Chapter 185: Night Return

Life always seemed to arrange inexplicable nonsense for you at the most inexplicable moments.

Like now.

Zheng Fan genuinely felt he had done nothing wrong.

As an envoy wasn't throwing around a few harsh words perfectly normal?

People always said that even if you lost the man, you should not lose the formation.

And regardless of what might happen in the future at this very moment, the Yan army was camped outside Upper Capital.

So being a little arrogant a little domineering a little overbearing wasn't that exactly what he should be doing?

And you people shouldn't you be feeling a little aggrieved?

A little indignant?

A little humiliated?

Then endure it?

Wasn't that the normal flow of things?

Could it be that this Second Young Master of the Zu Clan really was nothing but a reckless brute?

Just because Zheng Fan mocked him a few times taunted him a few times he immediately exploded?

Zheng Fan suddenly felt like one of those insurance scammers from his previous life.

Hit me.

Come on, hit me.

If you've got the guts, hit me to death.

Bang!

The Demon Child's power had only just been used.

Perhaps because Zheng Fan himself had grown stronger or perhaps because he had simply become accustomed to "borrowing from the child" this time he had not immediately collapsed and become unable to move.

But even if he forcibly summoned the Demon Child again against several hundred armored soldiers surrounding them it would not accomplish much.

Unless...

For an instant—

Zheng Fan, the Blind Man, and A'Ming all focused on Zu Dongling.

Capture the leader first!

At that critical moment a sword came flying through the air.

In the blink of an eye it stabbed into the ground directly in front of Zu Dongling.

Buzz!

The blade trembled faintly.

A clear hum lingered in the air.

Zu Dongling's expression changed.

He recognized the sword.

Because the mark of the Baili Clan was engraved upon it.

The Baili siblings one was Baili Feng.

The other—

Baili Xianglan.

Of course, people were far more accustomed to calling the first man Baili Jian.

Because he was the pride of Qian.

A grandmaster of the sword in the present age.

The famous Qian literary giant Yao Zizhan had once written a poem using the sword as metaphor for the man.

Within that poem, he directly referred to Baili Feng as "Baili Jian"—

Baili Sword.

And from then on the name had remained.

Because of this, when people of the martial world ranked the Four Great Sword Grandmasters of the present age, some complained.

They said Qian controlled too much of the literary world's voice.

And if there was one thing Qian scholars excelled at it was using poems and essays to praise someone into the clouds.

According to such cynics if the mysterious swordsmith of Chu had been forcibly elevated into the Four Great Swordsmen merely because the Sword Saint of Jin once spoke highly of him then Baili Jian's position, seemingly at the head of all four, had been piled up by endless drunken poems written by Qian scholars.

Leaving aside the swordsmith of Chu the Sword Saint of Jin was a madman.

Frequently insane.

He did not even care about the face of Jin's imperial house or its Three Great Clans.

As for Li Liangshen of Yan he was simply a rough soldier.

Compared with Baili Jian none of the others had nearly as many people available to build their reputation.

It was similar to the courtesan queens of Upper Capital.

Everyone had different tastes.

Some liked voluptuous women.

Some preferred petite and delicate beauties.

Some valued literary talent.

Others cared only for tiny bound feet.

But there could only be one supreme courtesan queen.

In the end what did the competition truly depend on?

Whoever had the richest patrons willing to spend the most money building hype.

Still describing Baili Jian that way carried more than a little sour-grape jealousy.

Because regardless of reputation—

Baili Jian's actual strength genuinely convinced people.

Years earlier—

Baili Jian entered Upper Capital in white robes.

The Qian Emperor personally welcomed him beneath Jade Dragon Bridge and appointed him martial instructor to the Crown Prince.

Everyone in the streets and alleys knew that story.

But another matter was known only among the powerful.

Baili Jian's younger sister had been accepted by the Qian Emperor as his adopted daughter.

She remained beside him wearing silver armor.

From the distance—

Baili Xianglan walked forward.

Her expression was cold.

Not arrogant.

Yet she clearly radiated the kind of aura that warned strangers to keep away.

Earlier—

Zheng Fan had actually believed the Qian Emperor's joke and assumed she was a widow.

That the Qian Emperor possessed Cao Cao's particular hobby.

But once he learned her surname was Baili that idea naturally disappeared.

"His Majesty has decreed—the Yan envoy is to leave the city."

Baili Xianglan looked directly at Zu Dongling.

Zu Dongling's expression changed several times.

At this moment, what stood before him was not merely pressure from imperial authority.

Truthfully from the instant Yan troops appeared outside Upper Capital, the sacred, inviolable foundation of imperial authority had already been shaken.

