Chapter 818: A Dream of Mutual Deceit

In Dengzhou, large numbers of warships had been towed here from Laizhou Bay.

The reason they had to be towed over from Laizhou Bay was that the main shipyards and naval ports of the Tang era had not been at Dengzhou, which only became crucial in the Ming and Qing periods, but at Laizhou.

Limited by the shipbuilding technology of this age, the broad, shelter-rich Laizhou Bay was far better suited to mooring warships than Dengzhou.

Moreover, Laizhou Bay lay against Laizhou and Qingzhou, whose hinterlands were economically developed and densely populated, and rivers such as the Zi River and the Bailang River could swiftly carry a steady stream of supplies from the interior.

Therefore, the main base for shipbuilding and naval training was also in Laizhou Bay, centered on Laizhou; only in wartime would the warships sail to Dengzhou for final preparations, and some would even set out directly from Laizhou.

Out of regard for this cross-sea campaign, and also to drill the navy's ability to put to sea, Zhang Zhao personally issued an order appointing the Governor of the Jiaodong Province, Prince Lu Qian Hongchu, to Dengzhou to oversee the command.

Of course, this was one hundred percent "oversight" command, because what Zhang Zhao wanted was for Qian Hongchu to help soothe and encourage the twenty thousand officers and men who had once mostly belonged to the Wuyue navy and were now called the Heng Hai Garrison of the Imperial Navy.

Actual command authority lay in the hands of the Eastern Expedition Fleet Commander Zhao Kuangyin and Deputy Commander Chen Hui.

And of the twenty thousand men of the Heng Hai Garrison, only eleven thousand were former Wuyue officers and soldiers; the rest were made up of the Southern Tang navy and the court's Jiaodong navy.

The greatest use of Qian Hongchu's presence in Dengzhou was to let these old troops of Wuyue and Southern Tang see that I, Sage Zhang, have not broken my word and grown fat on it; I said that after the two states offered up their territory, every one of you would be treated as a meritorious subject, and so you truly are being treated as meritorious subjects.

When these officers and men saw that after offering up his state, Qian Hongchu had not only advanced further in princely rank but could even be sent to Dengzhou to take charge of a great army again, more than half of their inner unease and hesitation would immediately dissolve.

If even the great king above them was fine, then they, mere soldiers, naturally would be fine too; they need only serve with peace of mind and earn rewards.

And Qian Hongchu, after the blow of having vainly hoped to truly hold Jiaodong, had also quickly understood what he ought to be doing.

The man was originally extremely intelligent and not lacking in ability; the last time he had truly believed he could become Prince Lu was because he was young and had too little experience. After the blow, he reexamined himself and at once returned to his normal level.

These past days in Dengzhou, Qian Hongchu had been going around with his personal guard of several hundred men, boosting the morale of the soldiers everywhere he went, and at each place, in the name of the court, he bestowed large amounts of pigs, sheep, rice, and flour to give the soldiers and sailors extra meals.

Three solid meals a day, every meal with white rice, white flour, and meat; the soldiers and sailors ate to their great satisfaction, and morale soared.

But apart from this, Qian Hongchu did not concern himself with anything else; in military arrangements, troop movements, dismissals, and promotions, he would not point a single finger.

And besides, Qian Hongchu laughed bitterly to himself, the money for these gifts of pigs, sheep, rice, and flour was not even his.

Rather, how to put it: last time in Qizhou, when he had tried to be the strong dragon overpowering the local snakes, and both sides had frantically dug up large amounts of dirt and brought accusations before the throne, the court's storm had immediately descended.

He, Qian Hongchu, had offered up a great state of three million people, so of course nothing happened to him, but that bunch of local factions in Jiaodong were out of luck.

Originally, after An Shenqi had been transferred away, Zhang Zhao had been preparing to deal with them and find an excuse; now, instead of lying low, they dared to jump out on their own, so they could hardly blame Zhang Zhao.

No one was killed, because population was precious now, so this time in Jiaodong, Zhang Zhao exiled more than seventy thousand people in one stroke to Hezhong, Liaodong, and southern Sichuan, confiscated the property of more than three hundred rich households, and seized over a million strings of gold and silver.

