Volume Two: The Ancestral Lord and Grandson Chapter 96: The Banner of the Great King Flutters Above the City Walls
At the end of October, Wei Fufeng found himself in the county town of Gongjing in Rongzhou, watching the shifting situation outside with cold detachment. The intervention of the Fengxiang military governor Li Maozhen’s forces in the struggle over Shu was entirely unexpected by Wei Fufeng.
Wei Fufeng was caught in hesitation and indecision. Li Maozhen’s forceful involvement changed the dynamics in Bashu. Originally, the expectation was that a balance would be established among Wang Jian in Xichuan, Yang Shouliang, and the forces in southern Sichuan.
Now, with Li Maozhen's intervention, Wei Fufeng felt a stirring of ambition. Should he seize the opportunity to advance into Xichuan, or should he continue to observe and let Li Maozhen supplant Wang Jian’s hold over Xichuan?
After weighing the options for a day, Wei Fufeng decided to maintain his watchful stance. He reasoned that attempting to take Xichuan would be difficult to defend and risked provoking a united counterattack from Yang Shouliang and Li Maozhen, which would bring more harm than benefit.
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The decisive battle at Pengzhou ultimately ended in victory for the allied forces of Li Maozhen and Yang Shouliang.
Wang Jian’s army was largely composed of aristocratic factions lacking unified battle spirit. When Wang Jian was strong, the powerful maintained their dominance and secured the loyalty of the aristocrats. But when confronted with a force of equal strength, years of bitter warfare had naturally sown discord within Wang Jian’s troops.
Having held Xichuan for only a short time, Wang Jian had no chance to consolidate his rule or dismantle and reorganize the aristocratic military forces.
When the two massive armies surged into battle and clashed thunderously, it took only moments for the wings of Wang Jian’s army to collapse, triggering a chain reaction that led to a rout as if a mountain had crumbled. In the end, Wang Jian fled with fewer than ten thousand remaining soldiers.
The allied forces secured a great victory. Three thousand Fengxiang cavalry pursued Wang Jian but lost track of his whereabouts en route. They then moved to patrol outside Chengdu.
Yang Shouliang’s nearly twenty thousand troops, burdened with over seven thousand prisoners and spoils, retreated in haste, fearing a sudden turn by the Fengxiang forces.
Li Maozhen hastened to accept the surrendered troops, gaining over thirty thousand defectors, then launched an assault on Chengdu, easily capturing the city.
Li Maozhen freed Chen Jingxuan and military inspector Tian Lingzi from prison, installing them as puppet military governors of Xichuan. He issued proclamations from the city, claiming the imperial mandate to suppress the rebellious Wang Jian who had defied orders and raised arms.
The people of Xichuan were already numb, accustomed to the ever-changing banners atop the city walls.
Many former followers of Chen Jingxuan, swayed by the wind, defected back to their “former lord,” thus granting the Fengxiang army’s occupation a degree of legitimacy.
After taking Chengdu, Li Maozhen dispatched troops to assert control over the surrounding prefectures of Xichuan.
Wei Fufeng, upon learning the outcome of the battle at Pengzhou, ordered his forces south of the Dadu River to advance into Longyou County (Leshan), thereby seizing all of Jiazhou.
The next day, Wei Fufeng commanded Lu Qing to take Lingzhou and sent envoys to Chengdu to inquire if Li Maozhen would be willing to exchange Jiazhou for Lingzhou — a covert attempt at peaceful negotiation.
Li Maozhen knew that the southern Sichuan army had connections to the Wei clan in Chang’an, but as a low-ranking military man himself, he held little regard for aristocratic lineages, viewing them as nothing more than foolish sheep.
Nevertheless, the strength of the southern Sichuan forces warranted negotiation. Having achieved his objective by marching south, he reasoned that his army should not linger too long away from Fengxiang Prefecture. When Xichuan’s governance stabilized, he could then advance into southern Sichuan. He agreed to the proposal.
When the envoys returned, the southern Sichuan army withdrew from Lingzhou, taking several thousand residents with them.
As for Wang Jian’s remnants from Xichuan, only about a thousand troops returned to Rongzhou; none of the other military leaders defected to the southern Sichuan forces.
Intelligence revealed that Wang Jian had fled to Yazhou.
