Chapter 529: - Receive

Shi Yuantang’s body was placed atop the command carriage.

There was no white shroud, so they found a Chu military banner and draped it over him instead.

By now, the Blind Man had also returned to the command carriage.

His hair was disheveled.

His face was exhausted.

There were several wounds on his body.

In the middle of a chaotic army, even with Liang Cheng protecting him, and even with his own mental power and telekinesis to rely upon, it had still been almost impossible to come through completely unscathed.

That was only natural.

Even the Sword Saint’s clothes had been soaked in blood.

How could anyone else expect to remain pristine and elegant?

It was also fortunate that from the very beginning, the Chu had focused their fiercest killing and charges on the area around Count Pingye’s command carriage.

Corpses from both armies lay there in layers, piled grotesquely high.

During the worst of the tug-of-war, soldiers from both sides had been forced to step across heaps of bodies to keep fighting.

Count Pingye sat directly on the deck of the command carriage.

Every so often, he looked toward the corpse of the Great Chu Pillar of State.

Every so often, he frowned faintly.

“Master, he did that deliberately,” the Blind Man said, trying to comfort him. “From the beginning, he never intended to beg for the lives of those defeated troops. He had already decided to make us slaughter them, so that later Chu troops would lose the thought of surrendering.”

As a Pillar of State of Great Chu, Shi Yuantang naturally had no desire to endure humiliation.

It was just like Qu Tiannan in the past.

He had not begged either.

When the Prince of Jingnan ordered the prisoners killed, Qu Tiannan had taken his own life without hesitation.

Chu people still valued honor.

Great Chu certainly possessed the tradition that nobles captured in battles between aristocratic houses could be ransomed back.

But it also possessed another tradition: when the supreme commander of an army was defeated, he cut his own throat.

After losing, Shi Yuantang had intended to die anyway.

Before dying, he had simply done one final thing for Chu.

That was perfectly reasonable.

Count Pingye listened to the Blind Man and merely nodded.

“I know all that. I just think... he died too simply. Too cleanly.”

He beckoned.

Then he tilted his head back and gestured for A’Ming, standing beside him, to pour water from a waterskin over his face.

Count Pingye scrubbed his face with both hands.

Then he said:

“He was a Pillar of State, for heaven’s sake. A major figure whose name carried weight across an entire region. I keep feeling he should have said more, done more. At the very least, he should have given me a little more page time.”

Because of the drug, Count Pingye’s mind was beginning to lag more and more.

He had even started using professional jargon from his previous life.

Death itself was fine.

Shi Yuantang had deserved to die.

Capturing a Pillar of State alive might look like an enormous achievement, but that depended first on whether the man himself was willing to be captured.

Chu people liked raising monster beasts.

Those at a higher level could even command spirits.

For a man of Shi Yuantang’s status and cultivation to seek death, he possessed far too many methods.

Since he had already decided to die, he might as well have talked a little more first.

Even if he did not want to talk with Count Pingye, he could have talked with Liang Cheng, the Blind Man, even Jin Shuke.

The final glow of a life should have been stretched longer.

Made fuller.

Made richer.

Instead, after exchanging only a few lines, the old man went down, dirtied Zheng Fan’s hand, and slit his own throat.

It had all been too rushed.

Too unsatisfying.

You were one of the Four Pillars of State of Great Chu.

Couldn’t you at least give yourself a few more scenes?

Other people probably could not guess that this was genuinely how Count Pingye viewed Shi Yuantang’s death.

He was not thinking from the perspective of profit.

He was not weighing the larger strategic situation.

He simply felt that because Shi Yuantang had exited too cleanly, the ending of his own great victory had somehow become disappointing.

A little anticlimactic.

The Blind Man, however, could understand what Master was thinking.

At the same time, he could also tell that something was wrong with Master’s mood.

His facial expressions were far too rich.

For the last several years, Master had been privately studying in the Department of Acting.

Keeping joy and anger from showing on the face was supposed to be a basic course.

“Master, that Great Chu Pillar of State probably felt the defeat came too suddenly, too unexpectedly. So he never prepared himself in advance. Forget before the battle. He may have gone his entire life without ever building the mental expectation that he might one day lose before a general of another state. So whether in experience or state of mind, he probably never prepared the necessary buildup. Then when the moment truly arrived, everything else became false. Whatever he said or did was merely an excuse to let himself die quickly while preserving some scrap of dignity. Dying early also spared him from continuing to face a situation he was unfamiliar with. Naturally, his death ended up too simple and too clean. Besides, throughout history, genuinely loyal and righteous men prepared to die for their principles probably never had much interest in putting on that whole performance where enemies repeatedly persuade them to surrender and they repeatedly refuse.”

