Chapter 387: Surrender

Xu Youcheng carried several strips of dried meat over to Liang Cheng.

He did not dare hand them directly to Liang Cheng.

Instead, he placed them on the ground in front of him.

Liang Cheng sat cross-legged.

Not far away lay the ancestral heartland of the Naiman Tribe.

Xu Youcheng remained standing beside him.

In truth, Jin Shuke’s earlier decision to lead armored city patrols straight into the Count’s residence to protect Zheng Fan had already revealed something clearly: this great zombie possessed enormous prestige within the army but not absolute control.

The reason was simple.

It was not that Liang Cheng could not seize such control.

He simply had never bothered.

Liang Cheng handled the troops’ training.

He commanded most battles in practice.

Aside from officers Master personally found pleasing and chose himself, the overwhelming majority of junior and mid-ranking commanders had also been promoted by Liang Cheng.

If he had wanted to bring the old Shengle Army—now the Snow Sea Cavalry—completely under his personal command, it would not have been difficult.

But Zheng Fan had never worried about that.

And Liang Cheng himself had never cared enough to do it.

The result was a peculiar situation.

Liang Cheng possessed enormous military prestige.

But his personal popularity among the soldiers was not especially high.

In Xu Youcheng’s eyes, General Liang truly possessed the bearing of an ancient righteous gentleman a loyal solitary minister who held great power yet never abused it.

That was not something an ordinary man could accomplish.

“Still no report from the scouts?” Liang Cheng asked.

“Replying to the General, none yet.

“It seems the Naiman Eldest Prince did not take this road.”

Liang Cheng slowly nodded.

After making his flanking march, Liang Cheng had first raided the Naiman pastures.

The attack had caused considerable panic and pressure within the tribe.

In truth, however it had been more thunder than rain.

Then Liang Cheng decisively withdrew his troops and prepared an ambush along the route the Naiman relief force was likely to take.

The design was simple.

But the simpler a plan was the more practical it often became.

What surprised Liang Cheng slightly was that the Eldest Prince’s returning army never appeared on the road.

The force seemed to have vanished.

Or else it had simply abandoned any intention of defending its own tribal pastures.

That made Liang Cheng uncomfortable.

Any commander understood one principle: the moment you realize you no longer understand the enemy’s intention is often the moment you begin losing the initiative.

What if the Eldest Prince’s retreat had only been an act?

If so Master’s situation at the front might suddenly change dramatically.

Whether the Naiman Tribe truly withdrew five thousand core warriors or not had an enormous effect on the relative strength of both armies.

After the ambush failed to catch its prey, several officers below Liang Cheng had advised immediately turning back to reinforce Count Zheng.

Liang Cheng refused.

So for the next several days, the force under him remained completely hidden near the Naiman homeland.

Because the Naiman heartland was already short on troops—and because Liang Cheng’s earlier raid had frightened them—the tribe pulled its remaining forces inward and essentially huddled within its traditional core territory.

A strange, delicate peace appeared between the two sides.

“Double the scouts.

“Expand the search area,” Liang Cheng ordered.

“Yes, General.”

Xu Youcheng left to relay the command.

Liang Cheng silently took one strip of dried beef.

He placed it in his mouth.

He did not really chew and swallow it.

Instead, he treated it almost like betel nut, merely enjoying the sensation of meat remaining inside his mouth.

Zuo Jiqian approached in full armor.

Seeing Liang Cheng seated there, he first offered a deeply respectful military salute.

Then he sat nearby.

Unlike Xu Youcheng, who had come from surrendered Jin troops, Zuo Jiqian had followed Zheng Fan all the way back when Zheng Fan still held Cuiliu Fort.

There had been some friction early on.

At one point, because of the Emperor of Yan’s campaign against the great clans, Zuo Jiqian had even been demoted into a convict unit.

Still, he belonged to the earliest group that had followed Zheng Fan.

After Zheng Fan became Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass, Zuo Jiqian and the others had risen to become Garrison Commanders.

“Here to persuade me to reinforce Master?” Liang Cheng asked.

