novelSusiti Chapter 52 Righteousness often comes from among the lower classes.
Chapter 52 Righteousness often comes from among the lower classes.
The emperor's sudden fainting was a serious matter. The married princes and princesses all boarded their respective carriages and left the palace with great anxiety. Princess Xingguo, Li Lizhi, was accompanied by several experienced maids who carefully helped her into the carriage. After Li Lizhi got into the carriage, she lifted the curtain and thanked the maids.
After the princess was seated, the maids allowed the prince consort Chen Qianxu to get into the carriage. Chen Qianxu didn't say anything; he was still in shock, not knowing what the urgent report had said that had caused his father-in-law to faint.
These nannies were elderly palace women temporarily borrowed by Empress Zhong. They would stay at the princess's residence to serve the princess during childbirth until the princess finished her postpartum period and then return to the palace.
Each lost in their own thoughts, they returned to the princess's residence in silence. At dinnertime, news finally arrived:
After the princes and princesses left, His Majesty awoke and urgently summoned the prime ministers and officials of the Secretariat and the Privy Council to court. With such a drastic move, news from the front lines could no longer be concealed. It turned out that the Desheng Army had been seemingly annihilated, the main force of the Zhou army had crossed the Huai River, and the veteran General Liu Renzhan, leading the Qing Huai Army, was besieged by the Zhou army; the Huai River defense line had fallen!
Just now, the palace dispatched a large number of swift messengers with various orders issued by the court to various places to mobilize troops and prepare to reinforce the front line.
Good news: The emperor is alright, just a momentary agitation; the imperial physicians didn't even prescribe any medicine. Bad news: The losses at the front are enormous, and troops and supplies must be transferred from Jiangnan to fill the gaps.
There was also news that was hard to say whether it was good or bad: the emperor issued an edict recalling Li Hong, the military governor of Ningguo and the emperor's eldest son, and ordered the Secretariat to immediately begin preparations for the ceremonies to confer upon Li Hong the title of crown prince.
At the dinner table, after listening to the news they had just gathered, the Sixth Princess Li Lizhi and her husband Chen Qianxu put down their chopsticks, disregarding dining etiquette, and sighed softly, "Using Liu Yanzhen as commander led to this defeat. Even if Jiangbei manages to survive this calamity, it will be severely weakened."
Chen Qianxu also put down his chopsticks and advised, "Princess, don't worry, your health is the most important thing. His Majesty's good health is the best news. The court is now filled with founding generals and meritorious veterans who have experienced many perilous situations. Although there have been setbacks, our Yu Kingdom still has room to recover. Hasn't the court already dispatched troops from various places?"
His Majesty's decision to recall the eldest son and appoint him Crown Prince demonstrates his determination to stabilize the court. As long as our dynasty exerts its utmost effort, the Northern Dynasty will surely withdraw its troops as winter approaches. Princess, your most important task now is to take good care of your health and not neglect yourself. State affairs will be handled by the prime ministers.”
Li Lizhi nodded and said, "What you say is true, Your Highness. As long as Commander Zhan remains in Shouzhou, the Northern Dynasty cannot freely advance south. Only a few detachments can enter Huainan. As our southern armies are successively transferred north, the loopholes they can exploit are becoming fewer and fewer. Your Highness, why don't you go with the reinforcements and earn some merit? Father always dotes on you, and there's already gossip in the court."
Chen Qianxu's mind went blank for a moment upon hearing this, and he quickly covered his shock with a cough: "Princess, this is a crucial time for you, carrying my first child. How can I cross the river to the north with peace of mind? I must stay by your side, mother and child. As for the criticism in the court and my personal future, they are not important. After the child is born, I will ask my father for permission to go out and fight for you and the child."
Princess Xingguo, Li Lizhi, glanced at her husband, feeling both disappointed and contemptuous of his cowardice. She spoke gently, "What you say makes sense. I originally thought that with the imperial army marching north, the northern troops would find the Huai River region too damp and cold, and that as long as you stayed in Luzhou, you could reap the rewards. But alas, I was foolish. I didn't consider the difficulties at home. Seeing the children growing bigger each day, my energy is waning. We truly need a man to support the family."
Chen Qianxu quickly patted his chest and assured her, "Your Highness is too kind. Serving the country is a duty that can be done sooner or later. But the birth of a child cannot be undone. As long as you and your child are healthy, I will be at ease and will serve my father with utmost loyalty."
Li Lizhi nodded with a smile, ending the conversation.
