Chapter 948: The Prince’s Edict

“Master.”

Liang Cheng entered the command tent.

Zheng Fan sat upon the commander’s seat bare-chested.

Numerous silver needles had been inserted around his neck and chest.

Siniang stood nearby with a cloth in hand, wiping down other parts of his body.

Zheng Fan said:

“Sit for a while. We’ll be done soon.”

“Yes, Master.”

The year before...

Zheng Fan had attempted to break through to Third Grade.

He failed.

The consequence of that failure was blood qi reversing through his body.

If the Demon Kings around him had not all been experts at regulating the body, he might genuinely have blown a hole through himself.

Even so... the aftereffects of that failure had still not been completely eliminated.

Every so often, Siniang had to personally work on him and regulate his meridians.

There was nothing especially shocking about failing a breakthrough.

Third Grade was not something one casually obtained.

Neither Zheng Fan nor the Demon Kings found the failure difficult to accept.

Siniang removed the silver needles.

Then she helped Zheng Fan put his python robe back on.

Zheng Fan rubbed the places that had been needled and smiled.

“Not as numb anymore.”

Siniang smiled.

“Your meridians have almost completely recovered. But unless absolutely necessary, Master should still avoid personally charging into battle. Newly healed meridians remain tender. They cannot endure violent surges of blood qi.”

“I know. I know.”

Zheng Fan nodded as he stood.

A huge map had been spread across the center of the command tent.

“A’Cheng. Shall we go over the strategy we discussed before one more time?”

“A strategic objective that has already been settled can certainly be adjusted as the battlefield changes. But we have not yet truly made contact with the enemy and the front has not advanced. Why should Master worry about it this early?”

“Originally, I wasn’t worried. I proposed the strategy. I made the operational plan. But you accepted the whole thing without changing even one word. Somehow, that makes me uneasy.”

“That is because this subordinate believes Master’s strategy is very good. It takes into account the first, second, and third waves of forces eastern Jin and the court can provide. It also accounts for the strategic layout required for the next phase. This subordinate genuinely has nothing to change.”

“You’re not flattering me?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Master should have more confidence in himself.”

“Oh?”

“Back then, the thousand-li rush to Snow Sea Pass was Master’s decision. During the Yan-Chu war, although Master entered Chu under Prince Jingnan’s orders and advanced toward the Wei River, it was still Master who afterward decided to strike directly at Chu’s capital region.”

“But you were beside me both times.”

“Then what about the campaign that broke Shangjing in Qian? This subordinate was not beside Master. That battle was still something Master forced through over objections. And the result was extraordinary.”

“That was just good luck.”

Zheng Fan was not being modest.

At the time, he had truly been pushed into a corner in the Liang-Zhao region.

His rear logistics had developed extremely serious problems.

He had been like a gambler shoving every chip he possessed onto the table for one final chance to overturn the game.

And in truth... if those eight thousand iron cavalrymen had not died for him...

Zheng Fan himself might already have been buried in Qian.

“Master, famous generals have always been rare. And the earth-shaking victories worthy of heavy ink in the histories are rarer still. This subordinate can say without exaggeration that those so-called Gods of War praised by later generations probably felt the same anxiety Master feels now whenever they made some strategic gamble. A famous general? Win two great battles. Preferably victories with absurd loss ratios. In truth, it is not much different from tossing a coin. Front side... God of War. Back side... Zhao Kuo. Master, you have already won so many times. And when it comes to grasping the larger picture, even intuition... Master may actually surpass this subordinate. Sometimes this subordinate possesses too much experience. That can make the mind less willing to open.”

Siniang laughed.

“Oh my. Only after advancing did I learn that even a zombie can smear honey over his mouth.”

Zheng Fan laughed too.

Liang Cheng did not.

He merely tugged the corner of his mouth slightly, as if fulfilling the minimum requirement for participation.

Zheng Fan walked over to the map.

Then said:

“Actually, from the names my imperial brother-in-law gave the three commanderies bordering the Wei River, you can already see his strategic intent. And we can follow his line of thought.”

Three commanderies bordered the Wei River.

Moya Commandery to the southeast.

Wenqiu Commandery to the southwest.

And Sansuo Commandery to the west.

Several years earlier... the Chu court had renamed all three.

Since Chu’s founding...

No.

More accurately, since the First Marquis of Chu first built his state...

Chu had already absorbed Shanyue culture.

Add the development and inheritance of Chu’s own ancient shamanic traditions, and a body of myths and legends had emerged that grew from All Xia culture yet possessed an independent flavor of its own.

Moya.

Wenqiu.

Sansuo.

