Chapter 19: The Strategy for Conquering Chu

  Li Zai followed the palace attendant into the palace. He had submitted a memorial a few days ago requesting to conquer Chu, but there was no response. Today, his father, the Emperor, finally summoned him to the palace, and he couldn't help but feel overjoyed. The meeting was held in the Imperial Study, where Emperor Li Yuan sat behind the dragon-shaped desk, narrowing his eyes with an unfavorable expression. Beside him sat a beautiful and elegant palace lady. On the left side of the desk sat Crown Prince Li An, Chancellor Wei Guan, and Duke Cheng Shu of the State of Wei. On the right side, except for the first seat, sat General Qin Yi, who was in charge of distant campaigns, and Prince Li Xian of Qi, who still looked pale and somewhat ill, but his spirit was not bad.

  Crown Prince Li An, 36 years old this year, is two years older than Yong Wang Li Ze, but he has never practiced martial arts and does not have the same radiant appearance as Li Ze. Although he looks relatively young due to good maintenance, his eyebrows are always tinged with a hint of fatigue. He gazes at Li Ze's stunning appearance as he enters from outside, and a flash of jealousy appears in his eyes.

  Li Ze walks straight to the dragon-shaped desk, kneels down, and says, "Your son pays respects to Your Majesty." Li An asks, "Ze, why did you come so late?" Li Ze smiles and replies, "I received intelligence from Jiangnan just before I came, so I organized it a bit and brought it over for Your Majesty to take a look."

  Li Yuan looked at Li An strangely and said: "An'er, didn't you already submit the Jiangnan intelligence report?"

  Li An smiled and said: "I suppose Second Brother doesn't know yet, but the intelligence from Jiangnan has already arrived here first."

  Li Zai's eyes flashed with a cold smile, saying: "The Jiangnan spy report from the Crown Prince's place was passed on by Liang Wan. The spy channel here is different, so I suppose there are some things that Father Emperor doesn't know yet."

  Li An's expression turned cold, he had gone to great lengths to control the Jiangnan spy network in his hands, but unexpectedly Li Zhi still had other intelligence, how could it not make him jealous? He said coldly: "So that's how it is. The other day, when Sixth Brother attacked Xiangyang, if Second Brother had also brought out those pieces of information, I suppose Sixth Brother wouldn't have been defeated so miserably." He only cared about his own pleasure and striking at Li Zhi, but forgot about Li Xian's feelings, a hint of resentment flashing in Li Xian's eyes.

  Li Zhe said calmly, "My brother realized that our spy network in Jiangnan was not complete when our sixth brother first attacked Xiangyang and suffered a defeat. The military deployment map of Xiangyang we obtained was very rough, it must be that the general of Xiangyang had tampered with it when presenting it to the Ministry of War. It can be seen that Miss Liang's spy network has been noticed by the wise men of Southern Chu, but they dare not eliminate them due to the protection of the monarch and ministers of Southern Chu. In this way, when we officially go to war with Southern Chu, our spy network will inevitably be destroyed. Due to this situation, my brother had to re-lay the network, and it has achieved some results. Your Highness is unaware of the details, it's not that my brother was blocking you, but the new network just took effect, so we didn't support the sixth brother in time." Li Zhe glanced at Li Xian and slightly bowed his head to apologize. Li Xian slightly shook his head to indicate that he didn't mind.

  As soon as Li Zhe entered, he engaged in a war of words with Crown Prince Li An. When they temporarily stopped, everyone except Emperor Yong, the young woman, and Li An stood up to greet Li Zhe. Qi Wang Li Xian was about to stand up but saw the anger in Li An's eyes and sat back down instead. Li Zhe took his seat and greeted each person individually. The palace-dressed beauty had been icy-eyed since Li Zhe criticized Liang Yu, and after he sat down, she spoke up: "From what you said, it seems that my cousin Liang Yu suffered hardships in Jiangnan but still got into trouble?" When she spoke, Li An slightly lowered his head, a smile on the corner of his mouth.

  "Your Highness, I dare not belittle the merits of Lady Liang. When Princess Chang Le was married off to a distant land, both my father and we all pitied her. Her nature is gentle and soft, so Your Highness sent Lady Liang to accompany Princess Chang Le to Southern Chu. I am eternally grateful for this. Over these years, our success in Southern Chu owes much to Lady Liang's efforts. However, with the current shift in circumstances, Lady Liang has almost been exposed, so I had no choice but to establish a new spy network, lest after Lady Liang is forced to withdraw, we lose control over Jiangnan."

  The young woman's delicate face showed a faint smile, as if she had accepted Li Zuo's explanation. The smile that was like a plum blossom after snow seemed to stir the hearts of all the men in the study, but since she was the imperial concubine, they quickly looked away.

