Chapter 139: Court In Turmoil, New And Old
On the 15th of the 10th month of the Shu Tian Calendar, the Yao Army troops who followed Emperor Shu on the personal expedition returned defeated. This was not a collapse like a mountain crumbling, but a helpless retreat while loudly singing the “Chiele Song.”
At dawn on the 16th, Emperor Shu, dressed in sleepwear, rose in the central military tent. He looked north, several li away, at the soaring killing intent from Hong Ri Xian’s troops.
Emperor Shu walked toward the desk, while the eunuch had already unrolled the scroll map. His finger traced over the silk cloth engraved with various geographic symbols, suddenly stopping five li outside their own camp. As he gazed at the spot on the map where Hong Ri Xian had set camp, the sounds of battle flooded his mind.
Several hours later, he saw the routed soldiers fleeing south. Although he had sent his personal guards to inquire, no news had come back yet, but he knew this was just another failure.
Emperor Shu walked into the main camp of the central army and calmly said to the many officers and soldiers wearing armor, “Do not panic.”
Emperor Shu himself restrained his own panic, at least it did not show on the surface, and asked the general: Where are their reliable troops?
Although he hoped that at this moment the more soldiers guarding around him the better—this was a subconscious human decision in crisis—but the fate he inherited as the Son of Heaven told him that an emperor was not allowed to panic like an ordinary person.
Thus, under Emperor Shu’s direction, the officers and soldiers who entered the military tent began to calmly and orderly describe the current situation.
The military strategist generals beside Emperor Shu seized this opportunity to “propose opinions before Your Majesty” after entering the military tent; they tacitly reported the scale of troops they could currently mobilize, then advised Emperor Shu based on the military power they could still control.
In the military tent, Emperor Shu held the mirror and readily accepted the advice, successively delegating command authority to the most capable people! Because his mirror not only reflected the true thoughts in the advisor’s heart but also showed whether others held positive views on that advice.
In the military system, in a great war with over five thousand troops, when chaos occurs on the frontline, the first priority is not to increase the guard forces around the center, but to have the reserve troops form a blocking line in the direction of chaos as much as possible to prevent the chaos from spreading.
At this critical moment, Emperor Shu did not interfere wrongly with the army corps but chose to delegate authority.
Thus, the massive and rigid army corps cut off the collapsing section, abandoning the collapse zone of Hong Ri Xian’s troops on the east side, directly establishing a new position that blocked the routed soldiers and the enemy’s impact.
Several kilometers away in the Hao Army formation, after Zhao Cheng detected this scene through crow people scouts, he immediately adjusted the deployment.
He ordered his light cavalry to stand by, circling to the rear of the Da Yao forward camp to raise dust and beat drums, feigning an attack.
In the Yao Army Emperor Shu’s main camp, since the command system was still beside Emperor Shu at this time, after observing Zhao Cheng’s flanking light cavalry, they immediately launched a paper luan troop into the air from the rear camp tent; this paper luan troop, stepping on pedals, rose into the air under the flapping of bamboo dragonfly wings on both sides behind.
Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the paper luan troop arrived above the Hao Army cavalry and shot rockets tied with incendiaries at these attacking enemy troops.
Although the rockets did not cause much damage, on the Yao Army side, the main camp troops and the routed soldiers running chaotically outside the main camp watched the Hao Army cavalry, who seemed ferocious as if to devour people, clumsily dodging under the rockets, and they no longer panicked; those routed soldiers who had been scattered by the Hao Army and driven here began to assemble.
…The fierce battle begins…
Three hours later, just as the five thousand vanguard infantry under Zhao Cheng were two hundred steps from Emperor Shu of Da Yao’s main camp, and the left and right wings formed by the remaining soldiers were also suppressing the Yao Army reinforcements, Zhao Cheng’s assault troops engaged Emperor Shu’s central army; after the first round of mutual shooting by both sides’ bow and crossbowmen, the armored soldiers of both sides began to form lines and close-combat kill each other.
The armored soldiers could feel their own crossbow bolts whizzing overhead. The enemy’s crossbow bolts came like a rain of bees, and everyone strained to hold high the iron-wrapped wooden shields bound to their arms.
