While Han Chengmeng was escorting the latest batch of grain supplies to Shuzhou, he suddenly received a joint directive from the Ministry of Finance and the Privy Council, stating that Shuzhou had sufficient grain, but Runzhou had suffered severe summer flooding and would face serious food shortages in the civilian population after autumn. The directive ordered Han Chengmeng to redirect this batch of grain supplies to Runzhou for disaster relief.
After Han Chengmeng verified the directive was authentic, he complied with the order and accompanied the grain transport fleet to Runzhou. At that point, the Privy Council sent another directive requiring the grain transport fleet to be incorporated locally into Runzhou’s Jingkou Naval Camp and await further orders.
Han Chengmeng was a civil official from the Hunan Provincial Administration Commission’s Pacification Office. On this grain escort mission, once the grain was handed over to Runzhou’s authorities for management and the transport fleet was incorporated locally into Runzhou’s Jingkou Naval Camp, he was left with only one clerk from the Pacification Office who had accompanied him, plus two household servants. He parted ways with his accompanying clerk and headed directly back to Jinling, thinking he would reunite with his family for a couple of days before returning to Hunan to report on his mission.
Throughout this journey from Yueyang, he had traveled entirely by boat. Han Chengmeng had grown weary of traveling by water. The day after arriving at Jingkou, he hired a horse-drawn carriage with his two attendants before dawn. In the bleak autumn wind, they hurried along, arriving in Jinling after nightfall.
Taking advantage of a palace contingent leaving the city overnight to deliver an imperial decree, Han Chengmeng—who was acquainted with the military officer on duty at the Eastern Flowery Gate—seized this opportunity to slip into the city, avoiding the miserable fate of having to find lodging outside the city walls.
By the time he reached the grand residence, it was nearly midnight.
Han Chengmeng knocked on the gate. He had originally intended not to disturb anyone, planning to go directly to his small courtyard to rest and wait until tomorrow to pay his respects to his father, mother, and grandfather. However, upon entering, he noticed several horses tethered in the stable inside the main gate, and in the adjacent small hall, several men who didn’t look like the household’s grooms or armed guards were waiting—they were clearly wearing swords.
“It’s so late—what guests are still here?” Han Chengmeng asked Han An, the steward guarding the front residence gate, with curiosity.
“The Marquis of Liyang came to visit the master and old master tonight and hasn’t left yet,” Han An replied.
“Why would Marquis Yang be at our house so late?” Han Chengmeng muttered to himself.
The Marquis of Liyang, Yang En, was by nature straightforward and forthright. Because of this, Han Chengmeng also knew that Yang En and his father had never gotten along. Even in court, Yang En barely spoke to his father. Why would he come to their home, and stay until late at night without leaving?
Had something extraordinary happened?
“Where are Father and Grandfather entertaining Marquis Yang?” Han Chengmeng thought that since his father and grandfather hadn’t gone to bed yet and Yang En was at the residence, he should go pay his respects first. He asked the household servant Han An.
“The master and old master are in the Mingju Hall,” Han An said.
Although Han Chengmeng was a son by concubine in the Han household, his status was inferior to that of the legitimate eldest son Han Jun. However, he had served alongside Han Jianji, Qiao Weiyan, and others under Emperor Yanyu from an early age. Currently holding a sixth-rank position in Hunan, even coming from a prime minister’s household, Han Chengmeng—not yet thirty years old—could be considered accomplished for his age.
Moreover, Han Chengmeng treated the household servants less harshly than Han Jun did, earning him greater affection from the servants.
Han Chengmeng didn’t need anyone to guide him and walked straight through the halls toward Mingju Hall.
When he reached the front of Mingju Hall, he saw two maidservants dozing off at the courtyard gate. They had already fallen asleep leaning against the corridor pillars. Han Chengmeng didn’t disturb them and walked directly into the courtyard.
