’ve returned to Xuzhou with no intention of bringing chaos to Xuzhou. But with the Feng family’s precedent as a warning, the Han family cannot fail to take precautions.”
At this moment, Fan Xicheng and Zhao Kuo and the others looked at each other even more in dismay. They hadn’t expected that even after arriving beneath the city bearing thorns to plead guilty, Han Qian would still dare to loudly proclaim his disloyalty. Wasn’t this forcing the family head to kill him?
Han Daoxun’s withered, haggard face seemed to have an entire mountain pressing upon his heart. At this moment, he seemed to exhaust all his strength to say: “Since this unfilial son dares to throw himself into the trap, then confine him first. When the court sends someone, I will personally escort him back to Jinling to plead guilty!”
Zhao Kuo and the others all stood there without moving. Fan Xicheng could only steel himself and lead several people down from the city tower…
……
……
“Achoo!”
Although Xuzhou was not as cold as Jinling at this time, Han Qian walking all the way bare-chested was enough to make him suffer. Under Fan Xicheng’s escort with his men, walking into the eastern courtyard of Furong Garden in the rear residence of the Governor’s Office, Han Qian sneezed repeatedly.
Old Han Shan and his wife, along with Qing Yun, held clothing in their hands but only dared to stand at a distance, not daring to approach and help Han Qian put on the garments.
“Aunt Zhou, quickly go boil me a bowl of ginger and sugar tea to dispel the cold—I’m nearly frozen to death!” Han Qian casually called out to Old Han Shan’s wife.
“…” Seeing Han Qian so unconcerned at this moment, Fan Xicheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had the others guard the courtyard while he accompanied Han Qian inside, helping him untie his bindings while sighing and saying, “Young master, it’s not that you don’t know what kind of person the family head is. The family head will absolutely not tolerate your recklessness. No matter what, you shouldn’t have entered the city at this time!”
“Steward Fan, what are you thinking in your heart?” Han Qian stared at Fan Xicheng and asked.
Fan Xicheng smiled bitterly in his heart. Great Chu had only been founded for fourteen or fifteen years. Even the family head Han Daoxun in his youth had still been serving as a clerk in the Shengzhou Military Commissioner’s Office, and he himself had drifted about fallen for half his life until he finally found shelter under the Han family’s household in Chuzhou. Naturally, he had no loyalty to speak of toward Great Chu.
It was just that having experienced too much chaos and disorder, Fan Xicheng somewhat missed the days of being a dog in peaceful times and didn’t want to experience warfare again. Of course, if the Han family truly had the possibility of establishing independent control of Xuzhou, he wouldn’t resist it in his heart, that was all.
He believed that in Furong Garden, the vast majority of household troops and retainers shared his sentiments.
However, Fan Xicheng’s loyalty ultimately belonged to the family head Han Daoxun.
Therefore, he felt Han Qian shouldn’t have entered the city at this time—at least not before the family head had changed his mind.
Seeing Fan Xicheng fall silent, Han Qian no longer pressed the topic and asked instead: “Where is Zhao Kuo?”
Han Qian had been escorted directly from beneath the city into Furong Garden and hadn’t seen Zhao Kuo’s figure.
“Zhao Kuo is still responsible for guarding atop the city wall,” Fan Xicheng said.
Only then did Han Qian roll up his trouser leg and untie the secret edict wrapped around his calf, handing it to Fan Xicheng and saying: “Before my father is angered to death by me, quickly take this for him to see. But aside from Steward Fan and my father, this secret edict must not enter a third person’s eyes! Zhao Kuo, Ji Fu, Old Han Shan and the others are no exception.”
“This…”
Fan Xicheng glanced over the contents of the secret edict and stood there with his body rigid, as if struck by lightning, instinctively suspecting this secret edict had been forged by the young master Han Qian.
