Zhang Ping, Lin Haizheng, Feng Xuan, and Feng Yi didn’t even bring escorts. Accompanied only by over ten boatmen and sailors, using just three days aboard a medium-sized fast sailboat, they traveled day and night to break through the blockades of the water camps at Jiangzhou and Chizhou, abandoned ship and came ashore near Caishi, then used a day and two nights to trek directly through northern Xuanzhou on foot to reach Maoshan.
From Yueyang to Caishi, the Yangtze River waterway measured over fifteen hundred li. Even though it was summer when the river waters swelled and the waters were vast and wide, completing the entire journey in three days and three nights could be said to have created an entirely new record in the current era.
One must know that in earlier years, old-style sailing vessels didn’t dare navigate at night. Taking half a month to complete this water route would be considered fast. Using new-style fast sailboats to carry cargo from Yueyang downstream to Caishi typically required about six days.
That Zhang Ping and his group could break through the blockade was not only because a medium-sized fast sailboat had a small profile and didn’t attract much attention, but speed was also an extremely important factor.
Although rowing warships could reach maximum speeds of over thirty li in half a shichen, which was faster than fast sailboats, this speed was difficult to maintain for long. More critically, when the troops of the Jiang and Chi camps saw one or two fast sailboats charging straight through, whether they would dispatch rowing boats to chase with all their might was uncertain, let alone whether they could actually catch up.
Learning that people had come from Yueyang, Li Pu and Li Xiu also immediately rushed from the ridge west of Little Mao Peak to the compound in the northern foothills.
Seeing the imperial commission from the Administrative Court appointing Han Qian as Pacification Commissioner, utilizing the remnants of Taowu Ji’s military households to newly organize an army with Han Qian serving as Commander-in-Chief and Campaign General Administrator, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s heart was full of bitterness.
Li Pu could imagine that at the same time Han Qian had infiltrated Jinling to seize military authority from him, he had arranged for Feng Yi, Lin Haizheng and others to expose this matter to Yang Yuanpu of Tanzhou in Yueyang. The timing should have been seized extremely well.
Regardless of how Yang Yuanpu and the people of Yueyang viewed this matter internally or how they viewed Han Qian’s unauthorized seizure of military authority, at least on the surface, Han Qian as Pacification Commissioner had his status as the person fully representing the Yueyang Administrative Court in Jinling confirmed.
The latest directive from the Administrative Court that Zhang Ping and Feng Yi brought him required him to return to Yueyang for other assignments. Although he could send people to Yueyang to negotiate, requesting to continue staying in Jinling, now that Han Qian’s official status was confirmed, if he stayed, he would have to accept Han Qian’s command.
Even if only nominally, was he truly willing to accept Han Qian’s command? Willing to have a minor character that Marquis Xinchang’s Mansion could once crush with a single finger now officially ride on his neck to shit and piss?
But could he not stay and just flee back to Yueyang in disgrace?
If that happened, besides losing face, with Li Xiu and Li Qi leading the prince’s mansion’s three hundred elite guards remaining in Jinling, not only would he be unable to exert any influence, how could he know whether Han Qian harbored malicious intentions?
However, Han Qian had no mind to care about Li Pu’s internal struggles. He thought that with Zhang Ping, Lin Haizheng, Feng Xuan, and Feng Yi coming over, at least before the Chuzhou Army made any unusual moves, with Zhang Ping and Lin Haizheng sharing military duties, he could more or less catch up on some sleep. Next, he asked about the changes in the situation in Yueyang, Jingzhou, and even eastern Sichuan during the half month since leaving Xuzhou.
“The Yang family took military action first, launching a surprise attack to capture two stockades the Wuyuan people had established along the Qian River in the northeast of Sizhou. Although no news has come from Yuzhou, I believe in these few days they should also have moved against the Wuyuan people who have usurped lands on both banks of the Qian River for two to three hundred years,” Lin Haizheng said. “When we left Yueyang, Li Zhigao had already led his escorts to Yueyang to report for duty. Zhou Tong and Hao Zixia had also led their troops to board ships at Hengzhou. At the fastest, they should have already entered Ezhou by now. It’s been nearly ten days since Lord Chai took command of the southern defense line at Jiufeng City, and General Zhou Dan has been reassigned as Governor of Hengzhou…”
With Li Pu present, Lin Haizheng was quite courteous in addressing Chai Jian.
