Chapter 463: The Emperor's Golden Decree

On the twenty-eighth, the newly appointed Huainan-East Military Commissioner Guo Rong, together with Deputy Commissioner Zhao Kuangyin, led the several thousand imperial army troops allocated by Liu Chengyou and the replenished Suzhou Militia, heading east back to Zhongli, preparing to attack Sizhou.

Before parting, on a whim, Liu Chengyou raised the question of the Great Han court's "north-south dispute" during the late-autumn Khitan southern invasion and mutiny, asking Guo and Zhao for their thoughts, treating it as a post-hoc discussion.

In response, Zhao Kuangyin stated directly that the southern campaign was the nation's established grand strategy, and a heaven-sent opportunity, beyond dispute. As for Guo Rong, after a moment's hesitation, he said to Liu Chengyou that if the Great Han accumulated strength for another three years, and a major upheaval struck the north, he would surely advise His Majesty to throw everything into a northern expedition, to fully recover the northern borders.

From the answers the two gave, there was a clear difference in their characters—Guo Rong had a greater appetite for gambling.

On the twenty-ninth, the field headquarters set out from Wokou, carrying vast quantities of supplies. Liu Chengyou boarded a warship and traveled upstream against the Huai River. Wang Pu returned north to guard Fulizhen, continuing to coordinate logistics to supply the main army. Huainan Forward Camp Provisions Officer Wang Qiwu accompanied the imperial entourage to the Xiacaí main camp.

Since the spring of the third year of Qianyou, when Liu Chengyou had sent him north of the Huai to raise grain and funds for the southern campaign and stockpile it in the granaries, Liu Chengyou had not seen Wang Qiwu for nearly two years. After two years of rushing about and toil, Wang Qiwu looked somewhat thinner, but his physique was clearly sturdier. The refined air of a pale-faced scholar had been worn away considerably, but he had gained a more capable, decisive bearing.

Liu Chengyou thought highly of this chancellor-material he had personally selected. Meeting him at Wokou, he directly had him attend at the imperial side, and Wang Qiwu took up the duties of attending the emperor again without any rustiness.

At the ship's rail, facing the waves and the north wind, Liu Chengyou looked at Wang Qiwu and said, "I rather regret sending you out to northern Huainan!"

"Why does Your Majesty say that?" Wang Qiwu was somewhat surprised.

Pointing at Wang Qiwu's face, which had gained a few traces of wind and frost, Liu Chengyou chuckled: "The young lord Wang of the court, once so elegant and distinguished in bearing, has had his image utterly ruined—is this not like burning a zither to cook a crane?"

Hearing this, Wang Qiwu was first taken aback, then clasped his hands: "Your Majesty jests!" Even as he responded, he could not help feeling some surprise inwardly—the Son of Heaven had always seemed to him grave and solemn, never one for levity.

"Enough, let the jest end!" Liu Chengyou leaned against the ship's hull and asked, "Serving at the front lines has not been easy, has it?"

At the question, Wang Qiwu's expression turned somewhat somber, and he said gravely: "When I studied in my youth, I learned that a thousand in gold is spent daily, and only then can an army of a hundred thousand be raised! But now, having personally witnessed matters before and after, the transport of grain and equipment, the mobilization of troops and horses, the consumption of manpower—how enormous it all is. This single month of warfare alone has consumed nearly half of what Ying and Su stored over two years!"

Seeing Wang Qiwu's deep sigh of reflection, Liu Chengyou raised a finger and said: "In your position, you attend to your duties—you have indeed gained real insight! Precisely for this reason, I intend to give serious thought to living off the enemy's grain and feeding the army in Huainan!"

"I plan to entrust this matter to you. As for Haozhou, once Zhongli has fallen, the remaining counties and towns are of no concern. I appoint you Prefectural Administrator of Haozhou, to manage the prefecture's affairs, proclaim the Great Han's policies, reassure the gentry and common folk, and raise military funds and grain!"

Hearing the order, Wang Qiwu felt a heavy responsibility settle upon him, and nimbly bowed: "Your Majesty's vision is far-reaching—the war is not yet over, and you are already considering the matter of incorporating territory under governance. Your servant will do his utmost to pacify Haozhou for Your Majesty!"

These literati just liked to overthink things. Liu Chengyou's meaning was very simple—he wanted to live off the grain in Huainan itself. Of course, Wang Qiwu's way of framing it was not wrong either.

The stretch of the Huai River from Wokou to Xiacaí was entirely under the Han army's control, with no worry of harassment from the Tang navy—the route was clear all the way. Over a hundred li of waterway could be covered in a day; of course, to keep pace with the infantry and cavalry on land, the speed was somewhat reduced.

At Xiacaí, on both banks of the Huai River, at both ends of the floating bridges, two linked camps had been set up. Since the great victory previously, the Han army had been stationed here continuously, resting and drilling, consolidating their gains. During this period, as commander of the main army, Wang Jun could be said to be in high spirits, brimming with confidence. The emperor sent Wang Pu as envoy to personally visit the camp to commend him, and in front of all the officers of the forward camp, praised Wang Jun to the skies, making him even more arrogant and contemptuous of everyone else.

Basically, aside from the Chief Commanders of the two imperial army commands, few others could earn his proper regard. Unlike most of the officers and soldiers, Wang Jun himself lived in Xiacaí city, with his commander's tent set up in the county office. As a result, within the Huainan expeditionary army, private criticism of Commander Wang Jun grew considerably. Learning of the situation in the forward camp, Liu Chengyou breathed a great sigh of relief, yet could not help worrying about the morale of the army.

However, after resting for over ten days, at Wang Jun's command, the Han army at Xiacaí stirred into motion again, braving the cold wind to pack their gear and prepare supplies. Wang Jun's order was to march south once more, to besiege Shouchun.

