Chapter 822: Father’s Here

The ruler of Liang leaned crookedly against his Dragon Throne.

Across the great hall before him lay the corpses of palace maids, eunuchs, and guards.

Their deaths had been ugly.

At the entrance to the hall... a group of palace guards who should have been loyal to the ruler now pointed their weapons toward the Dragon Throne.

The ruler held a sword in one hand.

Blood dripped from the blade.

He looked somewhat lost.

Somewhat desolate.

Perhaps that undignified posture was the last stubbornness he had left.

A breathtakingly handsome young man slowly pushed a wheelchair into the hall.

Seated in it... was the old Chancellor.

Another coup had erupted inside Liang’s imperial palace.

Everything... seemed to have returned to the old days.

The ruler looked at the old Chancellor in the wheelchair.

Back then... this man had stood on his side.

And the previous ruler had sat here just as helplessly.

Fate seemed to form a circle.

Round and round it went.

Only to return to the same point and leave behind one sigh:

The place remains.

The people have changed.

“Your Majesty...”

The old Chancellor spoke.

The ruler’s gaze sharpened slightly.

He dropped the sword.

Then sat a little straighter.

“Did it truly have to come to this?”

The old Chancellor’s lips moved.

He did not answer.

The ruler spoke again:

“Why did you not simply tell Us?”

The old Chancellor shook his head.

“All three of this subject’s sons became involved. This subject... had no choice.”

“Heh-heh-heh... Heh...”

A miserable smile appeared on the ruler’s face.

He lightly slapped his own thigh.

“We suddenly feel as though We are nothing but a joke. No. We suppose We were a joke from the beginning. Otherwise, back then you would never have helped Us overthrow Our imperial elder brother and supported Us onto this throne.”

The old Chancellor nodded.

Then shook his head.

Xie Yu’an let go of the wheelchair handles.

He took out another orange.

Perhaps the smell of blood inside the hall was too thick.

A little citrus fragrance was needed to drive it away.

“At first,” the old Chancellor said, “this subject did have other thoughts. Liang had already been usurped once before. This subject thought perhaps it would not matter if I usurped it again.”

More than a century ago, the lands that later became Qian had still been divided among several states.

One of them was called Liang.

And Liang had been the strongest.

Its ruler had been one of the great men of his age.

At home, he governed with energy and discipline.

Abroad, he expanded aggressively.

Even the threats sent by Yan, Jin, and Chu at the time failed to concern him.

The first ruler to openly proclaim an ambition to unify all Xia... had been that ruler of Liang.

He believed he possessed the ability.

And in truth... he possessed the stature.

But Heaven envied talent.

After a victorious northern expedition in which he destroyed another state, the ruler of Liang contracted a grave illness on the triumphant return journey.

He died young.

Leaving behind a widow and an orphan.

Afterward... the commander of Liang’s Imperial Guards, the man who would become the founding Emperor of Qian, launched a palace coup.

He forced the child Emperor to abdicate.

Seized Liang’s realm.

And changed the state name to Qian.

At the same time, far from the lands that would become Qian, the ruler of a small state had married the Liang Emperor’s younger sister.

He declared that the true Liang inheritance should pass through him.

So he changed his own state’s name to Liang.

That was the origin of the Liang that existed today.

What happened afterward was history.

The founding Emperor of Qian destroyed state after state across the Qian lands and unified the region.

For a time...

Qian brimmed with martial vigor.

Then the Imperial Younger Brother inherited the throne.

Taking advantage of the decisive war between Yan and the Barbarians, Qian launched a northern expedition with five hundred thousand troops...

Later generations often said the founding Emperor of Qian had been regarded by the Liang Emperor as a younger brother.

Before dying, the Liang Emperor had even entrusted him as a regent for the orphan ruler.

Yet the Qian founder stole his realm.

After that... the Qian founder’s own younger brother “received” his throne.

For more than a century afterward, members of the founding Emperor’s line repeatedly died in strange and violent ways.

