After driving away the thirty-odd soldiers who had caused trouble, Han Qian finally entered the inner quarters of the county yamen with Zhang Ping, Zhao Ting’er, Yao Xishui, and the others.
Wuling County was three to four times larger than Yuanling City, and the county yamen also had front offices and rear residential quarters adjacent to the post station. Ordinary captured soldiers were confined to the prisoner-of-war camp, but more important prisoners were held in the rear quarters and the post station.
Wuling City’s garrison consisted mainly of Tanzhou’s core elite troops. Not only the principal generals and military officers, but even ordinary soldiers and officers had their families settled near Tanzhou City—this was one important reason why attacking Yuanling and Wuling had been so difficult.
As for the officials and clerks of Wuling County, aside from a few ranked officials like the county magistrate and deputy, whose family members had been detained in Tanzhou by Ma Yin and his son as hostages, the six bureaus of clerks were mainly filled by local scholars or sons of local gentry clans.
These clerks and their family members numbered three to four hundred people and essentially constituted Wuling County’s upper class. Now they were imprisoned together in the rear quarters of the county yamen like pigs and dogs.
When Han Qian arrived, he saw their faces were pale, and presumably they all knew very well what commotion had been happening outside earlier.
In the thirteenth year of Tianyou, when Han Qian accompanied his father to take up his post in Xuzhou, in order to flush out hidden enemies, he had set up a memorial altar for Wang Yu in Wuling City, and at that time had met the principal officials of Wuling County.
Han Qian had even shared drinks two times with people like County Magistrate Wang Dazhi, Deputy Chen Lu, Marshal Zhou Chu, and Registrar Zhao Jicheng, so this meeting could be considered a reunion of old acquaintances.
Apart from the surrendered generals and military officers confined in the post station, Wang Dazhi, Chen Lu, Zhou Chu, and Zhao Jicheng—these four—also received treatment as principal offenders. Tian Cheng and the others had earlier fetched cangues and leg irons from the county yamen prison to put on them.
Although only a few hours had passed, the cangues and leg irons together weighed fifty to sixty catties, which was enough to torment a person severely. They sat in the corner of the courtyard against the wall, and only struggled to stand up when they saw Han Qian enter.
“Remove the restraints from Magistrate Wang and the others.”
Han Qian did not triumphantly inspect these surrendered officials. He ordered the cangues and leg irons removed from Wang Dazhi, Chen Lu, Zhou Chu, Zhao Jicheng and the others, then said in a deep voice:
“I know that you gentlemen were coerced into betraying the court because your families were in Tanzhou, and that your previous assistance in defending the city for the rebel army was unavoidable. However, I can only keep you confined for now—everything must await the Third Prince’s disposition. I ask for your understanding, gentlemen.”
“How could we dare, how could we dare?” Not being subjected to humiliation or torture and receiving Han Qian’s preferential treatment—as principal offenders, Wang Dazhi and the others dared not hope for more. They all came forward to thank Han Qian.
“I have no authority to release the clerical officials of Wuling City either. For now, I can only ask you to inconvenience yourselves by taking your family members to the medical camp to temporarily serve as laborers, caring for the wounded soldiers. Of course, if any among you dare harbor treacherous intentions or cover for each other, and ultimately cause trouble, my abilities are limited—I fear I won’t be able to continue giving you preferential treatment. Please watch each other and don’t create problems. As long as everyone remains peaceful, after Tanzhou is pacified, I will also do my best to plead your case before the Third Prince.”
Although the ultimate disposition of these surrendered officials would still depend on an imperial edict from Jinling, Han Qian could only ensure they weren’t harassed for now. But first, they had to guarantee they wouldn’t cause him any trouble. After warning them, he had Zhao Ting’er lead these people away.
Currently, counting the wounded among the captured soldiers and civilians accidentally injured in the fighting, the medical camp in Wuling City had to treat a total of three to four thousand sick and wounded.
The hundred-plus medical personnel transferred from Yuanling, Qianyang, and Linjiang could no longer meet the demand. Han Qian’s arrangement to have over two hundred surrendered officials and their family members assist there was mutually beneficial.
For these surrendered officials and their families, compared to being sent to labor camps to repair city walls in perpetual darkness, or being sent to brothel camps to satisfy the bestial desires of hundreds or thousands of soldiers, serving as assistants in the medical camp caring for wounded soldiers was undoubtedly the best preferential treatment.
Immediately a large group knelt down to express their gratitude, then departed with Zhao Ting’er and Yao Xishui.
After dismissing the vast majority, keeping only the four principal offenders—Wang Dazhi, Chen Lu, Zhou Chu, and Zhao Jicheng—Han Qian inquired about Wen Rulin’s whereabouts.
