The Last Days of the Han (Three Kingdoms AAR)

[Zamarak500]

226-227: MO JIE AND THE MINTING RIGHTS​

In 225, Mo Jie had been brought back as Excellency of Work by Emperor Wen in an attempt to link his reign to that of his father. As such, older officials who had been pushed aside by Emperor Anwu started to resurface and regain some of their lost prominence. Mo Jie would probably be one of the most successful of these elderlies returning to active duties, as he not only managed to get his old job back but also gained far more influ7ence than he had under the previous regime. His return in the Imperial Capital certainly led to many talks, especially considering how he had been kicked out of Chang’an. Yet here he was again, with a big happy smile on his face and a massive agenda to push forward.

Many were surprised to see Emperor Wen bringing back the old official. As far as people knew, the Emperor was neither a barbarian lover like Mo Jie nor was he particularly caring of “the people”. More importantly, Mo Jie was the father-in-law of Yao Xiu, which led many believed that this made the old man an ally for the ambitious prince. But the relationship between brothers had been mended since Emperor Wen’s ascension to the imperial throne. Instead, the Emperor sought to gain on two fronts by appointing Mo Jie. First, it would show that he had the trust of his father’s old advisors and thus allow him to link his reign to the prestige of his father. Secondly, if even his brother’s father-in-law became one of his closest advisors, then it would show everyone that he was the best emperor possible, right?

When Mo Jie went to the capital, he did not come alone. He brought his wife, his concubines, as well as his youngest daughter Mo Xinyue, the only one who was too young to be yet married. More controversially was the presence of his adopted son, the Di barbarian Mo Duo. Even Mo Jie was surprised by his willingness to return to Chang’an, considering how the others acted around him. But Mo Duo dearly wished to return to the luxury of the city life. As it turned out, the barbarian did not truly share his father’s love for the common people or diversity. Mo Jie had hoped to adopt a man who would uphold his ideas and continue his work once he was gone. Instead, Mo Duo was quickly adopting the Chinese lifestyle, enjoying all the opulence that came with it. He didn’t care about his barbarian origins or the common folk. If anything, he wanted to live the life of the rich elite, which was not what Mo Jie had hoped when he adopted the man.

Mo Jie’s first task as Excellency of Works had been to help the various construction projects and economic works ordered by the Emperor, including sending gold to Liang Province for the construction of the late emperor’s mausoleum. In this, he proved invaluable help for the then Chancellor Jin Xuan. Jin Xuan found himself overwhelmed in his duties. Previously, he had only been assisting Emperor Anwu, who had a firm grip on the economy and the finances of the Liang Dynasty. But Emperor Wen could barely be called competent in that department, leaving the Chancellor suddenly submerged by a massive new workload. Mo Jie happily offered to help, including in affairs that did not directly connect to his duties. And for this, he gained the eternal respect of Jin Xuan. The Chancellor even admitted that he admired the old official for his devotion to the people of the Liang, no matter their origins.

Sadly for Mo Jie, this new ally would soon be discarded by the Emperor, with who the Chancellor had a difficult relationship. In the struggle between Emperor Wen and his Grand Commandant Xu Chu (a struggle in which Mo Jie did not participate whatsoever), the Emperor appointed his father-in-law Xu Shu as first Minister of Justice in May and then as Chancellor of the Liang Dynasty in August. This meant that Mo Jie lost a powerful ally for his ideas of reforms. While he had a cordial relationship with Xu Shu, their priorities had always been different. Xu Shu’s priority was his loyalty to the Emperor, while Mo Jie always tried to guide his liege toward reforms for the people.

This came just as Mo Jie was working on his first great reform for the Liang Dynasty, which he presented at the end of 226. With the Emperor’s difficulties with monetary policies and the rapid expansion of the Liang Dynasty, a variety of coinage had began circulating. Coins from the Han, coins from the Liang, and now in some eastern part of the Dynasty there could even be some coins from the Chen. This obviously left some people confused, and more importantly, it led to some opportunists counterfeiting coins. This was a massive crime, as the right to mint coins was the sole prerogative of the central government. To eradicate this problem before it became too large, Mo Jie came with a simple solution: let them. More precisely, he wanted the provincial and local officials to gain the right to mint the imperial coins themselves, thus ending the imperial monopoly on coin fabrication.

Many provincial governors jumped at this opportunity to expand their powers. While Xu Chu didn’t care about this (as he had an even weaker grasp on finance than the Emperor), others quickly voiced their support for Mo Jie’s idea. Xuan Mei, the Governor of Bing Province and son of the infamous Xuan Su, was able to see the advantages that would come with such extension of his own power. Even better, this was something that his father had never been able to do, so Xuan Mei saw this as the next step toward improving the fortune of the Xuan Clan. When Mo Jie heard of this, he was happy to see that Xuan Mei was such a kind young man who cared about the people.

Another supporter of this reform was the Governor of Jing Province, the now 69 years old Wang You. Having first gained relevance after fleeing Jiang Xian’s seizure of Luoyang in 200, he became a loyal subordinate of Liu Siyuan, who quick started his career in the south. When Emperor Anwu seized these territories, he made Wang You the Governor of Jing Province, trying to pacify the former officers of Liu Siyuan and push them to submit to his authority. It worked, and while Wang You had been a forgettable governor so far, he had proven just good enough to never be removed from office. His only real flaw was how greedy he could be at times. When news came of Mo Jie’s idea, he of course jumped at the opportunity to see his pockets get filled.

Now, Mo Jie didn’t think of this as a way to breed corruption or enrich powerful governors. He simply saw it as a tool to reduce the monopoly of the Liang central government and instead send it back to the provinces. For all his years serving the powerful Yao Shuren, Mo Jie had kept the values that had driven him since he joined the Liang Rebellion four decades ago. Even now, he still remembered how the central imperial government could turn into a tyrannical threat to the people on a whim. In order to avoid this happening to the Liang (or to at least place roadblocks to this tyranny), Mo Jie hoped to strengthen the power of the provinces, which had far more knowledges about the needs of the region and people that they ruled over. And being as kind as he was, he hoped (maybe even believed) that these measures, under the right governors, could lead to prosperous provinces with happy peasants.

Of course, not everyone agreed with these ideas. Some believed that the central government was the key to the prosperity of the Liang Dynasty. When asked if there was a precedent to this, the Grand Tutor awkwardly brought up the last time a similar policy had been implemented, which fatefully happened under Emperor Wen of Han (180-157 BC). At the time, the Han Dynasty included many vassal kings who were relatives of the emperor. Emperor Wen of Han decided, among his own reforms, to grant these kings minting rights in their kingdoms. The strengthening of the kings had eventually led to the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BC under the reign of Wen’s successor Emperor Jing of Han (157-141 BC). Needless to say, not a great precedent to support the reforms. When asked about his personal opinion on the subject, the Grand Tutor wisely balked and excused himself, fearful of speaking his mind too freely.

The Excellency of the Masses also proved an opponent of Mo Jie, in great part because the two men had never really liked each other on a personal level. Ren Duo was a cynical and at time cruel man, who was often stricken by bouts of depression and feelings of inferiority. Seeing the kind and oh so noble Mo Jie come back into the spotlight, and with the support of this new bratty emperor at that, was a frustrating annoyance for the envious old man. For his part, Mo Jie had never been comfortable with Ren Duo. The man’s time as Chief Clerk of Liang Province had been, in Mo Jie’s eyes, a disaster. While they didn’t despise themselves as much as Mo Jie and Duan Zuo, these two old officials were definitively on opposing sides.

But more troubling for the old official was that one of his biggest critics proved to be his son-in-law Crown Prince Xiu. While they were bound by marriage, the oldest child of Emperor Anwu was very much his father’s son, believing that any erosion of imperial power was a threat to the dynasty. And it wasn’t like he had to go as far as Emperor Wen of Han to prove his point. In order to crush the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184, the Han Dynasty had empowered its governors and local officials, leading to its collapse and its eventual replacement by the Liang. And now he was supposed to allow Mo Jie to do the same to the Liang Dynasty? It didn’t help that he had Duan Zuo as one of his advisors. Mo Jie’s old enemy had been pardoned by Emperor Wen once the young monarch took the throne and now served as an advisor to the Crown Prince, who just like his father chose to ignore the old scholar’s flaws due to his talent. And if Mo Jie wanted something, you could be sure that Duan Zuo would oppose it.

The reforms of Mo Jie were pushed to the background during the first half of 227 due to the various changes and issues that rocked the Dynasty. So many things required the attention of the court during this period: a change of empress, followed by a change of Chancellor. The overthrow of a governor. A governor trying to overthrow another governor… So many things that were going wrong, not helped by Emperor Wen’s meek responses to these crises. And to top it all off, Governor Wang You, who had been a big supporter of Mo Jie’s reforms, died off in March 227 at the age of 71. His successor, a young upstart named Qin Mao, had neither the skills nor the interest in getting involved in imperial politics, and clearly wished for nothing more than live a quiet life as a provincial governor without making too much efforts (and did not at all plan to become one of the greatest heroes of the Liang Dynasty).

A real push for his reforms for a more fair and decentralized government thus had to wait until the autumn, and by then many at court were fiercely divided on the issue. Mo Jie had accidentally pushed a large part of the officialdom into one of the greatest crimes of ancient China, along with treason and witchcraft: factionalism. It was illegal to form groups, parties and factions to advance their own ideologies and policies, as all officials had to be united in their service of the emperor, at least on paper. Of course, it might be argued that for many officials this was more a question of their personal opinions of Mo Jie than political disagreements. And besides, it wasn’t like Emperor Wen was going to enforce his authority at court, not directly at least. He found it far more useful to play the various groups in order to regain some form of control over his affairs.
______________________________

Wu Chunguang was striding toward to inner court in full confidence. He was a striking figure, after all, and he damn well knew it. He was quite tall, presenting an impressive figure in his robes. He heard some of the oldest officials that had somehow survived the last decades of chaos compared his stature to that of Jiang Xian, the evil Chancellor who doomed two emperors under his charges, Emperor Xian (189-201) and Emperor Mu (201-206). Clearly those were compliments kindly thrown at him, as he heard that Jiang Xian had been a virtuous man before he was corrupted by power. How kind of others to remind him to stay on the right path this way.

Still, as much as he enjoyed walking around under the beautiful sun, he needed to hasten his pace. The court was about to begin, and today was the big day. The Excellency of Works was about to debate for the last time his policy before the Son of Heaven made a decision. What wisdom of the Emperor to wait as long before settling on a n issue. This truly showed how wise the young monarch was, and how final his word would be when the decision was made. After all, his Imperial Majesty was not the sort of man to bend when pressured.

He was not the only one making his way to the court. As he approached the stairs of the palace, he joined the wave of officials arriving for the court audience. It might have been difficult to navigate had he not been a full head higher than everyone else. This also allowed him to spot the man trying to make his way toward him.

“Administrator Wu! Wait… Get out of the way! Excuse me… Passing through!” he told officials as he approached Wu Chunguang.

The man who was trying to reach him was one of his fellow comrades in their desires of reforms. Around the same age as he was, Jiao Gongzi had been another of the officials who rallied around the reformist ideas of the Excellency of Works. A just and kind man, with somewhat of a temper, he made a good enough impression to be appointed as administrator of Zuopingyi Commandery in August. Previously, he had been serving in the ministry of agriculture, where he excelled and even received a recommendation for his excellency Mo Jie himself. Wu Chunguang felt happy for his companion, knowing that he surely had a great career in front of him, though it surely helped that he was Empress Xu's maternal uncle.

“Administrator Jiao.” Wu Chunguang welcomed him. “I see you are present as well.”

“Of course.” Jiao Gongzi answered with a smile. “His Excellency will need all the support available to pass his policies.”

“You mean the Emperor’s policy.” the tall man corrected him.

“Of course, of course.” Jiao Gongzi answered, though he rolled his eyes for some reason. Hopefully he wasn’t sick.

“I hope that his Excellency can make a good impression.” Wu Chunguang continued. “He is quite the speaker, but even he might need help to convince the Son of Heaven of the right path.”

“I just hope the impression he makes is the one he wishes for.” Jiao Gongzi remarked as they ascended the stairs.

The tall man could now see the entrance of the court, with the herd of officials removing their shoes before entering the sanctity of the imperial court. As the two men did the same, the two companions noticed the man standing in front of them. He had and old face, with what grey remained in his bushy beard slowly turning to white. His back was slightly curved, a sign of his advanced age. Even so, his eyes were full of energy, and his wrinkled face did not hesitate to present a warm smile to the two officials. They immediately saluted the old Excellency of Works, having failed to notice him up until now.

“Welcome your Excellency!” they both said.

Mo Jie simply nodded as he difficultly removed his shoes. Seeing this, Jiao Gongzi fell to his knees and kindly offered his help, which the old man gladly took.

“How are you feeling today your Excellency?” Jiao Gongzi asked him as he stood back up.

“Indeed!” Mo Jie answered with conviction, a finger raised at the sky.

Both officials laughed as a response, all the while looking at each other trying to figure out what the heck Mo Jie meant by this. They eventually decided to drop the issue and simply enter court with him. The officials within the court were all placed in two massive lines on each side, allowing a clear path to the Imperial Throne should someone be ordered to advance. And there he was, at the front of it all. The Son of Heaven in all his majesty and greatness. The Emperor was silent, looking over his court patiently as the rows were filled with officials, who quickly bowed to their heavenly monarch.

“Long live his Imperial Majesty! Long live the Liang!” they repeated.

The Emperor nodded before indicating the Chancellor to approach him, passing him a document to read in front of the court.

“His Imperial Majesty, in his heavenly wisdom, shall now hear the Excellency of Works Mo Jie on his suggested reforms for the Dynasty! After which, he shall allow the Excellency of the Masses and the Grand Tutor to present a rebuke of his Excellency’s argument! Thus he has decreed!”

The courtiers all applauded the Emperor’s decree for today’s court, after which those concerned stepped forward. Mo Jie was the first, quickly followed by the Grand Tutor Shang Zhongwu and the Excellency of the Masses Ren Duo.

“What do you have to say, your Excellency?” the Emperor asked Mo Jie. “Why should we follow your ideas.”

Mo Jie cleared his throat for a moment, making strange grumpy growls in the process. He then gave one last look to his allies in the crowd, with Wu Chunguang giving him a nod of support. Mo Jie stepped forward, looking straight at the Emperor before turning to the assembled officials.

“BIRDS! Birds flying inside old men, eating the fishes provided. Free of swords and apples. Tyranny of the willow! Look around you. Can’t you see? Freedom for the weoskdrws! Unity in the lands of the farms eating people! Can’t this future be marooned? Can’t this ship be cajoled? I see nothing! But I see fantastical beans! Beans of tyranny! That I ate! Miam miam! The future is ours, ladies of the woods! Because officials are good to the! And so it am joyful. The Emperor must goof to right! Luoyang is fright goody! I rest!”

Mo Jie then stepped aside, seemingly happy that he had convinced his audience. Meanwhile, Wu Chunguang, Jiao Gongzi and every other official were whispering between themselves, trying to figure out what the heck the Excellency of Works had just said.

“Grand Tutor?” the Emperor asked, seemingly unfazed. “Your rebuttal?”

The Grand Tutor started to baffle, unsure what words to use to answer this. Instead, it was Ren Duo who spoke for him.

“Your Radiant Highness! How can we respond to this nonsense?” the Excellency of the Masses protested. “This wasn’t even a proper speech! This was… nothing! It started with birds and ended with some nonsense about Luoyang! And what does ‘weoskdrws’ even mean?”

Mo Jie seemed confused at this rant from his political opponent. Whatever he wanted to say clearly did not translate into words correctly.

“His Excellency simply voiced a desire for a happy populace and a strong emperor.” Emperor Wen retorted.

“Is that what you heard?” Ren Duo inquired.

“I… hum… Yes?” the Emperor whimpered before regaining his composure. “I am still waiting for your rebuttal, Grand Tutor.”

Shang Zhongwu just looked around in silence, unwilling to face the humiliation that would come with his attempt to argument with Mo Jie. Seeing that the Grand Tutor would not speak, Emperor Wen turned to his Chancellor and said:

“Please, see with his Excellency of Works that the reforms are implemented.”

This of course caused an uproar among the courtiers. Some shouted in joy, while other demanded that the Emperor reconsider. Panicked by the current situation, Emperor Wen adjourned the court to make a quick exit out of this difficult situation, choosing to flee instead of standing up for his decision. As for the officials, they exited, either grumbling in their beard or joyfully celebrating. One ally of Mo Jie even offered to organize a banquet at his residence to celebrate. Meanwhile, the two companion simply stared at each other in confusion.

“Did we win?” Wu Chunguang asked.

“… seems like it.” Jiao Gongzi answered, still confused about what had happened in court.

 

[Zamarak500]

227-228: THE PROBLEMS OF THE LIANG​

Even with his father-in-law acting as his shield against the evils of his Grand Commandant Xu Chu, Emperor Wen was still greatly afraid of the brute. Xu Chu wanted a war, and he insisted that the Emperor give him one. Of course, Emperor Wen was not going to let him invade the Chen Dynasty like he wanted, especially with their new popular emperor in charge. In that scenario, the Emperor was unsure if victory or defeat would be the worst outcome. In order to avoid the consequences of this dangerous campaign, he instead directed his angry Grand Commandant toward Wang Li of Jibei, a far smaller target that was on borrowed time anyway.

Within days of Xu Chu’s departure from Chang’an, Empress Xu finally gave birth to her long-awaited child. For years, she felt hinder over her inability to produce a son, leading the quiet and well-behaved empress toward a spiral of depression and dark thoughts. But now she had finally managed to spend enough time with Emperor Wen to produce a child, he who showed little interest in his wife. The awaited pregnancy produced a child, much to the joy of the imperial couple… until the physicians told them that the child lacked a penis. Instead of a boy, Emperor Wen now had a third daughter, Princess Yuying.

Empress Xu, who had recovered during her pregnancy, now fell back into depression at double speed. She somehow blamed herself for not giving the Emperor a son, and quickly became inconsolable. It didn’t help that Emperor Wen didn’t give her much of his attention, which only added to her chagrin. She refused to see her daughter, and soon she barely met with anyone at all. Still, everyone was shocked when in early March 227, news came that the Empress had “died of depression”. It seemed that her self-proclaimed failures had been too much for her to endure. The death of Empress Xu shocked the court, with the Emperor immediately entering a period of mourning (though a short one).

Her death also made his relationship with the Chancellor a bit awkward. His now former father-in-law was still useful, but they had a lot less reasons to cooperate. After all, even if Xu Shu claimed to be loyal, the fact was that the loss of any familial link might weaken their relationship. It didn’t help that the old Chancellor’s mental state deteriorated even more with the sudden death of his daughter. While Emperor Wen publicly continued to support Xu Shu and insisted that he would remain in his functions, in private this was another story. Firing this esteemed and respected of man was sure to trigger the anger of many old officials, even as Xu Shu was losing grip with reality. Which meant that the Emperor was stuck with him, unless he found a less orthodox way to remove his best ally…

But both the issue of his lack of empress and of his chancellor would have to wait, as Emperor Wen found himself overwhelmed with bad news from the provinces. While the war against Wang Ji was going perfectly, it seemed that some officials had decided to use this to further their own agendas. In February, You Province found itself under attack, and his governor threatened to be arrested and deposed. And who was launching such daring attack against a Liang governor? None other than Governor Xuan Mei of Bing Province, the son of Xuan Su. The head of the Xuan Clan had never forgotten how his father had once controlled both provinces. Ever since he had succeeded his father, the governor had planned for an opportunity to “take back” You Province. And having seen how week the imperial government was, Xuan Mei decided to test his luck.

Of course, the governor of You Province was furious at this attack by his neighbor. It was illegal, it was disgraceful, it was treason! The governor wrote angry letters to Chang’an, demanding that the Emperor and his court do something about the situation. At first inclined to let Xuan Mei have his way (and thus providing Xu Chu with a rival in the north strong enough to oppose him), he quickly changed his mind once pressured by his courts and the envoys from You Province. Thankfully for him, Xuan Mei was just as much of a coward as he was, and the empty threat of imperial retribution proved enough to convince the governor to stand down by the end of June. Xuan Mei grumbled and packed his bag to go home, though he promised himself that he would return to claim You Province one day.

Besides, the Emperor was readily provided with a rival for Xu Chu in April, so there was no insensitive to allow Xuan Mei’s expansion anymore. In late April, news came that the Governor of Ji Province Cao Lian had been arrested and removed from office, with… Zhao Yun leading this coup? The recently conquered official had been pardoned, and now he thanked the Emperor by seizing a province for himself? And now he was asking to be recognized as the rightful governor of the province after “arresting the corrupt Cao Lian”? Well… okay. Emperor Wen certainly didn’t have the spine to send an army to fight Zhao Yun. Instead, he simply presented this as his plan going perfectly. He could even point to Zhao Yun crushing a peasant revolt in May as proof that he was right. He now had a general to challenge Xu Chu if necessary, even if that general did not obey any of his orders and had a burning hatred for the Liang Dynasty. Just as planned.

By the end of May, Emperor Wen decided that two months were enough to mourn his dead wife. An empress was a powerful tool that he could not deprive himself of. The in-laws he got from the Empress could easily become the allies he needed to stave off powerful generals, just as had been the case with Xu Shu. After taking a look at his harem, he decided that only one of the women was smart enough and of good enough birth to fulfill his goal. Wishing to have an empress that could assist him this time, Emperor Wen elevated the 21 years old Pan Xiaoji, the daughter of the first Chancellor of the Liang Pan Zheng. She had already given him a daughter as a concubine, and had since proven a competent and charismatic woman. She was perfect to assist him as his empress, and her lineage would surely make her easy to digest by the court. Now all that was left to deal with was his former father-in-law…

While all this was happening, Xu Chu was waging a war to take Jibei, an opportunity that left him overjoyed and hungry for more. And he got it when Wang Li asked his overlord Cao Mang to come to his aid. The Cao Army, now ready to reestablish some influence outside of its meager territories, were quick to send the great generals Cao Ren and Xiaohou Yuan to come help the pleading warlord. When he heard of this, Xu Chu started to salivate. This was more like it, a fight worthy of his strength! While some of his subordinates managed to convince him to send a detachment to Jibei, Xu Chu still kept the majority of the troops to fight the two generals, ready to achieve what even Emperor Anwu had failed to do.

Xu Chu finally met the Cao Army in battle in the middle of June. He had almost twice the amount of troops that the Cao generals had brought to the battlefield, and as always Xu Chu proved overly confident of his own chances. He was thus mightily frustrated when after three days of fighting the battle remained a stalemate. While some of his generals had advised him to retire, Xu Chu responded by beating them half to death. He would not have his victory denied! Sadly, this was not up to him. By the fourth day of fighting, news came that Jibei had surrender, thanks to the detachment he had lukewarmly sent to besiege Wang Ji. Meanwhile, the Cao Army retired without a fight, returning home to defend Dong Commandery from the invasion of Emperor Wu of Chen.

Xu Chu was pissed. He had been promised a great victory against powerful enemies, and now it had slipped from his grasp at the last moment. Emperor Wen was quickly made aware of the raging beast coming back to the Imperial Capital. Empress Pan advised him to stand firm, but there was no way he was going to do that. Fearful of what his Grand Commandant might do once he returned, the Emperor opted to immediately divert him to another war before he reached Chang’an. He instead targeted Xu Chu against two barbarian chieftains that resided between Jing and Yang Provinces. One of these chieftains was Huang Rang, who had been in charge of his people since 194 and had actually gained his independence by helping Hu Zan’s revolt against Yang Weili in 200 before abandoning him at the first opportunity. The other was a rebellious old man who had seized his territories from Huang Rang. With their bickering, they were perfect targets for the Liang Dynasty.

This immediate new war not only proved a way to send Xu Chu away, but also to distract the public from the bad luck that continued to befell the Yao Imperial Clan. Having lost his empress three months ago, Emperor Wen was made aware in June that his nephew Yao Xiao had passed away at the age of 2. The toddler had been seen by many as the future of the dynasty, the only Yao clansman of the next generation. Yet now he had passed away, leaving his father Crown Prince Xiu distraught and frustrated. People now started to wonder if the Yao Clan truly held the Mandate of Heaven, a dangerous topic of discussion that made the Emperor worried. Emperor Anwu had difficulties producing a child until his later life, and now his sons failed to bring the next generation. This had to be a sign, right? Emperor Wen thus hope that the new war would help divert attention away from this familial issue.

Talking of family, Emperor Wen decided that it was about time to remove his former father-in-law as Chancellor. Of course, he couldn’t simply fire him, so he came with an even simpler solution: assassination. With the help of Empress Pan (who was all too happy to remove the last vestige of her predecessor), Emperor Wen had Xu Shu poisoned at the end of July 227. This proved an easy task due to the old man’s deteriorating mental health, and he happily drank the poison that killed him at the age of 54. He had been Emperor Anwu’s most loyal follower, and even after the late emperor’s death had remained stalwartly loyal to the Yao Clan. And as a reward, he was assassinated on the Emperor’s order.

Emperor Wen’s decision might have been influenced by the fact that he already had a replacement ready in the wing. The choice of a new chancellor was not delayed, and within a day Gan Mian had been appointed as Xu Shu’s replacement. Serving as the Magistrate of Tangyang, Gan Mian had proven to be a decent administrator and politician, and an even better general. However, he only came to the Emperor’s attention during the recent campaign against Wang Ji, where he was the officer who insisted that Xu Chu sent a detachment to Jibei. Hearing of this man confronting the Grand Commandant immediately made Gan Mian the most prized official in the Emperor’s eyes. And after meeting each other, the Emperor was even more convinced about the usefulness of Gan Mian. An honorable, just, kind and brave man, Gan Mian might prove an even better shield against Xu Chu than Xu Shu. Soon after this meeting, Emperor Wen had Xu Shu killed and replaced him with his new favorite Gan Mian.

Talking of favorite, the Emperor also dispatched another general on this new campaign, hoping to steal some of Xu Chu’s thunder. Once again, this task fell on Feng Desi, the general who Emperor Wen was somehow convince could prove a match for Xu Chu. The issue was that for all his bragging, Feng Desi did not have the guts to stand up to the Grand Commandant. In fact, he had been trying his very best to avoid the brute ever since their first campaign together. Realizing the problem, Emperor Wen found a quick solution. He would simply send Xu Chu against Huang Rang, while Feng Desi would handle the other barbarian chieftain. Perfect solution, as long as they managed to convince Xu Chu that he was responsible for both victories.

In September, Emperor Wen received a shocking letter from his sister Yao Xiangjun, who he had last seen when she left to go marry a barbarian and live in the Xianbei Confederacy. She was informing him that Khagan Budugen the Great had just died at the age of 62. The man had turned the Xianbei into the primary nomadic force north of China, destroying the Wuhuan horde and crushing the various Xiongnus Khanates. And now he had passed away. Some historians would later note how at the start of 225, Emperor Anwu, Emperor Cheng and Budugen the Great all lived, yet they left this world in the span of two years.

Replacing Budugen was his oldest living son Xibaxiong, who was married to Emperor Wen’s sister. Having previously served in the Liang elite barbarian cavalry established by Emperor Anwu, Emperor Wen could hope that his brother-in-law would prove amicable toward the Liang Dynasty. But this stay south had only reinforced Xibaxiong hatred for the Chinese. Envoys sent by the Liang court returned without any deal or alliance, as the new Khagan wanted to make his own path free of Chinese influence. This certainly made the Emperor squirm in his seat, his worries only made slightly better by the fact that Chen envoys also failed to arrange any agreement with the new khagan.

It was at the end of the year that the Excellency of Works Mo Jie finally managed to push forward his planned minting reforms. The Emperor now feeling that he was free to deal with this affair, he had the old official debate the issue against his opponents in front of the court. Surprisingly, Mo Jie won the debate. Unsurprisingly, he did so by saying complete nonsense to the point of disarming his opponents and silencing his critics. With this, Emperor Wen felt confident to implement these new reforms, which he hoped would help add prestige to his regime and lead the following generations to remember him as a great reformer, even if those reforms were not really his.

As 227 ended with a court victory, 228 would open with a military one. Feng Desi managed to get into a fight with the barbarian forces of Huang Rang in January. It was actually a pure accident, running into them as the barbarians were trying to avoid the army of Xu Chu. This led to the only battle of this whole campaign. Feng Desi, while convinced that he was the greatest general in history, still insisted on a far too prudent strategy. This meek approach to warfare allowed Xu Chu to come join Feng Desi and push the general around, leaving the brutish general basically in charge of the battlefield. With both imperial expeditions unified, the barbarians stood no chance and were easily crushed.

With the victory at Nankang, the issue of this campaign became set in stone. By February, one of the two barbarian chieftains surrendered and saw his lands be annexed by the Liang Dynasty. The other one had his remaining possession overran by the Liang army in March, ending the whole expedition and bringing an end to this campaign. Emperor Wen quickly appointed a magistrate for those conquered territories. He chose his brother-in-law Xuan Zian, Xuan Mei’s younger brother who was married to his older sister Yao Ki. The Emperor thus hoped to appease Xuan Mei’s ambitions by promoting his family in his stead. Hopefully it would work, as he would find himself with his hands full now that Xu Chu was making his way back to Chang’an. And all the Emperor could think about is if a satisfied Xu Chu was more dangerous than an angry one…

 

[Zamarak500]

227-228: THE LAST WARLORD OF CHINA​

Emperor Wu had not been on the throne for a year that he was already launching a campaign to expand the Chen Dynasty. In his defense, options for expansion were quickly running out. Most of the remaining barbarians to his south had been made tributaries of the Chen during his father’s reign. Meanwhile, a Chinese chieftain acting as a puppet of Budugen ruled a small territory on the most northern border of the dynasty, and there was no way Emperor Wu was going to push his father-in-law in an alliance with the Liang Dynasty. And obviously, he was not ready to go to war with the Liang. This left him with only one target: Dong Commandery.

Dong Commandery was currently controlled by the Cao Army. Nominally led by Cao Mang, the boy’s authority was currently in the hands of Cao Cao’s generals, trying to uphold the efforts of their late master. Having seen most of their former territories disappear into the Liang Dynasty, they had spent the last few years trying to solidify their position as other warlords were absorbed by the Chen or the Liang. When Emperor Wen of Liang launched a campaign against Wang Ji, they had no choice but to come to their subject’s rescue if they wanted to continue throwing their weight around. This presented the perfect opportunity for Emperor Wu to attack the Cao Army and seize Dong Commandery, a prize that had escaped his father years ago.

Generals were ordered to assemble on the border with Dong Commandery, Emperor Wu planning to join them as soon as the whole Chen military was ready. However, this failed to account for the fact that the Cao army was already assembled, being on its way back from their recent showdown with the Grand Commandant of the Liang Dynasty, Xu Chu. Because of this, Xiahou Yuan, the main officer of the Cao Army, ordered a fast march back toward the Chen Dynasty. Before the imperial troops could be ready and assembled, the forces of the Cao Army were penetrating into Chen territories and taking the initiative. Just as Emperor Anwu five years ago, Emperor Wu was finding himself outwitted by the Cao Army.

As had become a tradition by now, the one-eyed general Ding Zhiguo found himself the one in charge of the first battle of this war, having been ambushed by the enemy while unprepared. Once again, he had the general Chen Gongwei by his side to assist him in this first engagement of this new conflict. And just as had happened the last time these two had been together, they would be utterly defeated by their enemies. The Cao generals were quick to take advantage of their situation, showing up with far more troops than what Ding Zhiguo currently had at his disposal. In the ensuing battle that took place in late June, Xiahou Yuan was easily able to defeat the Chen commanders. As had happened the last time they worked together, Chen Gongwei was able to flee the defeat, Ding Zhiguo was not. He would once again spend the rest of the war in a jail cell.

This surprising offensive on the part of the Cao Army took the court in Chenguo by surprise. Emperor Wu immediately asked for advise from his councilors. Hu Zan simply believed that they could win this if they went on the offensive right now and regained the initiative, while Xiao Bin believed that they needed to wait before making any rash action. In the end, after hours of deliberation, Emperor Wu settled on a plan to regain control of the war. He would leave Chenguo and go take immediate command of the operations. In the meantime, the Chancellor and the Grand Commandant would stay in Chenguo, administrating the empire and preparing the defense should things go wrong.

Xiao Bin had showed to be an excellent statesman and Hu Zan had always been a competent man not limited to the military sphere. On paper, it seemed a great idea to leave them in charge. There was just one small issue though: the two men despised each other. And this was not something new either. During one of Hu Zan’s many stints on Emperor Cheng’s council, he and Xiao Bin worked on some propaganda, during which they proved to be arrogant and unwilling to cooperate. Thankfully, this did not blow up in the sort of feuds that could be found in the Liang imperial court, in part due to Emperor Wu acting as a mediator between his favorite brother and his befriended mentor. But in his absence, their strong personalities, ambitions to be the one who got the Emperor’s ear above everyone else and their diverging views on the right path for the Chen Dynasty made things difficult in the Capital.

Emperor Wu was not here to tamper their rivalry this time though. Instead, the Son of Heaven was on his way to one of the Chen armies that was assembling, making sure that he could be part of the largest one. Awaiting him was the general Ba Daiping, one of the best commanders at the Emperor’s disposal. He was also the man that Emperor Wu had removed as Grand Commandant to make room for Hu Zan, which Ba Daiping still felt bitter about. Even if it seemed obvious to insiders that Hu Zan would never be challenged in his position due to his keen friendship with the Emperor, Ba Daiping still hoped to use this war to prove that he was the one deserving of the office of Grand Commandant. He even tried to convince the Emperor that should he perform well he should receive the office as a reward, but Emperor Wu remained noncommittal, trying his best not to hurt the general’s feelings.

Meanwhile, Cheng Gongwei had managed to bring his retreating army back to safety, after which he linked with two older and far more experienced generals: He Jintao and Chen Tiao. The former was experiencing something of a career renaissance under Emperor Wu after he found himself shut out by Emperor Cheng due to his close links with the Tao Clan. As for Chen Tiao, he was simply happy to serve a good emperor this time, one that respected his officials and didn’t throw them out at the first opportunity.

Chen Gongwei was able to tell them of the most recent position of the Cao forces, which were still commanded by Xiahou Yuan. Deciding that something had to be done to stop this surprising invasion, Chen Tiao and He Jintao agreed that their best move would be to confront the Cao general on the battlefield, which is exactly what they did in September. But Xiahou Yuan still proved the better commander, showing once again that Cao Cao wasn’t the only amazing talent of the Cao Army. The Chen army lost more than a fourth of its troops, despite being twice as large as the Cao force. Only one positive came out of this battle: Xiahou Yuan was among the Cao casualties. At least the Cao Army had lost their golden boy.

Soon after, the court in Chenguo was made aware of the death of Budugen the Great and the election of his son Xibaxiong as the new Khagan of the Xianbei Confederacy. The entire officialdom agreed that gifts had to be sent to congratulate the Emperor’s brother-in-law and establish good relations with the new khagan. Only the Empress opposed this path, though she did not dare stand up to the entire court on this issue. She knew her younger brother. Last time they had met was when she was sent off to marry Xiao Tung, and at the time his goodbyes were “So you are on your way to be sullied?” These are not the words of a man who sought peace with the south. If anything, they should prepare and hope that the Liang Dynasty prove a more attractive target. But no one listened, instead sending a fruitless embassy to Xibaxiong.

It seemed that the Empress was not the only one worried about the ascension of Xibaxiong. Peasants who lived on the most northern point of the Chen Dynasty started to panic when they learned that the Chinese hating barbarian was in charge of the Xianbei Confederacy. Having already revolted once due to their fear of Budugen, they once again rose against the Chen government, panicking and demanding more protection from the Emperor. Now, requesting help was one thing. But revolts could not be tolerated, even if the people only wanted to be saved. And when some rebels started to argue that Emperor Wu really needed to put his barbarian wife to death, then this became a personal insult for the Son of Heaven.

But while he wanted to be the one to crush those rebels, he was convinced by his officers that this was too insignificant for him to handle. His focus should be on besieging Dong Commandery, which they had started to done now that the death of Xiahou Yuan had left the Cao generals uncertain on how to proceed. So instead, the Emperor dispatched two members of the former Liu Imperial Clan: Liu Derun and Liu Bojing. Liu Derun had the distinction of being the first scion of the Han to surrender his titles in loyalty to the new Chen Dynasty. He was brave, kind, hardworking and likeable. In many ways, he was the sort of men Emperor Wu sought to promote. Liu Bojing was in the opposite situation. Under Emperor Cheng, he had managed to catch the late emperor’s attention, to the point that he was even made the Marquis of XIacai. Paranoid about losing his current status, the general was now trying his best to stay relevant in a quickly changing empire, which was harder to do than he had hoped.