The military expenses for this naval expedition were "sponsored" by them. And Zhang Zhao, with great black humor, had picked fifty thousand strings from the confiscated gold and silver and sent them to Qian Hongchu.

In the Dengzhou government office, Qian Hongchu rolled his eyes speechlessly; this sworn elder brother of his, Emperor Zhang, really knew how to sicken a man.

This money, Qian Hongchu did not dare keep, nor did he want to keep it; just thinking of it made him sick at heart.

So, following Yuan Dezhao's advice, he gave military supplies worth thirty thousand strings to his great nephew Murong Xinzhang, and used the remaining twenty thousand strings entirely to wine and dine the officers and soldiers.

As he sighed, Qian Hongchu also glanced southward with a mixture of sympathy and schadenfreude.

He had heard that the local officials and great clans of the three provinces of Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Jiangbei had colluded to conceal population figures and hide the acreage of farmland; it seemed the military funds for the coming campaigns against the Han state of Lingnan and the Jinghai Army would soon be in no short supply either.

Zhao Kuangyin was already twenty-three this year, an age that in later times would still be young, and he could perfectly well be called a young man.

But in this age, the twenty-three-year-old Zhao Kuangyin was already a great general with nine years of military service and four years as an officer.

And his battle record was extremely brilliant; in the campaigns against Liu Zhiyuan, Ma Chu, and the Later Shu, he had rendered great service in each.

After arriving at Yueyang Prefecture, Zhao Kuangyin had rapidly transformed from a brave army general skilled at commanding infantry and cavalry into a naval commander who could leap and dart about on warships as if flying, and who quickly grasped the ways of fighting on rivers and seas.

Who could not love such an all-around talent? Had Zhao Kuangyin not married so early, Zhang Zhao would now want to bestow on him a daughter of the imperial clan.

And Zhao Kuangyin was also somewhat excited, because on this eastern expedition, he was going to see Murong Xinzhang.

It must be known that Murong Xinzhang had been Zhao Kuangyin's teacher in horsemanship; in former years, Zhao Kuangyin had often followed this master around the Eastern Capital in leisure, leaving a deep impression on the young man.

Afterward, Murong Xinzhang had also brought Zhao Kuangyin to Liangzhou, making him a member of the great circle of Hexi-Longyou meritorious families before the Great Zhou army entered the Central Plains.

Without that bond of old friendship, with the upper ranks of the army dominated by men of Hexi-Longyou, Zhao Kuangyin could not have climbed so fast.

Because to some degree, although he, Zhao Kuangyin, had been born in Luoyang and his family were military men of the Central Plains, he himself was a member of the Hexi-Longyou meritorious families.

And Chen Hui, who was paired with Zhao Kuangyin, was the most famous naval commander of the Zhang Zhou at this time; his name was not prominent in history because the Southern Tang state was too weak, and did not hold all of Jiangnan, so the advantages in sea warfare that Chen Hui excelled at had no chance to be brought into play.

In the history books, Chen Hui mostly appears as Chen Tie, a fierce general of the Wang Min period, equal in fame to Lin Renzhao.

The man came from a powerful clan of Jianzhou; fierce in land battles, even fiercer in naval battles. In the great battle in which Southern Tang and Wuyue contended for Fuzhou, he had ridden the rising tide and in a single night driven his warships seven hundred li in a wild dash to raid the Wuyue navy, routing it utterly.

In the decisive battle between Southern Tang and the Later Zhou at Shouzhou, the Southern Tang army was almost completely annihilated outside Zijin Mountain; only Chen Hui's two thousand men of the Victorious Army "moved through hard-pressed foes and repeatedly blunted their sharp edge," and in the end withdrew intact.

So Zhao Kuangyin still greatly valued Chen Hui's opinions; after all, although he learned quickly, he had in fact never truly experienced a sea battle.

And looking across the Zhang Zhou, the only man who could fight a sea battle, and win it, was Chen Hui.

