Chapter 454: Call Me Brother

The next day, the original two-person escape party became four.

Jiang Hu had a packhorse carrying some supplies. The two women walked on either side of it.

Up front, Jiang Hu opened the way while Zheng Fan followed behind as support.

They walked for almost the entire day. Only near dusk did the group finally stop to make camp.

The Princess adapted quickly. By now, she could already endure this level of exertion. Gongsun Ling had looked delicate and frail the night before, but there was toughness in her bones; gritting her teeth, she made it through as well.

Once camp was made, Jiang Hu went to the perimeter to set traps and warning devices. Gongsun Ling started the fire.

Count Zheng took a piece of smoked meat and walked to a stream ahead to wash it.

The Princess came over as well and began drawing water farther upstream.

“How is it? With Jiang Hu opening the way, doesn’t the journey feel much easier?”

In the end, the Princess was still a young woman. Her intelligence was beyond question—she was genuinely clever—but traces of immaturity still remained.

In Zheng Fan’s view, her natural aptitude was actually comparable to Li Qian’s. What she lacked was experience.

Li Qian had been the sort who, at a young age, could lead Zhenbei Army troops wandering through the desert and casually wipe out entire tribes.

The Princess, meanwhile, had always lived deep within the imperial palace.

The former was indeed exceptional, but the latter still possessed enormous room to grow.

“Your Green Python should be rather famous, shouldn’t it?” Zheng Fan asked as he washed the smoked meat.

“Of course. Why? When I first drew it to my side, it caused quite a sensation. Even Father Emperor praised me for being remarkable.”

“So famous, and it was even sent to the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate for training. Jiang Hu may not have the surname Gongsun, but he is still an old hand from the Directorate. It would be perfectly normal for him not to recognize you.

“But he wouldn’t recognize your Green Python?”

The Princess blinked twice.

“You mean... he actually recognized who we were from the beginning?”

“Probably. And look at our respective attitudes as fugitives. When we saw someone crying for help, we gave her an arrow and sent her on her way.

“Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling are fugitives too, yet when they saw people who needed help, they brought us home for a late-night meal and a place to rest.

“Or perhaps... we’re simply too evil? Too wicked?

“And they’re the kindhearted ones?”

“So from the beginning, he already wanted to bargain with us, and pretending not to know who we were made that easier?”

“If that’s really the case, I’ll actually feel more at ease.”

Bargaining was normal. One person played the good cop, the other the bad cop.

Count Zheng was not afraid of others having demands.

Everyone took what they needed to achieve their own ends.

“What else might they do?” the Princess asked.

“They’re different from you and me. Your reputation is already ruined.”

“...” The Princess.

“As for me, I’m a Count of Yan. Even if your brother offered me high office and rich rewards, truthfully, as a surrendered man, the best possible ending would be getting put on display like a signboard. I would never be as free or comfortable as I am in Yan.

“So neither you nor I can turn back now. Neither of us would willingly remain in Chu.

“But they’re different.

“The Gongsun Clan helped the Eldest Prince fight your brother. Your brother crushed them. He was the victor. I think he can afford to take the lofty position.

“If they capture the two of us and deliver us to your brother, your brother would certainly pardon them. Restoring their former offices would hardly be difficult.”

The Princess’s expression instantly turned grave.

A moment ago, she had still been secretly pleased with how well she had handled matters the previous night. She had never considered this possibility.

Truthfully, Count Zheng had not thought this deeply at first either.

But after lying down to sleep, he had started turning it over in his head.

At the root of it all, Count Zheng simply did not like trusting other people.

Long ago, even at home, he had constantly needed to match wits with the Demon Kings.

“Then aren’t we in great danger right now?”

Clearly, the Princess disliked the sensation of having her life and death in someone else’s hands just as much as Count Zheng did.

“There’s a way to deal with it.”

...

It was time to eat.

Smoked meat and broad noodles again.