Count Pingye grabbed a fistful of his wet hair.

He said irritably:

“How could he be so selfish?”

The Blind Man immediately used mental power to “tap” A’Ming.

Inside A’Ming’s mind, he asked:

“Why does Master feel a little wrong?”

“During the counterattack earlier, Master let the Demon Pill possess him, which left him mentally exhausted. So I gave him one of the pills Xue San made back then.”

“You’re really broad-minded. Can the things San’er makes be eaten casually? Everything that bastard concocts is tiger-and-wolf medicine. Who knows what kind of side effects it has? If Master eats himself into some illness, or it changes his temperament, how are we supposed to kiss his ass in the future?”

Kissing Master’s ass was already difficult enough.

If they added mental illness to Master’s attributes...

“I don’t think it’s a major problem. Once Master sleeps, he’ll probably be fine.”

That was what A’Ming said.

But now he too began feeling a little frightened.

He deliberately lowered his head and carefully examined his Master.

Count Pingye, meanwhile, still looked full of energy.

He began issuing orders one after another.

“Send word to Jin Shuke. Have him continue hunting down the Chu who escaped into the outer areas.”

“Send word to A’Cheng. Have him take one force and help A’Li, Gongsun Zhi, and the others clear the remaining enemies inside East Mountain Fort.”

“Notify the nearby friendly armies. Tell them East Mountain Fort has fallen, but our losses are rather heavy. Ask them to pay attention to covering our flanks.”

“Notify the Prince of Jingnan. Tell His Highness that we won a great victory at East Mountain Fort and killed a Pillar of State of Chu. Ask His Highness for instructions on our next move.”

“Pass this Count’s order. Treat the body of this Great Chu Pillar of State properly. Oh, right. A’Ming, contribute your coffin. Let him lie in that. Then find white cloth and white funeral streamers and put together a mourning procession. This Count wants one force assigned specifically to carry the funeral of Great Chu’s Pillar of State past every Chu military fort and camp.”

“Also, pass...”

Count Pingye abruptly stopped.

He felt something running from his nose.

“Did I catch a cold...?”

He wiped at it.

When he looked at the back of his hand, it was bright red.

He touched his nose again.

The blood was pouring out at a frightening rate.

“Holy shit. This medicine really is...”

Count Pingye suddenly felt qi and blood surge violently toward his head.

Then it vanished.

His consciousness was jerked upward without warning and released again.

He passed out on the spot.

The Blind Man hurriedly caught him with telekinesis.

Then he “seated” Count Pingye back in the commander’s chair, arranging him into a posture that made it look as though the Count had simply fallen asleep there.

A’Ming looked at the scene and asked with some concern:

“He all right?”

The Blind Man shook his head.

“Nothing serious. He only passed out from exhaustion.”

Then the Blind Man shouted:

“The Count has ordered the command carriage into the fort!”

...

“This general pays respects to Your Highness!”

Li Fusheng, covered in dust, dropped to one knee before Tian Wujing.

When he raised his head, one could see that dust was not the only thing on him.

Several places on his body had been blackened by flame and smoke.

Tian Wujing sat in the commander’s seat that had originally belonged to Li Fusheng.

He looked at the general kneeling below and asked:

“You personally went up?”

Li Fusheng had always liked leading charges from the front.

He had possessed that habit while stationed in Beifeng Commandery.

He never changed it afterward.

Other generals longed for military merit so they could win rank for themselves and honors for their descendants.

Li Fusheng simply enjoyed the pleasure of killing.

“Heh. Your Highness, this general thought it looked like there might be an opening, so I figured I’d go up and see whether I could break through. If I managed it, this battle would become much easier.”

“You broke through?”

“No. No...”

People said the Chief Commanders who came out of the old Zhenbei Army were more arrogant than the last.

That was genuinely true.

Back then, they had unanimously urged the Marquis of Zhenbei to rebel and proclaim himself Emperor.

Li Liangshen had even gone along with the Commandery Princess’s mischief and helped kill an imperial prince.

But, to put it unpleasantly, an imperial prince merely happened to have imperial blood flowing through his veins.

If one asked what contribution he had actually made, that was harder to say.

For veteran commanders who had spent half their lives crossing battlefields to look down on such people was hardly strange.

Tian Wujing was different.

His military achievements were there.

His personal strength was there.

His prestige was there.

Refusing to submit was almost impossible.

Not only Li Fusheng.

