Chapter 46: Impolite and Disrespectful

In fact, what Hou Fangyu did not know was that even in a timeline without a completely transformed Zhu Cilang, in the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen era, Liu Zeqing had also led six thousand soldiers of the Shandong Garrison to obey Hou Xun's orders to relieve Kaifeng. At that time, after crossing the Yellow River to the south, Liu Zeqing's first move was also to capture the ferry crossings. Following two days of fierce fighting, he successfully seized the Yellow River ferry.

Had it not been for a sudden mutiny within the Shandong Garrison that forced them to retreat overnight, Kaifeng might not have truly been reduced to a dead city.

Today, however, compared to the historical Battle of Kaifeng, there were clearly far more contingencies.

The Shandong Garrison was evidently much stronger than its historical counterpart, and it had arrived more than half a year ahead of schedule, seizing a massive advantage in the timing of the campaign.

From this perspective, if Hou Xun could seize control of the Shandong Garrison and cast aside his past passivity, he might genuinely be able to put up a fight against Li Zicheng, and perhaps even claim this heaven-shaking military merit.

With this thought, Hou Xun's heart finally began to pound violently, and he started to carefully deduce the possibilities.

The manifestation of court laws among civil officials was naturally that superiors held absolute sway over subordinates. Qin Xia was merely a fifth-rank military inspector; defying the orders of a viceroy of four provinces would be exceedingly difficult. What gave Hou Xun an even greater psychological advantage was that Qin Xia was not a product of the imperial examinations and lacked a legitimate bureaucratic pedigree.

One must bear in mind that Chen Xinjia holding the position of Minister of War despite only being a provincial graduate had already provoked considerable controversy. For Qin Xia to hold a status equivalent at best to an imperial academy student from an irregular background caused the vast majority of civil officials of Jinshi origin to view him as an outlier.

Naturally, using court laws to manipulate and pressure a Qin Xia posed no real difficulty whatsoever. If Hou Xun were to put himself in Qin Xia's shoes, he would racking his brains in vain to find a way out.

As for the second concern, Hou Xun had no need to worry.

In Hou Xun's view, the reason civil officials could maintain an overwhelming advantage over military generals was, firstly, the traditional bias favoring civil officials over military officers, and secondly, the weight of imperial authority. Setting aside the former, the latter boiled down to nothing more than court laws and military logistics.

In this regard, the Shandong Garrison differed from Hu Dawei and Zuo Liangyu. After all, the Shandong Garrison was close to the imperial capital, and the court's control over it was strong. The Shandong Provincial Administration Commission was also much more potent than those of Henan or Huguang. The usual methods employed by the court to suppress military officers with civil authority still worked effectively against the Shandong Garrison.

As for logistical provisions and military pay, Hou Xun had two hundred thousand taels of military funds in his hands. Once Qin Xia was placed under house arrest, he would dispatch men to take over the Maritime Customs Tax Branch. With the funds and grain from the tax branch, coupled with a petition to the court for additional allocations, plus a moneybag like the Prince of Zhou, Hou Xun would have no need to worry about a scarcity of military supplies.

With such an abundance of military funds to throw around, he had a high degree of certainty that he could make the entire Shandong Garrison fight to the death for him. After all, Liu Zeqing had been promoted by Zhou Yanru, and there was still some lingering goodwill between the two.

At this thought, Hou Xun unexpectedly realized that Hou Fangyu's plan was truly viable!

Realizing this, Hou Xun laughed heartily: "Good, good, good! My son is brilliant, and you have suddenly enlightened your father. We shall do just that!"

Seeing this, Hou Fangyu also chuckled along.

Not long after, at the Liuyuankou Pier, a fast boat sped over. A man disembarked in a hurry, and someone immediately came forward to lead his horse over. Before long, the dismounted man, riding a swift steed and bearing a military通行 (transit) banner, charged straight into the Liuyuankou military camp.

The Shandong Garrison camp.

Si Qi, who had just stepped out to relay orders, glanced at the expressionless Zhang Zhen walking hurriedly past, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes. Regarding this mysterious figure of whom tales circulated widely within the army, he decided to maintain a respectful distance, lowering his head to step aside without offering a greeting, yet without showing any arrogance.

Zhang Zhen acted as though he had seen nothing at all, walking straight into the cabin.

"My lord, there is a report from Fengqiu in Hebei," Zhang Zhen said crisply.

