Chapter 720: Prince Zhenbei and His Son

"Now... do you know this Prince?"

The surrounding area was filled with Zhenbei Army soldiers.

Not one dared step forward to help their own Garrison Commander.

A military duel had its rules.

And the Yan army respected rules more than most.

If the Prince of Jingnan had come leading Jingnan troops and fought his way to their gates, these Zhenbei soldiers naturally would not have stood aside.

But their own general had challenged the other side's Prince one-on-one... and lost.

There was simply no justification for swarming forward afterward.

At the end of the day, no matter how often Prince Zhenbei Residence was described as Great Yan's foremost regional military stronghold, so long as it had not openly raised a rebel banner... these men were still Yan soldiers.

Still Yan people.

A military-service Prince of Great Yan... still possessed immense deterrence here.

More importantly... he possessed recognition.

The boot beneath Tian Wujing pressed down slightly harder.

Li Yuanhu's head sank farther into the ground.

"I... you..."

Some men could speak the fiercest words imaginable... and still sound as though they were merely making threats.

Some men did not need to say anything.

And you still would not dare treat what they represented as a threat.

The Prince of Jingnan... was clearly the latter kind.

Before, the Zhenbei soldiers had known him only through distance.

Stories.

Reputation.

That was never quite real enough.

Now... facing him directly... the feeling was completely different.

Li Yuanhu planted both palms against the ground.

Then patted twice.

That counted as conceding defeat.

The Prince of Jingnan removed his boot.

Without even glancing at Li Yuanhu sprawled on the ground, he swept his gaze across the surrounding troops and said:

"To see the Residence Command Token is the same as seeing Prince Zhenbei himself. Those were Li Liangting's exact words when he handed this token to this Prince. Today... this Prince intends to see for himself whether the veteran Zhenbei troops he takes such pride in truly obey orders and uphold military discipline as he claims. Where are the army's dispatch officers?"

"This general is here!"

"This general is here!"

"Transmit the order immediately. Seal the area within twenty li of this camp. No outsider is permitted to take one step inside. If anyone of unknown identity enters... kill them without question!"

"This general receives the order!"

"This general receives the order!"

...

Inside the command tent...

Li Yuanhu sat on the floor, rubbing his neck.

"Hiss... ah... hiss..."

Tian Wujing sat in the commander's seat.

Before him lay inventories of military equipment, provisions, and fodder.

The lists... were not detailed enough.

Tian Wujing read for a while.

Then pushed them aside.

Different armies possessed different habits.

The Zhenbei Army formations once commanded by Li Fusheng and Li Bao had long since left the original Zhenbei system.

When Tian Wujing summoned them in Jin, whether they were Zhenbei troops, local troops, or Jin soldiers, they had all learned to cooperate according to the Prince of Jingnan's style.

The Zhenbei Army units remaining in Beifeng Commandery, however... still preserved the traditions inherited from Prince Zhenbei Residence.

In one word: rough.

For the Prince of Jingnan, who had always preferred precision in the use of troops... it was uncomfortable.

His gaze fell on Li Yuanhu below, who was still massaging various parts of his body and sucking air through his teeth.

Tian Wujing said:

"You should not have taken the second fist head-on."

Li Yuanhu's entire body still ached.

Even so, he grinned.

"Your Highness, this general got greedy. I wanted to test Your Highness's fists myself. I truly didn't expect Your Highness's strength to be that... no. It wasn't just strength. It was how you used it. This general is convinced. But this is good too. Your Highness beat me down in front of everyone, so those little bastards below won't dare show Your Highness the slightest disobedience anymore. You may not know it, but in our Zhenbei Army, people usually submit to whoever has the hardest fists. And whoever acts the most domineering... they submit to him even more. Military law is for outsiders. Inside our own ranks... the biting between us can get vicious. Your Highness's reputation was already enormous. Now you've beaten me in front of everyone too. They'll all be convinced."

For Li Yuanhu to rise to Garrison Commander within the Zhenbei Army and be accepted as Li Liangting's adopted son... there was no possibility he was a fool.

Even Li Fusheng, who loved slaughter and liked sitting in blood-soaked iron armor after battle while eating beans and drinking wine... had always been outwardly rough but inwardly meticulous.

Li Yuanhu was the same.

The Southern Prince had arrived carrying the Residence Command Token.

No matter how unpleasant or uncomfortable the sight made him feel... there had been no reason for Li Yuanhu to deliberately step forward and provoke him.

That had been... asking to be beaten.

But for the Prince of Jingnan, who had only just arrived and needed to establish authority inside this army as quickly as possible... beating the army's commanding general in front of every soldier really was the simplest and most effective method imaginable.

"So long as you do not feel humiliated in front of your own subordinates."

"Heh-heh. Depends who does the beating, doesn't it? Being beaten by Your Highness... I admit it. Besides, if it helps with the coming battle, you could tear my arms and legs off and I'd still accept it."

Li Yuanhu knew what was about to happen.

But that knowledge was limited to only himself and Li Chenghui, the two Garrison Commanders.

