Chapter 471: Not Even Chickens or Dogs Left Alive!

Yingdu’s relay station had been converted from the old Xiangguo Temple of Cheng State, so the grounds were spacious.

Inside the main hall of the courtyard, Count Zheng reclined in a chair, his gaze slightly lowered.

Two people sat below him.

On one side was the Blind Man.

On the other was the Savage King.

A schoolhouse instructor from Snow Sea Pass had been here earlier. After answering their questions, he had already withdrawn.

Many nobles and influential figures throughout Yingdu knew Count Pingye had entered the city that night and gone directly to the relay station to rest. They were waiting until morning to send calling cards and request audiences.

Those who knew they would certainly be received were already preparing gifts.

Those uncertain whether they would be received waited with a mixture of hope and anxiety.

At this point, anyone who was not blind could see that Count Pingye’s future was without limit.

Some men possessed no office at all yet believed themselves great talents who had simply never met the right patron. They hoped to catch Count Pingye’s eye and finally display the grand ambitions in their hearts.

Others already held office but had no desire to remain muddling along in Yingdu forever. They wanted to escape this cage and become fish released into a great river.

In their view, Zheng Fan had risen from commoner stock. His rapid ascent naturally meant shallow roots. He lacked a large clan and countless relatives to fill positions around him.

That gave people like them opportunity.

Of course, had they seen the scene inside this hall, they might have thought differently.

Outside Snow Sea Pass, few people knew much about Mr. Bei, the Blind Man who always remained hidden behind Zheng Fan.

But the other man seated below him as an adviser was the Savage King.

That alone was enough to terrify anyone who recognized him.

Count Zheng rolled two walnuts in one hand.

Then he spoke.

“Tell me.”

The Blind Man answered:

“Master, this matter appears to be genuine.

“It was not only the scholars from Snow Sea Pass who came for the provincial examination. Scholars arriving from other places outside Yingdu were also denied qualifications to enter the examination compound.

“This particular provincial examination is exceptionally valuable. Successful candidates can become officials directly. Even those who fail have a high probability of being appointed clerks.

“In other words, so long as one foot gets through the gates of the examination compound, a government rice bowl is almost guaranteed afterward.

“Money moves the heart, but a government position is no less enticing than money.

“A bucket of water compared with a spring that continues producing water, however tiny that spring may be, still leaves the spring more valuable.

“Most people can understand that calculation.”

Local governance and the construction of an administrative system required officials and clerks to fill its offices.

In old Great Yan, the great aristocratic clans and the Son of Heaven had effectively governed the realm together. Most officials beneath Heaven had come from those clans. Among the remainder, many still maintained close connections with them.

That was why the Emperor of Yan had once marched elite troops into the capital under the two Marquises and crushed the aristocratic clans beneath cavalry hooves.

It was not because he had been born loving gambles.

Rather, that path had actually offered the greatest chance of success.

If he had tried to reform from the top downward and centralize power gently, did anyone truly believe those century-old great clans would simply sit there like fools and allow it?

But trampling the aristocratic clans created another problem.

Take Zuo Jiqian, now a Guerrilla General commanding one of Snow Sea Pass’s Commands.

He had once been a scion of an aristocratic clan and a Garrison Commander. After the purge, he was immediately reduced to a prisoner.

There had been many like him.

Countless sons of great clans were thrown directly into penal battalions during the wars of the following years, sent to the front as auxiliaries or simply consumed as manpower.

Even if some later fought their way back upward through their own ability, their family backgrounds and the political taboos surrounding those clans still made them obvious targets for future suppression from above.

For a time, Great Yan suffered a severe shortage of officials.

The Emperor of Yan had prepared somewhat in advance, but not nearly enough.

After the aristocratic clans were crushed, Great Yan even temporarily promoted clerks into official posts to fill vacancies.

Only after the old clans had been cleaned out did the court begin expanding the imperial examination system, using men from humble backgrounds to refill government from court to local yamen.

Jin territory now faced a similar situation.

Originally, the Helian, Wenren, and Situ Clans had divided Jin among themselves.

Each family possessed its own bureaucratic system, different in style but refined through several generations of operation.

Once war began, the Helian and Wenren Clans were exterminated outright.

The number of people implicated alongside them was impossible to count.

As for the Situ Clan, when Situ Lei remained alive he had intended to become a vassal state of Yan. Had that happened, eastern Jin might have been preserved relatively intact.

Instead, Situ Yi and Situ Jiong established another court.

Then the Savages entered the pass.

The two sides fought until the land was torn apart.

Afterward came Yan’s two Eastern Expeditions, and Cheng State was beaten into ruins as well.

