Chapter 595: The Ear-Devouring General

Su Fengji knocked his head against the ground, his manner extremely respectful. Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin dismounted and helped him up: "Master Su, no need for such ceremony!"

Su Fengji did not accept the help, still speaking humbly: "You are a great general of the court, an envoy of the Son of Heaven. This old man is but a criminal from Puchuan—I cannot deserve such an honorific!"

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin studied him. His face showed signs of age, his body was gaunt, his skin rough and coarse—just like an ordinary old farmer from Longshang. One could hardly tell that this man had once been a high official and powerful minister in deep robes and wide sleeves, adorned in purple garments with a golden pouch. The dust clinging to his forehead and the humble smile on his face set each other off.

Zhao Kuangyin then changed his address to "Old Su." Su Fengji wanted to invite Zhao Kuangyin into his residence to host a banquet in his honor, with his family members attending as companions, but Zhao Kuangyin politely declined.

Instead, he had Su Fengji lead him around the horse ranch for inspection, consulting him on matters of animal husbandry. Su Fengji very proficiently reported the affairs of the ranch one by one. He also summoned the herdsman most skilled at raising horses under his command, and had him explain things in detail to Zhao Kuangyin.

After spending nearly half an hour, Zhao Kuangyin gained something from the visit. He again declined the earnest invitation to stay, refused the banquet, and resolved to take his leave. Though disappointed, Su Fengji still kept a smile on his face and presented the two best horses in his possession. Zhao Kuangyin accepted them with a smile.

On the way back to the city, Zhao Kuangyi was somewhat excited, his gaze constantly drifting toward the two horses Su Fengji had presented. He said to Zhao Kuangyin: "Second Brother, these two horses are truly fine horses!"

"You understand the art of judging horses too? Then tell me, what makes them good?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.

"Tall in stature, strong and powerful; looking at their eyes, they seem quite spirited!" Staring at the two horses, whose appearance was actually not very good, Zhao Kuangyi squeezed out a few words, then said: "That Su Fengji said these are the two best horses in the ranch—surely he wouldn't dare deceive us!"

"Just because someone says they're good horses, does that make them so?" Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin said: "Following what others say without thinking—that won't do!"

A look of embarrassment appeared on his face, and Zhao Kuangyi gave an awkward smile, but still said with great interest: "Second Brother, these two horses—shall we brothers take one each?"

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head: "You think these two horses are for me?"

Zhao Kuangyi was stunned.

Riding on his horse, Zhao Kuangyin clasped his hands in salute toward the east and said: "After returning to the capital, I shall present them to the Son of Heaven!"

Zhao Kuangyi was even more puzzled, and asked: "They're just two horses—surely the Son of Heaven can't fault you for accepting a private gift?"

Zhao Kuangyin sighed: "Do you know why that Su Fengji was so fawning and obsequious toward me just now? He wants to use me to convey his situation to the throne! When Su Fengji was demoted, I had not yet entered the imperial army, so I don't know much about him. But one can imagine—having once held great power, now fallen to such a state—it's truly lamentable! People like us should take this as a warning!"

Earnestly pondering his elder brother's words, Zhao the Second, though unable to fully grasp them, still gained something. Zhao Kuangyin taught his younger brother through this kind of subtle, gradual influence, and the results were evidently quite good.

"After returning to the city, we'll take our leave of the Prefect, and tomorrow we set out north!" Gently kicking the horse's belly to speed up slightly, Zhao Kuangyin made his decision: "No need to linger in Jingyuan!"

"Second Brother plans to leave Yuanzhou just like this?" Zhao Kuangyi deliberately glanced at the prefectural officials following behind, then caught up and lowered his voice: "That Li Ye is terribly rude. Second Brother, as an imperial envoy, passed through Jing—he didn't come to welcome you, but went out hunting instead. I heard that at the banquet, he was also quite arrogant, treating you as if you were his nephew, speaking with contempt—so proud and overbearing!"

"He's a relative of the imperial family, the maternal uncle of the Son of Heaven—what's strange about him putting on airs?" Zhao Kuangyin said with a faint smile: "However, I observed that under Yuanzhou's governance, the land is not left barren, the people have means of production, and public order is fairly stable. This gentleman does have some commendable qualities in his administration!"

"I don't entirely agree!" Zhao Kuangyi said.

Meeting his elder brother's gaze, Zhao Kuangyi explained with a hint of showing off: "Yesterday, when Second Brother wasn't in the prefectural city, Governor Li opened court to hear a case—trying a private salt case. Out of curiosity, I went to the yamen entrance to listen to the proceedings!"

"What problem did you discover?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.

Zhao Kuangyi replied: "On the surface, there really was nothing unusual. The only thing that struck me as strange was the quantity of private salt—a full twenty dan. Common salt smugglers deal in sheng and dou measurements, and the court convicts them based on that! But twenty dan of salt—how enormous is that? How could an ordinary person have such capacity!

Governor Li seemed to have noticed this as well. Through his interrogation, he discovered that the salt officials of Yuanzhou had colluded internally and externally, embezzling official salt to profit privately, and so he convicted them and sentenced them to death on the spot!"