More importantly—

Baili Xianglan herself was a powerful swordsman.

Even without the Emperor standing behind her her words still carried enormous weight.

Zu Dongling raised one hand.

The soldiers behind him immediately opened a path.

Baili Xianglan walked forward.

She pulled her sword from the ground.

Then continued ahead.

Zheng Fan, the Blind Man, and A'Ming followed behind her.

Zu Dongling's soldiers remained where they were.

First assassins tried to kill him.

Then the men who were supposed to rescue him suddenly tried to kill him.

And finally the woman who had already announced she would kill him tomorrow came to save him tonight.

The affairs of this world really were wonderfully strange.

But right now the only thing Zheng Fan desperately wanted was to leave this city.

He hated this feeling.

The feeling that his life and death were no longer under his own control.

He hated it enormously.

Baili Xianglan at least carried the rescue through to the end.

She escorted the three of them all the way back to the city wall.

The defenders had already prepared the baskets used to lower people down.

Zheng Fan cupped his hands toward Baili Xianglan.

"Many thanks to the young lady for saving us.

"Earlier in the palace, because of a misunderstanding, I offended you somewhat.

"I hope you will forgive me."

Lowering one's head to a woman was hardly shameful.

Especially if the woman was beautiful.

Then it became even more natural.

And if that beautiful woman also possessed terrifying strength then merely refraining from kneeling down to lick her boots already counted as restrained dignity.

Garrison Commander Zheng was a man who deeply believed in following his heart.

If a misunderstanding could be cleared up then clear it up.

After witnessing the strength of true experts in this world, Zheng Fan understood perfectly well yes, thousands upon thousands of soldiers could eventually crush such people.

But if those people chose one chaotic moment to slip into camp and assassinate him personally he would still have an extremely miserable time.

Baili Xianglan's expression remained calm.

She said, "Tomorrow—

"I'll wait for you."

So she still intended to kill him.

Zheng Fan sighed.

"Young lady.

"I feel somewhat unwell tonight.

"I may have caught a chill.

"Tomorrow—

"I probably won't be able to leave camp."

Baili Xianglan looked at Zheng Fan with genuine confusion.

Perhaps she truly had never imagined that a Yan general an envoy of a state a man who had repeatedly won merit on the Yan-Qian battlefield could behave with this degree of shamelessness.

Unfortunately what Garrison Commander Zheng did not know was that Baili Xianglan wanted to kill him not because of the lust she had seen in his eyes earlier but because of the swordsman named Yuan Zhenxing.

"General Zheng.

"There will always be another opportunity," Baili Xianglan said.

That was all she could say.

Even if her elder brother himself were standing here he would not attempt something as foolish as charging alone into a Yan military camp with one sword.

Swordsmen differed from pure Martial Artists.

What swordsmen excelled at most was killing one opponent in front of them.

Not becoming some enemy of a thousand men or ten thousand.

Yuan Zhenxing had been shot to death under an arrow storm during the day.

That alone demonstrated the difference perfectly.

If he had possessed a pure Martial Artist body like Shatuo Queshi he probably could have bathed in several waves of arrows without suffering anything too serious.

Zheng Fan smiled.

Then turned and stepped into the basket.

The basket was lowered.

The three of them mounted the horses they had left tied beneath the city wall.

Then, without the slightest hesitation they galloped home.

While riding—

Zheng Fan shouted inside his heart, "Blind Man.

"We are never doing this kind of thing again."

His life was precious.

He still had not played enough.

The Blind Man remained far calmer.

"Master.

"Take it slowly."

Slowly grow.

Slowly reach the point where they too could say:

A son of a thousand gold pieces does not sit beneath a precarious hall.

Yet very quickly the words the Qian Emperor had spoken surfaced in Zheng Fan's mind again.

Not one soldier from the Three Frontiers was to march south.

Truthfully from the instant the Qian Emperor spoke that sentence a weight had remained in Zheng Fan's heart.

Everyone had always joked that Great Yan was filled with ferocious men and monsters.

If all of them were so capable what room would the others have left to play?

But Zheng Fan had already lived in Yan for quite some time.

From his position whether it was the Sixth Prince, the Marquis of Jingnan, or the Marquis of Zhenbei all had treated him very well.

Yan could decline.

It could fall after reaching its peak.

It could collapse from becoming too powerful.

But if everything had only just begun and the story already ended here that would feel far too melancholy.

More importantly—

Green Willow Fortress's cavalry had already suffered substantial losses.

Zheng Fan was still waiting for the war to end so he could trade all those achievements for a small city of his own.