The Cao Army eventually regained some focus under the command of Cao Ren, the distant cousin of Cao Cao. However, Cao Ren decided that the only path froward was… well, forward. Instead of going back to Dong Commandery to defend the territories of Cao Mang (which were currently being attacked by Emperor Wu), he chose to continue to take territories from the Chen Dynasty. Not exactly a great tactic, as it left the Emperor free to take Dong Commandery without much resistance. Well, mostly free, as he still needed to remove this army that was attacking his dynasty. After all, he couldn’t allow Cao Ren to march all the way to Chenguo. And by the early months of 228, the Cao general was starting to get dangerously close.

To Ba Daiping’s frustration, Emperor Wu called upon his Grand Commandant Hu Zan to come join them and help him figure a way out of this problem. Hu Zan, arrogantly and skillfully playing his cards, convinced the Emperor that the best strategy was to join with the rest of the Chen troops and destroy Cao Ren. They should even include the army coming back from the north, having crushed the peasant uprising quite easily. With such a large army, they would surely be able to devise a strategy that would allow them to neutralize Cao Ren and his forces. But just to be safe, a detachment under Chen Tiao would be sent to the seat of power of the Cao Army in order to force them to surrender. Ba Daiping was angry at the way Hu Zan was taking over the campaign, so he insisted that he be the one to lead the assault against Cao Ren. Hu Zan begrudgingly agreed to this demand at the insistence of Emperor Wu, still trying to bring everyone together.

Cao Ren was easily defeated by the army led by Ba Daiping, Emperor Wu and Hu Zan in a battle that took place in June 228. Cao Ren was forced to retreat following this humiliating defeat, but by then his army was disintegrating. In August, the seat of the Cao Army finally fell to the Chen troops. Most of the local magistrates, unaware that Cao Mang had been saved and brought to the safety of Cao Ren’s army camp, surrendered to the Chen and recognize Emperor Wu as their rightful monarch. Seeing that the annexation by the Chen Dynasty was now inevitable, most soldiers deserted and returned to their home. What remained of Cao loyalists fled with Cao Ren and Cao Mang. The Cao Army would survive, but from now on it would be an insignificant bandit force, being more of a hastle for local officials than a threat for the two dynasties. With this, Emperor Wu proudly annexed Dong Commandery, conquering the last remaining warlord in China.

The former Cao subordinates proved quick to adapt to the new regime. They were all happy to advise the new Administrator of Dong Commandery, Ban Xuanling, who in turn rewarded them with key positions among his advisors. Other made friends with the Chen officers, clearly preparing themselves for a career in the imperial military. This included the ambitious Xue Tang, who was 30 at the time. He caught the attention of the old Hu Zan, who quickly asked him if he wanted a spot on his staff. Seeing an opportunity, Xue Tang kindly accepted the offer. He would prove the perfect kind of subordinate for Hu Zan. While ambitious, he was always too shy to take the center stage, allowing Hu Zan to chew the scenery.

But all was not well within the Chen Dynasty. Ba Daiping had been hoping that this campaign would mark his return to the office of Grand Commandant. Yet Hu Zan still held it, leaving him to brood in the corner. He had done something and now expected a reward. After all, was this not how the Chen Dynasty had always operated? But now the offices were kept in the hands of a few officials who were part of Emperor Wu’s inner circle. With his previous attempts ending in complete failure, Ba Daiping decided to take more drastic measures. And being a military man first and foremost, this meant warfare. In September 228, only a month after the conquest of Dong Commandery, Ba Daiping rose in revolt against the Chen Dynasty.

Sadly for Emperor Wu, Ba Daiping was tapping into a real sour spot of resentment with his revolt, leading some officials to join in with the disgruntled general. Ren Duo, who had been THE power at court during the late reign of Emperor Cheng, had been summarily dismissed from court and now languished as a provincial official. He saw in the revolt of Ba Daiping an opportunity to regain this lost power, quickly adding his political network to the rebellion. But the biggest betrayal of them all was the presence of the Prince of Lu among the rebels. Xiao Dang had not forgiven his brother from kicking him out as Excellency of Works. When Emperor Wu accepted Luo An’s resignation, the prince held hope that he would be recalled. Instead, the position went to Ding Gongsi, and now Xiao Dang saw no other option but to join in with the rebels.

Two other administrators joined in this little uprising. First was Zhao Boqing, another former follower of Tan Shenquan. Having always been paranoid that the Xiao Imperial Clan would punish him for his link with the traitor, he finally decided to edge his bets with the rebels. Hopefully he would come out of this not only alive, but from a position of strength. And then there was Yi Shing, once again back at it with his plan. He joined the rebels to get more power, yes, but also because it had actually been the next step of his plan all along. Yes, his good old plan to teach Emperor Cheng to be a more respectful emperor (a plan that by now had some glaring flaws that he somehow kept ignoring). And with this, Ba Daiping was able to mass a formidable fighting force, one that might present a great threat to the Chen Dynasty.

 

[Zamarak500]

228-229: TRAMPLING THE CIVIL​

The Liang Dynasty had expanded twice in the span of a year, a great success in the eyes of the court. The Imperial Army had achieved victory after victory, showing how they were the mightiest military force in the world. Truly, everyone in the Liang should be celebrating the successes of the Dynasty. But Emperor Wen wasn’t celebrating. He was overstressed about his Grand Commandant’s success, which he feared would then be turned against him. And at this point, he was running out of distractions for the general. With the Cao Army likely to be conquered by Emperor Wu of Chen, it seemed that the number of remaining targets were limited. The Xianbei and the Chen were out of the question, and the Empress had told him enough about her father’s quagmires against the southern barbarians in Jiaozhi to turn him against such idea.

Talking of Empress Pan, she was currently pregnant with a child. A joyful news for the Imperial Clan, which was in dire need of producing a boy to continue their lineage. With the death of Yao Xiao, both the Emperor and the Crown Prince were without sons. The future of the dynasty now rested on the shoulders of Empress Pan, and it definitively weighted on her. The pregnancy was a painful one, full of pains and discomfort. It was unbearable at times, to the point that Empress Pan decided to turn to alcohol. It seemed to be the only remedy to her problems. Soon enough, alcohol accompanied her everywhere, much to her husband’s annoyance. He needed her sobber for her advises, yet here she was, drinking away her worries while he was overwhelmed with his. Even after she would disappointingly give birth to a daughter, she would keep a taste for the bottle.

Emperor Wen did have one big supporter in his daily dealings with his officials: his Chancellor Gan Mian. The man had proven that unlike the Emperor, he had the spine to handle those that tried to abuse their power. And while he was certainly self-centered, this selfishness drove him to be just, loyal and the best man he could be. While other officials saw the best of them as Emperor Wen’s replacement, Gan Mian wished to be the defender of the Liang Dynasty. He had sworn to serve the Emperor at the best of his abilities, and Gan Mian was a man of honor.

One slight issue was the man’s complete lack of tact when it came to politics. Had he been facing scheming villains; this might have been a problem. But his current job was to hinder Xu Chu, the brute who had little care for finesse, so his flaw would not prove much of a hindrance here. A good example of this was when he had the Emperor order Xu Chu not to come back to Chang’an. He wrote an edict ordering Xu Chu to organize the defense on the western border to ensure that the trade routes were secured, after which Emperor Wen ratified the decree. Xu Chu was furious and considered walking to Chang’an anyway, but Emperor Wen was smart enough to send a follow up letter to ease the Grand Commandant, promising him that this was just preparation for some vague grand campaign that would definitively happen. And it worked, allowing the Emperor to finally gain some breathing room.

But Gan Mian was not going to stop here. He wanted something done about Zhao Yun’s usurpation of Ji Province. This kind of behavior could not be tolerated in the Liang Dynasty, or it might lead other officials to try to seize lands illegally. The Chancellor managed to enlist the support of Empress Pan, and together they were able to convince the Emperor that Zhao Yun had to be punished. But Emperor Wen would never go as far as to remove Zhao Yun, too fearful of what the general might do if he was threatened like that. And besides, he needed Zhao Yun to challenge Xu Chu. Yes, that was the right excu… reason! Instead, he settled on the harsh punishment of censoring him, meaning that Zhao Yun could no longer be part of the Imperial Bureaucracy… even though he was allowed to remain as Governor of Ji Province.

Another issue in which Gan Mian proved decisive was Xuan Mei. During the summer of 228, the Governor of Bing Province once again tried to weasel his way into control of You Province, just like he attempted the previous year. When a group of barbarians living on the border between the two provinces rebelled, Xuan Mei immediately sent some of his generals to deal with the revolt… and then continue forward into You Province. Once again, Gan Mian proved the one to push the Emperor in the right direction. The threat of being censored was presented, with the additional possibility of treason charges and execution. This was enough to convince Xuan Mei that he needed to step back once more. And once again, he started to plan his next attempt at conquering You Province in what was becoming a pattern for the young governor.

Some officials complained about Gan Mian’s heavy-handed actions at court, to the point that there was real pressure for the Emperor to replace his Chancellor. Normally, this is when Emperor Wen would have caved, but thanks to Empress Pan whispering courage in his ear and the Chancellor right next to him, he stood firm for once. Gan Mian was not only kept as Chancellor, but he was rewarded for his efforts and his success. In particular, his latest handling of Xuan Mei proved impressive enough that the Emperor granted Gan Mian the title of Marquis of Tangyang. Gan Mian’s relationship with the Emperor was solid, and he was here to stay.

Which wasn’t exactly good news for Mo Jie and his policies. Emperor Wen had supported the implementation of the reforms, but now he showed once again his unwillingness to commit to one side of an argument. It turned out that the Emperor was failing to implement de minting reforms efficiently, either voluntarily or because of his administrative incompetence. As for Gan Mian, he had been ordered by the Emperor to help Mo Jie in implementing the new minting system throughout the provinces. Being a man of honor, he was going to do so at the best of his abilities. But he also made it quite clear to Mo Jie that he did not support this reform and would oppose any further effort to diminish the central power of the Liang Dynasty. Considering that this was exactly what Mo Jie had in mind, this might prove to be a problem.

And his allies weren’t faring any better. The two companions Wu Chunguang and Jiao Gongzi found themselves without a leg to stand on at court, forcing them to return to their commanderies. While the former simply failed at the complex game of court politics, the latter’s downfall was more complex. His rise had been tied to his family links to the Xu Clan more than anything. After all, Jiao Gongzi had been the uncle of Empress Xu and the brother-in-law of Xu Shu. With their deaths and replacements by Empress Pan and Gan Mian, his position was only saved by Mo Jie’s rising star. But that star now palled in comparison of that of Gan Mian. The Emperor, unwilling to have Xu Shu’s relatives around him, had his Chancellor order Jiao Gongzi to attend his duties in Zuopingyi Commandery.

But Mo Jie did find support in the person of the Emperor’s eunuch doctor Chuke, who had great influence on the young monarch. Chuke was truly ancient, even by Mo Jie’s standards. Born in 152, he had been made a eunuch at the age of 12 and had entered the Han Court toward the end of Emperor Huan’s reign (146-168). This meant that he had been in Luoyang for a whole two decades before the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184, and that he was already in his late 30’s by the time Dong Zhuo marched on the Imperial Capital. He survived the tyrant’s massacre of the eunuchs due to his absence from Luoyang. He had left the city to go serve the Prince of Hejian a year prior, and would thus become a loyal eunuch servant of the prince’s son, the future Emperor Qianfei (206-217).

He would serve the young emperor loyally during his troubled reign. But when his emperor left Chang’an for Luoyang in a last ditched effort to save his dynasty, Chuke stayed behind, which saved his life. Always favoring skills over flaws, Emperor Anwu (219-225) decided to ignore the old eunuch’s formers loyalties, which is how he became a loyal and important court eunuch in the Liang court. But Chuke was not a great politician, which explained in part why he had been allowed to prosper at court. While he had the Emperor’s ear, he never really knew what to do with it, and simply provided emotional support and honest opinions to Emperor Wen. This actually made him the sort of man Mo Jie could easily get along with, which is why the two old men managed to become good friends by the end of the year.

In a funny twist of irony, another barbarian revolt exploded on the border between Bing and You Provinces in November. Hinting that the previous one might have been made up by Xuan Mei, the Governor of Bing Province panicked and instead requested imperial help to handle the situation instead of handling the matter personally. Gan Mian was quick to get the Emperor’s approval to dispatch an imperial army to go handle this revolt. Barbarian uprisings could not be tolerated, no matter the feelings of some officials on these people. Emperor Wen was quick to request that this campaign be handled by someone else than Xu Chu, as he didn’t want the brute to get anymore prestige. Instead, he sent his favorite commander Fang Desi, the arrogant man with as strong of a spine as the Emperor. Being alone, he was finally able to shine… away from the frontline giving orders from the rear.

Mo Jie hoped to make sure that such revolt never happened, as he wanted the barbarians to live happily and unoppressed within the Liang Dynasty. But Gan Mian proved unwilling to even entertain the idea of granting the barbarians in the empire such freedom. Giving special rights like these to non-Chinese was a sure way to cause problems and instabilities. However, Mo Jie was able to convince the Chancellor (thanks to the help of the eunuch Chuke) that maybe a different taxation system for the barbarians might help solve the problems and end these barbarian revolts once and for all. Gan Mian proved at least willing to review the possibility, which was promising enough in Mo Jie’s eyes.

Then Gan Mian died in February 229, having been in office for less than two years. He had arguably been the best chancellor of the Liang Dynasty since the scholar Pan Zheng a decade prior. Emperor Wen, panicked at the sudden death of his main advisor, raced to appoint a new one to assist him in his duties. He chose to turn to the old Inspector of You Province, Pan Yi. The choice of Pan Yi was simple: Emperor Wen hoped that appointing him would help dissuade Xuan Mei from trying once again to seize You Province for himself. An apt politician, Pan Yi also helped pave the way of his ascension through his allies in the Imperial Capital. The mad schemer would prove competent enough, though a bit too skilled in political machinations for the Emperor’s tastes.

Fang Desi finished the barbarians by the end of February. As if on cue, a new threat appeared just as the rebels were finally crushed. This time, it was an expedition by the ambitious Yang Tang. Yang Tang was the illegitimate son of Yang Xiu, the first Grand Commandant of the Liang Dynasty who had died in the early days of the dynasty. Yang Xiu’s massive holdings had been divided between his sons and newly appointed officials, leaving Yang Tang without anything. Frustrated, he left for the Chen court, where he managed to recruit support for his cause. He then returned to the Liang, where he also enrolled some southern barbarians under his banner. And now he was finally coming against the Liang Dynasty, with the ultimate goal of seizing Sili Province, including Chang’an and Luoyang, after which he would declare his own dynasty.

Yang Tang had a massive army of 30,000 soldiers and mercenaries, making him by far the largest threat ever faced by the Liang Dynasty up to this point. This massive force could have been stopped right in its tracks. Emperor Wen had actually been made aware of Yang Tang’s plan all the way back in 227, but the Son of Heaven did nothing. Either unwilling to believe the danger of this potential threat or too fearful of acting forcefully, Emperor Wen simply chose to ignore Yang Tang, only keeping tabs on him occasionally. And it had allowed him to assemble this massive army that now threatened the whole of the dynasty.

When the Chancellor suggested that Xu Chu be recalled to deal with this threat, Emperor Wen did not object. He didn’t want Xu Chu to get more powerful, but at the end of the day this was preferable to losing control of the capital and the center of the dynasty. Losing Sili Province might lead to the dissolution of the Liang Dynasty, or at the very least a weakening of its authority as governors turned warlord once more. The Grand Commandant was given as much troops as necessary handle this crisis. If someone was able to crush Yang Tang’s invasion, it was Xu Chu. Emperor Wen was now willing to stake everything on his worse enemy to ensure his survival.

Then Xuan Mei decided that this was a great opportunity to try to seize You Province, again. Yes, Inspector Pan Yi now served as the Chancellor of the Liang Dynasty, but that meant that he was absent from his province. And with everyone distracted with Yang Tang, no one would notice him taking over You Province. He might even justify it by saying that he was simply helping to stabilize the border. Yes, that sounded like the sort of excuses that his father would use. But he was nipped in the bud. Pan Yi had no desire to see his enemy do anything. A letter to Bing Province made it clear that Xu Chu might take a detour through Bing Province if required, which was more than enough to stop Xuan Mei schemes this time.

Xu Chu mobilized the army he had been given by the Emperor and marched toward the eastern border, where Yang Tang had started to seize territories. Not being the apt military commander that Xu Chu was, Yang Tang made the critical mistake of dividing his massive army into smaller units in order to take more territories. He hoped that by the arrival of the Liang response, he would already controlled far too much territories for the Imperial Army to do anything. But the Grand Commandant simply saw these weakened units as easy picking. Xu Chu led an army of ten thousand imperial soldiers against a small invading force at Qicheng in July, arriving far faster than expected due to his hasty advance east. It was an easy victory for the Liang military, and a first blow to Yang Tang’s cause.

While this was all happening, Mo Jie was working to convince the Emperor that taxation reforms were needed. Not only for the barbarians, but for the provinces. The governors needed to be able to accumulate their own taxes as to provide for what was necessary in short order, instead of waiting for a response from the Imperial Capital. Emperor Wen was unconvinced at first, partially because he didn’t understand a word of what Mo Jie was arguing for, and partly because he barely grasped the economic principles around taxation beyond “it put coins in the coffers”.

However, a barbarian revolt in August spooked the Emperor. While Jin Xuan swiftly crushed the revolt, he advocated in favor of Mo Jie’s ideas. The Emperor thus decided that something had to be done about the taxes. But instead of truly reforming taxes, he simply decreed that no taxes would be levied this year, which was not what Mo Jie wanted. With Emperor Wen having ordered massive palatial constructions and renovations of Chang’an, the state needed the gold. This decision from Emperor Wen would end up putting the Liang Dynasty in the red, with its coffers soon filled with debts instead of coins.

Having learned from the failures of his plan, Yang Tang eventually assembled his remaining troops under his command, readying for a final showdown against the Liang military. This confrontation finally took place in early November. The battle was fought between two equal armies at Fanshuisheng. But at the end of the day, Yang Tang and his generals couldn’t compete with the sheer talent of Xu Chu. No matter what people thought about the way he had obtained his office, the Grand Commandant had the skills to back his appointment. Victory came to the Liang, and Yang Tang’s expedition was definitively crushed. The wannabe emperor in the making was sent in chains to Chang’an, where he was executed at the end of the year. Peace had finally returned to the Liang Dynasty, all thanks to Xu Chu. But as he sat on the eastern border, the Grand Commandant pondered: “Why not continue east?”

 

[Zamarak500]

228-230: IT’S BAD, REAL BAD​

The revolt of Ba Daiping and the other officials had taken Emperor Wu by surprise. He had just conquered Dong Commandery, a great success that he thought symbolized the unified drive of the Chen officialdom toward the expansion of the dynasty. But it seemed that they were instead motivated by petty self-interests and their personal ambitions. Emperor Wu was especially shocked by the presence of his brother Xiao Dang among the rebels, which he saw as a personal betrayal. And Ba Daiping… The two of them had just fought side by side against the Cao army! Yet now the general was betraying everything they worked for in his rebellion. Emperor Wu tried to send messengers to the rebel leaders in order to seek a peaceful end to this conflict. But while Ba Daiping did receive them with all honors, he made it clear that he wanted his old job back. And since Emperor Wu was not willing to depart himself from Hu Zan, this meant civil war.

But Emperor Wu still had many loyal generals at his disposal. Hu Zan was still Grand Commandant, with many excellent officers to assist him and the Emperor on campaign. One of these officers would be Ding Gongsi, the current Excellency of Works and the father-in-law of Crown Prince Gong. Surprisingly, he now sought to prove himself on the battlefield, even going as far as resigning from his office to do so. This certainly took the court by surprise, but his decision was accepted. Ding Gongsi was hoping to solidify his position at court by proving that he was also a decent commander, which hopefully would make him as indispensable as Xiao Bin or Hu Zan. To replace him, Emperor Wu appointed the new Administrator of Dong Commandery, Ban Xuanling.

But the loyalists barely had any time to react to the revolt that another rose up against the Chen Dynasty. After the “sudden death” of his father, Xiao Hanhe had been forced out, finding himself a diminished magistrate with a fraction of the influence he previously had under Emperor Cheng. But what had he been doing since? Well, being averse to direct confrontation, he might have instead been plotting against his brother Emperor Wu, convinced that he was the better candidate to be on the throne. He might have also been contacting officials disgruntled by the current regime, and he might have pushed them to revolt a month after Ba Daiping to declare him emperor. He might have done all of this, “might” being the key word. Because when a revolt did start to put him on the throne, he stayed loyal to Emperor Wu, and no one was able to prove that he was indeed the mastermind behind this second revolt.

But what role Xiao Hanhe played in this didn’t matter at the end of the day. The fact was that there was indeed a new revolt, this one led by the former Excellency of Works Luo An. The old Luo An had been critical of the course that the Chen Dynasty was taking under the new leadership of Emperor Wu. He wanted things to go back to the ruthless laws and cruel economy of Emperor Cheng, which he saw as more stable than the leniency of Emperor Wu. He had even resigned as Excellency of Works from Emperor Wu’s government because of this. Xiao Hanhe might have made assurances that he would rely on Luo An when it came to these policies should he be emperor. Seeing Ba Daiping revolting against Emperor Wu finally convinced Luo An that Emperor Wu needed to be removed for the good of the Dynasty. Backed by two scions of the Han, he revolted in early October against the imperial government.

Seeing that the Emperor had managed to cause two revolts by his clear lack of leadership, Administrator Yan Yi of Pei Commandery publicly declared that the Emperor was inept and incompetent, unfit to rule the Chen Dynasty. Everyone should have realized this by now, seeing how Emperor Wu listened to his barbarian whore and made his idiotic brat of a younger brother the Chancellor. Yan Yi, already hated of the Xiao Clan, managed to convince the imperial brothers that he really ought to be removed by this point. An “escort” was sent to Pei Commandery to bring back the wayward administrator at the end of October. Yan Yi arrested them and went into revolt, marking the third revolt in the span of two months. Things were not going well for Emperor Wu.

Already a battle had been fought as early as November. He Jintao, the former follower of Tan Shenquan, led a small army of a thousand troops against rebels loyal to Luo An (those fighting for Xiao Hanhe’s claim). It would prove to be a small encounter, and one that happened only because some of the rebel troops were too bold, advancing into Chen territories before the rest of their allies were ready. The rebels quickly retreated once they realized their mistake, and He Jintao did not pursue. He feared that he might find himself the one running into a trap. Still, the first battle of these chaotic conflicts was won by the Chen loyalists, which was sure to help morale going forward.

Seeing the critical situation that the Dynasty was in, Emperor Wu ordered Hu Zan to go handle this personally. The old general now had full command of the campaign, with the success or failure of the Chen into his hands. While Hu Zan certainly enjoyed this level of power and influence, he insisted that Emperor Wu also be present. Officially, he claimed that the presence of the Emperor might help bolster morale, which was true. But his real motives were to keep the Emperor away from his brother Xiao Bin, who would be left in charge of the court in Emperor Wu’s absence. Emperor Wu, seeing the advantages of going with Hu Zan and wanting to be part of the fighting, agreed with the suggestion. The Chancellor was left to handle the day-to-day affairs in Chenguo while the Grand Commandant and the Son of Heaven left to handle the war. By December, the two of them were at the head of a massive army of more than ten thousand troops.

But as they prepared themselves to engage the rebels in January, news came that a new threat had appeared on the horizon, one far stronger than anything the Chen Dynasty was currently facing. The Xianbeis were coming. Once upon a time, Budugen the Great had held lands in Qing Province, which he had seized from the Tan Clan through strength and warfare. Yet Xibaxiong had to watch as his father was tricked into selling these conquests to the weakling Chinese, with the territories becoming part of the newly created Chen Dynasty. The new Khagan of the Xianbei Confederacy had never accepted this loss, never agreed that the southern weakling could reclaim what was Xianbei by conquest. A decade after losing those territories, he was coming down south to do what his father had once done. And no one was going to stop him.

By that point, another victory had been achieved on the rebels, this time the followers of Ba Daiping. This time it was accomplished by the Marquis of Xicai, Liu Bojing. He was able to trick the enemy force into thinking that he was defecting to their side, allowing him to lead them into a trap. Even with four hundred less soldiers, Liu Bojing was thus able to achieve a decent victory on the enemy thanks to the element of surprise (and unethical betrayal). Knowing that these were Chen soldiers he was fighting, the Marquis of Xicai made sure that any defeated enemy was taken care of when taken prisoner, and any surrender was readily accepted. But at the end of the day, this was still a minor victory, nothing to outshine the threat of the incoming Xianbei horsemen.

Hu Zan and Emperor Wu, now both spooked and motivated, decided that they needed to gain the edge on the rebels before Xiabaxiong showed up with and start devastating the Chen Dynasty. Best case scenario, they might be able to win the civil wars before the Xianbei came down on them, leaving them unified to face the foreign threat. Their hopes were bolstered by news of another victory by He Jintao against the pro Xiao Hanhe rebels. It seemed that the old general had once again managed to engage the enemy in a light battle that resulted in minimal casualties and a quick victory for the Chen loyalists. Not the grandiose victory that they needed, but any good news helped them reached their goal.

Finally, the first great battle took place in May, Ba Daiping had assembled the bulk of his forces and wanted to knock down the imperial army as soon as possible. He was also worried about the threat of Xibaxiong and wanted this civil war over as fast as possible. And of all the rebels, his faction was probably the most harmless, only wishing to get back in the inner circle and regain the power they held at the end of Emperor Cheng’s reign. Hopefully, a clear defeat on the battlefield would convince Emperor Wu that he needed to accept the situation, to accept that only Ba Daiping had the skills to be the Grand Commandant

Emperor Wu and Hu Zan had reached the exact same conclusion, except that in their scenario they were the one winning the battle. Hu Zan, on the Emperor’s orders, even dispatched envoys to Ba Daiping offering him to put down his arms and join them in defeating the Xianbei threat. But convinced that he was about to win and not trusting Hu Zan, the rebel leader refused. I would prove to be a mistake, as the ensuing Battle of Sangdu would be a victory for the Chen loyalists. As predicted, the presence of the popular Emperor Wu pushed the soldiers to fight harder than ever. And while Hu Zan and Ba Daiping were equals when it came to tactics and strategies, the Grand Commandant had not become famous only for his military skills. He used deceptions, spies and traitors in the rebel ranks to ensure his ultimate victory, inflicting a massive defeat on the rebels. Sadly, Ba Daiping did not surrender, instead retreating to recuperate from his losses.

At least this victory made Ba Daiping a non-factor for a few months. This allowed the Chen loyalists to move against their other enemies, who were themselves quite weak in comparison. In particular, Yan Yi found himself besieged by the generals of the Chen, like He Jintao or the Marquis of Xicai. Wishing to end the threat of this annoying man once and for all, Emperor Wu told Hu Zan that they would also move against Pei Commandery. But they needed to act fast, as Xibaxiong was coming. Indeed, he would arrive in Qing Province by early July, far faster than anyone had expected him to come. Even worse, his army was larger than anything the Chen could currently field in its divided state.

At the very least, they were able to deal with Yan Yi. Throughout the summer, the cities that were loyal to the Administrator of Pei Commandery quickly surrendered to the Chen Army. After all, why fight for a grumpy old man like Yan Yi? This was especially relevant when the Xianbei threat was at their door, making their whole cause borderline irrelevant. In the end, Yan Yi’s support collapsed right under him, and in early September the administrator was delivered by his own men to Emperor Wu. While the Emperor was the kind of man to forgive his enemies and show clemency, Yan Yi was a special case. Hatred ran between the old man and the Xiao Clan. Yan Yi was sent to Chenguo, where Xiao Bin had him executed. Emperor Wu did nothing to stop it, and was apparently quite joyful when he learned of the man’s death.

Luo An, realizing that he needed to act if he wanted to win, assembled his forces and tried to ambush the Imperial Army. Problem was that he had far less troops than what Hu Zan and Emperor Wu could field against him. Once again, Hu Zan and Emperor Wu sent an offer of peace, hoping to bring a swift end to this civil war. Luo An almost agreed, fearful of what would happen if he continued. But in the end, he was pressured by his supporters to keep the fight, leading to two defeats against the Imperial Army at the end of October. Emperor Wu could only sigh at the prospect of continuing this pointless civil war. HuHHH

While Hu Zan was readying himself to march against Luo An, news came that Ba Daiping was making a move toward Chenguo. Annoyed, the Grand Commandant had no choice but to turn back and protect the Imperial City. While the prospect of having Xiao Bin falling into enemy hands was enticing, the fall of the Imperial Capital would be too big of a blow to be allowed. And besides, there was no way Emperor Wu was going to allow for the capture of his brother. So they raced to intercept Ba Daiping, forcing him to engage them at Changyi in November. With the losses he had suffered at Sangdu, the rebel leader was in no shape to win this battle. Half of his remaining forces were either captured or killed, with the rest fleeing back to safety. Ba Daiping might have escaped again, but it was clear that he was losing this war.

Luo An might have hoped that Ba Daiping would have gained him some reprieve. Sadly for him, other Chen generals had been charged to finish him off while Hu Zan marched to intercept the other rebel leader. Following the recent defeats, the supporters of Xiao Hanhe found themselves weakened and afraid, especially as their Son of Heaven had yet to manifest any open support for their cause. This eventually led the whole rebellion to collapse, and by the end of the year Luo An and his followers had been captured by the Chen army. Unlike Yan Yi, they were simply sent in jail when they arrived in Chenguo for judgement, Xiao Bin preferring to wait for his brother before dealing with them. Better to have his opinion instead of overstepping his bounds.

Yan Yi and Luo An had been put down, leaving only a weakened Ba Daiping to defeat before the Chen Dynasty was reunified under Emperor Wu’s banner. By the start of 230, the loyalists had many reasons to hope for the better. Once the civil wars were done with, they could turn toward the threat of Xibaxiong’s invasion. This was going to prove a challenge, probably the greatest one that the Dynasty had ever faced. But if they stood together and united, all focused on this singular goal, then maybe, just maybe, they would be able to triumph.

 

[Zamarak500]

230-231: CLASH OF EMPIRES​

Xu Chu was seeing the troubles that were besetting the Chen Dynasty. He could see that it was weakened, that it was distracted. And now he had the opportunity to strike, to conquer the enemy of the Liang, to become the greatest man alive! Not even Emperor Anwu had managed to unify China and defeat the Chen Dynasty on the battlefield (though this was more due to his untimely death than his lack of skills). Having just defeated Yang Tang and now sitting on the border, he decided that it was time to destroy this pesky Chen Dynasty once and for all. Yes, it was about time to unify the realm under his… the Emperor’s rule. Talking of the Emperor, he would need to be “convinced” of the necessity of this campaign.

But surprisingly, Emperor Wen had decided that now was the time to try and grow a spine. When Xu Chu’s messengers arrived to Chang’an, Emperor Wen dismissed them quickly without agreeing to the campaign. Instead, he sent envoys to Xu Chu’s camp, presenting evidences of the Grand Commandant’s actions against the Son of Heaven and the violence he had employed at court. Emperor Wen now wanted Xu Chu to answer for his actions. But when the envoys arrived to the camp and presented the accusations to Xu Chu, he simply proceeded to laugh, after which he went on to beat one of the envoys to death. The Grand Commandant followed this show of strength by once again sending his war plans to Chang’an. Now completely spooked, Emperor Wen quickly agreed to a campaign against the Chen Dynasty. However, he declared that the goal was to seize the parts of Ji Province controlled by the Chen instead of the complete conquest of the rival dynasty. A small attempt to stop Xu Chu from reunifying China, one that the Grand Commandant would do his best to ignore.

And this is how, at the end of January 230, the Liang and Chen Dynasties came to fight each other. It immediately had a massive impact in the latter. News of the incoming invasion by the Liang Dynasty quickly led to the end of the civil war that was still dividing the Chen. Ba Daiping’s goal had been to regain his position at court because he was convinced that he was the best man to fulfill these duties, to protect the Dynasty. But his revolt lost any relevance with the Chen now threatened by both the Xianbei Confederacy and the Liang Dynasty. Continuing to fight against Emperor Wu would mean hurting the dynasty he had sworn to protect. While some of his allies were reticent to the idea, Ba Daiping offered Emperor Wu to end the civil war without condition and to help against the enemies of the Dynasty.

Emperor Wu was hesitant to accept these traitors back into his ranks at first. He felt personally betrayed by Ba Daiping and his brother Xiao Dang for rebelling against him and didn’t know if he had it in him to forgive them. But everyone advised him to make peace. Xiao Bin told him that a united Chen was what they needed at the moment, and Hu Zan pointed out how competent generals like Ba Daiping and the afflux of new troops from the former rebels could prove the tipping point in the incoming conflict. Even Changle was telling her husband that he should seek peace first and foremost. However, she was also advising that he make peace with her brother, which was a bridge too far for Emperor Wu. In the end, the revolt ended, and Ba Daiping was allowed to rejoin the Emperor as one of the great generals of the Chen Dynasty.

And this reunification of the Chen was followed by a victory by the Grand Commandant Hu Zan over the Xianbei invaders, which only helped to motivate the two sides in uniting against their enemies. One of the subordinate Khans of the XIanbei Confederacy had decided to seek glory for himself instead of sticking with Xibaxiong. This proved a terrible idea, as it allowed Hu Zan and his officers to attack this weaker horde. With Emperor Wu having returned to Chenguo to prepare its defense, the Grand Commandant was now fully in charge, with younger officers like his protégé Xue Tang given the chance to make their proofs under his experience command. This battle would prove a victory for the Chen, though Hu Zan was unhappy at the losses sustained by fighting the horse riders.

But while young officers were given the opportunity to rise, one of the older one would sadly leave the stage permanently. In March 230, the Chen court was notified of the death of Chen Tiao at the age of 70. He had been the first ever Grand Commandant of the Chen Dynasty and had served as the top military officer of Chen (first the province and then dynasty) for more than a decade, providing much needed stability to Emperor Cheng’s government. He had always been honorable and loyal to the Chen, even if it meant rebelling against its first emperor to save it. It is said that he survived this long due to his desire to leave the Chen united, and so passed away peacefully once the civil war was ended on good terms. For his extraordinary service to the Chen Dynasty, Emperor Wu gladly allowed Chen Tiao’s oldest son to inherit the title of Marquis of Jiyin. Both Ba Daiping and Hu Zan, who had fought on different sides of the civil war only months ago, put funerary tablets in their camps to mourn the old general. What a loss for the Dynasty in its hour of need.

In April, Hu Zan achieved another victory against the Xianbei, though once again this was not against the main army of Xibaxiong. The Khagan of the Xianbei Confederacy still represented a menace far too dangerous to engage, especially with the threat of the Liang Dynasty still looming in the background. Instead, this war was mostly fought against the Korean tributaries of the Xianbei Confederacy, with the Kingdom of Goguryeo representing the bulk of this army (though it was assisted by some nomadic horsemen). Once again, Hu Zan was able to defeat the enemy, this time stopping their advance from progressing beyond the coast of Qing Province. Xue Tang proved particularly useful in this fight, playing a key role in the strategy which Hu Zan used during the battle. While this didn’t mean victory, it at least ensured that the Xianbeis would be limited in their progression for the time being.

It was around that time that Emperor Wen sent new troops to reinforce Hu Zan. He needed his Grand Commandant to be able to command a decisive force, one able to crush whatever challenge stood in their way. Alongside these reinforcements came the other two greatest generals of the Chen Dynasty to help Hu Zan. First was Ba Daiping, now back as a loyal general and ready to help. His presence was the source of tensions among the officers, not the least because he had been the traitor they had been fighting only a year ago. Although they still feuded over the office of Grand Commandant, both Hu Zan and Ba Daiping agreed to put their disputes aside for the moment.

