Chapter 176: Fury!

The army’s marching speed had indeed slowed.

If before they had merely been taking it easy, now they were practically strolling.

It was not as though no Qian troops came over to test them, probe them, or make some noise along their flanks.

But without exception, every one of those forces was mercilessly crushed by the Zhenbei Army.

There was little they could do about it.

Commander Li Bao had already fought his way deep into Xishan Commandery. Only a single stretch of territory remained between him and Bianzhou Commandery, the Capital Region of the State of Qian.

The Qian court had already concentrated almost every battle-capable force it could currently mobilize along that front.

No matter what else happened, war was war. Even if the entire north was beaten into chaos, so long as Yan cavalry did not appear beneath the walls of Upper Capital, the Emperor’s dignity, the ministers’ dignity, the civil and military officials’ dignity and their dignity in the histories yet to be written could still be preserved.

As a result, Li Fusheng’s force encountered little more than harassment from garrisons in nearby cities.

And even that required generals and civil officials who still possessed some ambition and backbone.

Most officials were practically one step away from burning incense inside their yamens and praying that the Yan simply would not enter their jurisdiction.

That day, the army made camp at the foot of a mountain.

The mountain was called Lovesick Mountain.

Legend claimed that a divine maiden had once yearned for the mortal world and descended from Heaven, stopping at this mountain. There, she and her mortal lover built a thatched cottage and spent a very long time living the sort of shamelessly intimate life lovers enjoyed.

Later, however, reality proved that her beloved was simply a bastard who had coveted the fairy maiden’s body.

After living together for three years, the man left for the capital to sit the imperial examination.

He placed first.

Then married the daughter of the Chancellor.

The poor fairy maiden remained alone in the mountain, waiting until she finally faded away.

Because of that, Lovesick Mountain also had a peak named Lovesick Peak.

According to legend, the fairy maiden had stood upon that peak day and night, waiting for her lover to return.

“What a... painfully clichéd story.”

Garrison Commander Zheng stood at the foot of the mountain and sighed.

A faithless lover.

A fairy maiden.

The top scholar in the imperial examination.

The Chancellor’s daughter.

Mm.

Apparently, the working people of ancient times simply loved stories that threw all these ingredients together.

“Exactly. Why the hell didn’t that fairy go to the capital and castrate her precious lover?” Xue San agreed.

“Hahahaha.”

Zheng Fan laughed and reached out to rub Xue San’s head.

There was a Buddhist temple on Lovesick Mountain.

The monks there refused to acknowledge the popular legend.

Their explanation was that longing endured long enough would eventually exhaust all worldly attachments, allowing one to sever mortal thoughts and attain true freedom.

Unfortunately, that interpretation clearly could not satisfy the broad masses’ demand for stories and spiritual entertainment.

So the surrounding commoners all preferred the tale of the fairy maiden.

The Buddhist temple therefore had no choice but to continue sitting on a mountain whose principal attraction was effectively a “love story.”

Still the temple enjoyed extremely prosperous incense offerings.

And prosperous meant rich.

So the previous night, Garrison Commander Zheng had personally led troops up the mountain and forcibly persuaded the monks to open the temple gates.

Then he emptied their granaries and treasuries.

The amount of grain and wealth inside had been staggering.

Li Fusheng’s force had already possessed more than enough provisions.

Now its supplies were even more abundant.

Before every meal, Li Fusheng would shout:

“The State of Qian is fucking rich!”

Zheng Fan agreed wholeheartedly.

Compared with Yan territory, only the Three Frontiers of Qian could be described as somewhat harsh and cold.

And truthfully, even that was not especially severe.

After all, those lands were already farther south than the southernmost regions of Yan.

Most of Qian was, in fact, blessed with excellent land and climate.

Among the four great eastern states, Qian unquestionably possessed the best geography.

Yet despite that, peasant uprisings remained extremely frequent.

Back when Zheng Fan was in Yinlang Commandery, he had even encountered Qian refugees illegally crossing the border because they wanted to become Yan subjects.

The divide between rich and poor was simply too extreme.

Some died of drought.

Others drowned in the flood.

This Buddhist temple certainly did not survive merely on donations from pilgrims.

In reality, the temple possessed vast estates and enormous numbers of dependents.

At the same time, Buddhist temples in Qian were exempt from taxation.

On top of that, temples also lent money at usurious rates.

In later generations, if you defaulted on an online loan, the worst outcome might be destroying your credit. If you truly abandoned all shame and became a deadbeat, then encountered officials who preferred smoothing things over, they might not even do much to you.