Because after the Great Tang declined, there was no longer any need to go out to sea to fight enemies, and sea warfare rapidly declined; even Southern Tang and Wuyue had little in the way of navies, and as for naval warships, even fewer.

When Zhao Kuangyin came to see Chen Hui, Chen Hui had just finished studying the sea charts of the Tang era and had roughly determined the bearings and the route of departure.

Crossing the sea from Dengzhou to attack the Korean Peninsula now was not a matter of going in a straight line, because they did not yet have that capability.

The only route they could take now was to set out from Dengzhou and head slightly northwest, to the vicinity of Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula.

Then from Dalian, head northeast along the coastline, passing the Changshan Islands all the way to the mouth of the Yalu River.

Finally, following the coastline of the Korean Peninsula, sail south to attack the cities around Pyongyang and Hanseong.

This thing, though it was called sending sea ships to fight a sea battle, in truth did not even measure up to the standard of a brown-water navy; it was just a fleet threading along the coastline.

But then, everything fears comparison; the Great Zhou could still field a coastline fleet, while Goryeo and Wa, apart from a few large ships, had nothing but little sampans, which could not be called a fleet at all.

Seeing Zhao Kuangyin approach, Chen Hui hurried out to meet him; he showed the sea chart to Zhao Kuangyin, then said in a deep voice:

"Although the Prince of Liaoyang requires us to set sail no later than the fourth month, I have just studied the sea charts and also summoned old fishermen from Dengzhou and Laizhou to inquire, and learned that in the third or fourth month of next year, the trade winds most likely will not arrive; instead, we may encounter cold winds coming from the north.

Therefore, your subordinate suggests that we should not now sail the tower ships of the fleet across the sea to Suzhou."

The Suzhou in Chen Hui's mouth was not the Suzhou of Jiangnan, but the Suzhou established by the Liao state in the area of present-day Ganjingzi in Dalian.

And the tower ships Chen Hui spoke of were the most important warships of the naval fleet at this time, their status akin to the aircraft carriers of later navies.

History records that Tang-era tower ships had three tiers of superstructure, stood over seventy chi tall, and were lined with parapets, shaped like walled fortresses.

This was an extremely massive and towering warship; at the Battle of Baekgang, a single Tang tower ship had once swamped and sunk dozens of Wa ships by its wake alone, which shows how overbearing it was.

But this kind of tower ship also had a fatal flaw at sea: the hull was too tall, and in the Tang era, when navigational technology was undeveloped, if a storm suddenly struck, human strength often could not control it and it would be blown over, so great importance was placed on the weather conditions at the time of departure.

At this time Zhang Zhou's economy was still far behind that of the glorious Tang, and the Zhang Emperor had paid out of his own pocket to build four tower ships at Laizhou Bay. If they were capsized by the wind before a single battle was fought, the blame on Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Hui would be enormous.

That was why Chen Hui proposed at this moment that, taking advantage of the recent calm seas, they should simply sail the tower ships to Suzhou first.

Zhao Kuangyin studied the sea chart for a moment, then asked with some concern, "Though the recent absence of wind and waves is a good thing, without wind and waves the sails cannot be used at all. The tower ships are so vast—how can they cross the sea to Suzhou?"

Chen Hui pointed to a ring of small islands on the sea chart and said, "If we set out from the Dengzhou naval harbor, it is indeed very difficult to reach the opposite shore.

But now there are many sailors and boats gathered at Dengzhou. We can reward them generously and order them to tow the tower ships to the northernmost tip of Daxie Island. From there, crossing the sea will be much easier."

The northernmost tip of Daxie Island that Chen Hui spoke of was, in fact, the area around Daqin Island in the Miaodao Archipelago off the coast of Dengzhou in later times.

Crossing the Bohai Bay from here, the shortest distance is only a little over eighty kilometers. Even without wind power to rely on, one could row across.

But the cost of this was far greater than waiting for the trade winds!

Rowing at sea, and rowing in winter at that, island-hopping from one island to the next, was an extremely arduous and dangerous undertaking. Unless the rewards were made ample enough, no one would do it at all.

