Chapter 642: Strategists for the Nation

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0 Gong ZhuluJunior Mod 12

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Gong ZhuluAuthor: Fenghuo Xizhuhou [Full Reading]Update Time: 2014/06/21 21:09:35 Word Count: 4790

Stars hung low over the plains. Yu Dilong sat on the city wall, gazing up at the countless stars, his heart stirred, never able to get enough of the sight. This child's fortune was enough to make all the direct disciples of top martial arts sects envious. He possessed three-tenths of Wang Xianzhi's gifts and also received guidance from Xu Fengnian. Yu Dilong retracted his gaze, hearing his master say, "In the seventh month, the fiery star declines; in the ninth, clothes are distributed."

Xu Fengnian looked at the great Mars directly overhead, which seemed to be descending westward at an unusually rapid pace this year, a faint smile on his face. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau in Tai'an City had dedicated "Fire Officials" who were all old men with white hair and extensive studies, specializing in monitoring Mars. Yet, two of them had already been demoted in succession this year because they couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation. During the "White Robe Case" in the capital, the rapid westward descent of the same Mars from its central position was considered the culprit. When a dynasty prospers, auspicious signs appear; when a nation is on the verge of chaos, ill omens manifest. With a young man now serving as the director, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had not known a moment of peace this year. Xu Fengnian turned his head to look at the northern lands outside the city. The Liyang Dynasty was already the most expansive dynasty since the Great Qin. With two powerful vassal kings, Xu Xiao and Yan Chiwang Zhao Bing, guarding its borders, the Zhao imperial family's military achievements on the frontier had reached the pinnacle of all dynasties. In the imperial court of Tai'an City, renowned officials gathered, and nobles shared the same hall. Many times, Xu Fengnian wanted to ask the Zhao Emperor directly, "Apart from the slight flaw of a weak family patriarch, what else are you dissatisfied with?" Xu Fengnian subconsciously looked towards Tai'an City in the east, thinking of the "Green-Eyed Boy" who had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Zhao imperial family. This old scholar was not having an easy time now, and critically, the Prime Minister's future days would only get harder. This time, by leveraging the restoration of Western Chu, his actions to curb military power and reduce the authority of the vassal kings had completely touched two sensitive areas. Heavenly resentment was hard to say, but human anger was certain. Imperial relatives and vassal kings, including Prince Guangling Zhao Yi, were destined to harbor resentment. This, combined with the long-standing grudges of the Zhao imperial nobility in Tai'an City and all dukes and marquises in other regions forbidden to leave their territories by imperial decree, meant that no royal family member surnamed Zhao had any goodwill towards him. Furthermore, the forced "military training" measure, which ordered local military commanders to lead their troops to the outskirts of Guangling, had offended virtually all distinguished military generals, led by Gu Jiantang, completely. Xu Fengnian sighed, "Wu Wudi and Wang Xianzhi are both dead. Yet you, a 'Wen Wudi' (unrivaled in civil matters), choose this moment to implement reforms according to Lu Xu's strategy. Do you truly believe you will have a good end? Do you really think you are the Emperor?"

Xu Fengnian felt no schadenfreude about this. Although Zhang Julu was Northern Liang's sworn enemy, there were always a few rare individuals in this world who could earn the genuine respect of their adversaries, and Xu Xiao was one of them. The Empress of Northern Mang, Gu Jiantang, and the old Prince Jing'an Zhao Heng, these opponents who should have resented Xu Xiao the most, had never once verbally abused him in their lives. Xu Fengnian sighed softly and told Yu Dilong it was time to go. The child hopped down from the city wall. Before entering the city, Xu Fengnian had already learned from Wang Lingbao that the two people he was supposed to meet happened not to be in Qingcang City. His younger brother, Xu Longxiang, had gone with only eighty riders to the border north of Linyao Military Town to pursue a band of horse bandits numbering a thousand, while Chen Xiliang was "recruiting soldiers and horses" for the Youzhou border army somewhere outside the city, almost spending every night outside for the past two months.

