Chapter 947: Declaration of War!

Just as A’Ming liked drinking and the Blind Man liked peeling oranges, what Liang Cheng loved was training troops.

The difference was that the other Demon Kings all understood the balance between work and rest. When there was work to do, they worked. When it was time to enjoy themselves, they never held back or mistreated themselves. Even Siniang, who had spent all these years constantly managing the accounts, had still found time to have a child.

Liang Cheng, however, had remained fixed in one position all this time.

And unfortunately... that position truly could not do without him.

The other Demon Kings were not good at commanding armies.

That did not mean they could not learn. No one doubted their capacity to learn.

The real problem was that their personalities simply did not suit the role of commanding an entire army.

Thinking this far...

Zheng Fan felt a trace of guilt.

Because if one said there truly was no one in the household who could replace A’Cheng... that was not entirely accurate.

There was still one person.

Himself.

In his earlier years, he had learned from Liang Cheng.

Then from Li Fusheng.

Then from Tian Wujing.

And throughout all of it, he had placed great emphasis upon actual practice.

Without exaggeration, Zheng Fan could say that although his present level certainly did not match the freakish heights of the famous generals of the age, and his reputation as a “God of War” was somewhat inflated... he could still sit comfortably near the front of the second row behind those true military gods.

The problem was... he was lazy.

He wanted to enjoy life.

Especially over these past years, with wife, children, and warm bed all around him, he had become far too comfortable acting as a hands-off master.

And it was precisely Liang Cheng’s selfless dedication that had allowed him to live so peacefully.

To a certain extent...

A’Cheng had taken the blade for him.

Taken the blade called... life.

Or perhaps survival.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

At that moment, the heavy-armored cavalry had already reached full speed and was thundering past before him.

The earth trembled beneath their charge.

Even now, their speed could not be called particularly fast.

But Zheng Fan understood cavalry warfare.

No.

More accurately, ever since the day he first entered military service, almost every battle he had fought had been fought with cavalry.

He knew perfectly well what kind of destruction these three thousand heavy riders could cause on a battlefield.

Not merely the concrete damage produced by impact.

When any army faced the charge of such iron cavalry... the most terrifying thing was the pressure upon the heart.

That pressure alone could make a formation collapse in an instant.

The Chu claimed that their infantry ranked first in All Xia.

But before these three thousand heavy riders...

Zheng Fan could state with certainty: they would shatter.

Because this was not simply “heavy armor.”

These three thousand men were the distilled elite of the entire eastern Jin army.

There were large numbers of ranked experts among them.

Their armor had been personally designed and organized for production by Xue San.

As for their mounts, Zheng Fan had used his own name to demand a large number of Pi Beasts from Great Yan’s Beast Directorate in Yanjing.

This was not merely another world’s “Iron Pagoda Cavalry.”

This... was a true beast of war.

A killing card.

At the critical moment, it could smash apart an enemy line directly, crush their will to fight, and reverse victory and defeat in a single instant.

Then Zheng Fan looked farther outward.

Below the platform stretched formations of armored soldiers as far as the eye could see.

All these years...

Liang Cheng had organized the annual mass drills of the Standard-Household soldiers.

Liang Cheng had organized the rotation and redeployment of the various armies.

Liang Cheng had spent years studying the infantry tactics that Yan lacked most.

In truth, it was no different from the Blind Man constantly longing for rebellion, or Siniang endlessly calculating development costs and returns.

For one goal... they worked.

They advanced.

They lined stone after stone into perfect order... all so that once everything was finally ready... they could gently push over the first one... and savor the pure joy that followed.

And now...

Zheng Fan would take this army... together with the other Yan armies that would soon arrive behind it... and fulfill his promise to unite All Xia.

Zheng Fan closed his eyes.

Beside his ears... the rolling thunder of hooves continued.

Below...

Liang Cheng, leading the heavy-armored cavalry forward, suddenly froze.

The baleful qi inside his body erupted sharply upward.

Hm?

A breakthrough?

It was not over.

The first surge had barely risen and its aftershock had not yet dissipated... when his aura erupted upward again!

Hm?

Another breakthrough?

Two consecutive breakthrough surges, together with the baleful qi pouring out of him, were more than even Liang Cheng could suppress immediately.

So inevitably... some of that baleful qi leaked outward.

The soldiers around him immediately saw what looked like black fire erupt across their Grand General’s body, blazing fiercely.

The Pi Beast beneath Liang Cheng appeared completely accustomed to this baleful qi.

Look closely, and one could see that part of its mane had already begun shifting faintly toward purple.

This was a sign of bloodline reversion.

In other words... during all the time it had spent with Liang Cheng, this Pi Beast had gradually learned how to absorb his baleful qi and use it to stimulate its own bloodline.

