Chapter 900: Relieving Military Command Over a Cup of Wine

Keyan Dongge dropped to his knees first.

He knelt hard enough that the blue bricks paving the rear garden of the old Marquis Residence cracked beneath his knees.

In truth, he had wanted to kneel much earlier.

The former young lord of the Keyan Tribe was now its rightful clan chief. The wind and sand of the desert had scoured the innocence and romance from him long ago.

His tribe’s long migration had nominally been presented as part of the Barbarian Royal Court’s “dowry.” In reality, they had been the defeated side in a struggle within the desert, exiled from their homeland and forced to move far away.

One could say that from the moment Keyan Dongge and his people arrived at Snow Sea Pass, they had already fallen to the very bottom.

No.

Even before that.

When the migrating Keyan Tribe passed Fengxin City on the way to Snow Sea Pass, Prince Jingnan had detained Keyan Dongge’s father and the tribal elders.

Back then, Keyan Dongge had been lost.

He had been fragile.

The totem of the Keyan Tribe had seemed like rootless duckweed beneath a rainstorm, liable to scatter at any moment.

But when a man had fallen to the absolute bottom, that often meant the situation could no longer become worse.

There was no path farther down.

The only direction left was upward.

For Keyan Dongge to reach his present position as Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass, his Barbarian birth had certainly been a kind of reverse political correctness during the early years of Prince Pingxi Residence.

At Snow Sea Pass in the north stood Keyan Dongge.

At Zhennan Pass in the south stood Jin Shuke.

Both were Barbarians.

That had been one of the earliest foundations upon which Prince Pingxi Residence established itself in eastern Jin.

It had also been part of the Residence’s confidence in dealing with the imperial court.

Back then, if they had placed Yan generals or Jin generals in command of those two strategic passes, the Blind Man would not have felt at ease.

The Prince would not have slept soundly either.

But setting aside the favor of circumstance, Keyan Dongge’s own ability was beyond question.

On campaign after campaign, his skill in leading troops and coordinating armies had been proven plainly enough.

In truth, the moment his subordinates reported that the Prince had entered Snow Sea Pass, Keyan Dongge had already realized something was wrong.

He was not stupid.

Not stupid at all.

But intelligence had never been absolute.

A clever person was merely clever more often than others, or perhaps exceptionally capable in certain matters. That did not mean he excelled at everything.

Most of the time, people instinctively numbed themselves. They told themselves it was nothing. Only when a sudden blow finally landed did they panic and realize what all those earlier actions would mean once the paper covering them was torn away and the matter was placed before the Prince.

Especially when they had to face the Prince themselves.

At the gates of the old Marquis Residence, Keyan Dongge had actually wanted to kneel right there.

Unfortunately... today, by coincidence, he had been inspecting outside the city.

By the time he arrived, a large crowd of Snow Sea Pass’s civil and military officials was already gathered outside.

Everyone was clearly waiting for him.

If he had been first to arrive, or at least among the first group, he could simply have dropped to his knees in front of the gate.

Then who among those arriving afterward would have had the nerve to remain standing?

Everyone would have knelt together.

They might not even have understood why, but kneeling first was harmless.

What was that called?

The law does not punish a crowd.

But now everyone was obviously waiting for him to enter together.

If the final man to arrive suddenly knelt outside the gate, then wonderful—everyone would immediately understand exactly what was happening.

The principle that the law does not punish the crowd only worked when everyone remained equally muddled.

Once people had an opportunity to draw a clear line between themselves and the guilty party, who would willingly stand in the same crowd?

So Keyan Dongge could not kneel at the gates.

Kneeling there would amount to openly confessing guilt.

Then everything would have to proceed through formal channels, with his crimes judged in the full light of day.

That would be an enormous loss.

Keyan Dongge might not have been among the very earliest direct retainers who followed the Prince from the beginning, but compared with those who came later, and considering that the Keyan Tribe had joined at one of Prince Pingxi Residence’s most critical moments, he could still count as half an old retainer of the Residence.

If the goodwill owed to an old retainer still existed, yet he stupidly insisted on following the “proper road” and having his crimes judged formally... would that not be idiotic?

But the moment Keyan Dongge entered the old Residence carrying those little calculations in his head and saw Tian Tian and Ji Chuanye sorting memorials aloud... his heart dropped.

There was an old saying among the people of Xia:

A man does not shed tears until he sees the coffin.

Only now did Keyan Dongge truly understand how profound that saying was.

Only when one faced the Prince’s authority directly did one suddenly remember, with perfect clarity, exactly what kind of man their Prince was.

And he... had actually been hoping for luck.

He had actually been hoping to rely on old affection.

Shangjing had fallen.

