Chapter 1393: Rebel and Traitor

"The two armies are now locked in a stalemate. Our forces cannot break through the enemy's defenses, and they too are wary and dare not act rashly. Gao Pin is dragging things out and waiting for change, hoping to let internal chaos erupt in Qi and then finish everything in a single battle! And am I not also dragging things out and waiting for change? Am I not also hoping to settle everything in one decisive battle? Two of the Nine Saints are gone, Misty Pavilion is in turmoil, and signs of a great upheaval beneath Heaven have already appeared. As events brew and reverse, the winds will rise and the clouds surge without end! A storm may strike at any moment. Thunder rolls without regard for living beings, and at any time it may affect the fortunes of the states and drag the battlefield along with it. At such a difficult moment, after finally waiting until great change is imminent, whoever can hold out longer may be the one who settles everything in a single battle! For that reason, Luo Zhao and I ordered the armies of Qi and Qin to cut their expenditures and stretch one day's grain into two. All of it was so we could endure, drag things out, and wait for change—holding the stalemate while watching for the moment of the decisive battle. But you people! Your heads get hot, you slap your asses, and suddenly you create an enormous civil upheaval and hand Jin exactly what it wants! Are all of you so uncomfortable unless you make a show of how thoroughly the Three Great Sects control Qi? Fine! Make trouble! Keep making trouble! I'd like to see how you clean this up!"

The rebuke was merciless. Every word seemed soaked in blood and tears, nearly a lament, punctuated by Huyan Wuhen pounding his chest again and again. His grief and fury were truly boundless.

The expressions of the Three Great Sects' elders changed completely. They had been cursed until they scarcely knew where to put themselves. Yet they understood Huyan Wuhen's meaning now and recognized that every word made sense. They also realized their sects seemed to have done something monumentally foolish.

The Tianhuo Sect elder asked uneasily, "Supreme General, please calm your anger. Is it still possible to rearrange matters now according to the Supreme General's proposal?"

"A pack of fools. Get out!" Huyan Wuhen pointed toward the tent entrance and showed them no courtesy at all. Nor was he in any mood to.

In ordinary times, he would never casually discuss the succession to the imperial throne. Today, he had spoken of it openly.

In ordinary times, he would likewise never discuss the Nine Saints in public. Today, he had spoken of them too.

What he could not understand was this: he held command over enormous military forces. Yet before the Three Great Sects created such a calamity, they had not even given him a warning. They had not left him the slightest chance to stop them, and only afterward had they come asking for his attitude. He had nearly coughed blood from anger.

What he did not know was that the Three Great Sects had acted precisely because they feared he would stop them.

Instinctively, the Three Great Sects wanted to create a situation and then let Huyan Wuhen choose within it, rather than allow Huyan Wuhen to control the situation and leave the Three Great Sects with no choice.

The three elders still wanted to ask for his advice, but Zha Hu had already stepped forward. He pushed and shoved them repeatedly until he had driven all three out of the command tent.

Even so, Zha Hu knew Huyan Wuhen's army still required the cooperation of cultivators from the Three Great Sects. Once outside, he gave them a word of reassurance. "The Supreme General is still furious. Perhaps it would be better to wait until his anger subsides and he has calmed down before making a decision."

The three elders thought this over and found it reasonable. The Xuanbing Sect elder said, "Very well. Zha Hu, persuade the Supreme General. Don't let his anger damage his health."

Zha Hu nodded. "I understand."

"Ah!" The three finally shook their heads and left, all somewhat dispirited. Inwardly, they too were grumbling that their sects had not discussed matters with this side beforehand.

When Zha Hu returned to the tent, Huyan Wuhen had already slumped into a chair with his eyes closed.

Zha Hu stood silently for a while, then poured tea and placed it beside the table. Softly, he said, "They asked for a plan just now. If matters were handled according to the General's proposal, using the imperial throne as bait to make all the princes work together against the external enemy, could that still be done?"

