The reason Han Qian came to Qianyang this time, besides passing through to inspect Langxi and Quyang counties, was also to make a special trip to Qianyang City to see Guo Rong and invite him to emerge from retirement to serve in Xuzhou.

Initially serving as deputy envoy accompanying Han Qian to the Shu capital to escort the bride, Guo Rong had been accompanied by some palace attendants. But it was precisely the existence of these palace attendants that made it impossible to conceal the matter of Guo Rong assisting Han Qian in abducting Princess Qingyang and escaping from Shu lands in Shu capital.

Guo Rong was unwilling to kill the palace attendants who normally served him to silence them, so he couldn’t return to Jinling. Yueyang also had no place for him to lodge, so in the end he came alone to temporarily reside in Xuzhou.

Over the past year-plus of time, he had lived in the guest lodge behind Guanyue Tower. His traveling money had been almost entirely used up, and his robe had quite a few patches. Recently he had been writing letters on behalf of others in exchange for wine money. His small daily life was quite hard and bitter.

Han Qian had no plans to linger long in Qianyang City. Guo Rong hurried back to the guest lodge to simply pack his luggage. Coming out, he discovered that the escorts at Han Qian’s side had already settled his room and wine debts for him. The group didn’t delay in Qianyang City. After parting with Qianyang County Magistrate Tian Cheng, they left the city and boarded a boat to the south bank of the Yuan River, then changed to riding horses to travel south along the road on the east bank of the Qu River.

Although the Qu River was one of the Yuan River’s five major tributaries, from Langxi City to the river mouth position, the water surface was thirty to forty zhang wide. However, the river had extremely many dangerous shoals and hidden reefs, with grotesque rocks jutting up in the river. Even during the rainy season, only medium and small vessels of under one hundred dan could pass through. Moreover, they were traveling upstream, so their sailing speed was slow. It might actually be faster to ride horses along the small road.

The official road from Langxi to Qianyang was built on the east bank of the Qu River, winding along the cliff banks. Although great effort had been invested in renovating it over the past two years, it was still only five chi wide. For two horses to travel side by side was extremely difficult, and one had to be especially careful when controlling horses.

On one side was mountainous terrain with quite steep slopes; on the other side was the turbulent current of the river. One careless slip and you would fall onto the grotesque rocky river beach, breaking bones and shattering limbs. Along the way they could also see quite a few overturned vehicles on the river beach.

The Langxi Road was first constructed over a thousand years ago during the Qin Dynasty, when the Qin Emperor relocated five hundred thousand people from the Central Plains to fill the southwestern commanderies of Qianyang, Guilin and others, to live intermixed with various Yue and Yi tribal peoples.

Emperor Wu of Han subsequently constructed courier roads twice, dispatching troops to campaign against Dian lands, establishing new Yizhou Commandery under the administration of Yizhou Inspector, not only causing the southwestern population to greatly increase, but also truly opening communications between the Central Plains and the southwestern regions, and making regions like Qianyang prosperous and flourishing.

However, since the end of Han, frequent warfare in the Central Plains region caused the southwestern regions to become closed off again. Agricultural economy and culture even underwent considerable regression. The courier roads constructed by the Qin and Han dynasties also largely fell into disuse.

Like the Snow Peak Mountain courier road—Xuzhou had invested tens of thousands in money and grain before and after, and also hired large numbers of slave laborers from Sizhou, only now managing to restore it to the scale of the Qin-Han “Five-Chi Road.” As for the Langxi Road, although located within Xuzhou’s borders, it also only recovered to the Qin-Han “Five-Chi Road” scale after one renovation.

What was truly regrettable was that the rocks in the Qu River were too dangerous, especially the hidden reefs concealed beneath the water surface. Boats traveling among them would be destroyed and people killed with the slightest carelessness. The benefits of the water route were far from being fully utilized. As a result, the exchange of goods between Langxi and Qianyang City still mainly relied on wheelbarrows. Even large carts had great difficulty passing through, which directly limited the transport of bulk goods.

