Jinting Han people

Chapter 735 Reconsidering Yangzhou

After Wang Mi crossed the river and seized Jingkou, urgent reports from Yangzhou flew to Yi'an like snowflakes, informing them of the fall of various counties. The speed at which the entire Jiangzuo war situation deteriorated, or rather, the speed at which the Wu clans switched sides, far exceeded the expectations of the Yi'an court.

So much so that after Du Tao relieved the siege of Hefei, he summoned the troops of Huainan and Juchao to discuss military matters. After receiving news that Zhou Qi had requested to go south to Jianye to join him, he became suspicious and began to discuss whether to cross the river to join Zhou Qi.

The reason is simple: with a large number of Wu people defecting, Du Tao completely lost trust in them. He seriously doubted Zhou Qi's loyalty. If he went south to join forces and then engaged in battle with the Qi army, and Zhou Qi betrayed him again, the result would be disastrous, and he might not even be able to save the remaining 30,000 troops.

Therefore, when he reported the military situation in Jiangzuo, he also included his own opinions. In his letter to Liu Xian, he analyzed: "Since the Wu people are so untrustworthy, they have greatly damaged the morale of our army and are no longer usable. I am willing to arrest Zhou Qi for dereliction of duty first, and then annex the Wu army, station troops in Wuhu, reorganize the three counties, and build mountain fortifications to prevent the situation from deteriorating further."

Meanwhile, Zhou Qi's letter of apology to the court was also submitted to the Yi'an court. He seemed to have anticipated the court's suspicions about him, so he took the initiative to plead guilty, saying: "The fall of Jingkou and the loss of Jiangdong are all due to my poor judgment in choosing people and my failure to properly employ them. Even if I die nine times, I cannot atone for it. However, Yangzhou is in imminent danger, and Jianye still exists. With the high and dangerous Shitou and the lofty Moling, if we gather our remaining troops and unite at the foot of Fuzhou Mountain, set up fortifications along the mountain, and block the enemy at the border of Jiangcheng, the situation is still manageable."

"The military situation is critical and there is no time to hesitate. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty's grace to allow me to atone for my crimes and redeem myself through meritorious service."

The two letters, one after the other, caused a huge uproar when they reached Yi'an. The reason is not hard to imagine: the imperial court's troop deployment in Huainan was not small. No matter how many troops the Qi army mobilized, the imperial court had at least 60,000 troops on paper and the advantage of its navy. It was not surprising that the court was on the defensive. However, it was completely unacceptable that the situation had turned to this point without any serious loss of troops.

Therefore, upon receiving the news, Yi'an sparked widespread discussion throughout the court and among the people, quickly giving rise to the argument that the Wu people were utterly untrustworthy. For example, the Chamberlain Fan Ben submitted a memorial stating: "The Wu people, dwelling on an island nation, do not submit to the king's rule, are fickle in their virtue, and are no different from foxes and badger. Now Your Majesty, disregarding the enmity of your ancestors, has shown great virtue by pardoning them, yet you have suffered the wrath of a wolf. If you do not severely punish them, how can you expect the court and the people to be convinced?"

He then strongly advocated punishing Zhou Qi, arguing that as the de facto leader of Jiangzuo, Zhou Qi had repeatedly caused the situation in Yangzhou to deteriorate, and should be immediately imprisoned and executed as a public example. Furthermore, all officers and soldiers in the army who were from Wu or had connections with Wu people should be sidelined to prevent defections in the upcoming battles.

This initiative garnered considerable attention both in the court and among the public, quickly gaining support from figures such as Zhuge Pan, Zhuge Yan, Zhang Gu, Xi An, and Huo Biao. Since the reputation of the Wu people was already so tarnished, regardless of the emperor's decision, officials and generals could use this opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty. Consequently, they submitted numerous memorials to the emperor, vehemently criticizing the Wu people's fickleness, demanding the punishment of Zhou Qi and others, and volunteering to go to Jiangdong to quell the rebellion. These memorials piled up like a mountain in the Jianchang Palace, greatly bothering Liu Xian.

Liu Xian would never do such a thing; he had witnessed firsthand the destructive power of changing commanders on the eve of battle. In fact, it was arguably the first lesson he learned during the Guanzhong Campaign.

