Besides bringing the imperial edict conferring Han Qian as Participant in Determining Governmental Matters, Han Daochang had come this time to discuss another matter with Han Qian—the settlement of Wen clan members.
The court had now accepted the vassalage letter submitted by Shu Lord Wang Jian. Since Wen Bo accepted surrender and led the newly formed Right Divine Martial Army as the first to strike into Liang Province, he had merit without fault—great merit in fact. Next, the court would consider thoroughly pardoning the Wen clan members for their crime of rebellious attachment years ago. Naturally, some people would think about relocating Wen clan members from Donghu to the capital region for settlement.
“Let them think what they want. When the time comes and Wen Muqiao and Wen Zhanyu memorialize requesting to remain settled in Donghu, can they forcibly drag them across the river?” Han Qian curled his lip, not feeling this matter warranted concern.
Seeing Han Qian speak thus, Han Daochang understood he had already secured the Wen clan members. Or rather, Wen Muqiao, Wen Zhanyu and others had already expressed their intention to remain in Donghu—there was truly nothing to worry about.
Moreover, many princes and senior ministers in court understood that from beginning to end, Wen Bo’s surrender and leading the newly formed Right Divine Martial Army to strike into Liang Province after reaching Canglang was all Han Qian’s scheme. Han Qian merely hid behind the scenes without claiming credit.
Even if Wen clan members were truly relocated to the capital region now, after the Right Divine Martial Army completed its designated combat mission in Liang Province, deploying the Right Divine Martial Army to garrison anywhere other than Huaixi and Xu Province—who would be willing to accept them, or who would dare accept them?
In the end, wouldn’t they all be stuffed into Huaixi?
Han Daochang remained in Huaixi over twenty days this time. On one hand, observing operational conditions in Tangyi counties; on the other hand, staying beside Han Qian allowed him to know about Liang Province’s battlefield changes earlier and more accurately than in Jinling.
Apparently, Xiangbei forces’ large-scale westward advance had contained Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s counterattack intentions. Through late March, though large groups of Shu forces had traversed southward through the Qinling Mountains, they mainly remained within the southern mouths of Baoxie Road and Chencang Road, occupying strategic terrain to control the Qinling southern foothills. But there were no signs in the short term of massively striking into the Hanzhong Basin.
Besides Zhou Shu leading the Left Militant Guard Army to garrison Sui and Ying provinces—with roughly half his forces remaining to guard the three passes of Huangxian, Wusheng, and Pingjing at the gap between Tongbai and Huaiyang Mountains, maintaining vigilance toward Tangyi (Huaixi) and demarcating both sides’ boundaries—on the western flank besides the Left Dragon Sparrow Army and Left Divine Martial Army, Li Zhigao also temporarily controlled the Left Militant Cavalry Army and Right Divine Martial Army.
Currently across all of Xiangbei, Wuguan occupied strategically vital terrain. Temporarily not coveting the northern Shangluo and Shangluo county territories, stationing three to four thousand elite troops at Wuguan, Jingzi Pass and other locations sufficed for defense.
North of Deng Province (Nanyang Basin), Shouzhou forces and Cai Province troops were preoccupied with self-preservation, completely lacking strength to invade the Fangcheng defense line in northern Nanyang. Similarly, only three to five thousand elite troops needed to garrison there.
This meant Li Zhigao and Li Changfeng could deploy at most fifty thousand elite troops into Liang Province for combat.
Under these circumstances, whoever was in Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s position would not dare easily lead forces to counterattack Liang Province.
Theoretically, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian could still directly assault Shu heartland via Yinping Road west of Liang Province. But that route was more remote and precipitous, long unrepaired, easily intercepted along the way, with no guarantee of grain provisions and supplies. Especially since Yinping Road’s northern mouth remained under Pingxia people’s control—at least currently there were no signs of Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian leading forces westward from Feng and Qi provinces to take Yinping Road.
With Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s forces isolated outside, over thirty thousand Chu troops penetrating into Liang Province had an extremely complex psychological catalytic effect on Shu’s sovereign, ministers, and local provinces and counties.
Without over thirty thousand Chu troops thrusting into Liang Province, even if Wang Hongyi and Zhao Weisheng and others were executed, their partisans spread throughout Shu’s court and countryside might still hope that after welcoming Zhao Mengji and Marquis Wei Wang Xiaoxian back, they could serve Marquis Wei Wang Xiaoxian as sovereign.
