Between Liu Kun and Wang Jun, whether from public duty or private friendship, Zhao Hanzhang would choose Liu Kun.
Publicly, she and Liu Kun both currently maintained Jin’s rule, presenting a united front externally while internally prioritizing peace and stability.
Privately, she and Liu Kun were now good friends (though they had never met).
So Zhao Hanzhang wrote a thick letter to her good friend and handed it along with the gifts she had prepared to the Jinyang army and Wu Erlang.
She sighed, “I originally wanted to keep you for the New Year and have you depart after spring begins, but with the changing situation in Jinyang, I can’t justifiably detain you any longer.”
She said to Deputy General Yang of the Jinyang army who had escorted the horses back, “Please tell Governor Liu that if there’s anything I can help with, he need only ask. I will certainly do my utmost.”
Deputy General Yang was deeply moved and repeatedly agreed. Upon returning to Jinyang, he told Liu Kun, “Commander Zhao is a generous and grateful person.”
Liu Kun’s Chief Clerk Wen Qiao said to him, “Your Excellency could ask Commander Zhao for help in jointly attacking Shi Le.”
Liu Kun thought for a moment then shook his head, “Right now Shi Le is wavering and hasn’t responded to Liu Yuan’s summons to attack me. If we invite Zhao Hanzhang to deploy troops now, wouldn’t we be forcing his hand?”
He continued, “I heard Shi Le has a close nephew who, along with Shi Le’s birth mother, has wandered into Bingzhou as refugees. Send someone to search among the refugees and find them. Treat them well.”
Wen Qiao thought about it and nodded. This was indeed a viable approach, though it still didn’t resolve the immediate crisis.
“Even if Shi Le doesn’t deploy troops, there’s still Liu Cong’s main army. Wang Jun also has a large force bearing down on us. We’re caught between enemies. Without reinforcements, maintaining our defense will be extremely difficult.”
Liu Kun pressed his lips together and said, “Have Liu Xi block Wang Jun first. I’ll submit a memorial to His Majesty requesting he mediate. At that point, we’ll only need to concentrate on dealing with Liu Cong’s main army.”
He continued, “Then we can ask Zhao Hanzhang to deploy troops to attack Bingzhou from the south, executing a ‘rescue Zhao by besieging Wei’ strategy.”
But Shi Le next door wasn’t a fool either. If Zhao Hanzhang deployed troops to Bingzhou, wouldn’t Shi Le in Shangdang attack Zhao Hanzhang rather than just not attacking Liu Kun?
Wouldn’t that still provoke Shi Le into action?
Wen Qiao inwardly criticized this but also knew their governor had no great military talent, so he didn’t immediately speak up. He wouldn’t say anything, but Zhao Hanzhang was brilliant in military strategy and would naturally dissuade the governor when the time came. Only…
“Will Wang Jun listen to His Majesty?”
Since the Prince of Donghai’s death, Wang Jun had gradually stopped following the court’s commands. Currently, the only ones who could make him somewhat wary were Gou Xi and Zhao Hanzhang.
Wen Qiao immediately said, “Why doesn’t Your Excellency ask Commander Zhao to mediate?”
He continued, “If His Majesty could appoint Your Excellency as Governor of Jizhou, then General Liu and the others occupying Zhongshan and other commanderies would be justified and proper. Then if Commander Zhao mediates, perhaps the conflict with Wang Jun could be resolved. Even if not, being able to delay things would be good—we could first concentrate on dealing with Liu Cong’s main army.”
Liu Kun felt his words made sense and immediately wrote a letter to Zhao Hanzhang, sending it express to Luoyang.
At this time, snow was falling heavily and the roads weren’t easy to traverse, but the relay soldiers still dutifully passed through the corridor they had opened through enemy territory, delivering the letter to Zhao Hanzhang’s hands as quickly as possible.
When the letter arrived, the messenger had only a single breath left. Zhao Hanzhang quickly had someone fetch a physician, then opened the letter to read.
Perhaps because her previous letter had been so thick, Liu Kun’s letter was also extremely thick. It took her over a quarter-hour to finish reading.
After finishing, Zhao Hanzhang passed the letter to Ji Yuan at her side.
Ji Yuan immediately took it, and after reading, passed it to Ming Yu and Wei Jie.
