Chapter 156: Marching Home at the Beginning of Winter

Liu Chengyou saw at a glance the enormous benefits hidden behind Liu Zhiyuan's edict. Handling the aftermath in Yedu, though certainly a hard and tiring task, was something a man with real ambition would never shirk—it was clearly a chance to reap great prestige, and Liu Chengyou would only throw himself into it eagerly. The key was determining military merits, which was a legitimate opportunity to bestow favors on the soldiers and win over the army's loyalty.

Such an arrangement was a far cry from the earlier moves of wariness and suppression. Liu Chengyou himself was genuinely astonished. He couldn't help but speculate whether his old father's arrangement was a test of him, or perhaps...

No matter what he thought in his heart, Liu Chengyou handled matters without the slightest hesitation, and with even greater care. Though Yedu was large, it clearly could not easily accommodate an army of a hundred thousand, nor was it convenient. With authority in hand, Liu Chengyou's first order was to move most of the Han army outside the city to camp and guard the surrendered troops, leaving only the necessary forces in the city to control it and maintain order.

Though outside the city was not as comfortable as within, the camps were fortunately fully equipped—having stockpiled massive supplies for the final strike, provisions were not lacking. Though the weather was cold, firewood, charcoal, and other heating materials were also plentiful. Liu Chengyou's earlier severity had cowed the troops, so none dared raise objections; moreover, Liu Chengyou had the grain officers distribute large quantities of grain, meat, and the scarce strong liquor to reward the army.

For pacifying the people, Liu Chengyou enlisted the aid of several civil officials accompanying him, plus Wang Min, the surrendered Judge of the Weibo Military Governor's office. Pacifying the people—hard to say, easy to say; it only required grain. In truth, after that half-day of chaos, as long as the court's "bandit soldiers" refrained from looting, that alone was a great kindness to the city's gentry and commoners—there was no way for unrest to arise.

Since Du Chongwei had squeezed the gentry and people too harshly during his tenure, Liu Chengyou petitioned for permission and directly abolished the various exorbitant taxes and levies he had imposed. Though this had no immediate effect at present, and the gentry and people of Yedu gained no concrete benefit, he selected officials with good reputations to spread word in the city of the court's grace in restoring order. Lately, Liu Chengyou's desire to form a propaganda organization had grown ever stronger.

Then came the real benefits. Previously, Du Chongwei had taken all the people's grain to supply the army, leaving the city's populace hungry and weary for so long that most were pallid, and some had already died of cold and starvation. In light of this, Liu Chengyou opened the government granaries and distributed grain to relieve the suffering citizens. Though Yedu's treasury had little remaining, even this small kindness was enough to win over a large share of the people's hearts.

Some things cannot be accomplished by words alone—only by doing them for real, letting others see, does right and wrong find its judgment in people's hearts. Liu Chengyou did only two things in Yedu: crack down on wrongdoing and relieve the people, establishing his authority. Within just two or three days, people were already praising the wisdom of His Highness the Prince of Zhou.

In assessing the soldiers' merits in this campaign, Liu Chengyou was even more cautious—such matters absolutely could not be handled carelessly. The army kept merit and demerit registers; those who distinguished or failed themselves before and during this campaign were, as long as there was record, basically all written down. After receiving the ledgers submitted by each army, Liu Chengyou carefully reviewed them all.

In the actual process, Liu Chengyou convened the officers of each army to discuss and deliberate together. Moreover, he only participated in the evaluation of officers at the Commander level and above, striving to ensure every merit had its basis and every fault its evidence, so that no one would harbor grievances. If he heard of any dissenters, Liu Chengyou would personally summon them for a heart-to-heart talk...

In truth, Liu Chengyou's goal was precisely to win over these mid-level officers—they were the ones who most determined an army's character. As for the merits and faults of soldiers below the battalion level, he delegated entirely to each army's Chief Commander, keeping only final review for himself. This saved his energy while also allowing the army commanders to dispense favors, since they too needed to show grace to their subordinates.

