As dusk approached, news reached Jinling that large contingents of Liang troops were gathering east of Hongze Lake at Suyu, their military forces pointing directly toward Chuzhou. This brought considerable relief to the court officials and common people within Jinling—at least in the short term, there was no need to worry about warfare rekindling in the imperial capital.

As for how to untangle the relationship between the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, many court officials felt something of the helplessness captured in the saying “even an upright magistrate cannot settle family disputes.”

Han Daoming only returned from the Ministry of Finance offices to his estate as night fell. He saw Fu Mo, who hadn’t visited in quite some time, drinking wine and admiring the snow in the garden alongside his second younger brother Daochang and their nephews Han Jun and Han Duan.

The newly constructed garden adjoined the eastern side courtyard, covering a full six or seven acres. Originally an official garden belonging to the Shengzhou Regional Commander’s estate, it had initially been occupied by the Regional Commander’s surviving relatives after the dynasty’s founding.

When Han Daoming was appointed Minister of Finance, he purchased this garden and funded its renovation—dredging the pond, transplanting flowering trees, building covered corridors and study rooms, and adding decorative rocks and artificial hills. After more than a year, it had finally been brought into presentable condition.

The wine banquet was arranged in the open pavilion and covered corridors beside the curved pond.

The corridors had courtyard walls blocking the cold wind, and several braziers burned vigorously on both sides, so people seated within the corridors didn’t feel cold at all.

Looking beyond the corridor at the ice covering the curved pond’s surface, as well as the decorative hills, wall eaves, and flowering trees all piled with remaining snow—this was an excellent view one could enjoy right within the estate grounds.

Han Wenhuan’s spirits were still quite good. Dressed in furred robes, he sat along the corridor with Fu Mo, Han Daochang, Han Jun, Han Duan, and the Fu family nephews who had accompanied Fu Mo on his visit, all arranged at individual tables.

More than a dozen beautifully dressed, clear-featured and handsome attendants and servants waited on them from both sides. Before the tables were jade cups and silver pitchers, fine wine and delicious dishes, a dazzling array of luxury.

This was the kind of wealth only a first-rank noble household could enjoy.

When Han Daoming returned to the estate, Han Wenhuan pulled Fu Mo to remain seated. However, Han Daochang, who currently held a departmental director position in the Salt and Iron Commission, as well as the younger members of the Han and Fu families, had to stand up to greet him.

Even before the Jinling upheaval, Han Daoming had already held prominent positions such as Chizhou Regional Commander, Vice Minister of the Six Ministries, and Deputy Minister of Finance for Hunan. After Yang Yuanpu ascended the throne, his appointment as Participant in Determining Government Matters and Minister of Finance was entirely natural.

Han Daochang’s official appointment began from his defection to Yueyang, even later than Qiao Weihan, Han Chengmeng, Han Jianji and others. It was fortunate that he had merit in persuading Xuanzhou troops to surrender. After Yang Yuanpu ascended the throne, he entered the Salt and Iron Commission as a departmental director. Though his rank seemed modest, it was actually a lucrative position.

Of course, Han Daoming understood clearly in his heart that Fu Mo’s visit today, his second brother Daochang hurrying over to the main residence, and Han Jun and Han Duan being able to leave their respective offices to rush back—none of this was simply because there was snow scenery in the garden to admire.

The truly startling matter was Han Qian receiving the Empress Dowager’s secret edict to lead the Xuzhou River Forces into Tangyi. Even now, Han Daoming hadn’t been able to properly digest this news; his thoughts still churned like tumultuous waves.

In these brief three or four days, the many rumors spreading wildly throughout Jinling had been truly shocking and difficult to digest.

Court officials and common citizens alike felt their emotions shaken—who knew how many people tossed and turned sleeplessly, anxious and unsettled?

However, among all the news that set hearts surging with turbulent waves, most people still felt reassured and comforted by Han Qian receiving the Empress Dowager’s secret edict to lead troops back to Jinling.

That afternoon, news had spread that Liang forces were gathering toward Suyu on Hongze Lake’s eastern flank. Some in court discussed how the Liang army must have learned in advance about the Marquis of Qianyang leading troops back to Jinling—after all, even Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang had once suffered losses at the Marquis of Qianyang’s hands. Fearing further losses, they had turned to attack Chuzhou instead.

