Chapter 457: The Situation Looks Extremely Favorable

On the banks of the Beichuan River, the water flows slowly, the azure sky is dotted with white clouds, and from time to time wild ducks skim across the surface.

From any angle, it looks like peaceful, tranquil times.

Jiedushi Fang, I have no objection to submitting to the court.

But I am not alone; my subordinates have many concerns, so we also have some ideas and hope the Jiedushi will understand.

Cai Xide's face was stiff as he spoke insincerely.

As the saying goes, good things are often hard‑won; haggling makes a good deal. Transactions that proceed without any questioning are usually fraught with serious problems.

They also lack sincerity.

Fang Chongyong thought that Cai Xide's requests were quite normal.

"Speak, for since this Jiedushi has come here with a few trusted aides, I have already anticipated it."

Fang Chongyong picked up a small stone at his feet, tossed it into the Beichuan River, and a tiny splash rose. Seeing his calm demeanor, Cai Xide felt a little reassured.

It must be said, compared with those who instantly lose their temper or shout angrily yet are cowardly inside, Fang Chongyong, who remains composed and unaffected by external matters, truly is a formidable figure.

"In the future, after pacifying Hebei, I still wish to serve as an official there, not be transferred elsewhere. I wonder if that is permissible?"

Cai Xide said cautiously, his words betraying great insecurity, fearing that Fang Chongyong would refuse.

"Yes. I am the court‑appointed Four‑Town Jiedushi; assigning you to Hebei is no problem."

Fang Chongyong gave a slight nod.

This is the expected response; if he hadn't even raised this request, Fang Chongyong would doubt how Cai Xide had lived to his age.

"The second: the brothers under my command cannot trust a new superior, nor trust others to become the Pao Ze, and they also fear the court's later reckoning."

So they hope to remain under my command, to be an independent army, deployed separately.

I wonder if the Jiedushi can grant this.

Cai Xide raised another very crucial point.

"Yes, this point the Jiedushi also agrees to. Any other requests?"

Fang Chongyong's expression remained calm as he nodded, showing no displeasure.

Now it was Cai Xide who became unsettled.

He asked, puzzled, "Jiedushi, I have put forward so many requests; does the Jiedushi have none of his own?"

"There are, but I have only two demands."

First, open Jingxing Pass, allowing the imperial troops to pass through Jingxing Pass into Hebei; your forces must not obstruct.

Second, your troops act as vanguard, guiding the imperial army, and seize cities and territories in Hebei's interior.

As long as you agree to these two points, everything the Jiedushi has promised can be taken care of for you.

Fang Chongyong also put forward his own conditions, which, frankly, are quite reasonable.

The first clause is the most basic; the second is a token of allegiance.

As expected, Cai Xide was overjoyed, quickly grasping Fang Chongyong's hands and laughing, "Jiedushi, your virtue is lofty! I will now return to Jingxing Pass to restrain my troops; three days later, please send your forces to take over the old Jingxing Pass and Tumen Pass!"

"General Cai, can you keep your troops in check? Do you need this Jiedushi to send troops to assist you?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Cai Xide with a half‑smile, half‑serious expression as he asked; the latter immediately felt as if a wild beast were staring at him, his whole body tensed, daring not to move a muscle.

"Now Jingxing Pass is filled with my trusted troops; I can persuade them, so the Jiedushi need not trouble himself."

Cai Xide defended himself nervously.

"That's what you said, you know. If anything actually goes wrong, this Jiedushi won't be responsible."

"Please rest assured, Jiedushi, rest assured!"

Cai Xide quickly gave his word, fearing Fang Chongyong might renege.

Having sealed the "deal", Fang Chongyong and his party set off back to Taiyuan. On the way to Taiyuan City, Che Guangqian, who had been holding back for a long time, finally could not help but ask Fang Chongyong, "When Cai Xide returns to Hebei, if he stays together with his troops without dispersing them, won't that become an unwieldy tail?"

He felt that, given Fang Chongyong's far‑sighted style, he would not overlook even such an obvious matter.

"Even if Hebei lacks Cai Xide, there will surely be Zhang Xide, Li Xide, Wang Xide. When faced with two evils, choose the lesser; let him go."

