Chapter 746: Better the Fellow Daoist Dies Than This Poor Daoist

In the Princess Baoding's mansion, Princess Baoding Zhang Qiwan had already wept herself unconscious several times. Her feelings for Zhao Kuangzan were very deep.

Of course, strictly speaking, she was no more than a trophy of war, and she had the face of a Uyghur. Though not quite yellow-haired and green-eyed, her features were still quite different from those of the Central Plains people.

Zhao Kuangzan, by contrast, was of imperial blood, born to a great house, dignified in bearing, and skilled in both letters and arms. Had Zhang Zhao and Zhao Kuangzan not needed a bond of full mutual trust, Zhao Kuangzan would never have married a princess who was in truth a barbarian.

So Zhang Qiwan, somewhat self-conscious about her looks and bloodline, felt deep in her heart that she was not worthy of Zhao Kuangzan. And after their marriage, Zhao Kuangzan treated her especially well, which naturally captivated her completely.

The only weapon Zhang Qiwan, who held an empty princess title, could wield was weeping and pleading. And since she had no mother in the palace, she had to weep all the more piteously to move people.

Thus early that morning, as Shi Chonggui, Li Congyi, Meng Chang, and the others gathered below the Xuanwu Gate, Princess Baoding Zhang Qiwan came running in through a side gate, hair disheveled, wailing.

The several men immediately let out long breaths of relief. Their backs stopped aching and their legs stopped cramping; even Meng Chang's drunkenness lightened a few degrees.

Better the fellow Daoist dies than this poor Daoist. Now that Zhao Kuangzan had taken the hit, they were safe.

In the Chongwen Hall, Empress Cao Yanxi frowned. The matter had been on the verge of a perfect resolution, and now at the final moment such a huge blunder had appeared.

"Sage Empress, it has been fully investigated. It was Xue Huairang, formerly Commander of the Right Shenwu Guard, who let Wang Jun and the others escape. The eleven officers and men below the rank of battalion Yu Hou of the second battalion of the Right Jinwu Guard of the personal army, who took large bribes from Xue Huairang, have all been detained."

Cao Yanxi's frown deepened. Of the officers and men in the five personal armies — the Left and Right Shenwei Guards, the Right Jinwu Guard, and the Left and Right Baotao Guards — more than seventy percent were not stout sons of Helong and Guanzhong, but stout sons of Henan, Hebei, and Hedong in the Central Plains.

This was a problem left over from before the Emperor settled the policy of granting more than sixty percent of the fifty thousand households of the personal army land in Helong.

The reason so many non-Helong stout sons had been recruited into the personal army was, in truth, the need to balance the various factions.

It was to prevent the personal army's composition from being too uniform and thus exploited by those with designs, and also to highlight the Emperor's impartiality. The Great Zhou was, after all, a great unified heavenly dynasty, not a dynasty of the Helong people.

The problem this brought was that these five personal armies would always have some issues with reliability.

Last time, when the Emperor was all but assassinated at Xiangji Temple, it was the Right Shenwei Guard that failed. This time, letting Wang Jun and the others escape, it was the Right Jinwu Guard that had the problem.

Though the curtain hid the Empress's face, Zhang Liecheng could feel that fury.

"Sage Empress need not worry overly. Your son has investigated and learned that this Yu Hou of the Right Jinwu Guard had formerly served as a yabing officer under Xue Huairang, which is why he dared risk letting Wang Jun go."

Pei Yuan also chimed in: "Your subject and the Duke of Jiaocheng have already had men thoroughly screened. All personal army and imperial guard personnel with connections to Xue Huairang, Pan Huan, and the like are currently suspended pending review, to ensure such a thing does not happen again."

Cao Yanxi still felt a fire in her chest. She pushed aside the curtain and walked out, saying angrily: "Men like Xue Huairang and Pan Huan — if not for the Emperor, the Khitan would have sunk them into the Yellow River long ago. Wang Jun and the others only live because the Emperor showed leniency. And they are so utterly ungrateful!"

Pei Yuan and Zhang Liecheng exchanged a glance. The Empress was not really angry about the rebellion of Xue Huairang, Pan Huan, and the rest — she was deflecting attention.

In this upheaval in Chang'an, Cao Renzun, Yin Yuande, and the others of the old Guiyi Army faction were in fact the main force of the rebellion.

Yet the Empress had not said a single word about them. Instead, ever since Hou Yi came to inform and Wang Jun, Xue Huairang, Pan Huan, and the others fled, she had immediately turned all her fire on them and blasted away.

Pei Yuan did not take up the thread, because his persona was that of a lone minister, and he would not get involved.

In fact, before he entered the palace, a large crowd of meritorious nobles and civil officials from Hedong, Daibei, and Henan had sought him out.

Ostensibly they came for ordinary visits, but it was obvious these men hoped Pei Yuan would open his great mouth and take a vicious bite out of the old Guiyi Army faction. Pei Yuan, of course, refused in silence.

