Chapter 470: Playing Schemes

Shouchun, field headquarters of the Northern Han campaign army against Huainan, the imperial tent.

In the brazier, charcoal flames blazed fiercely. Liu Chengyou warmed one hand by the fire while holding a secret report from Jinling in the other, reading it carefully. Gradually, traces of interest emerged on his calm countenance. Commissioner of the Wude Office Li Shaoyou, Secretariat Drafter Tao Gu, and Murong Yanzhao stood quietly in attendance at his side.

"This Song Qiqiu truly lives up to his reputation as the foremost strategist of the southern state—he does have genuine insight and cunning!" After a long while, Liu Chengyou passed the letter around for the others to see, remarking with feeling: "If the puppet Tang could truly implement his strategies to counter our army, then I would indeed have a headache!"

The secret report in Liu Chengyou's hand came from Jinling, containing detailed accounts of the Southern Tang sovereign and ministers' court deliberations. For the southern campaign, Liu Chengyou's preparations were thorough in every aspect, including intelligence gathering. Through several diplomatic missions back and forth, plus agents dispatched in peacetime, the Wude Office and the Military Intelligence Office had planted nearly a hundred spies in Jinling and the various prefectures of Huainan, devoted solely to buying information and probing their military and political affairs.

The Southern Tang sovereign and ministers would never have imagined that no sooner had their golden-hall deliberations concluded than the contents would be laid out completely, without omission, before Liu Chengyou.

The several men looked it over, and none showed much gravity in their expressions. Murong Yanzhao said to Liu Chengyou: "This Song Qiqiu's strategy plays to strengths and avoids weaknesses, to be sure, targeting our army. But how the war develops is hardly according to his calculations, and how could our army follow his wishes! Moreover, Commissioner Guo has already taken Chu, and the lower reaches of the Huai River are entirely in our hands. The various prefectures of Huainan are ours to take at leisure. However unmatched his stratagems, he is but putting up a deathbed struggle, delaying our army's advance somewhat—it cannot affect the overall situation!"

Murong Yanzhao's assessment was incisive. Nodding in agreement, Liu Chengyou said: "We must also issue decrees to Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin to hold Shanyang firmly and consolidate our gains, lest they be exploited by Yao Feng's army at Gaoyou!"

In fact, the capture of Chuzhou was a shock to the Southern Tang, but for Liu Chengyou's side, it could also be called a pleasant surprise. Originally, Liu Chengyou's expectation for Guo Rong had merely been to make further advances after the spring of next year.

Unexpectedly, Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin joined forces, went against the grain, caught the enemy off guard, and advanced in winter—a two-hundred-li flanking raid that broke Shanyang in one stroke. The Huainan war situation, which should have fallen into stalemate, suddenly became clear. As Murong Yanzhao said, the various prefectures of Huainan could now be taken at leisure.

"However, the puppet Tang's war potential remains considerable. Even after successive losses of troops and horses, they can still mobilize a hundred thousand men in a short time to resist our army! Such strength truly makes one covetous!" Liu Chengyou said: "Heaven has given this to me; if I do not take it, I fear Heaven's punishment!"

"The puppet Tang has numbers but weak combat effectiveness—what is there to fear?" Tao Gu stepped forward and said.

Liu Chengyou nodded lightly and murmured to himself: "We need to figure out how to devour these hundred thousand men of the puppet Tang! If they suffer further losses, they will have no means left to block our great army!"

Meeting Liu Chengyou's gaze, Murong Yanzhao said: "Your servant has two suggestions! First, as previously discussed, employ the strategy of besieging the city to strike at reinforcements, using Shouchun as bait to continue luring the puppet Tang army north to relieve it. However, after the Battle of Xiaca, the Tang army certainly will not be so unprepared again; they will be more cautious. Moreover, with Hao and Chu prefectures already fallen to our dynasty, and Si Prefecture being meat at the corner of our mouth, the Tang army may not dare continue committing large forces to come to Shouchun's relief!"

"Sound reasoning!" Liu Chengyou acknowledged Murong Yanzhao's consideration, then asked: "And the second suggestion?"

"Concentrate our strength to first break Shouzhou and Sizhou, sweeping away obstacles in our rear so that our army can advance south into the riverine regions without worries behind!" Murong Yanzhao walked to the map, pointed at Luzhou, and said seriously: "Hefei! When our great army advances on Hefei, threatening the riverine regions, the puppet Tang absolutely cannot remain indifferent. Then use Hefei as bait to lure their relief forces!"

Pausing briefly, Murong Yanzhao said: "However, if we do this, our army's front line will be greatly extended, the pressure on supplies will increase, and the threat of the Huainan navy will again be placed before our army!"

"This is not a major problem!" After pondering briefly, Liu Chengyou said in a confident tone: "The difficulty of attacking Huainan lies only in the defense of the Huai River! Now that the puppet Tang has lost the Huai River, is not the vast land of Jiangbei and Huainan left to the galloping of our Great Han iron cavalry?"

"Your Majesty's bold vision—your servant admires it!" Murong Yanzhao said with a slight smile.

Rarely hearing flattery from Murong Yanzhao, Liu Chengyou could not help but be amused.

Picking up the Jinling secret report again and scanning it, his brows furrowed, Liu Chengyou instructed Li Fang, who was attending in the tent: "Li Fang, draft decrees to be sent to Song Yanwo of Yongxing Army, Zhao Hui of the Fengxiang Army, and Shi Kuangyi of the Zhangyi Army, ordering them to maintain strict vigilance against the Shu army! Remember, in the year of Guoxing, they advanced in winter—we must be on guard!"

