Chapter 841: Chuanshu Custom-Made, Zhong Mo Reports

"Your Majesty, the Tang envoy Zhong Mo requests an audience!" A respectful announcement sounded within Chongzheng Hall.

"Admit him!" Liu Chengyou, who had been reviewing arrangements for local officials in Chuanshu by the imperial desk, responded casually.

Since the pacification of the Shu rebellion, the land of Chuanshu remained in a state of disarray. However, after great chaos, great governance was sure to follow—the old order had been broken, a new rule was about to be constructed, and measures to correct disorder, pacify the people, and suppress bandits were proceeding in an orderly fashion.

The Hall of State Affairs had deliberated and decided that the former Shu territories would be divided into three circuits. North of Jianzhou, including the prefectures of Feng, Cheng, Jie, and Ankang Prefecture in northern Shu, the Shannan Circuit would be established, with its seat at Hanzhong Prefecture (renamed from Xingyuan Prefecture); south of Jianzhou, the Jiannan Circuit would be established, including the Chengdu Plain and the various prefectures of southern Shu, with its seat at Chengdu Prefecture; east of Suizhou and west of Kuizhou, including the southeastern region of Shu, the Chuandong Circuit would be established, with its seat at Yuzhou Prefecture.

This conformed fairly well to Liu Chengyou's conception, and after review, it was quickly approved. Liu Chengyou had no major objections to the appointments of the circuit-level senior officials proposed by the Hall of State Affairs. Song Yanwo, Bian Guangfan, and Wang Ming were to serve as Administration Commissioners for the three circuits—three men he favored were settled, and the rest presented no major problems.

Song Yanwo needed no introduction—he was Liu Chengyou's brother-in-law, a member of the imperial family by marriage, accomplished in both civil and military affairs, and long possessed of talent for governance and defense. Bian Guangfan had previously overseen the military colony reforms, settling over a million colony households properly, with outstanding achievements in governance. As for Wang Ming, though a failed examination candidate, he had risen from local posts, served successively as prefect and county magistrate, was incorruptible and capable, and had nearly twenty years of administrative experience—his promotion from Xiangyang Prefecture to circuit administrator was entirely appropriate.

The Bureau of Military Affairs had also completed its plan for garrison forces and issued it—the northern troops that had entered Shu would gradually withdraw northward. The original Shu soldiers were to be thoroughly broken up: a portion of the elite would be relocated to the Eastern Capital to replenish the imperial army's losses; a portion of the old and weak would be demobilized and sent home to serve as clerks or farm; a portion would move north with their families to settle the frontiers and cultivate wasteland; the remainder would be organized into local regional garrison troops.

There was no intention of maintaining a large garrison in Chuanshu. According to the Bureau of Military Affairs' arrangement, forces would be gradually reduced—the Jiannan Circuit would ultimately keep twenty thousand, tasked not only with guarding the basin but primarily with suppressing the Man and Lao barbarian tribes of southern Shu; the Shannan Circuit would keep six thousand, mainly to defend the various dangerous passes and strategic points; Chuandong would keep ten thousand, stationed at the key points of Kuizhou and Yuzhou and maintaining public order in the subordinate prefectures.

The forces garrisoning Shu would be composed mainly of the Huaiwei Army supplemented by some Guanzhong soldiers, with incorporated Shu soldiers as auxiliaries. Of the two Shu-registered Han armies, the Huaiwei Army was to be disbanded, while the Huaide Army, along with its families, would be relocated to Longxi to consolidate the three hundred li of territory recovered by Wang Jing. An Army Commander post was established there, to be held by Guo Jin. For fierce-natured generals like Guo Jin, the frontier was the best place to display their talents—to show their strengths, secure the borders, and subdue the barbarians.

As for the regional garrison commands of the three Chuanshu circuits, it was tentatively proposed that Wang Quanbin, Wang Renshan, and Cui Yanjin take the posts. However, before that, the three men still needed to return to the Eastern Capital—the summary of rewards and punishments for the Chuanshu rebellion still needed to be carried out.

While Liu Chengyou was engaged in deep and comprehensive deliberation over Chuanshu affairs, Zhong Mo had already entered the hall. The familiar surroundings, coupled with that Han Son of Heaven idly seated at the imperial desk who had left such an impression on him, Zhong Mo hurried forward and prostrated himself in full ceremony: "Your subject Zhong Mo pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Setting down the documents in his hand, Liu Chengyou looked up at Zhong Mo—proper in appearance, with a small mustache trimmed with great care, and impeccable in etiquette. His reverence was likely far more sincere than when he paid court to Li Jing.