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “What do you think, sir?”
Ji Yuan said, “Setting aside the matter of deploying troops for now, petitioning His Majesty to appoint Liu Kun as Governor of Jizhou is indeed a viable approach. However, will Gou Xi agree?”
Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes in thought. After a moment she said, “Let’s try.”
Zhao Hanzhang immediately wrote a letter to the emperor.
Ming Yu said, “Why such haste? Why not first have Minister Zhao test His Majesty’s intentions?”
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, “Look at the messenger—he’s half-dead. Clearly Jinyang is in critical danger. This matter cannot wait.”
She pondered, “Actually, the emperor should agree. Liu Kun has always had a good reputation. Of the three times Xiongnu attacked Luoyang, he deployed troops to restrain the Xiongnu army twice. The key lies with Gou Xi.”
She looked toward Ming Yu.
Ming Yu thought for a moment before saying, “Since Liu Kun refused General Gou’s summons to return to court and instead chose to defend Jinyang, General Gou has been somewhat critical of him. However, half of Jizhou is currently in Shi Le’s hands, and General Gou cannot touch Jizhou himself, so he shouldn’t refuse letting Liu Kun serve as Governor of Jizhou, unless…”
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Unless what?”
Ming Yu sighed, “Unless Wang Jun also asks General Gou to intervene. Based on my understanding of Wang Jun, if he bribes General Gou with gold, silver, and jewels, General Gou will certainly petition for his appointment as Governor of Jizhou.”
Zhao Hanzhang pressed her lips together. The formerly upright and incorruptible Gou Xi could even embezzle state treasury funds—what was so surprising about accepting bribes?
She lowered her eyes in thought before saying, “If Wang Jun can bribe him, can’t we?”
Ji Yuan said, “…My lady, our funds…”
Zhao Hanzhang interrupted, “If we can get Liu Kun appointed as Governor of Jizhou and resolve the conflict between him and Wang Jun, preserving his strength to deal with Liu Yuan, this money would be well spent.”
Would the gold, silver, and jewels to bribe Gou Xi really cost more than deploying troops?
Historically, this conflict between Liu Kun and Wang Jun ended with Liu Kun’s crushing defeat. His influence had originally extended into Jizhou’s Zhongshan Commandery, but Wang Jun deployed troops and killed Liu Kun’s younger brother Liu Xi, seizing all the Jizhou territory Liu Kun had occupied.
Liu Kun could only continue defending the solitary city of Jinyang. Later, when Xiongnu launched their massive campaign to destroy Jin, he was powerless to resist.
Zhao Hanzhang paced in place, saying, “If we can get Liu Kun established in Jizhou, when we accumulate enough strength for a major counteroffensive, we can attack Xiongnu and Shi Le from north and south simultaneously.”
She continued, “Liu Kun will deploy troops with us to recover lost territory. Wang Jun won’t.”
History had already reached this point. With Luoyang unbroken, she naturally didn’t want the Jin Emperor to be captured again or the Central Plains to once more be occupied by Xiongnu and the Jie barbarians.
She had great ambitions, but internal conflicts could be set aside temporarily. Recovering the territories of Jizhou and Bingzhou seized by them should come first.
In Zhao Hanzhang’s heart, Liu Yuan and Shi Le remained the primary enemies.
For the greater good, she would advance this money for Liu Kun!
Zhao Hanzhang said to Ji Yuan, “Sir, please prepare the funds. We also need to prepare people to go to Yuncheng. They must go under Governor Liu’s banner and cannot let Gou Xi know these are my people.”
If Gou Xi knew she provided the people and money, he probably wouldn’t agree to Liu Kun becoming Governor of Jizhou no matter how much money was given.
Ji Yuan considered briefly. From a strategic perspective, Liu Kun becoming Governor of Jizhou was indeed more advantageous for them. He could only swallow his heartache and say, “I’ll arrange it immediately. Please ask Minister Ming to assist me in selecting items General Gou would appreciate.”
Ming Yu said, “No need to select refined and elegant items. Just give gold, silver, and jewels. He only considers value and has no capacity for appreciation.”
Zhao Hanzhang felt a chill down her spine and silently told herself she must never let her advisors turn against her. Otherwise, if they went outside and spoke ill of her to others, just thinking about it was mortifying.
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