Chapter 521: The Arrogant General

Inside Chongyuan Hall, it gradually quieted down. The civil and military officials celebrating, whether drunk or not, instinctively turned their gazes toward the direction of the commotion. Zhang Dejun, his forehead covered in fine sweat, hurried back to report, and said in a low voice: "It is Generals Sun Li and Wang Yansheng, arguing over merit from the southern campaign, and they've gotten into a verbal clash!"

"Oh?" Liu Chengyou responded lightly, his gaze dropping down once more.

The two protagonists of the incident had already been pulled apart, their official robes somewhat disheveled. It was far more than a verbal clash—both men were thoroughly drunk, though not entirely unconscious. They knelt very readily in the middle of the hall and kowtowed.

"What is this?" Liu Chengyou's expression barely changed. He flicked his sleeve, pointed at the two men, and laughed heartily at the assembled ministers: "These two are but drunkards; the fine wine of the palace has simply made them forget themselves. Gentlemen need not pay them any mind, continue..."

As the Son of Heaven finished speaking, the imperial banquet in the hall resumed, music rose once more, and song and dance began again. As for Sun Li and Wang Yansheng, they were led out of the hall by palace eunuchs to sober up. The atmosphere in the hall remained the same, but the earlier interlude had still made a considerable impact—when the ministers socialized, their topics of conversation unconsciously drifted toward Sun and Wang.

Two imperial army generals—one a veteran general of the Son of Heaven, the other not a veteran but greatly promoted and relied upon as a trusted confidant—and now these two "emperor's partisans" had clashed, and at an occasion like Chongyuan Hall no less.

A smile lingered on Liu Chengyou's lips. Beneath his dragon robe, his fist clenched involuntarily. Beside him, the elder Lady Fu noticed, and reached out to stroke the back of Liu Chengyou's hand: "Your Majesty!"

"It's nothing!" Liu Chengyou's face quickly resumed its genial expression, and he said: "Would I bother to quibble with a couple of common soldiers?"

The Chongyuan night banquet lasted nearly two shichen before it concluded. The civil and military officials, in groups of three or five, supporting one another, chatted as they left the palace and returned to their residences.

Li Chongjin and Wang Yansheng walked together. Having gone through the southern campaign, the two had found themselves quite congenial, well-matched in temperament. Standing before the palace gate, Li Chongjin said to Wang Yansheng: "Brother Wang, what you did in the hall just now was truly improper. Falling out with that Sun Li is a small matter, but if you provoked His Majesty's wrath, that would be a great matter!"

Wang Yansheng had clearly sobered up considerably. The two walked slowly, followed by their household retainers. Hearing Li Chongjin's words, he replied: "I was just momentarily indignant!"

As he spoke, anger rose again on his face: "That Sun Li merely relies on being an old minister of His Majesty, and wormed his way into becoming a commander of an army. If we speak of martial skill, I could capture him with one hand tied behind my back. How dare he contend with me for superiority, argue merits with me—how can I accept that?"

Seeing this, Li Chongjin said helplessly: "Even so, you shouldn't have erupted in the hall. I only fear His Majesty will mete out punishment!"

"So what? At worst, that Sun Li won't have an easy time of it either!" Wang Yansheng waved his hand dismissively.

But looking at his face, he was clearly disgruntled. He belched, releasing a foul stench of wine, and said in a gloomy tone: "In this campaign against Huainan, you and I fought with all our might. If we speak of military merit, how many above us are there? The officers in the army have mostly been promoted—quite a few even jumped two or three ranks!

But for you and me, just that bit of reward, plus some empty title like Defense Commissioner—what use is that? That Sun Li just tagged along and got credit for taking a city, and was raised a rank in nobility! How unfair!"

Hearing Wang Yansheng speak this way, Li Chongjin, though he felt some sympathy, quickly stopped him from his reckless talk. Having been frequently summoned by Guo Wei and given earnest instruction, Li Chongjin knew a thing or two about discretion. He said hesitantly: "The court may have other considerations!"

"Those civil officials in the court who play with their brushes have always looked down on us military men. Tell me, is someone behind the scenes playing tricks, scheming against us, stealing our merit?" Wang Yansheng suddenly asked.

To this, Li Chongjin shook his head. If it were as he said, then the target would be all military officers, not just them.

Seeing Wang Yansheng's pent-up frustration, even descending into wild speculation, Li Chongjin said to him: "Brother Wang, it's already late. Best return home and rest early. Tomorrow, you should go to the palace and apologize to His Majesty!"

"Farewell!"

Helped onto his horse by his retainers, Wang Yansheng's body swayed slightly, and he continued cursing under his breath, complaints unending. Passing through several wards, he went by a mansion gate, glanced sideways—the Wei residence.

He looked at it carefully for a few moments; it seemed familiar. Wang Yansheng asked: "Is this the residence of Wei Renpu, the Minister of War?"

The servant holding the horse hurriedly replied: "It is indeed Chancellor Wei's residence! When the Chancellor celebrated his birthday, we came to offer congratulations!"

At this moment, it seemed the wine's effect surged back up to Wang Yansheng's head. His mind heated up, and he ordered: "Go knock on the door—I want to demand an explanation from him!"