In the fourth year of the Yuan Kang era, Hao San, a Xiongnu leader from Shangdang, rebelled. Zhang Gui was ordered to lead the Western Expeditionary Army to quell the rebellion. His strategy was sound and methodical, and victory seemed assured. However, Sun Xiu, eager to claim credit, falsely accused Zhang Gui and replaced him, causing chaos in the army and creating internal conflicts. The originally smooth campaign became fraught with peril. During the Battle of Gumu Plain, an arrow from a skilled Hu archer struck Liu Xian in the chest, causing him to faint on the spot and nearly die.

The situation in Jiangzuo is far more dangerous than it was back then, so Liu Xian would certainly not make such a basic mistake. It should be noted that although Zhou Qi is not the supreme commander Liu Xian appointed in Yangzhou, he is still the nominal leader of the Wu people. If he were to be imprisoned and executed, and the rest of the Wu people were left idle, it would be tantamount to pushing the Wu people completely to the side of the Qi. The Wu people who might have been somewhat hesitant before would now have no way back. Of the remaining 30,000 troops in Jianye, more than 20,000 are Wu people, who will likely collapse and defect. Even if Du Tao forcibly reorganizes the army, it will be difficult to confront the Qi people, whose morale is high.

Therefore, he ignored these discussions in the court and instead summoned the officials of the Three Departments to discuss how to deal with the changes in Yangzhou.

Because the matter was of great importance, apart from Lu Zhi, the governor of Jingzhou who was supervising the new policies in the local area and unable to return to Yi'an, all the other important officials, such as Fu Chang, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Lu Yun, Xi An, the Left Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Huan Yi, the Right Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Yan Yu, the Minister of War, Fan Ben, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, Zhuge Pan, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, Zhou Yi, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, Jiang Chong, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Liu Fan, the Director of the Imperial Clan, and Jia Kan, the General of the Guards, were all present.

The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense, especially for Gu Rong, the leader of the Wu people, who sat uneasily in the hall. Logically, as the Commissioner of Waterways, Gu Rong was not qualified to participate in this military meeting, but Liu Xian had specifically summoned him, so he had no choice but to attend. However, the intense gazes of his colleagues around him inevitably increased the pressure on Gu Rong.

Gu Rong had no choice but to scrutinize Lu Yun, who sat to the emperor's right, hoping to glean the emperor's intentions from his expression. However, it was clear from Lu Yun's somber expression that he knew little more than Gu Rong. This made Gu Rong's mood increasingly oppressive. He secretly guessed that even if the emperor, for the sake of the overall situation, outwardly showed no intention of pursuing the other Wu people, after this incident, it would be unlikely that the Wu people could advance further in the court.

Liu Xian first had Fu Chang give a brief overview of the current situation in Yangzhou, which everyone already knew, so he didn't elaborate further. He then turned to the battle in the direction of Dahong Mountain. After successfully besieging Wang Zhang's forces in Dahong Mountain, Li Ju officially launched a general offensive three days ago.

As it turned out, Li Ju's troop training was remarkably effective. His halberdiers and crossbowmen entered the mountains to challenge the enemy, while his chariots provided cover, and his cavalry flanked the enemy. In just two days, they breached the camp. The Qi troops, finding it difficult to hold their ground in the mountains, attempted to escape from the other side, only to be caught by Tian Hui's forces.

By this time, the Qi army was exhausted and out of arrows, making them unable to fight back. Despite having tens of thousands of elite cavalry, Tian Hui continued to pursue them using mounted archery tactics, tailing them for half a day. This finally caused the morale of Wang Zhang's troops to collapse, and most of the Qi soldiers scattered and fled. However, the Han army had set up multiple checkpoints and ambushes along the way, making escape impossible for them.

On this day, Li Ju officially reported the battle results to the court. The Han army had killed or captured more than 7,000 Qi people. Including the Qi people who had died or lost to disease earlier, only a little over 1,000 of Wang Zhang's troops escaped. Moreover, Wang Zhang himself had been beheaded by Li Ju, and his head would be sent to Yi'an the next day.

