Chapter 36: Siting

Luzhou, Siting — the Longqi Army under Liu Chengyou had been encamped here for several days. When the great army had first come south and pitched camp, it had thrown Luzhou into turmoil, but since then, there had been no further movement at all. It looked as though they were hesitating, and Liu Chengyou's intentions seemed somewhat difficult to fathom.

Siting bordered Luzhou and Ze to the south, and faced Bing and Fen to the north, holding the strategic throat of Lucheng's northern approaches. The town was an ancient settlement of a thousand years, steeped in the civilization of the Three Jin, with fertile soil and abundant resources — always prosperous.

The Longqi Army camped outside the town, occupying the surrounding passes and assuming a defensive posture. Under Liu Chengyou's strict orders, not a single soldier dared to enter the town without authorization. Simply refraining from the slightest harm to the people was already a rare feat.

After several days, the great army encamped outside the town had never overstepped its bounds, which gradually eased the townsfolk's wariness. Of course, even if they remained wary, it would have been useless...

It was rare to see an army with such strict discipline. Led by several elders and town worthies, the people of Siting truly came out with baskets of food and vessels of drink to reward the royal army. Though the offerings were modest, they represented the townsfolk's sincerity, and Liu Chengyou personally accepted them on behalf of his soldiers, distributing them among the camps.

By now, when the townsfolk heard the fierce drill cries that came punctually from outside the town each day, they no longer trembled in fear. They also came to know that the army outside was a righteous host acting on the Son of Heaven's command, marching south to punish the Khitan barbarians who bullied and trampled the people of the Central Plains.

The town's original garrison commander had, on the pretext of Yelu Deguang's "levy decree," carried out a great extortion campaign in Siting, plundering the townsfolk's wealth to fatten his own purse.

In truth, under the Khitan's "levy decree," it was not only Khitan soldiers and officials who plundered the people's property. The Khitan army was also adept at "harvesting grain" — which was far easier and faster than "borrowing." In various prefectures and counties, many local officials, military officers, and even bandits took the opportunity to swallow up the people's wealth, and anyway, they could just pin all the blame on the Khitan.

The levy commissioners Yelu Deguang dispatched could amass wealth in the prefectural cities, but could rarely reach down to the localities. In this regard, besides their own crimes, the Khitan were also carrying the blame for those who used the opportunity to enrich themselves...

Liu Chengyou could not concern himself with distant places, but the local vermin right before his eyes he dealt with directly. He had the garrison commander seized, enumerated his crimes, proclaimed them to the whole town, and executed him according to his offenses. Then he confiscated his residence and took his family assets as military funds.

With this move, Liu Chengyou gained attention, won hearts, and reaped profit all at once. Of course, the Siting garrison commander's fate was somewhat unfortunate — he was hardly the only one doing such things, and there were plenty who had gone further than he had.

But it was his bad luck to have run right into Liu Chengyou's hands.

Before a rather dilapidated ancient pavilion, several figures stood silently at its side. Liu Chengyou was among them, his gaze calm as he regarded the crumbling pavilion corner before him.

The origin of Siting traced back to the Spring and Autumn period, when the place was called Huting. The grand officer Yangshe Chi came here to serve as an official, and observing the taboo of "a sheep entering the tiger's mouth," he sought a suitable spot to build a pavilion to suppress the tiger, renaming the place "Siting."

According to the locals, the crumbling pavilion before them was the very one Yangshe Chi had built. Liu Chengyou did not believe this claim. In the past few days he had walked several circuits around the town and its surroundings, surveying the terrain, and had not even found the ruins of a large structure like the Siqi Palace — he did not think a small ancient pavilion could have survived.

"An ancient pavilion to suppress a fierce tiger — but the Siting of today cannot suppress my Hedong tiger host!" After a moment, Liu Chengyou spoke, his light tone carrying a hint of confidence.

"Your Highness speaks truly. Our soldiers are like tigers just released from their cages, roaring with eagerness, yearning to establish merit..." Zhang Yanwei immediately chimed in from the side.

Liu Chengyou glanced at Zhang Yanwei beside him — the man seemed to have put on a bit more weight — and after a moment's deliberation, asked unhurriedly: "But why do I feel the soldiers' spirits are a little restless?"

