Chapter 488: What He Wants Is Not Just Chang'an, but the People's Hearts

Fine wine from Xinfeng costs ten thousand a dou; how many young gallants roam Xianyang?

When kindred spirits meet, they drink for one another, tethering their horses by the tall tower amid the drooping willows.

Born to serve the Han as a Feathered Forest guardsman, he first followed the General of Agile Cavalry to war at Yuyang.

Who knows the bitterness of never serving on the frontier? Even in death, the fragrance of a gallant's bones endures.

Xinfeng County, west of Chang'an, was said to have been built when Liu Bang, to ease his father Liu Taigong's homesickness, sent men east of Chang'an to recreate Feng County from the Huai region — hence the name Xinfeng, "New Feng."

Xinfeng County was the eastern gateway into Chang'an. The Feast at Hong Gate, where Xiang Yu hosted Emperor Gaozu of Han, took place at the foot of Mount Li, south of the county.

This place rests against mountains and beside water, its land fertile — a treasured region of Guanzhong.

Singing "Fine wine from Xinfeng costs ten thousand a dou" at the top of his voice was a boy with a face as fair as jade, a small cap on his head, and a purple brocade robe — tall in stature, but his voice made clear he had not yet come of age.

The youth wore a short blade at his waist, more for show than use, and held a short bow suited to his size.

His loud singing stirred the grass by the roadside, and a rabbit just revived from the cold winter was startled into frantic flight.

"Young lord, a rabbit!"

Beside him, a tall, burly young officer — about the same age, but already beginning to grow a beard — pointed at the rabbit and shouted.

The youth quickly drew an arrow from the hip quiver that was nearly as long as he was tall, but just as he began to draw the bow, he suddenly lowered it again.

"Forget it, forget it! This rabbit survived such a bitter winter — it must have some good fortune. I'm not short these few ounces of meat, so why take its life?"

"The young lord is benevolent — he has the bearing of a great man."

The bearded young officer stared at the fleeing rabbit, his fingers twitching slightly, looking very much like he wanted to draw and shoot, yet his mouth still spouted flattery.

The youth looked at the young officer helplessly. "Fifth Brother, if you always talk like that, then we truly can't have a proper conversation."

The young officer called Fifth Brother rubbed the kerchief on his head and chuckled.

"Fine, fine! Then I'll just call you Zhun-ge'er, not young lord. Since you don't want to shoot the rabbit, let's move quickly."

Zhun-ge'er was Zhang Zhao's eldest son, Zhang Xiancun. His mother Li Ruoliu had once given him the name Li Zhun, so within the Liang domain people generally called him Zhun-ge'er.

The one flattering him so clumsily was the youngest of Great King Zhang's five sworn sons — Yang Chonggui, who had just turned twelve this year.

Actually, he no longer went by Yang Chonggui, but by Yang Jiye.

And Yang Chonggui himself had no idea why his foster father, Great King Zhang, refused to let him change his surname to Zhang, yet insisted on changing his given name.

Jiye? Carry on what enterprise? His father Yang Hongxin's tiny post as Prefect of Linzhou?

Yang Jiye had long since stopped thinking much of that. At his age, when one admires the strong, and having been taken as a foster son by Zhang Zhao, he naturally wanted to change his surname to Zhang.

So he had been constantly cozying up to Zhang Xiancun, who was a year younger, striving to appear more often before his foster father Great King Zhang, hoping to accomplish the great matter of changing his surname as soon as possible.

Zhang Xiancun watched Fifth Brother Yang Jiye drift off in thought again, and let out a long sigh.

"All right, all right! My mother did send two sets of cloth-faced precious armor. You and I are close in size, so I'll give you one set."

Yang Jiye was taken aback — Zhang Xiancun had misunderstood. But he didn't correct him.

The Lady of Shanshan Commandery had ordered two sets of highly defensive cloth-faced iron armor sent to the front, terrified that Zhang Xiancun might suffer even the slightest mishap.

This kind of precious armor was beloved by every fighting man on the battlefield, and though Yang Jiye was not yet old enough to gallop into combat, he loved it too.

So he simply let the misunderstanding stand, accepted a set of precious armor from Zhang Xiancun, and cheerfully went ahead to lead the way.

Zhang Xiancun watched Yang Jiye walk off, full of delight, but sighed inwardly.

