Chapter 181: Two Faces

“All right, then I’ll—”

Li Fusheng’s words stopped halfway.

It was like traveling along a perfectly straight road only for an abyss to suddenly appear directly ahead.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence...

Finally—

Li Fusheng pointed at Zheng Fan and laughed.

“Garrison Commander Zheng.

“Garrison Commander Zheng.”

“This General is here!”

“How did you manage to shout the words ‘I dare not’ with such magnificent force and conviction?”

“From the very first time this General met my lord, my lord has felt like an elder to me.

“In front of an elder, this General would never dare hide or disguise his true thoughts.

“Since my lord asked whether I dared or did not dare—this General simply answered honestly.

“I dare not.

“This General does not fear dying in battle.

“If my lord orders me right now to charge into combat and I die on the battlefield—

“I swear I will not so much as frown!”

Standing nearby, Xue San opened his mouth and licked his lips.

“But this General does not want to die in that kind of way.

“If something unexpected happens inside the city—

“I would die feeling far too aggrieved.”

“So you’re scared?”

“Yes.

“This General is scared!”

“Huu...”

Li Fusheng let out a long breath.

This blood-soaked desert butcher who had personally led the assault earlier showed no sign of anger at all.

Instead, he sat back down.

He patted his own knee.

Then said, “Garrison Commander Zheng.

“A man living beneath Heaven cannot spend his entire life with his head lowered.

“Every now and then—he needs to lift his chest.”

Zheng Fan immediately puffed out his chest.

Then shouted, “This General still dares not!”

“............” Li Fusheng.

“My lord.

“We could try tying the letter to an arrow and shooting it into the city.”

“Heh.

“Garrison Commander Zheng.

“Do you understand what kind of honor it is to enter the capital of an enemy state as an envoy while our army stands beneath its walls?

“Do you understand what kind of experience that becomes?

“Five years from now.

“Ten years from now.

“Twenty years from now.

“This will still be capital that allows you to establish yourself securely in the world!”

“This General understands.”

At this moment, Yan troops had already cut off the Qian forces north of the Capital Region.

One could genuinely say the army had reached the walls of the capital.

If Zheng Fan rode alone into Upper Capital as envoy entered the capital of Qian walked into the Qian court then stood before the Qian Emperor and the gathered civil and military officials to present a letter and communicate Yan’s demands...

It was practically the ultimate method of farming prestige.

But there was one prerequisite.

You had to come back alive.

If you died what use was posthumous fame?

Zheng Fan had no desire to become immortalized throughout this world’s history books.

He simply wanted to live well.

Live with flavor.

Live with dignity.

True the traditional rule was that warring states did not kill envoys.

True—

Qian constantly boasted of being a land of ritual and civilization.

But what if everyone inside Qian suddenly lost their minds?

True the Capital Region’s military forces had been stranded north of the Bian River.

Qian probably did not dare send the forces remaining in Upper Capital outside for a field battle.

But once Zheng Fan entered the city alone if everyone inside simply swarmed him what was he supposed to do?

Fly out?

Even if he could fly the archers would shoot him into a hedgehog.

He had finally become a transmigrator.

He had all these Demon Kings around him.

Why not just keep his head down properly and develop step by step?

Wasn’t that comfortable?

He had no urgent need to claw his way upward overnight.

Besides he had already accumulated plenty of military merit.

Why take such a ridiculous risk?

“A few days ago, you asked me why your cultivation had remained stuck at Eighth Grade.”

“Yes.”

“I told you to nurture your killing intent.”

“Yes.”

“Where does killing intent come from?

“A true man stands between Heaven and Earth with a blade in hand—looking down upon all directions!

“That— is genuine killing intent!”

“This General has been taught.”

“Your state of mind is still too cautious.

“Far too restrained.

“Perhaps this is a problem common to clever men like you.

“You think too much.

“And because you think too much—you become excessively careful.”

“Yes.

“This General has been taught.”

“The reason I chose you is simple.

“First—you are the cleverest man in my army.

“And you speak nicely.”

“............” Zheng Fan.

“I may be a rough military bastard.