Then quietly develop his territory and farm resources for a while.

He did not want to end up like a headless fly running blindly from place to place.

He turned once more.

Looking back at the towering walls of Upper Capital behind him a deep worry grew inside Zheng Fan.

Could the Yan people truly cross this hurdle?

...

The warm chamber was also called the Pavilion for Seeking Spring.

The name came from its climate spring throughout all four seasons.

Ordinarily, when Emperor Zhao was not busy handling affairs of state he liked spending time here.

Especially during winter.

Naturally, during summer, it was no longer called the warm chamber.

Large amounts of ice were brought inside.

Even under the scorching summer sun the pavilion remained cool.

Truthfully—

"Pavilion for Seeking Spring" did not sound like a particularly dignified name.

It resembled the names of Upper Capital's pleasure houses far too much.

Places called Hall of Seeking Joy.

Garden of Eternal Spring.

Things like that.

But Emperor Zhao liked the name.

And had stubbornly insisted upon it.

When he first ascended the throne, he ordered the pavilion built.

Many ministers opposed the project.

At the time, the famous Qian writer Yao Zizhan had only just entered officialdom.

His father wrote an essay drawing upon an earlier dynasty that had exhausted manpower and resources constructing grand halls before collapsing.

The piece was clearly intended to mock the Emperor's construction of the Pavilion for Seeking Spring.

Emperor Zhao ignored the criticism.

He also never punished Yao Zizhan's father.

As a result the reputation of the Yao Clan surged tremendously.

It even laid part of the foundation for Yao Zizhan's later literary fame.

At this moment, inside the Pavilion for Seeking Spring the Qian Emperor reclined lazily on a couch.

He held a bunch of grapes.

One by one he tossed them into his mouth.

Before him a middle-aged man knelt with his body bowed low.

The man's surname was Luo.

Outside the palace he carried a fearsome reputation.

Among Qian commoners, rumors even painted him as an eight-armed monster who ate one child with every meal.

His name was Luo Mingda.

He was Grand Commander of the Silver-Armored Guard.

He controlled the operations of this secret-police organization of the Great Qian.

At the same time he possessed another identity.

His mother had once been the Qian Emperor's wet nurse.

Strictly speaking he and the Emperor were foster brothers through milk.

"Your Majesty.

"The assassins were Chu agents hidden inside Upper Capital."

Luo Mingda knelt there trembling as he spoke.

"I remember—the Silver-Armored Guard was supposed to be monitoring Chu spies inside Upper Capital."

"Reporting to Your Majesty.

"Because the Yan army suddenly appeared outside the city, Upper Capital fell into panic today.

"There was disorder everywhere.

"My subordinates failed to observe carefully for a moment, and that is why..."

"I do not like listening to excuses."

"This minister is guilty!"

The Qian Emperor spat out a grape seed.

The entire matter was actually very clear.

The people who attacked the Yan envoy were Chu agents.

Their goal was to fan the flames.

The King of Chu was near death.

It was only a matter of time.

His Princes were already glaring at one another with drawn swords.

So Chu desperately wanted the three external states to fall into complete chaos.

Only then could Chu calmly prepare for its coming succession struggle and internal upheaval.

Yet the Qian Emperor's mind returned to the words Zheng Fan had spoken before leaving.

He had said the Emperor did not understand warfare.

He had also said events would never unfold as beautifully or perfectly as the Emperor imagined.

On the surface the assassination had happened because the Silver-Armored Guard temporarily failed in its surveillance.

That allowed the Chu agents to move.

But from another perspective it also meant something else.

The Yan army's arrival had disrupted the stable order that had long existed inside the imperial court.

The Qian Emperor could even conclude with confidence some people within the lower ranks of the Silver-Armored Guard had seen Yan troops outside Upper Capital and begun forming other intentions.

Perhaps some had even begun secretly communicating with Chu.

As for powerful families that had already established contact with Yan's Secret Intelligence Department there would only be more.

The feeling displeased the Qian Emperor enormously.

For an Emperor few things were more hateful than noticing the people and affairs beneath his dragon throne beginning to drift beyond control.

"Milk Brother."

"Your Majesty!"

Luo Mingda nearly trembled apart.

He had not heard that form of address in years beyond counting.

"Milk Brother.

"There really are not many people left whom I can trust now."

"Your Majesty!"

"The Yan cannot take Upper Capital.

"But the Silver-Armored Guard has also grown increasingly useless over the years.

"It is time to clean house."

"This minister understands!"

"Go.

"Attend to your duties."

"This minister takes his leave."

Luo Mingda left the warm chamber.

Outside he encountered Baili Xianglan.

