Chapter 7: A Time of Chaos (7)

Suddenly, a beardless man riding a reddish-brown steed appeared at the gates of Yingzhou City, shouting loudly to open the gates.
“Open the gates quickly! I’m still waiting to enter!”
Without hesitation, it was the eunuch Zhu Gui.
As soon as Zhu Gui’s shrill voice rang out, a guard on the city wall frowned.
Who could this man with such a deep voice be, and why was he so arrogant? After all, Yingzhou City was a provincial capital—how could anyone dare act recklessly here?
“Stop talking nonsense and open the gates! Do you want to be whipped? If so, go get it at the government office—don’t cause trouble here.”
County magistrate Jiang Zheng glared at the guard and scolded him repeatedly. In Yingzhou City, he was in charge of all military affairs, and even the governor, Lord Qian, wouldn’t interfere with his decisions. So rebuking a lowly guard was nothing for him.
Jiang Zheng had seen much of the world. From the man’s clothing and behavior, he deduced that he must be a noble from Chang’an. No matter what his status was, even if he were just a steward in a duke’s household, they weren’t someone he could afford to provoke.
“Ah, ah! I’ll open them right away!”
The guard didn’t dare defy Jiang Zheng. He immediately smiled, bowed, and stepped back toward the iron gates. Though he cursed Jiang Zheng in his heart, he had no choice but to open the gates as ordered.
Higher rank meant greater power—what could he do?
“Creak! Creak!”
The iron chains scraped as the gates were lowered. The heavy metal doors slammed down onto the snow, leaving distinct tracks behind.
“Tch! Can’t you be more careful? All this snow is splashing on me! You little brat!”
Zhu Gui wiped the frozen snow from his face, cursed irritably, then bowed to Li Kuo. “General Li, please go first!”
Li Kuo held the reins in one hand and gestured for Zhu Gui to go first. “Eunuch Zhu, please!”
“Ah, you’re the commander. How can I enter before you? If the emperor hears about this, he’ll skin me alive!”
Zhu Gui shook his head repeatedly, refusing.
“In that case, I’ll take my leave!”
Li Kuo nodded slightly at Zhu Gui, snapped his whip, and rode into the city with the breeze…
A pot of burned liquor, a stack of pickled cucumbers, a basin of braised mutton, and a pile of peanuts—hard to believe that these were the dishes Governor Qian Yuan could offer Li Kuo.

When Qian Yuanke could order his men to serve these dishes on the table, even the usually easy-going Pu Dachui was stunned speechless. Good heavens, this Governor Qian is really too stingy. Even this meal isn’t good enough to be served in a military camp, yet he uses it to entertain the military commander? It seems rather disrespectful, doesn’t it?
“Hehe, General Li, please don’t be dissatisfied. To prevent the rebels from obtaining supplies, I followed the imperial policy of burning down villages and destroying crops. Aside from the necessary winter grain for each household, all other grain was either requisitioned or completely destroyed, so as not to give the rebels any advantage.”
Seeing Li Kuo clearly surprised, Qian Yuanke thought he might be resentful and hurriedly explained, “Yingzhou City is located in the Huaibei Plain—it’s not like a mountainous city where one can hunt game. Seasonal vegetables can’t be stored, so once winter comes, the only thing to eat are grains.”
Qian Yuanke carefully observed Li Kuo’s expression and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming he had no ill intentions.
“I see. What Governor Qian has done is truly a blessing for the Tang Dynasty and for the people of Yingzhou.”
Hearing this, Li Kuo bowed to Qian Yuanke and said, “I just wonder how long Yingzhou City’s grain reserves will last?”
During battles, the defending side would implement the policy of burning down villages to prevent the attacking side from looting supplies from nearby villages. Now that winter had arrived, the wheat had already been ground into flour and stored in jars. Yet there was still a possibility that An Lushan’s rebels might send cavalry to raid villages after capturing surrounding counties. Therefore, Qian Yuanke brought villagers who were willing to enter the city along with their grain into the city, while also having his soldiers help the villagers bury most of their grain underground in their homes, leaving only enough for a few days. This way, even if An Lushan’s rebels raided the area, they wouldn’t be able to seize much grain.
“If we cut back on consumption, it should last about half a year. But if a large army stays here, it might only last at most three months,” Qian Yuanke said after thinking for a moment, stroking his beard.
“Governor Qian, there’s no need to worry. Our army is only resting in Yingzhou City temporarily and will set off soon,” Li Kuo said quickly, smiling to reassure him.
“No rush, no rush. As long as you’re in Yingzhou, An Lushan will have to be cautious. Once your army leaves, the people of Yingzhou City will have to live in fear again.”
Qian Yuanke shook his head helplessly, his expression filled with desolation.
“Where have the rebels reached now?” Li Kuo asked, frowning slightly. According to the imperial dispatches, An Lushan had only taken control of the counties in the northern part of Henan Circuit, while most of the counties in the south were still under the control of the Tang Dynasty.

