After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 968 - 953: Momentum
No matter what ethnicity Duan Wumuchen belongs to, he relied on the Wei Kingdom first, and then the Jin State. On the surface, he pledged allegiance to the court, making him a Jin Minister.
As a Jin Minister, he must bow to Zhao Hanzhang, who represents the court, unless he wishes to wage war, raise his arms and call Zhao Hanzhang a treacherous minister, or directly raise the banner of rebellion and declare he no longer listens to the Jin Court. Otherwise, he must submit to Zhao Hanzhang.
If he had truly made up his mind to fight, he would have crossed the river long before Wang Jun died and Youzhou fell into Zhao Hanzhang’s hands. Why wait until now?
Wei Jie also knew this, so as the vanguard of the negotiations, he adopted a posture of demanding accountability. After Duan Wumuchen saluted, he asked, "Why has Duke Liaoxi deployed troops here? Your fief is in Liaoxi County, yet you have crossed Beiping County, assembling tens of thousands of armed men here. Are you intending to follow Wang Jun’s example and rebel?"
Duan Wumuchen’s anger surged, and just as he was about to explode, his son Duan Jilu Jian gently tugged at him, leaving him silent with a dark expression.
Duan Jilu Jian stepped forward and replied, "Allow me to report, our Duan Family has always been on good terms with Youzhou. Over a month ago, our tribe received a plea for help from Governor Wang, claiming that Youzhou was under attack by foreign enemies. My father was worried, so he led soldiers to investigate."
Wei Jie said, "Indeed, Youzhou was invaded by the Xiongnu, but now the Xiongnu Kingdom is destroyed, and the threat is gone. The Duan Family can retreat their troops. Moreover, Wang Jun, although the Youzhou Governor, disobeyed the court’s orders. Taking advantage of the late emperor’s crisis, he spread rumors, intending to seize the world. Such actions are utterly deserving of death."
Even Duan Wumuchen fell silent at this point.
Because Wang Jun was truly ostentatious, perhaps overly confident, believing he could descend from Youzhou and conquer the entire Northern Land and Central Plains after Zhao Hanzhang and the Xiongnu were both weakened, he was focused solely on building momentum and justifying rebellion, telling everyone, "Hey, have you heard that prophecy from the Two Han dynasties?"
"It’s the prophecy that Emperor Wu of Han personally spoke: ’He who replaces Han will be Tu Gao.’ My father is that Tu Gao."
"Thus, the true successor of Han is my family. Cao Wei, Sima Jin, they are all fake usurpers that appeared midway, so their kingdoms didn’t last long. Only the dynasty established by my family can be like Han..."
Although the Duanbu Xianbei were in Liaoxi, they had also heard these rumors. Most fatally, Wang Jun even wrote to probe Duan Wumuchen’s thoughts, saying, more or less, if he unifies the world and ascends the throne, Duan would be a great hero. As a Prince Consort, he would be equivalent to a son to him...
How could Duan Wumuchen respond?
Of course, he happily agreed.
His loyalty to the Jin State was limited. He became a Jin Minister to gain the court’s support, allowing his tribe to develop better. If his father-in-law could become emperor, naturally, he would be delighted. So he agreed to whatever Wang Jun said without hesitation.
This kind of promise that required no actual commitment was easy to make. As for other matters, who cared?
But now it turned into evidence of Wang Jun’s rebellion, and worse, it might even serve as evidence of the Duan Family’s participation in the rebellion.
Duan Wumuchen grew worried; had Zhao Hanzhang found any letters or the like from Wang Jun? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
Indeed, there were such items, but they were not discovered by the Zhao Family Army. Instead, they were found by the Shi Army, and Zhang Bin carefully preserved them to hand over to Zhao Hanzhang.
At this point, Zhao Hanzhang took out the letters and said to Duan Wumuchen, "This general knows that Duke Liaoxi, being far from the court, was likely deceived and misled by Wang Jun, unaware of the inside story and unintentionally offending."