"Lady Xianglan."

Luo Mingda bowed.

Baili Xianglan nodded.

She stepped aside.

Luo Mingda departed.

Baili Xianglan pushed open the door and entered.

"Your Majesty.

"The Yan envoy has already left the city."

"Heh.

"That Yan fellow surnamed Zheng is quite interesting."

"Zu Dongling..."

"Ignore Zu Dongling.

"The Zu Clan's second boy appears rough and reckless.

"But his thoughts are actually very fine.

"What he did tonight was decisive.

"Zu Dongcheng has probably been captured by the Yan.

"So Zu Dongling could only act like this if he wanted to make the Zu Clan's position clear to me."

Baili Xianglan understood at once.

"Unfortunately—those Chu assassins failed to kill the Yan envoy.

"I had originally hoped to seize the opportunity and give Chu some reassurance.

"Let them settle down and fight over their own throne."

"Your Majesty.

"You should have let me act."

"No.

"Some things can be accomplished by pushing with the current.

"But if you act too deliberately—people notice.

"If the Yan envoy died, the Yan commander outside is already a lunatic.

"He would certainly raise the butcher's blade.

"That debt must absolutely not be stained onto my head.

"After all—

"I love the people as my own children, don't I?"

After saying that the Qian Emperor continued, "Tomorrow, you need not leave the city.

"Remain beside me and protect me.

"If the Yan attack tomorrow—

"I will still need to walk along the city wall once."

"That is too dangerous, Your Majesty."

"That is why you must protect me.

"I do not wish to die some inexplicable death."

The Qian Emperor reached toward the table.

He picked up three memorials.

They were memorials of self-impeachment from three Chancellors.

Chancellor Han.

Chancellor Fu.

And Chancellor Sima.

"Keep Chancellor Han for now.

"As for Chancellor Fu and Chancellor Sima—

"I accept their requests for punishment.

"This opportunity is convenient.

"We can move a few of those stinking stones out of the way.

"It will make future work much smoother."

"Your Majesty.

"You should not say things like this to me."

"It does not matter.

"An Emperor is a solitary man.

"Sometimes—even finding someone to speak with is difficult."

Baili Xianglan nodded.

She did not ask—

Then am I not human?

She knew perfectly well.

She was a sword.

...

After returning to camp—

Zheng Fan went directly to see Li Fusheng.

This diplomatic mission might have been improper and improvised.

It might have been invented on a whim.

But reporting immediately to the commanding general after returning remained mandatory.

Li Fusheng sat inside his tent.

The wound on his shoulder had already been treated and bandaged.

When Zheng Fan entered—

Li Fusheng was holding a pig trotter in one hand and chewing on it.

Several more simmered inside the pot.

The smell of meat filled the tent.

At present, mutton cost more than pork in most places.

But Beifeng Commandery bordered the desert.

So there mutton was actually cheaper than pork.

Eating pork there was genuinely something of a luxury.

Seeing Zheng Fan return—

Li Fusheng smiled.

He pointed toward the large iron pot.

"Eat while you talk."

Zheng Fan did not reach for a trotter.

He had already eaten a great deal inside the Qian Emperor's palace.

Besides what he was about to say made it difficult to feel hungry.

Sure enough after Zheng Fan finished recounting his conversation with the Qian Emperor and everything he had seen along the way the pig trotter in Li Fusheng's hand had stopped moving toward his mouth.

It remained there for a long time.

"My lord.

"What should we do now?"

If the armies of Qian's Three Frontiers remained entrenched and refused to march south then Yan's strategic objective for this entire campaign could not be achieved.

No matter how freely Yan cavalry rampaged across several northern Qian commanderies those territories would remain an isolated enclave.

An isolated enclave could not be effectively defended.

Nor could it provide reliable support back to Yan proper.

Most importantly the Barbarian Royal Court and Jin should already have begun moving by now.

If the army simply withdrew then this entire campaign this entire war would truly have been fought for nothing.

Exactly as the Qian Emperor had described they would have come all this way merely to help Qian cut poisoned flesh from its own bones.

Li Fusheng gritted his teeth.

Instinctively, he almost threw the half-eaten, now-cold pig trotter away.

But his wrist moved only slightly.

His fingers continued gripping it tightly.

He brought it back.

Opened his mouth.

And resumed eating.

Silently.

Head lowered.

One trotter after another.

He ate with total concentration.

Not a shred of meat was wasted.

Even the bones entered his mouth for several chews before he spat them aside.

A huge pot of pig trotters—

Li Fusheng finished all of them alone.

Then he lifted a bowl and began drinking the broth.

One bowl.