In Chu mythology, these were the names of three shaman gods who had descended in ancient times to help the First Marquis of Chu subdue the Fire Phoenix while destroying Shanyue totems.

The Emperor of Chu had renamed the three commanderies with those names because he hoped these three “shaman gods” would block the threat of northern cavalry hooves for Chu.

One could call this...

Chu’s version of the Three Frontiers.

In addition... after losing Zhennan Pass, Chu had suffered too many losses from losing the strategic initiative whenever Yan cavalry rode south.

Their capital itself had once been burned.

So in recent years...

Chu had begun actively contracting its strategic posture.

Using the Great Marsh as the core, they built one defensive system after another to guard Ying Capital and protect Chu’s true heartland.

That was also why Gou Moli had enjoyed such freedom around Fan City these past few years.

Chu’s strategic withdrawal was obvious.

Its defensive posture had become comprehensive.

Naturally...

Gou Moli could run wild more freely.

“Actually, Sansuo Commandery does not truly count as one of the Three Frontiers. The real defensive barrier the Chu built to obstruct our southern advance consists mainly of Moya Commandery and Wenqiu Commandery, together with Shangyang Commandery farther south. As for Sansuo Commandery and Liusha Commandery to its west... both lie near the mountains and sit between Zhennan Pass and Fan City. Trying to hold this region easily creates the danger of enemies attacking from front and rear.”

Those two commanderies were long and narrow.

Mountains lay to the north.

A river ran along the south.

Like a fish exposing its belly.

Years ago, when Zheng Fan had rushed from Zhennan Pass to relieve Fan City, he had crossed directly through these two commanderies.

In other words... if Gou Moli attacked eastward from Fan City while Zheng Fan attacked westward from Zhennan Pass... the two commanderies would almost fall into their mouths.

The problem was... they could not hurry to swallow them.

The most important reason eastern Jin had been able to develop was because it controlled three key strategic points.

Precisely because those three points were in hand, eastern Jin had been able to transform a land attacked from four directions into something like a prosperous frontier southland.

First...

Snow Sea Pass.

Hold the pass... and the snowfields were directly sealed away.

Second...

Zhennan Pass.

Hold that pass... and the Chu had no answer.

Third...

Fan City.

A short dagger driven into Chu’s abdomen.

Small.

Sharp.

Twist it once or twice... and it was enough to make Chu’s stomach cramp.

Control strategic positions at the lowest possible cost.

Maintain the strategic initiative.

Only then could eastern Jin free enormous manpower, material, and attention for internal development.

Otherwise... eastern Jin would simply be one gigantic fortress.

One enormous army camp.

Back when Zhennan Pass had not yet been retaken, Prince Jingnan had been forced to personally guard Fengxin City.

And what had Fengxin City looked like then?

Nothing like its present prosperity.

It had practically been an empty military city with soldiers but no civilians.

By the same logic... if they chased the pleasure of military merit and territorial expansion too early and swallowed those two commanderies... they would immediately face endless, detailed friction with Chu forces across an extremely long frontier.

One had to remember... even Shanggu Commandery, territory already under eastern Jin’s actual control, had never undergone any serious development.

Its population had long since been moved north of Zhennan Pass.

Take two more territories... and it would amount to cutting two fresh wounds into their own body and letting them bleed constantly.

Stupid beyond measure.

Zheng Fan nodded.

“So this national war has three strategic objectives. First... take Moya, Wenqiu, and Shangyang Commanderies. Push the front directly to the edge of Chu’s capital region. Turn the core territory around Ying Capital... into the frontier for the next phase. Second... have Gou Moli in Fan City cooperate and further expand Fan City’s influence. Create pressure from east and west simultaneously. As for that fish-belly region formed by Sansuo and Liusha Commanderies... I want them to surrender without battle. Settled merely by the arrival of proclamations. Then continue south if possible... touch the Great Marsh region... and carve out a piece of territory we can fortify and hold. The third objective... and the most important... is Chu’s Imperial Guards. They are the true direct pillar of the Chu court. This time... we need to swallow at least half of them. The Chu already have very few teeth left. This time... we knock out their front teeth!”

Liang Cheng said:

“Barring something unexpected, the Chu will try to form a stalemate against us through attritional warfare.”

“Then we grind them down!”

Zheng Fan stomped one foot.

“In the past, we could not afford attrition. Every time, we were forced into dangerous gambles. This time, the first offensive wave can be supported entirely by eastern Jin’s own troops and accumulated stores. The Blind Man calculated it. Even during the second offensive wave, eastern Jin’s reserves can still barely hold. And behind that... there are the other Yan armies. And Ji Old Sixth, that enormous milk cow. Five years! Heaven only knows how much milk he has stored up! A’Cheng... speaking from the heart... I am sick to death of battles where we win and still have to run away. I still prefer coloring squares on the map. It gives a sense of accomplishment.”

