Chapter 678: Shao Dengyun Makes His Move

It was an exceedingly heavy question.

Gong Lince understood exactly what Meng Shanming meant, but some things were not so simple.

Yanjing was the foundation of Shang Jianxiong's power. After ruling Yan for so many years, most of the state's military forces still lay in the hands of Shang Jianxiong's faction. Across most of Yan's territory, the garrisons left behind were likewise controlled by men of his faction.

The three major sects had concerns of their own.

At the same time, they did not want to push Shang Chaozong's faction too hard either. Faced with an external enemy, the court's troops had proved useless. The three sects still needed to rely on Shang Chaozong's side.

What they wanted now was for the imperial court and the regional lords to cooperate with all their strength and weather the crisis together.

That was also why Gong Lince had remained courteous toward Meng Shanming after coming here in person. He hoped to reconcile the contradictions between the two sides.

But reality proved those contradictions could not be reconciled.

One side wanted to preserve Yanjing.

The other wanted to preserve Yan.

On the surface, those two aims sounded as though they did not conflict at all. In the reality of the present situation, however, the conflict between them was enormous.

From the standpoint of the three major sects, preserving Yan naturally came first.

Gong Lince could not tell whether Meng Shanming was merely spinning a story for him.

Yet the difficulties Meng Shanming had laid out were real, and there truly seemed to be no other choice.

With matters having reached this point, the three major sects now had to choose between the two sides.

After hesitating for a time, Gong Lince slowly asked, "Can you keep the court's troops under control?"

The direction in which his attitude was shifting could not have been clearer.

The situation left him little choice.

The interests of the court faction ultimately had to yield to the interests of the three major sects.

That was exactly what Emperor Shang Jianxiong feared. It was why he had said they could not place all their hopes on the three sects and had secretly ordered the northern armies to prepare to reinforce the capital.

Meng Shanming replied, "The remaining grain and fodder are already under the control of the military-law enforcement forces."

Gong Lince's brows lifted slightly.

That one sentence was enough.

Meng Shanming had already seized the lifeline of the court's troops. They could no longer cause much trouble and had no choice but to obey his command.

If Meng Shanming refused to allow them to leave, then even if the imperial court ordered them away, they could not go.

The three major sects had previously worried that Shang Jianxiong might become desperate and order the court's forces into conflict with the regional armies.

Now it seemed they had worried unnecessarily.

Meng Shanming had already taken firm control of the field armies into his own hands.

Gong Lince said, "The Dongyu River is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Without Wu Gongling causing chaos, Song's army could never have entered Yan so easily."

"Conversely, are you confident you can break into Song?"

Meng Shanming replied, "The battlefield changes in ten thousand ways. Anything can happen. No one side can simply arrange everything as it pleases. It also depends on how the enemy commanders respond. No one dares promise success."

"But I know the terrain around the Dongyu River very well."

"The river still runs, the stones have not moved. Things remain; only the people have changed."

"The men are different, but the land is still there and has not changed. We can try. It may not be impossible to break through."

At those words, Gong Lince remembered.

This old marshal was hardly meeting Song's army for the first time.

In his earlier years, he had fought Song repeatedly and had broken into Song territory more than once.

When it came to crossing the Dongyu River, Meng Shanming had experience.

A gleam entered Gong Lince's eyes.

A little confidence returned to him.

Even so, he could not help letting out a long sigh.

"Marshal Meng, you are going to let the enemy run wild through our Great Yan."

Meng Shanming's face remained expressionless.

"Our Great Yan has already been tossed and battered until the household is broken and the pots are cracked. There is little left for Song to ruin."

"Song is different."

"The barefoot have nothing to fear from those wearing shoes. Can Song afford to be ravaged the way Yan has been?"

"If we attack Song, Great Yan still has a chance to recover."

"If we do not, Great Yan is finished."

"Sect Leader Gong, I cannot force the three major sects to choose. Decide as you see fit."

The two continued talking for a long time.

By the end, Meng Shanming had resolved many of Gong Lince's doubts.

At last Gong Lince made his final decision.

He sent messages explaining the situation to Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain.

He did not return himself.

Instead, he prepared to remain with the army in person so he could grasp firsthand developments at any time.

...

