Volume Three: Southern Expedition and Expansion - Chapter 153: Wei Fufeng's Thoughts

As a descendant of the Wei clan of Jinzhou, even while holding supreme authority, it was inappropriate for Wei Fufeng to defy the ancestral faith of his elders.

Xiao Xue still did not understand why the son of the Lady of Yelang Mansion could not leave the mansion to serve as an official or inherit his father's position, but she was tactful enough not to ask him directly, instead inquiring of the mistress in private.

Wei Fufeng’s vision was to establish a dual rule between Yelang Mansion and the Southern Sichuan Military Command, granting the ladies a status similar to that of a primary wife to preemptively prevent any future succession disputes at the source.

Wei Fufeng hoped that these two realms could coexist and be passed down for a long time to come.

Yelang Mansion would serve as a retreat and a stronghold for self-preservation, adopting a governance of blending in with local customs, preserving the traditional ways of the Liao ethnic group, and strictly avoiding the assimilation policy of converting indigenous chieftainships into imperial administration.

Only by preserving the customs of the Liao people and the rule of their chieftains—maintaining a culture fundamentally incompatible with Han officials—could a monolithic and impenetrable defense be mounted when the Qianzhong Circuit faced foreign invasion.

This plan of retreat and self-preservation would never be widely publicized; he had only discussed it with his wives and his grandfather.

Having traveled to Yelang Mansion, Lin Qingxue, compelled by her own awkward circumstances, had accepted Tian Wen'er's acknowledgment and become the First Lady of Yelang Mansion. She felt at ease and justified in her heart, no longer troubled by whether the elders of the Wei clan recognized her or not.

Unlike Lin Qingxue, any sons Xiao Xue might bear in the future would be born of concubines and had no need to become members of Yelang Mansion's inner household. Outside of Yelang Mansion, there were far greater opportunities to establish personal merits and achieve great things.

Having concluded the conversation regarding the ladies, Lin Qingxue handed a confidential letter to Wei Fufeng.

Secret dispatches from Jinzhou were of two kinds: confidential reports from the garrison of the Fufeng Army, and letters from his grandfather. The one Lin Qingxue brought was from his grandfather.

Wei Fufeng extracted the letter. Regardless of the nature of any secret correspondence, Lin Qingxue had the right to review it beforehand, and should an emergency arise, she was empowered to make decisions and respond accordingly.

Letters from his grandfather generally detailed the movements and intelligence of various factions.

The letter stated that the Military Governor of Fengxiang was becoming increasingly arrogant and despotic. It was rumored that the Emperor was furious and showed signs of dispatching troops to subjugate Li Maozhen, though he had been repeatedly dissuaded by the Chief Councilor, Du Rangneng.

His grandfather analyzed that the Emperor would not be able to endure this much longer and would resort to military action against Li Maozhen by the end of the year at the latest.

At that time, the Emperor would inevitably order the Southern Sichuan Army to attack Western Sichuan, and he urged Wei Fufeng to prepare his mindset and formulate countermeasures.

Additionally, Cui Shaowei, one of the chancellors, had learned that the Yelang Protectorate General had appointed officials in Tanzhou, Shaozhou, Langzhou, and Yanzhou.

Cui Shaowei had memorialized the Emperor accusing them of overstepping their bounds, advising the Emperor to issue a decree of reprimand and compel the Yelang Protectorate General to revoke its appointments around Tanzhou, leaving official appointments to the imperial court instead. The Emperor, however, had shelved the matter without action.

Li Xian passed on word that he suspected Cui Shaowei was secretly colluding with Li Maozhen.

Li Maozhen was thoroughly informed of every single event at the imperial court and frequently submitted memorials accusing the Emperor of wrongdoing, driving the Emperor into towering rages.

Regional intelligence included news that the Hedong army was fighting against the two vassal states of Chengde and Lulong, with the Hedong forces emerging victorious.

Zhu Wen of the Xuanwu Army attacked the Tianping Army in Shandong, only to suffer a crushing defeat near Doumen at the hands of Zhu Xuan, the Military Governor of Tianping.

This piece of information greatly invigorated Wei Fufeng; with the Xuanwu Army constrained by a formidable enemy, its march southward was bound to stall.

"Elder Sister, is there any news of Yang Xingmi and Sun Ru?" Wei Fufeng asked after reading the letter.

"It is said that Yang Xingmi and Sun Ru are still engaged in combat in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River around Xuanzhou, Runzhou, and Changzhou," Lin Qingxue replied.

Wei Fufeng nodded and said, "The regions along both banks of the lower Yangtze have been ravaged by war. The conflict between Yang Xingmi and Sun Ru cannot last much longer."

"Does the lord intend to dispatch troops to Western Zhejiang?" Lin Qingxue asked.

The prefectures south of the lower Yangtze—Jiangning, Runzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou—were officially designated as the Western Zhejiang region, where an Imperial Censor of Western Zhejiang had once been stationed.

