CH 27

Imperial court of Suixi Kingdom.

In the midst of the dazzling imperial palace, a young man unfolded the cloth in front of him. He swept a glance at the handwriting on it, then his complexion became serious.

He looked at the kneeling spy in front of him, his knuckle knocked on the table with the cloth. He asked in a deep voice, “Is what’s written on this real?” 

“Bing Khan*, what is written there is true. I dare not deceive you for even half a sentence.” The spy said resolutely, “The Fourteenth Prince of the Great Yan is now in Liangcheng.”

Khan: Title for rulers elsewhere beside central plain.

Tuoba Hongze laughed softly, and then turned his head to look at Tuoba Ren, who was sitting upright at the lower left seat, “Hunle Wang, what do you think about this?”

Tuoba Ren’s face was a little pale. He covered his mouth and coughed for a long time before he calmed down. His pale face was stained with a thin layer of redness because of the cough.

He was a member of the Suixi Kingdom’s royal family, the younger brother of Tuoba Hongze, the Khan. This first warrior of Suixi Kingdom had been in poor health since he was injured and defeated in a battle five years ago.

Tuoba Hongze hearing the cough and thinking of his little brother who was once standing heroically in the battlefield being tortured all these years, his complexion was a little ugly. If it were not for that war, his little brother would still be galloping on the battlefield, maybe Liangcheng would have been taken by them a long time ago. But now…this number one warrior of the Suixi Kingdom was thus destroyed, becoming an eagle with broken wings. It was difficult to even get on a horse.

He sighed regretfully in his heart before asking with concern: “Why did you cough repeatedly for a while and not get better? I’ll let the doctor check your body for you later.”

Tuoba Ren waved his hand and took a sip of tea before saying, “No need, this is just a chronic illness, not that you don’t know. Calling the doctor over is useless.”

Tuoba Hongze remembered the source of all this, slammed his fist on the table, snorted coldly, and gritted his teeth: “Xie Yixiu, sooner or later Ben Wang will crush his corpse into ten thousand pieces to avenge you.” 

“I will personally take this revenge.” Tuoba Ren sneered. How he had lived these five years, no one could know better than him. His own revenge naturally needed to be repaid. He would never let another’s hand to accomplish this. Instead, he will catch him with his own hand, making him unable to live or die, letting him taste his own pain over these years.

With regard to this stubborn little brother who will not easily change his mind once he decides on something, Tuoba Hongze could do nothing at all. He simply skipped the question, “Regarding the fact that the Fourteenth Prince Duan Wang being assigned to Liangzhou by the Great Yan’s Emperor, what does little brother think?”

“Does the king want to make a fuss about Duan Wang?”

“Exactly!” Tuoba Hongze nodded, “Duan Wang is the fourteenth son of the Emperor of the Great Yan Kingdom. I heard that he is quite loved by the Great Yan’s Emperor. Although I don’t know why the Great Yan Emperor conferred a title to his son to Liangzhou, this is indeed an opportunity for us. If we can seize Duan Wang and use him to blackmail the Great Yan’s Emperor, at that time, won’t the conditions be for us to decide?”

Tuoba Ren also agreed with this. “It’s just that this Duan Wang is holed up in the middle of Liangcheng with guards to protect and follow, I’m afraid that it will not be easy for us to lay a hand on him.”

“It is impossible for this person to hole up in the middle of the city all the time without coming out. We can send out spies. As long as we wait until he leaves the city, I am not afraid we are not able to catch him” Tuoba Hongze thought about it for a moment and said with a very tough attitude: “Even if he does not go out of the city, we, the Suixi Kingdom will send out our army. As long as we capture Liangcheng we will be able to capture Duan Wang alive, then we won’t be afraid that the Great Yan’s Emperor will not obey.” 

Tuoba Ren frowned. Although it was easy to say, only he understood that it would not be easy to conquer this Liangcheng. Five years ago, they almost took over Liangcheng, but were disrupted by the Red Robed Army led by Xie Yixiu. It was at that time, he was shot by Xie Yixiu’s arrow, and almost lost his life to the underworld. He survived that incident with great difficulty. 

Today’s Red Robed Army was no longer the same Red Robed Army from before. It was no longer possible to enter the wilderness like they did back then.

