Chapter 479: Hungry Wolves at Each Other's Throats

"He really said that?" Under the night sky, the spring chill was biting. Liu Chengyou spoke while warming himself by the fire, the orange-red flames casting their light on his face, revealing neither joy nor anger, and his voice betrayed no emotion either.

What Li Shaoyou reported were some of Wang Jun's actions after leaving the imperial tent. According to his report, Wang Jun had exited the tent with a gloomy face, anger written plainly on his features. After returning to his own tent, he spoke with insolence, telling his personal guards that the Son of Heaven was growing ever more obstinate, refusing to listen to loyal counsel, and complaining that "when the birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the rabbits are dead, the hunting dogs are boiled"—that he, Wang Jun, was that good bow, that hunting dog...

Seeing Liu Chengyou's rather indifferent reaction, Li Shaoyou looked around, then could not help but say: "Your Majesty, Wang Jun is arrogant by nature, eccentric in temperament, and prideful of his merits. When he commanded troops previously, he acted willfully and committed many breaches of protocol. Since Your Majesty came personally to Huainan, he has voiced even more grievances. A man who defiles the majesty of the sovereign like this does not deserve to be a minister. I hope Your Majesty will deal with him early, lest further troubles arise in the future!"

"I can see that these past two months, Minister Wang's mood has not been good. That's understandable!" Liu Chengyou said.

Raising his eyes to watch Liu Chengyou's retreating figure, Li Shaoyou frowned slightly. In his view, this imperial cousin of his, in the years since taking the throne, had grown ever more imposing and self-willed—how could he tolerate a minister who deceived the sovereign like Wang Jun?

But Li Shaoyou was indeed a clever man, and he understood Liu Chengyou well enough. From his words, he could not be certain of much, but one thing was clear: at present, Liu Chengyou had no intention of dealing with Wang Jun.

His eyes rolled, and he changed his tune: "However, Wang Jun is, after all, the Commander-in-Chief of the field headquarters. Since the army is in the midst of a campaign, perhaps the matter can be handled more slowly?"

As if sensing the shift in Li Shaoyou's tone and perceiving the change in his thinking, Liu Chengyou finally turned around and looked at him with interest: "Brother You, you've become quite thorough in your deliberations!"

Lowering his head slightly, Li Shaoyou clasped his hands and replied: "Having served by His Majesty's side for so many years, your servant ought to have made some progress!"

"Zhang Dejun!"

"Here!"

Liu Chengyou directed Zhang Yongde: "The spring chill pierces the bones and harms the flesh. Minister Wang, as commander-in-chief, has labored hard. Take that fur-lined robe and bestow it upon Minister Wang, to express my concern!"

Zhang Dejun was taken aback, saying: "Your Majesty, this robe was sewn by the Empress Dowager and the Empress!"

"A single robe, no matter how precious—how could I begrudge sharing it with Minister Wang!" Liu Chengyou's tone grew stern.

Seeing this, Zhang Dejun dared not say another word and hurried off to carry out the order.

"I only hope that Wang Jun can appreciate Your Majesty's kind intentions, remember your grace, and repay the state with gratitude!" Li Shaoyou could not help but sigh: "I still recall when we were in Jinyang—Wang Jun was of low rank then, but he was capable and efficient, and knew the greater picture. Now..."

"People, after all, change!" A trace of genuine emotion finally crept into Liu Chengyou's voice. He glanced at Li Shaoyou, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Brother You, haven't you changed too? You've grown quite distant from me!"

Meeting the Son of Heaven's gaze, Li Shaoyou wore a humble smile at the corner of his lips: "Your Majesty now sits upon the supreme throne, your might subduing the four seas, looking down upon all under heaven. Your servant cannot help but feel reverence, submission, and awe!"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou laughed.

Li Shaoyou, meanwhile, thought to himself: Your Majesty, you have changed far more...

The next morning, the sky was still dim. Before Zhang Dejun could wake him, Liu Chengyou suddenly started awake from his sleep. Personally leading a great army on a campaign for the state, the psychological and physical pressure on Liu Chengyou was by no means small—the sounds of battle often rang in his ears, startling him upright.

The brocade couch was still warm, but it was a lonely single bed. The candlelight, nearly spent, fell upon Liu Chengyou's face, illuminating a weary and indifferent expression. At this moment, in this scene, Liu Chengyou rather wished there were a beauty lying beside his pillow. Lady Zhe, after the Huai River thawed, had been arranged to be sent back to the Eastern Capital to recuperate...

He rubbed his face vigorously, recovering some spirit, and called out: "Someone! I am rising!"

Before long, palace eunuchs entered the tent carrying toiletries to attend him. He quickly and simply took care of his personal hygiene, changed into a set of casual robes, and then sat down at the imperial desk in the tent.

"What official documents came in during the night?" Liu Chengyou asked the duty official, Zhang Yisu.

"In reply to Your Majesty, several documents arrived from the Eastern Capital concerning year-end appointments and removals of officials and the approval of executions for major crimes. Fiscal Commissioner Wang Pu reported that a new batch of military supplies had arrived at Su and Ying and been dispatched to the field headquarters. Additionally, Hunan and Wuyue have submitted memorials stating that they have already sent troops to attack the Tang!" Zhang Yisu replied.