Wei Fufeng shook his head and said, "I also wish to pluck the fruits of victory, but due to the blocking threats of the Zhennan, Eyue, and Jingnan armies, I dare not lead a large army eastward. Furthermore, armies locked in chaotic warfare are filled with fierce and battle-hardened veterans whom the Southern Sichuan Army would find difficult to defeat."

Lin Qingxue nodded. Wei Fufeng continued, "At present, consolidating our foundation remains paramount. Greedily advancing into Western Zhejiang would instead lead to the consequence of failing to secure one while losing the other. Only by expanding southward can we smoothly pioneer new territories and extend our borders without drawing excessive attention from the imperial court and powerful vassal states."

Lin Qingxue nodded again, and Wei Fufeng added, "After I go to Tanzhou, I will lead an army on a distant expedition to the Guiguan Circuit in Guangxi. Once the governance of Guiguan is stabilized, we can echo the Yelang Mansion from afar, advancing into southwestern Qianzhou, southeastern Qianzhou, and southern Qianzhou to forge a hegemonic domain in the Southwest."

"Guiguan? Is it easily taken?" Lin Qingxue asked.

"The administrative seat of Guiguan is Shian County in Guizhou—modern-day Guilin. According to scouting reports, the garrison consists of only three troops. Instead of seizing the prefectures south of Tanzhou, I will cross the border southward for a surprise long-range raid on Guiguan. We can catch them unawares and unprepared. As long as we capture Lingui County and obtain the official seal of the Guiguan Imperial Censor, we can rightfully issue proclamations to the thirteen prefectures of Guiguan, declaring that we have assumed office by imperial decree."

The Guiguan Imperial Censor mentioned by Wei Fufeng was, in fact, also the existence of a regional military domain. The Guiguan region was predominantly inhabited by barbarian tribes—ethnic minorities—much like the neighboring Liao people of the Qianzhong Circuit.

By comparison, Guiguan had been subjected to the rule of regular bureaucrats conquered by the Tang armies.

Due to its geographical conditions, the Qianzhong Circuit had never truly been conquered by the military might of the Great Tang; hence, most of the prefectures within Qianzhong were governed by hereditary native chieftains.

The predecessor of the Guiguan Imperial Censor was the Pacification Commissioner, a regional military and political commander ranking lower than an Imperial Censor, similar to a Defense Commissioner, though inferior in official rank.

Guiguan originally belonged to the Lingnan Circuit. In the early Tang dynasty, the Lingnan Circuit comprised forty-five prefectures divided among five governorships: Guangzhou, Guiguan, Rongguan, Yongguan, and Jiaozhou—also known as the Annam Pacification Command.

The highest official title in the Lingnan Circuit during the early Tang was the Pacification Commissioner of the Five Prefectures of Lingnan, who concurrently served as the Prefect of Guangzhou.

In the sixth year of the Zhide reign under Emperor Suzong, the An Lushan Rebellion gave rise to a proliferation of regional domains, making the post of Military Governor mainstream, and the Pacification Commissioner of the Five Prefectures of Lingnan was upgraded to the Military Governor of the Lingnan Circuit.

In the third year of the Xiantong reign under Emperor Yizong of Tang, the minister Cai Jing memorialized the throne proposing the division of Lingnan into two military circuits. Yizong approved the request and appointed Cai Jing as the Military Governor of the Lingnan Western Circuit.

The former Military Governor of Lingnan became the Military Governor of the Lingnan Eastern Circuit, a post held by the minister Wei Di, initiating the administrative demarcation between Guangdong and Guangxi.

The administrative seat of the Military Governor of the Lingnan Western Circuit was located in Yongguan, present-day Nanning, Guangxi.

It jurisdictionally oversaw the thirteen prefectures of the Guiguan Pacification Command, the thirteen prefectures of the Yongguan Pacification Command headquartered in Nanning, Guangxi, and the fourteen prefectures of the Rongguan Pacification Command.

There were also the Jiaozhou Pacification Command in northern Vietnam—eleven prefectures further away in the southwestern direction—along with the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island.

In reality, however, ninety percent of the population in the Lingnan Western Circuit consisted of barbarian tribes, and the Tang dynasty's rule was reduced to superficial nominal authority; the Military Governors appointed by the court were mere figureheads.

The official posts of the Pacification Commissioners of Yongguan, Jiaozhou, and Rongguan had originally been filled by regular imperial bureaucrats, but they were gradually usurped by the most powerful tribal chieftains.

Only Guiguan had consistently been able to accept appointments from the imperial court, with its Pacification Commissioner upgraded to an Imperial Censor, replacing the defunct Military Governor of the Lingnan Western Circuit, and tasked with delivering tributes to the imperial court.

When the Great Tang was strong, the barbarian pacification commissioners and prefects of the Southwest would obediently submit taxes and tributes.

