Li Zhigao and Chai Jian clearly understood in their hearts just how perilous the current situation was for them.

Besides local provincial troops, the Xiangbei Army primarily consisted of three Imperial Guard armies: the Left Longque Army, Left Wuwei Army, and Left Longwu Army. The soldiers of these three armies, including squad leaders, fire chiefs, section chiefs, and other lower-ranking officers, were all recruited from garrison military prefectures in Tan, Lang, Yue, Deng, Xiang, and Jun regions.

Of the forty-five thousand regular soldiers in the three armies, nearly twenty-six thousand came from garrison military prefectures in Tanzhou, Langzhou, and Yuezhou. This was related to the late period of the feudal reduction campaigns when large numbers of Tanzhou surrendered troops were incorporated and organized as military household garrisons on the spot. This had once been the main source of Imperial Guard soldiers, followed by troops from Jiangxi and Jiangdong.

Once news of the palace coup’s failure spread, the morale of this portion of soldiers would become extremely unstable.

Even though lower-ranking officers and soldiers found it difficult to control their own fates and were more easily coerced by mid- and high-ranking commanders during warfare, one couldn’t expect them to maintain high combat effectiveness and morale. There might even be large-scale desertions later that would be hard to prevent.

Recall that when Anning Palace first fled north across the river, the Shouzhou Army’s forces certainly numbered over a hundred thousand, yet until the Battle of Hongze Lake when they secretly submitted to the Liang forces and used deception to destroy the Five Fangs naval fleet and Right Shenwu Army, they had no capability to launch any meaningful counteroffensive.

Besides supply shortages, another main reason was that apart from the Fang Armies, the families of most Shouzhou Army soldiers had been abandoned south of the Yangtze, dealing a devastating blow to military morale and spirit.

Additionally, the Xiangbei Army included about two thousand regular soldiers from the Taowu Ji garrison military prefecture located in the capital region.

The earliest soldiers of the Longque Army were all recruited from Taowu Ji military prefecture. After experiencing numerous bloody battles, the garrison troops at Taowu Ji had suffered heavy casualties and their numbers had greatly declined. Moreover, when the Longque Army split into Left and Right Longque Armies, the Right Longque Army was currently fighting under Zheng Hui’s command in the territory controlled by the Qingyuan Military Commissioner. Later, some elite soldiers were recruited into the Imperial Guard ranks, causing the proportion of military households from Taowu Ji within the Xiangbei Army to drop significantly.

Though few in number, this portion of soldiers consisted of the most elite veteran troops.

Before the palace coup, both they and the Jinling side had hoped to incorporate these veteran troops into the planned new Right Wuxiang Army, meaning they would be concentrated under Li Qi’s command. Currently they were all stationed at Wuguan Pass with Li Qi.

Once news of the palace coup’s failure, Li Pu’s suicide, and Li Changfeng being cut down by blades at Haijing Gate reached Wuguan Pass, they found it hard to imagine Li Qi would still choose to stand with them.

This also meant Li Qi’s forces might become their most direct threat at present. Of course, they could currently blockade the narrow passage between Wuguan Pass and Jingzi Crossing, temporarily isolating Li Qi outside Junzhou.

They had also sent someone two days ago to rush to Jingzhou to seek an audience with Zhang Xiang, but the messenger fled back in disarray under a hail of arrows, unable to enter Jingzhou city to see Zhang Xiang.

That Zhang Xiang hadn’t directly ordered the messenger shot dead below Jingzhou city’s walls already showed considerable regard for old ties. Under current circumstances, Zhang Xiang couldn’t possibly choose to stand with them. Once the court’s formal decree arrived, Zhang Xiang’s forces would very likely become the vanguard attacking Xiangbei.

What they could truly control were only soldiers recruited from military prefectures in the three regions of Xiang, Deng, and Jun whose families were all in Xiangbei—this portion numbered only about seventeen thousand men.

Under current circumstances, they couldn’t expect these troops to have particularly high fighting spirit either.

More crucial still was provisions and other military supplies.

Previously, the Privy Council would deliver grain, salt, iron, armor, and other materials equivalent to a hundred fifty thousand strings of cash monthly. Combined with locally raised portions to supply the three armies’ garrison and campaign expenses, life had been comfortable and prosperous.

