Chapter 838: Rebellious Bone

“If you want to ask, go ask him yourself.”

The Sword Saint looked at Liu Dahu.

“Dad... they told me to come ask you.”

Liu Dahu looked a little wronged.

“When Hero Chen came seeking me in the old days, he carried water and chopped firewood for our family. All he wanted was a little guidance from me. Seeking the sword is simply another form of seeking knowledge. If you had doubts and no one before you who could answer them, then fine. But now that someone is right in front of you, why are you ashamed to ask? Without a fearless heart, how can you walk the fearless Way?”

Liu Dahu’s face reddened beneath the Sword Saint’s rebuke.

Outside the commander’s tent, Chen Xianba and Zheng Man exchanged glances. Both looked slightly embarrassed.

They were the ones who had encouraged Liu Dahu to approach the Sword Saint.

“Dad, I’m afraid I’ll ask something I shouldn’t, and the Prince will blame me.”

The Sword Saint shot his stepson an irritated look.

“Would he put you to death under military law just because you asked one question? Would he cut your head off?”

The unspoken meaning was obvious.

Was your father's face truly worth that little?

Everyone understood this sort of unwritten rule.

The problem was that Liu Dahu had always been unwilling to acknowledge it.

A young man naturally possessed a young man’s pride.

The Sword Saint waved one hand.

“Look at you. Pathetic.”

Liu Dahu could only leave.

Chen Xianba reached out and patted his shoulder.

“Forget it. We’ll go ask ourselves.”

Even personal guards had their ranks and distinctions.

The three of them were responsible for matters inside and outside the Prince’s commander’s tent.

In later terminology, they were essentially orderlies.

The moon was bright and the stars sparse.

The army had camped for the night.

They were already not far from Sanshan Pass. The Vanguard Army might even have begun making contact with the enemy by now.

Yet the Central Army command tent remained completely unhurried.

Chen Xianba waved one hand.

Liu Dahu entered carrying freshly brewed tea.

Zheng Man followed with washing water.

Chen Xianba came in last and began topping up the lamp oil inside the tent.

Everything was exactly the same as usual.

Prince Pingxi reclined sideways on a tiger-skin rug, reading a book.

The greater army had been divided into three routes.

The route commanded personally by Zheng Fan had then been split again into Vanguard, Central, and Rear Armies.

So at this moment, there were actually not many memorials requiring the Prince’s personal attention.

The book had been found inside the Zhao palace.

It recorded the private scandals of Zhao’s rulers across the generations.

This should have been one of the royal house’s greatest secrets.

Yet the Zhao court had always maintained officials responsible for keeping such records.

Naturally, the books could never be shown to the public.

Only each new Ruler of Zhao was permitted to browse them and discover what sort of things his own ancestors had done.

Zheng Fan skipped everything involving state affairs, foreign relations, and court politics.

He read only the private scandals.

There was no shortage of incidents involving fathers bedding their sons’ wives.

He was right in the middle of enjoying himself when he suddenly noticed that the three boys had finished their tasks but still had not left.

Zheng Fan lowered the book.

He looked at them.

Chen Xianba dropped to his knees first and saluted.

“Your Highness, this subordinate has one matter concerning our present march that I do not understand. I do not know whether I should ask.”

Liu Dahu and Zheng Man knelt as well.

All three intended to become generals.

Liu Dahu still needed time to grow.

Zheng Man had possessed enough wolfishness since childhood.

As for Chen Xianba, given his accomplishments and ability, he could already have been sent outside to serve as an Assistant General without anyone finding it strange.

All three were ambitious.

While serving beside the Prince, they constantly tried to observe, understand, and learn.

After all... everyone in the army knew that General Liang Cheng and General Jin Shuke had both been personally trained by the Prince.

But armies also had rules.

Some questions could be asked.

Others could not.

The three brothers genuinely could not judge where the line lay.

Even Chen Xianba, the most hot-tempered of them, had always behaved as obediently as a quail before the Prince.

That was why they had earlier tried to persuade Liu Dahu to bring the question to the Sword Saint.

They could all see how the Prince and Sword Saint interacted in daily life.

More importantly... the Sword Saint constantly asked the Prince questions about one thing or another.

But when the Sword Saint asked something, it was because he himself wanted to know.

He was not about to become a tutor for these three boys, ask Zheng Fan on their behalf, then come back and explain the answer to them.

What kind of arrangement would that be?

“Ask.”

The moment the Prince gave permission, all three boys visibly relaxed.

Chen Xianba spoke.