So not only did the aura not make it uncomfortable... it actually felt wonderful.

Liang Cheng sprang upward from the Pi Beast’s back.

His boots struck the railing of the high platform one step after another, borrowing force as he climbed.

When he landed atop the platform... he casually seized the pole of the Black Dragon Banner before him.

In the next instant... his baleful qi spread across the banner.

The sight was dazzling.

The soldiers in every direction had no idea anything unexpected had happened.

Naturally, they assumed this too was part of the grand review their Grand General had arranged in advance.

Most importantly... the scene was simply too stirring.

When Liang Cheng swept the Black Dragon Banner through the air... the armored soldiers below instinctively raised their weapons and roared:

“Grand General, mighty!”

“Grand General, mighty!”

By now...

Liang Cheng had finally brought the baleful qi produced by his double breakthrough under control.

He drove the flagpole into the platform.

Then dropped to one knee before Zheng Fan.

“Many thanks, Master!”

The soldiers around them saw this and their excitement was driven to an even higher peak.

“Long live the Prince!”

“Long live the Prince!”

“Long live the Prince! Long live! Long, long live!”

...

“Long live our Emperor! Long live! Long, long live!”

“My beloved ministers, dispense with ceremony and rise.”

Ji Chengjue sat upon the dragon throne, looking down at the officials kneeling below.

Two men remained standing.

One was Qian’s envoy.

The other...

Chu’s envoy.

After Jin was destroyed, what had once been the Four Great States of All Xia had become three.

At present, here in Great Yan’s court, the envoys from the smaller states had long since knelt along with the Yan officials.

Only the envoys of Qian and Chu still possessed enough national standing to preserve their dignity through a formal bow rather than kneeling.

But when everyone else knelt and only two men remained standing... from the Emperor’s perspective, the sight was somewhat glaring.

Ji Chengjue did not become angry over it.

An Emperor still needed enough breadth to embrace a hundred rivers.

The officials rose.

Today’s court session was a Great Court Assembly, with a particularly large number of ministers attending.

One of the main matters was that many foreign envoys would depart for their homelands the following day.

This functioned as their formal farewell.

States generally maintained permanent diplomatic personnel.

The Court of State Ceremonial existed specifically to handle such matters.

But envoys of truly significant rank—imperial commissioners representing their own rulers—did not remain permanently.

Most came once each year and stayed one or two months.

Only when major events occurred would additional high-ranking envoys be dispatched or their stay extended.

The envoys from smaller states stepped forward one after another.

The content of their speeches was broadly the same.

They thanked Great Yan and His Majesty the Emperor for their hospitality.

They hoped friendship between their states and Great Yan would endure forever.

Once the smaller envoys finished...

Qian’s envoy stepped forward first.

In Qian, serving as envoy to Yan was valuable political capital no matter the era.

After all... one had gone as an envoy to the tiger-and-wolf State of Yan.

Return home afterward, hire a few men to sing one’s praises, embellish the tale a little, arrange for some talkative members of the mission to invent stories... and suddenly the account became:

He stood calm before danger.

He entered the great hall filled with overwhelming righteous qi.

His mere presence intimidated the Yan Emperor.

There were countless stories like that.

For the past century, Qian had almost never defeated Yan on the battlefield.

But inside its stories...

Qian had never lost once.

During Emperor Renzong’s reign, in the famous age when “the court overflowed with upright ministers,” most of the great ministers involved had once served as envoys to Yan and used the experience to build enormous reputations.

“Your Majesty, Emperor of Great Yan. This envoy has one matter he does not understand. I ask Your Majesty for instruction.”

The Emperor did not respond.

Qian’s envoy continued:

“This envoy has heard that during the past two months, the State of Yan has seen unusually dense movements of troops, grain, and military supplies. May I ask Your Majesty what Yan intends? Today, Great Qian, Yan, and Chu have already laid down arms and extinguished the flames of war for five years. The people of every state have finally gained a chance to breathe. Does Yan now intend to repeat old deeds... and tear up the covenant once again?”

The Qian envoy’s questioning was extraordinarily rude.

He had already prepared himself.

Soon, several Yan ministers would surely leap out and denounce him as “insolent” and “arrogant.”

Then he could use that as an excuse to apologize and retreat.

That way, he could deliver the “interrogation” he wanted while preserving his own safety.

But... to the Qian envoy’s surprise... the hall remained utterly silent.

The Yan civil and military officials standing in two columns... not one stepped forward to rebuke him.

These days, the normal procedure of Yan’s court sessions had changed greatly because of the Grand Secretariat.

To improve efficiency, the Grand Secretariat collected issues in advance.