Zhu Cilang nodded and instructed Old Seventeen to clear the area. Then Zhang Zhen began to speak in a rapid stream.

Having listened, Zhu Cilang narrowed his eyes slightly and commanded in a ringing voice: "Old Seventeen, beat the drums to assemble the generals, and have the officers of all units prepare for a military council."

"Zhang Zhen, go and attend to Liu Zeqing, and have him accompany me to the White Tiger Hall shortly."

The so-called White Tiger Hall was actually the venue within Zhu Cilang's army specifically designated for discussing military intelligence, as well as the place where all generals were summoned to issue orders. Of course, this had been the style of the Shandong Garrison previously. After taking control of the Shandong Garrison, Zhu Cilang left such minor details unchanged.

Two hours later, another fast boat touched the southern bank of the Yellow River.

Hou Fangyu, bearing the appearance of an elegant young scholar, seemed to have lost none of his grace as he escorted another civil official clad in official robes of the junior fourth rank onto the pier. The two of them then glanced left and right, carefully scrutinizing Liuyuankou.

As soon as the junior fourth-rank civil official stepped ashore, Hou Xun looked back, gazing at the hundreds of vessels lined up in sequence at Liuyuankou to dock and disembark, and could not help clicking his tongue in wonder: "Lord Wang, what formidable prestige the Shandong Garrison displays."

The man addressed as Lord Wang was Wang Qianzhi, the Surveillance Vice Commissioner for Grain Delivery of the Henan Provincial Administration Commission.

Hearing this, Wang Qianzhi looked toward the southern bank and suddenly exclaimed in admiration: "It appears the Shandong Garrison's two battles at Dongming and Liuyuankou were no empty boasts. To capture a ferry in a single battle and still clean up the battlefield with such leisure—the Shandong Garrison is indeed a powerful army."

Hearing this, Hou Fangyu turned to look as well. Sure enough, he discovered that at the Liuyuankou ferry crossing, people were still clearing the battlefield.

Most of the wounded on the battlefield had already been cleared away, and those heavily wounded beyond rescue were dealt with according to circumstances and taken away. As for the enemy soldiers, a coup de grace was generally administered to send them on their way to the Western Paradise, while the imperial soldiers were mostly treated, though a small portion who continued to suffer immense agony were also given assistance to help them along their final journey.

At present, the task still being carried out on the battlefield was the most agonizing yet somewhat joyous scene.

This was because the imperial soldiers were searching the corpses. The so-called search involved, on one hand, collecting and cremating the bodies to handle the aftermath. With the weather being intensely hot today, failing to process them would lead to a plague.

As for the other aspect, it was naturally harvesting the spoils of war. Zhu Cilang's requirement regarding war trophies was that nothing could be kept privately and all must be turned over to the public. However, Zhu Cilang also stipulated that thirty percent of the war spoils would be used for military provisions. Searching the spoils now meant they would soon be rewarded with a hearty meal—big fish and thick meat were a certainty, while wine depended on the circumstances.

Hou Fangyu gazed out, looking at the gold, jade, and various trophies cleaned out by the imperial soldiers, and his expression naturally turned complex. He mused in a low voice: "Lord Wang, this Shandong Garrison is truly a formidable force."

Wang Qianzhi serving as the Surveillance Vice Commissioner for Henan was actually granted by imperial favor, serving as an assistant whom Hou Xun brought into Henan within his retinue; he was not an official previously stationed in Henan. He could truly be considered Hou Xun's confidant.

Reading between the lines, Wang Qianzhi gave Hou Fangyu a deep look and slowly nodded.

At this moment, a scholar walked down the pier, possessing an extraordinary bearing, and the military officers on the pier greeted him with considerable respect.

This person was none other than Chang Zhilang, a strategist under Zhu Cilang's command.

Chang Zhilang smiled, bowed to the two men, and said: "Lord Wang, Young Master Hou. Everyone in the Shandong Garrison has been busy with military affairs and failed to greet you from afar—please forgive this discourtesy."

"There is no courtesy or discourtesy to speak of. If we didn't even have a foothold of standing room on the southern bank, then not only would there be no etiquette to display, but even our lives would have nowhere to rest," Hou Fangyu said sarcastically. Having finished, he flashed a baring-teeth grin at Chang Zhilang.

Chang Zhilang's smile froze. (To be continued.)