Chapter 753: A Military Governor of Three Garrisons, and Surnamed An

In Xuzhou, at Xiaqiu Ye, a vast army stretching as far as the eye could see had already surrounded the place completely.

Pan Mei, hengdao saber in hand, was moving back and forth directing the troops, while the army's commander-in-chief, Li Cunhui, Duke of Wei, sat with one leg crossed over the other, chatting idly with An Shengsheng, younger cousin of An Shenqi, Duke of Feng'an and Administrator of the Jiaodong Province.

As one of the three Later Jin Military Governors who had managed to keep high office and hold sway over a region after Zhang Zhao entered the Eastern Capital, An Shenqi was a man of considerable ability and knew how to handle people.

Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing had both offered up their daughters, and moreover Gao Xingzhou had a fine son in Gao Huaide, while Fu Yanqing's eldest son by a concubine, Fu Zhaoxu, was also a tiger's cub of a military house.

But An Shenqi had no beautiful daughter or granddaughter for the Emperor to take a fancy to, his eldest son was only sixteen, and of the several adopted sons he had taken in, even the most outstanding, An Shouquan, was no more than a commander of a thousand men.

That he could still stand on equal footing with Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing under such circumstances showed just how high his ability and emotional intelligence were.

In terms of pure martial prowess, An Shenqi was slightly inferior to Gao and Fu; in command ability Fu Yanqing was a little higher, or perhaps the three were roughly on a par.

But in governing the localities, Gao Xingzhou was somewhat crude and rough. Fu Yanqing was lax in controlling his subordinates and fond of listening to flattery and sycophantic praise.

Only An Shenqi was strict yet clear-sighted, lenient and unpretentious in his own conduct, stern without cruelty, awe-inspiring without brutality. In three years of governing Jiaodong Province, the treasuries were full and the common people were secure — a rare Military Governor of the Five Dynasties who truly excelled at local governance.

Li Cunhui looked out over the mountains and plains covered with more than a dozen banners — Qingzhou Left Guard, Yanzhou Central Guard, Qizhou Licheng Guard, and others — an enormous force that could not be less than forty or fifty thousand men, and turned helplessly toward An Shengsheng.

Before setting out, he had explained to his imperial father, the Son of Heaven, that he would only need three thousand garrison troops and two thousand men from the Qingzhou Pinglu Garrison.

Instead, An Shenqi had mobilized the entire Jiaodong Province — all fifteen garrison armies and both imperial guard armies — and had also conscripted large numbers of patrol troops, setting out in grand array with forty or fifty thousand men.

Back when they first entered Guanzhong, Li Cunhui had guarded Zhang Zhao's side together with Murong Xinzhang, so he was quite familiar with An Shengsheng and even An Shenqi.

If anyone else had done this, Li Cunhui would have suspected him of plotting rebellion and would likely have found an excuse to cut off his head and eliminate a future threat.

But when An Shenqi did it, Li Cunhui could only manage a bitter smile.

Because An Shenqi could not possibly rebel, and he was no brainless fool. If An Shenqi truly meant to rebel, he would have long since joined forces with the Wuning Army in Xuzhou.

"What is Duke Guorui trying to do? Does he think this one's ability is lacking, fears I cannot take Xuzhou, and so has sent this great host to let me crush them like Mount Tai pressing down on an egg?"

What could An Shengsheng say? He too could only smile bitterly. "Does the Duke of Wei not feel that for my elder brother to mobilize all the imperial guards and garrison troops of Jiaodong with a single order gives him somewhat too much power?"

Li Cunhui's mouth fell open in astonishment. What kind of ploy was this? He stared at An Shengsheng, utterly baffled.

"This... Does Duke Guorui mean for me to submit a memorial to the Sage denouncing him?"

"Exactly so!" An Shengsheng wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

"My elder brother says he has been stationed in Jiaodong for more than three years now, holding all military and civil authority in one hand. He is called Administrator of the Province, but his power is no different from the Military Governors of old.

