The section of the Yellow River flowing past the outskirts of Bianjing suffered a levee breach in early autumn of Taixi Year Seven (Taixi being the era name used by Emperor Taizu of Liang, equivalent to Tianyou Year Seven in time). Torrential floodwaters rushed from the breach toward the eastern side of Bianjing, nearly washing away the city’s eastern wall.
Although the authorities quickly conscripted tens of thousands of laborers to fill the gap and even built a section of stone embankment for reinforcement, the flooded area saw farmlands and homes destroyed and river silt accumulated, leaving behind a series of lakes and ponds of various sizes.
At the time, Emperor Taizu of Liang relocated the disaster victims elsewhere and designated this area as an imperial garden named Marshland Garden. He gradually constructed various pavilions, halls, and towers there, and kept deer, foxes, wild boars, and other animals, occasionally residing there for hunting.
After Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang ascended the throne, he also enjoyed conducting state affairs at Marshland Garden, but more importantly used it as a garrison for newly organized Imperial Guards. He particularly enjoyed personally supervising the Imperial Guards’ training at Marshland Garden.
By the fourth month, already the second year since Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang had raised troops and seized the throne in Bianjing, the willow hedge planted around Marshland Garden’s perimeter had grown to considerable scale.
Numerous watchtowers and sentry posts were newly established along the hedge, strictly prohibiting nearby villagers from entering at will.
Through the hedge, one could see from afar that many sail-like structures had been newly added to the open areas within Marshland Garden.
Drawing closer, one could see that each structure used vertical poles to support six large sails that caught the wind in the open spaces and rotated, driving axles that made the heavy millstones below spin with a whooshing sound.
If the elders from the Yandangji estate were here, they would surely recognize these structures as the vertical-sail windmills that Han Qian had first built at the Yandangji estate for bellows-driven rice milling or driving hammers for forging.
Since Xuzhou had many mountains and abundant streams, the terrain’s elevation differences ensured plentiful water power resources, while the interior of stream valleys and river valleys was shielded by surrounding mountain ridges, making wind power weak. After Han Qian arrived in Xuzhou, he focused mainly on building water-powered machinery, so local people rarely saw these vertical-sail windmills anymore.
In Marshland Garden, the garden plots and fields on either side of each vertical-sail windmill had previously been planted at great expense with exotic flowers and rare plants collected from various places. Either some particularly precious specimens were selected for transplanting elsewhere, or they were simply removed. Now they were all replanted with a crop with relatively thick stalks that was vigorously developing new leaves.
This was cotton, formerly called “white stacking plant.”
Cotton had been grown around Bianjing before, including within Marshland Garden, but mostly for ornamental purposes with very little cultivation.
When cotton seeds matured and split open, snow-white cotton fibers emerged, resembling white fluffy brocade flowers, pleasing to the eye.
Removing cotton seed shells and impurities was overly complicated, making it comparable in price to silk yet inferior to silk in refinement. The wealthy disdained it, so there were rarely any cotton-spinning households around Bianjing.
However, after spring began, Marshland Garden allocated three to four thousand acres of empty land for planting cotton, clearly not because Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang had taken an interest in growing it for viewing and appreciation.
Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang even issued an edict requiring prefectures and counties to present cotton and seeds grown in their regions to compare the quality of cotton varieties from different places.
Jing Zhen led his men through the gate tower and galloped into Marshland Garden, arriving before a palace. Looking at the spacious area east of the great hall, he saw several iron-smelting furnaces over ten feet high had been built. At this moment, fierce fires blazed in the furnace chambers, black smoke columns rising upward, greatly marring what should have been the pleasant and eye-pleasing scenery of Marshland Garden after spring arrived, even blackening the hall’s eastern gable wall.
Zhu Yu was wearing casual short-sleeved garments, squatting before the furnaces discussing something with several sweat-drenched craftsmen. Jing Zhen dismounted, and seeing this scene couldn’t help shaking his head, thinking: If His Majesty isn’t personally rushing to Yingzhou to supervise the battle and completely annihilate the remnants of Prince Bo Zhu Gui’s forces, staying in Bianjing to conduct state affairs would be acceptable, but spending all day mingling with craftsmen from the Ministry of Works and the Directorate of Construction—what kind of behavior is this?
That Dormant Tiger lurking beside Han Daoxun, though feeling guilty toward Han Daoxun and committing suicide before Han Qian’s eyes shortly after escorting Han Daoxun’s coffin back to Xuzhou, still somewhat remembered the old Liang state and His Majesty’s kindness to him. Before returning to Xuzhou, he sent two volumes of the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship* to Bianjing through secret channels.
