Chapter 822: The Turmoil Ultimately Cannot Be Avoided

"The land of abundance, the city of brocade—Chengdu truly is a fine place!" Riding at an easy pace, followed by a squad of soldiers, Zhao Kuangyin idly surveyed the wards of Chengdu.

The roads were wide, the place quiet, surrounded by tall gates and great households, but half of them stood empty—yes, the Han army had found various pretexts to arrest and punish them. The rest, sensing Zhao Kuangyin's party, hid within their mansions, peering furtively through the cracks of their gates.

Looking at the tightly shut gates and closed doors all around, one could well imagine how uneasy and restless those furtive gazes behind the doors must be!

"Alas!" Zhao Kuangyin let out a heavy sigh.

"Chief Commander, why have you taken to sighing so much lately?" Dang Jin, who had nearly become Zhao Kuangyin's personal guard general, rode beside him and, hearing the sigh, could not help muttering: "Surely you're not sympathizing with those people?"

"I merely think that Commander Xiang's methods are too harsh—they will easily rouse the collective indignation of the Shu people and are not conducive to the stability and consolidation of Chuanshu! Moreover, such practices damage the discipline of the army and the building of military strength! Ever since we entered the city of Chengdu, how many officers and men have lost their bearings? If this continues, I fear the army will rot..." Zhao Kuangyin sighed. "Chengdu is like this, still within our control, and we can rectify it whenever we wish—but what of the generals stationed in various places? Lacking oversight, I fear they will indulge themselves too far and stir up rebellion!"

Hearing this, Dang Jin disagreed, saying: "The officers and men conquered Shu through untold hardships—they deserve rewards. Besides, there's been no burning, killing, or looting. As for those who bully others with their power and exploit their authority to amass wealth, they ought to be dealt with, to give the people of Shu fairness and to cleanse the world. Why need the Chief Commander worry overmuch? Moreover, don't you also detest those corrupt lawbreakers and criminals?"

Even Dang Jin could articulate such reasoning—clearly, Xiang Xun's ideological groundwork in the purge of Shu's powerful and bureaucratic elite was quite thorough, having reached a consensus with the generals. Of course, had it not been for the vast amounts of reward funds collected through confiscation, they probably would have truly believed it.

In fact, Zhao Kuangyin's mental journey on this matter was rather complicated. At first, he had been completely opposed to doing this, but Xiang Xun had brought up grain and rewards, and won the support of most generals, leaving him helpless. After all, one could not go against the will of the entire army.

In Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, since entering Chengdu, Xiang Xun seemed to have become a different man—reckless, unscrupulous, stopping at nothing. Originally, Zhao Kuangyin had thought Xiang Xun was deliberately tarnishing his own reputation, but as the actions grew larger, the scope wider, and the methods harsher, he even began to suspect Xiang Xun of harboring ulterior motives, wanting to buy the loyalty of the army.

However, by now, Zhao Kuangyin's vision was naturally no longer limited to those powerful families and officials being purged, or those mountains of money and goods. What he saw was a transformation—a movement to sweep away the accumulated ills of Shu through harsh means. The table manners might be unsightly and carry hidden dangers, but the army gained profit, the common folk gained land, the court gained governance—only the vested interests suffered.

At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin also believed that Xiang Xun absolutely had no ulterior motives—his measures and methods were cutting himself off from the powerful and officials of Shu, alienating the landlords and merchants. With such a large-scale operation, without authorization from behind, Xiang Xun absolutely would not, and dared not, do it. Moreover, Zhao Kuangyin could basically be certain this was definitely the will of the Son of Heaven; the ministers at court would never be so radical—only the Son of Heaven had such boldness, such forcefulness.

Even more telling was that from start to finish, the court's promulgated measures for handling the aftermath had been perfectly conventional. The upheaval in Shu looked more like the Han army that had pacified Shu, covetous of Shu's wealth, acting arbitrarily and looting—and only targeting the nobles and wealthy magnates.

Xiang Xun's deeds were practically a stain for court officials to attack, and his position was very much like that of a scapegoat. Yet Xiang Xun seemed to relish it.

Having reasoned all this out, Zhao Kuangyin fell silent, no longer speaking up for the Shu nobles. Even if he harbored objections, going against the will of the Son of Heaven—Zhao Kuangyin wasn't that thick-headed.

