Chapter 996: I Have Come to Get You

A heavy rain dampened the “celebration” in Shangjing somewhat.

On the tower of Xixuan Gate, the Emperor stood overlooking the imperial capital.

The council had already ended.

Zu Zhuming, as Governor-General of the Three Frontiers, would remain in command there.

Zhong Tianlang had been granted the title Grand General of Punitive Expedition and would lead troops north into Chu Commandery to support the Three Frontiers.

Meng Gong had been granted the title Grand General of Pacification and would lead an army northeast to hold the Lanyang City defensive line.

In addition, Le Huan, Old Fifth Han, and several others had been given Commander titles and ordered north with their respective forces to await further orders.

Whenever the Yan attacked, the measures Qian could take were never very different.

That was because the basic reality of the battlefield had not changed in a hundred years:

Yan was strong.

Qian was weak.

The Three Frontiers could not be abandoned.

Under no circumstances could they be abandoned.

It was difficult even to imagine what would happen if that defensive system no longer clamped the Yan by the throat.

Without it, perhaps as early as ten years ago the Yan-Qian front would already have stabilized along the Bian River.

The national capital and the entire capital region would have become the front line.

Correspondingly, because the Three Frontiers had to remain fixed in place, every Qian military operation had to use them as its foundation, patching the edges and filling gaps around them.

Under those circumstances, there was no such thing as strategic initiative.

Change the Emperor a few times and the situation would still be the same.

A new Emperor could not simply scatter beans and conjure soldiers.

Yan was different.

After the previous generation of rulers had successively beaten down almost every troublesome power around them, the Yan could, whenever they wished, carry out long-distance military redeployment and gather the elite forces of the state before a war began.

That was why, in recent years, no matter whom Yan fought, the Yan might not always possess greater numbers on the main battlefield, but they could repeatedly assemble enough elite troops to make the enemy afraid of proactively seeking a field battle.

One difference this time was that Li Xundao would personally remain in Shangjing and direct the Imperial Guards.

No matter what happened... they absolutely could not allow the Yan to exploit another opening and break into the capital again.

“Your Majesty, the rain is getting heavier. We should return.”

Zhao Mugou ignored the eunuch beside him.

He continued staring across the capital beneath his rule.

It had been several years since the Yan last broke into Shangjing.

The once prosperous capital had recovered much of its vitality.

It had not returned completely to its old peak, but seven or eight tenths of its former splendor had come back.

Yet the terror the Yan had left in Qian hearts had not faded with time.

Quite the opposite.

After news arrived that Great Yan’s Regent Prince had shattered the Chu army, all of Shangjing—no, all of Qian—seemed to fall beneath a suffocating shadow.

The Qian had truly been beaten until they feared the Yan.

Then they heard that their ally had been beaten flat as well.

That despair.

That grief.

Words could barely describe it.

So Zhao Mugou understood why Shangjing had celebrated today.

Li Xundao had called them fools.

But not with gritted teeth or anger at their failure to improve.

He had said it with a very gentle kind of sorrow.

That Black Dragon Banner had cast far too much darkness over the Qian, from the Son of Heaven at the top all the way down to the common people.

Under such pressure, even rational men inevitably threw away reason for a while and drowned themselves in a joy they knew was misplaced.

It was a form of escape from reality.

But... how could reality possibly be escaped?

The Regent Prince had only just beaten Chu flat.

News had already arrived that the Chu Emperor, preserving what little dignity remained, had declared himself a vassal of eastern Jin and lowered Chu’s state status.

Perhaps that was the most helpless choice available to Chu.

And perhaps, at the same time, it was one last attempt to apply eye drops between Yan and the Residence.

But... could the medicine possibly work this quickly?

For more than ten years, everyone had been waiting for Yan to fall into civil war.

First they waited for Prince Zhenbei Residence to rebel.

Then they waited for Prince Jingnan to rebel.

Then they waited for Prince Pingxi to rebel.

Hope after hope.

Disappointment after disappointment.

Yan had spent generation after generation walking a tightrope over power.