If Cheng had become a proper vassal state, Yan would at least have needed to preserve a certain amount of dignity for it, allowing the state to retain its own army and administrative system.

But Yan had now expelled the Savages and directly occupied Cheng.

Preserving the old system intact after that would merely mean digging a pit beneath its own feet.

So both Great Yan and Jin currently faced a shortage of officials.

That was precisely why the imperial examination system had been rolled out so rapidly.

Demand was enormous.

The acceptance rate was therefore high.

And positions were essentially guaranteed afterward.

No wonder the instructors from Snow Sea Pass had been tempted.

The Blind Man’s conclusion was straightforward.

The quotas were simply too valuable.

Someone had tampered with them.

The number of examination places originally distributed by the court should have followed regional allocations, ensuring every area received a share.

But too many people wanted official careers.

Even becoming a mere clerk was enough to make men fight desperately for a place.

There was more porridge than usual this time, but still too many monks around the pot.

Yingdu residents had wider connections and more ways to maneuver.

As for people from outside Yingdu, some of the quotas that should have belonged to them were simply replaced by others.

Count Zheng continued rolling the walnuts.

Then he asked:

“Was it aimed at us?”

That had been his first reaction.

Had Snow Sea Pass merely been collateral damage?

Or had someone deliberately singled it out?

The Blind Man answered:

“Master, this subordinate believes the chance they deliberately targeted us is low.

“There are three reasons.

“First, the Crown Prince has always overseen the imperial examinations.

“Yes, Sixth Highness currently enjoys overwhelming momentum and has suppressed the Crown Prince badly.

“And everyone knows the relationship between Master and Sixth Highness.

“But if the Crown Prince wanted to strike at Sixth Highness by targeting Master through something like this, the effect would be weaker than scratching an itch through a boot twice over.

“The Crown Prince would not be that foolish.

“Second, because of the wars, many old nobles and gentry families of Cheng State gathered early around Yingdu.

“The court may divide the territory into counties, townships, and cities on paper, but many of those places barely contain any people now.

“A great many examination quotas are practically impossible to keep from being replaced.

“Perhaps to outsiders, Snow Sea Pass really is nothing more than a frontier fortress bordering the snowfields.

“A place full of soldiers and grunts.

“Why would anyone expect scholars to come from there?

“Third, the truly powerful families of Yingdu, or the great clans and eminent houses of Jin, do not need to manipulate examination quotas at all.

“If they want a clan member to enter official service, or a relative’s son, or some scholar they favor, all they need to do is send a note.

“Besides the imperial examinations, the court has deliberately retained recommendation as another route into office in Jin.

“That exists precisely to win over the great Jin families and let them share in the benefits after siding with Great Yan.

“The people or households who need to manipulate examination slots to satisfy their ambitions are, when all is said and done, merely small families with a little power.

“Most likely local officials in Yingdu or small clans nearby.

“They do not possess the status required to ‘send a note.’

“So they have to dig for food through the imperial examinations instead.

“If some major Jin clan or genuinely influential power deliberately wanted to make trouble for Snow Sea Pass, perhaps because someone else used them as a weapon or because they had their own political needs, that would at least make sense.

“But these local snakes, minor officials, and little households suddenly deciding to point their blades at us?

“Have they gone mad?

“So for these three reasons, this subordinate believes the scholars from Snow Sea Pass lost their examination places because they were swept up in the fraud, not because anyone deliberately targeted us.”

Zheng Fan listened and gave a slight nod.

Then his gaze slowly shifted toward Gou Moli, who sat there with exceptional obedience.

“You tell me.”

Gou Moli first bowed low.

Then he straightened.

“Count, Little Dog believes there is no need whatsoever to analyze whether they were targeting us.”

Compared with the Blind Man’s long analysis, the Savage King’s style was clearly more direct and carried a certain taste for sensational effect.

Zheng Fan continued turning the walnuts in his hand.

He looked at Gou Moli.

“Oh?”

As though receiving enormous encouragement, Gou Moli immediately continued:

“It depends entirely on whether the Count wants them to have targeted us.

“If the Count needs them to be targeting us, then they absolutely were targeting us!”

Zheng Fan straightened slightly in his chair, though his back remained against the rest.

His gaze swept downward.

“Then tell me.

“Do I need them to have targeted us, or do I not?”

Gou Moli answered immediately:

“Count needs it!”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of the Blind Man’s mouth.

Zheng Fan nodded.

“Explain.”

Gou Moli picked up the tea before him and took a sip.

He smacked his lips.

“Count, if we go back five years, what was Great Yan’s greatest internal danger?”

He did not need Zheng Fan to answer.

Gou Moli was asking himself.

