Chapter 136

Chapter 136

In the capital, the Crown Prince sought an audience with the Emperor late at night, and the Qianqing Palace urgently summoned the generals of the Ministry of War and the garrisons stationed outside the capital.

Several key ministers, all military officers remaining in the capital and once commanders under the Emperor's direct command, gathered. When they heard the Crown Prince's arguments regarding the Prince of Pingnan, their expressions shifted. The eldest general among them immediately retorted, "When the Prince of Pingnan was young, he conquered the southern border with how many soldiers? If the Prince of Pingnan intended to rebel, why would he need to put up such a façade? He could have simply led his troops in revolt long ago!"

"It's the Prince of Pingnan's mansion," Hu Buyu explained.

In the eyes of most officials at court, the Prince of Pingnan's mansion had no reason to rebel.

Ying Fusheng faced pressure from the military officials. The Ministry of War scrolls he had compiled over the past few days were all laid before the officials, including records of the Prince of Pingnan's long-deceased trusted subordinates, intelligence on how the Prince's generals had been reassigned and scattered across Western Shu and Jiangnan over the years, and finally, Qi Hanzhou's letter about the loss of Youzhou.

Some things, placed before the Emperor, were enough to make him realize the gravity of the situation.

These materials left the assembled ministers trembling with fear. Even though the Eastern Palace was well-prepared, as long as the Prince of Pingnan's mansion showed no signs of rebellion, these were all mere conjectures, not actionable evidence.

"Your Highness, if this is a misjudgment, it would be slandering the Prince of Pingnan's mansion—a family of martyrs—and impugning the loyalty of the Western Shu garrison to the court," a military official said.

"The Liangzhou Army rebelled. I ask you all, do you truly believe it was solely instigated by the Prince of Qin?" Ying Fusheng's words silenced the military officials present.

"For years, the Western Shu garrison has suffered oppression. The court's decrees were not heeded by the local prefectures. These are just some of the files I have found, sufficient to prove that the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, and the Xu Faction colluded with the local prefectures, and they suppressed several petitions from Western Shu."

The court had indeed settled these soldiers and generals properly, but they were stripped of power and scattered among various regional garrisons. This silent marginalization essentially preserved their dignity while leaving them with nothing. These men had once sought help from the court, but all their appeals were drowned out without a trace by the Xu Faction and the Ministries of Works and War at the time.

So what became of these disarmed soldiers and their families?

Ying Fusheng said, "Father, your son deduces that Western Shu may have completely fallen."

A military official could not help but blurt out, "Were these Western Shu officers bewitched? Were they turned against the court so easily by the Secret Faction?"

"Gentlemen, if you had devoted your lifeblood to Dayuan, only to return to your fields with nothing and find no response to your letters to the court, what would you do?" Ying Fusheng argued.

The Secret Faction behind the scenes was not that powerful, but they excelled at exploiting human hearts. So many Western Shu garrison soldiers united in rebellion; perhaps there were members of the Secret Faction among them, but the majority were likely commoners and soldiers who had long lost faith in the court. Under such circumstances, if the Prince of Pingnan's mansion provided them aid, relying on the trust they once had in the Prince of Pingnan, they would believe without question—especially if such a situation had persisted for over a decade.

"Now, disaster relief in the four prefectures has been completed, yet these rebels continue their uprising. This shows they are no longer swayed by the court's temporary aid. I ask you all: after more than a decade of neglect and oppression, even being used as tools in court factional struggles, would you not be disappointed?"

The mastermind behind the scenes had been waiting for the right moment, because he dared not openly rebel against Dayuan's military power.

So he needed a reason. After the plan for a silent dynastic change failed, his goal shifted to inciting internal strife. Ying Fusheng had once thought he wanted to fish in troubled waters, but now it seemed that only if the court was corrupt enough and the people suffered enough could he gain sufficient prestige and turn these disillusioned people, whom he had been raising, into his tools.

Now, he had achieved the desired effect.

Jiangnan remained unsettled, but through the Prince of Qin's army and the drought in Western Shu, it was enough to turn these disillusioned people into sharp blades against the court.

The civil officials were silent. This was the legacy of the court's mistakes a few years ago; they bore the fault of negligence.

