Chapter 404: She Has Arrived

*Smack!*

Zheng Fan tossed the military order from the Marquis of Jingnan onto the table.

The gesture was not meant to express dissatisfaction. No matter how much Count Zheng strutted about, he had not reached the point of harboring opinions about Old Tian.

Even the Demon Kings themselves admitted that as long as Old Tian remained alive—and as long as Old Tian had no intention of rebelling—then all of them could only continue being loyal and righteous servants of Great Yan.

“The military order came in two copies. One is the formal military dispatch describing the situation. The other is a handwritten order from the Marquis himself.”

Zheng Fan reached out and tapped the tabletop.

Looking at the Demon Kings seated below, he said:

“The order is simple enough. Two words—

“Sit tight.”

The Blind Man nodded.

Clearly, this order was within his expectations.

Siniang also let out a long breath. Even the sweater she was knitting seemed to move more briskly in her hands.

There were now so many mouths inside and outside Snow Sea Pass. Their existing reserves of money and grain were only enough to get through the winter steadily. If war flared up again now, then this winter would become difficult.

After all, not every battle produced profit.

Many wars were pure consumption.

Sometimes there was nowhere to make back what you spent.

The Savage King sat in an inconspicuous spot at the very bottom.

He still wore shackles around his ankles.

There was no chair for him, so he simply sat on the floor tiles.

“Everyone’s sitting already anyway,” Zheng Fan said. “So speak. What do you think?”

He quietly drew out a cigarette.

He did not light it.

He merely rolled it between his fingers.

The Blind Man rose.

“Master, the beacon fires rising along Zhennan Pass and Nanwang City should not be the prelude to another Three-State War.

“On the Qian side, they used their newly created and extremely precious cavalry force for a sudden raid.

“On our side, although Zhennan Pass is Chu territory now, all they have done is push forward Xue Rang, that former Situ general who surrendered, and have him raise some collateral descendant of the Situ Clan as emperor. Chu itself remains behind the curtain.

“On both the Chu and Qian fronts, there is likely far more thunder than rain. They are making a show of force and manufacturing tension. They do not truly intend to begin an all-out war with the State of Yan.”

The Savage King waited until the Blind Man finished.

Then immediately added:

“Count, Mr. Bei is exactly right.

“I know the Chu people’s character extremely well. To put it politely, they believe themselves the inheritors of noble bloodlines.

“To put it less politely, they simply lack that sort of bone-deep courage to throw everything away and gamble their lives against another man.

“Especially that Regent of Chu.

“His style is to manipulate every piece until it sits safely inside his palm.

“He is different from our Great Yan Emperor.

“He does not like gambling.

“He prefers stability.

“This time the Chu people pushed one figurehead forward because they want to stir the water, force us to move, and exhaust our army.”

The Savage King needed to seize every brief opportunity to display his value.

His opportunities were already scarce.

Every time he proved useful, there was a decent chance his living conditions would improve slightly.

At the moment, his immediate goal was to be moved into a prison cell above ground.

Ever since Count Pingye Residence had been completed and he had been transferred into its underground prison, he suffered nightmares almost every night.

From time to time, he felt cold seeping through his entire body.

The place simply carried an eerie, malevolent quality.

The Savage King often described himself as a cockroach who could survive anywhere.

But this time he genuinely did not want to remain in that cell.

He was truly afraid that if he stayed there long enough, he might simply die in his sleep.

Zheng Fan nodded.

“So this time, Qian and Chu are using a strategy of attrition.

“Heh.”

At Zheng Fan’s present status, he could finally stand at a somewhat higher position and look down across the larger situation.

During the earlier campaign against the savages, the Eastern Expedition Army had suffered its first major defeat.

The First Prince did indeed deserve to carry part of the blame.

But the deeper cause had still been the exhaustion produced by the State of Yan’s consecutive years of warfare.

What armies had Yan used in its earlier campaigns?

The Zhenbei Army.

The Jingnan Army.

Local troops and Imperial Guards had only been there to support the main effort.

Back during the first Three-State War, Fatty Xu had gathered the various local commanders at Nanwang City and desperately restrained the probing attacks of Qian’s three frontier armies.

That had already been the single greatest contribution made by local troops during that entire war.

When the Eastern Expedition Army first marched out, the Left-Wing Army had been assembled precisely because Great Yan’s territory had expanded too far.

Garrisons were needed everywhere.

At the same time, the two elite armies of Great Yan had themselves suffered serious attrition.

As a result, the empire had no choice but to begin relying upon local forces and Imperial Guards to maintain and support the pace of imperial conquest.

When corpses from the Left-Wing Army covered the Wang River the root cause was simple.