However, after thinking for a moment, Zhao Kuangyin gritted his teeth and agreed. "I will send a formal request to the Ministry of War and the Bureau of Military Affairs for the funds for the heavy rewards. The matter of leading the tower ships and great vessels across the sea will rest on you, Elder Chen."

In fact, this was one of the few advantages Zhang Zhou had compared to the glorious Tang of old.

Because in the glorious Tang era, the Liaodong Peninsula was uninhabited wilderness. Even if one wanted to island-hop, there was no way to hop.

But in Zhang Zhou's time, after several hundred years of continuous settlement by the Bohai people and the Khitan, the Liaodong Peninsula already had a sparse population.

After the tower ships crossed the sea, there would be naval harbors to anchor in and government offices to supply provisions, which was why this method and tactic could be carried out.

Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Hui in Dengzhou had already decided to island-hop the tower ships across the sea first, but Zhao Yanjin in Mingzhou had no choice but to wait for the trade winds before setting out.

And Zhang Zhao had specifically transferred Zhao Yanjin from the posts of Prefect of Yueyang Prefecture and Supervisor of the Yueyang Prefecture Troops and Horses to Mingzhou precisely because he valued Zhao Yanjin's familiarity with naval warfare.

He could be counted as the commander in the state of Zhang Zhou most versed in naval warfare after Ma Zhaoyuan, Du (Lun) Chixin, Zhao Kuangyin, and Chen Hui. In certain respects, Zhao Yanjin was even more proficient than Zhao Kuangyin.

At the same time, Zhao Yanjin was Zhang Zhao's fifth adopted son, and his status and position were sufficient to keep Yao Yanhong—who, counting family members, numbered sixty to seventy thousand people—in check. These people were about to be forced into exile in Goryeo and Japan, and their state of mind could not possibly be calm.

Zhao Yanjin had to deliver these sixty to seventy thousand panic-stricken people across the sea with as few losses as possible, and the work required was no small amount.

One could even say that Zhao Yanjin's military role in this campaign was secondary, because most of the naval battles would be handled by Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Hui. Politically, how to arrange for Yao Yanhong's sixty to seventy thousand people was the most important thing.

Bozhou, south of Qiao County town, Dongyuan.

This was the family burial ground of the Cao clan of Qiao Commandery. Including Cao Teng, the grandfather of Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, a great number of the Qiao Commandery Cao clan were buried here.

In the past, when Zhang Zhao journeyed west, Cao Yijin had gifted him elite armored soldiers and three thousand taels of silver, and had also made an agreement with him: as long as Zhang Zhao could find a path to lead the Guiyi Army back to the motherland, Cao Yijin would support him with all his strength.

Zhang Zhao had also promised at the time that if that day ever came, he would certainly escort Cao Yijin's coffin back to his hometown and bury him in the family cemetery of the Qiao Commandery Cao clan.

Although afterward, by the time Zhang Zhao returned, Cao Yijin had already lost both internal and external power due to grave illness, he still fulfilled his promise on his deathbed and handed over most of the Guiyi Army's authority to Zhang Zhao.

In particular, in terms of legal principle, Cao Yijin maintained that the state had been on the verge of collapse and that he had been forced to govern on behalf of the Zhang family. Now that Zhang Zhao had been established, he returned the authority.

This not only ensured that the transfer of power produced no upheaval, but also returned the legal principle as well.

Since the killing of Zhang Huaishen, this was the first time the Guiyi Army had undergone a transfer of power without bloodshed, and its significance could not be called anything but momentous.

And Zhang Zhao, due to various matters, had in fact not fully completed the promise to escort Cao Yijin's coffin from Dunhuang, but had instead let Lady Cao Sanniang take Zhang Xianyu to complete it.

Once Cao Yijin's coffin reached Chang'an, and Zhang Zhao had finished dealing with the various internal and external rebellions, he could finally fulfill his promise: he personally welcomed Cao Yijin's coffin from Chang'an in Luoyang, then escorted the coffin all the way back to Qiao Commandery—which was now Qiao County in Bozhou.