Liang Cheng remembered that at the beginning, both Master and the Blind Man had been somewhat wary of Zuo Jiqian.

The reason was absurdly simple.

He looked like **Lü Bu**.

Fortunately, the man’s luck had been excellent.

He survived campaign after campaign, remained obedient throughout, and gradually stopped attracting suspicion.

“General has his reasons for not returning,” Zuo Jiqian said.

“And in this subordinate’s view, returning now would not mean much anyway.

“Whatever happened at the front should already be decided.

“If the Count won, then our return is unnecessary.

“If the Count lost, then our force remaining here will make the Naiman Tribe hesitate to pursue him too aggressively.”

Liang Cheng neither agreed nor disagreed.

Zuo Jiqian continued:

“But General— sometimes certain matters are not judged by whether they were right or wrong.

“They are judged by attitude.”

If you did not return to reinforce your lord whether your return would actually have helped or not your absence could still be interpreted as proof that you did not care whether he lived or died.

Zuo Jiqian’s advice was not meant to sow discord.

It was simply the survival logic he believed in.

Liang Cheng shook his head.

“There is no need to concern yourself with that.”

“Yes, General.”

At that moment, Xu Youcheng came running back.

He reported:

“General, a savage force has appeared near the Naiman territory.

“It should be reinforcements.”

Zuo Jiqian immediately stood.

Liang Cheng merely ordered:

“Pass my command.

“Remain where we are.”

“Yes, General.”

Xu Youcheng left to transmit the order.

Zuo Jiqian, however, could not understand.

“General, why?”

The Naiman reinforcements had returned.

At a moment like this, Liang Cheng should either fight or withdraw.

A decision was needed and quickly.

Why remain motionless?

“The Naiman reinforcements did not take the route where we prepared the ambush.

“They must have taken a longer road around.”

Liang Cheng pointed toward the distant Naiman encampment, where firelight flickered.

“They did not take the detour because they deliberately discovered and avoided our ambush.

“If an enemy expects an ambush in advance, setting one successfully becomes very difficult.

“And while the Naiman Tribe sent a large army away, it could never have stripped its homeland of every soldier.

“If the Eldest Prince truly intended to reinforce this place— the proper arrangement would be for him to remain outside while his father held the inner position.

“They could then trap us between them.

“But he did not do that.”

“He lost his nerve?

“Became afraid?” Zuo Jiqian asked.

Liang Cheng shook his head slowly.

“I do not know.

“But there is no need for us to disturb them yet.

“Let them show me themselves— what exactly they intend to do.”

...

“What exactly does he want?

“WHAT DOES HE WANT?!”

The Naiman King roared furiously.

When a Yan force had suddenly appeared near his tribal pastures, the Naiman King had been shocked.

At first, he thought the main Yan army had conducted a deep raid.

So he immediately ordered the tribesmen gathered inward while sending word to the front for part of the army to return.

From his perspective that had been entirely correct.

As for what pulling one plank from the barrel would do to the front line’s overall strength that was beyond what he could realistically solve at the time.

Even if he understood the problem, he still had to defend his homeland.

But when his subordinates reported that his eldest son had indeed returned with troops and had approached from another direction the Naiman King’s heart suddenly lurched.

Perhaps this was the instinct of a man in power.

Perhaps it was simply a father understanding the son he himself had raised.

Whatever the reason the instant he heard the news, the Naiman King ordered the families of his eldest son’s personal followers seized.

At the same time, every warrior still remaining inside the tribe was ordered to put on armor and prepare for battle.

Sure enough when the five thousand warriors led by the Eldest Prince appeared not far south of the tribal encampment they suddenly began charging.

The Naiman King had prepared.

He immediately dragged the hostages to the front line.

Then personally drew his saber and took the field.

The situation was bizarre.

Nobody watching could completely understand it.

Yet it was happening.

Even Liang Cheng, observing from the other side like a man watching a fire across the river, was briefly astonished.

What exactly was the Naiman Tribe doing?

Ignoring him completely and directly staging an internal war between father and son beneath the eyes of his army?

Was this bait?

Some attempt to lure him into a trap?

Very quickly—

Liang Cheng determined it was nothing of the sort.

