Chapter 655: The Future King of Dali

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. Zhang Zhao was now thirty-five years old, with six sons and nine daughters under his knee.

His eldest adopted daughter Zhang Qiwu was already twenty. After marrying Zhao Kuangzan, she had given birth to a son and a daughter.

This time she and Zhao Kuangzan had come together from Hezhong Prefecture to the eastern capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, which also allowed Zhang Zhao, for the first time as a maternal grandfather, to receive New Year's greetings from two babbling little babies.

After the formal greetings, there was still some time before the banquet began. Zhang Zhao's second daughter, Princess Zhang Qixiu of the State of Song, along with a crowd of younger brothers and sisters, carried the two little ones away. Everyone was very fond of the two little creatures.

Zhang Zhao finally had a moment to exchange a few words with Zhao Kuangzan and Zhang Qiwu. He took his daughter and son-in-law by the hand and walked toward a side hall.

Although Zhang Qiwu was not Zhang Zhao's own flesh and blood, her status was different from that of an ordinary adopted child, because Zhang Qiwu had inheritance rights and was an adopted daughter essentially no different from a biological daughter.

Among Zhang Zhao's adopted sons, even Murong Xinzhang could only barely count as half an adopted son. In terms of ethical closeness, he still could not compare to Zhang Qiwu.

After the two sat down, Zhang Zhao personally poured Zhao Kuangzan a cup of hot tea.

The youth who had been only thirteen or fourteen when he first met Zhang Zhao, every inch a young dandy, was now his son-in-law and, moreover, a steady regional garrison commander.

Zhao Kuangzan had rendered enormous service in Zhang Zhao's smooth entry into the Central Plains. Without him clearing the way all along the route, persuading surrender and pushing to revolt a great number of former Central Plains generals from Hezhong Prefecture to Shanzhou and then to Luoyang,

Zhang Zhao would very likely have been blocked by Yelu Deguang west of Hezhong Prefecture or west of Shanzhou, and it would have been absolutely impossible to deal with Yelu Deguang within a few months.

"Have your father's funeral affairs all been settled? Do not blame Xinzhang for this matter. If you must blame someone, blame me. Murong Erlang was also acting on my intentions when he handled it."

What Zhang Zhao was referring to was the matter of Murong Xinzhang leaving no way out for Zhao Kuangzan's father, Zhao Yanshou.

This was also the truth, because it was indeed he who had not intended to spare Zhao Yanshou's life. Otherwise, given Murong Xinzhang's personality that valued family ties, Zhao Yanshou could at the very least have faked his death and escaped by shedding his shell like a golden cicada.

"Your child understands. My father and grandfather both brought it upon themselves.

In former years, my maternal grandfather and the Later Tang treated our Zhao family with kindness higher than heaven, yet they still harbored thoughts of rebellion, until in the end they could only cling to the Khitan and serve as their claws.

In the Battle of Tuanbo Valley, the court suffered a great defeat, and our Zhao family bore the greatest responsibility. From that time on, their fate was sealed."

Zhao Kuangzan shook his head. On his face, which he strove to make appear carefree and indifferent, a trace of bitterness surfaced.

The Battle of Tuanbo Valley he spoke of was the battle in former years when the Khitan army, at Shi Jingtang's invitation, suddenly appeared south of Taiyuan and defeated the Later Tang army.

Zhao Kuangzan did not avoid the subject at all. Indeed, if Zhao Dejun and his son Zhao Yanshou had not harbored sinister intentions and deliberately caused trouble back then, the Khitans truly might not have been able to defeat the Tang army at Tuanbo Valley. Naturally, the Zhao family would also not have been stripped of their military forces by Yelu Deguang and dragged off to the grasslands.

Zhang Zhao let out a long sigh and patted Zhao Kuangzan on the shoulder. "Ah, people! One simply cannot take the wrong path. Your father Zhao Yanshou was not without talent. On the contrary, he was handsome in bearing, skilled in riding and archery, and capable of commanding troops, no worse than Gao Xingzhou or Fu Yanqing. But once he took the wrong path, he could never turn back."

