Chapter 503: The Wind and Clouds Stir as the Hero Returns

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Shanzhou is what later generations would call Sanmenxia City.

The last Military Governor of the Bao Yi Army of Shanzhou during the Later Jin period was held concurrently by the imperial prince Shi Yanxu.

Actual power, however, lay in the hands of Zhao Hui, Acting Military Governor of the Bao Yi Army, and the two Captains of the guest Fengguo Army garrisoned there, Wang Yan and Hou Zhang.

After the local Bao Yi Army had its elite troops drawn north to resist the Liao, only the old, weak, sick, and disabled remained. Zhao Hui had entered Shanzhou in his capacity as Commander of the Fengguo Army.

After taking office, Zhao Hui converted a portion of the Fengguo Army, some six hundred men, into the Bao Yi Army on the spot.

Wang Yan and Hou Zhang remained stationed there as guest troops, each holding command of over three hundred soldiers.

Beyond that, as soon as he entered the Eastern Capital, Yelu Deguang dispatched the Liao general Liu Yuan with fifteen hundred soldiers from Yingzhou to Shanzhou, appointing him Acting Military Governor of the Bao Yi Army of Shanzhou.

Zhao Hui, Wang Yan, and Hou Zhang, cowed by the Khitan's might and because Liu Yuan had not wantonly plundered the countryside as other Liao generals did, had not yet risen in resistance.

But in their hearts, they were still deeply unwilling to accept Khitan rule.

Among them, Acting Military Governor Zhao Hui had been a Commander of the imperial guard during the reign of Mingzong of the Later Tang and was well acquainted with Liu Zhiyuan and others. The three had agreed that as soon as Liu Zhiyuan raised troops in Taiyuan to resist, they would kill the Liao general Liu Yuan and submit Shanzhou to him.

But they had waited nearly half a year, and Liu Zhiyuan had still made no move.

At Zhao Hui's residence, the three sat drinking in gloomy silence. Although the Liao general Liu Yuan had not plundered on a large scale, that did not mean he did not plunder at all.

As soon as the fifteen hundred Liao troops arrived, they seized all the benefits that had belonged to the three men and their yabing guards.

In this era, for the yabing guards below to have no income was an extremely dangerous thing.

Zhao Hui and the others could already feel the restless stirring of the yabing guards beneath them. If an eruption came, they would have no second choice but to lead the yabing guards against the Liao troops.

But Liu Zhiyuan, the Prince of Beiping Commandery in Taiyuan, had not yet risen in resistance, and if they rebelled first, the consequences were all too clear. So the three often gathered to drink and discuss their plans.

After a few cups, an old servant of Zhao Hui's household suddenly hurried in, went straight to Zhao Hui's ear, and whispered.

"Young lord, someone has delivered a letter at the gatehouse, claiming to be an old acquaintance of yours seeking a meeting. But this servant looked him over carefully. If he were an old acquaintance of yours, this servant should know him, yet this man I have never seen before."

Zhao Hui's heart gave a thump. Could it be someone from Taiyuan? He extended his hand.

"Bring the letter. Let me see it."

The old servant quickly brought the letter over. Wang Yan and Hou Zhang also leaned in. If someone had come from Taiyuan, that would be excellent news.

But when the letter was opened, it contained only a single line: "Do you still remember the grace of being recalled from Lanzhou?"

Wang Yan, Hou Zhang, and Zhao Hui's old servant looked at one another, baffled. Zhao Hui, however, sat frozen in silence, and before long tears streamed down his face.

He looked at the three and said, "I, Zhao Chongguang, have had two great benefactors in my life.

In my youth I joined the army at twenty. The late Emperor Zhuangmiao took pity on my loneliness and misery, took me as a personal guard, and treated me like a younger brother.

Later, when I followed the Prince of Wei on campaign against Wang Yan, Emperor Zhuangmiao passed away, and I was trapped in the impoverished land of Lanzhou. It was Emperor Mingmiao who summoned me back to the Central Plains, sparing me from death in that barbarous wilderness. That was a grace of rebirth."

Only then did the others understand what the grace of being recalled from Lanzhou meant.

Lanzhou (Gulin in Luzhou, Sichuan) lay on the edge of Shu, near the Zangke barbarians, with towering mountains, dense forests, and rampant miasma. Northerners who went there rarely lived long. That Zhao Hui had been recalled by Mingzong's personal edict was indeed a grace equal to rebirth.

Hou Zhang suddenly remembered something and looked sharply at Zhao Hui. "That being so, the man who sent this letter must have some connection to Emperor Mingmiao. Otherwise he could not have used such words.

