Chapter 389: The Scheming of the Dark Heart

In the twelfth month of the third year of Qianyou, rumors arose in the capital, claiming that Liu Chong, Prince of Taiyuan, Defender-in-Chief of the Northern Capital, and Military Governor of Hedong, harbored secret ambitions and posed a latent threat to the court.

Court and commoners alike buzzed with discussion. When the Son of Heaven, Liu Chengyou, heard of this, he flew into a rage, thundering in Chongzheng Hall, declaring that there were those with inscrutable hearts and villainous schemes who sought to drive a wedge between the court and Hedong.

He immediately summoned Li Shaoyou and Wang Jingchong, the chief and deputy commissioners of the Wude Office, and ordered them to investigate and handle the matter, apprehending those who spread the rumors. Thereafter, the Wude Office dispatched all its agents, secrecy became the order of the day, and even the newly formed Wude Battalion sent its armored soldiers out in force, arresting over a hundred people in total. The commotion was considerable, and even the long-stable Eastern Capital was thrown into disorder for a time.

Yet the Wude Office, which in previous years had been invincible in investigation, interrogation, and prosecution, suddenly became woefully inefficient in this affair. Though many were arrested, nothing was ultimately gained. It was only when the Son of Heaven, Liu Chengyou, calmed himself from his anger in time and ordered the innocent detainees released with monetary compensation that the people's resentment subsided.

Thereafter, Liu Chengyou had Tao Gu, Drafter of the Secretariat and Imperial Edict Writer, compose a "Letter to the Imperial Uncle," laying out the events in the capital in full. The prose was fluent, the emotion rich, giving full expression to the bond between uncle and nephew, the duty between sovereign and minister, and making his true intentions entirely clear.

He also summoned his imperial uncle Murong Yanchao to the palace for a sincere conversation, then commissioned him as Pacification Commissioner of Hedong, sending him north to Jinyang on behalf of the Son of Heaven to offer sacrifices to heaven and the ancestors. Additionally, he was to deliver the emperor's letter and a large batch of prepared imperial gifts to Liu Chong.

Murong Yanchao, since early last year following the case of Liu Xin, the imperial uncle at Xuzhou, had remained in the Eastern Capital for nearly two years. Even after the confinement period Liu Chengyou had imposed on him expired, he showed no intention of returning to his garrison command at Yunzhou. Instead, he engaged in commerce in the Eastern Capital, acquiring extensive properties, amassing a considerable fortune, and "developing" his talent for trade.

As for Yunzhou itself, at first he entrusted affairs to his staff officers and subordinates, but later he abandoned all oversight entirely. By now, though Yunzhou remained a garrison command, both its military forces and civil administration were controlled by military and civil officials directly dispatched by the court. Governance was divided among various departments, with army commanders organizing militia. In Liu Chengyou's careful process of "de-militarizing" the regions, Yunzhou had essentially been completed in one stroke.

Perhaps in light of this, Liu Chengyou was somewhat permissive of Murong Yanchao's presence in the Eastern Capital. Compared to him wreaking havoc on local officials and people in the provinces, his using privileged status to engage in trade in the capital was hardly a major matter.

As for Murong Yanchao himself, calling him crude, arrogant, greedy, and lecherous would not be an exaggeration in the least. But he had one virtue: he knew how to read the room, especially when facing his imperial nephew Liu Chengyou.

He had heard the rumors in the Eastern Capital and had his guesses about the Son of Heaven's intentions in assigning him this task. He directly gave his guarantee and accepted the commission to head north to Hedong.

As Murong Yanchao headed north, Liu Chengyou's moves followed in quick succession. First, he had the "Letter to the Imperial Uncle" circulated among the people. Second, he urgently ordered Yang Ye, who had not yet spent a full month in the Eastern Capital, to return to Daizhou. Third, he dispatched an additional batch of military equipment to Jinzhou. Fourth, Bai Chongzan, Army Commander of Sishui, was transferred to garrison Tumen (Jingxing), with two thousand troops allocated to him.

Originally, Bai Chongzan's posting to Sishui was a piece Liu Chengyou had placed when Shi Hongzhao was sent out to garrison Luoyang—a move that had essentially served no purpose, because Shi Hongzhao had maximized Bai Chongzan's value as a "tool" in Luoyang, where a host of meritorious officials and powerful clans trembled under his "tyranny." Now, Liu Chengyou's transfer of Bai Chongzan to Tumen—the wise could see its purpose.

In truth, this series of actions was essentially Liu Chengyou's response to the situation in Hedong: while employing mollification and appeasement, he did not forget to beat the grass to startle the snake, to strike the mountain to shake the tiger.