Even if the Qian-Chu alliance had not formally collapsed, it no longer possessed the strength to launch another active offensive northward against Yan.

Under those circumstances, the larger situation of Great Yan and eastern Jin would become extremely stable.

Which meant the Prince could now free his hands and casually deal with certain problems that had previously been inconvenient to touch.

So when Keyan Dongge saw the Prince himself standing ahead... after his thoughts had already turned a hundred times on the way in... the moment he heard the Prince tell him to “take the seat”... his mind simply broke.

In the past, what Keyan Dongge felt toward the Prince had been reverence and fear.

No matter what else, the Prince was still their Prince.

He led them into war.

He brought them promotions, wealth, territory, and military merit.

But once he truly stood face-to-face with the Prince, once that thin veil of “we are on the same side” was torn away... terror flooded his entire chest.

After Keyan Dongge dropped to his knees, every civil and military official behind him immediately followed.

“This subject pays respects to Your Highness!”

“This subordinate general pays respects to Your Highness!”

“May Your Highness enjoy health and fortune!”

“All of you, rise,” the Prince said.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

The crowd stood.

Only Keyan Dongge remained kneeling.

Under circumstances like these, how could he possibly be naive enough to rise merely because everyone else did?

But among the crowd were seven or eight armored Barbarian officers, ranging in rank from Assistant General to Guerrilla General.

They had risen with everyone else.

Then they saw Keyan Dongge still kneeling.

Silently... all seven or eight knelt back down.

“Hiss...”

“Hiss...”

The civil officials present collectively sucked in cold breaths.

Prefect Wen simply stared.

The Yan had always regarded the Barbarians as the embodiment of barbarity, almost another species of beast.

But in truth, Barbarians were not stupid.

There had never been any shortage of outstanding Barbarian figures.

Eastern Jin itself had several Barbarian generals whom the Prince trusted heavily.

The problem was that, under their generally rough and direct customs, there were certain rules and taboos they genuinely did not understand.

They were simply... too straight-minded.

And that was exactly why everyone else was so horrified.

By now, it was almost painfully obvious that the Prince had come to deal with the Chief Commander.

The Chief Commander himself was already kneeling there, waiting to be punished.

And now you eight idiots stood up, saw him still kneeling, then deliberately knelt down beside him again?

What did that mean?

Collective pressure?

A demonstration?

Threatening the Prince?

Prefect Wen’s horror was different from everyone else’s.

Originally, he had been delighted to see the Prince deal with Keyan Dongge.

This big military brute had carried forward the Prince’s own habits from the old Snow Sea Pass days.

He was nominally in charge of the army, yet in practice he constantly thrust his hands into local civil affairs that should have belonged to the Prefect’s yamen.

Prefect Wen had sent more than a few quiet complaints back to Prince Pingxi Residence over the years.

This fellow truly had no idea how to restrain himself.

Now, good.

The Prince had finally come looking for him.

Prefect Wen ought to have been waiting happily for better days.

But if Keyan Dongge behaved too rigidly, too directly...

No.

Too idiotically... would that not mean the Prefect who had been unable to restrain such a fool and had instead been suppressed by him at every turn was an even greater piece of useless trash?

Keyan Dongge heard the movement behind him.

He slowly turned his face.

Eight of his subordinate generals were kneeling there.

Every last one was a Barbarian.

Keyan Dongge opened his mouth.

“I...”

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to leap to his feet, draw his saber, and hack these morons apart himself.

Were they afraid he was not dying quickly enough?

“Hahahahaha.”

The Prince’s laughter came from ahead.

Keyan Dongge immediately lowered his head again.

Face toward the ground, he said with perfect sincerity:

“Your Highness, this subordinate general is guilty. I beg Your Highness to punish me. Whatever punishment Your Highness gives, this subordinate will accept willingly!”

Whatever happened, first lower the posture.

Then... something even more fatal happened.

The Barbarian generals behind him, acting out of the deeply honorable belief that blessings and hardships should be shared together, shouted in unison:

“We are willing to accept punishment on behalf of the Chief Commander!”

“...” Keyan Dongge.

This time, the other civil and military officials of Snow Sea Pass instinctively edged away from the Barbarians still kneeling on the ground.

Fuck.

These people had formed a whole squad and were charging straight into the fire pit.

Better move farther away before the flames spread.

“Good. Very good. Hearts united from top to bottom.” The Prince smiled. “Dongge, you have done very well. This Prince has trusted you for all these years, and clearly that trust was not misplaced. With Snow Sea Pass in your hands, it must be impregnable and absolutely secure.”

“Your... Your Highness...”

“Come. Stand up.”

Keyan Dongge did not move.

