Chapter 470: Sharpening the Blades

The party returning to the capital was not especially cumbersome.

First, the original Imperial Envoy’s entourage naturally had to return with them. When that same group had rushed to Snow Sea Pass to proclaim the imperial decree, they had already demonstrated their ability to travel quickly.

Then came Count Zheng’s own people.

There were three carriages.

One carried the Princess and Count Zheng. The other two were loaded with goods.

Although the military review had delayed them for several days, there was still plenty of time before they were due in the capital. They could stop where they needed to stop and rest where they needed to rest. So long as Count Zheng did not imitate Emperor Qianlong, wander around incognito, and go seduce some Xia Yuhe along the way, there was no chance of missing the deadline.

Traveling with him were the Blind Man, Fan Li, the Sword Maid, Gou Moli, the Sword Saint, and Hero Chen, along with three hundred personal cavalry personally led by Gao Yi.

That afternoon, the party made camp early beside Mingchi Lake.

From here, the Wang River was only a little over two days away. Once they crossed the river and reached Yingdu, then traveled from Yingdu toward the Yan border, there would be newly repaired official roads all the way. Their speed could increase considerably, while the fully restored relay-station system would save them a great deal of time otherwise spent resupplying and resting.

The most difficult stretch was actually the road from Snow Sea Pass to the Wang River, because most of eastern Cheng State had been among the areas worst devastated during the Savage uprising.

The early looting had been one thing. That was a single hammer blow, swift and brutal.

Later, when the Great Yan Eastern Expedition Army arrived west of the Wang River and the two sides entered a stalemate, the devastation stopped being simple plunder. Both armies began scraping the earth three feet deep for supplies. They were digging out the roots.

Afterward, the Marquis of Jingnan defeated the Savage main force, while the Azure Luan Army inside Yupan City surrendered and was massacred. The war was effectively decided, but the entire Jin region, from west to east, had already been washed in warfare over the course of two or three years. Recovery would naturally require time.

And to the south, another great war with Chu around Zhennan Pass could erupt at any moment. The Marquis of Jingnan’s view was clear: if Yan and Chu formally went to war and Yan could not crush Chu’s main field army in one decisive blow and carry the fighting into Chu territory, then Yan should instead withdraw deliberately, allow Chu troops to enter Jin, widen the battlefield, and give Yan cavalry more room and greater initiative.

So neither Great Yan nor Yingdu intended to develop or resettle this region, which had effectively been designated in advance as a future battlefield.

Mingchi Lake was beautiful, especially at this time of year. Rippling water stretched beneath the sky, with green grass carpeting the shore. The sight alone was enough to clear the mind.

Stopping two hours early and resting here counted as a rare luxury on such a long journey.

A long blanket had been spread over the grass. Food and wine sat atop it. The Princess sat there, occasionally feeding Count Zheng something by hand.

Count Zheng lay on the grass with both hands beneath his head, admiring the evening glow.

Not far away, the Sword Saint sat beside the lake.

The Savage King sat beside him.

Gou Moli had been imprisoned for a very long time. His body had endured the erosion of Sha Tuo Queshi’s zombie baleful aura, and before his capture he had ruined his own face to escape pursuit. He now looked completely different from the man he had once been.

There was no need for disguise or an iron mask. No one had to worry about him being recognized.

Besides, very few people in Great Yan had ever seen the Savage King with their own eyes.

By all logic, the Sword Saint and the Savage King ought to have hated each other beyond reconciliation.

Yet back at Snow Sea Pass, the Sword Saint would occasionally ask the Blind Man to bring Gou Moli out of his cage so the two could sit and talk.

The Sword Saint would tell him about Liu Dahu’s affairs at the schoolhouse or how thrifty and capable his woman was at running the household.

After being force-fed an entire bellyful of public affection, the Savage King would still have to deliberately react several times so that the Sword Saint could enjoy himself more.

After all, Gou Moli desperately wanted opportunities to come out for fresh air, see the sky and clouds, and breathe something other than the air inside his cage.

Right now, the Savage King was peeling roasted chestnuts.

They were sweet, fragrant, and delicious.

He ate them himself, but every so often he deliberately peeled a few and placed them in front of the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint did not stand on ceremony. He admired the scenery, enjoyed the breeze off the lake, and occasionally picked up a peeled chestnut and slowly chewed it.

“When I saw you in the party on the first day after we left the city, I’ll admit it. You gave me quite a fright.”

“You were afraid I’d kill you with one sword?”

“Yes.”

“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it at Snow Sea Pass.”

Back at Snow Sea Pass, the Sword Saint would not even have needed to do it himself. All he had to do was express the desire to Count Zheng, and Zheng Fan would undoubtedly have brought Gou Moli’s head to him personally.

Everyone said Fan Zhengwen knew how to do business, but when it came to the business of favors and human relationships, Count Zheng had never lost money either.

“It’s different.” The Savage King shook his head and continued peeling chestnuts. “Snow Sea Pass is one thing. Being outside is another.”

