The deputy commander returned in high spirits with several thousand prisoners. No one needed to ask how the battle had gone. His expression alone announced a resounding victory. Everyone at Yanmen Pass was beaming, the gloom that had accumulated under Mengwu’s Thunderclap Bomb attacks finally swept away.
Fu Xi Yan did not join the celebrations. The news Emperor Jianhong had sent through Cen Bao En was far too astonishing. Half a day had passed since he heard it, yet he still could not shake his shock.
Pei Yuan Jin had already asked the garrison commander to send a letter through the official relay station, recording what they had learned from the Youzhou battlefield and forwarding it to Immortal Treasury Palace headquarters for Jing Luo to decide how to proceed. If Ren Fei Ying had been killed and Aburslang’s betrayal proved true, the palace might find itself drawn into a conflict between nations. Pei Yuan Jin had previously had some reservations about that prospect, but they vanished after he saw the two maps Cen Bao En had delivered.
While writing the letter, he naturally recalled the Youzhou envoy’s message: “Beware of Haojing.”
The fewer the words and the simpler the message, the easier it was to misinterpret.
“Beware of Haojing” might mean beware of someone in Haojing, or beware of something that was going to happen there. They would have to observe and analyze the situation to find out which.
Once Fu Xi Yan told Cen Bao En that he had agreed to Emperor Jianhong’s request, Cen urged them to set out.
The party soon went to take their leave of the garrison commander.
Knowing they could not stay at Yanmen Pass for long, the commander produced a flag he had prepared in advance.
Fu Xi Yan accepted it in both hands, expecting to unfurl an embroidered banner proclaiming something like “Always Ready to Help” or “Protector of the People.” Instead, it was an ordinary military flag of Yanmen Pass.
And yet, it was not entirely ordinary.
“Yanmen Pass will never forget what you two have done for us. I hope you will never forget the bond you share with Yanmen Pass!” Had they not arrived in time, Yanmen Pass might already have suffered the same fate as Yulin Town. In addition to his lingering fear, the commander felt profound gratitude.
Fu Xi Yan cupped his fists. “I will remember it for the rest of my life.” He had fought in battles large and small, but only at Yanmen Pass had he fought to defend his country’s territory. It had been different from all the battles before. His reply came straight from the heart.
Their farewell was reluctant, but once the party took the road home, they traveled at double speed.
Meanwhile, after another day of assaults on the city, Weizhou had fallen into weary silence once more.
After meeting the King of Mengwu, Aburslang turned down his colleagues’ invitation to drink and hurried back to his residence.
The military physician he had left there to tend the patient sprang nervously to his feet. A native of Northern Zhou, the man was ostracized and discriminated against in Mengwu and depended entirely on Aburslang’s protection. His manner was therefore exceedingly respectful.
“How are his injuries today?”
The physician replied, “He woke briefly just now, and his fever has subsided. As long as he rests properly, he should recover seventy to eighty percent.”
Aburslang wanted to ask what would become of the remaining twenty to thirty percent. But he remembered the arrow he had fired with all his strength, and his face darkened. He waved the physician away.
Just as the physician reached the door, Aburslang spoke again. “If anyone else asks…”
After a moment’s thought, the physician ventured, “He is still unconscious.”
Aburslang nodded. Only after the physician had departed as though granted a pardon did he stand by the bed and say gloomily, “You’re awake. Why are you pretending to sleep?”
The man on the bed did not stir.
Aburslang said, “Mengwu attacked the city today. Care to guess how it went?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “We didn’t take it. But a great many Northern Zhou soldiers died.”
At last, the man on the bed opened his eyes.
Aburslang brightened. “You’re awake! Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
“Why shed crocodile tears?”
Aburslang pulled over a stool and sat beside him. “I know you hate me for deceiving you and keeping you in Mengwu. But I’m a Mengwu man, and when the King of Mengwu summoned me, I had to answer. Besides, I had permission to do what I did.”
Thinking he meant the king’s permission, the man on the bed gave a cold, derisive laugh.
Aburslang went on. “I was once torn and uncertain about what to do. I even wrote to Mount Fujun to ask for advice. When loyalty to one’s sovereign and righteousness cannot both be upheld, which should I choose? Brother Ren, can you guess what the reply said?”
This “Brother Ren” was none other than Ren Fei Ying, who had been missing for so long that everyone had presumed him dead. Although an arrow from Aburslang had passed through his chest, Aburslang had deliberately spared his life. He had dragged Ren Fei Ying back from death’s doorstep.
Ren Fei Ying glared at him.
Aburslang said, “The reply was: ‘Country before family, sovereign before subject… These are the foundations of being human.’”
Ren Fei Ying was stunned. “Who wrote back?”
Aburslang took a letter from a drawer and showed it to him. “I don’t know either.”
“If you don’t know, how can you be sure it came from the Immortal Treasury Palace?”
Ren Fei Ying gave a contemptuous snort. But when he made out the handwriting on the letter, his face froze.
Although he was the chief administrator of Haojing’s Thunder Division, he had spent most of his time in secluded cultivation, leaving his deputy to report to headquarters on his behalf. Consequently, he was unfamiliar with the handwriting of most people there. There was one exception.
“Chief Manager Zhao?”
Zhao Tong Qu was chief manager of the Thunder Division. He had performed his duties conscientiously enough and frequently replied to letters in his own hand, so Ren Fei Ying recognized his writing.
