Volume Two: The Lord and His Grandson Chapter 70: Qianzhou

Li Ji nodded and said, “Yang Shouliang’s force of fifty thousand was utterly defeated. He won’t dare mount another attack any time soon.”

Wei Fufeng shook his head. “What I fear most is not Yang Shouliang. With Yang Fugong dismissed and Yang Shouliang’s influence waning, my real concern is Wang Jian of West Sichuan. Wang Jian is like a military tiger; once the war in West Sichuan ends, the southern Sichuan troops will face his onslaught. We must prepare to confront him.”

“Wang Jian? You think he’s more dangerous than Yang Shouliang? I’ve heard Wang Jian commands only tens of thousands,” Li Ji said skeptically.

“Uncle, Wang Jian took West Sichuan with only a few thousand men, crushing tens of thousands of defenders and forcing the military governor of West Sichuan to hole up in Chengdu. In the battle for Hedong, a thousand Hedong soldiers routed a force of ten thousand sent by the court; only a few hundred managed to escape. As the saying goes, one incompetent general can doom an entire army, but Wang Jian is a master strategist and a military hero,” Wei Fufeng sighed. The defeat at Hedong had been truly disastrous for the court.

Li Ji nodded. “So you don’t have confidence to challenge Wang Jian?”

Wei Fufeng nodded. “No, but I am confident we can defend and wear him down. Even if Wang Jian is invincible in battle, I can use a rock-solid defense. In any confrontation, the attacker pays a higher price. West Sichuan has been ravaged by civil war—its population and grain stores are depleted. If Wang Jian cannot win quickly, his men will fall into hardship and poverty, and his subordinates will lose interest in serving him.”

Li Ji nodded in agreement. “History remembers the rivalry between Chu and Han; Xiang Yu was brave but couldn’t sustain his power.”

Wei Fufeng smiled. Li Ji then asked, “What’s the situation in West Sichuan?”

Wei Fufeng paused, speaking softly, “I heard Colonel Gu Yanhui of East Sichuan withdrew, making Wang Jian even stronger. Nine out of ten regions in West Sichuan have surrendered to him. I only hope my great-uncle can leave safely.”

Li Ji said, “He should be able to. Wang Jian has no reason to kill a court minister. But your great-uncle’s return without victory may earn him blame.”

Wei Fufeng nodded. “I’m hungry. I want to try the bamboo rice that Fourteenth Lady mentioned.”

Li Ji laughed, delighted. “Go ahead, but remind Fourteenth Lady not to eat too much.”

Wei Fufeng rose, took his leave, and walked out of the main hall to join Amber’s father for bamboo rice.

Amber led him to Fourteenth Lady, who happily handed Wei Fufeng a round rice stick skewered with bamboo. He had tasted it once before, took a bite, and said as he chewed, “Delicious, and sweet.”

Fourteenth Lady’s face shone. “It’s my favorite,” she whispered.

Wei Fufeng nodded, smiling. “Rice with honey should be savored slowly; eat too much and you’ll tire of it.”

“I never get tired of it—I love it,” Fourteenth Lady replied, innocent as ever, leaving Wei Fufeng helpless.

...

The next morning, after breakfast at the prefecture office, Wei Fufeng departed amid his family’s reluctant farewells, setting out to inspect Qianzhou.

On the road, he received reports and information sent from the Governor’s office.

Wei Fufeng read the news and felt relieved, murmuring, “Safe departure, that’s all I ask.”

It turned out that Wei Zhaodu had already left West Sichuan, driven out by Wang Jian’s bloody intimidation.

While Wei Fufeng was in Jinzhou, Emperor Zhaozong issued a decree ending the campaign against West Sichuan, restoring Chen Jingxuan as its military governor, and ordering Wang Jian, the East Sichuan army, and the Shannan Western circuit troops to return to their bases.

When the imperial edict arrived outside Chengdu, Wang Jian refused to cease hostilities, insisting that Wei Zhaodu leave behind the seal of the campaign commander and return to the court.

Wei Zhaodu hesitated, so Wang Jian ordered his men to seize Wei Zhaodu’s trusted subordinates and, in a gruesome display, cooked them alive for food, telling Wei Zhaodu his soldiers were hungry and eating people.

Wei Zhaodu, terrified, left the campaign commander’s seal and was ‘courteously escorted’ to Jianmen Pass.

He returned to Chang’an, where he was punished and demoted to the post of Luoyang’s guardian.

...

Knowing his great-uncle had left West Sichuan safely, Wei Fufeng felt gratified. Ever since learning his great-uncle had arranged his marriage, he had felt a warmth of kinship.

His great-uncle had recognized his talents, not ignoring him for being a collateral grandson.

But the emperor’s decree had come too late. Even if Wei Fufeng had wanted to support Chen Jingxuan in resisting, it was beyond his reach and authority.

Wang Jian had obtained the campaign commander’s seal, detained Wei Zhaodu’s imperial troops, and several thousand subordinates from the Shannan Western circuit, continuing his siege of Chengdu under ‘legitimate’ authority.

Wei Fufeng knew Chengdu could not hold out much longer—by year’s end, it might fall to Wang Jian. He had no strength to attack Wang Jian directly, so his only option was to consolidate and prepare for war, strengthening control over southern Sichuan.

...

Arriving at Pengshui County in Qianzhou, Wei Fufeng saw the city in ruins, much like Fuling County, no wonder the remnants of Qin’s rebels had abandoned it.

Of course, their departure was also due to difficulties in establishing a foothold; branded as bandits, they faced hostility from both the Qianzhou locals and the Liao people.

Entering Pengshui’s city, Wei Fufeng met with the civil and military officials at the prefecture office. This time, he did not go through the formalities, but directly inquired about military and administrative matters and listened to suggestions.

