Chapter 628: What If There Were a Wei Qing or Huo Qubing Here?

Bei'anzhou, strictly speaking, should at this time be called Bei'an Xinghua Army, because Bei'anzhou would only be established decades later once the population had grown.

Its specific location was near the later Luanhe Town in Chengde.

After Zhang Zhao returned from Jieshi Mountain, he immediately came here, because since Zhang Zhao intended to follow the Manchu Qing's old approach to the grasslands, Chengde was a very critical position.

To the north this place borders the Mobei grasslands, especially the grasslands on the western side of the Greater Khingan Range adjacent to it — that is, the later Chifeng, Tongliao, Xing'an, and Hulunbuir region — where rainfall is extremely abundant.

It has always been the grassland peoples' favorite pasture, and most of the Khitan state's remaining strength is now entrenched here.

To the west lies the great grassland called Monan, with the Yin Mountains and Daqing Mountains; the later Baotou, Hohhot, and Zhangjiakou all lie in that direction.

To the east one can directly reach the line of Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Huludao, and Jinzhou.

Behind it is Youzhou, ringed by the Yan Mountains, and the Liu River, Luan River, and several tributaries of the Luan flow through it, making water transport convenient.

During the Ming and Qing periods, especially the Qing, Chengde was said to command five provinces from a single place.

The Manchu Qing rulers promoted the Yellow Sect here on a grand scale, using Chengde alone to hold the Mongols of Monan and Mobei, the Tibetans of the Qingtang Plateau, and even the Mongols of the Altai Mountains firmly in the palm of their hand.

Although Zhang Zhao greatly disliked the Manchu Qing, who were repulsive in every respect, he had to admit that the Manchu Qing's control over the grasslands and plateau was the most stable of any dynasty, bar none — even the Mongols' Great Yuan did not have such strong control.

So Chengde was very important to Zhang Zhao. What mattered was not that it was easy to defend and hard to attack — Chengde simply did not have that attribute — what mattered was that Chengde possessed the locational advantage of a Kaifeng beyond the frontier: communications between Monan, Mobei, Moxi, Liaoxi, and Yan-Yun all basically had to pass through Chengde.

Then it would be just right to build a city at this place open to all directions and construct temples of the Six Dharma Sect on a grand scale.

Then, in the five dharma lands other than the central land, establish Buddhist offices great and small such as Living Buddha, Great Virtue, and Chief Monk Controller, and set up the Golden Urn lot-drawing system, with the Emperor confirming the reincarnation of Living Buddhas.

No sooner said than done. Zhang Zhao immediately issued an edict abolishing the Khitan administrative structure of Bei'anzhou, changing it to Chengde Prefecture, and moving the prefectural seat from Bei'anzhou to a position roughly the same as later Chengde.

Here there is Modou Ridge and Sixiang Ridge to the west, and Niu Mountain, Songzi Ridge, Shen Mountain, and other high mountains and hills to the east, with ample space to build temples. More than five rivers converge into the Luan River here, and the scenery is uniquely fine.

He further ordered Gao Xingzhou, Military Governor of the Fanyang Army in Beiping Prefecture, to relocate three thousand households of commoners from You, Gui, and Yi Prefectures, and ordered Zhe Congyuan, Chief Minister of the Ningxia Province, to relocate two thousand Tangut households from Yin and Sui Prefectures in Ningxia to the vicinity of Chengde Prefecture.

In preparation, of the seventeen thousand Tuyuhun households from Hedong intended for Murong Xinzhang — about eighty thousand people — twenty thousand were to be moved here first.

He also ordered the Ministry of Works to recruit one thousand artisans — stonemasons, carpenters, and other craftsmen — from the Han lands, to first build the temples great and small and the prefectural city of Chengde Prefecture together with the Tuyuhun people.

Zhongjing Dading Prefecture — although called the Central Capital, the Liao state had not built any very tall walls for Dading Prefecture.

The whole of Dading Prefecture was an earthen city enclosed by stones and palisades. Apart from the traveling palace in the center, which was somewhat presentable, the surroundings were basically all low sheds and tents.

