Han Qian’s group traveled by boat upstream along the Yuan River. Despite hurrying, it was only the fifth day of the new year when they entered the Chen River via Chenyang and arrived at Jiminzhai at dusk.
Although the Chen River was a tributary of the Yuan River, the nearly hundred-li stretch of waterway in the middle and lower reaches from Chenyang to Jiminzhai passed through relatively stable and open terrain along the banks. Gathering the large and small streams and rivers from deep within the southern foothills of the Wuling Mountains, it had abundant water volume, with quite excellent navigation conditions.
In this section of the Chen River basin from Chenyang to Jiminzhai, even during winter the average river width was thirty zhang, with minimal terrain elevation difference, meaning no dangerous rapids. The water depth in the central channel was also above one zhang.
In this era, ships with a two-thousand-stone capacity were rare large vessels, but actually converting this came to only a hundred tons of cargo capacity. Even in winter, they could completely navigate the section of the Chen River between Chenyang and Jiminzhai.
It was just that the sailboats built in Xuzhou were all sharp-bottomed vessels that couldn’t casually stop at river beaches. However, Xuzhou could forge four-claw iron anchors weighing three to four thousand jin that could directly grip the river bottom’s silt. When needed, they could anchor directly in the middle of rivers without fearing wind and waves, thus overcoming the drawback of being unable to dock at beaches.
This was also a key reason why, no matter how Chenzhou Governor Xi Ying and his son jumped up and down, Han Qian stubbornly refused to return Jiminzhai to Chenzhou.
Xuzhou was further south, with the mountains and peaks of the Wuling range blocking the north, making it difficult for cold currents to move southward. Even during the coldest winter period, it rarely froze, and generally speaking a padded jacket was sufficient.
The ship’s hull slowly approached the dock. Han Qian stood at the bow wearing a gray robe, watching Zhao Ting’er holding an infant in her arms, together with Old Zhao, Xi Xunqiao, Tian Cheng, Xi Chang, Gao Bao, Ji Fu, and other garrison personnel, as well as representatives of native local magnates like Yang Zaili and Xiang Jianlong.
Although Han Qian had resolutely promoted the merging of native and immigrant household registrations in Xuzhou, the traces left by implementing the native-immigrant registration system for thousands of years on ordinary people and throughout this landscape couldn’t be erased in just three to five years. Yang Zaili and Xiang Jianlong still possessed considerable local influence, it was just that Han Qian was more dazzling and powerful, making them appear completely lackluster in comparison.
Han Qian stepped briskly down from the ship’s rail. Ignoring the crowd clustering around, he forcibly took the child from Zhao Ting’er’s arms—the child’s small face turned away, wanting to cry but not daring to. His heart was full of emotion. He had returned early from Jinling. If not for this excuse of refusing the marriage, even if Yang Yuanpu had no intention of killing him, who knew how long it would have dragged on before he could see his newborn son.
Han Qian pinched the chubby little face of the big fat boy—raised so well—and grabbed the small feet kicking wildly trying to struggle out of his embrace, asking Zhao Ting’er: “This little fellow can’t call ‘father’ yet, can he?”
“He’s only a few months old? He won’t start learning to speak until May or June. My mother says boys speak even later,” Zhao Ting’er said. In front of everyone, she restrained her heart full of joy, nestling beside Han Qian, carefully supporting Xin’er’s back with her hands, afraid he might break free and fall. Then she turned her head to see her younger brother Zhao Wuji’s robe hem disheveled by the river wind. Reaching out to help him tidy it, she complained, “You’re already a grown man—how is your clothing so messy? You should find a girl to help take care of you…”
“Then we need to arrange this quickly. I’m planning to have Wuji go guard South Liao Stronghold after the first month,” Han Qian said to Zhao Ting’er.
“I’m not in a hurry, not in a hurry. After staying home for a few days, I can go to South Liao Stronghold,” Zhao Wuji said. Hearing Han Qian mention his marriage matter to his sister, though his archery skills on horseback were incomparable, his face flushed bright red. He hastily declined, afraid his parents behind him would hear and get excited, truly forcing a wife on him to consummate the marriage this very first month.
“You leave for a whole year at a time—how can you just stay a few days and run off?” Zhao Ting’er said reproachfully.
“Is General Wuji going to guard South Liao Stronghold because you’re thinking of establishing another county upstream on the Qu River, sir?” Xi Xunqiao came over to ask.
Currently to Xuzhou’s north was the Xi clan of Chenzhou occupying the middle and lower Yuan River. To the southwest was the Tian clan of Yezhou occupying the middle Yuan River. To the west was the Yang clan of Tianzhou occupying the upper Chen River and the southern foothills of the Wuling Mountains. Their forces were all quite strong, and they had all long since submitted internally to Great Chu. For Xuzhou to expand in these three directions would face tremendous resistance, not to mention lacking justification.
