Chapter 731: A New Era

"Come on, bottoms up!"

"Drink!"

Old Guang and Old He had decided they were getting thoroughly drunk today.

Bihe, meanwhile, urged He Chu to hurry back and rewrite the sign.

The price of pork was going up!

A joyous event had arrived. The realm was still in mourning, so there could be no extravagant celebration, but for ordinary people, especially the common folk living in the capital, buying a little meat to take home and enjoy was naturally no problem.

If you did not raise prices now, when would you?

Zheng Fan rose as well.

Since the victory report had arrived, the detailed military dispatch had certainly reached the palace too.

He needed to go take a look.

The Sword Saint did not follow.

He had no desire to sit around drinking tea with that damned eunuch Wei Zhonghe again.

Fan Li escorted Zheng Fan into the imperial city.

These days, if Great Yan's Marquis Pingxi wanted to enter the palace, he truly could go whenever he pleased.

It was practically the same as going home.

Privileges such as riding a horse within the palace grounds and not kneeling before the sovereign had been granted long ago.

There was even a rumor that His Majesty intended to have all three of his children acknowledge Marquis Pingxi as their Uncle-Father.

Which meant Marquis Pingxi would eventually be able to stroll in and out of the inner palace as he pleased.

Naturally, that violated proper decorum.

But considering His Majesty had only two consorts, it somehow did not seem like that much of a problem.

Of course...

Marquis Zheng had no particular interest in being anyone's "godfather" anymore.

In his eyes, there was only one true godson.

Tian Tian.

Everyone else... was a free extra bundled with the purchase.

What he wanted now... was the military dispatch.

"Marquis, His Majesty is waiting for you in the Imperial Study."

Eunuch Qu seemed to have been waiting there for quite some time.

In truth, after a new sovereign ascended the throne, the first thing he inherited was not the machinery of government.

It was the eunuchs of the inner palace.

Wei Zhonghe had remained because his position was special and a smooth transition of imperial authority required him.

But red-robed chief eunuchs like Eunuch Qu had been retained almost entirely because of old affection.

From that alone, one could see that when the new sovereign had still been a prince, his private connections with the eunuchs inside the palace had practically been an open secret.

Now, of course... no one dared impeach him for it.

And no one could punish him.

It also explained why, back when Ji Old Sixth still lived in his princely residence, he had always known the affairs of the imperial palace so thoroughly.

There was nothing strange about it at all.

Eunuchs loved wealth.

But eunuchs also valued personal bonds.

Their very survival depended on their relationship with their master.

In that sense... they could actually be more loyal than the so-called "Crown Prince faction" and "Sixth Master's faction" among the outer court.

Of course... as for the rule that eunuchs must not interfere in government, Zheng Fan trusted Ji Chengjue did not need anyone to remind him.

He was still the old Emperor of Yan's son.

At certain moments, once a line was crossed... that bloodline could turn cold enough to frighten anyone.

"Marquis Pingxi requests audience!"

The young eunuch outside had barely finished announcing him when three bursts of laughter came from inside the Imperial Study.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Marquis Zheng walked in.

Ji Chengjue sat behind the desk with a memorial in one hand and his other arm raised horizontally before his chest.

The pose was so deliberate... it looked like a stage actor striking a posture.

Zheng Fan simply stood there and stared at him.

Across all the dynasties, there had indeed been men granted the extraordinary privilege of appearing before the sovereign without saluting.

But someone who used that privilege as casually and directly as Marquis Zheng... was probably unique.

Ji Chengjue had already arranged his pose.

Zheng Fan refused to cooperate.

With no other choice... the Emperor lowered his hand himself.

Then tossed the memorial onto the table.

"Great victory, Zheng Fan! Great victory!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

Zheng Fan walked forward.

He did not even wait for Wei Zhonghe to pass the memorial over.

He simply picked it up and began reading.

This was a proper military report.

It recorded the progress and outcome of the battle in detail.

There were many words.

No one could compress a military campaign into a few elegant classical phrases and expect that to be enough.

Marquis Zheng dragged over a chair for himself.

Sat down.

Then looked toward Eunuch Wei.

"Tea."

"This slave understands."

Wei Zhonghe immediately served hot tea and pastries.

Ji Chengjue came down from behind the desk and asked:

"With a victory like this, Zheng, how many years of peace do you think the western frontier has bought us?"

Zheng Fan picked up a walnut pastry and put it into his mouth.

He kept reading while chewing.

At the same time, he nodded slightly, signaling the Emperor not to be so impatient.

The Emperor, however... was very impatient.