However, over such a long time, news coming from the prefectures of the plains gave Zhao Kuangyin an urge to speak his mind. He felt it was enough—time to stop...

"Brother Yuanlang!" Noticing Zhao Kuangyin's expression, Dang Jin spoke up, his face full of sincerity, even changing his form of address: "Don't take this the wrong way! You seem too concerned with your reputation. With so many officers and men above and below, even Commander Xiang has taken some money—why must you be like this? Back in Yangzhou, you were the chief commander, so that was one thing. But now in Chengdu, with Commander Xiang above you bearing the weight, what are you worried about? With you holding out like this, we subordinates feel uneasy in our hearts too..."

Hearing Dang Jin's words, Zhao Kuangyin raised an eyebrow, looked at Dang Jin seriously in return, and sighed: "The Meng Shu may be pacified, but to the south there remain Tang, Wuyue, and Lingnan. Once this precedent is set, I fear the army's discipline will be hard to rein in. If we later take Jiangdong and employ the same methods again, I fear it will provoke stubborn resistance!"

Dang Jin said disdainfully: "The south is all weak troops. If they dare resist stubbornly, we'll simply sweep them all away—why need so many worries!"

Slightly at a loss for words, Zhao Kuangyin sighed inwardly—Dang Jin indeed lived simply and easily. After a moment's thought, he asked curiously: "How much reward did you get this time?"

"Mostly converted into cash and silk—50 bolts of silk, 200 strings of cash." Dang Jin grinned.

"That's not a small amount!" Zhao Kuangyin sighed slightly, thought for a moment, and said: "I hear you've acquired some fine wine. My craving for drink has come upon me—when we return, you must share it with me!"

"Good!" Dang Jin replied, feeling that Zhao Kuangyin showed signs of coming around.

A commotion ahead caught Zhao Kuangyin's attention. Riding forward to look, he saw before a tall mansion gate a group of Han soldiers eagerly carrying things out. Several large chests had been opened, filled neatly with silk and brocade—a house of great wealth indeed!

On the wide-open gate, several large red characters were clearly visible: The Li Family, Generations of Submission-Script Writers. Seeing these characters, one knew whose house this was. Because the family had written surrender memorials for both the Former and Later Shu, after Meng Chang surrendered, Chengdu commoners had written these words on Li Hao's gate by night, as mockery and contempt.

Originally, Li Hao had felt ashamed of this in his heart. His family wanted to change the gate, but he stopped them, saying it was useless, and let it remain on the central gate to show his openness. But later, when upheaval came to Chengdu and so many nobles, lords, and ministers were purged by the Han army, Li Hao instead had those six characters repainted, as if wanting to tell everyone that when the Han army entered the city to destroy Shu, he had rendered great service...

Perhaps it truly had worked, or perhaps because he had connections with Xiang Xun—indeed, no soldiers had troubled him, and he had remained safe to this day. But among the powerful of the Later Shu, few could surpass Li Hao in family property and extravagant living.

There was a little story: back then, the Shu minister Zhao Jizha had purchased a copy of the imperial decree by which Li Hao's great-grandfather Li Shen had been enfeoffed as chancellor, and presented it to him. Li Hao specially erected a decorated tower to enshrine it, and held a great banquet for guests to celebrate, summoning nearly all the famous courtesans of Chengdu to his private residence to accompany the feast. The extravagance was far beyond ordinary imagination. Moreover, he sent a full two thousand bolts of silk to Zhao Jizha as thanks—an amount comparable to what Zhao Pu had not dared to conceal as bribes when he had been envoy to Shu...

Such a house of great wealth—how could it not be targeted?

Before the Li mansion, Zhao Kuangyin saw this scene but sensed something amiss. If this were a proper official operation, the first step would be to seize the Li family members, convict them, and then dispose of them. But the Han soldiers coming and going at the Li mansion looked more like they were looting.

The word "extortion" surfaced in his mind. Zhao Kuangyin's brow furrowed slightly—this was what he feared most. When soldiers act arbitrarily, discipline inevitably slackens; when those above set the precedent, those below cannot be stopped no matter how often prohibited.

Urging his horse forward, Zhao Kuangyin coldly demanded: "Which army, which battalion are you from?"

