Chapter 607: Barbarian Traitor? Your Whole Family Are the Barbarian Traitors!

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The second year of Shaoming, 947 CE, the thirteenth day of the third month.

Zhang Zhao sent An Shuqian, an elder of Daibei and Hedong and Grand General of the Left Divine Guard Army, to Hedong in person to persuade Liu Zhiyuan to abandon his separatist stance and come south from Taiyuan to the Eastern Capital to pay court.

Liu Zhiyuan flew into a rage, cursed An Shuqian as a traitor, and detained An Shuqian along with more than thirty of his attendants.

On the twentieth day of the third month, after receiving word that Liu Zhiyuan had detained An Shuqian.

Zhang Zhao appointed Liu Zaisheng, Duke of Hetian Commandery and Pingzhang of the Shannan Province, as Supreme Commander of Shannan, bearing the imperial tally to command all Shannan armies and guard against any hostile moves by the Southern Ping and Southern Tang states.

He appointed Ma Zhaoyuan (Ma Yaozi), Duke of Jiuquan Commandery, Pingzhang of the Jianghuai Province, and Military Governor of the Wuning Army at Xuzhou Prefecture, as Supreme Commander of Lianghuai.

Bearing the imperial tally to command all Lianghuai armies, guarding against the Southern Tang, and especially guarding against the Huaibei bandit Li Renshu and Liu Renzhan, Military Governor of the Qinghuai Army at Shouzhou in the Southern Tang.

He appointed Cao Yuanzhong, Duke of Qiao, Pingzhang of the Guanzhong Province, and Defender of Chang'an, as Supreme Commander of Guanzhong, bearing the imperial tally to command all Guanzhong armies and guard against Meng Shu.

He ordered Yin Zhengqi (Yin Yaozi), who had just arrived in the Eastern Capital, to serve as Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard Army and Troop Commander of the Seven Gates of the Eastern Capital, leading three thousand elite troops of the Left Longxiang Guard to garrison the Divine Capital Luoyang and the Eastern Capital Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhang Xichong, Prefect of the Masters of Writing, was given the additional posts of Chief Minister and Pingzhang of the Metropolitan Province, taking overall charge of court affairs as Defender of the Capital.

Zhang Zhao then drew from his personal army the Hanshan Unit, the Divine Mechanism Battalion, and other mounted and foot armored soldiers, camel-cannon troops, and three thousand Fenjin elite soldiers.

The Left and Right Yulin Guards, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, the Right Longxiang Guard, and the Right Qianniu Guard — six guards totaling eighteen thousand elite troops.

The imperial army garrisons of Hanhai, Yucheng, Yingyang, Feng'an, and Shenwei — five garrisons totaling twenty thousand men.

The yabing guards of four military governors — the Zhongwu Army of Xuchang Prefecture, the Guide Army of Guide Prefecture, the Taining Army of Jining Prefecture (Yanzhou), and the Tianping Army of Yunzhou Prefecture — one thousand men each, four thousand in all.

Thus the six guards and one unit of the personal army, the five garrisons of the imperial army, and the yabing guards of four garrisons mobilized a total of forty-five thousand horse and foot.

Of these, the Right Qianniu Guard of the personal army and the Shenwei Garrison of the imperial army were formed from the consolidation of the former Later Jin imperial army.

He further levied three thousand cavalry of the Hexi sworn followers, one thousand cavalry of the Guanzhong sworn followers, two thousand Hexi militia archers, two thousand Guanzhong militia archers, and five thousand Henan militia braves — thirteen thousand men in all.

These fifty-eight thousand men, plus the more than twenty thousand auxiliary troops of sons, nephews, and brothers brought along by the personal and imperial armies themselves, made an army of eighty thousand.

He also levied one hundred thirty thousand civilian laborers from Henan for transport, making more than two hundred thousand people in all, proclaimed as an army of three hundred thousand.

Afterward, Zhang Zhao ordered Fu Yanqing, Pingzhang of Hebei Province and Military Governor of the Zhangde Army at Changshan Prefecture, to go north to the Wei, Bo, and Bei region to recruit Hebei volunteers, blocking Liu Zhiyuan's possible eastward advance into Jiaodong and also guarding against a Khitan push south.

Gao Xingzhou, Pingzhang of the Youyun Province and Military Governor of the Fanyang Army at Beiping Prefecture, slipped into the Cangzhou area, recruiting Youyun braves while also winning over the yabing guards and yabing officers of the Henghai Army at Cangzhou, who had nominally submitted to Liu Zhiyuan.

Huangfu Chong, nephew of Huangfu Yu and Deputy Commander of the Left Longxiang Guard, together with Captain Du Zhimin and others, were ordered to lead elite squads, coordinating with the Brocade Guard, to the Changshan Prefecture and as far as the Yi, Ying, and Mo region to rally volunteers, ready at any moment to plant a knife in the backs of Liu Zhiyuan and the Khitan.

And Sage Zhang's good son-in-law, Zhao Kuangzan, Marquis of Beiping and Military Governor of the Huguo Army at Hezhong Prefecture, was transferred to serve as Military Governor of the Three Garrisons of Heyang.

