Chapter 240: Recapturing Xiangyang

"You really think the Zuo army was truly defeated?"

"Hey, let me tell you, that day the Zuo army's posture was exactly like the Battle of Zhuxian Town — every single one of them was only focused on hightailing it in flight. If you ask me, what other outcome could there be? It must have been a crushing defeat!"

Before he had even reached the main pass, Liu Liangzuo heard the booming voice of a military officer from afar. He quickened his steps and entered, only to see that most of the generals had already assembled. In the very center, a burly man clad in worn old iron armor was animatedly discussing the matter of Xiangyang.

Liu Liangzuo silently walked to one side and sat down, watching the speaker with a cold smile: "Surnamed Sun, how dare you presume to speculate about Marshal Zuo? When he was earning merits at Liaozuo, you were still fighting bandits at Shouyang!"

"If you ask me, Marshal Zuo is certain to win at Xiangyang. Think about it — that's several hundred thousand imperial troops. If they can't defeat a mere twenty or thirty thousand Shun bandits, where would His Majesty the Emperor's face go?"

Liu Liangzuo's words carried a hidden meaning. After he finished speaking, Mou Wenshou, who had been about to chime in, put on a sullen face and said nothing more.

"Oh ho ho, I thought who it was — Flowery Horse Liu. Why aren't you staying put in your Linhuai tending the fields? What business do you have stirring up trouble at this Guguan? If you end up falling from your horse and injuring your foot like that Liu Zeqing last year, we'll all be laughing our heads off again." Sun Wenqiong roared with laughter, and those around him all joined in with sneers.

Upon hearing this, Liu Liangzuo immediately clenched his fists, but after a moment, he relaxed and said with a smile: "Grand Marshal Sun, why aren't you staying in your Shouyang territory? Your family has been a military house there for generations. Do you intend to just idle away in Baoding like this?"

Sun Wenqiong's eyes blazed with anger. He was about to say something when suddenly a commanding shout came from outside the door.

"The Supreme Commander has arrived!"

Hearing this, the generals who had just been so unruly and arrogant immediately composed their expressions, rising like well-behaved children and bowing as they said:

"We, your subordinates, respectfully welcome the Supreme Commander."

Following Chen Qiyu as he walked in was a line of military officers from the Northwest Grand Camp. Compared to the veteran officers present, these new faces appeared quite green and inexperienced, which made many of those present feel quite contemptuous.

"Everyone's here. Sit." Chen Qiyu said expressionlessly, then naturally took the seat of honor without hesitation and asked: "I was listening carefully outside just now. Come now, Regional Commander Sun, tell me — on what grounds do you believe Xiangyang is certain to have fallen?"

"This..."

Although Sun Wenqiong was overbearing before others, before Chen Qiyu he did not dare show the slightest bit of insolence. At that moment he was somewhat fearful, stammering and unable to produce words.

Seeing this, Chen Qiyu already knew the answer in his heart. He did not press further, glanced at Liu Liangzuo, and said:

"What Regional Commander Liu said just now was correct. In the future, when you encounter matters, you should all learn from him — think toward the positive. As for this Battle of Xiangyang, saying it was a defeat isn't entirely accurate either." As he spoke, Chen Qiyu suddenly smiled slightly and continued:

"This is a military dispatch I received the day before yesterday. Pass it around and take a look."

"What dispatch?"

"Don't know — let me see it!"

Liu Liangzuo was the first to look. He only glanced at it once, but the expression on his face was as if he had seen a ghost — he simply could not believe his own eyes. Heaven must have played a tremendous joke on him. How could this be possible?

Soon, Liu Liangzuo discovered that he was not the only one so shocked. The vast majority of the generals present all wore looks of utter disbelief. Sun Wenqiong in particular leaped up shouting that it was impossible.

According to what the military dispatch said, the Zuo army at Xiangyang had not only not been defeated, but had actually won a great victory.

Xie Yinglong, caught off guard, had been slain in battle by a Regional Commander named Ma Kuang. The bandit army immediately fell into chaos, and part of the Zuo army's forces along with the other imperial troops counterattacked amid the confusion — not only routing the Great Shun army that had come out of the city to give battle, but even seizing back Xiangyang in one stroke.

