Chapter 833: Great Yan’s... Fury!

Prince Pingxi’s royal banner flew above the walls of South Gate Pass.

Wrapped in a cloak, the Blind Man stood atop the battlements and looked out over the endless stream of troops, laborers, livestock, and camp tents stretching farther than the eye could see.

Men and animals crowded together densely. Different armies had gathered, and beneath them, each force contained its own branches and specialties. Calling everything perfectly orderly would have been an exaggeration. Noise was unavoidable.

Yet from high above, one could still feel an unmistakable sense of structure.

The Blind Man was not peeling an orange.

Instead, one fingertip traced slowly across the stone battlement.

“I have always spoken to the two of you about organizational structure and efficiency. You learned quickly. But there is one thing I have never taught you, because it cannot truly be taught.”

Behind him, Chen Daole and He Chunlai stood exhausted after just finishing an inventory of the latest shipment of grain, provisions, weapons, and armor.

At the Blind Man’s words, both immediately straightened.

The lazy man at a village gate might mock the sour scholar for being just as poor as he was, then ask what damned use all that learning had ever been.

But in truth, the higher one climbed and the closer one moved toward the front of a field, the more capable people one met.

And the more capable people one met, the more strongly one felt a sense of danger.

Only then did one truly understand the importance of learning and improvement.

Chen Daole and He Chunlai were both Jin men.

In their early years, they had even belonged to organizations resisting Yan and seeking to restore Jin.

Now they worked for a princely residence of Yan.

At first glance, it looked like selling out the country for glory and becoming lackeys.

But the Residence was cultivating them according to the standard of future Left and Right Chancellors.

Compared with the scale of what Prince Pingxi Residence was willing to give them, even becoming “lackeys” hardly counted as suffering.

The Blind Man raised one finger.

“That is ‘One.’”

He Chunlai and Chen Daole immediately fell into thought.

Chen Daole spoke first.

“Mister means the royal banner behind us?”

He Chunlai said:

“One gives birth to all things.”

The Blind Man smiled.

“Daole struck directly at the point, but I prefer Chunlai’s metaphor.”

His fingers began itching again.

Chen Daole instinctively touched the blister at the corner of his mouth.

He Chunlai, far more considerate, produced a mandarin he had prepared in advance and handed it over.

Once the fruit was in his hand, the Blind Man continued:

“Simply put, in my view there are roughly two kinds of organization. One is built from the bottom upward. Its foundations are secure and its structure rigorous. Qian’s scholar-officials like to shout about filling the court with upright men so the ruler may become another Yao or Shun. Never mind whether they actually behave that way. The principle itself is not wrong. If the lower structure is stable and the foundations firm, then whether the person above sits, lies down, or jumps about, the building is still difficult to collapse. The other kind is built from the top downward. One gives birth to all things. The One is the center, and everything beneath automatically reshapes itself into the form best suited to fulfilling the One’s will. The officialdom of Suzhou City... No. Southwestern Jin... No. Even the whole of western Jin, together with central Jin... All the armies already rushing here, the vast numbers of laborers, and the grain, weapons, armor, and military pay still moving on the road were all set in motion by that ‘One.’”

Chen Daole asked:

“Then in Mister’s opinion, which model is better?”

“Seas become mulberry fields. The world changes. How could today’s wind possibly blow unchanged upon tomorrow’s people? In the end, everything must fit local conditions.”

He Chunlai said:

“Mister is right. Since there is no human condition that remains unchanged forever, there can be no law unchanged forever either. What one seeks, sees, observes, and thinks must all fit the circumstances.”

“Heh-heh.”

At that moment...

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

War drums sounded.

“Mister, the Prince is beating the drums to assemble the generals.”

The royal banner had already been planted.

Naturally, what followed was the beating of drums and gathering of commanders.

Ever since Prince Pingxi crossed the Wang River, armies had continually come to join him.

