Chapter 572: Who Is Loyal, Who Is Treacherous

The road back to Jiangning was not an easy one for Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu, because the Southern Tang navy still controlled the river, and their nerves were already stretched to the breaking point.

When they saw two small boats put out from the north bank, they panicked as if the Zhou army were bearing down on them.

The boats were still mid-river when the naval camps at Bailuzhou and Xinlinpu by the shore exploded into chaos.

Some warships actually sailed out of the harbor and fled downstream, while others, terrified, closed in wanting a fight to the death — and only after arrows had already been loosed did they discover that what had come were just two small boats.

The Southern Tang navy breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhou Zong was scared out of his wits; if he had not died at the hands of the Zhou army but instead been killed by his own side, that would have been a fine joke.

In his desperation, Zhou Zong tore off the silver-white official robe he wore and waved it frantically, while Feng Yanlu had several of his attendants shout at the top of their lungs — only then did they avoid being shot dead by their own men.

And when the two of them reached the city of Jiangning, they found that the city had already fallen into utter chaos.

Great numbers of commoners, supporting the old and leading the young, were fleeing the city, and even the officials in many places had nearly all run off.

Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu were deeply puzzled. It was not unusual for commoners to flee, and even the flight of officials was something one could have foreseen.

But the battle at Yizheng had ended five days ago — why were people only now running for their lives? Should they not have vanished long since?

It was only after the two of them made inquiries that they learned the court had wanted to conceal the outcome of the battle at Yizheng, so as to avoid causing large-scale disorder.

But wanting was one thing; the court, from top to bottom, had long since become a sieve leaking wind, and after only a few days the news had already spread until everyone knew it.

Moreover, because of the earlier concealment, the common people had begun to distrust official reports, with the result that the news grew more terrifying the more it spread.

The Zhou army had originally merely reoccupied the Eastern Capital and defeated all the Southern Tang's armed forces north of the river.

By now the rumor had become that the Zhou army was slaughtering wholesale north of the river, that Yangzhou was already emptied out, that Taizhou had almost no living souls left, and that the next step was for the Zhou army to cross the river and kill every person in the city of Jiangning.

This rumor was nothing less than an amplified version of Sun Ru's attack on Yangzhou back in the day!

Zhou and Feng, just freshly baptized by Zhang Zhao, exchanged a glance, and both felt deep doubt about the court's ability to react and to govern.

Compared with the Zhou side, where high and low were of one mind and everything was orderly, the Jiangning court somehow looked like a makeshift troupe.

Not to speak of institutions — even in spirit, the difference was as vast as heaven and the abyss.

By now it was growing dark. Zhou Zong was an old minister of the former dynasty and still had a bit of face in this one, but he was not particularly close to Li Jing.

Feng Yanlu's elder brother Feng Yanji was the foremost favorite before the throne, but Feng Yanlu himself was not.

So neither of them had the ability to enter the palace at dusk; they could only wait until the next day to be summoned.

And Feng Yanlu was certain to go home and consult with his elder brother Feng Yanji — what should be said and what should not be said would surely have to be weighed by Feng Yanji.

Zhou Zong looked at Feng Yanlu with a bitter smile. Originally he had been an old slicker who touched nothing, wanting only a few more years of wealth and rank, but after this affair he would inevitably be branded as one of Feng Yanji's faction.

Zhou Zong, however, did not much mind this, because he had sensed the change within Feng Yanlu.

If his psychological defenses had not been torn wide open, Feng Yanlu could not have spoken those words at the Eastern Capital garrison headquarters in Yangzhou.

His bitter smile, too, came largely from this.

That Shaoming Emperor of Zhou was formidable! He did not speak a single word to recruit you, still less use punishment or threats of life and death.

Yet just by treating people so approachably, and setting forth his aspirations in simple, plain terms, he made one unable to resist the thought of following him.