“The strategy presented by Duke Changguo, attempting to rely on a surprise attack before the Huai River freezes over to annihilate the remnants of the Tower Ship Army that have withdrawn into Hongze Lake—this is too hasty, with far too many risks. Prime Minister Han has always been prudent. Yang En has presumed to come here tonight hoping that Prime Minister Han can think this through clearly. Haste makes waste! You absolutely cannot continue supporting this matter!” Yang En’s voice carried out from the hall.
“Han also feels this matter has both advantages and disadvantages.” At this moment, Han Daoming’s noncommittal voice came through, but he didn’t continue to explain where the advantages lay or what the disadvantages were.
Hearing these words, Han Chengmeng felt a sudden shock in his heart. He never imagined that what Yang En had rushed over so late to discuss with his father was actually the confidential matter of the court intending to annihilate the Tower Ship Army remnants through a surprise attack in the near future. No wonder his father had stationed two maidservants at the courtyard gate to keep idle people from approaching.
However, he hadn’t expected that the two maidservants, having stood guard for so long, had dozed off, allowing him to inadvertently overhear these secrets that he shouldn’t have access to at this time.
Han Chengmeng was caught in a dilemma when Han Daoming in the hall seemed to sense someone had entered the courtyard and called out loudly, “Who’s there?”
“Father, it’s your son Chengmeng. This time I was responsible for supervising grain transport to Runzhou for delivery. Thinking I’d return home to stay for a couple of days before going back to Hunan to report, I just arrived home. Hearing that Marquis Yang was still at the residence, I came to pay my respects to Marquis Yang and Father.” Han Chengmeng climbed the steps, pushed open the door, and entered. Seeing that in the spacious hall only his grandfather Han Wenhuan, his father Han Daoming, and the Marquis of Liyang Yang En were present, he stepped forward to perform the proper courtesies and greetings to the three men.
“It’s Chengmeng. Whatever you just heard, you absolutely must not leak half a word of it,” Han Daoming glanced at Han Chengmeng and instructed him solemnly.
“Your son understands,” Han Chengmeng replied.
Seeing it was Han Chengmeng, Yang En didn’t worry that he would be indiscreet enough to casually leak military secrets. At this moment, he stood up and earnestly said to Han Daoming, “Since Prime Minister Han knows where the advantages and disadvantages of this matter lie, if you have an opportunity to see the Empress Dowager, perhaps you could ask the Empress Dowager to advise His Majesty. The prudent strategy would still be to follow the established plan and first capture Chaozhou City. Other matters can be gradually pursued next year.”
Although Yang En and Shen Yang firmly opposed the Empress Dowager’s interference in government affairs—and because of this they were extremely disfavored by the Empress Dowager—at this moment, to have the Empress Dowager personally intervene to dissuade His Majesty from acting rashly, they could only venture deep into the Han residence to ask Han Daoming to find an opportunity to leave the city and have an audience with the Empress Dowager at Changchun Palace.
Han Daoming, being such a slippery character, clearly wouldn’t stick his neck out to be the villain. He declined, saying, “The Empress Dowager’s health has been poor, and she hasn’t summoned outer court officials for quite some days now. It would be improper for Daoming to presumptuously go there.”
By this point, Yang En understood Han Daoming’s attitude. He stopped himself from saying more, cupped his hands toward Han Wenhuan and Han Daoming in salute, and took his leave.
Han Wenhuan was elderly. Han Chengmeng accompanied his father in seeing Yang En out through the gate before returning to the inner residence.
“Is the court planning to concentrate naval forces to borrow passage from Yangzhou and launch a surprise attack on the rebel naval forces inside Hongze Lake? I was wondering why the court suddenly issued an order to deliver the grain supplies escorted from Hunan this time to Runzhou, and in the end even had the Jingkou Naval Camp take over all the grain transport vessels from Hunan.” Han Chengmeng was no fool. Having just inadvertently heard such crucial information, combined with some of the unusual circumstances he had encountered, he could piece together the general outline of the entire matter. But his heart was still shaken by this development. As they passed through the corridor, he couldn’t help but ask his father Han Daoming.