Then another.

Zheng Fan sat silently beside him.

He did not speak.

At last, Li Fusheng finished eating.

He exhaled deeply.

Perhaps because he was full the warm satisfaction of a filled stomach seemed to dilute some of the gloom on his face.

"When Heaven wants to rain, your mother wants to remarry.

"The Marquis often lectures us.

"He says when we judge events in the future, we need to look farther ahead.

"But I've never especially cared.

"A warrior—if he knows how to kill people and knows how to win battles—isn't that enough?

"Do your own duty properly.

"Everything else—let it go where it wants.

"Truthfully, Li Bao and I are similar.

"He's also a brainless bastard."

Li Fusheng looked directly at Zheng Fan.

"What you told me earlier—tell it only to me."

Zheng Fan immediately answered, "This subordinate understands."

Li Fusheng stood.

He walked out of the tent.

Zheng Fan followed.

The moon was bright that night.

Few stars remained visible.

Li Fusheng habitually shoved both hands inside his armor.

His back hunched slightly making him look like an old farmer.

He stared toward Upper Capital in the distance.

Then sighed.

"I hear Qian's Jiangnan is even richer."

"Eighty percent of Qian's tax revenue comes from Jiangnan."

"Mm."

Li Fusheng sniffed.

Cleared his throat.

Then spat onto the ground.

"Garrison Commander Zheng.

"What do you think of Upper Capital?"

"My lord.

"This mission took place at night.

"The Qian also prevented me from seeing very much."

"Just tell me how it felt.

"How did it feel?"

"Very large.

"And probably—extremely lively."

"Exactly.

"Now that's a true great city.

"Our Tuman City—even Nanwang City—compared with Upper Capital in front of us—they're like little fingers.

"Such a great city.

"Such a pretty city.

"In my eyes—it's pale and tender.

"Even more inviting than a fresh white steamed bun."

At that point—

Li Fusheng turned toward Zheng Fan.

Then asked, "Garrison Commander Zheng.

"Do you have children?"

"No."

"Oh."

Li Fusheng's body swayed slightly.

"Have children early.

"That's better.

"In the Zhenbei Army, everyone has children young.

"Because fathers die and sons inherit.

"Older brothers die and younger brothers take their place.

"Generally—once a man's wife gets pregnant—he finally feels comfortable dying out in the desert.

"But truthfully—that kind of life isn't especially good.

"Still—we northerners never felt there was anything wrong with it."

Zheng Fan did not understand why Li Fusheng had suddenly begun saying these things.

So he simply listened quietly.

Zheng Fan was merely a transmigrator with a small amount of attachment to Yan.

Yet after hearing the Qian Emperor's decree even he had felt heavy and oppressed.

Then there was Li Fusheng a veteran general born and raised in Yan.

The feeling could only be stronger.

"Emperor Zhao was not wrong.

"Qian is vast.

"Rich.

"Great Yan is indeed somewhat bitter and cold.

"But let me speak from my heart.

"So what if everything really develops exactly as Emperor Zhao described?

"From the moment Great Yan was founded—

"Yan men have lived their lives fighting north and south.

"Only these past few years became somewhat peaceful.

"But the blood inside our bones never disappeared.

"If the Royal Court comes—we beat them back.

"We've been beating them for a hundred years already.

"We're used to it.

"If Jin comes—same thing.

"We fight them too.

"If we can't handle both at once—then we smash one first and clean up the other afterward.

"And if Qian wants to fish in troubled waters too—come then.

"Let's fight!

"If necessary—the Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army can both die down to the last man.

"I don't care.

"But I do want to see—if the barbarians, the Jin, and the Qian want to grind both Yan's northern and southern armies into nothing—how many of their own people will have to be buried with us!"

"Huu..."

After saying all that Li Fusheng exhaled slowly.

Then he pointed toward Upper Capital ahead.

"Garrison Commander Zheng.

"The women of Beifeng Commandery are fierce.

"Plenty know how to ride.

"Plenty can draw bows.

"Back when I was young—still half-grown—before my body had filled out and before I'd learned much martial skill—sometimes I'd see some pretty young wife or older girl on the street.

"I couldn't resist walking over and smacking her across the hips once.

"Even if she immediately hung me up and whipped me afterward—

"I still felt it was worth it."

Then, Li Fusheng pointed again at the enormous city before them.

"Now such a beautiful city is sitting right in front of me.

"If I don't walk over and smack it once—my heart won't feel comfortable.

"Fuck the grand situation.

"Fuck whatever comes later.

"I'll enjoy myself first.

"Tomorrow—

"I attack the city!"

(End of Chapter)