His speaking style had always possessed an unusually powerful ability to stir people.

“The Marquis of Zhenbei Residence.”

Gou Moli raised one hand.

Then continued:

“The Marquis of Zhenbei Residence has suppressed the desert for a century.

“In the beginning, when the barbarians still posed an enormous threat to Great Yan, the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence was the pillar holding up the state.

“But during the past two generations, the Barbarian Royal Court declined and the threat from the barbarians diminished.

“When a blade originally used against wild beasts suddenly loses its prey, that blade can easily turn inward and cut its own owner.

“More importantly, the previous Marquis of Zhenbei once took part in an imperial succession struggle!”

When the late Emperor had still been a Prince, he lost the political struggle and fled with the members of his princely residence toward Beifeng Commandery and the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence.

Assassins struck him along the road.

He escaped only because the old master from the imperial palace fought desperately to protect him.

That old master was gravely wounded in the battle. Damage to his lower body ultimately left him a eunuch.

“From that point onward, the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence had already become too powerful to control.

“Those three hundred thousand Zhenbei cavalry did not merely torment the desert barbarians.

“To Great Yan’s imperial house, to the Ji Clan itself, they were also a bone lodged in the throat.

“You helped me seize the throne once.

“I am grateful.

“But after I sit upon that dragon throne and look back, I begin feeling uncomfortable.

“You actually possess enough strength to decide which Prince becomes Emperor!

“So five years ago, throughout the court and countryside of Great Yan, many people believed that one day the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence would split away the entire western part of Great Yan and become nearly autonomous.

“Perhaps those three hundred thousand cavalry might even march east, overthrow the Ji Clan in a single stroke, and replace it.

“But in Little Dog’s view, the current Emperor of Yan resolved that contradiction through the brotherhood he shared with the Marquis from childhood, together with the greater cause of expanding the state.

“People always praise Little Dog for using this tongue and various schemes to unite a vast number of Savage tribes in barely ten years before eventually marching south through the pass.

“But Little Dog knows perfectly well that compared with the Emperor of Yan, I am still far inferior.

“The Marquis of Zhenbei stood beside the Emperor.

“For the sake of his state and people, he voluntarily abandoned a dragon throne he might have been able to contest.

“Afterward, the Zhenbei Army was dismantled and redistributed.

“Half the Zhenbei Army left Beifeng Commandery, while many former Imperial Guards were sent in to fill the commandery.

“Then the Commandery Princess entered the capital to await marriage.

“In other words, the Marquis of Zhenbei voluntarily dismantled his household and the blade in his hand.

“Even the arrogant generals and fierce soldiers beneath the Zhenbei Army understood that their Marquis no longer intended to look toward the dragon throne.”

Gou Moli paused.

“That was five years ago.

“Then beginning three years ago, who replaced the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence as Great Yan’s greatest internal danger?

“The Marquis of Jingnan!”

Originally, the Jingnan Army had possessed fifty thousand main troops and fifty thousand rear troops.

Then came the campaign that borrowed passage through Qian and opened Jin.

Under the Marquis of Jingnan, the Helian and Wenren Clans were destroyed one after another.

From that point onward, the Jingnan Army began replacing the Zhenbei Army as Great Yan’s new dominant military bloc.

“Why did Great Yan place First Prince Ji Wujiang in the supreme command during the first Eastern Expedition?

“Wasn’t it precisely to restrain the Jingnan Army’s expansion?

“To restrain the Marquis of Jingnan?

“The court wanted a Prince of the Ji Clan standing above the army to keep things in check.

“Unfortunately, First Prince possessed the talent of a general and even the potential of a commander, but he encountered Little Dog.

“And... Qu Tiannan.”

Qu Tiannan had been a Pillar of State of Great Chu.

That title had never been empty.

In truth, Qu Tiannan’s final defeat had not been caused by poor command.

Had Great Chu not still been trapped in internal succession chaos, had he received another several tens of thousands of troops, had his campaign not been a lone deep advance but one supported by a proper supply line...

His ending could only be called a tragedy produced by Chu’s circumstances at the time.

As for the Savage King’s own abilities, there was even less need to explain them.

The First Prince’s defeat against those two men had not been shameful.

From the moment he entered Cheng State, Ji Wujiang had advanced step by step, steadily and carefully.

Strategically, he had made no obvious blunder.

“The First Prince lost.

“Then the court had no choice except to invite the Marquis of Jingnan back into command.

“The Marquis truly was formidable at warfare.

“And our Count defeated Little Dog so completely that I remain convinced to this day.

“But precisely because of that, the Jingnan Army’s expansion became impossible to contain.

