Chapter 542: The Thirteen Loyal Men of Xingjiao Gate

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If one were to ask which of these Later Jin military governors truly showed Zhang Zhao kindness, it would have to be Kang Fu.

Back when Zhang Zhao clashed with Li Congyan below Mawei Slope, it was Kang Fu who persuaded the yabing officers to stand aside for the time being.

And in the tug-of-war between Zhang Zhao and Shi Jingtang, it was again Kang Fu who voluntarily yielded the territory of the Qinzhou Xiongwu Army military governorship, giving Zhang Zhao a crucial foothold from which to pry open the gateway to Guanzhong.

Moreover, Kang Fu had once made an agreement with Zhang Zhao: if Zhang Zhao could enter the Central Plains, Kang Fu would help him recruit the Daibei military officials in the Eastern Capital of Kaifeng, and would even marry a granddaughter to him.

But Heaven did not grant him more years, and by the time Zhang Zhao entered the Eastern Capital of Kaifeng, Kang Fu had been dead for nearly four years.

Hah! In fact, one could say that Zhang Zhao's rise had been a little slow.

Especially with the boost of a golden finger, in fifteen years he had not even gained half of China.

Still, considering that Zhang Zhao's base of Shazhou lay far in China's west, where the Han people were impoverished and the roads long, it actually had to be counted as not bad.

At the Kang residence, although Kang Fu had passed away, his three sons Kang Yanzhao, Kang Yanze, and Kang Yanshou were still there.

By the time Zhang Zhao arrived, the three Kang brothers as hosts, along with An Shenqi, Fu Yanqing, Gao Xingzhou, Yao Yuanfu, Xue Huairang, and others who had come at the summons, were all already present.

One could see that these men all wore expressions of unease and tension. Zhang Zhao even thought that if he did not recruit them today, these men would probably try to run.

And not only them — the military men great and small across the land of Hebei would all be surrendering to Liu Zhiyuan.

At present Liu Zhiyuan held only a few prefectures near the Taihang Mountains, and these men were surely part of the reason for blocking him, though their resistance was not firm and could better be seen as waiting and watching.

So, having applied maximum pressure up to now, and since he was going to use them anyway, Zhang Zhao put on an extremely amiable manner, as if the man who had kept An Shenqi and the others under house arrest for more than two months was not him at all.

"Grand Preceptor An is an old acquaintance of mine and should be treated as an elder brother. How could I let an elder brother kneel to me?"

Just as the crowd was about to prostrate themselves, Zhang Zhao hurried over first and helped An Shenqi to his feet.

Then he looked at Fu Yanqing, whose handsome face radiated an air of uprightness, and asked with feigned warmth, "Could this be Fu Guanhou of the Xingjiao Gate back then?"

A flicker of surprise passed through Fu Yanqing's eyes, because in his understanding, the affair at the Xingjiao Gate was not a particularly glorious one. He, Fu Yanqing, had been unable even to protect the ancestral temple, and in the end had left it behind.

But Zhang Zhao did not see it that way. In truth, on the Xingjiao Gate, Fu Yanqing and the other twelve had indeed done all they could.

Loyal ministers did not necessarily have to be like Tian Heng's five hundred men or Huangfu Yu. Fu Yanqing and the others had only left after the ancestral temple had fallen. That was already quite good.

"Your servant is precisely that Fu Yanqing who lacked the strength to protect his lord on the Xingjiao Gate!"

Zhang Zhao waved a hand. "The ancestral temple favored actors and treated the soldiers harshly, and in the end was killed by actors rising in arms. It was truly fate.

You thirteen followed to the very end. When the situation was exhausted and strength spent, when even the one who shared the ancestral temple's pillow had abandoned him and fled, you were still guarding him. Your loyalty is worthy of praise!"

Hmm, Zhang Zhao was now the Emperor. If he said it was loyalty, then it was loyalty. Fu Yanqing finally confirmed that Zhang Zhao was not using the Xingjiao Gate affair to mock him, and his expression instantly improved greatly.

