Free Web NovelChapter 1202: Chapter 1184: Placing Bets
Si Bo saw that his face didn’t look good and couldn’t help but lower his voice to advise, "My lord, why take all this upon yourself? You’ve already decided to resign; aren’t we going back to Jiangbei?"
King Langya’s suspicion toward his lord made even a servant like Si Bo harbor resentment, so just let him clean up this mess—wasn’t he the one who thought their lord monopolized power and harbored sinister intentions?
Wang Dao said, "Even if I’ve already decided to return to Jiangbei, I can’t leave like this."
That would be desertion. Even if Zhao Hanzhang had sent Yuan Li to persuade him, even with the excuse that "a wise man submits to circumstances," he still couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Once he left, Wang Dun would most likely truly rebel. By then not only the Wang Family, but all the gate‑valve great clans, including King Langya, would be dragged into it. At that point Jiangnan would fall into chaos, and Zhao Hanzhang would certainly not let slip such a chance to march south.
Though he had already imagined this situation, to stand by and watch the land he had managed for several years sink into war, not knowing how many people would be implicated, was something Wang Dao still could not accept.
He turned and said, "Prepare a plain set of hemp mourning clothes. I am going into the palace."
Si Bo couldn’t help reminding him, "My lord, the General may well be standing up for you. Why not wait a while longer? If you go out now, the Great King will cherish you even less. And besides, Mr. Zhou and the General bear a grudge against each other. His coming to persuade you may well be in order to ruin the General’s plans."
Seeing his words grow more and more outrageous, Wang Dao couldn’t help but cut him off, "Bo Ren is not that kind of person. Besides, is Zhao Hanzhang someone Chuzhong could use as a piece in his schemes?"
That was what he said, but in truth Wang Dao also harbored doubts in his heart. Yet he could not voice them, nor could he let them show; otherwise, before the great war even began, the Wang Family would first become the target of all.
At the same time, Yuan Li had just received word that the military dispatch from Wuchang County had entered Jiankang City. He hadn’t expected the report to arrive so quickly. Lowering his eyes in thought, he concluded that Jingzhou had certainly delayed for some time before submitting it to Luoyang; otherwise, at telegraph speed, it would be impossible for him to receive the news only one night and half a day earlier than Jiankang.
From Wuchang County to Jiankang by fast courier took two days. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Then, was Wang Dun’s army reported at the first possible moment?
Yuan Li smiled faintly and decided not to meddle in the current situation for the time being, but to stand aside and quietly observe how matters developed.
The internal strife in Jiankang never disappointed. As soon as Wang Dao entered the palace, he was immediately reinstated, and no sooner had he begun to "work while ill" than people of the Wang Family grew impatient to have him rescue Wang Ying.
Wang Dao did not agree, and Liu Kui repeatedly memorialized that Wang Ying must be severely punished. Quite a few guards had died in the course of arresting Wang Ying—those were men with names and records of merit, and it could not simply be glossed over.
But King Langya, wanting to employ Wang Dao while also sending a friendly signal to Wang Dun, could not very well keep his own nephew locked up any longer. Ignoring the remonstrances of Liu Kui and Wang Dao, he directly released Wang Ying, saying that Wang Ying was still young and had probably been drunk, suddenly seen armed guards, and panicked, thus causing a misunderstanding; therefore he had decided to forgive Wang Ying.
When Yuan Li heard of this, he couldn’t help bursting into loud laughter in his own private residence. He said to Xue Hong, "With King Langya like this, on what grounds does he contend with our lady?"
Soft when he should be hard, hard when he should be soft.
Wang Dun was already upright and brutal by nature, and Wang Ying was an overbearing man. At such a moment, only by imprisoning Wang Ying and firmly punishing him according to law could they cow Wang Dun, and also let the Wang Family know that King Langya was not someone who could be easily deceived or insulted.
Once the case was thoroughly investigated, Wang Ying could be pardoned when Wang Dun had rendered some great service, counted as a favor granted to the Wang Family; by then Wang Dao would no longer object.
Instead, without any investigation at all, he released Wang Ying as soon as Wang Dao stepped forward. In the eyes of the Wang Family, what difference was there between King Langya and a paper tiger of a wolf?
Sure enough, once King Langya released Wang Ying, the gate‑valve great clans, headed by the Wang Family, memorialized one after another calling for the severe punishment of Liu Kui, arguing that he had deliberately framed Wang Ying. Otherwise, why would he choose just when Wang Ying was drunk to bring guards with drawn blades to arrest him?