The tombs of the Qiao Commandery Cao clan at Dongyuan were not lavish, for the truly great figures of the Cao family, such as Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, and Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, were not buried here.

Therefore, with Zhang Zhao's approval, Cao Yijin's tomb was the most luxurious and of the highest form here.

Zhang Zhao specially approved that Cao Yijin's tomb be built according to the regulations of a king, and that in certain places the ceremonial trappings of an emperor could be used.

His tomb at Dongyuan was built by piling up earth into a mountain to form a hill tomb, and the coffin was called a catalpa palace.

Outside there was a spirit way and a spirit temple; inside there was a resting palace for the soul's daily living and dining, and a spirit-wandering hall for pleasure and amusement.

Four sky wells were opened, and six wall niches were made, with sixty pottery figures of armored warriors and richly dressed palace attendants.

The front section of the tomb passage was painted with a large number of murals depicting Cao Yijin's life, as well as scenes of his ascent to heaven after death to enjoy bliss. Among them, the most important paintings were two.

The first was beneath Mingsha Mountain, by Crescent Moon Spring: Zhang Zhao, clad in golden armor, was bidding farewell to Cao Yijin, who wore loose robes and wide sleeves, while in the distance countless armored soldiers and warhorses loomed faintly amid rising clouds and mist.

The other was in the Qingyuan Palace of Dunhuang: Cao Yijin, dressed in plain clothes with a plain band wrapped around his head, was supported by Cao Sanniang as he handed over authority to Zhang Zhao, who wore close-fitting attire. The rest of the Guiyi Army, high and low, bore varied expressions.

This was probably the first time from ancient times to the present that an emperor had been painted in the tomb murals of a subject.

Although Zhang Zhao's facial features had been deliberately blurred, it was still an extremely shocking decision.

Outside the hill tomb, most of the Shazhou Cao clan had gathered here, and the local Bozhou Cao family, as well as people from all over the country who claimed to be descendants of the Qiao Commandery Cao clan, had all converged here.

Three cannon shots rang out, and the Emperor personally went before the funeral horse pulling the catalpa palace, taking the reins in his own hands and leading it forward.

The Cao clan descendants knelt in a circle all around. The brothers Cao Yuanshen and Cao Yuanzhong—one held Cao Yijin's birth date and eight characters, the other held Cao Yijin's spirit tablet.

On the right side of the spirit tablet was written: "Loyal unto death to the Great Tang, Military Governor of the Guiyi Army, Prefect of Shazhou, Cao, taboo name Yijin."

On the left side was written: "Grand Commandant of the Great Zhou, Specially Honored with the Three Dignities, Military Governor of Hexi, posthumously enfeoffed as Great King of Wei, Prince of Qiao, Cao, taboo name Yijin."

Several elders of the Qiao Commandery Cao clan, holding soul-summoning banners, stood on the carriage beside the catalpa palace and cried out, "The wanderer returns home! The wanderer returns home!"

The onlookers all wept without restraint.

Zhang Zhao was also deeply moved. The agreement he had made with Cao Yijin beneath Mingsha Mountain was still vivid before his eyes, but thinking of it now, Cao Yijin's passing was already a matter of fourteen years ago.

And Zhang Zhao had also gone from the young man who had resolved to lead the last Han remnants of the Hexi Corridor back to their motherland, to a middle-aged man approaching forty.

In these nineteen years, Zhang Zhao had endured countless hardships and fulfilled the last wish of this body's ancestors, ensuring that the Guiyi Army did not vanish into the yellow sands as it had in history.

By now, the great goal of loyal return to the motherland had long been achieved. It was only the other great goal—reviving the great dynasty—that was still far from complete.

Goryeo had not been conquered, the Wa kingdom had not been destroyed, the Southern Han still lingered on in Lingnan, the Jinghai Army had not been recovered, and the Duan clan of the Tonghai Army still sat dreaming of inheriting Nanzhao.

Right—Zhang Zhao suddenly remembered that the Duan clan of the Tonghai Army had also sent envoys to the Eastern Capital.