Zhang Xiancun knew very well what kind of man his father Zhang Zhao was.

Within the bounds he permitted, Zhang Zhao was the best father under heaven. When Zhang Xiancun was seven or eight, he had even dared to climb onto Zhang Zhao's shoulders to play.

That would have been unacceptable even in an ordinary wealthy household, let alone an imperial one — but with Zhang Zhao, it was no problem.

But if his actions exceeded the bounds his father allowed — for instance, asking why he wouldn't let his sworn brothers all take the surname Zhang — that was something he was not permitted to ask.

To get a moment's peace, Zhang Xiancun could only use the precious armor his mother had sent to shut the mouth of Fifth Brother Yang Jiye.

After passing Xinfeng County, it was no more than a day and a half's journey before Zhang Xiancun spotted a convoy by the Wei River not far ahead.

The convoy flew the great banner of envoys, but no flag indicated where they had come from.

A Commandant of the Left Feathered Forest Guard took men to make contact, then returned and confirmed to Zhang Xiancun: "It is indeed the convoy of He Ning, Right Deputy Director of the Jin state."

Zhang Xiancun nodded, straightened his robes, and rode over.

That he should be the one to go receive He Ning and the others was Zhang Zhao's arrangement.

For someone of Zhang Zhao's status would certainly not go welcome He Ning himself, yet he still had to send someone of sufficient weight to receive them.

The most important reason was that He Ning had brought to Guanzhong the Lady Hua Jianxiu — consort of Emperor Mingzong of Tang, born in Luoyang — along with Emperor Mingzong's only surviving son, Prince Xu, Li Congyi, and Princess Yong'an, the Mingzong Emperor's sixteenth daughter, born to Consort Wang.

He Ning had left in haste, and when he took Consort Wang, he had used a bit of force, which frightened Consort Wang and Prince Xu Li Congyi badly.

They had been living in the Western Capital, Henan Prefecture (Luoyang), with their tails tucked between their legs, walking on eggshells, terrified of displeasing Shi Chonggui.

Then He Ning arrived and, without a word of explanation, ordered soldiers to bundle them up and flee at full speed.

Consort Wang was strikingly beautiful, and she knew that in these chaotic times, a woman's beauty was itself a source of disaster. She thought He Ning had undergone a drastic change of character and had no idea what he meant to do with them after abducting them. Several times she wanted to kill herself, but each time gave up for lack of courage.

Still, though she lacked the courage for suicide, falling ill was another matter.

So after the grueling journey, Consort Wang — known as Hua Jianxiu — had fallen so ill she could barely walk. The thirteen-year-old Li Congyi, seeing his foster mother so terrified, grew more frightened by the day, living in constant dread.

He Ning had no choice but to send riders again to notify Zhang Zhao, asking him to send someone to calm them down, lest the mother and son be frightened to death before they even reached Chang'an.

"But Aunt Wang, Brother Yi, and Sixteenth Sister are here — your nephew has come to pay his respects."

Murong Xinzhang had married Princess Yongle, the fifteenth daughter of Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan of the Later Tang. Princess Yongle's mother, in her lifetime, had addressed Consort Wang as sister, so he could call Consort Wang "aunt."

So Zhang Xiancun simply followed Murong Xinzhang's lead and called Consort Wang his aunt.

Hua Jianxiu was resting in the carriage. The weather had warmed these past few days, and she felt some strength gradually returning, though the panic had not yet left her.

She and Li Congyi had lived behind closed doors in Luoyang, terrified of contact with outsiders and of displeasing Shi Chonggui, so they knew almost nothing about Zhang Zhao.

In their eyes, Liangzhou was a land of tigers and wolves!

And the Great King of this land of tigers and wolves was surely some terrifying, burly brute reeking of mutton.

So no matter how He Ning explained, Hua Jianxiu was utterly terrified at the prospect of coming to Liangzhou.

But now, suddenly hearing an extremely clear child's voice, and one that was calling her "Aunt," she found it quite curious.

So she hastily lifted the carriage's cloth curtain to look outside, and the Yong'an Princess, who had just woken, also poked her head out from behind the curtain.

Outside the carriage stood a youth with a tall, upright bearing and a face like polished jade.

The youth's manner was proper and his smile radiant. At one glance, Hua Jianxiu felt the wariness in her heart melt away at once.