The military officials found it absurd, for there was no evidence that the Prince of Pingnan's mansion had rebelled, and even the fall of Western Shu was merely the Crown Prince's speculation.

The Emperor had been watching Ying Fusheng since he entered. As the New Year passed, the young man before him was now eighteen, still unmarried. Standing among these key ministers, he showed no fear or retreat, exuding an exceptionally resilient spirit. Even at the risk of offending military officials, he was determined to present this speculation, because everyone knew that if Western Shu had truly fallen, Dayuan would be plunged into internal chaos.

After finishing his argument, Ying Fusheng awaited the decision from the high throne.

"Your son requests permission to march south."

This was a speculation without solid evidence. Because of this, transferring 50,000 troops could significantly affect the Emperor's original strategic deployments. He had never led troops in battle and had no military achievements—these facts could not convince the military officials.

He could only convince the Emperor, just as he had done when he petitioned for a military covenant at court, once again making that pledge.

"Your Majesty! Old General Lu has arrived!" a voice came from outside the hall.

Ying Fusheng turned to see an elderly man leaning on a cane enter. When he arrived, the military officials in the hall fell silent. If the southern border's military officers were mostly under the Prince of Pingnan's command, then the generals remaining in the capital were once under the Lu or Qi families. The Emperor looked at Old General Lu. He said nothing, but his gaze softened when it fell upon the old man. Attendants brought a seat for the general.

Ying Fusheng had not visited the General's mansion; Old General Lu's arrival was entirely unexpected. He looked at Hu Buyu, who shook his head.

Old General Lu had come on his own.

"Your Majesty, regardless of whether the Prince of Pingnan's mansion is part of the Secret Faction, the matter of the Crown Prince requesting troops cannot be delayed," Old General Lu said without taking his seat.

When Old General Lu spoke, the military officials were startled. The old general had come to support the Crown Prince's request for troops. One by one, the generals fell silent, looking at Old General Lu and then at the Crown Prince. Finally, the Emperor spoke: "The unrest in Western Shu is abnormal. Regardless of who is behind the Prince of Qin, the chaos in the southern border must be stopped."

Old General Lu said, "Your Majesty is wise. This old minister will fully cooperate with the Eastern Palace."

Ying Fusheng bowed solemnly.

In fact, Ying Fusheng did not need to enter the palace to see the Emperor; he could have requested troops in a private audience. But by summoning so many military officials and presenting these matters publicly, he aimed to secure their temporary obedience. The Ministry of War had the authority to deploy troops, but if someone refused to cooperate or delayed out of stubbornness, it would waste time for Ying Fusheng.

Old General Lu had resolved his predicament.

The other military officials wanted to speak, but seeing the situation, they had to comply with the orders.

"Hu Buyu, I leave the rest to you," the Emperor said.

Hu Buyu accepted the order, and the military officials dispersed from the palace.

As Ying Fusheng turned to leave, he looked back at the long steps outside Qianqing Palace. Behind the hall, it seemed someone was still watching him. Old General Lu should not have been here, but the fact that he was meant it had his father's tacit approval.

"Your Highness," Hu Buyu called out.

Ying Fusheng snapped back to reality and walked forward steadily: "Let's go."

"Elder Brother!"

In a corner of the palace, a figure stood.

The Third Princess caught sight of Ying Fusheng emerging from the palace and hurried over to him.

"Elder Brother, someone asked me to give this to you." The Third Princess handed him a letter. Beneath it was an incense pouch filled with a smoky scent. With one glance, Ying Fusheng knew who had sent it—the Empress of Kunming Palace.

The Third Princess spoke as briefly as possible, saying, "My mother and Censor Ruan of Jiangnan once discovered that, several years ago, Concubine Xian had sent a letter to the Prince of Pingnan's mansion."

"...It was addressed to the Princess Consort of Pingnan."

Upon hearing "Princess Consort of Pingnan," Ying Fusheng's brow twitched slightly, and he accepted the letter. "I understand."

"The night is deep and the road is cold. Take care."

Ying Fusheng put the letter away. The Third Princess wanted to say more, but she saw him pause. Before leaving, he turned to look at her. His earrings swayed, and his steady voice came: "If anything happens in the palace, you can seek me out at the Eastern Palace."

