Journey Through the Passes and Mountains (7)

The summer was rather muggy, but fortunately, Taolin Post Station stood beside Mount Funiu.

Mountain breezes stirred the peach grove, even carrying a faint fragrance into the post station, making the four men's stinking feet inside the room a little less offensive.

"I actually didn't say much at the time... just a few things about military affairs... What could I talk about besides military affairs? As a boy, I studied military strategy under my maternal uncle. After coming of age, I traveled a little, then joined the army, and later entered the Ministry of War. I've muddled along ever since."

Li Ding spoke cautiously.

"That day in Bianliang, I went to see Yang Shen. I gave my family background and was admitted, then said that although the country seemed to have mighty armies and strong horses, dominating all within the four seas, it was actually riddled with holes and could scarcely carry on..."

"Hmph..." Li Qingchen sneered. "Why are you playing the wise man after the fact? Those who know the truth naturally know that the defeat in Dongyi was caused by the rebel Yang's treason. Anyone who didn't would think you could already foresee the disastrous defeat of the second Dongyi expedition."

"When I first said that, I truly hadn't imagined that the second Dongyi expedition would fail. That really wasn't what I meant." Li Ding answered sincerely.

"Li Shierlang comes from a privileged background and has exceptional insight, but there are some things he couldn't know." Zhang Xing glanced at Li Qingchen and spoke seriously. "I was on the front line at Fallen Dragon Shoal then, so I happen to know a little. The rebel Yang was certainly the chief culprit in the collapse of the overall situation, but things at the front weren't so easy either..."

Li Qingchen was left speechless, while Qin Bao perked up a little and listened closely.

"Precisely." Perhaps realizing that Zhang Sanlang was someone who wouldn't loose his hawk until he saw the hare, Li Ding grew a little more serious too. "My thinking at the time roughly amounted to several points. First, under the prefectural militia system, the militia was concentrated in Guanlong, Heluo, and the surrounding regions. Strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches was correct, but excessive concentration hindered local mobilization, deployment, and defense. A reasonable proportion needed to be maintained...

"Furthermore, concentrating the militia in Guanlong and Heluo had another unavoidable drawback. However much personnel changed, however much the system was altered, the troops below still belonged to those same Eagle-Raising Prefectures. Their roots were intertwined at the most fundamental level, entangled with the great clans. In battle, they inevitably invited suspicion of being private armies, to the point of treating the state's public resources as private property, preserving their strength and sitting back to watch who won...

"On the other hand, under present conditions, militia soldiers whose families had served for generations, with each prefecture largely composed of fellow villagers and old acquaintances, still fought far better than recruited troops. Changing the system rashly would be rather like crippling our own martial prowess.

"Lastly, of course I understood the anxieties of those above. Since the late emperor's reign, suppressing the great Guanlong clans, guarding against Eastern Qi and Southern Chen, and keeping the former peoples of the Northern Wasteland under loose control had been established policy. So I advised Yang Shen to concentrate authority in the Ministry of War, coordinate military personnel planning, retain the capable and weed out the inferior, reorganize everything into a unified structure, expand geographical surveys and record seasonal conditions, and then place it directly under the sovereign.

"In short, after all that talking, I was merely urging Yang Shen to shoulder his responsibility to the country, put its chaotic military administration in order, and make the nation strong..."

"Enough!" Li Qingchen could bear it no longer. "And you still claim you had no ulterior intentions? Was Yang Shen worthy of shouldering responsibility for the country and putting the realm in order?"

"Li Shierlang, I understand what you mean. You simply wanted me to offer my advice to His Majesty." Rather than becoming angry, Li Ding earnestly defended himself. "I would have liked to advise His Majesty in person and ask him to put the realm in order, but did I have the opportunity? Besides, His Majesty's power to reward and punish extends across the four seas. How could he personally direct everything in domestic affairs, diplomacy, military affairs, and the economy? At that particular moment, who could we count on to direct military affairs and assist in governing the realm if not Yang Shen? Who else had his family background, office, and reputation? Your Intendant? Since he already oversaw the Jing'an Directorate, how could he possibly meddle in military affairs as well?"

Li Qingchen actually considered this, then gave a dry laugh and said nothing more.

Zhang Xing, however, was dissatisfied. "You just made a few broad remarks, and that sister of yours with a different father and mother came running after you?"

"Of course not." Li Ding hastily shook his head. "I presented my complete reform plan, from military organization to abolishing and establishing Eagle-Raising Prefectures, then the demarcation of major military circuits and a new system of duties for the Ministry of War. Several years of painstaking work, all of it submitted-seven boxes altogether, over a hundred thousand characters..."

Zhang Xing nodded slightly. Here was someone who actually did things. Regardless of whether his work was good or bad, a success or a failure, anyone who could attach a hundred-thousand-character appendix to a PowerPoint deserved respect.

"But Shiniang didn't come to me because of those things. She was only an assassin, after all. Even if she had seen a little more of the world by following Yang Shen, how could she understand them?" At this point, Li Ding gave an involuntary laugh. "She thought more highly of me because, after Yang Shen heard me out and roughly reviewed the general outline of the seven boxes of documents I'd presented, he patted the seat beneath him and told me that one day I would certainly sit in his position... and Shiniang happened to be standing beside him, holding the pot."

