Chapter 492: - Seeking Battle

Footsteps sounded outside the Imperial Study.

Count Pingye took the initiative to step out. At the doorway, he saw Emperor Yan walking at the head of the group.

The Emperor looked much better than he had two days ago.

“This subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty.”

“Rise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Behind Emperor Yan came Zhao Jiulang. Behind Zhao Jiulang were eight ministers. Zheng Fan did not recognize a single one of them, but he assumed they were ministers of the various ministries or other senior officials of the court.

More precisely, they were probably the true pillars holding up the central government.

Behind that group came the Crown Prince, and behind the Crown Prince came Ji Chengjue.

This was hardly the first time these people had discussed affairs in the Imperial Study. Without waiting for instructions from the Emperor, Wei Zhonghe led a group of young eunuchs in carrying over chairs and narrow writing tables.

The tables were unusually high to match the chairs. From Count Pingye’s angle, the ministers looked as though they had all been seated in oversized children’s chairs.

Before long, bowls of plain noodles were brought in. There was one even in front of Emperor Yan.

The freckled young eunuch walked over to Count Pingye again.

“Count, would you like another bowl?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, Count.”

And so Count Pingye joined everyone else in a “children’s chair.”

Plain noodles really did mean plain noodles. A little chopped scallion had been sprinkled on top, and the noodles themselves were ordinary homemade fare, not some elaborate palace preparation.

The only luxurious touch was that the broth appeared to be chicken stock.

Perhaps they were worried anything richer would be too heavy, so there were no toppings.

As far as Zheng Fan could remember, probably only the old Marquis of Zhenbei had ever dared roast a leg of lamb in the imperial gardens without the slightest restraint.

Emperor Yan took the first bite. Only then did the other ministers lift their chopsticks.

For a time, the Imperial Study was filled entirely with the sound of people eating noodles.

Everyone ate quickly. For one thing, they all knew there were important matters to discuss afterward. For another, no one was going to chat about household trifles while eating in the Emperor’s presence.

Everyone had only one bowl.

Whenever someone finished, a eunuch immediately brought over a cup of tea and a copper basin.

The tea was for rinsing the mouth, then spitting directly into the basin.

The basin was also used to wash the face and hands.

This was not about extravagance or ceremony. During deliberations they might have to handle brush and ink, and some might even be ordered to draft an imperial edict on the spot, so their hands needed to be clean. Washing the face also helped sharpen the mind.

At last, the little tables were removed and everyone was served a fresh cup of tea.

Once everything was ready, Emperor Yan drew out a memorial.

“Wujiang wrote this memorial personally. He tells me that the pressure along the Nanwang City front is increasing by the day.”

The Emperor did not finish the thought, but everyone understood.

If the memorial raised a problem, then naturally it would also contain a request for help in solving it.

And how did one solve this particular problem?

Simple.

Reinforcements.

That could mean transferring troops from elsewhere in the Great Yan Dynasty to Nanwang City, or it could mean increasing the grain, military funding, and authorized troop strength allotted to that front.

The first option was extremely difficult.

After annexing the Three Jin lands, Great Yan’s commitments had simply spread too far. In many places, the state was already stretched painfully thin.

That left only the second option.

And that meant more money and grain.

For an individual, money could not solve every problem. But if you had enough money, more than ninety-nine percent of your problems stopped being problems.

The same was true for a state.

Count Pingye himself had to rely on Little Sixth at the Ministry of Revenue approving his requisitions before Snow Sea Pass could receive its full allocation of money and grain.

Other regions were only receiving half of what they were supposed to get.

Great Yan had always believed in maintaining elite troops. The Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army were the clearest examples.

But there was simply no helping it now. The shortfall was too large, and the state finances were leaking everywhere. All anyone could do was paste paper over the holes and at least preserve some semblance of order.

At that moment, Wang Lian, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, rose and said, “Your Majesty, this subject believes one formation from the camps outside Yanjing can be transferred south to Kai City in Yinlang Commandery to deter the Qian.”

Kai City lay roughly between Yanjing and Nanwang City. Stationing a formation there meant it could continue helping defend the capital while also moving south more quickly if trouble arose in Yinlang Commandery.