In recent days, Liu Chengyou had set aside time to receive, one by one, all the various states, peoples, and powers that had come to the Eastern Capital for the grand ceremony. Liao, Wuyue, the Southern Yue, including the Qingyuan Army of Quan and Zhang, the Dingnan Army of Xia and Sui, the Guiyi Army of Gua and Sha, as well as Yanzhou, Liangzhou, and the alien peoples—Uyghurs, Tibetans, Dali—and ah, also the Goryeo envoys who had come across the sea. Essentially, every state and power within and beyond the borders that had dealings with the Great Han had been exchanged with, like a unified establishment of diplomatic relations.

As for why the Southern Tang had been left for last—clearly there was deeper meaning in that.

"Rise and be at ease!" Liu Chengyou's lips curled into a formulaic smile as he extended a hand: "Minister Zhong, it's been nearly six years since we last met, hasn't it!"

"Your Majesty's memory is keen!" Zhong Mo rose and replied respectfully: "Your subject returned to Jinling in the summer of the fifth year of Qianyou—it has indeed been nearly six years now!"

"I must also congratulate Minister Zhong—after returning to Jinling, you received great trust, rose swiftly through the ranks, and enjoyed glory and wealth in full measure!" Liu Chengyou said.

"Your subject has always remembered Your Majesty's magnanimous mercy. Your Majesty's grace, your subject will remember for all his life. While in Jinling, every festival, your subject burns incense and bathes, praying northward, offering blessings for Your Majesty and the Great Han—never daring to forget Your Majesty's grace of giving your subject a new lease on life..." Zhong Mo poured out a heartfelt declaration.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou laughed with unusual cheerfulness and said directly: "With a loyal and righteous minister like you, Zhong Qing, why should I worry about Jiangnan not being pacified?"

Over these years, while holding high office in the Southern Tang, his heart had been with the Great Han, and every year he had transmitted a large amount of internal intelligence northward. The Northern Han's thorough understanding of the Southern Tang's military and political situation was due, besides the intelligence network built over a decade, chiefly to Zhong Mo's contributions.

Moreover, immersed in the atmosphere of Jinling, Zhong Mo had also, under the name of "poetry gatherings," gathered a group of like-minded relatives and friends, becoming a surrender faction sheltered under the peace-negotiation faction. As the situation in the realm grew clearer and the balance of national power shifted, their influence expanded day by day.

It could be said with certainty that only if the Han army captured Jinling would Zhong Mo and his people alone suffice to organize a new ruling order. Of course, perhaps it was not what Liu Chengyou wanted—one could refer to the causes of the Shu rebellion...

The Han Emperor's words were filled with ambition toward the territory of Jiangnan, and hearing this, Zhong Mo felt not the slightest discomfort, immediately saying: "Does Your Majesty intend to launch a southern campaign?"

"It's only a matter of time!" Liu Chengyou did not conceal it, raising his hand with slight arrogance: "With Chuanshu pacified, we need only rest and regroup the troops, stockpile grain and accumulate arms. That tiny patch of Jiangnan—can it withstand the edge of the imperial army?"

"The people of Jiangnan have yearned for the royal army for years already. Should it come to that, your subjects will surely be in Jinling, craning our necks in anticipation of the royal army crossing the river!" Zhong Mo declared with an air of great righteousness.

Waving his hand, Liu Chengyou said: "I have received secret reports that during this transition from winter to spring, Jinling has been full of shifting winds and clouds—no small waves! I have the leisure to listen; you, as one in the know, may tell me about it—consider it as listening to a story!"

"Yes!" Zhong Mo made a bow.

"Sit and speak!" Seeing him still standing there with utmost deference, Liu Chengyou added.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After taking his seat, Zhong Mo narrated the political upheaval that had occurred in the Southern Tang last month with ease: "On the fourteenth day of the twelfth month last year, Duke Jin Li Jingsui was assassinated in Hongzhou. When the news reached Jinling, the entire court was shocked and bewildered. The sovereign grieved so deeply he nearly fainted. While holding the funeral, he also ordered a thorough investigation. And suspicion quickly fell upon Crown Prince Li Hongji. His close attendants were detained, and under interrogation it was learned that he had indeed secretly ordered the killing of his uncle.

The sovereign flew into a rage upon learning this and immediately had him imprisoned in the Eastern Palace. Once the evidence was conclusive, he made sacrifice at the ancestral temple of Emperor Gaozu, and on grounds of his cruelty and wickedness, deposed him from the position of Crown Prince and confined him to his former residence..."

"This deposed crown prince matter—Li Jing didn't memorialize the court about it at all, but acted on his own!" Liu Chengyou muttered, seemingly considering whether this pretext was suitable for use in a campaign against Tang.

