Chapter 4: The Central Plains Changes Hands

After a few idle words and a brief rest, Liu Chengyou took the initiative to take his leave, hoisted his hoe on his shoulder, and headed back down to the fields. Liu Chengxun, as the elder brother, felt he should lead by example and refused to fall behind, so he too dragged his somewhat weary body to the fields and continued clumsily digging at the earth.

After the two had gone, a civil official not far from Liu Zhiyuan caught the father-son conversation in his ears. His shrewd eyes swept the surroundings, he set down his farming implement, walked to the edge of the field, and with a smiling face cupped his hands toward him: "Congratulations, Your Highness!"

The man was in his thirties, with a gaunt, refined face, a spirited and handsome bearing, and a meticulously trimmed beard. This man was named Su Fengji, holding the office of Administrative Assistant to the Hedong Military Governor, and was Liu Zhiyuan's trusted confidant, deeply valued by him. Liu Zhiyuan was by nature stern and severe; his retainers and subordinates feared and respected him, but only this Su Fengji was fortunate enough to serve at his side, reading documents and observing his mood. Whenever he offered counsel, Liu Zhiyuan mostly expressed approval and rarely rejected it. In short, this Su Fengji was doing quite well for himself under Liu Zhiyuan.

"Oh?" Liu Zhiyuan's attitude toward Su Fengji was indeed much more cordial than toward others—he even revealed a smile rarely seen by ordinary men, asking with curiosity: "What happy news is there?"

Su Fengji appeared very respectful, standing with a careful bow, his eyes sweeping toward Liu Chengxun and Liu Chengyou in the distance: "The heir apparent is prudent, filial, and respectful, gentle and generous with the capacity to tolerate others; the second prince, though sparing of words, is resolute and stern, with grand strategies in his breast. To have sons like these—is that not Your Highness's happy occasion? Both princes possess the bearing of dragons and phoenixes, the countenance of sun and heaven..."

Su Fengji's flattery rang loud and clear, and it struck Liu Zhiyuan right in the heart, though his expression remained stern throughout as he replied: "How could my two sons deserve such praise? Hmm... though the eldest's character is indeed honest and kind, that is true enough. As for the second—

His words paused, and Liu Zhiyuan's gaze suddenly turned somewhat deep: "In these past half-year-plus, his temperament has changed greatly, his control over others overly strict, his words and deeds sharp and cutting. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, I cannot say..."

Liu Zhiyuan clearly treated Su Fengji as one of his intimates, showing no intention of concealing his assessment of his two sons. Having been by Liu Zhiyuan's side for a long time, Su Fengji roughly understood his concerns, but he dared not rashly offer any opinion.

Lowering his head and then raising it again, a hint of cleverness flashing in his eyes, Su Fengji naturally steered the topic aside, with a touch of implication in his words: "What the second prince said just now is not without reason. The Great Jin has fallen, the Central Plains have no master, and the barbarian hordes run rampant. Your Highness truly should be actively advancing—"

Su Fengji was clearly prepared for a long discourse, but was roughly cut off by Liu Zhiyuan: "The words of a brat—how can they be taken seriously?"

Seeing Liu Zhiyuan "anger," Su Fengji's expression instead grew even more relaxed. Unhurriedly, he continued speaking slowly on his own: "Hedong is a land of strategic advantage; since ancient times, whoever holds it can establish a kingly enterprise. Not to speak of distant times—back then, the Prince of Jin held it to resist the mighty, and when Emperor Zhuangzong destroyed the Liang, that was how the Great Tang arose; ten years ago, Gaozu garrisoned Hedong, resisting the whole realm with a single corner of territory, driving straight into Luoyang—the Great Jin arose from here. Now Your Highness commands tens of thousands of troops, the people are at peace, the soldiers are strong, and the Central Plains have sunk beneath the iron hooves of foreign tribes. If you unleash the might of Hedong and march south into the Central Plains, an imperial enterprise is within reach..."

"Shut up!" Hearing Su Fengji speak such blatant "treasonous words," Liu Zhiyuan's anger was fearsome to behold as he glared fiercely at Su Fengji and bellowed.

Su Fengji felt somewhat unsatisfied, but facing Liu Zhiyuan's gaze, he wisely closed his mouth. He believed he had guessed Liu Zhiyuan's thoughts, yet facing that ferocious stare directly, his heart still couldn't help but pound. The Prince of Beiping, Liu Zhiyuan, was no kind man. His body couldn't help but shudder slightly, and Su Fengji hurriedly bowed his head deeply.

Liu Zhiyuan's impassioned words came to his ears: "If you dare speak such treasonous words again, I will absolutely not forgive you lightly. I was promoted by Gaozu and have long received the state's grace; naturally I must repay it. The Jin house has declined, the Son of Heaven has been humiliated and fallen into Khitan hands. I, stationed a thousand li away, was unable to come to his aid—already I am stricken to the heart, ashamed and remorseful beyond measure. How dare I harbor such treasonous delusions! Speak no more of this! Speak no more of this!"

Liu Zhiyuan's moving display seemed almost real. Su Fengji was also a clever man; his eyes rolled around a few times, and he made a deep bow: "Your Highness's loyalty—this humble official understands. I spoke rashly and out of turn; please punish me, Your Highness!"

"If this talk is repeated, you will be severely punished without mercy!" With a light snort, Liu Zhiyuan rose and swept away with his sleeves, as if truly angered.

Seeing this, Su Fengji hurriedly followed behind with several yabing officers and personal guards, not a trace of panic on his face.

