Chapter 187: North

Along the Yan-Qian border, a battle had just ended.

Some soldiers were bandaging wounds.

Others were sorting and recovering their arrows.

War could turn people rich with individual emotions into emotionless components of a machine.

The scene here was the perfect illustration.

No one mourned.

No one cried.

No one played the flute or plucked the guzheng.

No one gazed at the setting sun and remarked how perfectly it matched the scene before them.

Qian produced many poets, including quite a few famous frontier poets.

But no one knew how, after nearly a century of peace between Yan and Qian, those Qian frontier poets had managed to become "inspired by the scenery" and write such majestic, heroic battlefield verse.

Zheng Fan had once studied a fair number of famous Qian poems.

Because of Yan's environment and political situation, he had paid particular attention to frontier poetry.

He wanted to compare the stockpile in his own head against the poetry of this era and see which was superior.

Perhaps it would come in useful someday.

What he discovered was that when Qian poets described war and the frontier, the feeling was much like traditional writers of later generations who, the moment they wrote about the countryside, piled on words like "simple," "honest," and "unspoiled."

People who knew nothing would read it and think, So that's how it is.

People who had actually been tempered by war would scoff.

There were no screams.

No wailing.

Even the severely wounded merely released faint groans from deep in their throats.

A wolf had its own way of licking its wounds.

This was already the sixth encounter battle in this period.

The Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army had sent a total of two hundred and fifty thousand iron cavalry south, driving directly into Qian's heartland.

But to the surprise of the numerous Commanders-in-Chief along the Nanwang City line, the armies of Qian's Three Frontiers had not returned as reinforcements.

They remained firmly within the defensive lines they had constructed.

They had even begun actively sending troops north.

Their eagerness to test the waters was unmistakable.

At first they merely probed with forces of one or two thousand.

Gradually, those probes became preparations for a larger battle.

The forces they sent north grew to more than ten thousand at a time.

The Three Frontiers already possessed a considerable amount of cavalry.

Back when Zheng Fan led Green Willow Fortress's riders south to harvest military merit, he had encountered interception by Three Frontier cavalry.

Add in more than thirty thousand riders from the Western Army's Xishan Camp that had been transferred over and the cavalry strength of the Three Frontiers had reached a highly significant number.

Just now, an encounter battle involving more than ten thousand men had erupted.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

In the end, the Qian withdrew.

The Yan lacked the strength to pursue.

First, their own troops urgently needed rest.

Second, no one knew whether other Qian forces lay in ambush along the enemy's retreat route.

Two Commanders-in-Chief sat together.

One had taken a saber slash across the leg.

The wound cut deep enough to expose bone.

Even if it healed, he would probably never ride a horse properly again.

Walking might require a cane.

The other had taken one arrow from the front and another from behind.

His armor had protected him.

Although the arrowheads penetrated his body, neither wound struck a vital point.

Even so, he still had to grit his teeth through the agony while the arrows were removed.

For the two commanders, however, their own wounds were not the most painful thing.

What truly hurt were the soldiers scattered across the battlefield who had fallen and would never rise again.

Yan's military system was rough and straightforward.

Just as civil officials cared whether they held substantive posts, military commanders cared whether the troops under their hands were strong.

It was somewhat like the desert barbarians.

The Yan Emperor could be compared to the Royal Court.

The generals beneath him and their personal forces were like individual tribes scattered across the desert.

The outward form differed.

But for these military strongmen, preserving their own strength remained one of the most important things in their minds.

Exactly as Garrison Commander Zheng had behaved at Green Willow Fortress.

"Old Liang, if we keep fighting like this, every scrap of wealth we've built up is going to be gone."

"Tell me about it.

"Decades of blood and sweat to scrape together this little family fortune.

"I thought His Majesty's great southern campaign would let us roll the snowball a few more times.

"Who would've thought we'd be left here fighting this kind of stupid battle ourselves?"

"That fat bastard Xu keeps boasting that because he's a northerner, he understands warfare.

"Sure, the Zhenbei Army can fight.

"But what the hell does that have to do with Fatty Xu?

"If this keeps going, I truly can't take it anymore.

"These brothers have followed me for years.

"I can't bury every last one of them here.

"I have to leave some seed behind."

"Heh.

"What's the use saying that now?

"Every time the Qian come, they hit harder.

"Next time, what little we have left between us won't even be enough to fill the hole.

"Our boys may not compare with the Zhenbei Army or Jingnan Army, but every one of them is excellent in the saddle.

"Their riding and archery are absolutely no worse than Qian cavalry.

"Yet we're being forced to smash straight into the Qian head-on!

"Wasteful!

"Goddamn it, what fucking waste!"

As the two Commanders-in-Chief cursed a group emerged from the woods behind them.

At its head was an enormous mountain of flesh.