The young Crown Prince was different from two years ago. It seemed that with him here, anything could be accomplished. She suppressed her worried words.

"Travel safely."

The Third Princess watched him walk away, then turned to look at the palanquin behind her.

The curtain of the palanquin lifted slightly, as if someone was watching the departing young man.

In the winter of the twenty-third year of Taiyuan, the court granted the Crown Prince permission to lead troops south to suppress the rebels in the southern border, with an authorization of 50,000 soldiers.

On the day of departure, everything was kept simple, just as when the Lu Family Army had left for Western Shu a few months earlier. The six ministries prepared with remarkable speed; only three days passed from the Emperor's special decree to the march. Countless hands behind the scenes ensured that these 60,000 troops set out from the capital in the shortest time possible, heading for the southern border.

On the high city wall, the Emperor and Old General Lu appeared atop the gate, gazing at the distant army.

"Your Majesty, you are granting authority to the Crown Prince."

Everyone knew that the military power of Dayuan lay in the Emperor's hands, and for so many years, he had never again delegated it to any prince.

Old General Lu understood that the Eastern Palace's greatest weakness now was its lack of military authority. The Crown Prince was not skilled in martial arts; he could suppress the civil officials at court, but he could not earn the genuine submission of these generals. Yet Dayuan's strength had always been in its generals from the very beginning, and now the rebellion in Western Shu also involved them. He looked at the Emperor before him. "You have long been prepared."

The Crown Prince had requested fifty thousand elite troops, but the Emperor actually gave him sixty thousand.

This extra ten thousand did not come from the capital; it was a secret order from the Emperor, troops from the northern frontier.

How to make good use of these ten thousand extra troops was now a test of the Eastern Palace's skill.

The Emperor watched the departing figures, hands clasped behind his back, his expression unreadable. "Old Lu, the hidden dangers left by the late Emperor nearly brought the court to ruin once before. Now it's the second time. Some people's long-dormant ambitions must be eradicated."

Old General Lu was startled, lifting his eyes to see the Emperor looking north.

He had nearly forgotten—when the late Emperor was critically ill, it was this very man who staged a coup, seizing power before the court could fall into chaos, stabilizing Dayuan and forcing those princes with ambitions for the throne to abandon their wolfish schemes.

His Majesty was now entrusting the southern border to a young general, while our own return journey lay in the distant north.

"Your old servant accepts the command."

…

The capital's army marched south. Though it was winter, they did not slacken their pace.

Three days into the journey, the court army received an urgent letter from Jiangnan: the Jiangnan garrison had been defeated and lost Xuzhou. Old General Chen led the remaining Chen Family Army to retreat and hold the three prefectures of Jiangnan. This news immediately alerted the marching soldiers. When word of Marquis Cen'an's rebellion reached the court, they had thought the Jiangnan garrison could hold out for a longer time, but they never expected the war to erupt so swiftly.

In the temporary camp, when the urgent letter from Jiangnan arrived, the gathered generals fell into dead silence.

They all looked at the Crown Prince. After reading the letter, he calmly gave the order: "Immediately send this letter to the capital via three separate routes. It must get through."

The Eastern Palace had brought two accompanying physicians on this campaign. The Crown Prince's frail constitution was known to all the court, yet never during the march had they slowed the pace because of his health, and every time the generals met in the camp, he arrived early.

Now that news of the disaster in Jiangnan had come, their urgent task was to march south to support Old General Chen.

"Tomorrow we can switch to the official road, which will get us to the three Jiangnan prefectures the fastest," said a general.

Ying Fusheng simply looked at their route and said, "Keep to the original path."

The generals were about to argue, but Ying Fusheng said, "I know you are all deeply anxious about the fall of Xuzhou, but I guarantee we will arrive at the southern border on schedule."

The next day, when they set out, they realized why the Crown Prince had insisted on not changing the route.

Because the entire southward route had already been worked out over several sleepless nights by the Eastern Palace and the six ministries. It was the same route used earlier for disaster relief in the four prefectures of Western Shu, with all the snow-covered roads cleared to ensure the fastest possible march for the army. Moreover, the Ministry of War had already dispatched riders on fast horses to notify the artisans of each prefecture, opening new roads toward the three Jiangnan prefectures in advance. A truly smooth road to the south had been opened.

