Chapter 350: At Xuzhou

Speaking of it, enthroned for less than two years, this was already Liu Chengyou's third time leaving the capital on an inspection tour. After ascending the throne, he toured Luoyang in the west, went south to Xuzhou in the spring of the second year, and now headed north this winter. If one counted the campaign to pacify Hezhong, that would make four times. Beneath Liu Chengyou's solemn expression, that restless heart of his—many people had already gained a sufficiently profound impression of it.

Generally speaking, when the Emperor went on an inspection tour, if he laid out the full Son of Heaven's ceremonial procession and made a great show of it, exhausting the people and draining the treasury, that was a certainty. Precisely because he was aware of this, this northern tour was considerably more austere than the previous ones. Not only was he frugal with himself, but the dozen or so accompanying ministers were treated the same, with restrictions placed on the number of servants and guards they could bring.

The field headquarters' escort troops were cavalry, and they were also equipped with many pack horses and carts, so this northern tour party had great mobility. Though the cold weather had some effect, their marching speed was still not slow. According to plan, the imperial carriage would reach Xuzhou, cross the river at Baima Ford, then turn east toward Yedu.

Baima City was less than two hundred li from the Eastern Capital. Setting out from the Eastern Capital at dawn, they arrived by the afternoon of the second day. When the imperial carriage arrived, the officials and officers of Xuzhou, led by Military Governor Guo Congyi, braved the cold wind to come out of the city to welcome him. Liu Chengyou had prepared in advance, issuing an edict that the welcoming ceremony should not disturb the people, and Guo Congyi did exactly that. Thus, in Xuzhou, Liu Chengyou did not see the scene of the local gentry and commoners warmly turning out to greet him.

In fact, Liu Chengyou was somewhat "disappointed" in his heart—there were no commoners who braved the wind and cold to voluntarily wait and hope to see the imperial countenance... How pretentious!

Below Baima City, Liu Chengyou descended from the imperial carriage, personally helped Guo Congyi up, held his hand, and spoke kind words of reassurance to this old retainer of the Great Han, praising his merits in guarding the frontier. He made a full show of grace and gave him complete face. Among the many meritorious ministers from Hedong, Guo Congyi could be considered upper-middle talent, and he knew how to advance and retreat, being fairly submissive to Liu Chengyou, this young Son of Heaven.

He proactively introduced Xuzhou's generals and officials to Liu Chengyou, and when Liu Chengyou proposed directly inspecting Xuzhou's frontier defenses, he found nothing amiss and was exceptionally deferential.

As a key location with defenses along the river, protecting the security of the Eastern Capital, Xuzhou's military strength was still considerable—the imperial army alone had five thousand stationed there. Of course, these five thousand imperial troops had been reorganized by the court previously, directly subordinate to the Imperial Guard Command. Though Guo Congyi held the nominal post of Xuzhou Cavalry and Infantry Commander, the one truly commanding the troops was Chief Commander Wang Yin, who had been transferred here.

Clearly, it was the existence of this imperial army force that was the fundamental reason for Guo Congyi's submissiveness toward Liu Chengyou and the court. In fact, places like Xuzhou were by no means ordinary outer garrisons—the court's influence was very strong, and they completely lacked the strength to carve out their own domain and resist the court.

Moreover, under Liu Chengyou's repeated maneuvers, the court's grip on control was gradually strengthening. The recovery of military power had become the foundation, and the financial aspect was also being progressively dismantled. Like Xuzhou, Liu Chengyou wanted to reclaim the power of the military governors, and of course he had to start with these prefectures near the capital.

Guo Congyi had done a fairly decent job as Military Governor. Though he had no outstanding achievements in governance, he excelled in being steady and reliable. Having been in the post for over a year, he had earned no bad reputation. Previously, he had also actively cooperated with the court's policies of streamlining administration, pacifying the people, and allowing them to rest and recuperate.

In his post, he had opened wasteland for farming, encouraged agriculture, dredged irrigation canals, repaired and maintained the city walls, reinforced river defenses, built roads, prevented disasters, and provided relief... Everything that should be done, Guo Congyi had led people to do. It was just that the results weren't particularly outstanding. But then again, for a military man, what more could one demand of him?

Without pausing to rest, spending half a day, Liu Chengyou conducted a simple inspection and questioning of Xuzhou's—mainly the Baima area's—military defenses and civil administration matters. He also inquired about the handling of the summer locust plague and the autumn harvest situation. The results were fairly satisfactory, and he offered words of encouragement, incidentally bestowing upon Guo Congyi the honorary title of "Grand Commandant" as a token of encouragement.

The field headquarters was camped outside Baima City. As usual, Liu Chengyou strictly ordered that not a single soldier was allowed to enter the city. There was little complaint in the army, because Liu Chengyou himself also lived in the military camp, sleeping in a cold tent on winter nights.