One could only say... cause and consequence circled back.

Retribution never failed.

The old Chancellor continued:

“But this subject never expected my body to collapse this quickly. Never expected all three of my sons to be so useless that not one could be raised up. And what this subject expected least... was that Your Majesty would prove far more capable than I believed when I first chose you. This subject began to feel... perhaps Liang continuing like this would be fine. With Liang in Your Majesty’s hands... perhaps that was already good. Perhaps the Pu family simply did not possess that fate. Even when Your Majesty took advantage of this subject’s illness to purge my people, this subject intended to let it happen. All I wanted was for the Pu family to retain some dignity.”

“Then why...”

“This subject already said it. If I still had a choice... I would choose exactly that. But now... I have no choice. All three of my worthless sons became involved. If this subject continued doing nothing, then if Yan won, based on how the Yan Prefect acted in Yingdu, my Pu family would inevitably face a reckoning. Your Majesty would no longer care about old ties or dignity. If Qian and Chu won, those three sons of mine would never manage to erect a proper memorial arch for themselves either. The Chu would remember that I helped depose the previous ruler. Those three little bastards would be played to death before they even understood what was happening. If doing nothing means death... then we act. After today, the entire Pu family will move to Qian and request incorporation. We ask for no noble rank. No honors. Only the life of a wealthy household.”

After hearing all of this... the ruler nodded.

“So that is how it is.”

He seemed to understand.

“When we forced Imperial Elder Brother to die back then, it was We who prepared the white silk for him. Liang may be a small state. Before outsiders, we may only call Ourself Ruler and not Emperor. But We still sit as Son of Heaven over one realm. A Son of Heaven... should have the death of a Son of Heaven. To die beneath blades and iron is not fitting. Chancellor... We ask you to grant Us that dignity.”

“Naturally.”

A guard brought forward a length of white silk.

As the ruler tied the knot, he mocked himself:

“We believed We already controlled everything. Yet the force beside Us that should have been the one We trusted most... was yours all along. Yes. Imperial Elder Brother must have been just as surprised back then. We truly followed the same road he did.”

The old Chancellor looked exhausted.

He stared forward and said:

“Your Majesty has already done very well. Except for General Pu’s troops, nearly every soldier in Liang now obeys Your Majesty. Your Majesty leaned completely toward Yan and used Yan strength to help yourself seize military power. That truly was an excellent move. This subject admires it.”

“But old ginger is still hotter.”

The old Chancellor smiled.

“As a powerful minister who served several generations of Liang rulers, this subject naturally kept a few mouse holes hidden here and there. From ancient times until now... powerful ministers rarely end well.”

The white silk was ready.

The ruler personally hung it.

Someone brought a stool.

He climbed onto it.

Then looked at everyone standing around the hall.

“Can you win?”

Xie Yu’an handed the orange flesh to a guard beside him.

Then said:

“I can give Your Majesty one opportunity.”

The hurried coup had been clean.

And successful.

But Liang’s armies could not be mobilized quickly.

Even if they were forced into movement... how much strength they would truly give remained unknown.

In Xie Yu’an’s original plan, Liang’s troops had never been expected to do more than serve as auxiliaries.

But even auxiliary troops were better than nothing.

“We... are the Son of Heaven.”

The ruler of Liang spoke.

“If you had discussed this with Us beforehand... perhaps We would have considered it. Now... We will not. Our son is still in Yanjing. As his father... We cannot betray him.”

Xie Yu’an shrugged.

He made an inviting gesture.

He did not bother arguing that the ruler still had two other sons right here inside the palace.

Inside their hands.

Because Xie Yu’an understood perfectly well: the legitimate son was the true inheritor.

The holder of lawful succession.

Other sons... many times... were only there to fill out the count.

Exceptions existed.

The principle remained.

Had not the new Emperor of Yan himself been born outside the principal line?

Yet immediately after ascending the throne... he had established his own eldest legitimate son as Crown Prince.

The ruler of Liang drew in a deep breath.