He had not gone out of his way to summon their commanders for personal audiences.

But with war about to begin, he could hardly avoid truly meeting them.

Ideas had to be unified.

Methods of war had to be unified too.

The Blind Man shook out his cloak.

“Watch the grain and provisions even more carefully.”

Chen Daole smiled bitterly.

“But Mister, this mobilization truly was too hurried. Forget the lack of surplus grain in the various prefectural granaries. Given the number of troops now stationed inside and outside South Gate Pass, I fear the follow-up grain train will barely be able to keep pace before the army even finishes deploying beyond the pass.”

Barely keeping pace meant the army possessed only a few days of provisions at any time.

Whatever the rear managed to send forward would be consumed only a few days later.

If anything happened along the transport route, the army could immediately fall into the desperate situation of running out of food.

He Chunlai added:

“And there are simply too many troops. That has increased the logistical pressure enormously.”

The Blind Man did not seem concerned.

“You two need not worry about that. Every profession has its own specialty. Handle what you are supposed to handle. As for how the war should be fought, Master naturally has his own calculations. I do not know how to fight either. I’ll simply watch.”

...

As the war drums thundered, every officer of Assistant General rank and above began converging upon the central command tent.

The scraping and clatter of armor seemed to take on a solemn weight.

Many commanders felt strangely dazed as they hurried there.

It was as though they had returned to those years when everyone gathered beneath Prince Jingnan’s command tent.

Every general entering the central command area had to remove his weapon and hand it over to the Prince’s personal guards.

In earlier years, this had never been an explicit rule.

Everyone had relied upon self-discipline.

This time, Chen Xianba stood outside the tent with Liu Dahu and Zheng Man, personally receiving the weapons.

Nobody objected.

First, the command tent stood directly ahead.

Everyone knew who was inside.

Since they had already answered the princely order and brought troops to join him, they had already acknowledged that man.

Second... a white-robed man wearing a bamboo hat stood nearby.

Perhaps someone might fail to recognize him.

But no one could fail to recognize the sword planted before him.

Longyuan.

The Sword Saint of Jin had followed Prince Pingxi for years.

That was no secret.

With the Sword Saint himself standing here, naturally nobody felt any urge to make trouble or demand special treatment.

In truth, the Sword Saint did not need to appear at all.

Nobody would dare cause trouble today.

With military affairs and royal authority pressing down upon them, how could these rough commanders possibly act rashly?

But the Sword Saint had nothing better to do.

He wanted to spend more time with his son.

Who was going to criticize him for that?

By tradition, everyone had to wait until all generals arrived before the command tent formally opened.

They could not simply drift inside in a messy stream.

After Luo Ling handed over his saber, he noticed food being distributed ahead.

Then he saw a familiar Garrison Commander suddenly drop to his knees.

The man held a steamed bun in his left hand and a bowl of meat soup in his right.

Tears streamed down his face.

“Heh.”

Luo Ling laughed with some disdain.

Wasn’t this bootlicking a little too excessive?

But when Luo Ling stepped forward and saw Tian Tian carefully carrying a bowl of meat soup toward him with both hands... the child called:

“Uncle Luo, drink some soup.”

Luo Ling had once ranked among the fiercest generals under Prince Jingnan.

His command had frequently served as part of the Prince’s central army.

Yet at that moment, Luo Ling’s nose and eyes suddenly stung.

His vision blurred.

As he accepted the bowl with both hands, his body instinctively dropped to one knee.

“This general pays respects to His Highness the Heir!”

Tian Tian was adorable and sturdy.

Strictly speaking, he was somewhat chubby.

But it was the kind of chubbiness that only made a child look cuter.

And between his brows, one could faintly see the old appearance of the Prince.

“Uncle, drink the soup.”

Tian Tian smiled and urged him.

“Godfather said we must not let the uncles get cold or hungry.”

“All right. All right.”

Luo Ling nodded hard and took a mouthful.

