Chapter 442: The Advantage Is Mine

Yunzhong City was not its original name; in fact, approximately five hundred li north of this Yunzhong City lay another "Yunzhong City" that had existed since the Warring States period, the core node of the first line of defense established by King Wuling of Zhao in the north.

The present Yunzhong City, however, was rebuilt on the foundation of Pingcheng, the renowned capital of the Northern Wei during its middle period.

In the autumn of the seventh year of the Taichang era (422 AD), the Northern Wei built an outer wall for Pingcheng, with a perimeter of thirty-two li.

During the Tang dynasty, Yunzhong City was constructed, strengthening its defenses and reducing its area, abandoning many large but useless palace ruins. Many stone pillars from those palaces still stood in the outskirts of Yunzhong City, enduring for centuries without falling, as if recounting the glorious stories of bygone years.

If Emperor Xiaowen had not relocated the capital to Luoyang, this place would still be the capital of the Northern Wei, its cultural splendor beyond words.

Unfortunately, it was all clouds and smoke of the past.

Accompanied by Li Liangchen, Fang Chongyong ascended the walls of Yunzhong City and gazed down at the nearby ruins of the Northern Wei palaces, unable to suppress a feeling of seas turning to mulberry fields and the brevity of human life.

In the past, this place was called "Pingcheng"; the character "ping" carried the meaning of "looking down from on high," and precisely because things were "not flat," they needed to be "flattened."

It implicitly carried the meaning of one people's conquest over another.

In the future, this place would be called "Datong," conforming to the right time, place, and people, bearing the meaning of "great harmony under heaven," or one might say harmony in diversity.

Ethnic exchange and reconciliation would be the main theme of that era; in the end, people still had to set their gaze on the future.

"Ten thousand palaces have all turned to dust. In rise, the people suffer; in fall, the people suffer."

Fang Chongyong could not help but sigh with emotion, but the soldiers around him were completely indifferent.

What they thought in their hearts was nothing more than: whoever the Jiedushi tells me to bite, I bite—being a soldier and eating rations, that was all.

"Jiedushi, this time the Uighurs' fierce assault on Yunzhong City was not because Military Commissioner Li's defense was inadequate.

Xue Song allowed the Uighur cavalry to pass through his own defense zone, neither intercepting nor giving warning. This man's intentions are unfathomable; he must not be indulged and should be seized and executed immediately."

Feng Changqing cupped his fists in salute to Fang Chongyong and spoke, his words immediately provoking a chorus of agreement.

Even Li Liangchen said indignantly, "This subordinate has been puzzling over how the Uighurs managed to push through to Yunzhong. So it was that turtle-son Xue Song who let the enemy drive straight in! Jiedushi, it is necessary to seize Xue Song and enforce military law!"

Just as the generals were nodding in agreement, a man dressed in the green robe of a Tang civil official below the city shouted toward the city wall, "Is Jiedushi Fang within the city? Is Jiedushi Fang within the city?"

It turned out that the commander's banner hanging from the city wall had exposed Fang Chongyong's location.

"I am Fang Guozhong; who are you?"

From too great a distance, Fang Chongyong could not immediately recognize who the civil official on horseback below the city was.

"I am Linghu Huan, a staff member under Lord Yan. I request that Jiedushi Fang quickly lead troops to reinforce Taiyuan City.

Cai Xide, a subordinate general of the Hebei rebel Huangfu Weiming's forces, is currently leading an army in a fierce assault on Taiyuan City.

Lord Yan can barely hold out in the city any longer! Saving people is like fighting a fire!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals on the city wall turned pale with shock. Fang Chongyong immediately ordered the small gate opened to let Linghu Huan into Yunzhong City.

The moment they met, Fang Chongyong indeed found him very familiar; he should be the staff member beside Yan Zhenqing.

And the moment Linghu Huan saw Fang Chongyong, he felt as though a great burden had been lifted; his legs were trembling, and the insides of his thighs, chafed raw from long hours of riding, ached unbearably, so much so that he could barely stand.

