Chapter 20: The Overlooked Question

At noon, on the great drill ground in Jinyang, apart from the necessary garrison troops, all the armies inside and outside Jinyang had already been fully assembled. More than twenty thousand soldiers, fully equipped and bathed in the warm sunlight, waited under the leadership of their officers for the inspection of the Prince of Beiping.

Liu Zhiyuan's inspection this time was prompted by his sense of "unrest among the troops," in order to reassure the people and stabilize morale. At the same time, he would announce the specific date for dispatching troops to welcome back the fallen Son of Heaven, Shi Chonggui.

When the broad carriage slowly drove into the drill ground, before Liu Zhiyuan even showed his face, the assembled soldiers and officers burst into cheers of joy as one, gazing with "earnest" looks at the prince's carriage and shouting "Long live!"

The roar of more than twenty thousand people was deafening, its majestic momentum towering to the heavens and piercing the clouds. For a time, the entire city of Jinyang was immersed in the soldiers' acclamation of the Prince of Beiping, and no one could help but turn their heads toward the sound.

Leading the two brothers Liu Chengxun and the others, Liu Zhiyuan ascended the commander's platform. On his stern face seemed to hang a trace of helplessness. He raised both hands slightly, and all the soldiers, with great discipline, gradually fell silent.

Scanning the crowd once, Liu Zhiyuan gave a light cough and said loudly: "I have made up my mind. On the fifteenth of this month, we march east through the Taihang Mountains to welcome back the Son of Heaven. For now, the Son of Heaven takes precedence; all other matters will be dealt with after we have rescued His Majesty!"

The moment Liu Zhiyuan finished speaking, his subordinates showed him little respect. Shi Hongzhao stepped forward with great speed, mustered his strength, and shouted in a voice that nearly tore his throat: "Now the Khitan have taken the capital and seized the Son of Heaven, leaving the realm without a ruler. Who but Your Highness should rule the realm! You should first assume the title of emperor, and then dispatch the troops."

As soon as Shi Hongzhao had expressed his stance, Liu Chong, Liu Xin, Guo Wei, Chang Si, and other senior generals swiftly stepped out of formation and knelt: "Your ministers pay respects to Your Majesty!"

The atmosphere of the scene once again surged to a climax. The soldiers in the front ranks, apparently having received the signal, burst into a uniform cry of "Long live!" As for the troops in the middle and rear ranks, although they were not clear about the situation up front and had not even heard the conversation between Liu Zhiyuan and the others, that did not stop them from shouting a few times along with the rest.

The scene of tens of thousands of people crying "Long live" in unison was highly infectious. Liu Chengxun, standing at his father's side, was completely swept up by the emotion, "tears welling in his eyes," his body even trembling slightly.

Liu Chengyou stood at the side, his delicate face tightly drawn, striving not to show any expression and to keep to himself. But the result of holding back too hard was that a flush of red spread across his face. Listening to the cries of the soldiers, Liu Chengyou's body also felt a little light, his gaze gradually growing distant, and in his mind he could not help but picture the scene of himself receiving such acclamation in days to come.

His eyes quickly regained clarity, and out of the corner of his eye he instinctively glanced at his excited elder brother beside him, then swiftly lowered his eyelids.

And as the object of the cheering, even Liu Zhiyuan, who was used to grand occasions, could not help but feel his heart surge with emotion. Still, he managed to hold back, and with some "difficulty" once again expressed his refusal.

Before the soldiers could launch their next wave of "pressure," Liu Zhiyuan decisively ended the inspection and hurriedly departed with his entourage. Before leaving, he issued a strict order for the generals to properly soothe the troops.

Liu Zhiyuan left in a "flustered" manner, but Liu Chengyou knew in his heart that this was the last time. Officials urging him to take the throne, thousands petitioning, ten thousand troops acclaiming him—next time, Liu Zhiyuan would have no reason not to take that final step.

The army had been under control from start to finish. After the campaign to urge him to the throne ended, the various army commanders quickly calmed the troops and led them back to camp. This time, efficiency was extremely high; at such a critical juncture, everyone was highly attentive and dared not let anything go wrong.

After the "drill ground incident" had temporarily subsided, Liu Zhiyuan immediately convened the civil and military officials at the prince's residence to discuss the matter of dispatching troops. As if he had truly decided to send troops to welcome the emperor, he discussed the matter meticulously with his subordinates.