Then another small figure approached.

This one carried two steamed buns and held them out.

“General Luo, eat these first so you aren’t hungry.”

Luo Ling accepted the buns.

Then took a closer look.

Who else could it be but the Crown Prince?

At their most powerful and most self-confident, both the Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army had once produced thoughts of helping their own Marquis rebel.

Marquis Zhenbei Residence had dismantled its own power.

Prince Jingnan had chosen to travel far into the west.

Among the forces remaining afterward, aside from Prince Pingxi Residence, no other faction currently possessed the stature to approach that goal.

Once something lost its leader, it was like a man losing the direction of his life.

Instinctively, one had to find some other goal to fill the emptiness.

Back then, Xu Wenzu had loudly advocated opening the gates of Tiger Head City and inviting the Zhenbei Army inside to help Marquis Zhenbei seize the realm.

The moment Marquis Zhenbei made it clear that he had no interest in the Dragon Throne, Xu Wenzu immediately transformed into a loyal minister of Great Yan.

The Jingnan Army had behaved much the same.

Once Tian Wujing was gone, the legitimacy of the Ji imperial house suddenly became far more visible.

By the same logic, in earlier years Chen Yang might genuinely have cut down an imperial commissioner and rebelled.

But now, although he had claimed illness and shut himself at home, he still had not chosen the most extreme road.

“This general pays respects to His Highness the Crown Prince! Long live Your Highness for a thousand years!”

“General Luo, please rise. Two steamed buns probably aren’t enough. Eat these first. I’ll go get more.”

The two children had divided the work.

Tian Tian was older and handled the soup.

The Crown Prince was younger and carried steamed buns.

Every general who entered received their attention.

Former Jingnan Army commanders knelt before the Heir with reddened eyes.

When facing the Crown Prince, they still showed proper respect and reverence.

By contrast, the Jin-born generals were even more enthusiastic toward the Crown Prince and seemed even more overwhelmed by the honor.

In short... the atmosphere outside the command tent was excellent.

Prince Pingxi had long grown accustomed to having one child pour tea and another light cigarettes for him at home.

These generals, on the other hand, were experiencing for the first time what it meant to be truly overwhelmed by favor.

Yao Zizhan, Qian’s Literary Saint, was actually the greatest master of praise.

Whenever he encountered someone with value, he never stinted on flattery.

Qian scholars also possessed a strong habit of carrying one another’s flower palanquins.

A child could remain at home, barely have begun reading, and produce several ugly poems too poor to look at.

But if his father was famous enough, enough connections could still turn him into a “child prodigy.”

Prince Pingxi had always expressed contempt for that sort of thing.

He was too lazy to play the game.

Of course... praise still had to be used when necessary.

In the early days, when boasting was needed, there had been the Chu Princess.

There was no shame in that.

If anything, it was worth bragging about.

After all, he had stolen the wife himself.

Now... placing these two children outside the tent as greeters was worth ten thousand words of praise.

Nothing obvious had been said.

Yet the atmosphere of swagger had become so rich it could practically drip.

Once everyone had been received, Tian Tian and the Crown Prince entered the command tent first.

Not long afterward... the two children pulled open the curtain.

Using all the strength in their little bodies, they shouted:

“By the Prince’s command, open the tent!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Every general immediately adjusted his armor.

They formed two lines and entered in perfect order.

Once everyone was inside, Tian Tian and the Crown Prince exchanged smiles.

Then they entered too.

Inside, two rows of generals stood waiting.

Eunuch Huang was among them, positioned beside the command table in the army supervisor’s place.

Tian Tian and the Crown Prince each had a little stool beneath the command table.

They did not face the table.

They sat with their backs toward it, almost like two child attendants beneath the seat of a Bodhisattva.

At last... the Bodhisattva...

No.

The Prince arrived.

The command tent had front and rear sections.

The rear was for rest.

The front was for military discussion.

