Chapter 720: Much Ado About Nothing

Liu Chengzong took the Shanxi famine relief effort very seriously.

Because the Marshal's Mansion was a violence-based bloc composed mainly of men from Shaanxi.

In this era, relations between Qin and Jin were far from harmonious; on the contrary, plenty of muddled debts had bred hatred.

First, when a great drought struck Yansui, local officials in Shanxi, to keep trouble from spreading to their own door, ordered a grain embargo, sealed the Yellow River crossings, cut the trade routes between the mountains and Shaanxi, and forbade Jin grain from entering Qin.

Wu Sheng memorialized the throne repeatedly and the Chongzhen Emperor issued edict after edict — no one listened.

After that came several large-scale incursions of Qin bandits into Jin, marked by widespread slaughter and plunder, so that in the minds of Shanxi people, the image of a Qin man could never be associated with decency.

Liu Chengzong was no exception; in Shanxi, those who knew him were vanishingly few, and even among those he had once helped, probably not one in ten had survived the calamities and chaos of these last few years.

For Liu the Lion, moving Qin grain into Jin this time was a way to improve the Marshal's Mansion's image.

Of course, since the grain was being sold to Wu Sheng and the relief was indirect, the effect could hardly be immediate — it would require time to work its subtle influence.

But for him, he didn't need people to speak well of him; it was enough if they simply knew that he, Liu Chengzong, and the Marshal's Mansion were, for the most part, normal people with a sense of right and wrong.

So within the limits of what he could do, weighing every aspect of the situation, he decided on the grain-transfer amount and the price range, and sent Fu Renxi back to discuss it with Wu Sheng — if it could be done, do it; if not, forget it.

His consideration was not to touch the government grain.

If he used government grain, then he would be giving the grain away, reversing his image purely for the sake of famine relief.

And he certainly would not let it pass through the hands of Shanxi officials; he would simply move grain to Hancheng and order Zuo Maodi to enter Shanxi and carry out the relief.

Even if Zuo Maodi did not want to obey him, Hancheng still had Xue Guoguan, who was eager to share His Majesty's burdens and would absolutely be delighted to help make this happen.

But although the Marshal's Mansion still had some grain and fodder in Xi'an, after sustaining this costly, troop-wearying campaign, the government grain was already largely depleted.

What was more, even if the government granaries still held large surpluses, with inevitable successive years of famine ahead, Liu the Lion always had to keep grain in hand to provide relief for his own people.

Otherwise, to his Qin followers, wouldn't that be turning his elbow outward?

So this relief grain for Shanxi would have to draw on the civilian resources of Shaanxi — or rather, he had his eye on the private surplus grain in Xi'an Prefecture.

Liu the Lion's idea was for private merchants to purchase thirty to fifty thousand dan of surplus grain on their own and sell it to Hancheng, where Shanxi buyers would collect and transport it. The set price of two taels was meant to guarantee enough profit that people would be willing to do it, while capping it so the merchants could not make too much.

If they made too much, the shock of huge profits would cause a massive outflow of private surplus grain into Shanxi, and that would bring its own troubles.

Liu the Lion wrote a letter to Zhao Jichang, the Prefect of Xi'an, ordering him to recruit merchants and civilians to stockpile fifty thousand dan of grain in preparation for selling it into Shanxi.

At the same time, he wrote to Zuo Maodi in Hancheng to keep him informed, telling him everything about the plan to sell grain for famine relief.

Of course, he was not so arrogant as to think that Wu Sheng, the Grand Coordinator of Shanxi, would necessarily listen to him.

But whether Wu Sheng listened or not did not really matter; at worst, he would cover the cost of the grain purchased by Xi'an merchants and civilians himself. If the Shanxi authorities would not buy this grain, he would send Zhang Tianlin to find Wang Ziyong to act as a guide, have the army escort the grain, and enter Shanxi to carry out the relief himself.

In any case, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

Only, he had not expected that just after he sent the letter back via the Tumed and the army had marched east for less than two days, Fu Renxi would come chasing after him again in a frantic hurry.

When Liu the Lion heard the relay-station soldier report that Fu Renxi had come again, he thought to himself that Wu Sheng was certainly impatient.

He even suspected that the officials over there had been waiting just inside the border wall, and after their discussion had immediately dispatched Fu Renxi back.