However, in Jing Zhen’s view, having Ministry of Works Vice Minister Zhou Daoyuan and Directorate of Construction Materials Officer Shen Tang and others specifically organize craftsmen to verify this was sufficient. Why must His Majesty personally involve himself in these menial affairs?
“Jing Zhen, perfect timing that you’re here. We’ve finally succeeded with the dual-furnace method transmitted from Xuzhou—using this method to smelt iron is truly marvelous. Compared to the old method, it requires only thirty percent of the manpower yet produces the same amount of iron material with even superior quality!” Seeing Jing Zhen and his men arrive, Zhu Yu happily beckoned him over. “I have specially ordered Ministry of Works Vice Minister Zhou Daoyuan to rush to Luocheng and personally oversee the construction of a smelting facility, selecting a location south of Luocheng with abundant streams. If the water-forging method succeeds, our Great Liang’s iron smelting and armor casting could reduce the need for twenty to thirty thousand able-bodied men…”
“Really this remarkable?” Jing Zhen, no matter how dissatisfied with Zhu Yu’s neglect of proper duties, felt his spirits lift upon hearing this news and asked rather skeptically.
Great Liang occupied the Central Plains, a place of conflict on all four sides. In the north it could resist Jinzhou army incursions, in the northwest occasionally faced Mengwu tribal cavalry approaching, in the south suppressed Chu forces, and in the southwest ensured Shu armies dared not act rashly. Besides tempering a large group of elite generals and soldiers through years of campaigns north and south, they also placed great emphasis on casting weapons and armor.
The smelting of quality iron materials and casting of weapons and armor employed tens of thousands of robust official slaves and servants specifically for this purpose under the Directorate of Construction.
If the dual-furnace method and water-forging method for smelting iron and casting armor could truly be this efficient, it meant that without increasing expenditures, they could extract twenty to thirty thousand able-bodied men for military service.
“Would I deceive you?” Zhu Yu deliberately put on a stern face and asked in return.
“This subject was simply too delighted,” Jing Zhen quickly said.
“The Bureau of Celestial Undertakings Capital Commandant’s Office should award great merit to Dormant Tiger Zhao Kuo. Though the man is gone, his descendants shall inherit his honors!” Zhu Yu said.
“Yes!” Jing Zhen replied.
Zhu Yu then enthusiastically shared with Jing Zhen his latest insights from studying the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship* during this period, speaking with great interest for a while. Seeing Jing Zhen’s lack of enthusiasm, he didn’t get angry.
After all, when he first obtained the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship*, though he valued it considerably, he had only handed it over to the Ministry of Works and Directorate of Construction for processing while he busied himself with stabilizing Great Liang’s situation.
Only after returning to Bianjing from completely annihilating Feng Yan’e in the Songzhou Suiyang campaign did he inquire of Ministry of Works Minister Zhao Shuzhao about research progress on the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship*. He discovered that among over a hundred officials from the Ministry of Works and Directorate of Construction and thousands of craftsmen and workers, only two inconspicuous minor officials named Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Tang had truly mastered the two volumes of the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship* within several months. Others still regarded the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship* as ingenious but impractical tricks, not giving it sufficient attention.
Zhu Yu immediately promoted Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Tang to the fifth rank positions of Vice Minister and Materials Officer respectively, but didn’t blame others for failing to recognize the pearl. After all, thinking patterns formed over thousands of years were extremely difficult to change.
Even he himself only recognized what transformations the two volumes of the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship* could bring to Great Liang after summoning Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Tang for consultation and hearing their detailed explanations.
At this moment he also laughed and said to Jing Zhen: “Why am I discussing this with a blockhead like you? I’ll go chat with Shen Tang! Oh, and though the possibility of directly deploying Dormant Tigers near Han Qian is slim right now, the Bureau of Celestial Undertakings must still assign people to monitor Xuzhou’s every move. Especially regarding anything unusual in Xuzhou’s civil administration and military governance compared to other places—it must be recorded in detail and transmitted back to Bianjing immediately! If possible, you’d best personally go to Xuzhou to take a look…”
Jing Zhen thought to himself that he was already busy enough at the Bureau of Celestial Undertakings Capital Commandant’s Office to be running around like crazy—why go to that remote corner of Xuzhou?
Though Jing Zhen thought this, he hastily nodded in agreement.
“After Han Qian returned to Xuzhou, besides granting freedom to slaves, establishing two new counties, and widely appointing village officials, what other major actions has he taken recently?” Zhu Yu asked.