Going forward with central provisions cut off, if they wanted to maintain their current force size to resist suppression, even if they could still control their existing territory, the shortfall would have to be distributed among prefectures and counties with a total population under one million. This would amount to four to five additional shi of grain per household—to what degree would local conflicts intensify?

In such circumstances, was there any room for optimism?

The families and dependents would continue by official vessel directly to Xiangcheng. Only a few people like Su Hongyu, Yao Xishui, Zhong Yanhu, Zhou Yuan, and Chun Shisanniang, along with over a hundred armored soldiers, escorted Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er, Chen De, An Jixiang, and others ashore into Jingzhou city to meet with Li Zhigao and Chai Jian.

Seeing Li Zhigao’s resolute yet gloomy countenance—just past forty years old yet with considerable frost-white hair at his temples—Yao Xishui felt ashamed and embarrassed in her heart. Standing beside Lu Qingxia, she couldn’t speak a single word.

Lu Qingxia had already sent advance word detailing the palace coup’s failure. Li Zhigao pressed his hand on the blade at his waist, standing before the gate entrance watching the flustered group looking like homeless dogs. For a moment he had nothing to say. Even seeing the forty-year-old Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er, still voluptuous and alluring, he had no intention of stepping forward to pay respects.

Su Hongyu walked over holding her infant son, calling softly: “Husband.”

Li Zhigao nodded, only saying coldly: “The journey must have been hard.”

Seeing Li Zhigao still harbored resentment, Su Hongyu had grievances she couldn’t voice. She could hardly say in front of everyone that she knew nothing of the palace coup from start to finish, only learning of it after the coup failed when someone sent word, causing her to flee Jinling city in wretched disarray with Lu Qingxia and the others.

“Father!” Li Zhi, who had just turned sixteen, and his second son Li Tian, not yet fifteen, both now wore armor and held waist knives as they stepped forward to salute Li Zhigao.

Looking at his two sons whose physiques were nearly as tall as his but whose faces still showed traces of childish innocence, Li Zhigao somewhat regretted not bringing them into the military for training two years earlier. At this moment their eyes couldn’t hide their panic.

Li Zhigao patted his tall eldest son Li Zhi’s shoulder, sighing lightly: “Everyone has traveled far. Come with me to the prefecture office to rest first.”

Chai Jian watched his wives, concubines, and sons walk over, only nodding with a gloomy expression, in no mood to say any comforting words. However, even if Lu Qingxia hadn’t brought his wife and children, he couldn’t possibly give up military authority to run to Jinling and walk into a trap to be slaughtered.

“Where are Zhou Shu, Chai Xun, and Deng Tai?” Zhou Yuan scanned the commanders beside Li Zhigao, not seeing Zhou Shu, Chai Xun, Deng Tai, or the others, and asked.

“Zhou Shu is in Suiyang. Chai Xun and Deng Tai are in Liangzhou,” Li Zhigao said.

He naturally knew what Zhou Yuan worried about, but could he at this point order Lu Qingxia, Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er, the “Second Prince,” and others detained and handed over to Jinling in exchange for a chance at local pacification?

In fact, the remnant Wanhong Tower forces were deeply entrenched among the mid- and high-level commanders of the three Xiangbei armies, making it impossible for him to make decisions without Lu Qingxia and the others. Perhaps this was the fundamental reason they had step by step reached today’s predicament.

The Jingzhou Prefectural Office had been renovated earlier in the year and was fairly spacious. After inviting Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er and the others to rest in a side courtyard with strict “protection” by direct loyalist guards, Li Zhigao invited Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and others to follow him to the administrative hall to discuss subsequent countermeasures.

By now the sky had darkened. Two old soldiers lit large candles that crackled and burned, emitting the smell of tung oil.

Lu Qingxia and her group had fled west against the current for seven days, traveling seventeen or eighteen hundred li by water, breaking through harassment and interception from riverside prefectures—not particularly strong but endless—before reaching Jingzhou.

Along the way their contact with land had been almost completely severed.

Li Zhigao now first briefed them on Jinling city’s situation over these past days:

“…Three days ago Yang Yuanyan sent his heir Yang Cong and Chief Secretary Wang Wenqian to Jinling to present a memorial supporting the new emperor’s installation. He also petitioned the new emperor to abolish the Huaidong principality and deploy Zhao Zhen’s forces together with the Right Wuwei Army to suppress Xiangbei. The Jinling side has preliminarily decided to organize Zhao Zhen’s forces as the Right Wuxiang Army, which will soon advance west by boat…”

“Huaidong’s reaction was so fast!”