Beifeng Commandery bordered directly on the desert.

For years, trade between the two sides had been dense and active.

There were occasional clashes.

But overall... the frontier had remained peaceful.

Especially over recent years, when the Young Barbarian Prince repeatedly showed goodwill toward the Emperor of Yan and willingly treated himself as a junior of the imperial household.

Inevitably... the nerves of local men had become somewhat numb.

And for this campaign... the most important thing of all was secrecy.

Otherwise... there would have been no need for the Northern and Southern Princes to leave the capital overnight.

"Your blood and qi are naturally vigorous," Tian Wujing said. "But your control over them is too crude. On the battlefield, that presents little problem. In a one-on-one fight, though, you will inevitably suffer for it."

"That's fine. I'm not some jianghu man."

Li Yuanhu did not care much.

Every bit of martial skill he possessed had been cultivated for use in the army.

Years ago, when the Barbarian Left Guli King Sha Tuo Queshi charged into Marquis Zhenbei Residence, Li Yuanhu had gone out to meet him.

But after seeing that Sha Tuo Queshi was seeking death...

Li Yuanhu had deliberately avoided meeting him head-on.

He had not wanted to exchange for a serious injury of his own.

From another angle... that also showed his lack of confidence in pure "single-combat" ability.

There were simply very few existences in this world who could be like Tian Wujing.

Martial Artists already specialized in the body.

For a Martial Artist to possess that physique and also grasp some arts... was like watching a rough laborer embroider with a needle.

"Your Highness, are the weapons and provisions sufficient?"

"Not enough. But enough."

Not enough... because they could always prepare more.

Carry more.

Enough... because this was ultimately a surprise campaign.

The greatest balance lay between those two facts.

The moment enormous quantities of weapons and provisions began moving, there was a very real chance of startling the snake in the grass.

Back when Zheng Fan had lived here, even the Blind Man had been able to investigate rumors about military equipment leaking from Zhenbei stores.

That alone showed how difficult true secrecy was in this region.

From another angle, though... if secrecy could actually be maintained... then once the army moved... the surprise would be correspondingly enormous.

The desert Barbarians and Prince Zhenbei Residence had lived as neighbors for a century.

The two sides knew each other intimately.

Civilian trade and contact were extremely deep.

Tuman City held no small number of Barbarian merchants.

And among the auxiliary camps attached to the Zhenbei Army... there were also many Barbarians.

The Savage King himself had once come here disguised as a Savage and secretly learned from the Zhenbei Army.

Closer to the present... the several hundred Barbarian troops Marquis Zheng had used when first raising his forces had also been received from here.

This was an objective reality.

You could not erase it.

You could only overcome it.

That was why the Prince of Jingnan had ordered only that the region around this army camp be sealed.

There was nothing unusual about that.

The Zhenbei Army did the same during ordinary exercises and military drills.

Li Yuanhu looked toward the Prince of Jingnan.

"Your Highness, when exactly do we move?"

"Wait for Li Liangting."

Li Yuanhu nodded.

"True. Our Prince does need to show his face."

Tian Wujing lifted his eyelids slightly.

"He will join the campaign."

"What?"

Li Yuanhu was genuinely shocked.

To outsiders, especially the soldiers and civilians of Beifeng Commandery, their Prince Zhenbei was the sort of towering figure whose image could practically be pasted on the doors during New Year as a guardian deity.

But those truly close to Prince Zhenbei Residence knew something else.

Prince Zhenbei's health... had been poor for a very long time.

"Control everything inside and outside the camp. The key to victory in this battle lies in surprise."

"This general understands!"

...

"Aiyo... aiyo..."

Prince Zhenbei Li Liangting was lying facedown inside a carriage.

The carriage was pulled not by a Pixiu... but by two horses.

The men protecting him outside were not armored cavalry either.

They were dressed as ordinary merchant attendants.

Prince Zhenbei's Pixiu... had collapsed from exhaustion.

It was not that his Pixiu was inferior to the Prince of Jingnan's beast.

The reason was simple.

Li Liangting's body was weak.

Whenever the Pixiu carried him at speed, it had to deliberately keep its back balanced so he could sit more steadily.

That placed an additional burden on the beast.

It was like forcing a man to climb a mountain without bending his knees.

The Prince of Jingnan's Pixiu had no such concern at all.

It carried the strongest man in Great Yan upon its back.

All it had to do was run west as wildly as it pleased.

If that beast collapsed... there was still no possibility the man upon its back would be the one unable to endure!

Even so, by the time Tian Wujing's Pixiu reached Li Yuanhu's camp, it too had nearly collapsed.

Li Liangting's side had been forced to switch to a carriage.

Even driving desperately afterward... he had still fallen a day and a half behind Tian Wujing.

Fortunately... they had finally entered Beifeng Commandery.

"Your Highness, we've arrived."

The carriage procession left the main road and entered a stretch of woodland.

Deep among the trees stood a newly erected tea shed.

Outside it... three people waited.

A lame young man.

A beautiful woman.

