Chapter 972: The Savage King Is No More!

Liu Dahu stood quietly to one side, carrying the food box.

In Fengxin City, he knew a man surnamed Qiu. Everyone called him Boss Qiu.

Boss Qiu was from Qian and had made his fortune through trade. Whenever Prince Pingxi Residence held some grand celebration, he would take goods from his own stores and distribute them among some of Fengxin City’s commoners, celebrating on behalf of the Residence and the Prince.

The man had one particular hobby.

He collected antiques.

Why did Liu Dahu know him?

Because Boss Qiu often sent rice, flour, grain, and oil to Liu Dahu’s grandmother and her sisters-in-law, the women responsible for sweeping the streets, thanking them for keeping Fengxin City clean and tidy. At the same time, he would hint that he enjoyed collecting old objects. If their households had anything old, they could bring it to him and he would buy it.

Gold in troubled times.

Antiques in times of peace.

Eastern Jin had not emerged from chaos all that long ago. To ordinary people, antiques were not worth much at all. Over these years, eastern Jin had also repeatedly campaigned beyond its borders and hauled back enormous quantities of plunder. Their own Prince, in particular, had dug up Heaven knew how many aristocratic ancestral tombs in Chu.

Gold, silver, and jewelry were easy enough to circulate. Antiques were different. Their prices had genuinely collapsed.

Prince Pingxi Residence used some, of course.

But how many could the Residence itself possibly use?

Give the rest away as rewards?

The recipients often did not think the objects were worth anything.

So enormous quantities of antiques had long since filtered down into ordinary households.

Liu Dahu’s grandmother and the other women in her family had husbands, sons, and relatives serving in the army or holding posts under the Residence. Their houses genuinely did not lack such objects.

Boss Qiu bought them with tremendous enthusiasm.

Once, Liu Dahu’s grandmother even ordered him to carry over the household pickle jar and sell it to Boss Qiu.

Liu Dahu clearly remembered that the jar had been bought from one of the Residence’s own shops when he was still little.

Even so...

Boss Qiu bought it.

He paid a respectable sum and said he truly liked the piece.

Afterward, he kept Liu Dahu there talking for a very long time, mostly about his own love of antiques.

He said that someone who truly loved old objects did not care mainly about money. What mattered was the taste of having them in front of you. Leave wine exposed too long and its fragrance faded. Antiques were different. The older they became, the richer their flavor.

After selling the pickle jar, chatting happily, eating a little late-night meal, and broadening his horizons considerably...

Liu Dahu returned and reported Boss Qiu to the investigative office attached to the Brocade-Clad personal guards.

Boss Qiu remained perfectly fine for a long time.

He continued doing good deeds in Fengxin City.

Continued buying antiques.

Perhaps he continued telling his stories too.

But several months ago... while helping review memorials sent from Fengxin City and reports from Military Discipline Officer Xu An, Liu Dahu saw that a red mark had been drawn across Boss Qiu’s name.

Boss Qiu was gone.

But Liu Dahu had always remembered the man’s attitude toward antiques.

Sometimes Chen Xianba, Zheng Man, and the others could not understand it. Life in the army outside was rich and exciting. Why did Liu Dahu insist on remaining at the Prince’s side, doing the work of a military secretary?

Talk of knowing one’s own limits and such things was secondary.

The real reason was simple.

Liu Dahu liked work that allowed him to keep following the Prince.

Perhaps... the Prince himself was that kind of “antique.”

Watching him, Liu Dahu could feel that mellow richness of age.

To every person in Great Yan, the Regent Prince was an object of reverence.

In Liu Dahu’s eyes, the Prince was also a man.

But being a man did not strip away his color.

It made him feel even more real.

More pure.

Liu Dahu did not know the phrase *personal charisma*.

But perhaps... that was what he meant.

The Prince looked at All Under Heaven.

Liu Dahu could simply look at the Prince.

For Zheng Fan himself, truthfully, there were plenty of times when he could relax. He was not nearly as busy as the rumors outside claimed.

