The city of Feishou in the southern border of Lingzhou marked the northwestern terminus of the granary transport system of Liyang, while Xiangfan in Qingzhou lay at the heart of this imperial supply line. Therefore, for the imperial court to precisely control Beiliang, it required the cooperation of the Prince of Jing’an, Zhao Xun. At present, the esteemed Tan Tan Weng, serving as the Left Pushe of the Zhongshu Province, was quite satisfied with the actions taken in Xiangfan. As a result, he petitioned the court for an exceptional promotion, an appointment that defied protocol, bringing forth Lu Xu, the mastermind behind the Prince of Jing’an’s court, into the public eye. He was granted the title of Hanlin lecturer, commonly known among the people as the Great Yellow Gate Official, and was specially exempted from the duty of reporting to the capital for service.
Previously, Beiliang’s Chen Xiliang had temporarily resided in Feishou City, spending an entire ten days in fruitless negotiations with Gu Dacheng, the deputy commissioner of the granary transport, trying every trick in the book without making the slightest dent in the official’s resolve.
At dawn, a simple carriage entered Feishou through the northern gate and stopped at the Shanhai Dock in the southern part of the city. Three men of vastly different ages disembarked: two young men of similar age and an elderly man in a green robe. Standing on the empty dock, where few grain ships were visible, the short young man with a cool saber at his waist kicked a mooring post and glanced toward the temporary residence of the deputy granary transport commissioner. He grumbled to the young nobleman beside him, whose hair was already flecked with gray: “The Gu family, father and son, are known as the ‘Great and Small Gu Pixiu’ of the river. Gu Zhui once took the master of the current Director of Ceremonial as his adoptive father, allowing father and son to successively hold the post of granary transport commissioner. It’s said they’ve earned enough silver to fill an entire Class C granary. But although Gu Dacheng is greedy, with the old man Huan personally watching his purse strings, he wouldn’t dare to accept a single copper coin from Beiliang. In my opinion, this is a dead end. We might as well kill the bastard and be done with it. For every new transport commissioner that comes, we kill them all, until no one from Liyang dares to come near. Then we can freely run our own granary transport in Beiliang. From Feishou to Xiangfan, there are sixteen major canals and no fewer than fifty granaries. There will always be local magnates willing to do business with us. If that doesn’t work, we can just take it by force. Qingliang Mountain has so many martial hounds; they can’t just eat and do nothing forever. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
Unfortunately, the Prince of Beiliang, traveling incognito, and Mo School Grandmaster Yang Guangdou did not utter a single word of agreement. Instead, they slowly strolled along the bluestone pavement of the Shanhai Dock, heading toward the commissioner’s residence nearby. The residence had been standing for many years and, with little maintenance, appeared even more dilapidated compared to the governor’s mansion within the city. This couldn’t be blamed on the Gu family for not sprucing up their image; any slight excess would lead to accusations from imperial censors of colluding with Beiliang for personal gain, and no one would dare risk such a death sentence. Even with a powerful eunuch backing them in the capital, such matters were untouchable; anyone who tried to intercede would be asking for trouble.
The granary transport commissioner’s residence was surrounded by a wooden fence, with a dozen armored soldiers standing guard, looking anxious and fearful. Local mischievous children kept throwing stones into the compound, and none of the soldiers dared to protest. With nothing better to do, they resorted to using their spears to knock the stones back, which only delighted the children further, prompting them to search for more stones to throw.
Standing a few zhang away from the fence, Xu Fengnian spoke softly: “The imperial court is obstructing Beiliang in the granary transport matter, but it’s not just testing my limits. With the imminent restoration of the Western Chu, the various regional armies summoned to defend the capital won’t dare to demand too much, but they still need to be fed. Once the bows and crossbows sound, it’s like a mountain of gold. War, in the end, is a contest of resources. Otherwise, without money or food, even Gu Jiantang with his hundreds of thousands of troops would be helpless, unable to withstand the new Western Chu led by Sun Xiji in logistics and Cao Changqing commanding the troops from afar. Many people say that if the Western Chu had made a decision earlier, giving Cao Changqing command over Ye Baikui’s forces before the Battle of Xilei Wall, it would have taken Liyang at least five to ten more years to completely subdue the Spring and Autumn period.”