After dinner, the prince consort did not follow Li Lizhi back to her room, but went to rest in his concubine's room. Li Lizhi opened the window, letting the cold wind blow in, and the maids and nannies quickly lit a charcoal fire to ward off the cold wind. The nanny even advised Li Lizhi to close the window to avoid catching a cold.
Li Lizhi sighed, "Without experiencing hardship, the days ahead will be difficult. Alas, righteousness often comes from humble beginnings." Back then, when Li Ji first heard her true identity, he immediately realized that if she became the imperial consort, the Guangling Li clan would be tied to the royal family. Li Ji did not approve of the royal family, so the two reluctantly parted ways.
You don't know until you compare, and the comparison is too clear and too cruel. At least Li Ji understands very well that once he becomes the imperial consort, he must stand with the emperor through thick and thin. Unlike this Chen Qianxu, who only wants wealth and glory, and who hides far away when the royal family encounters difficulties. Father, oh Father, all your careful selection has ultimately been in vain.
Apart from the female official, no one else knew what Li Lizhi was lamenting.
On the other side, the more the prince consort Chen Qianxu thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the more angry he became. Unexpectedly, as he passed a moon gate, he kicked the moon gate hard.
Li Lizhi's suggestion just now really shocked him. Go to war in Jiangbei? Are you kidding me? If they can lose once, who can guarantee they won't lose a second time?
With war raging and chaos reigning, who knows what the warriors north of the Yangtze River might do? Wouldn't it be better to stay in Jinling and steadily climb the ranks? After all, he's the son-in-law of the emperor; surely his father-in-law wouldn't mistreat him.
I hadn't even enjoyed much of the wealth and luxury of Jiangnan when I went mad and went to fight in Jiangbei. That wicked woman has such a vicious heart! Does she want me dead so she can replace me? How can she send her own husband to his death?
In his anger and resentment, Chen Qianxu, well-versed in literature, also considered a serious problem: would the kingdom of Yu change hands? Would his princess wife become a stumbling block, a burden on him and his family?
For over forty years, the country was in turmoil, with frequent changes of power between the north and south. The north alone saw five changes of power, and the south three. The current state of Yu appears stable, but in reality, it has only been established for a little over a decade. When Chen Qianxu was born, the state of Yu did not even exist.
The Northern army's offensive is relentless, and the Yu Kingdom is struggling to resist. If anything goes wrong, it's not impossible for the Northern army to march south and capture Jinling. What will I do then? What will happen to the Chen family? Should I sacrifice myself for the Yu Kingdom's royal family, even at the cost of the Chen family's entire fortune?
No, I, Chen Qianxu, am a talented scholar from the South. Where can I not hold an official position? Our Chen family has survived countless chaotic times and still maintains its status as an official family. This was hard-won and even more difficult to maintain. We absolutely cannot afford to fall at this critical juncture. It seems I need to find time to go home and have a private talk with my father.
The next day, Princess Xingguo donated 7,000 strings of cash, 2,000 bolts of silk, and 4,000 shi of coarse grain to provide relief to the refugees fleeing north of the Yangtze River. Following Princess Xingguo's example, the princes and princesses, whether they liked it or not, donated money and goods in varying amounts.
Having just returned to Jinling, the eldest prince Li Hong lived a very comfortable life as the military governor of Ningguo. After returning to Jinling, he knew that his mother was his greatest supporter. After meeting with his father, the Empress, he immediately went to visit his mother, Empress Zhong.
Empress Zhong asked him, "The country is in great turmoil now, and you have been summoned back to be the crown prince. What are your plans?"
Li Honghao said boldly, "Mother, rest assured, I know. Establishing a crown prince in times of crisis can win over the hearts of the people. I am willing to volunteer to lead the expedition and oversee the troops north of the Yangtze River. I will go to Huaixi, while my uncle, the Prince of Qi, will stay in Huaidong. As long as the soldiers and civilians north of the Yangtze River know that the crown prince has arrived, they will understand that our dynasty has not abandoned the north of the Yangtze River, and they will surely rekindle their fighting spirit to fight against the northern army."
Empress Zhong sighed inwardly. Her husband's delay in establishing his eldest son as heir was indeed justified. This child was filial and capable in martial arts, but his thinking was that of a warrior, lacking the potential of a strategist.
Empress Zhong instructed her son:
"The crown prince is the heir apparent, and the heir apparent is also a ruler. A ruler should not only be judged by courage, but also by wisdom; he should not only let people see his military achievements and glory, but also his benevolence and righteousness. A knife can never convince people as much as benevolence and righteousness."