“But even I understand that an envoy should be someone clever who knows how to talk.

“Otherwise, the enemy twists their words around to insult you—and you cannot even understand them.

“Then you stand there smiling and nodding:

“‘Yes, yes, exactly.’

“Wouldn’t we lose face all the way back to our grandmother’s house?”

“Yes.”

“Second—from the very beginning, the Marquis mentioned you in front of us.

“He said you were an interesting fellow.

“The Marquis even said that if the Southern Marquis had not refused to release you—he would have wanted to dig you over to our Zhenbei Army.

“But since you’re from Beifeng Commandery—you and I are fellow countrymen anyway.

“These past few days, I’ve also seen it clearly for myself.

“You, Zheng Fan—are somebody.

“I’m not afraid to let you laugh at me.

“A man knows his own household best.

“If you ask me to lead these boys out and kill people—every one of them is a real man.

“Not a coward among them.

“But if you ask us to scheme—to play politics—to govern a place—to divide people against each other—to calculate human hearts... our Zhenbei Army really does not have many sinister bastards like that.

“You—

“Zheng Fan—are a sinister bastard!”

“............” Zheng Fan.

Xue San stood to the side, desperately suppressing laughter so hard that both hands covered his crotch.

“Don’t look at the fact that you’re only a Garrison Commander right now.

“Truthfully—how many of the things you’ve done these past few days are things an ordinary Garrison Commander should even be handling?

“I simply wanted to leave this good opportunity to someone I value.

“After this mission, once we calculate merit when the war ends—

“I can guarantee you the position of City Governor over an entire city.”

Given how Yan currently blurred military and civil authority, a City Governor essentially held both military and administrative control over his city.

With the abilities of the Demon Kings beneath Zheng Fan once they possessed a stable territory of their own every aspect of development could rapidly move onto the proper track.

Yet Zheng Fan still answered immediately, “My lord.

“Why not give this merit to someone else?”

Li Fusheng nodded.

Zheng Fan released a long breath.

Li Fusheng smiled.

Zheng Fan smiled with him.

“Garrison Commander Zheng of Green Willow Fortress—receive my command!”

“This General is here!”

“You are ordered to enter Upper Capital of Qian tonight as envoy and deliver the formal letter!”

“This General... obeys!”

Earlier—

Li Fusheng had merely asked whether he dared.

Zheng Fan could play shameless.

He could answer honestly.

But once the words became a formal military command the army possessed its own laws.

Those who disobeyed orders were executed.

Li Fusheng stretched lazily.

Apparently, the movement tugged at his wound.

His body stiffened briefly.

Then he said, “Before you go, I will send men beneath Upper Capital’s walls to shout one message.

“If they dare kill my envoy—

“I, Li Fusheng—will slaughter one hundred thousand commoners of the Capital Region to accompany him in death!”

...

“That is basically what happened.”

Beside the campfire, Zheng Fan finished recounting the entire matter.

“I refused because I knew my personal safety mattered little.

“But if something happens to all of you because of me—

“I could never bear it.”

Xue San immediately said, “Master, you don’t need to worry about us.

“Entering the enemy capital as an envoy at a time like this?

“Just thinking about it is exciting!”

Liang Cheng nodded.

A’Ming nodded.

The Fourth Lady nodded.

Fan Li slapped his forehead.

“Exactly!”

Even the Demon Child hidden inside Zheng Fan’s armor trembled faintly.

“............” Zheng Fan.

Helpless.

And melancholy.

“Master, since we’re going, we need to decide who accompanies you.

“Even if this is technically a lone envoy mission—you should still be allowed two attendants, right?” the Fourth Lady asked.

“Mm.

“I can bring two.”

Xue San immediately said, “I’ll go!”

“No,” the Blind Man rejected him instantly.

“Why?”

“You would disgrace the state.”

“............” Xue San.

The Blind Man adjusted his clothing.

Some exhaustion still lingered across his face.

But his tone remained firm.

“I have spent a great deal of time studying the Qian court recently.

“I’ll accompany Master.

“For the other—

“A’Ming.”

A’Ming gave a slight nod.