Watching Han Qian and Feng Liao surrounded by thirty to forty escorts, traveling with frequent stops and starts along the way, Guo Rong saw that Han Qian had no insistence on definitely reaching Langxi City today. Rather, he was paying more attention to observing the mountains and river terrain on both sides.

After traveling over twenty li, it was already dusk at sunset. At this time they saw newly constructed buildings in a mountain hollow beside the road—resembling a courier station, composed of several courtyard compounds, with no villages before or after.

Guo Rong had traveled to Langxi in July and August last year and hadn’t seen any buildings constructed here. Looking at the flat ground organized before the courtyard where quite a few horses and carts were stopped, he followed everyone rushing over and saw a sign hung on the gate reading “Xindian Township Inspection Office.”

At this time he saw a young man wearing official robes, bringing two sword-and-bow guards, quickly approaching from the direction of the river beach ahead, saluting Han Qian: “Magistrate Ji is still at the river beach ahead, supervising the use of iron-frame ships to break reefs, unable to get away. We had no idea Sir would be passing through Xindian Township today…”

Only then did Guo Rong see clearly that the young man before him had been one of the escorts accompanying Han Qian on the mission to Shu lands, and was also one of the representative household troop sons cultivated by the Han family.

Guo Rong remembered his name was He Liufeng. Though not very old, he was extremely capable. Hearing junior clerks from the courtyard compound come out to greet them, he learned that he currently served here as Township Inspector.

Han Qian saw the sky was still early and wasn’t in a hurry to enter the Township Inspection Office compound. He had He Liufeng lead the way ahead, rushing to go first see how Ji Xiyao and the others were using iron-frame ships to break reefs.

The reef-breaking site was three to four li in front of the Xindian Township Inspection Office courtyard. When Han Qian and the others rushed over, they saw Ji Xiyao standing on the river beach with over ten people, faces covered in mud and water.

Seeing Han Qian arrive, Ji Xiyao brought two craftsmen climbing up onto the courier road using both hands and feet, pointing at the iron-frame ship dragged onto the river beach, shaking his head and saying to Han Qian: “The rocks are too hard. The iron-frame ship seems sturdy, but when it hits the rocks, it only knocks down the stone pillars hidden beneath the water surface. The ship body is severely deformed, broken and leaking, sunk in water—it can’t be used again. This method probably won’t work—the expense is too great.”

Only then did Guo Rong realize that Ji Xiyao, serving as Works Bureau Vice Commander, was here actually trying to use ships with iron-cast keels loaded full of sand and stone to ram and break hidden reefs, in order to open a more navigable shipping channel between Langxi and Qianyang.

However, looking at that iron-frame ship dragged onto the river beach, although the deformation didn’t appear too severe to the eye, the hull planks were badly shattered and it could no longer be used.

Although Xuzhou’s cast iron armor was the finest under heaven, a two-zhang-plus-long iron-frame ship, though only its keel and rib planks were cast from refined iron, still consumed a considerable amount of iron.

Moreover, it still had to be cast into shape, consuming extremely great manpower.

A two-zhang-plus-long iron-frame ship was not cheaply made.

Seeing Han Qian willing to have Ji Xiyao use such iron-frame ships for continuous trial and error in reef-breaking matters, Guo Rong truly could feel Han Qian’s determination to further expand water and land communications between Langxi and Qianyang. This also represented Han Qian’s determination in managing Xuzhou.

Seeing Han Qian wasn’t wearing official robes, and his and concubine-wife Zhao Ting’er’s clothing were also quite ordinary, he must be using every copper coin in Xuzhou’s management. He didn’t know whether he purely wanted to build Xuzhou according to his and his father’s wishes, or whether deeper in his heart he harbored ambitions different from ordinary people?

Han Qian personally climbed down to the river beach to inspect the ship body and ram’s damage situation, secretly feeling there was little value in repair. This iron-frame ship perhaps could only be dismantled on site, with the usable iron materials transported to the foundry to be recast.

Even the most insignificant-seeming rocks easily weighed hundreds or thousands of tons. Using ships to ram them to pieces—how sturdy must the ship be to shatter the rocks while itself suffering no damage?