Naturally, some felt even more anxious and unsettled.

Han Daoming glanced at the white-bearded and white-haired Fu Mo, thinking to himself that although today’s court memorial “Petition for Northern Defense” had not yet received a clear approval or rejection, its contents must have already spread. And in the memorial, Han Qian had petitioned to “summon the brave warriors willing to fight from Jianghuai”—wasn’t this precisely a call to reassemble the former Left Guangde Army? The Fu family patriarch had suddenly appeared at his door today—was it because of this matter?

Seeing Han Daoming’s somewhat stern gaze sweep over, Fu Mo uneasily leaned forward slightly, assuming a respectful posture.

After the assassination attempt on Shang Wensheng, although Fu Mo had instructed his son Fu Gengwen, who was serving as Langxi County Magistrate at the time, to distance himself from the affair, Fu Gengwen was not the only Fu family nephew. Moreover, Fu Mo himself hadn’t wanted to completely sever ties with the great clans and powerful families of the capital region and Xuanxi at that time, so he hadn’t publicly stepped forward to stop other Fu family nephews from participating in seizing property and land in Guangde Prefecture.

Others might not know, but Fu Mo understood clearly in his heart just how many false charges the powerful clans of the capital region and Xuanzhou had fabricated in Guangde Prefecture before Chen Jingzhou took up his post, how many former Left Guangde Army members they had tortured and persecuted, and how many former soldiers and their families they had driven out while seizing their land and property.

Now that the Marquis of Qianyang Han Qian wanted to gather these persecuted former Left Guangde Army members back under his command, if he knew about these matters—or rather, had long known about them—how could he possibly not seek justice for his former subordinates?

And at this moment when the court urgently needed the Marquis of Qianyang to defend Tangyi, Mount Daci, and the Chu River as Jinling’s outer defense, once the Marquis of Qianyang demanded that the court thoroughly investigate all the accumulated cases in Guangde Prefecture, could the great clans of the capital region and Xuanzhou, whose court influence was already limited, prevent it?

Setting aside the Marquis of Qianyang’s reputation, the Xuzhou River Forces he now commanded were the main force preventing the rebel water forces from entering the Yangtze after the Great Chu navy’s destruction.

Now he was advancing east under the Empress Dowager’s secret edict, forming a political alliance once again with Li Zhigao, who controlled the Huaixi Forbidden Army. Who in court would stand up to refuse such a small and reasonable request as seeking justice for his former subordinates?

Zheng Yu, Zhang Chao, Huang Hua and others could also be considered members of the great clans, but they had no direct involvement with the great clans of the capital region and Xuanzhou after all.

The true leader of the capital region and Xuanzhou great clans was currently the Yongjia Defense Commissioner Gu Zhilong. But setting aside the fact that Gu Zhilong had once been defeated by Han Qian and now possessed less prestige and power than Han Qian, Gu Zhilong was currently far away in southern Zhejiang. Even if he wanted to prevent Han Qian from overturning these cases, wasn’t his reach somewhat limited?

Of course, if one must name another leader of the Xuanzhou great clans, it would be the very man before them—the Participant in Determining Government Matters and Minister of Finance, Han Daoming.

At this moment, Fu Mo couldn’t fathom how Han Daoming viewed his own nephew receiving the Empress Dowager’s secret edict to lead troops back to Jinling. However, from what he had observed in the hour since entering the Han estate, the other members of the household, including the Han family patriarch Han Wenhuan himself, had genuinely been unaware of the Marquis of Qianyang Han Qian receiving the Empress Dowager’s secret edict.

Han Daoming returned Fu Mo’s courtesy, inquired after his father’s health, then sat down on a low couch with a grave expression, gazing at the snow-covered pond beyond the corridor. For a moment he didn’t know what to say—he could hardly admit that his thoughts were still a tangled mess, could he?

“Elder brother, do you know what conditions were like in Tangyi before Han Qian arrived?” Han Daochang asked from where he stood nearby.

“What conditions?” Han Daoming asked.

