Chapter 676: My Mind Is Made Up

Prince Ning’s former subordinates.

For everyone present, those words stabbed straight into the heart.

Shang Jianxiong in particular felt as though a breath had lodged painfully in his chest.

Why had he carried out that great purge all those years ago?

Because what he feared most was precisely this kind of loss of control.

Yet the purge had never been thorough enough, and now the very situation he had least wanted to see had still appeared. Prince Ning’s old men had gathered together and become a threat once more.

Shang Jianxiong hated it.

His resentment toward the three major sects had sunk even deeper into his bones.

Had those three sects not restrained him, how could the purge back then have been left incomplete?

Of course, looked at another way, the purge had succeeded at all only because he had relied on the strength of those same three major sects. Otherwise, faced with a group of generals holding real military power, he would have had neither the means nor the courage to move against them.

But Shang Jianxiong would never remember the good the three sects had done for him.

He remembered only the part he resented.

What pained him still more was that after matters had reached this stage, he no longer dared strip Shang Chaozong of military authority again.

He did not dare lightly issue that decree.

Just then, Chief Steward Tian Yu hurried inside and reported, “Your Majesty, Gong Lince, Sect Leader of Zijin Cave, has already departed personally for the front to find Meng Shanming.”

With the situation in this state and the imperial court’s military forces slipping beyond control, the court naturally had to ask the three major sects to step in.

Tong Mo nodded when he heard this.

“I hope Cave Master Gong can settle the matter.”

Shang Jianxiong said heavily, “We cannot place all our hopes on the three major sects. We must prepare on two fronts.”

“Transmit a secret decree. Order the forces assembled in the north to prepare themselves. If the three major sects fail to resolve this, immediately transfer part of those troops south to reinforce the capital.”

As Grand Marshal, Shang Yongzhong had no choice but to offer a warning.

“Your Majesty, once troops are drawn from the northern concentration, the defensive line will loosen. Han’s army could attack at any moment!”

Shang Jianxiong exploded.

He grabbed the paperweight from the desk and hurled it.

“Isn’t all of this the work of a fool like you? If you had not let Wu Gongling escape, how could we be suffering these consequences now?”

The paperweight struck Shang Yongzhong’s shoulder with a smack before falling to the floor.

Shang Yongzhong had wanted to dodge, but he had not dared.

Pain made the muscles of his face twitch.

He did not dare say another word.

Inside, however, he felt bitterly aggrieved.

People said that times of peace belonged to civil officials and times of war belonged to military men.

Yet even Shang Yongzhong himself felt suffocated by the way he was forced to serve as Grand Marshal.

Tong Mo and Gao Jiancheng exchanged a glance.

Both understood the Emperor’s feelings.

If the capital fell, and if he could no longer command the court’s armies to return and save it, the damage to Shang Jianxiong’s prestige would be almost unimaginable.

More than that, Yanjing’s position was simply too important to lose.

If they truly reached the point where the capital had to be abandoned, there was first the question of whether the countless officials of every rank and their dependents could simply be discarded.

Then there were the uncounted consorts in the Emperor’s rear palace.

If those women fell into the hands of a chaotic enemy army, it was not difficult to imagine what they might suffer.

How could the Emperor endure that humiliation?

But surely they could not abandon the court officials and flee carrying only a crowd of imperial consorts.

If Shang Jianxiong threw away great numbers of court officials but kept only his women, then he would truly be choosing beauties over his realm.

Once he left like that, there would be no coming back.

Without the support of the officials below, could an Emperor and a handful of senior ministers possibly control all of Great Yan?

Of course, for men like Tong Mo and Gao Jiancheng, who ranked among the Three Excellencies and stood at the very top of the court, if evacuation truly became unavoidable, the imperial court would find some way to take their families out as well.

Whether the same could be said for lesser officials was another question entirely.

The present problem was that they could not openly tell Yanjing’s officials to start sending their families away beforehand.

The common people were not blind.

If so many official households began moving their dependents out of the capital, how could no one notice?