It decided which matters needed debate at court, submitted that agenda to the Emperor, and allowed him to add or remove items.

Only at the very end did the traditional question remain:

If there is business, present it. If there is none, court is dismissed.

In other words... did anyone still have some unlisted issue they urgently wished to raise?

So before entering court today, every civil and military official qualified to stand here had already received the agenda.

Some had been shocked.

Some stunned.

Some confused.

Some unable to understand.

But the leaders of the Grand Secretariat and the heads of the ministries had long since reached tacit agreement over the matter.

In fact, they had been involved for some time.

When the men above remained calm... the officials below could follow their lead.

And thus... accept what was coming.

Left standing alone in silence, Qian’s envoy began feeling uncomfortable.

He could only grit his teeth and continue.

“Could it be that Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Yan truly intends to reignite war and cast living beings into—”

“Yes.”

The Qian envoy froze.

Beside him, Chu’s envoy froze as well.

So did the envoys of every other state.

The Emperor seated upon the dragon throne looked toward the Chu envoy standing there.

At that moment, Qian’s envoy recovered from his shock and immediately shouted:

“Your Majesty the Emperor of Yan, do you mean to betray faith and righteousness, disregard ten thousand commoners cast into fire and water, and condemn the people to calamity without—”

“Keep making noise and We will invade Qian first.”

“...” the Qian envoy.

The envoy’s face immediately flushed crimson.

Partly from anger.

Partly from fear.

And partly from humiliation.

Outrageous.

Outrageous!

Barbarians.

Yan barbarians!

But no matter how furious he felt... at that instant... his lips pressed tightly shut.

If he actually thought about it rationally, deciding which state to attack first was obviously not something that could be changed on a whim.

Even an Emperor could not act that arbitrarily.

But this was Yan’s court.

And the man before him... was the Emperor of Yan.

Add the Yan people’s traditional disregard for such niceties... and Qian’s envoy genuinely fell silent.

“This envoy Jing Xueyi of Chu asks Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Yan: what precisely did Your Majesty mean by those words?”

...

“This envoy Jing Renli of Chu asks Your Highness the Regent Prince: what precisely did Your Highness mean by those words?”

Below Zhennan Pass, inside the central army’s command tent, Jing Renli faced ranks of military generals on both sides and the Regent Prince of Great Yan seated before him in a python robe.

He gathered his courage and forced himself to ask in a posture neither humble nor arrogant.

Jing Renli was a collateral member of the Jing Clan.

His rise over these years had, in fact, some connection to Zheng Fan.

Every year, Jing Renli came to Prince Pingxi Residence in eastern Jin as Chu’s envoy.

He visited Xiong Liqing and Big Girl.

Representing the Emperor of Chu, he delivered the maternal uncle’s gifts and affection.

That was precisely why Big Girl possessed such a favorable impression of her “Eldest Uncle” in Chu.

The one who had worked hard over the years to maintain that bridge... was Jing Renli.

Inside Chu, he held the post of Grandee.

It was not some overwhelmingly powerful office.

But he was one of the ministers the Emperor of Chu liked to keep close and make use of.

At that moment...

Eunuch Huang, standing beside the Regent Prince, stepped forward.

He now wore a great crimson robe, and his body had long since grown plump.

Curling one hand into an orchid-finger gesture, he addressed Jing Renli below.

“His Highness spoke so clearly. What is this? Has Your Excellency the Envoy developed some illness of the ears?”

Yes.

Eunuch Huang had come again.

Over these past few years, Eunuch Huang had long since withdrawn to the second line inside the palace.

Ordinarily speaking, what palace eunuchs feared most was retirement.

Not only the sorrow of tea cooling once a man departed, but the possibility that all those offended during his years of power might take revenge once he lost influence.

Eunuch Huang was different.

He had voluntarily requested retirement.

He usually lived in his own residence inside Yanjing, attended by servants.

Yet from time to time... he could still enter the palace and accompany His Majesty in conversation.

Among Great Yan’s palace eunuchs, he was a man who had personally gone onto the battlefield.

Not once.

Many times.

And while serving as Army Supervisor... he had maintained a perfect record of victory.

That was extraordinary seniority.

A foundation of iron beneath his feet.

Now he could live outside the palace with servants attending him, while still maintaining his relationship with the palace and the Emperor.

His old-ancestor prestige had never collapsed.

Life could scarcely have been more comfortable.

It was practically the ultimate dream of every grand eunuch after retirement.

Eunuch Huang knew perfectly well whom he owed all of that to.

And he felt equally fortunate that the relationship between His Majesty and the Regent Prince remained as sticky and intimate as glue.

That meant he could continue remembering the Prince’s kindness with no burden in his heart.