Zhao Kuangyi's eyes flashed with a gleam of intelligence as he said: "I was thinking—trafficking private salt is a capital crime. Even if the salt officials were bold, they wouldn't dare be so brazen as to steal such a quantity of official salt at once—it's quite shocking. And the haste with which Governor Li tried the case and the severity of the conviction make one suspect whether there's something else hidden behind it!"

Hearing his analysis, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but look at the youth beside him. He had always known his younger brother had natural aptitude and was clever in daily matters. But he feared the boy might be too clever for his own good.

He asked: "Kuangyi, in telling me all this, what do you want me to do?"

Seeing his elder brother's attitude, Zhao Kuangyi couldn't help saying: "Doesn't Big Brother feel any curiosity about what really happened, about digging out the hidden truth behind it?"

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Kuangyin said to Zhao Kuangyi in a serious tone: "First, my mission here does not concern prefectural governance or civil affairs. If there's a problem, investigating and correcting it is the business of the Surveillance Bureau! Second, matters that shouldn't be meddled with need not be heeded—one shouldn't even have the curiosity!"

Zhao Kuangyin spoke gravely, then after a brief pause, added: "This matter should rot in your heart—don't show off or speak of it before others!"

"Yes!" He dared not disobey his elder brother's words.

In Yanzhou, last autumn, the Han court established the Dingbian Army here, with a strength of one thousand five hundred, of which five hundred were cavalry, appointing Wang Yansheng as Army Commander of Dingbian, in charge of defense affairs.

Last year, for committing a breach of decorum before the palace and causing a disturbance at the Chancellor's residence, he was exiled to Yanzhou by the Son of Heaven, Liu Chengyou. After taking office, Wang Yansheng set about organizing the defenses, and with his fierce temperament, the atmosphere throughout the command changed drastically.

There were many Hu barbarians within the territory, and the court's control and influence were very weak, so a policy of loose reins was adopted. Under his jurisdiction, Hu barbarians frequently committed crimes, stirred up trouble, and bullied Han commoners.

After Wang Yansheng arrived, he enforced strict laws, and with the anger in his heart, he basically vented it all on those Hu barbarians. Of the advice Wei Renpu had given him in the Eastern Capital, he only took in half. Gentle pacification was not his style; hard intimidation was his method. He was not a merciful man by nature, and he certainly wouldn't think of winning over the Hu with benevolence.

He spent a month reorganizing military affairs, then began to crack down severely on lawlessness within the territory to secure public order.

Northwest of Yanzhou there was a salt pond, originally occupied by a Tangut tribe. Wang Yansheng, citing their illegal occupation, directly sent men to confiscate it. The tribe refused to submit and resisted, so Wang Yansheng, even more decisively, sent troops to attack and beheaded their chieftain. Of course, he wasn't entirely hard-handed—he distributed the tribe's people, excluding their cattle and horses, and property among the other Hu barbarians in the territory.

In this way, he gained the salt pond, added cattle and horses, struck down the most powerful Tangut tribe in the territory, and incidentally established General Wang's prestige—all without causing too much unrest. When this matter reached the Eastern Capital, the Son of Heaven's feedback was: well done!

Around the salt pond, he also established a trade market called Baishi for commerce. With Wang Yansheng's protection, trade among the merchants in the territory gradually flourished. And every month, when Wang Yansheng inspected the border garrisons, he would come by to take a look.

Since the beginning of spring, the transaction volume at the Baishi market had clearly surged. Han and barbarian folk gathered in droves, each trading for what they needed, and merchants from Guanzhong had also noticeably increased in number.

Under the protection of his personal guards, Wang Yansheng strolled through the market like a lord surveying his domain. The barbarian merchants and Hu folk who recognized him would instinctively lower their heads as he passed, not daring to glance sideways, as if avoiding a tiger or wolf. Wang Yansheng was very satisfied with this effect—a smile even appeared on his face.

"Lately, have these Hu barbarians in the market been behaving themselves? Has anyone caused trouble or broken the law?" Wang Yansheng asked the market official accompanying him.

The market official smiled obsequiously and flattered Wang Yansheng: "Thanks to the Army Commander's fearsome reputation, the Hu barbarians are all cowed—how would they dare break the law?"

Wang Yansheng clicked his tongue, seeming somewhat regretful. Seeing this, the market official couldn't help but shudder—he was thinking of Army Commander Wang's "unsavory hobby."

Last year, Wang Yansheng gathered his subordinates and invited the tribal chieftains of the territory to a banquet. He ordered a barbarian criminal who had raped a Han woman to be brought in. Without saying much, in front of everyone, he tore off the man's ear, roasted it over fire, and then ate it with wine.

The scene was very bloody, the Army Commander very composed. All the officials and Hu chieftains present were awed into submission. After that, whenever there was a serious criminal, Wang Yansheng would do the same—first eat the ear, then punish the crime. Thus the name "Ear-Devouring General" spread like wildfire across the northwestern frontier.

The result was that although crimes could not be completely eradicated under Yanzhou's jurisdiction, the crime rate plummeted—few dared to violate his laws. By now, in less than a year, Wang Yansheng had devoured dozens of ears.