Chapter 581: The Clouds Do Not Move, but the Wind Will

When Zhang Zhao returned to Kaifeng Prefecture in the Eastern Capital, the ripples he had stirred up did not disappear.

In the Southern Tang, as soon as Sun Cheng and Han Xizai returned, they received a grand welcome from Li Jing.

And these two men, even before they returned to Jiangning, were already famous across half the southern realm — after all, Emperor Shaoming's poem "Reflections on Loyal Ministers Past and Present" had already spread everywhere at great speed.

The lands south of the Yangtze were culturally flourishing, but this flourishing was only relative to the present age, and still far short of the High Tang period.

This was an era in which culture was still steadily accumulating energy, an era laying the foundation for the great flowering of letters in the Northern Song.

So although the south was said to be culturally flourishing, it had not produced many great masters of poetry and ci — and even those it had were of the sort of Li Jing's "In the little tower the jade flute plays through the cold; how many teardrops, endless sorrow, leaning on the railing."

The diction was languid and soft, utterly unlike the work of a sovereign.

But when Zhang Zhao arrived, a single poem — "ten thousand li of book-carts all brought together" — carried the heroic spirit of a Qin Shi Huang or a Han Gaozu, encompassing all under heaven, aspiring to unify the realm and end the chaos.

And the standard of Lu You's poetry — there was no doubt about that.

Although the poem Zhang Zhao plagiarized, "On Reading the Biographies of the Loyal and Righteous in the Tang History," was not among Lu You's highest-quality works, the closing line — "I think of Gaoqing's hair, worthy to match Ji Shao's blood" — was rendered with great vividness.

Feng Yanji stood amid the grand welcoming ceremony, watching Li Jing confer upon Sun Cheng the posts of Grand Tutor and Duke of Lu, and upon Han Xizai the posts of Vice Minister of Personnel and Coinage Commissioner.

The former made Sun Cheng the leader of the assembled ministers; the latter gave Han Xizai control over the promotion of Southern Tang's lower officials and over fiscal power.

Wei Cen had already completely lost influence. Li Jing had made it clear that before long he would be sent out as Prefect of Yuanzhou.

Yuanzhou was the later Yichun in Jiangxi; at this time it was the southwestern border of the Southern Tang. For a trusted court minister, once sent out to Yuanzhou, returning would be difficult.

So at this moment, Wei Cen no longer bothered to hide anything. He gave a cold laugh.

"Yan Zhongjie in years past defended Changshan; father and sons, three of them, died unyielding, and even passersby wept for them. Ji Zhongmu shielded the Son of Heaven, his blood spattering the imperial robes, praised through the ages.

These two men put on such airs — how can they compare with the worthies of old?"

Yan Zhongjie was Yan Gaoqing. When An Lushan's rebels marched south, Yan Gaoqing alone refused to surrender; with his tongue torn out he still cursed the rebels, and in the end he was killed together with his youngest son Yan Dan and his nephew Yan Xu, his body hacked to pieces. He was a loyal minister for all ages, and Yan Zhenqing's "Draft Eulogy for My Nephew" describes this very event.

"Gaoqing's hair" refers to the fact that after Yan Gaoqing was killed, a man named Zhang Cou obtained some of his hair and presented it to the court — one of the few surviving relics of Yan Gaoqing.

And Ji Zhongmu referred to Ji Shao, whose father was Ji Kang, the man who offended the Sima clan and was killed.

Later Ji Shao became a Palace Attendant. During the War of the Eight Princes of the Western Jin, Emperor Hui of Jin was wounded and struck by three arrows; hundreds of attendants and servants all fled, and only Ji Shao threw himself recklessly into protecting the Son of Heaven. In the end he was killed by Sima Ying's soldiers, his blood spattering onto Emperor Hui's clothes.

This man's loyalty and righteousness have been praised from ancient times. Even Emperor Hui of Jin — a fool who asked "why don't they eat meat porridge?" — when his attendants wanted to wash the blood from his robes, knew to say: "This is Palace Attendant Ji's blood — do not wash it away!"

In an age before Yue Wumu, Wen Zhonglie, and Yu Zhongsu had appeared, these two men were the models of loyal ministers for all ages.

That was why Wei Cen was so indignant, feeling that Sun and Han were merely posturing, and how could they compare with Yan Zhongjie and Ji Zhongmu?