This was clearly a deliberate attempt to provoke Wang Ying into violent resistance.
Liu Kui flew into a rage and immediately presented a memorial requesting that King Langya severely punish Wang Dun, Wang Yi, and other Wang Family clansmen commanding troops outside the capital, on the grounds that Wang Yi had lost five cities in succession and fought ineffectively, clearly lacking the ability to continue holding Wuchang County and thus should be dismissed and investigated.
Indeed, in the two days they had spent firing verbal volleys at each other, Wang Yi had lost yet another city, and Liu Kui had also uncovered quite a bit of information about this campaign.
Liu Kui further impeached Wang Dun for purging dissidents, discarding talented men like Zhou Yi and Dai Yuan, and instead employing a useless glutton like Wang Yi, attempting to cover up the war situation and failing to report it at the first possible moment...
Liu Kui acted as though he were attacking the issue and not the person, utterly unconcerned that within this very year he himself had also impeached Zhou Yi and Dai Yuan.
Yet once this memorial of impeachment was submitted, it did indeed win him much praise. King Langya was the most appreciative; leaving aside the other charges, Wang Dun was indeed purging dissenters.
Back when they had only just crossed the river to the south, Wang Dun’s power was not yet so great, and King Langya still had considerable say. He immediately appointed Zhou Yi as Prefectural Governor of Wuchang County so that he might make some contributions and then squeeze Wang Cheng out of his position as Jingzhou Governor.
Zhou Yi went, only to run into an influx of refugees from Ba Shu flooding into Jingzhou and stirring up trouble. Whether Wang Cheng fought and lost or didn’t fight at all, he led the main army in flight, and vast numbers of rebels rampaged through Wuchang County. On the third day after Zhou Yi arrived in Wuchang County, he lost every city under its jurisdiction.
As Zhou Yi was fleeing, he happened to run into Wang Dun, who was looking to seize the rest of Jingzhou’s territory. Wang Dun led his army over to help and retook Wuchang County.
At that time, some ministers said to Wang Dun and King Langya, "Zhou Yi has been in Wuchang County only three days and hadn’t even fully taken over before the city fell. This is not his fault; Wuchang County should be returned to him."
King Langya felt this was correct; the episode did not truly reflect Zhou Yi’s abilities. After all, he had only just arrived and hadn’t even had time to get the lay of the land before he was hit by such an event.
But Wang Dun simply pretended not to hear and was unwilling to give Wuchang County back. He bypassed both King Langya and Wang Cheng, the Jingzhou Governor, and directly appointed Wang Yi as Prefectural Governor of Wuchang County.
After Wang Dun killed Wang Cheng and Wang Si Niang received the appointment as Jingzhou Governor, they only then managed to claw back half of Wuchang County.
Dai Yuan’s situation was much the same as Zhou Yi’s. He had once been a great General, but was squeezed out of Yangzhou and sent to Guangzhou as State Governor.
Guangzhou at present was a barbarous backwater, far from the political core. In the covert struggle between Zhao Hanzhang and King Langya, Guangzhou had never once been considered an option, because she knew that once Yangzhou was taken, Guangzhou would fall without a fight. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Therefore Dai Yuan very much wanted to return to Yangzhou, to return to the political center.
The two of them were both on bad terms with Wang Dun, and Liu Kui’s proposal at this moment to employ Zhou Yi and Dai Yuan could not have had a clearer intent.
Would Wang Dun really sit back and watch while King Langya re‑appointed these two rivals?
Besides that, there were the other Jiangdong and Jiangnan gate‑valve great clans outside Jiankang City. A single military report stirred up violent waves on what had never been a calm surface.
Some people, without even clarifying the facts, thought Zhao Hanzhang had already crossed the river with her army. They panicked, hurriedly packed their belongings, and wanted to cross back to Jiangbei. There were also those filled with lofty ambition who wanted to go to Luoyang to persuade Zhao Hanzhang to halt the war;
More people, still in possession of their reason, wanted to enter Jiankang to ask clearly what had happened so they could plan their next step.
The clever aristocratic clans would never put all their eggs in one basket. Naturally, they would not stake everything on King Langya alone. Even if their whole families resided in Jiangnan, they still had to make a second investment with Zhao Hanzhang.
If even the Wang Family, the foremost great clan of the age, acted thus, how could they do otherwise?