But Emperor Mingmiao's sons were nearly all slaughtered, leaving only the Prince of Xu. Yet the Prince of Xu disappeared months ago. This..."

Wang Yan also chimed in, "Can the Acting Military Governor confirm this was written by someone close to Emperor Mingmiao?"

Zhao Hui nodded. "The golden seal at the end of this letter is from Emperor Mingmiao's private collection. When His Majesty summoned me back to the Eastern Capital, he used this very seal."

Wang Yan's expression turned strange. "When I was in the Eastern Capital years ago, I was favored by the Princess Yongle's husband, the Commandant of the Imperial Guard Murong Jinwu, and often went to the Guiyi Tower to eat and drink.

Months ago, I received word that Princess Yongle and Murong Jinwu had asked the King of Liang in Hexi to take the Prince of Xu to Liangzhou to be cared for."

"Is that true?" The moment Wang Yan finished, Zhao Hui and Hou Zhang's eyes flew wide open.

If in this realm, supposing Liu Zhiyuan did not rise in resistance, then for the soldiers and officers unwilling to submit to the Khitan, the only remaining choice was Zhang Zhao.

Though in their view, Zhang Zhao was not one of the Daibei military nobility, and even his ethnic background was somewhat suspect.

But through Zhang Zhao's several righteous returns to the nation and the foundation Murong Xinzhang had laid during more than a year in the Eastern Capital, the people of the realm had come to regard Zhang Zhao's Liang state as a nation of the sons of Tang. At the very least, they would not treat Zhang Zhao as a foreigner like Yelu Deguang.

"It should be true. Though there is no clear proof, the Prince of Xu, his mother, and Princess Yong'an have all vanished without a trace. And some time ago, the Commissioner of Military Affairs and his party went to Hexi. I believe it is very likely he took the Prince of Xu and his mother away."

Zhao Hui fell into hesitation. The matter was now quite clear. If the Prince of Xu had truly gone to the Liang state, then the visitor outside was very likely from Liang.

And with the recent rumor that Great King Zhang of Liang had already entered Guanzhong, the visitor's purpose was also quite clear.

The three men in the room all stared at Zhao Hui, and the pressure on him redoubled.

Now it was no longer just a matter of whether to resist the Liao. It had become a question of whether to throw in with Zhang Zhao or with Liu Zhiyuan.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door. Everyone started and looked up.

In walked a young man in a scholar's robe, dressed like a man of letters yet with a fierce and vigorous bearing. It was Zhao Hui's eldest son, Zhao Yanjin.

Zhao Yanjin called out loudly as soon as he entered, "Father, why hesitate? The Prince of Beiping in years past did not dare accept the Datong Army's march south, and long ago lost the hopes of the realm's heroes.

Now Shanzhou lies near Guanzhong, while Hedong is a thousand li away, with Khitan forces in between. How can we forsake the near for the far?"

Before Zhao Hui could say anything, Wang Yan and Hou Zhang were overjoyed and went straight to greet him. The two bowed together to Zhao Yanjin and asked.

"When did the eldest young lord return? You said Zhao Kuangzan would surely rebel once he reached Hezhong. What is the actual situation now?"

As for this Zhao Yanjin, though only eighteen, his fame in the Fengguo Army was known to all. In strategy and courage, he even surpassed his father Zhao Hui.

Though born into a military family, Zhao Yanjin had loved learning from childhood. Back when Zhao Hui followed Zhao Zaili during his posting in Songzhou, Zhao Zaili plundered the wealthy households of the countryside.

The young men of the army all scrambled for goods and riches. Only Zhao Yanjin, at thirteen, wanted no riches and instead carried off several dozen books that no one else wanted.

Among the young yabing officers who followed Zhao Zaili back then, he was thoroughly mocked for this, his companions secretly ridiculing him for not knowing the valuable from the worthless.

By the time they grew up, most of those boyhood companions had followed Zhao Zaili through several rebellions and either died in the chaos of mutinous troops or were buried on the battlefield.

Only Zhao Yanjin was accomplished in both letters and arms, seeing opportunity before others everywhere. At eighteen, his fame filled the entire Fengguo Army, and veteran officers like Wang Yan and Hou Zhang, who held military power, all respected him.

The previous month, Zhao Kuangzan had led three thousand troops west to hold Hezhong Prefecture and had passed through Shanzhou. The Liao general Liu Yuan hosted a banquet, and the yabing officers of the Fengguo Army were all present.

Zhao Yanjin exchanged only a few words with Zhao Kuangzan, and upon returning privately said that Zhao Kuangzan's departure was surely a bird soaring into the blue sky, a fish entering the great sea.