“Your Highness, this subordinate learned that when Count Yishan originally wanted to set an ambush in advance and swallow the Zhao force returning from Sanshan Pass to protect the capital, Third Master stopped him according to Your Highness’s command. Then why, now that the same force has returned inside Sanshan Pass, is our army marching there to attack it?”

Why refuse to attack them in the open field... only to wait until they returned behind a fortified pass before fighting?

Was this not taking off one’s pants just to fart?

No.

It was taking off one’s pants, putting on stilts, and only then farting.

Zheng Fan’s fingertips tapped lightly against the command table.

“Because this Prince did not anticipate that Zhao’s capital would simply open its gates and surrender on its own. That had a major effect on my original arrangement.”

Sometimes, when your opponent suddenly became absurdly incompetent, it was not necessarily time to celebrate.

Your own rhythm could easily be ruined along with his.

You appeared to have gained an advantage.

But what followed might instead leave you without a clear next step.

Zheng Fan lifted his tea and took a sip.

Then continued:

“Zhao is a tiny state. If no major power interfered behind it, Yan, Chu, or Qian could destroy it with ease. This Zhao capital itself was never important enough for this Prince to value so highly. My original plan was for the three route armies to maneuver and plunder. On one hand, that would pressure the Qian-Chu coalition in Liang. On the other, it would allow us to search for weaknesses. It is rather like those fake martial experts in the jianghu who circle each other several times before exchanging blows. The essence is much the same. Like playing a board game. This Prince had already placed my move. Next it should have been their turn to answer. Only after seeing their move could I respond accordingly. For a general, traveling a thousand li alone and favoring strange, unexpected troops is ability. When this Prince was young, I liked doing that too. But back then, I was only one general beneath the Prince’s command. A supreme commander must think about the entire board. Li Fusheng could lose. If he lost, the situation merely became passive. If this Prince loses, the entire board collapses. You need to understand the difference. The most recent man who failed to understand it carried the surname Nian. He is now serving as a eunuch inside the imperial palace in Yanjing.”

The three boys nodded together like chicks pecking grain.

Zheng Fan continued:

“At first, I did not swallow that Zhao army returning from Sanshan Pass because there was no need. Doing so would instead have disrupted this Prince’s own rhythm. Now Zhao’s capital has fallen into my hands, and that commander surnamed Guan at Sanshan Pass has proclaimed himself king. His official family is actually still inside the Zhao capital and has already been detained. But I hear he also kept another household outside, which means he has an illegitimate son. He himself is not especially old either. More importantly, with Great Yan’s army pressing down upon him, he dared openly proclaim himself king and raise a banner against Yan. He must have something supporting him. And when he previously defended Sanshan Pass, he actively cooperated with the Qian-Chu coalition in surrounding and destroying Count Huwei. That means he has deep connections with Qian and Chu. I imagine news of what happened in Zhao’s capital has already reached Liang. That General Guan dared proclaim himself king because someone gave him assurances. He now possesses enough confidence to gamble for the wealth and glory of a Dragon Throne.”

Liu Dahu was still digesting the Prince’s explanation.

Zheng Man had fallen into thought.

Chen Xianba suddenly raised his head.

Understanding flashed across his face.

“Your Highness never cared about that Zhao army from the beginning. Your Highness’s target... isn’t that Zhao army.”

Zheng Fan looked at Chen Xianba.

By rights, this should have been the moment to reveal a gratified smile and praise the boy for being teachable.

But perhaps Zheng Fan had spent too many years being the villain.

Perhaps the darker part of his heart had simply grown too large.

Or perhaps... back in the days when Zheng Fan stood before Prince Jingnan, he had possessed almost exactly this same image of dazzling talent.

Looking at Chen Xianba now... was like looking at his younger self.

Except Zheng Fan had Liang Cheng giving him private lessons behind the scenes.

Sometimes he could even learn the exam questions in advance and memorize the answers.

Chen Xianba relied entirely upon his own talent.

This child who had walked out of a fishing village in Yan... was genuinely born to become a great general.

Chen Xianba had no idea what thoughts were passing through the Prince’s mind.

He continued excitedly:

“This is Your Highness responding to the enemy’s move. That man proclaimed himself king. So Your Highness used the opportunity to order Count Yishan to lead the Vanguard Army against Sanshan Pass, while Your Highness personally brought the Central Army forward behind him.”

As Chen Xianba spoke, he rose and walked to the map hanging at the front of the command tent.

His finger landed on one position before Sanshan Pass.

