Chapter 560: - Elder Brother-in-Law!

The ships came ashore. The army disembarked, deployed, split into separate columns, and began encircling the city. They had gone out of their way to move cautiously, even killing anyone they encountered along the march in order to minimize the chance of their movements being exposed.

But concealment like this was never going to last.

Surprise had an expiration date. More importantly, this was more than ten thousand fighting men, not a band of a hundred mountain brigands. If they had been in the desert, the snowfields, or somewhere like Mount Meng or Qi Mountain, perhaps they might still have hidden their movements. In the capital region, one could only laugh at the idea.

Still, it had already been enough.

At least for now, Count Pingye’s unexpected march had produced excellent results. The Zhang Clan men who had practically thrown themselves into his arms were the best proof of that. No one had imagined Yan troops could possibly appear here.

Every schoolboy who had attended a private academy could tell you the story behind the phrase “darkest beneath the lamp.” But very few people dared apply it in actual warfare, and fewer still could make it work.

But then again, who told him to be so damned lucky?

As the military order went out, Fan Li, Gou Moli, and Jin Shuke stopped making the slightest effort to conceal themselves. Their three forces began rapidly charging, wheeling, and encircling.

By now the Yan had gained plenty of experience dealing with cities. The first step was always to clear the perimeter and isolate the target.

The relay stations and homes outside Juyang City, including the palace cavalry stationed north and south to transmit imperial edicts, all became targets for cleanup.

The process was not difficult and went smoothly. A small number of Chu cavalry managed to escape, but the overwhelming majority were wiped out.

At the same time, the Yan army brazenly raised the Black Dragon Banner and the great banner bearing the character “Zheng.” Facing the walls, the soldiers began roaring and shouting in unison, arrogant beyond description.

Naturally, the upheaval outside the city alarmed those within. Formation after formation of Imperial Clan Guards of Chu were sent up onto the walls to reinforce the defenses, while all four city gates began being barricaded.

Before the barricades were fully in place, however, the southern gate, which had been the last side to be surrounded, managed to release several dozen riders. Nearly half were killed breaking through, but the rest escaped successfully.

Clearly, they had gone to summon reinforcements.

Count Pingye did not care.

Judging from Juyang City’s posture, there were probably not many defenders inside. At most, perhaps five thousand. Those five thousand should be Imperial Clan Guards of Chu, and likely the finest palace troops responsible for protecting the imperial household.

Beyond them were Juyang City’s original defenders, plus whatever common people could be mobilized to help defend the walls.

Under the imperial banner of Great Chu, these people of Chu would absolutely fight the Yan to the death in order to protect their sovereign.

No opportunity outside.

Elites defending within.

Unless Count Pingye could somehow conjure enough siege equipment out of thin air, along with a great mass of civilian laborers who would wholeheartedly work for him without sabotaging anything, then forcing a direct assault on the city would end very badly.

A man must not be too greedy.

Count Pingye felt that he truly had matured.

After learning his elder brother-in-law was actually inside this city, he had personally come to the front to inspect the situation. The brain that had been running hot with excitement immediately cooled down.

Tsk.

Progress.

Actual growth.

Count Pingye even felt that if the Prince of Jingnan were standing beside him now, Old Tian would probably praise him a couple of times.

And then, after praising him, Old Tian would personally lead troops into the assault, crush the Regent of Chu, and end this entire campaign on the spot!

At present, Great Yan could not afford to lose Emperor Yan.

And Chu, right now, could afford to lose the Regent even less.

“Sigh...”

Count Pingye sighed. After A’Ming unfolded a small stool, he sat down.

Old Tian was Old Tian.

He was himself.

He had already developed a kind of blind faith in Old Tian. But speaking honestly, this was not a gamble he dared make.

If the odds were decent, then fine. Take the chance and perhaps your mule would turn into a Pixiu.

No problem.

Go for it.

But the chance here was simply too slim.

This was the capital region. The Regent of Chu’s banner stood over the city. Heaven alone knew when Chu reinforcements might arrive, and every one of them would undoubtedly come with unmatched urgency.

If he failed to crack the city, broke his own teeth on it, and then got wrapped up like a dumpling by enemy reinforcements, that would truly be losing the wife and the soldiers both.

For now, surrounding his “elder brother-in-law” and forcing Chu armies from every direction to converge here would already take enormous pressure off Liang Cheng operating around Jing City.

At the same time, this was no longer merely exceeding the task the Prince of Jingnan had assigned him.

