Mo Han knew he had fallen into a trap, but it was already too late. Jinyang City relied on formidable natural defenses and supported Jiao County to the south. Mo Han attempted to assemble his forces and attack it once, but gained no advantage. Unwilling to waste more troops for nothing, he could only withdraw to the outskirts of Kuiyuan City.
Both he and the Xiao court were furious—Great Xuan had broken its word and gone back on its promises time and again. More than half a year had passed in turmoil, yet all they had obtained was a portion of the “ransom” the Second Prince had plundered when his army reached the capital. The remainder of the “ransom,” along with the three major strongholds the Xuan emperor had promised to cede, had never been delivered.
Autumn was approaching, yet neither the peace negotiations between the two states nor the battle for Kuiyuan City had made any progress. Xiao was stirring restlessly and clearly had no intention of letting matters end. In autumn, the grass was lush and provisions abundant, while the warhorses were fat and strong—the perfect season for a long southward campaign.
–
Li Gang was also worried that once autumn arrived, the war would become even more unfavorable for Xuan. By the end of the eighth month, he had managed to train twenty-five thousand reasonably presentable infantrymen and construct fifteen hundred war wagons impressive enough to intimidate the enemy. But even with these, he could not contend with Mo Han’s army alone.
He had heard that east of the Taihang Mountains, in Hebei Circuit—the route the Xiao Second Prince and the eastern Xiao army had taken toward the capital—the enemy had marched back and forth over the past year, besieging cities, seizing territory, burning, killing, and plundering, leaving the common people displaced and wretched.
Yet amid the chaos, a commander skilled in warfare had emerged. He had reorganized the scattered Imperial Army and local militias and actively led them in resisting the Xiao army.
This man was named Zong Duo. Like Li Gang, he had begun his career as a civil official, and the course of his life had been remarkably similar. Because he was upright and unyielding, he had gone unappreciated for many years and was now already in his sixties. Entrusted with command in a moment of crisis, the elderly man had been appointed by the emperor as Commander-General of the Hebei Circuit Volunteer Forces.
Li Gang therefore prepared a memorial asking the court to order Commander Zong to lead his forces from Hebei Circuit, pass through Shouyang, cross the Taihang Mountains, and come to Kuiyuan’s aid from the east.
When the time came, the Li army would attack from the south, the She army from the west, and Zong’s army from the east. With a general assault from three directions, they would surely defeat the Xiao army.
–
The urgent memorial was sent to the capital, and before long, excellent news returned—the emperor had heard the plan and praised it as brilliant. Not only did he agree to send Commander Zong as reinforcement, he also promised to transfer another twenty thousand troops from the south and invite the recently recovered Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo to return to service and lead them north.
Li Gang was overjoyed when he heard the news and immediately informed Tianmen Pass and Kuiyuan as well.
–
Kuiyuan City had now been besieged for a full eight months. No matter how carefully Prefect Zhang calculated and reduced expenditures, the city, like Ant County, was finally approaching the point where both provisions and soldiers were exhausted. The news descended like blessed rain from heaven, greatly heartening Kuiyuan, which had been teetering on the brink of despair. After considering the matter, Prefect Zhang ordered all civilians to move into the inner city while the soldiers remained in the outer city. All food and water were to be distributed uniformly so they could hold out until the reinforcements arrived.
Below Tianmen Pass, the She family army had several prefectures to the west at its back, so its military equipment and provisions remained fairly sufficient. It calmly repelled each of Mo Han’s repeated attacks.
Inside Jinyang City, Zhang San and Li Si also assisted Li Gang, making the most of every moment to train the new troops and study offensive and defensive formations for the war wagons.
–
Amid the tense preparations on every side, the golden autumn of the ninth month finally arrived.
–
On this particular day, Zhang San rose somewhat later than usual.
The sky had only just begun to brighten, and the soldiers’ morning drills had not yet started. He lingered in an inconspicuous little courtyard tucked into a corner of the military camp, inside a simple earthen house. Lazily turning over on the softly padded bed, he buried his face in Li Si’s pillow. His disheveled long hair spilled down, revealing a bare collarbone and a neck covered in suction marks.
The dark-red marks stopped precisely at the crescent of his collarbone and had never dared move even the slightest bit lower, leaving the pair of full autumn fruits below tragically neglected.
Laughter and chatter came from outside, chirping noisily enough to wake him. He reached toward the space beside him but failed to find Sisi. His hand groped beneath the covers and encountered only coldness. It seemed Li Si had already been gone for quite some time.
A disgruntled rumble rose from his throat, sounding exactly like the purr of a large cat. He rubbed his face fiercely against Sisi’s pillow once more before slowly sitting up, propping open his bleary eyes and looking around.
