Volume Two: The Lord and His Grandson Chapter 72: The Capital, Yuzhou

Wei Fufeng understood well that his reliance on the displaced as the foundation of his power would inevitably draw the hostility of the local gentry and landlords. This was precisely why he made gestures of appeasement toward them. The primary reason for such appeasement was not out of fear that the Yuzhou gentry might rise in rebellion—they had already been stripped of their claws and fangs—but rather to mitigate the enmity of gentry from beyond southern Sichuan.

Wei Fufeng continued, “Lord Cao, your merits in capturing Yuzhou are the greatest. This army will not forget your achievements. As a reward, I grant you the hereditary post of Commandant of Horse and Foot.”

“I thank my lord for your generosity,” Cao Fanghe replied respectfully.

“Do not underestimate the value of a hereditary command. Your position as Prefect cannot be passed to your descendants, but as long as this army stands, your sons and grandsons will be officials for generations. Furthermore, your merit in surrendering the city is great; this rank can yet be elevated in the future. For now, though, I cannot let those who fought and bled in battle feel slighted,” Wei Fufeng said with a smile.

“I understand, my lord. I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty,” Cao Fanghe replied with deference.

After a brief tour of Yuzhong City, Wei Fufeng was struck by the thought of inviting his future father-in-law to take office in Jiangcheng. Compared to Fuzhou, Yuzhong was like the Daming Palace in Chang’an compared to the ordinary residential wards.

As he walked through the city, Wei Fufeng ordered the prefectural offices to return to Yuzhong. Cao Fanghe, as a local power in Yuzhou, was intimately familiar with the gentry; any suspicious movement among them could not escape his notice.

Another reason was that, although the buildings in the southern riverside city were far more modest than those of Yuzhong, that area was destined to become the administrative center of southern Sichuan and Qianzhong, requiring military garrisons and storehouses under martial law.

Yuzhong City, by contrast, was primarily commercial, its residents stable and settled, unsuitable for further interference.

After Yuzhong, Wei Fufeng also visited the military city north of the river.

This northern city was not small—about a third the size of Yuzhong—with residential quarters within. From the city tower, one could see vast stretches of bamboo shelters, teeming with people.

The Commandant of Horse and Foot guarding the city introduced the situation: over fifty thousand refugees were encamped outside, as the city could not accommodate them, nor would Yuzhong admit too many. Only those refugees who could serve as militia, along with their families, were allowed to move to the southern riverside county.

“So many refugees—yet the previous prefect made no use of them, nor allowed them passage to Luzhou. They were fed thin gruel and penned up like livestock; their deaths are hardly undeserved,” Wei Fufeng observed with a look of pity toward the masses outside the city, though inside he felt a certain joy.

A military order was issued: the official troops of Yuzhou were to carry out Wei Fufeng's orders, using boats to ferry the refugees in batches to temporary quarters in the southern riverside county, with the sick detained in the north for now.

As the new magistrate of the southern county, Wei Fufeng selected literate men and able-bodied youths from among the refugees, and ordered the expansion of the city in Dazhu County. Rather than journey to Luzhou, he remained in Yuzhou to personally oversee the city's planning and construction.

The city was to serve both as a fortress and a dwelling, but more so as a symbol of authority. A mighty and imposing city would gather the people’s hearts, providing a focus for their reverence.

Chang’an itself was the universally recognized seat of the Tang court’s authority.

Yuzhou oversaw five counties: upstream of Yuzhong were Jiangjin and Wanshou Counties, to the northwest Bishan, and to the southeast Nanping.

The southern county was the largest, encompassing the entire northeast region north of the river, Yuzhong, and the southern riverside.

In consultation with his civil and military officials, Wei Fufeng established Jiangcheng County in the western region beyond Pingkou, and Dianjiang County in the north, incorporating the military city and the northern reaches of the Jialing River.

Under the southern county’s jurisdiction remained only the southern riverside city and its environs.

The headquarters of Luzhou’s regional commander, the governor’s office, and the transport office were all ordered to relocate to the southern county’s seat.

Lushi County received a new Jiangyang military headquarters, while the military headquarters in Changzhou was renamed Dazhu, with its officials transferred to Dazhu County and Commander Wang Ze appointed to take up the post.

Wei Fufeng mobilized able-bodied men from every county in Yuzhou to build the city, sent officials to each county to register the refugees, and dispatched troops to suppress bandits, striving to accomplish as much as possible in a short time.

With over two hundred thousand people at his disposal, including troops and many skilled migrant craftsmen among the refugees, and with ample food and the incentive of land grants, the defensive walls of Bacheng were built in sections, with most of the towering walls completed in rough form within two months.

The new city walls followed the contours of the land, rising and falling like an unbroken earthen dam.

The northern wall bordering the great river was projected to extend four kilometers. Once the land walls formed a defensive ring, stone from the previous prefect’s fortifications was to be repurposed for the riverside extension.

No city could be fully completed in such a short time; Wei Fufeng’s aim was merely to set the boundaries.

As the city rose, canals were dug within, the excavated earth used for the walls, and the channels brought river water flowing through the city.

Wei Fufeng’s blueprint borrowed from the design of Bianliang (Kaifeng), making the canals key arteries for water transport and commerce, vital for both trade and daily life.

Bianliang, the seat of Zhu Wen’s military government, had originally been expanded by the imperial kinsman Li Mian.

Owing to the lay of the land, the new southern county city could not be laid out in a perfectly symmetrical grid.