Liu Zhiyuan's reply to Su Fengji was, of course, insincere—complete nonsense. If he had truly been loyal to the Jin house, during the five years of stalemate and bitter fighting between the Jin and the Khitan, he would not have held firm at the passes, sitting by and watching the outcome, while secretly taking in scattered soldiers and building up his own power. At the Zhongdu Bridge incident, when Du Chongwei surrendered his entire army and Bianliang was in peril, there was still no sign of him moving to rescue the throne. When Yelu Deguang entered Bianliang and saw the various military governors scrambling to pay homage, he unhesitatingly sent men bearing heavy gifts to kowtow at the palace, professing great loyalty...

From Liu Zhiyuan's actions, one could tell he was ambitious. In fact, at his level of fame and position, it was impossible not to be ambitious—and if one did not advance, one retreated. During this period, many civil and military figures in Hedong had already been dropping hints to him, overtly and covertly. Though Su Fengji's words were bold and direct, he was neither the first nor would he be the last.

Liu Zhiyuan's attitude was so "resolute" for only one reason: the time had not yet come. First, the situation in the realm was still unclear. Though there were rumors of the Khitan ruler Yelu Deguang's tyranny and misdeeds in the Central Plains, and though the literati and commoners had fierce resistance, it had not yet formed a scale. Second, Liu Zhiyuan's heart was also somewhat uncertain—Yelu Deguang commanded several hundred thousand troops of Khitan and Han, which was quite a deterrent. He had no wish to stake the foundation he had painstakingly built in Hedong against the Khitan in a head-on collision.

Liu Zhiyuan's approach at this time could be summed up in one word: wait and see.

The commotion around Liu Zhiyuan stirred a ripple; the civil and military officials hoeing in the fields all turned to look. Liu Chengyou also subconsciously glanced over, but quickly buried his head back in the soil, focused on turning the earth. One mu—that quota must be met.

After the Prince of Beiping departed, many began to slack off, and this show of farming ended up anticlimactic. In the end, only Liu Chengyou and a few low-ranking officials completed their hoeing quotas in full. Those few civil and military officers were silently noted in Liu Chengyou's heart.

When a great change approaches, there must be strange omens. In this season of all things reviving, when spring warmth brought flowers into bloom, an atmosphere of impending storm pervaded both inside and outside Jinyang. In the evening, the Commander of the South City Gate reported that a sudden "demonic wind" had risen, snapping the "Jin banner" on the city wall in two. Liu Zhiyuan asked his attendants about this, but none could answer. Only Su Fengji took on the role of explainer, saying this was a warning from heaven, that a drastic upheaval was likely. Liu Zhiyuan remained silent—at this point, what further upheaval could there be?

As luck would have it, shortly after sunset, a piece of news arrived from Bianjing. Just yesterday, on the first day of the second month, the Khitan ruler Yelu Deguang, under the "acclamation" of his barbarian and Han ministers, proclaimed himself emperor in the Bian palace, changing the Khitan state name to "Liao," changing the era name to Datong, and granting a general amnesty—formally and legally assuming rule over China. Accompanying this was a somewhat harsh edict: "From now on, military governors and prefects shall not maintain yabing guards or purchase war horses."

A six-hundred-li express rider brought the report, and another wave of turmoil swept through Jinyang. Liu Zhiyuan set down his half-eaten bowl of rice and urgently summoned his staff officers to the prince's residence for counsel.

Under the night sky, the prince's residence remained solemn. The spacious and imposing main hall was even more hushed, utterly silent, with only a few lamp stands burning quietly, their flickering flames releasing wisps of hazy light.

Only a dozen or so people were in the hall. Liu Zhiyuan had no intention of a grand council; the civil and military officials were headed by Right Chief Inspector Yang Bin and Cavalry and Infantry Commander Liu Chong, with Liu Xin, Hu Yanke, Wang Zhang, Shi Hongzhao, Chang Si, and other senior civil and military officers under Liu Zhiyuan also present. Probably due to his outstanding performance over the past half-year, especially recently, Liu Chengyou was also included.

Sitting with proper posture beside his uncle Liu Chong in the second seat of the right column, his expression matched the others' solemn gravity. Of course, Liu Chengyou wasn't nervous at all at heart—that Yelu Deguang would proclaim himself emperor and establish the Liao was something he had long "anticipated," hardly worth making a fuss over.

At the same time, Liu Chengyou's gaze kept drifting toward a middle-aged military officer seated toward the back of the hall. His face was upright and dignified, his bearing bold and unrestrained—that was the Chief Registrar of Hedong's Barbarian and Han Forces, Guo Wei. At this time, Guo Wei already held a certain position under Liu Zhiyuan, but that was about it. Among the military officers, compared to Liu Chong, Liu Xin, or Shi Hongzhao, he was just a "little brother."

A registrar is like a single eye and a single hole—nothing passes without going through his hands. As registrar, Guo Wei could manage all matters of military affairs, but given the current state of Hedong's forces, there was nothing for him to manage. For instance, the Longqi Army under Liu Chengyou's command—he absolutely could not get a hand in.

However, Liu Chengyou would never underestimate this military official who had yet to make a name for himself in the world. Every time he looked at the man, the four words "robe draped over the shoulders" kept swirling in Liu Chengyou's mind, and his gaze involuntarily turned cold.

Perhaps because Liu Chengyou's gaze was too cold and sharp, Guo Wei sensed it and looked over toward him—but only saw Liu Chengyou, who had already turned his head away, his expression restored to calm. His thick brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of confusion flickered across Guo Wei's composed eyes.

"His Highness arrives!" With a loud shout from a yabing officer, the atmosphere in the hall grew even tenser, and everyone perked up.

Liu Zhiyuan, clad in crimson robes, strode up to the main seat and sat down with a grand, imposing posture. He swept his gaze around the room and spoke rapidly, getting straight to the point: "The Khitan ruler has proclaimed himself emperor, and the realm is in an uproar. His edicts and decrees are probably already on the road heading north. I only ask this: what should Hedong do now?"