“Our army is camped here right now. If we continue east, we reach Sanshan Pass. But this subordinate believes Your Highness never intended to march from here directly to Sanshan Pass and join the battle at all. Instead, beginning tomorrow, Your Highness intends to circle around from this point. Our army consists mainly of cavalry. We can cover distance much faster than the Qian-Chu coalition. And Your Highness is most skilled at wide cavalry flanking maneuvers. At Sanshan Pass, there must already be Qian-Chu troops waiting. They intend to take advantage of our assault upon the Zhao defenders and launch a counter-ambush against us. But Your Highness already saw through the move. Count Yishan’s Vanguard Army is the bait. Our Central Army is the hand waiting behind it. We will circle behind Sanshan Pass, cut off the retreat of that Qian-Chu force, and then crush it between front and rear!”

The more Chen Xianba spoke, the more excited he became.

He even began drawing circles repeatedly around the Sanshan Pass region with his finger.

“Sanshan Pass is the hinge between Zhao and Liang. Once we take it and swallow this Qian-Chu force, Liang’s western gate will stand completely open before our army. The entire defensive structure inside Liang will develop a breach. At that point... if the Qian-Chu coalition ignores the opening, our army can immediately pour through and infiltrate Liang, shifting from passive to active in one stroke. Once we latch onto them, at least half the other coalition forces will lose any chance of withdrawing from Liang. We will have cut off their road home. If they try to close the hole instead, they will have no choice but to gather several other forces and drive us back by sheer strength. But then the defenses elsewhere will inevitably become empty. Our Left and Right Armies can enter Liang from Wei and Qi and reproduce the Battle of Sanshan Pass on a much larger scale, destroying the Qian-Chu coalition inside Liang in one stroke!”

“Ah!”

After saying all this...

Chen Xianba released a long sigh.

Then said:

“Your Highness, this subordinate regrets coming here to serve as your personal guard.”

“Your hands itch? You want to go out and command troops yourself?”

At that moment, Prince Pingxi was quietly drawing out a cigarette.

Liu Dahu, still in the middle of “digesting” the explanation, instinctively rose with a fire striker to light it.

Then he noticed that the cigarette in the Prince’s hand was trembling slightly.

Liu Dahu “understood.”

He took the cigarette from the Prince’s fingers and tapped it against the back of his own hand.

Tian Tian had taught him that little detail when they first marched out through South Gate Pass.

Chen Xianba shook his head.

“I realized that I may never finish learning Your Highness’s art of war in this lifetime. If I don’t learn, I can’t accept it. If I leave before learning enough, I won’t be willing to go either.”

Now that... was flattery.

And yet anyone could see that the boy spoke from the heart.

Even a fool could tell this child carried enormous fortune.

The old scholar in the fishing village had ignored the perfectly legitimate Heir of Prince Zhenbei Residence and devoted all his attention to Chen Xianba instead.

Clearly, in that old scholar’s eyes, once this boy matured, his achievements would not fall below those of the princely heir.

Chen Xianba possessed astonishing martial talent.

And now he displayed equal talent for military strategy.

It inevitably reminded Zheng Fan of Old Tian.

The God of War of Great Yan in the eyes of the world.

“No matter. The art of war still requires contemplation and actual practice. In the future, you’ll have plenty of opportunities.”

Zheng Fan hesitated briefly.

In the end, he did not offer Chen Xianba a small independent command so the boy could personally enter the game during this campaign.

It was not because Zheng Fan was stingy.

Nor because he feared Chen Xianba growing too quickly.

In truth... handing someone opportunities too generously could become another form of killing through praise.

Go charge.

Go storm the formation.

Walk beside the river long enough and your shoes would eventually become wet.

No matter how extraordinary Chen Xianba’s talent, he did not possess the same configuration Zheng Fan had enjoyed in the old days with seven Demon Kings constantly beside him.

Send the boy out too early... and he might die before truly growing.

“Yes, Your Highness. This subordinate understands.”

“Come, Xianba. Come here.”

Chen Xianba looked puzzled.

But he obediently approached.

“Closer.”

“Bend down.”

“Lower.”

“Bring your head over here.”

Chen Xianba had almost prostrated himself before the Prince.

Prince Pingxi reached out and rubbed the back of his head.

Then... rubbed it again.

“All right. You may go. In the future, if there is something you want to ask, ask directly.”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

His question answered and the Prince’s promise received, Chen Xianba happily led Liu Dahu and Zheng Man out of the command tent.

Zheng Fan remained seated behind the command table for a while.

Then he rose.

He suddenly felt stifled and wanted to step outside for air.

But the moment he emerged from the command tent, he saw the Sword Saint standing nearby.

Zheng Fan was startled.

“Why didn’t you make any sound?”

There was a faint note of complaint in his voice.

The Sword Saint said:

“I was in the tent next to yours. Longyuan sensed that trace of... killing intent you released just now.”

“Mm?”

Zheng Fan looked genuinely surprised.

