Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Book 3, Chapter 27 (Part 4)

Once everyone has taken their seats, Li Yanqiu begins to speak. “Yesterday the discussion amongst you went on for hours and yet you were unable to come up with a suitable candidate. Today, Wang Shan has volunteered; he would like to go to Ye for me. Any objections?”

There are varied expressions on everyone’s faces. Mu Kuangda’s brows draw together a smidgen, while Xie You seems extremely surprised.

“You’ve never gone to war,” Xie You says, “don’t go throwing away your life now.”

“This apprentice of mine pacified a military force of fifty thousand in Tongguan.” Mu Kuangda says with a smile, “You’re saying he’s never gone to war?”

Xie You is a bit speechless.

“Wu Du and Master Fei Hongde were there as well,” Duan Ling hastens to add, “I didn’t do it on my own.”

“Master Fei was in Tongguan as well?” Xie You says with a frown.

Duan Ling nods, and everyone exchanges a look. Su Fa sneers, “That silver-tongued devil.”

In the battle of Tongguan, Duan Ling successfully got his hands on evidence of Bian Lingbai’s treason and had planned a strategy that pushed the Xiliang army to retreat, making sure the Chen government could from then on keep a firm hand on the western half of their two major border passes. Or, one may say, Mu Kuangda is the one who has a firm hand over it. Concerning this, Xie You has always felt a bit disgruntled.

Though Bian Lingbai and Han Bin are from an entirely different branch of the military than the Black Armours, with a well-defined line separating them, as one’s purpose is to resist foreign aggression while the other’s to keep peace within the empire’s borders, for an organisation of civil officials to so simply dismiss and replace Bian Lingbai in this way is akin to slapping the military wing in the face. When a defending general of the border drops dead suddenly overnight, anyone with half a brain can guess that there’s been some shenanigans — nine guesses out of nine, Wu Du has poisoned him.

“Tell us what your plans are,” Li Yanqiu says.

“Ye is not like Tongguan.” Duan Ling gets up and shows everyone the finished terrain map. “Unlike the two major border passes, it doesn’t have too many soldiers garrisoned, so it won’t need additional military expenditures. Getting General Han Bin to redeploy soldiers from Yubiguan is even less secure of an option, first because that’d take too long and our needs are urgent, and second, borrowed troops will need to be returned sooner or later, and the Mongols are used to guerrilla warfare. There’s no way for us to predict when they’ll come, and when they’ll go.

“On the northern border, from Xunyang to Shangzi, all the way east four hundred plus miles to Yubiguan, it’s all frontline. That’s a lot to deal with. We can’t increase troop numbers — and we can’t try to solve everything by increasing troop numbers. That’s why my suggestion is not to increase our military force by even one soldier.”

Upon hearing this, the officials are finally at ease; not increasing their troop numbers means not spending any money, and not spending any money means no problem.

“If it’s truly necessary,” Mu Kuangda says, “the imperial court will allot some of its budget on Ye. We must not lose either Ye or Hejian, after all.”

“It won’t cost too much money,” Duan Ling continues. “Between these three cities, Ye will bear the brunt of the attack, as it stands right in the middle of the frontline between Yuan and Chen, while Changzhou and Hejian are farther off behind it, so they’re actually in the position to support Ye. With some reorganisation, those cities can be developed into rear reserves. Since it’ll be difficult to make full use of a regular army, we can only train a civilian militia, carefully study techniques useful for fighting the Mongolians while working as farmers and training on a daily basis, conscript common men and try to rebuild a series of beacon towers. If the Mongols ever attack, the three cities can reinforce each other. They’ll be able to withstand attacks for a time, using guerrilla warfare to counter guerrilla warfare.”

“After Hejian and Changzhou went through the battle of Shangzi, their population got too low.” Mu Kuangda shakes his head. “They can’t withstand your conscription.”

“This is just the long term plan,” Duan Ling says. “It’ll take at least ten years to station enough soldiers. Even after the battle of Shangzi, there are still nearly a hundred thousand households split between the three cities and their surrounding areas. His Majesty has already cut a portion of the taxes from the north this year, and with time to gradually recuperate they will be able to conscript enough.”

Xie You adds, “This is just your tentative idea in the long run. How are you going to resolve the current problem?”

