Chapter 337 Two Armies Face Off

Chapter 337: Two Armies Face Off

This morning's court session did not end with Song Tingzhou being ordered to return home. Nie Chuan, ruthless in his methods, immediately struck upon realizing that the emperor likely suspected the forged Guo Qixiu's handiwork and the so-called mermaid pearls that Tingxiang Pavilion used to control officials.

The imperial city's core consisted of the twenty-six imperial guard units, six of which handled only carriages, horses, ceremonial regalia, and palace repairs, while two more handled flag-bearing, gong-striking, and road-clearing duties, ensuring ceremonial solemnity and order. The remaining eighteen units, including the Qianlong Guard and the Jinyiwei, formed the imperial city's elite fighting force, totaling over six thousand men.

Yet no one could have guessed that even these eighteen units had been infiltrated by Nie Chuan's men. The sudden betrayal of their comrades caught them completely off guard. Compounded by Prince Lian's unexpected return—he had secretly slipped back to the capital and led the Five Army Camps into the imperial city, seizing control inside and out with an overwhelming force of thirty thousand infantry—the Jinyiwei Commander had no time to react before his own deputy ran him through.

All nine gates of the imperial city and all four gates of the palace were now under heavy guard by the Five Army Camps. Anyone who tried to force their way through was cut down before the towering vermilion gates.

The only forces still capable of resistance inside the imperial city were the emperor-loyal Qianlong Guard and some Jinyiwei. Their goal was to protect the sovereign, so they quickly abandoned resistance and rushed toward the Qianqing Palace and Yangxin Hall.

The ministers who had attended morning court and couldn't get home were stunned. When it came to life-and-death matters, the civil officials—before the military officers could even react—trained their fire on the Minister of War, an elderly minister with a mild presence and a simple, honest face.

"Minister Sima, what's going on? Where's the tiger tally? Where's the one the Ministry of War keeps?"

"Without the tiger tally, how would the three major camps outside the capital dare enter the city?"

"Minister Sima, who would've thought that someone who looks so honest could do something like this!"

The Minister of War was not eloquent, and his honest face flushed red. "To mobilize the three major camps outside the capital, you need more than just the Ministry of War's half of the tiger tally..."

And... and an imperial edict! Both were indispensable!

But the others refused to listen, only accusing him of being heartless and ungrateful.

Ridiculous—who would dare curse at Nie Chuan and risk getting cut down on the spot?

The deputy minister of war, a second-rank official standing behind Minister Sima, quietly slipped over to stand behind Nie Chuan, along with Xia Yuan and two other court officials.

Gou Zhengfang and Wang Zan stood on the other side, faces tense.

The two sides faced off, a clear line drawn between them.

Nie Chuan personally led troops to "escort" these imperial officials to a side hall and lock them away, leaving only Gou Zhengfang—the crown prince's faction member who had only revealed himself today—and Wang Zan and a few others openly aligned with the crown prince.

Once Prince Lian ascended the throne, making major moves would be difficult, and Gou Zhengfang's power was too great—he had to be eliminated now. Unfortunately, by the time Nie Chuan led his men back to the main hall, the guards watching over them were dead, and the detained crown prince's faction members had vanished without a trace—all within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

"Find them, and behead them on sight," Nie Chuan ordered coldly, then joined forces with Prince Lian. The two led troops charging deeper into the palace. Compared to a few ministers, capturing the emperor first and forcing him to write an edict abdicating to Prince Lian was the priority.

—

Meanwhile, Song Tingzhou followed Yue Zhengqi into Shunyi. The guards at the gate were clearly not local soldiers, and they were highly wary of outsiders approaching.

"Halt! Shunyi is closed to entry these days. Turn back now!"

Song Tingzhou pulled the token from his waist and tossed it to them. "Song Tingzhou, Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, requests an audience with the Crown Prince." Yue Zhengqi stayed mostly in the shadows, so it was better to use Song Tingzhou's name here.

The moment he spoke, the guards at the gate tensed up, and archers patrolling the city walls nocked arrows.

The guard clasped his hands in salute. "Lord Song, please wait a moment. We'll return shortly."

The entire city was on alert—there was no way Song Tingzhou and his party could leave even if they'd wanted to.

Before long, Qin Jiao personally rode over to greet them. "Lord Song, it's been a while. You've finally made it."

Apart from the rough stubble on his chin, Qin Jiao's tone was light and easy—still the same carefree young heir as before, yet somehow more mature.

"My father has already deployed troops to secure Shunyi inside and out. Everyone in the city is on our side—you can rest easy, Lord Song."

Along the way, Song Tingzhou noticed that although squads of soldiers patrolled the streets from time to time, the common folk had grown used to it. Shops did business as usual, people chatted and visited as they pleased, not a single brothel or theater had closed, and peddlers and hawkers roamed freely through the alleys.

Such a peaceful scene, with the people so accustomed to the soldiers' presence, surely meant the ruler had calmed the populace.