Although there were distinctions between legitimate and concubine-born sons, Han Daoming still hoped all three of his sons would be accomplished. Seeing that Chengmeng had already inadvertently learned of this matter, he didn’t hide the finer details from him, saying:
“Duke Changguo suddenly returned from Chuzhou a few days ago and presented this strategy. The plan is to take advantage of the moment when all the various powers have their attention drawn to the battle for Chaozhou City, concentrate the main forces of the Left and Right Five-Tooth Army naval divisions, borrow passage from Yangzhou to launch a surprise attack on the Tower Ship Army remnants, in order to annihilate the Tower Ship Army remnants and recover Haozhou on the western shore of Hongze Lake before year’s end. His Majesty was very interested and has already ordered the Privy Council to secretly prepare for this matter.”
“Borrowing passage from Yangzhou—will Prince Xin’s side agree?” Han Chengmeng asked doubtfully.
“We won’t inform Prince Xin beforehand. Once the Left and Right Five-Tooth Army warships have assembled on the southern shore of Guazhou Ferry, we’ll directly issue an edict to traverse the Han Canal through Shaobo Lake and Fanliang Lake into Hongze Lake. No matter what, Huaidong is Great Chu’s territory. If the Five-Tooth Army warships traverse the Han Canal to suppress the rebel naval forces, what excuse does Prince Xin have to block them and refuse to open the waterway? Of course, besides achieving the goal of surprising and annihilating the rebel naval forces, this move perhaps also has the intention of intimidating Huaidong within it,” Han Daoming said.
“His Majesty’s support for this strategy—is it related to the news a few days ago about Xuzhou merchant vessels entering Yangzhou territory?” Han Chengmeng asked in shock.
“Perhaps,” Han Daoming said noncommittally.
“What is the opinion of the gentlemen in the Government Affairs Hall?” Han Chengmeng asked.
“Currently only Shen Yang and Yang En strongly oppose it, believing this strategy acts too rashly and advocating following the original plan to first recover Chaozhou before planning for Hao, Shou, and Huo prefectures. But thinking it through carefully, this strategy isn’t necessarily unworthy of attempting,” Han Daoming said.
“In another month and a half, it will be the Great Cold. Not only the Huai River, but Hongze Lake itself might freeze over!” Han Chengmeng also felt that successfully preparing for what would be one of Great Chu’s largest naval battles in history within such a short time was indeed somewhat hasty. He didn’t know if the court had considered in sufficient detail the possibility of various unexpected occurrences.
“In the past, although the Huai River would freeze over five or six years out of ten, Hongze Lake rarely freezes more than twice in ten years. And even if it freezes, the Five-Tooth Army naval warships can withdraw ahead of time, or we can directly dispatch a large army into Shiliang County, advancing to the southern shore of Hongze Lake to establish joint water and land encampments with the Five-Tooth Army. Besides, if we miss this opportunity, who knows if there will be another chance to recover Haozhou,” Han Daoming said.
Although Han Daoming didn’t elaborate on the attitudes of the other gentlemen in the Government Affairs Hall toward this matter, Han Chengmeng could understand that his father and the others’ advocacy for using this strategy fundamentally stemmed from the news of Xuzhou colluding with Huaidong. Their deeper concern was that after Xuzhou’s collusion with Huaidong, they might further secretly collude with the rebels of Anning Palace.
Haozhou was located on the western shore of Hongze Lake. If Haozhou was recovered in advance, it would effectively cut off communications between Huaidong and Shouzhou.
Emperor Yanyu’s decision to adopt Duke Changguo Li Pu’s proposed strategy was actually intended to kill many birds with one stone.
“Since you’ve inadvertently learned of this matter, you must remember not to leak even the slightest hint of it. Otherwise, everyone in our Han household, from top to bottom, won’t be able to bear the consequences,” Han Daoming instructed solemnly again.
“Your son understands.” Han Chengmeng smiled bitterly to himself. Even if I were to inform Xuzhou at this moment, what use would it be?