Seeing Xi Ren under the lamplight with her powdered cheeks like flowers, Han Qian unbuttoned his long robe and explained the reason for being delayed until deep night before returning to their base:
“Today, besides meeting Han Donghu, I also met Xue Ruogu, which delayed some time.”
Xi Ren asked doubtfully: “If you meet with Xue Ruogu at this time, is there still any possibility he’ll overturn the assassination case?”
“We just waited by the official road watching him pass by and didn’t step forward to meet him face to face. Of course, Xue Ruogu himself was also aware that his transfer to Lishui was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.” Han Qian said.
“Shen Yang has always wanted to use Xue Ruogu to ease the situation in Guangde Prefecture. Xue Ruogu naturally has quite deep understanding of Shang Wensheng’s assassination case—other people might not think anything of it, but if he didn’t become suspicious at all, that would be too slow-witted,” Xi Ren said. At this moment, hearing Han Qian’s stomach growl twice, she smiled and pinched his belly through his clothes, asking, “Didn’t you stop midway to eat some dry rations to satisfy your hunger?”
“I just wanted to burrow into Maoshan quickly, afraid of exposing our whereabouts. How could I spare time to eat?” Han Qian said.
“I’ll go out and see what food there is to bring you.” Xi Ren lifted her skirt and went out. She cooked a bowl of meat soup with dried meat and heated two wheat cakes, bringing them into the room for Han Qian to satisfy his hunger.
On one hand, they had just entered Maoshan to take shelter. On the other hand, there was still the possibility of herb gatherers or hunters stumbling over. This side needed to conceal their tracks as much as possible to avoid drawing official attention.
The food and lodging conditions were quite rudimentary. Even the weeds inside and outside the estate couldn’t be removed, and they had to sleep in military tents laid out in the rooms.
Han Qian tore the wheat cake and satisfied his hunger with the meat soup, then told Xi Ren about how Han Donghu, Su Lie, and other escaped slaves had long been secretly organizing with former Guangde Army soldiers, plotting an uprising. Frowning, he said: “The situation here is more complex than imagined. I still need to find a way to meet with Wang Wenqian.”
“Won’t that be too risky?” Xi Ren asked worriedly. “Although after the Imperial Guard forces capture Chao and Chu prefectures, Huaidong will first face pressure to dissolve the regional military commission, Wang Wenqian is too calculating, and Prince Xin is somewhat obstinate and self-willed. Chuzhou’s previous ambition to plot against Jinling was thwarted at your hands. If Prince Xin and the Huaidong officers and soldiers still harbor resentment about these things, your going to Yangzhou to meet Wang Wenqian may not necessarily be without risk. And Huaidong may not necessarily be able to tolerate an uprising rebel army with connections to Xuzhou backing against Yangzhou and establishing themselves among the Yangtze’s sandy islands.”
Logically, Huaidong and Xuzhou secretly joining hands would be more beneficial in weakening the pressure Huaidong was about to face, but Xi Ren was still worried the risk of Han Qian going personally was too great.
In Xi Ren’s view, by comparison, having Feng Liao or others cross the river to make contact would actually be most secure.
Han Qian said: “That’s why we need to go and return quickly, catching Wang Wenqian off guard without giving them sufficient reaction time.”
Han Qian naturally considered the risks involved, but many matters truly required him to appear personally to be better resolved.
Just like this matter of Han Donghu organizing with former Guangde Army soldiers—Han Donghu had met Feng Liao twice without revealing the truth. If he hadn’t rushed over personally this time, matters would truly have caught everyone unprepared.
“I think you want to see a certain someone.” Xi Ren gave Han Qian a sidelong glance.
“I go through life and death, and in your mouth it becomes this?” Han Qian said irritably.
“I didn’t say anything. I just feel that certain someone suffered such great grievances enabling you to escape back to Xuzhou. Returning to Yangzhou, who knows how much gossip she still has to endure behind her back. Your going to Yangzhou to meet once isn’t anything improper—I won’t talk nonsense when I return either.” Xi Ren said with a smile playing on her lips.
