Chapter 709: Monkey, Don't Make Things Difficult for Us!

When word came that Yanjing had held and the Song army had been driven back, the noble ladies of the imperial harem were overjoyed. Many embraced one another and wept tears of relief.

Nearly all those crying were consorts of relatively low rank. The women beneath even them had already been disposed of earlier. Had the city fallen, these women knew perfectly well whose lives would be the first to go. Preserving Yanjing was the same as preserving their lives.

The terror, the fear, was finally over.

Once, they had considered entry into this place the highest of honors.

Now they had learned the lesson deeply: when storms raged beyond the palace walls, women like them, dependent upon those towering walls, had no control over their own fate. They were lambs awaiting slaughter.

...

"The Song army withdrew..."

Beneath a vast sky, with army camps stretching across the broad earth, Meng Shanming sat in his wheelchair outside the central command tent and murmured the words softly.

"Yes, they withdrew. Your judgment was right, Marshal Meng. They did not even last seven or eight days." Gong Lince sighed with heartfelt admiration beside him. Even now, he had not fully worked out all the causal links involved. He could only admire the old veteran's seasoned eye. Meng Shanming had read the battlefield with frightening precision.

Meng Shanming, however, cared about something else. "How many men did the Song army lose in the siege?"

Gong Lince glanced at the report from the capital in his hand. "From the approximate count while clearing the corpses, about one hundred and eighty thousand."

"One hundred and eighty thousand..." Meng Shanming murmured again, a trace of melancholy passing through his eyes.

The Song army had withdrawn after losing only one hundred and eighty thousand men, without even taking Yanjing. The result disappointed him greatly. He had estimated that if Yanjing exhausted every resource in resisting, it should consume at least five hundred thousand Song troops. From the reports now coming in, they had fallen far short of that.

For the moment, Yan appeared to have gained the upper hand. But had Yan truly won?

So long as those people in Yanjing remained, no matter how desperately Yan's armies fought, all they could do was keep the state gasping a little longer.

What did it matter if they fought and fought and won this battle? It only meant more sons of Yan dying for nothing. It only meant Yan's common people paying such a bloody and bitter price for nothing. Nothing fundamental had changed.

Winning this battle would only make Yan die more slowly.

So had they won? If the Song army failed to breach Yanjing, then Yan had lost—and lost terribly.

And Shang Chaozong had even led Nanzhou's forces to harass the Song army while it attacked the capital. When the news arrived that one hundred thousand iron cavalry were disrupting the siege, no outsider could have imagined the torment in Meng Shanming's heart.

Now the Song army had withdrawn so easily. A despair born of seeing no hope filled his entire body and mind, yet there was no one to whom he could voice the grief in his heart.

The concealed strategic objective he had hoped to achieve through this war had failed.

Therefore, he had lost.

But what could he do? He still had to lead this army onward and fight with everything it had, fighting for that invisible hope. If he stopped fighting, Yan would not even be able to keep gasping for breath.

Gong Lince sensed the indescribable air emanating from him and asked in puzzlement, "Marshal Meng, what is it?"

Meng Shanming sighed softly. "Luo Zhao reacted quickly. He withdrew before I could wear down enough of his strength. I underestimated him."

So that was it. Gong Lince sighed as well. "To have become Grand Commander-in-Chief of Song at such a young age, he must possess some ability. But with Marshal Meng here, surely a boy like Luo Zhao is nothing to fear."

Meng Shanming's gaze was dim. His graying hair and beard stirred in the wind, his thin figure in the wheelchair looking extraordinarily desolate.

...

A large flying mount descended from the sky and landed deep within an endless forest.

Yuan Gang had arrived with Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang. With the Three-Roars Saber on his back, he led the two men over to Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao stood beneath a tree with one hand resting on his sword and met Yuan Gang's eyes. Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang saluted together. "Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao gave a slight nod, his gaze still fixed on Yuan Gang. Slowly, he asked, "Why are you here?"

Yuan Gang said, "I should have come long ago."

Niu Youdao's brows drew together. He understood what Yuan Gang meant, because he knew Yuan Gang too well.

The reason he had not kept Yuan Gang at his side before was precisely because he did not want him too close to the battlefield. He was afraid the man's blood would start burning and he would be unable to resist taking up his saber and joining the fight.

Now Yuan Gang had come first and left permission for afterward. Most likely, as more and more battlefield reports reached him, he had finally been unable to hold himself back.

Niu Youdao gave him two words. "Go back."

Yuan Gang said, "I only want to see a battlefield on this scale for myself. Let me go to Meng Shanming. Nothing will happen to me at his side."

Niu Youdao said, "No."

Yuan Gang said, "Master Dao, if you do this, what are other people supposed to think?"

Niu Youdao answered without the slightest concession. "I said no. That means no."

What kind of joke was this? A battlefield on this scale, a war this enormous, was a clash between two states. Both sides had brought out experts and capable men of every sort. Any number of strange, unpredictable things could happen. So many powerful cultivators had already fallen. Since when was it Yuan Gang's turn to go showing off?

Niu Youdao did not believe a word of Yuan Gang's assurance. Yuan Gang was the kind of man who, once his blood was up, would gladly throw away his life and spill his blood. A promise made while calm meant nothing once that happened.

Especially if he went to Meng Shanming. Meng Shanming and the others had had their eyes on Yuan Gang for a long time. They had wanted him on the battlefield for ages, wanted to put him to the test and see what he was really made of. Niu Youdao had always held them off, and he was not about to agree now.

In this world, the two of them were all each other had.

Yuan Gang said, "Master Dao, you said you wouldn't interfere with my freedom."

Niu Youdao replied, "Anything else, I can agree to. Not this."