The officials’ recommendations centered on two points: first, to open broader trade routes and strengthen exchanges with the Liao people; second, to expand and repair the county city. A grand city could accommodate more residents and display strength.

Wei Fufeng felt troubled. Building a city was a major undertaking. The southern Sichuan army’s defense focused on the north, requiring many fortresses, and even the city of Fuling, where his future father-in-law resided, needed repairs.

When dining at Fuling’s prefecture office with his future father-in-law, Wei Fufeng mentioned the position of magistrate in Yuzhou, saying that if it weren’t for the promise he’d made to the Ba County magistrate, he would have his father-in-law take up the post in Yuzhou.

His future father-in-law, however, expressed his desire not to leave Fuzhou. He had already formulated plans for governing Fuzhou and wanted to devote himself to benefiting the region.

Since his future father-in-law did not wish to leave Fuzhou, and for both personal and defensive reasons, Wei Fufeng decided to renovate and expand Fuling County’s city, at least building a comfortable prefecture office.

Wei Fufeng’s thoughtful expression was noticed by Zhang Wencheng, the prefect of Qianzhou, who smiled and said, “Sir, Qianzhou can expand its city on its own. It’s not the season for agriculture, so soldiers and civilians can provide labor. But anyone who helps build the city should be granted a residence.”

Wei Fufeng was enlightened, smiling and nodding. As long as it did not drain manpower or resources from elsewhere, it could be implemented, and the method was sound—it would also fill the city with residents.

The meeting ended, and Wei Fufeng spoke privately with Lu Qing, informing him of the rotation system for the Fufeng army, so Lu Qing could prepare himself mentally.

Lu Qing had no objection, but requested permission to remain in Qianzhou during the construction of the new city, as he and Zhang Wencheng had already surveyed and planned it.

Wei Fufeng agreed. He believed Lu Qing had no ulterior motives, understanding that Lu Qing simply wanted to accomplish something memorable.

Building a city was one way to leave a legacy—for example, later generations knew Chengdu had been expanded by Gao Pian.

After learning the new city’s plans, Wei Fufeng obtained the blueprint and actively discussed it with Lu Qing and Zhang Wencheng, sharing the layout of Chang’an and mentioning Luoyang and other cities for reference and modification.

Wei Fufeng told them not to be constrained by uniform residential blocks; civilian districts could have open, intersecting streets, leaving large areas for commerce.

Wei Fufeng stayed one night in Qianzhou, then left for Yuzhou early the next morning.

During the previous day’s discussion, Zhang Wencheng reported that eleven Liao tribal groups had responded, each willing to send three hundred warriors to serve the military governor.

...

The willingness of the Liao tribes to submit was partly motivated by their desire for salt.

According to the terms, the warriors’ military pay would be in salt, and their deployment would not extend beyond Qianzhong Circuit—they refused to leave their homeland for distant campaigns.

Additionally, neighboring prefectures had largely submitted: Nanzhou, Qinzhou, Zhenzhou (Yelang), Sizhou, and Feizhou.

Shizhou to the northeast was occupied by the Jingnan military governor; farther south, no prefectures had responded yet.

Among the submitted regions, apart from Nanzhou and Qinzhou near Yuzhou, the other three were chiefly Liao territory.

Because they were close to Qianzhou and interacted frequently with the Han, they were known as “familiar Liao.”

The three familiar Liao prefectures, in addition to providing warriors under conditions, would also pay tribute according to past imperial regulations.

Wei Fufeng was pleased with Zhang Wencheng’s efforts—he had made a good start in consolidating control over Qianzhong Circuit.

It was a matter of using strength against strength; more than three thousand Liao warriors could be used to conquer more distant Liao prefectures, which would then provide more warriors.

If the whole of Qianzhong Circuit’s Liao tribes were subdued, at least tens of thousands of warriors could be gained.

However, Liao military strength was a double-edged sword. If the southern Sichuan army lacked sufficient deterrence, it could easily face mutiny and backlash from the Liao tribes.

Therefore, conquering the Liao of Qianzhong Circuit should not be too aggressive. With a few thousand Liao warriors, they could resist the Jingnan military governor or be sent north for defense.

Though the terms limited them to Qianzhong Circuit, Wei Fufeng could play with the concept—for instance, claim that Yuzhou was part of Qianzhong Circuit.

Or have the Liao warriors suppress the Bo tribe.

Wei Fufeng had no fondness for the Bo—they were a group of inhuman savages, capricious and frequently attacking southern Shu soldiers and civilians.

In his heart, Wei Fufeng did not regard himself as a brutal invader; he had initially tried to coexist with the Bo in Rongzhou.

But the reports of over five hundred soldiers and civilians killed in unprovoked attacks stirred his urge to launch a major punitive expedition.

Most Bo lived in bamboo forests and mountains, and since they did not compete for resources with farming soldiers and civilians, there could be mutually beneficial exchanges.

Yet the Bo continually launched stealth attacks, not for gain but simply to kill farmers and civilians.

According to Zhang Wencheng, one reason for the familiar Liao’s submission was their search for a powerful protector.

The empire had fallen into chaos, and the Liao tribes of Qianzhong Circuit were constantly at war; the weaker familiar Liao were willing to pay tribute and submit for protection, hoping to deter stronger Liao tribes from invading.

Wei Fufeng advised Zhang Wencheng to aim for submission of the northern Qianzhou prefectures.

This meant gaining Bozhou (Zunyi), Yizhou, Chongzhou, Jinzhou, and Chenzhou—half of Qianzhong Circuit.

Northern Qianzhou was mostly familiar Liao, while southern Qianzhong Circuit was dominated by “wild” Liao, who were hostile to the Han and some inclined toward Nanzhao.