Wuling County Registrar Zhao Jicheng had some impression of Wen Rulin’s direction, saying: “After the Wuling Army entered the city, Scholar Wen changed into blood-stained soldier’s clothing. I don’t know if he mixed in with the wounded soldiers or pretended to be a corpse to escape the Wuling Army’s search…”
Bodies taken out of the city for burial had to pass through several checkpoints and weren’t so easy to fake. Hearing Zhao Jicheng say this, Tian Cheng immediately sent people to the medical camp to focus their search on wounded prisoners of war.
As principal offenders, Han Qian couldn’t presume to release Wang Dazhi, Chen Lu, Zhou Chu, and Zhao Jicheng. He had a separate courtyard in the rear quarters of the county yamen cleared out to place them under house arrest. Their food and clothing were provided as preferentially as possible, not allowing them to suffer any grievance. He even consulted them on strategies for how to most quickly restore civil order within and outside Wuling City.
Han Qian’s most urgent task was to minimize the war’s impact on farming and other activities. He ordered the confiscated treasury stores to be used to establish gruel stations to provide relief for refugees whose homes had been destroyed in the flames of war.
At this time, Han Qian temporarily took over as commander of the Wuling Army. Next, he would also use this rare opportunity to reorganize military discipline. First, aside from necessary garrison forces, all Wuling Army soldiers and prisoners of war were to withdraw and camp outside the city. They were strictly forbidden from entering the city at will, and even more strictly forbidden from harassing nearby villages and settlements.
The soldiers of the Wuling Army were mainly obtained through recruitment, their origins motley, and they were even more difficult to manage than the simple-hearted militia. Especially over the past half year, the recruited soldiers had been in continuous bloody battles, accumulating too many negative emotions and desires that needed release.
After such a difficult siege, according to tradition, they should even allow the soldiers to plunder the city for three days before reorganizing military discipline.
Han Qian did not want to follow tradition and establish some brothel camp, demoting the female family members of surrendered officials to satisfy the soldiers, nor would he allow public order in the city to descend into chaos. As a compromise, he summoned the operators of the three brothels in the city and required them to resume operations as quickly as possible to prevent civilians from being harassed.
In the afternoon, the Wuling Army soldiers and prisoners of war all withdrew to camps outside the city. Several major fires in the city were extinguished before dark. Several hundred families whose homes had been burned, after being vetted, were allowed to leave the city to stay with relatives and friends. Others all returned to their homes. Several main streets and lanes were also cleared. By nightfall, the damaged Wuling City had recovered a rare tranquility.
It was almost midnight when Tian Cheng finally ferreted out Wen Rulin, who had been disguised as a wounded soldier, from the medical camp and brought him over.
Han Qian, Zhang Ping, and Li Chong had met Wen Rulin several times at the Deng-Xiang Defense Commissioner’s office in Xiangzhou City before the Jing-Xiang conflict erupted in full.
At that time, Wen Rulin, as a strategist serving Ma Xun, the Heir Apparent of the Tanzhou Military Governor, had possessed quite a bit of the bearing of a feather-fanned and silk-turbaned scholar. Now, however, he was much more bedraggled. Whether he had been wounded by riotous soldiers or in order to disguise himself as a wounded soldier, his face had several gashes, and he was also bruised and swollen. Wearing blood-stained military uniform with disheveled hair, his entire person gaunt and haggard, he seemed like two different people.
“For Tian Cheng to personally bring people to ferret him out from the medical camp—he really is not simple.” Han Qian set down the official document in his hand, examined Wen Rulin several times, then said with a smile to Zhang Ping and Li Chong.
Zhang Ping smiled slightly.
Li Chong was quite puzzled, not knowing why Han Qian only seemed at ease after Wen Rulin had been ferreted out.
He and Zhang Ping were under too many restrictions here. Much information was arranged by Han Qian to be investigated, and he had only seen Wen Rulin twice in Xiangzhou City, knowing him as a strategist serving Ma Xun.
Li Chong had assumed Ma Xun was just mediocre, and that the strategists around him couldn’t be very capable. But at this moment, he could still sense Han Qian’s regard for this Wen Rulin.
Just now when he and Zhang Ping came to find Han Qian, Han Qian would inquire every so often whether anyone had tracked down Wen Rulin’s whereabouts.
Han Qian paid no mind to what Li Chong thought. Staring at Wen Rulin, he continued: “Scholar Wen, instead of staying by Ma Xun’s side offering counsel, why did you run to Wuling City alone?”
“If the Heir Apparent and Ma Yuanheng had listened to my strategies and intercepted you when you were traveling to Xuzhou to plot your schemes, there would never have been today’s calamity. Even before Yingyu Fort fell, Tanzhou still had the opportunity to eliminate you father and son and control Chen and Xu provinces. Regrettably, the Heir Apparent refused to heed my advice.”
