Chapter 392: Seconding the Proposal

"But the matter of Hunan must still be settled upon a strategy!" Liu Chengyou stroked his stubble, deep in thought, then turned to ask Wei Renpu: "That Ma Xi'e has submitted to the false Tang—has the false Tang made any recent moves?"

These matters were already stored in Wei Renpu's mind, ready to be retrieved at the Emperor's inquiry: "I report to Your Majesty: in September of this year, the false Tang sovereign accepted Ma Xi'e's tribute and received his surrender, granting him one year's tax revenue from Ezhou to aid his raising of troops. In October, he further dispatched He Jingzhu, the Militia Commissioner of Chuzhou, to lead troops into Chu to assist in battle, and they have now joined forces with the Langzhou army. However, up to the present, the false Tang has made no further moves—still watching and waiting!"

"Heh..." Liu Chengyou savored this for a moment, then could not help but laugh: "This Li Jing's conduct, in my eyes, is just like a beast. Do you all know what it is?"

Feng Dao immediately clasped his hands and played along, asking: "May I venture to ask Your Majesty?"

Liu Chengyou raised his hand, gesturing as he sneered: "Li Jing, in my eyes, is like a cat that has caught the scent of fish—itching inside, unable to resist reaching out a paw, yet hesitating and dithering, unable to make up his mind!"

"What Your Majesty says is most amusing and quite vivid!" Feng Dao stroked his beard, his face full of flattering smiles: "But in this old minister's view, the false Tang sovereign is also cowed by the majesty of our Great Han. These past few years, Your Majesty has governed with diligence, giving the people rest, and the Great Han's strength has been gradually recovering. If the Great Han does not move, how would the false Tang dare act rashly! The false Tang sovereign dares not be careless!"

Feng Dao's flattery had become something Liu Chengyou was quite used to...

Setting aside his jesting tone, Liu Chengyou's return to seriousness made the atmosphere of the entire hall turn grave: "The false Tang has already moved. If I do not, would I not be looked down upon?"

"What do you all think?"

This time, it was Zheng Renhui, Chief Recipient of Petitions of the Bureau of Military Affairs, who spoke first: "Your Majesty, I have a proposal, but I know not whether I ought to speak it!"

"Speak!" Glancing at the man—Zheng Renhui's caution somewhat resembled Guo Wei's—Liu Chengyou waved his hand, his expression open and frank: "I summoned you all precisely to gather a range of opinions. Please speak freely, hide nothing!"

"Yes!" Zheng Renhui raised his eyelids, rose and bowed, strictly observing ministerial decorum, and said in a deep voice: "The King of Chu has repeatedly appealed to the Eastern Capital, hoping the court will send troops south to garrison Lizhou, so as to block the routes by which Jingnan and the false Tang might rush reinforcements to Langzhou!"

"Now that the false Tang has already accepted Ma Xi'e's submission and granted him grain and troops, in this minister's view, Your Majesty might as well grant the King of Chu's request—send an army south to take up position in Lizhou, to display the court's authority. The troops need not be many; merely instruct the Duke of Qi to dispatch a detached force from Xiangzhou. In this way, the court's preparations for the campaign against Huainan will not be affected..."

Zheng Renhui's words made Liu Chengyou's eyes light up. He could not help but take a second look at the man, the corner of his mouth curling up as he asked: "What do you all think of Minister Zheng's proposal?"

The civil and military officials seated in the hall exchanged discussions. It was Wang Pu who spoke up in a clear voice: "I report to Your Majesty, Chief Recipient Zheng's proposal is workable!"

Having said this, Wang Pu added: "In this minister's view, our court's strategy could perhaps be bolder still. Your Majesty might send an envoy to the false Tang, making an agreement with its sovereign Li Jing, enticing him to join us in a pincer attack on the Ma Chu, dividing the Chu lands between us! If the false Tang sends troops to attack Chu, we can then find ways to bog them down—dragging out their elite troops, exhausting their grain and coin—while our court seeks an opportunity to turn and attack Huainan. By then, the difficulty of the campaign will surely be reduced!"

"Moreover, allying with the Tang to divide Chu may dispel the suspicions of the false Tang's sovereign and ministers. Otherwise, with our court's strength concentrated in the north, even if the false Tang harbors greedy desires, they may still fear to commit fully to striking Chu. After all, Hunan is vast—not comparable to the Min lands. The false Tang dared to destroy Min back then, but now they may not necessarily dare to attack Chu!"