Accompanied by Murong Yanzhao, Wang Jun patrolled to the riverbank. Wang Jun wore a set of noble armor, arrogance congealed on his face, glaring imperiously in all directions. Murong Yanzhao followed at his side, with a trace of worry showing in his expression.

Two wide floating bridges hung across the Huai River, but at this moment, one bridge on the northern side was in a state of chaos. Two sections had collapsed, causing the entire bridge to sway considerably, and several dozen soldiers along with several carts of military equipment had fallen directly into the water.

At both ends of the floating bridge, people rushed down from the bridge—some rescuing others, some reinforcing the structure. In this winter season, the haste bordered on disorder.

Wang Jun had someone ascertain the situation, then flew into a rage on the spot: "Who oversaw the construction of this floating bridge?"

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, it was Yingzhou Militia Deputy Commissioner Kang Yan!" Shen Shihou, standing nearby, hurriedly answered upon seeing his anger.

Raising his hand, Wang Jun directly commanded: "Transmit my order—arrest the man, punish him by military law, behead him at the bridgehead, as a warning for his crime!"

Hearing this abruptly, Shen Shihou was stunned, not expecting Wang Jun to go straight to killing someone.

Murong Yanzhao, standing by, could not help saying: "The bridge is unstable—Army Supervisor Kang Yan was negligent. A light punishment and an order to reinforce it would suffice; why must it cost him his life?"

Glancing at Murong Yanzhao, Wang Jun waved his hand and said: "Yanzhao, you need not plead for him. The floating bridge is the lifeline of our army—lives are entrusted to it. This is no ordinary oversight. If we faced the enemy and needed to advance or retreat, and this happened, in a serious case it could affect the outcome of battle—it is not something a mere reinforcement can solve. Matters of war admit no such carelessness. That Kang Yan, I must kill him, to uphold military discipline!"

Having said this, Wang Jun glared at Shen Shihou: "What are you standing there gaping for? Why have you not transmitted my order!"

Seeing this, Shen Shihou dared not delay any longer and hurriedly acknowledged and left. Murong Yanzhao did not dissuade further, only furrowing his brow slightly as he looked at Wang Jun, who seemed to have handled a trivial matter. Murong Yanzhao sensed it clearly now—Wang Jun was establishing his authority. Evidently, he had heard of the recent criticism in the army. It was just a pity about Kang Yan, who had happened to run into this—without even a chance to explain or beg for mercy, he lost his life.

Lifting his eyes to watch the activity in the Han camps on both banks, Murong Yanzhao hesitated briefly, then still clasped his hands and spoke: "Commander-in-Chief, regarding the march south to Shouchun—might we reconsider?"

"I wondered why you, Chief Inspector Murong, kept opening your mouth and holding back—so you wanted to advise me not to move the troops?" Wang Jun tilted his head, looking Murong Yanzhao up and down, and said flatly: "You need not advise me. The army has rested here long enough. If we drag this out any further, we will truly let the Shouchun defenders catch their breath and steady their morale!"

"Now is precisely the time for the army to march south, besiege Shouchun again, cut off its external reinforcement routes, and before the river freezes, transport all the grain, equipment, and supplies into position! This winter, we must take the city—at the very least, we must spend it beneath Shouchun's walls. Otherwise, how would the puppet Tang court in Jinling grow anxious? Even that junior Guo Rong has a city-breaking achievement to his name—how can I, commanding this great army, fall behind him!"

Seeing Wang Jun's stubborn expression, Murong Yanzhao's face grew even more bitter. After thinking it over, he said: "The Commander-in-Chief's words are certainly reasonable, but there is no need for such haste. The Shouchun garrison is not small at present, and our army holds no absolute advantage in numbers. His Majesty's imperial carriage is about to arrive—should we not wait for the accompanying imperial army to reach us before marching south to besiege the city?"

At this mention, a shadow of gloom flashed through Wang Jun's eyes. He glanced at Murong Yanzhao, his voice turning cold: "His Majesty entrusted me with the forward camp as Commander-in-Chief, with full authority over military operations. Do not obstruct my orders, or I will not forgive you! If the Son of Heaven is coming, then my marching south is precisely preparation to welcome the imperial carriage!"

Unable to persuade Wang Jun, Murong Yanzhao felt helpless and somewhat troubled. However, he had no intention of speaking further—that would only anger Wang Jun further and continue to sour the relationship between them.

Indeed, after the great victory at Xiacaí, friction had begun to appear in the relationship between Wang Jun and Murong Yanzhao. To speak a heart-piercing truth, Wang Jun felt that Murong Yanzhao was an eye planted at his side—an obstacle...

In fact, Wang Jun was deeply displeased about the Son of Heaven's personal arrival, for with the emperor present, where would he, Commander Wang, have room to throw his weight around? This was made evident to all the officers in his words and bearing.

Shortly after, at the Xiacaí ferry landing, directly facing the floating bridge, Yingzhou Militia Deputy Commissioner Kang Yan, struggling in defiance, had his head chopped off. Kang Yan was hardly an important figure in the Huainan expeditionary army, but he was still a Militia Deputy Commissioner—executed on a single word from Commander Wang. For a moment, the entire army fell into solemn silence.

After the Han army at Xiacaí, under Wang Jun's urging, had made preparations to march south to Shouchun, Jingjiang Army Chief Commander Xiang Xun arrived from the south bearing the Son of Heaven's golden decree and imperial edict, ordering a halt to the troop movements and commanding all forces to await the imperial carriage's arrival before making any decisions.

A single military order left Wang Jun seething with indignation. He wanted to dispatch the troops anyway, but the officers would not follow.