Watching Li Pu aggressively look toward Zhang Ping, Han Qian didn’t wait for Zhang Ping to take a stance. He lifted his robe hem and sat behind the central long table, saying calmly:
“In previous battles, Chishan Army lost eight thousand men in combat. The loss of able-bodied men has been too severe. Yet for over three hundred thousand women and children to survive the harsh winter requires large numbers of able-bodied laborers to construct houses and mine coal and stone to ensure humble dwellings can have fires for warmth. If we conscript the limited able-bodied men into the army at this time, who knows how many women and children will freeze to death by the roadside this winter!”
Hearing Han Qian say this, Wei Zhen and Zhou Yuanhe sitting in the lower seats couldn’t help but look toward Gu Zhilong.
Regardless of what Gu Zhilong had been thinking when the Battle of Langxi erupted, after pledging allegiance he hadn’t gone around crying everywhere that the Han family was untrustworthy, using deceptive schemes to kill and wound Xuanzhou’s sons. But he consistently maintained that he had already firmly resolved to pledge to the Third Prince, to pledge to Yueyang, which was why he decided to go to Xuancheng to meet Han Wenhuan and Han Daochang.
Gu Zhao was Gu Zhilong’s most cherished son. Yet even though Gu Zhao fought to the death without surrendering, Langxi City had only held out for slightly more than a day before falling.
Of course, everyone also knew that Chishan Army’s casualties had been severe. Counting Chishan Army’s previous hard battle attacking Shang Family Fort, Han Qian saying Chishan Army had eight thousand elite dead in battle was not the least bit exaggerated.
But they didn’t know what Gu Zhilong felt hearing these words.
Gu Zhilong’s expression only darkened slightly—others couldn’t tell at all what he was thinking inside.
Han Qian continued: “Whether you gentlemen believe it or not, besides assisting His Highness in punishing rebels and recovering Jinling, Han Qian came to Jinling hoping to fulfill my late father’s dying wish—hoping the Jinling campaign would affect common people as little as possible. With Yueyang’s great army approaching and Anning Palace’s edifice about to collapse, the role Left Guangde Army can play is already extremely limited. Currently we only need to fulfill our due responsibilities. After His Highness enters Jinling, Han Qian will also return to Xuzhou to continue mourning my late father. At that time I’ll have to trouble you gentlemen to look after Left Guangde Army’s soldiers and their families…”
“Hmph!” If not for the fact that Han Qian was the Chief Commissioner, at this moment Li Pu would have liked nothing better than to stick his nostrils in Han Qian’s face to show his derision for these words, thinking—this brat really takes them for three-year-old children!
Gu Zhilong, Wei Zhen and the others looked left and right speaking of other things. Not one person took up Han Qian’s words—who knew if this was Han Qian deliberately saying this to test them?
Voluntarily surrender military authority?
Never mind them—after His Highness recovered Jinling and succeeded to the throne, he couldn’t possibly force Han Qian to surrender military authority either, could he?
Besides Feng Liao, those sitting alongside in consultation—Feng Yi, Feng Xuan, Kong Xirong, Guo Que, Zhou Chu, Zhao Qi, and even Supervising Commissioner Zhang Ping—were all hearing Han Qian mention surrendering military authority after the war and returning alone to Xuzhou to continue mourning for the first time. At this moment they looked at each other in dismay, momentarily unable to distinguish whether this was rhetoric Han Qian produced to placate Li Pu and others, or if he truly had such intentions.
Of course, even though Feng Liao had earlier represented Han Qian in saying such things before Li Pu and others, he had never thought Han Qian would truly hand over Guangde Military Commissioner Prefecture after the war. At that time he had been more inclined to believe Han Qian said that hoping Li Pu and Gu Zhilong would contribute more effort.
Feng Liao hadn’t expected Han Qian to formally raise this matter again.
Han Wenhuan, who had been sitting in the public hall with eyes half-closed resting, now opened his eyes wide at this moment.
