After eating a few pastries and drinking a bowl of snow dendrobium and white fungus soup, Emperor Chen Zhao Chang bent over his desk again to review memorials. Ever since ascending the throne, Zhao Chang had been exceptionally diligent, often working by candlelight until the roosters crowed. In devotion to government, he certainly equaled, if not surpassed, the late emperor Zhao Zhen.
The sun sank westward, and the light within the hall dimmed. The chief eunuch Zhao Qin lit the lamps, carefully approached Emperor Chen, and said in a hushed voice, "Your Majesty, Palace Commandant Ma Zude requests an audience. He says he has urgent business to report."
"Hmm? Summon him!" Emperor Chen closed the memorial, set down his brush, and shut his eyes, habitually rubbing the space between his brows. Palace Commandant Ma Zude belonged to the Three Departments. Besides important duties such as overseeing the four gates of the capital, Luoyang, he was also one of the commanders of Emperor Chen's Shadow Guards. His usual responsibilities included gathering intelligence, espionage, and covert investigations. If he had entered the palace at this hour, he must have something important to report.
Ma Zude was around thirty and wore a long, cross-collared robe. After entering the hall and paying his respects, he reported a piece of news to Emperor Chen: State Preceptor Li Xingzhi had left the capital!
Emperor Chen's half-closed eyes flew open. Leaning forward from his dragon throne, he asked, "Tell me, when did the State Preceptor leave the city? How many attendants did he take? Where did he go?"
"Your Majesty, he went alone, without a single attendant, and left through Changxia Gate between one and three this afternoon!" Ma Zude added, "I have already ordered my men to follow him discreetly."
Emperor Chen's expression eased slightly. In a solemn voice, he said, "The late emperor and the State Preceptor faced life and death together, as close as brothers. The State Preceptor treats me as his own son or nephew, and I regard him as both teacher and father... His labors and achievements are immense. He is a pillar of the realm, and absolutely no harm must come to him. Send men to protect him discreetly, but do not disturb him. The State Preceptor has always preferred peace and quiet. Report any news to me at once!"
Ma Zude acknowledged the command. Emperor Chen then told the eunuch Zhao Qin, "The State Preceptor is advanced in years and traveling alone. I truly fear for his safety. Henceforth, anyone bringing news of him may enter directly, without waiting to be announced."
On an official road outside Luoyang City, where willow branches swayed softly, an old man in a blue-green robe rode a Green Donkey at an unhurried pace.
Passing some fields, he saw wildflowers in bloom, jumped off the donkey, and walked into the flower-strewn wilderness. Admiring the abundant life around him, he breathed in the flowers' fragrance like a child, his face filled with rapture...
Walking through the woods, he heard birds calling and pursed his lips to make cheerful, melodious sounds like theirs. The birds tilted their heads to look at him. A moment later, they flew onto his shoulders-one, two, three... A flock circled and fluttered around him, chirping merrily and hopping on his shoulders...
He led the donkey through a stream, the water rising over his trouser legs. Bending down, he scooped up a handful of cool water. A fish, golden all over, swam toward him, wagging its head and tail and affectionately rubbing its head against his trouser leg. Then more fish and shrimp swam over, gathering around him...
He ventured into deep mountains seldom visited by humans. In the dead of night, wolves howled eerily, but at the sight of him they tucked their tails and scattered. A fierce striped tiger sprang out of a mountain ravine and eyed the large Green Donkey hungrily. Yet when it saw him, it wagged its tail and begged for affection like a tame tabby cat...
He traveled through sunrises and sunsets; he gazed upon rivers of stars filling the sky. He loved this world so deeply, yet loathed it just as much-loathed its deceit, lies, hypocrisy, plots, schemes, filth, wars, and slaughter...
His name was Li Xingzhi-Li Xingzhi, who united knowledge and action!
Dressed in a blue-green robe, a long sword on his back, he led his Green Donkey past Lingbao Mountain and through Weinan Tongguan...
"Idiots! You're all useless gluttons!"
In Capital Luoyang, inside the city commandant's residence, Ma Zude cursed in uncontrollable fury. He lashed out with a vicious slap across Assistant Commandant Zhou Shijing's face. Zhou Shijing spun twice on the spot like a top, then clutched his burning cheek and protested miserably, "My lord, it wasn't negligence on my part. I sent men to follow the State Preceptor day and night, but... but he traveled too fast!"
"Idiot! You still dare make excuses? You couldn't even keep track of one man! How am I supposed to answer to my superiors?" Ma Zude berated him, his voice and expression equally fierce.
"My lord, you don't understand. I sent my most capable men, riding sturdy army horses, to follow the State Preceptor from a distance... He rode his donkey at an easy pace, but... but he kept getting farther away. My men spurred their horses into a gallop, yet they couldn't catch him no matter what!" Zhou Shijing said woefully, five distinct finger marks standing out on his face.