"This realm of ours, ever since the Yan traitor threw China into chaos, has been in deep misery for two hundred years. The Xian Temple and Wu Temple emperors of the great dynasty once tried to rouse it, but in the end lacked the power to turn heaven around.

After them came the Zhuang Temple's Li Yazi, wise and martial, who cherished the ambition to unify all under heaven. In former years, when he destroyed Wang Shu, the empire held three of its four parts.

Even the Yizu Emperor had the intention of returning to the Central Plains. What a pity that before the realm was settled, he died at the Xingjiao Gate.

Now the Son of Heaven of Zhou likewise has the heart to unite the whole world. What difference does Shuwen see between this Shaoming Son of Heaven of Great Zhou and the Zhuang Temple emperor?"

Feng Yanlu glanced at Zhou Zong. Before this, his relationship with Zhou Zong had not been close, but by this moment, their fates had already been bound together to some degree.

Zhou Zong himself might be old, but he still had sons, daughters, and grandchildren. If he wanted to preserve wealth and rank for his descendants, he could not entirely stand apart.

Feng Yanlu knew that Zhou Zong wanted to use these words to confirm his thinking, but he did not find it convenient to speak too plainly.

And he also knew that what he thought did not matter; what mattered was what his elder brother Feng Yanji thought.

"I have heard that in former years the Zhuang Temple emperor was hasty by nature. Before the realm was settled, he wanted to strip the military commanders of all ranks of their authority, yet he was unwilling to bestow wealth, rank, gold, or silver upon them.

He also drew close to actors and banished his trusted confidants, causing the interior to be weak and the exterior strong. In the rear palace, Empress Liu was harsh, stingy, and insatiably greedy; her instructions and the imperial edicts ran side by side, inner and outer were not distinguished, public and private were not clear — and so the dynasty collapsed in a single morning.

But the present Shaoming Son of Heaven holds righteousness in his hands. He uses the fierce warriors of Hexi as claws and fangs within to govern without, uses the Brocade Guard as eyes and ears to survey the four directions, uses the money houses to gather the gold and silver of the realm, and has gods and Buddhas protecting his person."

At this point Feng Yanlu stopped speaking and looked at Zhou Zong, who nodded in agreement.

"Two hundred years of chaos, from top to bottom no one knows if they will live to see the morrow, the Central Plains grows ever weaker — the Khitan being able to enter Kaifeng is clear proof of it. Men's hearts long for peace!"

At this, Zhou Zong too fell silent. Both men now understood each other's minds. Defecting to the Zhou — that certainly did not exist. But in their hearts, both men rather favored Zhang Zhao.

Feng Yanlu bowed to Zhou Zong, and Zhou Zong returned the bow, saying to Feng Yanlu, "If this time the Sage can forgive my fault in losing the Eastern Capital, I shall build a villa on Jiangshan, and Shuwen may come often to gather with me in days to come."

Feng Yanlu nodded, and the two then parted. Zhou Zong naturally went home to write a memorial reporting to Li Jing, while Feng Yanlu did not even go home, but went straight to his elder brother Feng Yanji's house.

What Zhang Zhao did not understand was that in history, the real Feng Yanji was not the Southern Tang "Five Ghosts" figure he was familiar with.

On the contrary, although Feng Yanji's ability to govern was not top-tier, he did have the ability to be a minister of peace, one who could follow the old rules as Xiao did after Cao.

Nor was Feng Yanji a treacherous minister. On the contrary, this man was generous and magnanimous, and served his mother with the utmost filial piety.

In politics he struck fiercely at his enemies, was skilled at seizing on others' mistakes, and could not help but fabricate a few plausible-sounding charges out of nothing.

But he would only drive a man from his post, and never put anyone to death.

And the reason Feng Yanji and the others were branded the "Five Ghosts" in history was that he later fell from power, and had no successors.

By contrast, the faction of his political enemies Sun Cheng and Han Xizai produced talent in every generation, and even into the Northern Song a great many of them held office.