As Participant in Determining Government Matters and Minister of Finance, military intelligence reports from the northern bank were copied to his desk daily by the Bureau of Military Affairs.

However, before Han Qian led the Xuzhou River Forces into Tangyi, the Bureau’s reports hadn’t made special mention of Tangyi, so he didn’t know what different information Fu Mo had brought today.

Fu Mo cleared his throat and said, “Tangyi faces Jinling across the river and was among the first counties of Chuzhou to be recovered. In March and April, quite a few families sent people to Tangyi to organize land reclamation. Minister Han’s household also sent people there, didn’t it?”

Han Daoming truly wasn’t aware of this matter. He looked toward Han Daochang—if the Han household had participated in this, it would have been the second brother who arranged it.

“I had Han Fu take thirty-some household servants across the river to settle in Tangyi in late May, thinking that once the military situation stabilized, we could establish two or three estates in Tangyi or Nanqiao. Three days ago, when news of the Right Divine Martial Army’s devastating defeat reached Jinling, I sent someone to check on the situation in Tangyi, thinking to have Han Fu and the others withdraw first to avoid losing personnel. But at that time, the Tangyi garrison had already sealed the entire city—all soldiers and civilians could enter but not leave. Naturally we couldn’t contact Han Fu,” Han Daochang said. “At the time I didn’t think much of it, assuming that with the military situation urgent, such measures were appropriate. I didn’t think to alert elder brother. But looking at today’s developments, when Zhou Dan was leading Jiangzhou troops to defend Tangyi, he must have already been secretly following the Empress Dowager’s edict, mustn’t he?”

Han Daoming glanced at Fu Mo. Both Zhou Dan and Chen Jingzhou, who was currently serving as Guangde Prefecture Administrator, had origins in the Junzhou mountain stronghold faction and were always considered to have close relationships with Han Qian.

If one were to say that Han Qian leading the Xuzhou River Forces into Tangyi and joining forces with Zhou Dan was no coincidence, then those who had participated in fabricating false charges and seizing property in Guangde Prefecture would indeed find their sleep even more troubled.

“What is His Majesty’s view, and what are the views of the ministers in the Government Affairs Hall regarding the Marquis of Qianyang’s memorial?” Fu Mo asked with some urgency. “The Liang army has turned to attack Chuzhou—doesn’t this mean the court no longer so urgently needs to establish a defensive line at Tangyi, Mount Daci, and the Chu River?”

Han Daoming glanced at the old master, seeing him having a maid stand behind him massaging his shoulders, looking drowsy—who knew what he was thinking? But for Fu Mo, shrewd his entire life, to actually hope the court’s reliance on Han Qian wasn’t so deep, to hope the court would soon order Han Qian to lead his troops back to Xuzhou—this made Han Daoming suspect the Fu family must be deeply implicated in Guangde Prefecture matters.

Setting aside whether Han Qian would be willing to leave once he arrived, setting aside the fact that the Liang army could adjust their main attack direction at any moment—after the first month of next year, when the Huai River and Hongze Lake thawed, besides the Han Canal, the waterways through which the remnants of the Tower Ship Navy could enter the Yangtze via Xinjin River, Shanglin River, and Shitang River would also open. Could Jinling organize sufficiently powerful naval forces to resist them by then?

Furthermore, the Shouzhou Army had also formally defected to Liang.

Previously, the Shouzhou Army had been beaten without ability to fight back—not because Xu Mingzhen was incompetent, not because the Shouzhou Army wasn’t elite enough, but truly because Shouzhou’s supplies were utterly depleted.

After receiving substantial material support from Liang and achieving such tremendously significant victories in annihilating the Left and Right Five Fang Armies and Right Divine Martial Army, would they still be suppressed by Li Zhigao leading the Huaixi Forbidden Army without ability to fight back?

Never mind letting the Liang army water their horses in the Yangtze—once the Shouzhou Army, with adequate supply support, retook all of Chuzhou and allowed the remnant Tower Ship Navy warships to reenter the Yangtze waterways, could Jinling withstand it?

Han Daoming hadn’t commanded troops in battle much, but as Minister of Finance, he could see these simple truths more clearly than ordinary people!