Not only had Huaidong failed to become a restraint on capital region and Tangyi forces, they had immediately petitioned for self-reduction of feudal authority and dispatched elite combat power to directly participate in suppressing Xiangbei. Lu Qingxia, sitting behind the sandalwood table, couldn’t help feeling a chill run straight up from her tailbone upon hearing this news.

This news meant Jinling had basically secured control of the Jianghuai situation. Next, prefectures and counties presenting memorials of respect and Zhang Xiang in Jingzhou expressing submission to Jinling would all happen extremely quickly. After that, Jinling would be able to formally dispatch troops to suppress Xiangbei.

“What movement from Huaixi?” Zhou Yuan asked somewhat dejectedly.

The court could directly deploy limited forces. Organizing Zhao Zhen’s forces as the Right Wuxiang Army and combining them with Zhang Xiang’s Right Wuwei Army would only make thirty thousand elite troops. Setting aside that Zhao Zhen and Zhang Xiang each harbored ulterior motives, even if they could subsequently recruit tens of thousands of provincial troops from Hunan and Jiangxi prefectures, it would still require two to three months to complete troop assembly.

Currently most worrisome was still Tangyi’s elite troops attacking Wusheng, Pingjing, and other passes between Huaiyang Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, threatening Suizhou’s northeastern flank while having Tangyi naval forces coordinate with the Right Wuxiang and Right Wuwei Armies advancing north along the Han River, tearing through their fragile defensive line at Jingmen and Jingzhou.

“Tangyi’s troops and military supplies in Huaixi continue gathering at Shouchun and Fengtai. Three days ago they successfully erected an iron-chain pontoon bridge at Jiaoshan Gorge east of Fengtai, opening an overland route through Xiacai to deploy troops to Qiao and Bo prefectures and reinforce Bianjing to the north. Temporarily there are no signs of westward movement,” Chai Jian said with a gloomy face.

A terrain map of the middle and upper Huai River region hung on the western wall of the great hall, with the flood zone along both banks of the Sha and Ying Rivers and the specific location of Jiaoshan pontoon bridge roughly marked.

The narrowest point of the middle Huai River was Xiashi Gorge on the northern side of Bagong Mountain. Building either a suspension bridge or pontoon bridge there would only require two hundred meters, but the low-lying area north of the gorge near West Xiashi Mountain had been flooded.

Even if they erected an iron suspension bridge connecting East and West Xiashi Mountains, it would be difficult to cross the flood zone north of West Xiashi Mountain spanning thirty to forty li wide—still unable to form a north-south attack route.

Only by bypassing the flood zone and moving sixty-some li east to build an iron-chain pontoon bridge at Jiaoshan Gorge between Fengtai and Linhuai could they then open a route from the hilly area north of Jiaoshan Gorge extending directly north into Qiaozhou’s heartland.

Jiaoshan Gorge was more than twice as wide as Xiashi Gorge. The contemporary world still lacked the capability to build such a long iron-chain suspension bridge—they could only build pontoon bridges. But to connect boats and construct an iron-chain pontoon bridge capable of resisting upstream flood impact in such a short time was absolutely a demonstration of Tangyi’s strength.

The biggest problem with pontoon bridges was they would cut the Huai River at the waist, severing contact between Tangyi naval forces on the upper and lower river. But this also showed Tangyi’s determination to deploy troops to Hehuai.

From the Jiaoshan pontoon bridge’s construction, one could also see Tangyi’s strategic choice for deploying to Hehuai. They should dispatch one flanking force by boat north along the Ying River, landing at the southern end of the Chen-Bian post road to support Liang forces defending Bianjing. But the Chen-Bian post road was too easily severed and couldn’t accommodate many troops heading north, much less receive over a hundred thousand military and civilian refugees from Bianjing city, mostly elderly and weak, withdrawing north. Tangyi’s main forces should still cross directly from Jiaoshan, attacking north through Qiaozhou to seize Qiaozhou, eastern Chenzhou, Bozhou, and other areas from Xu Mingzhen’s Shouzhou Army, thoroughly opening communication between Bianjing’s south and Huaixi.

