Jinting Han people

In the blink of an eye, it was February of the first year of the Tai'an era. With Sima Yi officially taking power, the new court's politics began to get back on track.

After a series of new edicts were issued, especially the grand reburial of Qi King Sima Jiong, the southern provinces of China generally showed an attitude of obedience to the imperial edicts, and there was no fierce resistance as expected.

In particular, the three princes enfeoffed by Sima Jiong—Sima Xin, Prince of Xinye; Sima Xiao, Prince of Fanyang; and Sima Mao, Prince of Dongping—maintained a remarkable silence after receiving news of Sima Yi's execution of Sima Jiong. They awaited further developments in the court, and upon hearing that Sima Yi had delegated power to Sima Ying, they all submitted memorials and gifts to Sima Ying to demonstrate their intimacy.

Clearly, after losing Sima Jiong as their leader, the three kings of the South could not trust and help each other, and it would take time for them to control the prefectures and counties under their control. Naturally, they did not dare to confront the new court, which was supported by Sima Ying, and generally adopted a strategy of respecting the king and obeying his orders.

This allows a country that is actually divided to nominally maintain peace and unity.

However, everyone secretly understood that this peace was nothing but a fragile illusion. Amidst the continuous internal strife, this peace was easily shattered. Various factions were secretly accumulating power, trying every means to strengthen themselves. It was a matter of who would be the first to lose their composure and step forward to become the culprit who would disrupt this peace.

In this situation, the party with the greatest advantage was naturally Sima Ying. Although he was in Ye City, he was in fact the regent, able to remotely control the overall situation under the guise of handling court affairs. At the same time, he was the most powerful, which allowed him to expand his power without fear.

So in late February, he couldn't wait to send a letter from Ye City, proposing to change the Southern Expeditionary Army Command, which immediately caused a great uproar in Luoyang.

The cause was good news from Yizhou.

When Li Te of Yizhou rebelled last year, Sima Yi suggested to Sima Jiong that part of the troops of the Southern Expeditionary Army be mobilized to enter Shu to help Luo Shang quell the rebellion, and Sima Jiong agreed to the request.

However, since the Southern Expeditionary Army was newly established, it would take time to train the troops and prepare supplies. Therefore, although Sima Xin received the imperial edict in May of the first year of Yongning, it took more than a year, until October of the first year of Tai'an, for Sima Xin to send Zong Dai, the governor of Jingzhou, and Sun Fu, the prefect of Jianping, to lead the troops.

The two commanders led a combined 30,000-strong navy. They left Xiangyang, sailed south along the Han River to the Yangtze River, rested briefly in Jiangling to replenish supplies, and then sailed upstream, passing Baidi City and entering Yizhou. Upon arriving in Jiangzhou, Zong Dai first sent a messenger to contact Luo Shang. Luo Shang was overjoyed to learn of the reinforcements' arrival. He discussed strategy with his men, concluding that the Jingzhou army did not need to join forces in Chengdu, but should instead sail north via Dianjiang to attack Deyang, thereby drawing Li Te's attention.

Upon learning this, Zong Dai acted accordingly. He led his army in a feigned attack on Deyang, claiming to have 100,000 troops, which greatly alarmed Li Te. Li Te then dispatched Li Dang, Li Huang, and Ren Zang with 20,000 troops to resist Zong Dai and Sun Fu, significantly weakening the military forces around Chengdu. Luo Shang then sent his aide Ren Ming, instructing him to feign surrender to Li Te under the pretext of visiting family, and to spread the news of reinforcements' arrival. Panic gripped the various fortified villages, and many secretly surrendered to Ren Ming, agreeing to attack Li Te together on February 10th.

At this time, Li Te was still basking in the joy of Ren Ming's surrender, believing that Luo Shang would be unable to hold out and that victory was just around the corner. However, on the day of Gui Mao in February, Luo Shang suddenly sent troops to attack Li Te. The various fortified villages responded in response, launching a pincer attack that caught Li Te completely off guard. Li Te had fewer troops at this time, and after two days of fighting, he could no longer hold out and had no choice but to abandon Chengdu and retreat with his army.