Horn blasts sounded one after another. Li Gu looked up at the sky; he knew someone must be coming.

Because this horn was blown in one long note, indicating that those coming were their own people. If it were an enemy raid, it would be the other horns, short and shrill.

The Khitan youths around, hearing the horn, mounted their horses in a dark mass and went whooping out.

Because life on the grassland was simply too lonely. Even in a bustling place like Dading Prefecture, when they heard someone was coming, they all had to go join the excitement.

The youths went off cheering and roughhousing, and before long the Khitan able-bodied men — the regular conscripts and the Han-converted conscripts — also mounted up and galloped off, shouting and hallooing.

Li Gu took out an hourglass calibrated by Ministry of Works craftsmen and began timing. The hourglass was indeed far more convenient than the water clock, because one did not have to worry about evaporation or leakage.

But correspondingly, the price of an hourglass was also quite considerable, because water does not have the problem of differing weights or grain sizes, while the hourglass does.

Therefore special personnel were needed to select and polish the sand in the hourglasses, so that all hourglasses were basically identical, and in order to match the hours and the heavens, the cooperation of the Imperial Observatory was also indispensable.

But even so, after the Emperor brought the hourglass back from Anxi to the Central Plains, the hourglass still became extremely popular, and on key occasions it had completely replaced the water clock.

"Not even half a quarter-hour!" After the sound of hoofbeats of those running off to see the excitement gradually faded, Li Gu put away the hourglass and said to himself.

In less than half a quarter-hour, one or two thousand riders had run out to see the excitement. The Khitan people's spirit had not yet completely withered!

"Come, let's go see who has arrived too." Putting away the hourglass, Li Gu led the guards around him out the door and mounted his horse.

At the northwest corner of Dading Prefecture, several hundred Khitan cavalry were escorting a column of two hundred people, slowly approaching from afar.

The Khitan cavalry swaggered and flaunted their might, while the captives, their hands and feet bound, stumbled along cringing and shrinking.

From time to time Khitan youths spurred their horses forward, frightening the captives into panic, and the people around burst into waves of laughter.

Some even younger Khitan children took out small soft bows and shot arrow shafts made of branches at the captives, as if hunting, and the captives grew even more terrified.

Suddenly, a Khitan youth of fourteen or fifteen ran over mischievously from the side and with one grab threw a captive in the crowd whose hands were not bound flat onto the ground. The captive screamed in terror, and at the torn collar of his animal-hide shirt, a flash of white was exposed.

The Khitans grew even more excited, tearing at the captives' scant clothing like wild beasts, and from their mouths came beast-like roars.

Likewise, the people around not only did not stop them, but their laughter and jeering grew even louder.

But Li Gu's face suddenly turned ashen, because the sounds coming from the mouth of this captive being wantonly abused by the Khitan youth were precisely Tang speech — and it was the Heluo dialect with a Kaifeng accent.

"Is that Li Cizhou? Are you Li Cizhou? Who is now the Son of Heaven of the Middle Kingdom? Liu Zhiyuan or Zhang Zhao?"

Shi Chonggui looked at the official in Han dress in the distance, and a tremendous strength suddenly burst from his body. Several Khitan warriors guarding him were immediately thrown off by Shi Chonggui.

This lord of Jin, his face streaming with tears and mucus, wailed and ran toward Li Gu. A Khitan officer spurred his horse forward and struck Shi Chonggui hard on the shoulder with a club, but Shi Chonggui only lurched slightly, his feet not slowing in the least.

Li Gu's eyes suddenly widened. He looked at this little old man before him — dark and thin, hair all gray-white and like a chicken's nest — and only after studying him for a long while could he bring himself to believe that this was actually the former Son of Heaven of Jin, Shi Chonggui.

Shi Chonggui rushed up to Li Gu, suddenly grabbed Li Gu's thigh, and collapsed to the ground. "Weizhen, save me! I would gladly be a porter in the Eastern Capital!"