Tuoba Hongze seemed to see through his concerns. His heart was depressed. When did his younger brother change his temper and nature? Unlike their Suixi Kingdom’s youngsters, he has become more and more indecisive, and overcautious. 

“Since we were able to march down to the city five years ago, we will be able to do it this time too. Has my little brother gotten scared from that battle five years ago and lost the courage of our Suixi Kingdom’s first warrior?”

Tuoba Ren was stimulated by these words. He clenched his fists, his face turning red. Under this stimulation, he couldn’t suppress his cough.

Tuoba Hongze had some regrets. Tuoba Ren was not in good health, he should not have said this to stimulate him. However, as soon as the words were spoken, there was no room for take backs.

After a long time, Tuoba Ren stopped coughing, and he stood up, “Khan, you can hand over this Duan Wang to me. No matter what method, I will definitely capture him alive and hand him over to you, otherwise, I will come forward to apologise.” Tuoba Ren bowed and left without looking back.

……

Mr. Wen had been in the great tent inside the barrack for over half a day already. It was already nightfall, but he had no intention of leaving. He paced back and forth, sometimes shaking his head, sometimes thinking, sometimes looking at Xie Yixiu and sighing. Xie Yixiu’s cold face did not seem to exist in his eyes.

Xie Yixiu was finally at his last straw. He put down the book in his hand, before shooting a glance at him coldly, “If you have anything to say, just say it.” Regarding this army advisor who has been doing nothing for the entire day, Xie Yixiu’s tolerance had reached its highest point.

Since the General had spoken, Mr. Wen finally stopped his footsteps. He looked at Xie Yixiu for a while with the appearance and aura of someone worldly, then stroked his two eight-character shaped moustache that were hard to keep, and asked leisurely: “Why did General become well spoken after going out for a trip? You really aren’t like our “scary” general Xie at all. Could it be that you went out to meet someone or something on this trip?”

If you ignore the gossip expression on his face, others will think that he was actually being caring.

He also heard his personal guards say there seemed to be something wrong with their general, but what was wrong? They couldn’t say what it was. Xie Yixiu had always been calm and steady, cool headed and self-sustaining. It is reasonable to say that he should not be moved by external objects.

However, when Xie Yixiu returned, he brought back a message that he was going to have an exercise confrontation with Duan Wang’s guards. This, this, this shocked his jaw off okay? What kind of confrontation exercise is this? Isn’t it to accompany the crown prince to study? But who is Xie Yixiu? Never bowing his head or bending his back for high court officials before, how could he have agreed to accompany His Highness Duan Wang to train troops without any benefit or reason? He was really puzzled. Curiosity killed the cat, but if these questions were not answered, he won’t be able to eat or sleep well, so he has to figure it out clearly.

Xie Yixiu’s face was already darkened, “Nothing happened. Since you have time to stay here, can I assume that you have already properly arranged the 3 months’ army provisions and expenses?” 

Mr. Wen smiled until his eyes squinted and said, “These are not urgent, but this matter of providing sparring partners to Duan Wang, General, you really did not take even a bit of benefit?” What is the identity of Duan Wang? The emperor had rewarded him a lot of money. Him casually leaking it out between his fingers could be enough for us to eat for half a month. Since he came to beg for a favour, General, are you really willing to miss such a good opportunity? Agreeing to do things without benefits is not like the general’s style! He shook his head and asked his doubts in one breath.

Xie Yixiu’s eyes were sharp, but this person was completely unaware, still shamelessly hoping that Xie Yixiu could tell him the reason why.

Xie Yixiu rubbed his eyebrows, wondering in his heart whether he had indulged these people too much? Otherwise, why can he frighten outsiders making them gargle and tremble, yet these people do not fear him. Of course, there is another one who is not afraid of him. Thinking of the first time he saw Ming Yu, that person putting his arm around his shoulders without rules or customs, even bargaining with him with smiles, he really doesn’t know if this person…..

Xie Yixiu shook his head, why did he suddenly think of that person?

“I have my own plans for this.” He saw that this person was still unwilling to give up unless he understood the bottom of things and would not give up otherwise, he could only say helplessly, “He has horses.”