He agreed.

There was nothing worth feeling proud about.

A’Ming understood perfectly well why he had been chosen.

Fan Li looked puzzled.

“What about me?”

“Shut up.”

No one dared take Fan Li into the Qian imperial court.

What if the fool suddenly opened his mouth and unleashed a full barrage?

They might actually provoke Qian into deciding that killing an envoy was worth it after all.

For example, Fan Li might simply shout inside the grand hall:

“Hey, old Emperor!

“Get off that dragon throne and let my Master sit on it for a while!”

“Fine.

“Then let’s prepare.

“We’ll go after nightfall.”

Zheng Fan finally let go of his hesitation.

Worst-case scenario they would be shot into honeycombs beneath the city wall.

“The letter?” the Blind Man asked.

Weren’t they supposed to deliver an official letter?

Where was it?

“Uh...”

Only then did Zheng Fan remember.

He turned toward the Blind Man.

“Li Fusheng said I should write it myself.”

The Blind Man nodded.

Naturally, preparing the letter would become his task.

Then he asked, “What are the demands?”

Even an academic paper needed a thesis.

Zheng Fan lifted one hand.

Covered his face.

Then sighed.

“There is only one requirement.”

The Blind Man relaxed slightly.

Only one requirement?

That would make the task much easier.

“Make the Qian people angry.”

“............” The Blind Man.

...

This diplomatic mission had never been part of the original plan.

But the countless tangled changes on the battlefield had produced this strange opportunity.

Li Fusheng’s force had made a hundred-li forced march and crossed the Bian River.

Then they seized Qian’s Westwind Crossing in one blow cutting the Qian armies in Xishan Commandery off from the Capital Region.

Realistically—

Li Fusheng now possessed only two choices.

One use this window to attack the capital directly.

Two apply pressure against the Qian court, its civil and military officials, and the Qian Emperor through various other means.

Whether Li Fusheng would truly attack the city—

Zheng Fan did not know.

But after leaving the captured military camp, Zheng Fan had already seen Zhenbei Army soldiers driving local Qian civilians to cut down trees and construct equipment.

Some of those devices were obviously intended for siege warfare.

The walls of Upper Capital were enormously tall.

The population inside Upper Capital was enormously large.

Taking the city in a short period was almost impossible.

But now that they had already ridden beneath its walls not attacking the damned place at least once really would feel inappropriate.

Most importantly the countless ridiculous performances by Qian forces throughout the march south had given Li Fusheng tremendous confidence.

If they somehow managed to capture Qian’s capital in one stroke seize the Emperor and carry away the civil and military officials as prisoners then Qian might genuinely be finished just like that.

A man should always possess dreams.

And every now and then he should move his fingers and see whether those dreams might become real.

The Blind Man sat on horseback.

He said, “Master, if they truly attack the city—the captured commoners will certainly be driven forward as the first wave.”

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan understood the Blind Man’s meaning.

He was worried Zheng Fan might find it difficult to watch later.

So he was giving Master time to prepare mentally.

Humans were strange creatures.

Earlier, Garrison Commander Zheng had been unwilling to kill the little sword attendant.

But now, when he considered driving captured Qian commoners forward as the first wave of expendable bodies to consume the defenders’ arrows and supplies he felt surprisingly little.

Either they died or his own men died.

So long as personal interests were not involved people could always afford to be kind.

A’Ming raised a flag.

This era did not yet possess the tradition of raising a white flag.

White was generally considered unlucky anyway.

But they needed something to announce their identity while preserving a degree of dignity.

They could not simply ride forward with nothing.

Zheng Fan suspected that his appointment as envoy had been something Li Fusheng invented on impulse.

There was not a single proper diplomatic item prepared for them.

To avoid being shot into hedgehogs before they even reached the gate the group had hastily made a colorful flag.

A’Ming carried it.

No matter how Zheng Fan looked at the thing it seemed profoundly stupid.

Still it worked.

As the three of them rode toward Upper Capital, they could clearly see countless figures along the walls.

But no one loosed an arrow.

Once they reached the gate someone above shouted, “Who goes there?”