Closed his eyes.

Then said:

“We will wait for all of you... below.”

He kicked the stool away himself.

His body hung from the silk.

The end looked free and decisive.

But the body still struggled.

Twisted.

Convulsed.

Fought for breath.

At last... it stopped moving.

“Come!”

Xie Yu’an shouted.

“The ruler of Liang has died of illness! Invite a Prince to ascend the throne! Announce national mourning throughout the realm!”

After shouting those words...

Xie Yu’an pushed the old Chancellor out of the great hall.

“The matter is finished,” the old Chancellor said. “Young Master need not push anymore.”

“Oh. Fine.”

Xie Yu’an let go.

Then walked beside the wheelchair.

“Actually, I’m somewhat surprised. I always thought Elder Pu would continue sitting there like this forever. I did not expect...”

“Did not expect this old man to help you seize the ruler?”

“Yes.”

“I disappointed Young Master.”

“Not especially.”

“This old man is not a saint after all. I wanted to become one. But when the moment came, I truly could not sacrifice the small family for the greater realm.”

“I understand.”

“If this old man had not acted... what did Young Master plan to do?”

“General Pu holds Qishan. One elite branch of my Xie Clan has already entered Liang.”

“This old man guessed as much. In those days, to resist Chu, everyone in Liang stood together. Now... one of the very generals who once resisted Chu has personally opened the road and allowed Chu troops inside. So after running in circles all these years... we still ended up as a joke.”

“Who hasn’t?”

Xie Yu’an stretched.

Then yawned.

“Can you win?” the old Chancellor asked.

“At least right now... it is difficult to find a reason we should lose. Of course... I should not say things like that. Whenever I do, I get a strange prickling feeling.”

“Young Master has worked hard. Unfortunately, Liang cannot compare with Chu. Liang is small. Its people few. The best it produces are old schemers like this old man who spend their lives crawling through filth. Chu is different. Vast territory. Abundant resources. An enormous population. Even after producing several useless men... even after losing an entire group of capable ones... someone like Young Master can still rise and attempt to hold up the collapsing sky and preserve the altars of state.”

“Aiya. You cannot put it like that. To be honest... I do not possess some overwhelming obsession with preserving Chu. For a century, the Xie Clan has never been accepted by the Chu nobility. We have eaten more than enough contempt. If our Great Chu Emperor had not run out of choices this time... he would never have invited the Xie Clan out to serve the state.”

“Then Young Master...”

Xie Yu’an took several steps forward.

He spread both arms.

“I simply think that if we allow the Yan to recover for a few years... then let them unify the entire realm step by step... wouldn’t that be a little...”

“A little what?”

“Too boring.”

...

From ancient times until now... whenever a coup began inside one’s own house, the people who carried it out always tried to wrap it in a layer of tender sentiment.

People living through it might consider that self-deception.

But the performance was never really meant for the people living through it.

The ruler had “died of illness.”

The capital of Liang filled with mourning white.

The new ruler was one of the dead ruler’s sons.

Following the principle that a state could not remain one day without a ruler... he ascended before the Crown Prince could return from Yan.

The new ruler cooperated completely.

Because he understood perfectly well: if he could not stabilize the situation quickly and cling tightly to the thighs of Qian and Chu against Yan’s fury... then Yan would inevitably bring his elder brother back from Yanjing, kill him, and restore that elder brother to the throne.

He truly had no choice.

The old Chancellor emerged to preside over affairs.

Relying on his remaining prestige and the established fact of the new ruler’s accession, Liang’s court did not descend into broad chaos.

Cart after cart of wealth from Qian was distributed.

General Pu and the other commanders who had defected carried the new ruler’s edicts and began buying over Liang’s armies.

Naturally... whether in court or in the military, truly diehard elements still had to be purged.

Time was short.

So the methods could not help being brutal.

Fortunately...

Qian silver and goods played an enormous role in stabilizing hearts.

Xie Yu’an looked over the long gift register.