  Li Zai saw the atmosphere improve and said, "Since Your Majesty has already received the intelligence brought by the Crown Prince, I suppose you have seen that 'Memorial to Emperor Jin'?" Li Yuan took a copy from his desk and said, "Yes, this Jiang Zhe is indeed extraordinary. The Crown Prince and King Qi both recommended him to me. I've read his poetry, especially that 'Breaking Array' poem - a short piece of work that could kill the King of Shu! His talent is truly unparalleled. Today, after reading this memorial, I believe he's not just a talented scholar but also a capable minister. If Southern Chu makes good use of him, it would be a great calamity for us. Now that he's been dismissed from office, perhaps we can recruit him."

  Li Zai smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right, this person's talent is indeed extraordinary. I have seen him in Shu, and my sixth brother has also seen him in Southern Chu. Unfortunately, he is indifferent to fame and wealth, and is a loyal minister of Southern Chu, so I'm afraid he won't be willing to surrender."

  Li Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, I also worry about this point. Seeing his memorial, he should be a loyal minister of Southern Chu. But as the saying goes, 'a virtuous minister chooses his lord to serve'. I see that his poetry is elegant and free-flowing, so he shouldn't be an obstinate person, right?"

  Li Zhe heard him say this, and knew that Li Xian had not told Li An about his encounter with Jiang Zhe in Xiangyang. So Li Yuan would not think that Jiang Zhe might not surrender. He glanced at Li Xian, who looked a bit uneasy. Li Zhe smiled slightly and continued: "Yes, I investigated this time because I received Jiang Zhe's letter of surrender. I found out that he has a close relationship with Deqin Wang Zhao Jue. In Shu, he was a consultant for Zhao Jue. It is said that in the past two years, he has been at home recovering from illness, but he has been exchanging letters with Xiangyang constantly. This time, when Liang Yu sent someone to assassinate him on the way, it was his servant who saved Zhao Jue, and he even met with Zhao Jue for the last time in person. I also found out that the new South Chu Grand Commander Lü Xin is acquainted with Jiang Zhe. In the past, before Jiang Zhe passed the imperial examination, he was a teacher of Lü Xin's son Lü Can. So I think this man will not easily surrender."

  Li Yuan listened with great interest, while Li An and Ji Guifei exchanged a glance in secret, it seemed that they had not taken Jiang Zhe so seriously after all. Li Yuan turned to Wei Guan and asked: "Wei Xiang, what do you think?"

  Wei Guan replied, "Your Majesty need not worry. At present, Southern Chu is exhausted, and it will only take a few years to pacify the south. When that time comes, all corners of the world will be at peace, and virtuous scholars will naturally come to serve. As for Jiang Zhe, judging from his poetry and writings, he is not an obstinate person; how could he not follow the correct calendar?"

  Li Yuan smiled and said, "Wei Xiang is right. This man is indeed worthy of heavy use, but there's no need to be too anxious. Once Southern Chu is pacified, I will summon him to the capital to take office."

  Li Zhe glanced at the crowd and found that Li An and Ji Guifei had a faint expression in their eyes, but only Li Xian was full of sarcastic gaze. He knew that his purpose had been achieved, and he publicly praised Jiang Zhe in front of everyone, which was actually to hide his attention to him, wanting to secretly arrange for Jiang Zhe's recruitment. It would be difficult to avoid the attention of Li An and others, so it's better to show off and express his importance, then other people's eyes will focus on Jiang Zhe's superficial talent, and they won't truly understand Jiang Zhe's importance, nor will they oppose themselves for an "ordinary" scholar. The only one who can see through his plan is Li Xian, who also understands Jiang Zhe's ability, but he must want to bring Jiang Zhe under his control as well. For this reason, he will not expose what he has done, and next, he just needs to secretly compete with Li Xian.

  Li Zuo reached his goal and said with a smile: "The Emperor's edict ordered me to come and discuss the matter of attacking Chu, I don't know what plans the Emperor has?"

  Li Yuan said, "This time Da Yong suffered losses in Xiangyang, I'm worried that Southern Chu will be out of control from now on. I was preparing to send you to lead the army to conquer Chu. Now that the ruler of Southern Chu has declared himself emperor, it's given us the best excuse. Last time we used the excuse that De Qin Wang had ill intentions towards Da Yong, but the excuse was too far-fetched. Now our conquest of Chu is justified, what do you think, Zhai?"