Their quality was far below that of the Zhenbei and Jingnan Armies.

Afterward, the Marquis of Jingnan took command.

His so-called “substitution of flowers and grafting of wood” had looked clever and profound.

But at its heart it was nothing more than Tian Ji’s horse-racing strategy.

Local armies, Imperial Guards, and troops surrendered from the State of Cheng the “inferior horses” were disguised as Jingnan and Zhenbei Army forces and sent beneath Yupan City.

Meanwhile, the actual Zhenbei and Jingnan elites changed equipment and became the true striking force.

Then, in one decisive blow, they shattered the main savage army led by the Savage King.

But the underlying problem had never disappeared.

The replenishment and growth of trained soldiers simply could not keep pace with the losses inflicted by year after year of war.

To put it plainly, the Marquis of Jingnan’s method had simply hidden Great Yan’s weakness completely from view.

And after the main savage army was defeated the Marquis of Jingnan, a man so hard and fierce and the Emperor of Yan, equally hard and fierce still did not launch a northern expedition into the snowfields.

That alone proved they both understood just how exhausted Great Yan had become.

It was not that they did not want to fight.

They could no longer sustain it.

The clearest example was Zheng Fan himself.

In the past, give Count Zheng three thousand Zhenbei or Jingnan cavalry and even if ten thousand enemy riders stood in front of him, he could still laugh and talk freely.

He could charge straight into the enemy’s face without much psychological burden.

Even if he could not win, breaking out again would not be especially difficult.

But now, ask Count Zheng to randomly select three thousand cavalry from Snow Sea Pass.

Even though they were his own men he no longer possessed the confidence to act recklessly.

Elite soldiers and good commanders were far too precious.

They were not something you could mass-produce merely by gathering enough bodies.

There was another problem.

Jin territory had been smashed to pieces and still had not recovered.

The Yan treasury and the strength of the people had both entered a state close to collapse.

That was another kind of pressure on the military.

Different layer same interconnected result.

Count Zheng sighed helplessly.

“Isn’t this exactly the trick the Russians used when they massed troops along our northern border?”

They relied on the fact that their scale was larger than yours.

They could afford the expense.

So they deliberately forced you to expend yourself against them.

The Blind Man said:

“But the method is cheap and effective.

“Back then, we used something similar against the Little Hegemon too.”

Then, Zheng Fan and the Blind Man looked at each other and smiled.

The other Demon Kings nodded as well.

Only the Savage King, sitting on the floor, looked utterly baffled.

What Russians?

What Little Hegemon?

What kind of coded exchange was this?

The realization that he could no longer follow the conversation immediately plunged the Savage King into a deep sense of crisis.

Zheng Fan continued:

“So this military order from the Marquis of Jingnan means he has already seen through the Chu plan.”

If they wanted to make noise let them make noise.

The State of Yan’s advantage remained absolute confidence in field battle.

Whether Xue Rang or the Chu army if they dared advance too far from Zhennan Pass, the Yan army remained confident it could crush them.

After all the Marquis of Jingnan himself currently sat at Fengxin City.

“Liang Cheng.”

“This subordinate is here.”

“I think the Chu people probably won’t send out a major army.

“But they may very well dispatch smaller forces to raid and harass.

“After this meeting, arrange things with Jin Shuke.

“Have him lead two or three thousand cavalry outward and expand our patrol screen.

“Our main force can remain still.

“But the necessary defenses still need to be made.”

“Yes. This subordinate understands.”

“Siniang.”

“This subordinate is here.”

“You know how tight our situation is right now.

“Our money and grain supplies are only just enough to let us pass the winter peacefully.

“But think of some way to squeeze out and reserve another portion of grain.

“War probably won’t start.

“But we need to be prepared.”

By Yan Army tradition especially among the Yan troops now stationed throughout Jin territory when a military order came calling them to campaign, they had to bring a substantial portion of their own provisions.

There was no time to wait for the rear to arrange transportation and resupply.

Yanjing was simply too far away.

Distant water could not quench a nearby fire.

Besides, the beacon fires around Nanwang City pointed almost directly toward Yanjing.

The court’s primary concern would naturally remain that front.

As for Yingdu it had already scraped the land nearly three feet deep to gather the money and grain required for the second half of the year.

Jin territory had been devastated by war.

The place was already a wreck.

In short if a real war began next, every Yan army stationed in Jin would need to be ready to feed itself.

“Xue San.”

“This subordinate is here.”

“Without interfering with the autumn harvest, manufacture more components for siege equipment.”

“Yes, Master.”

Siege engines could not be carried around fully assembled.

But if the critical components were prepared beforehand, then once troops reached the target area, they could fell timber locally and assemble the machines very quickly.

One task after another was assigned.