They were marching at an unprecedented speed.

They had never dared to imagine such marching speed, but it was realized through the coordination of the entire court. Now they understood why the disaster relief in Western Shu had succeeded—it was no coincidence, but the result of the tireless efforts of many people.

On the seventh day of the march, a messenger brought grim news.

"Your Highness... it's a messenger from Youzhou."

Outside the camp, it was a soldier of the Lu Family Army.

When he saw the court army, he strained to hand over an urgent report from the Lu Family Army at Youzhou.

Ying Fusheng's steps staggered slightly as he took the urgent report from the soldier.

The paper bore black characters on white, some blurred by blood, revealing fragments of crucial intelligence.

In the early days of the twenty-fourth year of the Taiyuan Dynasty, the Lu Family Army retreated to the Heavenly Moat Pass, defending the heart of the southern frontier.

All the generals in the tent turned pale, just as the Crown Prince had said back in the Eastern Palace—the Western Shu region had completely fallen, and the rebel army was about to breach the southern heartland.

"The letter was sent five days ago," Ying Fusheng broke the silence.

"Five days of fighting in the snow. If the letter is accurate, the Lu Family Army likely has few men left," said one of the Lu family's generals, his voice strained. "Your Highness, the Heavenly Moat Pass is of utmost importance. If it falls, we must split forces, set up an ambush at the foot of the pass, and retreat to hold outside the pass."

The Lu Family scout who delivered the message was now unconscious. Everyone present knew the Lu Family Army in Youzhou was in deep trouble. They had only twenty thousand elite soldiers, but they faced the Prince of Qin and the rebel forces. The latest intelligence indicated that the Prince of Qin's headquarters in Western Shu was attacked by a rebellion of local people; these long-lurking rebels had probably already completely devoured the Prince of Qin's army.

If so, the rebel forces in Western Shu were far larger than anticipated.

The disparity in numbers made it difficult for the Lu Family Army to hold the Heavenly Moat Pass.

Rather than waste troops going outside the pass, it's better to ambush them right at the pass.

Ying Fusheng stared calmly at the sand table. No one noticed the slight tremor in his hand hidden beneath his sleeve. "General Lu has fought for years; they are not the type to recklessly hold the line. If they chose to fall back to the Heavenly Moat Pass, that means they believe there is still a chance to defend it."

These words seemed to strike a chord with every officer and soldier in the tent. The letter was only five days old, and they had already set out from the capital days ahead of schedule. They all knew that in a campaign, you can't act on impulse. The best course is certainly to retreat and set up an ambush in advance, as that would likely result in the pass being covered in corpses.

The authority over the military lay with the Crown Prince. Self-interest ruled, so an ambush was the best choice.

Even they didn't believe the Lu Family Army could hold. How could the Crown Prince think otherwise?

After waiting a long time, they heard the straight-backed figure before the sand table speak these words: "Split into three columns: twenty thousand men to reinforce Old General Chen, twenty thousand south to Jiangling, and the remaining elite troops to the Heavenly Moat Pass."

Ying Fusheng was about to persuade the generals, but when he looked up, he saw several of them with red-rimmed eyes.

He had expected to spend time convincing them, but as soon as the order to split forces was given, the generals left faster than anyone else. Their steps were firm, kicking up clouds of snow dust. There was no hesitation—only unwavering resolve.

Shen Yunfei, ordered to accompany Ying Fusheng south, saw the Crown Prince pause before the tent and spoke softly: "Your Highness."

"It's nothing..." Ying Fusheng pulled his robe tighter, turned, and stepped into the tent. "Inform the marching camp that the division must be completed within half a day. We have no time to waste."

"And you, Your Highness?" Shen Yunfei called after him.

Ying Fusheng looked back. "Take my orders south. The people in Jiangling will know what to do when they see my secret missive."

He glanced down at his sleeve—the sleeve sword given to him in his youth by someone had long been modified into a fitted wrist sheath, its hidden scabbard gleaming with a sharp, cold light. "I'm going to the Heavenly Moat Pass."

