Chapter 203: He Played Himself

“No. Absolutely not.

“Whether the Yan Emperor threw him out as part of some deal with the Situ Clan, or he himself is playing some kind of game, we have no obligation to fill their pit with the lives of our own men.”

Zheng Fan pulled out two cigarettes and handed one to the Blind Man.

The two had originally been sitting with their backs against the battlements.

Now they both turned around and squatted facing the wall.

Night had already fallen.

In modern warfare, lighting a cigarette on the battlefield at night was like volunteering to become a signal lamp.

Ancient warfare was not much better.

There were no sniper rifles, but expert archers were hardly rare.

Especially once a Martial Artist infused an arrow with qi and blood before releasing it, both its range and lethality became terrifying.

Zheng Fan used to practice archery on A’Ming whenever he had nothing else to do.

He understood that point extremely well.

Both old schemers treasured their lives far too much to joke around with them.

Besides, posting hidden sentries or marksmen near the battle lines at night was practically an unspoken convention.

So, cigarette tips pointed downward, the two men stuck their asses out and lit up.

“What does Master intend to do?” the Blind Man asked.

“Since there’s definitely something wrong at Xinsu City, then the answer is either A or B.

“What’s the point of sitting here calculating endlessly?

“Once I finish this cigarette, I’ll go down and ask that Emperor directly.

“No games.

“No beating around the bush.”

“Master, if the Yan Emperor deliberately threw him out, then His Majesty presumably wanted to avoid leaving any suspicion or involvement on himself and send the Jin Emperor away in the most reasonable manner possible.

“We have already taken him in.

“If we throw him back out now, wouldn’t that be deliberately smearing mud across the Yan Emperor’s face?

“That might anger and embarrass him even more than simply ruining his plan.”

“Blind Man, you’ve never met Ji Runhao.”

“Mm.”

“Put it this way.

“If you dropped that Emperor into the ancient history of our old world, he’d genuinely be another Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han.

“And the man is proud as hell.

“Sure, everyone who plays politics gets dirty, but I don’t think he’d bother with this sort of method—first reassuring the Jin Emperor, then arranging to sell him out on the return journey.”

“If Master analyzes it from that perspective, this subordinate accepts the reasoning.”

“Heh. Of course, if it really was him, then we’ve already screwed things up either way.

“At that point, staying in Great Yan wouldn’t be very interesting anymore, would it?”

“That is true.”

“But if this whole thing was arranged by the Jin Emperor himself...”

Zheng Fan exhaled a ring of smoke and frowned.

“The problem is, even if politics has no eternal enemies or friends, why the hell would he collude with the Situ Clan right now?

“Situ Lei has already enthroned himself and founded a state.”

“Master, if we follow that line of thought and the Jin Emperor truly set this matter in motion, then this subordinate believes some link in the plan must have undergone a change even the Jin Emperor himself did not anticipate.”

The Blind Man pointed ahead.

“Several thousand more cavalry arrived outside tonight.

“The Situ Clan army beyond the walls has already exceeded fifteen thousand and is approaching twenty thousand.

“That is not a display the Jin Emperor could arrange by himself.”

“I heard that after the Helian and Wenren Clans were destroyed, quite a few Jin military commanders defected to Yu Ciming?” Zheng Fan said thoughtfully.

Yan had tacitly permitted that.

To use an imperfect comparison, the Jin Emperor was somewhat like Wang Jingwei.

Liang Cheng spoke.

“Master, the troops outside have extremely high morale.

“They do not resemble routed soldiers who were only recently gathered together.”

“Forget it.

“No more analysis.

“My head hurts.

“Since we’re sure something’s wrong, I’ll just go ask him directly.

“We’ll play it straight instead of winding around in circles.”

Zheng Fan extinguished his cigarette and said to Liang Cheng, “Keep watch up here.

“Be careful of a Jin night attack.”

“Yes, Master.”

When the situation became a tangled mess, the best method was often to stop caring about the details and simply cut straight through the knot.

At least that was how Zheng Fan saw it.

With other matters, pretending ignorance for the sake of an easier life was perfectly acceptable.

But now the lives of Zheng Fan and a whole crowd of people around him were at stake.

Continuing to stumble around in confusion would be pointless.

All the troops who had entered the fortified manor guarding the Jin Emperor had already been transferred onto the walls.