But if you defaulted on a temple loan the monks seized your fields directly.

Then they helped you sell your sons and daughters.

That was how the temple’s estates had snowballed into such enormous holdings.

Calling them criminal gangs wrapped in religious robes would hardly have been unfair.

Of course, before Yan blades, the monks remained extremely obedient.

At first, they had even tried discussing Buddhist doctrine with Garrison Commander Zheng.

After Liang Cheng cut down two young novices, the monks finally understood the meaning of “worldly possessions.”

They voluntarily opened the storehouses.

Garrison Commander Zheng had handled the entire affair with absolute decisiveness.

He genuinely had nothing to fear.

The Yan Emperor and both Marquises were thoroughgoing unbelievers.

No one was going to punish Garrison Commander Zheng for insulting gods or Buddhas.

At present, the troops were resting again.

In short they were finding increasingly creative ways to waste time.

When Li Fusheng had first heard Zheng Fan’s suggestion, he had acted somewhat awkward about it.

Then, over the following days, his behavior immediately became a perfect example of saying no while his body said yes.

In an open field ahead, a group of soldiers were wrestling.

Using blood and qi was forbidden.

They could rely only on physical strength and technique.

Once blood and qi entered the contest, accidental injuries—or even accidental deaths—became far too likely.

Besides, for a Martial Artist, physical conditioning was every bit as important as blood and qi.

Since ancient times, no one had ever heard of a powerful Martial Artist who was delicate and frail.

After Fan Li entered the ring, he knocked out eight challengers in a row.

There was simply no helping it.

His iron-tower physique alone exerted terrifying pressure.

And Fan Li was not slow or clumsy in the slightest.

Lieutenant Commanders and Assistant Generals had gone up against him.

Even Sun Guyi, a Roaming General, personally entered the ring.

In the end Fan Li threw every one of them out.

Then the big fool reached into his clothes, pulled out a large flatbread, and sat down.

He ate while shouting, “Who else!”

His arrogance was practically overflowing into the sky.

“Ah Li isn’t usually that cocky, is he?” Zheng Fan asked Xue San, who stood beside him.

Fan Li was normally quiet, honest, and dull.

He had almost no desire to perform.

What he was doing today differed far too much from his usual behavior.

Xue San answered, “Master, Ah Li is waiting for you to enter the ring so he can lose to you.”

“............” Zheng Fan.

“Master, hurry up and go,” Xue San urged.

“Forget it.

“Everyone knows he’s one of my Green Willow Fortress men.

“If I go up there and knock him down too, it’ll look ridiculous.”

Xue San froze.

Then nodded thoughtfully.

“Right. The way we’d be showing off is way too shameless.”

Just then a middle-aged-to-elderly man approached.

He had removed his armor and wore a tight robe, with his wrists and ankles bound for movement.

The soldiers surrounding the field instantly erupted in cheers.

The challenger was none other than Li Fusheng!

“Uh...”

Zheng Fan rubbed Xue San’s head and asked with some concern, “Can Fan Li beat him?”

Xue San shook his head.

“He can’t?”

Xue San immediately answered, “No. I mean, generally speaking, unless someone is an absolutely monstrous genius, under equal conditions—if neither side uses blood and qi—Ah Li already has the advantage physically.

“As for combat experience... finding anyone with more than the seven of us would probably be genuinely difficult.”

“So Li Fusheng can’t beat Fan Li?”

“Barring an accident, he probably can’t.”

The moment Li Fusheng entered the center of the ring, the atmosphere exploded.

He smiled at Fan Li and asked, “Who taught you those skills?”

Fan Li wiped his mouth.

Without the slightest hesitation, he shouted in his booming voice, “My Garrison Commander, Lord Zheng, taught me!”

Zheng Fan’s old face immediately flushed red.

“Oh?

“Is that so?”

Li Fusheng looked surprised.

Was there anything Zheng Fan did not know how to do?

Still, now that he had entered the ring, they naturally had to exchange a few moves.

Li Fusheng called to Fan Li, “Come!

“If you can throw me out, I’ll reward you!”

Fan Li rose.

He slammed both fists against his chest.

Then strode directly toward Li Fusheng.

This was a fool who had once wondered whether he should chop even his own Master once just to see what happened.

He certainly was not going to care about Li Fusheng’s status.

Li Fusheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

His body shot forward.

In an instant, he was directly before Fan Li.

Fan Li smashed both hands downward like two enormous wooden mallets.

Not only had he anticipated Li Fusheng’s intention he had seized the initiative and attacked first.

