Chapter 621: The Petty Ruler of the State

Li Mao in Jingxiang also had a force of 100,000 troops. He personally led 30,000 to guard Xiangyang, while the remaining 70,000 were stationed in key locations across Jingxiang, including strategic areas such as Jingzhou, Jiangxia, and Baling, where strong garrisons were maintained. As he expanded eastward and gradually seized the provinces of Lu, Shu, and Shou, his military resources became strained, making it increasingly difficult to manage such a vast territory.

To address this, Li Mao began expanding his army, appointing his trusted general Zhang Weijin as the recruiter to enlist soldiers in the three provinces of Lu, Shu, and Shou. However, Ge Shu Han opposed this expansion, arguing that quality mattered more than quantity—having many troops without capable generals was no different from a ragtag crowd. Despite Ge Shu Han’s objections, Li Mao insisted on continuing recruitment.

Ge Shu Han then proposed a list of 500 officers, all experienced veterans from Longyou who had served him for years. He suggested promoting them to lead the new troops. Yet Li Mao, suspicious of Ge Shu Han’s intentions, rejected all 500 and instead promoted hundreds of officers from his own entourage, including Zhang Weijin and Zhao Fengzhang, to positions such as general, lieutenant general, and colonel. Most of these officers were of mixed quality; many were wealthy youths from Jingxiang who had obtained positions through bribery. Military ranks were determined by the amount of money paid, resulting in a chaotic situation with a large number of mid-to-senior-level officers in the Jingxiang army.

This angered Ge Shu Han greatly. In a fit of fury, he abandoned the defense of Jingzhou and led his 10,000 troops back to Yuezhou. Left with no choice, Li Mao sent officials to Yuezhou to appease Ge Shu Han, explaining that he had appointed officers from Zhang Weijin’s group to win over local supporters in Jingxiang, with no ulterior motives. He pleaded with Ge Shu Han to prioritize the army’s needs.

But Ge Shu Han refused to back down. He submitted another memorial accusing Zhang Weijin and Zhao Fengzhang of selling military positions for personal gain and undermining military discipline, demanding that Li Mao execute them to appease the troops, otherwise he would never return to Jingzhou.

With no other option, Li Mao wrote a personal letter to Ge Shu Han, stating that the accusations of corruption were unfounded and baseless. He promised to investigate thoroughly and take action if any evidence was found. Later, Li Mao promoted over 100 of his subordinates to the rank of lieutenant general, which somewhat calmed Ge Shu Han’s anger, and he returned to Jingzhou.

Although the situation settled, Ge Shu Han’s tendency to act independently with his troops made Li Mao deeply wary of him. Coupled with the instigation of Zhang Weijin and Zhao Fengzhang, Li Mao gradually developed murderous intentions toward Ge Shu Han.

Zhang Weijin was originally from Xiangyang. He used to be a military officer under the Jingzhou Governor’s office. When Li Mao first arrived in Xiangyang and was unfamiliar with the place, Zhang Weijin gathered some remaining troops from nearby areas, amassing nearly two thousand soldiers, and proclaimed Li Mao as king. Seeing that Li Mao had come alone, he gave his two cousins to Li Mao as concubines, thereby gaining Li Mao’s trust. He was then appointed as General of the Cavalry and Supreme Commander of Jingzhou, becoming one of Li Mao’s most trusted generals.

Zhang Weijin’s family power also grew steadily. His brother-in-law, Liu Qing, who used to be the magistrate of Gucheng County in Xiangzhou, was promoted to governor of Xiangzhou. His two brothers, brother-in-law, and three cousins all entered the military and were appointed as generals. Another cousin of his was promoted to county magistrate of Xiangyang County. Gradually, Zhang Weijin’s family became the most powerful family in Xiangyang.

Zhang Weijin was about forty years old, tall and robust, with a thick beard and a loud voice that gave him a bold appearance. However, he had small eyes that, when he laughed heartily, revealed cunning and shrewdness.

Zhang Weijin had been recruiting troops in Shouzhou. When he heard news that the army from Jiannan was marching on Yiling and received a secret letter from his cousin Zhang Zhong, he hurried back to Xiangyang.

Zhang Weijin’s residence was not far from the Jingzhou Prince’s palace—a huge mansion covering nearly a hundred acres, second only in size to the prince’s palace. As a result, there was a folk song in Xiangyang that went, “The Jingzhou Prince’s palace, Zhang’s mansion—Geshu Han can step aside…” This song highlighted that among the powers in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, Geshu Han’s influence was now inferior to Zhang Weijin’s.

That afternoon, Zhang Zhong, the county magistrate of Xiangyang County, brought a middle-aged man to Zhang Weijin’s mansion. Zhang Zhong was Zhang Weijin’s cousin, in his thirties. He had originally been a thug in the streets of Xiangyang but, three years earlier, had used connections to get a minor official position in the county government, handling errands and standing guard. After Zhang Weijin’s power grew, he rose from a minor official to become the county magistrate of Xiangyang County.

Zhang Zhong had no great ambitions; he became an official merely to make more money. As county magistrate, he was in charge of criminal affairs and public order in Xiangyang City. He led a group of clerks to act recklessly in the streets—enticing beautiful women and accusing those they disliked of being spies to torture them until their families paid ransoms. As for shops and taverns, he extorted money without restraint—today for buying horses, tomorrow for insurance fees, and at the end of the month for public order fees. In just half a year, he had amassed over twenty thousand strings of coins. He was ruthless and cruel. Many people went to the county or provincial government to file complaints, but the magistrate was too eager to please the Zhang family, and the governor, being Zhang Weijin’s brother-in-law, pretended not to hear anything.