Mr. Wen was surprised, pulled his two small moustaches and asked in surprise, “What are you talking about? Duan Wang has horses? How many? Is it a good colt?” He spun back and forth twice, “No, where could he get his horses?”

“Not yet, but in half a year there will be fifteen good horses as promised.” Xie Yixiu’s cold voice unconsciously brought a hint of softness as he explained.

When Mr. Wen heard the explanation, he was even more doubtful in his heart. That’s not right. Xie Yixiu, this person does not act before he is sure of success, so how did he allow others to owe a debt. Besides, god knows if this Duan Wang was just blurting things out without thinking? Ordinary horses are easy to say, but he promised fifteen good horses, which is not a small number. Where will he find these good horses when the time comes? Could it be that he will go beg his Royal Father for it?

“In the future, he will also build a horse farm. If it is successful…” The unfinished meaning in Xie Yixiu’s words was obvious. There is no if, he intuitively felt that what Ming Yu said would definitely be realised.

He is not a blind man, he would not easily believe anything without seeing results. However, he felt the feasibility of Ming Yu’s plan, and deeply believed it. He also investigated clearly how Ming Yu tidied up the training camp in a short period of time. The caravan’s preparation that was now ready, the tunnel digging that was being carried out in the village, and the call on the commoners to have no fear for invaders’ plans; everything seemed to be incredible and in the long run it seemed to be able to really solve the problem. What plans Ming Yu had in mind for the future, he didn’t leak it out too much to him, but this was enough to impress him.

“Hiss!” Mr. Wen’s treasured moustache was pulled down, he couldn’t care less about the pain, and asked astonishingly, “What? Horse farm? Duan Wang wants to build a horse farm? This……it’s a big deal! ”

The Great Yan Dynasty lacked horses, everyone knew that. It wasn’t because the imperial court did not think of building a horse farm at the beginning, but firstly, it cost a lot of money. Secondly, there were few natural large grasslands and abundant water sources in the territory of the Great Yan Kingdom. Third, the Great Yan Kingdom was not rich in good colts. All the good colts were stuck at Suixi Kingdom unable to enter the Great Yan. For these various reasons, in the end, it could only be left unsettled. The five thousand war horses of their Red Robed Army were also extremely hard to get, but it’s still the same as before with good and bad horses intermingled.

If what Xie Yixiu said was true, and Duan Wang will be able to make a horse farm, then  the problem of their war horses could be solved. When the time comes, their Red Robed Army can add several ten thousand more people, so why would they still be afraid of the insignificant Suixi Kingdom then? Sooner or later, they will invade their royal court and capture the Khan alive.

“Can he really build a horse farm?” Mr. Wen asked excitedly.

“We’ll see.” Xie Yixiu was calm, no matter whether Duan Wang could really build a horse farm, it didn’t matter to him. Of course, if Duan Wang really made a horse farm, then the Red Robed Army could also benefit.

Mr. Wen finally came out of the great tent of the barrack in a trance. At this moment, it was already full of stars outside. Slightly blown by the wind, he became calmer. He looked around, straightened out his robe, and returned to the appearance of someone with extraordinary temperament.

He looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back, his face mysterious.

A patrol team turned around and greeted him. The leader of the team was quite familiar with him, smiled and asked: “Mr. Wen can read celestial signs. Do you know when we will fight with the barbarians again?”

Mr. Wen twirled his beard and shook his head, “What do you know? What I have calculated from observing the celestial signs is the great change in the future of the land of Liangzhou, which can be said to be an unprecedented change in the Great Yan Dynasty.” After saying that, he looked at several people and said impatiently, “Go away! If you don’t understand then don’t bother me!” 

Someone from the small team burst out laughing. This Mr. Wen really keeps listeners at suspense. The leading young general smiled and said, “We naturally don’t understand, but Mr. Wen, the last time you calculated our General Xie’s recent lucky star movement, why hasn’t there been any movement so far?”

Mentioning this, Mr. Wen felt that his old face could not be held up. He absolutely could not be wrong. Just looking at the cold appearance of their general, he’s afraid that even if the lucky star jumped in front of his eyes, he still wouldn’t catch it. You can’t blame him for that, can you? After all, he was not a matchmaker.

Mr. Wen snorted twice and said in disgust, “Isn’t it because it’s not time yet? What are you in a hurry for? With General Xie’s ability, this is just a matter of time.”

“That’s true too!” Everyone nodded yes in unison.

Mr. Wen felt pleased with himself. He was thinking of bragging a few words, when a cold voice came from the lord behind him, “Wen Yuzhao, if you say one more word, you will also participate in the training tomorrow morning.” 

Ah! Forgetting that this place was not far from the barracks and that their words were all listened to by their master, no wonder General Xie would threaten him.

Wen Yuzhao immediately closed his mouth and waved his hand to signal the patrol team to do their own things, while he himself patted his *ss and slipped away. How could the crowd dare to say anything more, they promptly lined up neatly and left.

Time passed quickly. The half-moon period had arrived, and Xie Yixiu personally led the people and horses over.

This was a scheme that Ming Yu had planned with great difficulty, so naturally no mistake was allowed. Ming Yu didn’t rely on his identity to be pretentious. He personally led people to greet him.

In the distance, a group of red-clad silver armour came swooping in. Before they could get closer, a wave of stern aura rushed towards them. Sure enough, it was an elite unit that has experienced bloody battles on the battlefield, with flags flared between the movements. The military appearance was neat, at a glance one could tell it was a well-trained and powerful army. There were no poor soldiers under a good general. Ming Yu secretly admired in his heart, General Xie was indeed worthy of his reputation.

Because there were only five hundred people for the confrontation exercise, Xie Yixiu only brought five hundred troops with him. The two sides naturally had to exchange a few words of pleasantries first.

Wen Yuzhao had to follow along no matter what. He wanted to see the rumoured Fourteenth Prince, now His Highness Duan Wang. When he was in the capital, the Fourteenth Prince had always been reclusive. It was said that it was a symptom of stupidity, so he had been cultivating deep in the palace for many years. Although he had a wide range of friends, he had never really met the Fourteenth Prince, his impression of him stopped at just the rumours.

Now that the Fourteenth Prince had been conferred the title Duan Wang and arrived at Liangzhou, he also learned some things about Duan Wang from Xie Yixiu’s mouth. It could be seen that Xie Yixiu had a high evaluation of him. He had followed Xie Yixiu for many years and this was the first time he had seen him look up to a person like this.

He quietly looked at the fair and bright teenager in front of him who was like the spring breeze, talking and laughing, elegant and indifferent, graceful and luxurious at every movement, but without the overbearing attitude he had seen from the royal family descendents. Is this Duan Wang really the one who was rumoured to be a shameful and domineering foolish prince in the capital?

He shook his head secretly, he really can’t believe everything that has been said. 

The two sides briefly introduced their people, and after performing basic courtesy, Wen Yuzhao stood up and bowed his hand to Ming Yu: “It’s an honour to meet you at last, Wangye. There is a saying that knowing somebody by their reputation can’t compare to meeting them in person. Sure enough, Wang Ye is humble and as modest as a jade gentleman. Seeing Wangye also concerned about the commoners of the border areas with consideration to the people’s needs, this is simply a rare sage king.”

Ming Yu did not know why the other party praised him so much on their first meeting. He had heard that this Mr. Wen’s scheming is rather deep and has no exhaustion of strategy. His position in the Red Robe Army was second only to Xie Yixiu. He was General Xie’s right and left arm, and was very valued.

However, with Ming Yu’s identity he had already listened to a lot of compliments, so he didn’t mind this. 

Ming Yu smiled and said a few modest words, returned politeness for politeness and praised all kinds of deeds the Red Robe Army had done, emphasizing Mr. Wen’s contribution. The two of them had a ride of flattering each other for half a day. Their faces were so thick that they complemented each other perfectly. Xie Yixiu was full of cold air all over his body, but none of the two had paid attention to General Xie on the side.

Xie Yixiu’s temples faintly hurt. He somewhat regretted letting Wen Yuzhao follow. Now that it was to this point, it was impossible to drive him back.

The so-called what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over, he might as well pay no more attention to the two and look away.

At this moment, not far away with flying dust, a group of troops were rushing towards this side. This movement was very big, Ming Yu also saw it, feeling a little strange. Which troops had come? Only before they got closer did he see that the person who had come was actually the Great General Wei.

The author has something to say: Thank you all for your support!