"Ah!" Li Gu let out a howl of anguish. He raised his eyes and looked, and it seemed heaven and earth were swaying.

"The northern caitiffs bully us too far!"

In his howl, Li Gu kicked Shi Chonggui away, snatched a long spear from a guard beside him, then took two running steps, leaped into the air, and the spear in his hand flew out with the motion.

With a 'squelch', the spear traced a parabola and struck the rider accurately, directly skewering the Khitan officer who had galloped over and just struck Shi Chonggui's shoulder, knocking him off his horse.

Li Gu then shouted again, and his right-hand iron hammer smashed out, striking hard at the forehead of an oncoming warhorse.

The warhorse let out a shrill scream, staggered twice, and then, dragging the Khitan officer — whose ankle was still caught in the saddle and who had a spear through his chest — ran off crookedly into the distance.

"Kill that little caitiff thief for me!" As he skewered the Khitan officer and gravely wounded the warhorse, the moment Li Gu landed, he pointed with his right hand at the Khitan youth who had pinned the Later Jin palace woman to the ground and was wantonly violating her.

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A Left Yulin Guard light cavalryman with fire in his eyes immediately came forward at the order, and his Hexi heavenly horse reached the Khitan youth's side in two strides.

The light cavalryman leaned his body to the left, and with a light slash of the saber in his hand, the youth's dark head flew into the air. Blood was already spurting from his neck before the terrified expression even surfaced on his face.

"My son!" A fat Khitan nobleman screamed, drew his curved blade, and came forward to fight to the death.

The light cavalryman was even less hesitant. He pulled the reins, and the warhorse reared up, completing the turn on its hind legs alone.

'Twang! Twang!' Two arrows shot out in rapid succession. The fat Khitan nobleman took one arrow to the forehead and one to the neck, staggered twice, and toppled to the ground.

In an instant, the thousand-odd Khitans around were enraged. They roared and were about to pounce, but then quickly calmed down again.

Because the hundred Left Yulin Guard cavalry who had followed Li Gu here were already armored and had crossbows strung; whoever dared to come up would be throwing their lives away.

The Khitans of Dading Prefecture were not the Khitans of Huanglong Prefecture. The Khitans of Huanglong Prefecture only vaguely knew that the Great Khitan state seemed to have suffered a crushing defeat in the Southern Dynasty, with terrible losses; many of them were not even clear whether Yelu Deguang was dead or not.

But the Khitans of Dading Prefecture, the Central Capital so close to Youzhou, knew very clearly indeed.

Therefore, at the sight of the Zhou cavalry already fully armed, they could only curse and shout, not daring to charge.

Li Gu quickly had the ropes untied from these two hundred or so consorts, palace women, eunuchs, and a small number of civil officials. The crowd rushed over, and around Li Gu the sound of weeping shook the heavens.

Empress Dowager Li and Empress Feng, dressed in hempen mourning clothes with dirt still on their faces, also came over.

Empress Feng, heedless of all dignity, pleaded with Li Gu again and again, "Please, Li of Cizhou, report back to Liu of Hedong—no! Report back to the Son of Heaven: I, the woman Feng, am willing to be his slave and maidservant, if only I may return to the Central Plains!"

Li Gu's cheek twitched. "Liu Zhiyuan failed to read the times and rashly raised a rebel's heart. He has already been crushed by the army led personally by our Sage. The Central Plains is now the Great Zhou state, and the Sage is the Shao Ming Zhang Son of Heaven."

Empress Dowager Li, who could not hold back her tears and streaming nose, brightened at these words. She seized Li Gu's hand and asked in joyful surprise.

"Is the Liang King of Hexi now lord of China? Please, Li of Cizhou, tell the Son of Heaven, my uncle, for the sake of my younger sister Yongle, let this old woman go to the Eastern Capital and become an old nun!"

Empress Dowager Li had in truth not held much hope. Others might not know Liu Zhiyuan, but she knew him very well. Though brave in battle, the man was narrow-minded, valued warriors and slighted the realm; he would never want Shi Chonggui to return.

