Chapter 132
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The request to campaign again in Luozhou, although approved by the Crown Prince, had left the entire court in fear due to Prince Yan’s previous disastrous campaign.
Even if the Emperor recovered and showed his anger again, no one dared to comply with his wishes and would rather suggest diplomacy over warfare to keep safe.
The Crown Prince himself explained in the court meeting that the previous campaign didn’t fail. It was interrupted midway due to an urgent situation with the Tatars.
The major mistake in the last campaign was a poor choice in troop deployment. Now, a substantial number of local militias in the Sichuan-Guizhou region have been recruited, making their chances of success in this campaign much better than the previous one where they took cavalry into the mountainous terrain.
The court remained silent, and even those who had previously supported Prince Yan’s faction did not dare to shoulder the blame for this. The initial attempt to sway opinions in favor of the Crown Prince had failed.
After the morning court session, Senior Minister Li promptly sought an audience at Xiyuan Hall.
Xie Duo had been waiting for him at the door.
After dismissing the attendants, Senior Minister Li immediately asked Xie Duo why he had agreed to Prince Yan’s request to lead the troops.
Given the current situation, how could they ensure that Prince Yan wouldn’t lead his ten thousand officials and tens of thousands of militiamen to join forces with the Luozhou and rebel?
In that case, Luozhou would have the advantage of the terrain and a large force skilled in mountain warfare. Once they established their dominance, they would be hard to dislodge.
Senior Minister Li presented a convincing analysis, but Xie Duo only asked him, “Do you know Xie Guang? Do you understand the resentment of those militiamen towards the Luozhou people? Do you know Zhang Mushan?”
These three questions left Senior Minister Li speechless.
He understood Prince Yan’s character well. Even in death, he wouldn’t choose to betray the country in this manner.
The local militia recruited there were young men from weaker tribes who had suffered years of plunder and violence by the ruthless bandits of Luozhou. Harboring intense hatred for the people of Luozhou, it was inconceivable for them to seek refuge with their enemies and resist the mightier imperial court.
As for Zhang Mushan, he was willing to sacrifice his entire clan’s lives to become the local ruler. How could he tolerate the Great Chu Crown Prince taking over his stronghold?
The Crown Prince wasn’t easily fooled. He could see things clearly.
Senior Minister Li pondered for a moment then spoke softly, “Your Highness, what do you think are the odds of success in this battle?”
“More than seventy percent.”
“In that case, Prince Yan may achieve an extraordinary feat, second only to Your Highness’ victory over the Tatars’ invasion.”
“What are you concerned about, Wlder?” Xie Duo calmly looked at him. “Father Emperor has already named me the Crown Prince. Besides, Sixth Brother is simply leading another expedition on behalf of the Emperor, striving to honor the sacrifices made by the soldiers in the previous campaign. There’s another commander for the task, so why worry about him gaining a bit of military glory?”
“I’m only concerned that Prince Yan’s faction might rekindle their influence using this bit of military glory. Your Highness, I believe we can fight the battle, but we must ensure that Prince Yan doesn’t get a foothold in military achievements.”
Xie Duo took a few steps closer, leaned in, and said in low voice, “Elder, this battle will last at least five months, and Sixth Brother will be away from the capital for about half a year. Isn’t that enough time for us to completely uproot that rootless faction? Where would the ashes come from?”
Senior Minister Li’s eyes flickered. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded, “Your Highness, your plans are far-reaching, but I’m afraid the Emperor may not necessarily agree.”
Xie Duo furrowed his brows and lowered his head. “I’ll handle it with Father Emperor.”
The Emperor’s daily periods of deep slumber were getting longer.
In private, the imperial physician confided in Xie Duo, “The toxins that haven’t been expelled may have already affected his internal organs. A full recovery is impossible. As for how much longer he can hold on, I dare not say.”
After finishing his official duties, Xie Duo often brought a round chair and sat by the bedside, gazing at the Emperor who slept deeply on the dragon bed. He would sit there for the entire afternoon and leave before nightfall.