Human resources are sometimes exhausted.

Fang Chongyong waved his hand lightly, saying it without much concern, clearly aware of the pros and cons but unwilling to engage in a pointless task or interfere with what was bound to happen.

The wheels of history roll inexorably forward; they are not something that Fang Chongyong's slender arms and legs could halt.

…

The events that many, including the high‑ranking Hebei rebels, had not anticipated finally came to pass.

Under Shi Siming, the fierce general Cai Xide, persuaded by Four‑Town Jiedushi Fang Chongyong, surrendered to the imperial forces, consolidated his troops, relocated to the old Jingxing Pass, and then yielded Tumen Pass.

Fang Chongyong ordered Xin Yunjing to lead troops to guard Tumen Pass; the western interior of Hebei was instantly opened wide!

Immediately thereafter, Fang Chongyong sent messengers to Xiurong City in Xinzhou to inform Shi Siming of Cai Xide's defection and to urge surrender, which Shi Siming flatly refused.

Seeing that Shi Siming was obstinate, Fang Chongyong personally led three thousand troops out of Taiyuan, through Chitang Pass, then raised banners high, feigning a massive army poised to attack Shi Siming's forces in Xinzhou.

Shi Siming was not foolish; the area around Xiurong City was open plain with no defensible terrain, and there were no other major cities to support each other. Waiting for the enemy to besiege would lead only to certain death!

He guessed that Fang Chongyong had few troops, yet feared he might employ deception, so he ordered his fierce commander An Shouzhong to lead ten thousand soldiers to the south bank of Lanshui, setting a back‑water formation in the river valley beneath Xizhou Mountain, while he himself led twenty thousand troops to the opposite bank to provide support.

The remaining forces stayed within Xiurong City, not venturing out.

However, faced with the well‑prepared Shi Siming, Fang Chongyong had no desire to engage in battle.

He ordered his subordinates to disperse and camp across Banquan Mountain, Fengpo Mountain, and Hongwei Mountain of the Xizhou range; during the day they lit beacon fires everywhere, and at night he sent elite squads to stealthily move near Lanshui, beating drums and ringing gongs.

Shi Siming, fearing an ambush, never dared to leave the Lanshui area. He also worried that Fang Chongyong might employ a "feint east, strike west" tactic, using a small force to pin him while the main army swept through Jingxing into Hebei.

Thus he dared neither advance nor retreat, and was forced to waste several days on the Lanshui banks, his officers and soldiers eating poorly and sleeping badly, causing widespread discontent in the army.

Seeing his fatigue‑inducing strategy succeed, Fang Chongyong quietly led his troops back to Taiyuan City to recuperate.

In the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, Qiu Ba called this maneuver "Teasing You".

Several days later, Fang Chongyong again led troops out of Chitang Pass; Shi Siming, just as before, brought thirty thousand men to the Lanshui banks, setting up defenses exactly as last time.

Only after nightfall did the number of soldiers on night patrol in the great camp decrease significantly compared to before; most of them plugged their ears tightly and slept soundly!

After making a ruckus for several days, Fang Chongyong led his troops back to Chitang Pass.

Shi Siming stamped his feet in fury, but had no way to deal with it whatsoever.

He certainly knew Fang Chongyong's routine, but this was an open scheme—impossible to guard against.

Shi Siming was in Xiurong of Xinzhou, with no idea where Fang Chongyong's next main offensive would be directed.

Would it be sweeping through Hedong, or striking into Hebei?

In Shi Siming's view, this meant feint and main attack could be swapped at will; the slightest change in the situation would immediately reverse the strategy. Passive defense was useless.

If Fang Chongyong wanted to immediately strike into Hebei, then Shi Siming should swiftly withdraw his main force through Feihu Xing back to Hebei and prepare to fight a defensive war in the heartland of Hebei.

But in that case, the key Hedong positions they had painstakingly seized earlier, including Yanmen, would all be handed over to the enemy!

Who would be willing to accept that! Shi Siming certainly was not.

So as long as the Jingxing gap remained open, Fang Chongyong could keep playing the "in and out" game to toy with him, relying on being the one running the table to hold the initiative, asking Shi Siming again and again whether he wanted to gamble!

