Chapter 772: Everyone Is a Rebel; the Outcome Is Decided

In the royal city of Wuyue, Qian Hongchu had also not yet gone to sleep; he had summoned Pei Jian and Chen Huzi to his side.

Hu Jinsi could kneel so smoothly because Hu Jinsi was, after all, merely a subject — kneeling smoothly not only did him little harm, it even brought him benefit.

But Qian Hongchu could not. This kingdom of Wuyue was won by his grandfather Qian Liu, who hacked through brambles and thorns and nearly lost his life several times. This state belonged to the Qian clan; his ancestral temples and altars were all here.

If he could avoid surrendering his land, Qian Hongchu would certainly not go out of his way to offer it up.

Qian Hongchu looked at Chen Huzi. This man's luck was truly good — he was about to become the brother-in-law of Murong Baipao, Prince of Liaoyang Commandery.

That noble lady of the Murong family — her full elder brother served beside the Shaoming Son of Heaven as a personal general of the Hanshan Division, and she herself was said to have grown up in the imperial palace.

With such a status, she would be more than a match not only for Chen Huzi, but even for one of Qian Hongchu's own brothers.

Qian Hongchu guessed that Chen Huzi's father was probably already preparing a banquet to celebrate.

"Minister Chen followed the Son of Heaven in sweeping across the northern desert and raising the altar at Langjuxu, truly winning great face for the people of our Wuyue. In your view, how do our Wuyue yabing guards compare with the Great Dynasty's heavenly troops?"

Chen Huzi glanced at Qian Hongchu and sighed softly. Had this been last year, meeting a great king like Qian Hongchu might still have made him somewhat nervous.

But now that he had climbed the towering tree of the Murong family, Qian Hongchu could no longer touch him.

So Chen Huzi hesitated only slightly, then prepared to speak the truth. "Great King, the people of Wuyue have not known the clash of arms for decades.

When we entered Fuzhou some years ago to establish the Zhangwu Army, even counting the civilian laborers, we only mobilized thirty thousand men. And whether it was the old Wang Min army or the Southern Tang army, neither could be considered particularly elite.

But look at the Central Plains — Hexi and Longyou have always produced crack troops. The Sage rose from humble origins and in seventeen years has awed the realm; even the Khitan army at its height could not match the elite troops under his command.

Forgive your minister for speaking bluntly, but our inner yabing guards can at best compare to the Great Dynasty's conscripted fighting men of Hexi and Longyou, or to ordinary imperial guard garrisons."

Although Qian Hongchu had long prepared himself mentally, he was still badly startled by the gap, and deeply uncomfortable.

With some emotion, he retorted, "So according to Minister Chen, even if we raised every soldier in Wuyue, it would be of no use — is that right?"

Pei Jian heard the emotion rising in Qian Hongchu and quickly cleared his throat, then spoke to the young king.

"Great King, at this moment the imperial envoys are drinking merrily in Hu Jinsi's residence. What they are saying — presumably Your Highness already knows.

Men like Hu Jinsi now ride a tiger and cannot dismount. Now that the court has extended a helping hand, they will surely cling to it tightly.

If men like Hu Jinsi are already willing to submit to the court, how could Your Highness possibly raise all the troops of Wuyue?"

Pei Jian's words cut even deeper than Chen Huzi's, every sentence stabbing straight at Qian Hongchu's sorest spot.

But Pei Jian did not care, because he had already connected himself to Pei Yuan, Duke of Zhao, of the Zhang-Zhou line, and Pei Yuan even addressed him as uncle.

With such a thick leg to cling to, as long as he persuaded Qian Hongchu to surrender his land, it would be a great merit, and he could return to the Central Plains to become a high official at court. And within Wuyue, there were quite a few others who thought as he did.

As for Qian Hongchu and the Qian family, they would not lose out either. Even after surrendering their land, they would still be princes — look at Gao Baorong, Prince of Jing, and Ma Xiguang, Prince of Changsha Commandery. Was their life in any way worse?

On the contrary, Meng Chang, who resisted to the bitter end, would — were it not for the Emperor's mercy — have to live bearing the title of Marquis Who Disobeyed Orders. That would truly be a fate worse than death.

Qian Hongchu gasped for breath in great heaves, nearly choked by Pei Jian's words, a flush rising on his young face.

"Our Qian clan founded this state and nourished scholars for fifty years — is there truly not a single loyal minister left?"

Pei Jian glared. He knew he absolutely could not retreat now, because Qian Hongchu was not yet even nineteen, the throne had not been his by right in the first place, and since ascending he had not grasped much power.

A young king like this, who had not yet tasted the sweetness of being lord of a state, was the kind who could still be frightened — and still be saved.

You read that correctly: what Pei Jian had in mind was indeed "saved." He did not consider himself to be selling out Wuyue; he believed he was fulfilling a subject's proper duty — namely, finding Qian Hongchu a great road to a bright future.