Yang Guangdou smiled and said, “Regarding the restoration of the Western Chu, I have conducted countless simulations. It’s winnable, but it won’t end quickly.”
Xu Fengnian nodded and said, “Six out of ten imperial taxes came from the Western Chu. In recent years, Liyang has exploited the Western Chu mercilessly. No matter how prosperous a region is, it can’t withstand such short-sighted exploitation. Yuan Benxi and Bi Yanye deliberately wanted to provoke the Western Chu into rebellion. Gu Jiantang and Gu Lu have been dreaming of a war with the Western Chu. In times of peace, civil officials enjoy prosperity, while military generals can only live off past glories. Therefore, the emperor quickly assigned tasks to senior ministers like Zhao Youling and Yin Maoshun, either to evaluate officials or oversee the imperial examinations, to prevent them from becoming idle and causing trouble. Over the years, the court has deliberately weakened military defenses around the Western Chu, giving the Western Chu hope of restoration. More insidiously, among the feudal princes, without mentioning the distant Prince of Jiaodong, Zhao Sui, the Prince of Huainan, Zhao Ying, and the Prince of Jing’an, Zhao Heng, are relatively weak but still retain elite forces ranging from four to five thousand to over ten thousand troops. Sending them to suppress the rebellion in the Western Chu forces them to march to the border under the court’s control, where they will inevitably lose all their elite troops in battle. This sinister strategy of weakening the feudal princes is undoubtedly Yuan Benxi’s idea. Once the Western Chu matter is resolved, Prince Guangling Zhao Yi will face the Western Chu head-on, and the fat he has accumulated will be severely trimmed, possibly even losing every soldier and horse. I feel his pain. Meanwhile, Zhao Sui in Liaodong is already suffocating under Gu Jiantang’s pressure, leaving only me and Prince Yan Chi Zhao Bing uncontrolled. But the Northern Barbarians are considerate, perfectly in sync with Liyang, and will soon clash with Beiliang. You fight your Western Chu, and I’ll fight my Beiliang. Each goes their own way. I even suspect that Yuan Benxi and that Taiping Decree are working together. In the end, only Zhao Zhu’s father, the great feudal prince, remains free.”
Yang Guangdou smiled slightly, “Nalan Youci’s ability to avoid calamity is unmatched; if he claims to be second, no one dares to claim first.”
Xu Fengnian muttered to himself, “The battle between Liyang and the Western Chu will definitely precede our conflict with the Northern Barbarians. Even if the Zhao family knows the Northern Barbarians are preoccupied on the eastern front, they won’t allow Gu Jiantang to participate. After finally getting rid of Xu Xiao, they won’t want to raise another Xu Xiao. Civil officials have nothing left to be Seal or rewarded with, while military generals tend to hoard troops. As expected, Lu Baijie and Lu Shengxiang will either stay in the Ministry of War or go south. However, since Lu Baijie has just become the Minister of War, the likelihood is smaller. If Lu Shengxiang gains military merit, he can return to the capital and balance Lu Baijie, preventing the Ministry of War from becoming the sole domain of the Sword Immortal of Tangxi. If Lu Shengxiang leads, several old generals like Yang Shenxing, the Grand General of An Guo, will surely seize the opportunity to participate while they can still Reluctantlymount a horse and wield a sword. But whether it’s Lu Shengxiang or Yang Shenxing and the other old generals of the Spring and Autumn period, they are all inferior to Cao Changqing. Lu Shengxiang is somewhat capable, but he will inevitably face various constraints. The only forces that can fight desperately in the early stages will probably be those of Prince Guangling Zhao Yi. In my opinion, this battle isn’t just winnable; Cao Changqing might sweep everything before him and reach Tai’an City directly.”