Zheng Fan raised his head.

Then shouted, “ENVOY OF THE GREAT YAN!

“BY COMMAND, I SEEK AUDIENCE WITH THE QIAN EMPEROR!”

Then, they waited.

And waited.

More than an hour passed.

At last, three baskets were lowered from the wall.

Zheng Fan and the other two dismounted.

They climbed inside.

The baskets rose slowly until they reached the top of the city wall.

After stepping out, Zheng Fan instinctively adjusted his clothing.

There was not much to adjust.

It was simply habit.

At that moment, a middle-aged civil official in green robes stood before the three of them.

He said, “This official is Shao Wenjie, Deputy Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

“By command of His Majesty, I shall escort the Yan envoy to audience before our sovereign.”

Zheng Fan merely nodded toward him.

Shao Wenjie froze for a moment.

Then asked, “Yan envoy—may you present your state credential and official seal so that this official may verify them?”

“State credential?

“Official seal?

“Didn’t bring either.”

Contempt immediately appeared at the corner of Shao Wenjie’s mouth.

“The Yan truly are a barbarian state.

“You do not even understand this degree of ritual?”

The soldiers nearby cooperatively revealed mocking smiles.

Though the entire performance felt rather forced.

Zheng Fan nodded.

Then said, “My apologies.

“I didn’t expect the war to go this quickly.

“There wasn’t time to prepare.”

“............” Shao Wenjie.

The smiles on the nearby soldiers disappeared instantly.

Anger replaced them.

A perfect demonstration of impotent fury.

Truthfully before receiving this assignment, Zheng Fan had desperately wanted to avoid it.

But now that he had accepted the task, he understood one thing.

If he wanted to leave this place alive he had to raise his posture.

He could not show fear.

This was no longer merely a matter of an envoy representing Yan’s dignity.

The harder and more overbearing he acted the less likely the Qian would be to touch him.

Fortunately the overall situation was excellent.

Qian was the side with enemy troops beneath its capital.

That gave Zheng Fan more than enough confidence.

Most famous envoys recorded in history had represented weak states before stronger ones.

They had either displayed extraordinary courage or incredible intelligence or some other brilliant quality.

As for envoys from powerful states visiting weaker ones there was rarely anything special to say.

They all behaved exactly the same way.

Arrogantly.

Shao Wenjie stopped speaking.

Truthfully, he had never possessed the authority to decide anything important anyway.

The current situation was critical.

Yan troops had already reached the walls of Upper Capital.

Only the Qian Emperor and the Chancellors could make decisions now.

This minor official could not speak out of turn.

“Yan envoy.

“Please follow me.”

Zheng Fan gestured politely as well.

Then followed behind Shao Wenjie.

Two files of armored soldiers accompanied them down from the city wall.

Every man wore polished, gleaming armor that shone silver beneath the light.

These should be the Qian Emperor’s personal Imperial Guard the Silver-Armored Guard.

They had barely descended from the wall and reached ground level when a young armored general hurried toward them with a group of followers.

The Silver-Armored Guards on either side did not stop him.

Instead they deliberately moved aside and let him pass.

“Where’s that Yan barbarian?

“Where is he?

“Let Grandpa cut him down and use his head with my wine!”

The young general was extremely arrogant.

Shao Wenjie glanced backward toward Zheng Fan.

He clearly wanted to see how the Yan envoy reacted.

Zheng Fan, however almost wanted to laugh.

Even now Qian officials still wanted to use the same old methods to handle the situation?

They intended to intimidate the enemy envoy and suppress his momentum through some staged display?

The problem was simple.

The Yan army was already sitting outside your capital.

Who exactly were you trying to frighten?

At that moment, Garrison Commander Zheng displayed a face completely different from the one he had shown before Li Fusheng.

He stepped forward.

Pushed Shao Wenjie aside.

Then pointed at his own neck and thrust it forward.

And shouted, “COME ON!

“COME ON!

“MY NECK IS RIGHT HERE!

“IF YOU DON’T CUT IT OFF TODAY—

“YOU’RE MY FUCKING GRANDSON!”

(End of Chapter)