“Initially I plan to make a pact with Liao when I arrive. If Ye falls into Mongolian hands, Liao wouldn’t have a good time of it either, because that way they’ll have to face the Mongols head-on. Since they won’t want to invite problems, Liao will definitely find some way to keep the Mongolian army checked. All we have to do is strive for buying enough time to get us through the winter, and after the autumn harvest this year will be a good time to train a militia. Our chances of winning will only be higher when the next new year comes.”

“There aren’t enough people.” Su Fa says, “The taxes of Hebei were cut because they couldn’t afford to pay them. Though it reported a hundred thousand households on the expenditure reduction books, we can only get taxes out of thirty-thousand of them at most. You’re asking these people to join a militia? They don’t even have enough to eat.”

“There are enough people. A great number of refugees take everything they have and migrate to the south at the beginning of every winter. Some because of disasters, natural or man-made; others are homeless because of Mongol invasions. These people may pose a danger if they’re allowed to travel as far south as the central plains, so why not just let them settle in Hebei? The reason why this huge territory has become barren, and that nobody wanted to trade among these three cities, is precisely because the Mongols kept plundering the area. Every year, nearly ten thousand people must suffer the chaos of war and pour south into the central plains — they can all provide labour.”

“What are you going to feed them over the winter?” Su Fa adds, “Let’s tentatively say your predictions come true and a hundred thousand people pour into Hebei. Then if you’re not careful, you won’t even need the Mongolians to attack you again — you yourself will die in the hands of the refugees.”

“I have figured out something. At any rate, it will not lead to a revolt. I know that there’s no spare grain in the central plains anymore — I won’t need the government to provide even a single grain of rice.”

Everyone is momentarily silent, and as one, they all turn to Li Yanqiu. Clearly, though they’ve discussed the matter of how to resolve this crisis Ye is under many times before, none of them has thought about this as clearly as Duan Ling has.

“You’re too young,” Xie You says. “You have yet to know how vicious the battlefield can be.”

“The late emperor led troops at fourteen. At sixteen, he made his name in one decisive battle beneath Mount Jiangjun against the Xiongnu king. I wonder how old one must be to not be too young in your eyes, General Xie.”

Li Yanqiu laughs, and suddenly, as does Xie You.

“What do you think, my son?” Li Yanqiu asks Cai Yan.

Cai Yan says to Li Yanqiu, “Our Tertius Scholar seems ready to deal with whatever situation may arise, so presumably he has already come up with a complete plan. I believe it’s feasible.”

Duan Ling has already said all the things he should say, leaving only one thing to himself — that is, the issue of food enough to last them through the winter. He doesn’t want Cai Yan to know so that nothing unforeseen could arise. There’s no way to know whether Cai Yan would be deranged enough to disregard the empire and work against him.

Now he waits calmly for everyone to make their decision. For the moment, no one is speaking. Everyone is deep in thought.

“How many people will you need?” Li Yanqiu asks.

Once he’s said this, Duan Ling knows Li Yanqiu has already decided.

Originally, Duan Ling had wanted a unit of personal guards from the Black Armours, but he anticipates that bringing such a group of people over there will make it more difficult for him to win over those soldiers stationed in Ye and to gain their loyalty, making it easier for intangible factions to form. And so he makes up his mind. “I won’t need a single soldier.”

“The Jiangzhou army can send a unit to assist you,” Xie You replies, evidently also giving Duan Ling’s suggestion his approval.

“No need,” Duan Ling replies, “I appreciate the goodwill very much, General.”

“Not a lot of years on you,” Xie You says with a smile, “but you’ve got a lot of guts.”

“Next, I’ll need two staff members from the Ministry of Works, one specialising in accounting and the other in construction.” Duan Ling continues, saying this to Li Yanqiu, “And another staff member from the Ministry of Revenue to sort out the needs of the people.”

“Who will lead your troops?” Li Yanqiu asks.

“Wu Du.”

Everyone is speaking all at once. Xie You says, “Wu Du won’t do.”

“Why not?” Duan Ling replies with a question. “Wu Du has spent many years by Zhao Kui’s side, and after that, he followed the late emperor. When it comes to leading troops into battle, he already has enough experience — on discipline and leading a march, there’s absolutely no problem.”

