Chapter 558: - The Art of Hospitality

“We are tired.”

The Regent of Chu rubbed between his brows.

Trust those you employ, and do not employ those you doubt. On that point, the Regent felt he was no worse than anyone else. The Emperor of Yan dared place such complete trust in the two Marquises under him; the Regent likewise believed he could trust Nian Yao without reservation.

But as the war dragged on, and as the Yan broke fort after fort and city after city north of Zhennan Pass until Chu was forced to contract its defensive line, the wind among the nobles and many officials at court began to shift.

More memorials attacking Nian Yao started appearing.

There was no shortage of veiled insinuation either.

Xiong Tingshan, reclining nearby with one leg crossed over the other as he ate an apple, laughed.

“Fourth Brother, why listen to those flies? You’ll only upset yourself.”

The Regent shook his head, tossed the memorial aside, leaned back slightly into a more comfortable position, and said:

“I actually find myself somewhat grateful now. Grateful that the Emperor of Yan trampled his aristocratic clans beneath cavalry hooves and instituted the imperial examinations. That completely destroyed any fantasy our Chu nobles might have entertained. Crushing the clans under cavalry hooves was one hammer blow that smashed everything apart. The imperial examinations are the true soft knife, slowly cutting at their roots. True, Qian has governed through the examination system, and after barely a century those scholar-officials now look almost no different from our nobles. But in the end, the people occupying those places still had to be changed once. A large number of old people had to fall so a new group could rise. If not for that, it would have been very difficult for Us to gather these nobles together in such a short period of time and make them contribute troops, grain, and manpower.”

Xiong Tingshan chewed his apple and said:

“If he hadn’t trampled the clans, what would Ji Runhao use to wage foreign wars? The two things depend on each other.”

If Yan were still the old Yan, filled with aristocratic houses, then even under the pressure of a powerful Yan invasion, many Great Chu nobles might very well have dragged their feet, sending troops while refusing to truly spend their strength.

At worst, the Xiong imperial house could go to Yanjing and establish a Prince of Chu Residence beside the Prince of Jin Residence. These great nobles would simply exchange the Xiong master over their heads for a Ji master and continue living their own lives.

Naturally, life probably would not be as comfortable as before. Everyone was accustomed to having the Xiong Clan above them, and changing the head of the household would inevitably bring friction and inconvenience.

But at least there would still be a road of retreat.

If the Emperor of Yan merely wanted a nominal unification of the realm, then perhaps everyone could simply give it to him.

It was much like the Royal Court of the desert. Even at its peak a century ago, the Royal Court had never truly controlled most of the tribes across the desert. It had merely possessed enough authority to command them to gather beneath its banner and follow it into war.

That was the method of the lead wolf.

But the Emperor of Yan had gone far too decisively.

Precisely because everyone understood that once the Yan entered Chu, they would not be targets for appeasement but targets for liquidation, that eight centuries of dignity and privilege would disappear in a single stroke, the nobles had rapidly gathered around the Xiong imperial house and begun resisting together.

The fundamental contradiction had been seized.

Everyone stood on the same side.

Everything else was merely detail.

“The road to a powerful state is right in front of Our eyes,” the Regent said. “And yet We cannot walk it. If We could, We would only hate Father for dying several years too late, hate that We were forced to wait several years too long. Otherwise, perhaps We could have cleaned out the country before Ji Runhao did. Then it would not be the Yan knocking at Zhennan Pass. It would be the armies of Great Chu riding north to knock at the Horseshoe Mountains.”

The Fifth Prince had never held much affection for the late emperor. As a son who had practically been abandoned by him, using words of great disrespect toward the late emperor in his presence was hardly a serious matter.

“Fourth Brother, then that was your mistake. Your temper is too good. If you’d told your little brother earlier, I might have helped you clear away the villains beside the throne ahead of time. Hahaha.”

Xiong Tingshan laughed as he spoke.

The Regent glared at him irritably.

Ever since his Fifth Brother let go of his guard and entered Ying Capital, he had become more and more natural around him.

The Regent rather liked that feeling of brotherly affection.

After all, his other brothers had all been confined and reduced to doing nothing but producing children.

