Chapter 128

Chapter 128

In early October, Princess Qingyang and the main army, still on their return journey, encountered a detachment of ten couriers sent by her second brother with urgent news.

On the vast grasslands, this team of messengers had set out without certainty of finding the main army, merely heading north towards Jizhou. Upon spotting the main force from afar, they naturally made their way over.

Learning that the Western Route surprise force, led by Prince Jing and others, had not only located the East Hu royal court but also nearly annihilated the entire Yelu clan, the high-ranking generals were overjoyed. Prince Yong nearly laughed himself hoarse.

Princess Qingyang, too, was delighted. From the moment her imperial father decided to launch an expedition against East Hu, her hopes for victory had rested on these two surprise forces. At the time, she hadn't known that Yelu Chong would be so arrogant as to actively engage her main force, nor that after several stalemates, he would still pursue them relentlessly. She had even prepared for the possibility that the main army would exhaust itself searching for the East Hu troops and ultimately return empty-handed due to dwindling provisions.

Heaven had blessed Great Qi—the main army had triumphed, and the Western Route surprise force had delivered a victory far exceeding her and her imperial father’s expectations!

As the laughter in the main tent gradually subsided, Princess Qingyang meticulously inquired about the prisoners her second brother, Zhang Su, and the others planned to bring back. She then personally penned a sealed letter for the messengers to deliver to her second brother, instructing them to ensure that her second brother, Zhang Su, and Fu Kui all opened and read the letter together.

After the messengers withdrew, Prince Yong asked curiously, "What did you write in the letter, Lín'er?"

As it wasn't a secret that needed to be hidden from the army’s generals, Princess Qingyang replied, "I instructed Prince Jing to deliberately release Yelu Chong’s fourth son and the East Hu Khātūn."

Prince Yong frowned. "Why let them go? I was looking forward to seeing Yelu Chong’s 'joy' at reuniting with his son and woman here!"

Princess Qingyang looked to Hou Wanzhong, Meng Ji, and the other generals.

Hou Wanzhong, who had become more familiar with Prince Yong in the capital over recent years, chuckled and said, "Is the princess leaving someone in East Hu who can take charge, so they can send someone to ransom their king and the Right Virtuous King?"

While Central Plain dynasties occasionally produced rebellious ministers and generals, among the nomads, less bound by tradition, it was even more common for a powerful new king to replace a weak old one. By leaving Yelu Chong’s Khātūn and son, the mother and child could rely on Yelu Chong’s prestige to temporarily inherit and support the East Hu royal court. If Great Qi were to capture the entire Yelu clan, and East Hu elected a new king from a different branch who cared nothing for the fate of Yelu Chong or Yelu Xu, whom would Great Qi demand ransom from?

Princess Qingyang nodded with a smile.

This was also why she had rejected her uncle’s suggestion to join forces with West Hu to destroy East Hu in one stroke. If East Hu were truly annihilated, West Hu could unify the grasslands. Given just a few decades, West Hu could train a powerful cavalry army, united in seeking revenge against Great Qi. By contrast, allowing East Hu to survive would keep both East Hu and West Hu checking each other, continuing to consume each other’s strength in the struggle for more territory, with no mind to look south.

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Two urgent victory reports, sent six hundred *li* apart, arrived in the capital five days apart.

For the main army, the King of East Hu had been captured alive through his daughter’s clever strategy. As for the Western Route army, although it was his second son who led the surprise attack on the East Hu royal court, it was his daughter who had proposed the tactic of sending two surprise attack forces to strike East Hu’s rear!

Thus, after receiving the second victory report, during the imperial court session, Emperor Xingwu heaped praise on his little princess, specifically addressing Chancellors Yan Xizheng and Dai Lun: "When I first proposed campaigning against East Hu, both the Left Chancellor and Right Chancellor urged me to think twice, lacking confidence in this war. Yes, I know your concerns were valid—this year was indeed not the optimal time to send troops against East Hu. But I could wait; the frontier civilians could not. If I hadn't sent troops, this autumn East Hu would have continued invading our borders, and more frontier civilians would have died under their scimitars! Not fighting year after year, yet people die year after year—the previous dynasty’s emperor could tolerate it, but I cannot. Since I have become emperor, I must shoulder responsibility for all the people of Great Qi!"

Yan Xizheng, Dai Lun, and other civil officials bowed their heads in shame.

Emperor Xingwu then turned to the military officials led by Duke of Cheng Lü Zan and Duke of Wei Zhang Jie: "The Left Chancellor and Right Chancellor worried about insufficient supplies and treasury funds. You generals worried about the vast grasslands making it difficult to locate the East Hu troops. Truthfully, I worried too, but a war that must be fought must be fought, no matter how difficult! Lín'er understood my earnest desire. While you all hesitated, only Lín'er dared to think and act—and she truly brought down the East Hu royal court! Lín'er is only seventeen! Leading the main force, she captured the king; with surprise troops, she attacked the nomads’ lair. Haha! I always praised you all for having worthy sons, but this time Lín'er has made me proud too!"

The founding emperor on the throne was so happy he nearly danced. The civil and military officials were all tactful, vying to praise Princess Qingyang’s courage and strategy. This was not entirely to flatter the emperor—the princess had truly achieved a great feat. Not only in this dynasty, but throughout the previous dynasty’s two hundred-plus years, with intermittent wars against the nomads fought over a hundred times, never had there been such a glorious victory!