So he took a dozen riders, saying he was going to scout the situation in Guanzhong, and had only now returned.

Hearing Wang Yan and Hou Zhang's questions, Zhao Yanjin cupped his hands. "When I reached the border of Hezhong Prefecture, I found the region outwardly open but inwardly tight. Even in the countryside, swift riders were patrolling back and forth on reconnaissance. I could not penetrate deeper, so I had no choice but to return."

Wang Yan wrung his hands and sighed. "Then what are we to do? If we cannot scout out news of Hezhong Prefecture or even Guanzhong, we are caught between two sides, and the Prince of Beiping has made no move either. If this drags on any longer, the soldiers below will rise up and kill us."

Zhao Yanjin smiled mysteriously and looked at Wang Yan. "On the contrary, the signs are already quite clear. I have guessed the purpose of Zhao Kuangzan's trip to Hezhong Prefecture — he went to submit to the Prince of Liang.

This man was my classmate in childhood. In former years, Emperor Mingmiao regarded him as a direct grandson, called him a vessel of promise, and placed earnest hopes in him.

Whenever he speaks, he is sure to recall the Great Dynasty, and at every turn he prides himself on his bloodline. How could he bear to swallow his pride and live beneath the barbarians?

If he had gone to Hezhong Prefecture truly to serve the Khitan, and Guanzhong is presently without any alarm, why would he need to present an outward show of openness and inward tightness?

It is very likely that the Liang army is almost at Hezhong Prefecture, and Zhao Kuangzan is doing this precisely to keep it secret!"

Having finished, Zhao Yanjin saw that all three had fallen into shock and deep thought. He cupped his hands and addressed Zhao Hui.

"The man who delivered the letter outside the residence — your child has already brought him to the gate. Father, do not hesitate any longer. In any case, the man has already entered the residence."

Zhao Hui gave Zhao Yanjin a look of extreme vexation, and with no alternative left, he said to Wang Yan and Hou Zhang.

"Since matters have come to this, no one can blame us. It is not that we are disloyal at heart; it is truly that the Prince of Beiping has delayed in raising his banner.

If the man outside the gate is truly an envoy from Liang, then this Shanzhou ought to belong to His Highness the Prince of Liang."

The next day, Zhao Hui, Acting Military Governor of the Baoyi Army troops of Shanzhou, invited the Liao general Liu Yuan to a banquet.

At the same time, Zhao Yanjin, Troop Commander of the Baoyi Army's young lord's troops, along with Wang Yan and Hou Zhang, Captains of the Fengguo Army, lay in ambush within the residence. During the banquet they killed the Liao general Liu Yuan and seven officers beneath him.

Afterward, the yabing guards of the Baoyi Army and the Fengguo Army joined forces and fiercely assaulted the two great stockades garrisoned by the Liao troops. The stout young men of Shanzhou, who had suffered bitterly from the Liao army's plundering, also came upon hearing the news to lend their aid.

Amid a roar like mountains and seas, they killed more than a thousand of the Liao troops from Yingzhou. The assembled men jointly acclaimed Zhao Hui as Acting Military Governor of the Baoyi Army of Shanzhou, and sent a man bearing a letter of surrender to Hezhong Prefecture to submit to Zhang Zhao.

Three days later, Geng Chongmei, whom Yelu Deguang had appointed Military Governor of the Baoyi Army of Shanzhou, led five thousand troops to a point twenty li east of Shanzhou. Learning that a mutiny had broken out in Shanzhou, he dared not advance.

That night, Wu Xingde, Chief Supervisor of the Ningguo Army, summoned his subordinate officers and said: "We have received the state's generous favor, yet we are held under the Khitan's control. Rather than leave our native soil, go to the frontier, and become ghosts in a foreign land, would it not be better to join with you all in driving out this vicious faction and pledging ourselves to where Heaven's mandate lies? To establish merit, settle chaos, and seek wealth and honor — is that acceptable?"

The officers were overjoyed and all said: "We have long had this intention. Now that Heaven grants this fine opportunity, how would we dare not give our lives!"

Thereupon, Wu Xingde's troops took advantage of the dawn to raise signal fires warning the various armies of Shanzhou, and then launched a fierce assault on the Khitan main camp.

The yabing guards of the Ningguo Army had soaring morale, each man a match for a hundred, as they charged fiercely at the main camp where Geng Chongmei and the Xi prince Zhuaila were stationed.

Geng Chongmei and Zhuaila could not hold. More than three thousand men collapsed in an instant. Geng Chongmei and the others, with barely more than a hundred men, slipped onto small boats left by the Yellow River and fled in disarray downstream.

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