Yan armies were built primarily around cavalry. In mobility, they truly were far superior to the Qian.

Still, this proposal felt rather like being so poor that you had to split one copper coin in half and spend each piece separately.

No one else had much to say.

Everyone present understood exactly how bad the court’s finances were. Given the current circumstances, Wang Lian’s proposal was already quite realistic.

Emperor Yan looked toward the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince rose.

“This son supports the Left Vice Director’s proposal.”

Emperor Yan then looked at Ji Chengjue.

Of everyone present, only Old Sixth Ji was a man of the Ministry of Revenue.

After Old Sixth had successively brought down two Ministers of Revenue, the position had remained vacant ever since.

So whenever the ministries fought over their shares of the budget, Old Sixth personally went into battle every time. Despite being an imperial prince, he would argue with those senior officials until both sides were red in the face.

There was no helping it.

Too many monks, too little gruel.

The people who could not eat their fill were angry.

The man ladling out the gruel was angry too.

But this was the Imperial Study, not a full court session, so there was no need to roll up their sleeves and start fighting.

Ji Chengjue did not begin crying poverty either.

Instead, he rose and said, “Father, we can increase the authorized troop establishment somewhat this year, then increase it again next year.”

Last year they had patched things together and stumbled through.

This year they were barely scraping by.

Next year marked the end of the three-year period Ji Chengjue had agreed upon with Emperor Yan. Great Yan’s finances should show obvious improvement by then. They would still have to pay down debts accumulated over the previous two years, but at least the finances of this enormous empire would finally have been guided onto a healthier path.

Emperor Yan smiled.

“If something changes in the south, can you tell the Qian to wait another year or two before attacking, so we have time to increase the troop establishment?”

Ji Chengjue replied, “Father, the first-half appropriations for this year were issued long ago, and the second-half appropriations were already settled at the beginning of the year. The treasury did retain a reserve for emergencies, but now we also have to repair the Wang River works. River works have been bottomless pits for money since ancient times. I’ve already wracked my brains over the matter and am going everywhere with a begging bowl trying to scrape together funds.”

Emperor Yan waved his hand.

He was the Emperor. How could he not know what condition the treasury was in?

But in the end, Emperor Yan still looked toward Zheng Fan, seated farthest back.

“Count Pingye. You speak.”

Great Yan had a very peculiar tradition.

When military affairs were discussed in the Imperial Study in the past, there was usually no real military heavyweight present other than the Minister of War.

That was because Great Yan had delegated military authority far too heavily.

In Beifeng Commandery, the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence made its own decisions regarding most matters involving the Barbarians.

In the east, the Marquis of Jingnan was the same.

According to Qian custom, military giants like the Marquis of Zhenbei and Marquis of Jingnan should have had their command stripped long ago and been brought back to the capital to enjoy honorable retirement. They would be showered with empty titles like Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor, thoroughly removed from actual power. If some military issue arose, the court might summon them as advisers and listen to their opinions.

So today was genuinely unusual.

For once, there was a bona fide military roughneck sitting in the Imperial Study.

And everyone’s attention naturally fell on Count Pingye, whose momentum and reputation had been unrivaled in recent years.

In truth, the moment they entered and saw Count Pingye sitting there, everyone understood that his opinion today would matter greatly.

Surely His Majesty had not summoned him merely to sit in and listen?

Count Pingye stood and saluted.

“Your Majesty, this subject believes there is no need to move the Imperial Guards. Nor is there any need to increase the money and grain allotted to the Nanwang City front. The First Prince and Xu Wenzu can instead be ordered to contract the defensive line around Nanwang City and refrain from contesting every temporary gain or loss with the Qian.”

The moment he said this, Cao Que, Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, immediately spoke.

“For centuries, Great Yan has faced the Barbarians without voluntarily yielding a single step. And now we are to retreat before the Qian?”

Director Xu Qiutai of the Department of State Affairs also asked in puzzlement, “Count Pingye, what do you mean by this?”

Zheng Fan turned toward the two senior officials, cupped his hands, and replied, “Because the court is not financially comfortable, so...”

Wang Lian interrupted him.

“Yet I have heard that Snow Sea Pass receives allocations of money and grain twenty or thirty percent higher than other commands.”