Zhao Kuangzan nodded repeatedly. "Your child understands and will surely keep your instructions firmly in mind."

"After the New Year, go to Xuzhou. Take charge of building the garrison army there and make preparations against the Southern Tang. Make more connections with the heroes north of the Huai River in Southern Tang territory."

Zhao Kuangzan nodded. He had long known that Zhang Zhao had summoned him from Hezhong Prefecture precisely in order to transfer him to Xuzhou.

Now, the post of Chief Minister of the Jianghuai Province had remained vacant ever since Guo Wei left. The person currently in charge of affairs in Xuzhou was Fu Yanqing's eldest son by a concubine, Fu Zhaoxu, who was running the entire Jianghuai Province in the capacity of Military Supervisor of the Xuzhou Prefecture troops.

It could be said that Huaibei at this time was still somewhat dangerous.

Fu Zhaoxu was Fu Yanqing's eldest son by a concubine. Although his ability was passable, his birth was too low.

If he were only in command of the garrison troops and patrol militia of one or two prefectures, that would still be feasible, but to command the entire Jianghuai Province—

especially when Jianghuai Province still had such "big shots" as Zhang Xiong, Military Supervisor of Huai'an Prefecture; Zhang Yanqing, Chief Clerk of Haizhou and concurrently Military Supervisor of Haizhou; and Gao Yunquan, Prefect of Zhongli Prefecture (Haozhou).

Of these three, some were local heroes and renowned elders, while others held sufficiently high status. Gao Yunquan was Sage Zhang's own paternal uncle by marriage. None of the three would listen to Fu Zhaoxu.

This meant that the orders issued by the Jianghuai provincial administration could only command the prefectures and counties around Xuzhou Prefecture. Therefore, there was an urgent need for someone of ability, high birth, and high status to go to Xuzhou and take charge.

But this narrowed the field considerably. The only suitable candidates were Yin Zhengqi, Ma Zhaoyuan, Murong Xinzhang, Li Cunhui, and a few others.

Yet none of these could be moved. After going through the choices again and again, only Zhao Kuangzan was somewhat suitable.

In terms of birth, he was of the direct line of the great Lulong warlord Zhao family, the maternal grandson of Emperor Mingzong of the Later Tang, and the son-in-law of Sage Zhang of the present dynasty.

In terms of ability, Zhao Kuangzan had served as Military Governor of the Zhenguo Army in Huazhou while still in his teens, under the protection of his family's generals.

After the founding of the Zhang Zhou dynasty, he had also served for two years as Military Governor of the Huguo Army in Hezhong Prefecture and as Military Governor of Heyang. Although his personal martial prowess was ordinary, commanding troops and garrisoning a region was no problem for him.

And after Zhao Kuangzan left Hezhong Prefecture, the last Military Governor post in the Central Plains—the establishment of the Zhenguo Army Military Governor of Hezhong Prefecture—would also be abolished.

Hezhong Prefecture had originally been established as a transit station between Chang'an and Luoyang, and also served as a transfer station for transporting a portion of northwestern goods to the Central Plains.

Now Guanzhong and Chang'an had declined severely in status. At the same time, northwestern goods no longer needed to be transferred to Guanzhong. On the contrary, resources from Guanzhong and the Central Plains had to be transferred to the northwest to support Zhang Zhao's strategy of advancing again into Anxi.

Therefore, Hezhong Prefecture's status had declined sharply during these two years of the Zhang Zhou dynasty, and there was no longer any need to establish a military governorship there. From now on, it would be like an ordinary prefecture.

"Also, the whereabouts of the Huaibei bandit Li Renshu have not been found recently. After you go to Xuzhou Prefecture, you must strictly carry out the two tasks of land equalization and tax reduction, and give more reassurance to the common people coming out of the mountains and marshlands.

The fundamental reason Li Renshu has been able to grow powerful in Huaibei is that the common people cannot survive. If they could survive, Li Renshu would sooner or later be forced out."

