Chapter 410: Joining Forces to Suppress Him

"Good!" Peng Youzai was delighted. "All four commandery governors are men skilled in both military command and civil administration. Since all four favor the same candidate, their judgment should not be wrong. Then it's settled. Feng Lingbo!"

Feng Lingbo rose and cupped his hands. "Present!"

Peng Youzai smiled. "With all four governors placing such trust in you, it would be difficult to refuse. The pressure on your shoulders will not be small. I hope you won't disappoint everyone's expectations."

"From this day forward, you will serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Five Commanderies. Whenever war arises, the forces of all five commanderies will be placed under your unified command. In peacetime, you are not to interfere in the civil or military affairs of any commandery."

They were not trying to strip the four commandery governors of their civil and military authority. None of the four would have agreed to that. If all four joined forces in resistance, the resulting disorder would be severe.

Feng Lingbo said, "I obey. Only..."

Peng Youzai assumed an open and upright manner. "Everything here is for everyone's benefit. If you have some difficulty, say it. If there is a problem, we can discuss it openly and resolve it together."

Feng Lingbo said, "I don't have a single soldier under my direct command. I'm a commander-in-chief with no army of my own. I can't even find men to enforce military law. Without troops I'm accustomed to using, once war breaks out the soldiers won't know the commander and the commander won't know the soldiers. How am I supposed to direct the forces of five commanderies in battle?"

Peng Youzai said, "That is indeed a problem. The four commandery governors understand military affairs. What do all of you think should be done?"

Zhao Xingfeng replied, "That's easy enough. Yesterday we were saying that the five commanderies maintain too many troops and that the burden is too heavy."

"If forces need to be reduced anyway, then whoever has the most troops can simply transfer some to Commander Feng."

Niu Youdao's brows lifted. So that was it. Yesterday's discussion about the burden of maintaining so many troops had been laying the groundwork for today. He was unfamiliar with the details of military and civil administration and had completely failed to see the pit they were digging. He could not help glancing toward Meng Shanming and the others. They were all frowning slightly. Apparently even they had not expected this move today.

Bang!

Shang Chaozong slapped the table with one palm. The crack echoed through the hall and drew every eye. Shang Chaozong surged to his feet and stared at Zhao Xingfeng.

"This prince has the most troops. Whoever wants them can take them."

He turned toward Peng Youzai.

"Sect Leader Peng, why not go a step further? I don't want the civil or military authority over my two commanderies either. I'll abdicate in favor of someone more worthy and become a recluse in the mountains. Whoever wants the position can take it!"

Niu Youdao smiled faintly. The words were grand enough, and they also reassured him. For Shang Chaozong to dare say this meant he had confidence in his control over the troops in his hands. Those troops were not something anyone could simply take away because he wanted them. Peng Youzai pressed both hands downward toward him and smiled.

"Your Highness, don't speak in anger. No one here intends to strip you of your civil or military authority. If anyone dared do such a thing, I would be the first to object."

"We're all laying the matter out and discussing it. Say what needs saying, reason through what needs reasoning. There's no need to slap tables and lose your temper."

"Marshal Meng, wouldn't you agree?"

That last sentence was directed at Meng Shanming.

Meng Shanming immediately said to Shang Chaozong, "Your Highness, why not sit first and hear everyone's views?"

"Hmph!"

Shang Chaozong gave Zhao Xingfeng a cold snort, swept his sleeve, and sat again.

Meilin Sheng, Governor of Huxi Commandery, said, "Your Highness, please calm your anger. Brother Zhao's words may not sound pleasant, but the suggestion itself is worth considering. Think about it. Your Highness has the most troops. Transferring some away would not create much difficulty. Second, Your Highness's forces already absorbed the original troops of Guangyi Commandery. Commander Feng knows many of those men and understands them well. If those troops are transferred to him, he can command them directly without spending time becoming familiar with them. War can come at any time. It isn't necessarily always us attacking others. We must also guard against others suddenly attacking us. Being prepared early is more important than anything else."

The reasoning truly was difficult to fault. Shang Chaozong lifted his cup and drank in silence.

Peng Youzai asked, "Then how many troops would be appropriate to transfer to Commander Feng?"