Mu Kuangda says, “Aside from those people, you will also need a labour manager, in charge of accounting of human resources. One legal advisor in charge of punishments, and one registrar to manage money and grain. None of these positions can be staffed by original staff from Ye. Make sure the handover of their duties is clear.”

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“Certainly,” Duan Ling says, “and as for the rest, I can find appropriate personnel once this meeting is over.”

“I have no objections.” Mu Kuangda says with a smile before he turns to the other major officials. “What say you, my lords?”

Mu Kuangda may nominally be Duan Ling’s teacher, but in the imperial court, they’re actually colleagues. Duan Ling had been feeling apprehensive about this meeting earlier, after all, he hadn’t discussed his plans with Mu Kuangda, and he was worried that Mu Kuangda may say something to stop him. Now that Mu Kuangda has no objections, he feels far more at ease.

Duan Ling stares at Cai Yan, feeling like this guy is plotting something somehow. But no matter what he has in mind, Duan Ling has no alternative — it is imperative for him to carry out this mission.

Li Yanqiu asks, “When are you leaving?”

“I’ll be leaving as soon as I have a full staff. This cannot wait. From here to Ye is at least a month’s journey.”

Li Yanqiu says, “Anyone else have any objections?”

No one says a thing. Li Yanqiu continues, “Tomorrow, Chancellor Mu will issue certificates of appointment for our Tertius Scholar and Wu Du. These are extraordinary times, so his office is to be promoted by two ranks, and be given the same rank as a commandery governor. You may act at your discretion in all things.”

The great weight sitting over Duan Ling’s heart finally rolls off, and he gives Li Yanqiu a nod.

Li Yanqiu says, “Meeting dismissed. Chancellor Mu, Minister Su, Minister Xie, please remain for a while longer.”

Only then does everyone rise from their seats and leave one by one.

When Duan Ling comes out of the room, he realises that Lang Junxia has arrived at some point, and he’s waiting at the end of the corridor with Cai Yan.

They’re standing where Duan Ling and Wu Du must pass. Duan Ling is still thinking and doesn’t really want to get into a fight with Cai Yan right now — he has enough to worry about already.

But Cai Yan won’t leave; he seems to be waiting for Duan Ling, and Duan Ling can’t exactly just slap Cai Yan upside the face the way he slapped Lang Junxia in the face either.

“Let’s go,” Wu Du says.

“Don’t poison him,” Duan Ling says. He’s going to be leaving Jiangzhou right away, and too many things will happen if they kill off Cai Yan right now, none of which he can control.

Wu Du laughs, and trailing Duan Ling, he gets to the end of the long gallery.

They’re surrounded by complete silence. Cai Yan and Duan Ling face each other with Lang Junxia and Wu Du behind them. There’s bellicosity between them; a sense of uneasy tenseness pervades the air.

“I never imagined that you’d come this far,” Cai Yan says.

Since Duan Ling’s return, this is the first time the two of them have ever spoken face to face, and right now neither of them can do a thing about the other. Duan Ling has to be cautious around Mu Kuangda, while Cai Yan has to be cautious around Li Yanqiu. Once there’s no longer anything left to restrain them, a life or death struggle is certain to ensue.

“I’d like to make a deal with you,” Cai Yan says.

“Go ahead,” Duan Ling replies.

Cai Yan then glances at Wu Du, noting that Wu Du doesn’t seem at all shocked, obviously already aware of Duan Ling’s identity.

“At present, the state is in danger, so I won’t do anything against you. You shouldn’t do anything pointless either. Let’s talk when you come back from Ye.”

“That’s the way things should be. Anything else you want to say?”

Cai Yan seems to be swallowing back the words on the tip of his tongue, but then Duan Ling takes them right out of his mouth.

“You must want to ask me,” Duan Ling says solemnly, “why did I not stay in Jiangzhou to search for something that can be used against you, and why did I not let Wu Du join the Eastern Palace. Am I right?”

When Cai Yan had no idea what name Duan Ling assumed, Duan Ling actually had at least one chance to kill him. All he had to do was let Wu Du join the Eastern Palace as he was asked to, and have him poison Cai Yan to death to get rid of this thorn in his side. But if he did that Duan Ling had no way to guarantee that he could return to the court, and neither did he know what may happen. It’s too much of a risk to take.

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