There was no helping it.

He knew how to govern a country.

He knew how to play with power.

He knew how to do business.

But he had never fought a war.

The way this bastard surnamed Zheng behaved as though the palace were his own home did cost the Emperor a little face.

But who told Ji Chengjue to genuinely trust the bastard's judgment on military affairs?

Besides... look at it from another angle.

If one day this bastard surnamed Zheng suddenly became perfectly proper and respectfully deferential before his Emperor... then Ji Chengjue probably really would be unable to sleep that night.

After the third walnut pastry...

Marquis Zheng finally finished reading.

But he did not immediately answer Ji Chengjue's question.

Instead, he said:

"Hold on. What's this at the bottom about the Prince of Jingnan taking eight hundred cavalry to pursue the fleeing Young Barbarian Prince?"

"He went after him." Ji Chengjue looked puzzled. "What else would it mean? By the time this memorial reached us, I imagine the Prince of Jingnan has already captured the Young Prince back in Beifeng Commandery or returned with his head."

Whether or not a man understood warfare... no one doubted the Prince of Jingnan's ability.

"He took eight hundred cavalry westward. And the Prince personally went after him?"

A bad feeling suddenly rose inside Zheng Fan.

Not the feeling that something had happened to Old Tian.

Rather... somewhere deep in his heart... he felt as though he was not going to see Old Tian again for a very, very long time.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" the Emperor pressed.

Zheng Fan wiped the fingers that had held the walnut pastry on Eunuch Wei's robe.

Then rubbed his forehead.

Ground his teeth.

And said:

"I think the Prince may have gone after him deliberately. No. He isn't pursuing him. He's chosen a kind of self-exile."

Liang Cheng had been Zheng Fan's first teacher in the art of war.

Old Tian... had taken him another step higher.

Raised the level.

Refined everything.

It was not that Liang Cheng's ability to command troops was necessarily much worse than Old Tian's.

The platforms the two men stood upon had simply been different.

Once...

Old Tian had actually handed the military administration of several hundred thousand troops to Zheng Fan alone for a period of time.

Speaking from the heart... what teacher under Heaven could provide his student with an "internship" on that scale?

So Zheng Fan understood Old Tian.

He also knew perfectly well how absurdly impulsive a commander would need to be... how completely drunk on victory... to personally lead a pursuit of a fleeing target at a moment like that.

Was Old Tian an impulsive man?

There was only one explanation left.

He had done it intentionally.

Compared with Zheng Fan's disappointment and sadness...

Ji Chengjue, the Emperor... seemed truly devastated.

He staggered backward several steps.

Fortunately, Wei Zhonghe reacted quickly and dragged a chair behind him before the Emperor could fall to the floor.

Ji Chengjue raised both hands and scrubbed hard at his face.

Then asked in disbelief:

"Zheng, you're telling me Great Yan's Prince of Jingnan simply abandoned Great Yan... abandoned Us... and left?"

This was not an act.

The emotion was genuine.

In a sense...

Ji Chengjue wanted Tian Wujing to remain even more than Zheng Fan did.

Zheng Fan could still console himself.

Perhaps this was the best way.

Old Tian was going west in pursuit of an enemy, but he was also exiling himself.

Coming back meant returning to endless pain.

"Change your surroundings, change your mood" sounded far too frivolous when applied to Old Tian.

But one could not deny... it might actually help.

Ji Chengjue, however... had just lost Great Yan's true God of War.

Imperial Father was gone.

Prince Zhenbei's health was poor as well.

The memorial even contained the clear implication that Prince Zhenbei wanted his son formally enfeoffed.

That was practically entrusting an orphan to the sovereign.

Your Majesty, I'm almost finished.

Give my son some face.

Look after him a little.

And when you cut into him... go easy.

Tian Wujing, on the other hand... was in the prime of life.

His blood and qi stood at their peak.

If he personally commanded an expedition, the morale of his own troops would rise immediately.

And once an enemy state learned the Southern Prince of Great Yan was in command... its morale would fall by twenty or thirty percent on the spot.

Most importantly... everyone believed the Southern Prince's achievements were already too great for the sovereign to tolerate.

There was nothing left to reward him with.

No title left to grant him.

He seemed destined to become an enormous source of instability for the state and the imperial throne.

But only Ji Chengjue, the Emperor, knew one thing with complete certainty.

The Prince of Jingnan... would never rebel.

And more than that...

The Emperor raised his head.

Let out a long breath.

Then looked at Zheng Fan sitting opposite him with the same low expression.