Even though he had fallen into Han Qian’s hands, Wen Rulin was unwilling to grovel. He straightened his clothing and stood proudly, saying without concealing his regret:
“And when the Longque Army divided its forces to enter the Yuan River this time, the State Ruler and Heir Apparent still harbored illusions. I could only request that the Heir Apparent allow me to come assist Ma Rong in defending the city, striving for one last chance of victory. But alas, the general situation is lost.”
Xi Ren, standing behind Han Qian, couldn’t help but scrutinize Wen Rulin.
After the Battle of Yuanling, the Wuling Army had captured several of Ma Rong’s mid-level commanders, and at that time Xi Ren learned that Wen Rulin had repeatedly urged the Ma father and son to make decisive moves regarding Xuzhou very early on.
It was hard to imagine what the situation would be like now if the Ma father and son had valued Wen Rulin’s suggestions. Perhaps Emperor Tianyou wouldn’t have dared to easily abolish Tanzhou’s feudal domain, and the Han father and son’s circumstances in Xuzhou would certainly be a hundred times more miserable than now, wouldn’t they?
Li Chong was secretly alarmed. He had entered the Yuan River with Li Zhigao and the others, but truly hadn’t known these details. He hadn’t expected that there was actually such a formidable figure among the Ma father and son’s advisers, someone who had seen through Emperor Tianyou’s plot to reduce feudal domains so early.
As he examined Wen Rulin, his expression became solemn.
“Ma Yin and Ma Xun, father and son, are too indecisive and lack entirely the bearing of heroic rulers—this has truly wasted your great talents,” Han Qian said with a scornful smile, then asked: “In your view, when will the Third Prince be able to completely pacify the Tanzhou rebellion with his army of over a hundred thousand?”
Wen Rulin wanted to display some integrity and closed his mouth, refusing to speak.
“The Third Prince has long foreseen when Tanzhou can be pacified. The Shu army surely doesn’t dare to send troops to attack Jingzhou now, and the Liang army surely doesn’t dare to continue assembling at Caizhou. I’m asking you now merely to see whether you truly have genuine insight.” Han Qian said calmly.
Wen Rulin let out a long sigh: “Hanshou has only two thousand garrison troops. Even if they don’t abandon the city, they cannot hold it for more than ten days. And Ma Yuanheng is far inferior to Ma Rong—back then in Xuzhou, he abandoned his family and fled alone. At this time, there’s absolutely no possibility of expecting him to fight to the death when his escape route is cut off. Surrendering the city may well be a matter of days. In that case, if the Shu army doesn’t withdraw from Yiling, it’s more to prevent the Chu army from seizing the opportunity to take Yiling—there’s absolutely no possibility they’ll send troops to raid Jingzhou. Even if the Liang army assembles again at Caizhou, they’ll have no opportunity to attack Nanyang again. Thus, Yueyang cannot be defended. If the State Ruler and Heir Apparent abandon Yueyang and retreat to defend Tanzhou, perhaps they can barely survive a while longer!”
“Correct. The Hanshou garrison has already abandoned the city and fled east. We’ll see when Ma Yuanheng in his isolated city of Jiang’an will emerge to surrender.” Han Qian pulled out a document—this was an intelligence report that Zheng Hui had sent by fast horse from Hanshou before nightfall.
Before Zheng Hui led nearly twenty thousand troops by land and water to arrive, the two thousand Hanshou defenders had abandoned the city and fled east. After Zheng Hui seized Hanshou City without losing a single soldier, he was waiting for Li Zhigao and Zhang Feng to lead their forces to press toward the Yangtze River shore and join up with Zhang Xiang before forcing the surrender of Ma Yuanheng’s forces besieged in Jiang’an.
“By rights, Ma Yin, father and son, should immediately abandon Yueyang at this time and withdraw their troops to defend south of Dongting Lake. However, the father and son are indecisive—perhaps they’ll wait until Ma Yuanheng surrenders Jiang’an City before making a decision?” Wen Rulin let out a long sigh and said: “If Commissioner Han uses my strategies, perhaps he could end the war earlier and spare the people of Tanzhou some suffering from the chaos of war!”
“How is it your place to have a say about attacking Tanzhou?” Han Qian smiled disdainfully and gestured for his attendants to take Wen Rulin away to be confined. He couldn’t help but laugh with Zhang Ping and Li Chong: “This Wen Rulin, a defeated general, dares to point fingers and give us directions—how truly laughable!”
Zhang Ping harbored some doubts, but Li Chong’s expression became grave…