At that moment, two beautiful heads suddenly stretched out from the carriage window.

Both had the same fair skin and delicate features. The elder carried a pitiable, tender charm, while the younger was quietly elegant with a touch of playfulness, as if curious about everything.

Zhang Xiancun, a year younger, was a little better off, but Yang Jiye, already at the age of first awakening to love, was instantly dumbstruck.

"Who are you? Why do you call my mother 'Aunt'?" the Yong'an Princess asked the youth outside the carriage, puzzled.

"Ahem!" Zhang Xiancun coughed as if clearing his throat, while unobtrusively stepping on Yang Jiye's instep.

"Fifth Brother, you're already betrothed. If you keep staring, be careful Fourth Brother beats you."

The "Fourth Brother" Zhang Xiancun spoke of was Zhe Deyuan. As for Lord Yang, Zhang Zhao naturally could not ruin his marriage, so he had long ago betrothed him to the Zhe Matriarch, who was still a little girl at present.

When Yang Jiye heard Zhe Deyuan's name, his soul quickly returned to his body.

Though he was Zhe Deyuan's sworn younger brother and brother-in-law, that brought him no special treatment. On the contrary, it meant Zhe Deyuan could beat him without any need for courtesy.

"I am Zhang Xiancun. The Heavenly King of the Great Dynasty's Western Han Jinshan Great Liang Kingdom is my father.

Hearing that Aunt and Brother Yi were unwell, my father specially sent his nephew, accompanied by famous physicians from Liangzhou, to treat Aunt and Brother Yi."

"So it is the eldest young lord before me. Please wait a moment."

When Hua Jianxiu heard that the handsome young boy before her was the son of Zhang Zhao, Heavenly King of the Liang Kingdom, she hastily had the maidservants who had come with her tidy her up and dress her, and only then came out to meet Zhang Xiancun with proper ceremony.

Before long, the simple grooming was done. Consort Wang and the Yong'an Princess wore light-purple ceremonial robes with wide-sleeved outer garments and ochre long skirts, with an embroidered panel added at the waist.

They looked graceful and quietly elegant, and the attire brought out the beauty of the female form just right.

"Where is Fifteenth Brother-in-law? Did he not come to receive us?"

The Yong'an Princess asked in a sweet voice. She had met this brother-in-law of hers once, when her fifteenth sister, the Yongle Princess, married Murong Xinzhang.

The little princess had a deep impression of this brother-in-law, who had a heroic, chivalrous air and seemed very reliable.

From the carriage it had not been apparent, but after stepping down, Zhang Xiancun was surprised to find that the Yong'an Princess was nearly as tall as he was, with bright eyes and white teeth, and a playfulness that could not be hidden beneath her quietly elegant bearing.

In Zhang Xiancun's view, this Yong'an Princess was even more beautiful than her mother.

Hua Jianxiu's own daughter naturally had no lack of beauty, but the young girl's fate was not a good one.

Historically, when Yelu Deguang heard of her beauty, he specially summoned the Yong'an Princess to the Eastern Capital at Kaifeng Prefecture and, as compensation for not making Zhao Yanshou Son of Heaven, married her to the then-widowed Zhao Yanshou.

And after marrying her brother-in-law, a man in his forties, at the age of fifteen, less than a year into the marriage Zhao Yanshou was soon imprisoned and finally killed by the succeeding Liao Emperor Yelu Ruan, and the Yong'an Princess vanished without a trace.

Zhang Xiancun shifted his gaze slightly, and only after thinking for a moment did he realize who the "Fifteenth Brother-in-law" the Yong'an Princess spoke of was.

He smiled faintly and said to the Yong'an Princess, "My elder brother Xinzhang is still at the front and could not come, but he entrusted me to bring the Princess a small gift."

With that, Zhang Xiancun handed over the small pouch in his hand. The Yong'an Princess took it, opened it, and found a pearl giving off a soft glow.

She let out a small "Oh," and also took a pouch from her waist. Inside was a pearl of the same size, color, and shape.

The pearl in the pouch at her waist was given to her by her sister, the Yongle Princess, when she attended the wedding.

At the time there had been two pearls of exactly the same size. The Yongle Princess had given her one, saying that when she married, she would give her the second.