As a general from bandit origins, Zhou Dan being transferred to serve as Governor of Hengzhou with only about a hundred retainers following him and having no foundation whatsoever locally could only mean he was governor in name only. With Li Zhigao and the core forces of Zhou Tong and Hao Zixia being transferred to Ezhou, the troops remaining at Jiufeng Ridge, Shizi Ridge, Wuzhi Ridge, and Shaozhou would be easily controlled by Chai Jian.
Given the nature of Marquis Xinchang’s Mansion and that Wanhong Tower crowd, before the chaotic situation in Jinling became clear, they wouldn’t dare rashly act against the rebel forces who had withdrawn to defend Yongzhou. Next, they would most likely focus their attention on managing Hengzhou and Shaozhou. As long as the two rebel forces of Zhao Sheng and Luo Jia made no unusual moves, he didn’t need to worry about problems arising there in the short term.
Han Qian looked at Li Pu’s wavering appearance and thought he would most likely still want to stay. He said, “I have few troops and generals in Maoshan. If Lord Li and Young General Li could stay to assist, the fifty thousand women and children might have one more thread of hope for survival—if Lord Li is willing, I’ll write to Yueyang requesting His Highness and the ministers to grant Lord Li the authority for pacification and liaison…”
Facing Han Qian’s request to stay, Li Pu naturally felt both shocked and suspicious, but thinking that he and Li Xiu were leading over four hundred elite cavalry stationed at the ridge west of Little Mao Peak with convenient advance and retreat options, not fearing Han Qian’s malicious intentions could harm him, he went along saying, “If I cannot bring the fifty thousand women and children back to Yueyang, my heart won’t be at peace. I’ll write a letter immediately and send someone to His Highness, requesting permission to stay and contribute what I can.”
Speaking to this point, seeing that Han Qian was about to introduce Zhang Ping and others to the current situation in Jinling, Li Pu neither wanted to see Han Qian show off his achievements in raiding Danyang nor wanted to see Zhang Ping and others regret not daring to defend Qiuhu Mountain after learning of Han Qian’s advance preparations in Maoshan. He immediately didn’t linger and returned first with Li Xiu to Little Mao Peak on the west side.
Seeing Li Pu and the Li family scions leave first, Yuan Guowei couldn’t help asking Han Qian in puzzlement, “Why not let Lord Li return to Yueyang?”
Yuan Guowei was very clear in his heart that Li Pu stayed only wanting to see Han Qian’s embarrassment. He even worried Li Pu might stab them in the back given the chance to repay the hatred of having military authority seized. He was quite puzzled why Han Qian had just spoken to keep Li Pu here.
Han Qian shrugged. Although Zhang Ping was quite pragmatic and even more shrewd and capable than Li Pu, he was after all an old acquaintance from the Divine Mausolium Bureau, so some words weren’t convenient to say too bluntly.
In his view, rather than letting Li Pu return to Yueyang, it was better to keep Li Pu under his nose where he could watch him.
Moreover, with Li Pu staying, Chai Jian in Shaozhou wouldn’t make too many little moves against Xuzhou.
Besides ensuring matters like widening the Xuefeng Mountain post road and selling cloth, iron and other goods to prefectures in Hunan could proceed smoothly, Han Qian would also dare to confidently transfer more elite troops from Xuzhou in the second and third batches, especially officers from the Left Bureau who had been cultivated over many years, to Jinling.
Keeping Li Pu by his side carried certain risks, but one also had to see the benefits in it.
Han Qian changed the subject and spoke of the various events that had occurred in the five days since he had seized military authority from Li Pu. At this time, he also told Zhang Ping, Feng Xuan, Lin Haizheng, and Feng Yi what he had deduced about the Chuzhou Army possibly choosing to besiege Jinling.
“The Chuzhou Army intends to lay siege to the city? This is perhaps precisely Wang Wenqian’s style. When did Lord Han deduce the Chuzhou Army might possibly choose to use such a vicious strategy?” Zhang Ping was shocked for a moment before murmuring to himself.