Zhang Zhao continued instructing Zhao Kuangzan. The great bandit Li Renshu, who in former years had rampaged across Huainan and Huaibei, had in recent years, under the successive blows of Ma Zhaoyuan and Luo Shande, gone from being able to gather over ten thousand able-bodied men at any time to almost completely vanishing without a trace.

But Zhang Zhao knew that the Huaibei bandits led by Li Renshu had merely gone into hiding. They were accustomed to the great rewards of living by the blade, and they would not quietly settle down.

The most important task of the Chief Minister of Jianghuai Province was to capture Li Renshu.

Zhao Kuangzan blinked and stared at Zhang Zhao for a long while. Seeing that Zhang Zhao had no intention of continuing to speak, he immediately felt a great headache coming on.

The reason Li Renshu could run rampant in Huaibei like this was not only because too many common people who could not survive supported him; the large number of local strongmen in Xuzhou, Huai'an, Haizhou, Zhongli, and several other prefectures who supported him was also a very important reason.

The current garrison in Xuzhou Prefecture consisted of only one battalion of over a thousand men from the Yangwu Garrison of the imperial guard, plus a little over two thousand garrison troops converted from the former yabing guards of the Wuning Army.

With only this many men, to control and hold the entire Jianghuai Province, to pacify the local strongmen everywhere, and also to root out the great Huaibei bandit Li Renshu—no matter how one looked at it, it was simply not enough!

"Are you about to move against Meng Shu?" Suddenly, Zhao Kuangzan thought of a possibility.

The Zhang Zhou dynasty was currently following a policy of elite troops. That is to say, the state's finest forces consisted in total of fifty thousand households of the personal army and eighty thousand households of the imperial guard.

The rest was borne by auxiliary troops led by the personal army and imperial guard, by sworn followers from various regions seeking to climb upward, by militia troops, and by garrison troops.

However, the garrison troops were still an empty shell at present, not even fully manned. It would take at least two or three more years before they developed any real combat effectiveness.

Of the fifty thousand households of the personal army, about thirty thousand had been completed, while of the eighty thousand households of the imperial guard, not even forty thousand had yet been implemented.

Calculating one able-bodied man per household, the Zhang Zhou personal army and imperial guard combined could field at most seventy thousand men.

This certainly saved money. The personal army and imperial guard cost almost nothing when not on rotational garrison duty, and the garrison troops were essentially self-sufficient.

Therefore, the Zhang Zhou dynasty could not only wage war continuously while the Central Plains economy had not fully recovered, but could also reform taxation and lighten the burden on the common people.

But there was one problem: as soon as war broke out, troop strength would become relatively stretched.

Therefore, when Zhao Kuangzan saw that Zhang Zhao was not giving him additional troops, he immediately realized that troops were probably about to be drawn away to attack Meng Shu.

Zhang Zhao did not hide it from Zhao Kuangzan, but nodded and admitted it. "That boy Meng Chang is vigorously training elite troops in Shu. Shu has always been easy to defend and hard to attack. Once he trains tens of thousands of elite troops, it will be even harder to strike. I do indeed plan to deal with Meng Chang in the next two years."

Zhao Kuangzan's eyes showed envy; he too would have loved to take part in such a war to destroy a state! But clearly the Jianghuai Circuit needed him more.

"Your son understands. When I go to Jianghuai, I will carry out the land equalization properly and let the people rest and recover."

A family banquet drew to a close in an extremely lively atmosphere.

My Sage Zhang's harem may be divided into the numerous and powerful Cao sisters' faction, and the son-bearing Li Ruoliu faction — oh, and one must also add the Central Plains beauties' faction of Fu Ying'er and Gao E'niang.

But on the whole it was still harmonious. Li Ruoliu's greatest ambition was only to win greater political capital for the brothers Zhang Xiancun and Zhang Xianzhao.

As for challenging the position of the eldest legitimate son Zhang Xianjing as heir apparent — perhaps Li Ruoliu had once thought of it, but little aunt certainly thought of it no longer.