As he said this, Wang Lian’s gaze swept briefly across Ji Chengjue.

Zheng Fan did not know why Wang Lian seemed hostile to him, and he had no time to analyze the man’s political alignment.

What he needed to do right now was hurry Emperor Yan through this little process of tossing out a brick to draw forth jade, so they could reach the truly important subject.

So Count Pingye asked directly, “Has Your Excellency ever been to Snow Sea Pass?”

“Naturally not.”

“At Snow Sea Pass, the snowfields and their Savages lie to the north, while Chu lies to the south. Within a hundred li of Snow Sea Pass, nine homes out of ten stand empty. There is almost no population at all. Even if this Count wanted to squeeze the local population to support the army, there is nowhere for me to squeeze. If I don’t ask the court for support, what do you expect me to do? Stop fighting and take the soldiers north to herd livestock on the snowfields? Or send them south to clear wasteland and farm for a living?”

Armies stationed elsewhere could always scrape some additional resources from the surrounding territory.

As the saying went, a living man was not going to let himself be strangled by his own piss.

But Zheng Fan simply did not have those conditions.

At least, based on the written reports about Snow Sea Pass that the great men at court saw, none of them could tell that Count Pingye possessed any real ability to “support himself.”

Wang Lian shook his head and smiled, not looking particularly angry.

Count Pingye continued.

“Your Majesty, since the court currently has no spare money or grain to allocate, then instead of forcing the issue, we might as well retreat in order to advance. Put on the appearance of throwing open the doors and inviting our guest inside. Let us see whether the Qian truly dare launch another northern expedition.”

Cao Que said, “Count Pingye, if we contract the defenses, would that not mean handing territory along Great Yan’s border over to the Qian?”

“Has Your Excellency ever been to Yinlang Commandery?”

Cao Que swallowed.

Again?

“I have. I have also been to Nanwang City.”

Nanwang City had once been called Great Yan’s little Jiangnan and had also been one of the centers of Yan culture.

“Then has Your Excellency ever visited the actual border? Have you ever been to Qian’s Three Frontiers? Have you ever passed through the Three Frontiers and entered Chu Commandery?”

“I... have not.”

“Then this Count can tell Your Excellency that the Qian have built countless forts and stockades all along their border. What we now call the Nanwang City border is actually a very broad zone of interpenetration between the two sides. It is a jagged, interlocking region that neither side can truly control and where cavalry from either side can ride. First, Great Yan’s soldiers are not skilled at attacking fortified positions, so when faced with Qian forts and stockades, there is often nowhere convenient to bite. Second, the Qian are poor in field battle. Even Zhong Tianlang these past two years has merely led small detachments of cavalry around making trouble for a while. The Qian themselves do not dare advance too far from their fortifications. So contracting the Nanwang City defensive line would amount to nothing more than denying those small Qian raiding parties easy targets the next time they ride north.”

“What if a major Qian army marches north?” Wang Lian suddenly asked. “Border defenses exist first because we are responsible for holding the territory, and second because they provide early warning. Once our line around Nanwang City contracts, if a major Qian army suddenly advances north, would Great Yan not lose the opportunity to prepare?”

The instant Zheng Fan heard this, he turned toward Emperor Yan.

Then he bowed deeply.

“Your Majesty, if the Qian truly dare gather a great army and march north, then I ask Your Majesty to grant this subject thirty thousand iron cavalry.”

Grant me thirty thousand iron cavalry.

A century ago, the first Marquis of Zhenbei had routed Qian’s five-hundred-thousand-man Northern Expedition Army with thirty thousand cavalry.

For generations, that feat had become a shared dream among the soldiers of Great Yan.

Wang Lian said, “Arrogant.”

Count Pingye answered without giving an inch.

“This Count has never lost a war.”

“...” Wang Lian.

The Crown Prince stood at this point.

“Eldest Brother’s memorial says that he is under tremendous pressure.”

Count Pingye immediately replied, “Then pull back. Once he moves backward, the pressure won’t be so great.”