Without the restraint of laws or moral principles, Zhang Zhong became even more frenzied in amassing wealth. His only goal was to enjoy that wealth comfortably once he had it. Thus, whether it was the Southern Tang or the Northern Tang, either could be a power he might seek to ally with in the future.

A few days ago, a mysterious visitor came to Zhang Zhong’s house—Yang Shenjin, the Deputy Minister of Revenue of the Southern Tang. Yang Shenjin had previously been the Minister of Rites and Prime Minister of the Tang Empire. In Zhang Zhong’s eyes, such a person was at the very top of society. Of course, Yang Shenjin didn’t come to see him directly but to ask him to introduce him to Zhang Weijin. Zhang Zhong immediately wrote to Zhang Weijin and, upon hearing that his elder brother had returned, brought Yang Shenjin to see him right away.

Zhang Zhong led Yang Shenjin to the front of Zhang Weijin’s residence and bowed deeply, saying, “Deputy Minister Yang, please wait a moment. I’ll go inform him right away.”

Yang Shenjin nodded and smiled, saying, “I’ll wait here. Go ahead!”

He stood there with his hands behind his back, staring coldly at the Jingwang Palace not far away, which was even more magnificent and splendid than the Southern Tang palace. This Li Mao really seemed impatient.

After a while, Zhang Zhong rushed out, smiling and saying, “Deputy Minister Yang, please follow me. My elder brother wants to see you.”

He led Yang Shenjin quickly inside the residence.

Zhang Weijin had planned to meet with Li Mao in the afternoon to discuss the recruitment of new soldiers. Hearing that Yang Shenjin had arrived, he immediately became nervous. He knew that the Southern Tang had stationed heavy troops in Yiling. Yang Shenjin’s arrival must be related to the current situation. Not daring to be careless, he ordered Zhang Zhong to take Yang Shenjin to his private chamber.

A moment later, Zhang Zhong led Yang Shenjin into the inner chamber. Three years ago, when Yang Shenjin was on a mission to Jingxiang, he had met Zhang Weijin once. As soon as he entered, Yang Shenjin smiled and bowed, saying, “General Zhang, it’s been years. How have you been?”

Zhang Weijin replied with a smile, “It’s you, Deputy Minister Yang. My apologies for the rudeness. Please sit!”

Yang Shenjin didn’t hesitate and sat down across from him. Zhang Weijin gave Zhang Zhong a signal, who then left and closed the door.

“How did Deputy Minister Yang think of coming to see me at this time?”

Yang Shenjin smiled slightly and said, “I’ve come this time both to bring prosperity to General Zhang and to save his life.”

“Save my life?” Zhang Weijin was stunned. He quickly asked, “What do you mean?”

“General Zhang, do you still remember the letter you wrote to Ji Guangchen?”

Yang Shenjin’s words seemed to uncover the deepest secrets of Zhang Weijin, exposing them all at once.

Zhang Weijin and Ji Guangchen had a good relationship. Over half a year ago, when the Beitang army attacked Henan, Ji Guangchen wanted to ally with the Jingxiang army to resist them. He had written a letter to Zhang Weijin, promising that if Zhang helped him, he would introduce him to the Southern Tang emperor, Li Hen. At that time, Zhang Weijin, acting on impulse, replied to Ji Guangchen, saying that if Li Hen would make him a prince, he would not only send troops to assist Ji Guangchen but also offer Li Mao’s head as a birthday gift to Li Hen. Yet their alliance failed, and soon news came that Ji Guangchen’s entire army had been annihilated. The whereabouts of his letter were unknown, and neither the messenger nor the recipient was seen again. Zhang Weijin regretted this deeply. As time passed and no one mentioned the letter again, he assumed the matter was over. But unexpectedly, it was revealed at this moment. Zhang Weijin’s face turned purplish red as he gripped the hilt of his sword and stared at Yang Shenjin, asking word by word, “Minister Yang, what do you mean by this?” Zhang Weijin didn’t know that his messenger hadn’t even reached Zhengzhou when Ji Guangchen’s forces were already destroyed. The messenger, seeing the letter as a valuable asset, went to Chengdu and handed it over to Li Hen. Yang Shenjin calmly took out a letter and handed it to Zhang Weijin, saying, “This is just a copy. If General Zhang wants to kill me to silence me, the original will be delivered to Li Mao right away. General Zhang, decide for yourself—do you want self-destruction or wealth and honor?” Zhang Weijin slowly relaxed his grip on the sword hilt and regained his senses, realizing he couldn’t kill the man before him. He took the letter, studied it for a while, and sighed inwardly—so be it! He then asked in a deep voice, “What kind of wealth and honor does the Southern Tang emperor want to offer me?” Yang Shenjin was confident. Since Zhang Weijin already intended to kill Li Mao and defect to the Southern Tang, he believed offering large sums of money would persuade him to submit. He took out another list of gifts and handed it to Zhang Weijin, saying, “General Zhang, take a look first!” Zhang Weijin glanced at it and saw ten thousand taels of gold, a box of jewels and jade, and fifty beautiful women from Bashu. He nodded in satisfaction—wealth and women satisfied him, but what he truly wanted wasn’t listed. He pushed the list back and shook his head, saying, “Minister Yang, I don’t want these things.” Yang Shenjin understood and pushed the list back, smiling faintly, “This is just a small reward from the emperor, not an official title.” “Oh! Then what is the official title…”

Yang Shenjin pulled out a secret imperial edict from his sleeve and declared loudly, “The imperial edict is here! Zhang Weijin, receive it!”
Zhang Weijin knelt in fear and said, “Your servant Zhang Weijin respectfully receives the imperial edict!”
……