He gasped for breath and crossed his hands in salute, saying, "Jiedushi Fang, when Lord Yan heard that you had gone to rescue Yunzhou, he hurried to Taiyuan City and took over the military authority of the former Hedong Jiedushi and Military Commissioner of the Heavenly Troops Army, Han Xiulin. You likely do not yet know that Huangfu Weiming has issued a manifesto to purge the sovereign's side; he has now split his forces into two routes, advancing on Hedong and Henan respectively, sweeping all before them.

One of these routes has already entered Hedong through Jingxing and fought all the way to the walls of Taiyuan City!"

Huangfu Weiming had indeed rebelled!

Fang Chongyong looked around and found that the generals under his command all wore expressions of "just as expected," not the least bit surprised.

Xue Song was Huangfu Weiming's trusted confidant; letting the Uighurs drive straight into Yunzhou was perfectly reasonable.

Huangfu Weiming had also invited the Uighurs to serve as foreign reinforcements to bolster his momentum, so naturally he need not worry about the current relationship between the Great Tang and the Uighurs.

All signs on the surface indicated that this Jiedushi of two Hebei military towns had completely flipped the table and no longer cared what Brother Ji thought.

All of this, everything, was closely linked, each piece interlocking with the next. One could say that Huangfu Weiming's actions were not an isolated incident.

"In whose name was Huangfu Weiming's manifesto issued?"

Fang Chongyong's expression showed no panic as he asked in a low voice.

"Oh, oh, oh, the manifesto is right here; it was jointly issued by four princes together with Huangfu Weiming. Headed by Prince Rong, Li Wan, along with Prince Yan, Li Bin; Prince Ji, Li Huan; and Prince Yi, Li Ci."

Linghu Huan hastily pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

"What an honor; I never expected my name to actually be on it!"

When Fang Chongyong saw the manifesto describe him, this young master, as "obtaining position through bribery, carting gold and carrying jade, funneling goods to the powerful, usurping high office, and overturning the state's vessels," he was struck by a sense of absurdity and could not help but click his tongue and flick the paper covered with the manifesto.

"Obtaining position through bribery": stealing official posts by means of bribery;

"Carting gold and carrying jade, funneling goods to the powerful": transporting gold and jade by the cartload to curry favor with the powerful.

"Usurping high office, overturning the state's vessels": after obtaining official posts through improper means, using one's authority to subvert the state.

One thing after another—it truly left one rather at a loss for words.

Setting aside whether he had subverted the state, was his current power and position not carved out stroke by stroke with his own blade, Jiedushi Fang?

Even if Huangfu Weiming had accused him of abducting common girls, that would have been better than this!

"By the way, why is Lord Yan in Taiyuan?"

Fang Chongyong suddenly recalled this point and asked in puzzlement.

Linghu Huan hurriedly explained:

"When Lord Yan heard that the Uighurs were attacking Yunzhong, he knew that the Hebei border army had already rebelled; otherwise, the Uighurs could never have broken through the layers of defense to reach Yunzhou.

The vital point of Hedong lies only in Taiyuan.

All other locales, once Taiyuan was lost, would be unable to hold their own, so Lord Yan, fearing that Han Xiulin might join the rebels, traveled day and night to Hedong. He had been in the city for less than a day when Cai Xide led troops to attack!"

After hearing Linghu Huan's explanation, Fang Chongyong let out a long breath.

The Heavenly Troops Army was the elite of the Hedong army, with abundant strength; Taiyuan City could not be lost in the short term.

However, with Taiyuan besieged, supplies from other prefectures and counties in Hedong could no longer be delivered. For example, Yunzhou's economy was primarily pastoral; though it produced horses, in terms of grain alone, it was far from enough to feed the garrison, and regular shipments from Taiyuan were essential.

Without Taiyuan, Yunzhou had no value in holding.