However, thinking carefully, Fan Xicheng realized that if all this didn’t have Emperor Tianyou’s direct authorization and the Third Prince’s active cooperation, for the young master Han Qian to flee alone or flee with a few people would be very easy, but to ultimately bring so many men and supplies to Xuzhou in flight—the difficulty of that would be extraordinarily great.
Fan Xicheng hurriedly went to the front office to see Han Daoxun carrying the secret edict. At this time, Madam Han Zhou brought over a bowl of ginger tea. Han Qian put on his robe and drank the ginger tea to warm his body. After waiting for a while, he saw his father and Fan Xicheng hurrying over.
“What exactly is going on here?” Han Daoxun closed the door before taking out the secret edict and placing it on the table, asking with a solemn face.
“Two months ago, His Majesty summoned your son into the palace, intending within two years to abolish the Tanzhou Military Commissioner’s Office so that officials of the three prefectures of Tan, Lang, and Yue would all be appointed by Jinling rather than hereditary by the Ma clan. Your son then献上 this stratagem of deceiving heaven and crossing the sea. By next autumn, your son must organize an elite military force in Xuzhou capable of deploying troops from the upper Yuan River to contain Tanzhou, creating favorable conditions for Jinling to send troops. Of course, the best outcome would be for the Ma clan to voluntarily request removal of their hereditary Tanzhou Military Commissioner position!” Han Qian said.
“Why didn’t you send someone to inform me in advance?” Han Daoxun thought of how he had wavered for a moment atop the city wall, nearly ordering Han Qian shot to death. Thinking of it now still frightened him, and he demanded an explanation.
Han Qian certainly wouldn’t admit that his failure to notify in advance was purely intentional to test his father’s intentions. Unfortunately, this old angry youth was still too stubborn—he didn’t believe that occupying Xuzhou at this time would benefit both the nation and the people!
Han Qian could only say: “Only thus could we father and son perform this play before Qianyang City to perfection, thoroughly deceiving Tanzhou and other forces! Next, I ask Father to order the opening of Qianyang City gates to allow the Feng clan members and Left Bureau forces to enter the city. Then Father should send someone to Jinling to submit a memorial pleading guilty and punishing your son’s departure without notice! Only in this way can His Majesty have a pretext to continue rewarding us father and son with merit and noble titles!”
Fan Xicheng had to admit that going through this entire process would make the world firmly believe the court was compelled by the situation in the southwest and had no choice but to temporarily acquiesce to the fact of the Han family establishing independent control of Xuzhou. But he also clearly understood in his heart that in doing so, the family head Han Daoxun would become, in the eyes of the world, a thoroughly hypocritical and treacherous villain!
Starting from the “Epidemic Water Memorial,” Han Daoxun hadn’t much cared about damage to his personal reputation. He hesitated and asked: “Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou were just granted death, the Feng family was confiscated—how could the Feng clan members possibly help the court contain Tanzhou?”
“The Feng clan members have no value. What truly has value are those five thousand Feng family servants and retainers,” Han Qian said. “Feng Liao and the others don’t know of the secret edict’s existence. At this time, they all deeply believe that you and I, Father, have ambitions to occupy Xuzhou. So next, isolating the Feng clan members from the servants and retainers, I believe Feng Liao and the others won’t object either. After I’ve conscripted and absorbed all the Feng family servants, the Feng clan’s attitude at that time will truly be insufficient to worry about.”
The Feng clan members and servants who ultimately migrated to Xuzhou numbered over five thousand six hundred people, of which Feng clan descendants were only over four hundred. The majority were servants, retainers, and their dependents that the Feng clan had enslaved and employed over the years.
The Feng clan migrating to Xuzhou were dependent on others’ charity, with no money, no grain, no land, no estates in hand. For Han Qian to now conscript the Feng family’s servants and retainers—how could he allow Feng Liao and the others to refuse?
For Feng Liao and the others, rather than offending the Han father and son at this time, it would be better to properly attach themselves to the great tree of the Han father and son rooted in Xuzhou, hoping for an opportunity for the Feng clan to rise again.