But when you had oceans of free time and still insisted on becoming sentimental about it, you simply looked ill.

Only a stolen moment of leisure amid genuine busyness could truly settle the mind.

Zheng Fan finished one steamed bun.

Then he picked up the other bun he had previously placed aside as an “offering” to Old Tian and ate that too.

No need to waste food.

Two buns down, he gestured.

Liu Dahu thoughtfully brought over a waterskin.

Zheng Fan drank several mouthfuls and patted his armor.

In Liu Dahu’s eyes... the Regent Prince of Great Yan had returned.

The Prince’s gaze became deep again.

His bearing became towering again.

Of course, Zheng Fan had no idea what nonsense Liu Dahu was thinking.

He had plenty to do now.

For example... personally inspecting the city walls one more time.

That night, the Prince in black armor walked continuously past the soldiers guarding the walls.

He did not stop to greet each man warmly or pat every shoulder.

He did not need to.

His presence alone gave them endless fighting spirit.

Whether an army was elite was not shown by how it fought with the wind at its back.

When everything went smoothly, even a herd of pigs could run with the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses.

A true elite army revealed itself in adversity.

Even while licking its wounds... the wolfish light in its eyes remained.

The Yan army had indeed lost south of the Wei River.

It retreated across the river.

Then suffered defeat after defeat inside Shanggu Commandery.

Now the entire front had pulled back to the line of Zhennan Pass.

But these defeats had not destroyed any organized formations.

From the very beginning, the Regent Prince had never intended to resist seriously. The later clashes between the Yan and Chu armies were merely delaying actions, slowing the Chu advance enough to give the enormous numbers of laborers, auxiliaries, and other support personnel time to withdraw in orderly fashion.

At first, the Chu had not expected the war to progress this smoothly either.

Even though they possessed absolute numerical superiority on these local battlefields, they had not used the most extreme possible methods of advance. They did not throw their precious cavalry into reckless oblique penetrations and deep encirclements, destroying the foundation of their cavalry arm for the sake of achieving one strategic envelopment whose chance of success was never especially high.

Back in the day...

Old Tian had loved exactly that kind of move.

Whenever there was something to do—or even when there was not—he liked sending someone around the enemy’s flank.

Usually, there were three great generals assigned to such work: the General of Shengle, Count Pingye, and Marquis Pingxi.

The three of them took turns.

Very fair.

In short, the Yan defeats had been nothing more than ordinary battlefield losses.

They fought.

Then, before superior Chu numbers could surround them, they disengaged voluntarily and retreated.

Casualties were not light.

But from a commander’s perspective, there was little to regret.

People died in war.

Treating human lives as nothing but numbers was certainly too extreme.

But normal battlefield losses... were normal.

Qin Dayong saw the Prince that night.

He was even fortunate enough to have the Prince pat his shoulder.

After the Prince moved on, all the soldiers around Qin Dayong looked at him with envy.

Qin Dayong’s blood surged hot.

He wished the Chu slaves would attack immediately.

He wanted to kill a few more of them for the Prince.

By the time dawn was beginning to brighten, Zheng Fan finally completed his inspection.

He did not return to his residence to catch up on sleep.

Instead, he returned to the same tower where he had stood earlier.

The vast spread of Chu camps had grown even denser than the night before.

More importantly, they could clearly see large-scale Chu troop movements.

The battlefield was shifting.

From that alone, one could confidently conclude that beyond the range of the naked eye, the Chu forces on both wings had already begun moving forward.

Before steaming a fish... you remove the scales.

Common sense.

“The Chu really are impatient,” Zheng Fan said.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Liu Dahu agreed.

“Dahu, what do you think we should do?”

“The troops on both wings of Zhennan Pass...”

“Continue fighting and retreating?”

“No. This subordinate believes both wings should receive a death order. They must fight to the death. No retreat. Only then will the Chu become even more excited. Their center, their rear, will press forward earlier and more aggressively. Their main force will penetrate even deeper into Shanggu Commandery.”