Such a clean and decisive victory naturally drew admiration from everyone present. In contrast, the situation in Jiangdong seemed increasingly troubling. Liu Xian then cut to the chase, saying, "As you all know, my original plan was to have Shi Hui continue north after this battle, first capturing Wancheng, then advancing into the Central Plains, and striking straight into the heart of the Qi people. The envoys to contact Zu Shizhi have all been sent out, but unexpectedly, this unexpected turn of events occurred in Yangzhou. What are your thoughts?"

At this point, Liu Xian fell silent, waiting for everyone's response.

The room fell silent as everyone speculated about the emperor's thoughts and weighed the potential political consequences of the war's development.

Fan Ben, one of the high-ranking officials who had previously advocated for the exclusion of the Wu people, was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the situation in Jiangzuo is beyond saving. The Wu people have no sincerity in being loyal to the Han Dynasty. No matter how many troops we send there now, without the support of the local Wu people, we will probably not succeed and will only be wasting our resources. Rather than continuing to fight in Wu, it would be better to cut off this rotten piece of flesh, deploy defenses in the Jiangzhou area, and wait for our army to advance from the Central Plains to Suiyang and occupy the capital of the Qi people. The rest will naturally submit."

Upon hearing this, both Lu and Gu turned pale. In Fan Ben's view, the Wu people were a malignant tumor and festering sore of the Han Dynasty, something that could only be removed, not cured. Regardless of whether this was true, once this became a settled fact in people's minds, the future purge of the Wu people would be unprecedentedly fierce. Gu Rong quickly and solemnly stepped forward to refute this, saying, "Why does Lord Fan exaggerate? Of course, there are scoundrels among the Wu people, but there are still loyal ministers. How can we generalize? Zhou Xuanpei is still holding Jianye, and there is Dai Ruosi in Huainan, along with tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. They are all Han officials. What will they think if your words get out?"

Fan Ben sneered upon hearing this, and said slowly, "Lord Gu, you're speaking too soon. In a few days, it's hard to say whether they'll still be Han subjects!"

Faced with this blatant sarcasm, Gu Rong's face burned. But he suppressed his discomfort and instead bowed respectfully to Liu Xian, slowly saying, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, 'Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are the king's subjects.' The land and people of the world today are all Your Majesty's subjects. The land and people of Wu are no exception. And a sage king, employing far-sighted strategies to govern the world, should treat all equally; how can there be any reason to abandon them?"

After discussing the moral aspects, Gu Rong then analyzed the necessity of rescuing Yangzhou from a military perspective, stating:

"Your Majesty, our Great Han currently controls half of the southern border, forming a self-contained entity. The most important aspect is the defense of the river. With the great river connecting east and west, transportation, trade, and communication are far more convenient than land routes. However, the Qi people's southward advance into Yangzhou has breached this defense. As Bian Que said, 'A doctor should nip problems in the bud,' let alone when they have already reached the heart of the matter. If we do not drive them out of Yangzhou as soon as possible, and the Qi people establish a foothold in Wu and train their navy, how can any number of fortresses on the land stop them? The Qi people can then lead their army to threaten the capital. We must be extremely careful!"

But before Liu Xian could comment after Gu Rong finished speaking, Huo Biao, the Imperial Guard General standing nearby, couldn't help but mock, "Isn't Gu Rong exaggerating? The Qi people have a navy, and so do we. What is there to fear? Judging from the battles we've seen so far, the Qi people don't dare to confront us head-on. They're just using underhanded tricks. How dare they attack the capital? If it weren't for the many treacherous officials in Yangzhou, things wouldn't have come to this."

Such a blatant insult left Gu Rong speechless, and the other court officials present couldn't help but chuckle and whisper at the sight.

At this moment, Lu Yun could no longer sit still. If the words "traitorous minister" were allowed to prevail in the court, how could he face the people in the court in the future? He was about to stand up and refute them, but Liu Xian coughed and made him sit down. The other court officials in the hall also fell silent and waited for the emperor to give his opinion.

Liu Xian glanced at everyone and said slowly, "In the imperial court, one must be mindful of the weight of one's words. At the very least, one should not speak carelessly about inappropriate things. Colleagues should also be considerate of each other."