The Sword Saint continued:

“I assume it wasn’t directed at my Dahu.”

“What kind of nonsense are you thinking?”

The Sword Saint said:

“If it really had been directed at my Dahu, I might actually have felt rather gratified.”

“My horizons are not that narrow,” Zheng Fan said. “But I’m still an ordinary person. Is it not perfectly normal to occasionally reveal an emotion? If I see a beautiful woman on the street, then because she is beautiful, I may look twice. But it stops at looking twice. I haven’t fallen so low that I need to abduct civilian women. Take the Queen of Zhao. Oh, no. She’s the Queen Mother now. That figure of hers, tsk-tsk. And yet did I touch so much as one finger?”

The Sword Saint looked at Zheng Fan.

“Third Master once argued with Mr. Bei. I happened to hear one sentence.”

“What sentence?”

“Explanation is concealment. Concealment proves the fact. You’ve said rather too much just now.”

“You suddenly told me I released killing intent. Of course I panicked a little.”

“So I struck the thought in your heart?”

Zheng Fan did not answer.

“You’re about to have children of your own. Two of them, even. They cannot both be daughters. Once you have a son, things change. Just as they did for Tian Wujing back then. You killed Zhao Jiulang because of what Zhao Jiulang did in those years. But ask yourself now. Do you also worry that once Chen Xianba grows up, he might become another... present-day you?”

“I have more breadth than that.”

“I know.”

Zheng Fan simply sat down on the ground.

“People themselves are contradictions. I admire Chen Xianba. I genuinely hope to teach him well. And there is one thing you said wrong.”

The Sword Saint raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“I’m not afraid of Chen Xianba becoming like me. I’m afraid... that he won’t become like me.”

The Sword Saint pondered the words.

Then slowly nodded.

Zheng Fan patted his knee and continued:

“Old Yu, you and I are as close as brothers.”

“That’s a bit much...”

“You should understand me. I, Zheng Fan, have always despised ritual law, ancestral institutions, imperial authority, and rules from the bottom of my heart. But how did I treat Old Tian?”

The Sword Saint smiled.

If Chen Xianba could one day treat Prince Pingxi the way Prince Pingxi had treated Prince Jingnan... then there truly was nothing to worry about.

“And another thing. You said you sensed a tiny thread of killing intent.”

“Yes.”

“It wasn’t because I fear Chen Xianba escaping my control in the future. Nor was I worried my own son might one day be unable to suppress him. None of those thoughts ever actually crossed my mind. At that moment... I may simply have felt... a tiny bit jealous of him.”

Zheng Fan planted both hands behind himself and leaned back beneath the moonlight.

“Looking at him reminds me of who I used to be. It makes me feel as though I...”

The Sword Saint interrupted:

“Actually, you’re not that old.”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Old.”

The Sword Saint did not sit beside him.

He remained standing.

“I think it may be because you’ve spent too long standing in the rear. Next time, you could personally charge forward again. Perhaps then you’ll feel young once more.”

“No, no, no. You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Sitting in the rear and sighing that I’ve ‘grown old’ is itself a kind of emotional indulgence and... enjoyment.”

“Heh.”

For some reason, the Sword Saint suddenly remembered those three words Mr. Li often liked to say.

Applied to this Prince... the more one savored them, the more appropriate they seemed.

“Besides,” Zheng Fan continued, “if I personally charge the front, your son is my personal guard. He’ll have to charge with me. At that point, who do you protect first? Your son or me?”

The Sword Saint answered without the slightest hesitation:

“My son.”

“You could at least pretend to think about it before answering. There was no need to be that fast.”

The Sword Saint shook his head.

“If I hesitated, I’d be afraid you might misunderstand.”

“Hiss...”

Zheng Fan pointed at the Sword Saint.

“Old Yu, you really are nothing like the old you. How did you become so...”

“Why did you stop?”

“I don’t want to say it anymore. I’m afraid you might misunderstand.”

Zheng Fan slapped the dirt from his backside and stood.

“Sleep. Sleep. Tomorrow we start moving quickly.”

He turned toward the command tent.

Then stopped and looked back at the Sword Saint.

“You said just now that I’ve spent too long out of the front line and lost my youth. Actually, if the battle is going smoothly, I’m simply too lazy to go up there and show off. Any battle that truly requires me to personally lead the royal banner and press forward... is always the most dangerous and urgent kind.”

“So what exactly does our Prince mean by that? Are you afraid they’ll be difficult to fight? After all, these are the people who defeated Li Fusheng.”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“No. I’m afraid they won’t put up enough of a fight. I’m afraid they won’t have enough bite.”

[End of Chapter 838]