With them was Ding Zhiguo, the one-eyed general and brother-in-law of the Emperor. Now, his last moment of relevance had been his capture by the Cao Army during the invasion of Dong Commandery, having played no role in the recent civil wars. The reason for this is because… well, the Cao Army kept him prisoner even after they lost their territories, thus missing the whole year of 229. He in fact only made his way back to the Imperial Capital in February, finding the Dynasty under attack from both sides. Even with his bad luck on the battlefield, Ding Zhiguo still remained one of the best generals at the Dynasty’s disposal. With Hu Zan, Ba Daiping and Ding Zhiguo now leading the war, the Chen had experienced and competent leaders who had the best chance of achieving victory.

And this trio proved successful. Putting aside personal disagreement, they would act as a team and fulfill their duties with bravo. Since the Liang had yet to show up, the first part of the summer was spent once again fighting the Xianbei invaders. Again, they were smart enough to avoid any direct confrontation with Xibaxiong, though Ba Daiping almost pushed for it at one point. In the end, they were able to achieve two new victories against small barbarian armies. Yes, these were minor victories, but considering the dire situation, the Chen Dynasty would take any win it could get.

It was only in August that a Liang army finally crossed the border between the two states, which at multiple points was marked by the Yellow River. However, this army was far smaller than expected, and it wasn’t led by the Grand Commandant Xu Chu. Instead, it was a vanguard army led by a younger general named Hu Bodu. This was once again one of the many attempts by Emperor Wen to build an officer to rival Xu Chu. But unlike Fang Desi, Hu Bodu was closer to Xu Chu in arrogance in temper, leaving him willing to stand up to the brute. He was convinced that he had a great destiny awaiting him, and saw Xu Chu as nothing but a wall blocking his rise. He was also greedy, which is why he happily sold some of his supply to local Chen merchants to fill up his pockets the second he entered the Chen Dynasty.

The three generals were quick to react, moving to meet this first army that had crossed the Yellow River before it could march south on Chenguo. Hu Bodu awaited them patiently, convinced that he could defeat these great generals without Xu Chu’s help as long as he fortified his position and prepared his defenses. And worst-case scenario, he had enough supply to last for weeks… wait… Supply would not be Hu Bodu’s only faux pas, as he clearly lacked information on the Chen army’s size. He was easily crushed, with half of his troops captured or killed, and the other half racing away to safety. The general was himself captured by Ding Zhiguo, who took great pleasure of informing his defeated foe that he would spend the rest of this war as a prisoner. This was the first battle between both dynasties, and it was a resounding victory for the Chen.

Xu Chu only showed up in November, having been held up by a barbarian revolt on the border. He had brought an army roughly equal to that of the Chen, as some Liang troops needed to put down other peasant uprisings in the rest of the Dynasty. Both sides settled camp on their side of the Yellow River, this key waterway that marked the border between their states. On sunny days, the two armies could see each other, with no ability to fight it out. Hu Zan had ordered the bridges destroyed before the main Liang army arrived, the idea being that it would force the enemy to cross the river to fight them. And the army which would have its back against the water would be the vulnerable one, the one which would panic when pushed.

And this seemed to work, as in the Liang camp Xu Chu was frustrated by his inability to cross. Deciding that he needed to get the advantage, he started to build rafts, though he made no indication that he was planning to use them soon (mostly because his subordinates tried to hinder his work out of jealousy or on the Emperor’s orders). This made the Chen generals worried. It was one thing to have the advantage of terrain, but if the Liang army was waiting for reinforcement, then their soldiers’ morale would plumet at the sight of a massive Liang army on the other side of the river. Ba Daiping was the one to finally speak what they all thought: “We need to strike first”. The two sides thus worked on crossing the Yellow River, starting a race to see who would put himself to a disadvantage the fastest.

In the end, Xu Chu’s head start allowed him to cross first in December after a month of waiting. The Chen army was ready for him, taking their positions in a failed attempt to push back the Liang army into the water before it could properly organize. But Xu Chu crossed, thus started one of the greatest battles of the history of this period. Xu Chu and Hu Zan, who had never met before, found themselves commanding the center of their respective forces. The brute did try to find his opponent to slay him on the battlefield, but had no luck in his search. Hu Zan was no fighter, instead ordering this battle from a place of safety where he could see the whole battlefield.

Neither Xu Chu nor Hu Zan showed any sign of weakening, even as the Liang army fought with the Yellow River against its back. But while Hu Zan was assisted by two fellow generals of renown, Xu Chu’s subordinates proved less impressive. In the end, the weak link proved to be the former Liang Chancellor Jin Xuan, who was commanding the right flank. Against him were the relentless assaults of Ba Daiping, which finally worn him down after a few days of fighting. And with the right flank collapsing, Ba Daiping and Hu Zan were able to coordinate against Xu Chu. To counter this, Xu Chu had to recall troops from his left flank, which only allowed Ding Zhiguo to capitalize. Xu Chu tried one last heroic charge against the Chen army, but it failed miserably and led to the collapse of Liang cohesion. In the chaos, half of the Liang army died, with at least four thousand of these losses happening during the crossing back to the Liang side of the Yellow River. Some decided to surrender instead of risking their lives in the water, while others were captured during the fighting. But at the end of the day, the Chen Dynasty had triumphed. Not only that, but it had crushed the Liang army, inflicting it a defeat that it would not forget anytime soon.

__________________________________________

Hu Zan was finishing his report for the Capital. Surely Emperor Wu would want to know what had happened, and surely the court would be happy to learn about his… their massive victory over the Liang. Surely, he would be given a reward for his role in the defeat of the invading force. Hopefully some honor or title. If it was wealth, he would more than likely distribute it around for political gains. This thought actually made him laugh. For most of his life, he would have kept any wealth given to him with fervent greed, yet here he was considering it nothing more than a political tool. Then again, it was not like he needed gold these days. He was wealthy, a powerful member of the Chen nobility and the closest advisor of the Emperor. When you reached such highs, what was the point of accumulating coins?

“Marquis?” said a voice behind him.

The old general turned around to see who was speaking to him. Standing at the entrance of his tent was Xue Tang, the officer who he had taken under his wing. It seemed that the young man had remembered how Hu Zan loved to be called by his title of nobility. Smart. He had potential, which is why he had taken Xue Tang as his protégé. While Hu Zan was proud, he was not stupid enough to believe himself immortal. No matter the great successes he would accomplish for the Chen Dynasty, it would all be worthless if there was no one competent enough to take his place the moment he kicked the bucket. He would soon be sixty, a clear reminder of his mortality. Yang Weili had died at 58, while Chen Tiao had passed away at 70. Who knew when his time would come? Which is why he needed to cultivate the next generation of officers, starting with this man.

“Lieutenant Xue.” Hu Zan saluted him. “Do you have the reports on the captured equipment?”

“Yes, Marquis.” Xue Tang answered, providing a series of bamboo scrolls for his commanding officer.

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I will be sure to mention your contribution to the Emperor.”

“Please do not forget the contribution of the Liang army then.” Xue Tang responded with a smirk. “Their generosity needs to be lauded.”

Hu Zan laughed at this comment. The younger officer had a sharp sense of humor that made time with him quite enjoyable. And he was right. The Liang soldiers had not been selective in what they abandoned in their flight, leaving armors and weapons behind that were of perfect use. Some of it was even better than what the Chen could produce. Hu Zan guessed that this was due to their access to the mountainous mines found in Liang Province, while the Chen Dynasty often had to buy its metal through trading partners, Like the southern Korean states.

“Marquis, I do not want to overstep my bounds, but…”

“Go ahead, Lieutenant.” Hu Zan told him, his mind more focused on the reports.

“Generals Ba and Ding are discussing what to do with our problem.”

“WHAT?” Hu Zan barked.

This was frustrating. As the Grand Commandant, what to do with the prisoners was his prerogative. They shouldn’t butt in and start deciding it behind his back!

“Lieutenant, please handle the reports until my return.” He said as he stormed out of the tent.

Hu Zan knew where Ba Daiping and Ding Zhiguo were, which is why he raced so confidently through the camp. Many soldiers he passed by saluted him and cheered him, the commander who had led them to victory. This put a smile on his face. When he had entered the service of the late Emperor, back when the man was just Governor Xiao Ru, he had found it difficult to gain the troops’ love and support. In fact, his early campaigns had left the troops despising him as some rich and arrogant officer. But two decades of loyal service seemed to have finally fixed this, with the soldiers currently serving in the Imperial Army now seeing him as one of their greatest heroes.

He finally approached the tent where he knew his two fellow generals were talking. He was once again annoyed at the way they were acting. It is not because they had been working together that they were equal in rank. As he entered the tent, he saw the two men standing up and discussing, even with the background noise as loud as always. By now they had all gotten used to it and just ignored the cacophony.

“Something needs to be done before we continue this campaign!” Ba Daiping insisted

“I still think that the Emperor should maybe be consult…” Ding Zhiguo started.

“You two should consult me first!” Hu Zan interjected. “I am the Grand Commandant, after all!”

“Well then act on it.” Ba Daiping said.

“I have other things to deal with first.”

“It is a pressing matter…” Ding Zhiguo said.

“Generals,” Hu Zan started, “I will handle the matter.”

“Then tell us.” Ba Daiping insisted. “How will you deal with him?”

Ba Daiping theatrically pointed at the chained Xu Chu that was at the other side of the tent, held on his knees by weights and chains to ensure that he didn’t move. They had lost nine men capturing him during his idiotic charge, and another five chaining him down. They didn’t even risk moving him, instead simply placing a tent around the spot they had chained him to the ground. Hu Zan had to admit, the Grand Commandant of the Liang Dynasty quite the striking figure, with his bulging muscles and his face crisped in anger. And as always, he screamed insults and profanities at them.

“I WILL KILL YOU ALL!” he shouted. “YOU PATHETIC BABIES WILL DIE BY MY HAND!”

Hu Zan was tempted to punch him, but didn’t want to risk it. No man had been willing to put a gag on him out of fear of being bitten. Considering that he only had one hand left, Hu Zan had no desire to risk it in a useless show of force. Ba Daiping seemed to lack any hesitation on that matter, however.

“Shut up!” the general shouted as he kicked Xu Chu in the guts.

“That was unnecessary…” Ding Zhiguo whispered, probably more to himself than for his colleagues.

“We need to decide what to do with him now.” Ba Daiping insisted.

“Maybe send him to the Capital…” Ding Zhiguo offered, only to be rebuked by the frustrated gaze of the other two generals.

“And what if he escapes during the transfer to Chenguo?” Hu Zan pointed out. “We already had a hard time holding him here.”

Hu Zan also had more personal reasons to oppose this idea. Delivering Xu Chu to the Capital would mean handing him over to the cares of Xiao Bin. And there was simply no way he would surrender such a prize to the Chancellor.

“YOU WILL ALL DIE!”

“AND I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!” Ba Daiping shouted back before turning back to the others. “Then what? We can’t exactly keep him with us while on campaign.”

“It would be a drain on our resources to keep him prisoner.” Ding Zhiguo agreed.

“The Emperor might use him to negotiate a peace.” Hu Zan pointed out. “He is a valuable prisoner.”

“I AM THE GREAT XU CHU! UNCHAIN ME RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”

“Could we not just release him? As a sign of peace?” Ding Zhiguo suggested.

“General Ding, this is a stupid idea.” Hu Zan commented. “If we release him, we should at least be guaranteed something in return.”

“YOU WILL BE GARANTEED A PAINFUL DEATH!”

“That’s it!” Ba Daiping exclaimed as he walked away, completely ignored by the other two generals.

“I still think the Emperor should be consulted…” Ding Zhiguo meekly declared.

“This is a military affair.” Hu Zan objected. “I will simply report to the Son of Heaven how we dealt with the problem.”

“But still…”

“Look, we can just…”

They were interrupted by a swift sound, followed by the collision of an object with the ground. They turned to see Ba Daiping standing with a bloodied sword. At his feet was the rolling head of Xu Chu.

“There!” he declared. “I solved it. Happy?”

Hu Zan and Ding Zhiguo looked at each other and shrugged.

“Yeah, that works.”

_________________________________________

The head of Xu Chu, the Grand Commandant of the Liang Dynasty, was sent to Chenguo. Emperor Wu and his court were quick to celebrate this massive victory, with the death of the great Liang general only serving to boost morale. The only one who was worried about this was Xiao Bin, who thought that Hu Zan and the generals were acting with too much freedom while on campaign. He was worried that this might make them a threat to the Chen. But Emperor Wu disagreed with his younger brother. As a military man, he knew that generals needed the leeway to be able to do their job on the field. While he agreed that officers should not be given too much political power at court, they should be free to win a war when on campaign. He still remembered the way his father had alienated his generals by meddling with their authority on the battlefield, and he was not going to make the same mistake.

Meanwhile, the Liang Army was in shamble after their defeat. They had retreated to Liang territories and fled from the danger of the Yellow River. And most of their leadership had either fled or been captured, like Xu Chu. News of his death only made things worse in the army camp, and deserters soon became a problem. One young officer, seeing his chance to show his talent, stepped up to take command of the camp. No one really opposed Zhang Yao when he became the leader, mostly because no one really wanted the job of fixing the situation (and the blame for failing to do so).

But Zhang Yao would have no time to reorganize his troops, as the Chen army was fast approaching. With their newfound momentum, Hu Zan and his fellow generals had to take the fight to the Liang Dynasty, marking the first time that a Chen force penetrated the Liang borders. This took Zhang Yao by surprise, who now had to prepare his highly diminished army to face the enemies that were charging at them. But if Xu Chu with a larger army had failed to stop the Chen generals, then a lesser officer like Zhang Yao with half those troops had no chance. He did put a valiant fight, but his short temper got the better of him. The Chen army easily achieved victory, killing half of the Liang soldiers.

While some officers wanted to continue, pointing out that they had reserves to send, Emperor Wen decided that it was time to cut his losses. This had always been Xu Chu’s campaign, not his. Now that the brute was dead (which was a welcomed surprise), the Emperor wanted to end this war as soon as possible. He was finally free of Xu Chu, only to have Chen troops into his dynasty. He wanted this campaign to be over, the Chen troops out, and no more generals ordering him around. He was even willing to pay massive sums of coins (which he had to borrow) in order to end this.

Envoys from Chang’an were sent to Chenguo, where Emperor Wu received them with all the official honors given to foreign dignitaries. The negotiations went smoothly, with Chancellor Xiao Bin leading the talks. A payment for peace was agreed, as was a ransom for the soldiers and officers that were captured. The first war between the two dynasties ended in March 231, a year after it had been declared. More importantly, this conflict would mark the normalization of diplomatic relations between the Chen and the Liang. Emperor Cheng had always declared the Liang Dynasty usurpers that should not be tolerated, while Emperor Anwu had looked at the Chen as pathetic pretenders unworthy of his acknowledgement. For the first time, each side were recognizing that there were two dynasties in China. And while they remained rivals, they now accepted the existence of the other. At least until they could conquer one another and unify the realm.

 

[Zamarak500]

230-231: MO JIE AND THE REFORMATION OF THE LIANG​

The year 230 started with Mo Jie being overwhelmed with his duties. While he had successfully convinced Emperor Wen to implement freer minting rights in the provinces, the fact was that his other ideas for reforms were never given much of a chance at court. The former Chancellor Gan Mian had been adamant that he would not push for any new changes. But even when Mo Jie managed to convince him that some tax reforms had to be implemented to ease the burden on barbarians, this proved for nothing as Gan Mian dropped dead before anything could be done. And now his reforms were still left waiting, his dreams to improve the Dynasty still unfinished.

And this wasn’t help by the workload that came with Emperor Wen’s terrible economic policies. His decision to forgo taxes at the end of 229 (something he would do again in 230) had a profound impact on the coffers of the state. Emperor Wen had done so after mistakenly understanding Mo Jie’s advice on taxations. However, he had also been motivated in this by his desire to become more popular. He hoped that this tax relief would gain him supporters in the provinces, supporters that might be willing to protect him from his Grand Commandant Xu Chu. Surely the people would love him now that they didn’t have to pay taxes for two years in a row! Mo Jie did try to point out that they might like him less once they realize roads, infrastructures and key buildings weren’t being built anymore because the coffers were empty, but Emperor Wen didn’t seem worried about this prospect.

To counter this, Mo Jie needed to find the money from somewhere. Someone would have to pay, which was sure to make them miserable. And a saddened Mo Jie was the one who had to pick the unlucky ones. Refusing to make the peasantry or the barbarians pay, he instead turned to the cities, which were full of wealthy merchants and rich officials. Surely, they would not be hindered if more of their wealth was taken from them to be used by the Dynasty. Right? He even managed to convince the court that in exchange they should limit the number of troops recruited from the cities. Emperor Wen was all for it, as it meant diminishing the power of the military, and thus of Xu Chu.

But Mo Jie’s situation did improve with the arrival of a new Grand Tutor. Shang Zhongwu had been the Grand Tutor since the end of Emperor Anwu’s reign and had been a clear opponent of Mo Jie’s reforms. However, his meek personality and his lack of charisma had led his own allies to push him aside, and in January 230 he had resigned from the office. He was replaced by another official from Yang Province named Bu Jing. A wise man beloved by the people for his kindness and sense of justice, he proved the perfect ally for Mo Jie at court. He was quite humble and well liked by officials. And unlike Mo Jie, people understood what he said. The only issue was that in his private life he was a paranoid drunk, but as long as it didn’t translate at court, he would prove a good ally for the Excellency of Works.

By February, Emperor Wen was bullied by his Grand Commandant Xu Chu into invading the Chen Dynasty, which was beset by problems at the time. Mo Jie was among the officials who opposed such war. Not only would the campaign prove an even bigger strain on the finances of the Dynasty, but it would only bring death and destruction to the people of China. He instead stressed the need to continue his reforms, as they would improve the lives of the people and make them happier. Being an idealist at heart, Mo Jie was convinced that the people of the Chen would rise up and welcome the Liang peacefully when they saw how much the grass was greener on the other side. But Emperor Wen was far too scared of Xu Chu, who finally got the campaign he had been waiting for.

One thing that Mo Jie did manage to pass was a program to allow the provincial governors to have full control over a provincial army. While governors already held troops, they were (on paper) imperial troops bound to obey the Son of Heaven first and foremost, as they were often equipped and financed by the central government. Mo Jie argued that since the provinces now had a firmer control on the mints and the coinages (though again, Emperor Wen botched the implementation of these reforms), they should be able to keep up a small army at their personal disposal. It would thus reduce the strain on the state’s coffers while allowing the provinces another tool to resist a potential oppressive imperial government if needed. For Emperor Wen, this sounded like a way to take part of the military away from Xu Chu and give it to his rivals, which sounded perfect for the Emperor.

The passage of these reforms was helped by the death of the Excellency of the Masses in March 230. Ren Duo had been the main opponent of Mo Jie’s reforms at court. However, he had been dealing with a depression due to his inability to control the court and lead it to the “right” path, according to him. He eventually stopped caring for his health, got sick, and died at the age of 59. He was replaced, both as Excellency of the Masses and as Intendant of Henan, by his protégé Lu Yu. Sadly for Mo Jie, Lu Yu was far more charismatic and ambitious than his mentor. He was arrogant, did not care about justice one bit, and used his personal charisma to advance his career. And he decided that the best way to advance his career was to trample all over Mo Jie’s.

Mo Jie thus had to push for his new reforms just as the Liang was launching a war against the Chen Dynasty. And with Lu Yu now at court to make things difficult for him, it would be hard to push for a new taxation system. Still, Bu Jing was able to make headways where the old official failed too, and through the year an idea of some new taxation system was presented, one that would be handled by the governors. They would get to decide between various taxations systems to apply in their provinces (as Emperor Wen couldn’t decide himself on one single tax reform and decided to implement them all). The problem was that the Emperor was convinced by opponents of Mo Jie not to enforce these new tax reforms, instead making them a voluntary affair. This led to wildly different taxations methods and systems depending on which province you were in. For example, Crown Prince Xiu kept the old centralized taxation method, while Governor Xuan Mei of Bing Province was all too happy to fill his pockets using to loopholes that had not been corrected thanks to Mo Jie’s opponents.

Talking of Xuan Mei, he now found himself the recipient of the Emperor’s good favors, much to Chancellor Pan Yi’s anger. Emperor Wen wanted other officials to be the bulwark against a potentially victorious Xu Chu. He needed someone with a straight spine, with courage and integrity to stand by his side out of loyalty and not self-interest. And when he searched for these characteristics, somehow Xuan Mei the hunchback was the one who came to mind. In order to cement their alliance, the Emperor offered a betrothal between his oldest daughter Yao Yian to Xuan Mei’s oldest son Yao Shen. Xuan Mei happily agreed to the deal. Not only was his brother married to an imperial princess, but his son would be too. Clearly this was a sign that the Emperor now supported his plans to take over You Province!

In October, Mo Jie was notified that he had at least achieved one win over his enemies by managing to outlive his long-time rival Duan Zuo, the former Grand Tutor known for his greed and corruption. Having spent the last few years as the main scholarly advisor to the Crown Prince, he had obviously been a vocal opponent to Mo Jie’s reforms. But after a year of battling a cancer, Duan Zuo finally lost his fight and died at the age of 62. Mo Jie could only be happy that such a morally bankrupt man had passed away. Having such dangerous influence around his son-in-law had always been worrying, but now he could finally breath a sigh of relief. Duan Zuo was no more. At least there was one good news.

For most of the summer and autumn, the Liang Dynasty was shaken by a series of peasant rebellions. No one really understood why these happened, though it might be a combination of a refusal to fight on the frontline and the messy implementation of Mo Jie’s reforms. However, only one of these revolts managed to survive the end of 230, all thanks to its ambitious and competent leader, a peasant named Hansheng. Hansheng hoped that this revolt might lead him to become an influential figure in the region, and possibly a regional warlord or an administrator of the Liang should the Emperor be willing to negotiate. This wasn’t the case, so instead he simply wreaked havoc in the north and started to build his own little fiefdom from which to fight the imperial forces sent against him.

By early 231, Emperor Wen decided to bring an end to the campaign against the Chen Dynasty. What had been Xu Chu’s greatest war had turned into a debacle, with the Grand Commandant executed by the enemy after being captured. Emperor Wen didn’t want anything more to do with this, and did his best to extract himself from the conflict. While many officials wanted to continue the war, Mo Jie was one of the few who encouraged an end to the conflict., hoping that this would bring peace back to the Liang Dynasty. However, he was a lot less keen on the payment made to Emperor Wu of Chen to secure the peace. They were already in the red, yet here they were giving what they had to the rival emperor. But Mo Jie was ignored on the issue, as peace was more important to Emperor Wen than financial difficulties.

But the month of March 231 was not a total loss for the Liang Dynasty, as news arrived from the south about the accomplishments of the governor of Jing Province. Qin Qiao was not a man of much ambitions or skills. He was an arrogant prick, yes, and he did have some talent when it came to military matters. But at the end of the day his appointment as Governor of Jing Province seemed like a comfortable high point for his career. He could enjoy an easy life wearing good clothes all day while avoiding the trappings of the court or the dangers of the battlefield. It wasn’t that he was a coward, just that his body was weak and often left him sick, making long and arduous campaigns hard for him. And this was how Qin Qiao had been living his life since his appointment in 227. It was a good life, especially with his younger brother Qin Bolin by his side, who enjoyed this simple life just as much as Qin Qiao.

But the Commandant of Jing Province would come to disturb this idyllic lifestyle. The man who currently held the highest military position in the province was none other than Feng Yong, the eldest son of the last great Han hero Feng Zian. He had played a key role in helping Emperor Anwu gain control of the Han Dynasty in the early 210’s and had since served the Liang loyally. For his longtime services, he had been promoted to the office of Administrator of Yulin Commandery, and eventually making it to the office of Commandant, following his father’s footsteps as a military officer. Unlike his governor, Feng Yong was hardworking, caring and shrewdly competent, to the point of sometimes offending Qin Qiao’s pride.

Feng Yong pointed out that the southern barbarians controlling Jiaozhi were weakened due to a recent civil war. It might be their only chance to regain some of these territories, to accomplish the dream of the late Pan Zheng. At first, the Qin brothers were dismissive of the idea. If Pan Zheng couldn’t do it after three attempts, why would they risk themselves doing the same? But over the next weeks, Feng Zian managed to rile up the officials of Jing Province with his idea of a southern campaign. Thanks to Mo Jie’s reforms, they now had their own army to act as they pleased, and the mints they controlled would allow the financing of a long campaign. And at the end of the day, Qin Qiao’s ego got the better of him. If he succeeded, he would cement his legacy as one of the best generals in the Liang Dynasty’s history. And all he needed to do was lead an easy campaign south. Yes, that sounded doable.

So just as Xu Chu launched his war against the Chen Dynasty, Qin Qiao declared his intention to attack the Kingdom of Jiaozhi and regain what was rightful Chinese lands. And to his credit, he dedicated himself fully to this task (though he left a lot of the work to Feng Yong and his other advisors). He led a series of successful battles, refusing to leave command to anyone else. As Xu Chu was being destroyed in the Chen Dynasty, Qin Qiao was defeating the barbarian royal army in a heroic victory, using the exact same charge that led to Xu Chu’s capture and death. And in the early months of 231, the Jing army finally managed to reach the southern coast. The sight of the sea was cheered by the soldiers, and it is said that many wept tears at their accomplishment. Out of genuine piety and loyalty, Qin Qiao ordered two funerary tablets for Emperor Anwu and Chancellor Pan Zheng. He ordered half of the wealth accumulated to be offered as gifts to them, after which he and his soldiers bow down as Qin Qiao shouted:

“YOUR LATE MAJESTY! YOUR EXCELLENCY! IT HAS BEEN DONE! LONG LIVE THE LIANG DYNASTY!”

While some wanted to continue, Qin Qiao was satisfied with the outcome and simply wanted to return home. Besides, the civil war in the Kingdom of Jiaozhi had ended with the pretender usurping the throne, leaving them with a far more competent king to face. So instead, they packed their bags and left for Jing Province, though Qin Bolin was left as the local administrator of these new conquests. The stories of these victories and of the homage done on the beach spread like wildfire. With news of this victory coming just as Emperor Wen was putting an end to the disastrous Chen campaign, it didn’t take long for Qin Qiao to become a nationwide hero, with songs and poems written about his accomplishments and his surprising sense of loyalty. He was becoming a legend.

Considering this, Emperor Wen felt forced to appoint Qin Qiao as his new Grand Commandant. Qin Qiao, while believing himself worthy of the position, surprised everyone by refusing the promotion. He didn’t want to be the man who had to fix Xu Chu’s mess. He cringed just thinking of the workload he would have to deal with. But Emperor Wen insisted, afraid that any other candidate would not have the respect of the troops. Seeing that he had no choice, Qin Qiao agreed to leave for Chang’an, where the people cheered him and the soldiers prepared him a parade. And Emperor Wen could see how Qin Qiao liked it. To the Son of Heaven, this was another Xu Chu in the making, a general forced upon him against his will. And to see a subordinate outshine him like that made his blood boil of jealousy. He would need to deal with Qin Qiao before he too tried to usurp his throne, that damn “hero”…

Already, Emperor Wen was trying to counter his new Grand Commandant by appointing a new Minister of the Guard. However, this appointment proved to be extremely controversial. Instead of choosing an experienced general or official, the Emperor chose his sixteen years old nephew Huang Dunli. This was the grandson of Huang Quan, the noble general who had invited Emperor Anwu to seize Yi Province in the 200’s. For this, Huang Quan had been rewarded (among other things) with a marriage between his son Huang Yuan and Yao Ki, the future emperor’s oldest daughter. From this union was born the cruel and greedy Huang Dunli, who was trying to follow in the military footsteps of his grandfather without adhering to his moral code. And now he was an important minister thanks to good old nepotism.

In the middle of all this was an old Mo Jie, trying his best to keep his reforms from being abused or pushed aside by his many enemies. His duties were starting to weight on him, far more than even he would have thought. When he came back to Chang’an, it was with his usual idealism and hopes, trying to improve the lives of the people. But now he found himself attacked from all side, the Emperor unwilling to commit to his reforms and bureaucrats turning his ideas into administrative nightmares. This was stressful and depressing, and Mo Jie finally had enough.

Just as Qin Qiao was being made the new Grand Commandant, Mo Jie started to entertain the idea of resigning. He could just leave and go back to his old peaceful life in the province, away from court affairs. This sounded nice. But he was quickly convinced not to do so. His son Mo Duo didn’t want to abandon the luxurious lifestyle he had come to enjoy in the Capital. And besides, surely Mo Jie wouldn’t possibly force his daughter-in-law to travel such a harsh journey while pregnant. And then there was the Grand Tutor Bu Jing, who in a drunken paranoid rant told Mo Jie that he was the only thing holding his reforms together. Without him it would all fall apart. The people needed him, and he was just going to abandon them like that?

Being as caring as he was, Mo Jie could do little but agree to stay, even if he no longer had the strength to continue. Mo Jie remained as Excellency of Works, though the extra duties that came with the end of the war with Chen and the gain of new territories only made his life worst. The stress was encompassing every single one of his activities until it reached a breaking point. On the 21st of June 231, Mo Jie’s stressful lifestyle proved too much for the poor old man, and he died in his office as he was reviewing documents. He was 71. In his youth, he had fought for the freedom and happiness of the people of Liang, until he eventually came to serve the warlord Yao Shuren, who became Emperor Anwu. And then, under his successor, he became one of the most important figures at court, his reforms being one of the high points of Emperor Wen’s early reign alongside the rise of Xu Chu. In the end, he died away from his home, sad and depressed, wondering who he was helping by staying in his office all day.

As Bu Jing had predicted, Mo Jie’s reformist movement would die with him. One of his supporters named Zhou Kua would be appointed as the new Excellency of Works, but didn’t have the spine nor the interest to fight for the reforms. Emperor Wen, once again showing his lack of convictions, now endorsed Mo Jie’s opponents, ensuring that the old man’s reforms were never fully completed. Bu Jing’s efforts barely managed to stop the annulment of Mo Jie’s previous accomplishments, and even then, it might be argued that these did more harm than good. As for Mo Jie’s adopted son, he was allowed to inherit the title of Marquis of Kong, which was well enough for him. And thus ended this era of (arguably failed) reforms, which would eventually earn Emperor Wen his posthumous name of “the Civil Emperor”.

___________________________________
PS: I’d like to thank @Midnite Duke for the character of Mo Jie. I think we can all agree that he was a nice addition to the cast. His lack of communications made for some comedic moments, and he proved a man with a good heart, probably the only fully good character of the story. I might have put Jiang Xian or Yang Weili by his side once, but the former became pretty evil with time, and the later lost a lot of good guy points with his bad stint as governor and then his assassination attempt against his enemy while regent of Jing Province. Mo Jie simply wanted a place where barbarians and Chinese could live happily together, which makes is sad that he got such an unhappy end, dying stressed and depressed seeing his lifework failing around him. Rest in peace Mo Jie, you will be missed.

Mo Jie also has the distinction of the being the oldest character so far, dying at 71. And with his death, Hu Zan is now the only one of the ten characters still alive (though he had the advantage here, being 18 at the start of the story).

Sidenote, but with the death of Ren Duo, Xu Chu, Duan Zuo and Mo Jie in this chapter, well… that it’s. Emperor Anwu’s old gang that helped him unify most of China is now fully gone. The Liang now has to rely on people like Qin Qiao, Xuan Mei or Bu Jing to continue the work of this first great generation.

Although it is a shame that the Xu Clan is destroyed in relevance. Did Xu Chu have any sons or brothers?

He has sons. Funnily enough, his second son is the one to inherit the title of Duke of Shu, not the older one or the third one married to a princess. They get embroiled in a family feud that keeps the Xu Clan from being relevant in any way from this point on.

 

[Zamarak500]

231: THE LAST THREAT​

The Liang Dynasty had been pushed back thanks to the efforts of the Chen generals who had bravely defended their homeland. The threat of unification was pushed back, and the Liang emperor seemed to have no desire to continue his invasion of the Chen. In fact, Emperor Wu had happily received the envoys from the Liang, marking the first diplomatic exchange between the rival dynasties and setting the stage for the normalization of relations between the two states. And at the end of the day, the Chen could brag about its victory over its larger neighbor. Emperor Wu proudly claimed that this was the proof that the Heaven favored the Chen, that he held the Mandate of Heaven, not Emperor Wen. How else could this victory be interpreted?

However, there was still one threat menacing the Chen Dynasty: the Xianbei Confederacy. Emperor Wu’s brother-in-law was still leading a massive alliance of horsemen and tributary infantries in Qing Province, intent on retaking the lands sold by Budugen the Great to Emperor Cheng a decade ago. Although the Chen army had managed a series of victories against the Xianbeis, they had never been in a position to fight the main barbarian force led by Xibaxiong. Even with these setbacks, the Xianbei Confederacy had progressed in Qing Province, conquering many cities while Hu Zan and the other generals were occupied with fighting the Liang Dynasty. Now the situation seemed dire, with Xibaxiong on his way to annex many counties from the Chen Dynasty.

Thankfully, morale was high among the troops following last year’s spectacular results. Not only had they pushed back the Liang, but every encounter with the barbarians had resulted in a Chen victory. The troops expected nothing less than their continuous success under their great generals, most notably Hu Zan. The Grand Commandant of the Chen Dynasty had been quick to use his victories for political capital, a plan helped by the fact he was the one writing the frontline reports back to Chenguo, thus allowing him to present himself in the best of lights. Of course, he was kind enough to still mention the accomplishments of Ba Daiping and Ding Zhiguo, but he was always the hero of the story. He knew how well these tales would play at court, and he was now convinced that he would soon be able to write about his victories over Xibaxiong.

The court was also celebrating, though for a different reason. The end of the war with the Liang Dynasty also marked the first anniversary of Xiao Gou, the son of Crown Prince Xiao Gong. Xiao Gou represented the first fourth generation member of the Imperial Xiao Clan, and if things went well the potential future emperor of the Chen. His birth had been a clear sign that the Chen Dynasty was the one favored by heaven. While Emperor Wen of Liang and his brothers struggled to produce sons, Emperor Wu had three boys, with one of them having already given him a grandson. Truly, Heaven was favoring the Xiao Clan and abandoning the usurpers of the Yao Clan.

Still, with the advance of the Xianbeis in Qing Province, someone needed to go lead the defense of the region to ensure that no more territories were lost. Neither Hu Zan nor Ba Daiping wanted to lose the opportunity to lead troops against the barbarians, which left Ding Zhiguo as the one who had to abandon his command. He was just as ambitious as Hu Zan, but at the end of the day his reputation for being captured made him the perfect choice to remove from the battlefield. Besides, Ding Zhiguo had developed a nasty drinking habit as a coping mechanism for his failure and the way he was often ignored by his fellow officers. He still remained one of the greatest generals of the Chen Dynasty, just one that Hu Zan felt would be better used at the head of a fort than an army.

To replace Ding Zhiguo, Hu Zan called upon a general who had decades of experience in Qing Province. He Jintao had lived his entire life in the region and had served as the main advisor of the Tan Clan during their control of the province. His surprising loyalty to the Chen Dynasty had earned him the respect of both emperors, and he now sat as one of the elite generals of the Son of Heaven. His popularity in Qing Province also made him a great choice to reseize the initiative in the province. Surely the people would rise up against the Xianbei occupiers now that He Jintao and the Chen army were on their way. Hu Zan and Ba Daiping happily welcomed him by their side, knowing that he was a humble man who didn’t have any great ambitions like Ding Zhiguo that could outshine their role on this campaign.

In the Imperial Capital, Chancellor Xiao Bin was a lot less certain about the future of the Dynasty than his brother. Not because he believed that they would lose, of course not. The Chen army had showed that it was invincible with the right generals leading it. And with Heaven clearly on their side, the Xianbei would fold against the Chen might as had done any other enemy. No, the issue of Xiao Bin was the fact that this victory was sure to embolden the strength of the military. This would leave the likes of Hu Zan free to encroach themselves at court and start influencing imperial policies, a prospect that was unbearable for the Chancellor. He thus advised his brother to appoint new generals to command this campaign, thus spreading the glory more equally among the officers. Or at the very least, the Emperor could go command the troops instead of Hu Zan.