Finally, amid the suppressed breathing, the close-combat troops engaged each other. This slaughter of over ten thousand men sent bloodlust soaring to the sky. There were no clouds in the sky, stars and sun shining together, even a blood moon visible.
After about half an hour of mutual slaughter, as the Yao Army lines on some fronts retreated step by step and became hard to maintain, at the same time black smoke rose from the rear, causing the Yao Army at the front to keep looking back.
It must be known that in this ten-thousand-man level engagement reaching the most intense phase, when both sides were holding their breath, the command flag being captured, or instability in the rear formation, were all factors that shook the will of the frontline blood-fighting soldiers.
The reason for the black smoke in the Yao Army rear: A group of dragon horse cavalry sent by Zhao Cheng were continuously lighting torches and throwing them at combustibles; their destruction was not great, but it achieved the effect of “shaking Yao Army morale.”
The perspective returns to the frontline; at this critical moment, since Emperor Shu did not leave, the Da Yao officers and soldiers also steadied themselves. The central army sent a palace attendant to rush to various battle lines, shouting the slogan “Your Majesty is still here, hold steady, hold steady.”
The perspective comes to the Hao Army main position. Zhao Cheng could not help but sigh at the still tenacious Yao Army, and the officers and soldiers following beside him were also shaken by the Yao Army’s tenacity.
Zhao Cheng pondered for a moment, still not giving up, selected the southeast corner, and committed his last elite reserve team under his command.
Under the flag command, three teams of heavenly dragon crossbowmen ran to the frontline. These powerful long-range shooting square formations approached the battle line, full of oppressive force like an iceberg closing in on the Titanic.
On the Yao Army main camp side, the dragon horse knight flying in the sky (Yao Army brigadier general) saw the movement behind the Hao Army lines, thus hurriedly throwing out a command flag, trying to notify the generals on the ground to bring up the rear archers.
But this Yao Army brigadier general had just taken out the flag when he was hit by an arrow.
The one who shot this arrow was Zhao Cheng’s palace attendant; these three palace attendants rode Haotian Lions hovering in the sky and caught this critical moment. They drew bows and shot several arrows to suppress, thus slowing the Yao Army side’s coordination by twenty breaths.
For large army coordination, this “200ms” delay had already caused fatal effects. The Hao Army heavenly dragon crossbowmen arrived at the battlefield first.
When the first arrow rain from the dragon crossbowmen swept over the Da Yao rear reserves, the massive screams from the Yao Army rear archers made the frontline armored soldiers slashing in panic exhale their last breath; the already crumbling lines collapsed first.
Twenty breaths later, the Yao Army archers finally caught up, but they only shot one round; the lighter arrows bounced off the dragon crossbowmen’s armor and did not create effective suppression on the battlefield. After the dragon crossbowmen adjusted their shooting, when the Yao Army shot their second round of crossbow bolts, their momentum fell to the disadvantage.
The third round was suppressed. The Yao Army archers watched their comrades’ calves and chests pierced; although not scared into fleeing, in their panic they could not fully draw their bows, and the arrows also missed their marks.
When the Haotian Dragon Guards with halberd armored soldiers advanced shielding, the chaos in the Da Yao rear grew greater, and then the Da Yao southeast side collapsed first, followed by chain rout.
…Heaven’s Mandate…
One hour later, Zhao Cheng watched the Yao Army main camp reassemble and steadily withdraw ten kilometers away, sighing.
He had won that battle just now, but not a complete victory; the Hao Army first broke the Yao Army left side, but the Yao Army central army two thousand men steadily suppressed for half an hour.
By the time those two thousand elite soldiers in formation were finally shot apart by crossbow bolts, Emperor Shu’s flag was re-erected in the fresh troops arriving three li from the rear; Da Yao not only had this route of five thousand troops and horses, there were more behind.
The various fiefdom troops and horses brought by Emperor Shu were truly too many, elites and fine generals like clouds; under attack, as long as not disintegrated in one go, it did not count as complete defeat.
The Yao Army was like winter cold ice; although exerting strength to stir it into ice porridge, if a bit slow, it would refreeze. Zhao Cheng had now annihilated quite a few Yao Army generals’ elite troops, but he was already too exhausted to continue.
The Yao Army formation centered on Emperor Shu now reassembled; although the remaining morale prevented them from continuing to fight, it was also not something the Hao Army could charge and take.