More than that... so long as Tian Wujing remained in Great Yan... this bastard surnamed Zheng... would never dare act out of line.

Ji Chengjue was an Emperor.

From the moment he drove that dagger into his father's chest... he had already crowned himself with his father's blood.

His easy relationship with Zheng Fan... even their "brotherly affection"... was not fake.

But he would never refuse the existence of a Prince of Jingnan standing behind everything and allowing him to sleep without worry.

Now... the stabilizing pillar... was gone.

The Emperor's head began to ache.

Wei Zhonghe stood silently to one side and watched the two men in the Imperial Study sit there helpless and saddened because one man had gone far away.

A long time later...

Zheng Fan drew a deep breath.

Raised a hand.

Wiped away tears that did not exist.

And said:

"It's not bad. He's been tired for a long time. This... may be good for him."

"We are not good at all." Ji Chengjue lightly thumped his own chest. "We feel terrible."

"He'll come back."

"Did he tell you beforehand?"

Zheng Fan shook his head.

"But he once said he would kill himself before the ancestral graves of the Tian Clan."

"..." Ji Chengjue.

"He went west. Send more merchant caravans over there to gather information. Great Yan's Southern Prince took eight hundred riders into the western lands. It's impossible for him to disappear without leaving any news at all.

"Little Sixth."

"Mm?"

"We should hurry."

"What do you mean?"

"You, the Emperor, restore the country's strength sooner. Then we wipe out Chu and Qian sooner. Once the realm is unified... I want to go west."

"Go west for what? An expedition?"

"Why not?"

"It's not impossible. Have that brother-in-law of yours and the Qian Emperor submit memorials of surrender next month, and you'll probably be able to launch your western expedition before the end of the year."

"Little Sixth, I'm being serious."

"So are We. Zheng Fan, I understand your mood. In truth, We are several times more depressed than you are. But men in our position cannot lose their heads. Cannot rush. More haste makes less speed. We move slowly. We do things one step at a time. Stay steady, and in the end we'll move faster. All right?"

Zheng Fan smiled.

Neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Wei Zhonghe."

"This slave is here."

"Bring Marquis Pingxi a bowl of the ginseng soup We had earlier."

"No need."

"You need to take better care of your body. Our eldest brother isn't here right now, so We can speak honestly. Old Zheng, the Prince of Jingnan is gone. Judging by the tone of Prince Zhenbei's memorial, We think he's about to chase after Imperial Father too.

"Great Yan has suddenly lost two pillars of the state.

"This Emperor is sitting beneath a golden hall that has just lost two main beams.

"We are nervous.

"You need to take care of yourself.

"You need to remain steady.

"People used to say you were Great Yan's future God of War.

"Now... the word 'future' can be removed."

"The west is settled now. To the south is Qian. My side doesn't have any problem either. Aren't Qian and Chu still fighting each other?"

"We just received news. Qian and Chu have negotiated peace."

"Oh?"

"Chu occupied quite a few cities. After that, Qian decided to start paying Chu annual tribute as well. No more fighting. Peace. The moment they make peace, their spearpoints inevitably turn back toward Great Yan."

"Can Qian show even a little backbone?"

"Which is why we cannot afford disorder right now. We intend to stabilize both states first. The important one is Chu. Qian alone would never dare start a war against Great Yan.

"Zheng Fan, once you return to eastern Jin, keep pressure on that brother-in-law of yours. Whether it's only for show or something more, you understand this better than We do. Even if we have no intention of fighting right now, we still have to look as though we do.

"That will keep Chu from daring to move."

"I understand."

"Two years. Two years to recuperate and restore the people's strength. Then we'll slowly begin dealing with them."

The ginseng soup arrived.

Wei Zhonghe set it before Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan waved a hand.

"I'm not drinking it."

"It's good. Not bitter. The flavor is decent," Ji Chengjue said.

"I just ate half a bowl of lard-mixed rice at your brother-in-law's stall. My throat is still coated in grease."

"Oh? Heh-heh. Was it good?"

"You probably couldn't stomach it."

"Mm. I ate it before. Back then I had no oil in my belly, and cornmeal tormented me every day. Lard smelled wonderful."

"Let's not dig up the past. Fine. Since the Prince of Jingnan isn't returning to the capital, I should head back to my Marquis residence sooner too. Staying in Yanjing too long delays matters."

In truth... it delayed nothing.

Marquis Pingxi Residence functioned smoothly and healthily whether Marquis Pingxi himself was there or not.

But... now that Old Tian had gone...

Zheng Fan missed his godson even more.

Poor little thing.

Such an adorable child.

