Yingyang and Wulie

"You?" Shang Chaozong asked in surprise. "What happened?"

Lan Ruoting gave a bitter smile. "When the Prince was imprisoned, I realized something was wrong. People kept kicking him when he was down—it was clear they wanted him dead. The one in the palace was wary of the late Emperor's military power, yet also worried about what would happen without the late Emperor to cow the surrounding kingdoms. I knew what the one in the palace feared, so I spread word that the late Emperor had secretly selected the loyal souls of a hundred thousand soldiers who had died on the battlefield and refined them into a batch of 'hundred thousand Crow Generals.'"

Shang Chaozong suddenly understood. He let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I thought the one in the palace had spared me out of family affection. So it was because he wanted those hundred thousand 'Crow Generals.' In that case, my release from prison this time probably has something to do with them, too, doesn't it? How is Great Yan doing now?"

Lan Ruoting nodded. "The Prince is wise—you've hit the nail on the head! Since the late Emperor passed away, His Majesty has ruthlessly purged the late Emperor's old subordinates year after year, leaving the army unsettled. Shao Dengyun, the northern commander, was driven into opening the pass and surrendering the city in a fit of rage, allowing Han Kingdom's army to invade our northern border. They swept forward like bamboo split by a blade. The Imperial Court spent an enormous price to halt their advance, but not only did large swathes of our territory fall into the hands of our old enemy, the surrounding kingdoms also began watching us like tigers eyeing their prey. The situation was on the verge of collapse. His Majesty had no choice but to send several princesses into marriage alliances and win over other kingdoms to balance the scales, barely stabilizing the situation. Yet amid the internal turmoil, some generals gradually grew ambitious. Some began using the opportunity to build up their own forces and refuse orders. With troubles within and enemies without, Yan Kingdom is already tottering in the wind and rain!"

Bang! Shang Chaozong slammed a fist onto the couch, his face twisting viciously. "Sending princesses away for marriage alliances—what a colossal humiliation! Shao Dengyun actually dared to betray us to the enemy. He deserves to die!"

Lan Ruoting fell silent. How could he explain some things? Refusing the marriage alliances would bring the danger of the kingdom's destruction. What else could the one in the palace do? If Shao Dengyun had not betrayed them, he would have had no path but death. What else could Shao Dengyun do?

After Shang Chaozong's emotions settled, he sighed. "I understand. The reason I was released at this moment is precisely because Great Yan faces troubles within and enemies without. The one in the palace is desperate to obtain those hundred thousand Crow Generals to stabilize the situation, and released me to lure them out! If he doesn't get them, I'm afraid he still won't let me go!"

Lan Ruoting said, "Now isn't the time to think about that. As long as the Prince can escape and leave the Capital City, there's still a chance. If he can't leave the Capital City, there will never be another chance..."

At sunrise, the Capital City began another bustling day. Shops opened one after another, and peddlers and laborers streamed along the streets, unaware of who was actually sitting inside the seemingly ordinary carriage.

As soon as the carriage reached East City Gate, it received special attention. A crowd of men and horses dispersed the passing pedestrians, cut off entry and exit, and surrounded the carriage.

A garrison commander rapped on the carriage with the back of his saber and shouted, "Get out! Submit to inspection."

Lan Ruoting climbed out first and reached back to help Shang Chaozong, whose legs were inconvenient. The latter refused as usual and jumped down by himself.

The two of them took one look at the surroundings and knew that this had been arranged specifically for them.

"Oh, isn't this Shang Chaozong, Young Prince Shang?" the garrison commander suddenly called out cheerfully. After his voice drew the astonished gazes of the commoners forced to the sides, he taunted, "Young Prince, how did you end up dressed in such rags?"

Shang Chaozong shot him a cold look. He had inherited the title. Though he had been demoted from a Prince to a commandery prince, he was still a Prince in status. Calling him "Young Prince" clearly carried the intent to mock him.