Gongsun Ling probably did not know how to cook. She still favored throwing everything into the same pot and stewing it together.

But they were fleeing for their lives, so everyone simply made do.

While eating, Zheng Fan spoke first.

“Thinking about it, staying in Chu might actually be quite good. Chu has beautiful mountains, fine waters, and excellent scenery.”

Gongsun Ling immediately flattered him.

“If Count Zheng remained in Chu, I imagine the Regent would surely place you in an important position.”

“He probably would. But he wouldn’t dare give me any real authority, would he? Most likely he’d keep me beside him, use me as a signboard, perhaps have me accompany him in chess or conversation and make me some kind of close attendant.”

At those words, Jiang Hu’s expression paused almost imperceptibly.

The Princess followed:

“After what I did this time—running away with another man on the day of my wedding—if Imperial Brother caught me, he would definitely lock me in a dark room the way he did when I was little.”

Gongsun Ling said:

“Your Highness is still the Regent’s own younger sister. No matter what you do, no matter what mistake you make, the Regent would never truly become angry with you.”

The Princess smiled at that and wrapped both arms around Zheng Fan’s shoulder.

“That may be true, but I don’t regret it. Who told me to fall for him? It’s just like Brother Hu falling for Sister Ah-Ling. When two people take a liking to each other, it really is like the opera scripts say. Usually you can’t see it or touch it, but once the time comes, suddenly no one else will do.”

Ah-Ling looked at Jiang Hu, and a smile appeared on her face as well.

Human hearts were made of flesh.

As the young lady of the Gongsun Clan, perhaps she had once looked down on Jiang Hu.

But now, she understood very clearly that Jiang Hu was the foundation upon which her survival rested.

Whether fleeing through Chu or going to Yan, she had to rely on him.

When a simp reached this level, he was practically the Howling Celestial Hound.

Jiang Hu smiled.

“Count, Your Highness, we will definitely leave these mountains and return to Yan. Only in Yan can the Count truly display his talents.

“This lowly one has also thought it through carefully. Whether the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate is reestablished or not, I actually don’t care.”

Hearing this, Gongsun Ling looked at Jiang Hu in surprise.

“This lowly one hopes the Count will take me in. From now on, let me follow at the Count’s side. At Snow Sea Pass, I can raise demon beasts for the Count. The Tianduan Mountains also have many demon beasts.”

What Zheng Fan had meant earlier was simple: even if he was captured and taken back to Chu, the Regent would still push him forward and value him highly.

The Princess understood and followed up. She was the Regent’s own younger sister. To put it bluntly, even if she rebelled and failed, the Regent would not kill her. At worst, he would imprison her.

If we are dragged back to Chu, we will still be people above other people. Even if you, Jiang Hu, capture us and earn merit, you will still only be an ordinary subject. Killing you afterward in revenge would be easy.

Jiang Hu had clearly understood the warning.

So he expressed his loyalty.

In a perfectly cordial atmosphere, both sides completed a full round of warning and mutual suspicion.

Over the next nearly ten days, the mountain roads remained difficult, but with Jiang Hu leading the way and both women refusing to become burdens, the four of them made very good time.

Nothing unexpected happened along the road either.

Well except that the broad noodles ran out.

Once the noodles were gone, everyone began relying on hunting for food.

They had already gathered quite a few animals along the way, and the Green Python occasionally came over to deliver some of its “leftovers,” so food and drink were not truly lacking.

The problem was that wild game, after being eaten every day for so long, became a terrible burden on the stomach.

That morning, the four were still traveling when the Green Python suddenly shot out and blocked the road ahead.

Normally, the Green Python rarely appeared during daylight.

Jiang Hu immediately dropped prone and pressed one ear to the ground.

“Hoofbeats. Quite a few.”

In truth, the four of them were already close to leaving the mountains.

The terrain ahead belonged to the final foothills—meaning they were about to enter the region where Yan and Chu confronted and fought one another.