Han Qian continued in a calm tone: “The three counties exchanging fields and houses, combined with reclaiming lake polders this winter—before spring plowing next year, we can settle a total of eighty thousand military and civilians. But no matter what, a total population reaching one hundred seventy to eighty thousand is already the extreme limit of the three counties’ land carrying capacity! Yet even if Taowu garrison household families can all move back to Taowu garrison after recovering Jinling, there will still remain over two hundred thousand old, weak, women and children without a place to settle. To avoid them becoming starving corpses, the Commissioner Prefecture can only provide them basic security through recruiting soldiers and workers. However, calculating everything, the Commissioner Prefecture still has an annual expenditure gap of seventy to eighty thousand strings of cash that cannot be filled no matter what. This is still the gap calculated after Xuanzhou, Shezhou, and Raozhou bear basic supplies for Left and Right Guangde Army soldiers. When the time comes and I slap my rear and walk away, I’ll still have to ask you gentlemen to work together to find ways to fill this gap, or find other methods to settle these women and children!”
Hearing Han Qian speak in such detail, practically laying bare Left Guangde Army’s foundations, Gu Zhilong, Wei Zhen, Li Xiu and others’ expressions became grave. They secretly felt that Han Qian saying he would surrender military authority after the war might not just be talk, but rather a condition for filling the gap in money and grain for settling so many old, weak, women and children.
Li Pu also couldn’t help but glance gravely at Wen Ruilin beside him.
Wen Ruilin hadn’t initially followed Li Pu in secretly returning to Jinling, but had remained beside Chai Jian and Li Chong offering counsel. When Chai Jian succeeded Li Zhigao in garrisoning Shaozhou, responsible for organizing defensive lines along the Wuzhi Ridge to resist rebel forces retreating to Yongzhou, he had also gone to Shaozhou with Chai Jian.
This time when Yueyang conducted total mobilization intending to take Jinling in one stroke, Shao and Heng prefectures also fully shifted to defensive posture, breaking off contact with rebel forces retreating to Yongzhou. Wen Ruilin was able to extricate himself, bringing two young servants to rush to Xuanzhou to counsel Li Pu on military and political affairs.
When Wen Ruilin reached Li Pu’s side, the first strategy he offered Li Pu was that they absolutely could not easily let Han Qian secure the position of Guangde Military Commissioner.
At this time, as Han Qian said, whether Left Guangde Army conducted total mobilization or not didn’t have much significance. Under current circumstances there were plenty of people wanting to compete for military achievements—one more ten thousand troops from Left Guangde Army wasn’t much, one fewer ten thousand troops wouldn’t be missed either. But urging Han Qian to conscript more able-bodied laborers into Left Guangde Army could greatly delay Han Qian’s work settling women and children in Guangde.
Coming over this time, Li Pu had also anticipated Han Qian would use old, weak, women and children as an excuse. Wen Ruilin had also advised him to prepare mentally to agree to additionally allocate a sum of money and grain from military resources each month to temporarily guarantee these old, weak, women and children could survive winter.
Allocating money and grain from military resources now to guarantee basic material supplies for these old, weak, women and children could be cut off at any time after the war.
But once so many old, weak, women and children whose hearts thought of Han Qian, who remembered Han Qian, completely took root this close to Jinling—not only becoming self-sufficient but even able to squeeze out a portion for military needs—how severe the consequences would be didn’t need Wen Ruilin to explain. Li Pu could figure it out himself.
Li Pu just hadn’t expected Han Qian would directly propose this matter as a condition for surrendering military authority.
If this was the case, did they still have an excuse to continue forcing Han Qian to conduct total mobilization of Left Guangde Army?
Even if Yueyang questioned it, Han Qian could completely use this rhetoric to deflect, couldn’t he?