The Emperor would mostly awaken briefly in the middle of the night, so in recent days, the number of times he could converse with Xie Duo didn’t exceed three times.
Apart from the first time he woke up and discussed Xie Duo’s background and the throne, in the subsequent times, each time he woke up, he would grab the first person he saw and ask, “Is she willing to come?”
Senior Minister Li informed Xie Duo that the Emperor wished to see his birth mother again. He had already sent three trusted confidants to Jiangnan to invite her to the capital for a visit.
Xie Duo had no interest in delving into the old stories about his birth mother. But he had never seen the usually strong-willed Father Emperor act so cautiously in seeking someone’s presence. Even with uncertainty about his own survival, he didn’t resort to force.
This piqued Xie Duo’s curiosity. He couldn’t help but inquire about the history between his birth mother and Father Emperor.
Senior Minister Li didn’t disclose too many details but mentioned the incident that had caused a complete rift between the Emperor and Lady Yang—the swapping of children.
Shortly after Xie Duo’s birth, the Emperor had the baby secretly taken and placed in the Empress’ palace.
As the Empress was unconscious after childbirth, she had never seen her own son. Thus, she didn’t notice anything amiss. However, Lady Yang immediately realized that the fragile premature baby in the swaddle was not her own son.
Everything spiraled out of control. Lady Yang, a proud, intelligent woman, resorted to every manner of coercion, seduction, and even assassination attempts in her desperation to retrieve her son.
But the Emperor told her that her son could not be returned. If the matter leaked within the palace, her son’s life would be in grave danger.
Afterward, Lady Yang went on a hunger strike, regardless of the Emperor’s anger or pleading. She only sought death.
Ultimately, the one who saved her life was the Empress’ son.
On that day, not long after the maidservant had fed the unconscious Lady Yang some porridge, she began to regain consciousness.
She was awakened by the crying of a baby outside her door, and it seemed that becoming a mother had made her unusually sensitive to such sounds.
In a daze, she thought it was her own son who was hungry. She hurriedly propped herself up on the bed and the wall, fumbling her way to the door, heading to the eastern wing to feed the baby in the swaddle.
Since then, it was unclear whether Lady Yang was lucid or completely mad.
She treated that child as her own son, caring for him diligently every day, but she didn’t call him “A’Duo,” only referring to him as “Hui’er.”
She gave the child the name “Yang Hui’er.” After her confinement period, she attempted several times to escape the palace the Emperor had built for her, with the baby in her arms, but she was caught each time.
The Emperor’s infatuation with Lady Yang at that time was now hard to fathom.
Seeing Lady Yang’s increasingly emaciated and haggard appearance, the Emperor eventually let go. He was willing to pay the price of a lifetime without seeing her in person, hoping she would accept his support and protection.
Learning this old story, Xie Duo’s emotions became even more complex. He realized that he had not only caused his birth mother to suppress her resentment for so many years but also brought her so much pain from the moment he was born.
He asked Senior Minister Li if Lady Yang had ever requested to meet him privately in the capital.
Senior Minister Li delicately indicated that he was unsure about this matter.
Clearly, Lady Yang had completely abandoned her own biological son, dedicating herself to caring for her adopted child, Yang Hui’er.
In contrast, the Empress did not want Xie Duo as her adopted son.
This fact made Xie Duo feel even more worthless. It seemed that there was no one in the world who had any expectations of him, and no one was waiting for him to come home.
What about Han Jiao?
Xie Duo couldn’t be sure. He liked Han Jiao too much to the point where he couldn’t distinguish whether Han Jiao’s words were true or false.
But at least the happiness they shared when they were together was real. Han Jiao’s embrace was his only refuge from pain. Even if it was a pretense, he dared not shatter the dream of that one true joy.
•••
Facing the big boss whose demeanor grew colder day by day, Han Jiao was filled with question marks.
He wondered if it was because of their recent intimate issues that had caused the big boss to become depressed.