“Then Chu began looming over Zhennan Pass, allowing the Marquis of Jingnan to openly and legitimately integrate military forces throughout all Jin territory.

“And that is something the court does not want to see.

“So now the court has begun reclaiming local civil authority.

“That is another way of taking power away from military commanders.

“An army whose supplies are controlled from elsewhere is already half paralyzed.

“Qu Tiannan is the clearest example.

“What the court is doing now is merely another version of what it once did to the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence.

“At the same time, the Marquis of Jingnan truly will not rebel against Yan.

“He has silently accepted this process.”

Gou Moli leaned forward slightly.

“But we cannot.

“Everything the Count has built in Snow Sea Pass absolutely cannot be surrendered.

“The Count’s posture during the military review was already a message sent through the mouths of those two Imperial Envoys.

“It expressed your will directly to the court.”

Zheng Fan crushed one walnut between his fingers.

He picked out the meat and slowly chewed it.

“The Marquis of Jingnan has accepted it.

“What can this Count do?”

“The Marquis of Jingnan will not rebel because he has already sacrificed his entire clan for Great Yan.

“But Count, surely you understand this.

“No one wants to spit back out something already swallowed.

“The military commanders throughout Jin are not limited to the Jingnan Army itself.

“There are other forces occupying great cities and small strongholds.

“Military power and local civil authority were both originally in their hands.

“They were undoubtedly living very comfortably.

“How could they willingly spit that authority back out now?

“The only reason they do so is because the Marquis of Jingnan stands above them and suppresses them.

“No one in the army dares openly defy him.

“So they can only silently accept the court’s actions.

“However, throughout the entire Jingnan Army...

“No.

“Throughout the whole military establishment of Jin...

“There is only one person whom the Marquis of Jingnan will not suppress.

“You, Count.”

Zheng Fan crushed the second walnut.

He remained silent.

Gou Moli continued:

“So at this moment, Count, you represent the attitude of all the military commanders throughout Jin.

“And to a certain extent, you also represent the Marquis of Jingnan’s attitude.

“If you behave exactly like those other commanders and obediently submit to the court, the Marquis of Jingnan will say nothing and do nothing.

“He will simply accept the separation of military power and local civil administration.

“But if you display resistance, then first, you can preserve Snow Sea Pass from court interference.

“Second, you can become half a leader for all the military commanders throughout Jin, gaining their support and response.

“And third...”

Gou Moli’s voice lowered slightly.

“Little Dog dares speculate upon the Marquis of Jingnan’s bottom line.

“His bottom line is this:

“He will not rebel against Yan.

“But he will protect you.

“Like Mr. Bei, Little Dog also has three points.

“So that you can preserve Snow Sea Pass, this land from which your dragon may rise.

“So that you can use Snow Sea Pass as your foundation and continue spreading your wings.

“So that you can occupy the northeast and watch every direction like a tiger.

“Little Dog asks the Count to seize this opportunity... and in Yingdu... begin a great killing.”

Many times, things were not particularly complicated.

The instructors from Snow Sea Pass had never been part of Count Zheng’s original political plans.

He and the Blind Man had discussed the matter before.

In official circles, Little Sixth already possessed his own faction.

There was little reason for Zheng Fan to build another network from scratch.

First, it was unnecessary and would be difficult to produce results quickly.

As a military noble who had risen through battlefield merit, Zheng Fan also lacked enough attraction and cohesion among civil officials to gather them rapidly.

Second, attempting to build a separate civil faction could easily alarm Little Sixth.

But that was only true when viewing an issue purely on its own terms.

Especially once the imperial court became involved, even the most ordinary matter could be twisted into countless political forms.

He could not rebel.

But he absolutely had to display his attitude.

He could use his own posture to bind the Marquis of Jingnan’s posture, then combine that with the posture of Jin’s military commanders and apply pressure to the court.

That would force the court to think twice before moving against him.

In short, so long as the court continued accepting Snow Sea Pass’s independence and autonomy, Count Zheng would come out ahead even if every other military commander in Jin lost his local civil authority.

Most importantly, intentional or not, one fact remained:

He had suffered a loss.

He had been bullied.

“Transmit my order.”

“This subordinate awaits your command!”

After finishing both walnuts, Count Zheng clapped his hands clean.

Then he blew lightly across his palms.

He raised his head slightly and looked toward the Blind Man.

“Sharpen the blades.”

...

The following morning, many carriages stood outside the relay station.

The carriage at the very front belonged to Prince Cheng, Situ Yu.

Behind it waited carriages belonging to Yingdu’s famous clans and various major local powers.

Farther back came a much more mixed crowd.