Dressed in black armor, Zheng Fan walked behind the command table.

His gaze swept slowly over everyone below.

He did not speak immediately.

Silence remained.

Tian Tian and the Crown Prince immediately felt the atmosphere inside the tent change.

Tian Tian was slightly better.

He had grown up dealing with zombies and resentful ghosts.

Even so, the atmosphere formed by so many veteran battlefield commanders made him feel a deep unease.

The Crown Prince had already begun trembling.

He did not know what he feared.

His body simply reacted instinctively.

For the sake of maintaining his image, he forced himself to remain seated upright.

Silence could be a form of enormous strength.

When silence combined with a person’s own presence, it could become far more useful than ten thousand words.

The generals had originally prepared to salute Prince Pingxi together.

But the Prince never opened the scene for them.

So nobody made the next move.

Then, as Prince Pingxi’s gaze fell across them one by one, these veteran soldiers who had all crawled out of piles of corpses gradually began sweating in their palms.

The air inside the tent seemed to thicken.

Breathing became difficult.

Finally...

Zheng Fan ended the silence that had made everyone feel almost suffocated.

“We lost.”

No salute.

No greetings.

No pleasantries.

He drew the blade straight from its sheath and entered the heart of the matter.

Every general immediately straightened and listened.

“Count Huwei died in battle. Count Huwei’s command was almost completely destroyed in Liang. I do not need to explain too much. Every one of you understands what this defeat means. We Yan men, our Yan armies, the iron cavalry of Great Yan, have always boasted of being invincible beneath Heaven. These past years, this Prince has campaigned north and south without suffering a single defeat. But this Prince has never become arrogant. Because the more victories I win, the more pressure and responsibility I feel upon my shoulders. When Great Yan becomes accustomed to victory, each next victory becomes easier to obtain. Among the states of all Xia today, only Qian and Chu can still resist Yan at all. But these past years, even they had already become accustomed to being defeated again and again beneath Great Yan’s iron cavalry. Once such a habit forms, it is difficult to break. Their soldiers see our Black Dragon Banner on the battlefield and their legs begin trembling instinctively. Their generals face you and unconsciously become cautious, hesitant, bound hand and foot. The battle has not yet begun, yet in truth they have already lost. All of you are generals. I believe each of you has your own methods of raising morale before battle. Qian and Chu do too. So this Prince will tell you clearly now why the elites of Qian and Chu laid that ambush in Liang, why they were willing to pay such a painful price merely to defeat us once. Because they understood. If they failed to win once soon, they were finished. Their soldiers would no longer possess the courage to fight. Their generals would no longer possess the conviction that victory was possible. They were gambling. They fought with the river at their backs. And this time... they won the gamble. The soldiers and civilians of Qian and Chu will celebrate that battle in Liang. They will realize that Great Yan’s iron cavalry can be defeated too. They will think: we all have two arms and one head. Cut off anyone’s head and he dies. They will no longer fear us. They will no longer fear this Black Dragon Banner. The next time we fight the exact same battle, we will have to pay far more lives to win. A city that once might have surrendered the moment our proclamation arrived will now force our soldiers to carry scaling ladders beneath enemy arrows and fill the walls with their lives!”

Zheng Fan’s voice rolled through the command tent.

The language was almost painfully plain.

And precisely because it was plain, it possessed a profound force.

Because the understanding behind it came from an extremely high vantage point while remaining rooted in the earth.

