The Contempt of the Nations
Arriving at the border of Great Yan after circling around Pingyang City, Xiao Rongyan stood atop a high mountain in Linchuan and gazed at the eastern sky, dyed crimson. He guessed that it must be the direction of Wengshan.
"My lord, Uncle Feng has arrived!"
Xiao Rongyan's guard climbed up the mountain and bowed at the waist as he delivered the report.
"Understood."
Xiao Rongyan gave his answer and walked down toward the base of the mountain.
All the way down, his mind was consumed with thought.
With Jin, Nanyan, and Xiliang now a churning cauldron of chaos, it seemed the moment had finally come for Great Yan to begin moving.
The previous year had been an unbroken string of disasters for Great Yan. In the brutal winter cold, the people went hungry with nothing to eat, and those who froze or starved to death were beyond counting.
And yet, if Great Yan failed to reclaim Nanyan—the territory that had split away from it—while the three nations tore at each other's throats, there was no telling whether such a golden opportunity would ever come again.
When he descended the mountain, a white-haired old man in layered black robes stood waiting and bowed to him with a dignified bearing. Then he spoke, his voice trembling with emotion.
"Young Master, it has been far too long. Have you been well?"
The old eunuch had no beard, and his voice was somewhat thin. Anyone could see at a glance that he was a palace eunuch.
This old man was Feng Yao, the Grand Eunuch who had once served Empress Ji. After the Empress perished in the sea of flames, Feng Yao had fled, carrying the seven-year-old Xiao Rongyan in his arms. Since then, he had followed the Empress's eldest son—now the Emperor of Great Yan—and devoted himself to him with unwavering loyalty.
"Uncle Feng."
Xiao Rongyan returned the bow and asked, "How fares my brother's health? Have his fainting spells improved?"
Feng Yao sighed and shook his head. Dabbing at the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, he replied, "There is not a single capable minister in the court who could govern the realm, so His Majesty must attend to every matter himself. As if that were not burden enough, this year has ravaged Great Yan yet again, and the people's lives grow ever more wretched. Before this humble servant departed, Your Majesty had grown terribly gaunt!"
The fist hidden within Xiao Rongyan's sleeve clenched tight. He ground his teeth before answering.
"Tell my brother to hold on a little longer. Loyal men will come. Capable ministers will come as well!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Having answered, Feng Yao drew a military tally from his robes and presented it to Xiao Rongyan.
"His Majesty sent this humble servant expressly to deliver this to you, Young Master. The new military unit that Xie Xun has been training is also beginning to show results. Since you spend most of your time moving about within Jin, carry this tally with you, and should any difficulty arise, use it to summon the soldiers training in secret in the Linchuan mountains. They will see you safely home! His Majesty has declared that above all else, your safety is paramount!"
In the flickering torchlight, Xiao Rongyan's deep, unfathomable eyes dimmed and brightened in turns. As he stared at the tally in Feng Yao's hands, his gaze grew darker and darker still. Countless thoughts raced through his mind, and his fingers, curled around the Jade Cicada, tightened without his realizing it.
Was this the will of heaven?
Only moments ago he had resolved to reclaim Nanyan with this very opportunity—and now his uncle had come bearing a military tally. What was more, Xie Xun happened to be training soldiers in the very Linchuan mountains where he was staying.
It had been at Xiao Rongyan's own behest that the obscure, unranked Xie Xun had been entrusted with training new soldiers. He simply had never imagined that his brother would order the man to train them at Linchuan.
Xiao Rongyan accepted the tally and asked, "How many soldiers is Xie Xun training in the Linchuan mountains?"
"Thirty thousand," Feng Yao replied.
Thirty thousand...
It was a far greater force than Xiao Rongyan had anticipated. His throat felt as though it were being squeezed shut. He turned to his subordinate and said, "Bring me a map."
Xiao Rongyan's subordinate spread the map across the carriage's bench and raised a torch high.
Xiao Rongyan bowed his head over the map. According to the intelligence he had gathered before departing from Wanping, the Emperor of Nanyan had issued a decree: the Nanyan army that had seized Fengxian was to remain there and hold its position without moving.
When the peace negotiations concluded, Nanyan intended to set conditions before Xiliang. They would propose trading Fengcheng for Fengxian—for Xiliang had long coveted Fengxian. But Fengcheng was a prize that both Xiliang and Nanyan desired.
The Emperor of Nanyan had also ordered grain shipments sent to Fengxian so that his army could survive the winter.
Xiao Rongyan pointed his finger at Yaoguan Pass on the map and nodded. If Nanyan's grain and baggage trains were to reach Fengxian—and reach it quickly—they would most certainly pass through Yaoguan.
Xiao Rongyan handed the tally back to Feng Yao and spoke.
"Uncle Feng, take this tally and deliver my orders to Xie Xun, who is raising the new soldiers. Tell him to take up the Bai Family Army's Black-Cloth White-Guan Standard, ambush the enemy at Yaoguan Pass, and seize the grain Nanyan is transporting to Jin's Fengxian. The thirty thousand soldiers are to keep lying in wait at Yaoguan Pass.
Within four days at the latest, Nanyan's great army will be routed and retreat from Jin. And when they do, they will have to pass through Yaoguan! Tell Xie Xun to make ready—and when the moment comes, to slaughter Nanyan's soldiers at Yaoguan Pass without leaving a single man alive!"
The reason he ordered Xie Xun to carry the Bai Family Army's White Python Banner while seizing Nanyan's grain was twofold: to borrow the fearsome reputation of the Bai Family Army, and to temporarily blind Nanyan's vigilance so they would not suspect Great Yan.
And it would aid Bai Jingyan as well.
If the Nanyan general garrisoning Fengxian heard that the Bai Family Army had plundered Nanyan's grain supply, his terror of them would only deepen. And then he would flee the field before a single battle was even fought—that much was certain.
The Nanyan soldiers fleeing back toward their homeland would be terrified of a pursuit by the Bai Family Army.
The only reason Nanyan had been able to commit its entire army to join Xiliang in the invasion of Jin was its judgment that Great Yan—struck by disaster after disaster this year—could not possibly muster soldiers to provoke it.
Which was precisely why Great Yan had to strike where it was least expected.
The waters were already muddied. If they did not annihilate Nanyan's battle-hardened soldiers now, then the moment Nanyan regained its footing, it would inevitably turn to swallow Great Yan whole.
Rather than sitting idle and waiting, it was a far better choice to butcher Nanyan's main force the moment the opportunity arose, and then drive straight for Nanyan's capital in the same stroke.
If they could only reclaim Nanyan, a boundless supply of food and weapons could be transported back to Great Yan, and the people of Great Yan would finally be able to breathe again.
"Young Master, but our Great Yan's national strength is simply too—"
"Uncle Feng, do as I say. Trust me."
Xiao Rongyan looked at Feng Yao with beautiful, resolute eyes—the very image of Empress Ji's own.
How could Feng Yao not know that he was nothing more than a servant? It was true that his standing had risen in appearance because he had once saved Xiao Rongyan's life, but he would never, under any circumstance, defy Xiao Rongyan's will.
What was more, the Emperor had already handed over the military tally. His intent was clear: to place the newly forged army in Xiao Rongyan's hands.
"Young Master, there is something that worries this humble servant."
Feng Yao spoke up. "The soldiers were hidden in the Linchuan mountains for the purpose of repelling a Jin attack. If Jin learns that you are moving the soldiers elsewhere to strike Nanyan's army, might they not turn around and attack us instead?"
"Jin is locked in a standoff with the combined armies of Nanyan and Xiliang—they can barely save themselves. Jin's incompetent Emperor buried the entire Bai Family Army, the one force that excelled at war, down in the Southern Border. Right now, Jin would pray for us to fight a war with Nanyan—if only to catch its breath."
Fingering the Jade Cicada, Xiao Rongyan continued slowly. "This is the golden opportunity for Great Yan to reclaim its lost lands. If we let this chance slip, we cannot avoid war with Nanyan by next year at the latest—and even then, there is no guarantee we could recover what was lost as we can now."
Feng Yao hastily bowed at the waist. "This humble servant will take the tally and deliver your orders to Xie Xun at once!"
As Feng Yao mounted his horse, Xiao Rongyan spoke again.
"Uncle Feng, when you meet Xie Xun, place the tally in his hands. And tell him—make certain he knows—that my brother and I trust him. He is the only man who can annihilate Nanyan's elite troops at Yaoguan Pass. Xie Xun knows Nanyan well, so tell him to act as he sees fit. The times are in chaos, so command him to reclaim as much of Great Yan's lost territory as he can.