"This..." A flash of embarrassment crossed Zhang Yanwei's face.

At this moment, Guo Rong spoke up on his own: "Your Highness has been encamped at Siting for six days now — neither advancing nor retreating, strictly restraining the troops, and calmly drilling the new soldiers. The men below do not understand Your Highness's intentions, so naturally they grow impatient."

Liu Chengyou stepped forward a few paces, sat down amid the ruined pavilion, and looked at Guo Rong. Over the past few days he had grown gradually familiar with him; Guo Rong spoke more than he had at first, and Liu Chengyou had increased the frequency with which he discussed military and political matters with him.

At the same time, Liu Chengyou had discovered that although Guo Rong was steady and composed, he was in fact a bit of a closet enthusiast — when it came to topics that interested him, he was quite eager to talk.

"Has it even been a few days? If they grow weary already, how can they be called a hundred-tempered army." Liu Chengyou said calmly: "The Longqi Army still lacks refinement!"

"Your Highness, Shi Hongzhao has already breached Daizhou, beheaded Wang Hui, and taken the city in triumph. His Majesty has also led the army back to Jinyang. Only our army has marched south with slow progress — I fear we will be looked down upon by others!" Looking at Liu Chengyou's calm, unruffled face, Zhang Yanwei could not help but remind him.

Pausing, he continued with irritation in his voice: "That Shi Hongzhao has petitioned His Majesty to replace you as the vanguard for the southern advance!"

Liu Zhiyuan's little drama of "marching east to rescue the emperor" had finally played out — Emperor Shi Chonggui of the Jin, of course, could not possibly be rescued. Liu Zhiyuan's army had not even left the Taihang Mountains. At Shouyang, Liu Zhiyuan had "disappointedly" received word that Shi Chonggui's entire family had already been escorted north by the Khitan...

And Shouyang was barely a hundred li east of Jinyang. Still, Liu Zhiyuan's eastern march was not merely an armed parade — he had quite easily destroyed that Khitan force operating on the fringes of Taiyuan Prefecture, and incidentally retaken Tumen (Jingxing).

As for Shi Hongzhao, he had led his troops north and taken Daizhou in a single battle, beheading the turncoat Wang Hui. This was hardly a difficult feat — measured by any standard, almost any commander under Liu Zhiyuan with a modicum of courage and strategy could have done the same.

But Shi Hongzhao lacked that self-awareness. As if he had accomplished some unprecedented feat, his tail was in the air, and he had begun to meddle in Liu Chengyou's "southern advance army." He even petitioned Liu Zhiyuan to be allowed to march south, staking a military pledge to take Luzhou within five days.

When this news reached the front lines, it naturally provoked discontent among Zhang Yanwei and the others, who had grown somewhat impatient of late.

Hearing him bring up the matter, Liu Chengyou's expression remained unchanged — he did not even blink. Instead, under Zhang Yanwei's surprised gaze, he looked at Guo Rong: "I have stationed my troops here, and the soldiers below do not understand my intent. Do you understand my plan?"

At the question, Guo Rong stepped forward lightly two paces and answered calmly: "In the art of war, attacking the heart is paramount; attacking cities is secondary. Psychological warfare comes first; armed combat comes last. Given the current situation in Luzhou, force need not necessarily be used to take it. Previously Xiang Xun returned, and Your Highness then sent him out again... I suspect you have already prepared to roll up your armor and enter Shangdang!"

Gazing at Guo Rong, Liu Chengyou felt very calm within — after all, the "Shizong of Zhou" seeing through his plan was hardly surprising, even though Liu Chengyou had never revealed his hand to him regarding the Luzhou matter.

And the facts were exactly as Guo Rong had said — from the very beginning, Liu Chengyou had never intended to take the city by force. Although he was confident that even in a battle he could seize Luzhou, if he could take the entire prefecture without fighting, why expend troops and suffer losses?

During these days encamped at Siting, Liu Chengyou had not been idle. Besides the moves in the prefectural city, the three nearby counties of Xiangyuan, Licheng, and Lucheng had already quietly submitted memorials of allegiance.

"Come, let's go check on the Fourth Army..." Giving Guo Rong a look of approval, Liu Chengyou rose, brushed the dust from his backside, and led the way northward.