Far too many people wanted to recommend themselves to Count Zheng and beg for an opportunity.

Then the relay station’s gates slowly opened.

The people who emerged were not the station master and his staff.

They were armored soldiers.

The order “sharpen the blades” did not literally mean finding whetstones at the last moment.

Veteran soldiers never neglected the daily maintenance of weapons and arrows.

The meaning of the order was simple:

Rest well tonight.

Recover your strength.

Adjust your condition.

Tomorrow, there would be blood.

So when this body of personal guards marched out with sabers in hand, a murderous chill immediately filled the street.

Gao Yi’s Seventh Command was the smallest of Snow Sea Pass’s Commands and contained only one Battalion.

But as the personal guard force responsible for Count Zheng’s safety, its soldiers had been selected from the very best troops in the entire army.

Three hundred elite warriors stepped into the street.

The entire road outside the relay station fell silent.

Then Count Zheng slowly emerged through the gate atop his Pixiu, wearing the golden armor bestowed by the Emperor.

Siniang had warned him never to wear that set on an actual battlefield.

Naturally, Zheng Fan remembered.

But an imperially bestowed suit of golden armor could hardly have been more appropriate for the occasion before him now.

At that moment, the curtain of the first carriage was raised from within.

Prince Cheng Situ Yu appeared.

When his father died in battle and was buried, Situ Yu had still been a child.

Now he was already a young man.

His face had inherited little of his father’s harsh, angular bearing.

Instead, he looked somewhat scholarly and delicate.

That was probably related to his circumstances.

Although Prince Cheng Residence had been allowed to remain in Yingdu rather than being moved to Yanjing like the Yu imperial line, Situ Yu now lived more like a painted clay idol than a true Feudal King.

“This little Prince greets Count Pingye.”

Situ Yu greeted Zheng Fan first.

One man was a Prince.

The other only a Count.

The difference in rank was enormous.

Yet Situ Yu lowered himself before Zheng Fan, and not merely by a little.

That was the weakness of a man from a fallen state.

Before Jin people in and around Yingdu, perhaps he could still preserve some residual dignity.

Before the genuine military nobility of Great Yan, he did not dare display the slightest arrogance.

Seated atop the Pixiu, Count Zheng cupped his hands casually toward Situ Yu.

“This Count greets Prince Cheng. May Your Highness enjoy health and fortune.”

The words were proper enough.

The attitude contained almost none of the sincerity expected from a formal greeting.

Under ordinary circumstances, Zheng Fan would not have cared about meaningless courtesies like these.

On any normal day, he would have been willing to offer this young Prince Cheng a perfectly proper salute.

Why create opportunities for others to criticize him over such trivial matters?

But today, he could not lower his posture by even half a degree.

“Count Pingye has come to Yingdu. This little Prince has already ordered wine and dishes prepared at my residence to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey.

“Please allow this little Prince to fulfill the duties of a host.”

Count Zheng smiled.

In his memory, this young Prince Cheng seemed to spend his entire life inviting people to meals.

When the First Prince led the Eastern Expedition Army here, Situ Yu hosted a banquet for him.

When the Marquis of Jingnan came, Situ Yu invited the Marquis.

When Mao Mingcai, formerly Minister of War and now Prefect of Yingdu, arrived, Situ Yu invited Mao Mingcai.

Every important figure from Yan who entered Yingdu received an invitation to Prince Cheng Residence.

But everyone had refused.

Count Zheng sometimes suspected Prince Cheng Residence never prepared any food at all.

Perhaps Situ Yu simply assumed he would be refused again.

Inviting visiting dignitaries to a welcoming banquet had almost become a ceremonial procedure Prince Cheng was required to perform.

“Your Highness has been thoughtful.

“Unfortunately, Zheng currently has business to handle and truly cannot attend.”

“This... Count Pingye, what matter requires your attention?

“If this little Prince can assist, then I naturally...”

“Private business.”

Zheng Fan swept his gaze over the surrounding crowd.

Then he raised his voice.

“This Count guards the frontier for the state.

“I have fought Savages.

“I have fought bloody battles against Chu.

“Yet while this Count and his soldiers bleed for the state, someone behind us actually dares scheme against me.

“This Count would like to ask...

“Do they truly believe the tens of thousands of soldiers at Snow Sea Pass have no temper?

“Do they truly believe this Count has no temper?”

No matter what happened next, he first needed to raise his own moral position.

At the same time, he needed to place the proper hat upon the heads of the people he intended to kill.

Surprise appeared on Situ Yu’s face.

He immediately asked:

“May I ask Count Pingye who dares commit such an outrage against loyal servants of the state?

“Such men truly arouse the fury of gods and men alike.