Having finished his exclamation, Zhang Zhao took a large wine jar from an attendant's hands, poured out a great bowl of wine, and handed it to Fu Yanqing.

"This bowl I offer to you, Fu Guanhou, for your loyal defense of the throne on the Xingjiao Gate, to wash away the shame of your submission to the Khitan!"

Fu Yanqing was not by nature a man easily moved, but these past few months had truly been too hard. The shame of submitting to the Khitan and Zhang Zhao's attitude had tormented him inwardly.

Hearing Zhang Zhao mention his heroic deed of years past, and personally offering him a bowl of wine to wash away the shame of submitting to the Khitan, Fu Yanqing could not help but shed tears.

First he knelt on both knees and knocked his head three times, and only then received the wine bowl with both hands, crying out through his tears.

"Your servant Fu Yanqing! Gives thanks to the Sage. From this day forth I will not shun life or death, will recover Yan-Yun, and will exterminate the northern caitiffs to atone for my crimes."

Holding the wine jar, Zhang Zhao looked around at the men nearby and said, "Well said! Now, although we have driven out the northern caitiffs, that is still far from enough.

We must exterminate the northern caitiffs before we can avenge the people of Henan and Hebei who suffered the Khitan's grass-beating raids.

And although the Shi clan lost the state through its own lack of virtue, and Shi Chonggui also often mistreated the people, he was after all once the lord of the Central Plains. That he is now humiliated by the barbarian caitiffs in Liaodong is likewise a great shame to us all.

You gentlemen should join with me in bringing back the Shi clan, and washing away the humiliation the northern caitiffs have forced upon us ever since Shi Jingtang ceded Yan-Yun and called himself the Child Emperor."

These words were beautifully spoken, and Zhang Zhao truly believed them in his heart. Whatever Shi Chonggui's countless faults, he had once been the lord of the Central Plains.

If Zhang Zhao had cut off his head with one stroke, that would have been his own doing, and there would be no grievance to speak of.

But to be imprisoned by the Khitan in the forests of Liaodong and wantonly humiliated — even Zhang Zhao himself lost face over that.

So as soon as Zhang Zhao finished speaking, the Later Jin officials in the room all bowed with hands clasped and answered in unison, "We respectfully heed the Sage's teaching. We are willing to follow the Sage in striking down and exterminating the northern caitiffs."

Zhang Zhao nodded in satisfaction. It seemed the two months of pressure had had their effect; otherwise these men would certainly not be so docile. At the very least, they had surely not been like this in the old days when facing Shi Chonggui.

Having obtained the crowd's satisfactory declaration, Zhang Zhao, in excellent spirits, raised the wine jar in his hand once more.

"Among those present today, are there any other loyal ministers from the Xingjiao Gate of old?"

The words had barely fallen when an old man with graying beard and hair slipped out from the crowd.

"This old servant Hou Yi also once guarded the ancestral temple on the Xingjiao Gate."

Toward Hou Yi, Zhang Zhao's feelings were complicated. In his youth, this man had simply been the model of a loyal minister under Heaven.

Fighting under Emperor Zhuangzong, he had not shunned life or death, had won merit time and again, and had been loyal, honest, and incorruptible.

Later, when the Weibo army mutinied, Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan went to put down the rebellion but was seized by the mutinous troops and acclaimed as Son of Heaven, while Emperor Zhuangzong was abandoned by all.

Hou Yi was at Mingzong's side at the time. He gave up the merit of supporting the new ruler, fled back alone overnight to Emperor Zhuangzong's side, and loyally guarded him on the Xingjiao Gate.

But after Emperor Zhuangzong died on the Xingjiao Gate, Hou Yi became like a different man, caring only about preserving his strength and seeking wealth and rank, gradually degenerating into a typical Five Dynasties military man.

"Old Master Hou was once a model for all under Heaven, and Hou Renbao has also rendered great service to the new dynasty. He deserves a bowl of wine from me!"

Although Hou Yi had by now lost the virtues of his youth, for the sake of Hou Renbao's surrender of Shanzhou, Zhang Zhao still treated Hou Yi with considerable respect.