So this old minister of the Qian clan rose to his feet and shouted sternly: "Great King, watch your words! The Qian clan holds the land of the two Zhe regions. Though it is called the state of Wuyue, since the time of Prince Wusu it has never set itself up as an independent state, but has always regarded itself as a vassal of the court.

If the Southern Tang came to attack, we would drive them off for Your Highness. If false lords installed by barbarian caitiffs like Shi Jingtang or Shi Chonggui came to attack, we would defend this one army and thirteen prefectures to the death with Your Highness.

But now, the royal aura has shifted, and a Heaven-mandated sage lord has arisen in Hexi — sagely in letters, martial in arms, appointing the worthy and reforming affairs, restoring the great dynasty, sweeping across the northern desert, and spreading the thousand-year Han-Tang glory of our people. He bears the will to bring peace to all the people under heaven, and the ambition to swallow the six directions and the eight wastes.

The Qian clan was originally a separatist power, bringing stability to three million people of the two Zhe regions in a time of chaos. Prince Wusu and Prince Wenmu were both called virtuous, and even the annals sing their praises.

Now Your Highness has come to the throne just as a golden age begins. You should obey Heaven and accept your fate, surrender your land in tribute — carrying on the benevolent legacy of the Qian clan above, bestowing ten thousand years of peace upon the people of the two Zhe regions below, and in the middle, winning Your Highness the praise of all under heaven, a non-imperial princely title passed down to your descendants, wealth and honor unbroken, blessings sheltering your posterity.

If so, the Qian clan is fortunate, the two Zhe regions are fortunate, and all under heaven is fortunate. How can one see only the glory of a single family and surname, and forget the welfare of the people of the realm?"

Qian Hongchu was left dazed and at a loss by Pei Jian's sudden outburst, and then grief welled up from his heart. What the hell — what kind of worthless great king was he!

On the military side, Hu Jinsi, He Chengxun, and others held the troops and were already inclined to submit to the court.

He had thought the civil officials would be better, but he never imagined they were even more radical than Hu Jinsi and his lot — they had long been planning to sell him out and sell out the state of Wuyue, all to become high officials of the new dynasty.

Chen Huzi rolled his eyes and added at this moment: "Duke Pei speaks reason, and not for his own sake — truly he plans for Your Highness's good!"

Qian Hongchu finally broke. He was not yet the mature politician who would later rule Wuyue for many years; he was just a nineteen-year-old youth who had ascended the throne in fear and trembling. His face went pale, and without another word, he flung his sleeves and returned to the inner palace.

In the inner palace, in the hall of the Queen Dowager Wu, Qian Hongtai had already returned and been waiting for Qian Hongchu for a long time.

Qian Hongchu had just suffered an enormous shock to his spirit. The moment he saw his mother, Lady Wu, he could no longer hold back his feelings — before he even spoke, his eyes had already reddened.

Lady Wu was a devout believer in Daoism, kind-hearted by nature, frugal in her habits, and a woman of great good sense who knew when to advance and when to retreat.

Seeing Qian Hongchu lose his composure, she immediately dismissed the palace attendants and guards, then spoke gently to soothe him. Qian Hongchu then told Lady Wu what Pei Jian and Chen Huzi had said.

After hearing it, Lady Wu gave a long sigh. "Pei Tingshi is an old minister of the late king — perceptive, knowing when to advance and retreat, a man of virtue and integrity, not the sort who would sell his lord for glory. He has led the missions to the Central Plains on many occasions, so he must know the true situation well.

If he says this, it can only prove that the Great Zhou of the Central Plains is truly no longer the same as the Liang, Tang, and Jin of old."

Qian Hongtai, standing to one side, waited until Qian Hongchu had calmed somewhat, then reported to Lady Wu and Qian Hongchu in full detail what had happened at Hu Jinsi's residence.

After hearing it, Lady Wu's face grew even more desolate. "It seems the Shaoming Son of Heaven's resolve is set. To win over Hu Jinsi, he has even brought out the pretext of compiling a biography for the Emperor's great-grandfather."

Qian Hongchu's tears finally fell. He looked at Lady Wu and asked, "So then, Hu Jinsi, He Chengxun, and the others have already made their decision. Half the troops in the state are in their hands. What is to be done now?"

Lady Wu looked at Qian Hongchu and said with great seriousness, "My son, you need not worry about this. The more determined Hu, He, and their sort are to submit, the less they will do to you.

Because the result they want has already been achieved — they need only sit and watch, and it will be a great merit. Besides, the great clans of the eastern and western prefectures do not necessarily all wish to surrender their land.

The key now is how you, my son, choose.

If you are willing to keep the ancestral sacrifices and die for the altars of the state, then you must contact those in the state who refuse to surrender, kill Hu and He, expel Pei, Chen, and the rest. After that, even if the court sends a great army to punish us, even if you and I, mother and son, are ground to dust, we will have done right by Prince Wusu and Prince Wenmu.