"Yang Shen employed you?" Like the other two, Zhang Xing was momentarily astonished.

"Yes." Li Ding nodded with a sigh. "He employed me, but precisely because he employed me, I had to find an excuse to flee, and Shiniang came to me by night... Otherwise, why would my cousin have needed to implicate me, leaving the Marquis of Ji'an's daughter to capture me in a place like this? I would have died beneath the Marquis of Ji'an's blade that very day... In fact, it was only after realizing Yang Shen intended to rebel that I understood what he'd meant."

At this, Li Ding looked around at the other three men in the room, then shook his head again. "I've had rotten luck. When I was young, my uncle was a renowned general of the realm, yet he praised me all day long. I was full of youthful spirit too, and thought that the world would ultimately need me to plan its affairs. But my uncle died early, and I frittered away half my life, unable to fulfill even a fraction of my ambitions. I finally encountered someone willing to accept me, only for him to turn out to be a rebel. Fortunately, there was still Shiniang, who disregarded my utter destitution and insisted on following me... But just after returning, I saw that Zhang Wenda of the Ministry of Justice was about to stir up trouble in the Eastern Capital, so I sought out this assignment, intending to see my cousin and avoid disaster at the same time. Who could have imagined that Zhang Wenda would simply die in the Eastern Capital, while I would run into my cousin fleeing here instead?"

For a time, everyone was silent, filled with reflections of their own.

After a moment, Zhang Xing finally folded his arms and smiled faintly. "Assistant Director Li, since we've been this candid with one another, there's something I would seem hypocritical not to ask..."

"Please, go ahead." Li Ding, too, had become much more sincere.

"When you discovered Yang Shen intended to rebel and left immediately, was it because you thought he couldn't succeed, or because you wanted to remain a loyal subject and absolutely couldn't join a rebellion?" Zhang Xing asked teasingly.

"Both." After a moment's silence, Li Ding gave an all-purpose answer.

"All right, let me put it another way." Arms folded, Zhang Xing leaned forward slightly. "If you had genuinely believed Yang Shen could succeed, would you have abandoned the seat he promised you to be buried alongside Great Wei? Or would you have taken your beauty into seclusion in the mountains and forests, betraying neither Great Wei nor your beloved?"

Both Qin Bao and Li Qingchen thought this fellow Zhang San was going too far.

Yet after a moment's silence, Li Ding gave an unexpected answer. "If a man born into this world cannot seize Dongyi's fifty provinces, destroy the thirty Wu clans of the Western Wasteland, unite all within the four seas, then attain his Position and return to heaven, his name resounding through the histories and his rank entered among the divine, wouldn't he have lived in vain?"

The other two men at the table breathed heavily, unable to answer.

It was still Zhang Xing-perhaps because he was accustomed to typing such things on a keyboard-who merely paused before continuing to lean forward with his arms folded. "In that case, let me ask you something else. Did you think Yang Shen's rebellion would fail because the man himself couldn't be relied upon, or because the larger tide of events couldn't be relied upon?"

"Both." Li Ding also folded his arms and leaned forward slightly. "To tell you the truth, Yang Shen's indecisiveness, his lack of any strategic plan even on the eve of rebellion, was one thing. On the other hand, I truly couldn't imagine how Great Wei could possibly fall... The late emperor destroyed Eastern Qi, swallowed Southern Chen, subdued the Northern Wasteland, and reduced the Three Wu to servitude only twenty years ago!"

"And the court's stores are actually so abundant." Zhang Xing tapped the couch, his face full of feeling as well. "There's grain, there's cloth, and the population is there. Even with the great clans and regional conflicts, there's still no reason this realm shouldn't be stable, is there?"

"Exactly..." Li Ding tilted his head back and sighed. "And yet there's always this feeling that something is wrong with the world, as though it's deteriorating day by day!"

"That's it!" Zhang Xing finally clapped his hands, then pursued the question earnestly. "I've racked my brains and still can't understand it either... Tell me, since there are Supreme Ones in heaven and True Dragons between heaven and earth, could this be heaven's will?"

"Heaven's will is unfathomable." Li Ding kept shaking his head. "But since ancient times, the circumstances and the great tides of events have always driven heaven's will. Never have we seen heaven's will emerge first and run counter to those tides... Besides, in my view, if heaven's will followed the wishes of a few Supreme Ones, Gods and Devils, or True Dragons, it couldn't be called heaven's will. Leaving the Supreme Ones aside-since ancient times, no Supreme One has committed evil and brought calamity; they are Supreme Ones precisely because they have rendered meritorious service to the universe and the world-just consider these True Dragons. If they truly harbored such intentions, they could only be slaughtered by heaven's will. Have you not seen how the four Supreme Ones rose? Which of them attained their Position without spilling dragon blood along the way?"

"Then what exactly is it?" Zhang Xing's brow furrowed further.

"Could it still be Dongyi? Though Dongyi is called barbarian, it's no different from the Northern Wasteland: both belong to the orthodox human lineage... Or could the Wu people be uniting once more?"