Zhao Cheng could now only watch the Yao Army form up and withdraw. As for those routed soldiers, they could not be pursued and struck in the tail.
As for Zhao Cheng’s this offensive, it was already proactively surprise attack twice forward; from initially pushing flat Hong Ri Xian to now routing Emperor Shu’s main unit, altogether advancing five li. Advancing another ten li forward would mean they could not win.
The Art of War by Sunzi says: Roll up armor, travel light and fast, day and night without stop, marching double speed to cover a hundred li to seize advantage, then the three armies’ generals may all be captured; elites in front, weary in rear, by usual rule, only one tenth can arrive.
Although Zhao Cheng now confirmed Wu Fei was in Bo Prefecture, from communication with Pu E he learned that Zhenzhou had a general skilled in surprise attacks. If he left no gaps at all, and in his current extremely fatigued state after fierce fighting continued to hold breath and pursue, then if that Zhenzhou general directly copied Zhao She’s answer from the Battle of Yen Chi, surprise attack to the rear path, cutting off the last food and grass line, then waiting at ease, Zhao Cheng’s current winning situation would sharply turn downward, total loss.
Thus Zhao Cheng also decided to withdraw the entire army; however, Emperor Shu’s side was not stable either, and after Zhao Cheng left, his secret guards detected that generals under his command seemed to be plotting something.
…Post-battle aftermath…
After Emperor Shu’s personal expedition suffered a setback, the Da Yao territory west of Sheng Long Pass was not recaptured.
This caused the colors of the original Da Yao territory in the north on the Map of Mountains and Rivers to rapidly change, starting to become colorful and mottled. Officials in various prefectures began reporting that military families in their jurisdictions were arrogant.
On October 19, the news reached the Da Yao Dynasty’s Imperial Court, shocking everyone in Yao Capital. Ever since Wu Fei launched his attack two months ago and swiftly took Bo Prefecture, there had been much talk in the Da Yao court that False Hao was no match.
Ten days ago, news came from Bo Prefecture that Wu Fei had achieved consecutive victories with a detachment force, while Emperor Shu had assembled the elite troops of the north, which should have cleared the world of filth, right? But now it had turned out like this?!
The warfare in the west and the battle report from Bo Prefecture arrived almost simultaneously. But the rumors spread among the high families and great clans in Yao Capital were all about “Emperor Shu being trapped.”
In the eyes of those court heavyweights who cared about the big picture, the current situation of Emperor Shu was the top priority.
An elder minister with a white beard: “His Majesty’s safe withdrawal is more important than anything!”
Before the court assembly, the steady faction in the court held a small meeting at Minister of Works elder’s mansion under the Heavenly Palace, where the heir of the Minister of Finance family said: “The enemy in Bo is boiling with popular sentiment, their army has won three battles in a row, morale is high, they absolutely won’t flee at the sight of us. So we should pressure the Eastern Market Army a bit, free up forces to the west or north, and in any case launch an offensive! That way False Hao won’t be able to pursue His Majesty.”
By the candelabrum, maidservants used scissors to trim the wicks so the flames would burn more brightly.
Sima, Minister of Works, and Minister of Finance unified their opinions, instructing the Ministry of War to draft a military order overnight. The decree was simple: order the Eastern Market Army to immediately seize Gu Shou Pass.
The perspective shifts to the area around Prince Zhou’s Mansion, where another faction of ambitious people were also beginning to conspire. After advisors from Prince Zhou’s Mansion came out from the palace, they went to the homes of some court ministers to discuss, preparing to “stir up a storm” in the next day’s court assembly.
Under the divine right of kings, the ruler’s legitimacy comes from the virtual “supreme” authority. And in the east, “Heaven’s Will is hard to fathom.”
The new monarch must be recognized by the previous king who bore “Heaven’s Will,” with the highest priority being “personal endorsement,” followed by the principle of heir designation.
Da Yao is a hereditary dynasty, and the apologists serving the emperor’s family rule beside him say: the entire under heaven is the property of one family.
The warfare in Bo Prefecture is part of this “monarch’s family property,” so in the eyes of the steady faction, they can abandon a part to preserve the whole.