“You’re really sharp-tongued,” Han Qian grasped Xi Ren’s delicate jade-smooth hand. Looking at her beautiful face like flowers under lamplight, her pair of beautiful eyes deep as the night sky’s stars, he pulled her slender yet extremely elastic waist toward him and said, “I used to be extremely disdainful of my father’s kind of womanly compassion. When it truly falls on oneself, making a decision that might directly lead to hundreds or thousands of people living or dying, only then do I know this feeling isn’t pleasant. Under the counterattack of the great clans, hundreds and thousands of former Guangde Army soldiers and families suffered persecution. Over ten thousand people had their properties seized. It’s like a volcano with raging fire burning inside, about to erupt. Once the uprising occurs, who knows how many more people will be drawn in. Han Donghu alone cannot stop anything. Setting aside how much turmoil this matter will cause, with so many people’s life and death at stake, I also cannot stand by with folded sleeves…”
“Even if you go see Wang Wenqian and Huaidong can tolerate them entering the Yangtze, whether they can actually enter the Yangtze is still a problem—and after entering the Yangtze, if they block the salt route, it will also prompt the Wuya Army to mount a campaign. These matters won’t be under your control.” Xi Ren diverted Han Qian’s attention to seriously think about the many detailed problems involved, and thus didn’t resist sitting on Han Qian’s thighs to discuss this matter with him.
When Xi Ren began following Han Qian, though she already had a reputation for beauty in Xuzhou, in reality she was only eighteen years old at that time.
During the four or five years she’d followed at Han Qian’s side, though working on schemes was arduous, she no longer had to sink into the previous tragedy of lightless days. Her beautiful face gained more of the innocent purity a young woman should have, becoming even more soul-stirring and alluring.
Not to mention the temptation brought by her mature, voluptuous delicate body through the thin dress.
Xi Ren was seriously contemplating problems. After a long while without hearing Han Qian respond, she looked down to see Han Qian’s hand had already slid from her waist to her leg. She reached out and pinched his hand’s back hard, then was about to stand up, no longer giving Han Qian opportunity to take liberties.
“You’ve also been tired all day. It’s fine to sit and talk.” Han Qian very seriously pressed on her waist, not letting her leave.
“Then talk properly. If your hand moves randomly again, I’ll chop it off.” Xi Ren’s beautiful eyes glanced sideways at Han Qian.
Han Qian withdrew his wandering, rippling thoughts. His face pressed against Xi Ren’s soft fragrant shoulder as he thought while speaking: “I also worry the problems involved are too many and too complex. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have Feng Liao and Kong Xirong think together about what methods there might be to remedy this.”
After the Left Guangde Army disbanded, part of the original officers and soldiers took their families and migrated with them to settle in Xuzhou. Another part, as Imperial Guard military households, were dispersed and incorporated into garrison military offices in various places, also pretty much integrating into various Imperial Guard units. The most remained settled in Guangde Prefecture—mainly officers and soldiers who had rendered meritorious service in early stages or been maimed by injuries, and their families, or families of officers and soldiers who sacrificed on the battlefield.
This group of people, as basic-level officers and soldiers, were qualified, but lacked the ability to conduct overall planning.
If they directly staged an uprising in Guangde Prefecture, the early stage might be conducted with great fanfare, making quite a stir. But to evade the eyes and ears of officials and the Jinyun Bureau, first quietly transferring and dispersing part of the families, while also secretly first organizing a small portion of people to form an elite force, then after the uprising immediately transferring everyone through the Lake Tai waters into the Yangtze to establish themselves—the difficulty would be much greater.
In this process, once news leaked, or someone couldn’t restrain themselves and first clashed with local officials, or if they were infiltrated by the eyes and ears of the Jinyun Bureau and great clans, the Wuya Army’s naval forces would only need to deploy a small amount of elite warships to blockade the several passages between Lake Tai and the Yangtze extremely tightly, then they could trap these forces within the region where Chu forces and great clan power was strongest for elimination and suppression.