The Yong'an Princess had long coveted it, and recognized at a glance that this pearl was the very one the Yongle Princess had said she would give her when she married.

"Mother, I told you Fourteenth Sister knew we were having a hard time in Luoyang and asked the Heavenly King to send people to bring us to Liangzhou for a good life, but you didn't believe me. Now do you believe it?"

The Yong'an Princess wrinkled her little nose and immediately broke into a beaming smile.

Seeing Zhang Xiancun's courteous manner and jade-like face, Hua Jianxiu felt much more at ease. Hearing the Yong'an Princess speak this way, a rare smile bloomed on her face as well, and the heavy burden in her heart dissipated by more than half in an instant.

And this was precisely why Zhang Zhao had sent Zhang Xiancun. Consort Wang and the others, especially Prince Xu, Li Congyi, were still of great use to him, and he could not afford to frighten them.

Just then, He Ning came over with Li Congyi. Zhang Xiancun immediately put on a different manner. After bowing to Consort Wang, he hurried over in quick strides.

"This young one, Zhang Xiancun, pays respects to Elder He. Elder He has had a hard journey. The Heavenly King and Vice Minister Fan are already at Ba Bridge, with a banquet prepared, awaiting Elder He." With that, Zhang Xiancun actually made as if to prostrate himself.

This startled He Ning so much that he too flew forward in quick strides, and before Zhang Xiancun could complete his bow to the ground, he helped him up.

"The Heavenly King has actually sent the young lord to receive me. How can a man in flight such as myself be worthy of this?"

Zhang Xiancun took the opportunity to grasp He Ning's hand, then released it and stepped back a few paces, performing once more a solemn bow that He Ning could accept.

"Elder He has abandoned home and family, disregarding his own life, coming from the Eastern Capital to save the common people of the realm. How could he not be worthy?"

"The northern barbarians have invaded our borders. In all the world, only the Heavenly King can drive out the barbarians and save the people from fire and water. What I have done is hardly worth mentioning."

He Ning, satisfied, helped Zhang Xiancun up. A boy of just ten or so could already perform all this.

It seemed the Heavenly King Zhang had staged such scenes often in daily life; only through teaching by word and example could such an effect be achieved.

Though this kind of performance looked somewhat artificial, it was the most direct expression.

A ruler willing to perform such eagerness for talent and respect for the worthy before his subordinates was one who truly might be worth serving.

After the two had finished exchanging greetings, Zhang Xiancun stepped forward again.

"This must be Brother Yi. My seventh-generation maternal grandfather was the Abdicated Emperor of the Great Dynasty, so I share kinship with my elder brother."

With that, Zhang Xiancun went and took Li Congyi by the arm, appearing extremely warm.

Li Congyi had been standing somewhat timidly behind He Ning. Hearing Zhang Xiancun speak this way, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

The two boys of similar age were drawn together at once, and the fear and worry on Li Congyi's face was no longer so obvious.

In just a dozen or so minutes, the qualities Zhang Xiancun displayed immediately dispelled the fear of Consort Wang and Li Congyi, and also earned He Ning's high regard.

The party immediately quickened their pace and began heading toward Chang'an.

Ba Bridge lay over the Ba River, one of the eight waters encircling Chang'an.

After Zhang Zhao took Tong Pass and held Fengling Ford, he ordered Yin Yaozi to mass the army and repair Tong Pass with all speed.

Yin Yaozi then ordered Luo Yu'er to lead two thousand elite troops to take Hangu Pass east of Tong Pass, completely sealing the passage into Guanzhong.

After this was done, Zhang Zhao led the main force of thirty thousand back to encamp at Ba Bridge, while Yan Jin led twenty thousand to encamp at Xianyang.

None of them had prepared to enter the city. Zhang Zhao had not even let his Youyi cavalry approach Chang'an, because Zhang Zhao was waiting for an opportunity.

Under the current circumstances, since the Liang Kingdom's army had been invited by the Jin sovereign Shi Chonggui, it ought to have hurried without pause toward the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture — not turned back and entered Chang'an instead.

At the same time, compared with the devastation in Huazhou and Yaozhou, the people of Chang'an had suffered the least impact from this natural disaster and man-made calamity that had swept through more than half of the Jin state.