Wu Tiandang, Governor of Wuyang Commandery, said, "Too many would be inappropriate. Asking for too much might make His Highness misunderstand."

"In my view, soldiers are valued for quality, not quantity. Several thousand men should be enough. Commander Feng only has unified command during wartime. Keeping too many troops permanently under him would also reduce the defenses of the commanderies in ordinary times."

"What does Commander Feng think?"

Only a few thousand?

Shang Chaozong could not help looking up. Even Niu Youdao found the request somewhat unexpected. A few thousand men truly was not excessive when Shang Chaozong controlled an army of two hundred thousand. If he refused even that, it would indeed be difficult to justify.

Feng Lingbo nodded. "Brother Wu speaks well. Several thousand are enough. Five thousand. I only need five thousand troops!"

Zhao Xingfeng gave a sound of agreement. "Five thousand cavalry would certainly qualify as an elite force."

The moment he said "five thousand cavalry," the nature of the request changed completely.

Five thousand men were one thing. Five thousand warhorses carried a very different weight.

Shang Chaozong asked coldly, "Zhao, are you providing the five thousand warhorses?"

Zhao Xingfeng said, "If Your Highness hadn't been ordered to give me those thousand warhorses, every battleworthy horse I have put together still wouldn't total five thousand. Where am I supposed to find five thousand warhorses?"

Shang Chaozong snapped, "Then what the hell are you spouting? Because they don't belong to your family, you can hand them out however you please?"

Meilin Sheng spoke again. "Your Highness, we're all one family now. There shouldn't be any distinction between yours and mine. Everyone has to consider the larger situation."

Shang Chaozong said, "One family? Well said. In that case, is Brother Mei's wife also something this prince can share without distinction?"

Peng Yulan choked on a mouthful of wine and nearly sprayed it out. She stared wide-eyed at Shang Chaozong, hardly believing her own son-in-law could say something like that to her face. He usually carried himself with the dignity of the imperial clan. How could he say something so vulgar? Feng Lingbo could understand it well enough. A man accustomed to the army, if he stopped restraining himself, could say far worse nonsense than this.

Feng Ruonan, who had remained silent all along, could not resist giving Shang Chaozong a fierce glare. Niu Youdao cheerfully raised his cup toward Feng Entai. Feng Entai helplessly raised his own and drank with him. Meilin Sheng could hardly drag Peng Youzai's granddaughter—that was, Shang Chaozong's wife—into the argument, so he could only sigh.

"Your Highness, people and livestock cannot be discussed in the same way."

"Forgive me for speaking directly, but since everyone's interests are aligned now, those warhorses in Your Highness's hands ought, by rights, to be divided among everyone."

"If they were apportioned according to each side's troop strength, I don't think anyone would object to Your Highness receiving a somewhat larger share."

"But we also have to consider Your Highness's need to establish the Yingyang and Wulie Guards. At minimum, ten thousand warhorses should be guaranteed to you. Surely everyone can agree on that much reason."

Wu Tiandang nodded as well. "Even after giving up five thousand horses, Your Highness would still retain more than ten thousand, far more than any other commandery. That is enough to establish the Yingyang and Wulie Guards."

"I truly don't understand what Your Highness means by monopolizing so many warhorses while ignoring whether the other commanderies live or die."

Shang Chaozong replied, "It means nothing more than that I can't stand your petty, grasping faces."

"When everyone held his own territory, where were all of you then? Only now do you remember that you need warhorses?"

"If you want them, find a way to obtain them yourselves. Since when has the world offered so many bargains for people to pick up for free?"

Peng Youzai, seated at the head, finally spoke in an unhurried voice.

"Your Highness, Tianyu Sect paid for those warhorses. They were not bought for one household alone. We have to take all parties into account."

That single sentence tightened Shang Chaozong's jaw and left him unable to answer. He truly wanted to ask Peng Youzai whether Tianyu Sect had really been the one to obtain those horses. Were some things as simple as paying money and buying them? If Tianyu Sect truly had that kind of ability, why had it not satisfied the needs of the commanderies long ago? Why wait until now to divide up the horses? But Shang Chaozong could not publicly slap Tianyu Sect in the face. Everything required limits.