Liang Cheng bowed.

“Master is right.”

“Do you know why yesterday I declared war so openly? First, because there are no real secrets between Yan and Chu. Our movement of troops, grain, and supplies cannot possibly be hidden. They certainly already know. So whether we formally declare war or not gives us no meaningful surprise. And I... want to tell everyone beneath Heaven. Especially the Chu. This time... I am not coming to fight, loot, and leave. I intend to stay. I intend to occupy the land. Chu itself is not one piece of solid iron. Your foot must plant itself firmly on the ground and refuse to move. Only then will the running dogs start attaching themselves to your leg.”

“Carry out an open and upright conquest. Perform an open and upright unification. Make the name and cause proper. And tell those who want to lie flat... lie all the way down.”

“Ha! Exactly. Tian Tian!”

Outside the command tent, Tian Tian entered.

“This general is here!”

“This Prince gives you a written order. Deliver it to Qu Peiluo. Have him carry out the arrangements written inside.”

“Yes!”

Liang Cheng looked toward Zheng Fan in some confusion.

“Master, what military order is this?”

“Nothing more than another open and upright gesture. Just one extra stroke added casually.”

At that moment...

Siniang came over and draped a cloak around Zheng Fan’s shoulders.

Zheng Fan tugged it into place.

Then shook out his body beneath it.

He raised his head.

Looked at Liang Cheng.

And said:

“Our main army... can leave the pass.”

...

Xiawei County.

It bordered the Wei River.

The local waterworks were excellent.

By all logic... it should have been fertile country covered in continuous farmland.

Even in the era when the Situ family ruled Jin, conflict between the Situ Clan and Chu had remained concentrated around Zhennan Pass.

At most... the two sides fought back and forth in Shanggu Commandery.

Situ Lei’s famous victory years ago had been a major defeat inflicted upon the Chu army at Zhennan Pass.

Yet even then... he had not truly broken through Shanggu Commandery.

When a large Chu army later gathered... he had still been forced to withdraw.

That was why Shanggu Commandery had always remained devastated by war.

But the neighboring commanderies, benefiting from the Wei River... had long been considered good land.

Now, however... half of Xiawei County’s farmland lay abandoned.

The population was no longer dense.

By ordinary logic... even after the old Yan-Chu war, even after that Prince from eastern Jin had once led cavalry trampling across this region... so many years had passed.

Especially during the last five years, when both sides had limited themselves to small clashes.

Xiawei County should have recovered some vitality.

But unfortunately... that was precisely where the problem lay.

It was true that eastern Jin had no longer sent great armies into Chu territory.

But stories about “stuffed mantou” had spread wider and wider.

This propaganda and agitation became even more effective when the former Young Master of the Qu Clan began organizing the Chu Battalion inside Shanggu Commandery.

Among Chu commoners living along the frontier... their feelings toward the Prince in eastern Jin were deeply contradictory.

On one side... he was the murderous Yan Demon King.

A butcher of captives.

A desecrator of ancestral graves.

Capable of every evil.

Condemned by men and gods alike.

On the other side... he governed well.

Under his rule...

Yan people.

Jin people.

Barbarians.

Savages.

All seemed to live very well.

Most had never seen it personally.

But everyone said so.

And the stories came with enough detail to sound convincing.

Especially during winter... people often crossed over carrying stuffed mantou and distributed them.

They would say that in eastern Jin, people ate these only when they were too busy—or too lazy—to cook properly and needed something quick to fill the stomach.

Gradually...

Xiawei County, near the Wei River and bordering Shanggu Commandery, became one of the main routes taken by refugees.

Every year... large numbers of displaced Chu commoners passed through here.

Then they smuggled themselves across the Wei River... and entered eastern Jin in pursuit of a happier, better life.

The local population itself had already left in one wave.

Those who remained watched refugees pass their own front doors year after year.

Eventually, many of them could no longer resist the temptation.

Another wave departed.

To stop the refugees, Chu troops established forts here.

The county yamen also sent constables to checkpoints whenever possible.

The effort had some effect.

They caught plenty.

But people still kept gambling on the chance to get through.

Inside one small military fort nearby...

Squad Leader Liu Jian sat drinking with Cui Guang, chief constable of Xiawei County.

Soldiers and constables lounged around them.

Some gambled.

Others simply lay there letting autumn drowsiness swallow them.

In truth, Cui Guang had come out specifically to arrest people.

He did not know whose secret report the county magistrate had received.

Apparently, one refugee group intended to pass through Xiawei County and defect.

