Taiheiki

Chapter 62 Replacement
"That's true!" Ying Feng nodded. "After all, he's really lucky. This chickenpox allowed him to avoid trouble!"

"Why do you say that?" Huang Wan asked in confusion.

"I discussed this with Feng Cheqi two days ago. We had originally planned to have him replace Zhang Bohe as the vanguard, taking advantage of the dry winter roads and the lack of miasma to cross the river and investigate the Wuling Barbarians. I didn't expect him to get chickenpox. Isn't that a good thing?"

"What a coincidence?" Huang Wan frowned. "Could it be that he got wind of it and is feigning illness?"

"That's impossible!" Ying Feng laughed. "It was just Feng Cheqi and I at the time of the discussion. No one else was present. How could he have known? We can only say that he's incredibly lucky. Besides, chickenpox comes and goes quickly. Unless he's dead, he'll be well in a month or so. It's just a month or two of nighttime sickness!"

Huang Wan remained silent. He instinctively felt that there was something fishy about Wei Cong's sudden chickenpox attack, but he couldn't bring himself to expose it. Firstly, he and Wei Cong had no personal connection, so there was no reason for him to visit. Furthermore, chickenpox was contagious, and even if it was cured, it would easily leave scars on the face. He didn't need to take such a risk. After much deliberation, he decided to do as Ying Feng had said and wait until he recovered before making any further comments.

Seeing Huang Wan pondering in silence, Ying Feng smiled and said, "Why, a mere Wei Cong makes you hesitate? Could it be that he has offended Brother Huang before?"

"I wouldn't say I've offended him! It's just that this person is acting rather recklessly!"

"Meng Lang?" Ying Feng laughed. "Why do you say that? Was it because he forced Lu Ju to death with just one word?"

"That's not the case!" Huang Wan shook her head. "I was there too. Wei Cong didn't mean to recite those two lines. Even if you ask him to try a hundred times, he won't be able to recite a poem like that!"

"I believe it!" Ying Feng laughed. "If he could utter such beautiful words, he'd be another Cai Bojie (Cai Yong). His carriages would be so numerous on the official roads that they'd be everywhere. How could he have ended up in Nanjun as a mere thief's official? So, the only thing you're worried about is him killing Zhang Bolu."

"Killing Zhang Bolu is a small matter. The main thing is what he did next. First, he swallowed up the Zhang family's Wubao land, and then recruited fugitives to train soldiers. He was just a thief Cao's official. What was his intention in doing these things?" Huang Wan asked.

Ying Feng glanced at Huang Wan and thought to himself, "The Wuling barbarians have already reached the Yangtze River. What else could Wei Cong, a military official under the prefect, be training his troops for? I don't believe your Huang family hasn't trained their retainers." Of course, he couldn't say this directly. Huang Wan's meaning was clear: Wei Cong was ruthless and had troops at his disposal. If he took root in Nanjun, it would certainly not be a good thing for the vested interests of the Huang family.

"In Feng Cheqi's eyes, the most important thing is to defeat the Wuling Barbarians first!" Ying Fengxian stated his attitude: "As for everything else, put it behind!"

"Of course!" Huang Wan quickly replied, his eyes flickering. "But the court has entrusted Feng Cheqi with a hundred thousand troops. If it's just to pacify the Wuling barbarians, it shouldn't be a difficult task, right?"

"Brother Ziyan, what do you mean?"

"Nothing!" Huang Wan smiled. "With Uncle Ying's talent and strategy, he should know that the Han Dynasty's current crisis is not in Xiliang or Jingnan, but in the Forbidden City, right?"

Ying Feng's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be nonchalant: "The emperor entrusted the army to Feng Cheqi to suppress the foreign invaders. As for the affairs of the court, they will be handled by the Chief Censor!"

"Hahaha!" Huang Wan laughed. "Uncle, do you think I'm a toddler who's just learned to walk? I know more about the affairs of the court than you do. If the Chief Censor could have straightened out the government, the Han Dynasty wouldn't be in such a mess today. With the rats of the country here, what else can we talk about?"

Faced with Huang Wan's questioning, Ying Feng was speechless for a moment. After a while, he said, "Aren't these things your business, Zi Yan?"

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Huang Mansion.

Ying Feng hurried out of the door. The steward behind him bowed briefly and turned back. The courtyard door was then slammed shut. The shiny new paint surface seemed even colder under the winter sun.

"My dear, my dear!" The young man beside the oxcart outside the door hurried forward and said, "Uncle, what happened? Why didn't Mr. Huang escort you out?"