“People will die,” Zheng Fan said. “A great many people.”

There was a meaningful smile at the corner of his mouth as he watched Liu Dahu.

Liu Dahu licked his lips.

“Your Highness, if this battle succeeds... then afterward... people will no longer need to keep dying.”

“Pass down the order. Both wings of the pass are to fight to the death. No retreat.”

“Yes!”

Liu Dahu hurried away to transmit the command.

Zheng Fan reached toward the inner compartment of his breastplate.

Then remembered his cigarettes were with Liu Dahu.

“Mm...”

The Regent Prince placed both hands on the battlement and felt the cold of the stone beneath his palms.

But the colder it felt... the easier it became to imagine the heat being prepared beneath everything.

A figure emerged from the shadows.

A’Ming took out an iron case and offered Zheng Fan a cigarette.

“I thought you weren’t here,” Zheng Fan said with a smile.

“The Sword Saint is not here. How could this subordinate possibly not be?”

Zheng Fan nodded.

He leaned toward the flame A’Ming offered and lit the cigarette.

“Master, this subordinate’s wine jars and wineskins have all been emptied.”

“You’re impatient. We still have to wait a few more days.”

“This subordinate understands. But hunger before a feast is itself a form of anticipation. This subordinate is in an exceedingly pleasant mood.”

“It really is nice having you beside me. Truly.”

“This subordinate suddenly feels overwhelmed by favor.”

“Because if a man wants to maintain a certain style in life, it is best to keep a pervert beside him at all times.”

“Master, look. The Chu trebuchets are being pushed forward.”

“Heh. I can’t see them.”

“This subordinate’s eyesight is somewhat better than Master’s.”

“Oh. I’m hungry. Let’s see what Siniang made for breakfast.”

...

“Why do my two Young Generals have no appetite?”

Gou Moli was eating enthusiastically.

Across from him, Chen Xianba and Tian Tian looked listless over their food.

Tian Tian was not too obvious.

Unless he became truly excited, he was usually mild in expression.

Chen Xianba was different.

His emotions were written plainly across his face.

Truthfully, Gou Moli felt some regret when he looked at Chen Xianba.

He knew how to command subordinates.

He also knew how to judge talent.

In Gou Moli’s view, Chen Xianba would have suited Prince Pingxi Residence better during its early years.

Fight.

Charge.

Fight again.

Charge again.

Over and over, clawing victory back from absolute desperation.

His path would have resembled Jin Shuke’s early trajectory.

Let that wild arrogance and talent be hammered again and again by reality.

Only after the seed of a great general had passed through true fire and tempering could it finally blaze with ten thousand zhang of brilliance.

Unfortunately... today’s Prince Pingxi Residence... today’s Great Yan... could no longer provide Chen Xianba with that kind of chaotic stage.

His circumstances now were certainly not bad.

Not bad at all.

It simply felt as though he had missed one indescribable step in the tempering process.

Was it the times that created heroes?

Or heroes who pushed the times forward?

Who could ever say for certain?

Tian Tian said:

“Marshal Gou, it is because you were truly starving. You’re already on your fourth bowl.”

“Hahahahaha! Yes. Yes. I was starving.”

Gou Moli handed his bowl to a personal guard.

“Another bowl.”

Then he continued:

“You two have never known what it is like to go without food. When this Marshal was young, I went hungry often.”

Tian Tian blinked.

He had never gone hungry.

Chen Xianba had nothing to say either.

His fishing-village childhood had not been wealthy, but his family and master had been there.

He had never lived through famine.

“I went hungry in prison too,” Gou Moli continued sentimentally.

The Sword Saint, sitting nearby, smiled.

“When you were imprisoned at Snow Sea Pass, no one denied you food or drink.”

Gou Moli immediately argued:

“I’ve been imprisoned in plenty of places. Besides, yes, they gave me food and drink at Snow Sea Pass, but I would rather have lived in a water dungeon without either than gone through what I did there. Sometimes I think back on it now and still feel afraid.”

Back then, Gou Moli had been locked inside a secret chamber.