And somehow... it simply refused to fall.

Instead, Jin, Chu, the Savages, the Barbarians—neighbor after neighbor that had waited for Yan to collapse had themselves been beaten to the ground.

“Ji Chengjue is treating the people of Qian like fools.”

Zhao Mugou muttered to himself.

The eunuch beside him did not dare answer.

“And yet far too many Qian have already been frightened by Yan sabers until they know how to play the fool.”

Standing in the rain for so long brought the Emperor no peace.

No cold clarity.

He could not even feel the chill of the storm.

Instead, his lips, teeth, hands, and feet all carried a strange dry heat.

Zhao Mugou turned.

Then walked back toward his sleeping palace.

After taking the throne, he had appointed an Empress and a Noble Consort.

One Empress.

One Noble Consort.

The same arrangement as that Emperor of Yan.

Of course, there were still many women below them who had never received formal ranks.

A palace this large meant that, to put it crudely, even a rough-handed palace maid responsible for emptying chamber pots and washing clothes could become the Emperor’s woman if he got drunk and suddenly lost control of himself.

But Zhao Mugou had little interest in women.

After ascending the throne, he spent many nights sleeping alone.

He had even dismantled the warm chamber built by the previous Emperor.

The palace no longer remained springlike through all four seasons.

On rainy nights especially, the drafts seemed to come from everywhere.

When the chamber had originally been built, keeping warm had never been the concern.

If anything, they had worried it would become too hot.

The entire design emphasized ventilation.

Zhao Mugou passed through layers of curtains.

Memorials lay here.

Maps.

Files constantly being sent in and out.

As an Emperor, he could certainly be called diligent.

But sometimes... he would deliberately carve out one day.

Do nothing.

Think about nothing.

Simply sit there... before a single painting.

And sit until nearly midnight.

That painting still hung before Zhao Mugou now.

Two luminous pearls cast their light across the scroll.

Inside the painting... a young woman stood holding a sword.

She was beautiful and clear, with a touch of playfulness and, at the same time, a coldness that warned strangers away.

This was the woman from Zhao Mugou’s dreams.

Again and again, in dreams, he had turned his head and chased after her footprints.

“Where are you?”

Zhao Mugou’s eyes grew unfocused.

“I have already become Emperor of Great Qian. And you... where are you now? My... Empress.”

...

Creak...

The door opened.

A towering figure, built like an iron pagoda, stepped into the room.

He looked around.

Then walked directly to the bedside.

A young woman lay there, breathing evenly in sleep.

Bruises and wounds were still visible on her face.

Fan Li simply stood beside the bed.

He stood.

And stood.

And stood.

Until finally... the girl lying beneath the quilt opened her eyes in a huff and shouted:

“You big block of wood! Don’t you know how to lean down and kiss me yourself?!”

For a woman to be forced into saying something like that first... one could imagine exactly how hopelessly wooden the man had to be.

Unfortunately, the thing Fan Li was best at... was scratching his head whenever a moment became awkward.

The instant he started scratching his head, any awkward situation could pass by itself.

So... he scratched his head.

His expression remained simple and honest.

The Sword Maid puffed out her cheeks.

Wrapped in the quilt, she sat up.

Then... kicked Fan Li.

Fan Li did not move.

She had not expected to hurt him anyway.

That would have been unrealistic.

Anger never lasted long.

When a girl truly cared about you, truly liked you, she could not bear to keep a cold face for too long simply to make you coax her.

Real love was something that could make a person put aside reserve.

Otherwise... there probably was not much of you in her heart to begin with.

The Sword Maid turned her face away.

“At least you still have some conscience. You knew to come see me.”

Fan Li blinked.

Then kept scratching his head.

Whenever a man carried labels like “simple and honest” or “big block of wood,” it usually meant one thing: life was easy.

Easy.

And easy again.

The truly skilled hunter could often look even more honest than an actual honest man.

All you had to do was stand there.

The other person would fill in every blank for you.

The news about the Sword Maid and Hero Chen had reached Zheng Fan by eight-hundred-li express while he was still preparing for the alliance ceremony with Chu.