The magistrate immediately dispatched Cui Guang to intercept them.

“Don’t know if that Dugu bastard has something wrong with his brain. Things are already like this and he still sends me out to block refugees. He even ordered me to kill without mercy if necessary. Fuck his mother. Doesn’t he know refugees crossing the border nowadays carry sabers and bows? If we run into a larger group... a hundred men or so... with the dozen brothers I brought... exactly who is supposed to kill whom without mercy?”

“Heh-heh.”

Liu Jian refilled Cui Guang’s cup.

“Of course something’s wrong with his brain. The Dugu Clan might have lost a Pillar of State in battle, but a starving camel is still larger than a horse. If a man surnamed Dugu gets sent out here as county magistrate of this bird-shit place... then he must be some minor collateral nobody standing outside the family door.”

By “standing outside the family door,” Liu Jian meant the direct-line members sat inside eating and drinking... while collateral descendants craned their necks outside and could only watch.

“Exactly. Heh. Come on. Another cup.”

Over the past few years, Chu’s strategic contraction had become increasingly obvious.

Part of the reason Chen Xianba could cross the Wei River every so often and swagger around the far bank was precisely this.

Chu began constructing a new defensive system.

Its Wei River defenses were no longer spread like a net.

Instead, strength concentrated into several major water stockades and fortified cities.

Point defense.

Especially during the past few months... after learning of eastern Jin’s movements and sensing the coming storm... the Chu withdrawal had become even more thorough.

Even cavalry patrols from Chu’s Imperial Guards, which had once appeared along the frontier from time to time... had not been seen for quite a while.

“Report! People approaching!”

A sentry shouted down from the fort’s watchtower.

Outside... two woodcutters approached.

Red cords had been tied around their heads.

Liu Jian and Cui Guang voluntarily walked to the top of the fort wall.

The two woodcutters below waved toward them.

Then tossed up a bundle.

Afterward... they simply left.

The two men opened the bundle.

Inside... it was filled entirely with red cords.

Cui Guang asked in confusion:

“What does that side mean by this?”

Clearly... both Cui Guang and Liu Jian knew exactly who those woodcutters actually were.

Liu Jian smacked his lips.

He picked up the cup from the table and drained it in one swallow.

Then said:

“The great wave is coming.”

Cui Guang sighed.

Then suddenly seemed to remember something.

He asked:

“Have you finished embroidering your Black Dragon Banner?”

“Still missing a few stitches. My wife got pregnant again recently. That delayed things.”

“Can’t delay anymore. Finish it tonight!”

...

At noon the following day... a cavalry unit appeared from the east.

They wore black armor.

Red cords were tied around their arms.

A Black Dragon Banner flew above them.

Without the slightest concealment... they rode directly past the fort.

At that moment... the fort gate opened.

Liu Jian and Cui Guang stood at the entrance with red cords tied around their heads.

Their faces carried expressions of “excitement” and “joy.”

At the same time... a Black Dragon Banner rose above the fort.

It looked a little ragged.

The embroidery was somewhat distorted.

But... the meaning was unmistakable.

The Yan cavalrymen, who all spoke in Chu accents, did not stop.

Only one rider broke from the formation and shouted toward the two men:

“Since you have already submitted, notify the surrounding villages now.”

“This slave—”

Liu Jian immediately jabbed Cui Guang in the waist.

Then corrected himself:

“Yes!”

“Yes. Yes!”

“Notify them... of what?”

“By order of His Highness the Prince... His Highness will personally lead eastern Jin’s heavenly army and arrive here in three days. This place... will become Yan soil. His Highness is benevolent. He cannot bear to see living beings slaughtered. So he sent us ahead to transmit his spoken edict: Any local commoner unwilling to submit to Prince Pingxi Residence and become one of the Prince’s people... must move away from this place immediately. Otherwise... kill without mercy!”

...

Not far away...

Qu Peiluo sat upon his horse.

He had grown a beard.

The years had made him look far steadier and more mature.

Stroking his beard, he sighed with emotion.

“Before sending troops to occupy this place, he first gives the local commoners advance warning so they can prepare and flee. Then everyone gets to remember His Highness’s benevolence. His Highness... truly possesses the heart of a Bodhisattva.”

“Hiss...”

Qu Peiluo accidentally pulled out two hairs from his beard.

Then he shook his head.

And cursed with a smile:

“As expected of him. Still just as shameless. Still without the slightest concern for face.”

Qu Peiluo adjusted his robes.

Then seemed to think of someone.

A soft, affectionate expression appeared on his face.

“Fortunately... Lanxin is pure and adorable. She takes nothing after him.”

[End of Chapter 948]