Though they were deep in the heartland of the Great Han, Murong Yanzhao had arranged the camp very methodically, laid it out with great skill, and the camp was pitched firmly. Everything carried the seriousness of marching to war, with not a trace of negligence or carelessness. When Liu Chengyou personally inspected the camp in the evening, he expressed great praise for Murong Yanzhao in front of all the generals and ministers.

Guo Congyi transferred a portion of supplies from Baima's storehouses, and also "solicited donations" of wine and meat from the wealthy merchants and rich men of the city, sending them to the military camp to serve as hospitality and reward.

In a simple tent, burning charcoal drove away the chill, and the rising heat and pervasive smell of wine created a lively atmosphere within.

Several imperial army generals gathered here, casually sitting cross-legged inside, drinking and chatting freely. They were all young men favored by Emperor Liu Chengyou, rising stars in the military. Gao Huaide, Zhao Yanjin, Zhang Yongde, and Zhao Kuangyin were all present.

Looking at the situation in the tent, Gao Huaide was clearly the leading figure. In terms of military rank and status, he was the most esteemed—after all, he was the elder brother of the Son of Heaven's wife and the son of the Prince of Linqing. Compared to him, the others were always a notch weaker.

Of course, if he relied solely on his status, it would have been impossible for Gao Huaide to suppress these men and win their recognition. In fact, even setting aside the advantage of his status, Gao Huaide's résumé was extremely impressive. After all, from his youth he had followed his father Gao Xingzhou into military life—fighting the Khitan, putting down bandit rebellions. Even before the Great Han was founded, he had earned the rank of Prefect through military merit, which put him several levels above the others.

Among them, Zhao Kuangyin had the humblest background, but his ability, character, and personal charisma were clearly outstanding. He also had excellent social skills, and through his interactions with people like Gao Huaide and Zhang Yongde, he had won their recognition. They chatted and joked, getting along harmoniously.

Two retainers lifted the tent curtain and carried in half a roasted fat sheep. The biting cold wind rolled in with the curtain, sobering up the young generals in the tent considerably.

Zhao Yanjin rubbed his hands together, eagerly picked up a knife, cut off a piece of the golden-brown roasted mutton, and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed, wiped the grease from his lips, and muttered: "Choosing a time like this for a northern tour—doesn't His Majesty fear the cold..."

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin said in a warning tone: "We are the Son of Heaven's personal officers. Whatever His Majesty commands, even through fire and water, we dare not refuse. General Zhao, you must not criticize the sovereign!"

"Haha!" Hearing Zhao Kuangyin's words, Zhao Yanjin was immediately overcome with mirth and laughed: "Brother Yuanlang need not be so tense. I have served His Majesty for quite some time now. With his breadth of mind and magnanimity, he would certainly not punish us for this—he might even just laugh it off."

Zhao Yanjin was a man of talent and insight, with abundant courage as well. He was normally a person who paid no heed to trivial formalities, possessing a rather heroic and unrestrained style. His read on Liu Chengyou's temperament was quite accurate.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin helplessly echoed with a word of agreement, singing high praises of the Son of Heaven's magnanimity—but he showed no sign of relaxing his own caution and self-discipline.

Zhao Kuangyin did not have the same confidence as those seated. His father Zhao Hongyin was considered a senior general in the imperial army, but there was a limit to how senior. Having been promoted by Liu Chengyou, he felt himself fortunate. This was precisely the time to strive upward, establish achievements, and realize his ambitions—he did not wish to give the Son of Heaven a bad impression through matters of speech and conduct.

"Yuanlang is right. His Majesty has the whole world in his heart. To observe the people's condition, he does not avoid wind and cold—what do we have to complain about? On this northern journey, His Majesty did not bring the old meritorious generals, but chose us juniors to serve as his escort guards. This is His Majesty's regard and trust for us..." Gao Huaide also spoke up, and the moment he opened his mouth, he spared no effort in rallying military morale for his brother-in-law.

How is military morale consolidated? How is loyalty cultivated? It is through this kind of subtle influence, constant repetition and emphasis... Liu Chengyou had already planted quite a few generals like Gao Huaide in the army. Gao Huaide was one of the more restrained ones—some mid and low-ranking officers, coordinating with the civil officials Liu Chengyou had transferred into the imperial army, engaged in flattery so effusive it would make Liu Chengyou himself blush.

Seeing that Gao Huaide had spoken, Zhao Yanjin hastily said: "Count that as my slip of the tongue—I'll punish myself with three cups!"

So saying, he picked up the wine jug and poured.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin opportunely joked: "That's not punishing yourself—that's clearly rewarding yourself..."