“It is different,” the Sword Saint agreed.

“See? I was right.”

“Mm. Inside the city, you’re a prisoner. Outside the city, you’re prison labor. Of the more than twenty thousand Savages captured over a year ago, how many are still alive now?”

The construction and recovery of Snow Sea Pass, and even the reason the region had remained stable through the previous winter despite absorbing so many new people, owed an enormous debt to those tens of thousands of Savage captives.

They performed the hardest labor.

They ate the worst food.

They slept in the coldest shelters.

Batch after batch of Savage slave laborers had simply died on the worksites.

Only several thousand remained capable of continuing hard labor now. The rest were either dead or had become so crippled that they lost the ability to work and were disposed of.

On that point, Count Pingye Residence had been exceptionally ruthless.

Of course, they had also brought it upon themselves. A person eventually had to repay what he did in the world. Back when they broke through Snow Sea Pass, burned, killed, and looted to their hearts’ content, they had enjoyed themselves greatly.

Afterward came the price.

Count Zheng had never recruited troops from among those Savage laborers.

There was no need.

First, Snow Sea Pass had always followed the path of elite troops. That was tradition and would remain so.

Second, although Snow Sea Pass had absorbed many barbarians, the overwhelming majority of its ordinary people were still Jin natives. Most had personally suffered under the Savages.

Punishing the Savage captives helped win their loyalty.

By erecting the Savages as a common object of hatred, that external contradiction blurred the possible tensions between Yan and Jin people, as well as the contradiction created by Count Pingye himself being a Yan man ruling Jin territory.

The Savage King thought for a while.

“That really is part of it. But I still want to live a good life. You know, I’m not afraid of Count Pingye now, because he and I are the same kind of person. For the sake of benefit, we can sell anything.

“But you’re different.

“I’m not sure whether you are willing to see me live well.”

The Sword Saint had no intention of answering.

He did not object to Zheng Fan bringing the Savage King out and taking him to the capital.

He could tell Zheng Fan seemed deeply uneasy about this summons to Yanjing to receive imperial favor.

The Savage King did not press him further. He clapped the chestnut crumbs from his hands and said:

“This is Mingchi Lake, isn’t it? The Situ Clan once erected a monument here after a great victory that drove my Holy Race back.”

Many place names and historical sites in Jin territory were connected to the ancient campaigns in which the Jin people expelled the Savages.

Long ago, one head of the Situ Clan had led an army here and defeated a Savage force, pushing the front beyond the Wang River and further compressing the Savages’ strategic room inside Jin territory. That victory helped lay the foundation for their eventual complete expulsion from Jin.

The Situ Clan head had ordered craftsmen to erect a monument here commemorating the battle.

Centuries passed.

Too many things were washed away by wind and rain. Mingchi Lake’s beautiful scenery had long buried the fact that this had once been an ancient battlefield. It became a famous place for Jin people to visit, a land of flowers and grass.

In earlier years, pleasure boats had covered the lake. There were not only Red Tents selling flesh, but also plenty of respectable young men and women who came voluntarily and deliberately to make the sky their canopy and the earth their bed.

In another world, it would have been a tourist attraction whose main selling point was romantic encounters.

But now the pleasure boats were gone.

There were hardly even people living nearby anymore.

The flowers of the old romance remained.

Only the romance itself had disappeared.

“Where is the monument?” the Sword Saint asked.

“I had people dig it out and smash it,” the Savage King replied.

The Sword Saint nodded.

Gou Moli sighed as well. A trace of remembrance appeared in his eyes.

After a long while, the Sword Saint finally said:

“What a waste.”

“Heh.”

The Savage King laughed.

Truthfully, he wanted to say that eight hundred years ago, the lands of the Three Jin had been filled with temples, stone inscriptions, and murals belonging to the Holy Race.

And now?

Could any still be found?

But he was too lazy to argue.

He understood perfectly well that the peoples of Xia had always carried a self-centered habit.

Their own things were treasures.

Their own music was heavenly.

Their own ancestral halls were sacred.

As for other peoples, whether Savages, barbarians, or Shanyue, none of them were worth mentioning. Looking too closely at their relics might even make a Xia person feel his eyes had been dirtied.

At that moment, Zhang Yuanshan walked over to Count Zheng and slowly knelt beside him.

“Count, these truly are fine mountains, fine waters, and fine scenery.”

Count Zheng said nothing.

Zhang Yuanshan, apparently unaware that he had already become an annoying fly, continued:

“Count, in your opinion, how many troops would be required to completely pacify Jin territory?”

Count Zheng opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Yuanshan, and smiled.

Zhang Yuanshan smiled back.

Then Count Zheng closed his eyes again.

“...”

Zhang Yuanshan pursed his lips.

“Count, do you find discussing these things with this subordinate boring?”

Count Zheng nodded.

Zhang Yuanshan took a breath.

“But this subordinate still has one question and hopes the Count can resolve my confusion. It is also something Sixth Highness has been considering.

