Chapter 524: A Season of Many Troubles

At Grand Secretary Wen Tiren's residence in the capital, Liang Tingdong, his face clouded with worry, was led by the steward into Wen Tiren's study. This time Wen Tiren was not writing; he was already waiting for him at the doorway.

Liang Tingdong performed the full kneeling obeisance due a subordinate official. Wen Tiren still had that gaunt, withered look, though after long occupying high office his bearing had grown even more composed. He personally helped Liang Tingdong to his feet, and the two entered the study together.

Once the steward had closed the door, Liang Tingdong said directly to Wen Tiren, "Elder Sir, today Xiong Mingyu sent a direct memorial to the palace — word is that Jianzhou wishes to discuss peace. Your subordinate feels this matter must be discussed with you, Elder Sir, and requests that you, my lord, set the guiding policy."

Wen Tiren nodded gently and invited Liang Tingdong to sit. Liang Tingdong was still within his faction, and had held the post of Minister of War for many years. Several times he had tried to switch to Minister of Personnel, but each time the Emperor had vetoed it.

"This Jianzhou peace-talk business has been boiling through the capital these past few days. Every teahouse and storytelling spot has been spinning it in vivid detail, yet the official news only arrived today. Whoever is spreading these rumors behind the scenes must be someone of considerable background."

Liang Tingdong said in a low voice, "From your subordinate's rough inquiries, Xiong Mingyu and Fang Yizao had already sent secret memorials earlier, mentioning that Jianzhou had delivered a letter seeking peace to the Liaodong Governor Fang Yizao. The terms of negotiation have gone back and forth several times between Ningyuan and Shanhai Pass. Xiong Mingyu reported it at the very start to clear himself of any suspicion of privately negotiating peace. That they were able to talk with the Jianzhou bandits several more times after that must mean His Majesty agreed to see what terms Jianzhou was offering."

Wen Tiren stroked his beard and said softly, "Discussing peace is only discussing — whether it actually leads to peace is still a long way off. Jianzhou has unlawfully occupied Liaodong for over ten years and long ago came to regard it as their private preserve. This old man very much doubts they can actually offer the court anything worth conceding. Besides, right now public opinion in the capital is surging fiercely; even merely discussing it is impermissible. His Majesty's hatred for the Jianzhou bandits cuts to the bone. Unless the Jianzhou bandits withdraw beyond the old border walls, there is absolutely no possibility of a negotiated peace."

Liang Tingdong added, "My lord is right. On every street corner and alleyway they're already talking as if it's a done deal — saying the Jianzhou bandits have sent the court officials negotiating peace millions in gold and silver, dozens of peerless beauties, night-luminescent pearls the size of chicken eggs, and so on. They also say it's all the fat of the common people plundered from around the capital during the jisi year. Naturally, the people are boiling with rage."

Wen Tiren laughed in spite of himself. "Marketplace rumors always grow more outlandish the further they spread. Peerless beauties sent as gifts would be living proof — who would dare accept them? Yet in matters like this, the common folk are only too willing to believe. Seeing how these rumors have spread throughout the entire city in just a few days, one can tell the person behind it wields enormous influence in the capital."

Liang Tingdong knew whom he meant. Because he oversaw Ministry of War affairs, and because his own business dealings intersected heavily with the Four Seas Trading Company, Liang Tingdong privately had a closer relationship with the Dengzhou garrison than Wen Tiren did.

Detecting a certain other flavor in Wen Tiren's words, he said cautiously, "Your subordinate also feels someone is stirring the pot. If peace talks in Liaodong succeed, then the Liaodong tax will be suspended. Whether in the provinces or the capital, many would lose considerable benefits — hence they strike first to preempt it."

"The Liaodong tax suspended?" Wen Tiren chuckled. "Just now this old man already said — the Jianzhou bandits can offer nothing worth conceding in peace talks. Jianzhou has always combined soldier and farmer: today they till the fields, tomorrow they are fierce troops. Even if Huang Taiji says they will lay down arms and return to the plow, one horn blast and they are an army of tens of thousands again. Who would dare believe it? And how would His Majesty dare suspend the Liaodong tax?"