He merely looked up at the Prince with despair and innocence written across his face.

“Stand up!”

Keyan Dongge shot to his feet.

He moved so quickly that he nearly pitched forward, but managed to steady himself.

“Come here.”

Keyan Dongge obeyed.

His steps were unsteady as he approached the Prince.

“Stand here.”

He stopped directly in front of Zheng Fan.

The Prince reached behind him, dragged the chair over, and placed it behind Keyan Dongge.

“Sit.”

“Your Highness, this subordinate would not dare. This subordinate is guilty, but this subordinate has never once—”

“This Prince told you to sit. Sit down!”

Keyan Dongge’s entire body trembled as he lowered himself.

Calling it sitting would have been generous.

He looked more like a man holding a horse stance.

His body had lowered, but his backside had not even touched the chair.

Two hands descended onto his shoulders from behind.

The Prince applied the lightest downward pressure.

Keyan Dongge did not dare resist.

At last, he sat properly in the chair.

“That’s better. That’s better.”

The Prince stood behind him smiling.

Keyan Dongge, Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass, a Barbarian man who had eaten the desert’s sand, swallowed the snowfields’ snow, and charged through battle formations more times than he could count, now had tears and snot running uncontrollably down his face.

The sight was absurd.

Yet not one person present had the slightest desire to laugh at the Chief Commander’s appearance.

The gentler the Prince’s expression became... the heavier the shadow pressing upon everyone’s heart.

“Come, all of you. Join me in paying respects to our new Prince!”

With that...

Zheng Fan stepped out from behind the chair.

He lightly slapped one sleeve of his python robe and made as though he were about to kneel.

Smack!

Keyan Dongge moved first.

He slid straight off the chair.

His whole body slammed face-first into the ground.

This time, he truly broke.

He screamed:

“Your Highness! This wretched slave knows he was wrong! This wretched slave knows he was wrong! This wretched slave betrayed Your Highness’s trust! This wretched slave is an animal! An animal who deserves ten thousand deaths! Your Highness! Your Highness! This wretched slave was wrong! Your Highness!”

Keyan Dongge understood.

If the Prince truly knelt... his terror would no longer come merely from seeing Zheng Fan lower himself before him.

The greater horror was what would happen afterward.

The moment the Prince genuinely knelt, dust would fall upon the Prince’s dignity.

And to wash away even that tiny speck of dust... every officer originating from the Keyan Tribe would be purged.

The Keyan Tribe itself would cease to exist.

His wives and concubines.

His children.

His tribesmen.

All of them... would be erased.

“Your Highness, you must not! Your Highness!”

Prefect Wen immediately dropped to the ground as well and cried:

“Your Highness, this subject is guilty too! This subject is guilty! Your Highness, please preserve your dignity!”

“This subject is guilty! Your Highness, please preserve your dignity!”

Everyone dropped to their knees.

This time, foreheads struck the blue-brick paving hard.

Nobody dared fake it.

The matter no longer concerned Keyan Dongge alone.

In reality, it had already entangled the entire governing system of Snow Sea Pass.

The Prince stopped.

Silently, he walked back, pulled the chair over, and sat down himself.

Keyan Dongge lay fully prostrate on the ground.

Still pressed flat, he shuffled around until his head rested beside the Prince’s boot.

Zheng Fan lifted one foot.

Keyan Dongge immediately crawled forward slightly.

When the Prince’s foot came down... the sole of his boot rested directly on Keyan Dongge’s head.

This was a Barbarian custom.

The weak offered everything to the strong.

Including dignity.

The afternoon wind swept through the mighty frontier pass.

It entered the somewhat desolate rear garden of the old Marquis Residence as well, stirring every person’s robes and hair.

Everything was moving.

And yet the entire scene seemed frozen in place.

...

“Isn’t he afraid?”

Far away in the flower garden, the Sword Maid watched the scene and asked her master curiously.

By now, Tian Tian and Ji Chuanye had already carried their memorials over and sat nearby.

Both boys were somewhat tired.

The stacks were heavy.

Tian Tian could manage them well enough.

Ji Chuanye genuinely found the weight difficult.

But the Crown Prince was very competitive in certain matters.

Especially when he had just sat down panting for breath and caught that pretty elder sister looking at him with a trace of disdain.

His small pride had been lightly pricked.

So he answered before anyone else.

“Godfather doesn’t need to be afraid at all. Afraid of what? Elder Sister is worried that Chief Commander Keyan Dongge might directly bring troops over and surround the old Marquis Residence?”

The Crown Prince looked at her.