Ren Fei Ying asked suspiciously, “You wrote to Chief Manager Zhao?”
Aburslang said, “I didn’t address it to anyone in particular. I didn’t even sign my name. I simply sent it to Mount Fujun.”
He had written the letter only to ease his conscience, never expecting it to reach anyone in particular. He had found someone at random along the road to carry it and handed over some money without much thought. Under those circumstances, the letter might easily have gone nowhere. To his surprise, not only had it been delivered and read, but the recipient had even sent a reply back to him.
Ren Fei Ying was deeply skeptical. The whole story sounded wildly implausible. A letter with no addressee or signature, entrusted to a random stranger, had somehow reached its destination and prompted a reply that found its way back. How many coincidences would that take?
He asked, “Would Chief Manager Zhao recognize your handwriting?”
Aburslang considered. “My master taught me to write. Brother Zhao also gave me a few pointers back then.”
So he might well have recognized it. But if Zhao Tong Qu had known who wrote the letter, he should have understood its unspoken implications. Even if he wanted to maintain the Immortal Treasury Palace’s tradition of staying out of court politics, surely he should have kept his distance. Why, then, did his response seem more like… fanning the flames?
The longer Ren Fei Ying thought about it, the less he believed the story. His face grew cold again. “You may have been ungrateful before, but at least you had the courage to own your actions. Now you’ve invented a lie to frame Chief Manager Zhao. Hah! I was wrong about you.”
Aburslang tried to explain, but Ren Fei Ying had already closed his eyes, refusing to listen. Aburslang sat by the bed for a while, then sighed. “My king flew into a rage when he learned that you warned Youzhou. He’s decided to launch a night raid, regardless of casualties. I’ve been reassigned to the vanguard. If I don’t come back by daybreak tomorrow, leave with the physician you just saw.”
With that, he put the stool back where it belonged and left the room, without waiting to see whether Ren Fei Ying had heard him.
When a person stays awake all night with eyes open, the darkness seems endless and dawn never comes. But close those eyes for a good night’s sleep, and morning arrives much too quickly, cutting short the dream.
In Lanxi Town, it was not yet quite light. The townspeople were still lost in their dreams, but inside a private room at an inn, someone had appeared who ought not to have been there at that hour or in that place.
The private room’s window was open a crack.
Standing by the window, Qin Zhao watched the director of the Territorial Security Office slip into the courtyard and begin speaking with a young palace eunuch beside him. Qin Zhao gave a deliberate cough. A short while later, the director came upstairs.
After Qin Zhao ascended the throne, neither the Territorial Security Office’s responsibilities nor its director’s duties had changed. Only its jurisdiction had expanded, amounting to a promotion in all but name. As a newly favored confidant on whom the new emperor relied heavily, the director now enjoyed immense prestige.
In Qin Zhao’s presence, however, he remained thoroughly deferential and obedient.
Accustomed to this manner, Qin Zhao sat at the table, sipped his tea, and asked unhurriedly, “Did everything go smoothly?”
The director replied, “Ji Chou Ying personally led a fleet on patrol along the river. Our men were nearly caught. Your Majesty, are we still going tonight?”
Qin Zhao said, “If Ji Chou Ying has taken charge in person, it means he’s begun taking the matter seriously. We’ve already given every warning we can. The rest depends on their luck.”
The director hesitated, then could not help asking, “Your Majesty, are we really not going to attack this time?” They had been pursued by Northern Zhou troops for so long, and every encounter had ended with them acting out a humiliating “rout.” The Southern Yu navy, which had always considered itself invincible, was seething.
Qin Zhao asked, “Why should we attack?”
The director ventured, “This may be Southern Yu’s best opportunity in a hundred years.”
As Qin Zhao’s trusted confidant, he naturally knew that Mengwu, the Northern Alliance, and the western states had joined forces against Northern Zhou and invited Southern Yu to participate. But he also knew Qin Zhao had no intention of joining them.
Southern Yu’s repeated naval incursions across the border were merely a smokescreen that allowed Qin Zhao to keep both sides satisfied.
From the perspective of Mengwu and the Northern Alliance, Southern Yu was indeed taking action, tying down Northern Zhou’s forces along its southern frontier. From Northern Zhou’s perspective, Southern Yu was trying to sound a warning. Whether Northern Zhou understood the warning was another matter.
Qin Zhao said, “If Northern Zhou falls, Southern Yu will face Mengwu, the Northern Alliance, and the western states directly. Our civil war has only just ended, leaving us gravely weakened. This is the time to recover our strength. Rushing into a war among several nations would drain our people and treasury, and the slightest mistake could bring disaster down on us. Better to watch the tigers fight from the mountainside and the fire rage from the far bank.”
The director asked uneasily, “But what if Northern Zhou loses? If Mengwu grows stronger, I’m afraid we’ll be next.”
Qin Zhao frowned. That clearly was not an outcome he wanted. Northern Zhou had been powerful enough to stand against Southern Yu for years, with victories and defeats on both sides and neither holding a decisive advantage. Should Mengwu destroy Northern Zhou, Southern Yu would inevitably be in grave danger.
He had naturally studied Northern Zhou’s reigning emperor, his longtime rival. The man possessed cunning, strategy, ruthlessness, and cruelty in abundance. Mengwu would have a hard time swallowing that tough opponent. Nevertheless, Qin Zhao would never rest all his hopes on another person. He already had a contingency in mind. “Then we fight them to the death before Mengwu has time to consolidate its position!”