Chapter 494: - The Beacons of War Rise

“Because this subject is there.”

He said it with absolute confidence.

Once, Great Yan’s Count Pingye, the young Barbarian prince, Great Chu’s General Nian Yao, and Qian’s Zhong Tianlang had been hailed as the Four Rising Generals of the next generation.

No one cared much for that label anymore. Even people in Qian and Chu had stopped bringing it up.

A scholar could be praised into fame. Scholars had always played at lofty art appreciated by the few, flattering one another inside their own circles and propping each other up. Outsiders found it difficult to object, because the moment you did, you could simply be accused of having eyes but no sight, incapable of appreciating true art.

A general was different. Empty praise could never hold him up for long, and the achievements that truly stood up to boasting were not won at home, but on foreign battlefields.

The young Barbarian prince was said to have led troops across the desert against many disobedient tribes. But the desert was simply too far from the eastern states for most people to care deeply, and his decision to lower himself by a generation before the Emperor of Great Yan had badly damaged his image.

Zhong Tianlang had once taken several Yan forts along the border. Yet after the First Prince arrived at Nanwang City, Zhong Tianlang quieted down considerably, giving the distinct impression that he bullied the weak and shrank from the strong.

As for General Nian Yao, aside from arresting several princes within Chu, his greatest achievement in foreign war had been relying on Zhennan Pass to play a round against the Marquis of Jingnan.

Everyone knew how difficult it was to contend with Tian Wujing.

Still, when that was your greatest foreign military achievement, it sounded rather stifling.

Count Pingye alone had a record that spoke for itself: with three hundred cavalry, he took Mianzhou City, killed its Prefect, and rode away; with a thousand cavalry, he plunged deep into Qian territory, killed Prince Fu, and rode away; with three thousand cavalry, he followed one of Li Fusheng’s formations into Qian and admired the snow outside Shangjing City; with ten thousand cavalry, he raced a thousand li to seize Snow Sea Pass and buried the main Savage force in a single stroke.

Because the Marquis of Jingnan was unpopular among the common people, Count Pingye received much of the popular praise instead. Some stories had even begun claiming that for Count Pingye, the more soldiers he commanded, the better.

As for the great men of the Great Yan Dynasty’s court gathered in the Imperial Study, they had long since passed the age of hot blood and pounding hearts. If officialdom had cultivation grades of its own, these men had already entered the realm of “Immovable as a Mountain.”

That was not mere exaggeration.

Years ago, Master Cang of Qian had led his disciples in cultivating methods of entering deep meditation. He once took a group of disciples into Shangjing and entered the Imperial Academy.

Qian’s Imperial Academicians held extraordinarily honored positions. Any official who hoped to rise smoothly through the bureaucracy and someday contend for the office of Chancellor first had to be tempered there.

The academicians cultivated within those halls for the crimson robes and purple sashes of future high office, and for the shade of a Chancellor’s parasol.

Meanwhile, Qi Refiners sat in the adjoining rooms watching them cultivate stillness.

Master Cang himself had once remarked that the cultivation of mind possessed by the Chancellors of the current court was no lower than his own.

The men in this Imperial Study stood at roughly the same level as those Chancellors of Qian. They disliked recklessness. They preferred governing a great state as one cooked a small fish: carefully, steadily, without needless disturbance. Naturally, they were instinctively uncomfortable with anything too radical.

Yet when Count Pingye gave his answer, none of them felt particularly disturbed.

These were, after all, senior officials personally elevated by Emperor Yan after the cavalry purge of the great clans. Because imperial authority was secure and power concentrated in the throne, Emperor Yan did not need to weigh political balance, noble factions, or scholar-official cliques nearly as heavily as other emperors did when choosing his chief ministers.

These men had different personalities. Privately, each might have peculiar habits of his own.

But on matters of fundamental importance, they stood with Emperor Yan.

Many people had already offered reasons.

Yet Count Pingye’s reason, crude and simple as it sounded, somehow felt the most convincing.

Since entering the army, this young Count of the Great Yan Dynasty had truly never lost a battle. Whenever he took part, the result was usually a great victory, and he was especially skilled at winning big with small forces.

And behind him, of course, stood the Marquis of Jingnan.

With Great Yan in its current condition, forcibly launching another war between states truly was a gamble. If they won, the realm would still have problems, but at least its general stability could be maintained. If they lost, the dynasty itself might face collapse.

So after Zheng Fan spoke, the thoughts running through the minds of these senior officials somehow became very simple:

If we have to gamble anyway, why not put the wager in the hands of a man whose luck has always been excellent and who has never lost?

Military affairs were no child’s game.

The great affairs of a state lay in sacrifice and war.

And yet no one could stop himself from thinking that way.

If nothing else, it felt auspicious.

At that moment, Xu Qiutai spoke.