"Oh?" The last piece of news immediately roused Liu Chengyou's interest, and he ordered the memorials to be found for his perusal. It turned out that since the beginning of spring, Military Governor Wang Kui of Langzhou had received orders to lead his army north to attack the Tang's Ezhou, while King Qian Hongchu of Wuyue had also dispatched ten thousand troops by land and water to attack the Tang's Changzhou.

The maps of Jianghuai were mostly imprinted in Liu Chengyou's mind. With a single turn of thought, the movements of the Lang troops and the Wuyue troops clearly surfaced in his mind. He set down the memorial and said: "A bit late, but at least they've finally moved. Draft an edict in reply, thanking them on my behalf—when the deed is accomplished, there will surely be generous rewards!"

"Has Gao Baorong of Jingnan still made no move?" Liu Chengyou asked.

Zhang Yisu shook his head: "None!"

Regarding assisting in the attack on the Southern Tang, Jingnan had reacted the fastest and most enthusiastically. In the winter of last year, they had memorialized the field headquarters, saying they were preparing their troops—and they had been "preparing" ever since.

"This Gao clan of Jingnan is not easy either..." Liu Chengyou sighed slightly, his tone carrying an unavoidable note of mockery.

He raised his eyes to look at Zhang Yisu, noticing his weary expression as he wrote the edict with swift strokes. Waving his hand, Liu Chengyou said: "You've been on duty all night and worked hard. Once you finish writing, go down and rest. Have Li Fang take over!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Yisu clasped his hands in gratitude.

Zhang Yisu was the son-in-law of Wang Zhang, the State Finance Commissioner.

Liu Chengyou picked up Wang Kui's memorial again and looked it over. Besides the report of his troop movements, there was also a request from Wang Kui, asking the court to grant him Lizhou and Yuezhou. When the Tang army had been in Chu, it had not been noticeable, but once the Tang army withdrew and Han troops were stationed in Lizhou, it was like a thorn in the back to Langzhou.

Another item was Wang Kui's accusation against Zhou Xingfeng, the Surveillance Commissioner of Tanzhou, saying that he was recruiting soldiers and buying horses in Changsha instead of seeking to march east to attack the Tang, harboring treacherous intentions, and asking Liu Chengyou to be wary.

Previously, after driving out the Tang army commanded by Bian Gao, those ten brothers—Wang Kui, Zhou Xingfeng, and the rest—had divided up the legacy of the Ma Chu and partitioned the territory among themselves. When they had held only Langzhou, the ten brothers had been able to remain of one mind, united in the mission of expelling the Tang army. But now that their territories had grown, they were all eager to enjoy the fruits of victory.

The ten men, whether as regional warlords or great generals, were full of high spirits. Though they had not managed to annihilate the Tang army, they had still inflicted no small losses on Bian Gao's forces. Liu Chengyou, in accordance with his earlier promises, had issued edicts appointing them to govern their prefectures and garrisons.

Wang Kui became Military Governor of the Wuping Army, Zhou Xingfeng became Surveillance Commissioner of Tanzhou, and the others, such as Pan Shusi and Zhang Wenbiao, also received rewards and titles, sharing the military and civil power of Hunan. Of course, among these men, Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng had the greatest strength and the largest spheres of influence.

Wang Kui occupied Langzhou—the "Hedong" of Hunan, an excellent place to raise troops and rebel—and he was also the leader of the ten brothers. Zhou Xingfeng was ruthless enough, decisive enough, quick-witted, and willing to swallow his pride. Though Changsha had suffered repeated devastation and lay in ruins, its treasuries empty, it was ultimately girdled by the Xiang River—fertile land—and its population remained the largest in Hunan. Its potential was great; as long as it was properly managed, its power was bound to rise.

Since ancient times, sharing hardship is difficult; sharing pleasure is even harder. Clearly, after achieving success and renown, the "ten brothers" of Hunan had already developed rifts. And Liu Chengyou's appointments had obviously been intended to exacerbate their contradictions.

And so, Wang Kui's secret accusation arrived. A bit later, Liu Chengyou received another memorial, this one from Zhou Xingfeng of Tanzhou.

Zhou Xingfeng reported that remnants of the Tang army were still active in the Heng and Dao regions, and that he had led his army south to attack, eliminate the Tang bandits, and recover the territory. Furthermore, the false Liu's great army in Lingnan was eyeing the region covetously, and he wished to use the troops of Tanzhou to defend the south for the Northern Han...

Upon receiving Zhou Xingfeng's report, Liu Chengyou saw through his intention in a single sentence: "This Zhou Xingfeng certainly knows how to exploit a loophole—clearly he's using the pretext of suppressing the Tang bandits to expand his own power!"

"Your Majesty, this Hunan region is afraid it won't be pacified for some time!" Li Fang could not help but sigh.

Liu Chengyou said calmly: "Ten hungry wolves fighting each other—it's bound to be a life-and-death struggle. I just wonder what the outcome will be. In any case, as far as the false Tang is concerned, Hunan's usefulness has been exhausted. As for Wang Kui's army, I never expected much from it anyway!"

"Never mind, let them fight it out!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand, then suddenly looked at Li Fang: "In your opinion, among those 'ten brothers,' who will emerge as the final victor?"

"Zhou Xingfeng!" Li Fang said, his tone quite certain.

"I think so too!"