Two ships’ sails billowed full as they traced two graceful arcs of water at the mouth where Dongting Lake connects to the Yangtze River. Fine waves broke white as spray as the vessels glided lightly yet swiftly into the Yangtze channel. Perhaps someone aboard had scattered food, attracting a great flock of waterbirds competing eagerly for the morsels.
On a river isle not far away, a large grove of water cedars grew along the shore.
Two black-canopied boats lay concealed deep within the water cedar forest.
Several sturdy men crouched on one of the black-canopied boats, vigilantly watching for any movement around the water cedar grove.
Two men dressed as scholars sat at the bow of the other black-canopied boat. Through gaps in the trees, they gazed at the rippling waters of Dongting Lake beyond the isle and conversed. They happened to see those two cargo vessels, fully laden and riding deep in the water, pass by not far away.
The somewhat younger middle-aged scholar, wearing a gray cloth robe, introduced the two swift ships that had just passed to the elder whose face was covered in wrinkles like tree bark:
“These swift ships built in Xuzhou use sails made from a denser, more resilient Qianyang cloth. They’re far lighter than the rush or reed sails made elsewhere, allowing them to be constructed wider and larger to catch more wind. Even when fully loaded with cargo, they’re more than twice as fast as ordinary sailing vessels. Additionally, Xuzhou can now cast four-pronged iron anchors weighing up to two thousand jin. When dropped into the water, they grip the riverbed firmly, allowing their thousand-stone ships to anchor directly in mid-river without fearing wind and waves… These two features are what makes Xuzhou ships difficult for other places to replicate.”
The elder spoke with considerable concern: “Seeing is believing indeed. I never imagined Xuzhou’s ships could be this fast. With the situation in Kaifeng still unstable, we can’t spare the manpower to replicate Xuzhou’s ships, Qianyang cloth, or their ironwork. But if we can stabilize the situation over two or three years, everything becomes possible. His Majesty sent these old bones of mine here mainly out of concern for any unusual movements in Yueyang.”
“Regarding Han Daoxun’s death, the Dowager Consort, Li Pu, and Zheng Chang all bear responsibility. Everyone knows Han Qian isn’t a magnanimous person, so they guard against him most severely. But as long as they don’t press Yang Yuanpu too urgently, Yang Yuanpu believes he can control the situation through Shen Yang, so he no longer feels such urgent need for Han Qian,” the middle-aged scholar said. “I haven’t yet fathomed Princess Qingyang’s state of mind or what collusion she might have with Han Qian privately. But as long as Han Qian cannot directly interfere in Yueyang, he shouldn’t pose much threat.”
“We absolutely cannot underestimate Han Qian because of that. News has already come back from Shu. Princess Qingyang was abducted by Han Qian when he fled Shu. King Wang Jian of Shu distanced himself from his eldest son Wang Hongyi and employed his second son, Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong, to govern southern Ba—this all occurred during Han Qian’s embassy to Chu. His Majesty has seen the ‘Memorial on Governing Southern Ba’ submitted by Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong and judges it may well have come from Han Qian’s hand. No one under Marquis Wang Yong possesses such vision,” the elder said with feeling. “If Han Qian had already foreseen the complexity of loyalties in Yueyang and deliberately chose to withdraw to Xuzhou, maintaining an ambiguous relationship with Yueyang, do you still think he poses no threat?”
The middle-aged scholar stood up with a shudder.
Most of Yueyang’s intelligence network was in Jinyun Tower. Marquis Xinchang’s household and the Zheng family each had their own information sources, but their scope was rather narrow, focusing only on places and people of concern to them.
After all, deploying an intelligence system covering prefectures and counties was far too costly in this age. Most of the time, scattered scouts could only perform simple information gathering tasks.
Although Han Qian no longer directly controlled Jinyun Tower, no one could deny that those loyal to Yang Yuanpu like Jiang Huo and Yuan Guowei remained under Han Qian’s influence.
The middle-aged scholar had thought himself close enough to Yueyang’s core, yet he knew little of the details regarding Han Qian’s time in Shu or his escort of Princess Qingyang’s escape back to Great Chu. Only after Kaifeng’s Chengtian Bureau’s secret scouts gathered relevant intelligence from Shu could he learn more. But this was long after Han Qian had fled back to Xuzhou.