By the time Lu You and others compiled the Book of Southern Tang, all their source materials came from the descendants of Han Xizai's faction, so one can imagine what became of Feng Yanji's reputation.

Feng Yanlu did not have himself announced, but quietly entered Feng Yanji's residence by the back gate.

Although the two brothers were only half-brothers by the same father, their affection for each other was extremely deep.

Feng Yanji was also very filial to Feng Yanlu's mother, who was his stepmother.

Now, seeing his younger brother return safely, Feng Yanji was so moved that tears nearly fell. He sent men to guard the inner courtyard gates so that no outsider could enter, while arranging for people to take Feng Yanlu to wash up and change clothes.

"How did Wulang get back from Yangzhou?"

Feng Yanji asked excitedly. Feng Yanlu took off his hat and showed Feng Yanji his head, covered with scabs.

At the sight, Feng Yanji's tears of emotion instantly turned to tears of belly-shaking laughter, streaming down his face.

"Hahaha! Truly a younger brother of mine, Feng Zhengzhong — shaved head and changed face, excellent! Excellent!"

Feng Yanlu stopped Feng Yansi from arranging for someone to take him away to wash up, and instead signaled again for Feng Yanqing to dismiss everyone nearby.

Feng Yansi understood at once and immediately had his eldest son drive everyone out. Only after the inner courtyard was left with just the Feng brothers did Feng Yanlu speak with a bitter smile.

"This head-shaving trick can only be used once, never twice. I was still captured by the Zhou army. The reason I could return this time is actually that the Lord of Zhou released me and sent me back."

As he spoke, Feng Yanlu also brought out the winged-shan crown he had kept close to his body all along.

As a Confucian scholar, he of course knew how weighty this object was. Even just in the present, it was a fine tale worth telling — one that would leave his name in the histories.

For thousands of years, in the vast annals of history, to leave behind one's name — and to leave it as a fine tale — was something countless men could never hope for in a lifetime.

When Feng Yanlu told them about the winged-shan crown and about Zhang Zhao releasing them back to Jiangning, Feng Yansi at once, with great keenness, sensed the shift in Feng Yanlu's state of mind. He looked at his younger brother with unusual gravity.

"Fifth Brother, you and I eat the Great Tang's salary. We must be worthy of the court. Our Feng family has been in Jiangnan for two generations and received the favor of three emperors. We must be worthy of the Sage."

"With an elder brother who is a loyal minister and righteous man, how could there be a younger brother who sells his country for glory? I, Feng Wulang, have never thought of betraying my own side, and moreover, the Shaoming Son of Heaven has never said he wished to recruit me.

But Elder Brother, the realm has been in chaos for several hundred years now, and men's hearts long for peace. The Shaoming Son of Heaven is truly the greatest lord and most benevolent lord I have ever seen in my life.

As for the Baoda Son of Heaven, he truly cannot be called benevolent or virtuous, still less wise and brilliant.

The Zhou state has already inherited the virtue of the Great Tang, and it will never, ever tolerate our little state clinging to a corner and claiming to succeed the Great Tang.

You and I, our Feng family — we do not need to go over to him. We need only, for the sake of all the people under heaven, cooperate a little with the Shaoming Son of Heaven.

In this way, first, peace can be restored to the realm; second, we can reduce the killing. And if in the future the Baoda Son of Heaven loses his throne, he could still receive the treatment of Emperor Huai of Han."

Emperor Huai of Han was the Later Ruler Liu Shan. Among the rulers of fallen dynasties through the ages, this lord could be counted as one who was treated extremely well and lived extremely comfortably, which was why Feng Yanlu used him as an example.

And these words of Feng Yanlu's also proved how excellent the brothers' relationship was, because this was extremely bold. Feng Yanlu spoke openly with righteous conviction, but what he actually proposed to do was, in truth, still selling out his country.

Feng Yansi's expression shifted twice, and then he glared hard at Feng Yanlu.

"What was said today — out of your mouth, into the ears of us brothers. Do not harbor such thoughts.