Qian Yuanké took a map from his attendant upon hearing this and slowly unrolled it on the desk. “General Li, look. Yingzhou is located at the junction of the Huai River and the Ying River, at the southernmost part of the Henan Route. Going north leads to Chenzhou and Haozhou, and further north to Songzhou and Xuzhou. Currently, Haozhou and Chenzhou are still on the fence, while Songzhou and Xuzhou have fallen into the hands of the rebels.”

“I never thought the rebels would be so strong—they’ve already taken Xuzhou!”

Li Kuo slammed the desk hard and gritted his teeth. “Once Xuzhou falls, the connection between the Guanlong and Huainan Routes will be severed. The imperial court will have to take a longer route to transport grain from the Jianghuai region to Chang’an, which will inevitably increase losses.”

Qian Yuanké nodded in approval. “General Li’s analysis is spot on. Perhaps this is why An Lushan is eager to capture Xuzhou. If he manages to control all the counties along the Henan Route, it will cost our Tang Dynasty much more to transport grain safely to Guanzhong. Although Guanzhong can be self-sufficient, it’s not a sustainable solution in the long run.”

Li Kuo nodded. “His Majesty ordered me to enter Chang’an via the Capital Route. In your opinion, General Li, which route should I take?”

Hearing this, Qian Yuanké gasped in shock, thinking, How dare you ask me such a question while leading troops?

“Well, um, hehe…”

After thinking for a moment, Qian Yuanké finally came up with a somewhat plausible route.

“General Li, look here. To reach Guanzhong, one must pass through Xuzhou. But since Xuzhou is now in the hands of the rebels, it will be difficult to pass through directly. It might be better to take the Southern Mountain East Route, going through Xiangzhou and then entering Xijing via Shangzhou.”

“Oh no, that won’t work. His Majesty clearly stated that General Li must enter Xijing via the Capital Route. If we take the Southern Mountain East Route, wouldn’t that go against His Majesty’s wishes?”

Seeing Qian Yuanké suggest such a ‘bad idea’ to Li Kuo, Zhu Gui quickly interfered.

“Eunuch Zhu, you don’t know the situation. There are checkpoints every ten miles along the Capital Route. It’s unlikely to pass without fighting.”

Qian Yuanké had already learned about Zhu Gui’s status from Li Kuo. Having experienced many ups and downs in the imperial court, he knew such people could not be offended. He had to speak kindly, hoping to get rid of this troublemaker from Yingzhou as soon as possible.

But Zhu Gui didn’t think so. He merely raised the corners of his mouth and said, “Oh? How come I can’t understand what Lord Qian is saying? His Majesty ordered General Li to return to the capital to assist the throne, not to go on a vacation. How can battles be avoided during a military campaign? If we take the Capital Route, we might even be able to fight the rebels. If we take the opportunity to capture Xuzhou, wouldn’t that be great news?”

“This, this…”
Qian Yuanke had no idea that Zhu Gui would be so persistent, and he didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
“Eunuch Zhu is right. Governor Qian’s concerns are also justified. It’s likely impossible to enter Guanzhong without fighting now, but we should still try our best to avoid An Lushan’s rebels. After all, the most important thing is to enter the capital to protect the emperor. There’s no need to worry over temporary gains and losses.”
Seeing the two arguing, Li Kuo quickly stepped in to defuse the situation.
From the moment Zhu Gui insisted on accompanying the army, he knew the emperor suspected him, which was why the emperor came up with the idea of sending a eunuch as an inspector. But this approach clearly didn’t serve as an effective restraint. If he were to turn traitor like An Lushan, what good would a eunuch inspector do? On the contrary, if he remained loyal, having a eunuch constantly giving orders around him could only hinder military operations.
So, this certainly didn’t seem like a brilliant plan.
But at this point, apart from trying to maintain a good relationship with Zhu Gui to minimize his influence over the Huainan army, there was no better solution.
“Look, look! It’s still General Li’s words I like to hear!”
Zhu Gui curled his lips and said, “I don’t want to get involved in these matters. You handle it as you see fit. But I must say this in advance: if anyone turns traitor and is disloyal to the emperor, I’ll fight them to the death—yes, to the death!”
Zhu Gui raised his fist, pretending to protect the emperor loyally, which almost made Qian Yuanke laugh.
“I was careless just now. Here, Eunuch Zhu, let me offer you a drink!”
With that, Qian Yuanke poured himself a cup of liquor and raised it high in respect.