“Boom! Boom!”
At the Wild Ferry Garden in the western suburbs outside Chengdu City, the Shu Palace grounds were lined with soldiers and banners flying. To prevent news from leaking, even the low-ranking officers who normally maintained the imperial gardens had been driven out early.
Two smoothbore cannons aimed at a stone house over two hundred steps away, their fuses lit simultaneously. Amid deafening explosions, the cannon mouths spewed black smoke and flames. In the blink of an eye, bricks and stones flew everywhere as the solid stone house was blasted open with a large gap, its thick stone walls swaying precariously in the dust and smoke.
Cao Zhe and Jing Qiongwen silently watched everything before them, while the other Shu ministers’ faces turned somewhat pale.
Wang Yong sat with an ashen expression on the magnificent dragon palanquin.
In late February in Chengdu Prefecture, the earth had already been covered with a layer of new green. Several wild ducks in the nearby streams and rivers were startled by the cannon fire and took flight.
Cao Zhe had departed Luoyang on the Lantern Festival to return to Sichuan-Shu, but carrying two heavy cannons with him, his speed was much slower than when he had traveled there. He returned to Chengdu Prefecture a full half month later than expected, even learning of the Shouzhou and Xu-Si armies’ surrender to Luoyang while en route.
Cao Zhe was not at all surprised by the Shouzhou and Xu-Si armies surrendering at the sight of the wind, but he didn’t know what the sovereign and the great ministers would think.
“The Meng army’s main force was annihilated in southern Jin because the Taiyue Campaign Army carrying a hundred heavy cannons intercepted them south of Mount Jinquan, preventing their northern escape. These are the smaller type of fire cannons I saw in Luoyang. There is also a type of heavy cannon that can fire iron projectiles from three thousand steps away,” Cao Zhe knew everyone felt uncomfortable, but he had to share the details of his diplomatic mission to Luoyang. He continued, “When I returned to Sichuan-Shu from Yongzhou via Tanggu Valley, I also saw the Liang army boring holes in the dangerous valleys of the Tangluo Road, drilling in this black gunpowder, then lighting fuses to collapse large sections of stone walls—the Liang army is already using this black gunpowder for mountain excavation and road construction…”
The implication of Cao Zhe’s words was that Luoyang’s production of this black gunpowder had reached a sufficiently large scale that it could be used for mountain excavation and road construction, not merely limited to military purposes. This also meant that with this type of front-loading cannon, if Luoyang needed them, they could cast three to five hundred or even a thousand within a short time.
Although the fire cannons cast by the Liang army were initially mainly equipped to elite northern forces, with the conclusion of major northern warfare, the large batches of cannons previously cast would move south with the First and Second Central Campaign Armies. Meanwhile, newly cast cannons from the Liang state would inevitably also be prioritized for equipping southern forces.
If the Shu army truly gritted its teeth and persisted, it would face a Liang southern expedition force even more formidable than what the Meng army’s main force had encountered.
Hearing this, the Shu sovereign and ministers felt even more bitter, yet they couldn’t rebuke Cao Zhe for inflating others’ prestige.
Wang Yong waved his hand with a heavy heart, somewhat dispirited, signaling for the imperial procession to return to the palace.
Though people whispered among themselves privately, at this moment none had anything to present before Wang Yong.
What could they say?
The conditions Luoyang offered—submitting memorials and pledging vassalage could no longer satisfy Luoyang’s appetite. What could they say?
Although Luoyang had not yet massively expanded its military preparations in Liangzhou, with the conclusion of the southern Jin warfare, troops that had originally been on guard along both banks of the Yu River had successively moved south, increasing the Liang garrison from two brigades to three brigades.
It wasn’t hard to foresee that if they continued to delay their response, the Liang army’s forces in Liangzhou would continuously increase until one day Luoyang completely lost patience and dispatched a great army to invade Sichuan-Shu.
After first escorting the sovereign back to the palace, Cao Gan and his son Cao Zhe then left the palace to return to their residence, their moods heavy.
Both father and son knew clearly in their hearts what the most correct choice before the Shu sovereign and ministers was.
However, the Cao father and son had received deep grace from the sovereign over these years. While others could submit memorials with advice, if they wanted to preserve some dignity and avoid being cursed by the world for stabbing them in the back, the father and son could not submit such memorials.
In the current situation, some ministers still harbored illusions, some ministers were unconcerned or had long maintained secret close contacts with Luoyang, and some ministers perhaps shared the same thoughts as the Cao father and son—wanting to preserve some dignity. This heavy topic was not raised today.
Having spent over three months on this diplomatic mission to Luoyang, Cao Zhe had not reunited with his wife, children, and parents for some time. Returning to the residence with his father, night had already fallen. As they sat down to drink some wine, Jing Qiongwen suddenly visited, bringing with him an unexpected guest.
“Chief Minister Cao, if Ruogu visits again, you won’t take offense, will you?” Xue Ruogu cupped his hands in salute.
Seeing Xue Ruogu, the Cao father and son were not surprised, surmising that after learning of the Battle of Zezhou at the beginning of the year, Jinling had urgently dispatched Xue Ruogu to Chengdu Prefecture to gather intelligence.
Although the Cao father and son were determined not to engage with whatever intentions Xue Ruogu had on this trip, this didn’t mean they lacked even the courage to invite Xue Ruogu into their mansion for a seat.
The group sat down in the tea room on the west side of the bright hall.
The spring tea of Chengdu Prefecture had not yet been harvested. A pot of clear spring water was set boiling on a red clay stove. When last year’s aged tea was taken out and brewed, wisps of delicate fragrance permeated the refined tea room.