I, Feng Zhengzhong, have deeply received His Majesty's great favor and will never do such a thing as betray His Majesty. If you dare to do it, do not blame me for putting righteousness before family."

After saying this, perhaps feeling that his words had been a little too harsh, Feng Yansi looked at Feng Yanlu and said softly.

"If we ministers lack loyalty and righteousness, what ruler would still think well of us?

Our Feng family has over a hundred mouths in Jiangning. If any trouble arose, would it not implicate our families?

And lastly, if the Shaoming Son of Heaven is truly as brilliant and mighty as you say, then with the talents of us brothers, could he possibly pacify Jiangnan without going through us?"

Feng Yanlu was won over. His elder brother truly deserved to be a great figure capable of serving as chief minister of the southern state — far-sighted and clear in his reasoning.

"Since Elder Brother says so, I will say no more of this. But regarding the matter of seeking peace, Elder Brother should still advise the Sage. The Zhou army is fierce and valiant; it is truly not something we can oppose by force."

Feng Yansi considered for a moment, then slowly nodded. This he did not refuse, because Li Jing was already terrified. To seek peace — that was exactly what he desperately wished for.

The next day, upon receiving word that Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu had returned from north of the river, Li Jing summoned them at once.

Feng Yansi understood Li Jing. This young lord, who had always lived under his father's wing, had hardly experienced anything.

The greatest danger he had ever seen was no more than when his third uncle Xu Zhixun contended for power with his father Li Bian.

But Xu Zhixun did not even have the support of his own younger brother, who instead supported Li Bian, his sworn elder brother. It was called a danger, but it hardly even counted as a crisis.

So now, suddenly faced with the Central Plains army having already taken the Eastern Capital and standing directly before the Yangtze, Li Jing was terrified and utterly at a loss.

He suddenly discovered that everything he had believed to be powerful had suddenly become so fragile.

Li Jing now even wanted to flee to Hongzhou, rename Hongzhou to Nanchang, make Jiangning the Eastern Capital and Nanchang the Western Capital.

It was just that he still could not quite bring himself to say it. He hinted once to his trusted confidant Wei Cen, but that fellow Wei Cen pretended not to understand and refused to step forward.

So today Li Jing had originally intended to summon Feng Yansi and have Feng Yansi step forward to handle this matter.

But since Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu had been released and sent back, he might as well first hear what these two had to say.

Zhou Zong sat there with an air of calm assurance. Feng Yanlu, having been coached by Feng Yansi, naturally did not dare speak recklessly, and so reported the matter truthfully to Li Jing.

When Li Jing heard that the Zhou army had thoughts of withdrawing north, he was absolutely overjoyed!

As for being made to cross the river and pay homage, Li Jing's wits were still functioning; he knew this was something that could be bargained over.

So he turned his gaze to the Southern Tang heir apparent, his second younger brother, the Marshal of All Armies and Prince of Qi, Li Jingsui.

Hmm! Li Jing nodded. He had already thought it through: if he truly had to go negotiate, he might as well make his second brother Imperial Younger Brother and have him cross the river in his place to pay homage to the Lord of Zhou.

The moment Li Jingsui saw the look in Li Jing's eyes, he knew it meant nothing good. He truly did not want to be this so-called Imperial Younger Brother!

This Prince of Qi of the Southern Tang had no particular talents, but he was very clear-headed. He knew that an elder brother passing the throne to a younger brother did not mean great wealth and honor — it surely meant great peril. So he had always wanted to decline the position of heir apparent, but Li Jing simply would not allow it.

And now look — if he really was sent across the river, how could he possibly come back alive?

Just as Li Jingsui was trying to find some excuse to dispel Li Jing's idea, the commander of the imperial guard protecting the palace came running in, wild with joy.

It turned out that the Commissioner of Military Affairs and concurrently Military Governor of Zhaowu Army in Fuzhou, Chen Jue, had returned with six thousand sailors of the Wuchang Army and fifteen thousand troops from the Fujian campaign.

