Ming Yu’s guess was correct. Wang Jun had indeed bribed Gou Xi. He also wanted to legitimately serve as Governor of Jizhou.
The people Zhao Hanzhang selected arrived in Yuncheng with their treasures and first secretly met with Zhao Zhongyu, delivering the letters for him and the emperor. “Commander said that if General Gou has differing opinions, please help coordinate this matter, Minister Zhao. No matter what, Liu Kun must become Governor of Jizhou.”
Zhao Zhongyu opened the letter and read it carefully before nodding, “I understand.”
He had his trusted aide lead them out through the back door. Looking at the letter for the emperor and the memorial on his desk, he still tucked them both away and first entered the palace.
Zhao Zhongyu first brought up the conflict between Liu Kun and Wang Jun, saying, “I heard the Xiongnu Han State is also taking this opportunity to deploy troops to Jinyang, seemingly wanting to attack Liu Kun jointly with Wang Jun.”
The emperor was quite displeased upon hearing this and said with pursed lips, “In Bingzhou now, only one city remains to shelter Jin people. If Liu Kun cannot defend Jinyang, won’t all of Bingzhou fall into the hands of the traitor Liu Yuan?”
“Precisely,” Zhao Zhongyu said. “Liu Kun has ordered his younger brother to seize Jizhou territory to break the Xiongnu’s encirclement. If he can connect Jinyang and Jizhou into one territory, should the court recover lost lands in the future, it could form a pincer attack with him from north and south.”
The emperor looked troubled and said, “What the Minister says aligns with my thoughts, but the Grand General favors Wang Jun as concurrent Governor of Jizhou…”
He hesitated before continuing, “Actually, having Wang Jun serve as Governor of Jizhou wouldn’t be bad either. He’s also a Jin subject with abundant military strength and many capable generals under his command. I heard he once defeated Shi Le. Perhaps he could recover all of Jizhou? If the court could mobilize northward, wouldn’t it be even better if he and Liu Kun joined forces to attack Xiongnu alongside us?”
The emperor was unhappy that Wang Jun shouldn’t have deployed troops to attack Jinyang, giving Xiongnu an opportunity.
So the emperor said, “The position of Governor of Jizhou should be determined to prevent them from continuing to fight, which would only damage themselves and benefit Xiongnu.”
Zhao Zhongyu listened and realized the emperor clearly intended to have Wang Jun serve as Governor of Jizhou. He quickly produced Zhao Hanzhang’s letter, saying, “Your Majesty, Commander Zhao has recommended Liu Kun for Governor of Jizhou. This is her letter to Your Majesty.”
The emperor quickly took it, and the more he read, the wider his eyes grew.
He suddenly sat up straight, his expression grave. “Is what Zhao Hanzhang says in the letter true? Does Wang Jun truly harbor disloyal intentions?”
Zhao Zhongyu replied seriously, “If Your Majesty doesn’t believe it, why not mediate first without determining who should be Governor of Jizhou? Have Wang Jun and Liu Kun cease hostilities and see which of them obeys your command.”
The emperor clenched his fists, finding it difficult to make an immediate decision.
Zhao Zhongyu said, “The urgent matter is to help Jinyang deal with Xiongnu. This isn’t just about Jinyang city but concerns the very survival of the Great Jin. Your Majesty, if Jinyang falls and all of Bingzhou falls into Xiongnu hands, how can Jizhou survive? Above Jizhou lies Youzhou, far from the court. At that time, will Youzhou still be the Great Jin’s Youzhou?”
Zhao Zhongyu said emotionally, “Once the Great Jin loses the entire north, recovering it would be harder than ascending to heaven. Does Your Majesty wish to remain in Yuncheng forever, content in a corner, just watching the Great Jin split apart like this?”
“No!” The emperor suddenly became alert, his whole body tensing as he finally realized the importance of Jinyang city. He lowered his eyes in thought, “If Wang Jun truly harbors disloyal intentions, Jizhou certainly cannot fall into his hands. Otherwise, once his power grows, he’ll follow the court’s commands even less. But if he truly has disloyal intentions, we’re separated by Shi Le and Liu Yuan. I can do nothing to him. Will he obey the command to cease hostilities?”