For Han Qian to further enhance Xuzhou’s strength, in the short term he needed to focus more on intensive cultivation and detailed work.
The Five Streams Barbarians had been a collective term since the Qin and Han dynasties for the mountain Yue ethnic peoples located along the Yuan River. The Qu River, also called Lang Stream, was one of the birthplaces of the Five Streams Barbarians. It flowed into the Yuan River at the southwestern corner of Qianyang City.
Xuzhou had long ago established Lang Stream County in the river valley downstream of the Qu River. When promoting the merger of native and immigrant registrations, they recorded four thousand households with over twenty-five thousand people of both native and immigrant status in the middle and lower Qu River. But in reality, the Qu River extended southward deep into the great mountains and ranges of southeastern Qian. The entire river course was about four hundred li long, with at least a hundred barbarian strongholds in the mountains along its banks, all beyond Lang Stream County’s control.
These barbarian strongholds theoretically all belonged to Xuzhou, but had never been effectively controlled, and were called “raw barbarians.” Additionally, the Qu River’s mountains were high and waters treacherous, with nearly half of the entire river course consisting of deep gorges, though there were also quite a few stream valleys and river valleys six to seven hundred paces wide that could be developed into extensive paddy fields.
In the past, with native households powerful and immigrant households weak, the central dynasty’s control over these remote provinces and counties was negligible. Wanting to establish a new county south of Lang Stream, based on the currently Xuzhou-controlled South Liao Stronghold, to incorporate the raw barbarians and develop the middle and upper reaches of the Qu River valley, was unimaginably difficult.
Currently, Xuzhou’s promotion of land system reform and merger of native-immigrant registrations in the middle and lower Qu River was proceeding relatively smoothly. When Feng Liao and Gao Shao brought the main force back, Han Qian would have large numbers of personnel familiar with military and administrative affairs available, and sufficient military strength to suppress resistance from small and medium barbarian strongholds. At this time, the conditions for establishing a new county in the middle and upper Qu River could be said to be completely mature.
Apart from considering establishing Quyang County in the middle and upper Qu River, Han Qian also wanted to use Jiminzhai as a foundation to establish Chenzhong County, completely separating the lands on both banks of the middle Chen River north of Old Dragon Gorge from Chenzhou.
This way, Xuzhou’s original three counties of Qianyang, Lang Stream, and Zhijiang would further expand to seven counties: Qianyang, Zhongfang, Longya (Linjiang), Lang Stream, Zhijiang, Quyang, and Chenzhong.
Of course, the main force led by Feng Liao and Lin Haizheng—at the fastest, even the first group traveling on horseback would need until early second month to cross Xuefeng Mountain and return to Xuzhou. With Han Qian now rarely able to set aside all matters, he didn’t want to rush to advance this now.
At noon, Han Qian hosted a banquet at Jiminzhai for Tian Cheng, Xi Chang, Xi Xunqiao, Yang Zaili, Xiang Jianlong, and others. He also had no intention of keeping everyone to further discuss other affairs.
Apart from Yang Qin leading more ships to replenish with new dry rations, dried meat, charcoal, and other supplies, already turning around without stopping to head toward the Xin River (within Raozhou territory), a tributary of the Poyang Lake water system, to meet the elderly, weak, women, and children migrating west, Han Qian had everyone else return first.
With horses replacing foot travel, on the route from Langxi to Qianyang, one could travel a hundred li per day—even robust men found it very arduous. Most of the elderly, weak, women, and children walking three or four months might not even reach Qianyang County territory.
Fortunately, after crossing Qian Mountain and entering Raozhou territory, there was the Xin River (Shangrao River) connecting to Poyang Lake. Through Poyang Lake into the Yangtze River, traveling upstream then entering Dongting Lake, then entering the Yuan River—though the water route detoured one or two thousand li, the speed was no slower than traveling by horse. For the weak elderly, women, and children, taking boats on water routes would also minimize bodily consumption.
After Yang Qin, Feng Yi, and others led the fleet away, Han Qian didn’t move into Longya City or Qianyang City. Even the next day when he took Zhao Ting’er and Xi Ren to climb Longya Mountain to pay respects to his father—apart from staying one night on the mountain, afterward he still directly returned to Jiminzhai to settle down.
Jiminzhai, when in the hands of Chenzhou’s Xi clan, had a history of over a hundred years counting from when the stronghold was first built. It had flourished and expanded under Xi Ying, but even at its most prosperous, the stronghold only housed just over a thousand people.
Even when Xuzhou troops emerged from Old Dragon Gorge and lured the defending army to Old Crow Valley where they were routed, relatively intact capture of Jiminzhai—apart from the Xi clan members who migrated in earlier, now with another thirteen or fourteen hundred soldiers stationed at Jiminzhai with Han Qian, the vast stronghold also appeared very crowded.