He had exceeded it by a ridiculous margin.

Old Tian had only asked him to score six points.

He had already scored twelve.

Originally, Old Tian might still have needed to continue performing miracles.

Now, he could simply play normally.

Gou Moli, standing nearby, seemed to read Count Pingye’s thoughts from his expression. He immediately said:

“Count, let this subordinate take troops and try one assault. We can make scaling ladders tonight. There are plenty of houses outside the city we can tear apart for materials. It would be easy enough.”

If they did not at least make one attempt, it was hard to feel satisfied.

Yet Gou Moli was actually someone who knew how to let go better than almost anyone.

Back when the Savage momentum had been at its highest, immediately after they had heavily defeated the Yan army in the First Battle of Wang River, he had already been thinking about moving the plundered wealth, grain, and population back to the snowfields early, securing his retreat, refusing to cling to the old Jin lands, and returning to the snowfields to plan for the long term.

When it came to enduring what ordinary people could not endure, Gou Moli was practically a model.

Count Pingye shook his head.

“No need.”

Gou Moli looked faintly surprised.

As an outsider who had gradually worked his way into the core, a comrade holding a Savage household registration, he could actually perceive the changes in Count Pingye more clearly than the Demon Kings who had followed Zheng Fan for years.

Or perhaps one should call it... growth.

The young man from Tiger Head City, even if one set aside those “Misters” around him now, was already capable of accomplishing something great through his own ability.

“The Regent of Chu is really inside?” the Sword Saint asked.

“Eight or nine chances out of ten. Didn’t you notice how quiet the defenders on the wall are? That kind of quiet means two things. First, these troops are elite. Second, someone whose identity can absolutely hold the entire situation together is inside, keeping every soldier and civilian in the city calm.”

A county city in the capital region had suddenly found itself surrounded by Yan troops carrying Black Dragon Banners.

One should not assume that people living beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet were somehow especially loyal or brave.

By ordinary logic, they ought to be the people living best within the state.

But such people often had great difficulty becoming the empire’s backbone.

Instead, they frequently became its softest flesh.

Right now, beyond Zhennan Pass, nearly a million Yan and Chu soldiers and laborers were locked in battle.

Under normal circumstances, the first thought of everyone inside Juyang City upon seeing Yan troops suddenly appear outside would have been that the front had completely collapsed and the Yan had broken through.

Then people would begin abandoning the city and fleeing.

But now, it was quiet.

Quiet.

Very quiet.

“You really won’t attack?” the Sword Saint asked again.

The Sword Saint liked asking questions.

Nor did he find it embarrassing.

He also knew Count Pingye seemed to enjoy answering them.

Count Pingye shook his head firmly.

“No.”

At that moment, a golden phoenix banner suddenly rose above Juyang City’s wall.

The banners of Great Chu’s Pillars of State also bore golden phoenixes.

But the imperial banner of Great Chu was embroidered with five.

Four below.

One proudly above.

The four below symbolized the four Pillars of State supporting the Son of Heaven.

The moment this Five-Phoenix Imperial Banner rose, the defenders atop the walls erupted into orderly cheers.

That meant the army’s morale was usable.

Its fighting spirit was high.

“Tsk.”

Count Pingye pointed toward the wall and said to the Sword Saint beside him:

“My elder brother-in-law is pretty capable, isn’t he?”

The Sword Saint nodded.

“He does count as unusually courageous for an emperor.”

“Don’t underestimate him. He can fight.”

The Sword Saint laughed.

“I never said I was going up there to assassinate him for you.”

“Won’t you try?” Count Pingye looked at the Sword Saint expectantly.

“I am only here to keep you safe.”

“Mm. Fine.”

Count Pingye looked back and shouted toward his personal guards:

“Did none of you eat? Get those banners moving! Say hello to the Regent of Chu for this Count!”

The guards immediately used every drop of strength they had to wave the banners.

Great Yan had once possessed an aristocratic clan surnamed Zheng.

But after Count Pingye rose, whenever the Black Dragon Banner appeared beside a great banner bearing the character “Zheng,” it usually represented one particular man.

...

“Zheng...”

The Regent of Chu stood atop the gate tower, looking down at the fluttering banners below.

Events had already moved far beyond his expectations.

He truly had never imagined that Count Pingye of Yan, his own younger sister’s husband, would suddenly appear right in front of him.

The last time they met, Zheng Fan had been Master Yao’s disciple. The two of them had sat inside the same carriage, chatting and laughing freely, and Zheng Fan had even composed a lyric beginning with “My hair bristles in fury as I lean upon the railing.”

