Chapter 73: Resolution

Just outside Beiqi Town, after a friendly and smooth negotiation, Liang Hui wisely led his men back toward Anyang.

On the crude and narrow dirt-and-stone road, the rebel army marched east at an unhurried pace, dragging along, looking somewhat bedraggled. Seated on a flatbed cart, Liang Hui's expression was not exactly relaxed, but neither was it overly strained.

However, a minor officer walking beside the cart said with slight excitement: "General, we are now proper official troops, so from now on, we should address you as Acting Military Governor."

At this mention, Liang Hui's lips finally curled up, his expression easing as he pulled a fine silk document from his bosom and unfolded it. On it were written three columns of characters, just two sentences in all, with a very clear meaning: to reward Liang Hui's righteous uprising in protecting the state and defending the people, and to comfort loyal and righteous men, Liu Chengyou had appointed him Acting Military Governor of Xiangzhou, with a separate memorial sent to Jinyang to report the matter.

His gaze moved downward, landing on the lower left corner of the silk document, where Liu Chengyou's great seal was clearly impressed. Liang Hui carefully folded the document, tucked it back into his bosom, and said: "With this, I can recruit troops and buy horses afterward — half the effort, twice the result..."

"General—"

The minor officer had just opened his mouth when Liang Hui cut him off: "You should change how you address me!"

"Acting Military Governor!" The minor officer quickly corrected himself, then casually asked: "But His Highness the Prince invited you to bring troops to Linlu — why did you refuse?"

"Do you even need to ask? Going to Linlu — how could that compare to us holding a city alone, free and unfettered?" Liang Hui replied. In his mind surfaced Liu Chengyou's "kindly" invitation, yet his heart was full of wariness — that was clearly an attempt to swallow him up, and he would not fall for it.

"The Khitan are about to pass through Xiangzhou. His Highness offered to lead troops to Anyang to resist the Khitan together with us — why did you still refuse?"

"If Hedong's troops were allowed into Anyang, would Anyang still be ours?" he said disdainfully. Liang Hui suddenly felt that all his subordinates were far too dull-witted; had they not followed him, they would probably have been bandits all their lives, or even wiped out by the authorities...

"But I heard the Khitan have over a hundred thousand men. If they head north through Anyang, with just the few men we have, how can we possibly resist?" The minor officer's face showed fear and dread as he nervously reminded him.

"Why should you lot worry about that?" Liang Hui appeared quite confident about this, waving his hand with great ease: "We only need to hold the city walls. With over a hundred thousand men, since the Khitan are withdrawing north, why would they linger and delay before a strong city? If it truly comes to it, we can send someone to express our intentions..."

"As for taking the initiative against the Khitan army, let the Hedong court's people handle that — I won't take that bait. I think the Second Prince is nothing but a snot-nosed brat; I fear he may not even keep his own little life!" A cunning glint flashed in Liang Hui's eyes.

"Once the Khitan retreat, Xiangzhou will be ours!"

"The General is wise!" His subordinates chimed in with flattering smiles, buttering him up.

"Pass the order — speed up the march, back to Anyang!"

"Yes!"

Amid his daydreaming, he could not help but sigh — the original goals of this trip had not been achieved at all. Fortunately, he had still obtained a "letter of appointment," so it was not a complete loss.

At this thought, Liang Hui could not help but spit out a grievance-filled lament: "What a pity about all those fine horses. That Second Prince is far too stingy — he wouldn't even give me a hundred..."

On Liu Chengyou's side, he had easily dealt with Liang Hui, yet his heart was not greatly stirred. The bandit chief Liang Hui gave him the impression of being not entirely mediocre — he probably had a bit of shallow insight, carried a petty cunning throughout, and seemingly lacked any self-awareness.

"Your Highness, that bandit chief is probably not sincerely submitting." Walking beside Liu Chengyou toward Beiqi Town, Ma Quanyi said to him in a low voice.

"How can you tell?" Liu Chengyou glanced at Ma Quanyi, showing a hint of interest.

Ma Quanyi replied: "Your Highness invited him to combine his forces with ours at Linlu — he refused; Your Highness offered to lead troops to Anyang to aid in defense — he also refused. Such wariness makes it plain to see!"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou asked lightly: "Do you think, when I made those two proposals, what was my purpose? Was it sincere, or insincere?"

These words from Liu Chengyou momentarily stumped Ma Quanyi, who paused in thought, looking contemplative.

On Han Tong and Luo Yangui's side, seeing the matter resolved, they hurriedly brought their men out and respectfully bowed in welcome.

"So you are General Luo Yangui?" Liu Chengyou personally helped Luo Yangui up, putting on a full display of condescending to the worthy and treating the learned with respect.

Seeing the attitude Liu Chengyou displayed, Luo Yangui relaxed slightly and replied with cupped fists: "A guilty officer comes to submit, to atone for his crimes. I hope Your Highness will accept me!"

"The General is without guilt — not only without guilt, but with great merit. You stooped to serve the rebels, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens, all to plan a return to the righteous cause. Only now can such a great deed be accomplished; doing what ordinary men cannot do, you are a true hero..." Liu Chengyou poured out a stream of comforting words.

"I heard that back then, the Son of Heaven of the Shi Jin sent envoys to console Hebei and reassure the army's morale, selecting ten brave warriors to accompany them. The General, at the tender age of twenty, stood prominently among them — your courage and valor are truly admirable..."

Flattery flowed freely without cost, and Luo Yangui completely relaxed, voicing modest disclaimers while unable to hide the joy on his face. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou knew the effect he wanted had been achieved.

After some pleasantries, Liu Chengyou finally went, accompanied by his officers, to inspect the horses. The exact count was one thousand two hundred and twenty-three — all fine warhorses fit for the battlefield, enough for Liu Chengyou to equip an independently operating cavalry force.

Of course, among these warhorses there were no peerless divine steeds or thousand-li treasure horses specially presented to Liu Chengyou. Had there truly been such mounts, they would not have been entrusted to Luo Yangui for escort...

"What fine horses!" Stroking the back of a brown horse, feeling its powerful muscles, Liu Chengyou exclaimed. Though, he did not actually know what made the horse good.

Han Tong beside him was especially excited, introducing to Liu Chengyou: "According to General Luo, these warhorses were all originally used by the Shi Jin imperial army's cavalry — all carefully selected, trained, and broken in, ready for battle at any moment. At the Battle of Zhongdu Bridge, after Du Chongwei surrendered, these horses successively became the Khitan's spoils of war. They say these thousand-odd horses are not even a tenth of the total the Khitan seized — what a pity..."

After making a full circuit and having a clear picture in mind, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and instructed Ma Quanyi and the others: "Transport the horses back to Linlu!"

"Yes!"

After giving the order, Liu Chengyou finally looked at Han Tong, his gaze indifferent as he asked flatly: "Han Tong, what was the order I gave you?"

Seeing Liu Chengyou's expression, Han Tong's heart skipped a beat. He suppressed his smile and answered cautiously: "To head south and scout the Khitan's military situation..."

"Then why are you here?" Liu Chengyou continued.

"General Luo did not have enough men; to protect the warhorses..."

Liu Chengyou suddenly cut Han Tong off roughly, his gaze like lightning, staring at him coldly as he repeated: "What was my military order!"

Finally realizing what was happening, cold sweat broke out on Han Tong's forehead. With a thud, he knelt down cleanly: "I beg Your Highness to punish me!"