Even though Han Qian knew in his heart these were all clumsy methods, the Qu River connected Langxi and Quyang counties. The channel over a hundred meters wide was restricted by these hidden reefs—too regrettable. This would also directly limit the development of these two counties.

No matter how difficult, to further expand communications from Langxi to Qianyang, Han Qian still had Ji Xiyao find ways to use various means to clear away as much as possible those hidden reefs in the Qu River’s main channel that were easy to remove, while those hidden reefs in the main channel that temporarily couldn’t be cleared should be marked with cast iron pieces protruding above the water surface.

Otherwise, even if this channel could barely allow one-hundred-dan ships to pass, constantly being sunk by hidden reefs with who knows how many people drowning and dying—the cost of using this channel would also be too great.

Han Qian also discussed with Ji Xiyao further widening the Langxi Road. Ji Xiyao complained bitterly, saying the left side was mostly rock slopes, excavation was too difficult, and in the early period they should still concentrate their strength on constructing the courier road from Langxi to Quyang’s Nanliao Fortified Settlement.

From Langxi to Quyang’s Nanliao Fortified Settlement, over forty li of ground had no ready-made courier road—only mountain trails trampled out by mules and horses through the mountains, extremely precipitous.

Additionally, the resistance sentiment of the southern tribal settlements was relatively serious. Ji Xiyao strongly suggested that when Han Qian went south from Langxi to Quyang, he must bring more troops from Langxi County for escort protection.

“From Langxi to Nanliao Fortified Settlement, the Qu River’s two banks have many deep gorges—the sailing conditions should be somewhat better, right?” Han Qian asked.

“In principle, yes, but we haven’t gone to carefully survey that stretch of channel—there are also hidden reefs concealed beneath the water surface,” Ji Xiyao said.

He didn’t advocate Han Qian taking the risk of traveling by boat to Nanliao Fortified Settlement now. When Zhao Wuji had brought large numbers of troops to Nanliao Fortified Settlement in early second month, as well as the second group of westward-migrating women and children—among them over one hundred households being resettled in Quyang—they had all traveled by land.

Apart from swift currents and dangerous shoals, over one hundred tribal settlements of the Qu River’s middle and upper reaches were all wild tribesmen who hadn’t undergone civilization. Now requiring these tribal people to pay taxes, accept governance, and also relocate a portion of tribal people from especially remote deep mountains and far ridges to build embankments and village settlements by river valleys and stream valleys, and open fields for cultivation—it couldn’t possibly be completely without resistance.

Influenced by his father, Han Qian’s mindset had changed greatly, but this didn’t mean he had a woman’s benevolence. He knew how to make choices, knew how to weigh advantages and disadvantages, and also knew there was no perfect method under heaven and earth.

Even if at this time some blood had to be shed, only if household registration and civilization matters could be thoroughly carried out could the hidden dangers of division and opposition be truly eliminated.

So Han Qian also required that after Zhao Wuji reached Quyang, when military force should be used for suppression, he shouldn’t be soft-hearted or merciful.

Doing things this way in the early period, bloody conflicts were difficult to thoroughly avoid.

Zhao Wuji’s time stationed at Nanliao Fortified Settlement was still short, his control over the mountains and ridges on both banks of the Qu River limited. Han Qian thought to himself that if they traveled by boat going upstream and encountered attacks, it would be more dangerous than traveling by land, especially since there was no way to transfer the naval camp’s most powerful warships from Qianyang.

Han Qian thought it over and only promised Ji Xiyao that after they reached Langxi City tomorrow to meet with Gao Bao and others, they would see about the situation. For now, he had Ji Xiyao pack up and follow him into the Xindian Township Inspection Office to spend the night, and also introduced Guo Rong to him.

When in Jinling, Ji Xiyao had merely been an insignificant soldier-household enrolled in Taowu Collection as a famine refugee.

Because he and his father Ji Fu knew how to build and operate ships, when Han Daoxun went to serve in Xuzhou, he was selected by Han Qian to accompany them. In the blink of an eye, nearly five years had passed.

