Chapter 381: The Hero of Yan and Zhao, Guo Que'er

Fuzhou, whose seat of government was in what later became Fu County in Shaanxi, was under the Military Governor of the Bao'an Army, Zhou Mi, a man also of Daibei military-aristocrat stock.

When it came to elders of Daibei origin, few could compare with Zhou Mi; even Kang Fu had to call him "old elder brother."

This gentleman was born in the sixth year of Qianfu under Emperor Xizong of Tang, that is, 879 AD, five years older than Kang Fu, who was born in 884, and was now approaching the advanced age of sixty.

In his youth, Zhou Mi had been a swift cavalryman at Li Cunxu's side; when Li Cunxu destroyed the Jie Yan of Liu Shouguang and destroyed Zhu Liang, Zhou Mi had followed and earned merit in both.

Moreover, this fellow had an especially long life, living all the way until Guo Wei established the Later Zhou, one man spanning the five dynasties of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou.

Such a wily old fox naturally would not choose to come into conflict with Zhang Zhao.

The Bao'an Army of Fuzhou had eleven thousand troops, but only about three thousand could truly be counted as elite, slightly stronger than the Zhangwu Army of Yanzhou, but certainly no match for Zhang Zhao's Guiyi Army.

In fact, the targets that the Bao'an Army of Fuzhou and the Zhangwu Army of Yanzhou were aimed at were precisely the Dingnan Army.

After Emperor Mingzong of the Later Tang had been unable to move the Dingnan Army from its garrison at Xiazhou, he had strengthened the Bao'an Army and the Zhangwu Army as a precaution.

That is to say, their main task was to guard against the Dingnan Army moving south; an army that could only hold its ground against the Dingnan Army would hardly dare go and make trouble before the Guiyi Army that had routed forty thousand Dingnan troops in a single battle.

Of course, when wealth and goods were delivered to his door, Zhou Mi was not one to refuse them, and he even wanted to earn more.

"Honored envoy, please return and tell His Highness the King of Han that if he will send another twenty fine Hexi horses, this old man is willing to make some inquiries in the Eastern Capital on the King of Han's behalf.

If the court truly means to send a great army, the King of Han will certainly be the first to know."

The special envoy who had come to Fuzhou was Cao Yanlu, and the moment he saw Zhou Mi's manner, he understood at once.

This was an old horse in his declining years, hoping only to scrape together enough retirement money to spend his old age in peace in the Eastern Capital.

"If I may obtain Elder Zhou's assistance, I shall be endlessly grateful; the twenty Hexi fold-eared horses will arrive shortly."

At the same time, far away in the Northern Capital Prefecture of Hedong, Liu Zhiyuan also received Zhang Zhao's letter; smiling, he handed Zhang Zhao's letter to his trusted confidant Guo Wei at his side.

"This Zhang of Hexi is certainly most respectful in his words. With the dignity of a one-character king, he calls me elder brother, and even says he will present fifty Hexi horses. It seems he is determined to swallow up the Li family of the Dingnan Army!"

Guo Wei took it and examined it carefully, then respectfully returned the letter to Liu Zhiyuan.

"This man has great ambition! He plans three steps ahead with every move. First he took advantage of the court being busy putting down internal rebellion to send troops against the Dingnan Army.

After routing the Dingnan Army's main force, he did not rush to seize cities and territory, but first blocked any possibility of court interference.

I would guess that the Zhangwu Army of Yanzhou and the Bao'an Army of Fuzhou must also have received gifts and letters."

Liu Zhiyuan chuckled twice, then looked at Guo Wei. "You, Guo Que'er, are always so hesitant. If you have something to say, say it. Between you and me, why beat around the bush?"

"The Grand Tutor sees clearly!" Guo Wei cupped his hands. "The present Son of Heaven won the realm only by serving the Khitan as a father, and the warlords do not submit. That An Zhongrong, An Congjin, and their sort dared to rebel with a mere twenty or thirty thousand troops is clear proof.

It was seeing this that the King of Han of Zhang seized the chance to attack and destroy the Li family of the Dingnan Army.

The present Son of Heaven is advanced in years; how many good years can he have left? The Grand Tutor is a pillar of the state, dwelling in Hedong, a land where dragons coil and tigers crouch. If the realm should change, I observe the heroes of the age, and only the Grand Tutor and the King of Han are true heroes. In days to come, this man may be the Grand Tutor's greatest rival."

Liu Zhiyuan fell silent for a moment. Guo Wei's thinking in fact represented the collective will of the officers under Liu Zhiyuan's command; at root, it was because Shi Jingtang had come to power far too illegitimately.

Selling the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun and serving the Khitan as a father — in the eyes of men of the time, such conduct made him worse than even Zhu Yougui, who had murdered his father to usurp the throne.

Moreover, since the founding of the Later Tang, the post of Military Governor of Hedong had taken on a somewhat altered flavor. Nearly everyone who held Hedong had gone down the path of "I can take his place."

Behind this lay the challenge of the new generation of the Daibei military-aristocrat bloc to the old generation of the Daibei military-aristocrat bloc.

Or one might say, the young Daibei warriors of humble status who wished to rise in the world and take their place.

This challenge did not shift according to Liu Zhiyuan's personal will; he could only be pushed forward down that road, step by step.

If Liu Zhiyuan dared now to say he did not want to do it, he could very quickly be "democratically elected" out of office.

