Taiheiki

Chapter 220 Planning
"That's true, but ultimately, such matters still require someone close to the emperor, since one cannot interfere with a close relative!" Deng Zhong said in a low voice.

Kuai Sheng nodded slightly. Deng Zhong's words had hit the nail on the head. In such top-level political struggles, even if the final showdown was inevitable, the key to victory wasn't who had more troops, but who could obtain the emperor's authorization. Otherwise, Liang Ji and the Lü clan wouldn't have been finished. During the Han Dynasty, the Imperial Guards hadn't yet developed their own consciousness; everything operated according to the law and official seals. Zhou Bo, a founding hero and Grand Commandant, couldn't even enter the Northern Army camp without tricking Lü Lu into giving him the seal. Sima Shi, who served as Commander of the Central Army for several years during the Gaoping Mausoleum Incident, was able to maintain three thousand elite soldiers within the Imperial Guards without seals or imperial edicts—something absolutely impossible during the Han Dynasty. Therefore, their biggest challenge is how to win over the people around the emperor. In the past, this was easy; they just needed to win over the eunuchs. But now, thanks to Yuan Shao, the original eunuch group has been destroyed. Although there are still eunuchs around the emperor, it is no longer an organized and traditional political group.

“Brother Deng, as far as I know, before the current emperor ascended the throne, he was the Marquis of Jiedu. After he came to Luoyang to ascend the throne, although with the consent of Empress Dowager Dou, he posthumously honored his deceased father Liu Chang as Emperor Xiaoren (only called Emperor, not Emperor), and his tomb as Shenling, and honored his mother, Lady Dong, as Consort Shenyuan, his mother still remained in Hejian and never came to Luoyang! I heard that before the emperor ascended the throne, his fiefdom was only ten li in size, and his family was not wealthy. Although Consort Dong’s son became the emperor, she did not receive much benefit. If we put some effort into this woman, it might be effective!”

"Hmm! Brother Kuai, you even thought of this! What a brilliant plan!" Deng Zhong clapped his hands and laughed. Although he had always been in Nanyang, he also had informants in Luoyang and had heard some rumors about the current emperor. Just as Kuai Sheng had said, although Liu Hong had ascended the throne, he couldn't even bring his biological mother to Luoyang; she could only remain in his hometown of Hejian. Obviously, this was because of Empress Dowager Dou, to prevent the emperor's birth mother from vying with him for the title of Empress Dowager. Clearly, Consort Dong would be very dissatisfied with this. She was clearly the emperor's birth mother, yet she could only remain in Hejian as a tomb-guarding woman. If he could curry favor with Consort Dong, it would definitely have a good effect, at least allowing him to establish a connection with the emperor through this channel.

"If Brother Deng thinks this is a good idea, then I will set off immediately for Hejian Kingdom?" Kuai Sheng said.

"There's no need to rush this!" Deng Zhong pondered for a moment. "Let's see Zhang Boshen first. As for Hejian Kingdom, if we go to see Consort Dong right now, what if Empress Dowager Dou has people secretly monitoring us there? It might cause trouble. It would be better to send someone to visit Consort Dong's brothers and nephews!"

"Excellent!" Kuai Sheng nodded. "Brother Deng's considerations are indeed thorough!"

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The seat of Lingling County, Jingzhou.

Lai Hong, the magistrate of Lingling, was not wearing armor, but only a plain linen robe. His hands were bound, his face pressed to the ground, and he knelt before Wei Cong. Above his head, the banner of Wei, the governor of Jiaozhou and marquis of Buqi, fluttered high. Behind him were six or seven others, all dressed similarly, like a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

The armor plates clanged as the cavalrymen ran, and Wei Cong felt his shoulders heavy and sore. He couldn't help but regret why he had worn armor, just for a little face and prestige. Especially after a whole day of trekking, he secretly made up his mind that next time he would ride an elephant, since elephants were more comfortable than horses.

Perhaps to flaunt their status, everyone surrounding Wei Cong was clad in gleaming armor, shimmering in the sunlight. Their armor was ornately decorated with the magnificent feathers of birds and beasts, and inlaid with jewels and gold and silver. Among this lavishly decorated group, Wei Cong was the most plain; his armor was sturdy and fit perfectly, but aside from a layer of black lacquer, it had no other embellishments.

This was the fourth day since the vanguard of the Jiaozhou army arrived at the walls of Lingling. The defenders opened the city gates and surrendered. Wei Cong suspected that they had seen the large catapults that had been erected and the barriers separating the inside from the outside. At the very least, these defenders knew who was stronger and who was weaker. This was a rare skill in chaotic times.

"Where is the prefect of this prefecture?" Wei Cong asked.