Fortunately, the creature beneath that mountain was a Pi Beast.

An ordinary warhorse truly could not have borne that weight.

Even so, by the time the Pi Beast reached them, it was panting heavily and looked thoroughly exhausted.

Xu Wenzu dismounted.

Three other Commanders-in-Chief followed behind him.

Because of the cold weather, the smell of blood on the battlefield was not especially strong.

Blood on the ground had either congealed or frozen.

But the corpses stretching across the field still testified to the brutality of the battle that had just ended.

When Xu Wenzu arrived, the two commanders acted as though they had not seen him.

Xu Wenzu did not become angry.

Seeing both men wounded, he immediately crouched beside Liang Guohong.

Looking at Liang Guohong's leg, he said with exaggerated distress, "This... this... this...

"How could you be so careless?"

The emotion was laid on somewhat too thick.

Far too richly.

Liang Guohong answered stiffly, "Lord Xu jokes.

"Blades have no eyes on a battlefield.

"When it's time to add a little red, red gets added.

"You can't dodge it just because you want to.

"Besides, no matter what, I'm still alive.

"Compared with the boys lying on the ground who'll never climb up again, I'm already far too fortunate."

Xu Wenzu immediately objected.

"I may not have personally led many charges, but even I understand that an army of thousands is easy to obtain while a single good general is hard to find.

"Nanwang City has already recruited quite a few good-family sons.

"They need experienced veteran commanders to lead them.

"Go back and recover from your wounds.

"While you're there, train the new recruits."

"What?

"You want me to abandon my troops and go to Nanwang City?"

"Can you still lead troops into battle like this?

"Besides, those good-family sons need someone to train them."

"Heh.

"What use are raw recruits?

"Great Yan may possess a flourishing martial culture.

"Nearly every Yan man knows how to ride.

"But you and I both know that doesn't mean you can drag them out and instantly call them an army.

"Lord Xu.

"I don't want any good-family sons.

"I want my own soldiers.

"I want the men I brought all the way from Huwei Commandery!"

Guo Tongsi, who was having his arrow wounds treated beside them, reached out and tugged lightly at Liang Guohong.

Whatever their grievances, if the Commanders-in-Chief started fighting among themselves in front of the soldiers, what would that look like?

Xu Wenzu smiled.

"I know.

"I know."

Guo Tongsi spoke.

"Lord Xu, we genuinely cannot keep fighting this way.

"All of us Commanders-in-Chief together only possess this many troops.

"They may not be as elite as the Zhenbei and Jingnan armies, but among the Four States they still count as first-rate cavalry.

"Throwing them headfirst against Qian troops like this is far too wasteful!"

In several successive clashes, the Yan had won.

It was always the Qian who retreated.

But Yan's own losses were severe.

And the mobility advantage of cavalry had not been used at all.

Liang Guohong added, "Lord Xu.

"Even if you want to make your move, surely you needn't be so impatient."

The moment those words left his mouth—

Guo Tongsi and the other three Commanders-in-Chief all changed expression.

The accusation was vicious.

It was almost equivalent to pointing at Xu Wenzu's nose and saying:

Even if you want to cut down our strength so you can securely become the foremost man in Yinlang Commandery, you shouldn't be in such a hurry.

Your eating manners are far too ugly.

Xu Wenzu showed not the slightest anger.

Instead, he continued smiling.

"Don't say that.

"You've all seen how I, Xu Wenzu, normally conduct myself.

"Behind closed doors, when everyone schemes against everyone else, I'm better at scheming than any of you.

"I'm fat.

"I get hungry faster.

"Naturally, I eat a little more.

"But right now, we're facing the Qian.

"Brothers can fight at home.

"Once we step outside, we still have to stand together against outsiders.

"Even I, Xu Wenzu, understand that much.

"Originally, the strongest force under my command—you all know them, the troops from Green Willow Fortress—was taken south by the Marquis of Jingnan.

"But I still have several thousand cavalry of my own left.

"So here's what I'll do.

"I won't keep a single man.

"I'll hand the entire formation directly over to you two."

Even Liang Guohong had not expected that.

He instinctively asked, "Truly?"

"Absolutely!"

Xu Wenzu seemed tired from crouching.

He simply dropped his backside onto the frozen ground.

Tugging at his collar, he continued, "You can all see how fat I am.

"Even that Pi Beast struggles to carry me.

"Forget about leading a cavalry charge.

"I've seen some action before, sure.

"But that was mostly suppressing horse bandits around Beifeng Commandery or fighting small barbarian tribes.

"I've never truly commanded a scene this large.

"So I'll have to rely on all of you.

"Divide my troops among yourselves.

"And when more good-family sons enlist, pick out the best and send them to yourselves first.

"Once I give these soldiers away, I won't ask for them back.

"I'm saying that in front of all of you today.