Whether you lead the army into battle is another matter. First, donate all the wealth in your palace to aid the displaced people north of the Yangtze River. It would be best to sell everything in your household. The Northern army is harming people; we are saving them. The people of the world see this and remember it. Only in this way can you secure your throne.
Li Hong led troops for many years, committing numerous massacres, and in his heart, he actually despised benevolence and righteousness. However, he was filial, and when his mother suggested donating, he unhesitatingly took out 30,000 strings of cash, 10,000 bolts of silk, and 10,000 shi of various grains for disaster relief and helping the people.
He even carried out his mother's demands to the letter, publicly auctioning off his royal collection and war spoils in the capital to actively raise funds and supplies. Emperor Li Jing, seeing how sensible his son was, suddenly realized he had wronged him. His son was simply straightforward, and perhaps less familiar with political intrigue, but he was benevolent and kind!
Having convinced her son, Empress Zhong herself opened the palace treasury, taking out all the five million strings of cash, four hundred thousand bolts of silk, one million six hundred thousand taels of silver, and three hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold that she had painstakingly accumulated over the years while managing the six palaces, to fund the military.
On the same day, Empress Zhong announced that the expenses of the harem would be halved. From her time onward, all the concubines' clothes had to be washed three times before they could be changed. All the concubines and palace servants were to follow her in the palace to spin and weave cloth to make winter clothes to support the front lines.
The effects of these efforts were immediate. The reinforcements that arrived in Jinling one after another were greatly encouraged by the generous rewards they received, and the chaotic people of Jiangnan were quickly calmed down by the generous actions of Empress Zhong and the Crown Prince. Everyone felt that with such an empress and a crown prince, the Yu Kingdom would surely be able to overcome its difficulties.
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When the Jiangnan region was mobilized, the situation in the Jiangbei region was already very tense.
In Luzhou City, Li Jue, the prefect of Luzhou and the military commissioner of Desheng Army, was anxiously waiting for something. Before him stood a large group of local dignitaries and leading figures of the military commissioner.
Ten days ago, Liu Yanzhen, the military governor of Desheng Army, sent word that the soldiers of Desheng Army had fought bravely and had driven the Zhou army across the Huai River. Everyone thought it was a blessing from heaven, but they never expected the Zhou army to be so ineffective this time.
Even Li Jue didn't have much doubt. After all, the former military governor was a seasoned general who had truly maintained constant readiness for the army and for war. With Li Jue's help, the Desheng Army had also gradually reduced its old and weak soldiers and replenished itself with young and strong new recruits. It could be said that Liu Yanzhen inherited a very solid foundation.
It was not surprising that such a well-trained, fully armored, well-fed, and elite force composed entirely of able-bodied men defeated the Zhou army on the south bank of the Huai River. After all, the Zhou army was not made of heaven; they could be killed or wounded by arrows, and even if their heads were cut off, they would not survive.
But the very next day, a dramatic turn of events occurred: Liu Yanzhen sent another report of victory, saying that they had defeated Zhou's army again on the south bank of the Huai River. Li Jue and the other officials left behind were greatly surprised; hadn't they already driven Zhou's army away?
They detained the messenger and interrogated him in detail. The messenger finally confessed that Zhou's army had taken the initiative to retreat. Most of Zhou's army had retreated across the Huai River, but a group of soldiers remained to hold their fortifications on the south bank of the Huai River.
Military governor Liu Yanzhen ordered the navy to attack the pontoon bridge and the land forces of the Desheng Army to attack the fortress on the south bank, determined to use their elite troops to achieve a great victory in defeating the Zhou dynasty.
A military governor, who hadn't achieved any real merit, sent a daily report of victory to Jinling. Li Jue felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this. But he couldn't say anything, because the military governor was his superior, and criticizing one's superior was a major taboo in officialdom.
Li Jue could only use his authority to order the replenishment of weapons for local militias. He also ordered these militias to send able-bodied men to Luzhou City to train them in the use of crossbows. All military and civilian fortifications were to be repaired immediately, and the people were to prepare to take refuge in these fortifications. When the news spread, shrewd local elders (wealthy people) flocked to Li Jue, requesting that their family members be sent to participate in the training.
On one hand, they needed to send a group of their clansmen to hide in Luzhou City. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, at least they could preserve some of their family's livelihood. On the other hand, they were also afraid that in a critical moment, Li Jue would only care about his militia and military settlements, neglecting the common people. These local tyrants were shrewd individuals who had struggled to survive in the chaotic world to this day, and they would absolutely not give Li Jue any chance to refuse.