The servant obeyed and went up to the door, lifting the ring to knock. Wang Yansheng followed behind, shoved him aside, raised his fist, and pounded directly on the door. Bang, bang, bang—the sound was very conspicuous in the quiet neighborhood.

Inside the residence, Wei Renpu had also returned from the palace not long ago and had not yet retired. In the rear quarters, he sat on a couch, and his wife, Lady Li, brought a basin of hot water and was personally washing his feet.

The couple had always treated each other with mutual respect. They were in the middle of exchanging intimate words when a servant came to report that Wang Yansheng had barged in. According to the servant's description, Wang Yansheng was violent and overbearing, charging straight through the middle gate, demanding to see Wei Renpu.

Hearing this, Wei Renpu couldn't help but shake his head: "This Wang Yansheng!"

"Husband!" Lady Li looked at Wei Renpu with some concern.

"It's nothing! You rest first. I'll go see this 'Wang the Sword'."

In the main hall of the Wei residence, the decor was simple and tasteful, everything in plain view, nothing luxurious—except for a famous painting hanging on the wall, bestowed by the Son of Heaven. Wang Yansheng was sprawled behind a low table, looking utterly exhausted. When Wei Renpu entered the hall, this was the scene he saw.

"General Wang pays a visit in the dead of night—may I ask what instruction you have?" Wei Renpu asked.

Hearing the voice, Wang Yansheng opened his bleary eyes, sized up Wei Renpu, and suddenly perked up. He rose without offering a greeting, and said to Wei Renpu: "Instruction or no instruction—I have a matter that troubles me and I can't figure out. I've come specially to ask you, Chancellor!"

Wei Renpu's expression remained unchanged, and he said: "Please speak, General!"

Wang Yansheng stepped forward, grabbed Wei Renpu's hand, stared at him with wide eyes, and asked: "Does Chancellor Wei know the merit I established in this southern campaign?"

Wei Renpu nodded.

Wang Yansheng smiled, pointed at him, and said: "Then tell me about it!"

Wei Renpu also gave a slight smile, and with great composure, narrated unhurriedly: "Crossing the Huai, you had merit in taking Xiashao; at the great victory of Xiashao, you charged and broke the enemy lines, with the greatest kills of all the armies; besieging Shouchun, you had merit in defending against the Tang army and protecting the grain supplies; when Shouchun fell, you had merit in breaching the city; pursuing the fleeing and routing the defeated, attacking cities and seizing strongholds, the various skirmishes great and small—I need not detail them..."

Seeing Wei Renpu so humble, and hearing his words, Wang Yansheng grew even more emboldened, and said loudly: "You remember my merits so clearly, Chancellor Wei! Then I ask you—are such achievements worth only that bit of money and silk, plus a mere empty post as Defense Commissioner of Chizhou?"

"Please forgive me, General. All rewards for meritorious officials were personally reviewed and decided by His Majesty!" Wei Renpu's gaze remained calm.

"You're fooling me!" Wang Yansheng looked utterly unconvinced: "His Majesty has always been clear in rewards and punishments—how could he bury my merits? It must be that you civil officials look down on me, and as a base military man, you've concealed my achievements. Isn't that so!"

"You exaggerate, General!" Wei Renpu's face twitched slightly.

Wang Yansheng glared with wide eyes and said: "The Ministry of War is responsible for reviewing military merit. Chancellor Wei, as the head of the Ministry of War, you've neglected a meritorious official, assessed merit improperly, and made such an oversight—do you have no remorse?"

Seeing his arrogant demeanor, Wei Renpu clasped his hands toward him and said: "In the General's view, what should be done?"

Wang Yansheng chuckled and said: "By my merits, not to mention commanding the two armies, I'm at least qualified for Chief Commander of the main force, aren't I? At the very least, money, grain, and silk should be more!"

Understanding his intent, Wei Renpu nodded cooperatively and said: "What the General says is most reasonable! Tomorrow I shall memorialize His Majesty to revise the rewards!"

"Haha!" Wang Yansheng laughed loudly, patting Wei Renpu's shoulder: "Chancellor Wei truly understands righteousness and reason! I won't disturb you further—I'll take my leave and await your good news!"

"Go slowly, General!" Wei Renpu, without changing his expression, ordered someone to see him out.

Wang Yansheng was clearly very satisfied with Wei Renpu's performance. Staggering, he left, content and pleased.

"You are the Chancellor of the court, and this Wang Yansheng dared to come to your door and be so rude—how can this be tolerated?" The household steward, his face full of anger, was indignant on his master's behalf.

Wei Renpu rubbed his shoulder, which Wang Yansheng's patting had made sore, his brows relaxed, and said calmly: "Enough! A rough military man nursing a grudge—why should I go against his wishes and quibble with him?"

"You could report this to His Majesty and impeach him!"

Wei Renpu's eyes flickered, and he shook his head gently: "There's no need for that!"

"Could it be that you actually intend to submit a memorial and fight for his merit?" The steward was somewhat puzzled.

Wei Renpu smiled faintly and instructed: "It's already late. Go rest, all of you!"