Qiao Feng (8e7db6c8)

Qiao Feng’s story in these passages turns on a sharp divide between what the martial world believes and what has happened beyond its reach. Former Beggar Clan members still speak of him as an absent, disgraced leader, unaware that he has become a powerful Liao official. In Liao, meanwhile, his loyalty to his sworn brother brings him into a rebellion, earns him the highest military office, and places him under pressure to prepare for a campaign against the land where he grew up.

Identity and Reputation

A year after the Battle at JuXian Manor, Qiao Feng remains an object of uncertain memory within the Beggar Clan. In a roadside temple, three members discuss where he might be hiding. One assumes he feels guilty and has disappeared; another wonders whether he is waiting for an opportunity to strike. Their conversation attributes numerous deaths to him, including those of Elder Xu, Grandpa Tan and Granny Tan, Zhao Qiansun, the Taishan Iron-Face Judge and his family, Zhiguang, Madam Ma, and Elder Bai Shijing. The list shows how thoroughly blame has attached itself to Qiao Feng in the clan’s public account of the past.

Yet the conversation also exposes lingering loyalty. One speaker remembers him as benevolent and righteous, while Old Wang’s continued use of the title “Clan leader Qiao” is treated as evidence that he still hopes Qiao Feng might return. Old Wang denies saying so, and another member insists that the clan would fight Qiao Feng because he is Khitan. The exchange leaves his former standing suspended between admiration, hostility, and the possibility of restoration.

Hidden Position in Liao

The clan members do not know that Qiao Feng has become Lord of the Southern Chancellery in Liao. His advancement follows the rebellion led by YeLu NieLuGu, Prince of Chu, and his father YeLu ZhongYuan, the emperor’s uncle and supreme commander. The crisis grows out of an older succession settlement: YeLu LongXu had designated his eldest son YeLu ZongZhen to succeed him, although the empress favored the younger YeLu ZhongYuan. ZhongYuan ultimately supported his brother rather than taking the throne, and ZongZhen later placed him next in succession. After ZongZhen’s death, however, the throne passed to his son YeLu HongJi.

YeLu HongJi tried to secure his uncle’s loyalty with rank, military authority, and exceptional privileges, while also giving YeLu ZhongYuan’s son control of the Southern Chancellery. The arrangement made ZhongYuan exceptionally powerful, but it could not prevent his son from rebelling. When a relay of bugle calls announced unrest in the capital, YeLu HongJi ordered an immediate return. A subsequent edict declared him a false emperor and presented his uncle as the rightful ruler. Facing a force of 500,000, against the roughly 100,000 troops with him, HongJi had reason to fear that military numbers and the edict’s claim to legitimacy would turn his own army against him.

Loyalty in the Rebellion

Qiao Feng considers leaving with AhZi when YeLu HongJi offers him an official post, but he stays because abandoning his sworn brother during the crisis would violate their bond. At the camp, he hears soldiers grieving over the families they fear have been left vulnerable in the capital. Their distress spreads through the ranks, revealing that the crisis threatens not only the throne but also the soldiers’ sense of security and commitment.

The next morning, YeLu HongJi learns that his uncle and cousin are advancing with 500,000 troops. He chooses to fight rather than retreat, promises promotion and rewards after the crisis, and personally leads his forces in golden armor. Qiao Feng rides beside him with a bow and spear as his personal bodyguard; AhZi travels behind the army under the protection of the Flying Bear troops. The emperor’s presence restores some of the soldiers’ courage, but Qiao Feng sees that HongJi remains unsure of victory.

After Qiao Feng captures the royal emperor uncle, the rebel troops lose their leader and lay down their weapons. YeLu HongJi responds with relief and embraces Qiao Feng, offering to share his country with him. Qiao Feng advises pardoning the uncle to settle the army’s morale, putting the immediate need for stability ahead of vengeance. HongJi follows that counsel and appoints Qiao Feng Prince of Chu and Lord of the Southern Chancellery, ordering him to lead the rebel army back to the capital. The appointment gives Qiao Feng extraordinary authority, although he says he neither sought prestige nor wishes to serve as an official.

Office, Exile, and the Southern Campaign

Qiao Feng’s reluctance becomes more difficult to sustain when the duties of his office are made explicit. After more than a month spent receiving tribal chiefs, officers, and foreign envoys bearing gifts, he is summoned by YeLu HongJi. The emperor tells him to establish himself in Nanjing and remain ready to lead an invasion of Song when political disorder creates an opportunity. HongJi argues that Song is currently governed by an empress dowager and managed by Sima Guang, so Liao should wait rather than attack immediately.

Qiao Feng accepts the order, but the assignment sharpens the conflict in his loyalties. He is a Liao subject, yet he grew up in southern Song and is deeply reluctant to conquer it. He reasons that resigning immediately would dishonor YeLu HongJi’s regard for their brotherhood, and decides to go first to Nanjing, expecting eventually to ask for release from office. The story thus places him between personal allegiance to the Liao emperor and attachment to the country against which that emperor may send him.

Nanjing, also called Yanjing, is presented as both a military prize and a place of cultural familiarity for Qiao Feng. The account traces Liao’s possession of the sixteen prefectures to Shi JingTang’s cession of them in return for Liao support. Their strategic position allowed Liao to penetrate deep into Song territory, while Song’s repeated attempts to recover them failed. In the city, Qiao Feng and AhZi find broad streets, busy markets and restaurants, and passersby speaking the language of the Central Plains. They enjoy exploring its streets and markets, even as Qiao Feng’s new office binds him to the prospect of a southern war.

A Reputation Still Out of Date

The distance between Qiao Feng’s actual position and the Beggar Clan’s understanding of it drives the later encounter with You TanZhi. Hearing the temple conversation, You TanZhi realizes that the clan is searching for Qiao Feng but does not know that he is Lord of the Southern Chancellery. He plans to reveal the information and join the effort to kill him, whom he regards as a traitor. His thought of returning to Nanjing also brings AhZi to mind, linking his hostility toward Qiao Feng with his fixation on her.

The misinformation persists when the Beggar Clan gathers at the Hall of Great Wisdom. Ding Chunqiu, immobilized by a python after coming to the clan’s gathering, demands to see Qiao Feng, apparently believing that he can be found among the clan. The scene confirms that knowledge of Qiao Feng’s Liao office has not reached the martial world: he has moved from clan leadership into imperial command, but his old political identity continues to shape the questions, schemes, and expectations of those who seek him.