Li Fusheng could only raise both forearms in front of himself.

Bang!

A dull impact sounded.

Fan Li’s fists slammed into Li Fusheng’s arms.

Li Fusheng’s upper body remained perfectly straight.

But his feet slid backward across the ground four or five meters before finally stopping.

Lowering his arms, Li Fusheng looked again at the huge man before him.

Suddenly he noticed a faint, almost imperceptible liveliness in Fan Li’s eyes.

Li Fusheng had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

His combat skills had been tempered long ago.

Yet this giant before him seemed in terms of experience even richer than he was.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Li Fusheng lowered his center of gravity slightly.

Then shot forward again.

As the distance closed—

Li Fusheng pushed off with one leg.

But Fan Li once again seemed to “see through everything.”

He dropped directly onto one knee.

It looked like an utterly bizarre response.

Your opponent attacks and you kneel?

But only Li Fusheng understood that Fan Li had once again read his movement in advance.

Li Fusheng had intended to attack Fan Li’s head directly.

By suddenly kneeling, Fan Li had essentially made him leap at empty air.

Still—

Li Fusheng was Li Fusheng.

He clenched both fists and smashed them down toward Fan Li’s head.

He was confident his speed should exceed Fan Li’s.

But Fan Li did not follow any conventional pattern at all.

His hands suddenly clawed into the ground.

He threw his entire center of gravity forward and smashed his head ahead with the momentum.

Bang!

Before Li Fusheng’s fists could strike Fan Li’s head—

Fan Li’s skull slammed directly into Li Fusheng’s chest.

Commander Li was sent flying.

When he landed, he did not fall.

But he still staggered several steps backward before regaining his footing.

Fan Li grinned.

He stood again.

Then raised one index finger toward Li Fusheng.

And shook it.

“You’re way worse than my Garrison Commander.”

“............” Zheng Fan.

“............” Li Fusheng.

“............” Xue San.

“Hahahahahaha!”

Li Fusheng threw back his head and laughed.

Then shouted, “My army has gained another great general!”

It was an exceptionally magnanimous response.

It dissolved the awkwardness, displayed his bearing, and even protected Fan Li.

Just as everyone prepared to cheer along, raise the atmosphere, and quickly bury this slightly embarrassing scene—

Fan Li’s booming voice rang out again.

“If you can’t beat me, you can’t beat me.

“Don’t bother with pretty words.”

“............” Li Fusheng.

Zheng Fan covered his face.

“Master, why don’t you go drag Ah Li back?” Xue San suggested.

“No.

“No way.”

Zheng Fan refused immediately.

If he went over—

Fan Li might simply throw himself onto the ground and cry out in agony:

“Ah! Such terrifying presence! I admit defeat!”

Or, if he decided to be even more idiotic:

“Who are you, sir? How can you possibly be this strong!”

“Ah! Aren’t you Lord Zheng Fan, Garrison Commander of Green Willow Fortress in Yinlang Commandery!”

Do not laugh.

That idiot Fan Li genuinely might say something like that.

Xue San was starting to feel awkward too.

He had encouraged Fan Li to enter the ring.

The original plan had been to create an opportunity for Master to show off.

Somehow after all that maneuvering they had ended up generating hatred instead.

“Where’s the Blind Man?” Zheng Fan asked.

If the Blind Man used his mental power to speak directly into Fan Li’s mind and coached him through a few polite phrases, the problem would be solved.

“Uh, no idea.

“Looks like he took his wife sightseeing.”

“Sightseeing?”

Zheng Fan sounded surprised.

“Mm.

“Get on the carriage first and buy the ticket afterward.

“Same as arranged marriages back in the day—marry first, cultivate feelings later.”

Xue San’s words carried an overwhelming sourness.

Whenever he remembered those long legs, Xue San still felt his teeth itch with jealousy.

Still it was only jealousy.

Third Master Xue had standards.

He would never harbor improper thoughts toward his friend’s wife.

At that very moment on Lovesick Peak the Blind Man sat with his erhu in his hands.

Beside him sat a “young soldier.”

“Husband, do you believe in love at first sight?”

The Blind Man genuinely wanted to answer:

Are you blind?

But after thinking about it, he let the thought go.

Because although the Blind Man was blind he was genuinely not old.

Otherwise, back in Tiger Head City, the wife of that Patrol Lieutenant Commander would never have invited him over so often to help relieve her troubles.

Strictly speaking, among the Seven Demon Kings plus Master—eight people in total—A’Ming and Liang Cheng each represented a different style.

