Chapter 56: Like Bereaved Orphans

Liu Zhongzhi’s expression instantly turned cold and gloomy. Inflating military achievements was something every military general did.

When the great victory at Lingzhou was reported to Chang'an, the Crown Prince's Right Guard of the Palace, consisting of 4,800 newly recruited soldiers, had annihilated over 60,000 elite enemy troops in a field battle. All the officials in the Ministry of War unanimously agreed that this was utterly impossible and that Chen Ying was falsely reporting military merits.

Chen Ying was a protégé of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, who had vigorously pushed for him to independently command an army, marching north to Lingzhou to provide reinforcements. Had they mustered the full strength of Li Jiancheng's faction to raise a magnificent banner across the silent, desolate plains, it might not have been entirely impossible. In particular, the fact that Li Jiancheng had actually allocated equipment sufficient to arm tens of thousands of men to Chen Ying made Li Yuan exceptionally vigilant. At that time, Li Yuan suspected that Li Jiancheng must have secretly accepted allegiance from other factions behind the scenes. Even the Battle of Jingyang—where Chen Ying personally beheaded Zong Luohou and repelled Xue Renguo—might simply have been an act staged by Li Jiancheng.

Therefore, as Li Yuan's trusted confidant and eunuch, Liu Zhongzhi had come to Lingzhou to serve as the Imperial Commissioner for Inspecting Military Demeanor and Consolation, purely to figure out the extent of the Crown Prince's hidden strength. Seeing that the Right Guard was not as sparse as it appeared on paper, but instead nearly doubled in number, Liu Zhongzhi's expression changed completely.

The Palace Gate Guards surrounding Liu Zhongzhi immediately closed ranks, shielding him in the inner circle as their hands instinctively reached for the hilts of their horizontal sabers.

The Palace Gate Guards were elite martial artists inherited from the Sui dynasty by the Tang, serving as palace gate sentinels—essentially the imperial bodyguards of popular lore. These warriors were not responsible for the safety of the outer imperial city; their sole duty was to secure the inner palace. Their authorized strength was small, consisting of a mere three squadrons and six platoons, totaling three hundred men. In truth, only a single platoon of fifty men had accompanied Liu Zhongzhi to Lingzhou. Although there were only fifty soldiers, they were enough to demonstrate the great importance Li Yuan attached to Liu Zhongzhi, or rather, to show that Li Yuan did not trust Chen Ying at all.

Chen Ying was certainly not possessed of preternatural foresight; he had merely utilized surrendered soldiers from Liang Shidu to form ten regiments of troops. Combined with the remnants in Lingzhou, he reorganized them into a single regiment of Yueqi cavalry. Consequently, Chen Ying's actual force had expanded from his original seventeen regiments to twenty-eight.

Seeing that Liu Zhongzhi's bodyguards had drawn their weapons in a state of high alert as if facing a formidable enemy, Chen Ying smiled faintly. "What is the meaning of this, Imperial Commissioner Liu?"

"It means nothing in particular. According to regulations, Commander Chen should command seventeen regiments of troops, yet you now have well over twenty-ery?" Liu Zhongzhi's expression grew increasingly cold and sinister as he let out a dry, chilling laugh. "Should not Commander Chen explain what is going on with these extra troops?"

Chen Ying asked, "May I ask Imperial Commissioner Liu, what was my original imperial commission?"

"General of Loyal and Martial Valor, Right Guard General of the Crown Prince, Baron of Xiuwu, and Grand Commander of the Guannei Circuit Field Army." Liu Zhongzhi asked with a puzzled expression, "Could Commander Chen have forgotten his own appointment?"

"I certainly have not forgotten, but Imperial Commissioner Liu seems to have forgotten!" Chen Ying replied. "His Majesty also bestowed upon me the authority to act expediently as the Grand Commander of the Guannei Circuit Field Army."

"Uh..." Liu Zhongzhi was momentarily at a loss for words. "Act expediently?"

Chen Ying was not one to offer a smiling face only to receive a cold shoulder. From Liu Zhongzhi's attitude, he could clearly perceive Li Yuan's deep distrust of him. Without bothering to show any cordiality, Chen Ying retorted, "Could it be that Imperial Commissioner Liu was unaware of this?"

"Commander Chen, do not try to change the subject and speak of extraneous matters!" Liu Zhongzhi pointed at Chen Ying and shouted coldly, "As the Imperial Commissioner for Inspecting Military Demeanor and Consolation of the Lingzhou Commandery, I now question you: what on earth is going on with these extra troops?"