When he learned the Sword Maid was injured, Zheng Fan, as both Master and commander of the army, did not hesitate.

He appointed Fan Li as a rear-army commander reinforcing Liang Cheng and sent him toward South Gate Pass to rendezvous with Liang Cheng and Gou Moli.

The girl had, after all, grown up under Zheng Fan’s own eyes.

He did not particularly care how much rice, flour, oil, cloth, or clothing she had consumed in his household.

Besides, years ago, when the Sword Saint chose to remain beside him, the girl’s presence had played some role.

In the end... whatever else might be said, there was affection there.

And she had been wounded fighting to block disaster from reaching his family.

So Zheng Fan, generous and considerate as ever, sent her beloved “Brother Fan Li” straight over.

“Big guy. Did you miss me?”

“Mm.”

“Did you miss me or not?”

“Mm.”

“Stop saying mm!”

“Oh.”

“Hero Chen reached Third Grade.”

“Oh.”

“He found a woman and lived with her for two years, then entered Third Grade. I’m Fourth Grade now. I think I could try something like that too.”

Fan Li asked:

“Where is that woman?”

“...” The Sword Maid.

...

“You’re preparing for war?”

In the courtyard, Hero Chen looked at Liang Cheng as he asked.

“You only just noticed?” Liang Cheng asked back.

Hero Chen nodded.

He truly had only just noticed.

“Who are you...”

Hero Chen had been about to ask who they intended to fight.

But before the question fully left his mouth, he finally found the answer himself.

“You’re going to attack Qian again?”

“Yes.”

“Where is he?” Hero Chen asked. “Where is Zheng Fan?”

“Behind us. He should come over after some time with the logistical troops and grain convoy. You can wait for him here.”

“I won’t. Meeting during a war would look bad.”

“Where are you going?” Liang Cheng asked.

“Lanyang City.”

“Choose somewhere else. I’m about to lead troops there.”

“I’m going to warn them.”

“Believe me. The Silver-Armored Guard inside Yan has been purged heavily these past few years, but with military movements on this scale, and with South Gate Pass pointing directly toward Lanyang City, they have definitely received word already.”

If every Silver-Armored Guard agent had been like Hero Chen... there really would have been no need to purge them.

The more, the better.

“I’m still going to Lanyang City,” Hero Chen said. “I’m going to help defend it.”

“That isn’t necessary. You can go to Shangjing. We’ll fight our way there eventually.”

“Last time, in Lanyang City, Zheng Fan let me go. The city itself was not really defended either. It simply fell. At the time, I thought nothing of it. Later... I began to feel unsettled.”

“Don’t corner yourself into a dead end. Go somewhere else. We probably won’t even attack that city.”

Hero Chen shook his head.

“As a man of Qian, I should defend one city for Qian at least once. Seriously. Properly. Defend it once.”

“We are not attacking Qian this time,” Liang Cheng explained. “Zhao Mugou rebelled as a feudal Prince and forced the Emperor to his death. This time, we are entering Qian to suppress the rebel on Qian’s behalf.”

Hero Chen looked at Liang Cheng.

He kept looking.

And looking...

Liang Cheng was a zombie.

Keeping his facial expression unchanged was a basic ability.

Hero Chen also happened to be very good at staring seriously.

He could do it for a very, very long time.

Finally, Hero Chen said:

“Zheng Fan once said that an Emperor is an Emperor, and a state is a state. Your banner may say you are suppressing rebellion. In my eyes, you are attacking Qian.”

“Do you not want ordinary Qian people to live like the people of eastern Jin and eat buns with filling?”

Qian was wealthy.

Jiangnan was wealthier still.

Yet over the last sixty years, Qian had suffered more and larger peasant uprisings than any of the Four Great States.

That meant Qian’s wealth had very little to do with ordinary commoners.

Scholar-officials could use their wondrous writing to construct the image of a flourishing Great Qian.

But perhaps precisely because the prose was so splendid... it concealed the phosphorescent gleam of bones at the bottom.