But Emperor Wu refused to consider this. While Hu Zan’s reports did convince the Emperor that he was right to put his trust in his Grand Commandant, his refusal was also due to the way Emperor Wu was starting to envision his government. Just like Xiao Bin, Emperor Wu was aware of the story of Xu Chu, and the way that this general had presented a threat to his monarch in the Liang. But Emperor Wu did not believe that such problem could arise in his dynasty. First of all, he was himself a military commander, ensuring him a level of loyalty from the officers that Emperor Wen was lacking. Secondly, while he trusted the generals to win the battles, he had no plans to let them anywhere near political power at court, just as he didn’t plan to let his relatives or courtiers command troops. Military and civilian affairs would be completely separated, with himself as the only bridge between the two. This way, Emperor Wu hoped to avoid problems for the future and stabilize the Chen around the person of the Emperor.

The Chen army was able to pick up new recruits as it made its way to Qing Province, ready to defeat the barbarian menace. Ba Daiping in particular was keen to take center stage in the incoming fighting, even managing to push Hu Zan into leaving him the command of the center of the army when the time came. Hu Zan didn’t care, as he would simply swoop in from the left flank and seize the day, after which he could insist on his critical role in the incoming victory. As for Ba Daiping, he was grudgingly starting to understand that his dreams of recovering the office of Grand Commandant would never become reality. Yet he still had a chance to prove that he was the better general by outshining his comrade at every turn, which hopefully would lead the Emperor to grant him some special honors deserving of his abilities.

But the Chen generals had been expecting a victory on their terms, with a battle where and when they wanted it. They didn’t count the fact that Xibaxiong would simply choose to engage them, abandoning every single one of his sieges and conquests in order to utterly crush the imperial army. This left the Xianbei Khagan with a massive army twice as large as that of the Chen. It was far bigger than what the Liang had sent against them, and this time it contained deadly horsemen from the north. Hu Zan had been afraid during the fight with the Liang that the troops might be demoralized if the Liang produced its full force. This was exactly what happened here.

No matter the efforts of the Chen generals, the battle that took place in August at Beihai would prove on of the greatest debacles in Chen history. Ba Daiping tried to break through, but the center was devastated by the Xianbei cavalry. Unlike the Liang, the Chen army had no experience fighting barbarian horsemen, which left it completely unprepared for this confrontation. Meanwhile, neither Hu Zan nor He Jintao had the time to go help Ba Daiping, as they were themselves overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Xibaxiong’s forces. To his credit, Ba Daiping managed to inflict a lot of casualties on the barbarians, but this proved far too little to ensure a victory. More than half of the Chen troops were killed in battle or captured (and then brutally executed). It was a complete defeat for the Chen army.

The Chen army suffered massive desertions following this disastrous defeat. By the end of October, it seemed that at least half of the remaining 6000 troops had fled, and it could be argued that He Jintao was the only reason that the rest stayed. But the prospect of a quick and heroic victory had now completely evaporated. Beihai had been a wake-up call for the generals, and they had awoken in the middle of a nightmare. What had happened? How could the barbarians be this powerful? And these horsemen… How could they hope to fight something like that? Hu Zan knew that they would need to regroup and rebuild, to find some strategy to win this.

Except that Xibaxiong was right on their trail, and in mid-September he forced another battle at Zhengcheng. If the Chen army had at least proven combative at Beihai, this time they would simply collapse at the first clash of weapons. He Jintao attempted to regroup the troops, but this only put him in the enemy line of fire. He would be crippled with arrows, leading him to fall from his horse and be trampled to death by the retreating Chen soldiers. Once again, more than half of the Chen troops were killed, either during their retreats or after being captured. Those that died on the battlefield were the lucky ones.

With this second defeat, Hu Zan had to tell Emperor Wu that there was no way that they could win for the moment. Emperor Wu, horrified at the news he was receiving, turned to his younger brother for advice. And Xiao Bin told him that they had no choice but to accept the loss of territories. The Empress was told to write a letter to her brother, who was informed that he could keep all the territories he had occupied. The Chen was even willing to pay him to stop, which Xibaxiong agreed to. But the Khagan still took more than what had been sold the Chen by his father Budugen. Xibaxiong the Despoiler (as he was now known) would take many territories, even cutting the Chen in two. As October started, the Chen was finally at peace. But at what cost?

Of course, many started to seek someone to blame for this debacle. They had won the civil wars; they had pushed back the Liang. So what had gone wrong? A lot of officials went for the easy target when they pointed their finger at the Empress. Changle had been advocating since day one that they surrender their territories to her brother, and here he had succeeded. Surely, she had undermined the war effort from behind! But while Emperor Wu dismissed these accusations, the fact was that her willingness to surrender had driven a wedge between the two, one that was ever more growing. On the advice of Xiao Bin, who wanted to ease anti-barbarian sentiments directed at his older brother, Emperor Wu did something he had sworn never to do: he took concubines. This was a clear show that the solid relationship between Emperor Wu and Empress Tanshihuai was collapsing, and she certainly took offense to this. While this would never result in any sons to challenge’s Changle’s children, it definitively hurt her to see her husband with other women.

But Emperor Wu’s rage was still reserved for his enemies. The defeat inflicted by Xibaxiong had been an blight on the Chen, something that needed to be correct. For the whole of October, Hu Zan and the other generals enforced a harsh conscription to rebuild the Chen military. Emperor Wu’s pride had been hurt, and now he wanted vengeance. He wanted to reclaim the lands that had been of the Chen only weeks ago, and he wanted to free the poor Chinese now subjugated by his brother-in-law. But even his most hawkish generals did not expect him to act so fast. In November, only seven weeks after the end of the war with the Xianbei Confederacy, Emperor Wu launched a new campaign to reclaim the lost lands. These were Chen lands, and he was going to take them back!

 

[Zamarak500]

231-232: THE NEXT GENERATION​

Emperor Wen was now free. He was free of Xu Chu, the Grand Commandant who had tried to usurp his power and who had bullied him ever since he took the throne. Finally, the biggest threat to the dynasty had been removed, and he could now continue his father’s work as the true heir of Emperor Anwu. He was also free of these reforms, as Mo Jie’s supporters struggled to stay unified with the old man now gone. While he had found it useful at times to align himself with these reformists to diminish the influence of Xu Chu and gain power at and influence over his court, he now saw no point to it. Instead, he chose to support those that opposed Mo Jie, dooming any hope of his reforms continuing after his death. He was free of the old generation that had served his father, these arrogant old men who looked down on him. Yes, Emperor Wen was finally free, and finally in control.

Of course, he would need to be careful if he wanted things to remain that way. He was already quite suspicious of his new Grand Commandant Qin Qiao, the hero who managed to expand southward. The Emperor was extremely jealous of the man’s accomplishments and popularity, which is why he did not give Qin Qiao any title of nobility for his accomplishment. He was the Son of Heaven! People should be praising him, not this little nobody of a governor! In private, the Emperor never missed an opportunity to bad mouth Qin Qiao, calling the man unworthy and incompetent. Of course, he never had the courage to do the same in the Grand Commandant’s presence. Even as Qin Qiao had no greater ambition, Emperor Wen saw him as nothing but a rival trying to take away his spotlight.

But if that was Qin Qiao’s goal, then he was dealt a severe blow in mid-June. On the 14th of June 231, Qin Qiao’s main military advisor Feng Yong was assassinated. The oldest son of the Han hero Feng Zian had been a key player in the recent southern campaign, even being the one pushing for it. His advices had been invaluable for Qin Qiao, yet now he was gone. So what had happened? While many theories floated around about the culprits, from the Emperor to Xu Chu’s family all the way down to the children of Yuan Shu, none of these guesses were right. Instead, the hit had been ordered by his brother Feng Guo, who served as a magistrate in the Chen Dynasty. Having always hated his brother for siding with the Liang, he had eventually decided to take his revenge by murdering Feng Yong. Sadly for him, he never learned of his successful plot, as he died of disease on the 15th of June 231, one day apart from his brother. Both brothers left two sons behind to continue the Feng Clan in their respective dynasties.

Good news did come to the Liang Dynasty, as by the end of the month the rebellion of Hansheng was finally crushed. The rebel had managed to hole himself in the mountains between Bing and You Province for almost a year now. Some were starting to worry that he might build himself as a local bandit power, like Zhang Yan and his Black Mountain Bandits three decades ago. He certainly had the ambition to do so, since the Liang Dynasty didn’t seem interested in welcoming him as one of their officials. His rebels were starting to gain traction too, and had he been left alone Hansheng would have certainly established himself as an independent power.

But the Liang Dynasty did not let him be. While the Liang military had been left in shambles after the defeat they suffered against the Chen, it still remained a potent force. While it now lacked great military commanders like Xu Chu, it still had some decent generals like Qin Qiao or Jin Xuan, Emperor Wen’s first chancellor. It was the latter who would be charged of defeating Hansheng, a task that took him multiple months and a lot of efforts. Jin Xuan was able to finally defeat the rebels for two reasons. First of all, he proved relentless in his advance, never leaving Hansheng a minute to breathe. This aggressive tactic, which was right out of Xu Chu’s playbook, proved quite useful against the rebels. Secondly, Jin Xuan tried to reach to the populace and alleviate their fears. He was lenient toward rebels who abandoned Hansheng and promised to help the local communities. This was how in early July, Emperor Wen received a letter informing him that the rebellion had been crushed and Hansheng executed.

With the border between Bing and You Province now secured, it was time once again for Xuan Mei to try and invade You Province! Because the last three times had gone so well. But Xuan Mei now had a trump card, or at least this was how he saw it. His family was deeply married into the imperial clan, first by the marriage of his brother and now by the betrothal of his son. Clearly the Emperor would take his side when the time came. After all, Emperor Wen needed allies, and he was not going to throw away his alliance with the powerful Xuan Clan, right? And with Mo Jie’s reforms, the Governor of Bing Province now had far more power, enough so that the Emperor would surely think twice before opposing him. Confident that this time would be the right one, Xuan Mei launched his conquest of You Province at the end of July.

The Chancellor Pan Yi, who was also the Inspector of You Province, immediately requested that the Emperor censor Xuan Mei and kick him out of the imperial bureaucracy. But Emperor Wen proved hesitant and unwilling to commit to the idea. It turned out that Xuan Mei had been right. Emperor Wen wished to conserve his new alliance with Xuan Mei, who he hoped would prove an easily controllable ally. And if keeping him satisfied meant allowing him to launch his little invasion, then so be it. For the first time, Emperor Wen would not intervene in the affairs of Xuan Mei, allowing him to finally wage the campaign he had always sought after.

Needless to say, Pan Yi was furious. Quoting his “old age”, he resigned as Chancellor in August in order to return to his province. His appointment had been as a deterrent against Xuan Mei, to convince him not to attack You Province. But now that Emperor Wen favored the hunchback, it was clear that Pan Yi no longer had a place at court. Better leave now than wait to be assassinated once that brat of an emperor decided that he was too much trouble. Pan Yi would leave Chang’an to fight Xuan Mei, planning to stop the Emperor’s “new best friend” from taking the province that had been given to him by Emperor Anwu.

With Pan Yi’s demission, Emperor Wen now had to appoint a new Chancellor. Some suggested that he could reappoint Jin Xuan, whose recent victory against the rebels seemed to convince some that he was a good choice for the office. But Emperor Wen didn’t like this idea at all. He already had Qin Qiao to handle and didn’t want another general ordering him around. Others suggested that he should call upon the Crown Prince Yao Xiu. It was known that the Chen Chancellor was the brother of the Chen Emperor, with the two of them forming an exceptional team that shined throughout the Chen Dynasty. Surely something like that could be achieved in the Liang too. But Emperor Wen, in a fit of jealousy, responded that the officials seemed really interested in the Chen, and that he would be happy to send them there. And besides, there was no way he was going to bring his brother back to the Capital, not while he was doing such a great job in Liang Province. Finally, someone suggested the Excellency of the Masses Lu Yu. He had played a key role in ruining Mo Jie’s reforms and now stood as one of the most powerful men at court. Which is exactly why Emperor Wen didn’t give him more power, as he could see that Lu Yu was far too ambitious and dangerous.

In the end, it was Empress Pan who came with a solution. She started to “suggest” that maybe her brother Pan Zhiyuan could be a good candidate. The head of the Pan Clan was known for being quite charismatic, although he lacked talent in anything else. In order words: a puppet to speak for Emperor Wen. His wife whispers certainly enticed him to the idea. And in the end, Empress Pan was able to convince her husband with one simple argument: it would make him just like the late emperor. Emperor Anwu had Pan Zheng as his chancellor, and now Emperor Wen would have Pan Zhiyuan. The sons continuing their father’s work. The simple thought of the propaganda he could make out of this was enough for Emperor Wen to immediately summon Pan Zhiyuan to the capital.

At the time, Pan Zhiyuan was serving as a magistrate in Yi Province, where he had proven to be hardworking and caring for the people of his county. He had been allowed to inherit the title of Marquis of Yi after his father’s passing, and his last act at court had been to successfully add his sister to the then Crown Prince Yao Yuan’s harem. Now that she was empress, the Empress wanted to pay back this favor and use her brother to solidify her own position at court. When he arrived, Pan Zhiyuan showed a lot of arrogance, though he quickly started to cower once he was faced with the Emperor, who would later describe his brother-in-law as a “spineless cowering prick”. It was during this court audience that Emperor Wen appointed Pan Zhiyuan as his new Chancellor, allowing him to inherit the office that his father had also received twelve years previously.

The appointment of Pan Zhiyuan raised a lot of alarm bells among the officials. The Empress’s brother being appointed Chancellor and amassing power at court? Anyone who had studied the history of the Han knew that this was exactly what had doomed it over the last century, as powerful imperial kins accumulated powers through the empresses and weakened the Sons of Heaven. The Grand Tutor Bu Jing voiced his opposition in a petition to the throne, warning the Emperor “to avoid the trappings of familial kinship and instead favor worthy men of righteous origins.” Crown Prince Yao Xiu was immediately ticked off by the potential power that the Pan Clan could gain at court. He wrote a letter to his brother, advising Emperor Wen to recall him to the Capital to assist him instead of relying on untested in-laws.

Emperor Wen might have bent against their demands (and Heaven knows that Pan Zhiyuan was ready to resign and go back to Yi Province) had it not been for the Minister of the Guard. Huang Dunli was quick to use his new position to arrest some problematic officials to stop them from pushing too hard. Being the nephew of the Emperor, he had every reason to support the promotion of relatives in the high spheres of the government. Showing his dark tendencies, he managed to convince his uncle that a few officials needed to be purged from court. Fearful of loosing any power, Emperor Wen agreed, which led to the torture of a dozen of officials, with Huang Dunli using this as a pretext to confiscate their wealth and seize it for himself. Emperor Wen lauded his nephew for his loyalty and initiative. What a hero.

The rest of the year saw the court stabilizing following the changes and death that had happened over the year. Mo Jie’s opponents had won, though some of his supporters like the Grand Tutor Bu Jing or the Excellency of Works Zhou Kua still remained to ensure that the victors did not get too powerful. Qin Qiao was still hailed as a hero, though other than celebrating he proved a lot less active than Xu Chu or any previous Grand Commandant, neither overseeing the equipment nor forcing the troops to perform drills in order to stay combat ready. Really, the man just enjoyed the pageantry of the office without giving much thought to the duties. Huang Dunli was proving a vicious Minister of the Guards, hated by officials for his recent purge and the clear nepotism behind his appointment.

But more than anything, the rise of the Pan Clan was being felt. Pan Zhiyuan, for all his faults, was an excellent orator. Those that had once served under his father were quick to rekindle with the son. And while he didn’t have much spine, he could always count for the Empress’s support. Unlike her brother, Empress Pan was willing to push her ideas without backing down. And she had idea. She was smart, and would probably have been her father’s favorite had she been a boy (and had Pan Zheng ever cared about his children). She was well learned and understood military and financial affairs far better than her brother or husband. In fact, Pan Zhiyuan would be as much her creature as that of Emperor Wen, a fact that would only become clear with time. This gain in power was shown to everyone when in 232, Pan Zhiyuan was made the Governor of Kong Province, the office having been left empty following Mo Jie’s death.

While all seemed well at court, one problem started to rise in the provinces. More precisely, spies were bringing worrying news from Ji Province that troubled the court. The province had been seized by Zhao Yun in 227 after overthrowing the previous governor. This illegal act had been harshly punished by the Emperor (at the insistence of then Chancellor Gan Mian and the Empress). Zhao Yun had been censored, thus excluding him of the imperial bureaucracy. Well… except for the fact that Emperor Wen had allowed him to stay as Governor of Ji Province, thus defeating the purpose. At the time, the excuse had been that he needed Zhao Yun as a potential rival for Xu Chu.

Well now Xu Chu was dead and Zhao Yun was amassing weapons and acting as if Ji Province was his own little fiefdom. Even with Qin Qiao being an issue for the Emperor, Zhao Yun’s continued freedom had become intolerable. After a meeting with his Excellency of the Masses Lu Yu, Emperor Wen was informed in January that Zhao Yun spoke badly of the Son of Heaven in private, which could be interpreted as a sign of disloyalty if wished so. In a weird reversal of his usual behavior, Emperor Wen suggested to his advisor that they use these “proofs” to arrest Zhao Yun and bring him on trial. But most of the court, headed by Chancellor Pan Zhiyuan, was against the idea, a complete switch from the usual relationship between the Emperor and his officials. They feared that it would plunge the Dynasty in a civil war. Understanding their worries, Emperor Wen simply informed Zhao Yun that he had proofs that could be used against him if he did not behave.

But behave he did not. All this did was convince the old general that he needed to act before it was too late. Zhao Yun had never truly accepted his forced submission to the Liang Dynasty. Ever since seizing Ji Province, he had been hoping to use it to take revenge against the family of Emperor Anwu, the monster who executed most of the Liu Imperial Clan. Emperor Wen had proven to be a weak and incompetent ruler, undeserving of the Mandate of Heaven. The Yao Clan had no honor, no right to rule. With a Han restauration now off the table, Zhao Yun decided to do the next best thing: he decided that he would overthrow the Liang and replace it with his own dynasty. With the Imperial Court leaving him alone to prepare, he was finally ready to rise up in April 234, with the ultimate goal of becoming emperor. Thus started the first civil war in the Liang Dynasty’s history.

 

[Zamarak500]

231-233: RECLAIMING WHAT IS OURS​

Emperor Wu had decided that he would not let go of the lands he just lost in Qing Province. Yes, he had been defeated by his brother-in-law, and yes, the Chen army was in shamble. But over the last month they had all worked hard to rebuild and reorganize. While some of his advisors suggested that they needed more time to restore the Chen military to its full strength, Emperor Wu wanted this dealt with as soon as possible, as fast as possible. For him, it was simply impossible to accept the idea that he had lost these territories he had inherited from his father. With the Chen Dynasty now split, Emperor Wu was convinced that it would only be a matter of time before his state was conquered, unless he went on the offensive.

His campaign already ran into problems when he assembled his generals to decide the strategies that they would use against the Xianbeis. He wanted to reuse the trio of Hu Zan, Ba Daiping and Ding Zhiguo. But one of them never showed up. Instead, it was a mourning Xiao Cha who heeded her brother’s summon, informing him that her husband had passed away three weeks ago at the age of 58. Ding Zhiguo had started his career in Xu Province under the Tao Clan, playing a key role in the province’s administration in the 210’s. He then became one of the most accomplished generals of the Chen Dynasty, though his career was often plagued with bad luck. Still, he managed to become a national hero for his role in defeating the Liang invasion, and his death was lamented by many at court. Emperor Wu was distraught at this development. Only a few months ago he had lost He Jintao, and now he found himself without Ding Zhiguo. His great generals were disappearing one after the other, just when he needed them the most.

But more important than the growing number of dead officers was one massive problem that Emperor Wu seemingly missed when he declared war: Xibaxiong had never left. His entire horde of horsemen was still camping in the conquered territories. The Despoiler had first wanted to enforce his authority over the Chinese locals and force them into submission, a task he expected to be done with by the end of the year. Xibaxiong was thus quite surprised and confused when he heard that the Chen Dynasty was going on the offensive. He even sent an envoy to Chenguo with a letter for his sister (which did nothing to help Changle’s situation at court). In it, he joyfully wrote: “It seems that your weak southern husband wants to kill himself. I am unsurprised that this soft weakling owns no sword to do the deed, so I will happily provide him with mine when I finally meet him.”

The Chancellor Xiao Bin wasn’t keen on this war. He knew that the Chen wasn’t ready to attack the Xianbei Confederacy, and more importantly, he worried that someone might take advantage of the weakness of the Dynasty to increase their power and influence. So while he couldn’t stop his brother from launching his campaign, he was able to eliminate one potential threat from the inside by removing Ren Duo from his commandery. The former Excellency of the Masses had been the most powerful man in the Chen during the late reign of Emperor Cheng, and in an attempt to return to these heights had joined Ba Daiping’s revolt in 228. He had been one of the few rebels to advice the general against making peace with Emperor Wu, which is why he stayed on the Chancellor’s radar ever since. The fact that Ren Duo’s son was married to Xiao Hanhe’s daughter did nothing to appease the Chancellor. Fearing that this snake might use the current situation to his advantage, Xiao Bin had him removed from his office. Emperor Cheng’s right-hand man was relegated to a comfortable exile on the coast, where he would die in 242 from a cancer at the age of 59.

Meanwhile, Ba Daiping found himself the fastest general when it came to being ready. While Hu Zan had been occupied with his duties as Grand Commandant, Ba Daiping had simply stayed ready for the eventuality of a new campaign. This explained how he managed to be ready this fast, and why he was given command of the first army that was sent into the conquered territories while Hu Zan stayed behind at court to organize the details of the campaign. Ba Daiping could only smile at this prospect. He was given a chance to shine, and this time without Hu Zan to share in the glory (and to distort the facts once the battle was won). Now was his time to shine!

By his side was the new generation of officers, the men that would one day replace the aging generation of elite generals that had so far carried the Chen Dynasty. The first of these officers was Chen Gongwei, whose career so far was mostly summarized as “the guy who didn’t get captured when Ding Zhiguo lost his battles”. Of course, he despised this reputation, which wasn’t helped by his harsh treatment of the troops under his command. Chen Gongwei now worked hard to build a new reputation as a solid commander, though only the future would tell if this worked. The other commander was one of Emperor Wu’s growing favorites, the trustworthy Liu Derun. The first scion of the Han to abandon his titles out of loyalty for the Chen, Liu Derun had since served as a courageous, kind and sociable general, beloved by both his men and his emperor. He did not question orders, he acted with upmost loyalty and was always willing to do what was asked of him. What could the Chen Dynasty ask more out of this loyal general?

Of course, by the time they showed up on the border between the Xianbei Confederacy and the Chen, Xibaxiong had already been pillaging the border villages. While Ba Daiping desperately wanted a win, he knew that he didn’t have the troops to challenge the Xianbei Khagan. Instead, he made his way toward the coast, which he hoped to follow to avoid confrontation. Reports from his scouts indicated that attrition and bad supply were hurting the Xianbei army. With some luck, the horsemen might ruin themselves if left alone, which would eventually make then too weak to fight the Chen soldiers. Of course, this plan would be null if the tributaries arrived before the Chen could swoop in to attack. This was a risky plan, banking on chance and timing far too much for the general’s liking. But then again, what other option did he have?

Not that any of this mattered, as Xibaxiong had no intention to let the Chinese army roam free in his newly conquered territories. As soon as he learned of the approaching Chen force, the Despoiler abandoned what he was doing and ordered his horde to ride back to their new territories. They eventually intercepted Ba Daiping and his troops in March 232 next to Chunyu, the city that had once been Hu Zan’s first appointment between 191 and 193. The Battle of Chunyu was a complete disaster for the Chen army. As some had feared, it was completely unprepared for a new conflict with the Xianbeis. It had deployed 20,000 men against the invader the previous year, yet this had done little to stop them. With only 8000 men, Ba Daiping had no chance. Not only that, but Xibaxiong was proving to be one of the great military leaders of his age, and his personal command of the horsemen allowed him to kill two thirds of the Chen army.

Ba Daiping and his officers did manage to organize a retreat, but this didn’t mean much considering the massive losses suffered at Chunyu. In returning to the Chen Dynasty, the retreating army ran into reinforcements, led by Hu Zan and Emperor Wu. The Emperor had decided to accompany his Grand Commandant on this campaign, wanting to show that he was his brother-in-law’s superior when it came to military command. Of course, this didn’t mean that he didn’t rely heavily on Hu Zan as always. The Grand Commandant was effectively in command of the campaign, with Emperor Wu only occasionally butting in. With these two now in charge, Ba Daiping was relegated to the massive officer corps that accompanied them, which included the likes of Yang Qub, son of Yang Weili and a key advisor of the Emperor, Liu Bojing, the Marquis of Xiacai, and Xue Tang, Hu Zan’s protégé.

But this amount of talent by their side would accomplish little when they barely had five thousand men under their command. And when Xibaxiong arrived in late April, he simply fell upon the Chen army and started the slaughter. While each commander was efficient in his duties, it also meant that they needed to communicate far more than necessary in order to coordinate. Once again, any soldier that fell into the hands of the Xianbei was put to death, as Xibaxiong had no clemency to offer the weak southerners. Emperor Wu and Hu Zan, afraid that this might turn into a deathtrap, had no choice but to retreat before they lost everything. They tried their best to save as many men as they could, but in the end only 1500 men were left under their command. In the span of a single month, the Chen Dynasty had managed to lose almost 9000 soldiers.

But these weren’t the only losses that the Dynasty suffered, as two generals also perished during the Battle of Zhencheng. First was the Marquis of Xincai, Liu Bojing. An officer that had been singled out by Emperor Cheng as a man with a bright future ahead of him, he seemed destined to rise to the highest offices in the Dynasty. Yet as he was overseeing the retreat he was spotted by a subordinate Khan and killed with a spear through the chest, leaving him impaled on his horse and unable to stop himself from bleeding to death at the age of 35. The other loss was that of Yang Qub, who died in the early staged of the battle. A straight arrow hit his horse. Panicking, the mount threw its rider on the ground, which made him an easy prey for the Xianbei cavalry. Yang Qub died at the age of 34. He had been the first Excellency of Works of the Chen Dynasty and a loyal ally of Emperor Wu, serving on his council since he took the imperial throne in 226. These two men were in the prime of their lives and seemed to be destined for more, yet their lives were cut short by this gruesome campaign that was turning into a debacle.

The following months saw the Chen army disorganized and struggling to find cohesion after two quick defeats. Emperor Wu did try to regroup, but he was keenly aware that he needed time and troops to rebuild his forces. Meanwhile, the Xianbeis were free to advance into the Chen once more, pillaging and destroying villages and towns. They seized what they could and killed who they wanted. In fact, many small pockets of troops had been left strayed from the main army. These poor soldiers were picked off one by one during the spring and the summer, as neither Emperor Wu nor Hu Zan had any way of coming to their help without risking the safety of the main army. This was a gruesome time to live in the Chen Dynasty, and these deaths would weight on Emperor Wu’s mind for the rest of his life, knowing full well that these were all due to his own hubris.

In the end, something had to be done before things fell out of control. Ba Daiping managed to convince Emperor Wu that they needed to achieve some sort of victory before it was too late. That way they might boost morale and allow the soldiers to regain some confidence. Emperor Wu agreed, though he left Hu Zan in charge of a new recruitment and the defense of the Dynasty. They needed another general to help, with Chen Gongwei eventually volunteering to accompany the Emperor on this attempt to save this campaign. They didn’t have much under their command, barely 2600 men. But that’s all they could spare for this, so it would have to do.

Ba Daiping suggested that they strike at some of the tributary armies that had arrived during the summer. They lacked the powerful step horsemen of Xibaxiong, often being made of underequipped infantry troops. Even better, they were often small forces of two to four thousand men, which they should be able to handle easily as long as they used strategy. This seemed like a good plan, except for the fact that Xibaxiong had posted horsemen regiment close to his tributaries in case the Chen tried this exact maneuver. So when Ba Daiping and Emperor Wu struck at an army from Gogureyo, they were soon beset by Xianbei horsemen who came to reinforce their allies. This defeat in August was followed by a rout, which was followed by another defeat at the end of the month. And just like that, this little expedition had failed spectacularly, with Emperor Wu frustrated and distraught at the number of casualties.

By that point, someone came forward with an idea that didn’t imply sending their remaining troops to their death against the Xianbei. Xue Tang, Hu Zan’s protégé, suggested to the Emperor that they instead redirect their troops toward defending their territories. It was of course going to be a temporary solution, as he knew that Hu Zan wanted to win a battlefield victory against the Xianbei and he himself angled to gain from such victory. But for the time being they needed to solidify and regroup. What was the point of recruiting new conscripts if they would need replacement in a month? Emperor Wu agreed with this defensive plan, and for the rest of the year the Chen army was on the defensive. In following meetings with Hu Zan, Emperor Wu praised Xue Tang, telling his longtime mentor and friend that he had made the right choice in supporting Xue Tang’s career.

But tensions were also rising among the officers, either due to various opinions on how to continue the war or because some had more influence than others. The most heated of these disputes was between Ba Daiping and Ding Gongsi. Ba Daiping simply felt that Ding Gongsi no longer had the right to a place by the Emperor’s side, especially not in a military camp. This was because Ding Gongsi had lost his eyesight due to a terrible infection, leaving him completely blind. What general could lead troops while being blind? Even worst, he still held a key position as an Imperial Councilor of the Emperor. Really, the only reason he was still around was because of his longtime support and because his daughter was married to Crown Prince Gong. Ding Gongsi did not take well to these criticisms, often criticizing Ba Daiping’s lack of restrain and never missing an occasion to remind everyone that the general had once led a rebellion against the Emperor.

In February 233, the Chen army had been reorganized enough that it could at least try to slow down the Xianbei horde. Xibaxiong was in the process of making a big push, and it was decided by Hu Zan and Emperor Wu that they needed to stop it. Sadly for the Chen, this would prove the last nail in the coffin for this campaign. While they had regained some of their numbers and positioned themselves on a hill, it was still not enough to fight the powerful northern horsemen. Xibaxiong, fully aware that his enemies didn’t have the manpower to cover every single angle of the battlefield, was able to launch a daunting raid on their rear during the fighting. This led to the capture of many soldiers, most of the supply and equipment of the Chen, and perhaps more importantly, to the capture of Hu Zan. The Grand Commandant found himself prisoner of the Despoiler, with his fate uncertain after the Xianbei victory on the field of battle. He was eventually able to explain how valuable he was to the Chen, how they could get a lot more from keeping him alive than killing him. After much hesitation, Xibaxiong chose not to execute the old general, though he did expect a hefty amount of gold to arrive soon if Hu Zan wanted to keep his head.

After this debacle, Emperor Wu decided that he couldn’t wait for Hu Zan’s release. He needed a Grand Commandant now, at least until his old mentor was freed and returned to his office. And it seemed that the only viable candidate was Ba Daiping. While the battle had been a complete failure, the old general had managed to shine as a hero, even going as far as killing a Khan in duel. If someone could bring back morale to the troops, it was Ba Daiping. The general smiled when he was offered the position. After years, he was finally back at the top. While his smile faded when he was informed that this was only until Hu Zan could return, it still gave him an opportunity to show Emperor Wu that he was more deserving of the position than his fellow officer.

But this didn’t change the disastrous situation of the campaign. After another quick skirmish in March that also ended up the defeat of the Chen army, Emperor Wu had to come to the conclusion that his efforts were doomed. With his brother Xiao Bin writing him that the Dynasty needed to recover or it might find itself terminally weakened, Emperor Wu sent most of his treasury to Xibaxiong in exchange of peace, his envoys going as far as begging the Khagan to accept. The Despoiler quickly agreed, happy to see his brother-in-law humiliate himself in such a way. Emperor Wu was quickly informed that the war was over, but he could not bring himself to celebrate. In front of his troops, he gave a heartfelt speech where he asked for their forgiveness. He asked them to forgive his failure to lead them, his failure to hold their homes from barbarian control. And he promised to them that one day, he would bring them back to their homes. That one day, they would make the Chen Dynasty whole again.

 

[Zamarak500]

233: LAST STAND​

Emperor Wu’s campaign had been a complete disaster. Thousands had died in his attempt to retake the lands conquered by the Xianbei, only for him to come back without any result to show for it. The Chen military was decimated and the coffers had suffered a massive blow due to the payment he had to send to Xibaxiong to secure peace. The Dynasty had suffered a great blow, and his ego had been the only cause of this. Had he not tried to reclaim those territories immediately after loosing them, there would have been no difference. No, it would have been better. He had been impatient, he had been arrogant, and he had been wrong. It reminded him of his father, a dark thought that he quickly chased from his mind. He now understood that he needed to be patient, and more importantly, he needed to listen to his advisors far more to ensure that this sort of event did not happen again.

Of course, this was going to be difficult when one of his main advisors was absent from court. Hu Zan had been captured in February by Xibaxiong, and there had been no news from him since. In the meantime, his lands and titles were managed by his two remaining adult sons, as Emperor Wu’s son-in-law Hu Weizhi had sadly died in 228 from and infected wound. The oldest of the two was Hu Jingxuan. The 32 years old man was well known from court, having passed the Imperial Exam with bravo and proving to be hardworking and sociable. He was also courageous, well built and seemed to wish to follow his father’s career in the military. Hu Zan had certainly approved of this, and had been indicating that he wished for Hu Ah to inherit his Marquisate and other honors upon his death instead of his grandsons from his first son, the unfilial Hu Da.

But Hu Jingxuan was not the one being officially in charge of his father’s regency. That honor went to Hu Zan’s fourth son, Hu Ah. Everyone could agree that of all the old general’s children, Hu Ah was the most gifted. He was the one to inherit his father’s intelligence. He was an extremely well learned man, who understood court politics and imperial affairs with ease. Had Hu Ah had any great ambitions, he might have proven quite the challenge for Xiao Bin, and it would not be hard to imagine him one day becoming Chancellor of the Chen. But Hu Ah would refuse such appointment. He was paranoid of offers of the sort, which is why he never did the Imperial Exams like his brother. Instead, he cynically commented on the affairs at court, which never impressed him much. And then there was the reason why Hu Zan had never made him his heir: he hated warfare and was afraid of the battlefield. Hu Zan simply couldn’t accept an heir that wasn’t a military officer like he was. Well… that and Hu Ah’s mental problems, having violent outbursts had random times that made it hard to deal with him on a regular basis.

The brothers were quickly contacted by the Chancellor Xiao Bin, which was strange considering the well-known animosity between their father and the Chancellor. The prince suggested that maybe it was better for their father… not to return. Surely, these funds could be put to better use elsewhere. And if Hu Zan was never to return, there would surely be ample opportunities for promotions for the Hu brothers, with Xiao Bin hinting that a few commanderies might find themselves available for them if this happened. And surely the Emperor would reward his mentor’s sons with titles of nobility. Hu Jingxuan was infuriated at this idea and told the Chancellor to forget it. Meanwhile, Hu Ah responded to Xiao Bin that all he needed to do now was convinced their younger brother Hu Du to betray his father. It shouldn’t be hard, considering that Hu Du had been born on the exact day that their father was captured and so had never met him. Xiao Bin realized his error in trying to convince Hu Zan’s sons and backed off. Hu Jingxuan and Hu Ah used their father’s massive wealth to pay a ransom for him, and Hu Zan was back at court by the last days of April 233.

Following the second defeat against the Xianbei, there was a clear anti-barbarian sentiment emerging among the officialdom. Even if Emperor Wu was a tolerant man who did not hold any personal disdain for foreigner, he found himself pressured to “free” his court from foreign influence. This was most notably exemplified by the exile of the Buddhist barbarian from the West who had served as Excellency of the Masses since Emperor Wu took the throne. He was replaced by the far less competent, but far more Chinese Bei Mea. It was the second time that Bei Mea found himself replacing a far better man, having previously replaced the late Luo An as Excellency of Works during the reign of Emperor Cheng.

But there was one person that Emperor Wu refused to depart from, and that was Empress Tanshihuai. Her presence was easily the most offensive to the Chinese courtiers, considering that it was her brother that had been destroying the Chen Dynasty. This was made even worse by the fact that Xibaxiong had taken the habit of always writing to his sister instead of the Chen court or the Emperor as a clear slight against his brother-in-law. This made it look like the Empress was conspiring with her brother, with Xiao Bin eventually ordering the Empress’s private letters opened and read before they were given to her.