  Li Zai said: "Your Majesty is right, now the Southern Chu army is in a state of chaos. According to my original plan, we should have surrounded them with a large army, cutting off their connection with Jingzhou and Jiangnan, and slowly exhausting their military strength and morale over several years. However, if we give them time, they will stabilize their army again, and it's impossible to conquer Southern Chu in less than ten or twenty years. If Your Majesty permits, I want to take a risk and deal a heavy blow to Southern Chu, making them lose the will to resist against our great Yong dynasty. Then, one by one, we can pacify the rebellious forces. Although this may prolong the war, within three years, I can guarantee that Southern Chu will be brought under the territory of Great Yong. After that, it will take twenty years to slowly win back the hearts of the people. What does Your Majesty think?"

  Li Yuan understood Li Zhe's meaning, and according to his idea, the most perfect thing would be to conquer South Chu in one fell swoop. However, considering that South Chu still has potential, he thought it was possible to conquer South Chu within three years, although at the cost of decades of turmoil, but it should not affect the Central Plains situation, and by then he himself will no longer have to worry about it. His ambition for establishing merit exceeded everything else, so he agreed with Li Zhe's opinion.

  The Empress Ji's eyes flashed with a hint of gloom, she knew that this would lead to many years of turmoil in Jiangnan, and the people would suffer. However, she did not stop it, because she knew that Li Yuan had already made up his mind. She once again acknowledged that the decision of the Gate Master was correct. Although Prince Yong had great talent and vision, compared to him, the mediocre Li An was more suitable to be the master of Da Yong.

  Li Zhe proposed a detailed plan, based on intelligence that the military strength of Southern Chu was currently dispersed due to the war with Da Yong. Southern Chu had strengthened its defenses in Shu, avoiding Da Yong's breakthrough into Shu and down the river. Xiangyang had been attacked twice, suffering heavy losses, and to replenish troops, almost all of Southern Chu's army was exhausted. The long Yangtze River defense line made Southern Chu appear strong on the outside but weak within.

  Li Zhe suggested starting by attacking and besieging Shu and Xiangyang simultaneously, forcing Southern Chu to focus on these two battles. Then, he would lead a elite cavalry force to break through the Yangtze River, advancing towards Jianye. According to conventional wisdom, Jianye could not be taken in just a few months, giving Southern Chu enough time to cut off Li Zhe's supply lines and relieve Jianye. However, with Jianye currently empty and utilizing Da Yong's internal response in Jianye, Li Zhe was confident that he could capture Jianye within a few days.

  He would then take the royal family and officials of Southern Chu as hostages to Da Yong. With their capital city captured and their ruler taken prisoner, it would greatly damage the morale of Southern Chu's soldiers. Even if they installed another ruler, it would be difficult for them to resist Da Yong again. Then, Da Yong could conquer Jiangnan in the name of Zhao Jia.

  Although this plan would take more time to fully control Jiangnan and might lead to more problems later on, Li Yuan still hoped that Southern Chu would surrender earlier, so he agreed to this plan.

  Li An, although not very familiar with military affairs, also knew the potential consequences of this plan. However, he thought that if Li Ze were to completely occupy Southern Chu, his own position as crown prince would be in jeopardy. Since Li Xian's attack on Southern Chu had failed, he thought that by doing so, there might still be a chance to redeem himself and save face. Therefore, neither of them opposed the plan. Although Wei Guogong Cheng Shu and Fu Yuan Dajiangjun Qin Yi were somewhat dissatisfied, they also understood the underlying reasons and knew that opposing it would be futile. Thus, this attack plan on Chu, which would later be criticized by posterity for violating military principles, was passed. Except for Li Ze and Shi Tiao, no one knew that Li Ze's ultimate goal was to capture Jiang Zhe alone.

  Everyone discussed and decided, Li Yuan sighed: "Zi'er, this time you attack Jianye, you must ensure the safety of Changle, you must bring her back safely. For Daye, she has sacrificed too much, I owe her."

  Li Zhe let out a soft sigh. Princess Chang Le was the beloved daughter of his father, the emperor, and her mother, Empress Changsun, was renowned for her virtue and kindness. Princess Chang Le herself was gentle and elegant, which is why she received the most favor from the emperor. In the past, when Emperor Taizong's fourth son, Li Xian, who was born to Empress Changsun, was assassinated while protecting Li Yuan, and his seventh son, Li Jin, died young, the emperor promised Princess Chang Le that she could choose her own husband in order to comfort Empress Changsun. However, because he wanted to form an alliance with Southern Chu, the emperor ordered Princess Chang Le to marry Zhao Jia, the crown prince of Southern Chu. At that time, Empress Changsun cried and pleaded with the emperor, saying that Southern Chu would eventually turn against them, and if Princess Chang Le married into their royal family, she would be in a difficult position in the future. Nevertheless, the emperor made up his mind. The desperate look in Princess Chang Le's eyes when she bid farewell still lingered in Li Zhe's memory. Although he cleverly arranged for the women of Southern Chu to compete for Zhao Jia's favor, thus avoiding Princess Chang Le from becoming too emotionally involved with him, when he found out that Princess Chang Le was living a reclusive life, he couldn't help but feel deeply sorry for her. Especially after she became pregnant and decided to abort the child after much consideration, Li Zhe could almost see the pain and despair in Princess Chang Le's heart. She knew that if the child were born, it would face a cruel fate, which is why she made this decision.

