After Feng Yi entered Xiangcheng, he was detained by Zhou Bingwu for half a month. At the end of the second month, an imperial edict arrived from Jinling, and only then did Zhou Bingwu dispatch troops to escort them eastward by ship. They arrived in Jinling on the second day of the third month.

Entering the third month in Jinling City, grass grew lush, orioles flew about, and the spring light was warm and gentle.

At dusk, a few white-feathered river gulls still soared beneath the evening clouds.

Approaching the dock, Feng Yi stood at the bow of the ship, gazing toward the tower of Jinghai Gate.

After Lu Qingxia and others launched their palace coup and failed, they fled through Jinghai Gate by boat. To block pursuing soldiers, they set fire to the Jinghai Gate tower. Feng Yi had not returned to Jinling City at that time or afterward, but now seeing the newly renovated Jinghai Gate tower—though the outer brick walls still bore scorch marks—he turned his head to look at another official ship that had already docked.

The Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er, Chen De, Prince Xiang “Yang Lin,” and Chun Shisanniang and others were all aboard that ship. The Chief Minister Yang En and the Director of the Court of Judicial Review Kong Yanling personally brought a group of officials to verify their identities before taking them to the Court of Judicial Review’s prison for detention.

Feng Yi had no idea what they felt in their hearts upon seeing the Jinghai Gate tower again.

Once the gangplank was placed against the ship’s rail, Feng Yi lifted the hem of his robe and prepared to disembark. Guards on either side approached with shackles and chains. Feng Yi glared at them and rebuked angrily, “Insolent!”

Yang En and Kong Yanling walked over and signaled the guards to step aside.

“Marquis Yang, why must you greet old friends with shackles and chains today? Do you truly wish to see Jinling engulfed in warfare with countless lives lost?” Feng Yi asked, hands clasped behind his back.

Yang En looked Feng Yi up and down and sighed softly, “Your wings have truly grown strong!”

Feng Yi tempered his arrogance somewhat and said, “It’s not really about wings growing strong. All these years, Tangyi has been at the forefront charging into battle. Even now in Heluo, we’re fighting the barbarian cavalry until blood flows like rivers and corpses lie everywhere. Without some backbone, we couldn’t have endured this long, nor could we have received the梁帝’s entrustment of the nation. Now we’ve delivered all these major criminals to Jinling, treating Jinling with complete sincerity. We only wonder when Jinling will treat us with equal sincerity?”

“This matter is not mine alone to decide. Please temporarily reside at the Han Mansion. Once the two Empress Dowagers reach a decision, you will naturally be informed,” Yang En said.

Throughout thousands of years, abdication has been continuously recorded in history, but the “abdications” that truly occurred in the long river of history were actually usurpations. Even the Taizong Emperor of the previous dynasty—who received the title “Heavenly Khagan” from all nations for his civil and military achievements and was one of the rare great rulers across millennia—only ascended after launching a coup at Xuanwu Gate and forcing his father to abdicate.

However, when Zhu Yu had the officers and officials of Liang welcome Han Qian’s enthronement and entrusted the nation to him before his death, there was not a trace of conspiracy involved.

Under such circumstances, even if they brought forth all the Confucian classics that had served as guiding principles for dynasties over thousands of years, they could not pin the crime of betraying and defecting to an enemy nation on Han Qian.

Beyond the matter of titles and positions, the involved circumstances were far too complex and tangled, resulting in delays until now without the court reaching any final decision.

After the Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er and over a hundred other criminals arrived in the capital, they were naturally handed over to the Court of Judicial Review. However, Feng Yi and his escorts were to be sent first to the Han Mansion. Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, and others did not wish to meet Feng Yi directly for the time being.

For ease of supervision, Yun Puzi, Qin Wen, and their families had already been placed under house arrest at the Han Mansion. The Vice Minister of War Chen Jingzhou, who had always been regarded as a minister of the Tangyi faction, was also ordered to reflect on himself at his residence and not leave freely.

At this moment, a fast boat emerged from a river branch on the western side of Tangyi City on the northern shore.

The naval forces of the Right Dragon Martial Army guarding the Jinghai Gate dock treated this as a major threat and dispatched several warships to intercept.

Yang En, however, remained calm.

Although most of Tangyi’s high-ranking officers had followed Han Qian northward, Zhao Wuji, Zhao Qi, Lin Zongjing, Han Chengmeng, Chen Zhiyong, Ji Xiyao, and other officers still remained on the southern front. Han Daochang, Han Duan, and others had also fled to the northern shore a month earlier.