At this time, the severed heads of Xie Yinglong and those Great Shun soldiers had already been sealed and verified, and were on their way to the capital to report merits. By the looks of it, this great victory did not seem to be fabricated — otherwise they would not dare report it to the capital.

Under this great victory of turning defeat into triumph, the rout of the other imperial troops and most of the Zuo army's soldiers was no longer so important. Watching Liu Liangzuo's extremely ugly expression, Chen Qiyu smiled:

"I feel that the proposal submitted by Count Ningnan was quite good, so I have approved Regional Commander Liu taking advantage of the victory to demand Taiyuan from the Zuo army. Since there has already been such a great victory, when do you plan to leave the pass?"

"Is it only my forces that will leave the pass to attack Taiyuan?" Liu Liangzuo subconsciously asked in response.

Chen Qiyu did not reply, only staring at him with burning eyes. After a long while, Liu Liangzuo had no choice but to nod amid the secretly amused expressions of the other generals and say: "Since the Supreme Commander has given the order, I, your subordinate, naturally must obey. However, my troops' military pay and provisions are not yet complete, and our weapons and equipment are not in good condition either. If we rashly leave the pass, I fear our combat effectiveness will be insufficient. Perhaps..."

Before he could finish, Chen Qiyu clapped his hands and said: "I have already considered all these matters for Regional Commander Liu. After you leave the pass and capture Taiyuan, the court will naturally allocate ample military pay and provisions as well as weapons and equipment. Just rest assured."

"Er..."

Things having come to this point, Liu Liangzuo had nothing more to say and could only nod in acquiescence.

Setting aside how Liu Liangzuo flew into a rage upon returning to his own camp, Bai Guangen and Gao Jie, who were in the capital, were waiting in a side hall with utterly bewildered expressions, not knowing what was going on.

"Didn't His Majesty say we were to campaign against Doyan? Why, at this hour, is there still no sign of him?" Gao Jie was impatient by nature — after waiting half an hour he had already begun pacing about.

"Opportunities in war are fleeting. If we delay any longer, I fear something may go wrong!"

Although Bai Guangen was equally uncertain in his heart, compared to Gao Jie he was extremely composed. He sat in his seat, sipping tea cup after cup, and waved his hand: "Gao the Barbarian, is it really necessary? We're already inside the imperial palace. If His Majesty tells you to wait, there's naturally a reason for it. Besides, His Majesty isn't anxious — what's the point of the two of us fretting here!"

As he spoke, Bai Guangen smacked his lips and added: "Why not be like me? This tribute tea from the palace — it's not something ordinary people get to drink."

"You fool." Gao Jie turned his head to look at Bai Guangen and said: "The palace ran out of Jiangnan tribute tea long ago. As for you sitting here savoring tea — if you ask me, you'd be better off finding a stall by the roadside to drink. These days military pay hasn't even been fully distributed in all the provinces. Do you think the tea in the palace is much better than what's in the teahouses outside?"

"For rough warriors like you and me, can we even afford the palace's tribute tea? Don't be delusional."

Hearing this, Bai Guangen licked his teacup again and sniffed it carefully, discovering that it really was as Gao Jie said. Just now it might have been a psychological effect, but now that Gao Jie had pointed it out and he tasted it again, he truly could not find any difference between this tea and what was outside.

Even so, Bai Guangen still felt he could not let it go face-wise, and stubbornly insisted: "Nonsense! Balderdash! Since when did you, Gao the Barbarian, ever pay attention to whether Jiangnan was sending tribute tea or not?"

Hearing this, Gao Jie said smugly: "This you wouldn't know. I was the one who received the imperial decree to lead men in seizing the properties of the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants. If I knew less than you, I wouldn't be in this line of work at all."

"You—"

Bai Guangen's face was filled with disgust, and he truly had nothing more to say. He had genuinely never cared about such matters as tribute tea. Seeing that Gao Jie did not seem to be deceiving him, he thought it over, then set down his teacup and stopped drinking.