Chapter 458: Reactions in the Eastern Capital, Wang Jun's Secret Memorial

In the Eastern Capital, before the imperial carriage had even set out, the news of the great victory at Xiaca, along with the battle report from the Wokou engagement, was carried by relay riders at full speed into Kaifeng.

Upon learning of it, the Son of Heaven and the assembled ministers and nobles were overjoyed, unable to contain their delight, and all offered congratulations to Liu Chengyou. Liu Chengyou then ordered Tao Gu, the Secretariat Drafter, to polish and embellish the battle results in the military report somewhat, then have it made into an official proclamation, and instructed the Kaifeng administration to announce it throughout the city to boost public morale.

According to the official announcement, in the battle at Xiaca, the Tang army's main force of one hundred thousand sent to reinforce the Huai region was completely annihilated, and the commanding general Liu Yanzhen was beheaded. In the battle at Wokou, the thirty thousand combined land and naval forces from Haozhou suffered a great defeat, losing more than half their numbers. As for the Great Han army's side, losses were almost negligible, while prisoners and captured supplies were countless.

In the Bureau of Military Affairs, compared to its usual solemnity, the clerks and supervisors of the various offices could hardly avoid some discussion about the great victories at Xiaca and Wokou. On Wang Jun's part, winning a great battle, though surprising, was not particularly extraordinary—after all, he commanded the main force with many elite troops and capable generals; one could only say he employed his troops skillfully.

But at Wokou, relying on only two to three thousand militia and naval troops against several times their number, they had actually achieved a complete victory. Zhao Kuangyin's name resounded through the court for the first time.

Guo Wei, at his desk, reviewed documents and signed military orders. The two great victories on the Huainan front would inevitably bring considerable adjustments and reactions at the central court.

"Your Excellency the Commissioner, a messenger has come from the palace with an edict—His Majesty summons you!" Deputy Commissioner Zheng Renhui entered and reported.

As Guo Wei's figure passed through the various offices of the bureau, the surroundings immediately returned to their usual solemn gravity. There was a kind of authority that required no forceful suppression—all fell into respectful silence.

In Chongzheng Hall, a group of young men, rising talents, were speaking freely and holding forth on matters of state.

"In the battle at Xiaca, thirty thousand elite Tang troops were destroyed in one stroke. The situation in Huainan has changed drastically, and our dynasty's victory is already assured. From now on, Huainan will have no remaining strength to resist our heavenly army!" Zhao Yanjin's voice was resounding.

"Not so!" An Shouzhong raised an objection: "We still must not underestimate the Tang army. According to reports, within Shouchun city, He Jingzhu and Zhang Quanyue have taken in nearly ten thousand soldiers and civilians, the defending force exceeds twenty thousand, and they have stockpiled sufficient grain. If they resolve to defend to the death, I fear it will not be easy to take!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yanjin immediately retorted: "A bunch of defeated troops who have lost their nerve at the mere mention of battle—what threat are they? I fear they will instead affect the morale of the other defending troops who have not yet fought! How can they block our victorious army?"

"I have heard that He Jingzhu is a veteran general of the Tang army, a lifetime of military service, rising from obscurity, rich in experience, renowned for skilled defense! He must not be underestimated—according to earlier reports, he has responded to our great army with great composure!" Zhang Yongde spoke up: "Of course, after all, he is an old man, at the age of sixty—how long can he hold out?"

"What the generals say is right!" Li Fang, the new top scholar, now joined in, saying: "The false Tang has few good generals or elite troops, and its sovereign lacks the ability to recognize and employ talent—indeed, it cannot withstand our Great Han's campaigns. However, although the battle at Xiaca displayed our army's might and greatly damaged the Tang army, reducing its forces..."

"... given the false Tang's national strength and resources, it cannot be brought down in a single battle. In my humble opinion, several more battles are needed to further weaken its national power. But at present, the situation in Hunan has deteriorated badly, already tying down tens of thousands of Tang troops. With another thirty thousand imperial troops lost this time, the various prefectures and garrisons in Huainan can only sit and defend. As the weather grows colder, Jinling will likely find it difficult to assemble a sufficient army to cross north and provide support in the short term!"

"However, since winter has already arrived, the weather will only grow colder. Freezing cold and frozen ground are truly disadvantageous for our army's operations, especially siege warfare. If the Tang defenders in the Huainan prefectures all hold out stubbornly, it will not be so easy for our army to expand its advantage and achieve further great results!"

Hearing Li Fang's words, the several men sized up this elegant and refined top scholar with a few glances. Zhao Yanjin blinked and said: "I never imagined our top scholar could have such insight!"

Li Fang stroked his short beard, smiling very warmly, and said modestly: "I merely spoke off the cuff—the views of a bookish man."

Zhang Yongde, however, nodded and said seriously: "The top scholar's words are indeed reasonable. Especially regarding the season—now it is only early winter, still bearable to push through. But once deep winter arrives, not only will combat be unfavorable, the difficulty and losses in transporting grain, weapons, and cold-weather supplies will increase greatly..."

"In that case, wanting to seize the momentum and swallow up the territory of Huainan in one stroke is truly not as easy as we imagined!" Zhao Yanjin could not help but say: "The court choosing to move troops in late autumn really was not a good time!"

"There's no helping it!" An Shouzhong said: "After all, the previous situation between north and south was not something our dynasty alone could decide—we were constrained by others! However, in the deep winter, although our soldiers will suffer hardship in fighting, it also spares us the harassment of the northern barbarians!"

Zhao Yanjin and the others chatted merrily, and Wang Zhu was among them. Though he did not understand military strategy, he listened with great interest.

Liu Chengyou, at the imperial desk, was still studying the victory report submitted from the Shouzhou front. Listening to the discussions of the Great Han's fine talents, his mood was relatively relaxed.