This was because the Military Governor of the Jinchang Army, An Yanwei, who garrisoned Chang'an, counted as a rare upright figure among the Later Jin's many military governors.

The man's abilities were ordinary, but he was neither greedy nor cruel, and he handled affairs strictly by the rules.

When flood and drought swept through Chang'an, he opened the granaries and distributed grain when he should, and cracked down on hoarding when he should.

Moreover, after Chang'an had developed in recent years, the water-conservancy works in nearby counties such as Wugong, Xinfeng, and Wannian had been restored to a considerable degree.

Under An Yanwei's governance, the residents of Chang'an had actually managed to scrape through this disaster.

Therefore, toward Zhang Zhao and the Liang Kingdom's army, they did not feel the same desperate longing as the trampled people of Huazhou, Yaozhou, Jingzhou, and Fengxiang Prefecture. On the contrary, they were somewhat fearful.

One must understand that in these times, the quality of armies was simply beyond description. Although the Liang Kingdom's troops were far better than other armies, the common people were still quite afraid.

So Zhang Zhao prepared to wait — to wait for an opportunity in which the people of Chang'an would themselves invite him into the city.

That opportunity was the arrival of the news that Yelu Deguang had entered the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture.

In early third month, just as Zhang Zhao received the invitation and led his army into Guanzhong, and while Zhang Yanze was ravaging the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, beyond recognition —

Yelu Deguang finally led sixty thousand troops in person across the Yellow River and arrived at the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture. Shi Chonggui, dressed in white robes and gauze cap, came out to surrender.

Before surrendering, Shi Chonggui had gone to invite the Empress Dowager Li to come out with him to greet Yelu Deguang, because he feared that angering this Khitan grandfather would cost him his life.

But the Empress Dowager Li had long since thrown caution to the wind. She refused Shi Chonggui's request and insisted on not leaving the palace.

Shi Chonggui had no choice but to go out and surrender alone.

When Yelu Deguang met him, he first berated Shi Chonggui roundly for ingratitude, then issued an edict abolishing Shi Chonggui's position as Son of Heaven of the Jin state.

He was demoted to Acting Grand Marshal and Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, enfeoffed as the Marquis of Betrayal, with his fief in the extremely remote Huanglong Prefecture of the Balhae Kingdom — that is, in the vicinity of the later city of Changchun — and was ordered to set out immediately.

After sending men to escort Shi Chonggui north, Yelu Deguang, the turtledove occupying the magpie's nest, took up residence in the Later Jin's Daning Palace.

However, the stretch of road from Fengqiu Gate to Daning Palace left even Yelu Deguang stunned.

Houses were dilapidated, with traces of looting and burning everywhere. The shops along the streets had not a single one spared. In the north and south of the city, flames were even rising in several places.

The busiest main avenues had been stripped so clean that not even a mouse's hoard of grain remained.

This Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, had almost become a city with not a drop of oil to squeeze!

My Bro Guang was shocked. You kidding me? I worked my ass off, and all I get is an empty city?

After thinking it over, Yelu Deguang suddenly turned and asked the assembled Jin civil officials.

"Where is Sang Guoqiao? Now that an old friend like me has come south, he does not even come out to greet me?"

The Jin civil officials in the crowd who had surrendered along with Shi Chonggui all wore strange expressions.

Because three days before Yelu Deguang's arrival, Zhang Yanze, in order to plunder the wealth Sang Weihan had embezzled, had actually killed Sang Weihan outright. Even they had only learned of it earlier that day.

Li Song, standing beside Yelu Deguang, keenly perceived the meaning behind Yelu Deguang's question, as well as the displeasure hidden in his eyes.

He immediately seized the moment, stepped forward, prostrated himself before Yelu Deguang, and wept aloud.

"In reply to the Son of Heaven: Sang Guoqiao has already been murdered by Zhang Yanze, and his family wealth has all been seized by him."

The assembled Jin civil officials were all shrewd men. They instantly understood that this opportunity must not be missed. If Zhang Yanze were allowed to continue his depredations, they feared they would all suffer as well.

So the whole group knelt together and bitterly denounced Zhang Yanze's brutality, which had provoked the wrath of both heaven and the people.

Feng Dao struck home with a single blow: he cried out that Zhang Yanze had plundered the Eastern Capital and amassed wealth of no less than two hundred thousand strings of cash.