There were matters over which he could slap the table, and matters over which he could not. This was something he could only endure.

Peng Youzai said, "Enough. I've heard everyone's opinions. The minority should yield to the majority, so we'll proceed according to the view of the greater number."

"As we said yesterday, the five commanderies will not reduce their forces. Qingshan and Guangyi Commanderies will transfer five thousand soldiers and five thousand warhorses to Feng Lingbo to form the commander-in-chief's direct force. The existing channel for their military pay and provisions will remain unchanged."

"That's settled. Everyone, drink!"

With that, he personally raised his cup toward the room. What he had said amounted to this: Not only would Shang Chaozong provide Feng Lingbo with five thousand troops and five thousand horses, Shang Chaozong's side would also continue paying to maintain them. Feng Lingbo was the first to raise his cup in response. Zhao Xingfeng, Meilin Sheng, and Wu Tiandang naturally followed. Fei Changliu and the others looked toward Niu Youdao, taking their cue from him. Niu Youdao raised his cup without hesitation.

Fei Changliu and the others immediately followed. Meng Shanming, Lan Ruoting, and the rest also raised theirs. The cup in Shang Chaozong's hand felt as heavy as a thousand jun. Even so, he slowly lifted it. Feng Ruonan watched Shang Chaozong's movement. If he had refused to raise his cup, then as Princess Consort she would not have been able to raise hers either. She understood perfectly well what was happening.

Whatever the state of her marriage with Shang Chaozong, this time a whole group of people truly had joined forces to pin her husband down and cut flesh from him. Her own natal family was among them. Worse, her natal family was the one benefiting from it. She was genuinely caught in the middle. Whichever side she helped would be wrong.

"Excellent!" Peng Youzai drained his cup first, then displayed the empty bottom for everyone to see.

"Everyone, enjoy yourselves. No need for restraint."

After the group finished their cups and sat again, some wore cheerful expressions. Shang Chaozong's side naturally could not share their mood. By now even a blind man could see that the people led by Tianyu Sect had joined forces beforehand and prepared a trap specifically for them. Shang Chaozong's side had started with more than twenty-eight thousand warhorses. Five thousand had been sold to neighboring Jinzhou. Yesterday another three thousand had been distributed. Today another five thousand had been carved away. Piece by piece, only fifteen thousand remained.

And his side still had to pay the military expenses for Feng Lingbo's troops. No matter how one looked at it, Tianyu Sect seemed deliberately intent on restraining Shang Chaozong's strength and preventing his faction from becoming too dominant. Once the farewell banquet ended, everyone naturally prepared to return home.

According to proper etiquette, Shang Chaozong and his wife still had to perform a separate farewell courtesy and formally take leave of Feng Lingbo and Peng Yulan. Niu Youdao and the others gathered outside Tianyu Sect's mountain gate to wait. Meng Shanming's wheelchair was pushed to Niu Youdao's side.

As though speaking casually, Meng Shanming said, "We don't want internal strife, yet others have already struck first."

Niu Youdao smiled. "The two situations aren't comparable."

"His Highness is surrounded by Tianyu Sect's people. His very life is in their hands. He has no choice but to agree."

"It's still the same thing I said before: until the matter is accomplished, unity among the five commanderies comes first."

What Meng Shanming actually wanted was to probe what card Niu Youdao had left in reserve. Otherwise, his side truly had no peace of mind. But Niu Youdao kept his mouth shut tightly and still refused to reveal anything. Meng Shanming could only give up. Lan Ruoting took the opportunity to offer a reminder.

"Master Dao, the Princess Consort has difficulties of her own as well. Perhaps you could show her a little understanding."

Niu Youdao understood what he meant. Lan Ruoting was referring to the way he had deliberately put Feng Ruonan on the spot earlier.

Niu Youdao replied, "Precisely because I understand her difficulty, I made things difficult for her."

Lan Ruoting asked, "How do you mean?"

Niu Youdao said casually, "When His Highness later pulls the rug out from under his father-in-law and leaves the old man embarrassed, the Princess Consort won't be in much of a position to complain, will she? I'm thinking of His Highness too."

[End of Chapter 410]