“Your Majesty, Prince Zhenbei must remain in Beifeng Commandery. Unless matters become truly desperate, the court will not transfer him away. If we begin a war between states, the commander-in-chief must therefore be the Marquis of Jingnan. For that reason, this subject believes Chu should be attacked first.”

This time, Xu Qiutai, as Director of the Department of State Affairs, directly nailed the position of commander-in-chief onto the Marquis of Jingnan.

During the previous Eastern Expedition, the First Prince had initially held command. Something had gone wrong, the Left-Wing Army had suffered a major defeat, and the casualties had been severe.

The First Prince had not actually committed any glaring error in command, and victory and defeat were common affairs in war.

Even so, everyone understood one thing.

If the Marquis of Jingnan had been placed in supreme command from the beginning, that first defeat at the Wang River would never have happened.

Your Majesty wishes to begin another war between states. We agree.

But there are certain matters Your Majesty must understand as well.

Emperor Yan’s gaze darkened slightly.

He understood Xu Qiutai’s unstated meaning.

If they attacked Qian, Xu Qiutai feared that he might once again let the First Prince command the army, or at least lead it during the initial phase of the campaign.

But Emperor Yan did not grow angry.

The one who had failed to live up to expectations before was his own son.

In this coming war, the commander-in-chief had to be Tian Wujing.

Li Liangting’s health was poor to begin with, and he was no longer suited to another long journey back and forth across the realm.

With Tian Wujing certain to command, having him march directly out of the Three Jin lands and attack Chu was clearly the most suitable choice.

After all, military authority across the Three Jin lands had long since fallen into the hands of the Marquis of Jingnan.

On Count Pingye’s recent journey to the capital, he had used a military order from the Marquis of Jingnan to directly mobilize the various camps outside Yingdu.

That was the clearest proof.

At last, Emperor Yan nodded.

“At tomorrow’s court session, first build the momentum for war. Then point the blade directly at Chu.”

The senior officials below kowtowed together.

“This subject obeys.”

“This subject obeys.”

The meaning was simple enough.

The theme had been settled today. Everyone would return and quietly inform the people in his own political network. Tomorrow, the entire court would come together, formally settle those two policies, and go through the necessary motions.

In truth, what Emperor Yan had just said damaged the image of a “sage sovereign” no less than the Crown Prince’s words had earlier.

Openly arranging backroom manipulation of the court and laying out the process this plainly was obviously not proper.

The difference was that everyone dared criticize and question the Crown Prince.

No one dared question Emperor Yan.

“That will be all. Zheng Fan stays.”

“This subject takes his leave.”

“This son takes his leave.”

The senior officials and the two princes departed.

Wei Zhonghe led the eunuchs in carrying away the chairs, but left one behind. He even moved it forward a little, indicating that Count Pingye should sit closer to His Majesty.

An emperor had endless matters to deal with every day. He could hardly waste breath constantly saying things like “grant him a seat,” “serve tea,” or “sit closer.”

That was what a close attendant like Wei Zhonghe was for.

Count Pingye sat.

Then Emperor Yan rose from behind the imperial desk.

Since the Emperor had stood, Count Pingye could only stand again.

“It has been quite some time since you and I last met.”

“Answering Your Majesty, it has been more than two years.”

“Mm. Time truly passes quickly.”

“Although this subject has not had the honor of beholding the imperial countenance during these past two years, Your Majesty’s boundless grace has remained beside me at all times.”

Emperor Yan laughed.

“It must be difficult for you. You are clearly a general, yet your pretty words come more smoothly than those of my flattering courtiers.”

“...” Zheng Fan.

“Zheng Fan, tell me. Do the times create heroes, or do heroes create the times?”

“This subject believes both can be true.”

“I dislike vague answers from my ministers above all else.”

“Your Majesty, forgive me. That is not what this subject meant. In my case, the times created the hero. If I had not been fortunate enough to live under a wise and divinely martial Emperor who opened new frontiers abroad, I naturally could never have earned a noble title through military merit. Perhaps I would still be an ordinary commoner today, or perhaps still serving as a Lieutenant Commander or Garrison Commander at Tiger Head City or Cuiliu Fort. But in Your Majesty’s case, the hero creates the times. A war between states begins with a single thought from Your Majesty. Tens of thousands of fierce soldiers open new territory at Your Majesty’s command. The rising and falling of the tide itself follows Your Majesty’s will.”

Emperor Yan pointed at Wei Zhonghe beside him.

“Learn from him.”

Wei Zhonghe immediately smiled.

“This slave has been learning all along.”

“Zheng Fan, it is only you and me now. Tell me plainly: just how difficult is Zhennan Pass to take?”

“Answering Your Majesty, Zhennan Pass has towering walls and a large garrison. The Chu have also put serious effort into maintaining its defenses. Breaking Zhennan Pass truly will be difficult.”