Troop movements, the number of soldiers to be sent, the route of advance, provisions and weapons, auxiliary civilian laborers—item by item, everything was brought up for detailed discussion.

"Your Highness, after discussion among your subordinates, the troops at Xinzhou must guard against Wang Hui of Daizhou and cannot be lightly moved, and the southern defense troops also need to be kept on alert. Jinyang cannot afford any loss, so the Laocheng and Xingjie Right Wing will remain for defense. For this eastern advance, the Xingjie Left Wing, Wujie, and Longqi armies, supplemented by the Chengtian Army and other garrison troops totaling twenty thousand men, will be more than sufficient!" In the hall, Guo Wei, who had come prepared, reported to Liu Zhiyuan in a clear voice:

"At Jingxing Pass, there is still activity from the Khitan Liu Jiu's unit, and troops must be sent to strike them first. Your subordinate suggests that Commander Shi lead a force as the vanguard, Your Highness command the central army to support, and the Longqi Army serve as the rear guard..."

Liu Chengyou sat in attendance, watching the eloquent Guo Wei with an indifferent expression. He wanted his Longqi Army to serve as the rearguard?

"Mm!" Liu Zhiyuan responded, appearing fairly satisfied with the arrangement, and turned his head to look at Wang Zhang.

Wang Zhang rose and reported with great efficiency: "Your Highness, your minister has already coordinated with the subordinate officials to inventory and allocate provisions and supplies. They can be issued to the various armies at any time! Follow-up supplies are also being allocated!"

After Wang Zhang sat down, Yang Bin also decisively rose to report: "Under the Taiyuan prefecture, thirty thousand civilian laborers can be conscripted to assist in the campaign."

"But Your Highness, this is currently the spring plowing season. Such mobilization would delay the farming schedule and harm the agricultural foundation, leading to poor harvests in the fields in days to come!" Unable to restrain himself, Yang Bin habitually added a word of caution.

Hearing Yang Bin's words, Liu Zhiyuan waved his hand directly and said: "For this advance, there is no need to conscript civilian laborers. During the march, we must not disturb the people or damage the crops!"

When Liu Zhiyuan said this, those present—Yang Bin, Wang Zhang, Guo Wei, Su Fengji, and others—immediately showed expressions of understanding.

Liu Zhiyuan seemed still to be pondering the matter of welcoming the emperor, and for the moment said nothing, lost in thought. Yang Bin, Wang Zhang, and Guo Wei exchanged glances, and finally it was Yang Bin who broke the brief silence: "Ahem. Your Highness, we have all heard about what happened at the drill ground inspection!"

Raising his head, Liu Zhiyuan swept his gaze over Yang Bin and the others, his face perfectly calm: "The soldiers follow blindly and know nothing of great state affairs—that is excusable. But you, the very foundation of Hedong, do you also fail to see the bigger picture? Are you still intent on urging me to take the throne?"

Yang Bin smiled and reported with equal composure: "Now the hearts of those near and far concur without consultation—this is the will of heaven. If Your Highness does not seize this moment to take it, and modestly declines, I fear the people's hearts will shift, and once they shift, you will suffer the consequences instead."

Liu Zhiyuan fell silent. After a long while, he waved his hand with an air of "listlessness": "All of you, go prepare! On the fifteenth, we set out on time. There must be no mistakes of any kind!"

"Yes!"

"We've come this far, and His Highness is still hesitating. What is he waiting for? Does he really intend to expend troops and treasure to rescue that fatuous ruler?" After the meeting dispersed, Shi Hongzhao walked alongside Guo Wei again, muttering under his breath.

Seeing Shi Hongzhao's impatience, Guo Wei appeared all the more composed, and said with a light laugh: "Since we've come this far, there's no need for us to be anxious!"

"What do you mean?"

"Within two or three days, the answer will be clear!"

The matter of sending troops to rescue the Jin emperor was thus established, and firmly settled. The government offices of Jinyang all bustled with activity, and the various armies were mobilized, making full preparations to set out. None of these movements contained the slightest bit of pretense.

Only, one wonders whether any clever person had given careful thought to this: at the beginning of last month, Shi Chonggui and his family had already been relocated north by Yelu Deguang's orders. By now, more than a full month had passed—even traveling at the slowest pace, they would have long since left the borders of the realm.

With all this grand commotion, Liu Zhiyuan intended to march east through Jingxing to rescue the emperor—but where exactly was he going to rescue him? Yet it seemed that everyone had deliberately ignored this question.