After hearing this, Ma Zude's eyes flickered, and he fell silent in thought. A moment later, his anger still lingering, he said, "Send more men. Whatever it takes, you must... protect the State Preceptor. Report any news immediately!"
Li Xingzhi continued onward.
Farther ahead, yellow dust filled the sky. He had reached the frontier of Western Liang...
In Western Liang's Wuwei City, the towering walls blocked much of the setting sun's light. Although it could not rival the prosperity of Yangzhou, the capital of the Eastern Yang Kingdom, or the splendor of Luoyang, the capital of the Great Chen Kingdom, its population had already approached a million.
After annexing Qin Prefecture from Great Chen, the Western Liang Kingdom had steadily relocated large numbers of its people. Over the years, it had also vigorously developed trade along the frontier by opening regulated markets, bartering goods, and buying and selling people, strengthening its overall national power. It actively studied the heartland cultures of the Great Chen Empire and the Eastern Yang Kingdom. Its court governed honestly and efficiently, energetically implementing new policies. The treasury grew fuller by the day, and signs of a resurgence were beginning to emerge.
The sky gradually darkened. Wuwei City's streets, bustling and lively by day, grew quiet, with only scattered late-returning travelers hurrying along. Lights began to glow in the city's closely packed houses, like countless stars kindling in the black night...
In the front hall of Wuwei City's Palace Marshal's Residence, several candles as thick as a child's arm burned on stands, illuminating the room brightly. Han Zongwang, formerly the grand marshal of Great Liang's armies, sat at a desk, stroking a heavy saber laid upon it, his gaze burning. He gripped its hilt and brushed the blade with the pad of a finger, unable to resist praising it. "A fine saber!"
A burly man beside him grinned. "Commander Zong, if you think it's good, I'll buy all the rest he has. It's just... the price... is a little steep."
Another man, an old scholar in a green robe with a white beard, said, "As long as they're worth the price, Commander Zong won't begrudge the money. I only wonder... how many more fine sabers like this are there?"
The burly man grinned. "Strategist Zhu, this is a treasure forged by a craftsman of the Vertical Sword Sect. Do you think they're like firewood in the street, lying around in heaps wherever you look?"
The white-bearded elder was left speechless. He was about to retort when Han Zongwang rose from behind the desk with the saber and strode like a dragon or tiger to a row of weapon racks in the hall. He raised the saber and lightly tapped a Xuanhua Battle Axe. Its thick head split in two as easily as sliced tofu.
Han Zongwang drew a sharp breath, a flame seeming to kindle in his eyes. After a brief pause, he held the saber in both hands and pushed it toward the weapon racks without exerting any strength. As he advanced, cracks and crashes rang out amid teeth-grating metallic collisions, scraping, and slicing. The heavy saber swept through everything like rotten wood and withered weeds. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, battle-axes, and forks broke apart and clattered across the floor.
"Excellent!" Han Zongwang exclaimed. Stroking the heavy, undamaged blade, he said, "Fit this saber with a long shaft, and it would be the Mo Dao that once struck terror into cavalry throughout the realm. It evolved from the Horse-Slaying Sword. Back when Great Liang was founded, the renowned general Xu Chilong relied on five thousand men of the Mo Dao Army to sweep across the land and pacify the realm, earning unparalleled glory. Tong Shanxiong, where did you get this? A peerless treasure like this-you've bloody well struck gold!"
Han Zongwang strode back to the desk, sat down, and handed the saber to the burly man named Tong Shanxiong. Tong Shanxiong sheathed it and said excitedly, "Commander Zong, I bought this saber today at a barter shop in the market. The man claimed he used to be a craftsman of the Vertical Sword Sect. I gave him a full hundred and fifty sheep and twenty fine horses for it. I asked if he had any more. He said he had no finished sabers at home, but enough material left to forge several dozen more."
"Oh... The Vertical Sword Sect's forging techniques are unrivaled under heaven. No wonder this saber is so sharp!" Han Zongwang said, visibly moved. "However many he has, we'll take them all. Don't worry about the money. I'll have someone allocate it to you. Better still, persuade him to stay with the army and devote himself to forging weapons."
The white-bearded elder in green cupped his hands. "Commander Zong, you place such value on this saber. Can a sharp weapon alone truly change the fate of a dynasty?"
Although Han Zongwang had now risen to the position of Western Liang's grand commandant, standing beneath only one man and above ten thousand, his close subordinates still preferred to call the former grand marshal of the Great Liang Kingdom's armies "Commander Zong."
