After Cao Gan arrived in Jinling, he remained unattended to all along. He assumed the Great Chu court ministers were deliberately snubbing him, but in reality, on the very day he arrived by official vessel in Jinling, Great Chu forces assembled in Shuzhou and other locations formally launched their offensive against Chaozhou.
Jinling faced Chuzhou and Chaozhou across the river. Troops stationed along the southern banks of the Yangtze were on high alert, and the Six Ministries and various bureaus operated like machines at full capacity. Almost everyone’s attention was focused on developments on the northern bank. Who at this time could spare the leisure to manage Shu-Chu peace negotiations?
So the matter was simply delayed.
Nearly one hundred thousand troops assembled in Shuzhou, delayed for nearly half a year before launching an offensive against Chaozhou—this was quite disadvantageous to Chu in the overall situation.
Large numbers of soldiers and accompanying civilian laborers remaining in Shuzhou for extended periods consumed an additional over one million shi of grain and fodder during this time.
Choosing to comprehensively launch the offensive against Chaozhou at this moment also coincided with spring plowing and sowing season. With large numbers of able-bodied men in the military, garrison military commands in various regions lacked sufficient labor, and spring plowing would inevitably be severely affected.
Of course, for Great Chu, which controlled Jiangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan, Jing-Xiang and other regions with a population exceeding twelve million, these negative impacts could still be endured.
In comparison, after Anning Palace rebel forces withdrew north of the Yangtze, though their elite troops apparently maintained a scale of one hundred thousand men, their provisions and supplies could only depend on Shou, Chao, Chu, and Huo—four prefectures that had long been affected by border warfare between Liang and Chu, with populations remaining around only six hundred thousand and vast tracts of farmland lying uncultivated. This truly constituted a torment.
Delayed until the spring of the second year of Yanyou, to maintain necessary military supplies, Anning Palace could only employ every means of extraction and exploitation within the territories it controlled, using all methods to extremes.
Under suppression by elite forces of this scale, never mind ordinary civilians—even local aristocratic families and local powers had no strength to resist.
Vast numbers of people lacked the power to resist, but with grain and even spring plowing seeds completely extracted, not wanting to starve to death, they could only leave their homes and flee these lands to seek refuge elsewhere.
Even though westward they were blocked by mountains and the defensive lines of both armies, northward blocked by the Huai River, and southward blocked by the Yangtze, the passage for tens of thousands of people dragging children along to flee toward Huaidong remained unobstructed.
This also made the circumstances of Anning Palace rebel forces north of the Yangtze increasingly desperate.
Attacking Chaozhou involved no brilliant strategies. The Bureau of Military Affairs had formulated detailed military plans half a year earlier. Emperor Yanyou had convened ministers of the Policy Council for repeated discussions. Now it was mainly a matter of executing according to the plan.
Also because the destination to be recovered at this time was separated from Jinling by only a river’s width, Emperor Yanyou could very conveniently directly command the progress of military operations through the Bureau of Military Affairs.
Rebel forces’ southern line defenses were mainly concentrated in Chaozhou. East of Chaozhou, Chuzhou—located between Chaozhou and Yangzhou—had virtually no defenses.
However, considering that Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan wasn’t trustworthy, even though rebel defenses in Chuzhou were virtually vacant, Chu forces’ main attack direction was still chosen to launch eastward from Shuzhou in the west.
Gao Chengyuan led the Five Barracks Army’s naval warships, primarily responsible for blockading waterways from Chao, Chu and other regions entering the Yangtze, sealing the remnants of the Tower Ship Army within Hongze Lake.
Once Li Zhigao’s over seventy thousand cavalry and infantry assembled in Shuzhou first removed the fortified settlements surrounding Chaozhou, then advanced by water and land to beneath Chaozhou city walls, eliminating this core strongpoint of rebel forces on the southern line.
Afterward, smoothly recovering Chuzhou, they wouldn’t need to worry about Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan causing trouble from behind.
Seven days after military operations unfolded, advances on all fronts proceeded smoothly according to plan, but the court dared not relax in the slightest.
Han Daoming rushed to the Policy Council to participate in deliberations before dawn today, then was summoned to Chongwen Hall in the afternoon to respond to Ministry of Revenue land tax matters. Only after working until the sky was full of stars did he return to his residence by carriage, stomach rumbling with hunger.
Seeing two carriages stopped outside the manor gate, Han Daoming entered the western courtyard but received no notification of visiting guests. Curious, he asked the manor’s steward: “What guests are still in the manor today?”
“Guests from Xuzhou, bringing some gifts to visit the old master—would Master like to summon the Xuzhou guests over for a greeting?” the steward reported.
“What business do I have seeing these people?” Han Daoming’s expression darkened, though he had no way to drive them out.
In the Wuchuan River Valley, the Tianping Metropolitan forces formed from pacified bandits fought brutally with Shu forces, making it difficult for anyone to further question whether Xuzhou was colluding with the bandits or with Shu forces. But difficult to question didn’t mean completely eliminating the deep-seated suspicions in the heart of that person in the palace.
Xuzhou sending people over for no reason to make social calls—truly idle beyond belief!
Han Daoming irritably accepted the tremella soup a maid handed him. After one sip, finding it too hot, he slammed the porcelain cup on the table with a “crack.” Just as he was about to walk toward the study, he saw Han Jun rushing out from the inner chambers in a flustered manner. Opening his mouth to call out, he asked: “Why the panic? Don’t you need to report for duty at Changchun Palace today?”