“Once we conquer it, the Qian will become Yan people. They will become our own subjects.”

Hero Chen asked:

“When Yan armies entered Qian before, how many filled buns did they hand out?”

Liang Cheng answered:

“That was because we had not conquered it yet.”

“How many Qian did you kill? How much grain did you seize? How many houses did you burn?”

“Those were things that had to be done to make conquering it easier later.”

Hero Chen shook his head again.

“Master once said a home is a home. A state is a state. A battlefield is a battlefield. A court is a court. And the jianghu... is the jianghu. I regard Zheng Fan as the greatest kindred spirit I will meet in this life. If his home is in danger, if his family is in danger, if he himself is in danger, I will help him. I will protect him, even if my sword breaks and I die with it. But when he is no longer Zheng Fan and instead becomes Regent Prince of Yan... then I am a man of Qian. I know I am not clever. In this lifetime, other than practicing the sword, I am no good at anything. But I still think what you just said was sophistry. If Zheng Fan were here, he would not bother saying these extra things to me. He does not treat friends the way you do. That is why you are his subordinate.”

Liang Cheng raised one hand.

In the next instant... armored soldiers appeared around the courtyard walls.

One crossbow after another leveled toward Hero Chen.

Hero Chen showed no fear.

No mockery.

His expression did not change at all.

“Just as you said, I am not Master. So I tried to talk you in circles. And precisely because I am not Master, if I let you go to Lanyang City, then when my army attacks it, many of our soldiers will die beneath your sword. I am responsible for them. I am sorry.”

“No need to apologize.”

Hero Chen quietly drew his sword.

His voice remained calm.

“For me, dying here and dying on the walls of Lanyang City are not very different. I am only a jianghu swordsman. Even Master could not save Jin. What virtue or ability do I possess that would let me save Qian?”

“If you understand that the great momentum cannot be stopped, then why...”

“Because a man lives only one life. He should have some principles. He should insist upon some truths. He should... hold fast to something.”

Hero Chen raised his sword.

He looked at Liang Cheng.

Then... quietly stepped backward ten paces, widening the distance between them.

That meant the archers around the courtyard could shoot him freely without worrying about hitting Liang Cheng.

Inside the room... the Sword Maid watched through the window.

Growing anxious, she said:

“If Zheng Fan were here, he would not kill Hero Chen.”

She understood the principles involved.

In truth, she understood the entire sequence of cause and effect, and she understood both Hero Chen’s choice and Liang Cheng’s.

Precisely because every side had too much reason behind it, the whole scene looked absurd and inexplicable to an uninvolved bystander.

Every age liked to proclaim that it was an age governed by reason.

Yet almost no one truly followed reason through to the end.

Those few unusual people who did... inevitably looked out of place.

Hearing the Sword Maid, Fan Li answered directly:

“Master was the one who ordered your first master shot to death.”

“But I’ve already seen through that. It was the battlefield,” the Sword Maid said.

“You’ve seen through it?”

“Do you think I will ever actually get the chance to kill that bastard Zheng in this lifetime?”

Fan Li shook his head.

“Go tell him. Aren’t all of you gentlemen of the Residence? Go tell him to let Hero Chen go.”

“I’m just the one who carries bricks.”

“Are you going or not?!”

Fan Li did not move.

The Sword Maid flicked her palm.

The sword hanging beside the bed flew from its sheath.

Halfway through...

Fan Li reached out and caught it.

Seeing this, the Sword Maid formed a sword seal.

Sword qi rose beneath her own throat.

“I hate using this kind of method. But I have no choice. He is my junior brother, and not long ago he saved my life.”

Fan Li nodded.

Then pushed open the door.

And walked outside.

“Master has issued an order. Hero Chen is not to be killed without authorization.”

Liang Cheng waved one hand.

The armored soldiers around the courtyard walls immediately withdrew.

Fan Li walked to Hero Chen.

“Master has a message for you.”

“What did Zheng Fan say?”

“Master said that after the war, he will invite you to drink. Whether you are standing, sitting, or... lying down.”

“Good.”