Han Zongwang stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "Shifu, you're a scholar, so you don't understand. In cavalry combat, a saber that's too light will easily have its edge curl when cutting down enemies, while one that's too heavy drains a man's strength. If our soldiers exhaust themselves after only two swings of a heavy saber, how can they win? But equip them with this saber, clad both riders and horses in heavy armor, and link them with iron chains into a battle formation. When the armies face each other, the vanguard will first hold the enemy back with anti-cavalry spears, while the armored cavalry in the center charges through their lines. With the momentum of their horses and these precious sabers in hand, they need only draw the blades lightly across their enemies. Killing will be as effortless as slicing melons and chopping vegetables. Once the enemy is routed, send the light cavalry in the rear to pursue and reap them. Such an army would sweep all before it, victorious wherever it went!"
Han Zongwang had fought countless battles and thoroughly understood military strategy. He spoke of these matters as though counting the treasures in his own home. The white-bearded elder in green was utterly convinced and praised him sincerely. "Commander Zong, you devise your strategies within the command tent and carry a million soldiers in your breast. We can only acknowledge our inferiority!"
The white-bearded elder in green was named Zhu Shifu. He had once been a private schoolteacher in the neighborhoods of Bianliang, the capital of the former Great Liang Kingdom. In his youth, he had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, but his extensive reading had given him considerable learning, and he later became an adviser to Han Zongwang. His resourcefulness earned him the soldiers' title of "Strategist Zhu." Han Zongwang relied on him and Tong Shanxiong, the brave and battle-hardened commander of his personal guards, as his right and left arms.
Clenching both fists, his eyes bright and burning, Han Zongwang continued, "If I had these sabers... to equip my armored cavalry, I would need only three thousand. Three thousand armored riders could sweep through the Great Chen Kingdom and the Eastern Yang Kingdom... But unfortunately..."
At this point, his eyes dimmed. "You two have followed me for years. When the Great Liang Kingdom fell, we... sought refuge in Western Liang. For more than a decade, the Lord of Western Liang has treated me generously, which naturally stirred suspicion and jealousy among the imperial nobles and powerful courtiers. Some have slandered me before the ruler, and certain ministers deliberately distance themselves from us. Although I've now been promoted to grand commandant of the Palace Marshal's Residence, it is a promotion in name and a demotion in substance. The court made me surrender command of the Flying Tiger Army. Apart from the three thousand loyal brothers who came here with us, I now have fewer than fifty thousand troops I can mobilize and command at will!"
After speaking, Han Zongwang pointed to a thick stack of documents on the desk. Helplessness and dejection filled his face as he sighed. "The day before yesterday, the ruler summoned me to the palace. First, he bestowed two hundred jars of fine Liangzhou wine upon me. Then he handed me the memorials in which court officials impeached me, while praising my loyalty and devotion to the state... In truth, he was warning me and putting me in my place!"
Indignant, Tong Shanxiong shouted, "Those mongrel officials at court, making our Commander Zong swallow such filthy abuse! Don't worry, Commander Zong. With me and the brothers here, who would dare touch us? If they push us too far, we'll bloody well rebel!"
Han Zongwang glared fiercely at him and snapped in a low voice, "Silence! Never speak such damned nonsense again!" Frightened, Tong Shanxiong meekly stammered his assent...
Beside them, Zhu Shifu lowered his head in thought. Stroking his grizzled goatee, he said slowly, "Commander Zong, your valor crowns the armies, and your might shakes the world. The greatest danger for a general is to have achievements so great that they unsettle his sovereign. Since ancient times, once the rabbits are dead, the foxes are cooked; once the birds are gone, the bows are put away... Ah..." Apparently feeling this comparison was unsuitable, he changed tack. "Commander Zong, you are not a native general of Western Liang, yet you command a powerful army. The ruler's suspicions are inevitable. Breaking this deadlock is actually simple. You need only send a trusted man to deliver a secret letter to that person and have the Great Chen Kingdom launch an attack on Western Liang. Then the court and country will be shaken, and with the other generals incapable of putting up a fight, the ruler will surely have to rely upon you."
Han Zongwang's brows drew tightly together. His eyes flickered for a long while before he shook his head. "When the Great Liang Kingdom fell, we had no choice but to seek refuge in Western Liang. To collude with Great Chen now and then coerce Western Liang... Such behavior is like a snake or rat wavering between two holes. It is unworthy of a true man!"
At Han Zongwang's words, a trace of shame flashed across Zhu Shifu's face. Steadying himself, he said, "I have another plan that could bring the Great Chen Kingdom and the Eastern Yang Kingdom to war again. Then not only would the ruler rely on you, Commander Zong, but also..."
Before he could finish, a faint breeze suddenly passed through the hall. The candles flickered on their stands, and an old man in a blue-green robe abruptly appeared amid the wavering light and shadows.
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