Moreover, Hedong was impoverished. Even if Liu Zhiyuan became Son of Heaven, it would be hard for him to win everyone's submission, and he would certainly not dare offend the Khitans too much—how could he negotiate with the Khitans for their sake?

Only Zhang Zhao of Hexi, who styled himself as champion of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness, with his strong horses and mighty Hexi cavalry under his command, had the bearing of a true lord of men.

The people of Huanglong Prefecture said the Khitans had been defeated in the Central Plains; it must have been the Hexi troops entering the Central Plains. In Empress Dowager Li's view, only Zhang Zhao had the ability and the magnanimity to tolerate them.

Moreover, Princess Yongle, the younger sister he had raised with his own hands, was the daughter-in-law of Zhang Zhao. By both sentiment and reason, he was very likely to save her.

And once back in the Eastern Capital, with her brother-in-law Murong Baipao to look after her, she would at least have food and clothing without worry. So in her agitation, Empress Dowager Li even directly called Zhang Zhao her shifu—that is, her uncle.

Li Gu did not dare accept the grand salutations of Empress Dowager Li, Shi Chonggui, and the others. He hastily returned the courtesy and pulled them to their feet.

"Empress Dowager, do not worry. This minister's journey north was undertaken precisely at the request of Princess Yongle to rescue the Empress Dowager. The Sage has also agreed to receive you back."

"Oh, my Yongle! Only you still remember your elder sister! This old woman kowtows to the Son of Heaven, my uncle!"

Empress Dowager Li's tears fell like rain. Facing south upon the ground, she kowtowed again and again.

And Shi Chonggui, afraid of being left behind, also kowtowed repeatedly, shouting without a shred of shame, "Your grandson kowtows in thanks for the great grace of the Son of Heaven, my grandfather!"

The remaining palace women and eunuchs, knowing they had escaped with their lives, wept with a sound that shook the heavens; many even collapsed to the ground from weeping.

"Prefect Li, several men were killed today. Will the Khitan Empress Dowager let this go?" Amid the weeping, someone asked in a trembling voice.

Li Gu looked over at the words. The weathered old man beside him was none other than the elder brother of Empress Feng—Feng Yu, the Commissioner of Military Affairs who had once held overwhelming power, a man Li Gu could never even have gotten an audience with.

But now this Feng Yu, like a lapdog, was looking at Li Gu pitifully and fearfully.

Li Gu pondered for a moment. Although he was not entirely certain whether Shulu Ping would be angered past all reason, he spoke with conviction.

"Now China is strong and the northern caitiffs are weak. The Empress Dowager of the Severed Wrist is a sensible woman; she knows what should be done and what should not.

Tonight, all of you come to my tent. With these hundred bear-and-tiger warriors standing guard, you will surely be safe and sound."

Li Gu had guessed right. What sort of person was Shulu Ping? Among the ruling women of the Liao state, she was second only to Xiao Yanyan in political skill, and in ruthlessness she surpassed even her. In Yelu Abaoji's founding enterprise, Shulu Ping deserved at least four-tenths of the credit.

Even viewed across all of history, apart from the Liao state—this northern dynasty—being too small a stage, in terms of ability she still ranked among the notable figures of Chinese history.

She knew that Li Gu had dared to kill Khitan nobles outside Dading Prefecture, the Central Capital. Facing the crowd of nobles who had come weeping to her, she heaved a long sigh, then a fierce light suddenly flared in her eyes as she rapped her severed wrist against the white tiger-skin seat, making it ring.

"What are you crying for? Since when do the men of the Great Khitan do nothing but weep and complain when trouble comes?"

Yelu Lihu was pacing back and forth like an enraged lion. Hearing Shulu Ping's words, he immediately threw back his head and bellowed, "Mother, let me muster the troops at once and slaughter all those Han folk!"

"Fool!" Shulu Ping slammed her left palm down sharply and looked at Yelu Lihu with the frustration of one seeing iron that will not become steel.