Ah, the hearts of men! Power was only so large a piece. If the old Guiyi Army faction spat some out, the rest could divide up a little more.

Zhang Liecheng pondered for a moment. His own situation was somewhat awkward. Although his father the Emperor and the Empress, his adoptive mother before him, still trusted him, he was entangled too deeply. Cao Wanjin was his concubine's father, and Kang Jinshan was his father-in-law.

Could one say Zhang Liecheng did not know how much Kang Jinshan, Cao Wanjin, and the others had skimmed?

How could that be? He was the Commander of the Brocade Robe Personal Guard. He might not know ten-tenths, but he certainly knew seven or eight tenths.

Yet when he reported these matters up to Zhang Zhao, he usually mentioned them only lightly, in passing, his intent to shield them quite obvious.

Zhang Liecheng reckoned that once the matter settled, if his father-in-law Kang Jinshan, Cao Wanjin, and the others were sensible, he could probably safely leave the post of Commander of the Brocade Robe Personal Guard and be sent to the provinces as a Chief Minister or Defense Commissioner or something of the sort.

But if Kang Jinshan and Cao Wanjin were loath to part with their ill-gotten wealth, then...

No! Zhang Liecheng clenched his fists. If they were not sensible, then he, Zhang Dalang, would have no choice but to play the "filial son."

Thinking of this, Zhang Liecheng set Pei Yuan aside and said to Cao Yanxi: "Holy Mother, rest assured. Your son will now proclaim to the realm the ungrateful, disloyal, shameless faces of Xue Huairang, Pan Huan, Wang Jun, and the rest."

Only then did Cao Yanxi nod with satisfaction. In her heart, she was actually a little secretly pleased at the escape of Wang Jun, Xue Huairang, and the others.

Without these men, the affair stirred up by Cao Renzun and his lot probably could not be suppressed no matter what. The implication of kin would inevitably have to expand — this was rebellion, after all.

Just as they were about to discuss the concrete implementation further, a eunuch came in from outside to report that Princess Baoding and Commissioner of Military Affairs Guo Tiance were outside seeking an audience.

Guo Tiance and Princess Baoding Zhang Qiwan arrived almost at the same time, because the news of the Xuzhou upheaval had been sent by Zhao Kuangzan's trusted personal troops, who had risked death to break out. As personal troops, they were bound to notify their mistress, Princess Baoding, first.

Thus even though the princess had wept herself unconscious once in her mansion before setting out, Guo Tiance still arrived a little later than she did.

In the Chongwen Hall, when Princess Baoding saw Empress Cao Yanxi, she only managed to cry out "Mother" before she collapsed unconscious onto the great hall floor with a thud. Cao Yanxi was so startled she retreated two steps.

Hou Yi only knew that Wang Jun had approached him and asked him to rise together. He knew nothing else.

So Cao Yanxi also only knew that Wang Jun, Xue Huairang, Pan Huan, and the others had fled. She did not know they had fled to Xuzhou and had actually succeeded in seizing Zhao Kuangzan.

Pei Yuan shot to his feet, eyes wide with shock. "Disaster! The Wuning garrison is going to have problems!"

The Sage had mentioned several times in the past that the Wuning garrison should be broken up and mixed into other units, but there had never been time to carry it out.

The current Wuning garrison was almost entirely the old Xuzhou Wuning Army. They truly could be stirred up by Wang Jun, Xue Huairang, and the others."

Cao Yanxi ordered people to help up Princess Baoding Zhang Qiwan, sent for the imperial physicians, and then had a map brought over.

This Nineteenth Lady Cao had never been on a battlefield, but she was no ignorant fool.

Imitating Zhang Zhao's manner, she studied the map carefully, and her expression grew even darker.

"Xuzhou Prefecture sits at a vital junction of water and land routes. To the west lies Songzhou, and behind Songzhou is the Eastern Capital. To the east, it can cut off the court's connection with Huainan.

Now that Xuzhou has fallen into turmoil, the four prefectures of Hao, Si, Chu, and Hai that the Sage took from the Southern Tang in his last southern campaign are in danger!"

Commissioner Guo, what plan do you propose?"

Guo Tiance had already thought the matter through thoroughly on the way. He reminded Cao Yanxi: "Holy Mother, besides Xuzhou, we must also guard against the Qinghuai Army of Shouzhou in the Southern Tang.

Liu Renzhan, Military Governor of the Qinghuai Army, has been secretly preparing for war. He is also one of the Southern Tang's rare famous generals, one the Sage himself has praised.

If he acts at the same time as Wang Jun and the others, and sends the Qinghuai Army's elite north from Shouzhou, in only three to five days he could threaten the court's heartland."