After Hou Yi had drunk the wine, Zhang Zhao continued to look around. "I have heard that among the men on the Xingjiao Gate back then there was an officer named Wang Quanbin, whose loyalty and courage were praiseworthy. Is he here?"

Everyone looked left and right, and finally, from the outermost edge, a military officer in coarse cloth, already utterly down and out, came forward and knelt before Zhang Zhao, weeping bitterly.

"Your servant, former Commander of the Husheng Army Wang Quanbin, kowtows to the Sage."

Wang Quanbin indeed had reason to weep. In history, after the Khitan entered the Eastern Capital, Yelu Deguang, having received Zhao Yanshou's counsel, had treated the Jin troops remaining in the Eastern Capital rather well.

But in this time and space, in order to defeat Zhang Zhao as quickly as possible, Yelu Deguang had no choice but to let the Khitan armies run loose in the Eastern Capital. Wang Quanbin's household had been robbed several times, and the wealth his father had squeezed out as the army commissioner of Kelan had basically all been looted. By the time Zhang Zhao entered the Eastern Capital, he was already living in great hardship.

"A real man does not easily shed tears! Drink this cup of wine. I have heard that you lost your family property, and that father, sons, and brothers can only live in a thatched hut. That is no treatment for a loyal minister and righteous man.

I grant you fifty strings of cash and a hundred bolts of cloth. Find yourself a house and settle down."

Wang Quanbin — how to put it — was careless with wealth and valued good men, won the support of many soldiers and officers, and fought with a ferocity that did not fear death, but he was prone to getting carried away.

And he was far too lenient with his subordinates, often unable even to control his own yabing guards. He belonged to that typical type of Five Dynasties yabing officer who relied on coaxing and pampering his yabing guards to maintain fighting strength.

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for the reward, and is willing to brave fire and water, to serve as your claws and fangs!"

Wang Quanbin had actually shamelessly pushed his way in, because his household truly could no longer keep the pot boiling.

He had not imagined he could exchange words with Zhang Zhao or anything of the sort; he had only thought to see whether, relying on the standing of military families from Daibei and Hedong, he might borrow some money from the others, so he could go back and keep himself alive.

He had never expected that he would be rewarded for the loyalty he had shown years ago on the Xingjiao Gate. For a moment, moved by Zhang Zhao's generosity, he sobbed uncontrollably on the ground.

Just as Wang Quanbin was kowtowing, the one man Zhang Zhao admired, Gao Huaide, son of Gao Xingzhou, who had just finished his gilding in the Hanshan Capital and was preparing to take up the post of Commander in the Left Jinwu Guard, stepped forward.

"Sage, there is still one man in this room, also a loyal subject from the Xingjiao Gate in years past!"

"Oh? Who is here? Even Zangyong praises him so highly. Let him come out and be seen."

Before Zhang Zhao's words had faded, a burly man with a leopard's head and round eyes came forward, cupping his fists in salute.

"Your servant, former Defense Commissioner of Zhengzhou, He Fujin, pays his respects to the Sage."

Zhang Zhao was not familiar with this man, but in history he too had been a loyal and brave hero. First he had risen in revolt at Dingzhou together with Li Rong; later he had guarded the frontier for years, so that the Khitan and the Northern Han had repeatedly raided the border and returned empty-handed.

Zhang Zhao therefore poured out all the wine in the jar, and it happened to fill exactly two bowls.

One bowl he kept for himself, and one he sent into He Fujin's hands. He Fujin knelt on one knee to receive the bowl, and Zhang Zhao raised his own bowl high.

"A fine general must be a loyal subject. In employing men, I promote only the talented, and use only the loyal and filial.

Hou Yi, Fu Yanqing, He Fujin, and Wang Quanbin showed praiseworthy loyalty on the Xingjiao Gate in years past.

By edict, Hou Yi is advanced to the rank of Honorary Grand Preceptor, enfeoffed as Count of Jiexiu, with a stipend estate of two hundred households, granted a residence, and granted two hundred strings of cash, that he may enjoy his old age in peace.