Sisi was not inside the room. The laughter outside, however, had grown even louder.
–
Li Si was sitting with Elder Sister and Brother-in-law. The three each occupied a small camp stool and held a pair of scissors and several leaves, chatting as they cut them.
Surprisingly, Li Si spoke the most. “You cut it like this, then fold it like this… There aren’t many catalpa trees in the capital. You have to go outside the city to find them. At the Beginning of Autumn, many peddlers sell these in the streets. You have to pay for them…”
There were no outsiders in the courtyard, so Zhang San threw on a thin robe that left his chest exposed, supported his waist, and walked over. In a hoarse voice, he asked, “Pay for what? What are you cutting?”
Hearing him, Li Si looked up and smiled. He quickly stood and offered Zhang San his own little camp stool.
Zhang San sat down without the slightest hesitation.
A soft cushion had been placed on the stool. Brother-in-law had tucked it into their luggage and brought it especially from Ant County. He advised, “Si’er, you should sit there yourself.”
Elder Sister also scolded, “Third, have you no shame? Why are you sitting on Si’er’s stool?”
Utterly shameless, Zhang San shifted his backside around until he found a comfortable position and said carelessly, “Why shouldn’t I sit? My voice was made hoarse last night.”
Elder Sister cursed, “You still have the nerve to say that! Making such a racket in the military camp at night—aren’t you afraid others will hear? Look at Si’er. He was quiet as anything and rose before dawn to gather catalpa leaves. How can you sit on his stool and keep him from resting properly?”
Brother-in-law also looked at him reproachfully.
Zhang San stared at his two closest relatives, his eyes so full of grievance that it nearly transformed into righteous fury—My body is covered in this! Look at the way I’m sitting! Listen to my voice! And I’m still the one who bullied him? Must I take off my trousers to prove my innocence?
He was so angry that his fingers had already pressed against his waistband when Li Si caught his hand beside him.
Li Si did not know what Elder Sister and Brother-in-law had misunderstood, much less why Brother Xiao was angry. He merely thought Zhang San was unhappy after being scolded. Holding Brother Xiao’s fingers in his palm to soothe him, he smiled and asked, “Are you hungry? There are dry flatbreads inside. Shall I bring you one?”
Cook Wu and her husband had both been requisitioned by Pacification Commissioner Li for the army kitchens. Food was now distributed uniformly throughout the camp, so there were temporarily no steaming bowls of sliced-noodle soup waiting for them when they awoke.
Zhang San was already full of anger. What the hell did he need a flatbread for? But Li Si’s bright, lovely smile soothed him somewhat, so he stopped arguing with Elder Sister and Brother-in-law. Changing the subject, he asked Li Si, “What are you cutting?”
Li Si picked several leaves from the sewing basket and showed them to him. As he wrote the character in Zhang San’s palm, he explained, “These are catalpa leaves. The character for ‘catalpa’ contains the character for ‘autumn.’ In autumn, people in the capital cut catalpa leaves into decorative shapes and wear them in their hair to pray for blessings. Grandma always used to cut mine. Even though her eyesight was poor, she cut them beautifully. I can’t do it as well as she could.”
Elder Sister also showed Zhang San a ragged, badly cut leaf. “Mine isn’t good either. Your brother-in-law cuts them well.”
The deft-handed Brother-in-law smiled bashfully and held up a golden leaf cut into the shape of a plum blossom for the two younger brothers to admire.
–
In the end, all the beautiful leaf blossoms were pinned into the two younger brothers’ hair.
Brother-in-law wore the mangled leaf Elder Sister had cut for him. He did not dislike it for being ugly, but said somewhat aggrievedly, “Wife, this leaf you chose isn’t yellow enough. Look, there are still green edges. I’m afraid it’s inauspicious…”
Elder Sister glared at him.
Brother-in-law quickly changed his words. “Very yellow. Extremely yellow. Most auspicious.”
–
The people of Xuan loved wearing flowers in their hair, especially in the capital. Most of the soldiers in the army Li Gang had brought were also conscripts from the area around the capital. The weather had cooled the previous night, and a thousand-year-old catalpa tree in the city had shed golden leaves all over the ground. Like Li Si, many soldiers gathered them and pinned them into their hair, praying for blessings before the approaching battle.
Thus, when Zhang San climbed onto the city wall not long afterward wearing his catalpa leaf, he discovered a city full of heads gleaming gold just like his.
Even Pacification Commissioner Li had several leaves tucked into his hair, though they looked exceedingly crude. Zhang San hesitated again and again. Afraid that if he secretly kept it, Sisi might later compare accounts with Commissioner Li, he reluctantly took out one beautiful leaf blossom.