He never imagined that he had guessed the beginning right, but missed the middle.

Ming officials had indeed been waiting just inside the border wall, only the man waiting on the other side was not Wu Sheng, the Grand Coordinator of Shanxi.

It was Liang Tingdong, the Supreme Commander of the Three Garrisons.

And the reason Fu Renxi had come out beyond the border again was not about the famine relief at all.

Liu Chengzong halted his horse by the roadside; the main column continued to trudge eastward, heads down, along the road the horses' hooves had trampled through the grassland.

He saw Fu Renxi, travel-worn, dash out of the swirling dust, his horse being led behind him by a personal attendant. He ran all the way up close and said, panting: "Grand Marshal, don't break camp — send the army inside the border!"

Liu the Lion's mind could not even react; the features of his face nearly scrunched together.

His army was outside the border at Xuanfu, and the officers of the Three Garrisons of Shanxi had been guarding against him like thieves, unable to sleep at night. How was it that the moment they saw him about to break camp and leave, they were pulling and dragging at him to stay?

And telling him to enter the border?

Liu Chengzong swung down from his horse, fixed his gaze on Fu Renxi's face, and said with a furrowed brow: "Did I mishear, or has your brain gone bad? You stopped me just so I could listen to this foolish talk?"

Fu Renxi braced his hands on his knees, and the moment he straightened up, he said: "Last time, just after I went out beyond the border, the eastern caitiffs fought several battles in Yanqing Prefecture. The battle reports say victories and defeats on both sides, but one battle was actually a defeat."

"It was Li Guoliang of Xuan Garrison who led three battalions in pursuit of the eastern caitiffs and was ambushed. Almost at Juyong Pass, his cavalry was in front and infantry behind, and before the camp was firmly established, the caitiff cavalry circled to the rear and charged, splitting the army formation in two in one stroke."

"It was only through the death-defying fight of his household retainers that they managed to beat them back. The battle report says seven heads taken, thirteen horses seized, and one hundred thirty oxen and mules."

Fu Renxi said: "But I heard that Zhao Yegeng, the Brigade Commander of the Xuanfu Standard Battalion, was killed in the charge, and over two hundred men died."

Liu Chengzong found it very hard to understand Fu Renxi's urgency: "A huge force of three battalions was ambushed, lost only a little over two hundred men, and even recaptured quite a few oxen and horses. Even based on what you heard, that was fought very well. Keep fighting — it looks like Xuan Garrison alone can finish off Ajige's army. What does this have to do with telling me to enter the border?"

Logically speaking, to ambush an army of eight or nine thousand, Ajige must have committed every soldier he had brought inside the border.

Putting everything else aside, on an enormous battlefield of twenty to thirty thousand men, for them to suffer an ambush without their camp formation falling into chaos, to stabilize their lines with only minimal casualties, and even force the enemy to withdraw —

even if the First Brigade's three battalions of the Marshal's Army faced such an ambush, they might not necessarily have fought better.

In his mind, Liu the Lion immediately raised his assessment of the Xuanfu troops' current combat effectiveness by two full notches.

These were no hunger-enduring weaklings — these were rare, elite soldiers under Heaven!

And this was with the plague throwing Shanxi into chaos and no supplies; how formidable would these men be if they had full bellies!

Only, he never expected that just as he could not understand Fu Renxi's words, Fu Renxi could not understand his either.

The two men stared at each other for a moment before Fu Renxi realized where the misunderstanding lay.

He hurriedly said: "No, Grand Marshal, the Three Garrisons of Shanxi are all understrength small battalions right now. Under Wang Pu at Datong, seven battalions of combat troops amount to only ten thousand soldiers. Li Guoliang's three battalions, combined, are just two thousand men. What ambushed him was a rearguard of a thousand-odd eastern caitiff cavalry."

Liu Chengzong shot Fu Renxi a displeased sidelong glare. You've come to deliver battle reports to me — are you trying to fool the Ministry of War?

Two thousand men ambushed by a thousand cavalry, versus three battalions ambushed — the difference in battlefield scale was five or six times.

A disparity in troop strength like that could directly turn a victory into a crushing defeat.

"From what you're saying, Xuanfu's three battalions are now crippled. Over two hundred killed in action means everyone left is wounded — there's no way they can keep fighting."