Liang Tingdong offered an accompanying smile. Wen Tiren shook his head slightly and said, "This move by the Jianzhou chieftain is merely seeing Dengzhou's growing power and hoping to use the court to rein in the Dengzhou garrison's advance. He has indeed glimpsed some of the threads. Ever since Dengzhou seized southern Liaodong, it has been acting on its own there. Jinzhou and the Lüshun battalion still follow the guard-battalion system, with no civil officials yet appointed to govern them. The guard-battalion officers there all come from the Dengzhou garrison. Southern Liaodong is in practice the exclusive domain of the Dengzhou garrison. Add to that the many in the Dongjiang garrison now defecting to Chen Xin, and it is unavoidable that His Majesty feels some dissatisfaction."

"Elder Sir speaks truly, but those places are still in the midst of combat. This time Gaizhou did not fall; should the Jianzhou bandits counterattack southern Liaodong, Fuzhou's fate is still unknown. As for the Dengzhou garrison's current troop strength, in Liaodong it is still not stronger than the Jianzhou tribe. Earlier Chen Xin sent a field report — after spring began, Dengzhou made its customary attack, but was repulsed with losses at both Gaizhou and Lianshan Pass. Clearly the Jianzhou bandits' strength remains. His Majesty seems to be overthinking things somewhat."

Liang Tingdong spoke rather obliquely, and also slyly shifted the premise by limiting it to combat in Liaodong. Offensive operations on exterior lines are constrained by force-projection and logistics capacity; if the Jianzhou bandits came to Dengzhou to fight, they would certainly be no match for Dengzhou. Wen Tiren did not understand military affairs well, and made no comment upon hearing this.

Wen Tiren smiled noncommittally and said to Liang Tingdong, "You and I need not speculate. A few days ago a censor submitted a memorial saying Xiong Mingyu was a mere placeholder drawing a salary, while Wang Tingshi, in his post in Dengzhou and Laizhou, had reported victory after victory and ought to be given the concurrent title of Minister of War and appointed Grand Coordinator of Jizhou and Liaodong. His Majesty held it at the palace for three days, and yesterday sent it to the Grand Secretariat for drafting — from this one can discern His Majesty's thinking."

"Then as for Lu Zhi…"

Wen Tiren shook his head. "Lu Zhi is a man of the Directorate of Palace Domestic Service; his appointment lies entirely with the Directorate of Ceremonial. He can be replaced as easily as one changes clothes."

Liang Tingdong had also caught wind of this. The Emperor seemed convinced that the civil and military officials in Dengzhou and Laizhou were colluding from top to bottom. Wang Tingshi was part of the civil official system and of governor rank; his appointment or removal had to go through the Ministry of Personnel. Privately, Liang Tingdong thought the Emperor was truly making an unnecessary move. The core of Dengzhou had long ceased to be the civil officials; it was the Dengzhou garrison headquarters. No matter how many civil officials or army supervisors were swapped in, it would be useless.

Wen Tiren turned to look at Liang Tingdong. "The Minister of War need not concern himself with this peace-talk matter. Now that rumors are flying everywhere, no one dares bring it up for court discussion, and even less would anyone dare endorse it. You and I shall simply act as if we know nothing of it."

"Your subordinate understands."

"There is, however, another matter for which the Minister of War must begin making preparations."

"Elder Sir, please speak."

"This time the Dengzhou garrison pressed close to central Liaodong. In that field report of Chen Xin's, the count of genuine barbarian and Ujen Cooha heads taken has again exceeded two thousand. Before noon His Majesty sent someone to the Ministry of Rites with an edict: the Dengzhou Regional Commander Chen Xin is to come to the capital to present his victory tribute. I hear he also intends to grant General Chen a noble title."

Liang Tingdong looked up at Wen Tiren in shock. Wen Tiren frowned and sighed, "Dengzhou's military strength is formidable. This move by His Majesty — I do not know whether it is a probe or… or somewhat rash."

Liang Tingdong understood what Wen Tiren was worried about. There had already been the precedent of Zu Dashou, who ignored several summons and became an open warlord. Now using this same tactic against Chen Xin would in practice bring the court no benefit whatsoever. If Chen Xin did not come, the court could not mobilize troops to strike him anyway, and would merely create a second overt warlord. If Chen Xin did come, an army of tens of thousands still sat in Dengzhou, and the court would likewise be deterred from harming him for fear of the consequences.

Others might not understand Dengzhou's system, but Liang Tingdong had some insight. His own shops had participated in last year's grain speculation, and the organizational power of the Four Seas Trading Company alone had secretly shocked him. Chen Xin had been building his operation in Dengzhou for nearly ten years and had long since formed his own self-contained system. His prestige was at its zenith. The tens of thousands of Dengzhou troops and over a million military colonists behind him were absolutely not something the court could simply absorb.