Cao Yanxi looked at Shouzhou's position on the map and nodded. "North of Shouzhou, the court has only one wei of garrison troops at Caizhou, no more than two or three thousand men, and newly established at that. Their combat strength will not be high. The Shouzhou Qinghuai Army is the Southern Tang's last elite force. One garrison wei clearly can hardly even protect itself."

The flaw in my Sage Zhang's policy of concentrating on elite troops had finally shown itself. After he took all the crack troops away with him, the defenses north of Shouzhou were frighteningly weak.

Of course, this also stemmed from the Zhou army's habitual contempt for the Southern Tang army's fighting ability.

"The only plan now is to draw the imperial guard Zhongwu garrison from Xuchang Prefecture and the garrison troops of the Left and Right Wei of Xuchang, and send them to reinforce Caizhou.

Once the Shouzhou Qinghuai Army moves north, Yingzhou (Fuyang) can be lost, but Caizhou must be held." Guo Tiance said.

"But what if Liu Renzhan's Qinghuai Army does not march north to strike Cai and Ying Prefectures, but instead turns east to attack the Huai-Si region?" Pei Yuan quickly spotted the problem.

Guo Tiance let out a long sigh. "That is exactly what worries me most. Even if the entire Wuning garrison of Xuzhou went over to the rebels, they could not stir up much trouble.

To put it bluntly, they are no more than dogs guarding their own home. Because they have great advantages in Xuzhou, they fight decently enough when defending their home, but if they were asked to march out of Xuzhou to attack, they likely would not have that much nerve.

But if Liu Renzhan incites them, and instead of coming west they go ravage the four prefectures of Hao, Si, Chu, and Hai, then it becomes dangerous."

Everyone fell into a brief silence. The four prefectures of Hao, Si, Chu, and Hai were lands Zhang Zhao had taken in the last Huainan campaign, and after that they had gone through the land-equalization upheaval, so most of the upper-class local strongmen in those four prefectures were not very trustworthy.

The man currently serving as Surveillance Commissioner over the two circuits and four prefectures was Gao Yunquan, the former Military Governor of the Zhangwu Army of Yanzhou.

And although Gao Yunquan had married Zhang Huaiqing's daughter — Zhang Zhao's youngest paternal aunt — his ability was not very strong. When the four prefectures fell into turmoil last time, it had taken Zhao Cunyi and Ma Yaozi suppressing it one after another to settle things.

If this time the Qinghuai Army of Shouzhou and the mutinous Wuning garrison moved together to attack those four prefectures, there was no need to think about it — Gao Yunquan certainly could not hold them off.

Pei Yuan pondered for a moment, then said to Cao Yanxi, "In the past, the Sage once told his ministers that Zhang Yanqing and Zhang Xiong of Huaiyin Prefecture (Chuzhou) were both loyal and devoted ministers.

The Sage's discernment is unique, and his judgment of men never misses. Presumably these two can be relied upon.

Moreover, the great momentum of the realm is with us. Even if there are a few who cannot see the situation clearly, they are a minority. These two also enjoy considerable prestige in Huaiyin Prefecture, and the Ministry of Personnel and the Bureau of Military Affairs have rated them upper-middle in their annual evaluations.

In my humble view, even if Surveillance Commissioner Gao cannot hold the two prefectures of Huai and Si, he can still withdraw to Huaiyin Prefecture and rely on the two Zhangs to hold Chuzhou."

Cao Yanxi thought it over and agreed with Pei Yuan's view. That our Sage Zhang judges men accurately was something everyone had seen with their own eyes.

"Even so, we still need a brave general to risk death and enter Huaiyin Prefecture to deliver the court's edict and raise morale."

Guo Tiance clasped his hands. "In that case, order Murong Xinde, Regional Commander of the Zhongwu garrison, to lead the Zhongwu garrison's left battalion — five thousand troops of the Xuchang Left Guard — into Caizhou, to guard against the Qinghuai Army moving north.

Then request Duke Tian to return to the Eastern Capital at once, and call up the garrison troops of the four places Shendu, the Eastern Capital, Zhengzhou, and Huazhou, along with the men of the various patrol archery societies and spear-and-staff societies, to be placed under Duke Tian's command and sent to Shangqiu Prefecture to set up defenses, to prevent the Wuning garrison from advancing west.

As long as we block Caizhou and Shangqiu Prefecture, this upheaval cannot grow large.

As for Huaiyin Prefecture, Fu Zhaoxu, the Troop Supervisor of Xuchang Prefecture, is a tiger's cub from a general's household and has long held command in the Jianghuai region. We can order him to travel by night and take a roundabout route to Huaiyin Prefecture to take charge."

"Good!" Cao Yanxi gritted his teeth. "Draw another two hundred elite cavalry from the Inner Chamber Guard for Fu Zhaoxu. We can leave Zhongli Prefecture, where the two prefectures of Hao and Si are located, alone, but Huaiyin Prefecture absolutely must not fall!"

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