This invasion of privacy was deeply hurtful for the Empress, though it was nothing compared to the fact that her husband now had Chinese concubines he spent times with (though one was funnily enough the daughter of a Sinicized barbarian). Even so, Emperor Wu continued to show his public support for his wife. After a series of harsh petition requesting that he dispose of his empress, Emperor Wu stood up and angrily asked his court who would be the Crown Prince then? Clearly it wouldn’t do to keep the son of a deposed empress as the heir. It would be unfitting. This killed the discussion in an instant. The fact was that the three princes (Xiao Gong, Xiao Dan and Xiao Zenguang) were all born of Changle, so any other candidate than these three might be interpreted as treason.

Still, it wasn’t like the three princes were great options either. Xiao Gong, for all his efforts to follow in his father’s footsteps, had proven unimpressive and somewhat disappointing. While he remained Crown Prince by virtue of being the eldest and already having a son of his own, Emperor Wu sometimes worried that his son was not ready for the job, even as he had spent the last seven years gaining experience as a magistrate away from court. The fact that Emperor Wu had yet to recall the Crown Prince said a lot about the Son of Heaven’s belief in the young man’s abilities. Though in Xiao Gong’s defense, some of the terrible reports that were coming from his county were not his fault, but that of his wife Crown Princess Ding. The young woman was ambitious, greedy and wanted the easy life that should come with her position. And if she was this bad now, one could only wonder what damage she would do once she was empress.

But Xiao Gong’s brothers weren’t any better. The second son Xiao Dan had started somewhat promisingly, a decent student who took care of his appearance and had a keen sense of justice. However, he was the son who resembled his mother the most, which came with a lot of prejudice at court. Even worse, he developed clear mental problems in his teens, similar to what his uncle Xiao Cang was suffering from in his exile. Some argued that this madness came from his barbarian blood, but this was more likely due to a predisposition to mental illness within the Xiao Clan. This left only Xiao Zenguang, the youngest of the three. At fifteen, he was a hardworking and honest young man who was well liked at court and studious. If there was any potential replacement for Xiao Gong, it was Xiao Zenguang. But then the younger prince would start suffering from leprosy in his early adult years, which shut the door on his potential succession. After all, nobody wanted a lepper emperor.

These were all things that Emperor Wu had to take into account to rebuild his dynasty. But other problems would make these worries insignificant. One of the reasons he had launched his campaign was because he was afraid of what would happen with the Chen Dynasty split in two, fearful of the dangers this represented. Sadly, he would quickly be proven right. Bohai Commandery now stood apart from the rest of the Dynasty, just as its administrator Yuan Rei was coming of age. Now old enough to rule himself, he quickly dispensed of the regents he previously had an surrounded himself with new officials. And these officials convinced him that he needed to show how essential he was to the Chen Dynasty by expanding it. If he did that, then Emperor Wu would see that Yuan Rei was just the man that the Chen needed to recover from its current low point.

And Yuan Rei had the perfect target in mind. On the most northern border of the Chen (and thus of Bohai Commandery) was not the Liang Dynasty, but a small chieftain named Jiang Bofang. His father Jiang Qinming had adopted the Tengri faith and declared himself a High Chief instead of an Administrator in order to endear himself to Budugen the Great, to who he was paying tributes. Jiang Qinming died in 230, and his son now ruled his little domain of Youbeiping. Eliminating Jiang Bofang would expand the Chen Dynasty north and be a boon for the Chen. Yuan Rei thus used his freedom from Chenguo thanks to the division of the Chen to declare war on Jiang Bofang in May.

But what Yuan Rei seemed to miss was the close relationship between Jiang Bofang and the Xianbei Confederacy. The panicked High Chief quickly sent envoys to Xibaxiong, pleading the Khagan for his help against the invading Chinese. The Despoiler then turned around with a smile and declare that this brazen attack from Yuan Rei was a breach of the peace that had only recently been negotiated with the Chen, thus rendering it null and void. And what overlord would Xibaxiong be if he didn’t respond? So only two months after peace had been agreed, the Despoiler decided to attack the Chen Dynasty out of retaliation for the actions of Yuan Rei, even though Emperor Wu had nothing to do with this. And this time, Xibaxiong didn’t seek lands or a single payment for the peace. No, he planned to make the Chen Dynasty a permanent tributary, subordinate to his authority.

While the Grand Commandant Ba Daiping had worked hard to rebuild the military (until he was replaced by a returning Hu Zan as Emperor Wu had said he would), the Chen was nowhere near ready to fight. Changle was especially afraid for her husband, and advised him to accept the position of tributary for now. But the Emperor was completely opposed to the idea. The Xiao Imperial Clan was far too prideful to agree to submit to the Xianbei’s authority, and the generals like Ba Daiping refused to bow down to the Despoiler without a fight. They might lose. They would probably lose. But they were going to try their hardest to win this. Changle, seeing the overwhelming opposition to her idea from her husband and the courtiers, quickly backtracked and excused herself.

Of course, Hu Zan would be in charge of this campaign. The Grand Commandant also had Ba Daiping by his side, to command the center during the incoming struggle with the Xianbei horde. While the two men didn’t get along and were rival for the position of Grand Commandant, the fact was that they worked well together. And besides, who else could Hu Zan count upon to command the center of his army? Ba Daiping was the best offensive general at the Chen Dynasty’s disposal, and there was no one else Hu Zan could count on to challenge the Xianbei in drive and determination.

With them was a new face among the officer corps, though he had an extensive military career to make up for it. The 65 years old Xue Fang had recently been promoted as one of the top generals of the Chen Dynasty. The father of Xue Tang, Hu Zan’s protégé, Xue Fang had served many masters over his long career, most notably Cao Cao and the Cao Army. When Dong Commandery was conquered by the Chen, he quickly pledged his loyalty to the Dynasty. Ever since, he had been in charge of border defense, thus never participating in the major battles that had rocked the Chen Dynasty over the last five years. But with his son now being noticed by the Emperor, Xue Fang’s career immediately rose as well. His loyalty, sense of honor and humility endeared him to the Emperor, though Hu Zan was slightly worried about the old man’s ambitious nature. Still, this was one great general that the Chen now had at its disposal, and Hu Zan was not going to miss an opportunity to use him.

By the end of the summer, Hu Zan had been able to put together a respectable army of 10,000 men. Nothing to laugh at in normal circumstances. Yet against the massive forces of Xibaxiong, it was a laughable number. But Hu Zan had one advantage this time. He hadn’t spent his imprisonment idly waiting for his release. He had kept an eye open, no matter the bad treatment he had received at the hand of his captors. Sometimes, he forced himself to avoid sleep in order to look at the troops. He remembered their numbers, their composition, their formations. The Chen might not have the numbers, but at least he could guarantee that the Xianbei would be unable to pull any surprise in the incoming confrontation.

In October, Hu Zan and the Chen army were finally faced with the enemy. But to their surprise, it was not the whole horde, but a smaller vanguard, one actually smaller than what the Chen military had fielded to stop it. Hu Zan quickly put his strategy in place, forcing the Xianbei horsemen to fight in a town that had been evacuated beforehand. Horsemen found it far more difficult to navigate with the abandoned carts and fruit stands still in the street, while the Chen soldiers used these as defensive positions to strike down their enemies. Xibaxiong, who was commanding this vanguard, quickly pulled out of the city, only for Ba Daiping to fall upon his troops and force the Xianbei in a pincer.

Hu Zan knew where the tributary allies in the vanguard had to be situated, which is why he sent the Chen calvary against these instead of wasting them in a fight against the northern horsemen. It was effective in routing the infantry that supported the main horsemen army. Xibaxiong, frustrated by the situation, eventually pushed for a massive charge against Xue Fang. And while Xue Fang held firm and dealt great damages to the enemy, he was eventually force to break formation and allow the Xianbei army to retreat. But it didn’t matter. Hu Zan had delivered the first victory against Xibaxiong since the Khagan had fought against Chen troops for the first time in 231. For once, the Chen had pushed back the invaders, with Xibaxiong confused and shocked at this turn of events. And as the soldiers cheered, the old general had a large smile plastered on his face.

____________________________________

“Is this real?” he asked the messenger.

“His Imperial Majesty sent me as soon as it was agreed.” the man answered.

Xue Tang was still in armor, having just come back from reviewing the troops. While it had been two weeks since their incredible victory against the Xianbeis, that didn’t mean that they had the right to laze off. Grand Commandant Hu Zan had ordered that the troops still needed to be kept in fighting orders for the eventual return of the enemy.

But the letter he had in his hand, if true, could change all that. Hu Zan needed to be told about this as fast as possible. And obviously, he needed to be the one to tell him. After all, who better than his protégé? And the prestige that would come with bringing this news. He just needed to convince the messenger to let him keep the letter…

“Thank you…” Xue Tang said. “May… Maybe I could be of some help?”

“It’s alright.” The messenger answered. “I just need to give this letter to the Grand Commandant.”

“I-I can do this for you…” the general meekly offered. “I mean, I can give it for you!”

“As long as it is delivered.” the messenger shrugged.

Xue Tang took this as a yes and immediately started to make his way to the main command tent, where he knew that the rest of the officers were assembled. As he made his way there, he noticed how the soldiers were joyful in camp. Morale was high ever since their victory, and it was all thanks to the Grand Commandant. Hu Zan had done the impossible and defeated the invincible. And the soldiers loved him for it and celebrated his name. Still, hopefully they didn’t sign too loudly, as the generals might decide that military discipline was too lax among the troops.

He quickly entered the tent, where most of the generals were talking strategy and logistic. At the end opposite to the entrance stood a low table, which was placed right in front of a seated Hu Zan, who rested on cushions. He looked to be lacking his usual energy today, with his eyes half closed and his tired face. This was understandable. The Grand Commandant had been pulling all-nighters in preparation of the next battle, leaving him stressed and weakened. He was so out of it that he didn’t even notice Xue Tang entering the tent.

“Marquis!” Xue Tang shouted.

He immediately regretted his decision as all eyes turn to him. The healthy discussions quickly died down with the new arrival in the tent. Hu Zan seemed to finally realize his presence, though he only looked up slowly and gave a simple grunt as acknowledgement.

“What is it, Tang?” his father Xue Fang asked.

“A letter from Chenguo just arrived and…”

“Give me that!” demanded Ba Daiping as he seized the scroll from Xue Tang’s hands.

The general had not even finished his sentence that the document was already in his hands, denying Xue Tang the opportunity to hand it to his mentor. While Ba Daiping was not as arrogant as other officers that Xue Tang had been accustomed too, the fact that he often acted as he pleased didn’t endear him to the younger general. But now that the document was in his hands, Xue Tang didn’t have it in him to fight for the letter. Starting a fight with such an influential general would do little to help his career. His father wasn’t a shy as his son, however, and he quickly stepped to Ba Daiping with a menacing look on his face.

“Would General Ba share the content of this letter addressed for the Grand Commandant?” Xue Fang pointed out, adding the last part to spite his colleague.

It didn’t seem to have any effect, as Ba Daiping had a massive grin plastered on his face that didn’t seem ready to disappear anytime soon.

“The Xianbeis are out.” he joyfully declared.

“What?” Xue Fang asked in shock.

Murmured started in the tent, with the Grand Commandant being the only one not looking at everyone else in the hope that someone had an idea what this meant. He simply stood seated, awaiting the rest of the letter.

“His Imperial Majesty just finished talks with Xianbei envoys.” Ba Daiping continued. “It seems that the Khagan has some problems back home after spending the last years in Qing Province away from the steppes. He is calling it quit and asked for an end to hostilities. It’s over. We won!”

Surprise made ways to cheers as they all took in the meaning of these words. Their recent victory had been THE victory. They had successfully driven out the invasion, they had triumphed over the enemy. While it was more a white peace than a complete triumph, it was still held as a great moment by the generals. Even Xue Tang, who already knew the content of the letter, couldn’t stop himself from cheering with them. Even the Grand Commandant allowed himself a weak smile. This was a significant moment, even more than any of them could expect at the time. Unlike the previous peace deals, this one would hold for years to come, marking the end of the last four years of deadly conflicts between the Chen Dynasty and the Xianbei Confederacy.

“We sent the Despoiler packing back home!” someone shouted.

“He should grab his sister with him while he’s at it!” another man added, which was followed by laughers from the officer corps.

“Leave the empress alone…” Hu Zan told them, clearly not finding the joke funny.

“Grand Commandant,” his father started, “they were simply joking. I dare not think that one of us is stupid enough to talk against the Empress, especially considering how his Imperial Highness feels about this subject.”

“Good...” was Hu Zan’s sole response as he closed his eyes to rest.

“Someone needs to tell the troops.” Ba Daiping decided. “They will want to celebrate too.”

“We already have difficulties with discipline in the camp.” Xue Fang protested.

“What do you expect, considering the circumstances?”

“Xue Tang…” Hu Zan whispered.

“Yes Marquis?” he responded.

“I leave the rest… to you…”

Xue Tang was confused at this request until his eyes fell on the massive pile of scrolls that were covering the table.

“The paperwork? I… of course Marquis, I can handle this for today. It will be my pleasure.” Xue Tang responded.

“Now hold on a minute.” Ba Daiping protested, having clearly heard the exchange. “There is a hierarchy here. If Hu Zan wants help with his duties, then he should ask for the older officers like me and General Xue.”

“I do not see the harm.” Xue Fang responded.

“Of course you don’t. It’s your son he wants to do it!” Ba Daiping protested.

“Now that is absurd! My son has proven to be competent and able to handle these duties! Grand Commandant, surely you can agree that…” Xue Fang stopped as his eyes turned to Hu Zan, still seated with his eyes closed, a smile on his face.

“Marquis?”

_______________________________________________

PS: Thank you to @patpekala for giving us the amazing character of Hu Zan (172-233), the ambitious general, great hero of the Chen, mentor of Emperor Wu and the last character to die (though again, he had the advantage of being one of the youngest).

What I find fascinating with Hu Zan is the way his life can be neatly divided in two. The first period (190-209) saw him as a young and arrogant general who aimed high, possibly too high. He clearly wanted to become a powerful warlord and one of the great powers of his time. His ambitious and youthful pride led him to betray a lot of his masters, like Kong Rong and Yang Weili. And then you have the second part of his life (210-233), the part where he served in the Chen. While still ambitious, his drive had shifted from being the one in charge to being the greatest general in the Chen. The Hu Zan under the Chen had clearly matured and learned from his previous experiences. A young Hu Zan would have rebelled the second Xiao Ru removed him from his council, yet he instead simply waited for another opportunity to get back in power. Even when he didn’t get the job he wanted, instead of complaining he used this as an opportunity to advance. And more importantly, the older Hu Zan was smart enough to cultivate the next generation, be it Emperor Wu or Xue Tang. And in the end, he died only a few weeks after achieving what was possibly the greatest victory of his career. In many ways, this was a happy ending for him. Not the one he would have wanted earlier in life, but certainly one that left him satisfied at the end.

And this also closes the book on the 10 main characters we introduced at the start of the story. They all left their mark on China, with their actions often shifting the story in ways that would affect it forever. So what did you think of them? Did you have a favorite? Who was the best, the worse, the most successful? It’s a good time to reminisce about their lives, as from now on the story will move without them, a new generation having taken center stage.

 

[Zamarak500]

232-234: THE RISE OF EMPEROR ZHAO YUN​

To the surprise of everyone who wasn’t paying attention (which was everyone in Chang’an apparently), Zhao Yun had risen in revolt against the Liang Dynasty. Even worse, his goal was not independence or simply to gain more power or even to place the Crown Prince on the throne. No, this was not like the revolts that had been happening in the Chen Dynasty. This one was to end the Liang Dynasty in one swoop, to replace it with a new imperial dynasty headed by none other than Zhao Yun himself. Yes, he had less troops, but he was arguably the greatest general in China at the time. While there was still Ba Daiping and the soon to be dead Hu Zan, they were in the Chen Dynasty. Who could challenge Zhao Yun in the Liang? No one.

News of this revolt was a shock to Emperor Wen, who had somehow convinced himself that his potential threats against Zhao Yun had been enough to keep the governor in line. Yet now he was facing a massive revolt to destroy his Dynasty? Emperor Wen panicked. He was now seriously afraid for his life, knowing full well that Zhao Yun was one of the greatest generals of China. Maybe if he surrendered the throne to him, then Emperor Wen would be allowed to live? When he consulted his chancellor over the issue, Pan Zhiyuan gave his complete approval to the idea, as he had already been packing his bags to flee Chang’an in haste. Maybe they could even flee west? After all, there was this Aer Daxier forming his Kingdom of Sashan in the west, right? Surely life would be good in his court?

It was Empress Pan who put some sense into her husband (and her brother). There was no way they were going to abandon the Liang Dynasty. First and foremost, Chang’an was not exactly close to Ji Province, which was at the other side of Sili Province. This meant that they had ample time to organize against the enemy while staying safely behind the walls of the Capital. And even if they decided to flee, what then? Yao Xiu would simply declare himself the new emperor and continue the fight, something that Empress Pan would not allow. She was determined to carry the next emperor of the Dynasty, and she would be damned if her brother-in-law ever inherited the Liang. No, they would not run. They would stay, they would win, and she would one day give birth to a son that might reunite China (because clearly her husband wasn’t going to do it).

The Empress passionate rant managed to convince Emperor Wen and his chancellor not to flee… yet. For now, they instead sent orders that the Liang military readied itself to fight the evil rebel Zhao Yun. However, this proved to be a slow process. The Liang Dynasty was large, and the troops could only be pushed so fast before they got sick of orders. In the meantime, Zhao Yun already had the majority of his troops readied, thanks to the last months of preparation he had been given. It allowed the rebels to strike at small defenseless units of imperial troops during the following months. By August, a series of small victories had been achieved by the rebels. These were insignificant victories, but at the end of the days the imperial troops were told that they were going to fight an army that had defeated them six times already. Morale was not high within the ranks.

Even worse, barbarians decided to use this opportunity to rise up against the Liang government. For once, these were not northern barbarians, but southern barbarians, rising on the border between Yi and Jing Province. They had been somewhat spooked by the campaigns of Qin Qiao, and now feared that their rights might be oppressed by the new Governor of Yi Province, a young officer named Lin Fuxing. Being a fan of Pan Zheng’s writings, he wanted to put the savages back in their place. The problem was that he then left to take command of some troops against Zhao Yun, leaving his province leaderless when the barbarians decided that enough was enough. They rose up in early June with a large force, and now threatened to take the whole area in a bid for independence.

This certainly didn’t help the nerves of Emperor Wen, who was afraid that he might be assassinated by Zhao Yun in order to end the civil war quicker. He was now once again considering making a run for it, this time thinking about abdicating the throne to his brother. He had always wanted it right? Emperor Pan once again had to step in to reassure him. She enlisted the help of the Excellency of the Masses Lu Yu, who had grown extremely influential following the death of Mo Jie. He was quite happy to come to the help of the Emperor. His solution was to increase security to the point that access to the Emperor would be almost impossible. In many ways, he was trying to replicate the state of affairs in the Chen court during the late reign of Emperor Cheng, when Ren Duo had control over access to the monarch.

However, this was not as perfect as the Excellency of the Masses might have wished for. First of all was the presence of the Emperor’s nephew, the cruel Minister of the Guard Huang Dunli. Huang Dunli was a bit too happy about gaining more subordinate to brutalize people with. It was so bad that Lu Yu and most of the court would eventually have to convince Emperor Wen to send his nephew command troops on the frontline instead, as he was becoming a dangerous figure for the regime. But even then, Lu Yu quickly discovered that there existed a backdoor access to the Emperor’s ear. The Pan siblings could easily bring their own people to the Emperor, and Emperor Wen himself seemed keen to not be controlled like a sick old man. Trying to protect the Emperor and reduce access to him (as he was asked) while the Emperor went behind his back was stressful and depressing, far more than squaring of with Mo Jie over policies.

Talking of the Emperor’s backstabbing tendencies, the Grand Commandant found himself excluded of the planning for the incoming campaign. Qin Qiao was a celebrated hero of the Liang Dynasty, a man who had showed that he could lead troops and motivate his men to fight when it served him. But Emperor Wen was afraid that he would be unleashing a new Xu Chu should he allow the Grand Commandant to lead troops. He didn’t even summon Qin Qiao to the war councils, something that was noticed by the officers and soon learned by the troops. Knowing that the Dynasty’s greatest hero was being pushed aside in this hour of need was demoralizing. Thankfully, Qin Qiao didn’t take offense, as he was all too happy to see most of his workload be unloaded on someone else.

So if Qin Qiao wasn’t the one in charge of this campaign, then who was? Strangely enough, these duties fell on the former Chancellor Jin Xuan. The man had never gotten along with Emperor Wen, and in private had always preferred Crown Prince Xiu. Considering how his father had also backed the wrong heir when Guo Si died, this seemed to be running in the family. He had on multiple occasion showed anger at the Son of Heaven’s indecision and lack of leadership. Yet at the end of the day he was a loyal servant of the Liang, unwilling to see the legacy of Emperor Anwu die like this. And Emperor Wen had little choice but to turn to him, as he was probably the most experienced general remaining in the Liang military. Everyone else of experience had either died or been captured while fighting the Liang, was sick or had been pushed aside by the Emperor.

Around that time, Emperor Wen made an attempt to convince the rebels to put down their arms by showing how magnanimous he was. He did this by welcoming to his court the now adult Jiang Wenguan, son of the dead Chancellor Jiang Xian of the Han. Jiang Xian had been a hated figure during and after his life, making many enemies that might want to eliminate his family to remove a potential threat. Because of this, Jiang Wenguan had spent most of his life on the run, hiding from potential enemies. But with Emperor Anwu dead and the Liang Dynasty firmly implanted (it had been 13 years since its founding), Jiang Wenguan sent a letter to Chang’an pleading for a normal life. Emperor Wen happily granted it to him, and Jiang Wenguan would even be appointed a magistrate in the following months. Surely, this show of clemency would convince the rebels to put down their arms!

But Zhao Yun and his followers did not stand down. Even worse, a new peasant uprising rose up at the end of the year, this time on the east coast. This happened just as the southern barbarian revolt was being crushed by Huang Dunli, who had been tasked to handle the problem. This peasant uprising was spawned by the many failed reforms of the Liang Dynasty, which confused and then angered the populace. Whatever the reasoning, they were now wondering if things would not be better under the Chen, and now hoped to become independent to join up with the neighboring dynasty. Obviously, this could not be allowed, and an army had to be dispatched to deal with this situation.

By now it was 233, as no real fighting had taken place during 232 outside of the small skirmishes mentioned previously. Jin Xuan was finally able to ready a large enough army to march against Zhao Yun, but he decided to move the troops north to attack from You Province, which took months and allowed the rebel general to be noticed of this incoming army. Because of this, the first real battle of this civil war only took place in early January 233. The Liang soldiers were confident due to their numbers, confident enough that Jin Xuan tried to appeal one last time to the rebels and asked for their peaceful surrender. When this didn’t happen, Jin Xuan ordered an attack. But Zhao Yun was a far better commander than anyone the Liang had at its disposal. The likes of Lin Fuxin of Jin Xuan were no match for him. While he suffered just as many losses as the Liang army, Zhao Yun was able to emerge victorious of this battle, even though he had half the troops of the Liang army.

It was clear that someone didn’t learn from their mistakes following this defeat, as the Liang army engaged Zhao Yun two months later at the exact same spot. This time, it was the turn of the Liang officers to receive an envoy from Zhao Yun. He encouraged them to abandon the corrupt government of Emperor Wen, who had clearly lost the Mandate of Heaven and was unworthy of their respect. This angered Jin Xuan so much that he considered killing the envoy, but eventually decided against it. It would be of bad taste to kill the messenger. He instead sent back a letter to Zhao Yun, saying that, again, it was not too late to submit. This little exchange did nothing to avoid another battle, and so in late March the second Battle of Qiu took place. This one ended in the same way as the first one: a rebel victories with similar losses on both sides, even though Zhao Yun had the smaller army.

This didn’t seem to worry the court in Chang’an for some reason, as at the time they were celebrating a betrothal between the Yao Imperial Clan and the rising Pan Clan. Emperor Wen had decided to solidify his relationship with his brother-in-law, who was proving far more loyal than most of his predecessors (and the first Chancellor not to overstep his bounds). Thus it was decided (at the Empress’s behest) that a betrothal should take place. Princess Chuntao (the youngest child of Emperor Anwu), would marry Pan Shilang, the second son of Chancellor Pan Zhiyuan. The celebration was extravagant and opulent in an attempt to show the good health of the dynasty. See? Things were going fine in the Liang Dynasty. Nothing to worry about!

But things were not fine, especially as the coffers were so empty that the Chancellor was wondering how they were going to pay the soldiers. Or even the palace staff for that matter. So Emperor Wen did the opposite of what he had done the previous years: he forced the provinces to pay taxes. The kind of taxes that had been such a burden that they eventually led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, or the Liang Rebellion that marked Mo Jie for his entire life. And predictably, some didn’t like these new taxes. In particular, Administrator Wei Yan of Wuling Commandery decided that he had enough. The protégé of Liu Siyuan had surrendered to Emperor Anwu when he seized the Han and had found himself relegated to his commandery with little influence. But with the Liang Dynasty possibly on the verge of collapse, Wei Yan had decided that it was time to seize the moment. He declared that he would not pay taxes to the Dynasty, essentially declaring his independence (though he still acknowledged Emperor Wen as the rightful Emperor of China).

And this was not even the worst of it. The Qinghaixi Khaganate of the west, which had long been a tributary of the Liang Dynasty, now decided to use this opportunity to stop paying tributes. Dianlian Khagan smelled blood in the water and was keen to exploit it. He stopped sending payments to Chang’an during the spring, and by the summer he was even sending his horsemen to raid Liang Province. With the Liang Dynasty occupied with the civil war, the duties of fighting these raiders fell on the Crown Prince Yao Xiu, who had to do his best to defend his province against this unexpected enemy. While e did a better job than anyone could give him credit for, there was only so much he could do. Towns were still pillaged and wealth was brought back to the west.

At least Yao Xiu had one good thing to celebrate. In June 233, the Crown Prince proudly announced that his wife Mo Xiaowen had given birth to a son, named Yao Hao. The boy was the long-awaited next generation that had kept many officials awake at night, fearful of what would happen if neither brother produced a son. Yao Hao was of a high pedigree. Through his father, he was obviously the grandson of the dynastic founder Emperor Anwu. But his mother’s side was nothing to sneer at either. Yao Hao was also the grandson of the celebrated official Mo Jie, and through Mo Jie’s wife was the great grandson of the famed Liang rebel Ma Teng. His birth was celebrated by everyone who was loyal to the Liang Dynasty. Well, everyone but Empress Pan, who feared that her husband might now me content to let the throne pass to his brother’s line instead of producing his own sons (which was indeed the case).

By the autumn it had become clear that Jin Xuan needed to be sack, at least to Emperor Wen and his inner circle. Even as he had successfully crushed the peasant uprising, his failures to handle Zhao Yun were seen as unacceptable. The experienced man was thus removed as the commander of this campaign. However, the replacement proved extremely controversial, as the choice of Huang Dunli was seen my many as blatant nepotism. Emperor Wen argued that his nephew’s success against the barbarian revolt warranted a promotion. Huang Dunli was made General who Protects the Empire and sent to command this campaign.

And to the satisfaction of Emperor Wen, Huang Dunli managed to do exactly what he was supposed to. The victories of Zhao Yun at Qiu had turned out to be pyrrhic victories. Both sides suffered the same number of losses, but while the Liang Dynasty had ample troops to spare, Zhao Yun found it difficult to replenish his ranks. And this time, Huang Dunli wisely decided not to risk anything. Zhao Yun had been able to defeat armies twice as large as his? Fine. Let us see how he handle an army fourteen times larger. The battle of Wuruanguan which took place in late December finally saw a great Liang victory against the enemy. The rebels were destroyed, and Zhao Yun was forced to retreat in his province in order to continue his revolt. Prisoners were tortured on the orders of Huang Dunli, who found it easier to sleep with “background sounds”.

Within two weeks of this victory, Emperor Wen decided that it was time to remove a great threat to his power: his Grand Commandant Qin Qiao. Even though the man had proven nothing but loyal (if a bit arrogant), Emperor Wen continued to see him as a Xu Chu in the making. On the 12th of January, the Emperor invited his Grand Commandant to a feast. But just as they toasted, guar… assassins disguised as guards entered the room to kill the Emperor! They proceeded to kill the Grand Commandant, salute the Emperor as protocol demanded and flee the scene. Thus died one of the greatest heroes of the Liang Dynasty at the young age of 37. He never really wanted to invade the south, yet he did it anyway. He never wanted to become Grand Commandant, yet he relented to the demands. And for this loyalty and dedication to the Dynasty, he was murdered by his emperor.

Emperor Wen then announced that the Grand Commandant had heroically given his life to protect him. Oh, what a hero! The issue was that half of the court was present at this banquet. And sadly for the Emperor, they were neither blind nor complete idiots. They knew what had happened, and soon enough it became known that Emperor Wen had the great hero Qin Qiao assassinated. This was a political scandal that threatened to resurrect the dying revolt of Zhao Yun. Suddenly, the Imperial Army saw massive amounts of defections to the rebel sides, the soldiers disgusted with the actions of the Emperor. When Qin Bolin was informed of his brother’s end, he was so disgusted that he abandoned his county and fled, defecting to the Chen Dynasty. This would be the first defection of the sort, but nowhere near the last.

But thankfully for Emperor Wen, this did nothing to help Zhao Yun. Because four days after the death of Qin Qiao, the rebel general died a natural death at the old age of 66. With his death, the rebels assembled around his oldest son Zhao Gongxiu, who now commanded a respectable force of defectors and newly raised rebels. While some of his followers advised him to continue the fight, he instead chose to negotiate while he was still in a position of power. In exchange of remaining Governor of Ji Province, Zhao Gongxiu was willing to submit back to the Liang Dynasty. Emperor Wen jumped on the chance and took the deal (though he immediately started to plot the assassination of Zhao Gongxiu). This ended the war in January 234, almost two years after it started. And it was a welcomed end, especially as Emperor Wen was currently dealing with a new civil war.

 

[Zamarak500]

233-235: THE WOES OF EMPEROR WEN​

While Emperor Wen was still fighting the civil war with Zhao Yun, another official started to annoy the court. This was none other than the former Excellency of Works Hu Duo. Hu Duo had a history of being unreliable, self-centered and focused on his own future first and foremost. He had risen under Yuan Shu, only to do nothing to save his patron. He then served as a high ranking official in the Qianfei regime, the Emperor hoping that he might prove a counterbalance to the Jing officers of Liu Siyuan. He rewarded this show of trust by joining with Yao Shuren the moment it became clear that Emperor Qianfei’s cause might fail. More recently, he had been appointed Excellency of Works after Mo Jie’s removal under Emperor Anwu, an office he held when the founding emperor passed away and until Mo Jie returned to reclaim his office. As a consolation prize, Emperor Wen had made him a marquis, but it did little to alleviate the frustration of Huo Du, who spent the last few years plotting in his commandery.

Normally, this kind of actions would have been ignored by Emperor Wen, who had shown to be unwilling to confront his subordinates about their waywardness. But the Imperial Capital was in the middle of an epidemic of Camp Fever, which came to the city thanks to the frequent envoys between Chang’an and the frontline. Many were affected by this disastrous outbreak, including Emperor Wen. While the Son of Heaven only suffered from mild symptoms, it left him a lot more tired than usual and unable to fully participate in the affairs of states. What little he did do was focused on intrigues and information gathering. Oh, and that coming assassination of Qin Qiao. Stressed with all these affairs already, the Emperor was quick to delegate due to his sickness.

Unsurprisingly, the Chancellor had to step in to fill the void left by the Emperor’s sickness, as was expected of him. And Pan Zhiyuan gaining more power also meant that his sister Empress Pan gained more influence through him. Indeed, she was clearly the leading figure between the two of them, even if Pan Zhiyuan was an excellent speaker. Her dominance over her brother was clearly shown by her upfront confrontation of Hu Duo. Pan Zhiyuan, just like Emperor Wen, would have surely left the issue to rest. But Empress Pan believed that such a disloyal official holding a key commandery on the border with the Chen Dynasty could not be tolerated. While she didn’t have anything to accuse him, she forced the issue enough that Emperor Wen and Pan Zhiyuan agreed to relocate Hu Duo to a more isolated commandery.

This did not sit well with Hu Duo. He had been in this region for decades, yet he was supposed to abandon his powerbase just like that? They were trying to isolate him in order to kill him, this was what was happening. Refusing to accept what he saw as a death sentence, Hu Duo had the imperial envoys executed and rebelled against the Liang Dynasty in November 233. This was bad news for everyone, as the Imperial Army was still occupied with Zhao Yun’s revolt at the time. Hu Duo thus had free reins to raise his army and attack Liang territories without any fear of reprisal.

Even worse was the fact that he was soon joined by another esteemed official of the Liang: Jin Xuan. The former Chancellor had been replaced as overall commander of the war by the rising Huang Dunli, who mostly owed his promotions to being the nephew of Emperor Wen. Frustrated by the nepotism and the lack of backbone from his emperor, Jin Xuan was shocked with the way Hu Duo had been handled by the court. The two men were quite close, in part because they were Taoists instead of Confucians, and also because Hu Duo had yet to do anything wrong from Jin Xuan’s point of view. Seeing this as a bridge too far, the older official agreed to join Hu Duo in his revolt, if not to unseat Emperor Wen then at least to force him to remove bad influences around him.

The fact that Jin Xuan had rebelled was far more worrisome than Hu Duo’s little uprising. He was the Intendant of Jingzhao, the region which included the Imperial Capital. Which meant that rebels were now in marching distance of Chang’an. While by then the civil war with Zhao Yun had been resolved with the rebel’s death and a quick deal with his son, it still meant waiting months before the arrival of imperial troops. Jin Xuan had the opportunity to strike at the Imperial Capital and end this right now with a quick victory. But either due to a strategic mistake, Chang’an’s reputation as an impregnable city or his unwillingness to damage the Imperial Capital, Jin Xuan didn’t go for the quick victory. He instead moved to neighboring counties while trying to convince others to join him and Hu Duo.

Emperor Wen used this reprieve to appoint a new Grand Commandant, since he had just murdered the previous one. Sadly for any ambitious general, the position unsurprisingly went to Huang Dunli, with the nephew gaining the highest military office before reaching the age of 20. For once, this appointment was not completely unwarranted. After all, he had been the only one to defeat Zhao Yun during the civil war and had been in the process of winning it when the old general died. The cruel young man was all too happy to gain this new office, which he knew would earn him great amounts of wealth. He was quickly recalled to Chang’an by his uncle, who wanted him to organise the defense of the city. His return home was much despised by the officialdom.

With Huang Dunli absent, the command of this campaign against the rebels would fall upon the shoulders of Lin Fuxing, the Governor of Yi Province. However, Lin Fuxing was himself starting to get sick, which might leave him undisposed to actually lead the troops. Because of this, he had brought with him a general to assist him on this campaign. This second-in-command was Yang Wing, the administrator of Shang Commandery. Yang Wing was of distinguished birth, being the youngest son of Yang Xiu, the first Grand Commandant of the Liang, who himself descended from a line of important Han officials. He was also ambitious and ready to rise to the top just like his father before him.

But he would have his mind away from the battlefield during the whole campaign as his absence from his commandery would be the perfect opportunity for an invasion by Xuan Mei, a move right out of Xuan Su’s playbook. His invasion of You Province had not gone well, and it had turned even worse when the current governor Pan Yi died of old age. With the need of a military commander to guard this important frontier, the court appointed the general Ding Hou, son of Ding Zhichao the Big Halbert and grandson of Ding Kai, Lü Bu’s Commandant. The young man was already an extremely competent military general, so much that it spooked Xuan Mei to the point of asking for peace, afraid of what Ding Zhichao would do to him if the war continued. Instead, the Governor of Bing Province turned his eyes toward Shang Commandery. After all, it was supposed to be part of Bing Province. The only reason it wasn’t was due to Yang Xiu’s expansion, which had stopped Xuan Su from annexing it. Now Xuan Mei had a chance to do what his father had never been able to, and he was not going to miss this opportunity.

Thankfully, this distraction didn’t stop Lin Fuxing and Yang Wing from striking a victory against the rebels in April. For some reason, Hu Duo and Jin Xuan never linked up together, instead fighting the civil war close to their own territories without ever working together. This meant that the Imperial Army could pick them one at a time. And unless one of the two rebels had a general of Zhao Yun’s caliber at their employ, then the war was sure to be won by the Liang. This plan was put into practice when Lin Fuxing launched the imperial troops against the forces of Hu Duo, defeating them on the battlefield in what was nothing less than a superb victory for the Liang, the kind that they badly needed after the many losses against Zhao Yun the previous year.