“The Xi family of Chenzhou disputes Jimingzhai with Xuzhou. Control of the Chen River is at stake. From the current situation, the Xi family likely won’t dare rashly take up arms, but as long as they stir up trouble and make Xuzhou arrogant, they can somewhat make Yang Yuanpu wary. And if Princess Qingyang was truly abducted to Yueyang, even though Yuzhou currently needs much from Xuzhou, resentment will fester. We need only spread some rumors. Just to clear herself, Princess Qingyang will distance herself from Xuzhou,” the middle-aged scholar sorted through his thoughts and outlined his main strategy against Xuzhou. “With these two moves, I believe Han Qian and Yang Yuanpu will grow increasingly distant and eventually part ways. Shen Yang has always known Han Qian to be wildly ambitious yet unorthodox in methods. Given a choice, Shen Yang would never think first of cooperating with Han Qian.”
“You must not be too hasty in Yueyang and leave traces. The key is to let Yang Yuanpu feel he has the situation well in hand, to let Yang Yuanpu himself want to shake off his dependence on Han Qian,” the elder said.
“Prince Xin defeated the Southern Court Imperial Guards decisively in his first battle at Jinling. Yueyang may ultimately find it difficult to resist Prince Xin’s unification of Chu. Perhaps Elder Lei and His Majesty should focus more attention on Chuzhou,” the middle-aged scholar finally couldn’t help saying.
“When I left Kaifeng, I didn’t know Yang Yuanyan could so easily crush the Southern Court Imperial Guards with Wang Wenqian’s assistance. But when His Majesty planted the Crouching Tiger beside Han Daoxun rather than beside Wang Wenqian all those years ago, there was a reason,” the elder said. “I once asked His Majesty about this in casual conversation. His Majesty said that with Wang Wenqian, Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan might become a hegemon, but only with Han Daoxun would he have a chance to become a true sovereign.”
“Hegemon? True sovereign?” The middle-aged scholar murmured, pondering the subtle distinction between these two different titles. Yet deep confusion remained in his heart. “If Yang Yuanyan isn’t destined for true sovereignty, could Yang Yuanpu, who was born with so many inherent flaws, possibly seize the final fruits of victory?”
Having dealt extensively with Marquis Xinchang’s household, the Dowager Consort, and the Zheng family, the middle-aged scholar knew Yang Yuanpu’s indecisive nature would be difficult to reverse in the short term. He was easily influenced by others. He could hardly imagine how the new Emperor could place such importance on Yueyang merely because of Han Qian alone—viewing Yueyang as a mortal enemy, dispatching Lei Jiuyuan personally to understand the Yueyang situation and give him detailed instructions, wanting him to intensify yet more cleverly drive a wedge between Han Qian and Yang Yuanpu…
“Whatever may come, you must remember one thing in Yueyang: before the situation in Kaifeng stabilizes, you must never let Han Qian have the possibility of inciting Yueyang to join forces with Shu’s army and attack Guanzhong or Heluoyang,” the elder said.
The middle-aged scholar felt the elder was being somewhat alarmist. He thought to himself that His Majesty would stabilize Kaifeng’s situation within two or three years. In those two or three years, even if Han Qian could quickly return to Yueyang and regain Yang Yuanpu’s trust and dependence, between Yueyang and Guanzhong or Heluoyang still lay Jingzhou guarded by Zhang Xiang and Xiangzhou guarded by Du Chongtao. How could he enable Yueyang and Shu’s forces to join hands and enter Guanzhong or Heluoyang?
Of course, the middle-aged scholar respected the elder and nodded in agreement to all the requirements the elder solemnly proposed.
—
Jiufeng Ridge lay at the junction of Shao, Heng, and Yong prefectures. To the west was Five Finger Ridge, the boundary mountains between Shaozhou and Yongzhou. To the east was Lion Ridge, the boundary mountains between Hengzhou and Yongzhou.
When Li Zhigao led the Left Vermillion Bird Army into Shaozhou and subsequently became Shaozhou Prefect and Military Commissioner supervising the three prefectures of Shao, Heng, and Yong, besides repairing the fortresses on Five Finger Ridge and Lion Ridge, over the past half year he had been constructing Jiufeng City on the southern face of Jiufeng Ridge as the main base for resisting the Yongzhou rebels.