“Difficult, yet you just pounded your chest and promised me you could do it.”

“Answering Your Majesty, this subject has always despised the enemy strategically while taking him seriously tactically.”

Emperor Yan savored that sentence, then slowly nodded.

“Interesting.”

“Your Majesty should know that Zhennan Pass is a fishbone lodged in the throat of the Jin lands. Until that thorn is pulled out, Jin cannot know peace.”

“I know how important Zhennan Pass is. But I know something else even more clearly: there is no wall in this world that cannot be broken. I believe you can do it. I also believe Wujing can do it. You fight at the front. What I can do is remain in the capital and make sure you have no worries behind you.”

“This subject will exhaust every ounce of strength and face ten thousand deaths without regret!”

“Come. Tell me in detail about the Regent of Chu and that ruler of Qian. What sort of men are they?”

Only then did Count Pingye understand.

Emperor Yan had kept him behind and mentioned Zhennan Pass almost in passing.

The real reason was that Emperor Yan wanted to hear, through Zheng Fan, what his two fellow rulers were actually like.

“Your Majesty, which one first?”

“The ruler of Qian. I hear he is very skilled at preserving his health?”

“Answering Your Majesty, the ruler of Qian is indeed very skilled at preserving his health. He seems to have practiced certain methods of breathing and seated meditation. When this subject met him, he was wearing a Daoist robe, half open at the chest.”

“What is his character like? And compared with me?”

“This subject is terrified to answer.”

“Speak directly. I pardon you in advance. Stop fussing and tell me the truth.”

“Yes. This subject believes the ruler of Qian deserves to be called an enlightened sovereign. Whether in temperament or methods, he is extremely capable. Compared with Your Majesty, however, he lacks Your Majesty’s breadth of spirit and magnificent courage. Your Majesty is a heroic sovereign who opens foundations for ten thousand generations. He is an enlightened ruler suited to preserving what he inherited.”

“And the Regent of Chu?”

“Answering Your Majesty... he is young.”

As a ruler, the Regent of Chu was unquestionably young.

And there was a spirit beside the Regent of Chu as well.

That meant the Regent himself was also a cultivator.

Emperor Yan tasted those two words in silence.

Then he sighed.

Young.

If only he himself could be ten years younger.

If only Li Liangting were still in the prime of his life.

How difficult would it truly be to sweep the whole world clean?

“I understand. You may leave. The day after tomorrow, you will depart the capital and return.”

“This subject obeys.”

“Do your work well. I will not fail a minister who renders merit.”

“This subject understands.”

When Zheng Fan emerged from the imperial palace, he found Eunuch Zhang’s carriage waiting outside the gates.

After leaving the Imperial Study, Old Sixth Ji had gone to the Ministry of Revenue, so he had no immediate use for the carriage.

The carriage also meant that the experts responsible for protecting it were nearby and ready.

When it came to cherishing his own life, Zheng Fan knew Ji Chengjue was no worse than he was.

After Count Pingye climbed aboard, Eunuch Zhang asked eagerly, “Count, are we returning to the residence?”

“The Prince of Jin Residence.”

Eunuch Zhang paused for the briefest moment, then nodded.

“This slave understands.”

In truth, the last time Zheng Fan went to visit Third Highness, he had also intended to stop by the Prince of Jin Residence.

Unfortunately, the Sword Saint had been sitting beside him at the time.

Now Old Sixth Ji’s experts were protecting him, which meant he could safely pay the visit.

They were all old acquaintances.

Since he had finally returned to the capital, he ought to call on them.

The Prince of Jin Residence stood on East Third Street. To the west lay the City Patrol Office, and to the east the Yanjing Prefect’s yamen.

One could hardly ask for tighter security.

Apart from that, Emperor Yan had not treated the Prince of Jin’s family harshly.

On such matters, Emperor Yan had always possessed the necessary generosity.

More than a hundred maids and servants lived inside the residence. Their expenses were paid from the Great Yan Dynasty’s inner treasury every year, and maintaining a life of luxury presented no difficulty.

Apart from festivals and major ceremonies, when the Prince of Jin had to dress formally and make an appearance, Emperor Yan had never specifically summoned him to the palace again.

The gates of the Prince of Jin Residence were imposing, and many soldiers stood guard outside.

The moment Eunuch Zhang drove the carriage to the entrance, a line of soldiers descended and surrounded it.

The Prince of Jin was, after all, under house arrest.

You could give him wealth and comfort.

You could not give him freedom.

And no one in Yanjing came to visit him.

Even His Majesty did not drag him out and display him like a monkey, instead preserving his most basic dignity. What prince, duke, or minister would dare come here simply to swagger around and humiliate him?

When Count Pingye stepped out of the carriage, every soldier around him dropped to one knee.

“Greetings, Count Pingye!”

“Greetings, Count Pingye!”