Xu Fengnian and Yu Dilong arrived at the Liuzhou Governor's mansion, which had usurped the Dragon King's residence. Inside, the mansion was brightly lit, and the officials handling government affairs behind desks were almost all young faces. These exceptionally promoted talents were half scholars who had undergone rigorous selection to enter Northern Liang, and half descendants of the nobility from Northern Liang's old three prefectures. When Xu Fengnian entered a small office under the Household Department, responsible for military provisions, he happened to see Governor Yang Guangdou holding a wolf-hair brush upside down, repeatedly tapping an official's head while cursing him vehemently, sparing none of his ancestors for eighteen generations. The young man, who by his official uniform appeared to be a provisions officer, was beet-red. Being publicly reprimanded by the Governor in front of his colleagues, despite the vast difference in their ranks, he naturally dared not retort, yet felt wronged. This handsome, seven-foot tall man was utterly choked with sobs. Governor Yang remained unyielding, huffing as he handed the pen back to the young man. With his ink-stained hand, he smeared it carelessly on the official's robe, then snorted and said, "I'll be back tomorrow morning. If the accounts are still a mess, hmph, your grandfather is Wei Tieshan, I can't afford to offend him, nor can I easily demote you. But I can certainly make you go to that shabby Protocol Department, near the latrine! That's a small thing I can do! Wei Tonghe, no need to wash this dirty official robe, you'll probably change it tomorrow anyway."

The young man's face turned pale. Gritting his teeth, though his voice still choked with sobs, his eyes no longer held fear; he had a defiant, "nothing-left-to-lose" air about him. He said, "Governor, Linyao Military Town governs three counties, and it has only been established for a short time. My three colleagues, six subordinates, and I sleep only three hours a day. While there are indeed oversights in the land registration for Linyao's fourth-grade fields, this is already the limit of our abilities. If Your Excellency believes I am incompetent for this position, or that I am merely freeloading here on the merits of my ancestors, there's no need to find such excuses to make things difficult. I will report to the Protocol Department myself right now!"

Yang Guangdou's whiskers bristled, and his eyes widened. He hesitated for a moment, then sneered, "You've got guts, kid! Well, no more nonsense, off you go. Our Liuzhou Protocol Department is a top-priority, important yamen, responsible for promoting education. I bet those displaced people would love to listen to the elementary lessons taught by you, Young Master Wei Tonghe. Maybe next year we'll have a whole basketful of top scholars."

With that taunt, Wei Tonghe's tears truly poured down. His grandfather, Wei Tieshan, was a decorated veteran who had retired from a high position as a Deputy Commander of the cavalry. Moreover, it had only been a few years since he shed his armor, and He Zhonghu, who succeeded Wei Tieshan, always treated him like an elder brother and held him in great respect. Wei Tonghe's father, Wei Jinshui, had also achieved the rank of a fourth-grade military officer in the border army and was highly trusted by He Zhonghu. Unlike many young scions who simply rested on their fathers' laurels, Wei Tonghe disliked warfare and loved to read. Full of fervent ambition, he had heard that the newly established Liuzhou in Northern Liang desperately needed officials. He had practically run away from his family to this land of displaced people, keeping his identity a secret from his colleagues until Governor Yang exposed it tonight, astonishing the other officials in the room. However, Wei Tonghe's gentle nature indeed did not resemble his elders. If Wei Tieshan had been reprimanded by the old King of Northern Liang in such a manner, even if he dared not retort verbally, he would have remained silent, but certainly would not have been moved to tears from indignation.

With no way to back down, Wei Tonghe could only go to the Protocol Department, a minor office with only a few people, to do odd jobs. He raised his arm to wipe away his tears, not forgetting to bow to everyone in the room to bid farewell. Just as he lowered his head to walk out of the office, someone standing by the door placed a hand on his shoulder. Wei Tonghe looked up to see an unfamiliar face with a warm, gentle smile. The uninvited guest chuckled softly, "The Governor is using a provocation tactic on you. Why aren't you accepting it? Wei Tonghe, don't you know your grandfather and our Governor Yang have been drinking buddies for years? Would he really bear to send you to the Protocol Department? If he actually dared to do that, your grandfather would surely chase him down and beat him!"

Wei Tonghe looked bewildered and asked groggily, "Who are you?"

Yang Guangdou, whose plan had been exposed, rolled his eyes exasperatedly and said, "Idiot! Why aren't you kneeling before the King?!"

Upon hearing the word "King," all the young officials who had been standing with Wei Tonghe, enduring the reprimand, immediately showed fervent respect and awe in their eyes and were about to kneel. Xu Fengnian waved his hand, saying, "Dispensed, dispensed. All of you, sit down and continue with your work. Liuzhou has been established with three towns and eight counties, and everything needs rebuilding. The beginning is always difficult, but once you get through this phase, practice will make perfect, and things will be much easier. Strive for a point where even if the Governor wants to scold you, he can't find an excuse. You have indeed worked hard these past few days. Later, I will send several jars of wine to all the government offices. Hmm, the Protocol Department will receive more; as the Governor says, being next to the latrine, the smell of wine must surely overpower the smell of urine."