And before this, the secret memorials of Guo Rong and Zhang Fei had also all been brought over by his eldest son, Zhang Xiancun.

Zhang Zhao looked toward Cao Yijin's catalpa palace, which was slowly passing through the tomb passage into the interior of the hill tomb, and solemnly cupped his hands in salute, seeing off this father of his wife—his cousin-uncle by marriage—on his final journey.

With Cao Yijin's burial, and with the tombs of Zhang Zhao's father Zhang Chengfeng and grandfather Zhang Huaiding having both been moved to the surroundings of Zhang Yichao's hill tomb,

the history of the Guiyi Army's lone loyalty and solitary defense of Hexi was completely declared at an end.

"We cannot remain here long. The Empress shall stay in Qiao County for some more days on Our behalf. Be sure to arrange the funeral properly, and do not fear the expense. I have already ordered the Inner Treasury to send over twenty thousand strings of cash."

As a sovereign, Zhang Zhao naturally could not participate excessively in a subject's funeral, so he could only let the Empress, Cao Shijiu Niang, who was Cao Yijin's granddaughter, take his place.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Zhao turned back to look at Nineteenth Daughter. "The posthumous title of the Great King Linggong — let it be a single character. Posthumous title: Cheng."

After the Sui and Tang, posthumous titles began to proliferate; seven-character and nine-character ones were common. But Zhang Zhou claimed to be restoring the rites of Zhou, and restraint in posthumous titles was naturally a great symbol of that restoration.

Thus in Zhang Zhou, posthumous titles for emperors and ministers were, in the great majority of cases, limited to two characters.

A single-character posthumous title was used only for rulers of vassal states who had rendered great service to the nation and had also held real power in life — for example, the current Qian Hongchu and Gao Baorong would most likely receive single-character posthumous titles.

In now having Cao Yijin use a single-character posthumous title as well, Zhang Zhao was in fact acknowledging the half-sovereign nature of Cao Yijin's status.

As for the posthumous title "Cheng," it was even more particular: "He who brings peace to the people and establishes governance is called Cheng." This was Zhang Zhao acknowledging Cao Yijin's merit in replacing the Zhang clan and stabilizing the Guiyi Army.

"Your servant kowtows in thanks for Your Majesty's magnanimity!" Not only did all the Cao sons kneel, even Empress Nineteenth Daughter, contrary to her usual manner, knelt and kowtowed in thanks.

However gently the phrase "the Cao replaced the Zhang" was put, it was still a coup, and it had always been a thorn lodged in the hearts of the Cao family. Now Zhang Zhao had pulled it out with his own hand.

Zhang Xiancun was sturdier than three years ago. He was now seventeen, almost eighteen, and soon to be a father. Returning with him this time was Princess Yong'an, four months pregnant.

"In my son's view, what has this envoy of the Duan clan come to do?" Zhang Zhao asked with a smile, addressing Zhang Xiancun, who walked beside him.

Zhang Xiancun had clearly prepared his answer. He replied in a loud voice, "Your son believes that the Duan clan, in sending Dong Mohe — nephew of the Qingpingguan (Chancellor) Dong Jialuo — as envoy, has come bearing anger."

"Anger? Who gave them the nerve to be angry? Has Duan Siliang gone mad?" Zhang Xiancun's words startled Zhang Zhao.

The Duan clan of Dali was tucked away in a corner. Thirty years ago even Wang Jian of the Former Shu had been able to intimidate them. Now that the Central Plains was unified, instead of rushing over to grovel, they dared to be angry?

Zhang Xiancun chuckled. "Father, have you forgotten? Zhang Fei gave Guo Rong an idea — to have us feign weakness in Nanxi Prefecture and Luzhou Prefecture."

Zhang Zhao remembered. Guo Rong had reported on the Dali Kingdom matter several times already.

The core of the operation was, on one hand, using Han salt, sugar, tea, and cloth to lure the tribes subject to the Dali Kingdom into defecting, and on the other, building forts and stockades everywhere, putting on the appearance of being very afraid of a Dali attack.