Finally—

Zheng Fan waved his hand.

“Dismissed.”

At that moment, however, an armored soldier entered from outside and bowed.

“Count, we just received a dispatch from the scouts.

“The convoy of the Commandery Princess from the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence is already approaching Snow Sea Pass.

“Eight hundred cavalry are accompanying her as escort.

“The Princess’s own convoy numbers roughly two hundred.”

The eight hundred riders should have been dispatched by some nearby commander.

The people truly belonging to the Commandery Princess numbered only around two hundred.

Hearing the news the Savage King showed no abnormal reaction whatsoever this time.

Siniang, however, smiled as she glanced toward Zheng Fan.

Clearly, Siniang had been looking forward to “training” the Commandery Princess for some time.

The thought apparently filled her with a profound sense of accomplishment.

Zheng Fan rubbed his forehead.

“I thought after the trouble at Zhennan Pass, the Commandery Princess would remain in Yingdu.

“Didn’t expect her to keep traveling east and come all the way here.”

The Blind Man said:

“Judging from the timing, after learning something had happened at Zhennan Pass, she actually accelerated and hurried here faster.”

A’Ming added:

“Fan Li and the Sword Maid still haven’t returned.

“If that’s the case, there’s a good chance they’re traveling with the Commandery Princess’s convoy.”

Zheng Fan looked toward Liang Cheng.

“Send eight hundred cavalry to receive them.”

“Yes, Master.”

The atmosphere outside was tense right now.

Although Zheng Fan did not particularly like the Commandery Princess, he also had no desire to let anything happen to her near his territory.

That chamber pot would be far too unjust if it got dumped over his head.

Siniang asked:

“Master, once the Commandery Princess arrives, what standard should we use to receive her?”

“You decide.

“No need to make it too grand.

“Skip the welcome ceremony.

“Oh, right.

“Arrange her residence in the southern part of the city.”

Count Pingye Residence stood in the north.

“This servant understands, Master.”

The meeting ended.

The Savage King was escorted back toward his prison once again.

But this time after the Blind Man left the small meeting hall, he followed the guards all the way to the entrance of the underground prison.

The Savage King looked moved.

“Mr. Bei personally escorting this slave?

“How could I possibly deserve such treatment?”

“It’s fine.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

The Savage King was escorted into the prison.

Once he had been placed behind the iron bars, the Blind Man gestured for the surrounding guards to withdraw.

Very soon only the Blind Man and the Savage King remained underground.

This was actually a fairly common pattern between the two of them.

“Mr. Bei has something to discuss?” the Savage King asked.

“Ever since I learned the Commandery Princess intended to come here and see the snow, I’ve been thinking about something.”

“Mr. Bei can tell me.”

“I was wondering.

“Here at Snow Sea Pass, aside from my Master—what else could possibly attract the Commandery Princess?

“And truthfully, even my Master is no longer someone she can simply win over merely because she feels like it.”

“So?”

“So I began wondering whether there is another possibility.

“Perhaps the Commandery Princess’s purpose in coming to Snow Sea Pass—or at least her primary purpose—is not my Master.”

“If it isn’t our Count, then who else could it be?”

“What do you think?”

“It can’t possibly be me.”

The Savage King pointed at himself mockingly.

“Exactly.

“Why can’t it be you?”

“...”

The Savage King fell silent.

The Blind Man reached into his pocket and took out an orange that had already shriveled from losing too much moisture.

He began peeling it as he said:

“Let’s put it this way.

“A man once secretly loved a woman.

“Loved her so badly he could have died from it.

“But back then, his position was far too low.

“The woman’s status was far too exalted.

“So there was never any real possibility between them.

“Then suddenly—that man succeeds.

“He accomplishes something.

“What is the thing he wants most?”

The Blind Man placed a segment of orange into his mouth.

While chewing, he continued:

“You should have contacted the Commandery Princess before.

“Told her that far away on the snowfields, there was once a man who had admired her in secret for all these years.

“And now—that same man had conquered half the State of Cheng and become King of the Snowfields.

“This kind of obsession sinks very deeply into the human heart.

“Very few people can completely control it.

“And the desire to return home in glory—most of the time, there is no reason to control it.”

“You’re joking, Mr. Bei.

“How could that be possible?”

“No.

“Before you attacked Snow Sea Pass, the Secret Intelligence Department of Great Yan had already discovered that you once served in the auxiliary slave camp inside the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence in Beifeng Commandery.

“So even if you restrained yourself—even if you never sent anyone to deliver a letter or contact the Commandery Princess—she should remember the slave soldier she once personally whipped.”

“But—but hasn’t a Savage King already been transported to Yanjing?”

“That, I don’t know.