Yang En knew that Zhao Wuji, Han Daochang, Han Duan, Zhao Qi, and others—including Guo Duanduo who had traveled south from Luoyang half a month ago—were all currently in Tangyi City across the river.

Now that a fast boat was emerging from the Tangyi naval camp, it was most likely rushing over to meet with Feng Yi.

Once the Right Dragon Martial Army’s naval warships intercepted the approaching vessel, they would soon escort someone to the Jinghai Gate dock.

Seeing that the arriving person was Wen Ruilin, Yang En’s heart filled with complex emotions. He said nothing more and had them all sent to the Han Mansion.

Though Yang En’s treatment of Feng Yi and Wen Ruilin was courteous and he did not personally escort them to the Han Mansion, he still arranged spacious and comfortable carriages.

After Feng Yi boarded the carriage, he first learned about the current situation inside Jinling City from Wen Ruilin along the way.

A month had now passed since Jinling confirmed the news of Han Qian’s northward journey, and it had been half a month since the news of Han Qian’s succession to the position of Liang sovereign in Luoyang officially reached Jinling.

Such news naturally caused tremendous waves like a boulder crashing into a calm lake.

Even now, from the streets and alleyways to the teahouses and wine shops, and even in the brothels and pleasure boats of Jinling City, this matter remained the subject of endless discussion among everyone from high-ranking officials to common citizens.

This was a question that no one could ignore or avoid.

A former wastrel and dissolute young man who served as an attendant to a prince, rising in just a few short years to become a pillar and frontier commander of Great Chu—that was already legendary enough. Who could have imagined he would transform into the sovereign of Great Liang?

One must remember that just five or six years ago, the Liang army’s blades had nearly pointed directly at Jinling.

Even though rumors said that the Liang Emperor Zhu Yu had the officers and officials welcome Han Qian to Luoyang for an abdication ceremony before his death, countless people in Jinling City preferred to believe that Han Qian had seized the position of Liang sovereign while borrowing troops.

However, besides this legendary event that caused endless amazement and discussion, even common citizens understood that the entire matter was far from over.

Xuzhou was far away in the southwest borderlands, and news of its status had not yet reached Jinling. But large-scale naval forces had assembled in both Donghu and Tangyi, and the various prefectures of Huaixi along with Deng and Jun prefectures had all changed their official seals and documents to refer to themselves as territories of Liang. These events occurred just across the Yangtze River from Jinling, so the common citizens of Jinling City quickly learned everything clearly.

Even though Han Qian called himself sovereign rather than emperor in Luoyang, and Great Liang was called a state rather than a dynasty, and even though Han Daoming and Qin Wen had secretly sent people to spread news that Liang would become a vassal to Great Chu, let alone the court’s princes and high ministers—even some radical scholars felt this matter was unacceptable.

Since the Spring and Autumn period, Confucian classics had clearly established the principle of “enfeoffment as vassals, submission as tributaries, distinction between civilized and barbarian.”

If Liang submitted as a vassal, it could be called a tributary state of Great Chu, but like the state of Shu, Liang’s military and administrative systems would be independent. Apart from paying tribute as a vassal, its internal politics and military affairs would be completely free from the suzerain state’s interference.

This was vastly different from how, after the Jinling rebellion, Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan was enfeoffed to rule Huaidong as a vassal out of necessity.

At the very least, psychologically, the subjects of Great Chu considered Huaidong to always be a component part of Great Chu. Even in earlier years, Emperor Yanyou, for the sake of appearances, proclaimed that enfeoffing Prince Xin in Huaidong was to more effectively resist the Liang army’s southern invasion.

A vassal state carried the meaning of a protective barrier.

When the Zhou dynasty enfeoffed feudal lords and Emperor Gaozu of Han enfeoffed his sons as vassals, the original purpose was to safeguard the central royal authority. The numerous vassals of the middle and later periods of the previous dynasty were also viewed as regional separatist forces.

However, no one would consider that after Liang and Shu submitted as vassals, they would become part of Great Chu. Liang would always be Liang, and the Liang sovereign would always be the Liang ruler, not a Chu subject.

With Han Qian’s change in status and Huaixi incorporated into Liang territory, the southern border now reached directly to the heart of Great Chu. Who could bear this?

Of course, from the perspective of Confucian classics, Han Qian had properly and formally obtained succession to the position of Liang sovereign through abdication, so he could not be accused of betraying and defecting to an enemy nation. Currently, quite a few scholars and officials had submitted memorials demanding the court recover Huaixi, Xuzhou, and other territories, but voices calling for military campaigns were not particularly loud.