Feng Yanji slowly shook his head. Other things did not matter, but Sun Cheng and Han Xizai's elevation to high office immediately broke the balance between the two factions.

With the added prestige of Emperor Shaoming's poem, all under heaven believed that Sun Cheng and Han Xizai had saved the nation, that they were rare and great loyal ministers.

And with factional strife in the Southern Tang so fierce, and Sun and Han so favored, would there still be a place for Feng Yanji in the Jiangning court?

Wei Cen only saw the surface glory of Sun and Han, because he had already fallen from favor and was going to Yuanzhou; court affairs no longer concerned him.

But Feng Yanji was not in that position. So he looked at Wei Cen and said in a low voice:

"You only see that Sun and Han gained favor through the Shaoming Son of Heaven's poem. Have you not perceived the other meaning within it?"

Wei Cen thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head. He leaned a little closer to Feng Yanji and asked in a low voice: "I beg Lord Feng to enlighten me."

"Look at whom Emperor Shaoming commemorated at Mount Jilong. It was Huangfu Yu, Wang Qing, Liang Hanzhang, and Guo Lin — these men.

These men died loyally in the battles against the Khitan invasion, but was a single one of them a minister of the Zhou?

And for whom did Yan Zhongjie and Ji Zhongmu give their loyalty?"

Having said this, without waiting for Wei Cen to answer, Feng Yanji continued on his own.

"Huangfu Yu, Wang Qing, and the other generals were ministers of the Jin, yet the Shaoming Son of Heaven commemorates them, posthumously enfeoffs them as kings, and favors their descendants. What is this? This is assuming the posture of the lord of all under heaven, honoring heroes who resisted the barbarians.

Look again at Yan Zhongjie — he died resisting rebels, loyal to the state. Ji Zhongmu lived amid the War of the Eight Princes and fought to the death to protect the Son of Heaven of the Central Plains.

Seen in this light, does the Garrison Commander still think the Shaoming Son of Heaven was praising Sun and Han?

No! The Shaoming Son of Heaven was, in the posture of the lord of all under heaven, honoring loyalty and righteousness. This is to let all loyal and righteous heroes under heaven know: if you would serve, should you serve a regional warlord, or a true sovereign like him, who bears the bearing of one who will unify the six directions?"

Wei Cen was stunned into stillness. After a long while he nodded thoughtfully. A clever man did not need things spelled out too clearly to understand the meaning.

Feng Yanji's heart was not on this grand occasion for welcoming Sun Cheng and Han Xizai. What he was thinking of was that once his younger brother Feng Yanlu returned to the residence, the two brothers should have a good talk.

In Jiangling, the royal city of the Southern Ping, Gao Conghui's health was declining day by day. He could clearly feel the vitality draining from his body.

At this moment, Gao Conghui was standing atop a tall tower of the royal city, gazing at the river in the distance. Behind him came a simple, honest voice — it was his third son, Gao Baorong.

"Father is waiting for Shilang to return again? Shilang went out early today, so he will surely return early as well."

"Shilang" referred to Gao Conghui's tenth son, Gao Baorong's younger brother by the same mother, Gao Baoxu.

Gao Conghui doted on this son the most. No matter how furious he was, the moment he saw Gao Baoxu his anger would absolutely dissipate.

Therefore everyone in the Southern Ping, high and low, called Gao Baoxu "Wanshixiu" — meaning that as long as he was present, nothing need be worried about.

Gao Conghui gave a bitter smile. Gao Baorong was loyal, honest, and timid; he did not practice military affairs and instead liked reading the classics, histories, and collected works, which made him somewhat pedantic.

He was a good son and a good elder brother, but not a good successor.

He thought his father was waiting for Gao Baoxu to return, but in fact Gao Conghui was waiting for news to come back from the Southern Tang.

Even Gao Baoxu's daily trips to the riverside were not for pleasure — he too was waiting for news.

As for this newly born state of Zhou, father and son Gao Conghui and Gao Baoxu knew better than anyone how powerful it was.

Because this father and son had once wanted to seize Yingzhou and other places during the Khitan incursion into the Central Plains, only to be badly defeated by Yin Shi, Prefect of Yingzhou, who mustered the prefectural and county troops.

And before that, the Anyuan Army stationed in Yingzhou and elsewhere had long since been transferred north to resist the Khitan, and in the end the Khitan wiped them out in one stroke by the Hutuo River.

