Chapter 179: A Dire Predicament

Since ascending the throne, Liu Chengyou had basically spent his days in a flurry of audiences and receptions—ministers, generals, meritorious old officials, and envoys from all directions. Somewhat lamentably, amid the transition of dynasties in the Central Plains, among all the states under heaven, only Wuyue in the southeastern corner and the Ma Chu in Hunan had sent envoys to court—to offer condolences and congratulate his accession.

As for the rest, they were exceptionally cold, and even toward the young successor of the Central Plains, there were stirrings of unrest, including the Khitan to the north. The Meng Shu, which had just suffered defeat not long ago, had regained its vigor—its Northern Field Headquarters Recruiting and Pacification Commissioner Zhang Qianzhao was rubbing his fists and stamping his feet at Dasan Pass. The Great Han's external situation was truly dire—one could say enemies on all sides, every step fraught with peril, the predicament genuinely worrying.

On the Ma Chu side, Ma Xiguang, timid and pedantic, pressured by his elder brother Ma Xi'e, had taken the initiative to show goodwill toward the court, requesting protection, hoping that an imperial decree from the Central Plains would settle Hunan. However, when the envoy traveled north, the tribute goods and valuables he carried were intercepted while passing through Jingnan. That's right—the old rascal Gao had pulled this kind of trick again. Last year he had sent troops and offended the Great Han; this time, taking advantage of Liu Chengyou's recent succession, he was stirring things up to extort some benefits.

Upon hearing this, it was practically a slap in the face. Liu Chengyou went from anger to laughter, seemingly amused by Gao Conghui. If the timing weren't inappropriate, he truly would have sent troops to let that old rascal Gao see the iron fist of the Great Han Empire.

In fact, although Gao Conghui's behavior was shameless, from what Feng Dao and others had told him, the man wasn't actually that bad as a ruler. Rather than calling him shameless, it would be more apt to call him helpless. Jingnan's territory was small, situated at a crossroads of major routes, maneuvering between the various states—truly surviving in the cracks, which was no easy feat. Judging purely by governance, Gao Conghui was considerably better than his neighbor, the Ma Chu.

As for Jingnan's little tricks, Liu Chengyou could only temporarily pretend not to see them. As long as Jingnan didn't move troops, Liu Chengyou would ignore him.

As for Wuyue, braving the territory of their hereditary enemy to send envoys to the Eastern Capital, they too had come seeking righteousness and comfort. These past two years, Wuyue had been unstable, with political turmoil. In June of last year, Qian Hongzuo, the Loyal and Manifest King of Wuyue, had died, and his younger brother Qian Hongzong succeeded him. However, the latter was severe and hasty by nature; at the very start of his reign, he antagonized old generals and sought to expel veteran ministers, but his actions were indiscreet and indecisive.

At the end of last year, Wuyue had experienced a coup—the Inner Guard Army Commander Hu Jinsi led his partisans to depose Qian Hongzong and install Qian Hongchu as the King of Wuyue instead. Also a young ruler succeeding to the throne, and through a coup no less—Qian Hongchu's performance was quite good. He stabilized the court, remitted back taxes, won over the people's hearts, and still did not forget to report to the Eastern Capital.

In fact, by now, among the Great Han's external threats, only the Meng Shu and the Khitan remained. The Meng Shu went without saying—the two sides were still fighting in Guanzhong. As for the Khitan, the two states were at odds. Although news from north of Youzhou was cut off, through scattered intelligence one could roughly know that this winter, quite a few people had died within Khitan territory, and internally things seemed somewhat unstable. But precisely because of this, there was greater concern that they would use their neighbors as a drain for their troubles and invade southward.

As for the Southern Tang—worthy of concern, yet not truly worrisome. Among all the states under heaven today, if one spoke of wealth and prosperity, the Southern Tang ranked first. External pressure was minimal, and they had been stable for over a decade. But precisely because they were too comfortable, they had lost their ambition for advancement. Emperor Li Jing had completely degenerated into a ruler who merely sat and guarded what he had.

Last year, taking advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains, Li Jing had indeed issued an edict for civil and military officials to deliberate on sending troops to advance into the Central Plains—but by the time Liu Zhiyuan had already entered Kaifeng, the Southern Tang still hadn't made a move. In Liu Chengyou's view, if the Southern Tang didn't dare send troops during the Great Han's most difficult period, then certainly not now.

However, the Southern Tang wasn't entirely without a reaction to the new young ruler of the Central Plains. The Tang sovereign gave Liu Chengyou a "surprise"—setting up checkpoints along the border between the two states, canceling market trade between them, and simultaneously ordering that northerners be forbidden from coming south to buy grain, refusing to let a single grain of rice from Huainan and north of the Yangtze flow northward.

Because the Central Plains suffered from grain shortages, a large proportion of the Great Han's food was purchased from Huainan. Previously, although relations between the two states weren't exactly cordial, they hadn't explicitly broken face either, and normal trade between the people had never ceased. But Li Jing, seizing the moment of Liu Chengyou's recent succession to pull this move—kicking a man when he's down, full of malice—infuriated Liu Chengyou immensely. It angered him even more than the old rascal Gao seizing the Ma Chu's tribute. Although the impact hadn't yet spread, Liu Chengyou could almost predict that for the next six months, the court would have a very hard time—tightening belts was a certainty.

Although the impact wasn't immediate, the ill effects would manifest sooner or later. To delay the strain on the markets, Liu Chengyou ordered the news to be suppressed—stall for as long as possible. When all was said and done, the place most short of grain was the Eastern Capital itself.

