Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu, in order to swiftly recover Jinling and stabilize the Great Chu situation, made peace with his elder brother Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan, specifically permitting him to establish the Huaidong vassal state based on the five provinces of Chu, Hai, Si, Yang, and Tai. However, he resolutely demanded that the Huaidong salt fields be placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Chu court.
On one hand, this was because eight or nine out of ten common people in Jiangdong, southern Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hu-Xiang, and other regions relied on sea salt produced in Huaidong for their salt consumption.
On the other hand, through the Salt and Iron Transport Commission’s control over production, collection, transportation, and sales, Huaidong sea salt could provide the central government with over six hundred thousand strings of net salt tax revenue annually, constituting an indispensable major source of revenue for maintaining the operation of Great Chu’s military and administrative systems.
In comparison, the Shu state’s population was only one-third that of Great Chu, yet its annual salt tax revenue of over four hundred thousand strings occupied an even more significant proportion and importance in the Great Shu national treasury’s annual income.
At this time, the Shu state’s Forbidden Army comprised over one hundred thousand troops, with nearly one-third of military maintenance costs dependent on salt tax revenue.
The reason the Liao people of southern Sichuan had become a major affliction for the Shu state was not only because the Liao people were fierce and difficult to subjugate, posing a direct threat to the plains along the Yangtze River in southern Sichuan, but also—and this was the key reason why Shu Monarch Wang Jian, after founding the Shu state, decided to adopt a strategy of suppression and attack rather than pacification and appeasement toward the southern Sichuan Liao people—because the southern Sichuan Liao people smuggled salt from Banan into the Sichuan heartland, seriously threatening the Sichuan salt administration system.
Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong, acting on Han Qian’s suggestion, submitted a memorial to Shu Monarch Wang Jian advocating for the strategic development of Banan, which received widespread support from the monarch and court ministers. On one hand, Shu Monarch Wang Jian did not wish for Crown Prince Marquis Qingjiang’s power and personal prestige to become too strong, with no one among his other sons able to provide a counterbalance. The other, more direct reason was that the smuggled salt trafficked by the southern Sichuan Liao people primarily came from Banan.
Recovering and controlling the Banan region would, on one hand, directly eliminate the threat that well salt smuggling posed to the Shu state’s salt administration system and salt tax revenue. On the other hand, it would cut off the mountain Liao forces’ income from smuggled salt, weakening their capacity to resist Shu military rule.
The Shu state currently operated over three hundred and eighty salt wells, with over sixty located in the Banan region. The vast majority of salt wells in the Banan region were situated in the Qianjiang River valley and mountain ridges north of Wuchuan County, while Wuchuan County itself currently had only two salt wells.
This was the key reason why Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong and most Shu state court ministers advocated using the Zheliao Stockade north of Wuchuan County as the boundary between Si and Yu provinces.
Contemporary people’s concept of national territory was far less stringent and valued than in later generations, far from reaching the point of fighting over every inch of land. They mainly focused more on the cost of control, annual revenue, and whether strategic passes and defenses were conveniently positioned.
The two salt wells in Wuchuan County produced over one thousand piculs of well salt annually. Compared to Sichuan’s total annual production of three to four hundred thousand piculs of well salt, this represented a minuscule proportion. Even with full salt tax collection, it would only yield about two thousand strings of salt profit annually.
Beyond the minimal salt profit, both banks of the middle Qianjiang were steep mountains and rugged peaks, with the vast majority of Wu-Liao people having fled deep into the mountains and forests, refusing to accept rule and harboring intense hatred.
If Yuzhou greedily sought to control Wuchuan County, setting aside the complications with the Chu state and Sizhou, the defense line would need to advance one hundred and twenty li southward along the Qianjiang, requiring vigilance against Wu-Liao people potentially emerging from the deep mountain forests on both banks at any time—even needing to consider the Wu-Liao people colluding with the southern Sichuan mountain Liao people. This would require deploying large numbers of elite troops just to maintain the smooth passage of the Qianjiang waterway and subsequent pacification, with annual military provisions and pay possibly unable to be contained even at twenty thousand strings.