“Why should he retreat?” the Crown Prince asked. “This Palace is fully aware that the court’s finances are strained. But clearly we have not yet reached the point where retreat is necessary. As Vice Director Wang said, one formation of Imperial Guards can move south to Kai City and warn the Qian. We plainly have not yet reached the point where retreat is unavoidable. Our ancestors labored for eight hundred years to build the rivers and mountains of Great Yan. How can we simply say ‘retreat’ and retreat?”

“May I ask Your Highness: do the Jin lands count as territory won and administered by our ancestors? And today, do they count as part of the rivers and mountains of the Great Yan Dynasty?”

“Naturally they do.”

“Exactly. There must be gains and losses. It is precisely because we annexed the Jin lands that the Jingnan Army and two formations of the Zhenbei Army have had to remain stationed there. If the Jingnan Army were still stationed in Yinlang Commandery as it was years ago, would the Qian dare make this much trouble? All we are doing now is taking one small step backward in Yinlang Commandery in order to secure the Jin lands.”

“How can the matter be calculated that way?”

“Why can’t it?”

“How will later generations judge us?”

“Later generations will only look at whether the territory their forebears left them was larger or smaller. Retreating one line in Yinlang Commandery versus possessing the entire Three Jin lands—which matters more? Which is larger?”

The Crown Prince looked at Zheng Fan.

“What does it matter that Jin has been gained? Count Pingye, this Palace is no pedant. I simply think that every inch of Great Yan’s territory has been soaked in the blood and sweat of Great Yan’s soldiers. Unless there is absolutely no alternative, I am unwilling to abandon a single inch. Otherwise, how am I supposed to face the soldiers who once threw away their heads and spilled their blood to expand our borders? This Palace may agree, but would they agree?”

“Your Highness.”

Count Pingye bowed toward the Crown Prince.

“Count Pingye, what are you...?”

“This subject agrees.”

“...” The Crown Prince.

Wang Lian and Cao Que exchanged glances.

Both men had helplessness in their eyes.

That answer was shameless beyond belief.

And yet the young Count standing before them, not even thirty years old, possessed the qualifications to be shameless like this.

His achievements were illustrious.

He had expanded Great Yan’s territory.

He had shed blood and sweat for it.

So he could answer that way.

For a moment, the Crown Prince did not know how to respond.

He had been involved in court affairs for a long time. He had seen ministers argue until their faces turned red and nearly come to blows.

But he had genuinely never dealt with anyone quite like Count Pingye.

At that moment, Ji Chengjue spoke.

“Count Pingye, the Crown Prince is right. What about the heroic spirits of those who died in battle? Would they agree?”

Count Pingye answered instantly.

“They agree too.”

“On what grounds can you say that?” Ji Chengjue demanded.

“If Your Highness doesn’t believe me, you can send someone down below and ask them.”

Ji Chengjue slammed the armrest of his chair.

“Insolence! You stand before the sovereign. How dare you speak like that!”

The Crown Prince gave Ji Chengjue and Zheng Fan a cold look, then silently sat back down.

Emperor Yan said nothing.

Wang Lian spoke instead.

“Count Pingye, I would actually like to hear this profound insight of yours. Why would the Jin lands be in danger?”

Ah.

Zheng Fan felt a little tired.

Finally, they had dragged the subject where it needed to go.

Count Pingye immediately dropped to his knees.

“This subject learned while in Chu territory that Great Chu harbors ambitions of a northern expedition!”

For a moment, everyone inside the Imperial Study looked somewhat baffled by the statement.

Not because the revelation was too shocking.

Because it was basically nonsense.

What state did not dream of expanding outward and unifying all under Heaven?

And for Chu, if it did not march north, was it supposed to go to war with Qian instead?

Great Chu harboring ambitions of a northern expedition was about as remarkable as saying a Chu man ate when hungry and drank when thirsty.

What was so unusual about that?

Why was it worth announcing in the Imperial Study?

Count Pingye deliberately waited a moment.

He waited until all the great men present had begun looking at him as though he were an idiot.

Only then did he continue.

“This subject learned that Chu and Qian have already formed an alliance. They have agreed that three years from now, both states will raise armies together and march north, intending to invade the territory of the Great Yan Dynasty!”

That Qian and Chu had formed an alliance was no secret.

But three years from now?

Giving such a precise and critical point in time changed things considerably.