Huyan Wuhen kept his eyes closed. His voice sounded drained. "What does it mean to join hearts and strength? The officials loyal to His Majesty would stake their lives. Every force the imperial princes have cultivated openly and secretly would be mobilized to stake their lives. Court and country, inside and out, all of Qi would exert itself in the same direction. Only then could it be called joining hearts and strength. Do you think that is still possible now? After what they have done to His Majesty, if His Majesty came back out and reclaimed power, it would be strange if he didn't bare his fangs. I'm afraid the first thing he would do would be something even a tiger would not do to its cubs. Prince Yu would be the first who could never escape. Of all the civil and military officials and army commanders who have sided with Prince Yu at a moment like this, which one would not be afraid? Which one would dare let His Majesty regain control? Join hearts and strength? The moment you let the tiger out of its cage, there'll be no joining of hearts and strength. You will see them slaughter one another instead."

Zha Hu sighed at the words.

It was indeed so.

The wood had already been made into a boat; spilled water could not be gathered again.

Yet there was something he did not understand. He ventured, "General, if you already had such a fine strategy in mind, why did you not offer it earlier? Now that things have reached this point, don't you regret it?"

Huyan Wuhen slowly opened his eyes and sighed. "Tiger, you've followed me for so many years. Don't you understand by now? I had my concerns. A fine strategy? What kind of fine strategy would this be from His Majesty's point of view? Using His Majesty's throne as a reward—once the Three Great Sects publicly declared such a thing, then the matter would be settled! Who would dare casually propose a plan that requires His Majesty to surrender the throne? Even if someone did, His Majesty would never cooperate smoothly. And without his cooperation, where would that united effort come from? The time had not yet come, so it was inconvenient for me to speak. I was waiting. I wanted to wait until the situation deteriorated further, until His Majesty had no choice but to accept it, until everything flowed naturally and the timing was ripe. At that point, putting forward this strategy would have followed as naturally as water running down a channel. Who could have imagined it? Who could have imagined the Three Great Sects would suddenly create something like this? I'm afraid we may not live to see the day when that great upheaval beneath Heaven arrives. Regret comes too late now! Tiger... I truly am old. I am no longer the Huyan Wuhen of those years. An invisible rope has already bound me. I look ahead and behind, hesitate when I should decide. For a commander, there is no greater taboo. Sometimes I truly envy Meng Shanming and Gao Pin. In Meng Shanming's eyes there is only victory or defeat on the battlefield. He is the purest and sharpest kind of battlefield commander. Give him a strategic objective, and all the branches and leaves around it cannot restrain him. Perhaps being a crippled old bachelor isn't so bad after all. And Gao Pin... Taishu Xiong possesses extraordinary boldness. Taishu Xiong's wholehearted support made Gao Pin what he is today. Gao Pin encountered an enlightened ruler! For Jin to have reached where it stands today, the true merit does not lie in how capable its subordinates are. The man who deserves the greatest credit is Taishu Xiong himself. I look forward to it. I hope I can live to see the day Meng Shanming and Gao Pin decide victory and defeat against one another."

The corner of Zha Hu's mouth twitched.

What did he mean, hoping to see Meng Shanming and Gao Pin face each other?

If that day truly arrived, would it not mean both Qi and Qin were already finished? There would be no room left for them to sit around and watch the excitement.

The words also carried a thick sense of desolation at the end of the road.

Zha Hu knew this man had never said anything that might shake military morale. Hearing such words from him now inevitably made his heart tighten. He immediately tried to encourage him. "General, don't lose heart. As long as the General is here, it isn't that crippled old fellow Meng Shanming's turn to take the field."

Huyan Wuhen's face was wooden, without any trace of the imposing anger he had shown while berating the Three Great Sects' elders. "Chaos rises everywhere because I, Huyan Wuhen, am incapable. Perhaps Qi's allotted fate has run out. Qi cannot withstand being tossed about like this anymore. Tiger... the greater trend is already lost!"

Zha Hu hurriedly said, "It hasn't reached that point. It hasn't. Until the very end, no one knows what the result will be."

Huyan Wuhen seemed to be speaking to himself. "The rebels are running rampant. They must be suppressed as soon as possible! The Three Great Sects are waiting. Prince Yu is waiting. The entire court, high and low, is craning its neck for an answer. If I refuse, how are all those officials throughout the court who have already chosen a side supposed to conduct themselves? I'm afraid Jin's strategy of attacking people's hearts would break them in an instant. Qi cannot bear those consequences. Send back the reply. My army is willing to obey the decrees of the Three Great Sects and Prince Yu."