Some time earlier, the Emperor had issued a decree asking whether he still had enough strength left in his bones to make another journey to eastern Jin.

Eunuch Huang’s waist immediately stopped aching.

His legs no longer hurt.

His hands and feet became nimble again.

He hurried into the palace to see the Emperor and thumped his chest in guarantee.

“Your Majesty, this slave is willing to bend himself to exhaustion and die only after serving Great Yan to his last breath!”

Then... he rushed toward eastern Jin with the imperial decree and his attendants.

He arrived a full ten days ahead of expectation.

One could truly see the depth of Eunuch Huang’s yearning for the Regent Prince.

Jing Renli spoke solemnly.

“The Regent Prince asks Great Chu to cede another three commanderies? Your Highness, please calm your anger. This envoy does not even need to return and ask His Majesty. Right here, I can give Your Highness a clear reply. Great Chu... will never agree.”

Inside the command tent... the gathered generals all showed expressions of indifference.

Do we care whether you agree?

When do people need war?

When do they need soldiers?

When I want something... and you refuse to give it!

The reason Jing Renli had come to Zhennan Pass at this moment was simple.

Eastern Jin’s enormous movement of troops, grain, and supplies could not possibly be concealed.

Nor did eastern Jin appear to have any intention of hiding it.

Whether by reason or protocol...

Jing Renli had to make this trip.

“Your Highness, Yan and Chu have lived peacefully for five years. During those five years, although there have occasionally been small clashes along the frontier, the common people of both states have largely lived and worked in peace. His Majesty the Emperor of Great Chu has always regarded Your Highness as a confidant. And Your Highness is also Great Chu’s Imperial Son-in-Law. So why, at this moment... must Your Highness reignite war?”

...

“Why?”

The Emperor leaned slightly sideways upon the dragon throne and pointed one finger upward.

“In truth... because last night We had a dream.”

The posture was somewhat undignified.

But the Emperor was accustomed to sitting this way.

And the ministers were accustomed to seeing it.

A sovereign sitting rigidly straight might well be a puppet pulled by strings.

Conversely, an Emperor capable of sitting casually upon the dragon throne had very likely already achieved true supremacy within his court.

Even law and etiquette... could no longer restrain him.

“In this dream, We saw the Son of Heaven of Great Xia. The Son of Heaven of Great Xia personally told Us to obey Heaven’s will, inherit Great Xia’s aspiration, replace the divided All Xia with Yan... and restore unity.”

The foreign envoys froze.

This... was this really so direct?

Years ago, Zheng Fan and the Blind Man had once joked that during the late Emperor’s reign, going to war consumed not only money, grain, and national strength... but sons too.

A righteous cause for war.

A righteous cause.

Sometimes, a target for national hatred truly was required.

Something to inspire the whole state, eliminate resistance, and support the war effort.

But... times had changed.

Great Yan now dominated the north.

It had digested and absorbed the lands of the Three Jins.

The New Policies had been in force for eight years.

The state granaries were full.

Accumulations were rich.

The near-misery of the people in the late Emperor’s final years had been completely reversed.

And Prince Pingxi Residence in eastern Jin had spent all this time sharpening weapons and feeding horses, never relaxing for a single moment.

Today’s Great Yan... no longer needed to hide anything.

No longer needed to coyly hold the pipa half-covered behind a veil.

It was time... openly.

Uprightly.

To speak aloud the resentment and fury accumulated by old Yan for eight hundred years... the ambition inherited from generation after generation of former Emperors... without concealment.

Inside the imperial court in Yanjing... the Emperor seated upon the dragon throne... slowly rose.

His gaze... swept across every minister in the great hall.

Below Zhennan Pass, inside the central command tent... the Regent Prince lightly tapped the armrest of his white-tiger-skin chair... and rose.

Every general inside the tent immediately turned solemn.

“Listen carefully to Our decree...”

“Every one of you, listen clearly to this Prince...”

“Transmit Our will throughout the realm. From this day onward...”

“Transmit this Prince’s order to every army. From this moment onward...”

“All officials of Great Yan, all members of Great Yan’s imperial clan, all people of Great Yan, shall gather beneath one aspiration and bind themselves with enduring resolve. Remember always the heroic valor inherited from our ancestors. Never forget the blood that dyed our mountains and rivers. Aid Us in remaking Heaven and Earth into unity. Aid Us in reforging a realm without end. One day...”

“My sharp warriors of Great Yan shall inherit the aspect of the Black Dragon, defend our soil and open new frontiers, sweep away all enemies, and establish the foundation of Great Yan for ten thousand generations. This Prince will lead you all the way through conquest... until no enemy dares stand before us. Until no state remains that does not submit. Until...”

...

“Great Yan... itself shall be All Xia!”

[End of Chapter 947]