Chapter 63: The Sacred Heart Is Hard to Fathom

Li Jing offered a faint smile, unwilling to offer further explanation.

Li Jingsui chuckled and said, "Yang Lian, you need not be alarmed. I recommended you to my royal brother because you once saved Lady Huairou. However, you are also aware that your name is overly sensitive, which is why His Majesty saw fit to test you."

Yang Lian wiped the sweat from his brow and replied, "His Majesty is the Son of Heaven; this test truly frightened me, your humble servant."

Li Jing laughed heartily. Looking at Yang Lian, he seemed satisfied and said, "Minister Yang, you have performed a remarkable feat this time. I shall certainly reward you handsomely. Tell me, what is it that you desire?"

"Your Majesty, I have but one request," Yang Lian said, bowing.

"Speak your mind," Li Jing nodded.

Clad in his armor, Yang Lian performed a deep bow and continued, "Your Majesty, the recent unrest in Changzhou was entirely the work of the Wuyue people stirring up trouble in the shadows. I was merely fortunate to suppress the rebellion; the glory belongs entirely to your boundless fortune, and I dare not claim credit. However, I implore Your Majesty to show mercy to the soldiers of the Shenwu and Tianxiong Armies. Should you act with such benevolence, the troops will surely keep it in their hearts, vowing to serve the Great Tang with unwavering loyalty and expand our borders, which would indeed make for a fine tale."

Before Li Jing could respond, Li Jingsui laughed, "Good, good! A fine ambition, 'expanding our borders'."

Li Jingda chuckled as well, adding, "Congratulations to Your Majesty."

Li Jing narrowed his eyes, surveying Yang Lian, and remarked, "Truly, a hero has emerged from the youth. I shall take your words to heart, Minister Yang. Since you have interceded on behalf of the others, I shall set this debt aside for now and allow them the chance to redeem themselves through service. However, this hardly seems fair to you."

"I am a ruler who distinguishes clearly between reward and punishment. Since you have rendered such great service, you must be rewarded. I have heard that the Shenwu Army suffered significant losses, with many commanders and captains fallen in battle. I hereby appoint you as a commander; should you achieve further merits in the future, you shall be promoted accordingly," Li Jing decreed.

Yang Lian hurriedly bowed, "Your humble servant, Yang Lian, thanks Your Majesty for this grace and will surely exert every effort to serve the state."

Prince of Qi, Li Jingsui, smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Yang Lian, you have been on this campaign for some time. Why not return home for a while?"

"Your humble servant takes his leave." Yang Lian retreated, and a young eunuch was already waiting at the door to escort him out of the palace.

Inside the grand hall, Li Jing paced slowly, muttering, "This man is clearly not the former crown prince."

Li Jingsui laughed, "Your Majesty is wise. If he truly were the former crown prince, given his temperament, would he dare come to Jinling? He would likely have hidden away in the deep mountains long ago."

Li Jingda added, "Your Majesty, there is even a tomb for the former crown prince in Yingzhou. How could he crawl out of his own grave? I, for one, do not believe in the resurrection of the dead."

Li Jingsui frowned slightly and said, "Fourth brother, do not speak such nonsense."

"It is of no consequence," Li Jing said, appearing quite magnanimous; he remained entirely at ease with his own kin.

Li Jingsui pondered for a moment before saying, "Royal brother, while Yang Lian is not the former crown prince, his name is far too sensitive. If he serves as an official in the court, it will inevitably invite criticism, and those censors will likely impeach him incessantly. Yang Lian is also of a stubborn nature and refuses to change his name; it is truly a headache."

Li Jing smiled, "You are quite protective of him."

"Your Majesty, you know well that he saved Lady Huairou. Should anything happen to him, my heart would be ill at ease," Li Jingsui replied.

Li Jing admired this sense of benevolence in his brother. After some thought, he said, "In that case, I shall personally issue an imperial decree appointing him as a commander of the Shenwu Army, with a rank of Fifth Grade, and bestow upon him the silver fish bag as a mark of honor."

With the silver fish bag personally granted by the Emperor, his status was, to a certain extent, officially recognized by Li Jing. Unless someone was utterly blind, they would not dare trouble Yang Lian. Thinking of this, Li Jingsui bowed and said, "Your younger brother thanks you on behalf of Yang Lian."

As Yang Lian walked out of the palace, he glanced back at the imperial city where he had once lived, his expression shifting slightly. Though he had appeared calm, he had been intensely nervous. Li Jing was a man of eccentric temperament—a scholar well-versed in the arts of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—and by all rights, such a person should be gentle. Yet, he was, above all, an emperor. Upon ascending the throne, he had abandoned the policy of peaceful coexistence with neighbors practiced by Li Bian, instead engaging in constant warfare, which showed him to be a man of great ambition, or perhaps, vanity. Had he made a single slip earlier, his head might have rolled.

Now outside the palace, he felt sweat soaking his back. It had truly been a perilous encounter.

Fortunately, with the help of the Prince of Qi, Li Jingsui, things had not gone poorly. On the contrary, Yang Lian had been promoted from a mere junior officer to a commander, entering the ranks of mid-to-high-level officers, which was cause for celebration. Walking along the Qinhuai River, lost in thought, he found himself nearing home before he knew it.

Looking up, he saw a commotion ahead. Over a dozen carriages were lined up, nearly blocking the road. Yang Lian hurried forward, wondering what had happened. As he approached, he saw several men dressed as servants carrying chests toward the inn.

The group was noisy, and the neighbors were all peeking out, watching with curiosity. Yang Lian quickened his pace to see the leader of the group—a tall, thin man with a pale, beardless face—standing at the inn's entrance, where Wang Hu was welcoming them.