The moment he sensed cavalry approaching, Jiang Hu hid the packhorse.

Everyone concealed themselves as well.

Very soon, a Chu cavalry detachment of roughly a hundred riders appeared. They did not stop and continued galloping westward.

Count Zheng immediately said to Jiang Hu beside him:

“Those are vanguard scouts. We need to move now.”

Whenever a great army advanced, it had a vanguard.

The vanguard cut roads through mountains and laid crossings over water. Its task was to clear the army’s blind zones ahead of the battlefield.

The vanguard scouts were the cavalry eyes of that force, and while the army was advancing, they generally moved in organized detachments.

Only after the main army established camp would those scouts be divided into smaller groups to spread their vision farther.

So right now, a substantial Chu army was probably moving toward this region.

If the four of them did not leave quickly, they might be swallowed inside that army’s operational area.

Then escaping would become almost impossible.

Count Zheng immediately led the other three southward.

In other words, back the way they had come.

North, east, and west could all lead them into Chu troops.

Better to spend another two days inside the mountains than gamble with their lives.

But not long after Count Zheng’s group turned south, the situation changed.

Or perhaps a turning point appeared.

A Chu cavalry unit was racing from west to east.

The direction was the exact opposite of the unit they had seen earlier.

And behind them—

Count Zheng saw riders in black armor pursuing.

Heaven have mercy.

The moment Count Zheng saw that familiar Jingnan Army armor, his eyes actually grew moist.

This was not acting.

Ever since escaping on the wedding day, beginning with Zhou County and continuing until now, almost an entire month had passed.

Aside from the Demon Child, not a single Demon King had stayed beside Count Zheng.

He had genuinely spent the entire journey on edge.

Now, seeing Jingnan Army cavalry gave him the same warmth as a wanderer finally returning to his homeland.

“Not good. Yan troops!”

Jiang Hu instinctively growled.

Immediately afterward—

Zheng Fan looked at him.

Jiang Hu looked back.

The middle-aged hunter’s mouth twitched, and an embarrassed smile appeared on his face.

That reaction had come from habit and instinct.

But now, he had already abandoned Chu.

His position simply had not yet completely reversed through inertia.

From Count Zheng’s analysis, the situation below was probably two army groups colliding while moving rapidly.

In other words, an encounter battle.

When the vanguard of one army discovered the vanguard of another, their first response was always the same.

Send one or two riders back to report to the commander.

Then immediately charge the enemy and attempt to swallow their vanguard.

Because in an encounter battle, there was no time for careful reaction or elaborate deployment.

If even the vanguards were surprised, then the main commanders behind them would certainly be surprised as well.

A chaotic battle was very likely about to erupt.

If you destroyed the enemy’s vanguard scouts at the beginning of that chaos, it was equivalent to blinding their vision.

Your own commander would retain one extra thread of clarity in the confusion.

Of course, beyond tactical calculation, there was another reason.

Great Yan cavalry had always possessed a fierce confidence in being the finest cavalry beneath Heaven.

Especially the Zhenbei and Jingnan Armies.

If the battle was going to be chaotic anyway then charge first.

Break the enemy scouts.

Break the enemy vanguard.

Then drive the routed soldiers backward into their own lines like rolling up a beaded curtain.

When your own main force followed behind with another charge, the enemy might collapse one formation after another before anyone fully understood what was happening.

Do not think that impossible.

Two or three thousand cavalry routing tens of thousands of enemy troops was not particularly rare.

Even the routed soldiers themselves were often baffled afterward.

They knew perfectly well they had ten times the numbers.

Ten men against one should obviously win.

Everyone had two arms and one head, didn’t they?

And yet somehow the whole army still collapsed in complete confusion.

The classic example was the founding Marquis of Zhenbei breaking Great Qian’s five-hundred-thousand-man northern expedition with thirty thousand troops.

That had been close to a twenty-to-one disparity.