"I don't know the situation in Dongyi. Is there anything you could tell me about it?"

"I..."

And so, watching the two delve deeper and deeper, Qin Bao and Li Qingchen exchanged a glance. Both found it somewhat absurd, and neither could get a word in... After a while, Li Qingchen was the first to lose patience and returned next door to rest.

Qin Bao simply lay his head on the table and slept.

"Let's go."

And so, the two talked all the way from Great Wei's military system to Dongyi's national fortunes, then to the future of the Wu Clan in the northwest, and finally to the Demon-Suppressing Guard system in the Northern Wasteland. By then, the third watch had already passed. Zhang Xing glanced at Qin Bao, slumped over the table, and suddenly changed the subject. "I'll see you out."

"What?" Li Ding, who had leaned so far forward that they were whispering into each other's ears, was caught off guard.

"Even aside from the possibility of finding your cousin, if we don't find him, we could still use those three guards to frame your second uncle directly." Zhang Xing spoke casually. "We don't need you as well... And while what you've said today isn't enough to make me run away with you by night, you truly are a hero with genuine ability. Once I've given my word, I'll act on it. While everyone's asleep, I'll take you out now."

Li Ding hurriedly rose, then froze momentarily and reminded him in a low voice, "Shiniang..."

"Once you're gone, Shiniang won't matter much in this affair." Zhang Xing urged him on casually. "Just find a way back to the Eastern Capital later. When the time comes, I'll put in a word with Inspector Bai and have her go find you."

Li Ding hurried to get up, intending to bow his thanks below the bed, but caught sight of Qin Bao and hastily stopped, merely standing still.

Zhang Xing openly took the Embroidered-Mouth Saber and walked out and downstairs to the main hall without concealment. Seeing the man on duty below struggling to stay awake, he went over and volunteered to relieve him. Once he had sent the man away, he simply went upstairs, waved, and led Li Ding boldly out of the post station and into the peach grove.

"Zhang Sanlang, you're the only person who's made me see him in a new light three times in a single day." In the peach grove, by the light from the post station, Li Ding clasped his hands and bowed. "Today's kindness is engraved in my very entrails. If you don't disdain me, Zhang Sanlang, why don't we become sworn brothers here in this peach grove?"

"Get going!" Zhang Xing couldn't be bothered with this. He merely waved, impatiently urging him on. "After all that talk, Great Wei is still as impregnable as walls of metal and a moat of boiling water. It's not as though we're setting out to conquer the realm, yet here you are, swearing brotherhood in a peach grove. Besides, if we actually did, wouldn't you be the elder brother... Not to mention that this whole business began with us trying to arrest you without evidence to frame your uncle... Go on, get going. Even if you become an immortal emperor someday, it'll have nothing to do with me. I'm releasing you today because I see you have some genuine ability. That's all."

With that, Zhang Xing turned straight back toward the post station.

Hearing this, Li Ding gritted his teeth where he stood and hesitated briefly. Then, instead of heading directly east or going west toward Tong Pass, he first ran south into the mountains.

Meanwhile, after entering the post station, Zhang Xing did not hurry to find Bai Yousi. Instead, he stopped in the courtyard, took the Compass from his robes, and calmly recited, "Taishang Laojun, swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with your command."

As always, the Compass did not disappoint Zhang Xing and sprang straight up. Unexpectedly, however, its needle pointed neither west toward Tong Pass as he had imagined, nor north toward the great river, but instead settled on Mount Funiu to the south.

Could Han Shixiong really have escaped alone because he could hold his liquor better? Qin Bao, who had just pretended to sleep to provide cover, and Li Ding's repeated innocent explanations flashed through Zhang Xing's mind, suggesting the most speechless-making explanation of all.

But whatever the case, the Compass had been used, and there was no need for further scruples.

Putting away the Compass, Zhang Xing turned and entered the post station, then went upstairs to find Bai Yousi and arrived outside the ladies' room. Courtesy still had to be observed, but after he knocked several times, no response came from within. Helplessly, Zhang Xing pushed the door, only to discover it had been left ajar.

Not only that, but the room was empty.

Zhang Xing froze. If not for the lingering scent of Zhang Shiniang's distinctive incense, he would have thought he had come to the wrong room.

After hesitating, Zhang Xing decided to wait where he was.

Sure enough, half a quarter of an hour later, Inspector Bai suddenly appeared outside the door, her clothing neat and trim. It looked as though she, too, had gone out.

This made Zhang Xing's expression grow rather strange.

"Zhang Xing." Seeing the person waiting inside, Bai Yousi hesitated, even averting her eyes a little. "Zhang Shiniang and I got along wonderfully, so we simply became sworn sisters. I just let her go and even escorted her twenty li, telling her to wait for someone in the Eastern Capital... Release my brother-in-law too! Then give me the Compass and let me borrow it!"

Zhang Xing remained silent for a long time. In the end, not knowing what to say, he could only tell the truth. "In Mount Funiu... Shall we search the mountain tomorrow?"

PS: Sorry, sorry, this is late, late. And happy New Year again, everyone.