Zhao Zhongyu said, “Whether Wang Jun or Liu Kun, they both want the appointment as Governor of Jizhou to be more legitimate. Your Majesty is the supreme ruler of the realm. Even if Wang Jun harbors disloyal intentions, he must still fear you somewhat. If he doesn’t follow Your Majesty’s commands, the realm can unite against him.”
War wasn’t just about seizing cities and territory. There were also forms like public opinion and economics.
If Wang Jun openly displayed rebellious intentions, the realm’s aristocratic families would despise him, criticize him, and impose economic sanctions while helping Liu Kun instead. His pressure would be enormous.
Reputation was very important.
Zhao Zhongyu glanced lightly at the emperor. The Jin imperial house had never been able to command the realm’s aristocratic families. Why?
Wasn’t it because they gained their position improperly and had an extremely poor reputation?
Now everyone had seen the importance of reputation, which was why the Zhao clan labeled themselves as loyal and had always maintained a supportive attitude toward the emperor.
Though hypocritical, it was effective.
The emperor listened, then suppressed Gou Xi’s memorial requesting Wang Jun be appointed Governor of Jizhou. The next day he summoned Gou Xi into the palace to discuss, “Jinyang is the remaining territory of Bingzhou. Our Jin people can only find refuge in Jinyang. Now Xiongnu attacks it while Wang Jun contends with Liu Kun. I fear Jinyang cannot be preserved.”
He continued, “Therefore, I wish to mediate for these two beloved subjects. They are both pillars of the Great Jin. I would be heartbroken to lose either of them.”
Gou Xi, having just received a large sum of gold, silver, and jewels from Liu Kun yesterday, immediately responded, “What Your Majesty says is correct. I am willing to write letters to send to Youzhou and Jinyang, having the two temporarily cease hostilities to concentrate on dealing with Xiongnu.”
The emperor hadn’t expected Gou Xi to agree so readily and breathed a sigh of relief before saying, “Then let’s set aside the matter of appointing the Governor of Jizhou. We’ll discuss it again after they cease hostilities.”
Gou Xi also found it difficult to immediately decide who should be Governor of Jizhou, so he nodded in agreement.
Also good—though Liu Kun had offended him some time ago, his relationship with Wang Jun was also quite ordinary. Both sides had sent gifts, but Liu Kun’s gifts were clearly more to his taste and more valuable. He needed to reconsider who should be this Governor of Jizhou.
When Liu Kun learned that Zhao Hanzhang had sent gifts to Gou Xi on his behalf and had even maneuvered in the court wanting him to become Governor of Jizhou, he was deeply moved. When he received the batch of military equipment Zhao Hanzhang sent, tears directly flowed from his eyes. Moved, he said, “I consider Shizhi my confidant. Looking at today, I must add one more person to my confidants.”
Shizhi was Zu Ti’s courtesy name. The two had the famous story of rising at cockcrow to practice swordsmanship.
There weren’t many people Liu Kun considered true confidants. He was heroic and impressive, with wide-ranging friendships, but few who could truly win his heartfelt admiration.
Zhao Hanzhang was the second such person.
Since she was a confidant, that meant one of his own. Liu Kun had felt somewhat embarrassed before, but now he felt no difficulty whatsoever. He immediately wrote a letter to her, hoping she could attack Xiongnu from the south to relieve some of his pressure.
Although the emperor had ordered them to cease hostilities, transmitting messages back and forth took time, and Wang Jun might not listen. Therefore, he needed to prepare contingencies.
Liu Xi and the others would continue defending Zhongshan Commandery. As long as Wang Jun kept attacking, they could only resist. What was urgent now was dispersing Xiongnu’s military strength.
When the letter reached Luoyang, Zhao Hanzhang read it and went to look at the map. She shook her head, “Deploying troops toward Pingyang Commandery—wouldn’t that force Shi Le to participate as well?”
Pingyang Commandery was right next to Shangdang and was under Xiongnu control.
Though Shi Le wasn’t currently following Liu Yuan’s orders to deploy troops, he was still the Grand General of the Xiongnu Han State. If Zhao Hanzhang attacked Pingyang Commandery, he definitely wouldn’t stand by and watch.