Leading two thousand yabing guards of his own Huguo Army and the Baoyi Army, along with one thousand imperial troops under Wu Xingde, Deputy Commander of the Feng'an Garrison, he garrisoned Huaizhou (Qinyang).

To prevent Liu Zhiyuan from striking south from Luzhou and Zezhou — that is, the later Shanxi Changzhi and Jinyang region — to attack Luoyang.

At the same time, he ordered Cao Yuanzhong, Pingzhang of the Guanzhong Province, to send Wu Guo'er, Deputy Commander of the Xiongwu Garrison left defending Guanzhong, with one thousand Xiongwu Garrison imperial troops, out through Tong Pass to Hezhong Prefecture, to guard against Liu Zhiyuan's Jianxiong Army Military Governor of Jinzhou coming south along the Yellow River to attack Hezhong Prefecture.

In the northwest, Zhang Zhao ordered Zhe Congyuan, Pingzhang of the Ningxia Province and Marquis of Datong; Wu Luan, Defense Commissioner of the Ningxia Province and Regional Commander of Datong Garrison; and Yang Hongxin, Prefect of Linzhou and Concurrent Supervisor of Linzhou Troops, Baron of Xinqin — these three men to send out fifteen thousand troops.

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To threaten Hedong from the flank, tie down Liu Zhiyuan's forces, and seize the opportunity to capture the Shengzhou (Yulin) area.

He ordered Zhe Deyi, Pingzhang of the Shuofang Province, and Yao Yuanfu, Defense Commissioner of the Shuofang Province, to send out three thousand troops and thirty thousand laborers, advancing down the Yellow River to attack the Khitan tribes occupying the Zhenwu Army and Fengzhou, and to win over the nearby nomadic tribes and restore farming.

For this purpose, Zhang Zhao specially sent his adopted son, Zhe Deyuan, second son of Zhe Congyuan, back to Ningxia to convey Zhang Zhao's will.

Finally, Zhang Zhao issued an edict ordering Guo Tiance to draw elite civil and military officials to form the commander-in-chief's staff officer corps and the logistics support corps, the Wangyi Division, with Guo Tiance serving as Secretary of the Wangyi Division.

He appointed Li Gu as Grand Transport Commissioner of the Wangyi Division, responsible for the overall transport of the army's provisions.

He appointed Zhang Liecheng as Grand Reconnaissance Commissioner of the Wangyi Division, responsible for comprehensive intelligence analysis and consolidation.

He appointed Yan Jin as Supreme Commander of the Northern Front, with full authority over the army's standoff along the Fushui line at Yedu.

He appointed Murong Xinzhang as Grand Vanguard Formation Commissioner of the army, with Li Cunhui as deputy, commanding the Left and Right Yulin Guards, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, the Yingyang Garrison, and two thousand Hexi sworn followers as the army's vanguard.

Gao Huaide, Zhao Kuangyin, Hu Guang, Feng Jiye, and Hou Renbao served as vanguard Troop Commanders, advancing north from the Guantao area of Weizhou to reconnoiter and harass.

This was the largest military expedition Zhang Zhao had launched in fifteen years.

Sage Zhang personally led ninety thousand troops, plus the fifteen thousand men of Fu Yanqing, Gao Xingzhou, and others, the fifteen thousand of Zhe Congyuan, Wu Luan, and Yang Hongxin, and the three thousand of Zhe Deyi — one hundred thirteen thousand troops in all.

Adding the more than two hundred thousand mobilized laborers, calling it an army of three hundred thousand was actually an understatement.

And such a grand display was of course not solely for dealing with Liu Zhiyuan. The fifty thousand men of the Hedong garrison did not require Zhang Zhao to muster every elite soldier in the realm. Zhang Zhao intended to sweep away the Khitan along with him — first recover Yan-Yun, then uproot the Khitan entirely.

On the first day of the fourth month, Zhang Zhao built a platform north of Kaifeng by the Bian River to marshal the army. After all the commanders had assembled, Zhang Zhao slaughtered ten thousand cattle and sheep to feast the troops and swore the oath of war with ninety thousand elite soldiers by the Bian River.

He also ordered Feng Dao, Vice Minister of State Affairs and Minister of both the Rites and Punishments, to draft the proclamation denouncing the traitor, and had it circulated throughout the realm.

In the proclamation, Zhang Zhao enumerated Liu Zhiyuan's three great crimes.

First, when he was Troop Commander of the Hedong young lord's guard, he did not dissuade Shi Jingtang from selling out the country, so that the land of Yan-Yun was seized by the Khitan. In the Shi clan's betrayal of the country, Liu Zhiyuan was one of the chief culprits.

Second, Liu Zhiyuan led the Later Jin court's crack troops to guard the gates of the realm, yet when the Khitan reached the Yellow River, Liu Zhiyuan still delayed and hesitated, looking left and right, sitting by and watching the Khitan ravage the Central Plains — harboring disloyal intentions.