Of course, even if Li Jing hadn't issued that edict, the Great Han wouldn't have been able to purchase much grain from Huainan anyway, because the Great Han court was very poor, and the Great Han people were very poor. As for the local military governors and those court officials—perhaps they had wealth at home, but asking them to share hardships with the court and donate some was basically impossible.

However, this move by the Southern Tang handed Liu Chengyou a handle, gave him a pretext, and incidentally stirred up his covetousness for the Southern Tang's fourteen prefectures north of the Yangtze. Since ancient times, the Huainan region had been a vital source of national wealth and revenue. Back then, Yang Xingmi had also risen on the foundation of Huainan, establishing the state of Wu. Add to that Huainan's role as a shield for river defense...

"Shizong of Zhou" had campaigned against Huainan three times, bringing all the lands north of the Yangtze back to the Central Plains—Liu Chengyou already had that notion in his head now. But it was merely a notion; for the time being, there was nothing he could do about the Southern Tang. The Great Han's most important task was still to regulate internal affairs and recuperate. Moreover, Liu Chengyou's attention remained fixed on the fighting in Guanzhong to the west.

"If Guanzhong is not at peace, my heart cannot be at ease." This was the most truthful portrayal of Liu Chengyou's current state of mind.

Moreover, Li Shouzhen over in Hezhong was also getting restless. Upon learning of Liu Zhiyuan's death and the young ruler's succession, he was immediately elated—hoodwinked by that Master Zonglun into being thoroughly bewitched, confident that the "Mandate of Heaven" rested upon him, feeling that his opportunity had arrived. In Puzhou he was repairing armor and weapons, reinforcing city defenses. Though the banner of rebellion had not yet been raised, the intent to rebel had already swelled.

In response, to avoid further provoking Li Shouzhen, Liu Chengyou merely pretended not to know—so long as he hadn't formally raised the banner of revolt. Humiliating? Indeed it was. But no matter how humiliating, he had to endure.

One who cannot endure small things will ruin great plans.

Li Shouzhen was ultimately a minor ailment, and the Shu troops a minor nuisance. What truly worried Liu Chengyou from the bottom of his heart was the situation to the north. Youzhou reported that the Yan King, Zhao Yanshou, had fallen ill—due to excessive worry and overwork.

Liu Chengyou couldn't help but be tense. If Zhao Yanshou suddenly died, then the Youyan situation he had painstakingly planned would collapse in an instant. The Khitan would absolutely not let that opportunity pass—they would surely march south.

At the thought of such consequences, Liu Chengyou shuddered with dread. On the one hand, he sent envoys and imperial physicians north to offer consolation; on the other hand, Liu Chengyou had already begun pondering—if Zhao Yanshou truly died, how should the ensuing situation be managed, and who should replace him?

Within the Yan army in Youzhou at present, Zhao Yanshou was the principal, with Zhang Li as his deputy. That's right—the same Zhang Li who had been the Khitan's Puye and Chief Minister, who had once secretly communicated with Liu Chengyou, though he hadn't received an active response. Last year, when Zhao Yanshou entered Youzhou, Zhang Li had contributed greatly to pacifying and settling the people's livelihood.

But Zhang Li was also ill... Moreover, he was a civilian official, and elderly at that—even if he succeeded Zhao Yanshou, he probably couldn't keep those military strongmen in the Yan army in check. As for placing it directly under court control—to be honest, the Great Han currently lacked the strength and energy for that. Forcing it would only mean taking on a huge burden. If another Han general were sought to govern it, he would likely find it difficult to handle the Yan army, which had already formed its own system. The slightest discord could lead to fragmentation. If someone were promoted from among the Yan generals themselves, whether the court could trust him was one question, and whether he could gain the recognition of the other Yan generals was another major question...

He consulted at length with Wei Renpu, who had been promoted alongside Guo Wei to Chief Recipient of the Bureau of Military Affairs, listing every possibility. In the end, it was Wei Renpu who offered a suggestion: have the Military Governor of Jinchang Army, Zhao Kuangzan, go north—he was Zhao Yanshou's son, and when the father dies, the son inherits. After much deliberation, this was considered a choice that could barely make all parties compromise and accept. Although Zhao Kuangzan was young, he had done quite well in Jingzhao, handling everything meticulously in resisting Li Tinggui.

The precondition was that Liu Chengyou had to have the magnanimity for it. Additionally, at present Zhao Kuangzan was leading the Jingzhao garrison troops, coordinating with the various armies west of the pass alongside Wang Jun to deal with the Shu army.

After careful consideration, Liu Chengyou ultimately decided to accept Wei Renpu's suggestion—transferring Zhao Kuangzan to the post of Surveillance Commissioner of Lulong and Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Field Headquarters, ordering him north to Youzhou to prepare for contingencies. In Guanzhong, the veteran minister Bai Wenke would replace him, garrisoning Jingzhao. Using Bai Wenke, besides his qualifications and prestige, was also for the sake of future plans. Last year, when Liu Zhiyuan had reshuffled the various garrisons, he had used Bai Wenke to replace Zhao Kuangzan as Military Governor of Hezhong, so he was fairly familiar with Puzhou...

Although the edict had been issued, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but mutter inwardly. Could Zhao Yanshou be feigning illness, trying to lure his son north?

Of course, such a thought passed in a flash. Liu Chengyou didn't believe Zhao Yanshou had the ability to accurately predict the court's reaction. Moreover, even if the Zhao father and son harbored treacherous intentions, allowing them to carve out Youzhou as a separatist domain was still better than letting it fall back into Khitan hands. If the Yan army collapsed, the pressure on the Great Han would be even greater.

Even having made preparations for contingencies, Liu Chengyou still had to pray that Zhao Yanshou could live a few more years...