Yazhou was a vast, sparsely populated border region adjacent to Tibet.
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Wang Jian was still the military governor of Yongping, overseeing Qiongzhou, Yazhou, and Lizhou. Since Qiongzhou bordered Chengdu Prefecture and was untenable, he fled to the remote Yazhou to survive.
Li Maozhen did not wait to fully secure all prefectures of Xichuan. He led thirty thousand troops back, half of whom were Fengxiang soldiers, the rest defectors.
He left over ten thousand Fengxiang troops to garrison Xichuan, supplemented by the thirty thousand defectors, which was sufficient for defense.
On the return journey, Li Maozhen stationed ten thousand troops to guard Jianzhou and Mianzhou, taking only twenty thousand soldiers back to Xingzhou.
Five thousand troops were left to defend Xingzhou, and the remaining fifteen thousand returned to their depleted stronghold.
Upon arriving at Fengxiang Prefecture, Li Maozhen immediately submitted a memorial recommending his son to be appointed military governor of Xichuan.
Emperor Zhaozong was shocked to learn that Xichuan had been seized by Li Maozhen—it was almost unbelievable.
After recovering from his shock, Zhaozong rejected Li Maozhen’s recommendation and instead appointed the loyal minister Liu Chongwang as the military governor of Fengxiang, leaving the post of Xichuan military governor vacant.
Li Maozhen naturally refused to accept the emperor’s decision. He did not submit another memorial but withdrew the ten thousand troops besieging Xingyuan Prefecture, redeploying them to strengthen Xichuan’s defenses, effectively cold-shouldering the court’s response.
As Li Maozhen’s forces withdrew, fifteen thousand troops from Tongguan also pulled back to garrison Yangzhou, leaving only the court’s thirty thousand soldiers at Xingyuan Prefecture.
Seeing the withdrawal of the regional armies, the court generals Sun Kui and Li Shunjie launched an all-out assault on the city.
But Xingyuan’s walls were imposing, and without the threat of Fengxiang or Tongguan forces, the defenders dealt with the siege effectively.
After three days of fierce fighting, the court forces lost over five thousand men, including more than a thousand from the Tianwei army.
Li Shunjie grew frustrated and warned Sun Kui that continuing the assault would risk reversing the balance of forces, eventually inviting a counterattack from the rebels. He advised either maintaining a siege or bringing reinforcements.
Sun Kui had no choice but to report this to the emperor.
Zhaozong, incensed by the memorial, felt that all the spoils of the campaign had been seized by Li Maozhen and Han Jian, while the court had gained nothing. He decreed that the Jincheng army should be dispatched to Xingyuan Prefecture.
The governor of Jinzhou refused to send his troops to suffer losses for the court, replying that the Tongguan army was watching hungrily. The Jincheng army had been ordered to suppress the rebellion at Yangzhou but was defeated by the Tongguan forces and could not proceed to Xingyuan.
Reading this reply, Emperor Zhaozong slammed his desk in fury, pacing back and forth in the Yan Ying Hall. He summoned his chancellors for counsel.
The chancellors arrived and, after paying respects, remained silent.
Zhaozong, inwardly vexed, turned to Du Rangneng and asked, “Do you have any strategy, minister?”
Du Rangneng respectfully replied, “Your Majesty, Minister Cui is the Deputy Minister of War; I am not as versed in military affairs.”
Zhaozong hesitated. Previously, Du Rangneng’s advice had not been heeded. Frowning, he said, “You must prioritize state affairs.”
“I dare not speak presumptuously and would prefer to hear Minister Cui’s recommendations first,” Du Rangneng answered politely, clearly challenging the situation: “If I speak, it will likely be rejected, so I leave it to Cui Shaowei.”
Zhaozong suppressed his anger and asked Cui Shaowei, “Do you have any strategy?”
Cui hesitated before saying, “Your Majesty, I believe the fact that Li Maozhen has seized Xichuan is irreversible. It would be better to approve his concurrent appointment and have him continue to send troops to assist the war effort.”
Zhaozong frowned but tried to remain calm. “If Wang Jian had held Xichuan, I could have tolerated it. But Li Maozhen, as military governor of Fengxiang, if he holds Xichuan long-term, will increasingly threaten Chang’an.”