There was no need to overthink things.

Because they truly started killing one another.

The Eldest Prince’s troops launched a direct attack on the encampment.

He had clearly hoped to settle everything in one violent rush.

He had not expected his father to be prepared.

At the same time, the Naiman King dragged the families of the Eldest Prince’s closest followers before the battle line.

Sabers were placed against their throats.

The effect was immediate.

The Eldest Prince’s army began showing signs of disintegration.

Patricide.

Rebellion.

A subordinate overthrowing his superior.

Something like that depended upon one burst of murderous courage.

There could be no hesitation.

Everyone had to harden his heart and charge forward all at once.

If the attack succeeded then perhaps the matter was over.

But now an interruption had appeared.

The frontal attack stalled.

And the families of the men fighting were being held beneath blades.

The morale of the Eldest Prince’s troops plunged immediately.

At that moment, the Naiman King displayed the courage of his youth.

He personally mounted a horse and led five hundred cavalry out through another side of the encampment.

Then he charged directly toward his son’s force.

Faced with the tribal chieftain himself and under circumstances like these many warriors beneath the Eldest Prince simply did not dare swing their sabers.

Even if they killed the Naiman King and helped the Eldest Prince seize power they themselves would forever be men who had murdered their new lord’s father.

What sort of future could such men expect afterward?

So with only five hundred riders the Naiman King smashed directly into the Eldest Prince’s formation and threw it into chaos.

Part of the returning force broke and fled.

Another part surrendered.

The Eldest Prince’s sudden rebellion collapsed almost as quickly as it began.

Seeing the situation become hopeless, the Eldest Prince refused to surrender.

He tried to gather the retainers around him and escape.

As long as the green mountains remained there would always be firewood to burn.

But those personal followers immediately understood the disaster.

Their families were still in the chieftain’s hands.

So without even exchanging signals they acted together.

They dragged the Eldest Prince from his horse.

Even then, the Eldest Prince refused to submit.

Once on the ground, he drew his saber and fought back.

He killed two of his own followers in succession.

Then, as he raised his weapon against a third his father arrived.

The Naiman King’s rage had already reached his head.

And he desperately wanted to end the chaos as quickly as possible.

He did not hesitate.

One saber flashed.

His own son’s head flew from his shoulders.

A rebellion born suddenly and burning violently ended just as abruptly.

Watching from a grassy slope, Liang Cheng could not help clapping twice.

Zuo Jiqian misunderstood completely.

“General, do we attack now?”

If they charged while the Naiman Tribe was still reeling from internal conflict there was a good chance they could break the tribal heartland directly.

Liang Cheng shook his head.

“No.

“Continue waiting.

“Since the Eldest Prince really did return with troops, Master’s battle at the front should no longer have any serious problem.”

Truthfully—

Liang Cheng had never worried all that much about Zheng Fan’s personal safety.

Master was not surrounded by useless men.

And compared with A’Ming, Siniang, the Blind Man, and the others—

Liang Cheng understood much more clearly how terrifyingly fast Zheng Fan’s ability to command troops had improved over the past several years.

After all he and Tian Wujing had taught the man personally.

Even if the result were only a Zhao Kuo did people truly believe Zhao Kuo knew nothing except how to discuss warfare on paper?

The worst realistic outcome at the front was a stalemate.

Or perhaps a deliberate strategic withdrawal.

There was little chance of true catastrophe.

And now, after this internal conflict the Naiman Tribe’s morale and cohesion would inevitably collapse further.

Once news arrived that the army at the front had also been defeated the entire tribe would begin breaking apart from within.

If the enemy could be forced to submit without another battle why waste the lives of soldiers beneath him?

War sometimes resembled business.

When the desired profit remained the same the lower the cost, the better.

“Let the men rest.

“And send people to establish contact with the Count.”

Liang Cheng issued the order.

“Yes, General.”

...

After personally beheading his eldest son, the Naiman King had no time to grieve.

He rushed back into the tribal camp and immediately convened a council of elders and nobles.

At the meeting, he ordered the arrest of every elder and noble known to be close to the Eldest Prince.