"The Han folk are powerful now. To kill this mere hundred men would cost us—mother and son—flight to a bitter, frozen place like the Northern Sea to hide. Is that what a true king should do?"

Having said this, Shulu Ping looked at everyone and shouted, "This is the fate of the weak. This is the treatment we can only receive after having two emperors killed in succession.

Every man who still knows shame should remember this humiliation. One day, we will repay this insult a hundredfold upon the heads of the Han folk."

These words set the Khitan nobles in the tent roaring and howling with fury; every man swore that in the future they would make the Han folk pay dearly.

Shulu Ping, in her heart, let out a long breath of relief. Li Gu had killed men at will right in the Khitan capital prefecture; if she could not make some show of response, it would surely deal a severe blow to the Khitan people's morale.

Now she had deftly transformed that humiliation into shared hatred of a common enemy, and also avoided an immediate rupture with Zhang Zhao.

"Tomorrow we set out for Bei'an Prefecture. After I leave, Xiyin, you are to lead ten thousand cavalry north at once, to Linhuang Prefecture. Until you see me return, maintain the highest vigilance against a surprise attack by Han cavalry.

If your mother does not return, then withdraw to Jingbian City. Endure humiliation, bear the burden, rest and recover, and one day avenge your mother."

Jingbian City was the later Manzhouli. To withdraw to Manzhouli would mean nearly all their territory had been lost, so Yelu Lihu was extremely unwilling.

"Mother, I judge the Han cavalry to be only twenty or thirty thousand riders. For them to reach Dading Prefecture is already remarkable—why must we withdraw to Jingbian City?"

Shulu Ping was silent for a long while. She dismissed most of the people, leaving only Yelu Lihu and a few of her sons and grandsons, and then spoke in a low, brooding voice.

"I have observed the Han people. In just these two short years they have killed two emperors of the Great Khitan in succession. We were clearly rising like the morning sun, yet our fortune has suddenly shifted to them.

This turn of fortune is like when Emperor Wu of Han obtained Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, or when Emperor Taizong of Tang had his two Lis. It would not be surprising if this Zhou state also produced a Champion Marquis or a Duke Li of Wei. How could Linhuang Prefecture protect my son's life?"

These words, spoken in a low, brooding voice from the crane-haired, chicken-skinned Shulu Ping, made every man in the tent—Yelu Lihu, Yelu Deguang's three sons Yelu Jing, Yelu Ansage, Yelu Tiande, and the rest—feel a chill run through his whole body.

Thinking of how Huo Qubing, not yet twenty, had pinned the Xiongnu at the height of their power to the ground and pummeled them, and how Li Jing had dragged the Khagan of the Turks, Jieli Khagan, who had awed the world, out of a marmot's burrow—even the savage Yelu Lihu could not help but shudder.

And thinking that they, the Khitans, as the third lords of the steppe after the Xiongnu and the Turks, had also suddenly fallen into this situation at the height of their strength, a sense of fated doom settled over their hearts, and for a long time no one said a word.

In the end it was the strong-willed Shulu Ping who came back to herself first. She looked at Yelu Jing and said, "After your grandmother leaves, you, my grandson, may take Tiande and go at once to Liaoxi and Liaodong.

If your grandmother does not return, you are to immediately lead the clansmen of those two regions in a northward retreat, and at the same time sweep up the able-bodied men among the Balhae people, have them kill every Han person in Liaoxi and Liaodong, and then retreat north as well."

Yelu Jing and Yelu Tiande nodded. Shulu Ping then turned back to look at Yelu Ansage.

"Now the men of our Yelu family are reduced to just you few. If not one of you goes to Bei'an Prefecture, the villain Zhang will surely grow suspicious. Ansage, you will go with your grandmother to Bei'an Prefecture."

Yelu Ansage was on the verge of tears, but under the fierce glares of his uncle Yelu Lihu and his elder brother Yelu Jing, he could only nod woodenly. "Your grandson understands. I am willing to go south with Grandmother."

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