Over the past five years, Ji Xiyao had participated in and presided over the construction of shipyards, textile mills, coal and iron mines, foundries, and Xuzhou’s large-scale manufacturing. Chen Jitang had only come to Xuzhou with Han Qian in the early period of the suppression campaign.

Ji Xiyao’s father Ji Fu was getting old and had been enjoying comfortable retirement at home these past two years. Since Zheng Tong had decided to remain in Jinling and not return to Xuzhou, Han Qian used Ji Xiyao to replace Zheng Tong in presiding over manufacturing matters.

Xuzhou was ranked as a lower prefecture in Great Chu’s prefecture sequence. Bureau Vice Commander posts only had the eighth junior rank, but what did this matter?

At this time, Ji Xiyao facing Guo Rong had not the slightest bit of constraint. He cupped his hands in salute, sat on a rock to wash clean the mud on his boots and trouser legs, then climbed ashore with Han Qian and walked toward the Xindian Township Inspection Office courtyard.

Today by chance, village people had hunted an elk and hauled it to the Township Inspection Office here to sell. As the weather gradually grew hotter in early summer, deer meat couldn’t be preserved long-term without salting or smoke-curing. Transporting it to the roadside to sell, the meat price was extremely cheap.

Xi Ren walked over and took out a thousand cash coins to buy the entire elk, already skinned and bloody.

An elk still in its growth period wasn’t particularly robust, but after skinning and removing internal organs, there was still a good two hundred jin of meat.

Kong Xirong pulled He Liufeng and Xi Fa’er to personally take action. They left the other deer meat to be salted to supplement food supplies, taking only the two fattest hindquarters. They carefully rubbed them over with spices, oil sauce, and refined salt, then set them up in the rear courtyard to roast. The meat oil dripped onto the charcoal with sizzling sounds, fragrant aromas filling the Township Inspection Office’s several small courtyard compounds.

Han Qian’s traveling party numbered less than thirty people. The Township Inspection Office had over twenty clerks and sword-and-bow guards. They took away one twenty-plus-jin-heavy deer leg. The remaining deer leg was for Han Qian, pulling Zhao Ting’er and Xi Ren, together with Feng Liao, Guo Rong, Kong Xirong, Xi Fa’er, He Liufeng, Ji Xiyao, and two Works Bureau craftsmen, sitting around the bonfire. They took knives to cut down piece after piece of fragrant, tender, roasted meat dripping with oil, drinking wine and talking under the starry night.

Only at this time was there leisure to discuss the situation in Jinling. Only at this time did Guo Rong learn more details of the battle to take Jinling, not merely limited to the true-or-false hearsay news from passing merchants and travelers he had heard in wine houses and teahouses in Qianyang City.

Yang Yuanwo’s health should have already failed very early on. The court ministers who submitted to An Ning Palace, as well as Imperial Clan Minister Yang Tai and others, hadn’t seen Yang Yuanwo’s face again before the new year. Various military and political orders were all issued by An Ning Palace through Niu Gengru, Wen Muqiao and others, or through the hands of Crown Prince Yang Fenzi, who was only fifteen years old.

All sorts of signs indicated Yang Yuanwo should have died before the new year, with everything merely under An Ning Palace’s control, kept secret without announcement of mourning. As far as An Ning Palace was concerned, they also worried that Yang Yuanwo dying after only one year on the throne would severely damage the defending army’s morale.

After Han Qian left Jinling, Yuan Guowei and Jiang Huo couldn’t violate Yang Yuanpu’s will. First they excluded the portion of people at Jinyun Tower who were Han Qian’s direct subordinates, which caused Jinyun Tower’s forces lurking within Jinling City to be greatly weakened.

The matter of Yang En leaving the city to see Yang Yuanpu ultimately still left traces. When Yang En returned to the city, he was arrested and imprisoned by the War Bureau.

Even though Yang En withstood severe torture and interrogation and didn’t confess who in the court harbored different thoughts or colluded with forces outside the city, under An Ning Palace’s high pressure, casually executing several officers and officials with suspicious points, no one else dared act rashly.

Yang Yuanpu and the others’ plan to take Jinling City through internal and external coordination thus went bankrupt.

