Chapter 248: Zhao the Elder Is Already in the Army

The envoy who came to report at the imperial camp was named Wang Yu, a commander under Zhao Hui's command, serving as the Shanzhou troops' army supervisor. His long horse-face was covered in bristling stubble, quite eye-catching, and he carried a strong soldierly bearing. Facing Liu Chengyou's questions, he crisply reported the situation at Hezhong, his account differing little from the battle report.

What was written in the military report was concise in description, emphasizing results while glossing over the process. Essentially, it said that Zhou Hui led the Xiaodi Army to advance on Hedong City, but the assault failed, and the defenders launched a sudden counterattack. The government troops could not hold at first, and He Hui and Fan Aineng, the Chief Commanders of the Second and Fifth Armies of the Xiaodi Army's Right Wing, fled in fear, throwing the formation into chaos and causing a total rout. Only when Yang Ye arrived with the Tong'an Army to provide support was the tide of defeat stemmed. The Xiaodi Army lost over thirteen hundred soldiers.

In the battle report, many places—especially concerning the causes—were vague, as if all the blame had been shifted onto that army Commander, He Hui.

Liu Chengyou spotted the discrepancy in the military report at a glance. Staring directly at Wang Yu, his eyes seeming to emit sharp light, he asked: "Who ordered the Xiaodi Army to attack the city alone?"

Unconsciously, Liu Chengyou's presence had already grown formidable enough that Wang Yu subconsciously lowered his head and answered in a muffled voice: "The rebels withdrew north from Fengling Ford, and our army crossed northward. At the pre-battle council, Commander-in-Chief Bai decided to rest temporarily, but Chief Commander Zhou resolved to press forward and attack the city urgently, leading the troops himself."

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou naturally understood exactly what had happened, and anger rose in his heart at once. But he restrained himself, unwilling to vent before a mere messenger, and asked in a low voice: "What is the situation at the front now?"

"The Xiaodi Army has withdrawn to the main camp at Fengling Ford to regroup. Commander-in-Chief Bai plans to march north again once morale has recovered..."

"Your name is Wang Yu?" Liu Chengyou pondered briefly, his expression unchanged, and asked.

"Yes." A trace of delight involuntarily showed on Wang Yu's face.

Nodding, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and instructed: "You've worked hard traveling all the way here—go rest for now!"

Because of this report, Liu Chengyou's originally pleasant mood dissipated at once. Following it, more reports concerning the Hezhong campaign arrived in succession, especially the details of this defeat. Zhou Hui submitted a memorial confessing his fault, while simultaneously impeaching Bai Wenke for inaction—hoarding his troops and watching the defeat from the sidelines, and even refusing to move his forces when Zhou Hui was retreating in defeat.

Additionally, there were secret reports from the army supervisors Liu Chengyou had planted in the Xiaodi Army and various prefectures, filling in the full details of the defeat from beginning to end. And then, Liu Chengyou was truly furious!

"This Zhou Hui—I regarded him as an old Hedong general and a founding follower of the Great Han, and entrusted him with the Xiaodi Army, placing great responsibility upon him. Yet once he reached the battlefield, he was so arrogant, unruly, and headstrong! Bai Wenke is the field headquarters Commander-in-Chief I personally appointed, yet he dared to ignore his military orders and advance on his own initiative, leading to this defeat!" In the imperial tent, Liu Chengyou pounded heavily on the commander's table, raging.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. General Zhou was also eager for battle, wishing to take the rebel city and present it to Your Majesty." Feng Dao spoke up to console him.

"You needn't speak for him!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand dismissively: "Hedong City is strongly fortified—what does he have to attack it with, how could he possibly breach it, by smashing the gates open with his head? After marching over a hundred li, with troops weary and spent, without time to rest, he delivered himself right to the enemy's door—every taboo of warfare, he committed them all! And then he still dares to submit a memorial, making stubborn excuses and shifting blame onto others—does he think I can be fooled?"

Anticipating the difficulties of besieging a city, Liu Chengyou's side had naturally made preparations, bringing a large number of craftsmen with the field headquarters. Heavy siege engines such as trebuchets and cloud ladders could be manufactured on-site using local materials, but other equipment like heavy crossbows, as well as weapons such as fire arrows and fireballs, needed to be transported from the rear by both water and land routes.

Zhou Hui, with weary and lightly-equipped troops, carrying a few ladders to charge Hedong City, expecting to take it—that was pure wishful thinking.

"They always say military provinces are arrogant and hard to control—I think..." Liu Chengyou sighed half a sentence, then glanced sidelong at the several accompanying ministers standing before him, swallowing the second half himself. That second half could not be spoken aloud; if it got out, the consequences would be bad.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Chengyou shifted his target: "Bai Wenke is the field headquarters Commander-in-Chief. When Zhou Hui refused to obey orders and advanced on his own, why did he do nothing?"

Hearing this, Fan Zhi stepped forward from the ranks, clasped his hands and said: "This time, the imperial army is under Your Majesty's direct command. Although Lord Bai is the Commander-in-Chief of all the armies, he has no explicit authority to command and control the Xiaodi Army..."

That one sentence made Liu Chengyou somewhat embarrassed. He looked at Fan Zhi, who was speaking with deference, raised his hand, then lowered it again. After holding back for a moment, he finally said: "So it was my improper arrangement after all?"