The same holds true for Prince Zhou’s advisors; one advisor in Prince Zhou’s Mansion named Su Wang said: “If Prince Zhou can ascend to the throne, the small families under heaven can be temporarily abandoned, and we can slowly reclaim them later by mobilizing troops from all under heaven.”
In the eyes of the ambitious, the key now is: in the warfare in the west, is Emperor Shu still alive? This decides whether the entire family property can now be legally transferred to Prince Zhou.
Ever since Prince Bo failed in the struggle for the heir position, the advisors gathered around Prince Zhou have become increasingly active. The positions on Da Yao’s jade steps are limited. Not only does one want to stand there themselves, but they also don’t want people they dislike to stand there; they want “virtuous men filling the court.”
To put it bluntly, as Prince Zhou’s heir position stabilized, this group couldn’t wait to cash in on their previous efforts ahead of time.
Narration: In eastern classical dynasties, even if the monarch is clear in his heart about the heir position, he must support an opponent for the heir. The fundamental reason is not that the monarch dislikes the legitimate son, but that the factions around the heir, in the process of “invincibly waiting to rise,” will force the heir to become extreme.
At this moment, these speculators around Prince Zhou are all sent by noble families. After Emperor Shu ascended the throne, the noble families first enjoyed a period of ease and pleasure, but as Emperor Shu’s control over the court situation became increasingly problematic, the noble families felt that Emperor Shu was not “benevolent” enough and was somewhat tyrannical.
The next day’s court assembly began under Prince Zhou’s presiding, where various forces in the court first expressed their worries for the country and stated their stance of “also for the nation,” then began clashing over decisions.
Some court ministers argued that troops should be sent immediately and envoys dispatched to Hao State for negotiations. — These were people bribed by Prince Zhou’s faction, purely to disrupt; they wanted to exaggerate the rotten state of the situation to undermine Emperor Shu’s prestige, even hoping that Emperor Shu would disappear after this battle, so Prince Zhou could ascend the throne the next day.
After these people were dragged out by hall guards under the reprimand of court heavyweights, the second group tentatively advised: have Prince Zhou immediately review the troops under heaven.
In response, the Three Dukes glanced at each other, then looked up at Prince Zhou, who had been “competent as regent” these two months, their gazes clearly saying: “Aren’t you a bit too eager?”
…After the great war, snow fell in the Northern Kingdom…
In Heluo Prefecture, Emperor Shu’s procession halted here. No matter how battered the other Yao Army was, his pomp remained. Heavy snow covered the scarred ground.
Upon learning that the fiefdoms were conspiring with each other, Emperor Shu immediately ordered the fiefdoms to return to their garrisons and send five hundred soldiers each to guard him.
Just as Emperor Shu thought his arrangements were proper, news came from Yao Capital: a decree from the court blaming the fiefdoms for their mishandling in this battle.
This news from Yao Capital was so strange that Emperor Shu’s group hurriedly left without letting the fiefdoms escort them.
Emperor Shu, who had just experienced the battlefield, was mentally and physically exhausted, clearly forcing himself through illness.
Especially when Emperor Shu heard that people around Prince Zhou were stirring up trouble in Yao Capital, a fire erupted within him.
When Emperor Shu heard his inner eunuch advising him to go to Luo Prefecture, he neurotically beat the eunuch to death on the spot, then stared alone at the Map of Mountains and Rivers.
After some thought, Emperor Shu still made his judgment and issued a decree. First, he ordered Wu Hanluan from Zhenzhou direction to bring soldiers to come to his aid and protect the emperor. Another decree was sent to Yao Capital, preemptively praising the Eastern Market Army.
A few years ago, he would not have issued such an order; the Wu Family was not worth pulling to his side but needed to be suppressed and controlled.
The Wu Family was entrenched in Zhenzhou, too powerful to control.
But now the situation had suddenly changed, with a threat in the Imperial Court far greater than the Wu Family emerging.
Now the overly powerful Wu Family had become a chip that could be used for balance.
Emperor Shu deeply knew: in this out-of-control situation now, Wu Fei, who had once been a hostage left in Yao Capital, was one of the very few useful talents he had directly promoted in these two years, and he could precisely serve as his handle.
Note: A monarch in crisis can trade with local factions, but can only trade with one local faction. When not preparing to trade with local factions, the monarch must suppress overly strong local factions. Thus, shifting from prevention to reliance is not contradictory. The relationship between Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Hongzhang at the end of the Qing was just like that.