"Forget it!" Ying Feng smiled bitterly. "Let's talk in the car!"

The two men boarded the cart, and with the crack of a whip, the cart began to slowly move. The young man, impatient, asked directly, "Uncle, isn't Huang Ziyan an old friend of yours? Why did he seem to be chasing you out just now?"

"Ah!" Ying Feng sighed. "There's no point in talking if we don't agree. We almost got into a fight in the hall just now. It's good enough that they didn't chase me out with a broom, let alone send me out!"

"How could this happen?" the young man was furious. "Uncle, please wait a moment. I'll go and get justice!"

"Ziming, Ziming!" Ying Feng hurriedly stopped the young man and said, "Don't go. This whole thing is a misunderstanding. Forget it. Let me tell you!"

Ying Feng then recounted Huang Wan's earlier attempt to persuade him to use Feng Gun's army to eliminate the eunuchs, but Ying Feng had refused. Finally, Ying Feng sighed, "Huang Ziyan, seeing I had refused him, assumed that it was my idea for Feng Gun to bribe the eunuchs and become the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and that I was now their man. He flew into a rage, drove me out, cut off the corner of his robe, and severed all ties with me!"

"This..." The young man was stunned when he heard this. "Then, uncle, you have suffered in vain? Didn't you persuade Feng Cheqi? Why didn't you tell Huang Ziyan and get an extra hand, at least to avoid being scolded by him!"

"Ziming, you're oversimplifying things!" Ying Feng sighed. "If this succeeds, it will be a world-class achievement. If it fails, Dongshi will be beheaded and all three clans will be exterminated! Every time someone knows, there's a greater risk. You and I are from the same clan, so it's fine. But unless absolutely necessary, it's better not to let Huang Ziyan know, as it adds to the danger!"

"That's true!" The young man nodded when he heard this. "My nephew just thinks that Huang Ziyan is very famous. He won't go to the eunuchs to inform on me, right?" "He probably won't, but what if he tells others?" Ying Feng said, "Anyway, as long as the matter is accomplished in the future, the world will naturally understand my painstaking efforts!"

"Uncle is truly thoughtful!" the young man sighed, "It's just that I've suffered so much injustice for nothing!"

"Zi Ming!" Ying Feng said, "Those who accomplish great things will not even care about their own lives, let alone a little injustice. If you lay down your body, you can accomplish great things in the world!"

The young man was shocked and quickly bowed down in response, saying, "Thank you, uncle, for your teachings, nephew!"

Ying Feng smiled but remained silent. He hadn't revealed his plan to Huang Wan for another reason: Huang Wan had been overly concerned about Wei Cong's acquisition of Zhang Bohe's legacy, clearly treating it as his own, untouchable. Ying Feng didn't dare entrust such a major undertaking to someone so preoccupied with material possessions.

Ying Feng returned to his residence and began writing a letter. Although Feng Kun boasted of a hundred thousand troops under his command, in reality, the majority consisted of conscripted soldiers from prefectures and states and volunteers, most of whom were still on their way to Zhonghe. The only troops who actually arrived in Jiangling were the Bantun Barbarians and a portion of the Three Rivers and Five Schools drawn from the capital, totaling no more than ten thousand men. With this small force, it was simply a pipe dream to quell the rebellion that had spread throughout southern Jingzhou.

Therefore, Ying Feng's immediate priority was to reunite the Han army in the southern Jingzhou war zone, which had been on the verge of collapse following the death of the Jingzhou governor. He would determine how many strongholds remained under Han control and how many had fallen to the enemy. He would also spread the word that he had led his army to Jiangling. He would suppress the wavering powerful generals and barbarian leaders, and then, in the spring of next year, cross the river again to defeat the diehards among the rebels. The next step would be to recruit and surrender rebels, a repeated struggle.

This presented a wealth of opportunities for maneuvering, and it was also the primary stage in Yingfeng's plan to stall for time. After all, everyone knew that beyond the Yangtze River, even the Han army at its peak could only control a few strongholds and transportation routes. In between lay vast mountainous areas, forests, swamps, valleys, and lakes, and no one knew how many barbarian tribes and refugees lived there. Even a local official like Yingfeng, who had served as prefect of Wuling County and was attentive to local conditions, only had a rough idea.