Even Li Liangshen, one of the Four Great Swordsmen, would still have to kneel before Tian Wujing if he stood here wearing military armor.

Tian Wujing lifted a hand and lightly brushed some dust from the armor on his arm.

“On the way here, this Prince glanced over the way your force was conducting the siege. Not bad.”

“Reporting to Your Highness, that’s because this general and my men already practiced on the snowfields. We trained on Savages. Luckily, that brat Zheng Fan thought far enough ahead. Without the foundation we built from practicing on the snowfields, this general would probably be scrambling around in confusion right now.”

“But Chu troops are not Savages,” Tian Wujing said.

“Yes. This general understands.”

“The art of defending a city requires tension and relaxation in proper measure. It may look like nothing more than a contest over one wall, but there are many layers hidden inside it. The Chu appearing weak today made you think you saw an opportunity. That too was something they deliberately wanted you to think.”

“Yes. This general discovered that after leading men up.”

When Li Fusheng personally stormed the wall earlier, he discovered the Chu had prepared long in advance.

Had he not recognized the problem quickly and ordered a withdrawal, his force would have suffered enormous losses.

“This Prince knows your temperament. This Prince has no intention of grinding it away either. But this Prince does not want you to die here like this. Promoting another commander capable of convincing the troops would be troublesome.”

“Yes. This general understands.”

“There is plenty of time. This Prince never ordered the various armies to take the forts and camps before them within some fixed deadline. The intention was precisely to give all of you a chance to practice calmly. Build more siege engines. Grind away the edge of the Chu defenders. Do not dream of taking everything in one battle. Wear them down layer by layer and seek success at the end. That is enough.”

“Yes. It’s just...”

“Just what?”

“This general thinks those craftsmen from Yingdu aren’t good enough.”

“Not good enough?”

“This general has seen the siege equipment Brother Zheng Fan uses. The craftsmen from Yingdu can build things that look similar, but inside there are major differences. Clearly, the craftsmen at Snow Sea Pass are a level better.”

“Very well. This Prince can send men to transfer a group of craftsmen from his side to yours.”

“No, no, Your Highness. Absolutely not. That truly won’t do. This general is attacking West Mountain Fort. Brother Zheng is attacking East Mountain Fort. West Mountain Fort has already made this general eat dirt several times. I can’t imagine East Mountain Fort is any easier. Brother Zheng’s side must be under tremendous pressure too. If this general starts transferring his manpower over here, wouldn’t that be... wouldn’t that be...”

Tian Wujing shook his head.

“A war between states stands before us. There is no distinction between yours and mine. Everything must serve the war first.”

“This general understands the principle, but Your Highness, if I start pulling people from him like this, I genuinely won’t know how to face Brother Zheng the next time I see him. Right now everyone is short of manpower. Who has extra people lying around? Much less craftsmen.”

“He is capable. It should not be a problem.”

“...” Li Fusheng.

What else could he say?

What else was there to say?

Zheng Fan was capable, so there was no problem on his side.

Li Fusheng was incapable, so he needed help!

Although Li Fusheng and Count Pingye had an excellent relationship, hearing those words still made him genuinely uncomfortable.

Worse, who in the entire army did not know the Prince of Jingnan valued Count Pingye above everyone else?

Still, Li Fusheng possessed pride of his own.

So he said:

“Your Highness, this has nothing to do with who is more or less capable. That enormous fort is sitting right there. This general nearly broke his teeth on it today, so I understand now that the Chu truly are skilled at defense. Even Brother Zheng, with his siege engines and his knowledge of siege warfare, cannot possibly take East Mountain Fort in only a few days. If he really does take it in a few days, then I’ll throw these boots into a pot, boil them, and eat them.”

What Tian Wujing had actually meant was that Zheng Fan already possessed craftsmen skilled in building siege equipment.

He had also secretly given the people of Tianji Pavilion to Zheng Fan.

On top of that, Snow Sea Pass had its own foundries.

Zheng Fan’s foundation in craftsmen was extremely deep.

Transferring a few men to support Li Fusheng should not create much trouble.

But the Tianji Pavilion matter could not be spoken openly.

Li Fusheng, meanwhile, had clearly been stung by the remark.

That was why he had blurted out the irritated wager.

At that exact moment, a drawn-out shout came from outside.

“Report!”

“Enter.”

A messenger rushed in.

“Report! Count Pingye has sent word. East Mountain Fort has fallen. He requests that our force provide flank cover.”

“...” Li Fusheng.

Sitting in the commander’s seat, the Prince of Jingnan heard the report.

He shook his head.

“Heh.”

[End of Chapter 529]