“Heaven and earth themselves reject them.

“They deserve death!”

Hm?

This time, Zheng Fan looked properly at Situ Yu.

He had only begun setting the stage.

Yet this young Prince Cheng had immediately stepped forward and continued the performance for him.

Situ Yu truly was Situ Lei’s son.

Inside the relay station gate, the Blind Man and Savage King stood side by side.

The Blind Man said:

“A tiger father does not sire a dog son.”

The Savage King snorted disdainfully.

“He merely wants to borrow our Count’s blade to establish some authority for himself.”

...

“Count, who dares be so bold?” Situ Yu asked again.

Since someone was willing to help build the stage, Count Zheng naturally had no reason not to cooperate.

“The soldiers and people of Snow Sea Pass guard Great Yan’s territory against Savage and Chu invasion.

“We cast away our heads and spill our blood.

“Fortunately, His Majesty’s grace is vast.

“The court granted examination places so our scholars could participate in the provincial examination and perhaps gain an opportunity to display the ambitions in their hearts.

“Yet treacherous villains interfered.

“They actually allowed others to take examination places belonging to Snow Sea Pass!

“Selecting officials through the imperial examination was a fundamental policy established by His Majesty in Yongping Year One.

“Its purpose was to break the shackles of birth and family status and open a new road for sons of humble households.

“And yet someone dares manipulate such a sacred policy.

“If they disregard Snow Sea Pass, that is one thing.

“If they disregard this Count, that is one thing.

“But what they truly disregard... is the sovereign himself!”

Imperial examination?

Quotas?

Prince Cheng immediately understood the general issue.

He said:

“This little Prince will immediately send someone to summon the Assistant Director of the Education Administration.

“We will uncover the reason behind this and provide Count Pingye a proper explanation.”

Zheng Fan raised one hand.

“There is no need to trouble Your Highness.

“Since this matter has landed upon this Count’s head, then according to this Count’s temperament, I will handle it myself.

“Let them use their own necks to test whether this Count’s saber is still sharp!”

Gao Yi raised his blade.

“Clear the road!”

The personal guards began opening the way.

Every carriage and every person on the street was pushed aside.

In truth, no one needed to clear anything.

Before these murderous elite soldiers, nobody dared remain in their path.

Seeing this, Situ Yu prepared to signal his own entourage to follow.

The old eunuch beside him, a man who had once served Situ Lei, hurriedly stopped him.

“Master, this is an internal matter among the Yan people.

“We cannot involve ourselves.”

“I... I...”

Situ Yu looked flustered.

“Master, what you did just now was already very good.

“If some ordinary household had offended the ascendant Count Pingye, we could have done him a convenient favor and borrowed his hand to establish some prestige for Prince Cheng Residence.

“But this involves the imperial examination.

“The connections run too deep.

“This is already beyond anything we can touch.

“And look at Count Pingye’s murderous bearing.

“He clearly intends to shed blood.”

Situ Yu looked at the old eunuch.

“But we cannot simply ignore it.

“If Yingdu falls into chaos, our residence...”

The scandal around the examination compound was not actually a secret.

Since the provincial examination began, several groups of scholars from outside Yingdu had already beaten grievance drums before various yamen throughout the city.

Some had even knelt outside Prince Cheng Residence, begging Prince Cheng to come forward and uphold justice.

But far too many interests were involved.

The families and officials behind the fraud were mostly middle-ranking.

Unfortunately, household after household had already woven themselves into a large network.

Even Prince Cheng Residence had not wanted to wade into those muddy waters.

Now Count Pingye clearly intended to blow the matter wide open.

Situ Yu instinctively began to panic.

The little dignity Prince Cheng Residence still possessed was supported precisely by these middle-ranking families and officials.

Great Jin families could bypass Prince Cheng Residence entirely and embrace the Yan court directly.

These middle- and lower-level forces, however, still needed Prince Cheng Residence to represent them.

That had become the residence’s greatest remaining value.

If this affair expanded and attracted the imperial court’s attention, triggering a full investigation into examination fraud, the court would obtain a perfectly legitimate excuse to purge Yingdu’s remaining family forces that still carried traces of loyalty to the Situ Clan.

Naturally, that was Situ Yu’s view from his own position.

The old eunuch instead said:

“Master, do not worry.

“The Yan people fear disorder in Yingdu even more than we do.”

Yan needed stability.

“Yes. Yes, yes. That’s right.”

Situ Yu calmed down.

“Quickly, send someone to notify Prefect Mao.”

Originally, Situ Yu had assumed Count Pingye merely wanted to vent his anger upon someone who had offended him.

That was a favor he would gladly have helped with.