Conversely, if Taiyuan remained, recovering Yunzhou and Xinzhou would be as easy as turning one's hand.

Fang Chongyong also had to admit that Yan Zhenqing possessed considerable strategic vision and acted with great decisiveness.

"General Li, take your men and horses, and let us go to Taiyuan together."

Fang Chongyong instructed Li Liangchen.

"Orders received!"

He then looked around at the assembled generals, and fixed his gaze on Tian Chengsi as he said:

"The same goes for all of you — lead your troops to Taiyuan.

The Hebei rebel forces under Cai Xide are merely an advance detachment, seeking to seize territory amid the chaos. Once they fail to take Taiyuan and realize they've met a tough opponent, their main army will surely swarm in. The meager forces of the Tianbing Army cannot withstand many assaults on the city!

The court's provisions can be shipped at most from Jinzhou (Linfen City) to Taiyuan; there is no way to supply any farther. Holding other cities would only result in being defeated one by one by the rebels."

Fang Chongyong's words were not directed at He Changqi and the others. The generals of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army would not butt heads with Fang Chongyong either.

He was simply persuading Tian Chengsi to lead his troops and follow along with him.

However, this old fox nearing fifty said nothing, his expression placid, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Seeing that Tian Chengsi would not take the bait, Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing: "Take my letter of appointment and go to Lingzhou to find Xin Yunjing. Have him go to the Kelan Army garrison and take command of the Kelan Army. He served as Military Commissioner here before, after all. Once Xin Yunjing assumes his post, have him lead the Kelan Army to Jinzhou to defend Linfen City and secure Taiyuan's supply route!"

"Orders received!"

Feng Changqing cupped his fists and accepted the command.

This was a full-scale contraction!

In the original Hedong defense zone, Taiyuan was the rear base, responsible for supplying provisions.

Now Taiyuan had become the front line. The former defense zone could no longer adapt to the changes brought by the Hebei rebellion; the defensive line had to be contracted and restructured to meet the new situation on the battlefield.

The moment he heard this order, Tian Chengsi immediately yielded.

He cupped his fists in salute to Fang Chongyong and said: "This subordinate obeys the Jiedushi's orders."

Tian Chengsi had no choice but to set aside his petty schemes. Fang Chongyong had seen through his fence-sitting intentions at a glance and directly cut off his retreat.

The Art of War says: an isolated city should not be defended.

Without the Kelan Army in Lanzhou to provide support, the Datong Army in Shuozhou would soon be surrounded on all sides by Hebei's troops, with nowhere to flee.

Once already trapped in a desperate situation, "joining the rebels" would become inevitable — what retreat would there be then!

Fence-sitting requires being able to retreat on either side, not being cornered the moment someone applies pressure. Left with no alternative, Tian Chengsi could only lead the Datong Army and head south to Taiyuan with Fang Chongyong.

"Then so be it. Time waits for no one — let us march out now."

Seeing that Tian Chengsi had already yielded, Fang Chongyong gave a slight nod and spoke.

……

On the day of the Lantern Festival in the twelfth year of Tianbao, the Military Commissioner of Youzhou and Pinglu, Huangfu Weiming, joined forces with four imperial princes to issue a denunciation calling to purge the sovereign's side!

Named "purging the sovereign's side," it was in fact a move to force Jige to abdicate and let Li Wan, Prince of Rong, ascend the throne.

The Hebei border army of two hundred thousand, plus one hundred thousand Uighur allied troops.

They claimed to the outside world that five hundred thousand elite troops were marching south, to honor the sovereign and punish the wicked — to mete out heaven's justice upon the national traitor!

The great army advanced in two columns. One was led by Shi Siming, Military Commissioner of the Lulong Army, entering Hedong via Jingxing, and successively capturing the counties of Leping, Shi'ai, Shouyang, and Yuci, virtually without lifting a finger, before arriving beneath the walls of Taiyuan City.