He looked up and gave a light cough, and the several men immediately fell silent, turning their gazes toward Liu Chengyou.

Liu Chengyou's gaze fell upon a handsome young officer standing beside Zhang Yongde, and he asked: "Zhongxun, everyone is discussing military affairs with great fervor—why do you sit here in silence, not uttering a single word?"

The young officer whose name was called was Pan Mei. For some unknown reason, Liu Chengyou felt an inexplicable fondness for this young man who had been so unfairly vilified in The Generals of the Yang Family, and had promoted him into the Inner Palace army, serving as a Palace Attendant Officer.

Pan Mei had long harbored great ambitions; he had been famous in his hometown since youth. He had been plucked from obscurity by Guo Rong, trained for two years, recommended to the Eastern Capital, and had served as a junior officer in the imperial army for over two years, always performing well—his annual evaluations were consistently excellent, ranking at the top of his peers.

Since this year, having been promoted by Liu Chengyou to the Palace Command, he was both excited and inevitably more cautious. To avoid making mistakes, he conducted himself with humility and prudence in all matters.

Now, hearing Liu Chengyou's question, he could not help but say: "Your Majesty, your humble servant's knowledge is shallow; I dare not speak recklessly!"

"Ah..." Liu Chengyou waved his hand and said: "I called you all here precisely to let each of you speak your mind freely. Views are not judged right or wrong—the key is to voice them! Tell me, what are your thoughts on the Huainan front?"

Hearing the Son of Heaven speak thus, and meeting Liu Chengyou's encouraging gaze, Pan Mei finally spoke: "Your Majesty, your humble servant believes that although the great army has crossed the Huai River and achieved the great victory at Xiaca, it still lacks a firm foothold in the Huainan region. In my humble opinion, next we should either seize Shouzhou, take Luzhou, or attack Haozhou, occupy Chuzhou, and even Yangzhou—cutting Huainan completely into eastern and western halves. Then the Tang army will surely find it impossible to defend."

"After the successive battles, our army's losses have also been considerable. We need to reorganize and await the opportunity, replenishing troops and equipment. After Your Majesty's personal campaign pacifies Huainan, that will be the moment to launch the next offensive. However, our dynasty must be prepared for arduous winter fighting! Of course, if we wish to be cautious, it would be best to wait until next spring before launching a major attack!"

After hearing Pan Mei's words, Liu Chengyou pointed at him and praised him to those around: "See that? My judgment could hardly be wrong. With such insight, how many men of this age are there in the Great Han army?"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on gaining another fine general!" Seeing Liu Chengyou in good spirits, Wang Zhu cleverly offered his congratulations.

Shortly after, Zhang Dejun reported that Guo Wei and Wei Renpu had arrived for an audience as summoned. Liu Chengyou had the assembled talents withdraw and received the two men alone.

"I have summoned you two ministers because there are two matters on which I wish to hear your opinions!" Seated, looking at Guo Wei and Wei Renpu, Liu Chengyou said directly.

"Your Majesty, please speak!" The two men exchanged a brief glance, and Guo Wei asked.

Liu Chengyou's face revealed nothing—the joy of the Xiaca victory had already faded—and he said very calmly: "Wang Jun has submitted a secret memorial to me, accusing Zhao Kuangyin, the Militia Commissioner of Suzhou, of acting on his own initiative and launching an unauthorized attack, requesting that I punish him!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Wei and Wei Renpu's brows immediately furrowed. Guo Wei said: "Zhao Kuangyin, vastly outnumbered, defeated the Tang army and eliminated the threat of the Huainan naval forces—this is truly a great merit! Why would Wang Jun do such a thing?"

Thinking of Wang Jun's personality, Guo Wei had some speculation, wondering in his heart whether Wang Jun resented Zhao Kuangyin for stealing his thunder. But he only thought it privately and did not voice it.

Liu Chengyou then said: "Our Commander Wang, however, is full of righteous indignation and has sound reasoning. The order he gave to the Suzhou army was to hold Wokou steadily. When Zhao Kuangyin launched his attack, it was precisely when the great battle at Xiaca was on the verge of erupting and the Tang army had taken the bait. Although Wokou yielded rich gains, had Zhao Kuangyin struck earlier and news spread south, he might well have startled Liu Yanzhen into fleeing!"

"According to Wang Jun's argument, had the timing not been coincidental, the battle at Wokou would inevitably have affected the campaign at Shouzhou, sending the army's painstaking preparations down the drain..."

After hearing Liu Chengyou's account, Wei Renpu could not help but say: "Commander Wang's view is going too far. Zhao Kuangyin clearly analyzed the enemy situation, showed exceptional courage, and made decisive judgments at the critical moment—that is how the victory at Wokou was achieved. Moreover, the results were substantial, successfully preventing the Haozhou Tang army from advancing westward! Such great merit should naturally be rewarded and promoted—how can he be punished instead of rewarded!"

"What does Minister Guo think?" Liu Chengyou asked: "How should I reply to Wang Jun?"

Guo Wei did not even bother to read Liu Chengyou's expression—nothing could be discerned from it anyway—and merely thought for a moment before answering: "Your Majesty might as well temporarily ignore the matter, pretend not to have heard it, and say nothing. Separately, issue an edict commending Wang Jun with generous rewards, and send a special envoy ahead to the front-line camp to reward the meritorious soldiers on Your Majesty's behalf!"

Liu Chengyou agreed without hesitation: "Let it be done so. Have Wang Pu personally make the trip, and first survey the front-line situation for me!"

"Additionally!" Wei Renpu also clasped his hands to Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, the imperial visit to Huainan cannot be delayed a moment longer!"