The atmosphere in the room immediately lightened, and the young officials all had smiles on their faces.

Wei Tonghe couldn't help but swallow. He stood alone before the King of Northern Liang. If he hadn't known his identity, it would have been fine, but once the Governor revealed the secret, he immediately felt an invisible, overwhelming aura of majesty. This wasn't to say Xu Fengnian was truly overbearingly imposing, but rather Wei Tonghe, a frail scholar, was simply scaring himself. Xu Fengnian's journey as the Crown Prince had been full of twists and turns. Initially, he was plagued by countless slanders, but later he brought about earth-shaking changes, effortlessly suppressing even General Zhong Hongwu of Huaihua. After inheriting the hereditary title of King, his feats were continuous: he rejected imperial edicts, vigorously reformed the Northern Liang army, killed Wang Xianzhi, inspected the borders, and established Liuzhou. How could Wei Tonghe not be terrified? In fact, ordinary officials would tread on thin ice when facing any infamous vassal king. However, for Wei Tonghe, who spent most of his time studying diligently indoors, the King of Northern Liang's exploits didn't resonate as deeply. What truly made him admire Xu Fengnian was a "small matter" concerning himself: when Liuzhou was established, the Liyang court seemed hesitant and uncertain whether to issue an edict of reprimand for this rebellious act, which bypassed central court deliberation. What followed was even more hilarious for the people of Northern Liang. For instance, the salary, stipends, and grain allocations for Liuzhou Governor Yang Guangdou were only slightly less than those of the Prime Minister himself, with monthly stipends alone amounting to three hundred strings of cash. Even a low-ranking Liuzhou official like Wei Tonghe, who had just barely attained official rank, received fifteen strings of cash in stipends, fifty bundles of firewood, and even five bolts each of spring silk and winter damask, items usually reserved for high-ranking Liyang officials. The court's "generosity" towards Liuzhou officials was utterly unprecedented. Wei Tonghe believed that no other vassal king, not even Yan Chiwang or Prince Guangling, could have made the Liyang court bleed so willingly!

Xu Fengnian did not stay long. He walked out of the room with Yang Guangdou, the elderly frontier official who was clearly in high spirits. He chuckled softly, "City Governor Chen's plans are flawless! I underestimated him before; it's truly a waste of his talent for him to merely be Qingcang's City Governor. As the Provincial Governor, I should certainly defer to such a capable person. Of the nearly two hundred thousand displaced people, those who voluntarily joined the army in Youzhou and Liangzhou have always been a minority, fewer than ten thousand to this day. I was initially at a loss for how to address this. We couldn't very well make the Dragon Elephant Army hold knives to the displaced people's throats and force them to the border. But Chen Xiliang employed a strategy that yielded immediate results: for every household of displaced people, if just one person enlisted, they could claim arable land in Lingzhou and be registered in Northern Liang's household registry. This aligned with Xu Beizhi's schemes within Lingzhou, where timid gentry sold off their ancestral properties at low prices. Now, Lingzhou has plenty of vacant land. With this back and forth, Liuzhou can send at least forty thousand armored soldiers to the Northern Liang border! A full forty thousand armored soldiers willing to fight to the death for their wives, children, and brothers behind them! My Lord, don't you agree that for Chen Xiliang to be merely a military-ranked City Governor is too little for his contributions?!"

Xu Fengnian had only known that the number of enlistees in Liuzhou was expected to surge, but he hadn't yet received detailed intelligence. Upon hearing the enormous figure of forty thousand, he was quite shocked. One must remember that while the fighting in Guangling seemed earth-shattering, with everyone in the world eagerly watching and the entire court endlessly debating, the actual number of people deployed to the battlefield was only close to a hundred thousand. Yet, Chen Xiliang alone had quietly brought Northern Liang forty thousand armored soldiers who could immediately fight once mounted. And let's not forget, how could the Northern Liang army's forty thousand compare to Yang Shenxing's type of forty thousand? There was once a busybody who commented on the combat strength of various Liyang armies, and his assessment was widely circulated. Perhaps that person deliberately intended to put the Northern Liang army on the spot, for he claimed that one Northern Liang cavalryman could equal two Liyang elite cavalrymen from other regions, and one Northern Liang infantryman could equal three Liyang elite infantrymen. Indeed, Yan Wenluan, who never boasted, had privately remarked after the restoration of Western Chu that if Yang Shenxing's forty thousand Jinan soldiers were replaced by his own twenty thousand infantry, Kuixiao Military Town could be captured in one fell swoop, naturally avoiding the subsequent disastrous defeat at Sancang.