Han Qian said in a bland tone, “After His Highness organized the Five Fang Army’s naval forces and then decided to transfer Li Zhigao to defend Ezhou, I thought the Chuzhou Army would perhaps try to avoid hasty decisive battle with the elite Shouzhou Army as much as possible…”
Zhang Ping sighed with emotion. Yueyang transferring Li Zhigao to defend Ezhou was not only because the Chuzhou Army’s great victory at Jingshan Nunnery was alarming, but the Zheng family, Marquis Xinchang’s Mansion, the Dowager Consort, and even His Highness himself all had their own calculations. But in the eyes of the Chuzhou people, it looked more like Yueyang was just waiting for the Chuzhou Army and Shouzhou Army to mutually destroy each other so they could advance eastward along the river with their entire army to reap the fisherman’s profit.
Though Great Chu was fragmenting and collapsing, the various forces were entangled such that pulling one strand affected the whole body. What any one side had to face and consider was far more than just the reaction of the enemy force before their eyes.
Next, Han Qian spoke of some situations Maoshan currently faced.
Besides General Qin Ran leading remnant troops to re-garrison the ruins of Danyang City burned by a great fire, and besides placing many scouts around the outer perimeter of Maoshan’s northern foothills for surveillance, currently the Chuzhou Army had been silent for a day and night with no new movements. There was very likely fierce internal disagreement about how to strike and retaliate against the Maoshan side.
This would perhaps bring them at minimum a few more days of breathing space.
Of course, although Zhang Ping and his group had come to Maoshan to join with Han Qian, regarding what to do next, they were all completely in the dark, all looking expectantly at Han Qian to point out a clearer direction.
Han Qian rubbed his hands saying, “I’ve truly been exhausted these past days. Now His Highness has appointed me as Pacification Commissioner and Campaign General Administrator. The key is that with you coming over, you can share military duties for me…”
The women’s battalions and youth battalions couldn’t be counted as formal organization. With only three thousand troops that could only be organized as one army division, Han Qian appointed Lin Haizheng as Division General (Division Vice Commander), with Zhao Wuji as Deputy Division General concurrently serving as First Battalion Commander. Yuan Guowei was after all approaching sixty with aging bones and tendons. Having served as a clerk in the Inner Palace Bureau these years, he was also better suited for staff advisory and chief scout official type positions, yielding the Second Battalion Commander position to Feng Xuan. The Third Battalion Commander position was still held by Dou Rong, who had established distinguished merit defending Xichuan.
Kong Xirong needed to recuperate from his injuries and also continued with Wei Chang to handle matters of the women’s battalions and youth battalions.
Zhang Ping also brought a piece of news this time that Han Qian rather anticipated—that was, among the Longque Army garrison troops stationed in Tanzhou, Yueyang, Shaozhou and other places, by the time they set out, a total of nearly one hundred fifty elite veteran soldiers of the Longque Army from Taowu Ji military households had privately deserted their units to flee to Jinling.
Among the officers and soldiers from Taowu Ji military households, currently over five thousand were organized into the Left and Right Longque Armies. These nearly one hundred fifty deserters, like Xiao Dahu, Shi Ji, Dou Rong, and Wei Chang, were actually hot-blooded men of the current era willing and daring to take responsibility and take action to protect their family members.
When Han Qian and his group traveled east by boat at extreme speed, those deserters, except for Xiao Dahu and Dou Rong who as officers had opportunities to steal horses to escape back and who themselves were martially brave with exceptional stamina, most people would probably need another three to five days or eight to ten days to gradually infiltrate back to Jinling.
Yueyang also made clear that as long as these people were willing to serve Han Qian and be organized into the new army, they would directly pardon their crime of desertion.
These were expected to bring Han Qian a batch of extremely precious junior officers who were loyal to their families and usable.
Of course, this required Han Qian to do his utmost to protect the nearly fifty thousand women and children.
Finally, Zhang Ping also said, “As Pacification Commissioner, Lord Han has the authority to punish rebels and pacify disasters, but pacification armies have never been formal organizational designations. We departed from Yueyang too hastily. His Highness’s signed directive only permitted Lord Han to organize the remnants of Taowu Ji’s military households into one army, but the organizational designation hasn’t been determined yet. Lord Han still needs to decide.”
“The military households of Taowu Ji gathered around Chishan Lake, so let’s take Chishan Army as the designation…” Han Qian said.
From the late previous dynasty onward, military governorships had proliferated and military garrison designations were extremely numerous. At this time, Han Qian was extremely exhausted and had no energy to think up a distinctive, imposing designation. For now, they would make do with using the Chishan Army designation.