Zha Hu nodded faintly. "I'm afraid that is the only thing we can do."

Huyan Wuhen suddenly leaned back in the chair and lifted his face toward the sky with a long sigh. "I never imagined that I, Huyan Wuhen, would one day become a rebel and traitor. My son married Prince Yu's younger sister. If I support Prince Yu's usurpation, won't that seem perfectly natural to everyone? A rebel and traitor... I'm afraid in the brothers' eyes I will become nothing more than a petty man chasing profit. With what face can I still stand before them in righteous certainty and order them to bleed and die?"

Zha Hu knew this was precisely what Huyan Wuhen had spent his whole life trying to avoid. Even when Hao Yuntu and his brothers slaughtered one another for the throne, Huyan Wuhen had remained neutral throughout.

He tried to comfort him. "No. The brothers all know what kind of man the General is..."

He abruptly stopped.

Tears were already shining in Huyan Wuhen's eyes.

A handkerchief was unfolded.

Leaning back and staring upward, Huyan Wuhen covered his face with the white cloth. Both arms dropped weakly at his sides.

Slowly, dark patches spread across the cloth.

They were tears.

Beneath the white handkerchief, the old general's tears were already flowing freely.

"Mmm... mmm..."

At last, muffled sobs escaped from beneath the cloth. His fists clenched. His body trembled. He seemed to be fighting desperately to suppress the sound, yet his emotions would not obey him.

The integrity he had upheld for an entire lifetime seemed to turn to nothing in that moment. The name of rebel and traitor destroyed a lifetime of honor at one stroke. He no longer felt he could face anyone with a clear conscience.

The sight chilled Zha Hu's heart.

Never in all the years he had known this old general, who had spent his life amid armies and battlefields, had he seen him cry like this.

No one outside the tent could possibly imagine such a scene was unfolding within.

Zha Hu knew Huyan Wuhen must be suffering unbearably, but he did not try to stop him again. If it hurt this much, perhaps it was better to let it out.

He turned and left, lowered the tent flap at the entrance, then waved the guards outside away.

Even so, the faint, increasingly uncontrollable sobs that Huyan Wuhen was trying desperately to suppress could still be heard from within.

Listening, Zha Hu felt terrible as well.

He raised his head toward the sky and let out a long sigh.

...

Huyan Wuhen's reply finally reached the capital.

The hearts of the Three Great Sects settled.

Prince Yu Hao Hong's heart settled.

The court, from top to bottom, also let out a collective breath.

But the Three Great Sects could not truly feel happy, especially their Sect Leaders. After receiving the reports sent by the elders with the army and learning Huyan Wuhen's strategy, they too realized they had done something foolish.

Naturally, they did not blame themselves.

The deed had already been done. They were hardly going to take responsibility for it.

They could only secretly blame Huyan Wuhen instead: if he had such a fine plan, why had he not offered it earlier? Otherwise, how could matters have reached this point?

They could only grumble inwardly, of course.

At a time like this, none of them would actually rebuke Huyan Wuhen.

Huyan Wuhen also raised a condition.

For Hao Yuntu to abdicate now would have far too great an impact. In order to minimize the disturbance to the overall situation, the nominal title of "Emperor" should not be moved lightly.

In other words, Hao Yuntu was still to retain the empty name of Emperor.

Huyan Wuhen was using the influence granted by his command of the armies to preserve Hao Yuntu as much as possible. At the very least, he did not want his own submission to result directly in Hao Yuntu being completely deposed.

It was also his way of preserving what remained of their bond as ruler and minister.

Since Hao Yuntu had ascended the throne, he had never treated Huyan Wuhen harshly.

This could be counted as Huyan Wuhen's repayment.

The Three Great Sects readily agreed.

But neither would they simply do whatever Huyan Wuhen said.

What face would that leave them?

So the Three Great Sects added something of their own.

They forged an imperial edict proclaiming Prince Yu Hao Hong Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince would oversee the state as Regent and take overall charge of all military and civil affairs of Qi!

[End of Chapter 1393]