While Li Pu hesitated, he heard Wen Ruilin’s fingers lightly tap the table. Turning his head, he saw Wen Ruilin open his mouth wordlessly but clearly mouth two characters: “Time limit…”
Li Pu understood completely. He sat up straight and said to Han Qian: “If the two route armies advance smoothly, Left Guangde Army can temporarily slow expansion. But if we enter the twelfth month and the Riverine Pacification Army and Jiangxi Pacification Army still haven’t smoothly captured Chizhou City, if we still don’t exert our utmost effort, at that time Lord Han probably couldn’t claim much utter loyalty to His Highness either, could he?”
Han Qian glanced at Wen Ruilin, then looked toward Li Pu. His gaze also sharpened as he said unceremoniously: “What I say before you gentlemen is absolutely no empty words or false words. You gentlemen can transmit these words to His Highness exactly as spoken—and my utter loyalty to His Highness can be witnessed by sun and moon. After Right Guangde Army has fought several bloody battles, then Lord Li can use these words to pressure me!”
Hearing Han Qian’s words, Li Pu felt as if someone had viciously hammered his forehead with an iron mallet. His temples throbbed, yet he couldn’t refute. In Guangde Military Commissioner Prefecture, with Han Qian as Chief Commissioner and himself as Deputy Commissioner, this represented Yueyang’s upper and lower recognition of Han Qian’s achievements.
He also realized some words had been spoken too bluntly, but he wouldn’t lower his head to Han Qian either.
“Lord Li is also anxious for Great Chu’s state and altars. Lord Han shouldn’t take offense. How could we doubt Lord Han’s loyalty to His Highness?” At this time Wei Zhen interjected as peacemaker, easing the tense atmosphere between Chief and Deputy Commissioners Han Qian and Li Pu.
Han Qian’s expression eased slightly. He then discussed many current situation matters with everyone, assigned tasks each unit would undertake, then ordered people to arrange a simple banquet.
With grain too scarce, Guangde Military Commissioner Prefecture and the three prefectures all comprehensively banned brewing and selling alcohol. The so-called simple banquet consisted of one bowl of yellow millet rice, one dish of pickled vegetables, one dish of sliced preserved meat, and one bowl of vegetable soup.
Everyone knew Guangde’s materials were scarce. Moreover, with dawn just ahead, what was there to be picky about regarding food?
Li Pu, Gu Zhilong and others wouldn’t stay overnight in Langxi City. After the simple meal they left surrounded by escorts, rushing through the night back to their respective garrison headquarters.
As the legitimate grandson, Han Qian should properly escort the old master out the mansion gate. But truly not knowing what to say, he endured until the old master had someone help him onto the horse carriage, then turned with Xi Ren toward the rear residence where he lived daily.
Han Qian’s mind was preoccupied with matters. He hadn’t expected Xi Ren walking ahead of him to stop, nearly colliding with her. Raising his head to look into the courtyard, he saw Zhao Wuji, Feng Yi, Feng Liao, Kong Xirong, Feng Xuan, Zhao Qi, Xi Fa’er, Zhou Chu, Guo Que and a large group of people all standing inside waiting for him to come over. The guards in the courtyard had been dismissed a step earlier.
Han Qian’s expression darkened slightly as he walked straight toward the corridor. Seeing Feng Liao standing before the steps, he reprimanded: “Feng Liao, are you stuffed from eating too much? Not going back to sleep but bringing these people to stand guard at my place? Whoever wants to stand, go stand outside the courtyard!”
Feng Liao smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
“You won’t really surrender military authority after recovering Jinling, will you?” Feng Yi stepped up toward the stairs. Seeing Han Qian’s gaze become sharp, he stopped and said, “We’re not urging you to have any inappropriate ambitions, but how much merit have you established these years? And among those around His Highness, who thinks well of you? Let’s not even mention the Feng family’s disaster. County Prince Li campaigned his whole life—what glory and prominence! But he died in Guangde, his son not even keeping vigil at his bedside. Rather desolate, wouldn’t you say…”
“All of you get out. Whoever dares spout nonsense before me again, don’t blame me for not showing mercy.” Han Qian rebuked without the slightest courtesy, with no intention whatsoever of reasoning with Feng Yi and the others…