If you are willing to trade the Qian clan's altars for the peace of three million people of the two Zhe regions, and can endure the humiliation of being a subject, then we must see what terms the imperial envoys propose when they meet with you tomorrow.

If the princely title remains and the ancestral sacrifices are permitted, then surrendering the land is not out of the question."

Qian Hongchu closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He heard the meaning in his mother's words: though she gave him a choice, she certainly preferred that he surrender the land.

A mother, faced with the altars of the state on one side and her own son's life on the other, would without question choose the latter.

And after surrendering the land, given the Shaoming Son of Heaven's magnanimity, Qian Hongchu could still live quite well — far better than resisting to the bitter end and losing his life.

But Qian Hongchu still could not make up his mind. This was the family estate his father and grandfather had carved out through hardship — a throne above three million people!

Qian Hongtai spoke up then. "If Your Majesty hesitates, why not seek counsel from the old Chief Minister, Yuan Mingyuan?"

Yuan Mingyuan was Yuan Dezhao — Mingyuan was his courtesy name. At this time, he was not only the Chief Minister of Wuyue, but also one of the rare men in Wuyue capable of both civil and military command.

Yuan Dezhao was upright by nature and devoted to loyalty and righteousness, with something of the air of Wuyue's anchor and stabilizing force.

But what Qian Hongchu did not know was that Shen Huzi's father, Shen Congzhi, had long since arrived at Yuan Dezhao's residence.

As for Murong Yingniang's mischief, it had actually, in a small way, helped Zhang Zhao.

Because originally in history, the fiercest opponents within Wuyue to the Qian clan's surrender of territory were the local magnates represented by the Shen family of Wuxing — Shen Huzi's family — and Shen Huzi, who was then serving as Chief Minister, was demoted and banished by Qian Hongchu for this very reason.

But now, with Murong Yingniang taking a fancy to Shen Huzi, the Shen family — who should have been the strongest opposition faction — had been directly won over.

Their opposition to surrendering the territory had merely been fear of damage to their own interests. But however great the Shen family's interests within Wuyue, they could not outweigh the benefits of a marriage alliance with the Murong clan.

Yuan Dezhao had originally borne the surname Wei. It was Qian Liu who, deeming the surname Wei unlucky, bestowed upon him the surname Yuan.

Yuan Dezhao's family had originally been minor warlords entrenched in Xinzhou — that is, Shangrao in Jiangxi — and had fled to Wuyue after resisting the Southern Tang, becoming honored guests of Qian Liu.

Although the family had long since put down roots, they still could not be counted among the native Eastern and Western Prefecture factions. The Yuan family held great influence in Quzhou and Wuzhou (Jinhua), near Xinzhou, and could be considered a local power-broker who had come to the central court to serve as Chief Minister.

Once Yuan Dezhao was won over, the basic obstacles to the Qian clan's surrender of territory would be swept away.

Shen Huzi's father explained to Yuan Dezhao Zhang Zhao's three-step strategy and the arrangements for the Qian clan.

At present, only one-third of the power within Wuyue lay in the Qian clan's hands, so the Qian could not simply be ordered to surrender — that would cause problems. Zhang Zhao naturally understood this, and so had proposed a three-step strategy.

First step: first enfeoff Qian Hongchu as King of Yue, dispatch an imperial envoy into Wuyue to reach a consensus with the key figures, and gradually purge the native diehards unwilling to surrender the territory.

Second step: order Wuyue to raise troops and attack the Runzhou Zhenhai Military Governor (Zhenjiang) by water, joining forces with the court's grand army at Yangzhou.

Zhang Zhao would then, on the grounds of Qian Hongchu's meritorious service, promote him to King of Lu.

Third step: by this time, the purge of diehards within Wuyue would be essentially complete, and Zhang Zhao would directly send men to take over Wuyue's authority.

And order Qian Hongchu to transfer his fief to the Jiaodong Province, going to Qizhou (Jinan) to serve as Governor of Jiaodong Province and garrison Jiaodong.

But in reality, once Qian Hongchu transferred his fief there, aside from being close to the court, he would not be able to command any of the civil or military officials of Jiaodong. After a few months, he would be recalled to court, and the matter would be settled.

Yuan Dezhao pondered for a moment. The terms offered by the court were to enfeoff Qian Hongchu as King of Lu; after three generations, the title would descend to Prince of Kuaiji Commandery, but could be inherited in perpetuity without diminution. The Qian clan's property could all be taken with them, and the Qian brothers would all receive imperial favor.

This already counted as very good treatment. Though it could not compare to Gao Baorong's perpetual inheritance of the title Prince of Jing, one had to consider that the Gao clan had not only surrendered their territory, but had also given away more than half of their family estate — their book collection alone numbered in the hundreds of thousands of volumes.

"Please report back to the imperial envoy, Brother Shen: Yuan will certainly do his part to ensure the realm of the dynasty is whole and unbroken."

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