“Centered on Jimingzhai, a new Chenzhong County was established along both banks of the middle reaches of the Chen River. The tribal peoples originally under Xuzhou’s Xi clan were driven out almost completely during the campaign to eliminate feudal lords. Even if some tribal people were left behind, their families had no able-bodied laborers, making Xuzhou’s management of Chenzhong face no resistance. In early to mid-third month, Han Qian successively settled eight to nine hundred households—over four thousand people—who had migrated west from Guangde Prefecture to Chenzhong County. Adding the previous three to four hundred Xi clan households, Han Qian has stabilized control over Chenzhong County. Xuzhou Governor Xi Ying seems to have accepted his fate as well. After Yang Yuanpu successfully seized Jinling and ascended the throne, thoroughly controlling the prefectures and counties of Jiangnan East Circuit and Jiangnan West Circuit, and enfeoffing Han Qian as Marquis of Qianyang, surrounding forces all believe Han Qian will become compliant and peaceable after swallowing the middle Chen River lands, and their vigilance toward Xuzhou has relaxed. After Yuzhou’s Wang Yong captured the last tribal stronghold of the Wuliao people along both banks of the Qian River, opening the final obstacle connecting south to Sizhou, Sichuan salt and other goods produced in Shu could enter Sizhou. Sizhou Governor Yang Xingfeng sent his son Yang Hu to Xuzhou to meet Han Qian, on one hand wanting Sichuan salt goods to pass through Sizhou into Xuzhou, and on the other wanting to send a batch of slave workers previously interrupted into Xuzhou for labor in exchange for money and grain…”
Jing Zhen had little interest in the *Book of Heavenly Craftsmanship*, mainly because its contents were unfamiliar to him and gave him terrible headaches after reading it twice. But regarding information gathering about Han Qian and Xuzhou, he was never careless. He immediately recounted the information about Xuzhou that the Bureau of Celestial Undertakings had compiled in recent days.
“At this time, Han Qian seems more concerned about Xuzhou’s goods flowing more smoothly through Xuzhou, Yezhou, Sizhou and other places to more distant prefectures, counties, or tribal barbarian lands. He’s more concerned about commercial route accessibility. As for any major actions, they mainly involve campaigning south along the Qu River against savage tribes, intending to strengthen his control over Xuzhou’s interior. Two small-scale battles broke out in early to mid-third month, with nearly a thousand savage tribespeople ordered to relocate from deep mountain forests to river valley areas to cultivate wasteland…”
“Truly a complex man.”
Zhu Yu sighed slightly.
Jing Zhen was momentarily stunned, silently pondering wherein lay His Majesty’s assessment of Han Qian’s complexity.
At this moment, Zhu Yu seemed to remember that Jing Zhen had come over not because he had summoned him, and asked: “By the way, you came out of the city to Marshland Garden—is there some urgent matter?”
Jing Zhen thought to himself: You finally remembered there are proper matters to ask about! He quickly said:
“Intelligence just arrived from Jinling—when Han Qian left Fanchang, he left a letter for Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu stating that Shen Yang and Wang Lin might be secret agents dispatched by Chu’s Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan. Afterward, though Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu didn’t pursue the matter, Shen Yang and Wang Lin, to avoid suspicion, both claimed illness and requested resignation. One became Chief Administrator in Jiangzhou, the other became Acting Prefect of Guangde Prefecture. The latest news says Wang Lin committed suicide in Jiangzhou, leaving a letter confessing he was sent by Wang Wenqian to infiltrate Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu’s circle. Deeply grateful for Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu’s kindness yet ashamed that Shen Yang suffered implication and lost his good name because of him, he felt daily self-reproach and could only resolve his remorse through death. After receiving Wang Lin’s posthumous letter, Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu couldn’t wait to draft an edict summoning Shen Yang back to Chu’s central administration, appointing him as Grand Councilor to oversee state governance. Additionally, besides enfeoffing Han Qian as Marquis of Qianyang, Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu will select Han Daoming’s daughter, Zheng Hui’s younger sister, and Huzhou Governor Huang Hua’s daughter to enter the palace, all ranking as Noble Consorts alongside Princess Qingyang, daughter of Shu Ruler Wang Jian.”
Lei Jiuyuan emerged from the great hall at this moment. Hearing Jing Zhen recount the various recent events in Jinling, he couldn’t help sighing: “Chu’s new Emperor is quite a formidable character—I was still wondering how he would reemploy Shen Yang. I never expected he’d use the ‘suicide with posthumous letter’ stratagem.”
“He’s too hasty. He’s only nineteen years old—he has more time than anyone. If he could endure two more years before transferring Shen Yang back to the central administration, I would acknowledge him as a worthy opponent. Now? He still lacks some seasoning,” Zhu Yu disagreed with Lei Jiuyuan’s opinion, saying with hands clasped behind his back.
