Chapter 16: Tong Guan is Ennobled for His Military Achievements, A Clever Scheme Traps Liangshan

In the capital of the Song Dynasty, Bianliang, within the imperial palace, the emperor sat in the Dacheng Hall. After the civil and military officials had finished their morning worship, they divided into two lines according to their ranks and positions.

The court was solemn. A man stepped out from beside the emperor’s throne and called out, “If there are matters to report, step forward; if not, withdraw from the court!”

After he finished speaking, a man at the forefront of the left line stepped forward to request something. It was none other than the Prime Minister and Grand Tutor, Cai Jing, who was there to ask for a promotion for his prized pupil, Tong Guan.

Holding his tablet, Cai Jing bowed to the emperor and then stood up to report, “Your Majesty, I have a petition!”

The emperor Zhao Ji, seated at the top, glanced at the document presented by the eunuch beside him while casually inquiring, “What matter does Minister Cai wish to discuss?”

Cai Jing replied respectfully, “The Duke of Jingguo, Tong Guan, who oversees the affairs of the Privy Council, leads the military forces of Wuxin, Wuning, Huguo, Hedong, and Shannan East, as well as Jianan East and other nine garrison commanders. He has fought against the barbarians in the west and reclaimed four prefectures. He has also led a northern expedition against the Liao bandits, recovering the Yanshan region.”

As Zhao Ji carefully read the petition presented by the eunuch, he listened attentively to Cai Jing’s report, nodding slightly.

Cai Jing’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as he watched the emperor’s expression, trying to gauge his thoughts. However, he couldn’t discern anything. So, Cai Jing shifted tactics and ominously continued, “Duke Tong has fought bravely for years, alleviating the emperor’s worries. His dedication is admirable, and the people admire his heartfelt loyalty. Now that he is returning from his campaigns, he has taken the initiative to gather forces to attack Liangshan.”

Zhao Ji caught the underlying tone in Cai Jing’s words. It seemed that while Cai Jing was formally requesting a promotion for Tong Guan, he was actually trying to implicate him in the private army’s actions against Liangshan.

Without the emperor’s decree, privately gathering troops was no small offense.

The court erupted in commotion. Zhao Ji sighed heavily and, in a voice tinged with sorrow, remarked, “The other day, Grand Marshal Gao Qiu was sent to attack Liangshan but was met with defeat and killed. Such rampant banditry brings shame to the court.”

At this moment, Zhao Ji raised his voice, scanning the crowd of officials, and sternly declared, “I intend to dispatch a large army to eradicate Liangshan. Which of you is willing to go?”

Facing the emperor’s question, the civil and military officials fell silent. Zhao Ji softened his tone and continued, “I know that among the court, apart from Tong Guan, none are fit for this great responsibility. Therefore, I secretly ordered him to change course and attack Liangshan on his way back. I did not expect the army to move so swiftly, which brings me great comfort, haha!”

Seeing that his plans were not going as intended, Cai Jing quickly took advantage of the situation and suggested, “Your Majesty, since Duke Tong has fought so valiantly for the imperial court, it is only fitting to reward him with a title to boost the morale of the troops.”

Zhao Ji immediately agreed and instructed the officials to draft a decree to elevate Tong Guan to the rank of Prince of Guangyang!

Thus, Tong Guan created two “historical firsts”: he became the highest-ranking eunuch in the history of the country and the only eunuch ever to be titled a prince.

Not long after, the imperial decree reached Jizhou Prefecture. Tong Guan was in the prefectural hall, rallying the troops. The soldiers were armored and armed, lined up in formation.

The eunuchs had never seen such a scene before and trembled as they read the emperor’s decree.

Tong Guan led the generals to kneel and listen to the decree respectfully. After receiving it, he placed it on a table at the front of the hall, arranging a redwood support frame to display the decree.

He then set up a table beneath the main platform as a command center for the army and began counting the generals and deploying the troops.

