Chapter 48 Cui Hao: ?

Chapter 48: Cui Hao: What Now?

"What should we do next?"

Cui Hao’s brow twitched. "Killing him was one thing—there was no need to haul his head around."

Huan Qian’s head was stained with dust and blood, yet its refined features still betrayed the noble status of its owner. Had it not been so, Cui Hao wouldn’t have bothered ambushing him mid-journey, fearing that this courier returning from Luoyang might disrupt his plans.

Seeing such a head handled so casually left Cui Hao with an inexplicable unease. It was as if, should he ever meet his end, he too would be reduced to such a state.

The leading Qiang warrior, oblivious to Cui Hao’s thoughts, earned a silent curse in Cui Hao’s mind—*oaf*.

"You may not care about this, but we do! It tallies to our credit!"

He flung the head backward, where another caught it, and continued to Cui Hao, "Though I hear the Han people have changed their merit system—tallying ears instead. But tell me, what’s more intimidating than heads lined up before the ranks?"

Cui Hao cut him off. "There will be plenty of glory to be won. This one head makes no difference. Secure the area quickly—we have more pressing matters!"

The Qiang warriors, restless from their killing frenzy, finally turned to follow Mr. Cui’s orders. They stripped a few breastplates from the dead soldiers and dragged the bodies to a concealed spot for burial. The blood trails and hoof marks on the ground were soon buried under the dust.

Looking down at the scene, Cui Hao felt a quiet relief. The messenger party had been small, and his own fast-moving vanguard still held the numerical advantage. With his supply lines stretched thin and reinforcements yet to arrive, encountering a full Ying Dynasty's main force would have been troublesome.

He wondered who was holding command in Luoyang, sending even a southern dispatch rider of such high station.

If not for...

If not for Yao Xing, who—as the Celestial Screen had revealed—put competent men in charge of military and administrative tasks rather than clinging to power, Cui Hao would never have found this opportunity to be given independent command and catch the enemy off-guard.

He could only hope his speed would be enough—to breach Luoyang first, for the King of Qin, and for Wei Emperor Tuoba Gui!

"Mr. Cui..."

Cui Hao pointed at two Han officers under Yao Xing’s command in the ranks. "Put on their clothes. First, try to bluff your way through Yique Pass. If that fails, signal our Wei forces to the north—we’ll attack Luoyang from both north and south!"

"Move out!"

At Cui Hao’s command, the cavalry surged forward.

By the time the riders had gone, the road bore little trace of what had transpired. Only where men had fallen, blood soaking into the dust, freezing into dark clots in the deepening cold. When the wind stirred the sand, faint hints of crimson peeked through.

The air still carried a lingering metallic tang, enough to make two scout riders yank their reins abruptly as they passed.

Exchanging a glance, their past scouting experience put them on high alert. They immediately began scouring the area.

Two days later, as Huan Xuan’s vanguard marched ahead, two messengers came galloping back in haste, rushing straight to their commander.

"What’s the emergency?" Huan Xuan’s expression darkened—a foreboding stirring in his gut.

The next moment, one of the messengers pressed a jade pendant into his hand.

The jade was smooth with warmth, clearly of fine quality—yet now it was nearly shattered, as if hurled violently into a haystack, sparing it from complete destruction. On its surface, a blazing crimson fingerprint smeared the carved character.

Huan Xuan’s hand trembled. He knew exactly what character it was.

"Huan."

The *Huan* of the Longkang Huan clan.

The messenger bowed his head, reported grimly. "We found the Marquis of Yiyang’s body... but not his head. We await your punishment, General."

Punishment? Who would punish them for this now?

"Can you tell—who did this?" Huan Xuan ground out through gritted teeth.

The Marquis of Yiyang—the Marquis of Yiyang!

That was Huan Qian’s noble title.

Huan Xuan had never imagined that what should have been a reunion with his cousin in Luoyang would instead become news of his death on the road.

Dizziness washed over him; he clutched the jade tightly as the messenger reported: judging by the wounds and arrowhead patterns, the attackers were undoubtedly Qiang.