Therefore, the Han army's ultimate goal in every campaign was not to exterminate the rebels, but to drive the rebellious barbarians back into the mountains, recover captured strongholds, and re-open transportation lines. As for enemies who surrendered again, in most cases only the ringleaders were punished, while those who coerced them were left alone. The reason for this was simple: they simply lacked the necessary resources. If the rebels retreated into the mountains, forests, and swamps, their poor logistical conditions would negate the Han army's technological and numerical advantages. Over time, military expenditures and morale would overwhelm the Han army.

So, as long as the Han army won one or two victories at the beginning, Ying Feng could justify himself by saying that he was alienating the barbarians. This was very time-consuming. The court couldn't force Feng Gun to rush into the endless forests and swamps of Jingnan to fight a quick battle, right? What difference would that make to his own death?
"The general has arrived—!"

Hearing the voice of the outside messenger, Ying Feng quickly put down his brush and stood up. The door opened, and along with Feng Gu's burly figure came a biting cold wind. Ying Feng subconsciously shivered and hurriedly bowed, "I greet the general!"

"Forget it! Uncle, let's sit down and talk!" Feng Gun shook his outer robe to shake off the icy fragments, then rubbed his hands on the brazier. "I just took a boat ride along the river, and it was pretty good. It seems that this Han Taishou is not incompetent. There's no need to petition the court to replace him!"

"That's good, it saves a lot of trouble!" Ying Feng poured Feng Gun a cup of hot wine and handed it to him: "But for such a small matter, you can just let the captain go. There's no need for you to go in person..."

"I'd rather see things with my own eyes than feel assured!" Feng Gun took a sip of wine. "Especially now, with all this ragtag army, and then having to drag them out to fight, I'm really unsure! It would be best to have a few local heroes familiar with the situation in Jingnan to serve as vanguards. As long as we win one or two battles, everything will be fine!"

"I was originally thinking of finding an opportunity to find Wei Cong and give him a random title, like Huaiyi Xiaowei or Poze Duwei, so that he could recruit local heroes to form his own army. Unfortunately, I heard he had chickenpox and went home to recuperate. I'm afraid he won't be well for a while!"

"Chickenpox? What a coincidence?"

"Yes, if you and I were the only ones who knew that he had to be sent as the vanguard, I would have thought he was pretending to be sick!" Ying Feng laughed.

"That's right!" Feng Gun also laughed. "That's fine. Since Wei Cong is ill, let's find someone else! Someone recommended Cai Buyi to me a few days ago. He's from the Cai family of Jingzhou, so I'm sure he's quite prestigious and influential there. I've made him a military officer with a salary of 400 dan. I'll give him another 200 dan and make him a captain of a miscellaneous rank. I'll recruit the heroes of Jingzhou and have him serve as a vanguard!"

"Okay!" Ying Feng didn't care too much. After all, such vanguards were just cannon fodder to test the enemy's situation. Success or failure didn't matter to him. Such temporary military positions were not like the generals, colonels and captains in the court official list. They were worthless. You could get as many as you wanted. As long as Feng Gu wrote a document and reported to the court afterwards, after the battle, he would be rewarded according to his merits. They were not high-ranking officials like the Archery Captain, the Chariot Captain, and the Cavalry Captain who wore military caps and crimson clothes, silver medals and blue ribbons, and were higher than the two thousand stone officials.

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When the military envoy entered the training grounds, Cai Buyi was demonstrating to two of his men how to chop: "Keep your feet slightly wider than your shoulders so you don't fall. That's right. When you strike, rotate your body and use your waist to exert force, as if you're pressing your entire body onto the sword!"

"Cai Buyi!"

"Yes!" When Cai Buyi saw the military envoy's uniform, he quickly put away his weapon and saluted with his hands crossed.

"The general has summoned you, follow me quickly!" said the military envoy.

"Yes!" Cai Buyi suppressed his joy and followed the army out of the camp. He had been in the army for some time and thought it would take at least a month before he could get a chance to advance. He didn't expect to be summoned by Feng Gun so soon, and his heart was filled with warmth.

"I greet the General!" Cai Buyi, upon entering the hall, bowed to Feng Gu, who sat at the head of the table. Glancing around, he noticed a scholar to Feng Gu's right. He seemed to have accompanied the General during the march, likely one of Feng Gu's trusted advisors. Could he be using him for some confidential matter? The thought filled Cai Buyi with a chuckle.

"Are you from Xinye, Nanyang?" Feng Gun's voice came from above.

"Yes, before joining the army, I was a patrol officer in Xinye County, Nanyang. I was recommended because of my meritorious service in capturing bandits!" Cai Buyi replied hurriedly.

"Your last name is Cai. What's your relationship with Cai Feng from Xiangyang?"

(End of this chapter)