“Besides,” Xiong Tingshan continued, “I acknowledge that slave Nian Yao’s ability to fight wars. Never mind whether he intended it or not. Speaking honestly, so long as Great Chu holds through this battle and the Yan withdraw, three things follow. First, the private armies of the nobles will have been ground away by more than half. Their vitality will be badly damaged. To put it plainly, in the struggle beneath Heaven and the matter of who sits on the Dragon Throne, three parts are rightful legitimacy and seven parts are strong soldiers and sturdy horses. If all our great nobles were like the Jing Clan, we’d be perfectly happy to keep every one of them well fed and honored. Second, after this battle, Fourth Brother will have directed everything from the center while the forces over there are mixed and integrated together. Once they’ve fought through a war side by side, what private army, what household troops? Even if they were private armies before the battle, after the battle they’ll all be Chu troops. Third, if we win this war, Fourth Brother can ascend the throne carrying the momentum of victory. Reclaiming authority after that will be far easier.”

“Borrowing the Yan knife to cut tumors from your own body. Fifth Brother, you truly dare think. You should understand that if the blade shifts one fraction too far, or cuts one inch too deep, the life itself may be gone.”

“If we lose, we lose. If we win, we win. In the end, we still have to look at fate. I trust Fourth Brother’s ability. Your little brother does not believe he judged the wrong man. Oh, right. Juyang City is famous for mutton soup. I’ve already sent people to fetch a cook. Fourth Brother, want a bowl later?”

The Regent nodded.

“Truthfully, I also know why Fourth Brother made such a grand show of leaving the capital for this inspection tour. You’re supporting that slave Nian Yao. First, to settle his heart. Second, to shut those people’s mouths. But Ying Capital is the heart of Great Chu. With Fourth Brother away, I don’t feel at ease.”

“Do not worry. Once We leave the capital region, We will go at most another half a commandery north before returning. The point of this journey is precisely to make Our attitude clear. We are telling those people that We trust this slave of Ours, and that We will absolutely not replace the commander in the middle of battle and dig Our own grave with such stupidity. If Nian Yao cannot hold Zhennan Pass, then at worst We will personally lead the army. A thousand explanations are not as useful as simply making the journey in person. Even if We speak to those people from the heart, they will still think it is some imperial technique and start guessing at Our deeper meaning. Tell me, is that not ridiculous?”

“Why do you think an emperor is also called a solitary man? Isn’t that exactly why? Even when your little brother speaks to Fourth Brother now, it looks open and easy, but in truth I still carry caution in my heart.”

“You’re asking for a beating, are you?”

“Fine, fine. Fourth Brother, show mercy. I really can’t beat you. I surrender. I surrender.”

The two brothers genuinely had fought before.

Xiong Tingshan had lost.

Many times, Xiong Tingshan did not think that Great Yan’s god of war was anything so extraordinary.

Peak Third Grade as a Martial Artist, and also a divine commander?

So what?

Great Chu’s emperor was an expert too.

And he could govern a country besides.

At that moment, Deng Man rushed inside.

He dropped to his knees and, without even waiting for the Regent to ask, blurted out:

“Your Highness, urgent military report from the front! A Yan force suddenly appeared on the Wei River and has already taken Jing City!”

The remaining half of the apple in Xiong Tingshan’s hand was crushed into pulp.

He shot to his feet and roared:

“What!”

The Regent’s body stiffened as well.

“How... is that possible?”

But military intelligence this serious could not possibly be wrong.

“Jing City is lost? How did the Yan come from behind us?” Xiong Tingshan nearly roared the words.

With Jing City gone, the situation throughout Shanggu Commandery had instantly deteriorated beyond imagination.

The Regent, however, immediately calmed himself.

“Prince Dingqin, receive Our decree!”

Xiong Tingshan dropped to his knees at once.

“This younger brother and subject is here!”

“We command you to lead troops north at once. Retake Jing City as quickly as possible. We do not care how that Yan force came there. We want you to wipe them out completely!”

“This subject obeys the decree!”

Then Xiong Tingshan raised his head and looked at the Regent.

“Your Highness, please return to the capital immediately and take charge of the greater situation.”

The Regent waved a hand.

“No. We must remain in Juyang City for several more days. News that Jing City has fallen cannot be concealed. We cannot flee back in a panic. We must remain steady. Only then can Great Chu remain steady. After several days, We will return to the capital.”

...

It was said that years ago, before Chancellor Han entered the Privy Council and before anyone called him Chancellor Han, he had led troops into the southwest as a civil official to suppress a rebellion among the local chieftains.

Upon first arriving with the southwestern army, he summoned the generals to stand in his command tent and listen to his views on the war, hoping they would understand and carry out the strategic line he had already decided upon.

Again and again, Chancellor Han spoke of concepts such as “speed is precious in war” and “the battlefield changes in an instant.”

Accordingly, he wanted the Qian army to strike with thunderous speed and sweep the rebels from their lairs.