If Shi Siming led his main army in pursuit, Fang Chongyong would lead his troops back to Chitang Pass. Once Shi Siming withdrew, he would provoke again with his troops. If Shi Siming split his forces to pursue, Fang Chongyong would send men to ambush them in the mountains—and when the time came, it was anyone's guess who would be beating whom!

If Shi Siming played dead and refused to leave Xiurong City to defend it, then he would lead his troops to Xiurong Plain and fight a decisive battle with Shi Siming on the great grasslands. If Shi Siming refused to come out, Fang Chongyong would directly lay siege to the city.

Given that the Jingxing gateway was wide open and his soldiers were utterly exhausted, if Shi Siming wanted to gather all his forces for a decisive battle with Fang Chongyong on the boundless Xiurong Plain, nine times out of ten he would suffer defeat.

Without holding the advantage of terrain, with soldiers going into battle worrying about whether their homeland was being raided, how could they possibly win?

If Shi Siming sent a general to hold the banks of the Lan River, then Fang Chongyong would first wear them down, then slaughter them like chickens, and devour this force. Of course, Shi Siming was no fool either—he absolutely would not split his forces to garrison at a time like this, giving Fang Chongyong the chance to defeat them one by one.

No matter what Shi Siming chose, he was like one hand trying to whack two groundhogs—always stretched thin.

This made Shi Siming feel extremely stifled, and he hated Cai Xide to the utmost!

Given the deteriorating situation in Hedong, Shi Siming wrote to Huangfu Weiming, suggesting that he let Prince Rong, Li Wan, ascend the throne and declare himself emperor in Ye City, first stabilizing the situation in Hebei, and sending troops back to the Hebei heartland to plug the Jingxing gap.

He was no longer the first commander-in-chief to urge Huangfu Weiming to retreat to Hebei and consolidate his base.

Amid the massive wave of opposition, Huangfu Weiming also understood the principle that public wrath was hard to defy, and had no choice but to sullenly lead his army back to Ye City, deploying defenses along the north bank of the Yellow River. According to his original plan, Li Wan could absolutely not be enthroned as emperor without first capturing Luoyang.

Because in the Great Tang, only Chang'an and Luoyang could truly be called politically significant "capital cities."

Others such as Liangzhou City, Taiyuan City, and Yangzhou City, though not small in scale and not lacking in population, could only be considered regional economic and political centers, falling short by quite a few tiers.

Not to mention that the current Ye City had long ceased to be the Ye City of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. This was a new city built on the foundation of the original old site; though larger than an ordinary prefectural seat, it fell far short of Ye City at its peak.

Unfortunately, Huangfu Weiming had no other choice, and could only comply with "public opinion" and establish the capital in Ye City.

The grandiose "Rebellion of the Four Kings" thus came to an abrupt halt. The rebel army had merely captured all of Hebei and parts of Hedong before temporarily halting its campaign of conquest.

The Uighurs, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, retreated overnight to the Youzhou region, avoiding being pushed to the front lines to be beaten down by the government troops.

Amid this eerie and terrifying calm, Prince Rong, Li Wan, came from Youzhou to Ye City, ascended the throne and declared himself emperor, with the era name: Shuntian.

……

"Jiedushi Li, you've finally come to Taiyuan. I was defending Hedong before—it was so hard!"

Beneath Taiyuan City, Fang Chongyong cupped his fists in salute and said this to Li Guangbi, who had brought thirty thousand Red Water Army troops to reinforce Hedong.

Fang Chongyong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He had long been troubled by insufficient troop strength. The Red Water Army was an old unit from Hexi with formidable combat power. Now that Li Guangbi had come, the Hedong army could march out through Jingxing and stab Huangfu Weiming in the kidney.

These words made Li Guangbi's old face turn red.

However, while Fang Chongyong was polite to Li Guangbi, the rough soldiers under Fang Chongyong's command would show him no such courtesy; every one of them looked at Li Guangbi with disdain.

He Changqi even loudly "muttered to himself": "Not coming when there's fighting, but showing up to pick the peaches after it's done—what kind of character is that?"