Hero Chen sheathed his sword and walked out of the courtyard.

Liang Cheng glanced at Fan Li.

“You could have come out a little later.”

There was obvious dissatisfaction in his tone.

Fan Li said:

“She said she won’t kill Master anymore.”

Liang Cheng glanced toward the room.

“Otherwise, why do you think the Blind Man would have let her live until now?”

Liang Cheng turned and left.

He had far too much military work to handle.

The army was about to march through the pass.

Fan Li turned.

The Sword Maid had already left the room and come up behind him.

“Was that princely order real or fake?”

Fan Li answered:

“Fake.”

The Sword Maid looked unconvinced.

“You’re not lying to me?”

“It really was fake. Master never issued that order.”

The Sword Maid smiled.

Fan Li smiled too.

Master truly had never given any special order regarding Hero Chen.

Because there had been no need.

None of the Demon Kings would be blind enough to surround and kill Hero Chen under circumstances like these.

So whether Master had issued an order or not...

Hero Chen was free to come and go today.

The reason Liang Cheng had staged the scene was to make Hero Chen more determined to go to Lanyang City.

Because Liang Cheng had never intended to attack that city in the first place.

...

That day... rolling iron hooves shook the whole of Lanyang City awake.

From the walls, soldiers and civilians could see to the east a black-armored Yan army stretching almost beyond sight.

At the same time... a princely standard that could stop children from crying anywhere in Qian... rose high in the center of that army.

And on that same day... for the first time in a hundred years... the Jinwu Dragon Standard of the Emperor of Great Yan appeared before the mighty passes of the Three Frontiers.

The Emperor sat in his imperial carriage.

He looked ahead.

He looked around.

Dense ranks of Great Yan soldiers stood in immaculate formation.

The Son of Heaven who ruled the realm... the man who overturned clouds and summoned rain in the court, who decided all beneath Heaven with a turn of his hand... now found his palms sweating.

He was nervous.

Eunuch Wei, standing nearby, considerately released a stream of qi from his sleeve to cool His Majesty down.

The Emperor let out a long breath.

Then cursed:

“That bastard Zheng really did lie to Us.”

Eunuch Wei looked puzzled.

If, at a moment like this, the Emperor and Regent Prince had misunderstood one another, how exactly was this entire war supposed to end?

But very quickly... the Emperor continued:

“He actually told Us that commanding troops was simple. Just put yourself here, sit down, and try your best to look calm and relaxed. That bastard Zheng really treats Us like a three-year-old child. Beat Us to death and We still would not believe he has been winning battles all these years with nothing more than that trick.”

On that same day...

Great Yan’s Regent Prince Zheng Fan, riding a Pixiu... finally emerged from the mountain valley.

The Prince gazed into the distance.

And sighed.

“Jiangnan... this Prince has finally arrived.”

Xie Yu’an, who had remained around the command tent throughout the march, smiled and picked up the thread.

“Everyone says Qian’s Jiangnan is the most exquisite land beneath Heaven, filled with a thousand kinds of romance. There is even an old line saying that if one cannot be born here, raised here, and buried here, then one has not truly lived this mortal life. This junior knows Your Highness possesses outstanding literary talent. I wonder whether Your Highness ever imagined that, in this lifetime, you might have been born a man of Jiangnan?”

This was not simple flattery.

Everyone knew the Regent Prince of Great Yan had produced famous poems and writings.

Even Qian men who normally despised the Yan had to pinch their noses and admit that some of those works deserved to be passed down.

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Don’t mention it. I really did think about that once. But if you eat too much sweetness, sooner or later it cloys. After turning it over and over in my mind, I still think clashing weapons, iron cavalry, and ten thousand li of yellow sand suit me better. Even if Jiangnan has beautiful women everywhere, songs and dances in an age of peace, poets and romantic scholars praising ten thousand scenes of splendor... none of it is worth even one ten-thousandth of a single cry of, ‘Go to your deaths for me!’”

The Prince’s gaze lowered.

His expression became solemn.

“This Prince... has come to get you.”

[End of Chapter 996]