Fu Renxi nodded decisively. No wonder Liu Chengzong was the Grand Marshal; with this scrap of information alone, he could deduce the actual battlefield situation with near-perfect accuracy. Subordinates simply could not fool him.

"Military Governor Liang says that after Li Guoliang clashed with the eastern caitiffs, he lost his nerve and won't advance. I know he's sent men back to Xuanfu to call up more troops."

"Wang Pu at Datong, meanwhile, on the pretext of guarding against the Marshal's Army, is waiting for the court's order to rush to the Emperor's aid. Until that order comes, he won't move out of Datong."

"Right now the eastern Tartars are splitting their forces to strike the Juyong Pass and the second defense wall at Changping."

Fu Renxi tapped his own chest lightly with both hands and said urgently, "Commander Liang has donned his armor and wants me to lead the garrison battalion out — the handful of men I have would be crushed the moment we clash."

"The Marshal is going to fight the eastern Tartars anyway — inside the border or outside, what difference does it make? So I have come specially to request that the Marshal dispatch five thousand troops to enter the border and assist in the battle."

With that explanation, Liu Chengzong more or less grasped the situation. "So what you mean is — you're not asking me to enter the border, you've come to borrow troops."

Fu Renxi saw hope. His head bobbed like a pestle pounding garlic, nodding again and again.

But to his utter surprise, Liu the Lion refused flatly: "Impossible."

This was sheer fantasy.

Fu Renxi lowered his posture even further and pleaded, "The Marshal is righteous. The eastern Tartars slaughter our forts and villages, plunder our women and children — even if they are surrendered soldiers, northern Tartars, Mongols, or Tibetans — as long as the Marshal lends me five thousand — no, three thousand troops — combined with my two thousand from the garrison battalion, I, Fu, would dare stake my life on a pitched battle outside Juyong Pass."

"Once they breach the pass and pour into the capital region, with no defensible terrain and a dense population there, by then..."

Liu the Lion raised a hand to stop him from continuing. "No need to tell me all this."

In truth, Fu Renxi's idea had amused him.

His army was stationed outside the border. That he had not invaded Shanxi to loot amid the chaos was already the height of benevolence — the Great Ming ought to be thanking heaven and earth, and still hadn't gotten around to it.

And Fu Renxi actually wanted to borrow troops from him to fight the eastern Tartars inside the border — was this not a daydream?

"My troops may be many, but my commanders are long accustomed to arrogance — you could not control them. The provisions such a force consumes are enormous — you could not supply them. Once inside the border, if they take the slightest offense, they'll strike whoever they see. How would you handle that? Seeking death?"

Liu the Lion was being polite.

In reality, though his soldiers came from various origins, since they had pledged themselves under his banner, not a single one of them could have his life lightly entrusted to another's hands.

Having made his stance clear, Liu the Lion then said to Fu Renxi, "The Jin army has already reached the Changping border. Xuan-Da cannot stop them now. Regroup your forces and prepare to march to the capital to serve the throne — that is all. Go back and tell Liang Tingdong."

The moment Liu Chengzong said this, a guard behind him with a young vulture perched on his iron arm-guard stepped forward and handed Fu Renxi yellow paper and a charcoal pencil.

Remarkably perceptive.

In this season, there were not many vultures still following the Marshal's army on the march.

This was precisely the time when vultures incubate their eggs — males and females take turns brooding on cliff faces and crags. Only a few unlucky ones that failed to pair up, and muddle-headed ones that mistook the camp for a nest, would tag along with the army to scrounge for food.

Neither type was numerous — just over thirty birds in all.

And ones like this, that would perch on the Marshal's army iron arm-guards pretending to be hawks, were from last year's muddle-headed ones that treated the camp as a nest — their eggs had miraculously survived unbroken and hatched. There were only two in total.

They had learned to fly less than half a year ago, their bodies not yet so heavy, so perching on the iron arm-guards did not annoy anyone.

As for the big fellows that grew to fifteen or sixteen jin, though they too had no fear of people and sometimes wanted to rest a while on a soldier's arm, they would usually be shooed away.

Too heavy.

Of course, they would not leave at the first shooing — when provoked, they would often flap their wings and leap up, delivering flying kicks with both legs at once.

But the power was limited — one kick from a man or a couple of slaps to the head and they'd settle down.