“Pacification Commissioner Li, Sisi asked me to bring this to you.”
Commissioner Li smiled so broadly he could not close his mouth. “Good Si’er. How thoughtful of him. Is he training the troops today as well?”
“Yes.”
Commissioner Li happily pinned the leaf blossom into his hair, then looked at the sky and finally turned solemn. Carefully counting on his fingers, he said, “Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo should arrive today. Commander Zhang, come with me to the southern gate to await and welcome him.”
“Yes.”
–
The entire city’s blessing-bearing catalpa leaves waited for the reinforcements to arrive. Fifteen days earlier, Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo had departed the capital with his army, coming north for the final battle to save Kuiyuan.
Kuiyuan City’s defense of more than nine months, Ant County’s sacrifice in abandoning the city, Tianmen Pass’s repeated battles to the death, and the joint planning of all three sides had all been undertaken for this moment.
Although the journey north was long and arduous, no Xiao troops stood in their way. Even if Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo’s forces were entirely infantry, they should have arrived that day.
Yet Li Gang and Zhang San waited on the walls for the entire day. Only near sunset did they finally see a sparse, scattered group approaching from Jiao County to the south. A mounted courier, escorted by several dozen Jiao County defenders, hurried toward them.
The setting sun sank among the mountains, and the golden catalpa leaves lost their glow. Zhang San’s heart dropped heavily, and he saw Commissioner Li’s expression darken as well.
The courier presented an imperial edict delivered by urgent dispatch over a thousand li. Commissioner Li lowered his eyes and read with his brows tightly furrowed, remaining silent for a long time.
Zhang San could not read. Burning with anxiety at the side, he could not very well urge him. “Commissioner, what happened?”
Li Gang released the long breath he had been holding down, exhaling shakily. His body swayed slightly. Zhang San immediately stepped forward to support him.
Li Gang forced himself not to lose composure. He had spent years rising and falling through Great Xuan’s officialdom and was all too accustomed to seeing every effort destroyed at the most critical moment. Closing his eyes wearily, he sighed. “Commander Zhang, please summon Si’er and the other deputy commanders to the central command tent. I must discuss this with all the generals.”
“…Yes.”
–
Promises made too lightly must never be trusted too easily. The emperor had indeed broken his word.
Xiao had issued a declaration of war. The Second Prince once again led an army south through Hebei Circuit, making another long, unhindered advance toward the capital. Commander Zong’s forces in Hebei were occupied resisting him and naturally could no longer come to Kuiyuan’s aid. When the news reached the capital, the court was frightened into complete panic and hurriedly recalled Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo, who had already traveled halfway north.
Worse still, Li Gang had previously sought to win the emperor’s trust and obtain more reinforcements for a general assault to relieve Kuiyuan. He had confidently declared that he had built a thousand war wagons and trained twenty thousand elite soldiers capable of defeating the Xiao Iron Pagoda cavalry. The emperor now ordered Li Gang to lead those elite troops, transport the war wagons back, and hurry south to save the capital.
As for Kuiyuan—it had already held out for so long. It could simply continue defending itself.
–
When Li Gang relayed the imperial edict to the generals, everyone’s expression darkened. A deathly silence filled the tent.
Compared with Kuiyuan City, the safety of the capital was naturally more important. Yet Kuiyuan’s present position was as precarious as piled eggs. How could it withstand having the fuel pulled from beneath its cauldron like this? The moment the reinforcements departed, Mo Han would surely seize the opportunity to launch a general assault and take Kuiyuan’s life.
Zhang San ground his tiger teeth audibly and asked hoarsely, “So all our months of planning and fighting to the death have gone to waste? Ant County was simply handed over to the Xiao bandits for nothing? If Pacification Commissioner Li leaves in obedience to this edict, isn’t the court abandoning Kuiyuan once again? How is this any different from ceding it several months ago?”
Li Si was also trembling with anger. He had something to say, but after serving in the imperial city for several months, he knew such words could not be spoken recklessly in public. Pulling Commissioner Li aside, he asked softly, “Commissioner, can you refuse to go back? Save Kuiyuan first, then leave?”
Li Gang sighed quietly. It was not that the thought of defying the edict had never occurred to him. The ancients said, “A general in the field need not obey every command of his sovereign.” But Great Xuan exalted civil officials and suppressed military ones. A general possessed authority to command troops, yet had no independent power to transfer or deploy them. These twenty-five thousand soldiers were not the private army of a man surnamed Li. If they followed him in defying the edict, they would all be branded rebels alongside him. Their families were all in the capital, leaving them no path but death.