Once Xie Xun departs for Yaoguan Pass, Uncle Feng, return to the capital and tell my brother to recruit soldiers and garrison them along the Tianqu River for defense. The troops stationed at the Tianqu River answer only to the bearer of the military tally—so tell him to defer to Xie Xun's commands."
The Tianqu River was the boundary that connected Nanyan and Great Yan. North of the Great River lay Great Yan; south of it lay Nanyan.
After Empress Ji's death, Jin had attacked Great Yan, and the second son of King Su had carved off a portion of Great Yan's territory under the pretext that the Tianqu River was in danger, naming it Nanyan.
Xiao Rongyan and the Emperor of Great Yan had sworn before Empress Ji's tombstone—that they would recover every inch of Great Yan's lost lands and wash away the humiliation.
To keep Great Yan alive in the cracks between its enemies, Xiao Rongyan had wandered from nation to nation. And at long last, he had come to understand why his mother, Empress Ji, had yearned for the unification of all under heaven.
Empress Ji had been born into a poor family. Having endured hardship with her own flesh, she had come to understand that only when the world itself was at peace could there be lasting years of tranquility.
Great Yan now crouched in some forgotten corner of the world, despised and scorned by all the rival nations. But Xiao Rongyan and his brother meant to inherit their mother's wish—to unify the realm, forge a golden age, and fulfill the desire of the mother who watched over them from the heavens.
Xiao Rongyan and his brother were nothing like the Emperor of Great Jin. Once they resolved to trust a man, they never doubted him. Having decided to keep Xie Xun at their side, they would hand him the military tallies of the entire realm and entrust him to move as he willed.
With his general strategy laid out, Xiao Rongyan watched Feng Yao lead the band of guards away. He then gave orders for the grain and weapons to be transported back to the capital, while he himself took only a handful of men and slipped back out beyond Great Yan's border. It was perilous—but the plan was to enter Nanyan and coordinate with Xie Xun from within and without.
Wengcheng and Tianmenguan lay very close together. Leading two hundred valiant soldiers, Bai Jingyan circled around Tianmenguan and followed the mountain trail to arrive at the Xiliang camp. The timing had meshed perfectly.
Bai Jingyan hid in the forest with her soldiers, eyes blazing, staring fixedly at the Xiliang camp where the fires burned bright.
When she saw what hung high in the very center of the Xiliang army's camp, swaying in the wind, her blood surged in reverse. She wanted nothing more than to slaughter every last man on the spot and carry her father's head home in her arms.
Bitter tears came welling up, but Bai Jingyan forced them back, steeling herself—not yet. I must wait. Even after the rumor of Yun Paxing's crushing defeat spread through the whole of the Xiliang camp, there would still be time to strike. It would not be too late then.
Bai Jingyan turned her head and spoke to Xiao Ruogang.
"The covert operatives know the Xiliang camp well. Have one of them take ten soldiers and infiltrate the camp—burn the Xiliang army's weapons depot to the ground."
Yun Paxing and his men, having trudged barefoot for a long stretch before finally scrounging up a few horses, returned to camp looking utterly routed—and the moment they did, chaos erupted throughout the Xiliang camp. The generals shouted at the top of their lungs for army physicians.
Yun Paxing's eldest grandson wept and wailed, crying out for his grandfather.
Yun Paxing, two arrows buried deep in his knees, was helped into the general's tent on the shoulders of his officers. A wooden rod was clenched tight between his teeth. His mind seethed with nothing but the memory of that woman—the one who had radiated such cold, murderous aura.
Raging and howling, Yun Paxing ordered the army physician to pull out the arrows.
His eldest grandson knelt at the bedside, wiping away tears with the back of his hand.
"Grandfather..."
The army physician washed his hands thoroughly, then extracted the arrows lodged in Yun Paxing's shoulder and both knees. After digging out every fragment of the shattered kneecaps, he had an attendant sprinkle hemostatic powder over the wounds and press down on them to staunch the bleeding.
Yun Paxing's face flushed crimson with agony. The tendons of his neck stood out hideously, yet to the very end he kept the wooden rod clenched between his teeth, refusing to let out a single scream.