“Elder Sister, this is eastern Jin. This is Godfather’s fief. When Godfather crossed the Wang River with light cavalry, a single princely order could summon the armies of all Jin to gather beneath him. How could he possibly stumble here, inside his own fief, while facing his own direct troops? Godfather did not move any other armies toward Snow Sea Pass this time. He did not even bring the Brocade-Clad personal guards into the city, because Godfather knows this Snow Sea Pass belongs to him. The soldiers here belong to him. Barbarians have ferocity. Imperial Grandfather once told me that the resilience of the Barbarians was no weaker than that of old Yan men. But Keyan Dongge would still need the courage to rebel first. If he dared mobilize troops and bring them here, all Godfather would need to do is appear before those soldiers and wave his hand. They would immediately turn their weapons around. Besides, Elder Sister, the memorials Elder Brother Tian Tian and I carried over were collected long ago and brought with us. Even the merchant caravan that received us when we entered the city had already been arranged. That proves preparations were made throughout the city in advance. In other words, from the moment Godfather himself returned to this old Marquis Residence, Snow Sea Pass and every soldier and civilian in it were already back under his control. Heh-heh. Even if that Barbarian truly drew his saber and tried something reckless, forget having an army willing to follow him. I doubt even those seven or eight fools who knelt down behind him earlier would actually join him in rebellion.”

The Sword Maid turned and looked at Ji Chuanye.

“You talk too much.”

Ji Chuanye refused to concede.

“That’s because I’ve been thinking the entire time. I was wondering what I would do if I faced the same situation.”

“What would you do?” the Sword Maid asked. “You’re the Crown Prince.”

Ji Chuanye narrowed his eyes.

A perfectly innocent child’s smile appeared on his face.

“Elder Sister, you’re trying to sow discord.”

The Sword Maid’s face reddened.

Half because her intention had been exposed.

Half because she felt humiliated that her mind had apparently lost to this little brat.

Ji Chuanye continued:

“Forget me, the Crown Prince. Even if Imperial Father himself were standing here, if that Barbarian truly became desperate enough, I’m afraid he might still dare cut down Imperial Father.”

The Sword Maid looked surprised.

“You’d say that about your own father?”

“Ai. Imperial Father once said the so-called House of Heaven is only the House of Heaven when other people treat it that way. If you yourself are the only one who takes it seriously, it is completely useless.”

“Then compared with Prince Pingxi Residence, your House of Heaven really has no presence at all.”

“Elder Sister, that isn’t sowing discord anymore. Now you’re just forcing the argument.”

As he spoke, Ji Chuanye reached out and wrapped both hands around Tian Tian’s arm.

“Imperial Father has his elder brother.”

Then he added:

“And I have mine.”

Tian Tian grinned.

He reached over and rubbed his little brother’s head.

“Good little brother.”

...

The wind in the rear garden showed no sign of stopping.

Everyone remained uneasy.

No one knew how today’s scene would end.

Naturally... everything depended upon the will of the man in the white python robe seated before them.

“Dongge.”

The Prince finally spoke.

“This wretched slave is here...”

Keyan Dongge’s head remained beneath Zheng Fan’s boot.

“This was this Prince’s mistake. I threw you here too early. I neglected your discipline. That is why your heart grew wild.”

“No... this wretched slave let greed blind his heart. This wretched slave blinded himself. I betrayed Your Highness’s expectations. It was this slave’s fault. This slave’s fault...”

There was, in truth, one sentence neither Zheng Fan nor Keyan Dongge said aloud.

Keyan Dongge had merely been imitating the Zheng Fan of old Snow Sea Pass.

More than that... what Keyan Dongge had done was not even one-tenth as presumptuous as Zheng Fan himself had once been.

The problem was simple.

Back then, the man above Zheng Fan had been Prince Jingnan.

The man above Keyan Dongge... was Zheng Fan himself.

There were some things one could do personally... but could never permit others to do.

“This Prince worries you have become too powerful to control.”

Every civil and military official present froze at those words.

This...

Could such a thing really be said so directly?

Not even a little polite cover?

No convenient excuse?

No perfunctory fiction?

“Your Highness...”

Hearing those words, Keyan Dongge actually choked with emotion.

At the same time, he released an enormous breath inside his heart.

“The street outside the main gate of Prince Pingxi Residence in Fengxin City has always been filthy. The people sweeping it are not diligent enough. This Prince intends to replace them. Choose a group of men inside this pass whom you trust. Come back to Fengxin City with this Prince. You can sweep the street.”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s grace! This slave will not disappoint Your Highness again!”

Zheng Fan lifted his foot.

But Keyan Dongge immediately reached out and grabbed the Prince’s boot.

“Your Highness, please... step on me a little longer. Just a little longer. This slave feels safer this way... safer this way.”

[End of Chapter 900]