And a thin, withered old man.

Inside the tea shed... sat a woman.

Li Liangting was helped down from the carriage.

Li Fei, Li Qian, and Seventh Uncle saluted together.

"We greet Father."

"We greet Your Highness."

"Heh-heh."

A smile hung at the corner of Li Liangting's mouth as he looked over his son and daughter.

But very quickly... his gaze shifted behind them.

Then... he gestured for the siblings to move aside.

Supporting one hand against his waist, he tottered into the tea shed.

Calling it a tea shed was generous.

There was no fine tea.

The fragrance was weak.

Li Liangting had never cared much for the tea ceremony anyway.

He picked up the teapot and drank directly from the spout.

A huge mouthful.

Only then did he put it down.

He wiped his mouth and sat sideways along the long bench.

Seventh Uncle remained outside.

Li Fei and Li Qian entered.

"At your age, you should rest."

The Princess Consort looked at her husband and tried to persuade him.

Years ago, when Prince Zhenbei had still been Marquis Zhenbei, he had entered the capital and stayed in the Rear Garden.

The Emperor of Yan had eaten meat and drunk wine with him there.

After drinking, the Emperor had once said that Qian'er resembled her mother.

The future Emperor and the future Marquis had never staged some melodramatic struggle over the same woman.

But the first time the two of them saw this woman... they had been together.

When two men saw a beautiful woman... naturally, they had commented.

The young Ji Runhao had said:

Pretty.

Beautiful.

The young Li Liangting had said:

Pretty.

I'm taking her home.

Of course... he could hardly have truly kidnapped her.

But when Marquis Zhenbei Residence proposed a marriage, what great family in Yan could refuse?

Even the most prestigious aristocratic clan of that age... would not have dared refuse.

The Emperor of Yan possessed three palaces and six courts.

Prince Zhenbei, however... had spent his entire life with only one wife.

Faced with his wife's attempt to persuade him, Li Liangting smiled and waved a hand.

"Precisely because I'm afraid these bones of mine won't have many days left when they can still move... I'm even less willing to rest now."

"You're old. Not the young man you were. When people age, they become a burden."

The Princess Consort spoke bluntly.

Li Liangting had only ever had one woman in his life.

If after all these years she still could not guess what her own man was thinking and what he intended to do... then she truly would have failed as his wife.

"A burden. Yes. I really am a burden now. I left the capital together with Wujing. In the end... I couldn't keep up. I had to let him go ahead and take control of the troops. If this had been when I was young... heh-heh..."

A good man did not boast of his old courage.

Unless... he was no longer much of a good man now.

Li Liangting's gaze fell upon his daughter.

He smiled.

"My daughter grows prettier every time I see her. Exactly like your mother when she was young. When you were first born, your father was terrified. I was afraid the little girl would grow up looking like me. Wouldn't that have wronged you terribly? Fortunately. Fortunately. Heh-heh."

The Princess Consort sighed.

"An old maid already."

"What? Does my Li family not have enough grain to keep one daughter at home?"

Bang!

The Princess Consort slammed one palm onto the table.

"You old bastard! You were the one who sent our daughter into the capital in the first place! And then? Look at her now! If you ask me, you should've found her some properly matched household early on and married her off. That would've been better than..."

"The Tian family? The Liu family? The Xue family? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at the houses you wanted to arrange for her back then. Where are they now?"

Those great aristocratic clans that had once counted as proper matches... had vanished beneath cavalry hooves during the purge of the aristocratic families.

And Li Liangting himself had led the slaughter.

"Then what about the Tian family's daughter-in-law?" the Princess Consort mocked.

"That was Father's fault."

Li Liangting looked at his daughter.

"Father wronged you."

Li Qian knelt.

"Father, that was your daughter's fate. It had nothing to do with Father. Your daughter has never held the slightest resentment toward Father."

"Nothing to do with him?" The Princess Consort pointed at Li Liangting. "Do you truly think your father understood nothing? Do you truly think he merely chose the wrong man and misjudged the wrong imperial prince?"

Li Qian lowered her head.

She said nothing.

The events currently unfolding in the capital had not yet reached them.

First... the distance was too great.

Second... they themselves had rushed back as quickly as possible.

Even imperial messengers and the private informants of various households could not possibly outrun the two Princes.

Li Liangting merely blinked at the accusation.

He did not even bother defending himself.

At that moment, seeing the atmosphere harden, Li Fei stepped forward.

"This son heard Father mention earlier that the Prince of Jingnan came too?"

"Yes. He came."

"Then Marquis Pingxi... did he also..."

"Marquis Pingxi did not come."

Li Fei had been thinking of his childhood friend Chen Xianba.

"Are you used to being home?" Li Liangting asked.

"To reply to Father, home... is very good."

"Mm."

Li Liangting drew in a breath.

Then slowly released it.

"In a few days, the Barbarian Royal Court will convene the Golden Tent Grand Assembly. You will go in Father's place. Represent Prince Zhenbei Residence... and offer congratulations to our old neighbor."

[End of Chapter 720]