The following month, Lin Fuxing and Yang Wing were able to achieve another victory, this time against the forces of Jin Xuan. The Intendant of Jingzhao finally realized his mistake in not joining up with his ally, which led him to immediately try to reach Hu Duo. But it was too late to stop the defeat of his armies, and by the time Jin Xuan arrived he was only met with a powerful Liang army. Jin Xuan was unable to do much as most of his troops were either captured or killed on the battlefield, with less than half of them managing to get away. Lin Fuxing, following in the example of Huang Dunli, was not kind to the captives.

In June, the happy Emperor Wen decided to do something about the bad state of the Imperial Capital, notably the managing of the epidemic still going through the court. At the behest of Empress Pan, he removed the Excellency of Works Zhou Kua from his functions. Zhou Kua was one of the last MoJieists at court, and he did not have the spine to defend the ideas of the late reformer. Simply put, he was seen by many as a spineless if somewhat competent official. Normally, this would have made him fit right in Emperor Wen’s court, but someone needed to take the blame.

In his place, Emperor Wen appointed Xu Ziying, the son of the late Chancellor Xu Shu and his former brother-in-law. Xu Ziying was a shrewd and determined young man who wished to rise through the bureaucracy just like his father had done before him. He was a decent enough administrator that he might be able to do the job of Excellency of Works, though he was a step down from Zhou Kua both in experience and competence. With the likes of Pan Zhiyuan, Yang Wing and Xuan Mei also on the rise, this led many to whisper that Emperor Wen favored the sons of powerful officials over experience and talent, which did not please anyone. No wonders Hu Duo and Jin Xuan rebelled.

By the end of the summer, the rebels had been forced to flee to their territories, as victories achieved by Lin Fuxing and other generals had completely devasted their ability to continue the war. It was now becoming clear that the rebellion had no chance of succeeding, with some of the Liang officers whispering that they might even be able to end this little civil war by the end of the year instead of having it drag for two years like the last one. They just needed to win a couple of sieges and this should all be over, they hoped. A piece of cake!

This was also something that Hu Duo realized. Being first and foremost motivated by his survival, Hu Duo took an unprecedented step in order to ensure that he lived through this war. In late September, Hu Duo, Marquis of Yangling and former Excellency of Works of the Liang Dynasty, swore loyalty to Emperor Wu of the Chen Dynasty, bringing with him his entire territories. He had sent envoys to Chenguo to arrange this defection, in exchange of which Emperor Wu would confirm him as the Marquis of Yangling. The Chen Court jumped on that deal and welcomed the traitor into their ranks. This marked the biggest loss of lands to the Chen since Emperor Anwu saw the rest of Runan Commandery defect to Emperor Cheng in 218, before any of them ever became emperors. The Imperial Court in Chang’an was horrified by this turn of event. The acquisition of Yangling Commandery meant that the Chen Dynasty was now in striking distance of Luoyang, the former capital of the Eastern Han. While some officials declared that this demanded an immediate response, Emperor Wen was too sick and too afraid to dare attack the Chen Dynasty over this. He remembered how bad it went the last time and had no desire to see another debacle on that scale.

This territorial loss was followed by a personal one for the Emperor a month later. On the 27th of October 234, Empress Dowager Liang died of natural death at the age of 60. The Empress Dowager never played a strong role in the court of her son, instead simply staying in her palace and trusting him to handle things at the best of his abilities. Besides, she was also far too crass for court politics. Instead, she had been an advisor to her son when it came to familial affairs, like advising him to marry Empress Pan soon after the death of Empress Xu. Her presence had always been a welcomed one by Emperor Wen, who deeply trusted his mother’s advice in the recent years. Her loss certainly had an effect on the Emperor, though it also provided him an excuse for his isolation. He was in mourning, not sick.

Unlike Hu Duo, Jin Xuan was right in the middle of the Liang Dynasty, meaning that defection was not an option for him. He retreated to his territories and tried to put a defense against the advancing Liang army, but at the end of the day this proved a useless effort. The imperial troops were simply too numerous for him to handle, and by November Jin Xuan was forced to surrender and brought in chains to Chang’an. To the Emperor’s surprise, everyone at court argued for clemency, reminding the Emperor of Jin Xuan’s loyal service to the Dynasty up until now. While he wanted to execute him, Emperor Wen was too weak to push against his court, so he pardoned the rebel who was allowed to return to his territories unharmed.

Besides, Emperor Wen had his attention focused on killing another official anyway. Ever since the death of Zhao Yun and the end of that civil war, the Son of Heaven had been planning the death of Governor Zhao Gongxiu of Ji Province. He had managed to send assassins in September to dispatch the son of Zhao Yun, but this attempt had spectacularly failed, with one assassin not only warning Zhao Gongxiu of the plot but also telling him that it came from the Emperor. Now spooked, the governor started to increase his security. He wondered if his advisors had not been right, that he should have continued the fight against Emperor Wen. Realizing his mistake, he started to stockpile weapons for an eventual revolt against the Liang. But this would never be, as a second assassination attempt in December proved far more successful, with the governor discreetly poisoned and a more loyal replacement appointed soon after.

But Emperor Wen would not be able to enjoy this triumph, as by the end of the year his deteriorating health was in a freefall. While he had recovered from his mild case of camp fever in the summer, he had contracted a pneumonia during the fall, which proved far more severe. By December, the Emperor was bed ridden and coughing continuously, to the point that he had difficulties breathing properly. Fearful that this might be the end, Emperor Wen ordered a letter to be written for his brother in Liang Province. Yao Xiu needed to return immediately to Chang’an to ensure a smooth succession should he pass away. In the letter, he also appointed his brother an Imperial Councilor and made him regent of the Dynasty until his health recover (or until he died).

But by now the inner court was firmly loyal to Empress Pan, her brother and their allies. She managed to have the letter intercepted and destroyed, unwilling to let Yao Xiu come and ruin everything the Pan siblings had. Even if her efforts were in many ways futile, as there was no one else but Yao Xiu to inherit the Liang Dynasty, she still refused to surrender to the Crown Prince. She used this time to strengthen her control over the Court, as well as increase the responsibilities of her brother Pan Zhiyuan, who now handle court affairs with the Emperor too sick to attend. A courtier loyal to the Yao Imperial Clan did eventually manage to flee the Capital, but by the time he reached Liang Province it was too late. On the 22nd of January 235, Emperor Wen died at the age of 30. And the next-in-line to the throne was still in Liang, only just made aware that his brother was sick.

______________________________
PS: Well, that’s it for Emperor Wen (205-235). His reign of almost a decade (July 225-January 235) was… turbulent to say the least. The Civil Emperor will get his name due to the many reforms that happened during his reign (courtesy of Mo Jie), though he was himself not that committed to them. And now the throne will pass to his older brother Yao Xiu. So, was Emperor Wen a worthy successor to Emperor Anwu? Did he bring the Liang Dynasty to new heights? Or did he ruin it beyond repairs?

 

[Zamarak500]

233-235: REBUILDING THE DYNASTY​

Hu Zan had passed away, but his last gift to the Chen was tremendous. His victory against Xibaxiong had led to a peace with the Xianbei Confederacy, one that would finally hold long enough for the Dynasty to recover. Still, his presence was greatly missed at court, with the Emperor mourning the loss of his mentor. Hu Zan had actively routed for the military career a young Xiao Tung when his own father didn’t believe in him. Now that he was Emperor Wu, he felt like he owed a lot to the late general, which is why he was honored as a hero in the Capital. With an imperial decree, Emperor Wu posthumously made Hu Zan the General who Guards the Dynasty. He also considered promoting him from marquis to duke, but this idea was abandoned at the insistence of Xiao Bin. While the Chancellor was all too happy to exploit the legacy of his personal enemy now that he was dead, he worried that this would be used as an excuse to strengthen the Hu Clan.

And the Hu Clan was certainly vocal about continuing Hu Zan’s legacy. His third son and heir Hu Jingxuan, the new Marquis of Donghai, petitioned the court to be appointed as the new Grand Commandant. After all, he had passed court exams and was known to be both brave and courageous. He was liked enough at court that the idea was entertained, if only out of consideration for his father. For his part, Hu Zan had hinted on a few occasions that he wanted his protégé Xue Tang to be his political heir, with some arguing that he should be promoted to replace his mentor. And then there was still Ba Daiping alive and well. He was the last of the old guard, the commanders who had made their careers in the late Han. Out of the three generals who had successfully pushed back the Liang invasion, he was the only one who remained. Adding to that his previous experience as Grand Commandant and his known desire to recover the officer, and it was easy to see why many considered him the obvious choice.

But these three candidates would see their chances dashed by the Chancellor Xiao Bin, who used his influence over his brother to remove these potential threats to his authority. His refusal of the first two was easily explainable by his deep hatred for Hu Zan. Promoting the man’s son was not something that he would allow, not in a million years. Same for Hu Zan’s protégé. He heard his brother talk about Xue Tang, and he became worried that this would become another Hu Zan, moving Emperor Wu away from court and toward dangerous ideas like empowering the military. But Ba Daiping had been a rival of Hu Zan and had no ties to the late general. He was probably the best man for the job. But Xiao Bin also remembered that Ba Daiping had led an uprising against the Chen Dynasty. This might have been tolerated in time of war, but now that peace had returned to the Chen he was not going to accept the rise of a chief traitor.

In the end, Emperor Wu settled on a compromise candidate that was satisfying for everyone. The new Grand Commandant would be Xue Fang, the elderly father of Xue Tang. Xue Fang had proven over the recent campaign to be an excellent commander and a wise man at that. He was loyal to the Dynasty and lacked the political affiliation at court, even as his son had been Hu Zan’s protégé. The old man was a respected general, related to an ally of Hu Zan, but also neutral when it came to the current politics of the Chen court. Having been wounded during the last battle with the Xianbei invaders, Xue Fang would also need to lead from the rear, thus leaving the glory and direct command to others, which suited the generals just fine. Emperor Wu promoted Xue Fang to Grand Commandant and also decided to make him the Marquis of Yan to reward his long military career in the Han and the Chen.

Surprising everyone, Xue Fang first action as Grand Commandant was to advise for a new campaign. But not against the Xianbei Confederacy, as they desperately needed that peace to hold out as long as possible. Instead, the Grand Commandant petitioned that the Chen Dynasty use the current civil war in the Liang to expand by attacking the rebellious general Zhao Yun, who was trying to overthrow Emperor Wen of Liang. Many argued that the Dynasty needed to recuperate, and others pointed out how Prince Xiao Dang was married to Zhao Yun’s daughter. But Emperor Wu and the generals could see that this was a golden opportunity. The Emperor cautiously ordered some plans to be drawn out for a potential campaign. But this would be for nothing, as Zhao Yun died in January 234, with his son quickly working out a peace with the Liang court.

And besides, the man who had suggested the campaign in the first place was dead by that point. Xue Fang had passed away on the 1st of January 234, dying from the wound he had suffered against the Xianbeis. His death relaunched the debate of who would be the next Grand Commandant. While an old officer took over the duties for a month or two, in the end Emperor Wu decided to trust his late mentor’s judgement and appointed Xue Tang to the office. Hu Zan’s protégé had already been allowed to inherit the title of his father and was now the Marquis of Yan. He was ambitious and wanted to finish what Hu Zan had started, though he lacked the political skills or the charisma to be on the same level as his mentor. It didn’t stop Xiao Bin from criticizing the appointment however, as he had hoped that the death of Hu Zan would finally mean the end of his influence over the Emperor. Apparently, the great general still held some sway even after his passing.

Not wanting to get all the attention on his first day, Xue Tang did not do the same as his father, instead agreeing with the court that the Chen Dynasty needed time to rebuild. The Chen Dynasty had spent the last half a decade fighting revolts from the inside and invaders from the outside. It was time to rebuild, to ensure that things didn’t fall apart the second another invasion came their way. The generals went to their commanderies or were sent on the border to fortify while Xiao Bin and the rest of the council worked on a policy to rebuild the Chen. With Hu Zan gone, the Chancellor was given a lot more opportunities to put his mark on the decisions, and Emperor Wu was all too happy to listen to his brother’s advice. The only issues on which they clashed was the military (which Emperor Wu favored far too much for Xiao Bin’s tastes) and the legal reforms of their father (Emperor Wu found them too ruthless while Xiao Bin supported them).

But the efforts to rebuild the Chen would not come fast enough. Sick of the instabilities that had gripped the Chen over the years, a group of peasants revolted in March in a county close to the Imperial Capital of Chenguo and decided to try and break free from the Chen. The peasant leader selfishly wondered why his family hadn’t been compensated for the many wars that had happened, even though his farm had been destroyed by one of the earliest revolts and had been rebuilt since. The problem was that he had managed to assemble around four thousand troops and were prepared to march on Chenguo.

The idea of seeing a peasant army sacking the Imperial Capital was not a happy one, which prompted Emperor Wu to take personal command of the response. While he took command of the army, he still wanted his wife and allies to be safe. He went so far as to temporarily recall the Crown Prince Xiao Gong to the Capital so that he could help oversee the defenses. This would give him some good experience and would be an excellent test of character. And it would also give Changle a chance to see him again. She had not seen much of her sons now that most of them served in provincial posts away from court (Xiao Dang had been appointed Administrator of Donglai Commandery following the death of the insane Yi Shing). Xiao Gong thus returned to Chenguo where the dull prince received a warm welcome from his relatives.

The peasant army only approached the Imperial Capital by the end of June, at which point Emperor Wu had an army ready to face them. Sadly, none of his generals had been able to link up with him to join this battle in front of Chenguo. Only one man managed to race in time to join the fray with troops, his surprise appearance allowing him to launch a daring assault on the rebel flanks. This was none other than Prince Xiao Dang, coming to his brother’s rescue in his hour of need. This was surprising, especially considering how Xiao Dang had previously joined a rebellion against his brother. Thanks to this unexpected arrival, the forces of the Emperor were able to easily dispatch these rebels and end the revolt in one swoop. Emperor Wu, unwilling to punish the people further, made sure to limit taxes in the rebellious region for the following year (though Xiao Bin and the Excellency of Works would make sure to compensate for it in the ensuing years).

Following this victory, Xiao Dang and Emperor Wu had their first face to face discussion since the brothers found themselves on opposing sides of a civil war. While the Emperor still felt slighted and betrayed by his brother, he decided that this show of dedication earned Xiao Dang a second chance. His brother would be allowed to prove that he was loyal, that he could serve the Chen Dynasty. All Xiao Dang had ever wanted was to regain his position as Excellency of Works, which he had held at the dawn of Emperor Cheng’s reign. And after decades of trying, he finally achieved his goal by showing dedication to his brother. With Xiao Bin also backing the idea of bringing their brother in (as Xiao Dang was known to be an excellent administrator), the fourth son of Emperor Cheng was made Excellency of Works in July 234.

One person was vehemently against the appointment however, and that was Crown Princess Ding. She argued that her husband deserved the promotion as a reward for his defense of the Capital. He was the Crown Prince, and she was the Crown Princess! Their place was in Chenguo, not in some provincial post away from the Capital! She had only just settled in the Crown Prince’s palace! Her insistence made Xiao Bin suspicious of the ambitious crown princess, who obviously sought more power for herself through her husband. Thankfully, Crown Prince Gong had proven quite unimpressive outside of his military duties, and Emperor Wu needed no convincing when it came to sending his son back to his county to gain more experience. Even Changle agreed with the decision, though in her case it was due to her disdain for her daughter-in-law’s openly anti-barbarian rhetoric. If Crown Princess Ding wanted access to the Inner Court, then she made no effort to gain any friends in it.

The appointment of Xiao Dang as Excellency of Works would prove a boon for the Dynasty. He was proving to arguably be the best holder of the office since the founding of the Chen. He was hardworking and stubborn when it came to completing his projects, always seeking ways to make them work even when some argued that they should be abandoned. He was also quite fair and just in his handling of his subordinates, a sense of fairness that did not turn to cruel justice like it did with their father. With Xiao Bin already proving an amazing Chancellor, Emperor Wu found himself backed by two excellent brothers. The popular monarch was himself growing more competent when it came to his administrative duties. Plus, he was already an amazing commander in his own rights, thus earning him the loyalty of the military. This state of affairs would be the status quo of Emperor Wu’s policy when it came to handling the various factions. His family stayed at court, and his generals stayed on the field. Never was one side to gain power in the other, thus avoiding that one group gained too much power or influence as to threaten the Emperor. It was a balance that Emperor Wu would prove able to keep.

Toward the end of the year, the Chen Dynasty was presented with an unexpected opportunity for expansion. The Liang Dynasty was in the middle of another civil war, though it was clear that Emperor Wen would be the one to come out on top. The rebel Huo Du, who was bordering the territories of the Chen Dynasty, decided to ensure his survival by offering his loyalty to another emperor. Emperor Wu was quite pleased when envoys arrived to Chenguo requesting that Huo Du be allowed to join the Chen Dynasty, the true heir to the Han. While Xiao Bin had some fears that this might lead to open conflict with the Liang, the three brothers agreed that they could not miss this opportunity. Emperor Wu gladly accepted this submission, sending his general Liu Derun with a contingent of Chen troops to reinforce Yangling Commandery.

Thankfully, the Liang Dynasty did not do anything about this annexation, leaving the Chen to acquire these new territories without any troubles. But there was still one issue that did flare up: Huo Du’s titles. Under the Liang Dynasty, Huo Du had been given the title of Marquis of Yangling, which he still claimed for himself. But the fact was that this was a title given by the Liang emperor. As the official policy of the Chen Dynasty was that the Liang emperors were illegitimate usurpers, this title could not be recognized by the court in Chenguo. Even as Huo Du insisted that he was still a marquis, even as the court called him “Administrator of Yangling Commandery” in the official letters. Xiao Bin eventually offered a solution to this, with Huo Du being received in Chenguo and promoted to the title of Marquis of Yangling by Emperor Wu. This way Huo Du would be able to be a marquis again, except that this time the title would come from the Chen, not the Liang. This left the new subordinate dissatisfied, as he felt he was given something he already owned, but no more issue came from it.

By the end of December, the rebuilding of the Chen was proving so effective that Emperor Wu was considering military expansion, going as far as asking his Grand Commandant Xue Tang for potential campaign plans. Conquest of territories was certainly out of the question at the moment. While the Liang Dynasty was internally weakened, Xue Tang did not believe the Chen Dynasty strong enough to make a move against it. As for the Xianbei, Xue Tang did not believe that breaking the peace with Xibaxiong would accomplish anything other than dooming the Chen. And in the south, most of the barbarians paid tribute to Chenguo, thus making their conquest useless. Well, not all of them. Chief Yan Baotun of Qiantang refused to accept Chen authority. Clearly, this was something that needed to be fixed. The Xiao brothers sent envoys to the barbarian chieftain demanding tribute. When Yan Baotun refused them, Emperor Wu declared war on him, a decision he took on the last day of 234.

Trusting thar Xiao Bin could handle the affairs of the court in his absence, Emperor Wu took personal command of this expedition, though he would not go alone. By his sides were two generals that were quickly rising within the Chen military, a clear sign that unlike the Liang, the Chen did have a next generation of officers to rely on once the old men had all died. The first one was obviously the ever-loyal Liu Derun, whose devotion to the Chen Dynasty had been felt ever since he abandoned his titles out of loyalty to Emperor Cheng. He was kind, humble and sociable, all things that endeared him to Emperor Wu. With them was the new Marquis of Donghai Hu Jingxuan. The son of Hu Zan was finally given an opportunity to make a name for himself instead of coasting on his father’s reputation, a chance he was not going to waste.

The high morale and good spirit that surrounded this campaign were hampered when Emperor Wu received news from his youngest son Xiao Zenguang. Toward the end of 234, the third prince had followed in his brother’s footsteps by being appointed to a provincial post to gain some experience in government. Emperor Wu had high hopes for Xiao Zenguang, who was an honest and hardworking young man with a kind heart and a mind dedicated to studying. But in early 234, the prince’s longtime weakened health proved to be early symptoms of leprosy. Realizing what this meant, and fearful that this might spread to others, Xiao Zenguang would from now on isolate himself from political life. In his letter to his parents, he thanked them for their love and warned them that he would do his upmost to never meet them again.

This news was heartbreaking to the Empress, who tried against good sense to go meet her poor son, who was only 17. Emperor Wu, himself saddened at the cruel fate Heaven had placed on his youngest son, had to put guards in front of the Empress’s palace for the rest of the campaign to stop Changle from going to their son’s side. Already Xiao Dan was struck with bouts of madness, and now his youngest was a leper. In a private letter to Xiao Bin, Emperor Wu asked his brother what he had done for Heaven to turn on him like that. Their father had been a monster, and still his sons were all competent men without issues. Yet he acted rightfully, and even punished him. Wasn’t the Son of Heaven supposed to be good? However, Emperor Wu was not aware of Xiao Cang’s own mental problems, which seemed to indicate at the very least his family was prone to mental illness.

Familial tragedies could not get in the way of the campaign. Well, campaign might be a bit of a stretch. Yan Baotun decided to go on the offensive, with his troops entering the Chen Dynasty at the start of 235. He hoped to raid enough of towns and cause enough chaos that the Emperor would decide that this was not worth it. But the barbarian chieftain never had any chance. His army barely had two thousand warriors in it. When the imperial forces showed up with four times his numbers in March, he was easily defeated on the battlefield. Fearful of what this Imperial Army would do if they came to his territories, Yan Baotun immediately agreed to become a tributary of the Chen Dynasty, thus ending this whole war after a single battle four months in. The Chen Dynasty was certainly growing in power and influence, and Emperor Wu was confident that this would only continue in the years to come.

____________________________
PS: Sorry for the month long pause. I just really needed that time to study, cause I suck at learning language and I need to learn two of them for my doctorate. Anyway, I'm back for the holidays, so I should be able to post way more often.

 

[Zamarak500]

235: THE ORIGINAL HEIR​

Once upon a time, there was a young prince named Yao Xiu. He was destined to great things, supposed to inherit the Dynasty built by his father. The Crown Prince knew how to navigate court politics and had learn enough in military affairs that he eventually expected his father to hand him a command. But as his relationship with Emperor Anwu deteriorated, Yao Xiu became more and more paranoid. Many conspired to pass the Mandate to his younger brother instead, and he started to plot in order to keep control over his inheritance. But his plots were eventually foiled, in part because his mother just couldn’t stay in line! She costed him everything! His father (and to a lesser extent his brother) then worked to have him removed from his rightful position as the heir, after which he was banished on the coast to one of the newly conquered counties of Yang Province, all the while his younger brother Yao Yuan became the new crown prince.

But instead of lamenting his misfortune, Yao Xiu endeavored to work hard and prove that he was the right choice as an heir. His time as a magistrate in Yang Province garnered praises throughout the Dynasty, and his time in the south helped him grow as a person. Before he had been nothing more than a plotter. Now he was proving to be a competent administrator, a learned man and an excellent politician. Had time been on his side, Yao Xiu was convinced that he would have eventually been able to regain his position as the heir. But Heaven clearly had other plans, as his father died in 225 and Yao Yuan ascended to the throne as Emperor Wen. His brother had wisely appointed him as Governor of Liang Province, their father’s homeland, and had made him the Crown Prince. Yao Xiu once again gained a path to the throne.

Yao Xiu then spent the following decade being lauded as the best governor in the Liang Dynasty. The Crown Prince never faced revolts or problems within his province, unlike the rest of the governors under Emperor Wen. He was also tasked with building the Imperial Tomb for their father, a task that he was never able to finish due to the disastrous handling of the Dynasty’s finances by his brother. He would have liked to help his brother with this, just like he would have preferred that Emperor Wen listen to him instead of his father-in-law Mo Jie, who had dangerous ideas that would weaken the Liang Dynasty. But Emperor Wen was clearly fearful of his brother, even though Yao Xiu would have been happy to protect his eventual throne from brutes like Xu Chu and Zhao Yun. But it didn’t matter if his brother didn’t want him. He would get the throne eventually. And the fact that he had a son while his brother didn’t mean that the future rulers of the Liang would be from his line.

Then Yao Xiu was notified that the Emperor was sick and requested his presence in Chang’an immediately. Taking a decent escort with him, the Crown Prince hastened to the Imperial Capital. He would have raced there with a small entourage had he not been worried with the Pan Clan. The courtier who had told him of his brother’s declining health also warned the Crown Prince that they had tried to stop the news from leaving the Capital, clearly in an attempt to stop him from coming. This would mark the first blow in the conflict between Yao Xiu and the Pan Clan. He had already been opposed to their growing influence at court, but now they were trying to deny him his inheritance. Empress Pan especially seemed a dangerous force at court, one that might be willing to hinder him at every turn. He needed to be careful.

He became ever more suspicious when a messenger from the Capital met him on the way, telling him that the Emperor had recuperated and that the Crown Prince could return to his province. Suspicious of this order, Yao Xiu expressed his relief, but insisted that he wanted to congratulate his brother on his quick recovery. When the messenger tried to dissuade him, he insisted, wanting to at least pay homage to the funerary tablets of Empress Dowager Liang, his brother’s late mother. The messenger could do little but agree. Yao Xiu had the messenger imprisoned, unwilling to let him slip out and warn the court of his incoming arrival. The Pan Clan might then decide to ambush him. All his suspicions were proven right, as upon reaching Chang’an he learned that his brother had died two weeks ago.

The issue was that the Capital was now under the control of Empress Pan and her brother, and they made it clear that they wouldn’t open the gates of the city unless Yao Xiu made some serious concessions. Pan Zhiyuan would stay as Chancellor and the now former Empress Pan would be allowed to continue residing in the Empress’s palace, thus allowing her to keep some of her prestige and influence over the inner court. These demands were a far stretch from Yao Xiu’s plan to have both of them banished to southern Yi Province where they belonged.

The Crown Prince now had to consider his options. The fact was that the Pan Clan had no candidate to back, no one else to put on the throne. The only other candidate was Yao Xiu’s son Yao Hao, who was safely under his care. Even if the city was somehow still loyal to them, he was the only one who could become emperor. It was likely that the provinces would side with him, and he could already put the Capital under siege if he wanted to. But Chang’an had a reputation of being impregnable, which would mean a long-protracted siege. Starting your reign by besieging your own capital did not look good. It would certainly hurt the prestige of the Dynasty. And while he was besieging the city, the Liang would be left vulnerable. Some governors might decide to use this to break away, or the Chen might move to invade while the Imperial Army was distracted.

He needed a quick enthronement, or the Liang Dynasty would suffer. Grudgingly, with his teeth clenched, Yao Xiu agreed to the Pan siblings’ demands. The gates were opened to the Crown Prince and a ceremony was hastily organized. Entering Chang’an for the first time in more than a decade, Yao Xiu finally fulfilled his ambitions, becoming the third emperor of the Liang Dynasty in late January 235. He would eventually receive the posthumous name of Emperor Yuan of Liang (梁元帝; Liáng Yuán Dì; “The Primal Emperor of Liang”). His first decrees as Emperor were to elevate his wife Mo Xiaowen to the rank of Empress and his son Yao Hao to the position of Crown Prince. However, he did not posthumously promote the late Empress Cheng to Empress Dowager, still blaming his mother for costing him the succession in 220.

Immediately after his ascension, the newly enthroned Emperor tried to renege on his promises and move against the former Empress. The fact that the former Empress resided in the Empress’s palace was an insult to the Emperor, and more importantly for him, it was an insult to his wife. Empress Mo was forced to reside in another palace, usually used by the favorite concubine of an emperor. It needed repairs, which had been put off during the reign of Emperor Wen because he simply did not have the money to handle these kinds of things. His wife was also refusing to live in a concubine’s palace. She was the daughter of the great Mo Jie, the Empress of the Liang Dynasty, the mother of the Crown Prince! She should be sleeping in the Empress’s palace. So why was this woman who should have no influence living in her home?

Emperor Yuan wanted to remove the late Empress Pan to another palace, and so he tried to turn the court and ask for support in removing Pan Xiaoji. He maneuvered in order to have some old law drawn up that would conveniently allow him to remove the designation of the Empress’s palace from that said palace, at least long enough for him to remove her from the palace (and if possible, the Capital). But to his surprise, the court opposed his move, with petitions asking him to honor his word. This forced Emperor Yuan to face the harsh fact that he was facing a court alien to him. It was no longer the court that he had left, which included many officials that supported him and his cause. He had spent more than a decade away from Chang’an, which had given the Pan Clan more than enough time to build themselves a network of allies and supporters. For the time being, they held sway at court, not him. His first attempt to oppose the former empress had failed.

When the former Empress came a few days later asking for her salary to keep her lifestyle in the Empress’s palace, Emperor Yuan flatly refused. She would not get a single coin from the treasury. If she wanted to entertain her luxurious lifestyle, then the Pan Clan would have to pay for it. There was once again a small uproar, with some officials worried that they might see their salaries also be freeze for their support of the Pan Clan. Their idiotic reaction baffled the Emperor. He wasn’t just doing out of pettiness. The finances were such a mess that he couldn’t go around spending it frivolously. He needed that money to rebuild the Liang Dynasty after the recent civil wars. Couldn’t these idiots not see that he was trying to save them all?

Clearly, Emperor Yuan needed new allies, as most of the current officials were either useless, corrupt, or far too aligned with the Pan Clan to be trustworthy. Like his brother, Emperor Yuan decided to find allies among his family and relatives. Huang Dunli, his nephew who served as the Grand Commandant of the Imperial Army, quickly caught his attention. Huang Dunli might not be well liked at court, but he was a competent military general. The Emperor correctly guessed that while Huang Dunli was loyal to the Liang due to the advantage his relationship with the Imperial Clan gave him, he didn’t have any particular loyalty within the empire as long as it benefited him. Using this to his advantage, Emperor Yuan gained his nephew support by appointing him Administrator of Longxi Commandery in Liang Province. And just like that, he secured himself the head of the imperial military.

Just as Emperor Wen had relied on the Pan Clan for support, Emperor Yuan decided to seek help from the Mo Clan against his enemies. He thus decided to appoint Mo Duo, the adopted son of Mo Jie, as an Imperial Councilor. By this point, the second Marquis of Yong had completely abandoned his barbarian ways and lived as a provincial Chinese nobleman enjoying the good life, which would have made his adoptive father turn in his grave. Mo Duo accepted the position (it was not like he could say no), but he would wisely never take his place at court. Partially because he liked his good provincial life, but more importantly because he understood that his presence would simply be used against Emperor Yuan. He spent enough time with Mo Jie to realize that being seen as a barbarian lover only helped your enemies. So while Mo Duo would advise and help his brother-in-law, he would stay away from court to avoid creating a scandal.

Besides, the Emperor already had a scandal on his hand. Once again following in his father’s footsteps, Emperor Yuan found himself with his eldest daughter pregnant with a child out of wedlock after an affair with an official (who currently served in Bing Province under Xuan Mei). The Emperor had tried to keep her in Liang Province, but convinced that Bing Province would send envoys to her father’s enthronement, Yao Lin made her way to the Capital, where she gave birth to a bastard son in February. This was just as much of a scandal as it was when Yao Ki had a bastard son with Hu Cheer in 207, made worse by the fact that the lover was nowhere to be found. At least with Hu Cheer the father knew who to assassinate for this humiliation. Emperor Yuan, not wanting to see this turn into a bigger problem, quietly had Princess Lin married to Qu Dunli, son of Qu Duyi, one of Liu Siyuan’s main generals. Unlike her aunt before her, Yao Lin did not protest one bit, as her new husband was posted on the northern border… in Bing Province, where her lover also resided.

While politics at court were difficult for the new emperor, he immediately started to improve the affairs of the Dynasty. The coffers had been badly managed under Emperor Wen, with the Emperor either not collecting the taxes right or spending it all away on useless affairs, like paying for peace with the Chen Dynasty. Emperor Yuan started to work with the Excellency of Works Xu Ziying (son of Xu Shu), who he wanted to help him improve things. Already, Emperor Yuan had managed to fill the imperial coffers with his own, having amassed a large sum of coins in Liang Province, which proved enough to temporarily help stabilize the Dynasty. Impressed, and realizing that there might be advantages to getting in the Emperor’s good graces, Xu Ziying and Emperor Yuan started to work on the taxations and building projects that were needed to restore the Dynasty to its former heights.

Emperor Yuan’s ultimate goal was to throw away the disruptive reforms of his father-in-law as well as the edicts introduced to counter them, but that would mean asking the Chancellor for help with all these laws, and he was not going to lower himself to groveling in front of his enemies. Instead, he turned to the Grand Tutor Bu Jing. Bu Jing had always been suspicious of the rise of the Pan Clan and thought them a threat to the stability of the Liang. He also knew the Son of Heaven from his time in Yang Province, and he knew that backing the Emperor was the right choice. While Bu Jing had previously been a supporter of Mo Jie’s reforms, he knew that Emperor Yuan was the best choice between the ones offered to him at this time. And while the Emperor didn’t like the reforms on paper, he had no issue with their goals of improving the lives of the peasantry. Bu Jing thus hoped that by helping the Emperor, he would be able to bring some reforms to ease the burden of the people as Mo Jie had wanted, but without shifting the power dynamic so much that Emperor Yuan opposed these ideas.

Emperor Yuan had also been quick to order the rebel Wei Yan to be dealt with. He had previously refused to pay his taxes to Chang’an during the reign of his brother and now stood as an independent warlord. Upon ascending to the throne, he wrote to Governor Bei Tiao of Jing Province (the successor of Qin Qiao) asking him to launch an expedition against the rebel. He even sent gold to the province to ensure that it was done, knowing that some monetary incentive would help motivate the local officials. Manyl administrators, using the provincial troops made available by Mo Jie’s reforms, started to assault Wei Yan’s territories. This would prove a working tactic, as the rebellious general would lose all his territories by the end of the year.

And all that after only two months on the throne. Emperor Yuan could only smile, convinced that things would continue to go well for him. But his eyes were not just focused on the inside of his Dynasty. He also looked at the recovering Chen Dynasty of Emperor Wu. And while he didn’t admit it, Emperor Yuan was jealous of the success of his imperial rival. Emperor Wu had pushed back against the forces of their brother-in-law Xibaxiong, achieving a legendary victory and forcing the undefeated Xianbeis to negotiate. He was rebuilding his state and now had just achieve a victory against barbarians. This frustrated Emperor Yuan. Surely, everything this pretender could do, he could do too. After all, he was the Son of Heaven!

Not wanting to be upstaged by the Chen emperor, Emperor Yuan began to look for a target for his own campaign. In the end, his sight fell on a Shanyue chieftain in Yang Province who still remained free even as his territories were surrounded by Liang territories. Chief Zu Shang had raided the province on a few occasions during the reign of Emperor Wen, giving Emperor Yuan the perfect excuse to invade. But unlike Emperor Wu, he was not seeking a tributary. He wanted to conquer these territories, permanently. Emperor Yuan thus announced this campaign at the end of March. And surprisingly, he announced that he would lead it in person, just as Emperor Wu did. He hoped that this campaign would gain him enough political capital to finally move against the Pan Clan and assert his dominance at court. Soon, the Liang would return to the great empire it had been when it was founded. And when all his enemies had been removed and his position secured… well, there will only be one target left, right?

 

[Zamarak500]

235-236: A WAR FOR REPUTATION​

April 235 would mark the beginning of Emperor Yuan’s first campaign. As much as he believed himself to be his father’s rightful successor and how much he studied warfare, the fact was that at 31 years old this would be his first real military experience. By that point, Emperor Anwu had spent years as a general and warlord, winning at least a dozen battles against various rebels and enemies. But circumstances were different. The father had been raised in a time of chaos and constant warfare, while the son had been raised within the safety of the father’s conquests. But even so, he was confident that he would triumph and that this campaign would fulfil its goal. He would show that he was a conqueror, that he could expand the Dynasty, that his view of the future was the right one. And once he returned victorious, he would surely have enough support to remove those damn Pan siblings from court.

