This matter involved stakes so enormous that unless someone of Feng Liao’s or Gao Shao’s, Tian Cheng’s, or Lin Haizheng’s caliber personally traveled to Yuzhou, anyone else would find it extremely difficult to gain the trust of Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong.
Of course, even if Feng Liao endured the hardships of crossing the Wuling Mountains to reach Yuzhou and successfully met with Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong, persuading Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong to cooperate with Xuzhou and provide Xuzhou with a pretext to openly deploy troops into Sizhou would be no easy feat.
Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong, due to his mother’s special background, had never received the favor of the Shu Monarch Wang Jian since childhood. Over these years, he had lived cautiously, pretending to be absorbed in poetry and Buddhist affairs to avoid the suspicions of the Shu Crown Prince’s faction led by Marquis Qingjiang.
Such a person could be described charitably as naturally prudent, or less charitably as indecisive and naturally suspicious.
Although Feng Liao had prepared many arguments, he knew in his heart that getting Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong to make up his mind and take such enormous risks to cooperate with Xuzhou would be extremely difficult.
He hadn’t expected that Cao Gan would return to Xuzhou from Jinling at this time, bringing back Princess Qingyang’s opinion on this matter. It was truly as if a pillow appeared just when one needed to sleep—enough to make one laugh even in dreams.
Truthfully, Cao Gan now suspected in his heart that all of this had been arranged between the Princess and the Marquis of Qianyang long ago. What had happened between the Princess and the Marquis of Qianyang during her abduction en route to the Chu state?
The timing was all too coincidental. If it weren’t for the difficulty in matching up the timeline, he would even suspect whether the child in the Princess’s belly was actually Emperor of Chu Yang Yuanpu’s seed!
However, after reviewing in his mind everything he had experienced in Jinling from beginning to end, Cao Gan thought this might truly be coincidence.
If the Marquis of Qianyang and the Princess had conspired in secret long ago, things would be much simpler. The Princess wouldn’t need to have the Daoist Yun Puzi go through such elaborate efforts to pass messages, and the Marquis of Qianyang wouldn’t need to send someone of Feng Liao’s stature to take such enormous risks infiltrating Yuzhou.
While Cao Gan was still kneeling in shock, Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong now smiled broadly and helped him up: “Rise and speak!”
Although Cao Gan’s words just now had considered matters from all angles, even more cautiously and indecisively than himself, he was genuinely thinking on his behalf. Such a person could be used with confidence and comfort, without worrying about him harboring devious intentions or bungling affairs.
Cao Gan stood and exchanged courtesies with Feng Liao, secretly pondering that the words the Marquis had just spoken were mostly what Feng Liao had used to persuade him. He said: “I didn’t expect to see Lord Feng again in Yuzhou. Is the Marquis of Qianyang well?”
“My lord is well. When Feng Liao departed from Chenzhong, my lord specifically asked me to come to Yuzhou to extend greetings to General Cao,” Feng Liao said.
“…There’s something I don’t know if I should ask,” Cao Gan carefully considered his wording before asking, “While in Jinling, I heard that the Marquis of Qianyang is quite suspected by the Emperor of Chu. At this time when his foundation is not yet solid, why would he act rashly to scheme for Sizhou?”
“The matter is far too convoluted and complex. To explain this properly, we must start from the sudden death of Junior Supervisor of the Palace Attendants Shen He and the old lord’s reassignment as Prefect of Jingzhao, only then can everything be untangled piece by piece. No wonder General Cao has so many concerns in his heart.” Feng Liao sighed softly and began explaining from when Shen He came to Tanzhou to deliver the imperial edict and showed signs of poisoning.
At that time, Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong had been in Tanzhou, and he too had suspected that Shen He’s symptoms were caused by poison, but he didn’t know about the many schemes Han Qian and Yang Yuanpu had devised surrounding Shen He’s poisoning.
The series of events triggered by Shen He’s poisoning and Han Daoxun’s reassignment as Prefect of Jingzhao, up to the rebellion at Anning Palace—the many details involved were beyond what Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong and Cao Gan, who were thousands of miles away at the time, could have known in detail.
“The old lord wished to eliminate the calamity of war and resolutely went to his death, but ultimately could not escape connection with the Empress Dowager, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu, Zheng Chang, and others. After they reached Yueyang, they monopolized power, and even in such dire circumstances refused to forgo mourning rites, instead using filial observance as an excuse to keep my lord in Xuzhou, excluding him from Yueyang. At that time, Yueyang had already been infiltrated by Prince Xin’s spies. To turn the tide, my lord had no choice but to act independently, secretly going to Jinling to seize military authority from Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s hands,” Feng Liao said. “My lord was also clear that seizing military authority without permission has always been a great taboo between ruler and subject. After reversing the situation in Jinling, he had thoughts of retiring with his accomplishments achieved. When His Majesty’s imperial carriage arrived at Fanchang, my lord surrendered military authority and withdrew with us back to Xuzhou—it’s just unfortunate that the tree wishes to be still but the wind won’t cease. During this trip to Jinling, General Cao must have heard something about the Shang Wensheng assassination case?”
“I did hear something about it, but only know the surface, not the details,” Cao Gan didn’t conceal that his knowledge was quite limited.
This was also normal.
The Shu state did have specialized intelligence-gathering organizations, but they had no connection to Yuzhou.
The limited resources Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong controlled in Yuzhou were all invested in the war against the Wu-Liao people; he simply had no capacity to establish anew a system for monitoring developments in the Chu state’s court and countryside.
Before coming to Yuzhou, Han Qian had gathered quite a few people to study the mindset of Marquis Changxiang and his trusted subordinates, deliberating on what Feng Liao should say when meeting Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong.