And Qian had only recently been founded then, still under its second Emperor.

The army itself consisted of elite troops the founding Emperor’s elder brother had used to seize the realm.

Yet even they had inexplicably thrown away weapons and armor in flight, establishing the Zhenbei Army’s reputation as the finest cavalry beneath Heaven.

At this moment, Count Zheng and the others stood on a hillside.

Below them lay a relatively broad valley.

The view was excellent.

The Princess asked curiously:

“Why don’t you go down and greet them?”

Her political position had shifted fastest of all.

Truthfully, the Princess had grown up as a golden branch and jade leaf and had never suffered anything like this month of exhausting flight.

Now that she saw Yan troops, she was the second-most excited person present.

After all, once she followed Zheng Fan into Yan territory, two things were easy to imagine.

First, the Emperor of Yan would grant her a title.

Second, she could move into Count Pingye Residence at Snow Sea Pass.

After spending the journey watching Zheng Fan display a case of “Princess sickness” even worse than her own, she felt that life inside the Count’s residence might not possess as much ceremonial grandeur as an imperial palace but the actual quality of life would definitely not be poor.

Count Zheng shook his head.

“If I go down now, they won’t be able to distinguish friend from enemy. Not good.”

“Oh. So that’s why.”

The Princess felt she had learned something new.

She trusted her man’s ability to command troops.

When it came to military matters, whatever her man said had to be correct.

The actual truth was that although the small Yan cavalry group below looked aggressive and imposing, it was not certain they would win this little encounter.

Count Zheng felt that rushing down to say hello right now might create problems.

Sure enough behind the Yan cavalry, another Chu cavalry force of nearly a hundred suddenly charged out.

The Chu riders who had been fleeing ahead immediately wheeled around and coordinated with the comrades arriving from behind to attack the Yan troops from both directions.

Seeing this, Jiang Hu excitedly grabbed the rock before him.

In his heart he was cheering for Chu’s advantage.

The Princess licked her lips.

She could be excited to see Yan troops appear, but when Chu gained the upper hand, she still could not bring herself to feel sorrow.

Count Zheng noticed the political instincts of the two “Chu people” beside him.

But that was human nature.

He understood.

Only looking at Jiang Hu’s excitement, Count Zheng merely shook his head faintly.

He had roughly estimated the numbers.

The Chu cavalry that had been fleeing numbered a little over two hundred.

The pursuing Yan riders numbered about the same.

The Chu cavalry coming from behind also numbered roughly two hundred.

The overall ratio was around two to one.

Perhaps Chu possessed a little more than that.

But definitely not three to one.

Yan cavalry had indeed been caught front and rear and stood at a tactical disadvantage.

But...

Count Zheng quietly took out his Zhonghua cigarette case.

He drew one cigarette.

This time he lit it.

The Princess looked at him with some concern.

“Down there, perhaps...”

Count Zheng exhaled a smoke ring and said casually:

“Heh.

“That is the Jingnan Army.”

Below, the Yan Lieutenant Commander faced the situation and immediately ordered the charge to continue.

The front-rank Yan riders lowered their cavalry lances.

Keep charging.

Do not split forces to defend the rear.

It was the wisest possible decision.

First, the Chu cavalry ahead had only just turned around to countercharge. Their horses had no time to recover speed.

The Yan riders, meanwhile, had been pursuing at full momentum and could smash directly into them with their charge already at its peak.

Second, cavalry warfare emphasized speed, ferocity, and precision.

Cavalry commanders rarely wasted time worrying about “covering every angle.”

The collision came quickly.

In an instant, riders from both sides tumbled from their horses.

But after one clash, it became obvious that the Yan cavalry possessed superior horsemanship and greater skill in mounted assault.

The Chu formation was punched straight through.

Its center collapsed.

The Chu riders on both wings became confused.

And because they were inside a valley with limited room to maneuver, those riders on the flanks actually obstructed the progress of the Chu cavalry coming from behind.