Yuan Gang said, "Since I'm already here, I'm not going back." With that, he turned and walked away, intending to find Meng Shanming on his own.

Niu Youdao spoke one word at a time. "Try it." He lifted one hand from the sword and made a gesture.

Uncle Chen and the others from Fufang Garden flashed out of the forest behind them and surrounded Yuan Gang.

Yin'er also wandered out from among the trees with a large sack hanging from her body. She reached into it, pulled out a chicken leg, and watched while taking bites from it, blinking curiously.

Guan Fangyi, Duan Hu, and the others looked at one another. It was the first time they had ever seen these two brothers on the verge of falling out.

Surrounded, Yuan Gang slowly turned. He looked around at the people encircling him, then gradually fixed his gaze on Niu Youdao. "Master Dao!"

"Keep him under watch. Without my permission, he is not to leave. If anyone dares grow careless, my sword thirsts for blood too." Niu Youdao left those words behind, turned, and disappeared deeper into the forest.

Yuan Gang's jaw tightened. He had nothing to say.

Old Second Wu sighed. "Monkey, don't make things difficult for us!"

...

Two large flying mounts, inspected while still in the air, descended into the Myriad Beasts Sect.

Chao Shenghuai, the grandson of Elder Chao of the Myriad Beasts Sect, had returned. More precisely, he had been sent back personally by Jia Wuqun, trusted strategist to the Chancellor of Song.

There was no helping it. They were asking a favor of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Continuing to detain the grandson of one of its elders would have been difficult to justify. Jia Wuqun bringing the man back personally also served as a gesture of sincerity.

Besides, Chao Shenghuai was no longer of much use to the court. For the Chancellor of Song, having one man released was a simple matter.

Qiu Shan, the Myriad Beasts Sect Elder who came out to receive the visitors, narrowed his eyes sharply the moment he saw Chao Shenghuai. A blade-like gleam flashed through the slits.

Chao Shenghuai instinctively lowered his head and said weakly, "Disciple Chao Shenghuai pays respects to Elder Qiu."

With outsiders present, Qiu Shan said nothing. He merely signaled to a disciple at his side and had Chao Shenghuai taken away first.

Jia Wuqun, who had watched the exchange with a cool eye, smiled. Beaming pleasantly, he waited and said, "Elder Qiu, it has been some years. Forgive my abrupt visit. I hope I have not disturbed you."

"Not at all. Brother Jia arriving without warning truly does make you a rare guest." Qiu Shan cheerfully cupped his hands, then sounded him out. "May I ask what guidance brings Brother Jia here?"

Toward this trusted strategist of Song's Chancellor, he remained courteous and did not dare neglect him.

The Myriad Beasts Sect knew Jia Wuqun's background. His father had once been the resident tutor of the Zi household, a teacher specially retained and supported there for many years. Jia Wuqun had therefore grown up in the Zi residence alongside his father. That environment had given him the chance to read widely, while the Zi household's position had exposed him to things ordinary people could never encounter. In time, he began to reveal an extraordinary side of himself.

Rumor had it that Zi Pingxiu later managed to climb into the chancellorship, then remain secure in that seat for more than twenty years, all because of this man.

In private, outsiders had a name for Jia Wuqun: the Hidden Chancellor.

Whether the claim was true or not, it was enough to show how much influence the man wielded over Chancellor Zi Pingxiu. Naturally, Qiu Shan did not dare slight him.

Jia Wuqun laughed and waved a hand. "I am only an ordinary mortal. How would I dare speak of guidance before people who are practically immortals?"

He glanced back at the departing Chao Shenghuai and sighed with apparent feeling. "The Chancellor felt that the court had gone too far by detaining a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect for so long. It was time the man was released, so he spoke on his behalf and petitioned the court to let him go. In truth, the court was the one that gave offense to the Myriad Beasts Sect. But the court has its face to preserve, and the Myriad Beasts Sect even more so. Therefore the Chancellor specially sent me to apologize in person to your Sect Leader."

At a time like this, sending this man here to apologize? Qiu Shan's eyes flickered slightly. He had a faint idea of what Jia Wuqun had come for, and the man's words clearly were not intended to conceal his purpose completely.

Qiu Shan immediately declined. "Unfortunately, our Sect Leader is in seclusion cultivating. Such a small matter is hardly worth making so much of. In truth, our sect also failed to discipline its disciple properly. It is enough that the man has returned. There is no need to speak of apologies. Brother Jia has come a long way and rarely visits. Today, I must share several cups with you!"

Jia Wuqun waved him off. "There is no need for drinking. Jia has never touched a drop of wine. Ah, it is regrettable that I cannot pay my respects to Sect Leader Xi's transcendent countenance. These are troubled times, as Elder Qiu surely knows. With two states at war, the Chancellor is overwhelmed with affairs, and there are still many miscellaneous matters he needs me to handle. I will take my leave here. Please convey the Chancellor's regards to Sect Leader Xi on his behalf."

Qiu Shan was somewhat surprised. He was leaving just like that?

Qiu Shan had assumed Jia Wuqun would press the troublesome request that had brought him here. Instead, the man was leaving without mentioning it at all, making Qiu Shan wonder whether his judgment had been wrong.

Still, if trouble could be avoided, it was best avoided. He sighed and said, "In that case, affairs of state must come first. I will not keep Brother Jia. We can meet again when the opportunity arises. I will certainly convey the Chancellor's regards. Someone come! Escort Mr. Jia three hundred li on behalf of the Myriad Beasts Sect!"

"No, no. There is no need for such trouble. I am handling confidential affairs and must keep my movements secret." Jia Wuqun waved his hands in refusal.

[End of Chapter 709]