And those veteran ministers and commanders who had followed Shu Lord Wang Jian from humble beginnings to establish Shu might still harbor ideas of rescuing Shu Lord Wang Jian from confinement in the Shu Palace.
Regardless, without over thirty thousand Chu troops thrusting into Liang Province, if Zhao Mengji and Marquis Wei Wang Xiaoxian led seventy thousand elite troops back to Shu heartland, whose death and whose survival would be extremely difficult to predict.
Even the neutral Sichuan-Shu clan forces with no connection to Crown Prince Wang Hongyi and completely indifferent to Shu Lord Wang Jian’s fate would choose to observe developments as much as possible, absolutely not rushing eagerly into new sovereign Wang Yong’s embrace to frolic.
This was also the fundamental reason Han Qian initially determined Wang Yong’s scheme had minimal chance of success.
People’s hearts ultimately still relied on strength to grasp.
Now with over thirty thousand Chu troops inserted into Liang Province, while Cao Gan organized defenses at Jianmen Pass in Li Province south of Liang Province, and Wang Yong simultaneously dispatched loyalists to take over defense of Jiangyou Pass at Yinping Road’s southern mouth, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s return became indefinitely distant. Yet Shu’s court ministers and Shu’s clan forces could not indefinitely delay taking positions.
They now had to consider whether continuing to delay—once the new sovereign stabilized the situation—they would be purged and liquidated as Crown Prince Wang Hongyi’s partisans.
For neutral forces, making choices was easiest.
Align with whoever had greater power, whoever had greater chance of success.
Seeing Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian had no possibility of returning short-term, every day three to five or over ten people would run before Jing Qiongwen and the Qi clan expressing loyalty to the new sovereign.
After Wang Yong launched the military coup, relying on thirty thousand troops to control the Shu capital—this far from meant his position was secure.
Every day he had to sign enormous quantities of personnel and military transfer orders, adjusting and deploying official appointments in Shu heartland, southern Sichuan, northern Shu, eastern Sichuan, western Sichuan and other regions, while conscripting able-bodied men from provinces and counties to replenish the Forbidden Army.
The first month, responders were few and far between.
Even responses came with evasive, delaying language.
Even some officials who previously had good relations with Wang Yong and on whom Wang Yong placed high hopes, intending to promote them to local office—some still feared bloody purges if the coup failed and found excuses to decline and delay.
That moment, Wang Yong truly realized he had thought too optimistically about certain problems beforehand.
However, this situation changed rapidly by late February, after Shu’s sovereign and ministers saw more and more Chu troops entering Liang Province while Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian showed no response.
Wang Yong’s signed directives increasingly received timely and active responses.
Officials he appointed spiritedly went to assume office one after another. Localities no longer evaded, no longer delayed handling transfer matters. Conscripted able-bodied men and grain provisions successively embarked on journeys to the Shu capital. All this showed Shu’s situation was truly transforming favorably for him.
Of course, another critical reason promoting this was that Shu still had a group of far-sighted commanders and ministers who worried that if Shu’s situation continued in turmoil, ultimately not only could they not welcome back Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian to pacify the Marquis of Changxiang’s rebellious disorder, but quite possibly ill-intentioned Chu forces would profit as fishermen, ultimately scheming for Shu territory.
Choosing the lesser of two evils.
With Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian isolated outside, unable to return to Shu—at this time should they continue maintaining silence, even secretly fanning flames to keep Shu’s situation in turmoil, ultimately quite possibly allowing Chu forces to take advantage? Or enthrone new sovereign Wang Yong to restabilize the situation and dispel Chu forces’ possible ambitions? This was not a difficult multiple-choice question for Shu’s pragmatists.
These commanders and ministers were basically veteran ministers and commanders who followed Shu Lord Wang Jian. Over the past decade, they had basically been marginalized from Shu’s court core. But undeniably, their influence in Shu was extremely profound and enormous.
Though these people were likely more loyal to Shu Lord Wang Jian, they were simultaneously pragmatic. Jing Qiongwen and Cao Gan ultimately persuaded Wang Yong to employ this group of veteran ministers and commanders or their descendants to replace Crown Prince Wang Hongyi’s partisans, filling commander and official vacancies appearing in the military, court, and local provinces and counties, so they could more quickly control the situation in their hands.