All were executed on charges of treason.

Their families, cattle, sheep, and wealth were confiscated and distributed among the warriors who had helped suppress the rebellion.

Then the Naiman King issued a pardon for the ordinary soldiers who had followed his son.

He even redistributed armor and weapons to them and allowed them back into the encampment.

Finally he sent large numbers of men outside to investigate the movements of the Yan force nearby.

What terrified the Naiman King most was that just as he finished suppressing the internal rebellion the Yan troops that had appeared several days earlier would suddenly charge.

Fortunately, the night passed toward dawn without any movement outside.

Only then did the Naiman King finally relax.

He returned to his royal tent.

There he could always rest best.

And that was indeed true.

Because every time he entered that place he simply... slept.

Once the Naiman King again fell into deep, snoring sleep, Huaji sat before a bronze mirror combing her hair.

The black cat lay curled against her thigh.

Huaji said:

“At a time like this, he can still sleep.”

“So this counts as you helping the Yan?” the black cat asked.

“If I don’t show a little sincerity now, how am I supposed to ask them to take me in later?”

“Those father and son really were unlucky to meet you.”

“Oh, listen to you.

“You knew perfectly well the Eldest Prince was interested in me.

“Weren’t you the one who suggested I build a good relationship with him in advance?”

“That is because of savage custom.

“Once the Naiman King dies, by their rules, you would be married to his son.”

“Hehehe.

“The Naiman Tribe has no future anyway.

“Whether I sent someone to warn the Eldest Prince or not would not change the final result.

“If anything, perhaps by doing this I even helped fewer Naiman people die.

“Aiya.

“Look how much merit I’ve accumulated.

“I wonder whether it helps cultivation.

“I’ve heard that if a spirit can establish a temple and receive an unbroken stream of incense offerings, the benefit to cultivation is enormous.”

“You’ll be struck dead by lightning.”

“Nothing good ever comes out of a cat’s mouth.

“Heh.”

The reason the Eldest Prince had chosen to rebel was that his “mother-consort” who was also secretly his lover had sent him a private letter.

That letter happened to arrive shortly after he received his father’s message.

The Naiman King’s letter informed him that an unknown-sized Yan force had appeared near the tribal pastures in the rear and ordered him to bring some warriors back as reinforcement.

Huaji’s letter told him something else.

She claimed the Naiman King had been frightened by the Yan army.

The nearby tribes asked for help had still not responded.

So the Naiman King was preparing to compromise.

And because the entire crisis had begun when the Eldest Prince killed the escaping Jin slaves and enraged the Yan the Naiman King supposedly intended to hand his own son over to the Yan as the price for withdrawal.

Put simply:

**Your father plans to sell you.**

The Eldest Prince really had caused the incident.

His father really had always been suspicious of him.

And the person secretly warning him was his “young stepmother” a woman he believed favored him.

Put almost anyone in the Eldest Prince’s position and there was a very good chance he would believe the story.

Besides, the Eldest Prince was hardly some peerless genius.

If the Third Prince had encountered the same situation, perhaps he would have thought more carefully.

But Count Zheng had already sent the Third Prince back into the embrace of the stars.

So the Eldest Prince rebelled.

Unfortunately his father was still his father.

And crushed him.

Huaji examined herself in the bronze mirror.

“You think I should change my makeup before the Yan arrive?

“Maybe use the style women in Qian wear?

“I always feel savage makeup is too heavy.

“I’m afraid Count Pingye won’t like it.”

The black cat extended one paw.

It patted Huaji’s thigh.

Then patted the fullness above.

The cat yawned.

“I heard Yan men like women with large backsides and thick waists.

“Good for bearing children.”

“Peh!”

“That’s their taste.

“They don’t like delicate little beauties.

“They like big feet and big bodies— the kind of wife who can count as half a laborer once brought home.”

That was genuinely part of Yan social custom.

Among commoners and nobles alike, when families chose wives or daughters-in-law, they prioritized whether the woman possessed a strong body.

The sturdier the woman the higher the bride-price she could command.