So when Zheng Fan arrived with nearly a hundred armored soldiers, only two guards and two serving girls remained beside Yu Ciming.

Yes.

The old manor lord had not changed his habits.

He had continued sending granddaughters.

And Zheng Fan discovered that the Emperor had received an even higher specification.

Earlier, the old man had only offered Zheng Fan one granddaughter to warm his bed.

The Jin Emperor had received two.

Of course, that was understandable.

The Yu imperial clan might have been worthless for the last sixty years, and the people of Jin might have forgotten their Emperor for just as long.

But Yu Ciming was still a genuine Emperor.

For a petty local magnate like the old manor lord, ingratiating himself with the Jin Emperor was an excellent bargain even if he ignored political power.

Not that the Jin Emperor had much power left.

But even producing two imperial-prince grandsons would be more than worth it.

Zheng Fan entered without waiting to be announced.

The two guards tried to stop him, but the armored soldiers beside Zheng Fan physically blocked them.

The posture made it clear they would draw steel at the slightest disagreement.

The guards did not dare act rashly.

When Zheng Fan entered, he saw the Jin Emperor taking small sips of congee.

Even now, Yu Ciming maintained his elegance.

Yet that elegance gave Zheng Fan only one impression.

This guy was putting on an act.

Across the four great eastern states, people who had met three of their Emperors were truly as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Zheng Fan had.

He had even spoken with all three.

By comparison, the Yan Emperor’s dominance came naturally.

The Qian Emperor possessed an easy, unrestrained air.

Both were natural expressions of men who had cultivated their manner to the extreme.

In one sense, they were rather similar.

Both could be quite easygoing.

The fundamental reason was confidence.

They did not need to deliberately maintain a solemn, imposing posture to announce who they were.

Put another way who wanted to spend every day pretending?

Wouldn’t that be exhausting?

The Jin Emperor was different.

He was always acting.

Because from the day he ascended the throne, he had never truly experienced what it meant to stand at the supreme height of imperial power.

The less confidence someone possessed the more desperately they wanted to prop themselves up through external appearances.

Seeing Zheng Fan enter, the Jin Emperor set down his bowl in some confusion.

“Has General Zheng eaten his evening meal?”

Even now he was still thinking about playing the courteous sovereign who honored worthy men.

Zheng Fan had no interest in it.

Before learning anything was wrong, he might have been willing to cooperate with the Jin Emperor and act out something like Liu Bei throwing down A’Dou.

Now he had no such interest.

“Everyone out.”

Zheng Fan’s tone was blunt.

Yu Ciming narrowed his eyes slightly.

Then he waved a hand and said mildly, “Everyone leave.”

Soon, only Zheng Fan and the Jin Emperor remained inside.

“Does General Zheng have some urgent military matter to discuss with Us?”

Zheng Fan sat cross-legged before the Jin Emperor.

At that moment, he genuinely felt the difference that political power created.

The Yan Emperor, Qian Emperor, and even the two Marquises had rarely put on airs around him.

They joked, cursed, and teased from time to time, appearing remarkably down-to-earth.

Yet precisely because of that Zheng Fan had always been terrified around them, as though walking on thin ice.

Facing the Jin Emperor now, Zheng Fan genuinely felt himself behaving outrageously.

Wasn’t that simply because this Emperor possessed the title but none of the substance?

Ultimately—

Zheng Fan himself was also viewing people through tinted lenses.

“There’s something I want to clarify with Your Majesty.”

“General Zheng, please speak.”

“Your Majesty’s procession was caught by the Situ Clan rebels outside Xinsu City?”

“Yes.”

“Your Majesty should know that the troops stationed in Xinsu City are part of Great Yan’s Jingnan Army.

“One of the Marquis of Jingnan’s Commanders-in-Chief is stationed there.

“The Jingnan Army is among Great Yan’s elite forces.

“Its discipline is strict, and it rarely makes mistakes or grows careless.”

“We know.”

“Then I’ll speak plainly, Your Majesty.

“I currently suspect that you were a gift from my Emperor to the Situ Clan.”

The Jin Emperor froze.

He seemed unable to adapt to this degree of bluntness.

But he was an Emperor after all.

His ability to adjust was considerable.

After a brief moment of astonishment, he immediately asked, “How did General Zheng arrive at that conclusion?”