When Li Te retreated to Xinfan, he was bloodthirsty and unwilling to accept defeat. Seeing Luo Shang's army return, he attempted to pursue and counterattack, hoping to turn the tide of battle. The two sides fought another great battle, and after fighting for more than thirty miles, Luo Shang gathered his superior forces and completely surrounded Li Te. Li Te suffered a crushing defeat. In one battle, Luo Shang killed Li Te and his brother Li Fu, as well as his general Li Yuan.

This was an unprecedented victory for the imperial court since the uprising of the refugees in Yizhou. Li Te's younger brother, Li Liu, and his son, Li Xiong, led their remaining troops to break through the siege and escape back to Mianzhu and Chizu. Li Dang of Deyang no longer dared to resist the Jingzhou army and led his troops to join Li Liu, greatly reducing the strength of the rebel army.

After Luo Shang's victory, he immediately sent a messenger to report the triumph. Eager to report the victory, the messenger traveled by boat day and night, arriving in Jiangling from Chengdu in just three days. He then rode at full speed, covering 600 li a day, and arrived in Luoyang in just three days.

Upon hearing the news, Sima Yi was overjoyed. Holding the victory report, he excitedly went to the Secretariat and read the news to everyone, exclaiming, "Li Te has caused chaos for two years, affecting six prefectures and killing seven governors. He is truly a great villain! Luo Shang's ability to eliminate Li Te is worthy of his reputation as a great general!"

He immediately petitioned for Luo Shang's merit, expressing his intention to grant Luo Shang a title and rank. Following custom, Sima Yi first informed the Northern Expeditionary Army Command in Ye City of this matter, awaiting Sima Ying's approval. Unexpectedly, five days later, Sima Ying sent a letter to Luoyang, discussing not Luo Shang's reward, but rather the reorganization of the Southern Expeditionary Army Command.

In his letter, Sima Ying stated that Yizhou was in great turmoil, and the people's hearts were unsettled. Even with Li Te's death, it would likely take time to completely pacify Bashu. In contrast, Jingzhou had enjoyed consecutive years of bumper harvests and peace, making the establishment of a military command unnecessary. Therefore, he suggested transferring the Southern Expeditionary Army Command to Yizhou, allowing Sima Xin, the Prince of Xinye, to lead his troops into Shu, both to quell the rebellion and to specifically oversee the governance of Bashu.

When the letter reached Luoyang, Sima Yi read it and couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Zu Ti, being straightforward, bluntly stated, "The King of Chengdu has his eye on Jingzhou and wants to take over the Jianghan region for himself!"

Jingzhou was a large province, as wealthy as Jizhou, with 22 prefectures, 169 counties, over 600,000 households, and nearly 4 million people. In recent years, unrest in Bashu had led to a significant influx of people into Jingzhou, who frequently reclaimed wasteland, further enriching the region. It was with this in mind that Sima Jiong re-established the Southern Expeditionary Army in Jingzhou.

Sima Ying's desire to relocate the Southern Expeditionary Army to Yizhou was clearly for two political purposes: one was to weaken Sima Xin, the Prince of Xinye, without causing him too much dissatisfaction; the other was to clear out the political forces in Jingzhou so that he could place his own people there.

If successful, Sima Ying would simultaneously control Hebei and Jianghan, making his power unmatched in the world.

Sima Yi was not satisfied with Sima Ying's actions, and he said to Liu Xian and the others:
"Sixteenth Brother is being a bit too impatient. Although Luo Shang has won, there are still tens of thousands of bandits. It will probably take some time before he can achieve complete victory. He wants to urge the Prince of Xinye to enter Shu now. The Prince of Xinye will inevitably plunder too much when he enters Jian from She, leaving the country with a mess."

Therefore, he replied to Sima Ying, suggesting that the matter be postponed for the time being.

Sima Ying refused to accept this and instead sent another letter, this time with unprecedentedly strong words, accusing Sima Yi of disregarding the overall situation and of violating the prior agreement. Sima Yi had no choice but to issue an edict to Sima Xin, ordering him to lead the Southern Expeditionary Army into Shu, despite his dissatisfaction, in order to maintain relations.