If one said Liu Chong harbored rebellious intentions at this moment, Liu Chengyou believed it was not as exaggerated as Wang Jingchong had reported. If one said he was of one heart with the court, that too was impossible. At Liu Chong's position, combined with the court's policies and his own temperament, harboring suspicion and wariness toward the court was inevitable.

What Liu Chengyou wanted to convey to Liu Chong through these many measures was this: I, the Emperor, share the bond of uncle and nephew with you, Imperial Uncle, and harbor no intention of harming you. Please, Imperial Uncle, rest assured and do not worry. But if the Imperial Uncle, driven by suspicion, should make any move, then the court is not unprepared—it has long been on guard.

With Liu Chong's intellect, sorting out the stakes involved might be somewhat difficult, but Liu Chengyou had heard that his Administrative Assistant Zheng Gong and Taiyuan Vice-Governor Li Xiang were men of insight. Surely they would alert Liu Chong to be cautious.

Liu Chengyou's primary goal was still to stabilize Hedong, to keep it from causing chaos while his great enterprise was just beginning. He was also well aware that the Hedong problem, while serious in some respects, had not yet reached the level of a mortal threat to the heart.

The Hedong problem was a legacy of history. Its strategic terrain, combined with the rise and fall of three generations, all but guaranteed that whoever held it could hardly resist entertaining ambitions. But for Liu Chengyou, the crux of the problem lay solely with his imperial uncle Liu Chong.

As for Hedong itself, aside from its geographical advantages, its population, land, cities, and tax revenues—its war potential had long been exhausted in the three successive campaigns of Li Cunxu, Shi Jingtang, and Liu Zhiyuan to seize the Central Plains. By now, that corner of Hedong simply lacked the strength to independently oppose the court.

In the original course of history, Liu Chong was able to hold Hedong and resist the Later Zhou for three reasons. First, he possessed the "great righteousness" of inheriting the Later Han's ancestral temple. Though Guo Wei had marched on the capital under the banner of "cleansing the court of evil ministers," the essence of his usurpation remained unchanged. Second, Guo Wei's illegitimate acquisition of the state led to endless internal strife; he was too busy pacifying the various garrisons to spare attention for dealing with Liu Chong. Third, there was naturally the support of the Khitan—the "uncle-nephew states" relationship set an example for the Southern Song's Longxing Peace Accord.

As for his imperial uncle Liu Chong, Liu Chengyou was not looking down on him—whether in governance, military command, political maneuvering, or prestige, he was merely of middling ability. That he had reached his current position owed less to luck in being born well and more to having a good elder brother.

If he truly needed to deal with Liu Chong, to move against him—this was not Liu Chengyou being arrogant—he could devise several strategies in an instant. It was simply that the time had not yet come.

For the great enterprise of conquering the south, Liu Chengyou had endured two years and prepared for two years. He was even planning to adopt a strategy of complete turtle-like defense against the Khitan. How could he possibly allow the Hedong problem to escalate at this critical juncture?

Moreover, there was a scheming calculation behind it all: Liu Chong had accumulated vast troops, provisions, and wealth in Hedong. Should he one day be taken down, years of accumulation would be gained by the court in a single stroke. The popular resentment he had built up could likely be dissolved with a single edict, while the court would reap the actual benefits, and the Son of Heaven, by "sacrificing kin for righteousness," would win praise.

With every scheme calculated to the last detail, the imperial uncle Liu Chong of Hedong was, to the Great Han's Son of Heaven Liu Chengyou, less a threat than a fat, plump pig—raised in the sty, awaiting the slaughter...

However, the course of events did not bend entirely to Liu Chengyou's will, even if he was the emperor. Where the Hedong problem would develop next still depended on Liu Chong.

Of course, having weighed every contingency in his calculations, Liu Chengyou had a prepared plan even if Liu Chong truly rebelled.

Given the Great Han's current domestic stability, the steadiness of the court, the discipline of the military, and the authority of the central government, Liu Chengyou did not believe Liu Chong could shake the Great Han's realm from the single corner of Hedong. As for the various prefectures under Hedong's jurisdiction, Liu Chong's influence was not necessarily greater than the court's. Should Jinyang turn traitor, Liu Chengyou was confident in where their loyalties would lie.

What Liu Chengyou sought now was merely to avoid the eruption of the Hedong problem and to delay it from obstructing his grand strategic plans.

"Imperial Uncle! Please, do not let your head get hot..." Whatever else, this was Liu Chengyou's most sincere hope for Liu Chong.