This caused the general assault battle on Jinling City to thoroughly evolve into a bloody battle, with both sides suffering relatively heavy casualties.

From mid-first month to early second month, both sides suffered casualties of nearly forty thousand officers and soldiers, with the attacking side’s casualties even slightly more severe.

However, the problem was—not to mention the common people inside the city enduring hunger—military supplies and provisions were becoming increasingly scarce. Even if the Southern Quarter Forbidden Army could forcibly seize able-bodied men from within the city to go up the walls to participate in defense, morale grew weaker the more they fought.

Comparatively speaking, the besieging forces had ample supplies and also had new recruits continuously supplementing them competing for military merit. They finally completely took the outer city walls before mid-second month, pushing siege machinery up to before the inner city walls.

This was the general momentum—a momentum that conspiracies and tricks could hardly reverse, like rolling wheels crushing everything.

Moreover, under Yang Yuanpu’s command, the various officers and officials, although most people harbored their own small calculations, these people in the current era all had to be counted as outstanding choices of their time. They all understood that everything they looked forward to could only be realized after taking Jinling City.

Therefore, no matter how heavy the casualties, as long as no unbearably stupid losing moves appeared, the besieging forces grew stronger the more they fought.

Whether voluntarily or coerced, along with the city’s original residents, they mainly gathered in the area between Jinling’s inner city walls and outer city walls.

Although it was unavoidable that tens of thousands of people starved to death, although two to three hundred thousand people had endured hunger so long they were all skin and bones, the vast majority ultimately persisted to the end.

At this point, An Ning Palace’s momentum was thoroughly gone. Even if Yang Yuanpu transported grain to relieve these two to three hundred thousand people and selected able-bodied men from among them as cannon fodder to participate in the siege, he could exhaust the defending army’s last bit of strength.

Xu Hui, seeing the momentum couldn’t be defied, at this time finally decided to coerce the full court of civil and military officials along with their families to cross the river and flee north.

Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian didn’t die by cutting his own throat—he actually died from Wanhong Tower’s assassination.

Before assassinating Yang Jian, Wanhong Tower tried every means to recruit Yang Jian, but apart from Yang Jian’s wife, children and elderly being controlled by An Ning Palace, he had already put great effort into fighting the Five-Tooth Navy in the battle at Chizhou. Both sides had formed considerable enmity—where would he be willing to surrender?

Wanhong Tower then activated a secret agent who had been embedded at Yang Jian’s side very early on—a woman who years ago had been taken as a concubine by Yang Jian due to her exceptional talent and beauty. Through bribing a junior War Bureau clerk responsible for supervising Yang Jian’s wife and children, they delivered a poison pill into that secret agent’s hands, intending to poison Yang Jian’s wife, children and elderly to death and frame it on An Ning Palace, forcing Yang Jian to have no choice but to lead the Tower Ship Navy to submit to Yueyang.

As long as one is human, one will have feelings. This was also the key difficulty in controlling secret agents who had been embedded for many years.

This concubine married to Yang Jian, although she was a disciple Wanhong Tower had carefully cultivated for many years, after bearing children for Yang Jian, she had already developed feelings for him. Moreover, she was unwilling to personally poison to death the two underage children she had borne with Yang Jian. After struggling for a long time, she swallowed the poison pill herself and died.

Seeing the matter exposed, Wanhong Tower dispatched people to coerce Tower Ship Navy General Fan Xiang, who already intended to submit to Yueyang but was waiting for Yang Jian’s response, to carry out the assassination while Yang Jian was inspecting the troops.

Not to mention Li Pu and Yao Xishui—the Yueyang people absolutely didn’t want the real inside story here made public to everyone. Externally they could only announce that Yang Jian died by cutting his own throat. But the Tower Ship Navy’s several other generals, angered by Fan Xiang’s betrayal and Yang Jian’s tragic death, all more firmly followed An Ning Palace, making the Jinling naval battle even more brutal.

This battle could be said to have severely damaged the Tower Ship Navy’s vitality, but the Five-Tooth Navy and Fan Xiang’s subordinate soldiers also suffered casualties of nearly half. Approximately over seventy percent of naval warships were destroyed.