“The armies of Yan are not actually endless. Yan territory must be defended. Jin must be defended. The snowfields and the desert must both be watched. How many troops can truly be pulled away for one foreign war after another? If we lose the belief built through a hundred victories... if we lose the spirit the old Prince of Zhenbei and old Prince of Jingnan left inside the Yan army... then how difficult will every future campaign become? Gentlemen. On the day His Majesty ascended the throne, he declared one wish before the realm. That in his lifetime, Great Yan would complete the unification of all Xia. This Prince... also swore an oath before the old Prince of Jingnan. That I would carry this Black Dragon Banner across every land of all Xia, destroy every rival beneath Heaven, and make the Black Dragon Banner the one banner over all Xia! Eight hundred years. Eight hundred years! Eight centuries of seas becoming mulberry fields. Only now... only Great Yan... possesses the shape of unification. This Prince. His Majesty. You. You. Every one of you here... all possess the opportunity to carve your names into history. Future generations will remember you. They will remember who ended this chaotic age. Who reunited Heaven and Earth beneath one realm. Originally, this Prince estimated that fifteen years would be enough. That within fifteen years, I could lead Great Yan’s iron cavalry, lead all of you, and complete this great undertaking. But now... Ran Min lost first. Li Fusheng lost afterward. And those quails that should have been trembling beneath our iron hooves... have actually dared bare their ridiculous little fangs at us! You all know... this Prince and Count Huwei were close. Our friendship was deep. In private, this Prince willingly called him Big Brother. But here... this Prince will still curse Li Fusheng as a fool! Arrogant! Overconfident! And now he nearly buried the finest strategic situation Great Yan has possessed in eight hundred years! Stupid! Foolish beyond belief!”

The final four words were roared.

Every general in the tent remained solemn.

Yet one by one, they instinctively drew their necks inward, wishing they could retreat entirely inside their armor.

Tian Tian and the Crown Prince sat on their little stools before the command table.

It was as though a roaring blower had been aimed directly over their heads.

Their young hearts were thoroughly shaken.

“If we lose face, we earn it back! If we lose a battle, we fight another and win it back! They hoped to use one victory to destroy their fear of Great Yan. Then this Prince will return that fear to them fivefold. Tenfold! This Prince will tell the world that Great Yan cannot be humiliated! That this Black Dragon Banner cannot be insulted! In this campaign... our army is permitted victory and nothing else! Great Yan’s march toward unifying all Xia will never stop. If this generation... if this Prince... if all of you... cannot complete this great undertaking... then your sons must continue it. Your nephews. Even your grandsons. They will have to keep fighting Qian men and Chu men on battlefields. We are all grown men here. Even Eunuch Huang...”

Eunuch Huang suddenly stiffened and looked nervously toward Prince Pingxi.

“At the Battle of Fan City, Eunuch Huang personally charged the enemy and genuinely cut off one enemy head. This Prince has always believed the men of Great Yan are all real men. In Great Yan... even our eunuchs are more manly than the men of Qian!”

Eunuch Huang sucked in a breath.

“Since we are men... then do not leave this mess for the next generation. Let us finish it... in our own generation! Then our sons and grandsons, when they have nothing better to do, will not need to put on armor and march to battle like us. They can drink tea. Eat pastries. And brag about how their ancestors once fought bravely and carved out this magnificent realm! Generals. Gentlemen. This Prince intends to march beyond South Gate Pass and wash away our humiliation. Will you follow me?”

Every commander, Eunuch Huang included, dropped to his knees.

Their voices thundered together:

“We swear to follow Prince Pingxi to the death!”

“We swear to follow Prince Pingxi to the death!”

Zheng Fan nodded.

Then said:

“Generals, receive your orders.”

...

Outside the command tent, Chen Xianba gripped the saber at his waist.

Zheng Man and Liu Dahu beside him wore equally solemn expressions as they listened to the Prince’s voice from within.

The Sword Saint sat nearby.

A pile of sabers had accumulated before him.

Some were famous blades.

He lifted his head.

Looked at the three boys.

Then shook it.

He knew perfectly well how persuasive that man surnamed Zheng could be.

No.

Not merely persuasive.

The man seemed born with a kind of personal charisma.

Gou Moli had once told the Sword Saint that he used to think himself extremely skilled at these things.

Only later did he realize...

Master was the true expert.

On the other side of the command tent, the Blind Man stood with He Chunlai and Chen Daole, listening as well.