Emperor Yuan met with his nephew Huang Dunli to prepare a plan for the campaign. While he would be commanding it himself, he had ample time to prepare with his Grand Commandant while the full might of the Liang Imperial Army assembled. It would take months before the troops were readied, which left the Emperor the opportunity to handle affairs before he had to leave, including how he would handle this campaign. The plan that they worked on together was simple: victory by sheer numbers. Emperor Yuan wanted to show the strength of the Liang Dynasty, which had been put into question throughout the reign of his brother. Huang Dunli was a bit annoy by the amount of troops that the Emperor wanted to send, in part due to the lack of plunder it would leave for him, but Emperor Yuan promised to pay his nephew for the expedition in order to keep his loyalty.

Of course, the Pan Clan was aware of what the Emperor was trying to do. The former Empress Pan knew that Emperor Yuan was out to get them ever since his attempt to go after her presence in the Empress’s palace. While she had yet to figure out exactly how he was planning the use the war to further his goals, she knew that he would use this campaign in some way. Their position was incredibly precarious since the death of Emperor Wen, and every month their control over court would be slipping. While she still had influence and allies that allowed her to control the court, the fact was that she currently had little to offer to her supporters. All she could do was hinder the Emperor, not reward her followers. Emperor Yuan could give them titles and offices, while she could not, as shown with Huang Dunli. She needed to sabotage this campaign as much as possible, or this might prove to be the end for her.

The feud between the two sides wasn’t helped by the fact that Emperor Yuan started to plot the murder of Chancellor Pan Zhiyuan in May. While the former empress was clearly the brain behind the Pan Clan’s influence at court, the fact was that without her brother she would find herself extremely diminished. It was a world of men, and without one to be her puppet she would be far more easily pushed aside. After all, there was a reason why she wanted Pan Zhiyuan to stay Chancellor. Sadly for the Emperor, his efforts in this were hampered by the Excellency of Masses Lu Yu, who had aligned with the Pan Clan and proved difficult to get around. His plots to get rid of this troublesome Chancellor thus came to nothing, at least for now.

At the very least, Emperor Yuan broke the last lingering link between the Imperial Clan and the Pan Clan to make things clear to everyone where he stood. Emperor Wen had agreed to a betrothal between their sister Princess Chuntao and Pan Shilang, a son of Pan Zhiyuan. This alliance was supposed to cement the Pan Clan as the great allies of the Liang Dynasty and ensure that they continued to work hard to protect Emperor Wen. But the situation had completely changed now that Emperor Yuan was in charge. Emperor Yuan informed his sister that she would instead be married to a young officer currently operating in the south of Jing Province, who he hoped to eventually bring to Chang’an as a member of his officer corps. While the princess mostly shrugged, the Pan Clan was furious at this, seeing another source of legitimacy being cut off from under them.

But Emperor Yuan also had to worry about two troublesome governors that were causing him headaches. The first one was, unsurprisingly, Governor Xuan Mei of Bing Province, son of the infamous Xuan Su. As always, his ambitions to expand his control were at the center of this whole affair. After his last failure to seize You Province, he had finally turned his sight elsewhere, only to decide that it would be a great idea to annex Shang Commandery, controlled by a son of the late Grand Commandant Yang Xiu. When Emperor Yuan came to power, this war was still going on, eventually catching his attention. Now, Xuan Mei had some arguments to support his actions, most notably that Shang Commandery had historically been part of Bing Province and had only been split off due to its illegal conquest by Yang Xiu. Emperor Anwu had been willing to allow it in order to make Yang Xiu a counterweight to Xuan Su’s influence, but now both men were gone. Surely this could be tolerated, right? But Emperor Yuan didn’t want any internal civil war, and unlike his brother he would be firm about it. In May, he censored Xuan Mei, thus kicking him out of the Imperial Bureaucracy.

Then came the case of Governor Han Gongxin of Ji Province, who had been only recently appointed to replace Zhao Gongxiu after his suspicious death. During his time in the Capital, Han Gongxin had earned a reputation for being a lecherous fellow, often hanging with women or girls to an inappropriate degree. It seemed that this might have included Princess Yao Yian, the eldest daughter of Emperor Wen and born from one of his concubines. Now, Emperor Yuan had never met his niece before becoming emperor, but that didn’t stop him from being disgusted that she had gotten pregnant at the young age of 12 by a man 23 years older. It could have been avoided had Han Gongxin claimed his innocence, with Emperor Yuan willing to swipe this whole affair under the rug. But no, the governor claimed loudly and proudly that it was his child, even legitimizing the bastard when the boy was born in June. Emperor Yuan was quick to censor Han Gongxin the moment the bastard saw the light of day.

Censoring problematic governors wasn’t something new, having been most famously used by Emperor Wen against Zhao Yun before he revolted. But Emperor Yuan didn’t see this in the same way as his brother. Emperor Wen had done this as a punishment… and then left Zhao Yun to his own affairs, never removing him from office. It had been a half-measure because the Emperor didn’t want to go the full way. Meanwhile, Emperor Yuan had no problem removing these governors from the get go, but he instead shrewdly offered them a way out. The censorship doomed their career, and should they continue in their wayward ways they would be removed once he returned from campaign. However, should they change and prove loyal and useful to the Emperor, he would be willing to reconfirm them in the Imperial Bureaucracy. This was a last chance he was offering them, hoping to find them begging to support him and help him in any way possible.

The troops had finally assembled toward the end of the summer. Emperor Yuan then made his way south with a large enough escort, once again convinced that the Pan Clan would try to ambush him and kill him. Among the officers that accompanied him, two of them stood out as the main commanders of this campaign. The first was Zhang Ling, a general of experience known for his kindness, courage, humility and love of hunting. He had notably served in the ill-fated invasion of the Chen Dynasty, where like every other officer he had been soundly defeated by the Chen generals. The other commander was Lü Sun, son of the warlord Lü Bu. He had escaped to Liang Province when his father’s territories were seized by Gongsun Zan. He thanked the man who hosted his fleeing family by pledging his life to the Yao Imperial Clan as a general, thus following in his father’s footsteps. He also, in a weird twist of fate, married Jiang Xiaofan, daughter of Chancellor Jiang Xian of the Han, one of the key conspirators in the murder of his adoptive grandfather Dong Zhuo. These two men represented a shift toward a new generation of officers competent enough to defend the Liang Dynasty, a renewal that was finally taking place after a clear lack of talent during the later reign of Emperor Wen.

On his way south, Emperor Yuan stopped to speak with his brother-in-law Mo Duo, who was then serving as a provincial magistrate on the border with the Chen Dynasty. The two spent this small time together discussing how to remove the Pan Clan from Chang’an. For all his love of the Chinese lifestyle, Mo Duo never got why they cared so much about protocols, ceremonies and etiquettes. He understood all this subtlety, but he just didn’t care much for it, especially in this case. Emperor Yuan and the former empress were just dancing around each other, waiting to make moves so hidden that no one would even notice them taking place. Mo Duo simply said “Just kill them. Remove them permanently. It will cause problems, but them you will be able to deal with these problems freely.” Emperor Yuan shrugged off this barbaric approach to his situation, though he kept the advice at the back of his mind for the rest of the campaign.

As they made their way south during the autumn and winter, Emperor Yuan was notified that a revolt among the barbarian tribes had taken place. Xuan Mei’s attempt to conquer Shang Commandery had left the mountainous region between Liang and Bing Provinces full of peasants fleeing the war. The local barbarians didn’t like these interlopers, With the provincial militias used to fight Xuan Mei’s war instead of handling the crisis, the barbarians rose up and pushed the peasants out. When the court heard of this, the barbarians were deemed rebels and enemies of the Liang Dynasty for taking up arms. While Emperor Yuan agreed that these barbarians were indeed rebels, he cursed the Pan Clan for being so tactless when it came to other cultures. Clearly, they had inherited these views from their famed father. With the Imperial Army fully committed to the southern campaign, the Court would have to wait for the troops to come back north before the revolt could be handled.

At first, things seemed to be going well. The march south did lead to some desertion, but nothing more than what was usually seen. Those caught were punished, and things went back to normal. The barbarian enemies didn’t even try to fight them, seemingly aware of the foolishness of such an act. Emperor Yuan could only smile, convinced that this would be an easy campaign that he could capitalize upon. Then things started to go wrong. The Pan Clan did everything to disrupt the campaign, cause supply issues, with some being missing, delayed or simply the wrong kind. This obviously led to more desertion, enough so that it started to be a problem for Emperor Yuan.

And then there was general Zhang Ling. It turned out that he felt more loyal to the Pan Clan than to Emperor Yuan, who he feared would be a cruel and ruthless ruler like his father before him. Zhang Ling was convinced that the Liang Dynasty needed a softer hand, and the Pan Clan seemed like a moderating influence at court. So he helped the supply problems, sent the wrong orders to his subordinates or made some critical mistakes that any competent officer would have easily avoided. And then Zhang Ling often got into public disputes with other officers, like Lü Sun or Huang Dunli. He was sabotaging the campaign, and had he not been necessary to complete it, Emperor Yuan would have probably had him executed for his actions. But Zhang Ling would have never endangered the lives of his men, which is probably why he was not immediately punished.

And then the spring came, which meant the beginning of tropical diseases in the south. Many of the soldiers, unaccustomed to life in the southern part of China, quickly fell ill to diseases. Epidemic spread through the camps, and by the time summer came the soldiers were already dropping like flies. Disease had always been a problem for armies invading from the north, but the supply issues only aggravated the situation. And obviously, the local barbarians did nothing to help the massive invading army camping on their lands. They poisoned the Chinese soldiers as often as they could or did night raids to attack the camps.

In the end, the war was concluded in June 236 after months of pain and suffering. Of the 30,000 men that had made their way south, half had died due to attrition or disease. This campaign was supposed to show the greatness and the might of the Liang Dynasty. Instead, it had been a massive disaster, even if it had achieved its goal of conquering territories. And Emperor Yuan knew who to blame for this mess: the Pan siblings. They had been hindering his campaign and caused this debacle. And now his plan to return a conquering hero and use his newfound fame to remove them was ruined! Angry and frustrated, he decided that he should just take the advice of Mo Duo. Enough was enough. It certainly lacked class, but by now it was necessary. He had troops, which he could use to march on his own Capital, perform a self-coup and remove his enemies permanently. Emperor Yuan thus ordered his army back home, ready to do what needed to be done.

 

[Zamarak500]

235-236: THE GREAT XIAO IMPERIAL CLAN​

Emperor Wu had returned from his little war against the barbarian chieftain Yan Baotun, who had wisely chosen to surrender and submit to the authority of the Chen Dynasty as a tributary. This was a nice little success for his reinvigorated dynasty. The Chen Dynasty was finally recovering under his leadership (and his brothers’ stewardship). This successful little campaign was nothing more than a proof of that. Soon, the Chen Dynasty would be strong enough to do some real expansion. But for the time being, Emperor Wu would have to put asides his ambitions against the Liang and his desire for revenge against Xibaxiong. For now, he needed to make sure that the Chen Dynasty prospered under his rule.

This was especially important as news were coming from the Liang Dynasty about a change of regime. Emperor Wen had died after a decade long reign that notably saw them invade the Chen Dynasty, an invasion that was luckily pushed back by the efforts of Din Zhiguo, Hu Zan and Ba Daiping. Now there was a new emperor in Chang’an, Emperor Yuan of Liang. The Chen Dynasty had heard of the disgraced prince on a few occasions, from his failure to be appointed crown prince to his surprising success as a official in Yang Province. And now it seemed that he had been promoted from Governor of Liang Province to Emperor. It was to be expected that this new emperor would prove a lot more competent than the previous one, and far more active. This was proven when Emperor Yuan launched an expedition south only two months into his reign. The trio of Xiao brothers would need to keep an eye on their new enemy.

But Emperor Wu found himself quite occupied, as his new tributary immediately asked his new overlord for help. It turned out that while he was fighting the Chen military, a distant cousin had decided to launch an expedition to seize the territories of Yan Baotun. Once upon a time, the region had been held by the Yan Clan, eventually splitting between two brothers who themselves divided their lands between their sons and grandsons. Those brothers were the grandfathers of Yan Baotun and his invading cousin Yan Ma, who used Yan Baotun’s absence to make his move. Yan Ma hoped to first conquer these territories, after which he would move to reconquer the whole of the territories held by the Yan Clan. Considering that the majority of the Yan chieftains paid tribute to the Chen Dynasty, this was an unacceptable outcome to Emperor Wu, who had no choice but to come to his tributary’s rescue.

While he sent back some of the generals he had by his side, he made sure to keep the competent Liu Derun to assist him. The Emperor had grown quite fund of this commander. While he was a scion of the Han, Liu Derun was arguably the most loyal subject of the Chen after the Imperial Clansmen themselves. They were of the same generation, and the two of them had a kind soul and more than enough bravery. The two got along so much that Emperor Wu entertained the idea of appointing him as Grand Commandant, though he eventually decided against it. Why replace Xue Tang on a whim when he was doing such a good job?

The Emperor was also continuously kept updated by Xiao Bin about the goings on at court. Emperor Wu’s trust in his brother was big enough that the Chancellor was allowed a lot more leeway than what was usual for the office. For example, he suggested that the new Marquis of Yangling Hu Duo, who had recently defected to the Chen Dynasty, be allowed to serve as an Imperial Councilor. While the appointment took place in May, the Emperor was only warned later about it, though he agreed with the decision when he was made aware of it. Xiao Bin knew that with the right arguments, he could act as nothing less than a regent, though he still needed his brother’s agreement of course.

In this case, he justified the appointment of Hu Duo by the amount of information this man could provide about the Liang Dynasty. The Marquis of Yangling was not the first defector from the Liang to join the Chen court, far from it. However, Hu Duo was the only one of them to have served in the highest echelons on the Liang bureaucracy. He had been the Excellency of Works under both Emperor Anwu and Emperor Wen, allowing him to see documents and learn information that the Chen Dynasty always dreamt of capturing. Hu Duo’s time in the Liang Dynasty made him a goldmine of knowledge that could give them the edge over their rival dynasty, especially if the Chen ever decided to invade the Liang in the near future.

During the late summer, Emperor Wu and Liu Derun launched an assault against the forces of Yan Ma. The barbarian leader clearly did not expect the Chen Emperor to care enough to come down and rescue his new tributary. Taken aback by the arrival of the Imperial Army, Yan Ma tried to open channels with the Emperor, even suggesting that he would be willing to become a tributary of the Chen Dynasty after reunifying the lands of the Yan Clan. But Emperor Wu didn’t want to take the risk. For all he knew, Yan Ma would simply renege on the agreement once he had achieved his goal and the Imperial Army had retreated back home. Emperor Wu instead ordered an assault that led to the complete annihilation of Yan Ma’s forces. However, the barbarian leader escape. While Emperor Wu would return home after this victory, Liu Derun would spend the rest of the year hunting down Yan Ma in the barbarian lands, eventually catching him in December 235 and ending this conflict.

Emperor Wu returned to a hero’s welcome. The people were all too happy to cheer for the Emperor, the man who was helping the Dynasty recover and who protected the people. The laws under his reign had been far fairer to the people, mostly because Emperor Wu had decided to roll back the cruel law code of his father to return to the one used during the late Han Dynasty. Xiao Bin hadn’t protested, and Xiao Dang hadn’t cared one-bit which code was used. Talking of Xiao Dang, he had proven admirable in his duties as Excellency of Works. By the end of the year, the reconstruction projects launched after the wars with the Xianbei Confederacy had been a success under his stewardship. He was so determined to see it through that he was now arguing to have the project expanded, believing that they could improve the defenses on the borders and create even greater monuments to the glory of the Chen. However, in this he was blocked by Xiao Bin, who was hesitant to throw that much money into one project.

But tensions also existed within the Imperial Family at a personal level, most notably between the Emperor and his empress. In a sad twist of fate, their once unshakable relationship had deteriorated ever since Emperor Wu succeeded his father a decade ago. Once he became the Son of Heaven, Emperor Wu became careful of his reputation and grew ever more prideful, which left him a lot less willing to appear as a man who followed his barbarian wife. But more than anything, the tensions between the imperial couple were caused by the wars with Changle’s brother Xibaxiong. The Despoiler was easily the most hated figure in the Chen Dynasty, which had led to a new rise of anti-barbarian sentiment at court. Meanwhile, the Empress had advised her husband to simply surrender to her brother, convinced that he was invincible. The Emperor felt slighted, convinced that Changle sided with her brother over her husband.

And things didn’t get better from that point on. Emperor Wu was finally convinced by the court to take Chinese concubines after his brother Xiao Bin argued for it (the prince being a lot less sympathetic to barbarians than his brother). While the goal had never been to produce a more Chinese heir, as Crown Prince Gong was already an adult, it still meant that the Emperor would spend time with other women than his wife. And these relationships had resulted in new children, ones that weren’t born from the Empress. In 232, a concubine gave birth to a princess named Xiao Yuguang. In 234, another girl was born to a different concubine, the child being named Xiao Bai. Seeing these children live in the Imperial Palace was difficult for Changle, especially as her own daughters were being married away and her sons were sent to provincial posts outside of the Capital.

The start of 236 also saw the Xiao Imperial Clan be shaken by a series of changes. First of all was the happy news that Crown princess Ding had produced another son, named Xiao Zhou. With two grandsons, it seemed that the imperial succession was all but ensured, which was a joyful occasion for anyone at court. Emperor Wu even invited his son back to Chenguo to celebrate, with a feast in the honor of his new grandson. Of course, this led to awkward moments between the family, with exchanges between the Crown Princess and the Empress being especially terrible for everyone present. The absence of the Crown Prince’s brothers was also noticed, which only soured the mood.

Crown Princess Ding once again used this opportunity to plead that her husband needed to be recalled to the Capital. She hated the campaign life and wanted to come to Chenguo, where she would live a wealthy and debauch lifestyle, just as she had always dreamt. She was married to the Crown Prince and would eventually be the empress, so surely, she deserved a great life. But this was once again denied by the Emperor, who still hoped that his son could become a better administrator by staying away from Chenguo. Xiao Bin also used this opportunity to push the idea that Xiao Gong really needed concubine. It was a repeat of what had been argued when Emperor Wu was the crown prince, as no one really wanted to see Crown Princess Ding become empress, considering her terrible personality. Xiao Bin hoped to push her aside once Xiao Gong produced a son from another woman. Sadly for his plans, the Crown Princess proved hawkish against any lady sent in the Crown Prince’s direction, allowing her to keep a firm grip on her husband.

In late February, the Imperial Clan was notified that Prince Xiao Hanhe had died from dysentery at the age of 40. The death of Emperor Cheng’s second son marked the first time that one of the five brothers had passed away (Xiao Cang, while insane and destitute, was still alive). The three brothers didn’t exactly know how to handle this news. On the one hand, their brother was dead. But then again, this was Xiao Hanhe. Their half-brother was the only one not sharing the same mother. This had always proved a wall between them, which Xiao Hanhe felt for his entire life. But the biggest issue in the relationship was the way Xiao Hanhe had tried to act against Emperor Wu on a few occasions, with a revolt even fighting to put him on the throne. Because of this, the prince had spent the last years of his life as a powerless provincial official, with Xiao Bin making sure that he never got close to true power (though he was allowed to live a comfortable lifestyle worthy of his rank). Even if their relationship had always been complicated, Emperor Wu still made sure that Xiao Hanhe’s sons were cared for, with the eldest Xiao Fangji was made a county magistrate a month later.

Another issue that surprisingly popped up was that of Liu Kun, the son of the late warlord Liu Siyuan and the former Chancellor of the Han Dynasty. He had been brought in the Chen territories when Yang Weili defected, but had mostly been left to himself since the strategist’s death. Two decades later, the Xiao brothers now asked themselves the question: what to do with him? Xiao Bin argued that he had to be put to death. Even if he had only been a child at the time, the man had held considerable power at one point. Even worse, Yang Weili had suggested that Liu Kun be made emperor of a restored Han Dynasty as his death wish. The fact that this had even been considered made Liu Kun a menace, a possible rallying point for Han loyalists. But Emperor Wu refused to take this course of action. The Han was long gone, replaced by the Chen. Even the members of the Liu Clan accepted this fact now. Instead, Emperor Wu appointed Liu Kun the new Magistrate of Nanpingyang, allowing the man to have a career within the Chen bureaucracy.

When it came to the advisors of Emperor Wu, there was one that simply was not on par with the rest. Bei Mia had sadly struggled in his duties as Excellency of the Masses just as much as he did as Excellency of Works for Emperor Cheng. Emperor Wu would have eventually fired him had he not died in the middle of 236. To replace him, the Emperor turned to a newly titled marquis named Ren Duo. No, this Ren Duo was not related to the Ren Duo who was also Excellency of the Masses under Emperor Cheng, the one who controlled court and was hated by everyone. He had in fact stayed out of politics during the apex of that Ren Duo’s power out of fear of being associated with the man. Nor was he related to the Ren Duo who was Excellency of the Masses in the Liang Dynasty, the one who was the main opponent of Mo Jie’s reforms. This was a completely different Ren Duo, one that would prove just as efficient in his duties as the other two.

And so the rest of 236 went without any issue. The Chen Dynasty was recuperating, growing, improving. Things were going perfectly with Xiao Bin and Xiao Dang to assist Emperor Wu in the management of the Dynasty. In fact, the Chen had recuperated enough that it could be considered at full strength. Emperor Wu spent the last months of 236 constantly discussing with his Grand Commandant Xue Tang. With the Imperial Army at its greatest heights, it was time to go on the offensive. There was one thing that was on the Emperor’s mind, one thing that he wanted dealt with. And Xue Tang was all too happy to be the one to offer him a solution.

 

[Zamarak500]

236-237: SHOWDOWN​

Emperor Yuan had decided that it was finally time to get rid of the Pan Clan. At the start of his reign, he had made the mistake of assuming that the court would side with him since he was the Son of Heaven. Realizing his error, he then adopted the far more successful policy of winning the support of the court through political achievements. This had allowed him to notably win some goodwill from the Excellency of Works and the support of the Grand Tutor. But the southern campaign was supposed to be the crowning jewel of this plan, giving him enough prestige to remove his enemies at court without causing a fuss. But the logistical debacle that this had been doomed any gains the campaign could have given him.

So now he decided for the more direct and violent solution of using his army to slaughter his enemies for good. He kept the Imperial Army together under the excuse of needing it to deal with the barbarian revolt in the north. He then explained that he wanted the troops to parade in Chang’an to celebrate their recent victory. But the Emperor remained aloof about the details, unwilling to trust anyone with his real plan until they were close enough to the Imperial Capital. He had only confided in a small cadre of personal loyalists, with the majority of the officers unaware of what was coming. Emperor Yuan planned to keep them in the dark until it was time, at which point he would organise a hunt as an excuse to privately fill them in on his planned coup against the Pan Clan.

But even his precautions were not enough. The Pan siblings had either been informed of what was coming or guessed it when news came that the army was coming toward Chang’an. Fearful that the court might turn on them if they learned that the Emperor was coming to kill them and their allies, the Pan siblings kept the news to their own circle of supporters, stopping it from spreading outside of their own clique. Pan Zhiyuan, who was technically in control of the court with the Emperor absent, panicked and fell back into alcohol. It seemed the only thing that made his inevitable doom even slightly bearable. At this point, they might as well give up. Maybe if they begged enough, Emperor Yuan would allow them to live a life of exile? Comfortable house arrest in the middle of nowhere isolated from any distraction suddenly sounded nice. Maybe their father Pan Zheng was onto something.

But the former Empress Pan didn’t want to sit and wait for their doom. She also rejected her brother’s idea of groveling in front of the Emperor. And when Pan Zhiyuan dared to suggest the cowardly idea of fleeing to the Chen Dynasty, she slapped him and told him that they needed to stand tall and be brave in the face of such challenge. Surely, there was something they could do, anything they could do to save themselves! They were against the wall, and Pan Xiaoji struggled to find a way to turn the table. But at this point, she was willing to try anything, no matter how rash and dangerous. She was willing to bet everything, because if she didn’t, she was going to lose everything.

In mid-July, with Chang’an in the distance, Emperor Yuan organized a hunt with his officers, supposedly to celebrate their successes and boost morale. No one suspected his true intentions, as Emperor Yuan was an avid hunter in his free time. And at first, he did take to enjoy the event, though he never lost focus on his goals. Arrows were shot as the hunter sought their prey. One arrow certainly hit its target. It went through the neck, throwing him off his horse. Emperor Yuan could only gurgle as he bled and died on the ground, never seeing his assassin once. He died at the age of 33, having ruled the Liang Dynasty for only eighteen months. In that short time, he had successfully started to solve the financial crisis left by his brother, had extended the empire’s borders and was in the process of reaffirming imperial authority over the now highly autonomous governors. And then he died in a hunting accident at the behest of the Pan Clan, not that this was ever proven.

The Pan siblings didn’t help themselves when they pointed the finger far too fast at Empress Mo. Her plan having worked, the former Empress Pan needed something to take the fall, and removing the Empress would certainly work in her favor. She had prepared documents for this next phase of their plan, and quickly had her brother present them in front of the Imperial Court. In these forgeries, Emperor Yuan expressed fear that his wife might poison him, and he was instead considering setting her aside to marry the former empress. While marrying your sister-in-law was somewhat taboo, it wasn’t like emperors doing strange marriages was a novelty. After all, Emperor Qianfei of Han (206-217) had been married to a member of his own Clan, so this couldn’t be that bad. Fearing for his life, Emperor Yuan was thus on his way to the Capital to solve this, even writing a letter to have the former empress adopt the Crown Prince as her own son. This was pure nonsense, and most of the court knew it. But most of the court was also loyal to the Pan Clan. So when Chancellor Pan Zhiyuan ordered the imprisonment of Empress Mo, no one stopped the guards as they dragged the screaming mother to the dungeons. Empress Mo had not even been told of her husband’s death until the guards rushed her room and arrested her. In tears, she asks that she at least be allowed to break the news to the Crown Prince. This was refused.

And just like that, the Pan Clan had removed the only person with a strong claim for control over the Crown Prince. The only other challenger would be his uncle, Mo Duo the Marquis of Kong. But he was far away from Chang’an, and no one would realistically support this barbarian for the regency anyway. Just as quickly as they had seized the initiative, the Pan siblings installed Crown Prince Yao Hao on the throne as the fourth emperor of the Liang Dynasty. He was only three years old and had no understanding whatsoever of what was happening, only asking when his father would return home or where his mother was. His questions were ignored as the court petitioned the throne to elevate the former empress to the rank of Empress Dowager. After all, she was now the mother of the new emperor, if only on paper. This was quickly accepted, and the new Empress Dowager Pan was quickly selected as the regent for the young emperor until he was of age, with Chancellor Pan Zhiyuan assisting her in the affairs of the court. The Pan siblings could be proud of themselves. They had not only avoided their downfall, but also managed to gain control over the new Emperor for the next thirteen years, maybe more if they could secure a stronger grip over him.

Immediately, the new regency ordered the troops to return to their barracks and recuperate. They didn’t want the Imperial Army to march on the Imperial Capital. This sort of scenario had happened too often for the regents not to see the threat. The former Han capital of Luoyang was a clear reminder of that: Dong Zhuo’s conquest of the city, Duan Wei’s coup against Dong Huang, Yuan Shu, Liu Siyuan’s generals, Emperor Anwu… All these names simply presented proof of the threat that an army could pose to the Capital, even if Chang’an was famously far harder to seize than Luoyang. Huang Dunli, the Grand Commandant and cousin of Emperor Yao Hao, was quick to suggest that the generals do just that. He saw an opportunity to get rich, seize the Capital and replace the Pan Clan with themselves. This was their chance!

But Huang Dunli had never been popular with the generals, and even less with the troops. His cruelty and his greed made him no friends. For his plan to be accepted, he would need the support of at least one of the two main commanders of the expedition south. Neither wanted to associate with him. Zhang Ling was always out of the question, due to his loyalty to the Pan Clan. The man was even an experienced hunter, which left many suspicious that he might have been involved in Emperor Yuan’s death. Huang Dunli’s only hope was thus Lü Sun, son of Lü Bu. But Lü Sun was loyal to the Imperial Clan first and foremost. While he didn’t believe one word of what the Pan Clan said about Emperor Yuan’s plans, he trusted the Grand Commandant even less. At least the Pan Clan wouldn’t try to usurp the throne, which wasn’t guaranteed with Huang Dunli. The Pan Clan might be scheming interlopers, but they were now the government of the new Emperor. And as a general loyal to the Liang, he would obey their orders. The army dispersed, and Huang Dunli was forced to abandon his new ambitions.

Of course, this little incident was reported to the Empress Dowager, who decided in August to replace some of the main advisors to the young emperor with more… acceptable individuals. First and foremost, Huang Dunli had to go. At the end of the day, his loyalty was dubious and his intentions self-serving. He could not be trusted to keep the Imperial Army under the control of the Pan Clan. Huang Dunli was thus removed as Grand Commandant. Instead, they chose an officer named Leng Ju, whose main qualifier was his complete lack of ambition, though in his defense he was an excellent general of good moral fibber. He tried to refuse the appointment, seeing himself unworthy of it. But the Palace insisted, and Leng Ju packed his bags for Chang’an. While his appointment was accepted by everyone as a good choice, he was also the only one managing the defense of the border between Liang and Bing Provinces.

Another man who needed to be pushed aside was the Emperor’s uncle, Mo Duo. The barbarian was away from the Imperial Capital and an outsider, but he was also a threat to their position. And they were right to be worried, as the Marquis of Kong was quick to sent official complains about the treatment of his sister. This surprised many, who did not expect the man to care about the family he was adopted into. Mo Duo demanded that his sister be released. He was clearly angling to get the regency for the Mo Clan, which would have been the case in normal circumstances. For this reason, the Empress Dowager was quick to have him removed as an Imperial Councillor, and even used the authority of the new Emperor to threaten Mo Duo with potential censorship if he continued to act out.

Of course, not everyone was replaced, if only to keep appearances. The Excellency of Works Xu Ziying and the Gran Tutor Bu Jing, both aligned with Emperor Yuan, were kept in their offices. But more importantly, the influential Lu Yu remained as Excellency of the Masses. The old man had always been a circumstantial ally of the Pan siblings, heir goals often aligning enough to ensure their cooperation. His tacit approval of their actions was one of the main reasons that their coup following Emperor Yuan’s death was not opposed by anyone at court. But Lu Yu was no longer as active as he was when he opposed Mo Jie and his supporters. He was depressed at the state of turmoil that had befell the Liang Dynasty, stressed by the work this meant for him, wounded in a recent accident, and was simply so tired. Because of this, the Pan siblings were able to take the lead where he would have normally been the dominant force in their partnership.

But while the Pan siblings had complete dominance at court, they were barely tolerated outside of Chang’an. The Mojieist reforms under Emperor Wen had given the governors a lot more freedom to act as they pleased, with most of them all too happy to use everything in their books to snub the Imperial Court now that the Pan Clan had taken over. Which is why the Empress Dowager was quick to jump on the opportunity to make an ally when Governor Ding Hou proved willing to associate with them. He suggested a betrothal between the Emperor’s sister, Princess Yao Yinge, and his son Ding Pang. This would, at least on paper, bind the Ding Clan to the Imperial Clan. And considering how the Ding Clan had often produced great military men (Ding Hou, his father Ding Zhichao, his grandfather Ding Kai and even his distant cousin Ding Zhiguo in the Chen Dynasty), this was an opportunity for the Pan siblings to secure military support to their regime.

This was especially welcomed as not all the governors were proving loyal. Unsurprisingly, the Xuan Clan of Bing Province began to move in the shadows the second the Court showed weakness. Xuan Mei was also quite tied into the Imperial Clan through marriages and betrothal. But in his case, he was considering leveraging this to gain power in the government. In fact, Xuan Mei was in contact with Mo Duo, who had convinced Xuan Mei that they could work together to overthrow the Pan Clan an seize control of the Emperor for themselves, thus fulfilling what Emperor Yuan would have truly wanted. Now, had this been Xuan Su Mo Duo was dealing with, the man would have used this opportunity to remove the Pan Clan before turning on Mo Duo and seize the whole empire for himself. But Xuan Mei was not his father, and he was satisfied with the prospect of gaining prominence at court, hoping that this would finally help him seize control of You Province. And with Ding Hou now aligned with the Pan Clan, there was no way Xuan Mei would stay idle and accept the new regime.

But with all this happening, there was one problem that the Pan Clan seemed to have ignored: there was still a barbarian revolt going on. It had started as Emperor Yuan was going south on campaign, leaving the Imperial Army unavailable to deal with the problem. The late Son of Heaven had planned to deal with this after his victory, but he reported this to later when the issue of the Pan Clan became pressing. He then died, and the Pan Clan chose to return the Imperial Army to their barracks and spread out to avoid them marching on Chang’an. Except that the barbarians were still rising up, and having even grown in strength as they were left unchecked. Xuan Mei was the only one to send any troops against them, and the small force he sent was soundly defeated. The new Grand Commandant Leng Ju had been in charge of the defense on the border between Liang and Bing until he was recalled, thus allowing the barbarians to do as they pleased. This revolt was a blight on the current regency, one that was starting to undermine what authority they had outside of Chang’an.

Sadly, this wasn’t the only issue. Yi Province was currently administrated by Governor Cao Shuji (no relation to Cao Cao). Cao Shuji had been the last appointment made under Emperor Wen’s regime before his death, which meant that the choice of governor had really been made by the Pan siblings. Cao Shuji was a meek man who was far too trustworthy of others. This made him a stooge that believe the Pan Clan’s version of things and a potential ally. But his trusting nature also led him to believe people with devious intention. Because of this, he spent all his province’s resources on a series of ploys to rid him of his wealth. Instead of admitting his mistake, he tried to recuperate his losses by minting more coins and reinforce his authority over the rest of the province. This did not go well, and by November 236 Yi Province was engulfed into a civil war, with Cao Shuji writing frantic letters to Chang’an asking for help.

The Imperial Court did order the Imperial Army to march at once, but not to help Coa Shuji or deal with the revolt. Instead, they were to go on the northern border to end the raids that had been going since the middle of the year. Smelling blood, Xibaxiong the Despoiler had decided to test the waters by launching raids in You Province. The Khagan of the Xianbei Confederacy had led some of them himself, and by now almost 10,000 Xianbei horsemen were pillaging through the province. Even if he had once served in the Liang military under his father-in-law Emperor Anwu, Xibaxiong had no more attachment to the Liang Dynasty than he had for the Chen. Considering the conquests that he had achieved against the Chen Dynasty, the Imperial Court was understandably worried about these incursions. They wanted to send their weakened yet formidable army now before Xiabaxiong to move from petty raids to an actual invasion.

This was the problems facing the Liang Dynasty as 237 started. A child emperor was dominated by the Pan Clan, which controlled the Imperial Court. However, they had difficulties controlling the rest of the empire, where their authority was tolerated at best. A barbarian revolt was raging unopposed in the north-west while Yi Province was engulfed into a civil war not seen since the one that led Emperor Anwu to seize the province. The threat of Xibaxiong was becoming ever more present as he realized the weakness of the Liang Dynasty. And if this was not enough, Mo Duo and Xuan Mei were plotting to make a move against the Pan siblings, with everyone holding their breath to see when the confrontation would take place, and who would come out on top. All trivial matters when on the 9th of January 237 the Chen Dynasty made its move to reunify China under the rule of Emperor Wu.

 

[Zamarak500]

237: CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER​

The last words Xue Tang heard from Hu Zan were “I leave the rest to you”, and the Grand Commandant of the Chen Imperial Army had no intention of failing his mentor. Years ago, Hu Zan had written a potential invasion plan of the Liang Dynasty, a two prompts attack that would in theory allow the Chen to destroy a weakened Liang Dynasty and conquered large territories in Ji, Sili and Jing Provinces. However, the civil wars and attacks against the Chen had always stopped Hu Zan from suggesting these plans, and he died before he could ever push the idea of an invasion of the Liang. But things had changed since Hu Zan had died. The Chen Dynasty was stronger than ever while the Liang was falling apart. There were some worries with the ascension of Emperor Yuan, but his death and the subsequent chaos had proven that their dynasty rival was shakier than ever. Now he would fulfil what his mentor had started and help expand the Chen.