Not to mention the demoralizing effect of the harsh and dangerous garrison environment on the soldiers’ morale.
Under these circumstances, if Marquis Changxiang advocated assigning Wuchuan to Sizhou for demarcation, Marquis Qingjiang, if he wanted to jump out and cause trouble—or conversely, if Marquis Changxiang wanted to cause trouble—would find himself isolated in the Great Shu court.
However, if large-scale salt brine resources were discovered underground in Wuchuan, potentially allowing dozens of salt wells to be excavated within the expected timeframe, the situation would be completely different.
If Sizhou had the capacity to hold Wuchuan, the problem would be smaller. For the Shu state, it would at most mean losing tens of thousands of strings in annual salt profit. But if the Yang clan of Sizhou suffered heavy damage from this popular uprising with their vitality severely impaired, and Wuchuan County fell back into the hands of the Wu-Liao people, it could even mean the bankruptcy of the Great Shu’s strategic intent to develop Banan.
And by that time, with the national border already established, the Shu state would lose the pretext to directly dispatch forces to suppress Wuchuan.
Therefore, as long as this false information could be conveyed to Marquis Qingjiang’s ears, making him believe it was true, and making him believe that Marquis Changxiang intended to conceal this information and urgently wanted to conclude the treaty between the two nations so that he could subsequently use Great Chu’s power to contend for position, the rest of the play would unfold naturally.
As for how to convey this false information to Marquis Qingjiang’s ears, Feng Liao believed that with Court Entertainer Jing Qiongwen secretly assisting in the Shu palace and simultaneously controlling the remnant forces of the Sichuan Divine Mausoleum Bureau, Marquis Changxiang would have his own methods and wouldn’t need Xuzhou to exert any effort.
What he needed to confirm on this trip was whether Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong, Cao Gan, and the others had the determination to secretly ally with Xuzhou, and whether they had the determination to help Xuzhou annex Sizhou.
Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong looked at Cao Gan.
Even with Qingyang transmitting her opinion back, even with Feng Liao clarifying Xuzhou’s position and intentions, even revealing the strategy they intended to employ, this matter was of such great importance that he still found it difficult to make a decision.
However, if even Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong found it difficult to decide, what could Cao Gan presume to say? He asked quietly: “Perhaps I should personally go see Lord Jing?”
Cao Gan’s stated reason for returning was to request instructions, so his going to the Shu capital to consult with Jing Qiongwen on this matter was entirely appropriate.
Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong asked with concern: “Can your body endure it?”
From Yuzhou to the Shu capital, there was a post road connecting them. The thousand-li distance could theoretically be covered in a round trip of four days by five-hundred-li express horses, but Cao Gan was nearly fifty years old.
He had already rushed non-stop from Jinling back to Yuzhou. Even though he had persisted in physical conditioning over the years without rest, if he made another such journey, Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong worried whether his body could withstand it.
“A few more days of hardship, and once the State Monarch makes his decision, someone else can go to Jinling to convey instructions to Lord Wei in person,” Cao Gan said. Although Cao Gan also felt it would be arduous, this matter required someone with sufficient knowledge of the internal situation to communicate secretly with Jing Qiongwen. Besides himself, there was no other suitable candidate.
As for Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong, not to mention that he couldn’t easily return to the Shu capital without an imperial summons—even if the State Monarch issued a summons, he would need to deliberate carefully before deciding whether to return to the Shu capital.
“Very well then, I must trouble you to make the trip personally,” Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong said.
From his initial cooperation with Han Qian to their divergence, then back to cooperation, this moment required an even tighter binding—he couldn’t help but hesitate.
Han Qian was skilled at employing extraordinary schemes and stratagems. Feng Liao’s words certainly concealed some parts, but how much was concealed, and whether Xuzhou’s true intentions were really as Feng Liao had described—Marquis Changxiang Wang Yong harbored doubts in his heart.