After entering through Jinghai Gate and following the main road along the west side of the Imperial City through more than half of Jinling City, they arrived at the Han family’s residence in the southwestern corner of Jinling City.

The residences surrounding the Han Mansion on all sides had been cleared out and garrisoned with over two hundred guard troops to monitor the Han Mansion. However, inside the Han Mansion remained relatively peaceful—soldiers and officials had not yet randomly intruded to harass them. Additionally, the Palace Administration Office delivered fruits, vegetables, meat, oil, salt, rice, and flour daily according to headcount.

Before the court reached a final decision on peace or war, they would not yet treat Han Daoming, Qin Wen, Yun Puzi, and the Han Mansion’s inhabitants as prisoners of war.

After Feng Yi and Wen Ruilin entered the Han Mansion, besides Han Daoming, his son Han Jianji, Qin Wen, and Yun Puzi, the old master Han Wenhuan—his beard and hair completely white—walked into the Mingju Hall to participate in secret deliberations with renewed vigor, completely changed from his usual sleepy lethargy.

“Currently, rumors fill all of Jinling, quite unfavorable to our Great Liang. On your trip to Liangzhou, what exactly are Li Zhigao’s true intentions?” Qin Wen asked.

The previous dynasty’s fall was only twenty-six years ago at most. In his youth, Qin Wen had served as an official in the Shengzhou Military Commissioner’s office. When Great Chu was established, he was regarded as an outsider and essentially exiled to Xuzhou to serve as a minor official. His father and brothers all perished in Xuzhou. He languished for sixteen years before finally welcoming Han Daoxun and his son Han Qian to govern Xuzhou. Truthfully, he felt no sense of identification with the Chu court.

Initially, he stood forth with Xue Ruogu and Li Tang to serve Han Daoxun mainly from the standpoint of immigrant Han people, dissatisfied with the terrifying oppression by the native tribal chieftain families.

His later journey to Yueyang to join Shen Lan was even more at Han Qian’s instruction.

At this moment, he felt no psychological barriers whatsoever regarding his role transformation.

News of Li Zhigao accepting Great Liang’s enfeoffment and leading Liangzhou’s military and civilians to submit to Liang had reached Jinling one step earlier.

After the court placed them under house arrest, no one had formally come to contact or negotiate with them. They could only receive some news each day through hidden agents who delivered vegetables, meat, rice, and flour, gaining a general understanding of developments.

They had also learned early on about Li Zhigao’s submission to Great Liang, but the more specific details—whether Li Zhigao submitted merely to exchange for a breathing space under pressure, or whether he genuinely wished to serve Great Liang, or at least was willing to adopt a more active posture to help Great Liang stabilize the situation in He-Huai—they could only learn after Feng Yi reached Jinling.

Whether Li Zhigao chose substantive neutrality, or leaned toward adopting an active posture to help restrain part of the Chu army from the western front, or could even directly ensure that before Jinling made its final decision, Zhao Zhen leading the Right Martial Guard Army stationed at Fancheng and Suiyang would not dare act rashly.

When the Chu court weighed advantages and disadvantages, whether they included Li Zhigao, Chai Jian, and the Liangzhou forces in calculations of the new Liang army would produce completely different mindsets.

Although the Chu army was currently employing veteran generals like Du Chongtao and Zhou Bingwu, and Zhang Xiang was also a veteran general of equal renown to Du Chongtao and others, and although the Liangzhou forces had suffered repeated defeats, among the Chu army’s current new generation of commanders, those who could match Li Zhigao and Chai Jian in reputation numbered only Guo Liang, Zheng Hui, Zhao Zhen, and a few others.

One could even say that Guo Liang, Zheng Hui, Zhao Zhen, and others fell somewhat short compared to Li Zhigao.

As for other commanders truly regarded as rising stars of the new generation, such as Wen Bo and Li Xiu, they had long since joined the new Liang army—not to mention the large number of direct subordinate military commanders Han Qian had cultivated over these years.

Currently, the Liangzhou forces were extremely weak, morale was scattered, and supplies were extremely difficult. However, most were veteran and fierce soldiers who had followed Li Zhigao and Chai Jian in campaigns across the realm for ten years. Once they received sufficient supplies and rest, let alone the over half of the Pacification Army composed of provincial soldiers and village militia—whether even the Right Martial Guard Army or Right Martial Guard Army could match them in strength remained unknown.

Weighing the military strength of both sides never simply involved calculating the scale of forces on each side.