The other column, led personally by Huangfu Weiming, marched south straight for Luoyang!

The Deputy Commissioner of the Hetao Military Region and Hedong Surveillance Commissioner Yan Zhenqing, along with the Tianbing Army Military Commissioner Han Xiulin, led the Tianbing Army in standing in full readiness at Taiyuan and repelled the surprise attack by the rebel vanguard under Cai Xide.

Seeing no advantage to be gained, the rebel commander Shi Siming divided his forces for a two-pronged pincer attack.

One column he led personally, entering Hedong via Feihu Xing, where he joined forces with the already-rebelled Hedong Army under Xue Song, and purged those officers in the Hengye Army who refused to join the rebels. The army then pressed westward, capturing Fanzhi County, before launching a fierce assault on the seat of Daizhou, Yanmen (not Yanmen Pass)!

The Yanmen garrison commander Yong Xihao never imagined that the Hebei border army would rebel. After the slightest urging to surrender from the rebels, he went over to the enemy directly, putting up no resistance whatsoever.

After all, Huangfu Weiming was backing a prince to take the throne — it was all the Li family's private affair. With a great army pressing at the gates, why throw away one's life for this?

If the purge of the sovereign's side succeeded, one might even earn merit as a supporter of the new emperor — so why resist?

Thus Yong Xihao ordered the city gates of Yanmen opened to welcome the rebels in, throwing wide the gateway north of Taiyuan. The rebels then successively captured Guo County, Tanglin, and other places, their spearhead pointing straight at Xiurong in Xinzhou.

The Inspector of Xinzhou — because during the years of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, three successive Inspectors had died sudden deaths, rumored to be the work of a monster — often found officials unwilling to take up the post. Only in the early Kaiyuan era, at Jige's urging, did Zhang Jiayou, brother of the Chancellor Zhang Jiazhen, agree to go to Xinzhou to serve as Inspector.

During his tenure he brought benefit to the region and gained considerable local renown.

At other times, however, Xinzhou was merely a place to gild one's credentials.

Those without military ability could not make a name for themselves in border garrisons. And Jige's edict "On Appointing Capital Officials as Area Commanders and Inspectors" explicitly stipulated: those who have not served as Inspectors may not enter the Six Ministries as officials.

On one hand, the Inspector of Xinzhou was required to be versed in both letters and arms; on the other, it was a harsh, cold land where promotion was difficult. The demands were high, the compensation poor, and achieving results exceedingly hard!

The key point was — not going was not an option!

This led to the classic dynamic of those above making policy and those below finding countermeasures.

Many of those who could serve as Inspector of Xinzhou came from official families. Their method was to leverage connections within the Ministry of Personnel, serve in Xinzhou for one year, and then leave.

Even so, the Inspector's post in Xinzhou was frequently vacant — as it was right now.

At this time Xinzhou had no Inspector, and the Xinzhou Sima directly opened the city gates to welcome the rebels into Xiurong City.

The other rebel column, led by Cai Xide, swept through the counties around Taiyuan, pillaging grain and supplies, denying the Tang army any provisions for resupply.

While Fang Chongyong was en route with his troops to reinforce Taiyuan, the rebel column under Shi Siming had already nearly effected a junction from the north and the east, encircling Taiyuan City!

Only Yangqu County and Chitang Pass lay between them!

Among the prefectures under the Hedong Jiedushi's command, Yuzhou, Daizhou, Xinzhou, and the eastern half of Taiyuan Prefecture had all fallen. Though the rebels had not yet besieged Taiyuan City, their intent to besiege one point and annihilate reinforcements was already plainly evident.

When news of the rebellion of the two Hebei garrisons reached Chang'an, pleas for help from Inspectors across the land flew to Chang'an like snowflakes.

This enraged Jige, who was already anxious over the "disappearance" of four imperial princes, into furious mortification!

His first reaction was: This is impossible!