Among the Fujian campaign army were the Southern Tang's famed general Zhu Kuangye and his son Zhu Lingyun, reputed to be a peerless divine archer, as well as fierce generals such as He Jingzhu and Huangfu Hui.

In addition, the minister Pan Chengyou had, in the Min region, recruited Xu Wenzhen, the former Military Governor of Yong'an Army of Jianzhou under the Wang Min regime; Chen Hui, the Prefect of Jianzhou; Zheng Yanhua, a former deputy general of the Wang Min; the brothers Lin Renhan and Lin Renzhao; and had also recruited five thousand able young men from the three prefectures of Jian, Jian, and Ting.

The downfall of the Wang Min at this time was actually due to poor internal governance, brothers attacking one another, and civil and military officials betraying their own side — which was how it was destroyed. Its fighting troops had not suffered great losses.

So after the Wang Min state fell, large numbers of Wang Min soldiers and officers returned to their homes in Jianzhou and other places, which had been the main source of Wang Min troops.

Among these, Chen Hui, Zheng Yanhua, and Lin Renzhao stood out in particular. All three were rare fierce generals.

Lin Renzhao goes without saying. Zheng Yanhua was also a fierce man who could kill a nearly full-grown tiger single-handedly.

And Chen Hui, historically, was posthumously titled "Loyal and Fierce" by the Southern Tang. He was extremely skilled in naval warfare. In one battle at Fuzhou, he led his fleet downstream with the current and raced several hundred li in a single day and night to defeat the Wuyue navy — a rare naval command talent.

This Li Jing — one moment he was still thinking of sending his brother Li Jingsui across the river to beg for mercy, but now, having received reinforcements, he felt he had support and was no longer in such a hurry to bow his head.

He looked at the travel-worn Feng Yanlu. Li Jing did not trust others, but he trusted Feng Yansi greatly, and by extension he also trusted Feng Yansi's younger brother Feng Yanlu quite a bit.

"Since the Lord of Zhou intends to return north, yet has not stated his terms, would you, good sir, dare to make another trip? Go and ask the Lord of Zhou what his terms are."

For anyone else, being told to cross the river would surely have been terrifying, but Feng Yanlu was not afraid in the least. Still, he put on a troubled expression, and only after a moment did he grit his teeth and say.

"Since it is the Sage's command, your servant is willing to cross the river once more. But if the Lord of Zhou should ask about our state's terms, your servant would find it hard to respond. I beg Your Majesty to set a limit."

Before Li Jing could say anything, Feng Yansi's eyebrows rose. He felt that his younger brother Feng Yanlu seemed to be sounding out the Sage's bottom line. But after hesitating again and again, Feng Yansi still did not step forward to stop him.

Li Jing, for his part, did not read too much into it. He looked toward the Minister of Revenue, Chang Mengxi — this man was the most upright of all, and if he spoke first, there would be no deviation.

Chang Mengxi, as expected, did not decline and stepped out from the ranks. At this moment there were not many officials in the hall, so there was no fear of word leaking out.

"Sage, since ancient times, to hold the Yangtze in the south one must hold the Huai. If one cannot have the lands north of the Huai, one must at least have those south of it. Now Chuzhou and Haizhou have both fallen into the hands of the Zhou state, and the whole of Huainan is like a breach torn open by tigers and wolves.

It would be better to give more gold, silver, and silk — even going so far as to cast off the imperial title, pay tribute, and declare ourselves a vassal would be acceptable — but we must retain all of Huainan."

At this time, Huainan was a chain of defensive points running from Shouzhou to Haozhou, Sizhou, and on to Chuzhou.

With all four prefectures intact, its defensive strength naturally doubled; if even one prefecture were lost, that strength would decline.

Among them, Shouzhou was the most critical, with Chuzhou second. One could say that without Chuzhou, Huainan's defense would truly be like a fence with a great hole torn through it by a wild beast, through which one could come and go.