“Li Zhigao and Chai Jian have been quite active. Not only did they comply with our request to expel Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan, they also sent their sons Li Zhi and Chai Zhi to Luoyang to meet Han Qian. They’ve now also dispatched Deng Tai and Zhang Song leading ten thousand troops to garrison Yunyang, giving Zhou Bingwu and Zhang Xiang quite a headache.”

Feng Yi picked up the scalding hot tea, taking small sips as he spoke with considerable excitement.

“Next, if the Shu sovereign Wang Yong assembles forces at Yuzhou according to the agreement, Jinling should be even more afraid to make any moves—however, Han Qian was still too softhearted. Knowing that after Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan were expelled they would defect to the Mongols, he still didn’t demand that Li Zhigao hand them all over…”

“Being softhearted is sometimes not a bad thing,” Han Wenhuan said with a smile. “Chai Jian has always been closer to Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan, yet he could join Li Zhigao in sending his son Chai Zhi to Luoyang. He must have weighed this in his heart…”

Feng Yi naturally understood these principles. He was simply quite annoyed at repeatedly seeing Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and others continuing to make trouble. Laughing, he said to Han Wenhuan, “You must be pleased, old master. You’re now the Grand Empress Dowager’s Supreme Sovereign of Great Liang…”

When Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang founded Han, he honored his father Liu Taigong as Supreme Emperor, formally establishing this title. However, throughout history there had never been a precedent of a grandson becoming emperor or sovereign while his grandfather still lived.

However, if one absolutely had to give Han Wenhuan a proper and formal title, it seemed only the “Grand Empress Dowager’s Supreme Sovereign” that Feng Yi had just invented would suffice.

“You little slippery one!” Han Wenhuan laughed heartily.

With Liangzhou stabilized, Shu stabilized, and after Tian Cheng’s mission to Shu, upon receiving the report he went directly to Xuzhou to take command, and the first phase of the brutal defensive battle along the Yi-Luo River had been endured—even though everyone was confined within the hundred-pace radius of the Han Mansion without freedom, their hearts were not anxious and restless.

“Han Qian’s meaning is that now, no matter what demands Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang make, everything can be negotiated, and we should use negotiations to buy time,” Feng Yi said while drinking tea. “As long as we drag things out until the Yu River flood season arrives, Heluo can gain another four to five months of respite. By then, whether Jinling wants to negotiate or not…”

“Xiao Yiqing is probably regretting now that Liang Shixiong breached the Yu River embankment east of Xingyang.” Wen Ruilin sat at Feng Yi’s lower seat. Though his thoughts were still somewhat unnatural, he still tried to join Feng Yi and the others’ conversation.

“In that case, we should thank Xiao Yiqing!” Feng Yi laughed carelessly.

The breach of the Yu River embankment causing the river to invade the Sha and Ying Rivers southward, forming massive flood zones on both banks of the middle and lower Jia-Lu River and the Sha-Ying River—after the weather warmed in the Yu River’s southern plains in mid-second month, the entire area became a muddy quagmire.

Although there had been a period of freezing earlier, the time was too short to allow the Eastern Liang Army to launch large-scale western invasion operations from east of the Ying River.

This made the first phase of the Heluo defensive battle directly limit the Eastern Liang Army’s ability to deploy troops from Xingyang, Bianliang, Bozhou, Fuyang, and other places to the west bank of the Ying River.

In fact, until late October or early November when the Ying River froze completely solid again, Lin Haizheng, Yang Qin, and others currently primarily overseeing the eastern front defense at Xiacai and Linhao only needed to lead the elite Xiacai Campaign Army to defend the Xiacai defense line.

Although the Xiacai defense line protruded east of the Ying River and north of the Huai River, it had already formed a complete defensive system of fortified towns, camps, trenches, and moats. Combined with the natural barrier of the middle reaches of the Huai River, with thirty thousand naval infantry troops, though it would be very difficult, they could barely block the Xuzhou-Sizhou Army and Shouzhou Army—several times their numbers—north of the Huai River, unable to advance one step, protecting the banks of the Ying River and middle Huai River.

Otherwise, facing the Eastern Liang Army with over one hundred thousand deployable troops, with the Xiacai Campaign Army expanded to only thirty thousand troops plus the ten-thousand-plus old Liang troops garrisoning Xu, Chen, and other places, they could never defend the thousand-mile defense line from Xinzheng along the Jia-Lu River to the Sha-Ying River, and from Shouchun to the western shore of Hongze Lake without a single breach.

However, the western bank of the Ying River was a vital flank of the new Liang state.

Not only did over a million people live and reproduce in Xu, Ru, Cai, and Ying, it was also the crucial connection between Jing-Xiang, Heluo, and Huaixi.