Because the edict was issued on the Renwu day of the third month, it is also known as the "Renwu Edict".

Before one problem could be resolved, another arose. Sima Xin, the Prince of Xinye, had even set out when another major event erupted in Guanzhong:
In late March, Huangfu Zhong, the governor of Qin Prefecture, openly impeached Li Han, the chief secretary of the Prince of Hejian, to the imperial court. In order to eliminate treacherous officials, he claimed that he would send troops to attack Chang'an.

It turned out that after his setback in Luoyang, Li Han temporarily abandoned any intention to provoke Sima Yi. He advised the Prince of Hejian to temporarily focus his attention on Qin and Liang provinces, strengthening his control over Longyou. In particular, he should target Huangfu Zhong, who had previously sided with Qi Prince Sima Jiong and harbored hostility towards Li Han.

Huangfu Chong, as the governor of Qin Province, commanded approximately 30,000 troops and controlled the strategic Longban Pass. He also maintained good relations with Zhang Gui, the governor of Liang Province, making him a major threat to Sima Yong. However, sending troops to fight him and taking Qin Province head-on would not be a wise move.

Therefore, Li Han offered a plan: "Our king can commend Huangfu Chong for his merits and send him to Luoyang to take up a post. At that time, he will either obey the imperial edict and leave Qin Prefecture, or he will have no choice but to disobey the edict and become a traitor." Sima Yong was quite doubtful about this and asked, "I have a grudge against the King of Changsha. How could he possibly follow my wishes?"

Li Han smiled and said, "The King of Changsha is merely borrowing the power of the King of Chengdu. If we can persuade the King of Chengdu, why would the King of Changsha refuse?"

So he immediately sent someone to Ye City to bribe Meng Jiu with a large sum of money, and then, through Meng Jiu's introduction, made the request to Sima Ying. Sima Ying, at this time, was only thinking about Jingzhou, and had no interest in Qinzhou. So he readily agreed to the request.

Upon receiving the reply, Li Han immediately submitted a memorial to the court while simultaneously mobilizing troops, preparing to launch an attack if Huangfu Zhong disobeyed orders, thus eliminating the potential threat completely. However, the Huangfu family was a powerful clan in Guanzhong, with many friends within the Western Expeditionary Army. Before Li Han's memorial even reached Luoyang, someone secretly informed Huangfu Zhong. Upon hearing this, Huangfu Zhong flew into a rage, publicly cursing, "That crude and uncouth Li Han! I only humiliated him twice in the past, and now he wants to kill me? I will dissect his heart and soul to see his true nature!"

When the brothers Huangfu Chong and Huangfu Shang were young, they enjoyed traveling around and making friends. In his early years, Huangfu Shang traveled to Shiping County and heard that Li Han, who lived there, was quite talented. He wanted to befriend him, but Li Han was very arrogant and thought that Huangfu Shang's local examination score was only a third-rank official, not a second-rank official with talent. Therefore, he was not worthy of his association and refused to let him in.

Scholars value their reputation above all else. Li Han's actions were a great humiliation to Huangfu Shang, who harbored deep resentment and thus began a feud.

After informing Huangfu Zhong of this matter, Huangfu Zhong used his connections to find the Fu family, the most prominent clan in Guanzhong, and asked Fu Zhi, the then Grand Justice of Yongzhou, to suppress Li Han and demote his rank from a local official to the fifth grade. Li Han thus wasted his official career; despite his outstanding talent and numerous merits, he never received a significant promotion. It wasn't until Sima Yong, the Prince of Hejian, took over the Western Expeditionary Army that Li Han finally rose to prominence.

Therefore, when discussing the relationship between Li Han and the Huangfu brothers, it can be said that the two sides were sworn enemies, destined to fight to the death.

With this in mind, Huangfu Zhong immediately abandoned all illusions, strengthened his military in Tianshui, and publicly impeached Li Han to the court, hoping to gain Sima Yi's support through Huangfu Shang's connections.

But for Sima Yi, Huangfu Zhong's self-rescue was a completely unexpected disturbance.

