34. Ezhou Alone Hangs by a Thread

What does it mean to deal out "fifty strokes of the rod to each party"?

Let Prefect Zhao explain it to you properly. Zhao Rujian, the newly appointed Prefect of Changzhou, brought with him the latest political developments from the temporary capital, Hangzhou. After more than three months of relentless bickering, the Imperial Court had finally reached a decision regarding the punishment for the failed attempt to relieve Xiangyang.

Li Tingzhi, the former Commissioner for Pacification of the Jinghu and Jingxi regions, was demoted to Tanzhou (Changsha). He was tasked with serving as the Prefect of Tanzhou while retaining his role as the Commissioner for the Relief of Xiangfan. With his thirty thousand remnants, he was ordered to garrison and fight, preparing for the Imperial Court's subsequent efforts to rescue Xiangyang.

Fan Wenhu, the former Deputy Commander of the Palace Guard and Vice Commissioner for Pacification of Jinghu, was demoted to Anqing to serve as its Prefect. With his twenty thousand remnants, he was ordered to construct warships and repair military equipment, similarly preparing for the Court’s later military campaigns.

Some might ask, what about the Huainan region?

Of course, it was not left to fend for itself. Xia Gui, a man so old his beard had turned white and walking had become a struggle—a man approaching his eightieth year—was appointed as the Commissioner for Pacification of Huai-Xi and stationed in Luzhou.

Gao Da, also too old to lift a blade, having long since lost the unparalleled strength of his youth, and no longer the master of the iron spear and great mace he once was, was summoned by the Court. He was appointed as the Commissioner for Pacification of Huai-Dong and stationed in Yangzhou, holding the titles of Chief Secretariat of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Commander of the Imperial Guards.

Look at this Imperial Court; it truly has no one else to use. When the moment of crisis arrived, they could only find two old men to take on these tasks. And these were the most critical defense posts in Huainan—one mistake there would mean the peril of a fallen nation.

Truly, these are the omens of an end-times era...

Only Zhang Xun felt this way; others did not seem to think there was any cause for alarm. Gao Da and Xia Gui were veteran generals, after all—"the old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand miles." They had been brave in battle once, so surely the borders would be safe enough under their watch.

Everyone simply waited for the Court’s next plan to relieve Xiangyang. Those in attendance were of the ruling class; what did it matter to them if hundreds of thousands had died in Xiangyang? After all, it was only the common folk who perished, like chives in a field—crop after crop, seemingly endless.

"I must take my leave!"

The formalities had been observed, and the news had been heard. Zhang Xun rose to excuse himself. He even had a legitimate reason: a retainer outside reported an urgent letter from Councilor Lu at the temporary capital.

Everyone present knew that Councilor Lu was Lu Xiufu. As the husband of Zhang Xun's eldest sister, this clearly meant there was trouble at home. Since the welcome had been performed and the gifts exchanged, Zhao Rujian felt no resentment, let alone anyone else.

After offering his apologies, Zhang Xun turned and left. Returning to his boat, he opened Lu Xiufu’s letter and found that the news was far from good.

Because Li Tingzhi had been stripped of his office, his Huainan administrative staff had naturally disbanded. The officials formerly in Huainan were all dispersed. Lu Xiufu was slightly better off, having received a recommendation from Li Tingzhi. However, Li Tingzhi was now in no position to protect himself, and although he had submitted a petition, he had already been demoted to Tanzhou and could provide no practical assistance.

Of course, there were those within the Court willing to lend Lu Xiufu a hand, but the official post he ultimately received was that of an Assistant in the Court of Agricultural Supervision, a rank of 6b-upper. Simply put, it was a clerical position for managing granaries. It was not a small office, and in normal times, it was considered a post with very lucrative perks.

The Court was responsible for the storage and accumulation of grain. It oversaw the Upper Forest, the Great Granary, and various other bureaus, as well as bamboo plantations, hot springs, palace gardens, salt ponds, and military farms. Everything required for the stipends of officials in the capital, imperial audiences, and state sacrifices was provided by them.

An official in charge of granaries and the transport of grain—could he be anything but wealthy?