Worse quite a few of the Chu riders in the rear suddenly stopped and dismounted.

Some apparently intended to treat fallen comrades.

Others impatiently rushed over to finish off Yan riders who had fallen but were not yet dead.

The pursuing Chu formation immediately dissolved into disorder.

Even the Chu riders who had intended to continue the pursuit were forced to pull their reins.

At that moment, the Yan cavalry that had already completed one breakthrough received another order from its Lieutenant Commander.

Rear ranks became front ranks.

The cavalry lances carried by the original front ranks had been damaged or lost in the first clash.

But the rear ranks still had theirs intact.

They raised them.

Generally speaking, the vanguard possessed the finest equipment in an army.

Within any great army, the strongest troops were usually the vanguard and the commander’s own personal formation.

The Yan cavalry did not stop to dress wounds.

They did not count losses from the first breakthrough.

They immediately accelerated into a second charge.

While charging, they tightened their formation as they moved, compressing the time needed to reorganize.

The second charge began.

The Chu cavalry, meanwhile, completely lost synchronization.

Some charged forward to meet them.

Some tried to evade.

Others remained where they were waiting for officers to order a formation.

Then came the second breakthrough.

Screams rose without end.

The Chu cavalry collapsed.

Those who still had horses fled.

Those without horses waited to be cut down as Yan riders swept past.

Jiang Hu gritted his teeth.

Finally he sighed.

He had no choice but to admit the strength of Yan cavalry.

The Princess bit her lip as well.

She had seen the personal guards surrounding Count Zheng on the wedding day.

They had been powerful.

Disciplined.

But she had assumed those men were carefully selected elites specifically chosen to accompany Zheng Fan into Chu.

This, however, was a random encounter battle.

The Chu side possessed roughly double the numbers yet had still been completely routed.

Total Yan casualties had not even reached one hundred.

In other words, at the cost of fewer than a hundred casualties, the Yan riders had broken more than four hundred Chu cavalry.

Count Zheng stretched lazily.

Then glanced at the three Chu people beside him.

“Great Yan’s iron cavalry— peerless in field battle.”

How to put it?

That Jingnan Army Lieutenant Commander down there had done well.

He had given this Count face.

The Princess immediately asked:

“The Snow Sea Cavalry compared with them...”

Hearing the question, Jiang Hu also looked at Zheng Fan.

Clearly, he wanted the answer too.

Count Zheng smiled.

“There is some distance.”

“Oh.”

The Princess nodded.

Jiang Hu nodded as well.

A gap was normal.

“Not a gap in the soldiers.

“My Snow Sea Cavalry, in fighting strength and military quality, is no worse than the Jingnan Army.”

The quality of the recruits had been extremely high from the start.

And Liang Cheng had now possessed two full months to train and reorganize them.

Zheng Fan believed the Snow Sea Cavalry had certainly taken shape by now.

After all, they had not started from nothing.

Barbarian cavalry and riders from the Three Jin were already excellent sources of soldiers.

“The only gap— is the gap between me and the Marquis of Jingnan.”

This was not false modesty.

Before the Marquis of Jingnan—

Count Zheng was simply the little brother.

Of course, Count Zheng did not find anything shameful about being Tian Wujing’s little brother.

Whatever Old Tian might be like toward other people toward Zheng Fan, he had truly never fallen short.

...

Count Zheng stood on the hillside and called down toward the Yan troops, who had just ended the battle and were quickly clearing the field.

Very soon, several riders galloped up.

They drew bows and nocked arrows, pointing them toward Zheng Fan and the others.

Zheng Fan stepped forward.

He looked at them.

He was just preparing to announce his identity when one of the Centurions saw Zheng Fan, immediately swung down from his horse, and knelt.

“This subordinate pays respects to Count Pingye!

“Count— you’re back?”

Clearly, the Centurion had seen Zheng Fan before and remembered his face.