With no major force obstructing them, Song's army moved through Yan almost unhindered, driving straight toward Yanjing.

The three major sects not only failed to reverse the situation, they ultimately sided with Shang Chaozong's position instead.

Shang Jianxiong was both shocked and enraged.

Long Xiu, Palace Master of Xiaoyao Palace, and the Sect Leader of Lingjian Mountain even came forward personally to reason with him.

They guaranteed that if the capital truly fell, they would first ensure the timely evacuation of Shang Jianxiong and the important ministers, and would not allow their safety to be threatened.

Shang Jianxiong hesitated.

The people of Tong Mo's faction, however, panicked.

Those who had helped drive the purge of Prince Ning's faction years ago panicked most of all.

Tong Mo and the others immediately exerted themselves to the utmost to influence Shang Jianxiong, filling him with doubt and suspicion.

The more he thought over their words, the more reasonable they seemed.

The attitude of the three major sects was indeed worth pondering.

Had they already shifted toward Shang Chaozong?

Did they intend to replace him with Shang Chaozong?

For Tong Mo and the others, especially those who had dealt ruthlessly with Prince Ning's faction back then, surrendering to an enemy state would still be preferable to allowing Shang Chaozong to take power.

If Shang Chaozong rose to the top and gained control of Yan, then once old accounts were settled, how could they possibly have any road to live?

They would die miserably.

Surrendering to an enemy state, at least, might leave them alive.

The three major sects' apparent shift toward Shang Chaozong had genuinely frightened this group.

But they also knew perfectly well what Shang Jianxiong cared about most.

They struck directly at his weak point.

Under Tong Mo and the others' urging, Shang Jianxiong cast aside the three major sects' advice and secretly issued an order commanding the northern armies to hurry south as reinforcements.

...

Among rolling mountains, inside a cave, Niu Youdao sat cross-legged in quiet cultivation.

Guan Fangyi entered with quick, light steps.

"Here."

She casually tossed a secret letter toward him, then turned away with an unhappy face and left, hips swaying.

There was no other reason.

It was another letter from Yuan Gang, written in characters she could not understand. It definitely had nothing to do with her again.

Niu Youdao slowly opened his eyes, picked up the letter that had fallen before him, and began reading.

He had been calm before reading it.

Once he saw what it said, however, even he could not help giving a series of cold laughs.

He enunciated every word.

"Tong Mo deserves death!"

The letter relayed a message Yuan Gang had received from Gao Jiancheng.

Gao Jiancheng had informed them that Tong Mo and the others were inciting Shang Jianxiong to draw away the northern armies, warning Niu Youdao's side so they could prepare in advance.

Everyone knew the heavy forces in the north were there to guard against Han.

If Han were allowed to enter the conflict now as well, Yan's situation would become unbearable.

Yet for the sake of private grudges, Tong Mo and the others were willing to push the entire State of Yan into the fire pit.

Even Niu Youdao, who usually kept an excellent temper, could not suppress his fury.

Today he had truly seen what it meant to be a traitor to the state.

...

A column of troops hurried along an official road through the mountains.

When they reached a dangerous stretch, a fortified pass appeared between two mountains, occupying the most defensible point.

Easy to defend and difficult to attack, it blocked the road completely.

Its gates were shut tight.

A row of wooden cheval-de-frise barriers stood beneath the walls, with troops guarding them.

An advance officer called toward the pass and demanded that the gates be opened.

No one answered.

The gates remained closed.

A senior general urged his horse forward and shouted, "I am Lu Congsheng, General of Tiger Might! We have urgent military business. Open the gates at once!"

An officer appeared atop the wall and answered, "General Lu, without a handwritten warrant from the Provincial Inspector, no one is permitted to force passage. Please turn back at once."

Lu Congsheng gestured.

One of his subordinates immediately jumped down from his horse, strode to the barriers, and handed a written warrant to a soldier.

The soldier carried it beneath the wall, placed it in a hanging basket, and the document was hauled up to the top of the pass.

The officer on the wall received it and read it.

Then he waved a hand.

"It's false!"

He tore the warrant apart on the spot.

Lu Congsheng stared.