Though this set of measures could not achieve absolute fairness, Liu Chengyou aimed for relative fairness, at least stabilizing the majority. Of course, for those who crossed the line—such as falsifying battle merits—once discovered, there was nothing but execution to uphold military law...

The military and administrative measures in Yedu were numerous and complex, yet Liu Chengyou showed not the slightest sign of fluster. He delegated to civil and military subordinates to share the burden, handling all matters in perfect order, always composed and unhurried. Whatever the matter, good or bad, one could always find a solution from him—at least a direction.

In just two or three days, the situation in Yedu gradually stabilized...

Though Liu Zhiyuan had entrusted military and administrative affairs to Liu Chengyou, he did not entirely abandon his duties—otherwise, in others' eyes, the Emperor might seem to have some problem. Still, with Liu Chengyou sharing the burden, he was indeed much more at ease. And Liu Zhiyuan observed all of Liu Chengyou's performance, listening to the reports from his subordinates below without offering any opinion.

As mentioned before, though the grain in Yedu's official granaries was insufficient, Du Chongwei's private storehouses held no small amount of wealth. After capturing the Military Governor's headquarters, large quantities of grain, silk, gold and silver vessels, and other goods were found in his family storehouses. Not counting the first day, the inventory was not completed until the third day.

"From Du the traitor's ten private storehouses, we obtained altogether forty thousand hu of wheat, thirty-five thousand hu of millet, five thousand dan of flour, seven thousand bolts of silk, two hundred thousand strings of cash, plus forty chests of gold, silver, jewels, and famous artifacts..." As Su Fengji reported, his head was bowed low, his voice slightly trembling, his eyes red—the color of greed.

Autumn had only a small tail left, and because of the autumn rains of the past few days, the weather was frighteningly cold. In a pavilion within the Military Governor's headquarters, father and son Liu Zhiyuan and Liu Chengyou sat facing each other drinking tea and conversing. Hearing Su Fengji's report, both of them were stunned for a moment. They drew in cold breaths, yet could not cool the heat in their hearts.

"So much!" Liu Zhiyuan's voice was slightly hoarse as he exclaimed.

Liu Chengyou was also somewhat awestruck: "This Du Chongwei—his talent for amassing wealth is truly astonishing!"

"It's said that this was Du Chongwei's achievement from governing various prefectures over ten years of effort! I heard that when the Khitan came to requisition money and grain, he risked offending the Khitan to plead before the Khitan ruler, and only thus obtained exemption. So it turns out the man had hidden such vast wealth..." Su Fengji said.

There was even a hint of envy in his tone, and a trace of shame. Since entering Bian and becoming a chief minister of the Great Han, he too had reaped considerable gains; among the officials of the Han court, he considered himself the richest accumulator and often felt self-satisfied. Now, compared with Du Chongwei, he was practically just a country landlord.

Though what Du Chongwei had amassed was substantial, it was still not enough to move Liu Chengyou—at Luancheng, what he had seized from the Khitan was more than ten times this amount.

What truly surprised Liu Chengyou was that with so much money and grain, the man would rather lock it away in storehouses than take it out to reward his soldiers. He truly could not understand what kind of psychology that was.

"If Du Chongwei had spent all his grain and wealth to reward and encourage his troops, the Great Han would not have taken Yedu so easily!" Liu Chengyou remarked. "But now, it benefits the Great Han instead. The court's treasury is empty—weren't we just worrying about funds to reward the soldiers? This is more than enough, and can also help cover this campaign's drain on the state coffers..."

Never mind Du Chongwei's notorious reputation—if he had been willing to part with it, the Weibo army would have had plenty of men willing to die for him. Money and grain were the true way.

"For now, seal and store the money and grain, assign special personnel to guard it closely, and deal with it later!" Liu Zhiyuan ordered.

"Yes!" Su Fengji acknowledged and withdrew.

Liu Chengyou watched his retreating figure, inwardly suspecting that this greedy man would very likely commit embezzlement.