To address this, Han Jiao put aside his pride, covered his face with a straw hat, and went to an apothecary to inquire about what ointment to use for male intimacy.
He bought three bottles of ointment in one go and returned to the residence, fully prepared to make sure the big boss had a satisfying night.
However, Xie Duo surprisingly didn’t mention anything in that regard. He had a gloomy dinner, took a bath, and then carried Han Jiao upstairs to rest.
Han Jiao only learned about the court’s preparations for another campaign against Luozhou and that Prince Yan would be leading it after his “vacation.”
Was the big boss worried about this matter all these days?
It shouldn’t be the case. The War God couldn’t possibly be fretting over anything related to warfare.
Han Jiao thought about personally inquiring with Prince Yan to understand the situation but immediately dismissed this risky idea.
He didn’t dare to show too much concern about Prince Yan’s affairs in front of Xie Duo.
He could only eavesdrop on his colleagues’ discussions.
His fellow scholars at the Hanlin Academy had diverse opinions, but most of them weren’t very optimistic about Prince Yan’s upcoming campaign.
After all, in the last campaign, Great Chu lost four thousand elite soldiers, while the rebels in Luozhou suffered fewer than four hundred casualties. This time, without the elite cavalry from the northwest and with a group of militiamen, achieving a pyrrhic victory would be the best outcome. As for the worst-case scenario, they exchanged knowing glances without saying a word.
These pessimistic predictions left Han Jiao somewhat worried, so he approached his father and Elder Lin for private discussions.
Master Han was highly dissatisfied with the decision to launch another campaign against Luozhou. He believed that the previous loss of four thousand to four hundred clearly indicated the problem. The Crown Prince should follow the ancestors’ strategy and opt for appeasement instead of aggression to avoid unnecessary casualties.
As for Elder Lin, he subtly hinted to Han Jiao that Prince Yan’s request for this battle might be driven by the Crown Prince’s influence and was far from a wise decision.
It seemed like everyone had a sinking feeling that this battle might not end in victory.
Those with a more superficial view believed that Prince Yan was acting recklessly, while those with a deeper perspective thought the Crown Prince was using this opportunity to completely dismantle Prince Yan’s faction.
But Han Jiao felt that both of these speculations didn’t make sense.
Because Xie Duo believed that if a battle was to be fought, there was no way they could lose. Xie Duo wasn’t the kind of person willing to pay a high price to defeat a political rival. Since he had agreed to let Prince Yan go to war, there had to be a good chance of success in this campaign.
Han Jiao wasn’t the only one who thought this way. Even the Chieftain of Luozhou, Zhang Mushan, was equally uneasy.
He had assumed that the court, after suffering a loss of four thousand with no gains, would give up the idea of using military force to conquer Luozhou entirely.
To his surprise, the Governor-General of Sichuan-Guizhou region not only failed to provide him with supplies for appeasement but also strengthened defenses. They even sent official documents with seals, adopting a stance of imminent war.
This made the once-arrogant Zhang Mushan somewhat puzzled. He knew that the one currently in power was the ninth son of the Emperor, Xie Duo.
This man, known for his remarkable combat skills with zero casualties, had annihilated the Tatars entirely and had become a god-like figure in the commoners’ eyes. If he personally led the attack on Luozhou, Zhang Mushan had no idea what to expect.
Zhang Mushan’s ancestors had also united with other tribes in turbulent times to resist Tatar raids, but they were defeated and forced to retreat each time.
∴ Their people couldn’t defeat the Tatars.
The Tatars couldn’t defeat Xie Duo.
∴ Their people couldn’t defeat Xie Duo.
Although he hadn’t received a formal education, Zhang Mushan could still solve such a simple proof.
If the War God Crown Prince wanted to personally engage with him, he was ready to yield and behave for a while.
So, in the past two days, those who came to reprimand under Zhang Mushan’s leadership for provoking the Governor-General of Sichuan-Guizhou had all been pacified by Zhang Mushan. He intended to avoid an immediate confrontation and first send people to gather information about the commander leading this military campaign.
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