Hearing his complaint, An Chongzhang, the Deputy Commander of the Red Water Army, immediately pointed at He Changqi and scolded: "What are you barking about! The moment we received the Sage's edict, we rushed day and night to Hedong without a moment's rest. The superior generals are speaking here—what business is it of a mere partial general like you to be insolent!"

"Who the hell are you! When I was chasing Cai Xide on the mountain roads of Yuci County and had several swords blunted from hacking, you were still nursing at your mother's breast!

You rat!"

He Changqi cursed An Chongzhang out at the top of his lungs!

"I'll butcher you today and be done with it!"

"If you've got the guts, draw your blade!"

"Draw it then! Take one more step forward and I'll chop off your dog's head right now!"

A crowd of rough soldiers from behind Fang Chongyong all came out and started trading insults with the generals behind Li Guangbi. For a moment the atmosphere was explosive to the point of madness!

It seemed that in the very next second, an unstoppable brawl would break out.

Yet though these men argued fiercely, not a single one dared to draw his blade.

They were like a pack of huskies on leashes, baring their teeth and barking furiously at the opposite pack of similarly leashed huskies, all bluster and snarls.

A look of helplessness appeared on Li Guangbi's face. He raised his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

"Gentlemen, you've had a long journey. Let us enter the city first and talk."

With a calm expression, Fang Chongyong made a gesture of invitation.

"After you, Jiedushi!"

"Please!"

The thirty thousand men of the Red Water Army set up camp at Jinci west of Taiyuan City, while the army's lead generals followed Li Guangbi into Taiyuan City.

Fang Chongyong had originally prepared a welcome banquet at the Jiedushi's yamen, but given the earlier clash between the two armies, his rough soldiers wouldn't be able to attend the feast either—who knew whether they'd start a fight after drinking too much at the banquet?

After letting Li Guangbi and the generals of the Red Water Army eat and drink their fill, Fang Chongyong led the Hexi Jiedushi to the study of the prefectural yamen to discuss important matters.

Seeing no one else around, Li Guangbi sighed helplessly: "The officers of the Red Water Army are extremely dissatisfied about coming to Hedong. It's just that the imperial command cannot be defied, so they seized on the pretext to make trouble—not intentionally trying to make things difficult for you, Jiedushi."

"That said, every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor. If they want to complain, they should complain to the Sage. I never submitted a memorial asking the Sage to transfer the Red Water Army into Hedong."

Fang Chongyong said with a puzzled look on his face.

"It wasn't you?"

Now it was Li Guangbi's turn to be stunned. He had assumed that Fang Chongyong had repeatedly begged the Son of Heaven, and that was why the Son of Heaven had issued an edict strictly ordering the Red Water Army into Hedong.

This was actually not Fang Chongyong's intention!

Of course, it was still good that the Chishui Army could come. Fang Chongyong had originally wanted the Chishui Army to replace the Jinglue Army of Shuofang, so that the Jinglue Army could come to Hedong. After all, he nominally held command authority over the Jinglue Army, but not over the Chishui Army.

Transferring the Chishui Army here was inappropriate, as it would easily give others grounds for criticism.

"Jiedushi Fang, how does the military situation stand now?"

Li Guangbi did not exchange pleasantries with Fang Chongyong, cutting straight to the point and asking.

"Cai Xide has submitted to the imperial court, and the gates of Jingxing Pass are wide open. Shi Siming in Xiurong is like a startled bird, caught in a dilemma. Therefore, we can advance either north or east."

Fang Chongyong explained the current state of the battlefield to Li Guangbi.

"We can first exit through Jingxing, sweep northward to seize territory, block the entrance to Feihu Xing, and cut off Shi Siming's supply route.

After sweeping through Hedong, we can then penetrate deep into the heartland of Hebei, advancing steadily. Within half a year, the rebellion can be quelled."

Li Guangbi nodded slightly, greatly relieved in his heart.

The situation in Hedong was far better than he had expected. He had originally thought that bringing the Chishui Army here was to put out fires, but to his surprise, they were simply here to fight a battle with the wind at their backs.

No wonder those soldiers under Fang Chongyong's command were dissatisfied—anyone would be.

(End of this chapter)