The officer, whose eyes had been gleaming, only now noticed Zhao Kuangyin. He clearly didn't recognize him, but guessed from his bearing that his rank must be high. He gave a salute and said rather arrogantly: "We are men of the Fengguo Army, carrying out official business!"

"This General, this Li family is indeed very rich—the cash and silk in their storehouses are nearly moldy!" Having said this, his eyes flickered, and he leaned in to speak in a low voice, then glanced at the soldiers behind Zhao Kuangyin and said in a generous tone: "This humble officer can't take it all anyway—I'll take this portion, and leave the rest as an offering to the General?"

Hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Zhao Kuangyin's face, and he couldn't help bursting into loud laughter.

"Chief Commander Zhao!" A mournful cry interrupted him.

Looking over, he saw before the gate old Li Hao gazing at him with a wronged expression, his aged eyes holding both fear and hope.

"Fine! Fine Fengguo Army!" Lowering his head, he coldly stared at the officer: "Is this how Wang Quanbin leads his troops?"

The officer seemed to have figured out Zhao Kuangyin's identity. Seeing his rudeness, the officer's smile also faded, and he replied defiantly: "Chief Commander Zhao, why do you insult our Chief General!"

"Put the things down, take your men, and get back to camp!" Zhao Kuangyin said flatly, his tone overwhelmingly forceful.

Hearing this, the officer grew even more displeased, lifting his chin and retorting: "Chief Commander Zhao, your rank may be high, but you have no authority over us men of the Fengguo Army!"

"Ah!" The words had barely left his mouth when he let out a miserable cry.

It was Dang Jin, who had spurred his horse forward and lashed a whip across his face, angrily scolding: "You cur, how dare you speak to Chief Commander Zhao like that!"

Dang Jin's strength was immense—one lash and the flesh was torn and bloody, the face utterly ruined. This Fengguo Army officer, heedless of all else, fell to the ground clutching his face and howling. When he finally recovered somewhat, he couldn't even open his eyes.

Glancing sideways at Dang Jin, Zhao Kuangyin fixed his gaze on the officer, his tone extraordinarily indifferent: "Put the things down and return to camp. I don't want to say it a third time!"

How could a mid- or low-ranking officer resist Zhao Kuangyin's authority? In the end, he fled in disgrace. Thereafter, directly ignoring Li Hao's thanks, Zhao Kuangyin spurred his horse to seek out Xiang Xun.

"If military discipline is not rectified, great chaos is certain!" In the temporary command headquarters, finding Xiang Xun, Zhao Kuangyin said to him with a stern face, his tone unusually sharp.

Xiang Xun and Zhao Pu were discussing something. Seeing his appearance, he asked: "Why is Yuanlang so angry?"

With a grave expression, Zhao Kuangyin explained what had just happened. Hearing this, Xiang Xun's brow also furrowed: "Such a thing actually happened!"

Looking at Xiang Xun, then at Zhao Pu, after a moment's hesitation, Zhao Kuangyin clasped his hands and said: "Lord Xiang, forgive this humble officer for speaking bluntly—the extortion must stop, and military discipline and law must be strictly enforced. Li Hao is an old minister of Shu with considerable prestige, and he rendered service to the army's entry into the city. Now a mere low-ranking junior officer dares to come to his door to extort and blackmail—this is by no means a good omen.

This humble officer believes we should gather the troops, tighten military discipline, cease disturbing the people, restore peace to the people of Shu, and choose a day to return in triumph!"

"Yuanlang's words are reasonable!" Xiang Xun nodded, but said to him with a calm face: "The lower-ranking officers do need strict restraint. However, do not raise the matter of returning in triumph. First, Chuanshu still needs pacification; second, the court has not yet issued an edict; third, take a look at these military reports..."

Slightly puzzled, Zhao Kuangyin took them, and his expression rapidly sank. Yet he was not overly surprised. The reports read: Mianzhou, Jianzhou, Zizhou, and Langzhou—the powerful families have rebelled in succession.

"With the prefectures rebelling one after another, quelling the rebellions is now the top priority!" Xiang Xun sighed lightly. "But you're right! Military discipline and law—it's time to be strict!"

Shortly after, Wang Quanbin arrived in a fury, his face angry and fierce, and directly demanded of Zhao Kuangyin: "Zhao Kuangyin, why did you whip my subordinates!"