Although he now holds the position of regent, his actual power is the weakest among the princes. While the various prefectures and counties across the country pay taxes to the court annually, and Luoyang boasts the largest commercial center in the nine provinces, ensuring he doesn't lack supplies, this doesn't solve Sima Yi's manpower shortage. In reality, the manpower he can directly mobilize is likely limited to the three prefectures of Henan, Xingyang, and Henan. Moreover, the Imperial Guards suffered heavy losses in the campaign against Qi and need time to recover.

With such military strength, waging war against the Prince of Hejian is not a good choice. Moreover, starting a war so soon after assuming power would likely disappoint the scholars and officials in the court and among the people.

Considering all these factors, Sima Yi was unwilling to send troops. However, allowing the Prince of Hejian to wage war against Huangfu Chong would undoubtedly embolden local separatist ambitions and further diminish the court's prestige.

Therefore, he summoned his close advisors and confidants to his residence and discussed with them, "Can we think of a way to resolve this matter peacefully?"

The military advisor, Huangfu Shang, concerned for his elder brother, immediately advised, "Your Highness, this is absolutely impossible. My brother is isolated in Longyou, and his military strength is far inferior to that of the Prince of Hejian. If he were not loyal to the court, why would he raise an army to punish the traitor? Li Han is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Have you forgotten how he framed Your Highness? A man like him would never let go of an opportunity to gain power and will definitely fight my brother to the end."

"With the current military strength of the imperial court, I'm afraid it's difficult to contend with the Prince of Hejian, right?" Yang Xuanzhi said with difficulty, as he didn't want to start another war.

Zu Ti said, "There is no need to rush to send troops. Given the strategic importance of Longshang, even if the King of Hejian sends troops to attack, it will probably be difficult to achieve success in a short period of time."

He then asked Huangfu Shang, "Military Advisor, in your opinion, if the Prince of Hejian attacks your brother, how long can he hold out?"

Huangfu Shang looked troubled. After considering the situation for a moment, he replied, "Judging from the situation when I entered Luoyang, if my brother had held Lueyang and was facing ordinary people, he should have been able to hold out for about two years."

“What does this mean for an ordinary person?” Sima Yi asked.

Huangfu Shang gritted his teeth and said, "If Li Han attacks, I'm afraid the outcome will be uncertain..."

Although he had a grudge against Li Han, he had to admit that Li Han was indeed a rare all-rounder in the Western Expeditionary Army, no less than any famous general of the time. Without a huge advantage in troop strength, no one could claim certain victory in front of Li Han.

Liu Xian agreed with this view and said to Sima Yi, "Huangfu Chong can be considered a capable general, but in terms of talent and strategy, he is indeed much inferior to Li Shirong. Your Highness, we cannot let Li Han continue to act so recklessly."

In their conversation, everyone reached a consensus that a conflict between the imperial court and the Prince of Hejian was inevitable.

Sima Yi remained silent for a long time before sighing and saying, "I understand. Draft an edict to summon Li Han to court and appoint him as the Governor of Henan."

"At the same time, I ordered Huangfu Zhong that if Li Han agreed to the campaign, he would withdraw his troops. If Li Han did not agree, then the King of Hejian would be a traitor. I urged him to hold Qin Prefecture firmly. As long as he can hold out until after the autumn harvest this year, I will send reinforcements to join him in attacking the King of Hejian."

At this point, Sima Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, pointed at Liu Xian with one finger, and slowly said to Huangfu Shang, "You will be in charge of conveying the imperial decree to mediate this matter. You must explain to your brother and the Prince of Hejian that if I send troops to the west, Lord Liu will be the commander! Do you understand?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Huangfu Shang was overjoyed.

Clearly, Sima Yi was using Liu Xian's reputation to intimidate the Prince of Hejian, given Liu Xian's considerable influence and prestige in Guanzhong. In recent years, Liu Xian had defeated Zhao, fought at Huangqiao, and quelled Sima Jiong's rebellion without a single loss, showing signs of becoming the foremost general after Meng Guan. Using this as a threat, at least the Prince of Hejian wouldn't dare easily transfer Li Han to Qinzhou.

This also means that the peaceful situation that Sima Yi had painstakingly created, which lasted for less than half a year, was about to be broken again. (End of Chapter)