The strength of Wu Hanluan, which the court originally wanted to guard against, had precisely become the guarantee allowing Emperor Shu to safely trade now.
If he went to Luo Prefecture, it was uncertain; the many noble families there were close to the advisors in Prince Zhou’s Mansion, and Emperor Shu felt that if he went there, he might suddenly fall ill and die!
A few years ago, Wu Hanluan’s overtures to Prince Zhou were just warm faces against cold buttocks. And around Prince Zhou, he was disparaged by the noble family forces.
As the victor of the previous court struggle, Emperor Shu was quite sensitive to power. If not for the current military defeat leading to chain reactions, those ambitious people in the court would have no chance to jump around.
…The decree to Yao Capital arrived faster than the one to Zhenzhou…
On October 28, blazing sunlight shone on Yao Capital. After the court assembly, various noble families in the city were moving about each other, clearly signaling an impending storm.
Although the many lords in the Imperial Court glossed over “various matters” in Bo Prefecture with a word.
But now, the Eastern Market Army, with outstanding merits in Bo Prefecture, was secretly noted by all factions at this time.
Because Prince Zhou’s faction had been too restless in the Imperial Court these past few days, those steady elder ministers felt that if they did nothing, they would be arranged, so they recalled the original order urging the Eastern Market Army to advance north.
Then Sima sent an envoy demanding that the Eastern Market Army not be influenced by the court situation and hold steady in the north. The words required the Eastern Market Army to prepare to become a stabilizing force.
Prince Zhou’s manners are too ugly; in comparison, the Eastern Market Army’s notorious reputation from back then is now negligible.
The steady faction is now doing everything possible to welcome Emperor Shu back to the capital,
however, even if Emperor Shu returns to the capital, he cannot directly control the situation and needs to mobilize troops into the capital. Compared to mobilizing foreign troops into the capital, after the capital’s ministers and nobles looked around, they ultimately determined that the Eastern Market Army is still the safest option.
As for the Yao Capital’s relatives by marriage and nobles, such as the Li family and the Mu family—those with people in the Eastern Market Army—all stayed indoors during the chaotic court situation, completely low-key. They avoided visits from all external parties.
Because the forces jumping high now are all those that haven’t found a stable foothold; the Li family and Mu family are both sitting in positions where they “won’t lose,” so there’s no need to follow the trend and take risks.
…Undying old foxes…
At the Li residence, Master Li is having the unruly servants who mix with outsiders whipped. This rare outburst of anger has made the entire household silent as cicadas in winter.
These servants do not know why the usually kind and benevolent master is so furious, and that servant also doesn’t quite understand why he could chat with the Grand Minister of Works’ household on ordinary days but not today.
They only heard Master Li scolding the surrounding servants: “Times are different now. I told you to stay low-key and avoid connections with people outside the residence. If you don’t listen, this is the consequence.”
Of course, just as they were about to beat this servant to death, a servant’s report came from outside the residence gate: someone from the palace had arrived.
The eunuch walked in and proclaimed the imperial decree in front of everyone in the residence, granting the Li family a commendation, an additional thousand shi of salary, and various treasures of pearls and jade.
Master Li of the Li family accepted the imperial decree with a wry smile, but sprained his ankle when going out afterward and could not enter the palace for an audience.
As for that master of the Mu residence, he suddenly caught a cold with a high fever on his forehead, applying cold compresses with an ice towel, and met with a grimace the imperial physician sent from the palace.
The imperial physician took the pulse and could tell at a glance that this old gentleman’s cold symptoms were neither from indigestion nor from kicking off the quilt, but from recent exposure to cold and heat that had built up; however, this imperial physician knew such an ambiguous answer could not be spoken. So he prescribed some medicine, properly comforted this Master Mu, and returned to the palace to report.
Meanwhile, the eldest son of the Mu family chased after him and gave a package of gold as a hard fee for the imperial physician. He asked very concernedly how the imperial physician would describe this symptom. The imperial physician said: “We will explain this illness clearly to Prince Zhou, so do not worry.”
Two months later, after Emperor Shu returned to the capital, these two sly old foxes’ illnesses suddenly recovered.