The strategy of "south first, north later"—attacking Huainan—had been first proposed in court by Wang Pu. Over these two years, openly and covertly, the entire court's military and political operations had been steered by Liu Chengyou's personal control toward preparing for the southern campaign.

For this reason, Wang Pu had personally overseen the digging of canals and dredging of waterways, providing convenience and preparation for troop movements and grain transport, working tirelessly without complaint. Now he offered this further strategy—clearly devoting all his efforts and painstaking thought to the Huainan campaign.

"Heh heh..." A somewhat derisive laugh rang out in the hall, jarring to the ears, and immediately drew everyone's gaze.

"Why do you laugh?" Liu Chengyou's face hardened, most intimidating, as he stared at Tao Gu.

Seeing this, Tao Gu panicked, realizing he had lost his composure. He hastily rose and begged forgiveness: "This minister committed a breach of decorum before the throne. I beg Your Majesty's pardon!"

"Enough!" Liu Chengyou's voice rose, his tiger eyes glaring: "I have permitted you all to speak freely and voice your views fully, but a bit less of this flippancy would be well!"

"Yes! Yes!" The assembled ministers were overawed, and Tao Gu echoed twice as well, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Glancing at Tao Gu—this was the sort who grew arrogant once he gained favor; if not rapped on the knuckles, he would easily get above himself...

Steadying his mind, Tao Gu once more became that meek-eyed, humble, submissive good minister, speaking carefully: "Your Majesty, I merely felt that Minister Wang's proposal warrants further deliberation. Our Great Han is a tiger, the false Tang a dog, and the Ma Chu a sheep. Since the false Tang harbors fear of our court, how would it dare scheme with a tiger over a sheep?"

Hearing this, one had to admit—this fellow Tao Gu, at times, did have genuine insight when considering matters.

He looked toward Wang Pu: "What do you think?"

Meeting the gaze of the Son of Heaven and the other courtiers, Wang Pu remained perfectly composed, eyes fixed straight ahead, speaking slowly: "Your Majesty, the false Tang has carved out Jianghuai and dominated the southeast for decades, never once clashing with the Central Plains in all those years—to say nothing of their naval strength. With abundant national power and numerous troops and generals, it is inevitable that the false Tang sovereign harbors suspicion of our court. But as for how deep that fear truly runs—since we have yet to cross swords—it may not be as great as assumed!"

"Therefore, while our court may rightly see itself as a fierce tiger, if we merely regard the false Tang as pigs and dogs and underestimate them, we may well suffer setbacks in battle!"

Pausing, his peripheral gaze sweeping his surroundings, Wang Pu seemed to rather enjoy this feeling of free debate in the imperial hall, and continued: "As for the proposal to divide Chu—putting ourselves in the false Tang's shoes—our court would be separated from Hunan by Jingnan. Even if we took it, it would be an exclave, unless we pulled a 'borrowing a road to destroy Guo' and wiped out the Gao clan of Jingnan as well. The false Tang has the advantage of proximity. Even if they scheme with the tiger, should circumstances change, they need only persuade Jingnan to cut off our retreat, and our court's threat to them would be greatly diminished. Forgive my bluntness—under the current situation, if the Chu lands were divided, our court's strength would not match the false Tang's!"

"Therefore, the difficulty of luring the Tang to attack Chu is not as great as Drafter Tao imagines! I beg Your Majesty to judge clearly!"

"It seems Minister Wang's 'proposal to divide Chu' has long been thoroughly considered in your mind!" Having heard Wang Pu's exposition, Liu Chengyou sighed lightly.

Without directly expressing his stance, Liu Chengyou swept his gaze over Wang Pu, Tao Gu, Zheng Renhui, and the others, then suddenly smiled: "The strategists and counselors in this court grow more numerous by the day! I am pleased!"

This time, before Feng Dao could offer his flattery, Tao Gu had already snatched up the praise: "This is all because Your Majesty is wise and martial, and so worthy talents gather to serve before the throne!"

Having apparently perceived that the Emperor had already been persuaded by Wang Pu, Tao Gu quickly shifted his position: "Your Majesty, Minister Wang's considerations are thorough. This minister believes it is feasible!"

There was not a trace of reluctance on Tao Gu's face...

Liu Chengyou asked the others as well, and under these circumstances, all voiced their assent.