"You can't possibly worry that I'll go back on my word later, can you?"

Liang Guohong looked puzzled.

"Lord Xu.

"Why are you doing this?"

They were all military men who had clawed their way into their present positions.

Naturally they understood how important personal troops were.

Xu Wenzu was giving away his entire foundation.

His behavior was genuinely difficult to understand.

"Hey.

"At a time like this, stop dividing things into yours and mine.

"In Qian eyes—we're all Yan people."

With some difficulty, Xu Wenzu climbed to his feet.

He pointed east.

"I won't hide it from any of you.

"Fighting has already begun in Jin to the east.

"From what I've heard, they're coming hard.

"Two of Jin's great clans—the Helian Clan and the Wenren Clan—have emptied out their family foundations.

"No one knows exactly how many troops they've brought.

"But on our eastern side we have fifty thousand from the Jingnan Army's rear formation, a hundred thousand Imperial Guards, and the commandery troops.

"And even with all that—the fighting is still extremely difficult.

"The imperial court cannot spare another soldier to reinforce us.

"Both Marquises have already led their armies south.

"For some reason, the Three Frontier armies still show no sign of returning as reinforcements.

"But if they truly march north—between them and His Majesty in Yanjing, who else can we count on to stop them except us?

"Brothers, I know you all ache for the sons and brothers under your command.

"I ache too.

"Goddamn it, don't forget who allocated your grain, armor, and horses!

"If I wanted to line my own pockets with state property, how hard would it be for me to get two circles fatter?

"But we cannot retreat now.

"Not one step.

"And we cannot avoid their edge.

"The Qian are probing us.

"They're afraid too.

"It's true they haven't marched south as reinforcements.

"But they don't dare launch a true full-scale northern invasion either.

"They're afraid the two Marquises will suddenly kill their way back.

"We don't know when the Marquises will return.

"But we have to do our own jobs properly.

"What do rough soldiers like us believe in?

"Nothing but the sabers, spears, arrows, and horses in our hands.

"Anything we can stake our own lives to win—we cannot surrender an inch of it.

"If we show weakness—if we retreat—if we decide to 'consider matters in the long term'—that's the same as feeding the Qian a pill to calm their hearts.

"Maybe then they'll truly dare send a great army north and try us.

"So right now, however many Qian come—we swallow that many.

"Even if both sides are shattered.

"Even if every scrap of our foundation is exhausted.

"We cannot retreat.

"Everything depends on one breath of spirit.

"We have to keep that breath held inside us.

"And we must keep holding it!"

Xu Wenzu turned north toward Yanjing.

"Let me say something from the bottom of my heart.

"Rather than saying we're protecting His Majesty this time—it's more accurate to say we're protecting Great Yan.

"Our ancestors fought and died without regard for their lives before Great Yan finally won a century of peace.

"We've fought wars during that century.

"But never once has an enemy army truly penetrated deep into Great Yan's territory.

"Great Yan has never lost a single inch of land!

"If we fail to hold here—when we die and go below, we'll truly have no face to meet our ancestors.

"Gentlemen.

"That is what I, Xu Wenzu, mean.

"We've mocked the Qian for a hundred years.

"We've always laughed at them for having no guts.

"For having no balls.

"Now—it's time to see the truth.

"Let's show these Qian bastards what real men look like!"

There was no applause.

No one shouted agreement.

Instead everyone's expression remained relatively calm.

They were all old campaigners hardened in military camps.

Not hot-blooded young recruits who would howl wildly after being stirred by a few words.

What mattered to them was not what you said.

It was what you intended to do.

At that moment, Liang Guohong looked up at the clouds.

His mouth opened and closed.

Slowly, he said, "This leg of mine is ruined.

"I originally thought I'd leave what little foundation I had to my son.

"But a man knows his own household best.

"My boy could serve as a Lieutenant Commander or Garrison Commander.

"In peacetime, he could even be a Commander-in-Chief and skim a little profit.

"That part—he takes after me.

"Hahahaha.

"But if you ask him to lead several thousand brothers against the Qian right now—the boy isn't capable.

"So let's do it this way.

"Divide the men I still have among yourselves.

"I can't ride anymore anyway.

"I might as well go to Nanwang City and train those newly recruited good-family sons.

"There's no hope of turning them into elites in such a short time.

"But I can at least pour some killing intent into them."

Xu Wenzu stood nearby smiling.

His fat face was filled with gratification.

Liang Guohong turned toward him.

"Lord Xu.

"There's something I've wanted to say for a long time."

"Say it.

"I'm listening."

"The way you look when you smile—is genuinely disgusting."

Xu Wenzu's smile became even brighter.

Then he replied, "Truthfully, when I first arrived and saw your leg was ruined—

"I was pretty happy too."

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(End of Chapter)