“But I feel my conclusion is probably not wrong.

“Gou Moli.

“You are talented.

“Your ability is not limited to the snowfields.

“Truthfully, no matter where you go, there will always be people willing to use you.

“They simply need to guard against you turning around and biting them.

“But that woman—she is very confident.

“She is also very willful.

“She may not worry about your backlash.

“Perhaps—if she knew there was a man like you—a man who once obsessed over her so deeply—and who even now remains obsessed with her—she might find it very interesting to take you into her own possession.

“There’s a phrase called psychological profiling.

“You probably haven’t heard it.

“Mm.

“Let me put it this way.

“My specialty—is reading people.

“And I think doing something like this fits that Commandery Princess’s character extremely well.”

“Mr. Bei.

“If you are this certain, then what happens if the Commandery Princess really asks for me by name?

“After all—hiding me here privately is a major crime.”

The Blind Man smiled.

Combined with his hollow gaze the smile looked especially gloomy.

“She is not qualified.

“This is Snow Sea Pass.

“Not the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence in Beifeng Commandery.”

“But she is still the daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei.

“His Majesty will also show consideration for her.”

The Blind Man said:

“Oh?

“And who exactly isn’t somebody’s precious baby?”

“Mm?”

The Savage King did not understand.

“She has the Prince of Zhenbei behind her.

“Our Count has the Marquis of Jingnan.

“Besides—the county magistrate is never as useful as the official right in front of you.

“Here, we can give her face.

“Or we can give her none at all.”

The Savage King fell silent.

The Blind Man continued:

“There are some things nobody may have told you because you’re locked down here.

“The Marquis of Jingnan’s son is currently being raised inside Count Pingye Residence.

“My Master is also the Young Marquis’s godfather.”

“The Young Marquis?”

The Blind Man pointed upward.

“He should be directly above you.

“Next door.”

Beside the Savage King’s prison cell lay Sha Tuo Queshi.

And directly above Sha Tuo Queshi was the Young Marquis’s nursery.

The Blind Man had noticed the Savage King’s recent decline in spirit.

So once again, he could not help marveling at the Young Marquis’s fate.

His destiny truly was hard enough.

From infancy onward, the boy had spent most of his life practically “dancing on graves” yet he ate heartily and slept better than anyone.

“Mr. Bei, you didn’t need to come tell me all this.”

“No.

“I did.

“Because I value you.

“Master values you too.

“We both believe you possess enormous value.

“So I am telling you in advance.

“You need to prepare yourself to make a choice.”

“What choice?”

“That is something you’ll have to think about yourself.”

The Blind Man clapped his hands and stood.

He looked ready to leave.

The Savage King smiled.

“Shouldn’t you have someone seal the entrance to the prison?”

Sealing the entrance could prevent a jailbreak.

Leave enough food, water, and ventilation and that would be sufficient.

The Blind Man shook his head.

“No.

“Everyone says there are plenty of experts around the Commandery Princess.

“But truthfully—we do not mind if she sends someone down here to break you out.”

As he spoke, the Blind Man casually reached out and touched the northern wall of the prison cell.

He stroked the surface.

And as he did the smile on his face grew brighter.

As though he had suddenly thought of something extremely amusing.

When the Blind Man’s mental power tried to penetrate that wall it met enormous resistance.

Sha Tuo Queshi lay beyond it, forming a field of his own.

That field blocked outside perception.

So the Savage King merely felt uncomfortable living here.

Weak.

Cold.

Restless.

Plagued by dreams.

Those were only the lowest-level manifestations produced by baleful qi and bad feng shui.

The truth was even though only one wall separated him from the next chamber the Savage King could not possibly perceive the existence beyond it.

He could not even hear a single sound.

At that moment, Zheng Fan, who had just finished the meeting upstairs, came down carrying a jar of wine.

He stopped before the coffin.

Looking at it—

Zheng Fan felt that fate truly was a circle.

Again and again, without warning, it could give you the strange sensation that you had reached the end only to discover you were somehow standing back at the beginning.

In Zheng Fan’s memory that man had once stood before the gates of the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence carrying a wine jar and roaring:

“I am but a barbarian of the desert!”

It felt as though it had happened only yesterday.

That day—

Sha Tuo Queshi, former Left Guli King of the Barbarian Royal Court, had died before the gates of the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence.

All because he wanted one explanation from the Commandery Princess of the Marquis of Zhenbei the woman who had exterminated the entire Sha Tuo Tribe.

A short while later—

Zheng Fan placed the wine jar on the coffin lid.

He reached out and gently stroked the wood.

Then, in the soft tone one might use when whispering to someone sleeping he said:

“She’s here.”

[End of Chapter 404]