If necessary, Jiufeng City could also become a base for attacking the Yongzhou rebels. Provisions, supplies, and troops from the rear could continuously gather here and be deployed into Yongzhou territory.
Li Zhigao’s firm choice of Jiufeng Ridge as his main base rather than placing it on the Xiang River bank at the southeastern foot of Lion Ridge—not relying on the Xiang River waterway to maintain communications with Tanzhou and other places—was due not only to the险峻 rugged terrain along both banks of the Xiang River southeast of Lion Ridge, but mainly because Jiufeng Ridge, through the Xuefeng Mountain post road, was closer to Xuzhou.
In Li Zhigao’s view, with proper preparation, an attack on Yongzhou launched from Jiufeng City would be sufficiently supported by supplies from Shaozhou and Xuzhou.
If King Nanhai Liu Yin led the Jinghai Army to intervene, that would be an entirely different calculation.
Before Jiufeng Ridge flowed a stream running south into Yongzhou territory, then joining the Xiang River from the south before winding northward.
As time entered the fourth month, the stream’s current grew stronger. Mountain torrents poured into the channel, muddying the water.
Li Zhigao reined in his horse and stopped on a cliff on Jiufeng Ridge’s southern slope, gazing at the stream below. His thick black eyebrows knitted slightly, and his deep black eyes gleamed with hidden light, concealing thoughts others could not fathom.
Just then, several riders came galloping up from the foot of the mountain.
Li Zhigao saw it was his guard commander Deng Tai leading several riders toward him.
Deng Tai, Zhou Tong, and Hao Zixia were all elite trusted subordinates Li Zhigao had personally promoted and cultivated from the lower ranks. They now held mid-to-high-level positions as Deputy Military Supervisors and Military Supervisors. He had sent them to Xuzhou to see Han Qian a few days ago.
Seeing Deng Tai return to Jiufeng City so early, Li Zhigao’s expression brightened as he strode toward Deng Tai.
“Commander, I didn’t get to see Master Han this trip. I was intercepted by that fellow Tian Cheng just after reaching Qianyang. He said Master Han is observing mourning at Dragon Tooth Mountain and wants to concentrate on reading. He won’t receive any outside visitors for three months and won’t be disturbed for any reason…” Deng Tai dismounted and, disregarding the fatigue of many days’ hard travel, reported the results of his journey across the Xuefeng Mountain post road to see Han Qian in Xuzhou.
“You didn’t see Han Qian?” Zhou Tong, First Military Supervisor of the Left Vermillion Bird Army, asked in confusion. “Would Xuzhou really be willing to see the Commander transferred to Ezhou and have Chai Jian come garrison Jiufeng City? Did you explain the Commander’s plan to Tian Cheng…”
Everyone knew Tian Cheng was Han Qian’s trusted subordinate. If they couldn’t see Han Qian, conveying the message through Tian Cheng should work just as well.
“I told Tian Cheng the Commander’s plan, but it seems Xuzhou had long anticipated the Commander would have such a plan, yet they were dismissive. Tian Cheng wouldn’t even let me pass Qianyang to reach Linjiang County. I heard Feng Liao also returned from Yueyang to Xuzhou. I truly don’t know what they’re thinking, or perhaps what His Highness and Minister Shen told Han Qian through Feng Liao?” Deng Tai also couldn’t understand why Han Qian refused to see him and speculated rather angrily.
Ever since they had jointly staged the military remonstrance that shattered certain people in Marquis Xinchang’s household’s attempt to control His Highness’s person, they had always viewed Xuzhou as their most steadfast ally. But they never imagined the day would come when they’d be turned away at Xuzhou’s door.
Li Zhigao’s brow locked tightly as he stared at the rocks at his feet. Deng Tai’s rejection at the door surprised him equally.
Although Yueyang’s transfer order had reached his hands, the saying went that “a general in the field need not accept all commands from his sovereign.” As long as he had suitable reasons and excuses, even if it might create a rift in the trust relationship between himself and Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu, compliance wasn’t absolutely necessary.