This region could not be allowed to fall under enemy occupation and division. Even enemy infiltration would directly affect the transportation of troops and supplies, essentially severing the Songshan plank road.

The negative impact on the Heluo campaign would be quite fatal.

At that point, Han Qian would be forced to deploy troops from Huaixi to strengthen defenses in this region.

The Ying River and Jia-Lu River bank defense lines were too long—deploying just ten or twenty thousand troops would not suffice.

Currently, after dragging things out for nearly a month, the Chu court had only placed them under house arrest here without particularly mistreating them or revealing clear intentions to declare war on new Liang or determinedly recover Huaixi and other territories.

Besides the Chu court needing time to adjust military deployments near the capital and mobilize provincial soldiers from Jiangdong, more importantly, beyond the sixty thousand elite infantry troops they had garrisoned in eight expanded brigades at Xichuan, northern Pingjing, Suiyang, Donghu, Chuzhou, and Xiacai, after forces assembled at Chishan, the naval forces assembled at Donghu and Tangyi alone exceeded forty thousand troops.

Strong and deployable military power was the most effective stabilizing agent. It not only kept Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, and others currently silent, but though Yang Yuanyan in Chuzhou was assembling forces in the region between Fan-Liang Lake and Hongze Lake, he had not yet crossed the border between Chuzhou and Chuzhou.

Of course, after Liang Shixiong breached the Yu River embankment, causing the Yu River to seize the Huai and flow to the sea, the vast area between Fan-Liang Lake and Hongze Lake was flooded during last year’s summer and autumn, with large numbers of roads and bridges destroyed—this was also a key reason Yang Yuanyan dared not easily send troops to invade Chuzhou.

Han Daoming, Qin Wen, Wen Ruilin, and others speculated that Yang Yuanyan did not lack the desire to send troops, nor was he completely concerned about the Chu court not having made a final decision. Rather, the terrible road conditions between Chuzhou and Chuzhou, combined with the high probability this region would be flooded again this summer and autumn, would cut off his retreat, preventing him from daring to deploy troops against Huaixi independently of the Chu court.

Without the flood zones spanning thirty to fifty or even seventy to eighty miles wide along both banks of the Sha and Ying Rivers, new Liang would be forced to deploy fifty thousand or even more elite combat forces from Huaixi to participate in defending the Ying River bank region.

At that point, let alone Yang Yuanyan—one could predict with certainty that Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Zhang Chao, and even Zheng Chang, Zheng Yu, Du Chongtao, Zhou Bingwu, and others—every single one—would eagerly send troops to recover Huaixi. The shift in attitudes from Liangzhou and Shu would also struggle to play a critical role.

Currently, with over seven hundred miles along the Jia-Lu River and Sha-Ying River banks transformed into flood zones, this actually helped new Liang shorten the defense line by over seven hundred miles outside the brief freezing period. Additionally, it concentrated the focal point of confrontation with the Chu court on the southern front to the Yangtze River waterway, limiting Chuzhou’s ability to deploy troops by land against Huaixi.

Otherwise, facing enemies on three sides, no matter how great Han Qian’s abilities, deploying forces would be extremely difficult.

At that point, if forced to compromise with the Chu court, the concessions and sacrifices required would be far too great.

Even if Empress Dowager Changxin completely sided with them, it would be useless, since currently Empress Dowager Changxin could not go against the will of the court’s assembled officials.

Precisely because Empress Dowager Changxin could not reverse the officials’ will, she secretly kept Cai Chen and Lei Cheng by her side, not making things absolute.

Han Daoming sighed, “Xiao Yiqing’s calculations were sound, but he still didn’t see through the Liang Emperor Zhu Yu clearly enough. Of course, we also vastly underestimated Zhu Yu’s magnanimity…”

Confined to their residence, they had nothing else to do this past month. In their extreme idleness, they repeatedly analyzed the He-Huai situation, untangling the complex and tangled circumstances strand by strand. They deeply understood that without Zhu Yu’s broad mind and decisiveness, if it had been any one of them, they could never have broken the grand strategic arrangement Wusu Dashi and Xiao Yiqing had laid out in He-Huai these past two years.

Precisely because Zhu Yu could plan what others could not and decide what others dared not, many seemingly brilliant deployments by Wusu Dashi and Xiao Yiqing—such as breaching the Yu River embankment or temporarily withdrawing Liang Shixiong’s remnant forces from Luoyang and Yanshi—turned around to become factors favorable to their side.

Han Daoming thought that figures like Li Zhigao and Chai Jian must have seen through these complexities, which led to their current decisive actions. This also made what they needed to accomplish in Jinling relatively easier.