The consequences would be disastrous.

The capital would plunge into complete chaos before the enemy army even arrived.

That was the difficulty of ruling a great household.

The larger the establishment, the more concerns pressed in from every direction.

Song’s army was driving straight toward Yanjing.

The fear it brought upon the Yan court was difficult to describe.

Luo Zhao’s strategy had struck directly at Great Yan’s softest point.

...

After Meng Shanming ordered the withdrawal and abandoned attempts to stop Song, the Song army encountered almost no meaningful obstruction as it marched through Yan.

There were still minor annoyances.

The troops left behind in Yan’s various provinces and prefectures harassed them constantly, digging up roads, blocking routes, breaking bridges, and using every method they could think of to delay Song’s advance.

But delay was all they could achieve.

They could not stop the army.

During one temporary halt, an empty relay station abandoned by everyone around it became the army’s makeshift command post.

Ever since the Myriad Beasts Sect had developed messenger Goldenwings for sale, the importance of relay stations between the various states had declined greatly.

Cooking smoke rose from inside the station.

In the main hall, Luo Zhao stood before a newly hung map, his mood somewhat heavy.

Meng Shanming’s latest move had caught him off guard.

Su Yuanbai, Dong Yinglai, and Chang Fei all glanced toward the entrance when Wen You came striding in.

Wen You gave the three a slight nod, then approached Luo Zhao and reported, “Our scouts have sent word. Meng Shanming truly is withdrawing Yan’s forces.”

“He has gathered three million men and reorganized the army into five columns. All five are withdrawing toward the Dongyu River.”

The Dongyu River was the great river that formed the boundary between Yan and Song.

The moment they heard this, Su Yuanbai, Dong Yinglai, and Chang Fei could no longer remain seated. All three put down their teacups and rose.

Wen You continued, “Scouts along the Dongyu River report that Yan’s troops are felling trees on a massive scale and binding them into rafts. They are plainly preparing the army to cross the river.”

“It appears Meng Shanming intends to abandon any attempt to reinforce Yanjing and instead attack Great Song.”

Su Yuanbai asked, “Can Meng Shanming truly sit by and watch Yanjing fall?”

“Ah!” Luo Zhao suddenly sighed, staring at the map.

“I underestimated Meng Shanming’s influence inside Yan.”

“I never imagined he could bring Yan’s armies under control so quickly.”

“The moment he took over, he seized their advance and retreat in his own hands and began directing them as easily as moving his own arm.”

“Yan was in such disorder, with military morale scattered, yet he gathered those forces together again almost instantly.”

“That old fellow truly is extraordinary.”

Dong Yinglai asked, “Didn’t the Grand Commander-in-Chief say the Yan court would desperately order him to reinforce the capital and intercept our army, forcing him to exhaust himself running back and forth?”

“That much is certain,” Luo Zhao replied.

“The internal conditions of the various courts are broadly the same. The only real difference is how well each ruler controls and balances the factions beneath him.”

“Every court has its share of selfish men who think first of preserving themselves when disaster comes. Why would such men care whether the soldiers below live or die?”

“In their eyes, if even they themselves cannot be preserved, then what meaning is there in the lives of the soldiers?”

“So the Yan court will certainly send decree after decree urging Meng Shanming to pursue and intercept us.”

He paused.

Then, still staring at the map, he slowly shook his head.

“But according to my previous judgment, Meng Shanming should have had no choice but to obey the court. He should have been forced to race about until we exhausted him to death.”

“I truly did not expect him to seize military authority so quickly.”

“Judging from his present actions, he is unquestionably relying on military power to resist the Yan court’s decrees.”

“He already understands where life and death lie. He is unlikely to obey them any longer.”

“I expect he means to act on the old principle that a general in the field does not always obey the sovereign’s command.”

“My plan to keep him running until he was exhausted is probably finished. He simply refuses to play that game.”

“That old fellow’s methods on a battlefield truly are seasoned and ruthless.”

Chang Fei said heavily, “If he truly breaks into Song, that will be serious trouble. Should our army turn back and attack him?”