“He died in battle a year ago!” Lai Hong answered cautiously: “He fell off his horse and broke his neck while chasing bandits outside the city.”

"Is there a successor?"

“Lingling hasn’t received any imperial edicts for a long time!” Lai Hong said with a wry smile, “So we, a few county officials, discussed various matters together!”

Wei Cong glanced at the people kneeling behind Lai Hong. To be honest, he wasn't surprised that they did this; after all, if he were in their shoes, he probably wouldn't have had a better choice. However, he couldn't leave too many troops behind on his northward journey, so he had to first demonstrate enough authority to subdue these guys.

"You should all know the purpose of my trip!" Wei Cong said in a deep voice, "The imperial court has issued an edict ordering me to lead troops north to quell the Wuling barbarians and the E'ze bandits. All counties and prefectures along the way must obey my orders. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a traitor and destroyed!"

"We couldn't be sure of your identity at first!" Lai Hong said with a wry smile. "After all, for the past year or so, there have been bandits everywhere, robbing and looting under all sorts of pretexts! We couldn't tell who were government troops and who were bandits!"

"Shut up!" Wen Sheng shouted from the side, "Who gave you permission to shoot arrows at us? This is a capital offense!"

"Enough!" Wei Cong decided to temporarily stop this pointless argument: "How many soldiers are there in the city? How much grain is stored? And what about the livestock and ships that can be requisitioned!"

"We have seven hundred soldiers, over five thousand bushels of grain, about a thousand mules and horses, and only about twenty boats!" Lai Hong said with a wry smile, "But spring plowing is just around the corner, so—"

"The military situation is urgent, we can't worry about anything else!" Wei Cong said, "You are the chief clerk, right? I'll leave the matter of requisitioning grain, ships, mules and horses to you. I will stay here for a day, and then continue north to Quanzhou! Untie them!" Wei Cong ordered, then kicked the horse's belly, and the mount went straight past the people kneeling on the ground and headed into the city. Lu Ping quickly spurred his horse to follow closely behind.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" she asked in a low voice.

"Ugh!" Wei Cong twisted his neck. "This armor is making my shoulders hurt terribly. It's like a nightmare. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have put myself through this!"

"The situation demands that you don your armor and subdue these potentially untouchable criminals!" Lu Ping whispered.

"Yes!" Wei Cong gave a wry smile. "Nobody knows what these guys have been doing over the past few years, and I haven't had time to investigate them all. The only thing I can do is scare them and move on as quickly as possible. Sigh, if Yan Nian were still alive, I wouldn't have to work so hard. I could just stay in Jiaozhou and keep watch!"

Seeing Wei Cong's somber expression, Lu Ping remained silent. This wasn't the first time she'd heard this man lament the death of his former subordinate. Was it because he'd lost a capable assistant, or because he'd lost an old friend? She didn't know. But one thing was certain: in his heart, Zhao Yannian held a very important place.

"Perhaps we can slow down! There's no need to go so fast!" Lu Ping said softly. "The entire route is by water. If we wait another half a month, when the spring rains come, it will be easier to travel by boat!"

"Perhaps you have a point, but I have a bad feeling about this!" "A bad feeling?"

“Yes!” Wei Cong lowered his voice: “I always feel like there’s a voice in the dark urging me: Hurry up, hurry up! Otherwise it will be too late!”

"Too late? What do you mean?" Lu Ping asked curiously.

"The overall situation is settled! Do you understand? With Jiaozhou newly pacified, the number of troops I can lead north is limited, at most ten thousand. If the overall situation were still uncertain, my forces would be enough to influence the outcome, but if the situation is settled, my army can only accept reality. Do you understand?"

The two had arrived at the government office. Guards helped Wei Cong dismount; one took his helmet, while another lifted the curtain. Wei Cong walked up the steps: "I'll rest for a while; we'll hold the military meeting after dinner!"

Compared to the brightness of the courtyard, the room was dark and damp. With the help of a guard, Wei Cong removed his armor, stretched his shoulders and neck, and let out a comfortable sigh. Just then, a guard brought two cups of water. He took one, drank a sip, and then walked to the hanging map, beginning to calculate. Lu Ping silently stood up, holding her cup. When Wei Cong noticed his cup was empty, she handed him hers: "I haven't drunk from it yet, it's clean!"

Wei Cong was slightly taken aback, then laughed, took the cup without hesitation, and drank it all in one gulp: "Have I been too depressed these past few days?"

"It's alright!" Lu Ping said with a smile. "After all, you have the heaviest burden on your shoulders, so we can't blame you!"