Zhong Mo then said: "A son and brother of the closest kin, flesh and blood slaughtering each other—the sovereign was so grieved and pained that he could not attend to ritual propriety!"

"I have heard that Li Jingsui was quite renowned, mild in temperament, and had voluntarily stepped aside—how did Li Hongji dare to murder his own uncle?" Liu Chengyou asked.

Zhong Mo sighed: "Your subject believes it was precisely because of his high reputation, his popularity with the people, and his being seen as a threat that this calamity befell him. In your subject's observation, Li Hongji is a man of jealousy and harshness, fierce-tempered and narrow-minded, of shallow capacity and short vision—hence he conceived the cruel intention to kill his uncle, and brazenly carried it out!"

"Li Hongji's reputation is not small either!" Liu Chengyou said with relish: "Hasn't he been agitating all these years to lead an army north and recover the lost territories?"

"He does not understand the mandate of Heaven—mere wild talk!" Zhong Mo shook his head and said: "However, Li Hongji was indeed among the rarest of the imperial clan who understood military affairs, and he enjoyed a certain prestige in the army. His deposition is no small blow to the forces in Jiangnan that hold a resistant attitude!"

Nodding, Liu Chengyou suddenly asked with keen interest: "With Li Hongji deposed, whom will Li Jing make his heir?"

Zhong Mo replied: "Of the sovereign's sons, below Li Hongji, most died young. The eldest is Duke Chu Li Congjia. However, in your subject's observation, that man is of frivolous bearing and unrestrained ambition, lacking the virtue of a ruler of men, and even less possessing the talent for state affairs—insufficient to bear the weight of the state, let alone be a worthy adversary for the Great Han!"

A slight smile appeared on Liu Chengyou's face—he knew that what Zhong Mo spoke of was that "word-emperor of a thousand ages."

"Hmph, hmph!" Liu Chengyou grunted twice and said blandly: "Even if it were that Li Hongji, what of it? Could he overturn the great situation of the realm?"

"Your Majesty's bold spirit towers over the world, and your words hit the mark! The tide of the world's affairs cannot be reversed by human effort—how much less by a man of meager talent?" Zhong Mo flattered.

Noting the Emperor's calm expression, Zhong Mo continued relating the subsequent developments: "After this great upheaval, the sovereign was grief-stricken, his sorrow excessive, his body unable to bear it—he could not even attend banquets. He retreated to recuperate within the palace, entrusting all state affairs to close ministers such as the Feng Yansi brothers."

"I heard Han Xizai was dismissed from office?" Liu Chengyou said with a light laugh.

"Exactly so!" Zhong Mo reported: "Feng Yansi and others impeached Han Xizai on the grounds that he had been overly close with the deposed crown prince in daily dealings. The sovereign accepted the impeachment and dismissed him from his post, retaining only his salary. Now, all state affairs in Jinling issue from the Feng brothers. They have made major revisions and abolitions to Han Xizai's reform policies, and ministers such as Xu Xuan and Mao Wenxi have been suppressed—to the point that the political situation is in turmoil and the people's livelihood is unsettled..."

"This Han Xizai—pitiable and lamentable!" Liu Chengyou offered his observation from the standpoint of an outsider.

"Duke Han, struck by such a blow, seems to have grown cold at heart, his ambition no longer what it was. Before your subject left Jinling, he heard that the man spends his days in his residence, feasting and making merry, with song and music every night..." Zhong Mo said.

Smiling, Liu Chengyou looked at Zhong Mo and said to him: "Hearing your words, Zhong Qing, I have gained much. Your loyalty to me and the Great Han, I now understand clearly. You may stay a few more days in the Eastern Capital before returning. After you go south, continue as before! One day, you shall not be let down!"

"Yes!" Zhong Mo's face lit up with joy as he rose and prostrated himself.

"Additionally, I have ordered people to prepare some tonics—when the time comes, take them back with you and give them to Li Jing, as my return gift!" Liu Chengyou said. Mm, a few tonics in exchange for boats and carts laden with gold, silver, and goods—this transaction was well worth it.

"And by the way, convey my condolences on my behalf, and hope that he takes care of his health!" Pausing, Liu Chengyou said with relish: "I hope that within my lifetime, I may still see him once more..."

"As Your Majesty commands!"

After considering for a while longer, Liu Chengyou's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said slowly: "Does Zhong Qing know of the Chuanshu rebellion?"

"Your subject has heard something of it!" Zhong Mo was somewhat puzzled.

Liu Chengyou said: "I hear you've been in contact with some Jinling nobles and officials who incline toward Han—that is a good thing. However, regarding the Chuanshu rebellion, I hope you will think it over carefully—consider it my admonition..."