This time, he had brought an army.

And somehow, without ghost or god knowing, he had fought all the way into the very heart of Great Chu.

The world changed.

Always in ways people could never predict.

The Regent very much wanted to see him again.

Preferably, they could sit down and share a cup of wine.

Unfortunately, that once-popular custom of generals from two armies meeting before battle had already been ruined by one man.

...

“No need to pass that suggestion on. It’s meaningless. A man worth a thousand pieces of gold does not sit beneath dangerous eaves. How could he possibly come down and meet me?”

Count Pingye decisively rejected He Chunlai’s suggestion.

All because, back then, one person had refused to follow the rules.

That cheap bastard!

Yes.

Count Pingye was cursing himself.

What the hell had Gelimu amounted to?

What virtue or ability had that fellow possessed to deserve comparison with the Regent of Chu, who in name was now Great Chu’s sovereign?

Fuck.

If he had known such a giant fish would be waiting for him later, then back then he truly must have had his brain smeared with pig fat to break the rules early on Gelimu!

Why not save that move for now?

Let the Sword Saint act as his standard-bearer one more time.

Then he could go over and renew family affection with his elder brother-in-law.

How wonderful would that be?

Of course, he was only thinking aloud.

Count Pingye had personally seen this elder brother-in-law fight.

He did not believe the Regent could possibly defeat the Sword Saint.

But killing him would still be extremely difficult.

More importantly, how could the ruler of Great Chu possibly lack experts at his side?

Even if Great Chu’s master swordsmith was not accompanying him this time, there would certainly be someone no weaker filling that position.

In a Tian Ji horse-racing matchup, Zheng Fan’s side truly could not beat his elder brother-in-law’s.

The deadweight was Zheng Fan himself.

“But standing here staring at each other, me below and him above, really would waste such a wonderful atmosphere.”

“Write him a letter?” Gou Moli suggested.

Count Pingye shook his head.

“Not dramatic enough.”

“Dramatic?”

Gou Moli discovered that even now, there remained a membrane between himself and this core group.

A’Ming suggested:

“We can have the soldiers shout the message for us.”

Count Pingye turned and looked at A’Ming.

“You know, that suddenly made me think of Sima Yi.”

A’Ming smiled.

“Do we have a fan? Give me one first,” Count Pingye said. “Otherwise later people will start saying, ‘Oh, Count Zheng magically has one too.’”

A’Ming and Fourth Lady both laughed.

Gou Moli and He Chunlai looked at each other.

Completely unable to understand.

It was not that they could not find a fan.

They simply could not find one suitable enough to complement Count Pingye’s image in this exact situation.

How should one put it?

True, he had decided not to attack the city.

But he still ought to do something future generations could boast about and embellish.

Just sitting dryly outside the wall was far too unromantic.

Count Pingye looked toward the Sword Saint.

“Could you help me with something?”

“What?”

“In a moment, have Longyuan Sword leave its sheath and circle above my head a few times. Make me a little easier to spot.”

It was a strange request.

But the Sword Saint had agreed even to butcher pigs in the past.

So he nodded.

Then Count Pingye turned toward Gou Moli.

“Find two rows of men with loud voices. Put them behind me. In a moment, they’ll relay what I say.”

He thought for a moment, then added:

“No. Keep them a little farther away from me. You stand in between and pass my words to them.”

With Gou Moli’s intelligence, he naturally would not create some ridiculous misunderstanding.

“Yes, Count. This subordinate will arrange it now.”

“Fourth Lady.”

“This subordinate is here.”

“Help me change into the golden armor.”

“Yes, Master.”

...

On Juyang City’s wall, the Regent held a bowl of freshly delivered sliced-mutton soup in one hand and drank from it in small mouthfuls.

Xiong Tingshan had led five thousand Imperial Clan Guards north only two days earlier, leaving the number of defenders inside the city insufficient.

If Xiong Tingshan were still here, the Regent could simply have opened the gates and let his Fifth Brother lead troops out for a clash.

But now, there was no need to gamble.

They should have no problem holding this city.

More importantly, the man outside did not seem to have the slightest intention of preparing an assault.

The Regent sighed.

He felt rather helpless.

If Liqing had truly wanted to follow that man instead of the brat from the Qu Clan, she could have told her elder brother earlier.

Clearly, those two had secretly hooked up long ago.

He himself stood right here.