“Why does Your Majesty say this?” Jing Zhen asked.
“The Chu Emperor’s haste in summoning Shen Yang back to oversee state governance stems firstly from having no trustworthy people to use, and secondly from likely no longer being able to tolerate people constantly bypassing him to report to the Empress Dowager of Chu and interfere in political affairs, right?” Zhu Yu slightly furrowed his brow, speculating.
“The Chu Emperor using Shen Yang to lead the ministers and oversee state governance concentrates deliberative authority mainly in Shen Yang’s hands beyond himself and the Empress Dowager of Chu. At worst, it blocks the possibility of other ministers casually bypassing Shen Yang to report to the Empress Dowager of Chu. The Chu Emperor also selecting Han Daoming’s daughter, Zheng Hui’s younger sister, and Huang Hua’s daughter into the rear palace as consorts divides and employs the Zheng clan internally and the Han-Li alliance. I believe the Chu Emperor can indeed end the Empress Dowager’s regency this time,” Jing Zhen said.
“Being able to do something but choosing not to—that’s what’s truly formidable.”
Zhu Yu laughed.
“After seizing Jinling and ascending the throne, the Chu Emperor previously had Han Qian’s counsel achieving great merit in repelling Liang and削藩, his prestige in Chu so weighty that three to five ministers absolutely couldn’t question it. Why need he worry about one woman binding his hands and feet? When the Chu Emperor seized Jinling, among troops conscripted from various prefectures and counties, many soldiers were slaves sent as substitutes by aristocratic clans. He could completely reward military merit generously, grant freedom to slaves, then use extensive confiscated lands near Jinling to settle those newly freed slaves. After completing these matters over two to three years, then transferring Shen Yang back to the central administration and requesting that woman peacefully remain in Cishou Palace enjoying leisure—that would truly mean a solid foundation! His current haste in summoning Shen Yang back to lead the ministers, though formally blocking other ministers from casually running to report to that woman, will force Li Pu, Zheng Yu, Yang Zhitang and others to no longer easily compromise on other matters! His selection of Han Daoming’s daughter, Zheng Hui’s younger sister, and Huang Hua’s daughter as consorts—asking the Han family, Zheng clan, and Huang clan for loyalty is one thing, but wanting the Zheng clan, Huang clan, and Han family to surrender their own slaves and the small and medium aristocratic clans attached to them—probably no one will truly be willing, right? At this time, the Chu Emperor urgently wanting that woman to peacefully remain in Cishou Palace means compromises will always be necessary in various matters. With Shen Yang not stationed in Guangde Prefecture, no one else can manage it, and numerous hidden troubles will quickly emerge. Of course, the Chu Emperor perhaps hasn’t thought of these things at all. After all, Han Qian very likely didn’t transmit true statecraft to him! While others see Han Qian skillfully using schemes and dangerous stratagems, they don’t recognize the management beneath those schemes and stratagems…”
Lei Jiuyuan and Jing Zhen pondered deeply for a long while before asking:
“How should we respond to Chu’s latest changes, or should we simply observe developments?”
“The Chu Emperor is an impatient person. Wanting that woman to peacefully remain in Cishou Palace, he will inevitably be eager to further establish brilliant military achievements, demonstrating his ability to single-handedly control military and political affairs. He perhaps won’t wait until autumn before arranging troops to suppress the remnants of Anning Palace and Empress Xu, right?” Zhu Yu said. “Even if we want to observe developments, we should recapture Yingzhou before this autumn to have the qualification to observe developments.”
After annihilating Feng Yan’e in the Songzhou campaign, Prince Bo Zhu Gui led his remnant forces, not daring to firmly hold Chenzhou, and fled to Yingzhou in the south, which faced Huozhou under the jurisdiction of Shouzhou Military Commissioner’s Office across the Huai River.
Now deciding to completely recapture Yingzhou meant annihilating Prince Bo Zhu Gui’s remnant forces. Then Great Liang’s troops could directly water their horses at the north bank of the Huai River, and truly be able to adapt to whatever developments occurred in Shouzhou…
Jing Zhen cared most about this matter, excitedly saying:
“Indeed, we should capture Prince Bo and bring him back to Bianjing.”
“As for Prince Bo, whether he returns to Bianjing or not makes no difference,” Zhu Yu said, his voice becoming extremely cold at this moment.
Jing Zhen and Lei Jiuyuan were momentarily stunned, then comprehendingly replied: “Yes, we subjects understand what to do.”