Xu Fengnian said helplessly, "Displaced people can gain household registration by moving to Lingzhou, but Chen Xiliang didn't inform Qingliang Mountain beforehand."

At this point, Xu Fengnian smiled, "Governor, are you covering for that fellow Chen Xiliang? What, are you afraid I'll punish him for both offenses?"

Yang Guangdou burst into laughter, not concealing his intentions, and stated bluntly, "Exactly! Chen Xiliang comes from humble origins and truly cares for the common people. Even someone as pure-hearted as Wei Tonghe, a noble's descendant, could never achieve that. My Lord, you absolutely must not let this promising talent perish prematurely. To be frank, if you truly intend to establish your authority in Liuzhou by punishing Chen Xiliang, I won't stop you. But afterwards, I will definitely bring him into this Governor's mansion and cherish him like a treasure."

Junior Mod 12

Xu Fengnian honestly stated, "Initially, I intended to be clear about rewards and punishments for Chen Xiliang. However, on my way to Qingcang City, I met a descendant of the Luming Song clan who, like you, highly praised Chen Xiliang, which made me reconsider. Furthermore, I've noticed that at Wutong Courtyard, with my second sister leading and the existing group of strategists and advisors assisting, handling Northern Liang's general political affairs is already quite strained. If a real war breaks out, I doubt I could manage even if I stayed behind my desk twelve hours a day. Currently, Qingliang Mountain is merely dealing with some long-standing malpractices in Northern Liang, which can mostly be resolved gradually according to rules. But once this war starts, I'll definitely have to go to the border, and that's when the real headaches will begin."

Yang Guangdou said gravely, "My Lord, are you saying Qingliang Mountain lacks a Li Yishan, someone whose vision and strategy are sufficient to control the overall situation?"

Xu Fengnian nodded.

Yang Guangdou sighed with emotion, "Such individuals, if not once in a century, are at least once in several decades. Even if they exist, they've already entered that jar of the Zhao family in Tai'an City. How could it be Northern Liang's turn? Just look at the nearly hundred scholars who rushed to Liuzhou, combined with the local military scions and aristocratic descendants of Northern Liang, there are over two hundred of them. But from what I've seen, the best material, like Wei Tonghe, possesses character and talent that need sculpting. Without more than ten years of effort, how can they stand on their own? Becoming an official is considered the easiest thing in the world, but to put it bluntly, even being a corrupt official requires talent, let alone a capable official who can be trusted to govern a region. Now, I can only hope that a few brilliant individuals will quickly emerge from those outside scholars, not just rough jade, but fully formed beautiful jade that can be used immediately. Chen Xiliang and Xu Beizhi are certainly excellent, but they are still a bit young. Strategists like Li Yishan and Nalan Youci, who hold equal standing, were also tempered little by little by the smoke of war during the Spring and Autumn period. Moreover, both Chen Xiliang and Xu Beizhi have a fatal flaw in their own abilities that cannot be changed."

Xu Fengnian said softly, "A reputation recognized by the world."

Yang Guangdou said with a tired expression, "This world is indeed so fickle and harsh. A dog of a powerful family is superior to a high-minded scholar from a humble background. Especially before the Spring and Autumn period, no matter how great a hero you were, if you lacked family background, achieving anything was as difficult as ascending to heaven. It's only slightly better now, and perhaps it will gradually improve in the future, but our Northern Liang cannot afford to wait."

Xu Fengnian muttered to himself, "It seems I need to act quickly."

Yang Guangdou, astute as he was, lowered his voice and asked with a face full of pleasant surprise, "Do you have a candidate?"

Xu Fengnian smiled wryly, "Such matters don't work unless both parties are willing. It's still up in the air; I'll have to rely on my luck."

Yang Guangdou, hitting on a sensitive point, chuckled playfully, "There are rumors that the Lord once ignored Lu Xu of Xiangfan City?"

Xu Fengnian did not deny it, scoffing at himself, "I wonder who the blind one truly was."

Yang Guangdou just smiled, then suddenly asked, "I heard that fellow from Shangyin Academy has come out of seclusion and even went to Tai'an City?"

Xu Fengnian's expression darkened somewhat. He nodded and said, "The dragon-slaying has begun."

Yang Guangdou sneered, "'When the cunning rabbit is killed, the hound is cooked.' Killing the deer is more accurate, isn't it!"

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