The Blind Man belonged to the calm, mature, cultured type.

But all three shared one prefix.

They were handsome.

Perhaps life had simply become too dull after so many days of marching.

Perhaps this intelligent young woman was still, ultimately, a young woman.

She could calmly accept the arrangement her family had made for her.

But she still hoped her feelings might become something better something adorned with a little more beauty.

Most importantly, after spending these days together, she had confirmed that this bargain blind husband of hers possessed a certain charm.

“All love at first sight is just lust at first sight.”

“............” Yuexin.

The mountain wind swept across them.

But it could not blow away the awkward atmosphere.

After a while Yuexin smiled again.

“Then what of growing old together?”

The Blind Man answered, “For most married couples, growing old together merely means they’ve weighed the costs and benefits and decided staying together is preferable.”

“............” Yuexin.

A long time passed.

The Blind Man sighed.

He was an intelligent man.

But he genuinely did not know how to court a woman.

He had been with women before.

But he had never pursued one.

Nor had he ever seriously tried to nurture a relationship.

Still he knew what he had just done was wrong.

“Sorry.”

Yuexin rested her head against the Blind Man’s shoulder.

She adjusted herself until she found a comfortable angle.

Then answered, “Husband really is different from other men.”

...

Meanwhile, while the Blind Man was attempting to cultivate romance and affection atop the mountain, he had no idea what kind of awkward spectacle was unfolding below.

Fortunately—

Li Fusheng was not petty.

He directly ordered someone to bring over his personal saber and gave it to Fan Li.

He even offered Fan Li several pointers on Martial Artist cultivation and shared some of his experience.

After all if they had been fighting with blood and qi, Fan Li absolutely could not have defeated him.

For an ordinary Martial Artist, this was the kind of opportunity one could only dream of.

Fan Li, however, let the advice go in one ear and out the other.

He understood perfectly well that changes in his strength did not depend on himself.

They depended on Master.

Still the gemstones embedded in the saber were rather pretty.

He could pry them out and add them to his axe.

Li Fusheng seemed to have no idea what to do with this idiot.

He left the training ground directly.

Once outside, he immediately summoned Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan came over.

The two walked away from the crowd together.

“Garrison Commander Zheng.

“Your household truly has no shortage of talented people.”

“Truthfully, fine horses are common.”

“Oh?

“Is that so?”

“But people who know how to recognize a fine horse are rare.”

“Interesting.

“Interesting.”

Li Fusheng smacked his lips.

Then asked, “Garrison Commander Zheng, where is your Zhengzi Art of War?”

“My lord, once the campaign ends, this subordinate will present it to you.”

The real problem was that the Blind Man had not finished writing it out yet.

And simply transcribing it was not enough.

They also needed to prepare a plain-language version.

They even had to add historical battle examples.

Those examples had to be researched from the ancient military history of this world.

The workload was enormous.

“Fine.

“I’ll wait.”

“This subordinate will certainly not disappoint my lord.”

“Heh.

“I’ve always trusted you to handle things properly.

“Oh, right.

“That bastard Li Bao sent a letter.”

“He’s asking for reinforcements?”

Li Bao’s situation should have been miserable by now.

Qian armies from every direction were holding him in check.

They might even have been trying to encircle him.

Li Fusheng shook his head.

“The letter contains only five characters.”

“Five characters?”

“Thou son of a lowly maid.”

As Li Fusheng repeated the insult, he actually laughed.

He was not angry.

Because he knew that when Li Bao wrote those words the man must already have been furious beyond measure.

The insult essentially meant “spawn of a lowly maid.”

In other words, it was an insult aimed at one’s mother.

At the same time, this ancient curse had evolved into similar-sounding expressions in many later regional dialects, though plenty of people mistook the literal wording for another vulgar insult.

“My lord, this...”

Zheng Fan felt somewhat awkward.

After all this strategy had been his suggestion.

Li Fusheng waved a hand indifferently.

“No matter.”

...

Over the next three days—

Li Bao sent a letter every single day.

The messages were, respectively:

“*** you.”

“**** you.”

“***** you.”

Then, over the following three days—

Li Bao abruptly abandoned his usual behavior.

At the cost of heavy losses among his own troops, he issued a series of military orders that were, in practical terms, nearly impossible to accomplish.

On the first day he charged the Qian army’s Bian River camp!

On the second he attacked Xiangzhou City on the border between Bianzhou Commandery and Xishan Commandery!

On the third with an already exhausted army, he forcibly attacked Westwind Crossing!

(End of Chapter)