Once Fu Renxi was ready, Liu Chengzong said, "If he is willing to coordinate, he may memorialize the court. Chengzong has many fierce commanders under his command, all men who have repeatedly rendered meritorious service. They ought to have been fully enfeoffed with noble titles, but constrained by finances, it has been delayed again and again. Truly, I feel deep shame before my many officers."

"By the grace of His Majesty, my officer Yang Qi was enfeoffed as a prince, granted a bronze seal to enjoy princely rank, and also promised an allotment of stipend grain — this resolved my most pressing difficulty. Therefore, I am willing at this time to lend the court a hand."

"I shall shift my forces to the border outside Ji Garrison this very day, blocking the eastern Tartars' route of retreat at the breach, and also barring the Jin reinforcements from coming east. This will allow the Ming army to throw its full strength into intercepting Ajige's force in the capital region."

"If the court ministers cannot trust me, they may promptly deliver the years of accumulated stipend grain owed to the Han and Su princedoms, plus the annual stipend of the new Prince Yang Qi... let us say a total of one hundred thousand shi of stipend grain, transported to the Ji border. Then the lords at court may look up and down without shame, and need no longer trouble themselves with groundless fears."

"Once the stipend grain is handed over, even if an edict commands Chengzong to march to the capital to serve the throne, with Viceroy Tingdong entering the camp to take command — that would be no more than a single word from His Majesty's golden mouth."

When Fu Renxi finished writing, Liu the Lion clapped and laughed. "With this, Commander-in-Chief Fu can go back and report, can he not?"

Fu Renxi was somewhat dumbstruck.

Not that he was truly stupid — rather, his mind was racing, and in a short time he had thought through many implications. For a moment, he found it hard to accept.

At first, as a border general, he had not considered the situation outside the border or anything beyond that.

When he suggested to Liang Tingdong that he be permitted to borrow troops from outside the border, he had not thought too much about it — it was purely for battle merit.

Because Liu Chengzong wanted to fight the eastern Tartars, and the Marshal's army did not count severed heads for merit, he had the idea of borrowing three to five thousand troops to accompany him into the border.

When the time came, the Marshal's army could take whatever spoils they wanted, and the heads could certainly all be left to Fu Renxi — all would be battle merit for his Viceroy Garrison Battalion.

But now.

With a moment's reflection, Fu Renxi understood what status Ajige's army held in Liu Chengzong's eyes — bait.

Liu Chengzong could not possibly lead his troops into Shanxi to assist, because he intended to besiege the target and strike the reinforcements.

Once he understood this, Fu Renxi realized that the Ming army — the Ming forces in Shanxi, Xuan-Da, and the capital region — were all, in this campaign, being used by Liu Chengzong.

Liu Chengzong did not need to do anything outside the border — merely by stationing himself there, the Ming army would destroy his enemies within the territory and lure even more enemies over.

And this letter Liu Chengzong wanted to give Liang Tingdong, for Liang Tingdong to memorialize the court... to be honest, in Fu Renxi's view, though the words were all pleasant, inside it was really nothing but insults and threats.

It was essentially saying: I am stationed outside the border. If your consciences are clear, you need not fear me at all. Fearing me means your consciences are not clear.

Why would your consciences not be clear? Because you mediocrities sowed discord among my officers and actually enfeoffed Yang Qi as a prince.

My shifting forces to the border outside Ji Garrison is a blade hanging over your heads — at any moment I can march south in retaliation.

If you want this grievance waived, deliver one hundred thousand shi of grain to the border as tribute — only then can I treat this as though it never happened.

If you fear losing face, then send Viceroy Liang Tingdong into my camp as a hostage, and I can also hold my nose and let you order me around once — enter the border and take a turn, to show the grain was not spent in vain.

In short, Fu Renxi felt that Liu Chengzong was actually quite a decent person.

When he could plainly just rob them outright, he still left His Majesty the excuse of a prince issuing stipend grain.

And he spoke so nicely about it, making it sound almost like a good deal.

"Oh, right."

Just as Fu Renxi was still studying Liu Chengzong's line of reasoning, he heard Liu Chengzong add, "If His Majesty still wishes to enfeoff my officers as princes, I will produce a list later. So long as the court helps me resolve the stipend grain, enfeoff all that should be enfeoffed — enfeoff more, enfeoff them all!"