Wen You shook his head.

“Not appropriate.”

“If we turn back now, we will fall directly into Meng Shanming’s scheme.”

“We would relieve the danger hanging over Yanjing and, worse, prove that Meng Shanming was right to resist the imperial court’s orders.”

“That must be exactly what he wants.”

Luo Zhao gave a slight nod.

This was precisely the dilemma before him.

He had never expected that even amid Yan’s disorder, Meng Shanming would seize control of the armies so quickly.

With a single order withdrawing the forces engaged with Song, the old man had immediately placed Luo Zhao in a difficult position.

In the end, Luo Zhao’s miscalculation came down to one thing.

He had never imagined Meng Shanming could take hold of Yan’s armies so quickly.

The man had been separated from Great Yan’s military authority for many years.

He was also a crippled old man.

He had returned to face regional lords who held armies for their own interests, together with court forces that had never belonged to his faction.

Yet the moment he appeared, the winds and clouds seemed to gather into his hands.

In the blink of an eye, he had once again seized the initiative over Yan’s military forces.

Someone outside the military could never fully appreciate what that meant.

For men who had spent long years among armies, the feat was genuinely astonishing.

Luo Zhao had never dreamed of such a thing beforehand.

Even with the fact now plainly before his eyes, he still found it difficult to imagine.

Chang Fei looked toward Wen You.

“Are we supposed to let Meng Shanming attack Great Song, then?”

Luo Zhao gave a cold laugh.

“Great Song is not so easy to invade.”

“Would our army have marched out without arranging the defense of our rear?”

“Two million heavily armed troops are deployed along the Dongyu River, holding advantageous terrain.”

“The great river itself is difficult to cross.”

“Facing such resistance, does anyone believe Meng Shanming can easily break through our line with three million men?”

Su Yuanbai looked puzzled.

“If the Grand Commander-in-Chief is so confident, why do you still look hesitant before the map?”

Luo Zhao waved a hand.

“I am not hesitating. I am calculating how much longer Meng Shanming’s grain can last.”

“That will determine whether our army continues with the original plan or turns back to attack him.”

“Oh?” Su Yuanbai said. “Then has the Grand Commander-in-Chief reached a decision?”

Luo Zhao’s gaze returned to the map.

Once again, he carefully examined the Song defenses stretched along the Dongyu River.

He considered them repeatedly, again and again rehearsing attack and defense in his mind.

Then he fell silent.

He stood there without moving for nearly an hour.

The others knew he was making a major decision and thinking with extreme care.

No one dared speak and interrupt him.

They waited quietly nearby.

At last Luo Zhao let out a long breath.

His eyes became firm.

“The grain in Meng Shanming’s hands will not last ten days.”

“Our heavily defended river line is not made of paper.”

“I have gone over the possibilities repeatedly. No matter how capable Meng Shanming may be, I refuse to believe our defensive line cannot hold for even ten days.”

“This move of his is probably still meant to lure our army back and relieve Yanjing.”

He turned and looked at the others.

“A war between states is ultimately a contest of national strength.”

“Grain is Yan’s fatal weakness!”

“If Meng Shanming attacks for too long without breaking through, his provisions will be exhausted. His army will collapse without even needing us to defeat it in battle.”

“Why should we turn back?”

“If we withdraw now, we would instead be falling into his scheme.”

“Once we let him succeed, it would be the same as proving to Yanjing that his strategy was correct.”

“That would give him still greater independence from the court and make it even easier for him to control the imperial forces.”

“Turning our army back against a force like that would only make things harder for us.”

“We should continue advancing on Yanjing and continue applying pressure there.”

“Yan itself is no longer our primary concern.”

“Our important strategic objective remains the same: force Han to enter the war!”

Smack!

He slapped one palm against the map on the wall.

His words rang with finality.

“My mind is made up.”

“We will not let Meng Shanming lead us around by the nose.”

“The army continues forward.”

“The plan to drive straight for Yanjing remains unchanged!”

[End of Chapter 676]