The Crown Prince was resting in an ordinary courtyard, surrounded by many experts Song Tingzhou had met or heard of—Ge Quan and Qin Xiaoyun among them, plus a middle-aged man whose build closely resembled Qin Xiaoyun's and whose features bore some resemblance to Qin Jiao. This had to be Marquis Zhongyi, Qin Xiaozhong.

"Last time I made a hasty trip back to the capital, I didn't get the chance to meet you, Lord Song." Qin Xiaozhong laughed heartily, clearly having heard of Song Tingzhou.

Song Tingzhou returned the courtesy. "I haven't yet thanked General Qin for helping me search for someone in the palace last time."

Qin Xiaozhong was taken aback, clearly having already forgotten about Nanny Jin.

The two exchanged a few more words. Among those present, Qin Jiao and Ge Quan knew Song Tingzhou best, but Ge Quan understood nothing of court intrigue, and Qin Jiao felt overshadowed by Song Tingzhou in his father's presence—as if Song Tingzhou were not his "Brother Song" but his "Uncle Song"—which made him especially restrained.

The Crown Prince had also only recently arrived in Shunyi, and his hair was still damp when he came out to see Song Tingzhou. "Since you've all left the city, Nie Chuan must be losing patience."

Everyone paid their respects, and Yue Zhengqi, who kept a low profile, spoke up: "Your Highness, Prince Lian departed from Tongzhou last night to head for the three major camps outside the capital. On Lord Song's way out of the city, the Nie family was already recklessly trying to silence him—it seems they're preparing to make their move."

The Crown Prince smiled lightly. "They hesitated and dared not act rashly—wasn't I just helping them along? It's only a pity Lord Song had to suffer such hardship."

Song Tingzhou's dark, deep eyes held no pride. "Your Highness flatters me. Thanks to Lord Gou's assistance at court, I received no punishment."

The Crown Prince donned a suit of armor for himself. "Very well, since Nie Chuan has already acted, we can't enter the city too late—otherwise, wouldn't we be wasting Father and my brother's careful planning for me?"

He was not one to dawdle. With everyone assembled, he issued orders in succession.

"Qin Jiao, take this half of the tiger tally to the camp outside the capital. Have the Three Thousand Camp hold the Shengjing city gates and besiege the imperial city." The Crown Prince tossed the half tally to Qin Jiao. At this critical moment, the Three Thousand Camp would surely have noticed the anomaly in the Five Army Camps. Even without an imperial edict, they couldn't possibly stay put—and besides, while the Five Army Camps had Nie's men, the Three Thousand Camp had Qin's people too.

Qin Jiao took the tally without a single unnecessary question and set off immediately.

"General Qin, Lord Song, Aqi—Nie Chuan's private troops are stationed in Tongzhou. I need the three of you to intercept them. They must not be allowed to set foot within Shengjing city."

To seize the throne, relying solely on the Five Army Camps outside the capital wasn't enough. Prince Lian's backbone was the private army Nie Chuan had raised.

Nie Chuan's authority in the military was immense, making it effortless for him to amass private troops. But maintaining an army was like pouring money into a bottomless pit—Prince Lian and the Luo family had collaborated in desperate fundraising precisely to fill that hole.

Ever since Meng Wan had discovered anomalies at the relay stations near Tongzhou, the Crown Prince had immediately guessed that this perfect launching point for attacking Shengjing might already be occupied by Nie Chuan, waiting for the right moment to seize the imperial city.

By then, even the twenty-six guards of the imperial kin plus the three major camps outside the capital would be no match for the Nie family's tens of thousands of private soldiers.

Qin Xiaozhong had rushed from the border upon receiving the message, advancing north under the pretext of border troops entering the capital for defense, driving straight toward Shengjing—all to contain the Nie family's private forces.

Everyone accepted their orders. The Crown Prince raised his arm and waved. "Uncle, Ge Quan, you'll follow me to fight our way back to the capital!"

—

Song Tingzhou followed Qin Xiaozhong leading troops straight for Tongzhou, with Yue Zhengqi accompanying them—though Yue Zhengqi had his own destination.

"Brother Yue, this is my wife's letter of authorization. Take it to the Shijian relay station south of Tongzhou. A Yao ethnic steward named Na Tuo will follow your instructions."

Song Tingzhou pulled Meng Wan's letter of authorization and his customary seal from his chest, handing both to Yue Zhengqi with instructions. "Lead your men to intercept the grain shipments bound for Tongzhou. Without supplies, no matter how loyal Tongzhou's soldiers are to Nie Chuan, they cannot succeed."

Yue Zhengqi had been scheming in the capital all along and hadn't known that Meng Wan had several relay stations with such utility. Accepting the items, he led a squad around Tongzhou, heading south as planned.

"The Shijian relay station was founded by Meng Fulang himself?" Qin Xiaozhong spoke across the horses, riding alongside Song Tingzhou.

At the mention of Meng Wan, Song Tingzhou's stern brow relaxed slightly, warmth spreading through his eyes. "Indeed. My wife is clever—she always thinks of things beyond the reach of ordinary men."