Seeing this unmanly old wretch sent from the imperial court show such blatant disrespect toward Chen Ying, Luo Shilin and Liang Zan were both consumed with intense anger. Yuguni did not understand the Han Chinese language at all and had no idea what Liu Zhongzhi was saying. When Du Shanguo explained the meaning to him, Yuguni snatched a massive wolf-tooth club from the hands of one of his guards and roared in Turkic, "I'll smash you to death, you dog..."

Chen Ying was likewise deeply disgusted by Liu Zhongzhi's attitude.

Fortunately, Liu Tong understood the gravity of the situation and hurriedly grabbed Yuguni around the waist to restrain him. However, Yuguni was as strong as an ox; with a gentle flick of his body, he sent Liu Tong tumbling backward to the ground onto his backside. Chen Ying flew into a towering rage. "Stand down!"

Fixing Liu Zhongzhi with a gaze that seemed ready to devour human flesh, Yuguni obeyed Chen Ying's command and retreated behind him.

No matter what, Chen Ying would never allow Yuguni to kill Liu Zhongzhi. If a regional commander were to openly assassinate an imperial commissioner, it would be tantamount to outright rebellion, leaving no room for reconciliation between Chen Ying and the Tang dynasty.

Chen Ying declared, "I was commanded to act expediently across the Guannei Circuit, and Lingzhou falls under its jurisdiction. Therefore, accepting surrenders and absorbing defectors falls squarely within my duties. Since His Majesty ordered my forces to be reorganized into the Dingyuan Army, I shall reorganize them immediately!" Chen Ying suddenly turned around and shouted, "Officers and soldiers!"

Over nine thousand officers and men, along with Yuguni's six thousand Turkic cavalry, roared in unison, "Present!"

Chen Ying commanded, "By imperial decree, our forces are reorganized into the Dingyuan Army. Zhang Huaiwei, Prefectural Commander of the Crown Prince's Right Guard Personal Guard Prefecture!"

Zhang Huaiwei stepped out from the ranks, bowed, and said, "Your subordinate is here!"

Chen Ying ordered, "The Crown Prince's Right Guard Personal Guard Prefecture is hereby reorganized into the First Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army. The First Prefecture shall command five regiments: the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Regiments."

Behind Zhang Huaiwei, the banner of the Personal Guard Prefecture was slowly lowered. At this moment, Chen Ying had not prepared a formal battle flag for them. He glanced at Liang Zan, who instantly understood and scurried back into the main hall, quickly emerging with a bolt of white cloth.

Chen Ying took the white cloth and estimated a length of about six feet, tearing it off. He bit his finger and used his blood to write eight characters upon it: "First Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army."

Without waiting for the blood to dry, Chen Ying took the white flag bearing the inscription "First Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army" and handed it directly into the hands of Zhang Huaiwei.

Chen Ying shouted aloud, "With my blood I offer devotion to the Emperor; blood debts must be paid in blood!"

More than fifteen hundred officers and men of the Personal Guard Prefecture roared back in unison, "With my blood I offer devotion to the Emperor; blood debts must be paid in blood! So long as the flying generals of Longcheng remain, no barbarian horses shall cross Yinshan!"

Chen Ying nodded and said, "Very well! Splendid!"

The expressions of Liu Zhongzhi, the Palace Gate Commander, and the accompanying soldiers changed drastically.

Chen Ying continued, "Prefectural Commander Liang Zan!"

Liang Zan was momentarily stunned. He had just been appointed as the Vice Commander of the Personal Guard Prefecture, and now he was suddenly promoted to Prefectural Commander, leaving him momentarily unable to react.

Liu Tong gently kicked Liang Zan and prompted, "Your subordinate is here!"

"The original First Merit Prefecture of the Crown Prince's Right Guard is wholly reorganized into the Second Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army, commanding five regiments—the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Regiments—totaling one thousand five hundred men!"

Another battle flag inscribed in blood by Chen Ying, reading "Second Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army," was handed over to Liang Zan.

Chen Ying rapidly completed the reorganization of the entire army: the Second Merit Prefecture was reorganized into the Third Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army, with Liu Tong appointed as its Prefectural Commander; the original First Imperial Guard Prefecture of the Crown Prince's Right Guard was reorganized into the Fourth Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army, commanding the Sixteenth through Twentieth Regiments, with Duan Zhigan serving as its Prefectural Commander; the Second Imperial Guard Prefecture was reorganized into the Fifth Prefecture, with Zhang Shigui as its Prefectural Commander; and the Yueqi cavalry were reorganized into the Sixth Prefecture of the Dingyuan Army, with Luo Shilin as its Prefectural Commander.

Among the four Prefectural Commanders and eight Vice Commanders of the Crown Prince's Right Guard, aside from Duan Zhigan and Zhang Shigui, Chen Ying did not retain a single other person.

Seeing Chen Ying openly defying authority, both Yang Ze and Liu Zhongzhi wore the devastated expressions of mourners at a funeral.