Nor could he drag the She family army into defying the edict with him. The She family had defended the frontier for generations and was already vulnerable to the court’s suspicions. They could easily be accused of harboring ambitions to control an army and establish their own power. Moreover, without reinforcements from the south and east, Li Gang’s army and the She family army alone had no certainty of victory.
Seeing the heaviness in his expression, Li Si knew this path was impossible. He lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long while.
Turning back toward his trusted subordinates, Li Gang sighed. “Our preparations to march south will take time, so we can delay for several days. Send letters to Kuiyuan and Tianmen Pass informing them of the situation, and consult with them.”
–
The night was dim and murky. Candlelight flickered weakly inside the earthen room as Zhang San sat at the table, his face dark while he brooded alone.
Li Si entered carrying a basin of water and called, “Brother Xiao, come wash.”
The two squatted beside the basin together. Each picked up a cloth and silently washed his face and wiped down his body.
Zhang San suddenly spoke. “Sisi.”
Li Si answered, “Mm?”
“You’ve seen the emperor himself. What does he look like? Does he have a ratlike face like that county magistrate Shu Da Fu?”
Li Si paused and thought back for a long while before shaking his head.
The emperor had refined, scholarly features and nothing particularly distinctive about him. He was neither fierce nor imposing. He resembled an ordinary scholar, haggard and melancholy. Li Si had once heard Managing Officer Li say that while the emperor was Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace, he studied diligently, lived industriously and frugally, and had never committed any moral transgression. He was unlike his father, the Retired Emperor: he did not lust after women, delight in music, or indulge in immortality practices and worship of deities. After ascending the throne, under pressure from scholars and commoners, he punished many corrupt officials and drove the two great parasites, Chancellor Cai and Grand Preceptor Tong, from the court.
Yet he had been pushed weeping onto the throne and frightened into fainting fits by the Xiao army. He was cowardly and afraid of death, repeatedly changing his position and willingly ceding territory and offering gold to beg for mercy. Though he had not immersed himself in immortality practices, he blindly trusted the State Preceptor’s arts. Though he had expelled Cai and Tong, he continued presiding over a chaotic court filled with intrigue and infighting.
Li Si thought for a long while before saying seriously, “The emperor is somewhat like Prefect Zhang. Their faces aren’t alike, but their expressions are. But Prefect Zhang was only like that in the beginning. Later, he changed. The emperor has always remained that way—spiritless, with clouded eyes.”
Zhang San fell silent.
After washing, the two climbed onto the bed one after the other. As usual, Zhang San pulled Sisi into his arms and held him tightly, burying his face against Sisi’s neck.
Even in such a warm and intimate moment, with their cheeks pressed together, he said darkly in a hoarse voice, “I truly want to go to the capital and kill him.”
Li Si asked, “The emperor?”
“Mm.”
Li Si rubbed his cheek against Zhang San’s in return. Like two small beasts grooming one another, they warmed each other while both sank deep into thought.
Li Si wondered: Did the emperor deserve to die? Anyone who caused others’ deaths deserved death, and the emperor had unquestionably deserved to die countless times over. But if the emperor died, would everything truly change? The Crown Prince was only a few years old and understood nothing. What would become of that chaotic court?
As he recalled the imperial city and court, the quarrelling voices of hundreds of officials echoed in his ears, while clouds of incense smoke filled his vision. Through layer after layer of haze, he saw Little Brother’s bloodless, pale face, and beside him, Perfected Master Shen Xiao chanting endlessly with his serpentine expression.
The arm Li Si had wrapped around Brother Xiao’s waist suddenly trembled.
Zhang San asked, “What is it?”
Li Si said, “Perfected Master Shen Xiao…”
Zhang San asked, “Why suddenly mention that bastard? What about him?”
Li Si said, “He established an Immortal Fire Army that practices the ‘Five-Armor Art of War.’ It is now the principal force defending the capital. If the Xiao bandits attack the capital and he commands from the walls…”
With demonic fire throwing the state into chaos, if the capital fell, Great Xuan would perish, and Kuiyuan would have no path to survival either.
Li Si asked, “Brother Xiao, can Kuiyuan and Jinyang hold out for another month?”
Zhang San said, “I should be able to defend Jinyang. I only hope Kuiyuan can endure as well. Do you have an idea?”
Li Si said, “I don’t know whether the emperor should die, but there is one man who absolutely must. If we kill him and then lift the siege of the capital, perhaps the emperor will permit us to reinforce Kuiyuan again. Brother Xiao, I must return to the capital with Pacification Commissioner Li.”
⸻
Little Colt: I’ll only be gone for a little while. I’ll be back in the blink of an eye!
Big Tiger: No!!! Absolutely not!!! I can’t bear it!!! I’m going to ride you until you faint!!!
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment