Chapter 702: Knowing Heaven's Mandate, Obeying the Great Righteousness

Outside Liangzhou, the Qianyue Kingdom's envoy mission led by Pei Jian camped outside the city, still not permitted to enter Liangzhou proper — the word was that the city's guest quarters had not yet been swept clean, but as for the real reason, who could say?

After waiting about a day, Pei Jian caught sight of a procession whose dress was clearly different from that of Hexi and Longyou, slowly approaching from the distance.

Once they drew near, he saw it was none other than the envoy mission of the Southern Tang Kingdom, which bordered Qianyue.

The Southern Tang chief envoy wore a robe of extremely vivid color, impeccably tailored, and all the more displaying an air of supreme elegance and nobility — this, it was said, was a bestowal ceremonial robe designed by the Shaoming Sage, called a python robe.

Pei Jian knew at once who the man was, because in all the world, apart from the highest nobility of the Zhou Kingdom, the only ones who could receive this four-colored python robe of gold, crimson, azure, and white were Li Jing, the ruler of Southern Tang, and Li Jing's third brother Li Jingsui and fourth brother Li Jingda.

Li Jing, being the ruler of a state, naturally would not come as an envoy himself; Li Jingsui was the Southern Tang heir apparent, so he naturally could not come either — thus the visitor could only be Li Jingda.

Pei Jian hesitated a moment, then still stepped forward to pay his respects; after all, the man was of royal blood, and both states were vassals of the Central Plains. Li Jingda had also been enfeoffed by the Shaoming Son of Heaven as Military Governor of Jiangnan West Circuit, a rank far above Pei Jian's own.

When Li Jingda saw Pei Jian, he too dismounted with a smile to exchange words, seeming rather pleased with himself for being able to wear this azure python robe.

This left Pei Jian utterly speechless.

Everyone in Jiangnan knew how the Li brothers had come by their python robes.

It was that when the Zhou Son of Heaven was pacifying Nanping and Ma Chu, he feared Southern Tang would send troops, so he first had men rebuke and intimidate them, and then, when the conquest of Jinghu was nearly complete, deliberately bestowed the robes upon them.

This was the old routine of a beating followed by a bone! It was practically treating the Li brothers like dogs.

At least Li Jing and Li Jingsui had never once worn these python robes, because they were simply too shameful — who would have thought this Li Jingda would actually be so smug about it. What a man!

Li Jingda pretended not to see the look in Pei Jian's eyes, though inwardly he was also deeply uncomfortable.

This man was by nature upright and forthright; compared to Li Jing, who loved wine and pleasure, and the somewhat weak-willed Li Jingsui, he was the only member of the Southern Tang royal house at the time who had strongly advocated sending troops to the rescue while the Zhou Kingdom swallowed Nanping and Southern Chu.

But after the Shaoming Son of Heaven devoured both states with the force of a thunderbolt, Li Jingda was the first to urge his elder brother Li Jing to humble himself before the Central Plains.

Because Li Jingda, who understood a little of military affairs, knew that once the Zhou Kingdom had taken Nanping and Ma Chu, gaining the two river fortresses of Jiangling and Yueyang along with the two states' fleets,

Southern Tang no longer had the slightest chance!

In the old days of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the south held all of Jiangnan, Bashu, Lingnan, the Two Hus, and Huainan, and even then could only barely hold its own against the north.

Now the Li family's Southern Tang held only the Eastern Capital region of Yangzhou north of the river, while south of the river the Qianyue Kingdom split it in half, and all the remaining lands were in other states' hands — it was utterly powerless to contend with the Central Plains any longer.

Though Li Jing was somewhat mediocre at governing, he was not a man entirely unable to see the situation.

Especially after hearing that Meng Shu had fallen to the Zhou army in a single campaign within ninety days, the three brothers had embraced one another and wept bitterly in the ancestral temple for half a day.

Now, not to mention the three brothers, even most of Southern Tang's common people knew that the Southern Tang dynasty did not have much time left.

For one must understand, it was not only that Meng Shu's natural defenses were beyond anything Southern Tang could compare with.