“Father, your son was about to leave the city to return to Changchun Palace,” Han Jun reported somewhat flustered. “Huang Lu and others requested leave to return to the city today, submitting petitions to the Bureau of Military Affairs requesting transfer to the northern Yangtze battlefield. Your son accompanied them on this trip.”
In the currently drafted arrangements, as subsequent military operations advanced, some Imperial Guards from the southern Yangtze banks would be transferred to garrison north of the Yangtze, but the Palace Guards’ duty was to be responsible for defending Jinling city and the imperial palace.
Some young military officers and commanders among the Palace Guards, blood boiling with desire to achieve military merit—including Huang Lu, son of the Hunan Pacification Commissioner—had repeatedly submitted petitions requesting transfer to join combat in the Shuzhou army.
Han Daoming said with displeasure: “Why are you getting involved in these matters?”
Currently in the Han family—not mentioning Xuzhou—he served as Assistant Administrator of Governmental Affairs concurrently leading the Ministry of Revenue, Han Daochang served as Vice Minister of Works, his daughter had entered the palace as an imperial consort, and Han Jun currently served as Palace Guard Commander. It could be said that in the short term, there was no possibility of further military promotion.
Otherwise, the Han family would be too hated by others.
Han Jun hesitated for a moment, but thinking that if he truly requested transfer into the Shuzhou army, his father would certainly firmly oppose it, he said: “I merely accompanied Huang Lu and the others back to the city once, but didn’t get involved.”
“Good that you understand in your heart.” Han Daoming waved his hand, signaling Han Jun to quickly leave the city and return to Changchun Palace for duty.
However, watching his son Han Jun walk out of the courtyard, Han Daoming thought of something not quite right. With Xuzhou people visiting his elderly father, how could Han Jun act as if this weren’t happening?
……
……
The Han manor occupied over forty mu, comprising over ten building complexes. Han Wenhuan, being elderly, didn’t go out much and lived in Green Bamboo Court adjacent to the rear garden. Ordinarily, six or seven servants and maids attended him personally.
At this moment, servants and maids all stood guard in the courtyard. The main hall door stood half-open with bright candles burning high. From the courtyard one could see several guests from Xuzhou all sitting with their backs to the door, conversing with the old master. Their faces couldn’t be seen.
Han Wenhuan’s withered old face, wrinkled like tree bark aged over many years, appeared decrepit with age. Only his pupils remained quite alert, looking at Feng Liao—whose complexion was sallow, features slightly disguised, with only his outline still recognizable.
After quite a while, Han Wenhuan finally asked in a hoarse voice: “Han Qian didn’t send you to find this old man, did he?”
“My lord truly didn’t want to trouble the old master. It’s Feng Liao who cannot bear watching former Guangde Army personnel suffer brutal persecution, over a thousand families forced to wander the wilderness, constantly facing suppression and slaughter by government troops as rebels. I thought that by borrowing Xue Ruogu’s hand to completely overturn this case, perhaps we could truly resolve this matter,” Feng Liao said.
“Your thoughts aren’t that simple. I’m too lazy to ask anymore. I’ll do what I can regarding this matter, but don’t hold too high expectations—never mind now, my words carried no weight even earlier,” Han Wenhuan said in his decrepit manner.
Xue Ruogu was already hated enough at the Censorate. Who knew how many people wanted to kick him out to local posts.
Moreover, after Shen Yang took charge of the Policy Council, in recommending officials he had consistently deliberately avoided officials serving in their ancestral regions.
To prevent aristocratic family powers from excessively expanding locally, having someone propose transferring Wei Zhen from his position as Lishui County Magistrate was also an extremely normal matter.
The key was still having someone step forward to bring these two matters together.
Otherwise, even if Xue Ruogu left court for external appointment, he couldn’t possibly happen to be appointed precisely to serve in Lishui County.
Feng Liao didn’t expect the old master to have any favorable impression of him. Seeing his objective achieved, he promptly stood to take his leave.
Feng Liao was disguised as an escort among the Xuzhou guests. Walking out of the courtyard, he followed behind others, passing through the Han manor’s deep corridors toward the manor gate.
Reaching the Han manor gate, he happened to encounter Han Jun walking out from inside. Feng Liao’s heart jumped. He was still worried Han Jun might detect something from his comportment and demeanor, but unexpectedly Han Jun merely glanced in this direction, then with two escorts led his horse out the manor gate and galloped toward the eastern city direction.
Seeing Han Jun’s appearance—full of worries with no leisure to attend to other matters—Feng Liao frowned in puzzlement. He truly didn’t know what matter could preoccupy the Han manor’s legitimate eldest son, high-ranking Palace Guard Commander and Imperial favorite Han Jun to this degree.
Everything in the Han manor appeared as usual. He had called at dusk and hadn’t detected anything abnormal.
Boarding the carriage, the more Feng Liao thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. Lifting the carriage curtain, he spoke to a guard riding horseback beside the carriage: “Arrange for someone to keep watch on Young Master Han. Best if they can gain his trust and directly serve at his side. See what vexing matter our Young Master Han has recently encountered that made him too stingy to even spare an extra glance at guests visiting the Han manor at night.”