If few court officials had held out hope for victory when Princess Qingyang first set out with the army, these two victory reports at the start of the month became like two powerful gusts of wind stirred up by the princess from the grasslands. Roaring over two to three thousand *li* to the capital, the wind’s force undiminished, they blew away all doubt and underestimation of Princess Qingyang, leaving the officials astonished and convinced.

Perhaps any literate person could write a travel journal, but a great victory that would be passed down through the ages was not something that could be achieved merely by studying military texts and diligently practicing combat skills. Ordinary civil officials couldn't do it; even accomplished chancellors and great generals might not necessarily succeed!

The court assembly lasted an hour, with Emperor Xingwu spending forty-five minutes of that time praising his dear Princess Lín'er.

Great Qi had won. After this war, the border would enjoy at least twenty years of peace and stability. As the crown prince, Qin Hong was also happy—for Great Qi, for his father, for his sister and second brother.

But he was no saint. Noticing that his father, despite his joy, didn't once glance at him but repeatedly looked at his third brother beside him, Qin Hong felt layers of bitterness overwhelm his heart.

Since his sister and second brother left the capital—no, since his father returned from the southern tour last year—Qin Hong had sensed a change in his father’s attitude toward him.

Qin Hong was self-aware. During his studies at Chongwen Pavilion, he could still earn his father’s approval with top grades in both civil and martial lessons. But after he began serving in the court, his father no longer valued his grades. Instead, he hoped Qin Hong would be a crown prince to his liking, showing the decisiveness expected of a crown prince in handling affairs and dealing with officials.

But Qin Hong couldn't do it. He always worried that any misstep would disappoint, displease, or anger his father. The more he worried, the more he wanted Yan Xizheng and other meritorious officials to make decisions rather than taking charge himself. That way, he wouldn't make mistakes and wouldn't face his father’s sternness and reprimands.

Sometimes his father was stern; sometimes he gave him pointers in private. After Qin Hong’s first bout of migraines, his father became less stern, offering more guidance and encouragement when assigning tasks.

After the southern tour ended, because he had agreed to allocate steeds to his uncle, his father harshly reprimanded both him and his uncle. Qin Hong was ashamed beyond measure, but he didn't blame his father—only himself for disappointing him. From then on, his father never again assigned him tasks privately, never gave him pointers alone, and never asked for his opinion when officials had differing views on policies, including during the northern campaign. Although his father had called him over for discussions, the look in his eyes suggested Qin Hong was expendable.

Because of his sister’s book, Zheng Geer had once resented her for "stealing" his reputation for wisdom and worried that his father might change the crown prince to his third brother. Qin Hong believed his third brother and sister had no intention of competing with him, but over the past six months, his father’s attitude toward him, the almost speechless distance and strangeness between father and son, made Qin Hong faintly feel that his father might indeed be considering changing the crown prince.

Qin Hong lowered his head, looking at the gleaming gilded bricks paving the hall.

When his father first appointed him crown prince, Qin Hong had been happy only for a short while—happy that the matter was finally settled, happy that his sister no longer had to worry. But then came the anxiety: anxiety about not being a good crown prince, anxiety about disappointing his father, anxiety about not being able to shoulder the heavy responsibility after his father passed away, failing both his father’s trust and the people of the kingdom.

Compared to the suffocating weight of the crown prince position, Qin Hong envied his second brother, who only needed to learn how to lead troops and fight; envied his carefree third brother, who laughed all day; envied his sister, who could have learned nothing yet excelled at everything and navigated the official world with ease.

So, if his father truly intended to depose him as crown prince, Qin Hong would comply. As long as his father spoke the word, he wouldn't cling to the position. Whether his father chose his second brother or third brother, he would hold no resentment or hatred.

On the throne, Emperor Xingwu finally glanced at his eldest son when the latter, forcing a smile, lowered his head.

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Princess Qingyang’s main force didn't return to Jizhou until mid-October. She had to reward the soldiers, compensate the families of the fallen, wait for the return of the two surprise attack forces led by her second brother and Deng Kun, and, during the wait, take the opportunity to comfort the frontier civilians who had long suffered from East Hu’s raids. Even after all that was done, the army would take another month to return to the capital.

Emperor Xingwu knew his daughter might not return until the twelfth lunar month.

His daughter had already achieved military glory and made a name for herself; whenever she returned was fine. Emperor Xingwu was in no hurry because, before his daughter returned, he had his own tasks to attend to.

In early November, after the capital’s excitement over the victory had temporarily subsided, during a court assembly, Emperor Xingwu didn't even sit on the throne. Instead, he first threw the censorate's impeachment memorial against Director of the Ministry of Revenue Fang Ji for corruption, along with the evidence, at Minister of Personnel Yang Zhimin’s feet, sternly saying, "Yang Zhimin, how did you select such a corrupt official devoid of talent and virtue for me?"

Yang Zhimin trembled all over. Picking up the scattered memorial and evidence documents at his feet, he quickly read them, then immediately stepped forward and knelt in the middle of the hall, shamefacedly saying, "I failed to discern character clearly, mistaking a treacherous official for a capable one. I know my crime and beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Emperor Xingwu intended to strip Yang Zhimin of his rank.

Yan Xizheng was the first to plead for Yang Zhimin. Just as Dai Lun and other civil officials prepared to speak, Qin Hong, pale-faced, knelt beside Yang Zhimin, bowing and kowtowing as he said, "Father, it was I who accepted Fang Ji’s bribe and then pressured Yang Zhimin to recommend him. If you must punish anyone, punish me."

Yang Zhimin, also kneeling and bowing, tilted his head and saw the crown prince’s face streaked with tears.

Yang Zhimin closed his eyes. This day had finally come.