“You always make things sound so nice!” Wei Cong said with a wry smile, “I know myself. The situation isn’t as bad as I just said. At worst, I’ll just go back to being the governor of Jiaozhou.”

"That puts my mind at ease!" Lu Ping smiled brightly. "And what about the best-case scenario? Tell me about it?"

"The best?" Wei Cong thought for a moment: "Luoyang is about to change. I should replace General Dou. No, I will not stay in Luoyang. Deng Zhong should be the general. I need someone to serve as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat!"

"Deng Zhong? Who is he?"

“A friend of mine is a descendant of the Deng family of Nanyang! If this plan goes well, his daughter will become the new empress, and he will replace Dou Wu as the new Grand General!”

"Is that so?" Lu Ping's eyes shone like morning stars. "But Dou Wu has already seized control of the court. How could he allow the emperor to marry Deng's daughter as empress? Besides, the emperor shouldn't be of marriageable age yet, right?"

“All of this was naturally kept from Dou Wu!” Wei Cong said, “Although the emperor ascended the throne, his birth mother, Lady Dong, could only remain in Hejian Kingdom and was given the mere title of Noble Lady. If even his mother was treated like this, naturally few of the people around the emperor when he was in Hejian Kingdom would have benefited either. How could they not harbor resentment towards Lady Dou?”

"That's right! You must have sent someone to contact that Lady Dong, expressing your willingness to help her replace Empress Dowager Dou as Empress Dowager, on the condition that the Emperor marry Lady Deng's daughter as Empress. Lady Dong would definitely agree. It's difficult for others to contact the Emperor, but Lady Dong, after all, is the Emperor's birth mother, so it's not difficult. With the Emperor's righteous authority, you'll have a way to deal with that General Dou, right? You're truly amazing, managing to manipulate those important figures from thousands of miles away!"

"That's not entirely true. It's just that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; I was merely the child under the tree with a slingshot!"

"A little kid with a slingshot! Hahahaha!" Lu Ping covered her mouth and burst into laughter: "Your analogy is really mischievous. Deng Zhong is the oriole, isn't he? But I never expected there to be a cunning kid like you with a slingshot!"

"That's for sure. Luoyang is the capital, a place that everyone in the world is watching closely. Once you go there, you're practically in a tree, being watched by millions of eyes. How can you not reveal your weaknesses? No matter how skilled you are, you'll eventually be hit by a slingshot. Only by staying out of the fray can you escape the fate of being the mantis stalking the cicada!"

“What you say is quite right!” Lu Ping nodded. “But the problem is, who can bear to give up Luoyang? That is the capital city, the center of the world. Whoever controls Luoyang can hold the emperor’s orders in their hands, and no one will dare to disobey them. Giving up all of that would be far too difficult!”

“Then there’s nothing we can do! If you stay in Luoyang, you’ll be targeted by everyone with slingshots, constantly under attack, and sooner or later you’ll fall from the tree. It’s impossible to have both Luoyang and safety!” Wei Cong laughed.

"how about you?"

"Me? After quelling the rebellion, I will return to Jiaozhou to establish my base. However, I will leave spies and troops in Luoyang, just in case!"

“Governing troops?” Lu Ping frowned. “What’s the use? It’s such a long distance from Jiaozhou to Luoyang. If you keep too many troops, you can’t afford to support them; if you keep too few, they won’t be enough. It will only arouse suspicion. What’s the point?”

"Do you think it's far?" Wei Cong laughed. "If we start from Ganxian, we can take the waterway down the Gan River to the Yangtze River, then go through Ruxukou into Chaohu Lake, then from Chaohu Lake along the Fei River into the Huai River, and then from the Huai River along the Ying River into the Yellow River, reaching the city of Luoyang. How many days do you think this waterway will take?"

"This—" Lu Ping was a little confused by Wei Cong's string of place names. In fact, what Wei Cong just said was the main route that Cao Cao took in his four campaigns against Eastern Wu after the Battle of Red Cliffs during the Three Kingdoms period. It was from Luoyang, along the Ying River into the Huai River, then along the Fei River into Hefei and into Chaohu Lake, and then along the Ruxu River into the Yangtze River.

Therefore, Eastern Wu established a fortress at Ruxukou, namely Ruxu Dock, and Cao Cao attacked Ruxu Dock four times without success. Wei Cong, on the other hand, planned to sail north against Cao Cao's southward waterway, sending his fleet directly to Luoyang. It should be noted that in ancient times, short-distance land marches were faster than water marches, but for longer distances, water marches were much faster. This is because waterborne marches could load supplies onto ships, and soldiers traveling by water had more stamina, even able to sail 24 hours a day, naturally making them much faster than those traveling by land.

(End of this chapter)