“In your opinion, should Great Yan take Chu first, or Qian first?”

The truth was that Zheng Fan’s attitude toward Zhang Yuanshan had grown this cold because, after the party departed, he had finally received Ji Chengjue’s letter.

The Sixth Prince’s courier had first missed Zheng Fan and gone all the way to Snow Sea Pass. Snow Sea Pass then dispatched three riders at full speed to catch up with the party and deliver the letter.

At the beginning, Little Sixth proudly boasted that he had become a father.

Then he wrote about several recent affairs, some trivial thoughts and feelings, and even included two poems.

In truth, Zheng Fan and Little Sixth were more like a pair of pen pals.

The casual chatter came first.

The serious matters followed.

At the end of the letter, Little Sixth emphasized three things.

The first concerned plans for supplying money and grain to Snow Sea Pass during the first half of Yongping Year Three.

The second concerned his thoughts on Father Emperor summoning Count Zheng to the capital. Those thoughts were expressed very subtly.

And subtlety itself implied a warning.

This ought to have been a glorious event.

Why speak of it obliquely unless there was something that could not be said openly?

The third concerned the two Imperial Envoys.

Feng Guan was described as a young eunuch who had recently gained favor inside the palace and possessed a strong desire for advancement.

As for Zhang Yuanshan, Ji Chengjue’s description contained only one sentence:

**Even I do not know whether he is one of mine.**

When intelligent people spoke, they could use very few words.

When intelligent people wrote letters, the same applied.

The sentence *Even I do not know whether he is one of mine* already contained a great deal.

If even Little Sixth could not see through Zhang Yuanshan, Count Zheng was too lazy to try.

Still, faced with Zhang Yuanshan’s question, Count Zheng answered directly.

“Take Chu first.”

“Why?” Zhang Yuanshan immediately asked, assuming the posture of a student eager for instruction.

Count Zheng glanced at him.

Then answered as though the reason could not be more obvious:

“Because if Great Yan attacks Qian, it has nothing to do with me.”

“...”

Zhang Yuanshan.

At that moment, the Blind Man walked over.

He addressed Zhang Yuanshan:

“Brother Zhang, with lake and mountains this beautiful, does it not stir some poetic inspiration?”

Clearly, the Blind Man had come to relieve Count Zheng of this troublesome burden.

Zhang Yuanshan very nearly blurted out:

*What does scenery have to do with a blind man like you?*

Fortunately, he restrained himself.

He could only accompany the Blind Man in composing and discussing poetry.

Once the area around Zheng Fan became quiet again, the Princess whispered:

“I don’t like that man.”

“Neither do I.”

“Mm.”

The Princess nodded, apparently delighted that she and her husband had someone they both disliked.

Then she cautiously asked:

“Husband, could we perhaps, on the road, have him...”

Count Zheng looked at her and laughed.

“Where did you get so bold? He is still an Imperial Envoy.”

The Princess stared at the Count whose household contained several styles of imperial dragon robes.

She bit her lip.

Count Zheng found the expression adorable and reached out to stroke her chin.

“There is no need to eliminate every person you dislike.

“You couldn’t eliminate them all even if you wanted to.

“Just pretend he doesn’t exist.

“Treat him like a fly.”

...

Their rest at Mingchi Lake counted as one small pocket of leisure on the journey.

Over the next two days, the party traveled quickly and did not delay.

At Zheng Fan’s direction, they angled slightly north to avoid Yupan City, crossing the Wang River farther upstream.

The Princess was his woman now.

Having her come out occasionally to help support his prestige was something demanded by circumstances.

But there was no reason to deliberately drag her past a place that might reopen old wounds.

Yupan City was probably a place of sorrow for the overwhelming majority of Chu people now.

After crossing the Wang River, the party did not stop.

Deep that night, they entered Yingdu.

Yingdu was a great city and the largest center within the territory of the former Cheng State.

Because the Marquis of Jingnan had stationed his army at Fengxin City, Yingdu was not the military center of the region.

Every other kind of center, however, remained here.

Whether because of Feng Guan’s status as an Imperial Envoy or Zheng Fan’s status as Count Pingye, getting the city gates opened in the middle of the night posed no difficulty.

And so the party entered Yingdu and lodged at the city relay station.

They had traveled quickly and had sent no messenger ahead to announce their arrival.

Combined with the fact that they entered at night, although the news startled many nobles and influential figures throughout Yingdu, nobody chose to come calling in the middle of the night.

So the relay station remained very quiet.

Inside its courtyard, Gao Yi had only just finished arranging the inner and outer guard posts when he saw the Blind Man walking toward him.

“Mr. Bei, what is it?”

The Blind Man clasped his hands before him.

“I transmit the Count’s order.”

Gao Yi and the two deputy commanders beside him immediately knelt.

“This general awaits the order!”

“This general awaits the order!”

The Blind Man exhaled slowly.

Then he said:

“Sharpen the blades.”

————

[End of Chapter 470]