Wei Fufeng also drew on the example of the Western Garden in Jinzhou, creating picturesque landscapes in suitable parts of the city according to the terrain.

To this end, he summoned the gentry of Yuzhou to provide their literati and cultured men to participate in the design of the city’s gardens and scenery.

During the building, a subordinate suggested that, since many refugees were devout Buddhists and Daoists, a Buddhist temple and stupa should be erected on the city’s highest ground to calm the people’s hearts.

Wei Fufeng accepted the suggestion and put the proposer in charge, instructing him to build a pagoda to rival the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Chang’an. The man was startled, but agreed to survey the site and begin planning.

The city’s construction surged forward, but Wei Fufeng seldom appeared on site, preferring to observe from the city tower. As a military governor, he maintained the dignity of his station and refrained from micromanagement.

As the walls neared completion, Wei Fufeng gradually released the conscripted laborers back to farming, leaving only the townsfolk and skilled artisans to finish the gates.

From the south gate tower, Wei Fufeng and his subordinates gazed over the sweeping, serpentine walls, winding with the land for thirty li in circumference—larger even than Bianliang.

A vast city could shelter more people, but was also harder to defend.

Wei Fufeng was pleased, feeling he had not fallen short of Gao Pian’s expansion of Chengdu, for in his heart he was always comparing his city to Chengdu.

After two months, the city’s continued construction was well planned.

The pagoda’s foundation was underway, but the official in charge reported a lack of experience in building tall towers and dared not proceed rashly, fearing a catastrophic collapse.

Wei Fufeng permitted the pagoda’s construction to be delayed, focusing instead on completing the main hall of the temple as soon as possible. He planned to invite eminent monks from Chang’an or Luoyang, for true Buddhist devotion must be anchored by genuine spiritual leaders.

During his three months in command at Bacheng, Wei Fufeng was far from preoccupied solely with the city’s construction—he was constantly working to streamline internal affairs and remain vigilant against external threats.

Most pressing was the situation in Western Sichuan: after Wei Zhaodu’s departure, Wang Jian still besieged Chengdu but had yet to take it.

The Eastern Sichuan army was actively preparing for war, garrisoning eighty thousand in Zizhou.

Further east, Sun Ru and Yang Xingmi were locked in a chaotic struggle, and it was said that the lower reaches of the Yangtze had been so ravaged that scarcely one household in ten remained.

In order to quash the refugees’ longing to return home, Wei Fufeng ordered the governor’s office to spread exaggerated tales of war, falsely claiming that Sun Ru’s forces had already invaded Ezhou (Wuhan).

He also attached great importance to the Thousand Crane Battalion. Since their arrival from Luzhou, he had inspected them ten times, caring for their food, clothing, and quarters. Boys over ten years old from the battalion took turns serving as part of his personal guard.

Thus, whenever townsfolk saw youths in short white armor standing with spears atop the city tower, they knew the military governor was present, and the fame of the Thousand Crane Battalion spread accordingly.

In July, a string of reports from the Southern Sichuan military headquarters aroused Wei Fufeng’s resolve for bloodshed: over two hundred farming soldiers and civilians had been killed by the Bo people. Wei Fufeng gave the order to punish the Bo tribe.

Justification was needed: the Bo had repeatedly attacked settlers, giving Wei Fufeng a pretext to train his troops.

A military’s fighting spirit is forged in bloodshed; only through battle can a rabble become a fierce and resolute army.

Another reason for the campaign was that in Qianzhou, more northern Qian tribes had submitted, their numbers swelling to ten thousand under arms.

Wei Fufeng had no intention of supporting so many tribal soldiers for free—the cost was considerable, and unlike the military colonies, these troops could not farm in peacetime.

The order went out: except for Fuling’s headquarters, all military commands dispatched troops to join the Southern Sichuan headquarters, assembling a force of sixty thousand, plus Lu Qing’s ten thousand tribal warriors—eighty thousand strong in all.

The troops launched a sweeping attack.

The Bo people, scattered in mountain fortresses, were taken by surprise. Isolated and unable to unite, they saw four of their main settlements destroyed in just two days.

In the initial battles, nearly ten thousand Bo were wiped out. The attacking army slaughtered all males over ten years old, captured more than ten thousand women and children, and drove several thousand more into flight.

Wei Fufeng allowed the army only half a month for the campaign—regardless of the outcome, they were to withdraw at the appointed time.

The campaign’s true purpose was to train the troops and establish Wei Fufeng’s authority in southern Sichuan.

As for protecting settlers’ interests, that was a secondary and debatable motive.

The price was high: the southern Sichuan army suffered at least three thousand casualties, and the costs of aftermath and rewards rendered the campaign questionable in value.

While the war on the Bo tribe raged, Wei Fufeng stayed in Bacheng, planning to reunite with his family in Fuzhou once it ended.

Afterwards, he intended to travel to Jinzhou, where intelligence was good, though he remained uneasy, fearing an enemy incursion.

Sometimes, in quiet contemplation, Wei Fufeng felt that there was no longer any safe haven left for him.

In Chang’an, he dreaded a summons from the emperor that might spell his doom.

In southern Sichuan, he was ever wary of traitors or assassins within and powerful foes without.

In Jinzhou, he feared the armies from Hanzhong; as for Shangluo County, return was out of the question—Han Jian was a wolf in human form.

Lately, Wei Fufeng found himself missing his sister Lin Qingxue more and more.