Qin Xiaozhong seemed lost in thought. "No wonder the Crown Prince sent Qin Jiao to Lingnan with you back then."

Shunyi and Tongzhou were roughly the same distance from the capital. As they hurried south, the private troops of the Nie family in Tongzhou had just received orders to march north into the capital—but they were too late. Qin Xiaozhong and Song Tingzhou had already arrived and blocked them in Tongzhou, cutting off their advance entirely.

Qin Xiaozhong was a skilled commander in battle. Seeing that the Nie army was about to recklessly engage in combat to rush to the capital and rendezvous with Nie Chuan, he braced himself for a bloody battle.

Just as the two sides were on the verge of clashing, Song Tingzhou stepped forward and asked the general who had come out of the city to meet them.

"May I ask your surname, General?"

In battle, men give their names rather than die nameless—but this man across from them was clearly wearing a crimson robe, dressed as a civil official.

The officer mounted on his tall horse furrowed his brow and bellowed gruffly, "I am Ma Xin, Commander of Liaodong. Who are you, and why are you here?"

The general had no guile—he'd plainly blurted out his identity without a second thought.

Song Tingzhou clasped his hands from atop his horse, "I am the County Magistrate of Yu, and I've come for the sake of the people of the realm."

"This is the art of negotiation—first, revealing nothing of your own background, lest these soldiers learn of it and come after your family; second, raising the banner of national righteousness, which will throw them off completely."

These were Meng Wan's original words, shared with her husband as a tip.

Sure enough, the moment he mentioned the people of the realm, the man across from him froze. "We're marching to put down a rebellion in the capital—what's that got to do with the people?"

Song Tingzhou spoke with righteous conviction, "A soldier's spear should be thrust at the enemy's throat, not turned against his own brothers in arms."

Ma Xin was momentarily stunned by these words, then waved his hand dismissively. "I don't understand all that fancy talk from you civil officials. Either get out of my way, or we fight."

Song Tingzhou naturally would not step aside. The Nie army and the soldiers Qin Xiaozhong had brought were roughly equal in number. Even if the Qin forces were slightly superior, fighting here would only mean losses for the great Yu army. He had to stall if he could, and persuade if at all possible.

From atop his horse, he held forth, "General Ma, don't you have a wife and kids at home? Don't the soldiers behind you have family in the capital? There may even be brothers, fathers and sons, or brothers-in-law in these two armies who haven't seen each other in years. General Qin beside me and General Nie may have their differences, but they are both heroes who have guarded the borders for decades, repelling foreign invaders. If you've got the guts, General Ma, go fight at the border—don't trample on our own land of Yu!"

A murmur ran through the ranks behind Ma Xin, and even the troops on Qin Xiaozhong's side were moved.

"Orders are orders," Ma Xin said. "No matter what you say, we have taken our orders from General Nie, and we are determined to enter the capital!" Though Ma Xin had softened slightly, he could not disobey military commands simply because of Song Tingzhou's words.

As long as the man was willing to listen, there was hope. Song Tingzhou continued, "A commander on the battlefield isn't bound by every order from the capital. The struggle in the capital is between two princes vying for power—whoever ascends the throne, we all must bow in submission. General Ma, why not wait one day? Just one day. If Prince Lian succeeds, General Qin is willing to withdraw. If the Crown Prince succeeds, would General Ma, for the sake of the brothers behind you, truly commit treason?"

The deputy general at Ma Xin's side could not help but speak up, "General, even if we were to fight Qin Xiaozhong, we could not break through the encirclement to besiege the capital anytime soon. Why not heed his words and wait one night?"

The setting sun sank beyond the western mountains, and the fading light slowly dissolved into dusk. Soldiers on both sides lit torches, their flames dancing like unknown monsters writhing in the firelight.

Ma Xin was silent for a long time before finally making his decision. "Very well. We will wait one night. At the rooster's crow tomorrow morning, if no news comes from the city, do not bother trying to persuade me again—there will be a battle between us and the Qin Family Army!"

The weight on Song Tingzhou's chest finally lifted. His tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and he looked at Ma Xin with blazing eyes, clasping his hands sincerely. "Thank you, General Ma, for keeping the people in your heart."

The Qin family army rested where they stood. No one pitched tents; they simply sat on the ground and recuperated in place. Patrols rotated in shifts at the front, not daring to relax for even a moment in the face of Nie Chuan's private troops.

At the rear, the cooks began lighting fires to prepare meals. Smoke rose from both camps. Given the conditions, porridge and steamed buns were already the finest fare available.

Song Tingzhou, having spoken at length, withdrew to the rear with a parched throat. Qin Xiaozhong handed him a water skin, his doubts dispelled and his mind cleared. "No wonder the Crown Prince insisted on waiting for you to leave the city."

If Qin Xiaozhong had been alone, a great battle would have been unavoidable. Nie Chuan's private troops were seasoned fighters who had seen blood on the battlefield. Even if they won, they would surely pay a heavy price.

As Song Tingzhou had just said, they were all heroes who had once guarded the borders for their country and people—they should not die at the hands of their own.