Following the outbreak of the Huang Chao rebellion, the barbarian tribes in the southwestern regions realized the reality of the internal turmoil and decline of the Great Tang, and successively severed their submission of tributes and taxes, merely acknowledging in name that they were still officials of the Great Tang.

Focusing solely on the thirteen prefectures of Guiguan, the prefects of individual prefectures who still submitted to the incumbent Imperial Censor numbered only three prefectures bordering Guizhou, and even then, their relationship was merely one of alliance.

The only prefecture the Guiguan Imperial Censor could truly control was Guizhou, and his sphere of influence was far inferior to the vassal states north of the Yangtze River.

Therefore, Wei Fufeng planned to launch a surprise raid on Guizhou, leaving the Guiguan Imperial Censor no time to call for reinforcements or gather troops.

Although the Guiguan Imperial Censor could not control all thirteen prefectures, he had, after all, served in Guiguan for many years and retained the capacity to rally other prefects to jointly repel foreign invasions.

Only by seizing the moral high ground of the imperial court with the speed of a thunderbolt, coupled with the deterrence of military might, could the prefects of Guiguan be held in awe and kept hesitant on the sidelines, allowing him to establish a foothold and gradually conquer Guiguan.

Wei Fufeng had mentioned that once the governance of Guiguan was stabilized, he could echo the Yelang Mansion from afar and advance into Qianbei, Qiandong, and Qiannan to the northwest.

In truth, after seizing Guizhou, he would make tactical choices based on local conditions, perhaps pointing his military锋 toward the territories under the jurisdiction of the Military Governor of Lingnan to the southeast—Guangdong.

The Military Governor of Lingnan was none other than the Military Governor of the Lingnan Eastern Circuit, headquartered in Guangzhou. Compared to the Lingnan Western Circuit, the majority of its prefectures operated under the regular bureaucratic system of流官, constituting genuine territory under the rule of the Great Tang.

However, the Huang Chao rebellion had swept across the north and south, capturing Guangzhou, the seat of the Military Governor of Lingnan, which severely disrupted the governing order of the imperial administration in the Lingnan Eastern Circuit.

Moreover, because the capital was distant and the Emperor far away, Lingnan had fallen into a state of minor fragmentation. The so-called Military Governor of Lingnan found himself in a situation similar to the Guiguan Imperial Censor, unable to truly rule all the prefectures under his jurisdiction.

Many prefectures in Lingnan had transformed their prefects into independent warlords wielding military and political authority.

Wei Fufeng's southward expansion plan aimed to take advantage of this vacuum and chaos to supplant them; should the Lingnan Circuit be unified by a single powerfully rising force, any subsequent attempt by him to seize it would come at a tremendous cost with no guarantee of success.

Wei Fufeng eagerly targeted the Lingnan Circuit for two reasons: strategically, it was like picking the softest persimmon, and logistically, he needed to open up a trade route centered primarily on sea salt to serve as a remedy in the event that the salt wells of Sichuan were lost in the future.

Salt and grain were the two lifelines of governance, and rock salt in particular yielded exorbitant commercial profits, making it the finest financial source for maintaining an army.

Hearing Wei Fufeng's reply, Lin Qingxue asked, "Does the lord intend to personally assume the post of Guiguan Imperial Censor when you capture Guizhou?"

"No, I plan to transfer Yang He, the Prefect of Changzhou," Wei Fufeng replied.

Lin Qingxue nodded and said, "Yang He is a dutiful and capable official, and also a veteran of the Southern Sichuan Army."

Wei Fufeng nodded, yet he appeared deep in thought. After a moment, he said, "I shall still personally assume the post of Imperial Censor. Yang He will be appointed Prefect of Guizhou and concurrently serve as the Commissioner of Agricultural Colonies for Guiguan, placing Yang He on an equal footing with the Prefect of Tanzhou. I will additionally appoint someone as the Defense Commissioner of Guiguan."

Lin Qingxue nodded. Wei Fufeng's intention was to implement a military command system in Guiguan, reducing the post of Guiguan Imperial Censor to a nominal, empty title, since Wei Fufeng could not remain stationed in Guiguan for long.

During his three days in Yuzhou, Wei Fufeng made various preparations. He led an army of ten thousand men, took Yang He with him, and departed Yuzhou for Tanzhou.

When Wei Fufeng arrived in Tanzhou in mid-June, he inevitably inspected military and political affairs along the way, encountering Zhang Wencheng, the Prefect of Tanzhou, in the vicinity of the Yuan River.

Zhang Wencheng, the Prefect of Tanzhou, concurrently served as the Commissioner of Agricultural Colonies for the Dongting Lake Plain, inspecting the field and directing agricultural colony affairs across various regions.

As the superior and subordinate met, discussing agricultural affairs and conducting on-site inspections were inevitable.

In addition, the progress of the Yuan River trade route, which Wei Fufeng had negotiated with the Tian clan of Sizhou, was not going smoothly.