Before making their decision, they had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages more deeply and seriously, examining the overall situation to avoid possibly being controlled by others in the future.
“Lord Feng, will you come with me to the Shu capital?” Cao Gan looked at Feng Liao and asked.
“I can simply remain at the Marquis’s residence. This body of mine doesn’t dare compare with General Cao’s,” Feng Liao begged off. He didn’t want to go see Jing Qiongwen—on one hand, he worried about his movements being exposed; on the other hand, his body truly couldn’t endure it.
Under escort protection, he had crossed the Wuling Mountains to reach Yuzhou, walking nearly a month on treacherous mountain paths, during which one person had even slipped and fallen off a cliff—in the final days, he had practically been carried on someone’s back into Yuzhou city.
…
…
Taking leave of Marquis Changxiang, Cao Gan, along with his son Cao Zhe and other attendants, rode express horses across the river and traveled northward along the post road. Midway, unable to endure further, they rested an extra day, yet still managed to enter the Shu capital before nightfall on the third day.
Cao Gan first sent someone to notify the appropriate officials. While waiting to be summoned for an audience, he privately met with Jing Qiongwen first.
After hearing the many internal details, Jing Qiongwen pondered for a long while before saying: “The situation in the court has changed slightly. For now, our only course may still be to consult with the Marquis of Qianyang…”
“What happened? What changes in the court?” Cao Gan was slightly startled and said, “I just rushed back to Yuzhou and heard absolutely no wind of anything!”
“It was just the day before yesterday. The State Monarch summoned the Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs to discuss the Shu-Chu situation. The Vice Commissioner said that with the Chu-Shu alliance concluded and affairs in the southeast at rest, with no concerns elsewhere in the short term, he suggested transferring the Marquis to garrison Liangzhou,” Jing Qiongwen said. “I was just preparing to send someone to Yuzhou to discuss this matter when you arrived in the Shu capital.”
“…” Cao Gan drew in a sharp breath, feeling that the court situation was far more serious than he had anticipated. The Crown Prince had already begun setting traps for them.
Liangzhou—that is, Hanzhong—was connected to the Guanzhong region controlled by the Liang state through passes crossing the Qinling Mountains: the Chencang Road, Baoxie Road, Tangluo Road, Ziwu Road, Yugu Road, and others.
If the Liang state sought to scheme for Shu territory, they must first attack Liangzhou, and only then could they advance through Liangzhou into Shu lands.
If they were transferred to defend Liangzhou now, they would certainly have to bear the brunt of the Liang army’s first wave of assault.
Even if they could barely hold out, it would inevitably be a pyrrhic victory with severe casualties among troops. The commanding general would receive no credit and might even be held accountable—just like Du Chongtao, the Great Chu commanding general responsible for defending Xiangzhou during the Jing-Xiang campaign.
Not to mention they would first have to abandon Yuzhou, which they had just begun to develop with some success but where their foundation was not yet stable—and the Crown Prince’s faction proposing such a plan was nothing more than not wanting them to stabilize their foundation in Yuzhou.
Now they couldn’t fall into the trap. They could only consult with Xuzhou to “create” an incident in Banan.
“There’s no time to lose. I’m afraid we can’t delay any longer?” Cao Gan looked at Jing Qiongwen inquiringly.
Cao Gan had to remain in the Shu capital awaiting an audience and had no way to immediately depart and rush back to Yuzhou. However, even if he immediately dispatched his son Cao Zhe by express horse to Yuzhou to see Marquis Changxiang and report this matter in person, and after receiving the Marquis’s authorization they proceeded according to plan, it would still be at least four days away.
Within these four days, the State Monarch might make a final decision on the border issue without even consulting Marquis Changxiang’s opinion.
In that case, it would be quite disadvantageous for them.
“…” Jing Qiongwen nodded. He decided that while dispatching Cao Zhe to rush to Yuzhou to see Marquis Changxiang, they would first use covert channels to feed false information to ministers aligned with Marquis Qingjiang’s faction, alarming them first before anything else.