In terms of military strength, Meng Shu still retained a batch of elite troops and fierce generals from Daibei and Hedong who had once followed Meng Zhixiang — in actual combat power they were somewhat stronger than Southern Tang, where the Black Cloud Longsword Capital had been essentially ruined since the time of Xu Zhigao.

Li Jing had more than once said to his assembled ministers that Meng Shu, relying on its natural defenses, was the state most capable of enduring under the Zhou Kingdom's heavy pressure.

If his Southern Tang could move its capital to Hongzhou (Nanchang) and then rely on the great river's natural defenses and the mountains of southern Gan as cover, it too could surely hold out against the Zhou Kingdom.

Now, before those words had even faded, Li Jing had been slapped hard in the face and lost all dignity.

The three brothers, weeping in the ancestral temple, thus came up with a plan.

That was for Li Jing to continue "bearing humiliation and heavy burdens," while Li Jingda, the royal clansman known for his uprightness, would wear the python robe bestowed by the Zhou Kingdom, thereby lulling the Zhou Kingdom into complacency and buying time for Southern Tang to build up its strength.

Relations between Southern Tang and Qianyue had never been good; in former years Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu had been rivals contending for Wuzhong, and the disputes had continued ever since.

Qianyue, being the weaker side, chose to humble itself before the Central Plains, using the Central Plains court's hand to strike at Southern Tang.

Especially in Southern Tang's war to destroy Wang Min — Southern Tang was on the verge of swallowing Wang Min whole when Qianyue suddenly sent troops and forcibly tore that piece of meat from Southern Tang's very lips.

As a result, Southern Tang spent a vast amount of military funds and in the end gained only Jianzhou alone; the grievances between the two sides ran deep.

Yet at this moment, meeting in Hexi, where the local customs were utterly different from Jiangnan, Li Jingda and Pei Jian actually felt something of a shared sense of fellow suffering.

The two exchanged a few awkward pleasantries, and then heard the thunder of many hooves in the distance, as if an army of thousands upon thousands was coming.

Both men's hearts tightened — especially Pei Jian, who remembered that day's encounter and still felt somewhat uneasy.

The area around Liangzhou was still quite flat, and the place where the Qianyue mission had made temporary camp was a small hillock, from which one could look down from a height with an even broader view.

The members of both missions turned toward the sound and saw the earth trembling and dust flying; far away, at what seemed the edge of the sky, at least several dozen banners had suddenly appeared.

Behind those banners, at least ten thousand cavalry were rushing toward them at full speed.

"At the feet of the Son of Heaven, how can there be so many elite riders — has someone invaded?"

Li Jingda's face was full of terror; he was somewhat on edge, because back then at Yizheng east of Yangzhou, it had been just like this on a hillock that he had sat and watched himself be routed and captured by Murong Baipao.

Pei Jian was also somewhat alarmed by Li Jingda's words.

This was simply a matter of too little experience; anywhere else, the sudden appearance of so many cavalry charging in the imperial domain would certainly be a problem, but in Hexi and Longyou it was precisely the norm.

Here, on average nearly every household could produce close to one qualified cavalryman; Sage Zhang had in Hexi and Longyou a total of forty-five thousand households of personal army, and as reserve personal-army households, one hundred ten thousand households of sworn-follower elite riders, militia archers, and the like.

In addition there were twenty thousand households of imperial guards — remnants whose household registration had been in Hexi and Longyou before the policy of recruiting imperial guards in Hexi and Longyou was enacted.

Adding these together, not counting the various peoples recruited from the prefectures and counties around Qingtang, the above alone came to nearly two hundred thousand households.

With so vast a base, so-called ten thousand cavalry was nothing at all.

The earth-shaking thunder of hooves drew nearer and nearer; amid Li Jingda's ashen face, these cavalry appeared, and then everyone let out a long breath of relief.

Because the banners of the approaching cavalry almost all bore inscriptions such as "Chang Song County Tumen Township Personal Army Third Sons' Regiment Camp," "Wucheng Patrol Office Militia Braves," "Guangwu County Imperial Guard Yangwu and Yangwei Garrison Sons' Regiment Camp," "Huangshui Prefecture Heyuan Patrol Office Sworn-Follower Elite Riders," and so on.