That was why, after news spread that the First Prince of Yan would marry a barbarian princess, ordinary people were actually fairly pleased.

Barbarian women were usually big and sturdy.

So the princess must surely be big and sturdy too.

Excellent!

“Am I small?” Huaji asked while examining her body.

“Among foxes— you count as large.”

“Why the hell would I compare myself to foxes now?”

“Hehehe.

“A spirit creature should never forget its roots.”

“Get the hell off me!”

The black cat jumped down from Huaji.

It walked over to the sleeping Naiman King.

Then looked at him.

“Once the Yan arrive, what if we simply bind the Naiman King ourselves and hand him over?

“Wouldn’t that earn even more credit?

“Haven’t you spent the past few years cultivating a group loyal to you?”

“I’ve considered it.

“But would that be going too far?”

“Since you’ve already escorted the Buddha this far, send him all the way west.

“You already did the first day.

“Why hesitate over the fifteenth?”

“That does sound reasonable.”

Huaji turned and looked toward the Naiman King sleeping soundly on the bed.

It was obvious he was exhausted.

Terrified.

Under tremendous pressure.

Yet precisely because Huaji was here he could sleep peacefully even now.

“Let’s wait a little longer.

“The Yan haven’t made their move yet.

“No need for us to rush.”

Huaji pressed red rouge paper to her lips.

Then admired the color in the bronze mirror.

“I really am beautiful.”

...

Two days later soldiers fleeing from the front began returning one after another.

They brought news of defeat.

Not merely defeat.

A disastrous rout.

When the Naiman King heard the report, he sat frozen upon his royal seat.

Below him the nobles and elders remained silent.

They had lost.

Completely.

The Eldest Prince’s rebellion had only just happened.

So the atmosphere inside the Naiman Tribe was already unbearably oppressive.

A powerful enemy stood outside.

Inside, the tribe had just consumed itself in bloodshed.

From top to bottom everyone was terrified.

Huaji and the black cat also received the news.

The black cat licked one paw.

Then said:

“That’s it.

“The Naiman Tribe is finished now.

“I genuinely don’t understand how the Yan are so good at fighting.

“Feels like nobody can beat them.”

“Mm.”

Huaji sighed.

The black cat looked up.

Its feline eyes fixed on her.

“Tonight?

“Did you notify your people?”

“Yes.

“When he comes to my tent tonight, we bind him.

“I’ve prepared poison that dissolves qi and blood so he can’t resist.

“Once we control him, I’ll use my identity as the Naiman royal consort to control the tribe— and surrender to the Yan.

“At this point, nobody in the Naiman Tribe should still be naïve enough to think they can resist the Yan.

“If I help them seize the Naiman King and end the matter— they may even be grateful to me.”

“Sounds like a magnificent scene.

“Not bad.

“Men like this sort of thing, don’t they?

“You’ll be a royal consort who personally offered surrender.

“You preserve the last fragments of dignity and status.

“That gives you even greater appeal in a man’s bed.

“That is what humans call— the desire to conquer.”

“You certainly sound knowledgeable.

“If you want, I can castrate you right now, help you transform into human shape afterward, and let you experience it personally.

“Talking without doing is meaningless.”

“Meow.”

The black cat gave one cry.

Then, both the woman and the cat froze.

Their gazes met instantly.

The black cat immediately said:

“No.

“Something’s wrong!”

Suddenly a dense volley of arrows hissed through the air.

Then flames erupted.

The entire royal tent began burning.

Outside the Naiman King crouched on the ground, wiping tears from his face.

Around him, men continued firing flaming arrows into the royal tent.

“You are the star I loved most deeply in this life.”

The Naiman King slowly stood.

He wiped the tear tracks from the corners of his eyes.

Then murmured:

“I know.

“You would rather die than suffer humiliation at the hands of the Yan.

“So I will personally send you back into the embrace of the stars.

“One day— among the stars we will meet again.”

The Naiman King drew in a deep breath.

Then turned to a trusted follower standing beside him.

“Send men out carrying banners.

“Find the nearby Yan army.

“Tell them— the Naiman Tribe... surrenders.”

————

[End of Chapter 387]