“Xinsu City could not possibly fail to react if a large army appeared around it.

“That’s the only direction I can guess.”

“Then what does General Zheng intend to do?

“By taking Us in, has the General not ruined your Emperor’s plan?”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Truthfully, since Your Majesty has met my Emperor, you should understand what kind of man he is.

“I received no prior notice.

“I saw Your Majesty being pursued and took you in.

“Even if that ruined my Emperor’s plans, he would not punish me for it.”

“That is not necessarily so.

“An Emperor’s heart is as deep as the sea.”

“Perhaps Your Majesty still does not understand me.

“Great Yan’s Third Prince was crippled by my own hands.”

Zheng Fan found it rather amusing.

The fact that he had crippled the Third Prince was rapidly becoming his personal label.

Every so often, he could drag it out again to establish his presence.

“Since General Zheng is being so sincere, if that truly is the case, how does the General intend to resolve the aftermath?”

“Difficult,” Zheng Fan sighed.

“Yes.

“Very difficult.”

Too many people had seen what happened.

Trying to silence every witness would be impossible.

“Still, I possess one good quality.”

“We would like to hear it.”

“I always prefer to think in the most favorable direction.”

“Oh.

“A good habit.”

“What if this wasn’t arranged by my Emperor?”

“Then who arranged it?

“Surely not Us?”

Hearing that rhetorical question, Zheng Fan smiled and stared directly at Yu Ciming.

Yu Ciming smiled as well.

The two held each other’s gaze.

A moment later—

Yu Ciming nodded.

“Well, what a coincidence.

“It really was Us.”

Yu Ciming admitted it.

Zheng Fan silently placed his saber beside him.

At the same time, he casually reached up and touched the Demon Child resting against his chest.

“What exactly does Your Majesty want?”

This Jin Emperor truly knew how to make trouble.

First he rebelled against his own country.

Then, he arranged to have himself hunted down.

Put that into a television drama and it would be shameless scene-stealing.

“Since General Zheng has already spoken so sincerely and openly, We will not conceal anything either.

“The army outside received Our decree and hid in advance within the Capital Region.

“The Yan troops in Xinsu City would not dare enter the Capital Region to investigate.”

That explained everything.

Zheng Fan was genuinely interested now.

If he had merely been an ordinary City Governor traveling to his new posting, he might truly have been manipulated like a puppet, spun around without ever realizing what was happening.

He might even have believed Heaven had dropped a Jin Emperor into his lap as a gift.

Fortunately every Demon King under his command was shrewd enough to notice something was wrong in time.

The Jin Emperor sighed.

His fingers tapped gently against the table.

“For nothing else.

“Only to survive.”

“Who wants to kill Your Majesty?” Zheng Fan asked.

“General Zheng, some people in this world do not live merely for the sake of remaining alive.

“A swordsman lives for his sword.

“A scholar lives for poetry and prose.

“As an Emperor, if one is reduced completely to an ornament, what meaning remains in living?

“General Zheng, can you understand that principle?”

“One eats in order to live.

“One does not live merely in order to eat.”

The Jin Emperor’s eyes immediately lit up.

He suddenly felt as though he had found a kindred spirit.

He could not help regretting that he had not befriended Zheng Fan earlier.

Had he done so, the journey would not have been so lonely.

Yet another layer of doubt remained in the Jin Emperor’s mind.

The Yan general’s behavior on the battlements earlier and his behavior now felt like two completely different people.

In truth, at this moment, both Zheng Fan and the Jin Emperor felt as though the other man was hidden behind mist.

Their initial impression had been idiot.

But slowly both were discovering that the other was not merely an idiot.

“Since matters have already reached this point, Your Majesty should speak plainly.

“After all, blades and arrows have no eyes on a battlefield.

“I am responsible for my men.”

You can play political games and conspiracy all you want.

Go torment the people of Jin.

I don’t give a damn.

But if you expect my soldiers to die for your schemes sorry.

I’m not playing.

“General Zheng should understand what We sought when We opened South Gate Pass ourselves.

“Nothing more than the word ‘survival.’

“We originally believed that with Yan supporting Us, although Our reputation and the histories written about Us would hardly be glorious, We could at least continue living with a measure of dignity.

“As long as you Yan people wished to maintain stable rule in Jin, you would have to keep Us standing as your ceremonial archway.