Because Zhang Zhao's attitude was very clear: the position of heir apparent belonged neither to Zhang Xiancun nor to Zhang Xianzhao. That position could only go to a child born of Empress Cao Yanxi.

As for whether it would be Zhang Xianjing, that would depend on the boy's own fortune. After all, given Sage Zhang's present health, no great change would occur within the next few decades.

And with the struggle for the throne — that greatest driving factor — gone, the strife in Zhang Zhao's harem immediately subsided.

Zhang Zhao turned to look at his eldest son Zhang Xiancun not far away, then turned his head back to Li Ruoliu beside him.

Little aunt's figure had only grown finer over the years. Though she was the mother of four children, she still blazed with beauty.

It was Third Lady, her age gradually climbing, whose beauty could no longer easily withstand the erosion of the years.

"Little aunt, as soon as that boy Li Zhun came back he went looking for Yong'an. You didn't deliberately put him up to that, did you?"

Li Ruoliu rolled her eyes slightly — not at Zhang Zhao, of course, but out of sheer exasperation with her eldest son.

The boy was fine in every way, except that when he saw a beautiful woman he could hardly move his legs. This was also one of the reasons Li Ruoliu had given up on the idea of seizing the throne.

It was not that Zhang Xiancun lacked ability. He had ability. Over the years, in the Dragon Strategy Academy and the Artisan Academy, Zhang Xiancun had displayed outstanding leadership and rallying power, and he was exceedingly intelligent besides.

Yet it was plain to see that he was a master who could not quite control himself where women were concerned.

Apart from having won the daughter of Hua Jianxiu — the former Tang Princess Yong'an — he was also somewhat entangled with the daughter of An Shuqian.

And he was only fifteen! Though at this age one could already marry and have children, and if he were the eldest legitimate son, this would not be a problem.

But he happened to be an eldest son born of a concubine, who would still have to contend before he could possibly win the great position.

Carrying on with women like this now would give people the impression that he was unlikely to achieve great things, and it would be hard to attract people of true ability and strength to stake their fortunes on him.

So after Zhang Zhao made his position clear, little aunt simply extinguished that ambition.

"Sage, regarding An Shuqian, should my elder brother go and speak with him? The man has set his sights on Zhun'er — does he expect Zhun'er to give the An family some high office?"

Zhang Zhao thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "An Shuqian was a fierce cavalry general in his early years. He still has some skill and connections, and his family wealth is considerable. If Zhun'er marries a daughter of the An family, that can also be a great source of support."

Li Ruoliu looked at Zhang Zhao in surprise. "But Yong'an is a princess of the fallen dynasty, and also the younger sister of Murong Xinzhang. With that status, she cannot be made a concubine."

Li Ruoliu's meaning was that, as a princess of the Later Tang and the younger sister-in-law of Murong Xinzhang, Princess Yong'an's status certainly meant she would never become someone's concubine.

And although An Shuqian had lost most of his power after the new dynasty was established, he still had the merit of urging the enthronement, as well as the achievement of venturing into the tiger's den to persuade Liu Zhiyuan, so he still had some standing in military circles.

In any case, Zhang Zhao still had to give some face to an old Daibei man like him, so naturally there was no reason for An Shuqian's legitimate daughter to become a concubine either.

Zhang Zhao thought it over, then decided to reveal a little to Li Ruoliu.

On this southern campaign, Zhang Zhao had carefully observed Zhang Xiancun. Apart from the common youthful failing of a fondness for dallying with women, his other abilities were quite good — especially his leadership.

Moreover, during the army's return march, Zhang Zhao had carefully considered his policy toward the southwestern barbarians. To say nothing else, the Duan clan of Dali, which had already grown into a power, would certainly have to be dealt a heavy blow.

Unless the Duan clan of Dali was crushed, many of Zhang Zhao's methods for winning over the southwestern barbarians — whether the native-official system or using religion to open the way — would be very difficult, and would inevitably bring competition with the Duan clan of Dali.

Think of how the Ming dynasty opened up the southwest back then: it was Mu Ying, Lan Yu, and Fu Youde who led hundreds of thousands of soldiers in bloody battle at the front.