"Yes!" Li Fang acknowledged and immediately set to work.

Seeing this, Tao Gu asked: "Your Majesty, the Dingnan Army and the Khitan side should also be guarded against!"

"Heh!" Liu Chengyou's laugh was cold: "Before I left the capital, I had already made arrangements. I have endured the Dingnan Army's little maneuvers these years for far too long. Now let us see whether Li Yiyin dares to seize the opportunity to stir up trouble this time!"

"As for the Khitan, should we send another envoy to maintain contact, to stabilize the enemy?" Tao Gu asked again.

Liu Chengyou was even more composed, saying: "What the Khitan does is beyond our dynasty's control. We can only do our own part well and consolidate our defenses! The peace treaty was concluded barely a month ago; sending envoys proactively would make us seem weak at heart!"

"The great trends of the world are all in Your Majesty's breast, as if you had a plan already formed! How could the great enterprise of the Great Han fail to succeed!" Hearing this, Tao Gu immediately beamed and praised.

Ignoring Tao Gu's sycophancy, Liu Chengyou said in a cold tone: "However, if the puppet Tang wants to stir trouble behind our dynasty's back, how could I let them have it easy! Send orders to Hunan, directing the troops of Li and Lang to delay the Tang army's withdrawal. Tell Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng that I do not need them to fight to the death with the Tang army—only to entangle and harass them! Furthermore, if they capture any puppet Tang prefectures or counties, I will reward them all!"

"Men like Wang and Zhou will surely be driven by profit and serve Your Majesty's purposes!"

"Continue contacting Gao Baorong and Qian Hongchu, have them send troops to attack Tang! Especially Qian Hongchu—as my in-law, his Wuyue should also contribute some effort!"

"Yes!"

"The Wude Office has done well this time; this intelligence report is very valuable!" With that said, Liu Chengyou turned his head and praised Li Shaoyou, affirming the Wude Office's work.

Li Shaoyou's face immediately lit up with joy, the whiskers on his lips jumping up and down. It had been quite some time since he had received praise from his imperial cousin. For a major undertaking like the southern campaign, Li Shaoyou had to outmaneuver Wang Jingchong to gain the opportunity to accompany the emperor on the expedition.

Having lived comfortably in the Eastern Capital for several years, commanding the Wude Office, he had experienced high position and great power. Li Shaoyou had, for once, regained his ambition, feeling he could no longer rest on his past achievements. Liu Chengyou had given him this chance, and since joining the campaign, intelligence on Jianghuai had been timely and on point. Liu Chengyou was satisfied with this.

"Your Majesty, the second son of the puppet Tang sovereign Li Jing died suddenly of illness. Li Jing grieved so excessively that he fainted. He has ordered the Imperial Younger Brother (Heir) Li Jingsui to oversee the state, with Song Qiqiu, Feng Yansi, and others assisting in military and political affairs, while he remains in the Tang palace to handle funeral arrangements!" Li Shaoyou added, his tone full of schadenfreude.

"Oh?" Liu Chengyou was somewhat surprised at the news, then sneered: "At a time when the fate of rivers and mountains hangs in the balance, when the state's fortunes rise and fall, this Li Jing sets aside matters of state for personal grief. Such an opponent is, truly, delightful!"

Tao Gu said: "Your servant observes that the puppet Tang sovereign, though not a tyrant, is weak and cowardly by nature. This action, while astonishing, should not be overly surprising!"

Judging by Tao Gu's expression, he held Li Jing in great contempt.

"Your Majesty, there is another matter requiring attention!" Li Shaoyou continued: "The puppet Tang's Imperial Younger Brother (Heir) Li Jingsui has a tranquil disposition and no desire for power. Though overseeing the state, he does not truly attend to affairs! Military and political authority is entirely delegated to ministers like Song Qiqiu..." Li Shaoyou added.

Liu Chengyou keenly detected the problem within, his expression darkening slightly: "If this is truly so, with Song Qiqiu managing the puppet Tang's state affairs and military and political orders issuing from his hand, then he will indeed be an obstacle to our army's campaign!"

"You have been to Jinling twice—do you have any understanding of this Song Qiqiu?" Liu Chengyou looked at Tao Gu.

Tao Gu honestly shook his head, but after thinking a moment, a sinister smile spread across his aged face: "Your Majesty, your servant has never met Song Qiqiu face to face, but while in Jinling, I learned that this gentleman enjoys considerable prestige and wields great power in the puppet Tang. In the puppet Tang's factional struggles, he is the leader of one faction! Several years ago, in a political dispute, Li Jing used a pretext to exile him to Hongzhou!"

"This time, had our dynasty not launched a major campaign in Huainan, Song Qiqiu would not have been recalled to Jinling..."

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou's eyes also brightened, a similar smile blooming at the corners of his mouth. His gaze flickered as he pointed at Li Shaoyou and said: "The puppet Tang has gained such a pillar of state, such a talent to hold up the heavens—how could I not offer congratulations! Go, send someone to Jinling to spread word of this Lord Song, to build up his reputation. Without Lord Song, how could the puppet Tang survive? In my southern campaign, I fear no one else—only Lord Song gives me pause. How I wish I could work alongside him!"