Then he raised his riding crop, pointed toward the wall, and roared, "Outrageous! That is a handwritten travel warrant personally issued by Shao Dengyun. How could it be false? Are you trying to rebel?"

The officer atop the wall ignored him.

He turned and entered the gate tower.

Behind a desk inside sat an old general in battle armor, eyes closed as though resting.

It was Shao Dengyun himself.

The officer hurried to Shao Dengyun's side and whispered a few words into his ear.

Shao Dengyun's tiger eyes opened.

He rose slowly, strode around the desk, left the tower, and came to the battlements.

Looking down at the troops clamoring for the gate to be opened, he shouted, "What is all this noise?"

His voice was powerful and resonant.

Shao Dengyun?

Lu Congsheng froze.

He raised a hand, and the troops beneath him immediately fell silent.

Then he called upward, "Brother Shao, why are you here?"

Shao Dengyun glanced over the long line of troops stretching behind Lu Congsheng until its end could no longer be seen.

He chuckled.

"So it is Brother Lu. Shao happened to be inspecting this area and did not expect to run into you."

"Brother Lu, where are you taking so many men?"

Lu Congsheng called back, "Naturally we have urgent military business."

Then he raised his riding crop and pointed toward the officer beside Shao Dengyun.

"Who is that man? He actually dared tear up Brother Shao's handwritten warrant."

Shao Dengyun chuckled. "A misunderstanding. Merely a misunderstanding."

"I recently issued new orders to the local garrisons and changed the form of the documents used to pass through the checkpoints. The men below are rigid and do not know how to adapt, so there was a misunderstanding."

Lu Congsheng said, "If it was only a misunderstanding, then forget it. I must trouble Brother Shao to make things convenient for my army. Open the pass and let us through."

Shao Dengyun shook his head.

"I am afraid that would not be appropriate."

Lu Congsheng looked surprised.

"Why?"

Shao Dengyun tilted his head slightly.

A cultivator beside him folded a sheet of paper and flicked it toward the ground like an arrow.

One of the retainer cultivators beside Lu Congsheng caught it and passed it over.

Lu Congsheng opened the folded paper.

The moment he read it, he was shocked.

It was an appointment issued by Shang Chaozong, Grand Commander-in-Chief for the Campaign, appointing the Provincial Inspector of Beizhou as military-law enforcement commander for the northern defense line.

Lu Congsheng slowly raised his head and looked toward Shao Dengyun.

Hadn't the Shao family been at odds with Nanzhou?

Uncertainty churned in his heart.

Shao Dengyun had already raised his voice again.

"The Grand Commander-in-Chief has issued an order. Without a military order from the Grand Commander-in-Chief, no force on the front may leave its defensive line without authorization."

"Those who violate the order are to be annihilated on the spot by Beizhou's troops!"

"Brother Lu, you are setting out with such a great force. Do you have an order from the Grand Commander-in-Chief?"

Lu Congsheng answered, "Brother Shao, I will not hide it from you. I received a military order from the imperial court. Surely an order from the Grand Commander-in-Chief cannot outrank the court itself?"

Shao Dengyun gave a cold laugh.

"Brother Lu commands troops as well. How can there be multiple sources of command in wartime?"

"Since you have no order from the Grand Commander-in-Chief, I must ask Brother Lu to return immediately."

"Otherwise, if some misunderstanding occurs, it will be unpleasant for everyone."

He raised one hand and swept it outward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

War drums thundered atop the pass.

Across the walls and along the mountainsides on either flank came a sudden crashing rustle.

Great numbers of soldiers appeared.

Dense ranks of archers drew their bows and aimed down at the troops below.

Some fire arrows had already been lit.

Earthen jars of oil stood ready to be hurled down at any moment.

If an attack began, the mountain road beneath the pass would become a human inferno in the blink of an eye.

Sitting on horseback and looking left and right, Lu Congsheng's face turned green.

There had been no need for Niu Youdao to receive Gao Jiancheng's message and issue a warning.

Shang Chaozong's side had long anticipated that trouble might arise in the north and had already sent Shao Dengyun orders as a precaution.

As for whether Shao Dengyun would obey, Shang Chaozong had possessed no confidence at all.

Fortunately, Shao Dengyun did not disappoint him.

Otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

[End of Chapter 678]