Of course, if he could become Son of Heaven, Liu Zhiyuan would certainly not refuse, nor could he refuse.

Shi Jingtang might tolerate him, but would a new emperor on the throne tolerate him? With no troops in hand, would he not be seized and sent to the Eastern Capital with his whole family to take a blade to the neck?

"Wenzhong's words are sound, but this Zhang of Hexi is no easy man to deal with either. He has already routed Li Yiyin of the Dingnan Army. Even if the court were willing to send a punitive expedition, the best outcome would be no better than withdrawing intact, as in the days of the Ming Temple period.

The Hedong troops are elite, but to cross the Luliang Mountains and cross the great river into the Yin-Xia region — unless the court also hands over the Hebei lands to me."

Having said this, Liu Zhiyuan himself laughed.

Guo Wei laughed along with him. He had never thought of urging Liu Zhiyuan to attack Zhang Zhao, because that was far too unreliable.

Zhang Zhao held nineteen prefectures of Hexi and Longyou, a rare hegemon; under his banner, scholars and commoners were of one heart, his officers and soldiers were fierce and hardy, with much iron armor and fine horses. Only a madman would send Hedong troops across the Luliang Mountains to their deaths.

The reason he had spoken this way was merely to sound out Liu Zhiyuan's thinking. Now, seeing Liu Zhiyuan's manner, he understood that this superior of his had long harbored the intent to take his place.

That settled it. At least the officers and troops of Hedong now had a unified goal and could follow Liu Zhiyuan with confidence.

Having understood his leader's mind, Guo Wei prepared to withdraw, but at that moment Liu Zhiyuan called him back.

"I hear you have a wife's nephew named Chai Rong, a man of broad experience, brave and valiant, who has even traveled to the Jiangnan East Circuit?"

Guo Wei did not know why Liu Zhiyuan was asking, but he quickly nodded.

"There is indeed such a son, a child of the Chai clan, a prominent family of Xingzhou. In past years, when my household was poor, we relied greatly on this child trading tea between north and south to supplement the family income."

At this time, Chai Rong was indeed still called Chai Rong and not Guo Rong, because he was the adopted son of Guo Wei's wife, Lady Chai, not Guo Wei's adopted son.

There was a difference. Chai Rong becoming his aunt's son was only nominal.

Because Lady Chai had no son and feared she would have no support in old age, she had taken her own nephew Chai Rong as an adopted son, so that in her old age, should Guo Wei pass away before her, she would have Chai Rong to back her and could spend her remaining years in peace.

Siluke

If Chai Rong had been Guo Wei's adopted son, then he would have had to be called Guo Rong. Lady Chai was the principal wife, so Guo Rong would have become the eldest legitimate son, with a relationship even closer than that between Zhang Zhao and Murong Xinzhang, an heir with full rights of inheritance.

But at this moment Guo Wei's two sons were both still alive, so it was impossible for Chai Rong to become this sort of adopted son akin to an eldest legitimate son.

Therefore at this time, Guo Rong was still called Chai Rong. It would not be until the Later Han's Emperor Yin killed Guo Wei's entire family and Guo Wei's line was cut off that Chai Rong would be promoted to Guo Rong and become Guo Wei's rightful heir.

Even so, Guo Wei's affection for Chai Rong was immense.

Apart from Chai Rong's handsome appearance, his skill in archery and horsemanship, and his great filial piety, it also had to do with the bond between Guo Wei and his wife, Lady Chai.

Lady Chai had originally been a palace consort of Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang. After Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan seized the throne, he sent Zhuangzong's palace women back to their homes.

On the road home, Lady Chai encountered Guo Wei and fell in love with him at first sight.

Lady Chai's parents urged her against it, believing that since she had served at the emperor's side, she should at the very least marry a Military Governor.

But Guo Wei at that time was merely a cavalry and infantry clerk in the imperial guard, only a little better than a common soldier, not even counting as a low-ranking officer.

But Lady Chai was unmoved. She gave half of the wealth and goods she carried to her parents to support them in their old age, and with the other half, she married Guo Wei at a country post station.

This is simply the companion every man dreams of!

When you've just entered society, utterly penniless, you meet a goddess of a woman who falls for you at first sight, believes you can rise in the world, is rich and beautiful, can manage a household, and doesn't look down on you.

A love like this — not one man in a million ever encounters it.

So, loving the house and its crow, Guo Wei's fondness for Chai Rong was beyond words.

"Why not send your wife's nephew on a trip to Xiazhou to meet that Han King of Hexi, and see what sort of man he is? What ambitions does he hold?

And while you're at it, tell Zhang of Hexi: for those fifty fine horses, I don't want Liangzhou horses — I want his fold-eared horses."

As he spoke, Liu Zhiyuan lowered his voice. "If we could somehow get a few stallions, even better. Whatever money it costs, whatever men you need to bring, just report it all."

Guo Wei nodded silently. The Han King Zhang's Hexi fold-eared horses and the Ferghana heavenly stallions were guarded with extraordinary strictness.

Never mind bringing them to Hedong — it was said that anyone who dared take such stallions out of the army horse farm would be punished by the execution of his entire family.

Guo Wei was somewhat worried, but fortunately Liu Zhiyuan spoke again at once.

"This matter need not be forced. If it cannot be obtained, just come back safely." (To be continued)

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