This also meant Tangyi would spare no effort in fully participating in the Hehuai campaign.

For Xiangbei, that Tangyi’s main forces temporarily wouldn’t move west was perhaps currently the only news that didn’t make everyone panic.

Otherwise, they would have no choice but to immediately abandon the four prefectures of Sui, Jing, Deng, and Xiang, withdrawing all forces to the upper Han River’s Jun and Liang regions to defend险 terrain.

“What do you plan to do?” Lu Qingxia looked toward Li Zhigao and asked.

“Abandon Pingjing, Wusheng, and Huangyan Passes, withdraw all of Zhou Shu’s forces to west of Suiyang, and simultaneously move military household families from Deng, Jun, and Xiang prefectures into Liang and Jin prefectures as quickly as possible. There probably aren’t other choices!” Li Zhigao sighed lightly.

Operating with Liang and Jin prefectures’ defensible mountain and river terrain as the base area while preparing if necessary to abandon Xiang, Jing, Deng, and Sui—this was Li Zhigao’s strategic choice facing the current dire situation.

Though Liang and Jin prefectures currently had populations under a hundred thousand, particularly with old Jinzhou’s registered households numbering only five or six thousand—when Shu held Jinzhou they had even directly abolished it—this was mainly due to warfare in the middle and late previous dynasty. During the chaos, Liang and Jin’s population at its lowest had been only forty to fifty thousand.

However, Liangzhou (Hanzhong Commandery) occupying the middle and upper Han River basin had agricultural conditions that, while not matching Dengzhou’s reputation as a granary, weren’t any weaker than Xiang and Jing prefectures. In the middle previous dynasty, Liang and Jin’s population had once reached four hundred thousand, sufficient proof these regions had agricultural foundations to support many more people.

After seizing Liangzhou last year, Li Zhigao had intentionally restored Jinzhou’s administrative system and focused on relocating households to Liangzhou, repairing dikes and irrigation channels, and opening garrison fields. Though in one year amidst tense defense duties they had only opened over two hundred thousand mu of military fields, at least they had a relatively good foundation.

Now as long as they had three to four months, moving over thirteen thousand military households into Liangzhou and capturing the next autumn harvest from Xiang, Sui, Jing, and Deng prefectures to ensure grain supplies for the next year, they wouldn’t have completely lost everything.

Zhou Yuan asked: “Isn’t this too conservative and weak? Han Qian is prepared to attack Qiao and Bo. Xu Mingzhen absolutely won’t surrender without resistance. The Shouzhou and Xusi Armies directly submitting to Zhu Rang is a matter of these next few days. In the Hehuai campaign, how can Tangyi possibly achieve complete victory…?”

If Xu Mingzhen and the Sima clan directly submitted to Zhu Rang, three forces combining into one—even if Mongol elite cavalry didn’t directly come south from downstream of the Yu River—Tangyi and the Liang forces on the eastern flank would face up to a hundred fifty to sixty thousand enemy troops.

Han Qian managing to barely capture the Bo and eastern Chen line and receive Bianjing’s military and civilian refugees withdrawing south would already be his limit. More likely, after suffering heavy casualties, Tangyi forces wouldn’t even achieve this objective.

However, afterward, Tangyi and Huaidong would still directly face over a hundred thousand troops under Zhu Rang on the northern front, making it completely impossible to free their hands to commit main forces to the western flank.

They could avoid provoking trouble now and temporarily not collude with the Mongols to avoid angering Tangyi. But as long as Tangyi’s main forces didn’t move west, they had no need to voluntarily hand over key strongholds like Pingjing and Wusheng controlling the western Huaiyang Mountain passes.

Only by holding Pingjing, Wusheng, and other strongholds would they have opportunities later to seize Huangzhou and bring the Handong River valley south of Huaiyang Mountain, east of the Han River, and north of the Yangtze into their grasp.

Li Zhigao merely proposed his position without meaning to explain further.

Lu Qingxia pondered briefly before saying:

“Considering from a longer-term perspective and worst-case scenario, Zhigao’s suggestion perhaps isn’t wrong. However, right now most urgently, we cannot possibly long blockade news of the palace coup from spreading into the heartlands of Xiang, Deng, Jun, and Jing and Sui prefectures. The matter of popular sentiment cannot be ignored!”

