Chapter 113: Turning His Gaze to the North

Luancheng was only a small county, with no more than a thousand households and a population of less than ten thousand. Had it not been for the relocation of some refugees to settle here, it would have been even sparser. As for the county town itself, it was less a city than a small town enclosed by earthen walls. In comparison, it was not even as comfortable as a country landowner's estate.

The entire county town had only two great households, one surnamed Su and one surnamed Zhang. More than half of the cultivated land in the county belonged to these two families, and they were still expanding. Land annexation was something that existed in any era. The field Liu Chengyou had been staying on earlier belonged to the local Squire Zhang, who, upon hearing of Liu Chengyou's arrival, voluntarily offered up his family estate for him to rest at.

The Zhang family manor was a garden-style compound. It did not occupy a vast area, but its arrangement was extremely refined, with each part appearing antique and simple, even showing a somewhat deliberate shabbiness.

That was understandable, though. In this age, if one dared to flaunt wealth, that would truly be courting death. Moreover, being able to preserve oneself in these times when bandits ran rampant and soldiers and thieves held sway, and even to evade the Khitan's exploitation—this Master Zhang must have some skill.

Squire Zhang was a middle-aged man, simply dressed, with a rough appearance and a fierce face. He had a strong body, though one leg was slightly lame. He did not resemble a local rich man but rather a mountain bandit chief. Yet before Liu Chengyou, he was as docile as a little cat.

It was said that in his youth, this man had indeed been a mountain bandit. Later, he was amnestied and joined the army, serving in the Later Tang's imperial army. In his early years, he had been made Militia Commissioner of Qizhou for his merits, but later he was wounded amid the chaos of war and returned to his hometown, where he acquired some land and organized a militia. A decade had passed in the blink of an eye, and his family enterprise had grown larger and larger, making him one of the foremost powerful figures in Luancheng. No doubt he had engaged in plenty of illicit dealings in secret.

Though the man was ugly to look at, he had two daughters beneath his knee who were fair and lovely—whether he had been cuckolded, who could say. This fellow seemed to have some ambition, actually intending to present both daughters to Liu Chengyou, which showed a complete lack of self-awareness. How could Liu Chengyou be attracted by such feminine charms? When one's beauty could not transcend the limits of one's station, it was not worth a second glance from Liu Chengyou.

Liu Chengyou did not stay long at the Zhang estate. Without the slightest reluctance, he left, planning to follow the Xiao River south to tour the countryside of Zhaozhou and see how things stood there. What surprised him somewhat was that Liu Chengxun had come along as well.

"Elder Brother, why have you come too?"

Dismounting, Liu Chengxun looked over Liu Chengyou's plain attire, then revealed his usual gentle smile: "Learning that the Second Young Lord was diligently attending to affairs and personally going to the countryside to inspect the summer harvest, and having nothing else to do, your elder brother thought he'd come along to watch the excitement."

The sunlight was probably too dazzling. Liu Chengyou blinked his eyes. Beneath the warm sun, his expression simply could not turn gloomy. He replied casually, "I was just about to head to Zhaozhou. Let's go together then!"

"Good!"

Within Zhaozhou's jurisdiction, there was clearly more arable land than in Zhenzhou. Though it had likewise been affected as it lay on the route of the Khitan army's northward retreat, its grain output was far higher than Zhenzhou's.

What displeased Liu Chengyou was that after making a circuit through Pingji and Gaoyi, he found the summer harvest progressing very slowly, and the government seemed to be doing nothing much about it. He did not fly into a rage, merely ordering that messengers be sent to each prefecture to hasten their efforts.

He stayed one night in Pingji County, received the military and civil officials of Zhaozhou, and offered them words of encouragement. Only until the afternoon of the second day did he return to Zhending.

Liu Chengyou's mood seemed quite good. Having walked through the countryside and witnessed the desolation awaiting restoration and the suffering of the people after the upheaval, Liu Chengxun inexplicably felt his resolve strengthen—to support Liu Chengyou in making a move in Youyan to relieve the pressure on the northern border defenses.