"That is not what Your Majesty's servant means. I merely feel that since things have come to this, we should quickly implement remedial measures. As for how to handle the frontline generals—whether to punish or demote—that still requires Your Majesty's personal presence to decide." Fan Zhi said cautiously.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Chengyou turned his head and gave orders with great speed: "Transmit the decree—tomorrow the army will accelerate its march, advancing west into Hezhong!"

"Yes!"

Toward Bai Wenke, Liu Chengyou did harbor some resentment in his heart, but not because he had failed to restrain Zhou Hui—that would have been unrealistic anyway. If he had resorted to force, it might have directly triggered an outbreak of conflict between the imperial army and the provincial troops.

What truly dissatisfied Liu Chengyou was Bai Wenke's subsequent handling of the situation.

The rebels withdrawing back to Hedong City was clearly a move to consolidate their forces. Even if Zhou Hui was arrogant and contemptuous of the enemy and could not be controlled, why did Bai Wenke not report it? Why did he not make secondary preparations? His actions before and after seemed somewhat deliberate—securely holding his position at the Fengling Ford camp while watching the defeat unfold.

Fengling Ford was only fifty li from Hedong City. Even after learning of the defeat at the front, he still refused to move his troops, nor did he send forces to rescue and support. If not for Yang Ye leading several hundred cavalry north to fight against Wang Jixun, blocking the rebels' counterattack and giving the Xiaodi Army a chance to catch its breath, the final losses would have been far more than that!

Of course, Zhou Hui's acting on his own initiative, his arrogant recklessness, was the root cause of the defeat. As for those two, He Hui and Fan Aineng—names that seemed vaguely familiar—murderous intent had already arisen in his heart.

"A defeat isn't necessarily a bad thing; the army's arrogance has been growing daily, and this can somewhat temper it..." Liu Chengyou exhaled a heavy breath of pent-up frustration and muttered to himself.

He pretended to be composed, but the tone of self-consolation was all too obvious. For Liu Chengyou, if this campaign could smash through like a thunderbolt, sweeping all before it, smoothly exterminating Li Shouzhen and displaying the court's strength, that would naturally be the best outcome.

But after Zhou Hui's defeat, the efforts of the various pacification armies—even if not completely washed away—had their effectiveness greatly diminished. The rebels' precarious situation, which had been teetering in the wind, was directly stabilized, at least for the short term.

If Li Shouzhen and his rebel soldiers gained the confidence to hold out, relying on their strong city, they could indeed cause great trouble for the pacification army. From the very beginning, Liu Chengyou had anticipated in his heart that in this campaign to exterminate Li's rebellion, breaching the city would be the greatest challenge.

That mess at Hezhong would still require him, the Emperor, to personally clean up.

In the evening, west of the imperial camp, at the East-West Battalion's encampment.

The East-West Battalion was a military designation left over from the Later Jin. In this western expedition, troops from two armies and four commands accompanied the campaign, with Commander Zhao Hongyin in charge, under the deployment and command of Li Hongjian, Chief Inspector of the field headquarters' cavalry and infantry.

"Father, you've returned!" Zhao Hongyin tucked his helmet under his arm and entered his tent, where a young man of heroic bearing and extraordinary demeanor immediately came forward to greet him.

The young man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, with a bit of stubble, his face bearing traces of travel dust, and a pair of exceptionally bright eyes. He wore armor and a long saber at his waist.

It was none other than Zhao Kuangyin!

"My son, in this outfit, you cut quite a figure." Zhao Hongyin scanned Zhao Kuangyin up and down, a satisfied expression appearing on his rough-hewn face.

Zhao Kuangyin's life trajectory had not changed—he had traveled through various prefectures, observing the realm, in pursuit of his ambitions. In the year-plus since the Great Han was founded, he had drifted through many places, witnessing the turmoil of the times and the suffering of the common people. He had just returned north from Prefect Dong Zongben of Suizhou when he happened upon Li Shouzhen's rebellion, and since his father was accompanying the campaign, he simply came to join. Chasing westward all the way, he only caught up at Mianchi.

When he first saw Zhao Kuangyin that day, the young man's bedraggled appearance had nearly prevented Zhao Hongyin from recognizing him.

"Let's talk inside the tent." Patting Zhao Kuangyin on the shoulder, Zhao Hongyin pulled him inside.

"Chief Inspector Li summoned you—has something happened?" Offering Zhao Hongyin a cup of water, Zhao Kuangyin asked.

"Nothing much. The Son of Heaven has merely ordered that we break camp tomorrow and hasten our march to Hezhong!" Zhao Hongyin said casually.

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin's mind was set to work, and he pondered: "Hezhong is already right before us—why issue such an order suddenly? Could something have gone wrong at the front?"

Seeing his eldest son's thoughtful manner, Zhao Hongyin nodded inwardly and said openly: "You'll find out soon enough. This time the court has mobilized a great army to suppress the rebellion—Li Shouzhen's defeat is certain. Your coming to join is well-timed. See if you can find an opportunity to distinguish yourself and carve out a position in the imperial army."

Zhao Kuangyin clearly cared little about that point; he had come to serve in the army naturally harboring ambitions of establishing merit and achievement. His dark eyes rolled around twice, and he said: "The court has mobilized this great army, and with the Son of Heaven personally leading the campaign, suppressing Li Shouzhen is naturally no problem. But to take the city swiftly—that will require some careful thought..."