For this expedition against Liangshan, Tong Guan had assembled a total of 150,000 troops, including thirty-six generals, divided into three categories:

First, there were six high-ranking generals from the Imperial Guards who accompanied Tong Guan on the western expedition, and eight generals from the western border troops who had received promotions after achieving merit and were now in the capital to receive commendations.

These fourteen were seasoned veterans, each with remarkable courage and the ability to command thousands, their skills surpassing even that of Liangshan’s Five Tiger Generals.

Second, there were the leaders of Gao Qiu’s remaining forces, who were among the ten garrison commanders that had followed Gao Qiu to attack Liangshan.

These included Wang Huan, the garrison commander of Henan and Hebei, Xu Jing, the commander of Shanxi and Taiyuan, Wang Wende, the commander of Jingbei and Hongnong, Mei Zhan, the commander of Yingzhou and Runan, and Zhang Kai, the commander of Zhongshan and Anping.

Additionally, there were Yang Wen, the commander of Jiangxia and Lingling, Han Cunbao, the commander of Yunchong and Yanmen, Li Congji, the commander of Longxi and Hanyang, Xiang Yuan, the commander of Langya and Pengcheng, and Jing Zhong, the commander of Qinghe and Tianshui.

These ten had already encountered Liangshan’s leaders during Gao Qiu’s campaign and were generally on par with Liangshan’s Five Tiger Generals, even surpassing the Eight Gallant Knights.

Third, there were twelve generals of the local troops from Jizhou, Yizhou, and other prefectures. Most of these were low-level officers in the imperial army, similar to how Hua Rong, Yang Zhi, and Lu Zhishen were before joining Liangshan, but their skills varied widely.

After Tong Guan had finished gathering his troops, he began to deploy them.

He designated the elite troops that had just returned from the front lines to stay in Jizhou City for rest, guarding the rear as the first main force in the campaign against Liangshan.

He appointed General Zhongwu, the commander of the Imperial Guards, Wu Lin, as the overall commander of the second main force against Liangshan, with Wang Huan as the deputy commander.

These two would lead the remnants of Gao Qiu’s forces, over 40,000 men, and immediately march from Jizhou, declaring that they were avenging Grand Marshal Gao, making a grand show as they marched south to attack Liangshan.

The second main force would consist of 40,000 men, led by the Imperial Guard generals.

The third main force was commanded by Liu Gao, the commander of the Imperial Guards, with Zhang Kai as the deputy commander.

These two would lead 20,000 troops from the Jizhou headquarters and would secretly march from Jizhou at midnight, traveling by day and hiding at night, ensuring that they moved unnoticed. They aimed to encircle Liangshan within ten days.

Once they combined forces with another 20,000 troops from Yizhou, they would wait for an opportunity and, when Liangshan’s forces were engaged with the second main force, would launch a fierce attack from the north.

In this way, while the Liangshan forces were busy fighting the second main force from the south, the third main force could take advantage of the situation to attack from the north, putting Liangshan in a position where they could not support each other.

If the Liangshan forces had to aid each other from north and south, they would find themselves in the awkward position of running back and forth across the eight-hundred-mile lake to rescue each other.

If the Liangshan forces split into two routes to defend against the enemy, they would fall directly into Tong Guan’s trap.

Although Liangshan had 100,000 troops, the maximum number of combat personnel available was only 80,000. Dividing the troops into two routes would leave a maximum of 30,000 men on one side after accounting for those left behind.

The second and third main forces against Liangshan would both have 40,000 troops, led by high-ranking generals of the Imperial Guards. Liangshan’s forces would simply not be a match.

The true main force of the campaign against Liangshan, the elite of the elite, was the first main force against Liangshan — the 60,000 Imperial Guards personally led by Tong Guan, who were poised to take action at any moment.

They could swiftly march from Jizhou, join forces with the second main force, and annihilate Liangshan’s southern troops, then gather the 150,000 troops to encircle Liangshan, ensuring that the Water Margin stronghold would be uprooted!