And given Chen Xin's style, there was absolutely no way he would enter the capital without making preparations. Liang Tingdong cast his mind back briefly: the troops along the Grand Canal were all guarding against the roving bandits in the Henan direction. Shandong had few troops to begin with. If Dengzhou deployed over ten thousand men to the border of Qingzhou Prefecture, they could sever the Grand Canal within ten days. Combined with the Wendeng naval camp controlling the sea routes, not a single grain of rice would make it into the capital. By summoning Chen Xin to the capital, the court was picking up a hot potato of its own making.

Liang Tingdong stole a glance at Wen Tiren's expression. In truth, Wen Tiren was deliberately leaking this information to him. The edict had only reached the Ministry of Rites today; the formal imperial decree would still take a few days. That gave Chen Xin a few extra days to weigh the pros and cons — showing that Wen Tiren was in fact quite conflicted. His ties to Chen Xin ran very deep; the whole court knew Chen Xin was a member of the Wen faction. With Dengzhou as his external power base, Wen Tiren's position could be extremely secure.

But Wen Tiren now understood the Emperor's current attitude. His own status and power all rested on imperial authority, which was why he had been forced to make himself a faction of one to help the Emperor suppress the Donglin party. That was the tangible interest. Yet the Dengzhou garrison had also displayed strength surpassing the court's, and its future prospects looked very promising. Thus Wen Tiren found himself in a rather difficult position in the middle.

Liang Tingdong probed, "Could Elder Sir, during the Grand Secretariat deliberations, dissuade His Majesty? In your subordinate's view, this matter brings no benefit."

"How would I dissuade him? Can this old man say that the Dengzhou garrison has tens of thousands of crack troops eyeing the Grand Canal like a tiger? Or say that Chen Xin would come bringing over ten thousand soldiers?" Wen Tiren lowered the hand stroking his beard. "His Majesty is a man who values face above all. The moment such words are spoken, he will think this old man is using frontier generals to threaten the court, and will then insist on doing it precisely because of that. Better not to speak. The outcome of this matter is hard to predict. The Minister of War must make his preparations. Should His Majesty ask, you must know how to answer."

Liang Tingdong bowed to indicate he understood. Wen Tiren sighed, "A season of many troubles; the world's affairs grow ever harder. Now even this old man finds it somewhat difficult to read that General Chen. In the Minister of War's opinion, will Chen Xin come to the capital?"

Liang Tingdong thought for a moment, then shook his head firmly. "He will not come. Chen Xin has always acted with caution. Looking back now, your subordinate realizes that when Chen Xin railed at Cui Chengxiu in the Ministry of War, it seemed extraordinarily perilous, but in truth the situation at that moment was delicately poised. Chen Xin had read the timing perfectly and seized the mantle of righteous fame even before those censors did. This man loves to personally oversee the battle line in war, but from what your subordinate knows, every time he travels he is surrounded by layers of guards. As Elder Sir said, this is a season of many troubles — he will not come to the capital."

After speaking, Liang Tingdong lowered his eyes and composed his expression. Having thought it through, he did indeed believe Chen Xin would not come to the capital. This man was both daring and cautious. As the organizational core of Dengzhou, he would not lightly enter a place of danger. The court might not dare move against him openly, but once he was in the capital, there would be many other means to deal with him — for instance, granting him an empty title and detaining him, or having him assassinated en route and blaming it on bandits.

The Emperor perhaps wanted to detain Chen Xin in the capital and then take over the Dengzhou garrison's vast military forces and wealth. This tactic might work on an ordinary regional commander, but against a conglomerate power like Zu Dashou's or Chen Xin's, it was utterly useless.

Dengzhou's military strength was Chen Xin's most important bargaining chip, and he also had a self-contained civil administration. What made him even stronger than Zu Dashou was his possession of a massive trading company — an invisible, enormous power with tangled roots reaching into officialdom and commerce across every region. Dealing with just that trading company alone was already no easy task. Both men had reassessed Chen Xin's strength during last year's grain-price manipulation. Power is diplomacy. By using Liang Tingdong to pass a message now, Wen Tiren was not necessarily not leaving himself a path of retreat.

Wen Tiren paced a few steps to the window and stared absently at the window paper before him, murmuring under his breath, "A season of many troubles… a season of many troubles."