But as more and more mutually corroborating military intelligence arrived, Jige finally became convinced that Huangfu Weiming had indeed rebelled.

That was his "brother-in-law"! Huangfu Weiming's sister had been by his side as a princess even before he ascended the throne!

How could Huangfu Weiming rebel — how dare he rebel!

Jige never felt he had wronged anyone, and so naturally forgot that in the incident of "killing three sons in a single day," Li Yao, Prince of E, was the own son of Huangfu Deyi — and thus the nephew of Huangfu Weiming!

At this very moment, the air in the study of the So line: Qinzhengwubenlou in Xingqing Palace was thick with tension.

Brother Ji paced back and forth in the study, hands clasped behind his back, like a furious old male lion.

"Sage, for now, there is only one path left to us: suppress the rebellion."

Zheng Shuqing said cautiously, beads of sweat already rolling down his cheeks.

His name, Zheng Shuqing's, was right there in the denunciation manifesto. Was it possible that Brother Ji would dispose of him, Zheng, the way Emperor Jing of Han disposed of Chao Cuo?

One had to admit, that possibility was very real.

At the very least, Zheng Shuqing could not bring himself to trust Brother Ji's character.

"You speak of suppressing the rebellion — how exactly? How could Huangfu Weiming rebel? Did you drive him to it?

I ordered you to investigate illegal minting — did you slaughter everyone in the Huangfu family, and that is why Huangfu Weiming is rebelling?"

Brother Ji roared furiously at Zheng Shuqing, his eyes bloodshot!

"Sage, calm your wrath. Huangfu Weiming is heartless and ungrateful, biting the hand that fed him. No matter what Lord Zheng did, he would have rebelled regardless."

Gao Lishi urged with an impassive expression.

At this critical juncture, they absolutely must not kill Zheng Shuqing.

If they killed him, would that not confirm the manifesto's claim that "the Sage is benighted and incompetent"?

Kill Zheng Shuqing, and would the next step be abdicating in favor of a worthier man?

That was a precedent that must not be set. Gao Lishi was deeply afraid that Brother Ji would make a foolish move.

"Sage, you can order the Hexi and Longyou border armies to enter Guanzhong to rescue the throne! There are many armies loyal to the court — the advantage is on our side!"

Zheng Shuqing clasped his hands in a bow before Brother Ji, his head hanging so low it nearly touched the ground, not daring to meet Brother Ji's eyes.

"Rescue the throne? What if the Longyou and Hexi border armies rebel too? Will you take responsibility? What responsibility can you even take!"

Brother Ji had completely lost his composure, railing at Zheng Shuqing in a frenzy, spittle flying onto Zheng Shuqing's face.

"Sage, the western armies cannot be relied upon, but Fang Guozhong can. He has long held prestige in Hexi and the Western Regions, and he is utterly loyal to the Sage.

Why not summon Fang Guozhong back to Chang'an to oversee the overall campaign to suppress the rebellion? Let him command the troops of Hexi and Longyou."

After Zheng Shuqing finished speaking, his heart was in his throat, terrified that Brother Ji would pull some trick again.

He truly could not hold on any longer. Already there were people at court saying his head should be sent to Hebei to appease public fury.

Zheng Shuqing did not understand what he had ever done to offend the people of Hebei!

"What you say is reasonable."

Brother Ji plopped down onto the dragon throne and let out a long sigh.

He had spent his whole life hunting geese, only to have a goose peck his eye. Brother Ji had never imagined that those useless imperial sons could command such a following, so much so that the rebel army swept all before them and had nearly reached the Yellow River.

How many days had passed!

"Pass down my edict: have Cui Qianyou garrison his troops at Tongguan, and have Fang Chongyong lead the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army to garrison at Puzhou, holding the Longmen ferry crossing."

Brother Ji waved his hand wearily.

The war had come fierce and fast. Brother Ji suddenly realized that the troops and horses in Hebei outnumbered those he could control by a wide margin!

(End of this chapter)