In the Blind Man’s view, public speaking was a profound discipline.

He and Gou Moli were both skilled at it.

But the difficulty varied depending on the audience and setting.

If the listeners were ordinary soldiers or civilians, the task was not very difficult.

But when the listeners were all generals... the difficulty rose enormously.

Every expression.

Every movement.

Even the temperament one projected at each moment had to shift together with the words.

The Blind Man sighed.

A smile tugged at his lips.

If Prince Jingnan were standing here... he would never say this much.

But that did not mean Master needed so many words because he was inferior to Prince Jingnan.

Every person had his own character.

His own style.

This was another kind of stature.

The Blind Man had never abandoned his great cause of “rebellion.”

He was still preparing.

Preparing for the day when, in the most beautiful manner possible, he would escort Master into the Golden Throne Hall and seat him upon that chair.

Once this war ended... that goal would inevitably take another step forward.

Because whether one looked at the old Prince Zhenbei or Prince Jingnan... both were overwhelmingly powerful.

But both carried very clear labels.

Master was different.

He absorbed rivers into the sea.

If one wished to rebel... what mattered was not how many people would actively support you.

What mattered was how many people would choose not to resist you.

Master’s growth was genuinely astonishing.

Even after spending so much idle time staying at home... he continued improving.

At that thought... the Blind Man revealed a broad, indulgent smile.

...

Inside the command tent... the council had reached its final stage.

Prince Pingxi appointed commanders and divided the army into three routes.

The Left-Wing Army would be commanded by Luo Ling.

The Right-Wing Army would be commanded by Ren Juan.

The Central Army... would be commanded by Prince Pingxi himself.

Li Bao’s son was present.

But his prestige was insufficient for command of an entire route.

Li Fusheng was dead.

If Old Li were still alive, one of the three route commands would inevitably have belonged to him.

As for the remaining Imperial Guard commanders, commandery-army bosses, and Jin camp commanders... their seniority simply could not compare with the old Garrison Commanders of the Jingnan Army.

Half of Jin had been conquered by Tian Wujing and the Jingnan Army.

Naturally, the military bosses of Jin still regarded the Jingnan Army line as supreme.

Otherwise... the court would never have chosen that faction as the first target for division and weakening.

As the appointments were made...

Tian Tian and the Crown Prince sat in front.

Every time their godfather called a name, a general stepped forward, knelt, and answered.

The feeling was intoxicating.

The two children became excited too.

Tiny fists clenched.

It was almost as though they were the ones about to march onto the battlefield.

After all... what young boy had never dreamed of becoming a general?

Prince Pingxi pointed toward the map.

“The Left-Wing Army will enter through Wei and fight its way into Liang!”

“Yes!”

“The Right-Wing Army will enter through Qi and fight its way into Liang!”

“Yes!”

“This Prince will personally lead the Central Army around through Zhao, enter its territory, and then fight into Liang!”

“Yes!”

“The Qian-Chu coalition used Liang as a cage and trapped Count Huwei to death inside it. Then this Prince will use the three states surrounding Liang as a greater cage... and trap every last one of them inside Liang!”

After giving the orders, Zheng Fan swept his gaze across the generals below.

“Any objections?”

Luo Ling stepped forward.

“Your Highness, will our logistical grain supply be able to support the armies at the front?”

Zheng Fan smiled.

He reached out.

His finger touched the characters for Wei, Zhao, and Qi one after another on the map.