“And as long as your Emperor still possessed the ambition to sweep across the East, he would have to treat Us well.”

“That is indeed true.”

“But the Situ Clan has enthroned an Emperor.

“They founded a state.”

“So?”

“Within the Three Jin lands, We have only three uses.

“First, to show the rulers of other states that surrendering to Yan still allows one to live in luxury without fear.

“Second, to pacify the people of the Three Jin lands.

“Third, to suppress and intimidate the Situ Clan.

“So long as We, the legitimate Emperor of Jin, remain here, the Situ Clan, as former retainers, will always be suppressed in terms of orthodox legitimacy.

“Your Yan army mobilized even the Zhenbei Army for this campaign.

“You are now entering a period of recuperation.

“You do not wish to go to war at this moment against the Situ Clan, the strongest and most deeply rooted power in the Three Jin lands.

“Yet the old Situ Clan Head suddenly died.

“Situ Lei enthroned himself and founded a state.

“On the surface, it was an aggressive move.

“In reality, it erased most of the necessity for Our continued existence.”

Zheng Fan frowned slightly.

“You Yan people once promised the Situ Clan that if they surrendered and submitted to Yan, they could retain a Feudal State.

“Yan would recognize their ruler’s position.

“The old Situ Clan Head rejected the offer outright.

“He said he was a man of Jin and would not become a Yan dog.

“Then—he died.”

“The deal was reached with Situ Lei?”

The Jin Emperor nodded.

“Indeed.

“What you Yan people want is a stable Three Jin region.

“Allowing the Situ Clan to enthrone itself and found a state, completely dividing the Three Jin lands, aligns perfectly with Yan’s interests.

“But afterward—what becomes of Us?

“We originally believed Great Yan’s appetite was enormous and that you would not stop until you swallowed all of Jin.

“Instead, you tasted the dish and stopped.”

Originally—

Yu Ciming was Emperor of Jin.

Whatever else might be said, he represented Jin’s orthodox legitimacy.

His Capital Region might not be large, only roughly a commandery in size, but he could at least retain some degree of influence.

Now the Situ Clan had enthroned its own Emperor.

That made it perfectly clear they no longer recognized him.

If Yan intended to press onward, destroy the Situ Clan, and unify Jin in a single sweep, it could continue using Yu Ciming’s banner to punish the rebels.

But Great Yan had mobilized hundreds of thousands of cavalry in this war.

Its reserves had already been drained.

The state was preparing to recuperate for a while.

Hadn’t the Marquis of Zhenbei already led one formation of the Zhenbei Army back to Beifeng Commandery?

Yan did not want another major war in the short term.

It wanted to digest the victories already won.

That was why the Yan court had even reached an agreement with the Situ Clan.

You found your state.

We divide Jin between us.

Under such an accepted arrangement the Jin Emperor’s existence became extraordinarily awkward.

“So Your Majesty did this to provoke a major war between Great Yan and the Situ Clan?”

The Jin Emperor nodded.

“Merely for self-preservation.”

A peaceful Jin was an extremely unfavorable situation for this Emperor.

Only if Jin remained at war only if turmoil continued would there still be a need for his existence.

There might even be opportunities to fish in troubled waters.

Zheng Fan suddenly felt that the Jin Emperor resembled Li Fusheng.

Both seemed somewhat sick in the head.

For the sake of their obsessions they could do anything extreme.

Or perhaps, ever since opening South Gate Pass himself, this Emperor had become addicted to making enormous gambles.

“In other words, the troops outside are Your Majesty’s men?”

“After the Helian and Wenren Clans were destroyed, We did receive quite a few warriors from across the Three Jin lands and used them to reinforce the Imperial Guard.”

That was essentially an admission.

Zheng Fan rubbed his temples.

“Your Majesty, I still don’t understand what your actual objective is.”

Provoking war?

Creating tension?

Such grand, empty objectives seemed rather impractical when translated into concrete actions.

“Because there was no objective, We first needed to muddy the waters.

“Otherwise, there would never be an objective.”

That was the Jin Emperor’s answer.

Stir everything into chaos first.

Then see what opportunities emerged.

“Oh.

“So that’s how it is.”

Zheng Fan stood.

The Jin Emperor picked up his bowl of congee again and prepared to continue eating.