The golden armor was certainly distinctive.

Since he had entered the palace to meet His Majesty today, Zheng Fan was still wearing it.

“This Count has just come from the imperial palace.”

Count Pingye had become extremely practiced at borrowing the tiger’s skin.

He had indeed just come from the imperial palace.

He had not, of course, received an imperial order to visit the Prince of Jin and his family.

But the implication worked almost as well.

Zheng Fan had become accustomed to behaving this way in Jin, and he had not restrained himself much after coming to Yanjing either.

The reason was simple.

He was valuable.

He could fight wars.

He could get things done.

So he could afford to be a little arrogant under imperial favor.

Even if Emperor Yan learned about this, he would not care.

At a time when the Emperor needed you, nothing counted as a real offense.

And when the Emperor truly wanted to deal with you, you could bathe, burn incense, and pray every day for His Majesty’s longevity and good health, and someone could still charge you with cursing the Son of Heaven.

The surrounding soldiers immediately withdrew.

The Lieutenant Commander in charge shouted to his men:

“Open the gate!”

The residence gate opened.

Then the Lieutenant Commander stepped forward, kicked one of his own soldiers, and cursed him.

The gate closed again.

A moment later, the main gate opened.

They had opened the side gate the first time.

“Count, please.”

Zheng Fan smiled and shook his head.

He still climbed out of the carriage rather than having it driven straight through the main gate.

Inside the Prince of Jin Residence, flowers and plants flourished. The gardens were well maintained.

The sound of the gate opening had drawn a group of servants over.

“Please inform His Highness the Prince of Jin that an old acquaintance has come to visit.”

...

The servants of the Prince of Jin Residence settled Count Pingye in the guest hall and served tea.

After waiting for a while, Zheng Fan heard footsteps approaching from outside.

But the person who entered was not the Prince of Jin, Yu Ciming.

It was the Empress Dowager of Jin, dressed in red.

Count Pingye immediately rose and saluted.

“Greetings, Empress Dowager.”

“I heard from the servants that a general in golden armor had come to the residence. I guessed who it must be. And sure enough, it is you, Count Pingye.”

“Empress Dowager, where is His Highness the Prince of Jin?”

There was no reason a woman should be the one receiving a male guest.

“Unfortunately, yesterday was the day of rites at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His Highness must remain in seclusion for three days to attend upon the ancestors.”

“That really is unfortunate timing.”

“...” The Empress Dowager.

Count Pingye sat again and asked, “Empress Dowager, how has life in the capital treated you?”

“We live quite well. His Majesty has given us more than enough dignity.”

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan nodded and looked around.

He knew perfectly well that the residence must contain more than a few agents of the Secret Intelligence Department, which meant many things simply could not be said.

The conversation naturally went cold.

The Empress Dowager broke the silence.

“I must also thank Count Pingye for driving the Savages from the lands of Jin and rescuing the people of Jin from fire and water.”

“It was what I should have done.”

Then— awkward silence again.

The Empress Dowager tried once more.

“Count Pingye, this visit of yours is for...”

“Oh. I don’t have many acquaintances in the capital, and I rarely come back, so I thought I should visit the people I know.”

“I see. In truth, the residence rarely receives visitors.”

Then the silence returned.

Count Pingye began feeling uncomfortable enough that he finally stood and prepared to leave.

The Empress Dowager rose as well to see him out.

Strictly speaking, she should not have appeared to receive a guest herself.

But Yu Ciming was still secluded in the residence’s ancestral hall, and anyone capable of entering this residence as a guest could hardly be an ordinary person.

“Then I’ll take my leave. Later, I’ll have someone send over a few specialties from Jin.”

“Thank you, Count.”

“Is there anything else the Empress Dowager lacks? This Count can have it delivered.”

The Empress Dowager’s face abruptly flushed.

She hurriedly shook her head.

“No need. No need. We lack nothing here.”

“All right.”

Count Pingye left the Prince of Jin Residence and climbed back into the carriage.

“Tsk...”

That had been boring.

Count Pingye felt distinctly unsatisfied.

“Count, where next?”

“Back to the residence.”

“Yes, Count.”

The carriage left East Third Street.

At the intersection, it encountered another carriage driven by Little Eunuch Zhang.

The curtain lifted.

The Blind Man stepped down from that carriage and climbed into Zheng Fan’s.

“Master went to the Prince of Jin Residence?”

“Mm. Paid them a visit. What about you?”

“This subordinate was preparing to visit my father-in-law.”

“Oh, right. You still have a father-in-law in the capital.”

“Would Master like to come with me?”

“Sure. I’ll go have a look. He counts as an old acquaintance too.”

“Oh, right, Master. I still haven’t asked how today’s discussion in the Imperial Study ended.”

Count Pingye smiled.

“We’re preparing for war.”

[End of Chapter 494]