He is also a grand Military Governor over the Yanzhou Taining Army, the Yunzhou Tianping Army, and the Ziqing Pinglu Army. A great garrison uniting three commands — a Military Governor of Three Garrisons. That is not a good title to bear!"

'Pfft!' Li Cunhui nearly burst out laughing. Not only was he a Military Governor of Three Garrisons, An Shenqi was even surnamed An — and what was more, he was of mixed Sogdian and the the Shatuo blood.

Perfect! Apart from the location being different from An Lushan's, everything else was just about the same.

Seeing Li Cunhui laugh out loud, An Shengsheng felt his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

"My elder brother truly dares not remain in the post of Jiaodong Province Administrator and Defense Commissioner any longer. He begs the Duke of Wei to submit a memorial to the Sage, requesting that another capable official be sent to hold Jiaodong.

Furthermore, the commanders of the two imperial guard armies — the Qingzhou Pinglu Garrison and the Yunzhou Zhenning Garrison — both rose from among my elder brother's former battle commanders. If an ordinary man were sent, he likely could not command those two.

Therefore my elder brother also asks the Duke of Wei to assess them. If they can be used, let the Son of Heaven transfer them elsewhere; if they cannot, then let them be dismissed."

Hearing An Shengsheng speak thus, Li Cunhui immediately put away the grin on his face.

Indeed, according to the Zhang-Zhou system, the imperial guards were under the management of the Luantai of the Secretariat, and a province's Defense Commissioner could only mobilize garrison troops and patrol troops. Yet now An Shenqi could command even the imperial guards as easily as moving his own arm — that was a problem.

Li Cunhui solemnly rose to his feet and clasped his hands toward An Shengsheng. "Duke Guorui is so public-spirited and devoted to the state — this one is filled with admiration. Once this city falls, I shall immediately submit a memorial to the Sage."

There were not many people who could make Li Cunhui — who would spray a few insults at anyone he met and looked down on this one and that one — put on such an expression. Even Murong Xinzhang could not do it.

But An Shenqi truly deserved it. Given his authority in Jiaodong, he really was no different from a Military Governor of Three Garrisons — no, he was no different from a Prince of Qi.

The rebellion of Wang Jun, Xue Huairang, and the others in Xuzhou was mere foolishness. But if someone like An Shenqi were suddenly to strike, that would be truly dangerous.

No... that was not right either!

Li Cunhui's heart jolted. He suddenly remembered that Fu Yanqing, Administrator of Hebei Province, was at Beizhou holding twenty thousand troops in place, and had never once moved them.

Gao Xingzhou had also recently gone to Cangzhou with Ma Sizhong, son of Ma Quanjie, with ten thousand elite infantry and cavalry in hand.

Li Cunhui had never paid attention before, but now that he thought of it, these deployments must have been aimed at someone.

Moreover, his imperial father still had thirty thousand of the finest Helong cavalry in hand, and Murong Xinzhang had twenty thousand iron-armored infantry and cavalry in Liaodong. The land of Hebei was flat and open; if any alarm arose, they could reach the banks of the Yellow River within days.

Damn it! Li Cunhui felt his head throbbing. Being emperor was far too taxing on the brain — balancing everywhere, putting on performances, and even 'fishing.'

It seemed Murong Erlang took after his imperial father more. That kind of brain-wracking business — old Murong the Second actually seemed to take endless delight in it.

He himself was not up to it. With that kind of energy, he would rather destroy two more kingdoms and then enjoy fine wine and beautiful women.

"Boom!" Just as Li Cunhui and An Shengsheng were talking, a tremendous crashing sound rang out. Li Cunhui stood up and looked — a great section of Xiaqiu Ye's tall western wall had been brought down.

War drums thundered. Cao Bin, who had long been waiting impatiently, clad in three layers of heavy armor and surrounded by a crowd of armored soldiers from the Zhenning Garrison, charged fiercely through the breach.

Xiaqiu Ye was the most important city north of Xuzhou. It was one of the most important iron-smelting bases in the entire Xuzhou Prefecture, the Jianghuai Province, and even the whole country.