Even though Zheng Fan did not remember him.

Still, that saved them the entire tedious process of announcing identities, being doubted, proving themselves, being doubted again, and so on.

Soon after, the cavalry detachment’s Lieutenant Commander came forward and saluted Zheng Fan.

Count Zheng reached out and patted his shoulder.

The man looked overwhelmed by the favor.

Zheng Fan even specifically asked his surname.

Mao.

On the first day of his return, this man had given him tremendous face and saved him a great deal of trouble.

Naturally, he deserved encouragement.

Perhaps Zheng Fan could even simply poach him and bring him to Snow Sea Pass.

From that point onward, the cavalry detachment abandoned its previous combat mission.

Instead, it became the escort protecting Count Zheng and the others back to the main camp.

By the time dusk approached, Count Zheng had been escorted to the camp.

And what excited him most was that the Marquis of Jingnan was currently inside the central command tent.

Haa...

Only after learning that the Marquis of Jingnan was here did Count Zheng finally feel truly safe.

The Marquis had already received the report and ordered Zheng Fan and the others to enter the central command tent directly.

Truthfully, even without that order, if Count Zheng wanted to walk straight into the central command tent while the Marquis of Jingnan was conducting a military council none of the guards outside would have stopped him.

Everyone knew the relationship between Count Pingye and their Marquis.

Inside the command tent the Marquis of Jingnan sat behind the commander’s table.

More than two months had passed.

His appearance had not changed.

“This general pays respects to the Marquis of Jingnan!”

Zheng Fan saluted first.

“Greetings to the Marquis of Jingnan!”

The Princess saluted as well.

Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling knelt behind them.

The Princess fared better.

She was, after all, an imperial daughter who had truly seen the great figures of the world.

Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling, however, were completely overwhelmed by the Marquis of Jingnan’s presence and reputation.

Neither dared raise their head.

A man’s name casts a shadow like a tree.

There were not many people in this world capable of remaining completely steady before the Marquis of Jingnan.

“The last report this Marquis received said you intended to abduct the bride on the day of the Chu Princess’s wedding?”

The message had come through the Fan Clan.

But clearly it was outdated.

First, this was near Zhennan Pass, a battlefield. Communication with the rear had always been difficult.

Second, after the bride abduction, the Chu people had gone mad sealing Mengshan and Qishan and conducting massive searches.

That made it impossible for Fan Clan messengers to continue passing news toward this region.

So all the Marquis of Jingnan knew was that Zheng Fan intended to seize the Princess at the wedding.

And then, nothing.

Even the Marquis of Jingnan did not know whether the abduction had succeeded.

He did not know whether Zheng Fan was dead or alive.

All he could do was continuously find ways to increase pressure on the Chu troops at Zhennan Pass.

Hearing the question—

Count Zheng immediately raised his head.

A smile appeared on his face.

He pointed toward Xiong Liqing beside him.

“Marquis, this is the Fourth Princess of Chu.

“The Regent of Chu’s own younger sister.”

If Zheng Fan said it was true then it had to be true.

Because Zheng Fan might deceive anyone else.

He would not deceive the Marquis of Jingnan.

And the Marquis clearly understood that.

Xiong Liqing immediately bowed again.

“Xiong Liqing of Great Chu pays respects to the Marquis of Jingnan.

“May the Marquis enjoy health and fortune.”

Tian Wujing sat behind the commander’s table.

He looked at the Princess of Great Chu kneeling below.

Slowly the corner of his mouth curved upward.

“No need to call me Marquis.”

Xiong Liqing looked at the Marquis of Jingnan in confusion.

Then she turned toward Zheng Fan beside her.

She did not understand what Tian Wujing meant.

Was he dissatisfied with her?

Was he deliberately trying to intimidate her?

Or was he expressing disdain toward her identity as a Chu Princess?

Tian Wujing continued:

“Call me Brother.”

[End of Chapter 454]