This was also where Han Qian’s established intelligence system differed from tradition—it placed more emphasis on comprehensive analysis of intelligence.
“The assassination case is indeed connected to Xuzhou, but the true circumstances are diametrically opposite to what is widely spread. However, speaking of the cause, it could also be said to be a negative consequence of the urgent conscription of slaves into the Chishan Army to reverse the situation at that time.”
Feng Liao had already told Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong about Shang Zhongjie murdering Lady Wei, massacring women and children, as well as Han Donghu’s assassination of the Shang father and son and the Shang household slaves’ defection. Now he explained it again in detail to Cao Gan.
“The aristocratic families originally viewed Guangde Prefecture as a thorn in their eye. After the Shang Wensheng assassination case erupted, they seized upon this as an excuse to vent their fury. In just two short months, they haven’t caught any trace of the assassin’s whereabouts, but over two hundred people connected to Guangde Prefecture have been arrested and imprisoned. Meanwhile, Liyang, Xuancheng, and Lishui took the opportunity to establish special assassin-hunting teams, with a momentum suggesting they wouldn’t rest until they forced a popular uprising—my lord had no choice but to instigate unrest in Sizhou, hoping that those who delight in chaos might clear their heads a bit.”
“The Marquis of Qianyang’s initial conscription of slaves in Jinling was indeed inadequately considered,” Cao Zhe couldn’t help but interject.
Feng Liao glanced at Cao Zhe. Of course, at this moment he couldn’t possibly argue with him about right and wrong. He simply said to Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong and Cao Gan: “There are no perfect strategies in this world. At that time, one could only choose the lesser of two evils. My lord sent me here to see the Marquis and General Cao without any perfect strategy either, only to persuade the Marquis to choose the lesser of two evils…”
Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong nodded. Regardless of how severe the remaining problems with Guangde Army were, the rise of Chishan Army’s success and its unexpected reversal of the Jinling situation was there for all to see.
Even if all these subsequent troubles had been anticipated at the time, conscripting slaves into the army was still an excellent move under those circumstances.
“Why does the Emperor of Chu allow this?” Cao Gan asked the most crucial question.
“My lord’s heart is upright, but he encounters only perilous situations and can only use risky strategies to master them, which inevitably leaves some unfavorable impressions on the world. His Majesty’s tolerance may have the intention of killing multiple birds with one stone, perhaps? Or perhaps it is thus that the Princess, dwelling deep within the Great Chu imperial palace, would have the sentiment that only Xuzhou can be relied upon,” Feng Liao said. “My lord has absolutely no disloyalty toward Great Chu, but as long as one is human, one must seek self-preservation and leave oneself some retreat. The Princess says that for her and Yuzhou to be without worry, only Xuzhou can be relied upon. All things are mutual—if Xuzhou wishes to be without worry, it can also only rely on the Princess and Yuzhou.”
“Only Yuzhou can be relied upon? In the end, Xuzhou still wants to swallow Sizhou and establish a border with Yuzhou?” Cao Gan fixed his eyes on Feng Liao and asked.
“Only with a shared border, should the Marquis or General Cao have any matter where they wish to consult with Xuzhou, will it not be beyond our reach,” Feng Liao said.
“Cao Gan, what do you think?” Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong looked at Cao Gan and asked.
“Xuzhou needs Yuzhou to provide a pretext to righteously deploy troops into Sizhou without inviting questioning from the Great Chu court?” Cao Gan asked Feng Liao.
“Precisely,” Feng Liao nodded in affirmation.
“Once Xuzhou has a pretext to deploy troops into Sizhou, if the Emperor of Chu can do nothing to Xuzhou but instead blames Yuzhou, causing my lord to be caught in a difficult position between Great Shu, unable to advance or retreat, what then?” Cao Gan asked.
“As matters stand now, the Shu Monarch has not completely resolved to use the Marquis to replace Crown Prince Marquis Qingjiang, but Feng Liao must ask the Marquis and General Cao—what does Crown Prince Marquis Qingjiang most fear?” Feng Liao asked.
Before Cao Gan could consider how to word his answer to this question, Feng Liao directly asked and answered himself: “What Crown Prince Marquis Qingjiang most fears at this time should be that the Noble Consort finds favor with our Great Chu, and that His Majesty of Great Chu, to ensure the two nations can have everlasting alliance, intends to support the Marquis in ascending to the position of Shu Monarch—therefore, the more eagerly the Marquis seeks to quickly conclude the alliance treaty, the more Marquis Qingjiang will hesitate, the more he will think of causing trouble over the Si-Yu border issue. When that time comes and the Marquis is forced by Marquis Qingjiang’s pressure to create disputes over the Si-Yu border, causing His Majesty of our Great Chu to become angry, I want to ask the Marquis—who will ultimately be held responsible within the Shu state? Even if at that time, for the sake of the alliance treaty between our two nations, the Marquis suffers some grievance and bows his head in apology, would the Great Shu Monarch and his court ministers not know that the Marquis suffered an injustice?”
“If my predictions are correct, most people in the Shu capital don’t want complications. Now the question comes—how can we make Marquis Qingjiang continue to tangle endlessly over the border issue?” Cao Gan asked.
They hoped Marquis Qingjiang would step into the trap, but Marquis Qingjiang was no fool. Knowing that most Great Shu court officials didn’t want complications, he couldn’t possibly stir up trouble over this issue.
“If Marquis Qingjiang inadvertently learned that large-scale salt brine had been discovered underground in Wu-Liao territory, would that reason be sufficient to support Marquis Qingjiang in continuing to tangle over this matter?” Having come with thorough preparations, Feng Liao had naturally thought through all arguments for Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong. The key lay in whether Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong trusted them, or whether he had the determination to cooperate with them in action…