Yelu Deguang's eyes lit up. Yo-ho! Now that's just perfect.

Killing Zhang Yanze would not only appease public anger, but also allow him to confiscate, with full justification, the property Zhang Yanze had looted.

So he immediately ordered Zhang Yanze arrested and imprisoned. Afterward, Yelu Deguang convened the Jin civil and military officials in the Hall of Bright Virtue to discuss affairs, and issued edicts to the military governors in all directions, ordering them to come to the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, to pay homage.

By Ba Bridge outside Chang'an, after more than ten days of transmission, the news that the Khitan had destroyed the Jin state, that the Liao sovereign had entered the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, and that Zhang Yanze had bathed the Eastern Capital in blood arrived almost simultaneously.

No one could feel more empathy for such events than the residents of Chang'an.

The capital fallen six times, the Son of Heaven fled nine times — this pain they felt especially deeply.

And almost in an instant, the residents of Chang'an began to worry about their own fate.

Immediately after, an even more explosive piece of news arrived: because the Central Plains had suffered disaster and the army lacked food, the Khitan sovereign Yelu Deguang was drafting an edict ordering Guanzhong, Shannan, and Huainan to each transport three hundred thousand shi of grain to supplement military supplies.

This was in fact pure rumor, but the people of Chang'an had no way of knowing that, and no one dared guarantee that Yelu Deguang would not do exactly that in the future.

Moreover, in their eyes, it was only normal for the Khitan to act this way. What robber breaks into a house and does not rob it?

Three hundred thousand shi!

Guanzhong had just suffered disaster. If three hundred thousand shi really had to be transported, at least three in ten people would starve to death.

So the terrified people of Chang'an finally stopped holding back. They surged out of the city in droves, demanding that the King of Liang uphold justice.

But Zhang Zhao avoided meeting them. Guo Tiance and Fan Zhi turned them all away, using the same excuse.

It was this: the Liang army had originally come at the request of the Jin sovereign for aid. Now that the Jin sovereign had surrendered, the Liang army could only withdraw.

This was no empty talk. Immediately afterward, the Liang Kingdom's army actually began making preparations for withdrawal.

At this, the whole city of Chang'an exploded. Spurred on by Li Shouling, an elder of the peripheral Li Tang imperial clan who had already gone over to Zhang Zhao; Guo Zhao, a descendant of Guo Ziyi; and the merchants of Chang'an, large numbers of common people came out of the city of their own accord and gathered outside the Liang army camp by Ba Bridge, weeping and pleading.

But the moment had still not arrived. Zhang Zhao still did not show himself. The people of Chang'an did not get to see the legendary Great Heavenly King of Liang, but they did gain a profound firsthand impression of the Liang army's bearing and discipline.

No looting, still less any burning or killing. They treated people with amiable courtesy. When soldiers left camp to drink and eat meat, they invariably paid. This was a real eye-opener for the people of Chang'an.

The last time Zhang Zhao entered Guanzhong, the residents of Qian County, Xianyang, Wugong, and other places had spread tales of the Liang army as though they were heavenly soldiers and generals. The people of Chang'an had not believed it.

They thought the people of Xianyang and Qian County were simply too ignorant — unlike the well-traveled men of Chang'an, who would not pass on such hearsay.

But this time, after all of Chang'an had seen it with their own eyes, they were thoroughly convinced. They themselves began spreading the word that the Liang army was a righteous force.

On the third day, more news arrived: the sole surviving child of the former Tang Emperor Mingzong, the Prince of Xu, Li Congyi, had fled from the Eastern Capital, Luoyang, to Guanzhong, and was resting at the place where the King of Liang had halted his progress.

Toward the banner of the Great Tang — even this Later Tang of Li Cunxu and Li Siyuan — the people of Chang'an still harbored feelings of a somewhat special kind.

As soon as Li Congyi arrived, the officials, gentry, and wealthy households sought out, on their own initiative, the eldest son of An Yanwei, who had just finished arranging the funeral of the Military Governor of the Jinchang Army, and begged him to come forward and take the lead.

The residents of the whole city also gathered large quantities of rice and grain, meat, fine wine, sweet drinks, and other provisions to reward the troops, and selected people of high virtue and prestige, preparing to go together to Ba Bridge to welcome the King of Liang and the King of Xu into Chang'an.

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