This was determined by the unique political and military structure of Hexi and Longyou; because the personal army, imperial guards, and the paramilitary sworn-follower elite riders and militia archers were so numerous, the traditional Han-style prefecture-county model could not fully meet the needs of governance.

Thus in Hexi and Longyou, sons' regiments similar to the Tang dynasty's fubing assault-resistance garrisons were established.

All relatives of the personal army and imperial guards, and the outstanding men among the sworn-follower elite riders, militia archers, and heavy-armored infantry, were placed under the management of the sons' regiments, with regimental camp personal-guard commandants appointed.

The regimental camp personal-guard commandant held a relatively high position within the county; although politically lower than the County Magistrate, he was not under the jurisdiction of the court-appointed County Magistrate, but was directly managed in a vertical line by the Secretariat's Luantai.

However, the regimental camp personal-guard commandant was responsible only for military discipline, military registers, training, conscription, and selection, and could not interfere in other matters.

The next tier down was all placed under the management of each county's County Lieutenant.

Then at each key pass and main route, patrol offices were established to govern the local braves other than personal-army and imperial-guard households, and the court each year also conscripted braves according to regulation to serve at each patrol office.

So when Li Jingda and the others saw the banners these men carried, they knew these were not disorderly soldiers, but the armed forces of the various localities.

Pei Jian drew a little closer to Li Jingda and said in a low voice: "Great King, there are fully ten thousand cavalry here, yet they are under the command of only forty-odd banners — that means every township and village in Hexi and Longyou has at least several hundred elite riders."

Li Jingda gazed at the orderly and imposing riders in the distance, his heart deeply unsettled; hearing Pei Jian's words only made him feel worse.

But he did not dare answer casually. Who knew whether this Pei Jian was worried about the fate of the Qian-Yue state, or was a Wu traitor who had long been thinking of "selling" Qian-Yue to the Central Plains court in exchange for high office and rich rewards for himself?

After a long pause, Li Jingda suddenly remembered that the role he was playing ought to be one loyal to the Zhou state, so at once he answered with radiant enthusiasm: "The court's martial virtue is overflowing, more than enough to reclaim the rivers and mountains — the restoration of the great dynasty is just around the corner!"

Pei Jian gave Li Jingda a long, deep look and sighed inwardly. Li Jingda was wary even of a Wu-Yue minister like himself, so of course it was even less possible for him to open his heart to the Great King of Wu-Yue.

If the Tang and Wu states could join their strength, there might still be a sliver of a chance to survive; if they could not unite, they would sooner or later be swallowed up.

After thinking it over, Pei Jian slowly shook his head again. Enough — serving one master or another, what difference does it make?

If he stepped forward to bring the two states together, failure would mean the extermination of his entire clan. A wise man would not do such a thing.

Moreover, the realm has been in chaos for two hundred years, and men's hearts long for stability. Now that a sage sovereign has arisen in the Central Plains, why commit the act of defying Heaven's will?

"Today it is fitting that we brave lads of Guangwu County enter the Western Capital first to pay our respects to the Sage! What pig or dog are you, that you dare contend with me!"

"Blind yak! You slave of a thief! Others may fear your brute strength, but your father here does not! Dare to fight over it again, and my divine archery will not spare you!"

"I hear you style yourself the 'Sai Zilong of Longyou'? What shameless boasting! I came all the way from Lintan Prefecture precisely to meet you, and see who is truly the number one spear of Longyou."

All manner of foul abuse, dragging in everyone's ancestors and every kind of reproductive organ, surged along with these cavalrymen right up to the front of the Southern Tang and Qian-Yue envoys, then swept past them at lightning speed as if they did not exist.

The mud they kicked up sprayed everywhere, and the stench of livestock carried on the wind was enough to make a man retch.

At least two or three thousand warhorses thundered past before Li Jingda's eyes, and the clamor of men and horses followed with them. Even the horse beneath Li Jingda was infected by it, growing restless and eager to run along with them.

Li Jingda was so frightened that he shouted for help at once, and the Southern Tang guards around him desperately hauled on the reins to prevent a disaster.

"Crude!"

"Insolent!"

Amid the din, Pei Jian and Li Jingda cursed aloud almost at the same instant.