No one knew why they had struck so close to Jingzhou, nor why Huan Qian had traveled with so few guards, leaving him vulnerable to ambush. This unexpected news from the front only confirmed one thing for Huan Xuan—

Yao Xing was moving far faster than they had anticipated. Luoyang’s situation was far more dire than they’d thought.

The Emperor’s decision to personally march on Luoyang, with Huan Xuan clearing the path in Jingzhou and coordinating grain supplies, had been swift and decisive. But under the Celestial Screen’s influence, others were moving just as quickly.

Luoyang’s proximity to Guanzhong had become its greatest vulnerability.

Huan Xuan knew Huan Qian’s capabilities well. Yet even such a man had fallen to the enemy—a stunning blow.

"General..."

The soft call of his deputy general snapped Huan Xuan back to reality. Only then did he notice the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

Around him, the soldiers’ faces were alight with fury and agitation.

"General, the Marquis of Yiyang was killed—left without a whole corpse! We must avenge him!"

"Exactly! How dare these Qiang barbarians act so brazenly!"

"General, let us march at once!"

"If we hurry, we might still catch those savages..."

"Silence!" Huan Xuan’s roar cut through the voices as, hand on sword hilt, he glared.

At the first shock of Huan Qian’s death, his instinct had been to charge toward Luoyang with his men and exact vengeance.

The Longkang Huan clan might have declined in recent years, but they would *not* be humiliated like this—left to such an ignoble end!

Of course he would lead his troops north, hunt down those murderers.

But in that moment, he also saw the exhaustion etched into his soldiers’ faces from days of forced marches.

Though their victory over Sima Zun and his nephew had been overwhelming, battle was undeniably grueling labor.

Clearing the path for the Emperor and coordinating grain shipments across the counties had kept his cavalry in constant motion, with little rest.

This was no time for pursuit.

He couldn't be sure...

"Are you worried that Luoyang has already fallen?" Liu Yu, leading a unit of light cavalry, caught up with Huan Xuan and heard this unexpected development. As he reviewed the report on Luoyang's situation sent south by Huan Qian, he asked.

Huan Xuan nodded solemnly, "Yes."

The most plausible explanation for why Huan Qian led a hundred men southward was that Luoyang had been taken by enemy assault. With his limited forces, Huan Qian couldn't hold the city gates and had no choice but to retreat with a small force.

But during this retreat south, he was set upon by Qiang forces and ultimately failed to escape, meeting his end.

Liu Yu frowned and glanced at Huan Xuan again: "Marquis of Chu, pardon my directness, but have you lost much confidence because of what the Heavenly Display showed?"

Huan Xuan bristled: "...What do you mean?!"

Indeed, the repeated public exposures by the Heavenly Display had made him feel unable to show his face before the Emperor. But that didn't mean he had lost his nerve.

Liu Yu had previously been tasked with escorting the Langya Wang clan members and was only temporarily transferred to lead another unit to reconnoiter the front when the Emperor decided to personally lead the campaign. The troops he commanded now were far fewer than what Huan Xuan commanded—what business did he have to speak like this!

Oh... perhaps he did have the right.

Because he was the Emperor's Grand General Liu, the trusted general mentioned in the Heavenly Display's account of the Battle of Luoyang.

Liu Yu countered coldly: "Judging from the late General Huan's reports, his arrangements in Luoyang were thorough. If what he said was true—that the people's loyalty in Luoyang favored the Emperor—then however desperate the situation, it couldn't have fallen within mere days!"

"And if, as his report claimed, he couldn't bear to see the people suffer and even claimed allegiance to the Emperor—a general who cared for the people—why would he retreat southward with his men like this? According to the scouts, he was killed bearing few battle wounds."

"In my view—"

Based on his military experience, Huan Qian's death wasn't what Huan Xuan imagined. Our hesitation now would only give the Qiang more opportunities!

"You only need to consider one question: what is the enemy's goal, and what is ours?" Liu Yu spoke with unwavering certainty.

The confusion in Huan Xuan's eyes faded abruptly, replaced by clarity and resolve. "They want to seize Luoyang, and we must save it."