  Thinking of this, Li Zai said resolutely: "Your Majesty can rest assured, this time I will definitely bring back the princess, the princess has made great sacrifices for me, and I will ensure her safety and bring her back to Your Majesty's knees."

  Li Yuan sighed and said: "After returning, after a period of time, I will choose another husband for Changle, so as to avoid her being so young and yet living like a widow."

  Everyone hesitated for a moment, and Wei Guan spoke up: "Your Majesty's intention is good, but if Zhao Jia is captured and brought here, we will still need to rely on his name in the short term. The princess is the queen of Southern Chu, and if Your Majesty openly chooses a husband for her, the people of Southern Chu will surely be resentful and angry with Da Yong."

  Li Yuan angrily said: "Is it going to let my daughter suffer forever?"

  Wei Guan's words were stuck in his throat; in his opinion, whether Princess Chang Le was happy or not wasn't important, but he didn't dare say that.

  Li An mediated: "Your Majesty, Wei Xiang also has a point. Why not do this? We first select a good husband for the princess and let them secretly engage in marriage. After a few years, when Southern Chu is slightly pacified and Zhao Jia has no use, we can properly arrange the wedding for the princess."

  Li Yuan nodded slightly and said: "Let's leave it at that for now. This matter should not be spread out, let's talk about it after Chang Le returns. Alright, I'm a bit tired, you all can go."

  Li An, Li Zai, Li Xian, Wei Guan, Cheng Shu and Qin Yi all stood up to bid farewell. Ji Gui Fei supported Li Yuan as they walked out of the imperial study. Everyone else also left separately. However, Li Xian did not leave with Li An, instead intentionally lagging behind to say to Li Zai: "Second brother, do you think Jiang Zhe will definitely surrender to you?"

  Li Zai said calmly: "What's this, Sixth Brother also wants to keep him under his command."

  Li Xian rubbed his fists and palms, saying: "Second brother, that Jiang Zhe, I felt a connection with him at first sight. You have many civil and military officials under your command, but give me this Jiang Zhe."

  Li Zai smiled slightly and said: "You think he won't throw it at me, so he must throw it at you?"

  Li Xian said, "I think this kid is sometimes quite sensible. If he's willing to surrender to me, I'll make him my teacher and listen to his advice. He'll definitely agree, as long as Second Brother doesn't compete with me."

  Li Zhe forced a smile, not expecting Li Xian to be so humble and willing to lower himself. He didn't want to argue with Li Xian, so he said: "We still don't know if he's willing to surrender to Da Yong or not, we're arguing too early. By the way, when are you and Qin Niang getting married?"

  Li Xian smiled and said: "I'm not in a hurry, anyway the engagement has already been settled. Qin Zhong's master and father both hope I can get married soon, so we're preparing for a big wedding next month."

  Li Zai smiled and said: "Then I won't be able to make it back, you've dragged this on for several years, lucky Qin had been waiting for you."

  Li Xian said, "If it weren't for Ji Guifei urging Father Emperor to issue the edict, I would have wanted to wait a bit longer. There are so many beauties outside, how can I handle them all? The one I saw in South Chu last time, Liu Piaoxiang, is truly a born beauty. If it weren't for Qin Zhong, I could have gotten my hands on her. Second brother, this time when you arrive in South Chu, why don't you go take a look at her? She's really an unparalleled beauty. Compared to Liang Wan, that fake and hypocritical woman, she's far superior. Women, what's the point of being so worried about the country and its people?"

  Li Zai smiled and said: "Alright, I'll tell your sister about it. Let her know that you look down on her." Li Xian hastily apologized repeatedly.

  Although Li Zhe wore a smile on his face, his heart was icy cold. With Fengyi Gate's support and Li Xian's help, if Li Xian became more mature, then Li An could truly rival him, rather than relying on the emperor's favoritism. Thinking of the increasingly dangerous situation around him, Li Zhe reaffirmed that he must obtain Jiang Zhe; he needed a helper who could aid him in breaking through numerous obstacles.

  In the first year of Zhiyuan (September), Prince Yong Li Zai presented a strategy to pacify Chu, leading an army of 400,000 southward, and Jing-Xiang was shaken.

  The Book of Southern Chu · Biography of King Zhuang of Chu