During the reign of the previous military governor, the Desheng Army reached its zenith, with overflowing treasuries and mountains of weaponry. The warehouses alone contained 11,000 crossbows. Li Jue tallied the manpower donated by local militias and wealthy landowners, totaling approximately 4,000. He then ordered the recruitment of civilian laborers from within the city to participate in training. In a hasty effort, a crossbow army of just over 10,000 men was assembled.
After just ten days of training, over four thousand of these men were already able to follow orders and use crossbows effectively. With this elite force working in conjunction with the city's defense troops and local militia to defend Luzhou, the city's inhabitants finally felt reassured.
The people were relieved. Li Jue, however, was not at ease, nor were the officials in the city, and even the large group of local militia leaders and wealthy landowners sitting before him were uneasy. Because since yesterday, the military governor Liu Yanzhen, who was supposed to send daily reports of victory to Jinling, had stopped sending any news.
Li Jue stood up worriedly and paced back and forth several times under everyone's gaze. Just as the people in the hall were about to say something to ease the atmosphere, several scouts were carried in from outside, panting heavily.
The scout, panting, said, "Commander, something terrible has happened! Yesterday, we went out of the city and searched north along the Pi River. After crossing General Ridge and running north for thirty li, we discovered Zhou's cavalry. There were several thousand of them. They seemed to be searching for something, and they looted everything in their path, whether it was towns or villages."
Everyone present was a local expert, and General Ridge was only a few dozen miles north of Luzhou City—not exactly close, but not far either. If the cavalry crossed General Ridge, they could reach Luzhou City in a single day.
Li Jue's vision blurred, and he forced himself to sit back in his chair. A militia officer stood up and shouted, "Militia Commander, we can't wait any longer! We must immediately notify the outlying fortresses to prepare for battle. Tell the villagers to quickly move their belongings, and let each fortress defend their homes and fight on their own. The Northern Army may not be able to do anything to us."
Li Jue was filled with fear, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. Although he had planned to dedicate himself to the country when he sent his wife away, he was still terrified when his life was truly in danger.
Despite his fear, Li Jue's years of experience hadn't gone to waste. He tried his best to sit up straight and said to those below, "Send the signal with smoke. If the signal is wrong, the responsibility will fall on me."
Over the years, the Desheng Army has perfected the signal transmission mechanism throughout its territory. Luzhou City has beacon towers. The surrounding counties, towns, and even every military and civilian settlement have beacon towers. This ensures that if news of an invasion arrives from any direction, the entire jurisdiction can quickly enter a state of combat readiness, minimizing unnecessary manpower losses.
As a result, smoke signals quickly rose within Luzhou City, and all the counties, towns, and fortresses awaiting news lit their own smoke signals in turn, following their previous training. From a bird's-eye view, one could see pillars of smoke rising into the sky from the Desheng Army area.
"Thieves are coming! Thieves are coming! The magistrate is lighting the signal fire!" The village guard on duty at the village entrance saw the signal fire and frantically banged his gong, shouting the alarm at the top of his lungs.
The people who were working in the fields rushed home like madmen, calling for their husbands and wives, and urging their children to hurry home and not run around.
"My man has gone to sea and hasn't returned yet!" The woman's panicked, desperate, hoarse screams tried to tear through the smoke billowing across the sky.
"Don't worry about it, he knows where Tunpu is, let's go, let's go!" The neighbors pulled the woman and her elderly relatives and children into the car and drove off.
In each household, men and women hurriedly packed up all their valuables and food, drove their livestock, poultry, cats, and dogs, locked their yards while weeping, and fled to the nearby fortified villages without daring to delay for even a moment.
The elderly people kept turning back, afraid that the grain they had buried and disguised in their yards a couple of days ago might have been stolen. If someone saw it and took it, how would their families survive next year?
While the soldiers and civilians in Desheng Army territory were in a state of panic, moving to prepare for war, a group of disheveled knights escorted a high-ranking official, staring blankly at the plumes of smoke rising as far as the eye could see.
The official sighed. Luzhou was now within reach. After fleeing for two days and two nights, he had finally shaken off his pursuers. Now he had to think about how to deal with the court's accountability.
Amidst the smoke and fire of war, Liu Yanzhen, the commander of the Desheng Army, who had been out of contact for two days and two nights, unexpectedly returned to Luzhou City. He had set out with 36,000 troops by land and water. When he returned, he had only a dozen or so followers with him.