Chen Jingzhou, following edict in early February, traveled upriver as envoy to Shu. Besides Han Qian specifically writing a letter for Chen Jingzhou hoping he would represent Tangyi in secretly discussing certain matters with Shu’s new sovereign Wang Yong, Wang Zhe also traveled together.
They arrived at Shu capital Chengdu Prefecture in early March, remaining in the Shu capital a month to discuss borrowing troops, transferring Xia and Liang provinces, annual tribute and other matters. Through Chen Jingzhou, Han Qian also expressed to Wang Yong hope he could employ as much as possible those veteran commanders and officials who led Wang Jian to conquer Sichuan-Shu territory years ago, quickly stabilizing Sichuan-Shu’s situation. He even suggested Wang Yong not purge Wang Hongyi’s partisans, and hoped he would treat well the families of Zhao Mengji, Wang Xiaoxian and their main commanders and officials.
Simultaneously, Han Qian would have Wen Bo and Tan Yuliang transfer some Yellow Turban Army commander and official families detained in Liang Province City, plus over four thousand prisoners, all to Cao Gan to take over.
Wang Yong at this time could still readily accept advice from subordinates. He also quite readily agreed to cede Yantian Wharf in southernmost Yu Province to incorporate into Wuchuan County to offset annual tribute.
Wang Yong had only just gained control of the Shu capital. Shu’s finances were in complete chaos, yet he needed to take out large amounts of cash and grain to comfort people’s hearts, to properly settle Shu capital and local province and county affairs, while immediately expanding the new Forbidden Army under his personal control.
Beyond the goodwill Han Qian demonstrated, just based on so many Chu troops stationed at his bedside, blocking Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s forces’ counterattack for him, Wang Yong absolutely could not tear up previous promises now.
Ceding Yantian Wharf at Yu Province’s southernmost end—though this region stretched one hundred twenty-plus li in depth along the Qian River with even broader and deeper mountain ridges extending to both flanks, this area was everywhere deep mountain old forests and precipitous peaks with total flat fields perhaps not even amounting to tens of thousands of mu. The several thousand newly incorporated Liao people households were also rebellious and difficult to govern. Currently the most important aspect was well salt resources.
Yantian Wharf, also called Yanzhai or Liaoyanzhai, had since ancient times been counted among extremely abundant well salt resource regions in the Banan area.
However, the problem was that Shu’s other regions had even more abundant well salt resources—they did not lack this Yantian Wharf piece.
Because both Chu and Shu adopted extremely strict, even brutal, monopoly sale and corresponding penalty systems for salt, even if Yantian Wharf was incorporated into Wuchuan County, Wang Yong knew that with Tangyi mastering more advanced well salt extraction methods and massively increasing well salt production after obtaining Yantian Wharf, he need not worry about harming Shu’s own salt profits—after all, well salt production in Xu Province counties greatly increasing to transport into Qianzhong region or Huaixi had no direct relationship with Shu.
Therefore, whether considering Shu’s interests or seeing that Han Qian helped him so greatly this time and deserved corresponding reward, ceding Yantian Wharf now and having Xu Province or Tangyi bear the two hundred thousand strings annual tribute on Shu’s behalf—however viewed, this was an extremely profitable transaction.
Additionally, even if Han Qian’s secret agreement with Li Zhigao and Chai Jian exchanging Guang Province for Liang Province would not be publicly disclosed, Wang Yong was not blind.
Currently though Wen Bo’s forces and Tan Yuliang’s forces still remained in Liang Province, Liang Province’s military deployments were already completely dominated by Li Zhigao and Li Changfeng’s faction—this was already an indisputable fact.
Regardless of whether Han Qian made concessions under enormous pressure or never intended to scheme for Liang Province from the start, the fact before Wang Yong was that in the future, Shu needed to guard against Li Zhigao, Chai Jian and these people’s ambitions toward Shu territory.
And Shu’s sweet relationship with Tangyi needed to continue, even hoping Tangyi would suppress Li Zhigao, Chai Jian and others’ ambitions toward Shu territory within Great Chu’s interior.
This clearly also aligned with Tangyi’s interests within Great Chu’s interior.
Even though Tangyi’s Xu Province bordered Yu Province via the Qian River on the southern front, Xu Province after all had narrow territory and sparse population with relatively complex surrounding situations—this would not cause Wang Yong too much worry.