Yang Guangdou frowned, “If the Western Chu gains the upper hand and advances northward? Even if it’s the Northern Barbarians, if they dare to fight a decisive battle outside Tai’an City, their chances of victory won’t be high.”
Xu Fengnian laughed, “I was just talking off the top of my head.”
Yang Guangdou laughed heartily, “If that were truly the case, it would be a great boon for Beiliang. The Northern Barbarians might even change their plans on a whim, decisively abandoning the western front and turning to the eastern front, attacking Tai’an City from the north and south together with the Western Chu. That would be truly spectacular. Gu Jiantang always felt that his defeat by the Grand General was due solely to unfavorable timing. Now he’ll have the chance to prove himself. The eastern front he has built over the years has everything he needs—troops and money. Whatever he asks for from the court, he gets. If he still can’t succeed, he might as well hang himself with a few noodles.”
Cao Wei interrupted, asking, “Is Cao Changqing really that formidable?”
Yang Guangdou sighed softly, “Among the scholars of the Spring and Autumn period, the Western Chu had the most outstanding ones, and among them, Cao Longli was the most brilliant. ‘Cao the Head of the Dragon’ stood alone at the pinnacle of the Western Chu, not just a boast. However, people were mostly blinded by his feat of entering the imperial palace four times, thinking of him as a martial arts master with unparalleled skills. In terms of military strategy, he and Chen Zhiba are probably the strongest. Gu Jiantang’s strength lies in his meticulous pursuit of geographical advantages before every battle, claiming that he won’t fight unless he is certain of victory. Overall, compared to these two, he is still slightly inferior. However, the matter of divine favor and timing is intangible and unpredictable. Gu Jiantang’s timing is the overwhelming trend of Liyang, while Cao Changqing’s is the rise and fall of the Western Chu’s fate. As for Chen Zhiba, he is probably still waiting.”
Xu Fengnian smiled faintly, “Chen Zhiba is waiting for Cao Changqing and the Western Chu to perish together, waiting for the Northern Barbarians to clash with Beiliang and Gu Jiantang until they are both exhausted. Then it will be his turn to make his grand entrance as the ‘Young Butcher.’ Xu Xiao merely flattened the Spring and Autumn period, but Chen Zhiba’s ambitions are far greater—he wants to personally unify the world and forge a vast empire unseen in a thousand years. Whether he wants to become the emperor himself is anyone’s guess.”
Yang Guangdou exhaled deeply, “Ever since the Grand General passed away, the world has begun to fall into chaos.”
Cao Wei clicked his tongue, “In any case, I definitely won’t face Chen Zhiba in battle.”
The short man slowly counted on his fingers, “In the refugee lands, the Fengzi Camp has already stationed in Qingcang, and the young prince’s Longxiang Army has almost fully infiltrated. Combined with Chu Fatso and Yuan Baixiong to the north of Liangzhou and Youzhou, Beiliang finally has its own eastern and western fronts, along with the fourteen new junior officers guarding key strongholds within the territory, forming the second line of defense. As for me, I’ll move even further northwest into the refugee lands, which will be the crucial third line of defense. It’s not really about defense—it’s more about attacking without holding back. When you’re all locked in fierce battles, I’ll deliver the final blow. Hey, Xu, we agreed in advance: give me five thousand light cavalry and ten thousand top-quality warhorses, and I’ll help you take advantage of the chaos to wipe out the Southern Court’s stronghold in one fell swoop. If you dare to give me ten thousand men and twenty thousand horses, I’ll even help you conquer the Northern Court’s Great Khan’s tent.”
Xu Fengnian replied helplessly, “It’s not that I can’t give them to you, but do you really think the Northern Barbarians are all blind men and good-for-nothings?”
Cao Wei rolled his eyes, “As for this historic raid, I’ve been planning it for over a decade. This is the only way I can make a name for myself. What do you think?”
As Xu Fengnian was about to speak, he heard a familiar “Hehehe…”
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