Fu Yanqing is advanced to Honorary Grand Guardian, additionally appointed Chief Minister, and sent out as Military Governor of the Yongqing Army at Beizhou, and Commander of the Left Longxiang Guard.

He Fujin is appointed Honorary Grand Guardian, and sent out as Military Governor of the Anguo Army at Xingzhou.

Wang Quanbin is appointed Right Longxiang Guard Chief of the Yuhou, to serve at headquarters!"

With one move, Zhang Zhao had handed out two Military Governorships. At once the former Later Jin Military Governors in the room roared with delight. They had finally waited for this day. Sage Zhang still meant to use them.

"The Sage's grace is boundless, and we can never repay it. But my father, Lord Wang, taboo name Qing, and his soldiers were made into a skull mound by the Khitan on the banks of the Hutuo River, and to this day their bones still lie exposed in the wilderness!"

Zhang Zhao looked, and saw that it was Wang Shoujun, son of Wang Qing, the Prefect of Xizhou who had died in battle on the banks of the Hutuo River.

After he came out weeping and pleading, Liang Hairong, son of the former Military Governor of the Yongqing Army at Beizhou, Liang Hanzhang, also threw himself forward.

In his hands he held up the horsewhip that had been gathered up after Liang Hanzhang's death in battle, presenting it to Zhang Zhao, and kowtowed, weeping bitterly.

"After my father, Lord Liang, taboo name Hanzhang, died in battle, he received no posthumous honors from the court. He died with his eyes open, and for that reason has not yet been buried. I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of my father's loyalty unto death for the country, to grant him posthumous honors."

After Zhang Zhao took the horsewhip Liang Hairong offered, Guo Tongxiao, son of Guo Lin, the Prefect of Yizhou, also knelt weeping on the ground.

"My father, Lord Guo, taboo name Lin, was murdered by the Khitan traitor general Geng Chongmei, and to this day not even his bones remain. I beg the Sage to let me take that villain Geng Chongmei, cut open his belly and tear out his heart, and make an offering to my dead father."

It turned out that Geng Chongmei, who had killed Guo Lin, had covered the rear at the Xiaoyi Bridge during the great battle at Yanshi, and had now been captured and was imprisoned in the Eastern Capital, at Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhang Zhao raised his face to heaven and sighed long. After recalling the deeds of Liang Hanzhang, Wang Qing, Guo Lin, Huangfu Yu, and the others, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes despite himself.

"Order Zhang Xibao, General of the Left Yulin Guard, to command five hundred cavalry of the Left Yulin Guard and ride north day and night to the Hutuo River, to recover the bodies of Prefect Wang and his loyal and brave officers and men. Issue an order for Fu Yanqing to send two thousand troops from Hebei to meet them.

Posthumously promote the former Prefect of Xizhou, Wang Qing, to Grand Tutor and Duke of Mingzhou, and Grand General of the Left Jinwu Guard, and bury him with the rites of a commandery prince.

Posthumously promote the former Military Governor of the Yongqing Army at Beizhou, Liang Hanzhang, to Grand Commandant and Duke of Yingguo, and Grand General of the Right Jinwu Guard, and bury him with the rites of a commandery prince.

Posthumously promote the former Prefect of Yizhou, Guo Lin, to Grand Tutor and Duke of Taiyuan Commandery, and Grand General of the Left Longxiang Guard, and bury him with the rites of a state duke.

Bring the traitor Geng Chongmei out from the imperial prison, cut open his belly and tear out his heart, and make an offering to the loyal subjects."

When the three men heard this, they all bowed and wept upon the ground.

At this point An Shenqi stepped forward and said, "The Sage's grace is beyond our gratitude. We venture to invite the Sage to the rear courtyard, where we have wine and meat to offer!"

Zhang Zhao noticed that when An Shenqi said this, a flicker of unease crossed Fu Yanqing's face.

He did not know why, and did not think much of it, and immediately accepted with pleasure.