A zombie lived next door.

For a period of time, baleful qi washed over him every day.

His mind had nearly collapsed.

It was mental torture beyond anything purely physical.

Fortunately, he had been the Savage King.

Almost anyone else would have gone mad long before.

At that moment, Chen Xianba spoke.

“Marshal, the Chu force to the north...”

“Leave them there. How much grain do you think they could possibly have carried while swinging all the way around? Yes, they intercepted one of my supply convoys. But I arranged that convoy in advance. It carried all kinds of miscellaneous materials. There was not much grain in it at all. They’re still suffering famine over there. Earlier, they were the ones blocking me and refusing to let me go north. Now we’re the ones blocking them. They’ve become an isolated army with no way to return south. We have grain now. And time. So we can slowly grind them down.”

“And the south...” Chen Xianba organized his thoughts. “What about Xie Zhuyang?”

“Grand General Liang is still acting. We still don’t know whether Xie Zhuyang has discovered the truth yet. Relax. He will discover the truth very slowly. He was the one who sat down at the gambling table first. Human nature is like that. But even if he realizes that he dug the pit only to fall into it himself, he still won’t dare attack us directly. His wisest choice remains returning immediately to Guyue City and preserving one last hope. If he truly loses his head for a moment and smashes the jar because it is already cracked, that would actually make things easier. Then we can have some real fun with him here and help our Prince round out his Four-Happiness Meatball platter.”

A fresh bowl of food arrived.

Gou Moli accepted it and continued eating with pickled vegetables.

After two mouthfuls... he suddenly set his chopsticks down.

He stared fixedly at the two young generals.

Chen Xianba.

Then Tian Tian.

Tian Tian.

Then Chen Xianba.

He stared until both young men began feeling uncomfortable.

Gou Moli smiled.

“By rights, this is a good opportunity. Send two cavalry forces after Xie Zhuyang. Keep clinging to him so he cannot bring his section of the Xie Clan Army safely back into Guyue City. Buy time for us to gather our troops. When the moment comes, there really is a chance to swallow Great Chu’s final Pillar of State—and perhaps his entire Xie Clan Army—in one bite.”

“But the Grand General said there are no troops,” Tian Tian replied.

Chen Xianba scratched his head.

“The Grand General’s forces are scattered too widely. He can’t gather them in time. Even if he manages to pull some together, they’ll be exhausted.”

Originally, Chen Xianba and Tian Tian had possessed troops of their own.

They had been rolling that snowball for quite a while.

The moment Liang Cheng arrived, he absorbed those forces directly.

The two young generals instantly became grain-transport supervisors.

“The Grand General doesn’t have troops.”

Gou Moli smiled.

“But your Uncle Gou does.”

Chen Xianba looked at Gou Moli.

Then at the exhausted, dispirited troops spread throughout the surrounding camp.

Tian Tian chose his words more tactfully.

“Marshal, your soldiers are already extremely tired.”

Dragging an exhausted army into another battle by force would only send heads to the enemy.

“Easy problem.”

Gou Moli reached into his robe and removed a short vertical flute.

He began to play.

Before long, the two Star Receivers sleeping inside the command tent awakened.

The man and woman were still somewhat stiff.

But they walked behind Gou Moli.

Gou Moli lowered the flute.

“Gather them.”

“Yes, King.”

“Yes, King.”

The two Star Receivers walked into the military camp.

Gou Moli looked at the two young generals.

“A stage performance needs minor actors waiting below in case something unexpected happens and somebody has to step in. War is the same. You keep a fresh force in reserve. As it happens... I have one. Ever since the army marched out from Fan City until now, they’ve done nothing but rest. They’ve never fought a battle. All they’ve done is march, stop, get rained on, then march again. And up here...”

Gou Moli tapped his own head.

“Their spirit is perfectly fine too. One order... and every man is ready to die. And considers it glory. Come. Come with me.”

Gou Moli stood and pulled Chen Xianba and Tian Tian toward the center of the camp.

The two Star Receivers were already standing there.