Director Xu Qiutai immediately asked, “Count Pingye, this matter is no small thing. Can you be certain?”

“This Count is absolutely certain.”

“How can you be certain?” Xu Qiutai pressed.

“Your Excellency, have you ever been to Chu?”

Here it came.

Again.

Wang Lian and Cao Que immediately exchanged another look.

Xu Qiutai, however, laughed and stroked his beard.

“As it happens, I actually have. In my youth, I traveled throughout the realm and visited Ying Capital.”

The other senior officials all began smiling as though watching a good show.

Look at that.

Someone really had been there.

How would Count Pingye follow this one?

Count Pingye immediately asked, “Then may I ask whether Your Excellency ever met the Emperor of Chu?”

“...” Xu Qiutai.

What the hell would I meet the Emperor of Chu for?

I already told you I went when I was young!

I wasn’t even an official then. How could I have met the Emperor of Chu?

And after becoming an official, how would I go meet him then?

Ji Chengjue immediately spoke.

“Count Pingye, stop dodging the question. First tell us where you learned that the Qian–Chu alliance intends to send troops against Great Yan in three years. Who told you?”

Count Pingye immediately answered in a loud voice.

“The Regent of Chu told this subject personally. At the time, this subject and the Regent of Chu were sitting in the same carriage.”

“...” Xu Qiutai.

“...” Every senior official present.

Men who had risen to this level were all political veterans.

Everyone had already sensed that something was unusual today.

Everyone also had the distinct impression that Count Pingye was talking absolute nonsense.

But no one dared accuse Count Pingye of lying.

No one dared say he was making it up.

Because the man had brought back a princess of Great Chu.

And because there was also that line of verse spreading across the realm:

“My hair bristles beneath my cap as I lean against the railing in fury.”

Once again, Old Sixth Ji broke the silence.

Pointing at Zheng Fan, he demanded, “I do not believe you. Do you have a witness?”

Everyone turned numb gazes toward Ji Chengjue.

Your role as the straight man is far too obvious.

The two of you were already singing back and forth earlier. You’re smoother than a teahouse storyteller and his apprentice.

Count Pingye immediately answered, “The princess can testify!”

The senior officials all sighed.

Ji Chengjue continued regardless.

“Then what proves this alliance between Qian and Chu? Don’t tell me the ruler of Qian personally told you that as well?”

Count Pingye immediately answered, “This subject once entered Shangjing City in Qian and personally spoke with the ruler of Qian. At the time, the ruler of Qian said directly to this subject that the losses Qian suffered and the humiliation it endured this time would, three years from now, be repaid to Great Yan together with Chu!”

Every senior official present:

“............”

Ji Chengjue suddenly shuddered.

He pointed at Zheng Fan.

“You... you... you’ve met them all?”

“Yes. This subject has met them all.”

Count Pingye’s eyes shone with the confidence of a man who had unlocked the Grand Slam achievement of meeting the rulers of all four great eastern states.

He had met the Emperor of Jin too.

It was only a shame that the Horn Gentleman he had originally prepared for the Empress Dowager of Jin on this trip had run into a problem and somehow disappeared.

Ji Chengjue trembled as he turned around.

He faced Emperor Yan.

Then his body went limp.

He dropped to the floor.

He knelt.

And with a desolate expression, he cried:

“Father, this son oversees the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. I can say that no one knows better than I how difficult Great Yan’s finances are today. But according to Count Pingye, three years from now Qian and Chu will muster a million troops and invade Great Yan together. This truly is the hour of our Great Yan Dynasty’s gravest peril. This son dares beg Father, for the sake of Great Yan’s eight-hundred-year realm and the generations to come, to send the armies out early and strike Qian and Chu!”

With that Thud!

Ji Chengjue slammed his forehead heavily against the blue-stone floor of the Imperial Study.

Old Sixth Ji had abandoned the comforting bustle of ordinary life he had seen on the streets during the ride to morning court.

He had accepted Zheng Fan’s advice.

Zheng Fan, meanwhile, drove his fist hard against his own left breast.

He shouted:

“This subject begs to serve as Your Majesty’s vanguard, break Zhennan Pass, and water our horses at Ying Capital!”

[End of Chapter 492]