In the hall, Liu Chengyou once again buried his head in the mountain of official documents on the desk. The various trivial matters under the Chengde Military Governorship were already wearying him. Fortunately, with the assistance of Wei Renpu and others, the reports from each prefecture had already been organized before reaching him for his approval. Were it not so, he would have collapsed from exhaustion.

"Your Highness, He Fujin, Defense Commissioner of Yingzhou, has sent an envoy to report, requesting that Zhending allocate another batch of grain and weapons!" Wei Renpu held out the official document from Yingzhou and handed it to Liu Chengyou.

During this period, the focus was on the summer grain issue. Having just finished reading Zhang Tinghan's report on Jizhou's progress, Liu Chengyou twisted his somewhat stiff neck, then took the document from Wei Renpu and began to scan through it.

There was no superfluous wording—simple and direct. He wanted grain, money, troops, and weapons—in short, he wanted everything. This was not the first time either.

Previously, when Liu Chengyou had sent He Fujin to Yingzhou, he had not given him much support, basically letting He Fujin take office with just over a hundred soldiers. Yet this old general clearly still had some tricks up his sleeve. He had killed the officials appointed by the Khitan, secured a foothold in Hejian City, raised a force of his own, and initially established a defensive line.

Moreover, when Mozhou was harassed by Hu cavalry and refugees fled in all directions, he had gathered up many people. After that, every few days he would send requests to Liu Chengyou for support.

"This He Fujin! The summer grain from the various prefectures hasn't even been stored yet, and here he comes asking again. He certainly picked a fine time..." Setting down the document, Liu Chengyou grumbled a small complaint.

"Your Highness, how shall we reply?" Wei Renpu asked.

Liu Chengyou thought for a moment, then said, "Things aren't easy over in Yingzhou either. Allocate a moderate portion of support!"

"Yes!"

"How is Zhang Yanwei's progress over there?" Liu Chengyou suddenly asked.

Wei Renpu shook his head, but seeing the concern on Liu Chengyou's face, he calmly offered reassurance: "Your Highness need not worry too much. General Zhang has only led troops to intercept them, and with the Hebei righteous army coordinating as well, there should be no great problem!"

Five days earlier, scouts had detected that Xiao Han's band of Hu barbarians was heading north through Bozhou and entering Beizhou. Liu Chengyou immediately decided to dispatch troops to intercept them. Originally he had intended to send Murong Yanzhao, but Zhang Yanwei had volunteered himself. Unwilling to refuse an old general's request, Liu Chengyou agreed, though he made Murong Yanzhao his deputy.

The troops had been sent out, but Liu Chengyou could not help feeling some apprehension. Based on Xiao Han's army's movements, the man was likely planning to take the route through Dezhou into Cangzhou—clearly avoiding Liu Chengyou in Zhenzhou deliberately. The distance was great, and Liu Chengyou could not help but worry.

"Notify me immediately the moment there's any news!" Taking a deep breath, Liu Chengyou instructed.

"Yes!"

Before long, Guo Rong came to pay his respects.

"Your Highness, the selection of the Yan troops has been completed!" He spoke up at once, reporting on another matter that Liu Chengyou was most concerned about.

In the end, more than seventeen thousand Yan troops had survived, and gathered together, they were always a problem. Through Liu Chengyou's unceasing methods of bribery, sowing discord, and dividing them, he had finally split them apart completely. A portion was appointed as military and civil officials of prefectures and counties, a portion was assigned by Liu Chengyou to garrison passes and checkpoints, and the remaining majority was kept in Zhending.

As for this remaining portion, Liu Chengyou still did not let them off. He had Guo Rong, together with Ma Quanyi and Xiang Xun, conduct another round of screening and selection. Not all the Yan troops were natives of Youyan, and these were the men Liu Chengyou planned to keep and take into his own service.

He briefly looked over the report—seven thousand Yan cavalry and infantry. This was probably the greatest military support Liu Chengyou could give Zhao Yanshou. As for giving him all the surrendered Yan troops, Liu Chengyou had never even considered that from the start.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Chengyou said to Guo Rong, "Transfer the Yan troops stationed in Qizhou to Yingzhou, to be commanded by He Fujin. Hmm, go there yourself and take a look at the situation in the north!"