But everyone knew this was nothing but a fool's dream. The Zhou state had even taken the eastern capital, Yangzhou — and they were still thinking about Chuzhou? How could that be possible? This suggestion, once spoken, might as well not have been spoken at all.

However, to everyone's surprise, Feng Yanji's faction, which on ordinary days would certainly have seized on such words to attack, said nothing.

Han Xizai assumed only that they had reined themselves in at this moment of life and death, and so he hurriedly stepped forward to salvage the situation.

"Sage, your subject believes that at present the most urgent matters are, first, to recover the eastern capital, and second, to recover Taizhou.

If these two cities remain in Zhou hands, then even if the Zhou army returns north, to our state it will still be like a fishbone lodged in the throat.

Chuzhou is important, but the Zhou sovereign will certainly not let it go. This time the Zhou army marched south using our offense against Song and Xu prefectures as a pretext, with the true aim of reaching a hand into Huainan. Chuzhou is surely not coming back.

Yet although in Huainan's defense Chuzhou is second in importance, it is not as indispensable as Shouzhou, because without Chuzhou we can still build forts and stockades in the Tianchang area to block the enemy."

After Han Xizai finished, Feng Yanji finally stepped forward. He had, of course, waited for Chang Mengxi, Han Xizai, and the others to state their views first, because then when he came out in agreement with those views, it would not be so easy for others to seize on anything against him.

"Sage, your subject believes that whether or not we have Chuzhou is not the most important thing. What matters most now is that the Zhou army must be made to return north as quickly as possible, because for every day the Zhou army remains in the south, the court is in one more measure of danger.

And once the Zhou army returns north, even without Chuzhou, if all of our Great Tang, high and low, can unite as one heart — giving no pretext to the Zhou abroad, cultivating virtuous governance at home, drilling our troops, and building many forts and stockades — then with this rich and prosperous land, in a mere three to five years we can restore our strength and keep the realm secure forever."

These words, to put it kindly, were lofty and far-sighted, with a gaze not confined to a single city or a single stretch of land.

But in practical terms, they were far too vague. Whether uniting as one heart or cultivating virtuous governance at home, neither was so easily achieved.

Yet it so happened that Li Jing loved hearing exactly this. And Li Jing also had a sudden realization: what mattered most now was indeed not the gain or loss of one city or one stretch of land, but to send these plague-gods of the Zhou state packing as quickly as possible.

So amid Li Jing's earnest expectations, Feng Yanlu once again "risked his life" to cross the river, bearing his personal letter to Zhang Zhao to sue for peace and beg for terms.

At Feng Yanlu's arrival this time, Zhang Zhao was greatly surprised and delighted, because the fact that Feng Yanlu dared cross the river again proved that he no longer feared him.

As a minister of a foreign state, he did not fear Zhang Zhao, an enemy sovereign who had fought his way to their very doorstep.

This meant either that he was a minister of the utmost loyalty and rectitude, who had already come to regard life and death with indifference, or that in his heart he had already begun to lean the other way.

And this time, since it was a formal diplomatic mission, Zhang Zhao entertained Feng Yanlu well at a banquet.

Zhang Zhao bestowed upon Feng Yanlu and the various Southern Tang envoys and officials fifty bolts of Hexi white cotton cloth, ten jin of rock sugar, and three jin each of bay leaves, cardamom, and olive oil.

Feng Yanlu and the assembled envoys performed the ceremonial dance of gratitude.

Zhang Zhao again personally bestowed such famous Hexi dishes as cheese-baked lamb chops and rock-sugar braised pork — especially the rock-sugar braised pork, which Sage Zhang himself had invented.

The Southern Tang envoys and officials, moved to tears of gratitude, at once presented poems of praise, and for a time the two sides conversed with the greatest warmth and harmony.

Sure enough, after the banquet, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard carefully searched the leftover roast chicken that Feng Yanlu had been eating, they found two wax pills inside.

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