On the southern gate tower of Liangzhou, Zhang Zhao also came over with more than a hundred guards. He knew all too well what sort of character these fools and blockheads of his were — if left unchecked, they would climb up to the heavens.

But the situation was better than Zhang Zhao had expected. Although the sworn followers on both sides were indeed rather disorderly and still quarreling,

in the very center, those personal army youth regiments displayed excellent discipline. Their banners were distinct, their dress basically uniform, and not one man ran about or shouted wildly — they showed extremely high combat quality.

Zhang Zhao nodded slightly. "Let the personal army youth regiments enter the city first. Order the county lieutenants and the inspectors of each patrol office who brought the men here to restore military discipline at once."

Outside the city, the moment the crowd caught sight of Zhang Zhao's yellow silk canopy in the distance, they fell silent at once. Not one person continued shouting or quarreling; almost as one, they fervently roared "Long live!"

A rider in silver-white dragon-pattern cloth-faced iron armor from the Hanshan Capital armored cavalry galloped out of the southern gate holding a command banner, shouting: "By the Sage's decree, all personal army youth regiment battalions are ordered to enter the city and garrison the Personal Protection Army's great camp north of the city!"

The words had barely fallen when an officer in a silver-white python robe, with only one hand remaining, spurred his horse forward to meet the armored rider and caught the great banner steadily with his single hand.

"Your servant, Luo Qinglian, Troop Supervisor of Lintan Prefecture, receives the order!"

Then Luo Qinglian turned to face the personal army youth regiments, waved the command banner with one hand, and all the men roared "Long live!" three times again. After that, man and horse moved as one, and the battalions advanced into the city in orderly succession.

At this moment, the fools on both sides who had been quarreling and comparing themselves also suddenly remembered military discipline. The county lieutenants and patrol office inspectors who had brought them began loudly berating them and restoring order.

In barely the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea — a few minutes — more than ten thousand cavalry and twenty or thirty thousand warhorses went from utter chaos to sudden calm.

Apart from the sound of hooves, the occasional neighing of warhorses, and the passing of military orders, there was no other noise.

Then, in less than a quarter of an hour, these ten thousand-odd riders had all confirmed their encampment positions, formed up in ranks following the command banners, and entered Liangzhou city like true soldiers.

Pei Jian had originally been extremely displeased with these cavalrymen reeking of savagery, but now, seeing more than ten thousand riders so orderly — one could even call it "as responsive as arm to finger" — he could not help feeling wave after wave of shock.

He turned his head to Li Jingda, who had likewise been shaken, and said: "These ten thousand riders are no more than conscripted soldiers like the Jiangnan long-march stalwarts and prefecture-county local troops, yet they can obey orders and observe prohibitions so thoroughly.

May I ask the Great King: can the six armies of the Southern Tang imperial guard achieve this?"

Li Jingda smiled bitterly to himself. Most of the Southern Tang imperial guard's six armies had been wiped out during the Huainan campaign.

The newly recruited six guard armies were merely men promoted from the local troops of the various prefectures and counties. Never mind ten thousand men obeying orders within half a cup of tea — given half an hour, they probably still could not be sorted out.

But Li Jingda would not yield in words. He sneered coldly and retorted: "Can your eight divisions of Hangzhou do it?"

Pei Jian smiled bitterly and shook his head. The estrangement ran too deep!

Li Jingda actually thought he was mocking him. Pei Jian then answered: "Of course not! Since the superior state possesses such mighty troops, there is no longer any foothold for Tang and Wu south of the river!"

By now Li Jingda detected a hint of something in his tone and was about to step forward to ask, but Pei Jian avoided him.

His own Pei Jian ancestors had originally been men of Hedong who migrated south, and he shared the same Wenxi Pei clan of Hedong with the current great Zhou powerful minister, Duke of Zhao — Pei Yuan, Pei Yuying.

The two had sorted out their generational seniority in the Eastern Capital, and Pei Yuan even had to call him "grand-uncle." With such a powerful patron, how could he not cling to him? Even if not for himself, he had to do it for his parents, wife, and children!

Those two questions just now were already quite conscientious enough. Why go on defying Heaven's will?

Related