Duan Wumuchen’s heart was in turmoil. His gaze swept over Zu Ti and Shi Le, then Tuoba Yilu on the opposite mountain, a drop of sweat trickled down from his temple, but he still agreed, "Yes, Great General, your eyes are keen. Indeed, I was misled by Wang Jun..."
In essence, everything was for the tribe’s benefit. Collaborating with Wang Jun was for that reason. Now that Wang Jun was dead and Zhao Hanzhang, Zu Ti, Shi Le, and Tuoba Yilu were all present, with none of whom he could contend, it was better to go along with the flow.
Duan Wumuchen weighed the pros and cons and conceded, but the officials following him were not pleased. A scholar dressed in Han attire rushed out and angrily scolded him, "Duke Liaoxi, do not forget, the Duan Xianbei stabilizing in Liaoxi County relies entirely on Governor Wang. Governor Wang not only requested the court to confer upon you the title of Duke Liaoxi but also married his beloved daughter to you. You are the Youzhou son-in-law, how can you sit by and watch Youzhou fall?"
"Open your eyes and see, Zu Ti and Shi Le combined have no more than thirty thousand soldiers here. Tuoba Yilu has only thirty thousand and is not aligned with Zhao Hanzhang. If the Duke would only deploy troops, he could capture them instantly and then advance to capture Youzhou. Why yield to such small people?"
Zhao Kuan became furious upon hearing this and demanded of Duan Wumuchen, "Duke Liaoxi, could it be that you have intentions of rebellion like Wang Jun?"
Even Zu Ti and Shi Le had fire in their eyes, staring intently at Duan Wumuchen.
Duan Wumuchen, of course, could not admit to this and immediately had the scholar dragged away.
Zhao Hanzhang watched with a smile throughout. When the scholar was about to be dragged away, she said, "This man, like Wang Jun, conspired to rebel and should be handed over to the court for punishment."
The scholar, who had his mouth covered, immediately began to struggle violently. Duan Wumuchen lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, and under the angry stares of Zhao Kuan and others, he nodded slightly.
Immediately, a trusted aide stepped forward to take the scholar. As soon as the scholar’s mouth was released, he shouted, "Zhao Hanzhang, do you dare claim you are a loyal minister... mmm..."
The trusted aide covered his mouth again, and with three others, they lifted his legs and arms and dragged him across the river back behind Zhao Hanzhang.
Once the person was brought over, Zhao Hanzhang finally smiled, walking across the stones in the river to stand in front of Duan Wumuchen, saying with a smile, "Only now do I realize that Duke Liaoxi’s heart is still with the court. Your Majesty will be very pleased to know."
As she approached, Duan Wumuchen and Duan Jilu Jian tensed, but seeing her take no other action, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Hanzhang turned back, waved to Zhao Kuan and others, and said with a smile, "Bring the fine wine we brought. Today, we must clear up the misunderstandings and drink heartily with Duke Liaoxi."
Zhao Kuan immediately suppressed his angry expression, respectfully responded, and led a squad of trusted aides to carry over the bundles they had brought. Zu Ti and Shi Le immediately followed suit.
Duan Wumuchen stepped back a few steps, clearing a space on the riverbank. The trusted aides took rugs, grills, wine, and various exquisite glassware from the bundles.
Duan Wumuchen: ...
He now realized that Zhao Hanzhang truly intended to invite him for a drink here.
Fu Tinghan found it very amusing and wanted to approach immediately, but Wei Jie tapped him with a fan and said with a slight smile, "Just wait a bit longer."
The Zhao Family Army’s trusted aides unobtrusively stepped forward, filling this half of the riverbank. Only then did Wei Jie leisurely proceed with Fu Tinghan.
Zhao Hanzhang first sat at the head seat and then invited Duan Wumuchen to sit on her left.
Duan Wumuchen glanced at his son and then sat down upright on the mat. Until now, the negotiation formally began, but the Duan Family had indeed lost the initiative, appearing weak in the ensuing discussions.