Because the shipyards around Jinling City were all destroyed, this also meant Yueyang forces temporarily had no surplus strength to cross the river and pursue and suppress the remnants of An Ning Palace and Shouzhou Army.

In this battle, besides both sides’ naval forces suffering total casualties of over thirty thousand officers and soldiers, large numbers of court ministers who were coerced to cross the river—their families, slaves and bondservants, along with palace eunuchs, palace maids, Jinling City’s official slaves and bondservants and their families—approximately one hundred thirty to forty thousand people. Apart from direct family members who could ride naval warships, the vast majority of people, because they only had temporarily requisitioned small boats to ride, during intense combat, these small boats first didn’t receive strict protection from naval warships, and second couldn’t withstand the impact of river waves. The overturned vessels large and small numbered in the hundreds and thousands, with countless drowning deaths.

Among those who fell in the water, those who swam back to the south bank numbered six to seven thousand.

Yang Yuanpu was somewhat better than his father Yang Mi. He detained these six thousand-plus people, imprisoning those who were definitely direct subordinates of An Ning Palace and the Xu clan as prisoners of war, while granting special amnesty to the others when he succeeded to the throne and ascended.

The boat transporting Yang En also capsized in the river, but a War Bureau administrator responsible for guarding Yang En, grateful for Yang En’s loyalty and righteousness, protected Yang En in the turbulent river current, helping him swim back to the south bank and escorting Yang En back to Jinling City.

However, regardless of what else could be said, Yang Yuanpu could be considered to have smoothly taken Jinling City, succeeding to the throne and ascending in early third month, enfeoffing the assembled ministers.

The imperial decree enfeoffing Han Qian as Marquis Qianyang was also the first to leave Jinling City via Zhang Ping’s disciple An Jixiang, delivered into Chenzhong City on the twenty-fifth day of the third month and handed to Han Qian.

Han Qian told Guo Rong about the latest changes in Jinling City.

“Shen Yang was suspected, so to avoid suspicion he went to Guangde Prefecture to serve as Prefectural Governor, leaving the central authority. How is it that next month he’s returning to Jinling to serve as Palace Attendant and Vice Director of the Secretariat-Chancellery, wielding the authority of Chancellor?” After listening to Han Qian say so much, regarding Shen Yang’s final enfeoffment and appointment, Guo Rong was still quite puzzled.

On one hand, he felt that with Shen Yang’s temperament, even if Emperor Yanyu wanted to use him, before the suspicion was cleared, he wouldn’t accept such an appointment. On the other hand, were Zheng Yu, Zhang Chao, Li Pu and those several others vegetarians—would they agree to such an appointment?

“Wang Lin poisoned himself and died in Jiangzhou in early this month. Before dying, he left a suicide note confessing that he had been entrusted by Wang Wenqian to lurk at Yang Yuanpu’s side to pass information…” Han Qian said matter-of-factly.

“This disciple you taught—he really isn’t weak!” Guo Rong couldn’t help but click his tongue.

He very obviously believed Wang Lin’s death couldn’t be separated from Yang Yuanpu’s involvement. Only with Wang Lin dying this way could Yang Yuanpu transfer Shen Yang back to his side for important use. Moreover, Jinling’s appointment also seemed somewhat urgent.

“Not weak indeed!” Han Qian smiled and said.

He had to admit that getting Wang Lin to die this way was quite a good stratagem. And if Yang Yuanpu could truly control the situation, bringing Jingxiang, Shouzhou, Huaidong and other places successively under his grasp, thus avoiding the Jianghuai lands falling into warfare—he was also happy to see this succeed.

However, Yang Yuanpu being so impatient, using this kind of method to also transfer Shen Yang back to his side—ultimately he wasn’t skilled at governance matters, yet also didn’t dare easily trust others.

For a ruler controlling Jiangnan East Circuit, Jiangnan West Circuit, and who could be confident Jingxiang and other places would subsequently also express submission—having only one Shen Yang under his command who was usable and trustworthy—this was also too much like being a solitary ruler with few people…