Lan Ruoting cupped his hands and smiled. "The Prince is leaving the city by imperial decree. I hope the General will show some mercy."

The garrison commander gave a cold laugh. "Leaving the city by imperial decree doesn't conflict with submitting to inspection! The Young Prince could beat a good citizen to death in broad daylight and still swagger about, but lowly functionaries like us can't compare with the Young Prince. We have to follow the rules." He waved his hand. "Search him!"

A group of soldiers swarmed forward and pawed and yanked at Shang Chaozong in full view of everyone. His tattered clothes were torn even further, nearly exposing his buttocks.

This was blatantly deliberate humiliation. Shang Chaozong kept his jaw clenched and said nothing, standing rigidly in place and allowing them to search him.

Lan Ruoting watched and sighed inwardly. It seemed the Young Prince's years in prison had not been wasted. They had tempered him, making him much more mature. With his former temper, he would have lashed out long ago. Otherwise, how would he have fallen into the trap and beaten someone to death? Blessings lie within calamities, and calamities hide within blessings. Perhaps this was exactly what it meant.

The coachman, however, was trembling with rage. He glared with bulging eyes, on the verge of erupting. Just as he was about to move, Lan Ruoting seized his wrist.

Lan Ruoting shook his head at him, signaling him not to act rashly.

Once they heard that this was a powerful noble and that he had beaten a good citizen to death in broad daylight, the surrounding spectators did not care whether Shang Chaozong had been wronged or humiliated. Most were ignorant commoners who knew nothing because of the unequal flow of information. Seeing Shang Chaozong humiliated, they merely watched for entertainment. Some even gloated or applauded and cheered.

The person secretly inciting this from the city tower watched coldly from the sidelines. He found the foolish commoners stupid and amusing, never considering why they hated powerful nobles so much—why they wished to stuff every one of them into a pig cage.

A person stood before each of two windows, observing below through the narrow gaps of the opened windows. One of them was Song Jiuming, the Minister of Justice.

As for the other, he was a slim, pale-faced man with no beard. His temples were frosted white, and his hair was bound with a green-jade hairpin. His entire person was neat and spotless. He had a hooked nose, a calm expression, and a cold, sunken gaze. A black shoulder-wrapped cloak hung around him, lending him a restrained air of dignity and an aloofness that warned strangers to keep their distance.

Anyone whom Song Jiuming personally accompanied was naturally no simple figure. His name was Gaa Miaoshui, an odd name. He was a palace eunuch, a man at the Emperor's side who had watched the Emperor grow up from childhood. His position was obvious. People called him Eunuch Shui.

"Is there any point to this?" Song Jiuming asked, turning around.

Gaa Miaoshui said calmly, "Humiliate him a little, make him brood over it, and force him to reveal Shang Jianbo's trump card sooner."

Song Jiuming pondered this and understood.

After the commotion below, they were finally allowed through. Shang Chaozong, whose clothes had been torn into tatters that barely covered him, climbed back into the carriage, and the coachman drove on again.

Yet just after the carriage left the city gate, someone suddenly ran out from inside the city and pointed at it, shouting, "Officer, stop him! That carriage—someone stole my carriage!"

As though they had rehearsed it, the soldiers outside the city swiftly closed in and stopped the carriage again.

The shouting man rushed to the front of the carriage, seized the reins, and wailed, "This is my carriage! It's my carriage! Officer, please do me justice!"

The garrison commander who had caused trouble earlier led his men over in great strides and shouted beside the carriage, "Get out!"

Seated upright inside, Shang Chaozong let out a cold laugh. "It seems I don't even have the right to ride in a carriage anymore. Do you want me to walk to my fief? Tao Xin, sound the horn!" Tao Xin was the name of the coachman outside.

"Wait!" Lan Ruoting called out to stop him. He cupped his hands toward Shang Chaozong. "Prince, please endure this."

Shang Chaozong bent down and climbed out of the carriage, standing on the carriage shaft and blocking Lan Ruoting behind him from coming out. Though he was dressed in rags and looked utterly wretched, his back was ramrod straight.