If their aim was terror through conquest, there was no need to bury Huan Qian's body.

They could have left it on display on the road to show Yong'an that, even if heaven seemed to favor her, they still had a chance to reverse fortunes. For instance, Luoyang had already fallen into Yao Xing's hands.

Compared to the uncertain trap of luring the enemy into an ambush in Luoyang, this act of intimidation would be far more effective in undermining troop morale and public support!

Unless... Luoyang hadn't fallen yet!

They had taken an alternate route to reach this place and had merely chanced upon Huan Qian's southern retreat by chance, ambushing him.

"His Majesty ordered us to advance with all haste, not to be cowed by enemy deception," Liu Yu said. "General Huan, we must both report this situation to the Emperor and take immediate action."

In war, speed is everything. If we arrive only after the enemy has succeeded, it will truly be too late.

After a brief moment of thought, Huan Xuan said, "My clansman's death has weighed on my mind. I’ll lend you command of the Jingzhou Army. With our combined forces, we advance north immediately!"

Liu Yu raised a hand to stop him. "No, we must split up. Even if Luoyang hasn’t fallen, over two days have passed. No one can say for certain what the situation at the Yique Pass is. If the Qiang have divided their troops to hold Yique Pass and use the terrain against us while advancing north to attack Luoyang, our speed would mean nothing then?"

"Let me pursue this route north while you take the Huanyuan Pass route east of Luoyang!" He flipped through Huan Qian’s report and pointed to a line: "If this report holds true, there are Huan clan troops stationed there—they would know you!"

If the Qiang have already breached Luoyang’s eight passes, laid siege to the city, and seized control of its outer defenses, then a flanking maneuver is vital.

And this task—only Huan Xuan could accomplish it.

Liu Yu, favored with the Emperor’s trust and urgently deployed to the frontlines, couldn’t afford to simply obey commands.

With the Emperor soon arriving to assume command, they had to—

Clear a path ahead first!

He could only hope that, though Huan Qian was dead, the plans he'd laid would still prove effective.

...

A guard atop Yique Pass suddenly sneezed.

He certainly didn’t think it meant someone was thinking of him. He simply fetched another cloth coat from the storeroom and draped it over his uniform before returning to his post in the watchtower.

It was bitterly cold.

Jingzhou wasn’t as cold as Luoyang, nor as barren.

He exhaled carefully and resumed polishing the rust off his bow, lest the corrosion cut his hands when drawing the string, leading to needless infection.

What was even more frustrating was how few arrows they had been allotted.

Ah...

This was the price of defying the Heavenly Display.

If he were still in Jingzhou, he’d likely have smoothly transitioned into becoming one of Emperor Yong'an’s officers, participating in some agricultural reform to grow more food. Why did he have to pretend to be Yong'an’s subordinate while secretly aiding the Huan clan’s rebellion?

What a mess.

But he was a man who valued loyalty—both to the past and to those who had shown him kindness.

Back when Huan Chong governed Jingzhou, he had been fortunate enough to earn recognition and was recruited into the army as a lowly soldier. The military rations had fed his children. Now that Huan Chong’s son, Huan Qian, led the troops, of course he would follow his orders.

No one was getting through this pass until General Huan returned.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard the distant but approaching sound of hoofbeats below.

He jerked his head up and looked down to see a group of armored riders galloping toward the pass.

The leader at the front raised his head, revealing an unfamiliar Han face, and shouted up: "By order of Emperor Yong'an, open the pass and let us through!"

Emperor Yong'an’s order?

The soldier squinted down at the men below and quickly made up his mind.

He whispered to the comrade beside him: "General Huan hasn’t ordered us to switch allegiances yet, nor announced our surrender, right?"

The other man nodded. "Right now, Luoyang belongs to the Huan clan—not Great Ying."

Exactly! Whether they were rebels or not, the name "Yong'an" held no authority here.

They answered to Huan Qian, not the Heavenly Display.

...

From a distance, Cui Hao watched in shock as—

Almost the instant the men below finished speaking, before he could even discern how those atop the wall had spotted the deception, a dense volley of arrows rained down upon the riders below!