Yan Xiaohan wrapped him in his arms, maintaining a serious demeanor: “Alright, stop playing. Let’s talk seriously. After things settle here, I plan to go to Shu.”
Fu Shen frowned: “Planning to see the Grand Emperor?”
“Yes,” Yan Xiaohan said, “After the capital incident, the Flying Dragon Guard and most of the imperial guards, along with half the capital’s troops, followed the Grand Emperor westward. You’ve seen it. In the new court, I can barely speak, and compared to the deeply rooted Jiangnan families, I’m too shallow. I have too few reliable people. This can’t continue.”
“So you want to reclaim your old subordinates from the Grand Emperor?” Fu Shen asked. “Why would he agree?”
Yan Xiaohan just smiled mysteriously: “I have my methods.”
“Fine,” Fu Shen said, “Do what you think is best. What do you need me to do?”
Yan Xiaohan casually joked: “Feed me until I’m full before I go?”
“Fu Shen pushed his head underwater.
Emperor Changzhi was ambitious yet indecisive, and although he often lacked conviction, he was not without ambition. Having experienced prosperous times, he was ultimately unwilling to remain confined to a corner of Jiangnan and still yearned to return to the Central Plains and unify the realm.
Yan Xiaohang was originally tasked with building the imperial court’s independent army, separate from local military governors. He had once pointed out two paths for Emperor Changzhi. One was overt: reorganizing the remnants of defeated troops and recruiting new soldiers, which was now the army commanded by Zhao Xicheng. The Jiangnan military was uneven in personnel, with low combat effectiveness, purely a hastily assembled mixed force, but sufficient for show. The other path was covert and his most important mission upon leaving Jinling.
The Tianfu Army composed of these two forces was the true core army that Emperor Changzhi and the future new dynasty could rely on.”
While Xue Shang thought he was struggling on the front lines, Yan Xiaohang had already reorganized the Tianfu Army in Shu; by the time Xue Shang finally realized he had been outmaneuvered again, Yan Xiaohang had already led these elite troops to the battlefield, joining forces with the Northern Yan cavalry that had just captured Luoyang.