"This Du Chongwei—back when the Shi Jin was first founded, I was already ashamed to be ranked alongside him!" Liu Zhiyuan's tone was full of scorn; even now, he still looked down on Du Chongwei: "This man is mediocre, relying solely on his kinship ties to hold office—incapable of accomplishing anything, but more than capable of ruining everything. In the realm of my Great Han, he still failed to recognize the mandate of heaven, recklessly opposing the court and causing me such great trouble—he deserves to die ten times over!"

"What was the name of that yabing officer of the Ye army who took Du Chongwei's head?" Liu Zhiyuan asked.

Liu Chengyou replied: "Lu Duandong."

"Though he is a man who betrayed his master, which is contemptible, he did render merit to the Great Han!" Liu Zhiyuan said. "It's time to fulfill the court's promise—enfeoff him as Marquis of Xinfeng!"

Enfeoffing a marquis was no great matter to Liu Zhiyuan and his son—just a minor figure with some courage who had seized an opportunity. After a moment's deliberation, Liu Zhiyuan looked at Liu Chengyou sitting upright before him and said: "I am very satisfied with your handling of the aftermath these past few days!"

"Your son has been treading carefully, and has not betrayed His Majesty's trust—I am already content!" Liu Chengyou said softly.

Liu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow and chided: "Between father and son, what need for such modest words!"

"Yes!" Liu Chengyou acknowledged.

"In the assessment of military merits, which of the old generals performed outstandingly?" He took a sip of hot tea and asked casually.

Liu Chengyou nodded and listed a few: "Fengguo Commanders Liu Ci and Wang Yin both have general's talent—they command troops well and fight bravely. When the earlier assault on the city failed, they led their men in desperate battle. Wang Yin took an arrow to the face and carried on as if nothing had happened; later he even snapped the arrowhead off in his mouth, inspiring the troops with his valor—a true hero. Xingjie Battalion Commander Du Hanhui led from the front, climbing the walls to fight, struck by stray arrows several times and heavily wounded, yet still fighting on—all who witnessed it were moved..."

Hearing this, Liu Zhiyuan gave his instructions: "Liu Ci, Wang Yin, and Du Hanhui—I have heard of them all; they are all fine generals. They have newly submitted to our court, and in fighting the rebels for the state, they have shown full loyalty and exerted full effort. These are men of pure character—they should be properly comforted and rewarded. Do not chill the hearts of loyal ministers!"

Liu Zhiyuan's voice carried a rugged vigor, and toward Liu Chengyou it seemed a tone of instruction. In truth, Liu Chengyou did not need Liu Zhiyuan to teach him—he knew well enough how to handle it himself.

"I have decided: on the day of the Beginning of Winter, we march back to the capital!" Liu Zhiyuan looked at Liu Chengyou, seeking his opinion: "Though Weibo has been severely damaged, it still holds great importance to the state. Who do you think should be appointed to govern it?"

At the question, Liu Chengyou thought briefly, then answered: "How about Lord Gao?"

A smile appeared on Liu Zhiyuan's face: "My son's thoughts coincide with mine! Gao Xingzhou—he can be used!"

"I intend to appoint Guo Rong as Military Governor of Chanzhou!" Liu Zhiyuan suddenly added, as if granting Liu Chengyou a favor.

"Hm?" Liu Chengyou showed no joy; instead, a trace of hesitation appeared on his face: "Guo Rong is young—isn't this promotion too fast?"

"Zhao Kuangzan is even younger than Guo Rong, and I have entrusted him with a regional governorship. The father and son Guo Wenzhong have rendered merit to the state—how can they not be rewarded!" Liu Zhiyuan said flatly.

"Your son thanks His Majesty on behalf of Guo Rong!" Liu Chengyou said, not hiding his close relationship with Guo Rong.

The edict came down quickly: Liu Zhiyuan enfeoffed Gao Xingzhou as Defender of Yedu and Prince of Linqing. Unexpectedly, Gao Xingzhou firmly declined the appointment.