Then smiled at the Qian civil official standing before him.

“Everyone says Qian people are rich. This time... I finally understand what that means.”

“Young Master flatters us.”

“I genuinely do not understand. Qian is this wealthy. So why...”

He stopped there.

Everyone understood the rest.

“For this affair, His Majesty even opened the inner treasury. A considerable portion of what you see came directly from there.”

“Aiya. I understand. No one has it easy.”

“Young Master, there is another matter this foreign minister must ask.”

“Go ahead. We are allies now. We should be candid with one another.”

“This foreign minister has already learned that twenty thousand Xie Clan private troops have entered Liang and are marching toward the capital.”

“Yes.”

“But according to the agreement previously reached between Chu and Great Qian, Chu was supposed to send at least one hundred thousand Chu Imperial Clan Guards into Liang for this campaign.”

“Aiya. Great Chu is suffering.”

“What does Young Master mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Xie Yu’an smiled.

“Zhennan Pass is in Yan hands. The iron cavalry of Prince Pingxi Residence can leave Zhennan Pass, cross Shanggu Commandery, ford the Wei River, and then strike in three directions. You should know what happened during the Battle of Fan City. So this time, to prevent Prince Pingxi Residence from learning what is happening here and once again sending troops to force our main Chu army to turn back... Great Chu has already ordered every city and fortress along the line to defend tightly. We must ensure that even if Prince Pingxi’s cavalry enters... they cannot seize anything. We will give them no opportunity to threaten our capital either. Also, during the last campaign, Grand General Nian tried to retake Fan City. You know how that ended. With Fan City in Yan hands, it is like a nail driven into Chu territory. If Chu troops mobilize in advance, Fan City will certainly notice. News will leak early. And on top of that, Chu troops must still guard Qishan to prevent Prince Pingxi Residence from marching out of Fan City, breaking through Qishan, and entering Liang. In short... Great Chu must seal every possible route by which Prince Pingxi Residence could interfere in this war. Aiya. You do not understand how difficult our situation is after losing Zhennan Pass. It is just like Qian losing the Three Frontiers. Our border has become a racecourse for Yan cavalry. Difficult. Truly difficult.”

“So Young Master means... Chu this time...”

“Yes. Great Chu is sending only twenty thousand troops into Liang. But those twenty thousand are the true elites of my Xie Clan. I am telling you... they are not one bit inferior to the finest Azure Luan Army of the old days.”

“This foreign minister means... if Chu sends only twenty thousand troops, then when Yan attacks, who exactly is supposed to stop them? Surely you do not expect Liang’s army to do it? Getting Liang’s troops to avoid mutiny or openly supporting Yan is already difficult enough. How could anyone rely on them?”

“Is Great Qian not here?”

Xie Yu’an asked.

“Besides General Meng, there is also Young Marshal Zhong, Commander Han, Commander Le, and Commander Zu Dongling, son of Grand Commander Zu. Are their troops not here as well?”

The Qian civil official responsible for escorting the money and provisions cried out in alarm:

“How could we possibly rely on Great Qian’s army to fight...”

“Heh-heh-heh...”

Xie Yu’an nearly squealed like a pig from laughing.

Then said:

“You insulted Qian. Not me.”

The Qian official had no energy left to care about that slip or the mockery.

He blurted:

“Then how is this battle supposed to be fought? How are we supposed to fight it!”

Clearly... this Qian civil official truly possessed not one scrap of confidence in Qian’s army.

There was no helping it.

Years ago, Yan had sent only two forces south.

Together, perhaps fewer than seventy thousand men.

After bypassing the Three Frontiers, they had smashed through the entire northern defense line of Qian, crossed the Bian River, and reached the walls of Shangjing.

The capital had shaken.

One batch of Qian troops marched out... and collapsed.

Another batch went out... and collapsed.

Then another.

And another.

Yan soldiers had even joked that fighting Qian was exhausting because chasing captives across mountains and fields tired them more than charging formations on the battlefield.