And now... he truly had no father or mother left.

"Don't rush. A few more days won't matter. At tomorrow's grand court audience, We intend to use the prestige from this great victory to properly straighten out the court. We'll trouble you to help Us press down the room again.

"With the Prince of Jingnan gone... you are now the representative of the entire Jingnan Army.

"Also, Imperial Father's coffin will enter the imperial mausoleum three days from now. Stay and see Imperial Father off with Us."

"What? Scared?" Zheng Fan asked.

Anyone else who dared ask the reigning Emperor of Great Yan that question would die horribly.

There was even a real chance their entire clan would be exterminated.

But Marquis Pingxi... was an exception.

"Not exactly scared. Aren't we good brothers?"

"Mm-hm?"

"When there's a funeral in your brother's family, shouldn't you come help? Also, there's something else. We need to select a site for Our own mausoleum."

A newly enthroned Emperor usually faced two connected matters.

First... send the previous Emperor into his mausoleum.

Second... begin planning his own.

"That urgent?"

"Just selecting the site. We don't intend to build it anytime soon. Waste of money and grain."

"Tsk. Your Majesty, I think you really shouldn't delay that kind of thing. What if you suddenly need it and don't have anywhere to lie down? Wouldn't that be awkward?"

"Heh."

Ji Chengjue gave a cold laugh.

"What We mean is this. We'll choose a site. And beside it... we'll reserve one for you, Marquis Pingxi.

"We can create a fine story of sovereign and minister.

"Later, when we're both dead, we can be buried next door to one another.

"In the history books, that would be called burial beside the imperial mausoleum.

"An immense honor."

"Are you sick in the head? If the two of us get buried together, give it a few thousand years and who knows what kind of television drama they'll make about us. Fuck. Just thinking about it is disgusting."

"What is a television drama?"

"Stage plays. Popular scripts."

"Naturally they'd portray sovereign and minister perfectly matched."

"That's not entertaining. I'm telling you, they'll either say I coveted your beauty and that's why I didn't rebel, or they'll say you coveted my beauty and that's why you kept giving me more power."

"Say whatever you like. Either way, beside Our mausoleum there will be one empty place reserved for you. If you go first, you can move in early. If We go first, We'll warm the bed underground for you."

"Go die."

Irritated and heartsick, Marquis Zheng cursed the Emperor of Great Yan outright.

Ji Chengjue genuinely did not get angry.

He stood and spread both arms.

Wei Zhonghe immediately stepped forward to straighten his robes.

"Zheng Fan. In a little while, We will summon several senior ministers to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to discuss affairs. You come too."

"I'm tired. I want to go back and rest. Preserve my health."

"No. You have to come with Us."

"You think I don't know what you're planning? You finally got this great victory after Zhao Jiulang's death had you running around with your hair on fire. Now you've finally gotten a chance to hold your head high again, so you want to march into a room full of ministers carrying all the majesty of the Emperor and show off."

"Oh? We thought you'd forgotten who killed Zhao Jiulang."

"Not going."

Marquis Zheng crossed one leg over the other and remained seated.

"Zheng!"

"What?"

"Come with Us. The more of this you do now, the less you'll have to do later. Once We straighten out the affairs of court, then in the future We can support your wars the way Imperial Father once supported the Prince of Jingnan.

"You fight at the front.

"We'll send grain, laborers, and fresh soldiers from the rear."

"Fine."

Marquis Zheng stood.

Ji Chengjue walked out of the Imperial Study first.

Outside... the sunlight was perfect.

Marquis Zheng followed.

Ji Chengjue reached out and grabbed Zheng Fan by the wrist.

Zheng Fan slapped his hand away.

The Emperor reached out again.

Grabbed his wrist again.

Marquis Zheng slapped him away a second time.

"Cooperate a little. Think about how often We used to cooperate with you. You were the one who told Us back then that life needs a sense of ceremony."

"..." Zheng Fan.

The Emperor of Great Yan raised the hand of Great Yan's Marquis Pingxi.

Together... the two men stood beneath the sunlight.

At the side, Eunuch Wei tactfully retreated several steps and hid himself beneath the shadow of the eaves so he would not spoil the picture.

"Zheng Fan. Their era... has finally ended."

Pause.

Pause.

Pause.

A long time passed.

At last, Marquis Zheng helplessly sighed.

There was no choice.

He had to play along with the Emperor's sudden burst of adolescent theatricality.

So he reached back and grabbed Ji Old Sixth by the wrist as well.

Then answered:

"Our era... has finally begun."

[End of Chapter 731]