If Zheng Fan could break this wall, he could come directly before him.

The Regent knew perfectly well how attractive a prize he was.

He also knew exactly what his identity represented.

And yet, that man outside had actually restrained himself.

Sigh...

The Regent truly felt a little helpless.

What a talent.

Still, he had already sent messengers out.

Truthfully, even if he had not deliberately sent anyone, the moment his imperial edicts and memorials stopped moving normally, armies would immediately begin rushing here.

So the Regent was not worried about his own safety.

What concerned him more was the situation at Zhennan Pass.

One could say that because Zheng Fan had appeared here, the situation around Zhennan Pass would become incomparably ugly.

He had no idea whether that slave Nian Yao could truly hold on.

The Regent had already done everything he could.

But sometimes, when confronted with situations like this one, he still felt faintly powerless.

At that moment, from the Yan formation below the wall, several waves of perfectly synchronized shouting suddenly thundered out:

“People on the wall, listen up!”

“People on the wall, listen up!”

Whoosh!

A piercing sound split the air.

Longyuan Sword flew from its sheath, moved through the sky like a swimming dragon, and traced dazzling silver flowers overhead before descending vertically and circling below.

Beneath Longyuan, a man in golden armor stood with his hands behind his back, gazing toward the walls of Juyang City.

“Count Pingye...”

“That Yan Count...”

“The one who stole the Princess...”

Whispers began spreading along the wall.

Yan and Chu were presently fighting a war between states.

Naturally, ordinary Chu people could not possibly remember most Yan generals.

But they could not fail to know the representative famous ones.

Never mind his brilliant battlefield record.

The simple fact that he had stolen a princess and taken her home as a “bandit chief’s wife” had made him practically known to every household in Chu.

Before long, the Yan formation below the wall thundered with another perfectly synchronized shout:

“Elder Brother-in-Law, have you eaten yet!”

“Elder Brother-in-Law, have you eaten yet!”

“Elder Brother-in-Law, have you eaten yet!”

For a moment, the Chu soldiers on the wall simply stared at one another.

Two sides stood here with blades drawn and bows bent.

Then suddenly one side started establishing family relations.

The contrast was simply too strong.

Most importantly, the Yan Count below was not even trying to fake a relationship.

It truly existed.

The Regent lowered his head and looked at the bowl of sliced-mutton soup in his hand, now only half full.

He smiled.

Whatever the ultimate winner or loser, at least this moment was entertaining.

...

Count Pingye still stood there with his hands behind his back.

His expression remained calm.

But his lips moved slightly.

“A’Ming, stand a little farther forward. I’m worried they have a divine archer over there.”

“There is no need to worry even if they do,” the Sword Saint said.

“You stand a little farther forward too,” Count Pingye replied.

He had put on golden armor.

For visibility, he stood at the front of the army.

He had the imposing bearing now.

But inside, he felt a little hollow.

At that moment, another synchronized shout came from the city wall:

“Imperial Son-in-Law, come up for soup!”

“Imperial Son-in-Law, come up for soup!”

“Imperial Son-in-Law, come up for soup!”

The Sword Saint teased:

“They’re inviting you up for a meal.”

Count Pingye merely chuckled.

Then the Sword Saint said:

“I suddenly realize that in this Yan-Chu war, the one person who cannot really lose seems to be you.”

Count Pingye of Yan.

Imperial Son-in-Law of Chu.

When it came to betting on both sides, no one beneath Heaven could compare.

One could even let the imagination turn darker.

Perhaps the reason this Count had dared penetrate so deeply with an isolated force was because he knew that even if he lost and was captured, he would still be dressed in brocade, fed delicacies, and treated well?

So he simply had nothing to fear?

The Sword Saint said:

“If you defected and surrendered right now, that man would probably make you a prince without hesitation. It might be a better bargain than continuing to follow Tian Wujing.”

Count Pingye shook his head.

“Without Old Tian promoting me and backing me, why would the Princess ever have looked at me?”

“Are those sincere words?”

“Completely. A man cannot forget his roots.”

“Then Tian Wujing truly chose the right man,” the Sword Saint said with some feeling.

“There is no right or wrong about it. I simply prefer territory and foundations I personally fought to build with my own hands.”

“That is true too.”

...

The Regent accepted a handkerchief from an attendant beside him and wiped his mouth.

Then, from the Yan formation below the wall, another shout rose:

“Elder Brother-in-Law, your sister is calling you home for dinner!”

[End of Chapter 560]