Third, after the Later Jin was destroyed, Liu Zhiyuan did not think of avenging his master, but instead colluded with the Khitan, sold out the people of Hebei, and schemed to imitate Shi Jingtang, borrowing the northern barbarians' strength to seize the Central Plains and become a child-emperor once more.

Finally, Zhang Zhao declared with righteous fervor that he would first crush Liu Zhiyuan and recover Hedong, then strike and destroy the Khitan — not only recovering Yan-Yun, but also recovering Liaodong and Liaoxi, so that the golden vessel of the realm would be whole again.

Liu Zhiyuan, who had already passed through Jingxing Pass and reached Hengzhou, received the proclamation and nearly died of rage, because back when Shi Jingtang sold out the country, he, Liu Zhiyuan, had been precisely the one who argued most strenuously against it.

And later, when Yelu Deguang entered the Central Plains, it was entirely the result of Du Chongwei's capitulation. At the time, Liu Zhiyuan had only thirty thousand troops, and moreover the Khitan had more than ten thousand men pressing on the Xingkou area, leaving him unable to move.

It was not that he would not save them, but that he dared not. Although he did harbor some thought of sitting by and watching, it was hardly as Zhang Zhao's proclamation claimed — that he held a mighty army in his hands and simply watched them die without lifting a finger.

What was more, reading the proclamation, it was as if he, Liu Zhiyuan, were the greatest cause of the Jin state's destruction.

Liu Zhiyuan immediately flared up and ordered Guo Congyi to lead ten thousand troops to reinforce Guo Wei.

Li Wanchao, Military Governor of the Zhaoyi Army at Luzhou, led five thousand troops in a feint attack on Huaizhou.

He himself mustered all thirty thousand horse and foot of the Hedong garrison and marched south from Hengzhou, preparing to first smash Fu Yanqing, who had advanced to Beizhou, and then wheel around to envelop the Zhou army.

At the same time, Liu Zhiyuan ordered Bai Wenke to press the Tuyuhun people in Hedong to send out no fewer than seven thousand cavalry to march south with the Hedong troops.

As for the most important external aid, the Khitan, Liu Zhiyuan sent his trusted confidant Wang Jun to Youzhou to urge the Khitan ruler Yelu Ruan to dispatch troops at once, coming south from the Cangzhou area to join him at Beizhou.

Gnashing his teeth, Liu Zhiyuan also had Su Fengji draft a proclamation denouncing Zhang Zhao.

But Su Fengji's skill was lacking — he was no match for a literary titan like Feng Dao.

Feng Dao could write with devastating sharpness, turning Liu Zhiyuan, who had originally opposed Shi Jingtang's betrayal of the nation, into the greatest accomplice — practically the arch-criminal who had thrown the realm into chaos.

But Su Fengji could not manage that. Apart from claiming that Zhang Zhao had originally entered the Central Plains at the invitation of the Jin ruler Shi Chonggui to lend a hand, yet then refused to leave, all he could do was hurl abuse.

In his proclamation he reviled Zhang Zhao as being of Tibetan slave stock, a Tibetan slave-boy, a Tibetan brigand, falsely claiming descent from loyal subjects of the great dynasty, saying he would revive the Great Tang, when in truth he was a Tibetan brigand seizing the Central Plains — more shameless even than the Khitan.

But when Zhang Zhao received this proclamation while crossing the Yellow River, he practically laughed himself silly.

Su Fengji's proclamation actually did limited damage to Zhang Zhao, because the Zhang family not only had a genealogy, but also the great banners of successive Guiyi Army Military Governors, the banner-tallies, and tokens bestowed by the emperors of the Great Tang as proof.

Moreover, Zhang Zhao's father Zhang Chengfeng had founded the Western Han Jinshan Kingdom and proclaimed himself the White-Clad Son of Heaven. For a prince born to Zhang Zhao's station, such a birth would of course be solemnly recorded in the golden register.

And after the Cao clan replaced the Zhangs, every move Zhang Zhao made was likewise recorded by dedicated scribes — one could say his identity was rock-solid.

But the trusted men under Zhang Zhao's command were either men who did not even know their own parents, or even their own birth dates, or men of doubtful identity from the Six Valleys Wenmo.

They did not have detailed evidence like Zhang Zhao's, and after Zhang Zhao had led them in righteous allegiance back to the nation, they had grown even more sensitive about their ethnic identity.

Su Fengji's proclamation was a spear and great blade thrust straight into their hearts!

Every word like "Tibetan slave-boy" and "Tibetan brigand" cut deep into the hearts of these Hexi warriors, stripping the halo from their bodies and flinging it into the cesspit.

That very day, the moment the proclamation arrived, both banks of the Yellow River seethed with fury; morale and killing intent exploded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Countless officers and soldiers came howling ceaselessly before Zhang Zhao's command tent to beg for orders, willing to serve as vanguard cannon-fodder, determined to go kill Liu Zhiyuan and Su Fengji.

Er, a proclamation is meant to strengthen one's own side's fighting power and break the enemy's will.

But Su Fengji's tirade was practically a divine assist — more effective than Zhang Zhao throwing money around and giving hot-blooded speeches.