For instance, if military conflict with the rebels suddenly erupted now, Li Zhigao could of course righteously refuse a change of command during battle, delaying the transfer to Ezhou until after the “military conflict” was resolved.
Having led the Left Vermillion Bird Army to garrison the Five Finger Ridge, Lion Ridge, and Jiufeng Ridge line for nearly a year, working tirelessly to build fortifications and train troops, Li Zhigao hoped that one day he could personally annihilate those two rebel forces of Zhao Sheng and Luo Jia, putting a perfect ending to the campaign to reduce the vassals’ power.
The Yueyang transfer order wanted him to lead troops to garrison Ezhou. In terms of Ezhou’s status and its distance from Yueyang and their mutual relationship as protective buffers, even if some troops were divided from him, Li Zhigao’s power would only increase. Li Zhigao understood in his heart this wasn’t because His Highness didn’t trust him, but because he trusted and relied on him even more.
However, for Yueyang to truly rise, the first step must be to resolve the Yongzhou rebels!
Only by first resolving the Yongzhou rebels could Yueyang truly bring their strategy to life!
At that point, with King Nanhai Liu Yin’s forces weak and not daring to covet Hunan, they would eliminate their rear concerns while also bringing Yongzhou and the rebel remnants under their control to strengthen their power.
Reaching that step, they could leave local prefecture garrisons to defend the south. The Left and Right Vermillion Bird Armies plus the Five Fang Army—nearly sixty thousand elite troops—could fully concentrate on the Yueyang-Ezhou line.
At that time, they might even take advantage of the Chuzhou and Shouzhou armies’ mutual destruction to first force Zhang Xiang to submit, thereby incorporating Jingzhou into Yueyang and further strengthening their power.
Reaching that step, even if Prince Xin defeated Xu Mingzhen and controlled the Jianghuai region, they would still be qualified to stand as equals, and in terms of situation, they might even be somewhat stronger.
Li Zhigao had assumed Han Qian would fully support his plan. But he never imagined that when Deng Tai rushed to Xuzhou, he’d be turned away without even seeing Han Qian’s face!
What was Han Qian thinking?
Did he sense His Highness’s deliberate distancing and decide to stand by with folded arms, watching Lu Qingxia, the Dowager Consort, and the Zheng family make a mess of things, waiting until the situation became irretrievable before forcing His Highness to bow his head in admission of error?
“Commander, are we really just going to Ezhou like this?” Zhou Tong asked Li Zhigao hesitantly.
“Without Xuzhou’s support, we’re not incapable of taking Yongzhou. As long as hostilities commence, His Highness and Minister Shen will change their minds. How could we not take Yongzhou then?” Deng Tai preferred straightforward action. They had concentrated over thirty thousand troops from the Left Vermillion Bird Army and local prefecture garrisons along the Jiufeng City, Five Finger Ridge, and Lion Ridge line—no weaker in strength than the rebels. They could perfectly well provoke hostilities first, then persuade Yueyang to change its attitude.
Li Zhigao shook his head.
Though he utterly failed to understand why Han Qian wouldn’t support his plan, he knew in his heart that having or lacking Xuzhou’s support would make an enormous difference.
Currently Zhang Xiang and Du Chongtao in Jingzhou and Xiangzhou were peacefully keeping to themselves. Yueyang even nominally controlled Junzhou, directly holding Junzhou’s military and administrative authority. But if their campaign against Yongzhou went even slightly poorly, he feared the situation might change unexpectedly.
Even if Du Chongtao merely showed intent to send troops to control Junzhou, it would cause great upheaval to Yueyang’s situation. After all, that portion of the Vermillion Bird Army led by mountain stronghold commanders like Zhou Dan and Chen Jingzhou—nearly fifteen to sixteen thousand elite soldiers—had their families settled in Junzhou.
Currently only Zhou Shu led three thousand troops guarding Junzhou. If changes occurred on Yueyang’s side, Zhou Shu would be powerless to stop Du Chongtao’s westward expansion from Xiangzhou.
Only with Xuzhou’s full support would Li Zhigao have sixty to seventy percent confidence in taking Yongzhou before Du Chongtao and Zhang Xiang’s minds turned to other thoughts.