But the Tattoo-Faced Chancellor, who at the time was neither a great commander, nor a member of the Privy Council, nor yet anyone’s “Chancellor,” stepped forward before that civil-official commander and said that the Qian army should proceed steadily, advancing one step at a time. Secure the grain route first. Hold the military camps. Divide and disintegrate the enemy, then gnaw them away slowly.

Chancellor Han immediately ordered him given thirty lashes for fearing the enemy and shrinking from battle.

Military books and stories written by scholars, or perhaps everything that eventually became words on a page, always possessed the same habit: they simplified what was complicated and turned exceptional circumstances into universal rules.

Chancellor Han believed he had read the military classics thoroughly and that both civil and martial strategy lay well within his grasp. Naturally, he felt an aggressive approach was called for, so he could report a swift southwestern victory to the sovereign in Shangjing.

Then the Qian army suffered a crushing defeat.

And precisely because it suffered that defeat, Chancellor Han came to resent the Tattoo-Faced General.

If they had won a great victory instead, perhaps he would even have shown leniency and turned the whole episode into one more elegant anecdote about a civil official whose wisdom had encompassed everything.

...

“That story is rather interesting.”

Count Pingye sat on the deck with a cup of tea in his left hand and smiled.

The man who had told him the story was He Chunlai.

Like Chen Daole, He Chunlai had been born into a great scholarly family. He had read broadly since childhood and remembered these anecdotes about famous men with great clarity.

“Truthfully, I used to think the same way,” Count Pingye said. “War should begin with divine calculation, follow with a thunderbolt blow, and finish with the force of an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves. Dull battles and stupid battles were things only incompetent men fought. But looking at it now, where in this world are all these divine calculations? Where is this thing where a command banner points once and the enemy simply turns to ash? Take those wars we fought. When Jin was opened, three years earlier the Prince of Jingnan had personally made a trip into Qian. The first time we entered the snowfields, it looked as though he took only thirty thousand Jingnan troops and swept everything before him, but Liang Cheng had personally cleared the road across the mountains beforehand, while Fourth Lady and the Blind Man had already arranged hidden grain caches. The Prince of Jingnan even took me personally into the snowfields once in advance. And the Battle of Wang River. Was the Prince of Jingnan really refusing to move because he was sulking? Of course not. At the time, the Chu navy dominated the river. Great Yan’s iron cavalry could not simply grow wings and fly across it. He was waiting. Waiting for the Wang River to freeze. Waiting for the Chu navy to withdraw from Jin. Fighting a war really is no different from performing on a stage. People only see the glory beneath the lamps. They forget that one quarter-hour onstage rests on ten years of work below it.”

“The Count is absolutely right.”

Although he had been caught in the crossfire, Gou Moli was still the first to express complete conviction.

Count Pingye waved a hand.

“That is one thing. Another is this. Military intelligence has to travel. Orders have to go back. Troops have to move. Every side needs time to prepare. We held Jing City for three days. Strictly speaking, not even three full days. Yet after smashing the nearest Chu force, we never once saw the second Chu army from beginning to end. Three days may have been enough in Chancellor Han’s imagination for countless hairbreadth crises and a thousand changes in an instant. But here, those three days were simply extra time we happened to have. I can guarantee that when our fleet sails south next, there may be some disorder ahead, but most likely the road will remain wide open. The Chu have maintained these waterways very well. Conveniently enough, that also makes them easy for us to sail.”

This was not Count Pingye indulging in some mysterious confidence.

First, his surprise attack on Jing City had come completely outside Chu’s expectations.

If this had been a deliberately laid maze or an invitation to enter a trap...

How should one put it?

Count Pingye’s force might genuinely not have been worth as much as the enormous mountain of provisions stored inside Jing City.

Having already lost the initiative, the Chu were also unlikely to imagine that after taking Jing City, Zheng Fan would refuse to defend such a strategic point and instead choose to continue south.

Take another step back.

Even if there were some genuine military genius among the Chu who understood Zheng Fan extremely well, immediately judged that he would attempt this great gamble upon receiving news of Jing City’s fall, and then forced the great figures and nobles of the Chu court to accept that judgment, orders still had to be issued.

Troops still had to be moved into position.

Intercepting him in advance still required time.

On top of that, one main force of the Chu navy was in the Mount Meng region, which meant behind Count Pingye, while another was stationed in the southwestern waters of Chu, far beyond any possibility of reaching this battlefield in time.

This was no longer a question of an open scheme or hidden scheme.

It was simply a race.

The objective consumption of time and the geographical restraints already existed.

Human initiative could not erase them.

So sailing south toward Ying Capital was unquestionably possible.

The problem was that once he sailed south, he might enjoy the journey and gain immense fame, but he might not be able to get back out.

It was still the same old problem.