The garrison commander pointed at Shang Chaozong and shouted provocatively, "Young Prince, you'd better come down and clear this matter up!"

In a voice that brooked no argument, Shang Chaozong suddenly shouted, "Sound the horn!"

The coachman, Tao Xin, somehow produced a black, gleaming ox horn with an air of age, pressed it to his lips, puffed out his cheeks, and blew with all his might.

"Wuuu... wuwu... wuuu..."

The horn's deep sound echoed outside the city gate. The surrounding soldiers froze, and the garrison commander was even more stunned. A military horn!

Immediately afterward, a rumble came from afar. It drew closer and closer, and soon every soldier guarding the city gate went pale.

Above them, Gaa Miaoshui and Song Jiuming, who had been peering through the window gaps, both frowned and pushed the windows fully open. Two cavalry forces were charging from the left and right ahead. Each seemed to number around two hundred men. One wore blue-green uniforms, the other earth-gray uniforms. They rode together at full speed. Their numbers were small, but their momentum was ferocious and unstoppable!

Song Jiuming's pupils abruptly contracted. He muttered, "Yingyang Guard! Wulie Guard!"

When the late Emperor was alive, he commended Prince Ning Shang Jianbo for his military achievements and bestowed the four characters "Yingyang Wulie" upon him as a reward. Shang Jianbo split those four characters apart and gave them to his left and right personal guards as names. That was how the Yingyang Guard and Wulie Guard came into being.

Five thousand Yingyang Guards and five thousand Wulie Guards accompanied Prince Ning Shang Jianbo in battle, repeatedly accomplishing great feats and striking fear into the enemy. Their most famous battle came when the current Emperor personally led an expedition and fell into danger. Prince Ning Shang Jianbo personally led both the Yingyang and Wulie Guards on a hundred-mile forced march to rescue him. With a mere ten thousand men, they charged head-on into Han Kingdom's hundred-thousand-strong army and fought their way into the encirclement, rescuing the current Emperor alive. That battle made the Yingyang and Wulie Guards famous throughout the world. Yet it failed to win the current Emperor's gratitude, bringing them suspicion instead.

Now the two guards had become a thing of the past, nearly wiped out completely by the current Emperor. The several hundred men before them were probably some remnants who had been gathered together.

The two cavalry forces merged into one, raising clouds of dust as they thundered forward. The soldiers guarding the city gate went pale, and someone cried out, "Yingyang Guard! Wulie Guard!"

"Young Prince, are you trying to rebel?" the garrison commander beside the carriage asked shakily, his face deathly pale.

Standing on the carriage shaft, Shang Chaozong ignored him and instead watched the charging force with a face full of pride.

Tao Xin's eyes reddened. Looking at the approaching riders, he wiped away tears and raised the horn, blowing "wuwu" once more.

At the front rode a woman in blue-green robes. A Gauze Hat hid her features. When the horn sounded, she gave a sharp cry, drew her sword, and pointed it forward.

The five hundred riders swiftly shifted into a wedge-shaped assault formation. One by one, they drew their gleaming Zhanmadao, flashing beneath the sunlight, and charged forward at full speed with unstoppable momentum.

Gaa Miaoshui, standing by the window, glanced at the troops below and could not help frowning. The garrison had already lost its nerve without even fighting and was instinctively retreating step by step.

The soldiers blocking the carriage had been so frightened that they moved aside and backed away.

The five hundred cavalrymen charged up to the carriage and reined in to a halt. Their movement was like thunder; once still, they stood like mountains!

"Brother!" The blue-robed woman reined in close, her voice trembling. She was Shang Chaozong's younger sister, Shang Shuqing. She clearly had not expected her brother—who had always been broad-shouldered and robust—to have been reduced to such a wasted, emaciated state. One could imagine what he had suffered. Beneath her Gauze Hat, tears were already streaming.