In daily encounters with Dali troops' provocations, they mostly avoided battle and stayed behind walls. Even when the Dali Kingdom sent troops to attack tribes that had accepted benefits and submitted to Great Zhou, the response was mostly persuasion — the very picture of not daring to use force.

"Tell me, how is the arrogance-baiting stratagem progressing now?"

Zhang Zhao was greatly interested. It seemed pairing that shrewd cripple Zhang Fei with Guo Rong had not been a mistake. The historically hot-tempered Emperor Shizong of Zhou had actually begun to use stratagems.

"The timing is about right. Although we in Nanxi Prefecture have won over dozens of large and small stream-cave tribes in the surrounding area, they are only coveting our cloth, salt, and refined sugar. Secretly they think we are weak and easy to bully — they have not truly submitted.

Through their word of mouth and living examples, the entire Dali Kingdom believes we are weak and dare not start a conflict. They do not take Governor Guo's construction of Nanxi Prefecture city seriously at all.

The Embroidered Uniform Personal Guard has sent word from Yangjumei City: Duan Siliang believes our great army is still bogged down in the Western Regions and Liaodong. To erase the ill effects of his usurpation and secure his position, he has begun dreaming of capturing Nanxi Prefecture (Yibin).

Once this Dong Mohe returns, the whole Dali Kingdom will become utterly arrogant, and may even fantasize about fighting their way to Chengdu."

Zhang Zhao narrowed his eyes. "If that is so, then you should not have let this envoy travel through Chengdu!"

What I, Sage Zhang, mean is this: because of Meng Chang's surrender, Chengdu did not suffer much damage in the war to conquer Shu.

If Dong Mohe were to see Chengdu's prosperity, he would certainly become wary of the weak image Guo Rong has put on in Nanxi Prefecture.

Zhang Xiancun gave a sly grin. "If we don't let Dong Mohe see Chengdu, how will he give up hope?

However, Uncle Yin, my maternal cousin, gave orders half a year ago that wealthy households in the four prefectures around Chengdu were forbidden from grand displays, banquets, and social gatherings. Officials and their families were not to wear silk or brocade. The elite troops of the guard garrisons were all transferred to Lizhou (Guangyuan), Langzhou, and other places.

All merchants entering or leaving Chengdu Prefecture had to detour through Pengzhou and enter Chengdu Prefecture from the north.

Merchants going to the Dali Kingdom had been under strict scrutiny since a year ago. Those with close ties to powerful Dali families were basically only allowed to trade in Ya'an Prefecture and Jiazhou (Leshan).

So what Dong Mohe saw along the way was a Shu region of many people but much poverty, few merchants, and thin, short soldiers.

And recently, in Chang'an, he had seen a completely different scene of prosperity.

Combined with the weak image Governor Guo Rong has put on in Nanxi Prefecture, Dong Mohe would not find it hard to conclude that the court distrusts the Shu people and is desperately squeezing them, and that the Shu people long for the Meng kings of Shu."

Zhang Zhao laughed three times. "Then We must also put on a performance, to make this Duan envoy believe the court is beset by troubles within and without, and only wishes to stabilize the situation."

With that, Zhang Zhao summoned Zhang Lieming. "The envoy of the Han Kingdom is also about to arrive, is he not? Go make arrangements so that the envoys of Dali and Han become aware of each other's existence, then engineer a small slip-up to let them make contact. Remember, it must be done cleverly."

Zhang Zhao tightened the belt at his waist. Now he only needed word of Murong Xinzhang's victorious campaign against Goryeo, and he could formally begin planning the attack on Southern Han and Dali.

Before that, however, he had to prepare for the possibility that Murong Xinzhang's campaign would go badly. After all, Goryeo was also a great power east of the sea. If the eastern campaign failed, they would have to draw a large army from within the realm to fight.

Coo-coo-coo! According to my family's leader's vivid account this morning, I was carried home by my colleagues. The tiger was already a bit chubby, and he nearly wore out three big men. I imagine not many people will be asking me to drink from now on.

(End of Chapter)

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