Emperor Wu had been seeking a new campaign to show the might of the Chen, and Xue Tang was quick to bring forward the plans to invade the Liang Dynasty. The Emperor did not expect this suggestion, as his mind was still focused on the losses suffered at the hand of Xibaxiong the Despoiler. But then again, the chance to expand the Chen Dynasty was too good to pass up. The usurpers in Chang’an could finally be reminded who was the true Son of Heaven. The coffers were full, the troops were well trained and the Emperor had the support of both the elite and the people. It seemed like the time was right to invade. On the 9th of January 237, Emperor Wu declared war against the Liang Dynasty. He did not try to steal a few counties or a province. He wanted it all. To end the Liang Dynasty, to unify China. This would be the final war of their rivalry, and he would be the one to come out of it victorious.

A first army would be sent west across the Yellow River to quickly take the Liang Dynasty by surprise. While Emperor Wu wanted to take command of this army, he was not yet ready to leave the Imperial Capital. His brothers also insisted that he only leaved Chenguo once it was certain that the troops had secured their position on the other side of the Yellow River, being unwilling to let their imperial brother walk into a death trap. Instead, the critical duties of commanding this first strike went to the most senior general of the Chen Dynasty: Ba Daiping. The man who had both led a revolt against Emperor Wu and helped pushed back the Liang and the Xianbei was still breathing. He stood as an old reminder of a time of heroes that was quickly fading away. Hu Zan, Ding Zhiguo, Chen Tiao, Ma Chao, Dian Wei… All these men had died, leaving Ba Daiping a decade or two older than his fellow generals. It seemed only fair to leave this critical part of the campaign to the most experienced of them all. And besides, this would also be a good consolation prize for not being appointed Grand Commandant.

A second army would be sent into Ji Province. The goal was to conquer enough towns to connect the territories of Yuan Rei with the rest of the Chen Dynasty, as they had been cut off since the Xianbei conquests. Yuan Rei himself would help in this campaign, sending help to potential Chen supporters in Ji and You Provinces. For the commander of this second army, Emperor Wu picked his favorite general Liu Derun, who he trusted to accomplish this mission. In fact, the Emperor trusted Liu Derun so much that he arranged a marriage between the general’s daughter and his nephew Xiao Ji (son of Xiao Dang). Now Liu Derun was linked to the Xiao Imperial Clan through marriage, a great reward for his two decades of loyalty.

In the Liang Dynasty, Empress Dowager Pan was panicking at the news that the Chen Dynasty was invading. This was terrible news at a time when she couldn’t afford any. Even worse, it meant that she would need to recall one of their best generals: the unreliable Huang Dunli, cousin of the child emperor. Huang Dunli had previously wished to march against Chang’an to remove the Pan Clan and seize power for himself. Yet now they were going to entrust him with that same power to act against them. While Huang Dunli had no intention to coup the Pan Clan with the threat of the Chen looming, he still reveled in the current irony. He was made the General who Supports the Empire and ordered to take command of an army.

First, he would need to deal with the barbarian revolt that had been going for more than a year now. Leaving this alone while the Chen Dynasty invaded was a terrible idea. Huang Dunli was thus ordered to go kill the rebels and bring back news of a victory. Just to be safe, the court flanked him with the same two generals that had refused to help him in his coup the previous year. Zhang Ling was still too loyal to the Pan Clan to help Huang Dunli if the general tried something. Still, his loyalty was beginning to waver as he witnessed the failure of Empress Dowager Pan to keep the Dynasty together. As for Lü Sun, his upmost loyalty to the Yao Imperial Clan made him the perfect general in this hour of need. If someone was going to remain loyal until the end, it was Lü Sun.

But the war had only been going for two months that things already turned worst for the Liang Dynasty. Governor Han Gongxin “the Lewd”, who was in charge of Ji Province, managed to make things easier for the Chen invaders through his indiscretions. He had slept with the sister of one peasant named Jiazhen, a woman who was serving as a maid in his mansion. He then proceeded to kick her out once he was bored with her. Outraged at the way his sister had been treated, Jiazhen entered in contact with agents of the Chen. Through Yuan Rei, he was able to acquire weapons and tools, which allowed him to rise in revolt against the Liang Dynasty in March. Not only was he fighting to remove the corrupt governor, but his followers were brandishing Chen banners as they marched throughout Ji Province.

To handle this revolt, the Empress Dowager called upon her ally Governor Ding Hou of You Province. He already had imperial troops at his disposal, which had been sent to handle the Xianbei raids a few months back. Ding Hou having just allied himself with the Capital, he now needed to do everything in his power to protect the Liang Dynasty. He would make it down to Ji Province in only a month, and by the end of April the revolt would be suppressed. This was a good thing for the Liang Dynasty, as they couldn’t afford to let this sort of uprising continue. At the same time, Huang Dunli finally put an end to the barbarian revolt on the border between Liang and Bing Province. While these two revolts left the Liang Dynasty weakened and shaken, it was now free to fight with the Chen Dynasty without any threat.

Well, there was still the looming danger of Xibaxiong. Tensions between the Liang Dynasty and the Xianbei Confederacy turned for the worse in March as Yao Xiangjun, the Khatun of the Confederacy and daughter of Emperor Anwu, died while pregnant at the age of 42. The death of the princess ended any hope of an alliance with Xibaxiong, as he no longer had any lingering ties with the southerners. Thankfully for the Liang Court, the Despoiler had other issues to deal with. His tributary state of Youbeiping, serving as an eastern buffer between the Xianbei and the Chinese Dynasties, was about to be conquered. The conqueror was Tian Jifu, who was trying to reclaim his father’s old territories. Tian Chou had been a general under Lü Bu and then Gongsun Zan, though he turned against the later and was killed in the revolt that broke Gongsun Zan’s territories. His son Tian Zhiguo had lost his lands to a Tengri revolt, and now decades later Tian Jifu was coming back to seize them. And the worst part was that he was winning.

It was in May that the first battle of the war took place. The Liang Dynasty had some troops on the border, but this was only a few thousand troops. They had found it difficult to organize a competent defense, in big part because their commander was butting head with the local magistrate, Marquis Mo Duo of Kong. The reason why their commander got into fights with Mo Duo was because he was named Duan Sili. Duan Sili was the grandson of the corrupt scholar Duan Zuo, Mo Jie’s longtime rival. Sadly, their disputes continued through their descendants, which only hindered the situation. As Mo Duo was an opponent of the Pan regency, Duan Sili was a fervent follower of the Empress Dowager. This was just how things went between these two clans. Not that Ba Daiping cared one bit about these familial rivalries when he rooted the Liang army, killing or capturing more than two thirds of the three thousand men under Duan Sili’s command.

By now it was the end of the Spring. The bulk of the Liang army, being done with the revolts, now moved toward the Yellow River. However, the Chen troops had also made their crossing by that point, with everyone waiting for the arrival of the Emperor. Emperor Wu had ordered Ba Daiping to go take command of the army in Ji Province while he and Xue Tang went to lead the army in the Central Plains. This way Emperor Wu would be the one to make his way west toward Chang’an. Still, there was a few details he wanted to handle before he left, which is why he made his way to court in haste that day. He decided to take a shortcut through the imperial garden, which was the perfect place for an ambush. As the Emperor made his way through the plants, three men armed with swords waited in the shadows. Once their target got close enough, they jumped out of their hiding spot and surged at the Son of Heaven. Emperor Wu never saw them coming.

But his guards did.

The assassins were apprehended by the security, thus narrowly saving the life of their sovereign. The shocked Emperor was brought to safety, after which the guards were quick to warn the Chancellor of what had happened. Xiao Bin quickly launched an investigation over this incident. Who had the guts to assassinate their Emperor just as he was about to embark on his greatest campaign? Who had the access to do so? Xiao Bin as quick to survey everyone, even the Empress and the rest of the Imperial Clan. In the end, he privately brought his findings to his brothers Emperor Wu and Prince Xiao Dang, as this was not something he thought wise to reveal in public. The mastermind behind this failed assassination was none other than Crown Princess Ding, the daughter-in-law of Emperor Wu. It seemed that she was too impatient about her husband inheritance of the Dynasty. She decided to hasten the Emperor’s demise to speed up her ascension as Empress.

Emperor Wu was quite shaken by this revelation. His own daughter-in-law tried to kill him, and for what? She wasn’t missing in wealth. Her husband would have hopefully been recalled to Chenguo soon to perform his duties as Crown Prince once he proved competent enough. Was she that wicked that she couldn’t wait a few years? Xiao Dang was quick to suggest that she be deposed and killed for her crimes. She did not deserve to remain Crown Princess, and there was no way they would allow her to become empress. Xiao Bin offered the more subtle solution of poison. That way this scandal wouldn’t taint the current campaign. Emperor Wu, while horrified at the Crown Princess’s actions, couldn’t bring himself to do the same to her. He instead had her summoned and gave her a stern warning in private, after which he had his brothers bury the whole affair as to not distract the court from the campaign. Surprisingly, it would work, as Crown Princess Ding would never try to kill Emperor Wu after this (though the Crown Prince and Crown Princess would find themselves bared from the Capital, making it difficult to plot another assassination).

By that point, two revolts had exploded in You Province that threatened Liang authority in the north. The first one was a larger and more organized attempt by local officials to bring the province under the control of the Chen Dynasty. Even Ding Hou’s uncle joined this revolt, maybe hoping that he could be appointed Governor of You Province by Emperor Wu should their plan be a success. But there was also another revolt, this one led by barbarians. Their goal was to overthrow Ding Hou and bring in a more tolerant governor that would be willing to grant concessions to the barbarians of the north. Needless to say, Xuan Mei was quick to offer his candidacy to these rebels. This left Ding Hou in the uncomfortable position of having to lead the Imperial Troops against the Chen while being unable to do anything about the situation in his province.

Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Pan decided to levy new taxes to ensure the recruitment of new troops. She needed that money to boost the weakened Liang military. Except that these taxes only made her more hated. Even worse, two officials simply refused to pay any taxes to Chang’an. Magistrate Li Cai of Shangdang refused to obey any order from Chang’an until the Pan Clan was removed and someone competent was put in charge. He still remained nominally loyal to the Liang, but he would no longer take orders from the court. And then there was Administrator Zhang Yao of Nanhai. Behind far away in the south of China, he simply decided that he would not pay the taxes and went his own way, setting himself as an independent warlord. Unlike Li Cai, he no longer recognized the emperor in Chang’an, and was now hoping that he could rule Nanhai independently if he pledged himself to the Chen.

It was in August that took place the two first great battles of the war. In Ji Province, Ding Hou left his subordinates command the army against Ba Daiping and Liu Derun, as he was far too busy worrying about the rebellions at home. This gave the Chen generals the lead when it came to fighting the enemy, as unlike the Liang commanders they were fully committed to this campaign. They knew that it was their meeting with destiny, their chance at writing their names in the history books. The Chen had a disadvantage of around 2000 troops, yet they were able to win on the field of battle. This was humiliating for the Liang Dynasty, and Ding Hou was forced to order the retreat of his much-diminished army. Even though he was wounded, Ba Daiping refused to let the enemy escape his grasp. The Emperor needed them destroyed, and so they would be. In front of a cheering crowd, the general ordered a pursuit of the fleeing Liang army.

At the exact same moment, Emperor Wu was fighting Huang Dunli and the Liang Imperial forces. On paper, this was the best army that the Liang could deploy. It even included the elite barbarian cavalry established during the reign of Emperor Anwu. But the fact was that this elite force had been left to rot since that time. Sadly, it had reached its peak when it was led by Xianbei officers like Xibaxiong. Now the Xianbei decided to try their luck at home, considering how much plunder they could make under the Despoiler. Instead, the recruits were from various barbarian groups throughout the Empire, some of which were not nomad horsemen. This meant that these troops didn’t get along, did not always have the proper training and often did not get along between themselves. And that said nothing of their dubious loyalty to the xenophobic regime of the Pan Clan.

Huang Dunli still chose to command this elite force as he charged at the Chen troops. He expected the Emperor to flee at this powerful sight. But Emperor Wu kept his calm and ensured that his troops held. He eventually managed to surround the barbarian horsemen, thanks to reinforcements from Xue Tang after he managed to rout Zhang Ling. These arriving troops slaughtered many of the barbarians, with the rest fleeing in panic. Almost being caught and killed by Chen troops would traumatize Huang Dunli to the point that he fled his post after the battle and went back to his commandery, where he would hide for the rest of the war. This left Lü Sun to hold and regroup what was left of the troops. While he failed to achieve a miracle victory, he was at least able to ensure that they weren’t all killed, making him the only Liang officer to come out of these two battles looking competent. In the end, Emperor Wu came out with a victory, and more importantly, with the path to his first target free of opposition.

Ba Daiping finally managed to catch up with the enemy in October. Once again the enemy had the numerical advantage, though it didn’t matter considering the situation. Their high morale from their previous victory only improved their chance, especially as the Liang military was getting demoralized after its two recent defeats. The army in Ji Province actually met with the fleeing Huang Dunli, who abandoned everything to save his life and advised everyone to do the same. How were you supposed to motivate the troops to fight after that? Ba Daiping and Liu Derun were easily able to defeat the Liang army, though this battle was far quicker and lighter in casualties than their previous engagement.

Unknown to everyone, this would be the last victory that Ba Daiping brought to the Chen Dynasty. The wound he got during the first battle became infected, eventually killing him at the age of 65 on the 7th of October, 237. His career was long and illustrious, if somewhat controversial. He started as one of the great generals of Qing Province, being one of the pillars of Tan Shenquan control over the region. But in 219 he advised the governor to surrender to Emperor Cheng, He then surprisingly stayed loyal to the Chen against his former liege when Tan Shenquan revolted. In the end though, he always sought to prove his worth by becoming Grand Commandant, something that he temporarily achieved when Hu Zan was captured by the Xianbeis in 233. He also led an uprising against the Dynasty, something that Emperor Wu and Prince Xiao Bin never forgave him for. But at the end of the day, he was the last great general of a bygone era, the last to have been alive to see the Yellow Turban Rebellion (he was 12 at the time). Now the future of the Chen would be in the hands of younger men who never saw what a truly united China looked like. Hopefully, they would get to see it one day.

The losses of the Liang Dynasty convinced Mo Duo and his allies that it was time to make their move against the Pan Clan. Clearly, the Dynasty needed better leadership, or at the very least the Emperor needed to be protected from bad influences. Of course, the linchpin of this plot was Governor Xuan Mei of Bing Province, as he was the only one with the manpower to actually make the coup happen. Mo Duo was starting to ready his allies and prepared to make his move.

Sadly for the conspirators, this turned out to be a repeat of Emperor Yuan’s plan to deal with the Pan Clan. Empress Dowager Pan was made aware of the situation and decided to remove the threat of Xuan Mei. Posing as agents sent by the conspirators, assassins were able to get into the mansion of the Governor, where they had him discretely poisoned. The hunchback Xuan Mei was 33 years old and had spent his whole time as governor trying to seize control of You Province to restore the territories of his father. Unlike Xuan Su, Xuan Mei had no adult son, nor was he able to manipulate the system to get one of his relatives as governor. The Pan siblings had finally broken the Xuan Clan’s control over Bing Province, which even Emperor Anwu had failed to do.

Not that this changed anything to their situation, as Emperor Wu finished the year by achieving one of his main goals for this campaign. In December 237, almost a year after the start of this war, Emperor Wu entered the city of Luoyang. The former capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty had surrendered after a light siege, the garrison quickly deciding to switch side. Capturing this important symbol was a massive victory for Emperor Wu, and he paraded the streets to a surprisingly welcoming crowd. He was the first emperor to enter the city since Emperor Qianfei’s last ditched attempt to save the Han two decades ago. And this time, it seemed that the emperor who entered was not going to be pushed out.

With this conquest, Emperor Wu spread an imperial decree that once again reaffirmed the Chen Dynasty as the rightful heir of the Han, with the Liang being only usurpers. In the euphoria of the moment, he even considered making Luoyang the new capital of the Chen. He wrote about this idea to Xiao Bin and Xiao Dang, who were currently in Chenguo managing the empire in his absence. They vehemently opposed the move. Xiao Bin pointed out that moving the Capital was a massive endeavor, one that required the entire work of the bureaucracy. With the war unfinished, it would not be safe to take such a decision. It might even put the court in danger. However, the brothers also had personal stakes in this. Their domains were close to Chenguo, so moving the Capital would mean having Emperor Wu get out of their zone of influence. The Emperor, always trusting of Xiao Bin, followed his advice.

The recent defeats, coupled with the conquest of Luoyang, drew a clear picture that was not in the favor of the Liang Dynasty. Many started to whisper that the Liang might have lost the Mandate of Heaven, if they ever had it in the first place. Maybe what Emperor Wu was saying was right. Maybe the Chen had been the true heir to the Mandate all along. The Liang military was fleeing while the Chen continued to advance. Revolts had already risen up on a few occasions to support the Chen Dynasty, all while some officials now refused to take orders from Chang’an. Many started to predict that it would take a miracle to save the Liang, as nothing seemed able to oppose the Chen Army. Well, nothing in the Liang Dynasty, that is.

 

[Zamarak500]

238-239: LONG DIVIDED, MUST UNITE​

Xibaxiong had found himself in a difficult position at the end of 237. He had sent some minimal help to his tributary of Youbeiping, convinced that the forces of Tan Jifu would be easily dispatched. But then news came in December that Tan Jifu had seized control of Youbeiping, expulsed the local tributaries of the Despoiler and now ruled the commandery as an independent warlord. This was as humiliating as it was infuriating. Xibaxiong was fearful that some of the clans were now laughing behind his back as he failed to keep this small tributary under control. Angry and furious, the Despoiler decided to go on the offensive to remind everyone of his strength. But instead of attacking Tan Jifu, he turned his sight against the one enemy that had once defeated him: the Chen Dynasty. Just as Emperor Wu was obsessed with the recovery of the lost territories, Xibaxiong still wanted to avenge the humiliating peace he had to agree after Hu Zan’s victory. He decided that now was the time to strike, now was the time to take revenge!

As he was celebrating in Luoyang, Emperor Wu was warned of two things. First that the Liang military was trying to reorganize to retake the city, and second that Xibaxiong was invading the Chen. This forced him to pause and think about his options. He could abandon the campaign and come to the rescue of his Dynasty, which was probably the safest bet. After all, he didn’t know how much territories Xibaxiong would try to seize, with the Chen Dynasty clearly in need of his leadership. And while the campaign against Liang was going fantastically, as Xiao Bin had told him it was not yet a done deal. Things could very well go south, and he would find himself with a diminished Chen Dynasty and a still surviving Liang Dynasty to oppose him. But at the end of the day, he decided that the unification of China would take precedent over the invasion of the Xianbeis. The conquest of the Liang Dynasty was the priority, and it would have to be handled as soon as possible.

However, that didn’t mean that he would leave the Chen Dynasty defenseless. He concurred that with the recent victories he could probably continue the campaign if he left a third of his army behind. Those troops would be enough to reinforce the garrisons and defeat the first waves of barbarians invading the Chen. To command this army, Emperor Wu picked Sun Feixin, son of Sun Ce, grandson of Colonel Sun Jian, one of the great generals of the Han Dynasty and a rival to Yuan Shu. Sun Feixin had entered the service of the Chen before the Dynasty was proclaimed by Emperor Cheng in 220, though he only recently managed to make it up the military hierarchy. This would be his first real command. He would prove to be a good choice of general for this mission, as he easily defeated the first part of the Xianbei invasion, which were only small forces sent by lesser khans of the Confederacy.

Meanwhile, the Liang generals had finally regrouped enough to organize an attack against Emperor Wu. Lü Sun, now the prime officer of the Imperial Army, had to find a solution to fix Huang Dunli’s absence. He eventually settled on the weird yet simple option of lying about it. He had a soldier who looked similar enough to the Emperor’s cousin stand in for Huang Dunli during meetings, and even had the man appear in public wearing the armor of the General who Supports the Empire. Now, there was no hiding the fact that Huang Dunli had fled. Everyone had seen it, and there were too many people throughout the Dynasty who heard of it by now. Instead, Lü Sun pretended that Huang Dunli had returned, heroically coming back to lead them to victory. This led to a small boost in morale. After all, their commander wouldn’t have returned if the situation was desperate, the soldiers assumed.

This worked so well that Emperor Wu was convinced that he was facing Huang Dunli when he met the Liang army at the end of January 238. After all, the general had been seen in the army camp and in front of the troops, so why would he doubt his presence? Emperor Wu lined his troops and prepared his campaign, not knowing that he was in fact facing Lü Sun and not Huang Dunli. Not that it really mattered at the end of the day, as the Chen army had a clear advantage. While the Liang forces had been able to reform under “Huang Dunli”, they still had half the troops of Emperor Wu, who had just been reinforced by Liu Derun’s secondary army (though he himself was given new troops to go seize Ji and You Provinces). The ensuing battle was a total disaster for the Liang army, with only a few thousand troops getting out of it.

With Liu Derun now making his way north, Emperor Wu and Grand Commandant Xue Tang surrounded themselves with two younger officers who they believed deserved to be here. These were Hu Jingxuan, third son of Hu Zan, and Ba Feixin, youngest son of Ba Daiping. Hu Jingxuan was already in his late forties and had inherited his father’s marquisate, while Ba Feixin was twenty years old and left with little other prospects than a military career. But at the end of the day, they were both the sons of some of the greatest generals of the Chen Dynasty. Emperor Wu wanted them to be here to witness his greatest triumph, to see what their fathers had helped accomplished. If Hu Zan and Ba Daiping couldn’t be there to help him, then at least their sons would be present for the reunification of China.

A following battle with the remains of the Liang armies took place in late Spring, one last ditch attempt by Lü Sun to stop Emperor Wu from marching west toward Chang’an. Lü Sun desperately hoped that something would help him turn this war around. He sent letters to the Grand Commandant, the Chancellor and even the Empress Dowager. But he got no response from any of them other than to hold out and win this war. As if he could do it by himself. In a desperate attempt, Lü Sun sent a messenger to Xibaxiong, hoping that the Despoiler might be willing to help him out. But this messenger was caught by Sun Fuixin, who immediately sent news of it to Chenguo and to Emperor Wu. This prompted the Emperor to attack, and the ensuing battle would doom the Liang army, with a quarter of their troops killed or captured. Unable to oppose the invaders on the battlefield, Lü Sun would flee to Chang’an and prepare its defense.

It was around that time that Emperor Wu was informed of the death of his brother Xiao Cang, who died of the flu at the age of 36. The death of Xiao Cang hurt far more than the death of Xiao Hanhe. Not only was this his full-blooded brother, but he also felt an immense amount of guilt over his role in having him banished by Emperor Cheng. Xiao Cang had lived a life as an outcast, sometimes even living on the street in upmost poverty. And now he had died like a lowly peasant. What an end unfit for a prince whose only crime was his wish to help the Chen Dynasty prosper. Emperor Wu, out of guilt over his lack of help in his brother’s desperate times, would bring Xiao Cang’s son Hiao Huo back in the palace, and would eventually grant his nephew titles of his own. He would even posthumously restore Xiao Cang’s rank of prince as a last apology to him.

During 238, Liu Derun was able to make his way north. He first got support from Yuan Rei in removing the unpopular governor of Ji Province, Han Gongxin the Lewd. It was actually quite easy to get this man removed from office, considering how he never kept it in his pants, even when it came to women that he should never try to approach in the first place. Liu Derun was easily able to convince some local garrison commanders that Emperor Wu was a good and competent ruler that respected his subordinates, allowing him to eventually bring Ji Province under the control of the Chen. The next part was a lot more difficult, as Governor Ding Hou of You Province was a competent commander. However, there were already armed revolts against him, including one was trying to bring the region under Chen control. Liu Derun simply brought the two revolts together, and by the end of the autumn You Province was his.

News of these gains, as well as the victories of Emperor Wu earlier in the year, convinced the Son of Heaven to call his two brothers to him. He wanted them by his side once he achieved his greatest triumph. Xiao Bin and Xiao Dang travelled hastily to meet their imperial brother, who was waiting for them in Chang’an. There, the two brothers helped Emperor Wu produce a new imperial decree, one that would ensure the issue of the war. On the first month of 239, Emperor Wu decreed that any official of the Liang Dynasty who recognized the true Son of Heaven (aka Emperor Wu) would not only be retained in their current offices, but would even be given new titles of nobilities should they be holding one under the usurpers. Emperor Wu, seeing how he was winning this war, decided to prevent a fight to the bitter end by offering a way out to the officials of the Liang Dynasty.

When this offer spread, most of the officials took it. Few liked the regency of the Pan Clan, and this seemed like a great opportunity to get rid of them for good. Of course, this meant betraying the Liang Dynasty, which was problematic. Thanks to the reforms or Mo Jie (or maybe because of their bad implementation), the provincial officials had gain quite a lot of autonomy that many were keen to keep. Most of them didn’t know a lot about the internal workings of the Chen Dynasty, but it was easy to guess that Emperor Wu would not allow them to mint their own coins or keep their own private army around. Saving the Liang Dynasty would allow them to keep these privileges. But then again, it was more likely that siding with the Liang would cost them everything. In the months following the decree, most officials made the only reasonable choice that they had left: they submitted to the authority of the Chen Dynasty.

Emperor Wu, his brothers, his Grand Commandant and his whole cadre of officers eventually made their way toward Chang’an. They knew that the city would be difficult to besiege, as it had a reputation for being impregnable. It was one of the reasons why Emperor Anwu had made it his capital (along the fact that it was far closer to his territories than the exposed and damaged Luoyang). Xue Tang and Emperor Wu worked out a plan for the long term, neither of them wanting to come in the city by burning it down first. Still, the long weeks in the siege camps were difficult, especially due to the tensions between Xiao Bin and Xue Tang. The Chancellor expressed dislike that his brother relied so much on officers. Xiao Bin was convinced that generals were only treacherous, that if they weren’t kept on a tight leash, they would prove the doom of the Dynasty. After all, had the usurper Yao Shuren not been a general of the Han? But Emperor Wu dismissed these accusations, believing them to be complete nonsense. The Han collapsed because it lacked strong imperial authority. And he was not weak.

Inside the city, things were turning worse for the Pan Clan. Empress Dowager Pan still controlled the palace, but her authority with the troops defending the city was slipping. She did not trust Lü Sun to protect her, even though his ultimate goal was still to save the Dynasty. But all she saw was a general trying to take her power away. In normal circumstances, she would have been more level headed. But the stress of the siege and the collapse of the Liang Dynasty was weighing heavily on her mind. When her brother Pan Zhiyuan suggested that they blocked entrance to the palace and cut themselves from the rest of Chang’an to protect themselves, she actually agreed to it.

This infuriated Lü Sun, who couldn’t understand why the court didn’t want to put a united front in this hour of need. Still, he remained loyal, right up the moment one soldier didn’t. In August 239, a guard opened the eastern gate to Emperor Wu. Lü Su had to literally besiege the palace to force them to let him and his men in. When inside, he prepared to defend his emperor, but it was too late. The eighteen of August 239 would be the day Emperor Wu took Chang’an, the day he ended the twenty years old Liang Dynasty.

The Day he unified China.
____________________

The sun was so bright that day that he had to put his hand over his eyes as not to be blinded. It almost stopped him from admiring the magnificence of Chang’an. This was the first time of his life that he went so far West. Never before had he left the central plains, nor had his father for that matter. They always remained close to this important region of China, never going outside of their zone of influence. And now he made it here. It felt so strange, coming to the first capital of the Han Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, a place that had seen so many rulers of China. And now he was entering this ancient city as an emperor, the Emperor who ruled over the Middle Kingdom.

A soldier was holding the reins of his horse, guiding him through the streets. Chen troops lines the street that led to the palace, cheering him as his horse passed in front of them. It was expected that these people didn’t know how to react to the incoming change. All they had known so far were the dying regime of the Han and the cruel incompetence of the Liang. Surely their expectations weren’t high. But he hoped that in time they would come to appreciate the chance that they had to live under the Chen Dynasty.

He turned his head around to look at his brothers, who were both riding behind him. Xiao Dang seemed more bored than anything, as if he was forced to be here (he was, he definitively was). He had expressed on multiple occasions that he didn’t see the point of being present for this important moment and would have preferred to continue his duties in Chenguo. Meanwhile, Xiao Bin seemed pensive. Emperor Wu had to admit that his closest brother could be quite the enigma, being clearly better than he was at hiding his emotions. This was a skill that Xiao Bin had carried ever since his youth. Sadly, he had yet to learn how to dress properly for important events, looking disheveled in his dirty official clothes.

“Bin?” he asked his brother. “Anything we could do for these poor people?”

“If his Majesty wish so, we could spread coins to them. We have more than enough for this.” Xiao Bin offered.

“Right. Let’s waste the Dynasty’s money. What a good idea.” Xiao Dang retorted.

“No, I agree with Bin on this.” Emperor Wu declared. “Dang, why don’t you go handle this?”

“Yes your Majesty.” His brother said, though he was clearly rolling his eyes as he rode away.

Soon after this discussion, soldiers were handing coins to the assembled crowd in an attempt to win them over. At first hesitant to grab the money, the citizen of Chang’an eventually realized that this was a gift for them from their new emperor. Finally, they cheered the Emperor, chanting “Long live the Chen!” as he passed in front of them. Emperor Wu could only smile. Finally, a welcome worthy of his accomplishments.

“Your Majesty, I think we need to discuss what to do with the current emperor of Liang.” Xiao Bin told his brother.

Emperor Wu frowned. This was not going to be a joyful discussion.

“What do you have in mind?”

“The potential threat this usurper pose to the regime of his Imperial Majesty cannot be tolerated.” Xiao Bin explained with a cold expression. “The problem needs to be dealt with. Immediately.”

“Bin, we are talking about a child.”

“We are talking about the only person alive to have claimed the Mandate of Heaven other than his Majesty.” Xiao Bin retorted.

“Today is a day of celebration, Bin.” Emperor Wu protested.

“It is an important issue that need to be dealt with.”

“Not now, brother.”

Emperor Wu noticed that they were arriving at the palace, which gave him the opportunity to silence his brother on the issue. Awaiting his arrival was his Grand Commandant Xue Tang. He immediately helped his sovereign get off his horse when Emperor Wu stopped. Xue Tang clumsily offered to help Xiao Bin too, but the Chancellor refused. Emperor Wu sighed at this. It seemed that his brother still had a distrust of their generals. Xiao Dang also returned soon after, still annoyed that he had to go waste coins for the people.

“We welcome his Imperial Majesty.” Xue Tang told him.

“How are things going so far?”

“The Palace is completely ours, your Majesty.”

“You mean ‘his’.” Xiao Dang corrected, but Xue Tang wisely chose not to respond.

“We apprehended the Chancellor and his sister.”

“Make sure that the Pan Clan never see the light of day again.” Xiao Bin declared.

Xue Tang looked at the Son of Heaven, who nodded in agreement. From what defectors had told him, the Pan Clan was responsible for the collapse of the Liang Dynasty. While he had proven lenient toward Liang officials so far, he would need to punish at least a few enemies. While he had no reason to put them to death, a live in imprisonment would surely be enough to keep them from power ever again.

“What should we do with General Lü Sun?” Xue Tang asked.

“He was the general who organized the defense of Chang’an, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, your Majesty. He also faced us on numerous occasions alongside Huang Dunli.”

“And he surrendered?” Emperor Wu asked, genuinely surprised.

“He only agreed once we promised that the Liang usurper would be treated with respect.”

“What an honorable thing to do.” Emperor Wu commented. “Make sure that he is not punished for his actions. A man of such loyalty could one day be useful to us.”

“Not while the source of his loyalty still lives.” Xiao Bin interjected.

“Good.” Xiao Dang declared. “I was worried that I missed the execution.”

“His Imperial Majesty might be interested in meeting with the child emperor?” Xue Tang suggested.

After some hesitation, Emperor Wu nodded.

“Bring the child.” he decreed.

Soon after, two soldiers pushed a child in front of the Emperor. He must have been six years old at most, wearing imperial robes that were far too big for him. Any other imperial insignia had been removed by the soldiers upon captures, as only the rightful emperor of China could wear these. The boy was clearly nervous, unsure how to act in front of the bearded man that stood in front of him. Emperor Wu tried to smile at him, but it did nothing to ease tensions.

“W-Who are you?” the child asked.

Emperor Wu smiled and fell on his knee, lowering himself to the child’s level to talk. From the murmurs of disapproval he heard from his entourage, it was clear that most disapproved of this. He was the Emperor, so he shouldn’t lower himself to this boy’s level.

“I am the Emperor.”

“But I am the Emperor.” Yao Hao answered, clearly confused.

“How dare you pretend to this title, child?” Xiao Dang shouted.

The Excellency of Works stepped forward to slap the child, but was stopped by the Emperor, who simply raised his hand to told him to stop. He then returned his attention to the scare child.

“You might be too young to understand this, but your family never truly ruled the land. They lied about holding the Mandate of Heaven and tricked the people into serving them. Only I hold the Mandate of Heaven, which my father passed to me and which he inherited from the Han Dynasty. Does that make sense?”

“Huh…” the boy answered, clearly confused.

“Too many big words for you. I get it.”

Emperor Wu stopped talking and looked at the boy in silence. This was his rival for control of China, the grandson of the usurper Yao Shuren. And he was now at his mercy, ending the last two decades of struggle for control of China. He wondered how his father would feel about this. Would he be happy that the Chen Dynasty triumphed over the Liang, or would he be frustrated that Xiao Tung was the one to accomplish it and not him? Who knew? Did it even matter? After all, the old man had died thirteen years ago, and he was the one standing here triumphant. All that remained to be decided was what to do with the child.

“His Majesty should have him executed.”

Yao Hao clearly panicked at that sentence, tears rolling from his eyes as he started crying. This sight was too much for Emperor Wu, who was already not keen on the idea.

“No.” he declared. “I will not be Yao Shuren.”

“Then what, your Majesty?” Xiao Dang asked.

Emperor Wu turned to his brother as he made his way to his horse.

“He shall be granted a dukedom.” Emperor Wu decided. “Let him live in Chang’an with his mother under close guard. I want him to have a decent life so he can live in peace.”

After mounting his horse, he started to ride away from the palace, but stopped at the last moment to turn to his brothers.

“Now come you two. There is still much to do.” Emperor Wu said with a smile.

___________________________
PS : So that was it. China has been reunified by Emperor Wu, which technically means that @Ixarys family was the one to reunify China, so congrats to Ixarys! Which also means that the Liang Dynasty (219-239) is over. So what doomed it? Was it Emperor Anwu picking the wrong heir? Was it Emperor Wen’s lack of spine? Was it Mo Jie’s reforms? Or was it the Pan Clan killing Emperor Yuan that doomed the Dynasty? I’d be happy to hear your thoughts.

I also want to thank @EtzelHoveri , @Ixarys , @Massinissa the Wise , @Idhrendur , @HistoryDude , @patpekala , @Specialist290 , @binobo , @Midnite Duke and @Dunaden for giving this stories their amazing characters. They all had amazing lives, each leaving a big impact on the story in their own way, even if the story eventually moved past them all. I hoped you all enjoyed their lives in this tumultuous period. I also want to thank everyone who liked, commented or read this story. This support always helped me continue and eventually reach this point.

Which kind of bring me to the current situation (and stay with me please, cause I’m going to ramble a lot). The reunification of China was the end goal when I started, though on multiple occasions I expressed an interest in continuing past that point. But as I got closer and closer, I felt like ending it with Emperor Wu unifying China would be a good end for this story, that it might be better to call it a day on a high note instead of continuing it. It would also be my first proper ending to an AAR, as my first one ended because I lost the saves and the second one I ended cause it was advancing far too slowly. And I even had an idea for a next AAR. I went so far as to ask for authorization for the next AAR.

But then I struggled to write this chapter because I like this world and its characters. And honestly, I was a bit scared to let it go. The Last Days of the Han is not just my favorite AAR I did so far, but it would also mean saying goodbye to my favorite mod (sorry for fans of Dan Kukati and Dragon Kin. Still love them, but Dan Kukati was my first go at AARs and I struggled far too much writing Dragon Kin). Plus, I’m kind of worried it wouldn’t be as interesting as this one (I mean, I don’t know another mod where simple courtiers can end up as Emperors in a lifetime). And then my idea for the new AAR kind hit a brick wall, because well… the CK3 mods for it keep crashing the game 4-5 years in. So I’m left without a backup AAR, but unsure if I want to continue this story or not.

So what about you? Do you want to see the story of the Chen Emperors after unification? Is this something that interest you guys, even if it’s just the story of the Chen Dynasty, and not that of your characters? I’d be interested in getting your input on this, cause I’ve been racking my brain about it for hours now without a coherent answer.