“During the Qian-Chu coalition’s encirclement of Count Huwei, these three states either helped seal the roads or sat on the opposite bank watching the fire, refusing reinforcements and refusing to open their passes. That amounted to indirectly assisting the Qian-Chu coalition in trapping and killing Count Huwei! Since they treated the fury of Yan men as nothing... this Prince will properly teach them what the fury of Great Yan looks like. And this Prince will use the opportunity to tell the whole world, to tell every other state beneath Heaven: Anyone who dares act against Great Yan, openly or secretly... Great Yan will punish them! Each army will carry only the provisions absolutely necessary to set out. Three armies. Three states. Eat their food. Drink their water. Use their supplies. By the tradition of Great Yan’s soldiers, before battle begins, the departure silver is either sent home to one’s wife or, for bachelors, spent in the red tents buying warmth from a woman. Only then can a man step onto the battlefield with nothing holding him back and gamble his life completely. But I apologize, gentlemen. The court has not managed to send down the departure silver. The court is struggling too. But this Prince will not cheat the sons of Yan who tie their heads to their belts and fight for the state. The rewards and silver you are owed... go take them yourselves! If you take a great deal, this Prince will praise your ability. If you take too little... do not blame this Prince for laughing at your lack of ambition!”

At those words, excitement spread across the faces of most generals.

A few showed hesitation.

Prince Pingxi continued:

“They were willing to help a tiger do evil and indirectly force Count Huwei and tens of thousands of Great Yan soldiers to their deaths. Then there is no reason Great Yan must continue pretending to be some army of benevolence and righteousness while maintaining a damned pose. This Prince reflected on something. Why did these four little states dare? Because Great Yan has been too righteous. Some people... some states... are simply cheap. You treat them politely and they mistake it for weakness. You have to hurt them. Cripple them. Only then do they understand how to behave like dogs and lie respectfully at your feet. This military order... was issued by this Prince. Every consequence... will be borne by this Prince!”

At that moment, Ren Juan stepped forward and saluted.

“Your Highness, the three route armies include nearly every troop now gathered around South Gate Pass. According to Your Highness’s orders, all three armies will march out together. Then South Gate Pass, southwestern Jin, this gateway into the Jin lands... how will it be defended? How will our rear be protected? The army’s route of withdrawal...”

Zheng Fan smashed one fist onto the command table and cut him off.

Prince Pingxi smiled.

He looked at Ren Juan.

Then at every general below.

Slowly, he said:

“Then we give up the house.”

For one moment... every person in the tent stopped breathing.

Prince Pingxi continued:

“The Qian-Chu coalition wagered that much and paid any price necessary to swallow Count Huwei. So this Prince... will tell them something. You want to gamble with your lives? Heh. When it comes to gambling lives... we Yan men... are the ancestors of Qian and Chu!”

...

The military council ended.

The generals filed out of the command tent.

A tremendous gamble was about to begin.

Even commanders known for steadiness felt their blood rising.

When they went to retrieve their weapons from Chen Xianba and the others... they discovered strips of white cloth and black gauze wrapped around every saber.

Not even Eunuch Huang’s horsetail whisk had been forgotten.

The generals looked at one another in confusion.

Then... the command tent opened again.

Prince Pingxi walked out.

Wuya rested in his hand.

White cloth and black gauze were wrapped around the saber as well.

“Heh-heh.”

Prince Pingxi no longer carried the terrifying majesty he had shown inside the command tent.

He simply sat down on the ground with little concern for appearances.

He looked almost like a different person.

Under everyone’s confused gaze, the Prince revealed a warm smile.

“One of the princely orders this Prince issued before leaving Fengxin instructed the Prefects and local officials everywhere to requisition white cloth and black gauze for army use. Tonight... it will be distributed to the whole army. Pass down the order. From this Prince downward, on the day we march out... everyone will bind it on. Not one man left out.”

Not one general standing there was a fool.

They immediately understood.

Many drew in deep breaths.

Yet even that could not stop their eyes from growing wet.

Prince Pingxi raised his head.

He turned his face toward the sky.

A thin summer rain was still falling.

He pointed upward and said:

“There has been a lot of rain lately. The ground must be damp. Count Huwei and those brothers sleeping beneath it... probably aren’t comfortable. So... we’re going to bring them home.”

[End of Chapter 833]