“Your Majesty, you told me everything so easily.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll submit a memorial to my Emperor?”

“We are not afraid.”

“Why?

“I am a Yan man.”

“We are a Jin man.

“We are even Emperor of Jin.

“Yet for the sake of Our throne, did We not also provoke war and condemn the people of the Three Jin lands to suffering?”

“No, no.

“It’s different.

“I’m relatively pure.”

“Perhaps.

“General Zheng, We understand what you seek.

“In this chaos, you and We can support one another.

“There is no need to worry about the army outside for now.

“After besieging this place for two days, they will naturally withdraw.

“General Zheng may simply accept the merit of supporting the heavens and protecting the sovereign.

“Consider it Our first gift to you.”

“Wait...”

Zheng Fan suddenly felt something was wrong.

“Does General Zheng have another matter?”

Zheng Fan turned around again and stared at the Jin Emperor.

“Your Majesty just said the army outside belongs to you?”

“Yes.”

“Your Majesty, would you come with me to the battlements?”

“You were the one who told Us to come down and rest earlier.”

“That was earlier.

“This is now.

“There are some things I need to confirm before I can feel at ease.”

The Jin Emperor smiled and stood.

He walked to Zheng Fan’s side.

“Then We shall accompany the General to the battlements and put Our beloved Minister Zheng’s heart at ease.”

“Your Majesty, please.”

Zheng Fan and the Jin Emperor walked outside together.

Everyone around them deliberately kept a certain distance.

Once outside the two climbed the wall side by side.

The Jin Emperor looked at the armored soldiers who remained fully alert even at night.

He said apologetically, “We have made the General’s brave warriors toil.”

“That’s nothing.

“Even if no battle happens, we can treat it as a military exercise.”

The Jin Emperor placed both hands on the wall and looked east.

“Does the General know who commands the army opposite us?”

“Your Majesty, please enlighten me.”

“His surname is Yu.

“Yu Huacheng.

“He is the General of Our Personal Guard.”

“Oh.”

Oh.

Never heard of him.

“He is actually accomplished in both civil and military affairs.

“Unfortunately, because of Us, he has never had the opportunity to display his talents.

“In the future, We shall introduce the two of you.”

“Good.

“Good.”

“However, General Zheng should have heard of his elder brother.

“His name is Yu Huaping.”

“Still haven’t—”

“People of the martial world call him—the Sword Saint of Jin.”

“Cough, cough, cough...”

That one—

Zheng Fan had indeed heard of.

“Your Majesty, so the Sword Saint of Jin belongs to the imperial clan?”

“A distant relative.

“So distant the relation can barely be called one.

“But ultimately, we both bear the surname Yu.”

“I see.”

At that moment, a signal arrow suddenly rose into the sky with a piercing whistle.

Liang Cheng immediately shouted from the wall, “Enemy night attack!

“Prepare for battle!”

In an instant, whether they had been standing watch or dozing, every armored soldier sprang into motion and rushed toward the walls.

The Jin Emperor’s expression darkened.

He looked at Zheng Fan.

“General Zheng, what is the meaning of this?”

“The enemy is launching a night assault on the fortress,” Zheng Fan answered.

Xue San had fired the signal arrow.

As an assassin, Xue San had concealed himself beneath the fortified manor so he could detect enemy movements early and provide warning.

Other people might be doubted.

But when it came to his own Demon Kings and matters like this—

Zheng Fan trusted them completely.

“Absurd!”

The Jin Emperor rebuked him.

Zheng Fan could not be bothered arguing.

He grabbed the Jin Emperor by the shoulder and forced both of them into a crouch.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A storm of arrows rose from below the walls.

Immediately afterward came dense battle cries.

The troops opposite them really were launching a night assault!

The Jin Emperor had initially thought Zheng Fan was deceiving him.

But there was no possible way to fake this kind of momentum.

For a moment he simply stood there stunned.

“How is this possible...

“How is this possible...

“How could this possibly happen...”

By then, A’Ming and Siniang had already reached Zheng Fan’s side.

This was standard procedure.

On a battlefield, at least two Demon Kings had to remain near Master at all times to protect him.

A’Ming looked toward the dazed Jin Emperor.

“What happened?”

Zheng Fan silently drew his saber.

Then said, “He played himself.”

(End of Chapter)