At the same time... batch after batch of Savage soldiers began gathering around them.

Nearby, many other Savage soldiers watched in confusion.

They had received no order from their own superiors.

Nor did they understand why these other Savage soldiers, who looked no different from them, were suddenly assembling.

Several boxes were stacked together.

Gou Moli climbed on top.

He looked down upon the soldiers gathered before him.

There were five thousand.

Tian Tian and Chen Xianba stood behind Gou Moli.

Neither understood what he intended to do.

These Savage soldiers looked no different from the others scattered throughout the army.

Until...

Gou Moli raised one hand and pointed toward the sky.

“Praise the Stars!”

The prayer of the snowfields, carried through a thousand years, rang out once more.

In an instant... every Savage soldier gathered below raised his arms with near-religious fervor and fanaticism.

In the Savage tongue, they roared together:

“Praise the Stars!”

The exhaustion vanished.

The listlessness vanished.

The muddled emptiness vanished.

In its place was something overflowing... spirit.

Gou Moli lowered his arm.

He looked at them.

The next moment... all five thousand Savage soldiers dropped to their knees.

They cried in unison:

“May the Sacred Clan’s starlight shelter our King!”

“May the Sacred Clan’s starlight shelter our King!”

Every motion aligned.

Every shout came as one.

Gou Moli pointed toward Tian Tian and Chen Xianba standing beside him.

“They are your new kings. They are the guides bestowed upon you by the Stars. Offer them your loyalty!”

The Savage soldiers turned where they knelt.

Now they faced Tian Tian and Chen Xianba.

Then every one of them pressed his forehead to the ground and opened both hands.

Gou Moli jumped down from the boxes.

He said to Chen Xianba and Tian Tian:

“Take them. Go chase that Pillar of State Xie.”

Chen Xianba’s face showed both excitement and shock.

He was about to ask something.

But Tian Tian spoke first.

“This general obeys the Marshal’s command!”

Chen Xianba drew a deep breath and bowed as well.

Liang Cheng had once said Gou Moli was not an immortal.

He could not deliberately grind an army’s morale to the bottom and then raise it back to the peak in an instant.

But what if there were a group of men... who had long ago treated Gou Moli himself as one of the Stars?

Five thousand Savage cavalry rode south under the command of the two young generals.

When they left the camp... their momentum was overwhelming.

The Sword Saint walked to Gou Moli’s side.

“How did you hide them?”

“Of course I couldn’t raise them as one organized formation. The Prince’s Brocade-Clad personal guards are not decorations. Raise a few here, a few there, scatter them around, and it becomes much easier.”

“What did you raise them for?” the Sword Saint asked.

“What else? The very thing our Prince is most wary of: my own private troops. Our Prince accepts imperial edicts but not imperial summons. I was merely copying the same gourd. Besides, Fan City has been an isolated enclave for so many years. If I had never secretly built up anything of my own, the Prince himself would not believe it.”

“You worked so hard to build this little bit of private wealth, and now you throw it away without hesitation. Doesn’t it hurt?”

“What is there to hurt over? I found them two excellent destinations. The next generation belongs to those two anyway, doesn’t it?”

“I mean you personally. Doesn’t it hurt *you*?”

“Me?”

Gou Moli suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Old Brother, do you understand what is waiting for Chu if everything at Shanggu Commandery and Zhennan Pass is proceeding according to plan right now? The entire State of Chu... very soon... will be beaten completely flat. Half its realm will fall to our Residence! In the past, I felt the snowfields could no longer contain me, so I entered the pass. Now... Fan City cannot contain me anymore either. I am about to rise again. Either I enter the Residence and work beside Mr. Bei as a Chancellor... or I am sent out to command and govern an entire region! I’ll have more people. More troops. And they will no longer be limited to Savages. Scale. You have to think about scale!”

Gou Moli looked as though he were laughing and crying at the same time.

Then he turned his back.

His arm swept outward.

And he shouted:

“From this day onward... there is no Savage King left in this world!”

[End of Chapter 972]