Only then did Xue Ruogu slowly reveal his purpose for secretly arriving in Chengdu Prefecture on this journey.
After the Battle of Fanchuan River, the peace agreement between Liang and Chu was completely torn up. Although the Chu court subsequently attempted many times to repair relations with the Liang state, the Liang army paid no heed, even driving away emissaries who tried to cross the river with volleys of arrows.
This caused the complete loss of direct communication channels between Liang and Chu.
Upon receiving news that the Meng army’s main force had been annihilated by the Liang army in southern Jin, the great ministers of Chu understood clearly the subsequent developments—the northern Meng army’s remaining forces were weak and feeble remnants that could no longer tie down many Liang elite troops. After the situation along the He and Huai rivers was pacified, the Liang army’s main forces would inevitably advance south and raise troops to enter the Jiang-Huai region.
Since the Liang-Shu peace agreement had been actively destroyed by the Chu court, when the Liang army advanced south, they couldn’t even accuse Han Qian of acting in bad faith and attacking his former state.
Cao Zhe glanced at his father. Seeing his father only gazing at the exquisite teacup in his hands without wanting to speak, he lifted the cup lid and gently blew aside the floating leaves, drinking the hot tea.
Form a Shu-Chu alliance now to resist the powerful Liang?
If they truly did so, after the Liang army recovered the He and Huai rivers, they wouldn’t attack the Jiang-Huai region but would necessarily first employ troops against Sichuan-Shu.
The Shu state’s newly organized Forbidden Army, though numbering one hundred thousand, had not undergone the tempering of warfare. Could they resist Great Liang’s battle-hardened brave warriors?
Not to mention the tremendous shock that the front-loading cannons had brought to the Shu sovereign and ministers.
“I’ve heard that General Cao personally visited Zezhou to observe the battle during this diplomatic mission to Luoyang. Ruogu would like to ask—were the Meng troops truly so unable to withstand a single blow?” Xue Ruogu asked.
Cao Zhe glanced at Jing Qiongwen. What he had witnessed on his diplomatic mission to Luoyang, he had reported in detail to the sovereign. As Left Chancellor, Jing Qiongwen had sat at the sovereign’s side.
Since Jing Qiongwen had no intention of discussing details with Xue Ruogu, there truly was no need for detailed discussion. But since Xue Ruogu had asked, Cao Zhe would respond somewhat. He said very definitely: “The Meng army truly could not withstand a single blow!”
“What will the sovereign and ministers of Great Shu do? Minister Jing, Chief Minister Cao, and Commander Cao have received deep favor from the Shu sovereign and hold the highest ministerial positions in Great Shu. What will you do?” Xue Ruogu pressed relentlessly.
Hearing these words, Cao Zhe felt irritated and said: “Why doesn’t Scholar Xue ask this question of your state’s Minister Zheng and Minister Zhang?”
After the Battle of Fanchuan River, relations between Liang and Chu completely ruptured. Though it appeared that border trade between both sides had completely ceased, the Langzhou and Huangzhou merchant associations and boat guilds controlled behind the scenes by or deeply connected to the Zheng and Zhang families had successively purchased commercial goods worth three to four million strings of cash from Yuzhou—did Zheng Yu and Zhang Chao, who had retired to Langzhou to spend his old age after the new year, truly know nothing about where these goods actually originated?
Apart from trade transiting through Yuzhou, according to what Cao Zhe understood, smuggling of commercial goods along both banks of the Yangtze River and Han River had never truly ceased for a single day.
“Cao Zhe, Scholar Xue is a guest.” Cao Gan raised his head to glance at Cao Zhe, indicating there was no need to argue over trifles with Xue Ruogu.
At that moment, the sound of urgently galloping hooves stopped at the Cao mansion’s main gate.
Chengdu was the Shu capital, and Cao Gan was the Chief Military Commissioner. Without urgent matters, absolutely no one would dare gallop wildly before the Cao mansion.
Cao Gan and Cao Zhe waited patiently. After a moment, they saw the steward leading a military officer from the Military Commission approaching. He presented a letter, saying: “Urgent message from the northern front. Vice Commissioner Jiang believes Chief Minister Cao needs to know immediately—someone was also sent to Minister Jing’s residence. It’s best that Minister Jing is here…”
Xue Ruogu didn’t know what urgent news required immediate notification to Shu state’s two greatest civil and military officials. He saw Cao Gan’s expression become suddenly grave after receiving the letter.
Cao Gan passed the letter to Jing Qiongwen. After pondering for a while, he said to Xue Ruogu: “Seven days ago, Zhu Rang ordered all his concubines and children driven into Huangli Palace and set it ablaze, after which he himself jumped into the inferno and committed suicide. Subsequently, Bianling was breached by the Liang army—when the city fell, Liang Ren also tried to set fire to his mansion, drive his remaining family members into the flames and then jump in himself, but in the end he was too cowardly and was captured by the Liang army…”
“Ah!” Xue Ruogu opened his mouth but ultimately couldn’t utter a single word.
He had departed Jinling in early February to rush to Chengdu Prefecture. Traveling upstream by boat the entire way, only after arriving in Chengdu Prefecture did he learn that in mid-February, Han Yuanqi, Han Donghu, Lin Haizheng and others had led eighty thousand Liang troops to press upon Bianling City from three directions. But calculating the time, from when Bianling City was besieged to when it fell took merely five days in total.
This was too fast, wasn’t it?
Beyond his shock, Xue Ruogu had no time to lament the fates of Zhu Rang and Liang Ren…