If every man under him were cavalry, Count Pingye could rely on the superb cavalry experience of generals like Liang Cheng and raid a broad circuit through Chu.

But now four legs had become two.

Things were no longer nearly so nimble.

Still, who knew what the future would bring?

A’Cheng remained in Shanggu Commandery, continuing to choke and harass the Chu supply route.

Zheng Fan himself went south toward Ying Capital in order to attract Chu’s attention, preventing them from freely, or at least wholeheartedly, throwing supplies and reinforcements toward the northern armies.

At the root of it, they were still trying to extract the greatest possible strategic value from this single force.

Zheng Fan would do everything within his power to the utmost.

If that meant plunging deep into danger, so be it.

The understanding built through years of cooperation, the trust built through years of cooperation, told Zheng Fan one thing.

As long as you completed the task the Prince of Jingnan handed you, the Prince of Jingnan would not disappoint you.

Besides, Zheng Fan was already completing it beyond expectations.

Truthfully, Count Pingye really did feel a little like some supporting extra who had managed to latch onto the protagonist’s thigh.

After all, the protagonist never disappointed you.

Gou Moli said:

“Count, in another two days our fleet should reach West Wind Crossing. This subordinate suggests we go ashore there.”

West Wind Crossing lay at the junction of the Wei River and Mi River.

Barely speaking, it already counted as part of Ying Capital’s capital region.

Continuing down the Mi River and sailing directly to knock at Ying Capital’s gates sounded extremely domineering.

Unfortunately, it would only be domineering for a moment.

After that, they would be trapped between advance and retreat.

If they had cavalry racing overland, perhaps they could genuinely create one more stroke of complete surprise and dream a little dream that the Chu had become thoroughly Qian-like, allowing them to charge straight into Ying Capital.

But the moment the fleet entered the Mi River basin, even the beacon towers along the route would be enough to give Ying Capital ample warning.

No one would give Zheng Fan the opportunity to dream that big.

Unless his elder brother-in-law was frightened completely senseless, imagined the apocalypse had arrived, and personally led out a sheep to surrender.

But no matter how Count Pingye thought about it, his elder brother-in-law did not seem like that kind of man.

If he truly was such a gutless rat, Count Pingye himself would feel embarrassed, and even Princess Xiong Liqing would somehow stop smelling quite so sweet.

“West Wind Crossing is too early,” Count Pingye said. “Let’s go a little deeper. I never intended to charge directly against the city walls, but at the very least our ten thousand-plus soldiers and all these Black Dragon Banners ought to show their faces in the true heart of Great Chu’s capital region.”

Fan Li, standing nearby, gave a foolish grin.

“Don’t stick it up the ass. Just grease the hole.”

Count Pingye looked at Fan Li helplessly.

In the end, he had no choice but to nod.

“Crude words, sound principle.”

They needed to scratch the Chu itch.

Ideally, armies from every direction would gather around Ying Capital to save the throne.

Then the strength at Zhennan Pass would naturally be weakened enormously.

“Then shall we land around Juyang City?” Gou Moli asked. “The position is about right. Advance, and we can strike straight toward Ying Capital. Retreat north, and we can enter Chu’s Sheyang Commandery. Go east, and we can enter Silin Mountain. West is even easier: Changxi Commandery. Changxi is the homeland of the Bai Clan of Baipu. Those rattan-armored troops we wiped out at Central Mountain Camp came from there, and the commandery also borders the Great Marsh.”

Gou Moli understood Count Pingye’s objective perfectly.

He wanted to achieve the greatest possible strategic effect while preserving himself as much as possible.

So Gou Moli needed to design a relatively safe position, one that would at least let their force maneuver freely if Chu armies closed in from several directions.

Count Pingye considered it for a moment.

“Fine.”

Then he asked:

“Is Juyang City famous for mutton? The name makes it sound obvious. ‘Keep the sheep away.’ Any sheep that comes in disappears.”

Gou Moli looked slightly embarrassed.

“This subordinate does not know.”

Who conducted prewar intelligence gathering and also investigated the local snack scene?

The two things had absolutely nothing to do with each other!

He Chunlai said:

“Niu Dongguan told this subordinate that Juyang City’s sliced-mutton soup is famously delicious.”

Count Pingye pointed at him.

“Mm. Then we’ll have to try a bowl when we get there.”

As he spoke, Count Pingye smiled again.

“When some other family’s son-in-law comes calling, naturally his wife’s relatives accompany him to eat, drink, and enjoy himself. That is simply the proper hospitality of the host. What a pity. I, unfortunately, was not born with that kind of luck.”

[End of Chapter 558]