Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 73 : Conferment

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Xiao Chiye did not accept the imperial edict. Fuman did not dare to persuade him further and hurried his way back to the palace to make his report. 

After hearing the whole story, Li Jianheng leapt to his  feet and said, “Is the Son of Heaven’s orders something he can reject as he pleases? When I reward him, he should kneel and accept it! Go again!” 

Griping to himself, Fuman climbed onto the horse again and returned to Xiao Chiye’s residence. Seeing Xiao Chiye still kneeling, he hurriedly held the imperial edict and bowed to persuade him, “Viceroy, Viceroy! Why do this? Didn’t we roll and crawl down there in the ditches all for this?” 

With a hint of displeasure on his face, Xiao Chiye said, “I don’t want this noble rank. Don’t bother wasting your breath on me.”

Fuman was so anxious and desperate that he stomped his foot where he stood. But he could not accept the edict on behalf of Xiao Chiye. All he could do was to play for time. 
“Then let him kneel!” Back at the palace, Li Jianheng promptly flew into a rage when he heard the reply. “In order to grant him the reward, I even rebuffed the Secretariat Elder, and he still dares to put on airs? Let him kneel!”  

So the sovereign and his minister – one within the palace and the other, beyond – remained stuck in a deadlock.  

At present, it was the third lunar month in Spring, and the ground was icy cold all over. Xiao Chiye kneeled with a straightened back, determined to get Li Jianheng to revoke his order. Perhaps he could have accepted the edict, then used various means to handle this matter in a better way. But he was not willing to. 

The Lu Clan in Qidong was held in check by the Qi Clan at the top and invaded by Biansha at the bottom. Li Jianheng had been gunning for the easier target when he trampled upon Lu Pingyan, because the Lu Clan was not on par with the Qi and Xiao Clans. The food and clothing expenditures of those 20,000 troops of the Biansha Commandery were all in the imperial court’s control. They did not even have military fields. Otherwise, the Lu Clan would not have to stoop so low as to demand payment every year, or be so poor that they had to sell their family properties and belongings. In the past, when Lu Guangbai entered the capital to make his report, he was never taken seriously. Which typical official in the capital would have such audacity? They were all merely taking their cues from the higher-ups. When Emperor Xiande was around, it was rare for Lu Guangbai to be able to seek an audience with the Emperor. This was not simply a matter of him being liked or detested, but because it concerned the balance of Qidong’s military power. 

The Xiao and Qi were both great generals stationed at the frontiers. Why did the Hua Clan have to guard against the Prince of Libei alone and go to so much trouble to trap Xiao Chiye in Qudu? Because the Xiao Clan was the only dominant force in Libei Great Commandery. There was no other leash in the entire territory that could rein in the Xiao Clan, so they could only tie up Xiao Chiye and turn him into a cage to restrain the Libei Armored Cavalry. Qidong had two generals, Qi Shiyu and Lu Pingyan, who were on par with one another back in those days. But why was Qi Shiyu eventually the one who was conferred with the title of the Five Commanderies’ Commander-in-Chief? This was all because Lu Pingyan and Xiao Fangxu were on close terms with one another, and they were in-laws to boot.

The Lu Clan was the chess piece that provided checks and balances to the power between the three parties. 

The Lu Clan’s position in the Bianjun Commandery was crucial; it was a heavy responsibility entrusted to them by the imperial court. But even so, the imperial court did not generously bestow titles and ranks upon them. This was meant to hold the Lu in their control and let the Lu be held in check by both the Qi Clan and the imperial court. The Lu could only be a weapon used to fight the foreign enemies; there was no way they could be high-ranking provincial officials with military authority at the borders, and consequently, there would be no way they could be the second Prince of Libei.