With only Han Donghu alone able to coordinate the overall situation, it was far from sufficient.
This point was fully proven during the Sizhou bond-servant uprising. Tan Yuliang brought his sons and nephews, and Blind Diao brought over ten Xuzhou scout officers to assist in secret, yet ultimately still had no way to influence the overall will of the uprising rebel army on some extremely fundamental problems and strategic choices.
Han Donghu might not even be able to persuade all the leaders who decided to participate in the uprising to lead their forces to leave Guangde Prefecture and withdraw into the Yangtze.
If that were the case, even if he went to Yangzhou and successfully persuaded Wang Wenqian to tacitly agree to allow the uprising rebel army to establish themselves on the river’s central sandy islands south of Yangzhou, it would be meaningless!
“You constantly think about separating Xuzhou from this, thinking about preserving yours and the Old Master’s reputation, but instead find yourself bound hand and foot everywhere, difficult to act,” Xi Ren turned her head and looked seriously at Han Qian, saying, “No matter how much you present a harmless, loyal appearance, you still can’t escape Yang Yuanpu and the court ministers’ suspicions either way. If you ask me, rather than thinking of all sorts of ways to clear yourself of suspicion, you might as well simply make them fear and dread you, not daring to do anything to Xuzhou!”
“Yes, hesitating and looking ahead and behind only makes oneself suffer on all sides. And now the space to maneuver and turn is becoming smaller and smaller,” Han Qian also said with deep feeling. “Wanting to erect a memorial arch while also being a prostitute is indeed difficult to do—according to what you say, I might as well directly have Han Donghu borrow Xuzhou’s name and act with free rein.”
Speaking these words, Han Qian’s hands circled Xi Ren’s slender waist, his face pressing against her high, swelling bosom.
“You scoundrel, I didn’t say to let you act with free rein like this.” Xi Ren used her elbow to push against Han Qian’s chest, forcefully pushing him away, staring at Han Qian with the annoyed glare of a tigress.
Han Qian smiled shamelessly. Just as he was about to continue taking liberties with Xi Ren, hearing several coughs from the courtyard, he had no choice but to release Xi Ren and asked: “Is that Feng Liao?”
“It’s me,” Feng Liao responded from the courtyard. Perhaps seeing from the window’s reflection that Han Qian and Xi Ren had separated, he pushed the door and walked in with Guo Rong, Kong Xirong, Feng Yi, Dou Rong, and others, saying, “We were just eating while thinking things over repeatedly. We’re really worried Han Donghu truly may not be able to handle matters smoothly… We previously gave Tan Yuliang so much covert support, yet the Sizhou affair also nearly escaped our control. In the end, we still had no choice but to reach an accord with Yuzhou before the matter had what could be called a satisfactory result.”
The difficulty of the matter was right there. No wonder Feng Liao could coincide with Han Qian’s thinking without prior consultation.
Han Qian sighed softly and said: “The Sizhou affair ultimately also couldn’t be called satisfactory, after all the uprising rebel army’s casualties were too severe.”
Seeing Han Qian could reflect and say this, Feng Liao’s expectant eyes brightened: “How does Your Lordship plan to handle this time?”
“You and Dou Rong represent Xuzhou and deliver the money and grain. You can meet with the main uprising leaders to first understand the specific situation…” Han Qian said.
“Good!” Though specifically how to intervene would still require waiting until more detailed information was understood before deciding, compared to previously thinking of all sorts of ways to avoid suspicion, Han Qian’s decision at this time meant that henceforth Xuzhou would fundamentally transform in posture. Feng Liao was also exceptionally excited and said: “I’ll set out at first light, but to prevent my whereabouts from being exposed, after dawn you can first go to Baohua Mountain. After I meet with Han Donghu, I’ll go join you.”
“No rush. I’ll stay at Maoshan for a few more days. If anyone insists on meeting me, they can also be invited to Maoshan to meet face to face.” Han Qian said.