After Mu Ying remained to garrison the region, he again led hundreds of thousands of soldiers to station and defend the area, using a combination of native officials, regular officials, and guard battalions to completely pacify the southwest.

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Zhang Zhao secretly calculated: if he wanted to pacify the southwest as the Hongwu Emperor had done, and destroy the Duan clan's Kingdom of Dali, it would be at least ten years away.

By then Zhang Xiancun would be twenty-five or twenty-six, in the prime of life — the best candidate to garrison Yunnan and Guizhou as the head of all the native officials.

So Zhang Zhao said calmly, "Zhun'er has talent. In the future the world will be vast, and he is certain to have the fortune to overawe a region.

A man like that, taking a few more consorts, cannot be counted as taking concubines. The An family can also become a source of support by then."

Li Ruoliu's eyes lit up as she listened, but then dimmed again, and she let out a long sigh.

"If the Sage says so, this kingdom is surely no good place. Can you tell your servant whether it is Haidong or Hezhong?"

Seeing that Zhang Zhao said nothing, Li Ruoliu suddenly widened her eyes. "It can't be the Qingtang Plateau, can it? That won't do! Zhun'er won't be able to bear it."

"Go to the southwest! Go as Military Governor of the Tonghai Army, go to Dali." Zhang Zhao told her the truth, then looked at Li Ruoliu and said,

"From today on, you must instruct Zhun'er more in these matters. Prepare early, and build up strength early."

Dali? Go and be King of Dali? Li Ruoliu recalled what she knew of the Kingdom of Dali.

Hmm, it was no good place either, but compared to Hezhong ten thousand li away and the bitterly cold Qingtang Plateau, it was still considerably better.

Empress Cao Yanxi had long since noticed the two of them whispering together. After holding back again and again, she could not help but walk over with her large belly.

"Sage, the lantern festival for New Year's Day is about to begin. Should you not lead us out to view the lanterns?"

Zhang Zhao smilingly patted Cao Yanxi's protruding belly. "I was telling Ninth Lady about letting Zhun'er go to the Kingdom of Dali to be a great king in the future. She is quite willing!"

At these words, Cao Yanxi's eyes immediately narrowed like a little fox's, her face full of irrepressible delight.

"Truly? Then I really must congratulate Zhun'er!

My Cao family has a caravan that has been opening up the lands of the southwestern barbarians. The brave men of the horse caravan have already reached Weichu Prefecture in the Kingdom of Dali."

Weichu Prefecture was the later Chuxiong in Yunnan, already considered the heartland of the Kingdom of Dali. Zhang Zhao thought for a moment and asked, "Is Cao Yuantong in charge, or Cao Yuanxiao?"

Cao Yuantong and Cao Yuanxiao were both members of the Cao family of Shazhou, and were Cao Yanxi's paternal uncles, not too distantly related.

Cao Yanxi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and answered softly with a smile, "It is Fifteenth Uncle Yuanxiao who is in charge."

Cao Yanxi was answering Zhang Zhao's words, but her gaze turned toward Li Ruoliu. The meaning was very clear: she hoped Li Ruoliu would soften a little. If she could come and say a few kind words, Cao Yanxi would immediately agree to help.

Li Ruoliu was certainly no fool. In other matters she would have held firm, but when it came to her son, she could cast aside any face. At once Li Ruoliu was about to speak and plead.

Cao Yanxi immediately moved, speaking before Li Ruoliu could plead.

"Ninth Sister, in a couple of days have Zhun'er come to the Palace of Refined Virtue. I will personally make the introduction for him."

With that, the two exchanged a smile, as if their previous grudge had instantly vanished without a trace.

Zhang Zhao, however, turned his head and, amid the beauties flitting about like butterflies, unerringly caught Da Fu's soft little hand, and even gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Tonight I shall come to your place." Sage Zhang blinked and said in a low voice.

Da Fu blushed crimson and gazed at Zhang Zhao with glistening eyes.

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