Cui was at a loss for words. Zhaozong turned to Du Rangneng.
Du Rangneng respectfully responded, “Your Majesty, Han Jian’s retreat should be criticized. You have already approved the appointment of Wei Zhaodu as military governor of Wuding. If Han Jian refuses to continue fighting, Your Majesty can appoint Wei Zhaodu as military governor of Wuding again.”
“What use is that? Han Jian already controls Yangzhou,” Cui Shaowei blurted out.
“If court appointments were useless, why assign Li Maozhen as military governor of Xichuan?” Du Rangneng retorted coldly.
Cui was speechless, recognizing his misstep.
Du Rangneng looked at the emperor and continued, “Your Majesty, since Xingyuan Prefecture is difficult to capture, you may order Lord Sun to lead troops south to assist the Eastern Sichuan army against Yang Shouliang’s rebels. Also, the Tongguan army can be sent to support. Once Yang Shouliang’s forces are defeated, Xingyuan will become isolated, and its fall is only a matter of time.”
Zhaozong’s eyes brightened at this and he nodded instinctively.
Du Rangneng added, “The military governors of southern Sichuan and Wutai can also be ordered to mobilize. If they comply, they should be granted noble titles afterward.”
The emperor nodded. “Very well, we shall proceed as you advise.”
After the discussion, the chancellors left Yan Ying Hall. Du Rangneng, however, seemed to recall something and turned back.
“Do you have any further advice, minister?” Zhaozong asked kindly.
“Your Majesty, I have a suggestion that cannot be spoken openly but must be conveyed to you,” Du Rangneng said.
“Speak freely,” the emperor replied.
“Your Majesty, the appointment of the southern Sichuan military governor is unrelated to Wei Zhaodu. However, the southern Sichuan governor is indeed kin to the Wei clan of Chang’an. I propose appointing Wei Zhaodu as military governor of Xichuan, and Li Maozhen’s son as deputy military governor,” Du Rangneng explained.
Zhaozong was taken aback. “Does your recommendation carry some deeper meaning?”
“Your Majesty, since Li Maozhen’s occupation of Xichuan is a fait accompli, even if the court refuses to approve it, Li Maozhen can still use false imperial edicts to deceive the military and people of Xichuan. It would be better to have Wei Zhaodu nominally oversee Xichuan. With Wei Zhaodu as military governor and the southern Sichuan governor opposed to Li Maozhen, their hostility will intensify,” Du Rangneng said.
Zhaozong nodded in understanding. Du Rangneng continued, “As hostilities between Xichuan and southern Sichuan escalate, Li Maozhen will inevitably reinforce Xichuan and may even clash with the southern Sichuan army. At that time, Fengxiang Prefecture will be left vulnerable, possibly giving the court a chance to regain control.”
Zhaozong’s expression betrayed a flicker of hope. He nodded subconsciously. “Reasonable. We shall approve your proposal.”
Du Rangneng bowed and took his leave.
“You have repeatedly recommended Wei Zhaodu; your magnanimity is noted,” Zhaozong remarked casually. Wei Zhaodu was, after all, the prime minister.
Du Rangneng responded solemnly, “I recommend Wei Zhaodu out of loyalty to the state. If Wei Zhaodu serves as military governor of Zhaoxin while remaining prime minister, the Wei clan of Jinzhou can be fully harnessed by the court. Your Majesty’s appointment of a prince has given the Jinzhou Wei clan room to feign loyalty while acting like Han Jian’s rebellious faction.”
Zhaozong was momentarily stunned. After a pause, he nodded. “My mistake. I merely worried about the Wei clan growing too powerful.”
“Your Majesty’s concerns are justified, but by comparison, I believe Han Jian and Li Maozhen are more dangerous. Such uncultured warriors lack restraint and are more prone to rebellion and regicide,” Du Rangneng said.
Zhaozong gave a bitter smile. “You may take your leave.”
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Several imperial edicts were dispatched from Chang’an. Han Jian, the military governor of Huashang, received orders to lead ten thousand troops from Yangzhou southward to assist the court forces in eliminating Yang Shouliang’s army.
The march south promised abundant plunder. Ten thousand Tongguan troops and over twenty thousand court soldiers advanced grandly toward Jianzhou.