Ying Fusheng re-entered the tent and stood before the sand table, step by step deducing the path the mastermind might take. He had been wary of the Pingnan Prince's mansion. In his plan, as long as he could suppress the rebellion in Western Shu, he could gradually unravel the scheme to suppress the mastermind. But Western Shu fell too quickly. No matter how cautious he was, he couldn't have foreseen the sudden increase of nearly a hundred thousand rebel troops.

"Everyone, we must reach the Heavenly Moat Pass within two days," he addressed the group of strategists in the military tent.

To save the southern frontier, the Heavenly Moat Pass must not fall.

Faster. They had to go faster.

Snow continued to fall endlessly at the Heavenly Moat Pass in Western Shu.

The naturally formed barrier, made of sandstone caves, had become a natural snow cave after the blizzard, sheltering several wounded soldiers inside. The Heavenly Moat Pass was not suited for the Lu Family Army's style of fighting, but by sheer reliance on the terrain, they managed to block a rebel force several times their size. They had held the pass for seven days.

General Lu and the young general of the Qi family had, in an extremely short time, devised a pass-holding strategy for everyone.

The moment they withdrew from the Youzhou battlefield, the Prince of Qin was ambushed by the Western Shu rebel forces from the rear.

At that time, the Prince of Qin tried to shift the blame onto the court, only to find himself caught in a trap, becoming the prey for the Secret Faction to devour. To the world, this appeared to be the choice of the people of Western Shu and their stationed troops to revolt against the emperor's tyranny, unaware that behind it all lay the machinations of the Secret Faction. The rebels who once followed the Prince of Qin transformed into insurgents yearning for Western Shu's independence.

"If they truly wanted independence for Western Shu, why follow him to Heaven's Moat Pass?" said a Lu family soldier. "Those rebels have been brainwashed; nothing anyone says will change their minds."

"They're still pushing toward the pass."

"This is never-ending."

"Can we last any longer?"

The fierce battle outside the pass continued. Wounded soldiers were brought back, and Weng Yanqing moved among them, helping the army doctors treat their injuries. He did his best, but no matter how carefully he managed the provisions, they couldn't withstand the enemy's relentless attacks.

Even General Lu had been wounded the day before, and now those holding the front line were Qi Hanzhou and a group of young Lu family officers.

"The pass is breached! Someone come!"

Weng Yanqing looked over to see Qi Hanzhou, just back from the battlefield, wheel his horse and ride out at the urgent command, followed by a group of Lu Family Army soldiers who had rested for less than an hour.

Although the Western Shu rebels were blocked outside the pass, there were still scattered scouts within the southern hinterlands. The rebels could launch attacks in waves, but their men had not slept for two days. They had enough supplies for three more days, but the soldiers might collapse first.

By his calculations, the scout they had sent should be en route to the capital. They had to hold out no matter what.

But if the pass was breached, all their defenses would be for nothing.

Weng Yanqing hurried over and looked down from a height. He saw that the flank of the pass had been breached.

"I hear hoofbeats coming from north of Heaven's Moat Pass!" came an urgent report.

"No way, they still have more men?!"

In the chaos, the Lu Family Army was alarmed by the hoofbeats and turned to look in that direction.

Weng Yanqing demanded, "What's happening?"

"No, they don't seem to be enemies! They carry the banner of Dayuan!"

"It's reinforcements!" someone shouted.

A piercing cry cut through the air as a falcon soared overhead.

Qi Hanzhou reined in his horse and turned abruptly. In the distance, he saw an army marching toward them—tens of thousands of troops appearing from the south, a dark mass across the snow, the banner of Dayuan fluttering in the wind.

"Lu Family Army, fall back!" a voice shouted hoarsely, echoing through the pass.

The sound of hoofbeats and battle cries rang out together as the reinforcements merged with the remnants of the Heaven's Moat Pass garrison on the flank. At the forefront was a Lu family general who should have stayed behind in the capital. These countless figures rushed in like a gust of wind, shoring up the crumbling rear line and filling the gap in manpower.

The eagles of the northern frontier had brought the court's reinforcements.

The imperial army had arrived at Heaven's Moat Pass with lightning speed.

The falcon circling high above dove straight toward a rider among the soldiers. A young man on horseback raised his hand and caught the falcon as it descended.