Han Qian lived at Jiminzhai, with the two women Zhao Ting’er and Xi Ren by his side daily attending to the child—quite pleasant. But Chenzhou Governor Xi Ying’s feelings were not so comfortable.
Jiminzhai had originally been the Xi clan of Chenzhou’s clan property, seized by Xuzhou troops at the beginning of the campaign to reduce the vassal states.
Even though Xi Ying subsequently pledged allegiance to the Chu court and led barbarian battalions to participate in the campaign to pacify the Ma clan, with quite distinguished merit—Xi Ying and his sons Xi Shesheng and Xi Shepeng received appointments as Chenzhou Governor, Military Commissioner, and other important positions, essentially making Chenzhou hereditary—they still hadn’t been able to take Jiminzhai back.
After the Jinling incident occurred, when Han Qian fled from Shu back to Xuzhou to observe mourning, seeing the Yueyang group’s attitude of exclusion toward Han Qian, Xi Ying had sent people to negotiate, wanting to get Jiminzhai back.
However, before this matter showed any results, Han Qian suddenly left Xuzhou and secretly went to Jinling, seizing military authority over the remnant Taowu military household forces from Marquis Xinchang Li Pu. After that, with no time to spare, Great Chu’s situation underwent a series of reversals. During this period, Xi Ying had no way to raise the issue of Jiminzhai’s ownership.
Xi Ying’s two sons Xi Shesheng and Xi Shepeng, leading a barbarian battalion of two thousand troops, were also subject to conscription this time. They were incorporated into the Riverine Pacification Army and followed the main Yueyang forces all the way east, arriving beneath Jinling City.
The barbarian battalion soldiers fought bravely, and Xi Shesheng and Xi Shepeng understood military affairs with distinguished war achievements. Their status among the Yueyang generals was not low.
Therefore, with Han Qian returning to Xuzhou before Jinling’s fall, whatever had happened behind the scenes—Xi Ying, located in Chenzhou, more or less knew the inside story.
But what could Xi Ying do knowing the inside story?
At the beginning of the campaign to reduce the vassal states, when Chenzhou’s various clan forces fell into Xuzhou troops’ hands, one could say it was because Zheng Hui commanded skillfully then, while the Han father and son merely hid behind manipulating schemes and managing the region.
Now the Left Guangde Army was perhaps destined to be broken up and scattered. Though the rise of the Chishan Army was extremely brief, it was undeniably brilliant and glorious, also pushing Han Qian’s personal prestige to an even higher level.
At least before the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu ascended the throne and devoted effort to restraining Xuzhou, Xi Ying absolutely didn’t want to be directly antagonistic with such a figure.
It was just that after Han Qian returned to Xuzhou, he directly lived at Jiminzhai, with large numbers of troops also stationed with him in the middle Chen River—these things didn’t seem wonderful to Xi Ying.
After the middle of the first month, hundreds and thousands of master craftsmen and artisans gathered along the southern bank of the Chen River. On both flanks of Jiminzhai, large numbers of residences as well as warehouses and docks along the shore simultaneously began construction…
All these signs indicated that Han Qian’s next step was to manage the middle Chen River as a key region.
If it were merely separating Jiminzhai and the upper Chen River region to the west, Xi Ying would grit his teeth and accept it. But Chenyang, where the Chen River entered the Yuan River, was Chenzhou’s crucial strategic point controlling east, west, south, and north. It would directly be under the watchful eyes of Xuzhou troops.
Han Qian kept saying he was returning to Xuzhou to observe mourning for his father—how could Xi Ying, who knew the inside story, truly believe that?
How could he not guard against Han Qian having ambitions to expand outward?
Once Chenyang was seized by Xuzhou troops, Chenzhou’s administrative seat at Yuanling and the Xi clan’s current most important base at Xupu would have their connection severed.
Currently, Xi Ying didn’t even dare cut off the Chen and Yuan Rivers—that would only give Han Qian a justified excuse to deploy troops. He could only secretly strengthen Chenyang City’s defenses, hoping the Third Prince could capture Jinling City and ascend the throne as soon as possible.
That way, on one hand Shesheng and Shepeng could lead the main barbarian battalion back. On the other hand, with the Third Prince and Han Qian’s internal situation so tense, he absolutely wouldn’t tolerate Han Qian using military force to annex the surrounding tributary provinces and counties that nominally also submitted to Great Chu…
Of course, Xi Ying also secretly sent people to contact Ye Prefecture’s Tian Gong, Si Prefecture’s Yang Xingfeng, and other major clan forces in the upper Yuan River, hoping they could together strengthen vigilance against Xuzhou!