"We come by order of His Majesty to issue a decree. Where is Yang Lian?" the man asked, his voice sharp; he was a eunuch. Because Yang Lian had walked and the group had traveled on horseback with prior notice, they had arrived slightly before him.

Wang Hu was stunned, as his master had not yet returned. But hearing that they came by the Emperor's order, he was too frightened to speak.

Yang Lian stepped forward and bowed to the eunuch, "Official, I am Yang Lian."

"Very good. His Majesty's decree—receive it!" the eunuch said.

Yang Lian hurriedly bowed to receive the decree. The eunuch smiled and read aloud: "Yang Lian of the Shenwu Army, loyal to the sovereign and the nation, remained calm in the face of danger, and amidst the chaos, restored order. For his great service to the state and the people, he is hereby granted the rank of Commander of the Shenwu Army, along with a silver fish bag and various silks and gold. Thus it is decreed."

The decree was brief and lacked ornate literary flair, likely because Li Jing viewed Yang Lian as a military man and kept it simple. Everyone present understood: the master of the Yang Inn had gone to Su and Chang, and upon his return, he had been promoted. As for the silver fish bag, some did not know what it was, while those who did explained it to others. The silver fish bag was not an office, but an accessory worn at the waist.

Since the Tang Dynasty, generally, those of the Third Grade and above in purple robes wore gold fish bags, those of the Fifth Grade and above in scarlet robes wore silver fish bags, and those below the Sixth Grade in green robes wore no fish bag. The Southern Tang inherited the institutions of the Great Tang, and the system was much the same. Yang Lian’s position as a commander was of the Fifth Grade, barely qualifying him for the silver fish bag. However, for the Emperor to personally bestow it was an honor far beyond mere bureaucratic rank.

Yang Lian stood up after receiving the decree, feeling a slight tremor in his heart. In the palace, Li Jing had subjected him to all sorts of tests; if he had not remained calm and refused to admit anything, he might have been dismembered by the guards. Having struck him with a stick, the Emperor now offered a carrot, ensuring everyone knew of it. Truly, the Emperor’s heart was unfathomable; Li Jing might be a scholar, but he was not easy to deal with.

The eunuch had his men set down the gifts and departed. Yang Lian watched them go, eyes narrowed. Wang Hu finally reacted and came over with a fawning smile, "Congratulations, Master."

Yang Lian felt goosebumps at the sight and quickly said, "Go heat some water; I haven't bathed in days."

"Yes, sir!" Wang Hu hurried off.

Yang Lian had the gifts stored away while Xiao Erhei and Zhao Peng bustled about. The neighbors, like leeches smelling blood, flocked to the scene; Yang Lian was the first Fifth-Grade official to emerge from their street, and they were eager to curry favor. Yang Lian decided to let Xiao Erhei accept the gifts and hosted a banquet for the neighbors at his restaurant.

It was not until the moon climbed the treetops that Yang Lian finished seeing everyone off, thinking that this was more exhausting than fighting a battle. After returning to the inn's courtyard, he bathed and enjoyed a sound sleep.

The next morning, he left the city to report for duty at the military camp. Li Zheng-gu, Gao Shensi, and Zhu Kuangye had already returned and were discussing matters. Learning of Yang Lian's return, they all sighed in relief. Each of them had had different experiences during their separate audiences with the Emperor the previous day, and thinking back on it left them feeling rather somber.

Li Zheng-gu, in particular, had knelt and confessed, begging for punishment. Li Jing, who favored him and knew his limited ability in commanding troops, had merely scolded him before letting him return to camp. Gao Shensi, still nursing his wounds, was told by the Emperor to recover, with nothing more said. As for Zhu Kuangye, he remained commander of the Tianxiong Army, though his salary was halved as a penalty.

What puzzled the three of them was the Emperor's attitude toward the defeated troops. Yesterday, he had vowed to punish them severely, but this morning, he had sent word that the rebellion had been clarified as the work of the Wuyue people, and that in his mercy, he would allow them to redeem themselves through service.

The three were confused as to how this came about until they asked Yang Lian. When Yang Lian mentioned it nonchalantly, they finally understood it was his doing. They remained puzzled, however, as to why the Emperor would grant Yang Lian’s request.

Yang Lian, however, understood perfectly. If Li Jing had truly wanted to slaughter those soldiers, he could have done so long ago, perhaps even without drawing a blade. By poisoning their rations under the guise of an犒军 (rewarding the army), not a single member of the Shenwu or Tianxiong Armies would have escaped. But to have ten thousand men die suddenly would have turned all eyes toward him, and even an emperor would have to weigh the consequences.

Instead, he had intentionally granted a favor to Yang Lian—and by extension, to all the soldiers—to demonstrate his broad-mindedness and leave the world with an impression of benevolence. Yang Lian was not bothered by this; to him, it was a win-win situation.

That day, the soldiers were reorganized and returned to camp. Since the commander of the First Battalion had fallen in battle, Yang Lian stepped into his position. Chen Tie was promoted to captain and remained under Yang Lian’s command, while Lin Renzhao was promoted to vice-commander of the Second Battalion, acting in command for the time being. Zhou Hongzu remained in charge of the Third Battalion, with the other commanders unchanged. Li Ping, Yao Feng, and others were also promoted to captains.

Following his promotion, the other commanders came to congratulate Yang Lian. After finishing his duties, Yang Lian invited them to a small gathering at the restaurant, though Zhou Hongzu feigned illness and did not attend. Likely, he was unhappy that the former junior officer had risen so quickly to stand as his equal. Yang Lian did not mind, drinking heartily with the others before returning home, quite drunk.