The Wuning Garrison had rebelled and still wanted to hold this place precisely because it was of extreme importance.

Even now, there were still three hundred thousand jin of refined iron stored here, along with over a thousand blacksmiths and textile workers capable of making cloth-faced iron armor and lamellar armor.

Now that Xiaqiu Ye was lost, not only was Xuzhou's northern gateway thrown wide open, but it had also lost the armor and weapons stored here that had not yet been carried away. The next step was simply to surround Xuzhou, that lone city, and assault it fiercely.

But Li Cunhui had not forgotten the charge of his imperial father. Zhao Kuangzan was still in the hands of these mutinous soldiers and had to be rescued. So he did not concern himself with the situation after the city fell — Pan Mei and Cao Bin would handle that.

"Lord An, bring over that officer who came over to our side."

Zhu Yuan, Company Vice-Commander of the Second Company of the Left Battalion of the Wuning Garrison of the imperial guards, had originally been a subordinate general of Li Shouzhen. But in the great battle at Luoyang he had fought with distinction, and he had always opposed Li Shouzhen's groveling to the Khitan. Therefore after the war he was not only spared from purge, but entered the Zhang-Zhou imperial guards on merit.

In history, this man had also been a ruthless character. He had originally helped the Southern Tang resist the Later Zhou in Huainan and won no small amount of merit, but was framed by his superior Chen Jue, whereupon he immediately defected to the Later Zhou, dealing the final fatal blow to the Southern Tang's already crumbling Huainan defenses.

But in this time and space, Zhu Yuan was the only man who, after the rebellion of Li Yuanzai and the others, had broken away from the Wuning Army with a hundred-odd men and fled to court-held territory to report the news.

Li Cunhui, in Zhu Yuan's presence, showed him Zhang Zhao's edict clearly.

"Company Vice-Commander Zhu, do you dare slip back into Xuzhou city and contact those in the Wuning Garrison who still have a conscience? Tell them: as long as they release the Duke of Yuyang, the Sage will let bygones be bygones."

Though Zhu Yuan had a rough and bold appearance, he was no fool. He asked slowly, "Duke of Wei, when the Sage issued this edict, he did not yet know that the rebels Li Yuanzai and the others had already plundered Xuzhou Prefecture clean, did he?"

Li Cunhui nodded. "The Sage indeed does not know. If he did, he would never forgive the Wuning Garrison, high and low.

So you may tell Li Yuanzai and the others that this is their last chance. Should the Sage learn of what they have done in Xuzhou, the next edict will be one that exterminates their clans."

Zhu Yuan's face still showed hesitation. He pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Cunhui and asked, "Duke of Wei, this servant ventures to ask — is the Sage truly willing to pardon the Wuning Garrison, high and low?"

Two streams of white breath shot from Li Cunhui's nostrils. He looked at this Wuning Garrison Chief Inspector and asked slowly, "If it is true, what then? If it is false, what then?"

Zhu Yuan gave a cold chuckle. "If the Sage truly meant to pardon them, then whether this matter could succeed—I have no confidence in my heart.

Because if even they can be pardoned like this, would it not make my desperate flight for my life seem worthless?

If it is false, then I am willing to enter Xuzhou city and stake my life on one throw, because only that would be worth it."

"You really are a born killer!" Li Cunhui laughed heartily, though it was hard to tell whether he meant it as praise or mockery.

"Go then. If you can come back alive, from now on you will serve at my side. The future of a personal army commander is still within reach.

When I came, Consort Cao De and Princess Baoding also sent word to me: whoever rescues the Duke of Yuyang may choose one of two rewards—the estate by the Bian River, or twenty thousand strings of gold and silver."

After saying this, Li Cunhui even blinked. "Perhaps if you do well enough, the Commander of the Brocade Robe Personal Guard, the Duke of Jiaocheng Commandery, will owe you a very great favor."

Zhu Yuan was overjoyed. He nodded excitedly, turned, and went out to prepare.

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