The instant he realized Count Pingye intended to truly draw blood, his attitude changed immediately.

...

When Count Zheng’s party reached Water Street Alley, a group of soldiers appeared ahead and blocked the road.

Beyond Water Street Alley stood the yamen of the Education Administration.

Gao Yi raised one hand.

The surrounding guards halted.

Seated atop the Pixiu, Count Zheng turned his head slightly and looked forward.

One man emerged from among the opposing soldiers.

He knelt before Zheng Fan.

“This general Ran Min pays respects to Count Pingye!”

Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes.

“This Count remembers you.”

“To be remembered by the Count is this general’s honor!”

Zheng Fan pointed toward the soldiers blocking the road.

“You intend to stop this Count?”

“Count, this general dares speak.

“You have already broken regulations by bringing your personal guards into the city.

“Under the laws of Great Yan, an outside army entering a city may bring no more than fifty personal troops. All remaining soldiers must lodge in military camps outside the walls.”

“Oh?

“You came to teach this Count the rules?”

“This general would not dare.”

“Move aside.”

“Count, Prefect Mao is already on his way.

“This general has also heard what angered you.

“But please calm your fury.

“Once the Prefect arrives, he will certainly provide the Count a satisfactory explanation.”

“You’re using Mao Mingcai to pressure me?”

“This general would not dare!”

“One moment you say you wouldn’t dare.

“The next you say you wouldn’t dare.

“But in reality you’ve already done everything.”

“Count, the court has laws and institutions.

“Justice will certainly be done.

“Please do not act while consumed by anger.”

Zheng Fan chuckled.

“Fine.

“Then this Count would like to see whether you can truly stop me today.”

“This general is bound by duty.

“Please forgive me, Count Pingye!”

Ran Min rose.

He straightened his back.

Then he waved one hand.

Another body of soldiers emerged from both sides of the road.

They completely blocked Zheng Fan’s party from advancing.

Zheng Fan’s gaze swept across the Yingdu city guards.

Naturally, those soldiers knew who the man seated atop the Pixiu was.

When Zheng Fan’s gaze passed over them, many instinctively lowered their heads and closed their eyes.

A man’s reputation was like the shadow of a great tree.

Count Zheng’s personal troops were stationed at Snow Sea Pass, but throughout Great Yan’s military his prestige was extraordinarily high.

One could say every ambitious soldier dreamed, at least once, of becoming a second Count Pingye.

Zheng Fan reached down and stroked the Pixiu’s mane.

“Advance.”

Gao Yi drew his saber and pointed forward.

Then he roared:

“The Count orders us to advance!

“Anyone who obstructs the army will be killed without mercy!”

“Yes!”

Every personal guard moved at once.

Sabers came free.

Crossbows were raised.

The entire body shifted into a wartime dismounted formation and began advancing in perfectly ordered steps.

Ran Min stood where he was.

He did not retreat.

But whether he retreated no longer mattered.

The soldiers he had brought with him greatly outnumbered Zheng Fan’s guards.

Yet they began retreating.

Ran Min had given no order.

Still, the city guards backed away instinctively.

First, they had been overwhelmed by the murderous intent of Count Zheng’s personal troops.

Second, they simply lacked the courage, and even the willingness, to draw blades against Count Pingye.

Backward.

Backward.

The city guards gradually opened the road.

Ran Min remained standing alone.

His eyes stayed fixed on Count Pingye.

Zheng Fan looked toward him as well.

Within that gaze was a calmness Ran Min found chilling.

He struggled internally.

But when the front rank of Count Zheng’s guards came within twenty paces, Ran Min finally shifted to the left.

He retreated several steps.

He yielded the road.

This man had once wandered the jianghu.

He had once drunk with the Sixth Prince before a yamen court.

He had once participated in the Eastern Expedition Army’s Battle of Wang River.

But after his own soldiers retreated, he discovered that alone he truly could not withstand the pressure radiating from Count Pingye.

Zheng Fan rode the Pixiu slowly past him.

Ran Min gathered his courage and raised his head again.

Then he realized Count Pingye had not turned to look at him even once.

More precisely, when Ran Min had stood directly in the road earlier and believed Count Pingye was staring at him, that too had been wishful thinking.

Count Pingye had never truly placed him in his eyes at all.

Sometimes Ran Min still thought back.

What if, years ago, chance had not caused him to be conscripted into the Eastern Expedition Army?

What if he had followed his original sentence of exile and gone to Shengle City?

What if he had ended up serving this Count Pingye?

What would he be now?

Dead on some battlefield?

Or perhaps a Lieutenant Commander beneath Zheng Fan?