Zhou Yuan furrowed his brows, supporting Lu Qingxia: “Yes, currently it seems the vast majority of prefectures and counties across Jianghuai remain under Jinling’s control. With Huaidong’s feudal reduction, Jinling’s control over Jianghuai has even strengthened. We still need a legitimate title to control popular sentiment in Jing, Sui, Xiang, Deng, Jun, and Liang prefectures. More importantly, we must prevent the three armies’ morale and spirit from collapsing in a short time, avoid mutinies and civil unrest erupting across prefectures, and prevent local clans and rural magnates from organizing local militia to resist us. Only by stabilizing all this will we still have a chance to see the Hehuai situation reverse!”

Su Hongyu had fled west these past days aboard the same vessel as Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan. She knew their words meant they wanted to as quickly as possible honor the Empress Dowager and install Second Prince Yang Lin to ascend as emperor, then issue edicts denouncing Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Han Daoming, and others for colluding with foreign tribes to murder Emperor Yanyou.

Even if this couldn’t shake Jinling’s foundations and currently seemed unlikely to gain other prefectures’ and counties’ support, in the short term they could at least maintain legitimate status across Jing, Sui, Xiang, Deng, Jun, and Liang prefectures.

Of course, though Su Hongyu had spent these years at Marquis Xinjin’s mansion teaching her sons and not much participating in Cishou Palace affairs, she understood in her heart that Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan urgently promoting this had another more fundamental purpose: only after honoring the Empress Dowager and “Second Prince” could they legitimately grasp Xiangbei’s military and administrative authority by controlling the “Empress Dowager and Second Prince.”

Su Hongyu sat in a lower seat, unable to speak plainly. She only stared at Li Zhigao, wondering how he would respond to Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan usurping the host’s role. Looking at Chai Jian sitting silently to one side, she didn’t know what he was truly thinking either. She thought if Zhigao took a firmer stance, Chai Jian should stand with him, shouldn’t he?

Li Zhigao glanced at Su Hongyu and said: “Stabilizing popular sentiment shouldn’t be delayed, but there’s no need to rush today. Everyone should first feast and rest. We’ll discuss further tomorrow after reaching Xiangcheng.”

Two hundred li north by boat from Jingzhou lay Xiangcheng, which since the middle and late previous dynasty had consistently been the military, economic, and cultural center of northern Jingxiang. Even if they were to honor the Empress Dowager and install a new emperor, they could only establish the capital at Xiangcheng.

Currently Jinling had already transmitted rebel-suppression proclamations to all prefectures and counties but was still making preliminary deployments for troop movements. Tangyi forces showed no signs of westward movement either. The Xiangbei situation hadn’t reached such urgent crisis. Lu Qingxia didn’t want Li Zhigao to feel they were usurping the host’s role. Moreover, they still weren’t certain of Chai Jian and Zhou Shu’s thoughts. She nodded: “We should first catch our breath before making long-term plans.”

Everyone returned to their guest quarters to rest. Li Zhigao summoned his two sons Li Zhi and Li Tian to the rear courtyard compound, saying: “I’ll select several hundred more elite soldiers from the army for you to organize with the household troops into a battalion of personal guards. You two will serve as battalion commander and deputy commander. Do you have confidence in commanding the troops well?”

“Your sons have confidence,” Li Zhi and Li Tian said.

Li Zhigao also said to household troop chief Zhang Song: “The Tangyi naval forces perhaps temporarily won’t attack up the Han River, but the Han River remains the court forces’ main route into Xiangbei. In discussions tomorrow or the next day, I’ll propose appointing Zhong Yanhu as Naval Commander-in-Chief specifically responsible for Han River defenses from Xiangcheng to Jingzhou. Although the Han River from Liangzhou to Junzhou is narrow and shallow and cannot accommodate large vessels, we still need naval forces maintaining contact between Liangzhou and Xiangbei and water transport. When the time comes I’ll recommend you serve as Naval Vice Commander for this route. I hope you won’t disappoint my trust.”

“This humble general absolutely won’t disappoint Your Lordship’s trust,” Zhang Song said resolutely.

“…” Li Zhigao nodded. “You, Li Zhi, and Li Tian may all withdraw now.”