Xie Yu’an reached out and patted the Qian official’s shoulder.

“So somehow I, a Chu man, possess more confidence in Qian troops than you, a Qian man. Heh. Relax. Yan soldiers are not all divine troops and heavenly generals. As long as Prince Pingxi Residence is pinned down... cut a Yan soldier with a saber and his head still comes off. He still dies.”

“Young Master!”

At that moment... the familiar old man appeared.

He approached Xie Yu’an and whispered several words into his ear.

Xie Yu’an’s expression changed immediately.

That change nearly scared the Qian civil official into jumping out of his skin.

“Has the Yan army attacked?”

“No. No.”

Xie Yu’an no longer had the patience to explain.

He hurried out of the hall.

The gates of Liang’s capital were already open.

Xie Clan private troops, who favored red, were entering the city in disciplined formations.

When Xie Yu’an claimed these troops were not inferior to the Azure Luan Army, he had not been boasting.

Their bearing alone revealed the sharpness within them.

Years ago, when the true Azure Luan Army formed ranks beneath Yupan City against the walls, even Prince Jingnan’s personally led Great Yan cavalry had refused to charge them head-on.

Xie Yu’an hurried forward.

Then saw the general riding a black panther.

He approached.

Reached out.

Touched the general’s boot.

And smiled ingratiatingly.

“Dad. Why are you here?”

The Xie Clan Young Master, who normally looked at everyone around him as though they were fools beneath his notice, suddenly became very small.

Xie Zhuyang, Pillar of State of the Xie Clan, had originally replaced Grand General Nian and taken command of the Imperial Clan Guards along the Wei River.

Yet now... he had personally led Xie Clan private troops here.

“Old Fifth of the Xiong clan replaced Father on the Wei River. That Fourth Xiong bastard says this affair concerns Great Chu’s national fortune and cannot tolerate the slightest carelessness. So he ordered Father to personally lead our Xie Clan sons here. When father and son go into battle together, victory comes easier, eh? Heh. That Fourth Xiong truly knows how to calculate.”

“Of course. Fourth Xiong is crafty as hell. But this is good too. Now that Dad is here, your son feels much steadier inside. And I imagine Dad feels more comfortable too. Those Imperial Clan Guards might nominally have been under your command, but how many would truly obey you? Our own troops are still more comfortable to lead, right?”

“Heh-heh. Of course.”

“Dad, your son will take you to rest.”

“No rush. Father has something else to do first.”

“Dad, what is it?”

“Father...”

Xie Zhuyang bent from the saddle.

His huge hand shot out.

He grabbed his brilliant, near-demonic only son and hauled him up onto the black panther’s back.

Then... without another word... his palm, broad as a fan, came down hard on the boy’s backside again and again.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

“You wanted to see how fetching your aunties look in mourning?”

“Ah! Dad! Stop! Dad...!”

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

“This old man knew you had thoughts about those aunties of yours! So it was true!”

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

“Dad! Your son was wrong! Stop hitting me! It hurts...!”

Xie Zhuyang knew perfectly well that his son practiced no martial arts and possessed a poor constitution.

After beating him for a while... he stopped in time.

Xie Yu’an sprawled gracelessly over the black panther’s back, gasping.

His nose ran.

His eyes watered.

Even the oranges in his pocket had been crushed, juice soaking through his clothes.

He looked for all the world like some child who had been beaten so badly by his father that he had wet himself.

Utterly humiliating.

“Damn it,” Xie Zhuyang cursed.

“If you like one of your aunties, why not simply tell Father? Father cannot handle all of them anyway. My waist is not invincible. Father is in a hurry to hold a grandson too. If you really are like that Prince Pingxi of Yan and have no interest in tender little maidens, only married women... then there are plenty at home.”

“Dad... wouldn’t that make us no different from beasts?”

SMACK!

“AH!”

Another palm came down.

Xie Zhuyang cursed:

“Bullshit! Better a beast... than worse than one!”

[End of Chapter 822]