For some reason, even though Mao Mingcai now valued him highly, and even though rising from penal status to his current position already counted as unimaginable fortune, Ran Min still found himself wondering about that other path during quiet nights.

The Education Administration contained many officials and clerks.

Especially after the recent provincial examination, every scholar from the former territory of Cheng State had come to Yingdu and passed through their hands before entering the examination compound.

Nominally, this was only a commandery-level education office.

In practice, it was the highest educational authority throughout the former Cheng State.

When Zheng Fan reached its main gate surrounded by his personal guards, countless heads could already be seen peeking over the walls.

News had reached the yamen in advance.

Count Pingye had flown into a rage outside the relay station because examination places belonging to Snow Sea Pass scholars had been stolen.

He was personally coming to demand an explanation.

Zheng Fan had done that deliberately.

His party had moved slowly to give the news enough time to spread.

Otherwise, how could more people learn of Count Zheng’s fury?

But perhaps because the Education Administration saw the murderous bearing of his guards, its gates had already been shut.

No one dared come out to answer.

Much less welcome him.

In a situation like this, even people with justice on their side would feel weak.

And many inside the Education Administration knew perfectly well that they really had done what Count Zheng accused them of doing.

They were not in the right.

“Count Zheng!

“Count Zheng!”

At that moment, Prefect Mao Mingcai came riding quickly toward them, calling from far away.

Old Mao had served in the central government and had once been Minister of War.

Now, in Yingdu, he was the region’s true person in charge.

A genuine great official entrusted with an entire frontier region.

His political instincts were excellent.

From his subordinates’ reports, he had already sensed something ominous.

When it came to politics, everyone here was an expert.

He could already guess what Count Zheng intended to accomplish through this sudden attack.

Especially because Zhang Yuanshan had visited the Prefect’s residence the previous night and spoken with him at length about the military review on the snowfields.

“Count Zheng, long time no see!

“Your bearing is as magnificent as ever.

“This old man truly envies you.

“Truly envies you!”

Mao Mingcai wore an enormous smile, acting like an old friend of a younger generation reunited after many years.

Count Zheng responded with equal warmth and an equally large smile.

“Lord Mao, long time no see.

“You remain vigorous and full of spirit.”

“Ai, old.

“I truly feel my years now.

“How can I compare with the Count, young and strong, standing at the height of your prime?”

Seeing Count Zheng smiling with him, Mao Mingcai felt some relief.

He said:

“Count, this official already knows what happened.

“Please be at ease.

“This official will certainly investigate the entire matter and obtain justice for the Count.”

“Lord Mao is burdened with endless official affairs.

“The affairs of an entire commandery rest upon your shoulders.

“Haa.

“Zheng truly cannot bear to make Lord Mao exhaust yourself over Zheng’s personal business as well.”

“Count Zheng, there is no need to say such things.

“The imperial examination is one of the state’s great policies.

“His Majesty values it deeply.

“As subjects, we naturally must handle it with the utmost care.

“Besides, the mistake occurred within territory governed by this official.

“This official naturally bears responsibility for correcting it.

“Please come to my residence first, Count, and sit for some tea.

“This official will immediately order the proper offices to arrest those involved and conduct an investigation.

“The Count may sit beside this official and observe the proceedings personally.”

Count Zheng nodded.

“With Lord Mao saying that, this Count is relieved.

“Our frontier soldiers guard bitter, frozen lands.

“They already suffer greatly.

“We cannot allow someone to stab them in the heart from behind as well.”

“Exactly.

“Exactly as the Count says.”

“Thinking about it, the last time this Count saw Lord Mao was roughly a year ago, wasn’t it?

“Haa.

“Time passes quickly.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“I vaguely remember that when I last saw Lord Mao, you were still an Imperial Envoy.

“You had come beneath Yupan City to organize peace talks with Chu.

“At the negotiation table, you argued every point against the Chu envoy and refused to yield.

“Your bearing was truly admirable.”

“Hahaha. Yes.

“Who would have thought an entire year had already passed?”

“Hmm.

“What was I doing at the time?”

“Count, you had only just arrived from Snow Sea Pass.”

“Oh, right.

“Right, right.

“Look at this memory of mine.

“I’m still young, yet I keep forgetting things.

“At the time, I had hurried over from Snow Sea Pass.

“Then I transmitted a military order for the Marquis.

“What was that order again?

“Hiss...

“I seem to remember it was something like...

“Put them all to the sword...”

The instant those words fell, Gao Yi roared:

“The Count orders:

“Put them all to the sword!”

“HU!”

“HU!”

“HU!”

“...”

Mao Mingcai stood frozen.

————

[End of Chapter 471]