At this point, he sighed and said, "This time, there will be turmoil in Yangzhou. There is no need to investigate who is to blame, because the greatest responsibility does not lie with others, but with me who made the mistake."

Everyone was taken aback by these words, and then the Emperor said, "I knew that Lord He was old and that the Qi people were negotiating with me with ulterior motives, yet I did not arrange for someone to take over the Eastern Expeditionary Army in advance. As a result, when the Qi people marched south, there was no one to take charge of the overall situation. Although Du Jingwen was later sent, he had only just taken over and did not understand the details of the local situation, which led to poor coordination among the various departments. Wang Mi took advantage of the situation and ultimately suffered successive defeats in Huainan and Yangzhou. This was all my fault because I underestimated the Qi people."

At this point, Liu Xian turned to Lu Yun and said, "Shilong, draft a self-reproach edict for me and circulate it among the people of Jiangdong to reassure them."

Upon hearing this, everyone was startled again. Lu Yun was the first to react, and he quickly kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty's virtue is unparalleled! Your subject accepts the decree!"

The other ministers seemed to awaken from a dream. They knew that the emperor had made up his mind, and they followed suit, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty's virtue is unparalleled."

It was clear to everyone that the chaos in Jiangdong was not the emperor's fault, but rather the result of the Wu people's lack of sincerity in their allegiance. Yet, the emperor chose to take full responsibility, placing the blame upon himself. The reason was simple: he hoped to minimize the divisions and conflicts among the various factions within the court, thus winning the hearts of the Wu people without harming the interests of other factions. While Fan Ben and others did not achieve their goal of excluding the Wu people, they could not help but admire the emperor's magnanimity and consideration for the greater good.

Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Fu Chang, however, was concerned with a more specific issue. He asked Liu Xian, "Does His Majesty mean that he intends to cancel the plan to advance north into the Central Plains and instead support Yangzhou?"

He asked this question because, given the current strength and logistics of the Han army, no matter how the analysis is conducted, it can only support Li Ju's single legion in launching a long-term offensive. Li Ju can only have one direction of attack. In addition to the 40,000 Anhan troops under his command, he can also mobilize 20,000 Jingzhou troops and 10,000 Xiangzhou troops. If he wants to make a breakthrough in the north or east, this force cannot be diluted any further.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xian shook his head and said, "The original plan remains unchanged. It is obvious that we are strong and the enemy is weak in the Central Plains. The first batch of supplies and provisions for the northward journey has already been transported to Xiangyang. If we abandon it halfway and have to change the transport from Xiangyang to Wuchang, the losses will be too great, and it is not a good idea."

Fu Chang asked doubtfully, "So, His Majesty doesn't plan to send reinforcements to Yangzhou? I'm afraid it will be difficult to reverse the current situation in Jiangzuo."

Liu Xian said, "Isn't there still Wang Dun's 30,000 Jiangzhou troops? Calling them out to provide reinforcements will be enough."

However, Fu Chang strongly advised against it, saying, "Your Majesty, this is probably not a wise move. Given Wang Dun's prestige, if he joins forces with Du Tao, who will be the leader and who will be the deputy? The two were enemies in Xiangzhou in the past, and Tao Kan must also resent Wang Dun's betrayal. If he is allowed to provide support, it will be difficult to maintain harmony at the front. Moreover, the Jiangzhou army is a weak force, and sending a mere 30,000 Jiangzhou soldiers as reinforcements is a drop in the ocean."

"I've thought about all of this," Liu Xian said, straightening his sleeves. "Ultimately, the problem in Yangzhou right now isn't a lack of soldiers, but a lack of a commander who can truly stabilize the situation. I chose Du Tao before, thinking that with Tao Kan's assistance, it would be enough to handle the situation, but now it seems that it was asking too much. Neither he nor Zhou Qi are a match for the Qi people, nor are they enough to pacify the Wu people."

"Your Majesty means...?"

“Perhaps…” Liu Xian leaned back slightly against the table beside him, his gaze already fixed on the sword hanging high on the palace wall. He tapped the table with his knuckles and slowly said, “It’s time for me to make the trip myself.” (End of Chapter)