But what was the assignment Lu Xiufu was actually given? He was ordered to revive the granaries in Jiankang and Runzhou and stockpile rice and wheat to provide for the armies that would later relieve Xiangyang.

And what happened to the original grain in the granaries? It had, of course, been looted by "mutinous soldiers." When the great chaos broke out at Xijin Ferry in Runzhou, thousands of fleeing soldiers pillaged and plundered. Not only did Fan Wenhu fail to stop them, but he even sent men to participate in secret.

Later, a great fire broke out, and in the resulting mess, no one could be held accountable.

With the "Fire Dragon" having burned down the granaries, even in 2024 it would be impossible to investigate, let alone in the year 1273. In the end, Lu Xiufu was stuck with this task, and he was so anxious that his mouth was covered in blisters.

What was the meaning of his letter to Zhang Xun? It was simple: he was asking the six prefectures of Jiangdong—Jiankang, Runzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, Huzhou, and Jiaxing—to transport this year’s summer harvest to Runzhou and Jiankang.

To put it bluntly, he was begging his brother-in-law to pull him out of the fire and ship tens of thousands of bushels of summer grain to Runzhou.

Indeed, no one is perfect. One cannot assume that because a man has high integrity and noble character, he is flawlessly perfect or omniscient. Our eldest brother-in-law was likely not a very effective local administrator; he lacked the necessary skills for governing the people and managing finances. Much like Wen Tianxiang—his integrity was unparalleled in history, but his military ability? It is better left unmentioned.

Zhang Xun could not easily agree to this, as Zhao Rujian stood as an obstacle above him. He chose to delay the summer grain, though whether it would be handed over to the regional inspectors or the grain officials remained unclear. Once the grain was hauled into the Runzhou reserve granaries, it would no longer belong to the Zhang family; expecting the Court to pay it back was pure fantasy.

Only once Lu Xiufu came forward to negotiate the arrangements for Changzhou’s summer harvest could Zhang Xun make his move. Grain was incredibly precious; he had originally intended to stockpile five hundred thousand bushels, but with the constant crises, even replacing what he had was difficult.

Damn it!

He took the letter home to show his mother, who then produced a letter from Zhang Cheng. Zhang Cheng had been transferred from the Ministry of Finance to become a Palace Attendant. To put it plainly, someone did not want Zhang Cheng helping Lu Xiufu in the Ministry of Finance, so they had sent him to wait upon the Emperor’s daily life instead.

Of course, that was a joke. His main duty was to compile the Emperor’s daily records. It was a prestigious position for a member of the "pure stream," requiring no involvement in civil administration, just standing in attendance and recording events.

In theory, this was a promotion, the kind many would kill for—moving from an administrative role in the Ministry of Finance to a refined literary post. But at a time like this... well, the Court’s appointments were not something Zhang Xun could challenge.

Mother and son sat opposite each other, suddenly finding themselves at a loss for words.

"Disaster! Disaster! Marshal Lü has surrendered to the Tatars and offered up Xiangyang!" Chujiu, who had been outside, ran in, stumbling and ignoring all sense of propriety and rank.

"What!" Zhang Xun and his mother stood up simultaneously, crying out.

In truth, while Zhang Xun was performing rites at the family shrine, the Yuan general Alihaya had led a massive force and used Trebuchets to launch a fierce attack on Fancheng. By then, the outer walls of Fancheng had long since fallen, the pontoon bridge between Xiangyang and Fancheng had been destroyed by the Yuan army, and Fancheng had become an isolated city.

After the Yuan army breached the city, they proceeded to slaughter its inhabitants, turning the Han River blood-red. The entire city of Xiangyang was in turmoil; the garrisoned troops were fleeing in droves to surrender to the Yuan army.

With all hope of reinforcements severed and the Yuan siege tightened around the very walls of Xiangyang, escape was impossible. Thus, while Hangzhou was still caught in the "good days" of bitter partisan strife and song and dance, Lü Wenhuan led his officers and their families out of the city to surrender to the Yuan forces.

Hmph, now there was no Jinghu defense line left—only the line at Ezhou remained.