So in the minds of the Gao father and son, the Anyuan Army was stronger than the prefectural and county troops, and the Khitan army was stronger than the Anyuan Army.

And Zhang Zhao had killed thirty or forty thousand Khitan in a single battle, and had even slain the Khitan ruler Yelu Deguang in battle — his ferocity and martial prowess were plain to see.

So ever since Zhang Zhao entered Kaifeng Prefecture in the Eastern Capital, Gao Conghui had been living in fear, dreading that Zhang Zhao would use his attack on Yingzhou as a pretext to demand an accounting.

Especially since Zhang Zhao transferred his trusted general Liu Zaisheng to Xiangzhou as Military Governor of Shannan East Circuit, Gao Conghui had become even more afraid.

This Liu Zaisheng, back in Hexi, had been a fierce man who could hold a front on his own. And the Military Governor of the Weisheng Army in Dengzhou, Erzhu Jing, was also a valiant general from Hexi.

There was no need at all for Zhang Zhao to transfer troops from the Central Plains — the Shannan East Circuit and the Weisheng Army of Dengzhou alone were enough to suppress the Southern Ping.

Thus Gao Conghui paid especially close attention to the war between the Zhou state and the Tang state. Even when Zhang Zhao's attempt to force Li Jing's surrender at Yangzhou was blocked, and word spread that he intended to requisition the Nanping navy to attack Ezhou, Gao Conghui was quite excited.

As long as the Tang state withstood the Zhou state's immense pressure and did not yield, then their Nanping's value would rise — and perhaps there was even a possibility of swallowing Ezhou.

And if the Zhou state could not even defeat the Tang state, then the Zhou state would face Liu Zhiyuan and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun with even greater difficulty. At that time the Central Plains would once again fall into turmoil, and Nanping would be safe.

Gao Conghui waited day and night! He was waiting for Zhang Zhao to send an envoy demanding that he raise troops from Xiakou and attack Ezhou.

Gao Conghui had even worked out exactly how he would put on airs before the envoy. Now he was simply waiting for the Zhou state's imperial envoy to arrive.

Soon, very soon!

Just as Gao Conghui was waiting in anticipation, someone did indeed come — but it was not an envoy. It was Gao Baoxu, his face deathly pale.

"Father, the Zhou army has landed at Caishiji. The Tang ruler Li Jing has already sent his imperial younger brother Li Jingsui to sue for peace."

Gao Conghui's face instantly went pale as well. He seized Gao Baoxu's arm, gripping with nearly all his strength, so hard that the frail Gao Baoxu's face twisted in pain.

Only after a long while did Gao Conghui let out a long breath. He sighed dejectedly, then looked at Gao Baorong, who was single-mindedly decocting medicine for him.

Seeing Gao Conghui's pale face, Gao Baorong hurried over to support his father, his face full of worry. "Father, if you are unwell, you should not stand in the river wind. The decoction will be ready shortly."

Gao Conghui's expression shifted several times between dark and bright. In all honesty, he did have the intention of making Gao Baoxu his heir.

But as things now stood, for a small state like Nanping, installing an ambitious, enterprising ruler like Gao Baoxu might not necessarily be a good thing.

"My son is filial! I have heard that the Shaoming Son of Heaven governs all under heaven by loyalty and filial piety. My son's pure filial piety should be able to preserve our Gao family's foundation."

As he spoke, Gao Conghui handed a key to Gao Baorong.

"The Shaoming Son of Heaven has just won this war and is in high spirits. My son, why not go in person to the Eastern Capital to pay homage, and present this item to the Son of Heaven, expressing our Nanping state's deference and submission, and beg the Son of Heaven to forgive our offense of raiding Xiang and Ying."

Gao Baorong did not know what was inside the treasure chest that this key could open. Gao Baoxu did. He looked at Gao Conghui with extreme reluctance.

"Father, this is a supreme treasure that ten thousand in gold could not buy."

Gao Conghui waved his hand. "This item is itself a treasure meant to spread virtue across the world. You and I, father and son, locked it away in a high tower for over ten years. The late king even treated it as an immortal's scripture that could revive the dead and restore flesh to bone — that in itself already harmed benevolence and virtue.

Now that a sage Son of Heaven has appeared, use it to buy peace and safety for you brothers."

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